Facebook Timeline Is on Your Phone Today, Too [Facebook]

If you haven't been drooling with introspective ecstasy and rubbing your face all over your monitor enough yet, now you can get in on the Timeline orgy via mobile. Facebook's rolled the new format onto its web and Android versions. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/QUHOez2GKA0/facebook-timeline-is-on-your-phone-today-too

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PSU formally requests more time from NCAA

BC-FBC--Penn State-NCAA, 2nd Ld-Writethru,436PSU formally requests more time from NCAAAP Photo PAGP111, NY109Eds: Updates that Emmert made initial request to Penn State and adds NCAA statement Thursday. With AP Photos.By GENARO C. ARMASAP Sports Writer

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) ? With a Friday deadline looming, the NCAA signaled it would give Penn State more time to respond to its inquiry over the university's handling of child sex abuse accusations against former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.

Penn State general counsel Cynthia Baldwin said in a letter to NCAA president Mark Emmert released Thursday that answers to the NCAA's questions about the Sandusky case might come from other, separate probes already in progress. Among them is a university trustees investigation spearheaded by former FBI director Louis Freeh.

Baldwin spoke to Emmert and other NCAA staff by phone Nov. 23 about the concurrent inquiries, according to the letter dated Dec. 12.

"The university understands that the NCAA will continue to monitor these investigations and will have access to the report" from Freeh and the trustees, Baldwin said.

"At that time, the NCAA will determine if further response from the university is necessary," she wrote before requesting more time.

Both the NCAA and Penn State indicated in recent weeks that the school may not make the Friday deadline to provide complete answers to several questions posed last month by Emmert.

Freeh's investigation is already sharing information that the NCAA said would help determine how the college sports governing body would proceed.

"Although this information will aid in our real-time review, once the counsel's work is complete the university likely will need to formally respond to the questions raised by President Emmert," the NCAA said in a statement Thursday afternoon.

The Big Ten announced last week it also would conduct its own review and reserved the right to hand down sanctions pending its findings. The 12-member league also planned an immediate review of institutional control of athletics at its schools.

The Department of Education also is looking into Penn State, along with the separate criminal case by the state attorney general's office.

Sandusky has pleaded not guilty and waived his preliminary hearing Tuesday on charges he molested 10 boys. He has requested a jury trial.

The Sandusky scandal led to the ousters last month of Hall of Fame coach Joe Paterno and school president Graham Spanier, amid mounting pressure on trustees and criticism that school officials should have done more to prevent the alleged abuse.

Kenneth Frazier, who heads the trustees committee overseeing the internal probe, said this week at a business forum hosted by The Wall Street Journal in New York that he hoped Freeh's team would have findings by the end of the academic year. Penn State's spring semester ends in mid-May.

Spanier's replacement, Rodney Erickson, has pledged the university's full cooperation with the NCAA and other inquiries.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-12-15-Penn%20State-NCAA/id-fa9360962c354c9ab24c5c46c54fd0dc

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Teen Thompson of US leads by 1 shot in Dubai

Alexis Thompson from U.S. plays a shot on the 14th hole during the third round of Dubai Ladies Masters golf tournament on, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

Alexis Thompson from U.S. plays a shot on the 14th hole during the third round of Dubai Ladies Masters golf tournament on, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

Michelle Wie from U.S. plays a ball on the 14th hole during the third round of Dubai Ladies Masters golf tournament on, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

Michelle Wie from U.S. follows her ball on the 13th hole during the third round of Dubai Ladies Masters golf tournament on, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

Sweden's Sophie Gustafson plays a shot on the 13th hole during the third round of Dubai Ladies Masters golf tournament on, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

Sweden's Sophie Gustafson plays a shot on the 14th hole during the third round of Dubai Ladies Masters golf tournament on, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

(AP) ? American teenager Lexi Thompson has a one-shot lead going into the final round of the Dubai Ladies Masters after making a birdie putt on the 18th for a 2-under 70 on Friday.

