Video: Gingrich leading GOP field in new poll

Presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich is now leading in a new USA Today-Gallup poll with 22 percent, which puts him ahead of Mitt Romney. Over the weekend, Gingrich had a few choice words for the Occupy Wall Street protesters. NBC?s Brian Williams reports.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/45393862/

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Fire damages north side business

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Firefighters were called to fight a fire in a business in the 5300 block of Tacoma Sunday morning.

Investigators got the call around 4:30 and they believe the fire started in the machinery.

The business make envelopes.

Sprinklers inside were activated, but they were not enough to douse the fire.

Firefighters finally got the fire out. No word on the damage estimate.

No one was hurt.

Source: http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/local/marion_county/Fire-damages-north-side-business

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Alleghany buying Transatlantic in $3.4B deal

(AP) ? Property and casualty insurer Alleghany Corp. has agreed to buy the reinsurer Transatlantic Holdings Inc. in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $3.4 billion.

The companies said Monday that the transaction values Transatlantic at $59.79 per share in cash and stock. That's a 10 percent premium to the company's $54.43 closing stock price on Friday.

The acquisition will create a global specialty reinsurance company with significant underwriting diversification by product and geography, the two New York-based companies said.

Alleghany and Transatlantic had $4.7 billion in pro forma net premiums written for the year ended Sept. 30.

"The companies are complementary with virtually no overlap in their underwriting operations and have highly compatible cultures, which we believe will make integration seamless and efficient," Transatlantic Chairman Richard Press said in a statement.

Alleghany shares dropped $22.18, or 7 percent, to $292.18 in morning trading Monday, while Transatlantic shares rose 98 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $55.41.

Transatlantic had been courted by several businesses, receiving takeover offers from Validus Holdings Ltd. and a unit of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc., National Indemnity Corp. It also said in October that it had started confidential talks with an unnamed party.

Transatlantic provides reinsurance, which is purchased as a backup by primary insurance companies so the industry can cover big losses.

In October, Transatlantic and Switzerland-based Allied World Assurance Co. Holdings AG called off their deal to combine the companies. Transatlantic and Allied World did not specify a reason for calling off the deal, although they described it as a mutual decision.

In the deal with Alleghany, Transatlantic stockholders will receive 0.145 shares of Alleghany and $14.22 in cash for each share they own. Transatlantic shareholders may choose to receive either the cash or stock option.

Alleghany said the transaction will immediately add to its earnings per share once it is completed.

Transatlantic will become an Allleghany subsidiary once the deal closes. The acquisition, which is not subject to a financing condition, is expected to be completed early next year.

Upon the buyout's closing, Joseph Brandon will become president of Alleghany Insurance Holdings LLC, executive vice president of Alleghany and Transatlantic's chairman. Brandon is the former CEO of Berkshire Hathaway's General Re Corp.

Michael Sapnar will still serve as Transatlantic's president and become CEO on Jan. 1. He will take over the CEO post from Robert Orlich, who is retiring at the end of the year. Orlich will continue to serve as a board member and senior advisor to Transatlantic.

Alleghany's board will increase to 14 members from 11 members, with three additional independent directors being added from Transatlantic's current board.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-11-21-US-Alleghany-Transatlantic/id-a7c7f9c28790442887d7d015e3835164

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United States and Israel

I don?t understand why the United States is so willing to support Israel. ?The US is a country where, in the very first amendment of our Constitution, the STRUCTURE of our government, states that ?Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof? ?Israel is a country where Judaism has been established as the official religion. ?You cannot become a citizen of Israel unless you?re Jewish. ?The legal system, and basically every other branch of government, are based on Jewish systems. ?The entire nation was founded just for one religion. ?That goes against EVERYTHING the Founding Fathers wanted for the United States and its citizens.

I just don?t get it.

Source: http://good-gollymissmolly.tumblr.com/post/13010466518

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Mystery of the vanishing jumbo squid solved

An elusive species of jumbo squid that all but vanished from its usual haunts in 2010 moved north in search of food, according to marine biologists. And it seems the squid like their new feeding grounds.

