Iowa's quirky caucuses open 2012 White House race (Reuters)

DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) ? The long and sometimes quirky drama of electing a U.S. president, marked by obscure rules and long-held traditions, begins on Tuesday in more than 800 schools, libraries, churches and homes across Iowa.

Iowa's caucuses, which bring voters together for hours to cast ballots in a public place on a winter night, are the first step in a state-by-state nominating race that ultimately will decide the Republican challenger to President Barack Obama in the election on November 6, 2012.

Iowans, accustomed to the personal courtship of numerous presidential candidates, take the political ritual seriously and defend it with pride.

"If you are active, your expectation is that you will meet one or more of the candidates face to face and get a chance to evaluate them personally," said Iowa Republican lobbyist Joe Hrdlicka. "People embrace the process."

Hrdlicka will be the caucus chairman this year in his West Des Moines voting precinct, one of 1,774 precincts that will host caucuses at 809 sites.

The caucuses are usually held in libraries, schools or other public locations, although in some smaller communities they can be in homes, churches or other spaces. One caucus this year will be in a winery.

The turnout at each caucus can vary by community, ranging from as many as 1,000 in cities like Des Moines to a few dozen in sparsely populated areas.

Before the voting, a surrogate or volunteer from each campaign is given a chance to speak to a gathering of their neighbors to persuade them to back their candidate.

In a tight Republican race marked by frequent swings among voters, that adds an element of unpredictability to the result.

"There are people who will change their minds while they are at the caucus. A strong speech can have an effect," said Steve Deace, a conservative radio talk show host in Iowa.

Unlike Iowa Democrats, who gather into groups by candidate preference in a public display of support, Republicans write their vote privately on a sheet of paper that is collected and counted at the site by caucus officials.

A representative of each campaign is allowed to observe the counting. The results are announced to the caucus before they are reported to the state Republican Party, which tabulates the results from around the state and reports them to the public.

The size of the turnout in conservative western Iowa, or in college towns where Texas congressman Ron Paul is popular, could give an early clue about the results.

A heavy turnout in western districts could indicate strong support for social conservatives like Rick Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania. Low participation in the more moderate Des Moines suburbs might be bad news for Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor.

MIXED RECORD

The Iowa caucuses have been the first vote of the presidential nominating cycle since 1972. They have a mixed record at picking overall winners - Mike Huckabee won the caucuses in 2008 while eventual Republican nominee John McCain finished fourth - but they tend to whittle down the field before other states take over.

Nearly 120,000 Iowans took part in the Republican caucus in 2008 and state party officials are unsure if they will hit that number this time.

"It's the first chance anywhere that Republicans have a chance to cast a vote to start replacing Barack Obama," Iowa Republican Chairman Matt Strawn said. "All things being equal, the potential exists for a strong Republican turnout."

The leaders in Iowa opinion polls - Romney and Paul - both ran and lost in 2008. That familiarity has almost certainly helped them in a state where voters are accustomed to the personal touch.

"Most Iowans are not overly impressed with the cult of personality of a presidential candidate. They want to get to know the candidate," Deace said. "People are very well informed. Poseurs don't play well here."

With left-wing Occupy protesters targeting some Republican candidates and the state party in recent days, officials said the master count will be done at an undisclosed location.

State party officials said they will report the votes for nine candidates, including the six who have been actively campaigning in Iowa - Romney, Paul, Santorum, Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry.

Votes also will be reported for Jon Huntsman, who has skipped Iowa to focus on the next contest in New Hampshire; Herman Cain, who dropped out of the race after he was accused of having an extramarital affair; and longshot candidate Buddy Roemer.

The party also will report votes for "No Preference" - which includes those who vote present, uncommitted or none of the above - and for "Other" candidates who get votes.

The caucuses begin at 7 p.m. Central Time on Tuesday and party officials expect to begin reporting results within a few hours.

Democrats also will caucus, although Obama is the only candidate running. Obama, who launched his White House run with an Iowa win in 2008, will address caucus-goers by video on Tuesday night.

(Editing by John O'Callaghan)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111230/ts_nm/us_usa_campaign_caucuses

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Gray wolf crosses into California, first seen in state in 88 years

By Lisa M. Krieger lkrieger@mercurynews.com

A lone gray wolf has crossed the border into California, marking the return of a fabled creature that vanished from the state 88 years ago.

The young male, known as OR7, trotted from southern Oregon into the wilds of Siskiyou County on Wednesday night, California Department of Fish and Game officials said, citing satellite tracking data.

No one knows if he'll stay there in the forested buttes west of Lower Klamath Lake, or be joined by others. Perhaps he'll simply turn around and return north.

But his entry suggests that it may be just a matter of time before re-establishment in California of a species that has been revered, reviled and once hunted to near extinction. Wildlife officials already are preparing for how to handle the return of wild wolves, an event sure to inspire dread among ranchers fearful of losing stock to the predators.

"Whether one is for it or against it, the entry of this lone wolf into California is a historic event and result of much work by the wildlife agencies of the West," said fish and game Director Charlton H. Bonham. "If the gray wolf does establish a population in California, there will be much more work to do here."

The last confirmed wild gray wolf in California was killed in Lassen County in 1924. While they were widely distributed, they were never abundant. Any California wolf would be protected under the state's endangered species law.

OR7 -- a code that identifies the wolf's GPS

transmitter -- is a member of the so-called Imnaha pack, Oregon's oldest and largest. Wolves re-established in Oregon in 1999, and there is evidence that they are spreading across the state, possibly to start new packs elsewhere. Others have been seen in the region near Walla Walla, Wash., and Pendleton, Ore. His mother, in 2008, returned to Oregon after migrating from Idaho.

Wearing a GPS collar, OR7's wanderings have been closely tracked by biologists. He migrated 730 miles across Oregon over two months beginning last September. Over the past month, he's been in the Siskiyou National Forest, northeast of Medford. This week, he wandered south of the Oregon town of Keno, just 10 miles from the California border.

"He's doing what young males typically do -- they outgrow their pack and go out to find their own mate, to try to make a pack," said fish and game spokeswoman Jordan Traverso.

Wolves have proved to be a resilient species, after nearly being extinguished by poisoning, trapping and shooting.

The re-emergence of wolves in the Rocky Mountain West has been an unexpected success. They started to move back into northern Montana from Canada in the 1980s. Then, in a re-establishment program, the U.S. government introduced 65 Canadian wolves to Yellowstone National Park in 1995, after elk herds were destroying large tracts of vegetation.

