Pew: More Than Half Of Adults Used Cell Phones In Stores For Purchasing Decisions During The Holidays

The Pew Research Center?s Internet & American Life Project is releasing a new study today that provides further evidence of the growing trend of consumers using mobile phones in stores for purchasing decisions. Pew says that more than half of adult cell phone owners used their cell phones while they were in a store to seek help with purchasing decisions this past holiday shopping season. According to the report, 38% of cell owners used their phone to call a friend while they were in a store for advice about a purchase they were considering making And 24% of cell owners used their phone to look up reviews of a product online while they were in a store, with 25% of adult cell owners using their phones to look up the price of a product o

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Top U.S. spies to face grilling on Taliban, Iran talks (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The possible release of detained Taliban leaders is likely to join Iran's nuclear ambitions at the top of a busy agenda when the top seven American intelligence chiefs testify before the Congress this week.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper -- as well as the heads of the CIA, FBI, Defense Intelligence Agency, National Counterterrorism Center and State and Homeland Security department intelligence units -- will be grilled on "worldwide threats" at a pair of open hearings.

The hearings -- before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday and its House of Representatives counterpart on Thursday -- are an annual ritual. But they offer a rare opportunity for legislators publicly to raise sensitive national security topics that are usually discussed only in secret briefings.

Lawmakers have expressed concern about the Obama administration's efforts to engage in peace talks with the Afghan Taliban, including consideration of the release of five Taliban leaders incarcerated at Guantanamo as a "confidence building" gesture, sources close to the committee said.

Senator Saxby Chambliss, Republican vice chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, told Reuters at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week that he and the panel's Democratic chairwoman, Senator Dianne Feinstein, had twice written to the Obama administration "raising strong objections" to the proposed move, which purportedly would involve the release of the Taliban prisoners into Afghan government custody.

Chambliss said he and Feinstein first wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. "We've gotten a response" from Clinton, he said, declining to discuss the classified contents of her letter.

But he hinted that Clinton's response did not mollify them, adding that he and Feinstein then wrote a second letter to President Barack Obama.

Chambliss said there was "every reason to believe" some of the five Taliban detainees were involved in the death of CIA officer Johnny Micheal Spann during an uprising by Taliban prisoners at a fortress outside the Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif in November 2001.

"I think it's bad policy. We don't negotiate with terrorists. We never have," Chambliss said, calling the detainees "five of the meanest, nastiest killers in the world."

Two detainees slated for possible release, former senior Taliban army commanders Mohammed Fazl and Noorullah Noori, were held at the historic Qala-i-Jangi fortress outside Mazar-i-Sharif when the prison revolt erupted in 2001.

But a senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, insisted earlier this month that he knew of no evidence that they were involved in the death of Spann, who was surrounded and killed by rioting prisoners.

CONGRESS NOT NOTIFIED

Chambliss said Obama had not yet notified Congress of the administration's plan to transfer the prisoners from Guantanamo, a step which is required by a law which the president signed on December 31.

"It's the president's call. There's an ongoing conversation about it, let me say that," said Chambliss. To date, all discussions the Administration has had with Congress on the prisoner transfer issue have taken place behind closed doors.

Iran's nuclear progress and threats to Persian Gulf shipping and U.S. interests are almost certain to be key topics of discussion, with U.S. intelligence officials expected to offer a less alarming take on Iranian activity than those voiced by some conservative and Israeli analysts.

U.S. officials have told Reuters they believe that Iran's leaders have not yet made a decision to build nuclear weapons, an assessment which the U.S. intelligence community has held since it published extracts of a controversial National Intelligence Estimate on the issue in 2007.

U.S. officials say the reason Iranian leaders have not made a decision to build a bomb is because they are still weighing the costs and benefits of doing so.

But while a lot of what Iran is doing in its nuclear program has civilian applications, U.S. officials also believe that Tehran is keeping its options open regarding the building of a bomb -- adding to the air of ambiguity surrounding Iran's intentions and dealings with the U.S. and the outside world.

Other subjects which officials said might come up during this week's hearings are the stability of North Korea's regime and the future of its nuclear program after the death last month of Kim Jong-il and his replacement by his son Kim Jong-un; the recent discovery by authorities in Thailand of possible stockpiling of bomb-making materials by an individual with alleged links to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah; and drug-related violence and instability in Mexico.

The activities of homegrown U.S. militants could also be raised at the hearings. The FBI and other domestic law enforcement agencies have been particularly concerned about "lone wolf" militants who become radicalized via the internet and plot violence without catching the attention of authorities.

"We have to constantly be vigilant against a range of threats. Terrorism didn't begin with (Osama) bin Laden, it's not over with his death. There are other al Qaeda, al Qaeda-related groups, and we have the growth of homegrown extremists," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said on Monday.

Last week in Baltimore, a man pleaded guilty to attempting to bomb a military recruiting center. Investigators said he had no connection to international militants but had been trying unsuccessfully to recruit others to join his plot until he was trapped by authorities in a "sting" operation.

Earlier in January, a home-grown militant in Tampa was arrested in connection with a plot to car-bomb nightclubs and then attack crowds of onlookers with guns or a suicide vest.

(Reporting By Mark Hosenball and Warren Strobel; additional reporting by Tabassum Zakaria)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120130/ts_nm/us_usa_congress_threats

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Private investors near deal on Greek debt

ATHENS, Greece?? Greece and investors who have bought its bonds have reached a tentative deal to significantly reduce the country's debt and pave the way for it to receive a much-needed euro130 billion ($170 billion) bailout.

Negotiators for the investors announced the tentative agreement Saturday and said it could become final next week.

Under the agreement, the euro206 billion worth of Greek bonds that investors own would be exchanged for new bonds worth 60 percent less. That will help Greece remain solvent and avoid a potentially devastating blow to Europe's already weakened financial system.

