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Source: http://www.facebook.com/dailyaztec/posts/10150565695046834
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STORM LAKE, Iowa ? As he scrambles to stop a slide in Iowa, Newt Gingrich's strategy amounts to this: hammer home a message about jobs and the economy while wrapping himself in the mantle of Ronald Reagan. But the loquacious former House speaker keeps struggling to stay on message.
On a 22-stop bus tour of Iowa, Gingrich finds himself unloading on his GOP rivals and reviving talk of a Greek cruise that nearly sank his campaign earlier this year. He fields questions about his work for mortgage giant Freddie Mac, ethics allegations and whether his three marriages make him a polygamist.
The economy? Jobs? Those issues sometimes have been lost in the mix.
"It's been wild and woolly," Gingrich acknowledged to a voter as his wife, Callista, collected a double cappuccino at a Sioux City coffee shop.
If there was ever a time when Gingrich has needed the discipline he's long lacked, it's probably now, as polls show his support tumbling in Iowa in the wake of a storm of ads assailing him as a Washington insider who used his influence to line his pockets.
He now trails rivals Mitt Romney and Ron Paul in Iowa and even if he does manage to score in the top three in Tuesday's caucuses, he doesn't have the money or the organization at this point that those two opponents do as they prepare to go the distance in the state-by-state march to the GOP nomination.
Gingrich argues that his economic pitch is the key to victory, and he doubled down on it Thursday _or at least tried to.
He appeared in Storm Lake with noted Reagan economist Art Laffer, who praised Gingrich as "far and away the best person to bring this county back to prosperity." Gingrich outlined his tax-cutting economic proposal and implied he was the heir to Reagan's supply-side vision. But he also strayed into long-winded digressions on the federal government's regulation of particulate matter load and conflict in the Strait of Hormuz.
His trademark spray of ideas leaves some voters impressed ? but overwhelmed.
"He has so many," said Ruth Lawlor, 76, who came to hear Gingrich speak at a chocolate store in Algona this week. "It's hard to keep track."
Gingrich's predilection to go for the jugular also has tripped him up, earning his self-described "positive" campaign headlines that he didn't want.
In an interview on CNN this week, Gingrich took the bait.
He not only blasted Romney and Paul but used some of the most incendiary language of the campaign so far. Romney wasn't "man enough" to own up to the negative attacks launched at Gingrich. And Paul was "totally outside the mainstream of every decent American."
Just days later, Gingrich seemed to be suffering from selective amnesia.
"The strategy of focusing on jobs and economic growth, staying positive and being pretty relentless in answering questions at every meeting is working," he said Thursday.
At his campaign events, Gingrich encourages his audiences to fire away with questions about allegations made in attack ads.
In recent days, he's been asked about an ethics fine he paid as speaker and his work for Freddie Mac.
"I don't understand numbers with all those zeros," said a man in Thursday's crowd, referring to the $1.6 million Gingrich's company earned from Freddie Mac.
Gingrich explained that he didn't take in all that money himself and that he fought to increase regulations and not increase funding for the government-sponsored entity.
The candidate argues that such forums give him an opportunity to set the record straight on issues that have been distorted. But they also dredge up the controversies, even as he seeks to put them behind him.
One example came in a telephone town hall meeting Wednesday night when a caller likened Gingrich's three marriages to polygamy.
"Jesus very specifically states in the Bible that divorced people are really still married, which I think technically means now that you're a polygamist, and I'm wondering what you'll do to legalize polygamy in the U.S. if you were to be elected president," the man said.
Gingrich labeled the question "fairly unusual" and said he would oppose any effort to legalize polygamy.
The former Georgia congressman acknowledges his tendency to stray off script.
At Mabe's Pizza in Decorah he was asked why his Republican rivals have been so eager to embrace government intervention in the economy.
He paused and an impish smile crept across his face.
"I'll just get in trouble," he said.
___
Follow Shannon McCaffrey: http://www.twitter.com/smccaffrey13
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LONDON (Reuters) ? Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext have extended the deadline for completion of their planned merger to March 31 next year as they seek to convince European regulators to back the $9 billion deal.
The exchanges, which agreed the merger on February 14, told the Securities and Exchange Commission last week they were exercising their right to extend the initial termination deadline of December31 2011.
The extension came after months of frantic lobbying by the merger partners as they try to convince European anti-trust authorities in Brussels to approve the combination -- the last hurdle to the deal.
European authorities are fearful the merged entity would have a monopoly in European futures and options and have sought remedies from the exchanges, which between them have over 90 percent of European trading, to address this concern.
The exchanges offered concessions in November, including spinning-off parts of NYSE's futures trading business and offering open-access to D.Boerse's clearing unit to rival exchanges.
But these were rejected by European officials, prompting further concessions two weeks ago and an assurance last week that derivatives trading fees would be capped for three years after the deal.
But European regulators last week showed no signs of buying these arguments, fuelling speculation the exchanges would look to bypass the anti-trust team and focus their lobbying on competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia.
The exchanges are likely to make a case for why their deal to create a pan-European exchange operator -- and the world's largest -- would be good for the European Union at a time when the continent is in financial crisis.
Both sets of exchange shareholders and the U.S. anti-trust authority have approved the deal so the European Commission is the last major hurdle for what would be the largest exchange merger in history.
The Commission is scheduled to decide whether to approve the merger by February 9 but Almunia said last week a decision on the deal was possible by the end of January.
(Editing by Helen Massy-Beresford)
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Asian shares fell on Wednesday in low volume with many market players away for year-end holidays, while oil held on to the previous day's gains on concerns about possible supply disruptions after Iran threatened to stop the flow of oil from the Gulf.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.miapj0000pus> fell 0.9 percent, keeping it on track for a 2011 loss of 18 percent, underperforming a 12 percent decline in European shares <.fteu3> and a 9 percent drop in world stocks <.miwd00000pus>.
