Content USA Today: July 2011

Asian Markets Rally After U.S. Debt Deal

Asian financial markets heaved a sigh of relief Monday over the last-minute agreement in Washington to raise the U.S. debt limit, shrugging off for now the lingering concerns about longer-term global growth prospects.

Stock markets rallied across the region on news that top U.S. policy makers had reached the framework for a budget deal that will clear the way for an increase in the U.S. government’s borrowing limit and could help avert a default.

The key indexes in Japan and South Korea jumped 1.3 percent in early trading and picked up steam as the deal was announced by President Barack Obama.

By early afternoon, the Nikkei 225 was up 2 percent, with investors also encouraged by the Japanese currency’s fall against the U.S. dollar after the debt deal.

The U.S. debt woes had undermined the dollar’s value in international currency markets in recent weeks, especially against the yen, which was bad for Japanese exporters, as a strong yen makes their goods more expensive for shoppers overseas.

On today in Tokyo, the dollar bought 77.40 yen, compared to 76.75 yen late Friday in New York.

Echoing the general sense of guarded optimism overseas, Yukio Edano, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, said the country welcomed the agreement and hoped that it would help stabilize the markets.

Also helping market sentiment was a fresh sign that the Chinese economy may not be slowing as rapidly as feared.

Elsewhere in the region, the Kospi in South Korea gained 1.8 percent, and the benchmark index in Australia jumped 2.1 percent.

In Singapore, the Straits Times index rose 0.6 percent and in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng rose 1.5 percent by early afternoon. In mainland China, the Shanghai composite edged up 0.2 percent.

Wall Street, too, appeared set to recoup some of the past week’s losses, with S.&P. 500 stock futures 1.5 percent higher.

Gold, which has struck multiple record highs recently amid the uncertainty of the past weeks, fell nearly 1 percent to $1,615 per ounce. Oil rose about $1, to $97 a barrel.

NRI seeks Rs 5000 crore compensation from CBI

The Delhi high court has asked the CBI to respond to an NRI's plea seeking compensation of Rs 5,000 crore for implicating him in a criminal case for 25 years.

Justice Ajit Bharihoke issued notice to the CBI and sought the reply by September 27 on N S Hoon's plea, which also seeks action against the erring officials of the investigating agency for harassing him for such a long time.

Seeking a compensation of Rs 5,000 crore, Hoon, who had acquired British citizenship, said the then senior officers of the probe agency had acted against him at the instance of some influential persons and they should be prosecuted as per law.

Hoon claimed he has undergone mental agony and physical sufferings in the past 25 years and he should be financially compensated.

He said the trial court had acquitted him from all the charges under the Foreigners Act in January.

According to CBI, Hoon had concealed his identity as a British citizen during his stay in two different hotels, during 1986-1987, which constituted an offence under the act.

The CBI alleged during his stay in Delhi's Ambassador Hotel, the petitioner had paid the hotel tariff of Rs 400, which he should have paid in British pounds for being the citizen of the UK.

According to the prosecution,he had also stayed at Hakman's hotel in Jaipur and cleared the hotel bills to the tune of Rs 8,000 in Indian rupees which constituted an offence under the Foreigners Act.

Philadelphia English teacher explains why she helped students cheat (BLOG)

The revelation that more than 80 Atlanta teachers admitted to cheating on state standardized tests--with one group of elementary teachers even holding a "party" after school to change their pupils' answers by hand--has rocked the education reform movement.

But one question has been left unanswered: Why would a teacher resort to cheating in the first place?

The Notebook blog has found a Philadelphia teacher willing to explain why she helped her 11th-grade English students cheat on the state's standardized tests. (The blog earlier broke the story that Pennsylvania officials suspected cheating may have occurred in 60 state schools.)

The teacher, who remains anonymous in the story, says she began to help her students cheat because she worried their self-esteem was crushed by taking tests they were in no way academically prepared for. If a student asked a question during one of the eight yearly testing periods, she would help him or her find the right answer, or occasionally just point to it on the exam.

"I never went to any student who didn't call me to help them cheat," said the teacher. "But if somebody asked me a question, I wasn't willing to say, 'Just do your best.' They were my students, and I wanted to be there for them."

The teacher said administrators bullied teachers about boosting test scores so that the school would make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), creating a constant state of performance anxiety in the classroom. Schools with low scores must improve by a certain amount each year to avoid federal sanctions set forth by the No Child Left Behind law. In some cases, the federal government shuts down schools that fail to boost scores year after year.

"The prevailing message was, 'We have to make AYP this year, or they're going to shut our school down and you're all going to lose your jobs.' At every professional development [session], that's what we discussed," the teacher said. She added that many teachers at her school engaged in cheating.

Read her whole story here.

The Atlanta scandal and a USA Today report of potential teacher-sanctioned cheating in 1,600 classrooms across six states has put pressure on the Obama administration for its focus on standardized testing. Teachers in some districts are being paid bonuses for their students' performance on state tests, and many others have their performance evaluation tied to those scores.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan says that the emphasis on tests does not encourage cheating. In fact, he sees it as the only way to ensure schools are adequately teaching their students.

Drunk father lets 8-year-old son drive pickup: police (BLOG)

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - A drunk father allegedly allowed his 8 year-old son to drive his pick-up truck on a southeast Louisiana highway on Saturday while he slept, until patrol officers pulled over the boy, police said.

The boy was driving the Chevrolet truck on Interstate 12 near the town of Holden, with his father in the passenger seat and his 4 year-old sister in the back seat, Louisiana State Police said in a statement.

A passing motorist noticed the pick-up truck was being driven erratically and called police.

When Louisiana state troopers pulled over the truck in Livingston Parish, they found the 8 year-old boy behind the wheel and interviewed the father, 28 year-old Billy Joe Madden of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, police said.

Police said they determined Madden was drunk and that he had been sleeping while his son drove the vehicle, en-route to Dallas, Texas.

Madden was arrested and booked into jail on two counts of child desertion, parent allowing a minor to drive, open container and two counts of no child restraint and no seatbelt.

Madden remains in jail at Livingston Parish Detention Center in lieu of $1,474 bail, said sheriff'sdeputy Dustin Sanders at the facility.

Both of Madden's children were turned over to child welfare authorities and were awaiting the arrival of a family member who could take custody of them, police said.

(Reporting by Kathy Finn; Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Tim Gaynor)

9 Strange But True Health Tips (BLOG)

I'm a research geek. Every day here at MensHealth.com, at our 10 a.m. news meeting, we assess dozens of new studies from researchers from around the world. Then we publish the most surprising, practical, and empowering research—findings that can change your life today—in our daily news channel.

You probably run across some of these studies, too; the major ones get a lot of media attention. That's why I actually prefer sifting through smaller, more obscure periodicals, hunting for research no one else is reporting. For example, over the past week I've learned:

You can lose weight by paying for groceries with cash; turns out, you're more likely to buy unhealthy foods if you pay with a credit card.
Taking a vitamin D supplement fortifies your muscles, making them less prone to injury.
Flirting at work is a hidden sign that your job isn't right for you.
Google is making us forgetful, because we're less likely to try to remember information that we know is readily accessible.
Who knew, right? Here are nine more fascinating strange-but-true study findings we've run across over the past few years.

Live Longer by Changing Your Name
People with "positive" initials—ones that spell out things like J.O.Y. or W.O.W.—live nearly 4-1/2 years longer than people with neutral initials, according to a University of California, San Diego study. D.U.D.'s live nearly three years less. Other initials that may shorten life: I.L.L. and D.E.D.

Keep Your Mind Sharper by Being a Jerk
Research from the U.S. Administration on Aging suggests there's a marked difference between how younger and older people interpret misplacing their car keys. A young guy usually blames someone else. An old man typically blames himself. Never use your age as an excuse—you'll remain sharper longer.

