Rapids hire Pareja as new head coach

Read?more: Colorado Rapids, Oscar Pareja, Pareja New Coach, Rapids get New Coach, New Coach for Rapids, Pro

COMMERCE CITY, COLO. (AP) --

The Colorado Rapids announced Thursday that they have hired Oscar Pareja of FC Dallas to be their new head coach.

He'll replace Gary Smith, who was fired in November. Smith led the Rapids to their first MLS Cup in 2010 but they went 12-9-13 last season.

Pareja is a native of Medellin, Colombia, who played for Dallas from 1998 to 2005. He joined the team as an assistant coach in 2005 and most recently served as the reserve team coach and academy director.

(Copyright ?2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Source: http://www.coloradoconnection.com/sports/story.aspx?id=704650

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In Quotes: First Half of the Saint Anselm College New Hampshire Debate (ContributorNetwork)

The six remaining Republican candidates debated their worthiness Saturday as the potential candidate to face President Barack Obama in November. The discussion, held at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., featured two former governors, Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Jon Huntsman of Utah, along with current Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Also on the roster were Iowa caucus winner and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, Texas Congressman Ron Paul and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.

Here's a look at some of the notable quotes from the first half of the debate as posted by user moxnews.com on YouTube.

* "What really counts is his record. I mean, he's a big government, big spending individual because he preached the fact that he wanted a balanced budget amendment but voted to raise the debt to five times, though, he is a big government person." -- Paul took a swipe at Santorum, whom he said was not a true conservative.

* "Those are businesses we started that continued to grow, and we're only a small part of that, by the way. We were investors to help get them going." -- Romney was questioned on whether the claim that his state created 100,000 jobs was accurate.

* "My father served 27 years in the Army, in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. I grew up in a military family, moving around the world." -- Gingrich defended himself in part two of the debate against allegations by Paul that he was a "chicken-hawk".

* "We have to nominate someone that can beat Barrack Obama, that can get the Tea Party behind them, that can go to Washington, D.C., and stop the corrupt spending that has been going on." - Perry explained why he "got in this race", noting that, with the possible exception of Huntsman, the other candidates were "part of the problem" in Washington, D.C., and Wall Street.

* "It's about leading organizations, it's about leading people, it's about creating a vision and I've done that my entire career. I did that as governor. I took my state to the best managed state in America." -- Jon Huntsman responded to a question about how he would be better as Commander-in-Chief than the other candidates, given his suggestion that Iran has already decided to they want a nuclear weapon.

* "Well this isn't a federal issue, it's a state issue, No. 1. ... My feeling is that this is an issue that should be ... I believe the issue of marriage itself is a federal issue, that we can't have different laws with respect to marriage, we have to have one law." -- Santorum was asked his position on same-sex adoption in part three of the debate.

Shawn Humphrey is a former contributor to The Flint Journal and lives near Washington in Gaithersburg, Md.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120109/pl_ac/10808701_in_quotes_first_half_of_the_saint_anselm_college_new_hampshire_debate

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Win a Logitech Bluetooth Keyboard for Android 3.0 tablets

Logitech keyboard

We've got a Logitech Tablet Keyboard (read our full review) laying around, so it's time to give it to one of you lucky readers.

Just leave a comment here on this post, and we'll pick a winner this afternoon. Good luck!

(BTW: We're still waiting to hear back from the winner of the Droid Bionic accessories. Check your inbox, folks! We'll pick a new winner for it this afternoon if erieGISgeek doesn't reply.)

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

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China mulls carbon emissions tax

Published: Jan. 6, 2012 at 6:18 PM

BEIJING, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- China says it's considering a carbon tax within three years to tighten its emissions regulations on polluting industries and put its economy on greener footing.

A draft of a plan to impose a tax on emissions of greenhouse gases has been submitted to the Ministry of Finance for review, China Daily reported Friday.

The tax, aimed primarily at large users of coal, crude oil and natural gas, is likely to be charged at a rate of 10 yuan ($1.59) for each ton of carbon dioxide a business or other operation discharges.

Tax cuts would be given to companies that take steps to reduce their emissions, Su Ming of the Finance Ministry's Fiscal Science Research Center said.

