Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/ygZX1PTv1fQ/
fun. words with friends words with friends roy orbison red solo cup xbox live update new planet
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Charlie Day, Mary Elizabeth Ellis Welcome Son Russell Wallace
The Always Sunny stars welcomed son Russell Wallace Day on Thursday, Dec. 15 in Los Angeles, they confirm to PEOPLE exclusively.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Young couple buried under tons of coal in Florida
AP
Christopher Artes in a family photo.
A young couple with wanderlust and a love of trains were found dead this week buried under thousands of pounds of coal in Florida.
Workers at the McIntosh Power Plant in Lakeland, Fla., found the bodies of Christopher Artes and Medeana Hendershot.
"Artes, 25, and Hendershot, 22, may have been aboard a coal train that arrived late Saturday night in Lakeland, police said," The Lakeland Ledger reports in a?story recounting the couple's itinerant-by-choice lives. "The couple appeared to have died as the coal, about 12,500 tons total, was dumped from the train, plunging the equivalent of multiple stories."
Artes, who grew up in Baltimore,?hopscotched the country on trains, his family said. He met?Hendershot in South Carolina.
Lakeland Ledger: Pair Found Dead in Coal Sought Freedom of Rails
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
matt leinart j.r. martinez cyber monday 2011 cyber monday 2011 turkey pot pie turkey pot pie southern university
How watching football was nearly the death of a fan (Reuters)
LONDON (Reuters) ? Watching your favorite football team trying to hang on to a precarious lead in the dying minutes of a match is enough to frazzle anyone's nerves, but for one Manchester United fan the stress was nearly too much.
The 58-year-old woman gets so anxious she has to take treatment for a life-threatening condition brought on by watching knife-edge games at the Old Trafford stadium.
The condition, known as an Addisonian crisis, comes about when the adrenal glands do not produce enough of the stress-reducing hormone cortisol, a lack of which can lead to low blood pressure and even a coma.
"We believe that our patient was having difficulty mounting an appropriate physiological cortisol response during the big games and therefore we present this as the first description of Manchester United-induced Addisonian crisis," said Dr Akbar Choudhry who treated the patient.
Doctors suspected the condition when the woman started getting bouts of anxiety, palpitations, panic, light headedness, and a sense of impending doom towards the end of matches.
The symptoms were less serious when the home side was playing a lower-rated team.
An Addisonian crisis, which is a manifestation of Addison's disease, is difficult to diagnose because the main symptoms include fatigue, lethargy and low mood -- often experienced by otherwise healthy people and frequently reported in many other chronic conditions.
"Luckily, the patient was on holiday for United's 6-1 defeat by local rivals Manchester City in October," Choudhry said in a report on BMJ.com.
"But, by this time, doctors had fine-tuned her therapy and she has remained symptom-free during recent tense contests against Sunderland and FC Basel," he added.
Treatment coincided with the start of the 2011/12 football season and the patient has managed to attend all games at Old Trafford without any adverse effects.
saints tim hightower tim hightower waldorf school waldorf school world series game 4 world series game 4
Friday, December 16, 2011
Obama admin: 2.5M young adults gain coverage
FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2011, file photo, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius participates in an roundtable discussion on health information technology and job creation at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland. The Obama administration says the number of young adults going without medical coverage has shrunk by 2.5 million since the new health care law took effect. A new analysis to be released Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011, finds the drop is two-and-half times larger than indicated by government and private estimates from earlier this year. The health care overhaul allows young adults to stay on a parent?s plan until they turn 26. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)
FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2011, file photo, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius participates in an roundtable discussion on health information technology and job creation at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland. The Obama administration says the number of young adults going without medical coverage has shrunk by 2.5 million since the new health care law took effect. A new analysis to be released Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011, finds the drop is two-and-half times larger than indicated by government and private estimates from earlier this year. The health care overhaul allows young adults to stay on a parent?s plan until they turn 26. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Young adults trying to get traction in a tough economy are getting a welcome assist: the new federal health care law has markedly improved their access to health insurance.
The number of young Americans ages 19-25 lacking health insurance has shrunk by 2.5 million since President Barack Obama's health care overhaul took effect, the administration announced in an analysis released Wednesday.
That drop is 2? times as large as the decline indicated by previous government and private estimates from earlier this year, which showed about 1 million had gained coverage.
The improvement comes even as the uninsured rate stayed basically stuck for those a little older, ages 26-35.
Under the health care overhaul, adult children can stay on a parent's plan until they turn 26, a provision that has proven popular in an otherwise divisive law.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the numbers show the law is making a big difference for families with adult children.
"Many of them gained coverage earlier this spring, meaning the law was there for young people as they graduated from college or high school and began their careers," she said.
Administration officials said there are a couple of reasons for the better-than-expected result.
First, there is more data available now than earlier this year. Secondly, analysts are slicing the numbers more precisely than the government usually does.
The health care law's main push to cover the uninsured doesn't come until 2014. But the young adults' provision took effect last fall, and most workplace health plans started carrying it out Jan. 1. Since then, families have flocked to sign up adult children making the transition to work in a challenging environment.
