Mortgage rates for the past 52 weeks, at a glance (AP)

Skip to navigation ? Skip to content ? By The Associated Press The Associated Press ? Thu?Dec?29, 11:50?am?ET

The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage rose slightly to 3.95 percent this week, Freddie Mac said Thursday. Last week's average 3.91 percent rate was the lowest on records dating back to the 1950s. Here's a look at rates for fixed- and adjustable-rate mortgages over the past 52 weeks.

Current week's average Last week's average 52-week high 52-week low

30-year fixed 3.95 3.91 5.05 3.91

15-year fixed 3.24 3.21 4.29 3.21

5-year adjustable 2.88 2.85 3.92 2.85

1-year adjustable 2.78 2.77 3.40 2.77

All values are in percentage points.

Source: Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

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California Highway Patrol: Chico teens hurt in I-5 crash with big rig

WOODLAND ? Teenage brothers from Chico were injured in a crash Dec. 21 on Interstate 5 that involved a second vehicle and a big rig driven by an Orland man.

The California Highway Patrol said Jarred Brown, 16, of Chico, was driving south on I-5 just after 11 a.m. when his 1994 Honda Accord veered into another lane and was struck by a tractor-trailer driven by Robin A. White, 31, of Orland.

Brown and his front seat passenger, Jeremiah Brown, 18, were transported to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, where they were treated for moderate injuries and later released.

White wasn't injured, nor was Soloman Salvador, 55, of Tacoma, Wash,, the driver of a Toyota Sienna involved in a crash with the Honda before it was struck by the big rig.

The CHP said drugs and alcohol are not suspected to the factors in the crash, which is under investigation.

Source: http://www.chicoer.com/ci_19630343?source=rss_viewed

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Venezuela's Chavez: did U.S. give Latin American leaders cancer? (Reuters)

CARACAS (Reuters) ? Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez speculated on Wednesday that the United States might have developed a way to give Latin American leaders cancer, after Argentina's Cristina Fernandez joined the list of presidents diagnosed with the disease.

It was a typically controversial statement by Venezuela's socialist leader, who underwent surgery in June to remove a tumor from his pelvis. But he stressed that he was not making any accusations, just thinking aloud.

"It would not be strange if they had developed the technology to induce cancer and nobody knew about it until now ... I don't know. I'm just reflecting," he said in a televised speech to troops at a military base.

"But this is very, very, very strange ... it's a bit difficult to explain this, to reason it, including using the law of probabilities."

Chavez, Fernandez, Paraguay's Fernando Lugo, Brazil's Dilma Rousseff and former Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva have all been diagnosed recently with cancer. All of them are leftists.

Doctors say Fernandez has a very good chance of recovery and will not need chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Her diagnosis was made public on Tuesday.

Chavez said other regional leaders should beware, including his close ally, Bolivian President Evo Morales.

"We'll have to take good care of Evo. Take care Evo!" he said.

The 57-year-old is Latin America's loudest critic of U.S. foreign policy along with Cuba's former leader Fidel Castro, and he frequently lashes out at what he calls the "Yankee Empire".

CASTRO'S WARNING

"Fidel always told me, 'Chavez take care. These people have developed technology. You are very careless. Take care what you eat, what they give you to eat ... a little needle and they inject you with I don't know what,'" he said.

In his comments on Wednesday, Chavez also slammed Washington and its European allies for criticizing Russia's recent parliamentary elections - and said they were planning the same thing for Venezuela's presidential election in October, when he will seek re-election.

"They are crying fraud and saying the elections need to be re-run ... They're trying to destabilize no less than Russia, a nuclear power. That's the madness of the Empire," Chavez said.

"I say this because here in Venezuela, the Imperial Yankee, the local bourgeoisie, and a good part of what they call the opposition parties here, are preparing a similar plan," he said.

"I call on the armed forces to be alert, on the Venezuelan people to be alert. Because we are not going to let the Imperial Yankee destabilize Venezuela again like they did in the past."

Details about Chavez's health remain a closely guarded secret, although he now appears to be recovering and is making longer and longer televised appearances.

Earlier this month he made his first official foreign trip after his surgery, to a regional summit in Uruguay.

Since his return he has often appeared sporting something of a younger, new look: a dark sports coat over an open-necked maroon shirt, and is hair is growing back after chemotherapy.

It is far cry from the green fatigues and red beret that he became famous for wearing for much of his 13 years in power.

(Editing by Kieran Murray)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/oddlyenough/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111228/od_nm/us_venezuela_usa_cancer

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Junior dos Santos won't fight Frank Mir for revenge, predicts Lesnar has early advantage against Overeem

Revenge is best when you get it yourself.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight Champion Junior dos Santos has been giving his thoughts on the recent submission loss of his mentor, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, at the hands of former division champion Frank Mir at UFC 140 on Dec. 10, 2011.