Private investors would receive new bonds whose face value is half of the existing bonds. The new bonds would have a longer maturity and pay an average interest rate of slightly less than 4 percent. The existing bonds pay an average interest rate of 5 percent, according to the think tank Re-Define.

The deal would reduce Greece's annual interest expense on the bonds from about $10 billion to about $4 billion. And when the bonds mature, instead of paying bondholders euro206 billion, Greece will have to pay only euro103 billion.

Without the deal, which would reduce Greece's debt load by at least euro120 billion, the bonds held by banks, insurance companies and hedge funds would likely become worthless. Many of these investors also hold debt from other countries that use the euro, which could also lose value in the event of a Greek default.

The agreement taking shape is a key step before Greece can get a second, euro130 billion bailout from its European Union partners and the International Monetary Fund. Besides restructuring its debt with private investors, Greece must also take other steps before getting aid. It must cut its deficit and boost the competitiveness of its economy through layoffs of government employees and the sale of several state companies, among other moves.

This would be Greece's second bailout. The EU and the IMF signed off on a euro110 billion aid package for Greece in May 2010, most of which has already been disbursed.

Greece faces a euro14.5 billion bond repayment on March 20, which it cannot afford without additional help.

Private investors hold roughly two-thirds of Greece's debt, which has reached an unsustainable level ? nearly 160 percent of the country's annual economic output. By restructuring the debt held by private investors, Greece and its EU partners are hoping to bring that ratio closer to 120 percent by the end of this decade. Without a deal, analysts forecast that ratio ballooning to 200 percent by the end of this year as the Greek economy falters.

In return for the first bailout, Greece's public creditors ? the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and the European Central Bank ? have unprecedented powers over Greek spending. However, Greece's problems will not be fixed simply by cutting government spending. In order to bring its debts to a more manageable level, the country must also find ways to boost economic output, which would enable it to collect more taxes.

If no debt-exchange deal is reached with private creditors and Greece is forced to default, it would very likely spook Europe's ? and possibly the world's ? financial markets. It could even lead Greece to withdraw from the euro.

Sarah Ketterer, co-manager of Causeway International Value Fund, a $1.4 billion mutual fund that invests in European stocks, said the region's markets have rebounded this month largely on expectations that negotiators would reach a deal along the lines of the one being finalized now.

Any last-minute breakdown in the talks could trigger a sharp decline in European markets, she said. But a rally is unlikely if negotiations succeed.

"The equity markets have ... largely already discounted this, and you can see that in the confidence that has returned in European equities since the end of December, and especially for financial stocks," Ketterer said.

She said there "really was no other option" than reaching a deal for bondholders to take a haircut of 50 percent or more.

Ketterer said a Greek deal could help restore bond market confidence. That would help Italy manage its own debt crisis ? one that Ketterer views as more critical than Greece's because of Italy's greater size.

The investors who own Greek bonds are being represented by Charles Dallara, managing director of the Washington-based Institute of International Finance, and Jean Lemierre, senior adviser to the chairman of the French bank BNP Paribas.

___

Elena Becatoros in Athens and Gabriele Steinhauser in Brussels contributed.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46175493/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/

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AnonOps Communications: Turning the internet back on in Egypt ...

"you want to shut down the internet?

Fine, the people of the internet will show you how to turn it back on."

Don't know if that's true or not but :

"you want to censor the internet?

Fine, the people of the internet will show you how to uncensor it".

Amiright? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16367042?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Source: http://anonops.blogspot.com/2012/01/turning-internet-back-on-in-egypt-we.html

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Iraq War veteran accused of posing as Ore. officer

In a Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012 photo, Eugene police officers Judd Warden, right, and Dennis Doe inventory items resembling police gear that were confiscated from an apartment in Eugene. Danial Scott Alloway, 39, an Oregon National Guard reservist, was arrested on a charge of masquerading a police officer. Police anticipate more charges against Alloway, who allegedly posed as a Eugene police officer for at least a year, making traffic stops and volunteering at a youth center. (AP Photo/The Register-Guard, Brian Davies)

In a Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012 photo, Eugene police officers Judd Warden, right, and Dennis Doe inventory items resembling police gear that were confiscated from an apartment in Eugene. Danial Scott Alloway, 39, an Oregon National Guard reservist, was arrested on a charge of masquerading a police officer. Police anticipate more charges against Alloway, who allegedly posed as a Eugene police officer for at least a year, making traffic stops and volunteering at a youth center. (AP Photo/The Register-Guard, Brian Davies)

Police officers confiscated a cache of police gear, including official-looking badges, from the apartment of Daniel Alloway on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. Alloway, an Oregon National Guard reservist who served multiple tours in Iraq, was arrested on a charge of masquerading as a police officer. Police anticipate more charges against Alloway, who allegedly posed as a Eugene police officer for at least a year, making traffic stops and volunteering at a youth center. (AP Photo/The Register-Guard, Brian Davies)

Daniel Scott Alloway, 39, shown in a undated Lane County Jail booking photo, is an Oregon National Guard reservist. He was arrested Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012 in Eugene on a charge of masquerading as a police officer. (AP Photo/Lane /county Jail via The Register-Guard)

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) ? Eugene Police Officer Dan Baker drove a blue SUV and set off sirens to clear cars in front of him at traffic lights. He pulled over motorists ? though it's unclear if he ever gave out tickets. And when he stopped by a youth shelter as a volunteer, he came in full uniform.

There's just one problem: There has never been an Officer Dan Baker in the Eugene Police Department.

Police in Oregon's second-largest city say the man with the badge was Daniel S. Alloway, and investigators are now trying to piece together at least a year of his alleged exploits while posing under the guise of an officer of the law.

"In one respect, I think he considers himself a public servant," said Eugene police Sgt. Scott McKee. "There's admissions by him, in his own mind, that he was doing a service."

