1B umpire Kulpa misses call, starting Cards' rally

By JAIME ARON

updated 12:28 a.m. ET Oct. 23, 2011

ARLINGTON, Texas - All these years later, a blown call by a first base umpire actually helped the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.

While it remains to be seen whether Ron Kulpa will be as vilified by Texas Rangers fans as Don Denkinger is by Cardinals fans, there's no doubt this mistake was as bad or worse ? perhaps enough to revive talk of expanding video replay in baseball.

In the top of the fourth inning Saturday night, St. Louis was leading only 1-0 when Matt Holliday hit a grounder to shortstop Elvis Andrus that was perfect for the Rangers to turn into a double play. Andrus threw to Ian Kinsler for the force out at second, but Kinsler's throw pulled first baseman Mike Napoli off the bag but into Holliday's path. Napoli caught the ball and slapped a tag across Holliday's left shoulder a step before he reached first base.

Kulpa was in decent position to make the correct call ? but didn't. The Cardinals took advantage, scoring four runs that inning on their way to a 16-7 victory and a 2-1 lead in the series.

Kulpa is a St. Louis native and lifelong Cardinals fan who was 17 when Denkinger made the mistake that triggered a collapse by the Cardinals that cost them the 1985 World Series to the neighboring Kansas City Royals.

Kulpa is in his 13th year in the majors and this is his first World Series. He was picked before it was known the team he grew up dreaming of playing for would be involved.

While conspiracy theories are sure to abound, it's important to note that Kulpa made the correct call on perhaps the most difficult play yet of the World Series, a steal of second base by Kinsler in the ninth inning of Game 2, with St. Louis trying to protect a 1-0 lead. Kulpa called him safe and Kinsler went on to score the tying run and Texas went on to win 2-1.

Having video replay would help clear things up. It's already been added to determine whether balls clear the fence for a home run.

This wasn't the first missed call this series, either. In the ninth inning of the opener, which Texas lost 3-2, Adrian Beltre fouled a ball off his foot but umpires called it a fair ball.

In the opener, Kulpa missed a call at third base, ruling a ball was caught in the air when it actually bounced. That mistake did not lead to any runs.

Kulpa's every move the rest of this series is certain to be scrutinized ? especially Sunday, when he's scheduled to be behind the plate.

Denkinger was behind the plate, too, the night after his crucial mistake in the '85 World Series.

The play that made Denkinger infamous came in the ninth inning of Game 6, with the Cardinals up 1-0 and leading the series 3-2. Leadoff hitter Jorge Orta hit a grounder to first baseman Jack Clark, and he tossed it to pitcher Todd Worrell covering first base. Replays show that Worrell beat Orta to the bag, but Deninger insisted he was safe.

The Royals went on to win that game 2-1, then won the decisive seventh game 11-0, with St. Louis manager Whitey Herzog and pitcher Joaquin Andujar getting ejected by Denkinger in the fifth inning.

Until this series, Kulpa ? who happens to have a Herzog-esque brush cut ? was probably best known for being head-butted by Carl Everett in 2000. He's worked an All-Star game and was behind the plate for Justin Verlander's first career no-hitter, in 2007.

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


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Pujols' 3 blasts carry Cards

??Albert Pujols joined Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson as the only players to hit three home runs in a World Series game, tying records with five hits and six RBIs that led the Cardinals to a 16-7 rout of the Texas Rangers on Saturday night that gave St. Louis a 2-1 Series lead.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45003672/ns/sports-baseball/

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Tokyoflash Kisai Seven tells time with Tron design, makes fan dreams come true

Tokyoflash has always been more about the showy aspects of time, rather than the practical telling of it. And that trend continues on here with a Tron-inspired schema that's gone from original fan concept to wrist-wrapping product completion. Dubbed the Kisai Seven, this watch takes its cues from the aforementioned Disney flick, and incorporates two pulsing LED rings -- available in blue or white -- that are customizable via three animation pre-sets. Timepiece collectors interested in this bit of avant chronographic kit can snatch it up late night on the 25th when it's set to be released. You might wanna order up quickly, though, as the company's offering a special two-day only price of $99 that'll get a bump to $139 shortly after. Like what you see fellow '80s nostalgist? Then get your credit cards at the ready. Tomorrow's only a day away.

