Heard and seen backstage and on red carpet at SAG (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? It was admiration at first sight when Viola Davis and Cicely Tyson met up on the red carpet at Sunday's Screen Actors Guild Awards, with Tyson approaching Davis from behind as she was being interviewed.

"I said, `That's my Viola.' I could tell her from the back," Tyson said after "The Help" co-stars embraced and posed for photos together.

Tyson said she was pleasantly surprised by the reaction she got to her small role in "The Help."

"I did not expect this reaction my character would have that put it, for me, on a whole other level," the 78-year-old former Oscar nominee said. "Oprah (Winfrey) said to me, `You blew me away.'"

Davis, an Oscar nominee for her role in the movie, described herself as "a little brown-skinned girl in an Afro who had a big dream."

She was living the dream Sunday, working the carpet with her husband, Julius Tennon.

"It's her show. I'm just here to support her and make her feel comfortable," Tennon said.

"I'm shy," Davis added.

___

Armie Hammer, nominated as supporting actor for his role in "J. Edgar," stopped on the SAG Awards red carpet long enough to make light of being on the wrong side of the law in West Texas after a drug-sniffing dog discovered marijuana in his car.

"Be more aware of your surroundings next time you're traveling with contraband," quipped Hammer, who played FBI director Hoover's friend and fellow lawman, Clyde Tolson, in the film.

The 25-year-old actor spent about a day in jail before paying a $1,000 bond after his Nov. 20 arrest in Sierra Blanca, Texas.

___

Christopher Plummer, the winner of this year's supporting actor SAG award, gave much of the credit for his win, not to mention his long life, to his "long-suffering wife Elaine who 43 years ago came to my rescue."

Plummer had a well-known fondness for drinking when he met Elaine Taylor, who eventually became his third wife.

"She said, `Listen, if you're serious about getting together in life, you've got to stop drinking,'" Plummer said backstage. "She was dead right and she was quite vicious about it. She did save my life because I was really going downhill."

Plummer won for his role in "Beginners," portraying an elderly dad who comes out as gay after his wife's death. If he repeats that triumph at this year's Academy Awards he would become the oldest actor to win an Oscar at age 82.

"I can't talk about that because it's miles down the road," he said.

Asked if he would like to win, Plummer said jokingly, "No, I think it's frightfully boring.

"We don't go into this business preoccupied by awards. If we did, we wouldn't last five minutes."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_en_ot/us_sag_awards_vignettes

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Lindsay Lohan Files A Legal Response To A Betty Ford Staff Member

Lindsay Lohan has hit back at claims she assaulted a Betty Ford Center staff member in 2010, filing a legal response to absolve her of any wrongdoing. Former employee Dawn Bradley accused the Mean Girls star of grabbing her wrist and twisting it when she tried the give the actress – then a patient at [...]

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Time short for Gingrich to close gap in Florida (AP)

MIAMI ? Newt Gingrich slammed GOP rival Mitt Romney on Sunday for the steady stream of attacks he likened to "carpet-bombing," trying to cut into the resurgent front-runner's lead in Florida in the dwindling hours before Tuesday's pivotal presidential primary.

Surging ahead in polls, Romney kept the pressure on Gingrich, casting him at an appearance in south Florida as an influence peddler and continuing his heavy advertising blitz questions the former House speaker's ethics.

In what has become a wildly unpredictable race, the momentum has swung back to Romney, staggered last weekend by Gingrich's victory in South Carolina. Romney has begun advertising in Nevada ahead of that state's caucuses next Saturday, illustrating the challenges ahead for Gingrich, who has pledged to push ahead no matter what happens in Florida.

An NBC News/Marist poll published Sunday showed Romney with support from 42 percent of likely Florida primary voters, compared with 27 percent for Gingrich.

Romney's campaign has dogged Gingrich at his own campaign stops, sending surrogates to remind reporters of Gingrich's House ethics probe in the 1990s and other episodes in his career.

Gingrich reacted defensively, accusing the former Massachusetts governor and a political committee that supports him of lying, and the GOP's establishment of allowing it.

"I don't know how you debate a person with civility if they're prepared to say things that are just plain factually false," Gingrich said during appearances on Sunday talk shows. "I think the Republican establishment believes it's OK to say and do virtually anything to stop a genuine insurgency from winning because they are very afraid of losing control of the old order."

Gingrich objected specifically to a Romney campaign ad that includes a 1997 NBC News report on the House's decision to discipline Gingrich, then speaker, for ethics charges.

Romney continued to paint Gingrich as part of the very Washington establishment he condemns and someone who had a role in the nation's economic problems.

"Your problem in Florida is that you worked for Freddie Mac at a time when Freddie Mac was not doing the right thing for the American people, and that you're selling influence in Washington at a time when we need people who will stand up for the truth in Washington," Romney told an audience in Naples.

Gingrich's consulting firm was paid more than $1.5 million by the federally-backed mortgage company over a period after he left Congress in 1999.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, trailing in Florida by a wide margin, stayed in his home state, where his 3-year-old daughter, Bella, was hospitalized. She has a genetic condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 18th chromosome. Aides said he would resume campaigning as soon as possible.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who has invested little in Florida, looked ahead to Nevada. The libertarian-leaning Paul is focusing more on gathering delegates in caucus states, where it's less expensive to campaign. But securing the nomination only through caucus states is a hard task.

The race began moving toward a two-person fight in South Carolina, and has grown more bitter and personal in Florida.

The intense effort by Romney to slow Gingrich is comparable his strategy against Gingrich in the closing month before Iowa's leadoff caucuses Jan. 3.

Gingrich led in Iowa polls, lifted by what were hailed as strong performances in televised debates, only to drop in the face of withering attacks by Romney, aided immensely by ads sponsored by a "super" political action committee run by former Romney aides.

Gingrich has responded by criticizing Romney's conservative credentials. Outside an evangelical Christian church in Lutz, Gingrich said he was the more loyal conservative on key social issues.

"This party is not going to nominate somebody who is a pro-abortion, pro-gun-control, pro-tax-increase liberal," Gingrich said. "It isn't going to happen."