The pan-Asian index was dragged lower by a 1.3 percent drop in Australian shares <.axjo>, hit by falling gold and copper prices in extremely thin trading. Investors cutting risk before the year-end led Hong Kong and China shares down as turnovers neared year lows.
European markets were likely to open lower, with financial spreadbetters expecting London's FTSE <. class="tpk">FTSE> to start barely changed but Frankfurt's DAX <.gdaxi> and Paris' CAC-40 <.fchi> to begin down 0.2 and 0.4 percent respectively.
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Japan's Nikkei stock average <.n225> ended down 0.2 percent in light trading, on track for a 17.6 percent drop this year.
"More people want to bring their positions to neutral ahead of the New Year holidays than look for bargain hunting, and that's keeping prices depressed in low volumes," said Tetsuro Ii, the president of Commons Asset Management in Tokyo.
U.S. crude oil steadied around $101.30 a barrel, after surging more than $2 to $101.77 on Tuesday on concerns over possible supply disruptions from the Middle East.
Iran threatened to cut off a key oil shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz if foreign sanctions are imposed on its oil exports.
"The only way Iran would actually close Hormuz is when it is attacked and war breaks, but such a possibility appears low as no country would want to take the risk when growth worldwide was likely to slow down," said Naohiro Niimura, a partner at research and consulting firm Market Risk Advisory Co.
But he added the Iran issue will be a major source of volatility in 2012 along with the euro zone debt crisis. He expects U.S. crude futures to trade between $95-$100 and Brent to trade between $105-$110 in 2012.
Aside from oil, the impact to financial markets was limited.
The dollar index, measured against a basket of six major currencies, was nearly flat at 79.830 <.dxy>.
The euro stood at $1.3067, holding above its 11-month trough of $1.2945 hit earlier this month. But it remained vulnerable ahead of Italy's debt sale on Thursday.
The Italian debt sale of up to 8.5 billion euros of debt will provide a gauge of investor appetite. Italy faces around 100 billion euros in bond redemptions and coupon payments between January and April.
The direction of yields on highly-indebted euro zone sovereigns will remain a market focus in 2012, as a soaring public financing burden threaten to hurt growth and further derail fiscal reforms.
COMMODITIES SEEN SUPPORTED
In the United States, more data emerged to support views the economy was on track for moderate recovery, with improving labor market conditions lifting U.S. consumer confidence to an eight-month high in December. Other data, however, showed U.S. single-family home prices fell more than expected in October, suggesting recovery was still far from being on a solid footing.
Europe must clear several hurdles including government bond auctions and implementing a bailout program before regaining market confidence about its ability to contain the debt crisis.
Once the prospect of resolving the debt crisis becomes clear, it would help improve economic fundamentals in the U.S. and China and boost risk appetite.
While global economies remain on shaky ground, policymakers will likely maintain accommodative monetary conditions next year to spur growth, lending support to commodities, analysts say.
"The trend for including commodities in asset allocations will remain intact next year, as you cannot remove resources-related assets from your portfolios," said Ii of Commons Asset Management.
The 19-commodity Reuters-Jefferies CRB index <.crb> -- largely influenced by U.S. crude oil -- was set for a 7 percent drop in 2011, faring slightly better than equities.
U.S. crude oil was among the best performers this year with a 10 percent increase, while gold gained 12 percent as a loss of confidence in key currencies such as the euro accelerated flight to bullion, traditionally seen as a safe-haven.
Niimura at Risk Advisory expects three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange to trade between $8,000-$8,500 a metric ton and gold to average $1,800 an ounce in 2012.
(Editing by Ramya Venugopal)
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Public release date: 28-Dec-2011
Share ] Contact: Laura Giardina
lgiardina@rlapr.com
914-241-0086 x20
Robin Leedy & Associates, Inc.
IRVINGTON, NY, DECEMBER 28, 2011 Acetaminophen is one of the most commonly used pain and fever relievers for infants and children and is safe and effective when used as directed. However, with recent dosing changes to liquid acetaminophen products for infants, the FDA last week issued a press release urging parents to know the concentration and read the label as the new, less concentrated form of the popular pain reliever arrives on store shelves.
Over the past 12 months, several manufacturers of infant's liquid acetaminophen products, such as PediaCare and Little Remedies, voluntarily converted to a single concentration of liquid acetaminophen and added additional product enhancements, including age-appropriate dosing devices. While the new 160 mg per 5 mL concentration is now arriving in drugstores, much of the older, more concentrated 80 mg per 1 mL or 80 mg per 0.8 mL versions may still be in people's medicine cabinets as well as on store shelves.
To help explain and illustrate the changes to infants and children's acetaminophen products, Dr. Jim Sears, pediatrician and co-host of The Doctors, teamed up with PediaCare and Little Remedies to create a video explaining the new, smart product changes along with a demonstration of the new special dosing mechanisms. Infant products will now contain a special dosing syringe and flow restrictors on the bottles; children's products, for ages 2 to 11 years, will have the bottles with flow restrictors, and continue to contain dosing cups. Both infant and children's formulations will continue to have weight-based instructions on the package, as well.
"There continues to be a 'transition period' during which the existing concentrated infant products and the new standard strength acetaminophen infant PediaCare and Little Fevers products may be on store shelves simultaneously," says Albert Hwang, Vice President, OTC Products for Prestige Brands, Inc. "The new infant formula is less concentrated and the dose is therefore more than in the older infant formulation. And while reading and following package directions is always recommended to obtain accurate dosing instructions, it will be even more important while the two concentrations are available. Parents and caregivers should ask a healthcare professional if they have any questions," he adds.
###
The new PediaCare and Little Remedies products are available at drugstores, supermarkets and retailers nationwide. To learn more about the new acetaminophen dosing system for PediaCare or Little Remedies, visit www.pediacare.com, www.littleremedies.com or www.youtube.com/pediacare
About Prestige Brands Holdings, Inc.
