Up to 500,000 new refugees could flee to S. Sudan: WFP (Reuters)

JUBA (Reuters) ? Conflict and food shortages could push up to half a million Sudanese refugees to flee to South Sudan in the next couple months if Khartoum does not allow aid agencies more access to its restive border regions, the World Food Program said.

South Sudan seceded in July under a 2005 peace deal that ended a decades-long civil war with the north, but fighting has continued on both sides of the poorly drawn border.

The United States has pressed Khartoum to allow more aid in the South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, citing expert reports that said more than a quarter of a million people could be on the brink of famine there by March.

Sudan's ambassador to the United Nations this month dismissed concerns of a looming crisis in the two states, saying the situation there was "normal."

World Food Program deputy executive director Ramiro Lopes Da Silva said more than 1,000 people per day have crossed into South Sudan over the last week, as many people as were crossing into Kenya from Somalia at the peak of the famine in the Horn of Africa last year.

"In a couple of months it is what is typically the hunger season both in Sudan and South Sudan and obviously the potential impact on those populations is very serious," Da Silva told reporters.

"There is a sense of urgency that the window for an effective intervention with the populations where they are is narrowing."

Fighting broke out in June between government forces and South Kordofan rebels who sided with the southern army during the civil war. The conflict spread to Blue Nile in September.

In South Sudan, aid agencies are already helping 83,000 Sudanese who have fled aerial bombardment and ground attacks in the two states.

The Sudanese government accuses South Sudan of continuing to support the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army North (SPLM-N) in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, charges Juba denies.

WFP says they are already planning to feed 2.7 million South Sudanese this year, and are seeking donations to plug a cereal deficit which, according to preliminary estimates, could amount up to 500,000 tons.

Da Silva said WFP is lobbying Khartoum to allow more humanitarian access to Blue Nile and South Kordofan, but the government is worried the assistance may fall into the hands of combatants.

(Additional writing by Alexander Dziadosz)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120130/wl_nm/us_sudan_refugees

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Recap: Big Winners & Big Moments at SAG Awards (omg!)

The casts of Boardwalk Empire, Modern Family and The Help were the big winners at the 18th Annual Screen Actor's Guild Awards.

Fierce Fashions: The SAG Awards.?

My Week with Marilyn's Michelle Williams was a stunning lady in red when she introduced the night?s first award, Outstanding Male Actor in a Supporting Role. The actor went to Christopher Plummer who thanked his fellow nominees, cast and daughter Amanda Plummer.

SAG Winner Alec Baldwin Diagnosed as Pre-Diabetic

Octavia Spencer delighted the crowd when she won for Outstanding Female Actor in a Supporting Role for her role as the oh-so-sassy, cake baking Minny in The Help. Octavia thanked the women who work as domestic helpers, like her character in the film, who made it possible for be there tonight. She said, "By honoring me, you honor them." She also thanked an unsung hero in the film, slain civil rights activist Medgar Evers and his family. She dedicated the award to the down trodden, downsized and overtaxed.

Funny ones Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) and Betty White (Hot in Cleveland) also walked away with the actor for Outstanding Comedy Series. Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon took to the stage to present the award for home Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series to the cast of Modern Family. The show?s young stars Nolan Gould, Rico Rodriguez and Ariel Winter proved the W.C. Field?s adage, "never work with kids or animals" untrue ? when they took turns making jokes about children and animals in the cast?s acceptance speech.

Oscar winner Kate Winslet won for Outstanding Female Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries for Mildred Pierce but was not there to accept her award. Likewise, Paul Giamatti was unable to accept his Outstanding Male Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries Award for Too Big to Fail, however presenter Armie Hammer joked he would now be taking the Actor home with him.

Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Melissa McCarthy lit up the stage when they presented their nominated film Bridesmaids and also introduced the audience to their drinking game called Scorsese from the Bridesmaids set ? in which one must take a drink any time someone says "Scorsese." Subsequently, the women took turns slipping the famed director?s name into their intro and forcing each other to drink, a joke which recurred throughout the show.

Presenting Mary Tyler Moore with the Screen Actor?s Guild?s Lifetime Achievement Award, Dick Van Dyke received a standing ovation when he came onstage, to which the icon retorted: ?I?m what?s left of Dick Van Dyke. Van Dyke then welcomed his former Dick Van Dyke Show costar, Mary Tyler Moore, who told a story about having to change her name from Mary Moore to Mary Tyler Moore when she joined the Screen Actor?s Guild at the age of 18.

Jessica Lange received the Actor for Outstanding Female Actor in a Drama Series for her turn in American Horror Story, and Steve Buscemi (who made it a point to up the drinking game ante by saying Martin Scorsese?s name several times in his acceptance speech) won Outstanding Male Actor in a Drama Series. The cast of Boardwalk Empire won the actor for Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series.

In one of the night?s big surprises, a dazzling Natalie Portman presented the award for Outstanding Male Actor in a Leading Role to French actor Jean Dujardin for his celebrated performance in the silent film The Artist. Sir Ben Kingsley took to the stage to present Outstanding Female Actor in a Leading Role to Viola Davis for her role as a domestic helper in The Help. In her emotional speech, Viola Davis thanked Cicely Tyson and Meryl Streep for inspiring her to act both as a child and in college. She also implored those watching, "To dream big and dream fierce." In the final award of the night, Money Ball?s Brad Pitt presented the Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture award to The Help.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_recap_big_winners_big_moments_sag_awards041900887/44350695/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/recap-big-winners-big-moments-sag-awards-041900887.html

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Obama uses tax proposals for his political message

FILE - In this Dec. 16, 2011, file photo, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, speaks to reporters as Republican Senators emerge from a closed-door negotiation on the payroll tax cut extension and other measures, at the Capitol in Washington. Aiming tax increases at millionaires and companies that ship jobs abroad may help frame the fairness theme of President Barack Obama?s re-election campaign, but it?s a plan that stands virtually no chance of passing Congress. "He?s got to know that none of those things he proposed really have much of a chance of going through both houses of Congress," said Hatch, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

FILE - In this Dec. 16, 2011, file photo, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, speaks to reporters as Republican Senators emerge from a closed-door negotiation on the payroll tax cut extension and other measures, at the Capitol in Washington. Aiming tax increases at millionaires and companies that ship jobs abroad may help frame the fairness theme of President Barack Obama?s re-election campaign, but it?s a plan that stands virtually no chance of passing Congress. "He?s got to know that none of those things he proposed really have much of a chance of going through both houses of Congress," said Hatch, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Aiming tax increases at millionaires and companies that ship jobs abroad may help frame the fairness theme of President Barack Obama's re-election campaign, but it's a plan that stands virtually no chance of passing Congress.

