Daylight Savings Time 2011: Next Week

By Deena on Oct-31-11 1:52am

Did you wake up and freak out that you forgot it was Daylight Savings Time? Well, if you did, you would have been frantic for no reason: It starts (well, technically it ends) next Sunday! Yep, the clocks fall back an hour starting November 6.

You'll have to manually change most of the clocks in your house -- yes, it's a pain -- but most phones and even computers will help you out automatically. The clock on your phone will go back an hour starting at 2am, so don't worry about setting alarms differently or anything like that. It's regularly scheduled programming at least in the cellular department.

The origin of Daylight Saving Time is very complex and dates back to ancient civilizations in some ways, though most people think it's used in the modern world to save energy. Well, that might be the goal, but according to some studies, it's not really working. Back in the '70s, the U.S. Dept. of Transportation (DOT) concluded that DST might reduce the country's electricity usage by 1% during March and April, but the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) reviewed the DOT study in 1976 and found no significant savings, according to Wikipedia. Over 35 years later, we're still rolling our clocks back though!

New Jersey school closings and delays

New Jersey school closings and delays

Following Saturday's October snowstorm, which dumped over a foot of snow onto parts of New Jersey and left more than half a million residents without power and the streets littered with trees and debris, many schools have decided to close or delay opening on Monday. Here is the list of schools, by county, that are currently reporting closings or delayed openings on Halloween: Essex County:

Belleville — Closed Bloomfield — Closed Caldwell-West Caldwell — Closed Caldwell College — Closed Essex Fells — Closed Ivy Hill — Newark — Closed Lincoln — Newark — Closed Livingston — Closed Millburn — Closed North Caldwell — Closed Nutley — Closed park &mdash Newark — Closed Ridge — Newark — Closed Seton Hall Prep — closed Verona — Closed West Orange — Closed Wilson Avenue Grades 1-3 — Newark — closed

Somerset Branchburg — Closed Bridgewater-Raritan — 2-hour Delayed Opening

Union Berkley Heights — Closed Clark — Closed Cranford — Closed Mount St. Mary &mdash Watchung — Closed New Providence — Closed Scotch Plains-Fanwood — 90-Minute Delayed Opening Summit — Closed

Morris Morris School District — Closed Chester School District — Closed Denville Township Schools District — Closed Harding Township School District — Closed Mendham Borough Schools District — Closed Canfield Avenue School District — Closed Morris Hills Regional District — Closed Morris Plains District -— 90 minute delay Mountain Lakes School District — Closed Parsippany — Troy Hills Township School District — Closed Pequannock Township School District — Closed Randolph Township School District — Closed Roxbury School District — Closed School District of the Chathams — Closed Washington Township Schools District — Closed West Morris Regional High Schools District — Closed County College of Morris — Closed Drew University — Closed Hunterdon Bethlehem Township School District — Closed Clinton Township School District — Closed Delaware Valley Regional High School District — Closed Flemington-Raritan School District — Closed High Bridge School District — Closed Holland Township School District — Closed Kingwood Township School District — Closed North Hunterdon — Voorhees Regional High School District — Closed Union Township School District — Closed

Passaic Clifton — Closed Lakeland Regional High School — Closed Passaic Valley High School — Delayed opening Wayne — Closed West Milford — Closed Sussex Byram — Closed

Warren Belvidere — Closed Hope — Closed North Warren Regional &mdash Open, but if buses can’t access certain roads, students won’t be marked absent

Bergen Allendale — Closed Bergenfield — Closed Dumont — Closed Fair Lawn — Edison and Radburn schools closed, all others delayed opening Glen Rock — Closed Harrington Park — Closed Hillsdale — Closed Leonia — Closed Mahway — Closed Montvale — Closed Northern Highlands — Closed Northvale — Closed Paramus — Closed Pascack Regional — Closed Ramapo Indian Hills High School — Closed Ridgefield — Closed Ridgewood — Closed Teaneck — Closed Teaneck Community Charter School — Closed Westwood Regional — Closed Wyckoff — Closed

After coming so close, Rangers fall short again

By RONALD BLUM, AP Sports Writer

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Oh, so close. And now it's 51 years and counting with no World Series titles for the Texas Rangers. A day after twice coming within one strike of champagne, a glittering trophy and a championship parade in Game 6, the Rangers went as dry as an overcooked Texas T-bone in Friday night's finale.

Pitchers Matt Harrison and C.J. Wilson fizzled rather than sizzled, and the St. Louis Cardinals won 6-2 in Game 7 to send the Rangers home as World Series losers for the second straight season.

Last year, this was a new experience. The first American League pennant was satisfying, even if the five-game loss to the San Francisco Giants was a disappointment to a franchise searching for success as the expansion Washington Senators through 1971 and the Rangers since the move.

This loss left wounds that will never be forgotten for the oldest Major League Baseball team without a Series title. "2011" will be remembered by Rangers fans, much like "1986" weighed on the memory of the Boston Red Sox until they finally ended their long championship drought in 2004.

Only once before in baseball history had a team come within an out of a Series title and not brought home a championship — those '86 Red Sox, infamous for Bill Buckner's error. These Rangers will be remembered for a triple failure, for Neftali Feliz allowing David Freese's tying triple in the ninth inning of Game 6, for Scott Feldman giving up Lance Berkman's tying single in the 10th and for Mark Lowe allowing Freese's game-ending home run in the 11th.

Even the collapses come bigger in Texas. In the first Game 7 since 2002, the Rangers spurted to a 2-0 lead against Chris Carpenter, pitching on three days' rest for the second time in his career. Josh Hamilton and Michael Young hit RBI doubles in the first inning, which could have been bigger had not Ian Kinsler stumbled and been picked off first after his leadoff single.

Instead of bringing back Wilson on short rest or starting Derek Holland, who pitched brilliantly in winning Game 4, Rangers manager Ron Washington stayed in rotation and started Harrison.

He couldn't hold the lead, allowing three runs, five hits and two walks in four innings. Feldman and Wilson fouled up the fifth, combining for three walks and two hit batters and allowing two runs without any hits.

Freese, the Cardinals' Game 6 star, started the comeback with a tying, two-run double in the first. Allen Craig, starting because Matt Holliday injured his wrist on Thursday, homered for a 3-2 lead in the third, with Nelson Cruz vainly climbing the right-field wall trying to make the catch.

Facing Feldman, Yadier Molina walked with the bases loaded for the second time in two nights, and Wilson forced in another run when he relieved and hit Rafael Furcal on the hip with his first pitch.

That made it 5-2, and the record crowd of 47,399 at Busch Stadium got louder and louder with each Texas out as the Cardinals' 11th World Series title and first since 2006 neared.

Texas pitchers walked a Series-record 41, one more than the 1997 Florida Marlins. Of the Cardinals' 34 runs, 11 reached base on walks and another two on hit batters. Not exactly what Nolan Ryan was looking for when he started to remake the team with strong pitching.

Carpenter, the second pitcher in two decades to make three Series starts, allowed two runs and six hits in six-plus innings with five strikeouts. He finished the Series 2-0 with a 2.84 ERA in three starts and the postseason 4-0 with a 3.25 ERA in five starts. With nine postseason wins, he surpassed Mariano Rivera for the most among active pitchers. With Wilson eligible for free agency, the Rangers likely will be seeking a new ace. In the ultimate game, Carpenter pitched like an ace and no one on the Rangers did.

When David Murphy flied to left for the final out, St. Louis became the ninth straight home team to win a Game 7. Many of the Rangers leaned forward in the dugout, stunned.