The 16-year-old Thompson, the youngest LPGA Tour winner, is 10 under for the tournament, one shot ahead of Sophie Gustafson (69) of Sweden.

Thompson, who led by two shots going into the third round, bogeyed the 15th. Gustafson made three birdies on the back nine. But the American reclaimed the lead when she reached the green in two on the 18th and made the birdie putt.

"I was pretty much like 'let's just hit it,'" Thompson said. "You've been hitting it pretty good, so just got to be confident."

Lee-Anne Pace of South Africa (67) and Pernilla Lindberg of Sweden (68) are two shots back of Thompson in the season-ending Ladies European Tour tournament.

Michelle Wie (71) is a five shots off the pace at 5 under.

Thompson is looking to become the second youngster winner on the European Tour, just three months after she won her first LPGA event in Alabama to make history on that tour.

"I hit it pretty well. I just left a few putts out there," she said. "But you know, a lot of girls are in contention so it will be a great day out there.

"I'm just going to try and make birdies throughout the whole day, play consistent. Pars, birdies nothing can be worse than that."

Thompson opened with a bogey when she hit a drive behind some trees and failed to make a 4-foot putt.

She got a shot back with a birdie on the third but couldn't pull away from the 38-year-old Gustafson, who closed within a shot with a birdie on six and then tied for the lead with a birdie on 13.

Thompson retook the lead with a birdie on 14 only to fall back when she hit a bad drive on 15 and three-putted for her second bogey. Tied coming down the 18th, the big-hitting Thompson unleashed a 3-wood, ala Tiger Woods, that cleared the water and landed on the edge of the green. She just missed a 35-foot eagle putt but made a birdie.

"Once I saw the drive, I was like 'all right, I probably can go for it' from there and it was 212 to the pin," she said.

Looking for her first tour win of the year, the 14-time tour winner Gustafson said she was pleased with a round that included five birdies and two bogeys. She missed a 10-foot birdie putt on 18.

"Started off a bit iffy but figured it out pretty quick and was solid from there," she said. "I mean, obviously Lexi is going to be hard to beat. But if I can keep playing well, then I think I have a good chance."

It was another inconsistent day for Wie. She dropped a shot on the front nine before making all three of her birdies and a bogey on the back.

"It's pretty frustrating," she said. "You know, but at least I made a birdie on the last hole, made me feel good about myself. But tomorrow I just gotta a go out there and really shoot low."

Even though she's eighth, Wie is still capable of charging. She moved into contention on the last day of the tournament last year, shooting a 67 for the best score of the day.

"It's a golf course where you can and should," she said of shooting a low score. "I just gotta go out there tomorrow, gotta focus and make a lot of birdies."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-12-16-GLF-Dubai-Ladies-Masters/id-2237082c6be14ef29e59d8c3f5cc48c6

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Wash. regulators accuse PSE of improper charges (AP)

OLYMPIA, Wash. ? State regulators say Puget Sound Energy improperly charged a residential-visit disconnect fee to some electricity and natural gas customers.

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission staff says the utility should refund the $13 fee to more than 1,600 customers. The utility also could be fined as much as $1,000 for each violation.

The fee cannot be charged for a visit other than a disconnect, such as leaving a termination notice.

Puget Sound Energy has 20 days to officially respond. Spokeswoman Dorothy Bracken said Wednesday it will work with state regulators to make sure customers are treated fairly. Customers can call PSE to question their bill or service.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111215/ap_on_bi_ge/us_puget_sound_energy_fees_washington

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Searching for Spain's stolen infants

By Kate Snow and Jessica Hopper
Rock Center

Luis Vega?is on a mission to meet every man born in Madrid, Spain on Nov. 20, 1977.? That's the day doctors told?him that?his baby son was stillborn, but?he and his wife, Ines,?believe their child was in fact stolen from the hospital.

?We have a son somewhere out there,? Luis Vega said.

