Shell earnings in rise Q4 on refining turnaround

AMSTERDAM (AP) ? Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Thursday it plans to continue investing aggressively in new projects in the coming years, as it sees a bright future for the oil and gas industry despite ongoing economic uncertainties around the world.

Overall, Europe's largest oil company was bullish as it reported an increase in fourth-quarter earnings: it said global energy demand is rising due to population increases and improving standards of living in developing countries.

Chief Executive Peter Voser said in a video message published on YouTube that at this point "we are more constrained by limits on capital (funding) than by limits on opportunities."

Voser's bullish statement came even though the company announced a below-expectations 2.6 percent increase in net profit to $6.67 billion fourth quarter net profit.

In addition, Shell said it will hike its dividend in 2013 to $0.45 per share, a 4.7 increase from the year before. Though some analysts have argued Shell has room to raise its dividend more, Voser claimed Shell's dividend is already "the largest in our sector."

"As our cash flow momentum builds we expect to increase our dividends for shareholders in measured, affordable steps," he said. "There is more to come from Shell."

Shell's shares were down 1.1 percent to ?26.545 in early Amsterdam trading.

A more detailed look at the figures showed that the company's key "upstream," or exploration and production, division posted earnings of $4.38 billion, down from $5.1 billion a year earlier. Shell blamed the decline on higher costs and exploration expenses ? Shell is spending heavily to explore for oil in frigid Arctic waters off Alaska's coast, and has run into several difficulties.

Although the production profits were down, production volumes increased by 3.3 percent to 3.41 million barrels of oil or natural gas equivalents per day, as increases at major young projects in Qatar and Australia offset declines at existing fields.

The increase in fourth quarter profit was mostly due to a turnaround at Shell's smaller refining arm, which booked a profit of $1.2 billion, compared with a loss of $278 million in the same period of 2011.

Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers, said Shell's "overall profit number was shy of expectations: costs are on an upward trend within the industry and the weakness of the gas price has impacted on Shell, which for the first time sold more gas than oil last year."

However, he said there were "certainly positives within the statement," notably refining margins and "upbeat management comments."

Voser said the company is on track to meet its goal of increasing operating cash flow by 30-50 percent in the four year period 2012-2015, that would imply a total cashflow of $175-$200 billion. Shell booked $42.7 billion in cashflow in 2012.

He said the company's investment spending will focus on assets such as gas, deep water projects and shale. The company is planning to spend $33 billion on capital investments this year, up from $32.5 billion in 2012.

Shell has purchased significant U.S. shale assets, which contain natural gas that has only recently become exploitable due to new drilling techniques known as "fracking." This week Shell announced a project with pipeline company Kinder Morgan to export liquefied natural gas, or LNG, from the U.S. in order to take advantage of gas prices that are much higher internationally.

The company is spending on around 30 projects around the globe, including in Iraq, Kazakhstan and even onshore Nigeria ? where a Dutch court Wednesday ordered it to pay damages caused to fish farms in one village after thieves sabotaged a Shell pipeline.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/shell-earnings-rise-q4-refining-turnaround-101435497--finance.html

2013 nissan altima masters par 3 contest google augmented reality glasses wonderlic test texas tornado fantasy baseball jared sullinger

Majorities favor gun control proposals, but issue remains divisive, new poll says (Washington Bureau)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/281716537?client_source=feed&format=rss

sag aftra mega mill power ball april fools pranks livan hernandez soledad o brien mega ball

Dakota Fanning Laughs Off Marc Jacobs Ad That ... - Business Insider

Teen actress Dakota Fanning reveals that she and Marc Jacobs laughed off the fuss surrounding her banned Oh, Lola! ad.

All grown-up actress, Dakota Fanning, has been talking to US Glamour magazine about the furore over her 2011 Marc Jacobs ad for the brand?s Oh, Lola! fragrance.

The suggestive ad, which featured a then 17-year-old Fanning reclining in a mini-dress, with a bottle of Oh, Lola! between her legs, was banned here in the UK after the Advertising Standards Authority ruled that the image portrayed Fanning in an ?irresponsible and sexualized manner?.

But Fanning reveals that she and Jacobs never could see what all the fuss was about.

?If you want to read something into a perfume bottle, then I guess you can. But it?s also like, ?Why are you making it about that, you creep?? I love Marc and trust him, and we just laughed about it.?

