Funk legend Jimmy Castor dies in Las Vegas at 71 (AP)

LAS VEGAS ? Jimmy Castor, a New York funk and soul saxophonist, singer and songwriter whose tune, "It's Just Begun," morphed over 40 years into an anthem for generations of hip-hoppers and mainstream musical acts, died of apparent heart failure in a Las Vegas hospital, family members said Tuesday. He was 71.

Castor's music, including another 1972 hit, "Troglodyte," spoke for itself thousands of times in riffs and samples by groups like N.W.A., the 2 Live Crew, Kanye West, Ice Cube and Mos Def, as well as acts such as the Spice Girls, Christina Aguilera and Madonna.

His son, Jimmy Castor Jr., 45, a filmmaker from Redondo Beach, Calif., told The Associated Press he's seen instant recognition hundreds of times at the first sax chords of "It's Just Begun" ? even before the lyrics begin. ("Watch me now. Feel the groove. Into something. Gonna make you move.")

"No matter what country you're in, no matter what language you speak, everyone knows it," Jimmy Castor Jr. said in Las Vegas.

Jimmy Castor was hospitalized in November after suffering a heart attack, and underwent quadruple bypass surgery. He died Monday at Saint Rose Dominican Hospital, his son said.

Castor, head of the musical group the Jimmy Castor Bunch, lived with his wife, Sandi, in suburban Henderson near Las Vegas.

His work was sampled by other artists more than 3,000 times, his son said, and he continued to work and perform until last August, when he played at the Long Beach Funk Festival in California. Jimmy Castor Jr. said his father had booked dates for a European tour this year.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120117/ap_en_mu/us_obit_castor

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Masao Matsuoka awarded 2011 Ming K. Jeang Foundation Retrovirology Prize

[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 16-Jan-2012
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Contact: Matt McKay
matthew.mckay@biomedcentral.com
44-020-319-22216
BioMed Central

Landmark HTLV-1 research honored

Professor Masao Matsuoka, from the Institute for Virus Research, Kyoto University, Japan has been announced as the recipient of the 2011 M Jeang Retrovirology Prize. The annual prize, partly sponsored by the Ming K. Jeang Foundation, celebrates groundbreaking research from retrovirologists aged between 45 and 60.

2011 winner Professor Matsuoka graduated from Kumamoto University Medical School in 1982 before returning to study at the Graduate School there in 1984. He moved to UC Berkeley to work as a post-doctoral researcher before returning to the Kumamoto University and then finally to Kyoto University where he is currently the Director of the Institute for Virus Research. Professor Matsuoka research interests are primarily focused on examining how HTLV-1 (Human T cell Leukemia virus) induces diseases and he and his team are looking into treatment for those infected with the virus.

The award recognizes the exceptional work he has conducted which clearly demonstrated the significance of HBZ genes in the pathogenesis of HTLV-1 associated diseases and showed that HBZ promoted proliferation of T cells and induced both T-cell lymphomas and inflammations.

Receiving the prize, Professor Matsuoka said "It is a great honor and pleasure for me to receive this treasurable prize for retrovirology. This prize encourages me to further study mechanisms show HTLV-1 induces diseases and how we can prevent and treat these diseases."

To mark the award, an editorial has been published in BioMed Central's open access journal Retrovirology. The Retrovirology Prize recipient is selected by Retrovirology's Editors based on nominations submitted by the journal's Editorial Board. The prize consists of a $3,000 check and a crystal trophy.

Last year's winner was Professor Michael H. Malim, Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases at King's College London.

###

Media Contact
Matt McKay
Head of Communications, BioMed Central
Tel: 44-20-3192-2216
Mob: 44-7825-257-423
Email: matthew.mckay@biomedcentral.com

Notes to Editors

1. The 2011 Retrovirology Prize winner Masao Matsuoka:
forward looking and antisense
Kuan-Teh Jeang
Retrovirology 2011, 8:102 doi:10.1186/1742-4690-8-102

Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central's open access policy.

Article citation and URL available on request at press@biomedcentral.com on the day of publication.

2. Retrovirology is an open access, online journal that publishes stringently peer-reviewed, high-impact articles on basic retrovirus research.

3. BioMed Central is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Science+Business Media, a leading global publisher in the STM sector.



[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 16-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Matt McKay
matthew.mckay@biomedcentral.com
44-020-319-22216
BioMed Central

Landmark HTLV-1 research honored

Professor Masao Matsuoka, from the Institute for Virus Research, Kyoto University, Japan has been announced as the recipient of the 2011 M Jeang Retrovirology Prize. The annual prize, partly sponsored by the Ming K. Jeang Foundation, celebrates groundbreaking research from retrovirologists aged between 45 and 60.

