Saturday, December 17, 2011

Mindy McCready fights for custody of son

(CNN) -- Embattled country singer Mindy McCready fought for custody of her son in an Arkansas courtroom Friday, a little more than a week after she was accused of fleeing with the 5-year-old and refusing to return the boy for days.

The judge in the case made no decision in the custody hearing, which pitted McCready against her mother. The hearing was continued to a later date, said Kat Atwood, McCready's publicist.

"Mindy and her family are pleased the courts are handling this case with care," Atwood said.

The judge could decide whether the boy stays in foster care under Arkansas state custody, goes to his grandmother's home in Florida or goes to McCready's home, CNN affiliate KARK reported.

This custody battle became national news after McCready took her son from her mother's Florida home in late November and had asked a court to restore custody to her out of concern over the boy's safety.

On December 1, a Florida judge issued an emergency "pick up" order for young Zander McCready.

Days after the order, McCready was found by authorities hiding in a closet with her son in a home in Arkansas.

The boy was then taken into the custody of the Arkansas Division of Children and Family Services.

Until recently, the boy had been living with Mindy McCready's mother and stepfather, Gayle and Michael Inge, who have legal custody. The singer, who has fought a public battle against drug addiction, has visitation rights.

The singer burst on the music scene in 1996 with the debut album "10,000 Angels" and the chart-topping country hit "Guys Do It All the Time."

McCready participated in the 2009 season of the reality TV show "Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew."

A biography on her website says she had an "explosive relationship" with the boy's father, Billy McKnight, who also is a country singer.

McKnight released a statement about the incident just after the boy was found in Arkansas.

"As we move forward from this incident, please remember that everyone has the ability to make positive changes in their life," the statement said.


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Money manager makes mint investing for women

Elle Kaplan struck gold when she started managing women's money.

NEW YORK (CNN Money) -- In a post-Bernie Madoff world where investment advising has made investors wary, Elle Kaplan spotted a gold mine.

Kaplan, who has worked many years in investment banking and private banking, decided she'd create a firm that didn't charge hidden fees or excessive broker fees like some "fast-talking slick salesmen" on Wall Street.

In October 2010, within one month of starting Lexion Capital Management in Manhattan, Kaplan, 36, achieved $1 million in assets. Former clients at firms where she once worked came on board immediately. "I didn't expect it to be successful this quickly. It felt gratifying because I had worked hard to create a place that was worthy of them."

First, she had to overcome suspicions about money managers.

"People, especially in New York, were still reeling, because of the mortgage scandals and the fraud perpetuated by Bernie Madoff," Kaplan said. "I handled it by putting a slide in our presentation: 'How do you know we're not the next Madoff?' "

Eric Donner, a financial adviser at Rubin Wealth Advisors in South Florida added: "Clients are so uncertain right now. They've been placed into products and programs without the advice. " Donner, who ran his own firm on Wall Street for 25 years, said that investors "desperately need help -- but qualified help."

As a fee-only money manager, clients sign a power-of-attorney agreement that gives Kaplan authority to trade accounts -- yet she can't withdraw any of the money. "If everyone did that, no one would have to worry," she said. Having the authority to trade and withdraw money should never be mixed, she said. "It's like oil and water," she said.

Not tied to a firm, Kaplan can also remain neutral. "As an independent money-management manager, I'm not married to a set of funds. I can go to whatever's best," she said.

Investors no longer feel that going with a large bank means their money is secure. "The dissatisfaction and the scandals have made my job easier," she said.

Clients must have a minimum of $500,000 to play with, much less than most firms. About 15 years ago, Kaplan's mother unexpectedly became a widow, and consequently fumbled through money issues. Inspired by her mother's experience, Kaplan caters to female clients in life transitions. "I wanted to create a place that was worthy of my mom -- someone who is vulnerable and overwhelmed by the process," she said.

"She's a very accessible person," said Kathleen Peratis, an employment lawyer in New York City and one of Kaplan's clients. "She's especially good with women. Women are taking more control of their finances."

Maybe it's because Kaplan experienced her own set of transitions. In the late '90s, after graduating from the University of Michigan with bachelor's degrees in English and chemistry, she moved to New York City without a job lined up. She cold-called Wall Street firms about job openings until she snagged one.

"As a woman from the Midwest, Wall Street was kind of mystical to me," she explained. By now her resume reveals no trace of those humble beginnings: positions in London, Chicago and New York City in investment banking, private banking and on the trading floor. Kaplan also earned an executive MBA (finance) from Columbia Business School.

