Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann is sinking in the polls. A prominent voice in the tea party movement says "It's time for Bachmann to go."
Is Michele Bachmann dragging down the tea party as a whole as she sinks in the polls?
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Don?t look at us ? we?re not the first to raise this question. We?re just repunditing an idea from Ned Ryun, head of the tea party group American Majority.
On Thursday, Mr. Ryun posted a piece on the American Majority blog entitled, ?Bachmann?s Floundering Can Damage Tea Party.? In it, he argues that since Rep. Bachmann won the Ames, Iowa straw poll her campaign has been hampered by a loss of staff, poor fundraising, and an apparent lack of direction. He anticipates that she will shift even further right in coming weeks as she competes for votes in conservative Iowa, straying from the core tea party message of fiscal responsibility.
Election 101: Ten facts about Michele Bachmann and her presidential bid
Her campaign has become less about government reform and more about her personal effort to stay relevant and sell books, according to Ryun.
?It?s time for Michele Bachmann to go,? wrote Ryun.
First, props to Ryun for sampling the classic Dr. Seuss book, ?Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now!? We read that to our kids to try to get them to go to bed. Interestingly, Dr. Seuss himself apparently meant the book as a political allegory about Richard Nixon and Watergate.
OK, maybe Ryun didn?t link Bachmann with Nixon on purpose. But he?s right that her polls are sinking.
She?s fallen to 3.8 percent in national polls of prospective GOP voters, according to the RealClearPolitics rolling average. That puts her dangerously close to the Santorum Line ? the 2 percent threshold, from which a campaign teeters over the abyss.
She?s no longer doing well in Iowa, either, which for her might be even worse news than her national numbers. Her flavor-of-the-month period began after her win in the Ames straw poll. She was born in Iowa, comes from a nearby state, and has made Iowa the strategic focus of her campaign. But at the moment she?s in sixth place in Iowa, too, with only about 7 percent of the potential Iowa caucus vote.
But is she hurting the tea party as a whole? There?s no evidence of that at all. Yes, she?s head of the House Tea Party Caucus, but do voters really look to her as the embodiment of the movement? We doubt it ? Rick Perry and Herman Cain have tea party links too. Cain?s doing great, to the point where he?s unofficially graduated from flavor-of-the-month to phenomenon-of-the-quarter. Would Ryun argue this boosts the tea party in total?
Let?s look at the polls. According to a Pew Research survey from October 24, 32 percent of the US public supports the tea party at least somewhat, while 44 percent oppose it.
Those aren?t great numbers ? Occupy Wall Street does a bit better in the same poll ? but they don?t appear to be reflective of a sinking trend line. A Pew survey from August came in with about the same results. And that?s when Bachmann was doing much better.
Bachmann herself thinks the American Majority slam was a Rick Perry plot.
?People have told us that these are Perry supporters and they went out with this and this was meant to be a stealth move and it was clumsy,? said Bachmann on CNN?s ?The Situation Room?.
Bachmann campaign officials point out that the tea party movement is highly decentralized and no one person or one organization can claim to speak for it. They say she won?t be getting out of the race just because one individual tells her to.
No, but unless her polls get better, Iowa Republicans might send her the same message in January. Given the focus she?s put on the Hawkeye State, it seems unlikely her campaign could survive a single-digit showing in the caucuses.
Election 101: Ten facts about Michele Bachmann and her presidential bid
For millions of kids, Halloween is a time to wear wacky costumes and gobble up sweets. But for zoo animals around the world, it's a chance to pig out on pumpkins.
Zoos in cities including Seattle, Chicago, San Diego and Hanover, Germany are helping their animals get into the holiday spirit by offering up some tasty pumpkins.
Tony Franceschiello, the senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, says handing out the seasonal squash is a great way to add some excitement into the day for the animals.
"They love them," Franceschiello said. "[The pumpkins are] a very novel item, bright in color. They never see these things throughout the year, so it's very creative to them."
Each animal species is different, so keepers like Franceschiello try to take that in account when handing out the pumpkins.
"We do spice them up a little bit with meal worms for the meerkats," he said. "The bat-eared foxes have mice and crickets crawling throughout. Elephants just pretty much crush them, because they're melon eaters anyway."
For the red river hogs, Franceschiello says they go all out.
"We put some greens in there and some different faces on the pumpkins so they look scared or mad or something," Franceschiello said. "They just attack them and roll them around the exhibit."
To see how animals have a smashing good time smashing pumpkins, check out the slideshow:
Zoo Animals Pig Out On Pumpkins At Halloween
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A wolf takes a look at a Halloween pumpkin, Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011, at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. Animals at the zoo will be given pumpkins to play with throughout the weekend and children are invited to visit the zoo in Halloween costumes.
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Zoo Animals Pig Out On Pumpkins At Halloween
A wolf takes a look at a Halloween pumpkin, Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011, at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. Animals at the zoo will be given pumpkins to play with throughout the weekend and children are invited to visit the zoo in Halloween costumes.
LONDON ? A new album of recordings by the late soul singer Amy Winehouse will be released in December, Island Records said Monday.
It said "Lioness: Hidden Treasures" will contain 12 songs ? previously unreleased tracks, alternative versions of existing hits and brand new songs ? recorded by the beehive-wearing singer who died at her London home on July 23.
The label said Winehouse's longtime musical partners Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi had spent time since her death listening to recordings of the singer, who many said never sang or played a song the same way twice.
Island Records said the duo quickly realized that they had "a collection of songs that deserved to be heard, a collection of songs that were a fitting testament to Amy the artist and, as importantly, Amy their friend."
The album ? Winehouse's third after "Frank" and "Back to Black" ? will be released on Dec. 5. Ronson and Remi compiled the tracks in collaboration with Winehouse's family, management and the label.
Winehouse's final studio recording ? a cover of "Body & Soul" sung with Tony Bennett ? will be included in the album.
The singer's father, Mitch Winehouse, said he had never before heard another one of the tracks, "Halftime," and described the song as "just incredibly beautiful."
"If the family had felt that this album wasn't up to the standard of `Frank' and `Back To Black' we would never have agreed to release it and we believe it will stand as a fitting tribute to Amy's musical legacy," he said in the Island Records statement.
A donation of 1 pound ($1.60) from the sale of each album in the U.K. will go to a foundation to assist disadvantaged children and young adults set up in the artist's name following her death.
Last week a British coroner ruled the Grammy-winning singer died from accidental alcohol poisoning when she resumed drinking after weeks of abstinence.
The 27-year-old Winehouse had fought a very public battle with drug and alcohol abuse for years, and there had been much speculation that she died from a drug overdose.
Chris Huhne MP with deputy vice-chancellor Dr Adrian Graves
Secretary of state for energy and climate change Chris Huhne has unveiled the University of Salford's (UoS) latest research centre for energy and public policy.
The Joule House centre, which was opened yesterday (October 26), by the minister has been part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund to help the university develop its portfolio of business support activity.
