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Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is likely to have a very long day when she testifies before Congress about the Affordable Care Act website problems.

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is likely to have a very long day when she testifies before Congress about the Affordable Care Act website problems.

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

The hottest hot seat in Washington is the one occupied by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, whose office confirmed Monday she'll testify about the Internet disaster that is HealthCare.gov, the Affordable Care Act website.

It's not yet clear when she'll go before Congress, but it won't be soon enough for the Republicans who are calling for her resignation. Sebelius originally declined to appear before the House Energy and Commerce Committee Thursday, saying she had a scheduling conflict.

Many Democrats are also fuming at the shambolic roll out of the federal health exchange website, which isn't just an embarrassment to the administration but a threat to President Obama's legacy.

When she does testify, here are five questions Sebelius will almost certainly get:

What did she know and when did she know it?

This is a Washington classic, a staple of any investigatory effort. Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., chairman of the House committee holding Thursday's hearing, has signaled that he wants to know why Sebelius and others told lawmakers the federal government would be ready to go on Oct. 1 when that was far from true.

"Top administration officials repeatedly testified everything was on track, but the broad technological failures reveal that was not the case," Upton said in a news release. "Either the administration was not ready for launch, or it was not up to the job."

How many people have actually "enrolled" in health insurance through the health exchanges?

HHS on Sunday said there were "nearly a half million applications for coverage." But that's a vague number, as is the definition of enrollment. To some, it means submitting an application; to others, it means actually paying for insurance. The administration has been notably reticent about providing details. Which is why the Republican National Committee is trying to pry them out through a Freedom of Information Act request. Expect plenty of questions from House Republicans seeking hard numbers.

How can anyone trust that the problems will be fixed in time when past Obama administration assurances proved so wrong?

The Affordable Care Act's open enrollment period is scheduled to end Dec. 15. In a speech Monday that defended the law while also expressing frustration with the website, Obama said: "We are doing everything we can possibly do to get the websites working better, faster, sooner. We got people working overtime, 24/7, to boost capacity and address the problems."

Still, experts question whether the website can be made to function as well as it needs to in the remaining time. Expect much skepticism about any assurances Sebelius gives.

Do the problems with Obamacare support delaying the individual mandate for a year?

This is likely to be a major line of questioning for Sebelius from Republicans. Obama previewed her likely response when he said that Obamacare is "not just a website" — his point being that the law itself is working just fine, and the flaws of one component aren't enough to delay it. Sebelius is likely to be forced to repeatedly push back against this line of questioning.

Given the scope of the problem, shouldn't she resign?

This is also likely to be a recurring theme during the hearing. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., a longtime acquaintance, has called for her resignation, as have Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and several House members.

Sebelius has shown no signs that she is considering stepping down and was prominently seated in the front row for Obama's Monday speech. If Sebelius, a holdover from the first term, did step down, it would not only give Obamacare's Republican opponents their biggest trophy yet but would also create more turbulence at a critical moment for the law. So it's unlikely to happen. But that won't stop Republicans from repeatedly posing the question.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2013/10/21/239269074/5-questions-kathleen-sebelius-must-answer?ft=1&f=1019
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How Encouraging People to Walk Can Help Strengthen Our Cities

I live in L.A., a land of 20-lane interchanges, parking lots the size of football stadiums, and mind-bending, soul-crushing, life-altering traffic. Every day, I meet people who don't even know we have a public transit system and see places in my neighborhood without any sidewalks. This is because, a half-century ago, my city decided to redesign itself for cars, not humans.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/M72GrRRq-TI/how-encouraging-people-to-walk-can-help-strengthen-our-1446544646
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The long arms of pivot irrigation rigs deliver water from the Ogallala Aquifer to circular fields of corn in northwestern Kansas.

Dan Charles/NPR

The long arms of pivot irrigation rigs deliver water from the Ogallala Aquifer to circular fields of corn in northwestern Kansas.

Dan Charles/NPR

If you've flown across Nebraska, Kansas or western Texas on a clear day, you've seen them: geometrically arranged circles of green and brown on the landscape, typically half a mile in diameter. They're the result of pivot irrigation, in which long pipes-on-wheels rotate slowly around a central point, spreading water across corn fields.

Yet most of those fields are doomed. The water that nourishes them eventually will run low.

That water comes from a huge pool of underground water known as the Ogallala Aquifer, part of a larger system called the High Plains Aquifer. Scientists calculate that farmers are pulling water out of the aquifer about six times faster than rain or rivers can recharge it.

That can't go on forever. In some areas, wells have already gone dry. Yet families and entire towns depend on that flow of water for their survival.

In one small section of northwestern Kansas, farmers now have agreed to do something unprecedented. For the next five years, all the farmers in this area, covering 99 square miles, will pump 20 percent less water out of the ground.

It's a remarkable agreement, but it's also fragile. Whether it survives will depend, in large part, on whether other farmers follow their lead.

Hoxie, the small town where farmers have taken this bold step, is the kind of place where people keep track of how many children go to the town's school. It's a barometer of the town's health.

"When I was in high school, we had 36 to 42 in every class," says farmer Mitchell Baalman. "Now, these classes are down to 15. Ten to 15 in every class."

Mitchell Baalman, who farms 12,000 acres near Hoxie, Kan., pushed hard to get the farmers in his community to agree to pump less water from the aquifer.

Dan Charles/NPR

Mitchell Baalman, who farms 12,000 acres near Hoxie, Kan., pushed hard to get the farmers in his community to agree to pump less water from the aquifer.

