Santa Ana Winds Topple Trees, Knock Out Power For Thousands In Southern California

LOS ANGELES ? Some of the most powerful Santa Ana winds in years ripped through Southern California, causing diverted and delayed flights, toppling trees and power lines, and knocking out power to thousands.

The strongest winds were expected early Thursday into Friday with damaging wind gusts of 80 mph or greater through mountain passes and 60 mph or greater in coastal and valley locations, the National Weather Service said.

A wind gust of 97 mph was recorded Wednesday night at Whitaker Peak in Los Angeles County, according to the weather service.

Twenty-three flights were diverted and several delayed at Los Angeles International airport, officials said.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said about 20 diverted flights were sent to Ontario Intgernational Airport in Riverside County Wednesday because of severe crosswinds and two runways were closed due to strewn debris.

"Aircraft are now landing regularly. All four runways are now open and the winds have died down," said Gregor. "We're starting to bring the Ontario diversions into LAX, and are cautiously optimistic the worst wind conditions are behind us ? for now."

Still, the airport said later that 10 airlines were reporting delays in both arriving and departing flights, while three international flights had been diverted.

Lights went out in the passenger terminals and on surrounding roads for about an hour Wednesday evening, causing flight and road traffic delays, airport spokeswoman Nancy Castles said.

SoCal Edison spokeswoman Vanessa McGrady said some 14,200 customers experienced power outages at some point Wednesday night ? some for as little as 30 seconds. Some of the cities affected include Culver City, Pasadena, Ridgecrest, El Segundo and Rancho Palos Verdes.

About 1,100 customers in west Los Angeles reported power outages, City News Service reported. Traffic lights weren't working at some busy intersections.

Surrounding neighborhoods of Westchester and Playa del Rey were also affected, said Los Angeles Department of Water and Power spokeswoman Maychelle Yee. The utility did not have an exact number of homes affected.

The Santa Ana winds are generated during cooler months when westward flowing currents reach fierce speeds as they squeeze through mountain ranges of Southern California, lowering humidity and making vegetation susceptible to fire.

A red flag warning of high fire danger was in effect beginning Wednesday night due to low humidity and strong winds. The Los Angeles Fire Department said it was boosted staffing.

The fire department said it battled winds up to 80 mph to put out a two acre grass fire on the grounds near Occidental College.

Spokesman Brian Humphrey said police evacuated some people before the department arrived and he didn't have details.

Both air and ground crews fought the blaze before putting it out in just less than two hours.

There were no reports of injury or damage to buildings.

Winds blew down trees in many areas, damaging a car in the Miracle Mile neighborhood of Los Angeles, where AM radio station KNX1070 lost power to its transmitter and took to streaming online only.

Another felled tree damaged a home in a neighborhood north of Beverly Hills.

Power was out through the Marina Peninsula and beach areas of Venice, including the pier. Some area restaurants remained open using candlelight and flashlights.

Homes also lost power in Laurel Canyon, the community tucked into the hollows of hills between Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/01/santa-ana-winds-power-outages_n_1122522.html

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A little perspective about redistricting (Offthekuff)

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Obama road trip: from payroll tax to campaign cash (AP)

WASHINGTON ? One trip, two money pitches. President Barack Obama wants more money in the pockets of U.S. workers ? and in his campaign treasury.

With both goals in mind, the president was to travel Wednesday to swing-state Pennsylvania to press his case for a bigger temporary payroll tax cut that will boost paychecks. He then will descend on donor-rich New York City to raise money for his already flush re-election bid.

The one-day trip to Scranton, Pa., and New York illustrates the dual policy and political demands on Obama as the 2012 campaign season nears. It also draws attention to the different audiences that politicians must court, particularly in a weak economy.

Obama is pushing Congress to extend and expand this year's payroll tax cut, a move designed to increase consumer demand and boost the economy. If Congress does not act by year's end, the full payroll tax of 6.2 percent would be restored, increasing taxes on 160 million Americans.

As the deadline approaches, bipartisan political support is building for at least continuing the tax cut ? heading off a politically bruising tax hike. But Obama wants the cost of the payroll tax cut to be made up by an increase in taxes on taxpayers who earn more than $1 million, a trade-off that Republicans reject.

In selecting Scranton to make his appeal, Obama is venturing into the birthplace of Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bob Casey, the Pennsylvania Democrat who is the author of the payroll tax cut plan in the Senate.

The White House said Obama would meet with a Scranton family in their home before delivering a speech at Scranton High School.

