Video: Own a piece of Hollywood ?for a pretty penny

LESTER HOLT, anchor: Finally tonight, a look at the increasingly big business of celebrity auctions. It's been a busy season with high end bidders reaching for the stars , and coming this week, what could be the biggest auction of the year in one of the ritziest ZIP codes in America . Here's NBC's Kristen Dahlgren.

KRISTEN DAHLGREN reporting: When never before seen home movies of Marilyn Monroe on the set of the 1959 classic "Some Like it Hot " surfaced recently, it wasn't because someone just found them in the attic. This glimpse into the past was part of a well-crafted marketing campaign. The home movies are going on sale.

Unidentified Woman: To start this, 500. Bid 50...

DAHLGREN: More and more of Tinseltown 's treasures are hitting the auction block.

Mr. MICHAEL EISENBERG: Look at that. Exclusively designed for Elvis Presley . Every civilization has its own artifacts, and these are our artifacts.

DAHLGREN: This week one of the largest collections of Hollywood memorabilia ever sold will be auctioned off in Beverly Hills .

Mr. MARTIN NOLAN (Julien's Auctions Director): Really, there's something for everyone, from contemporary Hollywood to vintage Hollywood and to Lady Gaga right to John Lennon .

DAHLGREN: Want George Harrison 's suit from "A Hard Day 's Night," Cyndi Lauper's " Girls Just Want To Have Fun " frock? They can be yours for a price. Hollywood auctions like these have become big business . Last month Michael Jackson 's "Thriller" jacket was expected to go for about $200,000. It ended up selling for 1.8 million. And when Elizabeth Taylor 's jewels hit the auction block next month, they're expected to fetch as much as $50 million. And all of that money hasn't gone unnoticed. With real estate tanking and Wall Street on a roller coaster, some serious investors say owning a piece of Hollywood isn't just sentimental, it's smart. Michael Eisenberg has been collecting Hollywood memorabilia for 20 years. This week he's got his eye on these pictures from Marilyn Monroe 's first photo shoot.

Mr. EISENBERG: Tomorrow morning, stock could sell off and you could lose 10 percent. It's very hard for a piece of memorabilia to go down 10 percent. If anything, it's going up.

DAHLGREN: The photo collection could sell for more than $10,000. And while that may sound like a lot, some optimistic investors with stars in their eyes are hoping one day all this stuff will be worth much, much more. Kristen Dahlgren, NBC News, Beverly Hills .

LESTER HOLT, anchor: That's NBC NIGHTLY NEWS for

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/45454712/

the ides of march yankees espn magazine espn magazine anywhere but here wall street protesters att

Dance Marathon Party Held To Support Young Cancer Patients

'); if(infobox=='True' && ShowInfoBox_l151476_1==false){ jQuery("#player_infobarl151476_1").trigger('click'); ShowInfoBox_l151476_1==true; } }; $.setup_player(Play_Conf); //info bar setup jQuery('#player_infobarl151476_1').click(function() { var $info =jQuery('#player_info_contentl151476_1'); if($info.text()!=''){ var $content = jQuery('div',$info); //min heigth var min = $content.css('min-height'); var max = $content.css('max-height'); $info.slideToggle(600); ShowInfoBox_l151476_1=!ShowInfoBox_l151476_1; } }); });

? To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.

Then come back here and refresh the page.

NY1 VIDEO: The Beauty Foundation Friends (BFFs) recently held their "Raise The Roof" dance marathon party in Tottenville to raise money and support for young people with cancer.

Source: http://statenisland.ny1.com/content/top_stories/151476/dance-marathon-party-held-to-support-young-cancer-patients

gifts for mom gifts for mom patti stanger pepper spray kurt busch kurt busch storage auctions

Video shows alleged abuse by Mexican police (AP)

MEXICO CITY ? Mexico City's police chief says he has launched an investigation into a journalist's video that allegedly captures a police officer abusing a suspect.

Milenio Television reported Friday that one of its reporters had taken the video recording an officer repeatedly pushing the man's head into a bucket of water while his T-shirt was pulled up over his head and face.

The alleged abuse took place following a gunfight between police and gunmen in the working-class neighborhood of Tepito. The video's authenticity could not be independently confirmed, and neither Milenio nor police released the suspect's identity.

Mexico City Public Safety Director Manuel Mondragon said Friday that he was outraged by the video and that both the police and local prosecutor will look into it.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111125/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_mexico_abuse_video

breast cancer awareness breast cancer awareness guinea worm the others the others kristin cavallari los angeles weather

Space 'superbubbles' could spawn cosmic rays

Enigmatic cosmic rays that strike Earth with giant amounts of energy might come from hot gaseous "superbubbles" in space, a new study reveals.

Cosmic rays have perplexed scientists for a century. These electrically charged particles bombard Earth with energies dwarfing anything we are capable of, but their origins remain a mystery.

Since cosmic rays are electrically charged, they can get pushed and pulled around by interstellar magnetic fields in the gas between the stars as they zip through space, obscuring where they come from.

One suspected fountain of cosmic rays are star-forming regions. The massive stars within these stellar nurseries can spew out massive amounts of energy and explode as supernovas.

Now scientists may have pinpointed cosmic rays coming from a superbubble, one caused by powerful winds from clusters of young, massive stars punching into the surrounding molecular clouds of gas and dust.

The superbubble in question lies in the Cygnus X region of the sky, within the constellation Cygnus, the Swan. It was likely created by clusters of massive stars, such as the Cygnus OB2 association, a very large cluster about 4,500 light-years away. The cluster contains more than 500 stars, each more than 10 times the mass of our sun.

NASA's Fermi Large Area Telescope detected a wide range of gamma rays ? the most energetic form of light ? emanating from a space about 160 light-years wide. The spectrum of gamma rays seen match those one would expect freshly generated cosmic rays to give off.

