Caps fire coach Boudreau; replaced by Dale Hunter (AP)

ARLINGTON, Va. ? The Washington Capitals on Monday fired coach Bruce Boudreau, who won 200 games faster than any coach in modern NHL history but stumbled regularly in the playoffs despite a talent-laden lineup featuring two-time league MVP Alex Ovechkin.

Boudreau was replaced by former Capitals captain Dale Hunter, who was scheduled to lead Monday's practice and make his debut behind the bench Tuesday night when Washington hosts the St. Louis Blues to begin a three-game homestand.

Hired four years ago on Thanksgiving Day, Boudreau went 201-88-40 in the regular season with the Capitals but just 17-20 in the playoffs. This season he tried a new approach, emphasizing accountability and the willingness to bench his star players ? team captain Ovechkin included ? as punishment for subpar performances.

The Capitals started 7-0 ? a franchise record for consecutive wins to begin a season ? but have since slumped badly. They have lost six of eight, including a 5-1 beat-down Saturday night to a Buffalo Sabres team missing nine regular players. Ovechkin has only one goal in the last eight games.

The 51-year-old Hunter played for the Capitals from 1987-99, the last five seasons as team captain, and is one of four players to have his jersey (No. 32) retired by the franchise. He played 19 NHL seasons and is the only player in league history with 1,000 points and 3,000 penalty minutes. His career total of 3,563 penalty minutes ranks second all-time.

Hunter has coached the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League for 11 seasons, compiling a 451-189-23-24 record. He became the fastest coach in OHL history to reach 300 and 400 career wins.

Boudreau turned around a moribund franchise when he was hired in 2007, leading the Capitals to the first of four consecutive Southeast Division titles and winning the league's coach of the year award in 2008. Nicknamed "Gabby," he bought an offensive philosophy that meshed well with Ovechkin and the team's other "young guns" such as Alexander Semin and Mike Green, but he was never able to get Washington beyond the second round of the playoffs.

Boudreau had the team adopt a more defensive mindset during a losing streak last season, but it failed to pay dividends in the spring. The Capitals were swept by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round of the postseason.

Boudreau's assistant coaches ? Dean Evason, Bob Woods and Blaine Forsythe ? will remain in their posts under Hunter.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111128/ap_on_sp_ho_ne/hkn_capitals_boudreau_fired

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On Thanksgiving, space station astronauts don't have to watch their weight

The Thanksgiving menu for astronauts aboard the International Space Station includes turkey, yams, and cherry-blueberry cobbler, all served up ? or is it down? ? in a microgravity environment.?

A light Thanksgiving dinner doesn't necessarily mean skimping on the turkey or stuffing, not even aboard the International Space Station. The three crew members, who arrived just in time to spend a weightless holiday in orbit, will enjoy a feast of irradiated smoked turkey and heat-treated yams while floating 220 miles (354 kilometers) above Earth tomorrow (Nov. 24).

Skip to next paragraph

The?weightless feast?will include traditional favorites with a space-y twist, such as NASA's own cornbread dressing, home-style potatoes, cranberries, and for dessert ? drum roll! ? cherry-blueberry cobbler, served in a space pouch.

Around the table will be NASA astronaut Dan Burbank and Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin. The trio arrived at the space station Tuesday (Nov. 22), and they are scheduled to live and work aboard the outpost until March. Their time will be spent conducting experiments and preparing for the arrival of new commercial cargo-carrying spacecraft.

Burbank recently described the crew's Thanksgiving plans in a NASA holiday video message, with Burbank catching floating food packages as he gave Earthlings a rundown of the Thursday menu. [A Gallery of Space Food]

The one important missing ingredient? Family.

"We're going to be missing the family and friends back home; we're going to hopefully get a chance to talk to them," Burbank said.

Even so, the astronaut has a lot on his gratitude list.

"We're going to enjoy some great food, we're going to enjoy?a view of planet Earth from here, we're going to be real thankful for the opportunity that we have to fly aboard this magnificent space station, and we're going to be thankful for the love and support of all the folks that we have back home," Burbank said.

Even though the crew members won't be able to bow their heads in thanks with their families and friends, the feast will provide a reminder of home. "The food we eat in space tastes very much like the food we enjoy on Earth," a former space station occupant, NASA astronaut Clay Anderson, said from the ground.

The trickiest part of preparing a space Thanksgiving meal has to do with shelf life: Without any food refrigerators or freezers on the space station, food must last in room temperature for long periods of time, said NASA food scientist Vickie Kloeris, manager of the space station's food system. That's why they freeze-dry and thermostabilize the foods. Thermostabilizing involves pre-heating the food to kill bacteria.

Outdoing a meal with family and friends may be difficult, but the space station has something Grandma's house doesn't, and that's microgravity.

"It's totally legal to play with your food in outer space," Anderson told SPACE.com, adding that astronauts can spin the floating food on their spoon, which is "great fun." And Anderson would know. He spent 152 days living aboard the station in 2007, returning to the outpost in 2010 as a member of space shuttle mission STS-131.

During his stays, he said, he ate all of the foods being served at Thanksgiving, though he wasn't on the station for turkey day or?Christmas in space.

The astronauts may wind up in the same?turkey coma?as people on Earth. Anderson said that even in microgravity it's tempting to stuff yourself. "I ate like a pig when I was there," he said, "and I still lost weight."

Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter?@Spacedotcomand on?Facebook.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/hm-Q7z3ccvc/On-Thanksgiving-space-station-astronauts-don-t-have-to-watch-their-weight

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Video: New look at spectacular crash

>>> as you watch this, please remember while it is arresting to see, the pilot was okay. no one on the ground was hurt. the chopper was going to lower a christmas display on a public plaza on the water. pay close attention to a man working on the ground holding onto a cable leading to the chopper. he tries to flip it to a better position and it sounds like a riffle shot when the chopper goes down. at first you can see the pilot seemingly lifeless hand on the passenger seat but after he regains consciousness, he walks away with assistance. now after the trauma he said he has no memory of the incident. but he's okay.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/45440592/

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Russia secures ownership of Belarus gas pipelines (AP)

MOSCOW ? Russia's state-controlled natural gas company bought the remaining stake in Belarus' gas pipeline system Friday to become its sole owner in a move that strengthens Moscow's control over gas exports to the West.

Russia is the main ally and sponsor of Belarus' authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, but he had been reluctant to yield control over the pipeline network and other Belarusian economic assets in the past, accusing Russia of trying to erode his nation's sovereignty.

Lukashenko's stance, however, has been softened recently by a severe economic crisis that has weakened his power and made him more prone to compromise.

Russia's Gazprom already had owned 50 percent in Belarus' pipeline operator, Beltransgaz, and wanted to gain full control. It said in a statement after the signing that it agreed to pay $2.5 billion for the remaining 50 percent stake.

Russia provides about a quarter of the natural gas that Europe consumes, with 80 percent of it going through Ukraine. The rest is shipped through Belarus and Turkey.

