Stocks supported by US, China economic hopes (AP)

MOSCOW ? Stock markets rebounded Wednesday as renewed optimism over the state of the U.S. economy and fresh Chinese policy easing supported sentiment despite the failure of European finance ministers to announce radical new measures to deal with the crippling debt crisis afflicting the 17-nation eurozone.

Sentiment was dampened in the early part of the European session by the failure of eurozone ministers in Brussels on Tuesday to push forward radical plans to help calm market jitters over a debt crisis that's already seen three relatively-small countries get bailed out and is threatening much bigger Spain and Italy.

A decision on how to forge a closer fiscal union between the 17 eurozone countries will have to wait until the leaders' summit next week.

The ministers did agree to hand out euro8 billion ($10.7 billion) to Greece as part of its bailout to stem an immediate cash crisis, but they kicked more difficult issues ? such as whether countries should cede some control over their finances to a central European authority ? to the leaders of the European Union who meet next week.

Stocks have been relatively buoyant this week on expectations that the 17 countries that use the euro will finally come up with a plan to deal with their crushing debt crisis. Those hopes remain generally.

Buoyant U.S. consumer confidence figures on Tuesday also raised hopes that the world's largest economy is faring better than expected. A raft of economic data over the rest of the week will be closely eyed, not least Friday's nonfarm payrolls figures, which often set the market tone for a week or two after their release.

"With the longer term outlook for the U.S. economy becoming increasingly bullish, expectations are for a robust set of numbers to be seen in the days ahead," said Ben Critchley, sales trader at IG Index.

Sentiment was also supported by the news that China reduced bank reserve levels Wednesday to release money for lending and help shore up slowing growth. Higher growth in China could be crucial for a global economy that's suffering in the wake of the eurozone debt crisis.

Beijing announced that thye amount of money China's commercial lenders must hold in reserve will be cut by 0.5 percent of their deposits, effective Dec. 5, the central bank said. It was the first easing of monetary policy in three years and analysts said was unlikely to be the last.

"This is likely to be the first of a series of easing manoeuvres from China, though they'll probably unfold over an extended period," said Benjamin Reitzes, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets.

Beijing is gradually easing controls imposed to cool an overheated economy and politically dangerous inflation. Chinese leaders worry economic growth that eased to 9.1 percent in the quarter ending in September from 9.5 the previous quarter might fall too abruptly, leading to job losses and possible unrest.

Hopes over the number one and two economies in the world helped markets in Europe recoup early losses.

The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 0.8 percent at 5,379 while Germany's DAX rose 1.5 percent to 5,887. The CAC-40 in France was 0.9 percent higher at 3,052.

The euro meanwhile was down 0.1 percent at $1.3304, after figures showing inflation in the eurozone at a stubbornly-high level of 3 percent ? a full percentage point above the European Central Bank's target ? and a further uptick in the unemployment rate to 10.3 percent.

Wall Street was also headed for a higher opening on Wednesday following the previous session's gains. Dow futures rose 0.6 percent to 11,630 and S&P 500 futures were up an equivalent rate to 1,204.

Earlier, Asian stocks closed lower on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 index dropped 0.5 percent to close at 8,434.61. South Korea's Kospi dropped 0.5 percent to 1,847.51. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dipped 1.5 percent to 17,989.35.

___

AP business writer Pamela Sampson from Bangkok and AP researcher Fu Ting from Shanghai contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111130/ap_on_bi_ge/world_markets

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Path is a Lightweight, Mobile-Only, Private Social Network [Social Networks]

Android/iOS: If you can somehow manage to fit another social network into your life, Path, a mobile-only, simplified social networking app has just relaunched with a complete overhaul to its interface and style.

While it's billed as a social network, it operates more like a journal, where you record thoughts, photos, and events throughout the day. You get 150 friends and the limit is imposed to keep you with close friends. Since it's only available on iOS and Android, it also means its easy to keep private, so you likely won't have second-cousins bothering you for friendship.

The platform itself is dead simple, no apps, photo galleries, or links. It's solely about what you're thinking, doing, and who you're with. The updates in this version cover a wide spectrum, the completely new interface works great, and there are added features like music, check-in, and notification integration. You can also set it to record automatically, which means the app will track your location when you're in a new neighborhood or city.

Path is a free download for iOS and Android, with in-app purchases if you're interested in camera filters to apply to the notes you make. It can be used as a private journal of your daily activities or a small social network, it's up to you.