But Gingrich, in appearances on Sunday news programs, returned to complaining about Romney's tactics, rather than emphasizing his own message as that of a conservative with a record of action in Congress.

"When we get to a positive idea campaign, I consistently win," Gingrich said. "It's only when he can mass money to focus on carpet-bombing with negative ads that he gains any traction at all."

Romney and the political committee that supports him had combined to spend some $6.8 million in ads criticizing Gingrich in the Florida campaign's final week. Gingrich and a super PAC that supports him were spending about one-third that amount.

Gingrich worked to portray himself as the insurgent outsider, collecting the endorsement of tea party favorite Herman Cain, whose own campaign for president foundered amid sexual harassment allegations.

It was unclear how aggressively Gingrich would be able to compete in states beyond Florida. The next televised debate, a format Gingrich has used to his advantage, is not until Feb. 22, more than three weeks away.

Romney already has campaigned in Nevada more than Gingrich, is advertising there, and stresses his business background in a state hard-hit by the economy. His campaign welcomed the Sunday endorsement of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Nevada's largest newspaper.

Michigan and Maine, states where Romney is well-positioned, also hold their contests in February. Arizona, a strong tea-party state where Gingrich could do well, has its primary Feb. 28.

___

Associated Press writers Steve Peoples in Naples and Shannon McCaffrey in Lutz contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_campaign

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The problem with democracy is all the debating (Unqualified Offerings)

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Anyone? Ferris Bueller returning ... to TV

?

A YouTube tease had some fans hoping that a sequel might be in the works for the hit movie ?Ferris Bueller?s Day Off,? but as it turns out the short clip was posted to plug a Honda commercial featuring actor Matthew Broderick set to air during the Super Bowl on Feb. 5.

Excited to see Ferris again? Share you thoughts on Facebook.

Related content:

Source: http://todayentertainment.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/28/10258767-anyone-anyone-ferris-bueller-returning-to-tv

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US Embassy: US citizen kidnapped in Nigeria freed (AP)

LAGOS, Nigeria ? A U.S. citizen kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria's oil-rich southern delta has been freed after a week in captivity, the U.S. Embassy said.

U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Deb MacLean told The Associated Press on Friday that the man had been released after being kidnapped in Warri in Delta state on Jan. 20. MacLean declined to offer any other details, citing privacy rules. Delta state police spokesman Charles Muka said he had not been informed about the man's release, as his company refused to cooperate with local authorities.

The freed hostage was identified as William Gregory Ock, 50, of Bowdon, Georgia, by his sister, Dee Dee Patterson.

Patterson told the AP on Friday that the family had no details of his release.

"The only thing we know is that he is safe and he is in a secure location," Patterson said by telephone.

She had no information on when Ock would return home to Georgia.

It was not immediately clear whether a ransom had been paid to secure his release, though many companies working in the region carry kidnap insurance and simply pay a negotiated price to see their employees freed. Kidnappers had made contact with authorities previously and demanded a $333,000 ransom.

The attack Jan. 20 occurred outside a bank branch in Warri, one of the main cities in nation's Niger Delta, a region of mangroves and swamps where foreign oil companies pump 2.4 million barrels of crude oil a day. The gunmen attacked Ock as he came outside, shooting his police escort to death before abducting him, Muka said.

Investigators believe the gunmen trailed him for some time before the attack, Muka said.

Foreign firms have pumped oil out of the delta for more than 50 years. Despite the billions flowing into Nigeria's government, many in the delta remain desperately poor, living in polluted waters without access to proper medical care, education or work.

In 2006, militants started a wave of attacks targeting foreign oil companies, including bombing their pipelines, kidnapping their workers and fighting with security forces. That violence waned in 2009 with a government-sponsored amnesty program promising ex-fighters monthly payments and job training. However, few in the delta have seen the promised benefits and criminal gangs still roam the region, increasingly targeting middle-class Nigerians.

In 2011, there were five reported kidnappings of U.S. citizens in Nigeria, according to a recent U.S. State Department travel warning about the country. The most recent occurred in November when two U.S. citizens and a Mexican were kidnapped from a Chevron Corp. offshore oil field and held for about two weeks, the State Department said.

A German working in the city of Kano in north Nigeria was abducted Thursday by unknown gunmen, authorities have said.

___

Associated Press writer Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.

___

Jon Gambrell can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_bi_ge/af_nigeria_oil_unrest

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IMF chief presses for more cash to fight crisis

International Monetary Fund, IMF, chief Christine Lagarde speaks during her visit to the social media corner at the 42nd annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. The meeting lasts until Jan. 29. (AP Photo/Keystone, Laurent Gillieron)

International Monetary Fund, IMF, chief Christine Lagarde speaks during her visit to the social media corner at the 42nd annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. The meeting lasts until Jan. 29. (AP Photo/Keystone, Laurent Gillieron)

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) ? The head of the International Monetary Fund appeared to making headway Saturday in her drive to boost the institution's financial firepower so that it can help Europe prevent its crippling debt crisis from further damaging the global economy.

Christine Lagarde, who replaced Dominique Strauss-Kahn as managing director of the fund six months ago, is trying to ramp up the IMF's resources by $500 billion so it can help if more lending is needed in Europe or elsewhere. The IMF is the world's traditional lender-of-last-resort and has been involved in the bailouts of Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

Insisting that the IMF is a "safe bet" and that no country had ever lost money by lending to the IMF, Lagarde argued that increasing the size of the IMF's resources would help improve confidence in the global financial system. If enough money is in the fund the markets will be reassured and it won't be used, she said, using arguments similar to those that France has made about increasing Europe's own rescue fund.

"It's for that reason that I am here, with my little bag, to collect a bit of money," she said at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss Alps town of Davos.

Her plea appeared to find a measure of support from ministers of Britain and Japan, sizable IMF shareholders that would be expected to contribute to any money-raising exercise.

George Osborne, Britain's finance minister, said there is "a case for increasing IMF resources and ... demonstrating that the world wants to help together to solve the world's problems," provided the 17 countries that use the euro show the "color of their money."

