Petraeus resignation as CIA chief brings sudden halt to career

The resignation of CIA Director David Petraeus has brought a sudden and unexpected end to the public career of a four-star general who led U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq and was thought to be a potential candidate for president.

Petraeus admitted to an extramarital affair in tendering his resignation, which President Barack Obama accepted Friday.

Petraeus carried on the affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell, a reserve Army officer, according to several U.S. officials with knowledge of the situation. They spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss publicly the investigation that led to the resignation.

The FBI discovered the relationship by monitoring Petraeus' emails, after being alerted Broadwell may have had access to his personal email account, two of the officials said.

Broadwell did not respond to voice mail or email messages seeking comment. Broadwell's biography, "All In: The Education of General David Petraeus," was written with Vernon Loeb, a Washington Post editor, and published in January.

Lawmakers from both parties joined Obama in praising Petraeus. Obama said in a statement that Petraeus had provided "extraordinary service to the United States for decades" and had given a lifetime of service that "made our country safer and stronger."

CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell will serve as acting director, Obama said. Morell was the key CIA aide in the White House to President George W. Bush during the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

"I am completely confident that the CIA will continue to thrive and carry out its essential mission," Obama said.

The resignation comes at a sensitive time. The administration and the CIA have struggled to defend security and intelligence lapses before the attack that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three others. It was an issue during the presidential campaign that ended with Obama's re-election Tuesday.

The CIA has come under intense scrutiny for providing the White House and other administration officials with talking points that led them to say the Benghazi attack was a result of a film protest, not a militant terror attack. It has become clear that the CIA was aware the attack was distinct from the film protests roiling across other parts of the Muslim world.

Morell rather than Petraeus now is expected to testify at closed congressional briefings next week on the assault on the consulate in Benghazi, which occurred on the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

Petraeus, who turned 60 on Wednesday, has been married for 38 years to Holly Petraeus, whom he met when he was a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. She was the daughter of the academy superintendent. They have two children, and their son led an infantry platoon in Afghanistan.

The retired general told his staffers in a statement that he was guilty of "extremely poor judgment" in engaging in the affair. "Such behavior is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organization such as ours." He said he had offered his resignation to Obama on Thursday and the president accepted it Friday.

Administration officials said the White House was first notified about the Petraeus affair on Wednesday, the day after the election. Obama, who returned to the White House that evening after spending Election Day in Chicago, wasn't informed until Thursday morning.

For the director of the CIA, being engaged in an extramarital affair is considered a serious breach of security and a counterintelligence threat. If a foreign government had learned of the affair, the reasoning goes, Petraeus or Broadwell could have been blackmailed or otherwise compromised. Military justice considers conduct such as an extramarital affair to be possible grounds for court-martial.

Failure to resign also could create the perception for the rank and file that such behavior is acceptable.

At FBI headquarters, spokesman Paul Bresson declined to comment on the information that the affair had been discovered in the course of an investigation by the bureau.

Holly Petraeus is known for her work helping military families. She joined the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to set up an office dedicated to helping service members with financial issues.

Though Obama made no direct mention of Petraeus' reason for resigning, he offered his thoughts and prayers to the general and his wife, saying that Holly Petraeus had "done so much to help military families through her own work. I wish them the very best at this difficult time."

Petraeus, who became CIA director in September 2011, was known as a shrewd thinker and hard-charging competitor. His management style was recently lauded in a Newsweek article by Broadwell.

Read More..

Feline Frisky With Cats That Look Like Pin-Up Girls

Read More..

Chen Guang-who? Chinese official claims ignorance of blind activist

BEIJING (Reuters) – Despite causing a huge diplomatic incident between the world’s two largest economies earlier this year, the Chinese official in charge of the hometown of blind legal activist Chen Guangcheng said on Friday that he has no idea who he was.

Chen, one of China’s most prominent human rights advocates, slipped away from under the noses of guards and eyes and ears of surveillance equipment around his village home near Linyi in eastern Shandong province in late April.

He then sought refuge at the U.S. embassy in Beijing for six days, embarrassing China and creating an awkward backdrop for U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit which happened to fall at the same time.

But asked on the sidelines of a party congress in Beijing about Chen, Linyi’s Communist Party boss Zhang Shaojun deadpanned.

“I’ve never heard (of him),” Zhang told Reuters, before hurrying away into a closed-door meeting.

In May, Chen told Reuters that an unnamed central government official had promised to investigate accusations that local officials engineered his jailing on false charges and subsequent 19 months of extra-judicial house arrest and abuse.

But Zhang, a portly man with thinning hair, said he knew of no such investigation.

“I’ve never heard of this matter,” he said.

Robbed of his sight as a child, the rural-born Chen taught himself law and drew international attention in 2005 after accusing officials of enforcing late-term abortions and sterilizations.

Following intense negotiations between Chinese and U.S. officials, Chen left the embassy and was allowed to apply for a visa to study abroad. He is currently a visiting fellow at the New York University School of Law.

(Reporting by Gabriel Wildau; Editing by Ben Blanchard)

Celebrity News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

The New Old Age Blog: More Time to Enroll in Medicare If You Live in Storm Areas

Medicare beneficiaries battered by Hurricane Sandy have one fewer problem to worry about: Federal officials have extended the Dec. 7 deadline to enroll in a private medical or drug plan for next year for those still coping with storm damage.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services “understands that many Medicare beneficiaries have been affected by this disaster and wants to ensure that all beneficiaries are able to compare their options and make enrollment choices for 2013,” Arrah Tabe-Bedward, acting director for the Medicare Enrollment and Appeals Group, wrote in a Nov. 7 letter to health insurance companies and state health insurance assistance programs.

Beneficiaries hit by the storm can still enroll after the Dec. 7 midnight deadline if they call Medicare’s 24-hour information line: 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). Representatives will be able to review available plans and complete the enrollment process over the phone.

“We are committed to giving people with Medicare the information and the time they need to make important decisions about their coverage,” a Medicare spokeswoman, Isabella Leung, said in an e-mail message. Medicare officials have not set a new deadline but have encouraged beneficiaries to make their decisions soon if possible.

People currently in a plan will be automatically re-enrolled for next year in the same plan.

The extra time also applies to any beneficiaries who normally get help from family members or others to sort through dozens of plans, but who have been unable to do so this year because they live in areas affected by the storm. Neither beneficiaries nor those who provide them assistance will be required to prove that they experienced storm damage.

“This is a really important recognition by CMS to accommodate Medicare enrollees affected by Hurricane Sandy,” said Leslie Fried, director for policy and programs at the National Council on Aging, an advocacy group in Washington.

After the hurricane, the Obama administration declared Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island “major disaster areas,” according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In addition, FEMA issued emergency declarations for parts of Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.

More than four million older people in those states are enrolled in drugs-only plans, and more than 2.8 million have Medicare Advantage policies, which includes medical and drug coverage.

Susan Jaffe is a writer for Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan health policy research and communication organization not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

Read More..

Retailers plan earlier start to Black Friday

Cierra Hobson is a die-hard Black Friday shopper.

Every year she queues in front of one of her favorite stores, where she waits, in her pajamas, in hopes of bagging a good deal.

This year, Hobson and other deal-seekers will find some twists on the post-Thanksgiving Day ritual: coupons delivered via mobile phones and deeper discounts, maneuvers designed to make shopping easier for consumers and to set retailers on a strong start to the biggest shopping period of the year. But perhaps the biggest change will be an earlier start to the holiday rush.

Black Friday historically launched the day after Thanksgiving. But in recent years, stores have opened at 4 a.m., then midnight. Last year, retailers created a stir by opening at 10 p.m. Thursday. This year, Sears and Wal-Mart announced plans to open at 8 p.m.

"The name of the game this holiday season is who can do it best," said National Retail Federation spokeswoman Kathy Grannis.

"When (early openings) started in 2009, things were a little bit worse off in terms of consumer confidence," Grannis added. "At that point it was very necessary for retailers to get out there before anybody else, and that literally meant before midnight."

This year, holiday spending is expected to rise 4.1 percent, according to the retail federation. Last year, more than 24 percent of Black Friday shoppers were out before midnight and nearly 39 percent of shoppers were in the stores before 5 a.m.

Wal-Mart plans to greet shoppers with the likes of $89 Wii consoles and a $38 Blu-ray player. At Sears, there will be perks on sale items for members of its shopper loyalty program.

Both retailers are touting in-store pickup, allowing customers to buy items online and pick them up at the store, avoiding checkout lines.

The Disney Store plans to begin offering Black Friday deals on the Monday before Thanksgiving, though Disney stores will open at midnight in some markets and 5 a.m. in others. Ads leaked to Internet deal sites say Target stores will open at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving.

Last year, Wal-Mart recorded its most customer traffic at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving night, said spokesman Steven Restivo, adding that the retailer relied on focus groups, online surveys and other feedback to help it decide to open two hours earlier this year. "Our customers told us they loved our Thanksgiving event last year and wanted it again."

At Sears, staying open 26 consecutive hours through Black Friday gives its customers the flexibility they want and makes good business sense, said spokesman Brian Hanover.

"There's a segment of Sears customers who want that thrill of holiday shopping to start as soon as their Thanksgiving dinner ends," he said. "Traditionalists," he added, can wait for door busters at 4 a.m.

Despite discounts that often go beyond 50 percent, stores still make money on the sales, retail experts say. That's because shoppers in physical stores tend to spend more than they planned, said Sanjay Dhar, professor of marketing at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

In the store, "you end up making purchases that aren't as marked down, in addition to the door-buster deals," he said.

