Sequestration — a threat less than a month away

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Decisions have consequences, and in the current debate over how to avert the “fiscal cliff,” the consequence of failing to reach an agreement is “sequestration.”


The dictionary definition of sequestration is “to isolate or hide away (someone or something).” In Washington parlance, sequestration refers to the dramatic cuts in federal spending that are set to kick in automatically at the beginning of January. These reductions would total $1.2 trillion over the next decade, starting with about $50 billion in Pentagon spending and another $50 billion in non-defense spending.

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Golf: McDowell wins World Challenge

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THOUSAND OAKS, California: Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell ended a two-year victory drought Sunday with a three-shot triumph in the World Challenge hosted by Tiger Woods.

McDowell, who capped a stellar 2010 season that saw him win the US Open with a victory in this unofficial post-season invitational, hadn't won anywhere in the world since then.

He carded a four-under par 68 in the final round for a 72-hole total of 17-under 271 and a three-stroke victory over Keegan Bradley.

Bradley, the 2011 PGA Championship winner who started the day two shots off McDowell's lead, posted a 69 for 274.

After taking the 54-hole lead on Saturday, McDowell admitted that even though this tournament isn't part of any tour, it would be nice to grab a win to cap a mixed season in which he settled for a tie for second at the US Open, and a tie for fifth at the British Open.

Bo Van Pelt carded a 70 for sole possession of third place on 278, while tournament host Woods carded a one-under 71 on the rain-soaked Sherwood Country Club course for a share of fourth place on 279.

He was joined by Jim Furyk (70) and Rickie Fowler (69).

- AFP/fa



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FDI in retail to safeguard international market mafias' interest: BJP

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ANI Dec 1, 2012, 03.28PM IST

NEW DELHI: India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today said retail reform is a step taken by the Congress led-federal government to safeguard the interests of the international market mafias at the cost of national interest.

BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Saturday that voting inside the parliament would decide as to who is in favour of national interest and who is working for international interests.

"The government feels that their responsibility is to safeguard the interest of international market mafias instead of national interest and for saving the interest of international market mafias, the government is ready to compromise with national interests. Now, the parliament will decide as to who is in support of international market mafias and who are supporting national interests," said Naqvi.

The government's decision to allow foreign supermarket chains such as Wal-Mart had triggered protest not only from opposition parties but also from some of its allies.

BJP had sought debate on the issue of allowing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the retail sector, under the rule that entails voting after discussions.

Meanwhile, Minister in the Prime Minister Office (PMO), V Narayanaswamy said the government would answer all the queries raised by the opposition parties in the parliament and will explain the benefits of allowing FDI in retail sector.

The lower house of parliament has set December 04 and 05 as the date to vote and debate on FDI. The dates for the upper house are yet to be decided.

Narayanaswamy said the government is confident of becoming victorious in the debate.

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Photos: Kilauea Lava Reaches the Sea

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Chiefs: Jovan Didn't Have 'Long Concussion History'

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The death of Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher, the latest in a string of tragic NFL suicides, has left the player's teammates, coaches, family and friends wondering what could have led a man described as generous and caring to murder his girlfriend -- the mother of his 3-month-old daughter -- and then kill himself.


Kansas City police say Belcher, 25, shot and killed his girlfriend Saturday morning before going to the team stadium and and committing suicide by shooting himself in the head as he was talking to coaches.


"When the officers arrived, when they were pulling up, they actually observed a black male who had a gun to his head and he was talking to a couple of coaches out in the parking lot," Kansas City Police spokesman Darin Snapp told ABC News Radio. "As officers pulled up, and began to park, that's when they heard the gunshot and it appears the individual took his own life."


It's not yet clear what prompted Belcher's actions, but his suicide follows those of former NFL players Junior Seau, 43, and Dave Duerson, 50, both of whom died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds to the chest in the last two years.


The suicides of Seau, Duerson and a number of other NFL players have been blamed on concussions racked up from playing the violent sport, and a condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, but that may not be the case for Belcher.








Kansas City Chiefs Player Jovan Belcher's Murder-Suicide Watch Video









Did Brain Injury Lead to NFL Star's Suicide? Watch Video







Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt said today that Belcher was "a player who had not had a long concussion history," even though he was a three-time all-America wrestler and a star on the football team at his West Babylon, N.Y., high school.


Seau's and Duerson's brains are both being studied at Boston University's Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, where researchers have already learned that Duerson had CTE, which may have led to his suicide.


CTE is a progressive, degenerative disease found in people who have had brain trauma from repeated blows to the head, according to the Center. It includes brain tissue degeneration and a buildup of an abnormal protein called tao, resulting in symptoms including confusion, aggression, and depression. Ultimately, CTE results in dementia.


In 2006, former Pittsburgh Steelers player Terry Long killed himself by drinking antifreeze, and former Philadelphia Eagles player Andre Waters shot himself in the head. Both of them suffered from CTE.


Researchers at Boston University found evidence of CTE in 12 of the 13 professional football players' brains they received between 2008 and 2010, according to the university. CTE can also be found in hockey players, wrestlers, and boxers.


"Football is entertainment in which the audience is expected to delight in gladiatorial action that a growing portion of the audience knows may cause the players degenerative brain disease," ABC News' George Will wrote in a Washington Post column published Aug. 3 just before he appeared on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos."


