Panthers QB Newton not upset about Pro Bowl snub (AP)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. ? Despite a record-setting rookie season, Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was not selected to the Pro Bowl.

He certainly isn't pouting over it.

"Who am I to be mad at the fact that I'm the first alternate?" Newton said with a wide smile Wednesday.

Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and Eli Manning were selected over Newton, even though Manning has seven fewer total touchdowns.

Newton says he was "honored" to be selected as a first alternate and knows there's a good chance he might wind up replacing one of the guys ahead of him if he pulls out of the game or if the Packers, Saints or Giants wind up in the Super Bowl, which is now played one week after the Pro Bowl.

"Those three guys are at the peak of their game," Newton said.

Still, Panthers coach Ron Rivera believes Newton deserved to go, citing the rookie's ability to make plays with his feet. Newton has thrown for 20 touchdowns and run for 14, the most ever by a quarterback.

By comparison, Manning has 27 total touchdowns ? 26 passing and one rushing.

Manning, however, has more yards passing (4,587) than Newton (3,893) and has a slightly higher quarterback rating.

Both have 16 interceptions.

"I'm disappointed," Rivera said. "He's first alternate, but still. People talk about the numbers weren't as good as some of the other guys. But I disagree because of the combined numbers ? not just throwing the ball, but running the ball."

The Panthers have led in 14 of 15 games this season, but are just 6-9 because they've struggled to close out games in the fourth quarter.

Manning's Giants will face the Cowboys this Sunday for the NFC East division title.

All things considered, Newton has had a remarkable season for the Panthers and is one of the top candidates for NFL Rookie of the Year.

He's already broken Peyton Manning's rookie record for yards passing in a season and has shattered Steve Grogan's 35-year-old record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback.

This week against the Saints he needs 107 yards to become the first quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards and run for 500 in the same season.

Saints coach Sean Payton wouldn't divulge who he voted for in the Pro Bowl, but said Newton has been impressive. He also believes Newton will end up playing in the game one way or the other.

"He's going to have a ton of opportunities to play in the Pro Bowl," Payton said of Newton. "To be a rookie with no offseason and literally no minicamp and to report to training camp and do what he's done is amazing. ... He's a guy that I see in that game. Unfortunately he's also in our division."

Payton said he was impressed with Newton the first time he saw him in a uniform.

"I remember being out at midfield the last time we played and seeing his stature and size and arm strength," Payton said. "He's got that warm smile that's contagious to playing quarterback in this league and I think that (confidence) exudes over to his team."

When asked if he's exceeded his own expectations this year, Newton said, "I'm all about how team success plays out and our record is not where we want to be. My goal before this year was to make it to the playoffs. We had ample opportunities to make that happen and I think we dropped the ball on that."

Center Ryan Kalil, who will represent the Panthers at the Pro Bowl along with receiver Steve Smith, said he expects Newton will be making plenty of trips to Hawaii in the future.

"I think he has the respect of a lot of guys around the league and let's face it, there's nothing wrong with being a first alternate either, especially against the quarterbacks he has to compete against," Kalil said. "But he's had a heck of a season, especially as a rookie who didn't have an offseason that a guy normally would have because of the lockout."

Kalil said he's seen Newton mature as a leader both on and off the field.

"We can't be more excited about having him for the future," Kalil said.

Newton is excited, too.

"The one thing we have made a big stride in is creating that hope and a buzz in the community of Charlotte," Newton said. "You can see the fan support everywhere and to some degree we've succeeded in that level."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111228/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_panthers_newton

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Rapper C-Murder's conviction, sentence upheld (AP)

NEW ORLEANS ? A Louisiana appeals court has upheld the murder conviction and life sentence for rapper C-Murder.

C-Murder, whose real name is Corey Miller, was convicted of shooting a teenager to death in 2002.

A three-judge panel from the state's 5th Circuit Court of Appeal on Wednesday rejected Miller's argument that he didn't get a fair trial.

In 2009, a jury convicted Miller of second-degree murder for shooting 16-year-old Steve Thomas during a confrontation at a nightclub.

Miller claims the judge who presided over his trial allowed jurors to hear prejudicial and unsubstantiated testimony that he threatened witnesses to the shooting. He also accused prosecutors of systematically eliminating black people from the jury.

