Wall Street ends off lows, suggesting resilience (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? Stocks edged lower on Monday on stalled Greek debt talks, but an afternoon rally cut losses in a sign of the underlying resilience the market has shown early in the year.

Major indexes had fallen more than 1 percent as negotiations between the Greek government and private bondholders over the restructuring of 200 billion euros of debt failed to reach an agreement before the start of a summit of European leaders.

But by the afternoon those losses were cut sharply. Optimism that the U.S. markets can shrug off Europe's troubles has fueled gains in 2012, with the S&P 500 up 4.7 percent this month. Money managers, some of whom missed the upward move, appear willing to buy on intraday declines.

"The action that we've seen today is very similar to what we've seen throughout most of the year so far," said Ryan Larson, head of equity trading at RBC Global Asset Management in Chicago. "We see the resilience showing in U.S. markets and I think that's a theme that we've seen throughout 2012."

"The U.S. appears to be slowly, slowly in the early stages of a decoupling from the euro zone," he said.

Financial shares were hurt the most by developments in Europe. The sector (.GSPF) lost 1 percent, the biggest drag on the S&P 500. Bank of America (BAC.N) fell 3 percent to $7.06.

Material, technology and telecoms stocks led the turnaround after the close of European markets. The S&P 500 materials sector (.GSPM), which is up over 11 percent already this year, finished barely lower on Monday.

But volume was low at just 6.2 billion shares on the NYSE, Amex, and Nasdaq. That indicated participation was light and likely amplified market movements. The 200-day moving average for volume at those venues is 7.8 billion.

Peter Lee, chief technical strategist at UBS Wealth Management, said many of his clients, who include some big institutional investors, are still cautious after the S&P 500 has climbed over 22 percent from lows in October.

"Some buyers are supporting this market, and we think it may be short-covering," he said. "It gives the market the illusion it is strong."

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) dropped 6.74 points, or 0.05 percent, to 12,653.72. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) lost 3.31 points, or 0.25 percent, to 1,313.02. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) fell 4.61 points, or 0.16 percent, to 2,811.94.

European stock markets were down over 1 percent. The FTSEurofirst 300 (.FTEU3), a measure of Europe's biggest companies, fell 1 percent.

Even though the euro zone crisis drags on, the S&P 500 was on track for its best month since October, helped by stronger U.S. economic data and a easing of conditions in Europe's financial system following backing from global central banks.

Technical analysts will take comfort from the fact that the S&P 500 held above the psychologically important 1,300 level after crossing it for the first time in six months earlier in January. The bounce off the level on Monday was to a tee.

Germany sought to tone down reports it was pushing for Greece to give up control over its budget policy to European institutions. Greece was unlikely to accept that scenario, presenting yet another obstacle to a second bailout package for Athens.

Apple (AAPL.O) shares helped cap losses on the Nasdaq after Morgan Stanley said the iPhone maker could add China Telecom (0728.HK) and China Mobile (0941.HK) as distributors over the next year. Apple rose 1.3 percent to $453.01.

Swiss engineering group ABB (ABBN.VX) agreed to buy U.S. electrical components maker Thomas & Betts Corp (TNB.N) for $3.9 billion in cash, sending shares of the company up 23.1 percent to $71.31.

Consumer spending, the main pillar of the U.S. economy, was flat in December as households added to savings after the largest rise in income in nine months. Although the data pointed to a slow start for spending in 2012, economists were cautiously optimistic that an improving labor market will support demand.

Chris Cordaro, chief investment officer at RegentAtlantic Capital, a wealth management firm in Morristown, New Jersey, believes equities will finish sharply higher this year as Europe's problems are resolved and investors buy into stock valuations that were beaten down through much of last year.

"We could definitely end the year much higher on equities," he said. "We have been favoring equities in our portfolio. We have just increased our exposure to emerging markets."

(Editing by Kenneth Barry)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120130/bs_nm/us_markets_stocks

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Pep Boys agrees to be acquired for about $791M

NEW YORK (AP) ? The Pep Boys ? Manny, Moe & Jack, an auto parts chain founded more than 90 years ago, has agreed to be taken private by the investment firm The Gores Group for about $791 million.

The $15 per share offer is a 24 percent premium to Pep Boys' closing price Friday of $12.08. News of the acquisition sent the Philadelphia company's shares up $2.82, or 23.3 percent, to $14.90 in morning trading on Monday.

Pep Boys brand recognition as well as its moderate pricing appealed to The Gores Group, said Lee Bird, managing director of operations and consumer practice leader at The Gores Group.

"We are excited to help Pep Boys build on this vision," he said in a statement.

The auto parts company began in 1921 with the Naval buddies and original Pep Boys: Emanuel "Manny" Rosenfeld, Maurice "Moe" Strauss, Moe Radavitz and Graham "Jack" Jackson. Their first store opened in Philadelphia under the name Pep Auto Supplies, according to the company's web site. Its name was changed around 1923 after Strauss noticed during a trip to California that many successful businesses there used first names.

Radavitz and Jackson both left the company early on. When Pep Boys went public in 1946, Rosenfeld served as its first corporate president. He held the post until his death in 1959. Strauss served as president from 1960 to 1973 and remained a board member until he died in 1982.

Pep Boys currently has more than 700 locations in 35 states and Puerto Rico.

Last month Pep Boys reported that its fiscal third-quarter net income rose nearly 23 percent on stronger tire sales and improving service sales. At the time President and CEO Mike Odell said that the improved business was due in part to new marketing, lower gas prices and pent-up demand.

Auto parts suppliers have done relatively well during the recession and prolonged economic downturn, as many consumers have held on to their cars longer and sought out repairs instead of purchasing new cars. The average age of a car or truck in the U.S. hit a record 10.8 years last year as job security and other economic worries weighed on consumers' minds.

That's up from the old record of 10.6 years in 2010, and it and continues a trend that dates to 1995, when the average age of a car was 8.4 years, according to a study of state vehicle registration data released earlier this month by the Southfield, Mich.-based Polk automotive research firm.

Pep Boys has faced competition though from companies including AutoZone Inc., Advance Auto Parts Inc. and O'Reilly Automotive Inc.

The Gores Group deal for Pep Boys is worth about $791 million, based on the company's almost 53 million shares outstanding. The companies put the total enterprise value of the deal at approximately $1 billion.

