Thursday, March 31, 2011

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Dominique Wilkins: Why Was Hawks Legend Attacked by Ex NBA Ref?

Rashan S. Michel says that Wilkins owed him money. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution broke the story that a former NBA and college basketball referee hit Wilkins in the chest because "he was owed money for suits purchased several years ago."

Michel owned his own clothing store and allegedly Wilkins never paid him. Attacking someone is never the answer when there is a problem. I guess Michel didn't learn that in grade school. 

The 36-year-old former ref chose the wrong guy to mess with. Sekou Smith of NBA.com tweeted, "Wilkins got in three 'solid' punches during the brief fight, while his assailant landed none." 

Wilkins is 51 years old and gave Michel a memorable mug shot. He has yet to discuss the matter, but I'm sure Wilkins eventually will. It's one of those situations where you say "I'm all right, but that other guy, he better not come at me again."

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Premature championship shirts lead to title game upset

The ancient Greeks often spoke of hubris and how it would lead to a man's downfall. Time and time again, that ancient wisdom has proven prophetic in sports, a truism that was borne out at the scholastic level on Saturday, when Long Island (N.Y.) Lutheran High beat Manhasset (N.Y.) St. Mary's School in the state's Class A state championship game.
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Grim discovery in tank confirms worst fears

LOGAN, Ohio - Every day during the week that Summer Inman was missing, her 71-year-old grandmother talked to her, willing her to come home to her family.

"I told her, 'Hang in there.' I would say, 'Hang tough, Summer,'" said Herberta Chambers of Logan.

Authorities found the body of Summer Inman, 25, on Tuesday night, after her mother-in-law - charged in her disappearance - told authorities where to look.

The body was inside a buried septic tank behind Faith Tabernacle Church, along Rt.33 near Nelsonville. There was a lid atop the tank.

The Athens County coroner said Inman was strangled by a rope or a cord.

The abomination of someone putting her granddaughter's body into the filth and waste of a septic tank floored Chambers.

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Twin Baby Boys Have a Conversation! on Shine

Twin Baby Boys Have a Conversation! on Shine: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Giants pitcher Barry Zito suffers minor injuries in traffic accident in West Hollywood, police say

On the eve of opening day, San Francisco Giants pitcher Barry Zito suffered apparently minor injuries after being involved in a two-car collision in West Hollywood.

The accident happened at about 7:50 p.m. Wednesday at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Sunset Plaza Drive.

Zito was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and later released. Details of the accident were unavailable.
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Suicide attack in NW Pakistan kills 12, injures 31

CHARSADDA, PAKISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- At least 12 people were killed and another 31 people were injured on Thursday after a suicide attack in northwest Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, local authorities said.

The state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said the attacker was apparently targeting a convoy carrying Jamiat-i-Ulema Islam-Farzal (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman as it passed Nowshera road in Charsadda, a town in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

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Microsoft Files EU Antitrust Complaint Against Google

Microsoft on Thursday formally joined the EU antitrust complaint against Google, accusing the search giant of restricting access to YouTube, content from book publishers, advertiser data, and more.

Specifically, Microsoft filed a complaint with the European Commission as part of its ongoing investigation into whether Google violated European competition law.

"Google has done much to advance its laudable mission to 'organize the world's information,' but we're concerned by a broadening pattern of conduct aimed at stopping anyone else from creating a competitive alternative," Brad Smith, Microsoft's senior vice president and general counsel, wrote in a blog post.

The debate dates back to February 2010, when Google announced that the European Commission had received complaints from three companies about "whether Google is doing anything to choke off competition or hurt our users and partners." Those companies were Foundem, ejustice.fr, and Ciao! from Bing. Julia Holtz, Google's competition counsel, said at the time that two of the companies - Ciao! from Bing, a Microsoft acquisition; and Foundem - had ties to rival Microsoft. Ciao was purchased by Microsoft in 2008. Last month, 1plusV, a parent company of eJustice.fr, joined the complaint.

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Short List to Replace Warren Buffett Gets Shorter By One Name

One of Warren Buffett's lieutenants has suddenly stepped down.  A a dodgy stock transaction that "wasn't a factor" in his departure nonetheless means he is trailed by a cloud:
In an unusual and personal announcement, Mr. Buffett said the resignation followed revelations that Mr. Sokol had purchased roughly $10 million in shares of a chemicals company that Berkshire recently agreed to buy at the suggestion of Mr. Sokol, Lubrizol Corp.
Mr. Buffett said Mr. Sokol, 54 years old, had bought 96,060 shares in January, before Berkshire reached a $9 billion deal to acquire the company. Berkshire's purchase price of $135 per share meant that Mr. Sokol's stake rose $3 million in value.
Mr. Buffett said he and Mr. Sokol didn't feel the Lubrizol purchases were "in any way unlawful." 
 The SEC is reviewing the Berkshire press release and considering whether to launch an investigation, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

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Britain: Libyan foreign minister could be prosecuted

LONDON—British Foreign Secretary William Hague on Thursday hailed the defection of Libya's top diplomat as a sharp blow to embattled dictator Moammar Gaddafi and urged other members of the Libyan government to leave as well.
"Gaddafi's regime, which has already seen significant defections to the opposition, is fragmented, under pressure and crumbling from within," Hague told reporters at a news conference in central London. "Gaddafi must be asking himself, 'Who will be the next to abandon him'?"

Kusa--long regarded as one of Gaddafi's most trusted and loyal confidants--flew in to Farnborough Airport southwest of London from Tunisia on Wednesday and announced he was resigning his post, according to the British Foreign Office. 

Kusa, who was Libya's intelligence chief for 15 years before becoming foreign minister in 2009, is the most senior regime figure to abandon Gaddafi.

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Wal-Mart tries thinking smaller

Wal-Mart Stores (WMT, news) has begun building its first Express stores, a format less than a tenth the size of an average supercenter, according to building permits obtained by Bloomberg News.

The world's largest retailer has begun construction on a 14,400-square-foot store in Gentry, Ark., a town of 3,158 about 20 miles southwest of the company's Bentonville headquarters, according to the permits.

While Wal-Mart has kept details of the new stores a closely guarded secret, Steve Restivo, a company spokesman, confirmed the location of the store opening and the timing.

Work on similar stores in nearby Prairie Grove and Gravette is also expect to begin this month, said town officials. Each new store will feature a pharmacy and a grocery section.

"Wal-Mart's U.S. store fleet is designed for yesterday's retail wars," said Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners in New Canaan, Conn. "If they want to capture their rightful share of today's shopping trips, they have to have a smaller format. God bless supercenters, but they are not designed to get in and out of within five minutes."

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Fukushima shines light on U.S. problem: 63,000 tons of spent fuel

The Fukushima Daiichi disaster is focusing attention on a problem that has bedeviled Washington policymakers since the dawn of the nuclear age -- what to do with used nuclear fuel.

Currently, spent fuel -- depleted to the extent it can no longer effectively sustain a chain reaction -- is stored in large pools of water, allowing the fuel to slowly cool and preventing the release of radiation.

