Mel Gibson, wife finalize divorce in Los Angeles (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? Mel Gibson's three-decade marriage is officially over.

A judge finalized the actor-director's divorce on Friday from his wife Robyn, who was married to Gibson during his acting heyday and his more recent public downfall.

The judgment entered by Superior Court Judge Mark Juhas keeps virtually all details of the pair's split confidential. Neither Gibson nor his ex-wife, whose name is being restored to Robyn Moore, attended Friday's proceedings.

It does not indicate an official date for the former couple's separation. Robyn Moore did not list a date in her April 2009 divorce filing, although Gibson indicated they had been living apart since 2006.

The former couple have seven children together, but only their 12-year-old son is a minor and subject to a custody agreement.

The Gibsons' divorce has been more dramatically more low-key than Gibson's custody battle with Russian musician Oksana Grigorieva, who the "Braveheart" star agreed in August to pay $750,000 to settle a bitter dispute and split custody of their young daughter.

Recordings that sounded distinctly like the Oscar winning director engaged in a racist and sexist tirade were leaked during the couple's dispute. Grigorieva accused Gibson of domestic violence and he pleaded no contest, although admitted no fault, to a misdemeanor battery count earlier in March.

Robyn Moore came to her estranged husband's defense, filing a brief declaration in the Grigorieva case stating that Gibson had never physically abused her or their children.

Attorneys handling the divorce have worked for months to reach a settlement in the case and records show Robyn Moore signed the final judgment last week. Gibson signed it Wednesday, records show.

___

Follow Anthony McCartney at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111223/ap_en_mo/us_people_mel_gibson

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Young Jeezy: The Real Is Back [36 Min Street DVD]

YOUNG JEEZY – THE REAL IS BACK DVD from J-STAR Multimedia on Vimeo.

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Stranded Ariz. student, Texas family rescued (Providence Journal)

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Decision sharing tied to lower cost for kids' care (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) ? Parents who report having an increased involvement in making decisions about their children's medical treatment are more likely to see lower risks of their kids going to the emergency room or being hospitalized, according to a new study.

The researchers, who looked only at families with children who have long-term health conditions, also found that those who joined doctors in making medical decisions had lower costs for their kids' medical care.

"This suggests that if you involve people in decision-making, they may be making choices that lead to decreasing the financial burden on them," said the study's lead author, Dr. Alexander Fiks, a professor at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Cost is especially important for these families, Fiks told Reuters Health, because there's a large out-of-pocket burden for kids who have asthma, autism or other chronic health problems.

His study, published in the journal Pediatrics, used responses from a large, annual health care spending survey, and they compared the results over two years.

The parents of more than 2,800 kids with special health care needs answered questions not only about costs, but the relationship they had with their child's doctor.

For instance, the survey asked how often doctors invited the parents to help in making decisions about treatment, and how often health care providers listened carefully to the parents.

Shared decision-making in medicine is considered a relatively new approach to determining a plan of treatment for patients, compared to the older, more paternalistic approach of the doctor calling the shots without input from the family or patient.

Fiks and his colleagues found that about half of the families experienced a high level of shared decision-making with doctors over the two years, while 17 percent continued to have a low level of participation.

About 16 percent of the families played an increasing role in making decisions over the span of the study, which was linked with a drop in trips to the hospital.

In the first year, seven out of every 100 kids in this group of families were admitted to the hospital, compared to three out of every 100 kids in the second year of the study.

Similarly, 26 out of every 100 kids went to the E.R. in the first year, compared to 15 in the second year.

Dr. Stephen Berman, a professor of pediatrics and public health at the University of Colorado and a medical editor of the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making, said he wasn't surprised to see these kids avoiding the hospital.

"In my own practice I find that when parents become partners in these decisions...they understand the care plan much better and they're much more compliant with giving medications (to their kids) and recognizing danger signs," said Berman, who was not involved in this study.

"If families are following treatments more closely, it's possible that the kids may get better," Fiks said.

SPENDING DROPS

Health care spending for kids also dropped in the second year of the study if families had a growing part in making decisions.

The total spending on health care was more than $2,000 in the first year, and dropped to about $1,700 in the second year.

Fiks and his colleagues didn't prove that sharing decisions was the sole reason for the benefits they saw.

There are other possibilities that could explain why the researchers found a benefit for families who took a larger part in making choices in the second year.

For one, parents who are stronger advocates for their children -- and who are more likely to aggressively pursue treatments -- might seek out doctors willing to involve them in making decisions.

Another explanation is that as children get sicker, their parents might be less willing or able to make choices, and the decisions fall primarily on the doctor. On the flip side, as kids gets healthier, their parents might be more able to take on a greater role in their care.

Fiks said he'd like to see future studies work out whether shared decision-making alone can result in cost savings and health benefits for children with health problems.

"I personally believe that when we do those studies...we will find an impact from shared decision-making," Berman told Reuters Health.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/vIVZMR Pediatrics, online December 19, 2011.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/parenting/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111221/hl_nm/us_decision_sharing_tied

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Untethered jailbreak on iOS 5.0.1 shown off

pod2g has shown off an iOS 5.0.1 untethered jailbreak running on an iPhone 4.

Here is a new video demo of the current status of the 5.0.1 jailbreak running on an iPhone 4. This is meant to reassure people that were thinking it only works on

...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/ktVxaeBnNno/story01.htm

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Cricket LTE goes live in Tucson, introduces the Huawei Boltz

Leap Wireless, the Cricket folks, told us we can expect to see LTE service go live in Tucson before the end of the year -- and by golly, they were bound and determined to do it. Sure 'nuff, the prepaid carrier is now ready to match wits against MetroPCS as it brings its first 4G market and device live with just ten days remaining in 2011. At least 90 percent of Tucson will be able to enjoy the faster speeds, with nearby Nogales, AZ receiving some expansion love sometime in 2012 and at least two-thirds of its countrywide network benefiting from the next-gen service within the next two to three years. Its first LTE device is the Huawei Boltz -- also known as the Huawei E397 in other parts of the world -- and can be bought for $150 with no contract. Eventually, Leap says, the lineup will be expanded to include smartphones and tablets. Now, let's talk pricing: two data plans of 5GB each are available, with $50 getting you download speeds of 3Mbps and $60 offering you 6Mbps. Granted, this is nothing compared to the ultra-fast speeds you see on Verizon and AT&T's LTE networks at the moment, but it's a start.

