Egyptians cross home, U.S.-Israeli leaves Egypt in swap (Reuters)

JERUSALEM/TABA, Egypt (Reuters) ? Egyptians crossed the border home on Thursday and some bowed down in prayer during a prisoner exchange involving an American-Israeli man who Egypt charged with spying and who was flying to Tel Aviv after his release.

Israel swapped 25 jailed Egyptians - some convicted of smuggling - for Ilan Grapel, 27, who was detained in Egypt in June on accusations he was out to recruit agents and monitor events in the revolt that toppled Hosni Mubarak, an ally of Israel and the United States.

Israel, whose relations with Egypt have been strained since the uprising, denied the charges. Israeli officials said Grapel had been released and was flying to Tel Aviv.

Many of the freed Egyptians knelt to pray before boarding a coach to cross into their homeland.

"Raise up your heads, you are Egyptian," cried relatives waving the country's red, white and black flag as the coach crossed the border.

"I've been in jail since 2005. Thank God. I feel reborn," Mursi Barakat told Egyptian state television. "The treatment in jail was very tough and it was clear there was discrimination."

Rabia Suleiman, who was serving a four-year jail term on drugs charges, was asked by the same station what he would do on his return: "I'll come here and find any job, and I won't go back."

The United States, which provides the army that now runs Egypt with billions of dollars in military aid, had called for Grapel's release. Analysts said the exchange provided a cover for Egypt to resolve the diplomatic headache.

"I consider it a cover for returning this spy with pressure from the United States," Egyptian analyst Hassan Nafaa said.

"The release of those 25 represents a cover that has no meaning in fact. It does not harm Israel and it does not significantly benefit Egyptians," he added. Many of those detained by Israel were convicted of smuggling offences.

The U.S.-brokered exchange deal was reached shortly after a more high-profile, Egyptian-brokered swap between Israel and Hamas Islamists that freed captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.

U.S. Congressman Gary Ackerman, who pressed for Grapel's release, traveled to Israel to accompany him back to the United States, his office said in a statement.

"It is ... hard for me to accept the fact that an innocent and perhaps naive citizen travels (to Egypt) to identify with the Arab Spring -- and it's clear this is not a spy, nor an agent, nor a drug trafficker -- and he is arrested under all kinds of false allegations, and we are then forced to pay a price in order to free him," Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Israel's Army Radio.

DRUGS AND GUNS

The family of one of those to be released, Ashraf Abdallah el-Swarky, said the 18-year-old had been sentenced to three years in prison by Israel on charges of illegally crossing the border.

They say he had lost his way. He has spent one year in jail.

"We just want to see our brother. It is a good thing from Egypt to work on freeing them," said his brother, Mohamed.

Others in the area said many of the Egyptian prisoners to be released had been involved in smuggling, which is rife along Egypt's border with Israel and the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.

Israel's Prisons Service said Abdallah had been jailed for drug trafficking as well as "infiltration". The others on the release roster were held for similar offences, including gun-running, but not for espionage or attacks on Israelis.

Grapel's mother has said that her son, a law student in the United States, had been working for Saint Andrew's Refugee Services, a non-governmental organization, in Cairo. Grapel emigrated to Israel in 2005 from New York and served in its military in the 2006 Lebanon war.

Over the years, Egypt has arrested a number of people accused of spying for Israel.

(Additional reporting by Dan Williams and Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem and Shaimaa Fayed and Omar Fahmy in Cairo; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Andrew Roche and Richard Meares)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111027/wl_nm/us_egypt_israel_swap

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Science & the Public: Infected bats can recover . . . with lots of help

Infected bats can recover . . . with lots of help

A paper?published October 26 release in Nature confirms what everyone had come to assume: that?a fungus is responsible for killing vast numbers of North American bats. (Proving the link took some fancy lab work to nail down). But that's not the only bat news. Some authors of the new report also reported?data today establishing that with enough coddling, many heavily infected bats can recover.

The rub: Federal scientists pointed out that there really aren?t sufficient resources to save more than a handful of bats this way.

Their marginally encouraging news emerges from a study of 30 little brown bats, all of whom bore visual evidence of a severe white-nose infection. Those new data show that if infected bats are provided warmth, food and water, ?they actually can mount a rapid recovery,? notes David Blehert of the U.S. Geological Survey?s National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisc. He?s an author of the study.

These were bats that had recently ? and naturally ? emerged from winter hibernation, explains his colleague, wildlife pathologist Carol Meteyer; she also works at the Madison center. The animals had been traveling in and out of caves during late spring and were captured by hand in May and then transported by car to a rehabilitation facility run by Bat World New Jersey.

