A powerful storm bringing damp snow and heavy winds churned its way up the East Coast on Saturday, dumping up to 15 inches of snow in some places and knocking out power for more than 2 million customers. Three deaths were being blamed on the storm.
"This is unprecedented in the last 100 years ? for October," Bill Simpson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boston, said in an interview with The Times.
The storm is expected to continue into early Sunday, possibly worsening as it moves north.
By Saturday evening, 15.5 inches of snow had fallen in West Milford, N.J.; 14.3 inches in Plainfield, Mass.; and about 10 inches in Terra Alta, W.Va., and Ogletown, Pa.
Power outages were affecting more than 2.3 million residents and businesses from Maryland to Massachusetts, including more than half a million in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.
New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts declared emergencies statewide, as did New York in 13 counties.
The snow and powerful winds of up to 60 mph could leave more people without power by knocking down power lines and trees with leafy branches, Barry Lambert, a National Weather Service meteorologist in State College, Pa., told The Times.
On the plus side, the wet, sloppy nature of the snow might prove beneficial.
"It's so wet that it was actually melting quickly and sliding off the trees," he said.
In New York, the 1.3 inches of snow that had fallen at Central Park by midday made this month the snowiest October since record-keeping began in 1869.
Regardless of how you may feel about their anthropomorphic cast of characters, Outfit7 just keeps picking up steam. Today the company has announced that their Talking Friends series of apps have just bounded over the 200 million download mark.
Chinese toddler run over in southern China: two men have been arrested in connection to the hit-and-runs that led to the death of a toddler in China.
Police formally arrested two drivers suspected of running over a toddler who died a week after she was struck on a busy market street in southern China and was ignored by passers-by, newspapers reported Sunday.
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The Beijing News and other outlets said Sunday police in the city of Foshan concluded their initial investigation and ordered the two men formally arrested, a step that almost always leads to a trial.
It did not say what they were being charged with and calls to Foshan police were unanswered.
The death of 2-year-old Wang Yue gained widespread coverage in the Chinese media and prompted soul-searching over declining morality and callousness toward the sufferings of others.
The accident on Oct. 13 was captured by gruesome security camera footage, leading to police identifying the vehicles.
For seven minutes after the first van struck the girl, 18 people walked or cycled by the bleeding toddler before a scrap picker scoops her up and takes her to her mother, who rushes into the street looking for her.
St. Louis Cardinals' David Freese celebrates after Game 7 of baseball's World Series against the Texas Rangers Friday, Oct. 28, 2011, in St. Louis. The Cardinals won 6-2 to win the series. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
St. Louis Cardinals' David Freese celebrates after Game 7 of baseball's World Series against the Texas Rangers Friday, Oct. 28, 2011, in St. Louis. The Cardinals won 6-2 to win the series. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Texas Rangers pitcher C.J. Wilson slaps hands with fans at DFW Airport in Grapevine, Texas, early morning Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011. The Texas Rangers lost in seven games to the World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals. (AP Photo/Mike Fuentes)
ST. LOUIS (AP) ? David Freese swooped in, expecting Elvis Andrus to bunt. He did, but the ball trickled wide of the line.
The St. Louis third baseman scooped up the foul, scanned the crowd and spotted his target sitting near the Texas dugout: a man in the front row wearing a Rangers jacket, with a glove.
Freese flipped him the souvenir, drawing a big smile and making yet another friend in his hometown.
Then again, why not? There was plenty to share in this World Series.
A Game 6 that ranked among baseball's greatest thrillers. A three-homer performance by Albert Pujols that's probably the best hitting show in postseason history. Ron Washington running in place, Tony La Russa reacting in dismay at a ball that got away. Everyone learning how to chant Nap-Oh-Lee!
Oh, and a Rally Squirrel on the scoreboard and a telephone mix-up in the bullpen.
"I told you it was going to be a great series ? and it was," Texas slugger Josh Hamilton said.
Hamilton put Texas ahead with an RBI double in the first inning Friday night in Game 7. Freese and the Cardinals, however, would not be denied. A night after twice rallying when it was one strike from elimination, St. Louis came back to win the championship with a 6-2 victory.
"Now that we've won it, it makes yesterday greater," La Russa said.
Said Hamilton: "It was actually fun to watch and fun to see. You hate it, but it happened."
An October for fans cherish, for sure. As for how many saw these games nationwide, the numbers will tell. Going into the finale, TV ratings were up 11 percent over last year when San Francisco beat Texas.
Even before the opener, many observers predicted this Series would be a dud because it lacked big-market teams. Minus the likes of the Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies, some said, it would attract little attention.
Inning by inning, it got more intriguing.
"I know there's been a lot of conversation about ratings," Commissioner Bud Selig said before Game 7. "Some of it, in my opinion ... was misinformed."
No mistaking that it was quite a run for baseball.
Exactly a month before the Cardinals won their 11th championship, they clinched a playoff spot on the final day of the regular season. The night of Sept. 28 was riveting ? St. Louis capped a comeback from 10? games down to overtake Atlanta for the NL wild card, Tampa Bay completed its late surge to beat out Boston for the AL wild card.
The playoffs produced their moments, too. The one that brought winning and losing into a tight focus: Chris Carpenter and the Cardinals celebrating their 1-0 win over Roy Halladay in Philadelphia while star slugger Ryan Howard writhed on the ground, having torn his Achilles tendon during a game-ending groundout.
Soon after, the first Game 7 in the World Series since 2002.
"Somebody said on television, baseball has had a coming-out party since Labor Day. I don't think so. I think it's always there," Selig said. "It's produced for this country really a remarkable chain of events."
In a year punctuated by historic comebacks and epic collapses, it'd be easy to say the biggest rally of all belonged to baseball. That's what many like to say whenever the game shows up well.
Is it true, will that be so?
Selig insists the sport already is more popular than ever. Major league attendance slightly increased this season, ending three seasons of drops. The Chicago Cubs have renewed hope for next year after hiring Theo Epstein to oversee the club, a new ballpark is waiting in Florida for the team that will soon officially become the Miami Marlins.
Certainly a back-and-forth World Series boosted interest, helped by the two most magical words in sports: Game 7.
"There isn't anybody on this team, the other team, too, that when you're a young kid you don't think about winning the World Series, and it's always in Game 7," La Russa said.
Freese delivered the key hit, a two-run double that tied it in the first inning. The MVP of the NL championship series wound up adding the World Series MVP trophy.
He saved the Cardinals' season in Game 6, lining a two-strike, two-out, two-run triple in the ninth and then hitting a winning home run in the 11th.
An inning before Freese connected, Hamilton homered to put Texas ahead. Had the Rangers held on, mostly likely Mike Napoli would've been picked the Series MVP. So, so close.
Freese estimated he got about 45 minutes of sleep as Thursday night turned into Friday. A lot to think about for a player who quit baseball out of high school because it wasn't fun anymore. From done to donating his bat and jersey to the Hall of Fame.