The overall fate of Obama's law remains uncertain, with the Supreme Court scheduled to hear a constitutional challenge next year, and Republican presidential candidates vowing to repeal it. But this provision seems to have gotten a seal of approval from consumers.
"The increase in coverage among 19- to 25-year-olds can be directly attributed to the Affordable Care Act's new dependent coverage provision," said the HHS analysis.
Using unpublished quarterly statistics from the government's ongoing National Health Interview Survey, analysts in Sebelius' policy office determined that nearly 36 percent of those age 19-25 were uninsured in the third calendar quarter of 2010, before the law's provision took effect.
That translates to more than 10.5 million people.
By the second calendar quarter of 2011, the proportion of uninsured young adults had dropped to a little over 27 percent, or about 8 million people.
The difference ? nearly 2.5 million getting coverage ? can only be the result of the health care law, administration officials said, because the number covered by public programs like Medicaid went down slightly.
Overall, nearly 30 million Americans are ages 19 to 25.
"From September 2010 to June 2011, coverage rose only among those adults affect by the policy," said the HHS report.
The National Center for Health Statistics has documented a broadly similar trend in its official publications, only it's not nearly as dramatic.
Administration officials said those statistics did not focus on the change from calendar quarter to calendar quarter, as does the new HHS report. Instead, they pool data over longer time periods, and that has the effect of diluting the perceived impact of the law, officials said.
Traditionally, young adults have been more likely to be uninsured than any other age group.
Some are making the switch from school to work. Others are holding down low-wage jobs that don't usually come with health care. And some ? termed the "invincibles" ? pass up job-based health insurance because they don't think they'll use it and would rather get extra money in their paychecks.
Other early coverage expansions in the health care law have not worked as well, including a special program for people with health problems turned away by private insurers. Many applicants found the premiums unaffordable.
Young adults are less expensive to cover than people who are middle-aged, and many companies have spread the extra premiums among their workers. Benefits consultant Delloite LLP has projected additional health plan costs in the range of 1 percent to 2 percent for covering young adults.
Before the health care overhaul, families with adult children faced a hodgepodge of policies. Some health plans only covered older children while they were full-time students. Others applied an age cutoff.
Associated Pressmarine corps veterans day 2011 veterans day 2011 cnbc debate family circus spanier jorge posada
Instapundit ? Blog Archive ? LEGAL EDUCATION UPDATE: The ...
Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.
Source: http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/133484/
hope solo dancing with the stars jack wagner matt jones snow white and the huntsman trailer snow white and the huntsman trailer sexiest man alive kentucky basketball
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Egypt parliament election had 62 percent turnout
Protesters chant slogans during a protest in Tahrir Square, in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Dec. 2, 2011. Islamists appear to have taken a strong majority of seats in the first round of Egypt's first parliamentary vote since Hosni Mubarak's ouster, a trend that if confirmed would give religious parties a popular mandate in the struggle to win control from the ruling military and ultimately reshape a key U.S. ally. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Protesters chant slogans during a protest in Tahrir Square, in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Dec. 2, 2011. Islamists appear to have taken a strong majority of seats in the first round of Egypt's first parliamentary vote since Hosni Mubarak's ouster, a trend that if confirmed would give religious parties a popular mandate in the struggle to win control from the ruling military and ultimately reshape a key U.S. ally. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
A wounded Egyptian protesters attends Friday prayers during a rally in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Dec. 2, 2011. Islamists appear to have taken a strong majority of seats in the first round of Egypt's first parliamentary vote since Hosni Mubarak's ouster, a trend that if confirmed would give religious parties a popular mandate in the struggle to win control from the ruling military and ultimately reshape a key U.S. ally. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
A woman covers her face with Egyptian flag as she attends a protest in Tahrir Square, in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Dec. 2, 2011. Islamists appear to have taken a strong majority of seats in the first round of Egypt's first parliamentary vote since Hosni Mubarak's ouster, a trend that if confirmed would give religious parties a popular mandate in the struggle to win control from the ruling military and ultimately reshape a key U.S. ally. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Protesters carry symbolic coffins honoring those killed in recent clashes with security forces during a rally in Tahrir Square, in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Dec. 2, 2011. Islamists appear to have taken a strong majority of seats in the first round of Egypt's first parliamentary vote since Hosni Mubarak's ouster, a trend that if confirmed would give religious parties a popular mandate in the struggle to win control from the ruling military and ultimately reshape a key U.S. ally. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
An Egyptian stands in front of statue for Venezuelan statesman Simon Bolivar, leader of revolt of South American, as it wears an eye patch that symbolizes protesters wounded in clashes with security forces during the last weeks protests in Tahrir Square, in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Dec. 2, 2011. Islamists appear to have taken a strong majority of seats in the first round of Egypt's first parliamentary vote since Hosni Mubarak's ouster, a trend that if confirmed would give religious parties a popular mandate in the struggle to win control from the ruling military and ultimately reshape a key U.S. ally. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
CAIRO (AP) ? The head of Egypt's election commission says 62 percent of eligible voters turned out for the first round of parliamentary elections.
Abdel-Mooaez Ibrahim called the number "the highest since the time of pharaohs."