Path | via Wired

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/iRLivJet360/path-is-a-lightweight-mobile+only-private-social-network

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With 30K U.S. Doctors Now On Board, Doximity Is Fast Becoming The LinkedIn For Physicians

Thankfully, the Web and digital technology are now playing an increasingly important role in the development of healthcare services (and the industry as a whole), so perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise that the professional networking model that has worked so well for LinkedIn is proving just as effective when applied to the sizable network of American physicians. Earlier this year, Jeff Tangney, Co-founder and Former President of NASDAQ-listed mobile health software applications maker, Epocrates, launched a new venture called Doximity. Taking a page out of LinkedIn's book, Doximity gives physicians a private network through which to connect and collaborate on patient treatment or identify experts for patient referrals.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Nzj1JZ9_2mg/

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Boeheim says he's not worried about job status

Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim answers questions during a news conference after Syracuse defeated Eastern Michigan 84-48 in an NCAA college basketball game, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011, in Syracuse, N.Y. (AP Photo/Kevin Rivoli)

Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim answers questions during a news conference after Syracuse defeated Eastern Michigan 84-48 in an NCAA college basketball game, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011, in Syracuse, N.Y. (AP Photo/Kevin Rivoli)

FILE - In this March 25, 2010, file photo, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, left, and associate head basketball coach Bernie Fine sit on the bench at the end an NCAA West Regional semifinal college basketball game against Butler in Salt Lake City. Fine was fired Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011, in the wake of an investigation of child molestation allegations against him. In statement released Sunday night, Kevin Quinn, the school's senior vice president for public affairs, says Fine has been "terminated, effective immediately." (AP Photo/Steve C. Wilson, File)

Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim, left, answers questions during a post-game news conference after Syracuse defeated Eastern Michigan 84-48 in an NCAA college basketball game in Syracuse, N.Y., Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011. (AP Photo/Kevin Rivoli)

Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim arrives at their post-game news conference after Syracuse defeated Eastern Michigan 84-48 in an NCAA college basketball game in Syracuse, N.Y., Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011. (AP Photo/Kevin Rivoli)

Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim pauses during the second half against Eastern Michigan in an NCAA college basketball game in Syracuse, N.Y., Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011. Syracuse won 84-48. (AP Photo/Kevin Rivoli)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) ? Syracuse men's basketball coach Jim Boeheim said Tuesday that "what happened on my watch" will be revealed once police complete their inquiry into child molestation accusations against his former longtime assistant.

"I never worried about my job status in 36 years," Boeheim said at his first postgame news conference since Bernie Fine was fired Sunday. "I do my job. What happened on my watch, we will see. When the investigation is done, we will find out what happened on my watch.

Advocates for sex abuse victims said Boeheim should resign or be fired for adamantly defending Fine and verbally disparaging two former Syracuse ballboys who accused Fine of molesting them.

"Based on what I knew at that time, there were three investigations and nothing was corroborated," Boeheim said. "That was the basis for me saying what I said. I said what I knew at the time."

He said he didn't regret backing Fine when the allegations were first made public.

"I've been with him for 36 years, known him for 48 years, went to school with him," Boeheim said. "I think you owe a debt of allegiance and gratitude for what he did for the program. That's what my reaction was. So be it."

Fine has denied the allegations.

Boeheim received a standing ovation when he walked onto the court that bears his name for the game against Eastern Michigan, beaten by the Orange 84-48. Fine's seat on the bench wasn't vacant this time, though it was at the last home game 10 days ago.

Asked to comment on Boeheim's status earlier Tuesday, Syracuse University Chancellor Nancy Cantor said:

"Coach Boeheim is our coach. ... We're very pleased with what he said Sunday night, and we stand by it."

After initially saying Fine's first two accusers were lying to make money in the wake of the Penn State University child sex abuse scandal, Boeheim backed off those comments.

"What is most important is that this matter be fully investigated and that anyone with information be supported to come forward so that the truth can be found," Boeheim said Sunday night. "I deeply regret any statements I made that might have inhibited that from occurring or been insensitive to victims of abuse."

One of the accusers, Bobby Davis, first contacted Syracuse police in 2002 regarding Fine, but there was no investigation because the statute of limitations had passed. Kevin Quinn, a Syracuse spokesman, said police did not inform the university of Davis' allegations then.