Republicans have enough votes in the GOP-run House, and almost certainly in the Democratic-controlled Senate, to kill Obama's proposals. They say his ideas would discourage investment and job creation and further hurt an already ailing economy.

"He's got to know that none of those things he proposed really have much of a chance of going through both houses of Congress," said Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee.

"I don't think he's intending on passing any laws this year," said House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis. "He's in a campaign. That was his re-election speech."

The GOP's dismissiveness hardly matters to Obama and his Democratic allies.

After last year's hyper-partisanship bogged down routine business like financing the government and paying its debts, few expect much to move through Congress before November's election anyway ? especially not tax hikes that Republicans solidly reject.

"Even if there is little prospect of getting Republicans to agree with these proposals, they're important reference points for the public in identifying Obama as someone who's on their side," said Democratic pollster Geoffrey Garin.

Obama offered his plans, with scant detail, in Tuesday's State of the Union address. He used the word "fair" seven times to describe tax increases aimed at groups the Occupy movement has branded as the "one percent" of Americans who are doing extremely well while the rest of society struggles.

The president proposed ending tax breaks for U.S. companies moving jobs or profits to foreign countries and creating a minimum tax on their overseas profits. He also suggested new tax breaks for businesses that move jobs back to the U.S., for domestic manufacturing and for companies that invest in towns that have suffered major job losses.

Getting most attention was his plan to tax incomes above $1 million annually at a rate of at least 30 percent. That's a sharp and convenient contrast with the 15 percent tax rate enjoyed by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination, who earned about $21 million each of the past two years.

The proposals quickly became fodder for the GOP presidential contenders. Romney said the next day on CNBC's "Kudlow Report" that Obama's plan was "designed to come at me if I'm the nominee," and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said during last Thursday's presidential debate, "His proposal on taxes would make the economy worse."

Democrats immediately made clear that there will be Senate votes this year on the subject.

New York Sen. Charles Schumer, part of the Senate Democratic leadership, said he was relishing a push on "some kind of Romney rule, I mean Buffett rule." Obama has embraced a Buffett rule, named for billionaire Warren Buffett, who has cited the inequity of laws that let him pay a lower tax rate than his secretary.

Such proposals, along with any efforts to deny tax breaks to U.S. companies that outsource jobs and profits, would never get the 60 votes they would need to prevail in the Senate this year, let alone win approval from the GOP-run House.

"If the president has proposals that will help create jobs, we'll take a look," said Michael Steel, spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. "But tax hikes on small businesses will make it even harder for them to invest and grow."

Republicans say boosting taxes on millionaires would hurt many of the people who run small businesses and create jobs, a claim Democrats call exaggerated. The GOP and business groups also marshal their own fairness argument, calling it unjust and impractical to raise taxes on companies that set up operations overseas.

"They locate their facilities to be close to the customer," said Dorothy Coleman, vice president for tax policy for the National Association of Manufacturers. "That's a big concern for us, targeting multinational companies as if there is something wrong with doing business overseas."

Democrats challenge that argument as well, saying many pharmaceutical and high technology companies that set up shop abroad are drawn by lower labor costs and taxes and still sell the bulk of their products in the U.S.

Those disputes underscore a political climate so difficult that neither the House nor Senate seem likely to even try advancing pre-election legislation that each party calls their top tax priority: overhauling and simplifying the tax code.

Even so, Obama's tax proposals can also be read as an opening gambit in what looms as a titanic partisan struggle to be waged after the November elections, perhaps in a lame duck session of Congress in December.

Next January, broad tax cuts will expire that were enacted under President George W. Bush in 2001 and 2003 and were temporarily renewed by Obama and Congress in 2010. At the same time, $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts will kick in unless lawmakers vote otherwise.

Congress will also need to renew the government's authority to borrow money. And action will be needed on a package of expiring smaller tax cuts, mostly for businesses, and on preventing the alternative minimum tax, originally aimed at the wealthy, from trapping middle- and upper-middle-income families as well.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-30-Congress-Taxes/id-1f3612a7d1c74cbd934c3f0aaa3ef7e2

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"The Help" gets Oscar boost with big SAG wins (omg!)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Civil rights drama "The Help" got a leg up in the Oscar race on Sunday when the movie won three awards from the Screen Actors Guild, including best cast in a surprise over silent movie romance "The Artist."

"The Help," which came into the show with four nominations, more than any other film, also earned its star Viola Davis the SAG award for best actress, while Octavia Spencer was named top supporting actress. They both played maids who face discrimination in the film set in Mississippi during the 1960s.

Davis thanked another African-American actress, Cicely Tyson, who inspired her as a child and was in the audience. Davis talked of dreaming big as a child when she wanted to become an actress. She encouraged others to do so, too.

"Dream big and dream fierce," she said.

Davis also took the opportunity to remind the celebrities in attendance, including A-listers George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Meryl Streep, as well as TV audiences, that change is still necessary in current U.S. culture.

"The stain of racism and sexism is not just for people of color or women," she said. "It's all of our burden. All of us, and we can, absolutely all of us, we can inspire change."

Silent movie "The Artist" could only claim one trophy. Jean Dujardin was named best actor in a drama for his role as a fading screen star at the end of the talkies who is ultimately saved by love.

Dujardin, who beat out Clooney and Pitt in the category, seemed genuinely surprised as he held his statue and thanked SAG. Like Davis, he noted that as a kid he was always a dreamer and said his teachers called him "Jean of the moon."

"I was always dreaming," he said. "I realize now that I never stopped dreaming. Thank you very much."

Others winning SAG film honors included Christopher Plummer for supporting actor. Plummer, 82, who plays an elderly man who reveals his homosexuality, much to the chagrin of his family, thanked his fellow actors from the stage, calling them a wacky but wonderful bunch of artists.

SAG's film awards are closely watched for their impact on Oscars because actors make up the biggest voting group at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences which picks winners. The Academy Awards take place in Los Angeles on February 26.