McKee said Alloway acknowledged the impersonations under questioning Thursday night. He was arraigned Friday on one count of criminal impersonation, and police said they expect to file at least two dozen more charges.

Alloway was assigned a public defender and didn't enter a plea Friday. The Public Defender Services of Lane County did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Authorities fear the victims of Alloway's alleged transgressions could go beyond the department's reputation. McKee said Alloway's uniform, badge, handcuffs and radio could have easily convinced anyone, including the 15- to 20-year-old boys at the youth shelter, that he had the power to arrest and charge them.

"People get automatic credential with the public," McKee said. "Somebody could use that to isolate a person, a 16-year-old, and that is dangerous."

Alloway, 39, was no stranger to being an authority figure. He is an active-duty member of the Oregon Army National Guard's Alpha Company, 2-162 Infantry Battalion, headquartered in Cottage Grove, Ore.

He was deployed three times to Iraq, in 2004, 2007 and 2009, serving a year tour each time. An Oregon Military Department spokesman said Alloway received service awards for each tour.

He also works a day job as a security guard. That job may have given him access to authentic-looking badges and a utility belt that included a Taser, handgun, pepper spray, radio and handcuffs, said Eugene police spokeswoman Melinda McLaughlin.

Police said they started receiving information from people in the community that something about "Officer Baker" wasn't right. That led to Alloway's arrest Thursday afternoon, which was not without drama.

No one answered the door when local police and Federal Protective Service officers arrived at Alloway's Eugene apartment. They later said they heard a gun being loaded from behind a locked door, but when they broke out a window, Alloway was missing.

He was on a county bus and out of cellphone range but returned calls from the police and was arrested a short while later in downtown Eugene.

Inside the apartment, McKee said police found several shoulder patches from various law enforcement agencies, framed like artwork.

One complication to the investigation was pure happenstance. Baker is a common name for Willamette Valley police officers: One family featured two Eugene police officers and one longtime Springfield officer.

___

Nigel Duara can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/nigelduara .

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-27-Fake%20Cop/id-432eefc53ac0471097030d547109ce5b

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Pilot Season: CBS Picks Up Three Drama Pilots, Including One from The L Word Creator (omg!)

CBS has green-lit three new drama pilots, including one from The L Word's Ilene Chaiken.

Chaiken's Quean follows an edgy and independent Millennial hacker girl who teams up with an Oakland police detective to solve crimes. (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in America?) Joel Silver will serve as executive producer alongside Chaiken.

Pilot Season: CBS picks up a Super Fun comedy, and a detective drama

The untitled Ralph Lamb project is a period piece set in the '60s that tells the true story of Lamb, a rodeo cowboy turned longtime sheriff of Las Vegas. Nicholas Pileggi and Greg Walker will write and executive-produce alongside James Mangold, Cathy Konrad and Arthur Sarkissian.

Based on Ayelet Waldman's Mommy Track Mysteries book series, Applebaum centers on a former public defender who becomes a private investigator to keep from being bored to death as a stay-at-home mom. Waldman will write and executive-produce alongside Jennifer Levin and Sherri Cooper. Chris Columbus is also attached as the pilot's director and will also executive-produce.

Pilot Season: CBS orders Jerry Bruckheimer drama Trooper

CBS previously picked up the pilots Elementary, a modern take on Sherlock Holmes, a project from Jerry Bruckheimer, the legal drama Baby Big Shot, a half-hour comedy from Bridesmaids' Rebel Wilson, Widow Detective from CSI's Carol Mendelsohn, and an untitled Nick Stoller comedy.?

Related Articles on TVGuide.com

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Robert Reich: Why No Responsible Democrat Should Want Newt Gingrich to Get the GOP Nomination (Huffington post)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

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Charlie Sheen: Ashton "Deserves Better" Than 'Two & A Half Men'

The uneasy truce between Charlie Sheen and Two and a Half Men appears to be over. For the past few months, Sheen has been gracious and supportive of the show's new direction with replacement star Ashton Kutcher. But now that he's got a new sitcom in production, Sheen is once again saying that the top-rated CBS comedy is no good without him.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/charlie-sheen-ashton-kutcher-deserves-better-two-half-men/1-a-422478?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Acharlie-sheen-ashton-kutcher-deserves-better-two-half-men-422478

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Take Better Notes, Draw Your Thoughts, and Rock Out With Your Finger [App Deals Of The Day]

Someone told me about a study that determined that doodling enhanced your comprehension of what's going on around you. I think it's bunk, but what do I know? If you're the type of person who sketches rather than writes, we have a free app for you. We also tracked down a written-note taking app and a way to relive your rock-arena dreams in today's app deals. More »

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AT&T posts 4Q loss on charges; revenue increases (AP)

NEW YORK ? AT&T Inc. is still the home of the iPhone. It activated 7.6 million of them in the latest quarter, accounting for one out of every five iPhones sold globally.

And AT&T remains heavily dependent on the iPhone to gain and keep customers, despite a vow by CEO Randall Stephenson a year ago to "very aggressively" market competing smartphones in 2011. That vow came in the wake AT&T's loss of an exclusive right to sell the iPhone in the U.S.

The iPhone accounted for about 80 percent of the smartphones AT&T activated in the fourth quarter of 2011, up from 70 percent just before Stephenson made his vow.

The figures are somewhat skewed because the fourth quarter of 2011 saw the launch of a new iPhone model, the iPhone 4S, whereas the fourth quarter of 2010 didn't. Looking at annual sales instead, there's a decline in the iPhone's percentage of AT&T smartphones ? to 69 percent last year, from 79 percent in 2010.

The Dallas-based company has also retained its position as the premier U.S. iPhone carrier, beating Verizon Wireless' 4.3 million iPhone activations handily.