China emitted 8.33 billion tons of carbon dioxide in 2010, a quarter of total global emissions of the greenhouse gas, a report by the British energy company BP PLC said.

During climate talks in Durban, South Africa, last year, China pledged to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide produced by 17 percent by 2015.

"But 2012 may not be a good time to introduce carbon taxes, considering the risk (they might introduce) of slowing economic growth," Su said.

He said the taxes would start to be collected by the end of the China's 12th Five-Year Plan in 2015.

Source: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2012/01/06/China-mulls-carbon-emissions-tax/UPI-11931325891908/

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Romney campaign fears complacency in New Hampshire

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, campaigns at Pinkerton Academy in Derry, N.H., Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, campaigns at Pinkerton Academy in Derry, N.H., Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, campaigns with Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., right, and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, center, at Pinkerton Academy in Derry, N.H., Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, campaigns at Pinkerton Academy in Derry, N.H., Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

(AP) ? Mitt Romney's biggest fear heading into Tuesday's New Hampshire primary is voter complacency, not Republican rivals Newt Gingrich or Rick Santorum in a contest seen as his for the taking.

"Don't get too confident with those poll numbers. I watch polls come and go. Things change very quickly. It's very fluid," Romney told a crowd of 1,000 people at Pinkerton Academy on Saturday. "I need you guys to make sure your friends get out and vote, and you vote as well."

Romney's campaign has called this "Super Saturday" and embarked on an aggressive and organized push to make sure supporters actually vote. The concern is that New Hampshire's notoriously fickle primary voters could change their minds at the last moment or fail to show up at all.

"The only thing I'm worried about is working against the complacency that Mitt's up in the polls," said Jason McBride, who runs Romney's operation in this first-in-the-nation primary state. "That's the concern."

Romney has led the polls for so long and by so much in New Hampshire that victory is considered much more than conventional wisdom.

The former Massachusetts governor spent time this past week in South Carolina, which holds its primary Jan. 21. Much of Romney's staff from Iowa, where he eked out a victory Tuesday over former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, is in place in South Carolina for the first contest in the South. There are plans for Romney's New Hampshire staff to head to Florida on Wednesday after the primary; the Florida contest is Jan. 31.

But campaign advisers worry that if they let up in New Hampshire now, Romney supporters are "going to watch the news and they're going to say, oh, 'Mitt Romney's whooping' everybody, I don't need to vote,'" McBride said.

The poll numbers show Romney up by 20 percent or more over his closest rival, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas. Both lead Santorum and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. It's an advantage that Romney has maintained for months.

But New Hampshire has never handed a primary victory to a Republican who also won Iowa, and voters often make up their minds late in the game.

Romney also needed to get debates Saturday night and Sunday morning that gave the other candidates a chance to throw the front-runner off stride.

"You never know. You never know what's going to happen," Romney's wife, Ann, told the crowd in Derry as she introduced one of her sons, Tagg, and several of her grandchildren.

That helps explain the campaign's finishing strategy to close the deal.

About 500 volunteers have arrived from states across the Northeast. They're working from the campaign's Manchester headquarters as well as from offices in Concord, Keene, Derry and Rochester that have opened in the past few weeks.

The goal was to call the 175,000 or so potential Romney supporters in the state. The campaign has paid for an additional 300,000 phone calls that started Thursday and will finish on Monday.

The 250 fresh volunteers from New Hampshire will try to knock on 10,000 doors before the weekend is over.

It's an effort unmatched by rivals who had focused on winning Iowa's caucuses before they could think about coming in to New Hampshire. Romney aides view Paul as the strongest possible rival; Santorum's national campaign manager, Mike Biundo, is a longtime New Hampshire operative.

Paul visited the Windmill Restaurant in Concord on Saturday, shaking hands and chatted with patrons. Paul had no other events until the evening debate. His son, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, planned to campaign on his behalf in Concord and Windham.

While Santorum spent time in New Hampshire earlier in the race, he had concentrated almost exclusively in Iowa through the winter.

Recognizing he was unlikely to topple Romney in New Hampshire, Santorum cast himself as a strong challenger to Obama for November.