Continue reading Cricket LTE goes live in Tucson, introduces the Huawei Boltz

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Scientist gets 7-plus years for trade secret theft (Providence Journal)

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'Dismal': 1 in 2 Americans are now poor, low income

Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images, file

Juan Morena sits on a Los Angeles, Calif., sidewalk as he waits for the St. Francis Center soup kitchen to open on Tuesday.

?

By Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Squeezed by rising living costs, a record number of Americans ? nearly 1 in 2 ? have fallen into poverty or are scraping by on earnings that classify them as low income.

The latest census data depict a middle class that's shrinking as unemployment stays high and the government's safety net frays. The new numbers follow years of stagnating wages for the middle class that have hurt millions of workers and families.

---

"Safety net programs such as food stamps and tax credits kept poverty from rising even higher in 2010, but for many low-income families with work-related and medical expenses, they are considered too 'rich' to qualify," said Sheldon Danziger, a University of Michigan public policy professor who specializes in poverty.

"The reality is that prospects for the poor and the near poor are dismal," he said. "If Congress and the states make further cuts, we can expect the number of poor and low-income families to rise for the next several years."

Congressional Republicans and Democrats are sparring over legislation that would renew a Social Security payroll tax cut, part of a year-end political showdown over economic priorities that could also trim unemployment benefits, freeze federal pay and reduce entitlement spending.

Robert Rector, a senior research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, questioned whether some people classified as poor or low-income actually suffer material hardship. He said that while safety-net programs have helped many Americans, they have gone too far, citing poor people who live in decent-size homes, drive cars and own wide-screen TVs.

With nearly 14 million Americans unemployed, a new child welfare study finds one in five children are living in poverty. Nearly one in three live in homes where no parent works full-time year-round. NBC's Chris Jansing reports.

"There's no doubt the recession has thrown a lot of people out of work and incomes have fallen," Rector said. "As we come out of recession, it will be important that these programs promote self-sufficiency rather than dependence and encourage people to look for work."

Mayors in 29 cities say more than 1 in 4 people needing emergency food assistance did not receive it. Many middle-class Americans are dropping below the low-income threshold ? roughly $45,000 for a family of four ? because of pay cuts, a forced reduction of work hours or a spouse losing a job. Housing and child-care costs are consuming up to half of a family's income.

States in the South and West had the highest shares of low-income families, including Arizona, New Mexico and South Carolina, which have scaled back or eliminated aid programs for the needy. By raw numbers, such families were most numerous in California and Texas, each with more than 1 million.

The struggling Americans include Zenobia Bechtol, 18, in Austin, Texas, who earns minimum wage as a part-time pizza delivery driver. Bechtol and her 7-month-old baby were recently evicted from their bedbug-infested apartment after her boyfriend, an electrician, lost his job in the sluggish economy.

After an 18-month job search, Bechtol's boyfriend now works as a waiter and the family of three is temporarily living with her mother.

"We're paying my mom $200 a month for rent, and after diapers and formula and gas for work, we barely have enough money to spend," said Bechtol, a high school graduate who wants to go to college. "If it weren't for food stamps and other government money for families who need help, we wouldn't have been able to survive."

About 97.3 million Americans fall into a low-income category, commonly defined as those earning between 100 and 199 percent of the poverty level, based on a new supplemental measure by the Census Bureau that is designed to provide a fuller picture of poverty. Together with the 49.1 million who fall below the poverty line and are counted as poor, they number 146.4 million, or 48 percent of the U.S. population. That's up by 4 million from 2009, the earliest numbers for the newly developed poverty measure.

The new measure of poverty takes into account medical, commuting and other living costs. Doing that helped push the number of people below 200 percent of the poverty level up from 104 million, or 1 in 3 Americans, that was officially reported in September.

Broken down by age, children were most likely to be poor or low-income ? about 57 percent ? followed by seniors over 65. By race and ethnicity, Hispanics topped the list at 73 percent, followed by blacks, Asians and non-Hispanic whites.

Even by traditional measures, many working families are hurting.

Following the recession that began in late 2007, the share of working families who are low income has risen for three straight years to 31.2 percent, or 10.2 million. That proportion is the highest in at least a decade, up from 27 percent in 2002, according to a new analysis by the Working Poor Families Project and the Population Reference Bureau, a nonprofit research group based in Washington.

Among low-income families, about one-third were considered poor while the remainder ? 6.9 million ? earned income just above the poverty line. Many states phase out eligibility for food stamps, Medicaid, tax credit and other government aid programs for low-income Americans as they approach 200 percent of the poverty level.

The majority of low-income families ? 62 percent ? spent more than one-third of their earnings on housing, surpassing a common guideline for what is considered affordable. By some census surveys, child-care costs consume close to another one-fifth.

Shrinking paychecks
Paychecks for low-income families are shrinking. The inflation-adjusted average earnings for the bottom 20 percent of families have fallen from $16,788 in 1979 to just under $15,000, and earnings for the next 20 percent have remained flat at $37,000. In contrast, higher-income brackets had significant wage growth since 1979, with earnings for the top 5 percent of families climbing 64 percent to more than $313,000.

A survey of 29 cities conducted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors being released Thursday points to a gloomy outlook for those on the lower end of the income scale.

Many mayors cited the challenges of meeting increased demands for food assistance, expressing particular concern about possible cuts to federal programs such as food stamps and WIC, which assists low-income pregnant women and mothers. Unemployment led the list of causes of hunger in cities, followed by poverty, low wages and high housing costs.

Across the 29 cities, about 27 percent of people needing emergency food aid did not receive it. Kansas City, Mo., Nashville, Tenn., Sacramento, Calif., and Trenton, N.J., were among the cities that pointed to increases in the cost of food and declining food donations, while Mayor Michael McGinn in Seattle cited an unexpected spike in food requests from immigrants and refugees, particularly from Somalia, Burma and Bhutan.

Among those requesting emergency food assistance, 51 percent were in families, 26 percent were employed, 19 percent were elderly and 11 percent were homeless.

"People who never thought they would need food are in need of help," said Mayor Sly James of Kansas City, Mo., who co-chairs a mayors' task force on hunger and homelessness.