The Vega family isn?t alone in believing their child was stolen.? This year, more than a thousand families have come forward with claims that they were victims of baby trafficking committed by a variety of networks from the 1940s until as recently as the early 1990s.

Armed with a list of the 61 names of boys born in Madrid on the same day he lost his son, Vega is making calls and knocking on doors because he is convinced his son is alive.

?What we just want only, is to tell him, ?You have not been abandoned,?? Vega said.

For Vega, the memory of his son?s birth is still fresh. He and his wife went to a hospital in Madrid on a Sunday in November 1977.? They were already parents to one son and believed they were expecting just one more child when they received surprising news: they were having twins.

?I started to think, I got two,? Vega said.? ?So, I was absolutely excited, astonished.?

The excitement faded when doctors came to Vega and told him that one of the twins, a boy, was dead.?

?I felt frozen,? he said.?

Vega said the doctor told him, ?I recommend you not see him.?

At that time in Spain, doctors were authority figures who were virtually unapproachable.? Vega simply didn?t question that the doctor was telling the truth.?


The doctor told Vega that the hospital would handle the burial of the baby boy. His wife, Ines, was under anesthesia and was unaware of what had happened. Vega ultimately told her the sad news.

The couple comforted one another and did their best to move on with their lives, raising their newborn daughter, Ana, and their older son.

Every year on Ana?s birthday, Luis and Ines talked about her twin, the boy they lost.

This January, Vega and his wife were eating lunch and watching TV when a news report stopped them cold and made them think that the son they?d lost 33 years ago might actually be alive.?

An unbelievable story was exploding in the press, allegations that for decades, organized networks stole newborn babies from their mothers and sold the babies to other families. On January 27, more than 250 families filed cases with Spain?s attorney general. That number has since risen to nearly 1500 cases.

Vega and his wife requested documentation from the cemetery where they believed their son had been buried and sent a letter to the hospital where he had been born. Cemetery officials told them that no one had been buried at the cemetery with their family?s last name.

When Vega told his daughter, Ana, that her twin brother might be alive after all, she was shocked.

?I spent like a month with a knot in my stomach.? I couldn?t eat,? she said.

Ana Vega created a blog to help in the search for her lost twin.

?We are not looking, you know, for revenge,? she said.? ?We just want to find him and that?s it and to, if he wants to, you know, be part of our family, great.? If he doesn?t, well, you know, that?s his choice as well.?

If anyone is responsible for prompting the discovery of this dark part of Spain?s history, it is documentary filmmaker and author Montse Armengou.? Armengou was among the very first to report on systematic baby stealing.

?In Spain, from a long period of time, from the ?40s until ?80s as a minimum, we can talk about children that were kidnapped from their families, from their mothers,? Armengou said.

It started as a form of political repression under Fascist dictator Francisco Franco. Franco seized power during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s. Under his leadership, the government would remove children from mothers who were political prisoners and give them to families who supported the regime.

?[In] the beginning, [it] was a political repression and after became a moral and ideological repression against single mothers.? You have to know that during the Franco?s regime, the power of Catholic Church was very, very strong,? Armengou said.

Doctors, often with the help of nuns, would tell young single mothers that their child was dead or force single mothers to give their children up for adoption. At the time, single young women were still considered minors until they were 26 years old.

?It?s impossible to ask for help because you are nothing,? Armengou said.? ?You are only a single mother. That means that you are nothing, you are garbage, you are waste.?

The political and moral repression became a booming business with families paying the equivalent of what it would cost for an apartment, in order to obtain a child.

For those who believe they are victims of the now defunct organized networks of baby stealing, the legal process has been frustratingly slow.? Despite the hundreds of cases filed, no one has been charged with any crime.

?We?re moving as fast as we can.? We?re dealing with cases that are incredibly difficult,? said prosecutor Pedro Crespo who has been tasked by Spain?s attorney general to coordinate the hundreds of official investigations across Spain.

Crespo said that the passage of time, incomplete records and the fact that many of those involved are already dead has hampered the investigations.