It aims to do this by targeting regional organisations from the low carbon and environmental goods and services sector.
UoS deputy vice-chancellor Dr Adrian Graves, said: "The University is establishing a reputation for making a global difference on these crucial issues. Our research and collaborations with major businesses and numerous community groups on energy efficiency reflects the University's commitment to environmental research of the highest standard."
As part of the launch, Mr Huhne toured the historic Joule House, once home to Salfordian physicist James Joule, who gave his name to the Joule unit of energy.
He was also shown how the university is continuing Mr Joule's legacy by meeting with researchers from the university, who are working to make British homes more energy efficient by carrying out research at the university's Energy House, a reconstructed terraced house built inside a lab which launched earlier this year.
As part of the Energy House tour, he was given a demonstration of how researchers scientifically test the latest windows, doors, insulation and other technologies by subjecting them to extremes of temperature and other weather conditions, including rain.
Commenting on the centre, Mr Huhne said: "Keeping homes warm in winter and saving money on energy bills are real life issues for people here in Manchester and up and down the country.
"I am pleased to be able to open this new facility at the historic Joule House. This will add to the already impressive efforts here at the University of Salford to improve the energy efficiency of the nation's housing stock."
Carys Matthews
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BEIJING ? A police officer has been accused of driving drunk and killing five people in a central China crash that reportedly sparked angry crowds to smash and flip cars.
The official Xinhua News Agency said Sunday the officer in Henan province's Runan county has been charged with endangering public security for running his police van into two streetlamp poles on Saturday afternoon. The poles fell and crushed the victims.
Xinhua cites the Runan county publicity department as saying the officer was suspected of drunken driving.
The Southern Metropolis Daily said crowds overturned and smashed at least five vehicles out of unhappiness with how the police were handling the crash.
BERLIN ? A woman is in hospital in critical condition and another was seriously injured after a seat broke off an octopus ride at a Bremen carnival and skidded into a safety railing.
Police said Friday that the exact cause of the accident was still under investigation but that it appeared that an axle on the ride had broken.
The seat broke off Thursday night while carrying two women, hitting the ground and sliding into the railing. A 27-year-old was taken to hospital in life threatening condition but police say she has now been stabilized, while a 29-year-old was also seriously injured. Both suffered internal injuries.
Police say another seven people from the crowd were treated for minor injuries and shock.
Marie Sklodowska Curie Immortalized by her researches on radium.Image: Scientific American
From Scientific American, November 25, 1911, Volume 105
FEMINISM very nearly won a great victory in the French Academy of Sciences on January 23rd, 1911, when, in the election of a successor to the deceased academician Gernez, Marie Sklodowska Curie was defeated by two votes. At a joint meeting of the five academies which compose the Institut de France, a majority had opposed the admission of women, as contrary to tradition, but each academy was left to decide the question for itself.
The Academy of Fine Arts had a few women members long ago but the Academy of Sciences has never admitted a woman. It was, perhaps, the opposition of the anti-feminists that induced Mme. Curie to apply as a candidate for the chair in the section of physics left vacant by Gernez, and formerly occupied by her husband and collaborator, Pierre Curie. In the preliminary grading of candidates Mme. Curie was placed alone, in the first grade, while her competitors, five eminent men of science, were assigned to the second grade. Mme. Curie, however, received only 28 of the 65 votes (the Academy consists of 66 members), while 30 votes were cast for Edouard Branly. There were good reasons for this choice, entirely apart from considerations of sex. Branly is a physicist of world-wide celebrity who, unlike Mme. Curie, has received few honors and emoluments. He invented the coherer for the detection of electric waves and to him Marconi?s first wireless message was addressed. Many of the academicians naturally desired to recognize the very important part played by their compatriot in the development of wireless telegraphy. Moreover, Branly is sixty-four years old and this was his third candidacy, while Mme. Curie is only forty-three and had never before applied for admission. It is not customary to admit a candidate on the first application, and Mme. Curie?s chance of living until the next vacancy shall occur is greater than Branly?s.
Who is this remarkable woman who so nearly surmounted these formidable obstacles? The dry and formal account of herself and her work which she submitted with her application, according to custom, is perhaps more eloquent than an exhaustive biography. Marie Sklodowska was born in Warsaw November 7th, 1867. She became a student in the University of Paris where she attained the degrees of licentiate in physics in 1893 and licentiate in mathematics in 1894. In 1896 she received a certificate of fitness for the secondary instruction of girls, and in 1900 became lecturer in physics in the Ecole normale superieure for girls in Sevres. In 1903 she received the degree of doctor of physical science, in 1906 she became lecturer in general physics in the University of Paris, and in 1909 s he was promoted to the professorship of general physics, as successor to her lately deceased husband, Prof. Pierre Curie, to whom she was married in 1895.
She is an honorary or foreign member of the Royal Institution of Great Britain, the London Chemical Society, the American Philosophical Society, the American Chemical Society, the Imperial Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg, the Royal Swedish Academy and other learned bodies, and has received the honorary title of Doctor from the universities of Geneva and Edinburgh. In 1898 Mme. Curie, then thirty-one years of age, received the Gegner prize from the French Academy of Sciences, nominally for her extensive researches relating to the magnetic properties of iron and steel, although the report of the awarding committee also alludes, in terms of the highest commendation, to the researches in radio-activity which she had already begun, in co-operation with her husband, and to their recent discovery of the radio-active element which Mme. Curie named Polonium, in honor of her native country.
The Gegner prize was awarded to Mme. Curie again in 1300, and a third time in 1902, together with the Berthelot medal. In 1903 the Nobel prize for physical science was awarded, half to Mons. and Mme. Curie and half to Henri Becquerel, whose discovery of the spontaneous radio-activity of uranium ore formed the basis of all subsequent researches in radio-activity. Only a few days ago we heard the news that Mme. Curie has been honored with the Nobel prize a second time, on this occasion in the division of chemistry. The list of medals and prizes which have been awarded to Mme. Curie in foreign countries is too long to quote.
In addition to the numerous researches in radioactivity which she made in collaboration with her husband, Mme. Curie has published a great many independent papers, and a volume, ?Investigations of Radio-active Substances,?; in which the results of their co-operative researches, including the epoch-making discovery of radium, are set forth.
Radium and polonium are not the only fruits of this ideal marriage, which was blessed by the birth of two children who already give evidence of inheriting the genius of their parents. After the shocking and untimely death of Pierre Curie, who was killed by a truck on a Paris bridge, in 1906, at the age of fifty-seven, a large majority of his colleagues recommended to the ministry of public instruction the appointment of his widow and coadjutor as his successor. The result is that this gifted woman, the only one of her sex who has ever received this high honor, is now a full professor in the venerable Sorbonne.
All who have seen Mme. Curie at work in her laboratory, or have listened to her lectures, have been impressed by her undemonstrative zeal, her abstraction from external disturbances and her aversion to sensational effects.
