American Express profit rises as corporate spending picks up

By Aman Shah

(Reuters) - American Express Co posted a better-than-expected 9 percent rise in quarterly profit as spending by corporate card users began to pick up after more than a year of sluggish growth.

A relatively affluent customer base has helped to insulate American Express from tepid consumer spending that has led to an overall decline in credit card usage in the United States.

The company, which has fewer defaulting customers than rival credit card issuers, said on Wednesday that it had not suffered any direct impact from the U.S. government shutdown.

"They largely cater to a consumer base who would likely be less sensitive to the fallout from what's going on in Washington DC," said Sameer Gokhale, an analyst at Janney Capital Markets.

For the third quarter ended September 30, American Express said spending on its cards rose 9 percent after adjusting for foreign currency translations -- the biggest jump in five quarters.

The company, which lends directly to consumers and competes with Visa Inc and MasterCard Inc to process credit card transactions, said its U.S.-billed business rose 8 percent to $158.2 billion.

Chief Financial Officer Jeff Campbell said he was encouraged by the reversal of a trend that had seen growth in corporate card spending lose momentum since the second quarter of 2012.

Speaking on his first post-earnings conference call since taking over from Daniel Henry, Campbell also said it was important that a deal be reached soon to resolve the U.S. budget impasse.

"The alternative is an outcome that would erode consumer confidence and jeopardize a still-uncertain economic recovery," he said.

U.S. lawmakers are set to vote late Wednesday on a bipartisan Senate deal to break the fiscal impasse in Washington and avert a historic debt default, hours before the government's borrowing authority is set to run out.

CREDIT QUALITY IMPROVES

American Express has the lowest delinquency rate among the biggest credit card issuers, which include JPMorgan Chase, Discover Financial, Capital One, Bank of America and Citigroup.

Its net-lending write-off rate for the quarter dropped to a low of 1.7 percent, compared with 1.9 percent in the year-earlier period, indicating that more customers were keeping up with card payments.

Net profit rose to $1.37 billion, or $1.25 per share, for the quarter ended September 30, above analysts' expectations of $1.22 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Total revenue, net of interest expense, rose 6 percent to $8.30 billion, beating average Wall Street estimates for the first time in five quarters.

Shares of American Express, which has a market valuation of $81.2 billion, have risen about 30 percent this year, outperforming a 19 percent rise on the broader S&P 500 Index.

They were up marginally in extended trading after closing at $76.32 on Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Editing by Anthony Kurian and Robin Paxton)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/american-express-profit-rises-8-5-percent-201259287--sector.html
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Firefighters serenade Judi Dench in London

British actors Steve Coogan, left, and Judi Dench, second from left, arrive with British director Stephen Frears, second from right, for the screening of Philomena, as part of the 57th BFI London Film Festival, at a central London cinema, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)

British actors Steve Coogan, left, and Judi Dench, second from left, arrive with British director Stephen Frears, second from right, for the screening of Philomena, as part of the 57th BFI London Film Festival, at a central London cinema, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)

British actors Steve Coogan and Dame Judi Dench pose together during the red carpet arrivals for the screening of Philomena, as part of the 57th BFI London Film Festival, at a central London cinema, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)

British actress Dame Judi Dench, left, arrives with David Mills on the red carpet for the screening of Philomena, as part of the 57th BFI London Film Festival, at a central London cinema, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)

LONDON (AP) — Judi Dench has been serenaded by firefighters as she arrived for the London premiere of her latest film.

Dench walked the red carpet in Leicester Square Wednesday for the London Film Festival screening of "Philomena."

The movie tells the true story of an Irishwoman's quest to track down the son she was forced to give up for adoption 50 years earlier.

Members of the Fire Brigades Union, drinking at a pub after a protest march against pension cuts, spotted the 78-year-old star, chanted "We love you Judi" and broke into a rendition of Beatles song "Hey Jude."

The Stephen Frears-directed film also stars Steve Coogan as Martin Sixsmith, a journalist who helped Lee in her search and wrote a book about her story.

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-10-16-Britain-Judi%20Dench/id-36ea702998774907a08a5977da18f7eb
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Nestle may be hinting at Android 4.4 KitKat launch on October 28th

We know that Google is fond of puzzles, and it may be using a few of them to tease the launch of Android 4.4 KitKat. Nestle's @KitKat Twitter account has posted two musical references (embedded after the break) that suggest the OS could appear on October 28th. The first, "everybody dance now," clearly points to C+C Music Factory -- originally known as The 28th Street Crew. The second hint may be an allusion to Michael Jackson's This Is It movie, which reached stores on (you guessed it) October 28th. Don't plan your schedule around that day, however, as there are a few reasons to doubt the timing. C+C Music Factory released its "Gonna Make You Sweat" single on October 18th, and the album version of This Is It reached the US on October 26th; if these are teasers of any sort, they're not being obvious. Still, we're fast approaching the October 29th anniversary of the launches for both Android 4.2 and the Nexus 4 -- no matter what, Google is due for both new software and the hardware to match.

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/16/nestle-may-be-hinting-at-android-4-4-kitkat-launch-on-october-28/?ncid=rss_truncated
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JPMorgan pays $100M, admits fault in London trades

FILE - This Oct. 15, 2008, file photo, shows the exterior view of JPMorgan Chase offices in San Francisco. In a settlement announced Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013, JPMorgan Chase & Co., has agreed to pay a $100 million penalty and admitted that it “recklessly” distorted prices during a series of London trades that ultimately cost the bank $6 billion in losses. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

FILE - This Oct. 15, 2008, file photo, shows the exterior view of JPMorgan Chase offices in San Francisco. In a settlement announced Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013, JPMorgan Chase & Co., has agreed to pay a $100 million penalty and admitted that it “recklessly” distorted prices during a series of London trades that ultimately cost the bank $6 billion in losses. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — JPMorgan Chase & Co. has agreed to pay a $100 million penalty and admitted that its traders acted "recklessly" during a series of London trades that ultimately cost the bank $6 billion.

The settlement announced Wednesday by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission comes less than a month after JPMorgan, the nation's largest bank, agreed to pay $920 million and admit fault in a deal with the Securities and Exchange Commission and other U.S. and British regulators.

The stunning trading losses that surfaced in April 2012 shook the financial world and damaged JPMorgan's reputation. The CFTC deal differs from the previous agreement because JPMorgan is formally acknowledging that its traders recklessly distorted prices to reduce the banks' losses at the expense of other market participants. In the SEC agreement, JPMorgan admitted only that it failed to supervise those traders.

The bank "recklessly disregarded the fundamental precept on which market participants rely: that prices are established based on legitimate forces of supply and demand," the CFTC said in a news release.

