Cotton fabric cleans itself when exposed to ordinary sunlight

Cotton fabric cleans itself when exposed to ordinary sunlight

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Imagine jeans, sweats or socks that clean and de-odorize themselves when hung on a clothesline in the sun or draped on a balcony railing. Scientists are reporting development of a new cotton fabric that does clean itself of stains and bacteria when exposed to ordinary sunlight. Their report appears in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.

Mingce Long and Deyong Wu say their fabric uses a coating made from a compound of titanium dioxide, the white material used in everything from white paint to foods to sunscreen lotions. Titanium dioxide breaks down dirt and kills microbes when exposed to some types of light. It already has found uses in self-cleaning windows, kitchen and bathroom tiles, odor-free socks and other products. Self-cleaning cotton fabrics have been made in the past, the authors note, but they self-clean thoroughly only when exposed to ultraviolet rays. So they set out to develop a new cotton fabric that cleans itself when exposed to ordinary sunlight.

Their report describes cotton fabric coated with nanoparticles made from a compound of titanium dioxide and nitrogen. They show that fabric coated with the material removes an orange dye stain when exposed to sunlight. Further dispersing nanoparticles composed of silver and iodine accelerates the discoloration process. The coating remains intact after washing and drying.

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American Chemical Society: http://www.acs.org

Thanks to American Chemical Society for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116005/Cotton_fabric_cleans_itself_when_exposed_to_ordinary_sunlight_

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California DUI deaths drop to record low

The number of alcohol-related fatalities on California highways dropped to a record low last year, with the biggest single-year drop in DUI deaths in 14 years, according to a federal report released Tuesday.

The drop was largely attributable to federally funded anti-drunk driving campaigns, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.

Alcohol contributed to 791 deaths in the state in 2010, a nearly 17% decline from the 950 deaths in 2009.

"Education is the key thing we use to inform the public about the reality and dangers of drunk driving," said Officer Mike Harris, a public information officer for the California Highway Patrol. "We develop programs and different awareness campaigns. Put all those things together and it's bound to have an impact."

Trends show that DUI deaths in the state increased annually from 1998 to 2005 but have decreased every year since then.

Officials attribute the recent sharp decline to an increase in the number of DUI checkpoints, a practice that allow police to stop cars in designated areas in search of drivers under the influence.

In 2010, the federal government beefed up the budget for drunk driving checkpoints. The Office of Traffic Safety allocated $16.8 million in federal funds to law enforcement agencies to conduct 2,553 DUI checkpoints last year, up from the $11.7 million allocated for 1,740 checkpoints in 2009.

In Costa Mesa, police are moving away from DUI checkpoints and toward saturation patrols, which target impaired drivers, both as a cost-saving measure and because of direction from the City Council.

Saturation patrols require half as many police officers as checkpoints and allow officers to respond to emergency calls at other locations. Councilwoman Wendy Leece said it's a better fit for the recently reduced Police Department.

Chief Tom Gazsi said saturation patrols are more effective for catching drunk drivers, whereas checkpoints are more of an educational service.

Officials said the state endorses many tactics to combat drunk driving, including saturation patrol. However, it prefers DUI checkpoints because of the high deterrence rate, said Chris Cochran, a spokesman for the California Office of Traffic Safety.

"Saturation patrols arrest more drunk drivers," Cochran said. "DUI checkpoints save more lives. Our end product is to save lives."

angel.jennings@latimes.com

Los Angeles Times staff writer Lauren Williams contributed to this report.

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/local/crime/~3/PN4mn8v4GcU/la-me-dui-deaths-20111214,0,7321517.story

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m3sweatt: RT @heuge: I'm back at the Microsoft Store in U District. This place has great customer service. It feels like 50 people are helping me :)

I'm back at the Microsoft Store in U District. This place has great customer service. It feels like 50 people are helping me :) Il y a environ 7 heures via web

Source: http://twitter.com/m3sweatt/statuses/147116133244342273

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Troops, police patrol Moscow after protests

Russian police block a road to prevent opposition rallies against Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his party, which won the largest share of a parliamentary election, as the monument of the heroes of the Revolution of 1905 is seen in the background, in downtown Moscow, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011. Security forces beefed up their presence across the capital Tuesday in apparent anticipation of more protests. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Russian police block a road to prevent opposition rallies against Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his party, which won the largest share of a parliamentary election, as the monument of the heroes of the Revolution of 1905 is seen in the background, in downtown Moscow, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011. Security forces beefed up their presence across the capital Tuesday in apparent anticipation of more protests. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Russian police gather to prevent an opposition rally against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his party, which won the largest share of a parliamentary election in downtown Moscow, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011. Security forces beefed up their presence across the capital Tuesday in an apparent anticipation of more protests. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Opposition leader Ilya Yashin is escorted by police from a court in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011. Yashin was sentenced Tuesday to a 15-day arrest for disobeying police after he was detained Monday along with some 300 protesters who rallied against what they called vote rigging during Sunday's parliamentary election. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)

Red lights of police cars are reflected on the wet asphalt where police officers block the road after a political rally in downtown Moscow, Monday, Dec. 5, 2011. Several thousand people have protested in Moscow against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his party, which won the largest share of a parliamentary election that observers said was rigged. A group of several hundred then marched toward the Central Elections Commission near the Kremlin, but were stopped by riot police and taken away in buses. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Russian Communist Party supporters hold flags with the color and emblem of the Communist Party during a protest against the official results of the parliamentary elections in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Dec. 5, 2011. The Communist Party appeared to benefit most from the protest vote, getting nearly 20 percent, up from less than 12 percent four years ago. The socialist Just Russia and the Liberal Democratic Party led by mercurial nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky are also expected to increase their representation in the Duma; both have generally voted with United Russia, and the Communists pose only token opposition. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

MOSCOW (AP) ? Thousands of police and Interior Ministry troops patrolled central Moscow on Tuesday, an apparent attempt to deter any further protests day after a rally against vote fraud and corruption caught Russian authorities by surprise.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, called his party's reduced number of seats in Sunday's parliamentary election an "inevitable" result of voters always being dissatisfied with the party in power. Putin also dismissed allegations of corruption among his United Russia party members, calling it a "cliche" that the party had to fight.

