T-Mobile USA sweetens bid for US carrier MetroPCS

BERLIN (AP) ? Deutsche Telekom AG, the parent company of T-Mobile USA, is raising its bid for MetroPCS Communications Inc. in what it calls its "best and final offer."

The announcement late Wednesday comes ahead of a special shareholder meeting being held by Dallas-based MetroPCS Friday.

The deal would merge the fourth- and fifth-largest cellphone carriers in the U.S.

Telekom says the original offer had T-Mobile USA contributing $15 billion in shareholder loans to the combined company. The new offer reduces those loans to $11.2 billion, "significantly increasing the equity value of the combined company."

Telekom says it will also reduce the interest rate on those loans by 50 basis points.

The ownership structure remains unchanged, with 26 percent of shares being held by current MetroPCS shareholders and 74 percent by Deutsche Telekom.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-04-11-T-Mobile%20USA-MetroPCS/id-d6f4cb4a275e4a6984d85232fbcda8c0

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Botched SimCity launch vaults EA to second consecutive award for ?Worst Company In America?

"I like small penises," said no women interviewed for an actually scientific study released Monday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, or PNAS. Yes, PNAS is a funny sounding acronym, and, yes, PNAS has found that size does matter ? and that women prefer "showers" to "growers."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/botched-simcity-launch-vaults-ea-second-consecutive-award-194255890.html

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'It was a sign': Lapsed Catholics lured back by Pope Francis

Gregorio Borgia / AP

Pope Francis waves as he is driven through a crowd in St. Peter's Square prior to the start of his weekly general audience on Wednesday.

By Tracy Connor, Staff Writer, NBC News

Twenty million Americans consider themselves lapsed Catholics, but Pope Francis is convincing many to test the holy waters again with his bold gestures and common touch.

After years of disenchantment with the church's hierarchy and teachings, former members of the flock say they are willing to give the Vatican a second chance under new leadership.

Dallas teacher Marilyn Rosa is one of them.

"He's being studied very closely," Cardinal Edward Egan of the Archdiocese of New York said of Pope Francis, added that wherever he goes, priests want to know how the Pope will change the Catholic Church and what the implications will be. Cardinal Edward Egan is interviewed by TODAY's Lester Holt.

"It was a sign," Rosa, 57, said of the Argentine Jesuit's election as pontiff last month. "It was like a miracle."

Born and raised Catholic, Rosa attended parochial schools and had a church wedding for her first marriage. Over the years, she drifted away from the religion that had been such an integral part of her Puerto Rican family's life.

She questioned the relevance of church policies in the modern world. As a divorced woman, she felt cast out. The pedophile-priest scandals disgusted her.

Three years ago, she quit going to Mass and joined an evangelical church. But she didn't feel at home and she started to wonder how she could fill the void.

"The day the pope got elected, I turned on the TV and when I learned he was Latin, I went crazy at home," said Rosa.

"When they started to talk about how he lived by himself and didn't move into the archbishop's residence, how he took the bus to work, I said, 'I know God is talking to me. This is the man we needed.'"

On Palm Sunday, she and her second husband "reverted," attending services at Dallas' St. Pius X Catholic Church.

"It was packed. I had to stand up the whole time. But I felt so happy. It was like a revival," she said.

Ron Feldman

Father Peter Mussett of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center in Boulder, Colo., had five people tell him they were returning to the faith in a week because of Pope Francis.

Rosa has kept going to back to St. Pius, encouraged by what she's seen of the pope: from the simple white robe he wears to his rejection of the opulent papal apartment in favor of a spartan guest house.

"He's not letting himself be controlled by the rest of the church," Rosa said. "He's his own man."

Embrace of poor, emphasis on service
It's unknown how many others have joined Rosa around the country and globe and the vast majority of lapsed Catholics have not been enticed back. In the U.S., that's a huge pool of potential "new" members for an institution challenged by secularism and rival religions.

A 2009 report by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life estimated one in 10 adults in the U.S. was raised Catholic but has broken with the church. Its teachings on?abortion, homosexuality, birth control and treatment of women were often cited as reasons.

Pope Francis hasn't given any hint of radical change on those issues, but his man-of-the-people persona is appealing to some of the unfaithful.

Tom Peterson, president of Catholics Come Home, which airs ads aimed at the lapsed, said his website traffic tripled the day of the election, adding several thousand visitors. It's been double ever since.

Some interest could stem from the hubbub surrounding the selection of any pontiff, but Peterson thinks Francis' "love for the poor and his humility is exciting people to a great extent."

Father Peter Mussett, pastor of the St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center, which serves the University of Colorado at Boulder, agrees.

Marcos Brindicci / Reuters

Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina was elected to lead the Catholic Church following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI.?

"I had five people in a week who were saying, 'Pope Francis has inspired me to return to my faith,'" he said. "It's pretty remarkable."

Brian O'Neill, 48, an Irish-American cop from Washington State, went to Catholic elementary school and a Jesuit high school but hasn't practiced since graduating from a secular college. He says that could change soon.

The Vatican's stance on social issues, along with the gilded lifestyle of some higher-ups previously drove O'Neill away. Francis' embrace of the poor and his background as a service-minded Jesuit might bring the father of two back.

"I was shocked and amazed when he started doing those things -- you know, 'No Popemobile for me,'" said O'Neill, who wrote a column for his local newspaper about possibly returning to Catholicism.

He said that while Francis' views on church teachings might still be far from his own, his election heralds change.

"When the church says that's the guy we're going to put on St. Peter's throne, that says enough about where the church wants to go," O'Neill said. "Will I go back? I'm planning on it -- if I can find a good service."

