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'First Drive-In' Google Logo Honors

2012-06-15T17:39:00.000-07:00

'First Drive-In' Google Logo Honors Richard Hollingshead's Classic Theater (VIDEO)

Posted: 06/06/2012 9:32 am Updated: 06/06/2012 9:18 pm

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Google on June 6 posted on its search engine homepage an animated tribute to the 79th anniversary of the first drive-in movie theater.

The theater's founder, Richard Hollingshead, was issued a patent in 1933 for his concept of a theater that drivers could attend without having to ditch their cars. Within a few weeks, Hollingshead had opened his theater in Camden, New Jersey.

About.com describes the testing process Hollingshead carried out at his home, prior to setting up his new business:

He experimented in his own driveway at 212 Thomas Avenue, Camden, New Jersey. The inventor mounted a 1928 Kodak projector on the hood of his car, projected onto a screen he had nailed to trees in his backyard, and used a radio placed behind the screen for sound.

When the venue opened, Hollingshead's "screen" was a gigantic brick wall, in front of which the audience positioned their cars. Admission was only 25 cents per person, plus 25 cents per car.

According to Wired, the original venue's tagline was, "The whole family is welcome, regardless of how noisy the children are." Indeed, Google's video doodle, featuring a Hollingshead-inspired theater, shows all kinds of folks enjoying a detective-style film -- from a couple on a date to a family in a pickup truck.

The video also shows a concession stand selling candy and popping fresh popcorn. Speakers can be seen mounted next to the cars in front of the screen, thoughAbout.com notes that this wasn't actually a feature of the first drive-in, whose sound came from large speakers positioned next to the screen; in-car speakers came later.

Hollingshead's idea sparked an entertainment craze in America. "By 1958, there were more than 4,000 drive-ins," The New York Times reported in 2004. However, the craze eventually subsided as "television, land prices in the suburbs and, eventually, videos and multiplexes killed most of them," writes the Times.

Drive-ins.com, which maintains a database of the existing drive-ins lists only 469 functioning open-air theaters in the U.S., up slightly from the 417 that were operatingwhen the Times reported in 2004.

Take a look at the video (above) to see Google's drive-in doodle. (Bonus points if you spot the Android robot cameo!) Then, flip through the gallery (below) to see some of our favorite Google Doodles of all time.

Google Doodle Slideshow

1 of 24

Original Post - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/06/drive-in-google-richard-hollingshead_n_1573600.html

Lindsay Lohan Car Crash Police Didn't Get Blood Test

2012-06-15T17:36:00.001-07:00

Lindsay Lohan Car Crash: Police Didn't Get Blood Test From Actress

Posted: 06/14/2012 2:04 pm Updated: 06/14/2012 2:04 pm

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Lindsay Lohan crashed a rented Porsche into the back of a dump truck on the Pacific Coast Highway last week, and though she was taken to the emergency room to be checked out, police never requested a blood sample from the starlet,reports RadarOnline.

Neither Lohan nor her assistant, who was in the passenger seat, was injured in the crash, which is amazing given the extensive damage to the car. A source close to Lohan admits to RadarOnline that though police didn't request a blood test from the actress, she did submit to a portable breathalyzer test along with several other field sobriety tests, and "passed them all."

"She did everything that was asked of her and cooperated fully," explained the insider. "This is why the cops didn't request a blood sample from Lindsay, as they concluded that she wasn't under the influence and didn't need to be given a blood test. Lindsay was shaken up obviously about the accident, but that is to be expected. The cops told her that she was lucky to be alive, and her seat belt absolutely saved her life."

Over the years, Lohan has established herself as a horrible driver. In July 2011, she was involved in an alleged hit-and-run, though charges were never filed. The star has been involved in multiple accidents over the years, which all started with her infamous 2007 DUI arrest.

Given Lohan's awful driving record, it's no surprise that producers at Lifetime thought it best to get the 25-year-old a driver for the duration of filming "Liz & Dick."

A publicist close to the network told The Huffington Post that Lifetime stood to lose a ton of money if Lohan isn't able to finish filming the biopic, and hiring a driver would be cheaper than losing her.

Lohan is back filming on set this week, but the drama around the crash continues. Earlier this week there were reports that cops found a plastic bottle containing alcohol in the trunk of the car, but Sgt. Richard Lewis of the Santa Monica Police Department denied the claims, telling reporters, "There was no container retrieved from the vehicle. There was a container found in the debris by the side of the road, but that doesn’t mean it came from the car.”

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/14/lindsay-lohan-car-crash-police-no-blood-test_n_1596984.html?utm_hp_ref=celebrity&icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl2%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D169982

Obama interrupted by heckling at immigration announcement

2012-06-15T17:34:00.000-07:00

Obama interrupted by heckling at immigration announcement

Alex Wong / Getty Images

Neil Munro of The Daily Caller tries to ask his question the second time as he interrupts President Barack Obama's remarks about deportation of illegal immigrants June 15, 2012 in Washington, D.C.

By NBC's Ali Weinberg

President Barack Obama introduced his administration's new policy granting qualified legal status to illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children in a Rose Garden statement interrupted by the heckling of a conservative reporter.

As the president, standing at a podium outside the White House, explained why he was implementing the policy, Daily Caller writer Neil Munro began to shout questions, asking why Obama would want foreigners in the country instead of giving jobs to Americans.

“It is not the time for questions. Not while I'm speaking,” the president, visibly irritated, said just five minutes into his speech.

President Obama responds to a member of the media who interrupted an immigration speech on Friday.

After a pause, he continued to tout the new policy of suspending deportation actions against qualified students for two years and allowing them to instead apply for job permits. According to White House officials, those individuals would have to reapply after two years in the event Congress does not pass permanent legislation in the meantime.

