Colo. Senate passes $20.5B budget, heads to House

DENVER (AP) -- Next year's budget for Colorado has passed the state Senate with funding increases for public schools, higher education, and money for construction projects at colleges and state buildings.

The budget passed Thursday on a 19-15 vote. All Republicans voted no.

Republicans say budget spending is growing faster than the state economy. But Democrats say they've been prudent and left some aside in savings for future years.

The spending plan also includes a pay raise for state employees ? the first in five years.

The House will now consider the budget.

General fund expenditures, which lawmakers control, are expected to be about $8.2 billion next year, compared to $7.6 billion in the current budget year. The state's total budget, which includes federal money and cash funds, is about $20.5 billion.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/colo-senate-passes-20-5b-163941829.html

barry zito mac virus santorum drops out bby zimmerman website miami marlins marlins

Nevada Senate Considers Outlawing Dangerous Pets - 8 News NOW

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) -- Lawmakers are considering whether lions and tigers and bears --and several others species -- should be legal to own in Nevada.

Large crowds filled legislative meeting rooms Thursday afternoon to hear the Senate Natural Resources Committee discuss SB245.

The bill would ban the ownership of a slew of animals defined as "dangerous wild animals." Legal owners of such animals could keep their pets if they have never had any animal abuse or neglect offenses, and if they keep liability insurance of at least $250,000 per incident.

Follow this Bill and Others on the 8NewsNOW.com Bill Tracker

A second bill up for review outlaws the feeding of wild animals other than birds, but it's likely the bill will be altered to only ban feeding large animals.

Source: http://www.8newsnow.com/story/21822559/nevada-senate-considers-outlawing-dangerous-pets

justin bieber birthday read across america vikings stadium breitbart dead db cooper fafsa branson missouri

Common gene variants explain 42% of antidepressant response

Mar. 28, 2013 ? Antidepressants are commonly prescribed for the treatment of depression, but many individuals do not experience symptom relief from treatment. The National Institute of Mental Health's STAR*D study, the largest and longest study ever conducted to evaluate depression treatment, found that only approximately one-third of patients responded within their initial medication trial and approximately one-third of patients did not have an adequate clinical response after being treated with several different medications. Thus, identifying predictors of antidepressant response could help to guide the treatment of this disorder.

A new study published in Biological Psychiatry now shares progress in identifying genomic predictors of antidepressant response.

Many previous studies have searched for genetic markers that may predict antidepressant response, but have done so despite not knowing the contribution of genetic factors. Dr. Katherine Tansey of Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London and colleagues resolved to answer that question.

"Our study quantified, for the first time, how much is response to antidepressant medication influenced by an individual's genetic make-up," said Tansey.

To perform this work, the researchers estimated the magnitude of the influence of common genetic variants on antidepressant response using a sample of 2,799 antidepressant-treated subjects with major depressive disorder and genome-wide genotyping data.

They found that genetic variants explain 42% of individual differences, and therefore, significantly influence antidepressant response.

"While we know that there are no genetic markers with strong effect, this means that there are many genetic markers involved. While each specific genetic marker may have a small effect, they may add up to make a meaningful prediction," Tansey added.

"We have a very long way to go to identify genetic markers that can usefully guide the treatment of depression. There are two critical challenges to this process," said Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry. "First, we need to have genomic markers that strongly predict response or non-response to available treatments. Second, markers for non-response to available treatments also need to predict response to an alternative treatment. Both of these conditions need to be present for markers of non-response to guide personalized treatments of depression."

"Although the Tansey et al. study represents progress, it is clear that we face enormous challenges with regards to both objectives," he added. "For example, it does not yet appear that having a less favorable genomic profile is a sufficiently strong negative predictor of response to justify withholding antidepressant treatment. Similarly, there is lack of clarity as to how to optimally treat patients who might have less favorable genomic profile.."

Additional research is certainly required, but scientists hope that one day, results such as these can lead to personalized treatment for depression.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Elsevier, via AlphaGalileo.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. Katherine E. Tansey, Michel Guipponi, Xiaolan Hu, Enrico Domenici, Glyn Lewis, Alain Malafosse, Jens R. Wendland, Cathryn M. Lewis, Peter McGuffin, Rudolf Uher. Contribution of Common Genetic Variants to Antidepressant Response. Biological Psychiatry, 2013; 73 (7): 679 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.10.030

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/top_news/top_health/~3/z5l4WA6eDzU/130328091730.htm

day light savings time peter paul and mary edgar rice burroughs dallas clark litter marinol flight attendant

Internet Slows Worldwide Due to Largest Cyber-Attack in History ...

• 

An online battle between a spam-fighting group and a Web hosting company has slowed the Internet around the globe today, security experts told the BBC, describing the incident as the most significant cyber-attack of its kind to ever occur.

The fight between the two sides ? anti-spam fighting group Spamhaus and the Dutch Web host CyberBunker ? has set off retaliatory attacks affecting widely-used online services such as Netflix. According to the BBC article, security experts are concerned banking systems and e-mail services could soon be affected.

The attacks are currently under investigation by five cyber law enforcement groups.

Spamhaus is an international non-profit organization that tracks spam operations and sources, often working with law enforcement to pursue spam gangs worldwide and to lobby governments for effective anti-spam legislation.

To filter spam, the agency maintains a number of blocklists that are ?responsible for keeping back the vast majority of spam sent out on the Internet,? according to the Spamhaus website.

Spanhaus? recent blocking of Cyberbunker?s servers instigated the unofficial war.

?Spamhaus apparently does not approve that ?CyberBunker offers anonymous hosting of anything except child porn and anything related to terrorism.? Of course this almost ?anything goes? is classified by Spamhaus as: spam, phishing and malware,? reads an article on the Cyberbunker website.

?According to Spamhaus, CyberBunker is designated as a ?rogue? host and has long been a haven for cybercrime and spam. Of course Spamhaus has not been able to prove any of these allegations.?

Spamhaus CEO Steve Linford told the BBC his organization has been under attack for more than a week due to a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. Such attacks inundate the intended victim with vast amounts of traffic to render it inaccessible.

?But we?re up ? they haven?t been able to knock us down. Our engineers are doing an immense job in keeping it up ? this sort of attack would take down pretty much anything else,? he was quoted by the BBC.

Spamhaus posted on its blog March 20 that is was first hit by a large-scale DDoS attack March 16-17, which extended in to last week and beyond.

The following is an excerpt from the blog post by staffer Quentin Jenkins:

Although this site and our mail were knocked down for awhile, our data systems continued to work normally throughout the attack. At this time the main Spamhaus website is back up (that?s what you are reading!) and we?re bringing other public systems back up as this goes to press. Due to the unpredictable nature of DDoS attacks, we can?t provide an estimate of that progress, but we want those systems up as much as you do.

What we can tell you is that we are aware of the many people who have fixed their infected systems, and ISPs which have solved spam problems, and need to have IPs and domains removed from our lists (SBL, XBL/CBL, PBL and DBL). Those removal systems are being fixed as this is typed, and we will continue to provide updates as they come back online, in this blog article or in a newer one. Our best advice to you is to follow normal removal procedures, to re-try as needed (every hour or so) and to watch this blog for updates. Thanks for your co-operation as we ride out this attack.

The overall affect of such an attack is a global slowdown of services, cybersecurity expert and University of Surrey professor Alan Woodward told the BBC.

?If you imagine it as a motorway, attacks try and put enough traffic on there to clog up the on and off ramps,? he told the BBC. ?With this attack, there?s so much traffic it?s clogging up the motorway itself.?

?

