Croatian elections set for Dec. 4 (AP)

ZAGREB, Croatia ? Croatia will elect a new parliament in December, and the opposition is favored to win because of ongoing corruption scandals involving the governing party.

Croatia's 151-seat parliament last week voted to dissolve itself, and on Monday Croatian President Ivo Josipovic said the national election will be held on Dec. 4.

The vote will pit the governing conservative Croatian Democratic Union, or HDZ, against a coalition of center-left parties. The opposition parties have led by a large margin in recent polls.

HDZ has been embroiled in a spate of corruption scandals, including alleged involvement in illegal fundraising and accusations that its former leader and ex-Prime Minister Ivo Sanader pocketed millions to help an Austrian bank and a Hungarian oil giant enter the Croatian market.

Croatia's anti-graft bureau on Sunday asked a district court to freeze assets of the governing party, including its headquarters in Zagreb, because of the corruption investigation, state TV reported.

Croatia, the next in line to become European Union's 28th member, has been under EU scrutiny to fight widespread corruption.

HDZ led Croatia throughout its 1991-95 war for independence from the former Yugoslavia. It has ruled the country since, except for the 2001-2003 period when the center-left coalition took over.

The December parliamentary vote will be Croatia's seventh since its 1991 declaration of independence.

____

Associated Press writer Dusan Stojanovic contributed from Belgrade.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111031/ap_on_re_eu/eu_croatia_elections

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NY sculptor seeks home for terror victims tribute (Providence Journal)

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Interest rates soar for tottering Italy

Interest rates rise to record 6.06 percent for 10-year Italian bonds. High interest rates signal market skepticism that Italy will cut spending and balance its budget by 2013.

Italy's borrowing costs jumped to record levels on Friday, underlining its vulnerability at the heart of the euro zone debt crisis and scepticism about whether the struggling government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi can deliver vital reforms.

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The 6.06 percent yield paid at an auction of 10-year bonds was the highest since the launch of the euro, and not far from the level reached before the European Central Bank intervened in August to cap Rome's borrowing costs by buying Italian debt.

Italy, the euro zone's third largest economy, is again at the centre of the debt crisis, as fears grow that its borrowing costs could hit levels that overwhelm the capacity of the bloc to provide support amid chronic political instability in Rome.

In a speech in Rome, Berlusconi insisted that Italy would meet its target of balancing the budget by 2013.

Tainted by scandal and repeatedly at odds with his coalition allies, Berlusconi has promised European partners a package of measures to spur Italy's stagnant economy and cut its towering public debt, but has failed to convince markets made sceptical by his repeated failure to deliver reforms.

European leaders welcomed a letter of intent on reforms that he delivered to their summit last Wednesday, but emphasised that the measures must now be implemented.

"The interest rates that they are paying are punitive," said Monument Securities strategist Marc Oswald. "Italy ... is still the 'bete noire' of the whole euro zone problem."

"They are still going to carry on having to pay higher yields unless they come up with reform plans and implement them. But anyone who expresses an optimistic opinion about that is probably looking through rose-tinted glasses," he added.

France and Germany have expressed open exasperation at a succession of unfulfilled reform promises by Berlusconi, and fear the crisis in Italy could spark a wider emergency that would threaten the very existence of the single currency.

Even if a weakened government manages to pass the promised reforms, most will not come into force until mid-2012. Markets are unlikely to remain patient for so long.

In his speech Berlusconi took aim at the euro, calling it a "strange" currency.

"There is an attack on the euro which as a currency has convinced no-one, because it belongs to more than one country but does not have a bank of reference and guarantee," he said, referring to reluctance by Germany and other countries to allow the European Central Bank to be used as a lender of last resort.

He later issued a statement saying his words had been interpreted in a "malicious and distorted" way.

"The euro is our currency, our flag. It is precisely to defend the euro from speculative attacks that Italy is making great sacrifices," the statement said.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/QFgVoFqQusc/Interest-rates-soar-for-tottering-Italy

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Bulgaria: Conservative likely winner of presidency (AP)

SOFIA, Bulgaria ? The ruling conservative party's candidate declared victory Sunday in Bulgaria's presidential run-off after exit polls indicated he had won handily and his Socialist challenger conceded defeat.

A win by Rosen Plevneliev means the ruling GERB party now controls all the major posts in Bulgaria, which will bolster its push for painful economic reforms in the struggling country, where the average monthly salary is euro350 ($485) and unemployment is 11.7 percent.

An exit poll, conducted by the Alpha Research agency, gave Plevneliev 54.8 percent of the votes, while indicating 45.2 percent of voters cast ballots for Ivailo Kalfin. Two other exit polls showed a similar margin. The Central Election Commission estimated turnout at 42 percent.

Official results are due Monday, but Kalfin conceded defeat after the exit polling. "The result is clear ? we did not win the elections," he said.

Although most of the power in corruption-plagued Bulgaria, a Balkan country of 7.4 million, rests with the prime minister and Parliament, the president leads the armed forces and can veto legislation and sign international treaties.

The 47-year-old Plevneliev is a former entrepreneur who has been lauded for pushing through several large-scale infrastructure projects as regional development minister in the incumbent Cabinet. He has pledged to reduce the budget deficit and pursue business-friendly policies.

He also said he would do his best to unite Bulgarians in pursuit of reforms in the judicial and health care systems, while also diversifying energy supplies and improving trade.

"Bulgaria's European future means that the president should guarantee equal chances for the development of all regions in the country," Plevneliev said Sunday.

Prime Minister Boiko Borisov, meanwhile, said that by electing Plevneliev, "Bulgarians supported Bulgaria's stability and its European development."

The winner of the contest replaces Georgi Parvanov, a former leader of the Socialist Party who has often criticized the government and used his powers to veto legislation or key judicial office or diplomatic service appointments. Parvanov has served two five-year terms, the legal limit.

If final results confirm Plevneliev as the winner, he would take office Jan. 23.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111030/ap_on_re_eu/eu_bulgaria_elections

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Solyndra scandal probe widens as White House orders new review (The Christian Science Monitor)

The Obama administration has ordered an independent review of loans made by the Energy Department to energy companies ? a clear response to the controversial and now-bankrupt Solyndra Inc. solar energy company.

It?s the latest step in the face of growing criticism over the $528 million government loan to Solyndra, which was part of the administration?s economic stimulus package meant to advance green energy. Last month, FBI agents and investigators from the Department of Energy's Office of Inspector General searched Solyndra headquarters in California for documents and other information.

Heading the review announced Friday is former Treasury official Herbert Allison, who oversaw the Troubled Asset Relief Program, part of the 2008 Wall Street bailout.

"Today we are directing that an independent analysis be conducted of the current state of the Department of Energy loan portfolio, focusing on future loan monitoring and management," White House chief of staff Bill Daley said Friday afternoon ? the traditional time for burying announcements. "While we continue to take steps to make sure the United States remains competitive in the 21st century energy economy, we must also ensure that we are strong stewards of taxpayer dollars."

Announcement of the internal review of procedures dealing with Solyndra was not enough to satisfy congressional critics.

Leaders of the Energy and Commerce Committee subcommittee on oversight and investigations say they?ll meet this coming week to consider a resolution authorizing the issuance of a subpoena for internal White House communications relating to the Solyndra loan guarantee.

?Subpoenaing the White House is a serious step that, unfortunately, appears necessary in light of the Obama administration?s stonewall on Solyndra,? Fred Upton (R) of Michigan and Cliff Stearns (R) of Florida said in a statement. ?Since we launched the Solyndra investigation over eight months ago, the Obama administration has unfortunately fought us every step of the way, even forcing us to subpoena documents from [the White House Office of Management and Budget].?