"I'm trying to soak this all in," he said. "I've tried to soak in this whole postseason as much as I can because you never know if it's your last attempt at a title."
The Coolest Candies: Can you keep your chocolate cool with just a little bit of water? Learn about evaporation and give it a try!Image: George Retseck
Key concepts Water
Heat
Temperature
Water cycle
Introduction
Have you ever wondered how sweating helps keep you cool on a hot summer day? Sweat, which is mostly water, cools us down when it evaporates. When water evaporates, it changes from a liquid to a gas. The gas carries away heat with it, helping to remove heat from your skin.
Not only can evaporation cool down your body, it can also cool down other things, such as chocolate. Heat on a hot summer day can turn your solid candy bar into a gooey, melted mess, but how well can evaporation keep your chocolate from melting?
Background
When water is heated enough, it turns into a gas. You see this when water is boiled. The gas phase of water is called water vapor, or steam, and it is hotter than liquid water. Consequently, as water evaporates, the vapor carries heat away from the water.
Materials
???? Paper towel
???? Scissors
???? Small bowl of room-temperature water
???? Chocolate candies (two of the same kind, in a plastic or foil wrapper)
???? Ruler
???? Desk lamp with adjustable height and a 60-watt (W) lightbulb. If you don't have an adjustable-height lamp, a normal desk lamp and a pile of books can be used.
???? Timer
Preparation
???? Cut the paper towel sheet into strips that are about one and a half inches wide. You will need to cut two strips of paper.
???? A 60-watt lamp can be very hot after it has been on?and even for awhile after it has been turned off. Always be careful when handling something hot.
Procedure
???? Take one paper towel strip and wet it in the bowl of water. Carefully wring it out.
???? Keeping the chocolate candies in their wrappers, wrap one candy in the wet paper towel strip and the other candy in a dry paper towel strip.
???? Put the two candies side by side underneath the lamp. Be careful not to get the dry paper towel strip wet. Adjust the lamp (or place the candies on books if the lamp is not adjustable) so that the lightbulb is only one to two inches away from the candy, and evenly distanced from both candies.
???? Turn on the lamp light and leave it lit for 10 minutes.
???? After 10 minutes turn the lamp off, remove the paper towel strips from the candies and carefully unwrap them.
???? For each candy, try to flatten the wrappers around the candy, if possible, to more easily inspect the entire candy and the wrapper. How melted does the candy that was in the wet paper towel strip look compared with the one in the dry strip? Are there larger areas melted on one candy compared with the other? Is there more melted chocolate on one wrapper than the other?
???? Extra: You can repeat this procedure using thermometers to determine the starting temperature of each candy before putting them underneath the lamp, and the final temperature of each candy after it has been under the lamp for 10 minutes.
???? Extra: A gust of wind or a fan can feel very refreshing when you are sweating on a hot day. Is it refreshing for the chocolate candies as well? You can repeat this procedure to see how circulating air affects the candies by having a fan blow over them while they are under the lamp for 10 minutes?or fanning them yourself with a sturdy piece of paper. Does a fan affect how the candies melt? Does it affect their final temperatures?
By ERIKA NIEDOWSKI and MEGHAN BARR, The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) -- While more U.S. cities are resorting to force to break up the Wall Street protests, many others - Philadelphia, New York, Minneapolis and Portland, Ore., among them - are content to let the demonstrations go on for now.
(CLICK HERE OR SCROLL DOWN FOR LATEST UPDATES)
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, for example, said Friday that the several hundred protesters sleeping in Zuccotti Park, the unofficial headquarters of the movement that began in mid-September, can stay as long as they obey the law.
"I can't talk about other cities," he said. "Our responsibilities are protect your rights and your safety. And I think we're trying to do that. We're trying to act responsibly and safely."
Still, the city made life a lot harder for the demonstrators: Fire authorities seized a dozen cans of gasoline and six generators that powered lights, cooking equipment and computers, saying they were safety hazards.
In the span of three days this week, police broke up protest encampments in Oakland, Calif., Atlanta and, early Friday, San Diego and Nashville, Tenn.
Nashville police cracked down after authorities imposed a curfew on the protest. Twenty-nine people were arrested and later released after a judge said the demonstrators were not given enough time to comply with the brand-new rule. They received citations for trespassing instead.
Fifty-one people were arrested in San Diego, where authorities descended on a three-week-old encampment at the Civic Center Plaza and Children's Park and removed tents, canopies, tables and other furniture.
Officials there cited numerous complaints about human and animal feces, urination, drug use and littering, as well as damage to city property - the same problems reported in many other cities. Police said the San Diego demonstrators can return without their tents and other belongings after the park is cleaned up.
Earlier this week, in the most serious clashes of the movement so far, more than 100 people were arrested and a 24-year-old Iraq War veteran suffered a skull fracture after Oakland police armed with tear gas and bean bag rounds broke up a 15-day encampment and repulsed an effort by demonstrators to retake the site.
But other cities have rejected aggressive tactics, at least so far, some of them because they want to avoid the violence seen in Oakland or, as some have speculated, because they are expecting the protests to wither anyway with the onset of cold weather.
Officials are watching the encampments for health and safety problems but say that protesters exercising their rights to free speech and assembly will be allowed to stay as long as they are peaceful and law-abiding.
"We're accommodating a free speech event as part of normal business and we're going to continue to enforce city rules," said Aaron Pickus, a spokesman for the mayor of Seattle, where about 40 protesters are camping at City Hall. "They have the right to peacefully assemble. Ultimately what the mayor is doing is strike a balance."
Authorities have similarly taken a largely hands-off approach in Portland, Ore., where about 300 demonstrators are occupying two parks downtown; Memphis, Tenn., where the number of protesters near City Hall has ranged from about a dozen to about 100; and in Salt Lake City, where activists actually held a vigil outside police headquarters this week to thank the department for not using force against them.
In the nation's capital, U.S. Park Police distributed fliers this week at two encampments totaling more than 150 tents near the White House. And while the fliers listed the park service regulations that protesters were violating, including a ban on camping, a park police spokesman said the notices should not be considered warnings.
In Providence, R.I., Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare said the protesters will not be forcibly removed even after the Sunday afternoon deadline he set for them. He said he intends to seek their ouster by way of court action, something that could take several weeks.
"When you see police having to quell disturbances with tear gas or other means, it's not what the police want and it's not what we want to see in our society," Pare said.
Similarly, in London, church and local government authorities are going to court to evict protesters camped outside St. Paul's Cathedral - though officials acknowledged Friday it could take weeks or months to get an order to remove the tent city.
Several hundred protesters against economic inequality and corporate excesses have been camped outside the building since Oct. 15. On Oct. 21 cathedral officials shut the building, saying the campsite represented a health and safety hazard.
It was the first time the 300-year-old church, one of London's best-known buildings, had closed since German planes bombed the city during World War II.