Nurtured in the lab, the animals? immune systems ? which basically turn off during hibernation ? revved up again. The first seven weeks of protective custody proved critical. During that time, the bats were individually taught to eat lab-administered meal worms. The researchers also treated visibly infected wing tissue on two-thirds of the bats using a dilute vinegar solution. In the end, that acid test offered no additional advantage.

Twenty-six of the animals survived 70 days (at which point they were sacrificed for further study). By that time, all had recovered and their wings were fungus-free. Meteyer and her team detail their findings in the current (July) issue of the Journal of Wildlife Diseases.

As the bats? immunity moved into full gear, wing lesions where the fungus had been eating through the animals? skin, began to scab over. Their bodies ?tend to wall off that fungus and lift it away from the bat wing,? Meteyer says. ?I call it ?bat magic.??

Eventually, the wings (which are the structures most vulnerable to white-nose syndrome) ?look entirely normal,? she says ? both to the naked eye and upon microscopic investigation. Somehow, wings regenerate fungus-savaged tissue to the point that recovered bats cannot be distinguished from uninfected ones, she says.

That?s the good news. The bad: More than one million bats have succumbed to white nose syndrome in the past five years and there?s no sign this infection is slowing. It?s actually continuing to radiate throughout North America. And insect-eating bats aren?t interested in the idea of a lab rehab. Most don?t cotton to eating the meal worms they?re offered and may need to be painstakingly and individually coerced before they readily eat this grub.

Meteyer says only a few Northeast facilities have been licensed to treat wild bats. Offering palliative care to affected bats can require round-the-clock attention and tends to evolve into a labor of love.?Clearly, she observes, the logistics of trying to gear this up for widescale nursing of sick bats ?isn?t feasible at this point.?

Adds Blehert, once a site where bats congregate for hibernation becomes infected with the white-nose pathogen (Geomyces destructans), viable fungus can persist on the walls and floors ? ready to claim a new host.

Some people have been investigating a possible vaccine for white nose syndrome, but Meteyer is dubious about its potential.

The vaccine might be functional during the summer, she says, when the animals? immune system is up and running. But ?that?s not when this fungus is most infectious,? she explains. It loves the near-freezing cold of the caves where northern bats hibernate. So it?s likely that any vaccine-triggered immunity would take a hiatus along with the rest of the animals? infection-fighting apparatus during hibernations ? precisely when bats are most likely to encounter the pathogen.

For now, ?there?s no magic bullet,? says Jeremy Coleman, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist in Cortland, N.Y., and coordinator of white-nose syndrome programs for his agency. That?s why the Fish and Wildlife Service has started contemplating a new captive management strategy, he says.

?It doesn?t include rehabilitation,? he told reporters during a briefing, ?and [Meteyer] indicated how difficult a large-scale rehab would be.? But the Fish and Wildlife Service has begun working with experts internationally to explore possible options for eight species of North American bats being hammered by white nose syndrome. A report detailing potential recommendations should be out by New Year?s, Coleman says. ?We?re looking at the potential for a full-on captive propagation program similar to what has been done successfully with the black-footed ferret and California condor.?

But make no mistake, bat biologists warn: Captive rearing is easier to contemplate than to accomplish. ?So far as I know, there are no sustaining populations of insectivorous bats in captivity,? says Alison Robbins of the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in North Grafton, Mass. Various research groups have maintained such bats in captivity, she notes ? ?but not to the point where they can properly reproduce.?

She knows the pitfalls well. Robbins took in 120 infected little-brown bats last year for a treatment trial. Each was hand fed for two weeks before they began chowing down on meal worms without assistance. But within three months, every one had died. Her suspicion: The stress of handling did them in.

Meanwhile, each winter, North America?s bat pandemic grows.


Found in: Biology, Ecology, Environment and Science & Society

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/335592/title/Infected_bats_can_recover_._._._with_lots_of_help

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Students' financial info revealed on gov't website (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The personal financial details of as many as 5,000 college students were temporarily laid bare for other students to view on the Education Department's direct loan website earlier this month, an education official testified Tuesday.

The students' information was available during a six or seven minute window as officials were making a reconfiguration involving 11.5 million borrowers, said James Runcie, the Education Department's federal student aid chief operating officer. The change was designed to improve the website's performance times.

Runcie said students who logged on during the trouble period saw the personal details of other students.

Those whose information was exposed have been notified and offered credit monitoring services, Runcie said. The department shut down the website while the problem was resolved. "We responded as quickly as we could," he said.

Runcie's testimony came before a House Education and the Workforce subcommittee, which has been reviewing the Education Department's transition to directly issuing all student loans.

Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., the subcommittee chairwoman, said the transition has meant more customer service problems and mistakes, including the recent security problem with the website.

"The implications of this kind of website malfunction are severe, particularly when it affects millions of borrows nationwide," Foxx said.