Apparently, White House officials weren?t the only ones pushing special consideration for green energy.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R) of Utah, who has criticized the Obama administration?s backing of Energy Department loan guarantees to Solyndra, pushed for more than $20 million in government funding for a clean energy firm in his home state, reports USA Today.

?Hatch aides [said] earlier this month that the Republican lawmaker had never pushed for taxpayer money to be used for Raser Technologies, which operated a geothermal power plant in southern Utah and also developed hybrid plug-in vehicles,? the newspaper reported Friday. ?But on Friday, Hatch spokesman Matthew Harakal said that after an internal audit following publication of the USA Today story on Hatch's support for Raser, the Utah senator's office found that Hatch actually requested seven earmarks for more than $20 million from 2006 to 2008 to help fund research and development projects for the automotive wing of the company.?

None of the requests were funded, and Raser Technologies filed for bankruptcy in April.

Meanwhile, the Solyndra scandal ? if that?s what it is ? has indirectly touched at least one Republican presidential hopeful.

?Mitt Romney is facing scrutiny this week for associating himself with a lobbyist whose firm worked for failed California solar panel company Solyndra,? The Hill newspaper in Washington reported this week. ?Lobbyist Alex Mistri co-hosted a Romney fundraiser Wednesday that included a number of lobbyists and members of Congress, held at the American Trucking Association near Capitol Hill.?

Also attending the Romney fundraiser co-hosted by lobbyist Mistri was Rep. Darrell Issa (R) of California, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform investigating Solyndra.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20111029/ts_csm/418662

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Detroit's Stafford works with first team

/

updated 12:47 p.m. ET Oct. 27, 2011

ALLEN PARK, Mich. - Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford worked with the first team at practice Thursday, a sign of progress after he hurt his ankle last weekend.

Stafford was limited Wednesday, but he looked comfortable a day later in the portion of practice open to reporters. He hurt his right ankle late in Sunday's 23-16 loss to Atlanta, hobbling off the field after a fourth down incompletion, but it was hard to tell how serious the injury was because the Lions never got the ball back after Stafford came off.

Detroit plays at Denver this Sunday. Stafford has completed 60 percent of his passes this season, for 1,912 yards with 16 touchdowns and four interceptions.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45063638/ns/sports-nfl/

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Early storm pelts East Coast with wet, heavy snow

Les Lewis uses a clipboard to scrape the snow off of the back of his car window Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011 in Philadelphia, Pa. A classic nor'easter was chugging along up the East Coast and expected to dump anywhere from a dusting of snow to about 10 inches throughout the region starting Saturday, a decidedly unseasonal date for a type of storm more associated with midwinter. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Les Lewis uses a clipboard to scrape the snow off of the back of his car window Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011 in Philadelphia, Pa. A classic nor'easter was chugging along up the East Coast and expected to dump anywhere from a dusting of snow to about 10 inches throughout the region starting Saturday, a decidedly unseasonal date for a type of storm more associated with midwinter. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Stewart Collins walks in a falling snow in New Brunswick, N.J. on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011. A classic nor'easter is causing snow up the East Coast, unseasonal for this time year. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Stewart Collins walks in a falling snow in New Brunswick, N.J. on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011. A classic nor'easter is causing snow up the East Coast, unseasonal for this time year. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Snow blankets the field during the first quarter of a high school football game on Friday, Oct. 28, 2011 in Staunton, Va. A classic nor'easter was chugging along up the East Coast and expected to dump anywhere from a dusting of snow to about 10 inches throughout the region starting Saturday, a decidedly unseasonal date for a type of storm more associated with midwinter. (AP Photo/The News Leader, Pat Jarrett)

Snow flakes fall on the helmets of Buffalo Gap players between plays during the second quarter of a high school football game against Buffalo Gap, on Friday, Oct. 28, 2011 in Staunton, Va. A classic nor'easter was chugging along up the East Coast and expected to dump anywhere from a dusting of snow to about 10 inches throughout the region starting Saturday, a decidedly unseasonal date for a type of storm more associated with midwinter. (AP Photo/The News Leader, Pat Jarrett)

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) ? A classic nor'easter was chugging along up the East Coast and expected to dump anywhere from a dusting of snow to about 10 inches throughout the region starting Saturday, a decidedly unseasonal date for a type of storm more associated with midwinter.

Communities inland in mid-Atlantic states were getting hit hardest. Cherry Grove, W.Va., on the edge of the Monongahela National Forest, already got 4 inches of snow overnight, according to the National Weather Service. Heavy snow was falling in western Maryland, and the Frostburg area could receive 8 or 9 inches. Along the Blue Ridge Mountains between Hagerstown and Frederick, significant snowfall was also expected.

Farther north in central Pennsylvania, a steady midday heavy snow pelted the field at Beaver Stadium in State College, where No. 21 Penn State was to host Illinois. Mother Nature cooperated with calls for a "whiteout," in which fans wear all white to the game in an occasional tradition for big games at the school. A few hours before the midafternoon kickoff, about 3 inches had already fallen.

The heaviest snow, though, was forecast for later in the day into Sunday in the Massachusetts Berkshires, the Litchfield Hills in northwestern Connecticut, southwestern New Hampshire and the southern Green Mountains.

"It's going to be wet, sticky and gloppy," said NWS spokesman Chris Vaccaro. "It's not going to be a dry, fluffy snow."

The storm comes on a busy weekend for many along the Eastern Seaboard, with trick-or-treaters going door-to-door in search of Halloween booty, hunting season opening in some states and a full slate of college and pro football scheduled. Officials warned that the heavy, wet snow combined with fully leafed trees could lead to downed tree branches and power lines, resulting in power outages and blocked roads.

Snow toppled trees and a few power lines in eastern Pennsylvania and led to minor traffic accidents, according to dispatchers. Allentown, expected to see 4 to 8 inches, is likely to break the city's October record of 2.2 inches on Halloween in 1925.

Philadelphia was seeing mostly rain, but what snow fell coated downtown roofs in white. The city was expected to get 1 to 3 inches, its first measurable October snow since 1979, with a bit more in some suburbs, meteorologist Mitchell Gaines said.

"This is very, very unusual," said John LaCorte, a National Weather Service meteorologist in State College. The last major widespread snowstorm to hit Pennsylvania this early was in 1972, he said.

"It's going to be very dangerous," he added.

The storm also led to delays at several airports Saturday morning. Flights were delayed at Newark, N.J., and flights headed to New York's Kennedy and LaGuardia airports or Philadelphia's airport weren't allowed to depart until early afternoon.

Southern New Jersey was soaked with heavy rains and winds that ranged from 20 to 35 mph Saturday morning, while northern communities awaited the arrival of 5 to 10 inches of snow.

Snow began to fall in bursts in New York City by late morning. It was driving at times, but mixed with periods of rain that prevented any accumulation on the warm pavement. It was accumulating on rooftops and cars by early afternoon.

October snowfall is rare in New York; there have been just three October days with measurable snowfall in Central Park in the last 135 years when record-keeping began, according to the National Weather Service. The largest on record was in 1925 when eight-tenths of an inch fell in Central Park.

Along the coast and in such cities as Boston, relatively warm water temperatures along the Atlantic seaboard could keep the snowfall totals much lower, meteorologist Bill Simpson said, with 1 to 3 inches of snowfall forecast along the I-95 corridor. Washington was expected to get just a dusting.

But October snowfall records could be broken in parts of southern New England, especially at higher elevations, National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Simpson said. The October record for southern New England is 7.5 inches in Worcester in 1979.

More than 6 inches of snow could accumulate in parts of Maine on Saturday. Parts of southern Vermont could receive more than a foot of wet snow Saturday into Sunday.