In Minneapolis, where dozens have been sleeping overnight on a government plaza between a county building and City Hall, the three-week-old occupation has been far tamer than those in other cities, with only a few arrests.
Sheriff Rich Stanek has made it a practice to meet with protesters daily to talk about their issues and the day ahead, and he has refused to engage what he called "the 1 percent" who want to cause trouble.
"We decided that's not the tactic we want to take. Doing that sometimes requires biting your tongue," he said. He added: "Some people have said that's `Minnesota nice.' It's a balance."
___
Niedowski reported from Providence, R.I.
___
Associated Press Writers Doug Glass in Minneapolis; Lucas L. Johnson II in Nashville, Tenn.; Samantha Gross in New York; Terry Collins in Oakland, Calif.; Jonathan J. Cooper in Portland, Ore.; Josh Loftin in Salt Lake City; Julie Watson in San Diego; Chris Grygiel in Seattle; Ben Nuckols in Washington; and Laura Crimaldi in Providence, R.I., contributed to this story.
Latest Updates On HuffPost's Live Blog:Spokes Council Approved By Zuccotti Park General Assembly
HuffPost's Craig Kanalley reports:
Spokes Council approved by Zuccotti Park General Assembly tonight 284-17. People hug, high-five in celebration. It's been discussed at five GA's and tabled multiple times, including a week ago after five hours of discussion. The council will begin meeting next week.
Reports Of Police Tension In San Diego
@ OccupySD :
#occupysandiego Reports of police walking thru the civic center forcing occupiers out of their way. At least one detained in a paddy wagon.
Occupy Nashville Returns To Plaza
@ OccupyNashville :
#OWSNashville occupiers are back out on the plaza tonight and in GREAT spirits. Waiting to see if they will be arrested again tonight #OWS
Rage Against The Machine -- Southern Style
From Lexington, SC Patch:
While images of unrest and violence among anti-riot police and protesters in Oakland, Calif., and arrests in Atlanta have grabbed headlines this week, the scene surrounding Occupy Columbia is downright bucolic in comparison.
Granted, Columbia is hardly a hotbed of radicalism, either on the right or the left. And it could hardly be confused with Oakland, Atlanta, or any number of other cities nationwide that are holding similar -- and much larger -- occupations to protest the corporatism that protesters allege has stripped political and economic power from average citizens.
Still, it might be cities such as Columbia that prove illustrative of how to handle and sustain a form of protest not seen since the Great Depression, when legions of unemployed men, the homeless and veterans erected tent cities and shanty towns known as "Hoovervilles."
Many protesters tell Patch they have managed to create what is, for the most part, a respectful and cooperative relationship with local law enforcement, not to mention the city, residents, and the authorities who oversee the State House grounds, where Occupy Columbia holds court.
"The cops have been nothing but kind," noted a protester who only gave his name as "Brandon," who along with a couple of other protesters spoke with Lexington Patch late one night and into the wee hours of the morning earlier this week as their fellow protesters slept around them.
Full story here.
Occupy Minnesota: Staying Put
While other Occupy groups fend off mass arrests and mayors wielding arcane permit rules, Occupy Minnesota has taken root without fuss from the fuzz. The Star Tribune reports:
Despite violent confrontations between police and protesters in Oakland, Calf. and Nashville this week, things remain placid on "People's Plaza" outside Hennepin County Government Center. It?s been three weeks since Occupy Minnesota began, and though numbers on many days are small, there is no indication they are about to depart anytime soon.
"We are planning to continue as long as we possibly can, indefinitely, no matter how cold it is going to get," said Osha Karow, one of the original organizers of the occupation.
Local authorities do not appear to be anxious to imitate some other cities where the protesters have been unceremoniously driven off public property, with police confrontations that have created unfavorable publicity for local governments.
Full story here.
Anything For Occupy Melbourne
@ AGirlCalledKill :
On my way to #OccupyMelbourne again, broken rib be damned!
Occupy Nashville Is Live Streaming
Organizers try to regroup after mass arrests. Watch the live stream here.
'Then They Fight You'
From Truthout:
The national standoff between authorities and protesters in the 'Occupy Wall Street' movement has reached a new and dangerous level of tension and violence.
At first glance, it looked like something out of Pink Floyd's film 'The Wall': menacing images of creatures in gas masks swarming toward the camera under a dark and forbidding sky. This was no dystopian fantasy, however; these were members of the Oakland police department charging into a group of protesters behind a wall of tear gas, flash-bang bombs, rubber bullets and bean-bag projectiles. The police bull-rushed these unarmed protesters with the intention to do violence, and violence is exactly what they did.
As of this writing, one woman is known to have been seriously injured when a flash-bang grenade went off right by her head. She was seen being carried away unconscious from the scene of the police riot by other protesters. Anther known injured protester has a name, and a face, and a record of service to his country. Scott Olsen, a Marine veteran of two Iraq tours, was participating in the Occupy Oakland protest when he was shot in the head by a ?less-than-lethal? police projectile, suffered a fractured skull, and was taken to the hospital in critical condition. His condition has since been upgraded to fair.
Full story here.
Michael Moore Visits Occupy Oakland
HuffPost's Robin Wilkey reports:
Famed activist and documentarian Michael Moore visited Occupy Oakland to speak to the crowd today. He laughed and joked with the crowd, but the tone turned somber when he called for 30 seconds of silence for Scott Olsen. "We are all Scott Olsen," he said.
"This movement has killed apathy. They've turned off Dancing with the Stars!" He continued. "Something good will come out of this movement. And this weekend in Oakland will stand out as a watershed moment."
Before he left the podium, Moore thanked the crowd. "Millions are inspired by you because you didn't go away. The next night, you came back."
Occupy Oakland Plans Go Beyond General Strike
@ occupyoakland :
The #GeneralStrike isnt a 1 day event. Its beginning of a multi-tiered plan. We are initiating events Those who cant participate: next time!
College Grads Air Frustrations At Zuccotti Park
HuffPost's Amanda Fairbank reports:
Since graduating from Ithaca College in May, Nathan Grant has searched high and low for steady work.
After spending the summer renting kayaks at a local campground, Grant moved back in with his parents in Little Egg Harbor, N.J.
In mid-September, Grant first read about Occupy Wall Street online. He said he felt a deep connection to the movement early on, motivated to join it not only because of his struggle to find a job, but also because of the $90,000 in student loan debt that now hangs like an albatross around his neck.
A little over a week ago, Grant, 22, moved into lower Manhattan's Zuccotti Park. He has yet to return home.
Read the whole thing here.
Midwest Occupy Wall Street Protesters Seek To Highlight Foreclosure Mess
As the Occupy Wall Street movement enters its seventh week of protest against income inequality, some Midwestern Occupiers are zeroing in on housing issues affecting their communities.
Occupy Minneapolis successfully pressured U.S. Bank this week to postpone a Twin Cities woman's eviction. Now they're planning "Operation F," a campaign pushing for a foreclosure moratorium by occupying foreclosed homes.
