NASA Probe Discovers 'Alien' Matter From Beyond Our Solar System (SPACE.com)

This story was updated at 2:26 p.m. EST.

For the very first time, a NASA spacecraft has detected matter from outside our solar system ? material that came from elsewhere in the galaxy, researchers announced today (Jan. 31).

This so-called interstellar material was spotted by NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX), a spacecraft that is studying the edge of the solar system from its orbit about 200,000 miles (322,000 kilometers) above Earth.

"This alien interstellar material is really the stuff that stars and planets and people are made of ? it's really important to be measuring it," David McComas, IBEX principal investigator and assistant vice president of the Space Science and Engineering Division at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, said in a news briefing today from NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

An international team of scientists presented new findings from IBEX, which included the first detection of alien particles of hydrogen, oxygen and neon, in addition to the confirmation of previously detected helium. [Images from NASA's IBEX Mission]

These atoms are remnants of older stars that have ended their lives in violent explosions, called supernovas, which dispersed the elements throughout the galaxy. As interstellar wind blows these charged and neutral particles through the Milky Way, the IBEX probe is able to create a census of the elements that are present.

Heavy elements in space

According to the new study, the researchers found 74 oxygen atoms for every 20 neon atoms in the interstellar wind. For comparison, there are 111 oxygen atoms for every 20 neon atoms in our solar system, meaning there are more oxygen atoms in any part of the solar system than in nearby interstellar space, the scientists said in a statement.

"These are important elements to know quantitatively because they are the building blocks of stars, planets, people," McComas said. "We discovered this puzzle: matter outside our solar system doesn't look like material inside our solar system. It seems to be deficient in oxygen compared to neon."

The presence of less oxygen within interstellar material could indicate that the sun formed in a region with less oxygen compared to its current location, the researchers said.

Or, it could be a sign that oxygen is "locked up" in other galactic materials, such as cosmic grains of dust or ice. [Top 10 Strangest Things in Space]

"That leaves us with a puzzle for now: could it be that some of that oxygen, which is so crucial for life on Earth, is locked up in the cosmic dust?" asked Eberhard M?bius, a professor at the University of New Hampshire and a visiting professor at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. "Or, does it tell us how different our neighborhood is compared to the sun's birthplace?"

IBEX also measured the interstellar wind traveling at a slower speed and from a different direction than was previously thought. The research now shows that the interstellar wind exerts 20 percent less pressure on our heliosphere, which is a protective bubble that shields our solar system from powerful, damaging cosmic rays.

"Measuring the pressure on our heliosphere from the material in the galaxy and from the magnetic fields out there will help determine the size and shape of our solar system as it travels through the galaxy," Eric Christian, IBEX mission scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., said in a statement.

A history of the universe

The results of the new study will also help scientists shed light on the history of the material in the universe.

"It tells us things about the part of space that we live in, and the interaction with that part of space with the rest of the galaxy," McComas said.

The observations from IBEX and the ability to determine the ratio of elements in space could help scientists understand how the galaxy has evolved and changed over time.

"I find it really exciting that right on our front doorstep, we can take a sample of this interstellar matter around us," M?bius said. "If you think back all the way to the Big Bang, there was only hydrogen and helium. Then stars and supernovas sprinkled it with heavy elements ? if you imagine that we are made out of the material that has been belched out of the supernovas, and it is continuing. So, 4.5 billion years ago, the sun formed out of the solar nebula, and now we are sampling part of the Milky Way as it is today. It gives us nice data points ? Big Bang and the sun's formation to what is our environment. Then modelers can go and trace how that material has evolved over time in the cosmos." ??

The findings are detailed in a series of papers that were published today in the Astrophysical Journal.

NASA launched the IBEX mission in October 2008 to map the boundary between the solar system and interstellar space. The $169 million spacecraft was originally built for a two-year mission.

IBEX measures and counts particles called energetic neutral atoms, which are created in an area of our solar system known as the interstellar boundary region. Since its launch, the spacecraft has already made groundbreaking discoveries about the heliosphere and the boundary between our solar system and interstellar space.

In 2009, IBEX detected a mysterious ribbon on the edge of the solar system made up of a stream of charged particles that travels a million miles per hour from the sun. In 2010, researchers announced that IBEX had witnessed the first-ever look at solar wind crashing into Earth's magnetosphere.

You can follow SPACE.com staff writer Denise Chow on Twitter @denisechow. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/space/20120131/sc_space/nasaprobediscoversalienmatterfrombeyondoursolarsystem

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College reduces odds for marriage among disadvantaged

Public release date: 31-Jan-2012
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Contact: Syl Kacapyr
vpk6@cornell.edu
607-255-7701
Cornell University

ITHACA, N.Y. For those with few social advantages, college is a prime pathway to financial stability, but it also unexpectedly lowers their odds of ever marrying, according to a study by Cornell University sociologist Kelly Musick being published in the February issue of the Journal of Marriage and Family (available online: http://bit.ly/yt9uwJ).

The findings suggest that social and cultural factors, not just income, are central to marriage decisions. Men and women from the least advantaged backgrounds who attend college appear to be caught between social worlds -- reluctant to "marry down" to partners with less education and unable to "marry up" to those from more privileged upbringings. Lower marriage chances appear to stem from men's and women's mismatched social origins and educational attainment -- a phenomenon Musick and co-authors refer to as "marriage market mismatch."

"College students are becoming more diverse in their social backgrounds, but they nonetheless remain a socio-economically select group," said Musick, associate professor of policy analysis and management in the College of Human Ecology. "It may be difficult for students from less privileged backgrounds to navigate social relationships on campus, and these difficulties may affect what students ultimately gain from the college experience."

Musick hoped the findings could raise awareness of potential social barriers faced by first-generation college students barriers that could be keeping students from participating fully in the academic and social opportunities colleges have to offer.

For the study, Musick and sociologists at the University of California-Los Angeles estimated the propensity of men's and women's college attendance based on family income, parental education and other indicators of social background and early academic achievement. They then grouped their subjects into social strata based on these propensity scores and compared marriage chances of college- and non-college-goers within each stratum. Estimates were based on a sample of about 3,200 Americans from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, followed from adolescence into adulthood.