In Connecticut, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy warned residents that they could lose power due to the anticipated wet, heavy snow.

Dan Patrylak recently moved from Arizona back to New England and was looking forward to seeing snow on the ground again, happily picking up two new ice scrapers in Connecticut at the start of his weekend.

"In Phoenix, it's 113 all summer long," the 79-year-old Patrylak, of Glastonbury, said Friday. "So, it just depends on where you are and what the weather is and you learn to accept that. Whatever it is, I'm going to be ready for it."

In New England, the first measurable snow usually falls in early December, and normal highs for late October are in the mid-50s.

"This is just wrong," said Dee Lund of East Hampton, who was at a Glastonbury garage Friday getting four new tires for her car before a weekend road trip to New Hampshire.

Lund said that after last winter's record snowfall, which left a 12-foot snow bank outside her house, she'd been hoping for a reprieve.

But not everyone was lamenting the unofficial arrival of winter.

Two Vermont ski resorts, Killington and Mount Snow, planned to start the ski season early by opening one trail each over the weekend, thanks to the recent snow and cold. Maine's Sunday River ski resort also opened for the weekend.

In Hebron, Steve Hoffman had expected to sell a lot of fall fertilizer this weekend at his hardware store in Hebron. Instead, he spent Friday moving bags of ice melting pellets.

"We're stocked up and we've already sold a few shovels," Hoffman said. "We actually had one guy come in and buy a roof rake."

Simpson cautioned that the early snowfall is not an indication of what the winter might bring.

"This doesn't mean our winter is going to be terrible," he said. "You can't get any correlation from a two-day event."

Temperatures should return to the mid-50s by midweek.

___

Associated Press writers Ron Todt in Philadelphia, David B. Caruso in New York, Bruce Shipkowski in Trenton, N.J., and Clarke Canfield in Portland, Maine, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-10-29-October%20Snow/id-c2b7b50236be4e34a543794033e28894

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Gold Investing For Profits | Google Statistics

Tradionally, many traders shunt gold and spend money on equities or mounted revenue markets. With the worth of gold performing extremely effectively, alot of investors are turning their attention on gold.

The value of gold has topped US$700 recently. Gold has been in a bullish run since 2000. What is the implication? Will gold continue to rise in the future? Is it time to put money into Gold now? How one can invest in Gold?

The rise in worth of Gold is because of a variety of factors. A few of them are listed below.

1. International tensions and Unhealthy times

During internation tensions and war, gold will always maintain it values. Sometimes, investors commerce currency for gold In current Iran and US nuclear points, worth of gold was shot as much as US$700 in fear of oil costs rising. US dollars and inflation together with high federal commerce deficit and debt have make buyers shopping for gold to heged against foreign money flunctuations.

Although now the value is fallen barely, it consider that gold is a good investment device to use as a safe haven in time of disaster and bad times.

2. Provide and Demand Fundamentals

When the price of gold rise, extra investors will buy gold. Since the supply and manufacturing of gold is limited, it won?t be able to keep up with the growing demand from the market. This will make the worth of gold rally further.

3. Stock Market Bearish vs Gold Market Bullish

Gold always perform reverse of stock market historically. When stock markets are performing badly lately, gold markets had been bullish. With uncertain financial and global conditions, some analyst imagine that gold will further appreciate its value and continued its bullish run for lengthy term.

It is never too late to invet in gold now!

There are a few methods to spend money on gold that are shown below.

1. Gold Jewelery

Gold jewelery is a well-liked technique of investing as financial savings in developing countries like India and Middle East.

2. Gold Bullion and Cash

Gold Bullion are gold bars in 1g to 400g. Goid cash are legal tendar of issuing countries and usually promote at a small premium above current spot gold price. In style funding grade coins are US Eagle, Canadian Maple Leaf,

3. Gold Certifcates or Accounts

These are ownerships rights to gold bullion held by a financial instution resembling a central bank for protected keeping.

4. Gold Mining Shares

These are shares of gold mining and exploration companies. When value of gold rises, some mining stocks offer handsome dividends when the issuing firms profits.

5. Gold Mutual Funds

These are funds that have gold in the portfolio managed by skilled fund managers. Some funds are area particular (comparable to US) or unfold across different mining companies.

It doesn?t matter what type of devices you select to spend money on, you must combine your portfolio with the right proportion together with your equities. The technique to investin gold is to have steadiness portfolio with diversification. The target is to use gold as a hedge towards flunctuations in fastened income market. The very best strategy is to begin with 10 % stage of your portfolio to spend money on gold and slowly varies you stage of gold to increase your portfolio stability.

In case you crave extra knowledge in relation to gold price, pay a visit to Ethan Breverstonen?s Site without delay.

Source: http://googlestatistics.com/2011/10/gold-investing-for-profits/

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Cardinals top Rangers in Game 7, win title

St. Louis tops Texas in Game 7 to clinch 11th title in franchise history

Jamie Squire / Getty Images

Albert Pujols, center,?and the St. Louis Cardinals celebrate in the locker room after defeating the Texas Rangers 6-2 in Game 7 on Friday.

By BEN WALKER

updated 11:22 p.m. ET Oct. 28, 2011

ST. LOUIS - Albert Pujols thrust both arms high in the air, even before he reached home plate.

It was only the first inning, and already it felt as if the St. Louis Cardinals were home free. Because after they had overcome so much just to get this far, what could stop them?

The Cardinals won a remarkable World Series they weren't even supposed to reach, beating the Texas Rangers 6-2 in Game 7 on Friday night with another key hit by hometown star David Freese and six gutty innings from Chris Carpenter.

Pushed to the brink, the Cardinals kept saving themselves. A frantic rush to reach the postseason on the final day. A nifty pair of comebacks in the playoffs. Two desperate rallies in Game 6.

"This whole ride, this team deserves this," said Freese, who added the Series MVP award to his trophy as the NL championship MVP.

A day after an epic game that saw them twice within one strike of elimination before winning 10-9 in 11 innings, the Cardinals captured their 11th World Series crown.

"It's hard to explain how this happened," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said.

Following a whole fall on the edge, including a surge from 10? games down in the wild-card race, La Russa's team didn't dare mess with Texas, or any more drama in baseball's first World Series Game 7 since the Angels beat Giants in 2002.

Freese's two-run double tied it in the first, with Pujols celebrating as he scored. Good-luck charm Allen Craig hit a go-ahead homer in the third.

Given a chance to pitch by a Game 6 rainout and picked by La Russa earlier in the day to start on three days' rest, Carpenter and the tireless St. Louis bullpen closed it out.

No Rally Squirrel needed on this night, either. Fireworks and confetti rang out at Busch Stadium when Jason Motte retired David Murphy on a fly ball to end it.

"We just kept playing," Cardinals star Lance Berkman said.

Said La Russa: "If you watch the history of baseball, teams come back."

The Rangers, meanwhile, will spend the whole winter wondering how it all got away. Texas might dwell on it forever, in fact, or at least until Nolan Ryan & Co. can reverse a World Series slide that started with last year's five-game wipeout against San Francisco.

"We were close. Two times. Game 6. That's it," Texas pitcher Colby Lewis said.

Ryan left tightlipped. When a reporter tried to ask the Rangers president and part-owner a question, someone in his entourage said: "He's not talking."

Texas had not lost consecutive games since last August. These two defeats at Busch Stadium cost manager Ron Washington and the Rangers a chance to win their first title in the franchise's 51-year history.

Instead, Texas became the first team to lose the Series two straight years since Atlanta in 1991-92.

"Sometimes when opportunity is in your presence, you certainly can't let it get away because sometimes it takes a while before it comes back," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "If there's one thing that happened in this World Series that I'll look back on is being so close, just having one pitch to be made and one out to be gotten, and it could have been a different story."