Dan Charles/NPR

But things have been turning around lately, Baalman says. There are more kids in the younger grades. There are a few more jobs in Hoxie, keeping families around.

Some of those jobs are on Baalman's own farm. It's a huge operation of some 12,000 acres. And as I interview him, he's driving down Highway 24 with a semi-trailer loaded with 25 tons of corn. "We're taking it to Hoxie Feedyard over here, to feed 60,000 head of cattle," Baalman shouts above the roar of the motor.

Corn and cattle are what bring money into Hoxie. And those businesses are built on water. "Rain makes grain! I mean, we are in an arid climate. We've been averaging, I think, 18 inches of rain a year," Baalman says.

That rainfall is enough to grow a modest corn crop, but not a big one. And sometimes the rains don't come at all. So the most productive fields around here have those pivot irrigation rigs.

"We always used to take it for granted that the water was just going to be here," Baalman says. Increasingly, though, farmers in this area are realizing that the days of plentiful water are numbered.

A few years ago, officials from the state of Kansas who monitor the groundwater situation came to the farmers of Hoxie and told them that the water table here was falling fast. They drew a line around an area covering 99 square miles, west of the town, and called together the farmers in that area for a series of meetings.

They told the farmers that the water was like gasoline in the tank. If every one agreed to use it more sparingly, it would last longer.

Proposals to cut back water for irrigation have not been popular in parts like these, to say the least. In the past, farmers across the American west have treated them like declarations of war. Raymond Luhman, who works for the groundwater management district that includes Hoxie, says that's understandable: "Many of them feel like the right to use that water is ..." he says, pausing, "it's their lifeblood!"

Corn and cattle bring money into Hoxie, Kan., and they're both built on water. When there's not enough rainfall, farmers must rely on groundwater.

Dan Charles/NPR

Corn and cattle bring money into Hoxie, Kan., and they're both built on water. When there's not enough rainfall, farmers must rely on groundwater.

Dan Charles/NPR

It's also their property. Under the law, it's not clear that any government can take it away from them, or order them to use less of it.

But in Hoxie, the conversation took a different turn.

Some influential farmers, including Mitchell Baalman, pushed for everybody to pump less water. Baalman talked about his four children, how he wanted to preserve water for them.

He also talked about the town, and how it depended on irrigated agriculture. He argued that it would be better for the town to manage that water, to keep it flowing in the future.

"We are want to keep people moving back. We want to keep our businesses going, and our downtowns, in these little towns," he says.

Last fall, the farmers of Hoxie agreed to the cutbacks in irrigation. The state government then made it a formal requirement. State officials will check the water meters on each pump to make sure it happens.

Scott Foote, who runs Hoxie Feedyard, the biggest business in town, says the key to what happened in Hoxie was the community. "It was a lot of neighbors got together, that know each other personally, go to church with each other, kids go to school with each other. Honestly, it's just a tight-knit community," he says.

But the ending of this story hasn't yet been written. This agreement is just for five years. There are a lot of questions about whether it will continue beyond this trial period.

Mitchell Baalman certainly wants them to. "I'm going to fight hard that we renew it," he says. "It's my name at stake. And I don't want to sound selfish, but I don't want to let my kids down. We've got a great corps of youth in Sheridan County, Thomas County, and I don't want to let them down!"

On the other hand, there are farmers who are not so sure about this water-saving idea.

Kevin Wark, in fact, is dead set against it. He's not part of the core community of Hoxie; he lives half an hour down the road. But one of his fields lies just inside the border of the "high-priority area" where pumping is now restricted.

During harvest time, trailer loads of corn arrive at Hoxie Feedyard late into the night. The feedyard will buy more than $20 million worth of corn this year.

Dan Charles/NPR

During harvest time, trailer loads of corn arrive at Hoxie Feedyard late into the night. The feedyard will buy more than $20 million worth of corn this year.

Dan Charles/NPR

"I resent being in this territory," he says, and there's anger in every word. "We've had 50 percent of the crops we can grow taken away from us. So how's that fair to me, when the guy across the road can just keep doing what's he's been doing?"

Wark says he considered going to court to fight the restrictions, but decided against it. Nobody in Hoxie seemed willing to join him.

Another farmer, Gary Moss, says he supports the agreement, but he's really waiting to see if farmers in other parts of western Kansas will do anything similar. The farmers of Hoxie don't want to stand alone in this, he says. It wouldn't be fair.

"If nobody else is jumping on board, I think there's a lot of people who will say, 'We're not doing any good. We're just hurting ourselves,'" he says.

It's a paradox. This agreement to pump less water only happened because it was small: A deal among neighbors who cared about their town. But it may not survive unless it gets much bigger, including farmers all across the high plains aquifer.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/10/21/230702453/in-kansas-farmers-commit-to-take-less-water-from-the-ground?ft=1&f=1003
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Eric Holder said Monday the average number of mass shooting incidents has tripled in recent years.

Between 2000 and 2008, the U.S. experienced an average of five mass shootings every year. Since then the annual average has tripled, Holder said. So far in 2013, there have been at least 12, he said.

According to Justice Department figures on mass shootings, 404 people were shot and 207 people were killed from 2009 to 2012. From 2000 to 2008, 324 people were shot and 145 were killed.

In remarks to the annual conference of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the attorney general said that in the past decade, the Justice Department has helped train 50,000 front-line officers, more than 7,000 on-scene commanders and over 3,000 local, state and federal agency heads on how to respond to active shooters.