But the 5th Circuit rejected those arguments.

One of Miller's attorneys didn't immediately return a call seeking comment Thursday.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111229/ap_en_mu/us_music_rapper_s_trial

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Obama delays request for $1.2T increase in debt limit at request of congressional leaders

HONOLULU (AP) ? Obama delays request for $1.2T increase in debt limit at request of congressional leaders

(Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Source: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/obama-delays-request-12t-increase-debt-limit-request-congressional-leaders

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Source: http://bestfriendsforfrosting.com/2011/12/my-wedding-concierge/

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Two-Fifths Of Connecticut High School Graduates Complete A College Program, Report Says

A new report says that three-quarters of Connecticut's public high school graduates go on to college ? but that only 41 percent complete a certificate or degree within six years.

Thirty-three percent enroll in college but don't finish. The other quarter don't enroll at all.

The report ? the first in the state ever to provide college completion rates by high school ? looked at the high school Class of 2004 and at how many of each school's students had completed a college program by 2010.

The students who enrolled but did not finish a college program were of particular concern, said Robert Kennedy, interim president of the state Board of Regents for Higher Education.

"What a shame, what a waste of human resources," Kennedy said. "We really need these people to be educated to the extent that they can be."

Kennedy, who is new to Connecticut, said he also expected the state's college completion rate to be higher than 41 percent.

"The 41 percent probably reflects a better-than-average college completion rate," he said, "but better than average isn't good enough."

The Board of Regents, the state Department of Education and a group called the Connecticut P-20 Council released the report, which is based on data from the National Student Clearinghouse. The P-20 council, which was established in 2009 to improve transitions from preschool through college and careers, made the request that initiated the research.

The report focuses on college completion, the executive summary says, because "while it is important for students to attend college, it is even more important for them to finish."

Statistics previously have been available that highlight various aspects of Connecticut's college graduation rates, but none have provided the high school by high school detail found in this report.

Kennedy said that he hopes the report will prove useful to high schools and allow them to see how they compare.

"This data should really help them enormously in providing a focus on where the students are succeeding [and] where more resources are needed," he said.

Released just a week before the Jan. 5 education workshop summit that the governor called for in advance of the legislative session, the report and its statistics illuminate crucial issues that Connecticut faces to ensure that all students are well-schooled and ready to succeed in higher education and in careers.

The new data on college completion reflect the vast achievement gap seen in so many assessments of educational progress in Connecticut through the years ? between well-off and poor students, between white and minority students, between suburban and urban school districts.

In towns such as Avon, Simsbury and Glastonbury that have one high school each, the percentage of students in the Class of 2004 who completed two- or four-year college programs by 2010 was 65 percent, 64 percent and 59 percent, respectively.

By comparison, the rates at Hartford's three high schools were 14 percent (Hartford Public), 15 percent (Weaver) and 16 percent (Bulkeley). New Britain High School had a college completion rate of 29 percent.

Students need to be ready for college when they arrive ? and that preparation has to start during elementary and secondary education, Kennedy said, adding that he wants to work closely with the state's new education commissioner, Stefan Pryor, to make that happen.

The report also said that additional research was needed to understand better what makes students more likely to succeed in college.

One of the regents' goals, Kennedy said, was to make it easier for students to transfer credits from one college to another. Some colleges have standing agreements to honor credits from other institutions, Kennedy said, but "not across all campuses and not seamlessly."

Students are much more likely "to stick it out and get that associate's degree" at a community college, Kennedy said, "if they know their credits are going to transfer. ? If we could impact that [33 percent who enroll but don't finish] by 5 [percent] or 10 percent, that would be huge, and I think we can."

Source: http://www.courant.com/news/education/hc-college-completion-1230-20111229,0,6992763.story?track=rss

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54 killed in rare attacks on Afghan Shiites (AP)

KABUL, Afghanistan ? A suicide bomber struck a crowd of Shiite worshippers at a mosque in Kabul on Tuesday, killing at least 54 people in the deadliest of two attacks on a Shiite holy day ? the first major sectarian assaults since the fall of the Taliban a decade ago.

Four other Shiites were killed in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif when a bomb strapped to a bicycle exploded as a convoy of Afghan Shiites was driving down the road, shouting slogans for the festival known as Ashoura. Health Ministry spokesman Sakhi Kargar gave the death toll and said 21 people also were wounded in that attack.