They found that college attendance negatively affected marriage chances for the least advantaged individuals -- lessening men's and women's odds by 38 percent and 22 percent, respectively. By comparison, among those in the highest social stratum, men who attend college increase their marrying chances by 31 percent and women by 8 percent.

Musick said that past studies have shown "college is the great equalizer" in the labor market, dampening social class differences. But the same can't be said for the marriage market.

"This research demonstrates the importance of differentiating between social background and educational achievement," she said. "Educational achievement may go far in reducing income differences between men and women from different social backgrounds, but social and cultural distinctions may persist in social and family relationships."

###

Contact Syl Kacapyr for information about Cornell's TV and radio studios.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 31-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Syl Kacapyr
vpk6@cornell.edu
607-255-7701
Cornell University

ITHACA, N.Y. For those with few social advantages, college is a prime pathway to financial stability, but it also unexpectedly lowers their odds of ever marrying, according to a study by Cornell University sociologist Kelly Musick being published in the February issue of the Journal of Marriage and Family (available online: http://bit.ly/yt9uwJ).

The findings suggest that social and cultural factors, not just income, are central to marriage decisions. Men and women from the least advantaged backgrounds who attend college appear to be caught between social worlds -- reluctant to "marry down" to partners with less education and unable to "marry up" to those from more privileged upbringings. Lower marriage chances appear to stem from men's and women's mismatched social origins and educational attainment -- a phenomenon Musick and co-authors refer to as "marriage market mismatch."

"College students are becoming more diverse in their social backgrounds, but they nonetheless remain a socio-economically select group," said Musick, associate professor of policy analysis and management in the College of Human Ecology. "It may be difficult for students from less privileged backgrounds to navigate social relationships on campus, and these difficulties may affect what students ultimately gain from the college experience."

Musick hoped the findings could raise awareness of potential social barriers faced by first-generation college students barriers that could be keeping students from participating fully in the academic and social opportunities colleges have to offer.

For the study, Musick and sociologists at the University of California-Los Angeles estimated the propensity of men's and women's college attendance based on family income, parental education and other indicators of social background and early academic achievement. They then grouped their subjects into social strata based on these propensity scores and compared marriage chances of college- and non-college-goers within each stratum. Estimates were based on a sample of about 3,200 Americans from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, followed from adolescence into adulthood.

They found that college attendance negatively affected marriage chances for the least advantaged individuals -- lessening men's and women's odds by 38 percent and 22 percent, respectively. By comparison, among those in the highest social stratum, men who attend college increase their marrying chances by 31 percent and women by 8 percent.

Musick said that past studies have shown "college is the great equalizer" in the labor market, dampening social class differences. But the same can't be said for the marriage market.

"This research demonstrates the importance of differentiating between social background and educational achievement," she said. "Educational achievement may go far in reducing income differences between men and women from different social backgrounds, but social and cultural distinctions may persist in social and family relationships."

###

Contact Syl Kacapyr for information about Cornell's TV and radio studios.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/cu-cro013012.php

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Will Listening to Mozart Really Make You Smarter? [Science]

Yes, but no more than listening to Justin Bieber. The misconception that there's something unique about Mozart's ability to increase brainpower began in 1993, with a paper in Nature. Neurobiologists Gordon Shaw, Frances Rauscher and Katherine Ky of the University of California at Irvine found that students who listened to 10 minutes of a Mozart sonata demonstrated a temporary increase in spatial-temporal reasoning, as measured by an IQ test. The public seized on the romantic idea that listening to Mozart would make them smarter, and Don Campbell, a teacher and music educator from Texas, capitalized on the notion with an international bestseller, The Mozart Effect. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/wBG9DZOF-js/will-listening-to-mozart-really-make-you-smarter

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Hoping to regain public trust, unpopular Congress tries to police itself on inside trading (Star Tribune)

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

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Putin critics take to cars to demand fair elections (Reuters)

MOSCOW (Reuters) ? Critics of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin drove in their hundreds around central Moscow on Sunday in cars trailing white ribbons, a symbol of Russia's protest movement, staging a mobile demonstration to demand fair elections.

Opposition leaders are trying to maintain momentum after tens of thousands of people angry over alleged election fraud and Putin's plan to return to the Kremlin in a March vote turned out last month for the biggest protests of his 12-year rule.

"This has an important symbolic meaning. We have arrived at the stage when we don't want to be vassals any more," said opposition activist Ilya Ponomaryov, who picked up hitchhikers with white ribbons in his purple sedan.

Organizers said the demonstration also aimed to advertise protest marches planned for next Saturday, exactly one month before the March 4 presidential election.

"We want to show our unity. This is very visible. This is preparatory work for February 4, when there will be even more people than on Sakharov Avenue," Ponomaryov said, referring to the site of a December 24 rally that drew tens of thousands.

Polls indicated Putin will regain the presidency, extending his rule for at least six more years. He was president from 2000-2008 and is widely believed to have been holding Russia's reins for his protege, President Dmitry Medvedev.

Some drivers resorted to white construction tape, printer paper, grocery bags and even white lace as they cruised around Moscow's Garden Ring road. Organizers said more than 3,000 motorists took part, while police put the number at about 300.

In the minus 15 C (5 F) chill, many pedestrians applauded or waved white handkerchiefs from the sidewalks in solidarity. One vehicle had a life-sized straw figure with a picture of Putin's face strapped to its hood.

Cars are a strong symbol not only of status but of personal freedom in Russia and the right to choice in a country where even ownership of a tiny Soviet-made Lada was a luxury in the communist era and foreign cars were virtually non-existent.

The protests, provoked by widespread suspicions of fraud favoring Putin's ruling party in a December 4 parliamentary election, have revealed dismay among Russians.

Middle-class city dwellers in particular feel they have no say in politics and that Putin's decision to return to the Kremlin was thrust upon them.

"We have to fight for our rights... We have to show our strength so that maybe people will see us and come to the February 4th protest," said Nadezhda, 26, who works for a state TV station. Nadezhda, who declined to give her last name, said her station had told employees not to take part in Sunday's protest.

"I feel cheated by the vote," Yevgeny Starshov, 23, a student at a state school of public administration, said of the parliamentary election.