Moscow has sought to win control of existing transit routes and build new export pipelines bypassing its neighbors in order to secure its hold on energy supplies to Europe, its main export market.

Past pricing disputes between Ukraine and Belarus have led to disruptions in energy supplies to customers in the European Union, prompting EU nations to intensify a search for alternative supply routes.

Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko said after the signing Friday that the deal has brought an end to the energy wars between Russia and Belarus.

As part of the deal, Russia has also reduced the price of gas it sells to Belarus. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Friday that Gazprom will now charge Belarus $164 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas in the first quarter of next year, down from the $280 per 1,000 cubic meters it was paying in the third quarter of this year. The gas price for Gazprom customers in Europe hovers around $400 per 1,000 cubic meters .

"We are making a significant discount for our Belarusian friends and partners," Putin said. He added that Russia also agreed to restructure Belarus' debt for previous supplies.

The low gas price is essential for the Belarusian economy, most of which has remained in state hands. Belarus has been hit by its worst financial crisis since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, which has led to sharp devaluation of the national currency and triggered high inflation that has eroded public savings.

"Cheap gas and oil are like drugs for the Soviet-style Belarusian economy," said Alexander Klaskovsky, an independent analyst in the Belarusian capital, Minsk. "It's a lifebelt for Lukashenko who has driven the country into a deep crisis and 100 percent inflation."

Belarus' first post-Soviet leader, Stanislav Shushkevich, said that surrendering control of the pipelines "will mean the loss of a significant part of Belarus' sovereignty."

He described the gas deal with Belarus as part of efforts by Putin, who is all but certain to reclaim the Russian presidency in March's vote, to create a new, stronger alliance of ex-Soviet nations.

Putin, who has lamented the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, has recently proposed forming a "Eurasian Union" of former Soviet nations, saying the bloc could become a major global player competing for influence with the United States, the European Union and Asia.

"Putin is going to the vote with a geopolitical plan of a new empire, and he's ready to pay the devil or Lukashenko to achieve that," Shushkevich told The Associated Press.

Putin said Friday that Moscow will also provide Belarus with a $10 billion loan that will be spread over the next decade to help it pay for a nuclear power plant that will be built by Russia.

____

Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow and Yuras Karmanau in Minsk, Belarus, contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111125/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_russia_belarus

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Truce calms Cairo streets, army says no delay to vote (Reuters)

CAIRO (Reuters) ? Egyptian riot police and protesters observed a truce on Thursday after violence that has killed 39 people in five days and the army said parliamentary elections would start on time next week.

Demonstrations by thousands of Egyptians furious at the military leadership's slow transfer of power to civilian rule have led to violent clashes with police, in scenes similar to the popular uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak in February.

Protesters have vowed not to leave Cairo's central Tahrir Square, which has once again become the cradle of public protest in the most populous Arab country, until army rule ends.

"The people demand the execution of the marshal," crowds chanted, referring to army chief Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, who was Mubarak's defense minister for 20 years.

In a communique, protesters called a million-man march on "the Friday of the last chance" to back demands for an immediate transfer to civilian rule via a national salvation government.

The demonstrations appear to have polarized Egyptians, many of whom worry that unrest will prolong economic stagnation.

In new blows to confidence, the Egyptian pound weakened to more than 6 to the dollar for the first time since January 2005, and Standard & Poor's cut Egypt's credit rating.

The agency cut Egypt's long-term, foreign- and local-currency sovereign credit ratings to B+ from BB-, saying a "weak political and economic profile" had worsened further.

Egypt's ruling army council said it was doing all it could to prevent more violence. In a statement, it apologized, offered condolences and compensation to families of the dead, and promised a swift investigation into who was behind the unrest.

NO ELECTION DELAY

A ruling council member, General Mamdouh Shaheen, told a news conference the parliamentary vote, whose first stage is due to begin on Monday, would go ahead on time. "We will not delay elections. This is the final word," he said.

Another council member, Major-General Mokhtar al-Mullah, took a swipe at the demonstrators. "If we look at those in Tahrir, regardless of their number, they do not represent the Egyptian people, but we must respect their opinion," he said.

Mullah said the army hoped to form a new government before Monday to replace Prime Minister Essam Sharaf's cabinet, which resigned during this week's violence without giving a reason.

Demonstrators in Tahrir said the truce had taken hold from midnight. Cranes hauled concrete barriers, later reinforced with barbed wire, across streets leading to the nearby Interior Ministry, flashpoint for much of the recent violence.

Protesters linked arms in human chains to prevent further clashes with security forces guarding the Interior Ministry.

"We have created a space separating us from the police. We are standing here to make sure no one violates it," said Mahmoud Adly, 42, part of a human cordon four people deep.

Some demonstrators began sweeping the square and collecting rubbish. "We want to show people we aren't here only for clashes, we are also cleaning the place," said Osama Moawad, 23.

The protests in Cairo and elsewhere pose the gravest challenge to Egypt's army rulers since they took over from Mubarak, overthrown on February 11 after an 18-day uprising.

The United States and European nations, alarmed at the violence of the past few days, have urged Egypt to proceed with what has been billed as its first free vote in decades.

LACK OF TRUST

The army and the Muslim Brotherhood, which expects to do well in the election, say it must go ahead, but many protesters do not trust the military to oversee a clean vote. Some scorn the Brotherhood for its focus on gaining seats in parliament.

In Tahrir, two groups were chanting against other, one saying, "Muslim Brotherhood, we don't want you in the square," and another responding in a unity call, "One hand, one hand."

The military council originally promised to return to barracks within six months, but then set a timetable for elections and drawing up a new constitution that would have left it in power until late next year or early 2013.

Tantawi pledged this week to hold a presidential vote in June that could pave the way for a transfer to civilian rule, but the demonstrators, angered by army attempts to shield itself legally from future civilian control, are unconvinced.

"The protesters of Tahrir Square announce their absolute rejection of ... Tantawi's speech and stress they have been humiliated that the regime moved to offer solution only after martyrs fell," the protesters' communique said.

Before the truce, protesters had fought running battles with security forces around the Interior Ministry. The bloody chaos there contrasted with normal life in streets nearby.

(Additional reporting by Edmund Blair, Tom Perry and Tamim Elyan; Writing by Alistair Lyon; Editing by Louise Ireland)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111124/wl_nm/us_egypt_protests

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Gas explosion at Spanish hotel seriously injures 6

MADRID?? Six people were seriously injured Wednesday in a gas explosion at a tourist hotel on the Spanish Canary island of Gran Canaria, authorities said.

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A Canary Island government statement said a 55-year-old female Norwegian tourist was one of four people in critical condition after the blast at the Cordial Mogan Playa hotel in the southwest of the island. She was said to have burns to 100 percent of her body.

The rest of the injured were believed to be Spaniards working at the hotel, with the most seriously hurt flown by helicopter to hospitals on the island.