The agreement includes a provision, which allows Pep Boys to seek and receive alternative offers for a period of 45 days.

Gores Group said that it has fully committed financing for the buyout, which is not subject to a financing condition.

Pep Boys said that Odell, as well as other senior managers, are expected to remain in their positions once the acquisitions closes.

Pep Boys' board unanimously approved the acquisition, which still needs approval from the company's shareholders. Pep Boys said it has suspended its quarterly dividend in anticipation of the deal.

The transaction is expected to close in the fiscal second quarter. Once the acquisition is complete, Pep Boys stock will no longer trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-30-Pep%20Boys-Acquisition/id-bb64099e0fbc4151aa86f916dc8ca61f

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'The Help,' Dujardin win at lively SAG Awards (omg!)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Finally, an awards show with some surprises and spontaneity.

The Screen Actors Guild Awards featured some unexpected winners, including "The Help" for best overall cast performance and Jean Dujardin for best actor in "The Artist" alongside some of the longtime favorites in movies and television.

But there was a looseness and a playfulness that permeated the Shrine Exposition Center Sunday night ? maybe because it was a room full of people who love to perform, without the rigidity of one single host to lead them.

Unlike the great expectations that came with the sharp-tongued Ricky Gervais' reprisal at the Golden Globes a couple weeks ago or the much-anticipated return of Billy Crystal to the Academy Awards next month, there was no master of ceremonies at the SAG Awards. The presenters and winners seemed to have more room to improvise and put their own spin on the evening ? but mercifully, the show itself still managed to wrap up on time after just two hours.

And so we had three of the stars of best-cast nominee "Bridesmaids" ? Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Melissa McCarthy ? introducing their comedy with a joke about turning the name "Scorsese" into a drinking game, which became a running gag throughout the night. When HBO's "Boardwalk Empire" won the award for best drama series cast, among the first words star Steve Buscemi uttered in accepting the prize were "Martin Scorsese" ? he just happens to be one of the show's executive producers.

One of the more exciting moments of the night was the announcement of Dujardin's name in the best-actor category for his performance in the silent, black-and-white homage "The Artist." In winning the award for his portrayal of a silent-film star who finds his career in decline with the arrival of talkies, Dujardin definitely boosts his chances at the Oscars on Feb. 26. Little-known in the United States before this, the French comic bested bigger names like George Clooney ("The Descendants"), Brad Pitt ("Moneyball") and Leonardo DiCaprio ("J. Edgar").

If he follows this up with an Academy Award, Dujardin would become the first French actor ever to take the prize. Asked backstage how it would feel, Dujardin launched into a jaunty rendition of "La Marseillaise," the French national anthem.

"Pressure, big pressure," Dujardin then added in his halting English. "It's unbelievable. It's amazing already. Too early to tell."

Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer continued to cement their front-runner status in the actress and supporting actress categories, respectively, for their formidable work in "The Help." Both women play black maids in 1960s Mississippi who dare to go public about the bigotry they've endured.

"I just have to say that the stain of racism and sexism is not just for people of color or women. It's all of our burden, all of us," Davis said, accepting the ensemble prize on behalf of her "The Help" co-stars.

Backstage, Davis said of her own victory: "A few more people checked my name in the box for whatever reason. This time I kind of fooled them."

Meanwhile, Christopher Plummer picked up yet another supporting-actor prize for his lovely turn as an elderly widower who finally comes out as gay in "Beginners." Plummer won at the Golden Globes and is nominated for an Oscar. He would become the oldest actor ever to win an Academy Award at age 82, two years older than Jessica Tandy was when she won best actress for "Driving Miss Daisy."

Backstage, Plummer joked when asked if he would like to win an Oscar, an honor so elusive during his esteemed 60-year career that he did not even receive his first Academy Award nomination until two years ago, for "The Last Station."

"No, I think it's frightfully boring," Plummer said. "That's an awful question. Listen, we don't go into this business preoccupied by awards. If we did, we wouldn't last five minutes."

The win for overall cast for "The Help," when "The Artist" and "The Descendants" have been the favorites all along, makes the conversation more interesting but it isn't necessarily an indicator of how the film will do come Oscar time.

The guild's ensemble prize, considered its equivalent of a best-picture honor, has a spotty record at predicting what will win the top award at the Oscars. While "The King's Speech" won both honors a year ago, the SAG ensemble recipient has gone on to claim the top Oscar only eight times in the 16 years since the guild added the category.

The winners at the SAG ceremony often do go on to earn Oscars, however. All four acting recipients at SAG last year later took home Oscars ? Colin Firth for "The King's Speech," Natalie Portman for "Black Swan" and Christian Bale and Melissa Leo for "The Fighter."

On the television side, comedy series awards went to "Modern Family" for best ensemble; Alec Baldwin as best actor for "30 Rock"; and Betty White as best actress for "Hot in Cleveland."

"You can't name me, without naming those other wonderful women on 'Hot in Cleveland,'" the 90-year-old White said. "This nomination belongs to four of us. Please, please know that I'm dealing them right in with this. I'm not going to let them keep this, but I'll let them see it."

The TV drama show winners were: Jessica Lange as best actress for "American Horror Story"; and Buscemi as best actor for "Boardwalk Empire."

For TV movie or miniseries, Kate Winslet won as best actress for "Mildred Pierce," while Paul Giamatti was named best actor for "Too Big to Fail."

The guild gave its lifetime achievement award to Mary Tyler Moore, presented by Dick Van Dyke, her co-star on the 1960s sit-com "The Dick Van Dyke Show."

Moore recalled that when she entered show business at age 18 in 1955, there were already six others Mary Moores in the Screen Actors Guild. Told to change her name, she quickly added Tyler, the middle name she shares with her father, George.

"I was Mary Tyler Moore. I spoke it out loud. Mary Tyler Moore. It sounded right so I wrote it down on the form, and it looked right," she said. "It was right. SAG was happy, my father was happy, and tonight, after having the privilege of working in this business among the most creative and talented people imaginable, I too am happy, after all."

___

AP writers David Germain and Beth Harris contributed to this report.