To the surprise of federal experts, the wolves hit population targets in just seven years -- and spread. Wolf population has now reached about 1,600 across the Rocky Mountain region, with about a hundred breeding pairs. Legal wolf hunts began in Idaho and Montana.

But the wolf hunts have been controversial. In Oregon, which permits wolves to be killed if they attack livestock, two wolves from OR7's pack were killed this year. Kill orders for two more were issued after they were blamed for killing a calf, but were stayed after challenges from wildlife advocates.

If wolves gain a foothold in California, "We are concerned about a clash between wolves and livestock," said Jack King of the California Farm Bureau Federation. "We've been watching the advance very closely. Now it's come to our door stoop."

"It is a matter of numbers, and how aggressive the wolves become, that determines how much of a problem it becomes," he continued. "What forms of relief will be available to livestock producers, as restitution for losses?"

But Patrick Valentino of the San Francisco-based California Wolf Center called the wolf's arrival "great news" and "an opportunity for California to recover a top predator."

"The question is: What happens next?" Valentino asked. "Will they return? If it's up to wolves, the answer is yes. But it's up to people. Will we accept them?"

Contact Lisa M. Krieger at 408-920-5565.

Species At a glance
Gray wolves are the largest member of the canine family that includes domestic dogs, and can be gray, black or white in color.
Height: 26-32 inches at shoulder
Length: 4.5 to 6.5 feet, nose to tail
Weight: 55 to 130 pounds; males are larger than females
Life span: 7-8 years in the wild; captives have lived 10 years or more

Source: http://www.contracostatimes.com/education/ci_19643821?source=rss

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Samsung Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab May Receive ICS Update Afterall

Samsung is reportedly planning to bring the Ice Cream Sandwich update to Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab devices next year after consumer backlash.

The Korean mobile phone maker angered lots of loyal Galaxy customers when it had announced that it would not?be offer the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update for the old Galaxy S smartphone?or the Galaxy Tab tablet device.

According to an article?on The Verge, ajnews is reporting that Samsung has backtracked from its original decision following massive consumer demand and has informed that it is re-investigating the issues behind bring ICS to these devices.

The company said that it was difficult to accommodate ICS on the devices due to their small memory capacity, but will look into ways to update these devices. This would make a lot of loyal customers very happy and help the company maintain that loyal customer base.

Samsung will have to find a 'work around' or else it would incur the wrath of millions of Galaxy S customers. Android 4.0 ICS is one of the most desired OS's around and is currently only available on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/itproportal/rss/~3/jiipyfmKFTM/

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Mass protests in Syrian city as monitors arrive (AP)

BEIRUT ? Tens of thousands of defiant Syrian protesters thronged the streets of Homs Tuesday, calling for the execution of President Bashar Assad shortly after his army pulled its tanks back and allowed Arab League monitors in for the first time to the city at the heart of the anti-government uprising.

The pullback was the first sign the regime was complying with the League's plan to end the 9-month-old crackdown on mostly unarmed and peaceful protesters.

Yet amateur video released by activists showed forces firing on protesters even while the monitors were inside the city. One of the observers walked with an elderly man who pointed with his cane to a fresh pool of blood on the street that he said had been shed by his son, killed a day earlier.

The man, wearing a red-and-white checkered headdress, then called for the monitor to walk ahead to "see the blood of my second son" also killed in the onslaught.

"Where is justice? Where are the Arabs?" the old man shouted in pain.

Syrian tanks had been heavily shelling Homs for days, residents and activists said, killing dozens even after Assad signed on early last week to the Arab League plan, which demands the government remove its security forces and heavy weapons from city streets, start talks with opposition leaders and allow human rights workers and journalists into the country.

But a few hours before the arrival of the monitors, who began work Tuesday to ensure Syria complies with the League's plan, the army stopped the bombardment and pulled some of its tanks back.

The British-based activist group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that government forces fired on protesters while the monitors were inside Homs and said at two people were killed from the fire.

About 60 monitors arrived in Syria Monday night ? the first foreign observers Syria has allowed in since March, when the uprising against Assad's authoritarian rule began. The League said a team of 12 visited Homs.

After agreeing to the League's pullback plan on Dec. 19, the regime intensified its crackdown on dissent; government troops killed hundreds in the past week and Syria was condemned internationally for flouting the spirit of the agreement.

On Monday alone, security forces killed at least 42 people, most of them in Homs. Activists said security forces killed at least 16 people Tuesday, including six in Homs.

One group put Tuesday's toll at 30, including 13 in Homs province. Different groups often give varying tolls. With foreign journalists and human rights groups barred from the country, they are virtually impossible to verify.

Amateur videos show residents of Homs pleading with the visiting monitors for protection.

"We are unarmed people who are dying," one resident shouts to one observer. Seconds later, shooting is heard from a distance as someone else screams: "We are being slaughtered here."

Given the intensified crackdown over the past week, the opposition has viewed Syria's agreement to the Arab League plan as a farce. Some even accuse the organization of 22 states of complicity in the killings. Activists say the regime is trying to buy time and forestall more international condemnation and sanctions.

"The Syrian government will cooperate symbolically enough in order not to completely alienate the Arab League," said Bilal Saab, a Middle East expert at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in California. "But make no mistake about it, its survival strategy is to keep kicking the can down the road, until domestic and international circumstances change in its favor."

Opponents of Assad doubt the Arab League can budge the autocratic leader at the head of one of the Middle East's most repressive regimes. Syria's top opposition leader, Burhan Ghalioun, called Sunday for the League to bring the U.N. Security Council into the effort. The U.N. says more than 5,000 people have been killed since March in the political violence.

Shortly after the tanks pulled back and stopped shelling, the videos showed tens of thousands flooding into the streets and marching defiantly in a funeral. They carried the open casket overhead with the exposed face of an 80-year-old man with a white beard.

"Listen Bashar: If you fire bullets, grenades or shells at us, we will not be scared," one person shouted to the crowd through loudspeakers. Many were waving Syria's independence flag, which predates the 1963 ascendancy of Assad's Baath party to power.

"The people want to execute Bashar," chanted a group as they walked side-by-side with monitors through one of Homs' streets. "Long live the Free Syrian Army," they chanted, referring to the force of army defectors fighting Assad's troops.

The amateur video also showed a man picking up the remains of a mortar round and showing it to the observers.

In another exchange, a resident tells a monitor: "You should say what you just told the head of the mission. You said you cannot cross to the other side of the street because of sniper fire."

The monitor points to the head of the team and says: "He will make a statement." The resident then repeats his demand, and the monitor, smoking a cigarette, nods in approval.