In a statement released after the hearing, Justin Hamilton, an Education Department spokesman, said the problem occurred on Oct. 12 and the department has no reason to believe students' information was misused or accessed by anyone with "malicious intent."

Congress changed the way student loans are issued last year as part of the law overhauling the nation's health care system. It essentially stripped banks of their role as middlemen in issuing the loans. All loans are now directly issued by the government. The expectation at the time was that the measure would result in $61 billion in savings over a decade. The billions saved are to pay for Pell Grants, provide resources to community and historically black colleges, help reduce the deficit and offset expenses from the health care legislation.

Runcie said the department uses rigorous security standards but is looking to soon roll out an additional safeguard. He also said the department appreciates suggestions on ways to make its website more user friendly, and plans to make changes.

Overall, Runcie said the transition to the direct loan program has been a success.

_____

Online: Student loan website: http://myedaccount.com

_____

Kimberly Hefling can be followed at http://twitter.com/khefling

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111025/ap_on_go_co/us_student_loans

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Dell XPS 14z

The Dell XPS 14z ($1,299 direct) is a fully-featured mainstream laptop in a compact, metallic chassis. With top-flight features like an Intel Core i7-2640M processor, Nvidia graphics with automatic switching, and one of the best keyboards we've laid hands on, the Dell XPS 14z has the chops to take on the best laptops in its class, but some might balk at the price.

Design
The Dell XPS 14z shares much of its design with its desktop replacement predecessor, the Dell XPS 15z (Microsoft) ($999, 4 stars). It has the same streamlined curves, sheathed in aluminum and reinforced with magnesium alloy. The chassis measures 0.9 inches thick, and even with the addition of four chunky shock-absorbing feet the laptop sits less than 1-inch high when closed. Though it sports a 14-inch display, the surrounding bezel is so slim that the dimensions (0.9 by 13.19 by 9.21-inches, HWD) put it closer to a 13-inch laptop. That's roughly the same size as the Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (Thunderbolt) ($1199 direct, 3.5 stars). The whole package weighs 4.36 pounds, which is lighter than the MacBook and the Dell Inspiron 14z (Core i5) ($750 direct, 4 stars), both of which weigh 4.5 pounds.

The Dell XPS 14z has inherited one of the finest keyboards found in current laptops, the same full-sized chiclet keyboard on the Dell XPS 15z. The sculpted keys curve comfortably beneath your fingertips, and an automatic backlight provides illumination as needed, sensing the ambient light and adjusting the keyboard brightness accordingly. The accompanying touchpad is large?4.5-inches from corner to corner?and the separate right and left mouse buttons are quiet and comfortable when clicked.

The 14-inch display is nearly edge-to-edge, thanks to a slim bezel that measures less than 0.5 inch. The widescreen layout looks good with standard 1366-by-768 resolution, and a glass layer helps it look even sharper. Just above the screen you will also find a 1.3 megapixel webcam, with dual-microphones for clearer sound while video chatting or recording video. On either side of the keyboard, you'll find two stylized speaker grills with the same eye-catching design found on the XPS 15z. The upward facing speakers pump out superb audio, enhanced with Waves MaxxAudio 3 software. The sound quality is strong and clear, and even provides relatively good bass, though, any decent speakers with a subwoofer will outclass it. If you want better audio while watching a movie, the XPS 14z also puts out 5.1 surround sound through its HDMI output.

Features
The HDMI port is just one of many features found on the XPS 14z, along with a mini-DisplayPort. Those who want to ditch video cables completely can do so, by streaming HD content to your HDTV thanks to the integrated WiDi 2.0 technology (provided you have a Netgear Push2TV receiver, a $99 dollar extra). Other choice features include a slot loading optical drive (DVD +- RW), and Bluetooth 3.0. On the left hand side of the laptop, you'll find jacks for headphones and a microphone, while on the back of the laptop there's a USB 2.0 port, a faster USB 3.0 port, and an Ethernet jack. That Gigabit Ethernet will probably be supplanted by the 802.11n Wi-Fi connection that's built-in.

The Dell XPS 14z comes with a 750GB 7,200rpm hard drive, matching the drive capacity of the Asus U46E-BAL5 ($699.99 list, 4.5 stars) (750GB), but larger than the drives found on the MacBook Pro 13-inch (500GB), Sony VAIO VPC-SA2FGX/BI ($1,199.99 list, 3.5 stars) (500GB), and Samsung QX411-W01 ($799.99 list, 4 stars) (640GB). On the hard drive, you'll find that Dell includes a bit of pre-installed software, such as a 60-day trial of McAfee SecurityCenter and Microsoft Office Starter 2010. A few of the more egregious bits of bloatware that you may want to remove as part of your initial set-up include Bing and Skype branded toolbars, e-readers from Blio and Zinio, and a dedicated link to eBay right on the desktop. The Dell XPS 14z is also covered by a one-year warranty, which includes one year of mail in repair service and a limited hardware warranty.