The Company markets and distributes brand name over-the-counter and household cleaning products throughout the U.S., Canada, and certain international markets. Core brands include Chloraseptic sore throat treatments, Clear Eyes eye care products, Compound W wart treatments, The Doctor's NightGuard dental protector, The Little Remedies and PediaCare lines of pediatric over-the-counter products, Efferdent denture care products, Luden's throat drops and Dramamine motion sickness treatment.
[ | E-mail | 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.
Public release date: 28-Dec-2011 Share ] Contact: Laura Giardina
lgiardina@rlapr.com
914-241-0086 x20
Robin Leedy & Associates, Inc.
IRVINGTON, NY, DECEMBER 28, 2011 Acetaminophen is one of the most commonly used pain and fever relievers for infants and children and is safe and effective when used as directed. However, with recent dosing changes to liquid acetaminophen products for infants, the FDA last week issued a press release urging parents to know the concentration and read the label as the new, less concentrated form of the popular pain reliever arrives on store shelves.
Over the past 12 months, several manufacturers of infant's liquid acetaminophen products, such as PediaCare and Little Remedies, voluntarily converted to a single concentration of liquid acetaminophen and added additional product enhancements, including age-appropriate dosing devices. While the new 160 mg per 5 mL concentration is now arriving in drugstores, much of the older, more concentrated 80 mg per 1 mL or 80 mg per 0.8 mL versions may still be in people's medicine cabinets as well as on store shelves.
To help explain and illustrate the changes to infants and children's acetaminophen products, Dr. Jim Sears, pediatrician and co-host of The Doctors, teamed up with PediaCare and Little Remedies to create a video explaining the new, smart product changes along with a demonstration of the new special dosing mechanisms. Infant products will now contain a special dosing syringe and flow restrictors on the bottles; children's products, for ages 2 to 11 years, will have the bottles with flow restrictors, and continue to contain dosing cups. Both infant and children's formulations will continue to have weight-based instructions on the package, as well.
"There continues to be a 'transition period' during which the existing concentrated infant products and the new standard strength acetaminophen infant PediaCare and Little Fevers products may be on store shelves simultaneously," says Albert Hwang, Vice President, OTC Products for Prestige Brands, Inc. "The new infant formula is less concentrated and the dose is therefore more than in the older infant formulation. And while reading and following package directions is always recommended to obtain accurate dosing instructions, it will be even more important while the two concentrations are available. Parents and caregivers should ask a healthcare professional if they have any questions," he adds.
###
The new PediaCare and Little Remedies products are available at drugstores, supermarkets and retailers nationwide. To learn more about the new acetaminophen dosing system for PediaCare or Little Remedies, visit www.pediacare.com, www.littleremedies.com or www.youtube.com/pediacare
About Prestige Brands Holdings, Inc.
The Company markets and distributes brand name over-the-counter and household cleaning products throughout the U.S., Canada, and certain international markets. Core brands include Chloraseptic sore throat treatments, Clear Eyes eye care products, Compound W wart treatments, The Doctor's NightGuard dental protector, The Little Remedies and PediaCare lines of pediatric over-the-counter products, Efferdent denture care products, Luden's throat drops and Dramamine motion sickness treatment.
[ | E-mail | 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/2011-12/rla-fup122811.php
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Back in August we ran a simple poll asking which device manufacturer our readers favored. ?Motorola had a strong following just a few months ago, but now that the Galaxy Nexus is out, we have a feeling everyone?s opinion of Samsung might have possibly turned around. ?So down below, give us your take on which manufacturer is your favorite. ?Motorola for their history of high quality and tough builds, Samsung for their screens and lighter hardware, or even HTC for making music lovers their main priority with the acquisition of Beats Audio.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DroidLife/~3/C28EO90QTdE/
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Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., signs an autograph during a campaign stop at at Tangleberries in Centerville, Iowa, Friday, Dec. 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., signs an autograph during a campaign stop at at Tangleberries in Centerville, Iowa, Friday, Dec. 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., listens to a question during a campaign stop at Lodge Pizza & Steakhouse in Corydon, Iowa, Friday, Dec. 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Republican presidential candidate Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks to workers and local residents after touring the TPI Iowa wind blade manufacturing facility, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011, in Newton, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Republican presidential candidate Texas Gov. Rick Perry signs an autograph for Jeanne Dietrich, of Omaha, Neb., after speaking to local residents and workers at the TPI Iowa wind blade manufacturing facility, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011, in Newton, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) ? It's been a different presidential race in Iowa this year ? quieter.
Campaign headquarters have hardly been buzzing with activity, unlike the around-the-clock nature of past contests. Candidates have barely visited the state, compared with years when most all but moved here. And they have largely refrained from building the grass-roots armies of yesteryear, in favor of more modest on-the-ground teams of paid staffers and volunteers.
The final rush of campaigning here gets under way Monday, just a week before the Jan. 3 caucuses, and, to be sure, there will be a flurry of candidate appearances and get-out-the-vote efforts all week.
But that will belie the reality of much of 2011, a year marked by a less aggressive personal courtship of Iowans in a campaign that, instead, has largely gravitated around a series of 13 nationally televised debates, a crush of television ads and interviews on media outlets watched by many Republican primary voters, like Fox News Channel.
"We just haven't had as much face time," Republican chairwoman Trudy Caviness in Wapello County said. "That's why we're so undecided."
Indeed, people here simply don't know the Republican presidential candidates that well. And it's a big reason why the contest in Iowa is so volatile and why the caucus outcome could end up being more representative of the mood of national Republicans than in past years when GOP activists here have gone it alone by launching an unlikely front-runner to the top of the field.
With a week to go, the state of the race in Iowa generally mirrors the race from coast to coast.
Polls show Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, having lost ground and Texas Rep. Ron Paul having risen, with both still in contention with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney at the head of the pack. All the others competing in Iowa ? Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum ? are trailing.
But, in a sign that the contest is anyone's to win, most polls have shown most Republican caucusgoers undecided and willing to change their minds before the contest in a state where the vote typically breaks late in the campaign year.