In neighboring Lithuania, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton again criticized the Russian election and urged that widespread reports of voting fraud be investigated.

United Russia party won slightly less than 50 percent of Sunday's vote, according to nearly complete preliminary results. Although that gives the party an absolute majority in the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, it is a significant drop from the 2007 election when the party got a two-thirds majority, enough to change the constitution unchallenged.

Even that smaller majority is seen as questionable in the wake of numerous reports of voting fraud to inflate United Russia's total. Russian officials, however, have denied any significant vote violations.

Still, the election results reflected public fatigue with Putin's authoritarian streak and with official corruption in Russia, signaling that his return to the presidency in next March's election may not be as trouble-free as he expected.

Russia's beleaguered opposition has been energized by the vote. Late Monday, thousands marched in Moscow chanting "Russia without Putin!"

On Tuesday evening, hundreds of police cordoned off Triumphal Square, adjacent to the capital's main boulevard, after reports that anti-Putin demonstrators would try to gather there. Hundreds of young men, some wearing emblems of the Young Guards, United Russia's youth wing, also were seen at the square.

Police also cordoned off a monument to the 1905 Revolution, which also has been the site of demonstrations.

Police detained about 300 protesters in Moscow on Monday and 120 participants in a similar rally in St. Petersburg. One of the leaders, Ilya Yashin, who was among those arrested, was sentenced to 15 days in jail Tuesday for disobeying police.

Security forces already had been beefed up in the capital ahead of the election. Moscow police said 51,500 Interior Ministry personnel were involved and it was all part of increased security for the election period.

Putin's comments Tuesday appeared aimed at saving face and discouraging the opposition from seeing United Russia as vulnerable.

"Yes, there were losses, but they were inevitable," Putin said. "They are inevitable for any political force, particularly for the one which has been carrying the burden of responsibility for the situation in the country."

Putin also addressed the popular characterization of United Russia as "the party of crooks and thieves," saying corruption was a widespread problem not limited to a single party.

"They say that the ruling party is associated with theft, with corruption, but it's a cliche related not to a certain political force, it's a cliche related to power," he said during a meeting with provincial officials.

"What's important, however, is how the ruling government is fighting these negative things," he said.

Clinton criticized the Russian vote for a second straight day, saying Tuesday that "Russian voters deserve a full investigation of electoral fraud and manipulation."

Konstantin Kosachev, a senior United Russia member, described Clinton's statement as "one of the darkest pages in the Russian-U.S. relations" and warned Washington against supporting the opposition.

Russia's only independent election monitoring group, Golos, which is funded by U.S. and European grants, came under heavy official pressure ahead of Sunday's vote after Putin likened Russian recipients of foreign support to Judas. Golos' website was incapacitated by hackers on election day, and its director Lilya Shibanova and her deputy had their cell phone numbers, email and social media accounts hacked.

The Russian election even drew criticism from one of Putin's predecessors.

"There is no real democracy here and there won't be any, if the government is afraid of the people," former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev said on Ekho Moskvy radio.

____

Vladimir Isachenkov contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-12-06-EU-Russia-Election/id-349df9345e834423ba862ca7c3cbd4f0

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Indian film star Dev Anand dies in London at 88 (omg!)

NEW DELHI (AP) ? Bollywood star Dev Anand, a charismatic and flamboyant Indian film fixture for more than a half-century, has died of a heart attack in London, his family said Sunday. He was 88.

Famed for his roles in dozens of movies, including "Jewel Thief" and "Guide," the veteran actor, director and producer was working up to the last minute, with a new script in the works.

Anand lived and died on "his own terms," his nephew and renowned film director Shekhar Kapur said in a posting on Twitter. "He was working one minute. Sat down and smiled. And was gone the next. So much to learn."

Anand died of a heart attack Saturday night in a hotel in London, where he had gone recently for a medical checkup, the family said.

India's prime minister joined Indian film stars and officials in lauding Anand's achievements and expressing sorrow for his death.

"Dev Anand was a great artist who entertained generations of cinema lovers over five decades," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in a statement. "He was an embodiment of long passion for acting and filmmaking. I join millions of his fans in mourning his death."

Born on Sept. 26, 1923, as the son of a Punjab lawyer, Anand studied English literature and law, eventually moving in his early 20s to India's film capital of Mumbai, then called Bombay, where he pursued a love of acting.

Known for his good looks, melodious voice and success in romantic leads, Anand was considered a superstar within just a few years of his 1946 screen debut in the Hindi-language film "Hum Ek Hain."

Others in his family followed, with his brothers Chetan and Vijay also winning praise as film producers, screenwriters and directors.

Dev Anand also began producing in 1949, and made his directorial debut in 1971 with the popular hippie cult film "Hare Rama Hare Krishna."

Never giving up the career, Anand released his latest film, "Chargesheet," just a few months ago and was reportedly working on another script when he died.

On his birthday in September, the upbeat actor told the Press Trust of India that he still had more to offer.

"My life is the same, and I am at a beautiful stage at 88," he reportedly said in the interview. "I am as excited as I was in my 20s. I have so many things to do," including a sequel to his 1971 film that he had titled "Hare Rama Hare Krishna Aaj."

Anand was given several prizes during his career, including lifetime achievement awards by Filmfare in 1993 and Screen Videocon in 1996. His 2007 memoirs, titled "Romancing With Life," underlined his belief in making films that were socially relevant.

Also known for social work, Anand dabbled in politics in the 1970s, launching a short-lived political party and leading other film stars in opposing then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's "Emergency" regime, which gave her the power to rule by decree.

"With his death, an era has come to an end. For a career spanning more than five decades, Dev Anand gave us films which will stay entrenched in our minds for years on," Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said in a statement carried by Press Trust of India. "He was truly a multifaceted performer as an actor, director and producer."