Alexandra Lebenthal, a wealth manager who launched Lebenthal & Company in New York City in 2006, and wrote "The Resessionistas," a 2010 novel about socialites in her city grappling with the recession, agreed there is a difference between how men and women interact with clients.

Like Kaplan, she sees opportunity: "So many clients are disenchanted with the big firms. A lot of people have put out their own shingles. At the end of the day, there's no better way to market to women than when you have a woman running the business."

Donner admitted it's hard for most men to be sympathetic to women's financial matters. "Men are not comfortable when a woman starts crying in the office because her husband left her three years ago and she's just now finding the courage to manage her finances," she said.

Kaplan is so passionate about women and finance that she's already talking to the next generation about it. She volunteers at high schools in the Tri-State area, speaking with teenage girls about careers in finance. "Of senior Wall Street positions, only eight percent are filled by women," she said. "I'm out there every day fighting that." To top of page

In Kosota, Minnesota, a small business lets people drive battle tanks and crush cars ... no joke! Play

Chef Homaro Cantu is creating an inhalable form of the berry that will alter your taste buds into thinking bitter but nutritional weeds found everywhere are tasty. Play

Georgia Chopsticks is the only U.S. manufacturer that exports the ubiquitous utensil to China. Play


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Friday, December 16, 2011

Judge rejects Twitter cyberstalking case

(CNN) -- A federal judge dismissed a case of cyberstalking on Twitter ruling that even though some tweets caused emotional stress, they are still considered free speech.

The case involved Alyce Zeoli, a Buddhist leader based in Maryland. Zeoli aroused the ire of William Lawrence Cassidy, a man who, according to the memorandum opinion issued in the case, befriended Zeoli in 2007 before the two had a falling out.

Using various pseudonyms on Twitter and on blogs, Cassidy published more than 8,000 tweets and posts about Zeoli often wishing death upon her. (One tweet, for example, read, "Do the world a favor and go kill yourself. P.S. Have a nice day.")

Zeoli cooperated with the FBI, which had Cassidy indicted and put in jail in February on interstate stalking charges, a statute of the Violence Against Women Act. Cassidy sought to dismiss the indictment on the grounds that it violated the First Amendment.

The judge in the case, Roger W. Titus, agreed with Cassidy's assertion, concluding that the First Amendment "protects speech even when the subject or the manner of expression is uncomfortable and challenges conventional religious beliefs, political attitudes or standards of good taste."

Titus also cited the fact that Zeoli is a public figure (she was the subject of a book published in 2000) and ruled that Cassidy's remarks didn't constitute a "true threat."

Factoring into Titus's thinking was his assessment of Twitter and blogs, which he likened to billboards. Billboards, he reasoned, do not send messages and "does not communicate, except to those who voluntarily choose to read what is posted on it."

In reaction to the ruling, Zeoli was "appalled and frightened," according to her lawyer, Shanlon Wu, who spoke to The New York Times. Chun Wright, one of Zeoli's attorneys, says it hasn't been determined yet whether an appeal to Titus's ruling will be sought. Cassidy's public defenders, meanwhile, are working on getting him released from jail, according to the report.

What do you think? Should posts on Twitter and blogs be protected even if they appear to be threatening? Let us know in the comments.


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Will small airports take a big hit?

(CNN) -- Graydon Grotberg remembers when his hometown of International Falls, Minnesota, had no commercial airport. Now, he can't imagine life without it.

More than a half-century ago, Grotberg boarded a Greyhound bus for the 300-mile trip to Minneapolis-St. Paul where he enlisted in Marine Corps boot camp amid the Korean War. Two years later, he returned home to Minnesota and a bus brought him back to International Falls, safe and sound.

But Greyhound doesn't service International Falls anymore. Neither does Amtrak.

So Grotberg, now an 81-year-old retired widower, relies on a Delta Connection flight from the International Falls airport to the Twin Cities, where he receives medical treatment for his eye condition. When he can't make the flight, he shares a VA hospital van with several other travelers willing to endure the six-hour drive.

Grotberg would drive himself -- if it weren't for his eye condition -- which he says is similar to macular degeneration. It restricts his driving to daytime only -- on non-interstate roads.

"If nobody else is scheduled to take the van, then I have to fly," Grotberg says. "if we didn't have a flight out of here that I could take, I don't know what I'd do. We're kind of stranded up here."

Grotberg's situation could get a lot worse. A House bill proposes virtually killing a subsidy program that helps 162 small rural airports, like the one in International Falls, stay in business. Airports in Alaska and Hawaii would be spared.