Nogueira, who serves as "Cigano's" Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor, has suffered two defeats at the hands of Mir -- via technical knockout at UFC 92 back in 2008 and, most recently, Mir broke "Minotauro's" arm after he refused to tap to a kimura at the aforementioned UFC 140 earlier this month.

With the submission victory, Mir became the first man to ever submit the jiu-jitsu black belt, to go along with being the first to ever stop "Big Nog" via strikes in their initial encounter.

However, don't expect the young champion to seek out a revenge fight for his friend.

Speaking to Tatame.com, Dos Santos says that should he ever get the opportunity to fight Mir, he won't do it to get revenge for Nogueira, but rather, would like to see "Minotauro" get revenge on his own.

Check it out:

"I just think it was a complicated fight for all Brazilians, mainly for us at Team Nogueira. He (Rodrigo) had the win in his hands and with Frank Mir knocked out in front of him, and, for some reason, he didn't keep punching him, he tried to fit a guillotine choke and Frank Mir was lucky enough to grab his arm, and grabbed the chance when he had one. The problem was that he broke Rodrigo's arm, and he has just recovered, and now he'll stay some time off. But we know it already; I know what it'll be the result of it: Rodrigo will come back and bring much joy to all of us. I don't need to revenge him. I guess there's no such thing; I guess he (Rodrigo) can do it himself. But I confess I have never picked out opponents and I won't, but if someday I fight Frank Mir, absolutely it'd be an interesting fight."

In a sense, "Cigano" has already obtained revenge for Nogueira once before. On Nov. 12, 2011, at the inaugural UFC on Fox 1 show, dos Santos knocked out Cain Velasquez in the first round to become the new UFC heavyweight champion. In the process, he avenged a previous loss of Nogueira to Velasquez, which he suffered at UFC 110 on Feb. 21, 2010, in "The Land Down Under."

A third fight between Mir and Nogueira is highly unlikely given the outcome of the previous two bouts. Even though dos Santos wouldn't mind a fight with Mir in the future, he has much bigger fish to fry in his first title defense.

Much, much bigger.

That's because "Cigano" will take on the winner of this weekend's (Dec. 30, 2011) colossal heavyweight clash at UFC 141 between Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem.

A match up that he believes can go either way:

"It's a tough fight for the both of them. I'm saying it'll be 50-50, but Brock has more chances on the beginning of the fight because he's more explosive and goes for it."

Dos Santos is currently rehabbing from successful knee surgery he had to repair a torn meniscus that he damaged prior to his title fight with Velasquez.

Should a fight between "Cigano" and Mir ever come to fruition, will the Brazilian bomber have better results than those of his mentor Nogueira? Does he stand a chance against the Lesnar-Overeem winner?

Opinions, please.

Source: http://www.mmamania.com/2011/12/28/2667000/junior-dos-santos-frank-mir-revenge-brock-lesnar-alistair-overeem-prediction-mma

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Revealed: Nazi spy was UK's first double-agent

LONDON?? A British engineer regarded for decades as a Nazi spy was really Britain's first double-agent who helped the Allies defeat Germany, according to a recently released book.

The authors of "Snow: The Double Life of a World War II Spy," also reveal that spy Arthur Owens is the father of Hollywood actress Patricia Owens, who starred in "The Fly" in 1958 and "Sayonara" with Marlon Brando in 1957.

Arthur Owens was a Welsh nationalist, according to the book by espionage writer Nigel West (pen name of Rupert Allason) and Welsh author and film producer Madoc Roberts, The Telegraph of London reported.

The Germans recruited Arthur Owens, a failed inventor who needed money, to spy when he was on a 1935 business trip to Belgium.

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Under the code name Johnny O'Brien, Owens gave the Nazis vital information about Britain's military buildup ahead of World War II.

Later, the book claims, he agreed to become a double agent for MI5, the British spy agency.

Re-dubbed Snow, Owens paved the way for a string of successful double agents and helped deliver scores of German spies to the British, the book says.

The book, which has a Facebook page, describes Owens' cover as so deep that neither side was ever wholly confident of his loyalties, the Telegraph said. In 1941, Owens' MI5 handlers ordered him interred in Dartmoor prison, where he gained the confidence of German inmates and fed information back to his spymasters.

"Arthur Owens was the foundation of the double-cross system which proved so vital in helping the Allies in so many areas," West told the Telegraph. "His contribution has never fully been appreciated, but it is hard to overstate how important his role was."

Roberts called Owens' character complex.

"His contribution to the war effort is undeniable, but what is less certain is what his motivations were," Roberts told the Telegraph. "Ultimately he was probably out for himself. But even if his intentions were not entirely honorable, without him the entire course of the war may have been different."

As for his daughter, Patricia Owens never fully acknowledged who her father was, the Telegraph said, because she feared backlash from people who considered her father a traitor.

Owens' contributions were officially revealed when documents were declassified in the 1970s, the Telegraph said, but few people took notice.

After the war, Arthur Owens lived in anonymity in Canada and later Ireland, the Telegraph said.