Humboldt squid, which feed off small, bioluminescent fish called lantern fish off the Baja California coast, left their usual feeding grounds in the winter of 2009 to 2010, mystifying scientists who went to study the squid and found only a few small specimens, spread out over much larger than usual areas. But fieldwork by Stanford University biologist William Gilly reveals that the large squid had simply packed up and moved 100 miles (161 kilometers) north because of El Ni?o weather patterns.

"It was obvious that the squid were pretty screwed up," Gilly said in a statement.

Will swim for food
Usually, cold, nutrient-rich water upwelling from the deep Pacific provides a thriving ecosystem of fishy prey for Humboldt squid, which normally grow to weigh 30 pounds (13.6 kilograms) and are known for their fierce temperaments. But during El Ni?o weather, nutrient-poor tropical water from the open ocean flows into the Sea of Cortez by Baja and displaces all that cold, nutrient-rich water.

Without the phytoplankton nourished by this water, the food chain falls apart. Searching for more fertile grounds, large Humboldt squid made it to the Midriff Islands, farther north in the Sea of Cortez. There, strong tides that are unaffected by El Ni?o drive upwelling. Elsewhere in the Sea of Cortez were little one-pound squidlets that were reproducing at least twice as early as Humboldt squid usually reproduce.

According to Gilly, the big squid and the small squid were following two different survival strategies.

"Squid can move to an area of tidal upwelling, which remains productive during an El Ni?o, and continue on their merry, giant-squid lifestyle and live to spawn when they are a year and a half old," Gilly said in a statement. Or they can move away from land into an open-ocean environment, where food is less abundant but the supply is steady, as its availability doesn't depend on upwelling.

"It is comparatively meager fare and you will not get to be a big giant squid, so instead you reproduce when you are six inches long. It is a different strategy, but it works," he said.

Squid recovery
Gilly and his colleagues expected to see a return to squid normalcy off the Baja coast when they returned this year. But large squid are still hanging around the Midriff Islands, the researchers found. Elsewhere in the Sea of Cortez, the squid are still small.

The recovery is slower than expected, but it is happening. The small squid were about 25 percent larger than they were 2010, and there were more hanging around the old lantern fish feeding grounds. Part of the reason that the squid haven't returned sooner, Gilly said, is that their generational memory is very short.

Even in normal conditions, Humboldt squid live only 12 to 18 months, and the small early reproducers were only living to be about 6 months of age. Memory of where to go for the best lantern fish buffet likely died with the last generation to spend a lot of time there.

Mexican fishermen rely on Humboldt squid, so the creatures' slow recovery has economic consequences. Scientists and fishing regulators are working to maintain a stable squid fishery, Gilly said. In the meantime, he suspects that each new generation of squid will gradually rediscover the lantern fish feeding grounds and grow large again.

You can follow LiveScience senior writer Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45348049/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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Robert Downey Jr. Takes Pregnant Wife on Romantic Hawaiian Vacation (omg!)

Robert Downey Jr. Takes Pregnant Wife on Romantic Hawaiian Vacation

Robert Downey Jr. is already on his way to becoming "Father of the Year."

The Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows star recently took his six-months-pregnant wife Susan Levin on a romantic Hawaiian getaway. The couple -- who went snorkeling on the island of Kauai -- will welcome their first child together in February.

PHOTOS: Other stars who've become proud papas

The spouses met on the set of Gothika in 2003 and married two years later. The Oscar-nominated actor has an 18-year-old son, Indio, with first wife Deborah Falconer. Downey, 46, credits his film producer wife with helping him stay sober after years of drug and alcohol abuse.

PHOTOS: Can you guess which abs belong to Robert?

"There's no understanding for me of the bigger picture in real time in a hands-on way without her," he told Esquire in 2009. "Because it was the perfect, perfect, perfect matching of personalities and gifts."

PHOTOS: See Robert kick ass in The Avengers

Rest assured, Downey will be a hand-on father when he and Levin become parents in 2012 -- diaper duty included.

"That's just poop," the actor told E! News in October. "That's no big deal."