Source: http://www.sitepronews.com/2013/03/27/internet-slows-worldwide-due-to-largest-cyber-attack-in-history/

New Year Outback Bowl Carly Rae Jepsen dallas cowboys Rose Bowl 2013 kim kardashian anderson cooper

Timberlake's '20/20' album sells 968K in 1st week

NEW YORK (AP) ? Justin Timberlake's comeback album has sold nearly 1 million units its first week out.

Nielsen SoundScan announced Tuesday that the singer's third album, "The 20/20 Experience," has moved 968,000 units. It's the 19th album in Nielsen's 22-year history that has sold more than 900,000 albums in its debut week.

"20/20" is Timberlake's third album and the follow-up to his multiplatinum, Grammy-winning 2006 album, "FutureSex/LoveSounds." The new CD features the pop hit "Suit & Tie."

"The numbers are pleasantly surprising," said Tom Corson, the president and chief operating officer of RCA Records, which released Timberlake's album.

The label had projected that "20/20" would sell 500,000 to 600,000 units, Corson said.

Timberlake, 31, was strategic about promoting his comeback effort: He performed at the Grammy Awards, hosted and hit the stage at "Saturday Night Live" and spent an entire week on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon." The singer also partnered with Target for the album's deluxe edition and "20/20" streamed on iTunes a week before it was released.

Timberlake came up with the idea of a weeklong stint himself, Fallon said.

"I think he mentioned it to me like a year ago that he's working on something and wanted to do a week on our show," Fallon said Tuesday.

"20/20" is an unconventional album that features a mesh of R&B, soul, pop and futuristic sounds. The 10 tracks average seven minutes each.

Corson believes Timberlake's key to promoting the album was "less is more."

"While it felt like he was everywhere, he didn't do a lot of things because he didn't have to. But he did big things," he said.

Fallon even joked that other celebrities are trying to follow in Timberlake's footsteps with a weeklong stay on his show.

"We're getting a lot of phone calls now to do themed-weeks for people," said Fallon, who added that the show's writers and producers developed a load of material for "Timberweek."

"We have enough for another month," he said. "We could have 'Timbermonth.' Trust me, NBC is already pitching it to me."

Of the 19 albums to sell more than 900,000 in their debut week, Timberlake holds three slots. His albums with 'N Sync, 2000's "No Strings Attached" and 2001's "Celebrity," sold 2.4 million and 1.9 million in their first week, respectively. Backstreet Boys, Lil Wayne and Taylor Swift have two albums each that have hit that level.

The excitement over the new album has also boosted sales of Timberlake's other solo albums, Nielsen Co. said. Last year, "FutureSex/LoveSounds" and 2002's "Justified" sold 39,000 and 21,000 copies each, but this year they've already sold 29,000 and 17,000, respectively.

"As the marketing sort of picks up for the new record and the single goes to radio ... you definitely start to see interest," said David Bakula, Nielsen's senior vice president of client development and analytics for entertainment.

Bakula said 'N Sync sales are up, too.

"20/20" was streamed 7.73 million times on Spotify in its first week, putting it second behind the 8 million streams set by Mumford & Sons' "Babel" last year. Steve Savoca, Spotify's head of content, said Timberlake's colossal first-week numbers are another example of how streaming music helps artists sell albums.

Fallon said Timberlake worked tirelessly ahead of the five shows and he's proud of his friend's success.

"Justin was here till 11 o'clock most nights choreographing dance moves so he nailed it the next night," he said. "And he was sick at the time."

Corson said this week's success could change the expectation of Timberlake's follow-up to "20/20," which will likely be released later this year.

"It sure should," he said with a laugh. "Part two is now even more anticipated."

Timberlake could even show up for a stint on Fallon again.

"We are already talking about it," Fallon said.

___

Online:

http://twentytwenty.justintimberlake.com/

http://http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/

___

Follow Mesfin Fekadu at http://twitter.com/MusicMesfin

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/timberlakes-20-20-album-sells-968k-1st-week-230607777.html

Spain Vs Italy Euro 2012 Pepco erin andrews erin andrews tour de france Magic Mike Anderson Cooper Gay

Italy high court overturns Amanda Knox acquittal

ROME (AP) ? Italy's highest criminal court has overturned the acquittal of Amanda Knox in the slaying of her British roommate and ordered a new trial.

The Court of Cassation ruled Tuesday that an appeals court in Florence must re-hear the case against the American and her Italian-ex-boyfriend for the murder of 21-year-old Meredith Kercher.

Kercher's body was found in November 2007 in her bedroom of the house she shared with Knox and other roommates in Perugia, an Italian university town where the two women were exchange students. Her throat had been slashed.

Prosecutors alleged Kercher was the victim of a drug-fueled sex game gone awry. Knox and Raffaele Sollecito denied wrongdoing. An Ivory Coast man, Rudy Guede, was convicted of the slaying in a separate proceeding and is serving a 16-year sentence.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/italy-high-court-overturns-knox-acquittal-091054681.html

sean young juan pablo montoya free pancakes at ihop martina navratilova high school shooting ohio school shooting sean young arrested

GALLERY: Ford Fiesta ST 3-door on European roads

You?ve already seen the Ford Fiesta ST that was first shown in production form at last year?s Geneva show, and witnessed it hooning around Ford?s proving ground in Belgium ? now have a look at the hot Fiesta doing its thing at the international media drive currently being held in the south of France.

The hottest Fiesta to date and younger brother to the Focus ST is equipped with a 1.6 litre EcoBoost engine with 182 PS and 240 Nm of torque. Paired to a six-speed manual transmission, the turbo engine pushes the three-door hatch from 0-100 km/h in 6.9 seconds. Top speed is 220 km/h.

Developed by Ford Team RS, the European arm of Ford?s Global Performance Vehicle group, the Fiesta ST gets uniquely tuned suspension, steering and brakes, and introduces features only previously found in larger performance cars such as enhanced Torque Vectoring Control (eTVC) and 3-mode ESC (full system intervention, wide-slip mode with limited intervention and full ESC off)

Both systems support a specially modified front steering knuckle, adapted rear twist-beam with increased roll-stiffness, unique front and rear spring and damper settings, and a 15 mm lower centre of gravity. Inside, the racy feel is delivered by ST logos, Recaro seats and a Sound Symposer that channels the engine note to the cabin.

Sounds delicious doesn?t it? The 50 pics after the jump should make you even more hungry!

?

Source: http://paultan.org/2013/03/25/gallery-ford-fiesta-st-3-door-on-european-roads/

Alex Morgan Misty May Treanor Lolo Jones Marvin Hamlisch Megan Rossee grenada grenada

Shinseki says VA on target for ending backlog

FILE ? In this Nov. 10, 2010, file photo Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki applauds the veterans in the audience while speaking at a disabled veterans' memorial dedication ceremony in Washington. Although the number of veterans' disability claims keep soaring, Shinseki said Sunday, March 24, 2013, that he's committed to ending the backlog by 2015 by replacing paper with electronic records. About 600,000 claims, or 70 percent, are considered backlogged, and the number of claims pending for more than 125 days has nearly quadrupled under Shinseki's watch. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

FILE ? In this Nov. 10, 2010, file photo Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki applauds the veterans in the audience while speaking at a disabled veterans' memorial dedication ceremony in Washington. Although the number of veterans' disability claims keep soaring, Shinseki said Sunday, March 24, 2013, that he's committed to ending the backlog by 2015 by replacing paper with electronic records. About 600,000 claims, or 70 percent, are considered backlogged, and the number of claims pending for more than 125 days has nearly quadrupled under Shinseki's watch. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

In this photo taken Aug. 2, 2010, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki listens to President Barack Obama speak about Iraq and Afghanistan at the Disabled American Veterans national convention in Atlanta. Although the number of veterans' disability claims keep soaring, Shinseki said Sunday, March 24, 2013, that he's committed to ending the backlog by 2015 by replacing paper with electronic records. About 600,000 claims, or 70 percent, are considered backlogged, and the number of claims pending for more than 125 days has nearly quadrupled under Shinseki's watch. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Although the number of pending veterans' disability claims keep soaring, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki on Sunday said he's committed to ending the backlog in 2015 by replacing paper with electronic records.