Coming into the SAG Awards, "The Artist" had been favored by pundits because it has claimed a string of victories in recent weeks at the Golden Globe and Critics Choice honors, as well as among industry groups like the producers and directors guilds.

But pundits may now have to re-calculate their odds back toward "The Help" with its SAG wins. Another key Oscar contender, "The Descendants," was shut out by SAG voters.

TV WINNERS

Unlike academy voters focused on film, SAG members also pick winners in TV awards, and in that arena, "Boardwalk Empire" was named best drama series for the second straight year and "Modern Family was chosen top comedy, also for the second year running.

Jessica Lange took her first SAG trophy for best dramatic actress in new show, "American Horror Story," and Steve Buscemi was named best actor in a drama for critically acclaimed "Boardwalk Empire." Both thanked their cast and crew members.

Alec Baldwin, Betty White and the "Modern Family" were the three TV winners in comedy categories.

The offbeat "Modern Family" claimed its second straight win for best TV comedy, while Baldwin was named best actor in a TV comedy for the sixth year playing a TV executive on "30 Rock," and White, who turned 90 earlier this month, took the comedy actress trophy for a second time in "Hot in Cleveland."

An obviously surprised White acknowledged her co-stars Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Wendie Malick.

The win "belongs with four of us," she said, then looked at her statuette with a gleam in her eye and a joke on her mind. "I'm dealing them right-in with this. I'm not going to let them keep this, but I will let them see it."

In other TV awards, Kate Winslet was named best actress in a small-screen movie or miniseries for "Mildred Pierce," and Paul Giamatti won the trophy for actor in a movie or mini-series with "Too Big to Fail."

Among the humorous moments, three women from raunchy film comedy "Bridesmaids" played a game in which everyone had to take a drink when director Martin Scorsese's name was mentioned. The game became a running joke throughout the show.

And of the more poignant points, Mary Tyler Moore - a star on comedy "The Dick Van Dyke" show in the 1960s, who cemented her fame in the '70s on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and starred in critically acclaimed 1980 movie "Ordinary People" - was given a lifetime achievement honor.

"It means so much, it really does," she told Reuters about her honor backstage.

Asked how she wanted to be remembered for all her accomplishments, she replied in modest fashion. "As a good chum. As somebody who was happy most of the time and took great pride in making people laugh when I was able to pull that off."

Hollywood's biggest film stars including Clooney, Pitt, Jolie and others turned out on the red carpet, as did TV's top talent such as Julianna Margulies, Lea Michelle and others.

As with previous Hollywood honors programs, many of the women showed off low-cut or strapless gowns. Some wore vintage or sequined dresses. Colors - violets, reds and teals - proved popular. The men wore tuxedos or stylish suits with bow ties.

(Reporting By Bob Tourtellotte and Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Stacey Joyce and Eric Walsh)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_plummer_spencer_win_early_sag_film_awards012900740/44350288/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/plummer-spencer-win-early-sag-film-awards-012900740.html

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GOP tries new strategy to get Canada pipeline

WASHINGTON?? Republican lawmakers will try to force the Obama administration to approve the Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL pipeline by attaching it to a bill that Congress will consider next month, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said on Sunday.

1. Other political news of note

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President Barack Obama earlier this month denied TransCanada's application for the oil sands pipeline, citing lack of time to review an alternative route within a 60-day window for action set by Congress.

The denial does not block TransCanada from reapplying and the company intends to do just that.

But Republicans have since been looking for a vehicle to claim the $7 billion project as their own, and Boehner said that would be a House Republican energy and highway bill.

"If (Keystone) is not enacted before we take up the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act, it will be part of it," Boehner said on ABC's "This Week" news program.

Environmentalists and some Democrats oppose Keystone, citing higher greenhouse gas emissions, while most Republicans say it would create needed jobs.

Story: With oil pipeline to US on hold, Canada eyes China

Republicans in the Senate also plan to introduce a Keystone bill. Some Senate Democrats back the pipeline, but its passage is not guaranteed in the body.

Parts of the House Republican plan, such as opening up the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration, stand little chance of passing the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate.

Attaching Keystone to a pending deal to extend payroll tax cuts for workers, which has greater bipartisan backing than the highway bills, is another vehicle Republicans are considering.

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46181992/ns/politics-capitol_hill/

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Engine Runs On Liquid Air

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Iran hits back at EU with own oil embargo threat (Reuters)

TEHRAN (Reuters) ? Fighting sanctions with sanctions in a test of strength with the West over its nuclear ambitions, Iran warned on Friday it may halt oil exports to Europe next week in a move calculated to hurt ailing European economies.

The Tehran government grappling with its own economic crisis under Western trade and banking embargoes, will host a rare visit on Sunday by U.N. nuclear inspectors for talks that the ruling clergy may hope can relieve diplomatic pressure as they struggle to bolster public support.

Since the U.N. watchdog lent independent weight in November to the suspicions of Western powers that Iran is using a nuclear energy program to give itself the ability to build atomic bombs, U.S. and EU sanctions and Iranian threats of reprisal against Gulf shipping lanes have disrupted world oil markets and pushed up prices.

Amid forecasts Iran might be able to build a bomb next year, and with President Barack Obama facing re-election campaign questions on how he can make good on promises - to Americans and to Israel - not to tolerate a nuclear-armed Islamic Republic, a decade of dispute risks accelerating towards the brink of war.

The U.S. Treasury Department said on Friday it would send its undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, David Cohen, to Britain, Germany and Switzerland next week to talk about how to enforce sanctions against Iran's central bank.

Those sanctions aim to starve Iran of funds for developing nuclear weapons.

Western diplomats see little immediate prospect that renewed talks between Iran and the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency, scheduled from Sunday to Tuesday in Tehran, would result much in the way of concessions to Western demands.

For all the tension, there was little clear market response to Friday's talk by members of Iran's parliament that they may vote on Sunday to stop sending oil to the European Union - its second biggest customer - as early as next week, to spite EU states that gave themselves until July to enforce an oil import embargo on Iran.

Greek and Italian refineries which rely on Iranian crude face hardships - recession-hit Greeks have bought more than half their oil from Iran lately. But analysts see Arab producers satisfying some shortfall, and demand for Iranian oil from China and other Asian countries that do not back Western sanctions may mean world oil flows are merely diverted rather than blocked.