The statement said 17 other people were treated for minor anxiety attacks.

The blast occurred as a truck delivered propane to the hotel. Part of the building was affected by flames, forcing the ceiling of the hotel's spa to collapse.

Nearly 1,000 guests were evacuated. Spanish National Television said that the hotel hoped to let them return later in the day.

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

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45414540/ns/travel-news/

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FACT CHECK: Hyperbole on terror interrogations (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Michele Bachmann did not intend to be taken literally when she told the Republican presidential debate Tuesday that civil-liberties activists have taken over the interrogation of terrorists from the CIA. But even as a rhetorical point, it didn't hold water.

Her hyperbole on the American Civil Liberties Union was one of the more notable stretches in the national security and foreign policy debate. A look at some of the claims and how they compare with the facts:

___

BACHMANN: "This is one thing we know about Barack Obama: He has essentially handed over our interrogation of terrorists to the ACLU. He's outsourced it to them. Our CIA has no ability to have any form of interrogation for terrorists."

THE FACTS: The CIA still has the ability to interrogate terrorists. President Obama formed the High Value Interrogation Group, which includes the FBI, the CIA and the Pentagon. It centralizes expertise so that when a terrorism suspect is caught, everyone with a stake in the issue is involved in the questioning. The CIA also can sit in on interrogations in other countries, asking questions directly or through officials of the host government.

Whether the policy on interrogating suspects should be tougher is a matter of authentic debate. But the CIA is hardly emasculated. The agency has dramatically expanded its on-the-ground operations worldwide since 2001, and the U.S. killing of a succession of al-Qaida figures in Pakistan ? Osama bin Laden chief among them ? demonstrates the potency of the hunt for terrorists. Moreover, the U.S. killing of an American citizen abroad ? the radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki ? is well outside the range of action that would be condoned by civil liberties advocates.

___

MITT ROMNEY: "What they're doing is cutting a trillion dollars out of the defense budget."

RON PAUL: "They're nibbling away at baseline budgeting. ... There's nothing cut against the military. And the people on the Hill are nearly hysterical because they're not going ? the budget isn't going up as rapidly as they want it to."

THE FACTS: Paul was more accurate than Romney in describing what is happening with defense spending. Constraints in the military budget are much more modest than Romney suggested.

Both Romney and rival Rick Perry have been criticizing Obama for looming defense cuts that are triggered by the failure of the deficit supercommittee to act. But the cuts would only slow the rate of growth of Pentagon spending, which has been vastly increased because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, now winding down. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the planned Pentagon budget for 2021 would be some $700 billion, an increase over the current level of about $520 billion. The cuts agreed to last summer plus the automatic reductions would trim the projected 2021 budget by about $110 billion.

Moreover, the spending cuts set in motion by the supercommittee's failure to reach an agreement are not to begin until January 2013, which gives lawmakers time to try again to produce a debt plan. That's what Obama has in mind ? using the threat of defense cuts to push lawmakers to make a deal.

Romney's figure encompasses two sets of Pentagon spending cuts, only one of which was proposed by Obama. The president's budget called for $450 billion in savings from the defense budget; the rest is fallout from the supercommittee, a creature of Congress.

___

RICK PERRY: "When you sanction the Iranian central bank, that will shut down that economy. ... This president refuses to do that, and it's another show of lack of leadership from the president of the United States."

THE FACTS: Obama, like George W. Bush before him, hasn't issued a blanket ban on dealings with Iran's central bank. Perry could try as president, but he'd find himself with some angry allies and perhaps some economic damage for the United States.

U.S. sanctions already severely restrict what contact American and foreign companies can have with Iranian banks. That has made the central bank the primary conduit for purchasing Iranian oil exports.

Blacklisting the central bank entirely would put energy companies and banks from places such as Japan in a dilemma: either find new oil sources, or risk punishment in the United States. The same applies for China, Russia, Turkey and other countries with investments in Iran ? and the rush for new fuel providers could lead to a spike in gasoline prices that hampers the American economic recovery.

In reality, however, it's unlikely the U.S. would be prepared to blacklist Japan's banks for financial transactions with Iran's central bank. So the power of the sanction would be unclear.

___

BACHMANN: "Almost every decision that the president has made since he came in has been one to put the United States in a position of unilateral disarmament, including the most recent decision he made to cancel the Keystone pipeline. That would have not only created jobs, but it would have helped us in energy independence."

THE FACTS: Obama didn't cancel the Canadian oil pipeline. Instead, his administration delayed the decision in order to explore an alternative route to avoid areas of Nebraska that include wetlands and an aquifer providing water crucial to huge swaths of U.S. cropland. Bachmann also overlooked that the delay came under pressure from Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman, a Republican. When the pipeline was delayed, Heineman hailed the decision and called it "an exceptional moment for Nebraskans."

___

PERRY: "When you put the no-fly zone above Syria, it obviously gives those dissidents and gives the military the opportunity to maybe disband."

ROMNEY: "They have 5,000 tanks in Syria. A no-fly zone wouldn't be the right military action ? maybe a no-drive zone. ... I mean, this is a nation which is not bombing its people at this point, and the right course is not military."

PERRY: "I think you need to leave it on the table to make sure, because this is not just about Syria. This is about Iran and those two as a partnership, and exporting terrorism around the world. And if we're going to be serious about saving Israel, we better get serious about Syria and Iran, and we better get serious right now."

THE FACTS: As Romney suggested, a no-fly zone by itself wouldn't do much to stop Syrian tanks and bullets from killing civilians. Unlike in Libya, where Moammar Gadhafi used his air force to fire on cities, President Bashar Assad's government has by and large stuck to ground forces. There have been a few cases of helicopters allegedly used, but they are exceptions.

Perry's follow-up argument that a no-fly zone in Syria could help deter Iranian terrorism and save Israel wasn't clear. He seemed to be referring to Iranian and Syrian support for anti-Israel groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas, neither of which has air power. Weapons smuggling also can occur by ground or sea.