The parliamentary election is the first since President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in a popular uprising in February. The Muslim Brotherhood's political arm is expected to take the largest share of votes, followed by an ultraconservative Islamist party and a coalition of liberal parties called the Egyptian bloc.
More than 13 million voters cast ballots in Monday and Tuesday's vote, the first of three rounds for the lower house. Three other rounds lasting until march will elect the less powerful upper house.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
CAIRO (AP) ? Egypt's ultraconservative Islamist party plans to push for a stricter religious code in Egypt after claiming surprisingly strong gains in the first round of parliamentary elections, a spokesman said Friday.
Final results are to be announced later in the day for a first phase of voting held in half of Egypt's 18 provinces, but preliminary counts have been leaked by judges and individual political groups.
Islamists led by the Muslim Brotherhood and radical Salafists appear to have taken a strong majority of seats in the first round of Egypt's first parliamentary vote since Hosni Mubarak's ouster, a trend that if confirmed would give the religious parties a popular mandate in the struggle to win control from the ruling military and ultimately reshape a key U.S. ally.
Spokesman Yousseri Hamad says the Salafi Nour party expects to get 30 percent of the vote. Their party appeared to lead the polls in the Nile Delta province of Kafr el-Sheik, in the rural area of Fayoum, which is known for high rates of illiteracy and poverty, and in parts of their longtime stronghold of Alexandria.
Hamad also said the party faced its toughest challenge in Cairo because of the small presence of Salafi supporters there.
The strong showing would put them in a position to influence policy, although it's unclear how much power the new parliament will have with the ruling generals still in power. For example, the military, which is not keen to see Egypt delivered to radical Islamists, maintains that it ? not the largest bloc in parliament ? will choose the next Cabinet. It is also poised to closely oversee the drafting of a new constitution.
The Nour Party's purist pursuit of strict Shariah, or Islamic law, would also face tough opposition from a diverse array of youth activists in the streets, Egypt's Coptic Christian minority, as well as liberal and secular political parties pushing for more social and political freedoms ? perhaps forcing it to veer less toward the large role that religion plays in Saudi Arabia.
The Nour Party is the main political arm of the hard-line Salafi movement, which was inspired by the Saudi-style Wahhabi school of thought.
Salafists are newcomers on Egypt's political scene. They long shunned the concept of democracy, saying it allows man's law to override God's. But they formed parties and entered politics after Mubarak's ouster to position themselves to try to make sure Shariah law is an integral part of Egypt's new constitution.
The more moderate and pragmatic Muslim Brotherhood, on the other hand, has been around since 1928 and has for decades been the largest and best organized opposition movement in Egypt, despite being officially outlawed until Mubarak's ouster.
Seeking to broaden its political appeal, the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party has described its election platform as civil but with an Islamic background, setting them up to be more rival than ally to harder-line Islamists.
Hamad told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that his party is willing to cooperate with the Muslim Brotherhood as well as with secular and liberal forces "if it will serve the interest of the nation."
Still, Salafi groups speak confidently about their ambition to turn Egypt into a state where personal freedoms, including freedom of speech, women's dress and art are constrained by Islamic Shariah codes.
"In the land of Islam, I can't let people decide what is permissible or what is prohibited. It's God who gives the answers as to what is right and what is wrong," Hamad said. "If God tells me you can drink whatever you want except for alcohol, you don't leave the million things permitted and ask about the prohibited."
Their surprisingly strong showing worries many liberals and Coptic Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population.
"We want democracy and what they want is anything but democratic," said Amir Fouad, a Coptic Christian who trained as an engineer but drives a taxi because he can't find another job. "They want Egypt to be like Saudi Arabia, all Islamic."
Fouad, 40, said he worries the Salafists will force Christian women to wear Islamic veils.
"I feel like it will be very hard for me to live in Egypt if they rule," he said. "They will take Egypt backward."
Even some religious Egyptians see the Salafists as too extreme.
"I am religious and don't want laws that go against my beliefs, but there shouldn't be religious law," said Ahmed Abdel-Rahman, a geography teacher. "I don't want anyone imposing his religious views on me."
Islamist victory in Egypt ? long considered a linchpin of regional stability ? would be the clearest signal yet that parties and candidates connected to political Islam will emerge as the main beneficiaries of this year's Arab Spring uprisings.
Tunisia and Morocco have both elected Islamist majorities to parliament, and while Libya has yet to announce dates for its first elections, Islamist groups have emerged as a strong force there since rebels overthrew Moammar Gadhafi in August. They also play a strong opposition role in Yemen.
This week's vote, held in nine provinces, will determine about 30 percent of the 498 seats in the People's Assembly, parliament's lower house. Two more rounds, ending in January, will cover Egypt's other 18 provinces.
The new parliament, in theory, is tasked with selecting a 100-member panel to draft Egypt's new constitution. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which took control of the country after Mubarak's fall in February, has suggested that it will choose 80 of those members.
The Carter Center, which sent teams to observe the parliamentary vote, said in a Friday statement that participation was high and that all parties appeared committed to a democratic transition in Egypt.
The center, which visited more than 300 stations in the nine provinces that voted, also called on election officials to better prepare workers at polling and counting stations and issue clearer regulations about campaigning before future rounds of voting.
Despite a legal ban on campaigning on election day, many parties actively distributed flyers outside polling stations.