Opening earlier and staggering door-buster deals is not only a good way to make money, but it's also necessary for crowd control, retail watchers say. In 2008, a store employee was trampled to death in a Black Friday door-buster stampede at a Long Island, N.Y., Wal-Mart.

Hobson said she doesn't plan to start shopping Thanksgiving night, but she said she'll be up before dawn to catch sales at Express, a clothing store.

"Just knowing that everybody is doing the same thing I'm doing on the same day feels like the beginning of Christmas," she said.

Others worry that super-early openings could backfire.

Sheri Petras, CEO of CFI Group, a Michigan-based consultancy, said store employees grumpy from having to leave their Thanksgiving festivities will take out their anger on customers.

"Consumers will not spend as much with cranky employees," she said.

Some employees at Wal-Mart, Sears and Target say they'd like the day off.

Change.org, an activist website, said Friday that more than 20 new petitions were submitted by employees and consumers asking retailers to reconsider their Thanksgiving evening openings.

It's the second year the website has administered petitions calling for retailers to stick to traditional Black Friday openings.

In a statement distributed by OUR Walmart, a labor rights group, Wal-Mart employee Mary Pat Tifft, of Wisconsin, said she would be "devastated" if she had to work on Thanksgiving, because she is expecting her son home from Afghanistan for the holiday.

"This early opening is one more example of Walmart's disconnect with the workers who keep its stores running and disregard for all of our families. As the largest employer in the country, Walmart could be setting a standard for businesses to value families, but instead, this is one more Walmart policy that hurts the families of workers at its stores," she said.

crshropshire@tribune.com

Twitter @corilyns

Read More..

Obama's emotional thank-you to staff: You're my 'source of hope'

In a new video released by his campaign, President Barack Obama wipes away tears as he thanks members of his campaign staff and volunteers.

Obama's campaign released a five-minute video of the president's address Wednesday to members of his staff at his Chicago headquarters. The short speech came a day after he won re-election.

He began by recalling how he "grew up" during his time as a community organizer in Chicago, saying the work "changed me much more than I changed the communities."

Obama becomes emotional when he says that even before the election results, he felt the work he had done "had come full circle." He tells staff members that he is proud of the work they did, then pauses to wipe away tears.

"I became a man during that process. And so when I come here and when I look at all of you, what comes to mind is not that you guys actually remind me of myself, it's the fact that you are so much better than I was, in so many ways," Obama said.

His voice cracked with emotion as he continued.

"I'm absolutely confident that all of you are going to do just amazing things in your lives," he said. "What Bobby Kennedy called the ripples of hope that come out when you throw a stone in a lake -- that's going to be all of you.

"That's why even before last night's results I felt that the work that I had done in running for office had come full circle, because what you guys have done means that the work that I'm doing is important. And I'm really proud of that. I'm really proud of all of you."

As the gathered campaign team applauded and attempted to buck up the commander in chief, he wiped away tears from his eyes.

"Whatever good we do over the next four years will pale in comparison to what you guys end up accomplishing for years and years to come," he said. "And that's been my source of hope. That's why when people over the last four years when people ask me about how do you put up with this or that and the frustration of Washington, I just think about you."

Throughout his reelection effort, Obama spoke reflectively of how this would be his final campaign. And the video released Thursday evening was the latest example of how the weight of that fact struck seemingly struck the president in the final week.

A widely circulated photograph taken during his final campaign event in Iowa appeared to show evidence of a tear that rolled down his face. And after delivering his victory speech early in the morning Wednesday, he lingered on stage for an extended time, at one point reversing course as he was about to exit to acknowledge longtime supporters in the crowd.

After another day out of the public eye Thursday, though, Obama is set to deliver his first official statement Friday afternoon from the White House since his victory, on the state of the economy.

Associated Press and Mike Memoli contributed

Read More..

SEAL Team Six Members Reprimanded in Video Game Consulting Deal

Seven members of the Navy’s now-famous SEAL Team Six have been issued letters of reprimand and docked pay after divulging classified information to video-game maker Electronic Arts, CBS News reports.

The SEAL’s revealed the secret information in the course of their work as consultants for EA’s “Medal of Honor: Warfighter” game, which boasts of its high level of realism thanks to input from current and former soldiers, according to CBS.

One of the disciplined SEALs participated in the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden, though that mission is not portrayed in the game, according to CBS. Four former members of the team who remain in the armed services are also under investigation, CBS reported.

The letters of reprimand can make it difficult to get promoted.

Gaming News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

Mark Wahlberg to star in next ‘Transformers’ movie

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mark Wahlberg, roll out.

“Transformers” director Michael Bay says the 41-year-old actor will star in the franchise’s fourth film.

Bay called Wahlberg the “perfect guy to re-invigorate the franchise and carry on the Transformers‘ legacy” in a post on his blog Thursday. He previously squashed rumors that Wahlberg was joining the film franchise about warring robots.

Bay worked with Wahlberg on his upcoming film, “Pain and Gain.”

“Transformers 4″ is scheduled to be released by Paramount Pictures on June 27, 2014.

Bay has said the next film will take a new direction in the series. The first three movies starred Shia LaBeouf and featured Peter Cullen as the voice of Autobot general Optimus Prime.

The third “Transformers” film, “Dark of the Moon,” was the second highest-grossing film of 2011.

Entertainment News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

Living With Cancer: It’s About Time

It’s time to renew my driver’s license! I never thought I would live to see the day. Back in 2008, when pressed to disclose my life expectancy, my oncologist estimated three to five years. Figuring that I was an average patient, I split the difference and believed I had four years left. Yet here I am, about to celebrate my fourth “cancerversary” with a trip to the dreary and backlogged bureau of motor vehicles, elated by the conviction that even if I expire within the next year or so, my license won’t.

This sort of wacky calculation reflects the oddity of cancer temporality. Every facet of cancer and its treatments transforms time, from its smallest to its larger increments. Of course, waiting takes the most time in the smallest units. Its ticktock can be interminable, especially when you are anxiously waiting for test results or fasting for a dreaded operation or when you are going through preparations for a procedure requiring that you drink vials of what looks like Kool-Aid every half-hour for two hours. Any period spent in the hospital requires killing time. Time, in fact, sometimes seems to stop, to stand still. The afternoon after an operation, as one fitfully wakes and sleeps, sleeps and wakes, can feel like an eternity. I surface with effort, muttering, “It can’t still be Thursday,” only to be told, “Yes, it’s still Thursday.”

While you’re waiting, fear or pain elongates minutes and hours and days. Chemotherapy divides into intervals the weeks and months that begin with its slow drip-drip. Just when I determine that I have no time to waste and must relish the change of the seasons, the timetable of chemo-time nudges them aside.

Each of my cycles of chemotherapy included six sessions, given every three weeks. I might not have known whether it was spring or fall, but I always knew that there were, say, two down and four to go. And then I began counting not the sessions but the cycles, though I could not remember the start-and-finish of all three cycles, for the past blurred. I had to draft a sort of chemo-history. Now that I am in a clinical trial, the nurse in charge provides me with a monthly schedule on which all the blood draws, pill dispensations and scans are recorded so I can track the present and the near future. Its rhythms trump those of the Gregorian and lunar calendars.

The zones of remissions and recurrences — registered for many people in years, for me, unfortunately, in months — can also be hard to gauge. Do I date remission at the last chemotherapy session, recurrence at the start of the next chemotherapy cycle? Or do I go by blood tests or scans? I am just as uncertain about the exact date of my cancerversary. Is it the day on which I heard the diagnosis, or the day of the initial operation? I wonder, should either of these time bombs be celebrated?

The limits of time stir me to enumerate constantly. I am always counting on my fingers: remissions and recurrences, the months used up, the months left, the relatives and friends I cherish. I count my steps down to the mailbox, my steps dragging the garbage can back to the garage, the number of my husband’s underpants in the laundry, the hours until the next pill, the number of days in which I must change or flush surgical implants, the weeks until I see my oncologist, the people on whom I count.

If my oncologist is right, and all of her other predictions have been spot on, I am approaching the last year of my life: final time. In the immortal words of Dr. Seuss, “How did it get so late so soon?” Without much of a future, surely time will again change. A lot can happen in a year — think of the helpless infant becoming a walking, talking toddler in 9 or 10 months. Time moves more slowly for small children, since a year of a 2-year-old’s life is 50 percent of that life. A terminal diagnosis may also slow down time. The next year might be 100 percent of what’s left of my existence.

Sometimes the time left seems too long; too many catastrophes could injure those I love. Sometimes it seems too short; there are so many suspenseful stories unfolding around me, and I want to see how they will turn out. Those for whom time’s chariot is indeed winged often attest to a heightened appreciation of their fast-fading prospects. And then there is always the dream of borrowed time, that numinous period beyond the predicted end, like a stay of execution, which must be fraught with its own blessings and curses.

But during apocalyptic times, when natural forces obliterate the precious places of my origins, even the dream of borrowed time can sink under the rising waters, as I brood on the widespread suffering and struggling of others.

In the meantime, I discover that it is now possible to bypass the motor vehicle bureau by renewing a driver’s license online. Voilà, it will appear in the mail — sporting the photograph on the license issued six years ago, before my diagnosis. On the license, at least, the passage has been reversed. It’s about time.

---

Susan Gubar is a distinguished emerita professor of English at Indiana University and the author of “Memoir of a Debulked Woman,” which explores her experience with ovarian cancer.

Read More..

Sandy to raise U.S. used-car prices

The estimated 250,000 cars flooded by Superstorm Sandy on the East Coast will drive up used-car prices, even as far away as California.