___

Online:

http://www.sagawards.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_help_dujardin_win_lively_sag_awards070044601/44350968/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/help-dujardin-win-lively-sag-awards-070044601.html

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Doctors Are Testing Special K as an Instant Depression Remedy [Drugs]

Part of why Special K—the drug, not the cereal—has become so massively popular on the club scene is because of its ability to instantly improve the user's mood. Now doctors in Texas are studying if that effect can help treat cases of severe depression. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/uJQw8bQtDEc/doctors-are-testing-special-k-as-an-instant-depression-remedy

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Putin puts state capitalism first for Russia (Reuters)

MOSCOW (Reuters) ? Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, seeking to renew his hold on power after unprecedented street protests, set out an economic agenda on Monday that puts state capitalism at the heart of a bid to boost Russia's global competitiveness.

In a 5,000-word newspaper article, the third in a series he has written ahead of a March 4 presidential election, Putin defended his record while acknowledging Russia needed to adapt in a period of "cardinal change" in the global economy.

"We are seeing how countries, whose position seemed invulnerable only yesterday, are yielding to those that not long ago were regarded with haughty disdain," he wrote in the Vedomosti financial daily.

"In such conditions it is important to secure the stable and gradual development of our economy, and as far as possible to protect our citizens from blows delivered by crises, while resolutely and quickly renewing all aspects of economic life."

Readers of Vedomosti's online edition were critical of Putin, who has run Russia for the past 12 years as two-term president and then premier.

"Dear Pu, we've had enough of your slogans. Twelve years of absolute power should be enough to show some results," wrote a person who signed in as AVTor, getting 109 'likes' from readers.

Putin said his government had been right to reassert control over the energy sector, an indirect reference to the breakup of Russia's largest oil firm, Yukos, whose assets were largely bought up by state-controlled Rosneft and whose owner, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, was jailed for tax evasion and fraud.

The article, Putin's broadest discourse on how he would run the economy should he be elected for a six-year term, also identifies continuing dependency on natural resources and de-industrialization as Russia's greatest economic weaknesses.

But the steps he proposes to modernize the $1.5 trillion economy lack detail, are in part contradictory and make only a vague commitment to deliver on past privatization pledges.

Putin is the clear front-runner to win the presidential election, but the popular mood has shifted in Russia after tens of thousands of protesters turned out to protest alleged ballot fraud in a December parliamentary election.

Critics, who have branded Putin's ruling party a band of "crooks and thieves," plan to turn out again in force on February 4 to demand wide-ranging electoral reforms aimed at breaking the 59-year-old premier's de facto monopoly on power.

OPEN ECONOMY

In the 20 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has become "an organic part of the world economy," but is still exposed to commodity-price swings, reliant on imports of consumer goods and plagued by capital flight, Putin wrote.

Russia, as a member of the World Trade Organization, should open up to global competition and become a leader in sectors like pharmaceuticals, composite materials, aerospace and communications technology.

But Putin also defended his support for an active industrial policy, saying: "Private capital will not voluntarily enter new sectors as it does not want to bear elevated risks."

Bulking up state corporations active in high technology, infrastructure and nuclear power would presage their conversion into public firms that can be floated on stock markets.

"I consider it possible for the state, by 2016, to reduce its stakes in some resource companies and to complete its exit from large non-resource companies that are not tied to natural monopolies and the defense sector," Putin wrote.

The article said little about restructuring state-controlled gas export monopoly Gazprom, criticized by investors for high costs and inefficiency, beyond saying it should divest non-core assets such as its media holdings.

Economists say Putin will need to deliver on his promises to spur economic growth, which has slowed to a range of 4-5 percent since the 2008-09 global crisis from prior rates of 6-7 percent.

"As always, implementation will be key," said Ivan Tchakarov, chief economist at Renaissance Capital, who warned that, without reform, Russia could slide into 'twin' trade and budget deficits.

CORRUPTION CURSE

Putin's article mentioned corruption explicitly only once and said efforts by outgoing President Dmitry Medvedev had failed to eliminate pressure from officials on entrepreneurs.

"The main problem is insufficient transparency and accountability on the part of state officials," Putin wrote. "To call it by name, we are talking about systemic corruption."

"Clearing the way for business that is ready to win in fair competition is a fundamental, systemic task ... We need to change the state itself - executive and judicial power."

Putin said Russia, ranked 120th in a World Bank investment climate survey, should seek to catch up with neighboring Kazakhstan, which is in 47th spot.

He called for business cases to be moved from criminal to commercial courts to break a cycle of collusion between police, investigators and judges that all too often ends in convictions.

Putin said he would seek to shift the overall tax burden towards wealthy property owners and consumption of luxury goods but offered no specific concessions for small businesses.

(Reporting by Douglas Busvine, Editing by Timothy Heritage/Ruth Pitchford)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/russia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120130/wl_nm/us_russia_putin_economy

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First single from new Madonna album released February 3 (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? The first single from Madonna's upcoming album "MDNA" is called "Give Me All Your Luvin'" and is set for a February 3 release, two days before the singer performs at the Super Bowl on Sunday.

The track features Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. and was composed by Martin Solveig and Michael Tordjman, and marks Madonna's return to music after focusing on directing her new movie "W.E."

MDNA, to be released on Universal Music Group's Interscope Records on March 26, will be the singer's 12th studio album and the follow-up to 2008's "Hard Candy" which debuted at the top of the charts in 37 countries.

An excerpt from the video to Give Me All Your Luvin' will air on U.S. television show "American Idol" on February 2, and the full video appears on Madonna's YouTube channel the following day.

MDNA was recorded in New York and Los Angeles and reunited Madonna with William Orbit who co-wrote and co-produced several cuts on the new album.

The Grammy-winning 53-year-old will headline Sunday's halftime show at the 2012 Super Bowl in Indianapolis in a performance co-created by Cirque Du Soleil.

More than 160 million TV viewers watched last year's halftime performance, making it the most-watched musical event of the year.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120130/en_nm/us_madonna_single

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Rashad Evans earns title shot with UFC on Fox 2 decision

CHICAGO -- In a bout to decide the next light heavyweight title contender, Rashad Evans controlled Phil Davis on his way to a unanimous decision at the United Center on Saturday night. The judges saw it 50-45 on all three cards for Evans.

Davis landed a spinning leg kick, then ducked low into a takedown. Evans pushed him into the fence and fended off the takedown attempt. Every time Davis came in to try to get the takedown, Evans made him pay with a punch or two. Evans got a takedown at the 1:30 point of the first round, then moved to side control. From there, he put Davis into a crucifix hold and landed a bevy of short punches.