According to the agency, JPMorgan traders in London sold off $7 billion in derivatives tied to a price index of corporate bonds in one day — including $4.6 billion worth in a three-hour span.

Derivatives are investments whose value is based on some other investment, such as oil and currencies. JPMorgan was betting that the price of the index would drop. When the traders sold their derivatives, the price of the index plunged.

That was a "staggering volume" and the most ever traded by the bank in one day, according to the CFTC. The traders realized that the huge volume of the derivatives they had amassed could affect the market, and they decided to do so, the agency said.

The agreement marks the first time the CFTC used a new legal authority from the 2010 financial overhaul law that is designed to prohibit reckless market conduct.

Enforcement Director David Meister said the agency now is "better armed than ever to protect the market."

New York-based JPMorgan, in a statement, said "We are pleased to be able to put behind us another aspect of the ... trading matter by the resolution of the CFTC investigation."

In addition to paying the $100 million, JPMorgan agreed in the settlement to continue to take steps to tighten its oversight of derivatives trading with an eye to reducing risk.

The Justice Department has been investigating JPMorgan for possible criminal violations in connection with the London trades. One of the traders involved, Bruno Iksil, was known as the "London Whale" for the outsize bets he made that could roil markets.

JPMorgan was one of the few financial institutions to come through the 2008 financial crisis without suffering major losses. The trading loss raised concern about continued risk-taking by Wall Street banks five years after the financial crisis plunged the country into the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

The fallout ensnared JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who initially dismissed news reports of the huge bets by the London operation as a "tempest in a teapot." He later acknowledged the magnitude of the losses, admitted to Congress that the bank failed in its oversight and took a multi-million-dollar pay cut.

Federal prosecutors in New York filed criminal charges in August against JPMorgan traders Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout. Martin-Artajo supervised the bank's trading strategy in London, and Grout, his subordinate, was in charge of recording the value of the investments each day. They were charged with conspiracy to falsify books and records, commit wire fraud and falsify filings to the SEC.

Both traders, through their lawyers, have denied any wrongdoing. No charges have been brought against Iksil. Prosecutors say he tried to raise questions about how his colleagues were recording the trades.

The settlement with the CFTC comes at a time when JPMorgan is in talks with the Justice Department to resolve unrelated claims dating back to the 2008 financial crisis. The payout could be as much as $11 billion to resolve claims over its sales of mortgage-backed securities in the run-up to the crisis.

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-10-16-JPMorgan-Trading%20Loss/id-d10ef5bb08dd4988b789cb04f999277c
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Wall Street ends lower, futures fall after Fitch rating move

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures fell on Tuesday after Fitch Ratings placed the country's 'AAA' rating on rating watch negative, citing the impasse in Washington over raising the debt ceiling.

"Although Fitch continues to believe that the debt ceiling will be raised soon, the political brinkmanship and reduced financing flexibility could increase the risk of a U.S. default," the rating agency wrote in a statement.

S&P 500 futures fell 9.6 points while Dow Jones industrial average futures sank 60 points and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 7.5 points.

(Reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by Nick Zieminski)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stock-futures-dip-citi-earnings-115931637--finance.html
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Aviate: An Android App Launcher That Changes to Fit Your Day

App launchers typify the Android phone experience: don't like the way your home screen looks? Tinker around with it! But while plenty of launchers offer deep visual customization, in the end they're all basically elaborate paint jobs. Aviate, launching in beta today, doesn't give you as many tweaks for your home screen, but it makes your phone morph with your daily activity.

Aviate gives you five different home screens—Morning, Going Somewhere, Work, Restaurants, and Nighttime—that pop up automatically based on time and your activity (or when manually chosen by swiping right from the home screen). Each screen populates with the information and apps Aviate considers relevant: weather report, the day's calendar, and news apps in the morning; navigation apps when you're on the move; Alarm Clock and Do Not Disturb (and in my case, Kindle) when it's late and you're at home, and presumably ready for bed. Every screen keeps your top 10 most used apps in a swipe-up drawer.

What Aviate promises is to dress your phone in different outfits throughout the day. At work the look is business professional, with Google Docs and Dropbox apps highlighted, and one-touch buttons for email and calendar, but not a social media button in site. At a restaurant, your home screen slips into something casual, offering up camera and check-in buttons, suggesting apps like Foursquare and OpenTable, and giving you tips and reviews from Yelp.

S

What you'll see swiping to either side of the homescreen (in this case, my work screen)

I took Aviate for a spin overnight to see how it works. It's pretty good about using context clues to suggest apps and activities. Once you've entered your home and work addresses, when it senses you're en route to either it'll give you navigation and traffic updates automatically. It senses when you're near a restaurant or shop and gives you a custom screen that's usually relevant—though when I went to a coffee shop in my neighborhood it swore I was at Victoria's Secret next door. The Google Reviews it offered me weren't very relevant to my coffee.

Aside from curating your apps based on what you're doing, Aviate organizes your full app list in two ways: Collections, one swipe left from the home screen, which groups your apps by category (social, work, music, etc.), or an alphabetized list one swipe further left. You can drag and drop apps that didn't automatically appear on one of the home screens, or add widgets if that's your kind of thing.

You can't, however, make major rearrangements—unlike "customize everything" app launchers, Aviate keeps your choices pretty tightly confined within the five home screens. Android users who love to crawl around under the hood might find this disappointing. This is a set-it-and-forget-it launcher: Once you've got it optimized, there's really not much else to fiddle with.

If you've got lots of apps, but you don't like digging through them all to find the ones you usually use at work, on the train, or on the town, Aviate's dynamic system and low-clutter design might be what you're looking for. Private beta opens up today, and the folks at Aviate are offering 500 downloads for Gizmodo readers with the redemption code GIZMODO. [Google Play]

Related

What Is an App Launcher?

You wouldn't initially think it, but your phone's home screen is itself an app. It's an app that launches other apps—an app launcher,… Read…

Source: http://gizmodo.com/aviate-an-android-app-launcher-that-changes-to-fit-you-1445466763
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Wal-Mart predicts sales will grow faster next year

By Jessica Wohl

(Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc expects slightly stronger sales growth next year as it makes changes such as opening more smaller U.S. stores and shutting 50 poorly performing stores in Brazil and China, executives said on Tuesday.

The world's largest retailer sees a "tough" and "unpredictable" economy around the world, Chief Executive Officer Mike Duke said, a week after the International Monetary Fund trimmed its outlook for global growth.

Wal-Mart expects its overall sales to rise to $475 billion to $480 billion this fiscal year, a gain of about 1.9 percent to 3 percent over last year's $466.11 billion. For fiscal 2015, which begins in February, it is targeting 3 percent to 5 percent growth, Chief Financial Officer Charles Holley said at the company's meeting with investors and analysts in Arkansas. The meeting was also webcast.