AT&T's iPhone dependency comes at a heavy cost. The phone is more expensive than many other smartphones, and AT&T needs to subsidize each iPhone with hundreds of dollars to put it in customers' hands for as little as $1.

That, together with massive charges for adjustments in the value of the company's pension plans, the breakup of a deal to buy T-Mobile USA and a writedown of the value of its phone-directory business, forced AT&T to report a massive loss on Thursday of $6.68 billion, or $1.12 per share, for the fourth quarter.

It was the first quarterly loss for AT&T in three years. An adjustment of pension-plan obligations was also the main culprit behind the previous loss, in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Excluding charges, net income was 42 cents per share in the latest quarter, a penny shy of Wall Street expectations, according to a survey by FactSet.

The loss compares with net income of $1.09 billion, or 18 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Revenue rose 3.6 percent to $32.5 billion, helped by the smartphone sales. Analysts were expecting revenue of $31.99 billion, on average.

AT&T also said it expects earnings per share to grow by a mid-single-digit percentage in 2012, a bit lower than analysts had expected.

In morning trading Thursday, shares of AT&T Inc. fell 63 cents, or 2 percent, to $29.59.

In a welcome move for investors, AT&T is shifting the cash it had hoped to buy T-Mobile with into stock buybacks, saying it will buy back 300 million shares, worth about $9 billion at current prices, into a program that will start immediately.

Most of the iPhone activations were upgrades for people who were already AT&T subscribers. The carrier gained a net 717,000 subscribers on contract plans in the quarter. That was the best result all year, but didn't match Verizon's 1.2 million. AT&T has been lagging Verizon in this important measure for more than a year.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_hi_te/us_earns_at_t

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U.N. envoys slam Russia for selling weapons to Syria (Reuters)

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) ? Britain, France and the United States sharply criticized Russia on Tuesday for supplying weapons to Syria, where government forces have killed thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators over the last 10 months.

"We are concerned about the supply of weapons into Syria, whether sales to the government or illegal smuggling to the regime or opposition," Britain's U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant told the Security Council during a debate on the Middle East.

Without mentioning Russia by name, Lyall Grant cited a media interview in which a Russian official said his country's arms deliveries to Damascus had no effect on the situation there.

"We fundamentally disagree," he told the 15-nation council. "It is glaringly obvious that transferring weapons into a volatile and violent situation is irresponsible and will only fuel the bloodshed."

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has used troops and tanks to try to crush a popular revolt that began last March, killing over 5,000 people, according to U.N. figures.

Syria bought $700 million worth of Russian weapons, or 7 percent of Russia's $10 billion in arms deliveries abroad in jet trainers for over half a billion dollars in 2010, according to the Russian defense think-tank CAST.

An unnamed Russian military source was quoted as saying in December that the country had delivered anti-ship Yakhont missiles to Syria, and a Russian newspaper reported on Monday that it also has signed a deal to sell Syria nearly 40 fighter

French Ambassador Gerard Araud echoed Lyall Grant's words, saying that it was "unacceptable that certain countries, including on this council, continue to provide the means of violence against the Syrian population."

The United States and their European allies have called for a U.N. arms embargo and other sanctions against Syria, but Russia vehemently opposes U.N. Security Council action.

U.S. URGES MORATORIUM ON ARMS SALES

Moscow is one of Assad's few remaining allies. It joined China in an October veto of a European-drafted U.N. Security Council resolution that would have condemned Damascus and threatened it with possible sanctions.

The United States said it had raised concerns about a Russian arms shipment to Syria, but Moscow has said it needs no justification for its defense trade with Syria without an internationally binding arms embargo in place.

U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said it was time for all countries to declare a moratorium on arms sales to Damascus.

"We call on supplier countries to voluntarily halt arms transfers to the regime," she said. "And, we encourage all nations to join the widening effort to stop the flow of weapons to the Assad regime."

Rice, Lyall Grant, Araud and German Ambassador Peter Wittig met on Monday with a group of Arab envoys, including the ambassadors of Qatar and Security Council member Morocco, to discuss the Arab League's call for Assad to transfer power to his deputy to form a unity government and prepare for elections.

Recently the Russians circulated their own draft resolution on Syria to fellow council members, though U.S. and European envoys say it is too weak and only touches on parts of an earlier Arab League plan for Syria. They also say the Russian delegation has failed to incorporate their proposed revisions.

Western diplomats told Reuters privately that they would want a new resolution that would replace the Russian draft and endorse the Arab League plan for Syria. Several diplomats said France and Britain were working with Qatar and other Arab delegations on a new draft supporting the Arab League plan.

"In terms of the Russian resolution, the time for that has now passed," a Western diplomat said. "We are working with the Arabs and we expect that group to come forward."

"The Arabs have said that they want a resolution that has consensus agreement, and of course we'll work for that," he added. "We always work for consensus in the council, but sometimes that's not possible, as with our Syria resolution (that was vetoed by Russia and China)."

