Greater Brisbane Junior Rugby League game erupts into brawl

MORE than 50 players and parents were involved in a sickening brawl during a junior rugby league game yesterday, in which first aid officers had their heads stomped on by parents.

Rugby league endured some of its most shameful scenes, as the Greater Brisbane Junior Rugby League grand final day descended into violent chaos that required police intervention.

There were two separate brawls involving parents, one in an under-15 final, the other in an under-18 final both played at Wests Centenary ground in Wacol.

The second incident was so frightening it has even prompted calls for fences to lock parents out of future grand final days.

The second brawl occurred moments after the hooter sounded in the Waterford v Redcliffe under-18 grand final.

Coach of the Redcliffe team Leon Cherry, uncle of NRL star Daly Cherry-Evans, said it was the most horrendous thing he had witnessed during 35 years involved in the game.

"The image I can't get out my head is when I was signing the game sheet, I turned around to see one my players king hit then kicked while he was on the ground. A safety officer jumped in to help him and he was knocked to the ground and had his head stomped on while laying on my player," Cherry said.

"Parents rushed the field. They targeted my players, just attacked them for no reason.

"There would have been 50 or more people involved in the brawl.

"I'm absolutely disgusted with Waterford and what those parents did.

"There should be minimum five year bans handed out to a number of players from Waterford.

"I'm amazed that no one was seriously injured."

Cherry said the fight occurred because Waterford, who had defeated Redcliffe easily in each of their encounters this season, could not handle losing.

"Our guys defended themselves and threw some punches no doubt but half as many as they did and only to protect themselves," Cherry said.

"I honestly think we should consider erecting fences around the ground to lock out parents from grand final days."

The event was supposed to be the highlight of the rugby league season, featuring hundreds of kids from across Brisbane seeking premiership glory.

There were several Brisbane Broncos players in attendance including winger Dale Copley, who used Twitter to vent his shock at witnessing the under-15 brawl.

"Parents running onto the field fighting at junior rugby league... Really?#disgrace" he wrote.

"Should be banned from junior footy forever."

The Queensland Rugby League will launch a full investigation tomorrow.

A police spokesperson confirmed they were called to the field after a "massive brawl" took place.

"We arrived on the scene but the offenders had left, we patrolled the area to ensure nothing else happened," police said.

Oops, Chicago Bears Sport Wrong Colored Orange Pants in Madden ’13

On Wednesday, Marcus Thomas, the New York Giants’ defensive lineman was upset with the makers of “Madden 13″ after they botched his photo in the latest edition of the popular video game. Now an entire team has a reason to be upset with the game makers.

Jake Flannigan of Comcast SportsNet Chicago reported Thursday that the Chicago Bears are the victims of a team-wide wardrobe malfunction.

In the game, Chicago wears white jerseys and orange pants on the road. In reality, that is not quite the case for the Bears.

The Bears have worn white jerseys and navy pants on the road since 1984. White tops with white pants have seen a little action, too, for what Flannigan calls the team’s “storm trooper look.” A third combination, navy tops with white bottoms are employed when the home team prefers white tops, but orange pants have never been a staple.

“I can’t recall that they have ever sported orange pants in the history of the organization dating back to when the club was founded in 1919 at A.E. Staley Manufacturing Company in Decatur,” Flannigan wrote.

Obama Fuel-Economy Rule Gives Sweeteners to Honda, Tesla

Honda Motor Co. (7267), which last year complained that a proposed fuel-economy rule was unfair to non- U.S. automakers, got a boost when the final version added extra credits for sellers of natural gas-powered vehicles.

Honda, based in Tokyo, is the only automaker selling compressed natural gas-powered cars to U.S. drivers and will be able to use the credits to meet the fuel-economy standards. It’s one of the few changes made to a rule for 2017 to 2025 that was proposed in November 2011 and released in final form by President Barack Obama’s administration yesterday.

“Providing incentive credits for natural gas vehicles makes a great deal of sense under this regulation,” Edward Cohen, Honda vice president of government and industry relations, said in an e-mail yesterday. “A dedicated natural gas vehicle reduces CO2 emissions by 25 percent and petroleum consumption by 100 percent.”

The corporate average fuel economy, or CAFE, rule may cost the auto industry as much $136 billion to comply with, while saving consumers up to $451 billion in fuel costs, regulators from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a briefing. They declined to be named because they weren’t authorized to be quoted about the rule.

A Romney policy he dare not tout

Mitt Romney is a tax evader — but not, I hasten to add, in the sense that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) so scurrilously suggested.

Rather, Romney is being evasive about exactly what he plans to do on tax reform. Rates and rate cuts, he’ll spell out: Romney proposes an across-the-board 20 percent reduction in the existing marginal rates, while keeping the 15 percent top rate on capital gains, except for filers who make less than $200,000; for them, capital gains would be tax-free.
As for which deductions and special breaks Romney would eliminate to offset the lower rates — well, he’s getting back to us on that.

Consider Romney’s position on one notorious tax break: the favorable treatment of “carried interest.” Mainly enjoyed by private equity and hedge fund managers, this break is a big reason Romney’s own tax bill was no more than about 14 percent of his multimillion-dollar income in recent years.

The carried-interest break not only accentuates income inequality but also overincentivizes the formation of investment partnerships, diverting capital — financial and human — from other, more productive uses. President Obama has sensibly proposed getting rid of it.

Given his background as founder of Bain Capital, Romney would have been the perfect Republican to join Obama’s call for carried-interest reform, in a Nixon-goes-to-China sort of way. Romney could even have turned the tables on the president’s party, noting that this loophole’s fiercest defender on Capitol Hill is the populistic Charles Schumer, Democrat of Wall Street — er, New York.

Instead, when Fortune magazine asked him about carried interest in a recent interview, Romney lamely replied that “if something is a capital gain, it should be treated as a capital gain. If something is ordinary income, it should be treated as ordinary income. I would look at each type of income, and I’m sure the IRS would do the same, to determine, is this really a capital gain or is it ordinary income?”

The former governor obfuscates out of self-interest — not personal but political. He dares not risk a rebellion by the Wall Streeters who flock to his fundraisers. Some of them can be remarkably self-righteous about carried interest, waxing eloquent about the risk-taking, job creation and freedom this arcane tax provision supposedly fosters. In 2010, billionaire Steve Schwartzman of Blackstone Group likened Obama’ s plan to end the carried-interest break to Hitler’s invasion of Poland. (He later apologized.)

And so in his Fortune interview Romney did not even attempt to claim credit for this surprising fact: Even though his tax plan does not target, and would not eliminate, the carried-interest break, it would significantly reduce the break’s value.

How? Typically, private equity, venture capital and hedge fund general partners collect 1 or 2 percent of the assets under management as an annual fee, which is taxed as ordinary income — top rate, 35 percent.

In addition to that, the general partners get 20 percent of the fund’s profits (above a minimum “hurdle rate”). This is the carried interest. If you think it sounds more like compensation for services rendered than a return on investment, I agree with you — especially since general partners rarely have much of their own money at risk.

But the IRS long ago embraced a different metaphysical perspective, which is why it’s treated as a capital gain.

And since the top capital gains rate is 15 percent — 20 percentage points less than the top rate on ordinary income — the characterization of carried interest as capital gains is very advantageous indeed. The cost of this loophole to the Treasury is about $1.5 billion per year, according to the Office of Management and Budget.

Romney’s plan, however, would reduce the top rate on ordinary income by a fifth, leaving it at 28 percent. The differential between the maximum ordinary and capital gains rates would decline as well, to 13 percentage points. This amounts to an implicit 35 percent cut in the value of treating carried interest as capital gains.

To be sure, there would be no impact on the deficit; revenue gained from closing the loophole would be lost to the lower ordinary-income rate. The disparate treatment of ordinary and investment income would remain embedded in the tax code. Other ways to exploit carried interest would not be affected.

But to the extent that Romney’s plan would alter perverse incentives that the current carried-interest break engenders, it would make both the tax code and the economy more efficient — at the expense of his financier supporters.

In short, Romney’s policy, though not nearly as definitive as Obama’s, is less retrograde than it might appear. Too bad the internal politics of his party prevent him from saying so.

Mitt Romney-Paul Ryan GOP ticket reflects religious shift

By naming devout, conservative Catholic U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan to be his running mate, former governor Mitt Romney, once a Mormon bishop, did more than ensure

the USA will have a Catholic vice president in 2013.
He established the first Republican ticket without a Protestant since 1860, when Abraham Lincoln, who belonged to no church, chose Maine Sen. Hannibal

Hamlin, a Unitarian as his running mate, says Mark Silk, professor of religion and public life at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn.

Yet today's GOP ticket — two Christians who are neither evangelical nor mainline Protestants — isn't a major marker of social change, University of

California history professor David Hollinger says.