Osborne said he would be willing to argue in Parliament for a new British contribution, though he may encounter opposition from some members from his own Conservative Party.

Japan's economy minister, Motohisa Furukawa, said his country would help the eurozone via the IMF, too, even though Japan's own debt burden is massive. Unlike Europe's debt-ridden economies, Japan doesn't face sky-high borrowing rates, partly because there's a very liquid domestic market that continues to support the country's bonds.

Europe once again dominated discussions on the final full day of the forum in Davos. Despite some optimism about Europe's latest attempts to stem the crisis, fears remain that turmoil could return.

Whether the markets remain stable could rest for now on if Greece, the epicenter of the crisis, manages to conclude crucial debt-reduction discussions with its private creditors. It's also seeking to placate demands from its European partners and the IMF for deeper reforms.

A failure on either front could force the country, which is now in its fifth year of recession, to default on its debt and leave the euro, potentially triggering another wave of mayhem in financial markets that could hit the global economy hard.

"The fact that we're still, at the start of 2012, talking about Greece again is a sign that this problem has not been dealt with," Britain's Osborne said.

For Donald Tsang, the chief executive of Hong Kong, efforts to deal with the 2-year-old debt crisis have fallen short of what is required. The failure to properly deal with the Greek situation quickly has meant the ultimate cost to Europe has been higher, he said.

"I have never been as frightened (about the global economy) than I am now," he said.

Most economic forecasters predict that the global economy will continue to grow this year, but at a fairly slow rate. The IMF recently reduced its forecasts for global growth in 2012 to 3.3 percent, from the 4 percent pace that the IMF projected in September.

Lagarde sought to encourage some countries that use the euro to boost growth to help shore up the ailing eurozone economy, which is widely expected to sink back into recession, adding that it would be counterproductive if all euro countries cut their budgets aggressively at the same time.

"Some countries have to go full-speed ahead to do this fiscal consolidation, but other countries have space and room," Lagarde said.

Though conceding that there aren't many such countries, Lagarde said it is important that those that have the headroom explore how they can boost growth. She carefully avoided naming any countries, but likely had in mind Germany, Europe's largest economy and a major world exporter. She didn't specify how to boost growth or how one eurozone country could help others grow.

Lagarde said members of the eurozone should continue the drive to tie their economies closer together. On Monday, European leaders gather in Brussels in the hopes of agreeing on a treaty that will force member countries to put deficit limits into their national laws.

Britain's Osborne said eurozone leaders should be praised for the "courage" they have shown over the past few months in enacting austerity and setting in place closer fiscal ties, but said more will have to be done if the single currency is to get on a surer footing.

Fiscal transfers from rich economies to poorer ones will become a "permanent feature" of the eurozone, Osborne predicted.

While politicians and business people were discussing the state of the global economy within the confines of the conference center, protesters questioned the purpose of the event as income inequalities grow worldwide.

Protesters from the Occupy movement that started on Wall Street have camped out in igloos at Davos and were demonstrating in front of City Hall to call attention to the needs of the poor and unemployed.

In a separate protest, three Ukrainian women were arrested when they stripped off their tops ? despite temperatures around freezing ? and tried to climb a fence surrounding the invitation-only gathering of international CEOs and political leaders.

"Crisis! Made in Davos," read one message painted across a protester's torso.

Davos police spokesman Thomas Hobi said the three women were taken to the police station and told they weren't allowed to demonstrate. He said they would be released later in the day.

___

Associated Press writers Frank Jordans and Edith M. Lederer contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-28-EU-Davos-Forum/id-8db147e3eadc4926a7aba22fb44a8071

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Djokovic wins marathon match to set up Nadal final

Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates after defeating Andy Murray of Britain during their semifinal at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, early Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)

Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates after defeating Andy Murray of Britain during their semifinal at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, early Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)

Novak Djokovic of Serbia bites his necklace during his semifinal against Andy Murray of Britain at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, early Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Sarah Ivey)

Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates after defeating Andy Murray of Britain in their semifinal at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, early Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, Pool)

Novak Djokovic of Serbia, center, celebrates after defeating Andy Murray of Britain, top left, during their semifinal at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, early Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/John Donegan)

Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates after defeating Andy Murray of Britain during their semifinal at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, early Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/John Donegan)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) ? If anyone knows how Novak Djokovic feels after sweating and scrapping for almost five hours in the Australian Open semifinals, it's his next opponent ? Rafael Nadal.

A day after Nadal beat Roger Federer in four compelling sets, Djokovic dug deep to overcome Andy Murray 6-3, 3-6, 6-7 (4), 6-1, 7-5 on Friday night after 4 hours, 50 minutes.

Defending champion Djokovic will face Nadal in a third straight Grand Slam final on Sunday. It's a reversal from three years ago, when Nadal had to regroup after his own lengthy semifinal.

The Spaniard needed 5 hours, 14 minutes in 2009 to get past compatriot Fernando Verdasco in the longest men's singles match in the tournament's history. He was so exhausted, he didn't lift a racket the following day.

Yet when the final rolled around, he beat Federer ? who had an extra day to rest ? in five sets that reduced the usually composed Swiss player to tears.

Now a weary Djokovic has less than 48 hours to prepare to face Nadal, one of the most fit players in the game.

"I know that I maybe have a mental edge because I've won six finals. ... We played in 2011 and I've had lots of success against him," Djokovic said. "That's going to be my main priority and concern the next day and a half, to physically be able to perform my best and be ready to play five sets."

Djokovic won 10 titles in 2011, six of them by beating Nadal in finals. Just as Nadal has the mental edge over Federer, Djokovic has developed a hold over the Spaniard.

But the No. 1-ranked Djokovic has shown chinks in his armor at Melbourne Park this year. Against David Ferrer in the quarterfinals, he struggled to breathe through most of a straight-sets win and at one point, clutched his leg in agony.

Against Murray, he looked completely spent again when he hobbled gingerly back to his chair after dropping serve to go down 2-1 in the third set.

"He's done it many times before," Murray said. "He runs very well even when he's breathing heavy. I was ready for that. He was similar in the last match. But he moved fine."