Added Texas third baseman Adrian Beltre: "We tried to come back today, but the momentum just took them."

"It's not a nice feeling, you know, being one strike away twice. I guess it's probably easier to lose four games in a row in a World Series, but being a strike away it's something that will be hard to forget," he said.

This marked the ninth straight time the home team had won Game 7 in the World Series. The wild-card Cardinals held that advantage over the AL West champions because the NL won the All-Star game ? Texas could blame that on their own pitcher, C.J. Wilson, who took the loss in July.

A year full of inspiring rallies and epic collapses was encapsulated in Game 6. Freese was the star, with a tying triple in the ninth and a winning home run in the 11th. His two RBIs in the clincher gave him a postseason record 21.

The Cardinals won their first championship since 2006, and gave La Russa his third World Series title. They got there by beating Philadelphia in the first round of the NL playoffs, capped by Carpenter outdueling Roy Halladay 1-0 in the deciding Game 5, and then topping Milwaukee in the NL championship series.

"I think the last month of the season, that's where it started," Pujols said. "Different guys were coming huge, getting big hits, and we carried that into the postseason and here we are, world champions."

By the time Yadier Molina drew a bases-loaded walk from starter Matt Harrison and Rafael Furcal was hit by a pitch from Wilson in relief, the crowd began to sense a championship was near.

The Cardinals improved to 8-3 in Game 7s of the Series, more wins than any other club. Yet fans here know their history well, and were aware this game could go either way ? Dizzy Dean and the Gas House Gang won 11-0 in 1934, but Whitey Herzog and his Cardinals lost 11-0 in 1985.

On this evening, all the stars aligned for St. Louis.

Starting in place of injured Matt Holliday, Craig hit his third homer of the Series and made a leaping catch at the top of the left field wall. Molina made another strong throw to nail a stray runner. And Carpenter steeled himself to pitch into the seventh, every bit an ace.

"It was in our grasp and we didn't get it," Washington said, referring to Game 6. "Tonight we fought hard for it and the Cardinals got it."

Pujols went 0 for 2, walked and was hit by a pitch in what could have been his last game with the Cardinals. Many think the soon-to-be free agent will remain in St. Louis.

"You know what? I'm not even thinking about that. I'm thinking about, you know, we're the world champions and I'm going to celebrate and whenever that time comes, you know, then we'll deal with it," he said.

Pujols did plenty of damage. His three-homer job in Game 3 was the signature performance of his career and perhaps the greatest hitting show in postseason history.

Dismissed by some as a dull Series even before it began because it lacked the big-market glamour teams, it got better inning by inning. Plus, a postseason first: A bullpen telephone mixup played a prominent role.

"I told you it was going to be a great series, and it was," Texas slugger Josh Hamilton said.

"I don't care what other people remember. We fell a little bit short," he said. "Hats off to the Cards, they did a great job, especially last night. It was actually fun to watch and fun to see. You hate it but it happened."

Craig hit a solo home run in the third, an opposite field fly to right that carried into the Cardinals bullpen and got their relievers dancing. The super-sub put St. Louis ahead 3-2 with his third homer of the Series. He was in the lineup only because Holliday sprained his right wrist on a pickoff play a night earlier and was replaced on the roster.

By then, the largest crowd at 6-year-old Busch Stadium was buzzing. The fans seemed a bit drained much earlier, maybe worn out from the previous night.

They grew hush in the first when Hamilton and Michael Young hit consecutive RBI doubles. Texas might have gotten more, but Ian Kinsler strayed too far off first base and was trapped by Molina's rocket throw.

Freese changed the mood in a hurry as St. Louis tied it in the bottom half. Pujols and Lance Berkman drew two-out walks and pitching coach Mike Maddux trotted to the mound while Freese stepped in to a standing ovation.

Freese rewarded his family and a ballpark full of new friends by lining a full-count floater to the wall in left center for a two-run double. Harrison was in trouble, and Wilson began warming up after only 23 pitches.

Carpenter wasn't sharp at the outset, either. All over the strike zone, he started seven of the first 10 batters with balls. Pitching coach Dave Duncan made a visit in the second to check on the tall righty, lingering for a few extra words.

"I was hoping to have an opportunity to go ahead and pitch in that game and fortunately it worked out," Carpenter said. "It started off a little rough in the first. But I was able to collect myself, make some pitches and our guys did an awesome job to battle back. And I mean, it's just amazing."

NOTES: Texas set a Series record by walking 41 batters, one more than Florida in 1997. Of the 34 runs the Cardinals scored, 11 reached on walks and two more on hit batters. ... The crowd was 47,399. ... The Cardinals will play the first game of the 2012 season in North America, opening the Miami Marlins' new ballpark on April 4.

? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Cards show guts, grab glory

??DeMarco: They had the gutsiest of regular-season comebacks, followed by the unlikeliest of postseason runs. But the Cardinals' ?World Series championship was a fitting end to a captivating postseason.

Jamie Squire / Getty Images

Cardinals top Rangers in Game 7, win title

The Cardinals won a remarkable World Series they weren't even supposed to reach, beating the Texas Rangers 6-2 in Game 7 on Friday night with another key hit by hometown star David Freese and six gutty innings from Chris Carpenter.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45083193/ns/sports-baseball/

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Oakland protesters hold late-night march (AP)

OAKLAND, Calif. ? Anti-Wall Street protesters filled a street with a late-night march Wednesday and Oakland's police chief pledged a vigorous investigation into an earlier clash between police and protesters that left an Iraq War veteran in critical condition with a fractured skull.

Police Chief Howard Jordan spoke as tensions grew over demonstration encampment in the Bay area.

"It's unfortunate it happened. I wish that it didn't happen. Our goal, obviously, isn't to cause injury to anyone," the chief said at an afternoon press conference.

Scott Olsen, 24, suffered a fractured skull Tuesday in a march with other protesters toward City Hall, said Dottie Guy, of the Iraq Veterans Against the War. The demonstrators had been making an attempt to re-establish a presence in the area of a disbanded protesters' camp when they were met by officers in riot gear.

It's not known exactly what type of object struck Olsen or who might have thrown it, though Guy's group said it was lodged by officers. Several small skirmishes had broken out in the night with police clearing the area by firing tear gas and protesters throwing rocks and bottles at them.

An Oakland hospital spokesman said Olsen, a network administrator in Daly City, was in critical condition Wednesday.

Earlier, Oakland officials allowed protesters back into the plaza outside City Hall where their 15-day-old encampment had been raided the day before, but said people would be prohibiting from spending the night.

About 1,000 people quickly filled the plaza, but later many of them filed out and began marching down nearby streets.

A reporter at the scene says police erected wooden barricades to block the march, but the protesters veered off as a group and continued down another street.

There were no signs of clashes between the two sides.

It wasn't immediately clear how many people were left in the plaza, where some had vowed to spend the night.

"I'm going to stay here tonight," said Jhalid Shakur, 43, of Oakland. "I don't have a tent, but I'll sleep on a bench if there's space."

"We're about to build our city back," he said.

Mayor Jean Quan said Oakland supports the protesters' goals but had to act Tuesday when a small number of them threw rocks, paint and bottles at the police.

"We had, on one hand, demonstrators who tried to rush banks, other demonstrators saying don't do that, and we had police officers, for the most part, 99 percent, who took a lot of abuse," the mayor said. "So yesterday was a sad day for us."

Jordan said an internal review board and local prosecutors have been asked to determine if officers on the scene used excessive force. He asked witnesses with recordings of violent interactions between civilians and the officers who came from several Bay Area agencies to submit them to investigators.

