Justin Bieber Fans Prepping Charity Single In His Honor

President/CEO of Together We Rise talks to MTV News about song, slated for March release.
By Jocelyn Vena

Justin Bieber
Photo: Dave M. Benett/Getty Images

<P><P><a href="http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/bieber_justin/artist.jhtml">Justin Bieber</a>'s fans are working to give back the same way the pop star readily does. Several of Bieber's biggest fan groups, as well as the nonprofit Together We Rise and Brush Buddies (the makers behind the singing Bieber toothbrush), have all teamed up to work on a charity single. "They're all working on pieces of the video and the lyrics. Right now, they're putting together videos and thank-you's.' We're working on the back end," Danny Mendoza, President/CEO of Together We Rise, which focuses on helping foster children in the U.S, told MTV News about the project. </p><div class="player-placeholder right" id="vid:712657" width="240" height="211"></div><p> "It started with a young lady named Vivian, she runs the Justin Crew fan club and she approached it on Twitter. She approached it and she had a lot of fan support," he continued. "She took it upon herself to take a leadership role, and then she contacted me because she needed some guidance. We just decided we'll help you do it. Justin Bieber had tweeted about us in the past and helped us get some recognition, so it was a thank-you to him as well. Proceeds from the song will go toward <a href="/news/articles/1673555/justin-bieber-believe-charity-drive.jhtml">Bieber's <i>Believe</i> charity drive</a>. It will drop in March, just in time for his 18th birthday on March 1. "I'm almost 100 percent positive that they know," Mendoza said of Bieber's camp's knowledge of the project. "Justin Bieber inspired a lot of young people to give back. It's a thank-you for helping us and we want to give back in your honor." Bieber is certainly not a newbie to the world of charity. Mendoza said that having a pop star like Bieber being so socially conscious has been incredible for the charities he helps bring attention to. "He definitely has the right people around him ... They made it a priority that giving back is more. I think his relationship with [his manager Scooter Braun's brother] Adam Braun and his charity [<a href="/news/articles/1674628/justin-bieber-new-york-city.jhtml">Pencils of Promise</a>], he was able to see hands on a lot of it." After Bieber tweeted this week about the Trillium Gift of Life Network, the <a href="/news/articles/1677905/justin-bieber-organ-donor.jhtml">Ontario-based organ donation</a> network has seen registrations skyrocket to more than 1,200 people, four times the amount the network usually receives. <i>What charity do you want Bieber to promote? Leave your comment below.</i></p></p>

Related Artists

• Justin Bieber

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1677983/justin-bieber-together-we-rise-charity-charity-single.jhtml

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Obama speech echoes in town with failed factory (AP)

MOBERLY, Mo. ? After 19 years running state unemployment offices across northern Missouri, Steve Moore can rattle off the names of shuttered factories in this old railroad town with ease.

There's Matcor Automotive, a parts manufacturer that at its peak employed 300 workers but closed in June 2010 in response to declining production by General Motors. Textbook publisher Scholastic Inc. is closing its Moberly packaging center, costing the town another 100 jobs.

Then there's the biggest blow of all: the failed promises of Mamtek U.S. Inc., a Chinese-owned artificial sweetener factory backed by $7.6 million in state tax incentives and $39 million of local bonds that went belly up in 2011 when the company's bond payments dried up. More than 600 promised jobs went up in smoke, with the deal now facing scrutiny by Missouri lawmakers and a pair of investigations by the state's attorney general and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

"There was a lot of anticipation, and then a lot of disappointment," Moore said. "Let's be honest. Everybody had hoped that something was going to come out of it."

As President Barack Obama again pledged to repair the American economy in his annual State of the Union address Tuesday night, some Moberly residents chalked up his pronouncements as just more rosy rhetoric by a politician ? not unlike the July 2010 day when Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon and former Gov. Bob Holden came to the town of nearly 14,000 and hailed the Mamtek project's potential.

Others blamed an intractable Congress for not working more closely with the president to lift the country's economy. Still more held out hope that manufacturing companies lured by the region's low cost-of-living and central location would once again seek out Moberly, a 136-year-old railroad hub that became known as the Magic City in the late 19th century for its seemingly overnight emergence on once-empty prairie.

"We got a promise that he didn't keep," said business owner Diane Harlan. "He promised our economy was going to be better, and it's not. In this small community, we were under the false hope that everything was going to be OK, and it's not."

Harlan spent seven years as executive director of Main Street Moberly, which represents downtown business owners, before opening the Darn It Yarn store seven months ago after the business group cut her full-time job to 20 hours a week. She voted for John McCain in 2008 but hasn't yet made up her mind about the 2012 election.

While vacant storefronts dot downtown Moberly, Harlan said her business has succeeded beyond expectations, allowing her to drop that part-time job starting next week. A handful of similar small businesses have sprouted nearby, from a sewing shop to a secondhand furniture store.

"People are finally figuring out, we can't depend on our leader to get us out of something that we've created," she said. "We've got to go back to the grassroots. More self-sufficiency, doing things on our own, teaching our children, instead of depending on a man sitting in a white castle to take care of us and make things right."