For some, like the Vega family, the doctor they hold responsible for stealing their child is still alive.

?This bastard has taken our life,? said an emotional Luis Vega.

Vega recently became the president of S.O.S. Bebes Robados?Madrid, one of the organizations helping those who think they might be victims.

Vega said that he doesn?t expect he?ll ever truly get justice, but hopes ultimately he?ll find his son.

?I?m convinced,? Vega said.? ?Otherwise, why [am I] going to fight?I?m fighting for this and everything.?

Editor?s Note: Kate Snow?s full report, ?Stolen At Birth,? airs on Rock Center with Brian Williams on Monday, Dec. 19 at 10 p.m./9 c. ?

Source: http://rockcenter.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/16/9496241-families-fight-to-find-children-stolen-as-infants-in-spain

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Android team takes developers to school with Android Training program

Dust off your Trapper Keeper and strap on those brand new sneakers, because Android school is now in session. Yesterday, the Android Developers team announced the launch of Android Training -- a set of online classes designed to help users create better apps. The tutorials, available for free, provide aspiring devs with step-by-step instructions and tips on how to implement effective navigation tools, optimize battery life and solve other "common Android development problems." At the moment, the program is divided into 11 sections with a total of 34 individual lessons, though the team plans to expand its offerings "over the coming months." Try it out for yourself at the source link below.

Android team takes developers to school with Android Training program originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Dec 2011 05:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/16/android-team-takes-developers-to-school-with-android-training-pr/

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Fed battling economic forces beyond its control

By John W. Schoen, Senior Producer

Four years and $1.8 trillion after the worst financial collapse since the 1930s, there appears to be little more the Federal Reserve can do to get the U.S. economy back on track. Rarely in the central bank?s 99-year history has so much been so far beyond its control.

At their regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday, Federal Reserve policymakers made no changes in interest rates and held fire on buying more bonds to pump cash into the financial system. Beyond that, they were expected to devote much time?at the meeting to an extensive discussion about changing the way the committee communicates its decision-making with the public.

Fed policymakers have gotten a bit of breathing room lately from?data showing a gradual pickup in the U.S. economy. But that growth remains threatened by?the?financial crisis in Europe,?the ongoing budget gridlock in Washington and?a housing market that shows no sign of emerging from a deep recession.

After spending close to $2 trillion to put out the financial fires that swept through the U.S. banking system in 2008, Fed officials have watched their European counterparts fail to move decisively as fearful investors flee eurozone countries teetering on the brink of default. Despite calls to backstop Greece, Italy and Spain, the European Central Bank has responded tepidly to the crisis, arguing that those countries need to work harder to balance bloated budgets.

That approach contrasts sharply with the U.S. central bank?s longstanding role as the ?lender of last resort.?

?The ECB is making some of the most classic central bank mistakes that history has ever pointed out,? said Kevin Ferry, chief market strategist at Cronus Futures Management. ?And they will be criticized again in future history books.?

U.S. central bankers have their own headaches. There is a?bloated budget at?home and?Congress and the White House, locked in an ongoing political paralysis, remain unable to make basic budget decisions. The failure of a so-called supercommittee to arrive at a compromise all but ensured that the budget paralysis will remain until the upcoming presidential election in November.

Ironically, the misperception that the Fed alone can restore economic growth may have made that budget gridlock even worse, according to former Fed governor Frederic Mishkin.

"There?s a tremendous danger from the view that the Fed can solve all problems,? he said. ?It actually is a situation where it takes the heat off the politicians to do the right thing. Our problems in this country are not with Federal Reserve or that the Federal Reserve can't solve them. It?s with the damn people in?Washington.?

No one can accuse the Fed of not trying hard enough. To reverse the biggest housing market collapse since the 1930s, the Fed embarked on an unprecedented program of buying up hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of mortgage bonds and driving mortgage rates to record lows.?Despite that effort, private investors remain leery of putting up cash to back mortgages: roughly nine of our 10 new loans are still backed by the government.