For a real sign of the decline of American mainline Protestantism, Hollinger looks to the Protestant-free U.S. Supreme Court: six Catholics and three Jews.

The Romney-Ryan ticket is well in line with today's wider, less brand-specific Christian culture, he says.

The number of Americans who identify with a Protestant denomination has been steadily slipping from over 60% in the 1970s to 52% in 2010, says Duke

University sociology professor Mark Chaves, who tracks religion statistics in the national General Social Survey, conducted biannually by the National

Opinion Research Center.

With this comes a shift in assumption about values, says Stephen Prothero, author of The American Bible, examining core civic, political, literary and

religious texts of U.S history and society. "We can no longer assume when people speak of American values, they're speaking in terms of Protestants who

dominated American religious and public life" since the nation's founding, Prothero says.

Besides the Supreme Court's makeup, he cites today's diversity in Congress, which has Catholics, Mormons, Jews, Buddhists and Muslims.

The Bible isn't every candidate's go-to text any more. Prothero expects Vice President Biden, a Catholic, and Ryan to argue over their different views of

Catholic social teachings rather than stand on Gospel quotations.

Some evangelicals claim Ryan as one of their own, says David Brody, chief political correspondent for the Christian Broadcasting Network and author of a

book, The Teavangelicals.

Brody says that Ryan, as a "dedicated pro-life, true blue conservative," is a Tea Party evangelical, too, because he stands for the movement's agenda of

"fiscal austerity and social conservatism."

Silk, who blogs at Spiritual Politics, points out, "I haven't heard any Protestants complaining that Romney didn't pick one of their own. The default mode is

'Christian' and Catholics are seen in the Christian tent."

Mormons see themselves as Christian and many scholars, but not all evangelicals, agree.

There's history to this. Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the early 1800s, "announced he had been called to set

Christianity straight," says Robert Millet, professor of religion at Brigham Young University. Smith preached that the historic churches — their bishops,

priests and pastors — had lost their divine authority and he offered a radically different vision of God, Jesus and the path to salvation.

Today, Millet says, "Mormons and Catholics are side by side with evangelicals in sharing very conservative beliefs in the traditional family, and in the idea

that there are absolute truths and moral values."

The groups stand together in opposing abortion, same-sex marriage, and a provision in Obama's health care law. It requires employers, including faith-based

institutions, to provide or facilitate employee insurance coverage for contraception. When the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops called the rule an affront

to religious liberty, Mormons were right with them, Millet says.

The Bishop John Wester of the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City says "we have a healthy relationship and work closely on issues of compassion."

Ultimately, the symbolism of the Romney-Ryan ticket may be that it doesn't matter any more which religion a candidate claims as long as he claims one, says

Grant Wacker, professor of Christian history at Duke Divinity School. "It would be much more significant if the candidates had no faith or called themselves

agnostics or unbelievers. That is still unimaginable in the USA today," Wacker says.

Joe Biden comes across as a ball and chain in 2012 election, but President Obama won't dump him from the ticket in favor of Hillary Clinton

If this were the real world, which presidential politics sure are not these days in a campaign that feels like mud-wrestling, Joe Biden would be fired for

what he said the other day about chains. Biden would be gone and Barack Obama would be doing something he should have done a year ago, at least, which means

ask Hillary Clinton to run with him.

“It’s a little bit of a dream,” a big Democrat told me on Monday, talking about Hillary, before Biden opened his big mouth again and made you wonder how

he got this close to the presidency in the first place. “A little bit of a dream, but for what would be a dream ticket.”

You can come up with a hundred reasons why it will never happen, starting with the fact that Obama, who never wants you to see him sweat, would never allow

himself to look like he needs to bring Hillary out of the bullpen. A better reason, of course, is that as tremendous a secretary of state as Hillary Clinton

has been for him, Obama doesn’t like the Clintons any more than the Clintons really like him.

Sometimes you get the idea that the President likes having Hillary Clinton traveling the world the way she does so nobody spends too much time looking for an

answer to the great unknowable question from 2008:

How much better off might we all be if Hillary Clinton had won?

Maybe all the experts will be right about the candidates for vice president in the end, and they won’t matter, not Paul Ryan and not Biden, who heads to the

finish line of his first term looking like he’s in a sack race. And by the way, nobody cares what he meant to say the other day, whether he meant to talk

about shackles rather than chains.

What matters is what the vice president of the United States did say to a predominantly black audience in Danville, Va.: “They’re going to put y’all back

in chains.”

That was the big money quote from Biden, who doesn’t back up or apologize for what he said originally. “I know I am sometimes criticized for saying exactly

what I mean,” Biden said in Blacksburg, Va., on Wednesday. “It’s not going to change.”

That is only good news for the people running against him. You know all those pictures we see these days of Paul Ryan, fitness buff, running? The guy will

run faster getting to a debate with Biden than the anchor leg of the 4x100 relay in the Olympics.

This doesn’t make Biden some enemy of the state, or as dangerous as Dick Cheney once was. But Biden continues to live one of the great charmed lives any

vice president has ever lived.

   

Silversun Pickups Tell Mitt Romney To Stop Using 'Panic Switch,' Say They Dislike The GOP Candidate

The Silversun Pickups have asked Mitt Romney's campaign to stop using their song "Panic Switch" at events. The band has issued a cease-and-desist order and

released a statement Wednesday, roundly denouncing Romney and his campaign.

"We don't like people going behind our backs, using our music without asking, and we don't like the Romney campaign," frontman Brian Aubert wrote. "We're

nice, approachable people. We won't bite. Unless you're Mitt Romney!"

A spokeswoman for the campaign told the Associated Press that while the campaign did not ask for permission for the song, it was allowed to play it under a

"blanket licensing agreement." The campaign also said it would not play "Panic Switch" again.

The band suggested that Romney's use of the single was ironic because "he is inadvertently playing a song that describes his whole campaign."

Here's the song's chorus, as posted on online lyric websites:

    When you see yourself in a crowded room
    Do your fingers itch, are you pistol-whipped?
    Will you step in line or release the glitch?
    Can you fall asleep with a panic switch?

Romney wouldn't be the first politician to run afoul of a musician's wishes. Tom Petty sent Rep. Michele Bachmann a cease-and-desist after she used "American

Girl" when announcing her presidential campaign. Talking Heads singer David Byrne sued then-Florida Gov. Charlie Crist for using "Road to Nowhere" in an

attack ad Crist's campaign used in a race against Marco Rubio.

In fact, Romney himself faced similar issues in February, when singer K'Naan said the campaign used "Wavin' Flag" without permission. Like the Silversun

Pickups, K'Naan said he did not support the Romney campaign and would not have given allowed the use of the song even if he was asked. (More examples of

artists suing politicians are available at the bottom of this article.)

TMZ has obtained a copy of the letter the Silversun Pickups' attorney sent Romney's campaign. "As the former governor of the state of Massachusetts, a

graduate of Harvard Law School, and candidate for U.S. President, we're pretty sure you are familiar with the laws of this great country of ours," the snarky

missive reads. "We're writing because, like you, we think these laws are important."

Here's the full statement:

    Seems as if the GOP is once again whimsically ignoring our great nation's laws to do whatever it wants to do, and shooting itself in the foot in the

process. Without any regard for copyright or intellectual property laws, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has, without permission, begun to use

Silversun Pickups' 2009 smash "Panic Switch" at campaign stops across the country. Neither the band nor its representatives were contacted to gain permission

for the use of the song and the band has no intention of endorsing the Romney campaign. The band's attorney issued a cease and desist today.

    "We don't like people going behind our backs, using our music without asking, and we don't like the Romney campaign. We're nice, approachable people. We

won't bite. Unless you're Mitt Romney! We were very close to just letting this go because the irony was too good. While he is inadvertently playing a song

that describes his whole campaign, we doubt that 'Panic Switch' really sends the message he intends."

Exeter Tutorial College

Catholics for Obama was launched by the president’s reelection campaign on Monday, two days after Mitt Romney picked a staunch anti-abortion Catholic who

wants deep cuts in social programs,  Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, as his running mate.

The new group, and its counterpart Catholics for Romney launched earlier this month, reflect divisions in both Church and American society.
Gov. Martin O’Malley, a national co-chair of Catholics for Obama, signed same-sex marriage legislation into law earlier this year.  Another co-chair,

Victoria Reggie Kennedy — widow of Sen. Edward Kennedy — was blocked by a bishop from acting as commencement speaker at a Catholic college in

Massachusetts.

By contrast, Catholics for Romney is headed by six former United States ambassadors to the Vatican, including former Republican Chairman Jim Nicholson and

ex-Voice of America boss Frank Shakespeare.

“The current administration has shown its sympathy for the pro-abortion lobby:  Mitt Romney will be a faithful defender of life in all its seasons,” the

pro-Romney group said at its formation.  (Romney was pro-choice and pro-gay rights as a Massachusetts politician, but has taken strong anti-abortion and

anti-gay marriage stands as a presidential candidate.)