There are a slew of reasons why the Iowa campaign is a much more muted affair than in 2008 ? marked by the iconic clash of Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, who together employed almost 300 staff in Iowa and held blockbuster rallies. This year, there is no contested Democratic primary, given that President Barack Obama has no serious challenger. Only Republicans are competing, and those candidates are approaching the state differently, both visiting and hiring less. Also, like it did everywhere else, the race here started slowly ? months later than usual ? as a slew of GOP politicians weighed candidacies, only to abort White House bids.
Long-time Republican activists here, who often joke that they like to meet the candidates several times before deciding, have barely seen the candidates once, much less at all, and no campaign has more than 20 paid staff in the state.
All that's partly a consequence of how technology has changed both the political and media environments in recent years. Campaigns now can more precisely ? and cheaply ? target their pitches to voters from afar, sending personalized e-mails and YouTube video messages from the candidates to voters directly, and more campaign outreach is being handled by volunteers and through central national websites. And voters, themselves, now can go online and find information about the candidates without having to wait for the White House hopeful to show up in the town square.
"Caucuses don't exist in a vacuum. They're not the same every time," said John Stineman, a West Des Moines Republican activist who ran Steve Forbes 2000 Iowa campaign. "But everything else has changed. Why wouldn't the caucuses change?"
Part of the change has been driven by Romney's approach to the state.
The nominal GOP front-runner for most of the year, Romney has been far less aggressive in cultivating support in Iowa than in his failed bid of 2008. He's only spent 10 days in the state this year, compared to 77 days four years ago, in an attempt to lower expectations in the leadoff state where evangelical conservatives have harbored doubts about Romney in light of his Mormon faith and changed positions on some social issues.
Paul, the Texas congressman, has been focused more on building a national following than being a one-state candidate.
Gingrich only became a serious contender in the state a few weeks ago. And, until recently, he didn't have the money or manpower to launch a full-scale Iowa campaign, meaning more sporadic visits and a smaller team. He's struggled to reach all parts of the state more than once; it was just last week that he visited Ottumwa, seat of the county Caviness represents and a medium-size Iowa city uniquely situated in the southeast with its own small media market.
Likewise, Perry has not been to Marshalltown, a central Iowa GOP hub about the same size as Ottumwa and home of the state-run veterans home. It would seem like a natural spot for Perry, a former Air Force officer who has sought veterans support. But he also hasn't visited Fort Dodge, also another mid-size Iowa city in north-central Iowa on the way to heavily Republican northwest Iowa.
Those who have been struggling to gain traction ? and who lack the money of better-funded, better-known rivals ? are turning to old-fashioned retail campaigning in hopes of wooing voters the traditional way.
Bachmann is in the midst of a bus tour that has her crisscrossing the state. And Santorum, who never has broken out of the back of the pack, is betting that a year of one-on-one campaigning will pay off in the end.
Barb Livingston is proof that, for all the changes, there's still something to be said for the personal approach. She has struggled all year to find a candidate to back and is basing her decision on a personal impression she had ? except that impression was established four years ago, riding around Marshall County with Romney.
"When push comes to shove, I had a chance to meet him and travel around with," said Livingston, a former Marshall County GOP chairwoman. "He's someone personally I connected with."
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Facebook CSI Game App: Dr. Matz discusses science fiction and reality in the biology of AVATAR. Life Science Library?s Science Study Break program will wrap up its season on Wednesday with an examination of James Cameron?s most recent blockbuster Avatar. Dr. Misha Matz of the School of Biological Sciences will decipher biological fact from fantasy in the world of the film AVATAR, examining real life science behind the science fiction. Pop culture and the academy collide as Science Study Break features relevant faculty and experts from The University of Texas at Austin discussing the reality and fantasy portrayed as fact in science-themed books, television and film. Past presentations have featured presentations on bioterrorism and its treatment in the Fox thriller ?24,? artificial intelligence gone wild in ?2001: A Space Odyssey,? the comic realities of Spider-Man and epidemiological models for the proliferation of zombies. Science Study Break occurs twice each semester and is generously supported by the University Federal Credit Union.
Source: http://fbtutor.tv/15986/facebook/facebook-csi-game-app-6/
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Source: http://twitter.com/lulucrumble/statuses/151248006870614016
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HONOLULU?? After spending a quiet Christmas morning with his family, President Barack Obama attended church services Sunday at a Marine base near his rented Hawaiian vacation home.
The Obamas made the short drive from their multimillion-dollar Kailua Beach house to the chapel at Marine Corps Base Hawaii. The president dressed casually in dark khaki pants and a short-sleeve blue shirt, and his wife and daughters donned sundresses for Christmas services on a bright and breezy day on the island of Oahu.
The Obamas have been spending the holiday with a small group of friends and family, including the president's sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, who lives in Hawaii with her family.
On Christmas Eve, the president made phone calls to 10 service members stationed around the world, two from each branch of the military. The White House said he thanked them for their service and the sacrifice of being away from their families at the holidays.
Obama has kept a low profile since arriving in Hawaii on Friday evening to start a vacation delayed by the stalemate in Washington over extending payroll tax cuts. He has no public events planned, and his only outings are expected to be to the golf course or to take his daughters for shave ice, a Hawaiian snow cone.
___
Associated Press writer Jaymes Song in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, contributed to this report.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45787395/ns/us_news/
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December 23, 2011 6:30 AM
Classic brick-and-mortar fireplaces aren't exactly hot these days, according to Joe LaVecchia of New Jersey's Abbey Hart Brick & Stone. "We used to sell a million firebricks a year in the 1970s," he says. "Now it's more like eighty or a hundred thousand."It's not that the hearth's allure has been extinguished?it's a cost issue. Between the prerequisite concrete foundation and a mason to do the job, a traditional fireplace can cost $10,000 to $15,000 to install. Then there's efficiency. Typical fireplaces draw and vent interior air that a homeowner pays to heat with a furnace. The image of dollar signs streaming out of a chimney comes to mind.