Veterans receive disability compensation for injuries or illness incurred during their active military service. About 600,000 claims, or 70 percent, are considered backlogged. The number of claims pending for more than 125 days has nearly quadrupled under Shinseki's watch.

Shinseki told CNN's "State of the Union" that a decade of war and efforts to make it easier for veterans to collect compensation for certain illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder have driven the backlog higher during his tenure. He said that doing away with paper records will be the key to a turnaround.

Shinseki said that the VA has puts its new computer system in place in 20 regional offices around the country and all regional offices will be on the system by the end of the year.

"This has been decades in the making, 10 years of war. We're in paper, we need to get out of paper," Shinseki said. The Defense Department and other agencies still file paper claims, he said, but "we have commitments that in 2014 we will be electronically processing our data and sharing it."

Congressional committees have held two hearings on the disability claims bottleneck in the past two weeks. Lawmakers voiced growing frustration with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

"There are many people, including myself, who are losing patience as we continue to hear the same excuses from VA about increased workload and increased complexity of claims," Florida's Rep. Jeff Miller, the Republican chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, said during a hearing on Wednesday.

"No veteran should have to wait for claims. If there's anybody impatient here, I am that individual and we're pushing hard," said Shinseki, the former four-star Army general who became VA secretary when President Barack Obama came into office.

About 4.3 million veterans and survivors receive disability benefits. Most veterans whose claims are backlogged, about 60 percent, are getting some disability compensation already and have filed for additional benefits for other injuries or illnesses.

Tom Tarantino, chief policy officer of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said a presidential commission was needed to bring greater emphasis to solving the problem and to make sure all federal agencies were on the same page.

"We're tired of waiting for the VA to get their act together," Tarantino said.

Peter Gaytan, executive director of the American Legion, emphasized that resolving disability claims in a timely manner is an issue his organization has dealt with for decades.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-03-24-Shinseki-Disability%20Claims%20Backlog/id-32a74ff950f84fb3890950a4bbcf01da

living social Earthquake Costa Rica Clinton speech Michael Strahan Griselda Blanco Michelle Obama Speech eva longoria

NFL notes: Faulk tackles new rule head-on

When reached on the phone Friday and asked his opinion about the newly passed rule that makes it illegal for ball carriers to use the crown of their helmets to hit defenders when they?re outside the tackle box, Kevin Faulk had an interesting reaction.

Laughter.

Faulk, of course, understands the safety elements in play. But the former Patriots running back and one of the game?s finest third-down backs of all time still couldn?t wrap his head around game officials trying to decide when to enforce the rule, and also trying to eliminate something runners do almost naturally when they?re about to be hit.

Why the laughter?

?It?s funny because you?re always taught to run behind your pads,? Faulk said. ?When you run behind your shoulder pads, you?re running with your helmet down to protect yourself as a runner. You?re not going to have your head up. It?s your natural instinct when you know someone?s coming to tackle you.

?As a runner, you don?t just run. You?re feeling out where defenders are, how they?re coming to attack you, at what point. Not every hit is going to be head-to-head. That?s not normal. But sometimes it does happen.?

When asked if it would impact one style of runner over another, a Stevan Ridley or a Brandon Bolden more than a Shane Vereen, Faulk said he thinks it will impact everyone.

He said it will impact shifty, speedy runners, just as much as the physical, rock-?em sock-?em runners.

?You?ll get away with a rule like that if you say it?s for safety. But that stuff is going to happen,? Faulk said. ?We can talk about a defenseless receiver, helmet-to-helmet hits, I understand that. But a running back, that?s running the ball downhill, where he has guys that?s trying to tackle him, I mean, really trying to tackle him. I don?t know how that?s going to go over. At the same time, (those guys) are professionals. They?ll do what they always do, and adjust to it.?

As he was speaking, Faulk was at his home in Louisiana. He had just finished up at a local school, where he?s been substituting as a physical education teacher.

If he was to advise the Pats running backs, what would he tell Ridley, who?s a physical runner, regarding how to deal with this new rule? How would he advise Bolden or Vereen, which he has done in the past?

We wondered if he would echo the thoughts of former Chargers and Jets star LaDainian Tomlinson, who said he advocates the use of stiff-arms in the open field to shed defenders. Faulk, who utilized the stiff-arm on occasion, liked the notion, but also said he wouldn?t change too much at first.

?You have to tell them to run how they?ve been running, and see what happens,? Faulk said of his former teammates. ?There?s going to have to be a feeling out process on both sides. I don?t think it?s something that can just be added on. Both sides have to feel each other out. You have to see what an official is thinking, and how a runner runs the ball. It?s going to be a feeling out process.

?As a coach, you?re going to emphasize it, but you don?t overemphasize it. You don?t want to make it more than what it is. You have to see how they?re going to call it.?

Ultimately, Faulk believes after some initial problems, implementation of the new rule will work itself out. At least, he hopes that will be the case.

?They?ve done a good job with (the rules for) defenseless receivers,? Faulk said. ?No one knew how that was going to play out. But guys adjusted to that. I know the initial reaction is, ?Wow we can?t do this?? You heard me. ?Wow, I don?t know how it?s going to take place.? But, they?ll have a feeling out process and ultimately adjust.?

Harbaugh laments losses

John Harbaugh has watched his championship team be taken apart piece by piece. He?s lost veterans across the board due to both retirement and salary cap issues. His take on all the departures?

?It?s been two-fold. It?s disappointing because of the relationships you have with the guys. These guys are friends,? he said during the AFC coaches breakfast in Phoenix last week.

?Our families know each other. Q?s (Anquan Boldin?s) son plays with my daughter all the time at the facility when we?re at practice. Bernard (Pollard) has had his family around a bunch of times. These are people you get close to. It?s the nature of the league, it?s the unfortunate way the salary cap is set up with a hard cap. You just cannot hold your team together for long periods of time, all the guys you want to. It?s been tough.?

Harbaugh said the group would always ?walk together forever as champions.? Many of the veterans, like Pollard, were in Harbaugh?s leadership council. He had one player from each position on the council. Most of those leaders (Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Matt Birk and Boldin) are gone. The safety tandem of Reed and Pollard were the latest to sign with other teams.

?I met with those guys almost every day, informally or formally,? Harbaugh said. ?It?s tough. But in the end, it comes down to that 123 (million dollars) this year. It?s a hard cap. That?s a flat cap. And when you start putting that ledger sheet together the reality sets in, and that?s where we were at.?

Of all the players Harbaugh lost, one guy Tom Brady won?t miss seeing in the Ravens secondary is Reed. He sometimes confused the Pats quarterback or caused consternation. The question now is how much of a difference he?ll make for the Texans when they play the Pats.

Schiano takes to advice

We asked Greg Schiano what advice he?s received from friend Bill Belichick that has stuck with him through time. The Buccaneers coach said the best lesson is not trying to be something he?s not. It?s important for a coach to just being himself.