Performance
Dell XPS 14z The Dell XPS 14z may be small, but the dual-core Intel Core i7-2640M processor inside is not. This top-flight 2.8GHz processor paired with 8GB of RAM provided some of the fastest performance numbers we've seen in the 14-inch space. Packing a high-speed processor into a small chassis, however, doesn't allow much room for heat to dissipate, and during testing we pointed our Fluke IR thermometer at the keyboard and it registered temperatures as high as 97-degrees Fahrenheit. Despite the heat, the XPS 14z still produced some of the best performance among 14-inch laptops, with a PCMark7 score of 2,261 points and Cinebench R11.5 score of 3.16 points. The XPS 15z deftly handled our multimedia tests, completing Handbrake in 1 minute 37 seconds and Photoshop in 3:27. The closest competitors, the Dell Inspiron 14z (1:58 on Handbrake; 4:10 on CS5) and HP Envy 14 (Sandy Bridge) ($1,079.99 direct, 4 stars) (1:57 Handbrake, 4:16 Photoshop) both fell behind despite their fine performances.

The XPS 14z also benefits from Intel's integrated graphics and an Nvidia GeForce GT 520M discrete graphics processor with 1GB of dedicated memory. Nvidia's Optimus technology automatically switches between the two, drawing on the Nvidia GPU's graphics power for tasks like gaming, but switching to the more energy-efficient Intel solution for less demanding tasks. Thanks to this Nvidia hardware, the Dell XPS 14z did well in gaming tests, pumping out playable frame rates in Crysis (33.2 frames per second) and almost playable frame rates in Lost Planet 2 (25.1 fps) at medium detail and 1024-by-768 resolution. While these are decent scores, they were trounced by the Sony VAIO VPC-SA2GFX/BI's AMD Radeon graphics processor (59.1 fps Crysis, 50.2 fps Lost Planet 2).

To keep the design extra slim, the Dell XPS 14z seals the battery into the chassis of the laptop, away from the owner's prying hands. It's a design decision that can also be seen in the Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch and Samsung QX411-W01. In MobileMark 2007, the Dell XPS 14z's 58Wh battery lasted 6 hours 3 minutes. This puts it ahead of the MacBook (3:58 with a 63.5Wh battery), but it falls short of the larger batteries found in regular-sized 14-inch competitors, like the Samsung (8:48, 60Wh) and Asus U46E-BAL5 (7:19, 74Wh). Though 5-7 hours of battery-life is common, the 8+ hours provided by some of these laptops is just too difficult for the Dell to match.

Among mainstream laptops, the Dell XPS 14z offers better components and better performance than most competitors, with an Intel Core i7 processor, switchable Nvidia graphics, and a spacious 750GB hard drive. Though it falters a bit on battery life, the attractive compact design and oh-so-comfortable keyboard gives other premium systems a run for their money. On the flipside, the $1,299 premium may be too steep for some customers, who might prefer the Editors' Choice Dell Inspiron 14z (Core i5), which offers solid mainstream performance without the luxury-class price tag.

BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS:

COMPARISON TABLE
Compare the Dell XPS 14z with several other laptops side by side.

More laptop reviews:
??? Dell XPS 14z
??? Dell Inspiron 14z (i14z-6677DBK)
??? Toshiba Satellite P755-S5320
??? Toshiba Satellite P775-S7320
??? Asus U56E-BBL6
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/akdO1sSoQds/0,2817,2395124,00.asp

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Family, friends of dead Utah teen seek answers

Family and friends of a 16-year-old Utah girl whose body was found in a shallow grave were awaiting the results of an autopsy and police investigation into her death.

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Authorities announced Saturday that the body found last week in the shallow grave in a rural area north of Salt Lake City belonged to Alexis Rasmussen. She was last seen the night of Sept. 10, when she was babysitting for Eric and Dea Millerberg of North Ogden.

The couple has been arrested on unrelated charges, but neither has been named as suspects in Rasmussen's case. Police have declined to comment about the couple.

The girl's aunt, Tammy Reed, said police haven't told the family the cause of death or even whether detectives believe she was murdered.

"We're all saddened," she said. "We want to know why and how and who."

Rasmussen's mother had given her permission to stay at the Millerberg home that night because it was late. She was last heard from around 11:30 p.m. when she texted her mother saying the Millerbergs hadn't returned home. The couple said between 11 p.m. and midnight, she told them she was leaving to meet a friend at a local school, police said.