___

Associated Press writers Bradley Klapper, Matt Apuzzo, Donna Cassata and Kimberly Dozier contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111123/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_debate_fact_check

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New find sheds light on ancient site in Jerusalem

Visitors walk in the Davidson Center near the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, in Jerusalem's Old City, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011. Newly found coins underneath the Western Wall are identified as stamped by a Roman proconsul 20-years after the death of Herod, a Jewish ruler who died in 4 B.C., and could change the accepted belief about the construction of one of the world's most sacred sites two millennia ago, Israeli archaeologists said Wednesday.(AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

Visitors walk in the Davidson Center near the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, in Jerusalem's Old City, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011. Newly found coins underneath the Western Wall are identified as stamped by a Roman proconsul 20-years after the death of Herod, a Jewish ruler who died in 4 B.C., and could change the accepted belief about the construction of one of the world's most sacred sites two millennia ago, Israeli archaeologists said Wednesday.(AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

An ancient coin, one of 17 discovered in an underground part of the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, is seen in a presentation of archeological excavations in Jerusalem's Old City, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011. Newly found coins underneath the Western Wall are identified as stamped by a Roman proconsul 20-years after hte death of Herod, a Jewish ruler who died in 4 B.C., and could change the accepted belief about the construction of one of the world's most sacred sites two millennia ago, Israeli archaeologists said Wednesday. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

Visitors are reflected as they walk in the Davidson Center near the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, in Jerusalem's Old City, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011. Newly found coins underneathed at the base of the Western Wall are identified as stamped by a Roman proconsul 20-years after the death of Herod, a Jewish ruler who died in 4 B.C., and could change the accepted belief about the construction of one of the world's most sacred sites two millennia ago, Israeli archaeologists said Wednesday. The Al-Aqsa mosque is seen in the back.(AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

Israel's Antiquities Authority archeologist Eli Shukron, below, stands in the Mikve area at the base of the Western Wall where an archaeological dig has uncovered ancient coins which may help date the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, in Jerusalem's Old City, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011. Newly found coins underneath the Western Wall are identified as stamped by a Roman proconsul 20-years after the death of Herod, a Jewish ruler who died in 4 B.C., and could change the accepted belief about the construction of one of the world's most sacred sites two millennia ago, Israeli archaeologists said Wednesday. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

JERUSALEM (AP) ? Newly found coins underneath Jerusalem's Western Wall could change the accepted belief about the construction of one of the world's most sacred sites two millennia ago, Israeli archaeologists said Wednesday.

The man usually credited with building the compound known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary is Herod, a Jewish ruler who died in 4 B.C. Herod's monumental compound replaced and expanded a much older Jewish temple complex on the same site.

But archaeologists with the Israel Antiquities Authority now say diggers have found coins underneath the massive foundation stones of the compound's Western Wall that were stamped by a Roman proconsul 20 years after Herod's death. That indicates that Herod did not build the wall ? part of which is venerated as Judaism's holiest prayer site ? and that construction was not close to being complete when he died.

"The find changes the way we see the construction, and shows it lasted for longer than we originally thought," said the dig's co-director, Eli Shukron.

The four bronze coins were stamped around 17 A.D. by the Roman official Valerius Gratus. He preceded Pontius Pilate of the New Testament story as Rome's representative in Jerusalem, according to Ronny Reich of Haifa University, one of the two archaeologists in charge of the dig.

The coins were found inside a ritual bath that predated construction of the renovated Temple Mount complex and which was filled in to support the new walls, Reich said.

They show that construction of the Western Wall had not even begun at the time of Herod's death. Instead, it was likely completed only generations later by one of his descendants.

The coins confirm a contemporary account by Josephus Flavius, a Jewish general who became a Roman historian. Writing after a Jewish revolt against Rome and the destruction of the Temple by legionnaires in 70 A.D., he recounted that work on the Temple Mount had been completed only by King Agrippa II, Herod's great-grandson, two decades before the entire compound was destroyed.

Scholars have long been familiar with Josephus' account, but the find is nonetheless important because it offers the "first clear-cut archaeological evidence that part of the enclosure wall was not built by Herod," said archaeologist Aren Maeir of Bar-Ilan University, who was not involved in the dig.

Josephus also wrote that the end of construction left 18,000 workmen unemployed in Jerusalem. Some historians have linked this to discontent that eventually erupted in the Jewish revolt.

The compound, controlled since 1967 by Israel, now houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the golden-capped Muslim shrine known as the Dome of the Rock. The fact that the compound is holy both to Jews and Muslims makes it one of the world's most sensitive religious sites.

The dig in which the coins were discovered cleared a Roman-era drainage tunnel that begins at the biblical Pool of Siloam, one of the city's original water sources, and terminates with a climb up a ladder out onto a 2,000-year-old street inside Jerusalem's Old City. The tunnel runs by the foundation stones of the compound's western wall, where the coins were found.

The drainage tunnel was excavated as part of the dig at the City of David, which is perhaps Israel's richest archaeological excavation and its most contentious.

The dig is being carried out inside the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan, and is funded by a group associated with the Israeli settlement movement that opposes any division of the city as part of a future peace deal.

The excavation of the tunnel has also yielded a Roman sword, oil lamps, pots and coins that scholars believe are likely debris from an attempt by Jewish rebels to hide in the underground passage as they fled from the Roman soldiers.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-11-23-ML-Israel-Holy-Compound/id-744bc223d7824a088e8bc955f51b4e84

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Online holiday shopping off to solid start (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? The online holiday shopping season got off to a solid start, according to data released on Tuesday by ComScore Inc.

U.S. online spending reached $9.7 billion in the first 20 days of the holiday season, which began in early November, ComScore said. That was up by at least 14 percent from the same period a year earlier, the company added.

Online retailers have entered the most important part of the year, when billions of dollars in sales are up for grabs.

In 2010, U.S. shoppers spent almost $22 billion online between early November and December 10, up 12 percent from the same period a year earlier, ComScore data show.

In the first three weeks of this November, same-store sales generated by ChannelAdvisor's online merchant clients jumped 28 percent from the same period a year earlier.

ChannelAdvisor helps merchants sell more on third-party marketplaces run by e-commerce giants including Amazon.com Inc and eBay Inc.

ChannelAdvisor merchants saw same-store sales jump 65 percent on Amazon.com in the first three weeks of November, versus the same period of 2010.

Merchants on eBay saw a 19 percent increase in same-store sales during the same period, ChannelAdvisor also said.

"All channels firing," ChannelAdvisor Chief Executive Scot Wingo wrote via Twitter on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Alistair Barr, editing by Bernard Orr)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111123/wr_nm/us_comscore

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Fedor Emelianenko returns with win, visit from Vladimir Putin

Fedor Emelianenko stopped his losing streak?with a decision win over Jeff Monson at M-1 in Moscow over the weekend. This was his first win since losing to Fabricio Werdum last summer, then dropping bouts to Antonio Silva and Dan Henderson. Then, he was treated to a post-fight speech by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

My Russian is fuzzy, but that roughly translates to, "WOOOOO FEDOR!" Actually, according to the Washington Post, Putin called Emelianenko a real Russian knight with character and good muscles.

The crazy part of this is that Putin attended the fights, continuing his streak of being cooler than everyone. He has his own cheerleaders, goes horseback riding, races cars, has wrestled a bear, and then shows up at M-1 bouts and makes a speech. All in a day's work for Vladdy.

This was a much-needed win for Emelianenko, who spoke of retirement after losing to Werdum. He used kickboxing skills to batter Monson for three rounds, and dropped him three times. As seen in the video, a bloodied Monson had to be helped from the ring.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Fedor-Emelianenko-returns-with-win-visit-from-V?urn=mma-wp9874

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Gingrich Prepares Romney Critique, Says Mandate Leads To 'Socialized Medicine'

WASHINGTON - Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich took a subtle shot at primary frontrunner Mitt Romney on Monday, arguing that health care mandates lead to "socialized medicine" regardless of whether they're implemented by the federal or state government.