Tokyoflash Kisai Seven tells time with Tron design, makes fan dreams come true originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Oct 2011 23:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Murdoch takes on shareholders at annual meeting

A protestor dressed as News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdock is seen with protestors in front of Fox Studios in Los Angeles on Friday, Oct 21, 2011. A few dozen people showed up to demonstrate outside Fox Studios where News Corp. is holding its annual shareholders meeting. Murdoch is facing shareholders with small stakes in his company for the first time since a phone-hacking scandal broke in July. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

A protestor dressed as News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdock is seen with protestors in front of Fox Studios in Los Angeles on Friday, Oct 21, 2011. A few dozen people showed up to demonstrate outside Fox Studios where News Corp. is holding its annual shareholders meeting. Murdoch is facing shareholders with small stakes in his company for the first time since a phone-hacking scandal broke in July. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

(AP) ? Rupert Murdoch jousted with disgruntled shareholders Friday as the 80-year-old chairman and CEO of News Corp. defended his handling of a phone hacking scandal in Britain and deflected any notion that he plans to step down soon.

More than 100 protesters gathered outside the 20th Century Fox studio lot where News Corp. held its annual shareholders meeting. Inside, with his sons Lachlan and James seated before him in the front row, Murdoch parried allegations that he had poor oversight of the company, sometimes cutting off speakers to jab in an insult or dispute a fact.

Votes from the shareholders were still being counted in the afternoon but the company said a proposal from the Christian Brothers Investment Services to force the company's chairman to be an independent director had failed. Few had held out any hope they could overcome Murdoch's control of 40 percent of voting shares through a family trust, or the 7 percent stake Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal had almost certainly cast in support of him.

"It was pretty perfunctory," said Rev. Seamus Finn, who attended on behalf of the organization. "It was a nice meeting, but it didn't offer much in terms of how they're going to put this behind them."

Questions and comments from shareholders focused on the phone-hacking scandal, which caused the company this summer to shutter the tabloid News of the World and drop its $12 billion bid for full control of British Sky Broadcasting. Britons and other people worldwide were outraged to learn that a private investigator hired by the paper had hacked into the cellphone voicemail of 13-year-old Milly Dowler, potentially impeding a police investigation and giving false hope to her family. Dowler was later found to be murdered.

The phone hacking scandal has forced the resignation of two of London's top police officers, ousted top executives such as Dow Jones & Co. CEO Les Hinton, and claimed the job of Prime Minister David Cameron's former spin doctor, Andy Coulson, an ex-News of the World editor. The company said in London on Friday that it had agreed to pay 2 million pounds ($3.2 million) to her family and 1 million pounds ($1.6 million) to charities the family will choose.

Friday marked the first time Murdoch faced shareholders with small stakes in the company since the scandal broke in July.

Outside the studio lot, some demonstrators carried anti-Murdoch signs, including one that stated "Fire the Murdoch Mafia." Another read, "Rich media equals poor democracy." Some of the demonstrators were from an organization that has been staging rallies recently to demand good jobs.

Tom Watson, a member of Parliament with Britain's Labour Party, flew to Los Angeles to make a new allegation about covert surveillance techniques by company employees.

Watson asked Murdoch if he was aware that a person who had left prison was hired by News Corp.'s British newspaper unit and hacked into the computer of a former army intelligence officer. He later said the incident happened around 2005 and that evidence of the computer hacking is with London's Metropolitan Police. He said it could lead to the discovery of further victims of computer hacking. Watson said he has made the allegation before but it hasn't been widely reported.

Watson represented nearly 1,700 non-voting shares for labor group AFL-CIO and got up twice and spoke for a few minutes during the 90-minute meeting. He is been a key driver of a 2 ?-year probe into phone hacking and alleged police bribery at the company's British newspaper unit.

Murdoch said he wasn't aware of the allegation, and board director Viet Dinh said the company would look into it.

"I promise you absolutely that we will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of this and put it right," Murdoch said.

Watson evoked private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, who was jailed in 2007 for eavesdropping on the phones of royal staff. He warned that this investigation could mean more problems ahead for the company.

"News Corp. is potentially facing a Mulcaire 2," Watson said. "You haven't told any of your investors about what is to come."

Several shareholders took issue with a chart Murdoch put up showing the stock's upbeat performance compared with most media peers since the beginning of the year and since the beginning of July. They said its performance over 10 years or more lagged its peers. Murdoch said the chart was to address criticism that the company had been hurt by the hacking scandal.