Demand for housing remains sluggish. That?s due, in part, to the estimated 14 million homeowners who owe more on their mortgage than their house is worth.

Those households can?t take advantage of lower rates by refinancing unless they can make up the difference out of pocket or convince their lender to write down their principal balance, which bankers have been loathe to do. (To be sure, some Fed critics have argued that the central bank, as one of the nation?s most prominent bank regulators, could do more to prod bankers to write down mortgages.)

Now, five years after the housing bubble burst, there is a growing realization among?homeowners and lenders that it will take years for that critical sector to recovery. After stabilizing this summer, house prices resumed their downward move, falling by 7.5 percent in the third quarter.

Lower rates were also supposed to prod consumers to spend more. But the loss of home equity has taken a big bite out of their spending power. The Fed?s latest data, the so-called Flow of Funds survey, shows that funds continue to leak?out of U.S. households?in the third quarter as another $2.4 trillion in household net worth evaporated ? one of the biggest declines on record. Spending has held up relatively well in the second half of the year, but only because consumers continue to tap what savings they have left.

Businesses are looking for the kind of improvement that would prompt them to hire more workers. But the outlook remains too cloudy for many to move. A survey of small businesses released Tuesday found an uptick in confidence, but it remains at levels usually seen during recessions.

"We still have more firms thinking that business conditions will be worse 12 months from now than better,? said Bill Dunkelberg,?chief economist at the National Federation of Independent Business, which conducted the survey. ?That can't be the case if we're?going to have a growing economy. So they're still very cautious about the future.?

Having already deployed its most powerful tools, Fed watchers expect the central bankers to try to use the language of its statements to amplify the impact of its policies. That could include pegging interest rate moves to economic targets like inflation and unemployment data. By talking publicly about where they see inflation and interest rates headed, Fed officials would hope to have greater influence on the market-based interest rates.

That strategy would contract starkly with the policies of Fed chairman Ben Bernanke?s predecessor, Alan Greenspan, whose convoluted language created a cottage industry of analysts tasked with deciphering ?Fedspeak.? That level of obfuscation helped create the impression that the Fed was more powerful that it really is, according to Mishkin.

?One of the real problems of the Greenspan years which was that Greenspan had this element of the guy behind the curtain in the Wizard of Oz,? he said. ?People thought that he could do everything. He helped give that impression and, in fact, as we know from the movie, the Wizard of Oz couldn't do very much.?

Related stories:

Fed, seeing moderate growth, leaves rates unchanged

Small businesses more confident about the economy

Is the Fed too optimistic, or is more quantitative easing coming down the road? Mark Olson, Treliant Risk Advisors co-chairman, discusses the outlook for economic growth.

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/13/9420052-fed-battling-economic-forces-beyond-its-control

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Census shows 1 in 2 people are poor or low-income (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Squeezed by rising living costs, a record number of Americans ? nearly 1 in 2 ? have fallen into poverty or are scraping by on earnings that classify them as low income.

The latest census data depict a middle class that's shrinking as unemployment stays high and the government's safety net frays. The new numbers follow years of stagnating wages for the middle class that have hurt millions of workers and families.

"Safety net programs such as food stamps and tax credits kept poverty from rising even higher in 2010, but for many low-income families with work-related and medical expenses, they are considered too `rich' to qualify," said Sheldon Danziger, a University of Michigan public policy professor who specializes in poverty.

"The reality is that prospects for the poor and the near poor are dismal," he said. "If Congress and the states make further cuts, we can expect the number of poor and low-income families to rise for the next several years."

Congressional Republicans and Democrats are sparring over legislation that would renew a Social Security payroll tax reduction, part of a year-end political showdown over economic priorities that could also trim unemployment benefits, freeze federal pay and reduce entitlement spending.

Robert Rector, a senior research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, questioned whether some people classified as poor or low-income actually suffer material hardship. He said that while safety-net programs have helped many Americans, they have gone too far. He said some people described as poor live in decent-size homes, drive cars and own wide-screen TVs.