In the second round, Evans was aggressive, landing several punches early in the round. They clinched, but things slowed down considerably. They had a few striking exchanges, with Evans coming out on top. In the last 30 seconds, Evans took Davis down and again landed punches from side control.

Davis shot in for a takedown to start the third round. Davis drove him against the fence until he finally got the takedown. Evans reversed position and landed several lefts to Davis' face. They returned to their feet, and Davis got another takedown, and Evans returned to his feet while Davis held on for dear life.

Early in the fourth round, Davis landed a punishing rib kick, but Evans did not slow down. He continued to move forward, stalking Davis around the cage. When Davis shot in for a takedown, Evans fended him off before getting a takedown of his own.

Evans started the fifth round with a huge strike, and then held off Davis' attack. Evans caught a kick, then as he held the single leg, punched Davis until he went down. He stretched Davis into side control, and continued to land punches even as Davis worked to his feet. Evans controlled the rest of the round the way he controlled the whole fight.

With this win, Evans should punch his ticket for a fight with Jon Jones. The UFC announced Saturday that Jones' next bout will be in April in Atlanta. As long as Evans is healthy, the bout should be his.

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/rashad-evans-earns-title-shot-ufc-fox-2-031605165.html

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Christina Aguilera Performs At Etta James? Funeral With Fluid Dripping Down Legs (VIDEO)

Christina Aguilera Performs At Etta James’ Funeral With Fluid Dripping Down Legs (VIDEO)

Christina Aguilera performed at the funeral of Etta James, who just passed away last week of leukemia, but it was her cleavage-baring ensemble and mystery [...]

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Oil spill brings attention to delicate Gulf coast (AP)

TIVOLI, Texas ? For decades, farmers and fishermen along the Gulf of Mexico watched as their sensitive ecosystem's waters slowly got dirtier and islands eroded, all while the country largely ignored the destruction.

It took BP PLC's well blowing out in the Gulf ? and the resulting environmental catastrophe when millions of gallons of oil spewed into the ocean and washed ashore ? for the nation to turn its attention to the slow, methodical ruin of an ecosystem vital to the U.S. economy. Last month, more than a year and a half after the spill began, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a three-year, $50 million initiative designed to improve water quality along the coast.

"I'm not going to say that it's the silver lining," Will Blackwell, a district conservationist with the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Services, said of the oil spill. Blackwell is one of many regional officials who have long worked with farmers and ranchers to fence cattle, reseed native grasses and take on other seemingly inane projects that go a long way toward preventing pollution and coastal erosion.

"I'm going to say that it will help get recognition down here that we have this vital ecosystem that needs to be taken care of," he said. "This will keep it at the forefront."

NRCS administrators struggled for years to divide a few million dollars among farmers and ranchers in the five Gulf states. Now, they are getting an eleven-fold increase in funding, money that will allow them to build on low-profile programs that already have had modest success in cleaning crucial waterways by working with farmers and ranchers to improve land use practices.

The nation's focus turned sharply to the Gulf when the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig blew up in April 2010. Images of oil-coated birds and wetlands were splashed across newspapers and cable news networks. Coastal wetlands that are habitat to all sorts of wildlife were soiled and oyster beds were wiped out, underscoring the Gulf's ecological and economic importance.

The project is called the Gulf of Mexico Initiative, the first concrete step from a year's worth of meetings, studies and talking by the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, a committee formed by President Barack Obama in the spill's wake.

Sometimes, the money is spent on simple projects, such as building fences and installing troughs to keep cattle away from rivers and creeks that flow into the Gulf. The minerals in cow manure can pollute those upstream waters and then flow into the ocean. Those minerals can deplete oxygen in the Gulf, creating "dead zones" where wildlife can't thrive.

Other times, the program pays for expensive farming equipment that turns soil more effectively and creates straighter rows. That helps keep fertilizers on the farm ? where it helps crops ? and out of the Gulf, where the nutrients choke oxygen from the water. This equipment also decreases erosion, which has eaten up hundreds of miles of Gulf Coast habitat in the past century.

Until now, most counties in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Texas got right around $100,000 apiece to spend annually on these programs. The demand was far greater in many areas, but money was hard to come by, Blackwell said, highlighting the popularity of the program in Refugio County, Texas ? the rural area of Southeast Texas he oversees.

The influx of money has many farmers and ranchers ? especially those who have reaped the program's benefits in the past ? eager for more opportunities to improve the environment they rely upon for their livelihood.

Now, they are hurriedly filling out applications and waiting for officials to rank the paperwork ? those considered to have the greatest possible impact are the most likely to be approved.

"Fifty million dollars sounds like a lot. But when you consider ? Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida and Texas, it's not going to be enough," said Glen Wiggins, a Florida farmer applying for help buying new farming equipment.

"But it'll help."

Dallas Ford, owner of the 171-acre Smoky Creek Ranch in Tivoli, Texas, first worked with the NRCS to build fences and strategically located troughs. The fences keep cattle in separate fields and allow him to rotate the cows between the fields, a practice that helps keep grass longer and better able to recover when it rains. The troughs ensure the cattle remain in the area and keep away from Stony Creek ? a bountiful tributary of the Gulf's Hynes Bay.

Ford estimates he has between $15,000 and $20,000 worth of additional work to do on his ranch ? all of which will ultimately improve water quality in Stony Creek ? but he will be able to do it only if he can get another contract with NRCS, which would cover about half the costs.

The cash infusion reminded him of a mentor who once said you could cook anything with time and temperature. In this project, Ford said, time is plentiful ? the temperature is money and manpower.

"We might be able to cook something a little faster," Ford said. "Now, maybe I can get you a nice steak."

About 685 miles away, Wiggins has been buying new tilling equipment to use on his 800-acre peanut and cotton farm that straddles the Alabama-Florida line. The high-tech farming equipment helps him better turn the soil and plant straighter rows, which ultimately prevent erosion and keep nutrients in the soil rather than allowing them to flow downstream and into the Gulf.

Wiggins' land sits on three watersheds ? Canoe Creek and Pine Barren Creek that are part of Sandy Hollow Creek, and Little Pine Barren Creek. With the work he's already done, Wiggins estimates he has reduced erosion by at least 50 percent. Now, he wants to further reduce it, mostly through the use of new equipment that will decrease conventional, and more destructive, tillage of his land.