David Gaines, a vice president with the Moberly Area Economic Development Commission, is among the local officials who helped court Mamtek in a deal given the code name "Project Sugar" before it was publicly disclosed. Count him among those looking for more leadership from those in the audience at Tuesday night's speech.

"It's not so much what he says but what they do," Gaines said, referring to Congress. "They need to quit talking and do something.

"That's what is holding consumer confidence down, is the inability of Congress on both sides of the aisle to do what the people elected them to do," he added.

After the speech, Gaines said he was heartened to hear the president urge lawmakers to work together, not against one another.

"I do like the fact that he said it's time to stop the divisiveness between the two parties," Gaines said. "If they set the right tone, everyone will follow along. If they don't, the nation will just drift."

Political affiliation aside, Moberly residents interviewed Tuesday tended to agree that improving the economy and creating more local jobs are the most important issues facing their community and the country. Look no further than a commuter parking lot along U.S. 63 packed with cars while their owners work 35 miles south in the college town of Columbia. Moberly, in turn, attracts workers from dozens of surrounding rural towns.

"Folks are regularly commuting 40 or 50 or 60 miles to go to work every day," Gaines said. "When we share that with the folks we talk to in Atlanta and Chicago and LA, they are quite amazed that people are willing to commute that far for a good job. But they have to."

Elsewhere in Moberly, Obama's speech was met with disinterest, if not outright scorn. At Nelly's Someplace Else restaurant, dozens of Republicans filed past a pair of televisions showing the president's address as the monthly meeting of the Randolph Area Pachyderms Club. Few stopped to listen, though some jeered as they walked past.

___

Follow Alan Scher Zagier at http://twitter.com/azagier

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_re_us/us_state_of_the_union_reaction

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Josh Hamilton feels good in offseason workouts

/

By STEPHEN HAWKINS

updated 10:36 p.m. ET Jan. 23, 2012

FORT WORTH, Texas - Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton says his offseason workouts are going well and he is right on schedule for the start of spring training following sports hernia surgery.

"Everything feels good," Hamilton said Monday night. "I've been running, squatting weight, agility, swinging the bat, throwing. All of it feels good."

Hamilton had surgery in November. He played hurt throughout the postseason for the AL champion Rangers, with a torn abdominal muscle and torn adductor muscles in his left leg.

The 2010 AL MVP and four-time All-Star is going into the last year of his contract with Texas. He is set to make $13.75 million this season as part of the $24 million, two-year deal he got before last season to avoid salary arbitration.

Now that the Rangers have completed their contract with Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish, they can turn to talks with Hamilton's agent about a possible long-term extension. Hamilton, who could become a free agent after this season, has repeatedly said he doesn't want contract talks going on once spring training starts.

"It puts a little urgency on getting something done, and if it doesn't get done, then I can focus on what I need to do, and not worry about it," Hamilton said. "It is very important to have a clear mind and focus on what you need to do to help your team win."

During a stop with the Rangers' winter caravan, Hamilton said he hasn't heard anything from his agent, Mike Moye. But the outfielder said he isn't stressing about it, and is spending a lot of time outside with his daughters playing with a new remote control monster car.

Even if a new deal isn't done before spring training, Hamilton said that wouldn't change his mind about wanting to stay with the two-time defending American League champions.

"Absolutely not," he said. "We've already told the Rangers if it doesn't happen before the season, they're the first ones we come to after the season's over."

The Rangers met earlier this month with free-agent first baseman Prince Fielder and his agent, Scott Boras.

After Darvish was introduced at Rangers Ballpark on Friday night, Rangers co-owner Bob Simpson said his personal preference would be to re-sign Hamilton over Fielder. Simpson also described Fielder as "too pricey" considering what he was seeking.

Both Hamilton and Fielder are left-handed power hitters. Hamilton is 30, three years older than Fielder, the 5-foot-11, 275-pounder who missed only one game the last three seasons with Milwaukee and has played at least 157 games each of the last six years.

"When I see guys comparing us, I'm like, stick him in the outfield, see how long he lasts. ... Stick me at first base and see how long I would last," Hamilton said. "Obviously our body types are different, too. He's played 160 games a lot, I haven't. So there's pros and cons on both sides. It's pretty funny to watch people compare us."

The Rangers announced this month that Hamilton's father-in-law had been hired as a staff special assistant to fill a support role as an accountability partner for the slugger, who had problems with drugs and alcohol in the past. But Michael Dean Chadwick has since decided against accepting that position due to "family considerations."

Hamilton said he has "a guy in mind" to fill that role but the person hasn't yet met with the Rangers.

Johnny Narron filled that role before he left in November to become Milwaukee's hitting coach. Narron joined the Rangers when Hamilton was acquired four years ago in a trade from Cincinnati. His primary role was to support the former No. 1 overall draft pick, who rebounded from his substance-abuse problems.

Hamilton said he plans to leave for spring training on Feb. 17, a full week before the full-squad reporting date in Arizona.

"It's time to go, baby," he said, excitedly.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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'Best pitcher in the world'

HBT: Pitcher Yu Darvish set his sights pretty high when explaining his move to the United States to pitch for the Texas Rangers.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46108961/ns/sports-baseball/

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New Economic Perspectives: MMP #33: Functional Finance and ...