Family members have acknowledged that Rasmussen had run away before, and police previously said they were treating the investigation as a missing person case.

Police have said a tip from a confidential informant led them to an isolated area of Morgan County where the teen's remains were discovered.

Investigators were working to determine the cause of the girl's death, as well as who was responsible, North Ogden police spokesman Paul Rhoades said. He referred further queries about the case to Weber County Attorney Dee Smith.

"The circumstances surrounding her disappearance and the discovery of her body certainly suggest that we are dealing with a homicide," Smith told the The Salt Lake Tribune. "At the same time, we're real early into this for me to say with any confidence what took place."

Reed said her niece's untimely death is even more heartbreaking because she had a beautiful spirit and ebullient personality.

"Everything about Lexi was remarkable," she told the Deseret News. "(She touched people with) her heart, her smile, her eyes. She wanted to be a nurse. She had hopes and dreams and was always looking toward the future."

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45008663/ns/us_news/

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No deal yet on euro crisis as the danger grows (AP)

BRUSSELS ? European leaders yet again put off the tough decisions needed to save the continent from its debt crisis but promised Sunday that a comprehensive plan is still coming.

As they dawdled, the danger was rising in an already high-stakes game.

Leaders of the continent's richest countries had unusually stern words Sunday for Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, because many fear his nation could be the next dragged into the debt crisis if it does not make major budget cuts quickly.

That would spell disaster: Europe has rescued three small nations ? Greece, Ireland and Portugal ? but cannot afford to rescue Italy, the eurozone's third largest economy. Analysts say EU leaders, known as the European Council when they meet in Brussels, have to act now to eliminate the possibility of Italy's financial collapse.

"Between now and Wednesday, some members of the European Council have to convince colleagues that their country implements commitments fully," EU President Herman Van Rompuy said after the day's meetings, clearly referring to Italy. On Wednesday, leaders will gather again ? to unveil their solution, they promise.

When asked later what would happen if countries failed to fall in line, he responded: "They will make commitments."

Whether that message was getting through, however, was unclear. "The Italian fundamentals are very solid," Berlusconi told reporters after the 12-hour meeting.

For weeks it's been clear what the 17 countries that use the euro must do: reduce Greece's debt burden so the country eventually can stand on its own, force banks to raise more money so they can ride out the financial storm that will entail, and show that their European bailout fund is big and nimble enough to prevent larger economies from getting dragged into the crisis.

On Saturday, officials said the leaders were nearing agreement on slashing Greece's debts and strengthening the continent's banks, many of which are awash in Greek bonds.

But Sunday, the only solid detail to emerge from three days of intense talks was that banks will have to raise their capital buffers much faster than they had planned ? by the end of 2012, instead of 2019.

A European official said Saturday the banks would be forced to raise just over euro100 billion ($140 billion) more for their rainy-day funds, but leaders have not given an official figure.

Instead, at a series of news conferences Sunday, all they could do was promise to deliver big at their next summit.

"There are still problems to solve, but we are moving forward on all subjects," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said as he left Sunday's meetings. "There is a still a lot of work to do ... but there are no more blockages."

Analysts who have seen this pattern for months couldn't help but be skeptical.

"By failing to agree on anything substantial today, EU leaders may have set themselves up for an even bigger fall," said Sony Kapoor, managing director of the Re-Define think tank. "They owe it to Europe to pull a rabbit out of the hat now, but this seems to be beyond them."

Part of the challenge is that European leaders are unable to decide on anything until everything is in place, since each piece of the puzzle affects the others. The value of Greece's bonds can't be slashed until banks are strengthened ? or at least have confidence they can get help from the rescue fund. But some countries are reluctant to strengthen the fund until they know there's a plan to bring Greek debt under control.

Banks ? which have already agreed to take losses on their Greek bonds of some 21 percent ? are already rumbling at suggestions that they might need to double or nearly triple that figure. But without reducing Greece's debt load, the whole plan does not work.

The eurozone also still needs to work out how to most effectively use Europe's bailout fund to make sure Italy and Spain don't see their borrowing costs spiral out of control, as happened with Greece, Portugal and Ireland.

Officials said leaders had reduced seven different proposals down to two options, which are not mutually exclusive. Both options would essentially use the European Financial Stability Facility to insure investors against a first round of losses on bonds from wobbly countries.

But before that can be done, those countries have to convince their partners in the eurozone that their weakness is only temporary and they can get back into shape soon.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and France's Sarkozy came out with particularly strong words for Italy.

"We made it very clear that Italy is a big and important partner for the euro area and that everything needs to be done to live up to this responsibility," Merkel told reporters after the two met with Berlusconi.

"Trust does not just come from a firewall," she added. "Italy has great economic power but Italy also has a very high overall debt level. And that was to be taken down in the coming years in a credible way."