"For the first time, we have caught a glimpse of the early life of cosmic rays in these regions of massive star formation," study co-author Luigi Tibaldo, an experimental physicist at Padova University and Italy's National Institute of Nuclear Physics, told SPACE.com.

The gamma rays the researchers detected appear confined within this superbubble, which might suggest the cosmic rays creating them "seem trapped, as if they have a hard time getting out," study co-author Isabelle Grenier, an astronomer and astrophysicist at Paris Diderot University in France, told SPACE.com.

"This might really change the way we think cosmic rays propagate, and if they're giving off energy as they're trapped inside star-forming regions, they may be changing the chemistry within, affecting how stars form," Grenier said.

The scientists detailed their findings in the Nov. 25 issue of the journal Science.

Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

? 2011 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45437851/ns/technology_and_science-space/

baked alaska battlefield 3 release battlefield 3 release battle field 3 battle field 3 dana wilkey dana wilkey

Deere 4Q profit up 46 percent on strong sales (AP)

Deere & Co. says strong sales of its farm equipment helped boost the company's fourth quarter profit by 46 percent and says it expects robust demand will make next year better.

The results beat Wall Street expectations, and its shares climbed nearly 6 percent in premarket trading.

The Moline, Ill., company said Wednesday that equipment sales were up 20 percent in the quarter.

That helped Deere generate net income of $670 million, or $1.62 per share, for the three months ended Oct. 31, up from $457 million, or $1.07 per share, a year ago.

Deere's revenue grew 20 percent to $8.6 billion from last year's $7.2 billion as both sales volume and equipment prices increased.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected earnings of $1.43 per share on revenue of $7.91 billion.

Deere said equipment sales will increase about 15 percent next year and profit will grow to $3.2 billion from this year's $2.8 billion.

"We are proud of the company's performance in 2011 and look forward to building on these gains in 2012 and beyond," Chairman and CEO Samuel Allen said in a statement. "We have great confidence in the company's future and our role in helping feed, clothe and shelter the world's growing population."

Deere's report offers an indication of how well farmers worldwide are doing. Deere said it expects farmers to have another good year in 2012 because the demand for agricultural commodities remains strong.

In addition to agricultural equipment, Deere makes construction and forestry equipment, such as backhoes, excavators, riding mowers and leaf blowers. But construction and forestry sales represent a small portion of Deere's business compared to its agricultural equipment.

Its shares climbed $4.18, or 5.8 percent, to $76.10 in premarket trading.

___

Online:

Deere & Co.: http://www.deere.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111123/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_deere

brooklyn bridge lady antebellum marques colston dez bryant listeria listeria kendall hunter

German protesters try to disrupt nuclear waste train

Kai Pfaffenbach / Reuters

A picture taken with a thermal imaging camera shows police (foreground) guarding the train transporting Castor containers, which carry radioactive nuclear waste, during a stop in Neunkirchen near Saarbruecken, Germany, on November 25.

The AP reports from DANNENBERG, Germany:

Alex Domanski / Reuters

Two police officers measure the radiation of a Castor container on a train during a stop in Neunkirchen on November 25.

Demonstrators threw Molotov cocktails at police, setting a vehicle on fire, as skirmishes intensified Friday after a shipment of nuclear waste reprocessed in France crossed into Germany on its way to a controversial storage site.

The clash broke out in the afternoon between about 400 riot police and 300 demonstrators in the woods outside the northern German town of Dannenberg, near the storage facility at Gorleben where the nuclear waste is being transported by train.

Activists in Germany say neither the waste containers nor the Gorleben site, a temporary storage facility, are safe.

The train carrying the annual shipment entered western Germany in the morning after delays in France, where activists damaged railtracks in an attempt to halt the cargo. Read the full story.

Sascha Schuermann / AP

Police try to secure the area where environmental activists attacked a police car near Metzingen, northern Germany, on November 25.

Sascha Schuermann / AP

A group of masked environmental activists dig underneath the railway track in an attempt to halt a train carrying nuclear waste near Metzingen, northern Germany, on Nov. 25.

?

Source: http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/25/9021755-protests-greet-train-carrying-nuclear-waste-as-it-travels-from-france-into-germany

don lapre aladdin weird al yankovic cowboys cowboys bling ring bling ring

U.S. Patent Office Honors Steve Jobs with iPhone-Shaped Exhibit (Mashable)

The late Steve Jobs has been hailed as a brilliant businessman, marketer, and visionary. He was also an prolific inventor, if the number of patents bearing his name are any indication. No less than 323 Apple patents list Jobs among the inventors responsible for them. Now the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is honoring the Apple founder with a dedicated exhibit.

[More from Mashable: Apple vs. Samsung: The Patent Wars, Explained [INFOGRAPHIC]]

The Patents and Trademarks of Steve Jobs: Art and Technology that Changed the World puts Jobs? patents on display in the USPTO?s National Inventors Hall of Fame and Museum. Conceived by the nonprofit Invent Now, the exhibit has a look that's instantly recognizable: 30 giant-size iPhones, lined up screen to screen in a simple rectangular formation, like a military salute designed by Jonathan Ive.

Among the patents Jobs is credited with: ?Method and apparatus for use of rotational user inputs,? which essentially patented the iPod clickwheel; ?Voicemail manager for portable multifunction device,? the basis for the iPhone?s visual voicemail; and 13 separate patents on product packaging alone.

[More from Mashable: 8 Enormous Things That Are Smaller Than Apple, Inc. [INFOGRAPHIC]]

While the exhibit is meant to ?give insight into the visionary commitment? of Jobs, the patent vault at Apple has factored highly in the escalation of legal battles over intellectual property in recent years. Most prominently, Samsung has been engaged in patent wars with Apple over how closely its Galaxy products mimic the design and operation of iPhones and iPads, as shown in this infographic.

To a lesser extent, Nokia, Motorola, and even LG have tussled with Apple over patent infringement.

The Jobs exhibit kicked off Nov. 16 and is on display until Jan. 15, 2012. Located in the atrium of the Madison Building on the USPTO?s campus in Alexandria, Va., it?s free to attend during the museum?s regular business hours.