Read more content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/15/9461848-dismal-prospects-1-in-2-americans-are-now-poor-or-low-income

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Congress delays food marketing guidelines for kids (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The Federal Trade Commission says it is taking another look at guidelines designed to limit the marketing of unhealthy foods to kids after Congress delayed the effort.

The voluntary guidelines proposed by the government earlier this year set maximum levels of fat, sugars and sodium and ask food companies not to market foods that go beyond those levels to children ages 2 through 17. That could limit colorful cartoon characters on cereal packages, television ads and product websites.

The food industry, backed by Republicans in Congress, has lobbied aggressively against the guidelines. They say they are too broad and would limit marketing of almost all of the nation's favorite foods, including yogurts and many children's cereals. Though the guidelines would be voluntary, food companies say they fear the government will retaliate against them if they don't go along.

The delay, which would require the government to study the costs of the effort before releasing final guidelines, is buried in a massive spending bill to pay for the government's daily operations. The House passed the measure on Friday with expected Senate approval over the weekend.

In a statement Friday, Cecelia Prewett of the FTC said that "Congress has clearly changed its mind" about the marketing guidelines and that the government "will be assessing its language and working toward congressional intent." Congress originally asked for the guidelines in a 2009 spending bill to help combat childhood obesity.

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa., who led the 2009 effort, said Friday that the delay "is a huge loss for our nation's children, who will continue to be bombarded with ads for junk food and sugary soft drinks."

The agencies in charge of the effort ? including the FTC, the Agriculture Department, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ? have already backed off the original guidelines proposed in April, which industry argued were too strict. David Vladeck, director of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said at a congressional hearing in October that the government would likely soften the guidelines.

Among the changes he suggested were narrowing children targeted to 2- to 11-year-olds instead of up to age 17 and allowing marketing of the unhealthier foods at fundraisers and sporting events. Vladeck also said his agency would not recommend that companies change packaging or remove brand characters from food products that don't qualify, as was originally suggested.

Vladeck has called the idea that the voluntary guidelines would become mandatory "a myth."

The industry came out with its own guidelines over the summer, proposing to limit advertising on some foods for children but adjusting the criteria. Though the industry proposal is more lenient than the government plan, the effort has won praise from federal officials, who said they will consider it as they finalize the guidelines.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_on_go_co/us_congress_food_marketing

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'A new chapter': US officially ends Iraq war

A ceremony held in Baghdad marked the official end of the nearly 9-year military campaign in Iraq, and now the 4,000 remaining troops in the country are heading home for the holidays. NBC's Richard Engel reports.

By NBC News, msnbc.com staff and news services

Updated at 6:10 p.m. ET

President Barack Obama stopped short of calling the U.S. effort in Iraq a victory in an interview taped Thursday with ABC News' Barbara Walters.

"I would describe our troops as having succeeded in the mission of giving to the Iraqis their country in a way that gives them a chance for a successful future," Obama said.

Iraqi citizens offered a more pessimistic assessment. "The Americans are leaving behind them a destroyed country," said Mariam Khazim of Sadr City. "The Americans did not leave modern schools or big factories behind them. Instead, they left thousands of widows and orphans."

The Iraq Body Count website says more than 100,000 Iraqis have been killed since the U.S. invasion. The vast majority were civilians.

Updated at 10:58 a.m. ET

BAGHDAD --? U.S. forces formally ended their nine-year war in Iraq with a low-key flag ceremony in Baghdad on Thursday.

"After a lot of blood spilled by Iraqis and Americans, the mission of an Iraq that could govern and secure itself has become real," Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said at the ceremony at Baghdad's still heavily fortified airport.

Almost 4,500 U.S. soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqis lost their lives in the war that began with a "Shock and Awe" campaign of missiles pounding Baghdad and descended into sectarian strife and a surge in U.S. troop numbers.

---

U.S. soldiers lowered the flag of American forces in Iraq and slipped it into a camouflage-colored sleeve in a brief outdoor ceremony, symbolically ending the most unpopular U.S. military venture since the Vietnam War of the 1960s and 70s.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani were invited to the ceremony but did?not attend.

In addition to the dead, the war left 32,000 Americans wounded and cost the U.S. more than $800 billion.

The remaining 4,000 American troops will leave by the end of the year.

Bombings are still common. Experts are also?concerned about the Iraqi security force's ability to defend the nation against foreign threats.

However, Panetta said veterans of the conflict can be "secure in knowing that your sacrifice has helped the Iraqi people to cast tyranny aside."

Some Iraqi citizens offered a more pessimistic assessment. "The Americans are leaving behind them a destroyed country," said Mariam Khazim of Sadr City. "The Americans did not leave modern schools or big factories behind them. Instead, they left thousands of widows and orphans."

Gen. Lloyd Austin, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also?spoke?during the ceremony.

Updated at 5:46 a.m. ET:?Austin says Iraqis now?have "unprecedented opportunities."

Sen. John McCain, the ranking Republican member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, discusses the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq with TODAY's Matt Lauer. McCain says we risk losing everything we gained in the war-torn country by not leaving a residual force behind, apart from about 200 military advisers.

Updated at 5:42 a.m ET: "Since 2003, we have helped the Iraqi security forces grow from zero to 650,000-strong," Austin says.

Updated at 5:40 a.m. ET: Austin recalls how he was present when American?forces secured the airfield where?the ceremony is being held.?"After 21 days of tough fighting, we ended Saddam Hussein's reign of terror,"?he adds.

Updated at 5:37 a.m. ET: Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, points out that the next time he visits?Baghdad it will have to?be at the invitation of the Iraqi?government. "I kinda like that," he adds.

Updated at 5:32 a.m. ET: "This is not the end, this is the beginning," Panetta says.?"May God bless Iraq, its people and its future."

NBC News

U.S. troops take part in the end of mission ceremony in Baghdad, Iraq, on Thursday.

Updated at 5:29 a.m. ET: "Let me be clear, Iraq will be tested in the days ahead -- by terrorism, by those who would seek to divide," Panetta says. "Challenges remain but the United States will be there to stand with the Iraqi people. We are not about to turn our backs on all that has been sacrificed and accomplished."

Updated at 5:26 a.m. ET: "Your sacrifice has helped the Iraqi people begin a new chapter in history, free from tyranny," Panetta says.?"This outcome was never certain, particularly during the war's darkest days."