READ: Dakota Fanning's Oh, Lola! advert for Marc Jacobs is banned

After receiving several complaints about the ad, the ASA stated in their ruling:

"We noted that the model was holding up the perfume bottle which rested in her lap between her legs and we considered that its position was sexually provocative. We understood the model was 17 years old but we considered she looked under the age of 16. We considered that the length of her dress, her leg and position of the perfume bottle drew attention to her sexuality. Because of that, along with her appearance, we considered the ad could be seen to sexualise a child."

However Coty, makers of Oh, Lola!, said it did not believe the ad suggested the model was underage or that it was "inappropriately sexualised" as it didn't show any "private body parts or sexual activity". They said the giant perfume bottle ? shaped like a vase holding a blooming pink flower ? was "provoking, but not indecent".

Marc Jacobs isn?t the first fashion and beauty brand to fall foul of such a ruling. Take a look at some of the other ads that got the chop.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/dakota-fanning-laughs-off-marc-jacobs-ad-that-was-banned-for-being-too-sexy-2013-1

austerity rihanna and chris brown back together pebble beach clive davis cause of whitney houston death keanu reeves whitney houston national anthem

NCAA Athletes Can Legally Pursue TV Money, Judge in Antitrust Lawsuit Rules

A federal judge in California on Tuesday dismissed a motion by the NCAA to prevent football and men?s basketball players from legally pursuing a cut of live broadcast revenues, significantly raising the stakes for the governing body of college sports, ESPN reported.

The ruling, by Chief Judge Claudia Wilken of the U.S. District Court in Oakland, Calif., rejected the NCAA?s motion that players in the antitrust suit led by the former UCLA star Ed O?Bannon should be precluded from advancing their lawsuit on procedural grounds. The NCAA had objected to the players? amending their lawsuit last year to claim a share of all television game revenues, not just those from rebroadcasts.

The former players who brought the suit are seeking to have it certified as a class action on behalf of all Division I players in football and men?s basketball. Judge Wilken?s ruling does not grant that status but does reject the NCAA?s attempt to block it on procedural grounds. She set a hearing on the question for June 20 and ordered the NCAA to make its arguments against class certification on the merits rather than procedural objections.

?Now the (NCAA and its co-defendants) are facing potential liability that?s based on the billions of dollars in revenue instead of tens or hundreds of millions,? said Michael Hausfeld, interim lead counsel for the plaintiffs. ?It?s a more accurate context for what the players deserve.?

Read more at: espn.go.com

Source: http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/jp/ncaa-athletes-can-legally-pursue-tv-money-judge-in-antitrust-lawsuit-rules

jon bon jovi Kliff Kingsbury Amish Mafia Dave Grohl 121212 Cal State Fullerton Pacific Rim

What We're Reading - NYTimes.com - Diner's Journal - New York ...

The Daily Meal: Someone is selling a moldy Twinkie on eBay. Year-old. Unpackaged. A significant test of Twinkie shelf-life! ? Glenn Collins

Food Republic: Microwave popcorn has apparently been with us so long that some people (sadly) don?t know of any other kind. How else to explain these step-by-step instructions for old-fashioned stovetop popping? ? Patrick Farrell

The Washington Post: Some chefs are trying to turn the homely Chesapeake Bay snakehead into a swan of a main course. ? Maria Newman

Poetry Foundation: ?The drink storms through these men,? Robin Robertson writes in a great poem about fishermen. ? Jeff Gordinier

Bloomberg Businessweek: The sad, cautionary tale of the 81 percent sales decline of the diet drink Slim-Fast over the last decade ? while the booming replacement-meal category has spiked 27 percent over the last four years. ? Glenn Collins

Esquire: As caffeine-and-alcohol combinations go, trust us, you can do much better than that tacky mash-up of Red Bull and vodka. Consider this: rye paired with sweet vermouth that?s been infused with Earl Grey tea. ? Jeff Gordinier

The Washington Post: Students at the University of Maryland who collect leftover dorm food to donate to Washington shelters have spread their work to other campuses. ? Maria Newman

Wild Fermentation: A bright red paste you can make by fermenting tomatoes, provided you don?t mind a little ?spidery-looking mold.? ? Jeff Gordinier

The Wall Street Journal: You are not alone, you Wi-Fi warriors at Starbucks. For many in rural communities, after the library and the computer lab close for the night, there is only one place to turn for Internet access: McDonald?s, which has 12,000 wireless-equipped locations in the United States. (Subscription required.) ? Glenn Collins

Boston Magazine: An exhaustive guide to finding the best Asian food in Boston. ? Jeff Gordinier

The New York Times: Mark Bittman makes the case for turning lawns into gardens. ? Maria Newman

LA Weekly: A mochi shop in downtown Los Angeles is, remarkably, 110 years old. ? Jeff Gordinier

Source: http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/30/what-were-reading-618/

Saanvi Venna vikings Colin Powell Tyrann Mathieu noaa Jessica Ridgeway jessica biel

How to Hide Embarrassing Facebook Likes From Your Profile

Got a few likes on Facebook you wish your friends couldn't see? Here's how to hide them from your friends' view, without missing out on those pages' updates in your news feed.