MMP #33: Functional Finance and Long Term Growth

Last week we examined Milton Friedman?s version of Functional Finance, which we found to be remarkably similar to Abba Lerner?s. If the economy is operating below full employment, government ought to run a budget deficit; if beyond full employment it should run a surplus. He also advocated that all government spending should be financed by ?printing money? and taxes would destroy money. That, as we know, is an accurate description of sovereign government spending?except that it is keystrokes, not money printing. Deficits mean net money creation, through net keystrokes. The only problem with Friedman?s analysis is that he did not account for the external sector: he wanted a balanced budget at full employment, but if a country tends to run a trade deficit at full employment, then it must have a government budget deficit to allow the private sector to run a balanced budget?which is the minimum we should normally expect. Somehow all this understanding was lost over the course of the postwar period, replaced by ?sound finance? which is anything but sound. It was based on an inappropriate extension of the household ?budget constraint? to government. This is obviously inappropriate?households are users of the currency, while government is the issuer. It doesn?t face anything like a household budget constraint. How could economics have become so confused? Let us see what Paul Samuelson said, and then turn to proper policy to promote long term growth.Functional Finance versus Superstition. The functional finance approach of Friedman and Lerner was mostly forgotten by the 1970s. Indeed, it was replaced in academia with something known as the ?government budget constraint?. The idea is simple: a government?s spending is constrained by its tax revenue, its ability to borrow (sell bonds) and ?printing money?. In this view, government really spends its tax revenue and borrows money from markets in order to finance a shortfall of tax revenue. If all else fails, it can run the printing presses, but most economists abhor this activity because it is believed to be highly inflationary. Indeed, economists continually refer to hyperinflationary episodes?such as Germany?s Weimar republic, Hungary?s experience, or in modern times, Zimbabwe?as a cautionary tale against ?financing? spending through printing money.Note that there are two related points that are being made. First, government is ?constrained? much like a household. A household has income (wages, interest, profits) and when that is insufficient it can run a deficit through borrowing from a bank or other financial institution. While it is recognized that government can also print money, which is something households cannot do, these is seen as extraordinary behaviour?sort of a last resort. There is no recognition that all spending by government is actually done by crediting bank accounts?keystrokes that are more akin to ?printing money? than to ?spending out of income?. That is to say, the second point is that the conventional view does not recognize that as the issuer of the sovereign currency, government cannot really rely on taxpayers or financial markets to supply it with the ?money? it needs. From inception, taxpayers and financial markets can only supply to the government the ?money? they received from government. That is to say, taxpayers pay taxes using government?s own IOUs; banks use government?s own IOUs to buy bonds from government. This confusion by economists then leads to the views propagated by the media and by policy-makers: a government that continually spends more than its tax revenue is ?living beyond its means?, flirting with ?insolvency? because eventually markets will ?shut off credit?. To be sure, most macroeconomists do not make these mistakes?they recognize that a sovereign government cannot really become insolvent in its own currency. They do recognize that government can make all promises as they come due, because it can ?run the printing presses?. Yet, they shudder at the thought?since that would expose the nation to the dangers of inflation or hyperinflation. The discussion by policy-makers?at least in the US?is far more confused. For example, President Obama frequently asserted throughout 2010 that the US government was ?running out of money??like a household that had spent all the money it had saved in a cookie jar.So how did we get to this point? How could we have forgotten what Lerner and Friedman clearly understood?In a very interesting interview in a documentary produced by Mark Blaug on J.M. Keynes, Samuelson explained: ??????????????? "I think there is an element of truth in the view that the superstition that the budget must be balanced at all times [is necessary]. Once it is debunked [that] takes away one of the bulwarks that every society must have against expenditure out of control. There must be discipline in the allocation of resources or you will have anarchistic chaos and inefficiency. And one of the functions of old fashioned religion was to scare people by sometimes what might be regarded as myths into behaving in a way that the long-run civilized life requires. We have taken away a belief in the intrinsic necessity of balancing the budget if not in every year, [then] in every short period of time. If Prime Minister Gladstone came back to life he ??????????????? would say "uh, oh what you have done" and James Buchanan argues in those terms. I have to say that I see merit in that view."