Positive economic signs such as a declining unemployment rate, along with Wal-Mart's efforts such as better merchandising plans, new stores and ecommerce plans, makes the company confident it can grow sales faster next year, Holley said.

Still, U.S. customers remain under pressures from higher income taxes, gas and food prices, plus the government shutdown, and they are trying to stick to budgets.

Wal-Mart is not waiting for the holiday season to get aggressive on pricing. Walmart U.S., its largest business by far, is promoting low prices on everything from Kraft's Velveeta cheese and PepsiCo Inc's Doritos chips to Procter & Gamble Co's Pampers diapers and Bounty paper towels this month, while Sam's Club will have another discount booklet for members starting on October 30, as both chains try to boost sales early in the fourth quarter.

More than 1 million people have already signed up for holiday layaway, which allows Walmart U.S. shoppers to put items on hold and pay for them over time. Four of the top five items on layaway are devices including Google Inc Nexus tablets, HP's HP 2000 laptop, the Hisense Sero 7 tablet and Fuhu Inc's nabi 2 Kids' tablets, Holley told reporters.

FURLOUGH IMPACT

Walmart U.S. feels pretty good about its profit but is not satisfied with its sales, Simon said.

Same-store sales at Walmart U.S. unexpectedly fell 0.3 percent in the 13-week period that ended in late July. Same-store sales at the bottom 10 percent of its large U.S. supercenters were down 7.5 percent in that period, he added.

Walmart U.S. said it is testing using its supercenter stores as "cross docks" to supply nearby smaller stores, a move that could help it keep goods in stock and cut costs. The system is set to roll out in the first of three unnamed markets in March.

Using the back room of a supercenter as a "little mini warehouse" for daily deliveries to smaller stores would eliminate the need to send 53-foot trucks from distribution centers to smaller stores, Walmart U.S. CEO Bill Simon said.

"I think it's a fundamental shift in their real estate strategy" to look at things market-by-market rather than store-by-store and is a "sophisticated development," said Stewart Samuel, program director at IGD, who attended Tuesday's meeting.

Those types of efforts, plus continued investment in ecommerce, should pay off over time, Samuel said. Wal-Mart, which is opening more ecommerce fulfillment centers and filling some orders from stores, expects $13 billion in ecommerce sales in fiscal 2015, up from $10 billion or more this year.

Thousands of federal workers have been furloughed in the impasse over the U.S. budget and Walmart U.S. CEO Bill Simon said that if people were not getting paid, they were not shopping as much. Sam's Club CEO Rosalind Brewer said that just over 40,000 people came to shop at its warehouse clubs after the chain waived its usual fee for those who could not access military commissaries closed in the shutdown.

Wal-Mart shares ended the day down 31 cents, or 0.42 percent, at $74.37. Through Monday, the shares were up 10 percent this year, underperforming the 19.7 percent gain in the S&P 500 <.spx>.

SLOWING INTERNATIONAL GROWTH

Bentonville, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart is still committed to trying to grow operating expenses at a slower rate than sales. Overall, capital spending is set to be $12 billion to $13 billion this year and $11.8 billion to $12.8 billion next year.

The company is closing about 50 under-performing stores out of hundreds it has in the major emerging markets of Brazil and China, said Walmart International Chief Executive Doug McMillon. The company said the stores set to close represent about 2 percent to 3 percent of its sales in each of those markets, although it is still opening new stores as well.

For the first time, Walmart U.S. plans to open more smaller-format stores than supercenters. Walmart U.S. plans to open 235 to 265 stores in fiscal year 2015, about 120 to 150 of them small stores. It is planning for about 245 openings this year, slightly above an earlier forecast.

Wal-Mart now plans to open 34 million square feet of new store space this year, down from its original forecast of 36 million to 40 million square feet. For next year, it targeted 33 million to 37 million in new store space, with more than half of the space being added in Walmart U.S., which will open more smaller stores than larger ones. The pace of growth internationally may continue to slow.

(Reporting by Jessica Wohl in Chicago; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick, John Wallace, Andre Grenon and Krista Hughes)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wal-mart-says-u-government-shutdown-customers-minds-132111163--business.html
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Malala Yousafzai: A 'Normal,' Yet Powerful Girl

Malala Yousafzai speaks to NPR's Michel Martin while on tour for her new book, I Am Malala.

Abbey Oldham/NPR

Malala Yousafzai speaks to NPR's Michel Martin while on tour for her new book, I Am Malala.

Abbey Oldham/NPR

"I think Malala is an average girl," Ziauddin Yousafzai says about the 16-year-old Pakistani girl who captured the world's attention after being shot by the Taliban, "but there's something extraordinary about her."

A teacher himself, Yousafzai inspired his daughter's fight to be educated. At a special event with Malala in Washington, D.C., he tells NPR's Michel Martin that he is often asked what training he gave to his daughter. "I usually tell people, 'You should not ask me what I have done. Rather you ask me, what I did not do,' " he says. "I did not clip her wings to fly. I did not stop her from flying."

Yousafzai has this advice for parents of girls around the world: "Trust your daughters, they are faithful. Honor your daughters, they are honorable. And educate your daughters, they are amazing."

A year after being shot, Malala is clear about her goal. "I speak for education of every child, in every corner of the world," Malala says. "There has been a discrimination in our society," which she believes must be defeated. "We women are going to bring change. We are speaking up for girls' rights, but we must not behave like men, like they have done in the past."

Perhaps she has learned from her father's experience. When asked what gave him a passion for girls' education, Yousafzai points out that he was "born in a society where girls are ignored." Living with five sisters, he was sensitive to discrimination from an early age. "In the morning, I was used to milk and cream, and my sisters were given only tea," he says.

Yousafzai felt the injustice even more when Malala was born. He later opened a school that Malala attended in the Swat Valley. At the time, the Taliban's influence was gaining power and both Yousafzais were firmly on their radar. "But we thought that even terrorists might have some ethics," Yousafzai says. "Because they destroyed some 1,500 schools but they never injured a child. And she was a child."

Malala says that the shooting has taken away her fear. "I have already seen death and I know that death is supporting me in my cause of education. Death does not want to kill me," she says. "Before this attack, I might have been a little bit afraid how death would be. Now I'm not, because I have experienced it."

When asked if she is having any fun now with all her campaigning, Malala laughs, "It's a very nice question. I miss those days." But she also says that there is another side to her than what is shown in the media. "Outside of my home, I look like a very obedient, very serious, very good kind of girl, but nobody knows what happens inside the house." There, she says, she's not naughty, but she has to stand up to her brothers. "It's good to fight with your brothers and it's good to tease them to give them advice."

She says her little brother doesn't really understand why his sister has so much attention. "He said, 'Malala ... I can't understand why people are giving you prizes, and everywhere you go people say, 'This is Malala' and they give you awards, what have you done?' " she says.