And why was Texas the road team against the wild-card Cardinals, who were 10½ games out of a playoff spot on Aug. 25? The All-Star game decides home-field advantage in the World Series, and Wilson was the loser in that one. In his first outing on short rest, Carpenter gave up four runs over three innings in Game 2 of the NL division series at Philadelphia. He wasn't sharp at all at the start of this one, either, starting seven of his first 10 batters with balls. Kinsler singled leading off, then started to steal second on a 1-0 pitch to Elvis Andrus, stumbled and was picked off at first by Molina. Andrus walked, and Hamilton doubled down the right field line for a 1-0 lead. Young then lofted a soft opposite-field double to right to drive in Hamilton. Carpenter struck out Adrian Beltre and retired Cruz on a groundout to limit the damage.

Harrison then got into trouble with his control with two outs in the bottom half, and the Rangers had Wilson starting to warm up after five batters and 23 pitches. Albert Pujols walked for the sixth time in the Series, on four pitches, and Berkman walked on five. Freese worked the count full and lined the ball on two hops to the wall in left-center, with Pujols raising both arms in triumph as he crossed the plate. Molina then flied out to Hamilton in front of the fence in center. Mike Napoli singled leading off the second, and Murphy hit into a forceout. Harrison sacrificed Murphy to third, Kinsler walked and Murphy took third when Pujols dropped a pickoff throw at first from Molina. Carpenter induced Andrus to hit into an inning-ending comebacker.

Furcal singled leading off the bottom half, but Skip Schumaker grounded into a double play on the next pitch. Carpenter hit Beltre on the forearm with a pitch with two outs in the third before retiring Cruz on a flyout. Kinsler singled leading off the fifth to reach base for the third time, and Andrus sacrificed. Hamilton then hit a foul pop in front of the third-base dugout. Freese, who dropped a popup for an error on Thursday, leaned over and caught it while slipping. Carpenter then struck out Young, pumping both arms in emotion. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa didn't decide on Carpenter instead of a rested Kyle Lohse until Friday morning, waiting until after pitching coach Dave Duncan spoke with his ace. NOTES: A record 38 of a possible 43 postseason games were played this year. A record 13 were decided by one run, one more than 1995, 1997 and 2003.

Game 7: Comeback Complete as Cardinals Win Crown

St. Louis Cardinals' Yadier Molina reacts after hitting an RBI single during the seventh inning of Game 7 of baseball's World Series Friday, Oct. 28, 2011, in St. Louis. (Matt Slocum/AP Photo)

By MIKE FITZPATRICK AP Sports Writer October 29, 2011 (AP)

The comeback is complete, and the Cardinals are the champs! St. Louis beat the Texas Rangers 6-2 in Game 7 to win its second World Series title in six years.

———

Lance Lynn pitches a perfect eighth, striking out Adrian Beltre to end the inning. It's been a wild ride of a season for the Cardinals, who were 10½ games out in the wild-card race on Aug. 25.

And don't forget, this team lost a legitimate ace in spring training when Adam Wainwright had major elbow surgery. Wainwright, who won 39 games the past two years and had a pair of top-3 finishes in Cy Young Award balloting, has missed the entire season.

Nelson Cruz, Mike Napoli and David Murphy due up in the ninth for Texas against closer Jason Motte. ——— Murphy's leadoff double chased Chris Carpenter in the seventh. Strong effort on three days' rest by the Cardinals' ace. Arthur Rhodes and Octavio Dotel got out of the inning with St. Louis' three-run lead intact. Yadier Molina added an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to make it 6-2.

After scoring twice in the first inning, the Rangers haven't been able to push anyone else across. Texas pitchers have issued 41 walks in the World Series, breaking the previous record of 40 set by the 1997 Florida Marlins

A close call goes to the Cardinals in the fifth inning. With first base open, Texas intentionally walked David Freese to load the bases with two outs. Scott Feldman fell behind 3-1 on Molina, then threw a strike. The full-count pitch also looked like a strike, right on the outside corner, but this time Feldman didn't get the call from plate umpire Jerry Layne.

Ball four, 4-2 Cardinals. Hard to argue with walking Freese in that spot, even though Molina has a clutch pedigree. Freese has just been on such a tear lately, especially in big situations. It was the first time he was intentionally walked all year. C.J. Wilson came on and hit Rafael Furcal with his first pitch, forcing in another run. Skip Schumaker strikes out to end the inning.

St. Louis leads 5-2. ——— Allen Craig makes a leaping catch at the left-field fence in the sixth, probably taking a home run away from Cruz. Carpenter works a 1-2-3 sixth.

——— Big sequence in the top of the fifth inning. Ian Kinsler hit a leadoff single and was sacrificed to second by Elvis Andrus. Carpenter fell behind 3-1 on Josh Hamilton — the only strike may have been a generous call. Hamilton then swung at an inside pitch that might have been ball four and lofted a foul popup wide of third. Freese caught it at the dugout railing for the second out.

Freese had a similar chance Thursday night but was unable to make the play. Michael Young struck out to end the inning. Feldman has replaced Texas starter Matt Harrison in the bottom of the fifth. The Cardinals still lead 3-2

. ——— Harrison worked a scoreless fourth. He pounded Skip Schumaker in on the hands, shattering his bat on a groundout, and retired Carpenter on an easy fly with runners at second and third to end the inning. Furcal, dropped from his leadoff spot to seventh in the lineup, is 2 for 2 with a pair of singles.

Video: World Series Game 7 Predictions

Fox Sports

Video: Cardinals walk off with epic win

Fox Sports

Video: Accessory 'obsessed' Sims Hosts 'Runway' Spinoff

The Associated Press

He’s not a Gacy victim after all

Siblings who feared that their brother was one of serial killer John Wayne Gacy’s eight unidentified victims were amazed and overjoyed to learn that he’s been living in Florida for decades.

Tim Lovell and Theresa Hasselberg hadn’t seen their brother, Harold Wayne Lovell, since he left their family’s Chicago home in May 1977 in search of construction work. The Chicago Tribune reported that he was headed for Aurora.

At the time, Gacy was trolling for young men and boys in the area. He was a contractor, and he lured many of the 33 young men and boys he killed by offering them work. A family member read books about Gacy and theorized that Wayne and Gacy crossed paths while Gacy did construction work at a fast-food restaurant in Aurora, the Tribune reported.

Cook County Sheriff’s detectives reviewing unidentified remains cases discovered that eight of the 33 people Gacy was convicted of murdering were never identified, and they obtained exhumation orders over the past few months to test the remains for DNA, hoping relatives of young men who went missing in the area in the 1970s might submit to genetic testing.

Lovell’s siblings, who now live in Alabama, were planning to do just that when they discovered a recent online police booking photo of their brother taken in Florida. They reached their brother, who goes by his middle name, by phone and bought him a bus ticket, and the family was reunited Tuesday for the first time in 34 years

. Wayne Lovell, now 53, described the reunion as “awesome.” He said he left for Florida all those years ago because he wasn’t getting along with his mother and stepfather. Over the years, he’s worked various manual labor jobs and has had occasional brushes with the law.

“I’ve gone from having nothing to having all this,” Lovell said. “I’m still pinching myself.” Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart has said that dozens of families of men who disappeared during the 1970s have come forward for DNA testing.

Investigators searching Gacy’s home after his 1978 arrest found most of his victims buried in a basement crawl space, although detectives said Gacy dumped four victims in a nearby river after he ran out of room at his house. Gacy confessed to the murders after his arrest and was executed in 1994.