When you like a movie, music artist, or other page on Facebook, you get to keep up with all the latest goings-on of that page: upcoming concerts, DVD releases, or other handy stuff like that. However, if some of your Facebook likes are a bit on the "guilty pleasure" side, you may want to hide them from other people. Unfortunately, Facebook doesn't let you hide individual likes from your "About" page?but it will let you hide whole categories.

Luckily, there are enough categories that you probably don't use a few of them. So, to hide your embarrassing likes, here's what you need to do:

1. Go to the Likes page of your profile and click Edit.
2. Remove your embarrassing like from its category by hovering over it and clicking the "X" that shows up.
3. Scroll down to one of the other categories that you don't use?like "Sports Teams," "Video Games," or "Inspirational People"?and change its privacy setting to "Only Me."
4. Next, add your embarrassing likes to that category. Even if they don't fit?say, adding Taylor Swift to Sports Teams?Facebook will still let you add them there.
5. Click the "Done Editing" button at the top of your page and continue using Facebook as normal.

You'll still see that page under all your Likes, but your friends won't. You'll still be able to get that page's useful updates without your friends ever knowing. Check out the video above to see this little workaround in action.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/oD6t4XYBBr8/how-to-hide-embarrassing-facebook-likes-from-your-profile

mike trout ryan broyles jerel worthy alshon jeffery miami heat bulls california earthquake

Sandra Day O'Connor steps carefully in NY gun case

NEW YORK (AP) ? Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor warned Tuesday against a rush to judgment in a New York gun ownership dispute, citing the recent killings of 20 Connecticut schoolchildren and six educators.

Sitting on a federal appeals court panel, O'Connor cited the Sandy Hook Elementary school massacre in commenting on the role that courts play in interpreting gun control laws. The three-judge panel is considering the federal rights of a man who was denied a gun permit in New York after he moved from New York to Louisiana.

"The regulation of firearms is a paramount issue of public safety, and recent events in this circuit are a sad reminder that firearms are dangerous in the wrong hands," she wrote. "Questions like the one before us require a delicate balance between individual rights and the public interest, and federal courts should avoid interfering with or evaluating that balance until it has been definitively struck."

Writing for the panel, O'Connor said that before deciding the federal constitutional issue, the panel wants to hear from the New York Court of Appeals on whether state law permits a part-time resident to get a New York gun permit.

"Moreover, the New York Court of Appeals has made clear that the question whether to read 'residence' as requiring residence or domicile requires interpretation of the value and policy judgments of the state legislature," she noted.

Alfred Osterweil applied for a handgun license in May 2008, when his Summit home in Schoharie County was still his primary residence and domicile. Before his application was decided, he moved to Louisiana, maintaining the Summit residence as a part-time vacation home. A county judge rejected his application because New York was not his primary residence.

Osterweil claimed his federal rights were violated, and filed a lawsuit seeking a federal judge's order requiring the state to issue him a license, but the judge ruled for the state.

O'Connor said Tuesday that the three-judge panel, on which she sat in late October, was facing a "serious constitutional question." She said the state court's interpretation was important.

She rejected an argument by Osterweil's lawyer that the state should not be drawn into the case but credited his depiction of the dispute as raising a serious constitutional question ? an element of the case that she said was good reason to ask for input from the state court but was "not a reason to race ahead."

The 82-year-old O'Connor retired from the Supreme Court in 2006 after 25 years. She has decided cases before in the Manhattan appeals court. Retired justices have occasionally sat on federal appeals courts as visiting judges.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-01-29-Guns-Sandra%20Day%20O'Connor/id-ddbbc6f8f4504b97bbc593fd03143fc5

the villages florida egoraptor gisele bundchen turbotax the bourne legacy roland martin suspended lake vostok

Bahamas voters reject bid to legalize gambling

By Jeff Todd, The Associated Press

NASSAU, Bahamas -- Voters on Monday overwhelmingly rejected a referendum to legalize gambling for citizens of the Bahamas, where locals are already barred from betting in casinos at the islands' tourist resorts.?