"I'd like to get it down to zero, but if I could get it to 10 percent conventional tillage, I would be tickled to death," Wiggins said.

He estimated the new equipment will cost about $70,000. The only way he can make that purchase is with NRCS' help ? and now it may be within reach.

"The oil spill has been a powerful force to get people's attention," Wiggins said.

___

Ramit Plushnick-Masti can be followed on Twitter at https://twitter.com//RamitMastiAP

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/environment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_re_us/us_gulf_oil_spill_restoration

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Just Show Me: Great free to-do apps for your iPhone (Yahoo! News)

Welcome to?Just Show Me on?Tecca TV, where we show you tips and tricks for getting the most out of the?gadgets in your life. In today's episode we'll show you two amazing to-do apps for your?iPhone.

In addition to the Reminders app that comes on iOS 5 devices, these to-do apps will help you stay on task like never before! You'll be able to sync your to-dos with multiple devices; including on your web browser and on your iPhone. Check 'em out and?increase your productivity!

Take a look at these other episodes of Just Show Me that'll help you become an iPhone master:

For even more episodes of Just Show Me?check out our complete episode list. If you have any topics you'd like to see us cover, just drop us a line in the comments.

This article originally appeared on Tecca

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SAG Awards menu is months in the making (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? When your dinner party guests include Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Kate Winslet and Glenn Close, and the whole affair is televised live, it can take months to plan the menu. That's why the team behind the Screen Actors Guild Awards began putting together the plate for Sunday's ceremony months ago.

It was still summer when show producer Kathy Connell and director Jeff Margolis first sat down with chef Suzanne Goins of Los Angeles eatery Lucques with a tall order: Create a meal that is delicious at room temperature, looks beautiful on TV, is easy to eat and appeals to Hollywood tastes. Oh, and no poppyseeds, soups, spicy dishes, or piles of onions or garlic.

"It can't drip, stick in their teeth or be too heavy," Connell said. "We have to appease all palates."

The chef put together a plate of possibilities: Slow-roasted salmon with yellow beets, lamb with cous cous and spiced cauliflower and roasted root vegetables with quinoa. There was also a chopped chicken salad and another chicken dish with black beans.

To ensure the dishes are both tasty and TV-ready, Connell and Margolis, along with the show's florist and art director, dined together at this summertime lunch on tables set to replicate those that will be in the Shrine Exposition Center during the ceremony. The pewter, crushed-silk tablecloths and white lilies you'll see on TV Sunday were also chosen months ago.

The diners discussed the look of the plate, the size of the portions and the vegetarian possibilities.

"We'd like the portions a little larger," Connell told the chef.

"And a little more sauce on the salmon," Margolis added.

Come Sunday, it's up to Goins to prepare 1,200 of the long-planned meals for the A-list audience.

___

Online:

www.sagawards.org

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_en_tv/us_sag_awards_menu

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Ala. attorney questions death penalty in new book

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) ? After defending more than 60 people charged with capital murder and getting three men off Alabama's death row, attorney Richard Jaffe wants to get people talking about the death penalty and what he believes are its flaws.

The longtime Alabama defense lawyer, who once represented Olympic park bomber Eric Rudolph, has written a book detailing many of the cases in his long career and explaining problems he has experienced with the capital justice system.

In "Quest for Justice: Defending the Damned," Jaffe details what he sees as recurring problems with death penalty litigation: Unqualified lawyers handling complex capital issues; a system that doesn't provide enough money for the defense to investigate cases and hire experts; and the arbitrary nature of death sentences.

"I'm not trying to change anyone's mind," Jaffe said during an interview in his office. "I wrote the book to invite people to question the death penalty system."

Jaffe spent years on the book partly because of his heavy case load. He tried a murder case just last week in Birmingham, winning an acquittal of his client after jurors deliberated only about 20 minutes.

Randal Padgett hasn't yet read "Quest for Justice," but he plans to soon: He's among the three Alabama people Jaffe helped free from death row. The three are among almost 140 people who have been freed from death sentences nationwide after initially being convicted and condemned to die.

Once confined to a 40-square-foot cell near the electric chair, Padgett, 51, now runs a small store in the north Alabama city of Guntersville. Of his one-time attorney he said simply: "I love Richard."

Padgett spent more than three years on death row after being convicted of capital murder in the slaying of wife Cathy Padgett, found dead in their north Alabama home in 1990 with dozens of stab wounds. A court ruled that prosecutors didn't give the defense an adequate opportunity to review forensic evidence and ordered a retrial, resulting in Padgett's acquittal and release from death row with Jaffe serving as his lawyer.

"If that hadn't happened, I'd probably be dead by now," Padgett said. "I used to think that in the United States of America you didn't go to prison if you were innocent, but I found out that's not the way it works."

Clay Crenshaw, an assistant attorney general who specializes in handling death penalty cases for the state, said only two of three people Jaffe helped free from death row were acquitted at retrials; the third, James "Bo" Cochran, was convicted on a lesser charge and freed from prison on time served. And, he said, police never charged anyone else in the slayings first blamed on Padgett and Jaffe's other exonerated death row client, Gary Drinkard.

"I am not aware of the district attorney in those counties conducting any investigation to search for the 'real murderer,'" Crenshaw said. "While Jaffe might celebrate these three cases, they all involved individuals who were convicted of capital murder and are now walking the streets."

Jaffe, who almost accidentally became a capital defense specialist after being appointed to a death penalty case three decades ago, uses Padgett's case and others to write that the system is badly flawed. The book will be released Feb. 1 by New Horizon Press of Far Hills, N.J.

While Alabama's system is particularly troubled, he writes, dozens of people have been wrongly convicted and executed nationwide.

"I always keep in mind the maxim that history will judge a society by the way it treats its weakest and most vulnerable," he writes. "Although most would assume that applies to the poor and the elderly, all one has to do is look at those who end up on death row: an overwhelming number are poor, disenfranchised and suffer from some mental defect or even brain damage."

Rudolph is the most famous of Jaffe's clients. Jaffe represented him for more than a year after his capture, withdrawing from the case before the loner pleaded guilty to bombing a Birmingham abortion clinic in 1998 and setting off bombs at the Olympics and elsewhere in Atlanta earlier. The deal allowed Rudolph to avoid a possible death sentence.