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/applecomputer/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/mashable/20111123/tc_mashable/us_patent_office_honors_steve_jobs_with_iphoneshaped_exhibit

ben roethlisberger new madrid fault current time judy garland earthquake today earthquake today droid razr

Coppola says one 'Godfather' film was enough

By Courtney Hazlett

Which "Godfather" film is the best in the franchise? Opinions vary, but many settle on "Part II," which is also considered perhaps the best sequel of any film of all time. Now imagine if it had been never been made -- that was a distinct possibility according to?director Francis Ford Coppola. TMZ happened upon Coppola and asked him which film was his favorite, and he revealed that the sequels were a mistake. "There should have only been one," Coppola said on camera.

What?

"Godfather 2" actor Frank Sivero (Genco) had a similar reaction. TMZ spoke to him via phone Monday, and Sivero said? he was surprised by the Coppola's negativity. "I don't know why he felt the way he felt. Maybe he was caught on the wrong time?... 'Godfather 2' was a masterpiece." You can listen to that interview here.

What do you think? Which was your favorite "Godfather" movie? Do you think Coppola should have stopped after the first film?

Source: http://scoop.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/22/8952034-francis-ford-coppola-one-godfather-film-was-enough

world series game 2 libya bay area news lettuce recall lettuce recall zanesville ohio zanesville ohio

Judge denies Jackson doc's bid for new testing (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? A judge denied a request Monday by lawyers for the doctor convicted of causing Michael Jackson's death to have an independent laboratory test the contents of a key vial of evidence.

Just days before the scheduled sentencing of Dr. Conrad Murray, Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor said defense attorneys could have sought the testing months ago or even during the doctor's six-week trial but chose not to.

"You're not involved in fishing, you're involved in foraging," Pastor said.

Murray's attorneys wanted a lab to test a small amount of liquid found in a vial of the anesthetic propofol that authorities contend was used to help Jackson sleep on the day he died.

Defense lawyer J. Michael Flanagan argued the results would reveal the accuracy of a theory by a prosecution expert who testified that Murray left Jackson's bedside while the singer was on an IV drip of propofol and the painkiller lidocaine.

Murray had been giving Jackson nightly doses of propofol to help the singer sleep as he prepared for a series of comeback concerts.

Deputy District Attorney David Walgren contended there was no legal basis for the testing and said Murray received a fair trial.

Pastor examined the propofol vial, which was found in the closet of Jackson's bedroom, before issuing his ruling.

Flanagan said it didn't occur to him that the contents of the vial should be tested until after the conclusion of Murray's trial, which ended Nov. 7 with the conviction of the cardiologist on an involuntary manslaughter charge.

Flanagan said if prosecution expert Dr. Steven Shafer's theory is correct, the small amount of liquid that remained in the vial should contain lidocaine. In that case, "that's the ballgame" and would prove Murray did leave the singer alone on an IV drip, Flanagan said.

Flanagan also argued that Shafer didn't tell jurors that he believed Murray injected lidocaine into the propofol vial until Shafer was called as a rebuttal witness in the final moments of testimony.

Walgren said Shafer and other witnesses acknowledged that they didn't know exactly what happened in Jackson's bedroom before the singer's death on June 25, 2009. Shafer was one of several experts who told jurors that he could only theorize on events based on toxicology results, Murray's statements to police and evidence found at the scene.

"Whether there was lidocaine in that bottle or not is completely irrelevant," Walgren said.

Murray is set to be sentenced on Nov. 29. Walgren said he is finalizing work on a sentencing memorandum and several people may speak during the hearing. He did not say whether members of Jackson's family, several of whom attended the trial daily, would offer statements.

Murray remains jailed and faces a possible sentence ranging from probation to up to four years.

___

Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111121/ap_en_mu/us_michael_jackson_doctor

junior dos santos junior dos santos evelyn lauder nfl standings devin hester devin hester shayne lamas

Khmer Rouge ex-leader denies key role in atrocity

In this photo released by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Khieu Samphan, former Khmer Rouge head of state, looks on during the third day session of a trial of the U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011. Khieu Samphan accused the war crimes tribunal Wednesday of wanting his "head on the block," and insisted he had no real authority during the regime's brutal rule of Cambodia in the 1970s. (AP Photo/Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Mark Peters) EDITORIAL USE ONLY

In this photo released by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Khieu Samphan, former Khmer Rouge head of state, looks on during the third day session of a trial of the U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011. Khieu Samphan accused the war crimes tribunal Wednesday of wanting his "head on the block," and insisted he had no real authority during the regime's brutal rule of Cambodia in the 1970s. (AP Photo/Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Mark Peters) EDITORIAL USE ONLY

In this photo released by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, spectators watch the third day session of a trial of the U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Nhet Sok Heng) EDITORIAL USE ONLY

Cambodian students wait outside a court during its third day of a trial of the U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011. The tribunal is seeking justice on behalf of the 1.7 million people, as much as a quarter of Cambodia's then-population, estimated to have died from executions, starvation, disease and overwork when the Khmer Rouge held power in 1975-79. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

An elderly man waits in line outside a court during its third day of a trial of the U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011. The tribunal is seeking justice on behalf of the 1.7 million people _ as much as a quarter of Cambodia's then-population _ estimated to have died from executions, starvation, disease and overwork when the Khmer Rouge held power in 1975-79. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

In this photo released by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Nuon Chea, left, also known as Brother number two, former Deputy Secretary in the Communist Party of Kampuchea, talks with his lawyer Son Arun, right, during the third day of a trial of the U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011. The tribunal is seeking justice on behalf of the 1.7 million people, as much as a quarter of Cambodia's then-population , estimated to have died from executions, starvation, disease and overwork when the Khmer Rouge held power in 1975-79.(AP Photo/Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Mark Peters) EDITORIAL USE ONLY

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) ? A senior Khmer Rouge leader accused a war crimes tribunal Wednesday of wanting his "head on the block," and insisted he had no real authority during the regime's brutal rule of Cambodia in the 1970s.