The dig was buried on page 40 of a 48-page entitlement reform proposal that Gingrich released during a campaign event on Monday in New Hampshire.

"Individual and employer mandates are bad policy leading down the road to socialized medicine, whether the mandates are adopted at the federal level, or the state level," Gingrich wrote in that document.

Gingrich, the 67-year old former House Speaker, has reason not to trumpet criticism of a mandate too loudly. He himself advocated for such an idea in the past.

But last week, Gingrich said he had erred in favoring the idea during an interview with conservative radio talk show host Mark Levin. During the interview, Gingrich revisited his response to Romney in an Oct. 18 debate when Romney deflected a Gingrich attack on his health care plan by saying he got the idea for a mandate from Gingrich.

"If I'd been clever I would have said yes Mitt, and I was wrong and why don't you recognize that you're wrong too?" Gingrich said.

At the time, Gingrich said only that Romney's Massachusetts plan was "one more big-government, bureaucratic, high-cost system." And more importantly, Gingrich exempted Romney from the most common and harmful attack leveled by most conservatives at the health care plan Romney signed as Massachusetts governor in 2006 -- that it laid the groundwork for President Obama's national health care overhaul.

"It's not 'Obamacare.' That's not a fair charge," Gingrich said.

That exchange took place at a time when Gingrich was still considered a second-tier candidate. He has since shot to the top of the pack in recent polls and is quickly assuming the role of Romney's top rival in the quest for the Republican nomination.

Now, however, Gingrich has taken a big step toward arguing that Romney's health care law is a version of the national health care reform effort. Having performed a mea culpa and taken a strong stance against the mandate, the stage could be set for Gingrich to go after Romney more aggressively on his support for a mandate.

Gingrich's critique of the mandate came toward the end of a long treatise on the need for private accounts in Social Security and a voucher-like program in Medicare, to introduce market forces and competition into health care and entitlement programs.

Gingrich's mandate takedown bore the marks of a man who has methodically traced, step by step, the implications of a policy he once supported to make a detailed argument for why it was a mistake. Gingrich's disavowal was a seven-sentence mini-treatise:

"The intractable problem with such individual and employer mandates is this: once you have a mandate, the government has to specify exactly what coverage must be included in insurance for it to qualify. This introduces political considerations into determining these minimum standards, guaranteeing that nothing desired by the special interests will be left out. And once the government mandates such expensive insurance, the government becomes responsible for its costs. It has to adopt expensive subsidies to help people pay for the expensive plans that it is requiring. The resulting cost to the taxpayer and strain on the budget leads the government to try and control healthcare costs by limiting healthcare services. The inevitable result is rationing by a nameless, faceless, unaccountable board of government bureaucrats. This is why individual and employer mandates are bad policy leading down the road to socialized medicine, whether the mandates are adopted at the federal level, or the state level."

Romney continued to defend his support for the idea on Monday, according to a transcript of a taped interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity set to air in the evening.

"Don't forget, this health care plan was something we learned about from the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank," Romney said. "Even Newt Gingrich supported the idea of an individual mandate, insisting on personal responsibility."

"Now, what we did isn't perfect," Romney added. "Some parts of it worked, some didn't, some things I would change. But it's not like it's a liberal idea. It was a conservative concept."

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/21/gingrich-mandate-romney_n_1106225.html

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Kirk Communications Announces Launch of its Global ... - Web Design

Portsmouth, New Hampshire (PRWEB) November 15, 2011

Kirk Communications, a leader in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and Website Design and Development, is offering a highly innovative franchise model to potential franchisees. Believed to be the first of its kind in the industry, Kirk will offer franchisees the opportunity to run their own SEO and website design and development practice using the global capabilities and expertise of Kirk Communications.

The marketplace has been populated by small or very low quality digital businesses that provide inconsistent products while large agencies are often overpriced and ignore the needs of the small and medium business marketplace. Kirk sees a critical need for a digital offering in the franchise industry that has gone unmet. The need for consistent quality in the area of SEO is even more critical because there has been huge expansion in the number of companies offering these services. At the same time, high-quality, consistent, straightforward and verifiable results have been hard to quantify.

?Small, locally based digital firms do a great job of giving clients the face-to-face time they require,? said Nate Tennant, Founder of Kirk Communications. ?What these localized web companies could use is the large staff, sophisticated digital tools and scalability needed to satisfy the requirements for complex digital design and development solutions that small to medium businesses now require,? he said.

In the Kirk franchise model, clients will get all the required one-on-one client time from the franchisee along with Kirk?s sophisticated digital tools and the scalable capability to deliver high quality services better, faster and at lower cost.

?This kind of franchise is ideal for someone who has the drive to attract clients, but doesn?t necessarily have the large capital needed to start a more traditional franchise,? Tennant explained. The franchise fee is minimal and capital expenses don?t really go beyond owning a computer. ?We provide the leads using our sophisticated lead generation tools, the training to maximize the products and services we provide and the digital capabilities to turn work around quickly and on budget.? Those interested in learning more about this franchise opportunity should contact the company at franchise(at)kirkcommunications(dot)com.

About Kirk Communications

Kirk Communications is a website design and development company located in New Hampshire with additional offices in New Delhi, India. In addition to being a website design and development company, Kirk Communications is a global provider of inbound marketing including Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and social media integration. As SEO Company, Kirk Communications also runs large paid campaigns for clients (PPC). Kirk?s clients cover a broad range of vertical and horizontal markets including technology, financial services and healthcare. Beyond being an integrated website design & development, Kirk Communications offers an extensive suite of state-of-the-art SEO and PPC analytics, that, in conjunction with innovative message development, helps its customers refine their brand, increase visibility and stay ahead of their competitors. Kirk Communications counts among its clients IDG, Dorcy International, Optimize Interactive, Atlantic Plastic Surgery Center, Charter Auction and Animetrics. For more information, please visit us on the web at http://www.kirkcommunications.com.

# # #

Source: http://www.iowa-website-design.com/2011/11/kirk-communications-announces-launch-of-its-global-seo-and-web-development-franchise/

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China holds fire over Obama before regional summit (Reuters)

BEIJING (Reuters) ? China appeared keen on Tuesday to avoid a brawl with the United States over trade and currency stances, brushing aside President Barack Obama's criticisms and stressing that the world's two biggest economies share a stake in stable ties.

Assistant Chinese Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin did not directly address Obama's comment on Sunday that Washington was fed up with China's trade and currency practices.

"The meaning of President Obama's comments is a question that you should ask the White House and the State Department spokespeople," Liu told a news briefing.

"China and the United States are also economic partners each of which is important to the other," Liu told a briefing about Premier Wen Jiabao's attendance at regional ASEAN and East Asia summits on the Indonesian island of Bali later this week.