On Tuesday, Syracuse Police Chief Frank Fowler said Dennis DuVal, a former SU basketball player who was police chief in 2002, knew of the allegations against Fine.

Fowler said DuVal, who played for the Orange from 1972-74, was aware of Davis' accusations in 2002 that Fine sexually abused him.

Because Davis said the abuse stopped 12 years earlier, Syracuse Det. Doug Fox told him the statute of limitations had passed, meaning an arrest was not possible. Fox advised his supervisor in the abused persons unit, but didn't file a formal report. The detective is still with the department, but not in the same unit.

A phone message left with DuVal was not immediately returned.

On Nov. 17, Davis' allegations resurfaced.

Davis, now 39, told ESPN that Fine molested him beginning in 1984 and that the sexual contact continued until he was around 27. A ball boy for six years, Davis said the abuse occurred at Fine's home, at Syracuse basketball facilities and on team road trips, including the 1987 Final Four. Davis' stepbrother, Mike Lang, 45, who also was a ball boy, also told ESPN that Fine began molesting him while he was in the fifth or sixth grade.

But Boeheim said during his news conference that ballboys have never traveled with the team.

A third man, Zach Tomaselli, who faces sexual assault charges in Maine involving a 14-year-old boy, said Sunday he told police last week that Fine molested him in 2002 in a Pittsburgh hotel room. Also on Sunday, ESPN played an audiotape, obtained and recorded by Davis, of an October 2002 telephone conversation between him and Fine's wife, Laurie. ESPN said it hired a voice recognition expert to verify the voice on the tape and the network said it was determined to be that of Laurie Fine.

During the call to the woman, Davis repeatedly asks her what she knew about the alleged molestation and she says she knew "everything that went on."

"My heart goes out to the families. I have no comment about the Fine situation or the Boeheim situation," former Syracuse star Carmelo Anthony said. "That's a sensitive situation, a sensitive topic right now that I don't even want to go into."

Cantor stressed the university is working with authorities.

"We've been very straightforward and candid about this whole process," she said. "We've gone through our due diligence when things came up, and we felt it was important both for Bernie Fine and for the university to move forward."

The chancellor has previously acknowledged that a man, now known to be Davis, contacted the school in 2005 with allegations against Fine. The school, which did not contact police, conducted its own investigation at that time but was unable to find any corroboration of the allegations. The university has turned over the results of the inquiry to the DA's office and has retained an independent law firm to review their procedures and response to those 2005 allegations.

The U.S. Attorney's Office and the U.S. Secret Service have taken the lead in the current investigation.

And Fowler said Syracuse police will change their procedures moving forward.

"I was not the chief in 2002 and I cannot change the procedures in place at that time or the way this matter was then handled," Fowler said in the statement. "But what I can and will do as chief today is ensure that moving forward all reports of sexual abuse are formally documented."

In an interview with the AP, Fowler said he wouldn't be notified about all sex abuse allegations. But in a high-profile case like the Fine investigation: "I'm very confident I would know about it. I'm sure it would be brought to my immediate attention."

The chief also said the department only notifies the district attorney when an arrest is made, not during the investigation phase. Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick has been sharply critical of the police for not sharing the information from the 2002 allegations or from the current investigation.

Fowler has ordered a review of all department policies regarding sexual abuse allegations made over the phone and will make changes if needed. A phone database now logs every call the department receives.

He gave this account of what the department knew, and when of the 2002 allegations:

? A local attorney called Det. Doug Fox of the Syracuse Police Department's Abused Persons Unit in 2002 to say that he'd be getting a call from a woman, now known to be Davis' friend Danielle Roach, who wanted to discuss a sexual abuse case.

? Several weeks later, Roach called Fox and said Fine had sexually abused her friend. Fox told her to tell her friend to contact him directly. About a month later, he called the detective from Utah. In what Fowler described as a brief conversation, Davis said Fine had sexually abused him while growing up and that the abuse had occurred at least 12 years earlier.

? Fox told him the statute of limitations had expired, so he couldn't make an arrest. Fox told Davis that if he wanted to meet in person or if he was aware of any current victims, he wanted Davis to share additional information. The two never met face to face.

? Fox notified his supervisor, and they decided that unless Davis met with the detective or provided names of other victims, then no investigation would be started. No formal report was prepared.

? Several months later, in 2003, the department received an inquiry from the Syracuse Post-Standard newspaper as to whether an investigation had been conducted on Fine. The Post Standard was informed no investigation had taken place.