"Who are you, who are you to say that every child in America should go to college?" Santorum said of the Democratic president during a forum at Saint Anselm College near Manchester. "If one of my kids wants to go and be an auto mechanic, good for him. ... It's the kind of snobbery from those who think they know how to run our lives."

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who skipped the Iowa contest, said at a senior center in North Haverhill that voters who have been entertained by the "''circus acts" put on by other candidates are starting to turn serious.

Huntsman said they will choose him when they ask themselves which candidate has the best background, temperament and ability to bring the nation together.

As of last month, New Hampshire had about 232,000 registered Republicans, 223,000 Democrats and 313,000 undeclared voters, who can vote in either primary. The state also allows same-day voter registration at the polls.

New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner said he expects 250,000 ballots to be cast Tuesday. In 2008, when both parties had contested races, just over 241,000 ballots were cast in the GOP primary and 289,000 in the Democratic primary.

___

Associated Press writers Beth Fouhy in Concord, Philip Elliott in Goffstown and Holly Ramer in North Haverhill contributed to this report.

__

Follow Kasie Hunt on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/kasie.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-07-GOP%20Campaign/id-ae10583b23c348e79dab6a99923dc1fa

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31 inmates killed in northern Mexico prison fight (AP)

CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico ? A fight among inmates armed with makeshift knives, clubs and stones left 31 people dead in a prison in a drug-plagued state in northern Mexico, authorities said.

Another 13 prisoners were wounded in the brawl in the penitentiary in the Gulf Coast city of Altamira, Tamaulipas state's Public Safety Department said in a statement.

The fight started when a group of inmates burst into a section of the prison they were banned from and attacked the prisoners housed there, the department said.

Local media said the fight was between members of the rival Gulf and Zetas drug cartels but authorities wouldn't confirm the reports. Tamaulipas state has been the scene of bloody turf battles between the two former allies.

Tamaulipas state officials said many of the dead were killed by makeshift knives. A state official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation said several of the inmates were beaten to death with clubs or stones.

Soldier and marines managed to take control of the prison, the official said.

The safety department said 22 of the inmates killed were serving sentences for state crimes and nine for federal offenses. It gave no other details.

The port of Altamira in southern Tamaulipas, near the border with the state of Veracruz, is in a region that has seen a spike in drug-violence in the last two months. Authorities say the port is used to bring in cocaine and precursor chemicals used to make methamphetamine into Mexico.

In 2010, four inmates at the Altamira prison were killed when an armed gang stormed the penitentiary as 11 inmates were being transferred. Authorities did not confirm reports that the raid was an attempt to free prisoners. Gang raids on prisons are common in Tamaulipas.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mexico/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120105/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_mexico_prison_violence

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How consumer financial watchdog will expand powers (AP)

WASHINGTON ? With its first chief now in place, the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will start enforcing rules aimed at reining in abusive mortgage servicers, student lenders and payday-loan companies.

It will be months, though, before the agency can police other areas of consumer finance, such as debt collection and credit-reporting bureaus.

Over Republican opposition, President Barack Obama used a congressional recess appointment Wednesday to install Richard Cordray to lead the consumer finance watchdog. The bureau was created in July as part of the 2010 overhaul of the nation's financial regulations.

The idea behind the new agency was to prevent financial companies, such as mortgage servicers, from exploiting consumers. Such companies, facing scant federal oversight, committed some of the worst consumer abuses before the financial crisis.

In the past, only banks were subject to examination by federal financial regulators. And until now, with no permanent director, the bureau had authority to supervise only big banks.

Senate Republicans had vowed to block Cordray's nomination until the agency's structure was changed to allow closer congressional oversight. But Obama took advantage of the congressional break to install Cordray, a former Democratic attorney general of Ohio.

Cordray said he would immediately "begin working to expand our program to non-banks, which is an area we haven't been able to touch up until now."

That change will likely start within weeks. Agency officials who are supervising big banks have already been trained to examine non-bank financial firms.

Still, some areas of consumer finance will remain outside the bureau's reach. Aside from payday, mortgage and student loan companies, the consumer protection bureau can supervise only non-bank companies it defines as "larger participants" in their markets.