Obama won Pennsylvania with 54 percent of the vote in 2008, but the state of the economy could put it in play in 2012. Its proximity to Washington and its political importance have made it a favorite stopping place for Obama and Biden. The trip comes as Obama steps up his re-election campaign, rolling out two ads that call on supporters to begin to mobilize.

White House spokesman Jay Carney, while conceding that the re-election effort is under way, played down politics as a factor in Obama's Scranton visit.

"It's part of his responsibility, serving the American people, to get out and be among them and to speak with them about his agenda or her agenda," he said.

In New York, Obama will attend three fundraisers: one at a private residence where tickets begin at $10,000; one at the Greenwich Village restaurant Gotham Bar and Grill at $35,800 per ticket; and a reception at the Sheraton Hotel, where tickets begin at $1,000. The money will be split between the Democratic National Committee and the Obama re-election campaign.

Obama also is scheduled to attend a reception celebrating progress on gay rights and the six-month anniversary of New York's approval of gay marriage. Obama has been supportive of gay and lesbian causes but has yet to declare his support for gay marriage.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111130/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama

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Romney Reels in Cuban-American Trio (TIME)

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Freed US man wins Aruba appeal

ORANJESTAD, Aruba?? A U.S. businessman who spent nearly four months in an Aruban jail before a judge ordered his release scored another legal victory Wednesday when an appeals court rejected a prosecution appeal to put him back in pretrial detention, his lawyer said Wednesday.

The three-judge appeals court on the Dutch Caribbean island upheld the lower court ruling that prosecutors had insufficient evidence to continue holding Gary Giordano as a suspect in the disappearance and presumed death of his traveling companion, Robyn Gardner, said defense attorney Chris Lejuez.

The ruling came hours after Giordano left the island. Prosecutors had said they intended to seek his extradition if they win their appeal. Under the Aruban system, prosecutors would have to bring the 50-year-old from Gaithersburg, Maryland, to trial if they hope to pursue a case against him.

"There is no more appeals," Lejuez said. "If they want him behind bars now they would have to start a court case against him ... They have to charge him and take his case to court and they have years to do that."

The defense attorney said he expects the case will go no further.

"The truth is, as I showed the judges today, there is no evidence whatsoever against him, nothing, zero," he said. "So, I don't think this case will go to court."

Prosecutors say they will continue the investigation and under Dutch law they have up to three years to continue to purse leads against Giordano and press charges, NBC News reported.

Aruban law allows pretrial detention while authorities investigate a crime, but it is subject to a judge's review and the threshold of evidence necessary to hold someone increases as times goes on. A judge ruled last week that prosecutors had not met the requirement and ordered the release of Giordano. He had been in custody since Aug. 5, three days after reporting to police that Gardner disappeared while snorkeling. Her body has not been found.

The case has been compared to that of Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway, who disappeared on Aruba in May 2005 on the last night of her high school graduation trip to the island. Her body was also never found and the prime suspect was detained for months before he was eventually released for lack of evidence.

Giordano was released from jail on Tuesday night and took the first flight to the U.S. He flew to Miami and then headed to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport in the company of his U.S. attorney, Jose Baez, who won an acquittal for Florida mother Casey Anthony in her murder trial earlier this year.

NBC News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45496675/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

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PFT: Jaguars sold, then extend GM 3 years

Reuters

1. Packers (No. 1; 11-0):? Any sounds you hear coming from South Florida won?t be coming from a cork leaving a bottle of champagne.

2. Ravens (No. 6; 8-3):? Given their history of stumbling against bad teams, the next four ?easy? games could be the hardest on the schedule.

3. Steelers (No. 3; 8-3):? The Steelers nearly experienced ?choke-like symptoms? on Sunday night.

4. Patriots (No. 4; 8-3):? The Pats are playing just well enough to fail to fulfill the expectations they?ll create in December.

5.? Saints (No. 5; 8-3):? They?ll be fine until they have to play on the road in the postseason.

6.? 49ers (No. 2; 9-2):? Unless and until the 49ers lose in January, Jim Harbaugh likely won?t be rooting for his brother in the playoffs

7. Texans (No. 9; 8-3):? Wins in the playoffs could be hard to come by without a quarterback who has some playoff experience.

8. Cowboys (No. 11; 7-4):? If the Cowboys keep it up, Tony Romo will have a chance to commit another game-altering turnover in January.

9. Raiders (No. 12; 7-4):? Forget Carson Palmer and Darren McFadden; Shane Lechler and Sebastian Janikowski could be the keys to a deep postseason run for the Raiders.