2011 winner Professor Matsuoka graduated from Kumamoto University Medical School in 1982 before returning to study at the Graduate School there in 1984. He moved to UC Berkeley to work as a post-doctoral researcher before returning to the Kumamoto University and then finally to Kyoto University where he is currently the Director of the Institute for Virus Research. Professor Matsuoka research interests are primarily focused on examining how HTLV-1 (Human T cell Leukemia virus) induces diseases and he and his team are looking into treatment for those infected with the virus.

The award recognizes the exceptional work he has conducted which clearly demonstrated the significance of HBZ genes in the pathogenesis of HTLV-1 associated diseases and showed that HBZ promoted proliferation of T cells and induced both T-cell lymphomas and inflammations.

Receiving the prize, Professor Matsuoka said "It is a great honor and pleasure for me to receive this treasurable prize for retrovirology. This prize encourages me to further study mechanisms show HTLV-1 induces diseases and how we can prevent and treat these diseases."

To mark the award, an editorial has been published in BioMed Central's open access journal Retrovirology. The Retrovirology Prize recipient is selected by Retrovirology's Editors based on nominations submitted by the journal's Editorial Board. The prize consists of a $3,000 check and a crystal trophy.

Last year's winner was Professor Michael H. Malim, Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases at King's College London.

###

Media Contact
Matt McKay
Head of Communications, BioMed Central
Tel: 44-20-3192-2216
Mob: 44-7825-257-423
Email: matthew.mckay@biomedcentral.com

Notes to Editors

1. The 2011 Retrovirology Prize winner Masao Matsuoka:
forward looking and antisense
Kuan-Teh Jeang
Retrovirology 2011, 8:102 doi:10.1186/1742-4690-8-102

Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central's open access policy.

Article citation and URL available on request at press@biomedcentral.com on the day of publication.

2. Retrovirology is an open access, online journal that publishes stringently peer-reviewed, high-impact articles on basic retrovirus research.

3. BioMed Central is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Science+Business Media, a leading global publisher in the STM sector.



[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/bc-mm011612.php

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Golden Globes Fashion Face-Off: Angelina Jolie vs. Kate Winslet


Angelina Jolie didn't take home any trophies, but she was instantly a winner at the Golden Globes in Los Angeles, thanks to her one-shoulder Atelier Versace gown.

The shoulder-baring piece showcased the mother of six's many tattoos.

Kate Winslet, meanwhile, opted for a satin cream / black contrasting dress by UK designer Jenny Packham. She won the Best Actress in a Made-for-TV Movie / Mini-Series Award for starring in HBO's Mildred Pierce ... but can she best Angie in a style showdown?

Vote below and decide in another THG Fashion Face-Off!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/golden-globes-fashion-face-off-angelina-jolie-vs-kate-winslet/

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Steven Spielberg Talks Labor Of Love Project 'Smash' (omg!)

The cast of NBC's 'Smash' -- NBC

Steven Spielberg is bringing the ambitious behind-the-scenes-of-Broadway drama "Smash" to NBC and the television series really is a labor of love for the filmmaking legend.

"I came up with the idea for the series," Steven told Access Hollywood's Billy Bush at Sunday night's Golden Globes, where his movie, "The Adventures of Tintin," won Best Animated Feature.

PLAY IT NOW: 2012 Golden Globes Backstage: Steven Spielberg ?Totally Surprised? By ?Tintin? Win

"I'd been flogging it for about five years," Steven continued of "Smash." "It took [NBC's entertainment president] Bob Greenblatt to step forward, because he's done musical theater with '9 to 5.' He really responded to the material."

The legendary director and producer said that although he was behind the series, which stars Anjelica Huston, Debra Messing and former "American Idol" runner-up Katharine McPhee, the NBC boss was the only one who realized the show had value.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Behind The Lens: Hollywood?s Directors

"I couldn't get anybody else to buy it. Bob stepped forward and took the show for NBC," Steven added. "So, I hired myself and my... two TV partners at DreamWorks Television... We then hired Theresa Rebeck to really create the show. She wrote a wonderful play called, 'The Understudy.' She had done a lot of writing for theater and I wanted theater. I wanted writers from theater to write about theater."

While the name Steven Spielberg can drum up fan interest in a project, he said he sometimes keeps his name from use in promotional materials for programs.

"Do you ever say, can you please take my name down?" Billy asked.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: The Lovely Ladies Of Primetime Television

"I do. I do. I limit the use of the name on all of the billboards out there when I'm doing television and I limit it was much as I possibly can because it just... I get tired of seeing my own name," he laughed.

But not with "Smash." The project proudly bares its top boss' name on the posters.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Katharine McPhee

"Smash" premieres on NBC Monday, February 6, at 10 PM ET/PT, and, beginning Monday, the pilot episode is available on NBC's Video on Demand partners, including its parent company, Comcast.

Starting January 23-February 6, the first episode of "Smash" will be available to stream on NBC.com and Hulu.