Break a High Fever With Your Armpits
Anything up to 102°F is mild and can be treated by drinking plenty of fluids. But to quickly bring down a reading above that, put an ice pack under your arm or near your groin. Icing either spot will cool your body's core. It's uncomfortable, but it works fast. Then see a doctor.

Prevent Claustrophobia by Smelling This Fruit
If you get nervous in small spaces such as subways, elevators, and that closet of an office they stuck you in, visit your local fruit stand. A sniff of green apple may help relieve claustrophobic sensations, says Dr. Alan Hirsch, M.D., director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation. Carry one with you. Also, if you're selling your house, placing a basket of fresh green apples on the table may make potential buyers perceive the house as larger.

7 WAYS TO BE A BETTER FATHER: Read one child's hilarious plea to the impatient father in Adam Mansbach's bestselling book, as told to the editors of Men's Health.

Disinfect a Wound with Honey
No Neosporin in the house? Dab the cut with honey before covering it with a bandage. Believe it or not, honey has powerful antibacterial properties. A study in the Archives of Surgery found that honey is capable of destroying almost all strains of the most common wound-infecting bacteria.

Stop Bleeding with This Spice
Next time you nick yourself in the kitchen, reach for the black pepper, says Roberta Lee, M.D., vice chair of the department of integrative medicine at the Beth Israel Medical Center. Run cold water over the wound to clean it, using soap if you were handling meat. Then sprinkle on the pepper and apply pressure. In no time, the bleeding will stop. Turns out, black pepper has analgesic, antibacterial, and antiseptic properties. And don't worry—it won't sting.

See Your Tailor to Cure Back Pain
If you have an aching back, it may be because one of your legs is shorter than the other, says Steven McCaw, Ph.D., a researcher at Illinois State University. Even a slight imbalance can cause the spine to curve to the short side when you walk or run. Eventually, the bend puts painful pressure on disks. Most people can’t tell if their legs are different lengths, but a tailor can. Ask one for a quick measurement. If he finds an imbalance, correct the problem with a therapeutic, Dr. Scholl-type insert or see a podiatrist for a custom-made orthotic.

Massage Away Nicotine Cravings
If you’re a smoker who’s trying to quit, try this simple trick the next time a craving hits: Rub the skin between your index fingers and thumbs and the center of your palms. A study in Preventive Medicine found that men using this technique smoked 25 percent fewer cigarettes in a month than 10 quitters who used traditional distraction methods such as chewing gum. The quick self-massage evidently calms you and keeps your hands busy.

Drink This to Lower Your Cholesterol
The fiber supplement Metamucil can help lower elevated cholesterol levels. In one study, men who took one packet mixed in water before each meal for eight weeks experienced drops in LDL cholesterol averaging 7 percent. Metamucil also helps to lower blood pressure, blood sugar, and the risk of heart disease, according to the National Fiber Council.

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Reasons Not to Buy iPads for Students (BLOG, VIDEO)

The summer season is almost over. If you're a parent that means back-to-school shopping is right around the corner.

And there's one product — one fairly expensive product -- likely to be in high demand for college-bound students in particular: The Apple iPad!

But as dealnews' media editor Jeff Somogyi says there are 10 reasons why you should NOT buy your kids an iPad — especially in place of a more traditional laptop.

"It is a great product [and] I have the utmost respect for Apple," Somogyi tells tells The Daily Ticker's Aaron Task in the accompanying interview. "But in this instance I think that the cost per benefit is a little too high especially when it comes to students."

The tablet device starts at $499 for the most basic model with 16GB of storage with Wi-Fi connectivity. Meanwhile, the higher-end 64GB models with 3G connectivity start at $829 and expect to pay an extra monthly fee if the wireless Internet plan is enacted.

"You can get a very nice laptop for that price," he says. "You can get a laptop that does everything that your student needs it to do for less than the low end iPad."

Not only can you save money, a laptop will enable students to do all the things they need to do — like write 500-word papers -- easier and more conveniently.

Which brings us to Somogyi's top reasons to not buy your student and iPad for back to school: It's expensive and it's not the best solution for note-taking or editing documents.

If these two reasons alone are not enough to convince your child that the iPad is not the right choice for them, here is Somogyi's full top ten list of reasons why you should not cave and buy your child the iPad:

#1 It's Expensive

#2 It's Not the Best Solution for Note-Taking or Editing Documents

#3 It's Too Distracting

#4 It's Ultra-Portable and Ultra-Droppable

#5 What Makes it Desirable to your Kid is What Makes it Desirable to Criminals

#6 It's Meant for the Enjoyment of One Person, Which Means Social Seclusion

#7 Digital Text Books are a Marvel, but There's No Secondary Market

#8 It's a Status Symbol, Plain and Simple

#9 It'll Already be Old Technology by the Time You Buy It

#10 They'll Also Want a Laptop, Too

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'Red Tails' Trailer And Release Date (VIDEO)

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, George Lucas conceived of a film about brave fighter pilots. No, not "Star Wars," but the true-life tale of the barrier-shattering World War II squadron, The Tuskegee Airmen.

Called "Red Tails," the film, about the first African American military airmen, finally went into production in 2009 under the direction of Anthony Hemingway. An ensemble piece led by Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Bryan Cranston, the production saga only got more clouded from there, including rumors of unhappiness with the story and/or footage, as well as reports of reshoots.

Now, after seeming to disappear off the face of the earth, the film has revealed that it will hit theaters in January 2012, exciting news for Lucas fans, historians and anyone who likes epic in-air action. To that end, a trailer has also been revealed, which you can see below.

Whether this is a harbinger of things to come for stalled Lucas projects remains to be seen; still stuck in development is his long-gestating "Star Wars" live action television show.

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Five little-known ways for guys to flirt

When it comes to attraction, there may indeed be a little weird science involved. Seriously, how many times have you looked at a couple and said to yourself, Hmmm…how did a guy like that get a gal like her? Well, we’re not going to say we’ve found the magic elixir, but we did dig up some surprising secret ways men can effortlessly make themselves more attractive to the ladies.

We’re guessing that even if they don’t actually work for you personally, the extra confidence you’ll exude knowing you’ve got these stealth attraction tactics (i.e., “attractics”) in your arsenal may just help you land a date with that gal you’ve had your eye on.

Attractic #1: Wear red
Red is a power color, and that doesn’t just apply to politics and carpets at Hollywood events. According to a recent study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, simply wearing the color red or being surrounded by the rosy hue makes a man more attractive and desirable to women. The fact that women are largely unaware of this color’s arousing quality makes wearing it that much more effective for men who are in the know (unless they’re women who happen to have read this article… in which case, they may be on to you, but they’ll still probably respond to the color anyway).

Adding a touch of red into your wardrobe apparently makes women perceive you as having a higher social status, more likely to make money and think of you as powerful (whether it’s true or not). On a purely animalistic level, for non-human primates — like mandrills and gelada baboons — the color red is an indicator of male dominance and is expressed most intensely in alpha males. Females of these species mate more often with alpha males who, in return, provide them with protection and resources. “When women see red, it triggers something deep and probably biologically ingrained,” says Andrew Elliot, the lead author of this study and professor of psychology at the University of Rochester. In other words, dressing to impress may now mean adding a pop of cherry into your typical black, gray and navy wardrobe staples.

Attractic #2: Eat celery
Real men don’t eat rabbit food, right? WRONG. If you want to reel in the ladies, try increasing your crunches — of celery stalks, that is, not the gym variety. And it’s not just because women tend to congregate around vegetable trays at parties; in fact, eating celery increases the amount of female-attracting pheromones that men emit. Why? It seems that the cytoplasm found in celery contains the same chemicals as those found in human male sweat (specifically, regular sweat that’s responsible for a subtly masculine scent, which may not always be perceptible through clothing); both contain the steroid Androstenone, which makes men more attractive to women.