10. Bears (No. 7; 7-4):? Caleb Hanie?s hiney soon will be back on the bench.

11. Falcons (No. 13; 7-4):? They need to develop a killer instinct if they want to make it back to the playoffs.

12. Lions (No. 8; 7-4):? In fairness to Suh, no one ever specifically told him that stomping was frowned upon.

13. Bengals (No. 14; 7-4):? In the first NFL season since 1997 without T.O. and Randy Moss, the Bengals have a wideout who could be better than both of them.

14. Broncos (No. 15; 6-5):? Tebowmania will be very dangerous in a single-elimination tournament.

15. Jets (No. 16; 6-5):? Beating the Bills was, ultimately, the equivalent of delaying the inevitable.

16. Titans (No. 17; 6-5):? If Chris Johnson without his burst can rush for 190 yards, he could go for 400 yards once he can explode again.

17. Giants (No. 10; 6-5):? Bill Cowher?s plans are about to change.

18. Eagles (No. 18; 4-7):? DeSean Jackson dropped that pass because he prematurely launched into his ?hide under the bed? touchdown celebration.

19. Seahawks (No. 19; 4-7):? The 12th man apparently took a day off.

20. Buccaneers (No. 20; 4-7):? The ?toughest . . . schedule . . . ever? excuse went out the window in Nashville.

21. Bills (No. 21; 5-6):? So if Stevie Johnson had scored a touchdown against the Eagles, would he have gotten on all fours and barked like a dog?

22. Cardinals (No. 26; 4-7):? This team may not be as far away from contending as it appears.

23. Chiefs (No. 22; 4-7):? This team may not be as far away from contending as it appears.

24. Chargers (No. 23; 4-7):? This team may not be as far away from contending as it appears.

25. Dolphins (No. 24; 3-8):? This team may not be as far away from contending as it appears.

26. Browns (No. 25; 4-7):? And the streak ends at four.

27. Panthers (No. 29; 3-8):? Cam Newton had flashbacks to the national title game, given that his opponents in Indy were roughly as good as the 2010 Oregon team.

28. Redskins (No. 30; 4-7):? Back-to-back home games against the Jets and Patriots could make or break Mike Shanahan for 2012.

29. Jaguars (No. 27; 3-8):? Though it?s not clear who the next coach will be, it?s safe to say the next coach will have no offers to coach other NFL teams.

30. Vikings (No. 28; 2-9):? So if the Vikings have another 3-13 season, does Bud Grant come back again?

31. Rams (No. 31; 2-9):? Is it possible for the offensive rookie of the year to become a bust?

32. Colts (No. 32; 0-11):? ?If we fire the defensive coordinator, maybe people won?t think we?re trying to get the first pick in the draft.?

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/11/29/jaguars-extend-g-m-gene-smith-three-years/related/

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RolePlayGateway?

So this is how it goes
Well I, I would have never known
And if it ends today
I'll still say that you shine brighter than anyone

I'll wave goodbye
Watching you shine bright.

Welcome. Are you like us?
No?

I suppose I should explain.

My name is Shannon. Yes, like the river. Anyway, I'm one of the last. One of the last hum- people on earth.

See, I nearly said human. But I'm not entirely human anymore. The humans were wiped out by a freak virus. Animals and plants were left unaffected. If the virus didn't kill you, it would make you stronger. But less human. A lot less human.

If you were going to survive, you still got the symptoms. The worst was probably the coughing. You could cough all night and be a sore as hell the next morning. I won't give you the gory details. But if you were going to survive, you would get a really bad rash. It didn't itch, but it hurt. You would ache all over. The rash would eventually fade, but your skin would glow. It's not that obvious in daylight, but we glow like anything in the night. There's no such thing as darkness when we're around.

And we are unique. We can mutate into an animal. One animal. It glows too. And for some unknown reason, we also have the control of one element, which we can use in either form.

Water And The Cheetah.

Fire And The Eagle.

Air and The Wolf.

Earth And The Bear.

Light And The Snake.

After a lot of searching, we managed to find each other. We began to set up a new city. It took a long time. But now...

It's complete. And it glows.

Like us.

But we discovered that we're not alone. There are people who are less human than us. If that's possible. They slink around in the outskirts of our town, never quite able to get into the light of our city.

The smart one worked it out that that's why we glow. It's to repel the Lurkers as we call them. But the Lurkers seem drawn to our light, even though it makes them weaker, and if we glow too brightly, we can kill them. The Lurkers have unknown powers. And they seem... darker than regular humans.

We swore that we would stay away.

But will we be able to stay away? And will the lure of our light be too much for the Lurkers?

The Bear is still free. The Snake may be free, I'll post an update here if it is. The Eagle hasn't posted since she was accepted, so she may be dropping out. Again, I'll update you here.

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/RolePlayGateway

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