? 2011 msnbc.com Reprints

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45800520/ns/world_news-europe/

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Demi Lovato Slams Disney Over Eating Disorder Joke

Demi Lovato Slams Disney Over Eating Disorder Joke

Demi Lovato launched a verbal attack on Disney after they aired a joke about eating disorders on one of their shows. The singer and actress, [...]

Demi Lovato Slams Disney Over Eating Disorder Joke Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

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KreeshaTurner: @ErikaNLuv Canada's lovin our song! :D #ICouldStay p.s. #HappyHolidays xoxo

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Paul's surge may prompt a new look from GOP voters

SAN ANTONIO ? Ron Paul wants to legalize pot and shut down the Federal Reserve. He thinks the federal government has no authority to outlaw abortion, no business bombing Iran to keep it from acquiring a nuclear weapon, and no justification to print money unless it's backed up by gold bars.

And he might win the Iowa caucuses.

The closer the first votes of the 2012 presidential campaign get, the more competitive the Texas congressman appears to become. It's a moment his famously fervent supporters have longed for. Plenty of others are asking: What's Ron Paul about, again?

As in his two prior quixotic campaigns for president, Paul has toiled for months as a fringe candidate best known for staking out libertarian positions. As every other Republican candidate lined up to attack President Barack Obama's health care law and to promise tax cuts, Paul again demanded audits of the Federal Reserve and a return to the gold standard.

Leading in some state polls, Paul is getting a look from mainstream voters in Iowa, where the 76-year-old obstetrician has emerged as a serious contender in the Jan. 3 caucuses - and in other early voting states, should he pull off a victory.

The sudden rush of attention to Paul's resume hasn't been kind. He's spent the past week disowning racist and homophobic screeds in newsletters he published decades ago, including one following the 1992 riots in Los Angeles that read, "Order was only restored in L.A. when it came time for the blacks to collect their welfare checks three days after rioting began."

"Everybody knows I didn't write them and they're not my sentiments, so it's sort of politics as usual," Paul said during a recent Iowa campaign stop.

Paul returns to Iowa on Wednesday, giving his impressive grass-roots organization in the state a last chance to present, and perhaps defend, positions he's staked out over a long political career and reiterated during the 13 Republican debates held this year.

Paul has served a dozen terms in Congress as a Republican, but he espouses views that have made him the face of libertarianism in the U.S. He blames both Republicans and Democrats for running up the federal debt and opposes any U.S. military involvement overseas. He wants to bring home all troops from all U.S. bases abroad.

He vows to do away with five Cabinet-level departments - Commerce, Education, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, and Interior - and repeal the amendment to the Constitution that created the federal income tax. He opposes federal flood insurance and farm subsidies and wants to remove marijuana from the federal list of controlled substances.

He says he'll cut $1 trillion out of the first budget he offers as president. He doesn't believe in a border fence but says illegal immigrants shouldn't get a free education in public schools.

He's reliably described by political pundits as non-establishment, quirky, unorthodox. During a Republican debate in Sioux City, Iowa, earlier this month, Paul defended his views and rejected the idea that they make him unelectable.

Source: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/dec/27/pauls-surge-may-prompt-a-new-look-from-gop-voters/

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Baseball: Reds acquire reliever Marshall from Cubs

?

NEW YORK: The Cincinnati Reds, seeking to bolster their bullpen, have acquired reliever Sean Marshall from the Chicago Cubs as part of a four-player trade, the National League team said yesterday.

Cincinnati sent pitcher Travis Wood, outfielder Dave Sappelt and minor league infielder Ronald Torreyes to Chicago.

Marshall posted a 6-6 record and 2.26 earned run average and had five saves in 78 relief appearances for the Cubs last season.

?Sean has been one of the best and most durable relievers in baseball the last couple of seasons,? Reds General Manager Walt Jocketty said in a statement. ?He will be a solid addition to what we think already is a strong bullpen.?

Sappelt, 24, hit .243 in 38 appearances for the Reds.

REUTERS

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Celebrity Christmas: Stars Wish Fans Happy Holidays (VIDEO)

Have you ever wondered what it would be like for Justin Timberlake to wish you a Merry Christmas? Well, your holiday wish is our command. Check out these celebs putting their own spin on spreading holiday cheer as they wish their fans a happy holiday.

Tinseltown has a whole new meaning around this magical time of year as celebs deck the halls, make their lists and check them twice. From taking their little ones to visit Santa to picking out the perfect tree, these stars aren't ones to slack off when it comes to spreading the cheer.

Check out your favorite celebrities wishing you (yes, you!) a very happy holiday season.