The Observatory for Human Rights said as the monitors visited Homs, tens of thousands of protesters gathered in some neighborhoods to "reveal the crimes committed by the regime."

Later, the Observatory said some 70,000 protesters tried to enter the tightly secured Clock Square but were pushed back by security forces that fired tear gas and later live bullets, killing at least two, to prevent them from reaching the city's largest square. The Local Coordination Committees, another activist group, said security forces were shooting at protesters trying to reach the central square.

Homs, Syria's third-largest city, has a population of 800,000 and is at the epicenter of the revolt against Assad. It is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of the capital, Damascus. Many Syrians refer to it as the "Capital of the Revolution."

Opposition activist Mohammed Saleh said four days of heavy bombardment in Homs stopped in the morning on Tuesday and tanks were seen pulling out. Another Homs activist said he saw armored vehicles leaving early on a highway leading to the eastern city of Palmyra. He asked that his name not be made public for fear of retribution.

"Today is calm, unlike previous days," Saleh said. "The shelling went on for days, but yesterday was terrible."

The Observatory said some army vehicles pulled out of Homs while other relocated in government compounds "where (they) can deploy again within five minutes."

A local official in Homs told The Associated Press the team of monitors, headed by Sudanese Lt. Gen. Mohamed Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi, met with Ghassan Abdul-Aal, the governor of Homs province. After the meeting, the monitors headed to several tense districts including Baba Amr and Inshaat, sites of the most intense crackdowns since Friday.

The official later said that most members of the Arab team headed back to Damascus, while three will spend the night in Homs. The official refused to give details about where the observers will stay for security reasons.

In addition to the deaths reported by activist groups Tuesday, Syrian state-run news agency SANA said two roadside bombs targeted a bus carrying employees of a state company in Idlib, killing six and wounding four.

Also Tuesday, a Lebanese-based al-Qaida-linked group, Abdullah Azzam Brigades, claimed that two suicide attacks against Damascus security offices that killed at least 66 Friday were the work of the Syrian regime, and not al-Qaida as Syrian authorities said.

And in Lebanon, security officials said Syrian troops opened fire at a car that crossed illegally into northern Lebanon, killing three Lebanese men. Some Syrians have fled to Lebanon to escape the fighting, and Syria has complained that weapons are smuggled across its borders. It was not immediately clear if the shooting was related to the uprising in Syria.

___

Associated Press writer Albert Aji contributed to this report from Damascus, Syria.

___

Bassem Mroue can be reached on http://twitter.com/bmroue

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111227/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_syria

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Community College

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Foxconn Eyeing Record with iPhone Plant Expansion

Foxconn, the Chinese manufacturer, has been an integral partner of Apple in the production of iPhones. The company is now, reportedly, planning to increase the size of its iPhone-producing plant, which currently manufactures more than 200,000 units in one day.

The smartphone plant is situated at Zhengzhou, and if the reports turn out to be true, then Foxconn will gather a place in the Guinness Books as the largest smartphone manufacturing company in the world. As a part of the expansion, the company will be spending $1.1 billion for the construction and other needs.

The plant will be built in Central China?s Henan province with the base centered at Foxconn Science Park in Zhengzhou. The company believes that they will get $20 billion in sales revenue next year.

After the installation of the new plant, the company?s current production lines are expected to touch a new mark of 95. Foxconn is the world?s largest contractor?of?electronic?components and last year they had opened two new factories in?Henan?and?Sichuan.

This step was taken aiming at the low labor costs and rising markets in the inland provinces. In the currently employed 1.2 million people, about 1 million are based on the Chinese mainland.

As of now, there are 130,000 employees working in the Zhengzhou plant. The company also has a production plant in Brazil, for producing certain iPhone models in the country.

The company is currently rumored to be working on solving the local legal issues for setting up an iPad manufacturing plant based on a $12 billion investment. Foxconn is also expected to start iPad 3 productions from January onwards.

The company looks to be truly advancing through innovations.

Source: http://www.devicemag.com/2011/12/27/foxconn-eyeing-record-with-iphone-plant-expansion/

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Game On: HD Streaming Site FilmOn Debuts NCAA Basketball, Football Channels

FilmOn, the premium-content internet streaming site that met controversy earlier this year over lawsuits involving CBS (NYSE: CBS), CNET, and copyright, is expanding its line up, adding two new sports channels for NCAA Basketball and NCAA Football.

FilmOn says it will be offering the content in partnership with XOS Digital, a company that provides digital asset management services to college sports organizations. It already offers its own sports on-demand service, XOS Sports, in which it offers paid rentals and full downloads of college games.

FilmOn?s channels, already live, offer viewers live games as well as archived fixtures. Users also have the option of recording programs to watch later either over TV, Internet or mobile devices using iOS or Android apps, or to subscribe to HD versions of the channels for a monthly fee. FilmOn offers a combination of free channels and those that require a subscription to watch.

It?s not clear just how extensive FilmOn?s coverage of NCAA fixtures will be?will it include the championships and all divisions??or how FilmOn?s services work in conjunction with other rights deals between the NCAA and other media outlets: ESPN (NYSE: DIS), for example, extended its rights for NCAA Basketball in the U.S. and internationally earlier this month. That deal included both broadcast and streaming rights.

We have contacted FilmOn for further clarification and will update this post as we learn more.

At the very least, the equal content offering seems to be something that FilmOn is trying to exploit for its own marketing purposes: ?We are going head to head with the industry?s top sports programmers,? the company?s outspoken founder Alki David boasts in the news release announcing the deal.

Frankfurt-based, UK/Beverly Hills-operated FilmOn has steadily been building up its catalog of premium sports content: earlier this year the company launched an international soccer channel with the UK Premiership and the Football Association, which will kick off (pun!) with football games from the Russian Premier League.

Last year, it came under some controversy when it was accused by the four major broadcasters in the U.S. of violating copyright by showing their programs. It was served at the time with a temporary restraining order. It then fought back against CBS and CNET with suits of its own (later dropped ?put on hold? until November, David tells us.)

Posted In: Apps, Entertainment, Games, Sports, Legal, Copyright, Media & Publishing, TV, Broadcast, Mobile, Companies, CBS, CNET, Disney, ESPN, Google, Android, Countries, Europe, UK, Russia, alki david, filmon

Source: http://feeds.paidcontent.org/~r/pcorg/~3/JER1NCTTgQ4/

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QuakeLive: The best Quake movies of 2011 (part 1) | SK Gaming

Revisit, or discover for the first time, the best Quake movies of 2011 as this feature spotlights the best frags, editing and entertainment in the world of Quake moviemaking for 2011.