To disrupt planned shootings and other attacks, the FBI's Behavioral Threat Assessment Center works every day with local police and other levels law enforcement to assess people who may be contemplating violence. Since 2011, the center has reported hundreds of successful disruptions, including an anticipated 150 this year alone, Holder said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ag-number-mass-shootings-tripled-181739567--politics.html
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By Roberto Landucci

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's three main trade union confederations will hold strikes and protests against the government's 2014 budget plan, they said on Monday, piling more pressure on Enrico Letta's fragile coalition government.

Unions, employers and politicians from among the ruling parties have complained the budget does too little to reduce taxes, reverse years of austerity or reform an economy which has been in recession for two years.

The fiscal law, which aims to lower Italy's budget deficit to 2.5 percent of output in 2014 from a targeted 3.0 percent this year, has become a focal point of discontent against the unpopular left-right coalition government.

On Friday strikes against the budget by smaller left-wing unions hit transport, education and services and on Saturday demonstrators clashed with police as tens of thousands protested in Rome against austerity.

Luigi Angeletti, head of the moderate UIL union, said that to preserve his government's stability Letta had bowed to political vetoes from coalition partners which had blocked the bold spending cuts and tax reductions that had been promised.

"Everything stays the same, Letta shouldn't have done a budget to stabilize the government, he should have done one to stabilize the country," he told reporters after a meeting with the chiefs of the larger CISL and CGIL.

The unions called for major changes to the fiscal law during its passage through parliament, where it must be approved by the end of the year, but they stopped short of calling a nationwide general strike.

Instead they will hold half-day strikes among various categories of workers up to mid-November, when they will meet again to assess whether the government has responded to their demands and decide on future action.

Ruling parties on both sides of Letta's coalition of former rivals have promised to change the budget, prompting a warning from head of state Giorgio Napolitano that amendments must not flout Italy's public finance commitments to the European Union.

While Angeletti and CISL head Raffaele Bonanni demanded more cuts to wasteful public spending, leader of the left-wing CGIL Susanna Camusso called on Letta to raise levies on income from financial investment and cut taxes for workers and pensioners.

The small right-wing UGL union also announced its members would hold four-hour strikes like the larger unions.

Former Prime Minister Mario Monti joined the chorus of criticism over the weekend, accusing Letta of undoing the good work of his government and being "on its knees" before the policy diktats of Silvio Berlusconi's center-right.

(Writing by Gavin Jones; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/italian-unions-strike-over-coalition-budget-compromise-152341574--business.html
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This Halloween season, the three big Monsters cereals will be joined by Frute Broot and Fruity Yummy Mummy, which haven't been on the market in decades.

Dan Pashman

This Halloween season, the three big Monsters cereals will be joined by Frute Broot and Fruity Yummy Mummy, which haven't been on the market in decades.

Dan Pashman

This Halloween season, the cereal monsters are on the loose. Count Chocula, Boo Berry and Franken Berry have consumers in their grasp — for a limited time only.

The General Mills cereals came out on the market in the early '70s, but the company decided in 2010 they would only be available during the Halloween season.

"That was bad news for some people," says Dan Pashman, host of The Sporkful food podcast.

One of his podcast listeners turned her sister in Tuscan, Ariz., into a "Boo Berry mule" by making her cross the border into Mexico to get the cereal.

YouTube

A General Mills Monsters cereal commercial from the 1970s.

"This artificial scarcity has kind of galvanized a cult following around this time of year for these cereals," Pashman tells Weekend Edition host Rachel Martin.

This year, Frute Broot and Fruity Yummy Mummy are also making a comeback. Frute Broot (formerly "Fruit Broot") went off the market in 1982; Yummy Mummy was pulled in '92.

The boxes aren't collectors' items — consumers do actually eat them.

"But not all at once," Pashman says. "In fact, a big deal as people hoard them is they always are checking the expiration dates because they want to see how long it's gonna last."

Pashman himself recently purchased a Boo Berry that's doesn't expire until September 2014: "I'm gonna hang on to that 'til supplies are low, and then that's my nest egg right there."

Sweetness aside, the Monsters cereals seem to have made a powerful imprint on parents.

"There really is something about these particular artificial flavors that tap into a very specific sense memory," Pashman says. Sporkful podcast listener Rachel Gonzalez told him:

"It still reminds me of that Saturday morning special treat that you could only eat every once in a while, and it's something now that I get to share with my own daughter ... It's really kind nostalgic and exciting to me."

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/10/20/228193138/unleashed-on-halloween-monsters-cereal-haunts-hoarders?ft=1&f=1003
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New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith (7) celebrates with New York Jets' Willie Colon (66) and Nick Mangold (74) after rushing for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 20, 2013 in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York Jets outside linebacker Quinton Coples (98) knocks the ball away from New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 20, 2013, in East Rutherford, N.J. Patriots player at center is unidentified. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

New York Jets kicker Nick Folk (2) kicks a field goal during the first half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots Sunday, Oct. 20, 2013, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

New York Jets free safety Antonio Allen (39) flips into the end zone for a touchdown after intercepting a pass by New England Patriots' Tom Brady during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 20, 2013, in East Rutherford, N.J. New England Patriots' Logan Mankins (70) trails the play. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York Jets free safety Antonio Allen (39) and New England Patriots' Rob Gronkowski (87) fight for control of the ball during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 20, 2013 in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Nick Folk missed. And then, he didn't.

After a penalty on New England gave the New York Jets kicker another chance, Folk booted a 42-yard field goal with 5:07 left in overtime for a 30-27 victory over the Patriots on Sunday.