Will cited Seau and Duerson in his column, both of whom committed suicide after 2010, adding that 62-year-old former NFL safety Ray Easterling committed suicide in April 2012. Esterling's autopsy revealed that he had dementia and depression brought on by CTE.





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Washington set to legalize marijuana use without Justice Department guidance

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Adults in Washington state will be able to smoke marijuana legally when it is officially decriminalized Thursday, even though the Justice Department has offered no guidance on the conflict with federal drug laws.


Prosecutors throughout the state have begun dismissing hundreds of misdemeanor marijuana cases, according to authorities there, and state and local police are being retrained to arrest drivers who are high and allow adults to light up in their homes.

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Shiites headed for big gains in Kuwaiti polls

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KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait's Shiite minority candidates appeared Saturday set to win around 15 seats of the 50-member parliament in the polls boycotted by the Sunni-dominated opposition, their biggest ever tally.

Early results suggested Shiite candidates winning seats in all of the five constituencies, including as many as eight of the 10 seats in the first district, with half of its population being Shiites.

Kuwaiti Shiites, who form around 30 per cent of Kuwait's native population of 1.2 million, held seven seats in the previous scrapped parliament and nine MPs in the 2009 assembly.

All five candidates fielded by the National Islamic Alliance, the largest Shiite political group, won their seats, also the group's biggest win.

Shiites have defied calls by the Kuwaiti opposition to boycott the election and voted in large numbers.

Official results of the Kuwaiti election are expected within hours.

The opposition said that voter turnout was only 26.7 per cent, the lowest turnout at any Kuwaiti parliamentary elections.

- AFP/fa



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FDI in retail to safeguard international market mafias' interest: BJP

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NEW DELHI: India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today said retail reform is a step taken by the Congress led-federal government to safeguard the interests of the international market mafias at the cost of national interest.

BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Saturday that voting inside the parliament would decide as to who is in favour of national interest and who is working for international interests.

"The government feels that their responsibility is to safeguard the interest of international market mafias instead of national interest and for saving the interest of international market mafias, the government is ready to compromise with national interests. Now, the parliament will decide as to who is in support of international market mafias and who are supporting national interests," said Naqvi.

The government's decision to allow foreign supermarket chains such as Wal-Mart had triggered protest not only from opposition parties but also from some of its allies.

BJP had sought debate on the issue of allowing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the retail sector, under the rule that entails voting after discussions.

Meanwhile, Minister in the Prime Minister Office (PMO), V Narayanaswamy said the government would answer all the queries raised by the opposition parties in the parliament and will explain the benefits of allowing FDI in retail sector.

The lower house of parliament has set December 04 and 05 as the date to vote and debate on FDI. The dates for the upper house are yet to be decided.

Narayanaswamy said the government is confident of becoming victorious in the debate.

Read More..

Photos: Kilauea Lava Reaches the Sea

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Police: KC Chiefs Player Killed Girlfriend, Self

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Jovan Belcher, a linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs, committed suicide today in front of his coaches and police officers outside the team's stadium, shortly after he fatally shot his girlfriend, police said.


"We heard that they had been arguing in the past [and] as far as recently, they'd been arguing before the shooting occurred this morning," Kansas City Police spokesman Darin Snapp told ABC News Radio.


The victim was identified Kasandra Perkins, 22. Snapp said the couple had lived together and had a 3-month-old daughter.


A woman first alerted police this morning that her daughter had been shot by her boyfriend, who was a Kansas City Chiefs player, Snapp said. Police initially believed the woman was Perkins' mother, but later learned she was Belcher's mother, who lived with the couple to help care for their daughter and according to family members felt extremely close to Perkins.


It is believed Belcher drove to Arrowhead Stadium shortly after the shooting and police were called.


"When the officers arrived, when they were pulling up, they actually observed a black male who had a gun to his head and he was talking to a couple of coaches out in the parking lot," Snapp said. "As officers pulled up, and began to park, that's when they heard the gunshot and it appears the individual took his own life."












Idaho Teacher Accused of Locking Boy, 5, in Dark Closet Watch Video





Snapp said the coaches told officers they didn't feel they were in any danger from Belcher.


"They said the player was actually thanking them for everything they'd done for him," he said. "They were just talking to him and he was thanking them and everything. That's when he walked away and shot himself."


Kansas City is scheduled to host the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, and the league has told the Panthers to go ahead with their travel plans because the game will be played as scheduled.


In a statement posted on their website, the Chiefs said they are "cooperating with authorities in their investigation" and did not mention Belcher by name.


The 6-foot-2, 228-pound linebacker joined the Kansas City Chiefs in 2009, and had spent all four seasons of his career with the team. He has played every in game since joining the team.


Originally from West Babylon, N.Y., where he was a three-time all-America wrestler in addition to playing on the football team, Belcher went undrafted out of the University of Maine, where he started all 45 games in which he played.


Maine Head Football Coach Jack Cosgrove described Jovan as a "tremendous student-athlete."


"His move to the NFL was in keeping with his dreams," Cosgrove said in a statement released by the university today. "This is an indescribably horrible tragedy. At this difficult time, our thoughts and prayers are with Jovan, Kasandra and their families."


Belcher signed with the Chiefs as a rookie free agent, started 15 of 16 games his second season and last year started all 16 games as left inside linebacker.


Belcher expressed gratitude for his NFL career in an article posted on Nov. 21 on the Chiefs' website that has since been taken down.


"First and foremost, God. Family and friends just keeping me focused, coaches and just everyone," he said.



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