Malala knows the Taliban would still like to kill her, but she says she hopes to return to Pakistan one day. "First, I need to empower myself with knowledge, with education. I need to work hard," she says. "And when I [am] powerful, then I will go back to Pakistan, inshallah [God willing]."

Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/10/15/234730460/malala-yousafzai-a-normal-yet-powerful-girl?ft=1&f=46
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Magnolia Takes U.S. Rights to 'The Double' Starring Jesse Eisenberg

Magnolia Pictures has picked up U.S. rights to The Double, Richard Ayoade's film starring Jesse Eisenberg and Mia Wasikowska.

Ayoade, an English comedian-actor who made his directorial debut with 2010's Submarine, co-wrote and directed The Double, which is loosely based on the novella by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. An Alcove Entertainment production, the film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September.

Magnolia is planning a 2014 theatrical release following a domestic festival run.

VIDEO: Toronto: Jesse Eisenberg, Meet Jesse Eisenberg in 'The Double' Trailer

Co-written by Avi Korine, the story follows a man named Simon (Eisenberg) who is overlooked at work, criticized by his mother and ignored by his dream woman (Wasikowska). When a new co-worker arrives (also played by Eisenberg), Simon's world is changed by the doppelganger who is everything that Simon is not.

The supporting cast includes Wallace Shawn, Yasmin Paige, Noah Taylor, James Fox, Cathy Moriarty, Chris O'Dowd, Sally Hawkins, Craig Roberts and Paddy Considine.

The film was produced by Amina Dasmal and Robin Fox, and executive produced by Michael Caine, Graeme Cox, Tessa Ross and Nigel Williams.

In THR's Toronto review, John DeFore wrote of the film: "A big shift from his coming-of-age debut film, Submarine, the heavily stylized film further demonstrates the actor's ability to create self-contained worlds behind the camera."

The deal was negotiated by Magnolia director of acquisitions John Von Thaden with WME Global and Protagonist Pictures on behalf of the filmmakers.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thr/film/~3/1nvKjDBfokg/story01.htm
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Big day by Davis lifts 49ers past Cardinals 32-20

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — If Vernon Davis keeps this up, perhaps the San Francisco 49ers can stop worrying about the passing game until Michael Crabtree returns from injury next month.

Davis caught touchdown passes of 61 and 35 yards and finished with a career-best 180 yards receiving, leading the 49ers past the Arizona Cardinals 32-20 on Sunday for their third straight victory.

Colin Kaepernick threw for 252 yards and Frank Gore ran for 101 yards on 25 carries.

Kendall Hunter ran for a 6-yard touchdown that sealed it for the 49ers (4-2) with 6:35 remaining.

Rookie safety Eric Reid made his team-leading third interception and also recovered a fumble to stop an Arizona drive deep in 49ers territory in the third quarter. San Francisco forced four turnovers for the second straight game.

Arizona (3-3) lost star defensive end Calais Campbell to an apparent right leg injury late in the game.

For the 49ers, this balanced offensive performance was something they have searched for from Week 1.

Kaepernick got back on track after four straight games of fewer than 200 yards passing.

Carson Palmer was 25 of 41 for 298 yards with a 75-yard touchdown pass to Larry Fitzgerald, but inconsistent play plagued Arizona's offense again.

Trailing 22-14 late in the second quarter, Cardinals missed a big opportunity to take some momentum into halftime. Michael Floyd was flagged for offensive pass interference when he pushed Tarell Brown out of the way before making what would have been a 44-yard touchdown catch.

Floyd redeemed himself with a 10-yard touchdown catch midway through the third quarter in which he got by Brown in the left corner of the end zone. But Arizona failed on a 2-point conversion try, leaving the 49ers up 22-20.

The Cardinals' much-improved defense took a big blow when Campbell was carted off with 4:56 left. He was hurt when his leg buckled beneath him on a tackle of Gore.

Fitzgerald didn't seem hampered by a tender hamstring when he split two defenders as the 49ers tried for another interception, and his touchdown put Arizona ahead 7-6 late in the first quarter.

Fitzgerald fumbled after a catch late in the third quarter on a hit by Patrick Willis, and Reid recovered. All-Pro linebacker Willis returned for San Francisco after missing two games with a groin injury.

There was some question whether Fitzgerald would play, with the Cardinals gearing up for two games in a five-day stretch; the Seahawks visit the desert Thursday night. But he played in his 96th straight game.

After Fitzgerald scored, San Francisco took charge in a wild sequence.

Kaepernick's tipped pass intended for Bruce Miller near the goal line was intercepted by Yeremiah Bell. But San Francisco turned that bad break into a go-ahead safety when Corey Lemonier took Palmer down in the end zone for his first career sack, putting the 49ers ahead 8-7.

Two plays after Arizona's free kick, Kaepernick found Davis for the 61-yard TD.

___

AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/big-day-davis-lifts-49ers-past-cardinals-32-000101013--spt.html
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Automatic cuts re-emerge as budget battle issue

Eighth-grade students from Highland Middle School in La Grange, Ill., visit the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Oct. 14, 2013, as a partial government shutdown enters its third week. The Senate's top two leaders both expressed optimism Monday that they were closing in on an agreement to prevent a national financial default and reopen the government after a two-week partial shutdown. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Eighth-grade students from Highland Middle School in La Grange, Ill., visit the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Oct. 14, 2013, as a partial government shutdown enters its third week. The Senate's top two leaders both expressed optimism Monday that they were closing in on an agreement to prevent a national financial default and reopen the government after a two-week partial shutdown. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

A view of the Washington Monument from Capitol Hill on Monday, Oct. 14, 2013 in Washington. The federal government remains partially shut down and faces a default between Oct. 17 and the end of the month. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The broad, automatic spending cuts known as sequestration have re-emerged as a central issue in efforts to end the partial government shutdown and avert a federal default.

Many conservatives view the past seven months of lower spending levels as one of their rare accomplishments in dealing with President Barack Obama and want to continue them.

But GOP defense hawks complain that the next round of automatic cuts falls almost entirely on the Pentagon, and many Republicans want to shift that burden to domestic programs.

Obama and Democrats would do away with them altogether, substituting new taxes and maybe some spending cuts elsewhere in their place. Republicans are agreeable — Democrats much less so — to trimming future Social Security benefits or making wealthier retirees pay higher premiums for Medicare in place of the automatic cuts.

Sequestration deals mostly with the day-to-day operating budgets of federal agencies. The Veterans Administration is exempt, as are the biggest "mandatory" benefit programs like Social Security, food stamps and Medicaid. The president's health care program — "Obamacare" —also is exempt.

The impact of the automatic cuts that went into effect in March was not as harsh as many people feared. Some agencies were able to move money around to prevent or reduce furloughs.