Updated at 5:23 a.m. ET: Panetta highlights the "heartbreak" of military families who?watched their loved ones go off to war.

Updated at 5:18 a.m. ET: "It is a profound honor to be here in Baghdad," Panetta says at ceremony."No words, no ceremony can provide full tribute to the sacrifices that have brought this day to pass."

Saddam's Iraq is gone, but in its place is a state with close ties to one of America's biggest and most unpredictable enemies: Iran. NBC's Richard Engel has been covering the war from the start, and went back for this historic week to take a closer look at the Iran connection.

Updated at 5:16 a.m. ET: "We look forward to an Iraq that is sovereign, secure and self-reliant," US Ambassador to Iraq James Jeffrey says.

Published at 4:45 a.m. ET: After nearly nine years, 4,500 American dead, 32,000 wounded and more than $800 billion, U.S. officials prepared Thursday to formally shut down the war in Iraq ? a conflict that U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said was worth the price in blood and money, as it set Iraq on a path to democracy.

Panetta stepped off his military plane in Baghdad Thursday as the leader of America's war in Iraq, but will leave as one of many top U.S. and global officials who hope to work with the struggling nation as it tries to find its new place in the Middle East and the broader world.

He and several other U.S. diplomatic, military and defense leaders will participate in a highly symbolic ceremony during which the flag of U.S. Forces-Iraq will officially be retired, or "cased," according to Army tradition.

During several stops in Afghanistan this week, Panetta made it clear that the U.S. can be proud of its accomplishments in Iraq, and that the cost of the bitterly divisive war was worth it.

After nearly nine years and 4,500 American lives lost, President Obama and the first lady officially marked the end of the Iraq war Wednesday. NBC's Kristen Welker has more.

"We spilled a lot of blood there," Panetta said. "But all of that has not been in vain. It's been to achieve a mission making that country sovereign and independent and able to govern and secure itself."

That, he said, is "a tribute to everybody ? everybody who fought in that war, everybody who spilled blood in that war, everybody who was dedicated to making sure we could achieve that mission."

Panetta has echoed President Barack Obama's promise that the U.S. plans to keep a robust diplomatic presence in Iraq, foster a deep and lasting relationship with the nation and maintain a strong military force in the region.

As of Thursday, there were two U.S. bases and about 4,000 U.S. troops in Iraq ? a dramatic drop from the roughly 500 military installations and as many as 170,000 troops during the surge ordered by President George W. Bush in 2007, when violence and raging sectarianism gripped the country. All U.S. troops are slated to be out of Iraq by the end of the year, but officials are likely to meet that goal a bit before then.

Read more about the?Iraq withdrawal

The total U.S. departure is a bit earlier than initially planned, and military leaders worry that it is premature for the still maturing Iraqi security forces, who face continuing struggles to develop the logistics, air operations, surveillance and intelligence sharing capabilities they will need in what has long been a difficult neighborhood.

U.S. officials were unable to reach an agreement with the Iraqis on legal issues and troop immunity that would have allowed a small training and counterterrorism force to remain. U.S. defense officials said they expect there will be no movement on that issue until sometime next year.

Jon Soltz of VoteVets.org and Matthew Hoh of the Center for International Policy debate the winners and losers of the Iraq War and the non-military presence that will remain.

Still, despite Obama's earlier contention that all American troops would be home for Christmas, at least 4,000 forces will remain in Kuwait for some months. The troops will be able to help finalize the move out of Iraq, but could also be used as a quick reaction force if needed.

Bombings and attacks have eased since American and Iraqi security forces weakened insurgents. But roadside bombs, car bombs and assassinations still kill and maim almost every day.

A frail economy, constant power shortages, scarce jobs and discontent with political leaders all fuel uncertainty among Iraqis.

"Thanks to the Americans. They took us away from Saddam Hussein, I have to say that. But I think now we are going to be in trouble," said Malik Abed, 44, a vendor at a Baghdad fish market. "Maybe the terrorists will start attacking us again."

Read more content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

The Associated Press, Reuters, NBC News and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.

Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/15/9461909-a-new-chapter-us-shuts-down-iraq-war

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I love duct tape. I love duct tape so much that when my pleather boots started peeling, I duct-taped them to death. Since then, I don?t think I?ve loved another pair of shoes quite as much. From Denver, Ducti makes wallets entirely out of duct tape with nickel plated gommels, and come in a variety of cuts ranging from bi-fold wallets for everyday troopers to ID holders for barhopping troopers. One more thing to like about these duct tape wallets: unlike DIY-ed duct tape wallets, these won?t start peeling sticky mess.

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Paris to launch electric car-sharing program

PARIS?? Paris, in its latest bid to be an innovator of the City of Tomorrow, is launching an electric car-sharing program to cut air and noise pollution on the city's medieval cobblestone streets and beyond.

Autolib', a project built on the success of the city's bike-rental scheme, makes its debut Monday and officials want the self-service e-cars to be as much a part of Paris life as the Eiffel Tower or Notre Dame Cathedral.

While many world cities have been developing greener alternatives to carbon-emitting vehicles, Paris says its program is the biggest of its kind: 250 vehicles hit the road on Monday, 2,000 are expected by next summer and 3,000 are planned within the next two years.

The four-seat compact Bluecar ? even though it's really gray ? is a collaboration of Italian car designer Pininfarina and French conglomerate Groupe Bollore, which hopes to showcase its Lithium Metal Polymer battery that powers the car.

Prospective users will need a valid ID, driver's license and credit card before signing up online or by a videoconference with a customer service representative at one of 40 special glassed-in shelters in Paris and dozens of suburban towns also taking part.

Standard subscriptions cost ?10 ($13.5) a day, ?15 ($20) a week, and ?144 ($195) a year. Beyond that, the hourly fees run from ?4 to ?9 based on the rental plan ? and users' cards can be charged in case of damage to the vehicles.

To get going, users swipe a magnetized card against a driver's-side window to open the door, and a key tethered to the steering column starts the car. It comes with bells and whistles, literally ? a button on the steering column lever produces a repetitive beep to alert Paris' many pedestrians that the silent car is on its way.