But events in Japan, where two of the six spent fuel pools at the Fukushima Daiichi facility were compromised, have raised questions about practices at the nation's 104 nuclear reactors, which rely on a combination of pools and dry casks to store used fuel.

"I truly believe we must re-think how we manage spent fuel," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, said at a Senate appropriations
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Daily Game Mar 31 - Red Dragon Rampage

Protect your big old daddy from the waves of enemies trying to take him down.

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Wednesday, March 30, 2011

First Celebrity Contestant Eliminated On 'Dancing With The Stars'; Chris Brown Gets Standing Ovation, Twice

It turns out one "Dancing with the Stars" celebrity contestant was indeed too racy for TV.

"Loveline" radio host Mike Catherwood became the first star eliminated on Season 12 of "Dancing with the Stars" on Tuesday night, taking his sexy, but not quite rhythm-friendly hip gyrations, and definitely PG-13 rated promotional show interviews, out of the ballroom.

PLAY IT NOW: Mike Catherwood On His 'Dancing With The Stars' Debut: 'Dancing's Terrible!'

"To be mentioned alongside the names [David] Hasselhoff and [Kenny] Mayne, it puts me on the Mount Rushmore of terrible dancers," Mike said of being of being the first to get the boot in his season, an honor he now shares with the former "Knight Rider" star and ESPN journalist who both were axed first in their own seasons.

"It feels good, [Tom] Bergeron," Mike added. "It feels good."

VIEW THE PHOTOS: 'Dancing With The Stars' Season 12 Cast: Then & Now


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Obama to outline new energy policy with push for electric cars, natural gas trucks, fuel-efficiency

With gas prices on the rise, President Barack Obama later today is expected to outline his new energy plan that aims to reduce foreign oil imports by a third in ten years.

Obama will unveil the plan at Georgetown University, and the auto industry will be watching closely.
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NASA Spacecraft Snaps 1st Photo of Mercury from Orbit

The first spacecraft ever to circle Mercury has beamed home the first-ever photo taken of the small rocky planet from orbit, showing a stark landscape peppered with craters.

NASA's Messenger spacecraft snapped the new Mercury photo today (March 29) at 5:20 a.m. EDT (0920 GMT). The photo shows the stark gray landscape of southern Mercury, a view that is dominated by a huge impact crater. [See the first photo of Mercury from orbit]

"This image is the first ever obtained from a spacecraft in orbit about the solar system's innermost planet," Messenger mission scientists explained in a statement.

The new Mercury photo shows a region around the south pole of Mercury. A 53-mile (85-kilometer) wide crater called Debussy clearly stands out in the upper right of the image, with bright rays emanating from its center. [More photos of Mercury from Messenger]

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History Backs Bernanke Betting Volatility Variable Won’t Hurt

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is betting that surging prices for food and fuel won't wind up breaking the cost of living for Americans. The historical record shows the odds are in his favor.

The Fed watches two key measures of inflation, known to economists as headline and core. The first is based on a basket of goods and services bought by the average American consumer. The second strips out volatile food and energy prices, providing a better picture of long-term trends.

While both have averaged about 2 percent a year since 1996, based on the personal-consumption expenditures index, headline inflation has jumped as high as 4.5 percent and fallen to minus 1 percent. In the same period, changes in core prices ranged from increases of 0.7 percent to 2.6 percent.

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Mila Kunis Says Natalie Portman Worked Her A** Off

Mila Kunis - "Black Swan" actress Mila Kunis has jumped to the aid of the Natalie Portman body double controversy. Last week Natalie Portman's body double Sarah Lane denied that Portman did most of the work. Portman's fiance who also choreographed the film and the film's producer all jumped to defend Natalie. Now her co-star Mila Kunis shares her two cents.

"Natalie danced her a** off," Kunis told Entertainment Weekly. "I think it's unfortunate that this is coming out and taking attention away from [the praise] Natalie deserved and got. It was more like a safety net. If Nat wasn't able to do something, you'd have a safety net. The same thing that I had -- I had a double as a safety net. We all did. No one ever denied it."


"Black Swan" director Darren Aronofsky also shared his views,
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Heat Vs. Cavaliers: LeBron James Triple-Doubles His Old Team, But Cleveland Has Last Laugh

This was how it was supposed to go the first time the Miami Heat visited the Cleveland Cavaliers, back on Dec. 2. The Heat would be rattled by the loud and contemptuous Cleveland crowd, the awful Cavs would play over their heads, and a playoff atmosphere would make our wildest dreams come true. Instead, in December, Miami blew Cleveland out of the water, and a world was left wondering why Daniel Gibson was talking to LeBron James from the bench.

But we got our battle on Tuesday, as the Cavs stepped up and beat the Heat 102-90. LeBron had a triple-double with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, but Dwyane Wade couldn't go nuts and Chris Bosh wilted. Wade shot just 8-20 from the floor on his way to 24 points. Bosh scored 10 points of 5-14 shooting, and had his shot blocked four times, a couple of them accomplished by Ryan Hollins.

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10-Year-Old Boy Does Amazing Pop-and-Lock For 'Norway's Got Talent'

Do you like videos of people dancing very well on overseas talent competitions? Good, here's another one: Tord Korsvik, age 10, wowed judges on "Norway's Got Talent" last week with his excellent pop-and-lock routine, and now the video is burning up the internet. Korsvik is a master of the rigid, robot-style dance, which was popularized in breakdancing movies that were made more than two decades before he was even born.

 

Some, like Warming Glow, think too much time was spent on the judges' reactions -- which were the expected, stunned "this kid is amazing" expressions. I agree. Who cares about them? Show us the kid!:

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Britney Spears 'Stumbled Upon Me' For Femme Fatale, Sabi Says

There are three collaborations on Britney Spears' brand-new Femme Fatale. Black Eyed Peas leading man will.i.am produced and appears on "Big Fat Bass," Travis Barker lends his drumming skills to the bonus track "Don't Keep Me Waiting," and the club track "(Drop Dead) Beautiful" features a newcomer: singer/rapper Sabi.

MTV News caught up with Sabi a few weeks before Britney's album dropped on Tuesday and, at the time, the pop newbie was still pretty floored about her appearance on the album, which is the focus of "Britney Spears: I Am the Femme Fatale," a special airing Sunday at 9 p.m. ET. on MTV.

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Texas A&M, Connecticut Advance to Semifinals in NCAA Women’s Basketball

The University of Connecticut advanced to the national semifinals of the women's college basketball tournament for the fourth straight year, and will be joined there by a Texas A&M University team making its Final Four debut.

Maya Moore had 28 points, 10 rebounds and seven steals last night to lead the top-seeded Huskies (36-1) to a 75-40 win against No. 2 Duke University in the Philadelphia Regional final. Sydney Carter was high scorer with 22 points for the No. 2 Aggies in their 58-46 upset of top-seeded Baylor University in the Dallas Regional championship.

Connecticut earned a spot in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Final Four against the University of Notre Dame in Indianapolis on April 3. The Big East conference rivals have met three times this season, with Connecticut winning all three -- including the Big East tournament championship game. The Aggies will meet Stanford in the other semifinal.