The belief that the government must balance its budget over some timeframe is likened to a ?religion?, a ?superstition? that is necessary to scare the population into behaving in a desired manner. Otherwise, voters might demand that their elected officials spend too much, causing inflation. Thus, the view that balanced budgets are desirable has nothing to do with ?affordability? and the analogies between a household budget and a government budget are not correct. Rather, it is necessary to constrain government spending with the ?myth? precisely because it does not really face a budget constraint. The US (and many other nations) really did face inflationary pressures from the late 1960s until the 1990s (at least periodically). Those who believed the inflation resulted from too much government spending helped to fuel the creation of the balanced budget ?religion? to fight the inflation. The problem is that what started as something recognized by economists and policymakers to be a ?myth? came to be believed as the truth. An incorrect understanding was developed. Originally the myth was ?functional? in the sense that it constrained a government that otherwise would spend too much, creating inflation. But like many useful myths, this one eventually became a harmful myth?an example of what John Kenneth Galbraith called an ?innocent fraud?, an unwarranted belief that prevents proper behaviour. Sovereign governments began to believe that the really could not ?afford? to undertake desired policy, on the belief they might become insolvent. Ironically, in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s, President Obama repeatedly claimed that the US government had ?run out of money??that it could not afford to undertake policy that most believed to be desired. As unemployment rose to nearly 10%, the government was paralysed?it could not adopt the policy that both Lerner and Friedman advocated: spend enough to return the economy toward full employment. Ironically, throughout the crisis, the Fed (as well as some other central banks, including the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan) essentially followed Lerner?s second principle: it provided more than enough bank reserves to keep the overnight interest rate on a target that was nearly zero. It did this by purchasing financial assets from banks (a policy known as ?quantitative easing?), in record volumes ($1.75 trillion in the first phase, with a planned additional $600 billion in the second phase). Chairman Bernanke was actually grilled in Congress about where he obtained all the ?money? to buy those bonds. He (correctly) stated that the Fed simply created it by crediting bank reserves?through keystrokes. The Fed can never run out ?money?; it can afford to buy any financial assets banks are willing to sell. And yet we have the President (as well as many members of the economics profession as well as most politicians in Congress) believing government is ?running out of money?! There are plenty of ?keystrokes? to buy financial assets, but no ?keystrokes? to pay wages.That indicates just how dysfunctional the myth has become.A Budget Stance to Promote Long Term Growth. The lesson that can be learned from that three decade experience of the US is that in the context of a private sector desire to run a budget surplus (to accumulate savings) plus a propensity to run current account deficits, the government budget must be biased to run a deficit even at full employment. This is a situation that had not been foreseen by Friedman (not surprising since the US was running a current account surplus in the first two decades after WWII). The other lesson to be learned is that a budget surplus (like the one President Clinton presided over) is not something to be celebrated as an accomplishment?it falls out of an identity, and is indicative of a private sector deficit (ignoring the current account). Unlike the sovereign issuer of the currency, the private sector is a user of the currency. It really does face a budget constraint. And as we now know, that decade of deficit spending by the US private sector left it with a mountain of debt that it could not service. That is part of the explanation for the global financial crisis that began in the US.To be sure, the causal relations are complex. We should not conclude that the cause of the private deficit was the Clinton budget surplus; and we should not conclude that the global crisis should be attributed solely to US household deficit spending. But we can conclude that accounting identities do hold: with a current account balance of zero, a private domestic deficit equals a government surplus. And if the current account balance is in deficit, then the private sector can run a surplus (?save?) only if the budget deficit of the government is larger than the current account deficit. Finally, the conclusion we should reach from our understanding of currency sovereignty is that a government deficit is more sustainable than a private sector deficit?the government is the issuer, the household or the firm is the user of the currency. Unless a nation can run a continuous current account surplus, the government?s budget will need to be biased to run deficits on a sustained basis to promote long term growth.However, we know from our previous discussion that fiscal policy space depends on the exchange rate regime?the topic of the next blog.Further, we want to be clear: the appropriate budget stance depends on the balance of the other two sectors. A nation that tends to run a current account surplus can run tighter fiscal policy; it might even be able to run a sustained government budget surplus (this is the case in Singapore?which pegs its exchange rate, and runs a budget surplus because it runs a current account surplus while it accumulates foreign exchange). A government budget surplus is also appropriate when the domestic private sector runs a deficit (given a current account balance of zero, this must be true by identity). However, for the reasons discussed above, that is not ultimately sustainable because the private sector is a user, not an issuer, of the currency. Finally, we must note that it is not possible for all nations to run current account surpluses?Asian net exporters, for example, rely heavily on sales to the US, which runs a current account deficit to provide the Dollar assets the exporters want to accumulate. We conclude that at least some governments will have to run persistent deficits to provide the net financial assets desired by the world?s savers. It makes sense for the government of the nation that provides the international reserve currency to fill that role. For the time being, that is the US government.

Source: http://neweconomicperspectives.blogspot.com/2012/01/mmp-33-functional-finance-and-long-term.html

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Senator Kirk suffers stroke, undergoes surgery (reuters)

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Video: Casey Anthony living in church?

>>> now casey anthony . her whereabouts have been the subject of much speculation since she was acquitted last year. since then, florida residents, as well as the paparazzi, have been on the lookout for her. now, there are new clues as to where she may be hiding. nbc's little yeah luciano has details.

>> alexis fredrick says she's certain she saw casey anthony .

>> i know it was her.

>> and she's not alone.

>> there was a white car with what appeared to be casey anthony hiding her face. and she took her hand down for a split second.

>> reporter: anthony 's whereabouts have remained a mystery since the 25-year-old was acquitted last summer of murdering her 2-year-old daughter caylee.

>> very excited.

>> reporter: two online diaries that recently surfaced gave no clues as to her locations. but anthony is still serving probation in florida. now, rumors are spreading that she's been lying low at this church in palm city , two hours south of the orlando. if she's in town, residents haven't exactly laid out the welcome mat .