Obama noted that his new policy could quickly be made permanent if Congress passed the stalled DREAM act, which would provide U.S. residency to immigrants who have a college education or served in the military.

“This is a temporary stop-gap measure that lets us focus our resources wisely while giving a degree of relief and hope to talented, driven, patriotic young people," Obama said. “Precisely because this is temporary, Congress needs to act."

A few minutes later, the heckler started up again, allowing Obama to even more forcefully make his point as he countered the shouting.

President Obama announces that the Department of Homeland Security will no longer seek the deportation of many young illegal immigrants.

“And the answer to your question, sir,” he began, pointing his finger from the podium directly at Munro, “-- and the next time I'd prefer you let me finish my statements before you ask that question -- is this is the right thing to do for the American people.”

“If there's a young person here who has grown up here and wants to contribute to this society, wants to maybe start a business that will create jobs for other folks who are looking for work, that's the right thing to do,” he continued, at that point seeming to speak with the dual purpose of heralding the new policy and drowning the heckler out.

Original POst - http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/15/12242415-obama-interrupted-by-heckling-at-immigration-announcement?lite

Charlene Tilton returns to 'Dallas' [Video]

2012-06-15T17:33:00.000-07:00

Charlene Tilton returns to 'Dallas' [Video]

By Mike Krumboltz | Yahoo! TV – Thu, Jun 14, 2012 1:56 PM PDT

Tilton back in her 'Dallas' days, and now (Everett Collection, Amanda Edwards/Getty Images)Familiar faces came out of the woodwork on Wednesday night's premiere of the revamped "Dallas." Larry Hagman and Patrick Duffy made their returns. Ditto for Linda Gray and Ken Kercheval. But the real excitement (in the Search box, anyway) came when Charlene Tilton ambled onto the screen.

For those who remember nothing of the iconic "Dallas" series, Tilton played Lucy Ewing, the rambunctious niece of slick oilman J.R. Ewing. Tilton became incredibly popular through her portrayal of the '80s primetime hit’s wild child; she even appeared on the cover of People magazine several times.

Tilton appeared in many more TV shows, including favorites like "The Love Boat," "Murder, She Wrote," and "Fantasy Island." And she resurfaced last night on the new-look "Dallas," as Lucy and Ray Krebbs (Steve Kanaly) returned to Southfork to attend the wedding of Bobby's adopted son Christopher (Jesse Metcalfe).

Several decades later, Tilton still has star power. Following the TNT show's debut, Yahoo! searches on "charlene tilton" gushed 342%. Related lookups on "charlene tilton new dallas" spiked over 2,000%, and queries for "how old is charlene tilton" jumped 225% (she's 53, by the way). Even her character moved the search needle – queries for “lucy ewing” more than tripled overnight.

We're not sure whether Tilton's appearance on the new "Dallas" was a one-off cameo or the start of a longer arc. But based on the fan reaction, producers should think about keeping this cowgirl on the set.

Original Post - http://tv.yahoo.com/news/charlene-tilton-returns-to--dallas-.html

Ways People Cheat in Casinos

2012-06-14T17:13:00.003-07:00

Ways People Cheat in Casinos

By Michelle Fox | CNBC – 4 hours ago

There’s no doubt about it, gambling means big business. Casinos in the U.S. raked in $62.8 billion in 2011, according to Spectrum Gaming Group, a research and professional services firm.

But with the good comes the bad for the gaming industry — cheating is also a big money maker for those who find ways to deceive the house. Thanks to technology, it’s getting harder to pull off. Casinos have cameras trained on every table and are always on the lookout for anything suspicious. But some people still manage to do it. Casino cheating expert George Joseph of Worldwide Casino Consulting estimates the industry loses tens of millions of dollars a year in scams.

[Related: Why Wearing Fakes Makes Us Cheat More]

The scams can be pulled off with age-old sleight-of-hand tricks or with the aid of high-tech devices. Either way, they are illegal and could mean time behind bars for those who are caught. However, penalties vary from state to state. In Nevada, for example, someone convicted of cheating faces one to six years in prison, or a fine of up to $10,000, or both.

So what are some of the ways people cheat in casinos? CNBC.com spoke with Joseph, who is author of “The 101 Most Asked Questions About Texas Hold’em and Poker Cheating,” to compile a list. Some are common cheating methods; others are employed less frequently but can result in a big payday.

Photo: Adam Jeffrey for CNBC.comFalse Shuffle

This casino cheat needs the participation of the casino’s card dealer to work. The dealer employs a false shuffle, which is meant to look like a regular shuffle but secretly leaves some cards in place. That allows the players involved in the conspiracy, who have been tracking the cards, to know when the unshuffled cards are dealt.

It was a scam used to great effect by the Tran Organization. The gang hit casinos all over the U.S., pocketing up to $7 million in false shuffle mini-baccarat and blackjack games. The organization was ultimately brought down, and more than 40 people pleaded guilty to charges relating to the cheating scheme, including its founders, Phuong Quoc Trong and Van Thu Tran.

Photo: Steve Allen/Brand X Pictures/Getty ImagesRoulette Past Posting

Past posting in roulette is one of the oldest tricks in the book, and it’s still plaguing the industry, Joseph said. It’s also quite simple — cheaters place their chips on the winning number after the ball has dropped in the roulette wheel. Usually one player in on the scheme will distract the dealer, and a second player will put his chips, with his conspirator’s different colored chips underneath, on the winning number. If the second player is caught, his chips will be removed, but the first player’s chips will remain.

Photo: Adam Jeffrey for CNBC.comHidden Camera Baccarat Scam

This move requires a hidden camera up the sleeve of the cheater. When the player cuts the deck of cards, he or she takes the cut card and drags it over the top of the deck, slightly separating the cards from each other. The camera records the cards, and an accomplice watches and relays the information back to the gambler via an earpiece.