The stern tone reflected the seriousness of Europe's problems, which have roiled financial markets in recent months and been blamed for slowing economic growth across the globe.

Worst off, of course, is Greece, which is reeling from repeated rounds of budget cuts, job cuts and new taxes that have sparked near-daily strikes and even riots. The country is looking at a fourth year of recession and unemployment has hit a record of 16.5 percent.

"Greece has proven again and again that we are making the necessary decisions to make our economy sustainable," Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou told reporters Sunday. "But it's been proven now that the crisis is not a Greek crisis. The crisis is a European crisis, so now is the time that we as Europeans need to act."

To ease the pressure, banks will be asked to accept much bigger losses on Greek bonds.

Austria's chancellor said the cut in the value of Greek government bonds will likely be raised "in the direction of 40 to 50 percent."

"A cut in the debt is the right step," Werner Faymann told the Austrian newspaper Wiener Kurier.

Despite massive budget cuts and reforms, a new report says Greece's economic situation is still dire and it could take the country decades to emerge from the crisis.

The eurozone has accepted that it will have to provide Greece with tens of billions of euros in extra aid ? on top of euro110 billion ($152 billion) granted in May 2010. But to keep a lid on that amount, banks must go far beyond a preliminary deal reached in July, in which they promised take a cut of 21 percent of their Greek bondholdings.

The near-consensus among eurozone countries that Greece's debt will have to be slashed is one of the reasons banks across Europe ? not only in the 17-country eurozone ? will be forced to shore up their capital buffers in the coming months.

To that end, Sarkozy said the EU will require banks to raise their capital buffers to higher levels by 2012 rather than the 2019 laid out under the Basel III banking rules.

___

Gabriele Steinhauser, Raf Casert, Slobodan Lekic, Don Melvin and Elena Becatoros contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111023/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_europe_financial_crisis

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Westone's 4 R-Series quad-driver IEMs pack Acoustic Symmetry, cost $500

Remember those impressive Westone 4 in-ear monitors that came out late last year, priced at a whopping $450? Well, the company's ready to best itself again -- and have audiophiles open their wallets a bit wider -- with its new 4 R-Series. This latest set is relatively similar to the 4, still packing Westone's detachable EPIC cable and four balanced armature drivers, but will set you back an extra fifty bucks in the name of Acoustic Symmetry. Westone claims the 'phones achieve an "extremely tight tolerance of +/- 2dB between earpieces," meaning your sound should be extra consistent from both buds. The 4 R-Series buds are expected to arrive before the year's out, so in the meantime we'll just direct you to the PR past the break.

Continue reading Westone's 4 R-Series quad-driver IEMs pack Acoustic Symmetry, cost $500

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Cards, Rangers battle in Game 3

Bottom of 2:
Rangers second. Mi.Young grounded out, shortstop Furcal to first baseman Pujols. Beltre singled to right.
Runs:?0,?Hits:?1Top of 2:
Cardinals second. Freese struck out. Y.Molina grounded out, third baseman Beltre to first baseman Napoli. Jay struck out.
Runs:?0,?Hits:?0Bottom of 1:
Rangers first. Kinsler struck out. Andrus struck out. J.Hamilton grounded out to first baseman Pujols unassisted.
Runs:?0,?Hits:?0Top of 1:
Cardinals first. Furcal grounded out to first baseman Napoli unassisted. Craig homered to left on a 0-1 count. Pujols grounded out, third baseman Beltre to first baseman Napoli. Holliday singled to right. Berkman flied out to center fielder J.Hamilton.
Runs:?1,?Hits:?2

Source: http://scores.nbcsports.msnbc.com/mlb/gameview.asp?gamecode=311022113

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Civil rights icon Shuttlesworth to be buried

Rev. Calvin Woods laughs as U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder speaks during a remembrance service for the late Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011. Family and friends gathered with dignitaries including U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to remember the life and legacy of Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth who died Oct. 5, 2011. (AP Photo/The Birmingham News, Jeff Roberts)

Rev. Calvin Woods laughs as U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder speaks during a remembrance service for the late Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011. Family and friends gathered with dignitaries including U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to remember the life and legacy of Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth who died Oct. 5, 2011. (AP Photo/The Birmingham News, Jeff Roberts)

Retired U.S. District Court Judge U.W. Clemon, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s attorney Clarence Jones, Howell Raines, former editor of The New York Times and Pulitzer-Prize winning author Diane McWhorter meet prior to a panel discussion of the life and times of Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth who died Oct. 5, 2011 at the Birmingham Museum of Art in Birmingham, Ala., Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011. (AP Photo/The Birmingham News, Jeff Roberts)