"The city's first interest is fighting air pollution, these cars not only don't emit carbon dioxide but localized exhaust fumes either ? and they don't make noise: (Studies show) the No. 1 nuisance in the city is noise," said Sylvain Marty, who heads the multi-city Autolib' partnership led by Paris and private-sector affiliates.

There is an English language Autolib' site and Marty said any valid license from a visitor's home country can be used to participate in the program.

Autolib' also tackles what automotive analysts have long said is a big hurdle for the development of electric cars: a lack of infrastructure ? not enough charging stations. For ?180 a year, owners of electric cars can use the spots to juice up their own vehicles at the Autolib' charging stations.

For the last six months, crews with jackhammers have been outfitting sidewalks with some of the 1,200 charging stations and marking off parking spaces that will be reserved exclusively for Autolib' users.

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Those promoting the vehicle say it can run for 250 kilometers (150 miles) on a single charge.

"I personally tried driving it more than four hours, in traffic, with the heat on full blast and I wasn't able to get it below 70 percent charge," said Marty. "For city use, that's more than enough."

Some 2,000 people have already registered for Autolib' accounts, and curious city officials from places like Guangzhou, China, or Rio de Janeiro have traveled to Paris to check it out, Marty said.

As is often France's wont, detractors and skeptics abound.

The country's main Green party movement says the electric cars will drain more energy from France's nuclear plants, which they oppose; will require battery disposal; and will ultimately encourage people to drive more.

City officials insist there's little risk to taxpayers, because the private sector companies have signed a 12-year commitment.

Groupe Bollore, which is headed by a friend of conservative French President Nicolas Sarkozy, says at least 80,000 subscribers are needed for the program to be profitable ? not expected for seven years, officials say.

"We're banking on word of mouth from people who try it, like it, and tell themselves 'I've got to sign up!'" Marty said.

Other cities have similar projects, but much smaller in scale.

Berlin launched a pilot program last spring that combines a network of 40 electric cars and bicycles with the city's existing public transport system. Those cars, owned by German railway operator Deutsche Bahn, are part of a fleet of 65 electric vehicles also in Hamburg, Frankfurt and Saarbruecken.

Switzerland's biggest car-sharing organization, Mobility, has started offering electric cars at some of its hundreds of pickup points across the country.

Promoters know Autolib' is no panacea: Even at 3,000 vehicles, it won't be big enough to replace personal vehicles or public transport as the principal way of getting around a metro area of roughly 12 million people.

"Autolib' is all about complementing other means of transport ? this isn't about competing with public transportation or" the bike sharing program, said Marty.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45553670/ns/travel-destination_travel/

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Scientists find monster black holes, biggest yet

This undated image provided by the Gemini Observatory shows an artist's conception of stars moving in the central regions of a giant elliptical galaxy that harbors a supermassive black hole. (AP Photo/Gemini Observatory, AURA artwork by Lynette Cook)

This undated image provided by the Gemini Observatory shows an artist's conception of stars moving in the central regions of a giant elliptical galaxy that harbors a supermassive black hole. (AP Photo/Gemini Observatory, AURA artwork by Lynette Cook)

This undated composite image provided by Lynette Cook and Andrea Ghez via the journal Nature shows an image of the center of our Galaxy from laser-guide-star adaptive optics on the Keck Telescope. More massive black holes have larger event horizons, the region within which even light can not escape. If a ten billion solar mass black hole resided at the Galactic center, its immense event horizon would be visible (illustrated by the central black disk). The actual black hole at the Galactic center is 2500 times smaller. (AP Photo/Lynette Cook and Andrea Ghez via Nature)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) ? Scientists have found the biggest black holes known to exist ? each one 10 billion times the size of our sun.

A team led by astronomers at the University of California, Berkeley, discovered the two gigantic black holes in clusters of elliptical galaxies more than 300 million light years away. That's relatively close on the galactic scale.

"They are monstrous," Berkeley astrophysicist Chung-Pei Ma told reporters. "We did not expect to find such massive black holes because they are more massive than indicated by their galaxy properties. They're kind of extraordinary."

The previous black hole record-holder is as large as 6 billion suns.

In research released Monday by the journal Nature, the scientists suggest these black holes may be the leftovers of quasars that crammed the early universe. They are similar in mass to young quasars, they said, and have been well hidden until now.

The scientists used ground-based telescopes as well as the Hubble Space Telescope and Texas supercomputers, observing stars near the black holes and measuring the stellar velocities to uncover these vast, invisible regions.

Black holes are objects so dense that nothing, not even light, can escape. Some are formed by the collapse of a super-size star. It's uncertain how these two newly discovered whoppers originated, said Nicholas McConnell, a Berkeley graduate student who is the study's lead author. To be so massive now means they must have grown considerably since their formation, he said.

Most if not all galaxies are believed to have black holes at their center. The bigger the galaxy, it seems, the bigger the black hole.

Quasars are some of the most energized and distant of galactic centers.

The researchers said their findings suggest differences in the way black holes grow, depending on the size of the galaxy.

Ma speculates these two black holes remained hidden for so long because they are living in quiet retirement ? much quieter and more boring than their boisterous youth powering quasars billions of years ago.

"For an astronomer, finding these insatiable black holes is like finally encountering people nine feet tall whose great height had only been inferred from fossilized bones. How did they grow so large?" Ma said in a news release. "This rare find will help us understand whether these black holes had very tall parents or ate a lot of spinach."

Oxford University astrophysicist Michele Cappellari, who wrote an accompanying commentary in the journal, agreed that the two newly discovered black holes "probably represent the missing dormant relics of the giant black holes that powered the brightest quasars in the early universe."

One of the newly detected black holes weighs 9.7 billion times the mass of the sun. The second, slightly farther from Earth, is as big or even bigger.

Even larger black holes may be lurking out there. Ma said that's the million-dollar question: How big can a black hole grow?

The researchers already are peering into the biggest galaxies for answers.

"If there is any bigger black hole," Ma said, "we should be able to find them in the next year or two. Personally, I think we are probably reaching the high end now. Maybe another factor of two to go at best."