>> get out of martin town. too many kids, nice quiet place and not so quiet since everyone found out she's been here. a lot of chaos.

>> and there's no greater place --

>> reporter: online reports say she's getting refuge and spiritual guidance from a pastor and award winning christian musician .

>> the table in the back with the pastor of the church.

>> reporter: he has never confirmed nor denied that he's helping anthony . on thursday, a member of the anthony team was spotted in front of the church, placing no trespassing signs. gary lyons was hired as a private investigator by anthony 's defense team and has remained a defender of hers. he wouldn't answer any questions.

>> that was casey anthony .

>> reporter: if true the recent sightings wouldn't be the first time residents have reported seeing anthony in the area. last september, nearby port st. lucie, cassandra jennings said she saw anthony in the car next to her.

>> i know it was her because of that face that she has is a face that you never forget.

>> reporter: once the notorious party girl , possibly living the quiet life . for today, nbc news, atlanta.

Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/46090283/

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Apple reportedly believes Chinese factories faster, more flexible than U.S. counterparts

According to The New York Times, not the cost of labor, not the cost of components, but rather the speed and flexibility with which Chinese factories can respond to manufacturing demands is reportedly the reason Apple prefers them over their U.S. counterparts.

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Oprah Winfrey charms "chaotic" India at book event (Reuters)

JAIPUR, India (Reuters) ? Amid raucous cheers from thousands of admirers, television superstar Oprah Winfrey praised the contrast of calm and chaos in India at the region's largest literature festival fast becoming a global cultural gala.

Considered one of the world's most influential women, Winfrey lived up to her billing as the headline draw at an event boasting literary giants such as Tom Stoppard, Michael Ondaatje and Richard Dawkins, charming the crowds on Sunday morning.

"I came here with an open mind, and it has been expanded... It's the greatest life experience I have ever had," Winfrey said at the annual Jaipur Literature Festival in India's north-western state of Rajasthan.

"You feel like you're in the centre of something bigger and greater than yourself."

Hundreds of eager visitors jostled against barricades at the back of the main stage area as Winfrey began speaking. Security guards struggled to shut the main entrance gates as angry admirers tried to push their way inside.

"It's like being in a video game. I don't know which way to look," Winfrey told crowds on her arrival in Mumbai. "It's a bit chaotic, but there's an underlying calm, a flow, that you all seem to understand. India is a paradox."

The 57-year-old has caused a media storm in India, with news channels and front pages filled with stories of her touring the city of Mumbai with the Bachchans, Bollywood's first family. On Sunday she drew huge cheers as she appeared on stage in a traditional Indian churidar kameez smock.

"I will take with me a sense of calmness, and a genuine respect... people don't talk religion here, they live it," Winfrey said.

Her appearance on Sunday was seen as a welcome distraction from the Salman Rushdie furor that has overshadowed the five-day festival, after the author cancelled his planned visit due to reported assassination threats against him.

The talk-show host and interviewer's "Book Club" turned little-known authors into global stars, with 59 of the club's 70 selected books making the USA TODAY Top 10 best-sellers list.

Winfrey told the festival that in 2008, after witnessing the completion of her mission to get then-Senator Barack Obama to the White House, she stuck a picture of a woman riding a camel on her pinboard, that said "Come to India."

"It was important for me to go to slums but not show the worst of the worst, but show that people can live in poverty and still have hope and meaning in their lives," said Winfrey, who also called for Indians to work to eradicate discrimination against widows in society.

(Editing by Ron Popeski)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120122/stage_nm/us_india_festival_oprah

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Board Post, January 19 2012 (slacktivist)

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Country music legend Merle Haggard hospitalized (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Country music great Merle Haggard has been admitted to a Georgia hospital with a respiratory illness that forced him to cancel a concert Tuesday night just seven minutes before taking the stage.

"He has a respiratory virus or infection," Frank Mull, his tour manager and close friend, said as he waited Wednesday morning for a taxi to take him to the hospital in Macon, Georgia.

Haggard, 74, a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, is best known for songs like "Mama Tried," "Okie from Muskogee" and "The Fightin' Side of Me."

With influences ranging from Lefty Frizzell to Bob Wills to Jimmie Rodgers, Haggard is an architect of country music's so-called "Bakersfield Sound."

Haggard was preparing to take the stage Tuesday night in Macon when it was determined he was too ill to perform, Mull said.

A concert scheduled for Wednesday night in Columbus, Georgia was cancelled. Haggard's next scheduled concert is Thursday in Paducah, Kentucky.

"I imagine we'll determine more (about other tour dates) when I get to the hospital," said Mull, who was going to meet with the singer and doctors.

Mull said Haggard was unwell when he left his California home to begin the tour, but did not want to disappoint his fans.

"He wasn't well when he left home," he said. "He thought he was well enough to work and he did work three dates, and he got progressively worse."