Premier Fitness Center in Ft. Lauderdale- 12342 for sale in Broward County, FL

Broward County, Florida (FL)

Asking Price: Gross: Cash Flow: $ 249,000 $ 602,765 $ 133,901 Furniture and Fixtures Value: $ 210,000 (included in the asking price)

Inventory Value: $ 19,000 (included in the asking price)

Business Summary: More than a business, a lifestyle! One of Fort Lauderale's premier fitness studios. Piliates, Yoga, Tri-Force, Cross Fit, Spinning and more. Plus a full-retail boutique. Over 100 classes a week. Beautifully built-out and completely staffed. This is a great opportunity to make a nice living and to enjoy a great, healthy lifestyle. Priced to sell quickly. This one won't last long!! Please refer to listing #16412342 & ask for Peter Berg when inquiring.

Year Business was Established: 2005

Number of Employees: 2FT

Facilities / Terms of Lease: $8200/mos

. Potential Growth/Expansion: Unlimited

Competition: Unknown

Owner willing to finance: N/A

Owner willing to train: Seller will train for 2 weeks

Reason for selling: Other biz interests,

Seller Reference Number: 16412342 BusinessMart.com Listing Number: 108637

Occupy Oakland Demonstrators Gassed in Police Standoff

Police fired tear gas into a crowd of over 100 Occupy Oakland protesters who had marched to City Hall to reclaim the camp they’d been evicted from early Tuesday. A haze of smoke from tear gas hung over the scene as bottles were reportedly thrown among the crowd of demonstrators who marched amidst heavy police presence to Oakland’s City Hall at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday night. Police fired the gas after a third order to disperse in an attempt to break up a group of demonstrators heading back toward the area where the Occupy Oakland camp was cleared out by authorities Tuesday morning.

The late night tear gassing by police was the fourth instance in three hours, according to The Associated Press. Despite police warnings to disperse, most of the protesters did not leave and several people were arrested. In Tuesday morning’s raid of the Occupy Oakland encampment 97 people were arrested, according to city officials, while a total of 170 were removed from the camp, according to ABC News Bay Area affiliate KGO. The camp had been set up in downtown Oakland for over two weeks.

Throughout Tuesday a number of clashes erupted between police as a group of approximately 500 protesters began a march at the main branch of the Oakland Public Library heading to Frank Ogawa Plaza to retake the space. During some of the evening’s skirmishes protesters reportedly threw paint on police officers, who responded to a number of these smaller clashes with tear gas. The AP reported that at least five protesters were arrested and several others injured in the evening clashes.

Oakland Interim Police Chief Howard Jordan said that a total of 102 arrests had been made so far, but that number is increasing.

At a late night news conference Chief Jordan told reporters that authorities had no other choice then to use the tear gas, saying the protesters were throwing rocks and bottles at officers. Authorities have also denied reports that they used flash-bang canisters to help break up the crowds, saying the loud noises came from large firecrackers. Carlos Villarreal, a spokesman for the National Lawyers Guild, which represents the protesters, told KGO that two protesters suffered broken hands when they were arrested and one protestor was taken to a hospital with head injuries.

Video: Occupy Oakland (10-25-11) Police Force Eviction W/Tear Gas, and

McRib faithful hail return of a McDonald's hit

The tangy pork sandwich, sporadically available for 16 years, has become a cult favorite. By Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times McDonald's McRib is back. The barbecue sauce-slathered, tangy pork sandwich that launched more fan sites than many rock stars has once again started showing up in McDonald's restaurants nationwide.

The last time the McRib made a limited-time appearance — in fall 2010 after being sporadically available for 16 years — customers went whole hog, driving McDonald's U.S. sales up 4.8% in a month.

And it's likely to again be a hit, at least among the McRib faithful that made the sandwich — which has no actual ribs — a cult favorite. Only a few hours after the company announced the McRib's revival Monday, websites celebrated "confirmed sightings" as the menu item rolled out to McDonald's 14,000 outlets in the U.S.

Twitter lighted up with comments. "The McRib is delicious," wrote user eyceeslim. "I don't care what any haters say!" Even celebrities, perhaps hungry for publicity, got into the game. "I've only had one McRib in my life and I fondly remember it," tweeted Diane Sawyer, "and will proudly succumb to another."

McRib was the second-most-searched keyword on Google for much of Monday, behind only Dina Manzo, one of TV's "Real Housewives of New Jersey." One tweet writer tied the sandwich to current events. "FACT: 99% of people want the McRib to come back. We are the 99%. #occupymcrib."

For all the adulation, the rebirth of McRib was not universally celebrated. "Americans just got a little bit fatter," wrote one non-fan of the 500-calorie sandwich on Twitter. "Ewwwwwwwwwwww," another wrote. The McRib is set to retreat back into obscurity Nov. 14.

Dina Manzo Talks About New Jersey's Real Housewives … for the Last Time

BY TIM NUDD Everyone's always pressing Dina Manzo for dirt about her old show, the Real Housewives of New Jersey. Now, the former cast member is coming clean – in what she claims will be the last time she'll ever speak about the Bravo show.

"It's a shame this TV show used to be about our lives and now some lives are just about a TV show. That's not how it should be," Manzo, 39, writes in a lengthy blog post on her website.

Manzo, now host of HGTV's event-planning show Dina's Party, recaps why she left the Housewives – she needed to escape "all of the toxic behavior" – and admit she distanced herself from all of the housewives after her exit.

She then briefly weighs in on the current war between Teresa Guidice and Caroline Manzo. "If this is all about a joke in a book (and [Teresa] assured me it was) that's not enough for me to hate the mother of my God daughter and a friend of 15 years," she writes. "Was it necessary to write that stuff in her book? probably not but I don't think it was written with malice either."

She adds: "I feel bad that my relationship with my sister and her family is strained, but I can assure you that one day it will be back to the way it was."

Mostly, Manzo says she loves her family, wishes them the best, and hopes they can take a higher road on the show. "I say we change this housewives thing around and show the world what we're really made of!" she writes. "Let's lift each other up instead of trying to tear one another down. Lets showcase what women are capable of, what I thought this show was going to be back in the day~ Running successful businesses, supporting amazing causes, raising incredible children and looking fabulous every step of the way." Not that she's holding her breath. "Unfortunately, not sure what the ratings on that would be," she writes, "so I doubt that will happen."

Murray Gains 253 Yards, Cowboys Top Rams 34-7

By JAIME ARON AP Pro Football Writer ARLINGTON, Texas October 24, 2011 (AP)

The only drama at the end of this one was whether rookie DeMarco Murray would set the Dallas Cowboys' franchise rushing record, a remarkable feat considering it's gone from Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett to NFL rushing king Emmitt Smith.

Murray indeed pulled it off, running through a shoddy St. Louis Rams defense for 253 yards, including an early 91-yard touchdown that got the Cowboys started toward a 34-7 victory on Sunday.

Murray ran for the most yards in the NFL this season and the ninth-most in league history. His touchdown was the second-longest run in team history, topped only by the NFL-record 99-yarder by Dorsett in January 1983. He also had the most yards ever against the Rams, replacing Jim Brown on that list.

"I never thought in a million years that I'd ever have a day like this," Murray said. "This is what I've been working hard for since my Pop Warner days."

As impressive as Murray's performance was, it came against the Rams, who fell to 0-6 and came in with the NFL's worst defense against the run. They had allowed 163 yards per game, more than two first downs more anyone else.

The holes were so plentiful that when Murray took himself out to catch his breath in the fourth quarter, fourth-stringer Phillip Tanner finished that drive with 35 yards on the first four carries of his career, capping it with a 6-yard TD run. St. Louis wasn't even able to exploit a line featuring a starting left guard who was unemployed as of Monday.

"It's easy to run the ball when you're not making tackles," Rams safety Quintin Mikell. "When you're not getting guys on the ground, there's not much you can do."