"It's going to be rough," Moore said. "We know each other so well and there are not a lot of surprises. It's going to be a battle to grind it out.
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‘Mother of All’ Cricket Matches Diverts Market Traders in Mumbai, Karachi

Financial workers in Mumbai are stopping work early this afternoon as traders join what may be a record Indian television audience for the nation's cricket World Cup semi-final against Pakistan.

Standard Chartered Plc (STAN), Bharti Axa General Insurance and Pramerica Asset Managers Pvt. are among companies that allowed staff in India's financial capital to watch the event that began 2.30 p.m. local time in the northern state of Punjab. In Pakistan, the Karachi Stock Exchange closed 90 minutes early and government workers were given the afternoon off.

"The market has virtually gone to sleep at the moment, all eyes are on the TV screens," said Sandeep Bagla, senior vice president in charge of rates trading at ICICI Primary Dealership, who is watching the match in his office. "It has been a very long time since I saw markets this quiet."

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Texas A&M cancer researchers get $2.7 million grant

In his Texas A&M University lab, 34-year-old researcher Feng Qiao chips away at figuring out a way to turn off enzyme telomerase in cancer cells, which could lead to a cure of most cancers.

"We're hoping we can achieve that goal in the next 10 years, and we're getting closer," said Qiao, an assistant professor of biochemistry and biophysics, from his office this week.

On Tuesday, he and six other researchers within the A&M System stood beside a check for $2.7 million for cancer research and prevention efforts.

The Austin-based Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas presented the awards at a ceremony in the atrium of Texas A&M's Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Building.

Established in 2007 by voters, the institute provides money for cancer-related research and prevention efforts to Texas-based researchers.

It's touted as making Texas a leader in state funding of cancer research. The Constitutional Amendment that created it called for $3 billion in funding spread over 10 years through the sale of bonds.

"The state stepped up to the plate and took bold, decisive action -- action that is unparalleled by any other state in the country," said Rebecca Garcia, CPRIT chief prevention officer.

Jeffrey Seemann, chief research officer for the A&M System and Texas A&M University vice president for research, said in 2007 -- the last year complete data is available -- cancer cost the state $21.9 billion, and the nation $220 billion, and claimed 37,000 lives in Texas in 2010.

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Gaddafi forces recapture Ras Lanuf

Hammered by Gaddafi's tanks, heavy guns and rockets, rebel forces were in panicky retreat in east Libya on Wednesday, fleeing from the oil towns of Ras Lanuf and Brega prompting US and its allies to mull arming the ragtag fighters. Having halted the rebels march 100 kms from their leaders hometown o f Sirte, Gaddafi's armoured columns chased the rebels right into Ras Lanuf, 370 kms west of the opposition stronghold of Benghazi, Al Jazeera reported.

Faced by a heavy barrage of shells exploding all round them, the rebel fighters fled on board pickup trucks reversing in advance triggered by heavy strikes carried out by French and British fighters on March 19.

"We can't fight tanks with our machine guns," the Arab channel quoted opposition fighters as saying, as they beseeched for intervention by allied war planes.

"Tell Sarkozy and Cameron that we need help and without air strikes Gaddafi will massacre us," the rebel fighters said as Obama administration did not rule out the possibility of arming the rebels.

"I'm not ruling it out. But I'm also not ruling it in. We're assessing what Gaddafi is upto," US President Barack Obama said.

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Govt sued over reflexology ban

REFLEXOLOGISTS have dragged government to court contesting the directive for the immediate closure of all reflexology centres, and banning of their promotions in the country.

On Friday March 24, they filed an application for judicial review at the Commercial Court in Kampala through Kavuma Kabenge and Company Advocates.

They contend that the government never consulted them before the order was made. The applicants, an umbrella body Uganda Reflexiologists
Association of Uganda, and Alleluia Reflexology Health Solution and Nutrition Centre Limited.

Judicial review is conducted by the High Court in relation to proceedings plus decisions taken by subordinate courts and inferior tribunals or bodies. The Commercial Court is a division of the High Court.

The respondents in the application are the Health minister, Steven Mallinga and the Attorney General (AG) who is the Government's representative in the courts, as well as advisor on all legal matters.

"The impugned closure and banning of reflexology centres in Uganda and their activities failed to separate the wheat from the chaff and were therefore gratuitously unfair," the reflexologists contend.

Reflexology is based on the perception that each body part is represented on the hands and feet and that pressing on specific areas on the hands or feet can have therapeutic effects in other parts of the body.

Minister Mallinga last week said Government had resolved to have all the reflexology centres in the country closed.
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Daily Game Mar 30 - BinB

Defeat all the monsters to gain access to the next level in a classic style arcade game.

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Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Libya troops advance east; powers want Gaddafi out

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Muammar Gaddafi's better armed and organized troops reversed the rapid westward advance of rebels on Tuesday as world powers meeting in London piled pressure on the Libyan leader to step down.

A conference of 40 governments and international bodies agreed to press on with a NATO-led aerial bombardment of Libyan forces until Gaddafi complied with a U.N. resolution to end violence against civilians.

It also set up a contact group comprising 20 countries and organizations, including Arab states, the African Union and the Arab League, to coordinate international support for an orderly transition to democracy in Libya.

"All of us must continue to increase the pressure on and deepen the isolation of the Gaddafi regime through other means as well," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said after the London talks finished.

"This includes a unified front of political and diplomatic pressure that makes clear to Gaddafi that he must go."

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For 12-year old astrophysics prodigy, the sky’s the limit

In some ways, Jacob Barnett is just like any other 12-year-old kid. He plays Guitar Hero, shoots hoops with his friends, and has a platonic girlfriend.

But in other ways, he's a little different. Jake, who has an IQ of 170, began solving 5,000-piece jigsaw puzzles at the age of 3, not long after he'd been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a mild form of autism. A few years later, he taught himself calculus, algebra, and geometry in two weeks. By 8, he had left high school, and is currently taking college-level advanced astrophysics classes—while tutoring his older classmates. And he's being recruited for a paid researcher job by Indiana University.

Now, he's at work on a theory that challenges the Big Bang—the prevailing explanation among scientists for how the universe came about. It's not clear how developed it is, but experts say he's asking the right questions.

"The theory that he's working on involves several of the toughest problems in astrophysics and theoretical physics," Scott Tremaine of Princeton University's Institute for Advanced Studies—where Einstein (pictured) himself worked—wrote in an email to Jake's family. "Anyone who solves these will be in line for a Nobel Prize."

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Police halts pro-Gadaffi demo in Uganda

THE Police yesterday blocked a pro-Gadaffi demonstration in Kampala. The demonstration was organised by the Global Pan African Movement against the actions of the Western powers in Libya.

Allied forces led by the US, UK and France are enforcing a no-fly zone in Libya to prevent Libyan President Muammar Gadaffi from killing Libyans.

Addressing journalists at the Pan African square, Kampala Metropolitan Police chief Grace Turyagumanawe said the demonstrators had not sought permission from the police.