"We have to do something to change the country for the better, not through riots or some kind of revolution but through such peaceful demonstrations to fight for more fair elections."

Thousands of Putin's supporters rallied on Saturday in Yekaterinburg, Russia's fourth-largest city, to back his election bid.

(Writing by Steve Gutterman; editing by David Stamp)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/russia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120129/wl_nm/us_russia_protest_cars

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Turn Your E-Waste Into Furniture and Hide It In Plain Sight [E-Waste]

There are lots of recycling programs that will happily salvage the raw materials from your outdated electronics. But if you still can't let your old 386 go, maybe Rodrigo Alonso has another solution for you—turn it into gaudy furniture. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/dqs9vgWkt14/

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Syria: Are Captured Iranians Military Men or Engineers? (Time.com)

Claims that Iranians and Lebanese Hizballah members are aiding President Bashar Assad's troops in their ferocious crack down against dissent are almost as old as the 10-month Syrian uprising. Yet despite the thousands of amateur videos that have captured so much of the gruesome, bloody repression, precious little evidence has emerged to back the allegations of foreign assistance, beyond the assertions of antigovernment activists and the testimony of Syrian refugees fleeing the violence.

On Thursday, al-Jazeera, the Arabic-language satellite channel, broadcast amateur footage purportedly showing five of seven Iranians captured by Syrian military defectors belonging to the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in the besieged central city of Homs. A Syrian rebel who gave his name as Abu Bassem told the channel that the seven were nabbed by the FSA's Farouk Brigade on two separate occasions. Five of the men were allegedly Iranian soldiers, operating as snipers under the direct supervision of Syria's much feared Air Force Intelligence branch in Homs, Abu Bassem told al-Jazeera in a phone call from the city, while the other two were civilians working at a local power plant in Jandar, near Homs. (See photos of protests in Syria.)

Five of the men are shown in a six-minute, 20-second snippet. Bearded and cloaked in black, they sit against a white wall, with a lone rifle propped up between the second and third man. A scrolling red ticker on the screen says that they are Iranian Revolutionary Guards and calls on "all Iranian Revolutionary Guards to immediately withdraw from Syrian territory." One of the five men holds up a laminated photo identification card. The Enduring America website posted a Farsi-to-English translation of his comments: "My name is Sajjad (Haider Ali) Aminan and I am a member of the revolutionary armed forces of Iran. I am leader of a five-member special team. I entered Syria on Oct. 16, 2011. The others entered Syria on different dates."

The men then all state their names: Ahmad Aziz Askari, Hasan Hasani, Majid Qanbari, Kyumars Qobadi. One says that they have killed "many civilians in the city of Homs, including many women and children."

The footage then cuts to two laminated photo ID cards, showing their back and front, as well as three passports. The pages are flipped, one by one, including all of the blank pages. (Read "The Arab League to Syria's President: It's Time for You to Go.")

Is this proof of Iran sending military reinforcement to prop up its main Arab ally? Or could something else be happening there? On Dec. 21, Syrian state media reported that eight foreign engineers, including five Iranians, were abducted "by terrorists" as they traveled on a company bus to their place of work, the Jandar power plant on the outskirts of Homs. The nationalities of the other three engineers were not stated. Shortly afterward, Iran's Press TV reported that "two more Iranian experts, who were trying to clarify the situation of the five abducted engineers," were kidnapped. Their whereabouts are unknown. On Jan. 2, an unknown group called the Movement Against the Expansion of Shiism in Syria sent a claim of responsibility for the abductions to the Agence France-Presse office in Nicosia, Cyprus.

The men in the video bear a resemblance to the five engineers abducted in December, as portrayed in a photo circulated in the Syrian and Iranian press. Their names also appear to match. The men, who are all dressed casually in jeans, jackets and track pants pose alongside a man identified as their Syrian cook. They are not the only Iranians nabbed in Syria. "Eleven Iranian pilgrims traveling by road to Damascus were kidnapped by an unknown group," Ramin Mehmanparast, spokesman of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, was quoted as saying on Thursday by the state news agency IRNA. "We call on the Syrian government to use all means ... to release the Iranian nationals," he said. (Read "The Crisis in Syria: No Immunity for Bystanders.")

Sectarian tensions have been rising in the multiethnic, multisectarian patchwork of the Syrian state as the death toll spirals beyond 5,000. Resentment toward Assad and some of his Alawite co-religionists is strong among certain quarters of the majority Sunni population. Although Alawites, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, comprise some 12% of Syria's 22 million people, they are disproportionately represented in the upper echelons of Syria's political, business and military communities. There is also rising anger toward Assad's staunchest regional backers, Shi'ite Iran and the Shi'ite Lebanese militant group Hizballah (Party of God), which is now frequently referred to by Syrian activists, refugees and defectors alike as the "party of the devil." It's not inconceivable that a busload of Iranian pilgrims were nabbed by antigovernment elements, perhaps as bargaining chips.

Abu Bassem of the FSA's Farouk Brigade stressed during his interview with al-Jazeera that he and his group were not against Shi'ites. "We are not sectarian," he said. "We ask Iran to admit they sent members of Revolutionary Guards to Syria. He said that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had until Jan. 28 to withdraw all Revolutionary Guards from Syria.

Pressed by the anchor about what would happen should the deadline lapse, Abu Bassem said: "We are not terrorists, criminals or killers. We are against anyone who threatens innocent Syrians. We caught these people, they were armed. They are snipers. They were killing our Syrian brethren. We will try, God willing, to return them to their families safely, but given the difficult circumstances Homs is experiencing, we cannot guarantee their safety."

Watch TIME's video "Why They Protest: Egypt, Libya and Syria."

Read "Syria: Who Is the Real President Assad?"