RHETORIC

Traders admit to wearying of rhetorical thrust and parry.

"They are the masters of bluffing," one Mediterranean crude oil trader said of remarks by Iranian lawmakers on Friday. "And they aren't very reliable when they threaten extreme measures," he said, noting the serious practical difficulties for tankers and storage plants of diverting 700,000 barrels of oil per day.

"That said, we are living in strange and difficult times," he added, as Brent crude futures gained 0.8 percent to $111.64 on the threat, while disappointing U.S. GDP data pushed prices back.

In Tehran, Hossein Ibrahimi, vice-chairman of parliament's national security committee, was quoted by the semi-official Fars news agency as saying: "On Sunday, parliament will have to approve a 'double emergency' bill calling for a halt in the export of Iranian oil to Europe starting next week."

Moayed Hosseini-Sadr, a member of the energy committee in the legislature, said there would be no delay of the kind the EU allowed to its members on Monday when it imposed a ban on oil imports from Iran that would take full effect only on July 1.

"If the deputies arrive at the conclusion that the Iranian oil exports to Europe must be halted, parliament will not delay a moment," Hosseini-Sadr said. "The Europeans will surely be taken by surprise and will understand the power of Iran."

Echoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who said on Thursday that Europe would be the loser from its sanctions policy, the hardline cleric leading Friday prayers at Tehran university jibed: "Why wait six months, why not right away? The answer is clear. They are in trouble; they are grappling with crisis."

That comment from Ahmad Khatami indicated the pre-emptive export ban is backed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The EU accounted for 25 percent of Iranian crude oil sales in the third quarter of 2011. But China, India and others have made clear that they are keen to soak up any spare Iranian oil, even as U.S. Treasury measures to choke Tehran's dollar trade make it harder to pay for supplies.

SANCTIONS

Highlighting the difficulties of securing global sanctions when many governments, including Russia and China, question their value or say they will only harden Iranian defiance, Turkish state-controlled Halkbank, a key player in handling payments for Iranian oil, said it would keep on doing so.

A manager at the bank told Reuters that, as far as it was concerned, it was not in breach of U.S. financial sanctions.

The EU's response was muted, saying that Iran's intentions had been reported. "We want to see Iran coming back to the negotiating table, engaging in meaningful discussion on confidence-building measures and demonstrate the willingness to address concerns over its nuclear program, without preconditions," said Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

In Paris, where President Nicolas Sarkozy has been vocal in criticizing Iran, Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero stressed that EU countries were already in the process of finding alternative supplies of oil and he was dismissive of the comments from Tehran.

"It's the little game of statements that they carry out artistically," Valero said.

A senior European executive for an oil company that buys Iranian crude told Reuters there could still be problems for some if Tehran cut off supplies immediately. "We have to wait and be ready. The Iranians have been backed into a corner and it's hard to predict how they will react," he said.

Iran's conservative-dominated parliament has previously shown it is ready to force the government to take action against what it sees as hostility from the West, and oil analyst Samuel Ciszuk said it was likely the assembly would pass the EU ban.

"It makes sense to demonstrate Iranian resolve and that it is not on the back foot, particularly as the measure could hit European refiners at a time of deep economic weakness," said Ciszuk of London consultancy KBC Energy Economics.

An abrupt halt might, however, force Iran to offer discounts to other buyers in order to shift excess output, he added.

RISKS

Asian buyers might be tempted but are also wary of U.S. disfavor. "Even though China and India could take the opportunity to capitalize on Iran's weakness, they currently have little appetite for the resulting international fallout," said Paul Tossetti at consultancy PFC Energy in Washington.

Iran's clerical establishment, having faced down popular protests which followed Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election in 2009, is dealing with internal disagreement on policy while preparing to seek public endorsement at a closely managed parliamentary election in March.

Defending Iran's right to civilian nuclear has been popular, but galloping inflation, which saw the rial formally devalued this week, is fuelling discontent with a ruling class that is also accused of corruption and putting its own interests first.

The diplomatic battleground will move to Tehran with the weekend arrival of an IAEA delegation, expected to number about half a dozen led by inspections chief Herman Nackaerts.

The IAEA director-general, Yukiya Amano, said in Davos on Friday: "I expect through this high level mission Iran tells us everything we need to know and resolve the issue."

Western officials who work with his agency view that kind of sentiment as diplomatic, but wildly unrealistic.

"Nobody is optimistic," one envoy said.

(Additional reporting by Fredrik Dahl in Vienna, Richard Mably and Jessica Donati in London, and Glenn Somerville in Washington; writing by Alastair Macdonald; editing by Angus MacSwan and Mohammad Zargham)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/wl_nm/us_iran

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Survey suggests family history of psychiatric disorders shapes intellectual interests

Survey suggests family history of psychiatric disorders shapes intellectual interests

Friday, January 27, 2012

A hallmark of the individual is the cultivation of personal interests, but for some people, their intellectual pursuits might actually be genetically predetermined. Survey results published by Princeton University researchers in the journal PLoS ONE suggest that a family history of psychiatric conditions such as autism and depression could influence the subjects a person finds engaging.

Although preliminary, the findings provide a new look at the oft-studied link between psychiatric conditions and aptitude in the arts or sciences. While previous studies have explored this link by focusing on highly creative individuals or a person's occupation, the Princeton research indicates that the influence of familial neuropsychiatric traits on personal interests is apparently independent of a person's talent or career path, and could help form a person's basic preferences and personality.

Princeton researchers surveyed nearly 1,100 students from the University's Class of 2014 early in their freshman year to learn which major they would choose based on their intellectual interests. The students were then asked to indicate the incidence of mood disorders, substance abuse or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in their family, including parents, siblings and grandparents.

Students interested in pursuing a major in the humanities or social sciences were twice as likely to report that a family member had a mood disorder or a problem with substance abuse. Students with an interest in science and technical majors, on the other hand, were three times more likely to report a sibling with an ASD, a range of developmental disorders that includes autism and Asperger syndrome.

Senior researcher Sam Wang, an associate professor in Princeton's Department of Molecular Biology and the Princeton Neuroscience Institute, said that the survey ? though not exhaustive nor based on direct clinical diagnoses ? presents the idea that certain heritable psychiatric conditions are more closely linked to a person's intellectual interests than is currently supposed.