'He's another retro pope'
Last weekend, when he was formally installed as bishop of Rome, the pope used the opportunity to appeal to defectors, urging them to come back to the fold.

The News Tribune (Tacoma)

Brian O'Neill, a cop and father of two from Washington state, is a lapsed Catholic who is considering returning to the church because of Pope Francis.

It will take more than an invitation for Kathy Budreski, though. The 70-year-old left Catholicism after the abuse scandal and has been attending a Unitarian church in Cape Cod.

She was heartened to see the cardinals pick a pope from South America, and loved seeing Francis hug a little boy with cerebral palsy after Easter Mass but says he's not a progressive.

"He has a big heart and he loves the poor people, but he's not going to do anything to change the stance of the church on birth control and gay rights," she said.

"I don't see him as a mover and shaker. He has some wonderful qualities but he's another retro pope."

/

Cardinals from around the world gathered in the Vatican to elect the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

Related:

Sex-abuse crisis: Experts draft to-do list for Pope Francis

'Peace to the whole world': Pope urges unity in?Easter Sunday address

Pope chooses simple residence over regal papal apartment

Full coverage of Pope Francis?from NBC News

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Daimler to revise forecasts amid tough markets

BERLIN (AP) ? German automaker Daimler is warning shareholders it expects 2013 to be difficult and that it may have to reassess its earnings expectations.

CEO Dieter Zetsche said in remarks prepared for the company's annual shareholder meeting Wednesday that "not much tailwind is anticipated from the markets in the coming months."

Daimler in February reported 2012 net profit of 6.5 billion euros ($8.5 billion) and forecast flat underlying earnings for 2013.

But because of the market situation, particularly in Europe, Zetsche said the company will "reassess whether its previous market-related assumptions for 2013 are still valid." Further details will be provided alongside first-quarter results.

Even though Daimler is set to revise its outlook, its share price was up 2 percent at 41.70 euros after the company said first quarter sales were.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/daimler-revise-forecasts-amid-tough-markets-074226671--finance.html

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Ex-HBOS chief Crosby asks to be stripped of knighthood

By Steve Slater and Matt Scuffham

LONDON (Reuters) - James Crosby, former boss of failed British bank HBOS, offered on Tuesday to give up his knighthood and nearly a third of his pension after being denounced by lawmakers for the "colossal failure" that led to his bank's collapse.

Crosby, whose bank had to be bailed out by taxpayers in 2008, effectively volunteered for the same punishment as that visited on Fred Goodwin, former head of Royal Bank of Scotland, the other large Scottish bank bailed out after the 2008 financial crisis. Goodwin's knighthood was stripped last year and he gave up part of his pension in 2009.

Crosby becomes the first person to voluntarily give up a knighthood for almost a century. He said 30 percent of his 580,000 pound a year pension would either be returned to shareholders or given to charity.

"In view of what has happened subsequently to HBOS, I believe that it is right that I should now ask the appropriate authorities to take the necessary steps for its removal," he said of his knighthood in a statement on Tuesday.

The government was clearly pleased with the decision. A Treasury spokesman said: "This must be a matter for an individual's conscience, but the Government believes it is right that this decision has been reached."

Crosby, 57, was awarded his knighthood shortly after stepping down as HBOS chief executive in 2006.

The bank did not collapse until two years after he left it, but a report on Friday by the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards (PCBS) put the blame squarely on him and two other former bosses for the decisions that wrecked it.

The report said Crosby had so badly run the bank that it would have failed even without the 2008 financial crisis.

John Mann, a Labour lawmaker who has been a critic of Crosby during hearings into the banking crisis, welcomed Crosby's decision to accept blame and suggested it set an example to other failed bankers.

"At last we have a banker who is prepared to say he got it wrong and wishes to make amends," Mann said.

A knighthood is one of the highest honours an individual in Britain can achieve. A committee recommends the honour to the Prime Minister and then to the Queen.

The last person to give up a knighthood voluntarily was Nobel Prize-winning Bengali writer Rabindranath Tagore, who renounced his in 1919 in protest against the Amritsar massacre when British troops killed hundreds of civilians. Others to have been stripped of the honours include Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, Romania's Nicolae Ceausescu and former spy Anthony Blunt.

"SET THE COURSE FOR DISASTER"

The PCBS, tasked with finding ways to reform Britain's banks, said Crosby had been the "architect of the strategy that set the course for disaster" at HBOS.

Crosby set the strategy that saw HBOS lose billions of pounds from reckless lending to companies and a disastrous expansion into Ireland and Australia. After its bailout by the state, the bank was acquired by rival Lloyds Banking Group.

Crosby said the report was "very chastening reading" and he was "deeply sorry for what happened at HBOS and the ensuing consequences for former colleagues, shareholders, taxpayers and society in general".

Crosby's pre-emptive action means he effectively volunteers to share the fate of Goodwin, whose knighthood and lavish pension became a focus of public anger and attracted venomous denunciations from politicians after the financial meltdown.

Crosby said he would discuss with the pension scheme's trustees how the reduction in his pension would be implemented and if the amount waived should go to support good causes or benefit shareholders.

Under his proposal, he would still receive 406,000 pounds a year, to add to almost 8 million pounds he was paid during his tenure as HBOS's chief executive.

He said his pension had been built up over his 30 year career, including 12 years at Halifax and HBOS, and was "entirely contractual in nature".

Compass Group, the world's biggest catering company said late Tuesday Crosby decided to step down as non-executive director, with immediate effect.

Crosby resigned as an adviser to private equity firm Bridgepoint on Friday. He remains the chairman of Moneybarn, a small West Sussex company that lends to people with a bad credit history.