Subsidized airport locations and amounts

It's a threat that could leave Grotberg and other travelers who rely on tiny local airports with frighteningly few travel options.

Without the program -- which is called Essential Air Service, International Falls would change radically, say community leaders.

Commercial airlines would pull out, they say, leaving the airport with nothing but income from private aircraft and charter flights.

The airport ferries business travelers for a local paper mill as well as hunters and other outdoor sports enthusiasts. Over the long term, officials say, the airport infrastructure would suffer due to the loss of funding.

Not only would those travelers be left with few options, the economic effects on the town, they say, would be staggering.

"It would be incredibly difficult, probably impossible, to find another carrier to come here without an EAS contract, unless the economy surges astoundingly and fuel prices simultaneously decline," says Susan Baratono, executive secretary of the airport commission.

Falling numbers, crucial connections

International Falls' airport started getting the EAS subsidies in 2009. "For many, many years we never needed it," says airport commission chairman Bob Anderson, until the nation's economic crisis took its toll.

In the last two to three years the facility's annual commercial airline traffic has plunged from about 25,000 departures and 25,000 arrivals, to recent figures of 13,000 or 14,000 each way, Anderson says. "But we're seeing those numbers starting to increase."

A recent price for the least expensive round-trip ticket from International Falls to Minneapolis was more than $450, says Pam Pavleck , Minneapolis-area branch manager of Travel Leaders.

"We have a lot of people who come down from International Falls to Minneapolis-St. Paul and shop -- they go to Mall of America -- and we have a lot of people who visit their family," Pavleck said. "And if they're going to stay awhile, they might drive down so they can have their cars, but for weekend trips -- yes they want to fly."

Vacationers from International Falls and Minnesota's other small towns also rely on their local airports to ferry them hundreds of miles to Minneapolis where they must make crucial airline connections in their itineraries.

EAS is projected to pay more than $1.3 million in subsidies this fiscal year to Delta Connection for its International Falls service. That works out to a subsidy of about $49.79 per passenger, according to the Department of Transportation.

Now Delta Connection is looking to pull its service from the community.

Under EAS, airlines can't pull out of an airport until a replacement carrier agrees to fill the gap. Negotiations are now ongoing with Great Lakes Airlines to have that airline replace Delta Connection, Anderson says.

Is it obsolete?

EAS opponents point to news reports out of Ely, Nevada, describing outrage over last year's sky-high average per passenger subsidy of $3,720.

The Essential Air Service program began in 1978 as a temporary way to help small airports survive federal deregulation. Rep. Tom Petri, chairman of the House aviation subcommittee, says the program is obsolete.

"Why should the government have to pay for all this?" asks Petri, a Wisconsin Republican.

Being from a big state, Petri is very aware that small airports are important to rural voters. What does he tell them when they complain about his plan to cut subsidies?

"Up in northern Wisconsin, a number of people weren't happy about this sort of thing," he admits. "I say well ... my part of the state, Appleton, had air service and it was canceled numerous times and each time it was canceled people got together and started a new airline themselves. It's not that hard. You just need a pilot and a small plane."

Petri suggests that these airports join a federal small communities program which provides grants to help start new air service.

Supporters say taxpayers shouldn't have a problem with EAS because much of the fund doesn't come from taxpayer dollars.

According to the Department of Transportation, $50 million of the fund's $193 million is paid for by foreign airlines through fees they pay to fly over the United States.

If EAS dies, says Petri, that money will continue to be collected and could possibly go toward many other goals, including deficit reduction and speeding up implementation of NextGen -- the FAA's massive overhaul of the nation's air traffic system.

Petri says it's time for small airport operators to put free enterprise in the driver's seat.

For Grotberg, getting in the driver's seat for a holiday visit to see his three daughters and grandchildren is not an option.

His eyesight has failed him and now, he fears the airlines and Congress might fail him too. He supports EAS. "I favor it more than other kinds of government subsidies," says Grotberg. "It's more important than subsidizing oil companies."

House and Senate negotiators are hammering out a compromise bill this month. Petri says they're "very close" to an agreement. but it's unclear if the EAS program will survive. If so, full House and the Senate votes on a final bill are expected sometime in January.

Some might suggest that Grotberg consider moving closer to his doctor and family in Minneapolis-St. Paul. But after living in International Falls nearly his entire life -- working at the local paper mill and raising his three daughters -- he says that's just not going to happen.

"It's a small town and it's so easy to get around and it has such friendly people. I like my home. I'm comfortable. I don't know if I could ever relocate."