AFP/Getty Images file

A tourist plays in a casino at a resort in Nassau, Bahamas. Locals are barred from betting in casinos at the islands' tourist resorts.

Underground gambling operations called "web shops" where Bahamians bet on numbers in televised U.S. lotteries have become commonplace in recent years. The shops operate in violation of Bahamian law, but police and political leaders have largely turned a blind eye to them for years.

In a two-part referendum, voters were asked whether gambling shops on the archipelago off Florida's east coast should be legalized, regulated and taxed, and if the government should create its own national lottery.?

But election officials said that a majority of Bahamians clearly voted no on both questions, forcing the government to start the arduous task of shutting down dozens of the underground operations. Voter turnout was apparently quite low.

Bradley Roberts, chairman of the ruling party, said late Monday that Prime Minister Perry Christie's government recognized the results. Christie's administration had encouraged citizens to support legalizing the gambling shops, arguing that the underground houses employ a few thousand Bahamians and could generate $20 million a year in taxes if they were regulated.

"The prime minister was clear that his government would be guided by the results of the referendum and the will of the people, notwithstanding the low voter turnout," Roberts said. "The people have spoken."

The islands' powerful church lobby and the political opposition fiercely opposed any legalized betting for locals. Religious leaders were thrilled by the measure's defeat.

"This is a victory for the church," said Dr. Ranford Patterson, head of the country's powerful Christian Council. "We are excited and thanking God."

Karen Demeritte, a 51-year-old administrative assistant, said she voted against legalizing gambling because she believed that the societal costs would far outweigh the benefit to tax coffers in the Caribbean country of about 350,000 inhabitants.

"We have not given any kind of thought to the downside and the social ills attached to gambling," she said.

Rick Lowe, general manager of a car dealership in Nassau, countered that various forms of gambling are clearly widespread on the islands and adults should be able to spend their money as they see fit.

"Society has passively approved it. It is impossible to stop gambling," said Lowe, who said he declined to vote.

?

?

? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/29/16754944-bahamas-voters-reject-bid-to-legalize-gambling?lite

meteor showers 2012 ufc 145 jones vs evans marian hossa philip humber red sox white sox

Rome's Trevi Fountain gets $2.9 million facelift

Tourists gather at Trevi's fountain, in Rome, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013. The Fendi fashion house is financing an euro 2.12 million ($2.8 million) restoration of Trevi Fountain in Rome, famed as a setting for the film "La Dolce Vita'' and the place where dreamers leave their coins. The 20-month project on one of the city's most iconic fountains was being unveiled at a city hall press conference Monday. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Tourists gather at Trevi's fountain, in Rome, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013. The Fendi fashion house is financing an euro 2.12 million ($2.8 million) restoration of Trevi Fountain in Rome, famed as a setting for the film "La Dolce Vita'' and the place where dreamers leave their coins. The 20-month project on one of the city's most iconic fountains was being unveiled at a city hall press conference Monday. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Designer Karl Lagerfeld poses for photographers prior to the start of a press conference, in Rome, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013. The Fendi fashion house is financing an euro 2.12 million ($2.8 million) restoration of Trevi Fountain in Rome, famed as a setting for the film "La Dolce Vita'' and the place where dreamers leave their coins. The 20-month project on one of the city's most iconic fountains was being unveiled at a city hall press conference Monday. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

A tourist throws a coin into Trevi's fountain, in Rome, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013. The Fendi fashion house is financing an euro 2.12 million ($2.8 million) restoration of Trevi Fountain in Rome, famed as a setting for the film "La Dolce Vita'' and the place where dreamers leave their coins. The 20-month project on one of the city's most iconic fountains was being unveiled at a city hall press conference Monday. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

From left, Designer Karl Lagerfeld, Silvia Venturini Fendi, Fendi CEO Pietro Beccari and Rome's Mayor Gianni Alemanno, pose for photographers next to a drawing of the Trevi Fountain, in Rome, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013. The Fendi fashion house is financing an euro 2.12 million ($2.8 million) restoration of Trevi Fountain in Rome, famed as a setting for the film "La Dolce Vita'' and the place where dreamers leave their coins. The 20-month project on one of the city's most iconic fountains was being unveiled at a city hall press conference Monday. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Designer Karl Lagerfeld takes a picture with his mobile phone backdropped by a drawing of Trevi's fountain during a press conference, in Rome, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013. The Fendi fashion house is financing an euro 2.12 million ($2.8 million) restoration of Trevi Fountain in Rome, famed as a setting for the film "La Dolce Vita'' and the place where dreamers leave their coins. The 20-month project on one of the city's most iconic fountains was being unveiled at a city hall press conference Monday. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

ROME (AP) ? Rome's 18th-century Trevi Fountain, famed as a setting for the film "La Dolce Vita," is getting a ?2.18 million ($2.9 million) restoration courtesy of the Fendi fashion house.