The Kabul bomber blew himself up in the midst of a crowd of men, women and children gathered outside the Abul Fazl shrine to commemorate the seventh century death of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Imam Hussein. Some men were beating themselves in mourning and food was being distributed.

The shrine, which is near the presidential palace, was packed with worshippers and dozens more were crammed into the courtyard. One witness said the bomber was at the end of a line and detonated his explosives near one of the gates to the shrine.

Sayed Kabir Amiri, who is in charge of Kabul hospitals said 54 were killed and more than 160 wounded in the blast. He said casualties were taken to several hospitals and the toll could rise.

Religiously motivated attacks on Shiites are rare in Afghanistan although they are common in neighboring Pakistan. No group claimed responsibility for Tuesday's blasts, reminiscent of the wave of sectarian attacks that shook Iraq during the height of the war there.

The Taliban strongly condemned the two attacks and said in a statement to news organizations that they deeply regretted that innocent Afghans were killed and wounded.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, speaking at a news conference after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, said the attack was unprecedented in scope.

He said it was "the first time that on such an important religious day in Afghanistan terrorism of that horrible nature is taking place."

Mohammad Bakir Shaikzada, the top Shiite cleric in Kabul, said he could not remember a similar attack having taken place on such a scale.

"This is a crime against Muslims during the holy day of Ashoura. We Muslims will never forget these attacks. It is the enemy of the Muslims who are carrying them out," he said, declining to place blame.

Shiites make up about 20 percent of Afghanistan's 30 million people, most of them ethnic Hazaras. Although thousands of Hazaras were massacred by the Taliban during fighting in the 1990s, Afghan insurgents ? nearly all of them Sunnis ? in recent years have focused their attacks primarily on U.S.-led NATO troops and Afghan security forces.

It was unclear whether Tuesday's attacks mark a change in Afghan Taliban strategy or were carried out by al-Qaida or another group based in Pakistan, where Sunni attacks on Shiites are common. Hard-line Sunnis consider Shiites nonbelievers because their customs and traditions differ from the majority sect.

The last incident of violence between Shiites and Sunnis following the U.S. invasion 10 years ago occurred in early 2006, during Ashoura commemorations in the western city of Herat. During those riots, blamed on Islamic extremists, five people were killed and more than 50 injured.

Mahood Khan, who is in charge of the Abul Fazl shrine, said the explosion occurred just outside a courtyard where dozens of worshippers were lined up as they filed in and out of the packed building.

A few minutes after the blast, bodies could be seen loaded into the trunks of cars while wounded were led away by friends and relatives. Survivors wept in the streets.

"It was a very powerful blast," Khan said. "The food was everywhere. It was out of control. Everyone was crying, shouting. It is a disaster."

Mustafa, a shopkeeper, said he and his mother were delivering food to the worshippers when the blast occurred. Two groups of 150 to 200 people from Kabul had just prayed at the shrine and left.

Another group of more than 100 from Logar province was entering when the explosion occurred. He said the suicide bomber was at the end of the line of worshippers from Logar when he blew himself up near one of the gates to the shrine.

"It was very loud. My ears went deaf and I was blown 3 meters (yards)," said Mustafa, who uses only one name. "There was smoke and red blood on the floor of the shrine. There were people lying everywhere."

The shrine's loudspeaker continued to blast a recitation of the Quran as ambulances carried bodies and wounded away. Women stood outside the shrine wailing and holding crying children.

The shrine is close to the palace where Karzai lives and who is in Europe to attend an international conference on Afghanistan. It is named after Abul Fazl, who was an adviser to a 14th century Mogul emperor. The shrine and its blue minaret is one of Kabul's better known shrines. It is located in Murad Khane area near the Kabul river, a district that has been listed by the World Monuments Fund as one of its 100 most endangered sites of cultural heritage.

___

Associated Press writers David Rising in Berlin, and Deb Riechmann, Heidi Vogt and Patrick Quinn in Kabul contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111206/ap_on_re_as/as_afghanistan

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Time of reckoning for the euro zone (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Failure by European leaders at their summit this week to fix the fatal flaw in the euro zone, its lack of political union, would risk tremendous market upheaval, a rupture of the common currency and global economic fallout.