(Editing by Philip Barbara and Cynthia Osterman)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/un/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120124/wl_nm/us_syria_un

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TCTV Debate: What SOPA & PIPA 2.0 Should Look Like

On Friday The House withdrew the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) from being put to a vote and the Senate postponed voting on its version of the bill, the Protect IP Act (PIPA). As the debate continues over the best way to shield copyrighted material from being pirated, we invited David Sohn, General Counsel for the Center for Democracy and Technology and?Viacom's General Counsel, Michael Fricklas to discuss language that should be included in any future SOPA/PIPA legislation.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/YLt25jIPZnk/

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Japan?s NICT Creates Quantum Dots To Boost Optic Fiber Bandwidth By 7-10 Times, Shoot High-Res Pictures Of Molecules (Video)

A team of researchers at the Photonic Network Research Institute of Japan's National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) has developed a new light source technology that might pave the way to some pretty spectacular applications in the future. The core piece of the technology are "high-quality" quantum dots, tiny nano particles, that boast higher stability and optical frequency than those created the conventional way.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/pk4xiRkQAMw/

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Brutus 2.0 electric bike appears with moody paint job, helmet and goggles not included

Electric bikes just got a cool new poster boy. This deceptively battery-powered bike is a sequel, matching the five-speed transmission found on the original, but now gifted with a shadowy new look and some appealing chrome licks. The Brutus 2.0 also plumps for a lithium battery over the lead battery of earlier models. A chain setup replaces the belt of its predecessor, which presumably helps it power through 0-60 in just under five seconds. Top speeds remain as dark and mysterious as the bike's paint job, but the maker promises that the 500 pound beast will easily blast past the 100 mph mark, with a range of over 100 miles per charge. The electric bike is still being worked on, but until we hear more on a retail-ready model, you can gawp at the moody non-moped in action right after the break.

Continue reading Brutus 2.0 electric bike appears with moody paint job, helmet and goggles not included

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Florida Primary 2012: Live Updates From The Sunshine State

Newt Gingrich upped his attacks on Mitt Romney's authenticity Sunday morning on CBS' "Face the Nation."

"You end up with a guy who is a very good salesman, who very much wants to sell, but has a very weak product," Gingrich said. "I think he's been dancing on eggs, trying ... to find a version of Romney that would work."

Read more here.

-- Luke Johnson

Following a third-place finish in South Carolina, Rick Santorum denied that he felt any pressure to leave the race to allow GOP voters to coalesce around Newt Gingrich.

"Absolutely no pressure at all," he said on CNN. "I think people realize that Mitt Romney is now no longer the inevitable."

Read more here.

-- Luke Johnson

Here is one indication as to how Saturday night's win by Newt Gingrich in South Carolina has changed the calculus for the Romney campaign.

Romney stated during CNN's debate on Thursday night:

This is not the time to be doubting people's words, or questioning their integrity.

Mike Allen of Politico's Playbook quoted a "top Romney source" on Sunday morning:

We are moving to insider vs. outsider. To pol/lobbyist vs. businessman. And character is going to be an issue, not a subtext.

The Romney campaign never actually thought that matters of integrity or character were off-limits -- certainly not as they pertained to Gingrich. But it also wasn't jumping to advertise that they would be part of its strategy prior to this past week's developments.

Following a third-place finish in South Carolina, Rick Santorum attacked Newt Gingrich on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday. He called Gingrich a "high-risk candidate," citing his past positions on immigration, global warming and health care.

He also seemed to marginalize Ron Paul -- who finished fourth last night -- as a candidate, saying twice that there were "three serious candidates" left and that it was a "three-person race."

-- Luke Johnson

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will release his tax returns for 2010 and an estimate for 2011 on Tuesday. Rival contender Newt Gingrich called the news "a very good thing" and said, "I commend him for it."

HuffPost's Sam Stein reports:

Florida is a complicated state for any one candidate to traverse. And in the wake of Saturday night's results, it appeared each was going to try his hand.

There is the traditionally southern political culture up north and the more northern-like political culture down south. There are cities and suburbs, the business communities, the computer technology community, and the space industry communities. There are numerous media markets and the influential I-4 corridor. And while it will be a closed primary, meaning only registered Republicans can vote in it, there is a wide swath of minorities who will be involved.

Whereas in South Carolina, the Jewish vote accounted for zero percent of Republican primary voters, according to exit poll data, that number will be considerably higher in Florida. And while the issue of immigration was cited by just three percent of South Carolinians as the one they viewed as most important, Floridians will view the matter differently. The Florida primary will be the first to take place in a state with a significant percentage of Hispanic voters.

The vote will occur a week from Tuesday, but the fireworks should start immediately. On Monday night all four candidates are confirmed to appear at a debate sponsored by NBC, National Journal and the Tampa Bay Times.

Click here to read more.

HuffPost's Jon Ward reports:

Newt Gingrich, whose candidacy was left for dead in June and then again earlier this month, scored a stunning victory over Mitt Romney here that has reshaped the Republican presidential primary and called into question Romney's ability to win the nomination.

As soon as the polls closed in South Carolina at 7 p.m., the major TV networks called the race for Gingrich. With 100 percent of the vote counted, Gingrich was at 40.4 percent to Romney's 27.9 percent, with former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) at 17 percent and Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) at 13 percent, the Associated Press reported.

"Thank you South Carolina! Help me deliver the knockout punch in Florida," Gingrich tweeted soon after the race was called, directing people to where they could give money to his campaign.

Later Gingrich used his 23-minute victory speech to build on the themes that drove his popularity through the roof in this Southern state: deep resentment among conservatives of the influence of liberals in the press and other cultural institutions.

"The American people feel that they have elites who have been trying for a half century to force us to quit being American," Gingrich said.

Click here to read more.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/22/florida-primary-2012-live_n_1221650.html

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BlackBerry Burst: RIM's Co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie Step Down [BlackBerry]

RIM's co-CEOs, Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie—aka the keyboard-loving odd couple—are finally realizing they're running BlackBerry into the ground and jumping ship before it's too late. That is, Lazaridis and Balsillie are stepping down at RIM. Done. Gone. Bye bye. The new CEO of RIM will be former COO Thorsten Heins. He has quite the job ahead of him, to say the least. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/F7EaRO3lRJc/rims-ceos-finally-step-down

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Nearly Half Call it Time for a Third Party; The Question: Whether They'd Support it (ABC News)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/188882672?client_source=feed&format=rss

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'Idol's' ratings plunge: Beginning of the end?

At first glance, the numbers look bad: "American Idol's" season premiere was down nearly 5 million viewers from last year's, the biggest season-to-season drop in franchise history.