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan said in a posting on Twitter that Anand's death "leaves a void never perhaps to be filled again."

Prize-winning British-Indian novelist Salman Rushdie lamented in a post: "I grew up watching your films. Sorry to say goodbye."

Anand's family plans to cremate his body in London on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_indian_film_star_dev_anand_dies_london88_083244319/43798488/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/indian-film-star-dev-anand-dies-london-88-083244319.html

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Bob Burnett: Occupy Wall Street: The Enthusiasm Gap

The latest polls indicate that approximately 75 percent of Americans agree with the goals of Occupy Wall Street. Nonetheless, only 29 percent consider themselves supporters of OWS. What accounts for this enthusiasm gap?

The October Time magazine poll asked respondents if they agreed with the positions advocated by Occupy Wall Street and discovered extraordinary concurrence. 86 percent agreed that, "Wall Street and its lobbyists have too much influence in Washington." 79 percent agreed that, "The gap between rich and poor in the United States has grown too large." 71 percent agreed with ""Executives of financial institutions responsible for the financial meltdown in 2008 should be prosecuted." And 68 percent agreed that, "The rich should pay more taxes." Nonetheless, there remains a 45-50 percent enthusiasm gap, because the same voters who express these strong positive sentiments say they don't support OWS.

Perhaps these voters don't know enough about OWS. A recent USA Today/Gallup poll found that 59 percent of respondents felt they didn't know enough to approve or disapprove of the movement's goals.

It would be easier to accept the excuse "we don't know enough" if there was not a pattern of passivity. When we consider the past decade we can find many examples where average Americans should have taken action but didn't. In 2000, George W. Bush stole the presidency; many voters were outraged but few of them took to the streets in protest. On September 11, 2001, the US was attacked by terrorists; there were legitimate concerns that the Bush Administration had been asleep at the wheel yet once again Americans were passive observers. The terrorists were traced to Afghanistan and the US launched an attack; in December of 2001 most of the terrorists escaped from Afghanistan into Pakistan -- it was a glaring example of White House ineptitude but most citizens were quiet. Faced with failure in Afghanistan, the Bush Administration turned its attention to Iraq and, on March 20, 2003, launched an invasion; this time there were more protestors but the bulk of Americans stayed at home. Over the next several years there were glaring examples of presidential incompetence -- for example, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina -- but for the most part voters were quiet. Then the housing bubble burst and, in late September 2008, Wall Street came close to melting down; Americans were stunned and depressed, but few took to the streets. Since the turn of the century, American voters, the 99 percent, have had a lot to be angry about, but have been passive.

Historians contrast this last lost decade with World War II era America where average citizens, the 99 percent, rose up, built the weapons, and fought the fights that defeated the Axis powers. What's happened to us?

Perhaps American workers don't have the time. It's a tough economy and many work two jobs. For the 99 percent it's a grueling daily chore making ends meet. Perhaps they don't have the energy to get involved with OWS.

Perhaps they don't get it. Many observers believe Americans no longer invest in our children and, as a result, many have poor schools, teachers, and study habits. We've raised several generations of "non intellectuals." The average American spends 2.7 hours per day watching TV and only a few minutes reading. Perhaps the 99 percent don't understand what all the fuss is about.

Perhaps they've checked out. The Pew Survey of Religious Affiliation found that 26.3 percent of respondents were evangelical Protestants; this does not include Black and Catholic evangelicals and many observers believe the true number is closer to 40 percent. A recent Pew Research Poll found that 41 percent of respondents believe that Jesus Christ will return to earth by 2050 -- when the rapture will occur. Perhaps the 99 percent are not involved because they are preparing to shuffle off this mortal coil.

Perhaps they're severely damaged. The official US rate for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is 7.8 percent -- with a higher incidence among veterans. However this does not include survivors of violence against women and children. The American Psychological Association reports, "Nearly one in every three adult women experiences at least one physical assault by a partner during adulthood" -- four million US women are assaulted each year. Approximately one third of US children under 18 experience abuse during their childhood - in 2009 6 million children were reported as abused. And then there are the adults that have been economically abused -- laid off because their job was moved overseas or fired and rehired as a temp with no benefits. It's reasonable to assume that a majority of Americans -- a huge segment of the 99 percent -- suffer from PTSD. As a consequence they are depressed, hopeless, and numb. Perhaps these American agree with OWS but can't get it together to participate.

The enthusiasm gap is a result of a combination of these factors. The challenge for Occupy Wall Street is to find new ways to engage members of the 99 percent who agree with OWS objectives, but are too tired or numb to participate.

?

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-burnett/occupy-wall-street-the-en_b_1125312.html

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Guinea-Bissau President in Paris for medical check (AP)

KINSHASA, Congo ? The spokesman for the government of Guinea-Bissau says that President Malam Bacai Sanha has been hospitalized in Paris since Nov. 26.

Aniceto Alves denied rumors on Saturday that Sanha is seriously ill. He said the president left the small West African nation of Guinea-Bissau on Nov. 23 for a medical checkup in Senegal, before continuing three days later to a hospital in Paris.

Alves said that that Sanha went to Paris for a medical checkup that he needs to do every six months in Paris. He said that Sanha did a preliminary exam in Senegal, then continued onto Paris.

Sanha's health has been the subject of intense speculation. Since his election in 2009, he has been hospitalized several times for long stretches in Senegal and Paris with the government always describing the visits as routine checkups.

Sanha is known to be a diabetic.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111203/ap_on_re_af/af_guinea_bissau_president

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Art-theft suspect pleads not guilty in NYC (AP)

NEW YORK ? A wine steward suspected in a bicoastal art-theft spree lifted pricey art from New York hotels simply by walking out with the works in a canvas tote bag and then used them to line his own walls, prosecutors said Friday.

Mark Lugo, who just spent more than four months in jail for grabbing a $275,000 Picasso off a San Francisco art gallery wall, was being held without bail after pleading not guilty Friday to grand larceny and other charges in a Manhattan court.