The Romney group includes one Democrat, former Boston Mayor Ray Flynn.

Catholics for Obama includes outspoken figures from the women’s movement — Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut and ex-State Rep. Polly Baca of Colorado — as

well as Boston College theologian Thomas Groome and Stephen Schneck, head of the Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies at Catholic University of

America.

A prominent name on the list is former AFL-CIO President John Sweeney.  Sweeney, a daily communicant, was once called a communist by the then-press secretary

of the Washington State Republican Party.

The United States has elected one Catholic — John F. Kennedy — as its president.  Vice President Joe Biden is the first Catholic to serve as Vice President

of the United States.

A half-century after the Second Vatican Council, which opened the Catholic Church to the modern world, the Church has lately taken a sharp turn toward

discipline, dogma and a demand for docility among the laity.

Outspoken defenders of orthodoxy have been named bishops of key dioceses — Philadelphia, Baltimore, Denver and lately San Francisco.  Several Catholic

dioceses have sued to block a requirement that contraception be included in health care coverage plans offered under the Affordable Care Act.

At the same time,  Catholic governors in Washington, Maryland, New York and California have championed legalization of marriage for same-sex couples.

A contingent from Catholics for Marriage Equality marched in Seattle’s recent Pride Day parade.  More than 500 people marched on St. James Cathedral on

Sunday to support America’s nuns in the face of a Vatican-ordered crackdown.

Catholic bishops in late June and early July promoted a “Fortnight for Freedom” to highlight what they claim is a multifold threat to religious liberty in

the United States.

At the same time, however, a quartet of Catholic sisters calling themselves “Nuns on the Bus” toured Midwest and Eastern states to protest slashes in

social spending proposed in Rep. Ryan’s budget.  They visited the Wisconsin district of the Republican vice presidential nominee.

The Catholic vote will be pivotal in this fall’s election, particularly in states of the industrial Midwest.  President Obama won a narrow majority from

American Catholics in 2008.

Taylor Swift comforts Conor Kennedy and helps him deal with the grief of losing his mother

It's Taylor Swift to the rescue for Conor Kennedy as he struggles to deal with his mother's death.

Friends told the New York Post that the singer's 'positive spirit' is helping the 18-year-old son of Robert F Kennedy Jr through his heartbreak.

22-year-old Swift has reportedly been trying to take Kennedy's mind off things by encouraging him to pursue his interest in whale research.
A friend told the Post: 'Taylor has a really generous and positive spirit, and the whole Kennedy family loves her.

'It has been a very difficult time for Conor, losing his mother, and Taylor has great positive energy. She is definitely helping him through this.'
With Taylor's support Conor has been doing volunteer work to help identify how the Gulf of Mexico oil spill affected whales by studying their DNA.

'Conor is a genuine guy and, like his father, [who is president of Waterkeeper Alliance] is interested in environmental issues and is trying to save the

world,' the source added.

Taylor has also been offering her new boyfriend tips on taking on the responsibility of becoming the administrator of his late mother's estate.
'He is so young and has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders, becoming the administrator of his mother’s estate,' the source said.

Conor's half sister, Kick, 24, told the Post: 'Conor has the biggest heart in the world, and Taylor is lovely. It’s been a tough summer, and I hope he gets

to enjoy a little peace now.'

She, like Conor, has been concentrating on volunteer work to help grieve the family's loss, working at Bellevue Hospital.

The other Kennedy kids have taken on similar projects, with 16-year-old Kyra going on a church mission in Africa while 14-year-old Fin went to a ski camp.

Over the past few days Taylor and Conor's Love Story has been gathering pace.

The country singer headed home to Nashville this week to introduce her new boyfriend to her parents.

Excited fans posted pictures of them on Twitter, as they explored her adopted hometown.
And Taylor's parents, who are currently undergoing a divorce, even reunited to share a meal together and meet their daughter's beau.

Taylor and Conor visited the Pancake Pantry, Starbucks, and various other low key eateries as they looked around.

Her fans were delighted to catch sight of Taylor in the flesh.

'This day is the best day of my life,' a fan named Abby wrote on her Tumblr page. 'I met Taylor Swift with my absolute best friends like we said we would do

one day. We saw her with her new boyfriend.

'We told her how happy we were for here and she had the biggest smile on her face. God is so good.'

Taylor has been dating Conor, the son of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the late Mary Richardson Kennedy, for about two months.

She has already received the seal of approval from her boyfriend's family, after she joined the Kennedy clan at their Cape Cod vacation compound.
His grandmother, family matriarch, Ethel, 84, even told journalists at a recent Television Critics Association event in Beverly Hills that the family 'should

be so lucky' to welcome Swift into the fold. 

The couple were brought together by Conor's aunt Rory Kennedy after she attended one of Taylor's concerts with her two daughters.

Rory, who directed Ethel, the upcoming HBO documentary about the family matriach, gushed that Taylor 'is a great friend of all of ours.'

Adding: 'We love her. She's awesome.'

Taylor told Vogue earlier this year that she's a great admirer of the Kennedy clan, describing the moment she met Ethel Kennedy as 'the only time in my life

I have ever been starstruck.'

Taylor certainly deserves a positive spell in her love life, following a string of high-profile romance flops with Taylor Lautner, Joe Jonas, John Meyer and

Jake Gyllenhaal.

Romney Seeks Distance From Ryan's Budget Plans

 Cheered by the biggest crowds of his campaign, Republican Mitt Romney declared Sunday that 42-year-old running mate Paul Ryan is ready to be president, but

said his own budget plan, not the more detailed proposals of his partner, will be the basis of his White House bid.

"I have my budget plan," he said. "And that's the budget plan we're going to run on."

Earlier, Romney walked a careful line as he campaigned with Ryan by his side in North Carolina, singling out his running mate's work "to make sure we can

save Medicare." But the presidential candidate never said whether he embraced Ryan's austere plan himself, and he addressed the matter more directly in a "60

Minutes" interview, with Ryan still with him, that aired Sunday night on CBS.

Democrats weren't about to let them off that hook.

President Barack Obama, attending campaign fundraisers Sunday in Chicago, tagged Ryan as the "ideological leader" of the Republican Party.

"He is a decent man, he is a family man, he is an articulate spokesman for Gov. Romney's vision but it is a vision that I fundamentally disagree with," Obama

said in his first public comments about Ryan's selection.

Senior Obama adviser David Axelrod and other aides spent Sunday trying to brand Ryan's budget "the Ryan-Romney plan."
 During the Republican primary, Romney had called Ryan's budget a "bold and exciting effort" that was "very much needed."

Ryan proposed to reshape the long-standing entitlement by setting up a voucher-like system to let future retirees shop for private health coverage or choose

the traditional program — a plan that independent budget analysts say would probably mean smaller increases in benefits than current law would provide.

Romney and Ryan, in their first joint television interview Sunday, were clearly mindful that some of Ryan's proposals don't sit well with key constituencies,

among them seniors in critical states like Florida and Ohio. Each man sought to reassure older voters they wouldn't take away their benefits, with Ryan

saying his mother is "a Medicare senior in Florida" and Romney vowing there would be "no changes" for seniors currently counting on the popular federal

program.

"In America, the nature of this country has been giving people more freedom, more choices," Romney said. "That's how we make Medicare work down the road."

Romney praised his running mate for his policy depth and analytical skills and said if they should win the election, Ryan will surely be consulted in big

decisions — "along with other individuals." He added: "Obviously I have to make the final call in important decisions."

The presumptive presidential nominee said Ryan, "if it were necessary, could become president." And Romney extolled his running mate's Washington experience,

despite having criticized primary rivals Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum for their years in the nation's capital.

Ryan said he planned to release two years of personal tax returns to the public. The wealthy Romney is also releasing two years of returns, despite pressure

from Democrats and some Republicans to provide more information about how he manages his millions.

Why Usain Bolt Is the Best Sho

Usain Bolt is the best show in sports.

Don't get me wrong. I don't intend to diminish the brilliance of Lionel Messi, the precision of Aaron Rodgers, the brute force of LeBron James or even the

dominance of Tiger Woods at his best.

All of those athletes and many more are unique and special in their own ways. They provide consistent thrills when you watch them.

Still, none of them can approach Bolt.
His mere presence captures every single eye in the stadium and diverts every onlooker outside of it. An imminent championship race of his gives the sporting

public a tingling feeling of anticipation weeks, if not months, in advance.

So, why is that? Well, Bolt in his remarkable four-year reign as the world's fastest man has left us many reasons to watch his every move.

We've Never Seen Anything Like Him Before

Throughout the history of the 100-meter dash, there've been champions from all over the world. Ukraine, Scotland and Canada are among the countries that have

won gold in the Olympics final in the past 40 years.