It’s most commonly used on baccarat but can also be used in blackjack, Joseph said.

[Related: The Honest Truth About Cheating, Lying, and Dishonesty]

Photo: Jupiterimages/Comstock Images/Getty ImagesCard Switching

Card switching — or hand mucking, as it is also known in the industry — has been around for years, according to Joseph. However, it has moved from simple sleight-of-hand tricks to using hidden “holdout” devices. Gamblers use the device to hide a card up their sleeve and deposit it on the table, and then remove and hide cards from the table.

The gaming industry has lost millions of dollars because of this scam, Joseph said. Foxwoods Casino Resorts in Connecticut fell victim to it in 2010, when two South Korean nationals — Young Su Gy and Wookyung Kim — stole several hundred thousand dollars by using a holdout device to switch cards in midi-baccarat games. The two were caught, and they ultimately pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and theft. Gy was sentenced to 18 months in prison; Kim was sentenced to 12 months behind bars. They were also ordered to pay $870,505 in restitution.

Photo: Stuart Gregory/Photodisc/Getty Images Insert Photo: George Joseph/Worldwide Casino ConsultingSlot Machine Bill Validator Device

As slot machines have gotten more sophisticated, so have the cheating methods. In the old coin slot machines, cheaters could attach a piece of string to the coin, with a paper clip on the end to prevent it from falling into the hopper.

The newest way to scam slot machines involves a small computer device that tricks the bill validator. The device, usually disguised by a $1 bill, has two prongs that are inserted into the bill validator. Once they hit the contact point below the validator, the slot machine will read any bill that’s inserted as a $100 bill. The most recent devices don’t even need another bill to work — instead they just add credits after hitting the contact point in the slot machine.

However, casinos have caught on and the scam is less common than it once was. Slot machines have now been retrofitted so that the devices won’t work, according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board. So the only way for a cheater to use the device is to find a machine that hasn’t been updated.

Original Post - http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ways-people-cheat-in-casinos.html

2012-06-14T09:28:00.002-07:00

37B, Air Force's Secret Space Plane, To End Mission Soon

Posted: 06/11/2012 8:55 am Updated: 06/11/2012 3:10 pm

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By: Mike Wall
Published: 06/08/2012 06:08 PM EDT on SPACE.com

After spending more than a year orbiting our planet on a hush-hush mystery mission, the U.S. Air Force's X-37B space plane is due to return to Earth any day now.

Air Force officials haven't announced exactly when the robotic X-37B space plane will land. But on May 30, they said that the spacecraft's homecoming should occur in the "early- to mid-June timeframe" — a window that will close in the next week or so.

The Air Force launched the X-37B on March 5, 2011, sending the reusable space plane design on its second-ever space mission. The X-37B currently zipping around Earth is known as Orbital Test Vehicle-2, or OTV-2.

California's Vandenberg Air Force Base is viewed as the most likely primary landing site for OTV-2. Edwards Air Force Base, also in California, serves as a backup. [Photos of the 2nd Secret X-37B Mission]

The X-37B looks much like NASA's now-retired space shuttles, only much smaller. The space plane is about 29 feet long by 15 feet wide (8.8 by 4.5 meters), with a payload bay the size of a pickup truck bed. A solar array packed in the payload bay powers the spacecraft. For comparison, two entire X-37Bs could fit inside the payload bay of a space shuttle.

OTV-2's flight represents a big jump for the X-37B space plane. The vehicle has been aloft for 462 days as of today (June 8), more than doubling the on-orbit time of the first space-flown X-37B, known as OTV-1.

OTV-1 launched in April 2010 and landed that December, staying on orbit for 225 days — well under the spacecraft's supposed 270-day limit. OTV-2 is nearly 200 days over that limit on its current flight, and the calendar keeps ticking over.

Just what OTV-2 has been doing for so long up there remains a mystery, because the space plane's mission and payloads are classified. Air Force officials have said that the vehicle's chief task is testing out new technologies for future satellites, and some experts think that's likely to be the case.

For example, the space plane may be observing the Middle East and Afghanistan with some brand-new spy gear, according to Brian Weeden, a technical adviser with the Secure World Foundation and a former orbital analyst with the Air Force.

OTV-2's orbit — which takes it repeatedly over the stretch of Earth from 43 degrees north latitude to 43 degrees south latitude — supports this interpretation, Weeden told SPACE.com earlier this year. The space plane's orbital parameters are classified, but amateur astronomers have been tracking OTV-2's movements since it blasted off.

The Air Force also probably wants to push the X-37B's limits on this second flight, to see just what the space plane can do, said Weeden, who published a report in 2010 that investigated the X-37B and its likely missions.

Original Post - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/11/x-37b-air-force-secret-space-plane_n_1586085.html

P.S there is a article 10 military air crafts that never made it pass test phase

Selena Gomez: Elle Cover Girl Shares Personal Memories of Growing Up Poor

2012-06-14T09:26:00.003-07:00

Selena Gomez: Elle Cover Girl Shares Personal Memories of Growing Up Poor

Posted on Jun 7th 2012 3:30PM by Contessa Gayles

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Elle

With a successful music career and multiple upcoming film projects to her name, at just 19 years old, Selena Gomez is at the top of her game. And let's not forget she's got international teen heartthrob Justin Bieber on her arm, too! But life wasn't always so rosy for Gomez. In the latest issue of Elle magazine, the singer/actress reveals a time in the not-so-distant past when her single mom struggled to make ends meet to support their cash-strapped family.

Selena's parents divorced when the star was just 5 years old. Suddenly, the only child and her mom, a stage actress, found themselves in the grips of poverty. "I can remember about seven times when our car got stuck on the highway because we'd run out of gas money," Gomez confessed.