?I think the thing I admire most about Bill, is he?s continually learning. He?s maybe the best in the history of the game, and he?s continually looking for better ways to do things, and that?s kind of the way I am .?.?. inquisitive,? Schiano said in Phoenix. ?I never want to sit back and say, ?Well, that?s the way we do it.? But at the end of the day, you?ve got to be you. I can?t try to be Bill, I can?t try to be some of the people I work for. That, to me, is the best lesson for any coach. Because when you try to be something you?re not, the one group that immediately identifies that is your players.? .?.?.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll stuck his neck out by going with rookie Russell Wilson over veteran free agent signee Matt Flynn, and staying with Wilson through the rough patches early. Carroll knew he had something special, and wasn?t afraid. Asked about not having any fear about going with Wilson, and potentially making a mistake, he said that?s how he and general manager John Schneider run in Seattle.

?I think just based on the years of experience, however you want to call it, there?s a boldness about what we?re doing,? Carroll said. ?John and I believe in our instincts. We believe in our background. We trust each other. We trust our sense of which direction to go in. We know we?re not going to do everything exactly right. But you?ve got to take your shots. That?s what we?ve pretty much done. And we?ve had a blast operating that way. We?re not going to back off. ?

Reading into the option

Listening to NFL coaches at the league meetings last week, the belief remains that the read-option offenses that were in vogue last season are the flavor of the month.

?That?s what I?m saying. Let?s give it five years and evaluate it,? Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. ?Let?s not rush to judgment on anything. Obviously it?s very effective and has been, but some of these defensive coaches now, they?re not sitting around looking out the window having coffee. They?re into (dissecting) it. You?ve also stimulated an awful lot of that. And that?s a good thing. The energy level on the defense end of the hall in most buildings has been perked up by what?s happened.? .?.?.

Our friend and resident Patriots historian Bob Hyldburg wants to point out Gino Cappelletti turns 79 on Tuesday.

In his honor, the author of ?Total Patriots,? dug up a collection of Cappelletti nuggets including the fact that he scored the first points in the first game of the American Football League, and then went on to record more points than any other player in the history of the AFL. He averaged more than 10 points per game in 1961 and ?64 and averaged 9.6 points per game over a period of 80 games. He was named the 1964 AFL Most Valuable Player. And those are just a few of the birthday boy?s highlights.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bostonherald/sports/football/~3/DsMONL4Lf7o/nfl_notes_faulk_tackles_new_rule_head_on

Clint Eastwood speech Maria Montessori clint eastwood Julian Castro Blue Moon August 2012 Eddie Murphy Dead Democratic National Convention 2012

New genetic study confirms Indian origins of pumpkins and cucumbers

Public release date: 11-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Susanne Renner
renner@lrz.uni-muenchen.de
Pensoft Publishers

It had been suggested that the origin of pumpkins and cucumbers can be traced back to India. This has now been confirmed on the basis of genetic analyses performed by German and Indian botanists. The study was published in the open access journal PhytoKeys.

Vegetables are essential components of a healthy daily diet, not just in India but around the globe. Compared to grains and pulses, however, vegetables are under-investigated taxonomically, and information on their genome is scarce. The cucumber family, Cucurbitaceae, includes many of our favorite foods: pumpkins, melon, cucumber, watermelon, bottle gourds, and bitter gourd. Molecular data have recently revealed that both cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) and melon (Cucumis melo L.) are indigenous to India and likely to have originated from the foothills of the Himalayas.

Arun Pandey from the Department of Botany, University of Delhi, India and Susanne Renner from the Departments of Systematic Botany and Mycology, University of Munich, Germany decided to produce a checklist of the Cucurbitaceae of India that would bring up-to-date the information available for that family. The list treats 400 relevant names and provides information on the collecting locations for all type specimens. The list includes 94 species (10 of them endemic to India) from 31 genera.

For each species, the checklist provides distributional information, electronic links to images of living or dried plants, and information on publicly available DNA sequences. Of the 94 species, 79% have DNA sequences in GenBank, albeit rarely stemming from Indian material. The most species-rich genera are Trichosanthes with 22 species, Cucumis with 11 (all but two wild), and the bitter gourd genus, Momordica, with eight. The checklist also includes a phylogenetic reconstruction of the family that shows the DNA-based placement of the 31 Indian genera relative to the World's remaining Cucurbitaceae.

Dr. Suzanne Renner, one of the authors of the article, comments: "Updating and summarising the available information on Indian Cucurbitaceae and linking it to molecular data and images may help to focus phylogenetic and floristic research on poorly known species, and potentially strengthen conservation efforts. It may also provide vital genetic information to improve the current varieties of pumpkins, cucumbers, and their relatives."

###

Original Source:

Renner SS, Pandey AK (2012) The Cucurbitaceae of India: Accepted names, synonyms, geographic distribution, and information on images and DNA sequences. PhytoKeys 20: 53, doi: 10.3897/phytokeys.20.3948

Licensing

This press release is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. It is expected to link back to the original article.

Posted by Pensoft Publishers.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 11-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Susanne Renner
renner@lrz.uni-muenchen.de
Pensoft Publishers

It had been suggested that the origin of pumpkins and cucumbers can be traced back to India. This has now been confirmed on the basis of genetic analyses performed by German and Indian botanists. The study was published in the open access journal PhytoKeys.

Vegetables are essential components of a healthy daily diet, not just in India but around the globe. Compared to grains and pulses, however, vegetables are under-investigated taxonomically, and information on their genome is scarce. The cucumber family, Cucurbitaceae, includes many of our favorite foods: pumpkins, melon, cucumber, watermelon, bottle gourds, and bitter gourd. Molecular data have recently revealed that both cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) and melon (Cucumis melo L.) are indigenous to India and likely to have originated from the foothills of the Himalayas.

Arun Pandey from the Department of Botany, University of Delhi, India and Susanne Renner from the Departments of Systematic Botany and Mycology, University of Munich, Germany decided to produce a checklist of the Cucurbitaceae of India that would bring up-to-date the information available for that family. The list treats 400 relevant names and provides information on the collecting locations for all type specimens. The list includes 94 species (10 of them endemic to India) from 31 genera.

For each species, the checklist provides distributional information, electronic links to images of living or dried plants, and information on publicly available DNA sequences. Of the 94 species, 79% have DNA sequences in GenBank, albeit rarely stemming from Indian material. The most species-rich genera are Trichosanthes with 22 species, Cucumis with 11 (all but two wild), and the bitter gourd genus, Momordica, with eight. The checklist also includes a phylogenetic reconstruction of the family that shows the DNA-based placement of the 31 Indian genera relative to the World's remaining Cucurbitaceae.

Dr. Suzanne Renner, one of the authors of the article, comments: "Updating and summarising the available information on Indian Cucurbitaceae and linking it to molecular data and images may help to focus phylogenetic and floristic research on poorly known species, and potentially strengthen conservation efforts. It may also provide vital genetic information to improve the current varieties of pumpkins, cucumbers, and their relatives."

###

Original Source:

Renner SS, Pandey AK (2012) The Cucurbitaceae of India: Accepted names, synonyms, geographic distribution, and information on images and DNA sequences. PhytoKeys 20: 53, doi: 10.3897/phytokeys.20.3948

Licensing

This press release is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. It is expected to link back to the original article.