Copyright 2012 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_steven_spielberg_talks_labor_love_project_smash001221471/44199942/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/steven-spielberg-talks-labor-love-project-smash-001221471.html

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Egypt's transition to democracy grows more messy (AP)

CAIRO ? Reform leader Mohammed ElBaradei's surprise pullout from the presidential race has laid bare the messiness of Egypt's transition to democracy with less than six months left for the ruling generals to hand over power.

In less than two weeks on Jan. 25, Egyptians will mark a year since the start of the popular uprising that forced Hosni Mubarak out of office. But there is no longer much talk about the revolution's lofty goals of bringing democracy, freedom and social justice.

Instead, the buzz now is about new alliances that could allow the ruling military to maintain its long-standing domination over government and Islamists to flex their muscles after their big victory in parliamentary elections.

ElBaradei's announcement Saturday that he would not run for president dealt another severe blow to the liberal and leftist groups behind the fall of Mubarak after their defeat at the ballots and the military's escalating crackdown on the movement. ElBaradei said a fair election will be impossible under the military's tight grip.

"We feel that elections now are not the best framework toward democratic rule," prominent activist Shady el-Ghazaly Harb said about the presidential vote that the ruling military has promised will take place by the end of June.

The young revolutionaries who engineered Mubarak's ouster on February 11 have since been divided and embroiled in an increasingly bitter dispute with the ruling generals over their handling of the transition, the killing of scores of protesters by troops, human rights violations and the trial of thousands of civilians before military tribunals.

However, Harb, an icon of last year's uprising, sees some hope in ElBaradei's pullout.

"He is not withdrawing and leaving a void in his trail," said Harb. "He will be back doing grass roots work and that may help unite the youth to effect change."

The military's timeline for the transition speaks to the messiness of its management of the country.

Egyptians went to the polls in staggered parliamentary elections that began Nov. 28 and ended last week. Between now and the end of June, when the generals have promised to transfer power, there are elections for parliament's upper house, or Shura Council, the drafting of a new constitution, a nationwide referendum on the document and then a presidential election.

Late Sunday, the military announced that nominations for president would open in mid-April, and the election would take place in mid-June.

Pro-democracy activists charge that the packed timetable is creating a climate that allows the better organized and more well-known Islamists led by the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood to dominate at the expense of the liberal and leftist groups. Many of those groups were born out of the uprising and did not have much time or experience to organize themselves for the competition with Islamists. The Brotherhood, for example, was established more than 80 years ago and was already a well-known political force before the uprising.

But ElBaradei's decision to drop out may have been a calculated move.

Realizing that it would be impossible to win the election without the support of the Islamists who have kept him at arm's length, he opted to pull out and publicly discredit the entire political process as messy and disorderly.

"He may never be president, but now he stands a chance of being our Gandhi," said Negad Borai, a rights lawyer and an activist.

ElBaradei did not mention by name the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, or SCAF ? the official body of the ruling military ? but the Saturday announcement of his withdrawal contained some of the harshest criticism the Nobel Peace laureate has leveled against the generals.

He compared the military to a ship captain struggling to steer his vessel in the middle of a storm.

"Under his leadership, the ship is being rocked by waves. ... We offer him all kinds of help, but he declines, insisting on taking the old route as if no revolution had taken place and no regime had fallen," he wrote in his withdrawal statement.

"My decision does not mean I am leaving the arena, but continuing to serve this nation more effectively from outside authority and free of all shackles," he wrote in the statement.

A Brotherhood-led alliance has won close to 50 percent of parliament's 498 seats in the recent elections, which were deemed the freest and fairest in Egypt's modern history. Another Islamist group, the ultraconservative Salafis, won about 20 percent, while the remainder was shared by leftist and liberal parties. The Brotherhood has yet to say who it would support for president, but it is likely to be someone who meets the approval of the generals.

A candidate who enjoys the support of both the brotherhood and the military would most likely be beholden to the military, according to another prominent activist, Hossam el-Hamalawy of the Revolutionary Socialists group.

"I am not a fan of ElBaradei's, but his decision to quit puts the other candidates in a very awkward position. He understands that, at the end of the day, the next president is going to be a stooge of the military."

Of all political forces in Egypt, the Brotherhood has worked the most closely with the military. Empowered by Mubarak's ouster after nearly 60 years as an outlawed organization, the Brotherhood has been mostly driven by a desire for power that prompted rivals to accuse it of political opportunism.

Its supporters stayed away from the uprising, only joining when it became clear that the protest movement gained irreversible momentum. More recently, it stayed away from anti-military protests, contending that it was time for elections not street demonstrations.

Its willingness to accommodate the military comes in large part from its realization that the generals wield massive powers and could derail the process that benefited the Islamist group the most. Its election victory made it possible for the Brotherhood to promise the military something in return.

The generals may want to secure the Brotherhood's support for them to win immunity from prosecution for their role in the death of at least 100 protesters since they assumed power.

The new parliament is supposed to play a key role in the drafting of a new constitution. And the military wants language in the next constitution that would spare the army any civilian oversight over its budget, its arms deals, its vast business interests and the pay scale for its top brass.