Source

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Cell phone bans don't work - insurance group

So far, where cell phone bans have been enacted, they've failed to reduce crashes, according to the Insurance Insitute for Highway Safety.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Cell phone bans, such as those recently recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board, have so far proven useless when it comes to actually reducing car crashes, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The Insurance Institute is a private group financed by auto insurers. The National Transportation Safety Board recently recommended that states adopt strict rules banning all non-driving-related use of hand-held devices such as cell phones -- even hands-free -- while driving.

Many states already have bans on hand-held cell phone use and on texting while driving. The Insurance Institute has studied crash rates before and after bans were enacted in various states and also compared them to crash rates in nearby states with no such bans.

While the bans have resulted in actual reductions in phone use, they have not resulted in any reduction in crash rates, according to the Institute.

The Institute found similar results from bans on text messaging while driving. In fact, in a strange twist, texting bans actually resulted in more crashes in several states, according to an IIHS study.

The lesson, Insurance Institute spokesman Russ Rader said, may be that cell phones aren't really the problem, drivers are.

"Part of it is that distracted driving is much bigger than just phones," he said "so focusing on phones doesn't deal with the full spectrum of things that distract."

For its part, the NTSB has cited various studies showing a connection between cell phone use and an increased likelihood of crashing. An NHTSA study indicated that distracted driving caused about 3,000 crash deaths last year, although it's not clear how many of those crashes were related to hand-held devices as opposed to other distractions.

"What we know is that the best course of action is a three pronged approach -- strong laws, strong education and strong enforcement," NTSB spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said in an email.

Automakers, including Ford (F, Fortune 500), General Motors (GM, Fortune 500), Toyota (TM) and Hyundai (HYMTF) have invested heavily in creating increasingly sophisticated hands-free phone systems for cars. Most of those systems would be banned under the NTSB's proposal. (An exception would be GM's OnStar which allows users to make calls using a telephone built into the car itself. The NTSB proposal would specifically allow calls on that sort of system since it does not involve a handheld phone.)

Ford spokeswoman Christin Baker objected to the NTSB proposal citing research that tracked real-world drivers. The research showed that talking on a phone resulted in dangerous incidents only when drivers took their eyes off the road and their hands off the steering wheel. Voice-activated systems like Ford's Sync would prevent that, she said.

Experts have said the NTSB's proposal is unlikely to become law in many, if any, states due to strong resistance from drivers who want to stay in communication while driving.

New technologies that help alert drivers to hazards on the road would probably do more to actually reduce distracted driving crashes, the Insurance Institute's Rader said.

Such technologies include forward collision warning systems that alert drivers to stopped or slow-moving cars or pedestrians ahead of them and lane keeping assistance systems that warn when a vehicle is drifting out of its lane.

Both the Insurance Institute and the U.S. Department of Transportation are looking at ways to incorporate safety systems like these in their assessments of car safety. As of now, such assessments rely almost entirely on crash tests.

There is the danger that drivers might over-rely on these systems, said Rader, canceling out their benefits by just paying even less attention to the task of driving.

"That is the thing researchers are going to be watching," said Rader. "How are drivers going to respond to these systems?" To top of page


Source

How to fill virtual stockings with e-gifts

(CNN) -- Digital gifts may be tough to wrap. But they can be more convenient for both givers and recipients.

An album from iTunes or a Kindle e-book from Amazon have become viable gift options for shoppers, especially on the eve of a holiday or for people living far away. Digital items can be purchased with a few clicks and delivered instantly.

And because they don't need to be shipped, they're environmentally friendly.

Revenue from some virtual goods, including games and applications, will reach $2.9 billion next year, according to research firm Inside Network. Once you add digital music downloads, which research firm Gartner says will rake in $6.3 billion this year, and online video streaming through services such as Netflix and Hulu, the market becomes quite large.

Gift cards are always a popular alternative, but for people who would rather give a specific present, many of the big digital retailers are providing ways to send downloads via e-mail.

About a quarter of holiday shoppers plan to buy virtual gifts this year, according to a research report from e-commerce provider Elastic Path. Children may find themselves running to check their e-mail on Christmas morning or each night of Hanukkah.

Apple: Through its iTunes program on a computer, Apple lets you give apps, music, movies and TV shows to be sent to someone's e-mail address or to be printed as a certificate at home. Click the down arrow beside the "buy" button on an item in the iTunes store and then click on "Gift This."

The iTunes or App Store buttons on Apple's mobile devices also have this feature tucked at the bottom of each listing.

Apple does not let shoppers send e-books as gifts via iBooks, however.