Posted by Pensoft Publishers.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/pp-ngs031113.php

Chase.com Talk Like a Pirate Day raiders Demi Lovato iOS 6 Features

Falklands Sovereignty Referendum Moves Forward, Argentina Rejects Validity Of Malvinas Plebiscite

* Argentina intensifies claim over British-ruled territory
* Islanders vote on keeping sovereignty status quo
* Buenos Aires says referendum illegal, irrelevant
* Oil drilling fuels Argentine calls for negotiations
By Juan Bustamante
STANLEY, Falkland Islands, March 10 (Reuters) - Residents of the Falkland Islands started voting on Sunday in a sovereignty referendum that seeks to counter Argentina's increasingly assertive claim over the British-ruled territory.
Diplomatic tension between Britain and Argentina has flared up after more than three decades since they went to war over the South Atlantic archipelago, and that has unsettled some of the roughly 2,500 islanders.
With patriotic feelings running high, Falklands-born and long-term residents will cast ballots in the two-day referendum in which they will be asked whether they want to stay a British Overseas Territory.
Officials are expected to announce the result at about 8 p.m. (2300 GMT) after polls close on Monday.
An overwhelming "yes" vote is likely, prompting Argentina to dismiss the referendum as a meaningless publicity stunt. A high turnout is expected, however, as islanders embrace it as a chance to make their voices heard.
"We hope the undecideds, or the uninformeds, or those countries that might otherwise be prepared to give the nod to Argentina's sovereignty claim might have pause for thought after the referendum," said John Fowler, deputy editor of the islands' weekly newspaper, the Penguin News.
"This is an attempt to say 'hang on a minute, there's another side to the story'."
People queued to vote at the town hall in the quiet island capital of Stanley, where referendum posters bearing the slogan "Our Islands, Our Choice" adorned front windows. The post office produced a line of official stamps to mark the occasion.
In distant islands and far-flung sheep farms, ballot papers were being flown and driven in by mobile polling stations.
"For me, this referendum is extremely important because I have no wish to be part of Argentina," said Rob McGill, 67, who runs a guesthouse in isolated Carcass Island and voted by post.
"I consider myself a Falkland Islander, but my ancestors came from Britain," he said.

FIERY REMARKS
Some islanders are the descendants of British settlers who arrived eight or nine generations ago and the Falklands retain an unmistakably British character despite a sizeable community of immigrants from Chile and Saint Helena.
Residents say fiery remarks by Argentine President Cristina Fernandez and her foreign minister, Hector Timerman, have galvanized patriotic sentiment on the islands, which lie nearly 8,000 miles (12,700 km) from London and just a 75-minute flight away from southern Argentina.
Tensions have risen with the discovery of commercially viable oil resources in the Falklands basin and by Fernandez's persistent demands for Britain to hold sovereignty talks over the Malvinas, as the islands are called in Spanish.
London says it will only agree to negotiations if the islanders want them, which they show no sign of doing.
Timerman said last month the referendum had the "spirit of a public-relations campaign" and the foreign ministry accused Britain of pursuing "irresponsible initiatives in bad faith."
"This new British attempt to manipulate the Malvinas issue through a vote by the population that it implanted is forcefully rejected by Argentina," a ministry statement said, citing broad Latin American support for Argentina's position.
Argentina says the sovereignty dispute can only be decided between London and Buenos Aires.

MOMENTS OF DETENTE
Argentina has claimed the islands since 1833, saying it inherited them from the Spanish on independence and that Britain expelled an Argentine population.
The sovereignty claim is a constant in Argentine foreign policy, but there have been moments of detente since former dictator Leopoldo Galtieri sent troops to land in the Falklands in April 1982, drawing a swift response from former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
A 10-week war, which killed about 650 Argentines and 255 Britons and ended when Argentina surrendered, is widely remembered in Argentina as a humiliating mistake by the brutal and discredited dictatorship ruling at the time.
No one in Argentina advocates another attempt to take the islands by force, but some analysts say the current tough strategy may prove counterproductive by antagonizing islanders.
"Until Argentina is able to persuade the Falkland Islanders to accept some form of Argentine sovereignty over the islands, Argentina's efforts to reclaim them will be an exercise in futility," said Mark Jones, chair of political science at Houston-based Rice University.
In the islands, where plans for oil production to start in 2017 could further boost the flourishing local economy, most residents are determined to maintain the status quo.
"Our best-case scenario is for them to drop their claim and realize that we are a people, we are a country and we do exist," said Gavin Short, one of the Falklands assembly's eight elected members.
Asked if he thought that might happen, he said: "Not in my lifetime."

Also on HuffPost:

"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/11/falklands-sovereignty-referendum-malvinas-plebiscite_n_2846342.html

kirk cousins ovechkin one world trade center bks new dark knight rises trailer khloe and lamar oklahoma city thunder

Processed meat linked to premature death, large study finds

Mar. 7, 2013 ? In a huge study of half a million men and women, research in Biomed Central's open access journal BMC Medicine demonstrates an association between processed meat and cardiovascular disease and cancer.

One of the difficulties in measuring the effect of eating meat on health is the confounding effect of lifestyle on health. Often vegetarians have healthier lifestyles than the general population, they are less likely to smoke, are less fat, and are more likely to be physically active. Only within a very large study can the consequences of eating meat and processed meat be isolated from other lifestyle choices.

This EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) study involved ten countries and 23 centres in Europe and almost half a million people. In general a diet high in processed meat was linked to other unhealthy choices. Men and women who ate the most processed meat ate the fewest fruit and vegetables and were more likely to smoke. Men who ate a lot of meat also tended to have a high alcohol consumption.

A person's risk of premature death (increased risk of all cause mortality) increased with the amount of processed meat eaten. This is also true after correcting for confounding variables, although residual confounding cannot be excluded. However, a small amount of red meat appeared to be beneficial which the researchers suggest is because meat is an important source of nutrients and vitamins.

Prof Sabine Rohrmann, from the University of Zurich, who led this analysis explained, "Risks of dying earlier from cancer and cardiovascular disease also increased with the amount of processed meat eaten. Overall, we estimate that 3% of premature deaths each year could be prevented if people ate less than 20g processed meat per day."

This article marks the launch of an article collection on Medicine for Global Health in BMC Medicine. The collection focuses on public health initiatives, the development of health care policies and evidence-based guidelines which are needed to address the global burden of disease. Vulnerable populations, especially in low and middle income countries, continue to be seriously affected by non-communicable and infectious diseases including neglected tropical diseases, while complications during pregnancy and childbirth in these regions leave mothers and infants at risk of severe disability or death.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

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:

1. Sabine Rohrmann, Kim Overvad, H Bas Bueno-de-Mesquita, Marianne U Jakobsen, Rikke Egeberg, Anne Tjonneland, Laura Nailler, Marie-Christine Boutron-Ruault, Francoise Clavel-Chapelon, Vittorio Krogh, Domenico Palli, Salvatore Panico, Rosario Tumino, Fulvio Ricceri, Manuela M Bergmann, Heiner Boeing, Kuanrong Li, Rudolf Kaaks, Kay-Tee Khaw, Nicholas J Wareham, Francesca L Crowe, Timothy J Key, Androniki Naska, Antonia Trichopoulou, Dimitirios Trichopoulos, Max Leenders, Petra HM Peeters, Dagrun Engeset, Christine Luise Parr, Guri Skeie, Paula Jakszyn, Maria-Jose Sanchez, Jose M Huerta, M Luisa Redondo, Aurelio Barricarte, Pilar Amiano, Isabel Drake, Emily Sonestedt, Goran Hallmans, Ingegerd Johansson, Veronika Fedirko, Isabelle Romieux, Pietro Ferrari, Teresa Norat, Anne C Vergnau, Elio Riboli, Jakob Linseisen. Meat consumption and mortality - results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. BMC Medicine, 2013; 11 (1): 63 DOI: 10.1186/1741-7015-11-63

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/top_news/top_health/~3/rOJ3xKCgdpE/130306220950.htm