The East Asia Summit will be the first attended by a U.S. president. Obama will meet Wen during the meetings, said Liu.

"I think that along with the development of economic globalization, and the development of Asia-Pacific regional cooperation, China and the United States have massive potential to further strengthen economic and trade cooperation."

Tension had been building in the lead-up to the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum gathering over a proposed U.S.-led free trade deal that Washington wants as a counterbalance to Chinese influence but which China sees as an attempt to force it to play by U.S. rules.

A day after talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao during the APEC summit on Hawaii, Obama used some of his toughest language yet against Beijing. He urged it to take on the responsibilities of a "grown up" economy and stop "gaming the system.

China's government will not welcome such remarks, but its leaders have shown throughout this year that they want to keep relations with the United States steady, and avoid feuding that could distract them from a handover of top posts among Communist Party leaders from late 2012.

Beijing held back from broader retaliation after Obama meet exiled Tibetan leader, the Dalai lama -- scorned by China as a foe of its rule in his homeland -- and after the White House announced new arms sales offers to Taiwan, the self-ruled island that China claims as its own.

"Some harsh words from President Obama won't come as a complete surprise because he's facing a grim economy at home, so Americans are in a bad mood," said Shi Yinhong, a professor of international security at Renmin University in Beijing.

The U.S. election could intensify trade tensions, he added.

"But China generally sticks to a pattern of avoiding open quarrels with the President ... China wants to ensure that stability remains in place."

SERIES OF DISPUTES

The currency dispute between China and the United States has been at the heart of tension between the rivals.

Washington has long accused Beijing of keeping the yuan artificially weak to give its exporters an advantage. China counters that the currency should rise only gradually to avoid harming the economy and driving up unemployment, which would in turn hurt global growth.

Liu suggested that the two governments should keep an amicable face on relations at the impending regional summit.

"China and the United States both have a major impact on the Asia-Pacific region," Liu said. "For the two countries to carry out cooperation and mutually benefit in Asia suits not only their interests, but also helps regional peace and development."

Last year, U.S.-China relations were beset by a series of disputes, including disagreements over China's trade and currency practices, U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, China's military build-up in the Pacific and its human rights record.

The East Asia Summit gathers senior officials or leaders from Southeast Asia, China, Japan, India, Australia, Russia, South Korea and New Zealand.

(Editing by Ken Wills and Jonathan Thatcher)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111115/ts_nm/us_china_asia

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China's Hu urges bigger voice for emerging nations (Reuters)

HONOLULU (Reuters) ? President Hu Jintao sought to soothe the nerves of foreign businesses over market conditions in China on Saturday and vowed to boost his country's global role amid growing uncertainty and trade protectionism.

"The new mechanism for global economic governance should reflect the changes in the world economic landscape," Hu told executives at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Honolulu.

"It should observe the principle of mutual respect and collective decision-making and increase the representation and voice of emerging markets and developing countries," he said, urging a more "balanced partnership" for development and governance.

Hu and U.S. President Barack Obama, who spoke at the same forum shortly after the Chinese leader, have not seen eye to eye on how to address pan-Pacific trade among the 21 APEC members during the annual summit.

Relations between Washington and Beijing are beset by disagreements over China's trade and currency practices, U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, China's military buildup in the Pacific and China's human rights record.

China has been reluctant to sign trade deals that would subject it to U.S-led efforts to further open its economy to foreign players because that would put pressure on its state-owned enterprises.

The differing views were captured on Friday in a politely pointed exchange between American and Chinese trade officials, when the U.S. trade representative refuted China's claim that it had not been invited to join a regional free-trade pact being negotiated by at least nine countries.

On Saturday, Hu said China was committed to free trade in the Asia-Pacific but also called for progress in the stalled Doha round of trade talks at the World Trade Organization.

"We should advance the Doha round negotiations and endeavor to reap an early harvest agreement within this year on giving tariff-free, quota-free products from the least-developed countries," Hu said, adding the world should "firmly oppose and jointly resist protectionism." (Reporting by Michael Martina; Editing by John O'Callaghan)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111112/bs_nm/us_apec_china_hu

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QB Schaub out with significant foot injury

Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub (8) throws an 80-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jacoby Jones as center Chris Myers (55) blocks Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Albert Haynesworth (95) during the first quarter of an NFL football game on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2011, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)

Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub (8) throws an 80-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jacoby Jones as center Chris Myers (55) blocks Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Albert Haynesworth (95) during the first quarter of an NFL football game on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2011, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)

Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub (8) evades Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Ahtyba Rubin (71) to score a touchdown during the first quarter of an NFL football game on Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011, in Houston. (AP Photo/Dave Einsel)

Houston Texans coach Gary Kubiak, right, talks with quarterback Matt Schaub (8) in the third quarter of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011, in Houston. (AP Photo/Dave Einsel)

Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub throws a pass against the Cleveland Browns during the second quarter of an NFL football game on Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011, in Houston. (AP Photo/Dave Einsel)

Houston Texans quarterbacks Matt Schaub (8) and Matt Leinart (11) celebrate Schaub's touchdown during the first quarter of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011, in Houston. (AP Photo/Dave Einsel)

HOUSTON (AP) ? Houston quarterback Matt Schaub is out indefinitely with a "significant" right foot injury and will miss at least the Texans' next game in two weeks.

Coach Gary Kubiak said Monday that Schaub was injured on a quarterback sneak coming out of the end zone late in the second quarter of Houston's 37-9 victory over Tampa Bay on Sunday. Schaub stayed in the game, but threw only three passes in the second half.

Kubiak said the team was bringing in a specialist from Indianapolis to evaluate Schaub, and the quarterback would fly to Charlotte, N.C., later this week to undergo further examination.

Joby Branion, Schaub's agent, did not immediately return a phone message.

"He's got a significant foot injury, he's going to miss some time," Kubiak said. "But we're going to do everything we can to get it evaluated correctly and see if can get him back on the football field.

"It's disappointing," Kubiak said, "but we'll go to work and try to do the right thing by Matt."

The Texans (7-3) have won four in a row and share the AFC's best record with Pittsburgh heading into their bye week. Kubiak said sixth-year veteran Matt Leinart will start at Jacksonville on Nov. 27.

Leinart, the 2004 Heisman Trophy winner for Southern California, re-signed with the Texans in the offseason after not taking a snap in 2010. He turned down other offers to return to Houston because he was comfortable with Kubiak and his offensive system.

Houston rank eighth in total offense this season (396.2 yards per game).

"Your time's going to come, and you've got to be accountable for when that opportunity comes," Leinart said. "They know that I work hard and I study hard and I'm prepared very well. We'll going to take this and go game-by-game and I don't think much is going to change."

Leinart guided Southern Cal to national championship games after the 2004 and '05 seasons, and went 37-2 as a starter in college.