"There's no doubt the recession has thrown a lot of people out of work and incomes have fallen," Rector said. "As we come out of recession, it will be important that these programs promote self-sufficiency rather than dependence and encourage people to look for work."

Mayors in 29 cities say more than 1 in 4 people needing emergency food assistance did not receive it. Many formerly middle-class Americans are dropping below the low-income threshold ? roughly $45,000 for a family of four ? because of pay cuts, a forced reduction of work hours or a spouse losing a job.

States in the South and West had the highest shares of low-income families, including Arizona, New Mexico and South Carolina, which have scaled back or eliminated aid programs for the needy. By raw numbers, such families were most numerous in California and Texas, each with more than 1 million.

The struggling Americans include Zenobia Bechtol, 18, in Austin, Texas, who earns minimum wage as a part-time pizza delivery driver. Bechtol and her 7-month-old baby were recently evicted from their bedbug-infested apartment after her boyfriend, an electrician, lost his job in the sluggish economy.

After an 18-month job search, Bechtol's boyfriend now works as a waiter and the family of three is temporarily living with her mother.

"We're paying my mom $200 a month for rent, and after diapers and formula and gas for work, we barely have enough money to spend," said Bechtol, a high school graduate who wants to go to college. "If it weren't for food stamps and other government money for families who need help, we wouldn't have been able to survive."

About 97.3 million Americans fall into a low-income category, commonly defined as those earning between 100 and 199 percent of the poverty level, based on a new supplemental measure by the Census Bureau that is designed to provide a fuller picture of poverty. Together with the 49.1 million who fall below the poverty line and are counted as poor, they number 146.4 million, or 48 percent of the U.S. population. That's up by 4 million from 2009, the earliest numbers for the newly developed poverty gauge.

The new measure of poverty takes into account medical, commuting and other living costs as well as taxes. Doing that pushed the number of people below 200 percent of the poverty level, up from the 104 million, or 1 in 3 Americans, that was officially reported in September.

Kathleen Short, research economist at the Census Bureau, said the number of people who are poor or low income increases to 1 in 2 because of added living costs on middle-class Americans. She described those living below 200 percent of poverty as a broad group, ranging from the poorest poor to those who may have modest amounts of income.

"We do see a bigger percentage of people below 200 percent of poverty than with the official measure," she said. "This is a group that represents the low end of the income distribution."

Broken down by age, children were most likely to be poor or low-income ? about 57 percent ? followed by seniors 65 and over. By race and ethnicity, Hispanics topped the list at 73 percent, followed by blacks, Asians and non-Hispanic whites.

Even by traditional measures, many working families are hurting.

Following the recession that began in late 2007, the share of working families who are low income has risen for three straight years to 31.2 percent, or 10.2 million. That proportion is the highest in at least a decade, up from 27 percent in 2002, according to a new analysis by the Working Poor Families Project and the Population Reference Bureau, a nonprofit research group based in Washington.

Among low-income families, about one-third were considered poor while the remainder ? 6.9 million ? earned income just above the poverty line. Many states phase out eligibility for food stamps, Medicaid, tax credit and other government aid programs for low-income Americans as they approach 200 percent of the poverty level.

The majority of low-income families ? 62 percent ? spent more than one-third of their earnings on housing, surpassing a common guideline for what is considered affordable. By some census surveys, child-care costs consume close to another one-fifth when a mother works.

Paychecks for low-income families are shrinking. The inflation-adjusted average earnings for the bottom 20 percent of families have fallen from $16,788 in 1979 to just under $15,000, and earnings for the next 20 percent have remained flat at $37,000. In contrast, higher-income brackets had significant wage growth since 1979, with earnings for the top 5 percent of families climbing 64 percent to more than $313,000.

A survey of 29 cities conducted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors released Thursday points to a gloomy outlook for those on the lower end of the income scale.