"They are not expected at Parliament and some embassies are threatened by the pro-Gadaffi supporters in Uganda. We cannot tolerate this," he said.

Turyagumanawe said he discussed the matter with the group's leaders and advised them to hold their demonstration inside the Pan African square.

Pan-Africanism is a socio-political movement which seeks to unify native Africans and those of African heritage into a "global African community.

The demonstrators led by their secretary general, Steven Othieno, called on the Western allies to immediately cease their interference in the Libya crisis.

They were holding placards that read, 'Africa is no longer a colony, Africa supports the African Union's mediations in Libya, Down with Sarkozy, Berlusconi and Cameron.

Othieno urged Africa to unite and resolve the crisis.

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World's highest hotel opens in Hong Kong

HONG KONG (AFP) – The world's highest hotel opened its doors in Hong Kong on Tuesday, housed in the city's tallest skyscraper and offering unrivalled panoramic views of the world famous Victoria Harbour.

Towering some 490 metres (1,600 feet) above the bustling, chaotic streets of the Southern Chinese city, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel is making a grand comeback after temporarily closing in 2008.

Visitors peered out of the floor-to-ceiling windows of the 118th floor of the International Commerce Centre, which houses the hotel, for a 360 degree view of the glitzy financial hub and the South China Sea.

"We're opening an iconic hotel which took us about 10 years to build," president and chief operations officer Herve Humler told reporters.

"We are taking luxury to new heights in every sense," he added.

The Ritz-Carlton however will likely lose the world's highest hotel title in 2014, according to media reports, when the J-Hotel opens near the top of the over 600-metre Shanghai Tower in mainland China.

"People compete all around the world about everything -- I'm sure someone somewhere is building an even taller building as we speak," Humler said. "We emphasise service."

The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong also will be one of the most expensive places to stay in a city already packed with luxury hotels, with the rack rate starting at HK$ 6,000 (US$770) a night for a deluxe room.

A presidential suite is going for HK$100,000.

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Rosie O'Donnell Is Moving Into Oprah Winfrey's Studio



The Titans of Talk unite!

Rosie O'Donnell posted big news on her blog Monday night when she announced that her eagerly-anticipated talk show will call Oprah Winfrey's OWN Network home this fall.
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Women vs Walmart: Supreme Court Hears Argument in Sexual Discrimination Suit

On Tuesday , when the Supreme Court opens for oral arguments, employees across the country — especially women — should be very interested. The high court is hearing arguments on a long-running gender discrimination lawsuit against Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer. At issue: whether women who have worked at the company will be granted class-action status to sue the company for discrimination (Led by Wal-Mart veterans Betty Dukes and Christine Kwapnoski, this would be the largest class-action suit in history, with between 600,000 and 1.5 million potential plaintiffs).

In litigation that started a decade ago, female Wal-Mart employees are charging that they've been overlooked when it comes to hiring and promotion at the nation's largest private-sector employer. For its part, the company argues that it has strong anti-discrimination policies in place at the corporate level, and that hiring and promotion are decentralized. The case, Dukes vs. Walmart, could be used to set a new precedent for such litigation, which is one of the reasons many business groups have chimed in on the side of Wal-Mart.

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Orlando Magic get tripped up by New York Knicks in OT Anthony's 39 points trump Howard's 29

NEW YORK ---- The mounting odds and the New York Knicks were too much to overcome for the Orlando Magic – or what was left of them.

The Magic had only eight players available in the second half, and fell to the struggling Knicks 113-106 Monday night in overtime at Madison Square Garden.

They also lost Dwight Howard in the extra period after he fouled out and picked up his 17th technical foul (one more tech and he will be suspended for a game). "It was tough after that," coach Stan Van Gundy said.

Howard protested his sixth foul on an offensive rebound with one minute, 17 seconds left, and Orlando behind 108-106. He angrily flung the ball to the other end of the floor.
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Susan Lucci - Susan Lucci Reveals Her Life Struggles In New Book

Susan Lucci - "All my Children" vet Susan Lucci has released her memoir "All my Life" today (3.29).

Susan Lucci hopes to share with the public her life struggles Harper Collins describes as, "the childhood guilt she harbored over the death of her dear grandmother, the car accident that nearly took away her career and her eyesight, her newborn son's life-threatening illness, coping with her husband's cancer, and the pain of miscarriage".

Of the memoir Susan said, "It's been a labor of love."
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Magic Vs. Knicks: Carmelo Anthony Powers New York To Streak-Busting Win Over Orlando

Carmelo Anthony scored 39 points and added 10 rebounds as the New York Knicks broke their six-game losing streak in bombastic fashion, knocking off the Orlando Magic in overtime 113-106. 'Melo was brilliant in the third quarter, as his 19 points countered Dwight Howard's 15 in the period to keep New York in the game. Anthony added 11 in the fourth and got some help from Toney Douglas and Chauncey Billups.

Howard had a monster game, with 29 points and 18 rebounds before fouling out in extra time. Dwight added salt to the wound by picking up a post-ejection technical foul, bringing his season total to 17. Upon receiving his next tech, he'll be suspended one game by the league. More importantly in the immediate, the technical gave the Knicks an extra free throw when the Magic trailed by just two points with a minute and change left. Billups sunk it, and the Magic never scored again.

But before all of that, Howard did remind us why Mike D'Antoni is loathe to ask Amar'e Stoudemire to defend the Magic All-Star.

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Charlie Sheen's Tour Is Not Selling Out, After All

The official line on Charlie Sheen's ill-defined touring show is that he's been selling out venues around the country, and in record time. It's a great comeback story for the recently fired star of "Two and a Half Men" — or it would be, if it were true.

 

CNBC contributor Jane Wells has looked into the matter, and reports that, in fact, many tickets to Sheen's shows are still available. The tour kicks off this Saturday in Detroit, where, Wells found, there were many tickets to be had. Secondary ticket sellers seem to have bought the bulk of the inventory, but are apparently finding demand to be less than expected: When Wells checked on StubHub, she discovered that "many tickets are selling for LESS THAN FACE VALUE [emphasis hers, though I certainly endorse it]."

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UPDATE 1-Rice: US has not ruled out arming Libyan rebels

WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said on Tuesday that the Obama administration has not ruled out arming the rebels fighting to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

"We have not made that decision, but we've not certainly ruled that out," she said in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America" program.

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Obama's Libya Speech: The Doctrine Is Clear, but the Mission Isn't

Barack Obama's speech on Libya last night was a curious beast — both ambitious and cautious at once. The president surprised Washington by articulating a big idea about American power. But he may have disappointed Americans by dancing around the challenge that remains in Libya.

Obama was clear enough, to be sure, about why he chose to intervene in Libya. With his army outside Benghazi, Obama said, Moammar Gaddafi was prepared to commit "a massacre that would have reverberated across the region and stained the conscience of the world." That would not just have been a moral abomination, the president argued, but a strategic calamity that might send droves of refugees into Egypt and Tunisia, straining their fragile transitions; it would also set an example to other tyrants that "that violence is the best strategy to cling to power." Moreover, Obama said that to allow Gaddafi to defy the United Nations would be "crippling [to] its future credibility."


Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2062014,00.html#ixzz1HzYBI300

Lorraine Nicholson: Following In Dad Jack Nicholson's Footsteps With 'Soul Surfer'

Lorraine Nicholson is just 20, but she's already following in the acting footsteps of her famous father, Jack Nicholson .

"I think it opens up a lot of doors, but it's up to me to go through them," Lorraine told Access Hollywood Live's Kit Hoover and guest co-host Dean McDermott on Monday of having the Nicholson name in Hollywood.

PLAY IT NOW : Access Hollywood Live: Lorraine Nicholson On Growing Up With Jack Nicholson As Her Dad & Her 'Soul Surfer' Big Break

The latest door she broke through on her own led Lorraine to a starring role in "Soul Surfer," playing Alana Blanchard, the best friend of Bethany Hamilton, the young woman who didn't let losing her arm to a shark attack stop her from achieving her wave riding dreams.

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Uganda: Police Officer Fires on Crowd, Killing 2

A Ugandan police officer opened fire on a crowd of people after an attempted robbery, killing at least two people and critically wounding others, officials said Monday, days after a report was published alleging human-rights abuses by the national police.

The violence started around noon on Monday, when witnesses say a man tried to steal a motorcycle in Kampala, the capital. As he tried to run away, a mob descended on him, beating the man severely while a second suspect escaped. The mob then set the man on fire as he lay bleeding in the middle of the street.

When the police arrived, one officer fired on the crowd, including the mob and bystanders, immediately killing at least two people and wounding at least three others. The crowd soon turned violent again, hurling stones at the police, before being dispersed.

The police said the officer was immediately disarmed and arrested, and may be charged with murder.

"It is unfortunate," said Idi Ssenkumbi, spokesman for Kampala Metropolitan Police. "We wanted to rescue people but ended up killing others."

He said two people were taken to a hospital with gunshot wounds, and that the presumed, would-be thief had died from the beating and burning.

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New York law firm, advertising agency under fire over 9/11 ad

One of New York's Bravest is objecting to the use of his likeness in a poster marketing the services of a New York law firm that specializes in 9/11-related illnesses.

The ad in question features a firefighter holding a photo of the devastated World Trade Center site, accompanied by the words, "I was there. And now, Worby Groner Edelman & Napoli Bern is there for me." And therein lies the issue: the man in the ad, Robert Keiley, didn't become a firefighter until 2004.

According to the New York Post's Reuven Fenton and Jennifer Fermino, Keiley is particularly upset that the photo in the poster was manipulated from a generic promotional photo for the department--of Keiley holding his fire helmet. The law firm's ad agency, Barker/DZP, swapped a picture of the World Trade Center in place of the helmet. They then debuted the poster at a fundraiser, the World Police Fire Games Event Gala; a move Keiley thinks makes him look like a "scumbag."

"It's an insult to the Fire Department. It's an insult to all the families who lost people that day," Keiley, an ex-cop who also works part-time as a model and actor, told the Post. "It makes me look like I'm cashing in on 9/11, saying I was there even though I was never there, and that I'm sick and possibly suing, trying to get a chunk of money."

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Daily Game Mar 29 - DarkBase: Alien RTS

The DarkBase marines started the war and now it's up to the aliens to put an end to it!

DarkBase: Alien RTS is powered by dailygame.org

Monday, March 28, 2011

Missing Cobra

Missing Cobra: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Wal-mart to reopen stores in quake-ravaged areas of eastern Japan

Leading US-based store Wal-Mart will reopen 22 out of the 24 stores in the earthquake and tsunami-ravaged areas in northeastern Japan. Two of the stores operating in the tsunami-hit areas were severely damaged and were covered by mud.
Other than the two store locations which were totally submerged in mud, the rest of the stores managed to operate even in their parking lots just hours after the disaster, giving away bottled water and some noodles to victims while selling other items in limited quantities, according to Anthony Rose, Vice-President of Corporate Affairs for Asia of Wal-Mart. "Wal-Mart has a lot of experience of dealing with disasters learning from the earthquakes in china, Chile and also the Katrina disaster to name a few," said Scott Price, president and CEO of Wal-Mart Asia in a statement emailed by Rose.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/305118#ixzz1Hu7tkXSM

Brad Marchand's power play goal leads Bruins past Flyers

The Boston Bruins used two power-play goals to clinch a playoff berth and defeat the Philadelphia Flyers, 2-1, on Sunday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

The scoring started rather early when Philadelphia's James van Riemsdyk used his speed to get to a loose puck behind the net and send it back to Mike Richards at the point. The Flyers' captain immediately fed Kris Versteeg with a fake slap pass and Versteeg was able to beat Boston's goalie Tim Thomas.

Versteeg's goal put the Flyers on the board just before the five minute mark of the first period and was his 20th of the season. The Flyers now have six 20-goal scorers on the season. Van Riemsdyk, who has 19 goals on the season, could become the seventh Flyer to reach the 20-goal mark with one more goal.

Philadelphia would remain in the lead until Blair Betts took a tripping penalty at the 12:24 mark of the second period and the Bruins wasted no time in capitalizing on the power play. Tomas Kaberle blasted a shot from the point that Flyers goalie Brian Boucher stopped, but Nathan Horton was free in front to pounce on the rebound and tie the score at one.

With the score still tied at one after two periods, things looked to be in the Bruins favor since coming into the game, Boston boasted an NHL best plus-38 goal differential in the third period.

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Reese Witherspoon Weds Jim Toth!

Reese Witherspoon married Jim Toth early Saturday evening at her 6-acre ranch in Ojai, Calif., a rep for the actress confirms to UsMagazine.com.

Wearing a custom-designed Monique Lhuillier gown, the actress, 35, exchanged vows with CAA agent Toth, 40, in front of 120 family members and friends (including Renee Zellweger, and Alyssa Milano, and Tobey Maguire) in the front courtyard of the Ojai house.

PHOTOS: Inside Reese and Jim's whirlwind romance

Witherspoon's best friend, Heather Rosenfield, served as matron of honor, and her kids with ex-husband Ryan Phillippe -- daughter Ava, 11, and son Deacon, 7 -- took part in the ceremony. The Oscar winner's young nieces served as flower girls.

The "Tennessee Waltz" was the processional music for Toth and the kids, while Witherspoon walked down the aisle to "Here Comes the Bride." The 20-minute ceremony was officiated by Reverend Jimmy Bartz, founder of Thad's church in Santa Monica, where the couple have been attending weekly Sunday services. The duo exchanged wedding bands designed by jeweler William Goldberg.

PHOTOS: How Reese, Jim and her kids make a happy family

Located 90 miles north of Los Angeles, the Ojai ranch -- where the star gardens and keeps horses, donkeys, pigs, goats and chickens -- has been Witherspoon's rural escape for years.