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Walter Wayne Wills, 63, Pensacola, Florida

Walter Wayne Wills, age 63, passed away December 23, 2011 in Pensacola, Florida.
Visitation will be held on Wednesday December 28, 2011 from 5:00 to 7:00 PM at Emerald Coast Funeral Home 113 Racetrack Rd. N. E. Fort Walton Beach Florida.
Funeral Services will be held Thursday December 29, 2011 at the Shalimar United Methodist Church at 9:30 AM, with burial to follow at Barrancas National Cemetery at 12:30 PM Thursday.
Obituary Information to follow.
Guest register can be signed on line at emeraldcoastfuneralhome.com

Source: http://wala.tributes.com/show/Walter-Wayne-Wills-92979584

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Quarterbacks change NFL's yardstick of greatness

They are the six shooters of the NFL, the half-dozen hot-handed quarterbacks who have already thrown for more than 4,000 yards this season.

They are from all over the country ? New Orleans' Drew Brees, New England's Tom Brady, the New York Giants' Eli Manning, Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers, Detroit's Matthew Stafford, and San Diego's Philip Rivers ? and they're throwing the football all over the map. With two games to go, their numbers could shoot into the stratosphere.

Brees is the leader of the pinpoint-passing pack, averaging 341.4 yards per game. He has 4,780 yards and needs just 305 more to eclipse the single-season record of 5,084, set by Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino in 1984. That could come Monday night against Atlanta.

Three years ago, Brees came oh so close to breaking Marino's record, falling 16 yards short but becoming just the second quarterback in NFL history to surpass 5,000 yards.

"When I sit back and look at it, that record's stood for a long time," Brees said at the time. "One of greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game owns it." He said he wasn't sure that breaking the record while his team fell to 8-8 ? as the Saints did that season ? was "necessarily the way that record deserves to be broken.

"That's why I'm able to accept the fact it didn't happen."

There will be no such capitulation this season. The 11-3 Saints are tied with San Francisco for the second-best record in the league, have locked up a wild-card berth, and have the NFC South title in their cross hairs. Brees is the embodiment of the mobile and deadly accurate quarterback that's so coveted by teams, and he's on a historic pace.

Tim Tebow's ground-bound style notwithstanding, the NFL has evolved into a high-scoring passer's league, and 4,000-yard seasons have become the new gold standard. A record 10 quarterbacks accomplished that feat in 2009. There easily could be nine by the end of this season ? with Indianapolis' Peyton Manning on the sidelines ? as Dallas' Tony Romo (3,895), Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger (3,856), and Carolina's Cam Newton (3,722) are within range.

New Orleans Coach Sean Payton was asked this week if he's surprised Marino's record has lasted 27 years.

"I don't know that anything really surprises you," he said. "Our game has evolved. I think you're seeing very good quarterback play. . . . Typically, these records in our league all get broken, and some of them just have a longer shelf life than others."

A glimpse at this season's 4,000-yard passers:

DREW BREESNew Orleans (4,780 yards)

HE'S NO. 1

Brees is ranked first in the league in attempts, completions, yardage, third-down passer rating and completion percentage, and second in touchdown passes and passer rating.

BY THE NUMBERS

11: 300-yard passing games in 2011, the league's single-season record.

41: Consecutive games with at least one touchdown pass, the second-longest streak in NFL history. Johnny Unitas holds the record with 47.

18,500: Brees' passing-yardage total from 2007-10, the league's highest total over any four-year span.

DID YOU KNOW?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/latimes/sports/football/nfl/~3/zu2LviGLq28/la-sp-farmer-nfl-passing-20111224,0,5639645.column

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blackenterprise: Saudi Prince Buys $300 Million Stake in Twitter http://t.co/dsjyysNU #socialmedia

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Emma Watson @ ?Harry Potter? London premieres 2001 - 2011.

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Madonna Truth or Dare Fragrance Ad: Major Cleavage Alert!

Now we understand why celebrity fragrances are such big sellers.

Madonna's newest ad for her Truth or Dare product, a sultry black-and-white campaign featuring the singer looking quite glamorous (and quite nude), is quite seductive.

And a little strange. That's Madonna's face next to Madonna:

Truth or Dare? More like Truth or BARE!

While it has the appearance of being some sort of reflection shot, but clearly, the facial expressions on the Madonna photos do not sync upon closer inspection.

This is eerie, thought-provoking stuff.

Maybe one side conveys truth and the other dare? If so, which side is the one displaying the serious cleavage here? And can we get Britney Spears to do a similar ad next?

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/12/madonna-truth-or-dare-fragrance-ad-major-cleavage-alert/

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CIA watchdog OKs New York police partnership

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The CIA says its inspector general has found nothing wrong with the spy agency's close partnership with the New York City Police Department.

The inspector general concluded that no laws were broken and no evidence exists that the CIA was conducting forbidden domestic spying.

The inspector general decided to do a preliminary investigation after a series of stories by The Associated Press revealed how, after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks the CIA helped the NYPD build domestic intelligence programs that were used to spy on Muslims.

The revelations troubled some members of Congress and even prompted the U.S. director of national intelligence, James Clapper, to remark that it did not look good for the CIA to be involved with any city police department.