For Dallas (3-3), the real satisfaction was ending a two-game losing skid and emphatically breaking a stretch of 11 straight games decided by four points or less.

"It was the first one where we could take a knee to win," receiver Miles Austin said. "It's a good feeling." The Cowboys never trailed and left no reason for team owner Jerry Jones to criticize coach Jason Garrett's play-calling — except maybe to wonder why Murray didn't have a bigger role in the offense until this game.

Get this: Murray didn't even start against the Rams. With lead back Felix Jones out with a high ankle sprain, Tashard Choice trotted out first. The plan was for him to share the load with Murray, a third-round pick whose development was slowed because he missed most of training camp with a hamstring injury.

It took all of one carry for Murray to become the main option. On a first-and-19 from the Dallas 9, Murray went through a giant hole on the left side, cut through an attempted ankle tackle, then outran Mikell. It was a heck of a way to score the first touchdown of his career, and it more than doubled his career rushing total of 71 coming into the game

. Murray had 187 yards through three quarters, and the Cowboys were up 20-7. Because they wanted to run to protect the lead, it was clear that Murray would get a shot at Smith's club record of 237 yards set Oct. 31, 1993, at Philadelphia.

Murray followed with a 43-yard run that could've gone for a 73-yard touchdown had he not run out of gas along the way. He finished it 2 yards shy of Smith's mark. "I just wanted to get down and protect the ball," he said.

"Once Upon a Time" brings fairy tales to the small screen

By Jessica Derschowitz

CBS) Two new shows this fall are offering a new twist on familiar fairy tales, and one of them premiered last night. "Once Upon a Time" brings characters from beloved story books into the present day, but here's the twist - they have no memory of who they really are.

Pictures: New fall TV on ABC That's because the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla) cast a curse over all the fairy tale characters, sending them to Storybrooke, Maine, where they live in ignorance of their literary history.

There's also Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison), an orphaned bail bondswoman from Boston, who is found by Henry, the now-10-year-old son (Jared Gilmore) that she put up for adoption as a baby. He came from Storybrooke to tell her she's the daughter of Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Prince Charming (Josh Dallas), and the only one who can break the spell.

"Once Upon a Time" spends the pilot jumping between the fairy tale world, setting up the complicated, spell-casting back story, and the present day. And while the residents of Storybrooke don't know their true identities, they all maintain their fairy tale characteristics - Snow White is a caring elementary school teacher, Geppetto is a handyman and the Evil Queen is the town's mayor and Henry's adoptive mother

. While the sets and setup in the fairy tale flashbacks were cheesy, the ABC drama's overall mix of fantasy and modern-day drama was irresistible. What remains to be seen is how the series will develop past the pilot, and if it can continue to make magic.

The other fairy tale series, for those who are wondering, is "Grimm" - which premieres Friday at 9 p.m. on NBC. Did you watch "Once Upon a Time"? Do you think it will last? Vote in our poll and share your thoughts in the comments.

Home for the holidays: Obama declares US war in Iraq is ending, troops to be out by year’s end

By Associated Press, Published: October 21, 2011 | Updated: Saturday, October 22, 9:18 AM

WASHINGTON — America’s long and deeply unpopular war in Iraq will be over by year’s end and all U.S. troops “’’will definitely be home for the holidays,” President Barack Obama declared Friday.

Stretching more than eight years, the war cost the United States heavily: More than 4,400 members of the military have been killed, and more than 32,000 have been wounded.

The final exit date was sealed after months of intensive talks between Washington and Baghdad failed to reach agreement on conditions for leaving several thousand U.S. troops in Iraq as a training force. The U.S. also had been interested in keeping a small force to help the Iraqis deal with possible Iranian meddling.

The task now is to speed the pullout of the remaining U.S. forces, nearly 40,000 in number. Staying behind in Iraq, where bombings and other violence still occur, will be some 150-200 U.S. military troops as part of embassy security, the defense attaché’s office and the office of security cooperation. That’s common practice but still a danger to American forces.

Obama, an opponent of the war since before he took office, nevertheless praised the efforts of U.S. troops in Iraq. He said American soldiers would leave “with their heads held high, proud of their success.”

For Obama, Friday’s announcement capped a remarkable two days of national security successes, though there’s no indication how much they will matter to re-election voters more concerned with economic woes at home. On Thursday, the president heralded the death of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi and a day later the end to one of the most divisive conflicts in U.S. history.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost the U.S. more than $1.3 trillion. Obama did not declare victory. He did speak, though, about the string of wins on his watch — none bigger than the killing of Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaida leader behind the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The Afghanistan war still rages, but there, too, Obama has moved to end the combat mission by the end of 2014.

This was, in essence, the third time Obama had pronounced an end to the war, allowing him to remind the nation he had opposed it all along — a stance that helped his White House bid in 2008.

Shortly after taking office, Obama declared in February 2009 that the combat mission in Iraq would end by Aug. 31, 2010. And when that milestone arrived, he said it was “time to turn the page” on Iraq and put the focus back on building up the United States. On Friday, he said: “After nearly nine years, America’s war in Iraq will be over.”

The U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was launched in March of 2003 after reports, later discredited, that the country was developing weapons of mass destruction. By early April, American Marines were helping Iraqis pull down a statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad. Saddam was captured in December of that year and executed in 2006, but the war dragged on.

The ending was set in motion before Obama took office. In 2008, President George W. Bush approved a deal calling for all U.S. forces to withdraw by Dec. 31, 2011.

Video: Obama: 'Long War in Iraq' Will Finish by End of 2011

PBS News Hour

Senator Lashes Out at Critics Who Say He Embellished His Family’s Story

By LIZETTE ALVAREZ and JENNIFER STEINHAUER Published: October 21, 2011

MIAMI — Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, a charismatic Republican whose name has circulated recently as a possible vice-presidential candidate, lashed out on Friday at those who accused him of embellishing his family’s history.

Responding to his critics, he asserted that his family’s inability to return to Cuba was a defining event in all their lives, regardless of when his parents first arrived in the United States.

“The pain of my parents’ permanent separation from the nation of their birth, their inability to visit there and move there, was a major part of our upbringing,” Senator Rubio said in an interview. “They were immigrants, and they were also exiles. That is the essence of my story.”

But Senator Rubio acknowledged that he was wrong about the date, an inaccuracy he attributed to the fact that his parents always spoke generally about when they first arrived “in the 1950s.” His working-class parents came to the United States during a tumultuous time in Cuba and hoped to improve their lot here, always with an eye toward going back home, he said.

His parents spoke profoundly about the fact that they were never able to return to their homeland after 1961, when Fidel Castro fully embraced Communism, and that is what Senator Rubio, who was born in 1971, said shaped his memories and his life. For this reason, he said, his parents are “exiles.”

The Washington Post and The St. Petersburg Times reported on Thursday that documents show Mr. Rubio’s family first arrived in the United States in 1956, two and a half years before Mr. Castro took power. In various television interviews over the years, Mr. Rubio gave various dates for his parents’ arrival, 1957, ’58 or ’59

. Until today, Mr. Rubio’s official Senate biography had stated that his “Cuban-born parents came to America following Fidel Castro’s takeover.”

“In hindsight, I wish I had found out about the dates,” Mr. Rubio said. “But it was not relevant to the important narrative about what my experience was.” The idea that he embellished his family story for political advantage is “outrageous,” he added. Senator Rubio, who rose to power last year with the blessing of the Tea Party, quickly caught the attention of national Republicans who see him as a young, alluring voice for the party who can also reel in Hispanic voters. Mr. Rubio’s immigrant success story — parents who were exiled from Cuba and worked hard to do right by him — is central to his political persona.

