It News: 2012-09-02

September 8, 2012

Chicago Weekend Guide

A Whirlwind Tour of the Windy City
2012/9/8
by Erica Walsh
Filed Under: Chicago, Weekend

The Chicago metropolitan area, located along beautiful Lake Michigan, is also known as Chicagoland, and it's home to almost 10 million people. The city is full of breathtaking architecture and landscaped public parks. Here's a quick guide for seeing the best of the Windy City in just 48 hours.

Where to Stay
Hotel Burnham
Built by Daniel Burnham in 1895, this charming boutique hotel in the historic Reliance Building, served as a model for our nation's first skyscrapers. The hotel is an architectural treasure with a prime location near Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theater and Ford Center for the Performing Arts. The rooms feature plush beds and the mahogany writing desks echo the motif of the wood-paneled lobby. Its history is enhanced with modern design and amenities like complimentary Starbucks coffee in the lobby each morning and a wine reception each afternoon from 5 to 6 p.m.

Australian Outback Tours

Getting Down and Dirty Down Under
20129/8
by Erica Walsh
Filed Under: Australia, Oceania

In parts of the Australian Outback, it's possible to see the curve of the Earth's surface; at night, amidst this natural vastness, you can see more stars in the sky than almost any other place on Earth. The outback is begging to be explored, and we're showing you some of the best ways to do it.

By Bus
The most common way for travelers to experience the rugged Australian Outback is by partaking in a budget camping tour. Due to the popular demand for this type of exploration, there are a multitude of companies offering guided camping tours through the outback's popular Red Center.

Top 10 Mexican Beach Resorts

South of the Border Sun and Sand
by Melanie M. Mize
Filed Under: Cancun, Resorts

For anyone with a dream of sun-drenched fun, Mexico's beaches are no longer just for the well-to-do. Today, resorts on the country's Pacific and Caribbean coasts offer something for every taste, and budget. What's more, most Americans can make the trip to Mexico in little more than a two-hour flight. So, before making plans for an adventure south of the border, read on for Travel Channel's list of the Top 10 Mexican Beach Resorts.

Melia Cabo Real Beach & Golf Resort

Fed head Bernanke joined refinancing crowd

September 7, 2012

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke late last month

(AP) WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve's record-low interest rates have shrunk income for savers but cut costs for borrowers. Chairman Ben Bernanke is among the beneficiaries.

Bernanke's latest financial disclosure form, released Thursday, shows he refinanced his Washington home in 2011. He took out a 30-year mortgage with a fixed 4.25 percent rate, replacing one taken out in 2009 that carried a 5.375 percent rate.

Both mortgages were valued at between $500,000 and $1 million. The government requires top officials to estimate only ranges for their financial assets, rather than give exact figures.

The Fed has held its key short-term interest rate at a record low near zero since December 2008. It's also pursued unconventional programs to try to lower long-term rates and boost the U.S. economy after the

Victoria Azarenka beats Maria Sharapova to enter US Open final

Associated Press
08, 2012

New York: Normally so good, so gritty, in the crucible of the third set, Maria Sharapova finally met her match against Victoria Azarenka. Coming all the way back from a set and a break down, the top-seeded Azarenka prevailed in a stirring third, beating four-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 on Friday to reach her first US Open final.
"This one didn't go my way," Sharapova said. "Frustrating, but it's the game of tennis. A lot of swings in the match today. Certainly had the lead and the advantage."

Miley Cyrus' Exclusive Pics and Video—Get a Sneak Peek at Her New Site!

by Peter Gicas and Ken Baker Thu., Sep. 6, 2012

It's a good, no, make that great day for Miley Cyrus fans.
That's because the singer-actress has just launched her very own online community!
The site, mileycyrus.com, allows Cyrus to share pretty much anything and everything, including news, music, photos and videos—most notably, the "Backyard Sessions," which she shot earlier this summer in her very own, well, backyard. The clips show Cyrus and her band performing several of her favorite songs.

Orioles blast Yankees to move back into first-place tie

By Associated Press
Friday, September 7, 2012

BALTIMORE — The New York Yankees can’t deny it anymore. The Baltimore Orioles are good enough to take this pennant race down to the end.
Baltimore smacked six home runs — including three in a wild eighth inning — and pulled away to a 10-6 victory Thursday night that enabled the Orioles to climb back into a first-place tie with New York atop the AL East.

The Orioles have won 10 of 13, including three of four over the Yankees, and now lead the season series 8-7.