In June, the agency sought public comments on a proposal to supervise major debt collectors, credit reporting bureaus, check cashers, issuers of prepaid debt cards and debt-relief companies. The comment period has ended, and the agency is reviewing the responses. It's not clear how long the review will take.

Once the comments have been reviewed, the proposal must be revised, subjected to further public comment and then approved by the White House. This could take months or years. If the agency's proposal is approved, it will be able to send inspectors to credit bureaus and others that meet the "large participant" definition.

Here's a guide to the powers that the CFPB now holds over different categories of companies:

? Non-bank mortgage lenders and servicers:

These companies have been subject to existing laws and rules, but the agency was unable to supervise them without a permanent director. With Cordray's appointment, the CFPB can have officials monitor mortgage lenders and servicers. That might discourage any from using "robo-signers" to foreclose on borrowers without doing the required paperwork. That practice became widespread over the past decade, and no federal agency was responsible for cracking down.

? Payday lenders:

Companies that make short-term loans to borrowers with weak credit already are governed by federal laws such as the Truth in Lending Act. But there's been no federal oversight to make sure they comply. The CFPB can now send examiners to payday firms it suspects of illegal or abusive practices. The agency wants to make sure they disclose the full cost of a loan upfront so consumers can make an informed choice.

? Private student lenders:

CFPB examiners have gained the authority to examine these companies. The federal government has been cracking down on for-profit education companies whose graduates can't find jobs and have little chance of repayment. The CFPB can now require these lenders to follow existing rules and write new ones intended to guarantee that they lend fairly.

? Prepaid debit card companies, credit bureaus, money-transfer companies, check cashers, debt relief services:

These companies are subject to federal laws. But they've faced little oversight in the past. The CFPB proposed in June identifying major participants in these markets to make sure they're following the rules. It's unclear when that proposal might take effect.

? Big banks:

Banks already are overseen by the bureau, so nothing much will change as a result of Cordray's appointment. Since its creation, the agency has been placing full-time examiners in the nation's biggest banks to enforce laws and rules. It can require them to file regular reports, monitor risks they might pose to consumers and write new rules.

___

Follow Daniel Wagner at www.twitter.com/wagnerreports.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120104/ap_on_bi_ge/us_obama_consumer_impact

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Chinese Social Media Spread Rumors of Military Coup in North Korea

Chinese bloggers and users of social media posted rumors that the new leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, was toppled by a military coup in that secretive nation over the past week.

According to a report in the Washington Post newspaper, Chinese government censors quickly removed the messages which purported, among other things, that soldiers in Pyongyang had seized the state-controlled television station and that Chinese troops were assembling on the border to halt the flow of North Korean refugees.

A Chinese microblogging service called Weibo spread rumors of a North Korean coup, eliciting thousands of comments from fascinated Chinese, until Beijing blocked the messages.

According to the Post, one rumor postulated that Jong-un?s uncle, Jang Song Thaek, had engineered a takeover.
Another rumor suggested that Kim Jong Nam, Jong-un?s elder brother, is actually the new leader.

One Chinese commenter responded to the rumors: ?Rumors said North Korea just had a coup, Kim Jong-[Un] has fallen from power. ... if there is really a coup, how will China respond? to protect the old or support the new? ... I think North Korea will be reunited with the South and embark on the democracy road. Just like East Germany reunited with West Germany.?

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Another commenter wrote: ?Can such a good thing happen? I should open a bottle of wine to celebrate tonight.?

The United States government said there is no confirmation of these rumors.

?There has been no movement among Chinese troops around the border,? one U.S. official told the Post.

Nonetheless, since the sudden death of Kim Jong Il last month, there has been speculation that his son may not be prepared to rule North Korea and also may not have the confidence of the state?s powerful military.

Given the incredible secrecy and isolation of North Korea, even its number one benefactor, China, seems to know little about the running of its government.

For example, it is not known if Jong-un is sharing power or if he is consolidating his command. His age is not even known (most foreign analysts speculate he is in his late 20s).

The Post speculated that if a power struggle erupts in North Korea (or if one already has emerged), the outside world might not even know of it for days or weeks. Reportedly, Jong-il died more than two days before it was officially announced to the rest of the world.