It is far too early to tell what, if any, long-term political damage may befall Mr. Rubio’s national aspirations. Democrats, though, delivered their salvos right away. “Marco Rubio has a chronic credibility problem,” said Matt Canter, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, in a news release. “We know he’s a Tea Partier who wants to dismantle Medicare and cut Social Security, but the latest bombshell confirms that Rubio seriously struggles to tell the truth and can’t be trusted.”

Republicans, including those who write political blogs and do not typically shy from criticizing their own, have been largely supportive. Mr. Rubio’s confusion over the precise facts of his family’s journey from Cuba to the United States does raise questions about his level of experience and whether he is prepared for the scrutiny of high-stakes national politics. “Is this a kill shot? No,” said Dario Moreno, an associate professor of political science at Florida International University and an ally of Mr. Rubio’s. “It’s something to attempt to damage his credibility and to make Marco seem like other politicians.”

But some Cuban-Americans wonder how Senator Rubio could have gotten the year of his parents’ arrival here so wrong. The date, they said, is integral to every exile story. “Every Cuban-American knows when their parents arrived and the circumstances under which they arrived,” said George Gonzalez, a Cuban-American political science professor at the University of Miami. “That’s part of the Cuban exile experience, the political and psychological trauma of it. So the idea that he was murky on those does not cut ice.”

And while some Cubans do not draw a distinction between those who fled Cuba after Castro took power and those who left before that date, others do. “To my father and grandparents, if you came before the revolution, it puts you in a different category,” Dr. Gonzalez said. But Cuban-exile politics are never cut-and-dried. Another expert at the University of Miami disagreed in a press release. “The fundamental Cuban exile experience is not defined according to what year Cubans left, ” said Andy S. Gomez, an assistant provost and a senior fellow at the university’s Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, “but rather by the simple, painful reality that they could not return to their homelands to live freely.”

Vikings cornerback Cook jailed on assault charges

Article by: DAN WIEDERER and KELLY SMITH , Star Tribune

A woeful Vikings season grew even more troubling early Saturday when cornerback Chris Cook was arrested on two domestic assault charges and booked into the Hennepin County jail. Cook is being held without bail and will not appear in court until Monday morning.

The Vikings have ruled him out for Sunday's game against Green Bay at Mall of America Field. Cook, 24, was arrested at 2:10 a.m. Saturday on the 6400 block of Regency Lane in Eden Prairie after a neighbor reported yelling and screaming from across the street, according to police.

County records show he was booked around 4 a.m. He is being held on probable cause for domestic assault/strangulation, a felony-level offense. Cook also faces a charge of fifth-degree domestic assault, a misdemeanor. The victim's identity and condition have yet to be released. The Vikings released a statement on the matter Saturday morning: "The Minnesota Vikings are aware of the incident involving Chris Cook. We take this matter very seriously and are still gathering all the details of the incident. We will not have any further comment at this time."

This is not Cook's first legal run-in this year. In March, while near his mother's home in Lynchburg, Va., he was accused of pulling a gun on a neighbor during a verbal altercation.

"It's just crazy," Cook said shortly after that incident. "I just have to deal with it the best way I can. I wish it didn't happen. I wish I would have never got in an argument, but that's what happened." Two months later, he was found not guilty when a judge determined there was insufficient evidence to support the accusation that he had brandished a firearm.

"It definitely will make me smarter about how I react to other people and what they say to me or what they try and do to me," Cook said then. "It just makes me more cautious about what I say or how I react to other people." News of Cook's Saturday arrest proved troubling on multiple levels, another off-the-field setback for a player who seems to have a promising future in football.

As it relates to Sunday's game with the Packers, it's yet another blow to the depleted Vikings secondary. Cornerback Antoine Winfield and safety Jamarca Sanford are already listed as doubtful because of injuries. Add in Cook's absence and the Vikings will be left to face Green Bay's lethal passing attack with a starting secondary of corners Cedric Griffin and Asher Allen and safeties Husain Abdullah and Tyrell Johnson.

Marcus Sherels will be the third cornerback, and rookie Brandon Burton will also likely be forced into action. Rookie safety Mistral Raymond should also be active for the first time this season. That's not good news as the Vikings try to slow down the undefeated Packers. Green Bay leads the NFL in scoring, averaging 32.8 points per game. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has already thrown for 2,037 yards with 17 touchdown passes in the team's 6-0 start. And the Packers have a loaded receiving corps led by Greg Jennings (35 catches, 530 yards, four touchdowns) and Jordy Nelson (20 catches, 413 yards, four TDs). It's too early to speculate about how Saturday's arrest will impact Cook's future with the Vikings. He was drafted 34th overall out of Virginia in 2010. And over the past month, he had shown significant growth as a cornerback, displaying an impressive combination of size and speed. Saturday's incident is still under investigation by the Eden Prairie police. Cook will face a hearing Monday morning.

Sources: Jerome Harrison has tumor

By Adam Schefter ESPN.com As Philadelphia Eagles doctors were giving newly acquired running back Jerome Harrison his physical, they discovered a brain tumor that nullified a trade with the Detroit Lions, according to two league sources.

The trade might have actually saved Harrison's life, the sources said. Without the deal being made, Harrison would not have undergone a physical. The tumor is now being treated, according to sources.

Harrison could not be reached for comment.

The Eagles would have sent running back Ronnie Brown to the Lions in exchange for Harrison and an undisclosed pick in the 2013 NFL draft. Brown arrived in Detroit but never got to practice Wednesday.

Harrison is not expected to play again this season, but his long-term prognosis both for life and his football career appear to be good, sources said. He is visiting with more doctors Thursday.

The voided trade has left the Lions with major issues at running back, after Jahvid Best suffered the third concussion of his career in last week's loss to San Francisco.

Video: Moammar Gadhafi Captured and Killed in Libya: Life Of The Former

Moammar Gadhafi's dead. Now what for Libya?

BY JONATHAN S. LANDAY MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

WASHINGTON -- With the death Thursday of Moammar Gadhafi, Libya's de facto leaders now face the challenge of preserving the fragile unity they enjoyed while the deposed dictator was on the run as they begin transforming their war-battered nation into a democracy after 42 years of tyrannical one-man rule.

The task is daunting. The National Transitional Council, the top revolutionary authority, confronts a vast array of problems: bringing the rag-tag militias that ousted Gadhafi under control; recovering looted arms; halting revenge attacks on Gadhafi loyalists; caring for thousands of casualties; restoring oil production; repairing war damage; and keeping a lid on regional tensions and radical Islam.

At the same time, the self-appointed group of former officials, academics, military officers and others, who are riven by personal and ideological differences, must proceed with an ambitious democratization plan. It includes holding Libya's first free elections within eight months of what is expected to be a declaration Saturday of "liberation" from Gadhafi's rule.

"The Libyan people now have a great responsibility: to build an inclusive and tolerant and democratic Libya that stands as the ultimate rebuke to Gadhafi's dictatorship," President Barack Obama declared hours after a wounded Gadhafi was captured and likely killed by opposition forces after a nearly six-week siege of his hometown of Sirte. Libya begins its new era with advantages over other former authoritarian-ruled states for which the period between civil war and the establishment of the first elected government is historically the most dangerous.

Libya's infrastructure remains relatively intact, some government offices continue functioning and where they don't, self-organized civic groups have taken over. There is little prospect of the sectarian or ethnic turmoil that convulsed Iraq. The National Transitional Council enjoys respect among Libya's 6.4 million people as well as international recognition, and it soon is expected to win access to some $110 billion in assets frozen by sanctions on Gadhafi's regime. "When I was in Tripoli last month, the water was on, the electricity was on, the police were on the streets and the garbage was being picked up," said Daniel Serwer, a former U.S. diplomat who teaches at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Relations in Washington. "I walked around at night without fear and I ran in the morning without problems. You still can't do that in Baghdad to this day."