___

Online:

Nature: http://www.nature.com/nature

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2011-12-05-US-SCI-Black-Holes/id-9a99c7cb2274454f827a6b47ebdcef40

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Texas towns find fast solutions to water problems (Providence Journal)

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UK media inquiry a lesson in tabloid skullduggery

Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's former spin doctor, arrives at the High Court in London to give evidence to judge Brian Leveson's inquiry, which was established to examine media ethics and practices and recommend changes to Britain's system of media self-regulation, Wednesday Nov. 30, 2011. Campbell told Britain's media ethics inquiry Wednesday that a minority of journalists have turned the country's press "putrid" and tarnished the whole industry. (AP Photo/Stefan Rousseau, PA) UNITED KINGDOM OUT

Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's former spin doctor, arrives at the High Court in London to give evidence to judge Brian Leveson's inquiry, which was established to examine media ethics and practices and recommend changes to Britain's system of media self-regulation, Wednesday Nov. 30, 2011. Campbell told Britain's media ethics inquiry Wednesday that a minority of journalists have turned the country's press "putrid" and tarnished the whole industry. (AP Photo/Stefan Rousseau, PA) UNITED KINGDOM OUT

Former News of the World journalist Paul McMullan arrives to give evidence to the Leveson inquiry, Britain's media ethics inquiry, in central London, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011. McMullan made a rare, robust defense of phone hacking, saying that eavesdropping on voicemails was a "perfectly acceptable tool" to help journalists uncover stories. (AP Photo/PA, John Stillwell) UNITED KINGDOM OUT, NO SALES, NO ARCHIVE

British reporter Nick Davies of the Guardian newspaper arrives at the High Court, to give evidence to the Leveson Inquiry in central London Tuesday Nov. 29, 2011. Top journalists involved with the phone hacking scandal are expected to expose some secrets of the trade at the Leveson inquiry. Three are set to testify, including ex-News of the World reporter Paul McMullan and the Guardian's Nick Davies, who has exposed much of the press wrongdoing. The committee has heard about rampant abuse in its search for a new way to regulate the press. (AP Photo/John Stillwell/PA Wire) UNITED KINGDOM OUT

LONDON (AP) ? Hacking into celebrity phones was just the sleazy tip of the iceberg.

Britain's media ethics inquiry, set up in response to illegal eavesdropping by a Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid, has turned out to be a masterclass in skullduggery that has exposed the murky practices of the U.K.'s muckraking press.

This week, witnesses described how Murdoch's company had destroyed their lives and that of their families, with reporters targeting critics for spying and negative coverage, and sullying the name of an innocent man.

"We have a press that has just become frankly putrid in many of its elements," Alastair Campbell, former tabloid journalist and longtime communications aide to former Prime Minister Tony Blair, told the tribunal this week.

Few would disagree after listening to the nationally televised testimony describing the excesses of a callous, sometimes criminal, press.

The judge-led inquiry was set up after it emerged that Murdoch's News of the World had for years illegally eavesdropped on the voicemail messages of celebrities, public figures and crime victims. The scandal forced Murdoch to shut down the 168-year-old tabloid. A dozen Murdoch employees have been arrested in the case, which also cost the jobs of several of his top executives, two senior police officers and Prime Minister David Cameron's communications chief.

The inquiry has put Murdoch's empire on trial, as witnesses described their treatment at the hands of an organization they viewed as unassailably powerful, ruthless and feared.

Former child singing sensation Charlotte Church described how she was invited to perform at Murdoch's wedding on a yacht in New York when she was 13. She said she was offered a 100,000 pound (roughly $160,000) payment, but was told if she waived the fee that Murdoch's papers would look favorably on her.

Church, now 25, told the inquiry that she really wanted to take the money, but was told by her managers it would be worthwhile to give up the fee ? which would have been her highest payment ever then ? to cultivate Murdoch's support.

She said she was told "that he was a very, very powerful man" who could do her career a world of good ? if he wanted to.

But any tabloid goodwill she earned was short-lived. Church said media scrutiny increased to unbearable levels as she entered her teens. As she approached her 16th birthday, she said Murdoch's The Sun tabloid featured on its website a "countdown clock" timed to the day when she would be able to legally have sex ? an allegation the newspaper denies.

Later, a tabloid reported that Church was pregnant before she had even told her parents, news she felt had to come from reporters hacking into her phone. On another occasion the News of the World reported on her father's extramarital affair under the headline "Church's three in a bed cocaine shock." Church said her mother had attempted suicide partly as a result of this invasion of privacy.

Murdoch's News International has denied Church's version of events surrounding her performance at Murdoch's wedding, and her agent at the time, Jonathan Shalit, said she was not offered a choice between a fee and good press.

He said Church was not offered a fee and performed for free, as she had done for Prince Charles and President Bill Clinton. But he said publicity from these appearances helped launch her career in the United States, which was his plan.

"When you sing for these people you get added benefits for your career," he said.

Church was one of a slew of celebrities, including actor Hugh Grant, "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling and actress Sienna Miller, who have sat in the witness box at London's Royal Courts of Justice and described stakeouts and snatched photos, leaked medical details and midnight pursuits ? all justified, in the tabloids' eyes, because the people they were pursuing were famous.

Ian Hargreaves, professor of digital economy and former director of the journalism school at the University of Cardiff, said the hearings have had a profound impact on the public psyche ? and on Britain's political class ? by revealing so much about how part of British press works.

"It's been a process of revelation, based on firsthand testimony," he said. "A lot of journalists feel it has been one-sided, but processes that have been known about and talked about in private are suddenly being talked about on a big public stage."

Hearings continue into the new year, and justice Brian Leveson and his panel hope to issue a report by late 2012 that could recommend major changes to Britain's system of media self-regulation.

So far, the most strident defense of tabloids ? and the week's most jaw-dropping testimony ? came from unrepentant former News of the World journalist Paul McMullan. He described chasing celebrities' cars as "good fun," called phone hacking "a perfectly acceptable tool" of the trade and dismissed privacy as "the space bad people need to do bad things in."

He also said celebrities should stop complaining and be grateful for the attention of paparazzi.

The inquiry has also shown that it's not just celebrities who find themselves in the tabloids' sights. The parents of 13-year-old Milly Dowler, who was abducted and murdered in 2002, described how the News of the World's hacking of Milly's phone, and the deletion of voicemail messages, had given them false hope that their daughter was still alive.

This week Christopher Jefferies, a retired teacher arrested on suspicion of murder in a high-profile case a year ago, described how his life had been wrecked by "smears, innuendo and complete fiction" in articles that painted him as a voyeuristic eccentric, or worse.