Fowler said the police department never met in person with any possible victim until Nov. 17 of this year and began its ongoing investigation on that day.

On that same day, Fowler said, the university handed over results of an internal 2005 investigation into sexual abuse charges against Fine; this was the first time Syracuse police learned of that inquiry.

___

Associated Press Writer Michael Hill in Syracuse contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-11-29-Syracuse-Fine%20Investigation/id-125ebe79e02a438081aef4be7b2c5836

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It's All Fun and Games Until Someone's iPhone Blows Up (The Atlantic Wire)

An iPhone 4 mysteriously, spontaneously combusted on an airplane in Australia on Monday, less than a 24 hours after?The New York Times?published an?attention-getting article?suggesting the Federal Aviation Administration?might be going overboard?in their fear of gadgets on planes.?

Related: The Fallout from Foxconn's Deadly Explosion

Of course, the link between Monday's exploding phone incident in Australia and Sunday's?Times?piece -- which was focused on the FAA policy of requiring powering down devices for take-offs and landings?-- is nothing but an unfortunate coincidence. The statistics cited by The Times cited statistics ?"in 2010, no crashes were attributed to people using technology on a plane. None were in 2009. Or 2008, 2007 and so on" ??remain the same. And similarly, the incredibly rare phenomenon of exploding iPhones is not new. Apparently?it's an issue with the phone overheating, causing the lithium battery to combust. (We've embedded some videos below.) But the in-flight explosion does show a bit of the reasoning behind the ban: cell phones are new; there are lots of them out there; and no one can be 100 percent sure what they will do.

Related: Apple Products That Steve Jobs Fans Love the Most

Details of the exploding phone incident are pretty vague so far.?A media release from the airline reports that "Regional Express (Rex) flight ZL319 operating from Lismore to Sydney today had an occurrence after landing, when a passenger?s mobile phone started emitting a significant amount of dense smoke accompanied by a red glow." It does specify that the "mobile phone in question appears to be an Apple iPhone." The accompanying photo (above left) appears to most definitely confirm that detail.

Related: The Cool New Apple Products Steve Jobs Unveiled Today

Since flying shards of glass from exploding iPhones have cause injuries in the past, we'd expect the F.A.A. not to bend on their "err on the side of caution" rule anytime soon. Regardless of the location, situation or relevant regulations, iPhone should not explode. We're sure that spontaneous combustion most definitely falls outside of Steve Jobs's idea of perfection, when it comes to Apple devices.

Related: Siri Is an Impossible Dream on Older iPhones

Related: iPhone Location Tracking Gets Worse: Apple Saves the Data

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/applecomputer/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/atlantic/20111128/tc_atlantic/itsallfunandgamesuntilsomeonesiphoneblows45472

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Officials in Brussels say Eurozone finance ministers have approved ...

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

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Jaguars owner agrees to sell team to Illinois businessman (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Jacksonville Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver has reached an agreement to sell the National Football League (NFL) team to Pakistani-born businessman Shahid Khan.

The sale of the Jaguars, who earlier on Tuesday announced that head coach Jack Del Rio has been fired, is subject to the approval of the NFL and its team owners.

"Shahid Khan is a great American success story and he will be an outstanding owner for this franchise and for this community," Weaver said at a news conference.

Khan, who last year tried to buy the NFL's St. Louis Rams, heads Illinois-based automobile parts manufacturer Flex-N-Gate, which employs over 12,000 people at 57 facilities in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Spain and Argentina, with annual sales exceeding $3 billion.

The Jaguars, who are 3-8 this season and eliminated from playoff contention, have a league-low estimated value of $725 million according to a Forbes study published in September.

"Owning a team in the National Football League has long been my personal and professional goal," said Khan, who came to the United States from Pakistan in 1967 at the age of 16.

"Becoming the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars would be a dream come true for me and my family."

Jaguars' chairman and chief executive Weaver and his partners had owned the team since 1993 when they won an expansion franchise for Jacksonville.

The team's loss on Sunday was followed by a decision on Tuesday to fire longtime coach Del Rio, who was 11 games into his ninth season with the NFL team.