The most common alternative today is the fuel-efficient, direct-vent gas fireplace. Carpenters can install the prefab firebox, which costs a fraction of a traditional fireplace. Still, nothing duplicates a crackling hearth. The old flame?fascinating and elemental?dies hard.
1. FLUE Smoke rises through ceramic flue liners in about 95 percent of brick chimneys, Tyler McClave of flue-maker Superior Clay says. Round models span 3 to 36 inches in diameter; rectangular flues get as big as 24 x 24. But a 12 x 12 square is typical, and two flues often run side by side in a single chimney.
2. SMOKE SHELF Wood smoke rises from the firebox and collects along the smoke shelf, a horizontal termination that prevents smoke from traveling downward from the chimney and into the house. Located about 8 inches above the top of the firebox, the shelf? has a concave surface that collects rainwater and debris.
3. DAMPER The metal door atop the firebox closes when the fireplace is dormant to seal the drafty chimney from the home interior. It's not a perfect seal, McClave says, because a refrigerator-style rubber gasket can't last in intense heat. Common-sense note: Never light a fire with the damper closed.
4. FIREBRICK Also known as refractory brick, firebrick has an inherent ability to expand and contract with rapid heating and cooling. Face brick, which clads chimneys, cracks and fails when used to line a firebox.
Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/improvement/interior/how-your-house-works-fireplace?src=rss
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Samsung Galaxy S II Duos, new member of their Galaxy S II family was launched recently. It boasts 4.52 inches Super AMOLED Plus Capacitive Touchscreen along with powerful 1.2 GHz Dual-core Processor. It is running on Android v2.3.5 Gingerbread OS. It also got an 8.0 MP main camera with 1080p video recording and 2.0 MP front-facing snapper. Connectivity is well covered with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPRS, 3G, GPS and microUSB.
Price of this product is applicable in all cities in India including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Cochin, Indore, Patna, Pondicherry, Nagpur, Jaipur, Allahabad, Gandhinagar, Amritsar, Calicut, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Noida, Trivandrum, Trichy, Coimbatore, Madurai, Mysore, Gurgaon, Srinagar plus other cities as well.
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CAIRO (Reuters) ? Egypt is holding the latest round of its first democratic parliamentary election on Thursday in relative calm after five days of protests in Cairo that prompted a brutal response from security forces.
The latest confrontations, in which 15 people were killed, redoubled the determination of many pro-democracy protesters to see the military council that took over from ousted president Hosni Mubarak hand power to civilians immediately.
But the wider political landscape is changing away from Cairo's Tahrir Square, centre of the protests, as the long-banned moderate Islamist Muslim Brotherhood looks to extend its election lead on Thursday.
Polling finishes on January 11. Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, head of the military council, said the lower house of parliament would convene on January 23, two days before the first anniversary of the uprising that toppled Mubarak.
Tahrir and surrounding streets were quiet on Wednesday for the first time in a week, not least because the authorities had erected concrete walls to bar access from the square to roads leading to parliament, the cabinet office and the Interior Ministry, where violence has been the most fierce.
A night earlier, police and soldiers had used tear gas and batons to chase protesters out of the square.
Nine provinces, mostly outside the capital, held run-off votes on Wednesday and Thursday in the second round of an election that is being held in stages over six weeks.
The army council has said it will not let the transition be derailed and has pledged to hand power to an elected president by July.
Activists plan a million-man march to Tahrir Square on December 23 to protest against army rule and the latest violence.
A few hundred hardy protesters were still in and around the square on Wednesday, surrounded by streets strewn with rocks exchanged between them and security forces. Some protesters held up bullets and cartridge cases that they said had been used against them. Traffic passed through other parts of the square.
The clashes have driven a wedge between those determined to stay on the streets and other Egyptians desperate for a return to order after turmoil that has damaged the economy and scared off foreign tourists. Many still see the army as the only institution capable of achieving this.
"All demonstrations should stop to end this violence until we finish elections and elect a president, then all the demonstrators can voice their concerns through members of parliament," said Erian Saleeb, 64, who works in the floundering tourist industry.
But many have been shocked by images of police and soldiers hitting protesters with batons even after they fell to the ground and, in one case, dragging a prone woman by her black robe, exposing her bra, and then kicking her.
STRONG U.S. RESPONSE
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this week responded with some of the strongest U.S. criticism of Egypt's new rulers, citing cases of women protesters being sexually assaulted.
"This systematic degradation of Egyptian women dishonors the revolution, disgraces the state and its uniform and is not worthy of a great people," she said.
The United States, for which Egypt under Mubarak was a crucial ally, gives Cairo $1.3 billion a year in military aid.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr said on Wednesday that Egypt would not accept meddling in its affairs, and did not take comments such as Clinton's lightly.
In a statement, the army council apologized, saying it "respects and appreciates Egyptian women and their right to protest and fully participate in political life."
But other generals and their advisers have condemned the pro-democracy demonstrators, whom they accuse of wreaking havoc.
The credit rating agency Moody's downgraded Egypt's debt on Wednesday and said it might knock it down another notch because political uncertainty was undermining investor confidence - a fresh blow to an economy already reeling from months of unrest.
Moody's said that, without financial support, Egypt's central bank might find it difficult to maintain adequate liquidity in the months or year ahead.
One opposition group that has lowered its profile in the protests is the once-banned Muslim Brotherhood, whose Freedom and Justice Party now leads the election results after the first round, followed by ultra-conservative Salafi Islamists.
A large percentage of the individual - rather than party list - seats up for grabs in the run-offs were being contested between Muslim Brotherhood and Salafi candidates. Egypt's system involves a mixture of party lists and individual candidates.
Analysts say the Brotherhood has kept a low profile as it is determined to see the vote completed, putting it in a commanding position in the new assembly and securing its place in mainstream politics for the first time in its 83-year history.