The early life of Marie Sklodowska Curie is less well-known to the general public than the later phase, in which she has become famous. And yet there is a peculiar romantic, and indeed pathetic interest attached to the incidents of her youth. Her father was a distinguished physicist, and professor of chemistry at Warsaw, Poland. Her mother died when the child was yet quite young. Marie grew up in her father?s laboratory, imbibing the spirit of scientific research, and acquiring that sureness of eye and skill of hand which is so indispensable to the worker in experimental science. It is no doubt largely to her very early initiation into the technique of laboratory work that her extraordinary ability in this direction must be ascribed. Marie?s apprenticeship was, however, brought to a rather early close by the pressure of necessity. As the daughter of an impecunious college professor, the eighteen-year-old girl set out to earn her own living as governess to the daughters of a Russian nobleman. But Providence had destined her for another fate. In one of those agitations which have been so common in the history of Russia, a patriotic society of students at Warsaw was brought under the scrutiny of the ever-suspicious government, and for fear of being compelled to testify against some of her father?s pupils, Marie migrated from her home country and took up her abode in Paris. There she lived for a time a life of the utmost privation. Her repeated efforts to obtain employment in one of the laboratories seemed to avail her nothing. Finally she was allowed to perform some of the trivial offices in connection with the preparation of laboratory experiments. And once this meager foothold was gained, it was but a matter of days before the extraordinary faculties of the new assistant had attracted the attention and caused the amazement of the head of the department, Prof. Lippmann. The eminent scientist befriended the girl, and incidentally also introduced her to one of his most promising pupils, Pierre Curie, with whom she became associated in research, and later, in the bonds of wedlock. It was she who fanned to new endeavor the fagging spirits of her husband, in those moments of discouragement which are apt to come to all engaged in intense scientific research. And together they gained the undying trophies of fame, when, with the isolation of radium salts, the name of Curie suddenly rose to international renown. And then, not many years later, fell that terrible blow, separating the two who together had faced the hardships of everyday life, and in strangely perfect union had toiled, against much discouragement, to reap the precious harvest of scientific research. While crossing the street Prof.. Curie tripped and fell, and was instantly killed by a passing truck. Thus in an evil hour France was bereft of one of her greatest physicists, the world of a genius, and Madame Curie If her life companion and husband. Her composure, upon receiving the terrible news, is commented upon by the Gaulois: ?Nothing could have been more characteristic of the wonderful Madame Curie, than the coolness with which she received the news of her bereavement. There were no tears, no traces of grief. Over and over she repeated : ?Pierre is dead.??? One fee1s that here perhaps the Frenchman, with his demonstrative temperament, somewhat misjudges this great woman. The deepest emotions are not always those that can find their vent through the common channels of physical expression. To us there seems something infinitely pathetic in the monotonous repetition of that simple and sad formula, as the mind that with the insight of a genius has successfully grappled with some of the most abstruse problems presented to the science of to-day in the realm of inanimate matter, is brought face to face with the great problem of life and death. Here all men are on a level, and impartially fate has dealt to this great genius as to us all life?s share of human sorrow. Yet with unbroken spirit, and with renewed devotion she turns to continue now in loneliness, her great life work, her priceless gift to humanity.
One can not help reflecting on the retribution dealt by fate to the Eastern monarchy-that makes life unendurable to the scholar of independent thought-in taking from her the woman who would have added the brightest laurel to Russia?s wreath of scientific ?attainment.
WASHINGTON ? Americans spent in September at three times the pace of the previous month, even though their incomes barely budged. They financed their spending binges by saving at the lowest level since the start of the Great Recession.
Consumer spending rose 0.6 percent last month, the Commerce Department said Friday. The gain was driven by a big rise in purchases of durable goods, such as autos.
Consumers earned only 0.1 percent more after their income fell by the same amount in August. And after adjusting for inflation, their after-tax incomes fell 0.1 percent last month ? the third straight monthly decline.
As a result, they saved less. The savings rate fell to 3.6 percent, the lowest level since December 2007.
Expectations were high after the government said Thursday that consumer spending helped fuel annual growth of 2.5 percent in the July-September quarter, the best quarterly expansion in a year.
Consumer spending is closely watched because it accounts for 70 percent of economic activity. It grew at an annual rate of 2.4 percent in the third quarter. That's more than triple the growth in the April-June quarter.
The economy would have to grow at nearly double the third-quarter pace to make a dent in the unemployment rate, which has stayed near 9 percent since the recession officially ended more than two years ago.
Economists doubt consumers can keep spending like they did this summer without earning more. Many are struggling with higher prices for food and gas. For spending gains to be sustained, employers need to step up hiring.
In recent months, job growth has stagnated. Employers have added an average of only 72,000 jobs per month in the past five months. That's far below the 100,000 per month needed to keep up with population growth. And it's down from an average of 180,000 in the first four months of this year.
Employers added only 103,000 jobs in September, and the unemployment rate remained 9.1 percent for a third straight month.
The government releases the October employment report on Nov. 4.
And spending could tumble next year if Congress fails to extend a Social Security tax cut, which gave most Americans an extra $1,000 to $2,000 this year, or long-term unemployment benefits. Both expire at the end of the year.
Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist for Capital Economics, predicts that overall growth will cool in the fourth quarter and next year. He predicts growth of just 1.5 percent for all of 2012.
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, is more optimistic. He expects roughly the same 2.5 percent growth in the October-December quarter and also in the first three months of next year.?
BRUSSELS ? The excruciating work of inking a deal to contain their two-year debt crisis over, European leaders turned Thursday to a potentially more difficult task: implementing the agreement that asks banks to take on bigger losses on Greece's debts and hopes to boost the region's arsenal against market turmoil.
World stock markets surged Thursday on the news that the leaders had clinched a deal that everyone hopes will keep the currency union from unraveling and prevent the crisis from pushing Europe and much of the developed world back into recession. But analysts were more cautious, noting that the deal remains vague and its success hangs on the details.
In the pre-dawn hours of Thursday, after the deal was unveiled, leaders claimed victory. But by evening, they were cautioning that their work has only begun.
"I think that yesterday we found a good overall package for the next stage, but I think that we still have many more stages to go," German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters in Berlin.
Cracks were already showing not even 24 hours after the deal. In an interview on French television channels TF1 and France-2, President Nicolas Sarkozy defended the deal as necessary to save the eurozone, but took a dig at Greece.
"It was an error" to let Greece join the monetary union in 2001, he said, during the interview aimed at explaining the agreement to the French public.
"Its economy was not ready to take on an integration into the eurozone," he said.
Earlier Thursday, Sarkozy called his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao and pledged to cooperate to revive global growth.
There was no word on whether Beijing might contribute to Europe's bailout fund. Sarkozy said in his interview Thursday night that he would welcome any investment, but that Europe didn't need China to save it.
"The proof is that we saved it without the Chinese," he said.