(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Salvo, North Carolina; Editing by Frank Pingue)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111129/sp_nm/us_nfl_jaguars_sale

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Srk is happy to be a Don

Be it jumping off the elevated ledges or performing some death- defying stunts, Shahrukh Khan is enjoying being a Don. The actor who will be seen in Farhan Akhtar?s ?Don- The Chase Continues? has stepped out of his boundaries and has got to do all those things which he usually stays away from. ?Doing a [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/newslatest/~3/zx5_qFlwtFs/8618.html

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Ringling circus agrees to $270K fine by USDA (AP)

VIENNA, Va. ? VIENNA, Virginia (AP) ? The owner of the Ringling Bros. circus has agreed to pay a $270,000 fine to settle allegations that it violated federal animal-welfare laws in its handling of elephants, tigers, zebras and other exotic animals.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the civil penalty announced Monday is the largest ever assessed against an animal exhibitor under the Animal Welfare Act.

Vienna-based Feld Entertainment, which owns the circus and other well-known acts such as Disney on Ice, said it does not admit to violating the law and agreed to the settlement as a cost of doing business to resolve its differences with the USDA.

"We look forward to working with the USDA in a cooperative and transparent manner that meets our shared goal of ensuring that our animals are healthy and receive the highest quality care," said a statement released by Kenneth Feld, chief executive officer of Feld Entertainment.

In inspection reports from 2007 through this year, inspectors said circus handlers made elephants perform when they were ill and used the same wheelbarrows to feed meat to tigers and haul away their waste, among other allegations.

An inspection report from August alleged that a 35-year-old female Asian elephant, Banko, was forced to perform at a show in Los Angeles despite a diagnosis of sand colic and observations that she appeared to be suffering abdominal discomfort. Circus officials told the inspectors that separating Banko from the performing elephants would have been even more distressing to her.

The inspection reports also cited splintered floors and rusted cages used to contain big cats such as tigers, and an incident in March 2008 where two zebras briefly got loose from their enclosure at 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore. In 2010, another zebra escaped its enclosures in Atlanta and had to be captured by area law enforcement, according to the reports.

Feld spokesman Steve Payne said that, generally, the circus has seen an increase in recent years in inspections not only by the USDA but also by state and local regulators. He said that from June to September, one of the circus' traveling units was inspected 82 times by 18 different agencies.

"We're highly regulated. We accept that regulation. We embrace it," Payne said.

Norfolk-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which has filed numerous complaints with USDA against the circus, especially for its handling of elephants, said the fine is a good first step. But it called on the government to confiscate the elephants.

"What remains to be done is for the public to be made aware of this history of abuse so that people will know to keep their children away from the circus," PETA said.

As part of the settlement, Ringling also agreed to hire a compliance officer who will ensure that all employees follow the rules outlined in the Animal Welfare Act. All employees who handle animals will also have to undergo compliance training.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111128/ap_on_bi_ge/us_ringling_fine

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No. 4 UConn men defeat No. 22 Florida State in overtime

PARADISE ISLAND, BAHAMAS -- As Ryan Boatright watched UConn's 17-point lead against UCF melt away on Friday afternoon, the helplessness he'd felt throughout the early season sunk in a bit deeper.

"There was just nothing I could do about it," he said.

Boatright was on the bench in street clothes, waiting and waiting for the remaining day on his six-game suspension to finally pass by.

Shortly after UConn's collapse officially went down as a loss, Boatright tweeted, "I'm so sick right now." It's a word he used to describe the suspension as a whole. There wasn't a low-point; the duration of the entire thing was just a drag. He said he'd feel "sick" whenever the Huskies put on their jerseys and he kept on his Polo and khakis.

On Saturday, in his first career game, Ryan Boatright had the cure for the Huskies.

The freshman guard rescued UConn from another late-game fiasco (this one wouldn't have been nearly as catastrophic as Friday's) as he delivered three clutch free throws that forced overtime and led UConn to a dramatic 78-76 victory against No. 22 Florida State in the Battle 4 Atlantis consolation game.

With 7.3 seconds remaining in regulation and the Huskies trailing 71-68, Boatright was fouled by Florida State's Jeff Peterson on a 3-pointer from the right wing. He said he "knew he was going to hit the first two," it was the third he was worried about. That one, too, found the bottom of the net.

Afterwards, Calhoun said he's had "very few players ever" (and he emphasized ever) capable of hitting those three in that moment.

"Honestly, I don't think I would have made all three when I was a freshman," said point guard Shabazz Napier, who scored a game-high 26 points and hit six 3-pointers.