The generals insist they will not field a presidential candidate from within their ranks, but many believe they will give their nod to a candidate who is either military-friendly or a civilian who hails from military background.

"We are trying to see the best among those (presidential hopefuls) out there. So far, all the candidates don't cut it for us, but if the time comes and no one new appears, we will have to make a decision to support one of them," said Sobhi Saleh, a leader of the Freedom and Justice party, the Brotherhood's political arm.

Asked if the presidential candidate supported by the Brotherhood must also win the military's backing, he said:

"We were the first people to talk about conciliatory figures. This is our choice. We hope to find a president who wins the consensus of everyone to steer the ship in this critical period."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120115/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_egypt

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'Artist,' 'Descendants' score top Globe wins (AP)

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. ? The black-and-white silent film "The Artist" led the Golden Globes with three wins Sunday at a show that spread Hollywood's love around among a broad range of films, including best drama recipient "The Descendants" and its star, George Clooney.

Wins for "The Artist" included best musical or comedy and best actor in a musical or comedy for Jean Dujardin. Along with best drama, "The Descendants" won the dramatic-actor Globe for Clooney.

The dual best-picture prizes at the Globes could set up a showdown between "The Artist" and "The Descendants" for the top honor at next month's Academy Awards.

Other acting winners were Meryl Streep, Michelle Williams, Christopher Plummer, and Octavia Spencer, while Martin Scorsese earned the directing honor.

"I gotta thank everybody in England that let me come and trample over their history," said Streep, earning her eighth Globe, this time as dramatic actress for playing former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Williams won for actress in a musical or comedy as Marilyn Monroe in "My Week With Marilyn," 52 years after Monroe's win for the same prize at the Globes for "Some Like It Hot."

The supporting-acting Globes went to Plummer as an elderly widower who comes out as gay in the father-son drama "Beginners" and Spencer as a brassy housekeeper joining other black maids to share stories about life with their white employers in the 1960s Deep South tale "The Help."

"With regard to domestics in this country, now and then, I think Dr. King said it best: `All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance.' And I thank you for recognizing that with our film," Spencer said.

Scorsese won for the Paris adventure "Hugo." It was the third directing Globe in the last 10 years for Scorsese, who previously won for "Gangs of New York" and "The Departed" and received the show's Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement two years ago.

He won over a field of contenders that included Michel Hazanavicius, who had been considered by many in Hollywood as a favorite for his black-and-white silent film "The Artist."

Williams offered thanks for giving her the same award Monroe once won and joked that her young daughter put up with bedtime stories for six months spoken in Monroe's voice.

"I consider myself a mother first and an actress second, so the person I most want to thank is my daughter, my little girl, whose bravery and exuberance is the example I take with me in my work and my life," Williams said.

Dujardin became the first star in a silent film to earn a major Hollywood prize since the early days of film. He won as a silent-era star whose career unravels amid the rise of talking pictures in the late 1920s.

It's a breakout role in Hollywood for Dujardin, a star back home in France but little known to U.S. audiences previously. His French credits include "The Artist" creator Hazanavicius' spy spoofs "OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies" and "OSS 117: Lost in Rio."

While the musical or comedy categories at the Globes offer recognition for lighter films amid Hollywood's sober-minded awards season, the winners usually are not serious contenders for the Oscars. The last time the winner for best musical or comedy at the Globes went on to claim best-picture at the Oscars was nine years ago with "Chicago."

This time, though, "The Artist" and Dujardin have enough critical mass to compete at the Oscars with dramatic counterparts such as "The Descendants" and Clooney.

Both films have a good mix of laughs and tears. "The Artist" could be called a comedy with strong doses of melodrama, while "The Descendants" might be described as a drama tinged with gently comic moments.

Directed by Alexander Payne ("Sideways"), "The Descendants" provided a more down-to-earth role for Clooney, who's often known for slick, high-rolling characters such as those in his "Ocean's Eleven" heist capers and or the legal saga "Michael Clayton."

Adapted from Kaui Hart Hemmings' novel, "The Descendants" casts Clooney as Matt King, the scion of an aristocratic Hawaiian clan and a neglectful dad suddenly forced to hold together his two spirited daughters after his wife falls into a coma from a boating accident.

Along the way, Matt uncovers a staggering secret about his marriage and comes to reevaluate the principles under which he's lived his life.

Charming audiences since it premiered last May at the Cannes Film Festival, "The Artist" tells the story of George Valentin (Dujardin), a big-screen superstar known for adventurous comic capers alongside his adorable dog, who's always at his side on screen and in real life.

As talking pictures take over and the Depression hits, George loses everything ? his career, his marriage, his fortune and his home. Through it all, he has a guardian angel in Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo, a supporting-actress Globe nominee and Hazanavicius' real-life romantic partner). A rising talkies star, Peppy got her career going with help from George, and she now aims to repay the favor.