"What we started to do was to make preparations, digging in and taking the occupations to peoples' homes," said Ben Egerman, a protester at Occupy Minneapolis. The protesters will go to houses where the homeowners face eviction and 'occupy' the homes to highlight the ongoing mortgage mess.
And in Iowa, Occupy activists met Thursday with state Attorney General Tom Miller, who is leading a nationwide investigation of bad faith foreclosure dealings by big banks, to voice their concerns.
Homeowner advocates fear the attorneys general will reach a settlement that is not tough enough on banks, despite the potential for it being the largest multi-state settlement since the agreement with tobacco companies in 1998.
"I'm still not sure if the settlement committee is going to require the banks pay anywhere near as much as they should, but that's a hard number to get your arm around," Ed Fallon said after he left the meeting with Miller and his staff.
Read the whole story here.
Occupy Movement In Santa Barbara
Michael Clear sent OfftheBus this report from Santa Barbara, California on Oct. 28, 2011.
The largest rally was two weeks ago with nearly 500 attending. Each weekend there is a meeting in De La Guerra Plaza followed by a march down State Street, the town?s main thoroughfare. The march is monitored by city police on bicycles, motor cycles, and cars. The police have apparently been instructed to re-direct traffic on this busy street to accommodate the marchers. We chant ?We are the 99%; Banks got bailed out, we got left out; often to thumbs up and other gestures of support from on-lookers and passersby on the busy shopping sidewalks.
The marchers routinely stop in front of the Bank of America and Chase Bank and chant for a few minutes. The banks lock their doors for this and last week there was a heavy police presence in front of both banks. On a few occasions demonstrators have attempted to enter the banks to close their accounts accompanied by the chant ?Close your accounts? by the marchers; no demonstrator has been able to enter any bank due to locked doors despite the march being held during open banking hours.
This week, the Occupy encampment at De La Guerra plaza was raided in the early morning by police, and the campers were ejected from the park. There is a substantial police presence each day at the park to ensure that there is no further camping.
We have been fortunate to avoid direct confrontation with the police for the most part, though I suspect that it would not take a great deal to ignite a more aggressive confrontation either by police or by protestors.
To add your own images or first-hand reports from OWS events near you, email offthebus@huffingtonpost.com. See more citizen journalism from Occupy Wall Street events here.
The Inevitable Occupy Rap Is Here
Occupy Boston's Miles Disney proposes a solution to the global economic crisis. He wants to "tap that asset." Also, Paul Krugman has mad flow. Who knew? Watch below:
Oakland Mayor Booed During Occupy Vigil
HuffPost's Robin Wilkey reports
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, who has been aggressively trying to regain the city's trust since the incident on Tuesday, was also scheduled to speak, but, according to a statement from Quan, her 6 p.m. address was cancelled. "I had hoped to speak directly to you tonight," she wrote. "I was told that I could speak at the Speak Out at 6 p.m., but that was cancelled. So I apologize for providing these remarks in written form." She continued, explaining the she was "deeply saddened" by the incident. "When there's violence, there are no winners -- it polarizes us and opens old wounds rather than brings us together, which is the aim of Occupy Wall Street and uniting the 99 percent."
Later, Quan visited the plaza, but was booed upon arrival, and was mobbed by protesters chanting "go home," calling her a killer and screaming for her to step down. KTVU captured raw footage the protesters mobbing her as she arrived.
Full story and video here.:
How To Get Laid By The 99 Percent: A Manifesto
Courtesy of HuffPost SF partner SF Weekly:
We learned a couple days ago that the Occupy protesters are a horny crew, advertising their plaints for love and sex on Craigslist.
Well, perhaps those services can be rendered, also thanks to Craigslist. A dude calling himself Barry McCockiner -- who is also seen spanking his stuffed monkey on YouTube (definitely someone with good advice) -- has posted the Holy Grail on how to get some tail at the protest of our generation in Craigslist's "Rants and Raves" section.
A few highlights include his advice on posing as a single dad or an interested reporter to break the ice at these events. Better yet, why not say you are an art major? We're rather entertained by McCockiner's wit, especially his attempt to "out-hipster the hipsters."
Read the full story here.
Rundown Of Police Confrontations
Raw Story does the broad sweep from San Diego to Raleigh.
Occupy DC Protesters Apologize For Removing Flag Of Disenfranchised Capital City
In an email to DCist, Occupy DC protesters apologized for removing the District of Columbia flag from the front of the Wilson Building, the seat of the D.C. government, earlier this week:
"...[T]here was much discussion of the removal of the dc flag upon return to McPherson square and many occupiers shared this concern. Expect a dc voting rights and equality march to take place soon and we hope that these folks who have expressed this grievance will join us. Dc is not represented and should be with a population larger than that of some states and this disenfranchisement is an often discussed and important issue to our movement. We apologize to all that were offended and please pass onto them their concerns are heard and we stand with the citizens of dc is solidarity against the institutional disenfranchisement of its population, among which most of us are included."
Occupy Nashville Issues Press Release On Arrests
Organizers compile a timeline of events. And conclude:
Occupy Nashville supporters believe that these arbitrary rule changes are intended to stifle political speech and are in direct violation of their 1st amendment rights, and rights also affirmed under the Tennessee State Constitution.
Says Occupy Nashville supporter Buck Gorrell:
?We have a legitimate complaint that is supported by a majority of the American people that there is too much corruption in government. We have a right to assemble to address those complaints. What more appropriate public space is there in Tennessee for that purpose than Legislative Plaza? The state government is imposing arbitrary barriers to our rights under the Constitution.?
According to legal council for Occupy Nashville, the imposition of fees or costs in order to assemble in a public place for the purpose of political speech is a clear violation of Constitutional rights.
Says Occupier Tristan Call:
?We are not camping here for fun. We are not just here to be here. We are doing exactly what is described in the 1st Amendment: peacefully assembling to petition the government.?
Occupy Oakland Releases Details On General Strike
The general strike is to take place on Nov. 2. There will be mass gatherings at 14th and Broadway. Info can be found here
General Strike Flyer Bilingual
General Strike Poster Bilingual
Demonstrators Occupy Brazil Dam
Hundreds of activists angry over dam's impact. According to one news account:
More than 400 activists occupied the site of Brazil's $11bn Belo Monte hydroelectric dam, demanding that construction be halted on the controversial project in the heart of the Amazon.
"Everything was peaceful - there were no guards or workers," said a spokesperson for the Indigenous Missionary Council, a group linked to the Catholic Church.
The indigenous people and environmentalists at the site of what would be the third biggest dam in the world - after China's Three Gorges dam and the Itaipu dam on the border of Brazil and Paraguay - say they will stay indefinitely.
They are demanding a total halt to work on the project in western Para state, or at least a suspension of construction until local residents can be consulted, the representative said.
Times Reports On Lack Of Diversity At Zuccotti Park
The New York Times' Alice Speri reports:
Two weeks into Occupy Wall Street?s takeover of Zuccotti Park, a group of Bronx community organizers and friends rode the subway down to Lower Manhattan to check out a movement they supported in principle.