The 20-month project on one of the city's most iconic fountains was unveiled at a city hall press conference Monday featuring Fendi designers Karl Lagerfeld and Silvia Venturini Fendi, who said the project combined a love of Rome's past with a need to preserve its future.

Rome's fountains, Lagerfeld said, "are there to glorify water, which is the most important thing in life."

It's the latest example of Italian fashion companies coming to the aid of Italy's chronically underfunded cultural heritage. The founder of the Tod's footwear company is footing the bill for the ?25 million (nearly $34 million) restoration of Rome's ancient Colosseum, and Mayor Gianni Alemanno said he hoped these two donations were just the start.

"Without similar initiatives, we won't be able to save the cultural memory of our country," Alemanno said.

Fendi is also donating ?320,000 ($430,000) to restore another fountain complex in Rome, the Quattro Fontane.

The landmark Trevi Fountain is a must-see on any tourist itinerary. It was famously featured in Federico Fellini's 1960 movie "La Dolce Vita," with Anita Ekberg seductively splashing in the fountain's waters and calling out to leading man Marcello Mastroianni.

Many visitors flip a coin into the fountain: Tradition says that doing so ensures a prompt return to the Eternal City.

The Trevi restoration involves a complete overhaul of the fountain, including cleaning the travertine fa?ade and marble statues, replacing the gilded Latin inscriptions and re-waterproofing the main basin. The project will be carried out in phases, with the central section restored first, then the sides, then the top. At no time will it be closed to visitors, and officials said a screen bearing the image of the fountain will cover the scaffolding in a bid to minimize the eyesore for camera-toting tourists.

The restoration is expected to completed by 2015.

The fountain, which was built between 1732 and 1762, features Oceanus being carried on his chariots and contains many other allegorical references to water. The location of the fountain itself ? on a side street off central Rome's main thoroughfare ? is the termination of one of ancient Rome's aqueducts, the Aqua Virgo Aqueduct.

Alemanno stressed that the only reference to Fendi's sponsorship will be a small plaque near the fountain identifying Fendi as responsible.

Silvia Venturini Fendi said the firm, which her family founded in 1925 in Rome, wanted to give something back to the city and noted that she and her sisters had previously published a book on Roman fountains.

"For Romans, water is inspiration," she said.

___

Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-01-28-Italy-Trevi%20Fountain/id-f033f1413a374029b889e1065caff37e

bedtime stories micron susan g komen kenyon martin kenyon martin big miracle slab city

Judge postpones Texas woman's execution

By Michael Graczyk, The Associated Press

Texas Department of Criminal Justice via Reuters

Kimberly McCarthy is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Tuesday for the stabbing murder of her neighbor in 1997.

HUNTSVILLE, Texas ??A Dallas judge has halted the scheduled Tuesday night?execution of a Texas woman who would have been the first woman put to death in the U.S. in three years.

The order from state District Judge Larry Mitchell moves the execution of Kimberly McCarthy, 51, to April 3.

McCarthy faced lethal injection for the 1997 beating, stabbing and robbery of a 71-year-old neighbor in Lancaster, about 15 miles south of Dallas.?

Lawyers for McCarthy, who is black, argued that the jury that convicted and sentenced her to death was selected improperly based on race. It was made up of 11 white people and one black person.

The ?Dallas County District Attorney's office said it wouldn't appeal the ruling. The DA's office had?called the effort a "mere delay" tactic, saying the record didn't support a valid legal claim for discrimination.

---

A Dallas County jury had already found McCarthy, a?former nursing home therapist,?guilty of the killing when evidence at the punishment phase of her trial tied her to two similar murders a decade earlier.

"Once the jury heard about those other two, we were certainly in a deep hole," recalled McCarthy's lead trial attorney, Doug Parks. Jurors decided McCarthy should die.

Her execution would have been the first since a Virginia inmate, Teresa Lewis, became the 12th woman put to death since the U.S. Supreme Court in 1976 allowed capital punishment to resume. In that same time, 1,309 men have been executed.