During the past several decades, Wang said, various researchers have found that, in certain people and their relatives, mood or behavior disorders are associated with a higher-than-average representation in careers related to writing and the humanities, while conditions related to autism exhibit a similar correlation with scientific and technical careers.

By focusing on poets, writers and scientists, however, those studies only include people who have advanced far in "artistic" or "scientific" pursuits and professions, potentially excluding a large group of people who have those interests but no particular aptitude or related career, Wang said. He and lead author Benjamin Campbell, a graduate student at Rockefeller University, selected incoming freshmen because the students are old enough to have defined interests, but are not yet on a set career path. (Princeton students do not declare a major until the end of sophomore year.)

"Until our work, evidence of a connection between neuropsychiatric disorders and artistic aptitude, for example, was based on surveying creative people, where creativity is usually defined in terms of occupation or proficiency in an artistic field," Wang said. "But what if there is a broader category of people associated with bipolar or depression, namely people who think that the arts are interesting? The students we surveyed are not all F. Scott Fitzgerald, but many more of them might like to read F. Scott Fitzgerald."

The Princeton research provides a new and "provocative" consideration that other scientists in this area can build upon, said Kay Redfield Jamison, a psychiatry and behavioral science professor at Johns Hopkins University and co-director of the university's Mood Disorders Center.

Jamison, who is well known for her research on bipolar disorder and her work on the artistic/mood disorder connection, said that while interests and choice of career are presumably related, Wang and Campbell present data suggesting that intellectual interests might also be independently shaped by psychiatric conditions, which provides the issue larger context.

In addition, the researchers focused on an age group that is not typically looked at specifically, but that is usually included in analyses that span various ages. Such a targeted approach lends the results a unique perspective, she said. Though the incidence of psychiatric conditions in the Princeton study was based on the students' own reporting and not definitive diagnoses, the rates Wang and Campbell found are not different from other populations, she noted.

"This is an additional way of looking at a complex problem that is very interesting," said Jamison, who played no role in the research project. "This work provides a piece of the puzzle in understanding why people go into particular occupations. In this field, it's important to do as many different kinds of studies as possible, and this is an interesting initial study with very interesting findings. It will provoke people to think about this question and it will provoke people to design other kinds of studies."

An implied connection between psychiatric conditions and a flair for art or science dates to at least Aristotle, who famously noted that those "eminent in philosophy, politics, poetry and the arts have all had tendencies toward melancholia."

Modern explorations of that relationship have examined the actual prevalence of people with neuropsychiatric disorders and their relatives in particular fields.

Among the most recent work, researchers at Sweden's Karolinska Institute reported in the British Journal of Psychiatry in November that of the 300,000 people studied, people with bipolar disorder, as well as their healthy parents and siblings, were more likely to have a "creative" job ? including a field in the arts or sciences ? than people with no familial history of the condition. Parents and siblings of people with schizophrenia also exhibited a greater tendency to have a creative job, though people with schizophrenia did not.

Various other studies in the past few decades have found a similar correlation between psychiatric disorders and "creativity," which is typically defined by a person's career or eminence in an artistic field such as writing or music. In their work, however, Wang and Campbell present those criteria as too narrow. They instead suggest that psychiatric disorders can predispose a person to a predilection for the subject matter independent of any concrete measure of creativity.

Jamison, in an editorial regarding the Karolinska study and published in the same journal issue, wrote that "having a creative occupation is not the same thing as being creative." Wang and Campbell approached their project from the inverse of that statement: Being creative does not necessarily mean a person has a creative occupation.

"A person is not just what they do for a living," Wang said. "I am a scientist, but not just a scientist. I'm also a guy who reads blogs, listens to jazz and likes to cook. In that same respect, I believe we have potentially broadened the original assertion of Aristotle by including not just the artistically creative, but a larger category ? all people whose thought processes gravitate to the humanistic and artistic."

As past studies have, Wang and Campbell suggest a genetic basis for their results. The correlation with interests and psychiatric conditions they observed implies that a common genetic path could lead relatives in similar directions, but with some people developing psychiatric disorders while their kin only possess certain traits of those conditions. Those traits can manifest as preferences for and talents in certain areas, Wang said.

"Altogether, results of our study and those like it suggest that scientists should start thinking about the genetic roots of normal function as much as we discuss the genetic causes of abnormal function. This survey helps show that there might be common cause between the two," Wang said.

"Everyone has specific individual interests that result from experiences in life, but these interests arise from a genetic starting point," Wang said. "This doesn't mean that our genes determine our fate. It just means that our genes launch us down a path in life, leading most people to pursue specific interests and, in extreme cases, leading others toward psychiatric disorders."

###

Princeton University: http://www.princeton.edu

Thanks to Princeton University for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/117145/Survey_suggests_family_history_of_psychiatric_disorders_shapes_intellectual_interests

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Video: Newly released JFK tapes reveal conflicting reports about Vietnam

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/46138818#46138818

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Evernote Bought Four Companies Last Year And (Almost) Nobody Knew About It

It may seem strange to think of productivity app Evernote?as a platform, but with 20 million users and 9,000 apps built on the client, the three and a half-year old startup is a veritable apps ecosystem. Beyond this developer ecosystem, the company released five of its own simple and unique Evernote-based apps in the past year:?Hello, an app that helps you remember people, Food, and app that helps you remember important meals, Skitch, an app that lets you communicate visually, Peek, an app that utilizes the iPad cover for a novel take on tutoring, and Clearly, an app that makes content easier to read within Evernote.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Kwz003uhh2o/

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Developer Spotlight: Ray Marshal of mSecure

iMore’s developer spotlights are like DVD/iTunes Extras for the App Store — a weekly look behind the scenes at the programers and designers that bring you the iPhone, iPod touch,

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/nZr1exsegKE/story01.htm

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Arizona Gov. Brewer gets book critique from Obama (AP)

MESA, Ariz. ? Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer came to greet President Barack Obama upon his arrival outside Phoenix Wednesday. What she got was a critique. Of her book.

The two leaders could be seen engaged in an intense conversation at the base of Air Force One's steps. Both could be seen smiling, but speaking at the same time.

Asked moments later what the conversation was about, Brewer, a Republican, said: "He was a little disturbed about my book."

Brewer recently published a book, "Scorpions for Breakfast," something of a memoir of her years growing up and defends her signing of Arizona's controversial law cracking down on illegal immigrants, which Obama opposes.