When they got there, they recalled, they found what they had suspected: a largely white and middle-class crowd that claimed to represent ?the 99 percent? but bore little resemblance to most of the people in the group?s own community. That community, the South Bronx, is one of the poorest areas of the country and home almost exclusively to blacks and Hispanics.
Read the whole thing here.
The Guardian: The Occupy Movement Has Staying Power
Despite the flurry of Occupy arrests, which now number in the thousands, The Guardian suggests that the movement has roots:
So what can give the Occupiers deep roots to weather the storms coming their way and make this vital movement sustainable? For one, the Occupy movements are setting the agenda: rather than being reactive at summits where the powerful determine the terrain, they are occupying in their own neighbourhoods at times of their choosing. And they are staying. With the encampments comes a higher level of public engagement that encourages people to look beyond lazy cliches of protesters, creating what has the potential to be a truly democratic, plural, open space.
Post Mass-Arrests, Occupy Nashville To Hold General Assembly Tonight
Occupy Nashville writes on its Facebook page:
Update: This evening's General Assembly will be at 7pm on the steps of Legislative Plaza. Those not planning to risk arrest should gather with one of our lawyers on the sidewalk. If this spot is not acceptable to officials, he will lead them to a safe spot. Please come and bring new signs! (The old ones have been confiscated.) We have important decisions to make about how to continue Occupy Nashville, and the media will be present to monitor the situation.
Occupy Wall Street: Protests Spread to Islamabad, If Only For A Day
HuffPost's Joshua Hersh reports:
According to CNN, some 75 people gathered in front of the local headquarters of the World Bank on Wednesday, chanting anti-capitalist and pro-labor slogans like "Should we eat dust or stones?" or "Where should we go? What should we eat? Inflation has reached its peak."
A pamphlet handed out by the group more closely echoed the rhetoric of Occupy protesters in the United States, where the movement has spread to dozens of cities, saying, "We are the 99%. We will drive out the international 1%."
LONDON (Reuters) ? Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L) reported a doubling in profits on Thursday thanks to higher oil prices, robust demand for gas and stronger refining margins, and said it would continue to sell off non-core assets.
Europe's largest oil company by market value said it's current cost of supply (CCS) net income was $7.2 billion, a 100 percent rise on the same period last year when non-cash accounting charges weighed on the result.
The underlying result was broadly in line with analysts forecasts.
The Hague-based group said its enormous investments in big new projects were paying off saying that while production fell 2 percent to 3.01 million barrels of oil equivalent (boepd), excluding the sale of fields, the underlying trend was upward.
Chief Executive Peter Voser also said in a statement that although Shell had already met its target of $5 billion of disposals this year, sales of "non-core" assets would continue.
Brent crude jumped 48 percent in the quarter compared to the same period last year, to average $113/barrel in the quarter.
The Japan earthquake earlier this year and subsequent shut down of nuclear plants has boosted demand for natural gas, especially liquefied natural gas, in which Shell is a market leader.
The company said LNG sales rose 12 percent, echoing buoyant LNG results reported by smaller rival BG Group on Tuesday.
Excluding one-offs, the result rose 42 percent to $7.0 billion, compared to an average forecast of $6.61 billion from a Reuters poll of nine analysts.
Exxon Mobil, the world's largest publicly-traded oil company third-quarter net income is expected to jump 40 percent on last year to $10.26 billion, according to I/B/E/S estimates.
CCS earnings strip out unrealized gains or losses related to changes in the value of inventories, and as such are comparable with net income under U.S. accounting rules.
(Reporting by Tom Bergin; Editing by Greg Mahlich)
NEW YORK ? Oil prices dropped more than 2 percent after the government said U.S. crude supplies grew much more than expected last week.
The price of benchmark oil fell $2.13, or 2.3 percent, to $91.04 per barrel in New York. Brent crude fell $1.32 to $109.60 in London.
The Department of Energy reported an increase of 4.7 million barrels in the nation's storage tanks last week. Analysts expected supplies to grow by only 200,000 barrels, according to Platts, the energy-information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.
For most of the year oil supplies fell in the U.S., as drivers and businesses burned less fuel and refineries cut their inventories to save money. Last week crude oil imports increased as operations at many refineries picked up again following seasonal maintenance. Refineries operated at nearly 85 percent capacity last week, up almost 2 percentage points in a week.
Oil and gasoline demand is still down in the U.S., when compared with a year ago, the government said.
Meanwhile gasoline pump prices fell less than a penny on Wednesday to a national average of $3.441 per gallon, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service.
In other energy trading, heating oil was down about a penny at $3.0388 per gallon and gasoline futures lost 4 cents at $2.6319 per gallon. Natural gas fell 5 cents to $3.610 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Media conglomerate Viacom, the company that owns both Spike TV and MTV, has jumped into the MMA game with the purchase of Bellator Fighting championships. USA Today reports that Viacom now has a majority stake in Bellator, and their fights will start airing on Spike in 2013, moving from MTV2.
Spike had a longtime relationship with the UFC, beginning with "The Ultimate Fighter" in 2005. That will end this December when the 14th season of "The Ultimate Fighter" comes to a close, and the UFC jumps to Fox networks. Spike will have rights to the UFC library until the end of 2012. When that agreement ends, Spike will have Bellator and its tournament-based fights in place.
Bellator began airing preliminary fights on Spike's website earlier this year, and CEO Bjorn Rebney told Cagewriter in a previous interview that he was excited to work with Spike because they already understand MMA.
"We're a great position in that our deal is with MTV networks, so it's that larger corporate umbrella. They control Spike, MTV, MTV2. You never know what the future will bring. The foreseeable future will be what it is, which is MTV2 and Spike.com for the prelims, but Spike is better than anyone in this space. They get it better than anyone."
This is nothing but good news for fans. It ensures that Bellator will be viable for years to come, giving fans more choices for MMA. With the UFC on Fox networks and Bellator with Viacom, there will be a greater volume of fights. Though the move to Spike is more than a year away, it will also give fans the option to watch in HD, a choice that doesn't exist with MTV2.
The oil tanker S.S. Montebello was sunk by a Japanese submarine during World War II off the coast of California. A recent expedition to the wreck found that oil believed to still be in the ship is not there. It's full of seawater. It's the Al Capone's vault of the sea, if you will.
Copyright ? 2011 National Public Radio?. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.
MELISSA BLOCK, host: This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Melissa Block.
MICHELE NORRIS, host: And I'm Michele Norris. Last week, we told you about a potential ecological threat to the California coast: 3.1 million gallons of crude oil in a ship called the Montebello. It's a tanker that was torpedoed by a Japanese sub at the beginning of World War II. It sank off California.
As NPR's Ina Jaffe reported, an expedition set out to discover if the cargo of crude was still on board. And now, she has the results.