McCarthy also would have been the first woman executed in Texas in more than eight years and the fourth overall in the state, which executes the most people in the nation ? 492 prisoners since capital punishment resumed 30 years ago.

Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics compiled from 1980 through 2008 show women make up about 10 percent of homicide offenders nationwide. According to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, 3,146 people were on the nation's death rows as of last Oct. 1, and only 63 ? 2 percent ? were women.

Ring cut from living victim
Evidence showed McCarthy, who has exhausted her court appeals, phoned Booth to borrow a cup of sugar, then attacked Booth when she went to retrieve it. Booth was stabbed with a butcher knife, beaten with a large candle holder and robbed of a diamond wedding ring.

"(McCarthy) quite literally took the woman, put her left hand on a chopping block of the kitchen and then used a knife to sever her ring finger while she was still alive," said Greg Davis, the former Dallas County assistant district attorney who prosecuted McCarthy. "She took the ring from the finger that had been severed and continued the attack until she finally killed her."

Prosecutors showed McCarthy stole Booth's Mercedes and drove to Dallas, pawned the ring for $200 and then went to a crack house to buy some cocaine. Evidence also showed she used Booth's credit cards at a liquor store and was carrying Booth's driver's license.

Booth's DNA was found on a 10-inch butcher knife recovered from McCarthy's home. McCarthy was arrested after police found her name on a pawn shop receipt for the ring.

McCarthy was tried twice for Booth's slaying, most recently in 2002. Her first conviction in 1998 was thrown out three years later by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which ruled police violated her rights by using a statement she made to them after asking for a lawyer.

Prosecutors presented DNA and fingerprint evidence that tied McCarthy to similar slayings of two other women in Dallas in December 1988. Maggie Harding, 81, was beaten with a meat tenderizer and stabbed.

Jettie Lucas, 85, was beaten with both sides of a claw hammer and stabbed. McCarthy was indicted but not tried for those slayings. She denied any involvement.

?When the jury saw the other two were equally gruesome, I think it sealed the deal for her," Davis said.

McCarthy is a former wife of Aaron Michaels, founder of the New Black Panther Party, and he testified on her behalf. They had separated before Booth's slaying.

McCarthy declined to speak with reporters as her execution date neared. She's one of 10 women on death row in Texas but the only one with an execution date.

In 1998, Karla Faye Tucker, 38, became the first woman executed in Texas since the Civil War for a robbery in Houston where two people were killed with a pickax.

At least eight male Texas prisoners have executions scheduled in the coming months.

Related:

Widow asks Pennsylvania governor not to execute husband's killer

Convicted Ohio killer: I'm too obese to be executed

? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/29/16748754-judge-postpones-texas-womans-execution?lite

coachella lineup joran van der sloot coachella 2012 lineup school delays critics choice awards 2012 honey badger colbert president

Stuffle Raises ?500K To Put The Heat On Shpock As The Flea Market App Race Gathers Pace In Europe

Stuffle, the mobile location-based marketplace for used items (and European rival to Shpock) has raised a new funding round from High-Tech Gr?nderfonds. The amount is described only as a "mid six-figure amount", though TechCrunch has learned that it's actually ?500,000 (~$672k) and follows a previous round from Tim Schumacher, founder of SEDO, announced last November, bringing the total raised by the Hamburg, Germany-based startup to ?975,000 (~$1.23m).

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/6YbNNb67nxI/

michelle malkin october baby sugarland 16 and pregnant ludwig mies van der rohe jamie lynn sigler mega millions jackpot

The Yeshiva World U.S. Appeals Court Shields SEC From Madoff ...

Investors who said they lost money in Bernard Madoff?s fraud may not pursue a lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for missing the swindler?s Ponzi scheme, a federal appeals court said on Monday.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena, California said a federal district judge correctly dismissed their lawsuit seeking to hold the SEC responsible under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

Citing a 2009 report by the regulator?s inspector general, investors led by Dichter-Mad Family Partners LLP in Florida said they would not have invested with Madoff had the regulator availed itself of ?multiple opportunities? to stop the fraud.

They said they instead relied on the regulator?s ?implied stamp of approval? prior to investing, and sought to recover losses they attributed to SEC negligence.

But the 9th Circuit in an unsigned order said the plaintiffs? claims fell within the regulator?s ?discretionary functions,? depriving courts of jurisdiction to hear the appeal.