Moneybarn declined to comment.

After leaving HBOS, Crosby advised former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and became deputy chairman of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), stepping down from that role in February 2009 after criticism of his role at HBOS.

(Additional reporting by Kate Holton and David Milliken; Editing by Peter Graff, Bernard Orr)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ex-hbos-chief-crosby-asks-stripped-knighthood-151007700--finance.html

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Senate confirms Sally Jewell for Interior chief

Sally Jewell, CEO of outdoor retailer Recreational Equipment Inc., won easy Senate confirmation Wednesday to be the nation's next interior secretary.

The Senate approved her nomination, 87-11, with all the no votes coming from Republicans. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was among those who opposed Jewell.

At Interior, Jewell will oversee more than 500 million acres of national parks and other public lands, plus more than 1 billion acres offshore. The lands are used for energy development, mining, recreation and other purposes.

One of the first challenges Jewell will face is a proposed rule requiring companies that drill for oil and natural gas on federal lands to publicly disclose chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing operations.

The administration proposed a draft "fracking" rule last year, but twice has delayed a final rule amid complaints by the oil and gas industry that the original proposal was too burdensome. A new draft is expected this spring.

Jewell also is expected to continue to push development of renewable energy such as wind and solar power, both of which are priorities of the interior secretary she succeeds, Ken Salazar.

President Barack Obama nominated Jewell last month to replace Salazar, who announced his departure in January.

Obama said in a statement Tuesday that Jewell's extensive business experience ? including her work as a petroleum engineer ? and her longtime commitment to conservation made Jewell the right person for the job.

"She brings an important mix of strong management skills, appreciation for our nation's tradition of protecting our public lands and heritage, and a keen understanding of what it means to be good stewards of our natural resources," Obama said.

Jewell, 57, of Seattle, also was a banker before taking over Kent, Wash.-based REI in 2005. She also served on the board of the National Parks Conservation Association, an advocacy group that works to protect and enhance national parks.

Jewell has made it clear she intends to strike a balance between the dual roles of conserving and developing resources, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said. "That's exactly the right approach to take on the diverse issues facing Interior, including safely developing natural gas, maximizing jobs and opportunities from recreation and improving management of federal forests."

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said she worked closely with Jewell on wilderness legislation in Washington state and was confident that Jewell "will bring her skills as an effective CEO in the business community to the Cabinet."

???

Follow Matthew Daly on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MatthewDalyWDC

The department also provides services to 566 federally recognized Indian tribes.

Fracking

Wind power

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/senate-endorses-sally-jewell-interior-223618803.html

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Ron Johnson's JCPenney: Anatomy of a Retail ... - Yahoo! Finance

In a stunning end to one of the most aggressively unsuccessful tenures in retail history, JCPenney (JCP) last night announced that CEO Ron Johnson would be leaving effective immediately. Myron Ullman, Johnson's predecessor at JCPenney, takes office as CEO.

When Johnson was initially wooed by JCPenney, it was to serve as CEO with Ullman as Chairman. In January 2012, Ullman was unceremoniously removed from the board. Gone with Ullman was any control the Board of Directors had over Ron Johnson and his control of JCPenney resources.

Without Ullman or anyone else to hold his ambitions in check, Johnson made public promises to change department stores as we knew them. He said he would parse his stores into little baby stores, making JCPenney sort of a flea market landlord to other brands. Johnson didn?t invent the idea (see: Dick?s), but he was going to blow it out like no one ever fathomed in department stores.

Beyond the merchandising, Johnson planned to make JCPenney a cool place to hang out. He planned to put wi-fi and coffee shops in the stores and do away with cash stands. He promised hair salons for kids and courtyards and dining. JCPenney was going to be the new model of everything we once thought to be merchandising. To analysts and employees, Johnson was Willy Wonka asking us go with him on a trip through his retail imagination.

It sounded cool. Very cool. Had the new plan been given a little time, JCPenney would have been fascinating to watch. Sadly, the visionary had no idea about allocating and conserving resources and core customers. He made promises neither his stores nor his cash flows would allow him to keep.

But Johnson didn?t even consider a staged roll-out. He immediately rejected everything existing customers believed about the chain and stuffed it in their faces. The first TV campaign is as painful to watch as it is a foreshadowing of Ron Johnson?s fate. Intentionally or not, the ads mocked his existing customers before he?d even started remodeling the roughly 1,100 appalling existing stores.

JCPenney?s dwindling, aging customer base left in droves. Sales were down a jaw- dropping 32% in the 4th quarter of 2012; an almost impossible feat for a company like JCPenney. The company was boring but not widely feared to be heading for a financial meltdown as recently as 2011. Now it?s pure excitement but not of the right kind.

Sowing the Seeds of His Own Destruction

The misstep that led to Johnson?s downfall was likely made within weeks of his arrival when he tried to snatch Martha Stewart (MSO) away from Macy?s (M). As revealed in emails, Johnson planned to buy Martha and trust that overtime (Macy?s) would move somewhere else. The key ingredients for the heist were JCPenney offering Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia a $200mm merchandising deal and an investment of $38.5 million in exchange for 16% of the company.

Johnson?s strategy was this: Take a massive stake in a Macy?s vendor then try to use that leverage over Macy?s to encourage the department store kingpin to give up without a fight. The flies in the ointment were that Macy?s had no intention of giving up the fight and had deeper pockets with which to litigate the matter. Also, the investment in Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia meant any collateral damage to Stewart?s brand or sales as a result of JCPenney?s actions against Macy?s would hit not just MSO but also damage JCPenney?s own investment.