The only time silent films have won best-picture or acting Oscars was in the awards first year, for 1927-28, 16 years before the Golden Globes even started.

At that first Oscar ceremony, when the transition to the sound era was just under way, the silent winners included the war story "Wings" as outstanding picture and the marital betrayal tale "Sunrise" as most unique and artistic picture, the only time that category was used. Janet Gaynor won as best actress for "Sunrise" and two other silent films, while Emil Jannings was picked as best actor for the silent films "The Last Command" and "The Way of All Flesh."

Other than some short silent films and one silent foreign-language nominee in 1983, it's been all talkies among contenders for top honors during Hollywood's awards season in the 83 years since the first Oscars.

"The Artist," which led the Globes with six nominations, also won the musical-score prize for composer Ludovic Bource.

Among its losses was for screenplay, a prize that went to Woody Allen for his romantic fantasy "Midnight in Paris," the filmmaker's biggest hit in decades. Never a fan of movie awards, Allen was a no-show at the Globes.

Steven Spielberg's "The Adventures of Tintin" won for best animated film, while the Iranian tale "A Separation" was named the foreign-language winner.

Ricky Gervais, who has ruffled feathers at past shows with sharp wisecracks aimed at Hollywood's elite and the Globes show itself, returned as host for the third-straight year. He started with some slams at the Globes as Hollywood's second-biggest film ceremony, after the Oscars.

Gervais joked that the Globes "are just like the Oscars, but without all that esteem. The Globes are to the Oscars what Kim Kardashian is to Kate Middleton. A bit louder, a bit trashier, a bit drunker and more easily bought. Allegedly. Nothing's been proved."

He also needled early winners, saying the show was running long and stars needed to keep their speeches short.

"You don't need to thank everyone you've ever met or members of your family, who have done nothing," Gervais said. "Just the main two. Your agent and God."

___

Online:

http://www.goldenglobes.org

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120116/ap_on_en_mo/us_golden_globes

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Ravens dump Texans, book spot in AFC title game (Reuters)

BALTIMORE, Maryland (Reuters) ? The Baltimore Ravens defeated the Houston Texans 20-13 in the National Football League (NFL) divisional playoffs on Sunday to earn a date with the top-seeded New England Patriots in next week's AFC Championship game.

With the Ravens clinging to a 17-13 lead, Billy Cundiff booted a 44-yard field goal with 2:56 left in regulation to hike the lead to seven points and provide the final margin.

Houston drove to the Ravens' 38 on the ensuing possession but Ed Reed intercepted a pass by rookie T.J. Yates with 1:15 remaining to give Baltimore possession on its four-yard line.

The Ravens, unbeaten in nine games at home this season, were unable to get a first down and punted, giving Houston a last chance with 48 seconds left. Houston drove to the Baltimore 43 but surrendered the ball on downs.

"We knew what was coming," said Baltimore's 13-time Pro Bowl linebacker Ray Lewis. "This young team they are so freaking fiery and they got so many great pieces over there and I just take my hat off to them just simply the way they came out and fought today."

Baltimore's Joe Flacco completed 14 of 27 passes for 176 yards and two scores, while Ray Rice, who led all running backs this season with 2,068 yards from scrimmage, rushed for just 60 yards on 21 attempts.

Texans running back Arian Foster provided the offensive fireworks with 132 yards on 27 carries and a touchdown but Houston could not overcome four costly turnovers.

Yates completed 17 of 35 passes for 184 yards but tossed three interceptions.

The Ravens held a 17-13 lead at the half despite 95 yards rushing and a score on 15 carries by Foster, who had an easy time slicing through the NFL's second-ranked rushing defense.

Houston's Neil Rackers kicked a 40-yard field goal on the game's opening drive but the Ravens scored the next 17 points on two Flacco scoring passes and a 48-yard field goal by Cundiff.

A 33-yard field goal by Rackers and a one-yard score off right tackle by Foster late in the second period trimmed the Ravens' lead to just four points at intermission.

"We came out and we knew it was going to be tough," said Lewis. "They made some plays, we made some plays but at the end of the game we made the plays that counted."

(Reporting By Steve Ginsburg; Editing by Frank Pingue)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120115/sp_nm/us_nfl_playoffs_ravens

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Oil price below $99 on Europe downgrade concerns

(AP) ? Oil prices finished lower Friday on fresh concerns about Europe's economy as credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's downgraded France, Austria and other European countries.

Benchmark crude fell by 40 cents to end at $98.70 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price foreign oil that's imported by U.S. refineries, fell by 70 cents to end at $110.35 per barrel in London.

S&P downgraded the government debt of France, Austria, Italy and Spain, but it kept Germany's at the coveted AAA level. S&P cut its ratings on a total of nine eurozone countries.

The downgrades could make it harder for the European Union to raise money and overcome massive government debts. A recession appears likely in Europe, and huge spending cuts will likely reduce European energy demand this year.

In the U.S., gasoline pump prices rose 1 cent to a national average of $3.39 per gallon, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service.