Murray had his own slump when he lost the fourth set in 25 minutes ? an aberration in a match featuring long baseline rallies that quite often ended in errors.

One rally in the eighth game of the second set ended after 41 shots. The third set lasted nearly an hour and a half, with the opening game taking almost 15 minutes alone. There was one serve-volley point in the entire match, won by Murray.

The gap between the top-ranked player and the No. 4 was mostly indiscernible throughout a match featuring 18 breaks of serve and almost as many changes in momentum.

When a scampering Murray knocked a forehand into the net on the final point, Djokovic collapsed onto the court. He shared a warm hug with his old friend Murray, sank to his knees and did the sign of the cross, then turned to his players' box and thumped his chest.

Many of his 70 match wins in 2011 seemed to come easy ? this was anything but.

"Definitely one of the best (wins) under the circumstances," Djokovic said. "Time wise, I think this was one of the longest, if not the longest, that I've played in the later stages of a Grand Slam.

"As a tennis player, you practice hard every single day knowing that you will get an opportunity to be part of such a great match and on such a high level."

After losing the last two finals at the Australian Open, Murray went out a round earlier this time but left more encouraged than ever that he can break through and become the first British man to win a Grand Slam singles title since 1936.

"Tonight's match was important for many reasons," the 24-year-old Murray said. "Obviously I wanted to win first and foremost. But also sort of after last year, the year that Novak's had, I think there's a very fine line between being No. 1 in the world and being 3 or 4. I think that gap, I feel tonight I closed it.

"My job over the next two or three months is to surpass him and the guys in front of me."

After Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova go for the women's title and the No. 1 ranking on Saturday, Djokovic will bid for his fifth major title in Sunday men's final, with the chance to become only the fifth man in the Open Era to win three straight Grand Slam titles.

If he can achieve that, Djokovic would make 10-time Grand Slam winner Nadal the first man since the Open Era began in 1968 to lose three straight major finals. Just like Nadal three years ago, Djokovic doesn't plan on doing much before Sunday's final.

"I think I had enough time spent on the court. Now it's all about recovery," said Djokovic, who has won 19 consecutive Grand Slam matches.

After a year in which almost everything went his way and he overtook Nadal and Federer for the No. 1 ranking, Djokovic is just finding out what it feels like to be the hunted rather than the hunter.

"I'm aware now that everyone wants to win the major title, get that No. 1 spot, he said. "It's normal. It's something I'm prepared for."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-27-TEN-Australian-Open/id-b2f92db02e614347acc94fbae1b9c949

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Ten dead in attack on policeman's home in Iraq: sources (Reuters)

HILLA, Iraq (Reuters) ? An Iraqi policeman and nine relatives were killed as they slept when militants bombed their home south of Baghdad on Thursday, police sources said, in the latest attack on local officials and security forces.

The attackers planted bombs around the outside walls of the house shortly after 1 a.m. in the town of Mussayab, about 40 km (25 miles) north of the city of Hilla, two police sources said.

Northern Hilla was one of the main strongholds of Sunni Islamist al Qaeda during the war.

The blasts destroyed the house, killing four men, four women and two children, the sources said.

While violence has decreased sharply in Iraq since the peak of the sectarian carnage of 2006-07, bombings, assassinations and other attacks still occur daily.

Some of the worst attacks in the past year have occurred since the Shi'ite-led government moved against two prominent Sunni politicians shortly after the last U.S. troops left in mid-December, triggering a political crisis that threatens to unravel Iraq's fragile governing coalition.

Soldiers, police, government workers and politicians are frequent targets as insurgents try to undermine the government and challenge the rebuilt security forces.

On Wednesday, gunmen in a speeding car, killed two off-duty policemen in southeastern Kirkuk. The two brothers were killed in front of their house.

(Reporting by Ali al-Rubaie; Writing by Suadad al-Salhy; Editing by Louise Ireland)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120126/wl_nm/us_iraq_violence

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Wikipedia founder hails halting of US piracy bills

Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia gestures during an interview with the Associated Press at the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. Wales is fighting to stop a recent US plan to tighten anti-piracy laws and his vision for the open-source online encyclopedia. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia gestures during an interview with the Associated Press at the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. Wales is fighting to stop a recent US plan to tighten anti-piracy laws and his vision for the open-source online encyclopedia. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia gestures during an interview with the Associated Press at the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. Wales is fighting to stop a recent US plan to tighten anti-piracy laws and his vision for the open-source online encyclopedia. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) ? The founder of Wikipedia has hailed the online encyclopedia's role in helping halt U.S. legislation aimed at cracking down on Internet piracy.

Jimmy Wales told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday that the idea to black out Wikipedia's English pages for 24 hours came from the site's volunteer editors, who voted overwhelmingly in favor of the move.

Wales says the two bills that Congress postponed indefinitely last week were "very badly designed, technologically incompetent, and just something that we felt needed to be stopped."

Wikipedia was among a number of sites that argued the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect Intellectual Property Act would hurt technological innovation and infringe on free-speech rights.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2012-01-26-EU-Davos-Forum-Wikipedia/id-4f160e17c519428db52cc1bfb662bc92

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BlackBerry Curve 9360 review

The BlackBerry Curve 8300 emerged as one of the best smartphone ideas of 2007. It pre-dated the first Android handset by a full year, and unlike the original iPhone, it was priced within reach of the average consumer. It introduced the masses to the possibilities of a connected and capable handset, and was the primary catalyst for the BlackBerry's meteoric rise to household name. With each subsequent iteration, however, the Curve remained a handset geared toward first-time smartphone buyers, and that axiom feels particularly true today.

RIM's BlackBerry Curve 9360 outed -- is this Apollo?