Why would you want more pheromones oozing out of your pores, you ask? Well, these are the hormones responsible for letting animals know when it’s time to mate, and they’re also how insects attract their mates from up to six miles away. So if you find yourself within flirting distance of an attractive woman and you’re dripping in delicious pheromones thanks to the celery you snacked on for lunch, women may find themselves irresistibly drawn to you. “The effects of celery are almost immediate,” says Judy Gaman, coauthor of the book, Stay Young: 10 Proven Steps to Ultimate Health. “We recommend that a man work out, have a nice, warm shower, chomp on a few sticks of celery, brush his teeth — and then head out the door smelling good!” Admit it: you’re rethinking the “eat your vegetables” edict now, aren’t you? Just call it “eau de crudité.”

Attractic #3: Play romantic music
Looking to score a gal’s digits or get her to think that you’re Prince Charming? Take a cue from the French and play a little love song first. According to a recent study by researchers Nicolas Guéguen and Céline Jacob from the Université de Bretagne-Sud (along with Lubomir Lamy from Université de Paris-Sud), women who were exposed to romantic music before interacting with eligible males were more likely to hand over their contact information (ostensibly, to set up a date) than those ladies who were exposed to “neutral” music in the same scenario. And while sappy ballads might make more macho guys want to gag, if your goal is to get the lady in question’s email address, it might behoove you to stomach a little Il Divo or Josh Groban in the presence of female subjects (the researchers showed positive correlations between romantic feelings and background music). Or try attending a crooner’s concert performance solo; who knows — you might just find yourself fighting off a whole group of swooning women!

Attractic #4: Order a chocolate dessert
Meeting a lady for coffee? Order some food, too. And if you can, make it something with chocolate in it. Here’s why: when people talk about falling in love, what’s really going on is that you’re participating in activities that promote forming an attachment to each other. Things that facilitate the attachment process raise your oxytocin levels (the love and bonding hormones) in the brain. According to Dr. Alan Hirsch, Neurological Director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, eating and the smell of food increases oxytocin levels in humans. So, by ordering an appetizer or dessert as an accompaniment, your date’s oxytocin levels will spike, thus encouraging a mutual bond to develop. (Who would’ve guessed that love was just an order of nachos away this whole time?) “You may want to be alone with her while eating, however, so she doesn’t bond with someone else at the table,” warns Dr. Hirsch.

To enhance the bonding effect even more, order something that contains chocolate. Eating chocolate increases the serotonin levels in the human body, which can induce feelings of euphoria and chemically improve your mood. “By being around a woman while she’s eating chocolate, you get this sort of ‘halo effect’…she likes the chocolate you ordered her, therefore she likes you,” says Dr. Hirsch.

Attractic #5: Learn some dance moves
So you think you can dance? Go ahead and bust a move, then! Actually, make that a good move (if you are a horrible dancer and you know it, please try options #1-4 above first). Why? The movements associated with men perceived as being skilled at dancing appear to send a subliminal signal to women that you’re in good health and have reproductive potential.

A recent study published in the Royal Society journal, Biology Letters, analyzed the dance moves of 12 non-professional male dancers. Researchers videotaped these men grooving to a basic drum rhythm and then turned their “dances” into computer-generated cartoons (that way, each guy could be judged solely on his moves, not his looks). Women then rated these dancing avatars on a scale of 1 to 7.

The results were clear: if it’s female attention you’re after, don’t flail your arms on the dance floor. Women participating in the study paid more attention to those dancers who were connected with their core body region. In other words, the guys who earned higher ratings had more control over their upper bodies and were twisting, bending, moving and nodding instead of simply pumping their fists in the air. Women scored men whose movements were twitchy and repetitive the lowest — so try to stay on beat and avoid shuffling back and forth aimlessly. And if you know you’re smooth, well...don’t be afraid to show it! You just might have women falling at your feet (but not stepping on your toes).

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Slashing $46,000 in Debt in 10 Months (BLOG)

Warning: These steps take full commitment from both spouses if you are married. Some spouses will want to commit to this in writing simply to strengthen their resolve. (I'm not suggesting a signed agreement that can be enforced in court. I'm suggesting a signed agreement in case you need to hang it on the mirror as a daily reminder of your commitment to get out of debt, because these steps take discipline from both spouses.)

Here's where my wife and I were when we started.

Debts:

Car loan No. 1 - Balance owed: $18,879 ($464 monthly payment)
Car loan No. 2 - Balance owed: $8,997 ($306 monthly payment)
Student loan - Balance owed: $6,406 ($108 monthly payment)
Property loan - Balance owed: $12,156 ($406 monthly payment)
Total: $46,438 ($1,284 monthly payment)

Luckily, we have been disciplined enough during our marriage to avoid the high-interest credit card debt. If you are starting with high-interest credit card debt, then eliminating that debt will be your priority because the interest rate works against you. Here are the steps we followed:

Evaluate the vehicles you drive and consider alternatives.

In my case, car loan No. 1 was for a nice truck I was driving at the time. I loved it, and I loved everything about owning a truck. However, my primary use for the truck was for commuting to work. I rarely used it for what trucks are made for. I determined that for the one time per year that I needed a truck I could simply rent one -- and save thousands of dollars. Hence, I traded in my late-model Chevy Silverado Crew Cab for a used late-model Honda Accord. The car cost about $5,000 less than what I owed on the truck, so I got a smaller loan on the car. On trade-in, my truck had about $2,500 in negative equity, but it was partly offset with sales tax credits. At the end of the day, I swapped my $19,000 truck loan for a $15,000 car loan, saving $4,000. The Honda also saved me about $100 a month in gas. Because the monthly payment on the new car loan was about $225 less than my truck payment, I was able to put a total of $325 toward my other debts.

Raid the savings accounts, but leave some emergency cash.

When I began this process, I had $10,000 in savings. (These were nonretirement savings -- leave retirement savings alone.) I took $9,000 (leaving $1,000 in savings for emergencies) and immediately paid off car loan No. 2. I don't know why I didn't do this sooner because the interest I was earning on my savings was not anywhere near the $306 monthly payment on the car. This should have been a no-brainer.

Free up some additional monthly cash.

There are many areas you can examine to come up with additional monthly cash. First, I noted that for a few consecutive years, I had been receiving a tax refund of around $3,000 (which is about $250 a month), so I modified my employer's W-4 tax form to reduce the federal income tax withholding on my paychecks and stop paying that extra $250/month to the government. Additionally, I temporarily reduced my 401(k) contributions during my get-out-of-debt campaign. (Ten months later, I'm debt-free and can catch up on my contributions.) Reducing my withholding tax and 401(k) contributions netted me $450 a month, which went straight to debt payments. My wife and I also found several areas in our budget where we could trim $10 here and $20 there -- or an additional $100 per month.

Evaluate other sources of income.

I found a class I could teach at a local college. The time commitment was about six hours a week. In 10 months, I earned $6,000, most of which I applied to pay off debt.

Prioritize debts and begin payment stacking.

When I paid off car loan No. 2, it eliminated a monthly payment of $306. I took that $306 in subsequent months and applied it to other loans. This is called "payment stacking." When I free up cash from other sources (such as in Step 3) and apply those dollars toward debt, I am including those dollars when I use the term "stacking." Thus, when I paid off car loan No. 2 and began payment stacking onto my student loan, it took only three months to pay it off. (The extra income from teaching helped here as well.) Usually you want to pay off the smallest debt first because that's the fastest route to freeing up a monthly payment that can then be "stacked" onto other debts. However, in my case I chose to first pay off car loan No. 2 since its monthly payment was almost three times my student loan -- which meant three times as much cash available for stacking.

Negotiations

A couple of years ago, I obtained a property loan wherein I had speculated on the price of a vacant lot, anticipating significant appreciation when a planned golf course would be put in. The development slowed and then sputtered out. In light of the economic circumstances surrounding that development, I was able to pressure the developer into settling the balance of this loan for less than what was owed. At the time, I had about $8,500 left on the loan, but I offered to pay $3,000 to settle it. After two months of negotiations, the developer agreed to the settlement. I eliminated $5,500 of additional debt. I had structured this particular debt through an LLC so this settlement did not impact my credit; however, most debt settlements will show up on your credit report and will adversely affect your credit. Be careful with these.