Also Friday, more than 5,000 protesters demonstrated in Cairo's Tahrir Square to call for a speedier transition to civilian rule and trials for security officers accused of killing protesters.
Large crowds marched into the square carrying dozens of coffins wrapped in Egyptian flags to represent those killed in clashes with the police near the square in the week before the elections.
Islamist groups did not join the protests, hanging their hopes ? for now at least ? on the election results.
While the number of protesters was smaller that in recent weeks, many said they had voted but still considered protest necessary.
"People haven't given up on the square just because there were elections," said Ibrahim Hussein, who voted this week for the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party. "They all have the same demands and they haven't been met yet."
In Cairo's Abdeen neighborhood, a few thousand protesters marched in support of the military, saying only it can bring stability at this time.
___
Associated Press writer Ben Hubbard contributed to this report.
Associated PressSaturday, December 3, 2011
What Do the Penn State and Syracuse Abuse Cases Have In Common? (Time.com)
Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.
cain velasquez vs dos santos oregon stanford oregon stanford jon huntsman darrell hammond darrell hammond tcu
Friday, December 2, 2011
Samsung Galaxy Nexus Teardown Reveals Easily Swappable Innards
Rumors of Google?s next-generation Nexus smartphone have been floating in the ether for months. As we approach the phone?s imminent release, only a fortunate few have been able to get their hands on one, including not only we at WIRED, but also the gadget tinkerers at iFixit, who just posted a full teardown of what lies beneath the Nexus hood.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/Li9gQd4TtAU/
donovan mcnabb vince young vince young seahawks patti stanger desean jackson hazing
Thursday, December 1, 2011
UK "outraged" by incursion into Tehran embassy (Reuters)
LONDON (Reuters) ? Britain said on Tuesday it was outraged at an incursion into its embassy compound in Tehran during which dozens of young Iranian men were reported to have entered buildings, thrown petrol bombs and burned documents.
"There has been a incursion by a significant number of demonstrators into our Embassy premises, including vandalism to our property," the Foreign Office said in a statement.
"This is a fluid situation and details are still emerging," it added. "We are outraged by this. It is utterly unacceptable and we condemn it.
The statement said that under international law Iran has a clear duty to protect diplomats and Embassies in their country.
"We expect them to act urgently to bring the situation under control and ensure the safety of our staff and security of our property," it added.
Earlier, Foreign Secretary William Hague said he expected some other countries to follow Britain's lead in imposing financial sanctions on Iran and pledged "robust" action if Tehran reduces its diplomatic relations with London.
(Reporting by Stephen Addison; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
usc football denver broncos cybermonday kansas city chiefs coach outlet a christmas story bowl projections
George Michael 'improving,' say doctors
LONDON?? British singer George Michael's health is improving, doctors treating him in Vienna for pneumonia said in a statement Wednesday.
The 48-year-old former Wham! frontman was hospitalized in the Austrian capital and diagnosed with severe pneumonia, forcing him to cancel the remainder of his European tour.
Story: George Michael has pneumonia, cancels shows"The latest development in Mr. Michael's case ? which has evolved from a severe pneumococcal infection ? necessitated intensive care due to its severity and extension," said professors Gottfried Locker and Christoph Zielinski.
"We are happy to announce that Mr. Michael is improving steadily with an impressive regression of pneumonic symptoms and follows a steady rate of improvement as hoped.
"As we said previously, complete rest and peace and quiet are mandatory."
-
More Entertainment stories
-
Prosecutors OK with Conrad Murray jail time
David Walgren and Deborah Brazil tell TODAY that actual time spent behind bars is not a reflection of the seriousness of t...
- Nicolas Cage on cover of Serbian biology book
- Bring back pre-movie shorts (but ditch ads)
- Chris Meloni in talks for ?True Blood? role
- Dear Nicole: Quit playing it safe on 'X Factor'
-
Prosecutors OK with Conrad Murray jail time
The doctors also appeared to address speculation in the British tabloid press that Michael was suffering further, potentially serious health complications and that he was receiving state-of-the-art treatment during his stay at the Vienna General Hospital.
Story: Pop ladies of the '80s have still got the beat"There are no other health issues with regards to the patient other than the underlying pneumonic disorder, and no further measures had to be taken," they said.
"Michael is receiving precisely the same treatment as any ordinary patient in Austria would receive at the hospital for this disease."
The Grammy award-winning singer found fame in the 1980s with Wham! before going on to pursue a successful solo career. He has sold an estimated 100 million records and has a personal fortune estimated at 90 million pounds ($140 million).
Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45489938/ns/today-entertainment/
voting sharon bialek call of duty elite dragonfly courtney stodden drake take care herman cain accuser
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Jennifer Nettles Tied The Knot On Saturday
Sugarland star Jennifer Nettles is a married woman – the singer tied the knot with her boyfriend of two years during an intimate ceremony on Saturday. The Stuck Like Glue singer wore an Alexander McQueen gown as she exchanged vows with former model Justin Miller at a Tennessee chapel nestled in the Smoky Mountains. The [...]
gunsmoke papelbon papelbon anita hill penn state football schedule carrier classic j edgar hoover
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Doctor to be sentenced for Michael Jackson's death (AP)
LOS ANGELES ? Michael Jackson's doctor will face the singer's distraught family and ardent fans one more time when he returns to court for sentencing in the death of the superstar from an overdose of an operating-room anesthetic he was receiving to battle insomnia.