RIM launches new BlackBerry Curve (video)

Blackberry Curve 9360 hands-on

We're now presented with the Curve 9360 ($29.99, on contract), a device that's ostensibly hobbled in order to differentiate itself from RIM's higher-end offerings, most notably the Torch 9810 ($49), Torch 9860 ($99) and Bold 9900 ($199). Specifically, we refer to its lack of a touchscreen. The omission will certainly be a deal-breaker for some, but whether it causes the market to reject it as a whole remains unknown. For our part, we're most interested in the impact on the handset's usability and its relevance in an increasingly competitive environment. In other words, has RIM included enough improvements to keep its Curve franchise afloat, or will this iteration sink like a stone? Join us after the break, as we delve into the Curve 9360 and explore these finer details.

Gallery: BlackBerry Curve 9360 review

Continue reading BlackBerry Curve 9360 review

BlackBerry Curve 9360 review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fracking health risks: Drilling into the unknown

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Parents Are Key in Helping Obese Kids Lose Weight, AHA Says (ContributorNetwork)

The key to combating juvenile obesity lies with parents, the American Heart Association says. The AHA released a scientific statement in its most recent issue of "Circulation" journal. Here are tips for parents to curb weight problems in kids, based on that report.

* According to the American Association of Adolescent and Pediatric Psychiatry, 33 percent of kids and teens in the U.S. are overweight and nearly 20 percent are clinically obese.

* The key message in the AHA statement is parents and caregivers need to be on board with whatever treatment, diet or program that doctors use with children. If parents are included on decision-making and involved in treatment, kids stand a better chance to succeed at maintaining a healthy weight.

* Nagging kids about weight loss, diet slip-ups or failing to lose weight as fast enough is counter-productive. The AAACP lists depression, stress, low self-esteem and problems with parents as some of the leading causes of childhood obesity.

* Statement author Myles S. Faith, a nutrition specialist with the University of North Carolina, says it's important for parents to lead by example in matters of healthy eating, exercise and weight loss. Parents who maintain healthy eating and exercise habits help their children to do likewise.

* Faith recommends families develop weight-reduction goals and strategies. They should identify specific goals such as limiting TV and screen time, and engaging in fitness activities together.

* When children have setbacks, parents should help them identify where they made their mistakes and how to correct them in future weight-loss efforts.

* Rewarding children from making and keeping weight loss goals is encouraged, but food should never be used as positive reinforcement.

* Faith recommends simple steps like gradually eliminating the fatty, sugary snack foods and replacing them with fresh fruit. Limiting food choices and reducing temptation makes weight loss easier for kids.

* Parents should help kids keep a food journal and track goals. The AHA hasn't established how useful Internet or cellphone fitness and weight-loss apps are for individual age groups but suggests those tools as a possibility.

Marilisa Kinney Sachteleben writes about parenting from 23 years raising four children and 25 years teaching K-8, special needs, adult education and home-school.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/weightloss/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120124/hl_ac/10869351_parents_are_key_in_helping_obese_kids_lose_weight_aha_says

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Gingrich: Only I can go 'toe to toe' with Obama

Republican presidential candidate and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich laughs while speaking during a?South Carolina Republican presidential primary night rally, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Columbia, S.C. Newt Gingrich won the South Carolina primary.(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich laughs while speaking during a?South Carolina Republican presidential primary night rally, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Columbia, S.C. Newt Gingrich won the South Carolina primary.(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich prepares to walk off stage with his grand daughter Maggie Cushman, after Gingrich spoke during a?South Carolina Republican presidential primary night rally, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Columbia, S.C. Newt Gingrich won the South Carolina primary. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks during a?South Carolina Republican presidential primary night rally, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Columbia, S.C. Newt Gingrich won the South Carolina primary.(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Newt Gingrich says his hardline conservative views and sharp debate skills will be needed by Republicans to take back the White House.

The former House speaker is dismissing rival Mitt Romney as a moderate whose record on health care and other issues are too close to President Barack Obama's to invigorate Republican voters.

Coming off a big victory in Saturday's South Carolina primary, Gingrich says he can go "toe to toe with President Obama on big things."

Gingrich says his views on lower taxes, less government regulation and foreign policy put him in stark contrast to Obama and that the dynamics of a Gingrich-Obama fight are much more alluring to voters.

Gingrich tells CNN's "State of the Union" that he represents "the largest amount of change of any candidate."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-22-Gingrich/id-5aced2681da247fc89411033fe39ec83

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Report: South Sudan sues Khartoum over oil

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) ? South Sudan is suing Sudan for "looting" its oil and will no longer export crude through its northern neighbor's territory, a Sudanese daily reported Sunday, citing officials, in the latest spat between the two governments over the coveted resource in the newly independent southern nation.

South Sudan Information Minister Marial Benjamin said the lawsuit was filed in "specialized international tribunals against Sudan and some companies" that bought the crude, the Al-Sahafa daily said. Benjamin did not provide additional details on the venue or when the lawsuit was filed.

The case is the latest development in a long-simmering fight between the two governments over the oil they share. Most of it lies within the borders of South Sudan, which achieved independence last July.

On Jan. 17, South Sudan Minister of Petroleum and Mining Stephen Dhieu Dau said Sudan is diverting about 120,000 barrels of oil pumped from the south daily, a move the northern government said stemmed from the unpaid transit fees for the oil carried in pipelines from the south to export terminals in its territory. The two sides have been unable to resolve the dispute.

South Sudan's Cabinet Affairs minister, Deng Alor, said that his country has halted pumping crude through Sudan and would begin building a pipeline across east Africa that would allow it to export its oil through Kenya. The project would take about a year, he told Al-Sahafa.

"Our economy will not be affected by this step," he said, adding that South Sudan had enough in cash reserves to sustain it for five years. Even if the economy was affected, it would be preferable to the "looting" taking place by Sudan, he was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

The Khartoum government downplayed the potential impact of the move by the south. Sudanese State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Amin Hassan Omar said that the oil currently held in pipelines would cover a considerable portion of the debts owed by the south.

The suspension of oil production is a "tactical move that will not last long," he told Al-Sahafa.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-22-ML-Sudan-South-Sudan-Oil/id-dcf5fa72aaff4de3a41d196f8b6bf882

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Could CBS' Elementary Pilot Lead To Legal Issues Due To ...

published: 2012-01-21 14:35:52

I know I?m not alone in having groaned audibly at the news that CBS had given the green light to a pilot called Elementary, described as a modern day take on Sherlock Holmes, set in New York City. Those of us who have seen BBC One?s Sherlock, which airs on this side of the pond on PBS Masterpiece (and is available on Netflix) know that the concept is being done and extremely well, I might add.