"They not only have oil in the ground, but money in accounts outside the country. The government is still paying social security payments and bread is still subsidized," he said. Serwer gave considerable credit to Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, the transitional council chairman. Abdul-Jalil resigned as justice minister in February to protest Gadhafi's brutal efforts to crush a popular uprising that was triggered by the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt and grew into a full-fledged civil war that left the dictator a fugitive after the fall of Tripoli in August. "People have confidence in Jalil," Serwer said. "He lives in a modest house in (the eastern city of) Benghazi. He and the rest of the NTC have announced they won't run for office. He's gone around the country to each liberated city saying this is one Libya and it will have its capital in Tripoli."

ideo: Official Station Video: Is Harry Belafonte asleep during live TV

Raiders QB Carson Palmer: 'I thought I was retired'

By Robert Klemko, USA TODAY

Carson Palmer says he was transitioning into life after football when he got the call from Raiders coach Hue Jackson. The trade for Palmer got done at the 4 p.m. Tuesday deadline after Jackson reached out to Bengals owner Mike Brown, who before Tuesday seemed content with leaving Palmer under contract in semi-retirement.

"For the past six weeks I thought I was retired," Palmer said after being introduced to media as a Raider on Tuesday. "Week 1 hit and I thought, I've got to look elsewhere and find what the next phase of my life might be. Then I got the text from Hue.

"I'm ready to go. I'm excited... I'm excited to be a part of this organization." Oakland gave up a first-round pick next year and a second-round pick in 2013, which could become a first-rounder if the Raiders (4-2) go to the AFC championship game.

In a stroke of bravado reminiscent of late team owner Al Davis, Jackson called the deal "the greatest trade in football." "As far as the draft picks, what we have to give up, I never hesitated because I know exactly what I'm getting," said Jackson, who was an assistant in Cincinnati from 2004-06. "I don't think you're ever mortgating the future when you put a big-time franchise quarterback on your team.

"Any player we put on this football team is going to be someone who can help us to our goal, which is winning a championship." Jackson said his relationship with Brown helped get the deal done, and that Brown said he wanted Palmer to do well in Oakland. But Jackson stopped short of taking full credit for the trade.

"I'm the head coach of the football team. I'm not playing GM," Jackson said. Jackson said Davis' son, Mark Davis, and team CEO Amy Trask were principle in the negotiations. Palmer, 31, declined to speak about his conflict with Bengals management, focusing instead on the future.

"It was time for me to move on," he said. "I'm just happy and thankful the Bengals organization made that decision also. I'm excited to be where I am. But I'm not going to go into depth on certain things that happened. Its a fresh start." Jackson left open the possibility that Palmer, who says he's been working out during the season, could start Sunday vs. the Chiefs.

"I'm not gonna let that out of the bag just yet," he said. "You've got to be ready for anything. we'll see later in the week."

Video: Raiders Land Carson Palmer CBSSports.com

ideo: Giuliana Rancic Reveals She Has Breast Cancer

Zachary Quinto is a gay man, 'Star Trek' actor reveals in new interview

BY MEENA HARTENSTEIN DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Zachary Quinto, best known for playing 'Spock' in J.J. Abrams' reboot of Star Trek, is out and proud. RELATED NEWS

Zachary Quinto is used to dissolving into different characters as an actor, but his most recent role seems to have encouraged him to get in touch with himself.

The actor opened up about his sexual orientation for the first time in a new interview with New York Magazine, confirming he is "a gay man" while discussing his role as a gay character in the off-Broadway production of "Angels in America."

Calling the play a "challenging" and "rewarding" experience, Quinto also spoke openly about his own life and how the issues in the play affected him.

"As a gay man, it made me feel like there's still so much work to be done, and there's still so many things that need to be looked at and addressed," he said.

The actor, most well known for playing Spock in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek, has played a number of gay characters in the past but has always declined to comment on his sexual orientation.

As recently as last year he refused to confirm rampant fan speculation in an interview with the New York Times when asked if he was gay.

Though Quinto has been mum about himself for years, he has spoken out against bullying, even making a video for the "It Gets Better" campaign to give support to gay and lesbian teens who have been taunted by their peers.

Touching on the issue of bullying in the interview with "New York" Quinto again refers to himself as "a gay man" and expressed "hopelessness" that peer pressure has caused some gay students to commit suicide.

"Why can't we as a culture and society dig deeper to examine that?" he said of how homosexuality is treated with different levels of acceptance. "We're terrified of facing ourselves."

Jim Schwartz and Jim Harbaugh get into scuffle after final whistle

Security holds back Detroit head coach Jim Schwartz after an altercation with San Francisco head coach Jim Harbaugh at the end of the Lions loss on Sunday. / ANDRE J. JACKSON/DFP

BY DAVE BIRKETT DETROIT FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

Jim Schwartz’s exuberant post-game fist pump became a symbol of the Detroit Lions during their five-game win steak to start the season, but Schwartz showed a different side of his emotion in his team’s first loss today.

Schwartz chased 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh off the field after he said Harbaugh “shoved (him) out of the way” during their post-game handshake following San Francisco’s 25-19 victory over the Lions at Ford Field.

Harbaugh, who played at Michigan, took blame for the altercation – which escalated with players shoving on their way into the tunnel.

“I was just really revved up,” Harbaugh said. “It was totally on me. I just shook his hand too hard. It was a kind of strong, slap kind of handshake. It's like what I've done with (linebacker Blake) Costanzo and a few of the other guys. That was on me. It was a little too hard of a handshake."

It's like what I've done with (linebacker Blake) Costanzo and a few of the other guys. That was on me. It was a little too hard of a handshake."

Schwartz explained the exchange this way: “Went to congratulate Coach Harbaugh and got shoved out of the way and then didn’t expect an obscenity at that point so it was a surprise to me at the end of the game.”

Who did the shoving and shouting? “I’ll just leave it right there,” Schwartz said. “I’m sure it’s on video.” Video showed Harbaugh jumping up and down in excitement as the Lions’ final play ended with a fumbled lateral 70 yards from the end zone. He shook Schwartz’s hand hard with his right hand and slapped him on the back with his left and appeared to shout, “Whoo," as he walked away.

Schwartz turned and appeared to say something to Harbaugh, then chased the first-year coach about 25 yards to the back of the end zone with players from both teams separating them.

Harbaugh, who played one season with the Baltimore Ravens when Schwartz was an assistant there in 1998, said he apologized to Schwartz in the tunnel after the game, and Schwartz said he didn't expect that reaction from Harbaugh.

"Like I said, I didn’t expect (it) after the game," he said. "Went to shake an opponent’s coach’s hand and obiously you win a game like that you’re excited and things like that, but I think there’s a protocol that goes with this league." Lions receiver Nate Burleson said that's the first time he's seen a post-game coaches' handshake get physical.

"But I’m gonna ask you this: is there two more passionate coaches in the NFL?" Burleson said. "Both of those guys are high energy and love to show emotion on gameday. So it didn’t surprise me." Burleson, who wore boxing gloves around his neck during pre-game introductions last week, joked that he should have kept them in his locker for today.