Part one sees a number of top tier players and editors showing their best work from 2011. On the player side of things Strenx, Cooller, Reptile and Spart1e all got their own movies this year. From the editing realm ZeRoQL showed why he's the best editor in QuakeLive, Subtitled produced a gem and mccormic created a truly euphoric effort.

Enjoy the best Quake movies of 2011!

Name: Celestia
Editor: mccormic
Runtime: 12m21s
Released: 2011
Game: Q3 Defrag CPM
Thorin Rating: 9/10
Download: Quakeunity (1080p)

Stream: Quakeunity (1080p), youtube

Name: Cooller 2010/2011
Editor: Subtitled
Runtime: 8m15s
Released: 2011
Game: QL
Thorin Rating: 8.5/10
Download: MegaUpload (60 FPS), MegaUpload (30 FPS)
Name: Quake Cyber Generation REDUX
Editors: ZeRoQL and Domino
Runtime: 10m50s
Released: 2011
Game: Q3
Thorin Rating: 8/10
Download: gamefront, maverickservers
Name: Reptile wins!
Editor: OvO
Runtime: 3m38s
Released: 2011
Game: Q3
Thorin Rating: 7.5/10
Download: MegaUpload, QuakeUnity
Name: Colosseum II - Quake Nations Cup 2010
Editor: ZeRoQL
Runtime: 14m52s
Released: 2011
Game: ZeroQL
Thorin Rating: 7.5/10
Download: maverick (HQ 50 fps), trance.0f.se (LQ 30 fps)
Name: Strenx: Long way to Dallas
Editor: MMd
Runtime: 8m12s
Released: 2011
Game: QL
Thorin Rating: 7.5/10
Download: MegaUpload, narod.ru
Name: The Spart1e Show
Editor: mouse*
Runtime: 6m08s
Released: 2011
Game: QL
Thorin Rating: 7.5/10
MegaUpload
Name: Strenx 2010
Editor: MMd
Runtime: 3m31s
Released: 2011
Game: QL
Thorin Rating: 6.5/10
Download: MegaUpload
Part 2 will bring yet more great Quake action and editing from 2011. Which movies do you think deserved, or didn't deserve, to be included?

Source: http://www.sk-gaming.com/content/36107-The_best_Quake_movies_of_2011_part_1

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Cops: Man who killed 6 relatives wore Santa outfit

GRAPEVINE, Texas?? The man believed to have killed six relatives and then himself on Christmas Day was dressed as Santa Claus, police said Monday.

The shooter "showed up shortly before the incident took place" in the Santa outfit and was a member of the family opening gifts in the apartment in this Dallas suburb, said Grapevine police spokesman Sgt. Robert Eberling.

Late Sunday evening, police intently searched a sport utility vehicle parked outside the apartment. The vehicle is registered to a man who listed his residence as a home two miles away in the neighboring suburb of Colleyville.

Thomas Ehrlich, who lives near the home in Colleyville, told the AP he heard from neighbors that police went to the house Sunday. He said it was his understanding that the man and women who once lived there were estranged.

Records show the couple had financial problems and that their home, most recently valued on the county tax rolls at $336,200, had been sold in 2010 at a foreclosure auction.

Eberling said the identity of the man and the victims would be released after autopsies are conducted and relatives were notified.

The dead ? four women and three men ? were found late Sunday morning in an apartment living room in Grapevine by police answering a voiceless 911 call.

Two pistols were recovered from the home, said Eberling, who called it a "gruesome crime scene" and the worst outburst of gun violence in the town's history.

No one was found alive by police arriving at the home, he said.

A community of about 46,000 people some 20 miles northwest of downtown Dallas, Grapevine is known for its wine-tasting salons and was recently proclaimed by the state Senate as the "Christmas Capital of Texas" for its abundance of annual holiday-season events.

"This is obviously a terrible tragedy," said Mayor William Tate. "The fact that it happened on Christmas makes it even more tragic."

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The victims' ages were 15, 19, 22, 55, 56, 58 and 59, said Grapevine police Lt. Todd Dearing. The victims in their 50s were two couples.

Voiceless 911 call
Police dispatched at about 11:30 a.m. local time on Sunday found the bodies in the first-floor living room of a two-story unit in the Lincoln Vineyards apartments.

The 911 caller never spoke to police, and officers did not see the telephone when they arrived, officials said. Eberling said he believed police had to kick in the door to enter.

Many of the nearby apartments are vacant, and police said no neighbors reported hearing anything on a quiet Christmas morning when many people were not around.

Eberling said the victims appeared to have just opened Christmas presents when the shooting started, and there was no visible sign of forced entry or a struggle.

"By all appearances, they're all part of the same family," Eberling said. "It's a gruesome crime scene to say the least, with that many victims in that (small an) area suffering gunshot wounds."

The bodies remained in the apartment well past dark as investigators worked into the early hours of Monday morning processing the crime scene, police said.

Lincoln Vineyards is a middle-income complex near Colleyville Heritage High School, one of the area's most highly regarded schools.

Several neighbors said children frequently played in front of the apartment, and they regularly saw young adults leaving for work.

Vanessa Barerra said the killings were especially disturbing in light of Grapevine's reputation as a safe place to live.

"I did research and chose to live here because of the safety and the school district," she said. "I'm glad my kids weren't here. They're with their dad."

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45789623/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

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Back in campaign mode, presidential hopefuls focus

FILE - Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., signs an autograph during a campaign stop at at Tangleberries in Centerville, Iowa, in this Dec. 23, 2011 file photo. After a brief respite for Christmas, the Republicans in search of their party?s presidential nomination return to the campaign trail for a final push ahead of the Iowa caucuses. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

FILE - Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., signs an autograph during a campaign stop at at Tangleberries in Centerville, Iowa, in this Dec. 23, 2011 file photo. After a brief respite for Christmas, the Republicans in search of their party?s presidential nomination return to the campaign trail for a final push ahead of the Iowa caucuses. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) ? Republicans in search of their party's presidential nomination are returning to campaign mode after a brief Christmas respite, with Rick Santorum planning a hunting trip with conservatives in Iowa and Mitt Romney phoning supporters.

With just a week until Iowa holds its leadoff caucuses and many still undecided, the final push ahead of the Jan. 3 contests was heading into a critical time. Campaigns planned new television ads and phone calls to persuade holdout caucusgoers still weighing their options.