The clash Tuesday evening came as officials complained about what they described as deteriorating safety, sanitation and health issues at the dismantled camp.

Oakland City Administrator Deana Santana said protesters would be allowed to assemble in the plaza outside City Hall from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. She pleaded with those who planned to make another stand there to refrain from smashing windows, lighting fires and attempting to stay overnight.

"If we could have these simple, reasonable requests, we think we can assure safety in the streets tonight," Santana said.

The same concerns were being raised by San Francisco officials who warned protesters Wednesday that they could face arrest if they continue camping in a city plaza. In a letter, Police Chief Greg Suhr said the protesters could be arrested for violating a variety of city laws against camping, cooking, urinating and littering in public parks.

"Existing and ongoing violations make you subject to arrest," Suhr wrote in the notice, but didn't say if or when arrests would occur.

Police have taken down a previous Occupy San Francisco camp in the Justin Herman Plaza and also cleared another camp outside the Federal Reserve Bank downtown.

Late Wednesday some of the San Francisco protesters, estimated to be about 200 people, had their arms locked and were practicing trying to keep police from entering the perimeter of their encampment.

Police estimated at least five protesters were arrested and several others injured in the Tuesday evening clashes.

____

Associated Press writers Jason Dearen and Marcus Wohlsen contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111027/ap_on_re_us/us_occupy_wall_street_oakland

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From ugly to thriller

Five errors. Two wild pitches. The most obviously foreshadowed bunt into a double play in big-league history.

The Cardinals?scored in the ninth, 10th and 11th innings to beat the Rangers 10-9?and send the World Series to a Game?7, but?it wasn?t exactly a classic.

Sure, there were classic moments in Game 6, no doubt. David Freese?s game-tying triple with St. Louis down to its final strike in the bottom of the ninth, Josh Hamilton?s two-run shot in the 10th and Freese?s walkoff homer?gave us the most thrilling conclusion to a World Series game?in a decade. Also, the back-to-back homers from Adrian Beltre and Nelson Cruz in the seventh were huge, as?was Mike Napoli?s stunning pickoff of Matt Holliday to help preserve a tie for the Rangers in the sixth.

The final three innings was baseball as exciting as it can be. The first eight, well, they were rather iffy.

Freese, with his eyes closed, having a popup go off his glove (fortunately for him, it didn?t hit him in the head afterwards) would have?been a lasting image if not for the comeback. Holliday dropping an easy fly because he was worried Rafael Furcal?would run into him. Michael Young botching two plays at first base for Texas.

And there were non-errors. Freese certainly should have handled a foul popup in the third, but he was afraid of running into the wall. Nelson Cruz, likewise, was scared of the wall in right when he came up short on Freese?s two-run triple in the ninth.

There was also a mental boner. Shortstop Elvis Andrus turned in one in the eighth that could have cost the Rangers?the game prior to Freese?s heroics.

With one on and two out, Daniel Descalso hit a routine grounder to short in the eighth. The Rangers had him played to pull, so second baseman Ian Kinsler was shaded towards first. Still, Kinsler busted it over to second and would have retired Yadier Molina easily had Andrus made the throw there. Instead, Andrus looked to second, delayed and then threw a one-hopper to first too late to retire Descalso.

Jon Jay followed that was a single to right, loading the bases with the Cardinals down 7-5. The rally ended there, though. Furcal, maybe the easiest out of all of the ones the Cards have?sent to the plate in the series, tapped the first pitch back to the mound.

The bunt/double play?was even more gruesome. The Rangers had pitcher Colby Lewis coming up with runners on first and second and none out in the second. The Cards had no doubt that the bunt was coming and had Albert Pujols and Freese even with the mound?on the pitch and charging from there. Lewis missed the first bunt attempt and then connected on the second for?as routine of a double play as one will ever see in that situation.

Given the circumstances, manager Ron Washington should have just let him strike out. The Rangers got a run in the inning anyway, as Kinsler followed with an RBI double. They may well have added another one or two had Lewis made just one out instead of two.

Fortunately, the late-inning spectacle was glorious enough to erase some of the memories of the bad baseball that came before. And now both teams have a chance at redemption as we head into Game 7 on Friday.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/10/28/comedy-of-errors-turns-thriller-as-cardinals-win-in-11-innings/related/

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US government seeks $70M from African official (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? The son of Equatorial Guinea's president plundered his country's natural resources through corruption, spending more than $70 million in looted profits on a Malibu mansion, a Gulfstream jet and Michael Jackson memorabilia, the U.S. government said.

In what appeared to be a concerted action, France last month seized 11 luxury sports cars belonging to Teodorin Nguema Obiang Mangue, a government minister in the West African country and heir-apparent to the presidency. And a Spanish investigative judge has been asked to seize properties in Madrid and Las Palmas in the Canary Islands owned by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, his sons and some ministers, acting on a case brought by the Pro-Human Rights Association of Spain.

Teodorin Obiang, who is in his early 40s, used his position to siphon millions of dollars for his own personal use, U.S. authorities said in two civil forfeiture complaints filed in the District Court in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. The complaints say Obiang's assets can be forfeited because he engaged in misappropriation and theft of public funds for his benefit.

The U.S. government is seeking to recover $70 million in stolen funds from Obiang for "the benefit of the people of the country from which it was taken."

"We are sending the message loud and clear: The United States will not be a hiding place for the ill-gotten riches of the world's corrupt leaders," said Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer.

An email message left for Purificacion Angue Ondo, Equatorial Guinea's ambassador to the U.S., was not immediately returned. President Obiang has denied charges of corruption in the past. Teodorin Obiang told a South African court in 2005, in a dispute about two Cape Town mansions valued at $4 million, that he earned $4,000 a month as a minister but that in his country it is legal for companies owned by ministers to bid for government contracts with foreign groups and receive "a percentage of the total contract."

U.S. authorities believe Teodorin Obiang amassed more than $100 million through various schemes while he served as the country's forestry minister. His current government salary is about $6,800 a month, according to court documents.

The U.S. action follows years of investigations including a Justice Department and Immigration and Customs Department probe that showed Obiang transferred about $75 million into U.S. banks between 2005 and 2007, and indicated U.S. banks had not shown due diligence.

This came after the Obiang fortunes helped bring down the once-venerable Riggs Bank in 2004, when a U.S. Senate Committee investigation found the bank had "turned a blind eye" to evidence it was handling proceeds of foreign corruption in deposits of some $700 million deposited by its biggest customers ? Equatorial Guinea government entities, senior officials and Obiang family members. One bank official gave evidence that more than a million dollars was brought to the bank in one instance in cash enfolded in plastic wrap.

Some $26.5 million of that was transferred in suspicious transactions to Banco Santander in Spain, and used to buy properties being investigated there.

The U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations last year found that powerful Equatorial Guinea officials and their families used attorneys, real estate agents and lobbyists to circumvent anti-corruption laws.

Human rights groups including the Global Witness and the Open Society Justice Initiative for years have been asking the United States to deny visas to the Obiang family and seize their property under U.S. laws against unjust or illicit enrichment.

It was unclear why the action suddenly was being taken. A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice, Laura Sweeney, declined to comment "at this time" in an email response to questions. Ken Hurwitz, senior legal officer at the New York-based Open Society Justice Initiative, said he had heard reports that the Malibu property was being put up for sale.

Equatorial Guinea was a backwater until American energy company Exxon Mobil discovered oil and gas there in 1994. U.S. companies continue to dominate the industry there but face growing competition. Most oil from the country, which produces billions of dollars in annual revenue, is exported to the United States.

Despite its newfound wealth, life for the vast majority of the country's 680,000 people remains a struggle and the majority live below the poverty line with tens of thousands having no access to electricity or clean water, according to U.N. and World Bank figures.