(Reporting By David Bailey; Editing by Paul Thomasch)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120118/people_nm/us_merlehaggard

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MakerBot releases free-to-download Playsets, will have you printing a Captain Kirk Chair in no time

So, you've always wanted to build a dollhouse out of ABS plastic? Well here's your chance. MakerBot has announced the release of its "MakerBot Playsets," a collection of free-to-download schematics used to create objects such as dolls, dollhouses and furnishings with the company's 3D printer. The files are available in .stl and .dxf formats for use with CAD programs, and take away the guesswork involved in coming up with a uniform design for larger projects. Take a look at the current collection -- including such objects as a Telescope, Moon Rover, Captain Kirk Chair, Treasure Chest and Suit of Armor -- and see what you think. You'll find the entire collection at the Thingverse link just below.

MakerBot releases free-to-download Playsets, will have you printing a Captain Kirk Chair in no time originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/BLP-ufF5o7E/

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Clijsters, Li into 3rd round at Australian Open

Kim Clijsters of Belgium celebrates after winning over Stephanie Foretz Gacon of France during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)

Kim Clijsters of Belgium celebrates after winning over Stephanie Foretz Gacon of France during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)

Li Na of China returns a ball to Australia's Olivia Rogowska during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)

Li Na of China waves after winning over Australia's Olivia Rogowska during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)

Serena Williams of the US waves to the crowd after defeating Austria's Tamira Paszek in their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. (AP Photo/John Donegan)

Serena Williams of the US makes a forehand return to Austria's Tamira Paszek during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. (AP Photo/John Donegan)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) ? Defending champion Kim Clijsters cruised into the third round of the Australian Open and then showed just how much support she has at Rod Laver Arena by getting the crowd to sing 'Happy Birthday' to her younger sister.

Clijsters only needed 47 minutes to beat Stephanie Foretz Gacon of France 6-0, 6-1 on Wednesday, conceding just 10 points in the first set and showing no signs of a hip problem that forced her to retire during a semifinal against Daniela Hantuchova at a warmup tournament two weeks ago.

She will meet Hantuchova in the next round here, and has a potential rematch of the 2011 Australian Open final with Li Na in the fourth.

Eighth-ranked Mardy Fish became the first high seed on the men's side to lose, falling 7-6 (4), 6-3, 7-6 (6) to Colomnia's Alejandro Falla.

No. 7 Tomas Berdych advanced 6-1, 6-0, 7-6 (4) and Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany was leading 6-0, 4-0 when Spain's Pere Riba retired in their second-round match.

Taiwan's Yen-hsun Lu beat French qualifier Florent Serra in straight sets and No. 30 Kevin Anderson of South Africa beat Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (3), 6-3.

Clijsters and No. 20 Hantuchova, a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 winner over Lesia Tsurenko, have been playing each other for years.

"When the injury happened, it happened against Daniela," Clijsters said. "She's been playing well this season so far.

"We both go back a long way ? we grew up playing under-14s together. Now almost 30 ? still battling it out."

This was Clijsters best run at a major since the last Australian Open ? she lost in the second round at the French Open and didn't play Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

Li is also returning to form, going further than she has a Grand Slam tournament since her breakthrough win at the French Open. She next plays No. 26 Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain, who beat Olga Govortsova of Belarus 6-1, 6-0.

Clijsters and Li had back-to-back matches in Rod Laver Arena. Li said she loved being back where she burst onto the global tennis scene last year. Clijsters, who earned the nickname "Aussie Kim" when she was dating Lleyton Hewitt earlier in her career, is still well loved in Melbourne.

In a post-match TV interview, she asked presenter Rennae Stubbs a favor, saying her brother-in-law phoned her from Belgium to ask if she could convince the crowd to sing a birthday song for Elke, Clijsters' younger sister.

The crowd oblidged, after Clijsters kicked it off.

Li took longer for her second-round win, saying it was harder than the scoreline suggested. She also has fond memories of Melbourne

Her form dipped after the French Open, with losses in the second round at Wimbledon and the first round at the U.S. Open, until she returned to Australia.

Coming off a run to the final at last week's Sydney International, Li was the first woman into the third round.

Li, who will be 30 next month and is seeded No. 5 at Melbourne Park, said she had great memories of the start of 2011.

"I'm feeling always good to come back to Rod Laver Arena," she said, reflecting on how her life had changed dramatically since last season started. "This year is much better than last year ? more fans come to watch me play, not only from China but all over the world."

Li's Chinese compatriot, 16th-seeded Peng Shuai, lost 6-2, 6-4 to Iveta Benesova of Czech Republic,

Serena Williams advanced to the second round in a match that finished after midnight, her ankle holding up to its first test since she sprained it in Brisbane two weeks ago. The only thing that bugged her, despite the 11:32 p.m. start on Tuesday, were the insects in a 6-3, 6-2 win over Tamira Paszek.

"I hate bugs more than you can imagine," Williams said. "Like, they kept jumping on me. Yuck!"

Between points, Williams picked up and moved or shooed away bugs that landed on court, and two that landed on her back. A big one gave her a fright, making her hop as she tried to stifle a screech.

"I'm going to request not to play at night anymore because I hate bugs, except for the final. I heard it's at night," Williams said. "I'll try to get used to them."