Dr. Conrad Murray's sentencing Tuesday for involuntary manslaughter is the final step in the criminal case launched within days of Jackson's unexpected death in June 2009.
Prosecutors want a judge to sentence the 58-year-old Murray to the maximum four-year prison term. Defense attorneys counter that Murray already faces a lifetime of shame and diminished opportunities and should receive probation.
How long Murray might remain behind bars depends on the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, which would base the decision on good behavior and other factors.
Even without overcrowding and a new state law that will send Murray to county jail rather than prison, a four-year sentence could be cut in half by good behavior.
It remained unclear Monday whether Jackson's family will speak during the sentencing hearing. His mother Katherine and several siblings routinely attended the six-week trial that ended with the conviction on Nov. 7.
Prosecutors portrayed Murray as an incompetent doctor who administered propofol ? an extremely potent anesthetic normally used during surgery ? in Jackson's bedroom without adequate safeguards and botched his care when things went wrong.
The prosecution is also are seeking restitution for Jackson's three children and filed a statement from the singer's estate stating the cost of the singer's funeral was more than $1.8 million. The letter also notes that Jackson would have earned $100 million if he had performed a planned series of comeback concerts in London.
The doctor's fate lies with Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor, who will determine the sentence and had harsh words for Murray on the day he was convicted.
"Dr. Murray's reckless conduct in this case poses a demonstrable risk to the safety of the public," Pastor said before the Houston-based cardiologist was led from the courtroom in handcuffs.
Pastor also could address Murray's decision to participate in a documentary that was filmed throughout the trial and aired days after Murray's conviction.
Murray states in the film that aired on MSNBC, under the title "Michael Jackson and the Doctor: A Fatal Friendship," that he doesn't feel guilty about the singer's death because he doesn't think he did anything wrong.
Prosecutors cited Murray's comments in their filing last week urging the judge to impose the maximum sentence.
"Finally, the defendant consistently blames the victim for his own death," the prosecutors said, "even going so far as to characterize himself as being `entrapped' by the victim and as someone who suffered a `betrayal' at the hands of the victim."
Murray's attorneys are relying largely on statements from his former patients to portray Murray in a softer light and win a lighter sentence.
"There is no question that the death of his patient, Mr. Jackson, was unintentional and an enormous tragedy for everyone affected," defense attorneys wrote in their sentencing memo. "Dr. Murray has been described as a changed, grief-stricken man, who walks around under a pall of sadness since the loss of his patient, Mr. Jackson."
Pastor also will review a report by probation officials that carries a sentencing recommendation. The report will become public after Murray is sentenced.
The report may also feature input from Murray, who chose not to testify in his own defense during the trial but was heard in a lengthy interview recorded by police.
Murray's trial was closely watched by Jackson's fans in the courtroom, on social networking sites and via live broadcasts online and on television.
The trial detailed the final hours of Jackson and portrayed him as a talented genius suffering from debilitating insomnia.
The singer selected Murray as his personal physician, and the doctor began giving Jackson nightly doses of propofol two months before the singer's death.
Several doctors who testified during the trial, including Murray's own hired propofol expert, said they would not have given Jackson the treatments in his bedroom and that Murray violated the standard of care multiple times.
___
Follow Anthony McCartney at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP
alexander the great act alabama football 21 jump street 19 kids and counting 2011 election results 11/11/11
How I Pulled Off a 10-Day London Vacation for $700 [Travel]
Back in September, we published serial traveler Matthew Kepnes' ultimate travel hacking guide, sharing his best tips and advice on how to travel cheaply without sacrificing comfort. The guide inspired many questions, so Matt had an idea: It's one thing to say "Hey, this stuff works," but it's another to actually show how it works. So here's how Matt managed a 10-day trip to London for a measly $700.
Ed. note: While not every hack Matt employs will come easily to all of us, his guide is full of clever methods that can shave dollars off your next trip?to London or elsewhere.
Photo by Andresr/Shutterstock.
The first city on my list is London. I came here for a 10-day trip for a travel conference and thought it would make for the perfect example. London is notorious for being one of the most expensive places in the world to visit. No one goes to London under the assumption that they aren't going to spend a lot of money.
And that's why London is a perfect first place to do this. Because, if you can travel hack London, you can travel hack anywhere.
Using my own travel hacking tips, 10 days in London only cost me 481.21 GBP?$710 USD. That works out to be roughly $70 USD per day. And that's not just my day-to-day expenses. That includes EVERYTHING?my flight to London, my hotel, transportation, food, drinking, and attractions.
Think about that for a second: I had a 10-day vacation in London for $700 USD that included airfare. When was the last time you went to Europe for that little money? When was the last time any real big international trip cost that kind of money?
How Did I Do It?
Before I explain how I did it, I want to take a second to explain some of the ground rules I laid out for myself. I didn't backpack London. My goal was to show the budget travelers of the world?the two-week holiday makers?that you can do London on the cheap without being a backpacker. That saving money isn't all dorm rooms, couchsurfing, and eating pasta.