It needs to be said that I?m not opposed to remakes in general. As a TV fan, I don?t feel the need to ?choose sides? when it comes to the original British version of The Office and the U.S. version because, despite the similar concept, the shows are different enough that they are both funny and entertaining in their own ways. David Brent and Michael Scott, for example, are both hilarious and there are some personality similarities, but they are not the same men. Michael Scott is not an American David Brent. He?s Michael Scott. And David Brent is David Brent. It's not about better or worse, for me as a viewer. It's about different and funny, which applies to both characters and series. That said, an Americanized Sherlock Holmes would not be Sherlock Holmes. However, it?s possible (even probable) that the assumption that CBS' pilot intends to make Holmes American, is inaccurate. So we might need to put that argument aside for now.

From the reported description for the Elementary pilot, the ?pipe-smoking private eye? is ?now living in New York City.? It doesn?t say he?s American. It sounds like the idea of the series is not only to take Sherlock Holmes and put him into modern times, as BBC One?s Sherlock has already done, but also put him in New York, where his accent and British nature will surely be made to clash dramatically and maybe even comedically with New York?s Finest. In that respect, there is something intriguing, albeit gimmicky about the concept. But it still sounds like a remake that?s pretending not to be a remake.

That brings me to an article The Independent posted today, which quotes Sherlock executive producer Sue Vertue as saying that CBS approached them about doing a remake of their series ?a while back.? She went on to say...

At the time, they made great assurances about their integrity, so we have to assume that their modernised Sherlock Holmes doesn't resemble ours in any way, as that would be extremely worrying." She added: "We are very proud of our show and like any proud parent, will protect the interest and wellbeing of our offspring."

As well they should be. If CBS went to the series to talk to them about a remake, why does it sound like they're moving forward with something that's not being reported as a straight-up Sherlock remake? The situation sounds a bit tricky from a legal standpoint, considering Sherlock is also borrowing the character from classic literature. From what the Independent reports, it?s the concept of relocating the character to a modern setting, ?which may closely impinge on the BBC series, which has made laptops and text messaging an important element of its plots.? In other words, moving the character to the future is Sherlock?s thing and that could present legal issues for CBS.

Margaret Tofalides, a copyright specialist at law firm Manches, said: "The concept of a new Sherlock Holmes is unprotectable. But if the unusual elements of the BBC series ? the modern settings, characters, clothes, plots and distinctive visual style ? were closely reproduced in the CBS version, that could form the basis of a potential copyright claim."

This is just speculation here, but attempts to avoid stepping on Sherlock?s toes might present enough limitations on this series that CBS could decide to move away from the Sherlock character entirely. Banking on the popularity of the British series, which has trickled it?s way to the U.S. already, could prove to be an expensive endeavor. Then again, would it be a huge surprise of Elementary is scrapped, and some other procedural landed at the network, centering on a quick-minded, quirky British detective working in New York (possible name suggestion: Sherman Houses)? All kidding (kind of) aside, it?s interesting to know that an eye is being kept on CBS (pun only partially intended).

In the meantime, for those of you who are interested in seeing a great detective show, I highly recommend checking out Sherlock on Netflix or when it re-airs on PBS Masterpiece. ?The Blind Banker? (Episode 2 of Series 1) airs tomorrow night (Sunday, Jan. 22) at 10:00 p.m. ET on PBS Masterpiece.

Source: http://www.cinemablend.com/television/Could-CBS-Elementary-Pilot-Lead-Legal-Issues-Due-Similarities-With-BBC-Sherlock-38840.html

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SoundCloud Hits 10 Million Users, Releases New Sounds+Slides Feature

SoundCloud still isn't conforming our story that they recently raised a $50 million round led by Kleiner Perkins - but today at the DLD conference in Munich they have announced a pretty significant milestone - hitting 10 million users. SoundCloud is gunning to be a kind of YouTube for sound, but with a wide variety of apps that can plug into its platform, and a business model which encourages upgrades to a premium paid experience. It competes with the like of Audioboo to some extent, but that is on a much lower 300,000 users and focuses on speech.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/E-CW8wqzPZ4/

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New Google account users forced to join Google+

By Rosa Golijan

Google

I hope your torches and pitchforks aren't nearby, because Google ??the Company That Claims It Does No Evil ??is doing something that might make you want to reach for 'em. Apparently the search engine giant is now forcing new Google account users to join Google+ and Gmail.

Google Operating System, an unofficial blog about all things Google, first called attention to this somewhat annoying requirement for new Google accounts?? which most certainly wasn't always in effect:

Until now, creating a Google account was quite simple. You could either use an existing email address or create a Gmail account.

The newly redesigned sign-up process for Google accounts now includes?fields which ask for your name, gender (required, thanks to Google+) and mobile phone number (optional).?Once you've got those fields filled out, you're led to a page which asks you to create your Google profile ??better known as your Google+ account.

There is no option to skip this step and avoid the creation of a Google+ account (and a Gmail account), which is something you might want to do if you're interested in using only some other Google services.

The only choice you have if you want to avoid Google+ or Gmail, as Google Operating System points out, is to create a Google Account through the Google Calendar or Blogger pages ??or by going to a URL which corresponds to the old sign-up form. Unfortunately there's no way of knowing just how long this workaround will continue to work.?

Related stories:

Want more tech news, silly puns or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on?Twitter, subscribing to her?Facebook?posts, or circling her?on?Google+.