Earlier this year, Global Witness reported that Teodorin Obiang had commissioned plans to build a superyacht costing $380 million ? nearly three times what the country spends on health and education each year.

U.S. authorities said Teodorin Obiang spent $30 million on a Malibu mansion, $38.5 million on a Gulfstream jet and about $3.2 million on Michael Jackson memorabilia, including a crystal-covered glove from the "Bad" tour and a basketball signed by the singer and former Chicago Bulls star Michael Jordan.

Among the other items purchased by Obiang, according to federal officials, was a 2011 Ferrari automobile valued at more than $530,000. Obiang also stored 24 luxury cars worth nearly $10 million at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles and shipped them to France. Among the supercars seized in France last month are Maseratis, two limited edition Bugatti Veyrons, Maseratis, Ferraris, Porsches and Rolls Royces.

Obiang would give various stories to banks that questioned where he had received large sums of cash from, authorities said. When Obiang opened an account at a California bank in 2007, he claimed that he acquired money from a family inheritance and from trading expensive and custom automobiles, court documents show.

---

Associated Press writer Michelle Faul contributed to this report from Johannesburg.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111026/ap_on_re_us/us_equatorial_guinea_corruption

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"Joe the Plumber" announces run for Congress (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, the Ohio man who as "Joe the Plumber" famously pressed then-presidential candidate Barack Obama on tax policy in 2008, said on Tuesday he was running for Congress.

Wurzelbacher said he would run as a Republican candidate for the House of Representatives in Ohio's 9th Congressional District, which includes the city of Toledo.

"If I'm coming off as angry, it's because I am," he said in the video of his official announcement posted on the website of FoxToledo.com.

"I just can't stand it when people do bad work. And we've been voting, the last 40 or 50 years, (for) bad people to do bad things to us. Why have we been doing it? Because we don't take our civic responsibility seriously enough," he said.

The district is currently represented by Democratic Representative Marcy Kaptur, first elected to the House of Representatives in 1982. Due to redistricting, she will face longtime Democratic lawmaker Dennis Kucinich in a primary.

In 2008, Wurzelbacher asked a few questions of Obama as the candidate campaigned door-to-door in an Ohio neighborhood, making him a focus of media reports.

The exchange was amplified in a debate shortly before the November 2008 election when Republican nominee John McCain cited Wurzelbacher as someone who would be hurt by Obama's tax plans and both candidates went on to refer to him more than two dozen times in the debate.

Wurzelbacher quickly became a political celebrity, particularly among Republicans who saw him as a working class everyman. But his reputation suffered when it was revealed the tradesman was not in fact a licensed plumber.

(Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111026/pl_nm/us_usa_politics_plumber

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Europe crafts debt deal that pleases markets

From left, Sweden's Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, Czech Republic's Prime Minister Petr Necas, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor participate in a round table at an EU summit in Brussels on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011. A grand plan to resolve Europe's escalating debt crisis was once again in doubt after officials said key parts of the package may not be ready in time for a leaders' summit on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

From left, Sweden's Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, Czech Republic's Prime Minister Petr Necas, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor participate in a round table at an EU summit in Brussels on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011. A grand plan to resolve Europe's escalating debt crisis was once again in doubt after officials said key parts of the package may not be ready in time for a leaders' summit on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel smiles during a media conference after an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011. A European Union official says the currency union's leaders have reached a deal with banks to take losses of 50 percent of their Greek bonds in a key move to solve the eurozone's debt crisis. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel smiles during a media conference after an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011. A European Union official says the currency union's leaders have reached a deal with banks to take losses of 50 percent of their Greek bonds in a key move to solve the eurozone's debt crisis. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, right, speaks with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou during a round table at an EU summit in Brussels on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011. A grand plan to resolve Europe's escalating debt crisis was once again in doubt after officials said key parts of the package may not be ready in time for a leaders' summit on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou arrives for at an EU summit in Brussels on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011. A grand plan to resolve Europe's escalating debt crisis was once again in doubt after officials said key parts of the package may not be ready in time for a leaders' summit on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Yves Logghe)

BRUSSELS (AP) ? The excruciating work of inking a deal to contain their two-year debt crisis over, European leaders turned Thursday to a potentially more difficult task: implementing the agreement that asks banks to take on bigger losses on Greece's debts and hopes to boost the region's arsenal against market turmoil.

World stock markets surged Thursday on the news that the leaders had clinched a deal that everyone hopes will keep the currency union from unraveling and prevent the crisis from pushing Europe and much of the developed world back into recession. But analysts were more cautious, noting that the deal remains vague and its success hangs on the details.

In the pre-dawn hours of Thursday, after the deal was unveiled, leaders claimed victory. But by evening, they were cautioning that their work has only begun.

"I think that yesterday we found a good overall package for the next stage, but I think that we still have many more stages to go," German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters in Berlin.

Cracks were already showing not even 24 hours after the deal. In an interview on French television channels TF1 and France-2, President Nicolas Sarkozy defended the deal as necessary to save the eurozone, but took a dig at Greece.

"It was an error" to let Greece join the monetary union in 2001, he said, during the interview aimed at explaining the agreement to the French public.

"Its economy was not ready to take on an integration into the eurozone," he said.

Earlier Thursday, Sarkozy called his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao and pledged to cooperate to revive global growth.

There was no word on whether Beijing might contribute to Europe's bailout fund. Sarkozy said in his interview Thursday night that he would welcome any investment, but that Europe didn't need China to save it.

"The proof is that we saved it without the Chinese," he said.

The fund's chief executive is due to visit Beijing on Friday to talk to potential investors. Beijing has expressed sympathy for the 27-nation European Union, its biggest trading partner, but has yet to commit any cash.

The strategy unveiled after 10 hours of negotiations focused on three key points. These included a significant reduction in Greece's debts, a shoring up of the continent's banks, partially so they could sustain deeper losses on Greek bonds, and a reinforcement of a European bailout fund so it can serve as a euro1 trillion ($1.39 trillion) firewall to prevent larger economies like Italy and Spain from being dragged into the crisis.

After several missed opportunities, hashing out a plan was a success for the 17-nation eurozone, but the strategy's effectiveness will depend on the details, which will have to be finalized in the coming weeks.

"The finer details still appear somewhat sketchy ... but the prospect of a contagion and a disorderly default appear to have been put to one side for the time being," said Michael Hewson, market analyst at CMC Markets. "The only concern is that this post-deal euphoria could well leave investors with a nasty hangover when they start to look at the fine print."

President Barack Obama, who had been pressuring Europe to get its act together in recent weeks, welcomed the plan but pointedly noted that the U.S. was looking forward to its "full development and rapid implementation."

The most difficult piece of the puzzle proved to be Greece, whose debts the leaders vowed to bring down to 120 percent of its GDP by 2020. Under current conditions, they would have ballooned to 180 percent.

To achieve that massive reduction, private creditors like banks will be asked to accept 50 percent losses on the bonds they hold.

The Institute of International Finance, which has been negotiating on behalf of the banks, said it was committed to working out an agreement based on that "haircut," but the challenge now will be to ensure that all private bondholders fall in line.

It said the 50 percent cut equals a contribution of euro100 billion ($139 billion) to a second rescue for Greece, although the eurozone promised to spend some euro30 billion ($42 billion) on guaranteeing the remaining value of the new bonds.

The deal is only the start of negotiations with the banks ? since they cannot be forced to take the losses without triggering the payment of bond insurance and risking greater market turmoil. With many banks struggling to get access to the loans they need to fund their day-to-day operations and the new rules that require them to raise billions of euros in capital, it could be very difficult to persuade them to accept the Greek writedown.