The close NYPD-CIA relationship continues.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-12-23-NYPD%20Intelligence/id-b7e76d59e7f74359b1f41b4fb40c2749

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Lawyers for Sheen's ex-wife fear media frenzy (AP)

ASPEN, Colo. ? Attorneys for Charlie Sheen's ex-wife want to stop what they expect to be a media frenzy when she appears in court on drug and assault charges.

Attorneys asked a judge to deny a live Internet feed from the courtroom requested by TMZ Productions when Brooke Mueller appears on Jan. 23.

The 34-year-old Mueller faces a felony charge of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and a misdemeanor assault charge.

She was arrested Dec. 3 after a woman reported being assaulted at a nightclub.

The Aspen Times reported ( http://bit.ly/rWhvw7) that police found between four and five grams of cocaine when they contacted Mueller.

Sheen and Mueller divorced earlier this year after Sheen was arrested on suspicion of assaulting her in 2009. He completed his probation in November 2010.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111222/ap_en_ot/us_mueller_sheen_arrest

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Cochlear implant problems rare in children: study (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Problems with cochlear implants for deaf children are rare, with only some three percent of children who got the implants at one hospital needing new ones because of technical problems, Canadian researchers said.

Their report, in the Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, also showed that only a few of those children suffered a drop in hearing or speaking skills after the new devices -- which transmit sound directly to the auditory nerve -- were implanted.

"People used to say the complication rate is higher in children, the failure rate is higher in children, and we found that that was not the case," said Blake Papsin, director of the cochlear implant program at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, who was senior author for the study.

While cochlear implants don't allow deaf children to hear in the same way that other children do, the devices do mean they can go to regular schools, have normal conversations and listen to music.

The study included 738 children, most born hard of hearing because of genetics. They all received a cochlear implant in at least one year between 1990 and 2010 and had the procedures when they were an average two or three years old.

During that time, the hospital treated 34 children whose implants had stopped working and who needed surgery to put in a new device.

When the researchers took out the seven children who got their original implant at another hospital, they found that just under three percent of the patients they treated with a first cochlear implant needed a second due to malfunctions over six years of using the devices.

Almost all of the children who needed a new device implanted maintained or improved their hearing and speaking abilities after the second procedure. Just two had a significant drop in those skills.

"Once these things fail, replacing them does tend to get the kids' hearing back to or close to where it was before the device failed," said Josef Shargorodsky, who studies hearing problems at Massachusetts Eye and Ear infirmary and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and wasn't involved in the new study.

He added that the number of device failures in this study was lower than in most previous reports, possibly because cochlear implant technology is improving.

But despite the low rate of failures, almost all deaf children will probably eventually need a new implant, although it's hard to know if a typical person would need just one or a few, said Papsin, who is on the speaker's bureau of the Cochlear Americas Corporation, which markets the devices.

"It's pretty clear that these devices are unlikely, even though beautifully made, to last a lifetime," he told Reuters Health.

More than 200,000 people globally have received cochlear implants, including about 70,000 in the United States. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/vyFkwC

(Reporting from New York by Genevra Pittman at Reuters Health; editing by Elaine Lies)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/parenting/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111222/hl_nm/us_cochlear

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WordPress - Minim - Portfolio/Small Business WordPress Theme ...

Light Version | Dark Version

Static Sidebar, Unlimited Portfolios, Staff Pages, 6 Portfolio Item Variations, Photo Gallery page templates, Blog Section..and much more awesomeness!

Minim is a very clean and professional portfolio and small business theme. The focus is on the portfolio content which allows you to easily showcase your work online in an elegant fashion. You can upload portfolio items via custom post types, create unlimited portfolio categories and of course choose between the 6 different portfolio item styles (default, slider, video, gallery, full images and plain). The portfolio template comes with a drop-down where users can choose what category to browse and pagination support. Since the portfolio template isn?t paginated you can get full SEO benefits from showcasing the static category pages.

For those who have a small web agency and wish to showcase their team members, Minim comes with a Fresh staff template and individual staff pages. You can add your members via the custom post types and each can have their own page with a longer description and their social icons.

Included are 2 gallery page templates (page with image slider and page with grid gallery) so you can have pages that showcase multiple images and are separate from the portfolio. And you can obviously make unlimited amounts of these..and the images show up automatically pulling from the media up-loader so you don?t have to deal with shortcodes to do them.

A static menu and awesome navigation icons make this theme a cool change from your average sites. As the user scrolls down the menu scrolls down as well so it?s always visible, making browsing your site a great/easy experience. The navigation icon styles just add to the awesomeness by providing visual visual queues of the link in question. The icons are added via special classes in the WP menu creator so it?s really easy.

A top notification bar is perfect for showing off your latest news and/or special announcements. You?ve seen them on all the top sites and always wanted one?now you too can bask in such glory.Simply set your desired notification in the theme panel and you?re set. Users can open/close the notification bar and a special cookie will remember your users action so they aren?t annoyed by it popping up or down with every page load.