View this article on Time.com

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/time/20120127/wl_time/08599210551000

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APNewsBreak: Jackson enters fray over Grammy cuts

FILE - In this Oct. 16, 2011 file photo, Rev. Jesse Jackson speaks with reporters during the dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr., Memorial in Washington. Jackson is entering the fray over The Recording Academy's cuts to its Grammy categories: He's asking to meet with the president of the organization and has raised the possibility of protests, with the awards a little less than two weeks away. In a Friday, Jan. 27, 2012 letter to Neil Portnow, president and CEO of the Grammys, the civil rights activist said his Rainbow Push Coalition was alarmed that there were reductions at a time "when our country needs to celebrate all its cultural traditions." (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 16, 2011 file photo, Rev. Jesse Jackson speaks with reporters during the dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr., Memorial in Washington. Jackson is entering the fray over The Recording Academy's cuts to its Grammy categories: He's asking to meet with the president of the organization and has raised the possibility of protests, with the awards a little less than two weeks away. In a Friday, Jan. 27, 2012 letter to Neil Portnow, president and CEO of the Grammys, the civil rights activist said his Rainbow Push Coalition was alarmed that there were reductions at a time "when our country needs to celebrate all its cultural traditions." (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Jesse Jackson is entering the fray over The Recording Academy's cuts to its Grammy categories: He's asking to meet with the president of the organization and has raised the possibility of protests with the awards less than two weeks away.

The civil rights activist sent a letter to Neil Portnow, the president and CEO of the Academy, and expressed his dismay over the academy's decision last April to cut its categories from 109 to 78, the biggest overhaul in its then 53-year history. In the letter, Jackson said he had been talking to members of the entertainment community and asked that his organization, Rainbow Push Coalition, "meet with you urgently to express our concerns and to see if we might help resolve this conflict ... and allow the Grammys to do what they do best."

In a statement to The Associated Press on Friday, Portnow said he was willing to talk with Jackson.

"We are receptive to meeting with the Rev. Jackson to explain how our nomination process works and to show the resulting diverse group of nominees it produced for the 54th Grammys ? many in the musical genres he cited in his letter," Portnow said. "We also agree with the Rev. Jackson that the Grammys are about music, not sales. They have, and always will, stand for excellence in music and celebrating the impact all music has on our culture."

In an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday night, Jackson said he wanted "cooperation, not confrontation" with the Academy. However, he did raise the possibility of a protest of the Feb. 12 Grammys, to be held in Los Angeles, if his talks with the Academy did not go well.

"We are prepared to work with artists and ministers and activists to occupy at the Grammys so our appeal of consideration of mercy really might be heard," he said.

The Academy decided last year to shrink its voluminous categories after a yearlong examination of the awards structure. Among the changes: elimination of some of the instrumental categories in pop, rock and country; traditional gospel; children's spoken-word album; Zydeco or Cajun music album; and best classical crossover album. In addition, men to women compete head-to-head in vocal performance categories instead of separate categories for each sex.

Some musicians in the Latin jazz community have filed a lawsuit against the Academy claiming the reductions in categories caused them irreparable harm.

The Academy contends the changes simply make the awards more competitive, but do not prevent people from entering into competition.

But Jackson said he's concerned that it limits participation of those who have been disenfranchised.

"Music of all arts should be expansive and inclusive," he said. "So much talent comes from the base of poverty and those in the margins. You limit the base, you miss too much talent."

While some have gone so far as to call the cuts racist, Jackson said he did not believe that.

"I don't think that we have to prove that to make our point. We're talking about expansion," he said.

"Sometimes inclusion is inconvenient but it's the right thing to do," he added.

___

Online:

http://www.grammys.com

___

Nekesa Mumbi Moody is the AP's music editor. Follow her at http://www.twitter.com/nekesamumbi

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-01-27-Grammys%20Cuts-Jackson/id-b47ff9285e0742c69cbc0e72ce8cbec6

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Md. man caught in sting pleads guilty in bomb plot (AP)

BALTIMORE ? A Maryland man pleaded guilty Thursday to trying to detonate what he thought was a car bomb outside a military recruiting center in suburban Baltimore.

Antonio Martinez originally pleaded not guilty but entered a new plea in U.S. District Court in Baltimore to a charge of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction against a property leased and used by the U.S. Department of Defense. The plea agreement calls for a 25-year prison sentence. Martinez is scheduled to be sentenced April 6.

Court documents detail a sting that allegedly caught Martinez trying to detonate a phony car bomb, provided by the FBI, outside the Armed Forces Recruiting Center in Catonsville.

The 22-year-old's attorneys sought to have the charges dismissed, arguing that early meetings with an informant were not recorded. They said not having those recordings deprived Martinez of potentially exculpatory evidence.

The FBI's informant first communicated with Martinez on Facebook after seeing public posts "espousing his extremist views" and recognizing him from a mosque he attended, according to court documents. Martinez later told the informant of his ideas for attacking military-linked sites and said all he thought about was jihad, documents state.

The FBI informant and the undercover agent who communicated with Martinez gave him repeated opportunities to back out of his plan to bomb the recruitment center, documents show. But he insisted he was committed to the plot, even after expressing reservations in the wake of the arrest of a Somali-born teenager in Oregon in a similar sting.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_re_us/us_recruiting_center_bomb_plot

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Obama and GOP candidates offer a campaign preview

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks at Miami-Dade College in Miami, Fla., Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks at Miami-Dade College in Miami, Fla., Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich meets with supporters at Wings Plus Restaurant, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, in Coral Springs, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum gives a autograph at the First Baptist Church in Naples, Fla., Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) ? On a day that combined two campaigns into one, President Barack Obama on Wednesday challenged Republicans to raise taxes on the rich as Republicans Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich swiped at him on the economy and criticized each other over immigration.

With a week to go before the Jan. 31 Florida Republican presidential primary, the polls suggested a tight race, although Romney and his allies seized a staggering advantage in the television ad wars. They have reported spending $14 million combined on commercials, many of them critical of Gingrich, and a total at least seven times bigger that the investment made by the former House speaker and an organization supporting him.

Obama's political timeline was a different one, Election Day on Nov. 6. In a campaign-style appearance in Iowa, he demanded Congress approve a tax increase for anyone like Romney whose income exceeds $1 million a year.

"If you make more than a million dollars a year, you should pay a tax rate of at least 30 percent. If, on the other hand, you make less than $250,000, which includes 98 percent of you, your taxes shouldn't go up," he said after touring a manufacturing plant in Cedar Rapids and in a state that he won in 2008 that was expected to be a battleground in the fall.

