Wednesday, December 21, 2011

News you can use dec 21 2011

8 Charged in Death of Fellow Soldier, US Army Says

New York Times -
Eight American soldiers were charged with manslaughter and an array of other crimes in connection with the death of Pvt. Danny Chen, a fellow soldier from New York whose body was found in October lying in a guard tower in southern Afghanistan, ...

No progress in payroll tax showdown

CNN International -
By Tom Cohen and Alan Silverleib, CNN NEW: Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, tries to get the House to vote on Senate plan Speaker John Boehner and House GOP negotiators urged Democrats to restart talks on extending the payroll tax cut Wednesday, ...

Demand Is High for Euro Loans From Central Bank

New York Times -
FRANKFURT - Banks lined up on Wednesday for almost half a trillion euros in cheap three-year loans from the European Central Bank as part of its unprecedented effort to keep credit flowing at a time when normal market funding in Europe is scarce and ...

Romney begins making closing argument to voters

Fox News -
| AP BEDFORD, NH - Sharpening his message ahead of voting in Iowa and New Hampshire, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Tuesday accused President Barack Obama of deepening the economic crisis and backing policies that will redistribute ...

5 Biggest Mobile Stories Of 2011

InformationWeek -
From mergers to phones, wireless technologies, and mobile operating systems, 2011 was an explosive one for the mobile industry. Here are the five biggest stories of the year.

Iraq PM warns Kurds to turn over accused Iraqi VP

USA TODAY -
By Douglas Stanglin, USA TODAY Iraq's Shiite prime minister is warning Kurdish authorities that they will face "problems" if they don't hand over the Sunni vice president who fled to the Kurdish region after he was charged in an arrest warrant with ...

Syria 'massacre': Opposition calls for UN action

BBC News -
Syria's main opposition coalition has called for emergency meetings of the UN Security Council and the Arab League to discuss the intensifying violence in the north-west of the country.

Presidential buzz surrounds leading figure of Russia's protest movement

Christian Science Monitor -
Alexei Navalny, a vocal critic of Putin and leader in Russia's protest movement, could pose a tough threat to his presidential bid.

Defense rests case in WikiLeaks military hearing

The Associated Press -
FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) - Lawyers for the Army intelligence analyst blamed for the biggest national security leak in American history briskly presented evidence in his defense Wednesday, a year-and-half after the young private allegedly handed a trove of ...

Interstates reopen in Great Plains as storm eases

Fox News -
| AP TOPEKA, Kan. - Fierce winds and snow made travel through the Great Plains difficult Tuesday, although highway officials reopened portions of several major interstates that closed during the worst of the storm.

Ayla Reynolds' Dad Has "No Idea" Where Daughter Went

ABC News -
By COLLEEN CURRY Maine State Police Det. Christopher Tupper, left, and Waterville Det. Lincoln Ryder, right, question Justin DiPietro, second from left, after he arrived at his home in Waterville.

Home-Sales Revisons to Hurt: More Distressed Properties

CNBC.com -
Now we know that the recent housing crash was about 14 percent worse than previously thought. That is the conclusion of benchmark revisions by the National Association of Realtors, after they realized that their numbers were “drifting” from other ...

Technology Stocks Drag Wall Street Lower

Fox Business -
The technology sector pushed the markets into the red, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq falling more than 1%, after Oracle's earnings miss spooked traders.

Oracle's big drop leads broad tech losses

MarketWatch -
By Rex Crum, MarketWatch SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Tech stocks hit the ground running with broad losses Wednesday, hit by Oracle Corp.

Hands On: Amazon Kindle Fire 6.2.1 Update

PC Magazine -
By Will Greenwald Amazon has released its newest update for the Kindle Fire and it has some tweaks many users will find welcome, and one tweak power users will hate.

Verizon Wireless Experiencing Data Outages Across Country, Users Report

Fox News -
DEVELOPING: Verizon Wireless customers across the country woke up up to spotty data connections Wednesday morning, according to reports from various Internet forums and Twitter.

Microsoft Wins Patent Claim Against Motorola

InformationWeek -
By Paul McDougall InformationWeek Motorola Mobility, which Google has agreed to acquire, uses technology in its Android smartphones that violates a patent held by Microsoft, the International Trade Commission has found.

RIM Surges Most in 10 Weeks on Reports It Was Acquisition Target

BusinessWeek -
Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Research In Motion Ltd., maker of the BlackBerry smartphone, surged the most in 10 weeks in Nadsdaq trading after reports Microsoft Corp.

'The Hobbit' trailer provides a glimpse into a new Middle-Earth journey (VIDEO)

Christian Science Monitor -
By Sandy Schaefer, Screen Rant / December 21, 2011 It's been a tumultuous trek for The Hobbit over the past two years. The project was slowly but steadily coming together under the guiding hand of Guillermo del Toro - that is until MGM's financial ...

Recommended: Stylish, well-acted 'Dragon Tattoo' leaves an indelible mark

msnbc.com -
From breaking news to news you can't use, but enjoy anyway, we offer up the latest developments on the hot stories of the day in TV, movies, music and celebrities.

Steven Spielberg and Daniel Craig on 'Tintin'

Washington Post -
Director Steven Spielberg explains why his latest film, 'The Adventures Tintin,' is so special to him, while actors Daniel Craig and Jamie Bell admit to being huge fans of the ginger-haired reporter.

Did Ohio State get too light or too tough a penalty? [Poll]

Los Angeles Times -
Among the violations, eight players were found to have received substantial cash payments or preferential treatment from the owner of a tattoo parlor.

Poyet backs Suarez "to the death"

ESPN -
By ESPNsoccernet staff Former Uruguay international Gustavo Poyet says he backs fellow countryman Luis Suarez "to the death" after the Liverpool striker was banned for eight matches for racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra.

Countdown Daily: NFL MVP

ESPN -
Which teams hold the tiebreakers and who does each team have left to play? ESPN breaks it down entering Week 16. Story GREEN BAY, Wis.

AP Source: Rose agrees to extension with Bulls

Fox News -
| AP CHICAGO - Derrick Rose says there isn't much that excites him. A maximum contract extension, though, just might. The reigning MVP agreed to a five-year contract extension with the Chicago Bulls worth approximately $94 million, a person familiar ...

Two Earth-Size Planets Are Discovered

New York Times -
In what amounts to a kind of holiday gift to the cosmos, astronomers from NASA's Kepler spacecraft announced Tuesday that they had discovered a pair of planets the size of Earth orbiting a distant star.

Christmas Staple Frankincense 'Doomed,' Ecologists Warn

Fox News -
By Remy Melina Flowers and branches of the Boswellia sacra tree, the species from which most frankincense is derived. The biblical Christmas story of the three kings may need a rewriting, or at least a tweak to one of the gifts - frankincense.

US to scientists: Don't publish bird flu details

CBS News -
(CBS/AP) Government officials want a group of bird flu researchers to keep some of their findings out of medical journals - so they don't get into the hands of terrorists.

France ponders removing risky breast implants

USA TODAY -
PARIS - French health authorities are considering whether to suggest that an estimated 30000 women in France get their breast implants removed, amid warnings by leading doctors about the risks of rupture and possible cancer.

Bay Area groups take part in Medicare test program

San Francisco Chronicle -
Beginning in January, 17000 Medicare patients in the Bay Area will be guinea pigs, of sorts, in a federal program meant to improve the quality of their care, and at the same time lowering the costs of a system that threatens to overwhelm the nation's ...