Accused Halle Berry stalker ordered to stand trial (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? A judge ruled Monday that a man charged with stalking Halle Berry should stand trial on two charges filed after he was repeatedly seen on the actress' property earlier this year.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Melissa Widdifield issued her ruling after hearing from two witnesses called during a preliminary hearing to show some of evidence against Richard A. Franco, who has pleaded not guilty to burglary and stalking charges.

He was charged after police arrested him outside Berry's home in July after he was seen on the property three times in three days.

Los Angeles police Detective John Gregozek testified that when Franco was caught, he was carrying a key to Berry's guesthouse, where the Oscar-winning actress has her beauty salon and some of her wardrobe.

Gregozek said Franco apparently obtained the key on July 10, when he entered the house for about 20 seconds after Berry left the salon area to go to her kitchen. Franco was standing outside her kitchen door when Berry spotted him and locked the door and called police.

Berry did not attend the hearing, but Gregozek told the judge the actress is still afraid of Franco.

The following night, after Berry had hired private security, Franco was seen climbing over the actress' gate and coming onto her property. Joseph Vach, a retired California Highway Patrol officer, was working as private security and helped detain Franco. The man was carrying a notebook that included references to Berry and entering her home, Vach testified.

Franco, who was dressed in a jail jumpsuit, will remain jailed on $150,000 bail, Widdifield ruled. He returns to court on Oct. 31 for arraignment.

Berry obtained a civil restraining order against Franco after his arrest. "This person has invaded and trampled upon the most fundamental sense of security I have, and I am extremely frightened of him and what he might do to me or those I love," she wrote in her July petition.

___

Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111017/ap_on_en_mo/us_people_halle_berry

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PFT: Harbaugh, Schwartz get into postgame scuffle

San Francisco 49ers v Detroit LionsGetty Images

Every week, the NFL gives us something rare or unprecedented.? On Sunday, the post-game altercation between 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh and Lions coach Jim Schwartz was unprecedented.

But now that something like that has happened, will it happen again?? The league?s reaction could go a long way toward deciding that.

Before going much farther with this, let?s shift from introduction to topic No. 1 in our 10-item look at the Sunday that was.

1.? Where have you gone, Tom Landry?

Not that long ago, all coaches exuded a sense of dignity toward the game and respect toward each other.? From Tom Landry to Chuck Noll to Bud Grant to John Madden to Don Shula, coaches didn?t treat each other like opponents in the main event of the next pro wrestling pay-per-view.? Even when Buddy Ryan was coaching, he was the lone exception ? perhaps along with Jimmy Johnson, the man who succeeded Landry in Dallas.

One G.M. who requested anonymity blamed Sunday?s scrum between Harbaugh and Schwartz on Buddy?s son, Rex Ryan, who has introduced a new era of big talking NFL coaches.? From Rex to Josh McDaniels to Todd Haley to Jim Harbaugh to Jim Schwartz, more and more coaches are displaying confidence ? and emotion ? both in their words and in their actions.

It never became truly physical until Sunday, with Harbaugh exuberantly shoving Schwartz in the back and then Schwartz bumping Harbaugh.? Given that the NFL liberally metes out discipline against players who misbehave, the league shouldn?t hesitate to make an example out of Harbaugh, who unwittingly started the problem by not dialing down the celebration when shaking Schwartz?s hand, and Schwartz, who deliberately finished it by chasing Harbaugh down and bumping him.? Given that the example set by the NFL trickles down to all other levels of the sport, the league needs to make a strong statement that coaches who act like overgrown kindergartners will be dealt with swiftly and severely.

We personally like Harbaugh and Schwartz.? But we don?t like what they did today.? And we think that the league needs to quit talking about holding coaches to a higher standard and start actually holding them to a higher standard.? If the league doesn?t, the bar will keep sinking lower and lower.

2.? Niners could be in line for 12 or 13 wins.

Far more amazing than the 49ers? 5-1 record is the fact that they?ve compiled that mark against a schedule that has included only one NFC West foe ? and three games in the Eastern part of the country.