In other energy trading, heating oil fell 3 cents to finish at $3.03 per gallon, while gasoline futures were virtually unchanged at $2.73 per gallon. Natural gas fell 3 cents to $2.67 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-13-Oil%20Prices/id-abebd76948474ab1bc21b18f82103817

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Richard (RJ) Eskow: "Bain Capitalism": Mitt's Frankenstein Is a Politically-Created Monster

Bain Capital must seem like a Frankenstein's monster to Mitt Romney's campaign Like Mary Shelley's creature, it's stalking its creator just as he's about to claim the thing he loves most. But Bain Capital -- and Bain Capitalism -- isn't Mitt's creation. It was sewed together from the corpses of dead ideals and shocked into life in Washington's political laboratories.

Mitt's monster was created by a broken political process that's allowed politicians in both parties to create an artificial, destructive and exploitative form of pseudo-capitalism -- and often to get rich from it. Romney's campaign will probably survive, but the monster will go on destroying lives and dreams.

Conservatives and self-described "centrists" speak about "Bain Capitalism" -- aka "vulture capitalism" -- as if it were the inevitable result of immutable economic laws. But it's only been around for thirty years or so, after government policies in taxation and bank regulation made it possible. That's right: Government, not free enterprise, made Bain Capitalism.

And what government has made, government can un-make.

The "Bain Bailout"

They're calling it the "Bain Bailout" -- although Bain didn't receive any actual funds. But when a federal regulator took over a failing New England bank, it decided to "forgive" several million dollars for loans that Bain had received from the bank.

Why? Nobody's been asked to explain. But that decision reflects a long history of cozy relationships between regulators and the financiers who might one day pay them a hefty salary after they've left government service.

If the millions in 'forgiveness' were intended to make sure that jobs stayed in New England, it backfired. As we'll see, job creation is used a lot to justify government actions that make a few people rich without creating any jobs -- and often destroy them.

Money for Nothing

Bain and Company was a Boston-based management consulting firm, and in many ways one of the better ones, until CEO Bill Bain decided to create an investment firm and asked Mitt Romney to run it.

Management consultants make a good living, but they aren't usually able to stockpile the hundreds of millions it takes to become a serious investor. So where did Romney and his associates come up with the money to become serious players?

They didn't. They invested other people's money. Their venture didn't really take off until relaxed enforcement of banking regulations made it possible for them to get into "leveraged buyouts" -- investments of borrowed money -- in a big way. They moved aggressively into private equity - investments in privately-held corporations which aren't subject to disclosure rules and other requirements that publicly traded companies must meet.

Skin

Investment funds are typically expected to have some 'skin in the game' by putting up some of their own money, but in Bain's case that was almost always a sham. Dade International is a perfect example: Romney and associates 'invested' $30 million in Dade. But they also demanded $100 million in management fees from the company, which means their actual investment was negative $70 million.

The money that Romney & Co. borrowed doesn't go onto their books, either. It's charged against the companies they buy with it. In Dade's case, the company wound up saddled with $1.5 billion in debt -- plus Bain's $100 million management fee, of course -- and went bankrupt. Roughly 1,700 people lost their jobs -- but Bain walked away with $242 million in stock sales that Dade had 'borrowed' (under Romney's management) to pay.

Somebody got "skinned" in this deal, but it wasn't Romney. Bain did lose its remaining shares during the bankruptcy proceedings, however, after creditors accused Romney and his associates of "professional mismanagement" and "unjust enrichment."

Unjust Enrichment

Now there's a concept that's due for a comeback. "Unjust enrichment" is generally held to applylegally whenever someone got wealthy at the expense of others without compensating them, and without doing anything substantial to earn it. (One legal definition describes it as the acquisition of wealth or property "by chance, mistake, or without any personal effort.")

In the world of highly-leveraged investors like Bain Capital, unjust enrichment isn't jut a legal term. It's a way of life.

The enrichment process for players like Romney accelerated dramatically during the deregulation fervor of the go-go nineties. Romney and his ilk were allowed to borrow more and more money from third parties, use them to buy up companies, and skim the cream for themselves.

With the relaxation of Glass-Steagall enforcement, and ultimately its repeal altogether, banks were able to lend Bain-type investors millions of dollars of their customers' money, too. Some of the money that Bain borrowed to buy companies could have belonged to the workers who lost their jobs as a result. And when those over-leveraged banks finally collapsed, every taxpayer's money was used to rescue them.

How's that for "unjust enrichment"?

Tax Deduction Destruction

Why do you think Mitt Romney won't release his tax returns? This Fox Business article is almost certainly correct: because he has saved millions of dollars through the tax loophole known as "carried interest."

Income on investments is frequently taxed at 15%, instead of the higher rates paid by cops, firefighters, nurses, or anyone who works at a job to earn their income. Conservatives defend that break by saying that this encourages business investment and therefore creates jobs.