INA JAFFE: No oil. After multiple tests carried out by a remotely operated submersible, it seems there's mainly seawater in the tanks of the Montebello, says Andrew Hughan, a spokesman for California's Office of Spill Prevention and Response.
ANDREW HUGHAN: It turned out to be the best-case scenario for the people of Central California.
JAFFE: And the fish, seabirds, otters and other critters that live in and around the central coast's Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Back in 1941, when the Japanese torpedo struck the Montebello, it apparently missed the oil tanks. The entire crew escaped in lifeboats, and they reported no explosion and no fire. But Hughan says the definitive test came last week when investigators drilled into the Montebello's hull and took samples.
HUGHAN: It turns out that there is very little oil on the Montebello, and it poses no environmental threat to the Pacific Ocean and the California coast.
JAFFE: What happened to the Montebello's cargo remains a mystery. One theory is that the oil washed out right after the attack as the ship sank 900 feet down to the ocean floor. In any case, the investigation of the Montebello will provide a blueprint for examining some of the hundreds of other wrecks around the U.S. coastline that might still contain oil. Ina Jaffe, NPR News.
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NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.
SATURDAY, Oct. 22 (HealthDay News) -- While there are challenges, Halloween can still be fun for children with diabetes, an expert says.
"They can enjoy Halloween and enjoy some of the sweets the holiday offers -- within reason," Dr. Kenneth McCormick, a pediatric endocrinologist and senior scientist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Diabetes Center, said in a university news release.
"We give parents and kids three options and let them decide how they want to handle Halloween and the sweets that come with it," he explained.
The first option is to count carbohydrates. A child tracks how many carbohydrates he or she consumes and takes, for example, one unit of insulin for every 15 to 20 grams of carbs.
"This is an easy option for kids on an insulin pump because they can just dial in an extra dose of insulin to compensate for what they are about to eat. But for kids that take shots, this could prove to be more difficult or inconvenient if they have to go to the school nurse for an extra dose," McCormick said.
The second option is to exchange candy for other goodies.
"Parents can trade the child a gift, money or low-carb snack for their candy. Parents also can provide a substitute snack for their child if a Halloween party at school is an issue," McCormick said. "We have been advising parents to do this for many, many years, and it is a solution that continues to work."
The third option is saving Halloween treats for dessert after dinner.
"By incorporating a sugary treat into mealtime, when a child would normally get a dose of insulin, it eliminates the need for adding doses to their regimen," McCormick said.
More information
The Nemours Foundation has more about children and diabetes.
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Professor Fogel at York U. Many wonderful points. bit.ly/oGzTCW via @JapanFocus #Nanking #Comparison #WWII #IsraelIl y a environ 14 heuresvia webRetweeted by 1 person
KINGSTON, Jamaica ? Lawmaker Andrew Holness has been sworn in as Jamaica's ninth prime minister.
The 39-year-old Holness has taken the oath of allegiance to his country before about 4,000 people gathered on the lawn of King's House in Kingston. He becomes the youngest leader in Jamaica's history.
The former education minister pledges to ease the Caribbean island's poverty by increasing access to education, creating meaningful jobs and ending political alliances with gang leaders and community "dons."
Holness takes over from Bruce Golding, who officially stepped down Sunday after four years as prime minister.
The FBI has released a new gang assessment announcing that there are 1.4 million gang members in the US, a 40 percent increase since 2009, and that many of these members are getting inside the military (via Stars and Stripes).
The report says the military has seen members from 53 gangs and 100 regions in the U.S. enlist in every branch of the armed forces. Members of every major street gang, some prison gangs, and outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMGs) have been reported on both U.S. and international military installations.
From the report:
Through transfers and deployments, military-affiliated gang members expand their culture and operations to new regions nationwide and worldwide, undermining security and law enforcement efforts to combat crime. Gang members with military training pose a unique threat to law enforcement personnel because of their distinctive weapons and combat training skills and their ability to transfer these skills to fellow gang members.
The report notes that while gang members have been reported in every branch of service, they are concentrated in the U.S. Army, Army Reserves, and the Army National Guard.
Many street gang members join the military to escape the gang lifestyle or as an alternative to incarceration, but often revert back to their gang associations once they encounter other gang members in the military. Other gangs target the U.S. military and defense systems to expand their territory, facilitate criminal activity such as weapons and drug trafficking, or to receive weapons and combat training that they may transfer back to their gang. Incidents of weapons theft and trafficking may have a negative impact on public safety or pose a threat to law enforcement officials.
The FBI points out that many gangs, especially the bikers, actively recruit members with military training and advise young members with no criminal record to join the service for weapon access and combat experience.
The full assessment is definitely worth checking out, if only for the pictures.
WASHINGTON ? President Barack Obama is nominating a longtime Federal Reserve official and critic of big banks to be the No. 2 official at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
The White House announced that Thomas Hoenig, who stepped down as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in October, is the president's choice to be vice chairman at the FDIC. His nomination must be confirmed by the Senate.
Hoenig was the most vocal critic of the Fed's $600 billion bond buying program, which ended in June. He also opposed keeping the Fed's key short-term interest rate near zero. Hoenig said such policies risked higher inflation at a later time.
Hoenig has also publicly criticized big banks, saying they pose a danger to the financial system.
BANGKOK (Reuters) ? Thailand reported progress in diverting floodwater round its capital into the sea on Friday but the threat of water swamping Bangkok lingered with canals full to the brim and heavy rain forecast for next week.
After trying to hold the line for a week, the government opened some canals on Thursday to allow water to run through the inner city, carrying the risk of inundating some districts but relieving pressure on dikes.
Thailand's worst floods in five decades, which have killed at least 342 people since July and devastated industrialized areas to the north of Bangkok, are the first real test for politically inexperienced Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, whose government has had to form uneasy alliances with the military and political rivals to coordinate the relief effort.
Bangkok's metropolitan authority is controlled by the opposition Democrat Party, while the military has a frosty relationship with the ruling Puea Thai Party because of its de facto leader and Yingluck's brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, the self-exiled former premier overthrown by the army in 2006.
The flood problem was building even before she took office in early August and looks set to cost industry more than $3 billion, slashing economic growth this year.
The 44-year-old businesswoman is resisting calls to declare a state of emergency, saying authorities are able to manage.
"It would ruin investors' confidence, which is quite weak already," Yingluck told reporters at the crisis center.
"At this moment we can see that we (the government and the people) are cooperating very well to help us get through the problem. If I declare a state of emergency, I would be telling the world that we can't help each other."
Thousands of people in northern parts of Bangkok were moving valuables and electrical equipment to higher floors while evacuees pitched tents in the city's Don Muang airport.
In the fringe provinces of Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani and Nonthaburi, residents packed into boats, some carrying the elderly on their shoulders. Elevated tollways had been turned into giant car parks, with moving traffic reduced to a single lane on some highways.
Many convenience stores in downtown Bangkok were sold out of water and instant noodles and appeals were made for supplies from medicine and food to diapers and slippers.