"This is not class warfare," he said. "That's common sense."

As Obama surely knew, it was an offer Gingrich, Romney and the anti-tax Republicans in Congress are likely to find easy to refuse.

In general remarks that his aides billed as a rebuttal to the State of the Union speech, Romney said Obama "seemed so extraordinarily detached from reality, so detached from what's going on in Florida," where unemployment is 9.9 percent and the mortgage foreclosure crisis has hit particularly hard.

"He said last night how well things are going," Romney said. "If you really think that things are going well, that we're on the right track, and that his policies are working, then you ought to vote for him."

Gingrich was far harsher at an appearance in Miami.

"If he actually meant what he said it would be a disaster of the first order," Gingrich said of the president's call for higher taxes on millionaires.

The former House speaker said the president's proposal would double the capital gains tax and "lead to a dramatic decline in the stock market, which would affect every pension fund in the United States."

"It would affect every person who has a 401(k). It would attack the creation of jobs and drive capital outside of the United States. It would force people to invest overseas. It would be the most anti-jobs single step he could take," he said.

Under current law, investment income is taxed as the rate of 15 percent, a fact that has come to the fore of the campaign in recent days with the release of Romney's income tax return.

Wages, by contrast, are taxed at rates that can exceed 30 percent.

Electablity is the top concern for GOP primary voters, according to polls taken in the primary and caucus states, so both Republicans were eager to paint a contrast with the president.

But Romney and Gingrich also focused on the Florida primary now seven days distant.

Romney has long led in the state's polls, but Gingrich's upset victory last Saturday in the first-in-the-South primary in South Carolina revitalized his candidacy and raised questions about the former Massachusetts governor's staying power.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum is also on the ballot, as is Texas Rep. Ron Paul.

But Santorum has been sinking in the polls as Gingrich rises, and Paul has indicated he intends to bypass the state to concentrate on caucuses to be held elsewhere.

That gives Florida the feel of a two-man race, and Romney and Gingrich are treating it that way. The two men sparred heatedly Monday night in a debate that virtually relegated Santorum and Paul to supporting roles.

A second debate is set for Thursday in Jacksonville. And if their separate appearances during the day on the Spanish-language television network Univision is a guide, it will be as feisty as the first.

Gingrich referred acidly to Romney describing a policy of "self-deportation" as a way of having illegal immigrants leave the country without a massive roundup.

"You have to live in a world of Swiss bank accounts and Cayman Island accounts and automatically $20 million income for no work to have some fantasy this far from reality," he said, referring to some of the details disclosed this week when the former Massachusetts governor released his tax returns.

"For Romney to believe that somebody's grandmother is going to be so cut off that she is going to self-deport, I mean, this is an Obama-level fantasy."

Romney's campaign swiftly produced evidence that aides to Gingrich had used the term "self-deport" approvingly, and the former governor attacked.

"I recognize that it's very tempting to come out to an audience like this and pander to the audience," Romney said. "I think that was a mistake on his (Gingrich's) part."

Gingrich also ran into trouble over a radio ad his campaign was airing that called Romney "anti-immigrant." Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who is neutral in the presidential race, criticized the commercial, and Romney said the term "anti-immigrant" was an epithet.

For Obama, Iowa was the first of five stops in three days following a State of the Union speech in which he stressed the theme of income equality that is expected to be one of the cornerstones of his re-election campaign. He also wove in proposals to help restore the U.S. manufacturing base that has withered in the course of the recession that began in 2008.

"Our economy is getting stronger, and we've come too far to turn back now," he told workers and guests at a conveyor manufacturing plant in Cedar Rapids. Speaking of Republicans, he said, "Their philosophy is simple: We're better off when everyone is left to fend for themselves and play by their own rules."

It's a message that may be received differently depending on the local economy.

Iowa's unemployment was most recently measured at 5.6 percent, well below the national average. In Arizona, which has its primary in four weeks, joblessness is 8.7 percent, while Nevada's at 12.6, the highest in the country. Its caucuses are Feb. 4.

___

Associated Press writers Brian Bakst and Kasie Hunt in Florida contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-25-US-Campaign-Rdp/id-314e3a14c1a349cb9dd439689f976e84

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Eyes-on the innards of Fujitsu's K supercomputer (updated)

Fujitsu's K supercomputer was on our radar before it was even completed, and naturally, we let you know when it smoked the competition and became the supercomputing speed king. So, when we had the opportunity to see a piece of K at Fujitsu's North America Technology Forum today, we couldn't pass it up. In case you forgot, K is a massive machine powered by 864 racks with 24 boards per rack housing SPARC64 CPUs. We got to see one of those boards, and Yuichiro Ajima -- who designed the inter-connection chips (ICC) on them -- was gracious enough to give us some more info on this most super of supercomputers.

Gallery: Eyes-on the innards of Fujitsu's K supercomputer

As you can see in the gallery above, each board has extensive plumbing to keep the SPARC silicon running at a manageable 32 - 35 degrees Celsius (90 - 95 Fahrenheit) under load. Underneath that copper cooling system lies four processors interspersed between 32 memory modules (with 2GB per module) and four ICCs lined up next to the board's rack interconnect ports. Currently, the system takes 30 megawatts to do its thing, though Ajima informed us that K's theoretical max electricity consumption is about double that -- for perspective, that means K could consume the entire output of some solar power plants. When asked if there were plans to add more racks should Fujitsu's supercomputer lose its crown, Ajima-san said that while possible, there are no plans to do so -- we'll see if that changes should a worthy opponent present itself.

Update: Turns out the K's power consumption resides around 13 megawatts, with a max consumption of 16MW at its current configuration. The facility in Kobe, Japan where K resides can deliver up to 24 megawatts, so expansion is possible, but none is currently planned.

Eyes-on the innards of Fujitsu's K supercomputer (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/25/eyes-on-the-innards-of-fujitsus-k-supercomputer/

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Bachmann says she'll seek 4th term in Congress (AP)

MINNEAPOLIS ? Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann swept aside doubts about her political future Wednesday, declaring less than a month after ending her presidential bid that she will seek a fourth term in Congress.

