Carpenter paves way for Cards in Series finale (AP)

ST. LOUIS ? The Cardinals gave the ball to their ace. On short rest, Chris Carpenter paved the way in the World Series finale.

The 36-year-old Carpenter was his usual stingy self on short rest in Game 7. Emphasizing breaking balls after a shaky start, the right-hander shut down the Texas Rangers' dangerous in a 6-2 victory that gave St. Louis its second championship in six seasons.

Manager Tony La Russa discussed the move with pitching coach Dave Duncan on Friday morning after getting a few hours of sleep following the Cardinals' dramatic Game 6 victory.

"I said 'How about the alternatives?'" La Russa said on the field after Game 7. "`He said, 'Are you kidding? It's Chris Carpenter.' And he hung up on me."

Though just an 11-game winner this year, the 2005 NL Cy Young Award winner was 10-2 in the second half. He stayed on a roll in the postseason, going 4-0 with wins in Games 1 and 7 against Texas.

"He's always been our horse," general manager John Mozeliak said. "We knew we'd ride him."

A rainout on Wednesday gave Carpenter a shot to start on three days' rest for just the second time in his career in Game 7 ? and the second time this postseason. He allowed two runs in six-plus innings.

"Obviously it's not my decision, it's Tony's, but I was hoping to have an opportunity to go ahead and pitch," Carpenter said. "Fortunately, it worked out." Carpenter had a 2.84 ERA in the World Series. He has nine postseason victories, extending his franchise record.

____

BULLPEN GO-ROUND: The Cardinals used a record 75 relief pitchers in 18 postseason games, 13 more than the Giants used in 17 games in 2002.

The Rangers also bettered the previous record with 70 relievers used, although the bullpen was not their strength in the World Series. Manager Ron Washington doesn't know why.

"I wish they would have continued to be dominant," Washington said. "I wish I did have the answer. I don't. You know, those are the guys that got us here, and those guys were in position to take us further, and it didn't get done.

"And that's it."

____

MAC ATTACK: Mark McGwire won a World Series ring with the "Bash Brothers" in Oakland. Now, he has one as a batting coach.

"It's really cool," he said.

Big Mac has been the man behind the scenes the last two seasons for St. Louis' hard-hitting lineup. The feeling of being with a winner? "Phenomenal," he said.

"You dream about it as a kid," McGwire explained. "I never dreamed about it being a coach, but it's even more special because I really understand what this game's all about."

McGwire was a 25-year-old slugger with the Athletics in 1989, when he had 35 homers and 95 RBIs to help them win the World Series title. He was reunited with manager Tony La Russa in St. Louis after spending several years away from the game.

The Cardinals hired McGwire as their hitting coach after the 2009 season, and the following January he admitted using steroids when he was a player.

After the Cardinals beat Texas 6-2 in Game 7 on Friday night, he couldn't stop talking about the team's improbable run to a championship.

"I don't think you can write a script like this," McGwire said. "It's never been done before. To come from 10 1/2 games back the last week of August and win the World Series is incredible."

___

BIG BAT OFF THE BENCH: The injury to slugger Matt Holliday that kept him out of Game 7 was but a minor concern for the Cardinals.

They had the perfect replacement.

Allen Craig had a better September than Holliday ? and a better October, too. Stepping in after Holliday was taken off the World Series roster with a bruised right wrist, the 27-year-old Craig had the go-ahead hit Friday night with his fourth homer of the postseason and saved a run with a leaping catch at the left field wall that robbed Nelson Cruz of a homer.

St. Louis took the title with a 6-2 victory over Texas in Game 7.

"Home run was nice. Catch was better. I've never done that before," Craig said.

In Game 6, Craig stepped in after Holliday was hurt diving back to third while getting picked off and homered in the eighth to fuel the first of two comebacks in the Cardinals' wild 10-9, 11-inning victory.

Craig was one of the team's most productive hitters in the World Series, with three homers and five RBIs.

"I wish everybody in the country could get to know these guys," he said. "It's unbelievable. I'm just glad to be a part of it."

Craig made only 47 starts during an injury-plagued regular season but was productive whenever he got the chance, batting .315 and elevating his game with a .327 average over the final month.

Holliday, hindered by injuries down the stretch, batted .254 in September. He was 3 for 19 (.158) in the World Series with no RBIs.

___

BERKMAN'S BIG SERIES: Lance Berkman was supposedly on the decline, his best years behind him, his big chance to win a championship with the New York Yankees spoiled and spent.

The St. Louis Cardinals disagreed.

Signed to an $8 million, one-year deal in the offseason, Berkman repaid the Cardinals for their faith during a scintillating postseason run. They capped it off Friday night, beating Texas 6-2 in Game 7 for their 11th World Series championship.

"It's hard to put it into words," Berkman said. "It's exhilarating. The fans make it more exciting. This is the greatest team I've ever played on."

The 35-year-old Berkman batted .423 with a homer and five RBIs during the Series, including a tying single in the 10th inning of Game 6 that kept St. Louis alive. David Freese ended up winning it with his homer leading off the 11th, sending the wild, back-and-forth Series to one more game.

In his typical, affable nature, Berkman brushed off the critical hit.

"If you don't come through right there, it's only one at-bat and it's over with. They might talk about it for a couple of days," he reasoned. "If you come through, it's the greatest."

"Plus, you've built an account of coming through," Berkman added. "So, if I don't come through in Game 7, I can be like, 'Well, I came through in Game 6!'"

His entire team came through in Game 7.

___

ALL IN: The Rangers' potent lineup was intact for Game 7 of the World Series. It just didn't do much.

Nelson Cruz was in right field and Mike Napoli was behind the plate against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night. Both were banged up in Game 6, and together they were 1 for 8 with a single.

Cruz strained his right groin after flying out in the 11th inning of Game 6. Napoli was banged up earlier in Game 6 when he slid awkwardly into second base, catching his left foot in the dirt and tumbling over the bag.

___

CODE BLUE: Rangers closer Neftali Feliz was available for Game 7 despite blowing the save in the ninth inning the previous night, costing Texas a chance to wrap up the series. He did not pitch.

Feliz struck out Ryan Theriot to start the ninth in Game 6, but Albert Pujols doubled to left and Lance Berkman drew a walk. Feliz rebounded to strike out Allen Craig, and David Freese was down to his final strike, before he hit a tying, two-run triple to right field.

Manager Ron Washington said he wasn't concerned with Feliz's psyche Friday night.

"He's very stable. We certainly didn't have to put a respirator on him. We didn't have to shock his heart back," Washington said. "In this game, there will be days when you don't have good days, and I think if you talk to Neftali last night, he didn't feel like it was a good day."

___

NERVOUS NELLIES: Cardinals manager Tony La Russa acknowledged that he was nervous before Game 7 of the World Series. After all, it's only natural.

"Whoever is not nervous should not participate," La Russa said, "because it means you don't care. Nervous is good. Nervous means you care and you're ready, and you learn how to control your nerves.