Still, Selena insists her mom made sure to educate and expose her baby girl to some of the finer things in life. "[But my mom still] saved up to take me to concerts. She took me to museums, aquariums, to teach me about the world, about what's real."

Thanks to her mom's insistence on exposing her daughter to culture -- and a prophetic given name from the late Mexican singer, Selena -- Gomez went from "Barney & Friends" at 7 to Disney fame and fortune by 14. And the rest is history! She recalled being inspired as a little girl after seeing Jennifer Lopez portray her namesake in the biopic, "Selena." "I made a bustier out of a bathing suit that I dyed black," she admitted. "I put glue and glitter all over it and I wouldn't take it off."

Now, of course, the superstar can afford her very own glamorous couture bustiers -- like that stunning, gilded one by Dolce & Gabbana pictured above. You've come a long way, Selena!

See Selena Gomez in Our "Relationship Reinvention" Gallery

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Watch Selena Gomez's "Hit The Lights" Video

Original Post - http://blog.music.aol.com/2012/06/07/selena-gomez-elle-cover-poor/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl3%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D168052

P.S If your a fan of selenas then check this out Selena Gomez: An Unauthorized Biography of the Pop Star

Alvaro Quiros gets albatross

2012-06-14T09:23:00.001-07:00

Alvaro Quiros gets albatross

Updated: June 14, 2012, 9:49 AM ET

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Strange Questions

Curtis Strange sits down with Rick Reilly to talk about his life and his career.Tags: U.S. Open, Strange Questions, Rick Reilly

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SAN FRANCISCO -- Alvaro Quiros heard the roars and still didn't know what happened.

“
We thought it was going to be more in the middle of the green. Suddenly, we see the people stand. Gonzalo (Fernandez-Castano) said, 'I think you holed it.' And I said, 'No, it probably just touched the flag.'
”-- Alvaro Quiros, on his hole-in-one on the par-4, 288-yard seventh hole

After all, he was too far away to even see his ball.

The Spaniard teed off with driver from 288 yards out on the par-4 seventh Wednesday. The ball rolled up the elevated green, caught the second slope and trickled into the hole for an extraordinary ace.

The grandstand crowd stood and delivered a roar that echoed across The Olympic Club so loud one might've thought the U.S. Open had begun a day early.

"We thought it was going to be more in the middle of the green. Suddenly, we see the people stand," Quiros said. "Gonzalo (Fernandez-Castano) said, 'I think you holed it.' And I said, 'No, it probably just touched the flag.' And then we start to walk and the people start screaming again. I said, 'OK, probably. Maybe.' When we start to get closer to the green, people start congratulating me, and that's when I realized it was an albatross."

Quiros originally pulled out a 3-wood until his caddie talked him into driver -- "the perfect club," he said -- at the last moment. He waved to the fans and tipped his cap walking up the green, pulled the ball out of the hole and tossed it into the grandstand.

Mike and Mike in the Morning

ESPN golf analyst Andy North says it will be cold on the course early at the U.S. Open. North also describes the tough opening holes and predicts a winning score.

So much for saving a souvenir.

Even for the 29-year-old Spaniard whom some consider the longest hitter in the game, a hole-in-one on a par 4 is rare. Quiros said he had made only four other aces, and also had one albatross on a par 5 in Argentina back in 2003.

The one bad part of his first ace on a par 4? It came in a practice round.

"The funny thing is," he said, "I'm probably going to be missing this green."

Original Post - http://www.alexa.com/whatshot?q=us+open+golf

P.S if you are reading this and you play golf you should check this article out GolfPrac.com

Driving 134 MPH In 50 MPH Zone Gets Driver DUI

2012-06-14T09:19:00.001-07:00

Driving 134 MPH In 50 MPH Zone Gets Driver DUI

Posted: June 13, 2012

You should never drink and drive. You should never drive 134 mph in a 50 mph zone. A man in Montana did both and is now facing his third DUI charge.

The Billings Gazette reports that Shaun Kachina Bell, 32, was clocked going 134 mph down highway 312 outside of Billings on Sunday night. Trooper Kyle Hayter was able to track Bell down. When Bell pulled over, Hayter found a man passed out in the passenger seat and said that the driver seemed to be intoxicated.
Bell was charged with a DUI, along with felony criminal endangerment and a misdemeanor count of speeding. Bell was also charged for driving without a license or proof of insurance.
Hayter took Bell into the Yellowstone County Jail after he did a background check and found that Bell had outstanding warrants, a suspended license, and two previous DUI convictions. Bell is currently $15,000 bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned on June 21st.
Bell’s 134 MPH would be on just about every road in the United States. Texas may be introducing an 85 mph speed limit in the near future but that’s still well below Bell’s drunken joyride.

Original Post - http://www.inquisitr.com/254500/driving-134-mph-in-50-mph-zone-gets-driver-dui/

P.S If you anyone reading this has trouble with DUI being on your record and you want it off then there is a great article on how you can do this click the link RecordDeleter.com

2012-06-14T09:14:00.000-07:00

The most dangerous cities in America, 2012

By Michael B. Sauter, Douglas A. McIntyre, Ashley C. Allen, Alexander E. M. Hess, Lisa Nelson and Samuel Weigley |24/7 Wall St.com – Tue, Jun 12, 2012 3:07 PM EDT

New FBI data shows that violent crime rates are improving across America, but among cities with the highest crime problems, murder rates continued to rise in 2011. The FBI finds that violent crime dropped 4% in 2011, compared with a 5.5% drop in 2010. Nationally, the murder rate fell 1.9% from 2010, and robbery, forcible rape and assault fell 4% each.