Source: http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/20/10199705-new-google-account-users-forced-to-join-google

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Genetically Engineered Stomach Microbe Converts Seaweed into Ethanol

News | Energy & Sustainability

A genetically modified strain of common gut bacteria may lead to a new technology for making biofuels that does not compete with food crops for arable acreage

By David Biello ?| January 19, 2012?|

SEAWEED TO BIOFUEL: Brown seaweed grows fast, is chock full of sugars to turn into biofuel and doesn't compete for land with food crops. Image: Courtesy of BioArchitecture Lab

Seaweed may well be an ideal plant to turn into biofuel. It grows in much of the two thirds of the planet that is underwater, so it wouldn't crowd out food crops the way corn for ethanol does. Because it draws its own nutrients and water from the sea, it requires no fertilizer or irrigation. Most importantly for would-be biofuel-makers, it contains no lignin?a strong strand of complex sugars that stiffens plant stalks and poses a big obstacle to turning land-based plants such as switchgrass into biofuel.

Researchers at Bio Architecture Lab, Inc., (BAL) and the University of Washington in Seattle have now taken the first step to exploit the natural advantages of seaweed. They have built a microbe capable of digesting it and converting it into ethanol or other fuels or chemicals. Synthetic biologist Yasuo Yoshikuni, a co-founder of BAL, and his colleagues took Escherichia coli, a gut bacterium most famous as a food contaminant, and made some genetic modifications that give it the ability to turn the sugars in an edible kelp called kombu into fuel. They report their findings in the January 20 issue of the journal Science.

To get his E. coli to digest kombu, Yoshikuni turned to nature?specifically, he looked into the genetics of natural microbes that can break down alginate, the predominant sugar molecule in the brown seaweed. "The form of the sugar inside the seaweed is very exotic," Yoshikuni told Scientific American. "There is no industrial microbe to break down alginate and convert it into fuels and chemical compounds."

Once he and his colleagues had isolated the genes that would confer the required traits, they used a fosmid?a carrier for a small chunk of genetic code?to place the DNA into the E. coli cells, where it took its place in the microbe's own genetic instruction set. To test the new genetically engineered bacterium, the researchers ground up some kombu, mixed it with water and added the altered E. coli. Before two days had gone by the solution contained about 5 percent ethanol and water. It also did this at (relatively) low temperatures between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius, both of which mean that the engineered microbe can turn seaweed to fuel without requiring the use of additional energy for the process.

An analysis from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (pdf) suggests that the U.S. could supply 1 percent of its annual gasoline needs by growing such seaweed for harvest in slightly less than 1 percent of the nation's territorial waters. Humans already grow and harvest some 15 million metric tons of kombu and other seaweeds to eat. And there's no reason to fear the newly engineered E. coli escaping into the wild and consuming the seaweed already out there, Yoshikuni argues. "E. coli loves the human gut, it doesn't like the ocean environment," he says. "I can hardly imagine it would do something. It would just be dead."

The microbe could turn out to be useful for making molecules other than ethanol, such as isobutanol or even the precursors of plastics, Yoshikuni says. "Consider the microbe as the chassis with engineered functional modules," or pathways to produce a specific molecule, Yoshikuni says. "If we integrate other pathways instead of the ethanol pathway, this microbe can be a platform for converting sugar into a variety of molecules."

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=566d7e52295686bc7beeee1bf04e5921

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FACT CHECK: History flubs in Republican debate (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Mitt Romney perpetuated one unsubstantiated claim, about his record at Bain Capital, and more or less corrected himself on another, about President Barack Obama's health care law, in the latest Republican presidential debate.

His rivals flubbed history, Newt Gingrich blaming a Democratic president for a jobless rate he never had, and Ron Paul painting an idyllic picture of life before Medicare that did not reflect deprivations of that time.

A look at some of the claims in the debate Thursday night and how they compare with the facts:

___

ROMNEY: "We started a number of businesses; four in particular created 120,000 jobs, as of today. We started them years ago. They've grown ? grown well beyond the time I was there to 120,000 people that have been employed by those enterprises. ... Those that have been documented to have lost jobs, lost about 10,000 jobs. So (120,000 less 10,000) means that we created something over 100,000 jobs."

THE FACTS: Romney now has acknowledged the negative side of the ledger from his years with Bain Capital, but hardly laid out the full story. His claim to have created more than 100,000 jobs in the private sector as a venture capitalist remains unsupported.

Romney mentioned four successful investments in companies that now employ some 120,000 people, having grown since he was involved in them a decade or ago or longer. From that, he subtracted the number of jobs that he said are known to have been lost at certain other companies.

What's missing is anything close to a complete list of winners and losers ? and the bottom line on jobs. Bain under Romney invested in scores of private companies that don't have the obligation of big publicly traded corporations to disclose finances. Romney acknowledged that he was using current employment figures for the four companies, not the number of jobs they had when he left Bain Capital, yet took credit for them in his analysis.

___

GINGRICH: "Under Jimmy Carter, we had the wrong laws, the wrong regulations, the wrong leadership, and we killed jobs. We had inflation. We went to 10.8 percent unemployment. Under Ronald Reagan, we had the right job ? the right laws, the right regulators, the right leadership. We created 16 million new jobs."

FACT CHECK: Sure, inflation was bad and gas lines long, but under Carter's presidency unemployment never topped 7.8 percent. The unemployment rate did reach 10.8 percent, but not until November 1982, nearly two years into Reagan's first term.

Most economists attribute the jobless increase to a sharp rise in interest rates engineered by then-Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker in an ultimately successful effort to choke off inflation. Unemployment began to fall in 1983 and dropped to 7.2 percent in November 1984, when Reagan easily won re-election.

The economy did add 16 million jobs during Reagan's 1981-1989 presidency. Gingrich's assertion that "we created" them may have left the impression that he was a key figure in that growth. Although Gingrich was first elected to the House in 1978, his first Republican leadership position, as minority whip, began when Reagan left office, in 1989.

___

PAUL: "I had the privilege of practicing medicine in the early `60s, before we had any government (health care). It worked rather well, and there was nobody on the street suffering with no medical care. But Medicare and Medicaid came in and it just expanded."

THE FACTS: Before Medicare was created in the mid-1960s, only about half of the elderly had private insurance for hospital care, and they were facing rising costs for those policies on their fixed incomes. Medicare was hugely contentious at the time, seen by many doctors as a socialist takeover, but few argued that the status quo could be maintained.