Colorado shooting suspect accuweather Finding Nemo 2 Provigil dez bryant Kitty Wells Marissa Mayer

Drake Takes Subliminal Shots On '5 Am in Toronto'

MTV News' #5 'Hottest MC' aims at naysayers, competitors and an unnamed 'list' on new track.
By Rob Markman

Drake
Photo: Larry Busacca/ Getty Images

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1703173/drake-5am-in-toronto.jhtml

love actually strikeforce davy jones deep impact miesha tate vs ronda rousey idiocracy usssa baseball

Yahoo! HR boss (and mother-of-three) who imposed Marissa Mayer's ban on working from home commutes from New York to California

• Jacqueline Reses makes gruelling trip from New York to California so she can follow her own hugely unpopular dictat
• Reses co-authored memo with Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer banning all Yahoo! staff from home-working - a move that has sparked huge controversy

By Daniel Bates

PUBLISHED: 11:40 EST, 6 March 2013 | UPDATED: 14:03 EST, 6 March 2013

The mother-of-three HR boss at Yahoo! who co-wrote the controversial memo with Marissa Mayer banning staff from working from home commutes from New York to the office in California, it emerged today.

Leading by example, Jacqueline Reses makes the 6,000 miles gruelling round trip so she can follow the hugely unpopular dictat she wrote with the Yahoo! CEO.

The 43-year-old could go to Yahoo!?s small satellite office in New York but instead she has chosen to put herself through dozens of flights each year criss-crossing the country.

Leading from the front: Reses, pictured with her husband Matthew Apfel, flies 6,000 miles to get to the office

High-Flyer: Reses' commute between Sunnyvale California and New York won't be the envy of many

Her commute, revealed by the?New York Times, is all the more surprising as she has three young children with her husband Matthew Apfel, 47, a digital marketer and former head writer for Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.

'Real Deal': Analysts applauded Mayer's appointment of Reses as Yahoo's Executive Vice President of People and Development

Reses was hired in September as Yahoo!?s Executive Vice President of People and Development by Mayer, the company?s new chief executive.

Mayer, 37, has sparked huge controversy over the no work from home memo, seemingly reversing a modern working trend, particularly prevalent in digital companies.

?

It later emerged she made the decision after spying on employee log-ins to see how much they were slacking off and that she has allegedly?built a nursery next to her office which made it easier for the mother-of-one to balance motherhood with her career.

When Reses joined Yahoo! she was described as ?the real deal? by analysts - and now appears to be following through on their predictions.

Home: Reses lives in New York's West Village with her husband and three children but works in California

Retreat: The couple also own this fabulous $4m house in Southampton in the Hamptons

She leaves her $2.5m 11th floor apartment in the West Village in Manhattan where she lives with Apfel and their three daughters and heads to the airport.

Nearly seven hours later she emerges at San Francisco airport and heads to Yahoo!?s office in Sunnyvale where she starts her working day.

It is not clear when Reses returns back to New York, but her commute is likely to involve an overnight flight on Fridays so she can be back home with her family by Saturday mornings - leaving her doubtless exhausted from a lack of sleep.

When Reses wants to unwind she and Apfel also have a $4.3m mansion in The Hamptons although they are currently trying to sell it.

According to the listing with realtor Corcoran, the 3,000 sq ft, five bedroom home is just two blocks from the water in Southampton.

It has a Gunite pool, a two car garage, a generous garden and a private deck in the master bedroom.

Reses and Apfel, who have been married for 21 years, bought the property for $4.05m in 2008 and originally listed it for $4.75m last summer, although they have since dropped the price.

Divided: The move by Mayer has divided opinion about best work practices across the country and not just at the firm's HQ in Sunnyvale, California (above)

Controversy: Yahoo! boss, and mother-of-one, Mayer has sparked huge controversy by telling all staff they can no longer work from home

The decision to hire Reses is already being seen as one of Mayer?s best moves.

As she announced the move, Mayer hailed Reses? ?fresh perspectives? and ?tremendous energy? - something she will doubtless need in the coming months.

Educated in economics at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Reses spent 10 years at private equity giant Apax Partners and seven years at Goldman Sachs before joining Yahoo! on September 7.

She has been named by Crain?s New York Business as one of the ?Most Influential Women? and has been called a ?Dealmaker of the Year? by Dealmaker magazine.

Reses also serves on the boards of a number of non-profit educational organisations such as Global Health Education and Cengage Learning.

Mr Apfel is currently chief digital officer are CORE Media and looks after online marketing for American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance.

He graduated from Tufts University and also served on the Board of Directors for The Kitchen, a music and fine arts collective founded by composer Phillip Glass and Velvet Underground rocker Lou Reed.

A spokesman for Yahoo! today said: 'We don't discuss internal matters. This isn't a broad industry view on working from home - this is about what is right for Yahoo!, right now.'

?

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2289141/Yahoo-HR-boss-mother-imposed-Marissa-Mayers-ban-working-home-commutes-New-York-California.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

Sandy Hook Victims new york times columbine breaking news Google News Newton virginia tech shooting

A Step by Step Approach to Be in Computer Forensics | Careers ...

Working as a computer forensics investigator is exciting and fascinating. It is a technical job related to the computers and network. This profession is not as dangerous as a police officer but the investigator plays an essential role in solving criminal cases. The job satisfaction is indeed great.

Working as a computer forensics investigator is exciting and fascinating. It is a technical job related to the computers and network. This profession is not as dangerous as a police officer but the investigator plays an essential role in solving criminal cases. The job satisfaction is indeed great. Here are some useful tips to guide those people who have great interest in this field to achieve their goal as a digital forensics analyst.

First of all, getting the appropriate education in computer forensics is a MUST. Some people may find that training for this field is expensive but the demand for these professionals is high. In fact, it is more cost saving to pursue the certification courses online. The most important is you need to make sure you receive the recognized qualification as required.

Besides academic qualification, hands-on practice is as important. You should consider an internship while you are studying. Internship offers the opportunity to work in the real environment. It provides platform for you to expand your network with potential future employers. It is also important to ensure that you are really ready to work in such working condition. Having the experience of working as an intern adds some value to your resume.

After you have completed your study, it is time for you to decide which agency you would like to work in. There are many job opportunities in government agencies, law firms, legal agencies, software companies, and even Federal Bureau of Investigation. Once you have identified your preferred employers, you have to start to work out a strong resume and an impressive cover letter. You have to sharpen your interviewing skills and strategy. It is indeed necessary for you to do thorough research on the company or agency you are applying for. This is to show your great interest and sincerity to work there.

To sum up, getting hired successfully in computer forensics is actually a simple task if you are applying a systematic approach.

This entry was posted on March 5, 2013, 5:14 am and is filed under Computer Forensics. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Source: http://www.efectuldesera.org/a-step-by-step-approach-to-be-in-computer-forensics.html

ostara andy kaufman masters 2012 tom watson kawasaki disease resurrection masters tickets

POPE LIVE: End of a papacy, dawn of a retirement

"Pope Live" follows the events of the final day of Pope Benedict XVI's papacy as seen by journalists from The Associated Press around the world. It will be updated throughout the day with breaking news and other items of interest.

___

AN ERA HAS ENDED

In the final moments of Benedict XVI's papacy, the church bells began ringing.

It was 8 p.m. in the Italian hill town of Castel Gandolfo, 8 p.m. in the Vatican, 8 p.m. across Italy ? the chosen time on the chosen day that the one who was chosen decided to retire.

Both Swiss Guards flanked the elegant 20-foot doorway leading into the papal palace in the town. One of them saluted an official. From the crowd ? about 100 well-wishers who braved the freezing temperatures with their children and their dogs ? shouts rang out.