Folk was wide left on a 56-yarder, but the miss was negated when New England's Chris Jones was called for unsportsmanlike conduct for pushing a teammate forward to try to block the kick. It marked the first time that new penalty has been called in an NFL game.

New York, given new life, ran the ball three times to set up Folk's winner and send the towel-waving fans at MetLife Stadium into a frenzy.

Geno Smith threw a touchdown pass and ran for another as the Jets (4-3) topped Tom Brady and the Patriots (5-2), who tied it at 27 with 16 seconds left in regulation on Stephen Gostkowski's 44-yard field goal.

New England had defeated New York in six straight regular-season meetings, and saw its 12-game winning streak against AFC East opponents come to an end.

Brady opened overtime with a 16-yard pass to Rob Gronkowski, making his season debut. But the Jets stopped the Patriots on the next three plays and forced New England to punt.

Gronkowski almost made a one-handed grab late in regulation when he had a clear lane into the end zone. Gronkowski, who missed the first six games after having offseason surgery on his back and broken left forearm, had eight catches for 114 yards.

Brady threw a 17-yard TD pass to Kenbrell Thompkins with 5 seconds left to beat previously unbeaten New Orleans last week — leaving defensive coordinator Rob Ryan grimacing on the sideline. This time, Rex Ryan, Rob's twin brother, walked off the field celebrating a win.

It was the second time in three games Brady was held without a touchdown pass, both losses. Brady finished 22 of 46 for 228 yards and had an interception returned for a touchdown by Antonio Allen.

Smith, who threw three fourth-quarter interceptions in a Week 2 loss at New England, was 17 of 33 for 233 yards. He had a first-quarter interception returned 79 yards for a touchdown by rookie Logan Ryan that appeared to set the tone for an ominous afternoon for Smith.

Smith rebounded and gave the Jets a 24-21 lead in the third quarter on an 8-yard run that left the crowd chanting "GEE-NO! GEE-NO!" On third-and-14 from the 24, Smith took off left and was met by Marquice Cole, who slammed into the quarterback. But Smith reached out as he was going down and got the first down.

He again had all receivers tied up when he sprinted to his right, faked out Cole with a nice shake move and dived into the corner of the end zone.

Folk kicked a 37-yard field goal late in the third quarter for a 27-21 lead. Gostkowski's 39-yarder cut New York's advantage to 27-24.

The Jets, in a 21-10 hole, opened the second half by immediately putting pressure on Brady and getting a score out of it.

On the first play, Quinton Coples had a strip-sack of Brady, who recovered the ball. But on the next play, Brady threw for Gronkowski and Allen stepped in front. He returned the pick 23 yards, doing a diving somersault into the end zone just 33 seconds into the third quarter.

Stevan Ridley had given the Patriots a 21-10 lead with a 17-yard run on which he bounced outside right tackle and scored untouched. The drive was set up by a 38-yard punt return by Julian Edelman.

Smith got the Jets on the scoreboard on their first drive with a 12-yard toss to Jeremy Kerley. The efficient 12-play drive included three third-down conversions to Kerley.

New England tied it on its opening possession with Brandon Bolden's 1-yard touchdown.

___

AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-10-20-Patriots-Jets/id-0b8c92bea30c47519766f1800bf8dfb7
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NEW YORK (AP) — Andrea Bocelli will receive a graduate degree in Italy next week.

The 55-year-old tenor says he'll receive a master's degree in vocal performance from The Conservatory of Music, Giacomo Puccini in La Spezia, Italy, on Tuesday.

Bocelli will present his thesis, titled "The Value and Meaning of Opera Singing at the Beginning of the Third Millennium," later this month. The 70-page dissertation includes contributions from Placido Domingo.

He'll also release a CD/DVD, "Love in Portofino," on Tuesday. The renowned performer has sold 80 million albums internationally.

Bocelli has a law degree from the University of Pisa.

___

Online:

http://www.andreabocelli.com/en/#!/home

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tenor-andrea-bocelli-receive-masters-next-week-164544678.html
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LAS VEGAS (AP) — Webb Simpson got the fast start he has looking for — in the final round at TPC Summerlin and in the PGA Tour's new wraparound season.

Simpson birdied two of the first three holes Sunday, pulling away for a six-stroke win in the second event of the season.

"One over through three yesterday and 2 under today felt like a huge difference," Simpson said. "And it was because it really let me slow down and pace myself, and you know, try to let the guys come after me."

Winning for the first time since the 2012 U.S. Open, Simpson closed with a 5-under 66 in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. He finished at 24-under 260 after opening with rounds of 64, 63 and 67 to take a four-stroke lead into the final round.

"As we were going kind of middle of the round, pins were tough, greens were drying out and I knew it would take a really special round for somebody to shoot 7, 8 under," Simpson said.

"So, I felt like I was in control, and I asked my caddie, once I hit it on the green on 17 where we stood. And I was just thankful that I was able to kind of manage my golf ball the last couple rounds."

Simpson earned $1.08 million for his fourth PGA Tour title. In addition to the U.S. Open last year at The Olympic Club, he won the Wyndham Championship and Deutsche Bank Championship in 2011.

Ryo Ishikawa and Jason Bohn tied for second. Ishikawa, the Japanese player who had to play the Web.com Tour Finals to regain his PGA Tour card, shot a 65.

"I wish I could made a couple putts, like three putts," Ishikawa said. "I missed a lot of putts this week, like 10 feet, 15 feet, 20 feet. I missed a lot. But still, I'm pretty happy with that result."