Light & Dark versions of the theme are available and it only take a couple clicks in the theme panel to switch back and forth from them. Besides that, you can easily upload your own logo as well as choose a logo background color and background hover color (good for transparent logos or the default text logo).

?Normal? Sidebar Menu Option: If you don?t like the way the sidebar moves down along with the site don?t worry, you can easily select the static menu option via the theme panel so its always on the top left of the screen?basically turns it into a regular style sidebar

See the Dark Version Here

Support documentation is provided in HTML format and of course you are always welcome to ask me any questions if you require further assistance or have any recommendations. I am here to help.

The theme speaks for itself. I hope you like it!

• Light & Dark versions included
• Always visible menu sidebar
• Icon options for navigation ? more icons upon request if availavble
• Toggle notification bar at the top of the site (optional)
• Homepage Slider or Video option
• Theme options panel with some helpful options ? see screenshots
• Logo upload option
• Favicon upload option
• Post Types ? slider, portfolio, staff
• Portfolio Item Styles ? default, slider, video, gallery, full images, plain
• Portfolio template with drop-down category chooser
• Paginated portfolio template
• Staff template and individual staff pages
• Useful shortcodes ? including tabs, toggles, buttons, columns, testimonials
• Gallery page template
• Page with slider template
• Built-in styles for the Contact Form 7 plugin
• Blog Page/Section
• Widgetized footer
• Social icons for the footer
• Flickr widget included
• Footer ribbon widget (the buy now ribbon)
• Tested with JetPack and built-in styles
• Footer tagline area ? great for shout-outs
• Ideal for portfolio and small business sites

Resources Used:

Source: http://themeforest.net/item/minim-portfoliosmall-business-wordpress-theme/1158157

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A guide to mortgage refinancing as rates hit lows (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Never have average rates on long-term fixed mortgages been as low as they are now: 3.91 percent for a 30-year home loan and 3.21 for a 15-year loan.

The new lows mark the eighth straight week in which the average on the 30-year loan has hovered near 4 percent.

Those rates make now a tantalizing time to refinance. And, with home prices having sunk in most areas of the country, many would-be buyers are tempted, too.

Yet the pace of refinancing and home buying has been mostly unchanged over the past year. That's mainly because so many Americans lack the home equity, credit scores or cash to refinance or buy. Many who do qualify to buy or refinance have already done so.

Here's a look at whether and why it makes sense to refinance or buy.

? Why now is a prime opportunity.

Rates are at record lows. More than 75 percent of homeowners with conventional government-backed mortgages are paying rates above 5 percent. Millions of homeowners, especially those with solid jobs, stable finances and strong credit, have refinanced during 2011. The average rate on the 30-year fixed loan has remained below 4.5 percent since July. (In 2008, it topped 6.5 percent.)

_Why more people aren't refinancing.

In many cases, people whose home values have dropped aren't eligible. Shrunken home values have reduced the total equity Americans have in their homes to under 40 percent ? the lowest since the Great Depression. As a result, many people lack enough equity to qualify for refinancing. Or their credit scores aren't high enough.

Another obstacle: Refinancers typically must pay thousands in closing costs and appraisal fees. Those costs usually add up to 1 percent of the loan's value ? $2,000 in fees on a $200,000 loan, for example. Typically, most experts say, it's worthwhile for homeowners to refinance if they can reduce their rate by a full percentage point.

? Why more people aren't buying homes.

Too many would-be buyers can't afford the required down payment, are out of work, lack enough income or are burdened by large debt loads. Home prices have sunk 31 percent since the housing boom four years ago, leaving many Americans fearful that prices have yet to bottom. They don't want to throw good money at a depreciating asset.

Half of would-be buyers also say they don't think they'll ever save enough for the 20 percent down payment now expected by most sellers, according to a survey by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.

For those looking to buy, banks are also insisting on higher credit scores. Roughly 60 percent of U.S. households don't have the required scores above 700 to get a prime mortgage, according to an Associated Press analysis of Fair Isaac Corp., or FICO, and other credit-score data. The average U.S. credit score is 661.

? The consequences of refinancing

When people refinance at lower rates, they pay less interest on their loans. So they end up with more money to spend, save or invest. For those who can qualify, the savings can be significant. If, for example, a homeowner with a $200,000 mortgage at 6 percent can refinance down to 4.5 percent, the savings would be $3,000 a year.

Still, the benefits for the larger economy are limited. Most homeowners who refinance these days tend to sock away their savings or pay down debt rather than spend it.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111222/ap_on_bi_ge/us_mortgage_rates_refinancing

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Karl Rove: The House GOP should cave on the payroll-tax holiday

posted at 8:40 pm on December 21, 2011 by Allahpundit

Via TPM, in case the prospect of caving wasn?t already unpalatable to Boehner, knowing that the base will scream at him in the aftermath that he?s done Rove?s bidding should do the trick. I think they?re going to end up taking his advice, though ? sticking on principle for another week, then grudgingly passing the Senate bill and holding an all-hands-on-deck presser to unload on Obama and Reid for preferring crappy stopgap tax measures to long-term solutions. If nothing else, that presser would give Boehner et al. the chance to tout themselves as the saviors of the payroll-tax holiday at a moment when there?ll be nothing else going on in the news. It?s not an ideal ending, but the Democrats really have no incentive to compromise: If the stalemate persists and the payroll tax reverts to the higher rate, they?ll simply point to Republican support in the Senate for Reid?s bill as proof that this is all the House GOP?s fault. That?s a nifty narrative to have while stories like this are rolling off the presses.