For many Americans, however, the impacts have been real. Health research has slowed, thousands of Head Start slots have been eliminated and poor people have been left hanging on waiting lists for housing subsidy vouchers.

The future is uncertain but easing or eliminating a new round of automatic spending cuts in January is likely to be a focus of any budget talks once the government reopens fully. Giving agencies more flexibility to adjust to reduced funding levels also is being discussed.

A brief primer on the automatic spending cuts and what might happen next:

—Sequestration was established by the 2011 Budget Control Act to reduce government spending by $1.2 trillion over 10 years. The cuts were to be divided between defense and domestic programs and achieved through caps on the money Congress can appropriate each year.

—For fiscal 2013 ending Sept. 30, sequestration lowered Congress' spending cap from $1.043 trillion to $988 billion. Of the $55 billion in spending cuts, $22 billion was from a 4.5 percent cut in domestic programs and $33 billion was from a 6 percent cut in military spending. That reduced the Pentagon's budget this past year from $552 billion to $519 billion. In addition, benefit programs were cut $17 billion. Of that, $11 billion was from fee reductions for Medicare providers like doctors and hospitals. The other $6 billion was spread among smaller programs like farm subsidies. Altogether the sequester produced total budget savings of $72 billion in 2013.

—For fiscal 2014, the sequester lowers the cap on what Congress can spend to $967 billion. Virtually all of the additional savings would come from new and deeper cuts to the military. The Pentagon's budget would drop from $519 billion to $498 billion.

—The debate: House Republicans want to maintain the $967 billion cap for fiscal 2014 but shift all the sequester cuts from the Pentagon to domestic programs. Democrats want to do away with the sequester entirely and set the spending cap at $1.06 trillion.

Congressional leaders tentatively have agreed to extend the 2013 cap of $988 billion for three months while they attempt to negotiate a broader deal for easing or replacing the automatic spending cuts.

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-10-15-Budget%20Battle-Sequestration/id-6f18ae3b93814ab49dbfade368728e37
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Google exec says top-secret Google Glass successor now being developed

Google Glass won’t launch until sometime next year and when it does, it’s likely that only the most fearless geeks will dare to wear the connected headset out in public. According to MIT’s Technology Review blog, Google is already hard at work on a top-secret follow-up to Glass — on that we hope will be a bit less conspicuous. Mary Lou Jepsen, who currently heads the display division in Google’s secretive “Google X” lab, told the audience at MIT’s EmTech conference last week that she is currently only getting about three hours of sleep each night as she toils away getting Google’s Glass successor ready for primetime. Jepsen didn’t share any details, though it might be a touch worrying that she also described Google Glass as “cool” during her talk. Google Glass is a lot of things and it’s definitely an exciting first look at one direction wearable computing may head, but we’re not so sure “cool” is the right way to describe it.

More from BGR: Video: Nexus 5 bares all in early hands-on walkthrough

This article was originally published on BGR.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/google-exec-says-top-secret-google-glass-successor-201058097.html
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“I’m not doing good enough”, admits Alonso | 2013 Japanese Grand Prix

Fernando Alonso^[1] gave no excuses for his qualifying performance in Japan, saying he hasn’t been able to get the most out of his car at Suzuka.

“I didn’t have a good weekend so far,” Alonso admitted. “I’ve been eighth, ninth all weekend and didn’t find the pace.”

“In qualifying I’m eighth again so I’m not doing good enough so far and I try to recover some positions tomorrow.”

Alonso said his aim for the race was to take as many points off Mercedes as possible.

“I think top five may be something realistic for us,” said Alonso. “We need to overtake a few cars but we need to also race a little bit.”

“I think in the constructors’ championship we have Mercedes only one point behind. They are both in front of me. I need to finish at least in front of them.”

2013 Japanese Grand Prix

Browse all 2013 Japanese Grand Prix articles^[2]

Image © Ferrari/Ercole Colombo

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References

1. ^{^} Fernando Alonso (www.f1fanatic.co.uk)
2. ^{^} Browse all 2013 Japanese Grand Prix articles (www.f1fanatic.co.uk)

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Oil Spill Reaches Popular Tourist Island

Niger Delta ExxonMobil Spill, Nigeria - May 2010

In Nigeria's Akwa Ibom State, an ExxonMobil pipeline ruptured on May 1 and spilled over a million gallons of oil, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/30/oil-spills-nigeria-niger-delta-shell" target="_hplink">reported the <em>Guardian</em></a>. The leak continued for seven days before it was stopped. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/omoyele-sowore/the-oil-spill-no-ones-tal_b_649220.html" target="_hplink">HuffPost blogger Omoyele Sowore explained</a> in July 2010 that an oil spill from ExxonMobil operations was nothing new to the country. He wrote that an "environmental catastrophe [had] been going on since December 2009." He described the toll on Nigeria: "There's oil on the surface of the ocean, wildlife coated in crude, fishermen losing their businesses." In 2011, the Nigerian government said there had been <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2011/aug/05/world/la-fg-nigeria-oil-20110805">more than 7,000 oil spills</a> in the country between 1970 and 2000 that could take up to 30 years and $1 billion to clean up.

Trans-Alaska Pipeline Spill - May 2010

In May 2010, several thousand barrels of oil spilled from the Trans-Alaska pipeline "during a scheduled pipeline shutdown at a pump station near Fort Greely," <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/26/alaska-oil-spill-trans-al_n_589974.html" target="_hplink">explained AP</a>. No injuries were reported and officials said the spill was likely "limited to the gravel on top of the containment area's line."

Red Butte Creek Spill, Utah - June 2010

In June 2010, a Chevron pipeline ruptured and spilled oil into a creek near Salt Lake City, Utah. It was first estimated that over 17,000 to 21,000 gallons spilled into the creek, which leads into the Great Salt Lake, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/12/utah-oil-spill-500-gallon_n_610232.html#s99698" target="_hplink">reported AP</a>. Around 150 birds were "identified for rehabilitation." The <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/14/utah-oil-spill-officials-_n_611014.html" target="_hplink">oil did not reach the Great Salt Lake</a>, however. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/14/chevron-cited-for-oil-spi_n_646340.html" target="_hplink">Chevron was later cited for the spill</a>, which released an estimated 33,000 gallons in total. In March 2012, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20120324/us-oil-spill-utah/" target="_hplink">a group of 66 residents of a Salt Lake City neighborhood sued Chevron</a> for damage caused by the Red Butte Creek spill and a smaller spill in December 2011.