"I should have brought all my boxing gear because there was some testosterone flying around after the game," he said. "But what do you exect though? You’ve got two good teams, they’re excited, obviously, and they played a good game. And I’m not going to get mad. I’m not going to sit here and talk bad about the 49ers. I give them credit, they played a good game, they beat a good team and I’m not mad for them showing emotion for a win. It’s just tough cause this is our backyard." The Lions (5-1) fell a game behind the Packers with the loss, their first since Dec. 5 of last year.

Video: Jim Schwartz vs Jim Harbaugh [Fight] Coach says Cyoazzndalot

Cujo takes a look at young Frontenacs goaltender

By Doug Graham/The Whig-Standard Curtis Joseph made his first appearance at a Kingston Frontenacs practice on Tuesday and the most excited person to see him was goalie Blake Richard.

Joseph, known as Cujo in his 19-year National Hockey League goaltending career, was on the ice along with David Franco, also a goalie coach with the Frontenacs.

With Igor Bobkov not due back from the Anaheim Ducks' NHL camp until Thursday, Richard was the lone goaltender at Tuesday's practice.

Craig Wood, who had been named the backup to Bobkov late last week, was going out the K-Rock Centre's door while practice was beginning.

In a re-thought move by the Frontenacs, the 17-year-old Richard was called back after two winning starts for the Thorold Blackhawks junior B club.

Wood remains close at hand, playing for the Kingston Kimco Voyageurs. He started Tuesday's Ontario Junior Hockey League game in Peterborough.

Richard was happy with the twist in his fate. "It's a huge day. I got called (Monday) night to come here. To find out Cujo is here on top of that made my day," Richard said.

"It is really exciting because I know (Joseph and Franco) are going to take me to the next level. I'm up for the challenge."

Joseph said he faces a learning curve in his first year as a coach, but he is excited to get started.

"It is going to be a challenge we know. (Kingston) is going to be a young team, but we are excited about it," Joseph said.

His 17-year-old son Taylor, a right winger, is in the London Knights system. Joseph is pleased about the prospect of working with kids around the age of his oldest son.

"It is good fun to see kids like that," Joseph said. "Man though, (Richard) looks young. He doesn't look too young when he stops the puck, though."

"He looked real smooth out there (Tuesday). He didn't look like he was nervous or anything like that." While both he and Franco live in Toronto, Joseph said they would be getting to Kingston more regularly now that the Ontario Hockey League season is beginning.

They are going to Barrie for Kingston's season opener Thursday. Richard, with Bobkov travelling back from California, will be starting against the Colts. Bobkov was scheduled to play a pre-season game late Tuesday night against the Phoenix Coyotes.

"We'll see (Frontenacs) games around Toronto but we've got to come here also," Joseph said. "We'll make the drive, do it together. It's a road trip." Joseph has yet to meet Bobkov, but said a lot will be expected from the Russian goaltender. "We are going to need him to stand on his head," Joseph said. "If your goalie's good, a lot of good things can happen." General manager Doug Gilmour said Richard was called back after posting two wins in as many starts for Thorold. Gilmour said the opportunity for Wood to play for the Voyageurs, who are short a goaltender with Charlie Finn out with a fractured collar bone, was the deciding factor for making Richard the backup. "We have the situation where we can develop Wood in Kingston, where we can see him," Gilmour said. He credited Thorold general manager Dave Marrone for not holding up Richard's return. "I made the call to Dave and he said yes. He wants what is best for the kids, not necessarily the team," Gilmour said. FRONTS NOTES Defenceman Braydon Blight will miss the Frontenacs' September games. He has received a five-game suspension by the OHL for a head check on Belleville Bulls' Mack Lemmon during a Sept. 10 game in Wellington. Blight is eligible to return Oct. 2 when the Frontenacs play in Mississauga. ... Mitchell Fitzmorris, Kingston's third-round draft pick (46th overall), is going to have his injured right wrist operated on. Gilmour said he will be lost for the season. ... The

Frontenacs are hosting a road hockey game and meet and greet with the players Wednesday night at Springer Market Square from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Kids will have a chance to play hockey with the Frontenacs and get autographs.

Greek Investors Brace for Bigger Loss to Stop Rot: Euro Credit

Paul Dobson and Emma Charlton, ©2011 Bloomberg News Saturday, October 15, 2011 Read more: http://www.pidie27.blogspot.com

Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Greek bondholders are preparing to lose as much as 60 percent of their investments as European leaders try to impose a solution that reduces the nation's debt burden by enough to end the debt crisis.

"Everyone is coming to the conclusion that a much deeper restructuring is needed to make Greece in any way sustainable," said Emiel van den Heiligenberg, chief investment officer of global balanced solutions at BNP Investment Partners in London, which oversees about $742 billion. "If the stock of debt doesn't diminish, then the problems are going to be bigger and bigger and Greece will require rescue package after rescue package."

Greek 10-year bonds yielded 23.93 percent at 4:40 p.m. London time, with the price on the securities at 37.48 percent of face amount. The rate was 2,172 basis points, or 21.72 percentage points, more than benchmark German bunds and compares with a yield of 11.65 percent for similar-maturity Portuguese debt and 5.79 percent for Italian bonds.

European officials are considering writedowns of as much as 50 percent on Greek bonds, a backstop for banks and continued central bank bond purchases as key planks in a revamped strategy to combat the debt crisis, people familiar with the discussions said today. Euro-region leaders are intensifying efforts to contain the crisis that broke out in Greece almost two years ago and has driven up state borrowing costs from Ireland to Italy.

Fresh Plan Standard & Poor's downgraded Spain yesterday, citing heightened risks to growth prospects. Fitch Ratings cut the long-term issuer default grades of UBS AG, Lloyds Banking Group Plc and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, and said more than a dozen other lenders may have their ratings lowered. German banks are preparing for losses of as much as 60 percent on their Greek holdings, three people with knowledge of the matter, who declined to be identified because the talks are private, said yesterday. The risk is that creditors balk at forgoing more than the 21 percent initially suggested in a plan crafted in July, forcing Greece to miss debt payments and sparking a chain-reaction across the euro area's markets involving rating downgrades and payouts on credit-default swaps. Hatching a fresh plan for Greece would mean rewriting the package agreed to in July, which included a 21 percent voluntary reduction in repayments on some bonds. With a deepening recession in Greece pushing the nation further away from the July accord's debt-reduction targets, the price of two-year notes slid to as little as 36.79 percent of face value on Sept. 13, indicating dwindling faith in the nation's ability to repay investors even after the so-called haircut. Brussels Talks "A reopening of the deal is very likely," said Patrick Armstrong, managing partner at Armstrong Investment, which has about $345 million in assets under management. "In the past, they were trying to avoid Greece defaulting and avoid recapitalizing the banks and what's going to happen now will probably be more sensible. It will allow the euro zone to move forward."

The London-based fund manager owns a "small amount" of Greek 4.3 percent bonds due March 20, 2012, which it bought in July, Armstrong said. Deutsche Bank AG Chief Executive Officer Josef Ackermann, who led talks on private sector involvement in Greece's rescue package in July, said yesterday that he will go to Brussels next week to discuss the potential for investors to accept deeper losses. Luxembourg's Jean-Claude Juncker, who leads the group of euro-area finance ministers, said separately yesterday that talks are under way with the Washington-based Institute of International Finance on the cost to investors of a second bailout package for Greece. 'Larger Haircut'

Read more: http://www.pidie27.blogspot.com

Obama Sends 100 US Troops to Uganda to Help Combat Lord’s Resistance Army

ABC News’ Jake Tapper and Luis Martinez report: Two days ago President Obama authorized the deployment to Uganda of approximately 100 combat-equipped U.S. forces to help regional forces “remove from the battlefield” – meaning capture or kill – Lord’s Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony and senior leaders of the LRA.