The world economy already is slowing, leaving it increasingly vulnerable to shocks reverberating from Europe. China cut reserve requirements for banks last week for the first time in three years and its factory sector shrank to levels not seen since February 2009. Brazil also lowered rates for the third time since August.

Only the United States has enjoyed a steady stream of improving data. The unemployment level dropped to 8.6 percent in November, the lowest level in 2-1/2 years, factories expanded and retail spending accelerated, pointing to a slow and gradual pick-up in growth.

But Europe casts a pall over everything. So serious are the risks that it could disrupt three years of painful global economic recovery that politicians, central bankers and market strategists are starting to compare the danger of European leaders deadlocking to the collapse of Lehman Bros in September 2008.

That shock plunged the world into its deepest recession since the 1930s.

"Let us not hide it: Europe may be swept away by the crisis if it doesn't get a grip, if it doesn't change," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Thursday.

Bank of England Governor Mervyn King warned of a "systemic crisis," adding that "none of us really know" how the euro zone would survive if the crisis explodes into sovereign default.

"This is Lehmans, Take Two. Cubed," said Kathleen Gaffney of Loomis Sayles, a part of Natixis Asset Management.

Leaders got a peak into the abyss when credit lines froze over the last 10 days after Germany failed in late November to sell all its bonds and yields jumped, not only for heavily indebted Italy and Spain, but also for countries at the very heart of the euro project -- France and Germany.

It took five major central banks cutting interest rates on currency lines last Wednesday and extending those lines to restore a measure of calm to financial markets.

But the uneasy peace will not last unless Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who meet on Monday to discuss changes to the EU Treaty, can finalize a fiscal deal that imposes tough budgetary rules on the 17 euro-zone members and then convince all 27 EU leaders on Friday to back the plan.

Their summits are littered with a history of half-baked solutions and broken promises. Few have illusions that this one will produce a definitive solution to the euro crisis.

But investors want to see the famously fractious European leaders make significant progress and show they are willing to give up some national control over budgets and march toward political union.

Though it will be a long and trying road, only then can the future of the decade-old euro zone project be assured. To do less would invite market upheaval, and eventually could lead to bank failures and sovereign default, said Mark Geitler, professor of economics at New York University.

"Global recession would likely follow and there would be pressure to break up the euro zone. An unpredictable chain of negative events would then likely follow," Geitler said.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is flying to Europe next week to press the urgency of the matter, meeting politicians from France, Germany, Spain and Italy, as well as the European Central Bank. His assistant secretary for economic policy, Jan Eberly, said a European recession would blight U.S. recovery and is "absolutely a source of concern."

BIG BAZOOKA

Even if a political deal for fiscal union is struck on Friday, it likely will require EU treaty changes and take many months to implement. Meanwhile, the world economy will remain highly vulnerable to further market stress unless a second step is taken to guarantee solvency of governments and stabilize the European government debt market.

There are several ways of taking that second step: The European Central Bank could unleash a massive round of bond buying, dubbed using the "big bazooka." The International Monetary Fund could agree on backstop funding programs for indebted countries that are having trouble tapping bond markets, such as Italy and Spain; or a beefed-up Europe's bailout fund could buy up the debt.

The ECB made an important move last week by signaling flexibility if leaders move forward on a fiscal compact. The central bank is widely expected to cut interest rates and expand its liquidity facilities when it meets on Thursday.

More focus will be on ECB President Mario Draghi's news conference, where he could expand on the ECB's readiness to act as lender of last resort -- a path urged upon it by the United States and France, but staunchly resisted by Germany on grounds it discourages budget discipline.

But if the scaffolding toward a German-led fiscal union can be erected at the EU summit, the ECB may be willing to bend. It also would provide some assurance to investors that the fatal flaw in monetary union will be fixed, averting a cataclysmic end to the euro project and return to Great Recession.