"I tried to explain this because it's how I feel," he said. "Every time you get into one of these things, you enjoy it more because of your past experience. It never disappoints. So here is like, the final piece, you participate in a Game 7, and that's as good as it gets."

So, does Ron Washington get nervous, too?

"Well, if Tony is nervous," the Texas manager said, "how can Ron Washington not be nervous?"

___

TORNADO RELIEF: Major League Baseball dedicated Game 7 to tornado relief efforts in the Southeast and Midwest, including Joplin, Mo., where an EF5 tornado wiped out a large swath of town.

Children from the Joplin South Little League were recognized prior to the first pitch between Texas and St. Louis. MLB encouraged fans to visit MLBCommunity.org, where they can contribute to the Heart to Heart Organization and Habitat for Humanity.

"We are a social institution, and it's not that we should be doing these things, we're privileged to be doing them," MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said.

___

TAKE THE MIC: Chris Daughtry, the four-time Grammy Award nominee, was scheduled to perform the national anthem before the deciding game of the World Series on Friday night.

Daughtry is the second alum of the Fox television show "American Idol" to sing the anthem ? Scotty McCreery performed it before Game 1. The World Series is televised by Fox.

Country music artist David Nail was to sing "God Bless America." The Missouri native headlined a disaster relief concert in May following the tornados that ravaged much of the Midwest.

___

RAMS CELEBRATING: The St. Louis Rams are offering $23 tickets to fans who come to the Edward Jones Dome box office before their game against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

The tickets honor the jersey number of Cardinals third baseman David Freese, who hit the winning homer in the 11th inning Thursday night to force Game 7.

The Rams are 30th in the NFL with average home attendance of 56,374 this season. That's 86.3 percent of capacity, which ranks 28th among the 32 franchises.

___

AP Sports Writer Dave Skretta contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111029/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/bbo_world_series_notebook

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European shares slip after Italy rattles investors (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? European shares slipped Friday after the previous session's rally on the European Union's debt deal, as a disappointing Italian bond auction fueled investors' skepticism about the plan to tackle the region's debt crisis.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index (.FTEU3) made its fifth week of gains, boosted by Thursday's sharp moves after policymakers struck a deal that included leveraging up a rescue fund to 1 trillion euros and a 50 percent writedown for private bondholders of Greek debt.

But some investors are concerned by the lack of detail in the outline plan.

At a sale of 10-year Italian bonds Friday, yields hit a euro-era high, underlining the country's vulnerability at the heart of the debt crisis and causing the Italian FTSE MIB (.FTMIB) to drop 1.8 percent, underperforming other exchanges.

"Yesterday was encouraging, although we do not know much details on the deal," Veronika Pechlaner, a fund manager on the Ashburton European equity fund, said. "We were fully invested going into the meeting."

"But the Italian bond auction spooked the market. It tells us we can not relax yet and Italy has to make more progress on the restructuring side."

She has invested in BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA), HSBC (HSBA.L) and Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) and will look to change this depending on what the details emerge on the euro zone plan as well as seeing how the economic and corporate environment improves.

Octopus Investments remained cautiously positioned.

"Following the progress that risk assets have made, we are braced to see more downside from here as investors begin to look for more detail on how the EFSF (rescue fund) will be leveraged to the 1 trillion euro mark," said Lothar Mentel, chief investment officer at Octopus Investments which manages $4 billion.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 closed down 0.2 percent at 1,018.14 points and ended the week up 4.1 percent - its biggest weekly gain since early October.

The benchmark index is still down 9.2 percent so far this year as concerns have grown about the macro economic environment and contagion from the euro zone debt crisis.

EARNINGS MIXED

Earnings news gave a mixed picture about how companies were holding up.

Strong third-quarter sales at Renault (RENA.PA) lifted the shares up 4.5 percent to become the top performer on the French CAC (.FCHI), while Wacker Chemie (WCHG.DE) dropped 9.8 percent to become the biggest faller on the FTSEurofirst 300 index after the world's No.2 maker of polysilicon cut its outlook. (Reporting by Joanne Frearson)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111028/bs_nm/us_markets_europe_stocks

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RIM sets up facility in India to help with surveillance: report (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Research In Motion has set up a facility in Mumbai to help the Indian government carry out lawful surveillance of its BlackBerry services, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

RIM gave India access to its consumer services, including its Messenger services, in January this year after authorities raised security concerns, but said it could not allow monitoring of its enterprise email.

RIM partly assuaged India by setting up the small Mumbai facility earlier this year to handle surveillance requests from India, the WSJ reported.

India can submit the name of a suspect its investigators want to wiretap, and RIM will return decoded messages for that individual, as long as it is satisfied the request has legal authorization, it said.

RIM was not available for comment outside regular Canadian business hours.

The new facility will handle lawful intercept requests for consumer services including the BlackBerry Messenger chat service, the paper said.

India saw the move as a positive step, but would prefer an arrangement where it has the ability to decode messages itself, so that it can conduct surveillance without disclosing the names of suspects to RIM, the Journal reported.

India still has no method to intercept and decode BlackBerry enterprise email, which is used by corporate customers and features a higher level of encryption than consumer email and instant messaging, the report said.

(Reporting by Maneesha Tiwari in Bangalore; Editing by Vinu Pilakkott)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111028/wr_nm/us_rim

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Video: Secondary Mortgage Market Reform

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/45058611#45058611

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Expert says Jackson likely addicted to pain med (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? Lawyers for Michael Jackson's doctor sought to shift blame Thursday to another doctor and a drug different from the anesthetic that killed the star, calling an expert to testify that Jackson was addicted to Demerol in the months before his death.

They suggested the singer's withdrawal from the painkiller triggered the insomnia that Dr. Conrad Murray was trying to resolve when he gave Jackson the anesthetic propofol.

Murray's attorneys claim Jackson self-administered a fatal dose of propofol as a sleep aid.

Authorities contend Murray delivered the lethal dose and botched resuscitation efforts. Murray has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's June 2009 death.

There was no mention of propofol during the testimony of Dr. Robert Waldman, an addiction expert who said he studied the records of Dr. Arnold Klein, Jackson's longtime dermatologist, in concluding the star developed a dependency on the powerful painkiller. Records showed Klein used Demerol on Jackson repeatedly for procedures to enhance his appearance.

No Demerol was discovered in the singer's system when he died, but propofol was found throughout his body.

Waldman relied on Klein's records from March 2009 until days before Jackson died. Waldman said he was not shown records for earlier periods and didn't review a police interview of Murray about his treatment of the star.

Under questioning by Murray's lead lawyer, Ed Chernoff, Waldman said: "I believe there is evidence that he (Jackson) was dependent on Demerol, possibly."