Jaffe got along with Rudolph, who admitted to planting the abortion clinic bomb in what he said was a bid to save the lives of unborn children. But Rudolph didn't express remorse for the death of a Birmingham police officer killed by the blast, and Jaffe said Rudolph's actions highlighted a big difference between them.

"In every case, my fervent stance against the death penalty precludes a person or the government from taking any life, for any reason," he writes. "Only the God I believe in should do that, without human intervention."

___

Online:

Jaffe's book site: http://www.questforjusticethebook.com/

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-01-27-US-Books-Death-Penalty/id-560584d33fd34d1aaf2f1cdd3db3be8b

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Video: Costa Concordia passengers offered $14k

The company that owns the Costa Concordia is offering $14,000 to cover the cost of cruise tickets and travel expenses but many passengers have declined the deal. NBC?s Brian Williams reports.

>>> the company that owns the costa concordia is looking to cut a deal with passengers who were forced to abandon ship before it capsized off the coast of italy, looking to lessen the wave of class action lawsuits that are likely headed its way, the company is offering passengers a $14,000 settlement rye now, in addition to a refund plus travel expenses . as you can imagine, a lot of passengers decided to take a pass on accepting the deal.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/46169831/

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WSJ: Facebook Filing For IPO As Early As Wednesday

The Wall Street Journal has just reported that Facebook may file for its long-awaited IPO as soon as this Wednesday, but notes that the "timing is still being discussed", according to an anonymous source. The article says that Facebook is eyeing a valuation between $75 and $100 billion as it raises up to $10 billion, which is in line with a previous WSJ report last November. The article also reports that Morgan Stanley is currently the frontrunner to secure the top, "lead left" position in the filing, with Goldman Sachs playing a "significant role" as well. The news comes shortly after Facebook?temporarily froze secondary trades on its shares, sparking speculation that the IPO filing may be imminent.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/obf1ZWXbtoo/

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Taiwan official sentenced in KC to time-served (AP)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. ? A federal judge has sentenced a Taiwan official in Missouri to time-served and deportation for underpaying and overworking two housekeepers.

Liu Hsien Hsien, also known as Jacqueline Liu, had pleaded guilty to fraud in foreign labor contracting. The former director general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Kansas City has been in custody since her arrest Nov. 10.

U.S. District Judge David Gregory Kays also ordered the 64-year-old woman to repay her incarceration costs and fund her own travel back to Taiwan.

Liu paid the housekeepers about $80,000 in restitution. She said at the sentencing hearing that she was deeply sorry for how she treated them.

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office is similar to a foreign consulate. The U.S. doesn't recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_re_us/us_taiwan_official_sentence

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NAMCO Arcade now available for iPhone and iPad: Free-to-Play classic arcade titles

Namco Bandai have released Namco Arcade to the iTunes App Store for iOS devices with a free-to-play model in effect. If you’re a fan of retro gaming, this is

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/uLAQOQcoJvc/story01.htm

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Death tax showdown heads to Warren Buffet???s home state (Daily Caller)

While President Barack Obama touted the ?Buffet Rule? at his State of the Union address, even inviting Warren Buffet?s secretary as his guest, the billionaire pro-tax advocate?s home state of Nebraska was hard at work trying to cut taxes and, in particular, finish off the last vestiges of the state?s death tax.

On Jan. 12 Nebraska Republican Gov. Dave Heineman used his annual State of the State address to propose the set of tax cuts, focusing on corporate and individual income taxes as well as the inheritance tax, which penalizes the deceased?s money as it is handed down to their beneficiary.

Though Nebraska already did away with its estate tax ? a tax on the actual deceased?s holdings before they are even transferred ? its continuation of the inheritance tax still landed it on Forbes list of ?Where Not to Die in 2012,? published one month before the State of the State address.

The state?s revenue committee is holding hearings on the abolition of the tax on Thursday. The governor and experts from both sides of the debate are expected to testify.

The abolition of the inheritance tax is opposed most strongly by county officials. In Nebraska, the majority of money from inheritance taxes goes to the counties, and they fear lost revenue if the tax is repealed.

But counties shouldn?t oppose the tax?s repeal, said Palmer Schoening, director of federal affairs for the American Family Business Institute, a trade association that represents family business owners and farmers.

?A study by former director of the Congressional Budget Office finds that the federal estate tax costs the U.S. economy 1.5 million small business jobs,? said Schoening. ?In Nebraska alone, over 10,000 jobs would eventually be created from repealing the federal estate tax.?

Studies in Connecticut to Tennessee supported this expectation, added Schoening, who will?testimony before the state committee on Thursday.

When testifying before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee in 2007, Buffet, who was born in Omaha, Nebraska, said that the estate tax should be higher than it currently is, testifying that, ?A progressive and meaningful estate tax is needed to curb the movement of a democracy toward a plutocracy.?

This is the essential argument of those who favor the death tax: That not only is it an important source of government revenue, but it is a blockade against the development of an American ruling class.?(RELATED: Anti-death-tax advocates eye victory in Tennessee)

Those who oppose the tax maintain that by taxing people large amounts of money for saving, rather than spending, the government is double-taxing, creating disincentives for responsibility and destroying family businesses that cannot protect their assets from death like their big-business competition does.

But Buffet?s motives may not be entirely innocent. Through his company, Berkshire Hathaway, Buffet owns General Re Life, IdeaLife Insurance, Central States Indemnity Life, First Berkshire Hathaway Life Insurance Co. and Berkshire Hathaway Life Insurance Co. of Nebraska. This is noteworthy because life insurance companies make a profit when citizens pay them to help get their estate in order for the complicated, and often very expensive, act of passing away.

To date, 38 states do not have any death tax. Including Nebraska, the tax is only retained in 22 states and the District of Columbia.

Join the conversation

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Boehner chides House members for inappropriate attire [VIDEO]

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/dailycaller/20120126/pl_dailycaller/deathtaxshowdownheadstowarrenbuffetshomestate

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Video: Knight: ?villain in this tragedy lies in that investigation?

Phil Knight, Nike co-founder and chairman, gave a personal and poignant eulogy for Joe Paterno calling him his ?hero? and offered a spirited defense of the coach that brought mourners to their feet.