Cosby Sanders leaves a bouquet of roses at the base of the statue of Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth who died Oct. 5, 2011 during a remembrance and visitation of Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute in Birmingham, Ala., Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011. Shuttlesworth will buried Monday, Oct. 24, 2011. (AP Photo/The Birmingham News, Jeff Roberts)

Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth's children, widow, and others sing during his memorial service Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011, in Birmingham,Ala. at Bethel Baptist Church in the Collegeville neighborhood where he was a pastor from 1953-1961. He was a civil rights leader who helped transform Birmingham by challenging its racial segregation laws. This memorial was the first of several. His final service will be Monday. (AP Photo/The Birmingham News, Tamika Moore)

Members of the Birmingham Police Department and Birmingham Fire and Rescue escort Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth's casket and family members from Bethel Baptist Church to the new Bethel Baptist Church in the Collegeville neighborhood of Birmingham, Ala., on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011. (AP Photo/The Birmingham News, Michelle Campbell)

(AP) ? The Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, often eclipsed by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in life, was scheduled to be laid to rest Monday after a weekend of remembering the way he catalyzed the civil rights movement in Birmingham and launched King into immortality.

Those who knew him best urged others to continue the tireless example he set, working long after victory in the 1963 campaign to liberate the segregated Southern city he called home. Fellow preachers, foot soldiers from the movement and members of his family told a crowd gathered Sunday at the historic 16th Street Baptist Church that for all of his heroic efforts, the fiery minister's work remains undone.

Attorney General Eric Holder, the first African-American to hold the position, told the audience: "Without him, there would be no me."

"We are bound by more than sorrow," Holder said. "We are united by our shared admiration of Reverend Shuttlesworth, by our deep appreciation of his legacy, and perhaps most importantly by our collective responsibility to carry on his critical work, and to live up to the example of service that he left to us."

A parade of clergy lined up to give Shuttlesworth his due at the memorial, which lasted nearly three hours. Five decades ago, when a little-known black Baptist preacher named Martin Luther King took the helm of the Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott in 1955, Shuttlesworth was already in Birmingham trying to start a movement, but hardly anyone was paying attention.

Shuttlesworth was from a small church. His credentials and pedigree made it easy for local whites to dismiss him as a radical. Until King came to Birmingham, Shuttlesworth couldn't get the national press to recognize his city as the embodiment of the horrors of the segregated South.

He was just another black preacher getting beat up, said former Atlanta mayor, congressman and United Nations ambassador Andrew Young, who worked alongside King and Shuttlesworth in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. All three men helped establish the organization in 1957.

"They were sued together, they helped organize SCLC together," Young said of King and Shuttlesworth. "He wanted the spotlight very much, but there wasn't but one Martin Luther King."

It was King who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and went on to become the icon of the civil rights movement. Shuttlesworth, who was overshadowed in life by his comrade in the movement, was again eclipsed by King in death.

Though he died nearly three weeks ago, Shuttlesworth is only now being buried Monday. The reason for the delay: The dedication of the King Memorial on the National Mall, sending most of Shuttlesworth's civil rights colleagues to Washington last weekend.

Had they not been there, they would have likely been in Birmingham remembering Shuttlesworth.

"His friends and Martin's friends were the same," Young said. "But you don't have two memorials at the same time if you want your friends to come."

Among the events held in Shuttlesworth's honor was a public viewing of his body at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and a panel discussion at the Birmingham Museum of Art.

In tribute, many at the 16th Street Baptist Church ? where four black girls were killed in a bombing before Sunday services on September 15, 1963 ? recalled Shuttlesworth's courage but also called on those left to mourn him to be courageous. Holder said Shuttlesworth was a warrior for justice and advocate for peace who has left behind a legacy for the country to follow.

The attorney general used the occasion to point out Alabama's strict new immigration law, considered the toughest crackdown in the nation. He said too many in Alabama "are willing to turn their backs on our immigrant past" and he would not let that happen. The Obama administration is among the parties suing the state to block the law.

There was also a candlelight vigil for Shuttlesworth across the street in Kelly Ingram Park, made famous when news footage of policemen and firemen unleashing dogs and blasting water hoses on defenseless civil rights marchers was broadcast to a shocked international audience.

Long before the television cameras arrived, Shuttlesworth was there, organizing many such nonviolent protests.

Shuttlesworth survived a Christmas 1956 bombing that destroyed his home, an assault during a 1957 protest, chest injuries when Birmingham authorities turned the hoses on demonstrators in 1963 and countless arrests. He moved to Ohio to pastor a church in the early 1960s, but returned frequently to Alabama for key protests. He came back to live in the Birmingham area after he retired a few years ago.

"He was able to see how the civil rights struggle kept reinventing itself in different forms," said Diane McWhorter, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, "Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama, the Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution."