Bachmann's decision ended speculation she might be ready to move on from the House, perhaps leveraging her popularity among some conservatives into a career in talk media. Despite her high profile, Bachmann has been only a marginal player in Congress.

"I'm looking forward to coming back and bringing a strong, powerful voice to Washington, D.C.," Bachmann said in an interview with The Associated Press. She said a formal announcement would come later.

Unless redistricting radically changes Minnesota's Republican-leaning 6th District, Bachmann figures to be a heavy favorite. Other Republican hopefuls had stood aside awaiting her decision. No Democrats have yet declared for the race.

Bachmann is a potent fundraiser who brought in $13.5 million in her last House race, but she likely would start from scratch after the presidential campaign. A campaign finance report that would show how much money she can bring to the race isn't due until the end of the month.

Ken Martin, chairman of Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer Labor Party, said Bachmann's announcement wasn't a surprise. He said Democrats would attack Bachmann for being absent from the district and for missing votes in Washington during months chasing the presidential nomination.

"Anyone who thinks that they're unbeatable is fooling themselves, and particularly once you hand us these issues on a silver platter," Martin said.

Martin said he's talked with several potential candidates who were waiting for a special redistricting panel to issue new maps late next month. He said some also were waiting for Bachmann's decision.

David Fitzsimmons, 6th District chairman for Minnesota's Republican Party, said Democrats "put a lot of resources and a lot of energy" into three previous high-profile candidates against Bachmann without seeming to make much of a dent.

"We're very happy and excited in the 6th to have her running again as congresswoman," Fitzsimmons said.

Bachmann captured some early momentum in the chase for the GOP presidential nomination by winning the Iowa straw poll in midsummer, but she eventually faded. Bachmann said she will not be working for any GOP candidate still in the race ahead of Minnesota's caucuses Feb. 7.

Bachmann also addressed President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech. As she did on the campaign trail, Bachmann criticized Obama for "doubling down on failures that didn't work."

She said she "chose to lay everything on the line this last year" because she saw a better way.

"I know how to create jobs and I am a job creator," Bachmann said. "I do have a formula for success. I have lived that formula. ... We need that voice here in Congress."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_el_ho/us_bachmann_house

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Gantos' 'Dead End in Norvelt' wins Newbery Medal

NEW YORK (AP) ? This year's winners of the top prizes in children's literature were honored for stories of resilience over the most everyday troubles: a boy grounded by his parents, a dog that loses its favorite toy.

Jack Gantos' "Dead End in Norvelt" won the John Newbery Medal for the best children's book of 2011, and Chris Raschka's "A Ball for Daisy" won the Randolph Caldecott award for best illustration. The prizes were announced Monday by the American Library Association during its midwinter meeting in Dallas.

No cash prizes are given, but the awards are watched closely by booksellers and librarians and often lead to increased sales and a lasting place on a school or store bookshelf. Previous winners include such favorites as Louis Sachar's "Holes" and Brian Selznick's "The Invention of Hugo Cabret," the basis for Martin Scorsese's film "Hugo."

Within hours of the prizes' announcement, "Dead End in Norvelt" and "A Ball for Daisy" were both in the top 50 on Amazon.com and both out of stock.

Gantos and Raschla are well established in children's publishing. Gantos, 60, has been a finalist for the Newbery and the National Book Award. Raschka, 52, won the Caldecott in 2006 for "The Hello, Goodbye Window."

Gantos' novel follows the humorous adventures of a boy named Jack Gantos, grounded "for life" by his parents and prone to the most gushing nosebleeds. But he is restored by the stories he learns about his hometown, Norvelt, a planned community in Pennsylvania founded during the Great Depression.

The author is more than a little like the Jack Gantos of his book. He spent part of his childhood in Norvelt and shares his character's sensitive nose. Gantos said he thought of "Dead End" after giving a eulogy for his aunt that looked back on Norvelt's special past.

"I talked about the spirit of people helping people, and how people really banded together," Gantos said during a telephone interview from his home in Boston. "And at the end of my eulogy, a lot of people came up to me and said they didn't know about the history of Norvelt. I love history, and I love humor, so I thought history could use a little humor."

Raschka's wordless picture book, told through watercolor, ink and gouache, recounts the saga of a white and gray terrier whose beloved red ball is stolen by a bigger, brown poodle. The ball bursts and Daisy's spirit seems to break with it, until the poodle returns with a blue ball that leaves the pets and their owners equally content.

Raschka said "Daisy" was inspired by his son, who at age 4 was devastated when his yellow ball broke during a scrape with a neighbor. The author said he began thinking of "those first feelings of losing something beloved" and knowing you can't get it back. For the story, he changed the main character from a boy to a dog.

"When you're a picture book illustrator, your readers are often 3 or 4 years old, and you don't want the drawing to be upsetting in itself," Raschka said during a phone interview from the offices of Schwartz & Wade Books, an imprint of Random House Inc. "By having an animal, there's some distance, and yet there is still a connection."

Other winners were announced Monday, including John Corey Whaley's "Where Things Come Back," which received the Michael L. Printz Award for best young adult literature; and Kadir Nelson's "Heart and Soul," winner of the Coretta Scott King Book Award for best African-American story. The King prize for best illustrated book was given to Shane W. Evans' "Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom."

Jesmyn Ward's "Salvage the Bones," winner last fall of the National Book Award for fiction, was among 10 recipients of the Alex Award for adult books that appeal to teens. Others cited included Erin Morgenstern's acclaimed debut "The Night Circus" and David Levithan's "The Lover's Dictionary." Bill Wright's "Putting Makeup on the Fat Boy" received the Stonewall award for "exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience."

The Pura Belpre award for best Latino author went to Guadalupe Garcia McCall for "Under the Mesquite," while the Belpre illustration prize was given to Duncan Tonatiuh for "Diego Rivera: His World and Ours." Translator Laura Wilkerson's work on Bibi Dumon Tak's "Soldier Bear," originally published in Dutch in 2008, won her the Mildred L. Batchelder Award for best book translated from a foreign language.

Susan Cooper, known for her fantasy series "The Dark is Rising," won the Margaret A. Edwards award for lifetime achievement in young adult literature.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-01-23-Books-Newbery-Caldecott/id-778466cfae404bfeb0014ae40e7e04c1

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Department of Insurance returns record recoveries to Missouri ...