Bohn had a 66.

Charley Hoffman was fourth at 17 under after a 64.

"When you get that far up the leaderboard every putt you make is worth big dollars and big FedEx Cup points," Hoffman said. "So, to get the year started off on the right foot, you always want to make those putts."

Chesson Hadley, second entering the final round, had a 70 to drop into a tie for fifth at 16 under with Luke Guthrie, Troy Matteson and Charles Howell III.

"I was certainly nervous out there today, but I was able just to kind of hang in there," Hadley said.

Guthrie and Matteson shot 64, and Howell had a 65. Matteson had seven straight birdies — on Nos. 9-15 — to fall one short of the tournament record set by Jerry Kelly in 2003.

"It was a really good ball-striking round," Matteson said. "As a matter of fact, when I got to 16, I thought I was going to get that eighth one and I ended up hitting the pin and almost going into the lake, so I would have had a tap-in there. But you know what, all in all it's a great end to my week. I didn't quite figure it out in the middle (of the tournament), but I certainly put it together today."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/webb-simpson-wins-las-vegas-002808640--spt.html
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kim kardashian week instas teaser

Who needs a filter when he have a ba-dunk-a-dunk like that??!

Just four months after giving birth to baby North West, Kim Kardashian showed the world that she's back in selfie-worthy shape!

And we're so happy to welcome her svelte nekkid bod back to our slew of Weekly celeb pics!!!

See you next week, Kimmy! LOLz!

CLICK HERE to see the gallery, "This Week In Celebrity Twitpics And Instagrams!"

[Image via Instagram.]

Tags: instagram, kim kardashian, north west, photos!, twitter

Source: http://perezhilton.com/2013-10-20-kim-kardashian-celebrity-twitpics-instagrams-photos
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Google Reader stand-in Feedly has picked up a bounty of tweaks and features in its latest version, which just hit Google Play. Now in its 17th iteration, the app starts up 300 percent faster, boasts smoother scrolling, a retooled widget and a new discover section to peruse stories. Design buffs will ...

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/P4U0SxY_W9E/
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Those long dark stretches of highway out in the middle of nowhere without any streetlights might soon be a thing of the past thanks to the engineers and designers at the Netherlands-based Kaal Masten. They've created the Spirit, a standalone solar-powered streetlight that gets all the energy it needs from the sun, so it can be installed and provide lighting anywhere—even remote locations without access to power grids.

Requiring three years to develop and perfect, the Spirit can be customized as required, even soaring almost 60 feet tall making them ideal for even large multi-lane highways. Using a combination of solar cells and high-efficient LEDs, the street light recharges its batteries during the day when the sun is out, capturing enough power—even on cloudy days—to stay lit all night long.

In fact the only maintenance they'd need is a new battery every few years, but even that part's environmentally friendly since their power supplies are completely recyclable. And since power lines don't have to be spliced and connected, installation is simple enough that it's easy for that sketchy part of town to not be so sketchy anymore. [Kaal Masten via Inhabitat]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/self-contained-solar-powered-streetlights-stay-complete-1446549431
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A new Chinese rule targets Chinese bloggers whose posts against their government have gone viral. One blogger and editor for the Chinese Wall Street Journal, Li Yuan, talks to host Scott Simon about the increased danger of posting in China.

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. In the United States, a Tweet or YouTube video that goes viral can make a career. In China, that can be dangerous. Last month, the Chinese government issued a new edict forbidding the spreading of rumors against the Chinese government. People who intentionally post what the government considers a rumor violate the law if they get 500 or more reposts or 5,000 or more views.

So hundreds of Chinese bloggers have been arrested and many of them are known as big Vs, verified bloggers who have a large online following. Li Yuan is editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal Chinese. She joins us from Beijing. Thanks so much for being with us.

LI YUAN: Thank you.

SIMON: Is what the Chinese government considers a rumor necessarily false?

YUAN: You know, I wouldn't say everything they said is false, is incorrect sometimes. There are a lot of rumors as Internet everywhere in the world. You know, the problem is when you arrest people for posting information online, that's another scene, you know. It terrorize people.

SIMON: Now, isn't the Web in China already heavily censored?

YUAN: You know, it is a very heavily censored Internet, but still, the rest of the world, in many countries, people would think China is a very tightly controlled place, but it's not that tight. People, in the past three years, over three years, Sina Weibo is what we call the micro blogging - it's a Twitter-like service - has become very popular in China and people can tweet all kinds of things and many times those postings will be deleted by the Internet police.

But a lot of times, those words will just keep being posted everywhere again and again. It's pretty difficult to control everything. I always say this is about the most exciting thing that has ever happened to the Chinese people in thousands of years because we've never had a place where we say something and then the government has to respond.

SIMON: Yeah. You just used a phrase we don't use in the United States, Internet police, for people being locked up for something they write online.

YUAN: Yeah, maybe, you know, the more accurate term is Internet censors. Some of them are employed by the government and a lot of times they are employed by the Internet companies. These companies have to hire hundreds of people to delete postings, to delete articles or videos that may anger the government.

SIMON: This seems to be happening at a time when we're getting reports in the West about a substantial number of people being locked up. A cartoonist has been locked up for what the government, I gather, calls rumor-mongering, somebody who runs an Internet consulting company has been arrested in southwestern China. Help us understand the atmosphere there right now.