Soon after the death of Jong-il last month, a source told Reuters that Jong-un would likely have to share power with his uncle anyway. However, he also said a coup was unlikely.
"It's very unlikely," the source said. "The military has pledged allegiance to Kim Jong Un."

Separately, the Los Angeles Times reported that North Korean border guards have been shooting unarmed defectors seeking to escape the poverty-stricken nation.

Citing South Korean media reports, three North Koreans were killed recently trying to cross the Yalu River into China.

Seoul?s Joongang Daily newspaper reported that the new regime in Pyongyang has threatened to jail and even kill relatives of those who manage to escape the repressive country.

"Obviously it is getting much harder to defect," Do Hee-yoon, a member of the Citizens' Coalition for the Human Rights of Abductees, told the Korea Times.

According to reports, more than 22,000 North Korean defectors currently reside in the South.

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Source: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/277148/20120105/north-korea-kim-jong-un-military-coup.htm

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Boeing to close Wichita facility by end of 2013 (AP)

WICHITA, Kan. ? Faced with defense budget reductions, the Boeing Co. announced Wednesday it will close its defense plant in Wichita by the end of 2013.

The closure will cost more than 2,160 workers their jobs and end the firm's presence in a city where it has been a major employer for generations.

The decision was not entirely unexpected. The company said in November it was studying whether to close the Wichita facility, which specializes in modifying commercial aircraft for military or government operations, to address Defense Department budget cuts. The first layoffs are expected to begin in the third quarter of 2012.

The company said it was moving future aircraft maintenance, modification and support to its plant in San Antonio, Texas, and engineering work to Oklahoma City. Work on the Air Force refueling tanker will be performed in Puget Sound, Wash. The company said the 24 Kansas suppliers on that program will continue to provide parts as originally planned.

"In this time of defense budget reductions, as well as shifting customer priorities, Boeing has decided to close its operations in Wichita to reduce costs, increase efficiencies, and drive competitiveness," said Mark Bass, vice president and general manager for the Boeing Defense, Space & Security facility in Wichita.

The study came even as the Pentagon had been working to prevent $500 billion in automatic, across-the-board defense budget cuts over 10 years in the wake of the failure by a bipartisan congressional supercommittee to agree on $1.2 trillion or more in deficit reductions.

Wichita had hoped the number of jobs at the facility would grow after Boeing won a contract worth at least $35 billion to build 179 Air Force refueling tankers. The modification work on the planes had been expected to be done at Boeing's Wichita plant ? bringing with it 7,500 direct and indirect jobs with an overall economic impact of nearly $390 million.

Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer said the city, which prides itself as being the air capital of the world, has a long history with Boeing in the community. Brewer noted he worked there for 20 years before the company sold off its commercial operations.

"Many people ? generations upon generations ? have had an opportunity to be employed there and that could very easily be the end of that ... They are a very important part of us here," Brewer said.

But the mayor said the city would move on and take care of those families and continue working to be the "air capital of the world."

"This is not the first time we have had something of this magnitude. We have had other challenges and we have always managed to work through it and been able to survive," Brewer said.

Boeing has had a facility in Wichita since it bought the Stearman Aircraft Co. in 1929. During World War II, employment at the plant peaked at more than 40,000 as the company churned out four bombers a day. For decades the company remained the city's largest employer.

Then in 2005, Boeing spun off its commercial aircraft operations in Kansas and Oklahoma. At that time, the company still had roughly 15,000 employees in Wichita. After the divestiture, Boeing retained 4,500 workers for its defense work in Wichita but layoffs since have slashed that remaining workforce.

The Wichita facility is facing the end of some programs, such as the international tanker program that supplied refueling tankers to other countries. Over the summer, Boeing announced it would cut 225 jobs at its Wichita defense plant through the end of this year.

Even with the loss of the defense plant, Boeing would continue to have an economic impact in this aircraft manufacturing city. Spirit AeroSystems, which took over Boeing's commercial operations, continues to build parts here for Boeing's commercial airplanes.

"But it would be different to a certain extent because of the fact that, you know, it is kind of like family that you actually have and a member of the family is moving away," Brewer said. "So there is a lot of emotional and economic attachment tied to this."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/usmilitary/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120104/ap_on_re_us/us_boeing_wichita

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