(Editing by Dan Grebler)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111204/bs_nm/us_economy_global

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Motorola Droid 4 with LTE, Xoom 2 Media Edition with AT&T bands hit FCC

Motorola's been on a FCC-approving rampage lately, and we have two more entries to add to the mix. The first is what appears to be the QWERTY-packing Droid 4: not only does it come with Verizon's LTE band 13 and CDMA / EVDO (with GSM / EDGE / WCDMA on the side, locked to all US carriers), the docs make mention of the Droid 4's rumored 1,785mAh battery and shows test results with "slider open" and "slider closed." Also passing through the governmental agency's doors is what appears to be a GSM 3G version of the Xoom 2 Media Edition with AT&T-compatible (850 / 1900) GSM / WCDMA bands. Unlike the Xyboard that made its way through the FCC a few days ago, this one lacks LTE or CDMA / EVDO. Check out the gallery below for a few images gleaned from the docs.

Gallery: Motorola Droid 4 and GSM Xoom 2 Media Edition in FCC

Motorola Droid 4 with LTE, Xoom 2 Media Edition with AT&T bands hit FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Dec 2011 17:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/05/motorola-droid-4-with-lte-xoom-2-media-edition-with-atandt-bands/

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92% Drive

Driver: If I drive for you, you give me a time and a place. I give you a five-minute window, anything happens in that five minutes and I'm yours no matter what.I tend to spend most of my time during a film figuring out what is flawed about it, but every once in a while, I am graced with a film where I can sit down and enjoy every minute of it. That's exactly what I got from Drive, a hyper-violent, gruesome, tense, and throughly entertaining film throughout. Not only was it supremely entertaining, it is also wholly original; as well as a masterful lead from indie-guru Ryan Gosling, stylish direction from Nicolas Winding Refn, who all contribute to making Drive one of the best films of the year. Ryan Gosling stars as Driver, who spends his days as a Hollywood stunt driver and a worker and a car repair shop. By night, Driver drives (yep, there will be probably hundreds of uses of the word "drive" in this review) criminals to and from their heist. When a heist involving his neighbors husband who was recently released from prison goes wrong, and the criminals find out who Driver really is, it's time for him to take charge of the situation and to do whatever it takes to get payback and stay alive. I guess the first thing I'll talk about is the fact that it in no way is an action film. It is a tense drama that features some strong violence. There are some defining action moments, but this is mostly a slow paced thriller, which was definitely a brilliant aspect pertaining to the film's style. The first hour or so consists only of strong character development, and a lot of leading up to the last forty minutes where a lot of mindless yet awesome action occurs. The action sequences are arranged quite well. The whole film itself has sort of an art house feel to it, and this action seems pretty gritty, and pretty realistic if I may say. Don't mistake this for another Fast and Furious film, this is its own movie, and the action here is something [similar] to what would really happen in a situation like this. The only thing that was over exemplified was the blood, there was a lot of blood. For anyone who enjoys gruesome films, this is right up your alley. Even if you are into superhero movies, this is for you; according to actor Ryan Gosling (found HERE).Speaking of Ryan Gosling, 2011 seems to be the year of Gosling, as he's starred in the hit romantic comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love (my review can be found HERE), and the upcoming Clooney film The Ides of March. He was also in Blue Valentine, The Notebook, and Lars and the Real Girl. Drive is his best film so far. Even judging by the original trailer, you could tell Gosling would be great. He was spectacular. Seeing Gosling's character strolling down the street, blood stains all over his super-cool Scorpion Jacket is a pleasure to watch. The supporting cast are also definitely great too. I'll start with my favorite of them; Albert Brooks, who switched over from his usual good guy character to a bad-ass man-in-charge, and Brooks' performance is masterful, scary, and sheds some blood. Hellboy star Ron Perlman is also a favorite of mine in this, and is a great addition to an already well-picked cast. The film featured other great performances from Bryan Cranston, Oscar Isaac, Christina Hendricks, and Carey Mulligan.The film gets it's amazingly original arthouse style due to the fantastic direction from acclaimed Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn (Bronson, Valhalla Rising, and another Ryan Gosling film Only God Forgives). Nicolas's directing style is wholly unique, and wholly original, as well as wholly entertaining, and wholly beautiful. What I love the most about his directing style, as far as indie films go, was not only his lack of complexity (I mean that in a good way), but his arthouse style was very unique. I was absolutely mesmerized by it; it is almost impossible to describe, you have to see it to believe it.Drive is one of the best experiences I've had watching a film. It's always good when a movie ends, and you realize that it was flawless (as well as giving it a huge round of applause, as my theater did). Drive is a very fun, gory, gruesome, but has a sense of tense drama moments (which basically consists of the entire first hour until the hyper-violent era of the film occurs), as well as a mesmerizing performance from Ryan Gosling, and great direction from Nicolas Winding Refn, who all make this film that is destined to become a classic.Driver: When you get your money, his debt's paid. He's out for good and you never go near his family again. You understand?