He was drafted 10th overall by Arizona in 2006 and appeared in 12 games as a rookie under coach Dennis Green, throwing 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He broke his collarbone in the fifth game of the next season, Kurt Warner took over and Leinart was mostly a spectator over the next 2 1/2 seasons.

Leinart talked openly during training camp about earning another starting job. Now he'll get it, just not under the circumstances he wanted.

"I'm bummed. My heart goes out for him," Leinart said. "But he knows and everyone knows that in this profession, things happen, and the next guy has to step up. That's my job and my responsibility.

"That's what I've wanted for a long time, and that's what I've worked hard for every day and prepared for every day," he said. "It's a great opportunity. I'm just excited about the chance."

Kubiak has been increasing Leinart's repetitions in practice, and he's confident Leinart is ready.

"He's played in big football games in this league, he's played in big football games in college," Kubiak said. "Matt's been around it. The key is the whole team rallying around him, and playing well as a team. Matt doesn't have to go win a game, the team has to go win a game. We'll rally around him and get him ready to go."

Schaub, acquired in a trade with Atlanta in March 2007, has started every game for Houston since the start of the 2009 season. Kubiak would not say if Schaub would miss the rest of this year.

"There's a lot of things reported," Kubiak said. "He's going to be in a boot throughout this week, and then the evaluation process will continue."

Schaub joins the growing list of Houston stars sidelined with injuries this season.

Sacks leader Mario Williams was lost for the season with a torn chest muscle in a loss to Oakland on Oct. 9, and star receiver Andre Johnson has missed six games with a right hamstring injury.

Running back Arian Foster missed two of the first three games with a strained left hamstring, and starting safety Danieal Manning has missed three games after breaking his left fibula.

Kubiak said he hopes Johnson will be ready for the Jacksonville game.

"Our expectation is that Andre is a full participant next Wednesday, or as we start our week next week," Kubiak said. "But let's be honest. Until he steps on the field and practices a couple days, we probably better hold off. But it sure looks like that's where we're headed."

Receiver Kevin Walter, running back Ben Tate and backup linebacker Darryl Sharpton have also missed games with injuries this year. Sharpton is out for the season with a quadriceps tear.

Somehow, the Texans have managed to stay on course for their first playoff berth. Houston hasn't trailed in a game in four weeks and won by an average of 22.5 points across that span.

The Texans have the NFL's No. 1 defense (269.7 yards per game) and the third-best rushing offense (158.1 yards per game), with Foster and Tate both ranking among the top 10.

"Well, it's a team and that's the word," Kubiak said. "Right now, we're playing very unselfish football. Everybody's pitching in. I don't think we really care as a group where the plays come from, or who makes the play, scores the points or gets a sack. We just care about winning and we're playing very hard as a football team right now.

"We're going to get tested even more now, so we'll have to call on everybody to do that," Kubiak said. "We do have a lot of confidence right now in what we're doing and we just got to keep our chin up and move forward."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-11-14-Texans-Schaub%20Out/id-8206e4f28db7486288083fc72a70cb52

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Video: Roundtable on ?muddied? moral waters, Penn State

October 30: Plouffe, roundtable

Nearly a year away from the 2012 election, we?ll talk to the president?s 2008 campaign manager, now White House Senior Adviser, David Plouffe. Then author of the definitive new biography on the late Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson; Author of the new book ?The Time of Our Lives,? NBC News Special Correspondent, Tom Brokaw; Former Governor of Michigan, Jennifer Granholm; and Republican strategist, Mike Murphy.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/vp/45277173#45277173

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Marlins' Sanchez decides against trip to Venezuela

updated 11:00 p.m. ET Nov. 10, 2011

MIAMI - Florida Marlins right-hander Anibal Sanchez says he canceled a trip to his native Venezuela following the kidnapping of Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos.

Sanchez was married last week in Puerto Rico and had planned to visit Venezuela with his wife in early December. But he decided against the trip after Ramos was abducted at his home on the outskirts of Valencia, Venezuela on Wednesday.

Sanchez, who is from Maracay, hasn't been to Venezuela since the season ended, and said he's now scared to go.

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

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Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45250717/ns/sports-baseball/

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President of EU Court of Justice may be new Greek PM - source (International Business Times)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_pk/stories/business/finance/159781866?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Video: Maria's Market Message

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/45230888#45230888

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PHOTOS: Angie & Brad Step Out with All Six Kids!

The Jolie-Pitt family makes an A-list arrival in Tokyo! Plus, see more photos of celebs spending time with their loved ones!

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/star-snapshots-celebrity-kids-and-family-photos/1-b-84707?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Astar-snapshots-celebrity-kids-and-family-photos-84707

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Russians launch Mars moon probe

8 November 2011 Last updated at 22:52 ET By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, BBC News

The Phobos-Grunt spacecraft will reach Mars in September 2012

Russia has launched an audacious bid to scoop up rock and dust samples from the Martian moon Phobos and bring them back to Earth for study.

The dusty debris should provide fresh insights into the origin of the 27km-wide moon that many scientists suspect may actually be a captured asteroid.

The mission is called Phobos-Grunt - "grunt" means "soil" in Russian.

Shortly after taking off however, there were reports that the spacecraft had veered off course.

The Russian space agency said an engine designed to keep the probe on track failed to start, according to Russia's Interfax news agency.

But there are hopes the rocket can still be brought back on course.

The venture is also significant because it is carrying China's first Mars satellite.

Yinghuo-1 is a 115kg probe that will ride piggyback and be released into an observation orbit around the Red Planet.

Torrid history

The craft lifted off from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on a Zenit-2SB rocket at 00:16 local time on Wednesday (20:16 GMT Tuesday).

The moon samples could be back on Earth in 33 months' time.

Russia is hoping Phobos-Grunt will finally see it conquer its Martian curse.

Moscow has despatched a total of 16 missions to the Red Planet since the 1960s. None has successfully completed its goals, with the most recent endeavour - the sophisticated Mars-96 spacecraft - being destroyed in a failed launch.

Lead scientist at Moscow's Space Research Institute, Alexander Zakharov, said: "We haven't had a successful interplanetary expedition for over 15 years.

"In that time, the people, the technology, everything has changed. It's all new for us; in many ways we are working from scratch."

Phobos-Grunt is a hefty spacecraft, requiring several elements to complete the tasks of landing on the moon, picking up the samples and then despatching them home.

If you include the cruise stage (and all its fuel) that will take Phobos-Grunt and Yinghuo-1 out to Mars, the total launch mass for the mission is more than 11 tonnes.

Phobos-Grunt is scheduled to reach Mars next September.

After dumping its cruise stage and releasing Yinghuo-1, the main spacecraft will manoeuvre itself into position to land on Phobos.

Shipped home

Detailed mapping of the moon has been conducted by the European Space Agency's Mars Express (MEx) satellite, and this information is being used to identify a suitable location to land in February 2013.

Once on the surface, a robotic arm will pick up samples of the regolith ("soil"). Some of this material will be analysed there and then, but a portion of it - about 200g - will be transferred to a canister for return to Earth.