Jefferies was released without charge, and another man has been convicted of the killing. Jefferies successfully sued eight newspapers ? including Murdoch's The Sun tabloid ? for libel, but said he would "never fully recover from the events of the last year."

"There will always be people who don't know me who will retain the impression that I'm some sort of weird character who is probably best avoided," he said.

The inquiry has also heard claims the Murdoch empire used negative articles and even espionage against its critics. Former TV host Anne Diamond recounted how she had asked Murdoch during a 1980s interview "how could he sleep at night" knowing his newspapers ruined people's lives.

She said after that "there were consistent negative stories about me in Mr. Murdoch's newspapers."

One glaring example was a story in The Sun headlined "Anne Diamond killed my father," about a fatal road accident she had been involved in years before. The same newspaper took pictures of Diamond carrying the coffin of her infant son at his funeral, despite her plea for the press to stay away out of respect for the family's grief.

Mark Lewis, a lawyer who has represented high-profile hacking victims, testified that he was put under surveillance by a private investigator working for Murdoch's News International. The surveillance, apparently in search of material to discredit him, included following and filming his 14-year-old daughter.

"That was truly horrific, that my daughter was videoed, was followed by a detective with a camera," Lewis said. "That shouldn't happen to anybody's child."

___

Associated Press writer Robert Barr contributed to this report.

Online: http://www.levesoninquiry.org.uk

Jill Lawless can be reached at: http://twitter.com/JillLawless

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-12-02-EU-Britain-Phone-Hacking/id-eccbe70e98374e7598c5c231bde0b1e8

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Obama urges Congress to pass payroll tax cut (AP)

WASHINGTON ? President Barack Obama says Congress should pass a payroll tax cut before their end-of-the year break, and he's raising the possibility that "we can all spend Christmas here together."

Obama made the comments Friday at an event on energy efficiency.

The president says he'll keep pushing Congress to approve the payroll tax cut. He says now is not the time to slam the brakes on the economy, but it's "time to step on the gas."

The government just reported that the unemployment rate fell to 8.6 percent in November, down from 9 percent in October. That's the lowest since March 2009.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111202/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_economy

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No. 8 Oregon beats UCLA 49-31 for Pac-12 title (AP)

EUGENE, Ore. ? LaMichael James ran for 219 yards and three touchdowns and No. 8 Oregon beat UCLA 49-31 in the inaugural Pac-12 championship game Friday night for the Ducks' third straight conference title and a berth in the Rose Bowl.

Rick Neuheisel tipped his hat to the UCLA fans in his last game as coach. The former Bruins quarterback was fired this week after four seasons with his alma mater.

While the Bruins (6-7) played with passion for their outgoing coach and kept it closer than many thought they would, it was not enough to overcome the Ducks (11-2), who head to a BCS bowl for the third straight season.

Darron Thomas threw for 219 yards and three touchdowns, becoming Oregon's career leader with 63 TD passes.

James became the first rusher in Pac-12 history with three straight 1,500-yard seasons. He moved into a tie with USC's LenDale White (2003-05) for second on the league's career rushing TD list with 52.

Afterward, James and fellow running back Kenjon Barner danced, while other Ducks held roses clenched in their teeth. Fans swarmed the players as fireworks exploded above Autzen Stadium and confetti rained down.

"These guys go play," coach Chip Kelly said. "They're fearless competitors."

Neuheisel, fired following last weekend's 50-0 loss to No. 9 Southern California, hugged quarterback Kevin Prince as time ran out.

"Well, we weren't good enough, but it wasn't because we didn't have enough heart," he said.

Neuheisel's dismissal was part of a wave of coaching moves in the conference. Around the time he was fired, Arizona State let go of Dennis Erickson. Washington State parted ways with Paul Wulff, then quickly hired former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach a day later.

"They can take my job," Neuheisel said, gesturing to the locker room, "but they can't take those boys away from me."

Oregon will play the winner of the first Big 10 championship game Saturday between No. 11 Michigan State and No. 15 Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 2. The bowl pairings will be formally announced on Sunday.

The heavily favored Ducks scored on their first series when James ran 30 yards for a touchdown. James went into the game as the nation's top running back with an average of 142.7 yards per game.

UCLA tied it when linebacker Patrick Larimore intercepted Thomas and ran 35 yards for a touchdown. Neuheisel pumped his fist in celebration.

Thomas scored on a 10-yard keeper and then found true freshman tight end Colt Lyerla alone in the end zone with a 7-yard scoring pass to make it 21-7.

UCLA narrowed it with Prince's flea-flicker to Nelson Rosario for a 37-yard touchdown.

Oregon was stung early in the game when dynamic true freshman De'Anthony Thomas fumbled after a hit by Tevin McDonald. Shaken up on the play, the versatile running back who earlier this week was named the Pac-12's co-freshman of the year on offense did not return.

James added a 3-yard touchdown run to make it 28-14 before Darron Thomas connected with Daryle Hawkins for a 25-yard TD reception.

UCLA's Tyler Gonzalez kicked a 44-yard field goal to make it 37-17 at halftime.

Prince scored on a 1-yard run early in the third quarter to pull UCLA closer to the Ducks, but James answered with a 5-yard TD dash to make it 42-24.

A Heisman Trophy finalist last season as a sophomore, James fell out of the running for the most part this season because he missed two games with a dislocated right elbow.

There has been speculation that James may skip his senior season at Oregon to go to the NFL. After the game, fans on the field chanted "One More Year!"

"Just being with my teammates, I cherish that," he said. "I don't think about `one more year.' I just think about today."

David Paulson caught a 22-yard touchdown pass midway through the third, which put Darron Thomas in front of Danny O'Neil (1991-94) for most passing TDs at Oregon.

Rosario pulled down a one-handed, 19-yard touchdown pass from Prince with less than two minutes to play. Prince completed 13 of 26 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns.

The addition of Colorado and Utah to the Pac-12 paved the way for a league championship game this season. In previous years, the team with the best conference record claimed the title.

While No. 9 USC (10-2, 7-2) finished atop the Pac-12 South, the Trojans are ineligible to play in the postseason because of NCAA sanctions, which put UCLA in the title game.