When the Niners emerge from their bye, they?ll face a slate of game that includes two against the 0-5 Rams, two against the 1-4 Cardinals, one against the 2-3 Seahawks, and contests against the Browns, Redskins, Giants, Ravens, and Steelers.

A 7-3 record in those 10 games translates to a 12-4 finish.? Based on how the 49ers have played so far, they could win eight or even nine of their next 10 games.? Which would virtually guarantee the No. 2 seed, at a minimum, in the NFC playoff field.

3.? League needs to investigate Vick?s ?injury?.

In the third quarter of Sunday?s win over the Redskins, Eagles quarterback Mike Vick took off running with the ball.? He absorbed a helmet-to-helmet hit, before his head hit the ground.

Vick was motionless for a few seconds.? When he got to his feet, with clumps of sod in the top of his face mask, a la Kevin Kolb in Week One of the 2010 season, Vick seemed a little groggy and disoriented.? He eventually left the playing field, and Vince Young entered the game.

After Young threw an ugly interception on his first attempt, Vick suddenly was healed.

FOX?s Laura Okmin reported the team?s official position ? Vick had the dreaded football condition known as dirt on his face (even though Vick uses a visor).? Eagles spokesman Derek Boyko separately told PFT via e-mail that Vick also had the wind knocked out of him.

Sorry, but we think someone is throwing something other than dirt in our faces on this one.? Given that Vick would have been prevented from returning to a game that the Eagles desperately needed to win at a time when the game was still in the balance, it?s hard not to be suspicious.

The league should be suspicious, too.? And the league needs to institute procedures to ensure that, whenever a player leaves a game with ?dirt on his face? or the wind knocked out of him or whatever cockamamie excuse a team may offer when the video suggests a possible concussion, there will be no doubt or suspicion about the player?s condition if/when he re-enters the game.

4.? League finally gets it right with Burleson call.

Too many times over the past few years, catches in the end zone that appeared to be touchdowns ultimately were ruled not to be catches due to application of a rule that initially was intended to include within the definition of a catch those situations in which the ball touches the ground.? Setting aside for now the wisdom of ever treating a catch as a catch when the ball makes contact with anything other than the player, the officials and the league office have had a hard time with this rule when the catch is made ? or not made ? in the end zone.

From plays involving Louis Murphy to Dante Rosario to Mike Sims-Walker to Lance Moore in Super Bowl XLV to Calvin Johnson to various other examples, the application of the rule has at times defied common sense and/or the language of the rulebook.? The problem arises when the receiver is going to the ground.? In such situations, the receiver must maintain possession through the act of falling.? But when the act of falling includes breaking the plane of the goal line, the NFL has ruled at times (mistakenly, in our view) that the play ended as soon as the ball passed into the front of the end zone.

This year, the league has emphasized the element of time, treating such plays as valid receptions if the receiver who, while going to the ground, had enough time to make a football move, regardless of whether a football move is actually made.? Fittingly, the NFL got it right not once but twice for the Lions on Sunday, via touchdown receptions made by tight end Brandon Pettigrew, who lost the ball only after clearly being on the ground, and by receiver Nate Burleson, who caught the ball and stumbled toward the turf and, in eerie similarity to the Calvin Johnson play from a year ago, lost possession of the ball when the ball struck the ground while in his hand.

During Football Night in America, the Johnson play from 2010 and the Burleson play from 2011 were shown side by side.? Both looked like touchdowns.? The fact that the more recent one was correctly ruled to be a touchdown shows that there?s hope that the league has finally figured out how to make the ruling mesh with the expectations of the average fan watching a game.

5.? It?s Beck time in D.C.

The Shanahans supposedly love John Beck.? Now that the guy who beat out Beck has landed on the bench during Sunday?s loss to the Eagles, it?s time to see what Beck can do.

Coach Mike Shanahan said he?ll make a decision on Wednesday.? It would be shocking if the decision is anything other than Beck starting.

Grossman has had his chance.? He played better than anyone thought he would play.? But as we said back in early September, the guy who wins that job merely wins the right to lose it first.? Grossman has lost it, and now we?ll see whether Beck can keep it.