"In an effort to display stolen art in his apartment, this repeat art thief boldly walked out of two Manhattan hotels in broad daylight" with valuable works, District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. said in a statement.

Lugo's New York lawyer, James Montgomery, said the 31-year-old was a "pleasant, engaging" man "who's been struggling with particular difficulties," which he wouldn't detail.

"When the dust settles, and the DA's office calms down a little bit, we'll find that Mr. Lugo is a man who had no commercial motive at all" in the alleged thefts, Montgomery said.

The charges relate to two thefts of a total of six artworks, including what prosecutors called a $350,000 sketch by the French Cubist painter Fernand Leger. But prosecutors said a search of Lugo's former apartment in Hoboken, N.J., turned up four other pieces ? including a Picasso work ? that may have been stolen from Manhattan venues, and they said the investigation was continuing.

Lugo was publicly identified as a suspect in several New York heists since shortly after his July arrest in San Francisco, where police identified him as the man who walked into the Weinstein Gallery, lifted the 1965 Picasso drawing "Tete de Femme" ("Head of a Woman") off the wall, strolled down the street with the sketch under his arm and hopped into a taxi. Police tracked Lugo to a friend's Napa County apartment, where the Picasso was found unframed and prepared for shipping.

At his Hoboken apartment, investigators then found a $430,000 trove of stolen art, carefully and prominently displayed, as well as high-priced wine, authorities said.

Among some 19 artworks at the apartment was Leger's 1917 "Composition with Mechanical Elements," Assistant District Attorney Meghan Hast told a judge. The drawing disappeared June 28 from an employee entrance area at a gallery in the Carlyle Hotel; prosecutors pegged its value at $350,000, though Montgomery said that figure warranted investigating.

Lugo also is charged with stealing a group of five works by the South Korea-born artist Mie Yim, known for her disconcerting images of toy bears and other toy-like creatures, from the Chambers Hotel on June 14. The hotel had bought the Yim works, together called "Pastel on Board," for $1,800 apiece, prosecutors said.

Representatives for the hotels didn't immediately return calls Friday.

The San Francisco district attorney's office has said Lugo also was suspected of several other New York art heists, including the theft of a $30,000 Picasso etching from the William Bennett Gallery on June 27.

The sometime sommelier and kitchen server at upscale Manhattan restaurants also is charged in New Jersey with taking $6,000 worth of wine - in the form of three bottles of Chateau Petrus Pomerol - in April from Gary's Wine and Marketplace in Wayne. He hasn't appeared in a New Jersey court yet to answer those charges.

Lugo pleaded guilty in October to grand theft for the San Francisco heist. He finished his 138-day sentence Nov. 21 but was being held until he could be transferred to New York.

Lugo's San Francisco attorney, Douglas Horngrad, has called him "more like someone who was in the midst of a psychiatric episode" than a calculating art thief.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111202/ap_on_en_ot/us_purloined_picasso

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The crowd called to deciper whale songs

Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images

In this file photo, a pilot whale with an injured nose rises out of the water as a pod of approximately 100 gather in Loch Carron in Scotland. A new crowdsourcing project is attempting to decipher pilot whale calls.

By John Roach

The collective wisdom of the crowd is being called upon to help scientists decipher the language of pilot and killer whales in a project that could help us operate our machines in harmony with the ocean giants.

To participate, log on to Whale.fm, a project sponsored by Zooniverse and Scientific American, and try to match up similar sounding whale calls.?

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The researchers behind the project hope that the wisdom of the crowd will more accurately match the calls than one user can alone.

That is, what I think are two similar sounding calls might not be what you think. If hundreds or thousands of people group the same sounds together, though, they're more likely a match.

Whale.fm is particularly important for basic pilot whale research, since scientists know so little about them. What they do know suggests they communicate in similar ways to killer whales, which are known to live in family groups and communicate among themselves in unique dialects.

Scientists collected the whale calls over the years with underwater microphones suctioned onto whales, dragged behind ships and attached to buoys. Each sound and a corresponding spectrogram ? a visual representation of the whale sound snippet ? are presented for users to find a match.

The site also plots on a world map where the call was recorded and even offers users an option to track specific whales.?

If all goes well and lots of people participate, researchers should get answers to questions such as the size of the pilot whale call repertoire, any differences between the repertoires of long and short finned pilot whales, and how, if at all, the calls change amid noise such as sonar.

The project will also let researchers know how well volunteers agree with each other and, thus, how good we are at collectively categorizing the calls of vocal species such as whales.

This type of crowdsourcing ? tapping the wisdom of the crowd to form a collective intelligence ? has been used for other research projects in the past, including Zooniverse's?Planet Hunters, which is harnessing crowds to find new planets.

If the crowd turns out to be wise enough to help researchers decipher whale songs, what else can we do?

More on crowdsourcing projects:

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John Roach is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. To learn more about him, check out his website. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.

Kids' play has moved to tablets and PCs. In this new age, toy makers and researchers alike are sorting out the benefits ? and detriments ? of playful educational interaction in virtual space.

?

Source: http://futureoftech.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/30/9121479-the-crowd-called-to-decipher-whale-songs

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PFT: Tebow strongly defends his love of Jesus

AP

It?s a nice, feel-good Thanksgiving week story.? Bears quarterback Jay Cutler breaks a thumb.? The Broncos have cut a former Bears quarterback who?d like to play in Chicago again.? And there?s nothing more natural than a homecoming on the fourth Thursday in November.

The only problem?? At least 22 teams can provide the flight delay and/or the traffic jam that prevents Kyle Orton from scarfing down sausage with the Superfans.

After the trading deadline, all players who are released must pass through waivers.? Priority is determined by record.? And so every team higher than the Bears in the pecking order will have dibs on Orton, if they choose to exercise it.

The Bears reportedly are No. 30 on the list.? Which means that every team except the 49ers and Packers will be able to grab him.

It doesn?t matter whether Orton ?wants? to play for the Bears.? If another team claims him, he has 2.5 million reasons to show up.