At second glance, the numbers don't look bad at all: "AI" was Wednesday's dominant show, averaging 21.6 million, per estimates, and scoring a still-huge, if diminished, 7.4 demo rating among 18-to-49-year-olds.

RELATED: So, which singing show makes the most stars?

So, which is it? Is "Idol" over ? or not?

1. More Entertainment stories
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   2. Exclusive: 'Hoarding' threatens to end a marriage
   3. Who knew?! President Obama can sing
   4. Singer Etta James dies at 73
   5. Planking! 'Family Matters'! 'Idol' auditions get odd

Let's examine both sides of the argument, starting with ...

'Idol's' back with same winning formula

IT'S OVER
1. "America's Got Talent," "The Voice" and "The X Factor" Have Sapped Its Power: Or tapped out its audience. How many vocal runs can an ear stand? How many talent competitions can a viewer sit down for? "Idol's" success hasn't began imitation, it's begat a lot of imitation, and fatigue is setting in.

2. Nothing Lasts Forever: It happened to "The Cosby Show." It happened to "CSI." It would've happened to "Seinfeld," too, if "Seinfeld" had tried to push its luck into a second decade. No long-running show is No. 1 forever. Numbers-wise, "Idol" has been doing the slow fade since, no lie, Sanjaya Malakar was voted off midway through season six, back in 2007.

Report: Lythgoe vows to pay Seacrest's salary

IT'S NOT OVER
1. It's Not Where You Start, It's Where You Finish: Last year, "Idol" posted its smallest-ever debut (not including season one), and suffered, at the time, its biggest-ever season-to-season drop. But by the time Scotty McCreery was being doused with confetti, the franchise was enjoying its biggest finale in years.

2. It's Not Bragging When It's True: As "Idol's" powers-that-be told TV critics this month, its show is the one show that regularly produces stars who regularly sell music. That's the real X factor, and "AI" has it.

Early 'Idol' favorite has lengthy arrest record

3. It's Not Over 'Til It's Over: Until another show actually beats "American Idol," it's still No. 1. And make no mistake: "Idol" was No. 1 last night. Unless tonight's episode tops it, it'll probably be the week's No. 1 (non-football) show. The bottom line: It's not over; it's No. 1.

PHOTOS: After American Idol--Where Are They Now?

? 2012 E! Entertainment Television, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/46060360/ns/today-entertainment/

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Strategic Communications Manager, CNT Energy

When you apply for this position, please say you saw this job on Green Dream Jobs!!

CNT Energy is a nonprofit corporation whose mission is to provide economic and environmental benefits to households, building owners and communities through energy efficiency and conservation. CNT Energy is experiencing rapid growth in?3 main areas:

1. Residential Real-Time Electricity Pricing and Smart Grid Development,
2. Energy Efficiency in Residential and Commercial Buildings, and
3. Community Energy Planning and Energy Information Center.

CNT Energy is an affiliate of the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT), a 31-year old nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the development and perpetuation of vibrant urban communities that are both environmentally and economically sustainable, both in the Chicago region and throughout the United States. CNT Energy's current program and service delivery offerings include:

Dynamic Pricing and Smart Grid Development:

CNT Energy currently supports real-time electricity pricing programs for?2 Illinois utilities - Ameren's Power Smart Pricing and ComEd's Residential Real-Time Pricing program. CNT Energy provides advice, informational tools and services to help residential customers manage their electricity costs and save energy. Partnering with both utilities and leveraging the available tools, customers can see significant saving in their yearly utility usage and bills.

CNT Energy is also providing customer support and education for ComEd's Advanced Metering Infrastructure roll-out to 130,000 homes. CNT Energy also consults with other utilities on how to make real-time pricing an option for their customers and how to integrate pricing programs with smart grid development.

Energy Efficiency in Residential and Commercial Buildings:

• Multifamily energy efficiency program: CNT Energy is working with the owners of multi-family rental buildings in the Chicago metro region to reduce energy costs and maintain moderate rents by providing technical and financial assistance in a one-stop energy efficiency shop.
• Green building research and evaluation: CNT Energy is working with the Chicago Public Building Commission and USGBC to evaluate the performance of green buildings. CNT's LEED-Platinum building is being used as a model and demonstration project to help others learn more about how to build the next generation of energy-efficient, cost-effective buildings.

Regional Energy Planning:

• Climate change analysis: CNT Energy is part of a team assessing the carbon dioxide emissions of Chicago and the region, and developing strategies to reduce emissions.
• Regional energy planning: Building off the Kane County Energy Plan, CNT Energy advocates the critical importance of planning for the changing energy environment and infrastructure needs in growing communities. CNT Energy is working with municipalities across northern Illinois to assist communities with Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy development and implementation.

Green and Healthy Housing:

Green and Healthy Housing is a new initiative at CNT Energy. There is recognition among practitioners and local government that programs such as energy efficiency, lead abatement, pest management and other green and healthy homes efforts should be coordinated. However, joint delivery is currently the exception, rather than the norm. CNT Energy is working with other partners toward comprehensive implementation of Green and Healthy Housing Initiatives.

Position Overview:

The strategic communications manager positions CNT Energy, both nationally and locally, as a leading source of strategies, tools, and policies to promote energy efficiency. The manager also helps CNT Energy shape key messages and position the organization with target audiences. The manager will work with the Executive Director and the Senior Management Staff to improve presentations, and strategic messages delivered by CNT Energy staff.

The manager supervises the communications and outreach staff that support CNT Energy's program areas. The manager works with program managers in developing and achieving their communications objectives including enrollment and customer satisfaction. The manager's role is to raise the visibility of CNT Energy as a thought leader and effective practitioner in its program areas.

Accountability:

The Strategic Communications Manager reports directly to the Executive Director of CNT Energy. The Strategic Communications Manager will be a member of the Senior Management Team of CNT Energy.