If he?s as good as the Shanahans say he is, he will.

6.? The trade deadline comes too early.

The NFL?s trade deadline falls roughly one third of the way into the regular season, far earlier than the corresponding date for the other major league sports.? As a result, not many trades happen.

They don?t happen because teams aren?t ready to fold their tents after only six weeks, which for a dozen teams this year means only five games.? There?s simply too much time left in the season to justify a fire sale, if the team hopes to keep its fan base engaged (i.e., paying for tickets and/or watching on TV).

And that?s precisely why the trade deadline comes when it does.? If it landed a month from now, some teams would dump salaries and/or unload looming free agents they have no hope of keeping, sending a clear message to the fan base not to bother with rooting ? and giving contending teams a chance to fatten up their rosters in the hopes of partially mortgaging their futures for a Super Bowl run.

7.? It?s the Packers, a gap, and everyone else.

One thing we know through six weeks of the season is that the Packers are, without question, the best team in the league.? They continue to look like the team that found its groove in the 2010 postseason, and it now seems highly likely that, barring an injury to Aaron Rodgers, they?ll be the top seed in the NFC.

Which mean that the road to Indy will wind through Lambeau Field.

Which means that the Packers could end up doing what no Packers team has done since the first two Super Bowls ? winning back-to-back titles.

Given the way this team is playing, it?s not too early to start wondering whether the Packers could be the first team to win three straight Super Bowls.

8.? Unlucky Texans still have a lucky draw in their division.

In coach Gary Kubiak?s make-or-break season, the Texans can?t catch a break.? Linebacker Mario Williams is gone for the year.? Receiver Andre Johnson is gone until further notice.? They drew the Saints on the fifth anniversary of the reopening of the Superdome, the Raiders the day after Al Davis died.

On Sunday, Houston had to go to Baltimore to face a rested Ravens teams.

Next Sunday, the Texans go to Tennessee, to play a Titans team that is also coming off a bye week.? Still, the Texans have to contend only with the Titans in the AFC South; the Jaguars and the Colts have a combined record of 1-11.

Though it would be ironic if the team that used to be in Houston keeps the team currently in Houston out of the postseason, the 3-3 Texans remain in great shape to win their first division title.

If they can take care of the Titans.

9.? We?ll learn a lot about the Bengals soon.

Through six games, the Bengals have beaten the 2-3 Browns, the 4-2 Bills, the 1-5 Jaguars, and the 0-6 Colts.? Cincinnati has lost to the 5-1 49ers and the 1-4 Broncos.

It?s still too early to tell whether the Bengals are for real.? After their bye, we?ll get an idea.

The Bengals go to Seattle and Tennessee before facing in consecutive weeks the Steelers and Ravens.? Then, the Bengals play the Browns, the Steelers again, and the Texans.

Those seven games will let us all know whether the first six games were a fluke.

10.? Pryor suspension hurts the Raiders.

With starting quarterback Jason Campbell gone, perhaps for the rest of the season, with a broken collarbone, the Raiders need help.? They reportedly want Carson Palmer.

They possibly wouldn?t need Palmer, or any other veteran quarterback, if the league hadn?t suspended rookie Terrelle Pryor five games to start the season.

If Pryor, who arrived late in the preseason after the league dragged its feet on the scheduling of the supplemental draft, had been able to practice for the first five weeks of the season, Pryor could be ready to play.? Given what Cam Newton and Andy Dalton have been able to accomplish as rookies, there?s no reason to think Pryor isn?t the real thing ? or that he wouldn?t be ready if he had been able to prepare during weeks that he otherwise was frozen out.

If the Raiders can?t get Palmer or sign another veteran, they should try to get Pryor ready sooner.? If, as Jon Gruden supposedly believes, Pryor has a higher upside than Cam Newton, it makes sense to start finding out what that upside is.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/10/16/harbaugh-schwartz-get-into-post-game-scuffle/related/

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Cindy Sheehan arrested at Calif. Wall St. protest (AP)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. ? Police in the California state capital of Sacramento say that anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan was among 19 demonstrators arrested during a demonstration of anti-Wall Street sentiment.