So, visiting London as a budget traveler, I made three rules:
1. I wouldn't stay in hostels. I wanted to stay in nice accommodation to prove that even a hotel stay can be cheap.
2. I had to eat a few nice meals. When you go on holiday, you want to eat nice food, so I agreed that I would have at least two really nice meals in London.
3. I couldn't say "no" because it was expensive. Many backpackers skip sightseeing because of the cost but I wanted to do all the normal sightseeing activities regular tourists do. You don't go on a short vacation to not sightsee right?
With these ground rules in place, I set off to do London as your average, everyday traveler.
Part One: The Flight
I used my American Airlines frequent flier miles to pay for my flight. A round-trip ticket from Boston to London cost me 60,000 miles, plus a service charge of $165.10 in taxes and fees.
The miles I used were "anytime miles," but American Airlines also offers "OffPeak Miles" (off-season really), and you can actually fly to London for as little as 40,000 miles round-trip.
How do I get so many miles?
I'm a frequent flier, so I can generate a lot of miles per year. I normally fly about 40,000 to 50,000 miles per year, which, compared to most travel writers, is pretty low. But I've written extensively on how to get miles for free. I sign up for bonus credit cards, sign up for deals, use preferred merchants, and sign up for every contest that gives extra miles. All told, I have accumulated over 400,000 frequent flier miles with American Airlines alone through these methods.
While I have written many blog posts on how to get free miles, here's a quick summary of the best methods:
Sign up for a branded airline credit card: Whether you love Delta or fly United and the Star Alliance, all U.S. carriers have a branded travel credit card that gives you 25,000-30,000 points when you sign up and make one purchase. That's a free economy ticket right there. Airline credit cards are the best way to kick start your mileage balance. Often times they offer huge sign up bonuses. For awhile, American Airlines gave you 75,000 miles when you got their branded credit card. Virgin Atlantic has offered 50,000. United has done 40,000. The quickest and best way to gain a lot of free miles is to get one of these travel credit cards.
Watch out for special promotions: I sign up for all airline mailing lists. I always watch out for special 2-for-1 mile deals. Or when they have special card offers to earn extra miles. American Airlines just gave me 1,000 miles for watching a demo on their new shopping toolbar. I once got 5,000 miles for joining Netflix. Often times you get miles for filling out surveys or they will give you a 100% bonus on purchasing miles. Promotions help big time, and airlines seem to always be offering them. Utilizing promotions over the course of a few months can yield big results.
Sign up for a non-airline credit card: Sign up for a non-airline credit card like a Starwood American Express card and you can get 10,000 sign-up points. When you convert 20,000 points into miles, you get a 5,000-mile bonus. I highly recommend signing up for this card too but signing up for any "points" card like the AMEX travel card or a Capital One card will do. Afterwards, you can transfer your sign-up bonus points to the airline you use and redeem them for flights.
For all of these methods, the bonus points take about 6-8 weeks to post from the time you sign up for a credit card. If you want, sign up for my free newsletter?I always post the best mile bonuses on it. Or read Boarding Area, which features all mileage bonuses big and small.
Note: Readers of my blog know I've been in Europe for long time. However, I also went home to Boston in September on a round trip flight from London. I'm using that flight as the basis for this article.
Part Two: Accommodation
I had hoped that by the time I went to London, my Marriott or Starwood points would credit to my account. Marriott is offering a new card with Chase that got me 70,000 points plus 1 free stay for signing up and after the first use. I jumped on this deal but the points took too long to place into my account. On the plus side, I now have 70,000 points and a free night at the Marriott for future use.
A few months ago, Starwood hotels offered a 60,000 points bonus. I signed up but forgot to use the card quickly enough and by the time I remembered, the point transfer took too long.
However, my points didn't get credited in time, so I used more American Airlines miles for this. I used 68,000 points plus $25 USD for 5 nights accommodation in a 4 star hotel. I stayed in a hotel near Hyde Park, a very well-to-do neighborhood in London.
Now, while you can use airline miles for vacations and hotels, you never get as good of a point conversion as you do with flights. Five nights using hotel points would have cost me just 50,000 points. The point here, though, is that by signing up for a branded hotel card, you can use those points to get free hotel stays for your next vacation. Or you can use the bonuses from an airline. Either way, getting free hotel rooms isn't that hard.
For the other 4 nights I was London, I used Wimdu, an apartment rental company. While I normally like hostels, I wanted some peace and quiet while in London as well as a kitchen. The room cost 150 GBP ($238 USD) for 4 nights.
Regarding all these credit cards: While you may get a small short-term ding opening lots of credit cards in a short time, over the long term your credit will be fine so long as you pay off all your cards at the end of the month. Even after opening all these credit cars, I still have a credit score of about 800.
Part Three: Attractions
London is great for sightseeing because so much is free here. It makes sightseeing on a budget really easy. The best museums?British Library, British Museum, National Gallery, Natural History Museum, Museum of London (just to name a few)?are all free. Hyde Park? Free. Kensington Gardens? Free. It's easy to fill a few days with sightseeing in London without ever spending a penny.