Edward Mason, secretary of the Ethical Investment Advisory Group, which advises the Church of England's investments, began speaking about News Corp.'s shareholder returns when Murdoch butted in, saying "Your investments haven't been that great, but go on."

Stephen Mayne, a journalist and shareholder activist who once worked for News Corp.'s Australian newspapers, protested when Murdoch tried to bring the meeting to a close.

"Never before have you attempted to shut it down quite like this," Mayne said.

Murdoch retorted: "You had a lady friend who shut you down in the past."

Murdoch then got a laugh when he claimed he was being as open and fair as possible in letting critics air their concerns. "We even had Mr. Watson on Fox television this morning," he said. "It's called fair and balanced."

Despite the circus-like atmosphere, several large shareholder groups quietly registered their concerns, including Todd Mattley, investment officer for the California Public Employees' Retirement System, which has some $225 billion in assets.

Mattley said CalPERS voted its 1.4 million voting shares in favor of the Christian Brothers' proposal demanding an independent chairman. Although he said he knew the vote was "symbolic" he said later, "This is something we've said is a governance best practice."

The company also came under renewed fire for its dual-class share system, which allows the Murdochs to control the company despite owning voting shares that account for less than 15 percent of the company's total $44 billion market value.

Dinh said the last time the company voted on the dual-share structure was in 2007, when it passed with 77 percent of the votes.

News Corp.'s non-voting shares are down about 5 percent from when the scandal broke in early July, although they have been buoyed recently by a $5 billion share buyback plan that is about a third complete. On Friday, News Corp.'s stock rose 35 cents, or 2.1 percent, to close at $17.20.

Proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services had recommended voting out all existing board members, including Murdoch and his sons James and Lachlan. Two other firms, Glass Lewis and Egan-Jones, recommend voting against the sons, among others.

Although the vote count hadn't yet been tallied, the company said all of its director nominees had been elected.

Jay Eisenhofer, co-lead attorney in a shareholder lawsuit against News Corp. on charges of mishandling the affair, said on a conference call with Watson on Thursday that if even 20 percent of votes are cast against the re-election of Murdoch and his two sons, it would be a victory. That's because that would be nearly half the 53 percent of votes unaffiliated with the family, he said.

___

Associated Press video journalist John Mone contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2011-10-21-News%20Corp-Shareholders/id-78576fb0ae2d4f2db41e80c6a4fd12e1

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U.S. to pull out of Iraq nearly nine years after war began (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? President Barack Obama said on Friday he would pull U.S. troops from Iraq this year, almost nine years after the U.S. invasion, after he failed to convince Iraq that several thousand troops should remain in part as a balance against neighboring Iran.

After months of negotiations with officials in Baghdad failed to reach an agreement to keep perhaps thousands of U.S. troops in Iraq as trainers, Obama announced he would stick to plans pull out entirely by year's end.

"As promised, the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year. After nearly nine years, America's war in Iraq will be over," Obama told reporters.

The full withdrawal of American troops, with the exception of around 160 soldiers who will remain behind under State Department authority to train Iraqi forces and a small contingent of soldiers guarding the U.S. embassy, marks a major milestone in the war that started in 2003 and resulted in the removal of Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq.

An estimated 4,479 U.S. troops were killed in the Iraq war.

Obama spoke after a video conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and said the two were in full agreement about how to move forward.

Both Obama and Maliki said the removal of the approximately 40,000 remaining troops would allow the two nations to move to a new phase in their closely intertwined yet complicated relationship.

"The two sides' points of view were identical in terms of starting new phase of our strategic relations ... after achieving withdrawal at the end of the year," Maliki's office said in a statement.

But the announcement underscores the gaps that remain between U.S. and Iraqi priorities and political realities.

Earlier this week, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said American and Iraqi officials were continuing discussions that might permit U.S. soldiers to stay beyond a December 31 deadline.

In the end, the two countries were apparently unable to reach agreement over legal protections for any remaining U.S. soldiers.

For months, Iraq's fractured political elite was at odds over whether American soldiers should stay as trainers. Baghdad rejected any legal immunity for U.S. soldiers, and Washington said that meant no deal.

The U.S. military role in Iraq has been mostly reduced to advising the security forces in a country where levels of violence had declined sharply from a peak of sectarian strife in 2006-2007, but attacks remain a daily occurrence.