Amazon: The online retailer has "Give as a Gift" buttons located under the "buy" buttons all over Kindle books and MP3 music in its store. Amazon launched the feature last holiday season. The songs are in a standard format that can be played on many music players, and the books can be viewed using the apps Amazon offers for phones, tablets and computers, as well as in a computer's Web browser.

Amazon does not seem to let shoppers gift apps, like those for the new Kindle Fire tablet. But children using their parents Kindle tablets won't have a tough time racking up the charges thanks to the devices' deep integration with the Amazon store.

Barnes & Noble: The bookseller's Instant Gifting covers both apps and e-books for the Nook tablets and e-readers. The retailer lets recipients exchange unwanted gifts -- say, the full "Twilight" series -- for store credit.

Google: The computing giant sells apps, e-books, movie rentals and music downloads in the Android Market. But it does not allow customers to purchase them and have them delivered as gifts, a Google spokesman said.

Others: Popular web media services, including Netflix and Pandora, sell subscriptions that can be given as gifts. Hot music streaming service Spotify offers this in parts of Europe but not yet in the United States, a spokeswoman said.

So in short, stockings may be lighter this year. But inboxes may be fuller.


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Screeners find loaded gun on flier

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Score one for the TSA.

Just a week after airport screeners came under criticism for allegedly "strip-searching" elderly women -- a charge the agency denies -- airport screeners in Detroit this weekend found a loaded handgun concealed on the ankle of a 76-year-old man, authorities said Monday.

The man, who had a valid permit to carry a handgun for personal protection, told police he knew guns were not permitted on airplanes, but said he forgot he had it on him, said Michael Conway, spokesman for the Wayne County Airport Authority. The man was briefly locked up and prosecutors are reviewing the case, Conway said.

The discovery comes at a time when the Transportation Security Administration is under criticism for allegedly conducting "strip searches" on elderly women. The agency said it does not conduct strip searches, but has steadfastly said it needs to resolve anomalies revealed by machines regardless of the passengers' ages.

Last week, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, introduced a bill to strip airport screeners of the title "officer" and to remove their metal police badges, citing the alleged strip searches of elderly women. "Enough is enough!," Blackburn said in a statement. "The least we can do is end this impersonation which is an insult to real cops."

In Saturday's incident, a full-body scanner detected a hidden item on the man's ankle, the TSA said. Officers checked and found the loaded Ruger Prescott firearm in an ankle holster.

Following protocols, the TSA called the airport authority police department, whose officers arrested the man.

TSA spokesman Greg Soule said declared, unloaded and properly packaged firearms may be transported in checked baggage, but they are prohibited from being carried on the aircraft.

"The discovery of this firearm is a credit to both our officers' training and the cutting edge technology they use each day," Soule said in a statement. "Our officers used imaging technology to quickly locate this dangerous item, and ensure it was not carried on an aircraft."

In addition to a possibility of criminal charges, passengers carrying firearms to airport security checkpoints are subject to civil penalties assessed by TSA up to a maximum of $11,000. A common fine for this type of weapon is approximately $3,000, Soule said.

TSA officers detect about 4 or 5 firearms a day across the country on an average day. All told, more than 1,100 firearms have been discovered at airport checkpoints this year.


Source

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Screeners find loaded gun on flier

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Score one for the TSA.

Just a week after airport screeners came under criticism for allegedly "strip-searching" elderly women -- a charge the agency denies -- airport screeners in Detroit this weekend found a loaded handgun concealed on the ankle of a 76-year-old man, authorities said Monday.

The man, who had a valid permit to carry a handgun for personal protection, told police he knew guns were not permitted on airplanes, but said he forgot he had it on him, said Michael Conway, spokesman for the Wayne County Airport Authority. The man was briefly locked up and prosecutors are reviewing the case, Conway said.

The discovery comes at a time when the Transportation Security Administration is under criticism for allegedly conducting "strip searches" on elderly women. The agency said it does not conduct strip searches, but has steadfastly said it needs to resolve anomalies revealed by machines regardless of the passengers' ages.

Last week, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, introduced a bill to strip airport screeners of the title "officer" and to remove their metal police badges, citing the alleged strip searches of elderly women. "Enough is enough!," Blackburn said in a statement. "The least we can do is end this impersonation which is an insult to real cops."

In Saturday's incident, a full-body scanner detected a hidden item on the man's ankle, the TSA said. Officers checked and found the loaded Ruger Prescott firearm in an ankle holster.

Following protocols, the TSA called the airport authority police department, whose officers arrested the man.

TSA spokesman Greg Soule said declared, unloaded and properly packaged firearms may be transported in checked baggage, but they are prohibited from being carried on the aircraft.