July 30, 2011

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/drive_2011/

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'Holiday' tree rattles chains of 'Christmas' fans (tbo)

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Rockefeller Center sees massive crowds for tree lighting

Rockefeller Center hosted its annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony with special performances from Justin Bieber, Tony Bennett, and others.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg helped light the?Rockefeller?Center?Christmas tree on Wednesday night, putting a spotlight on a small-town spruce from Pennsylvania and ringing in the holiday season.

Skip to next paragraph

Anna Veteri, visiting the city from suburban Yorktown, said it was "great" to see the colorful lights go on.

"It makes you feel like Christmas," she said.

The 74-foot-tall Norway spruce was illuminated by 30,000 lights during a ceremony that featured performances by Neil Diamond, Cee Lo Green and Carol King. Justin Bieber and Tony Bennett provided pre-taped performances.

It was the first time at the tree lighting for 13 year-old best friends Emily Solomon and Carmela Civello, of Brooklyn.

"It was beautiful," they said in unison.

Though they partially attended the lighting ceremony to see Bieber and were a bit miffed his performance was prerecorded and shown on monitors, they said they were happy to be there.

"I'm ready to get my Christmas gifts!" Emily said.

Tens of thousands of people were penned in on the streets surrounding?Rockefeller?Center, in midtown Manhattan. Most caught glimpses of performances on screens set up on street corners.

Paloma Diaz, 11, called herself a Bieber "believer" and attended to see him perform.

"I love him, but I also want to see the tree lighting," said the Queens resident, who was with her mother. "I've heard other people say it's really pretty when it lights up."

The tree-lighting ceremony happened on a day President Barack Obama was in town to raise money for his re-election bid. The combination of blocked-off streets and holiday visitors led to traffic jams across Manhattan.

The tree was cut down in Mifflinville, Pa. It's decorated with 5 miles of lights. The lights will be on until Jan. 7. After that, the Christmas tree will be turned into lumber for the housing charity Habitat for Humanity.

Workers building?Rockefeller?Center?set up the first Christmas tree there in 1931. The first official tree-lighting ceremony was in 1933.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/OzH_opuNYIo/Rockefeller-Center-sees-massive-crowds-for-tree-lighting

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PFT: Peyton improving, will increase rehab

AP

When the Ravens moved to Baltimore in 1996, the decided to conduct their training camp at nearby McDaniel College, in Westminster, Maryland.

This year, the lockout caused the Ravens to decide to move camp to the team?s facility.? They?ve decided to stay put for training camp in 2012.

?We?ve had long, serious discussions about this decision, and, when all is said and done, we believe we can better prepare for the season by holding training camp here as opposed to McDaniel College or any other facility away from here,? Ravens president Dick Cass said in a release issued by the team. ?We wanted to let the officials at McDaniel and at the hotel [Best Western] know as soon as we made the decision.?

The move, which Cass said wasn?t influenced by financial considerations, apparently is a product of the new labor deal.

?In 1996, Westminster was the best place for us to have training camp,? G.M. Ozzie Newsome said. ?How teams conduct training camp today is vastly different.? Our football needs and requirements are different.? The absence of two-a-days, how much space we need for the players and the meetings, the limited number of practices allowed by the new CBA, the importance of having an indoor field when the summer storms come ? all of that and more football-influenced factors, had me recommend to [owner] Steve [Bisciotti] and Dick that we hold camp here.?

Bisciotti apparently wrestled with the move.? ?From a football and team point of view, it?s an easy decision,? Bisciotti said.? ?Personally, this is difficult.? Some of my best memories as a kid are my family?s visits to the Colts? training camp in Westminster.? Part of my devotion to the game and the players who made it great and are heroes to many of us, started on those visits.

?We completely understand that this takes away an important part of our connection with our fans. I regret that,? Bisciotti added.? ?Hopefully, we can find other ways to continue this outreach.? We?ll have more to say on this as we develop these programs.?