Senior Iraqis say in private they would like a U.S. troop presence to keep the peace between Iraqi Arabs and Kurds in a dispute over who controls oil-rich areas in the north of Iraq.

Yet as the Obama administration frets about the influence of Baghdad's neighbor Tehran, the U.S. presence will remain substantial. U.S. officials say the embassy in Baghdad, an imposing, fortified complex by the Tigris River in Baghdad's Green Zone, will be the largest in the world.

(Reporting by Tabassum Zakaria, Deborah Charles, Alister Bull and Matt Spetalnick in Washington and Patrick Markey in Baghdad; Writing by Missy Ryan; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Jackie Frank)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111021/ts_nm/us_iraq_usa_obama

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FAA to Pilots: Watch Out for Falling German Satellite Debris (SPACE.com)

A huge defunct German satellite is expected to plunge to Earth this weekend and the Federal Aviation Administration wants pilots to be on the lookout for any space debris from the falling spacecraft.

In a special alert, FAA officials warned pilots to keep watch for any signs of Germany's Roentgen Satellite (ROSAT), a 21-year-old X-ray space observatory slated to fall from orbit between Saturday afternoon and early Sunday (Oct. 22, and 23).

"Aircraft are advised that a potential hazard may occur due to re-entry of the satellite ROSAT into the Earth's atmosphere," the FAA alert warns.

The nearly 2.7-ton ROSAT satellite is predicted to re-enter Earth's atmosphere sometime between 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) today and 8 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT) on Sunday, according to officials with the German Aerospace Center, which managed the spacecraft's mission. Because ROSAT's orbit can take it over much of the Earth's surface, the exact time and location of its final death dive cannot yet be predicted, they added. [Photos of the falling ROSAT satellite]

About 30 huge pieces of ROSAT are expected to survive the fiery re-entry of Earth's atmosphere and could fall over a 50-mile (80-kilometer) track somewhere on Earth. That debris could impact the surface at about 280 mph (450 kph).

There is about a 1-in-2,000 chance that ROSAT debris could pose an injury risk to someone on Earth, German space officials have said. But the actual personal risk to a single person is extremely low, since ROSAT has a high chance of re-entering over the ocean.

"In the interest of flight safety, it is critical that all pilots/flight crew members report any observed falling space debris to the appropriate [air traffic control] facility and include position, altitude, time and direction of debris observed."

FAA officials said that they are working with NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense to make sure that all aircraft in United States airspace receive the latest re-entry information for ROSAT.

NASA and the Defense Department's U.S. Space Surveillance Network regularly track more than 20,000 pieces of space junk in orbit to make sure they don't pose a threat to other spacecraft.

ROSAT launched into space in 1990 and spent nine years mapping the universe in the X-ray range of the light spectrum before suffering a major malfunction. German space officials shut the satellite down in 1999.

Since then, the spacecraft's orbit has decayed to the point that it can no longer stay in orbit. Once ROSAT re-enters Earth's atmosphere, it is expected to break apart, with larger pieces ? such as its primary optics mirror and other systems ? surviving the fall.

The ROSAT spacecraft is the second satellite to plunge to Earth in two months. On Sept. 24, NASA's school bus-size Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) re-entered over the Pacific Ocean.

Like ROSAT, the 6 1/2-ton UARS spacecraft was a dead satellite that could no longer maintain its orbit. NASA launched the UARS satellite in 1991 and shut it down in 2005 after it was replaced by newer Earth-observing satellites.

Editor's note: If you snap a photo or observe the re-entry of the ROSAT satellite and want to share it with?SPACE.com?for a story or gallery, contact managing editor Tariq Malik at:?tmalik@space.com.

You can follow SPACE.com Managing Editor Tariq Malik on Twitter?@tariqjmalik.?Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter?@Spacedotcom?and on?Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/space/20111022/sc_space/faatopilotswatchoutforfallinggermansatellitedebris

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You tell us: What fight are you most looking forward to in 2011?

You tell us: What fight are you most looking forward to in 2011?Through the end of the year, the MMA world will go on a massive run of fights, taking time off only for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Nearly every weekend will feature events from the UFC, Strikeforce and Bellator.