The supply shortage comes on the heels of an already tightened used-car market in the wake of the recession, when new car sales dried up. Some experts say prices could rise $700 to $1,000 on the typical used car in the short term. Although those effects will be felt most acutely near the flood zone, the increasingly digital and national market for used cars will spread the price shocks widely.

The flood of Sandy-damaged cars further poses the risk that many will wind up in the hands of unscrupulous dealers peddling to unwitting consumers. The vehicles pose both financial and health risks.

"Cars that have been submerged in saltwater, and contaminated by bacteria and various toxins, will soon start to appear all over the country, even in states far from the center of the storm," said Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety.

Shahan said there were cases of Nissan vehicles flooded by Hurricane Katrina auctioned as "new" as far away as California after that storm.

She urged shoppers to look for signs of flood damage, including engines that hesitate or run roughly, musty interior smells or signs of silt residue or premature rust.

Buyers should also run the vehicle information number through the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System at vehiclehistory.gov. Insurers, salvage pools, auctions and junkyards in all 50 states are required to report all total-loss vehicles to this federal database within 30 days, Shahan said.

For new vehicles or those still within the factory warranty period, shoppers who suspect flood damage should call the manufacturer to ask if they will honor the warranty, which is typically nullified for flooded cars. If the vehicle was registered as a flood vehicle, the manufacturer won't honor the warranty, and the buyer will know there is a problem.

Although properly restored and titled salvage or flooded vehicles can be an "economical option," consumers should understand what they are getting.

"There is always a chance that there will be problems down the road with corrosion or malfunctions in the electrical systems," said Bob Passmore, senior director at the Property Casualty Insurers Assn. of America.

Rising prices caused by the storm might be one reason why consumers would turn to such cheaper options or fall victim to an attractively priced vehicle with hidden flood damage.

Prices are already comparatively high for late-model used cars, according to industry analysts. That's because of the low number of new cars sold in 2009 and 2010, which also slowed the flow of trade-ins into the used-car market. Leases, a major source of used cars, nearly disappeared.

Now the flood of Sandy-damaged cars is putting more pressure on the tight supply of late-model cars. Prices will go up at least 0.5% to 1.5% in December, said Jonathan Banks, an analyst with the National Automobile Dealers Assn. The dealer group said that amounts to a little more than $50 to $175 for the average used vehicle.

Auto information company Edmunds.com has a much higher estimate, saying that used-car prices will climb $700 to $1,000 "in the short term."

The price hikes will be highest on the East Coast but felt nationally, Banks said.

"We have seen a trend for dealers, regardless of where they are located, buying inventory online, and that means that geography is not as important as in the past," he said. "It used to be that dealers would buy cars from a physical auction near their dealership."

Pulling such a huge number of vehicles out of the U.S. fleet will have an effect at the national level, Banks said.

The problem is compounded by at least tens of thousands of new cars that were destroyed both at dealerships and storage yards in parts of New York and New Jersey hit hardest by the storm.

"Many dealers lost a significant amount of inventory. One Honda dealer told me he lost 600 new units," Banks said.

Fisker Automotive Inc., the Anaheim maker of $100,000 plug-in hybrid sports cars, said it lost 338 vehicles, with a retail value of nearly $34 million, at a port storage facility in New Jersey. Toyota Motor Corp. has said it might have lost as many as 4,500 new Toyota, Scion and Lexus vehicles to flooding and storm damage. American Honda Motor Co. said that more than 3,000 new vehicles at its dealers and storage yards suffered flood damage.

All this is going to create problems for consumers in the storm region who need to replace their rides quickly.

"Prices could really shoot up for consumers buying cars right away, because they will run into a severe inventory shortage," Banks said.

The dealers group believes that some replacement buying will start this month but will pick up in December and run through February. Banks expects that about 30% of buyers will purchase new cars and the remainder will choose used cars.

The buying, however, should provide a boost for the economy, said Edmunds.com Chief Economist Lacey Plache.

"Even if 100,000 damaged vehicles are replaced by the end of the year, it could boost auto sales 3% to 4% for the quarter," Plache said. "That has a positive effect on the economy overall."

jerry.hirsch@latimes.com

Read More..

United says Sandy cut October revenue by $90M

United Airlines said Superstorm Sandy cut its October revenue by about $90 million as it was forced to cancel almost 5,300 flights.

That's nearly an entire day's worth of United's schedule lost. It runs about 5,500 flights a day throughout the world, including those operated by its regional partners. United's scrapped flights accounted for about a quarter of total the industry's Sandy-related cancellations.

United, the world's largest airline, said late Wednesday that the storm that came aground in the New York area 10 days ago shaved about $35 million off its profit in October. Delays and cancellations in the New York region tend to ripple throughout the world because it's a major international connection point and is one of the busiest airspaces in the country.

United's traffic in October fell 3.3 percent.

But the hurricane-winter storm hybrid boosted its per-passenger revenue by about 1 percent. That's because some stranded travelers were stuffed onto other flights, allowing the airline to improve efficiency.

Delta said last week that Sandy cut its October revenue by $45 million and profit by $20 million.

Both airlines are likely to report the impact of Sandy for the month of November. They are expected to release November figures early next month. Added to that, the winter storm that blanketed the New York area on Wednesday, little more than a week after Sandy, will also hurt profit and revenue.

United Airlines suspended operations at New York's three main airports Wednesday afternoon.

United parent United Continental Holdings Inc. is based in Chicago.

Its shares finished at $20.53 on Wednesday.

Read More..

Exclusive: Google Ventures beefs up fund size to $300 million a year

'},"otherParams":{"t_e":1,".intl":"US"},"events":{"fetch":{lv:2,"sp":"7665149","ps":"LREC,MON","npv":true,"bg":"#FFFFFF","em":escape('{"site-attribute":"_id=\'c80ef62e-54e8-311e-8f7c-ee29502a59cc\' sensitivity=\'0\' rs=\'lmsid:a0770000002GZ5iAAG\' ctype=\'fn_news;News\' ctopid=\'2299500;1542500;1550000;1577000\' can_suppress_ugc=\'1\' content=\'no_expandable;ajax_cert_expandable;\' ADSSA"}'),"em_orig":escape('{"site-attribute":"_id=\'c80ef62e-54e8-311e-8f7c-ee29502a59cc\' sensitivity=\'0\' rs=\'lmsid:a0770000002GZ5iAAG\' ctype=\'fn_news;News\' ctopid=\'2299500;1542500;1550000;1577000\' can_suppress_ugc=\'1\' content=\'no_expandable;ajax_cert_expandable;\' ADSSA"}')}}};var _createNodes=function(){var nIds=_conf.nodeIds;for(var i in nIds){var nId=nIds[i];var dId=_conf.destinationMap[nIds[i].replace("yom-","")];n=Y.one("#"+nId);if(n)var center=n.one("center");var node=Y.one("#"+dId);var nodeHTML;if(center && !node){nodeHTML=_conf.nodes[nId];center.insert(nodeHTML);};};};var _prepareNodes=function(){var nIds=_conf.nodeIds;for(var i in nIds){var nId=nIds[i];var dId=_conf.destinationMap[nIds[i].replace("yom-ad-","")];n=Y.one("#"+nId);if(n)var center=n.one("center");var node=Y.one("#"+dId);if(center && node){center.set("innerHTML","");center.insert(node);node.setStyle("display","block");};};};var _darla;var _config=function(){if(YAHOO.ads.darla){_darla = YAHOO.ads.darla;_createNodes();};};var _fetch=function(spaceid,adssa,ps){
if (typeof(ps)!='undefined')
_conf.events.fetch.ps = ps;if(typeof spaceid != "undefined") _conf.events.fetch.sp=spaceid;adssa = (typeof adssa != "undefined" && adssa != null) ? escape(adssa.replace(/\"/g, "'")) : "";_conf.events.fetch.em=_conf.events.fetch.em_orig.replace("ADSSA", adssa);if(_darla){_prepareNodes();_darla.setConfig(_conf);_darla.event("fetch");};};Y.on("domready", function(){_config();});;var that={"fetch":_fetch,"getNodes":_conf.nodes,"getConf":_conf};return that;}();/* Backwards compatibility - Assigning the latest instance to the main fetch function */YUI.PhotoAdsDarla.fetch=YUI.PhotoAdsDarla.photoslightboxdarla.fetch;
});
Y.later(10, this, function() {YAHOO.namespace('Media.Social').Lightbox = {};
});
Y.later(10, this, function() {Y.Media.Article.init();
});
Y.later(10, this, function() {new Y.Media.AuthorBadge();
});
Y.later(10, this, function() {new Y.Media.Branding();
});
Y.later(10, this, function() {Y.on("load", function () {
YUI.namespace("Media.SocialButtons");

var instances = YUI.Media.SocialButtons.instances || [],
globalConf = YAHOO.Media.SocialButtons.conf || {},
vplContainers = [];

Y.all(".ymsb").each(function (node) {
var id = node.get("id"),
conf = YAHOO.Media.SocialButtons.configs[id],
instance;

if (conf) {
instance = new Y.SocialButtons({
srcNode: node,
config: Y.merge(globalConf, conf.config || {}),
contentMetadata: conf.content || {},
tracking: conf.tracking || {}
});
vplContainers.push(
{
selector: "#" + id,
callback: function(node) { instance.render(); instance = conf = id = null; }
});

if (conf.config && conf.config.dynamic) {
instances.push(instance);
}
}
});

Y.Global.Media.ViewportLoader.addContainers(vplContainers);
YUI.Media.SocialButtons.instances = instances;
});
});
Y.later(10, this, function() {if (!Y.Media) {

return;

}

Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_targets = Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_targets || {};

Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_configs = Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_configs || {};

Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_dataset = Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_dataset || {};

Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_whitelist = Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_whitelist || {};


Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_targets['lightbox9b22e01fb4580c710b5eb876b1679f8f'] = {"lightboxId":"86f08f294b237cdb9c57a81842f5bcbc","pivotId":"e63743d0-e37d-3f63-a51e-bffa4259dc5b"};


Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_dataset['86f08f294b237cdb9c57a81842f5bcbc'] = {"spaceid":"7665149","total":1,"photoby":"Photo By","xhrtype":"slideshow","videoconf":{"autoplay":true,"continuousPlay":true,"mute":false,"volume":"1.00","lang":"en-US","site":"news","region":"US","jurisdiction":"US","YVAP":{"accountId":"145","playContext":"default"},"pageSpaceId":"7665149","comscoreC4":"US News","comscoreC6":"","showEmbedCode":true,"showShareUrl":true,"expName":"MediaArticleRelatedLightbox","expType":"inline","apiEnv":"prod"},"slideshow_id":null,"slideshow_title":null,"slideshow_title_baked_html":null,"slideshow_desc":null,"slideshow_rev":null,"slideshow_plink_vita":null,"photos":[{"type":"image","url":"http:\/\/l.yimg.com\/bt\/api\/res\/1.2\/83_GPM604N.PE4whqmdMmw--\/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD0zMDA7cT03OTt3PTQ1MA--\/http:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en_us\/News\/Reuters\/2012-11-08T120341Z_1_CBRE8A70XIF00_RTROPTP_2_CTECH-US-VENTURE-GOOGLE-CASH.JPG","width":450,"height":300,"uuid":"e63743d0-e37d-3f63-a51e-bffa4259dc5b","caption":"Google homepage logos are seen on a wall at the Google campus near Venice Beach, in Los Angeles, California January 13, 2012. REUTERS\/Lucy Nicholson","captionBakedHtml":"

Google homepage logos are seen on a wall at the Google campus near Venice Beach, in Los Angeles, California January 13, 2012. REUTERS\/Lucy Nicholson","date":"Thu, Nov 8, 2012 7:11 AM EST","credit":"Reuters","byline":"\ufffd Lucy Nicholson \/ Reuters","provider":"Reuters","photo_title":"Google homepage logos are seen on a wall at the Google campus near Venice Beach, in Los Angeles","pivot_alias_id":"google-homepage-logos-seen-wall-google-campus-near-photo-120341555","plink":"\/photos\/google-homepage-logos-seen-wall-google-campus-near-photo-120341555.html","plink_vita":"http:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/photos\/google-homepage-logos-seen-wall-google-campus-near-photo-120341555.html","srchtrm":"Google homepage logos are seen on a wall at the Google campus near Venice Beach, in Los Angeles","revsp":"","rev":"666cb220-299d-11e2-bff3-74172dec9f90","surl":"http:\/\/l2.yimg.com\/bt\/api\/res\/1.2\/oUbn7TMdG3G3tk6rTPSETg--\/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD01NjtxPTc5O3c9ODQ-\/http:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en_us\/News\/Reuters\/2012-11-08T120341Z_1_CBRE8A70XIF00_RTROPTP_2_CTECH-US-VENTURE-GOOGLE-CASH.JPG","swidth":84,"sheight":56}]};

Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_configs['86f08f294b237cdb9c57a81842f5bcbc'] = {"spaceid":"7665149","ult_pt":"story-lightbox","darla_id":"","images_total":0,"xhr_url":"\/_xhr\/related-article\/lightbox\/?id=c80ef62e-54e8-311e-8f7c-ee29502a59cc","xhr_count":20,"autoplay_if_first_item_is_video":true};
});
Y.later(10, this, function() {new Y.Media.RelatedArticle({count:"2",start:"1",
mod_total:"10", total:"0",
content_id:"c80ef62e-54e8-311e-8f7c-ee29502a59cc",
spaceid:"7665149",
related_count:"-1"
});
});
Y.later(10, this, function() {(function(d){
d.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(d.createElement('script')).src='http://d.yimg.com/oq/js/csc_news-en-US-core.js';
})(document);
});
Y.later(10, this, function() {
if(!("Media" in YAHOO)){YAHOO.Media = {};}
if(!("ugcrate" in YAHOO.Media)){YAHOO.Media.ugcrate = {};}
if(!("Media" in Y)){Y.namespace("Media");}
YAHOO.Media.ugcrate.ratings_ef2b13721cbb467080c3e10a592b382f = new Y.Media.UgcRate({"context_id":"5c45fbb3-cdb2-467d-ac33-5d2ab49dd099","sCrumb":"","containerId":"yom-sentimentrate-ef2b13721cbb467080c3e10a592b382f","rateDimensions":"d1","appLang":"en-US","sUltSId":"7665149","sUltProperty":"news-en-US","sUltCampaign":"","sUltPlatform":"ugcwidgets","sUltIntl":"US","sUltLang":"en-US","selfPageUrl":"http:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/exclusive-google-ventures-beefs-fund-size-300-million-120341566--sector.html?_esi=0","artContentId":"c80ef62e-54e8-311e-8f7c-ee29502a59cc","sUltQstnTxt":"Which size tablet would you prefer?","artContentTitle":"Exclusive: Google Ventures beefs up fund size to $300 million a year","artContentDesc":"SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google will increase the cash it allocates to its venture-capital arm to up to $300 million a year from $200 million, catapulting Google Ventures into the top echelon of corporate venture-capital funds. Access to that sizeable checkbook means Google Ventures will be able to invest in more later-stage financing rounds, which tend to be in the tens of millions of dollars or more per investor. It puts the firm on the same footing as more established corporate venture funds such as Intel\\'s Intel Capital, which typically invests $300-$500 million a year. ...","sUltBucketId":"test1","sUltSection":"sentirating","sUltBeaconUrl":"","sUltRecordPageviews":"1","sUltBeaconEnable":"1","serviceUrl":"\/_xhr","publisherContextId":"","propertyId":"2fcd79b5-b3a3-333e-b98e-722536a6698f","configurationId":"435db9ee-c55e-3766-b20d-c8ad3ff889d1","graphId":"","labelLeft":"Smaller works for me","labelRight":"Bigger is better","labelMiddle":"","itemimg":"http:\/\/l.yimg.com\/a\/i\/ww\/met\/yahoo_logo_us_061509.png","selfURI":"","aggregateRatingCount":"40533","aggregateReviewCount":"0","leftBlocksNum":"23466","rightBlocksNum":"17066","leftBlocksPerCent":"58","rightBlocksPerCent":"42","ugcrate_apihost":"api01-us.ugcl.yahoo.com:4080","publisher_id":"news-en-US","yca_cert":"yahoo.ugccloud.app.trusted_proxies","timeout_write":"5000","through_proxy":"false","optionStats":"{\"s1\":3747,\"s2\":1743,\"s3\":4312,\"s4\":10277,\"s5\":3387,\"s6\":17066,\"s7\":0,\"s8\":0,\"s9\":0,\"s10\":0}","l10N":"{\"FIRST_TO_READ\":\"You are first to read this. Share your feelings and start a conversation.\",\"SHARE_YOUR_FEELINGS\":\"You too can share your feelings and start a conversation!\",\"HOW_YOUR_FRIENDS_THINK\":\"Thank you for sharing your feeling on this article!\",\"PRE_SHARE_MSG\":\"Your Facebook friends on Yahoo! can see how you responded. To share your response on Facebook, click on the Facebook share option.\",\"START_THE_CONVERSATION\":\"Start the Conversation\",\"THANKS_FOR_SHARING\":\"Sure, that's how you feel... But what do your friends think?\",\"POLL_HEADER\":\"SOCIAL SENTIMENT\",\"SERVER_ERROR\":\"Oops there seems to be some error, please try again later\",\"LOADING\":\"Loading...\",\"SHARE_AFTER_COMMENT\":\"Your response has been shared on Facebook.\",\"UNDO\":\"Undo\",\"UNIT_PEOPLE\":\"People\",\"NUM_PEOPLE_DISAGREE\":\"disagree with your opinion.\",\"READ_MORE_TEXT\":\"Read what they have to say.\",\"SLIDER_THUMB_WORDING_BEFORE_VOTING\":\"WHAT DO YOU THINK?\",\"SLIDER_THUMB_WORDING_VERB_BEFORE_VOTING\":\"DRAG\",\"SLIDER_THUMB_WORDING_THANKS_VOTING\":\"Thanks for voting\",\"NUM_PEOPLE_ANSWERED\":\" 40,533 people have responded\",\"ONE_PERSON_ANSWERED\":\" 1 person has responded. Your response will be seen by your Facebook friends on Yahoo!\",\"TWO_PEOPLE_ANSWERED\":\" 2 people have responded. Your response will be seen by your Facebook friends on Yahoo!\",\"NUM_PEOPLE_ANSWERED_AND_SHARED\":\" 40,533 people have responded. Your response will be seen by your Facebook friends on Yahoo!\",\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s1\":3747,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s2\":1743,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s3\":4312,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s4\":10277,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s5\":3387,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s6\":17066,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s7\":0,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s8\":0,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s9\":0,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s10\":0}","fbconfig":"{\"message\":\"undefined\",\"name\":\"undefined\",\"link\":\"\",\"source\":\"\",\"picture\":\"http:\\\/\\\/l.yimg.com\\\/a\\\/i\\\/ww\\\/news\\\/2011\\\/09\\\/27\\\/yahoo-tc.jpg\",\"description\":\"\",\"captionLeft\":\"undefined\",\"captionRight\":\"undefined\",\"app_id\":\"196660913708276\",\"redirect_uri\":\"\\\/_xhr\\\/ugcratefbredirect\\\/\"}","template_id":"LONG_SLIDER_SOUTH","obj_id":"ratings_ef2b13721cbb467080c3e10a592b382f","opt_count":"6","opt_color1":"","opt_color2":"","template_html":"

Read More..