Responsibilities:

• Develop strategic communications plan for the organization
• Oversee branding and communications for the organization
• Work with Board and staff to frame CNTe's core messages and ensure their broad understanding and adoption.
• Monitor and evaluate news, trends and events, with an eye toward opportunities to communicate CNTe's work.
• Assist program managers in developing communications goals and work plan
• Supervise communications and outreach staff and support them to achieve programmatic communications goals?

Qualifications:

• Extensive knowledge of, and experience in, strategic communications and outreach
• Bachelor's degree in communications or related field
• Strong management skills
• Strong analytical thinking and problem solving
• Ability to work well independently and in a team setting
• Local and regional travel is anticipated

Compensation: This is an Exempt position. Salary is commensurate with experience.

To Apply:

To apply, please send cover letter, resume, and salary history. No phone calls please.

Human Resources
Center for Neighborhood Technology
2125 W. North Avenue
Chicago, IL 60647

The Center for Neighborhood Technology is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate against any employee or job applicant based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age disability, veteran status, or marital status. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including, but not limited to, hiring, termination, promotion, transfer, layoff, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

When you apply for this position, please say you saw this job on Green Dream Jobs!!

Source: http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/greendreamjobs.display/id/3053555

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RedPad: Android tablet for Chinese politicians that costs twice as much as the iPad (Yahoo! News)

An Android tablet designed for Chinese officials without special features inexplicably costs $1,600

Would you buy a $1,600?Android tablet that doesn't have any special features compared to other slates half its price? A relatively unknown Chinese manufacturer seems to think people would, and released a tablet called the RedPad ? a?Honeycomb device specifically meant for?China's government officials, that costs almost two grand.

The 9.7" RedPad?is a pretty standard Android?tablet fare, with 1GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage, which is usually the lowest capacity found in mid-range slates. For $2,000, you'd think buyers will get a top-of-the-line device or at least a few extras. But the only bonus they will get is a rather shoddy looking leather case, and an inscription of China's "Serve the People" slogan at the back of the tablet. The total cost for manufacturing each device is $480, so why it's priced at $1,600 is beyond us. An?interview with the company spokesperson, Xianri Liu, reveals RedPad's somewhat twisted reasoning for that price point: the company believes people think expensive things are good. Therefore, RedPad must be good.

He also argues that RedPad comes with a bunch of apps including tablet versions of periodicals, and a state-sanctioned Chinese version of?Twitter. Installing those kinds of apps on the?iPad, he says, will cost as much as $1,600 in a year. A device of that price point targeted toward?politicians will almost certainly cause a stir not only within China, but all over the internet.

Liu says the company plans to release RedPad to market, and compete with?Apple's iPad?? a feat that will be extremely hard to accomplish when the tablet costs that much.

[via?Penn Olson,?The Verge]

(Source)

This article was written by Mariella Moon and originally appeared on Tecca

More from Tecca:

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/applecomputer/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_technews/20120120/tc_yblog_technews/redpad-android-tablet-for-chinese-politicians-that-costs-twice-as-much-as-the-ipad

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Catholics in Poland parade a ?holy finger?

?It?s a finger from his right hand from which he often gave a blessing to St. Faustina.?

Roman Catholics in Poland is ready to take a "holy finger" out for a stroll.

The Most Rev. Edward Ozorowski, Archbishop of Bialystok, Poland, brought a relic of Blessed Michael Sopocko, who was St. Faustina?s confessor and spiritual director.

The principal celebrant at the Solemn Liturgy on Divine Mercy Sunday came bearing a special gift for the Marians of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

?It?s a finger from his right hand from which he often gave a blessing to St. Faustina,? explained Br. Andrew R. Maczynski, MIC, general promoter of the Association of Marian Helpers.

The relic, which came encased in a golden monstrance, is about 5 centimeters long. It will be placed in the National Shrine, which is administered by the Marians.

Bishop Ozorowski, in whose archdiocese Blessed Michael Sopocko was beatified Sept. 28, 2008, presented the gift during Holy Mass on Sunday.

?We express our sincere gratitude to His Excellency for making it possible that a relic of St. Faustina?s spiritual director will find its place here in the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy,? said Br. Chris Alar, MIC, during the presentation.

Source: Roman Catholic blogger

This is another detail worth mentioning. It is recorded by another Catholic news site

?The relic will join another relic in the Shrine ? the ?basal phalanx? of a great toe of St. Faustina, to be exact. A larger piece of her relic remains in a reliquary within the Shrine.

Source: padrimariani.org

My comment:

The skull and bone files on News That Matters will now include some hot stuff from Poland.

?Matthew 23:27
?Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.

You have to be completely disconnected to dress up in parade uniform, and start to carry a bone on your shoulders.

?Blessed? Michael Sopocko might have put his finger into a lot during his lifetime. That one of his fingers has been cut of from his skeleton is yet another example of the how the bone collectors of Rome has looted corpses.

It is not so strange that Catholics wants to adore more than just a cut off finger. Inside the Shrine it will be entertained by a piece of a ?holy toe?

Was this toe just axed off, or did the priest take a big bite?

Written by Ivar

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Source: http://ivarfjeld.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/catholics-in-poland-parade-a-holy-finger/

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Russia asks if US radar ruined space probe (AP)

MOSCOW ? Russia will look into the possibility that a U.S. radar station could have inadvertently interfered with the failed Mars moon probe that plummeted to Earth, Russian media reported Tuesday, but experts argued that any such claims were far-fetched.

NASA spokesman Bob Jacobs also said the U.S. space agency was not using the military radar equipment in question at the time of the Russian equipment failure, but instead was using radar in the Mojave desert in the western United States and in Puerto Rico.