YUAN: Yeah, it's the cartoonist, he was, you know, he got a knock on the door many Internet online bloggers fear every day and it was around midnight earlier this week and he was summoned by the police. So he basically retweeted a post about a baby that was reported starved to death because the area where the baby lived was very heavily flooded and they did not - some of the residents did not get enough assistance.

So he retweeted that post and then he got locked up. You know, of course it was - he was released the next day, but really people are scared. And you can see the postings, the number of postings have decreased.

SIMON: I'm told you blog.

YUAN: Yes.

SIMON: Are you afraid of that...

(SOUNDBITE OF THREE KNOCKS)

SIMON: ...knock on the door some day soon?

YUAN: To be honest, you know, as a journalist in China, it's something you have to deal with, especially when it gets really tens. You know, when I approach my apartment sometimes, I do have that fear in my stomach. But, you know, knock on the wood. It's still, you know, so far it's O.K.

SIMON: Li Yuan who is editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal Chinese speaking with us from Beijing. Thanks very much.

YUAN: Thank you.

Copyright © 2013 NPR. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to NPR. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/10/19/237545157/chinese-edict-against-rumors-puts-popular-bloggers-at-risk?ft=1&f=7
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The median sale price of listed condos in Chicago’s Loop in the third quarter was up 22.8%.^* The median sale price was $350,000.

Back in July I wrote about how the median sale price of Loop condos was up 4.7% in the second quarter. As shown below, the increase for the third quarter was the largest from a year earlier in the past 3 years.

Chicago Loop Condos Quarterly Median Sale Prices 3rd Qtr. 2010 – 3rd Qtr. 2013

The average sale price as a percent of original sale price for homes with no price changes was 99.8% up from 95.5%. The average sale price as a percent of original sale price for homes with 1 or more price changes was 91.6% up from 89.4%.

The number of Chicago Loop condos for sale in the 3rd quarter was down 8.6% from 3rd quarter 2012. The number of Loop condos for sale in the first quarter was down over 52% from 2010. The percent of distressed sales (short sales and foreclosures) in the third quarter dropped from 15% of the inventory to 9%.

The number of condos sold in the 3rd quarter was up 20.9% from a year earlier. Chicago Loop condos pending (under contract) sales were up 11.8%.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR CHICAGO LOOP CONDO BUYERS

Higher prices and higher prices as a percent of original list prices confirm that it’s no longer a buyers market. You need to be ready to buy when you find a home you want. If you will be financing your purchase, get your mortgage pre-approval before you start touring homes. Contact me for recommended mortgage consultants. If you’re paying cash, get a proof of funds letter from your accountant or banker ready to go. Contact me to get started.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR CHICAGO LOOP CONDO SELLERS

If your home is priced right when it goes on market, it should sell in less than 3 months. The average days on market was down 26.7% to 73 days, the lowest quarterly average days on market in the past 3 years. With the drop in inventory slowing you definitely shouldn’t price your home above market. Most buyers finance their purchase. Your home will need to appraise for at least sale price for financing to be approved. The appraised value is primarily determined by recent comparable sales. If you’re considering selling your home, contact me for a free market analysis.

CHICAGO LOOP CONDOS FOR SALE

Click below to see Chicago Loop condos for sale by price range. You can narrow the results by internal and external features.

FEATURED CHICAGO LOOP CONDO BUILDINGS

SCHEDULE SHOWINGS or GET A FREE MARKET ANALYSIS

Contact me to
schedule showings for any listings
get a free market analysis for your home
or
request additional information

^*includes apartments and townhouses, based on MRED (Midwest Real Estate Data)

Source: http://www.chicagometroarearealestate.com/prices-up-22-8-for-loop-condos-in-q3/
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Switch-Hitting Flash Drive Works on Laptops and MicroUSB Phones Alike

As ubiquitous as Wi-Fi and mobile data have become, there are still times when you'll find yourself completely cut off from any and all wireless networks. And inevitably those will be the times when you need to transfer files between a tablet or a smartphone and your laptop. Bluetooth can work in a pinch, but when time is of the essence, ADATA's new DashDrive flash drive plays nice with both USB and microUSB ports.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/switch-hitting-flash-drive-works-on-laptops-and-microus-1446514882
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NEW YORK (AP) — The results of an autopsy could determine whether two teenage girls are hit with serious charges after one of them was found carrying a dead fetus in a bag while shopping at a Victoria's Secret store in Manhattan.

Police were called to the store Thursday after a security guard on the lookout for shoplifters searched the 17-year-old girls, discovered a strong odor coming from one of their bags and found the fetus.

The girls were arrested on charges of petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property, police said. The teenager thought to have given birth was hospitalized, and the other was questioned by police.

One of the girls told detectives she was carrying the remains because she had delivered a day earlier and didn't know what to do, authorities said. It wasn't clear whether the fetus was alive or dead when delivered, or how far along the girl was in her pregnancy.

The medical examiner's office was performing an autopsy on the remains, and more charges could follow depending on the results.

A person who answered the phone at the home of the girl believed to have given birth had no comment. No phone number was available at the address provided by police for the second teenager.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/teen-found-fetus-bag-store-nypd-says-055748875.html
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Like many public universities before it, the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, has made the move to the top level of college football, known as Football Bowl Subdivision. The program is now in its second year of play. The team is struggling and attendance is weak. The school is pumping more money into football, and some faculty are questioning the investment. But others are calling for patience.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

From professional basketball to college football now. The University of Massachusetts Amherst last year moved into the Football Bowl Subdivision, college football's top league. The move didn't happen without growing pains. As New England Public Radio's Henry Epp reports, the challenges go beyond winning games and filling seats.