This week, the NCAA ruled that the Bruins could accept a bowl invitation even if they lost Friday. Because of Neuheisel's dismissal, offensive coordinator Mike Johnson will take over if UCLA is selected.

The Bruins have reached just one bowl game in the past three seasons. Athletic director Dan Guerrero said he wants to reward the Bruins' 18 seniors by going to a bowl even while the program is in upheaval.

Oregon went to the 2010 Rose Bowl in its first season under Kelly, losing to Ohio State. Last season the Ducks went to the BCS championship, where they fell to Auburn.

Oregon had appeared to be in the running for another shot at the national championship game before losing 38-35 to USC at Autzen Stadium on Nov. 19.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111203/ap_on_sp_co_ga_su/fbc_t25_pac12_championship

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Paisley to hang with Urban after vocal surgery (AP)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. ? No one has spoken to Keith Urban since his surgery last week to remove a polyp on his vocal chord.

That's because the country star is on complete vocal rest for the next couple of weeks.

Good friend Brad Paisley has checked in with Urban, and they have plans to hang out while Urban recovers.

"We're big guitar junkies, and we wanted to get together and maybe go through some amplifiers and go through some gear," said Paisley before the CMT Artists of the Year taping on Tuesday in Nashville. "I told him, `Let's do that. You don't have to talk. We'll get together. We'll play guitar, set up some amps, go through some tubes, try some stuff out and tweak.' I'll do all the talking, which I am very capable of. He can just nod and grunt and do whatever he's allowed to do."

Paisley said he can't imagine what it's like to not be able to talk for weeks. But he thinks Urban's wife, Nicole Kidman, should take full advantage of the situation.

"I'm sure Nicole loves it. It's got to be great for her," he joked.

Before heading into surgery, Urban posted a video for fans, thanking them for their gifts and well wishes. He said he looks forward to seeing fans in 2012.

An earlier statement from Urban's publicist called the surgery a minor outpatient procedure. Urban postponed his "All For The Hall" concert to benefit the Country Music Hall of Fame that was originally scheduled for Jan. 18. He also rescheduled the rest of his 2011 concert dates for next year.

Urban is a four-time Grammy winner with 13 No. 1 hits, including his most recent, "Long Hot Summer."

__

Online:

http://www.keithurban.net

__

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Dem Senator Asks HHS to Review Obama Admin?s $443 Million No-Bid Vaccine Contract (Michellemalkin)

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Arab League approves Syria sanctions (AP)

BEIRUT ? The Arab League overwhelmingly approved sanctions Sunday against Syria to pressure Damascus to end its deadly eight-month crackdown on dissent, an unprecedented move by the League against an Arab state.

Before the vote, Damascus slammed the vote as a betrayal of Arab solidarity. Besides punishing an already ailing economy, the sanctions are a huge blow for a Syrian regime that considers itself a powerhouse of Arab nationalism.

At a news conference in Cairo, Qatari Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassim said 19 of the League's 22 member nations approved the sanctions, which include cutting off transactions with the Syrian central bank and halting Arab government funding for projects in Syria. Iraq and Lebanon abstained.

"We aim to avoid any suffering for the Syrian people," bin Jassim said.

The sanctions are the latest in a growing wave of international pressure pushing Syria to end its violent suppression of protests against President Bashar Assad, which the U.N. says has killed more than 3,500 people since March.

Arab League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby said the bloc will reconsider the sanctions if Syria carries out an Arab-brokered peace plan that includes sending observers to the country and pulling tanks from the streets.

"We call on Syria to quickly approve the Arab initiative," he said.

The state-owned Al-Thawra newspaper ran a front-page headline Sunday saying the Arab League is calling for "economic and commercial sanctions targeting the Syrian people." It said the measure is "unprecedented and contradicts the rules of Arab cooperation."

Since the revolt began, the regime has blamed armed gangs acting out a foreign conspiracy for the bloodshed.

It is not clear whether Arab sanctions will succeed in pressuring the Syrian regime into ending the violence that has killed dozens of Syrians, week after week. Many fear the violence is pushing the country toward civil war.

Until recently, most of the bloodshed was caused by security forces firing on mainly peaceful protests. Lately, there have been growing reports of army defectors and armed civilians fighting Assad's forces ? a development that some say plays into the regime's hands by giving government troops a pretext to crack down with overwhelming force.

On Sunday, activists reported fierce clashes in the flashpoint city of Homs, in central Syria, pitting soldiers against army defectors.

The death toll from violence in Homs and elsewhere across the country was mounting Sunday. The Local Coordinating Committees, a coalition of Syrian activist groups, put the toll at 26, but the figure was impossible to confirm.

Syria has banned most foreign journalists and prevented independent reporting inside the country.

Many of the attacks against Syrian security forces are believed to be carried out by a group of army defectors known as the Free Syrian Army.

The Arab League's recommendations for sanctions specified that the Arab bloc will assist Syria with emergency aid through the help of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent, working with local civilian groups to deliver goods.

There have been widespread concerns that the unrest in Syria could spill outside its borders, sending unsettling ripples across the region.

Syria is a geographical and political keystone in the heart of the Middle East, bordering five countries with whom it shares religious and ethnic minorities and, in Israel's case, a fragile truce. Its web of allegiances extends to Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah movement and Iran's Shiite theocracy.

Also Sunday, Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh acknowledged that 100 Syrian military and police deserters have taken refuge in the kingdom during the uprising. It was the first official public confirmation that Jordan hosts Syrian defectors.

In September, officials said privately that Jordan had received 60 Syrian army and police deserters, who ranged in rank from corporal to colonel.

Judeh told The Associated Press that the Syrian soldiers and policemen, whom he claimed were conscripts rather than officers, had arrived in batches over the last eight months.

Many Syrians fleeing Assad's crackdown have also sought refuge in neighboring Turkey.

The Gulf nations of Qatar and Bahrain on Sunday warned their citizens to avoid travel to Syria and called on those already there to leave immediately. The foreign affairs ministries of both countries cited concerns about the security situation in issuing the travel alerts. They did not mention the planned Arab League vote.

The calls come two days after the United Arab Emirates issued a similar warning to its citizens.

The embassies of the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia were targeted by pro-Assad regime demonstrators in Damascus earlier this month.

___

Associated Press writers Maamoun Youssef in Cairo and Adam Schreck in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111127/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_syria

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