The full program is expected to be finalized by early December and investors are supposed to swap their bonds in January, at which point Greece is likely to become the first euro country ever to be rated at default on its debt.

"We can claim that a new day has come for Greece, and not only for Greece but also for Europe," said Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, whose country's troubles touched off the crisis two years ago. "A burden from the past has gone, so that we can start a new era of development."

Not all Greeks were convinced. Prominent left-wing deputy Dimitris Papadimoulis said the agreement would doom Greeks to a deeper recession.

"We are now locked in a system of continuous austerity, haphazard privatization and continuous supervision by our creditors," he said.

Since May 2010, Greece has been surviving on rescue loans worth euro110 billion ($150 billion) from the 17 countries that use the euro and the International Monetary Fund since it can't afford to borrow money directly from markets.

In July, those creditors agreed to extend another euro109 billion ? but that plan was widely panned as insufficient.

Now, in addition to euro30 billion in bond guarantees, the eurozone leaders and IMF said they will give Greece euro100 billion ($139 billion) in new loans.

With the banks being asked to shoulder more of the burden, though, there were concerns they needed more money in their rainy-day funds to cushion their losses. So European leaders have asked them to raise euro106 billion ($148 billion) by June.

The last piece in the complicated plan was to increase the firepower of the continent's bailout fund to ensure that other countries with troubled economies ? like Italy and Spain ? don't get dragged into the crisis. The third- and fourth-largest economies of the eurozone are too large to be bailed out like the smaller euro nations Greece, Portugal and Ireland have already been.

To that end, the euro440 billion ($610 billion) European Financial Stability Facility will be used to insure part of the potential losses on the debt of wobbly eurozone countries like Italy and Spain, rendering its firepower equivalent to around euro1 trillion ($1.39 trillion).

That should make those countries' bonds more attractive investments and thus lower borrowing costs for their governments.

In addition to acting as a direct insurer of bond issues, the EFSF insurance scheme is also supposed to entice big institutional investors to contribute to a special fund that could be used to buy government bonds but also to help states recapitalize weak banks.

Such outside help may be necessary for Italy and Spain, whose banks were facing some of the biggest capital shortfalls.

___

Sarah DiLorenzo reported from Paris. Greg Keller and Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Juergen Baetz, David Rising and Geir Moulson in Berlin, Raf Casert, Don Melvin and Robert Wielaard in Brussels and Julie Pace in Washington contributed.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-10-27-EU-Europe-Financial-Crisis/id-a24434b1354845d598b1cd6a1c3f2c0d

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Obama's appearance on Leno: a sneak peek (Reuters)

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) ? President Obama told Jay Leno during his visit to the "Tonight Show" that "you never like to see anybody come to the kind of end" that Muammar Gaddafi did, but that his death sends a message to other dictators.

Obama also said he isn't paying much attention to the GOP debates this early in the election cycle, according to a transcript of the appearance provided by NBC. He also chatted with Leno about Republican opposition to the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, and about what Michelle Obama is giving trick-or-treaters for Halloween.

"I'm going to wait until everybody is voted off the island before --" he joked about the GOP race, trailing off before finishing the thought. "Once they narrow it down to one or two, I'll start paying attention."

Asked about the Libyan dictator's death last week, Obama told Leno:

"Well, this is somebody who, for 40 years, has terrorized his country and supported terrorism. And he had an opportunity during the Arab spring to finally let loose of his grip on power and to peacefully transition into democracy.

"We gave him ample opportunity, and he wouldn't do it. And, obviously, you never like to see anybody come to the kind of end that he did, but I think it obviously sends a strong message around the world to dictators that... people long to be free, and they need to respect the human rights and the universal aspirations of people."

Video of the bloodied dictator being dragged away -- and later shots of his corpse being surrounded by crowds -- appeared worldwide last week.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111025/tv_nm/us_obama

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Libyans bury Gadhafi in unmarked grave

FILE - In this Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011 file photo, a man reacts while viewing the bodies of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, background, his ex-defense minister Abu Bakr Younis and his son, Muatassim Gadhafi, foreground, in a commercial freezer at a shopping center in Misrata, Libya. Moammar Gadhafi, Libya's all-powerful leader for four decades, spent his final weeks shuttling from hideout to hideout in his hometown of Sirte, alternating between rage and melancholy as his regime crumbled around him, said a Gadhafi confidant now in custody. Gadhafi, his son Muatassim and an entourage of two dozen die-hard loyalists were largely cut off from the world while on the run, living in abandoned homes without TV, phones or electricity, said Mansour Dao, a member of the Gadhafi clan and chief bodyguard. (AP Photo/David Sperry)

FILE - In this Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011 file photo, a man reacts while viewing the bodies of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, background, his ex-defense minister Abu Bakr Younis and his son, Muatassim Gadhafi, foreground, in a commercial freezer at a shopping center in Misrata, Libya. Moammar Gadhafi, Libya's all-powerful leader for four decades, spent his final weeks shuttling from hideout to hideout in his hometown of Sirte, alternating between rage and melancholy as his regime crumbled around him, said a Gadhafi confidant now in custody. Gadhafi, his son Muatassim and an entourage of two dozen die-hard loyalists were largely cut off from the world while on the run, living in abandoned homes without TV, phones or electricity, said Mansour Dao, a member of the Gadhafi clan and chief bodyguard. (AP Photo/David Sperry)

In this image made from amateur video provided by the Libya Youth Movement and filmed on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011, an injured Moammar Gadhafi is surrounded by Libyan fighters in Sirte, Libya. There are international calls, led by the U.S. and Britain, for an investigation of whether Libyan fighters killed a wounded Gadhafi after pulling him out of a drainage pipe in his hometown of Sirte last week. Gadhafi's body has been on display for public viewing in Misrata since Friday. Libya's former ruler was laid out on a mattress in a refrigerated produce locker in a shopping mall in Misrata, and long lines of people have formed to get a glance at the deposed dictator. In declaring Libya's declaration Sunday, interim leader Abdul-Jalil did not mention the circumstances of Gadhafi's death, but urged his people to eschew hatred. (AP Photo/Libya Youth Movement via APTN)

FILE - In this Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2011 file photo, rebel fighters trample on a head of Moammar Gadhafi inside the main compound in Bab al-Aziziya in Tripoli, Libya. Misrata's fighters emerged from weeks of punishing street fighting during the bloody siege of their hometown battle-hardened and instilled with a searing hatred for Moammar Gadhafi. In the end, they extracted their revenge, putting the dictator's body and that of his son on display as a trophy. For Misratans, it was a fitting end to the civil war, and a clear signal that they are a force to be reckoned with in post-Gadhafi Libya. (AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev, File)

MISRATA, Libya (AP) ? Moammar Gadhafi was buried early Tuesday morning in an unmarked grave in a modest Islamic ceremony, closing the book on his nearly 42-year rule of Libya and the eight-month civil war to oust him.

A Gadhafi nephew read a prayer for the dead before Gadhafi's body ? along with those of his son Muatassim and former defense minister Abu Bakr Younis ? were handed over for burial, said Ibrahim Beitalmal, a spokesman for the military council in the port city of Misrata.

The bodies had been kept in cold storage in Misrata for four days before being taken under cover of darkness to the burial site, which Beitalmal said was "not far" from the city. As part of the ceremony, the bodies were washed in line with Islamic tradition. A Muslim cleric, a nephew of Gadhafi and sons of Abu Bakr then recited prayers before handing the bodies over for burial, which took place at 5 a.m.

Libya's new leaders have said they would not reveal the location of the grave, fearing it could be vandalized or turned into a shrine for the former dictator's die-hard supporters.

Gadhafi was captured alive on Thursday as he tried to flee his hometown of Sirte, where he had been hiding since revolutionary forces swept into the capital, Tripoli, two months earlier.