The Sacramento Bee (http://bit.ly/oI2tNu) reports that the 53-year-old Sheehan was booked early Sunday on suspicion of unlawful assembly and failing to follow police orders to disburse.

Police spokeswoman Laura Peck says the 18 other demonstrators were also arrested for unlawful assembly.

She says because the charge is a misdemeanor, those arrested would likely be released and ordered to appear in court within a few days.

The Bee reports police have made 58 arrests at the park across from City Hall, where protesters have been gathering since Oct. 6.

___

Information from: The Sacramento Bee, http://www.sacbee.com

___

Information from: The Sacramento Bee, http://www.sacbee.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111016/ap_on_re_us/us_wall_street_protest_sheehan

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Catherine Bell & Husband Adam Beason Split

Catherine Bell & Husband Adam Beason Split

Actress Catherine Bell has separated from her husband of 17 years, Adam Beason. The “Army Wives” star and screenwriter Adam Beason reportedly came to the [...]

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Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2011/10/14/catherine-bell-husband-adam-beason-split/

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Obama gets back on the bus for trip to NC, Va.

(AP) ? President Barack Obama is campaigning for both his jobs bill and his re-election on a three-day bus tour beginning Monday through North Carolina and Virginia, two southern states crucial for his chances in next November's election.

Though both states traditionally lean Republican, Obama carried them in the 2008 election, due in large part to the states' changing demographics and the Obama campaign's ability to boost voter turnout among young people and African-Americans. But nearly three years after his historic election, Obama's approval ratings in both states are sagging, in line with the national trend.

A Quinnipiac University poll out earlier this month put Obama's approval rating in Virginia at 45 percent, with 52 percent disapproving. The same poll showed 83 percent of Virginians were dissatisfied with the direction of the country. In North Carolina, Obama has a 42 percent approval rating, according to an Elon University poll conducted this month. Most national polls put Obama's approval rating in the mid- to low-forties.

The president's bus tour comes as the battle in Washington over his jobs plan enters a new phase. While Obama had demanded lawmakers pass the $447 billion measure in its entirety, Senate Republicans have blocked those efforts, leaving the president and his Democratic allies to fight for the bill's proposals piece by piece.

Since announcing his plan for putting Americans back to work last month, Obama has been traveling the country trying to build public support for his initiatives. The president's itinerary has focused heavily on swing states, underscoring the degree to which what happens with his job bill is linked to his re-election prospects.

Obama starts his bus tour with a speech in Ashville, N.C., Monday morning and he will speak again later that day at a high school in Millers Creek, N.C. Other stops on the three-day swing include Jamestown, N.C., and the southern Virginia cites of Emporia and Hampton.

While Obama won handily in Virginia in 2008, he barely squeaked out a victory in North Carolina, winning the state by less than a percentage point. John Davis, a longtime political analyst in North Carolina, said Obama won there in part because his campaign identified the state as a potential battleground early and established a dominant ground game, while the Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain, was focused elsewhere.

But with North Carolina now firmly on the political establishment's radar, Davis said thinks Obama will have a much harder time holding the state next November.

"This time I think Obama loses the advantage of a surprise like he pulled off in 2008," he said.

The president faces significant obstacles in Virginia as well. While Democrats had hoped Obama's victory signaled Virginia's shift to a blue state, momentum has since strongly turned back in favor of Republicans, most notably with Gov. Bob McDonald's win in 2009.

That shift has some Virginia Democrats, especially state legislators running in next month's General Assembly elections, less than thrilled about Obama heading to their state this week. In coal-mining southwestern Virginia, Democratic state Sen. Phil Puckett has flatly renounced the president. With Republicans running television ads and erecting billboards showing Puckett campaigning for Obama in 2008, Puckett said in a television interview he would not support Obama in 2012.

The White House insists the president is focused more on the economy than elections. With the nation's unemployment rate stuck at 9.1 percent, Obama's goal this week will be to convince the public that his jobs plan will put out-of-work teachers, police officers and firefighters back on the job, while also repairing crumbling roads and bridges.