Khieu Samphan, the former head of state, said he was a figurehead leader who never joined key policy meetings in the radical communist government, which is accused of orchestrating the country's "killing fields" and causing the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians.

In his rebuttal of prosecutors' opening remarks, Khieu Samphan accused the U.N.-backed tribunal of exaggerating the Khmer Rouge's wrongdoing with "fairy tales."

However, he also sought to justify the regime's rule in a historical context ? as the highest surviving leader Nuon Chea did during comments to the panel on Tuesday ? saying the movement sought to protect the country from French colonialists, the U.S. and neighboring enemy Vietnam.

"Today you may see it as a joke. However, I shall remind you that at that time, communism was the one movement that gave hope to millions of youth around the world. What I really wanted at that time, was the best possible experience for my country, for Cambodia," Khieu Samphan said.

The tribunal is seeking justice on behalf of the quarter of Cambodia's population estimated to have died from executions, starvation, disease and overwork when the Khmer Rouge held power from 1975-79.

The defendants ? Khieu Samphan, 80; Nuon Chea, 85, the group's No. 2 and chief ideologist; and former Foreign Minister Ieng Sary, 86 ? are the most senior surviving members of the regime. They are charged with crimes against humanity, genocide, religious persecution, homicide and torture, but have long denied wrongdoing.

The Khmer Rouge's supreme leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998 in Cambodia's jungles while a prisoner of his own comrades.

Prosecutors on Monday and Tuesday described a litany of horrors imposed by the Khmer Rouge as it tried to build an agrarian utopia.

Khieu Samphan said Wednesday that the prosecutors accounts were based mainly on unreliable old news reports and books, calling them "fairy tales," and said his position as head of state had no real power.

"You really want my head on the block," Khieu Samphan said Wednesday.

Khieu Samphan also reminded the court that U.S. bombing of his country during the Vietnam War contributed to its misery.

"Can you imagine what my country faced after such bloody killing and war?" he declared.

While decrying the case against him, he added that he welcomed the opportunity to explain his role to the Cambodian public.

"I clearly know that I contributed to national reconciliation in order to defend my country, for it to be to be a sovereign, independent nation."

Co-defendant Nuon Chea, who spoke Tuesday, stressed his role in protecting Cambodia's sovereignty. It was a touchstone of Khmer Rouge beliefs that neighboring Vietnam sought to annex the country and was behind most of its troubles.

The tribunal, which was established in 2006, has tried just one case, convicting former prison chief Kaing Guek Eav for war crimes, crimes against humanity and other offenses. His sentence was reduced to 19 years due to time served and other technicalities.

A fourth defendant in the current case, the Khmer Rouge's social affairs minister, was ruled unfit to stand trial because of Alzheimer's disease.

Political and financial pressure on the U.N.-backed tribunal has raised doubt if another case will ever exist.

Opening statements in the current case are scheduled to continue Thursday, and actual testimony is set to begin Dec. 5.

The tribunal grouped similar charges together to move the case faster. Crimes against humanity and forced movement of people are being handled first, while genocide, torture and other allegations will be considered later.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-11-23-AS-Cambodia-Khmer-Rouge/id-58b8191e2b34447ca277b75d754f4e92

liberace liberace repudiate avengers joost joost new hampshire debate

Science fiction author Anne McCaffrey dies at 85

Prolific science fiction and fantasy author Anne McCaffrey died Monday at her home in Ireland shortly after suffering a stroke. She was 85.

McCaffrey published nearly 100 books in her lifetime and was best known for her popular ?Dragonriders of Pern? novels. In her bio on her website, McCaffrey shared the following insights about her approach to writing and her first novel, which was published in 1967:

?Her first novel, ?Restoree,? was written as a protest against the absurd and unrealistic portrayals of women in s-f novels in the ?50s and early ?60s. It is, however, in the handling of broader themes and the worlds of her imagination, particularly the two series ?The Ship Who Sang? and the fourteen novels about the ?Dragonriders of Pern,? that Ms. McCaffrey?s talents as a story-teller are best displayed.?

1. 1. Alex Cross returns in James Patterson?s latest thriller
   2. ?Core of Conviction?: Michele Bachmann tells her story
   3. ?Then Again?: Actress Diane Keaton looks back
   4. Worth the weight: 5 massive novels you should finish
   5. A look inside ?The Cult of LEGO?

McCaffrey was born in Cambridge, Mass., and moved to Ireland in 1970. In the late 1960s she became the first woman to win a Hugo Award for a work of fiction and the first woman to win a Nebula Award. She was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2006.

While her health permitted, McCaffrey made frequent appearances at science fiction and fantasy conventions such as Dragon*Con, and she did much to encourage new writers in their craft.

In response to an announcement of McCaffrey?s death on a Random House website, one longtime fan posted this message: ?Anne touched my entire family and was passed from mother to daughter and now granddaughters. I am crying over a woman who touched three generations and will continue to touch more. We love you Anne and know that your legacy will live on within my family and many others. You will be missed.?

? 2011 MSNBC Interactive.? Reprints

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45409015/ns/today-books/

fire island fire island diaspora social network aaron rodgers weather houston weather houston diaspora

FCC chairman opposes AT&T takeover of T-Mobile (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission has come out against the merger of cellphone giant AT&T and T-Mobile USA.

Julius Genachowski made his position known in a document he circulated to fellow commissioners Tuesday.

Genachowski recommended sending AT&T Inc.'s proposed $39 billion takeover of T-Mobile to an administrative law judge for review and a hearing. That's what the FCC does when it opposes a merger.

According to an FCC official familiar with the matter, an agency analysis concluded the merger would result in higher prices for consumers, less innovation, less investment in the U.S. and fewer U.S. jobs.