Clearly, this isn’t the same Baltimore team coming off 14 straight losing seasons, or the one that went 5-13 against New York in each of the three previous years.

“They are playing with a lot of confidence right now,” Yankees designated hitter Alex Rodriguez said. “You have to tip your hat to Baltimore.”

Prince Harry Returns to War in Afghanistan
By SIMON PERRY
UPDATED 09/07/2012

Prince Harry Returns to War in Afghanistan| The British Royals, Prince Harry

Prince Harry is back on the frontline.
The Prince, 27, arrived in Afghanistan early Friday morning to begin a tour of duty as a co-pilot of an Apache attack helicopter. Observers reported that he looked "relaxed, if slightly tired" after the overnight journey on a standard troop flight from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.

In a series of photos released by British authorities on Friday morning, Captain Wales, as he is known in the army, is seen giving the thumbs up and walking along a line of choppers at Camp Bastion.

Stewart shines in Toronto; Pattinson underwhelms in L.A.

By Olivia Barker USA Today
2012/9/7

Kristen Stewart arrives at the "On the Road" premiere in Toronto.

At the VMAs, host Kevin Hart told her to "move on." And it looks like Kristen Stewart has.

While her ex, Robert Pattinson, was onstage in L.A. making a (lackluster) introduction to a clip from the final "Twilight" flick, Stewart was on the red carpet in Toronto, making a sparkling post-scandal debut.

Gone was her typical black garb. Instead, Stewart wore a beaded floral dress from Zuhair Murad whose intricate embroidery called to mind Cate Blanchett's style-cementing Galliano frock from the 1999 Oscars.

China approves $157 bln infrastructure spending

By Pete Sweeney and Langi Chiang
SHANGHAI/BEIJING | Fri Sep 7, 2012

Shepherds lead their flock of sheep along on the Guozigou segment of the Lianyungang-Horgos expressway as vehicles drive past the other side of the expressway, Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region March 22, 2012. REUTERS/China Daily/Files

(Reuters) - China has given the green light for 60 infrastructure projects worth more than $150 billion as it looks to energise an economy mired in its worst slowdown in three years, fuelling hopes the world's growth engine may get a lift from the fourth quarter.

Shares and steel futures jumped on the plans to build highways, ports and airport runways, among the most ambitious unveiled in China this year, which analysts say signalled growing intent to bolster economic growth as the country's once-a-decade leadership change looms.

MTV Video Music Awards: Rihanna stuns with long gown and short, short hair!

MTV Video Music Awards: Rihanna stuns with long gown and short, short hair!
Riri showed her chops with a revved-up performance of 'Cockiness (Love It)' and 'We Found Love,' later winning the big award — Video of the Year

BY ERIK ORTIZ / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

Statuesque siren Rihanna stunned the MTV Video Music Awards Thursday night with a shocking pixie ‘do she exposed on the red carpet moments before kicking off the show.
But the 24-year-old Barbados beauty — who wound up taking home Video of the Year — obscured her

Apple cuts memory chip order to Samsung for new iPhone: Source

Reuters, September 07, 2012

Apple Inc has reduced its orders for memory chips for its new iPhone from its main supplier and competitor Samsung Electronics Co, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday.
South Korea's Samsung is a core Apple supplier, producing micro processors, flat screens and memory chips both dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips and NAND memory chips for the iPhone, iPad and iPod.

Glencore Raises Offer for Xstrata in Surprise Move

Published: Friday, 7 Sep 2012
By: CNBC.com with Reuters

Glencore did an about-turn on Friday, raising its offer for miner Xstrata to 3.05 Glencore shares for every Xstrata share, from 2.8 earlier.
The move followed high drama on Friday when Glencore [GLEN-LN 373.90 -18.45 (-4.7%) ] suspended a shareholder vote on its $34 billion takeover bid for Xstrata [XTA-LN 1047.50 68.50 (+7%) ].

Shares of Xstrata jumped nearly 9 percent after news of the amended deal crossed the wires.

Under the new deal terms, Glencore's CEO Ivan Glasenberg would become the CEO of the combined company rather than Xstrata CEO, Mick Davis. The deal would also be structured as a takeover, rather than as a merger.

Quakes in southwest China kill dozens, damage 20,000 homes

BEIJING | Fri Sep 7, 2012

(Reuters) - Two shallow 5.6 magnitude earthquakes hit southwestern China on Friday, killing at least 50 people and forcing tens of thousands of people from damaged buildings, state media said.

The quakes struck near the border of Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, the first one at 11:19 a.m. (0319 GMT) and the second one about 45 minutes later, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said.