By breaking up elements of the plan into individual bills, the White House wants to force Republicans to voice their opposition one by one ? part of the Obama administration's strategy of hanging blame for any eventual failure of the president's economic policies on GOP obstructionism.

"Each time we're going to ask Republicans to support the bill," Obama said last week. "And if they don't want to support the bill, they've got to answer not just to us, but also the American people as to why they wouldn't."

White House spokesman Jay Carney said he doesn't expect the president to have a significantly revamped message on the road now that he's selling individual components of his bill, not the full package.

"You can expect to hear the president making the case for the need to take action until Congress takes action on every item," he said Friday.

The president will be ditching Air Force One for much of his trip this week, traveling instead on a $1.1 million bus purchased by the Secret Service. The impenetrable-looking bus is painted all black, with dark tinted windows and flashing red and blue lights. Obama first used the custom-made bus during a similar road trip in August, when he traveled through Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois.

Obama's time on the road will take him through small towns and rural swaths of both Virginia and North Carolina. In addition to his scheduled speeches, the president is sure to make unannounced visits to local restaurants or stop to greet supporters gathered along the road to watch his motorcade pass.

The effect is a campaign-style trip that allows the president to engage in a little retail politics, while also garnering the national media coverage typically afforded only to a sitting president.

___

Associated Press writers Ken Thomas in Washington, Bob Lewis in Richmond, Va., and Tom Breen in Raleigh, N.C., contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-10-16-Obama/id-9f3e7dd5c6ce4b94825e3e0cc9b133b8

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Big bucks: Romney, Perry top GOP fundraising race (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Republicans Mitt Romney and Rick Perry are neck and neck in filling their presidential campaign coffers after a summer of strong fundraising amid voter anger over jobs and the economy. They're pulling in big bucks ? $30 million combined ? though not nearly as big as the man they hope to replace in the White House.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Romney on Friday reported roughly $14 million in contributions during the July-September period and had nearly $15 million on hand. Texas Gov. Perry, who briefly surged to the top of the Republican presidential field this summer, has roughly the same in the bank, having raised about $17 million during the first few weeks of his campaign.

Still, the GOP candidates' fundraising efforts lag behind the man whose job they want: President Barack Obama raised more than $70 million for his re-election and the Democratic Party ? $42.8 million for his own campaign and $27.3 million for the Democratic National Committee.

Not counting major support from GOP-leaning super PACs, the virtual tie between Romney and Perry for cash on hand means the two have similar amounts to spend on ads and travel just months before heading into key primary states. Obama can save most of his $70 million for next year because he does not face a primary opponent.

Filings released late Friday show a broad base of support for Romney, with major contributions from Oregon to New York. The donations include big checks from GOP stalwarts, such as $5,000 from the New Republican Majority Fund, a political action committee affiliated with former Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott.

The candidates' reports, all due Saturday, are offering the first broad look at the financial health of the GOP field. They are the first official tallies of donations and expenses for contenders Perry, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman and businessman Herman Cain.

The reports won't capture the tens of millions raised by new, outside groups known as super political action committees, which can collect unlimited amounts of money to influence elections. Leading contenders Perry and Romney have at least one super PAC each working to boost their candidacies, and another group is backing Obama's re-election bid.

Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said in an email to supporters that more than 600,000 people donated to the campaign this recent quarter, more than the previous three months. He said nearly 1 million supporters have given money to the campaign and 98 percent of the donors this summer gave $250 or less, with an average donation of $56.

"Getting to a million grassroots donors isn't just a huge accomplishment this early in the campaign," Messina said. "It's our answer to our opponents, the press, and anyone who wants to know whether the president's supporters have his back."

Romney, coming out of strong showings at recent GOP debates, showed similar support from small-dollar donors, drawing most of his contributions from checks less than $250. Romney, a former venture capitalist, had raised $18 million during the April-June period.Yet Romney also drew big dollars from several contribution bundlers, records show, including former financial lobbyist T. Martin Fiorentino and Judi Rhines of The Rath Group, the namesake firm of former George W. Bush campaign adviser Tom Rath.