"The discovery of this firearm is a credit to both our officers' training and the cutting edge technology they use each day," Soule said in a statement. "Our officers used imaging technology to quickly locate this dangerous item, and ensure it was not carried on an aircraft."

In addition to a possibility of criminal charges, passengers carrying firearms to airport security checkpoints are subject to civil penalties assessed by TSA up to a maximum of $11,000. A common fine for this type of weapon is approximately $3,000, Soule said.

TSA officers detect about 4 or 5 firearms a day across the country on an average day. All told, more than 1,100 firearms have been discovered at airport checkpoints this year.


Source

Egypt starts second round of elections

Cairo (CNN) -- Egyptians headed to the polls Wednesday for the second round of the country's three-stage election process to select a new parliament.

The round is vital because voting occurs in Giza, Luxor, Aswan and Ismailia regions , which have historically favored conservative Islamic candidates.

Egypt's Islamists claimed victory in the first round last week.

The relatively moderate Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party has said on its website that it had won 34 seats in the runoff election.

The conservative Al Nour Salafi Party won five seats, according to its website.

These are the first parliamentary elections since former President Hosni Mubarak was forced out of office in February.

At Giza, about 100 people waited to vote outside a polling station to vote.

Abdul Kareem Mohammed said the first round of the election made him feel proud about the changes in his nation.

"I am happy to vote for the first time in my life today," Mohammed , 28, said. "This is the voice of the Egyptian people."

Voter Hani Salah al-dine said he voted for the Muslim Brotherhood. He said he believed the first round of the election was fair, citing the outcome of obscure candidates who did better than some rich, well-known candidates.

"This show's the common man's voice is being heard," he said.


Source

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Khlo K. 'sad' about hubby's trade to Dallas

(PEOPLE.com) -- Is Dallas ready for the Kardashians?

The Mavericks just got Lamar Odom and, in all likelihood, a lot of upcoming reality TV drama after the Lakers traded Khlo Kardashian's husband late Saturday.

The emotion is already flowing as Khlo grapples with her mixed feelings about the move.

"We are all sad but positive energy gets you farther then negative," Kardashian tells a Twitter follower.

But she says in a later post, "I have no doubt about it! I am excited :) I know this is for a reason."

Khlo won't be the first Kardashian in the Big D.

As Dallas Morning News columnist Alan Peppard notes, her sister Kim briefly dated Dallas Cowboys receiver Miles Austin.

"But the real Dallas expert is eldest sister Kourtney Kardashian," writes Peppard. "She spent two years living here when she was a student at SMU."

It turns out Dallas has already been keeping up with the Kardashians.

See full article at PEOPLE.com.


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Monday, December 12, 2011

Obama, Iraqi PM meet amid U.S. troop withdrawal

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama met Monday with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki as the United States prepares to complete withdrawing virtually all of its troops from Iraq by the end of the year.

The two leaders are expected to discuss cooperation between their countries in the wake of the ongoing troop withdrawal, which is scheduled to be finished by December 31.

Some analysts fear violence could spike as groups struggle over power, and that the decreased U.S. presence could allow Iran to increase its influence.

After their Oval Office meeting, Obama and al-Maliki will hold a news conference and then participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

As of Sunday, 6,000 U.S. troops and four U.S. military bases remained in Iraq, according to Col. Barry Johnson, spokesman for the United States Forces in Iraq.

The four bases are:

-- Kalsu in Iskandariya, about 20 miles south of Baghdad

-- Echo in Diwaniya, about 111 miles south of Baghdad

-- Adder near Nasiriya, about 198 miles southeast of Baghdad

-- Basra in Basra, about 340 miles southeast of Baghdad

Iraq faces many challenges as U.S. troops pull out, ranging from human rights issues to oil deals to national stability.

Meghan O'Sullivan, a Bush administration deputy national security adviser for Iraq and Afghanistan from 2004 to 2007, wrote that there is "reason to worry" in a recent analysis for Foreign Affairs posted on CNN's Global Public Square blog.

"The foundations of the Iraqi state remain shallow. Divisions within Iraq's ruling elite run deep," wrote O'Sullivan, now a professor at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. "A continued U.S. military presence would not have guaranteed peace and prosperity, but its removal increases the risks of failure in Iraq by eliminating the psychological backstop to a still delicate political system and by kicking open the door more widely to foreign interference."

U.S. officials have insisted that the drastic pullback of troops does not mean an end to the U.S. government's presence in Iraq.

"We are absolutely committed to be your partner to the extent you want us to be," Vice President Joe Biden told al-Maliki during a visit to Iraq earlier this month. "We stand ready to provide assistance."