JCPenney?s investment in implied a stock price for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia shares of $3.50. MSO shares closed trading on Monday at $2.36 putting paper losses at $12.5 million, nearly 10x what JCPenney earned in 2012.

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia?s dependence on Macy?s can?t be overstated. In the fourth quarter of 2012, MSO earned $1,360,000. Operating income from merchandising was $11,330,000 with Publishing and Broadcasting combined breaking even. Martha Stewart's very existence depends on revenues and profits from the Macy?s relationship. Merchandising was the only division of MSO to grow revenues in 2012 and the first thing Johnson did after buying 16% of the company was take actions that would kill that growth stream for the foreseeable future.

Trying to steal Martha Stewart from Macy?s was Johnson?s first major move as CEO of JCPenney. He did it in December of 2011, less than a month after taking office and a time when Ullman was still Chairman.

Ron Johnson proved at Apple that he has an uncanny eye with merchandising. But at Apple, Johnson had an unlimited budget, a product in high demand and Steve Jobs as a business partner. Ron Johnson had neither cash nor a genius mentor at JCPenney and the results exposed his limitations in a large way immediately.

What?s next for JCPenney?s customers and what can Myron Ullman possibly do to save a company that now has limited cash, almost no core customer base, a huge lawsuit and defection employees?

Stayed tuned to Breakout.

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/breakout/ron-johnson-jcpenney-anatomy-retail-failure-114635276.html

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Puzzle Mansion Bed and Breakfast | excursionista | work. eat. travel ...

It was 1990 and I had just graduated from Preparatory Level when my godfather gave me a 500-piece (if memory serves me right) Mickey and friends jigsaw puzzle. For years, it has been my favorite 'toy' which also then prompted me to start a mini collection of jigsaw puzzles. Sadly, I no longer have them, but my fascination with puzzles remained. ?

Having said that, you can just imagine my delight when I got an invitation -- together with other bloggers -- to visit Puzzle Mansion Bed and Breakfast in...where else? Tagaytay City - the B&B capital of The Philippines.

The Puzzle Mansion holds the Guinness World Record title for having the largest jigsaw puzzle collection assembled by a single person

The B&B sits on a 1.3 hectare property amidst lush greenery. Guests can choose from 11 room types for either a day or overnight trip.?You can check the rates?here.?They were very gracious to let us use their connecting rooms, Sunflower and Sampaguita, so we can take a bit of rest.??

We were even served breakfast before the museum tour started.?

Undoubtedly, the main attraction here is the jigsaw puzzle museum of Ms. Gina Gil - Lacuna. ?Her collection consists of 1,029 puzzles (but Guinness only considered 1,028) -- beating Brazil's record by a mile -- with a total of 700,004 puzzle pieces that she has done for 27 years.

It was an honor that the record-holder herself took time out from her very busy day to show us around. What, with media interviews left and right, and the influx of visitors, she still managed to personally show us her collection - also educating us in the process. She started with the history of puzzle making then went on to show us the different kinds of puzzles.?

Clockwise: wooden puzzle (some even have hidden shapes in it), 'crystal' puzzle, 4D puzzle of New York and 3D puzzles of famous world landmarks

Puzzle No: 244 - Mickey Racing Team

It was in 1986 on a trip to Hong Kong where she bought her first ever puzzle: a 5,000 piece Mickey and friends puzzle that took her 70 hours to complete. She gushed it was her love for her only son that motivated her to finish it. She was already 35 then and successfully running the maternity wear business, Buntis, when she discovered her love for puzzles - proving that you're never too old to find your passion. ?

Las Hilanderas

She then showed us the latest, and hardest, puzzle she's assembled - the 10,000 piece?Las Hilanderas (The Spinners) by Spanish painter, Diego Velazquez.?

Puzzle No. 51: Retablo de Santa Columba

Lastly, she showed us the largest puzzle (18,000 pieces) that took the longest time to complete at 1,095 hours.

My personal favorite is one of her many Coca-Cola puzzles - a mosaic puzzle!

The collection spans from Disney characters to pop culture to world famous landmarks such as the Taj Mahal; The Treasury in Petra, Jordan; Angkor Wat in Cambodia; Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey; and Machu Picchu in Peru among others.

Also notable is the collection of puzzle versions of famous paintings by van Gogh, Picasso, da Vinci, Monet, Botticelli, Diego Velazquez et al. For only Php100.00 entrance fee, you would feel as if you were transported to a European museum. ;)

As of writing, Ms. Gina is assembling a 32,000 piece puzzle by Keith Haring. She aims to complete it by July 2013.

***

If you have a chance, sample some of their dishes too.

Our sumptuous lunch and merienda

Counter-clockwise: Tinola, Chicken & Pork Adobo, Monggo, Turon, Pan de Carne and Coconut Cream Pie?

And before you leave, maybe swing by the souvenir shop too. You can also buy some fresh fruits, or even some saplings for your garden, from the vendors inside the compound.?

Locals sell their products here without the need to rent a space. This is Ms. Gina's way of helping out the community. Needless to say, the people in Puzzle Mansion operate more like as a family than as a commercial entity. After all, some of them have been with Ms. Gina for 30 years!

Puzzle Mansion's free shuttle for guests

HOW TO GET THERE

Private Transportation

1. From Metro Manila, take SLEX (South Luzon Expressway) and take Sta. Rosa exit.

2. Drive along Sta. Rosa ? Tagaytay Road.

3. Turn right when you reach Tagaytay ? Calamba Road.

4. Continue driving to Tagaytay ? Nasugbu Highway.

5. Follow the signs to Puzzle Mansion. There's about 10 from Tagaytay Market. Yes, I counted lol

Should be easy peasy if you know how to get to Antonio's.