Exit question: Why don?t they take Deroy Murdock?s advice instead? Is it simply because passing anything right now except the Senate bill as is would still leave them vulnerable to that Democratic narrative?

Source: http://hotair.com/archives/2011/12/21/karl-rove-the-house-gop-should-cave-on-the-payroll-tax-holiday/

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Blizzard-like conditions set to slam Southwest, plains (Reuters)

AUSTIN. Texas. (Reuters) ? A severe winter storm is expected to hit southwestern mountains on Sunday afternoon and evening and then move east to dump up to a foot of snow in Kansas, Colorado and the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles, weather forecasters said.

New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado are under winter storm warnings. Forecasters warned that some parts of the central and southern plains could see high winds and more than a foot of snow falling at a rate of up to two inches per hour in near-blizzard conditions.

As the United States readies for a week of holiday travel, weather officials warned of dangerous road conditions on Sunday and Monday in the plains. The storm is expected to bring heavy rains and high-elevation snow to the mountains of Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona on Sunday afternoon before moving east.

"It is likely that slippery areas will develop Sunday and progress to the east over the high ground along I-40 in Arizona and New Mexico," meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said on Accuweather.com.

"As snow spills out over the southern High Plains Sunday night and Monday, snow is likely to fall and accumulate in part of I-40 stretching across the northern Texas Panhandle and Route 54 reaching northeastward into southern Kansas."

The mix of rain and snow will move through eastern Kansas on Monday night and into the Chicago and Detroit areas on Tuesday, forecasters said.

(Writing by Karen Brooks, editing by Ian Simpson)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111218/us_nm/us_weather_storm

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French state agency predicts recession

PARIS (AP) ? France's state statistics agency is predicting that the country's economy will shrink over this quarter and the next, putting it in recession, as prospects for the whole eurozone worsen.

The Insee agency forecast in a statement late Thursday that the economy would contract 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter and 0.1 percent in the first quarter of 2012. It forecast renewed but weak growth in the second quarter in France, the second-biggest economy in the 17-nation eurozone.

It said it expects the eurozone to experience "a short recessive episode" over the winter.

But it noted an "inhabitual degree of uncertainty" around its forecast because of the volatility on financial markets about the debt crises.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-12-16-EU-Europe-Financial-Crisis/id-2fa3e7717b364875abbde0132978e4da

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Nintendo completes 3DS Ambassador program, delivers ten GBA games to early adopters

If you've still got the 3DS price drop blues, perhaps a fresh (and final) infusion of free games will help. Early adopters that signed into the Nintendo eShop before August 11th will find ten GameBoy Advance games tacked on to their handheld's purchase history, retrievable via the same clunky redownload system that delivered the 3DS Ambassador program's NES titles. Thankfully, the unintuitive process is relatively simple -- just hop into the eShop's menu, scroll down to "Settings / Other", and select "Your Downloads," to claim your (potentially-exclusive) games. Short of having a 3DS guide us through the Louvre, we can't think of a better use for Nintendo's fledgling handheld.

Nintendo completes 3DS Ambassador program, delivers ten GBA games to early adopters originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Dec 2011 23:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/efS0wbYVcTQ/

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Verizon Galaxy Nexus review

It's the Galaxy Nexus. It has LTE. It's the phone we've been waiting (and waiting) for. Sure, some of our more globe-trotting members of the staff were suitably sated by the HSPA+ version that shipped a few weeks ago, but the rest of us domestic types simply need more bandwidth. Or, at least, we like to think that we do, and this $300 (on-contract) Verizon release certainly has that in spades.

However, there's something missing: Google Wallet. That company's attempt at reinventing commerce isn't here and, while nobody's saying for sure, it surely has something to do with Verizon not wanting to kneecap the Isis payment service it has invested in. That leaves us wondering: with restrictions on what apps can be installed, and some rather prominent carrier branding on the back, is this really a Nexus device at all? And, more importantly, is it a good phone? Those answers and more wait for you below.