"Long live the pope!"

With precise movements, the guards marched into the palace. The massive wooden doors began closing shut, first one side, then the other. The crowd was applauding, sighing, shivering.

And with the click of a lock, Pope Benedict XVI's eight-year reign as leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics came to a quiet end.

? Frances D'Emilio ? Twitter http://twitter.com/fdemilio

___

CRITICAL VOICE

A critical voice about Benedict as the doors close on his papacy:

As she left St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square in New Orleans' French Quarter, Cheryl Hribar snapped a picture of the long aisle and altar of the city's most famous church and posted it to her Facebook page. Hribar, a Catholic from Lorain, Ohio, says she's been uneasy about the state of the church and hopes a new pope can change that.

"Pope Benedict took us backward," she says. "He wasn't progressive enough. This is 2013. Let's move on, move ahead and do more to reach our young people and get them back in church. We need someone who will do something strong and positive."

? Stacey Plaisance

___

CARDINAL PLANS

Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley says he hadn't been planning any particular observation for the 8 p.m. hour when the pope officially resigned. O'Malley said the more significant moments for him were when the cardinals gathered with Benedict Thursday morning. "And watching him leave for Castel Gandolfo. There was a certain moment of finality in that."

But the 8 o'clock hour? Dinner with friends, probably. "Pretty prosaic," O'Malley says.

Cardinal Francis George of Chicago told reporters at the Pontifical North American College he would say a prayer "that the Holy Spirit will guide us" as the cardinals set about the process of choosing a new pope, most likely from among their ranks.

Then George joked: "I might walk quietly through the corridors here to find out if I get any more deference from the seminarians."

? Colleen Barry ? Twitter http://twitter.com/collbarry

___

OFF THE NET

With the doors of the papal palazzo closed, Benedict XVI has taken his leave of the Vatican's home page too. In place of Benedict's picture, it now reads "Apostolica sedes vacans," referring to the vacancy between papacies.

? Geir Moulson ? Twitter http://twitter.com/gmoulson

___

PAPACY ENDS

The doors of the papal palace have closed. Benedict XVI is no longer pope.

___

PRAYERS IN NYC

In New York City, the Rev. Moses Mary Apreku says Benedict XVI was right to resign if the work had become too onerous. "To me, it's something that the church should really accept, and thank him for his courage and pray for him," Apreku says.

The 40-year-old Apreku is from Ghana, the West African Nation where one of his seminary teachers was Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, considered a contender to become the next pope. Apreku celebrated Mass today for two dozen worshippers scattered around St. Michael's Church in midtown Manhattan, which has room for hundreds.

Apreku says Turkson would make a good pope ? but he's not rooting for him just because they're both from Ghana.

? Karen Matthews ? Twitter http://twitter.com/1karenmatthews

___

WAITING

Huge anticipation is building in Castel Gandolfo.

Both Swiss Guards are standing at attention at the 20-foot high doors to the papal palace.

Only 100 or so townspeople have come back out, some with children, others with their dogs. Most are quiet but light-hearted, waiting for history to be made as Benedict becomes the first pope in 600 years to retire.

? Frances D'Emilio ? Twitter http://twitter.com/fdemilio

___

'A LITTLE CONCERNED'

A long banner with a picture of a waving Pope Benedict XVI hangs from an iron fence outside St. Patrick's Catholic Church, one of the oldest in New Orleans, where traditions like Mardi Gras stem from Catholic roots.

But not everyone was supportive of his decision to step down.

"You can't help but feel emotional today, and maybe a little concerned," said Manolito Martinez, 42, who has attended St. Patrick's since childhood and now serves as the maintenance supervisor. "We're in peril times, with all these allegations, and my opinion is he should have endured this position until the end."

On a receiving table just inside the church, the faithful were invited to take prayer cards with a picture of the resigning pope. The prayer on the reverse side included a note of thanks and hope for the Church's next leader.

? Stacey Plaisance

___

COUNTING DOWN

Retiring Pope Benedict XVI is the 265th leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics ? but only for 26 more minutes.

? Sheila Norman-Culp ? Twitter http://twitter.com/snormanculp

___

COMMENTS FROM PROVIDENCE

In Rhode Island, one of the nation's most Catholic states, several hundred people packed the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Providence for a noontime mass said by Bishop Thomas Tobin of the Diocese of Providence. The cathedral was filled to capacity with Catholic-school students in their uniforms, professionals in suits and people wearing jeans.

Tobin called the pope's resignation historic, humble and courageous, and says he resigned because of his love for the Roman Catholic Church. He called Benedict a pilgrim, a prophet and a bridge-builder and used a sports analogy to describe his time as pope.

"Pope Benedict left everything on the field," Tobin says.

And then this from Liz Ricci of East Providence, R.I., who says she left the Church for a number of years but had come back: "I just think the Lord's got the whole thing under control."

? Erika Niedowski ? http://witter.com/eniedowski

___

READING ABOUT A LIFE

Robei George, 7, sat on a pew at the Cathedral of Saint Mary just north of Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood. He had a black shirt with the words "Pope Benedict XVI" written in white. In his hand, he carried a photo of the pontiff taped to a ruler.

Fifteen minutes before the pope's resignation officially goes into effect, George will walk with a half dozen students to the front of the church. They will hold up his picture and read about his life.

"I'm nervous," George admitted.

He and other children here are disappointed the pope is resigning.

"I was in love with the pope," said Maria Quant, 13. "He taught me how to be holier."

After the readings, the students will say a prayer to guide the selection of a new pope and blow out a candle.

? Christine Armario ? Twitter http://twitter.com/cearmario

___

SAINT ONE DAY?

In Chicago, some Catholics attending Mass at St. Alphonsus Church on the city's North Side ? a church founded as a German national parish more than a century ago and the only church in the city that still occasionally celebrates Mass in German ? say they are saddened by the pope's decision to step down. But many ultimately agree he is doing the proper, even courageous thing.

"He's a very frail man, his body is aging and I don't think (being pope) is something he could handle any more." says Nancy Oliver, a 73-year-old retired nurse. Like a lot of parishioners at a church that still has many German-Americans, she was excited when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became pope eight years ago.

Frank Scharl, 72, agrees. Scharl, whose parents came from Bavaria and were married in the Church in 1930, said that just as German-American parishioners were proud when Pope Benedict assumed the papacy, they are proud of his decision to step down for health reasons.

"Who knows," Scharl says, "he might be a saint someday."

? Don Babwin ? Twitter http://twitter.com/dbabwin

___

AN ARGENTINE POPE?

In Argentina, Benedict XVI's final moments as pope were followed closely by the faithful in Buenos Aires' downtown cathedral.

Leaving Mass, Raquel Gonzalez and her friend Zuni Gimenez paused to dip their fingers in holy water and make the sign of the cross on their chests, then on each other's backs for good measure.

"It would be good if he's an Argentine, but I what would please me is that the coming pope does some good in this world," Gonzalez said of her hopes for the next in line. "That he achieves peace, and persuades those living with so much wealth to share more of it with the poor."

? Michael Warren ? Twitter http://twitter.com/mwarrenap

___

APPLAUSE IN BALTIMORE

Several dozen archdiocese employees in Baltimore were watching the television as Pope Benedict XVI headed into retirement. They applauded when he stepped outside at the Vatican, then watched in silence as his helicopter took off for Castel Gandolfo.

"It was wonderful he came to terms with the fact that this is a huge international corporation and he doesn't have the energy to run this corporation anymore," said Derek Coelho, the director of gift planning for Catholic Charities.