January 23, 2012

Department of Insurance returns record recoveries to Missouri consumers in 2011

$21 million additional paid by insurance companies

Jefferson City, Mo. - Because of actions by the state Department of Insurance, Missouri consumers received an additional $21 million from their insurance companies, far exceeding the department's previous record of $14.6 million set in 2009.

"This record $21 million for Missouri consumers is a reminder that we can help if they reach an impasse with their insurance company," said John M. Huff, director of the Missouri Department of Insurance.? "Missourians all across our state did lots of heavy lifting with the unprecedented natural disasters in 2011, and our department was no different."

Significant recoveries were returned to consumers related to the tornadoes in Joplin ($4.5 million), St. Louis ($640,000) and Sedalia ($250,000).

Statewide, the department handled more than 3,800 formal complaints and assisted more than 8,500 additional consumers in writing and another 21,000 over the telephone.

The most common categories of complaints received from consumers statewide were:

By reason	By line of insurance
Claim denial (925 complaints)	Health (1075)
Claim processing delay (648)	Auto (846)
Unsatisfactory settlement offer (510)	Homeowners (639)

Some notable accomplishments from the past three months:

• A Joplin resident was offered $22,000 for his home and other structures for damages following the May 22 tornado. After the homeowner filed a complaint with the department, the insurance company agreed to meet with an engineer and contractor of the homeowner's choice. The home was declared a total loss, which resulted in a payment of $98,000 to the homeowner.
• A Chillicothe woman was having trouble getting a death benefit from her husband's life insurance policy seven months after a claim had been filed. After filing a complaint with the department, the beneficiary received a claim payment of more than $250,000.
• Parents of a newborn child from Boonville were having trouble adding their child to their health insurance plan. After filing a complaint with the department, the family's health insurance company paid nearly $18,400 in claims that covered the child from birth to a subsequent surgery.
• A St. Louis woman contacted the department alleging signatures were forged on a recently purchased annuity contract. The department required the insurance company's fraud investigation unit to fully review the inconsistencies of the signatures. After investigating the issue, the company issued a full refund of more than $630,000.

The department's Market Conduct Section managed nearly 150 examinations and investigations in 2011, returning $1.77 million to consumers who were underpaid on claims or whose premiums were too high. Those enforcement efforts also resulted in $465,000 in fines from insurance companies.

In market conduct exams and investigations, the department reviews insurance company documents detailing the treatment of policyholders, from the rates the companies charge to the way they handle claims to other responsibilities under state law. Exams can result in refunds for consumers, fines, changes in business practices or other remedies.

Consumers with complaints or questions about their insurance claims or policy provisions can call the Consumer Hotline at 800-726-7390 or file a complaint at insurance.mo.gov.

About the Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions & Professional Registration

The Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration (DIFP) is responsible for consumer protection through the regulation of financial industries and professionals. The department's seven divisions work to enforce state regulations both efficiently and effectively while encouraging a competitive environment for industries and professions to ensure consumers have access to quality products.

###

Source: http://difp.mo.gov/news/2012/Department_of_Insurance_returns_record_recoveries_to_Missouri_consumers_in_2011

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YouTube Reaches 4 Billion Views Per Day

Google's video-sharing property YouTube now sees 4 billion video views per day. That's a 25% increase over the past eight months, the company told Reuters in a report released this morning. There's now approximately 60 hours of video uploaded to the site every minute, compared with roughly 48 hours uploaded in May.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/iF_uFHDgF6s/

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Philly abortion doctor denies federal drug charges (AP)

PHILADELPHIA ? A west Philadelphia abortion doctor facing murder charges in the deaths of seven babies and a patient has pleaded not guilty to federal drug charges.

Seventy-year-old Kermit Gosnell entered the plea in a brief court hearing Monday. Last month, federal prosecutors charged Gosnell with using his medical office as a pill mill to dispense thousands of prescriptions for highly addictive painkillers between 2008 and January 2010.

Gosnell also has pleaded not guilty to murder in the deaths of the seven babies and a patient who died of a painkiller overdose while waiting for an abortion.

Authorities say live-born babies were killed at the clinic by having their spinal cords severed with scissors. Philadelphia prosecutors called the clinic a "house of horrors."

Lawyers in the case are under a gag order.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_re_us/us_abortion_clinic_investigation

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6-year-old girl missing in frigid Oregon river

The Clackamas River runs fast Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, near where 6-year-old Vinesa Snegur on Sunday had fallen into the stream and was swept on downriver in Mount Hood National Forest, near Estacada, Ore. The water temperature Monday morning was just above freezing, and the river is carrying a heavy load of trees and roots, imperiling rescue workers, police said. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

The Clackamas River runs fast Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, near where 6-year-old Vinesa Snegur on Sunday had fallen into the stream and was swept on downriver in Mount Hood National Forest, near Estacada, Ore. The water temperature Monday morning was just above freezing, and the river is carrying a heavy load of trees and roots, imperiling rescue workers, police said. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

A member of the Multnomah County Sheriff Search and Rescue team searches along the Clackamas River for 6-year-old Vinesa Snegur, who on Sunday had fallen into the stream and was swept on downriver, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, in Mount Hood National Forest, near Estacada, Ore. The water temperature Monday morning was just above freezing, and the river is carrying a heavy load of trees and roots, imperiling rescue workers, police said. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

A member of the Multnomah County Sheriff Search and Rescue team searches along the Clackamas River for a 6-year-old who on Sunday had fallen into the stream and was swept on downriver Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, in Mount Hood National Forest, near Estacada, Ore. The water temperature Monday morning was just above freezing, and the river is carrying a heavy load of trees and roots, imperiling rescue workers, police said. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Members of the Multnomah County Sheriff Search and Rescue team search along the Clackamas River for a 6-year-old who had fallen into the stream and was swept on downriver Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, in Mount Hood National Forest, near Estacada, Ore. Rescue workers looked for Vinesa Snegur on Sunday afternoon and resumed their search Monday along the waterway that's running fast and cold from a recent winter storm. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

ESTACADA, Ore (AP) ? An Oregon man raced along the rain-swollen Clackamas River but couldn't keep up with his 6-year-old daughter who had fallen into the stream and was swept on downriver, authorities said.