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/46153998/

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Religious Fla prep school a victim in $135M fraud (AP)

MIAMI ? A prominent businessman pleaded guilty Wednesday to fraud in a $135 million real estate scheme that fleeced hundreds of investors, including the Roman Catholic prep school he once attended.

Gaston Cantens, 73, faces up to five years behind bars after pleading guilty to a single count of wire and mail fraud conspiracy. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams set sentencing for April 4.

Cantens also lured investors from Miami's close-knit Cuban-American community, many of them elderly and some Roman Catholic priests.

One victim, 80-year-old Eduardo Arango, said he lost about $800,000 investing with Cantens. He called the plea agreement "a sweet deal" because Cantens could have faced more charges and a longer prison sentence.

"Most of the victims were people who are very aged. They lost whatever their resources were. They have suffered," Arango said.

Federal prosecutors said Cantens operated his company, Royal West Properties Inc., like a Ponzi scheme in which he paid older investors with money raised from newer ones. The company sold real estate investments in southwest Florida since 1993 but fell on hard times beginning in 2002 and was eventually forced into bankruptcy in 2009, according to court documents.

Before it crashed, Royal West promised rates of return as high as 16 percent for investors who bought properties, which were marketed nationally on Spanish-language networks and through offices in Florida, New York, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.

One investor was the Belen Jesuit Preparatory School, which traces its roots to Cuba and from which Cantens graduated when it was still located in Havana. Fidel Castro also is an alumnus from those days.

Eric Bustillo, chief of the SEC field office in Miami, called it a typical "affinity" scam in which the perpetrator uses a position of trust to prey on members of a specific group, in this case people connected to Belen and members of the larger Cuban-American community.

"The Cantens used their prominent standing in a close-knit Cuban-American community to ruthlessly exploit vulnerable elderly investors who trusted them with their life savings," Bustillo said.

Cantens' wife, 75-year-old Teresita Cantens, was named in a related U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission complaint but was not charged in the criminal case.

Their son, former state Rep. Gaston I. Cantens, was also not implicated in the scheme, but he did co-sign documents allowing his father to remain free until sentencing on $100,000 bail. The younger Cantens is vice president at the Florida Crystals Corp. sugar company.

In all, prosecutors said more than 150 investors lost about $47 million between 2003 and 2008. Of the total, investigators said Cantens and his wife skimmed about $20 million for other business ventures, to pay themselves more than $5 million in salaries and to pay children and grandchildren $1 million in "consulting fees" even though they did no work for Royal West.

Cantens could be ordered to pay millions of dollars in restitution, but it's doubtful that he has any means to do so. Royal West is being liquidated in the bankruptcy case and Cantens has been unable to pay a $5.3 million judgment in the SEC case.

Arango said most investors have gotten only about 3 cents on the dollar from the bankruptcy proceeding.

"The anguish, pain and suffering here has been immense," he said.

____

Follow Curt Anderson on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Miamicurt

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/education/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_re_us/us_religious_school_fraud

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Plink Pays You Facebook Credits To Eat Out

Buy a hamburger and get rewarded with Facebook Credits to spend on a virtual cow. That's the mouth-watering promise of startup Plink, which is launching a virtual currency loyalty rewards system for restaurants. You register a credit card with Plink, and then when you make purchases at Taco Bell, 7-Eleven, Dunkin Donuts, or one of Plink's other clients you'll get Facebook Credits automatically deposited into your account.?As demand for Facebook Credits to spend on social games and media increases, expect more virtual currency incentive companies like Plink to pop up.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/gEn7-YV62aA/

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SGP iPhone 4 / 4S Leather Wallet Case Valentinus Series Review

My iPhone 4 is always in a bumper case, and I carry it inside my Dooney and Bourke Multi-Function Zip Around wallet.? That wallet is small enough to fit in my purse, but it holds some cards and cash, so I can just grab it and go.? If you’d like an even smaller wallet plus [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/01/26/sgp-iphone-4-4s-leather-wallet-case-valentinus-series-review/

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Sony ST25i 'Kumquat' looks set to launch as 'Xperia U'

We got our first glimpse of the Sony ST25i "Kumquat" last week, and now it seems we may have the official name for the device, too. According to a new entry on the website of the Indonesian telecoms authority, the phone will launch as the Sony Xperia U. This continuing the lettered naming scheme used by the Xperia S, as well as last year's Tablet S and Tablet P.

The ST25i "Xperia U" is rumored to sport a 3.5-inch qHD (960x540) screen, a 1GHz dual-core CPU and 5MP camera, making for an attractive mid-range proposition. An unofficial, leaked roadmap lists the Xperia U around the €260 price point.

As Sony expands its 2012 line-up, we're looking forward to seeing more of the Xperia U, hopefully starting with an official introduction at Mobile World Congress next month.

Source: Postel.go.id; via: GSMArena

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/137yDtojrSk/story01.htm

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Cat Cora Calls Out Cynthia Nixon, View on Homosexuality as "Dangerous"

Following Cynthia Nixon's declaration that homosexuality - at least in her case - is a choice, the reaction within the gay community has been strong, swift and mixed.

The harshest rebuke of the Sex and the City star has likely come from celebrity chef Cat Cora, who appeared yesterday on The Talk and said:

"I'm gay, and I was born this way," adding of Nixon's view and how it could impact others: "I really feel like it was dangerous and irresponsible of Cynthia, especially in this environment today when so many young people are taking their lives."

Continued Cora, making a plea to the actress who is currently starring on Broadway:

"I know growing up as a young gay person how much you hate yourself, how much you already think you're different. And for someone to say, ‘It's a choice, you can be this way or that way,' I think it's dangerous and I ask Cynthia to please, reach out to the community and say - to all the people who do hate themselves right now, all the young kids who are impressionable - to say, ‘You're OK, take it one day at a time, it gets better.'"

Nixon has been in relationships with both men and women, but dismisses the classification of "bisexual."

"I completely feel that when I was in relationships with men, I was in love and in lust with those men," she told The Daily Beast. "And then I met [girlfriend Christine Marinoni] and I fell in love and lust with her. I am completely the same person and I was not walking around in some kind of fog. I just responded to the people in front of me the way I truly felt."

Finally, in a Huffington Post article, Tracy Baim - editor of the Chicag-based LGBT publication The Windy City Times - writes:

"The bottom line is that those who hate us, want to cure us, or even kill us don't really take the time to understand these nuances.