About 150 people were injured and 20,000 homes damaged, the official Xinhua news agency said.

US faces deadline on Haqqani network decision

By BRADLEY KLAPPER - Associated Press
2012/9/7

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration faces a weekend deadline to decide whether the Pakistan-based Haqqani network should be declared a terrorist organization, a complicated political decision as the U.S. withdraws from Afghanistan and pushes for a reconciliation pact to end more than a decade of warfare.
Enraged by a string of high-profile attacks on U.S. and NATO troops, Congress has ordered Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to give her verdict by Sunday. U.S. officials say there are disagreements within the administration over what to decide.
The U.S. already has placed sanctions on many Haqqani leaders and is targeting its members militarily but has held back from formally designating the al-Qaida-linked network a terrorist group amid concerns about hampering peace efforts in Afghanistan and U.S. relations with Pakistan.

Romney vs. Obama: For the Economy, It Really Doesn’t Matter Who Wins, Ritholtz Says By Morgan Korn | Daily Ticker

Romney vs. Obama: For the Economy, It Really Doesn’t Matter Who Wins, Ritholtz Says
By Morgan Korn | Daily Ticker
2012/9/6

From now until Nov. 6, voters will be hearing a lot about the economy. President Barack Obama will be defending his economic record over the last four years. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney will be touting his proposals to revive the economy. But how much control do presidents really have over the economy? A president's economic record could be tarnished the moment he (or she) moves into the White House and one's economic legacy could be a factor of well…luck.

NFL donates $30 million to National Institutes of Health

National Football League
Published: Sept. 5, 2012 at 09:07 a.m. Updated: Sept. 5, 2012
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE GRANTS
$30 MILLION IN UNRESTRICTED FUNDING TO THE
FOUNDATION FOR THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH

Focus on Advancing Science and Medical Understanding
of Brain Injuries

The National Football League will provide $30 million in funding for medical research to the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH), NFL Commissioner ROGER GOODELL announced today.

The unrestricted gift is the NFL's single-largest donation to any organization in the league's 92-year history and will be overseen by The National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Tom Cruise, Scientology deny 2004 'auditions' for a girlfriend
By the CNN Wire Staff

Wed September 5, 2012
(CNN) -- A representative for Scientologist Tom Cruise on Tuesday derided an article that contends the Church of Scientology embarked on a secret project to find the actor a girlfriend following his 2001 divorce from actress Nicole Kidman.
"Vanity Fair's story is essentially a rehash of tired old lies previously run in the supermarket tabloids, quoting the same bogus 'sources,'" said Bert Fields, Cruise's attorney. "It's long, boring and false."
The church also weighed in, describing the October issue article by special correspondent Maureen Orth as "hogwash."
Ex-Scientologist: Cruise was top church recruit
Vanity Fair magazine, which provided a preview of the article on its website, said Shelly Miscavige, wife of Scientology leader David Miscavige, headed an "auditioning" process in 2004.
Actresses who were Scientologists were called in for other reasons and

Andy Warhol - Andy Warhol: Marlon Brando Print Expected To Sell For $20 Million

06 September 2012

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts in New York has announced that some of his work would go under the hammer at Christie's in November, reports The Telegraph. The pieces will be sold through Christie's auction house to raise money for its endowment.
The first piece to go under the hammer is a silk screen of Marlon Brando from the movie, The Wild One.

Showbiz is politics and politics is showbiz

JOHN DOYLE
Published Thursday, Sep. 06 2012

Taylor Swift performs at Madison Square Garden in New York. The six-time Grammy winner Taylor Swift will perform at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards next month. (AP)

The Globe and Mail
Executives at MTV have promised that the MTV Video Music Awards will end on time tonight and not overlap with president Barack Obama’s closing speech at the Democratic National Convention.

This news was delivered first not by any media outlet covering the showbiz racket, but by Politico, the U.S. political journalism outfit that covers U.S politics relentlessly. Because it matters, politically and strategically, if the vast audience for MTV Video Music Awards (MuchMusic, 8 p.m.) is distracted from Obama’s speech. And because the Democrats hope that Obama is, to the MTV audience, as charismatic and

OECD says global growth slowed by European crisis; recession ‘taking hold’ in eurozone

By Associated Press, Updated: Thursday, September 6

PARIS — Europe’s debt crisis is pushing the 17-country eurozone toward recession and dragging down the global economy, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Thursday.