Get more Us! Follow us on Twitter, Friend us on Facebook, Subscribe to Us Weekly

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_robert_downey_jr_takes_pregnant_wife_romantic_hawaiian213119643/43656955/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/robert-downey-jr-takes-pregnant-wife-romantic-hawaiian-213119643.html

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Italy's new govt passes 1st confidence vote

Students clash with police during a demonstration in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Nov. 17, 2011. University students are protesting in Milan and Rome against budget cuts and a lack of jobs, hours before new Italian Premier Mario Monti reveals his anti-crisis strategy in Parliament. Across Italy, transport unions called all-day walkouts or strikes of several hours Thursday to demand better work contracts. Scuffles among students were reported at the start of the demonstration in Milan, where they hoped to march to Bocconi University, which trains Italy's business elite. Monti, an economist, is Bocconi's president and is scheduled to speak in the afternoon ahead of a confidence vote on the government he formed on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Students clash with police during a demonstration in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Nov. 17, 2011. University students are protesting in Milan and Rome against budget cuts and a lack of jobs, hours before new Italian Premier Mario Monti reveals his anti-crisis strategy in Parliament. Across Italy, transport unions called all-day walkouts or strikes of several hours Thursday to demand better work contracts. Scuffles among students were reported at the start of the demonstration in Milan, where they hoped to march to Bocconi University, which trains Italy's business elite. Monti, an economist, is Bocconi's president and is scheduled to speak in the afternoon ahead of a confidence vote on the government he formed on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Students clash with police during a demonstration in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Nov. 17, 2011. University students are protesting in Milan and Rome against budget cuts and a lack of jobs, hours before new Italian Premier Mario Monti reveals his anti-crisis strategy in Parliament. Across Italy, transport unions called all-day walkouts or strikes of several hours Thursday to demand better work contracts. Scuffles among students were reported at the start of the demonstration in Milan, where they hoped to march to Bocconi University, which trains Italy's business elite. Monti, an economist, is Bocconi's president and is scheduled to speak in the afternoon ahead of a confidence vote on the government he formed on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Students clash with police during a demonstration in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Nov. 17, 2011. University students are protesting in Milan and Rome against budget cuts and a lack of jobs, hours before new Italian Premier Mario Monti reveals his anti-crisis strategy in Parliament. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Students clash with police during a demonstration in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Nov. 17, 2011. University students are protesting in Milan and Rome against budget cuts and a lack of jobs, hours before new Italian Premier Mario Monti reveals his anti-crisis strategy in Parliament. Across Italy, transport unions called all-day walkouts or strikes of several hours Thursday to demand better work contracts. Scuffles among students were reported at the start of the demonstration in Milan, where they hoped to march to Bocconi University, which trains Italy's business elite. Monti, an economist, is Bocconi's president and is scheduled to speak in the afternoon ahead of a confidence vote on the government he formed on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Students clash with police during a demonstration in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Nov. 17, 2011. University students are protesting in Milan and Rome against budget cuts and a lack of jobs, hours before new Italian Premier Mario Monti reveals his anti-crisis strategy in Parliament. Across Italy, transport unions called all-day walkouts or strikes of several hours Thursday to demand better work contracts. Scuffles among students were reported at the start of the demonstration in Milan, where they hoped to march to Bocconi University, which trains Italy's business elite. Monti, an economist, is Bocconi's president and is scheduled to speak in the afternoon ahead of a confidence vote on the government he formed on Wednesday. Q is a book published by Luther Blissett and signs says 'we want everything'. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

(AP) ? Against the backdrop of anti-austerity protesters clashing with riot police, Italy's new premier appealed to Italians on Thursday to accept sacrifices to save their country from bankruptcy, but pledged economic growth and greater social cohesion in return.

Mario Monti is under enormous pressure to boost growth and bring down Italy's high debt, not only to save Italy from succumbing to the debt crisis but to prevent a catastrophic disintegration of the common euro currency.

"Europe is experiencing the most difficult days since the end of the Second World War," Monti told parliament in his debut address. "Let's not fool ourselves, honored senators, that the European project can survive if the monetary union fails."

Monti pledged to reform the pension system, re-impose a tax on first homes annulled by Silvio Berlusconi's government, fight tax evasion, streamline civil court proceedings, get more women and youth into the work force, and ? in a move aimed at setting an example for ordinary Italians ? cutting political costs.

The government will decide "in the coming weeks" what new austerity measures are needed, Monti said.

The 68-year-old economist and university president described three pillars of his strategy: Budgetary rigor, economic growth and social fairness.