There's an obvious answer to that: You got your break; where are the jobs? But in the case of leveragers like Romney, here's the real irony: They get this enormous tax break even though they're not the ones investing the money. They're given a percentage of the fund's earnings, typically 20 percent, and get to collect their share of the fund's earnings at this lower rate. Even their management fee -- usually 2 percent of the total investment, or thereabouts - is taxed at the lower rate, although it's clearly a service fee and not investment income.

Conservatives love to sneer at deductions for solar panels or electric cars as 'tax expenditures,' implying they're just forms of government spending to advance policy goals. But the capital gains tax and related cuts are far greater 'expenditures,' and they're stated purpose is also to promote a policy goal -- more jobs.

Yet nothing in these tax breaks actually requires anyone to create job. That's why Romney & Co. were able to slash jobs as easily as they created them. They made money either way, and they were able to take advantage of this huge tax break either way.

That's not an accident of fate. That's the result of deliberate political decisions and acts of Congress.

Bain Capitalism vs. Capitalism

There's a reason why investors like Warren Buffett dislike private-equity sharks like Romney and Bain. Buffett recently told Time magazine that "I don't like what private-equity firms do in terms of taking out every dime they can and leveraging [companies] up so that they really aren't equipped, in some cases, for the future."

Progressives who cast Buffett as an Occupy-style reformer are likely to be disappointed. He's an old-school capitalist of the first order. (Although he did have a great line after Gingrich said that Occupy protesters should "get a job": "Maybe they can be historians for Freddie Mac too and make $600,000 a year."

Buffett doesn't oppose Bain Capital because he's a socialist. And with $45 billion to his name, he certainly doesn't 'envy' Mitt Romney, as Romney said of his critics the other day. Buffett loathes what Romney's Bain represents because he believes in real capitalism. Everybody I know who's worked with him says the same things: He does his research, he expects people to work hard, and he invests in companies so that they'll have long-term success.

If Not Mitt ...

The "Bain capitalists," on the other hand, are only worried about the next quarter's earnings, so they can suck the maximum amount of money out of the company and move on to their next leveraged buyout.

God didn't make the world that way, and neither did evolution. The Bain capitalists exists because we've allowed our politicians to create them.

If Mitt Romney had never been born, someone else would have done exactly what he did. And for all we know, somebody just like him might be the leading contender for the Republican nomination. Mitt Romney is the symptom, not the disease, and there are a lot of people waiting to take his place.

System of a Down

Newt Gingrich had it exactly right when he called it "crony capitalism." We're living under a government of the crony capitalists, by the crony capitalists, and for the crony capitalists.

But Gingrich was exactly wrong when he said that the problem lay solely with Romney's character. There are a lot of people with Romney's character defects. As long as Bain Capitalism exists, there will be Romneys and Bain Capitals to exploit it. Maybe that's why I don't condemn them personally as much as other people do. If your life's goal is to make money, then you'll exploit the system you're given.

In fact, Romney would have been fired if he had done anything else. The company was called "Bain Capital," not "Bain Employment." Say what you will about Mitt (and I'll probably agree), but the real problem lies much deeper than his character.

Monster Mash

The system is the real monster.

Bain Capital and its breed were created by government policies. To end them, we have to change the policies. But to change the policies we have to change the politicians. And to change the politicians, we have to change the political system.

Politicians created this monster, and politicians can send it back to the graveyard. Americans should demand no less.

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Follow Richard (RJ) Eskow on Twitter: www.twitter.com/rjeskow

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/bain-capitalism-mitts-fra_b_1202416.html

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Missing teenager Natalee Holloway declared dead

FILE - An undated file family photo released by Marcia Twitty shows Natalee Holloway of Mountain Brook, Ala. Alabama Judge Alan King signed a court order Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012 declaring Natalee Holloway legally dead, more than six years after the teenager vanished in Aruba on a high school graduation trip. King took that step after a hearing Thursday requested by the teen's father, David Holloway. The father told the judge in September he believed his daughter had died and he wished to stop paying her medical insurance and use her college fund for her brother. (AP Photo/Family photo, File)

FILE - An undated file family photo released by Marcia Twitty shows Natalee Holloway of Mountain Brook, Ala. Alabama Judge Alan King signed a court order Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012 declaring Natalee Holloway legally dead, more than six years after the teenager vanished in Aruba on a high school graduation trip. King took that step after a hearing Thursday requested by the teen's father, David Holloway. The father told the judge in September he believed his daughter had died and he wished to stop paying her medical insurance and use her college fund for her brother. (AP Photo/Family photo, File)

David Holloway, left, talks with his attorney Mark White during a probate hearing in Birmingham, Ala.,Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012. An Alabama probate judge disclosed at the hearing that he will sign an order declaring Natalee Holloway dead, more than six years after the teenager vanished on the Caribbean island of Aruba. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Beth Holloway is pursued by reporters following a hearing in Birmingham, Ala.,Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012. An Alabama probate judge disclosed at the hearing that he will sign an order declaring Natalee Holloway dead, more than six years after the teenager vanished on the Caribbean island of Aruba. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