Russia's state news agency RIA Novosti quoted Yury Koptev, former head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, as saying investigators will conduct tests to check if U.S. radar emissions could have impacted the Phobos-Ground space probe, which was stuck in Earth's orbit for two months before crashing down near Chile and Brazil.

"The results of the experiment will allow us to prove or dismiss the possibility of the radar's impact," said Koptev, who is heading the government commission charged with investigating causes of the probe's failure.

U.S. experts suggested that the Russians should look for causes of the failure at home.

"The Russian Space Agency would do themselves and the future of Russian planetary exploration some good to look inside the project and the agency to find the cause of the Phobos-Ground mishap," said Alan Stern, former associate administrator for science at NASA and now director of the Florida Space Institute at the University of Central Florida.

The current Roscosmos head, Vladimir Popovkin, has said the craft's malfunction could have been caused by foreign interference. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin acknowledged U.S. radar interference as a possible cause but said it was too early to make any conclusions and suggested the problem could be the spacecraft itself.

"Practially all disruptions are due to flaws in the technologies manufactured 12 to 13 years ago," he said.

Other space experts said the possibility of U.S. interference should be considered only after investigating all other possible causes.

Alexander Zakharov, a specialist at the Space Research Institute, which developed the Phobos-Ground, called the suggestion "contrived" and doubted the United States has radar powerful enough to interfere with a spacecraft at an altitude of around 200 kilometers (124 miles).

"You can come up with a lot of exotic reasons," Zakharov told RIA Novosti. "But first you need to look at the apparatus itself, and there is a problem there."

The Phobos-Ground fell to Earth on Sunday in the vicinity of Chile and Brazil, but no confirmed impact sites have been reported.

The $170 million craft was one of the heaviest and most toxic pieces of space junk ever to crash to Earth, but space officials and experts said the risks posed by its crash were minimal because the toxic rocket fuel on board and most of the craft's structure would burn up in the atmosphere high above the ground anyway.

The Phobos-Ground probe was designed to travel to one of Mars' twin moons, Phobos, land on it, collect soil samples and fly them back to Earth in 2014 in one of the most daunting interplanetary missions ever. It got stranded in Earth's orbit after its Nov. 9 launch, and efforts by Russian and European Space Agency experts to bring it back to life failed.

Phobos-Ground was Russia's most expensive and the most ambitious space mission since Soviet times. Its mission to the crater-dented, potato-shaped Martian moon was to give scientists precious materials that could shed more light on the genesis of the solar system.

Russia's space chief has acknowledged the Phobos-Ground mission was ill-prepared, but said that Roscosmos had to give it the go-ahead so as not to miss the limited Earth-to-Mars launch window.

___

Associated Press writer Seth Borenstein contributed to this report from Washington, D.C.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120117/ap_on_sc/eu_russia_falling_spacecraft

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Wall Street rises but off highs as Citi sinks (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? Stocks advanced on Tuesday, pushing the S&P 500 to its highest since early August, but sharply pared gains late in the session as Citigroup's steep drop in profit gave investors a reason to unload bank shares.

The financial sector, which has outperformed the broader market so far this year, took a hit on investors' disappointment with Citigroup Inc's (C.N) earnings.

Citigroup's stock slid 8.1 percent to $28.25 after it reported weaker-than-expected earnings. The KBW Banks Index lost 1.4 percent. Through Friday, the KBW Banks Index was up about 10 percent for the year, while the S&P 500 was about 2 percent higher.

The banks' sell-off poured cold water on a rally that drove the S&P 500 through 1,300 for the first time since August.

Stocks rallied about 1 percent across the board after data showed China's economic growth was better than expected, even though it expanded at the weakest pace in 2-1/2 years.

"The better numbers out of China this morning got the market off to a better start, but then there wasn't much follow-through, and you have had what looked to be from JPMorgan and Citigroup not very good-looking earnings," said Eric Kuby, chief investment officer of North Star Investment Management Corp., in Chicago.

Citigroup's results followed similarly disappointing earnings on Friday from JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N).

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) rose 60.01 points, or 0.48 percent, to 12,482.07 at the close. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) added 4.58 points, or 0.36 percent, to 1,293.67. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) gained 17.41 points, or 0.64 percent, to 2,728.08.

Bank shares also suffered on Friday ahead of the widely expected announcement by Standard & Poor's that it was downgrading the credit ratings of nine euro-zone countries.

"It was expected that some of the big banks would continue struggling, especially those heavily involved in investment banking because that part of the financial system has clearly slowed down," said Bryant Evans, investment advisor and portfolio manager at Cozad Asset Management, in Champaign, Illinois.

While Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N) posted a 20 percent jump in quarterly profit, its stock, which earlier had risen more than 1 percent to a session high at $30.69, pulled back sharply from that peak and ended up just 0.7 percent at $29.81.

The Nasdaq outperformed the other major U.S. stock indexes, with shares of Applied Materials (AMAT.O) up 2.4 percent at $11.78. RBC upgraded the stock to "outperform."

The benchmark S&P 500 briefly moved above 1,300 on an intraday basis for the first time since August 1. Analysts said a substantial move past that resistance point could trigger more buying.

On the downside, Carnival Corp (CCL.N) shares slid 13.7 percent to $29.60 as its Italian unit, Costa Crociere, struggled to locate missing passengers after a cruise liner capsized. Fellow cruise operator Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCL.N) fell 6.2 percent to $26.97.

On the U.S. economic front, a gauge of manufacturing in New York State rose to its highest level in nine months, keeping in line with the trend of modest improvement in U.S. economic data.

Volume totaled 6.74 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex and Nasdaq, just above the daily average of 6.68 billion.

Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by about 3 to 2, while on the Nasdaq, advancers beat decliners by about 13 to 12.

(Reporting By Caroline Valetkevitch,; Editing by Jan Paschal)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120117/bs_nm/us_markets_stocks

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