1. Take a bus bound to Nasugbu, Batangas. Alternatively, coming from Tagaytay Market, you can take any public utility vehicle going to Alfonso, Cavite; Nasugbu/Calatagan or Balayan, Batangas.

2. Ask to be dropped off at Radar-Taas of Brgy. Asisan

3. Take a tricycle ride to the Puzzle Mansion. You can also wait for the Puzzle Mansion's free shuttle service picking up guests at the highway.

K

Other bloggers with me on this tour were Kaiye and Endette of?The Two Broke Girls, RJ of ?RJ the Explorer, Missy of?Sole of Missy,?Roch,?Aldous of Aldous Ate the World?and Ross of?Wazzup Pilipinas.

Source: http://www.excursionista.net/2013/04/puzzle-mansion-bed-and-breakfast.html

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Gas prices falls to $3 a gallon in some markets

Paul A. Eisenstein , The Detroit Bureau ? ? ? 3 hrs.

If your wallet is still hurting from the painfully high fuel prices much of the country experienced over the winter there?s some good news next time you head to the pump.

The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gas has dipped to just $3.58, a three-cent dip since late last week, 15 cents from a month ago, and 36 cents off of what the typical American motorist was spending this time in 2012.

That?s a sharp turnaround from February when some states saw gas surge to near or all-time records, particularly along the West Coast.

The Detroit Bureau: Are Wagons Ready for Revival?

Buyers are still paying an average $4.359 in Hawaii and $4.027 in Washington, D.C., but California is back under the $4 mark, at $3.998, according to GasBuddy.com, a fuel price tracking service. And it?s down to $3.286 in Montana ? where motorists are paying just $3.261 in Billings.

Some reports indicate that the price has dropped below the $3 mark in a few Rocky Mountain communities near major refineries. And GasBuddy is forecasting still ?more markets? will dip under that break point in the coming days.

The Detroit Bureau: Fisker Fiasco Worsens

While crude prices posted some gains in early Monday trading, petroleum futures have been in sharp decline for several weeks. One key reason, reports the federal Energy Information Administration is that the country?s inventories are now at a 22-year peak.

The U.S. has been rapidly ramping up oil production for several years and is expected to actually be a larger producer than Saudi Arabia and other OPEC providers by mid-decade. That doesn't necessarily translate into lower prices, as petroleum is traded as a global commodity. But despite concerns about Mideast instability ? notably reductions in production in war-torn Syria ? there appears to be a good supply, if not a glut of the black gold now available around the world.

The Detroit Bureau: Germans May Give UAW Breakthrough Chance to Unionize VW "Transplant"

According to Tom Kloza, chief analyst with the Oil Price Information Service, only a major ?disruption in the Mideast? would likely provoke a sharp spike in fuel prices around the world.

That said, analysts warn that Americans can?t be complacent. Traders continue trying to push up the price of crude. And as U.S. motorists have been seeing, regional spikes are becoming more common. That can follow the changeover from summer to winter fuel blends designed to reduce regional air pollution problems. It can also result from maintenance and other issues, such as those that affected large swaths of the Midwest and Pacific Coast over the last year.

Even in areas where prices top the national charts today, the figures are significantly down from year-ago levels ? when California stood at $4.28 a gallon, for example.

The Detroit Bureau: Ford Reveals Alternatives for F-150

The sudden decline in gas prices may be fueling a shift in the U.S. new car market, meanwhile. Sales of pickups, in particular, surged during March and light trucks outsold passenger cars on the whole, despite recent trends moving in the opposite direction.

Copyright ? 2009-2013, The Detroit Bureau

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653351/s/2a78d130/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Cbusiness0Cgas0Eprices0Efalls0E30Egallon0Esome0Emarkets0E1C9255115/story01.htm

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Restaurant In Graduate Hospital Offers Free Lunch In Honor Of Warm Weather

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) ? It?s the first truly warm day of spring, and a Center City restaurant is offering a freebie in celebration.

SoWe, located at 22nd and Carpenter, is offering a free burger or sandwich to anyone who sits outdoors at the restaurant between noon and 2 p.m. today.

Chef Jennifer Choplin recently revamped the menu at the new American restaurant in Graduate Hospital.

For more info, visit: www.sowephilly.com

Source: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2013/04/08/restaurant-in-graduate-hospital-offers-free-lunch-in-honor-of-warm-weather/

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Professional Assistance From Real Estate Managers - My ...

Property Management Company Denton Owning real estate can be a lucrative and enjoyable venture as you monitor the development and success of your investment over time. This can also be an incredibly time-consuming process with money to collect, tenants to find, and areas to update and repair. If you own a property but are often involved in other projects, you probably don?t have the time to properly manage your investment. Select a responsible property management and maintenance company to help correct this problem. Property managers can help in the process of locating tenants, receiving payments, and communicating with the tenants of the property. We always work hard to provide the finest property maintenance services you can find anywhere. We know that different forms of real estate require different procedures and we are flexible and innovative. Call us today for a great solution to your property maintenance concerns.

Source: http://barcamppune.org/?p=5365

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Daniel Cormier and Luke Rockhold try soccer, mascot pays the price (Video)

UFC fighters Luke Rockhold and Daniel Cormier both have fights coming up, but they still had time to head to a San Jose Earthquakes game and hang out with their mascot, Q. And when I say hang out, I mean kick a soccer ball at a very sensitive area. The teammates from AKA worked together to create misdirection, and went 1-0 on their shootout.