For its part, the Obama campaign released its latest list of elite fundraisers who act as bundlers, well-connected donors who raise campaign cash from friends and business associates. The list included 351 individuals or couples who collectively have raised at least $55.5 million since April.

The list included two figures connected to Solyndra LLC, the California solar company that received a $528 million federal loan and then later declared bankruptcy, prompting a federal investigation. Steve Spinner, an Energy Department adviser, raised at least $500,000 for the president, while Steve Westly, a venture capitalist who was an unpaid adviser to the department, raised between $200,000 and $500,000.

Other candidates, meanwhile, are saddled with hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.

Huntsman owes about $890,000, even after giving his campaign more than $2 million of his own money. Huntsman's campaign on Friday was set to report fundraising totals that showed he had $327,000 in the bank, showing difficulty for Huntsman's fundraising and suggesting why he shut down his national headquarters in Orlando, Fla., last month.

"Gov. Huntsman has the best record and boldest vision for leading this country," spokesman Tim Miller said, "and our campaign will have the resources necessary to ensure he will win New Hampshire and go on to the nomination."

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who dropped out of the race in August, is still deep in debt. A fundraising report covering July through September shows he owes $453,000 for the campaign. All told, Pawlenty raised about $5.4 million but had to give some of the money back because he could tap it only if he had won his party's nomination.

____

Associated Press writers Ken Thomas in Washington, Philip Elliott in Breezewood, Pa., and Brian Bakst in St. Paul, Minn., contributed to this story.

____

Follow Jack Gillum at http://twitter.com/jackgillum

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111014/ap_on_el_pr/us_republicans_money

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Blacks Fare Worse Than Whites After Colon Cancer Surgery (HealthDay)

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Black Americans who have surgery for stage 2 and stage 3 colon cancer have worse overall and recurrence-free survival rates than whites, a new study finds.

Researchers analyzed data from nearly 15,000 black and white colorectal cancer surgery patients who took part in 12 clinical trials conducted in North America between 1977 and 2002. All the patients received the same adjuvant -- or additional -- colon cancer therapy after surgery.

Over five years, black patients had a 4.6 percent lower overall survival rate and a 3.7 percent lower recurrence-free survival rate.

Black patients, however, did have a similar recurrence-free interval, or the time in which they were cancer-free before seeing their cancer return, as whites.

The survival differences between black and white patients are mostly likely due to factors unrelated to a patient's response to post-surgical treatment, said Greg Yothers, of the U.S. National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project Biostatistical Center, and colleagues.

"Biological differences, differences in general health, and disparities in health care outside the clinical trial are possible explanations for these findings," the researchers wrote in a journal news release.

Staging indicates how far cancer has spread.

The study is published Oct. 12 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

The findings are consistent with other studies published in the last decade, Dr. Olufunmilayo Olopade, director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics & Global Health at the University of Chicago, and colleagues wrote in an accompanying editorial.

They said future studies must include information on patients' socio-demographic status, tumor biology and other health conditions. They added that primary care of colon cancer survivors should be improved and monitored in order to learn more about differences in survival after cancer recurrence, and that race-specific enrollment targets may be required for trials examining genetic markers.

Despite overall improvements in colorectal cancer survival in the United States, five-year survival rates between 1999 and 2005 were 57 percent for blacks and 68 percent for whites.

More information

The American Cancer Society has more about colorectal cancer.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20111013/hl_hsn/blacksfareworsethanwhitesaftercoloncancersurgery

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NASA books 1st flight from New Mexico spaceport

(AP) ? NASA has booked a charter suborbital flight from Virgin Galactic's spaceport operations in southern New Mexico.

Virgin Galactic announced Thursday that the agreement calls for NASA to charter a full flight from the company, and it includes options for two additional flights. If all options are exercised, the contract is worth $4.5 million.

Virgin Galactic says each mission allows for up to 1,300 pounds of scientific experiments.

Earlier this week, Virgin Galactic announced it hired former NASA executive Michael Moses as vice president of operations.