The fund's chief executive is due to visit Beijing on Friday to talk to potential investors. Beijing has expressed sympathy for the 27-nation European Union, its biggest trading partner, but has yet to commit any cash.
The strategy unveiled after 10 hours of negotiations focused on three key points. These included a significant reduction in Greece's debts, a shoring up of the continent's banks, partially so they could sustain deeper losses on Greek bonds, and a reinforcement of a European bailout fund so it can serve as a euro1 trillion ($1.39 trillion) firewall to prevent larger economies like Italy and Spain from being dragged into the crisis.
After several missed opportunities, hashing out a plan was a success for the 17-nation eurozone, but the strategy's effectiveness will depend on the details, which will have to be finalized in the coming weeks.
"The finer details still appear somewhat sketchy ... but the prospect of a contagion and a disorderly default appear to have been put to one side for the time being," said Michael Hewson, market analyst at CMC Markets. "The only concern is that this post-deal euphoria could well leave investors with a nasty hangover when they start to look at the fine print."
President Barack Obama, who had been pressuring Europe to get its act together in recent weeks, welcomed the plan but pointedly noted that the U.S. was looking forward to its "full development and rapid implementation."
The most difficult piece of the puzzle proved to be Greece, whose debts the leaders vowed to bring down to 120 percent of its GDP by 2020. Under current conditions, they would have ballooned to 180 percent.
To achieve that massive reduction, private creditors like banks will be asked to accept 50 percent losses on the bonds they hold.
The Institute of International Finance, which has been negotiating on behalf of the banks, said it was committed to working out an agreement based on that "haircut," but the challenge now will be to ensure that all private bondholders fall in line.
It said the 50 percent cut equals a contribution of euro100 billion ($139 billion) to a second rescue for Greece, although the eurozone promised to spend some euro30 billion ($42 billion) on guaranteeing the remaining value of the new bonds.
The deal is only the start of negotiations with the banks ? since they cannot be forced to take the losses without triggering the payment of bond insurance and risking greater market turmoil. With many banks struggling to get access to the loans they need to fund their day-to-day operations and the new rules that require them to raise billions of euros in capital, it could be very difficult to persuade them to accept the Greek writedown.
The full program is expected to be finalized by early December and investors are supposed to swap their bonds in January, at which point Greece is likely to become the first euro country ever to be rated at default on its debt.
"We can claim that a new day has come for Greece, and not only for Greece but also for Europe," said Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, whose country's troubles touched off the crisis two years ago. "A burden from the past has gone, so that we can start a new era of development."
Not all Greeks were convinced. Prominent left-wing deputy Dimitris Papadimoulis said the agreement would doom Greeks to a deeper recession.
"We are now locked in a system of continuous austerity, haphazard privatization and continuous supervision by our creditors," he said.
Since May 2010, Greece has been surviving on rescue loans worth euro110 billion ($150 billion) from the 17 countries that use the euro and the International Monetary Fund since it can't afford to borrow money directly from markets.
In July, those creditors agreed to extend another euro109 billion ? but that plan was widely panned as insufficient.
Now, in addition to euro30 billion in bond guarantees, the eurozone leaders and IMF said they will give Greece euro100 billion ($139 billion) in new loans.
With the banks being asked to shoulder more of the burden, though, there were concerns they needed more money in their rainy-day funds to cushion their losses. So European leaders have asked them to raise euro106 billion ($148 billion) by June.
The last piece in the complicated plan was to increase the firepower of the continent's bailout fund to ensure that other countries with troubled economies ? like Italy and Spain ? don't get dragged into the crisis. The third- and fourth-largest economies of the eurozone are too large to be bailed out like the smaller euro nations Greece, Portugal and Ireland have already been.
To that end, the euro440 billion ($610 billion) European Financial Stability Facility will be used to insure part of the potential losses on the debt of wobbly eurozone countries like Italy and Spain, rendering its firepower equivalent to around euro1 trillion ($1.39 trillion).
That should make those countries' bonds more attractive investments and thus lower borrowing costs for their governments.
In addition to acting as a direct insurer of bond issues, the EFSF insurance scheme is also supposed to entice big institutional investors to contribute to a special fund that could be used to buy government bonds but also to help states recapitalize weak banks.
Such outside help may be necessary for Italy and Spain, whose banks were facing some of the biggest capital shortfalls.
___
Sarah DiLorenzo reported from Paris. Greg Keller and Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Juergen Baetz, David Rising and Geir Moulson in Berlin, Raf Casert, Don Melvin and Robert Wielaard in Brussels and Julie Pace in Washington contributed.
PITTSBURGH (AP) ? While firefighters in Pittsburgh were at City Hall getting flu shots, the trucks they parked outside were getting parking tickets.
The trucks were parked for about 5 minutes Wednesday in permit-only spaces reserved for City Council members. But council President Darlene Harris denies any involvement.
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl says the tickets never should have been issued. He says firefighters were encouraged to get flu shots to stay healthy.
Firefighters union attorney Josh Bloom says they drove the trucks to City Hall so they could stay on duty.
Fire Chief Darryl Jones tells KDKA-TV he has appealed the tickets. He says he'll ask a judge for leniency.
An anonymous reader writes "Frostytech gets to the heart of Zalman's CNPS11X heatsink by cutting a section of heatpipe from the CPU cooler to inspect its inner composite heatpipe wick structure. Now that's an in-depth heatsink review! Interesting photos of the dissected heatpipe's composite wick ? sintered copper powder on top and axial groove wick below ? that you're unlikely to see elsewhere. In the late 1960s the first commercial heatpipes were used by NASA to stabilize satellite temperatures; now they stabilize multi-core processors."
Reheating pizza in the microwave often results in soft and soggy slices that can't begin to compare to the fresh pie you had before you stuck the thing in the fridge. According to home life blog the Simply Day, you can easily solve this problem with parchment paper.
Just like in the toaster, parchment paper adds a little extra mess-free crispiness in the microwave. Either place your pizza on a sheet or wrap it around the slice(s). You can heat the pizza as normal, but when you take it will be much closer to a fresh and crispy piece in a fraction of the time it would take to heat back up in a standard oven. DIY Life suggests this same trick works well in toaster ovens, too.
Photo by Kai Chan Vong
Clever Uses for Parchment Paper | The Simple Day
You can follow Adam Dachis, the author of this post, on Twitter, Google+, and Facebook. ?Twitter's the best way to contact him, too.
WASHINGTON ? Whoopi Goldberg, John Legend, Sean Combs and Serena Williams now have a place in the National Portrait Gallery in a new show featuring leading black figures from entertainment, politics, sports and business.
"The Black List" opens Friday featuring 50 large-scale photographs from Timothy Greenfield-Sanders' project that also included a 2008 HBO film.
The idea came from the historical term, "blacklist," referring to a marginalized group. But Greenfield-Sanders says he wanted to turn the phrase into a roll call of distinction to show the broad achievements of African Americans that many people don't know about.