It's a diverse array of champions, but one of them stands out...quite literally.

It's Bolt, who at 6'5" doesn't resemble any super-elite sprinter the world has ever seen. He dwarfs his competitors, most of whom are at 6' or under, at

every race.
His turnover seems impossibly swift for a man his size. Yet, despite all of the conventional wisdom over the years that sprinters should be short, Bolt has

turned that notion on its head.

His start is more than adequate, and at special occasions, like in his runs at the Beijing Olympics and 2009 World Championships, it can match or exceed

every competitor no matter what physics might lead us to believe..

Nobody 6'5'' is supposed to move so effortlessly.

When he reaches top speed with his massive strides, it leaves some of the fastest men in history looking like ornaments for a poster.  Incredibly, he takes a

staggering 10 percent fewer strides than many of his competitors.

Simply put, the man is a physical freak, a genetic anomaly that we are unlikely to ever see again.

Usain Bolt, World's Greatest Showman

Bolt's performances are spectacular enough, but his unpredictable and playful antics top off each performance.
Whether it's clowning for the cameras, making absurd poses with event mascots or openly discussing his pre-race meal of McDonalds, Bolt never fails to

entertain.

On the track, he can face down a pressure-packed event head-on and joke around with the cameraman and his competitors like the race has the gravity of an

innocuous repeat at practice.

Even within races he can manage to amuse via celebrating early, looking around a half dozen times or easing down so much in wins it looks comical.

His post-race antics are always fresh, like watching him show his genuine joy as he strikes his familiar pose and then improvises.

The Feeling that Anything Could Happen

Every time Bolt sits in the blocks, there is a tantalizing possibility that he might do something that has never been done.

In the stadium and around television sets worldwide, an unmistakable buzz takes hold because everyone knows. No world record is safe. No ridiculous manner of

dispatching the world's best is unreasonable.

Despite all of his amazing performances, it always seems like there's a very strong chance he'll top himself again.
No other athlete inspires that sort of feeling every time he trots out for an event. No one else can make each time out feel like a potentially historic

moment.

You don't know how fast he can go, and you probably can't believe it.

Put together with his innate ability to entertain and the fact that we've never met a human being that is anything like him, that threat of watching history

being reshaped puts Bolt over the top.

He is the sports world's greatest show.

Floods, landslides in Philippines claim 15 lives, leave thousands stranded

MANILA, PHILIPPINES Fifteen people were killed Tuesday and 130,000 people displaced in floods and landslides caused by heavy rains in the Philippine capital

and several provinces, officials said.

Government offices, courts and schools were suspended in Manila and nine northern provinces after rain since Sunday night caused major dams and rivers to

overflow.

The president’s office also ordered private businesses to close, while the Philippine Stock Exchange suspended trading.

Up to 50 per cent of metropolitan Manila — an area of about 12 million inhabitants — was flooded, according to Benito Ramos, head of the Office of Civil

Defense.

“It was like water world out there,” he said.

Ramos said 58,237 people abandoned their homes to stay in evacuation centres in Manila and other affected provinces, while 70,800 took shelter with their

relatives or friends.

Many roads in the capital were impassable as flood waters reached two metres in some areas. Hundreds of commuters and scores of cars were stranded in swamped

streets across Manila, which was recovering from its soaking by Typhoon Saola last week.

Eight people, including five children, were killed when a landslide buried three houses in a village in the Manila suburb of Quezon City, according to Mayor

Herbert Bautista.

Three people drowned in Bulacan province, north of Manila, according to provincial police director Fernando Mendez. In Batangas province, two girls ages 7

and 9 drowned while trying to cross a swollen river, police said.

One man died after he was electrocuted and an 80-year-old man drowned in nearby Malabon City, authorities said.

Television footage showed people waving from rooftops and rescuers using inflatable rafts to evacuate residents in other areas. In one area, rescuers had to

cross a rope tied above a flooded street to get shivering residents to safety.

Jets, 2012 N.F.L. Season Preview

Andy Benoit resumes his previews of all 32 teams with a look at the A.F.C. East this week. First up are the Jets.

Here’s a guarantee: The New York Jets will be full of drama in 2012. Even if Rex Ryan doesn’t run his mouth. Even if Santonio Holmes doesn’t act like,

well, Santonio Holmes. Even if Darrelle Revis doesn’t gripe about his contract. Even if some faceless coward doesn’t give a reporter an anonymous

quotation. Even if Bart Scott doesn’t go maniacal. Even if Tim Tebow says the right things about Mark Sanchez. Even if Antonio Cromartie doesn’t yet again

reveal a new depth of immaturity.
Let’s face it: the Jets are about drama. Some of that comes from playing in New York. Most of it comes from the Jets just being the way they are. They might

be the only team in football that is actually strongly influenced by the pressure of living up to their own chutzpah and hype. Which is why they claim to be

interested in quelling the chutzpah and hype this year. Give them a B for effort (Rex Ryan has said publicly that he regrets some of his “guarantees”) and

a D for execution (trading for perhaps the most hyped player in history, then often playing along with the media circus that comes with him).

What can get lost in the drama and hype is an understanding of what this team really is. In short, it’s a franchise that’s generally well run upstairs

(General Manager Mike Tannenbaum has a good eye for maximizing the depth of his roster) and in the meeting rooms (Ryan and his staff always concoct a wide

range of shrewd game plans over the course of a season). This has led to surprisingly deep postseason runs in two of the last three seasons.

But this is also a team with inherent limitations, particularly on offense. The Jets are weak in some of the worst areas to be weak. Last season, that caught

up to them. (Some would say that a fractured locker room led to the downfall; locker rooms rarely fracture when guys are playing well, though.)

There have been changes over the off-season. The former Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano was hired to reconstruct the anemic offense, while Ryan and his top

assistant, Mike Pettine, are tweaking the defensive scheme. Quality hands-on coaching has propelled the Jets to overachieve before, but as last year showed,

that can only take you so far. So here’s another guarantee: the New York Jets will miss the playoffs for the second straight year unless some key players

improve.

OFFENSE

There will be a quarterback controversy in New York. That’s what you sign up for when you bring in Tim Tebow. Tebow himself is not a distraction, but his

image and legions of worshipers are. And so are his naysayers. The initial plan seems to be for Tebow to replace Mark Sanchez in the red zone. For the

worshipers, that’s not enough. For the naysayers, that’s too much.

Red zone offense has not been the Jets’ problem, though. Getting to the red zone has. That’s why Sanchez’s job security may be in question all season. In

truth, no matter what the Jets do at quarterback, they’re going to have issues there: From a passing standpoint, Sanchez is iffy and Tebow is poor.

It’s natural to assume that the Jets will install a Wildcat-heavy offense like the one Tony Sparano ran in Miami. That’s why they traded a fourth-round

pick to get Tebow, right? But there’s much more to Sparano’s offense than direct snaps to a running back. Sparano’s passing game, though not particularly

complex, will be more demanding than what his predecessor Brian Schottenheimer ran.

Schottenheimer’s tightly structured system was complicated in terms of verbiage and presnap motions, but in execution, it had a lot of either-or reads that

allowed Sanchez to spend more time dialing in on one or two specific targets. Sparano’s system is theoretically simpler, but it will feature more

combination routes for the receivers, which means Sanchez will have to read coverages more and work through progressions quicker. That’s not his strength.

Sanchez is very good at deciphering defenses before the snap. He mixes his cadences well and is fairly fine-tuned when it comes to dummy gestures. He has a

good feel for determining where to go with the ball. The problem is, once the ball is snapped, Sanchez becomes his own foil. If his first read isn’t there,

his focus often shifts to what’s happening around his pocket, rather than what’s happening downfield. Occasionally, this frenetic approach will lead to a

fantastic sandlot-style third-and-long conversion. But this frenetic approach is often what puts the Jets in third-and-long in the first place, and most of

the time, it leads to stalled drives.

It was surprising to see the Jets give Sanchez a new contract over the off-season, even if some in the N.F.L. have called the deal “lipstick on a pig.”

Sanchez was set to earn $17.75 million over 2012 and 2013; he’ll now earn $20.5 million. That’s a relatively minor increase, but the difference is the

$20.5 million is guaranteed. So they’re committed to him for at least two more years; after that, the contract essentially features three consecutive one-

year options. This is a one foot in, one foot out move by the Jets, which makes sense. They’ve had some success with Sanchez, but at the same time, they

know he doesn’t have scintillating tools (he’s accurate throwing between the numbers but lacks the arm strength to zip the ball downfield or outside, for

example). They also know his next step in Sparano’s system is as likely to be backward as forward.