Yet a 24/7 Wall St. review of 2011 FBI crime data shows that violent crime rose in more than half of the cities that have among the highest rates in the country. In seven of the 10 cities, murder rates increased. In eight of the 10, burglary went up.

See full report: The most dangerous cities in America.

Strained budgets are forcing police layoffs that many cities cannot afford to make. More than half of local police departments that responded to a national survey reported cuts in the 2011 fiscal year, according to the Police Executive Research Forum, an organization of police executives from across the country. Many are cutting police forces through planned layoffs and attrition. More than half of the cities with the highest violent crime rates are cutting law enforcement budgets and police forces as well. However, unlike the national picture, the situation is worse for these cities, which depend on tax bases that are shrinking faster than most.

The most dangerous city: Flint, Mich. (Photo: Jessi *AfterImage* / Flickr)The cities with the highest crime rates tend to have particularly high poverty rates, high unemployment and low median income. Two of the worst-off cities, Flint and Detroit, Mich., both have had well-publicized budget woes. Flint was taken over by an emergency city manager after failing to pay its bills in 2011. Detroit is facing similar budget problems and recently came to a temporary oversight agreement with the state.

While the Detroit Police Department reported no budget cuts for fiscal year 2012, the city is planning a 15% cut next year. Detroit also has one of the highest crime rates in the country.

On its Web site, the FBI cautions against using crime data to compare city violence because rankings tend to be simplistic and ignore factors that influence crime, as well as the different ways crimes are measured and reported. “Data users should not rank locales because there are many factors that cause the nature and type of crime to vary from place to place,” the FBI warns.

Congressional Quarterly, which publishes and analyzes FBI crime statistics each year, referred to crime rate in terms of the “safest” and “most dangerous” cities. However, the publication recently dropped the terms “safe” and “dangerous” because of the concerns of criminologists, Dr. Rachel Boba Santos told 24/7 Wall St.

Despite these objections, Dr. Boba Santos said the data is useful to get a feel for the needs of a particular community and to look at a specific city’s trends on a year-over-year basis. She said the data also is used at the federal level to determine funding resources for different communities, comparing crime rates.

Based on the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, 24/7 Wall St. identified the 10 U.S. cities with populations of 100,000 or more with the highest rates of violent crime per 1,000 residents. Using the estimated populations and crime incidents from UCR, which measures incidents of eight types of violent and nonviolent crime for 2011, 24/7 Wall St. calculated the incidence of the four types of violent crime per 1,000 persons for that year: murder, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault. In addition to crime data, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed median income and poverty rates for these cities from the U.S. Census Bureau for 2010, the most recent available year. We also included average 2011 unemployment rates for these cities, provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

These are the five cities with the highest rates of violent crime.

5. Memphis, Tenn.
Violent crimes per 1,000: 15.8
Population: 652,725
2011 murders: 117
Median income: $37,045
Unemployment rate: 11.1%

In 2011, Memphis defied the national trend of declining crime rates in major U.S. cities. The rate of violent crimes per 1,000 people increased, from 15.4 to 15.8. This was the product of increases in murders, which rose from 89 to 117 cases, and aggravated assault incidents, which rose by 100 cases. A rising unemployment rate, which grew 1.2% to 11.1% in 2011, likely has not helped to reduce criminal behavior.

4. Oakland, Calif.
Violent crimes per 1,000: 16.8
Population: 395,317
2011 murders: 104
Median income: $49,190
Unemployment rate: 15.6%

Oakland historically has been among the most crime-ridden cities in California, with a violent crime rate this year of 16.8 per 1,000 people. There were 14 more murders in 2011 than in 2010, causing Oakland to maintain the ninth-highest murder rate in the country two years in a row. Oakland is the number one city for both robbery and motor vehicle theft rates in the country. Oakland city councilmember Desley Brooks, who wants to allocate $11 million in revenue to the police force, acknowledges the increased violent crime, saying, “we cannot ignore that we have had an increase in violent crime, and so we cannot continue to do the same thing the same way and expect that it’s going to be a different result.”

3. St. Louis, Mo.
Violent crimes per 1,000: 18.6
Population: 320,454
2011 murders: 113
Median income: $32,688
Unemployment rate: 11.7%

Although the total number of murders in the city has decreased by 31 since 2010, crime in St. Louis did not improve overall last year. Violent crime rates in St. Louis have risen dramatically, from 17.5 to 18.6 cases per 1,000 people. And the city’s murder rate is still the fourth highest in the nation, its robbery rate is the fifth highest in the nation and its aggravated assault rate is third highest in the nation. Despite these troubling facts, the St. Louis Police Department recently faced potentially drastic budget cuts that may require the elimination of 100 street-patrolling officer positions through attrition.

2. Detroit, Mich.
Violent crimes per 1,000: 21.4
Population: 713,239
2011 murders: 344
Median income: $25,787
Unemployment rate: 19.9%

Long regarded as one of the poorest cities in the U.S., with a 32.3% poverty rate and nearly 20% unemployment in 2010, Detroit has the second-highest violent crime rate in the country. Homicide increased by 11% in 2011, while robbery and aggravated assault are fourth and second highest in the country, respectively.

In response to an 18% decrease in the Detroit police budget, which will result in the elimination of 380 positions through attrition and early retirement, the city has begun taking steps to decrease police funding by introducing “Virtual Precincts.” The plan, which closes police stations between 4 p.m. and 8 a.m, requires citizens to report non-emergency crime to a call center, and frees up more patrol officers to respond to 911 emergency calls.