At the top of the stack, what better way to test whether the Colts are in full-blown ?Suck for Luck? mode than to see whether they?d bring in a quarterback who is significantly better than Curtis Painter or Dan Orlovsky?? They?d be crazy not to make a claim.? Unless they?re truly crazy for Andrew Luck.

The 4-6 Chiefs also need help, given the performance of Tyler Palko on Monday night.? (And with the Chiefs playing the Broncos again on January 1, there could be some strategic benefit to having him around.)? Ditto for the Redskins, whose head coach could be coaching for his job, with Rex Grossman and John Beck as the blanks in the bazooka.

And how about NFC teams that hope to pick off a wild-card berth if/when the Bears slide with Caleb Hanie or Nathan Enderle?? The 7-3 Lions, 6-4 Falcons, the 6-4 Cowboys (whose primary backup, Jon Kitna, is banged up), the 6-4 Giants, the 4-6 Bucs, and even the 4-6 Dream Team would have an incentive to block the Bears from getting their way.

Let?s also not forget about the Texans, who may not be completely sold on Matt Leinart, despite the decision to put all their eggs in a beer bong.

Finally, it would be foolish to overlook good, old-fashioned spite.? In 2002, Deion Sanders wanted to emerge from retirement and hop onto the silver-and-black bandwagon.? So the Redskins released his rights.? And former Redskins coach Marty Schottenheimer, the man whose presence in 2001 prompted Sanders to pick retirement over playing, put in a waivers claim on Sanders, short-circuiting his plan.? With three NFC North teams on track to make it to the playoffs, maybe the 2-8 Vikings would be tempted to keep the Bears from getting Orton, in the hopes that they?ll have company in the non-playoff party.

That?s highly unlikely.? But the point is that there are many possible motivations, and just because the Bears want Orton and Orton wants the Bears, it doesn?t mean he?ll end up there.? Indeed, the fact that the Bears and Orton are trying to rendezvous could be the tiebreaker for a team that is thinking about disrupting that plan.

UPDATE 10:35 p.m. ET:? As a reader pointed out on Twitter, claiming Orton has another benefit.? When he leaves as a free agent in March 2012, the team that employs him for six weeks would be in line of a compensatory draft pick.? So there?s one more good reason to consider doing it.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/11/22/tebow-to-plummer-ill-take-every-opportunity-to-praise-the-lord/related

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Carcass death, shot at White House leads off weird, MMA-related news round-up

The MMA world reaches well beyond fighters who have made it to the UFC, Strikeforce or Bellator, which means that there are plenty of news stories that involve people who have at some point been in a cage for a fight. For example:

-- Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez was arrested over the weekend for shooting a semiautomatic rifle, and now he is accused of trying to assassinate the president. MMA Junkie reports that he won an his MMA debut last summer in Idaho with a TKO.

-- Alic McCrae, a Scottish fighter who last year debuted with two bouts in one night in Scotland, suffered a bizarre death. While working at a slaughterhouse, a carcass fell on the 135-lb. fighter and crushed him. He was just 23.

-- Zachary Knight, a lieutenant with the Levy County sheriff's department with a 2-4 MMA record, is accused of sexual battery. Authorities were forced to use a Tazer on him because of his "prowess as a fighter and reluctance to be handcuffed."

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Carcass-death-shot-at-White-House-leads-off-wei?urn=mma-wp9865

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Smith leads streaking 49ers past Cardinals 23-7

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By ANTONIO GONZALEZ

updated 11:13 p.m. ET Nov. 20, 2011

SAN FRANCISCO - Alex Smith emerged from the pelting rain with his jersey soaked, cleats tattered with chunks of mud and the tape around his ankles stuck to his damp skin.

Never looked better in a 49ers uniform.

Through seven years of boos and banter, losses and letdowns and a series of injury setbacks, Smith walked off the field on a soggy Sunday at Candlestick Park guaranteed of a winning season for the first time in his NFL career.

And it's only Week 11.

Smith threw for 267 yards and two touchdowns and the San Francisco 49ers forced five turnovers to blow past the Arizona Cardinals 23-7, moving oh-so close to clinching the NFC West in near record-setting fashion.

"You chase perfection like that, you're never going to be perfect but it doesn't change your mindset," said Smith, the 2005 No. 1 overall pick out of Utah. "It's certainly not like we're making all the plays out there, and today was evidence of that. We left a lot out there."

Not as much as he once did.

Smith tossed scores to Kyle Williams and Vernon Davis on the first two drives of the third quarter to help the 49ers pull away for their eighth straight victory. San Francisco (9-1) could wrap up the NFC West with a win at Baltimore on Thursday and a loss by Seattle against Washington next weekend.

The earliest team to clinch a division was the 1985 Chicago Bears in Week 11, according to STATS LLC. Three others have clinched in 11 games.

Now the 49ers, without a playoff appearance or winning record since 2002, can join them and push forward to bigger prizes.

"You come to the point where you just can't always concede the last shove, there's always going to give you the final shove," first-year 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said. "You can't do it that way, you can't play it that way."

San Francisco plans to play hard until the end.

Donte Whitner, Patrick Willis and Dashon Goldson all intercepted passes by John Skelton. The quarterback for the Cardinals (3-7) lost for the first time in three starts this season in place of the injured Kevin Kolb.

The conditions turned out to be just perfect for San Francisco's style.

With a chilly rainstorm pelting the Bay Area since Saturday, the 49ers defense bullied and bruised Arizona all over a slick field. The Cardinals converted only two first downs in the first half and didn't make it past midfield until late in the third quarter.

"Their thing is keep the game close, don't give up no big touchdowns and then get three points and three points, maybe get a score," Arizona defensive tackle Darnell Dockett said "And that's how they win the game."

Once the rain subsided and a rainbow formed in the north sky above Candlestick, the 49ers finally opened up an otherwise passive passing game.

Smith connected with Williams on a route to the near pylon in the third quarter. Williams stretched over the goal line as he was tackled to complete the 8-yard TD catch.