Continued, persistent discipline over time.

These steps are simple, but they are not easy. Once you commit to get out of debt, you will have plenty of opportunities to take money away from your debt payment plan and spend it on something you want at the moment. Do not underestimate how much discipline this process will take. Once you or your spouse start making exceptions to your get-out-of-debt plan, it is amazing how quickly your plan unravels and falls apart. Commit to this fully (and do it in writing if you have to).

Freedom from debt is a very invigorating feeling, and it is a very strong step toward financial independence.

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Woman Unexpectedly Gives Birth (BLOG, VIDEO)

Mom says she didn't know she was pregnant. Watch the video:

RISING SUN, Ind. -- A woman in Sunman, Ind., said she gave birth to a baby boy in her bathroom, but she never knew she was pregnant.

Melissa Judd and her boyfriend, Nate Smith, said the last thing they were expecting was to be expecting a child.

"I lost weight. I lost 15 to 20 pounds," Judd said.

She said she did not get bigger because of the pregnancy, nor did she have morning sickness or cramping.

"There wasn't any difference (or) any changes," Smith said. "Her mood was not different."
The day she gave birth, Judd said she was cleaning her house.

"I was feeling (cramps) so I thought I had to use the bathroom and, well, surprise!" Judd said. "I thought, 'I'm here by myself, so I have to do this alone.'"

She said 20 minutes later, she delivered a boy weighing 5 pounds, 9 ounces.
"As soon as he was out, his eyes (opened and started) looking around, crying," Judd said. "He was purple though, so I was scared to death."

Judd said she wrapped the baby in a towel and went to her neighbor, Keith Bradley, who happened to be an emergency medical technician.

"I (came) running to her, and I saw she (had) a baby in her hands and blood all over her," Bradley said. "I'm like, 'Where'd that come from?'"

Bradley said the only thing on his mind was that he had to get the umbilical cord clamped off, but he said he didn't have anything to do it.

Within minutes, Sunman paramedics arrived and Judd and the baby were taken to an area hospital.
Smith said he thought it was a joke when he got a call from a 911 dispatcher that his girlfriend just had his baby.

"I drove to the hospital, and sure enough, there they were," Smith said. “I would have never known. When I heard (about) it, I thought I was going to pass out."

The couple said, after the whole ordeal, they think their baby is a miracle and wouldn't trade him for anything.

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MEXICO CAPTURES JUAREZ CARTEL HITMEN LEADER REPORT

MEXICO CAPTURES JUAREZ CARTEL HITMEN LEADER REPORT

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican police have arrested an alleged leader of the Juarez drug cartel's armed wing linked to a deadly car bomb last year, local media said on Saturday.

El Universal daily, quoting government sources, said Jose Antonio Acosta Hernandez -- also known as "El Diego" and reputed to be one of the bosses of the La Linea hitmen -- was captured in Ciudad Juarez on Friday.

The media reports said Acosta Hernandez was behind a cell phone-detonated car bomb that killed four people in Ciudad Juarez in July of 2010, the first attack of its kind in Mexico's drug war, and ordered the killing of at least a dozen more.

Formed by renegade police officers in the northern state of Chihuahua, La Linea act as enforcers for the Juarez cartel, a group based in the border city of Ciudad Juarez which controls some of the main drug trafficking routes into the United States.

The Mexican government had offered a 15 million peso reward for the capture of Acosta Hernandez, a former security chief who worked for a now-extinct Chihuahua state attorney's office, El Universal added.

A spokeswoman for the federal police in Mexico City on Saturday said she was aware an arrest was made but could not confirm it was Acosta Hernandez.

Since President Felipe Calderon sent the army to fight the drug cartels in late 2006, some 40,000 people have died.

In a separate statement late on Saturday, Mexico's Attorney General office said that Hector Guajardo Hernandez, a top drug trafficker for the Sinaloa cartel in the state of Baja California, escaped from custody on July 27.

Guajardo Hernandez, believed to be an ally of Mexico's most powerful drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, escaped from a Mexico City hospital where he was recovering from wounds he suffered during his May arrest.

(Reporting by Jean Luis Arce and Cyntia Barrera Diaz; Editing by Vicki Allen)

DOZEN KILLED AS SYRIA ARMY STORMS HAMA DOCTOR

DOZEN KILLED AS SYRIA ARMY STORMS HAMA DOCTOR

AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian army tanks firing shells and machineguns stormed the city of Hama on Sunday, killing at least 45 civilians in a move to crush demonstrations against President Bashar al-Assad's rule, residents and activists said,
The government forces began their assault on the city, scene of a 1982 massacre, at dawn after besieging it for nearly a month.
Citing hospital officials, the Syrian Observatory for human rights said the death toll was likely to rise, with dozens badly wounded.
A doctor, who did not want to be further identified for fear of arrest, told Reuters that most bodies were taken to the city's Badr, al-Horani and Hikmeh hospitals.
Scores of people were wounded and blood for transfusions was in short supply, he said by telephone from the city, which has a population of around 700,000.
"Tanks are attacking from four directions. They are firing their heavy machineguns randomly and overrunning makeshift road blocks erected by the inhabitants," the doctor said, the sound of machinegun fire crackling in the background.
Hama has particular significance for the anti-government movement as Assad's father, the late president Hafez al-Assad, sent in his troops to crush an Islamist-led uprising in 1982, razing whole neighborhoods and killing up to 30,000 people in the bloodiest episode of Syria's modern history.
Another resident said that in Sunday's assault, bodies were lying uncollected in the streets and so the death toll would rise. Army snipers had climbed onto the roofs of the state-owned electricity company and the main prison, he said.
Tank shells were falling at the rate of four a minute in and around northern Hama, residents said, and electricity and water supplies to the main neighborhoods had been cut -- a tactic used regularly by the military when storming towns to crush protests.
Assad is trying to end an uprising against his 11-year rule that broke out in March, inspired by the Arab Spring revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, and has spread across the country.
Syrian authorities have expelled most independent journalists, making it difficult to verify reports of violence.
In southern Syria, rights campaigners said security forces killed three civilians when they stormed houses in the town of al-Hirak, 35 km (20 miles) northeast of the city of Deraa.
Local activists and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, adding that dozens of people, including three women, had been arrested.
The Observatory said troops also arrested more than 100 people in the Damascus suburb of Mouadamiyah. A Western diplomat said he saw several tanks enter the suburb
"The regime thinks it can scare people before Ramadan and make them stay home. But especially the people of Hama have shown themselves to be resilient," he said, referring to the Muslim Holy month, which begins in Syria on Monday.
The U.S. ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, visited Hama earlier this month in a gesture of international support for what he described as peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, once one of Assad's main allies, said in May "we do not want to see another Hama massacre," and warned the 45-year-old president that it would be hard to contain the consequences if it were repeated.
The Syrian leadership blames "armed terrorist groups" for most killings during the revolt, saying that more than 500 soldiers and security personnel have been killed.
An activist group, Avaaz, said in a report last week that Syrian security forces had killed 1,634 people in the course of their crackdown, while at least 2,918 had disappeared. A further
26,000 had been arrested, many of whom were beaten and tortured, and 12,617 remained in detention, it said.
ASSAULT IN EAST
In the east of the country, Syrian forces began an assault two days ago in a tribal oil-producing province on the border with Iraq's Sunni heartland.
Residents said at least 11 civilians were killed in the eastern provincial capital of Deir al-Zor on Saturday and Sunday, the second day of a tank-and helicopter-backed attack on the city.
"There are army tanks in the streets, but most of the deaths have been at the hands of Military Intelligence," one of the residents, an engineer, told Reuters, referring to the secret police division that has been spearheading the assaults in Deir al-Zor.
The Syrian Revolution Coordination Union, said 57 soldiers in Deir al-Zor, including two lieutenants and a captain, had defected to the demonstrators. It said residents had formed local committees and erected makeshift barriers to try to halt the advance of tanks and armored vehicles inside the city.
"More tank columns are heading to Deir al-Zor. By using heavy weapons, security forces are waging war against their own people," the group said in a statement.
The official state news agency said: "Armed groups in Deir al-Zor cut off roads, terrorized citizens and attacked police."
It added: "An exchange of fire occurred. The police forces confronted these armed groups and are still chasing them... The inhabitants of Deir al-Zor have expressed their rejection of these actions which are bad for the homeland."
(Additional reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi)
(Editing by Mark Trehttp://news.yahoo.com/tanks-storm-syrias-hama-residents-034931138.html
velyan and Angus MacSwan)
http://news.yahoo.com/tanks-storm-syrias-hama-residents-034931138.html