1. Flint, Mich.
Violent crimes per 1,000: 23.4
Population: 102,357
2011 murders: 52
Median income: $22,672
Unemployment rate: 18.9%

According to the FBI, no city with more than 100,000 residents had a higher violent crime rate than Flint. In 2011, there were 2,392 incidents of violent crime in Flint, which has a population just above 100,000. That same year, there were just 1,246 violent crimes in all 10 of the safest cities in America — which have 13 times as many residents as Flint among them. Flint has the second-highest murder rate and the highest rates of aggravated assault, burglary and arson in the nation. According to Flint Mayor Dayne Walling, “there are too many guns on the street and it’s easy for individuals with evil motives to take another human being’s life.”

Though the violent crime has long been a problem in Flint, in 2010 the city laid off 20 of its 140 police officers, a decision that diminished both the police’s street presence and response times to crime.

Original Post - http://realestate.yahoo.com/news/most-dangerous-cities-in-america.html

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David Stern, Jim Rome battle on radio

2012-06-13T21:22:00.001-07:00

David Stern, Jim Rome battle on radio

Updated: June 13, 2012, 10:30 PM ET

ESPN.com news services

NBA commissioner David Stern got into a heated exchange with Jim Rome on Wednesday when the radio host asked him if the New Orleans Hornets winning the draft lottery was fixed.

"I know that you appreciate a good conspiracy theory as much as the next guy, was the fix in for the lottery?" asked Rome, who hosts a daily show on CBS Sports Network.

"I have two answers for that," Stern said. "The simple easy one, no; the second, a statement, shame on you for asking."

“
I know that you appreciate a good conspiracy theory as much as the next guy, was the fix in for the lottery?
”-- Jim Rome

Rome went on to say that he thought it was his job to ask because people wonder.

"No, it's ridiculous, but that's OK," Stern said.

Rome, who used to host the show "Jim Rome Is Burning" on ESPN, said he didn't think the question was ridiculous.

Stern responded: "Have you stopped beating your wife yet?"

Since Rome has no history of spousal abuse, it appears the commissioner was using a traditional loaded question as a tool to make his point -- that the question itself, in this case about the lottery, presumes guilt.

Rome responded: "I don't think that's fair."

After a little more back and forth, Rome said he hoped Stern wouldn't hold the question against him.

"I wouldn't hold it against you," Stern said. "You and I have been in more contentious talks than that. But it's good copy. You do these things for cheap thrills."

Rome took offense to that statement, and Stern changed his characterization.

“
I have two answers for that. The simple easy one, no; the second, a statement, shame on you for asking.
”-- David Stern

"Cheap trick," he said. "You've been successful in making a career of it, and I keep coming on."

That prompted a flurry of exchanges:

Rome: "Making a career of it? Making a career of what? What? Cheap thrills?"

Stern: "Now you're getting mad. You're taking on the world and now Jim Rome is pouting."

Rome: "I'm not pouting. I'm taking offense."

Stern: "You want to hang up on me?"

Rome: "No, I'm seriously running out of time."

Stern: "Listen, I gotta go call somebody important like Stephen A. Smith back. He's next."

Rome: "OK, you go make that call and I'll go talk to somebody else, too, I guess. Have a nice day. I did not hang up on him, we are officially out of time."

Rome said later Wednesday on his TV show on CBS Sports Network that he didn't take great offense, calling Stern's phrase a "rhetorical device" that some fans may not understand but he did. He defended his question, saying he doesn't believe the lottery is fixed but that it was fair to ask.

Original Post - http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/8048426/nba-commissioner-david-stern-radio-host-jim-rome-get-lottery

P.S For More Related Topics and Stories revolving this issue click the link Espn.com/Nba

2012-06-13T21:20:00.000-07:00

Facts about Facebook Promoted Posts

JUNE 11, 2012 BY MELISSA 23 COMMENTS

Out of all the recent changes to Facebook (scheduled posts, admin roles, etc), the Promoted Posts feature is definitely the most controversial.

To be honest, I’ve been dreading this post. Mainly because it could be so entirely massive if I let it be!

I don’t proclaim to know everything but I’ll explain the things I DO know, the things I recently learned and link to other articles about Promoted Posts that you’ll probably be interested in. Let’s get to it!

Promoted Posts essentially allow you to pay Facebook a fee to reach a larger amount of your fan base than you would otherwise. If you’re looking for how to do promoted posts, I’ll let PC World tell you since their article 5 Tips for Using Facebook’s Promoted Posts pretty much sums it up.

Instead this post will stick with some facts about promoted posts since there seem to be a lot of misconceptions out there.

The Biggest Misconception about Facebook Promoted Posts

Let’s start with the clearing up the biggest misconception I’ve seen out there.

Fact: Your posts were NOT being seen by 100% of fans before promoted posts took effect.

In fact, earlier this year Facebook said that a status update from a fan page reaches about 16% of their total audience. SIXTEEN PERCENT. And for personal profiles? A typical post from a personal profile only reaches about 12% of your friends. Yeah, that’s pretty lame. No denying that.

Facebook uses something called Edgerank to score each post you write, whether it’s your fan page OR your personal profile. That score determines how likely you are to show up in someone’s feed. Photos and videos typically do best, meaning they’ll be more likely for your audience to see it. Though only Facebook knows their exact algorithm, this is an excellent run through of how Edgerank works.

In one of Facebook’s marketing webinars I attended recently (they’re free if you’re interested), Facebook explained that the reason not every post shows up in the news feed is that they want to give users the “best experience and highest relevance” so using Edgerank helps them determine what shows up in your feed.

If Facebook posted everything in our new feeds, our feeds would zoom past us for the most part just do to the sheer amount of updates from friends and pages. While I don’t want the Facebook news feed to breeze by me as fast as Twitter moves, both of those numbers being under 20% bothers me.