So beyond celebrities, it also includes influential but lesser-known figures.
A smaller exhibit has been shown in New York and Los Angeles. But the Smithsonian show is the first to feature all 50 of the portraits.
TRIPOLI (Reuters) ? NATO is to formally decide on Wednesday whether to end its mission over Libya now that Muammar Gaddafi is dead and buried and the country's new leaders have declared the nation "liberated".
The likely decision to end the alliance's patrols over the skies of Libya at the end of the month marks another milestone in what the National Transitional Council (NTC) has pledged will be a road toward democracy and free and fair elections in 2013.
But the deaths of Gaddafi and his son Mo'tassim after both were captured wounded but alive on Thursday and the grisly public display of their decomposing bodies in a Misrata meat locker have made the NTC's Western backers uneasy about Libya's prospects for stable government and respect for the rule of law.
Gaddafi and Mo'tassim were buried in a secret desert location on Tuesday to prevent their graves becoming a shrine for any remaining followers in the oil-rich North African state.
Under pressure from Western allies, the NTC promised on Monday to investigate how Gaddafi and his son were killed. Mobile phone footage shows both alive after their capture. The former leader was seen being mocked, beaten and abused before he died, in what NTC officials say was crossfire.
The treatment of others who supported Gaddafi and fought alongside him was now an issue, said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman.
"This is a test. The NTC has repeatedly said that they will distinguish themselves from the Gaddafi regime in terms of the respect of human rights and the rule of law," he told a news conference in Morocco.
"Now is the time for them to begin actions that will help them reinforce these words."
RIVALRIES
Emerging from 42 years of often brutal one-man rule, many Libyans are savoring the end of eight months of bitter civil war won with NATO's backing and are unconcerned about how Gaddafi met his end and how his body was treated afterwards.
"Throw him in a hole, in the sea, in garbage. No matter. He is lower than a donkey or a dog and only foreigners say they care about how we killed him. And they are lying," said engineer Ali Azzarog, 47.
Hatred of Gaddafi unified his disparate opponents, who will likely now tussle for power during a planned transition to democracy in a nation riven with regional and tribal rivalries.
With economic problems at home, NATO countries are expected to endorse an end to their U.N.-mandated mission in Libya when their ambassadors meet in Brussels on Wednesday after a preliminary decision last week to end it on October 31.
"We said that we would consult closely with the United Nations and the NTC and that process of consultations is ongoing," NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said.
Libyan interim Oil and Finance Minister Ali Tarhouni said he wanted NATO to maintain its mission for another month, but hoped for a swift end to United Nations sanctions to free up funds for the interim government to pay salaries and help reconstruction.
SAIF ON THE RUN
NATO spokeswoman Lungescu declined to say whether NATO might extend the mission.
"I don't know whether there is a formal request. All these things remain to be sorted out. But in the end this is a political decision," she said.
NATO's Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy, James Appathurai, said he expected the alliance to confirm its decision to end the mission.
"I don't expect that there will be a change to that decision, because it is quite clear that the pro-Gaddafi elements no longer have the command and control or other capabilities to pose an organized threat to civilians. That is now finished, and as a result our operation will end," he said.
Western military powers have already begun winding down the Libyan mission, and diplomats have said the majority of NATO equipment, including fighter jets, has already been withdrawn.
A NATO statement on Tuesday said operations in the interim would involve intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, although NATO would retain the capability to conduct air strikes if they were needed.
The one remaining element from the old order is Gaddafi's sons, the enigmatic Saif al-Islam, who remains on the run. Once viewed as a moderate reformer, he vowed to help his father crush his enemies once the revolt began.
An NTC official said Saif al-Islam was in the southern desert near Niger and Algeria and was set to flee Libya using a false passport.
(Reporting by Taha Zargoun in Sirte, Barry Malone and Jessica Donati in Tripoli, Rania El Gamal and Tim Gaynor in Misrata, Christian Lowe, Jon Hemming and Andrew Hammond in Tunis, Hamid Ould Ahmed in Algiers, Samia Nakhoul in Dubai, Abdoulaye Massalaatchi in Niamey, Matt Falloon in London, Souhail Karam in Rabat; Writing by Jon Hemming; Editing by David Stamp and Ralph Gowling)
GENEVA ? A United Nations panel has given governments a target of connecting half the world's poor citizens to broadband Internet by 2015.
The U.N.'s Broadband Commission for Digital Development also says at least 40 percent of households in developing countries should be hooked up to broadband within four years.
The panel representing industry, academia and governments issued the challenge Tuesday. It said broadband access needs to be affordable even in the most impoverished nations.
The head of the U.N.'s International Telecommunications Union in Geneva, Hamadoun Toure, says the targets are "ambitious but achievable" if governments work together with the private sector.
CAIRO (Reuters) ? Ahmed Shafiq, a former Egyptian air force commander and close associate of ousted leader Hosni Mubarak, said Thursday he planned to stand in the country's presidential elections, insisting that experience was more important than background.
Mubarak appointed Shafiq as prime minister as an uprising against his rule gathered pace in late January.
Shafiq held onto the post for three weeks following Mubarak's overthrow before the army removed him in a cabinet reshuffle to meet popular demands for a purge of the former president's associates.
Since then the 70-year-old Shafiq has largely withdrawn from public life.
Asked by Aswat Masriya (Egyptian Voices), a website set up by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, if he would make a presidential bid, Shafiq said: "Yes, I intend to run for president."
Some Egyptians believe the generals who took power after the overthrow of Mubarak -- himself a former air force commander -- plan to back an ex-military figure to run for president in order to keep hold of the levers of power.
Shafiq tried to distance himself from his military past.
"Every candidate relies on his popularity and administrative and political experience. The military service is beside the point," Shafiq added.
Shafiq said he had not decided when to begin his election campaign and he may even withdraw from the race if "a more suitable candidate" appears.
Posters appeared across central Cairo Wednesday calling for Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the head of the ruling military council, to run for president. By Thursday morning, several of them had been removed.
Pro-democracy activists said they feared associates of Mubarak were behind the campaign.
Mubarak and his sons Gamal and Alaa are on trial for corruption and abuse of power.
The presidential elections are expected to take place in late 2012 or early the next year. Parliamentary polls are due to begin on November 28.
Fancy some turn-by-turn voice-guided navigation, cloud based music or sports highlights on your brand new Nokia smartphone? You don't need an app for that: the Lumia 800 is now the only Windows Phone with full navigation built-in. Nokia announced its Drive navigation, which has a look and feel that should be comfortable with users of its former Ovi Maps suite. It also looks to have similar functionality, enabling the download of maps so that you can find your way into offline areas (see gallery, below).
There's also exclusive Music and ESPN Sports Hub apps. The former features Mix Radio, a service that streams "locally relevant music" across hundreds of channels. The latter, meanwhile, allows sports fans to check up on stats, scores and news, and to pin their favorite teams or leagues to the start screen. All told, the company is promising a "uniquely Nokia" experience -- guess their slick hardware won't be the only way they break out of the WP7 pack. Check out a video demo of the navigation embedded after the break.