Klein has emerged as the missing link in the involuntary manslaughter trial, with the defense raising his name at every turn and the judge ruling he may not be called as a witness because his care of Jackson is not at issue. He has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

But Klein's handwritten notes on his visits with Jackson were introduced through Waldman, who said Klein was giving Jackson unusually high doses of Demerol for four months ? from March through June, 2009 ? with the last shots coming three days before the singer's death.

Over three days in April, the records showed Jackson received 775 milligrams of Demerol along with small doses of the sedative Versed. Waldman's testimony showed Klein, who also was Jackson's longtime friend, was giving the singer huge doses of the powerful drug at the same time Murray was giving Jackson the anesthetic propofol to sleep.

"This is a large dose for an opioid for a dermatology procedure in an office," Waldman said.

He told jurors the escalating doses showed Jackson had developed a tolerance to the drug and was probably addicted. He said a withdrawal symptom from the drug is insomnia.

On cross-examination, prosecutor David Walgren tangled with the expert, who was hostile to most of his questions. He elicited from Waldman that the law requires physicians to keep accurate and detailed records, which Murray did not. The doctor also said all drugs should be kept in a locked cabinet or safe where they could not be stolen or diverted by anyone.

Waldman said every doctor also must document when the drugs are stored and when they are used. Murray told police he kept no records on his treatment of Jackson.

Waldman, who has treated celebrities and sports stars at expensive rehab clinics, told jurors treatment can work if the addict is willing to admit a problem.

Several prosecution experts have said the propofol self-administration defense was improbable, and a key expert said he ruled it out completely, arguing the more likely scenario was that Murray gave Jackson a much higher dose than he has acknowledged.

Jackson had complained of insomnia as he prepared for a series of comeback concerts and was receiving the anesthetic and sedatives from Murray, his personal physician, to help him sleep.

Murray's police interview indicates he didn't know Jackson was being treated by Klein and was receiving other drugs.

In response to questions from a prosecutor, Waldman said some of the symptoms of Demerol withdrawal were the same as those seen in patients withdrawing from the sedatives lorazepam and diazepam. Murray had been giving Jackson both drugs.

The final defense witness was to be Dr. Paul White, a propofol expert.

White and Waldman do not necessarily have to convince jurors that Jackson gave himself the fatal dose, but merely provide them with enough reasonable doubt about the prosecution's case against Murray.

___

AP Entertainment Writer Anthony McCartney contributed to this report.

___

McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111027/ap_en_mu/us_michael_jackson_doctor

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Sugarland: 'We are all changed' by collapse

The American country music duo Sugarland featuring vocalist Jennifer Nettles, left, and guitarist Kristian Bush speak to the crowd before a benefit concert in Indianapolis, Friday, Oct. 28, 2011. Seven people were killed and dozens more were injured in the Aug. 13 stage collapse at the Indiana State fairground venue where high winds ahead of an approaching storm toppled scaffolding and stage rigging just minutes before Sugarland was to perform. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

The American country music duo Sugarland featuring vocalist Jennifer Nettles, left, and guitarist Kristian Bush speak to the crowd before a benefit concert in Indianapolis, Friday, Oct. 28, 2011. Seven people were killed and dozens more were injured in the Aug. 13 stage collapse at the Indiana State fairground venue where high winds ahead of an approaching storm toppled scaffolding and stage rigging just minutes before Sugarland was to perform. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Country music duo Sugarland vocalist Jennifer Nettles performs a benefit concert in Indianapolis, Friday, Oct. 28, 2011. Seven people were killed and dozens more were injured in the Aug. 13 stage collapse at the Indiana State fairground venue where high winds ahead of an approaching storm toppled scaffolding and stage rigging just minutes before Sugarland was to perform. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Country music duo Sugarland guitarist Kristian Bush performs a benefit concert in Indianapolis, Friday, Oct. 28, 2011. Seven people were killed and dozens more were injured in the Aug. 13 stage collapse at the Indiana State fairground venue where high winds ahead of an approaching storm toppled scaffolding and stage rigging just minutes before Sugarland was to perform. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Country music duo Sugarland featuring vocalist Jennifer Nettles, right, and guitarist Kristian Bush perform a benefit concert in Indianapolis, Friday, Oct. 28, 2011. Seven people were killed and dozens more were injured in the Aug. 13 stage collapse at the Indiana State fairground venue where high winds ahead of an approaching storm toppled scaffolding and stage rigging just minutes before Sugarland was to perform. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

The American country music duo Sugarland featuring vocalist Jennifer Nettles, right, and guitarist Kristian Bush perform a benefit concert in Indianapolis, Friday, Oct. 28, 2011. Seven people were killed and dozens more were injured in the Aug. 13 stage collapse at the Indiana State fairground venue where high winds ahead of an approaching storm toppled scaffolding and stage rigging just minutes before Sugarland was to perform. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? A packed house watched country duo Sugarland deliver an emotionally-charged free concert meant to "celebrate" healing, life and music while serving as a tribute to those injured in a deadly stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair last August.

Singer Jennifer Nettles told Friday night's crowd ? including some of those injured during the collapse ? that the tragedy had changed them all.

Nettles opened 2?-hour show at a packed Conesco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis by telling audience members they were in store for an emotional night that would also be part celebration. She also told fans that Sugarland had visited the fairgrounds, where high winds toppled scaffolding and stage rigging on Aug. 13 into a crowd awaiting a performance by the country duo. Seven people were killed.

"Obviously we are here in October ? we were supposed to do this show in August. Obviously, the stage is different, you are different and we are different. We are all changed by what happened then," she said. "But we are going to try to give you the best show that we can and to celebrate healing with you and to celebrate life and music with you here tonight."

Sugarland's free concert came 10 weeks after the stage collapsed as a storm neared the fairgrounds' Grandstand a few miles north of Friday night's venue. Attendees were asked to donate to a victim relief fund that already has raised nearly $1 million.

Indianapolis resident Sue Humphrey, whose 17-year-old son, Brad, was left partially paralyzed when he was struck by falling stage rigging that night, attended Friday's concert with her son, who only decided Friday afternoon that he wanted to go.

Humphrey said Brad was unsure if the concert would be too emotional for him, but she said it was herself, and not her son, who got choked up at one point during the show as her mind cast back to August's tragedy.

She said Brad, a high school senior who attended the concert after finishing his first week back at school since he was injured, held up fine. Humphrey and her son, who is now in a wheelchair, sat in the venue's handicapped section.

Humphrey said she was touched when Nettles held up a flag near the end of the concert with the word "Heal" painted on it and then walked through the audience holding it aloft.

"She usually has 'Love' on that flag, but this time she spray-painted 'Heal' on it and I thought that was a very, very good touch to the show," she said.

Rick Stevens, who served as an Army medic in Vietnam, said Sugarland "hit a home run" with Friday's concert by balancing a remembrance of August's stage collapsed with several vibrant and powerful renditions of their songs, including "The Incredible Machine," the name of their current album.

"I've seen them play five times and this is their most emotional, most heartfelt concerts I've seen. They just played their hearts out," he said. "It was a slam dunk."