There may not have been a light switch that suddenly flipped to make your posts not get seen… but the problem is that for many fan pages, engagement HAS decreased over time. Even though Edgerank has been around for quite a while, I know many, many pages have seen gradual decreases in engagement and reach way before Promoted Posts even existed, which makes this new “product” frustrating.

Despite all the frustration (I feel it too!), it’s important to understand that even if all your posts made it to news feeds, you’d never reach 100% of your fans because people simply aren’t on Facebook all day long watching their feed. (But keep reading because I have some ideas for you at the end of this post!)

Moving along, there are some other facts about Promoted Posts that I learned in that webinar…

Question: Why am I not seeing the option for Promoted Posts?

If your fan page has fewer than 400 fans, you won’t see the Promoted Post option yet. Facebook said they feel you need at least 400 fans before you would see success with Promoted Posts. If your fan page has greater than 100,000 fans, it’s not available to you yet (thought they said they may remove this limit in the future).

Question: Are there any restrictions for doing a Promoted Post?

Yep. A post has to be less than three days old in order to be promoted. However, you can promote a post as you are publishing it OR go back to an already published post and turn it into a Promoted Post (if it’s within that 3-day window).

Question: Will my Promoted Posts be labeled in any way?

Yep, they will say “Sponsored” underneath them.

Question: Can I post to my fan page without doing paid posts?

Absolutely. You only pay if you want to reach more people.

Question: I’ve been seeing a lot of people posting status updates to visit their fan page and select “Show in News Feed” to ensure posts show up. Does this work?

Well, if you saw that page’s post in your feed, then I’m sure you clicked to their fan page to discover the “Show in News Feed” was already selected. And if “Show in News Feed” was somehow not selected for someone, would they have even seen that status update show up in their news feed in the first place? I looked at pages that I’ve fanned but couldn’t remember seeing a status update in recent memory. Even those pages already had it checked.

Some people have said that after a while Facebook will uncheck that “Show in News Feed” if it’s a page you haven’t interacted with in a long time, but I couldn’t find an example of that in my page list. (If you had a different experience, please tell me in the comments! I’d love to be proven wrong on this but my first thought is that doing this won’t help at all.)

So What CAN You Do?

I’ve got three ideas for you to help more fan page posts get seen. The first two you can do within your own profile (and even ask your fans to do so) that will help you see the updates from pages you like the best. The last one is how to get more eyeballs on the posts you make to your fan page.

1. Change your news feed to Sort: Most Recent

If you’d prefer to see all the status updates in your feed in chronological order, then it’s an easy change.

2. Add Pages you like to Facebook lists.

And friends you like for that matter. I have lists of Favorite Pages, Close Friends, My Costa Rican Family, etc.

If you want to share this with your blog readers, don’t just mention this on Facebook because obviously not everyone is seeing it. Mention it on your blog as well. Here’s a simple 1-2-3 on how to add a fan page to an Interest List.

3. Write posts that are engaging.

Not every single post you do on Facebook will be a zinger. And the truth is posting your latest blog post will get less interaction on Facebook. Why? Because people are more likely to take action by clicking on the post rather than leaving a comment.

In the Facebook webinar, they said that posts with 100-250 characters in about 1-2 lines of text have about 60% more engagement. So keep ‘em short and engaging. Here’s an example:

Again, keep in mind you won’t ever reach 100%. Our page posts never reached 100%, even before Promoted Posts. But is it reasonable to reach 50%? I’ve had it happen. I had a post start around 17% and the more people engaged, the higher it climbed. All the way to 59%!

However, for pages with more fans than me (I have around 1,425), it will be much harder to move that needle upward. It seem that the larger the audience, the harder it is to reach more of your fans (but that’s just my observations and the observations of people I know who manage large pages).

I hope this post helped clear up some of the mystery around Promoted Posts! I’d love to hear your thoughts and any experiences you’ve had with Promoted Posts thus far.

Original Post - http://www.momcomm.com/2012/06/facts-about-facebook-promoted-posts/

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Russian ex-spy Anna Chapman disarms the fashion runway

2012-06-13T21:13:00.003-07:00

Russian ex-spy Anna Chapman disarms the fashion runway

Russian ex-spy Anna Chapman, center, walks a Turkish catwalk flanked by two men posing as secret agents at a fashion show in Antalya, Turkey.

By Rina Raphael

Anna Chapman, 30, the infamous Russian ex-spy deported from the U.S., sure has a sense of humor: On June 8, the foreign beauty was spotted strutting on a Turkish catwalk, escorted by two men dressed as secret agents.

Clad in a stunning red-and-black print gown at the Dosso Dossi show, the redheaded celebrity looked quite the James Bond character. Her payment? The clothing line's owner, Hikmet Eraslan,said he donated to Chapman's charity foundation for children with poor eyesight.

High profile: Russian ex-spy Anna Chapman, seen here on June 8, also walked the runway during Moscow Fashion Week.

Chapman certainly hasn't stayed undercover since being deported in 2010 along with 9 other agents.She's been enjoying her celebrity status — modeling, hosting a weekly TV show in Russia, editing a business magazine, posing in lingerie for Maxim magazine (naturally), and even dedicating her time to a youth charity organization.

Original Post - http://thelook.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/13/12202429-russian-ex-spy-anna-chapman-disarms-the-fashion-runway?lite

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Afghan earthquake triggers landslide, scores trapped

2012-06-13T21:07:00.001-07:00

Afghan earthquake triggers landslide, scores trapped

By Mohammad Hamid

updated 6/11/2012 7:11:17 AM ET

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KUNDUZ, Afghanistan (Reuters) - More than 70 people were trapped in rubble after houses made of mud collapsed from two strong earthquakes on Monday that triggered a landslide in the mountains of northern Afghanistan, officials said.

Only on msnbc.com

A remote village in Baghlan province appeared to have taken the brunt of the damage, the provincial police chief said, adding that information was trickling in slowly from the site.