He died later that day in unclear circumstances, and Libyan leaders have promised an investigation in response to international pressure to look into Gadhafi's death. Video has emerged showing Gadhafi being beaten and abused by a mob after his capture, and researchers for the New York-based Human Rights Watch have said there are strong indications he was killed in custody.

Human rights activists have warned that the new Libya could get off on the wrong foot if vigilante justice is condoned. However, many Libyans appeared relieved that Gadhafi is dead, saying a long trial for the former dictator would have been disruptive and made it harder on the country to get a fresh start. Earlier this week, interim leader Mustafa Abdul-Jalil formally declared an end to the civil war, starting the clock on what is to be a two-year transition to democracy.

The bodies of Gadhafi, Muatassim and Younis had been kept in a refrigerated produce locker in a warehouse area of Misrata for the past four days. Hundreds lined up every day to view the corpses, some coming from hundreds of miles away. Visitors donned surgical masks, and at times guards arranged separate lines for men and women.

Misrata suffered immensely during the war. It was besieged for nearly two month this spring by Gadhafi forces, who shelled the city indiscriminately before being pushed out in fierce street fighting. Gadhafi was captured by fighters from Misrata, who brought him back to the city as a trophy.

International organizations asking to see the burial site would be given access, Beitalmal said.

Over the weekend, Libya's chief pathologist, Dr. Othman el-Zentani, performed autopsies on the three bodies and also took DNA samples to confirm their identities. El-Zentani has said Gadhafi died from a shot to the head, and said the full report would be released later this week, after he presents his findings to the attorney general.

Gadhafi and Muatassim had been wounded before capture, but an investigation is to determine whether they were subsequently executed. Government officials have suggested Gadhafi was killed in crossfire.

Tirana Hassan, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, said she spoke Monday to a 30-year-old Sirte resident who had traveled in the convoy that tried to smuggle Gadhafi out of Sirte.

Hassan quoted the woman as saying that Gadhafi did not sustain serious injuries during the NATO strike on the convoy.

The woman said the former Libyan leader and members of his entourage left their vehicle after the attack and took cover for about three hours in an abandoned building. Gadhafi then left the hideout with a small group on foot, and they were captured a short while later, Hassan quoted the woman as saying.

The woman, who had volunteered at a field clinic in Sirte treating wounded Gadhafi loyalists, was released by the revolutionary forces and has returned to Sirte, Hassan said.

The Libyan uprising that began in mid-February and quickly turned into civil war has decimated the Gadhafi family.

His wife, Safiya, fled to Algeria with their daughter and one son, while another son fled to Niger. At least other three sons ? Muatassim, Seif al-Arab and Khamis ? have been killed. Another son, former heir apparent Seif al-Islam, remains at large.

A high-ranking Tuareg official in Niger said Tuesday that Seif al-Islam, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, is headed for Niger with the help of ethnic Tuaregs, a tribe that was among Gadhafi's strongest supporters.

Also Tuesday, Bani, a revolutionary spokesman, said an explosion rocked a fuel depot near Sirte a day earlier and that there were casualties. Bani said the blast is being treated as an accident, but that an investigation has been opened.

Hassan, the Human Rights Watch researcher, said that while in Sirte on Monday, said she saw 11 people with severe burns arrive at the city's Ibn Sina hospital. Nurses said the injuries were from the blast.

___

Associated Press writer Maggie Michael contributed to this report from Cairo.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-10-25-ML-Libya/id-19944b0eecc340e19266d5b6bb5a9217

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Top 5 early revelations from 'exclusive' Steve Jobs biography (Digital Trends)

The long-awaited biography on the late Apple co-founder and famed chief executive Steve Jobs ? aptly titled Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography, by author Walter Isaacson ? is now available through Amazon?s Kindle, iBooks and in bookstores nation-wide. That means the press is now free to busily pump out stories that reveal all the best tidbits. To take the condensation of the book even further, we?ve compiled here the five most i-teresting revelations from Steve Jobs, available so far. Now you won?t have to read the book at all (Kidding! Kinda?).

1. Jobs thought ?Antennagate? was a smear campaign by Google and Motorola

After reports began to surface that signal strength would drop significantly on the then-newly-released iPhone 4 when the phone was held in a certain way ? a scandal, commonly known as ?Antennagate,? which only affected a relatively small number of devices ? Jobs apparently thought Google and Motorola were trying to ?shoot down Apple,? according to the book.

After holding a special press conference, in which Apple offered customers free bumper cases that prevented the issue, Jobs told Isaacson that the problem was ?blown so out of proportion that it?s incredible.?

Read more

2. Jobs? and Bill Gates? first visit was a ?weird seduction?

From an excerpt of the book published today in Fortune: ?Gates frequently went down to Cupertino for demonstrations of the Macintosh operating system, and he was not very impressed. ?I remember the first time we went down, Steve had this app where it was just things bouncing around on the screen,? he told me. ?That was the only app that ran.? Gates was also put off by Jobs?s attitude. ?It was kind of a weird seduction visit where Steve was saying we don?t really need you and we?re doing this great thing, and it?s under the cover. He?s in his Steve Jobs sales mode, but kind of the sales mode that also says, ?I don?t need you, but I might let you be involved.??

Gates also said that he found Jobs ?fundamentally odd,? and ?weirdly flawed as a human being? because of his practice of either ?saying you were shit or trying to seduce you.?

Read more

3. Jobs and Obama didn?t get along, at first

Steve Jobs almost refused to meet with President Obama in 2010 because he insisted that the president invite Jobs himself. The high-powered pair did eventually meet, at a hotel in San Francisco. And Jobs immediately gave President Obama a piece of his mind.

?You?re headed for a one-term presidency,? Jobs told Obama when the meeting began. He insisted that Obama have more pro-business initiatives, like they do in China where companies aren?t met with ?regulations and unnecessary costs.? Jobs also complained about the restrictions on the US education system imposed by unions.

Despite the cold reception, Jobs and Obama stayed in touch, says Isaacson, and Jobs later offered to help create ads for Obama?s 2012 re-election campaign, an offer he extended in 2008, but didn?t follow through with because he didn?t like the way campaign manager David Axelrod handled the relationship.

?Read more

4. Jobs didn?t want any third-party apps on the iPhone

Third-party apps may be one of the most compelling reasons to buy an iPhone, but they almost weren?t allowed on the device at all. Isaacson reports that Jobs was reluctant to allow third-party apps on the original iPhone after it debuted in 2007.

?When it first came out in early 2007, there were no apps you could buy from outside developers, and Jobs initially resisted allowing them,? writes Isaacson. ?He didn?t want outsiders to create applications for the iPhone that could mess it up, infect it with viruses, or pollute its integrity.?

Apple board member Art Levinson and Apple senior vice president of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller later talked Jobs into allowing third-party apps.

?I couldn?t imagine that we would create something as powerful as the iPhone and not empower developers to make lots of apps. I knew customers would love them,? said Schiller.

Read more

5. Jobs felt ?annoyed and depressed? after iPad announcement due to customer complaints

Following the launch of the original iPad in 2010, Jobs became ?annoyed and depressed,? says Isaacson, when his personal email address became flooded with complaints about the new device.

??There?s no USB cord! There?s no this, no that,?? Jobs told Isaacson. ?Some of them are like, ?F**k you, how can you do that?? I don?t usually write people back, but I replied, ?Your parents would be so proud of how you turned out.? And some don?t like the iPad name, and on and on. I kind of got depressed today. It knocks you back a bit.?

?Read more

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/digitaltrends/20111024/tc_digitaltrends/top5earlyrevelationsfromexclusivestevejobsbiography

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