That took "a lot of humility," he added.

? Alex Dominguez ? Twitter ? http://twitter.com/ADominguezAP

___

GERMAN TRIBUTE

Chancellor Angela Merkel and Catholic leaders in the pope's native Germany are offering thanks for his papacy at a Berlin service.

Archbishop Robert Zollitsch says Benedict was "solid as a rock in a fast-changing world."

? Geir Moulson ? Twitter http://twitter.com/gmoulson

___

WHAT THE POPE SAID

The text of Pope Benedict XVI's comments, delivered to a roaring crowd in Castel Gandolfo:

___

Dear friends, I'm happy to be with you, surrounded by the beauty of creation and your well-wishes, which do me such good. Thank you for your friendship, and your affection. You know this day is different for me than the preceding ones: I am no longer the Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church, or I will be until 8 o'clock this evening and then no more.

I am simply a pilgrim beginning the last leg of his pilgrimage on this Earth. But I would still ... thank you ... I would still with my heart, with my love, with my prayers, with my reflection, and with all my inner strength, like to work for the common good and the good of the church and of humanity. I feel very supported by your sympathy.

Let us go forward with the Lord for the good of the church and the world. Thank you, I now wholeheartedly impart my blessing. Blessed be God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Good night! Thank you all!"

___

NEW SHOES

It's all about the shoes.

As Benedict XVI spends his final hours as pope, Mexican media are focused on the pontiff's footwear.

The Vatican said this week that Benedict would abandon his signature ruby red shoes in retirement and wear a comfortable brown pair he was given in the city of Leon when he visited Mexico last year. Leon is a renowned shoemaking center.

Today's headlines in Mexico include: "Benedict XVI will keep using Mexican shoes," and "Benedict XVI loves his shoes from Mexican craftsmen."

?Michael Weissenstein

___

CROWDS DISAPPEAR

Minutes after the pope went back into the palace at Castel Gandolfo, the crowd of several thousand in the piazza outside has disappeared.

Many of the faithful have crammed into the two coffee bars on the square to warm up. Locals, meanwhile, headed home for dinner.

Swiss Guards are still standing at the entrance to the palace. But each is wearing a dark blue woolen mantle down to their knees over their colorful uniforms, trying to stay warm in the winter chill.

In less than 90 minutes, Pope Benedict XVI will be retired.

___

HIGH ALTITUDE

Benedict never visited Bolivia as pope, but impressed one bishop with his knowledge of the poor, landlocked South American nation.

The Rev. Eugenio Escarpellini is bishop of El Alto, a city at 13,000 feet (4,000 meters), where the elevation can put strain on the heart. He recalled meeting Benedict in Rome three years ago and, after telling him where he was from, hearing the pontiff ask, "How's your heart?"

"I was surprised at how knowledgeable he is," Escarpellini told Radio Fides.

Churches across Bolivia collected farewell messages for the pope in hundreds of ledgers and organized rosary-reciting sessions that were to last until a new pope is elected.

Even President Evo Morales, often critical of the Catholic hierarchy, had praise for the pontiff.

"We're not all alike, but the pope's questioning of humanity's problems has made me reflect and I express my solidarity," Morales said last week.

? Carlos Valdez ? Twitter http://twitter.com/cvaldezm

___

'LONG LIVE THE POPE!'

Benedict XVI was on the balcony at Castel Gandolfo for a little over a minute, speaking his last public words as pope.

"I am simply a pilgrim who is starting the last part of his journey," the 85-year-old told the crowd, wearing only a white robe in the chilly evening air.

They shouted back "Long live the pope!"

"Thank you, goodnight!" Benedict replied before going back inside the palace.

A few minutes later, aides came out on the balcony, pulled off the papal banner, rolled it up and brought it inside the palace. The glass doors to the balcony were quickly clicked shut and the white curtains behind them tightly drawn.

Within seconds, the crowd of a few thousand in the piazza dwindled to a few hundred.

? Frances D'Emilio ? Twitter http://twitter.com/fdemilio

___

THE POPE'S BROTHER

Benedict XVI's elder brother says his final day as pontiff on Thursday was more of a private matter than his big send-off.

Monsignor Georg Ratzinger told Germany's RTL television at his home in Regensburg, Germany, that Wednesday's farewell in St. Peter's Square was "the most important day for me." He says it was Benedict XVI's last encounter with the faithful "and with that, the essential has actually already happened."

He said: "Today is more private, a sort of an accessory matter, at least according to my point of view."

Georg Ratzinger, who is 89, was ordained on the same day in 1951 as his brother, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

? Geir Moulson ? Twitter http://twitter.com/gmoulson

___

LAST WORDS AS POPE

"Thank you, goodnight!" Pope Benedict XVI's final public comments as pope from the balcony at Castel Gandolfo.

? Frances D'Emilio ? Twitter http://twitter.com/fdemilio

___

QUICKQUOTE: BENEDICT

"I am simply a pilgrim who is starting the last part of his journey." ? Pope Benedict XVI on the balcony at Castel Gandolfo.

? Frances D'Emilio ? Twitter http://twitter.com/fdemilio

___

AMERICANS SAY GOODBYE

Catholic churches across the U.S. are opening their doors for prayer timed with the end of Pope Benedict XVI's reign.

At the Cathedral of St. Mary in Miami, school children will read from Benedict's writings, then blow out a candle in front of his photo at 2 p.m., the moment Benedict has chosen to step down.

At the same time, a Mass for the Election of a New Pope will be celebrated at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. The Archdiocese of Detroit is planning a holy hour of prayer from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament. Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley, who is in Rome and will vote in the conclave to elect the next pontiff, asked churches in his archdiocese to ring bells for eight minutes starting at 1:52 p.m. to honor Benedict's ministry.

? Rachel Zoll, AP Religion Writer, https://twitter.com/rzollAP

___

POPE ON THE BALCONY

As Pope Benedict XVI appears on the balcony at Castel Gandolfo, people in the crowd below start screaming his name. He must wait before he can even speak to them.

? Frances D'Emilio ? Twitter http://twitter.com/fdemilio

___

THE POPE SPEAKS

Benedict XVI greets the faithful for the last time as pope from the balcony of the papal retreat.

___

'BENEDETTO, BENEDETTO'

As a helicopter whirs overhead, bells start ringing more furiously than before. The crowd in the Castel Gandolfo square starts cheering and chanting, "Benedetto, Benedetto" in rhythm.

? Frances D'Emilio ? Twitter http://twitter.com/fdemilio

___

THE PAPAL RETREAT

The Pope has arrived at the papal estate in Castel Gandolfo, as crowds in the town square cheer and wave flags.

___

BELLS IN ROME

Bells are tolling in Rome as the papal helicopter leaves Vatican, flies toward the Castel Gandolfo papal retreat.

The pope's loyal secretary Georg Gaenswein was seen weeping as he accompanied Benedict in his final walk down a Vatican corridor.

? Joji Sakurai ? Twitter ? http://twitter.com/jojisakurai

___

THE ARRIVAL

The Pope's helicopter lands at the pad in Castel Gandolfo, where he is greeted by well-wishers.

___

TWEETING GOODBYE

A final tweet from the first pope to have his own Twitter account, (at)Pontifex, sent shortly before his departure from the Vatican: "Thank you for your love and support. May you always experience the joy that comes from putting Christ at the centre of your lives."

Follow AP reporters on Twitter where available.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pope-live-end-papacy-dawn-retirement-190621921.html

revenge adam shulman adam shulman peanut butter recall jason aldean Brigitte Nielsen Cricinfo