Ben Askren vs. Jay Hieron at Bellator 56: Askren and Hieron have been jawing at each other over this bout since Hieron won the right to fight Askren for the Bellator welterweight belt. Askren's been working on his striking with Duke Roufus and his band of strikers in Milwaukee. Will that, combine with his world-class wrestling, be enough to hold off Hieron?

Clay Guida vs. Ben Henderson at UFC on Fox 1: Though Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos will be shown to the masses in the UFC's first fight on Fox, it's hard not to get hyped about Guida and Henderson's scrap. Both fighters are known for putting on exciting bouts and ridiculous conditioning. The best part? This bout should decide the next challenger for the UFC lightweight belt.

Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 139: Pick your favorite storyline in this fight. Henderson's return to UFC after winning the Strikeforce light heavyweight championship. Two PRIDE champions meeting up. Shogun's chance to get revenge for Henderson's win over Rua's brother. Two men with scary striking power being thrown in the Octagon. No matter which way you look at it, this fight should be fun.

Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida at UFC 140: The UFC light heavyweight champ will get another chance to defend the belt against a former champion. Machida is 1-2 in his last fights, and like Jones, was once considered an unsolvable puzzle. This match-up will turn the main event at UFC 140 into a chess game.

Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem at UFC 141: Former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Overeem needed a big opponent for his first bout in the UFC, and opponents don't get much bigger than former champ Brock Lesnar. For Lesnar, it will be his first fight back since losing the belt. The Octagon will need reinforcement for this bout.

With so many fights coming up before the end of the year, there's a pretty good chance that Cagewriter didn't list your favorite fight. Vote in the poll, and tell us your favorite in the comments or on Facebook.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/You-tell-us-What-fight-are-you-most-looking-for?urn=mma-wp8461

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Crews return to pump oil from New Zealand ship

(AP) ? The weather in New Zealand has calmed enough to allow salvage crews a third attempt at pumping oil from a stricken ship.

After a three-day break due to bad weather and rough seas, the agency Maritime New Zealand says nine salvage workers reboarded the Rena and resumed pumping oil Thursday afternoon. The ship has been stuck on the Astrolabe reef near Tauranga harbor since Oct. 5 and has spilled about 350 tons of oil into the ocean.

An estimated 1,400 tons of fuel remains on board, and crews are scrambling to remove as much of it as they can before the damaged vessel falls apart or sinks. In two previous attempts, crews managed to extract about 111 tons of oil.

Maritime New Zealand says the "highly complex" operation to remove oil will take some time.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-10-19-AS-New-Zealand-Grounded-Ship/id-99f61a33db8d43059b45d9f0cc9d5b81

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Talk of treaty ban on mercury concerns scientists (AP)

LONDON ? Scientists are warning officials negotiating a global treaty on mercury that banning the deadly chemical completely would be dangerous for public health because of the chemical's use in vaccines.

The ban option is one of several proposals on the table for a meeting later this month in Nairobi, but a final treaty isn't expected until 2013.

According to the World Health Organization, mercury is one of the top 10 chemicals of public health concern and is highly toxic. Most of the worry is centered on mercury emissions from burning coal, gold mining and people eating mercury-tainted fish.

Mercury in small amounts is also found in many products including light bulbs, batteries and thermometers. WHO advises such products to be phased out, suggesting for example, that health systems switch to digital thermometers instead.

The problem is that a proposed ban might include thiomersal, also known as thimerosal, a mercury compound used to prevent contamination and extend the shelf life of vaccines, many scientists say. It is used in about 300 million shots worldwide, against diseases including flu, tetanus, hepatitis B, diptheria and meningitis.

"Not being able to use mercury is not a viable option," said David Wood, a WHO vaccines expert.

Wood said there isn't a viable alternative to thiomersal at the moment. If banned, pharmaceuticals would likely have to switch to preservative-free vaccines, which would complicate the supply chain and vaccination campaigns in poor countries, since the injections would have a much shorter shelf life. Costs would also spike since manufacturers would need to reconfigure their factories.

In 2009, the United Nations Environment Programme, or UNEP, began working on a legally binding global treaty on mercury. At the end of October, the third of five meetings to hammer out a treaty will take place in Nairobi.

"The document is a draft at the moment, so some of these proposals have to be taken with a grain of salt," said Tim Kasten, head of the chemicals branch at UNEP. Kasten said the amount of mercury in vaccines is so minute it doesn't threaten the environment. He said there could be provisions to allow mercury for certain uses, such as in dental fillings and vaccines.