Kalamazoo River Spill, Michigan - July 2010

In late July 2010, an Enbridge pipeline in southwestern Michigan sprung a leak and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/27/michigan-oil-spill-among_n_661196.html" target="_hplink">spilled over 800,000 gallons of oil into a creek</a> which flows into the Kalamazoo River. By August, a regional EPA administrator said that significant progress had been made at the site, but "the agency cautioned that it will take months to complete the cleanup," <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/02/michigan-oil-spill-epa-of_n_667556.html" target="_hplink">reported AP</a>. By the end of September, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/27/michigan-oil-pipeline-res_n_741233.html" target="_hplink">the pipeline -- which travels from Ontario to Indiana -- was back in operation</a>. The EPA later <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20111116/us-michigan-river-oil-spill/" target="_hplink">reported that about 1.1 million gallons of oil were recovered</a>, but pipeline operator Enbridge said that it would stick with previous estimates that only about 843,000 gallons were spilled.

Xingag Harbor Spill, Dailan, China - July 2010

In July 2010, China experienced what was reported as the "<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/21/china-oil-spill-grows-off_n_653852.html#s120708" target="_hplink">country's largest reported oil spill</a>" after a pipeline rupture near the northeastern port city of Dailan. Several days after the spill, cleanup efforts were underway over a 165 square mile (430 square kilometer) area of the Yellow Sea. The Chinese government reported that about 1,500 tons or 461,790 gallons of oil had spilled, but <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/30/china-oil-spill-far-bigge_n_665038.html#s120708" target="_hplink">experts contended that the spill could have been "dozens of times larger,"</a> reported AP.

Peace River Spill, Alberta, Canada - April 2011

In late April 2011, a pipeline in northwestern Alberta began leaking, and created the worst spill in the province in 36 years, <a href="http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/alberta/Rainbow+pipeline+leak+largest+years/4720888/story.html" target="_hplink">reported the <em>Calgary Herald</em></a>. About 1,176,000 gallons of oil were reportedly spilled from the Rainbow pipeline, which is operated by Plains Midstream Canada. The <em>Globe and Mail</em> revealed that the pipeline operators "<a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/oil-on-rainbow-line-halted-8-hours-after-problem-detected/article2013335/" target="_hplink">detected a potential problem nearly eight hours before halting the flow of crude</a>." A nearby school in a First Nation community was closed after residents reported "nausea, burning eyes and other symptoms," and several animals were found dead. In late July, Plains Midstream <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/07/28/alberta-pipeline-owner-as_n_912796.html" target="_hplink">requested to re-open the pipeline</a> and begin to ship oil to Edmonton again.

Bohai Bay Spill, China - June 2011

In June 2011, an oil <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/01/china-offshore-oil-spills-bohai-bay_n_888473.html" target="_hplink">spill occurred about 25 miles off the coast of China's Shandong province</a> in Bohai Bay. A second spill followed in July. In late August, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/26/new-seeps-in-china-spill_n_937809.html" target="_hplink">it was reported</a> that ConocoPhillips had discovered more oil seeps in Bohai Bay, although only "1 to 2 liters (a quarter to a half-gallon) of oil and drilling mud were being released each day." The company reported that the 2011 spills released 29,400 gallons of oil and 2,500 barrels of drilling mud into the bay and that most of it was recovered. In September, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/05/china-oil-spill-conocophillips_n_949745.html" target="_hplink">China's State Oceanic Administration claimed that oil was still seeping</a> underwater. In early 2012, Texas-based ConocoPhillips <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20120124/as-china-oil-spill/" target="_hplink">reached a settlement deal with the Chinese government</a> for $160 million.

Yellowstone River Spill, Montana - July 2011

In July 2011, a pipeline beneath Montana's Yellowstone River ruptured and sent an oil plume 25 miles downstream, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/02/yellowstone-oil-spill-pro_n_889363.html" target="_hplink">reported AP</a>. Despite reassurances from ExxonMobil that the pipeline was safe, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/06/yellowstone-river-oil-spill-exxon-mobil_n_891246.html" target="_hplink">the July spill released what was originally estimated to be 42,000 gallons of oil</a>. With other 1,000 workers assisting the cleanup, ExxonMobil <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/04/yellowstone-river-cleanup-costs_n_1077106.html" target="_hplink">estimated that it would cost $135 million to clean the river</a>. In January 2012, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/19/exxon-yellowstone-oil-spill_n_1216830.html" target="_hplink">it was reported</a> that ExxonMobil had increased its estimate of the spill size by 21,000 gallons. AP later <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/06/yellowstone-river-spill-response-plan_n_1408328.html" target="_hplink">reported the estimated spill size as 63,000 gallons</a>. <em><strong>CORRECTION:</strong> A previous version of this slide stated the estimated spill size as 63,000 barrels instead of gallons.</em>

North Sea Spill, United Kingdom - Aug. 2011

In August 2011, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/15/north-sea-spill-uk-oil-spill_n_927078.html" target="_hplink">an oil rig off the eastern coast of Scotland began leaking</a> oil into the North Sea. Royal Dutch Shell, which operates the Gannet Alpha oil rig, initially reported that 54,600 gallons of oil were spilled. A second leak soon occurred, turning the spill into the worst in the North Sea in a decade, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/16/north-sea-oil-spill-shell_n_927941.html" target="_hplink">reported AP</a>. Several days later, Shell announced that it had "closed a valve from which oil was spilling into the North Sea," <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/19/shell-says-it-has-closed-_n_931379.html" target="_hplink">according to AP</a>. The spill released about 1,300 barrels of oil, which spread out over a 2.5 square mile (6.7 square kilometer) area.

Campos Basin Spill, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Nov. 2011

In mid-November 2011, Brazilian authorities began investigating an offshore spill near Rio de Janeiro, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/17/chevron-oil-spill-brazil_n_1100062.html" target="_hplink">reported AP</a>. Chevron initially reported that between 400 and 650 barrels of oil had spilled into the Atlantic, while a nonprofit environmental group using satellite imagery estimated that the spill rate was at least 3,738 barrels per day. Chevron soon claimed full responsibility for the spill. The brazilian division's COO said, Chevron "<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/20/brazil-oil-spill-chevron-_n_1104070.html" target="_hplink">takes full responsibility for this incident</a>," and that "any oil on the surface of the ocean is unacceptable to Chevron," reported AP. In December, Brazilian prosecutors announced that they were <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/14/brazil-oil-spill-chevron-payment_n_1149554.html"target="_hplink">seeking $10.6 billion in damages</a> from Chevron for the spill that leaked nearly 126,000 gallons of oil. In March 2012, a Brazilian federal judge <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/18/brazil-oil-spill-chevron_n_1355923.html" target="_hplink">allowed prosecutors to file criminal charges against Chevron and Transocean</a> and 17 executives from both companies were barred from leaving Brazil.