?I respectfully disagree with the decision, and intend to seek further appellate review,? Richard Gordon, a lawyer who is one of the plaintiffs and argued the appeal, said in a telephone interview.

SEC spokesman John Nester said in an email: ?The decision speaks for itself.?

Monday?s order upheld an April 2010 ruling by U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson in Los Angeles.

In April 2011, a Manhattan federal judge dismissed a similar lawsuit by two other Madoff investors.

An exhaustive August 2009 report by SEC Inspector General David Kotz outlined how the regulator failed to uncover Madoff?s fraud by missing many red flags, disregarding tips, and failing to follow up properly on leads.

Madoff, 74, pleaded guilty in March 2009 and is serving a 150-year prison sentence.

Have you checked out?YWN Radio?yet? Click?HERE?to listen!

(Reuters)

Add your comment
Subscribe to RSS Feed For This Article

Source: http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/?p=154589

Finding Nemo 2 Provigil dez bryant Kitty Wells Marissa Mayer Jon Lord Colorado shootings

Warrior Crossfit Muscatine: Wednesday 01.09.13

?My wish for the health and fitness industry: that we stopped framing health and fitness in terms of "fat", "skinny", "trim", or "plus size". These are superficial terms that do nothing to gauge a person's fitness, which is a measure of a person's health (the other being illness or pathology). One thing I always harp on here at WCFM is progress. Is your fitness progressing? Are you becoming more flexible? Is your range of motion and technique improving? Are you moving toward or away from your goals? We have such a variety of people working out here at WCFM -- triathletes, distance runners, average Joes just trying to look and feel better, moms trying to lose those last 5, 10, 15 pounds of baby weight, folks who never worked out before -- that no single goal fits every person here. Except one. You got it: progress.

I wish the popular idea of health was framed in terms of individual functionality -- e.g., mobility, flexibility, digestion, cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure. Your weight? I could not care less, particularly if you can out-WOD someone half your size who eats cheeseburgers and ice cream every weekend. You can be skinny fat and you can be fat fat with a bad diet. You can be skinny and look good in a bikini, but be so weak or inflexible that you can't lift yourself out of danger or touch your toes. You can be "fat" and have the blood panel of a god, but can you walk up the stairs without wheezing or making your knees or back sore?

It's time we all start thinking of health and fitness in a more holistic manner and less superficial one. A person is more than just their pant/dress size. I am more concerned with whether you are strong, capable, responsible, and continually progressing in your health and fitness goals, than with the number on the scale or how you look in a bathing suit. I feel the sooner we define health by how we feel, move, and function, the sooner we can abandon "ideal" body shapes and obsessing over meaningless numbers on a scale; we can embrace our true selves.

In the end, I believe this more meaningful perspective on our health and fitness will help us live longer, more productive lives. Stop thinking in terms of the scale or a size on a tag or a model in a magazine or an actor in an action flick, and start thinking in terms of your ability to defeat decrepitude - the advance of time and its effects on our bodies. Work towards improving your body's functionality - inside and out - for life. Changing the prevailing attitudes of the health and fitness industry starts with you (and me), so change your attitude toward fitness by being a better, more functional YOU. Be ever-evolving and never quit progressing.

WOD

Mini WODs!

1 minute of rest between each 5 min AMRAP:

- 10 KB Swings, 10 KB SDHP (53/35)

- 10 jumping air squats, 10 pullups

10 pushups, 10 ankles-to-bar

- Suicides

- 1 barbell complex, max stepups (24"/20")

Source: http://wcfmuscatine.blogspot.com/2013/01/wednesday-010913.html

hana taylor momsen xbox live update joan rivers gary carter dies oolong tea survivor one world