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iPhone 5 May Not Offer iOS 5 at Launch

Apple is reportedly planning to launch the iPhone 5 without iOS 5 this summer, but a developer preview could appear at WWDC.

A report by TechCrunch suggests that Apple is planning to launch the iPhone 5 without iOS 5 this summer. Two solid sources have told the tech blog that Apple isn't planning to release iOS 5 until the fall, which is said to likely coincide with the release of a new type of iPad. iOS 4.3 is the most recent version of Apple's mobile OS, which is currently running on most iOS devices.

According to TechCrunch's sources, iOS 5 will be a major revamp of the OS with a heavy focus on the cloud. It's unknown whether these services will work via both 3G and Wi-Fi connections on iOS devices, or whether Apple has chosen to tie them all closely to the company's emerging digital home concept.

At least one service seems to be targeting the iPhone lineup though, as the sources say that one of the service elements is likely a location service that focuses on finding friends and family members. Apple may possibly announce this service along with the iPhone 5 during the WWDC.

Unfortunately, the sources say nothing about what kind of hardware upgrades the iPhone 5 will receive, but the Apple A5 chip first seen in the iPad 2 is widely expected to be part of it. Rumors are also suggesting that the iPhone 5 will get what could possibly be a 4-inch edge-to-edge screen.
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Virginia Commonwealth: Officially Huge

Because it was one of the last teams in and forced to play in the early First Four round of games against Southern California, Virginia Commonwealth was known in many office pools simply as "USC/VCU." The Rams, the sudden darlings of all of college basketball, didn't even get the dignity of their own dedicated line in the brackets. They were that unimportant to the office bracket managers. Forget the surprising runs of Kentucky, UConn and even Butler to the Final Four in Houston. Two weeks into the tournament, VCU is trending on Twitter.
In the interim, coach Shaka Smart became a sensation and the team became an instantly likable group of underdogs. Just try and find a way to not like a squad that, in their practices, assigns one of three designations to opposing guards: Rondos, Wades and Kerrs. Rondos like to drive, Wades can drive and shoot, and Kerrs are deadly from beyond. In a twist fitting of VCU's run this tournament, the team actually ran into the real Steve Kerr at the Alamodome on Thursday. The team's sharpshooter, Joey Rodriguez, challenged Kerr to a three-point contest. Kerr went down 9 to 6, just another victim of the Rams, jumping out of the way of their rollicking magic pumpkin ride to the prince's ball. "I'm sure if he had a couple more warm-up shots," Rodriguez humbly admitted to John Branch of the New York Times, "he would have killed me."

History through Libyan eyes

Libyans are well aware of their long and largely painful history with Western powers - even if many in the West are not.

It's a national holiday in Libya today.

One of several declared by Col Muammar Gaddafi, but with an ironic twist this year, with British warplanes currently bombing from the skies above.

In Libya, 28 March is British Evacuation Day, to mark the final departure of British forces in 1970.

Later the same year, the Americans packed up their own airbase too - hoping to stay on good terms with the newly-installed Col Gaddafi to protect their oil interests in Libya.

It's a reminder that the main players in the Western coalition have a lot more history there than outsiders realise - but which Libyans themselves do not forget.

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Daily Game Mar 28 - Infinite Tower RPG

Climb the infinite tower as a rogue, axeman or knight.

Infinite Tower RPG is powered by dailygame.org

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Alonzo Mourning stops busy Miami traffic to assist a pedestrian

During his NBA playing career, Alonzo Mourning(notes) was known for his long frame, exquisite timing and defensive footwork. It allowed the 6-foot-10 center to rank as one of the more destructive defense forces of his generation, with a Hall of Fame career only partially curtailed by a kidney disease that eventually required a transplant.

He was also a very good screener, getting in the way of opposing point men in order to allow teammate Tim Hardaway (who struggled with bad knees after several operations) a clear look at the rim.

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Butler, Connecticut Win to Advance to NCAA Basketball National Semifinals

Butler University will make its second consecutive appearance and the University of Connecticut will play for a fourth time in the national semifinals of college basketball's men's tournament.

Butler beat the University of Florida 74-71 in overtime yesterday and Connecticut defeated the University of Arizona 65- 63 in the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament.

No. 8 Butler will play the winner of today's Southwest regional final, between No. 11 Virginia Commonwealth and Kansas, the only remaining No. 1 seed, for a place in the championship game.

"I'm incredibly proud of these guys -- they carried their coach today in a big way," Butler coach Brad Stevens told reporters. "I got out-coached big time, but our assistants did a great job and our players did a great job."

Connecticut, ranked third in the West, will play the winner of today's East regional final, between No. 4 Kentucky and No. 2 North Carolina.

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American Tower, AMR Corp., AT&T, Honeywell: U.S. Equity Preview

March 27 (Bloomberg) -- Shares of the following companies may have unusual moves in U.S. trading tomorrow.

American Tower Corp. (AMT US): Shares may rebound after dropping on concerns that wireless industry consolidation may cut demand for mobile-phone towers, Barron's reported in its "The Trader" column.

AMR Corp. (AMR US): The parent of American Airlines may make a decision in May about spinning off its American Eagle regional carrier, Eagle's pilot union told members in a hotline memo.

AT&T Inc. (T US): The phone company plans to expand 4G wireless to cover 95 percent of the U.S. population, up from 80 percent, after its proposed $39 billion takeover bid for T- Mobile USA, Barron's reported. AT&T may rise as much as 15 percent in the next year if the acquisition wins approval, Barron's said.

Beneficial Mutual Bancorp Inc. (BNCL US): The savings and loan holding company said it will cut 4 percent of its workforce in the first quarter.

Cablevision Systems Corp. (CVC US): The provider of telecommunications and entertainment services is in discussions with Philip Falcone's LightSquared Inc. about a deal to use the venture's network to offer wireless services to its customers, according to a person familiar with the situation.

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Investigation continues in UConn student's death

Friends of a University of Connecticut student killed by a campus shuttle bus are planning a vigil near the spot where he died.

The investigation continued Thursday into this week's death of 20-year-old David Plamondon, an aspiring doctor who was active in a campus singing group and community service programs.

Plamondon (plah-MON'-don) was a native of Westminster, Mass., and a semi-pro baseball player. He died Tuesday night when the shuttle bus struck him in a campus intersection.

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'Wimpy Kid' Rules Weekend With $24.4M Opening

A wimpy kid has delivered a knock-out punch to a band of warrior vixens at the weekend box office.

The family sequel "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules" debuted as the No. 1 movie with $24.4 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. The girl-power action fantasy "Sucker Punch" opened at No. 2 with $19 million.

The previous weekend's top movie, the sci-fi thriller "Limitless," slipped to third with $15.2 million, raising its total to $41.3 million.

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Japan Nuclear Workers Struggle With Radioactive Water

TOKYO—Workers at Japan's troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex continued Sunday to struggle to contain highly radioactive water that is hampering work to restore vital systems, as they also tried to prevent further spreading of radioactive materials to surrounding areas.