If it’s a dramatic step backward, the Jets will feel pressure to do what the Broncos did last season: turn to Tebow and pray that his unique style can grind

them to victory. The Broncos did this because, in all likelihood, they knew that their wide receivers weren’t good enough to regularly get open in a timing

-based system anyway. So, might as well just go to the ground. The Jets won’t have problems that extreme at receiver, though aside from Santonio Holmes,

this is an underwhelming group.

If the season began today, the constantly injured ex-Raider Chaz Schilens would start opposite Holmes. Schilens is basically what Plaxico Burress was. If the

second-round rookie Stephen Hill can adapt to the pro game as quickly as expected, he’ll start. Hill is a 6-foot-4 athletic dynamo, but he played in Georgia

Tech’s triple option system, so his only known skills right now are downfield blocking and fly patterns. Even if Hill is as raw as sushi, he’ll probably

see regular action given that the veteran Patrick Turner can hardly run. Like Hill, though, Turner is a good blocker, which will serve this offense well if

it has to go to the Tebow-cat.

It’s important that Holmes bounce back from a disastrous 2011 season. Not only is he the lone wideout worth double-teaming, but aside from the developing

but small second-year slot man Jeremy Kerley, he’s the only wideout with true change-of-direction quickness. Holmes’s attitude was bad enough last year,

but even worse was his sudden inability to consistently beat man coverage. At his best, he’s the most effective route runner in the N.F.L.; there’s no

reason he should continue to struggle.

The No. 2 receiving option will be tight end Dustin Keller, who has a good rapport with Sanchez, in part because it’s easier for a quarterback of Sanchez’s

style to throw inside to a big-bodied target. The sinewy Keller moves well, leading to solid underneath route running. Sparano needs to capitalize on this by

using the fifth-year pro in more ways. (Keller would appreciate the extra workload given that he’s in a contract year.)

The only way the Jets are going to be an upper echelon rushing team in 2012 is if they wind up featuring Tebow regularly. They don’t have enough quality at

running back for a great traditional ground attack. The fourth-year veteran Shonn Greene is coming off his first 1,000-yard season, but he’s not diverse

enough to be a featured ball carrier. Greene is strictly a one-speed, downhill runner, which means he depends on great blocking and favorable play designs

(like toss sweeps, which suit his style). The Jets are hoping that the third-year pro Joe McKnight can be a change-of-pace weapon capable of creating his own

space. It’s doubtful he can. McKnight has shown awful stamina since coming into the league (and not just in his infamous vomiting episode on “Hard Knocks”

). Chances are, the 16 pounds he added in the off-season from eating a “lot of McDonald’s” won’t help.

If Greene becomes unavailable for some reason, the 2011 fourth-round pick Bilal Powell or the sixth-round rookie Terrance Ganaway could get the nod ahead of

McKnight. Powell was unimpressive as a supposed “power runner” in small doses last season, but he has played better at camp and at least has the style to

operate behind the lead-blocking of fullback John Conner, who figures to be a big part of the ground game. Ganaway offers a similar style.

New York’s offensive line is hit or miss. Nick Mangold is the best center in the business. He does everything well. Left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson is

still a little more finesse than you’d like, but that style has worked for him. He wasn’t as reliable as usual in pass protection last season, though over

all, there’s no reason to worry about him. At right guard, Brandon Moore has been one of the most underrated players in the game.

So there are three excellent linemen. But the other two are genuine question marks. Left guard Matt Slauson is just a so-so puller (though he did exhibit

pretty good run-blocking down the stretch last year). Right tackle Wayne Hunter is an outright liability. He’s athletic, but it just doesn’t translate. The

plan was for the 2010 second-round pick Vladimir Ducasse to be starting by now, but he hasn’t even pushed Slauson or Hunter. If he does play in 2012, it

will likely be at guard, as the Jets signed the stiff-legged swing tackle Stephon Heyer.

DEFENSE

We think of Rex Ryan’s system as always putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks. That’s fair, but that pressure has not led to enough sacks. The Jets

have ranked 18th, 17th and 17th in sacks under Ryan. To improve here, they plan on shifting their base package from a 3-4 to a 4-3.

To aid this transition, the Jets spent their first-round pick on defensive end Quinton Coples. The comparisons of Coples to Julius Peppers are likely just a

result of their shared alma mater (North Carolina), but Coples does have impressively supple athleticism. He’s gifted enough to impact plays even when he

doesn’t win the battle.

Before we get too far along in analyzing the rest of the front seven …. Just because the Jets say they’ll use more 4-3 looks doesn’t mean they’re

overhauling their defense. A lot of their 3-4 looks over the years have featured 4-3 principles, as this coaching staff has always instructed its defensive

linemen not to clog two gaps but to do whatever it takes to get in the backfield. The closest thing to a “gap-clogger” up front is nose tackle Sione Pouha,

and even his game is predicated largely on penetration. The Jets believe you stop the run by obliterating the blocking scheme, not just “holding your

ground.”

Part of the 4-3 emphasis is to instill more of a pass-rushing mind-set in the second-year defensive tackle and end Muhammad Wilkerson. The Jets believe that

the thundering, long-armed first-rounder has the potential to be a star. They’re right. If he aligns close to Pouha (or the 2011 third-round pick Kenrick

Ellis, a 330-pound force being groomed on the second string), he’ll have a chance to face one-on-one blocking and be a hunter. In this sense, Wilkerson can

learn from Mike DeVito, an undrafted sixth-year pro who — mostly under the radar —  plays as well laterally as just about any defensive lineman in the

game.

The defensive linemen aim to penetrate the trenches so the Jets linebackers can play with an extremely assertive downhill mind-set. Bart Scott used to be

among the best in the league, though at 31, he’s starting to slow down. He could lose snaps, particularly on passing downs, to the third-round rookie

Demario Davis, whom Ryan loves. The thumping sixth-year pro David Harris has emerged as the true leader of New York’s front seven.

On the outside, Calvin Pace is tremendous against the run. He sets the edge extremely well and must be accounted for when coming from the back side (some

teams foolishly tried to get away with leaving Pace unblocked on run plays that went away from him last season). Bryan Thomas, assuming he rebounds from last

season’s knee injury, is serviceable as the other outside linebacker. A switch to more 4-3 fronts shouldn’t be a problem for either outside linebacker, as

both played defensive end earlier in their careers (though, frankly, they weren’t effective there).

A lot of the Jets’ sacks won’t come in a 4-3 or a 3-4 alignment; they’ll come in a Whatever The Heck This Third Down Defensive Look Is alignment. Ryan’s

famously creative scheme is fairly straightforward on first and second down, then crazy on third down. It’s in obvious passing situations that he unleashes

his blitzes, overloads and zone exchanges. The whole idea is to disrupt the offense’s timing by winning early in the down. That’s why so much of Ryan’s

scheme is simple chicanery. Ryan just wants to instill in the offense the perception of pressure. If the Jets can do that, then the play’s pace speeds up

and timing breaks down.

The Jets’ success at doing this is the primary reason their opponents completed just 54.2 percent of their passes last season (fourth-lowest percentage in

the N.F.L.). In the name of playing fast, Ryan loves to rush the passer with sheer speed, which is why safeties are often involved in the blitzes and

exchanges. The hope is that the traditional pass rushers Coples and the ex-Bill Aaron Maybin (a first-round bust who seems to have found a niche as a space-

oriented attacker in this scheme) can infuse more natural speed into the system. But expect to see the defensive backs bringing plenty of heat.

One defensive back who is perfect for this system is LaRon Landry. The former Redskin is not always mentally sharp as a pass defender, but he’s an explosive

downhill attacker from second and third levels. Hopefully the Jets can feature Landry in plenty of blitzes, though doing so might be tough given that the

other new safety, the ex-Dolphin Yeremiah Bell, is a sturdy in-the-box player but not a rangy center fielder. The Jets may decide that they need Landry’s

speed back deep.

Of course, when you have Darrelle Revis at cornerback, whoever is at safety only has to worry about half the field. Revis is the league’s only true shutdown

corner. There’s not a more valuable defender in the game. Opposite him, Antonio Cromartie always brings big-play potential, but it’s a bit of a double-

edged sword. Cromartie’s sloppy mechanics leave him prone to mistakes against good opponents. The Jets begrudgingly live with this because the seventh-year

pro compensates with such rare athleticism.

Cromartie and Revis are the only Jets defenders who don’t rush the passer, though you could probably add the No. 3 cornerback Kyle Wilson to this sentence

because it’s doubtful he’ll be asked to blitz much this season, given his disconcerting tendency to ignore the quarterback and worry about blockers. Wilson

’s value is in coverage, an area in which he’s improving but still has a ways to go. The Jets need him to thrive because all three of their A.F.C. East

foes will regularly feature three- and four-receiver sets in 2012. The Jets have absolutely no proven depth at corner behind Wilson. And with Jim Leonhard

gone, if Eric Smith gets hurt, they’ll be equally thin at safety. That’s a problem given Ryan’s affinity for personnel packages that feature seven

defensive backs.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Nick Folk was a somewhat ho-hum 19 of 25 on field-goal attempts last season, so the Jets brought in some competition in the form of the big-footed veteran

Josh Brown. Punter T.J. Conley was serviceable in his first season on the job last year and should have little trouble fending off the undrafted rookie

Travis Baltz. In the return game, Joe McKnight is dangerous on kicks (he averaged a whopping 31.6 yards per return last season) and Jeremy Kerley has some

quickness on punts.