Obama was objecting to Brewer's description of a meeting he and Brewer had at the White House, where she described Obama as lecturing her. In an interview in November Brewer described two tense meetings. The first took place before his commencement address at Arizona State University. "He did blow me off at ASU," she said in the television interview in November.

She also described meeting the president at the White House in 2010 to talk about immigration. "I felt a little bit like I was being lectured to, and I was a little kid in a classroom, if you will, and he was this wise professor and I was this little kid, and this little kid knows what the problem is and I felt minimized to say the least."

On the tarmac Wednesday, Brewer handed Obama an envelope with a handwritten invitation to return to Arizona to meet her for lunch and to join her for a visit to the border.

"I said to him, you know, I have always respected the office of the president and that the book is what the book is," she told reporters Wednesday. She said Obama complained that she described him as not treating her cordially.

"I said that I was sorry that he felt that way. Anyway, we're glad he's here, and we'll regroup."

A White House official said Brewer handed Obama a letter and said she was inviting him to meet with her. The official said Obama told her he would be glad to meet with her again. The official said Obama did note that at their last meeting, which the official described as a cordial discussion in the Oval Office, the governor inaccurately described the meeting in her book. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to describe a private conversation between the president and the governor.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_el_pr/us_obama_arizona_governor

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ABC Finally Admits Emily Maynard is The Bachelorette

ABC finally confirmed the news we've been all but sure of for over a week: Emily Maynard is getting her second shot at love on The Bachelorette in 2012!

The 25-year-old single mom from North Carolina, will footsteps of Ashley Hebert ... who she bested for Brad Womack's love on The Bachelor last spring.

Maynard, who went on to split with Brad last summer, will begin filming in March, a source said, adding, "She's looking for a man ... not a little boy."

An interesting comment, since Brad is more than a decade older than Em.

The West Virginia native, who resides in Charlotte, N.C., with her 6-year-old daughter Ricki, was previously engaged to NASCAR driver and owner Ricky Hendrick.

He died in a plane crash in October 2004 while Maynard was pregnant, but before she even realized it. She went on to name their daughter after her late fiance.

"Emily’s strength, passion and southern charm - as a mother and as a woman - would make anyone happy to make her his wife," ABC says in a press release.

"She found love again with Brad and, even though it didn’t work out, she realized that the series can work. Among those 25 men, she is looking for someone who makes her laugh, doesn’t take himself too seriously and can be her best friend."

"Emily Maynard is hoping that the third time is the charm."

Emily Maynard as The Bachelorette: Good pick?

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/abc-finally-admits-emily-maynard-will-be-the-bachelorette/

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Workers to pump oil from grounded cruise Saturday

An Italian Navy officer talks on a walkie-talkie in the harbor of the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, where the cruise ship Costa Concordia run aground, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Italian officials say Monday two more bodies have been pulled from the wreckage of a cruise liner capsized off the Tuscan coast, bringing the number of confirmed dead to 15. The national civil protection agency official in charge of the search said Monday that divers recovered the bodies of two women from the ship's internet cafe. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

An Italian Navy officer talks on a walkie-talkie in the harbor of the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, where the cruise ship Costa Concordia run aground, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Italian officials say Monday two more bodies have been pulled from the wreckage of a cruise liner capsized off the Tuscan coast, bringing the number of confirmed dead to 15. The national civil protection agency official in charge of the search said Monday that divers recovered the bodies of two women from the ship's internet cafe. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

The grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia lies on its side off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Salvage experts can begin pumping fuel from a capsized cruise ship as early as Tuesday to avert a possible environmental catastrophe and the ship is stable enough that search efforts for the missing can continue, Italian officials said. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

In this undated photo released by Vigili del Fuoco (Italian firefighters) Monday, Jan. 23, 2012 scuba divers of the firefighters unit inspect the Costa Concordia cruise ship, off the tiny Giglio island, Italy. Italian officials say Monday two more bodies have been pulled from the wreckage of a cruise liner capsized off the Tuscan coast, bringing the number of confirmed dead to 15. The national civil protection agency official in charge of the search said Monday that divers recovered the bodies of two women from the ship's internet cafe. (AP Photo/Vigili del Fuoco)

In this undated photo released by Vigili del Fuoco (Italian firefighters) Monday, Jan. 23, 2012 rocks emerge from the Costa Concordia cruise ship, off the tiny Giglio island, Italy. Italian officials say Monday two more bodies have been pulled from the wreckage of a cruise liner capsized off the Tuscan coast, bringing the number of confirmed dead to 15. The national civil protection agency official in charge of the search said Monday that divers recovered the bodies of two women from the ship's internet cafe. (AP Photo/Vigili del Fuoco)

Italian Guardia di Finanza and Civil Protection officers recover pieces of furniture from the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Italian officials say Monday two more bodies have been pulled from the wreckage of a cruise liner capsized off the Tuscan coast, bringing the number of confirmed dead to 15. The national civil protection agency official in charge of the search said Monday that divers recovered the bodies of two women from the ship's internet cafe. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

ROME (AP) ? A barge carrying a crane and other equipment hitched itself to the toppled Costa Concordia on Tuesday, signaling the start of preliminary operations to remove a half-million gallons of fuel from the grounded cruise ship before it leaks into the pristine Tuscan sea.

Actual pumping of the oil isn't expected to begin until Saturday, but officials from the Dutch shipwreck salvage firm Smit were working on the bow of the Concordia on Tuesday, making preparations to remove the fuel.

They were at work as divers located another body from the wreckage, bringing the death toll to 16.

Officials have identified an initial six tanks that will be tapped, located in a relatively easy-to-reach area of the ship. Franco Gabrielli, head of the national civil protection agency, told reporters Tuesday that once the tanks are emptied, 50 percent of the fuel aboard the ship will have been extracted.

The pumping will continue 24 hours a day barring rough seas or technical glitches in this initial phase, he said.

"This is a complicated operation," Gabrielli warned. Smit has estimated the extraction operation could last a month.

The Concordia ran aground and capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio on Jan. 13 after the captain veered from his approved course and gashed the ship's hull on a reef, forcing the panicked evacuation of 4,200 passengers and crew.

So far 16 bodies have been found, including one located on the third floor deck on Tuesday. At least six of the badly decomposed bodies remain unidentified, and are presumed to be among some of the 17 passengers and crew still unaccounted for.