LAWMAKERS RACE CLOCK TO CLINCH DEBT LIMIT DEAL

LAWMAKERS RACE CLOCK TO CLINCH DEBT LIMIT DEAL

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - American lawmakers raced against the clock on Sunday to forge a last-minute deal that could raise the U.S. debt ceiling by $2.8 trillion and provide assurance to financial markets that the United States will avoid default.

Prospects that a significant package was within grasp brightened after Republican and Democratic leaders reopened stalled talks with the White House, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he was confident and optimistic.

"I think we've got a chance of getting there," McConnell. a Republican, said.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, pushed back a key procedural vote on a debt limit plan by 12 hours to 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GM) on Sunday, buying additional time for both sides to hammer out details before Asia markets open.

"There are negotiations going on at the White House now on a solution that will avert a catastrophic default on the nation's debt," Reid said on the Senate floor late on Saturday.

"There is still a distance to go," he said.

A White House official said that no deal had yet been reached, and cautioned that details being circulated were "inaccurate."

Time is running out for the U.S. government to raise its $14.3 trillion borrowing limit before the Tuesday deadline when the Treasury says it will run out of money to pay its bills and could no longer service the national debt. But a cautious optimism had begun emerging on Capitol Hill.

"We're a long way from any kind of a negotiated agreement, but there is certainly a more positive feeling about reaching an agreement this evening than I've felt in a long time," Senator Richard Durbin, the No.2 Democrat in the Senate, told reporters late on Saturday.

TIGHT TIMEFRAME

If a credible bipartisan deal is tantalizingly close, the White House has said it would accept a very short-term extension of the debt limit to allow lawmakers time to nail down the compromise.

Given talks are heading down to the wire, Washington is chafing against the deadline to get a deal agreed, legislation drafted, voted upon and signed into law.

The elements of the package under consideration would raise the debt ceiling through 2012 and cut spending by an amount equal to the increase in the debt limit over a 10-year period.

The first $1 trillion in cuts have been largely agreed by lawmakers. A further $1.8 trillion would be recommended by a special committee appointed by Congress and automatic measures would implement the planned cuts if Congress failed to vote on them, an aide familiar with the talks said.

It was unclear whether increases would be part of the deal, an issue Democrats have pressed hard for.

The political gridlock over how to reduce the U.S. deficit and raise the debt ceiling has put the United States at risk of losing its top-notch Triple A credit rating.

A downgrade could prompt global investor flight from U.S. bonds and the dollar, raising borrowing costs for Americans for years to come and threatening an already fragile economy that could easily fall back into recession.

A U.S. default would plunge financial markets and economies around the globe into turmoil. U.S. stocks markets last week posted their worst losses in a year, the dollar slumped and nervous investors pulled up cash into insured bank accounts.

Top Wall Street banks warned Washington last week not to risk defaulting on the U.S. debt.

"Our country is not going to default for the first time in its history -- that's not going to happen," McConnell said, holding out hope for a compromise deal.

The procedural Senate vote on Sunday requires a minimum of 60 "yea" votes to close debate and move a debt plan to a vote on passage. It would be a barometer of whether bipartisan support could be mustered for a compromise that could pass both houses by Tuesday.

The partisan squabbling and brinkmanship has dented the U.S. image as the world's capitalist superpower, causing alarm among foreign governments, some of whom have expressed incredulity that American politicians would risk a national default by clinging to hardline, intransigent positions.

(Additional reporting by Dave Clarke, Alister Bull, Lily Kuo and Laura MacInnis in Washington and Michael Erman and David Gaffen in New York; Writing by Stella Dawson and Pascal Fletcher; Editing by Sandra Maler)

ONE WAY TO CUT YOUR MEDICAL BILLS BY 50 PERCENT

Daily deal sites are increasingly offering medical, dental and other care for cheap. But are cut-rate procedures a good idea?

Daily deal sites, home of the half-off, limited-time-only, pre-paid coupon craze, are no longer content to sell low-cost dinners and dye jobs. Now on the discount table: laser eye surgery, dental checkups, and other medical services.

More from SmartMoney.com:

• Surgeries -- Now 40 Percent Cheaper

• 10 Things Life Insurers Won't Tell You

• More Help for Those With Pre-Existing Conditions?

In the first quarter of 2011, there were more than 2,500 medical, health and dental offers published on daily deal sites in the U.S. -- an eight-fold jump over the 300 offered during the same period a year ago, according to Dan Hess, CEO and co-founder of Local Offer Network, a daily deal aggregator. That's a startling increase, even compared to the rapid growth of the sites themselves, which had a five-fold increase total deal volume over the first quarter. And, says Jack Vonder Heide, president of Technology Briefing Centers, "We're seeing more of them coming onto the market every week."

Considering the never-ending medical-care sticker shock consumers face, the deals have an obvious appeal: They're extremely cheap. In one recent offer, Groupon sold four porcelain veneers, plus a full dental check-up for $2,400 -- a 52% savings off the normal $5,000 cost of the procedures. Living Social and a Washington DC-based optician recently offered an eye exam, plus $225 toward a pair of prescription eyeglasses, for $58, a saving of 81%. More than 5,400 people purchased the offer. In New York, Melissa Morgan, a communications coordinator, recently bought a dental cleaning, examination and X-ray on Groupon for $50, saving 82%. "I don't have dental insurance so it seems like a really good deal," she said.

But medical organizations say this is the wrong way to sell medical services. Consumers may pay too much attention to the low prices and not enough to the quality of care or the provider's track record, says Greg Sterling, a San-Francisco-based Internet analyst with Opus Research. And the "limited-time only" nature of daily deal sites doesn't encourage measured, thoughtful decision making, adds Malcolm Z. Roth, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. "You shouldn't be doing procedures on a whim," he says.

Unlike a half-off dinner coupon, where the biggest risk is a wasted meal, the consequences of poorly-performed procedures are more severe, says Carolyn Jacob, an Illinois-based board-certified dermatologist. Any time anyone has an invasive procedure involving needles, there's a risk of infection, she says. Laser and other skin treatments designed to zap blemishes or hair can burn a patient's skin; Botox and other chemical lifts can cause lumps or droops, Jacob adds.

There's also the risk of an up-sell: the half-off dental checkup that leads to the full-price teeth whitening. For some merchants, this is an integral part of the strategy. Because of the steep discounts they offer and the percentage taken by the deal sites, many merchants lose money on the initial offer, so they're betting on customers returning for other procedures, or adding on to the ones they buy.

Of course, practitioners say they have their clients' best interests at heart, and besides: it's a free country. "Unless there's a risk or a health hazard customers have a right to plump their lips if they want and decrease the movement in their forehead," says Jack Berdy, owner and medical director of SmoothMed, a New York-based dermatology clinic and spa. He has used around five daily deal sites to promote Botox treatments, laser rejuvenation and other minor medical procedures. Customers often come out of curiosity, inspired by a bargain. But, he adds, "we're not telling people they need it. In fact we go out of our way to tell them that they don't."