BOTTOM LINE

The Jets are, at best, mediocre in the passing game, and their rushing attack is nothing special. So they’re once again dependent on great defense. This

defense, however, has less depth than in past years. That could be a problem.

Study finds that avoiding lies can improve your health

ORLANDO – Honesty may boost your health, suggests a study that found telling fewer lies benefits people physically and mentally.
 Each week for 10 weeks, 110 individuals, ages 18-71, took a lie detector test and completed health and relationship measures assessing the number of major

and minor lies they told that week, says lead author Anita Kelly, a psychology professor at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. She presented findings

at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, which ended Sunday.

"When they went up in their lies, their health went down," says Kelly. "When their lies went down, their health improved."

Researchers instructed half the participants to "refrain from telling any lies for any reason to anyone. You may omit truths, refuse to answer questions, and

keep secrets, but you cannot say anything that you know to be false." The other half received no such instructions.

Over the study period, the link between less lying and improved health was significantly stronger for participants in the no-lie group, the study found. When

participants in the no-lie group told three fewer minor lies than they did in other weeks, for example, they experienced, on average, four fewer mental-

health complaints and three fewer physical complaints. Mental health complaints included feeling tense or melancholy; physical complaints included sore

throats and headaches.

Linda Stroh, a professor emeritus of organizational behavior at Loyola University in Chicago, says findings are consistent with her own research on trust.

"When you find that you don't lie, you have less stress," she says. "Being very conflicted adds an inordinate amount of stress to your life."

Evidence from past research suggests that Americans average about 11 lies a week. Kelly says the no-lie group participants were down to one lie, on average,

per week. For both groups, when participants lied less in a given week, they reported their physical health and mental health to be significantly better that

week.

"It's certainly a worthy goal to have people be more honest and more genuine and interact with others in a more honest way," says psychologist Robert Feldman

of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. "That would be ultimately beneficial. I'm a little skeptical that it makes us all healthier, but it may make us

healthier in a psychological way."

Tebow-mania falls on deaf ears

CORTLAND, N.Y. -- Tim Tebow jogged off the practice field, shirtless, in a driving rainstorm Saturday. Within an hour, the picture was all over the Internet.

He joined Michael Phelps as perhaps the day's most famous bare-chested athletes.

Before making his topless exit, Tebow was undressed by the New York Jets defense -- and a handful of boisterous fans.

Fans caught the opening act of Tebow-mania, and it wasn't love at first sight. The backup quarterback was heckled by a few spectators during the Jets' first

public practice, which drew 2,588 on a rainy morning. The overall reception was lukewarm at best, as Tebow was anything but sharp.

"I thought it was some of the defensive guys," said Rex Ryan, referring to the wisecracks from the crowd. "Just kidding."
The conditions were sloppy, but that didn't stop the rain-soaked fans from reacting to Tebow's bad throws. The most compelling moments came early in

practice, when Tebow and Mark Sanchez, side by side in a passing drill, threw long balls to uncovered wide receivers.

The crowd roared after each completion, but a few of Tebow's passes wobbled and hung up in the air, prompting groans and an isolated laugh or two from the

bleacher section.

Welcome to New York, Tim -- albeit four hours from Manhattan.

"Nothing surprises me," offensive coordinator Tony Sparano said of the crowd reaction. "Look, it was practice. ... The most important thing is to see how the

guys battle back and watch them in that process. Tim and all the other guys out there are playing with a lot of passion."

Ryan joked that it rained so hard that "animals were pairing up out there." But the coach, unsolicited, noted that Sanchez was unaffected by the elements.
 "I've been around quarterbacks who, for whatever reason, struggle when the weather gets bad," he said. "But you see Sanchez, just zipping the ball. You see

the confidence he has. It doesn't matter -- wet football, wind -- the way he can spin it, it doesn't matter."

Tebow, working exclusively with the second team, took 12 snaps in team drills. He completed only three of eight passes, taking a "sack" on a play in which he

scrambled from one side of the field to the other. The play seemed to take forever. As it unfolded, some fans screamed, "Throw the ball!"

When the play finally ended, one fan screamed, "That's why you're No. 2."

Presumably, the fan meant Tebow's place on the depth chart.

Later, Tebow uncorked a wobbly, floating screen pass to tight end Josh Baker. By the time the ball reached Baker, he was surrounded by defenders.

Ryan changed the subject when asked about Tebow's rough day, noting that it's a new offense. Of course, it's a new offense for every player.

"In these kind of conditions," Ryan said, "the ball will sail on you."

Neither Tebow nor Sanchez was available to the media; it wasn't their scheduled day to talk.

Ryan has emphasized that Sanchez is the clear-cut starter, but competition was palpable when Sanchez and Tebow, taking turns, launched deep passes in front

of the bleachers.
It was almost like a three-point shooting contest between two teammates. The two quarterbacks almost seemed like they were trying to outdo the other.

Then the rain started.

"In this type of weather, it's hard conditions to play your A game," tight end Dustin Keller said. "But (the rain) could happen on a Sunday, and you have to

be ready for it."

Tebow's best moment occurred near the end of practice, when, in a one-on-one drill, he connected with rookie wide receiver Stephen Hill on a 40-yard pass.

The crowd cheered. So did Sanchez, who clapped loudly for his teammate.

In the end, Tebow made bigger news with his shirtless dash to the locker room. His helmet was in the possession of quarterback Matt Simms, who was instructed

by Tebow to carry it in a mild form of rookie hazing.

Told that the helmet would fetch big bucks, Simms smiled.

"All I know is, it's my job to put it in his locker," he said.

Taylor Swift and Conor Kennedy Spotted Holding Hands in Massachusetts

Taylor Swift and Conor Kennedy have sparked dating rumor. The 22-year-old country music singer and the teen son of Robert Kennedy Jr. were caught on camera getting cozy while enjoying a weekend together at the Kennedy family compound in Massachusetts.
Taylor reportedly arrived at the Hyannis Port in Cape Cod on Friday, July 27. The crooner and Conor, 18, enjoyed pizza with a group of friends. She was seen holding his hand at one point and putting her arm on his back at another. They stayed close to each other, went on a stroll for two, and jumped on a trampoline as well.

On the following day, the rumored couple was spotted having another outing on a beachside. Conor wrapped his arm around Taylor's waist and she returned the gesture by placing her hand on top of his. They later hopped on a boat and sailed with a couple of friends.

Taylor wore a terra cotta-colored dress, while Conor was clad in a t-shirt and beach short pants for the Friday outing. On the next day, she changed into a short-sleeved blouse and a matching floral midi skirt and he mirrored her casual look in a white tee and shorts.

Prior to spending time with the family at the Hyannis Port, Swift and the young Kennedy reportedly grabbed a bite at Marcella's Pizza in his hometown of Mount Kisco. According to New York Daily News, the couple went to visit Ethel Kennedy as well. E! News additionally reported the pair enjoyed ice cream in Four Seas.

Taylor is a self-proclaimed fan of the Kennedys, and she is especially fond of the widow of Robert F. Kennedy. She was invited by Rory Kennedy to the premiere of her TV movie "Ethel" at the Sundance Film Festival after meeting Conor's grandmother sometime before.

The singer and the iconic American family reportedly kept in touch afterwards, and then she began to see Conor. She enjoyed a relaxing time with the family on last fourth of July, but was rumored dating Patrick Schwarzenegger who joined the group back then.

On Teen Choice Awards red carpet later on, she told Access Hollywood, "Patrick's a friend! That's why I don't read any gossip about me because I don't want to be weirded out by who people think I'm dating. I should just warn guys (who talk to me.) ... 'This is what you can expect tomorrow on all these different blogs'."

Taylor Swift was previously linked to Joe Jonas, John Mayer, Taylor Lautner and Jake Gyllenhaal. Her representative refused to give any comment on the latest romance rumor when asked for one and so did a rep for Conor.

Libyans turn out big, then celebrate historic election

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- After four decades of political exclusion, Libyans on Saturday night celebrated a historic election that many saw as the African nation's first steps to building a free and democratic nation.

The landmark parliamentary vote was marred in places by disruptions that prompted polling centers to close, but the overall turnout was higher than expected.