Virgin Galactic is owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Aabar Investments PJS. It's on track to be the world's first commercial spaceline and hopes to launch its first flight within the next year from Spaceport America, about 50 miles north of Las Cruces.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2011-10-14-Spaceport-New%20Mexico/id-a745227be34344f3a198572f64129a22

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Flood toll jumps to 43 in Vietnam's Mekong Delta (AP)

HANOI, Vietnam ? Vietnam says nine more deaths have brought the toll from the Mekong Delta's worst flooding in more than a decade to 43 people, mostly children.

The government said Thursday that the seasonal floods have submerged nearly 70,000 homes. The waters have damaged an estimated $55 million in crops and infrastructure in the south since late August.

The high water levels also prevented more than 234,000 students from attending schools.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111013/ap_on_re_as/as_vietnam_flooding

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Ex-tycoon sentenced to 11 years for insider trading

Mario Tama / Getty Images

Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam exits Manhattan Federal Court after a sentencing hearing on Thursday.

By Patrick Rizzo

A former hedge fund tycoon who was one of America's richest men was sentenced Thursday to 11 years in prison for running a massive insider trading scam. It was?the longest sentence ever for an insider trading conviction, but much lower than the?24 years?maximum he could have received under federal guidelines.

Sri Lankan-born Raj Rajaratnam, 54, was also fined $10 million, according to CNBC.

Lawyers for?Rajaratnam,?the founder of Galleon Group hedge fund, had?been arguing?for a lighter sentence, saying that more than two decades in prison?was outsized for the crime?and that Rajaratnam was in poor health.

The sentencing may still raise the bar for future insider trading cases, however;?the lengthiest previous sentence was around a decade, according to the Financial Times.

"Rightly or wrongly, there is no doubt that sentences for insider trading cases for years to come will be judged against this benchmark. What we saw in this sentence was an effort by the judge to balance the individual culpability of Mr. Rajaratnam with the symbolic significance of this sentence," said?former Assistant U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Robert Mintz, in a statement emailed by the?law firm?McCarter & English, where he is a?partner.??

Rajaratnam was convicted in May of conspiracy and fraud for persuading a crew of corporate insiders into providing him with illegal?tips on technology stocks such as Sun Microsystems, IBM and?Advanced Micro Devices, among other companies. The tips yielded him about?$70 million to $75 million in profits and the avoidance of losses, prosecutors had charged.

The Associated Press reported that federal district Judge Richard Holwell, who?pronounced sentence,?concluded?Rajaratnam's profits amounted?to?well over $50 million.?

"His crimes and the scope of his crimes reflect a virus in our business culture that needs to be eradicated,"?said Holwell, who took?Rajaratnam's?kidney disease and his diabetes into account when sentencing, according to the AP.

Rajaratnam was ordered to turn himself in on Nov. 28. Reuters reported?Rajaratnam will serve his sentence at?the same federal prison in Butner, N.C., that houses?Bernie Madoff, who got?a 150-year term?for his role in the largest Ponzi scheme ever.

Prosecutors called?the Rajaratnam?investigation the biggest insider trading case ever. They?used a variety of methods to gather an avalanche of evidence against Rajaratnam, including wiretapping, which is more commonly used?for?drug crimes or?organized crime cases. Those wiretaps form the basis of Rajaratnam's appeal.

The trial raised questions about where to draw the line?between legitimate research and insider trading. Raj's defense attorneys had argued that their client was only doing what happens every day on Wall Street, where stock analysts?gather information and ask hard questions of companies about their businesses.

Rajaratnam's sentencing was the latest chapter in a sweeping?insider trading probe that since 2009 has charged 49 people,?almost all of whom have been convicted. Among them was former beauty queen Danielle Chiesi, who was sentenced in July to 30 months in prison, less than prosecutors had requested, for funnelling insider tips to Rajaratnam.???

Hedge fund tycoon Raj Rajaratnam has been sentenced to serve 11 years in prison for insider trading. CNBC's Scott Cohn reports.

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Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/13/8302930-hedge-fund-tycoon-gets-11-years-for-insider-trading

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