Two years after she won her last Australian Open title, Williams extended her winning streak to 15 matches at Melbourne Park in the season's first major tournament. She won titles in 2009 and 2010 but missed the chance to defend her title last year amid a prolonged injury layoff.

Williams was playing only her third match since losing the U.S. Open final to Sam Stosur last September, so she admitted being "a wee bit tight."

Stosur didn't make the second round. The U.S. Open champion lost 7-6 (2), 6-3 to No. 59-ranked Sorana Cirstea.

Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova won the last 12 consecutive games in a 6-2, 6-0 romp over Vera Dushevina of Russia, while No. 4-ranked Maria Sharapova won the first eight games of a 6-0, 6-1 rout of Gisela Dulko of Argentina.

Stosur is gone, but fans hung around to watch another Aussie hope. Hewitt, a two-time major winner and former Australian Open finalist, gave the night session crowd something to cheer when he beat Cedrik-Marcel Stebe of Germany 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, winning the last six games to overcome two service breaks in the last set.

Hewitt's win put him into a second-round match against old rival Andy Roddick, who easily defeated Robin Haase of the Netherlands 6-3, 6-4, 6-1.

Defending champion and top-ranked Novak Djokovic won the last 17 games to beat Paolo Lorenzi of Italy 6-2, 6-0, 6-0. Both the men he has beaten in Australian finals also advanced. Andy Murray, runner-up the last two years, defeated American teenager Ryan Harrison 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. Sixth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, beaten by Djokovic in the 2008 final, eliminated Denis Istomin 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 7-5.

Rafael Nadal, the 2009 Australian Open champion, and four-time winner Roger Federer were playing later Wednesday.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-17-TEN-Australian-Open/id-e39f382a89fe437b9f5c433eb6330acf

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'Survivor: One World' cast revealed: Ex-NFL player's wife, swimsuit photographer and more

By Andrea Reiher Zap2it

11:54 a.m. MST, January 18, 2012

CBS has announced the 18 castaways who will be competing on "Survivor: One World," which premieres Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

In this 24th season of the popular reality competition show, the castaways will be on two different tribes (men vs. women) but will live on the same beach, where they'll have to decide just how much of their resources and intel they want to share with the other tribe.

The tribes are named Salani and Manono, named after islands in Samoa. Here are the 18 castaways:

Salani

Nina Acosta????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Age: 51????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Current Residence: Clovis, Calif.???????????????????
Occupation: Retired LAPD Officer???

Monica Culpepper*
Age: 41
Current residence: Tampa, Fla.
Occupation: Ex-NFL player's wife ??

Kate Edorsson
Age: 22
Current residence: Orlando, Fla.
Occupation: Timeshare rep ??

Chelsea Meissner
Age: 26
Current residence: Charleston, S.C.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/kdvr-entertainment/~3/RIY_ihKxLG8/zap-survivor-one-world-cast-revealed-ex-nfl-player-20120118,0,6894770.story

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Front-runner Romney fends off SC debate attacks

Republican presidential candidates former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, left, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich talk during a commercial break in the South Carolina Republican presidential candidate debate Monday, Jan. 16, 2012, in Myrtle Beach, S.C. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Republican presidential candidates former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, left, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich talk during a commercial break in the South Carolina Republican presidential candidate debate Monday, Jan. 16, 2012, in Myrtle Beach, S.C. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Republican presidential candidates, from left, Gov. Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rep. Ron Paul take the stage for the Fox News debate at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center on Monday, Jan. 16, 2012 in Myrtle Beach, S.C. (AP Photo/The Sun News, Janet Blackmon Morgan)

Republican presidential candidate former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, right, speaks during the South Carolina Republican presidential candidate debate as former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, left, listens Monday, Jan. 16, 2012, in Myrtle Beach, S.C. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Republican presidential candidates, from left, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum; former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich; pose for a photo at the start of the South Carolina Republican presidential candidate debate in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Monday, Jan. 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, left, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, second left, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, second right, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, right, talk at the end of the South Carolina Republican presidential candidate debate in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Monday, Jan. 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, Pool)

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) ? Under heavy debate pressure from his rivals, Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney defended his record as a venture capitalist, insisted he bears no responsibility for attack ads aired by his allies and grudgingly said in campaign debate Monday night he might release his income tax returns this spring.

"I have nothing in them that suggests there's any problem and I'm happy to do so," he said. "I sort of feel like we're showing a lot of exposure at this point," he added.

Romney came under criticism from Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry and Rick Santorum across two hours in the first of a pair of debates in the run-up to this weekend's first-in-the-South primary in South Carolina. The former Massachusetts governor won the first two events of the campaign, the Iowa caucuses and last week's New Hampshire primary, leads in the pre-primary polls in South Carolina and won an endorsement from campaign dropout Jon Huntsman earlier in the day.

Gingrich has virtually conceded that a victory for Romney in South Carolina would assure his nomination as Democratic President Barack Obama's Republican rival in the fall, and none of the other remaining contenders has challenged that conclusion.

That only elevated the stakes for Monday night's debate, feisty from the outset as former House Speaker Gingrich, Texas Gov. Perry and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum sought to knock Romney off stride while generally being careful to wrap their criticism in anti-Obama rhetoric.