Preliminary reports indicate more than 1.6 million of the nation's 2.8 million registered voters -- or about 60% -- went to the polls, High National Election Commission chairman Nuri Khalifa Al-Abbar said late Saturday, according to the Libyan state news agency.

Votes were cast as planned at 98% of all polling stations, Al-Abbar said earlier in the day.

And by Saturday night, after the final votes were cast, there was revelry as drivers honked their horns around the capital of Tripoli as they and other Libyans rejoiced at the country's transformation over the past year.

The city's main square -- once called Green Square for Gadhafi's political philosophy outlined in his Green Book but now known as Martyr's Square for all those who fell in last year's revolution -- became a focal point for the celebrations, with it and the surrounding streets packed with cars.

"We never ... voted before, we never did elections before, so it's totally new to us," said blogger and medical student Ruwida Ashour from the eastern city of Benghazi. "It won't be easy (but) it's our country."
The last time Libya held an election was almost half a century ago and for many people, the act of casting a ballot was novel after 42 years of Moammar Gadhafi's autocratic rule.

Besides significant participation among average citizens (about 80% of the nation's 3.5 million eligible voters registered ahead of the vote), the election indicated there was strong interest among people interested in being part of the nation's fledgling government as well. More than 3,500 candidates stood in the election for a 200-seat national assembly, with the winners expected to be announced by the end of next week.

Men and women, young and old waited patiently Saturday in long lines in cities and towns across Libya -- some that were war zones only a year ago. After voting, jubilant Libyans proudly waved their right index finger smudged in purple indelible ink as proof of their participation.

Months after Gadhafi's fall, Libyans vote Saturday for a new assembly

Sizzling summer temperatures did not keep people away in Tripoli, where loudspeakers blared: "Allahu akbar" (God is great).

Hanaa bin Dallah, 32, carried her 2-month-old son Rahman with her to the polls. She was heartened by the participation of so many people, despite the weather.

"I hope my word will make a difference -- not like the past," she said.

Hawwaa BouSaida, 65, said she had never been to school in her life but was proud to be voting.

"After 42 years of not even not knowing what elections are, and were blinded, we are voting today for the first time," she said.

Akram Mohamed BinRamadan returned from exile in Britain to fight last year with the rebels. Still dressed in military fatigues, he said it was time now to stop the fighting and begin the difficult task of rebuilding the nation.

"I think it's time to take all these off," he said. "This is going to be a free country."

U.S. President Barack Obama issued a statement congratulating Libyans "for another milestone on their extraordinary transition to democracy."

"After more than 40 years in which Libya was in the grip of a dictator, today's historic election underscores that the future of Libya is in the hands of the Libyan people," Obama said. "...As they begin this new chapter, the Libyan people can count on the continued friendship and support of the United States."
More than 13,000 soldiers were on the streets Saturday. But not all went smoothly.

Two polling centers were set ablaze in the eastern city of Benghazi, said Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, head of the EU election assessment mission. And in two other cities, polls did not open until 2 p.m. (six hours before they were set to close).

In the eastern city of Ajdabiya, five polling centers opened but four others on the outskirts did not.

On Friday, anti-aircraft fire hit a Libyan air force helicopter transporting ballot boxes from the eastern city of Benghazi to nearby areas, the Interior Ministry said. One person was killed. It was unclear who was behind the attack.

And protesters earlier this week attacked a warehouse and torched ballots and other election materials.

Tunisia hands former Gadhafi PM over to Libya

This was one of several anti-election incidents staged by Libyans in the east who see an unequal distribution of seats in the national assembly. The 200 seats are allocated by population, reserving 100 for the western Tripolitania, 60 for Cyrenaica in the east, and 40 for the south.

The mistrust stems from the many years of Gadhafi's rule, under which the eastern region felt largely neglected and marginalized. Benghazi emerged as the cradle of the Libyan uprising but many of its residents now feel their revolution has been usurped by the National Transitional Council based in Tripoli.

Mohammed al-Sayeh, a member of the National Transitional Council, dismissed the disruptions as "minor" and said there was no lack of trust between east and west.

"Libya will be always united," he said. "It is the first fair and legitimate election."

Authorities flew in fresh ballots printed in the United Arab Emirates, but the shipment did not arrive in time for all the Ajdabiya polls to open.

Seven other polling stations in and around Benghazi were also closed due to pro-federalist threats against voters.

As the polls came to a close Saturday evening, Lambsdorff said it was too early to tell whether the election had been compromised by the violence.

"Again, we are talking about single isolated incidents," Lambsdorff said.

Saturday's vote is sure to be a litmus test for post-Gadhafi Libya. The new national assembly will be tasked with appointing a transitional government and crafting a constitution.

The nation's new leaders, however, will have their work cut out for them as they begin a new, more democratic era.

Amnesty International published a scathing report this week about what it described as lawlessness in Libya, with the advocacy group urging the nation's authorities to establish a functioning judiciary and rein in revolutionary militias that are accused of committing a plethora of human rights violations.

The disparate groups came together to topple Gadhafi but remain divided along regional lines. More than 200,000 Libyans are still armed and often operate outside of the law, according to Amnesty.

Rights group: Rein in Libyan militias

Security is just one of many obstacles.

The new government must figure out how to unify the country as it moves forward. That includes a reconciliation process for Gadhafi loyalists.

And there is the task of rebuilding a nation ravaged by dictatorship and last year's conflict.

The National Transitional Council, Libya's de facto rulers since Gadhafi was captured and killed in October, inherited a land where few civil institutions existed. The new government will have to create a functioning society out of that vacuum.

Libyans are clamoring for basic services. Heaps of trash litter roads because of the lack of proper disposal services, and assuring adequate health care is a priority for many.

Ahmed Shalabi, a Libyan doctor pursuing post-graduate training in Britain, said Gadhafi systematically destroyed Libyan institutions. From health care to education, the country has to start from scratch.

He said he was ecstatic and incredulous to be casting a ballot, a notion that seemed implausible all his life. That was the first step, he said, to severing Libya from Gadhafi's legacy.

And after that?

"The constitution. The constitution. The constitution," Shalabi said. "If we get that right, everything else will fall into place."

Campaign posters and billboards in Libyan cities and towns advertised all the candidates running. Most are unknown to Libyans, much like the political process itself. Gadhafi was not one to cultivate political culture.

But Libyans have high hopes for their future.

"If Libya's issues are a mosaic, I believe I hold one piece of it," said Awziya Shweigi, one of the thousands of candidates. "It might be a small one, but an effective one that completes it."

A geneticist by trade, she has been working to identify the bodies of those who died in Libya's eight-month uprising. Now, she said she wants to do more.

Frederic Wehrey of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, who has been in Libya ahead of the parliamentary vote, said he was guardedly optimistic about Libya's transition.

"The glaring shortfalls in the transition are the lack of development in the security sector and the continued activity of powerful militias," Wehrey wrote on the think tank's website.

"It's tempting on the surface to see the situation on the ground as chaotic and alarming with armed men roving the streets. But it's not all bad news, in many cases the militias actually maintain a degree of discipline, provide pre-election security, and work with the government to police their own areas -- so things are being kept under control, at least for now. The key question is how these militias will react to the election results and the subsequent distribution of power among tribes and towns."

Shweigi said she may not be an expert on defense or the national budget, but as a woman, she represents a large part of Libyan society. She is a widow and mother of six, and said her experience with family will make her an asset.

She has been campaigning on the streets, fully covered in Islamic dress, talking to women -- and men.

That's a huge change in this Islamic nation, said Samer Muscati of Human Rights Watch.

"Previously we would not have as many pictures of women outside in public spaces, and now that's becoming a normal event at least in Tripoli and some other areas as well," he said. "So I think this election is changing women's participation not only in politics but also in a larger scale."

Shweigi said she doesn't expect to win Saturday.

But she, like so many other Libyans, feels she was born again after Gadhafi was gone. And she wanted to experience the fruits of the revolution.

Are Libya's elections premature?

Syrian army shelling 'kills at least 200' in Tremseh

Opposition activists quoted residents as saying the village was attacked with helicopter gunships and tanks.

Pro-government Shabiha militia later went in on foot and carried out execution-style killings, they said.

State media said "terrorist groups" had carried out a massacre to raise tensions ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on the Syria observer mission.

If it is confirmed, the Tremseh attack would be one of the bloodiest single events in the Syria conflict.

Some 16,000 people are thought to have been killed since the uprising against Bashar al-Assad's regime began in March 2011.
High-level defection

Reports suggest the army was trying to take back Tremseh after it had fallen into rebel hands.

The Revolution Leadership Council of Hama told the Reuters news agency that most of the dead in Tremseh were civilians. Protests condemning the attack have been reported in Damascus, Idlib and Hama.

Earlier on Thursday, Syria's ambassador to Iraq Nawaf Fares announced his defection, following in the footsteps of a former senior general who escaped the country earlier this week.