Many mayors cited the challenges of meeting increased demands for food assistance, expressing particular concern about possible cuts to federal programs such as food stamps and WIC, which assists low-income pregnant women and mothers. Unemployment led the list of causes of hunger in cities, followed by poverty, low wages and high housing costs.

Across the 29 cities, about 27 percent of people needing emergency food aid did not receive it. Kansas City, Mo.; Nashville, Tenn.; Sacramento, Calif.; and Trenton, N.J., were among the cities that pointed to increases in the cost of food and declining food donations. Mayor Michael McGinn in Seattle cited an unexpected spike in food requests from immigrants and refugees, particularly from Somalia, Burma and Bhutan.

Among those requesting emergency food assistance, 51 percent were in families, 26 percent were employed, 19 percent were elderly and 11 percent were homeless.

"People who never thought they would need food are in need of help," said Mayor Sly James of Kansas City, Mo., who co-chairs a mayors' task force on hunger and homelessness.

___

Online:

Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov

U.S. Conference of Mayors: http://www.usmayors.org/

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_on_go_ot/us_low_income_america

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Luck, Griffin, Richardson lead Heisman finalists

FILE - This Oct. 22, 2011 file photo shows Alabama running back Trent Richardson (3) running past Tennessee defensive lineman Daniel Hood (76) during an NCAA college football game in Tuscaloosa Ala. Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Richardson are among the players expected to receive invites to the Heisman Trophy presentation when the finalists are announced. (AP Photo/John Bazmore, File)

FILE - This Oct. 22, 2011 file photo shows Alabama running back Trent Richardson (3) running past Tennessee defensive lineman Daniel Hood (76) during an NCAA college football game in Tuscaloosa Ala. Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Richardson are among the players expected to receive invites to the Heisman Trophy presentation when the finalists are announced. (AP Photo/John Bazmore, File)

FILE - These are 2011 file photos showing Trent Richardson, Alabama; Robert Griffin III, Baylor; and Andrew Luck, Stanford. Richardson, Griffin and Luck are among the players expected to receive invites to the Heisman Trophy presentation when the finalists are announced. (AP Photo/File)

FILE - This Nov. 26, 2011 file photo shows Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III (10) during an NCAA college football game against Texas Tech, in Arlington, Texas. Andrew Luck, Griffin and Trent Richardson are among the players expected to receive invites to the Heisman Trophy presentation when the finalists are announced. (AP Photo/Sharon Ellman, File)

FILE - This Nov. 12, 2011 file photo shows Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck (12) passing against Oregon in the first quarter of an NCAA college football game in Stanford, Calif. Luck, Robert Griffin III and Trent Richardson are among the players expected to receive invites to the Heisman Trophy presentation when the finalists are announced. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

FILE - This Oct. 22, 2011 file photo shows Alabama running back Trent Richardson (3) running past Tennessee defensive lineman Daniel Hood (76) during an NCAA college football game in Tuscaloosa Ala. Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Richardson are among the players expected to receive invites to the Heisman Trophy presentation when the finalists are announced. (AP Photo/John Bazmore, File)

(AP) ? Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck entered the season as the overwhelming favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.

He will head to New York for the presentation of college football's most famous player of the year award having relinquished front-runner status to another quarterback ? one known as RG3.

Luck, along with Robert Griffin III, Trent Richardson, Tyrann Mathieu and Montee Ball are the Heisman finalists. The group, announced Monday on ESPN, will be at the presentation Saturday night in Manhattan.

It's a return trip for Luck, the only repeat finalist this season, while Griffin is the first Baylor player to get an invite to the ceremony. The school has never had a player finish better than fourth in the Heisman voting, but now it seems to have the favorite.

"I'm sure it will be a really close vote," Griffin told reporters in Waco, Texas, after watching the announcement with teammates and coaches.

Richardson is the second Alabama running back to be a finalist in the past three years. Former teammate Mark Ingram won the Heisman in 2009.

Ball has scored 38 touchdowns for Wisconsin and needs one more to match Barry Sanders' NCAA record.