Rihanna a rock star on Victoria’s Secret catwalk

NEW YORK (AP) — Rihanna rocked lingerie at Wednesday night’s Victoria’s Secret fashion show in New York, providing the highlight of the live-music soundtrack and holding her own on the catwalk with some of the world’s top models.

And those models even had props, including Adriana Lima‘s ringmaster wand, Doutzen Kroes‘ body cage and several pairs of the oversized wings that the retailer has made its signature. It would be a close contest who got the biggest wings: Toni Garrn’s giant poppy pair or Miranda Kerr’s swan-style feathered pouf. Only Lily Aldridge could boast star-spangled wings that shot out silver sparkles.

Alessandra Ambrosio’s orchid-petal wings might have lacked a little grandeur, but she made up for it with a $ 2.5 million jeweled “floral fantasy bra.”

Still, wearing a sheer pink mini that gave glimpses of her bra, Rihanna sang “Fresh Out the Runway” at the end of the corset-and-garter parade and she was the one to grab the audience’s biggest applause.

The fashion show has become a pre-holiday season tradition for the retailer. CBS will turn it into a one-hour special, which also had performances from Justin Bieber and Bruno Mars, to be shown on Dec. 4.

Lima said she loved opening the show in the ringmaster costume. “The atmosphere of the Victoria’s Secret fashion show is electric,” she said. “It’s so much fun to be able to interact with the audience! What other show will you see Rihanna, Justin Beiber and Bruno Mars on the runway with angels?”

This year’s event had a slight twist. It started with an announcer noting that Victoria’s Secret and CBS had each made a donation to relief efforts for Superstorm Sandy, and a thank you to the National Guard members who are based out of the Lexington Avenue Armory that has for years been home to the show.

Mostly, though, models are encouraged to smile, ham it up and show off the extra time at the gym that most admit to in the weeks beforehand. “It’s highly televised, and you take that into consideration,” said model Joan Smalls ahead of the show. “This is kind of not the same as other runways. You have to prepare your body: No. 1 is the wings are heavy, and No. 2 is you have to be comfortable with your body because the camera will pick up on it if you’re not comfortable and confident.”

There’s an emphasis on glitz, skin and dramatic production here, not wearable undergarment trends for typical Victoria’s Secret shoppers. It was divided into six sections: Circus, complete with acrobats, contortionists and a sword eater; Dangerous Liaisons; Pink Is Us; Silver Screen Angels; Angels in Bloom; and Calendar Girls, which allowed Bruno Mars to serenade a model for each month of the year.

For his first song, “Beauty and the Beat,” Bieber, wearing low-slung white pants and a white leather studded vest, sat alone with his guitarist in the mellowest part of the show. For “As Long As You Love Me,” however, he brought in backup dancers and interacted with the models while moving around a giant makeshift pinball machine.

“It’s like a dream come true,” said Bieber on the pink carpet before the show. “I would rather be here than anywhere in the world.”

___

AP reporter John Carucci contributed to this report.

___

Samantha Critchell tweets fashion at http://www.twitter.com/AP_Fashion

Entertainment News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

McDonald's sales drop, first time since 2003

McDonald's Corp. reported its first decline in monthly U.S. same store sales in nine years Thursday, as the chain began to suffer problems plaguing the rest of the fast food industry for several years.

Sales at restaurants open more than a year declined 2.2 percent. Same store sales also declined in Europe, 2.2 percent, and the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa region, 2.4 percent.

The chain cited lower demand and greater competition for the lower sales. While hamburger competitors Burger King and Wendy’s were walloped by the onset of the recession, both  have changed hands in recent years and launched new menu items that better compete with McDonald’s including expanded breakfast offerings, improved coffee options and more innovative salads.

"Though October's sales results reflect the pervasive challenges of today's global marketplace, I am confident that our strategies and the adjustments we are making in response to the current business headwinds will build sales momentum and drive sustained, profitable growth," McDonald's CEO Don Thompson said. 

Although the decline is historic for the world's largest restaurant chain, which has been on a roll since the beginning of its historic turnaround in 2003, it was not unexpected. Analysts have been tempering expectations and downgrading the stock for months.

To rev up sales, McDonald's has been working to emphasize value in markets around the world.

In the U.S., for example, McDonald's is stepping up advertising for its Dollar Menu after its attempt to market an "Extra Value Menu" for slightly higher prices fell flat. But the company said Thursday that the efforts were offset by "modest consumer demand" and competition.

In particular, McDonald's is facing stiffer competition from longtime rivals Burger King and Wendy's, which are both in the midst of reviving their brands with new ad campaigns and improved menus. Taco Bell, owned by Yum Brands Inc., is also enjoying growth with the help of new offerings such as it Doritos Locos Tacos and higher-end Cantina Bell bowls and burritos.

Stock slipped 0.99 percent in pre-market trades, to $86 in early trading. McDonald's hit an all-time high of $101.74 in February.

Baird analyst David Tarantino maintained an outperform rating on McDonald's, saying in a research note that, "We are cautiously optimistic that better trends can emerge as McDonald's gets past a wall of challenging comparisons in upcoming months."

Tarrantino added that though results "could remain soft" through early 2013, "we see opportunity for better performance to emerge in 2013 as a whole," because of emphasis on value offerings, lower ingredient costs, and reduced currency impact.

eyork@tribune.com | Twitter: @emilyyork

- Reuters contributed to this report

MCD Net Income Quarterly data by YCharts

Read More..

U.S. Cellular exiting Chicago ; 160 jobs here cut

Note: Job cut numbers are updated to correct confusion over numbers supplied by U.S. Cellular.

Chicago-based wireless carrier U.S. Cellular said Wednesday it is selling its Chicago, St. Louis and central Illinois markets, along with three others in the Midwest, to subsidiaries of Sprint Nextel Corp. for $480 million.

The deal, which requires regulatory approval and is expected to close in mid-2013, will transfer PCS spectrum and about 585,000 customers -- just under 10 percent of U.S. Cellular's subscribers -- to Sprint. The markets account for about 11 percent of U.S. Cellular's service revenues.

As part of the transition, about 640 local jobs -- 160 of them in Chicago proper -- will be eliminated over time. The local job cuts represent the lion's share of the layoffs expected to take place, as overall losses in the affected markets will number about 980 positions. U.S. Cellular will be closing retail stores in the geographies it's exiting; engineering and business support jobs will also be eliminated.

U.S. Cellular, which employed about 8,400 at the end of September, will retain its Chicago headquarters along with 860 jobs there.

President and Chief Executive Mary Dillon described the move as getting "stronger by initially getting smaller" and said the decision was "not taken lightly," given the effect on the company's employees.

In the markets that U.S. Cellular is selling to Sprint, "we aren't reaching the rate of profitable customer growth and return on investment we need to operate effectively," Dillon said on a conference call.

In the affected markets, postpaid churn -- a wireless industry figure that measures defections among customers who are on contracts -- was roughly double that of the carrier's other geographies, Dillon said, indicating a "disproportionate share of subscriber losses." She added that because the company entered those markets later than its rivals, it had difficulty gaining share and incurred financial losses. Penetration in the affected markets was 3.9 percent versus a rate of 16.2 percent in other areas, Dillon said.

U.S. Cellular will also be transitioning a Bolingbrook customer call center to an existing vendor partner Jan. 1, with that partner retaining most of the jobs and employees, Dillon said.

On a conference call with analysts, the company said it remains committed to Chicago, including the naming rights on the home field for the White Sox, U.S. Cellular Field.

"We have a long-term relationship with the White Sox," said David Kimbell, chief marketing officer at U.S. Cellular. "Even after this transaction, we're going to have 1,400 associates in Chicago so that relationship (with the White Sox) is not part of that deal and will not be changing."

Dillon emphasized that the carrier will continue to provide the same level of customer service during the transition period and that its subscribers will experience "no immediate change." The company has created a website, www.uscellularinfo.com, that explains the transaction to consumers.

Also on Wednesday, U.S. Cellular said its third-quarter net income dropped 43 percent, as the company subsidized sales of new smartphones.

U.S. Cellular earned $35.5 million, or 42 cents per share, down from $62.1 million, or 73 cents per share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue rose 3 percent to $1.14 billion.

Sprint shares were down 1.2 percent to $5.66 in morning trade. U.S. Cellular Corp. shares were dropping 6.5 percent, to $36.50.

wawong@tribune.com | Twitter @VelocityWong

-- The Associated Press contributed.

USM data by YCharts

Read More..

Move over, Obama; Twitter had a big night too

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama called it - in less than 140 characters.

Around 11:15 pm EST, just as the networks were beginning to call the race in his favor, Obama took to Twitter to proclaim himself the winner over Republican candidate Mitt Romney.

"This happened because of you. Thank you," Obama tweeted.

That the president would take his message to Twitter before taking the stage in Chicago underscored the tremendous role social media platforms like Twitter played in the 2012 election.

Minutes later, with the race called in his favor, Obama tweeted again.

"We're all in this together. That's how we campaigned, and that's who we are. Thank you. -bo."

Through the course of a long and bitter presidential campaign, Twitter often served as the new first rough draft of history.

Top campaign aides used the Internet tool to snipe at each other, the candidates used it to get out their messages and political reporters used it to inform and entertain.

On Election Night, the tweets were flowing.

By 10 p.m. EST, with the race still up for grabs, Twitter announced it had broken records.