Romney, who kept this state at arm's length for most of the year, seemed to increase his efforts in Iowa as polls found him in a stronger position. He planned to talk with supporters in a series of telephone calls here and to New Hampshire and Florida on Monday between working on a speech that aides described as his final pitch to Iowans. Romney planned to deliver that speech Tuesday evening and then set out on a bus tour of Iowa.

However, he was to share the highways with Rep. Michele Bachmann, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. All scheduled bus tours to start then, too.

Each is running out of time and looking to derail Rep. Ron Paul, the Texas congressman who seems to have the most sophisticated network of volunteers ready to organize ahead of the caucuses. Paul was to return to Iowa this week to meet with supporters he has kept in touch with since his unsuccessful run in 2008.

Others, too, were ready to turn on their own political machines and had fresh ads ready to air.

Gingrich, who last week criticized the negative tone of the campaign, was ready to directly challenge Romney on the economy, an issue Romney has made central to his campaign. Gingrich's standing in public and private polls has slipped as he faced unrelenting criticism from the candidates and their allies.

Gingrich was expected to use clips from Romney's previous campaigns distancing himself from President Ronald Reagan and pitch Gingrich's economic plan as "Reaganomics 2.0." Gingrich also was expected to compare Romney's tax plan with his own.

Santorum, meanwhile, planned to announce support from another wave of Iowa conservatives. He scheduled a pheasant hunting trip in Adel for Monday afternoon. While he trails in polls and has not spent significant money on ads, Santorum is hoping his nonstop courtship of Iowans yields a late surge. He visited all 99 of Iowa's counties during the summer ? an accomplishment Bachmann has feverishly tried to replicate.

Bachmann, a congresswoman from Minnesota, last week darted through small towns, reminding voters that Santorum lost his 2006 re-election bid in a blowout and that Paul's foreign policy views were outside the party's orthodoxy. Looking to recapture voters' interest, her plan was to return to hand-to-hand campaigning on Tuesday.

Perry, too, was looking to keep up his message: his rivals are insiders unable to change Washington. He planned to return to his tour bus on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman kept his focus on New Hampshire. Early in the campaign, he said he would not compete in Iowa and instead make his start in New Hampshire, which comes second on the nominating calendar.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-12-26-GOP%20Campaign/id-91038ccbf4af4b6cabc89e1e7b89255d

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Wikibon ROI Study: Business Case for Unified Storage Consolidation for Microsoft Windows Installations

Posted:

Dec 21, 2011

Published:

Sep 1, 2011

Format:

PDF

Length:

11 Page(s)

Type:

Case Study

Language:

English

See all research from NetApp

• Wikibon ROI Study: Business Case for Unified Storage Consolidation for Microsoft Windows Installations

  Unified storage is infrastructure that supports multiple types of storage within a single management framework. In an ideal scenario, an admin can access a single set of tools and functions that are transparent to the type of storage used. Unified storage is particularly attractive in Microsoft Windows installations, due to large installation files and (often) the need for multiple types of storage.

  This white paper investigates the business justification for consolidating the storage required to support Microsoft Windows installations onto unified storage. Featuring extensive models and field data, combined with the results of in-depth interviews and surveys with organizations who have already?consolidated, this report explores everything from financial metrics to data center efficiency to determine the effectiveness of consolidation.

  Read on to learn more about the benefits of consolidation, what types of organizations should be considering consolidation/unified storage, and how to ensure the most bang for your buck after implementation.

Source: http://searchstorage.bitpipe.com/detail/RES/1324072614_48.html?asrc=RSS_BP_BLATSTORAGE

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Russian communications satellite falls after launch

MOSCOW?? A Russian communications satellite fell to the ground on Friday soon after it was launched, adding to a string of disasters that have haunted the country's space industry, Russian news agencies reported on Friday, quoting military sources.

The agencies said the Meridian satellite, which can have both military and civilian use, did not reach its orbit and fell to the ground near the city of Tobolsk in Siberia, about 2,300 km from Moscow.

1. More space news from msnbc.com

   1. Holiday goodies from deep space

      Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: Space scientists have dropped off some last-minute presents for Christmas: stunning pictures from deep space, many of which have a holiday theme.

   2. Astronaut captures 'amazing' view of comet
   3. Rare galaxy from 'dawn of time' photographed
   4. Holiday calendar: Circle of power

The sources blamed the accident on the carrier rocket's failure. A source in the space industry told Interfax news agency the Meridian failure could delay the launch of Progress cargo craft, due in January.

Several incidents have marred the celebration of the 50 years since Yuri Gagarin's pioneering flight to space. A cargo craft taking supplies to astronauts aboard the International Space Station broke up in the atmosphere in August.

Three Glonass navigation system satellites launched in December last year veered off course and crashed into the Pacific Ocean, costing Moscow around $160 million and setting back the program to develop a rival to U.S. GPS.

Russia is also likely to have lost the $165-million Phobos-Grunt probe, which is stuck in orbit and may drop to Earth after it failed to set a course toward Mars's moon last month.

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45776625/ns/technology_and_science-space/

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Harvesting energy from farming

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

Source: http://www.energyharvestingjournal.com/articles/harvesting-energy-from-farming-00004031.asp?rsstopicid=0

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livemint: #NHAI sees demand for tax-free debt http://t.co/GWK24whE

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#NHAI sees demand for tax-free debt livemint.com/2011/12/240045? Il y a environ 8 heures via web

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Variable dark energy could explain old galaxy clusters

Does dark energy change over time? An alternative model of the as yet undetected entity that is thought to be accelerating the universe's expansion could explain some puzzling observations of galaxy clusters. But it will have to jump many more hurdles to compete with the simplest and so far most successful model of the elusive entity.

That model, called the cosmological constant, holds that there is a certain amount of repulsive energy in every cubic centimetre of space, and that amount stays the same over time. As the universe expands, more space exists, and so the expansion accelerates.

Now Edoardo Carlesi of the Autonomous University in Madrid, Spain, and his colleagues have simulated a universe where the amount of repulsive energy per unit of volume changes with time.

They say the model can explain how several galaxy clusters grew to weigh as much as a quadrillion (10¹⁵) suns by the time the universe was just 6?billion years old. That's a puzzle because some researchers say 6?billion years would not have been enough time for gravity to amass such large structures.

Standard recipe

The puzzle arises if the standard "recipe" for the universe is used. The ingredients for that recipe are a large amount of dark energy, in the form of a cosmological constant, and a dollop of matter. Their ratio has been calculated by studying the cosmic microwave background, radiation that reveals the distribution of matter and energy in the early universe.