They have slightly bigger challenges ahead of them off the pitch. After winning the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix championship, Cormier is making his UFC debut against Frank Mir at UFC on Fox 7 on April 20. Rockhold left Strikeforce as the middleweight champion. He'll make his UFC debut against Vitor Belfort at UFC on FX 8 in May.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/daniel-cormier-luke-rockhold-try-soccer-mascot-pays-144525135--mma.html

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Phantom Flex4K camera unveiled, blasts through 1000 4K frames per second (video)

Vision Research just upped the 4k speed barrier by a near order of magnitude with the launch of its Phantom Flex4K cinema camera at NAB. Starting at $110K, it builds on its Phantom Flex predecessor with up to 1,000 fps in 5-second bursts at 4K, 2,000 fps in 2K and 3,000 fps at 720p resolution -- speeds that'll net you almost three minutes of 4K video when played back at 24 fps. The full 16:9 Super 35 sensor-equipped model can be had with PL, PV Canon EOS or Nikon F/G mounts and will capture RAW or compressed footage in an "industry-standard," but as-yet-unspecified format. The Flex4K will also be available with a Phantom Cinemag IV, which will hold up to 2TB of data, or nearly 2 hours of RAW 4K footage at normal recording speeds. Other features include a Bluetooth transmitter and handheld Phantom RCU for remote operation, 12+ stops of dynamic range, HD-SDI video output and a camera control interface and form factor that hews to industry norms, according to Vision Research. If you're still reading after seeing the six-figure price tag, check the videos or More Coverage link after the jump for more.

Filed under: Cameras

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Thatcher and Reagan: The Iron Lady Was Tougher Than the Gipper (Atlantic Politics Channel)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/297514828?client_source=feed&format=rss

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The Rock injured at WrestleMania 29

All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, logos and copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. ? 2013 WWE, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This website is based in the United States. By submitting personal information to this website you consent to your information being maintained in the U.S., subject to applicable U.S. laws. U.S. law may be different than the law of your home country. WrestleMania XXIX (NY/NJ) logo TM & ? 2013 WWE. All Rights Reserved. The Empire State Building design is a registered trademark and used with permission by ESBC.

Source: http://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/29/rock-injured-at-wrestlemania-29

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Obama makes "last-ditch" push in Connecticut on gun control

By Roberta Rampton

HARTFORD, Connecticut (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, his voice rising with emotion, urged Americans to pile pressure on a reluctant Congress on Monday to approve new gun control legislation that is at risk of falling victim to Washington gridlock.

"We need a vote," he shouted.

Obama took his gun control argument to the University of Hartford, an hour's drive from the town of Newtown where 20 children and six educators were shot to death in December in a massacre that shocked Americans and spurred a fresh movement to tighten gun regulations.

Initial momentum for tougher U.S. gun control laws sought by Obama has stalled in Congress in the face of fierce lobbying by the National Rifle Association and other gun rights groups.

No major gun legislation has passed the U.S. Congress since 1994 and the current White House guns push is in trouble.

Obama said his three priorities in gun legislation - strengthening background checks for gun purchasers, banning military-style assault weapons and limiting ammunition clips to 10 rounds - deserve a vote in Congress.

Only the background checks portion of his proposal is still seen as possible, and even this is in doubt as Democratic senators fail to find Republican partners to help them approve it.

"The policy window is either really close to closed, or closed entirely," said John Hudak, of the Brookings Institution think tank. "In honesty, this is really a last-ditch effort by the White House."

Obama's tone grew fiery as he pushed back against the idea that what happens to gun violence legislation in Congress will either be a political victory or defeat for him.

"Connecticut, this is not about me," he said. "This is not about politics. This is about doing the right thing for all the families who are here that have been torn apart by gun violence."

NEWTOWN FAMILIES

Obama has invited 11 parents of children killed in Newtown to fly back to Washington with him aboard Air Force One after his speech. The parents are set to lobby Congress this week for gun control measures, although it may be too late to rescue major legislation sought by Obama.

While polls indicate strong support for background checks, a CBS News survey in late March showed backing for stricter gun control laws overall at 47 percent, down from 57 percent just after the Connecticut shooting.

The Senate is expected to take up gun control legislation as early as this week.

One of the more emotional moments of Monday's speech came when Nicole Hockley, who lost a son in the Newtown massacre, pleaded for action when she introduced Obama.

"Before (the shooting), at this time today, you would find me preparing dinner for my boys, helping them with homework or taking them to a karate class. My family's world changed completely that day," she said.

"Help this be the moment when real change begins," she said.

Obama pounced on the possibility that Republicans would try to use a blocking maneuver known as the filibuster to halt gun control proposals.

"Some back in Washington are already floating the idea that they might use political stunts to prevent votes on any of these reforms," said Obama. "We need a vote."

The crowd of 3,100 chanted, "We want a vote!" and the university gymnasium shook with the noise.

The president's speech will be followed up by a White House event on Tuesday with Vice President Joe Biden and law enforcement officials. Biden also is due to speak about gun control on Thursday on the MSNBC cable TV network.

First lady Michelle Obama is set to address gun control on Wednesday during a visit to Chicago, which has faced a spree of gun violence.

(Additional reporting by Gabriel Debenedetti; Writing by Steve Holland; Editing by Alistair Bell and Vicki Allen)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-last-ditch-push-gun-control-connecticut-193702766.html

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Teenager in waste bin crushed by Luxembourg rubbish truck

To ring in this year's Holocaust Memorial Day, the classy hackers at Anonymous took down a bunch of Israeli government websites on Sunday and say they caused over $3 billion in damage. But they didn't totally get away with it. Within a few hours of the attack which Anonymous says affected 100,000 websites, 40,000 Facebook pages, 5,000 Twitter accounts and 30,000 bank accounts, an Israeli hacker broke into the website that Anonymous had set up for the attack, dubbed Operation Israel. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/teenager-waste-bin-crushed-luxembourg-rubbish-truck-111333832.html

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Jack Huston and Shannan Click Welcome Daughter Sage Lavinia

Jack Huston and Shannan Click welcomed their first child, daughter Sage Lavinia Huston, on Saturday, April 6 in New York City, the actor's rep tells PEOPLE exclusively.

Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/1oDBUNoiAKc/

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TATTOOING & PIERCING: When it Goes Too Far 04/10 by Hot ...

Big Blend Radio celebrates The Art of Clay & Ceramics with experts, curators, artists and potters involved with the Annual Clay Festival held in New Mexico.

Robyn Webb, MS, LN, is an award-winning cookbook author, nutritionist, and the Food Editor of Diabetes Forecast? Magazine. She has written 14 cookbooks.

Featuring Gregory J. Reed, Esq., author of the 2013 NAACP Image Award winning book Obama Talks Back: Global Lessons - A Dialogue with America's Young Leaders.

I am celebrating my 1 year anniversary with BlogTalkRadio! I have a plethora of guests lined up but none bigger than play by play announcer Kenny Albert!

Paul Bradford of SyFy's GHOST HUNTERS INTERNATIONAL joins me on the Paranormal Edition of The Spencer Hughes Show!

Daytime has a new fresh face with Lamon Archey joining the cast of The Young and the Restless as Mason Wilder. Lamon chats about his career and his time on Y&R.

You can remain calm and have peace in your relationship during hard times.

Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozumel. Join Travel Brigade as they set sail to Dunn?s River Falls, Stingray City and the Mayan site of Tulum.

David Allen, Author of Getting Things Done and Chairman of the David Allen Co., discussing GTD from a philosophical perspective.

Chris Mascaro and Joe Lagennusa welcome golf legend and 3 time Masters Champion Gary Player plus the Voice of Golf Peter Kessler.

Aeryon Ashlie, an award-winning fitness competitor, talks about how to look good and stay healthy while maintaining a balanced life.

Join NFOTUSA Soldiers Speak Radio this week as they welcome Pop/R&B/Soul singer songwriter, Liz Lohnes.

AreYouScreening.com host and BFCA film critic, Marc Eastman, and co-host extraordinaire, Shane Leonard, review Evil Dead.

This week, it?s all about the Jonas Brothers. With the launching of a new single, album and tour, the Jonas Brothers are back on top!

Who is your favorite classic poet? Poe, Wilde, Byron, Browning? Read your favorite classic poet or poems that inspire you or have special meaning.

German Metal Meister Udo Dirkschnieder of Accept and U.D.O. calls in live tonight along with Jon Z founder of Megaforce/Atlantic Records.

Tamara Eckles, founder of Jem of the South, welcomes Michelle and Yolanda. They are the owners of Taste Love Cupcakes, a cupcake bakery in Detroit Michigan.

Critic Patrick Hayes joins us. We will be discussing our thoughts on the newest Doctor Who episode, The Rings of Akhaten and the upcoming 50th episode.

Lesli Kay is best-known for her role of Felicia Forrester on CBS Daytime drama Bold and the Beautiful. She chats with host Dawn Mac about her career.

Stefan Richter of Bravo' Top Chef Seattle visits to talk about being a two-time competitor on the show, his career, restaurants and future plans.

Breakthrough welcomes Ashrita Furman who holds the official record for the most current Guinness World Records.

Karim Ramos tells his story from obese kid to fit, model for Phat Farm and now the health & fitness columnist for GlobalGrind.com.

Best Ever You welcomes inspirational authors don Miguel Ruiz, SR. and Jr. The Four Agreements? by Sr. was a New York Times bestseller for more than 7 years and the 36th bestselling book of the decade.

Dr.Ev chats with Oliver Adolphus Samuels, Jamaica's" King of comedy" . He is often described as the Jamaica"s "Bill Cosby".

Source: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/tbreedlove/2013/04/11/tattooing-piercing-when-it-goes-too-far

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Researchers log rise in anti-Semitic incidents

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) ? An annual Israeli report has logged a 30 percent rise in anti-Semitic incidents worldwide, linking the surge to Europe's economic troubles and a deadly attack on Jewish schoolchildren last year in France.

Tel Aviv University said Sunday that 686 attacks were recorded in 34 countries, ranging from physical violence to vandalism of synagogues and cemeteries, compared to 526 in 2011. The sharp increase followed a two-year decline.

It linked the March 2012 shooting at a Jewish school in Toulouse, where an extremist Muslim gunman killed four, to a series of copycat attacks, particularly in France, where physical assaults on Jews almost doubled.

In Greece, Hungary and Ukraine, economic difficulties favored the rise of extreme right-wing parties whose anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli rhetoric has apparently helped ignite attacks, it said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/researchers-log-rise-anti-semitic-incidents-082254461.html

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2-A Walk in My Shoes - A blog for Baby Boomers

My best friend Nita worked for several of the major shoe companies during her career. She wore the same size shoes and clothes as my mother, so Mom often?benefited from Nita?s special employee purchases, mostly sporty styles. When Mom started getting rid of high heels, she thought of Nita first. They often exchanged shoes. Nita probably knew my mother better than I ever realized. Nita died four years ago-just days before she would have been eligible for Social Security. So she worked all of her life paying in and never collected. Yet another Baby Boomer lesson learned.