(Additional reporting by Dina Zayed and Sherine El Madany; Writing by Edmund Blair and Kevin Liffey; Editing by Michael Roddy)
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111222/wl_nm/us_egypt
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This month, Google+ has made several updates. Here are the main updates that have occurred over the past month.
Find My Face & Photos
Find My Face scans photos for your face and automatically tags the ones that have you in them. Currently, Social networking requires you or your friends to tag you. Sometimes you may not even know for months that a photo of you is online.
In a fashion fitting to Google+, photos are now tagged with circles instead of absurdly huge boxes.
The photo viewer also lets you hide comments, giving the photo the whole screen.
Greater control over streams
Some circles are more important than others. Now you can control how much of each circle makes it into your main stream.
Hangout on posts
Have a big announcement? Now when you make a post in Google+, you can have a hangout on that topic. Instead of having a chain of comments (and a barrage of notifications) you can get it all out in a hangout session.
Pages
Google added some functionality to brand pages on Google+. Now, multiple users can administer a branded page.
Also, Google tracks interaction with pages. Whether a user adds a page to their circle or +1?s it, Google counts it.
What?s Google+ missing?
People. Google+ passed 40 million users in two months, but 40 million is nothing compared to Facebook?s 800+ million users. Google is making great progress, however, especially for being only a few months old.
Need more people in your circles?
Feel free to circle us.
+Morgan Williams -?I follow a lot of geeks and photographers.
Zagg on Google+
Source: http://www.zagg.com/community/blog/google-updates-before-the-holidays/
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Lowe's is standing by its decision to pull ads from TLC's All-American Muslim despite a petition with more than 200,000 signatures urging the company to reinstate the commercials, The Charlotte Observer reports.
Lowe's faces backlash after pulling commercials from TLC's All-American Muslim
On Tuesday, ministers and representatives from the interfaith Mecklenburg Ministries presented the petition at Lowe's headquarters in Mooresville, N.C., asking the home-improvement giant to apologize and reinstate the ads. Lowe's executives met with the representatives for more than an hour ? much to the petitioners' surprise ? but ultimately denied their request.
"There's a way to engage in responsible dialogue, even when we think we have a deep disagreement," Rev. James Leach said, adding that he appreciated the time the company took to speak with them.
Lowe's came under fire last week when it withdrew its spots from the reality series, which follows the Muslim community in Dearborn, Mich. The move coincided with a protest by the Florida Family Association, a conservative group, which deemed the program as "propaganda that riskily hides the Islamic agenda's clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values."
Lowe's spokeswoman Chris Ahearn denies that Lowe's felt pressure from the FFA to withdraw the ads, labeling the choice as a routine business decision.
Watch clips from All-American Muslim
According Ahearn, the company's first ad-run on Dec. 4 was part of a bulk ad buy on TLC and executives were aware that All-American Muslim could be one of the shows during which the ads would air, but were not concerned. The next morning, Ahearn said they decided to pull the ads after their social media team pointed out negative comments about the show. That afternoon, Lowe's received an email from the FFA about All-American Muslim, to which the company wrote back saying that its ads have already been pulled, Ahearn said.
Ahearn said Lowe's withdraws ads from shows deemed controversial perhaps eight to 10 times a year, but she did not name any shows.
Related Articles on TVGuide.com
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BAGHDAD?? Even as Iraqis celebrated the departure of the last American troops Sunday, the dangers left behind after nearly nine years of war were on full display. Politicians feuded along the country's potentially explosive sectarian lines and the drumbeat of deadly violence went on.
The last U.S. convoy rumbled out of Iraq across the border into Kuwait around sunrise under a shroud of secrecy to prevent attacks on the departing troops. When news reached a waking Iraqi public, there was joy at the end of a presence that many Iraqis resented as a foreign occupation.
In the northern city of Mosul, pastry shop owner Muhannad Adnan said he had a swell of orders for cakes ? up to 110 from the usual 70 or so a day ? as families threw parties at home. Some asked him to ice the cakes with inscriptions of "congratulations for the end of occupation," he said.
'The war is over': Last US soldiers leave IraqOnly on msnbc.com
But the happiness was shot through with worries over the future.
"Nobody here wants occupation. This withdrawal marks a new stage in Iraq's history," said Karim al-Rubaie, a Shiite shopowner in the southern city of Basra. But, he said, "the politicians who are running this country are just a group of thieves."
"These politicians will lead the country into sedition and civil war. Iraq now is like a weak prey among neighboring beasts."
In the morning, a bomb hidden under a pile of trash exploded on a street of spare car parts stores in a mainly Shiite district of eastern Baghdad, killing two people and wounding four others. It was the latest in the near daily shootings and bombings ? low-level but still deadly ? that continue to bleed the country and that many fear will increase with the Americans gone.
Story: 'It feels good to be home safe and sound': 300 troops arrive at Fort HoodViolence is far lower than it was at the worst of the Iraq War, in 2006 and 2007, when Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias preyed on Iraqis around the country in a vicious sectarian conflict that nearly turned into complete civil war. But those armed groups still remain, and there are deep concerns whether Iraqi security forces are capable of keeping them in check without the help of U.S. troops.
Iraq's military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Babaker Zebari said Sunday that his troops were up to the task of uprooting militant groups.
"There are only scattered terrorists hiding here and there and we are seeking intelligence information to eliminate them," Zebari said. "We are confident that there will be no danger."
Equally worrying, the resentments and bitterness between the Shiite majority and Sunni minority in this country of 31 million remain unhealed. The fear is that without the hand of American forces, the fragile attempts to get the two sides to work together could collapse and even turn to greater violence.
In an escalation of the rivalry, the main Sunni-backed political bloc on Sunday announced it was boycotting parliament to protest what they called Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's attempts to monopolize government positions ? particularly those overseeing the powerful security forces. The bloc has complained of security forces' recent arrests of Sunnis that it says are "unjustified."
The Iraqiya bloc warned that it could take the further step of pulling its seven ministers out of al-Maliki's coalition government.