Gallery: Verizon Galaxy Nexus review

Continue reading Verizon Galaxy Nexus review

Verizon Galaxy Nexus review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Dec 2011 11:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/16/verizon-galaxy-nexus-review/

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The Engadget Show - 028: Boeing's 787, the Tokyo Motor Show and the year in review

It's been a crazy year for the Engadget Show, but don't count us out just yet. We've got one more exciting episode to hit you with before the year's up. This time out, Tim travels to San Francisco, to check out the high performance BRD RedShift SM electric motorcycle and Zach H. takes a trip to Japan to tour the Tokyo Motor Show with Autoblog's Damon Lavrinc and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Darren joins Tim and Brian in-studio to talk the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the Motorola Xyboard and the Asus Transformer Prime and Engadget founder Peter Rojas pops by the show to discuss the year that was. We close the episode and the year with an Engadget Show highlights reel and a performance by Brooklyn's own My Best Fiend.

Hosts: Tim Stevens, Brian Heater
Special guests: Peter Rojas, Darren Murph, Damon Lavrinc, Zach Honig
Producer: Guy Streit
Director: Michelle Stahl
Executive Producers: Joshua Fruhlinger, Brian Heater and Michael Rubens
Music by: My Best Fiend

Download the Show: The Engadget Show - 028 (HD) / The Engadget Show - 028 (iPod / iPhone / Zune formatted) / The Engadget Show - 028 (Small)

Subscribe to the Show:

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (MP4).
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The Engadget Show - 028: Boeing's 787, the Tokyo Motor Show and the year in review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Dec 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/Fx-mWpSVcu4/

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$116 million auction of Liz Taylor jewels breaks record (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? An auction of actress Elizabeth Taylor's world-renowned jewels took in $116 million, more than double the record for a single collection, and set new marks for pearls, colorless diamonds and Indian jewels.

Christie's sale of 80 items from Taylor's collection on Tuesday had been estimated to raise about $20 million. But everything from her famous 33-carat diamond ring, a gift from Richard Burton, to her charm bracelets sold for many times their estimates.

Just halfway into the four-hour sale, the Taylor items broke the record for a single-owner jewelry collection set in 1987 when the Duchess of Windsor's jewels sold for just over $50 million.

The pattern was set early on, when one of the most historic pieces, a 203-grain (equivalent to 55 carat) pear-shaped 16th-century pearl, once owned by England's Mary Tudor and later by Spanish queens Margarita and Isabel, sold for $11.8 million including commission, setting an auction record for a pearl.

Burton, who married Taylor twice, had bought the pearl in 1969 at auction for $37,000, and Taylor, who died in March at age 79, commissioned Cartier to design a ruby-and-diamond necklace mount. It had been estimated to sell for $2 million to $3 million.

But from the very first item, a charm bracelet estimated at about $30,000, it was clear the Taylor cachet was delivering beyond expectations. The bracelet fetched $326,500.

Minutes later an ivory and gold necklace featuring theater medallions soared to more than 100 times its $1,500 to $2,000 estimate, selling for $314,500.

The trend continued unabated, right up until the final offering -- Taylor's famed 33.19-carat diamond, which Burton had bought for $300,000 in 1968.

Selling for $8.8 million, or about three times the estimate, it set a per-carat record for a colorless diamond.

SOUTH KOREAN BUYER

The colossal rock, which has been renamed The Elizabeth Taylor diamond, was bought by South Korean businessman Daniel Pang, who was bidding on behalf of Eland World, a South Korean concern.

Pang said the conglomerate owns several hotels and plans to exhibit the diamond, as it has done in the past with historic memorabilia from the estate of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

In a statement on Wednesday, the actress' son Chris Wilding said his mother would have been pleased with the auction.

"She would be happy to know that her wish for her jewelry to be owned and enjoyed by others was fulfilled," Wilding said.

Christie's officials also were ecstatic with the results, which followed a monumental 10-day exhibition of Taylor's jewelry, couture, art and memorabilia that sold 25,000 tickets at $30 each.

Rahul Kadakia, head of jewelry for Christie's Americas, said the auctioneers knew the sale was going to do very well, given Taylor's lavish tastes and worldwide fame as one of the last great Hollywood stars.

"This truly is one of the greatest jewelry collections in the world," he told Reuters. "But in my wildest dreams, I did not think we would outsell the estimate by five times."

Marc Porter, Christie's Americas president and chairman, said the auction was "one of the most extraordinary sales Christie's has ever had." He called it "a testament to the love of Elizabeth Taylor worldwide" as well as to her collecting ability.

Other highlights included the Taj Mahal diamond, another gift from Burton, marking Taylor's 40th birthday. It sold for $8.8 million, a record for an Indian jewel.

The per-carat record for a ruby was also broken, by Burton's Van Cleef & Arpels ruby-and-diamond ring, a 1968 Christmas gift. Another record, for a tiara, fell when third husband Mike Todd's 1957 gift to Taylor sold for $4.2 million, about six times the estimate.

The Taylor auctions continue on Wednesday when the actress' haute couture, including the dresses she wore from her two weddings to Burton, will be sold.

Online auctions of some 1,000 lower-priced items from Taylor's estate are running concurrently.

(Reporting by Chris Michaud; editing by Doina Chiacu)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111214/people_nm/us_elizabethtaylor_auction

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