The 57-year-old Terre Haute, Ind., resident was among those who rushed into the tangled metal rigging to help people crushed in August's collapse. He said he saw people at Friday's concert whom he had rescued.

Indiana-based musician Corey Cox and actress Rita Wilson performed before Sugarland took the stage.

Cox performed a few weeks ago at a benefit concert for a woman from his hometown of Pendleton, Ind. ? 30-year-old Andrea Vellinga ? who suffered severe head injuries in the stage collapse and still is struggling to recover. Vellinga's family and friends attended the show.

He dedicated one of his songs, "That'll Take You Back" to his hometown "and every other small town across this country who came together the week after Aug. 13 and prayed and supported" the victims of the collapse.

A psychiatrist who specializes in treating survivors of disasters said attending the concert could help some of the roughly 40 people injured in the stage collapse and relatives of those killed come to terms with the tragedy. But he said there's a chance it could deal others a setback, dredging up intense and painful memories.

"It's good that this benefit concert should happen, but it may be too hard for some people to go through it," said Anthony Ng, interim chief medical officer at The Acadia Hospital in Bangor, Maine. "Obviously everybody's different and there's no right way or wrong way to do this."

___

Online:

Sugarland: http://www.sugarlandmusic.com/

Corey Cox: http://www.coreycoxmusic.com/

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2011-10-29-Indiana%20Fair-Sugarland's%20Return/id-a82f08964c464cc1b0aeb087f2c36de8

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Going off-the-cuff, Romney does himself few favors (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Mitt Romney may need a censor. For himself.

In the last few weeks in Nevada, the man who owns several homes told the state hit tough by the housing crisis: "Don't try and stop the foreclosure process. Let it run its course and hit the bottom."

At one point in Iowa, earlier this year, the former venture capitalist uttered, "Corporations are people," with the country in the midst of a debate over Wall Street vs. Main Street. At an event in economically suffering Florida, the retiree ? who is a multimillionaire many times over ? told out-of-work voters, "I'm also unemployed."

Over the past year, the Republican presidential candidate has amassed a collection of off-the-cuff comments that expose his vulnerabilities and, taken together, cast him as out-of-touch with Americans who face staggering unemployment, widespread foreclosures and a dire outlook on the economy.

So far, the foot-in-mouth remarks haven't seemed to affect his standing in the nomination race.

Romney has run a far more cautious and disciplined campaign than his losing bid of four years ago. He's kept the focus on his core message: He's the strongest candidate able to beat President Barack Obama on the biggest issue of the campaign, the economy. He still enjoys leading positions in public opinion polls in early primary states and across the nation. Few, if any, of the other Republicans in the race have turned his remarks against him.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Romney's chief rival with the money to prove it, is all but certain to try. Perry has already started suggesting that Romney lives a life of privilege while he comes from humble roots. In an interview Friday with CNN, another GOP candidate, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, painted Romney as "a perfectly lubricated weather vane on the important issues of the day."

And Romney's eyebrow-raising comments are tailor-made for critical TV ads.

Look no further than the Democratic Party and Obama's advisers for proof of that.

Each time Romney says something that makes even his closest aides grimace, Democrats quickly put together a Web video highlighting the remark ? a preview of certain lines of attack come the general election should the former Massachusetts governor win the nomination.

"Mitt Romney's message to Arizona? You're on your own," says a new ad by the Democratic National Committee that jumps on Romney's foreclosure remarks.

Romney's team publicly dismisses their boss's occasional loose lips, dismissing them as inconsequential to voters focused on an unemployment rate hovering around 9 percent.

"It's a long campaign and at the end of the day people are going to judge Gov. Romney and his ability to take on President Obama over jobs and the economy. And certainly there will be a lot of back and forth as the campaign progresses," said Russ Schriefer, a Romney strategist.

"This election will be decided on big issues because the issues are so big and so important," Schriefer said. "And not on a gaffe or a mistake or a moment, any particularly moment. It's more about the big moments and who voters see and being able to turn the economy around."

It usually takes more than one gaffe or one mistake to undo a campaign. And other candidates have made their own potentially problematic comments.

Take, for instance, Herman Cain's assertion that the Wall Street protesters are in the streets to distract from Obama's record: "If you don't have a job and you're not rich, blame yourself." Or Perry's suggestion that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is "almost treasonous": "If this guy prints more money between now and the election, I don't what y'all would do to him in Iowa, but we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas." Or former House Speaker Newt Gingrich explaining his infidelity: "There's no question at times of my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate."

But a string of unforced errors, when combined, can reinforce unfavorable perceptions of the candidate, as Romney aides privately acknowledge. And that's the trouble Romney faces ? just as John Kerry damaged himself when he racked up a series of equivocating comments on a series of issues while the Democratic nominee in 2004.

President George W. Bush's re-election campaign used Kerry's waffling ? conflicts between his votes and his quotes ? to cast him as an opportunist who would shift his positions to win votes.

Romney gave his critics a similar opening over the past few days. In Ohio, he refused to say whether he would support a local ballot initiative even as he visited a site where volunteers were making hundreds of phone calls to help Republicans defeat it. Issue Two would repeal Ohio Gov. John Kasich's restrictions on public sector employee bargaining.

It turned out that Romney had already weighed in, supporting Kasich's efforts in a June Facebook post. And, a day after the Ohio visit, Romney made clear where he stood, saying he was "110 percent" behind the anti-union effort.

There have been other instances of comments that could come back to haunt him. In Arizona at one point, he tried to highlight his father's role running an auto company but inadvertently painted himself as a have, rather than a have not.

"See, I'm a Detroit guy, so, you know, I only have domestics," he said, then added: "I have a couple of Cadillacs, at two different houses. You know, small crossovers."

During a recent debate, Romney suggested that the discovery of illegal immigrants working on his yard during his first presidential campaign was a problem ? not because it was illegal, but because "I'm running for office, for Pete's sake."

Comments like those could partly explain why Romney has kept a limited public schedule and favors closed events and appearances that play down spontaneous interaction with reporters.

Still, in some ways, the damage may already have been done. Expect to hear Romney's impolitic comments frequently as Republicans and Democrats alike try to derail Romney.

__

Associated Press writer Beth Fouhy in Boston contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111028/ap_on_el_pr/us_romney_s_gaffes

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Brian Williams set to debut NBC newsmagazine (AP)

NEW YORK ? Promoting the newsmagazine "Rock Center" in advance of its Halloween-night debut has been something of a challenge for anchor Brian Williams and his NBC News colleagues.

They've talked about the program's pedigreed cast and shown off the rebuilt studio where it will originate, but what they are doing won't fully take shape for outsiders without a sense of the stories they are pursuing. And for competitive reasons, they kept mum until Wednesday, when they lifted the curtain on the opening-night lineup.