Rena Spill, New Zealand - Oct. 2011

In October 2011, a Liberian-flagged cargo ship ran aground on a reef in Northern New Zealand and began leaking oil. With oil washing up on shore, a government minister deemed it <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/11/new-zealand-oil-spill_n_1004643.html" target="_hplink">the country's largest maritime environmental disaster</a> a week later. Although over 2,000 sea birds were killed by the spill that spilled about 400 tons of fuel oil, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/22/new-zealand-oil-spill-penguins_n_1107289.html" target="_hplink">343 little blue penguins were rescued and cleaned of oil</a>. <em>[<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/22/new-zealand-oil-spill-penguins-released_n_1151788.html" target="_hplink">Watch video of the penguins' release into the wild here.</a>]</em> In January, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/10/new-zealand-oil-spill-ship_n_1196568.html" target="_hplink">half of the stricken Rena began sinking</a> into the sea after breaking apart and spilling over 100 cargo containers.

Nigeria Oil Spill - Dec. 2011

The spill, which took place near the coast of Nigeria, was reported as "likely the worst to hit those waters in a decade," <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/22/shell-oil-spill-nigeria_n_1164891.html" target="_hplink">according to AP</a>. After two days, the spill had affected 115 miles (185 kilometers) of Nigerian coastline. Several days after the December 20 spill, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/26/shell-nigeria-oil-spill_n_1170198.html" target="_hplink">Shell reported that the leak -- which occurred about 75 miles offshore -- had been contained before it reached the Nigerian coast</a>. The spill, which covered 350 square miles of ocean at its peak, was reported as having released less than "40,000 barrels -- or 1.68 million gallons" of oil.

Red Deer River Spill, Alberta, Canada - June 2012

In June 2012, 126,000 gallons of sour crude oil leaked from a submerged pipeline into the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/06/08/alberta-oil-spill-red-deer-river_n_1581008.html">Red Deer River in Alberta, Canada</a> before being swept downstream to the Gleniffer Lake and Reservoir, a main source of drinking water for several communities near the spill. A $75 million <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/06/22/red-deer-river-oil-spill-lawsuit_n_1620267.html">class-action lawsuit was filed</a> against the owners of the pipelines, and in October 2012, the Canadian government <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/08/07/red-deer-river-fishing_n_1752902.html">banned fishing in the river </a>in order to study the long-term environmental impacts of the spill. This was the second major spill in the province and for the company that owns the line, <a href="http://www.plainsmidstream.com/">Plains Midstream Canada</a>, in two years. In 2011, 1.1 million gallons of oil leaked into the Peace River from a damaged pipeline in a remote corner of the province.

Arthur Kill Oil Spill - October 2012

In October 2012, 336,000 gallons of diesel fuel <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/01/arthur-kill-oil-spill-new-jersey_n_2054267.html">spilled into the Arthur Kill waterway</a> as a result of Superstorm Sandy when two storage tank were damaged by 13-foot waves. The spill contaminated the narrow band of water that separates Staten Island from New Jersey, releasing a strong chemical odor into the air as the diesel rose to the surface and evaporated. Officials said a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/01/arthur-kill-oil-spill-clean-up-diesel-shell_n_2058723.html">majority of the fuel spilled was captured</a> by booms and that it was fortunate diesel spilled rather than crude oil because cleanup and dissipation would be much faster.

Mayflower, Arkansas Pipeline Rupture - March 2013

In late March 2013, ExxonMobil's Pegasus pipeline ruptured and spilled about 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons) of Canadian heavy crude oil into a residential area in Mayflower, Arkansas. Exxon later <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/15/exxonmobil-pegasus-pipeline_n_3082441.html" target="_blank">removed a damaged 52-foot section of the pipeline</a>. The company's cleanup efforts -- which <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/09/rachel-maddow-mayflower-oil-spill-exxon_n_3047331.html" target="_blank">reportedly included using paper towels</a> -- were <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/12/colberts-arkansas-oil-spill-exxon_n_3071539.html" target="_blank">criticized in the media</a>. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/10/arkansas-oil-spill-health-_n_3045610.html" target="_blank">Local residents began reporting health issues</a> not long after the spill. Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel has also expressed his concern for the health of Mayflower residents, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/13/arkansas-oil-spill-health-mayflower-moms_n_3267965.html" target="_blank">reported The Huffington Post's Lynne Peeples</a>. One month after the spill, the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/01/missouri-oil-spill-exxon_n_3194177.html" target="_blank">same pipeline leaked one barrel of oil</a> into a residential yard in Missouri.

Mississippi River Oil Spill - January 2013 (and February 2012)

In January 2013, a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/27/mississippi-river-barge-crash_n_2564418.html">barge carrying 668,000 gallons of light crude oil</a> on the Mississippi River crashed into a railroad bridge. An 80,000 gallon tank on the vessel was damaged, spilling oil into the waterway, which prompted officials to close the river for eight miles in either direction. The spill led to a backup of more than 1,000 barges and the accident is still under investigation. Workers <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/Oil-spill-cleanup-on-Mississippi-River-complete-4257729.php">finished clean-up in early February</a>, but the Coast Guard said 7,000 gallons of crude oil are still unaccounted for. This was <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/17/mississippi-river-barge-collision_n_1284166.html">the second collision of an oil tanker</a> on the Mississippi in the past year. In February 2012 two barges collided which led to a five-mile wide closure.

Also On The Huffington Post...

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/29/thailand-oil-spill_n_3668760.html?utm_hp_ref=world&ir=World

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Groupon Loses Mobile Head David Katz, Who Is Heading To Sports Commerce Site Fanatics

Groupon continues to roll out new products that point to the e-commerce company's ongoing ambitions to move beyond the daily deal and further into becoming a central hub for local and mobile commerce. But come August, it will be doing it without one of its most senior mobile execs: David Katz, VP and GM of consumer mobile, is leaving the company at the end of that month and taking up a position as SVP and GM of mobile for Fanatics, the sports apparel commerce site.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/HL87Ui7aScE/

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Amusement park regulations, inspections vary in US

DALLAS (AP) ? From Six Flags to Walt Disney World, there's no federal oversight of permanent amusement parks, and regulations vary from state to state.

The death of a woman who fell 75 feet from Six Flags Over Texas' Texas Giant roller coaster is reinvigorating discussion among safety experts about whether it's time to create more consistent, stringent regulations for thrill rides across the nation.

"A baby stroller is subject to tougher federal regulation than a roller coaster carrying a child in excess of 100 miles per hour," Massachusetts Sen. Edward J. Markey, a Democrat, said in a statement this week. As a congressman, Markey tried for years to have the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission ? which oversees mobile carnival rides ? regulate fixed-site amusement parks.

But a spokeswoman with the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions countered that the trade group believes state officials "are best able to determine the level of regulation needed for their state."