"This government recognizes that it was born to confront a serious emergency in a constructive and united spirit," Monti said, calling it "a government of national commitment."

He was interrupted 17 times by applause. But outside, Rome's historic center was paralyzed by student protests and in the financial capital of Milan, riot police struggled to stop protesters trying to reach the Bocconi University over which he presides, signaling the depth of the resistance the new leader will have to confront.

Monti's one-day-old government won vote of confidence 281-25 in the Senate later Thursday, ahead of a vote in the lower house Friday, on his government of experts, including fellow professors, bankers and business executives. He was chosen to lead after Italy's spiraling financial crisis brought down media mogul Berlusconi's 3 1/2 year-old government.

Europe has already bailed out three small countries ? Greece, Ireland and Portugal ? but the Italian economy, the third-largest in the 17-nation eurozone, is too big for Europe to rescue. Borrowing costs on 10-year Italian bonds spiked briefly over 7 percent Thursday ? a level that forced those other countries into bailouts ? before closing at 6.81 percent.

In a conference call Thursday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Monti agreed that their countries have a special responsibility to the eurozone as its three largest economies and founding members of the European Union.

Still, it's not clear how many sacrifices already-stressed Italians are willing or able to make.

Students demonstrated across Italy under the banner: "Save the schools, not the banks."

In Milan, a large protest was broken up before it could reach Bocconi, which has educated generations of elite business leaders. Protesters also tried to enter the Italian banker's association office. "The government of the banks," read one placard held by a youth.

Demonstrators in Palermo, the capital of Sicily, hurled eggs and smoke bombs at a bank, and protesters threw rocks at police, who battled back with pepper spray, the Italian news agency ANSA reported. One protester was injured in Palermo, where police charged demonstrators who were trying to occupy another bank.

And riot police in Turin reported several police injuries as they held back protesters trying to break through barriers.

In Rome, hundreds of students gathered outside Sapienza University, while others marched from the train station toward the Senate.

Protester Titti Mazzacane was skeptical about the new government.

Monti chose "decent and competent people," said the 53-year-old elementary school teacher. "(But his government) is a little bit too free-market liberal. I am a bit scared."

Monti's ambitious plans overhaul just about every aspect of the Italian economy ? from the organization of local administrations to the selection process for teachers. Monti indicated that he would seek to lower taxes on labor, while raising those on consumption. And he pledged measures ? such as setting a limit on cash transactions ? to tackle tax evasion, which he estimated is worth 20 percent of GDP.

As for cutting political costs, Monti said he would start with an analysis of spending by the premier's office.

Monti said even passing financial reforms with long-term impact could lead to "an immediate reduction" in borrowing costs by giving important signals to investors. About half of Italy's euro1.9 trillion ($2.6 trillion) debt is held abroad.

Raj Badani, an analyst at IHS Global Insight, said markets will want to see that Monti is able to get consensus for tricky issues like pension and labor market reforms, including making it easier to fire unproductive workers and reforming the collective bargaining system.

"If there is a lot of opposition from trade unions and Parliament, then there is worry that some of these more important reform measures could be watered down or abandoned," Badani said.

Already, Berlusconi, now a lawmaker, voiced opposition to any taxes on wealth or property, saying they would have a "negative psychological" impact on development. The abolition of a tax on a primary residence ? which Monti called an anomaly in Europe ? was a campaign promise made by Berlusconi before his last election.

Fitch, one of the ratings agencies whose downgrade of Italian debt this summer exacerbated the political crisis, expressed confidence that the Monti government "will prove itself credible in pursuing fiscal and structural economic reform."

But it also warned that Italy is probably already in recession, which will make the task harder.

Elsewhere, transport and teacher strikes scheduled while the old government held tightly to power created delays in parts of Italy on Thursday.

Despite the protests, Bocconi economist Tito Boeri said he believes that Italians are beginning to understand the seriousness of their country's economic woes.

"Certainly this government won't have an easy life," Boeri said. "It needs to make unpopular choices ... however, I think there is a growing awareness of the gravity of the problems. Italians have demonstrated that they can give the best of themselves in difficult moments."