"You will very quickly feel a destination when you watch it," Williams promised. "If we've all done our jobs right, this will feel like `Rock Center' by week two. There will already be a familiarity. Once we do enough pieces, and once we show the audience the work I already know is done, there will be a voice to this broadcast."

Those first-night stories include a Kate Snow investigation into Chinese women who give birth in the United States so their children will have U.S. citizenship, a Richard Engel report from Syria and a Harry Smith piece on a place in the U.S. where virtually everyone has a job.

Fighting off a cold, Williams sat on a couch on the show's new set in Rockefeller Center. It's his personal kingdom: On one side is the desk and video screens from "Nightly News," which moved this week to the new studio. On another is a decorative wall filled with curios long locked away, including a light from when the "Today" show broadcast from here in the 1980s and an applause sign whose origin is unclear.

NBC News executives say they are encouraged because parent company Comcast Corp. strongly backs the project and urges long-term thinking.

That's good, because "Rock Center" was dropped into the black hole that is NBC's prime-time lineup, put at 10 p.m. Eastern on Mondays because "The Playboy Club" was a quick bust. When winter comes, NBC Entertainment has another use for that time slot and "Rock Center" will move, destination unknown.

The first few months are about getting established and NBC News President Steve Capus says that high ratings aren't an expectation.

"Rock Center" will buck the recent trend of single-topic newsmagazines like "Dateline NBC" and present multiple stories each week. Former CBS anchor Smith and Snow are the primary correspondents, and producers have lined up a long list of other contributors that includes Meredith Vieira, Ted Koppel, Matt Lauer, Engel and Natalie Morales.

"Nobody has tried it for a long time because it's difficult," said David Corvo, senior executive producer for NBC. "But the fact that no one has tried this gives us an opportunity."

Koppel, the longtime "Nightline" anchor, was recruited by the "Rock Center" executive producer, Rome Hartman. They knew each other from work at BBC America, and Koppel let slip that his first story for NBC is one from Iraq that the BBC decided not to pay for.

He said he felt "Rock Center" would be a serious broadcast, an antidote to much of what is happening in broadcast news, including at his alma mater, "Nightline."

"Instead of giving the public what it needs to hear, we're giving the public news that it wants to hear, and one of these days the public is going to turn on us and say, `Why didn't you tell us about those important things that were going on?'" he said. "They're not going to like the answer and we're not going to like the answer. We're going to say we gave you what you wanted."

Hartman said "Rock Center" wouldn't be turning up its nose at any stories, if there is something smart to say about them. "The only ones that we will walk past are the ones that are purely rubbernecking at the side of the road," he said.

The show won't be a newscast, but producers want to be flexible to move when there is a big story to tell, like the uprising in Egypt or a devastating tornado outbreak.

To that end, Williams will be live in the studio anchoring each edition.

Producers believe that's one of the things that will set "Rock Center" apart from another prominent multistory newsmagazine on the air today: CBS' "60 Minutes." It invented the genre and is still the leading practitioner.

"They are a pure ensemble, and a very good ensemble," Hartman said. "We've set up something different, where Brian is the leader of this gang. He's the anchor of this broadcast and the ringmaster. I want it to feel like it's his playlist. I want it to feel like these are stories that he would have downloaded, DVR'ed or made sure to click on. It's going to have his editorial sensibility."

He hopes that people from "60 Minutes" are watching Monday night. Better yet, he hopes they see some of the stories and curse themselves and say, "I wish we'd done that."

"60 Minutes" is an unavoidable example, Williams said.

"They do it very well, have for years, and for all I know will continue to," he said. "We will just not be that. We will have our own signature."

___

Online:

http://www.nbc.com/

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111027/ap_en_tv/us_tv_rock_center

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Cancun area resorts empty as hurricane approaches (AP)

CANCUN, Mexico ? Tourists abandoned Cancun and other resorts while Mexican authorities evacuated hundreds of residents from low-lying areas ahead of a weakened Hurricane Rina's pass along Yucatan's Caribbean coast Thursday.

Civil protection officials moved some 2,300 people from Holbox, an island where the Caribbean meets the Gulf of Mexico, and the federal government closed the archaeological sites that dot the coast. NASA cut short an undersea laboratory mission near Key Largo, Florida, bringing the crew back to land.

Lines snaked from ticket counters in Cancun's crowded airport Wednesday as jumbo airliners heading to Canada and Europe waited in pouring rain. Many travelers said they were already scheduled to leave on Wednesday. But Janet Gallo, 41, of New York City decided to cut short her five-day trip to the town of Playa del Carmen.

"At the hotel, they told us they would make a decision whether to evacuate later today, but we didn't want to wait. We would rather be home when it hits," Gallo said.

Ports closed to navigation for recreational, fishing and small boats in the state of Quintana Roo, home to Cancun, and neighboring Yucatan state, while the island of Cozumel was closed to larger vessels, including the ferry that connects the island and Playa del Carmen.

Rina was forecast to remain a hurricane as it swept along Mexico's most popular tourist destinations of Cancun, Cozumel and the Riviera Maya, though forecasters predicted it would continue to weaken.

Rina's maximum sustained winds were clocked at 85 mph (135 kph) late Wednesday, down from 110 mph (175 kph) earlier in the day. It was about 140 miles (225 kilometers) south of the island of Cozumel and was moving northwest at about 6 mph (9 kph).

About 275 people living in the fishing town of Punta Allen, south of Tulum, were moved to emergency shelters and a smaller group was evacuated from the atoll of Banco Chinchorro.

Luh McDevitt, 56, a furniture and interior designer in Cozumel, said her family was fitting hurricane shutters to the house and securing furniture.

"I am not really scared," said the Cincinnati, Ohio, native who has lived in Cozumel since 2000. "Hurricane Andrew in 1992 was a Category 5. The worst part of the hurricane is after. We didn't have electricity in our house for three weeks."

Mexico's government said it was sending nearly 2,400 electrical workers plus cranes, vehicles and generators to repair and maintain services as quickly as possible after the storm.

Jorge Arturo Cruz, spokesman for Quintana Roo's education department, said schools were ordered closed in communities along the coast and on Cozumel in anticipation of the storm.

The coastal area around Tulum is dotted with Mayan ruins and farther north is Playa del Carmen, another popular spot for international tourists and the departure point for ferries serving Cozumel.

State Tourism Director Juan Carlos Gonzalez Hernandez said there had been about 83,000 tourists in the state, with about 28,000 of them in Cancun and 45,000 more on the stretch of coast south of Cancun that includes Tulum and Playa de Carmen.

He estimated 10,000 tourists had left by Wednesday night. There were only about 1,719 tourists on Cozumel, and many of them had left, he said.

At least eight cruise ships were changing itineraries away from the storm's path, said a spokesman for Carnival Cruise Lines, Vance Gulliksen.

The area was badly damaged by Hurricane Wilma in 2005, when Cancun's white-sand beaches were largely washed away. Insurance officials estimated total damage at $3 billion.

A hurricane warning was in effect for the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula from north of Punta Gruesa to Cancun.