Jones, Lansbury still relish acting in their 80s

Actors James Earl Jones, left, and Angela Lansbury discuss their rolls in the play "Driving Miss Daisy" in Sydney, Australia, Monday, Jan. 7, 2013. Jones and Lansbury, in Australia to star in a touring production of Alfred Uhry's Pulitzer-Prize winning play "Driving Miss Daisy," credit the thrill of performing with their seemingly endless supply of energy, which has propelled them throughout their decades-long careers. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Actors James Earl Jones, left, and Angela Lansbury discuss their rolls in the play "Driving Miss Daisy" in Sydney, Australia, Monday, Jan. 7, 2013. Jones and Lansbury, in Australia to star in a touring production of Alfred Uhry's Pulitzer-Prize winning play "Driving Miss Daisy," credit the thrill of performing with their seemingly endless supply of energy, which has propelled them throughout their decades-long careers. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Actors James Earl Jones, left, and Angela Lansbury pose for photos after discussing their rolls in the play "Driving Miss Daisy" in Sydney, Australia, Monday, Jan. 7, 2013. Jones and Lansbury, in Australia to star in a touring production of Alfred Uhry's Pulitzer-Prize winning play "Driving Miss Daisy," credit the thrill of performing with their seemingly endless supply of energy, which has propelled them throughout their decades-long careers. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Actor James Earl Jones poses for photos in Sydney, Australia, Monday, Jan. 7, 2013. Jones and Angela Lansbury, in Australia to star in a touring production of Alfred Uhry's Pulitzer-Prize winning play "Driving Miss Daisy," credit the thrill of performing with their seemingly endless supply of energy, which has propelled them throughout their decades-long careers. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Actor Angela Lansbury poses for photos in Sydney, Australia, Monday, Jan. 7, 2013. Lansbury and James Earl Jones, in Australia to star in a touring production of Alfred Uhry's Pulitzer-Prize winning play "Driving Miss Daisy," credit the thrill of performing with their seemingly endless supply of energy, which has propelled them throughout their decades-long careers. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

SYDNEY (AP) ? They're starring in a play about a woman reluctant to age and the perils of passing time, but veteran actors James Earl Jones and Angela Lansbury say that life in their 80s continues to be exciting thanks to their determination to keep doing what they love.

Jones and Lansbury, in Australia to star in a touring production of Alfred Uhry's Pulitzer-Prize winning play "Driving Miss Daisy," say the thrill of performing has propelled them throughout their decades-long careers and gives them the energy necessary to keep up with their often grueling schedules.

"First of all, wake up. Wake up and try to get your bones moving," a grinning Jones, who turns 82 this month, said Monday ahead of the cast's first rehearsal. "And then be enthusiastic about what you do. I'm very enthusiastic about acting still. I love the process of creating a character."

For 87-year-old Lansbury, whose seven-decade career has spanned stage, film and television, performing live gives her a rush that can't be matched on the screen.

"You get on stage and you really can let it out," she said, throwing her arms wide. "You're not hampered by camera angles or lighting."

Lansbury, nominated for three Oscars and beloved for her role as amateur detective Jessica Fletcher on the long-running TV series "Murder, She Wrote," said it was the stage that gave her a jolt of fresh inspiration later in life.

"Coming back to the theater about seven years ago turned the tide for me, it really did. Because it gave me a career after 70," she said. "I could still work in the theater and play great roles, but it wasn't so easy to continue as a motion picture actress. Which I was very glad of ? I didn't like the way we were making movies ... the kind of roles I would like to play didn't seem to exist. But I love the theater and, as it turned out, it was the thing to do."

Both actors jumped at the chance to perform in "Driving Miss Daisy," which began as an off-Broadway play and inspired the Oscar-winning film starring Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman. The play follows the evolving friendship of Daisy and her chauffeur Hoke in the American South over 25 years.

"When I saw Morgan do it, I said 'I'd like to play that role,'" Jones said. "I thought I understood (Hoke) and I want to understand him more."

Jones was also attracted to the role because of Hoke's illiteracy. Jones, famous for his distinctive baritone voice, suffered from a debilitating stutter as a child that left him virtually mute until he was 14. An English teacher mentored him until he discovered his voice, which then led to his acting career. Now, he finds particular fulfillment when playing characters who struggle with language.

"Hoke Colburn is such a character. He's illiterate, but he speaks English ... and uses it very effectively and very poetically," Jones said. "That's what I love about the role, trying to understand how he re-weaves language so he gets himself across."

Lansbury said it was the play's setting in the American South that helped attract her to the role of Daisy.

"I understand the southern mentality," she said. "I went to drama school with a number of young women who came from (the South) and I never forgot them and I never forgot the way they spoke. Their accents were so interesting to me."

The role is a big change from her 12-year run as Jessica Fletcher on "Murder, She Wrote," and the change is welcome. While Lansbury has a soft spot for the mystery writer, she admits she doesn't miss her much.

"I was happy to retire her. I'm constantly reminded of her by people who are still very fond of watching the show. ... I can't get away from it!" she said with a laugh. "I'm more famous for Jessica Fletcher than anything."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-01-07-AS-Australia-Jones-Lansbury/id-2a2581f03c5b449197d419b3bf13829c

Sandy Hook Victims new york times columbine breaking news Google News Newton virginia tech shooting