The review also cast doubt on AT&T's claim that only the merger would allow it build out "4G" high-speed wireless Internet access to cover 97 percent of the population, up from about 80 percent. The agency concluded AT&T would likely do so anyway to remain competitive with Verizon Wireless.

The official wasn't authorized to speak publicly.

AT&T spokesman Larry Solomon said in a statement that the chairman's action was "disappointing."

"It is yet another example of a government agency acting to prevent billions in new investment and the creation of many thousands of new jobs at a time when the U.S. economy desperately needs both," he said. "At this time, we are reviewing all options."

The FCC would be the second government agency to oppose the deal. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit with the U.S. District Court in Washington in August to stop it, and that trial is expected to start Feb. 13.

Genachowski's proposed order recommends the administrative law judge begin the hearing after the trial is done.

The deal announced in March would vault the combined No. 2 carrier AT&T and No. 4 T-Mobile into the top spot ahead of Verizon.

Dallas-based AT&T has about 101 million wireless subscribers. T-Mobile, the Bellevue, Wash.-based subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG of Germany, has 34 million. Verizon Wireless, a joint venture between Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group PLC, has about 108 million, while Sprint Nextel Corp. has 53 million.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111123/ap_on_hi_te/us_at_t_t_mobile

mark kelly john hughes jeff goldblum uc berkeley ohio state basketball annie annie

Is this Nikon's D800 DSLR?

Grab the salt shaker folks -- if Nikon Rumors is to be believed, what you're gazing at is Nikon's hotly rumored D800 DSLR. The camera is reportedly packing goodies like a massive 36 megapixel sensor capable of 7360 × 4912 resolution, and an ISO range of 100 to 6,400 that's pushable to 25,600. Furthermore, you can expect to find the same 51-point AF system found in the D3s, slots for SD and CF cards, USB 3.0 connectivity and over three-inches of display on back -- all while being "smaller and lighter" than the current D700. Notably, Nikon is apparently stepping up its DSLR video chops with this cam as well, as it's said to be capable of filming 1080p HD video at 30 fps, while 720p grants you up to 60 fps. Of course, this type of primo kit won't come cheap -- if it all proves true you can expect to slap down roughly $3,900 (¥300,000) to make one yours, although, a release date is still anyone's guess. You'll find another shot of this purported beauty after the break and the full rumor rundown at the source link below.

Continue reading Is this Nikon's D800 DSLR?

Is this Nikon's D800 DSLR? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 Nov 2011 04:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Verge  |  Nikon Rumors  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/20/is-this-nikons-d800-dlsr/

avastin avastin robert wagner robert wagner live with regis and kelly heavy d funeral oklahoma state university

Cairo morgue has 33 bodies after clashes: sources (Reuters)

CAIRO (Reuters) ? Cairo's main morgue at Zainhum hospital has received 33 corpses from those killed in clashes between protesters and security forces, medical sources said on Monday.

The sources, who asked not to be identified, said the morgue had been the main place where the dead were being brought.

Previously, the Health Ministry had said 22 people were killed, including two on Saturday -- one of whom died in Alexandria. The remaining 20 were killed in violence since Sunday.

(Writing by Edmund Blair)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111121/wl_nm/us_egypt_protests

widespread panic widespread panic richard stallman richard stallman williston north dakota williston north dakota kody brown

Video: NASCAR fans boo Michelle Obama and Jill Biden (cbsnews)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/164779908?client_source=feed&format=rss

go ask alice go ask alice nflx john mccarthy john mccarthy lumpectomy robin williams

Nomura "Goes There" With "The Legal Aspects Of A Eurozone ...

Below we present the note from Nomura which is making the rounds today following the WSJ article referencing it and which touches upon a topic discussed by Zero Hedge way back before even the second Greek bailout from July 21, namely that the statutory law governing the sovereign bond indenture (i.e., whether bonds are issued under Greek or English law) should have major implications for trading dynamics due to the defatul fallback currency in the case of a currency collapse. In a nutshell: "Bonds issued under local law, such as Greek law, would likely be converted from euros into a new local currency?a blow to any investors left holding the paper. "New" currencies, such as a new drachma, could rapidly fall in value by as much as 50%, according to most estimates. Foreign-law debt, on the other hand, would be more likely to remain in euros, assuming a smaller euro still existed at all, the bank said." That Nomura and the WSJ is only half a year late with this discussion is not surprising. What is surprising is that the discussion has appeared in the first place: needless to say this is another rhetorical escalation in the push to get Merkel on the "same page" as it being telegraphed all too loudly that investors are now actively gearing up for a Eurozone collapse. Then again Nomura bankers are people too and deserve to be well paid for being part of the detested 1%. How else will this happen unless they too join the onslaught by the global banking syndicate which now consists of Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Barclays, Credit Suisse, and virtually everyone else, expect for Goldman of course, which appears quite happy with the chips falling as they may. After all, it already has Europe by the political short hairs. Now it just needs to take charge financially too. If in the process a few not so good banks are converted into omelette, so be it.

Nomura with a topic that diligent ZH readers are already well aware of.

Eurozone break-up risk has risen notably over the past few months, as European policy makers have failed to put in place a credible backstop for the larger Eurozone bond markets. Given this increased risk, investors should pay close attention to the ?redenomination risk? of various assets. There are important legal dimensions to this risk, including legal jurisdiction of the obligation in question. Risk premia on Eurozone assets are likely to be increasingly determined by this ?redenomination risk?. In a full-blown break-up scenario, the redenomination risk may depend crucially on whether the process is multilaterally agreed and on whether a new European Currency Unit (ECU-2) is introduced to settle existing EUR contracts.