For many years before Nita died, she took care of her?mother. Bes was a sweet lady, never spoke loud, certainly never cursed, was God fearing and loved her daughter to the ?NTH? degree. But when dementia knocked on the door, a slightly different person came out. From our experiences, the person with dementia is somewhat of?an exaggerated version of the person she or he always was. In other words, add forgetful to the mix and you have the same shell of a person you knew years ago- but she or he is?carrying? an excess amount of whatever?baggage they had in their past.

On one of my long weekend trips to visit my friend and her mother back in the 90?s, I arrived at the house while Nita was at work. As I walked in, I heard the tea kettle whistling and I smelled something. Bes thought she was boiling water for her and me to have tea after I arrived. (Something she did when I visited from college 900 years ago.) However, this time there was no water in the teapot. Within a year?her mental health?deteriorated and Bes finally?moved to a nursing home.?It was a hard choice for Nita, but it was the best choice to make for Bes? guaranteed safety. Nita visited the nursing home twice a day, every day. Would I be able to walk in her shoes if I had to? I vowed to try hard because we both always believed you give what you got and you get what you gave?.in life.

Before Nita passed on in 2009, she and I spent a couple of days going through her household items. She was under the impression the younger nieces and nephews in her family would be interested in the stuff she was hoarding like?doilies from her mother and grandmother and other relics of the 60?s and 70?s. It wasn?t hard for me, as a friend, to convince her to discard things like excess flower vases. That, however, may not be?as easy?with parents. It isn?t easy with my mother. Mom is still holding on to two throw pillows that are velour.

After spending two weeks with my?mother recently, we were so over stuff that we came home and immediately gathered up some items of our own to donate.?Then I talked to one friend who can?t park in her garage because she?s storing her mother?s ?things??there. Her Mom passed at least a year ago. I hang up from her and go straight to the garage to find more stuff to give away. The worst is the story I heard about the parent who had so much stuff, it took siblings nearly two years to finish fighting over?belongings. So they incurred excess?expense in order to keep fighting, probably over things like cups and saucers. BRILLIANT!

My Mother still has all of?those fabulous?high heels, even though she doesn?t wear them anymore.?She has accused an imaginary strange woman of coming in and borrowing her shoes in the middle of the night.?She also insisted?one sporty pair were mine, when actually they were sent to her years ago?by my late friend. Mom indirectly associated the shoes with?Nita by connecting them to me, but she?was confused about the actual situation. We?ve stopped making suggestions about how she can benefit from letting some high heels go. They actually are beautiful enough to stare at them.?She says I just want to wear them. (Yeah, like Cinderella?s sisters tried to shrink their gunboat feet so they could get into her dainty shoes-%^*Y&*$-%@). I?ve tried to spiritually?walk in Mom?s shoes my whole life. I know I?ve tried to walk in Nita?s shoes, but I?ve?finally realized?I can only walk in my own shoes.

We learn something new everyday. Some pretty important learning experiences on Monday, April 15th, Tax Day.

by Dianne Thompson Stanciel ? comments welcome at highheelshotflashes@gmail.com ?

?SEE ALSO:

DISCOVERING: http://www.highheelshotflashes.com/2013/03/dilemma-decisions-dementia/?

PART ONE: http://www.highheelshotflashes.com/2013/04/1-cant-turn-the-boat-around/

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Citrix XenApp Connector for Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2012 Enterprise Setup Considerations

This document provides concepts and considerations that complement the XenApp Connector for Configuration Manager 2012 product documentation on Citrix eDocs in the most succinct possible manner, and is intended for organizations conducting evaluations and/or implementations of the product at an Enterprise level.

The topics of interest covered in this document are as follows:

• What components comprise the product, where they are located in the distribution media, and where they need to be deployed.
• How to build a Proof of Concept/Pilot setup for evaluation purposes.
• How to shield service continuity from infrastructure disruptions.
• How to structure deployments involving multiple XenApp farms.
• How to structure deployments that span multiple geographic locations.
• How to automate the installation of the Connector.
• How to automate the creation and deployment of applications via PowerShell to reduce the cost of manual repetitive work when handling a large number of apps.

Source: http://www.dabcc.com/downloadfile.aspx?id=1608

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HBT: Marlins' Fernandez fans eight Mets in debut

A week after the Marlins shocked everyone by announcing his callup, 20-year-old Jose Fernandez allowed one run in five innings and struck out eight Mets in his major league debut Sunday.

Fernandez, regarded as one of the game?s top five pitching prospects, was expected to spend the bulk of the season in the minors. In fact, he made just one two-inning appearance for the Marlins this spring before being sent down. The team, though, had a change of heart when both Henderson Alvarez and Nathan Eovaldi came down with sore shoulder at the end of the spring.

Fernandez allowed three hits and walked one before leaving with a 3-1 lead today. He threw 80 pitches, 53 of them for strikes, and topped out at 97 mph on the gun. He became the 22nd pitcher since 2000 to strike out at least eight batters in his major league debut. Matt Harvey (11) and Collin McHugh (nine) of the Mets were the only two to do it last year.

The Marlins are planning on limiting Fernandez to 150-170 innings this season, so five- and six-inning starts will be the norm for him.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/04/07/jose-fernandez-strikes-out-eight-mets-in-major-league-debut/related/

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Nokia Lumia 720 on pre-order in India for $299, Nokia Lumia 520 available for $1...

Nokia Lumia 720 on pre-order in India for $299, Nokia Lumia 520 available for $192

Nokia?s new mid-range and low-end handsets are arriving in India. The mid-range Nokia Lumia 720 is now on pre-order on eBay for a very attractive 16,399 INR ($299), ?

Source: http://www.facebook.com/wmpoweruser/posts/10151526733654658

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There has been an error of some kind. Ack!

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

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