Divers, meanwhile, continued blasting holes inside the steel-hulled ship to ease access for crews searching for the missing. The search and rescue operation will continue in tandem with the fuel removal operation.

On Monday, islanders and officials spotted an oil film on the water about 300 meters (yards) from the wreck. Absorbent panels were put around the oil to soak up the substance and officials said Tuesday it was a very thin film that didn't present any significant levels of toxicity.

Giglio and its waters are part of a protected seven-island marine park, favored by VIPs and known for its clear waters and porpoises, dolphins and whales.

Gabrielli said he had formally asked Costa Crociere SpA, the owner of the Concordia, to come up with a plan for what to do with the innards of the ship that are floating away ? the tables and chairs and other furniture that are being hauled away by barge on a daily basis.

And he said he had asked provincial authorities to designate a site on the mainland where the material can be dumped.

Costa is a unit of Miami-based Carnival Corp., the world's biggest cruise operator.

It has blamed the captain, Francesco Schettino, for the disaster, saying he made an unauthorized and unapproved deviation from the route. Schettino remains under house arrest facing accusations of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning the ship before all passengers were off.

Early Tuesday, amid continued outrage by passengers of the chaotic evacuation, Costa promised to refund the full cost of the cruise, reimburse all travel expenses to and from the ship, all on-board expenses and any medical expenses incurred as a result of the grounding.

"Every effort will be made to return the valuables left in the cabin safe," Costa said in a statement.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-24-Italy-Cruise%20Aground/id-94a1682eb58449c4bb4b6333ad524ae1

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Communications Degree ? Licensure, Association and Certification ...

Find out some important communications degree institutions for licensure and certification.

Nowadays, only a few marketing, advertising and PR managers have certifications.
However, the number of communications professionals who are looking for professional recognition is projected to increase as the industry becomes more competitive.
Examinations and presentations of your winning projects may earn you professional accreditation from several large communications degree-centered institutions and non-profit organizations.

Among the popular professional accreditations and associations are the Public Relations Society of America, International Association of Business Communicators, Canadian Public Relations Society and National Communication Association.
Being a member of these organizations provides a handful of benefits and networking opportunities for communications degree holders.
Here is the overview of several communications organizations for licensure, certification and association.

Chartered in 1947, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is the world?s biggest and pioneer organization of public relations professionals.
PRSA offers professional development, supports ethical principles for its members and sets standards of excellence.
The organization upholds greater understanding of public relations services and acts as one of the leading voices of the industry concerning professional and business issues.

Individuals with a communications degree (associate?s, bachelor?s or masters in communication) who want to accelerate their career may seek help from PRSA.
One of the advantages of being a member of this institution is networking, putting you in touch with other PRSA members and providing you niche conferences and other learning opportunities.
The organization has 10 PRSA districts and 111 chapters that connect members with other professionals in your area.

Besides professional networking, members may receive professional recognition during Silver Anvil, the most prestigious award event, celebrating various public relations achievements.
Other PRSA recognition awards are for tactical excellence, individual accomplishment and achievement in specialized areas.
Other benefits of PNSA for communications professionals include accreditation through the Accredited in Public Relations program (APR), learning and job guide.

Another good organization for a communications professional is the International Association of Business Communicators.
Founded in 1970, it offers a professional network for nearly 15,000 business communications professionals in more than 80 countries.
Being a member of the IABC professional network can help you find hidden job markets, and enhance your learning and skills with the website?s robust library.

The Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) is another organization for public relations in Canada and other countries.
Founded in 1948, it started with two original groups ? one in Montreal and the other in Toronto.
In 1957, it became a national society.

Today, the CPRS consists of 16 member societies, with connections in major cities and organized provinces.
CPRS aims to advance the professional standing of public relations and monitors its practice to uphold the protection of public interest.
Other than regulation of PR practice, it serves the public interest by implementing a code of ethics and a standard of proficiency.

Most importantly, the National Communication Association is the biggest national organization promoting communication education and scholarship.
NCA serves teachers, scholars and practitioners by supporting their interests in teaching and research.
It is a non-profit organization with more than 8,000 members working and living in the US and over 20 other countries.

Do you know what you can do with a communications degree association?
Without some experience and an outstanding portfolio after graduation, entry-level communications degree applicants with unadorned resumes have difficulty finding a job.
As such, having connections with esteemed professionals in the field of communication and membership to established organizations can give you an upper hand over other interested applicants.

Source: http://www.bluebearalaska.com/2012/01/23/communications-degree-%E2%80%93-licensure-association-and-certification/

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$25B nationwide mortgage deal goes to states

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The nation's five largest mortgage lenders have agreed to overhaul their industry after deceptive foreclosure practices drove homeowners out of their homes, government officials said Monday.

A draft settlement between the banks and U.S. states has been sent to state officials for review.

Those who lost their homes to foreclosure are unlikely to get their homes back or benefit much financially from the settlement, which could be as high as $25 billion. About 750,000 Americans ? about half of the households who might be eligible for assistance under the deal ? will likely receive checks for about $1,800.

But the agreement could reshape long-standing mortgage lending guidelines and make it easier for those at risk of foreclosure to restructure their loans. And roughly 1 million homeowners could see the size of their mortgage reduced.

Five major banks ? Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citibank and Ally Financial ? and U.S. state attorneys general could adopt the agreement within weeks, according to two officials briefed on the discussions. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the agreement publicly.

The settlement would be the biggest of a single industry since the 1998 multistate tobacco deal. And it would end a painful chapter that grew out of the 2008 financial crisis.

Nearly 8 million Americans have faced foreclosure since the housing bubble burst. In some cases, companies that process mortgages failed to verify the information on foreclosure documents. The worst practices, known collectively as "robo-signing," included employees signing documents they hadn't read or using fake signatures to sign off on foreclosures.

President Barack Obama is expected to tout the settlement in his State of the Union address Tuesday. His administration has put pressure on state officials to wrap up a deal more than a year in the making.

But some say the proposed deal doesn't go far enough. They have argued for a thorough investigation of potentially illegal foreclosure practices before a settlement is hammered out.

New York, Delaware, Nevada and Massachusetts have argued that banks should not be protected from future civil liability. The deal will not fully release banks from future criminal lawsuits by individual states.