Full executive Summary:

• Escalating tensions in the Eurozone, around Greece as well as core Eurozone countries, mean that the risk of a break-up has sharply increased. The potential for a break-up raises the question about the future of current Euro obligations: Which Euro obligations would remain in Euros, and which would be redenominated into new national currencies.
• Investors should consider three main parameters when evaluating ?redenomination risk?: 1) legal jurisdiction under which a given obligation belongs; 2) whether a break-up can happen in a multilaterally agreed fashion; and 3) the type of Eurozone break-up which is being considered, including whether the Euro would cease to exist.
• In a scenario of a limited Eurozone break-up, where the Euro remains in existence for core Eurozone countries, the risk of redenomination is likely to be substantially higher for local law obligations in peripheral countries than for foreign law obligations. From this perspective, local law obligations should trade at a discount to similar foreign law obligations.
• In a scenario of a full-blown Eurozone break-up, evaluating the redenomination risk is more complex, as even foreign law obligations would have to be redenominated in some form. In this case, redenomination could happen either into new national currencies (in accordance with the so-called Lex Monetae principle), or into a new European Currency Unit (ECU-2). This additional complexity in the full-blown break-up scenario leaves it harder to judge the appropriate relative risk premia on local versus foreign law instruments.
• The distinction between local and foreign law jurisdiction also becomes less important in situations involving insolvency. In those instances, the lower redenomination risk associated with foreign law obligations may be negated by higher haircuts. Hence, the legal jurisdiction therefore seems most relevant from a trading perspective in connection with high quality corporate credits which are highly resilient to insolvency.
• Redenomination risk is not only a legal matter. Redenomination risk for German assets has a different economic meaning compared with redenomination risk for Greek assets.

Full note:

?

Average:

Your rating: None Average: 5 (1 vote)

Source: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/nomura-goes-there-legal-aspects-eurozone-breakup

hell on wheels hell on wheels new york city marathon andy williams andy williams nyc marathon nyc marathon

Taylor Swift Embraces Role as Role Model

Taylor Swift will be featured on tomorrow night's installment of 60 Minutes and, in a few excerpts released from the upcoming interview, the star makes it clear that she's open to her status as a role model.

"I definitely think about a million people when I'm getting dressed in the morning, and that's just part of my life now," Swift tells the news magazine. "I think it's my responsibility to know it and to be conscious of it."

While other artists may have gotten into trouble over the years for drunk driving or the smoking of substances, Swift won't ever use her age as an excuse for any behavior of this type.

"It would be really easy to say 'I'm 21 now, I do what I want. You raise your kids!'" Swift says. "But it's not the truth of it. The truth of it is that every singer out there with songs on the radio is raising the next generation."

Have we mentioned recently how much we adore Taylor Swift?

[Photo: WENN.com]

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/11/taylor-swift-embraces-role-as-role-model/

amazing race michael oher showtime the prisoner the prisoner gene simmons my bloody valentine

Iran holds air defense military exercises

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? Iran says it has begun a four-day air defense military exercise aimed at upgrading its ability to protect its airspace and its nuclear facilities in case of an attack.

The official IRNA news agency says the drills involve the elite Revolutionary Guard as well as Iran's regular army in an area covering 800,000 kilometers in eastern Iran, near the Afghan border. The war games began Saturday morning.

The war games are taking place amid escalating tensions between Iran and the West over Iran's disputed nuclear program. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has hinted that Israel may take military action.

Iran denies that it is developing nuclear weapons.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-11-19-ML-Iran-Exercises/id-3d91d4ebdad74f67b150419539172feb

schweddy balls schweddy balls craigslist killer chattanooga joey lawrence joey lawrence iraq war

Video: Boat captain: Wagner responsible for Wood?s death

>> much. dennis davern is with us, along with marti ruli who worked on the book "goodbye natalie , goodbye splendsplendor." why now after 30 years? what is the new information that investigators are zeroing in on?

>> well, you say why now? why now is because i've been trying to tell information about this for many, many years. and there wasn't really anyone listening until now.

>> okay. well, what is the information you're relaying now?

>> the information i'm relaying now is, i just want a thorough investigation. and that information will be brought out by the investigators.

>> well, again, the question stands, why now? what is information? what has changed? what has come to light that you have brought to light some 30 years later that would lead the sheriff's office to reopen an investigation?

>> i think right now this point in time, someone has actually listened. i've been trying to get somebody to listen for a long time. and now somebody is listening, and they're going to carry on with this investigation.

>> i'd like to try one more time. what is it that they're listening to? what is it that you are saying now that's different than what has been brought to light before?

>> i'm not saying anything different. all the information that i reveal in the past, it's all in that book. and now it's just something for the investigators to do an investigation.

>> well, you've talked to investigators. what's the bottom line here? you write in the book about an argument between natalie wood and her husband, robert wagner . do you think that was the pivotal moment? that after that argument is what led to her death?

>> all i can say is, i made some terrible decisions, mistakes. and it's just going to have to be left up to the investigators.

>> sir, my question is, what happened? that led to her death that we didn't know before?

>> i can't answer that question right now.

>> and why not? you're referring to mistakes you made. have you changed your story from when you spoke to investigators years ago?

>> i did lie on a report years ago.

>> and what did you lie about then?

>> it was just -- i made mistakes by not telling the honest truth in a police report .

>> well, just be specific. i mean, we've talked about the broad outlines of the story. what is it that you were untruthful about?

>> just everything that took place that weekend.

>> was the fight between natalie wood and her husband, robert wagner , what ultimately led to her death?

>> yes.

>> how so?

>> like i said, that's going to be up to the investigators to decide.

>> the point you're making is that it's because of information in the book, information that you're bringing to them, that they would be reopening this investigation. is it your charge that, in fact, robert wagner essentially tried to make this a low-profile investigation, did not do everything he could to try to find her once she went missing after their argument?

>> yes, it was. it was to be kept a low-profile investigation.

>> so you're saying that wagner did not do everything he should have done to look for her after she went missing.

>> exactly.

>> was he responsible for her death in some way?

>> well, like i said, i think we all made mistakes that night. and --

>> mr. davern, that wasn't my question. was he responsible for her death? i'm not asking about your story.

>> yes, i would say so. yes.

>> how so?

>> i really don't want to get involved --

>> well how can you come on national television, sir, and accuse him of something like that but not back it up?