Rescue workers looked for Vinesa Snegur on Sunday afternoon and resumed their search Monday morning along the waterway that's running fast and cold from a recent winter storm.

"It was just a second of inattention," said Sgt. James Rhodes of the Clackamas County sheriff's office. "He turned away. Then, splash, and she fell in. He ran and tried to keep up with her, but he was unable to."

Rhodes said the girl and her parents, Igor and Marina Snegur, are from southeast Portland and drove Sunday to play in the snow. They parked near Austin Hot Springs in the Mount Hood National Forest where a road is close to the stream.

The spot is about 60 miles southeast of Portland. There's no cell service, and the family couldn't report her missing until they got to a phone at a ranger station an hour later to call for help, Rhodes said.

The water temperature Monday morning was just above freezing, and the river is carrying a heavy load of trees and roots, imperiling rescue workers, he said. Poor visibility kept a National Guard helicopter on the ground Monday morning.

About 100 rescue workers, including divers, worked a stretch of the river four miles downstream on Monday.

Like many streams in western Oregon, the Clackamas River is swollen by heavy rain that fell late last week as a winter storm moved into the region. The storm caused flooding in many communities in the Willamette Valley.

A mother and her 1-year-old son died after a creek swept away their car from an Albany, Ore. parking lot. A father and his son were able to escape.

Most streams have receded, but more rain is been forecast this week in western Oregon, raising the possibility of more floods.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-23-Girl%20Swept%20Away/id-cea7beb5eaf24215a2dbaeb81555e563

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Girl sailor completes solo trip around the world

'There were moments where I was like, "What the hell am I doing out here?" Dekker, 16, says

Stephan Kogelman / AP

Dutch sailor Laura Dekker, center left, is hugged by her father Dick Dekker, right, sister Kim Dekker, center right, and mother Babs Muller, left, after arriving to Simpson Bay, St. Maarten, Saturday.

By JUDY FITZPATRICK

updated 5:05 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2012

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Laura Dekker set a steady foot aboard a dock in St. Maarten on Saturday, ending a yearlong voyage aboard a sailboat named "Guppy" that apparently made her the youngest person ever to sail alone around the globe, though her trip was interrupted at several points.

Dozens of people jumped and cheered as Dekker waved, wept and then walked across the dock accompanied by her mother, father, sister and grandparents, who had greeted her at sea earlier.

Dekker arrived in St. Maarten after struggling against high seas and heavy winds on a final, 41-day leg from Cape Town, South Africa.

"There were moments where I was like, 'What the hell am I doing out here?,' but I never wanted to stop," she told reporters. "It's a dream, and I wanted to do it."

Dekker claims she is the youngest sailor to complete a round-the-world voyage, but Guinness World Records and the World Sailing Speed Record Council did not verify the claim, saying they no longer recognize records for youngest sailors to discourage dangerous attempts.

Dutch authorities tried to block Dekker's trip, arguing she was too young to risk her life, while school officials complained she should be in a classroom.

Dekker said she was born to parents living on a boat near the coast of New Zealand and said she first sailed solo at 6 years old. At 10, she said, she began dreaming about crossing the globe. She celebrated her 16th birthday during the trip, eating doughnuts for breakfast after spending time at port with her father and friends the night before in Darwin, Australia.

The teenager covered more than 27,000 nautical miles on a trip with stops that sound like a skim through a travel magazine: the Canary Islands, Panama, the Galapagos Islands, Tonga, Fiji, Bora Bora, Australia, South Africa and now, St. Maarten, from which she set out on Jan. 20, 2011.

"Her story is just amazing," said one of Dekker's fans, 10-year-old Jody Bell of Connecticut. "I can't imagine someone her age going out on sea all by herself."

Bell was in St. Maarten on a work trip with her mother, Deena Merlen, an attorney in Manhattan, who wanted to see Dekker complete her journey. The two wore T-shirts that read: "Guppy rocks my world."

"My daughter and I have been following Laura's story, and we think it's amazing and inspiring," Merlen said.

Unlike other young sailors who recently crossed the globe, Dekker repeatedly anchored at ports along the way to sleep, study and repair her 38-foot (11.5-meter) sailboat.

During her trip, she went surfing, scuba diving, cliff diving and discovered a new hobby: playing the flute, which she said in her weblog was easier to play than a guitar in bad weather.

Dekker also complained about custom clearings, boat inspections, ripped sails, heavy squalls, a wet and salty bed, a near-collision with two cargo ships and the presence of some persistent stowaways: cockroaches.

"I became good friends with my boat," she said. "I learned a lot about myself."

Highlights of her trip include 47 days of sailing the Indian Ocean, which left her with unsteady legs when she docked in Durban, South Africa, where she walked up and down the pier several times for practice.

While in South Africa, she also saw her first whale.

"It dove right in front of my boat and got all this water on my boat, and that wasn't really nice," she said.

Dekker launched her trip two months after Abby Sunderland, a 16-year-old U.S. sailor, was rescued in the middle of the Indian Ocean during a similar attempt. Jessica Watson of Australia completed a 210-day solo voyage at age 16, a few months older than Dekker.

Dekker had said she planned to move to New Zealand after her voyage, but she said Saturday that she wants to finish school first. If she goes to New Zealand, she said, she'd like to sail there.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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More newsJeff Fusco / Getty Images Contributor

'I refuse to be the norm'

As Bernard Hopkins draws closer toward his career's final bell, the awe of winning fights in his 40s has morphed into questions of why he's still fighting closing in on 50.

Girl sailor completes solo trip around the world

??Laura Dekker set a steady foot aboard a dock in St. Maarten on Saturday, ending a yearlong voyage aboard a sailboat named "Guppy" that apparently made her the youngest person ever to sail alone around the globe, though her trip was interrupted at several points.

Military amputees inspire through softball

When a roadside bomb in Afghanistan shredded Marine Lance Cpl. Josh Wege's legs in 2009, the former high school baseball star wondered if he would even survive ? let alone walk, run or play ball again.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46082962/ns/sports-other_sports/

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