"We need to satisfy the country that whoever we nominate has a record that can stand up to Barack Obama in a very effective way," said Gingrich.

The five men on stage also sought to outdo one another in calling for lower taxes.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul won that competition handily, saying he thought the top personal tax rate should be zero.

In South Carolina, a state with a heavy military presence, the tone turned muscular at times.

Gingrich drew strong applause when he said: "Andrew Jackson had a pretty clear idea about America's enemies. Kill them."

Perry also won favor from the crowd when he said the Obama administration had overreacted in its criticism of the Marines who were videotaped urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.

The former House speaker and Perry led the assault against Romney's record at Bain Capital, a private equity firm that bought companies and sought to remake them into more competitive enterprises, with uneven results.

"There was a pattern in some companies ... of leaving them with enormous debt and then within a year or two or three having them go broke," Gingrich said. "I think that's something he ought to answer."

Perry referred to a steel mill in Georgetown, S.C. where, he said, "Bain swept in, they picked that company over and a lot of people lost jobs there."

Romney said that the steel industry was battered by unfair competition from China. As for other firms, he said, "Four of the companies that we invested in ... ended up today having some 120,000 jobs.

"Some of the businesses we invested in were not successful and lost jobs," he acknowledged.

It was Perry who challenged Romney, a multimillionaire, to release his income tax returns. The Texas governor said he has already done so, adding he believes Gingrich will do likewise later in the week.

"Mitt, we need for you to release your income tax so the people of this country can see how you made your money. ... We cannot fire our nominee in September. We need to know now."

Later, a debate moderator pressed Romney on releasing his tax returns.

His answer was anything but crisp.

"But you know if that's been the tradition I'm not opposed to doing that. Time will tell. But I anticipate that most likely I'm going to get asked to do that in the April time period and I'll keep that open," he said.

Prodded again, he said, "I think I've heard enough from folks saying look, you know, let's see your tax records. I have nothing in them that suggests there's any problem and I'm happy to do so. I sort of feel like we're showing a lot of exposure at this point, and if I become our nominee and what's happened in history is people have released them in about April of the coming year and that's probably what I'd do."

Afterward, Gingrich said that wasn't good enough. "If there's nothing there, why is he waiting till April?" the former House speaker told reporters.

Santorum stayed away from the clash over taxes, instead starting a dispute of his own. He said a campaign group supporting Romney has been attacking him for supporting voter rights for convicted felons, and asked Romney what his position was on the issue.

Romney initially ducked a direct answer, preferring to ask Santorum if the ad was accurate.

He then said he doesn't believe convicted violent felons should have the right to vote, even after serving their terms. Santorum instantly said that as governor of Massachusetts, Romney hadn't made any attempt to change a law that permitted convicted felons to vote while still on parole, a law that the former Pennsylvania senator said was more liberal than the one he has been assailed for supporting.

Romney replied that as Republican governor, he was confronted with a legislature that was heavily Democratic and held a different position.

He also reminded Santorum that candidates have no control over the campaign groups that have played a pivotal role in the race to date.

"It is inaccurate," Santorum said of the ad assailing him, seeking the last word. "I would go out and say, 'Stop it. That you're representing me and you're representing my campaign. Stop it.'"

That issue returned more than an hour later, when Gingrich said he, too, faces false attacks from the same group that is criticizing Santorum. He noted that Romney says he lacks sway over the group, "which makes you wonder how much influence he would have if he were president."

Romney said he hoped no group would run inaccurate ads, and he said the organization backing Gingrich was airing a commercial that is so false that "it's probably the biggest hoax since bigfoot."

He called for scuttling the current system of campaign finance laws to permit individuals to donate as much money as they want to the candidates of their choice.

Noting that the debate was occurring on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, one moderator asked Gingrich if his previous statements about poor children lacking a work ethic were "insulting to all Americans, but particularly to black Americans?

"No," he said emphatically, adding his aim was to break dependence on government programs.

"I'm going to continue to find ways to help poor people learn how to get a job, learn to get a better job and learn someday to own the job," he said.

Romney is the leader in the public opinion polls in South Carolina, although his rivals hope the state's 9.9 percent unemployment rate and the presence of large numbers of socially conservative evangelical voters will allow one of them to slip by him.

Huntsman was the second campaign dropout to endorse Romney, after former Minnesota Gov. Tom Pawlenty. Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, who quit after a last-place finish in Iowa, has not yet said which of the remaining contenders she supports. Herman Cain, who left the race in December after facing allegations of sexual impropriety, has promised an endorsement soon.

Huntsman's parting announcement included a reference to the differences he and Romney had. But he left the podium without responding to questions about his remark last week, in the run-up to the New Hampshire primary, that Romney was unelectable and out of touch.

It was unclear why Romney did not attend the announcement. He was in town for a later campaign appearance and then the debate.

___

Associated Press writers Thomas Beaumont in Columbia and Beth Fouhy in Myrtle Beach contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-16-Republicans-Debate/id-c3fe6dc9182341d8812b4cbcca671870

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