The move is the start of "a new chapter" in the United States' relationship with Iraq, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said shortly after Obama announced the withdrawal in October.

Toner noted substantial improvements in the capabilities of the Iraqis, even as he admitted the continued importance of addressing "security needs" of the hundreds of non-military U.S. personnel who will remain there.

That includes about 1,700 diplomats, law enforcement officers and various economic, agriculture and other professionals and experts who will be in Iraq into 2012, according to the State Department. In addition, 5,000 security contractors will protect the U.S. diplomats and another 4,500 contractors will serve other roles, such as helping provide food and medical services, until they can be done locally.

Future U.S. involvement in training for Iraqi troops is also a possibility, U.S. officials have said.

"We will continue discussions on how we might help Iraq train and equip its forces -- again, just as we offer training and assistance to countries around the world," Obama said in October.

Earlier this month, al-Maliki said Iraq was becoming a more stable country. He said all Iraqis should be proud of what has been achieved, adding that it was not a success for any particular party, sect or ethnicity.

Al-Maliki made the comments during a ceremony honoring the sacrifices of both U.S. and Iraqi troops.

But the prime minister noted that Iraqis have paid a huge price in lives and property.

Officials and analysts have said the impact of the U.S. presence will echo for years to come.

"Iraqis, Americans and the world ultimately will judge us far more on the basis of what will happen than what has happened," former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker said in 2008 congressional testimony. "In the end, how we leave and what we leave behind will be more important than how we came."


Source

Sunday, December 11, 2011

House GOP links pipeline, payroll tax cut

Washington (CNN) -- Ensuring a pre-holiday collision course with the Senate, House Republicans Friday ignored criticism from President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats and formally unveiled a bill that extends the payroll tax cut and benefits for jobless Americans, but ties those items to a provision that clears a path toward approving the Keystone XL pipeline.

Senate Democrats bristled at the inclusion of the controversial pipeline -- which would eventually run from Canada though the Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico -- and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid promised it would not pass in the Senate.

"Now is not the time to be debating unrelated measures like an oil pipeline," Reid said in a statement Friday. "If the House sends us their bill with Keystone in it, they are just wasting valuable time because it will not pass the Senate."

The House GOP measure extends the payroll tax cut for one year and renews aid for the unemployed, while cutting back the maximum length of jobless benefits from the current 99 weeks to 59. The bill also allows states more flexibility in distributing unemployment assistance, permitting states to require those applying to submit to drug tests or show they are pursuing a high school degree if they don't have one. The bill would also avoid a scheduled cut in pay for Medicare physicians for two years, the so-called "doc fix."

But as a way to bring on reluctant conservative Republicans, who voiced concerns about the impact of the payroll tax cut on Social Security, GOP leaders insist on keeping the provision aimed at moving toward approving the pipeline project within 60 days, something House Speaker John Boehner argued Thursday "would create tens of thousands of jobs immediately."

Earlier this fall, the Obama administration put off the decision on the project until after the 2012 presidential election after environmentalists raised concerns about the impact on some areas in the Midwest.

To pay for the bill, GOP leaders use a series of spending cuts, including freezing pay for federal employees and members of Congress, eliminating a child tax credit for those in the U.S. illegally, and increasing Medicare premiums for those who earn more than $80,000 annually.

"This package does not include everything Republicans would like, nor does it have all that Democrats have called for; but it is a win for the American people and worthy of the president's signature," Boehner said in a written statement.

The pipeline issue is just one part of the problem for Senate Democrats who disagree with "central elements" of the GOP bill, including the length of the unemployment insurance extension and the proposed cost offsets, according to one Democratic aide.

Earlier this week, Obama warned that he would reject any bill that coupled approval of the Keystone XL project to a bill renewing tax cuts. And White House Press Secretary Jay Carney reiterated the president's opposition to the package on Friday, saying "Republican leaders in Congress are still playing politics at the expense of middle class families."

Carney said the GOP plan violates previous budget agreements and "gives a free pass to the wealthiest and corporations" while "choosing to refight old political battles."

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi argued Friday the GOP bill "doesn't have a shot" and said the pipeline provision is "a poison pill designed to sink the payroll tax cut."

The House is expected to vote on the bill Tuesday. In the meantime, Senate Democrats have begun working on a new bill of their own, which the same Democratic aide hoped would be a "credible solution" to the standoff.

Democratic leaders and staff will work over the weekend writing the new offer and could put it up for a vote by the middle of next week.