After Skelton sailed a pass that Whitner stood under for an easy interception, Smith rallied San Francisco for another quick score.

He found Davis for an 18-yard touchdown to put San Francisco ahead 23-0. The tight end leaped over sideline cameramen and flexed his muscles to a rain-soaked crowd covered in ponchos and umbrellas in celebration.

Far too much for Arizona's anemic offense to overcome.

Skelton had won the previous two games against St. Louis and Philadelphia since replacing Kolb, who's out with a right foot and toe injury. Skelton was 6 of 19 for 99 yards and was benched after throwing his third interception in place of third-string quarterback Richard Bartel to start the fourth.

So much for that budding quarterback controversy.

Even Bartel's only highlight came on a shaky pass between two defenders that landed in Fitzgerald's hands for a 23-yard touchdown for Arizona's lone score. The Cardinals dropped their fifth straight to the 49ers.

About the only fight Arizona showed came in the fourth quarter when Early Doucet appeared to hit Goldson after the defensive back sacked Bartel. Goldson came up and threw two punches to Doucet's shoulder pads and facemask, getting a 15-yard personal foul penalty and an ejection.

The main fight was utter domination.

San Francisco outgained Arizona 431 to 229 yards of total offense. The 49ers also held the ball for more than 44 minutes and even got away with three missed field goals and a slowed-down running game.

"We take pride in outworking people," Whitner said. "We're happy about the win. But our long-term goals, we want to compete for a championship."

The slick, sloppy surface at the start gave way to several slips.

Frank Gore started despite a right knee injury that knocked him out of a win over the New York Giants a week earlier, finishing with 88 yards rushing. He needs 61 more to pass the late Joe Perry (7,344) for San Francisco's career rushing mark.

David Akers had been one of the NFL's most reliable kickers ? making 15 straight field goals ? until a field flooded with water soaked his streak. He converted field goals from 43, 29 and 22 yards in the first half but had two kicks blocked and pulled another wide right.

Calais Campbell swatted the first attempt from 46 yards and Patrick Peterson blocked one from 30 yards. After Willis intercepted a pass by Skelton, the 49ers' offense stalled and Akers lost his footing and sent a 49-yard attempt wide right.

The 49ers regained their rhythm in the second half and the one hiccup Smith showed came late.

He seemed to misread coverage and lofted a short pass that was intercepted in the end zone by Daryl Washington in the fourth quarter. Smith completed 20 of 38 passes in one of his best games of the season.

The only time he threw for more this season was when he had 291 yards in a win at Philadelphia.

"I really think," Smith said, "we all understand what we can be when we're rolling."

Notes: Cardinals DT Dan Williams was carted off field with a broken left arm in the fourth quarter. ... Davis' TD was the 34th of his 49ers career, passing Brent Jones for the most by a tight end in franchise history. ... 49ers FB Bruce Miller left with a concussion in the first half, the team said. He is day to day. ... Cardinals RT Brandon Keith also left with a concussion in the first half and will be revaluated Monday.

___

Follow Antonio Gonzalez at: www.twitter.com/agonzalezAP

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Young authors drive to remember

PFT: For one drive Sunday night, Eagles quarterback Vince Young reminded everyone what made him so special when he was ripping off victories as a rookie with the Tennessee Titans.

Young leads Eagles past Giants

Vince Young threw a go-ahead 8-yard touchdown pass to Riley Cooper with 2:45 to play as undermanned Philadelphia beat the Giants 17-10.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45379980/ns/sports-nfl/

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AP source: Romney to gain the endorsement of New Hampshire senator Sunday (Star Tribune)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/164264494?client_source=feed&format=rss

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UK police charge four with terrorism offenses (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? British police charged four men from the central English city of Birmingham Friday with terrorism offences linked to Pakistan.

The men were arrested Tuesday as part of a police counter-terrorism investigation in which eight others have also been charged.

West Midlands Police said in a statement the four men would appear in court in London Saturday.

They face charges of fundraising for the purposes of terrorism, traveling to Pakistan for training and traveling abroad to commit acts of terrorism.

Police named the four as Khobaib Hussain, Ishaaq Hussain and Shahid Kasam Khan, all 19 years old, and Naweed Mahmood Ali, aged 24.

Their arrests were pre-planned and not made in response to any immediate threat to public safety, police said Tuesday.

(Reporting by Tim Castle; Editing by Myra MacDonald)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/britain/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111119/wl_nm/us_britain_security_charges

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How Did They Install the Most Amazing Window Ever Created By Humankind [Video]

The most amazing window ever created by humankind is not on this planet, but floating in space, the most spectacular part of the International Space Station. It's the ISS Cupola. This animation shows how it was installed. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Ir092Ikmmxg/how-did-they-install-the-most-amazing-window-ever-created-by-humankind

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Tiny USB Stick Brings Android to PCs, TVs

Thanks to FXI Technologies' Cotton Candy USB device, we may not have to wait long to see Android on more than just our mobile devices. FXI essentially built an ultra-lean computer inside a small USB stick. Stick it into any device that supports USB storage, and Cotton Candy will register as a USB drive. From there, you can run the Android OS in a secure environment inside your desktop, courtesy of a Windows/OSX/Linux-compatible virtualization client embedded in the device.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/ErggqbxwlGQ/

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PFT: Vick 'unlikely' to face Giants on Sunday

Reuters

Aaron Rodgers is having one of the greatest seasons for any quarterback in NFL history, and the fans are taking notice.

Rodgers leads all other players in Pro Bowl voting through November 14, with 589,801 ballots cast for the Packers quarterback at NFL.com.

He leads Patriots quarterback Tom Brady by more than 52,000 votes.

Lions receiver Calvin Johnson is the highest non-quarterback and the third overall leading vote-getter, with 487,547.? Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has 469,117.? Pats receiver Wes Welker is fifth on the list, with 430,945.