Some workers stayed home to fortify their houses and banks and shops in Bangkok's business districts were piling up sandbags in case canals burst.
DAMAGE, DISRUPTION
"If the floodwater reaches Bangkok, we're looking at five to ten times the damage we've already seen," Bangkok Bank's executive vice-president, Bhakorn Vanuptikul, told Reuters outside his bank's fortified headquarters.
"The damage would be immeasurable because of the disruption to people's lives."
Water now covers a third of Thailand's provinces, some four million acres (1.6 million hectares) in the north, northeast and center of the country, and a seventh big industrial estate was overwhelmed late on Thursday when flood barriers at the Bang Kadi park in Pathum Thani were breached.
The government's effort to steer the water around the east and west of the capital has had some success, its crisis center said, but people in the northern Don Muang and Lak Si districts were told to be on the alert and ready to move.
Viphavadi-Rangsit, a main road from the north into the heart of the city, is the biggest concern, with fears that canals could overflow and swamp it, said Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra.
The start of the new term for 116 schools, scheduled for November 1, would be delayed indefinitely, Sukhumbhand added.
The weather was expected to clear Friday and similar conditions forecast for on Saturday, but light rain was expected Sunday and thunderstorms in the days after, according to the Meteorological Department.
The central bank has put the damage to industry at more than 100 billion baht ($3.3 billion) on Thursday and its governor, Prasarn Trairatvorakul, said 2011 economic growth could be closer to 3 percent than the 4.1 percent it forecast. Finance Minister Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala said growth might be barely 2 percent.
The Commerce Ministry said exports might fall 13 percent in the fourth quarter compared with 2010.
Thailand is a big regional hub for the world's car makers and most are suffering disruption, either because their plants are flooded or, more often, because parts makers have had to close and the supply chain has been disrupted.
The output of Japanese car makers has fallen by about 6,000 units a day because of the flooding. Germany's Daimler AG said late on Thursday it had halted car production because of the threat of flooding.
Thailand is the world's top rice exporter. Traders and analysts said it was too early to assess the damage, but estimated about 2 million tonnes of milled rice may have been ruined, with delays to the loading of 100,000 tonnes of rice.
(Additional reporting by Apornrath Phoonphongphiphat; Angie Teo and Sinthana Kosolpradit; Writing by Alan Raybould and Martin Petty; Editing by Nick Macfie)
ATLANTA ? The Coca-Cola Co. said Tuesday that its third-quarter profit rose 8 percent, as it offset higher costs with price increases and volume grew worldwide.
The world's largest soft-drink maker, which has more than 500 brands including Fanta, Sprite, Dasani and Minute Maid in addition to its namesake, has shown consistent growth for years, but it is being increasingly pressured by rising costs and consumers' cautious spending due to the turbulent economy, especially in the U.S. and Europe. It is increasingly focusing on emerging markets like Latin America, India and China, to drive growth.
Gross margin ? the proportion of each dollar of revenue the company keeps as profit ? fell to 60.2 percent from 65.4 percent, an indication of how higher costs are eating into Coke's profit.
The Atlanta-based company said volume grew 5 percent in North America and worldwide. Worldwide volume growth was driven by the Coca-Cola brand, which rose 3 percent.
In North America, the company raised prices about 2 percent to offset higher commodity and other costs, including a 3 percent price increase on sparkling beverages. Excluding a cross-licensing deal with Dr Pepper, volume rose 1 percent.
Demand was strongest in emerging markets, including a 19 percent increase in volume in India and a 7 percent increase in Latin America. Volume was flat in Europe.
Net income rose to $2.22 billion, or 95 cents per share, in the three months ended Sept. 30. That's up from $2.06 billion, or 88 cents per share, a year ago.
Excluding one-time items, it earned $1.03 per share. Analysts expected earnings of $1.02 per share.
Revenue rose 45 percent to $12.25 billion from $8.43 billion a year ago. Analysts expected $12.05 billion. Results were helped by the acquisition of its largest bottler.
Its shares rose 34 cents to $67.34 in premarket trading
KANSAS CITY, Mo. ? The mother of a missing Missouri baby may not be casting herself in the best light by telling national media that she drank heavily the night her daughter disappeared and other unflattering details, but her honesty shows that she and her family "have nothing to hide," her attorney said.
Deborah Bradley told television audiences Monday that she may have blacked out in the hours before she and Jeremy Irwin reported that their 10-month-old daughter, Lisa Irwin, was missing from their Kansas City home early Oct. 4. Bradley also now says she last saw her daughter hours earlier than she originally told police.
"I don't recall in recent history anyone under this umbrella of suspicion be so open and forthright, warts and all, regarding the events. Because they have nothing to hide," said attorney Joe Tacopina, who held a press conference Monday to announce he had been hired to represent the couple.
The parents reported their daughter missing after Irwin returned home from working a night shift and found the front door unlocked, the house lights on, a window tampered with and the baby gone. Bradley and their two sons were asleep elsewhere in the house.
Police have said they have no suspects in the case and no major leads. On Monday, the parents allowed the FBI to bring tracking dogs through their home. The FBI also searched a neighbor's house with the dogs, as well as the yard of the home where Bradley and Irwin have been staying with their two sons.
Bradley had said in previous days that she checked on Lisa at 10:30 p.m. on Oct. 3, but on Monday told NBC's "Today" show that she actually last saw Lisa when she put her to bed at 6:40 p.m. She did not explain the time changes.
Bradley told Fox News that she got drunk after she put her daughter to bed that night and may have blacked out. She said she "probably" drank more than five glasses of wine, and said she frequently drank at home after her children were safely in bed. She also said she had taken a dose of anti-anxiety medication that day.
Bradley told NBC that police accused her of killing Lisa, but she insisted again that she had not harmed her daughter.
"No, no. ... I don't think alcohol changes a person enough to do something like that," she said.
Tacopina, who also defended Joran Van der Sloot, the Dutch man suspected in the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba, said Bradley detailing her drinking the night Lisa went missing "goes to her credibility."
"That's something she was willing to tell the truth about even if it didn't make her look good because she's got nothing to hide," said Tacopina, who refused to say who was paying him and would only say that he had been hired to counsel the parents through the investigation.
Sean O'Brien, associate professor of law at University of Missouri-Kansas City, said it was difficult to read anything into Bradley's remarks about her drinking or about what police told her. But he said it was wise for the parents to hire a lawyer, and they likely should have done so earlier given what Bradley has said about police accusing her of being involved in the baby's disappearance.
"When the questioning becomes accusatory ... it's time to shut up and lawyer up," O'Brien said.
But he noted that police remain the family's "best hope" of finding the baby, so Bradley would want to continue cooperating.
Military veteran, motivational speaker and soap opera star J.R. Martinez is looking more and more like the man to beat on Dancing With the Stars.
Rob Kardashian and David Arquette did well Monday, sure. But there was no touching J.R. and Karina Smirnoff with their sexy, 80s inspired samba.