"He was always there to make it clear that this was a continuous struggle."

McWhorter said she never got the sense Shuttlesworth was bitter about King overpowering the narrative of the movement, and that he never badmouthed King to her.

"He had a huge ego ... but he never said anything like, 'Oh, I should've been the leader of the movement,'" she said. "He kind of recognized that he couldn't have done what King did. But he was just such a key ingredient that it couldn't have happened without him, either."

Quoting from his book, "My Soul Is Rested: The Story of the Civil Rights Movement in the Deep South," former New York Times Executive Editor Howell Raines, a Birmingham native, said at Sunday's panel: "King's name would've never touched immortality had it not been for Birmingham."

After Shuttlesworth's death on Oct. 5 ? the same week the Rev. Joseph Lowery turned 89 and the Rev. Jesse Jackson turned 70 ? Alabama lowered its state flags to half-mast.

"I really do feel like he has sort of gotten his due more and more over the last number of years," McWhorter said. "Partly because he's outlasted everybody, with distinction and class."

Young agreed that Shuttlesworth ultimately received his due, and is recognized as one of the true heroes of the movement. Besides, he pointed out, attention is no substitute for longevity.

"Yes, Martin overshadowed him," Young said of Shuttlesworth. "But he got to live to 89. Martin didn't make it to 40."

___

Follow Errin Haines on Twitter at www.twitter.com/emarvelous

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-10-24-Shuttlesworth%20Remembered/id-0e6afaba0612454999974d4bff69b6b5

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Senate unveils next piece of Obama jobs bill (AP)

WASHINGTON ? President Barack Obama's Senate allies said Friday that the next piece of his failed $447 billion jobs measure to get a vote would be a $60 billion program for roads, bridges and other public works projects.

Like two earlier proposals, this piece figures to be unanimously opposed by Republicans and a few Democrats over its stimulus-style spending and tax surcharge on the very wealthy. A test vote on the measure will come after the Senate returns from vacation next month.

The legislation would provide an immediate $50 billion investment in roads, bridges and airports, and transit systems. It also would establish a $10 billion bank to leverage private and public capital for longer-term infrastructure projects.

"This legislation will create hundreds of thousands of construction jobs rebuilding our roads, bridges and infrastructure," said Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

The measure would be financed by a 0.7 percentage point surcharge on income over $1 million.

The announcement by Senate Democrats came the day after Republicans scuttled a pared-back jobs measure designed to boost hiring of teachers and first responders.

That $35 billion measure combined $30 billion for state and local governments to hire teachers and other school workers with $5 billion to help pay the salaries of police officers, firefighters and other first responders.

The White House said it would "support" almost 400,000 education jobs for one year. Republicans called that a temporary "sugar high" for the economy and said it was a public bailout of state and local governments.

Obama and his Democratic allies are acting like they've found a winning issue in repeatedly pressing popular ideas such as infrastructure spending and boosting hiring of police officers and firefighters. The sluggish economy and lower tax revenues have caused many teachers' jobs to be cut over the past several years.

"For the second time in two weeks, every single Republican in the United States Senate has chosen to obstruct a bill that would create jobs and get our economy going again," Obama said in a statement after the vote. "Every American deserves an explanation as to why Republicans refuse to step up to the plate and do what's necessary to create jobs and grow the economy right now."

Countered GOP Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida: "We cannot afford to be bailing out local governments, and we can't afford stimulus 2.0."

An Associated Press-GfK poll taken Oct. 13-17 found 62 percent of respondents favoring the tax surcharge as a way to pay for jobs initiatives. Just 26 percent opposed the idea.

"Hopefully, maybe, after they take another recess, Senate Republicans will hear from their constituents, come back with a different attitude about what this economy needs right now," White House spokesman Jay Carney said Friday.

More ominously for Democrats, however, the poll shows that Obama's party has lost the faith of the public on handling the economy. In it, only 38 percent said they trust Democrats to do a better job than Republicans in handling the economy, the first time Democrats have fallen below 40 percent in the poll. Some 43 percent trust the Republicans more.

"The fact is we're not going to get this economy going again by growing the government. It's the private sector that's ultimately going to drive this recovery," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said.

Immediately after the vote on Obama's jobs plan, Democrats turned the tables and stalled Republican-backed legislation that would prevent the government from withholding 3 percent of payments to government contractors.

Many Democrats and Obama support the idea but object to pay for it with $30 billion in cuts from domestic agency spending. Advocates of repealing the withholding requirement say it will help create jobs, especially from contractors on large projects with smaller profit margins.

The GOP-controlled House is likely to pass the measure next week and Reid promised that the Senate would revisit the issue.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111021/ap_on_go_co/us_senate_jobs

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