There were more than 31 million election-related tweets on Tuesday night, making Election Night "the most tweeted about event in U.S. political history," said Twitter spokeswoman Rachael Horwitz. Between 6 p.m. and midnight EST, there were more than 23 million tweets.

Horwitz noted the previous record was 10 million, during the first presidential debate on October 3.

"Twitter brought people closer to almost every aspect of the election this year," Horwitz said. "From breaking news, to sharing the experience of watching the debates, to interacting directly with the candidates, Twitter became a kind of nationwide caucus."

In the moments following Obama's win, Twitter was in a frenzy, with a peak of 327,000 tweets a minute.

Another tweet from Obama, one that read: "Four more years" and showed a picture of him hugging his wife, became the most retweeted tweet in the history of the site.

'FIRST TWITTER ELECTION'

Love it or hate it, Twitter and its role in politics appears to be here to stay.

For Rob Johnson, campaign manager for Texas Republican Governor Rick Perry's failed presidential run, Twitter "changed the dynamic this cycle and will continue to play a bigger role in years to come."

"We no longer click refresh on websites or wait for the paper boy to throw the news on our porch," Johnson said. "We go to Twitter and learn the facts before others read it."

The 2012 race was the first where Twitter played such an important role. Top campaign advisers like Romney's Eric Fehrnstrom and Obama's David Axelrod engaged in Twitter battles through the year.

With many political reporters and campaign staff on Twitter and Facebook, social media websites were often the first place news broke. Some top news stories were kept alive or thrust into the headlines after becoming hot topics on Twitter.

"It was one heckuva echo chamber," Dante Scala, a political science professor at the University of New Hampshire, said in an email.

Johnson said Twitter was the driving force behind some of the year's biggest political news stories.

"The twitterverse shapes the news and public opinion," Johnson said. "The Internet is truly a real and powerful tool in politics."

In future elections, candidates and their campaign staffs will have to include social media as another battleground, Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons said.

"This was the first Twitter election and social media is now fully a part of our election mechanics," Simmons said. "Going forward candidates must have an aggressive social media strategy if they want to win."

(Editing by Mary Milliken and Peter Cooney)

Read More..

MTV Launches Fundraiser for “Jersey Shore” Site Ravaged by Sandy

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – “Jersey Shore” might be wrapping up its run, but the spirit of goodwill and humanity that the MTV reality hit has inspired will carry on.

MTV will air a one-hour fundraising special to help out Seaside Heights, N.J., the site where Snooki and her fellow orange-hued revelers played out most of their televised shenanigans, and was ravaged by Hurricane Sandy last week.

The one-hour special, “Restore the Shore,” will air live on November 15 at 11 p.m., with a tape delay for the west coast.

The special, which will also run in online and mobile formats, will feature the “Jersey Shore” cast as well as other special guests, and air from MTV’s Times Square studio in New York.

MTV is partnering with nonprofit organization Architecture for Humanity for the fundraising effort, with efforts primarily focused on rebuilding the Seaside Heights boardwalk, with additional assistance going to re-building efforts for businesses and residents in the community.

TV News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

National Briefing | New England: Massachusetts: House Panel Issues Subpoena in Meningitis Outbreak

The chief pharmacist at the New England Compounding Center in Framingham, the company linked to a deadly meningitis outbreak, has received a subpoena to appear before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The pharmacist, Barry J. Cadden, is an owner of the company, which surrendered its pharmacy license after the outbreak sickened more than 400 people and killed 30. “Since Mr. Cadden has indicated he will not appear voluntarily, we are left with no choice but to issue a subpoena,” the committee chairman, Representative Fred Upton, Republican of Michigan, and the ranking Democrat, Representative Henry A. Waxman of California, said in a statement on Tuesday.

Read More..

U.S. Cellular exiting Chicago market

Note: Job cut numbers are updated to correct confusion over numbers supplied by U.S. Cellular.

Chicago-based wireless carrier U.S. Cellular said Wednesday it is selling its Chicago, St. Louis and central Illinois markets, along with three others in the Midwest, to subsidiaries of Sprint Nextel Corp. for $480 million.

The deal, which requires regulatory approval and is expected to close in mid-2013, will transfer PCS spectrum and about 585,000 customers -- just under 10 percent of U.S. Cellular's subscribers -- to Sprint. The markets account for about 11 percent of U.S. Cellular's service revenues.

As part of the transition, about 640 local jobs -- 160 of them in Chicago proper -- will be eliminated over time. The local job cuts represent the lion's share of the layoffs expected to take place, as overall losses in the affected markets will number about 980 positions. U.S. Cellular will be closing retail stores in the geographies it's exiting; engineering and business support jobs will also be eliminated.

U.S. Cellular, which employed about 8,400 at the end of September, will retain its Chicago headquarters along with 860 jobs there.

President and Chief Executive Mary Dillon described the move as getting "stronger by initially getting smaller" and said the decision was "not taken lightly," given the effect on the company's employees.

In the markets that U.S. Cellular is selling to Sprint, "we aren't reaching the rate of profitable customer growth and return on investment we need to operate effectively," Dillon said on a conference call.

In the affected markets, postpaid churn -- a wireless industry figure that measures defections among customers who are on contracts -- was roughly double that of the carrier's other geographies, Dillon said, indicating a "disproportionate share of subscriber losses." She added that because the company entered those markets later than its rivals, it had difficulty gaining share and incurred financial losses. Penetration in the affected markets was 3.9 percent versus a rate of 16.2 percent in other areas, Dillon said.

U.S. Cellular will also be transitioning a Bolingbrook customer call center to an existing vendor partner Jan. 1, with that partner retaining most of the jobs and employees, Dillon said.

On a conference call with analysts, the company said it remains committed to Chicago, including the naming rights on the home field for the White Sox, U.S. Cellular Field.

"We have a long-term relationship with the White Sox," said David Kimbell, chief marketing officer at U.S. Cellular. "Even after this transaction, we're going to have 1,400 associates in Chicago so that relationship (with the White Sox) is not part of that deal and will not be changing."

Dillon emphasized that the carrier will continue to provide the same level of customer service during the transition period and that its subscribers will experience "no immediate change." The company has created a website, www.uscellularinfo.com, that explains the transaction to consumers.

Also on Wednesday, U.S. Cellular said its third-quarter net income dropped 43 percent, as the company subsidized sales of new smartphones.

U.S. Cellular earned $35.5 million, or 42 cents per share, down from $62.1 million, or 73 cents per share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue rose 3 percent to $1.14 billion.

Sprint shares were down 1.2 percent to $5.66 in morning trade. U.S. Cellular Corp. shares were dropping 6.5 percent, to $36.50.

wawong@tribune.com | Twitter @VelocityWong

-- The Associated Press contributed.

Read More..

Heated fight for presidency goes to voters

President Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney both made their final pitch to voters in the last hours before election day. President Obama spoke in Iowa. Romney spoke in New Hampshire.

WASHINGTON -- Two fierce competitors who've given their all, President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney now yield center stage to voters Tuesday for an Election Day choice that will frame the contours of government and the nation for years to come.

After a grinding presidential campaign that packed suspense to the finish, Americans head into polling places in sleepy hollows, bustling cities and superstorm-ravaged beach towns deeply divided. All sides are awaiting, in particular, a verdict from the nine battleground states whose votes will determine which man can piece together the 270 electoral votes needed for victory.

Obama has more options for getting there. So Romney decided to make a late dash to Cleveland and Pittsburgh on Tuesday while running mate Paul Ryan threw in stops in Cleveland and Richmond, Va.

Obama visited a campaign office close to his home in Chicago and was met by applause and tears from volunteers before he picked up a phone to call voters in neighboring Wisconsin. He also was conducting about a dozen radio and satellite TV interviews to keep his closing arguments fresh in voters' minds.

"I feel optimistic but only cautiously optimistic," Obama said on "The Steve Harvey Morning Show." ''Because until people actually show up at the polls and cast their ballot, the rest of this stuff is all just speculation."

Romney was asked on WTAM radio in Cleveland whether he agreed that voters always get it right in the end. "I won't guarantee that they'll get it right, but I think they will," Romney replied.

Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, were among the first voters Tuesday in at a polling place in Greenville, Del., Biden's home state. Smiling broadly, Biden waited in line with other voters and greeted them with a handshake. Outside he sent a message to people across the country who may encounter crowded polling places. "I encourage you to stand in line as long as you have to," he told television cameras.

The Obamas had voted last month in an effort to encourage supporters to vote early. The men on the GOP ticket each voted with their wives at their side Tuesday morning in their hometowns — Romney in Belmont, Mass., and Ryan in Janesville, Wis. — then headed to meet in Cleveland for some retail politicking at restaurants and other unannounced stops. The last-minute nature of the swing made it too difficult to arrange a big public event, but their hope was their joint visit would get local news coverage that might translate to more support.

"I can't imagine an election being won or lost by, let's say, a few hundred votes and you spent your day sitting around," Romney told Richmond radio station WRVA. "I mean, you'd say to yourself, 'Holy cow, why didn't I keep working?' And so I'm going to make sure I never have to look back with anything other than the greatest degree of satisfaction on this whole campaign."

Both sides cast the Election Day choice as one with far-reaching repercussions for a nation still recovering from the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression and at odds over how big a role government should play in solving the country's problems.

"We can make sure that we make even greater progress going forward in putting folks back to work and making sure that they've got decent take-home pay, making sure that they have the health insurance that they need, making sure we're protecting Medicare and Social Security," Obama told Harvey. "All those issues are on the ballot, and so I'm hoping that everybody takes this seriously."