A Health, Education and Welfare Department report to Congress in 1959, during the Republican administration of Dwight Eisenhower, took no position on what the federal government should do but stated "a larger proportion of the aged than of other persons must turn to public assistance for payment of their medical bills or rely on `free' care from hospitals and physicians."

Paul advocates a return to an era when doctors would treat the needy for free. But even in the old days, charity came with a cost. Research from the pre-Medicare era shows that the cost of free care was transferred to paying customers and the insurance industry.

___

ROMNEY: "The executive order is a beginning process. It's one thing, but it doesn't completely eliminate Obamacare. ... We have to go after a complete repeal. And that's going to have to have to happen with a House and a Senate, hopefully, that are Republican."

THE FACTS: With that statement, Romney essentially corrected his repeated suggestions in early debates and speeches that he would eliminate President Barack Obama's health care law with a stroke of the pen on his first day in office ? a power no president has.

In one variation of the claim, he had vowed in a Sept. 7 debate that on Day One, he would sign an executive order "granting a waiver from Obamacare to all 50 states." This, despite the fact that the law lays out an onerous process for letting individual states off the hook from its requirements, and that process cannot begin until 2017.

Now he acknowledges the political reality that a Republican president would need Republican control of Congress to have a strong shot at repealing the law.

___

Associated Press writers Jim Drinkard, and Christopher S. Rugaber contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_debate_fact_check

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After losing Horford, Hawks show surprising grit (AP)

ATLANTA ? When Al Horford tumbled to the court, his hopes of playing again this season all but snuffed out, everyone figured he'd take the Atlanta Hawks down with him.

Well, look who's in first place.

The Hawks (11-4) have won four straight since their All-Star center tore his left pectoral muscle, an injury that required surgery and will keep him out for most if not the entire rest of the season.

A talented but enigmatic team known for buckling under pressure, Atlanta has shown surprising grit and resolve in the wake of Horford's devastating injury.

Granted, all four wins have come at home, and three were against teams with losing records. Still, the Hawks have impressed by managing to hang together, led by Joe Johnson and Josh Smith.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120119/ap_on_sp_bk_ne/bkn_hawks_winning_without_al

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NJ high court weighs Mexican telephone testimony (AP)

TRENTON, N.J. ? A man deported from the New Jersey shore for fathering two children with a 15-year-old girl can probably try to overturn his conviction by calling in to court from a pay phone in Mexico.

Whether or not he should be allowed to is a decision the New Jersey Supreme Court will make soon.

The justices heard arguments Wednesday on the efforts of Juan Pablo Santos, who wants to overturn his 2008 conviction for child endangerment. He asserts his previous lawyer didn't inform him that by pleading guilty to the crime, he would automatically be deported.

Now the 29-year-old Santos is asking the high court to let him testify from a pay phone in an unspecified Mexican community. Because of his criminal conviction, the former Lakewood resident is not eligible to return to the United States to appear in court to try to overturn the conviction on the grounds that he received inadequate legal advice, according to his attorney, Ubel Velez.

"He was not illegal," she told the high court. "This conviction forced this defendant to be deported. We want this court to establish procedure for a defendant in Mexico, in Haiti, in Tanzania to testify from a pay phone from remote places."

But the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office opposes the request, saying it needs the defendant to be physically present in court in order for the judge and prosecutors to evaluate his credibility. That includes looking him in the eye, observing his body language and overall demeanor ? all things that are impossible to do over the telephone. It would also be impossible to verify that the person speaking is actually Santos, prosecutors argue.

"Someone on this end would have to identify him as the defendant," Justice Barry Albin said. "Take that as a given."

Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Samuel Marzarella told the justices Santos can try to get a federal court to give him special permission to return to the U.S. to appear in court. But the prosecutor's office will not agree to telephone testimony because it would undermine long-established legal norms, and deprive the victim of their right to confront the witness in court.

"There's a reason we go to the symphony in person rather than watching it on TV or listening to the CD," Marzarella said. "We get more data. It's a different experience."

He also said that just because a particular technology exists, that doesn't mean the courts are obligated to use it.

Santos first ran afoul of the law in 2005 when police went to his home in Lakewood and found him in bed with a teenage girl. His lawyer said Santos was 22 at the time. The girl, who Santos describes as his common-law wife, was 15.

"That sounds outrageous, but it is customary for Latinos to marry young," Velez told the justices.

Albin replied, "We have something called statutory rape. A person under the age of 16, and a person four years older than that who has sex with that person is guilty of a crime."

Velez said after court that the couple had two children together, and that the family was broken apart by Santos' deportation.

"They were in love," she said.

Several of the justices appeared disinclined to allow telephone testimony, suggesting instead that Santos testify via video link from a U.S. Embassy or a Mexican governmental office. Deputy Attorney General Michael Williams said that would be a better option than taking testimony by phone, which a lower court judge in Ocean County said last year would be OK. Williams also suggested Santos be allowed to testify over the Internet using the Skype online phone service.

But that would lead to a whole new array of questions that are not easily answered: Who would administer the oath to the witness? How would the oath to testify truthfully be enforced if the defendant is already out of the country and beyond the reach of U.S. law enforcement? Who would pay for all this?

Chief Justice Stuart Rabner said much more legal argument is needed before the court can resolve the case, and ordered both sides to submit additional briefs.

In the meantime, Velez said she would contact Santos to see if he has access to a law office in Mexico. She said having him travel to a distant city to appear at a consulate or governmental office would be an extreme financial burden.

That may be, Albin replied, but it might be a small price to pay for someone trying to overturn a conviction they maintain was wrongly imposed.

___

Wayne Parry can be reached at http://twitter.com/WayneParryAC

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mexico/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120118/ap_on_re_us/us_telephone_testimony

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Video: Telsa Electrified, Older Cars on the Road

CNBC's Phil LeBeau reports Goldman Sachs upgrades Telsa shares to a "buy" rating and place a price target at $35 on the stock. Also, a look at a new study that shows older and older cars are on the road, despite increasing new car sales.

Related Links:

Business & financial news headlines from msnbc.com

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/46028990/

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