As brilliant as Napier was, he missed the front end of a one-and-one when the game was tied, 65-65, with 2:18 remaining. From there, the momentum swung to Florida State. Michael Snaer, who scored a team-high 20 points, sank 5-of-6 free throws in the final two minutes.

UConn's Andre Drummond was dominant around the basket -- he totaled 12 points, 10 boards and seven blocks -- but at crunch time, he looked like a freshman. Drummond went 1-for-4 from the line in the final minute and suffered a detrimental miscommunication with Napier, resulting in a turnover that appeared to have sealed UConn's fate with 19 seconds to go.

The Noles gave UConn life, however, when Okaro White missed a free that could have put Florida State ahead by four.

The Huskies got the ball back trailing 71-68, and Boatright, composed as a senior playing in his 100th game, made the most crucial free throws of the year in his first.

"You almost have to know him, not too many things really, really bother him," Calhoun said.

Boatright scored UConn's first basket in overtime and found Napier with 1:08 remaining for a 3-pointer that would end up being the last basket for either team.

"Boatright came back probably one game too quick," Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton jokingly said. "Wish he could have stayed in Connecticut."

Now, UConn heads back to Storrs with a 2-1 record in the tournament and, as Calhoun said, a signature win over a ranked team. Perhaps most importantly, when another mini-collapse seemed certain -- UConn trailed for only 1:37 in regulation and held a double-digit lead with 11 minutes to play -- the Huskies didn't fold.

"When we started losing the lead again like yesterday, when we got in the huddle, I just told everybody, `We can't let this happen again,'" Boatright said.

As you'd suspect, he's no longer feeling "sick:" A 14-point performance on 4-for-7 shooting -- in a big-time win -- will turn things around.

He's part of the "big picture," Napier said.

"He's a "Diaper Dandy!" Jeremy Lamb exclaimed when Boatright entered the interview room.

"I'm just proud of my kids -- that was a great performance," Calhoun said. "Our two freshmen certainly make UConn feel pretty healthy about itself going forward."

Source: http://www.newstimes.com/uconn/article/No-4-UConn-men-defeat-No-22-Florida-State-in-2293935.php

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Astros fire GM Wade and president Smith (AP)

HOUSTON ? The Houston Astros fired general manager Ed Wade and team president Tal Smith on Sunday night in the first of the changes promised by new owner Jim Crane.

The moves come less than a week after the sale of the team from Drayton McLane to Crane was officially completed last Tuesday, a transaction that requires the franchise to move from the NL Central to the AL West in 2013.

In a news conference on the day owners approved the sale on Nov. 17, Crane vowed to meet with all the executives and "make some very, very quick adjustments."

And he did, with the Astros announcing the moves late Sunday night in a statement from new team president and chief executive officer George Postolos.

"With the change in ownership, we would like a fresh start in baseball operations," Postolos said. "We have told Ed Wade and Tal Smith that we are making a change."

The search for a new general manager will begin immediately. Assistant general manager Dave Gottfried will serve as interim GM, but will not be considered for the permanent job.

Postolos said the Astros want a candidate who has a strong commitment to player development necessary for long-term success.

"Our goal is to consistently compete for a championship, and we know the first step towards that goal is to develop one of the top farm systems in baseball," Postolos said. "We will hire the best candidate available to achieve our goal."

Wade was hired in September 2007 after spending the previous two years as a professional scout for the San Diego Padres. He was the general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies from 1998 until he was fired after the 2005 season.

The Astros made a 13-game improvement in Wade's first season as general manager and finished 86-75. But that would be their only winning season under Wade as they won 74 games in 2009 and 76 in 2010 before posting this year's franchise-worst mark of 56-106.

In the last two years Wade traded away stars such Lance Berkman, Michael Bourn, Roy Oswalt and Hunter Pence for mostly young prospects, saying he had "inherited a pretty barren farm system" that he had to replenish.

Smith, who has been team president since 1994, has spent more than 50 years as a baseball executive and more than 30 of those years have been with the Astros. He worked for the franchise in its first season in 1962 when the team was known as the Houston Colt .45s and remained in Houston until 1972.

He spent some time working for the Yankees before returning as general manager of the Astros from 1975-80.

Smith's input was key in the development of both the Astrodome and Minute Maid Park. A small hill in center field at Minute Maid Park is known as Tal's Hill as a nod to his work on the project.