The rest of the top 10 consists of Packers receiver Greg Jennings (399,521), Saints quarterback Drew Brees (396,436), Bills running back Fred Jackson (384,771), Steelers receiver Mike Wallace (377,615), and Bears running back Matt Forte (348,880).

The leaders by position in the AFC are Brady, Jackson, Chargers fullback Jacob Hester, Welker, Pats tight end Rob Gronkowski, Ravens tackle Michael Oher, Patriots guard Logan Mankins, Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey, Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski, Jets kick returner Joe McKnight, Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney, Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, Steelers outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley, Ravens inside linebacker Ray Lewis, Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis, Steelers strong safety Troy Polamalu, Ravens free safety Ed Reed, Raiders punter Shane Lechler, and Ravens special-teamer Brendan Ayanbadejo.

In the NFC, the leaders are Rodgers, Peterson, Packers fullback John Kuhn, Johnson, Saints tight end Jimmy Graham, Packers tackle Chad Clifton, Packers guard T.J. Lang, Packers center Scott Wells, Packers kicker Mason Crosby, Bears kick returner Devin Hester, Vikings defensive end Jared Allen, Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, Cowboys outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware, Packers inside linebacker Desmond Bishop, Packers cornerback Charles Woodson, Saints strong safety Roman Harper, Packers free safety Morgan Burnett, 49ers punter Andy Lee, and Packers special-teamer Jarrett Bush.

Voting remains open at NFL.com/probowl until the conclusion of the Steelers-49ers Monday Night Football game on December 19.? The Pro Bowl will be played at 7:00 p.m. ET on January 29, and televised by NBC.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/11/16/report-vick-unlikely-to-face-giants/related/

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NBA lockout: Questions and answers (AP)

Now that the NBA players have disbanded their union and taken their labor fight with the owners to the courts, they have given up a considerable level of control in how the whole process plays out.

Two groups of players have filed antitrust lawsuits against the league ? one in California and one in Minnesota ? in hopes of turning up the heat on the owners after negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement broke down Monday.

So begins a seemingly endless series of court filings and back-and-forth responses written by lawyers in complex legalese that promises to go on for months, if not years, until the two sides are able to reach agreement on a new deal.

Case in point: the NBA wrote a letter to the judge overseeing its pre-emptive lawsuit in New York on Tuesday arguing that the players' decision to disband the union proves the league's point that the union planned to do this all along.

The players fired right back in their own letter, arguing that the decision should not stop U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe from dismissing the league's lawsuit, saying the decision to disclaim interest was "uncertain until it was made."

""The hope is that the magnitude of the uncertainty and complexity will cause both sides to come back and put aside the legal arguments and get back to talking about BRI and system issues," said Gabe Feldman, director of the Sports Law program at Tulane. "The easiest way to get these lawsuits to go away is to agree on terms of a new collective bargaining agreement."

Meanwhile, impatient fans are making their voices heard. They have found a new definition of NBA ? saying it now stands for "No Basketball Anymore," a phrase that was trending on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon.

With that in mind, here is a look at what's happening in the NBA labor fight and what could happen next.

Q: What is the difference between disclaiming interest in the union and decertifying?

A: Timing, more than anything else. Decertification is a more formal process that requires a petition being signed and a waiting period of 45-60 days for the National Labor Relations Board to conduct a full vote of the rank-and-file union members.

Disclaiming interest, on the other hand, is a much quicker means to a similar end ? filing an antitrust lawsuit. It is also easier to reform to a union, Feldman said, should the players need to band together again to approve a new collective bargaining agreement, as the NFL players did in their labor fight with the owners this summer.

Q: So what is the difference between the labor cases of the NFL and the NBA?

A: The biggest difference is the timing of the unions' dissolution. The NFL's union disbanded in March, almost six months before the 2011 regular season was scheduled to start. The reason is the previous collective bargaining agreement stated that if the players remained a union through the deal's expiration, they could not disband for six months. That prompted the NFL players to disband the union the day the agreement expired, which also gave both sides months to fight out the battle in court before games were jeopardized.

There was no such clause in the NBA's deal. The players continued negotiating with the owners through the summer and even after the first month of regular season games were canceled. The problem with waiting to disclaim interest, however, is that checks and games already are being lost while the fight enters the slow and deliberate legal system.

"The NFL owners and players had time to let the legal battle play out. The NBA owners and players don't," Feldman said. "This has to be a quick legal strike, and unfortunately in our litigation system, there aren't many opportunities to get a quick legal strike."

Q: Why have two antitrust lawsuits been filed?

A: There are a couple of reasons. First, because the players are no longer governed by a union, they are free to do as they please on an individual basis. One group, including star players Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant, has filed a lawsuit in Northern California in conjunction with the players' association. Another group, including rookie Derrick Williams and Timberwolves forward Anthony Tolliver, have filed in Minnesota.

It's no coincidence that those two district courts were chosen. The federal court in San Francisco is under the jurisdiction of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, considered the most liberal, and therefore labor-friendly, of the 13 circuit courts. The federal court in Minnesota was the venue for more than two decades of legal fights between NFL owners and players, who enjoyed a healthy share of victories in that venue.

The owners filed a pre-emptive lawsuit in the Southern District of New York, which has sided with the NBA several times before. It is likely they will push to get any labor-related cases transferred to Manhattan.

"That could be the threshold battle: where is the case heard," Feldman said.

Q: Can negotiations still take place while litigation is pending?

A: Yes and no. Union leaders Derek Fisher and Billy Hunter no longer have the power to negotiate and agree to terms for the players. No longer a union, the NBPA is now a trade association. It can't fight fines or suspensions or file grievances for players. It also cannot regulate player behavior or agent behavior, which has led to some concern about agent poaching.

What can happen, and what did happen this summer with the NFL, is lawyers and representatives for both sides can hold discussions under the guise of antitrust settlement talks.

Of course, Hunter and any attorneys representing the players must walk a fine line in such negotiations. Acting as a leader and decision-maker could strengthen the league's argument that the dissolution of the union was a sham and a negotiating tactic.

Q: Did dissolving the union work for NFL players?