Even growth in traditional economic powerhouse Germany is slowing, and the OECD’s interim assessment said that Europe’s largest economy could slip into recession by the end of the year.
“The negative elements of the global economy ... stemming mostly from Europe are there and they are somewhat stronger than they used to be a few months ago,” OECD Chief economist Pier Carlo Padoan told reporters.

Robbers in bizarre Bank of America heist on the run

September 6, 2012
Authorities are searching for two robbers in a bizarre heist at an East L.A. Bank of America.

A Los Angeles bomb squad officer and robot with the device that was attached to a bank manager

A bank manager said she was leaving her Huntington Park home for work Wednesday morning when two masked men snatched her in her garage. They strapped what they told her was an explosive device to her chest and instructed her to drive to her bank and give them money.

Authorities said the manager complied, taking a bag filled with cash to the back of the bank, where the robbers grabbed it and sped away in a car.

Cowboys pass gut check with opening win over Giants

2012-09-06

By Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Before heading back to the training room following the Dallas Cowboys' upset victory at MetLife Stadium on Wednesday night, Jason Witten turned to the last couple of reporters remaining from the pack and pointed to a typed quote that he had athletic-taped to his locker.
It was something the All-Pro tight end received during a visit to Navy Seals specialists recently during the Cowboys' summer getaway to California. It spoke volumes about the mindset of a player healing a lacerated spleen — whose status seemed so iffy in the days, hours and minutes before the season opener.
The message read:
I will never quit. I persevere and thrive on adversity. My team expects me to be physically harder and mentally stronger than our competition. If knocked down, I will get back up, every time. I will draw on every remaining ounce of strength to help my team and to achieve our goal. I am never out of the FIGHT.

Costa Rica Escapes Serious Damage From Big Quake

By CESAR BARRANTES and DANICA COTO Associated Press
CANGREJAL, Costa Rica September 5, 2012 (AP)

The bulletins were terrifying: a powerful earthquake had struck off the coast of this Central American country, spawning a tsunami warning and bringing fears of widespread catastrophe.

But Costa Rica suffered remarkably little damage from Wednesday's magnitude-7.6 quake — a few blocked highways, some collapsed houses and one death, of a heart attack caused by fright. Officials credited the relatively deep location of the quake and building codes that Costa Rican officials call as strict as those in California and Japan.

The quake was 25 miles (41 kilometers) below the surface. Tremors that occur deep underground tend to be less damaging, but their shaking can be felt over a wider area.

"If it was a shallower event, it would be a significantly higher hazard," said seismologist Daniel McNamara of the U.S. Geological Survey.

VMAs: World's First Double-Decker Red Carpet Will Make You Say 'Whoa!'

Designer of first-of-its-kind two-story pre-show carpet wants you to say, 'whoa!' when you see it on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET/PT; main show goes live at 8 p.m.

By Gil Kaufman
LOS ANGELES — Before the beautiful ones can take their seats at Staples Center for Thursday's 2012 MTV Video Music Awards, they're going to have to traverse a red carpet that will give them a serious workout.

"The inspiration for the pre-show was a three-story driving range that we saw a picture of from Japan," said David Morong, production designer for the VMAs pre-show. All the action will take place on a three-story red carpet erected between the Nokia Theatre and the site of the big show, Staples Center, that Morong believes is the first-ever multi-level, stacked red carpet arrival set-up. "The idea came that what if rather than driving golf balls out that we actually had talent interviews on these levels looking across to the Staples Center?"

My Boobs Are TOO BIG to Go Running

By tmz.com/2012/09/05

Jessica Simpson has two huge obstacles to overcome on her quest for her old bod ... her giant boobs ... 'cause Jessica says they've gotten so big, she can't go running.

Simpson is finally discussing her tremendous weight gain to People.com, claiming she packed on the pounds during her pregnancy because "It was the first time I was ever pregnant, and I wanted to enjoy it."

One shot dead during Parti Quebecois victory speech

By Jan Ravensbergen, Christopher Curtis, Monique Muise and Charlie Fidelman, The Gazette September 5, 2012 6

MONTREAL - A 62-year-old suspect is in police custody Wednesday after a shooting late Tuesday night as premier-elect Pauline Marois was giving a victory speech.

Marois was whisked from the stage by bodyguards at the Metropolis theatre and returned a few moments later unharmed.

Montreal police said the man was “quickly apprehended” after approaching the back of Metropolis, penetrating a vestibule and opening fire.

“For us this is a homicide investigation,” Montreal police spokesman Ian Lafrenière said. (Listen to audio clip describing suspect.)

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