ONE WAY TO CUT YOUR MEDICAL BILLS BY 50 PERCENT

For their part, the daily deal sites say they choose their partners carefully. Maire Griffin, director of
communications for Living Social, says the services they offer are minimally invasive and mostly outpatient. "We do everything in our power to connect our members with reputable merchants with the highest ethical standards," she says. Groupon spokeswoman Julie Mossler says every merchant goes through "at least eight rounds" of checking before they are placed on the site. Whitney Crisp, director of business development and sales for Sharing Spree, also says the site only uses qualified doctors.

And the sites say they'll continue to do so. Sharing Spree's Crisp says it is open to offering new medical services as long as they're safe, there's a demand and the surgeons are qualified. "We're open to anything and feeling out the medical industry deals," she says. But that doesn't mean a discount nose-job is in the offing any time soon. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons has set an official policy to put the kibosh on selling daily deal vouchers for more invasive cosmetic procedures. "It's a no-no," says spokesman Roth.

AMERICAS TOP STATE FOR BUSINESS: VIRGINIA IS VICTORIUS AGAIN

AMERICAS TOP STATE FOR BUSINESS: VIRGINIA IS VICTORIUS AGAIN

Old Dominion State returns as America's Top State for Business in 2011, and we're starting to detect a pattern here.
Virginia topped our inaugural study in 2007 with Texas at number two. In 2008, they switched positions and Texas took the title. In 2009, it was Virginia/Texas. In 2010, it was Texas/Virginia.
This year, Virginia powers back to the top spot with the best overall score in the history of our study — 1,660 out of 2,500 points. Texas slips back to number two with a respectable 1,578 points.

Trust us. We couldn't have planned it this way, and if we could have, we might have mixed things up a bit.
Our fifth annual study once again puts all 50 states to the test, measuring them on 43 different metrics in 10 key categories of competitiveness. We weight those categories based on how frequently the states use them as selling points to attract business. That way, we hold the states to their own standards, and tell you how they measure up.
This year's categories and weightings, for a total of 2,500 points, are:
• Cost of Doing Business (350 points)
• Workforce (350 points)
• Quality of Life (350 points)
• Infrastructure & Transportation (325 points)
• Economy (300 points)
• Education (225 points)
• Technology & Innovation (225 points)
• Business Friendliness (200 points)
• Access to Capital (100 points)
• Cost of Living (50 points)
Virginia is a perennial favorite with its strategic location, friendly business climate and diverse economy. It moved back on top this year thanks to marked improvements in a couple of key areas.
We found Virginia's tax burden improved considerably, helping the state move up five places to number 21 in our all-important Cost of Doing Business Category.
In Education, Virginia jumps seven points to rank sixth, reflecting an effort begun in 2009 to reduce class sizes.
But not all is rosy in Virginia. The state fell eight spots to number 26 in Quality of Life, which, among other things, measures healthcare. The number of uninsured residents in Virginia has risen steadily in recent years.
Virginia lost some ground in the Workforce category as well, dropping three places to number 12. But that was mainly because an improving unemployment rate is shrinking the pool of available workers.
Still, Virginia did what it does best—and has done in each year of our study: It turned in a solid all-around performance, with top ten finishes in five categories (Infrastructure & Transportation at number 10, Economy at number 8, the aforementioned 6th place in Education, second in Business Friendliness and tenth in Access to Capital).
Texas Two-Step
So what happened to Texas, which was gunning for a repeat as America's Top State for Business?
While the state improved or stayed the same in seven out of ten categories, it stumbled in three important ones: Cost of Doing Business (33rd this year versus 30th in 2010), Quality of Life (32nd, down from 29th), and most notably Economy, where the top-ranked economy four years in a row plunged to 14th this year on the weight of a nagging budget crisis.
The state has been struggling to close a $13.4 billion budget gap for the 2012 fiscal year—one of the worst in the nation as measured by the non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Texas adopts its budgets two years at a time, and the 2011 legislative session has been a gut-wrenching affair. While Gov. Rick Perry and the state legislature have so far managed to avoid raising taxes or dipping into the state's rainy day fund for 2012-13, the crisis is forcing severe cuts in state services, including education. But that's not the only area where the Texas economy has suffered.
Texas no longer leads the nation in Fortune 500 companies headquartered there. In fact, the state comes in third, with 51 major companies headquartered in Texas compared with 57 last year. Some of that is the result of mergers, like Fort Worth-based Burlington Northern Santa Fe being acquired by Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway spacer, and Houston-based Continental Airlines spacer merging with Illinois-based United.
But other Texas companies simply saw their fortunes decline, like Dallas-based Blockbuster and Irving-based industrial equipment-maker Flowserve.
Nonetheless, Texas remains a business powerhouse. It remains tops in Infrastructure & Transportation, and ranks 4th in Technology & Innovation. And a surge in investment helped Texas jump to 4th place in Access to Capital from 7th place in 2010.
If Virginia and Texas seem to have the top two spots locked up year after year, the rest of our rankings are a lot less predictable.
Top Five And Honorable Mention
Take Georgia, which joins our Top Five for the first time in four years. Adding to its typically strong finishes in Workforce (4th place), Infrastructure & Transportation (second place) and Cost of Living (9th place), Georgia moved into the top half of the states in Education (22nd place, versus 28th last year).
Massachusetts drops out of the Top Five this year, finishing at number six overall. The Bay State lost ground in our Workforce category because of a shrinking pool of available workers. And the state's vaunted Education system slipped a bit — to 4th place from first — because school class sizes increased relative to other states.
Ohio is this year's most improved state, jumping eleven places to 23rd overall thanks to a huge improvement in Cost of Doing Business. Ohio improved to 5th place in our most important category, from 29th place last year. A multi-year effort to reform the tax code in the Buckeye State is paying off with a tax structure that welcomes new investment. At the same time, wages have fallen in Ohio relative to other states. That helps businesses on the cost side, but workers suffer.
The biggest overall decline came in New Jersey, which fell eight spots this year to 30th place overall largely because of the state's budget situation—one of the worst in the nation, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. New Jersey is no garden spot when it comes to the Economy, which ranked 42nd in our study this year.
Our decision to consider each state's fiscal situation in our rankings this year also led to a change at the bottom for 2011.
For the first time, Alaska — which ends fiscal 2011 with nearly $12 billion to spare in the state's coffers — does not come in last. Instead, Alaska finishes 49th this year, and Rhode Island drops to number 50.
Top 10 States for Business 1. Virginia
2. Texas
3. North Carolina
4. Georgia
5. Colorado
6. Massachusetts
7. Minnesota
8. Utah
9. Iowa
10. Nebraska

MOST EXPENSIVE HOUSING MARKETS

MOST EXPENSIVE HOUSING MARKETS
Home buyers pay a premium to buy a slice of paradise.

During the first three months of 2011 the median price of a home sold in Honolulu was nearly $580,000, according to the latest data from the National Association of Realtors. That gives Honolulu the distinct honor of being the most expensive housing market in the nation.
Here is a list of where home prices are the highest in cities across the U.S., from Honolulu to New York to San Francisco:

Courtesy: Century 21 Hawaiian Style

$585,000 buys three beds and three baths in Honolulu.

1. Honolulu
Median home price: $579,300
Home buyers pay a premium to buy a slice of paradise.
During the first three months of 2011 the median price of a home sold in Honolulu was nearly $580,000, according to the latest data from the National Association of Realtors. That gives Honolulu the distinct honor of being the most expensive housing market in the nation.