Iraqi officials have said Mr Fares, who has publicly declared his support for the opposition, is in Qatar.

Syrian forces also shelled the suburbs of Damascus later in the day in an apparent offensive against rebel fighters.

Western nations are pressing the UN to threaten Syria with sanctions as it considers renewing the mandate for its observer mission in Syria which expires on 20 July.

They want a 10-day ultimatum to be part of a Security Council resolution on the future of the UN's observer mission in the country. A new resolution must be passed before the mission's mandate ends on Friday next week.

China and Russia continue to oppose any moves to threaten Damascus with further sanctions ahead of the 20 July deadline.

The mission had a 90-day remit to monitor a truce, but fighting has continued largely unabated.

The truce formed part of a six-point peace plan brokered by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan, who has called for "clear consequences" for the Syrian government and rebels if the ceasefire is not observed.

Dogs may protect babies from some infections

Babies who spend time around pet dogs have fewer ear infections and respiratory ailments than those whose homes are animal-free, said a study released on Monday.

The study, published in the US journal Pediatrics, did not say why but suggested that being around a dog that spends at least part
of its day outdoors may boost a child's immune system in the first year of life.

Cats, too, seemed to convey some protection to babies, though the effect observed was weaker than with dogs.

The research was based on 397 children in Finland whose parents made diary entries each week recording the state of their child's health during the infant's first year, from nine weeks to 52 weeks of age.

Overall, babies in homes with cats or dogs were about 30 percent less likely to have respiratory infectious symptoms -- which included cough, wheezing, rhinitis (stuffy or runny nose) and fever -- and about half as likely to get ear infections.

"If children had dog or cat contacts at home, they were significantly healthier during the study period," said the study led by experts at Kuopio University Hospital in Finland.

The most protective association was seen in children who had a dog inside at home for up to six hours a day, compared to children who did not have any dogs or who had dogs that were always outside.

"We offer preliminary evidence that dog ownership may be protective against respiratory tract infections during the first year of life," said the study. "We speculate that animal contacts could help to mature the immunologic system, leading to more composed immunologic response and shorter duration of infections."

The improvement was significant, even after researchers ruled out other factors that could boost infection risk, such as not having been breastfed, attending daycare, being raised by smokers or parents with asthma, or having older siblings in the household.

In addition to having less frequent ear infections and respiratory infections, babies near dogs tended to need fewer courses of antibiotics compared to those who were reared in pet-free households, it said.

Previous research has shown conflicting results, with some studies finding no benefit for young children being around furry pets and others finding that animal contact appears to offer some protection against colds and stomach ailments.

The study authors said their research differs from previous analyses because it focuses solely on the first postnatal year and does not include older children.

Sarah Palin thanks God and Supreme Court for healthcare ruling

Sarah Palin thanked the Supreme Court and the Almighty this morning after the high court ruled in favor of President Obama’s healthcare reform law.

Why the contrarian reaction from a conservative who has railed against the law, and even pushed the long-debunked claim that bureaucratic “death panels” will make life-and-death decisions about the elderly and the disabled?
The former Alaska governor is making an entirely political calculation that the survival of the healthcare reform law will spell doom for Democrats in November.

“Thank you, SCOTUS,” wrote Palin on her Facebook page. “This Obamacare ruling fires up the troops as America’s eyes are opened. Thank God.”

Palin, who has not held office for three years but regularly appears on Fox News as a political commentator and is a favorite of tea party groups, seized on the Supreme Court’s decision as proof that the Obama administration has curtailed personal liberty. Like many Obamacare opponents, she focused on the court’s rationale for upholding the law as a constitutional exercise of Congress’ power to tax. That, she claimed, proves the president has broken his campaign promises not to raise taxes on the middle class.

“Obama promised the American people this wasn’t a tax and that he’d never raise taxes on anyone making less than $250,000,” wrote Palin. “We now see that this is the largest tax increase in history. It will slam every business owner and every one of the 50% of Americans who currently pay their taxes. The other 50% are being deceived if they think they’re going to get a free ride – because Medicaid is broke. Recipients of Obama’s 'free health care' will have fewer choices and less accessibility. Trust me – this much more expensive health care WILL be rationed; to claim otherwise defies all economic and common sense.”

Actually, the law calls for a tax penalty only on those who choose that option by refusing to buy insurance. The tax penalty would not apply to those who cannot afford health insurance and will not be applied to anyone who purchases health insurance. Only those who can afford health insurance and refuse to buy it are subject to the tax penalty, the rationale being that those people will inevitably need healthcare and those costs otherwise would be passed on to the insured in the form of higher premiums. Obama has argued that people who behave responsibly should not be forced to pay the healthcare bills of those who do not.

Still, Palin called upon Congress to “act immediately to repeal this terrible new tax on the American people.... We the People did not ask for this tax, we do not want this tax, and we can’t afford this tax. This is not an answer to America’s health care challenges.”

Palin did not offer any solutions to the problem of rising healthcare costs, nor any ideas about how to provide health insurance for the millions of Americans who lack it.

Instead, as she often does, she employed the rhetoric of battle. “We will not retreat on this,” she wrote. “A newly elected legislative branch is key to defending our Republic and fundamentally restoring all that is good in America.”

Echoing the sentiment of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney earlier in the day, she urged supporters to take their frustration to the ballot box.

“It’s time, again, for patriotic Americans to rise up to protest this obvious infringement on our economic and personal freedom,” wrote Palin. “November is just around the corner. Today, the Supreme Court issued their ruling on Obamacare. In November, We the People will issue ours.”

Embattled Dems diverge From Obama on taxes

President Barack Obama’s renewed push to raise taxes on people who make more than $250,000

is facing some strong head winds: Democrats running for Congress in 2012.

Several Democrats in critical House and Senate races say they prefer raising taxes on

people who make more than $1 million, the latest example of how the president and

vulnerable Democrats are mounting diverging campaigns just four months from Election Day.

Democratic Florida Sen. Bill Nelson’s “favored” position is to permanently extend the

Bush-era tax cuts for those making less than $1 million, according to his office. Democrat

Heidi Heitkamp, the North Dakota Senate candidate, also wants to extend the tax cuts for

those making less than $1 million. Former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey, who’s running again in

his home state, “believes the $250,000 limit is too low but is evaluating how specific

proposals would affect the budget,” his campaign spokesman said.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said Monday she is “open” to extending all the tax cuts for

those who earn up to $1 million if it’s part of a comprehensive deal to rein in the

deficit. Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) supports extending tax relief for those families

earning up to $1 million, though she said she’s also “open” to all middle-class tax

relief and backs the president’s latest call.

Virginia Senate candidate Tim Kaine, the former chairman of the Democratic National

Committee, prefers a $500,000 threshold. Democratic Rep. Kathy Hochul, a top GOP target in

her upstate New York House race, wrote to House and Senate leaders on Monday asking for a

prompt vote to permanently extend tax rates for the middle class, noting that she, like

Kaine, believed it should be set at $500,000.

The clear difference with the White House underscores how Democrats on the front lines of

their congressional campaigns are not afraid to buck their party’s leader on even some of

the most high-profile issues of the election.

The divergence can be seen on other fronts as well: A handful of vulnerable Democrats are

expected to vote in favor of repealing Obama’s health care law when it comes up for a

symbolic vote Wednesday in the House. Coal-state Democrats have been openly criticizing the

president on energy policy. And several Democratic lawmakers in tough races are bowing out

of their party’s three-day convention in September, believing that physical distance from

the president during the convention may help them politically.

The mixed messages also represent a sharp shift in the tax debate in recent months. While

Obama has consistently called for tax increases on those earning more than $250,000 dating

to his 2008 campaign, Democrats in Congress have focused on raising taxes on families

earning more than $1 million.

Proponents of the so-called millionaires’ tax — led in part by New York Sen. Chuck

Schumer — believe it’s an easier pitch to make to swing voters, especially near major

cities where a $250,000 income may not stretch as far as in other parts of the country. The

argument, they argued, has effectively blunted the GOP attack that the tax increases would

hurt small businesses, though Schumer dropped his objection to the president’s latest

proposal, sources said Monday.

Obama has embraced the millionaires’ tax as well, agreeing to include it as a way to pay

for his American Jobs Act last fall and pushing the so-called Buffett rule that would

impose a minimum 30 percent tax on those earning more than $1 million.

But by renewing his call Monday to raise taxes on those earning more than $250,000 for one

year, Obama risks reopening party divisions that appeared to be smoothed over.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who supports the Buffett rule but voted in 2010 against letting

the tax cuts expire for those earning more than $250,000, said people from his state are “

tired of temporary solutions to our long-term problems.”

“While I haven’t reviewed the administration’s proposal, it’s time for both sides to

stop playing political games and instead do what the people sent us here to do: Put our

financial house in order and leave America better off for the next generation.”