The projected track showed Rina curving east toward Cuba and the Straits of Florida after crossing the eastern tip of Yucatan, though the U.S. National Hurricane Center cautioned "there is great uncertainty as to where Rina will be located by the weekend."

___

Associated Press writer Adriana Gomez Licon in Mexico City contributed to this story.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111027/ap_on_re_eu/tropical_weather

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China says to launch unmanned space-docking craft (Reuters)

BEIJING (Reuters) ? China said on Wednesday it will launch within weeks its first spacecraft capable of docking with a module it put into orbit last month, in what will mark a crucial test of its growing space program.

The unmanned Shenzhou-8 spacecraft, carried by the Long March-2F rocket, will blast off in early November, state media reported, and will later try to dock with the Tiantong-1, or "Heavenly Palace-1" space laboratory module China launched in September.

Officials with China's space program have said the docking tests will provide experience for the building of a permanent manned space station around 2020.

It is also the latest in a long string of Chinese space launches that have burnished national pride, as budget restraints and shifting priorities have held back U.S. manned space launches.

The official Xinhua news agency did not give a specific date for the launch, but said the craft was being transported to the remote Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert.

Beijing is still far from catching up with space superpowers. Russia, the United States and other countries jointly operate the International Space Station, a group to which China does not belong.

The United States will not test a new rocket to take people into space until 2017. Russia has said manned missions are no longer a priority for its space program, which has struggled with delays and glitches.

China launched its second moon orbiter last year after it became only the third country to send its astronauts walking in space outside their orbiting craft in 2008.

It plans an unmanned moon landing and deployment of a moon rover in 2012, and the retrieval of lunar soil and stone samples around 2017. Scientists have talked about the possibility of sending a man to the moon after 2020.

China is also jostling with neighbors Japan and India for a bigger presence in space, but its plans have faced international wariness. Beijing says its aims are peaceful, and that the involvement of its military is natural given the magnitude of the undertaking.

(Reporting by Michael Martina; Editing by Paul Tait)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111026/sc_nm/us_china_space

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Insert Coin: PhaserTape turns your smartphone into a rangefinder (video)

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line.

You've scoped that little laser dot on the cabinet at the far end of the room, right? Well, don't worry, you're not about to see an innocent stationery cupboard get perforated by a sniper. Nope, this episode of Insert Coin is actually about measuring distances using PhaserTape -- a peace-loving iOS- and Android-compatible peripheral that needs your help over at Makible. We think it could be a sweet little investment, and you only have to click past the break to discover why.

Continue reading Insert Coin: PhaserTape turns your smartphone into a rangefinder (video)

Insert Coin: PhaserTape turns your smartphone into a rangefinder (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Oct 2011 13:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/26/insert-coin-phasertape-turns-your-smartphone-into-a-rangefinder/

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Canon posts higher profits in Q3 earnings report, lowers outlook over Thai flood concerns

Things are looking pretty rosy for Canon these days, though there may be some difficulty on the horizon. Today, the camera maker published a rather strong Q3 earnings report, just a few months after posting relatively ho-hum Q2 results. According to the company, operating profit grew by 17.4 percent to ¥122.55 billion ($1.6 billion) this quarter, compared with ¥104.42 billion ($1.37 billion) a year ago. Net profit, meanwhile, increased by 14.2 percent over the year, reaching ¥77.9 billion ($1.02 billion) during the quarter, versus ¥68.20 billion during Q3 2010. These results come at a time when the yen is strong, and therefore detrimental to Japanese exporters, though Canon attributed much of its success to strong growth in emerging markets, including China and India. For the year, however, Canon lowered its net-profit outlook to ¥230 billion ($3.02 billion) from ¥260 billion ($3.4 billion), on assumptions that the yen will maintain its strength, and on fears that recent flooding in Thailand may impact production. In fact, the manufacturer said the flooding may cut annual sales by ¥50 billion ($657 million) and operating profit by ¥20 billion. Check out the full report, at the source link below.

Canon posts higher profits in Q3 earnings report, lowers outlook over Thai flood concerns originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Oct 2011 04:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/HHRDU6gbkBA/

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7.2 quake in Turkey kills 85, collapses buildings (AP)

ANKARA, Turkey ? A 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Turkey on Sunday, killing at least 85 people and sparking widespread panic as it collapsed dozens of buildings into piles of twisted steel and chunks of concrete.

Tens of thousands of residents fled into the streets running, screaming and trying to reach relatives on cell phones. As the full extent of the damage became clear, desperate survivors dug into the rubble with their bare hands, trying to rescue the trapped and the injured.

Turkey's state-run television TRT said a group of inmates escaped from a prison after the earthquake struck. It gave no other detail and it was not immediately known how many had fled.

"My wife and child are inside! My 4-month-old baby is inside!" CNN-Turk television showed one young man sobbing outside a collapsed building in Van, the provincial capital.

TRT television reported that 59 people were killed and 150 injured in the eastern town of Ercis, 25 others died in Van and a child died in the nearby province of Bitlis.

Turkish scientists estimated that up to 1,000 people could already be dead, basing the calculation on low local housing standards and the size of the quake.

The hardest hit was Ercis, a city of 75,000 close to the Iranian border, which lies on the Ercis Fault in one of Turkey's most earthquake-prone zones. Van, about 55 miles (90 kilometers) to the south, also sustained substantial damage.

Up to 80 buildings collapsed in Ercis, including a dormitory, and 10 buildings collapsed in Van, the Turkish Red Crescent said. Some highways also caved in, CNN-Turk television reported.

Hundreds of injured people were treated at the state hospital in Ercis, NTV television said. Survivors in Ercis complained of a lack of heavy machinery to remove chunks of cement floors that pancaked onto each other.

"There are so many dead. Several buildings have collapsed. There is too much destruction," Ercis Mayor Zulfikar Arapoglu told NTV. "We need urgent aid. We need medics."

In Van, terrified residents spilled into the streets screaming. Rescue workers and residents scrambled, using only their hands and basic shovels, to save those who were trapped.

Residents sobbed outside the ruins of one flattened eight-story building, hoping that missing relatives would be rescued.

Witnesses said eight people were pulled from the rubble, but frequent aftershocks were hampering search efforts, CNN-Turk reported. One teenage girl was pulled out of the building by the late evening. Rescuers tied steel rods around large concrete slabs which they then lifted with heavy machinery, Dogan news agency video footage showed.

Residents in Van and Ercis lit camp fires, preparing to spend the night outdoors.

U.S. scientists recorded eight aftershocks within three hours of the quake, including two with a magnitude of 5.6.

Serious damage and casualties were also reported in the district of Celebibag, near Ercis.

"There are many people under the rubble," Veysel Keser, mayor of Celebibag, told NTV. "People are in agony, we can hear their screams for help. We need urgent help."

He said many buildings had collapsed, including student dormitories, hotels and gas stations.