>> well, that's up to the investigators. i don't want to speak for --

>> well, you're speaking to investigators. are they not reopening this investigation, based on information that you've provided them?

>> yes, they are.

>> okay. so what is that information that backs up your charge?

>> that will be up to the investigators to say.

>> this is a statement from robert wagner that george lewis referred to. although no one in the wagner family has heard from the l.a. county sheriff's department about this matter, they fully support the efforts of the l.a. county sheriff's department and trust they will evaluate whether any new information relating to the death of natalie wagner is valid and that it comes from a credible source other than those sources trying to profit from the 30-year anniversary of her tragic death. sir, the implication here is that you may be an tunist trying to do just that. you're saying robert wagner is responsible for her death but not saying how. not shedding light on why it is after 30 years they would reopen an investigation when that's a very unusual step for any investigative body to do.

>> i'm not really an investigator here. and i'm far away from even thinking about profiting over a 30-year anniversary. i have known this information for many, many years. and my book has been out for two years. i'm not in it for any kind of profit. i'm in it for the justice of the whole situation.

>> marti ruli, you helped mr. davern with this book.

>> yes.

>> i'll ask you the direct question . what happened, and what do we know now that we didn't know then?

>> well, there was a fight aboard "the splendor" the night natalie died, a terrible argument. that was never relayed to the original investigators. and none of the survivors, walken, wagner or dennis , were forthcoming with the investigators. and it was probably in 1983 when the information about the bottle smashing came out.

>> this was in an argument between wagner and wood.

>> yes. now, everyone was present for the bottle-smashing. that was after the party of four left doug's harbor reef for dinner. they returned to "the splendor," were in the main salon. robert wagner , after natalie and christopher were chatting, picked up a wine bottle and smashed it hard down on the coffee table. and it shattered. everyone protected themselves from the glass flying everywhere. walken went to his cabin, never came out for the rest of the night.

>> right. he goes to sleep. so then what -- what happens? i mean, i've just heard mr. davern say he thinks wagner is responsible for his wife's death. what happened?

>> natalie was mortified, went to her state room . wagner followed. a terrible argument transpired that broke out to the back deck. dennis overheard the arguing, he did make an attempt to stop it, was told to go away by robert wagner . and then minutes later, natalie was missing. dennis was asked to search the boat. he did, he couldn't find natalie . he met up with wagner in the wheel house . dennis wanted to do everything. make a phone call , turn on the search light . his instincts told him something was terribly wrong. and robert wagner asked him not to.

>> i want to stop at that point. mr. davern, wagner said not to. not to take direct steps that could help identify where natalie wood was. had she fallen off the boat. that's what you're saying.

>> yes. we didn't take any steps to see if we could locate her.

>> do you have any evidence, any information to say that there was foul play, that this was murder, that he was responsible for her being pushed off the boat? or was it a matter of him simply saying, "we're not going to look too hard."

>> i think it was a matter of we're not going to look too hard. we're not going to turn on the search light , we're not going to notify anybody right at the moment.

>> you never told the police that at the time, did you?

>> no.

>> why not?

>> well, because we all had -- we all had our story to tell the homicide detectives at the time. and that's the story i told.

>> so you agreed with robert wagner to tell a story he wanted you to tell, and not the truth.

>> yes.

>> why should anyone believe you now, when you didn't tell the truth then?

>> well, at that time, my life was just totally, totally crazy at that time. and you know, i don't think there was a time where i was even able to even think straight.

>> any message you have for robert wagner this morning?

>> no.

>> we're going to leave it there. dennis davern, thank you very much. marti ruli, thank you.

>> thank you.

Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/45353365/

eagle rock music festival eagle rock music festival arbor apple crisp recipe apple crisp recipe listeria symptoms listeria symptoms

Deficit deal failure would pose crummy choice

Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, co-chair of the supercommittee, tells reporters outside his office that the deficit reduction panel would work over the weekend as the deadline for its work nears, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Nov. 18, 2011. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, co-chair of the supercommittee, tells reporters outside his office that the deficit reduction panel would work over the weekend as the deadline for its work nears, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Nov. 18, 2011. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., Co-Chair of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, often called the Supercommittee, speaks to reporters following a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Nov. 18, 2011. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., the Senate GOP whip, arrives for a meeting with bi-partisan members of the supercommittee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Nov. 18, 2011. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., member of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, often called the Supercommittee, speaks to reporters following a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Nov. 18, 2011. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Sen. Patrick Toomey, R-Pa., arrives for a meeting with bi-partisan members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, often called the Supercommittee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Nov. 18, 2011. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? If the deficit-cutting supercommittee fails, Congress will face a crummy choice. Lawmakers can allow payroll tax cuts and jobless aid for millions to expire or they extend them and increase the nation's $15 trillion debt by at least $160 billion.

President Barack Obama and Democrats on the deficit panel want to use the committee's product to carry their jobs agenda. That includes cutting in half the 6.2 percent Social Security payroll tax and extending jobless benefits for people who have been unemployed for more than six months.

Also caught up in what promises to be a chaotic legislative dash for the exits next month is the need to pass legislation to prevent an almost 30 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors. Several popular business tax breaks and relief from the alternative minimum tax also expire at year's end.

A debt plan from the supercommittee, it was hoped, would have served as a sturdy, filibuster-proof vehicle to tow all of these expiring provisions into law. But if the panel fails, as appears likely with Wednesday's deadline nearing, a dysfunctional Congress will have to sort it all out.

There's no guarantee it all can get done, especially given impact on those measures on the spiraling debt.

Instead of cutting the deficit with a tough, bipartisan budget deal, Congress could pivot to spending enormous sums on expiring big-ticket policies.

If lawmakers rebel against the cost, as is possible, they would bear responsibility for allowing policies such as the payroll tax cut, enacted a year ago to help prop up the economy, to lapse.

Last year's extensions of jobless benefits and first-ever cut in the payroll tax were accomplished with borrowed money.