___

Colleen Barry reported from Milan.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-11-17-EU-Italy-Financial-Crisis/id-94cb1e10e69a42d3910e0e6389461bdb

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US, Philippines boost alliance amid row with China (AP)

MANILA, Philippines ? In a highly symbolic ceremony aboard a guided-missile destroyer Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton underlined America's military and diplomatic support for the Philippines as the island nation engages in an increasingly tense dispute with China over claims in the resource-rich South China Sea.

On the USS Fitzgerald in Manila Bay, Clinton and her Philippine counterpart, Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, signed a declaration calling for multilateral talks to resolve maritime disputes such as those over the South China Sea. Six countries in the region have competing claims, but China wants them to negotiate one-to-one ? and chafes at any U.S. involvement.

"The United States does not take any position on any territorial claim because any nation ... has a right to assert it. But they do not have a right to pursue it through intimidation or coercion," Clinton said after meeting President Benigno Aquino III.

Clinton said that at this week's East Asian Summit in Bali, Indonesia, the U.S. "will certainly expect and participate in very open and frank discussions," including on the maritime challenges in the region. Beijing said Tuesday it opposes bringing up the issue at the summit.

The U.S. said it is helping its longtime Asian ally reinforce its weak navy as it wrangles with China over the sea's potentially oil-rich Spratly islands, which straddle one of the world's most vital sea lanes.

"We are making sure that our collective defense capabilities and communications infrastructure are operationally and materially capable of deterring provocations from the full spectrum of state and non-state actors," Clinton said earlier aboard the Fitzgerald, a U.S. Navy vessel that has operated in the South China Sea.

The Manila Declaration signed by Clinton and del Rosario commemorated the 60th anniversary of the allies' Mutual Defense Treaty. It also calls for "maintaining freedom of navigation, unimpeded lawful commerce, and transit of people across the seas."

Del Rosario said that Washington's support for "a stronger, reliable Philippine defense" was crucial for stability and the two allies' common goals in the South China Sea. He reiterated that the Philippines planned to seek U.N. arbitration in the territorial dispute.

The Spratly Islands in the South China Sea are being disputed by China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei. The disputes have been feared as Asia's next flashpoint for conflict.

Although not siding with any Asian claimant as it maintains robust economic ties with Beijing, the U.S. angered China when it stated it has a stake in security and unhampered international commerce in the South China Sea. China says American involvement will only complicate the issue.

The Philippines, whose poorly equipped forces are no match for China's powerful military, has resorted to diplomatic protests and increasingly turned to Washington to reinforce its anemic navy and air forces. Aquino has insisted his country won't be bullied by China.

A senior U.S. State Department official traveling with Clinton told reporters that America's military assistance to the Philippines will increasingly turn to bolstering its naval power.

For nearly a decade, the U.S. military has been providing counterterrorism training, weapons and intelligence to help Filipino troops battle al-Qaida-linked groups in the nation's south. Those include the Abu Sayyaf, a small but violent group blacklisted by Washington as a terrorist organization, and its allied militants from the Indonesia-based Jemaah Islamiyah group.

"We are now in the process ... of diversifying and changing the nature of our engagement," the U.S. official said Tuesday on condition of anonymity because of sensitivity of the information. "We will continue those efforts in the south, but we are focusing more on maritime capabilities and other aspects of expeditionary military power."

The U.S. recently provided the Philippines with a destroyer, and the official said a second one will be delivered soon. "We are working on a whole host of things that improve their own indigenous capabilities to be able to deal with maritime challenges," the official said.

___

Associated Press writers Hrvoje Hranjski and Teresa Cerojano contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111116/ap_on_re_as/as_asia_us_clinton

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Troubled vote may tie Liberian president's hands (AP)

MONROVIA, Liberia ? Liberia's president may have easily won re-election but she's already facing questions about what sort of concessions she'll now be forced to make.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf ran unopposed in last week's runoff vote after her opponent boycotted the poll.

Among the opposition candidates who did support her is Prince Johnson, an ex-warlord best known for videotaping himself and his men in 1990 as they tortured Liberia's former ruler.

Sirleaf, a Nobel Peace laureate, appeared at her final campaign rally with Johnson. Liberian newspapers report he's now asking for 30 percent of the positions in her government ? and immunity from prosecution.

Sirleaf's government says she has made no deals with Johnson, who is now a senator.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111115/ap_on_re_af/af_liberia_election

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