David Holloway, left, looks over papers as he sits with his attorney Mark White during a probate hearing in Birmingham, Ala.,Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012. An Alabama probate judge disclosed at the hearing that he will sign an order declaring Natalee Holloway dead, more than six years after the teenager vanished on the Caribbean island of Aruba. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Beth Holloway, right, is pursued by reporters following a hearing in Birmingham, Ala.,Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012. An Alabama probate judge disclosed at a court hearing Thursday that he will sign an order declaring her daughter, Natalee Holloway, dead more than six years after the teenager vanished on the Caribbean island of Aruba. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

(AP) ? The parents of Natalee Holloway, the American teenager who disappeared in Aruba in 2005, say their ordeal hasn't ended with a judge declaring their daughter dead. Their lawyers say they hope a young Dutchman seen leaving a bar with Holloway on the last day she was seen alive might ultimately be brought before a U.S. court on charges stemming from the case.

Joran van der Sloot, 24, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Peru to the 2010 slaying of a young woman he had met in a Lima casino. That plea from the Dutchman described as the prime suspect in the Holloway case came hours before Thursday's hearing in a Birmingham court where Dave and Beth Holloway watched the difficult step of a judge ruling their daughter legally dead.

"We've been dealing with her death for the last six and a half years," Dave Holloway said after Thursday's hearing. He said the judge's order closes one chapter in the ordeal, but added: "We've still got a long way to go to get justice."

Thursday's hearing was scheduled before van der Sloot ? who had been questioned in Holloway's disappearance ? pleaded guilty to the 2010 murder of a 21-year-old Peruvian, Stephany Flores. Flores was slain five years to the day after Holloway, an 18-year-old from the wealthy Birmingham suburb of Mountain Brook, disappeared.

Dave Holloway said he hopes van der Sloot, who awaits sentencing, gets a 30-year prison term sought by Peruvian prosecutors. Shortly after Flores' death on May 30, 2010, van der Sloot told police he had killed the woman in Peru in a fit of rage after she discovered on his laptop his connection to Holloway's disappearance. Police forensic experts disputed the claim.

"Everybody knows his personality. I believe he is beyond rehabilitation," Dave Holloway said.

Attorneys said both parents spoke of hopes that van der Sloot's next stop will be Birmingham, where he faces federal charges accusing him of extorting $25,000 from Beth Holloway to reveal the location of her daughter's body. Prosecutors said the money was paid, but nothing was disclosed about the missing woman's whereabouts.

Authorities said they believe the tall, garrulous Dutchman used the money to travel to Peru on May 14, 2010, where Flores was killed two weeks later. Van der Sloot is now jailed in Peru.

"I expect to see him in Birmingham," Dave Holloway said of van der Sloot on Thursday, shortly after Probate Judge Alan King declared his daughter dead.

Natalee Holloway disappeared on May 30, 2005, during a high school graduation trip to the Dutch Caribbean island where van der Sloot grew up. Her body was never found and repeated searches turned up nothing as intense media coverage brought the case worldwide attention.

Investigators have long worked from the assumption that the young woman was dead in Aruba, where the case was classified as a homicide investigation. That investigation remains open, though there has been no recent activity, said Solicitor General Taco Stein, an official with the prosecutor's office in Aruba.

"The team that was acting in that investigation still is functioning as a team and they get together whenever there is information or things are needed in the case or a new tip arrives," Stein said in a phone interview Thursday.

In Birmingham, Natalee Holloway's parents, who have been divorced since 1993, shook hands and talked briefly before Thursday's hearing. During the 10-minute proceeding, they looked on somberly.

Dave Holloway told the judge in September he believed his daughter was dead and wanted to stop payments on her medical insurance and use her $2,000 college fund to help her younger brother. Beth Holloway initially objected, but her lawyer, Charlie DeBardeleben, said she later changed her mind once she understood her husband's intentions.

Beth Holloway sat in the back row in court, staring at her hands as she held them in her lap most of the time. Her attorney said it was difficult for her to witness the judge signing the death declaration.

"She's ready to move on from this," DeBardeleben added.

Mark White, an attorney for Dave Holloway, told the judge before he ruled that there was no indication Holloway was alive ? despite exhaustive searches, reward offers and blanket media coverage at times.

"Despite all that no evidence has been found Natalee Holloway is alive," he told the judge.

King had ruled in September that Dave Holloway had met the legal presumption of death for his daughter and it was up to someone to prove she didn't die on the trip. Thursday's hearing was held after a wait of several months but no one came forward with new information.

Attorneys said they are unaware of any plans for a memorial service.

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Online:

AP interactive: http://hosted.ap.org/interactives/2012/natalee-holloway

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-13-US-Missing%20Teen-Aruba/id-e9205389ea2c44bd8c732ecf7865d82e

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