Looking at the cosmic microwave background data through the lens of a different dark energy model can produce different ratios of ingredients. The cosmological constant model allows for matter to make up 27 per cent of the universe's energy density, whereas the dark energy model studied by Carlesi's team provides a more generous helping: 39 per cent.

Massive clusters can form up to 10 times as often using this recipe, the researchers say. "You can explain current observations within a model that allows much more matter," says Carlesi. As a result, galaxies attract other galaxies through their gravitational pull, so massive clusters form faster.

First hurdle

The cluster problem may not even be a problem, though, says Dragan Huterer at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He says the jury is still out on whether the clusters challenge the leading cosmological model, because there is a lot of uncertainty about their mass, most of which is thought to be tied up in invisible dark matter.

The cosmological constant has so far been able to explain a wide range of observations, so turning to a relatively unproven model to account for a few galaxy clusters that may be heavier than expected "is like using a huge hammer to kill a tiny fly", he says.

Carlesi says this is just the first test of the model, and Cristian Armend?riz-Pic?n at Syracuse University in New York agrees. He says the model Carlesi is using should undergo further tests that the cosmological constant has already passed. For example, its effects should be consistent with the integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect, in which photons from the cosmic microwave background experience slight changes in wavelength as they feel the gravity of superclusters of galaxies they pass through.

Journal reference: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.19660.x

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GlobeMetro: Springfield man who burned church after Obama election gets nearly 14 years in prison - http://t.co/M1JrQpnT

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What's the best Christmas movie?

Live Poll

What's your favorite Christmas movie?

• 171461

  'A Christmas Story'

  24%

• 171462

  'National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'

  21%

• 171463

  'Die Hard'

  2%

• 171464

  'It's a Wonderful Life'

  16%

• 171465

  'Elf'

  5%

• 171466

  'Love Actually'

  5%

• 171467

  'How the Grinch Stole Christmas'

  3%

• 171468

  'A Charlie Brown Christmas'

  4%

• 171469

  'Nightmare Before Christmas'

  1%

• 171470

  'White Christmas'

  8%

• 171471

  'Miracle on 34th Street'

  5%

• 171472

  Other

  6%

VoteTotal Votes: 4509

MGM via Everett Collection

There aren't that many holidays that get a ton of their own movies. You're not going to see an "Arbor Day" comedy, and outside of the creepy "Leprechaun" horror series, there aren't a lot of St. Patrick's Day films either.

But Christmas movies are as abundant as snowflakes at the North Pole. From the old?classics ("It's a Wonderful Life") to the gut-busters ("National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation") to the delightful surprises ("The Nightmare Before Christmas"), there's truly something for everyone.

We've got a slideshow of great Christmas movies, and here are a few of our staff favorites. You're encouraged to share your favorite in the comments, and by voting in our poll.

'A Christmas Story'
The classic. The great Jean Shepherd not only wrote the story, he offers the narration as adult Ralphie. It's so quotable, so memorable, so much a part of our culture.?"I want an official Red Ryder, carbine action, two-hundred shot range model air rifle!" "?You'll shoot your eye out, kid!" "Only I didn't say 'Fudge.'" "It's a major award!" "A crummy commercial?" "Fra-gee-lay. That must be Italian." The tongue stuck to the pole, the leg lamp -- the movie is about none of that as much as it's about family. I'll take a 24-hour marathon of the Parker clan over any time spent with the Kardashians any day.??? -- Gael Fashingbauer Cooper

'National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'
"Christmas Vacation" is often overlooked due to all the attention given the original "Vacation," but it's just as much of a classic. Clark Griswold is every person who's ever longed to recreate a wonderful family Christmas with all the perfect trimmings, even if that dream was forever out of reach and it never really happened that way in the past, either. And the lines rival "Christmas Story" for humor. Some of my favorites involve doofus cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid). When he asks Clark if he's surprised to see him, Clark's classic response is: "Oh, Eddie... If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn't be more surprised than I am now."??? --G.F.C.

?

'Die Hard'
This one's for the less-traditional holiday movie watcher in all of us. But 1988's introduction of John McClane (Bruce Willis) and his oft-quoted catch phrase that begins "Yippie-ki-yay" is sure to warm the cockles of your heart. It kicks off at a holiday party, introducing the gloriously Scroogey Alan Rickman in one of his earliest American roles as the greedy Hans Gruber. Then there's the careful slaying of Gruber's gun-toting elves by McClane (who adds a little "ho ho ho" to a sign he tapes to a robber's body that also reads "Now I have a gun"), and the most creative use of holiday packing tape in all of cinema (who knew it could strap a piece to a sweaty, oily cop's bare back?) Ultimately, this is a film about family, about a guy who flies all the way across the country to be with his wife and children, and discovers he's going to have to jump off the top of a building with just a fire hose strapped to his waist to be able to hold them in his arms again. There's even snow, of a sort, in the form of negotiable bearer bonds twinkling in the night sky. Spike your egg nog and punch a reporter in the face: It's showtime!? -- Randee Dawn

?

What's your favorite Christmas movie? Tell us in the comments, and vote in our poll.

Related content:

Source: http://entertainment.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/20/9589577-whats-the-best-christmas-movie

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Romney begins making closing argument to voters (AP)

BEDFORD, N.H. ? Sharpening his message ahead of voting in Iowa and New Hampshire, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney argued Tuesday that President Barack Obama wants the government to redistribute wealth instead of creating equal opportunities for people to do well. Romney's allies, meanwhile, continued to aggressively criticize his chief rival for the GOP nomination.

Romney, a former businessman, will tell voters in an evening speech that his policies would turn the U.S. into an "opportunity society" while Obama's would create an "entitlement society" with more people dependent on government welfare.

"President Barack Obama has reversed John Kennedy's call for sacrifice. He would have Americans ask, `What can the country do for you?'" Romney was to say, according to excerpts of his remarks. "President Obama believes that government should create equal outcomes. In an entitlement society, everyone receives the same or similar rewards, regardless of education, effort and willingness to take risk."

Romney's message contrasts with the argument the Democratic president has begun to articulate for his re-election, in which he calls for a society that offers "fair play, a fair shot and a fair share." Obama argues that Republicans put the interests of the wealthy above the middle class.

"Giving more handouts to millionaires, billionaires and large corporations and making the middle class foot the bill are the same flawed policies that led to the economic crisis in the first place," Obama campaign manager Jim Messina told New Hampshire reporters Tuesday.

Romney planned to remain focused on his effort here in New Hampshire as his allies aggressively go after his chief rival, Newt Gingrich, on the Iowa airwaves.