The 2 percent payroll tax cut expiring in December gave 121 million families a tax cut averaging $934 last year at a total cost of about $120 billion, according to the Tax Policy Center.

Obama wants to cut the payroll tax by another percentage point for workers at a total cost of $179 billion and reduce the employer share of the tax in half as well for most companies, which carries a $69 billion price tag.

"The notion of imposing a new payroll tax on people after Jan. 1 in the midst of this recession on working families is totally counterproductive," said Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate.

Letting extended jobless assistance expire would mean that more than 6 million people would lose benefits averaging $296 a week next year, with 1.8 million cut off within a month.

Economist say those jobless benefits ? up to 99 weeks of them in high unemployment states ? are among the most effective way to stimulate the economy because unemployed people generally spend the money right away.

"We will have to address those issues," Durbin said.

Extending benefits to the long-term unemployed would cost almost $50 billion under Obama's plan. Preventing the Medicare payment cuts to doctors for an additional 18 months to two years would in all likelihood cost $26 billion to $32 billion more.

Lawmakers also had hoped to renew some tax breaks for business and prevent the alternative minimum tax from sticking more than 30 million taxpayers with higher tax bills. Those items could be addressed retroactively next year, but only increase the uncertainty among already nervous consumers and investors.

This time, Obama wants them to be paid for. But a move by Democrats to try to finance jobs measures with hundreds of billions of dollars in savings from drawing down troops in Iraq and Afghanistan has gotten a cold shoulder from top Republicans.

"I've made it pretty clear that those savings that are coming to us as a result of the wind-down of the war in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan should be banked, should not be used to offset other spending," said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. He did not address whether war savings could be used to extend expiring tax cuts.

Those savings are the natural result of national security strategies unrelated to the federal budget. Deficit hawks say tapping into them is simply an accounting gimmick.

"It's just the worst of all worlds if that were to happen," said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

But without the war money at their disposal, lawmakers simply can't pay for the payroll tax cut and jobless benefits. Liberals such as Durbin are fine with employing deficit financing, especially if the alternative is playing Scrooge just before the holidays.

"Many people will hate to go home for Christmas saying to the American people, 'Merry Christmas, your payroll taxes go up 2 percent Jan. 1 and unemployment benefits are cut off.'"

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-11-19-Debt%20Supercommittee-What%20Next/id-0d568306455245388bf35cbdf3cd0fc0

drake take care herman cain accuser herman cain accuser election day kawasaki disease joe frazier conrad murray

Say Cheese, Mr. President

One time, Bredar says, Okamoto joined a Cabinet meeting to take pictures of the president and his advisers. He shot the photos and left the room. A few minutes later, Johnson called him back in. ?Gentlemen, sit up straight because this man is going to take your picture,? the president told his Cabinet, obviously having missed? that just a few minutes before, ?Okamoto was a few inches from his face taking pictures,? Bredar explains, laughing.?

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=3e4ea42f26e286f7a4bce1558730664a

yahoo sports halloween costumes steven jackson steven jackson iheartradio iheartradio rosh hashanah recipes

Congressional report calls for drastic changes at TSA

By Rebecca Ruiz, Senior editor, msnbc.com

A report released today by the Republican leaders of a Congressional committee calls for the Transportation Security Administration to slash its work force, minimize its role in screening passengers and make public its performance results, among other recommendations.

The report, "A Decade Later: A Call for TSA Reform,"?was published by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, which is chaired by Rep. John L. Mica (R-Fla.). Mica played a role in helping to create the TSA nearly 10 years ago, but has become an outspoken critic in recent years. On his website, Mica calls the TSA, " ... a bloated bureaucracy of more than 60,000 employees that is in much need of immediate revamping."

The report argues that the TSA should focus on its role as a federal regulator of transportation security and "get out of the human resources business." The TSA employs more than 65,000 people, including 13,000-plus administrative staff across the country.

Despite the TSA's massive work force, more than 25,000 security breaches have occurred at U.S. airports in the last decade, according to the report.

At the same time, the screening process has become increasingly rigorous for each passenger regardless of his or her individual risk. The TSA has developed a behavior detection program in an effort to single out potentially dangerous fliers, but according to the Government Accountability Office, 17 known terrorists have traveled through security 24 different times at the eight airports where this program is in place.

"TSA has lost focus on its security mission, instead of concentrating on setting and enforcing security standards and protocols," said the report. "Consequently, TSA is overwhelmed by the operation of its massive personnel bureaucracy."

Greg Soule, a spokesperson for the TSA, issued a statement from the agency criticizing the report: "At a time when our country?s aviation system is safer, stronger, and more secure than it was 10 years ago, this report is an unfortunate disservice to the dedicated men and women of TSA who are on the frontlines every day protecting the traveling public.

"In the past decade, TSA has developed a highly trained federal work force that has safely screened over 5 billion passengers and established a multi-layered security system reaching from curb to cockpit. Every day we see the effectiveness of these security measures with TSA officers preventing more than 1,100 guns from being brought onto passenger aircraft this year alone." ? ?

The report also slams the TSA's use of federal funding. The Congressional report notes that the agency spent $800 million on the behavior detection program since 2007 and that it will cost more than $1.2 billion in the next five years. Nearly $40 million was used to purchase more than 200 machines designed to detect explosives, but only half could be used after it was discovered that the machines could not detect explosives when installed in airports.

The TSA should act as a federal regulator that supervises private contractors in airport screening, argues the report. It also recommends that the agency make public its performance results after 24 months or when deemed safe for security purposes. Those results are currently classified. Finally, the report calls for a "comprehensive, independent study of TSA's management, operations, and technical capabilities."

Related stories:?

Rebecca Ruiz is a senior editor at msnbc.com. Follow her on Twitter.

Source: http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/16/8841508-congressional-report-calls-for-drastic-changes-at-tsa

new jersey weather halloween movies halloween movies new york snow new york snow braxton miller braxton miller