HENRY EPP, BYLINE: Outside Gillette Stadium before the home game against Miami University of Ohio, the tailgate is on, despite thick clouds and persistent drizzle. Tailgaters grill food, drink beers, and pass footballs across the parking lot.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

EPP: Fan Andy DiNapoli and his friends are decked out in UMass sweatshirts, as their kids swirl around them with a football. DiNapoli thinks the move to the top division is good for UMass.

ANDY DINAPOLI: I understand that the team has moved up a division which - that's awesome for the school in general. It's awesome for Massachusetts in general that they've done that. Now the hard part is bringing the fans to the game and getting people out here and seeing what UMass football is all about.

EPP: This home game is really at the home of the New England Patriots, over 90 miles from the UMass campus. UMass is playing here while it upgrades its Amherst stadium. Gillette Stadium is meant to hold 68,000 Patriots fans, but last year, UMass averaged under 11,000 fans per game. The school needs to bring that number up to 15,000 to avoid probation from the NCAA. So far, it's reached that mark but not by much.

Besides attendance, UMass has struggled on the field. Last year, the team was 1-11 and they have yet to win a game this season. But today might be one of their few chances for a victory. Their opponent, Miami, is also winless.

(SOUNDBITE OF FOOTBALL ANNOUNCER)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: First down and 10 at the 36 yard line.

EPP: Regardless of how they play, a top level college team requires a big financial commitment. The UMass football budget nearly doubled last year to about $8 million dollars, and the push for big time football came as the state cut back funding for UMass. All that new spending doesn't sit well with some faculty in Amherst. Art professor Max Page is co-chair of a faculty senate committee on football. He doesn't think the team will ever turn a profit.

MAX PAGE: Our argument has been we should never have gone in the first place, and we urge that this chancellor get out because this is an unraveling disaster.

EPP: The numbers are on Page's side. The NCAA openly admits that top tier football teams are rarely profitable. But ESPN's Kristi Dosh, who wrote a book on the business of college football, says a top-level team has value even if it doesn't make money.

KRISTI DOSH: Most schools can't afford to go out and buy the ad time to run ads or send out mailers or whatever the case may be to be able to reach potential students all over the country. But one nationally televised football game can do that.

EPP: But Dosh says any big-time football program needs years to adjust.

DOSH: A year or two, it's tough to see how things are going to go. Three years, I think you're starting to get a good idea. At five years, I think you know one way or another whether this is going to work out.

EPP: Outside the stadium, UMass Amherst chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy mingles with the tailgate crowd. Subbaswamy was not at the school when it chose to move to top level football but he dismisses critics of the program.

KUMBLE SUBBASWAMY: And I think it's silly to turn around after two seasons and say, we give up. So, no, we're staying all in. The investments in facilities was also badly needed. I think it's on course, so let's, you know, put the doubters to a test five years from now.

EPP: Next season is year three, and the team returns to Amherst for half of its home games. And things could be looking up after the game against Miami University. It wasn't pretty, but the Minutemen got some lucky breaks and pulled out a 17-10 win. For NPR News, I'm Henry Epp.

Copyright © 2013 NPR. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to NPR. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NprProgramsATC/~3/3acaPVkCs6k/story.php
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Actress Aimee Carrero has landed a recurring role on FX’s The Americans, The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively.

Carrero, who was a series regular on the Cartoon Network live-action series Level Up, will play Chena, a smart yet impulsive Sandinista freedom fighter who “will go to any lengths to support her cause.” The casting indicates that the United States’ assistance of the Nicaraguan Contras will be among the historical events of the 1980s that the FX political drama will explore in its second season, which premieres in January.

PHOTOS: 'The Americans': Exclusive Portraits of Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys on Set

Carrero has also been cast in Young and Hungry, a multi-camera comedy pilot from ABC Family and CBS Studios. Carrero will play Tessa, the best friend of series protagonist Gabi (Emily Osment) in the project from executive producers Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum, Ashley Tisdale and Jessica Rhoades. Tessa is described as an ambitious banking intern who is always hustling to make ends meet. If the pilot is picked up, it will be a series regular role.

Carrero’s credits include Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel and Blue Lagoon: The Awakening as well as guest spots on Greek, Lincoln Heights and Hannah Montana. She is repped by Innovative, 3 Arts and attorney Bill Skrzyniarz at Skrzyniarz & Mallean.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thr/television/~3/Eyy1ehrp788/story01.htm
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[unable to retrieve full-text content]Like many public universities before it, the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, has made the move to the top level of college football, known as Football Bowl Subdivision. The program is now in its second year of play. The team is struggling and attendance is weak. The school is pumping more money into football, and some faculty are questioning the investment. But others are calling for patience.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NprProgramsATC/~3/AExbsjrWpAk/story.php
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A strict Scalia diet of exclusively right-leaning media consumption got off to an auspicious start. It began en route to the religious right's Values Voter Summit by flipping on Fox Radio and hearing an archived audio clip from Gore Vidal:

You're born into a society and you are shaped by it whether you know it of not, whether you like it or not. Each of us is born into a prison of received opinion, of superstition, and of prejudices. Now, one of the functions of art is to try and define the prison. The artist must know he's in it, and many of them don't, and those are the bad artists.

More from NJ: Debt-Ceiling Watch: No House Vote on Shutdown

This writes itself, I thought. And in some ways, time listening to Rush Limbaugh and reading Erick Erickson on RedState.com did predictably feel like being inside a high-vaulted cell where the echoes of likeminded lifers drown out all other sounds.