Channeling his Latino heritage, Martinez delivered a samba that was “muy caliente,” Carrie Ann Inaba said. Bruno Tonioli called him a “sex machine” with “so much fire down below” women might hurl themselves off the balcony to get to him.
Ah, Bruno. He's not wrong, though. Watch J.R.'s performance below:
Ross Levinsohn, Yahoo Executive Vice President of Americas, speaks at the Web. 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, Oct. 17, 2011. Yahoo Inc., releases quarterly financial results Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011, after the market close.(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
Ross Levinsohn, Yahoo Executive Vice President of Americas, speaks at the Web. 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, Oct. 17, 2011. Yahoo Inc., releases quarterly financial results Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011, after the market close.(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Yahoo keeps losing ground in the fast-moving Internet market, increasing the pressure on the struggling company to abandon its perpetual turnaround attempts and negotiate a sale with one of several prospective bidders.
The latest signs of Yahoo Inc.'s malaise surfaced Tuesday in its third-quarter earnings report. The lackluster results for the July-September period extended a streak of financial mediocrity that culminated in Yahoo's abrupt firing of Carol Bartz as CEO last month.
Although cost-cutting measures imposed by Bartz helped boost Yahoo's earnings after stripping out one-time gains, the company is still selling less advertising at a time when the overall Internet market has been growing.
After subtracting ad commissions, Yahoo's third -quarter revenue stood at $1.07 billion ? a 5 percent drop from the same time last year.
That performance looks even feebler next to the 37 percent increase in net revenue that Internet search and advertising leader Google Inc. enjoyed during the third quarter. Analysts believe Facebook, the owner of the Web's most popular hangout, is growing at an even quicker pace, although there is no way of knowing for certain because the privately held company isn't required to reveal its finances.
Yahoo, which is based in Sunnyvale, Calif., doesn't anticipate an upturn in the final three months of the year ? typically the busiest time for online advertising because it coincides with the holiday shopping season.
If it hits the mid-range of management projections, Yahoo's net revenue in the fourth quarter will fall by about 6 percent from the same time last year.
Normally, Yahoo's stock price would fall after a ho-hum quarter that offered little hope for better times ahead.
But that didn't happen Tuesday, largely because many investors are betting that Yahoo's struggles will make it more likely the company will sell itself as a whole or in part. The company's stock price already has climbed by more than 20 percent since Bartz's Sept. 6 ouster.
Yahoo shares gained 42 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $15.89 in Tuesday's extended trading.
Tim Morse, who is filling in as Yahoo's interim CEO while also working as chief financial officer, told analysts Tuesday that he couldn't discuss what the company's next step might be or when it might take it.
"The board is actively looking at the full range of options available to return the company to a path of robust growth and industry-leading innovation," Morse said. "The objective is to deliver on the company's potential and create value for employees, advertisers, users and shareholders."
Even before the third-quarter report came out, Stifel Nicolaus & Co. analyst Jordan Rohan issued a report putting the odds of Yahoo being sold at 80 percent.
Most of Yahoo's attraction lies in its Internet investments in Asia and a worldwide audience of about 700 million people each month. Before taxes, the value of Yahoo's 35 percent stake in Yahoo Japan now stands at $6.4 billion while its 43 percent stake could be worth about $14 billion, Morse said
That appraisal implies Wall Street is putting little or no value on Yahoo's U.S. assets, given the company's market value is $20 billion.
Although it's still recognized around the world, Yahoo's brand has been losing its luster as people increasingly embrace social networks such as Facebook and short-messaging service Twitter to keep track of what's going on instead of relying on a media hub like Yahoo's website.
"Yahoo isn't at the forefront of the Internet anymore," said Benchmark Co. analyst Clayton Moran. "Its assets have grown duller."
That hasn't discouraged opportunistic buyout firms from circling Yahoo like vultures hovering over a wounded animal.
The list of firms believed to be considering a run at Yahoo includes KKR & Co., the Blackstone Group, and Silver Lake. Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz's name also has popped up as a potential bidder. There is even talk of Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang, who remains one of the company's largest shareholders, teaming up with one of the bidders in a leveraged buyout. Yang already took one unsuccessful stab at fixing Yahoo during an 18-month stint as CEO that ended with Bartz's hiring in January 2009.
Then there is this wild card: Microsoft Corp., Yahoo's jilted suitor, rival and now Internet search partner.
If Microsoft were to return with another bid for Yahoo, it would be at a much lower price than the $47.5 billion, or $33 per share, that it offered in May 2008. Microsoft walked away when Yang didn't immediately jump at the chance to sell at such a high price. Now, Yahoo would be fortunate to fetch as much as $20 per share or about $27 billion, in a sale of the entire company, Moran said.
Microsoft has less incentive to pursue a deal now because Yahoo now relies on Microsoft to process the search requests on its website. That arrangement, negotiated by Bartz, gives Microsoft the traffic and user insights it was seeking when it tried to buy Yahoo three years ago. The alliance so far isn't producing as much money as Yahoo envisioned, prompting it to persuade Microsoft to guarantee a certain amount of revenue through March 2013 ? a year longer than the original promise.
In a late Tuesday appearance at an Internet conference, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said it was a good thing the attempt to buy Yahoo in 2008 didn't pan out because the economy later descended into its deepest recession since World War II.
"Sometimes, you're lucky in life," Ballmer said at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. "With that said, there are a lot of great things at Yahoo." He wasn't asked if Microsoft is mulling another takeover attempt.
The only company that has publicly said it may make a bid for Yahoo this time around is the Alibaba Group, a Chinese Internet giant that has a testy relationship with Yahoo. The two companies are already linked through a 43 percent stake that Yahoo owns in Alibaba, but Alibaba CEO Jack Ma wants to find a way to turn the tables. Ma recently told a Silicon Valley audience that he is very interested in buying Yahoo. A Chinese news service reported this week that Ma says he has lined up $20 billion to mount a bid.
But even if Yahoo and Alibaba could agree on a price, they would still have to persuade U.S. regulators to allow a Chinese-owned company to buy a high-profile American company involved in communications.
Even if Alibaba doesn't make a bid on its own, Ma will likely be a key figure in any takeover attempt because his company is such a vital piece of the Yahoo puzzle, Moran said.
If Yahoo's board decides a sale doesn't make sense, then its next job will be picking a new CEO. The top internal candidates are believed to be Morse and Ross Levinsohn, the company's executive vice president of Americas. Recruiting an outsider could be daunting because of all the uncertainty and challenges still facing Yahoo.
"There is still some appeal in Yahoo, but it is going to require a lot of work to get them back on track," said S&P Capital IQ equity analyst Scott Kessler.
Regardless of how you may feel about their anthropomorphic cast of characters, 
Media conglomerate Viacom, the company that owns both Spike TV and MTV, has jumped into the MMA game with the purchase of Bellator Fighting championships. 
rozyuri 