The forces will deploy beginning with a small group and grow over the next month to 100. They will ultimately go to Uganda, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the permission of those countries.

The president made this announcement in a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, Friday afternoon, saying that “deploying these U.S. Armed Forces furthers U.S. national security interests and foreign policy and will be a significant contribution toward counter-LRA efforts in central Africa.” He said that “although the U.S. forces are combat-equipped, they will only be providing information, advice, and assistance to partner nation forces, and they will not themselves engage LRA forces unless necessary for self-defense.”

The president said that for more than two decades the LRA has been responsible for having “murdered, raped, and kidnapped tens of thousands of men, women, and children in central Africa” and continues to “commit atrocities across the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Sudan that have a disproportionate impact on regional security.”

A senior Defense official says the 100 military personnel will be mostly Special Operations Forces and that they “will be traveling out to field locations in the areas affected by the LRA where they can interact with and advise those forces that are actively pursuing the LRA.” The official stressed, “they will not be engaging in direct combat against the LRA.” The US has been helping the four African nations counter the LRA for several years by providing local militaries with training and equipment. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo the US helped train a light infantry battalion deployed to fight the LAR and over the last three years in Uganda the US has provided $33 million to help Uganda’s military. As for how long the US troops will be in the region, a spokesman at US Africa Command says he could not provide specifics, “but our forces are prepared to stay as long as necessary to enable regional security forces to carry on independently.

The president in his letter noted that Congress passed “the Lord’s Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act,” signed into law on May 24, 2010, in which, the president said, “the Congress also expressed support for increased, comprehensive U.S. efforts to help mitigate and eliminate the threat posed by the LRA to civilians and regional stability.”

When the president signed that letter in May 2010, he said the bill “crystallizes the commitment of the United States to help bring an end to the brutality and destruction that have been a hallmark of the LRA across several countries for two decades, and to pursue a future of greater security and hope for the people of central Africa. The Lord’s Resistance Army preys on civilians – killing, raping, and mutilating the people of central Africa; stealing and brutalizing their

children; and displacing hundreds of thousands of people. Its leadership, indicted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, has no agenda and no purpose other than its own survival. It fills its ranks of fighters with the young boys and girls it abducts. By any measure, its actions are an affront to human dignity.” The act passed both houses of Congress with overwhelming support on May 10, 2010 with language that included “providing political, economic, military, and intelligence support for viable multilateral efforts to protect civilians from the Lord’s Resistance Army.”

Rap's Rick Ross treated in Fla. for medical issue

By CURT ANDERSON Rapper Rick Ross suffered a medical emergency Friday during an airline flight that forced the plane to return abruptly to a Florida airport, authorities said.

Authorities said Ross suffered the unspecified problem aboard a Delta Air Lines flight about 1 p.m. Friday. The flight carrying 121 passengers had departed at 12:21 p.m. for Memphis, Tenn., where Ross was scheduled to perform later Friday at the University of Memphis basketball team's midnight opening practice event.

Mike Jachles, spokesman for Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue, said the flight landed at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and was met by paramedics. They performed what Jachles called "advanced life-support care," which did not include CPR.

Ross, 34, was conscious and breathing but was nonetheless taken to a local hospital for treatment. His condition was not immediately known, but a University of Memphis official said at midday that Ross insisted he was not canceling his appearance.

"He called a member of our staff and said not to believe what's out there and that he's on his way to perform at Memphis Madness," said Lamar Chance, a university athletics department spokesman. Calls to Ross' publicist were not immediately returned. The flight took off again without Ross for Memphis about 30 minutes after landing, said Delta spokeswoman Susan Elliott.

The Miami-based gangsta rapper gained fame with his husky voice and lyrics that spotlighted the grimier side of Miami life. He has become one of rap's most popular figures over the past few years. Ross, whose real name is William Leonard Roberts II, has a new album titled "God Forgives, I Don't," due out in December. The hefty rapper's hits include "Aston Martin Music," "B.M.F. (Blowing Money Fast)" and "Hustlin'." ------ Associated Press writer Adrian Sainz in Memphis and AP Music Writer Nekesa Mumbi Moody contributed to this story.

Video: Rick Ross Has Second Seizure After Leaving Hospital and Boarding

David Ortiz to the Yankees? Only if Red Sox star is willing to play for cheap says baseball insider

BY MARK FEINSAND DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER David Ortiz in pinstripes? It's hard to imagine, isn't it? Then again, it was once impossible to imagine Wade Boggs wearing a Yankee uniform, and even more difficult to picture Johnny Damon cutting his hair and slipping on a navy cap with the interlocking NY.

As unlikely as an Ortiz-Yankees marriage would appear to be, it's not entirely out of the question. Jesus Montero is expected to see a bulk of the at-bats as the designated hitter next year (unless the Yankees decide to deal him for a pitcher and pursue, say, Prince Fielder), while Alex Rodriguez will likely see a number of games there, too. With no apparent need for a DH, the Yankees don't appear to have any room for Ortiz, who hit .309 with 29 home runs and 96 RBI in 2011.

But according to one baseball insider, the Bombers could show interest in Big Papi if the aging star were to accept a bench role and a low-base salary such as the $1.5-$2 million contracts they gave Eric Chavez and Andruw Jones last winter.

"They have enough DH types," the insider said. "At the numbers he's making, it wouldn't be a fit. If he wanted to sign for a million or two, it may be worth pursuing."

Ortiz, who turns 36 next month, just finished up a five-year, $64.5 million contract with the Red Sox, setting the slugger on the free-agent market for the first time since 2002. It's highly unlikely that he would accept a bargain-basement contract or a diminished role, making a deal with the Yankees equally improbable.

This isn't the first time the Yankees have been linked to Ortiz during a free-agent period. Nearly nine years ago, George Steinbrenner pushed Brian Cashman to sign Ortiz, who had been released by the Twins.

Cashman resisted The Boss's wishes, since the Yankees were already set at both first base and designated hitter with Nick Johnson and Jason Giambi. Ortiz - who set career highs in 2002 with 20 home runs and 75 RBI - signed with the Red Sox, emerging as one of baseball's most dangerous bats over the next five years.

Ortiz's bat has terrorized the Yankees for much of the past eight seasons, most notably in 2004, when he hit .387 with three home runs, 11 RBI and a .742 slugging percentage in Boston's historic ALCS comeback. His numbers took a hit in 2008-09, leading many to write him off as washed up. But Ortiz rebounded with a solid season in 2010, then posted another one this year, though his subpar September - he drove in only eight runs while slugging just .372 - helped contribute to Boston's month-long collapse.

The Yankees have not suggested publicly or privately that they plan to pursue Ortiz this winter, but Ortiz made news Wednesday night during an interview with ESPN, telling the network that he's over the "drama" that has engulfed the Red Sox while hinting that he wouldn't be averse to the idea of joining the rival Yankees. Whether or not the Yankees have any interest remains to be seen, but Ortiz certainly made it sound as though he won't be returning to Boston next season.

"There's too much drama," Ortiz said, referring to the recent departures of Terry Francona and Theo Epstein from Boston. "I have been thinking about a lot of things. I don't know if I want to be part of this drama for next year." Asked whether he would consider a move to the other side of baseball's best rivalry, Ortiz didn't do anything to squash the idea. "That's something that I gotta think about," Ortiz said. "Who doesn't want to be involved with a good organization that everything goes down the right way?"

Ortiz pointed to the lack of drama following the Yankees' first-round exit against the Tigers as a difference between the Bombers and BoSox. "They lost just like we did; they just went to the first round of the playoffs," Ortiz said. "I ain't heard nobody coming out killing everybody just because they lost."