But sadly, not everything is free. For attractions that weren't free, I used the London Pass. This tourist card cost me 54 GBP ($86 USD) for two days of sightseeing. It covers over 32 destinations and offers free public transportation. You can get a pass for up to 6 days (87 GBP). There are hundreds upon hundreds of dollars in savings with this pass. However, I didn't have much time nor the desire to see all 32 spots. I was able to see:
- Westminster Abbey
- Tower of London
- St. Paul's Cathedral
- Ben Franklin House
- Britain at War Museum
- Shakespeare's Globe Museum
- London Tombs
Without this pass, the same attractions would have cost me 104.55 GBP. I saved 50% by using the London Pass and I didn't even use it for everything it offers. This is why in so many of my posts about various cities I always stress getting a city pass if you plan to do a lot of museums and tours. You can save a lot of money by doing so. It's one of the best budget travel tips out there and is all too often overlooked.
Part Four: Food
I didn't want to be the typical backpacker and eat kebabs and pasta for every meal. But at the same time, I know locals don't eat out 100% of the time, either, and a great way to save money is to cook, which is part of the reason I got a place with a kitchen for my last 4 nights. I wanted to mix eating out with cooking a few meals. During my 10 days in London, I spent 103.80 GBP ($165 USD) on food, which broke down the following ways:
I spent 9.11 GBP on groceries, including bread, sandwich meat, vegetables, and pasta. This was enough for 3 dinners and 3 lunches.
I spent 2.20 on water bottles, which I refilled over the course of my trip.
My hotels and serviced apartment provided breakfast, though I did go out for McDonald's one morning. I just love those hash browns.
The rest was spent on dining out. I got pizza one day, went out for good Thai for one dinner, had great Indian one night, ate typical fish and chips the next, had a few Starbucks green teas, and tons of kebabs. They are everywhere in London. According to my friends, you are a true Londoner if you are dining on kebabs, especially if it's after a night out.
As I said, I didn't want to skimp on meals. I ate how I wanted to eat, when I wanted to eat. I did look for deals though as any good budget traveler knows that good food doesn't have to be expensive. In London, I found the best way to eat out on a budget was to look for lunch specials. Most restaurants I came across had lunch specials and many pizza places offered a "buy one, get one free" deal on takeaway.
Another great way to save money is to get the Taste Card. This diner's club card offers 50% discounts on thousands of restaurants as well as two for one specials. It can really pay off, especially on those nice meals you'll want to have. You can only live on fish and chips for so long.
Part Five: Transportation
My London Pass covered public transportation for the two days it was valid. And since cabs in London are notoriously expensive even by London standards, I refrained from taking them.
For transportation to Heathrow airport, I took the Heathrow express to get into the city (18.50 GBP) and the London Underground to get out (5 GBP). Around the city, I loaded my oyster card (metro card) for unlimited use within Zones 1-3 for 7 days at a cost of 32.20 GBP. (Everything you really need to see is mostly in Zone 1, but my conference was in Zone 3, so I had get out there.)
Conclusion: How Much Would This Trip Regularly Cost?
Had I fallen into the trap that most people do of booking a "normal vacation," in London, this trip would have cost me three times as much.
A flight to London from Boston right now is currently running around $650 USD.
Currently, the average price of a decently rated 3-4 star hotel in central London is 70 to 100 GBP ($111 to 158 USD) per night. For my 9 night trip, that adds up to around $1,000 USD as I would have gone with the cheapest.
Had I refrained from cooking, I probably would have added about another 70 GBP ($111 USD) on dining out knowing my eating habits.
If you add up all of that plus my transport and food, I would have spent around $2,000 USD. By traveling hacking and cleverly using reward points, I spent 10 days in London for less than the current price of a flight to London, saving myself $1,300 USD! Think about that. I saved 66% off the cost of a normal vacation, and I didn't skimp on anything. I just traveled smart, used reward systems, and everyday frugality to my advantage. I stayed in nice places, dined out well, and saw all the attractions I wanted. I didn't sacrifice comfort.
One the most important points I wanted to get across with this trip was to show people that cheap travel doesn't mean bad travel. I wanted to take a vacation to London that my parents or friends?people who wouldn't be caught dead sleeping in 15 bed dorms to save money?could take. I wanted to travel cheaply without sacrificing comfort.
And I did just that. "Travel Hacking" might not be the best phrase in the world, but the principles behind it are simple and easy. Travel doesn't have to be expensive. Repeat that. Travel doesn't have to be expensive. By investing just a little extra time into planning my trip, I was able to have a wonderful trip for around the cost of the going rate for a flight to London. You don't need to spend thousands traveling. A vacation doesn't need to cost an arm and a leg and the next time you are inclined to think so, just remember that yes, it is possible to travel any cheap and anyone can do it.
Note: One thing that is missing from this article is my conference costs. Most people don't visit London for travel conferences, so I didn't add any costs related to that conference to this post.
the others kristin cavallari los angeles weather vitiligo portia de rossi portia de rossi herman cain for president
Monday, November 28, 2011
Pet Blog By Bocci @ Bocci's Beefs: Morton's National Keep Pets ...