This canister and its departure stage should be sent home within a few days of Phobos-Grunt's arrival on the moon. All being well, the canister should fall to Earth in the Kazakh desert in August 2014.

Potato-shaped Phobos is a fascinating target. Although it has been studied extensively by passing satellites, it still holds many secrets - not just about itself, but also the planet below.

It is one of two moons at Mars (the other being Deimos). It has an extremely low density, indicating it probably has many interior voids.

Some scientists think it may be a collection of rocky rubble that coalesced around the Red Planet soon after its formation. Another explanation is that it is an asteroid that came close to Mars and got caught in its gravity.

'Water bears'

The French (Cnes) and German (DLR) space agencies have provided instrumentation for Phobos-Grunt. The European Space Agency, in addition to its survey information from MEx, will be providing ground support.

US participation comes in the form of the space advocacy group, The Planetary Society.

It is sending its Living Interplanetar Flight Experiment (LIFE) on Phobos-Grunt.

This package of hardy micro-organisms will make the journeys out and back inside a separate compartment in the return capsule.

It will test theories on how living organisms could spread through the Solar System by simulating aspects of the long-duration voyage that microbes could make in a meteoroid that has been blasted off one planetary body and landed on another.

The microscopic participants in LIFE include the bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans, known for its ability to withstand high doses of radiation, and the eight-legged tardigrade (or "water bear"), a microscopic invertebrate that has already demonstrated its ability to survive short exposure to the space environment.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/science-environment-15631472

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Holder: Fast and Furious errors won't be repeated

Attorney General Eric Holder testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011, before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in the arms trafficking investigation called Operation Fast and Furious. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Attorney General Eric Holder testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011, before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in the arms trafficking investigation called Operation Fast and Furious. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Attorney General Eric Holder testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011, before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in the arms trafficking investigation called Operation Fast and Furious. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Attorney General Eric Holder testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011, before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in the arms trafficking investigation called Operation Fast and Furious. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Attorney General Eric Holder is sworn in on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011, prior to testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in the arms trafficking investigation called Operation Fast and Furious. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Attorney General Eric Holder testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011, before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in the arms trafficking investigation called Operation Fast and Furious. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Attorney General Eric Holder on Tuesday acknowledged serious mistakes in an arms-trafficking probe that allowed AK-47s and other weapons to leak into the black market, but he insisted the Justice Department was taking steps to ensure that never happens again.

Under pointed questioning by Republicans, Holder also expressed regret that the Justice Department had denied allegations of "gun-walking" in a letter to Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley sent earlier this year.

"Unfortunately, we will feel its effects for years to come as guns that were lost during this operation continue to show up at crime scenes both here and in Mexico," Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee of the investigation, known as Operation Fast and Furious.

Grassley, the panel's top Republican, said the operation represented an "utter failure" by federal law enforcement officials to enforce existing gun laws.

The purchases of more than 2,000 weapons aroused the suspicion of Fast and Furious investigators, but the suspected straw buyers of those guns were allowed to walk out of Phoenix-area gun shops with AK-47s and other weapons, rather than being arrested.

The goal was to track those weapons to gun-trafficking ring leaders, suspected to include Mexican drug lords, who had long eluded prosecution. But agents lost track of about 1,400 of the guns. As of Oct. 20, 276 guns in Fast and Furious have been recovered in Mexico and 389 recovered in the United States.

The letter from the Justice Department to Grassley in February said federal agents make "every effort" to intercept weapons that have been purchased illegally and prevent their transportation to Mexico. Holder said the letter to Grassley was based on information the Justice Department received from the U.S. attorney's office in Phoenix and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Washington.

"It's unconscionable that a federal agency would let such a misleading letter stand for more than nine months," Grassley said following the hearing.

Pressed by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Holder also expressed regret to the family of a slain federal border agent whose death prompted ATF agents to come forward early this year and provide information to Grassley about Fast and Furious.

The attorney general added, however, that it is not fair to assume that mistakes in Operation Fast and Furious led to Terry's death. Two of the guns whose purchase was identified by Operation Fast and Furious investigators turned up at the scene of a shootout in Arizona that resulted in the death of Terry, a Customs and Border Protection agent.

Holder said he first heard allegations of problems in Fast and Furious early this year, prompting Cornyn to ask whether it was Holder's responsibility to have known earlier.

"I have ultimate responsibility for that which happens in the department, but I cannot be expected to know the details for every operation that is ongoing in the Justice Department on a day-to-day basis," replied Holder.

Holder has been criticized in a congressional investigation by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, chaired by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. Republicans have suggested Holder was informed of the problems as early as July 2010 when the operation's name turned up repeatedly in weekly departmental reports ? a point raised Tuesday by Cornyn. Those reports provided updates on dozens of investigations, including Fast and Furious, but do not mention the gun-walking tactic.

The Associated Press has reported that the investigation of Fast and Furious has turned up Justice Department documents which indicate the gun-walking tactic was used in two other investigations by ATF offices in Arizona during the Republican administration of George W. Bush and a briefing memo to Bush's Attorney General Michael Mukasey that briefly described use of the tactic. Mukasey has declined to comment on the memo.

In August, Holder replaced three officials who played critical roles in the arms-trafficking probe ? the acting director of ATF, the U.S. attorney in Arizona and a prosecutor who worked on the arms trafficking probe. The department's inspector general is still investigating the case, at Holder's request. The ATF's new director has revamped the management structure at the agency's headquarters.

Democrats raised the issue of two Bush-era probes that involved gun-walking. Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer said that Republicans are selectively focusing on the Obama administration through Fast and Furious and that if the Republican-controlled House Oversight and Government Reform Committee won't look into the earlier probes, "we should."

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., asked the IG whether its probe of Fast and Furious was being expanded to cover the older probes. One investigation begun in 2006, Operation Wide Receiver, involved 350 weapons, many of which fell into the hands of arms traffickers. In the second Bush-era probe, a briefing paper prepared for then-Attorney General Mukasey outlined failed attempts by federal agents to track illicitly purchased guns across the border into Mexico in a 2007 probe.

Cornyn said that unlike Fast and Furious, Operation Wide Receiver involved coordination with Mexican law enforcement officials. But in the 2007 probe, email traffic among ATF officials said the investigation failed because Mexican law enforcement fell down on the job of tracking the weapons after they were told what vehicle was bringing them across the border. That memo urged Mukasey to press his Mexican counterpart to provide corruption-resistant agents for additional operations that would use the gun-walking tactic.

The Justice Department inspector general's office said in a semiannual report that it was reviewing Operation Fast and Furious "and other investigations with similar objectives, methods and strategies." A spokesman for the IG's office, Jay Lerner, declined to comment on whether the 2006 and 2007 probes are part of the investigation.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-11-08-US-Holder-Senate/id-b220d5fa055b4ebc99c1238a55c0f32e

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