Asadullah Shirzad said more than 70 people were trapped in Dara Azara village, but he had no information about casualties so far.

"We have sent a rescue team. There is no report of dead or wounded yet."

A quake measuring 5.4 struck the Hindu Kush region followed by a 5.7 aftershock, the United States Geological Survey said. It was centered 174 km (108 miles) north of Kabul, where the quake was also felt.

One woman has been rescued from the area, said Ghulam Farooq, head of the disaster operation center in Kabul.

He said 22 houses had been destroyed and most of the missing were women and children.

(Writing by Sanjeev Miglani; Editing by Ed Lane)

Original Post - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47762486/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/t/afghan-earthquake-triggers-landslide-scores-trapped/#.T9liJo5uGlI

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Euro 2012 violence among Polish and Russian fans could prompt changes by UEFA and FIFA

2012-06-13T21:00:00.001-07:00

Euro 2012 violence among Polish and Russian fans could prompt changes by UEFA and FIFA

By Martin Rogers | Yahoo! Sports – Tue, Jun 12, 2012 7:08 PM EDT

The most widespread case of soccer hooliganism for more than two decades erupted between fans of Poland and Russia on Tuesday, and the incident has prompted the sport's two biggest governing bodies to order an investigation that may change the way major tournaments are organized.

Fans clash prior to the match between Poland and Russia. (AP)In the hours leading up to a 1-1 draw between the two teams in Group A of Euro 2012, hundreds of fans fought bloody battles with fists, bottles and metal weapons on the streets of the Polish capital Warsaw, as riot police firing rubber bullets and releasing tear gas tried to keep them apart.

A series of factors combined to make this the highest-risk match of the championships in terms of fan violence, as highlighted by Yahoo! Sports on Monday, and unfortunately violence transpired. Although officials claimed only 10 people had been seriously injured, onlookers estimated that figure to be much lower than they observed.

The disgraceful scenes, the likes of which soccer hoped were a thing of the past, will prompt an immediate response from both UEFA (the European governing body that is organizing the tournament) and FIFA (the international overseer of all things soccer).

A wide-ranging investigation into Tuesday's events has already begun, in conjunction with Polish police, anti-hooliganism agencies from both nations and Euro 2012 security bosses. Once the tournament is over, the same group of FIFA and UEFA officials will consider ways to avoid a repeat of clashes that overshadowed the on-field action on day five of the tournament.

[Related: Cristiano Ronaldo under mounting pressure to perform for Portugal]

A FIFA source told Yahoo! Sports that one proposal certain to gain support is for the organizing committee for the World Cups and European Championship to have leeway to alter the scheduling and location of certain matches in order to make outbreaks of hooliganism less likely.

The fact that the Poland vs. Russia game took place on Russia's national independence day has been cited as a major cause of Tuesday's problems because fans celebrated the occasion with a march across an iconic Warsaw bridge toward the stadium.

It was on Poniatowski Bridge that the most serious flashpoints occurred, with groups of Poland fans waiting for the Russian contingent and chanting insults. One wire report stated that Russian fans responded by hurling missiles, setting off heavy skirmishes. Other reports told of instances where the Polish fans attacked first – but it is clear that neither side was innocent in this sorry saga.

With the game taking place in Warsaw – the easiest location for Russian fans to reach via air and ground travel – the likelihood of trouble was ramped up further.

Under current guidelines, the match was played on this date, and in this city, simply because that is how the Euro 2012 draw came out. The source confirmed that changes may soon be made to alter the system and allow more flexibility.

"If the fixtures could have been switched around even by one day it could have made a big difference," said the source. "Of course, tensions would still have been high, but take away the factor of Russia's national day and things could have been a little better. Then there is location: Putting the game in a different city could have affected the number of troublemakers who traveled. A more compact city might also have made it easier for police to control things. It is food for thought and it is one of many things that will be discussed."

Always high, tensions between Poland and Russia supporters boiled over in Warsaw. (AP)Tensions between Russia and Poland have long been high aside from soccer. The Soviet Union exercised control over Poland for decades during the Cold War and there have been disagreements between the nations over the way the death of Polish president Lech Kaczynski, killed in an airplane crash over Russian airspace in 2010 along with 95 others, was handled.

As of 2 p.m. PT on Tuesday, Yahoo! Sports was told that the number of arrests had unofficially reached 159, but a police spokesman insisted that figure did not take into account those held in some of the city's smaller police stations and was expected to grow significantly.

"This operation will not end for some time," said the spokesman. "We want to find all of those responsible for causing this situation and stop those who still want to cause more problems."

Polish freelance photographer Zbigniew Kucharski witnessed many fights between groups of fans. "The truth is it that both sides wanted to fight," Kucharski told Yahoo! Sports. "I was told that some of the more extreme hooligan groups from either side had contacted each other and arranged where and when the fighting would take place."

[Related: Samir Nasri's muted celebration in France's draw with England had subtext]

Inside the National Stadium, one of the most entertaining games of the tournament was played out. Russia had the chance to guarantee its place in the quarterfinals when Alan Dzagoev scored his third goal of the tournament to establish the lead after 37 minutes.

However, Jakub Blaszczykowski produced a spectacular equalizer on 57 minutes with a magnificent left-foot strike that ensured the outcome ended even. Going into the final round of matches in Group A, a draw or better against Greece would see Russia advance regardless of what happens between Poland and the Czech Republic, where the Poles must win to avoid elimination.

Regardless of whatever exploits their national teams can muster in the rest of the competition, though, the soccer reputation of both countries has been seriously tarnished.

Original Post http://sports.yahoo.com/news/soccer--euro-2012-polish-russian-fan-violence-uefa-fifa-investigate.html

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