Restore Our Future, a special political action committee, or "super PAC," that backs Romney on Tuesday launched a caustic new ad tying Gingrich to Freddie Mac, the quasi-government mortgage company, and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. The spot also hits Gingrich for ethics violations and criticizes his record on abortion.

Campaigning in Iowa, Gingrich lashed out and accused Romney of allowing a "negative smear campaign" fueled by a PAC. He called on Romney to demand that ads run on his behalf by such groups be positive. Gingrich said Romney's comments aimed at distancing himself from the anti-Gingrich PAC ads were misleading and false.

Romney had refused earlier Tuesday to disavow the group's ads, saying it would be illegal for him to coordinate with the PAC. He did say that such groups are a "disaster" and have made a "mockery" of the presidential campaign.

"Campaign finance law has made a mockery of our political campaign season," Romney said Tuesday on MSNBC. "We really ought to let campaigns raise the money they need and just get rid of these super PACs."

A 2010 Supreme Court decision paved the way for such groups to accept unlimited amounts of money from donors. The political campaigns are limited to accepting $2,500 per donor.

Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, was using Tuesday's speech to open four straight days of campaigning in New Hampshire, which holds the nation's first primary on Jan. 10. He must win the state if he hopes to become the Republican nominee.

Two weeks remain until voting begins Jan. 3 with the leadoff caucuses in Iowa, though Romney will campaign in New Hampshire through Christmas in a sign of the state's importance to his political strategy.

___

Associated Press writer Shannon McCaffrey in Ottumwa, Iowa, contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111220/ap_on_el_pr/us_romney

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Emington, Illinois Shooting: 5 Dead, Including 3 Children

EMINGTON, Ill. ? Five people, including a baby and two children, were found shot to death Friday at a home in a small eastern Illinois farming town, authorities said, and police said they were not searching for a gunman.

While not specifically saying the shooter was among the dead, Livingston County Sheriff Martin Meredith said the community was "safe from any harm" and authorities "are not looking for anyone in this crime."

County board member Bob Young, who lives in Emington, said the dead included a man, a woman, an infant, a first grader and a fourth grader. The family had moved to the town of about 100 people about 80 miles southwest of Chicago within the last six months and the two older children attend school in nearby Saunemin, Young said. The street where the family lived was closed by police, he said.

Meredith said first responders found the bodies after Livingston County dispatchers received a call Friday afternoon. Coroner Michael Burke will release the names of the victims once relatives are notified, the sheriff said.

Livingston County authorities and Illinois State Police crime scene technicians were still working the scene late Friday, Meredith said. He declined to release additional details about the shooting, saying more information would be released Saturday morning.

Ronald Groetsema lives near the home where the family was found and said he heard six to eight gunshots, then heard a second round of four to six shots a few minutes later. Groetsema's 12-year-old son got off the school bus with the children who died, he said.

"They were happy because it was the last day of school before Christmas break," Groetsema said.

Residents described Emington as a once strictly farming town that has gone through changes in the last 20 years as young families moved in. Young said the town has become more of a bedroom community from which people commute north to cities such as Joliet, about 45 miles away.

"We did have an awful disaster here," said Emington Mayor Daniel Delaney, who's been in office for 24 years. "You never would have thought it would happen in our town of 100 people or less. It's very sad. There were helicopters flying over earlier. Right now it's just very, very, very sad for us here."

Delaney said the town is not prosperous and has received help from the state. "It's always really had a hard time. Most of the people are retired or farmers who moved into town," he said.

Young said Emington has a post office that's been targeted for closure and just a handful of small businesses ? a grain elevator, a dog groomer and a small beauty salon. The town, he said, had never experienced anything like Friday's shootings.

"I've lived here all my life. I guess, 60, 70 years ago we had a bank robbery, was the other big thing, but otherwise, nothing like this," he said.

Young said he did not know the family well.

"We've seen the kids playing at the playground and talk to them," Young said. "We thought everything was fine."

___

Associated Press writers David Mercer in Champaign and Karen Hawkins and Caryn Rousseau in Chicago contributed to this report.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/16/emington-illinois-shootin_n_1155000.html

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No brakes on breast cancer cells

Friday, December 16, 2011

MicroRNAs or miRNAs are tiny RNA molecules that have only about 20 nucleotides and do not code for proteins. They regulate many important processes in cells by binding to target messenger RNAs ? the instructions for protein production ?, thus blocking production of the respective protein. In cancer, the production of some miRNAs is often reduced or amplified. This particularly affects miRNAs that regulate the activity of cancer-promoting genes.

A key molecule in the development of cancer is a transcription factor called NFkappaB, which is an important switch for many genes with inflammation-promoting effects. At DKFZ, Professor Dr. Stefan Wiemann and collaborators have now investigated whether microRNAs that affect NFkappaB production are deregulated in breast cancer. Jointly with colleagues at Heidelberg and Tuebingen University Hospitals, the DKFZ team studied over 800 miRNAs and discovered a family of RNA molecules known as miR-520, which particularly strongly reduce the production of NFkappaB. "If the cells produce less NFkappaB, the production of inflammation-promoting signaling molecules is reduced. This puts a brake on cancer growth, because these signaling molecules promote invasive capacity, formation of new vessels and metastasis," says Ioanna Keklikoglou, a doctoral student Wiemann's department, explaining this mechanism.

However, miR-520 does not only act like a cancer brake by suppressing NFkappaB. In addition, Wiemann's team discovered that this microRNA also blocks another cancer-promoting signaling pathway that is triggered by growth factor TGF-beta. TGF-beta signals cause malignant cells to be less firmly anchored in the tissue and, thus, better able to invade surrounding organs ? a characteristic feature of cancer cells.

Subsequently, the DKFZ researchers studied the question of whether the findings obtained in cancer cells in the culture dish are also involved in breast cancer. Studying tumor tissue samples of 76 patients, the team discovered that tumors which have already spread to the lymph nodes produce less miR-520 than those which have not yet spread. However, this connection was only found in tumors that do not produce receptors for the female sexual hormone, estrogen (ER-negative tumors).

"Our findings clearly demonstrate that miR-520 is a genuine cancer brake that suppresses the malignant behavior of tumor cells in two different ways at once," said Stefan Wiemann, commenting on the findings reported in his now published work. "This cancer brake appears to fail in many ER-negative breast tumors ? and also in cells of other types of cancer, as colleagues have now demonstrated." ER-negative breast cancer is particularly difficult to treat in many cases. Developing a microRNA therapy that blocks several cancer-promoting signaling pathways at once may therefore be an interesting option.