Romney argued that Obama had his chance to help Americans financially and blew it. "If it comes down to economics and jobs, this is an election I should win," Romney told Cleveland station WTAM.

With both sides keeping up the onslaught of political ads in battleground states right into Election Day, on one thing, at least, there was broad agreement: "I am ready for it to be over," said nurse Jennifer Walker in Columbus, Ohio.

It wasn't just the presidency at stake Tuesday: Every House seat, a third of the Senate and 11 governorships were on the line, along with state ballot proposals on topics ranging from gay marriage and casino gambling to repealing the death penalty and legalizing marijuana. Democrats were defending their majority in the Senate, and Republicans doing likewise in the House, raising the prospect of continued partisan wrangling in the years ahead no matter who might be president.

If past elections are any guide, a small but significant percentage of voters won't decide which presidential candidate they're voting for until Tuesday. Four percent of voters reported making up their minds on Election Day in 2008, and the figure was 5 percent four years earlier, according to exit polls. In Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, Va., hundreds of voters were in line shortly after the polls opened at 6 a.m. and had to wait more than an hour to cast their ballot.

The forecast for Election Day promised dry weather for much of the country, with rain expected in two battlegrounds, Florida and Wisconsin. But the closing days of the campaign played out against ongoing recovery efforts after Superstorm Sandy. Election officials in New York and New Jersey scrambled to marshal generators, move voting locations, shuttle storm victims to polling places and take other steps to ensure everyone who wanted to vote could do so.

In New York City, authorities planned to run shuttle buses every 15 minutes Tuesday in storm-slammed areas to bring voters to the polls. In Ocean County along the New Jersey coast, officials hired a converted camper to bring mail-in ballots to shelters in Toms River, Pemberton and Burlington Township.

Renee Kearney, of Point Pleasant Beach, said she felt additional responsibility to vote this Election Day. The 41-year-old project manager for an information technology company planned all along to vote for Obama, but said her resolve was strengthened by his response to Sandy.

"It feels extra important today because you have the opportunity to influence the state of things right now, which is a disaster," Kearney said.

Election Day came early for more than a third of Americans, who cast ballots days or even weeks in advance.

Read More..

Apple sells three million iPads over first weekend

'},"otherParams":{"t_e":1,".intl":"US"},"events":{"fetch":{lv:2,"sp":"7665149","ps":"LREC,MON","npv":true,"bg":"#FFFFFF","em":escape('{"site-attribute":"_id=\'2f95a3fe-a4b6-398a-b7f8-d3ff20ab4762\' sensitivity=\'0\' rs=\'lmsid:a0770000002GZ5iAAG\' ctype=\'fn_news;News\' ctopid=\'10612989;1499989;1550500;2299500;1507989;1542500;1506989;1550000;2315000;1507489;1547500\' can_suppress_ugc=\'1\' content=\'no_expandable;ajax_cert_expandable;\' ADSSA"}'),"em_orig":escape('{"site-attribute":"_id=\'2f95a3fe-a4b6-398a-b7f8-d3ff20ab4762\' sensitivity=\'0\' rs=\'lmsid:a0770000002GZ5iAAG\' ctype=\'fn_news;News\' ctopid=\'10612989;1499989;1550500;2299500;1507989;1542500;1506989;1550000;2315000;1507489;1547500\' can_suppress_ugc=\'1\' content=\'no_expandable;ajax_cert_expandable;\' ADSSA"}')}}};var _createNodes=function(){var nIds=_conf.nodeIds;for(var i in nIds){var nId=nIds[i];var dId=_conf.destinationMap[nIds[i].replace("yom-","")];n=Y.one("#"+nId);if(n)var center=n.one("center");var node=Y.one("#"+dId);var nodeHTML;if(center && !node){nodeHTML=_conf.nodes[nId];center.insert(nodeHTML);};};};var _prepareNodes=function(){var nIds=_conf.nodeIds;for(var i in nIds){var nId=nIds[i];var dId=_conf.destinationMap[nIds[i].replace("yom-ad-","")];n=Y.one("#"+nId);if(n)var center=n.one("center");var node=Y.one("#"+dId);if(center && node){center.set("innerHTML","");center.insert(node);node.setStyle("display","block");};};};var _darla;var _config=function(){if(YAHOO.ads.darla){_darla = YAHOO.ads.darla;_createNodes();};};var _fetch=function(spaceid,adssa,ps){
if (typeof(ps)!='undefined')
_conf.events.fetch.ps = ps;if(typeof spaceid != "undefined") _conf.events.fetch.sp=spaceid;adssa = (typeof adssa != "undefined" && adssa != null) ? escape(adssa.replace(/\"/g, "'")) : "";_conf.events.fetch.em=_conf.events.fetch.em_orig.replace("ADSSA", adssa);if(_darla){_prepareNodes();_darla.setConfig(_conf);_darla.event("fetch");};};Y.on("domready", function(){_config();});;var that={"fetch":_fetch,"getNodes":_conf.nodes,"getConf":_conf};return that;}();/* Backwards compatibility - Assigning the latest instance to the main fetch function */YUI.PhotoAdsDarla.fetch=YUI.PhotoAdsDarla.photoslightboxdarla.fetch;
});
Y.later(10, this, function() {YAHOO.namespace('Media.Social').Lightbox = {};
});
Y.later(10, this, function() {Y.Media.Article.init();
});
Y.later(10, this, function() {new Y.Media.AuthorBadge();
});
Y.later(10, this, function() {new Y.Media.Branding();
});
Y.later(10, this, function() {Y.on("load", function () {
YUI.namespace("Media.SocialButtons");

var instances = YUI.Media.SocialButtons.instances || [],
globalConf = YAHOO.Media.SocialButtons.conf || {},
vplContainers = [];

Y.all(".ymsb").each(function (node) {
var id = node.get("id"),
conf = YAHOO.Media.SocialButtons.configs[id],
instance;

if (conf) {
instance = new Y.SocialButtons({
srcNode: node,
config: Y.merge(globalConf, conf.config || {}),
contentMetadata: conf.content || {},
tracking: conf.tracking || {}
});
vplContainers.push(
{
selector: "#" + id,
callback: function(node) { instance.render(); instance = conf = id = null; }
});

if (conf.config && conf.config.dynamic) {
instances.push(instance);
}
}
});

Y.Global.Media.ViewportLoader.addContainers(vplContainers);
YUI.Media.SocialButtons.instances = instances;
});
});
Y.later(10, this, function() {if (!Y.Media) {

return;

}

Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_targets = Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_targets || {};

Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_configs = Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_configs || {};

Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_dataset = Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_dataset || {};

Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_whitelist = Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_whitelist || {};


Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_targets['lightboxd57e8fa6564a26ef17f49426536b280f'] = {"lightboxId":"a19b687e49b8defffc54cb727a53d754","pivotId":"5eb31cc5-b020-35c7-be20-b3ca976fdeac"};


Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_dataset['a19b687e49b8defffc54cb727a53d754'] = {"spaceid":"7665149","total":1,"photoby":"Photo By","xhrtype":"slideshow","videoconf":{"autoplay":true,"continuousPlay":true,"mute":false,"volume":"1.00","lang":"en-US","site":"news","region":"US","jurisdiction":"US","YVAP":{"accountId":"145","playContext":"default"},"pageSpaceId":"7665149","comscoreC4":"US News","comscoreC6":"","showEmbedCode":true,"showShareUrl":true,"expName":"MediaArticleRelatedLightbox","expType":"inline","apiEnv":"prod"},"slideshow_id":null,"slideshow_title":null,"slideshow_title_baked_html":null,"slideshow_desc":null,"slideshow_rev":null,"slideshow_plink_vita":null,"photos":[{"type":"image","url":"http:\/\/l.yimg.com\/bt\/api\/res\/1.2\/DkpAjSrazgp4VhPSvcOi2Q--\/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD0zMTM7cT03OTt3PTQ1MA--\/http:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en_us\/News\/Reuters\/2012-11-06T004504Z_2_CBRE8A412L700_RTROPTP_2_CTECH-US-APPLE-IPAD.JPG","width":450,"height":313,"uuid":"5eb31cc5-b020-35c7-be20-b3ca976fdeac","caption":"The Apple logo hangs in a glass enclosure above the 5th Ave Apple Store in New York, September 20, 2012. REUTERS\/Lucas Jackson","captionBakedHtml":"

The Apple logo hangs in a glass enclosure above the 5th Ave Apple Store in New York, September 20, 2012. REUTERS\/Lucas Jackson","date":"Mon, Nov 5, 2012 7:55 PM EST","credit":"Reuters","byline":"\ufffd Lucas Jackson \/ Reuters","provider":"Reuters","photo_title":"The Apple logo hangs in a glass enclosure above the 5th Ave Apple Store in New York","pivot_alias_id":"apple-logo-hangs-glass-enclosure-above-5th-ave-photo-004504633","plink":"\/photos\/apple-logo-hangs-glass-enclosure-above-5th-ave-photo-004504633.html","plink_vita":"http:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/photos\/apple-logo-hangs-glass-enclosure-above-5th-ave-photo-004504633.html","srchtrm":"The Apple logo hangs in a glass enclosure above the 5th Ave Apple Store in New York","revsp":"","rev":"9ac20180-27ac-11e2-94fa-e5e056b08e1f","surl":"http:\/\/l1.yimg.com\/bt\/api\/res\/1.2\/nO6BwaElu9ExCTRJYW.nJA--\/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD01NjtxPTc5O3c9ODE-\/http:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en_us\/News\/Reuters\/2012-11-06T004504Z_2_CBRE8A412L700_RTROPTP_2_CTECH-US-APPLE-IPAD.JPG","swidth":81,"sheight":56}]};

Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_configs['a19b687e49b8defffc54cb727a53d754'] = {"spaceid":"7665149","ult_pt":"story-lightbox","darla_id":"","images_total":0,"xhr_url":"\/_xhr\/related-article\/lightbox\/?id=2f95a3fe-a4b6-398a-b7f8-d3ff20ab4762","xhr_count":20,"autoplay_if_first_item_is_video":true};
});
Y.later(10, this, function() {new Y.Media.RelatedArticle({count:"2",start:"1",
mod_total:"10", total:"0",
content_id:"2f95a3fe-a4b6-398a-b7f8-d3ff20ab4762",
spaceid:"7665149",
related_count:"-1"
});
});
Y.later(10, this, function() {(function(d){
d.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(d.createElement('script')).src='http://d.yimg.com/oq/js/csc_news-en-US-core.js';
})(document);
});
Y.later(10, this, function() {
if(!("Media" in YAHOO)){YAHOO.Media = {};}
if(!("ugcrate" in YAHOO.Media)){YAHOO.Media.ugcrate = {};}
if(!("Media" in Y)){Y.namespace("Media");}
YAHOO.Media.ugcrate.ratings_7a8269fb78b9b0da8f7ba838d28d9847 = new Y.Media.UgcRate({"context_id":"5c45fbb3-cdb2-467d-ac33-5d2ab49dd099","sCrumb":"","containerId":"yom-sentimentrate-7a8269fb78b9b0da8f7ba838d28d9847","rateDimensions":"d1","appLang":"en-US","sUltSId":"7665149","sUltProperty":"news-en-US","sUltCampaign":"","sUltPlatform":"ugcwidgets","sUltIntl":"US","sUltLang":"en-US","selfPageUrl":"http:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/apple-sells-three-million-ipads-over-first-weekend-004504374--finance.html?_esi=0","artContentId":"2f95a3fe-a4b6-398a-b7f8-d3ff20ab4762","sUltQstnTxt":"Which size tablet would you prefer?","artContentTitle":"Apple sells three million iPads over first weekend","artContentDesc":"SAN FRANCISCO\/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Apple Inc sold 3 million of its new iPads in the first three days the tablet computers were available, driving optimism for a strong holiday quarter despite intensifying competition. Sales of the 7.9-inch iPad mini and fourth-generation 9.7-inch version, both Wi-Fi only models, were double the first-weekend sales of the Wi-Fi iPad sold in March, Apple said on Monday. Apple did not break out numbers for the crucial iPad mini, a smaller version of the original tablet designed to spearhead its foray into a segment now dominated by Amazon. ...","sUltBucketId":"test1","sUltSection":"sentirating","sUltBeaconUrl":"","sUltRecordPageviews":"1","sUltBeaconEnable":"1","serviceUrl":"\/_xhr","publisherContextId":"","propertyId":"2fcd79b5-b3a3-333e-b98e-722536a6698f","configurationId":"435db9ee-c55e-3766-b20d-c8ad3ff889d1","graphId":"","labelLeft":"Smaller works for me","labelRight":"Bigger is better","labelMiddle":"","itemimg":"http:\/\/l.yimg.com\/a\/i\/ww\/met\/yahoo_logo_us_061509.png","selfURI":"","aggregateRatingCount":"32831","aggregateReviewCount":"0","leftBlocksNum":"19028","rightBlocksNum":"13797","leftBlocksPerCent":"58","rightBlocksPerCent":"42","ugcrate_apihost":"api01-us.ugcl.yahoo.com:4080","publisher_id":"news-en-US","yca_cert":"yahoo.ugccloud.app.trusted_proxies","timeout_write":"5000","through_proxy":"false","optionStats":"{\"s1\":2952,\"s2\":1422,\"s3\":3502,\"s4\":8426,\"s5\":2726,\"s6\":13797,\"s7\":0,\"s8\":0,\"s9\":0,\"s10\":0}","l10N":"{\"FIRST_TO_READ\":\"You are first to read this. Share your feelings and start a conversation.\",\"SHARE_YOUR_FEELINGS\":\"You too can share your feelings and start a conversation!\",\"HOW_YOUR_FRIENDS_THINK\":\"Thank you for sharing your feeling on this article!\",\"PRE_SHARE_MSG\":\"Your Facebook friends on Yahoo! can see how you responded. To share your response on Facebook, click on the Facebook share option.\",\"START_THE_CONVERSATION\":\"Start the Conversation\",\"THANKS_FOR_SHARING\":\"Sure, that's how you feel... But what do your friends think?\",\"POLL_HEADER\":\"SOCIAL SENTIMENT\",\"SERVER_ERROR\":\"Oops there seems to be some error, please try again later\",\"LOADING\":\"Loading...\",\"SHARE_AFTER_COMMENT\":\"Your response has been shared on Facebook.\",\"UNDO\":\"Undo\",\"UNIT_PEOPLE\":\"People\",\"NUM_PEOPLE_DISAGREE\":\"disagree with your opinion.\",\"READ_MORE_TEXT\":\"Read what they have to say.\",\"SLIDER_THUMB_WORDING_BEFORE_VOTING\":\"WHAT DO YOU THINK?\",\"SLIDER_THUMB_WORDING_VERB_BEFORE_VOTING\":\"DRAG\",\"SLIDER_THUMB_WORDING_THANKS_VOTING\":\"Thanks for voting\",\"NUM_PEOPLE_ANSWERED\":\" 32,831 people have responded\",\"ONE_PERSON_ANSWERED\":\" 1 person has responded. Your response will be seen by your Facebook friends on Yahoo!\",\"TWO_PEOPLE_ANSWERED\":\" 2 people have responded. Your response will be seen by your Facebook friends on Yahoo!\",\"NUM_PEOPLE_ANSWERED_AND_SHARED\":\" 32,831 people have responded. Your response will be seen by your Facebook friends on Yahoo!\",\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s1\":2952,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s2\":1422,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s3\":3502,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s4\":8426,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s5\":2726,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s6\":13797,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s7\":0,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s8\":0,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s9\":0,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s10\":0}","fbconfig":"{\"message\":\"undefined\",\"name\":\"undefined\",\"link\":\"\",\"source\":\"\",\"picture\":\"http:\\\/\\\/l.yimg.com\\\/a\\\/i\\\/ww\\\/news\\\/2011\\\/09\\\/27\\\/yahoo-tc.jpg\",\"description\":\"\",\"captionLeft\":\"undefined\",\"captionRight\":\"undefined\",\"app_id\":\"196660913708276\",\"redirect_uri\":\"\\\/_xhr\\\/ugcratefbredirect\\\/\"}","template_id":"LONG_SLIDER_SOUTH","obj_id":"ratings_7a8269fb78b9b0da8f7ba838d28d9847","opt_count":"6","opt_color1":"","opt_color2":"","template_html":"

Read More..

Springsteen, Jay-Z put the pop in Obama rally

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Someone has to introduce the president.

On Monday, the final day of the presidential campaign, President Barack Obama, however, didn’t bring along an opening act. He brought along two main acts.

Bruce Springsteen. Jay-Z. Theirs wasn’t an introduction, it was pop culture moment.

The Boss was spending the entire day with Obama, traveling on Air Force One from Madison, Wis., to Columbus, Ohio, and then to Des Moines, Iowa, where Obama planned a coda for his campaign, a finale where his run for the presidency began five years ago.

Jay-Z boomed his way into Columbus‘s Nationwide Arena, performing a rendition of his hit “99 Problems” with a political twist for a crowd estimated by fire officials at more than 15,000 people. He changed a key R-rated word to make his own political endorsement. “I got 99 problems but Mitt ain’t one,” he sang.

“They tell the story of what our country is,” Obama said of the two performers, “but also of what it should be and what it can be.”

Springsteen added a whole new sense of vigor, even giddiness, to the Obama entourage, with many of the president’s aides and advisers clearly star-struck by the rocker’s presence.

Springsteen, in jeans, black boots, a work shirt, vest and leather jacket, was not wearing the typical Air Force One attire. But the Obama camp has left formality aside; many aides are growing beards through Election Day and ties have been left behind in favor of sweaters for the chilly outdoor events during the last hours of the campaign.

Asked if there was any downside to using celebrity glitz instead of substance to drive voters to the polls in the final days, Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki laughed. “I think Bruce Springsteen might be offended by you calling him glitzy,” she said.

“Bruce Springsteen, and some other celebrities who have been helping us, reach a broad audience that sometimes tune out what’s being said by politicians,” she said.

As Psaki spoke to reporters at the back of the plane, Obama was up front and on the phone with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie discussing the recovery from Superstorm Sandy. Christie, who says he has attended more than 100 Springsteen concerts, said Obama then handed the phone to Springsteen, a New Jersey native whose songs often have been tributes to his youth in the state.

Upon landing in Columbus, Springsteen told a reporter that it was his first trip on Air Force One. Grinning, he said, “It was pretty cool.” As for New Jersey, he said, “I’m feeling pretty hopeful” that the state’s hard-hit shore will recover.

In Madison and Columbus, Springsteen serenaded audiences with renditions of top anthems “No Surrender,” ”Promised Land” and “Land of Hope and Dreams.” But he also has a custom-made campaign song named after the Obama motto “Forward” — which he acknowledged was “not the best I’ve ever written.”

“How many things rhyme with Obama?” he asked.

Obama, no doubt, didn’t mind.

“I’m going to be fine with Bruce Springsteen on the last day that I’ll ever campaign,” he said above the din of the crowd.

“That’s not a bad way to bring it home. With The Boss. With The Boss.”

Entertainment News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..