"Yes, there are some who advocate a 'nature made us this way' argument to help us accept ourselves. But others still try to get gays to suppress their sexuality, or transgender people to suppress their gender identity, no matter how they got that way."

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/cat-cora-calls-out-cynthia-nixon-view-on-homosexuality-as-danger/

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Bird Flu Scientists Agree to Pause H5N1 Research

[unable to retrieve full-text content]A national biosecurity panel in the United States had asked researchers who produced a more contagious form of the bird flu virus to keep some data secret.

Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=924347f31b0f4b2874a0134903f6877b

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Gadhafi loyalists seize Libyan city (AP)

BENGHAZI, Libya ? Moammar Gadhafi loyalists seized control of a Libyan mountain city in the most serious challenge to the central government since the strongman's fall, underlining the increasing weakness of Libya's Western-backed rulers as they try to unify the country under their authority.

The taking of Bani Walid, one of the last Gadhafi strongholds captured by the new leadership late last year, was the first such organized operation by armed remnants of Gadhafi's regime. A simultaneous outbreak of shootings in the capital and Libya's second largest city Benghazi raised authorities' concerned that other networks of loyalists were active elsewhere.

The security woes add to the difficulties of the ruling National Transitional Council, which is struggling to establish its authority and show Libyans progress in stability and good government. Bani Walid's fall comes after violent protests in Benghazi, where Libyans angry over lack of reform stormed the NTC headquarters and trashed offices.

In Bani Walid, hundreds of well-equipped and highly trained remnants of Gadhafi's forces battled for eight hours on Monday with the local pro-NTC revolutionary brigade, known as the May 28 Brigade, said Mubarak al-Fatmani, the head of Bani Walid local council. The brigade was driven out and Gadhafi loyalists then raised their old green flag over buildings in the western city.

Four revolutionary fighters were killed and 25 others were wounded in the fighting, al-Fatmani said.

There were no immediate signs that the uprising was part of some direct attempt to restore the family of Gadhafi, who was swept out of power in August and then killed in the nearby city of Sirte in October. His sons, daughter and wife have been killed, arrested or have fled to neighboring countries.

Instead, the fighting seemed to reflect a rejection of NTC control by a city that never deeply accepted its rule, highlighting the still unresolved tensions between those who benefited under Gadhafi's regime and those now in power. Those tensions are tightly wound up with tribal and regional rivalries around the country.

The May 28 Brigade had kept only a superficial control over the city, the head of Bani Walid's military council, Abdullah al-Khazmi, acknowledged.

"The only link between Bani Walid and the revolution was May 28, now it is gone and 99 percent of Bani Walid people are Gadhafi loyalists," he said.

He spoke to The Associated Press at a position on the eastern outskirts of Bani Walid, where hundreds of pro-NTC reinforcements from Benghazi were deployed with convoys of cars mounted with machine guns, though there was no immediate move to retake the city.

The fighters who captured the city Monday night belong to Brigade 93, a militia newly created by Gadhafi loyalists who reassembled after the fall of the regime, said al-Khazmi and al-Fatmani. The fighters, flush with cash and heavy weaponry including incendiary bombs, have been increasing in power in the city, they said.

There was no possibility to confirm their claims. However, there were no mass evacuations from the town after the clashes, an indication that the residents appear to accept the new arrangement, said Ali al-Fatmani, a revolutionary brigade commander in Bani Walid.

Authorities in Benghazi, where the NTC is centered, appeared concerned that the Bani Walid uprising could have sent a signal to other cells of Gadhafi forces.

An AP reporter who was present in the Benghazi operation room heard military commanders on Monday saying coordinated incidents of drive-by shootings in Tripoli and, to a lesser extent, Benghazi erupted as news of the Bani Walid takeover spread. In Tripoli, some shops closed, and fighters responsible for security in the capital were on a state of alert over the shootings.

Five months since the Gadhafi regime's fall and three months since his death, the National Transitional Council has so far made little progress in unifying its armed forces. Instead it relies largely on multiple "revolutionary brigades," militias made up of citizens-turned-fighters, usually all from a specific city or even neighborhood.

The militias were created during the months of civil war against Gadhafi's forces last year, and since the war ended in October, the various brigades remain in control of security affairs of each city they liberated. Though loyal to the NTC, they have also feuded among themselves and acted on their own initiative, and the council has been unable to control them.

A month ago, Gadhafi loyalists attacked another revolutionary brigade from Tripoli that entered Bani Walid, killing 13, said Mubarak al-Fatmani.

"The council (NTC) did absolutely nothing," said al-Fatmani, who resigned from his local council chief post to protest the NTC's failure to investigate the ambush. He still holds his position, since his resignation has not yet been accepted.

The council has faced increasing complaints that it is doing little to bring stability to the country. It faces a daunting task, since Gadhafi's regime stripped Libya of most institutions, and the civil war has stirred up widespread divisions, rivalries and resentments.

In the Benghazi unrest last Saturday, protesters broke into the NTC headquarters, smashed windows and carted off furniture and electronics, then threw bottles at NTC chief Mustafa Abdul-Jalil as he tried to address them and torched his car. The next day, Abdul-Jalil suspended the Benghazi representatives on the council in an apparent attempt to appease protesters. The deputy chief of the NTC resigned in protest over the suspension.

Bani Walid, a city of 100,000 located in the mountains 90 miles (140 kilometers) southeast of Tripoli, held out for weeks against revolutionary forces after Gadhafi's fall from power, with loyalist fighters dug into its formidable terrain of valleys and crevasses. Pro-NTC fighters finally took it in October.

The main tribe in Bani Walid is a branch of the Warfala tribal confederation, which stretches around the country with around 1 million members. The Bani Walid branch was one of the most privileged under Gadhafi, who gave them top positions and used their fighters to try to crush protests in the early months of last year's uprising against his rule.

That has left a deep enmity between the tribe and others. Ali al-Fatmani said Bani Walid loyalists were among Gadhafi troops that tried to march on Benghazi during the civil war and were used to in the siege of Zawiya, west of Tripoli. There were reports, he said, that Bani Walid fighters desecrated graves of fallen revolutionary fighters in Zawiya.

"The hatred and mistrust have been building up during the revolution," said al-Fatmani, himself a Warfala.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_libya

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