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

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Monday Morning Open Thread: Call for Calendar Pet Pics (Balloon Juice)

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

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Rachel Sklar: Holiday Shopping: Get Your XX On! (Huffington post)

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NASA launches super-size rover to Mars: 'Go, Go!' (AP)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. ? The world's biggest extraterrestrial explorer, NASA's Curiosity rover, rocketed toward Mars on Saturday on a search for evidence that the red planet might once have been home to itsy-bitsy life.

It will take 8 1/2 months for Curiosity to reach Mars following a journey of 354 million miles.

An unmanned Atlas V rocket hoisted the rover, officially known as Mars Science Laboratory, into a cloudy late morning sky. A Mars frenzy gripped the launch site, with more than 13,000 guests jamming the space center for NASA's first launch to Earth's next-door neighbor in four years, and the first send-off of a Martian rover in eight years.

NASA astrobiologist Pan Conrad, whose carbon compound-seeking instrument is on the rover, had a shirt custom made for the occasion. Her bright blue, short-sleeve blouse was emblazoned with rockets, planets and the words, "Next stop Mars!"

Conrad jumped, cheered and snapped pictures as the rocket blasted off a few miles away. So did Los Alamos National Laboratory's Roger Wiens, a planetary scientist in charge of Curiosity's rock-zapping laser machine, called ChemCam.

Wiens shouted "Go, Go, Go!" as the rocket soared. "It was beautiful," he later observed, just as NASA declared the launch a full success.

The 1-ton Curiosity ? as large as a car ? is a mobile, nuclear-powered laboratory holding 10 science instruments that will sample Martian soil and rocks, and analyze them right on the spot. There's a drill as well as the laser-zapping device.

It's "really a rover on steroids," said NASA's Colleen Hartman, assistant associate administrator for science. "It's an order of magnitude more capable than anything we have ever launched to any planet in the solar system."

The primary goal of the $2.5 billion mission is to see whether cold, dry, barren Mars might have been hospitable for microbial life once upon a time ? or might even still be conducive to life now. No actual life detectors are on board; rather, the instruments will hunt for organic compounds.

Curiosity's 7-foot arm has a jackhammer on the end to drill into the Martian red rock, and the 7-foot mast on the rover is topped with high-definition and laser cameras. No previous Martian rover has been so sophisticated or capable.

With Mars the ultimate goal for astronauts, NASA also will use Curiosity to measure radiation at the red planet. The rover also has a weather station on board that will provide temperature, wind and humidity readings; a computer software app with daily weather updates is planned.

The world has launched more than three dozen missions to the ever-alluring Mars, which is more like Earth than the other solar-system planets. Yet fewer than half those quests have succeeded.

Just two weeks ago, a Russian spacecraft ended up stuck in orbit around Earth, rather than en route to the Martian moon Phobos.

"Mars really is the Bermuda Triangle of the solar system," Hartman said. "It's the death planet, and the United States of America is the only nation in the world that has ever landed and driven robotic explorers on the surface of Mars, and now we're set to do it again."

Curiosity's arrival next August will be particularly hair-raising.

In a spacecraft first, the rover will be lowered onto the Martian surface via a jet pack and tether system similar to the sky cranes used to lower heavy equipment into remote areas on Earth.

Curiosity is too heavy to use air bags like its much smaller predecessors, Spirit and Opportunity, did in 2004. Besides, this new way should provide for a more accurate landing.

Astronauts will need to make similarly precise landings on Mars one day.

Curiosity will spend a minimum of two years roaming around Gale Crater, chosen as the landing site because it's rich in minerals. Scientists said if there is any place on Mars that might have been ripe for life, it would be there.

"I like to say it's extraterrestrial real estate appraisal," Conrad said with a chuckle earlier in the week.

The rover ? 10 feet long and 9 feet wide ? should be able to go farther and work harder than any previous Mars explorer because of its power source: 10.6 pounds of radioactive plutonium. The nuclear generator was encased in several protective layers in case of a launch accident.

NASA expects to put at least 12 miles on the odometer, once the rover sets down on the Martian surface.

This is the third astronomical mission to be launched from Cape Canaveral by NASA since the retirement of the venerable space shuttle fleet this summer. The Juno probe is en route to Jupiter, and twin spacecraft named Grail will arrive at Earth's moon on New Year's Eve and Day.

NASA hails this as the year of the solar system.

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Online:

NASA: http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111126/ap_on_sc/us_sci_mars_rover

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