"Oahu is beautiful and it has the best weather in the world," says Honolulu-based real estate agent Bryan Hino. That has attracted many well-heeled foreign buyers, which has helped keep prices high.
It's not just the lure of balmy weather and palm trees that keeps homes pricey. Hawaii is one of the most remote places on earth and many building materials have to be shipped long distances to get there.
Land is also limited and the terrain difficult to navigate, which helps to inflate property values and construction costs. Honolulu is hemmed between ocean and mountains, leaving little land left that is easy to develop. Much of the land that remains on Honolulu's home island of Oahu has been set aside for preservation, military or agricultural purposes, leaving a small fraction for home building.
[Click here to check home equity rates in your area.]
Luckily, many Hawaiians are better prepared to afford the sky-high prices: Residents' median household income is $81,000, about 25% higher than the national median, according to Wells Fargo Bank.

Courtesy: Carolyn Wesson

For $745,000, buy a three-bedroom home in a gated San Jose community.

2. San Jose, Calif.
Median home price: $545,000
Silicon Valley's tech millionaires and other residents have seen their home values plunge dramatically, but they're still holding some of the most valuable properties in the nation.
Home prices in the region have fallen 36% from their peak, according to Wells Fargo. Still, the metro area market is anything but cheap.
Prices in many coastal California communities have remained high due to tight regulations, strict building codes and the tough-to-build-on hillsides and mountains that surround places like the Silicon Valley. That, added to a post-World-War II population boom during which many engineers, scientists and other technology experts flocked to the emerging semiconductor industry here, has kept demand for homes high.

Courtesy: Prudential California Realty

A 3,000 square-foot modern house in the Anaheim Hills for $599,900.

3. Anaheim, Calif.
Median home price: $511,800
Before Disneyland was built here in 1955, Anaheim was a sleepy farming community of fewer than 15,000 residents. Orange groves gave way to tourism and real estate developers soon followed. Land in the swiftly growing Los Angeles-Orange County megalopolis became much more valuable as building sites than as farmland.
Then came the housing bubble -- and real estate speculation drove prices into the stratosphere.
Anaheim's housing bubble inevitably burst and home prices fell some 40%. Prices have since stabilized. Yet despite the precipitous drop, median home prices are still lofty enough to rank the market as the third most expensive in the nation.

Courtesy: Century 21 Baldini Realty

This 1,200 square-foot, two bedroom is a bargain in pricey San Francisco.

4. San Francisco
Median home price: $465,900
Home prices in San Francisco may be dropping but that doesn't mean that the "City by the Bay" has become a real-estate bargain.
The second most densely-populated city in the nation (behind New York) is a prime example of the old real estate maxim: "They're not making any more land." With so many people vying for so little space, prices can only fall so far. A 1,200 square-foot row home in town can easily fetch more than $500,000 and suburban houses are also equally expensive.
The area economy has always been a diverse mix of finance, trade, tourism and light industry. In the city's South of Market area, a once-struggling part of town is now a hot spot for "new media" and software companies: Twitter, Wired and Cnet Networks have all found homes here. The metro area unemployment rate dropped to 9.5% in April from 10.3% a year earlier. It's now close to the national average and far below California's 11.9%.
Home prices in San Francisco are more than 30% off their peak, according to Wells Fargo. Given that home prices have remained at a bottom for the past couple of years, they are not likely to decline much further. Should an economic recovery take hold, though, they are bound to start climbing again and that makes now a good time to buy, says local real estate agent Michael Mihelich.

Courtesy: E&M Real Estate

In New York, you can have a five-bedroom house selling for $469,000, yet a four-bedroom a few miles away may cost more than $2.5 million.

5. New York
Median home price: $439,300
Just like its residents, New York's housing market has proven itself to be resilient during tough times. Home prices, especially in Manhattan and Brownstone Brooklyn, have held up well during the bust and should continue to do so, says Jonathan Miller, president of New York appraisal firm, Miller Samuel.
All told, the metro area's housing market is down a little less than 20% from the peak set in the third quarter of 2007, according to Wells Fargo. That's considerably better than the nation as a whole, where prices have dropped by more than a third.
In Manhattan, you won't get much more than a modest one-bedroom condo for $440,000. But you can get a lot more home for that sum in the outer borough neighborhoods and suburbs.
New York has two things helping it weather the economic storm: an acute shortage of land to build on and an ability to attract young people. On average, there are 28,000 New Yorkers crammed into each square mile of the five boroughs -- and the people keep coming.
Young graduates flock to the city for high-paying jobs in finance, as well as lower-paying jobs in the arts and other industries.
In addition, New York University was named the number three dream school for students in the Princeton Review's 2011 College Hopes and Worries Survey. And then there are companies like UBS, the giant Swiss bank, which is moving back to Manhattan from Stamford, Conn., because it has become too difficult to recruit young talent: They all want to live in Manhattan.

10 REASONS NOT TO BUY AN iPAD FOR STUDENT

10 REASONS NOT TO BUY AN iPAD FOR STUDENT

There Is Healing When You Give Someone Voice

It is my pleasure to present to my dear readers a great Christian friend and sister in Christ, Susan Smith, as our guest blogger here at Talk Wisdom this evening. May her wonderful words of wisdom, brought to us all by the power of the Holy Spirit of God through her, be a special blessing to each of you tonight. I know that what she has shared in this wonderful message has truly blessed me!

Love in Christ,
Christine

*******

Susan Smith's Newsletter, July 29, 2011

There is healing when you give someone voice. Listening to a hurting heart can be therapeutic when the time is right. Silence can speak volumes, but then again words are powerful too if they come from the Lord via the Holy Spirit. Sometimes it is difficult for me to hear clearly and to see with a pure heart. Often I pray for God to open the eyes of my heart and others who are hurting. I also have learned that pain can draw me closer to God, and when I am hurting deeply it tends to draw me closer to God, almost as though he is watching me closer than before.

The words that are written tell me it is good for me to draw near to God (Psalm 73:28). For me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made him my refuge so that I can tell of all his works. I like David Stern’s translation from Psalm 73:

Whom do I have in heaven but you? And with you, I lack nothing on earth. My mind and body may fail; but God is the rock for my mind and my portion forever. Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who adulterously leave you. But for me, the nearness of God is my good.

My friend, you are in the kingdom of heaven now, if you believe the truth. I am not talking about relative or comparative truth that we hear so much about during this season in the world. I am talking about absolute truth. The Messiah is the truth (John 14:6). He is the way we must go in order to come unto the father, and he is the life we must live if we want to choose life instead of death (John 14:6).

When Joshua led the Israelites across the Jordan River, there were still wars in the Promised Land. We are in spiritual battles today, every day we breathe. The battlefield is the mind! We are all experiencing the oppression and what appears to be destruction by the enemy in and on the earth today. What can we do? Nothing, we must BE what we are, by his GRACE! When we are focused and following Jesus, then the Lord directs our path.

We must trust in the Lord with all our corporate heart and lean not on our own individual understanding. In all our ways the ONE body must acknowledge the ONE God of heaven and earth, the ONE God of ISRAEL, and he will make level our individual paths and make them straight (Proverbs 3:5-6).

By God’s grace I am what I am, and his grace towards me was not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:10). We have ONE enemy. We are created in the image of God; therefore, we are spiritual people. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). The spiritual realm is real. We are slaves to the one we obey (Romans 6:16). We must be sober and be watchful. Our enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).

In union with the Messiah, through his faithfulness, we have boldness and confidence when we approach God. When we suffer for others, it is for their glory. For this reason, I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name (Ephesians 3:12-15). There is ONE body (Ephesians 4:4). My prayer this day is that the eyes of your heart and mine may be enlightened, so that we both will know what is the hope of his calling (Ephesians 1:18). Do you have hope this day?

I received a personal phone call from a pastor I love last week. He knew I was traveling to Israel for the three-week study tour, and he called to tell me he missed me in worship the first Sunday I was back. My custom is to worship with several congregations throughout each year. I enjoy the variety of the spiritual food I receive from different circles of worshipers.