But it was unclear late Sunday night just how severe the problem really was. Earlier in the day, workers were evacuated from one of the reactors when the company running the plant announced that radiation had been detected at an eye-popping 10 million times normal levels. But later Sunday evening, a spokesman for the plant's operator—Tokyo Electric Power Co., or Tepco—said the utility company was "re-analyzing the figure after it was pointed out internally and also by the Nuclear Safety Commission that it might be calculated incorrectly."

The spokesman, Hiro Hasegawa, said a new figure would be issued sometime after midnight Japan time.

"The Tepco numbers were a bit odd or strange," Hidehiko Nishiyama, a senior official at Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, or NISA, told reporters earlier in the evening.

Radiation Levels in Japan

The Japanese government monitors radiation levels around the country. Track these measurements over time.

Reactor Monitor

The reported rise in radioactivity added to concerns that efforts to keep nuclear fuel at the Fukushima Daiichi facility from overheating and sustaining further damage, which increases the risk of greater radiation leaks, may suffer further delays.

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Knicks Lose Sixth Straight; Could Miss Playoffs

Jonathan Abrams lays it out in his NY Times gamer: "The Knicks are performing so poorly that the nearly impossible is becoming more plausible with each passing loss. They are losing their hold on a Playoff spot with the season nearing an end. The Knicks (35-38) lost for the sixth straight time, matching a season high, and for the ninth time in 10 games. It is their worst 10-game stretch since Amar'e Stoudemire joined the organization last off-season and pronounced that the Knicks were back. Charlotte and Milwaukee, which handed the Knicks their two most recent losses, are on the outside of the Playoff race but hoping to edge out the Knicks. The Knicks, in seventh place, are four and a half games ahead of Charlotte (30-42) with nine
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Libyan Rebels Advance on Key Oil Refinery at Ras Lanuf

TRIPOLI, Libya — Libyan rebels pushed past the oil town of Brega on Sunday, moving toward the major refinery at Ras Lanuf in the second day of a counterattack aided by allied airstrikes against Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi's forces Rebel fighters, emboldened after retaking the crossroads city of Ajdabiya in eastern Libya, clashed overnight with government forces near the town of Egila, on the main coastal road to Ras Lanuf. Continued allied airstrikes were reported in the area.

If the rebels were able to retake Ras Lanuf — the peak of their progress in the early weeks of the uprising — it would mean they had two of Libya's most important refinery complexes under control. And it would mean they were in position to strike against the city of Surt, a stronghold of support for Colonel Qaddafi and an important symbolic and strategic target.

Rebel fighters were quoted by the Associated Press as saying that government forces were pulling back past Ras Lanuf, allowing the rebels to seize control of the Ras Lanuf refinery, though there was no independent confirmation.

Meanwhile, NATO's decision-making council was to decide on Sunday whether it would begin coordinating airstrikes directly against Colonel Qaddafi's forces. The military council has already agreed to take over maintaining a no-fly zone against the Libyan leader's aircraft, but the United States is seeking to have NATO broaden its oversight to include the airstrikes as well.

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Reese Witherspoon married at SoCal ranch

OJAI, Calif., March 27 (UPI) -- Reese Witherspoon and Jim Toth tied the knot Saturday night in a private ceremony at the actress's Southern California ranch, her representative confirmed.

The Witherspoon camp told People magazine the Oscar-winning actress walked down the aisle after a pre-ceremony cocktail reception to the tune of "Here Comes the Bride."

UConn Huskies riding high out of the West again

ANAHEIM, Calif. - The three-pointer by Derrick Williams that would have ended this jubilant, most improbable UConn season bounced off the rim. Kyle Fogg kept the rebound alive and the three-pointer by Jamelle Horne that would have ended this jubilant, most unusual nine-game run bounced off the rim again.

Houston, we have another Final Four.

Yet not just another NCAA Final Four, this story is unique in Connecticut basketball history.

The great sports franchises, the storied schools, it has been said, win championships when they aren't the chalk, aren't the stone-cold favorite. In horse racing, they call it "back class" and UConn, with Jim Calhoun, has more than two decades of back class.

Yes, doubt did flash through Kemba Walker's mind Saturday night at Honda Center. When Horne's shot went up, Walker did say, "Game Time!" He thought the jubilant, improbable season was gone. Fate would have other ideas. This 65-63 victory over Arizona would give further validation to Calhoun's claim this is the most resilient team he has ever coached in four decades.

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Earth Hour moves across world

Earth Hour, a global environmental initiative to get people thinking about climate change, saw people turning off the lights all over the world for an hour on Saturday evening.

It took place from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. local time all over the world.

The World Wildlife Fund said more than a billion people in 100 countries are expected to participate.

The WWF blog reported that Russian cyclists went for a ride with head lamps. "These cyclists are heroes," the group's Russia office said. "In Moscow, it is – 8 [C] degrees."

In Egypt, the Earth Hour word was spread by social media.

Greece and China turned off the lights on famous monuments, including the Great Wall of China, which seemed to make the massive structure disappear. European cities went dark as citizens turned off house lights.

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Daily Game Mar 27 - Ninja Time Trials

Ascend your way to heaven using your bungee rope.

Ninja Time Trials is powered by dailygame.org

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Two thrillers, two thumpings set up an intriguing eight

We're left with college basketball's three winningest programs, three schools that have won a title or two, last year's loveable underdog and the new Cinderella. That means Kentucky, North Carolina and Kansas. That means Connecticut, Florida and Arizona. That's Butler and VCU.

The coaches involved – John Calipari, Roy Williams, Bill Self, Jim Calhoun, Billy Donovan, Sean Miller, Brad Stevens and Shaka Smart – have a combined 17 Final Fours and seven titles. All but Smart have been this far before.

That's something for everyone.

The potential is there to top the 2005 weekend that had three overtime games and another decided by six points.

Consider the matchups:

Kentucky – coming off perhaps the game of the tournament in beating top overall seed Ohio State on a last-second shot – faces North Carolina. The Heels are the 2-seed, yet played like a 1 in an 81-63 thrashing of Marquette. The two have combined for 12 NCAA tournament titles and 31 Final Fours. It'll be a rematch of the Heels' 75-73 win earlier this season at Chapel Hill and matches UK's Calipari vs. UNC's Williams.

Yeah, that's the must-see event on Sunday night.

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NCAA Tournament Schedule 2011: Time, TV Details For The Elite Eight

Eight teams remain in the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament. By the end of Saturday the 2011 NCAA bracket will be down to six teams, and come Sunday night the Final Four will be set. 

Here is a look at the NCAA tournament schedule for Saturday and Sunday's Elite Eight games:

Saturday

No. 2 Florida vs. No. 8 Butler (4:30 p.m., CBS)

No. 3 UConn vs. No. 5  Arizona (7:05 p.m., CBS)

Sunday

No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 11 VCU (2:20 p.m., CBS)

No. 2 North Carolina vs. No. 4 Kentucky (5:05 p.m., CBS)

The main stories heading into the final two days of the second week of the tournament are that Kansas is the only No. 1 seed still alive and that VCU is in the Elite Eight. On Selection Sunday quite a few people were up in arms over VCU even making the Big Dance, and since beating USC in the First Four the Rams have taken down Georgetown, Purdue and Florida State. On Sunday they will have a chance to knock off Kansas, which has outlasted the other three No. 1 seeds (Pittsburgh, Duke and Ohio State).