In Texas, the Department of Insurance requires that an amusement park's insurance company perform a yearly inspection and carry $1 million liability insurance on each ride, agency spokesman Jerry Hagins said. Six Flags Over Texas was in compliance with those rules at the time of Rose Ayala-Goana's July 19 fatal fall from the wooden coaster with steel rails that features a drop of 79 degrees and banked turns.

Six Flags Entertainment Corp. President and CEO Jim Reid-Anderson has said it's using "both internal and external experts" to investigate Ayala-Goana's death in Arlington. An official with the German manufacturer of the roller coaster's car told The Dallas Morning News they would send officials to inspect the ride, but referred all questions The Associated Press might have to Six Flags.

The park doesn't need to submit a report to the state on what caused her to fall, and while Arlington police are also looking into the death, they aren't investigating the ride.

"The question is: Will they release it and will it be complete and comprehensive?" said Ken Martin, an amusement ride safety analyst who owns KRM Consulting of Richmond, Va. "There's a lot of unanswered questions and because of the way it is in Texas we might not ever have the answer to those questions."

Walter S. Reiss, an amusement ride safety inspector based in Bethlehem, Pa., agreed: "When it comes time for an accident it sure would be nice if the state would be that omniscient third party to come in and do that investigation."

Martin noted that both the stringency of inspection regulations and which entity oversees those inspections vary across the country.

"In some states you have the Department of Agriculture, some states you have the Department of Labor. In Texas it's the Department of Insurance. In Virginia it happens to be the local building inspector," Martin said.

An annual inspection that's submitted to Texas would check everything from the structure's wood and foundation to the cars and its wheels, as well as a review of the maintenance records, he said. It's also typical in the industry for the park's maintenance staff to inspect a ride daily, he said.

After an injury that requires medical attention and is possibly due to equipment failure, structural failure or operator error, Texas parks must shut down the ride and re-inspect it. The Texas Giant has been closed since Ayana-Goala's death and won't re-open until the department sees a new safety inspection report, Hagins said.

Amusement park trade group spokeswoman Colleen Mangone said 44 state governments regulate parks. The six without state oversight ? Alabama, Mississippi, Nevada, South Dakota, Wyoming and Utah ? have few amusement parks, if any, she said.

"There is no evidence that federal oversight would improve on the already excellent safety record of the industry," she said, noting the association's statistics show the likelihood of being seriously injured is 1 in 24 million; for dying, it's 1 in 750 million.

"Safety is the number one priority for the amusement park industry and events like the one at Six Flags Over Texas are rare," she wrote, adding that ride manufacturer guidelines might require additional inspections beyond daily ones.

Mangone said the statistics come from an injury survey done for the trade group by the National Safety Council, though just 144 of the 383 eligible amusement parks provided some or all of the requested data.

Experts say getting reliable figures on injuries at amusement parks can be difficult.

"We don't know if they are indeed what the park says they are," Martin said. "We have to take their word for it."

Even sorting through emergency room data for a recent study on amusement ride injuries in those 17 and under was difficult, said Dr. Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

"We had to actually painstakingly go through and look at every case to see whether it was a true ride or not," said Smith, who was an author on the study published in Clinical Pediatrics in May.

"Knowing how many millions of people use (large theme parks) each year, they have a good safety record but there's always room for improvement and one of the ways that you can do that is have a good handle on where the injuries are occurring and how they're occurring," Smith said.

Voluntary standards for amusement park rides are issued by ASTM International, a global organization that draws from, among others, industry professionals. Martin said some states have adopted those standards into law.

"The amusement park industry is self-regulated and that's what the amusement industry wants," Martin said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/amusement-park-regulations-inspections-vary-us-152118175.html

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Zimbabwe 28/2 * v India

We see you have Google Chrome installed. Try out Cricinfo's free extension: show me no thanks India tour of Zimbabwe, 3rd ODI: Zimbabwe v India at Harare, Jul 28, 2013

Source: http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/643669.html?CMP=OTC-RSS

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Pope draws 3 million for Rio vigil after chastising Brazil church for failing to stem exodus

RIO DE JANEIRO ? Pope Francis drew a reported 3 million flag-waving, rosary-toting faithful to Rio's Copacabana beach on Saturday for the final evening of World Youth Day, hours after he chastised the Brazilian church for failing to stem the "exodus" of Catholics to evangelical congregations.

Francis headed into the final hours of his first international trip riding a remarkable wave of popularity: By the time his open-sided car reached the stage for the vigil service Saturday night, the back seat was piled high with soccer jerseys, flags and flowers tossed to him by adoring pilgrims lining the beachfront route.

"I'm trembling, look how good you can see him!" gushed Fiorella Dias, a 16-year-old Brazilian who jumped for joy as she reviewed the video she shot as the pope passed by. "I have got to call my mother!"

On the beach, pilgrims staked out their spots on the sand, lounged and snacked, preparing for an all-night slumber party ahead of the final Mass on Sunday. Many of those actually paying attention to the vigil had tears in their eyes, moved by Francis' call for them to build up their church like his namesake, St. Francis of Assisi, was called to do.

"Jesus offers us something bigger than the World Cup!" Francis said, drawing cheers from the crowd in this soccer-mad nation.

The vigil capped a busy day for the pope in which he drove home a message he has emphasized throughout the week in speeches, homilies and off-the-cuff remarks: the need for Catholics, lay and religious, to shake up the status quo, get out of their stuffy sacristies and reach the faithful on the margins of society or risk losing them to rival churches.

In the longest and most important speech of his four-month pontificate, Francis took a direct swipe at the "intellectual" message of the church that so characterized the pontificate of his predecessor, Benedict XVI. Speaking to Brazil's bishops, he said ordinary Catholics simply don't understand such lofty ideas and need to hear the simpler message of love, forgiveness and mercy that is at the core of the Catholic faith.

"At times we lose people because they don't understand what we are saying, because we have forgotten the language of simplicity and import an intellectualism foreign to our people," he said. "Without the grammar of simplicity, the church loses the very conditions which make it possible to fish for God in the deep waters of his mystery."

In a speech outlining the kind of church he wants, Francis asked bishops to reflect on why hundreds of thousands of Catholics have left the church for Protestant and Pentecostal congregations that have grown exponentially in recent decades in Brazil, particularly in its slums or favelas, where their charismatic message and nuts-and-bolts advice is welcome by the poor.

According to census data, the number of Catholics in Brazil dipped from 125 million in 2000 to 123 million in 2010, with the church's share of the total population dropping from 74 percent to 65 percent. During the same time period, the number of evangelical Protestants and Pentecostals skyrocketed from 26 million to 42 million, increasing from 15 percent to 22 percent of the population in 2010.

Francis offered a breathtakingly blunt list of explanations for the "exodus."

Source: http://www.startribune.com/world/217224161.html

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