But according to an annex in the draft document, there is currently no "allowable use exemption" for mercury products in pharmaceutical products, putting vaccines in the same category as banned mercury-containing paints and pesticides.

"That would be a terrible idea," said Paul Offit, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Pennsylvania. "It would be another tragic example of us not being able to explain to the public where the real risk lies."

Thiomersal has mostly been removed from childhood vaccines in the U.S. and Canada. In some European countries, including Norway and Sweden, manufacturers have been encouraged to make thiomersal-free vaccines ? and no other uses of mercury as a medical preservative are allowed.

Fears about thiomersal in vaccines were raised after a flawed medical study in 1998 linked a common childhood injection to autism. Even though that study didn't involve mercury, it ignited fears about vaccines in general, including those containing thiomersal.

Concerns were also heightened after the U.S. decided to largely remove thiomersal from many injections as a precautionary measure in the 1990s. Numerous studies have found no sign the mercury compound is risky but many anti-vaccine groups still believe it may be linked to autism and other health problems.

Experts hope countries won't go overboard in their attempts to control the substance.

"Provided you know the risks and it's handled properly, there isn't a problem," said Andrew Nelson, a toxicology expert at the University of Leeds. "The health of so many millions of children benefit from vaccines containing mercury that an absolute ban is ridiculous."

___

Online:

http://www.unep.org

http://www.who.int

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111021/ap_on_sc/eu_med_mercury_ban

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iPhone 4S: The next great spy device?

You’re sitting at your computer, mapping out your latest plan to take over the world, as your brand new iPhone 4S sits next to you, its accelerometer quietly measuring your every keystroke, figuring out what you’re writing… and sending it back to SHIELD. Sound like science fiction? Something...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/L74YupSe2Yo/

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It's a girl for Carla Bruni

French first lady Carla Bruni gave birth to a baby girl on Wednesday, French media reported, her first child with husband President Nicolas Sarkozy and the first baby born to a French presidential couple in office.

Europe 1 radio and BFM television said Bruni gave birth at around 8 p.m. local time after being admitted earlier in the day to the La Muette maternity clinic in central Paris.

Neither the president's office nor La Muette would immediately confirm the reports.

Late Wednesday, President Sarkozy returned from a brief trip to Frankfurt and entered the clinic where his wife is said to have given birth. Sarkozy was in Frankfurt for talks with his German counterpart Angela Merkel and EU officials on Franco-German efforts to put together a plan to stem the euro zone debt crisis.

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Story: Two good! Twins give birth less than an hour apart

France has been on tenterhooks for weeks over the impending birth, which could give Sarkozy's image a welcome boost just over six months before a presidential election opinion polls show he could lose to Socialist challenger Francois Hollande.

Sarkozy's popularity ratings have been stuck at just above 30 percent for months, despite his leadership on issues like the Libyan crisis, with many French angry at economic gloom and resentful of a leadership style many see as impulsive and brash.

An opinion poll by CSA published on Wednesday, the first since Hollande was picked at the weekend to run for the left in next April's presidential election, found Hollande could beat Sarkozy by 62 percent to 38 percent if the two faced off in a second-round runoff vote.

First lady: I hope I don?t mess my daughters up

The poll gave Hollande 35 percent support for the first-round vote in April against 25 percent for Sarkozy.

A separate poll by Harris Interactive found that Sarkozy was still the best-placed candidate to run for the ruling UMP party, backed by 47 percent of respondents for a hypothetical UMP primary versus 19 percent for Foreign Minister Alain Juppe and 12 percent for Prime Minister Francois Fillon.

His daughter's birth coincides with one of the most crucial weeks of Sarkozy's four-year presidency as he battles to hammer out a plan with Germany to stem the euro zone's debt crisis before a self-imposed deadline on Sunday.

Pollsters say that as well as his handling of the euro crisis, the image Sarkozy projects to voters in the months ahead will be crucial for his reelection prospects next April.

Many in France found his high-speed courtship of Bruni, a singer-songwriter and former model, distasteful coming so soon after his divorce from his second wife, Cecilia, but Sarkozy kept carefully quiet about Bruni's pregnancy.

Media coverage has been incessant, however, a novelty in France, where a president's private life is usually kept private.

Sarkozy has three children from his two previous marriages, while Italian-born Bruni has a son from a former relationship.

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44961490/ns/today-today_people/

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