It?ll be interesting to see whether other teams follow suit, abandoning the traditional training camp experience for the facility to which the players report to work throughout the year.? The reasons articulated by the Ravens should apply to every team that currently has an off-site camp.? Time will tell whether more and more of them come to that same conclusion.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/12/01/peyton-manning-moves-to-next-phase-of-rehab-with-no-timetable-for-a-return/related/

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HP Pavilion Slimline s5-1060

Where many small form-factor (SFF) desktops settle into a niche somewhere between nettops and value-priced entry-level desktops, the HP Pavilion Slimline s5-1060 ($829.99 direct) inhabits this in between space by combining the compact convenience with high-powered components, respectively. Thanks to its powerful Core i5 processor, a spacious 1TB hard drive, a Blu-ray optical drive, and a wealth of entertainment features, the Slimline s5-1060 is one of the smartest buys in the SFF space right now.

Design and Features
Measuring 12.28 by 6.21 by 15.43-inches (HWD), the Slimline puts several high-end features into a small form factor (SFF) desktop one-third the size of a traditional PC tower. Unlike value-priced SFF units, the Pavilion Slimline s5-1060 fills its compact chassis with some surprisingly good components (more below). The Slimline is equipped with an array of entertainment options, bundled with HP's Media Center remote control, a TV tuner card, Blu-ray player/ SuperMulti DVD-reader/writer, and multiple audio connections. The size of the tower also means that it can be set up in places that are normal PC tower won't fit, allowing it to be tucked out of the way behind a monitor or integrated into a home entertainment center.

The front of the Slimline is covered in glossy black plastic with accents of blue glowing LED lights and a dull metallic looking plastic panel. Along the top edge, is a blue indicator light, and a glowing blue power button to match. All of that black plastic is molded into gently curved front panel, which includes a door that covers the vertically oriented Blu-ray optical drive. Just below the drive door is an eject button. Continuing down, you'll find two USB 2.0 ports, a 6-in-1 card reader (SD, SDHC, MMC, MS/Pro, xD), and a stereo headphone jack.

On the back of the Slimline is a healthy collection of ports and connections, most of them intended for entertainment use. In addition to several video and audio connections, there are four additional USB 2.0 ports, an Ethernet port, and a coaxial cable input for connecting a TV antenna. The integrated TV tuner allows you to tune in to digital HD broadcast television, a feature that not everyone will use, but it's still a nice addition. Of far more use is 802.11n Wi-Fi, which lets you hide your system in an out of the way spot, even if your cable modem and router are in the next room. It would have been nice to see a USB 3.0 or USB/eSATA port on the Slimline, but those ports are rarely seen on systems of this size or price. On the back of the Slimline s5-1060 you'll also find input and output connections for HP's IR sensor, for use with the bundled with HP Media Center remote control. The remote lets you enjoy your media while kicking back in comfort, the IR sensors can be set up to keep that functionality even when the Slimline is hidden out of sight.

The Slimline comes bundled with both a wireless keyboard and optical mouse. The keyboard has a lightweight, low-profile design that fits well with the compact size of the SFF. In addition to comfortable, cord free typing, the letter B has been replaced with the stylized Beats Audio logo, and serves as a function key to toggle Beats Audio on and off. The accompanying wireless mouse is no match for top of the line mice, like the Logitech Marathon Mouse M705 but it is substantially better than the cheap-feeling wired mouse included with the cheaper Slimline. Additionally this wireless combo shares a common wireless USB receiver, so you'll only lose one of your 6 USB ports.

Though it doesn't come with a monitor of its own, the Slimline offers DVI and HDMI outputs, along with a DVI to VGA adapter to connect to nearly any monitor or TV display. Dual-monitor support also means that you can connect a monitor for everyday computing and an HDTV for all your entertainment needs. The Slimline also offers several audio connections. A digital audio output lets you enjoy 7.1 surround sound, when connected to a sound system via HDMI or optical digital cable, and a handful of other audio jacks let you connect individual stereo speakers, subwoofer, and run a microphone/line-in as well. Sound options go beyond plugs and connections, however, with Beats Audio providing studio-quality sound?exemplifying the bass and depth in music.