The aide said the bill will be "designed to attract bipartisan support," although the aide could not say if Democrats would jettison the surtax on incomes over $1 million as part of this new bill. Senate Republicans to this point have stood nearly uniformly against the surtax as a way to help pay for the payroll tax extension.


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Pierce Brosnan returns to TV in 'Bag of Bones'

(CNN) -- You most likely know Pierce Brosnan from his work as 007, but he's actually been quite busy since his Bond days.

Rom-com roles, quirky indie flicks here and there and spending time developing his own projects through his company Irish DreamTime gives you the sense that this is a guy who's dedicated to not only the craft of acting, but also to working instead of coasting on any prior associations. For his latest project, a TV mini-series adaptation of Stephen King's 1998 novel, "Bag of Bones," he portrays Mike Noonan, a writer who seems to be going slowly insane at a remote lake town after his wife's death. It's a typical King thriller, with a host of supernatural and psychological twists.

As "Remington Steel," Brosnan got his start on the small screen so there's no mystery as to whether he could pull it off -- but with the creativity found on television these days, the medium is ripe for a versatile workaholic like Brosnan.

The actor recently spoke with CNN about his return to TV, how he brought King's character to life and what he thinks of the Bond franchise now.

CNN: "Bag of Bones" is one of the first big returns for you to television since "Remington Steele."

Brosnan: I haven't done TV in a good number of years. But I've been saying to my agent, "Look, please do not rule out TV. I enjoy it, I started my career there, it's such fertile ground." So, I got "Bag of Bones." The timing was great, I love Stephen King ... I'd done one of his short stories a long time ago, called "The Lawnmower Man."

CNN: What's exciting about this medium to you these days?

Brosnan: It's a corporate world out there in the world of movie making. It's really hard to raise the finances, as a filmmaker myself. It's just really hard going.

I have two pieces with my own company, Irish DreamTime that are in development, that we just got the writers on and just got the heads-up from the studio. Two shows that I would be in from time to time. It's just interesting work out there. We've started writing the scripts ... I don't really want to talk about them right now, it's a little bit premature. The one that's going to be a half-hour show, it's very cool. Comes from the world of "Dexter," it has a sick attitude about it. TV is very exciting; it's get in, get out.

This particular piece, "Bag of Bones," happened so quickly. I had two weeks off before the last job I had, before moving into this. You can come away from a day's work absolutely exhausted, but exhilarated, because it's so fast.

CNN: What's critical to bringing a King story to screen? His world's are so rich as you're reading it, but for a visual medium, it's different.

Brosnan: (Director) Mick Garris is the one you have to tip your hat to. He's extremely prepared and passionate and knows the King world so well. King trusts Nick implicitly. Garris and I didn't talk too much about it. It was fairly self-evident what had to be done with the story. At first I thought it was overly written with stage directions and it kind of irked me where it was telling me how to act here. As the piece wore on, the weeks went by, I realized more and more of the stage direction.

CNN: There's not a lot of dialogue between you and other characters. It was more the inner-conflicts that we see play out. How does one approach a role like that?

Brosnan: The first three weeks it was just me in a house. It was like "Diary of a Madman." There was only one person on the call sheet and that was me. That was a unique way to work and I actually found it extremely pleasant; I didn't have to deal with any other actors (laughs). I could just have my own timing and my own emotional world, all to myself. That only goes so far. It's hard to articulate how I got there, but it's somewhat like "Diary of a Madman."

CNN: Portraying fear is a critical aspect of a King story. How difficult is that?

Brosnan: I didn't really have time to worry about that. How many ways can portray fear, things that go bump in the night, or how many expressions do you have up your sleeve? That's when you have to rely on the director, that he's going to be in the right place to get that look.

CNN: How did the book translate to screen?

Brosnan: It's pretty much there; I think it's better than the book. I found the book, at times, kind of slow and I thought the script had such a snap to it. You enjoy the sharp left turns that come at you.

CNN: Does Stephen King consult on something like this?

Brosnan: I think there was a great rapport between Garris and him. He didn't come down. I called him up before I went off to shoot it, just to say hello and get his blessing, so to speak. Stephen King is Stephen King. There's only one of him. He always has a point of view.

CNN: Have you been following the "Bond" franchise?

Brosnan: (Daniel Craig) is one great Bond. Certainly does a magnificent job.

CNN: He's a tough one. A tough dude.

Brosnan: He's a tough dude. They have to. Big competition with "Bourne Identity" and one thing or another. He'll be right as rain.

"Bag of Bones" is a two-part mini-series that airs Sunday December 11 and Monday December 12 on A&E.


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