Remember the brand we all grew up with, Morton Salt? With its deep blue box and iconic gal with the umbrella, Morton has been a part of our lives since its beginnings in 1848. Yeah, but what's the tie in with pets, you ask? ?Well, Morton has developed a chloride-free, non-toxic and non-irritating ice melt they've dubbed, Safe-T-Pet ice melt. This year, Safe-T-Pet is sponsoring a public service campaign focused on increasing awareness of pet safety during the winter months and to help support the ASPCA in their efforts to help keep pets safe in homes and in shelters. To that end, Morton is donating $20,000 upfront to the ASPCA and asking all of us to help them donate even more-up to $75,000!
So what about the heart of this campaign-keeping our pets safe in winter? Well, here's one idea straight from Morton's Facebook page where they'll be posting pet safety tips all winter long:
As always, thanks for your support.
Here's how it works:?
There's a big day coming up soon, and we're not talking Hanukkah or Christmas. It's?National Keep Pets Safe in Winter Day on December 22, and it's the culmination of this marvelous public service campaign.
What we're asking you (and all of your friends) to do is drop over to the Morton Salt Facebook Page and simply "Like" their page and leave a short message saying that "Bocci's Beefs sent you". This will accomplish two things:__ For every "Like" on their Facebook page, Morton Salt will donate an additional $1 to the ASPCA (this part of the campaign runs through January 31, 2012).__ Once Bocci's Beefs gets 50 "Likes", I'll be able to do a giveaway on my blog of two, Morton Safe-T-Pet Winter Kits that include a mini Safe-T-Pet jug, a fleece stadium blanket with Morton logo, an ice scrapper and a retractable leash (retail value of $30). (This part of the campaign only runs through December 22 so hurry over to the Morton FB page and tell them Bocci's Beefs sent ya!) See photo of this handy kit below.So what about the heart of this campaign-keeping our pets safe in winter? Well, here's one idea straight from Morton's Facebook page where they'll be posting pet safety tips all winter long:
__Don't leave you pet in the car when you're running errands! Most of us know by now that a car turns into a furnace in the heat of the summer, but did you know it turns it a freezer in the winter quicker than you can say, "Dogsicle"?
And my own personal favorite:
__ While your pooch should go outside daily to do his business and get some fresh air, and even take short walks (depending on the breed and severity of the weather), keep an eye on them while they're outdoors and let them in promptly-don't go upstairs, get lost in your work and perhaps forget about your furfriend. Not that Parental Unit ever did anything like that...
As always, thanks for your support.
Source: http://www.boccibeefs.com/2011/11/mortons-national-keep-pets-safe-in.html
osteopathy osteopathy nathan hale josef stalin loft ohio state football kourtney and kim take new york
HBT: Rays trade catcher Jaso to Mariners
Given the Rays? struggles behind the plate last season, it didn?t seem all that likely that the team would be content to replace Kelly Shoppach?with Jose Molina and call it a day. They went in another direction Sunday, trading incumbent John Jaso?to the Mariners for reliever Josh Lueke and a player to be named or cash.
Jaso, 28, is known for his on-base skills, and he?ll provide a pretty stark contrast to Miguel Olivo?when he?s in Seattle?s lineup next season, assuming he bounces back. Jaso hit .263/.372/.378 as a rookie in 2010 before slipping to .224/.298/.354 in 246 at-bats last season.
The Rays figure to go get a new starting catcher to replace Jaso, though they do have an internal option in Robinson Chirinos. Ramon Hernandez is still out there in free agency and would make a ton of sense for the club.
The Mariners figure to have Jaso?and Olivo?split time, though not in a straight platoon. While the left-handed-hitting Jaso?should play against the majority of righties, Olivo will get some starts there, too.
In Lueke, the Rays get a power arm, but one the Mariners didn?t value very highly. Lueke?was acquired from the Rangers in the Cliff Lee deal without Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik?having known about his having pled no contest to a false imprisonment charge (after originally facing rape and sodomy charges)?and having served jail time. Lueke throws 92-95 mph, but after he flopped in 32 2/3 innings for the Mariners last season, compiling a 6.06 ERA, it?s no surprise to see him go here. He has the potential to turn into a nice setup man or maybe even a closer for Tampa Bay.
Given that Jaso is always going to be a poor defensive catcher even if he does bounce back offensively, this looks like a win for Tampa Bay. Lueke could very well flame out, but he?s also a candidate to turn into a fine reliever, and the Rays needed to do better than Jaso for a starting catcher anyway.
Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/11/27/mariners-acquire-catcher-john-jaso-from-rays/related/
liberace repudiate avengers joost joost new hampshire debate how to get ios 5
Add Bluetooth to your non-Bluetooth audio devices with AirBlue
Have an awesome stereo speaker system but no way to get your music to it wirelessly?? That?s where?AirBlue?from Kanex comes in.? Shaped like a hockey puck, it?s a Bluetooth audio receiver into which you can plug a 3.5mm audio cable.? Just pair your iPhone (or any Bluetooth-enabled music player) to AirBlue, and you?ll be able [...]
Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/11/26/add-bluetooth-to-your-non-bluetooth-audio-devices-with-airblue/
macys sugar bowl cybermonday tim tebow target target walmart
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)