###

I Keklikoglou, C Koerner, C Schmidt, JD Zhang, D Heckmann, A Shavinskaya, H Allgayer, B G?ckel, T Fehm, A Schneeweiss, ? Sahin, S Wiemann and U Tschulena: MicroRNA-520/373 family functions as a tumor suppressor in estrogen receptor negative breast cancer by targeting NF-kappaB and TGF-b signaling pathways. Oncogene 2011, DOI: 10.1038/onc.2011.571

Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres: http://www.helmholtz.de/en/index.html

Thanks to Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres for this article.

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States unlikely to heed NTSB call for cell ban (AP)

ST. LOUIS ? Lawmakers in Missouri had the chance, after two buses packed with high school band members slammed into a freeway wreck caused by a teenager who was sending a flurry of text messages, to impose tougher limits on driver cellphone use. It got filibustered.

Federal transportation officials are citing that accident in pushing for states to enact an all-out ban on cellphone use by drivers, restricting the use even of hands-free devices. But spurring lawmakers to take up the cause may be difficult. Skeptical lawmakers give the proposal little chance at succeeding in state capitols around the country, and many aren't planning on introducing ban bills.

The reason? While acknowledging growing safety concerns, lawmakers are wary of inconveniencing commuters and say a complete ban would be one of the deepest government intrusions yet into the daily lives of motorists who have woven their phones tightly into their daily routines. Others are worried a ban would be unenforceable. And the cellphone legislation in most states already took years to get approved.

"It's a popular thing to pass another law," said Bill Stouffer, a Missouri Republican and chairman of the state's Senate Transportation Committee. "But anything that takes your eyes off the road is just as deadly as texting or talking on the cellphone. Where does it end? Why not ban map reading or eating while driving?"

The centerpiece of the NTSB's proposal was an August 2010 wreck southwest of St. Louis in which a pickup truck slammed into the back of a semi cab that had slowed for road construction, and the buses then crashed into the wreckage. The pickup driver, Daniel Schatz, 19, and a bus passenger, Jessica Brinker, 15, died. Thirty-eight people, mostly students, were hurt.

Investigators said Schatz had sent and received 11 texts in 11 minutes just before the accident.

The NTSB's recommendation far exceeds the patchwork, and largely unenforced, prohibitions many states now have. Thirty-five states and the District of Columbia ban texting while driving, while nine states and Washington, D.C., bar handheld cellphone use. Thirty states ban all cellphone use for beginning drivers. No state bans the use of hands-free devices for all drivers.

In Idaho ? which has historically resisted federal mandates and is one of seven states without any sort of regulation on the use of cellphones by drivers ? proposed bans have been rejected the last two legislative sessions after lawmakers questioned their enforceability and the need for new government dictates. South Dakota has a broader law discouraging "distracted driving" but lawmakers have steadily opposed specific bans on electronic devices.

"I was listening to all this heart-wrenching testimony against texting behind the wheel, and I got to thinking about all the calls I'd gone off to where someone was hurt in a car accident," said South Dakota Republican Rep. Betty Olson, an emergency medical technician from Prairie City. "In just about all of them, they were distracted, so what they were doing was already against the law," Olson said. "They wouldn't be paying any more attention to a law banning texting."

Driver inconvenience is also among the factors state lawmakers cite in their opposition. Others note that cellphones have benefits. In some parts of rural South Dakota, Olson said, a driver's cellphone can be "a life saver."

With enforcement of cellphone and texting laws already difficult, Stouffer said police will have an even harder time if hands-free devices are banned.

"How's an officer going to know if I'm singing my favorite song with the radio or talking on the phone?" he asked.

Even in Missouri, where the bus crash occurred, the lawmaker who tried to broaden the texting ban afterward believes a full-blown cellphone prohibition goes too far.

The state has barred drivers 21 and younger from texting while driving since 2009. Several lawmakers proposed legislation the next year to extend that to all drivers but failed, partly because of concerns over whether it could be enforced. After the bus accident, a similar attempt to broaden the ban was defeated by a filibuster. Democratic Sen. Ryan McKenna said he'll likely try again for the texting ban, but not for the overall ban.

In California, which bars drivers from talking on handheld phones but permits hands-free devices, state Sen. Joe Simitian doubts states would oblige the NTSB with an absolute ban.

"I think the NTSB recommendations are dramatic and I think they are helpful in highlighting the risks associated with distracted driving," Simitian said. "As a practical matter, an outright ban is a nonstarter" he said, noting it took five years to pass the state's existing law, and citing expected opposition to an all-out prohibition.

In recent years, phone features have multiplied and so have the distractions. For commuters, texts, pop-song ringtones, emails and even video calls are but a few of the potential distractions competing for their attention behind the wheel.

As phone features multiply, so have accidents blamed on texting and wireless calling. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said there were 3,092 fatalities blamed on distracted driving last year, 408 of which involved cellphone use. It was the first year the administration broke out cellphones as a separate cause of distraction.

The wireless industry initially fought state legislation against cellphone use while driving, but has in recent years mainly emphasized personal responsibility and driver education over legislation. After the NTSB's recommendation Tuesday, industry trade group CITA-The Wireless Association repeated its support for bans on texting while driving but added that larger prohibitions should be left to the states.

Even lawmakers who are willing to push for a complete ban concede that passage won't come easy.

Alaska is considering such a move, said Anne Teigen, senior policy specialist for the National Conference of State Legislatures. That ban has supporters among some police agencies. In Minnesota, which passed a texting ban three years ago, Democratic state Rep. Frank Hornstein said that based on the NTSB recommendation, he will introduce legislation aimed at banning cellphone use by drivers.

Hornstein and Alaska state Rep. Max Gruenberg, a Democrat from Anchorage, noted that battles over road safety laws ? such as tougher seat belt requirements or lower blood-alcohol content limits in drunk driving cases ? often take years to pass. Hornstein also acknowledged that some residents would oppose a cellphone ban, believing they can police themselves.

"A lot of people will say, `I can do this fine, I'm a good driver. It's other people,'" Hornstein said.

___

Associated Press writers Chris Blank in Jefferson City, Mo.; Bill Draper in Kansas City, Mo.; Peter Svensson in New York; Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska; Doug Glass in Minneapolis; Judy Lin in Sacramento, Calif.; Todd Dvorak in Boise, Idaho; and Amber Hunt in Sioux Falls, S.D., contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_on_re_us/us_cell_phone_drivers_states

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