McConnell tweets an ?Eastwood? from a Kentucky bar

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is ready to take President Barack Obama up on that drink. Unfortunately, he's nowhere near the president.

The Kentucky Republican posted a picture of himself Monday at a Kentucky bar, nestling a glass of beer next to an empty chair and a glass of wine, both presumably meant for Obama.

Congress is currently in recess, so McConnell is working in Kentucky instead of in the capital.

The picture was posted in response to Obama's speech at the White House correspondents' dinner on Saturday, in which he joked about having a drink with McConnell.

"Recently, I had dinner?it?s been well publicized?I had dinner with a number of the Republican senators. And I?ll admit it wasn?t easy. I proposed a toast?it died in committee," Obama said during the speech. "Of course, even after I've done all this, some folks still don?t think I spend enough time with Congress. 'Why don?t you get a drink with Mitch McConnell?' they ask. 'Really? Why don?t you get a drink with Mitch McConnell?' I'm sorry. I get frustrated sometimes."

Speaking of drinking, had Obama actually been present at the Kentucky bar, he could have asked to hear McConnell's step-by-step tutorial on the best use of bourbon, his state's favorite drink.

"The best way to drink it, in my opinion, is to make a Manhattan, which is a combination of bourbon and other unknown substances,? McConnell told Yahoo News' Olivier Knox in February. McConnell had also described the best way to prepare it: ?Drop a couple of cherries on top of it, make sure there's ice there, and it's a terrific drink around Christmastime, which I frequently offer to my guests."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/mcconnell-eastwoods-obama-kentucky-bar-202943311.html

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Baylor's Griner is AP Player of the Year

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? Brittney Griner of Baylor is The Associated Press' women's college basketball Player of the Year for the second straight season.

Griner is only the third player to win the award in consecutive seasons, joining Seimone Augustus of LSU and Chamique Holdsclaw of Tennessee. Maya Moore of Connecticut won it two times in three years.

The 6-foot-8 Griner star received 37 votes Saturday from the 40-member national media panel that selects the weekly Top 25. Balloting was done before the NCAA tournament.

Chiney Ogwumike of Stanford had two votes and Skylar Diggins of Notre Dame the other one.

Griner averaged 23.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 4.1 blocks this season. She shot 61 percent from the field and 71 percent from the foul line.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/baylors-griner-ap-player-214433237--spt.html

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Top White House aide: GOP must cooperate on budget

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The White House on Sunday warned Republicans that a "my way or the highway" approach would spell the GOP's defeat in upcoming budget negotiations and told its Democratic allies that they, too, will have to bend on President Barack Obama's delayed spending plan set to be released this week.

White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer said the White House was willing to work with rank-and-file Republicans to come up with an outline that both jump-starts the economy and reduces the nation's red ink. Yet Pfeiffer also told the GOP that stubbornness among their party's leadership would only yield public embarrassment akin to the one the GOP faced last year when voters rejected Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's economic proposals and gave Obama a second term.

"Right now, the approach of many Republicans ? particularly the leadership in the House ? is my way or the highway. Their view is the only acceptable plan is to try to cut away prosperity, turn Medicare into a voucher program and essentially enact the Romney economic plan," Pfeiffer said. "The American people rejected that and Republicans shouldn't be doubling down on it."

But he also warned Democrats who are wary of some of the president's cuts that they will have to sacrifice.

"Look, this is compromise," Pfeiffer said. "And compromise means there are going to be some folks on both sides who are not happy."

Obama is set to formally release his budget outline Wednesday morning. Its delay from February, then to March and now to April has left lawmakers in the Republican-led House and Democratic-controlled Senate to write their own budget proposals and move ahead without a concrete plan from Obama's economic team.

Even on the eve of its release, the president's budget was seen more as a starting point for negotiations than a final proposal.

"The president is showing a little bit of leg here, this is somewhat encouraging," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, noting the Obama proposal as a whole "isn't going to make it."

"We're beginning to set the stage for the grand bargain," the South Carolina Republican added in an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press."

Such a large-scale deal has proved elusive for Obama ? first with House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and now with Senate Republicans. Time and again, the White House has tried to negotiate an overarching compromise that brings down spending while protecting social safety nets for those who need them most. Each time, talks have fallen apart amid revolt among the strongest partisans in Democrats' and Republicans' caucuses.

Yet Obama is again working to find a deal, his top advisers said.

On Wednesday night, the president is scheduled to meet with Republican senators for dinner.

"What we're looking for is what the president calls a caucus of common sense, folks who are willing to compromise and who understand that in divided government, both sides aren't going to get everything they want," Pfeiffer said told "Fox News Sunday."

In a separate interview, Pfeiffer told ABC's "This Week" that the White House sees an opening to work with rank-and-file lawmakers on a deal, perhaps bypassing the party's leadership.