Story: 'Iraq War Ledger': The conflict by the numbers"We are against the concentration of security powers in the hands of one person, that is the prime minister," said Sunni lawmaker Hamid al-Mutlaq, a member of the bloc.
Sunnis have long feared domination by the country's Shiites, who vaulted to power after the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein at the hands of the Americans. The rivalry was exacerbated by the years of sectarian killing.
The Iraqiya bloc narrowly won the most seats in last year's parliamentary election. But its leader Ayad Allawi was unable to become prime minister, outmaneuvered by al-Maliki, who kept the premier's post after cobbling together key support from Shiite parties.
That has left al-Maliki beholden to Shiite factions, including those led by radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose militiamen were blamed for sectarian killings during the worst of Iraq's violence. Since forming his new government, al-Maliki has effectively controlled the Interior and Defense Ministries, which oversee the police and military, while conflicts between Sunni and Shiite politicians have delayed the appointment of permanent ministers.
Many on both sides of the sectarian divide also worry that neighboring Shiite-led powerhouse Iran will now increase its influence in their country. Al-Maliki's party and other Shiite blocs have close ties to Tehran. But even some in the Shiite public resent the idea of Iranian domination.
"I am afraid that this occupation will be replaced by indirect occupation by some neighboring countries," said Ali Rahim, a 40-year-old Shiite who works for the Electricity Ministry.
Omar Waadalla Younis, a senior at Mosul University, said at first he was happy to hear the last Americans were gone and thought the city government should hold celebrations in the streets. Then he thought of the possible threat from Iran.
"Now that the Americans have left, Iraq is more vulnerable than before."
___
AP correspondent Bushra Juhi in Baghdad contributed to this report.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45715184/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/
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BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. ? The Golden Globes are good at predicting likely best-picture nominees for the Academy Awards. Not so much at predicting the eventual big Oscar winner, though.
Globe voters, who release their nominations Thursday, used to have a solid track record as a forecast for the Oscar best-picture prize. But they've been swinging and missing recently, with only one top Globe recipient going on to claim the main trophy come Oscar night during the last seven years.
Yet the Globes might have better luck this time. The show has two best-picture categories, one for drama, the other for musicals or comedies. The latter category usually doesn't offer serious best-picture contenders at the Oscars, which tend toward heavier drama.
But this season, the spry, black-and-white silent film "The Artist" stands as a solid comedy to challenge the dramas at the Oscars. If "The Artist" wins the Globe musical or comedy prize, it could end up in an Oscar showdown with the Globe drama winner, whose contenders might include the Deep South tale "The Help," George Clooney's family story "The Descendants," Steven Spielberg's World War I epic "War Horse" and Martin Scorsese's Paris adventure "Hugo."
Last season, the Facebook tale "The Social Network" emerged as the film to beat at the Oscars after it won for best drama at the Globes. Then the monarchy saga "The King's Speech" picked up steam with key wins at Hollywood trade union honors and wound up crowned best picture at the Oscars.
The year before, the Globes chose "Avatar" over "The Hurt Locker," the latter ending up the Oscar champ.
The last time the Globes matched up with the Oscars was three years ago, when "Slumdog Millionaire" triumphed at both ceremonies.
Before its current seven-year streak of mostly misses, the Globes had been on a run of eight-straight years in which either its best drama or best musical-comedy winner took home the best-picture Oscar.
Along with Clooney for "The Descendants," A-listers potentially scoring Globe nominations include: Brad Pitt for both his baseball tale "Moneyball" and the family epic "The Tree of Life"; Meryl Streep for the Margaret Thatcher chronicle "The Iron Lady"; Glenn Close for the Irish drama "Albert Nobbs"; Leonardo DiCaprio for the J. Edgar Hoover biography "J. Edgar"; and Michelle Williams for the Marilyn Monroe story "My Week with Marilyn."
"The Help" could have a big haul at the Globes, with acting prospects for Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, Emma Stone and Bryce Dallas Howard.
Among other fresher faces with a shot at breaking into the awards are Rooney Mara for the thriller "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"; Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo for "The Artist"; Michael Fassbender for the sex-addict drama "Shame"; and Clooney's "Descendants" co-star Shailene Woodley.
With drinks and dinner, the Globes are a laid-back affair for Hollywood's elite compared to the Oscars. The show turned a bit touchy last year as host Ricky Gervais repeatedly made sharp wisecracks about stars and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of about 85 entertainment reporters for overseas outlets that presents the Globes.
But Gervais helped give the show a TV ratings boost, and he's been invited back as host for a third-straight year.
Five-time Academy Award and Globe nominee Morgan Freeman ? who won the supporting-actor Oscar for "Million Dollar Baby" and a best-actor Globe for "Driving Miss Daisy" ? will receive the group's Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement at the Jan. 15 ceremony.
Thursday's nominations in 25 film and television categories will be announced by actors Sofia Vergara, Woody Harrelson and Gerard Butler.
___
Online:
http://www.goldenglobes.org
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RightCelebrity/~3/quVJ-hDDatY/
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Public release date: 14-Dec-2011 Share ] Contact: Michael Bernstein
m_bernstein@acs.org
202-872-6042
American Chemical Society
Motorists may be driving on the world's first "green" tires within the next few years, as partnerships between tire companies and biotechnology firms make it possible to produce key raw materials for tires from sugar rather than petroleum or rubber trees. Those new bio-based tires already available as prototypes are the topic of an article in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.
C&EN Senior Business Editor Melody M. Bomgardner explains that tight supplies and high prices for the natural rubber and synthetic rubber used to make tires almost 1 billion annually worldwide are fostering the drive toward renewable, sustainable sources for raw materials. Petroleum, for instance, is the traditional source for raw materials needed to make tires, with a single tire requiring almost 7 gallons of oil. But changes in oil-refining practices have reduced supplies of those raw materials.