Nazmi Gur, a legislator from Van, was at his nephew's funeral when the quake struck. The funeral ceremony was cut short and he rushed back to help with rescues.

"At least six buildings had collapsed. We managed to rescue a few people, but I saw at least five bodies," Gur told The Associated Press by telephone. "There is no coordinated rescue at the moment, everyone is doing what they can."

"It was such a powerful temblor. It lasted for such a long time," Gur said. "(Now) there is no electricity, there is no heating, everyone is outside in the cold."

Many residents fled Van to seek shelter with relatives in nearby villages.

"I am taking my family to our village, our house was fine but there were cracks in our office building," Sahabettin Ozer, 47, said by telephone as he drove to the village of Muradiye.

NTV said Van's airport was damaged and planes were being diverted to neighboring cities.

Authorities had no information yet on remote villages but the governor was touring the region by helicopter and the government sent in tents, field kitchens and blankets. Some in Ercis reported shortages of bread, Turkey's staple food, due to damages to bakeries.

Houses also collapsed in the province of Bitlis, where an 8-year-old girl was killed, authorities said, and the quake toppled the minarets of two mosques in the nearby province of Mus.

There was no immediate information about a recently restored 10th century Armenian church, Akdamar Church, which is perched on a rocky island in the nearby Lake Van.

Turkey lies in one of the world's most active seismic zones and is crossed by numerous fault lines. Lake Van, where Sunday's earthquake hit, is the country's most earthquake-prone region.

The Kandilli observatory, Turkey's main seismography center, said Sunday's quake was capable of killing many people.

"We are estimating a death toll between 500 and 1,000," Mustafa Erdik, head of the Kandilli observatory, told a televised news conference.

The earthquake also shook buildings in neighboring Armenia and Iran.

In the Armenian capital of Yerevan, 100 miles (160 kilometers) from Ercis, people rushed into the streets fearing buildings would collapse but no damage or injuries were immediately reported. Armenia was the site of a devastating earthquake in 1988 that killed 25,000 people.

Sunday's quake caused panic among residents in several Iranian towns close to the Turkish border, and cut phone links and caused cracks in buildings in the city of Chaldoran, Iranian state TV reported. The quake was also felt in the northeastern Iranian towns of Salmas, Maku, Khoi but no damage was immediately reported.

U.S. leaders conveyed their condolences to the families of the victims and offered assistance.

"We stand shoulder to shoulder with our Turkish ally in this difficult time, and are ready to assist the Turkish authorities," President Barack Obama said.

Israel also offered humanitarian assistance despite a rift in relations following an 2010 Israeli navy raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that left nine Turks dead. In September, Turkey expelled the Israeli ambassador and suspended military ties because Israel has not apologized. Israel has sent rescue teams to Turkey for past earthquakes in times of closer ties.

Turkey sees frequent earthquakes. In 1999, two earthquakes with a magnitude of more than 7 struck northwestern Turkey, killing about 18,000 people.

More recently, a 6.0-magnitude quake in March 2010 killed 51 people in eastern Turkey, while in 2003, a 6.4-magnitude earthquake killed 177 people in the southeastern city of Bingol.

Turkey's worst earthquake in the last century came in 1939 in the eastern city of Erzincan, causing an estimated 160,000 deaths.

Istanbul, Turkey's largest city with more than 12 million people, lies in northwestern Turkey near a major fault line. Authorities say Istanbul is ill-prepared for a major earthquake and experts have warned that overcrowding and faulty construction could lead to the deaths of more than 40,000 people if a major earthquake struck the city.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111023/ap_on_re_eu/eu_turkey_quake

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DeMarco: Carpenter gives Cards the start they need

For St. Louis to beat Texas, they'll have to win when their ace takes mound

Charlie Riedel / AP

Chris Carpenter got the Cardinals off to the start they needed in Game 1, holding the Rangers to two runs in six innings.

OPINION

By Tony DeMarco

NBCSports.com contributor

updated 1:34 a.m. ET Oct. 20, 2011

Tony DeMarco

ST. LOUIS - The St. Louis Cardinals are many things:

The dead-on in-game strategizing of manager Tony La Russa.

The shutdown arm and masterful game-calling of catcher Yadier Molina.

Still the game's most-feared hitter in first baseman Albert Pujols, with a cast of power around him that adds up to an American League-like lineup production.

Quality arms, one after another, coming out of the bullpen to protect late leads.

But in this postseason, when the rest of their rotation has faltered, never have the Cardinals needed ace Chris Carpenter more. And the latest example of Carpenter responding came last night in a 3-2 Cardinals victory over the Texas Rangers in World Series Game 1.

"He's our guy,'' outfielder Lance Berkman said about Carpenter. "When he takes the mound, we feel like we're going to win the game every time. I think when that comes true, it just builds confidence. You certainly want to win the game your ace pitches. I think for us to be successful, clearly in the postseason to this point, that has been a big factor.''

There is no bigger name in Cardinals' postseason history than Bob Gibson, a two-time World Series MVP (1964, 1967) who would have won a third (1968) if not for a slip/outfield misplay that led to a Game 7 loss. But last night, Carpenter surpassed Gibson's club record with his eighth postseason win ? the asterisk attached being Gibson only pitched in World Series games.

Carpenter is 8-2-3.10 in 13 postseason games ? including wins over Philadelphia in the NLDS and Milwaukee in the NLCS. Gibson went 7-2-1.89 with eight complete games and two shutouts in nine World Series starts ? three in each of his three postseason appearances.

How important was the Cardinals' Game 1 win against the favored Rangers? Game 1 winners have gone on to win seven of the last eight World Series, and 12 of the last 14. And consider the alternative: The Rangers winning Game 1, and having their best postseason pitcher in Colby Lewis going in Game 2 before the series shifts back to Arlington for three games.

But now it's advantage, Cardinals.

Carpenter faltered only when Rangers catcher Mike Napoli blasted a two-run, game-tying homer in the top of the fifth. Otherwise, the 36-year-old right-hander allowed four other hits ? three singles and a double ? in six sharp innings against an offense that pounded its way into the World Series.

"It was a great performance,'' La Russa said. "They're a great hitting team. If you don't make a lot of pitches, they're going to bang you around. I thought early in the game, as close as it was, for both pitchers the balls were very slick. Carp was exactly what we needed.''

Carpenter helped his own cause early, when he dove to grab Pujols' slightly errant toss to first base on Elvis Andrus' bouncer to the right side in the top of the first. Carpenter landed awkwardly on his left shoulder, and considering he already has had right elbow soreness in this postseason, it was a scary moment for the Cardinals.

"That ball in the first (inning), I think we need to work on that one next spring in PFP (pitchers' fielding practice),'' Carpenter joked. "It was just an instinct. (Pujols) threw that ball, it was a little out of my reach, and I dove. I was like, 'I'm going to go get it', and it worked out.''