Amar Toor and James Trew contributed to this report.
Study identifies genetic basis of human metabolic individuality Public release date: 26-Oct-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: John Rodgers jdr2001@med.cornell.edu 212-821-0560 New York- Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center/Weill Cornell Medical College
Research may lead to highly targeted, individualized therapies
NEW YORK -- In what is so far the largest investigation of its kind, researchers uncovered a wide range of new insights about common diseases and how they are affected by differences between two persons' genes. The results from this study could lead to highly targeted, individualized therapies.
Led by researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar and published in a recent edition of the journal Nature, the study provides details on the genetics behind many diseases, including cardiovascular and kidney disorders, diabetes, cancer, gout, thrombosis and Crohn's disease, and elucidates the role that individual differences in metabolism play in these disorders.
Disturbances in metabolism are at the root of a variety of human afflictions and complex diseases. Although many of the genes that contribute to these conditions have been identified since the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003, it is still not known how metabolic disorders related to these genetic aberrations disrupt cellular processes.
One hundred years ago, Archibald Garrod, one of the fathers of modern biochemistry, realized that inborn errors in human metabolism are "merely extreme examples of variations of chemical behavior which are probably everywhere present in minor degrees" and that this "chemical individuality [confers] predisposition to and immunities from the various mishaps which are spoken of as diseases." Ever since, identification of the genetic basis of human chemical individuality has been elusive.
Now researchers addressed this challenge by using a new technology, called metabolomics. They measured the levels of more than 250 biochemical compounds in over 60 metabolic pathways, including lipids, sugars, vitamins, amino acids and others in blood from over 2,800 individuals. They then combined this dataset with information on more than 600,000 genetic variants (SNPs) that were detected in the genes of each of the study participants. Most of the SNPs were located in genes known to encode proteins involved in the relevant metabolic pathways. Fifteen of the SNPs had previously been associated with metabolism-related conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, gout, diabetes, gastrointestinal diseases, cancer and adverse drug reactions. But the new findings also uncovered a wealth of new associations that link the genetic makeup of a person to his or her biochemical capacities. This data is publicly available in an online database, accessible at http://www.gwas.eu.
Given the exceptional size of the dataset, the researchers prioritized the data to focus on 37 SNPs that were most strongly associated with metabolic traits, 23 of which had never been described before. The 37 SNPs had very large effects on the individuals' metabolite levels and can be considered to constitute what the authors call the "genetic basis of human metabolic individuality."
First author Dr. Karsten Suhre, professor of physiology and biophysics and director of the Bioinformatics Core at Weill Cornell Medical CollegeQatar, says, "These findings will enable researchers to identify new and potentially relevant metabolic processes and pathways. Two highly sophisticated biochemical measurement methods -- genetics and metabolomics -- applied to only two drops of blood can reveal deep insights into the genetic make up of our metabolic capacities. In addition to providing functional insights into the genetic basis of metabolic traits and complex diseases, this information is a way to understand an individual's uniqueness so as to develop highly targeted, personalized therapies and enable novel types of treatments or prevent adverse drug reactions."
###
In addition to Dr. Suhre, study co-authors include So-Youn Shin, Panos Deloukas and Nicole Soranzo of Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute; Ann-Kristin Petersen, Elisabeth Altmaier, Gabi Kastenmller, Christian Gieger, Christa Meisinger, Cornelia Prehn, Janina S. Ried, Werner Rmisch-Margl and Thomas Illig of Helmholtz Zentrum Mnchen, German Research Center for Environmental Health; Robert P. Mohney and Michael V. Milburn of Metabolon Inc.; David Meredith of Oxford Brookes University; Brigitte Wgele, Martin Hrab de Angelis, Thomas Meitinger, Hans-Werner Mewes and Jerzy Adamski of Helmholtz Zentrum Mnchen, German Research Center for Environmental Health and Technische Universitt Mnchen; Jeanette Erdmann of Medizinische Klinik II; Elin Grundberg of Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and King's College London; Christopher J. Hammond, Massimo Mangino, Kerrin S. Small, Guangju Zhai and Tim D. Spector of King's College London; Anna Kttgen of University Hospital Freiburg; Florian Kronenberg of Innsbruck Medical University; Johannes Raffler of Helmholtz Zentrum Mnchen, German Research Center for Environmental Health, and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitt; Nilesh J. Samani of University of Leicester and Leicester NIHR Biomedical Research Unit in Cardiovascular Disease, Glenfield Hospital; H.-Erich Wichmann of Helmholtz Zentrum Mnchen, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitt, and Klinikum Grosshadern; and CARDIoGRAM.
Weill Cornell Medical CollegeQatar
Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar is part of Weill Cornell Medical College. It was established in 2001 through a partnership between Cornell University and Qatar Foundation. WCMC-Q offers an innovative educational program that includes a two-year premedical program followed by a four-year medical program leading to the M.D. degree from Cornell University. Each program has a separate admission process guided by the standards of admission at Cornell University in Ithaca and its Medical College in New York City. For more information, visit http://www.qatar-weill.cornell.edu.
Weill Cornell Medical College
Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University's medical school located in New York City, is committed to excellence in research, teaching, patient care and the advancement of the art and science of medicine, locally, nationally and globally. Physicians and scientists of Weill Cornell Medical College are engaged in cutting-edge research from bench to bedside, aimed at unlocking mysteries of the human body in health and sickness and toward developing new treatments and prevention strategies. In its commitment to global health and education, Weill Cornell has a strong presence in places such as Qatar, Tanzania, Haiti, Brazil, Austria and Turkey. Through the historic Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, the Medical College is the first in the U.S. to offer its M.D. degree overseas. Weill Cornell is the birthplace of many medical advances -- including the development of the Pap test for cervical cancer, the synthesis of penicillin, the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in the U.S., the first clinical trial of gene therapy for Parkinson's disease, and most recently, the world's first successful use of deep brain stimulation to treat a minimally conscious brain-injured patient. Weill Cornell Medical College is affiliated with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, where its faculty provides comprehensive patient care at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The Medical College is also affiliated with the Methodist Hospital in Houston. For more information, visit http://www.weill.cornell.edu.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Study identifies genetic basis of human metabolic individuality Public release date: 26-Oct-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: John Rodgers jdr2001@med.cornell.edu 212-821-0560 New York- Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center/Weill Cornell Medical College
Research may lead to highly targeted, individualized therapies
NEW YORK -- In what is so far the largest investigation of its kind, researchers uncovered a wide range of new insights about common diseases and how they are affected by differences between two persons' genes. The results from this study could lead to highly targeted, individualized therapies.
Led by researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar and published in a recent edition of the journal Nature, the study provides details on the genetics behind many diseases, including cardiovascular and kidney disorders, diabetes, cancer, gout, thrombosis and Crohn's disease, and elucidates the role that individual differences in metabolism play in these disorders.