In December, Massachusetts sued the five major banks over deceptive foreclosure practices.

Ian McConnell, director of the fraud division for Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, said Monday that Biden is "opposed to the proposed settlement as drafted."

"This position, given his prior public comments, should come as no surprise," McConnell said, adding that Biden will comment further when the still-confidential deal is made public.

California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris said in a statement that her ability to go after potential wrongdoing by mortgage lenders "remains a key lens through which she will evaluate any proposals." In September, California announced it would not agree to an earlier version of a settlement over foreclosure abuses that state and federal officials have been working on for more than a year.

But her office declined to comment on the proposed deal circulating among the states. And it wouldn't say whether California, the state with the greatest number of people who lost their homes to foreclosure, would agree to the deal.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who has taken a public stance against halting investigations of fraudulent business practices as part of a national settlement, had no immediate comment Monday.

A signed deal is not expected this week, said Geoff Greenwood, a spokesman for Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, who has led the 50-state negotiations. Greenwood said late Monday that there are "terms we must still resolve."

The settlement would only apply to privately held mortgages issued between 2008 and 2011, not those held by government-controlled Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Fannie and Freddie own about half of all U.S. mortgages, roughly about 31 million U.S. home loans.

As part of the deal, about 1 million homeowners could also get the principal amount of their mortgages written down by an average of $20,000. One in four homeowners with a mortgage ? or roughly 11 million people ? owe more than their home is worth. These so-called "underwater" borrowers have little chance at refinancing.

Democratic attorneys general met Monday in Chicago to discuss the deal with Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan. Republican attorneys general were briefed about the deals via conference call later in the day.

Under the deal:

? $17 billion would go toward reducing the principal that struggling homeowners owe on their mortgages.

? $5 billion would be placed in a reserve account for various state and federal programs; a portion of that money would cover the $1,800 checks sent to those homeowners affected by the deceptive practices.

? $3 billion would to help homeowners refinance at 5.25 percent.

In October 2010, major banks temporarily suspended foreclosures following revelations of widespread deceptive foreclosure practices by banks. Discussions then began over a national settlement.

Both sides have fought over the amounts of money that should be placed in the reserve account for property owners who were improperly foreclosed upon. Many of the larger points of the deal, including a $25 billion cost for the banks, have long been worked out, officials say.

Associated Press Writers Michael Virtanen in Albany, N.Y., Randall Chase in Dover, Del., and Ben Feller in Washington contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-23-Mortgage%20Settlement/id-2852f921f6e34aceaf567affaf8e71e2

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Is Camille leaving 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills'?

Tibrina Hobson / Getty Images

According to Radar, Camille Grammer might not be back on "RHOBH."

By Anna Chan

Fans of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" have watched Camille Grammer go through some trying times on the hit?Bravo reality show. And now, Radar Online is reporting that the reality personality may not return next season.

"Producers are asking Lisa Vanderpump, Adrienne Maloof and Kyle Richards if any of their wealthy female friends would be interested in appearing on the show," a network insider reportedly told the website. "It's an open secret that Camille most likely won't be back for a third season."

A source close to the show told us that casting decisions have not yet?been made.

Bravo had no comment on Camille's rumored exit on Friday.

Would you miss Camille if she left? Who do you think should leave the show? Take our poll, and share your thoughts on our Facebook page.

{"contentId":"10201860","totalVotes":"6608"}

If one person had to leave 'RHOBH,' who should it be?

?

Related content:

Dana Wilkey	? 30.3% (2,003 votes)
Kim Richards	? 25.3% (1,670 votes)
Taylor Armstrong	? 19.5% (1,287 votes)
Brandi Glanville	? 15% (991 votes)
No one should leave. The cast is great!	? 4.4% (291 votes)
Camille Grammer	? 2.3% (155 votes)
Kyle Richards	? 1.8% (117 votes)
Adrienne Maloof	? 0.7% (49 votes)
Lisa Vanderpump	? 0.7% (45 votes)

Source: http://theclicker.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/20/10201860-is-camille-leaving-real-housewives-of-beverly-hills

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Chocolate muffins with white chocolate and dried cherries

Because these very chocolate-y chocolate muffins are a little decadent, they are perfect for a winter weekend breakfast and leftovers will be lovely for late-afternoon tea.

Skip to next paragraph Pam Anderson, Sharon Anderson, and Maggy Keet

Veteran cookbook author, Pam Anderson, and daughters, Maggy and Sharon, believe that just about anything worth being part of happens in the kitchen. Each week they share their thoughts about recipes, cooking, eating, and anything that comes with it (which in their world, is just about everything). There are three cooks in their kitchen. Sometimes that?s too many, but usually it?s just right.

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The batter is thick, which means you can fill the cups to the brim and they?ll bake into nice big muffins. You can start from scratch in the morning, but I prefer to measure out the ingredients the night before, which means my batter?s ready to hit the oven by the time it?s preheated.

So enjoy. Here in the Northeast the temperature continues to drop by the minute, so heat up that oven and stay warm!

Chocolate Muffins with White Chocolate and Dried Cherries
Makes 1 dozen large muffins

If short on time melt the butter and mix it with the egg and yogurt, stirring this wet mixture into the dry ingredients.

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1-1/2 cups plain low-fat yogurt
1 cup each: white chocolate chips and coarsely chopped dried cherries, divided

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees F. Mix flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer over medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Alternating between ingredients beat in 1/3 each of the yogurt and flour mixture until both are fully incorporated and batter is smooth. Stir in 3/4 cup each of the chips and cherries.

Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with vegetable cooking spray or line with muffin cups. Use a large ice cream scoop to divide batter evenly among the cups (they will be full). Top with remaining 1/4 cup cherries and white chocolate.

Bake until muffins are browned and cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. Let sit a couple of minutes in muffin tin and then turn onto a wire rack to cool slightly.

Serve.

Related posts:Quick Orange Sweet Rolls with Cranberries and Walnuts,?Easy Savory Strata,?Big Brunch Strategy

The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of food bloggers. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by The Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own and they are responsible for the content of their blogs and their recipes. All readers are free to make ingredient substitutions to satisfy their dietary preferences, including not using wine (or substituting cooking wine) when a recipe calls for it. To contact us about a blogger, click here.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/F0Qs4oH6Kco/Chocolate-muffins-with-white-chocolate-and-dried-cherries

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