It made me feel good to receive the call. I told the pastor I wanted to worship with a congregation that I know loves Israel my first Sunday back. He understood and showed me God’s grace when he said he did not want me to feel pressured to attend the religious service where he speaks most every Sunday unless there is a guest speaker. Then I told him I was very interested in attending the Wednesday night bible study he will be teaching later this year.

The study I hope to attend should show me more of the pastor’s heart concerning Israel. I was pleased to hear him call Jesus the “Messiah” not long ago. The study is called a “Precept Bible Study” and the advertisement for the study says this:

Do you know that our relationship with Jesus Christ is built on an Old Testament covenant with Abraham? Do you know that the Covenant bridges the Old and New Testament? Do you know that our Lord and Savior is the fulfillment of that covenant? Do you know that everyone who is not a part of that covenant is not among God's chosen people? Would you like to learn why God chose you for His Kingdom and not others?

God’s people are beautiful all over the earth and in the world where we live in the flesh today. On the sixth day of creation, God saw all that he had made, and indeed it was very good (Genesis 1:31). I am in love with the family of God, the ONE body. Of course even they can be discouraging and even disappointing at times to my fleshly desires.

You see, the Bible study sounds good to my ears; however my hope is not in the written Word of God. My hope is in the Living Word. When I draw near to him, I realize he is keeping a closer eye on me than ever before. I begin to realize his eyes are like a flaming fire; he is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called The Word of God (Revelation 19:12-13). It is a fearful and terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31).

Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down nations—“He will break them with an iron rod; shatter them like a clay pot” (Psalm 2:9). It is he who treads the winepress from which flows the wine of the furious wrath of God, the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written: King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:15-16).

As a believer, I am not very interested anymore in learning more facts and what other people might think. I want to know God and the ONE he sent (John 17:3). I want to believe the Spirit of Truth is guiding me into all truth (John 16:13). Hmmm… if God’s chosen people are made in his image and we are ONE body, then maybe somehow, someway we can learn from one another. I believe I am purely and simply following Jesus. Want to join me? After all, we are ONE! (Colossian 2:9-11 and Colossians 3:9-11). Think about these things… ~ Susan Smith

Hat Tip and many thanks to Susan Smith!

31 JULI 2011 STRONG QUAKE JOLTS NORTHESTERN JAPAN NO TSUNAMI

TOKYO (AP) — A strong earthquake has rattled northeastern Japan, leaving seven people injured. No tsunami warning was issued.
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency says the magnitude-6.5 earthquake struck at 3:54 a.m. Sunday (1854 GMT Saturday) off the coast of Fukushima, a region struck by the March 11 massive quake and tsunami. The epicenter was 35 miles (57 kilometers) below the sea surface.
Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. says the temblor caused no further damage to its Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power complex, which was crippled by the March disasters.
Seven people in nearby cities were injured mildly.
The March disasters left about 23,000 people dead or missing across Japan's northeast coast and forced 80,000 others to evacuate their homes due to the radiation threat.

'Real Housewives' Taylor Armstrong Faces $1.5M Lawsuit (BLOG)

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Taylor Armstrong is being sued for over $1.5 million for an alleged breach of contract.

According to People, legal papers were filed on Friday at the LA Superior Court by MyMedicalRecords.com against Armstrong and her husband Russell.

The legal documents allege that the couple accumulated $1 million from people who were misled into thinking that they were investing in the company.

The papers also claim that Taylor and Russell misused money given to them in order to fund their "lavish lifestyle".

Armstrong filed for divorce from her husband of six years earlier this month, after the couple separated in May.

The reality star is seeking joint legal and primary physical custody of their daughter, and cited "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for the split.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills will return for a second season on Bravo later this year.

digitalspy

Xbox Addict 'Dies From Blood Clot' (BLOG)

The family of a budding computer programmer have on Saturday launched a campaign to raise awareness about the health risks of playing online computer games after their son died following a marathon session on his Xbox.

A post-mortem revealed that 20-year-old Chris Staniforth -- who was offered a place to study Game Design at Leicester University -- was killed by a pulmonary embolism, which can occur if someone sits in the same position for several hours.

Deep vein thrombosis normally affects passengers on long-haul flights, but medical experts fear youngsters who spend hours glued to their consoles might also be at risk and have urged them to take regular breaks.

Professor Brian Colvin -- an expert on blood-related conditions -- said it was "unhealthy" for youngsters to spend long periods in front of their consoles.

"There's anxiety about obesity and children not doing anything other than looking at computer screens," he told The Sun.

David Staniforth has now launched a campaign to warn other parents of the dangers.
"Games are fun and once you've started playing it's hard to stop.

"Kids all over the country are playing these games for long periods - they don't realise it could kill them," he told The Sun.

A coroner's court in Sheffield was told how the youngster -- who had no underlying medical conditions -- was complaining of a low heart rate before collapsing outside a Jobcentre.
Staniforth's distraught father said his son would spend up to 12 hours playing on his Xbox.
"He got sucked in playing Halo online against people from all over the world."

Online computer games are extremely popular as thousands interact in shared science fiction worlds.

Reports of gamers collapsing after spending 15 hours in front of video games are fairly common throughout Asia.

In 2005, a South Korean gamer died after playing online games for three days without taking a break.

Microsoft -- which manufactures the Xbox -- said it "recommend gamers take breaks to exercise as well as make time for other pursuits."

Getting Down - Team Prolific - (@teamprolific) (Audio)

"Getting Down" (prod by Izaiah “Daywalker” Demarco) is the next single off of the upcoming EP "The Movement" the single will be out on iTunes Jan 1st 2011. In the Fall of 2010 “Getting Down” was licensed by Alli Sports, Inc. for a skate montage video featuring MTV’s Ryan Sheckler from “My Life with Ryan”. This track is a lot more than just a song; it’s a real statement. Team Pro been going hard all these years but it’s time to make it official who is who in the game. Having earned love & respect on the indie scene Prolific takes their music to the next level which is worldwide. Catchy hook, well written verses full of artists’ authenticity & uniqueness, and ill production by Izaiah “Daywalker” Demarco... This song is a real killer… an anthem that lets the whole world know that the Team Prolific is ready to take over the game. And it’s not a game it’s going down.

T-Pain Sues Auto-Tune Company (Blog)

Rapper T-Pain has filed suit against an Auto-Tune effect company, claiming illegal use of his image and likeness to sell its products.

T-Pain has used the pitch correction software extensively throughout his career and had teamed up with Antares to promote its Auto-Tune items. But his deal with Antares ended in June, and T-Pain partnered with rival firm Izotope to create his own range of sound effects, called The T-Pain Effect.

The hip-hop star is demanding at least $1 million in damages, reports AllHipHop.com. He is also asking a California judge to issue an injunction preventing Antares from using anything that could connect T-Pain to the company's Auto-Tune devices, claiming it could substantially damage sales of his Izotope products.

msn

Good Samaritan finds $16,000, returns it to owner (BLOG)

TURLOCK, Calif. — When a Turlock business owner went to deposit cash at a Farmers and Merchant Bank's drop box, he found a stack of money inside.

Tehal Dosanjh looked at the deposit slip wrapped around the money. It read: $16,000.
"I was shocked, I couldn't believe my eyes,” Dosanjh said.

The bank was closed, so he took the money home and put it in a safe place.
Having all that cash overnight was never a temptation, Dosanjh said.

“I knew what I had to do the next morning, which was to return it to the bank.”
Dosanjh said his parents and the Sikh religion taught him honesty and hard work.

“I have been blessed with so much, I really wanted to give it back to (a person) that really earned it," he said. "I you haven't earned it, it doesn't belong to you.

A spokesperson for the bank said the money was sitting there because the customer before Dosanjh did not deposit the large sum of money correctly.

The bank was thankful Dosanjh returned the money so they could get it back to the rightful owner.
Dosanjh said the whole ordeal left him feeling great. He can go to sleep at night knowing he did the right thing.