Unlike most SFF desktops, the Slimline s5-1060 does leave the door open for an upgrade or two. Though the interior is a bit crowded, the s5-1060 has two unoccupied PCIe x1 slots, and two open DIMM slots let you upgrade up to 16GB of RAM. The HP Pavilion Slimline s5-160 comes equipped with a 1TB, 7,200rpm hard drive, the same capacity and speed as the drive in the Lenovo IdeaCentre K330-11691AU ($599.99 list, 4 stars), our Editors' Choice in entry-level and midrange systems. A full terabyte of storage gives you enough space for even a healthy-sized media collection, with room for over 250,000 songs or 500 hours of HD video.

On that hard drive, HP has loaded on a selection of software samples and utilities that may warrant an hour or two to clean off. Several sample games, toolbars from Google and Bing, dedicated website links to sites like Hulu, Netflix, and Ebay, and no less than five programs for reading ebooks and news feeds are included. Among the bloatware are a few useful programs, like Microsoft Office Starter 2010, a 60-day trial of Norton Internet Security, and HP LinkUp, a proprietary program that lets you access any other Windows 7 computers that are on the same local network. It's ideal for anyone that may have a desktop and laptop, allowing screen mirroring and file transfers without any complicated docks or cables.

Performance
The HP Pavilion Slimline s5-1060 comes equipped with a 2.9GHz Intel Core i5-2310 processor, a dual-core processor that functions like a quad-core thanks to Intel's Hyper-Threading Technology, which allows each of the two cores to handle two different computing threads simultaneously. This dual-core powerhouse is coupled with 6GB of memory. In terms of productivity, the Core i5 will shoulder most any task sent its way. It's PCMark 7 score of 2,530 points may not be much of a match for the Asus Essentio CM6850-07 ($829.99 list, 3.5 stars), which scored 3,038 points with its quad-core Core i7 processor, but when compared to the 1,667 points scored by the Pentium equipped HP Pavilion Slimline s5-1020 ($429.99 list, 3.5 stars), it's miles ahead. It's 4.77 points in our Cinebench R11.5 rendering test beat-out every competitor but the Asus Essentio, which scored 6.12 points.

All of this processing muscle helped the Slimline to perform well in multimedia-creation tests. When running through our Photoshop CS5 test script, the Slimline completed it in 3 minutes 33 seconds, faster than both the Dell Inspiron One IO2305-4429MSL ($849.99 list, 4 stars) (6:59) and Editors' Choice Lenovo IdeaCentre K330-11691AU (3:49). It was nearly matched by the Gateway DX4860-UB21P ($599.99 list, 3.5 stars) (3:38), but it was beaten by the Asus Essentio (3:00). The Slimline performed even better when dealing with video. It completed our Handbrake video encoding test in 1 minute 23 seconds, beating out ever other competing system. The only one to come close was the Gateway DX4860-UB21P, which matched it with a time of 1:24.

The only area where performance really lagged was in graphics and gaming. Despite having an AMD Radeon HD 6450 (512MB) discrete graphics card, the Slimline just didn't have what it takes to be a competitive gaming machine, which is to be expected. Its 3DMark 11 scores of 953 points (at medium settings) and 160 points (at higher settings and native resolution) are certainly respectable for a SFF desktop, considering most of its peers couldn't run 3DMark at all. In actual gaming benchmarks, the performance was admirable, scoring 29 frames per second in Crysis 2 (at medium quality) and 13 fps in Lost Planet 2. That's good enough for casual games, like Sims 3 and World of Warcraft, but even then, you'll need to dial-down the eye-candy.

With high performance components, like a Core i5 processor, 1TB hard drive, and a slew of entertainment options that include a Blu-ray player/ DVD-R/W optical drive, integrated TV tuner, and several audio outputs, the HP Pavilion Slimline s5-1060 stands head and shoulders above most other small form-factor competitors. Even when stacked up against our entry-level Editors' Choice Lenovo IdeaCentre K330-11691AU, the pint-sized Slimline s5-1060 offers better performance across the board. Add it all up, and the Slimline s5-1060 is clearly one of the best in its class.

BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS:

COMPARISON TABLE
Compare the HP Pavilion Slimline s5-1060 with several other desktops side by side.

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