Disturbances in metabolism are at the root of a variety of human afflictions and complex diseases. Although many of the genes that contribute to these conditions have been identified since the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003, it is still not known how metabolic disorders related to these genetic aberrations disrupt cellular processes.
One hundred years ago, Archibald Garrod, one of the fathers of modern biochemistry, realized that inborn errors in human metabolism are "merely extreme examples of variations of chemical behavior which are probably everywhere present in minor degrees" and that this "chemical individuality [confers] predisposition to and immunities from the various mishaps which are spoken of as diseases." Ever since, identification of the genetic basis of human chemical individuality has been elusive.
Now researchers addressed this challenge by using a new technology, called metabolomics. They measured the levels of more than 250 biochemical compounds in over 60 metabolic pathways, including lipids, sugars, vitamins, amino acids and others in blood from over 2,800 individuals. They then combined this dataset with information on more than 600,000 genetic variants (SNPs) that were detected in the genes of each of the study participants. Most of the SNPs were located in genes known to encode proteins involved in the relevant metabolic pathways. Fifteen of the SNPs had previously been associated with metabolism-related conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, gout, diabetes, gastrointestinal diseases, cancer and adverse drug reactions. But the new findings also uncovered a wealth of new associations that link the genetic makeup of a person to his or her biochemical capacities. This data is publicly available in an online database, accessible at http://www.gwas.eu.
Given the exceptional size of the dataset, the researchers prioritized the data to focus on 37 SNPs that were most strongly associated with metabolic traits, 23 of which had never been described before. The 37 SNPs had very large effects on the individuals' metabolite levels and can be considered to constitute what the authors call the "genetic basis of human metabolic individuality."
First author Dr. Karsten Suhre, professor of physiology and biophysics and director of the Bioinformatics Core at Weill Cornell Medical CollegeQatar, says, "These findings will enable researchers to identify new and potentially relevant metabolic processes and pathways. Two highly sophisticated biochemical measurement methods -- genetics and metabolomics -- applied to only two drops of blood can reveal deep insights into the genetic make up of our metabolic capacities. In addition to providing functional insights into the genetic basis of metabolic traits and complex diseases, this information is a way to understand an individual's uniqueness so as to develop highly targeted, personalized therapies and enable novel types of treatments or prevent adverse drug reactions."
###
In addition to Dr. Suhre, study co-authors include So-Youn Shin, Panos Deloukas and Nicole Soranzo of Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute; Ann-Kristin Petersen, Elisabeth Altmaier, Gabi Kastenmller, Christian Gieger, Christa Meisinger, Cornelia Prehn, Janina S. Ried, Werner Rmisch-Margl and Thomas Illig of Helmholtz Zentrum Mnchen, German Research Center for Environmental Health; Robert P. Mohney and Michael V. Milburn of Metabolon Inc.; David Meredith of Oxford Brookes University; Brigitte Wgele, Martin Hrab de Angelis, Thomas Meitinger, Hans-Werner Mewes and Jerzy Adamski of Helmholtz Zentrum Mnchen, German Research Center for Environmental Health and Technische Universitt Mnchen; Jeanette Erdmann of Medizinische Klinik II; Elin Grundberg of Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and King's College London; Christopher J. Hammond, Massimo Mangino, Kerrin S. Small, Guangju Zhai and Tim D. Spector of King's College London; Anna Kttgen of University Hospital Freiburg; Florian Kronenberg of Innsbruck Medical University; Johannes Raffler of Helmholtz Zentrum Mnchen, German Research Center for Environmental Health, and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitt; Nilesh J. Samani of University of Leicester and Leicester NIHR Biomedical Research Unit in Cardiovascular Disease, Glenfield Hospital; H.-Erich Wichmann of Helmholtz Zentrum Mnchen, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitt, and Klinikum Grosshadern; and CARDIoGRAM.
Weill Cornell Medical CollegeQatar
Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar is part of Weill Cornell Medical College. It was established in 2001 through a partnership between Cornell University and Qatar Foundation. WCMC-Q offers an innovative educational program that includes a two-year premedical program followed by a four-year medical program leading to the M.D. degree from Cornell University. Each program has a separate admission process guided by the standards of admission at Cornell University in Ithaca and its Medical College in New York City. For more information, visit http://www.qatar-weill.cornell.edu.
Weill Cornell Medical College
Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University's medical school located in New York City, is committed to excellence in research, teaching, patient care and the advancement of the art and science of medicine, locally, nationally and globally. Physicians and scientists of Weill Cornell Medical College are engaged in cutting-edge research from bench to bedside, aimed at unlocking mysteries of the human body in health and sickness and toward developing new treatments and prevention strategies. In its commitment to global health and education, Weill Cornell has a strong presence in places such as Qatar, Tanzania, Haiti, Brazil, Austria and Turkey. Through the historic Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, the Medical College is the first in the U.S. to offer its M.D. degree overseas. Weill Cornell is the birthplace of many medical advances -- including the development of the Pap test for cervical cancer, the synthesis of penicillin, the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in the U.S., the first clinical trial of gene therapy for Parkinson's disease, and most recently, the world's first successful use of deep brain stimulation to treat a minimally conscious brain-injured patient. Weill Cornell Medical College is affiliated with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, where its faculty provides comprehensive patient care at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The Medical College is also affiliated with the Methodist Hospital in Houston. For more information, visit http://www.weill.cornell.edu.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Before the wreckage of the collapsed Vengeance ring could even be collected, Raw SuperShow charged forth with Superstars and Divas now motivated by survival. Now en route to Survivor Series, a quick-tongued CM Punk and an outraged John Cena took steps toward the renovated Madison Square Garden in just four weeks. Now, with great anticipation, the WWE Universe wants to know if The Rock will, in fact, BRING IT beside his Fruity Pebble-flavored foe turned ?frenemy? for one night at Survivor Series.
It?s the day after Raw. Let?s see what you thought ?
Cena selects The Rock as a potential Survivor Series partner Less than 24 hours after Vengeance, John Cena was still looking for some on Raw SuperShow. After enduring R-Truth?s now dreaded Evian water bottle to the skull ? the most hydrating hit in all of sports-entertainment ? Cena?s match against The ?Awesome Truth? was a wash. Empowered by Interim Raw GM John Laurinaitis to pick any partner to face The Miz & Truth at Survivor Series, the Cenation leader had an epiphany; a Brahma bull-shaped epiphany. (WATCH)
Much like the rest of the WWE Universe, Cena salivated (but literally ? did you catch his microphone spittle?) at the vision of him and The Great One whoopin? some candy-sweet tukkis in the World?s Most Famous Arena. As the ?Reunion? star stated, it won?t be out of friendship. Will The Rock respond to an opportunity to lay some serious smack down at Survivor Series, exactly 15 years after his debut at this very event in New York City?