More from NJ: Seriously, Reopen the Government or a Pandemic Could Kill Us All

"I have been making the point, trying to anyway, that the Republicans are winning," Rush Limbaugh told his listeners on Columbus Day. "That at least the Cruz and Lee faction is winning." Agreed, says the Daily Caller in story headlined "How Cruz, Lee and Paul shut down Obama's agenda," in which author Christopher Bedard says: "One thing is undeniable: Their stand has lit a much-needed fire in D.C."

More from NJ: Debt-Ceiling Watch: No House Vote on Shutdown

So yes, there certainly is a strain of believing only what you want to believe—known in technical terms as "epistemic closure"—happening in sections of the media. It's this type of groupthink that allows Sen. Ted Cruz to head to a lunch with his colleagues last week to tell them according to his polls, things are going great.

But many of Cruz's colleagues didn't buy it. And neither does everyone in the conservative media.

"Look, this isn't working out that well for Republicans. I think the facts show that, so it's not that controversial to say that," Megyn Kelly said on her Fox News show last week.

"The Republicans are underwater by 30 points," Charles Krauthammer agreed. "That is a catastrophe."

Even Antonin Scalia, who recently told New York Magazine that he stopped reading "liberal" news outlets like The New York Times because it made him angry in the morning, probably has a sense of how poorly things are playing for Republicans. And yet, the battle rages on.

There's a vein of underdogism that runs from Fox News, to the Daily Caller, all the way to RedState that makes the fiscal fight understandable. Programming is filled with stories about WWII veterans who gave their "blood, sweat and tears" for this country only to be turned away at their own memorials. And making things worse, according to anchors like Kelly, is that channels "other than FOX" only want to cover the rally as a means to point out confederate flag-toting protesters. "They want you to think it was all about the so-called fringe," she said.

It's no different, really than her segment with O'Reilly from just days earlier where they discussed a Wisconsin public school that proposed to limit the amount of Christmas songs sung by their choir. There's a war out there against the little guys, whether it's against Christmas or vets, and if Fox News won't stand up for them, no one will.

So sure, the majority of Americans may disapprove of how Republicans are handling the shutdown and debt crisis, even they'll admit that, but this is about standing for what's right despite being in the face of it.

So while ideological purists, such as Sens. Lee and Cruz and a chunk of House Republicans, continue to fight on, the inevitable deal will be viewed by many in conservative media as a cave by the rest of the GOP. On Tuesday, Limbaugh was already saying that the "establishment Republicans are not conservative" and Erickson is calling on Republicans to "keep the fight on the continuing resolution about Obamacare."

Even the establishment conservative outlets, which are admitting Republicans are not faring well in the public relations war, are steadfastly sticking to the conservative policy position on Obamacare – it's a terrible law that deserves to be repealed. Look at Bill O'Reilly, who for weeks said the defund-Obamacare effort was doomed to fail and then last week argued: "If the president is really looking out for the folks, he has to know things are not working out well. And the country needs another year to better organize the health program and to see who is going to suffer because of it. That's just fair."

That Republicans are losing the fight has become a truism, even in the conservative media. But the conclusions that the left and right come to based on those facts couldn't be farther apart. O'Reilly isn't saying there never should have been a fight over Obamacare, he's saying the fight should have been about delay, not defund. Erickson goes even farther, saying the real reason that Republicans are losing support is because they are being too wimpy on the matter (a recycled argument for why Mitt Romney lost his presidential bid).

"The RedState contact email is now getting one anti-GOP email for every one anti-Democrat email," Erickson wrote today. "That has never happened before. All these polls showing America hates the GOP are accurate. Even Republicans hate the GOP and the GOP might have to learn that the hard way in 2014 primaries."

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Tuesday, October 22, 2013

5 Questions Kathleen Sebelius Must Answer

Monday, October 21, 2013

How Encouraging People to Walk Can Help Strengthen Our Cities

In Kansas, Farmers Commit To Take Less Water From The Ground

AG: Number of mass shootings tripled

Italian unions to strike over coalition budget compromise

Unleashed On Halloween, Monsters Cereal Haunts Hoarders

Folk's 42-yard FG leads Jets past Pats 30-27 in OT

Tenor Andrea Bocelli to receive master's next week

Webb Simpson wins in Las Vegas

Sunday, October 20, 2013

This Week In Celebrity Twitpics And Instagrams!

Feedly for Android scores 300 percent faster start time, raft of refinements

Self-Contained Solar-Powered Streetlights Stay Completely Off the Grid

Chinese Edict Against 'Rumors' Puts Popular Bloggers At Risk

Prices up 22.8% for Loop condos in Q3 - Chicago Metro Area Real ...

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR CHICAGO LOOP CONDO BUYERS

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR CHICAGO LOOP CONDO SELLERS

CHICAGO LOOP CONDOS FOR SALE

FEATURED CHICAGO LOOP CONDO BUILDINGS

SCHEDULE SHOWINGS or GET A FREE MARKET ANALYSIS

Switch-Hitting Flash Drive Works on Laptops and MicroUSB Phones Alike

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Teen found with fetus in bag at store, NYPD says

UMass Bets Big On Football Program Despite Poor Attendance

'The Americans' Casts Cartoon Network Alum for Season 2 (Exclusive)

UMass Bets Big On Football Program Despite Poor Attendance

Inside The Conservative Media Bubble

Same-sex marriages to begin Monday in New Jersey