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Racy Serena Williams commercial won’t appear on TV

The 60-second spot for "Top Spin 4" features a scantily-clad Serena playing the new video game against an actress wearing even less clothing. The matchup is billed as "the world's sexiest tennis player" against "the world's sexiest tennis gamer." There are shots of nearly bare bottoms, unseemly facial expressions and lots of cleavage, accompanied by a thumping techno beat and suggestive moaning. At the end of the ad, Williams asks breathily, "You realize this is a fantasy, right?" (Click here to watch the banned advertisement. Borderline NSFW.)

A link to the video was sent out on Twitter earlier this week by the actress who appears in the ad. After an immediate backlash, 2K Sports distanced itself from the commercial.

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Hornets’ West will miss rest of season

Hornets leading scorer David West has a torn left knee ligament and is out for the season, a development that dims New Orleans' playoff prospects. Hornets general manager Dell Demps announced the news after learning the results of an MRI yesterday. West was injured Thursday night in the Hornets' win at Utah. He scored 29 points before being taken off in a wheelchair grimacing in pain after going down hard after a dunk. The Hornets began play last night seventh in the Western Conference . . . Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay had season-ending surgery on his partially dislocated left shoulder, the team announced.
Colleges
UMass-HC to play under lights at Fitton The University of Massachusetts released its 2011 football schedule, highlighted by a Thursday opener against Holy Cross in the first night game at Fitton Field and a trip to Boston College Sept. 24. The Minutemen, 6-5 in 2010, will meet New Hampshire in the second Colonial Clash at Gillette Stadium Oct. 22 . . . Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel forwarded e-mails to Terrelle Pryor's mentor — Pennsylvania businessman Ted Sarniak — that accused the star quarterback of selling memorabilia to a man under federal investigation, the Columbus Dispatch reported. Tressel was suspended the first five games next season and was fined $250,000 by the university for failing to notify the school about e-mails he received last April involving the sale of memorabilia by two players . . . The University of Nebraska at Omaha is going to join Division 1, but will have to eliminate its 100-year-old football program and a wrestling program that has won six of the last eight Division 2 national titles to accommodate the switch to the Summit League . . . Williams junior Loga Todhunter defended her national title in the 200-yard butterfly, winning in 1 minute and 58.60 seconds at the NCAA Division 3 championships in Knoxville, Tenn.
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Britney Spears Electrifies Las Vegas With Nightclub Performance

LAS VEGAS — After a killer set from "Jersey Shore" star DJ Pauly D on Friday night (March 25), a montage of Britney Spears' best video moments played to a hyped crowd at Rain nightclub inside the Palms Casino and Resort. Once the videos wrapped, the crowd went even crazier as the Femme Fatale herself hit the stage.

Spears sported a stunning sequined bodysuit and performed her first song of the night, lead single "Hold It Against Me." Flanked by sexy male dancers, she sashayed her way through the song, which included sexy hair-tossing and a wind machine.

For her second song of the night, Spears debuted the will.i.am-produced track "Big Fat Bass." Her dancers hit the stage in bright yellow, while Spears opted for a body-hugging latex bodysuit. She emerged from a speaker box, and the appearance had her fans screaming. The track was remixed to include past hits like "3," "Slave 4 U" and "Gimme More." She danced around the stage and climbed up on speakers as she danced to the track.

Britney kicked it up a few futuristic notches for her latest club banger, "Till the World Ends." The stage was filled with ladders, LED lighting, dancers and Spears in a black latex bodysuit covered in red lights. She clearly was having a good time, smiling to her fans. Her choreography was decidedly sexy, including flirty dance moves with her male dancers.

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Radioactivity levels soar in Japan seawater

Radioactivity levels are soaring in seawater near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant, Japan's nuclear safety agency said on Saturday, two weeks after the nuclear power plant was hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami.

Even as engineers tried to pump puddles of radioactive water from the power plant 150 miles north of Tokyo, the nuclear safety agency said tests on Friday showed radioactive iodine had spiked 1,250 times higher than normal in the seawater just offshore the plant.

A senior official from Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, Hidehiko Nishiyama, said the contamination posed little risk to aquatic life.

"Ocean currents will disperse radiation particles and so it will be very diluted by the time it gets consumed by fish and seaweed," he said.

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Sullinger swears he'll back. We'll see.

In the wake of the somewhat surprising loss -- given what Ohio State had done the previous weekend, winning dominantly over inferior teams, losing 62-60 to Kentucky wasn't an anticipated outcome -- Jared Sullinger intently, measuredly let his anger and disappointment out, like a pressure cooker slowly but surely getting its lid loosened.

The Ohio State freshman was equal parts defiant and emphatic in the Buckeyes' locker room. He intermittently sipped on his blue, Mountain Berry Blast Powerade and proclaimed he was coming back. For 30 minutes, Sullinger took questions, promised his sophomore season would happen, and took ownership of his team's loss. In that moment, he took over the leadership role.

"I'm gonna be here, gonna be at Ohio State next year," Sullinger said when asked about his future. He further explained: "I don't like the look in peoples' eyes [right now] and I don't like the taste we have of losing. I don't appreciate losing. If I made a decision about [leaving] next year, it would be off a win, not a loss."

Sullinger played 39 of 40 minutes, scoring 21 points and grabbing 16 rebounds; it was his 18th double-double on the year, tying a school record. Thanks to the equally inspired and fiery play of his counterpart, Kentucky's Josh Harrellson, Sullinger was emotional and bombastic throughout the game. Whether he realized it or not, Harrellson likely catalyzed Sullinger to another level. This was stemmed from the Kentucky big man firing a ball off Sullinger in the first half as he was falling out of bounds. It was a legal-but-punctuating play that set the tone for the remainder.

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"We don't like the taste that we have in our mouth right now," Sullinger said. "Losing is not what we do and it's not what we accept. To take this jersey off and see Dave Lighty and Eddie Days and Dallas Lauderdale and Jon Diebler take off their jersey for the last time is very touching, because they won't be able to put this jersey back on."

Syria protests: US and UN condemn armed crackdown

There has been international condemnation of the Syrian government following reports that troops fired on peaceful demonstrators on Friday.

The US said Syria was trying to "repress and intimidate demonstrators", while UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged Damascus to exercise restraint.

Witnesses said dozens of people had been killed during the protests - this cannot be independently confirmed.

The rallies came a day after Syria said it would consider political changes.

Protests were staged in towns and cities across Syria, including the capital Damascus.

'Brutal response'

In the US, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Washington was deeply concerned at what was happening in Syria.

"We strongly condemn the Syrian government's attempts to repress and intimidate demonstrators," Mr Carney said late on Friday.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon telephoned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to urge "maximum restraint".

Mr Ban also stressed that Damascus had an obligation to respect the fundamental rights of its citizens.

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