"Is it going to be easy? Absolutely not. But there is a possibility," Pfeiffer said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-04-07-US-Budget/id-8dacbcec48c44cdcb8b4d288f97926d0

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Syrian airstrike kills 5 in Aleppo

BEIRUT (AP) ? A Syrian government airstrike on a heavily contested neighborhood in the northern city of Aleppo killed at least five people Saturday, while several mortar rounds slammed into a residential district in Damascus, leaving at least one person dead, activists and state media said.

Aleppo and Damascus ? Syria's two largest cities ? are key fronts in civil war between President Bashar Assad and the rebels trying to overthrow his regime. Opposition fighters have managed to seize control of several neighborhoods in Aleppo since storming the city last summer, while the regime has largely kept the rebels at bay so far in Damascus, although opposition fighters control several suburbs of the capital and look increasingly capable of threatening the heart of the city ? and Assad's power.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the air raid Saturday hit Aleppo's Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, which rebels seized parts of last weekend after days of heavy fighting with regime troops.

Both sides are eager to control the strategic district, which is predominantly inhabited by minority Kurds. The neighborhood is located on a hill on the northern edge of Aleppo and overlooks much of the city, giving those who control it the ability to pound districts held by the opposing side with mortars and artillery.

The rebels control large swaths of northern Syria, and captured their first provincial capital ? the city of Raqqa ? last month. They have also been making gains in recent weeks in the south, seizing military bases and towns in the strategically important region between Damascus and the border with Jordan, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) from the capital.

In Damascus, mortar rounds hit the residential district of Kafar Souseh on the city's western outskirts, killing one person and wounding at least 13, the state-run SANA news agency said. The attacks also caused material damage to stores in the district and set several parked vehicles on fire, SANA said.

The Observatory said mortar rounds also struck the Damascus suburb of Jaramana. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

It was not immediately clear who fired the shells, but mortar rounds have fallen with increasingly regularity in the center of the capital, puncturing the aura of normalcy that the regime has tried to cultivate in the city.

The Observatory also reported clashes between government troops and rebels Saturday in the town of Otaybah east of Damascus.

Also Saturday, the newly elected prime minister of the Western-backed opposition umbrella group, Ghassan Hitto, started reviewing candidates for a planned rebel interim government that will consist of 11 ministries and will be based inside Syria, according to a statement by the Syrian National Coalition.

It said Hitto, who has lived in the United States for many years, aims to "attract the qualified talent and competencies required to manage the upcoming phase of the revolution."

The candidates for ministerial and deputy positions must be Syrian citizens older than 35 years of age, the statement said. It added that high-ranking regime officials or "those who have committed crimes against the Syrian people or have unlawfully seized Syrian property or wealth" will be excluded from consideration.

"The nominee must be an advocate or supporter of the Syrian revolution," the statement said.

The Western-backed opposition alliance has been marred by severe divisions in its ranks since its formation late last year in Qatar, and its leaders are mostly seen as disconnected from the myriad rebel forces fighting inside Syria.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-airstrike-kills-least-5-aleppo-123326047.html

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States with weakest firearm laws lead in gun deaths: study

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Many states with the weakest firearms laws have the highest rates of gun-related homicides and suicides, according to a study released on Wednesday by a liberal think tank.

Alaska had the most gun deaths, with 20.28 deaths per 100,000 people in 2010, twice the national average, the analysis by the Center for American Progress showed.

Louisiana and Montana, which followed with 19.06 and 16.58 deaths per 100,000 people, respectively, were among the 10 states with the weakest gun laws, according to the study, the latest to link gun laws to firearm deaths.

Eight of the states with the highest levels of gun violence were among the 25 with the weakest gun laws, said the report, citing a study last year by the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

"This report - as others before it - demonstrates a strong link between state gun laws and gun violence," it said, adding that this link didn't imply cause and effect.

"Factors such as gun trafficking across state lines, overall crime patterns, and other socioeconomic issues in a state all play a role in gun-violence rates," it said.

Louisiana, Alaska and Alabama have the highest levels of gun violence, based on measures that include firearm deaths, suicides, homicides, and police officials feloniously killed by guns.

Hawaii, Massachusetts and Connecticut had the lowest rates of gun violence, and were among the 10 states with the strongest gun laws, the study found.

Hawaii had the fewest firearm deaths in 2010, at 3.31 per 100,000 people.

Last month, researchers reported in the online journal, JAMA Internal Medicine, that more gun laws in a state were associated with lower firearm death rates.

Several states have moved to tighten gun laws following the massacre of 20 students and six adults at a Connecticut school in December.

President Barack Obama is seeking to pass the broadest gun control regulations in a generation, but faces stiff opposition from pro-gun groups.

The United States had about 31,300 firearms deaths in 2010, with two-thirds of them suicides, according to the Centers for Disease Control and the National Vital Statistics Report.

(Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Bernadette Baum)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/states-weakest-firearm-laws-lead-gun-deaths-study-185335813.html

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Wynonna on Dancing With the Stars Elimination: Disappointed ... For Tony

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/wynonna-on-dancing-with-the-stars-elimination-disappointed-for-t/

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Apple's iMessage encryption reportedly hinders federal wiretapping

The Drug Enforcement Administration has found it difficult to intercept text message conversations sent with Apple?s iMessage platform due to the encryption that Apple employs for it. According to internal documents a criminal investigation was hindered by the DEA?s inability to tap into iMessage conversations, despite the fact that they had a warrant. According to CNET, the DEA initially discovered that conversations that they had been collecting were incomplete.

The DEA's "Intelligence Note" says that iMessage came to the attention of the agency's San Jose, Calif., office as agents were drafting a request for a court order to perform real-time electronic surveillance under Title III of the Federal Wiretap Act. They discovered that records of text messages already obtained from Verizon Wireless were incomplete because the target of the investigation used iMessage: "It became apparent that not all text messages were being captured."

The good news here is that it?s difficult for just anyone to break into your iMessage conversations. iMessages are much harder to tap into than both phone calls and standard text messages. The FBI is currently in the process of amending a law requiring telecommunications companies to build in access points for surveillance, a law that does not currently apply to companies like Apple. For its part, Apple already states in the iTunes terms and conditions that they will share your data with the government if it became ?reasonably necessary? to do so.

Source: CNET

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/NsqLTP98KLY/story01.htm

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Video: Is 'Phony Money' Corrupting Capitalism in America?

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Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/video/cnbc/51402464/

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WWE and Party City team up to support Make-A-Wish?

Party City is your one-stop shop for your WrestleMania and WWE-themed party supplies. While you are there, you can make a difference in a child's life by donating $1 to Make-A-Wish!

WWE and Party City, the official party store of WWE, are teaming up to "Help Make Wishes Come True," a joint initiative to support Make-A-Wish. Party City is currently conducting a nationwide in-store fundraiser through April 13 where customers can support Make-A-Wish with donations collected at any of the 750 Party City stores across the country. Ninety percent of the donations collected will benefit the organization with a minimum financial contribution of $75,000. For more information about Make-A-Wish, visit wish.org.

Party City has plenty of WWE-themed supplies for you to throw the perfect WrestleMania party, including tableware, plates, napkins, cups, party kits, party favors, decorations and invitations.

Check out photos?from last year's Make-A-Wish WWE-themed party hosted by Party City.

Want to share your story on social media about hosting a WWE party with Party City supplies or about how you made a difference in a child's life by donating to Make-A-Wish? Use the hashtag #AllStar to share your thoughts now!

View Comments

Source: http://www.wwe.com/inside/overtheropes/wwe-party-city-make-a-wish

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New venture capital announced for start up business in Australia

New venture capital announced for start up business in Australia

Starting a business in Australia is getting a boost from new funds being set up to provide access to venture capital for small and medium sized enterprises. At least $200 million will be invested into early stage, high growth Australian companies by three new venture capital funds supported by the government?s Innovation Investment Fund (IIF).

The Minister for Climate Change, Industry and Innovation, Greg Combet, announced that three new funds have been selected under the latest tranche of the IIF. He said $100 million of Government funding would be matched dollar for dollar by private sector investors in Carnegie Venture Capital, GBS Venture Partners and Innovation Capital Associates.

?This is a huge boost for Australian start ups. These funds will invest at least $200 million of new capital in start up businesses. The IIF continues to commercialise leading Australian research to produce new technologies, products and services that will be sold around the globe,? he explained. ?These new fund managers will provide crucial equity capital and essential management expertise to a whole range of promising companies across the economy. Venture capital helps turn ideas into successful businesses and new jobs. It is a vital part of our innovation system which is why the Government, as part of its Plan for Australian Jobs, has announced a new $350 million round of the IIF Programme,? he said.

Quote from AustraliaForum.com : ?After reading many expats comments who have migrated with skilled migrant visa but cant find a suitable job? I really felt so depressed and i thought that having my own business might be the solution? I want to ask how much money needed to start a new business..for example opening a supermarket or a small store?thx for help?

?Successful start ups are essential to creating new products, jobs and economic growth. The IIF will continue to co-invest government capital with private investor capital into early-stage Australian technology based companies,? he added.

The IIF, which started in 1998, has now established 16 funds and has co-invested in new companies including Seek, Bionomics, Pharmaxis and Benthic Geotech. It is hoped that this new round of funding will have a positive long term impact upon the Australian economy and attract more small businesses to the region.

Source: http://www.australiaforum.com/information/money/new-venture-capital-announced-for-start-up-business-in-australia.html

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