A: It depends on how you define "work." It's true the NFL and its players agreed on a new deal without missing any regular season games. It is also true that the NFL players were granted a temporary injunction by U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson that lifted the lockout the week after the NFL draft in June.

But that injunction was overturned on appeal to the 8th Circuit Court in St. Louis, a ruling that could be influential in the NBA's case.

Ultimately, Feldman believes, it was the motivation provided by $9 billion in NFL revenues to be split up that provided the onus for the owners to negotiate a deal with the players, not the threat of losing an antitrust lawsuit and the enormous monetary damages that would have come with a defeat.

"The NFL owners didn't claim they were losing money or that the system was broken," he said. "In the NBA, many owners are claiming they're losing money and that the system is broken. So the ownership side is a little more entrenched in their position."

___

Follow Jon Krawczynski on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/APkrawczynski.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111116/ap_on_sp_bk_ne/bkn_nba_labor_q_and_a

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TSA Could Skip Independent Backscatter Tests Because Existing Studies, "May Suffice" [Tsa]

Backscatter X-ray machines may or may not be carcinogenic. The European Union isn't taking any chances, but the TSA is so confident in their safety that it likely won't conduct the additional tests it promised the Senate. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/g5nrAnZ6l44/tsa-could-skip-independent-backscatter-tests-because-existing-studies-may-suffice

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No, it Is Not 'Legal' for Congress to Trade on Insider Information - Big ...

From BusinessInsider:

The fact that many members of Congress appear to have?traded on non-public information in their personal brokerage accounts during the financial crisis is outrageous.

But since this bombshell news broke on Sunday night, the excuse has been that, however ridiculous it may sound, insider trading is?legal for Congress.

This same assertion has been repeated for years, every time someone observes that Congress members do much better in their personal stock trading than average investors do. Unlike average Joes, the pundits explain, Congress has exempted itself from insider-trading laws, so Congress-people are allowed to trade on private information that they gather in the course of their work while other Americans can?t.

But at least one law professor argues that this is just not true.

Insider trading is just as illegal for members of Congress as it is for the 300+ million Americans,?Indiana Law Professor Donna Nagy argues.

Congress never ?exempted? itself from insider trading laws, Nagy says?because Congress has never actually passed a law about insider trading.

By trading on information gathered in the course of their jobs, Nagy says, Congress-people are abusing the public trust and violating a legal duty, just the way any other insider-traders do.

So the Congress people who traded during the financial crisis (and since) should be investigated and, possibly, prosecuted for their behavior.

Read more here. In a sense, however, it is effectively legal for Congress to insider-trade, since any investigation would be conducted by the SEC. That agency?s budget is controlled by Congress and its Commissioner subject to Senate approval.

Source: http://biggovernment.com/publius/2011/11/15/no-it-is-not-legal-for-congress-to-trade-on-insider-information/

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NASA budget: Telescope saved, space taxis cut

A compromise spending plan for NASA preserves the over-budget replacement for the Hubble Space Telescope and halves President Barack Obama's request for money to spur development of commercial space taxis, officials said Tuesday.

Overall, the U.S. space agency would receive $17.8 billion for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1 ? $924 million less than the White House requested and $684 million less than it received this year.

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The compromise, approved by a House and Senate conference committee, is part of a "minibus" appropriations bill that also includes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Commercial Space Transportation. The full House is expected to consider the bill on Wednesday.

The spending plan, which was posted on a congressional website on Tuesday, authorizes $3.8 billion for human space exploration programs, including $1.9 billion for a proposed heavy-lift rocket and $1.2 billion for a deep space capsule to fly astronauts to the moon, asteroids and other destinations in the inner solar system, as a follow-on program to the International Space Station.

A House bid to cancel NASA's over-budget James Webb Space Telescope, a successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, was scuttled, though the compromise bill caps spending on the program at $8 billion.

Overall, NASA's science programs would receive $5.1 billion, about $155 million more than its 2011 budget. About $530 million of that amount would go toward the Webb Space Telescope.

NASA has said it would delay other science programs to keep the telescope on track for launch in 2018.

The bill cuts Obama's request for $850 million to speed up development of commercial passenger spaceships to $406 million.

"We're always appreciative of whatever dollars the appropriators appropriate to us," Kathy Nado, a manager at NASA Headquarters, said at the American Astronautical Society meeting in Austin, Texas. "Whatever dollars they give us we will be able to effectively spend."

The agency is currently funding space taxi development work at Boeing and three privately held companies ? SpaceX, Sierra Nevada Corp. and Blue Origin. It had hoped for enough money to keep at least two and possibly three teams working on spaceships that could ferry astronauts to the space station.

Since the space shuttle program ended this summer, the United States has been dependent on Russia to fly crews to the station, at a cost of more than $50 million per person. NASA had hoped for a U.S. alternative by 2016.

Nado declined to say how the shortfall would affect NASA's spending on space taxis. But NASA's deputy administrator, Lori Garver, said that if the space agency did not get the full $850 million it was asking for, the 2016 schedule would be "at risk."

The bill also adds $470 million to NASA's budget to cover costs of terminating a pension fund for workers who were employed by prime shuttle contractor United Space Alliance, a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin Corp.

More about NASA's future:

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45317181/ns/technology_and_science-space/

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Defense witness in Murray case faces contempt fine (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? A scientist who was the star defense witness in the trial of Michael Jackson's doctor will be in court Wednesday to fight a threatened $1,000 fine for contempt.

Dr. Paul White is a pioneer in the use of the anesthetic propofol. He clashed with Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor over comments in and out of court during Dr. Conrad Murray's trial.

Pastor says White deliberately brought up banned information in his testimony.

Pastor is giving White a chance to appear Wednesday and explain why he should not be found in direct contempt of court and fined $1,000. A member of the trial defense team, Michael Flanagan, is representing him.

Murray is in jail awaiting sentencing for involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's death and is not required to attend the hearing.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111116/ap_en_mu/us_michael_jackson_doctor_contempt

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