The article describes how companies like Goodyear and Michelin have teamed up with biotechnology firms to genetically engineer microbes that produce the key raw materials for rubber from sugar. Goodyear's partner Genencor, for example, is making microbes that mimic rubber trees' natural processes to make latex rubber. Goodyear has already produced prototype tires with rubber made from sugar. Bomgardner explains that companies hope sugar will buffer them against future shortages of natural and synthetic ingredients, with "sweet" tires making a debut within 3-5 years.
###
The American Chemical Society is a non-profit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 163,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society contact newsroom@acs.org.
[ | E-mail | 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.
Public release date: 14-Dec-2011 Share ] Contact: Michael Bernstein
m_bernstein@acs.org
202-872-6042
American Chemical Society
Motorists may be driving on the world's first "green" tires within the next few years, as partnerships between tire companies and biotechnology firms make it possible to produce key raw materials for tires from sugar rather than petroleum or rubber trees. Those new bio-based tires already available as prototypes are the topic of an article in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.
C&EN Senior Business Editor Melody M. Bomgardner explains that tight supplies and high prices for the natural rubber and synthetic rubber used to make tires almost 1 billion annually worldwide are fostering the drive toward renewable, sustainable sources for raw materials. Petroleum, for instance, is the traditional source for raw materials needed to make tires, with a single tire requiring almost 7 gallons of oil. But changes in oil-refining practices have reduced supplies of those raw materials.
The article describes how companies like Goodyear and Michelin have teamed up with biotechnology firms to genetically engineer microbes that produce the key raw materials for rubber from sugar. Goodyear's partner Genencor, for example, is making microbes that mimic rubber trees' natural processes to make latex rubber. Goodyear has already produced prototype tires with rubber made from sugar. Bomgardner explains that companies hope sugar will buffer them against future shortages of natural and synthetic ingredients, with "sweet" tires making a debut within 3-5 years.
###
The American Chemical Society is a non-profit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 163,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society contact newsroom@acs.org.
[ | E-mail | 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/2011-12/acs-ang121411.php
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The Supreme Court's promised ruling next year on Arizona's immigration crackdown could turn on how much a state can intrude on federal government enforcement powers.
The country's highest court agreed on Monday to decide whether federal immigration laws take precedence and so preempt Arizona's law boosting the power of local police to crack down on illegal immigrants.
Oral arguments are likely in April and a ruling by late June.
The Arizona law, passed in 2010, requires police to check the immigration status of anyone they detain and suspect of being in the country illegally. Other parts require immigrants to carry their papers at all times and ban people without proper documents from soliciting for work in public places.
Arizona Republican Governor Jan Brewer argues the state law authorizes cooperation with the U.S. government and that its sanctions consciously parallel federal law.
The U.S. government's top Supreme Court lawyer, Donald Verrilli, disagrees. He says the provisions do not represent a cooperative effort to enforce federal immigration law but "are designed to establish Arizona's own immigration policy."
The U.S. Constitution reserves certain powers to the federal government, certain powers to state governments and in some instances they can share powers, depending on the law.
A key issue is the legal doctrine of preemption, derived from what is known as the Constitution's Supremacy Clause and interpreted to mean that federal laws - even federal agency regulations - trump conflicting state laws.
IMPLIED PREEMPTION
Preemption can be express or implied.
Stephen Wermiel, who teaches constitutional law at American University in Washington, said the case involved implied preemption, meaning Congress did not make its intent entirely clear that all state laws were barred when it adopted major federal immigration laws.
The court has decided at least 10 preemption cases since early 2008, including ones on such products as prescription drugs, medical devices and car seatbelts, and the results have been mixed, he said.
The most relevant preemption ruling may be from May, when the court divided along ideological lines and upheld by a 5-3 vote a different Arizona law that penalizes businesses for hiring illegal immigrants, Wermiel said.
"It seems to me the case for preemption is stronger (in the pending case than in the one from May) because this goes more to the heart of immigration enforcement," Wermiel said.
"The argument that the state is not just helping, but pursuing its own agenda, seems a weightier argument," he said.
Ilya Shapiro, a senior fellow and editor-in-chief of the Cato Institute's Supreme Court review, countered that the state laws were constitutional, merely mirroring federal law and not conflicting with or intruding on U.S. immigration authority.
After the ruling, "states will know how far they can go in addressing issues relating to illegal immigrants, whether the concern is crime, employment opportunities, registration requirements or even co-called sanctuary cities," he said.
MIXED RULING
Peter Spiro, a Temple University law professor who specializes in immigration law, predicted a mixed ruling.
He said the court would likely uphold an Arizona provision that police, when stopping an individual, must try to determine that person's right to be in the United States if suspected of being illegal.
But Spiro said there were limits on how far the court would go and predicted it would reject a provision making it a crime to be without immigration documents because it conflicts with federal law, which makes it a civil violation.
He said the court could be more accommodating of state immigration measures than in the past for two main reasons.
"First, the failure of comprehensive immigration reform at the federal level is an important part of the landscape," he said. "Second, the right-side of the court has had a long-standing federalism agenda to give the states more room as a general matter."
The case will be decided by eight of the nine Supreme Court members. Justice Elena Kagan has recused herself, presumably because she worked on the case in her previous job as the Obama administration's solicitor general.
Justice Anthony Kennedy, a moderate conservative who often controls the outcome on the divided court, could cast the decisive vote, although in some past preemption cases the court has not split along the usual ideological lines.
A ruling for Arizona could influence laws in five other states facing legal challenges and prompt more states to adopt tougher immigration measures.
A ruling for the Obama administration could vindicate its challenge to the law on grounds the federal government has exclusive control over immigration policy and enforcement.
It will be a pivotal time for President Barack Obama, a critic of the Arizona law, as he seeks re-election in 2012 and counts on support from Hispanics. Many of the illegal immigrants at issue are from Mexico.
Political divisions run deep over the country's estimated 11 million illegal immigrants, especially in states such as Arizona that border Mexico.
The Supreme Court case is Arizona v. U.S., No. 11-182.
(Reporting by James Vicini, Editing by Howard Goller and Cynthia Osterman)
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