Mathieu, the LSU defensive back nicknamed "Honey Badger," has made numerous game-changing plays for the top-ranked Tigers.

The field was deep this season and several deserving players didn't make the cut. Most notable, Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore, a finalist last season, Southern California quarterback Matt Barkley and Houston's record-breaking passer, Case Keenum, did not receive enough votes to be among the final five.

Ballots from the 926 voters, mostly media members and former winners, were due Monday evening.

Luck was the Heisman runner-up to Auburn's Cam Newton last year and passed up a chance to be the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft to return to Stanford for his junior season. From the moment he made the decision to stay in school in January, he became the odds-on favorite to win the big bronze statue.

Luck is looking to become Stanford's second Heisman winner, joining quarterback Jim Plunkett, who won in 1970.

"It would mean a lot," Luck said in an interview on ESPN. "I would mean a great deal for the university. Mean a lot to me and a great deal to the football program, as well."

He had another stellar season, passing for 3,170 yards with 35 touchdowns while leading the Cardinal to an 11-1 record and a second straight BCS bid. But the competition has been fierce and numerous contenders emerged.

The prognosticators now have Griffin as the most likely winner.

Heismanpundit.com, which has successfully predicted the past four winners with a straw poll of 13 voters, had Griffin as its top vote-getter on Monday. Luck was second and Richardson third.

Stiffarmtrophy.com, which compiles ballots from voters who make their choices public and has predicted the past nine winners, had Griffin winning by a comfortable margin over Luck, with Richardson third.

Griffin leads the nation in passer rating (192.3), with 3,998 yards and 36 touchdowns. He has also run for 644 yards and nine touchdowns. And much like Luck, Griffin has led a long-struggling program to its greatest success in decades. Baylor is 9-3 this season, its first nine-win season since 1986, including its first victory against Oklahoma.

"Baylor nation we're in there," Griffin said. "Now we just got to try to snatch it. Hopefully the vote turns out our way.

"Being invited is an honor. It's not all that we want, but it's a starting spot."

The best showing a Baylor player has had in the Heisman voting was quarterback Don Trull's fourth-place finish in 1963.

Richardson has been the unquestioned offensive engine for No. 2 Alabama. He's fifth in the nation in rushing at 131.9 yards per game and tied for fifth in touchdowns with 23. Richardson and the Crimson Tide will meet Mathieu and LSU in the BCS championship game on Jan. 9 in New Orleans.

The sophomore cornerback is the second defensive player to be a Heisman finalist in the past three years. Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska finished fourth in 2009.

Mathieu, though, is more like Charles Woodson, the do-it-all defensive back who won the 1997 Heisman for Michigan.

Mathieu has forced five fumbles, intercepted two passes and scored four touchdowns, including two long punt returns in LSU's past two games against Arkansas and Georgia.

He also was suspended for a game this season for violating the team's drug policy.

Ball has been a touchdown machine for Wisconsin and ranks fourth in rushing at 135.3 yards per game. He has 12 more touchdowns than the next best player in the nation and if he can tack on two more in the Rose Bowl against Oregon, he'll break Sanders' record.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-12-05-Heisman%20Trophy-Finalists/id-416fd90bc23e4941b7c7ac7f9e6347e9

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Archos CEO wants to create a child-sized robot for less than 300 euros, apparently

Forget all of Archos' tablet and e-reader nonsense. They're just stepping stones on the way to a grander vision -- one rife with home automation and, apparently, bite-sized, budget-friendly robots. That's what CEO Henri Crohas revealed in a recent interview with French daily La Libération, while describing his company's aspirations to create thinner tablets, as well as a "child-sized robot, sold for less than €300." Crohas didn't elaborate upon this remark, transcribed as an "oh by the way" aside, though he did go on to describe Archos as a "genetic anomaly" among European manufacturers, and cited Charles Darwin as one of his most admired thinkers. Infer at your own discretion.

[Thanks, Thocan]

Archos CEO wants to create a child-sized robot for less than 300 euros, apparently originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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