@Ambergurl1987: Just watched @wwe #raw and John cena chose The rock to be his partner at survivor series and now I cant wait for survivor series
@Fostew: One of my favorite moments from RAW! Should be good to see the Rock make an appearance next month! #WWE #RAW
@Ronaldo_Unaiza7: @WWE #Raw Rock Cena VS Awesome Truth at #SurvivorSeries Ooohh It's On!!!
@JamesthefroKing: Cena just spit on the Rock #RAW
@ShiningbieberXO: Rock and Cena are gonna be are hell of a team. Awesome Truth be scared very scared like you already are @wwe #raw
@Scorpion_Files: I don't wanna see The Rock & Cena tag. I just wanna see the Rock. I also don't ever wanna see Cena hock a loogie on the mic again #raw #wwe
@thefoldingchair: Cena spit more than Jack Swagger #WWE #RAW
@aj0314: The Awesome Truth will bring the whoopin' and The Rock and John Cena will bring the.. well, you know. WHAT A MIZFEST AT MSG!!! #WWE #RAW
@Pinkcess_Ash: So bizarre that Awesome Truth are going to be in a match against Cena & The Rock...since when are they at that caliber of greatness?! #RAW
?Kentucky Waterfall? Punk?s downfall? Much to the viewing audience?s delight, CM Punk unleashed a WWE career?s worth of zings upon Executive Vice President John Laurinaitis. They were all the things that you know The Voice of the Voiceless has been clamoring to say in public ? mocking Laurinaitis? ?majestic voice? and his ?Kentucky Waterfall mullet,? as well instructing him on the proper way to hold a microphone.
Laurinaitis? circa 1990 mullet was business in the front years ago, but the Interim Raw General Manager is all about business nowadays. Though tongue twisted over the term ?WWE Universe,? Laurinaitis used his authority to put any consideration for Punk?s potential WWE Title Match with Alberto Del Rio on hold till next week. (WATCH)
Did CM Punk?s mouth cost him a title bout? However entertaining, The Straight Edge Superstar?s jibes may allow the WWE Champion to ride off scot-free in his 2009 Maserati GranTurismo (EZ Pass included). With Laurinaitis deliberating until next week, Punk professed his pure dislike for the EVP in a WWE.com exclusive interview. Watch and see the root of the tattooed competitor?s problem with the Raw GM, who Punk describes as the best ?corporate a**-kisser? today. So much for R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
@nickphillips97: @cmpunk Kentucky Waterfall Mullet Has to be on a t shirt. @wwe #Raw
@LegallyBOD: Kentucky. Waterfall. Mullet. CM Punk once again shows why he's TV gold! #Raw #wrestlezone #loveit
@StraightEdgeIAm: How can Punk respect a man who barely said the word "Universe?" #RAW
@Sarcastic_Viper: Rodney Dangerfield moment #RAW No respect.
@RizzIUP: LOL! Del Rio has an EZ-Pass on his car! #WWE #RAW
@CenaOrtonBaby: "Tell me that you respect me!" "Who are you Aretha Franklin?" I love Punk & his antics! #PipeBomb #PunkForChamp #Raw
@MarkinOut: HAH! For those people who didn't understand that...Aretha Franklin had a hit song called "Respect" #WWE #Raw
@DeaconKirby: CM PUNK called Mr.Laurinaitis Aretha Franklin .....R-E-S-P-E-C-T #Raw
@Baileex3: The only thing I look forward to when Alberto Del Rio comes out is seeing what car is driving.. @WWE #RAW
@BacardiMachismo: back of the line amigo #RAW
@MilaNtent2Rule: @JohnCena had his chance....back of the line. NO EXCUSES! BRING ON @CMPunk #1Contender #LongliveCMPUNK #raw @wwe
Ryder reaches the (carrot) top We all know how much Long Island Iced Z digs his colors. But did anyone expect him to break out a new, orange hue to his hair spikes?
Zack Ryder was ready to embrace the big time on Raw SuperShow, scheduled to compete in his first-ever main event clash ? just one night after his first-ever singles match on pay-per-view. Of course, this milestone was hindered by an attacking ?Awesome Truth? but not before the WWE Universe was distracted by the ?are you serious? glow to his now gingery gelled mane.
WWE fans expressed varied opinions on his latest look. Guess it?s not really all that drastic. It could?ve been purple.
@WWEOldSchool: What's Going On With Zack Ryder's Hair?! #Areyouserousbro #RAW @WWEUniverse @WWE
@JoeyStyles: Why does @ZackRyder have Sheamus' hair?
@ImTheOnlyKay: Zack Ryder's hair has gone pretty ginger! @WWE #RAW
@MickieManiac: Zack Ryder being in the main event was to good to be true! *sigh* #WWE #Raw
@Blader09111: what if sheamus admires @ZackRyder and stole his hair? #RAW #WWWYKI @WWE
@0912: JOHN CENA & THE ROCK ? #AreYouSeriousBro ? Should of picked @ZackRyder !!!!! #WWWYKI @WWE #RAW
Random Raw ramblings
@aj0314: Kevin Nash attacked Triple H with a sledgehammer? Looks like Shawn Michaels is going to intervene. #WWE #RAW
@Vixentye: #wwe #raw John Cena = new shirt, new model pose... Damn does the man have a gorgeous impeccable body.. diggin the camouflage shorts
@JackKorpela: @WWE Something tells me Nash is going to regret hitting HHH with that sledgehammer when it's all said and done. #Raw
@RJ_Acosta: OMG!!!! Michael Cole vs JR NEXT WEEK!! IF COLE LOSES HE QUITS! YESSSSS!!!!! #RAW
@VirtualSatyr: Hey Alberto, you left the car lights on. #RAW #IWantWrestling
@sausagemohony: @JohnCena I aint a Cena fan, but I am not a Cena Hater. but your new shirt I will get. kudos to you Cena. @WWE #raw
@k_dawg46: my mom just told me that she's gonna get me the new cena shirt!!! #RAW
@KFriedRasslin: You know what they say: "You live by the sledgehammer, you die by the sledgehammer." #wwe #raw
@rlewis042106: @WWEUniverse #RAW Cole wanting to challenge @JRsBBQ (again), and if he loses, he quits?!? #areyouseriousbro
@DarealKnightman: #KevinNash look's like a Killer with that sledgehammer #RAW
@psiangelic: I hope Cole quits. Oh please let it be. #RAW
Share your voice with the rest of the WWE Universe on Twitter by using #RAW and check back next week for the another edition of The Day After Raw.
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Reheating pizza in the microwave often results in soft and soggy slices that can't begin to compare to the fresh pie you had before you stuck the thing in the fridge. According to home life blog the Simply Day, you can easily solve this problem with parchment paper. 
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Public release date: 26-Oct-2011
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Cena selects The Rock as a potential Survivor Series partner
?Kentucky Waterfall? Punk?s downfall?
Ryder reaches the (carrot) top