The Cardinals pushed across the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth, when David Freese led off with a double to the wall in right-center and scored on a single by pinch-hitter Allen Craig just inside the right-field line that Nelson Cruz dove for but couldn't reach.

"When you've got a guy like Chris Carpenter on the mound and you get a lead, your chances (of winning the game) are pretty good,'' Freese said. "Playing a team like Texas, you love to get off to a start like that.''

Carpenter was lifted for the Craig pinch-hit at-bat, and then La Russa deftly guided Fernando Salas, Marc Rzepczynski, Octavio Dotel, Arthur Rhodes and Jason Motte through the final nine outs. And the Cardinals are enjoying that same feeling as they did after Game 1 of the 2006 World Series, which they won in six games over the favored Detroit Tigers.

"I remember the confidence level our ball club had going into Game 2 (in 2006),'' Carpenter said. "We knew we were facing Kenny Rogers, and it really didn't matter what happened, to be honest with you. I remember getting on the bus (after Game 2) and everybody was like, whatever, it's 1-1 and we're going back to our place.

"Is (winning Game 1) the defining factor in this series? Absolutely not. But I do remember the confidence level that we had after winning Game 1 (in 2006) ? especially Game 1 in their place.''

? 2011 NBC Sports.com? Reprints

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Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/44969916/ns/sports-baseball/

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Malaria vaccine yields protection

First large-scale test of immunization cuts risk of disease in children receiving it

Web edition : Wednesday, October 19th, 2011

The first vaccine against malaria to undergo wide-scale testing shows that youngsters who got it were about half as likely to come down with the disease over a 14-month follow-up period as were those who didn't receive the vaccine.

An international group of scientists report the findings online October 18 in the New England Journal of Medicine. The researchers unveiled data on 6,000 African children, ages 5 months to 17 months, who were randomly assigned to get either a three-dose malaria vaccine or a control vaccine ? in this case, for rabies.

?It?s been a long time coming, and indeed we are still not there yet, but it is becoming increasingly clear that we really do have the first effective vaccine against a parasitic disease in humans," says Nicholas White, a tropical medicine physician at Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand, who was not part of this study. ?It is a great achievement and an important advance, but [the researchers] know that this partially protective vaccine is not the sole solution to the control and elimination of malaria,? White writes in the same issue of the journal.

The findings bolster earlier test results for this experimental vaccine (SN: 1/3/2009, p. 15). The new trial, which includes more than 15,000 children, is ongoing. The malaria vaccine also reduced cases of severe malaria ? the kind that can result in hospitalization. That preliminary finding included additional data, from a group of babies who were 6 to 12 weeks of age at the time they were enrolled in the study. Those younger participants were randomly assigned to get the malaria vaccine or a control shot ? an immunization against meningitis. Severe malaria in the two age groups combined, among those getting the experimental vaccine, was reduced by about one-third, slightly less than the researchers anticipated.

Even so, the overall findings represent a milestone in malaria research, says study coauthor Tsiri Agbenyega, a physiologist at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana. ?Having worked in malaria research for more than 25 years, I can attest to how difficult making progress against this disease has been. Sadly, many have resigned themselves to malaria being a fact of life in Africa. This need not be the case.?

The study received funding from GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, maker of the vaccine, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Found in: Body & Brain

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/335354/title/Malaria_vaccine_yields_protection

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Basque group ETA ends armed independence campaign (AP)

MADRID ? Basque militant group ETA issued a statement Thursday saying it is ending its 43-year armed campaign for independence and called on Spain and France to open talks.

The group made the announcement to Basque daily Gara, which it regularly uses as a mouthpiece. ETA declared a permanent cease-fire in January, but up to now had not renounced armed struggle as a tool for achieving an independent Basque state ? a key demand by the Spanish government.

"ETA has decided the definitive cease of its armed activity," the group said in the statement. "ETA calls upon the Spanish and French governments to open a process of a direct dialogue with the aim of addressing the resolution of the consequences of the conflict."

The statement made no mention of what it intended to do with its weapons or if it was dissolving as a group.

ETA has killed 829 people in bombings and shootings since the late 1960s. It is classified as a terrorist organization by Spain, the European Union and the U.S.

The announcement came just three days after several international figures, including former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Ireland's Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, attended a conference on ETA in the Basque city of San Sebastian and called on the group to end the violence.

Adams welcomed ETA's statement Thursday.

"We called upon ETA to make a public declaration of the definitive cessation of all armed action and to request talks with the governments of Spain and France to address exclusively the consequences of the conflict," Adams said.

"I believe that their statement today meets that requirement and I would urge the governments of Spain and France to welcome it and agree to talks exclusively to deal with the consequences of the conflict," he said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111020/ap_on_re_eu/eu_spain_basque_peace

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FDA cites dirty equipment in cantaloupe outbreak

The cantaloupe processing plant for Jensen Farms is pictured in Granada, Colo., on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011. Pools of water on the floor and old equipment used at the cantaloupe packing facility were probably to blame for the Listeria outbreak linked to cantaloupe processed at the plant according to a report released Thursday by the Food and Drug Administration. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

The cantaloupe processing plant for Jensen Farms is pictured in Granada, Colo., on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011. Pools of water on the floor and old equipment used at the cantaloupe packing facility were probably to blame for the Listeria outbreak linked to cantaloupe processed at the plant according to a report released Thursday by the Food and Drug Administration. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

FILE - In this Sept. 28, 2011, file photo, cantaloupes rot in the afternoon heat on a field on the Jensen Farms near Holly, Colo. Pools of water on the floor and old, hard-to-clean equipment at the farm's cantaloupe-packing facility were probably to blame for the deadliest outbreak of foodborne illness in 25 years, the Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011. Government investigators found positive samples of listeria bacteria on equipment in the Jensen Farms packing facility and on fruit that had been held there. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski, File)

The cantaloupe processing plant for Jensen Farms is pictured in Granada, Colo., on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011. Pools of water on the floor and old equipment used at the cantaloupe packing facility were probably to blame for the Listeria outbreak linked to cantaloupe processed at the plant according to a report released Thursday by the Food and Drug Administration.(AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

The cantaloupe processing plant for Jensen Farms is pictured in Granada, Colo., on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011. Pools of water on the floor and old equipment used at the cantaloupe packing facility were probably to blame for the Listeria outbreak linked to cantaloupe processed at the plant according to a report released Thursday by the Food and Drug Administration.(AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Pools of water on the floor and old, hard-to-clean equipment at a Colorado farm's cantaloupe-packing facility were probably to blame for the deadliest outbreak of foodborne illness in 25 years, the Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday.

Government investigators found positive samples of listeria bacteria on equipment in the Jensen Farms packing facility and on fruit that had been held there.

In a six-page assessment of the conditions at the farm based on investigators' visits in September, the FDA said Jensen Farms had recently purchased used equipment that was corroded, dirty and hard to clean. The packing facility floors were also constructed so they were hard to clean, so pools of water potentially harboring the bacteria formed close to the packing equipment.

The dirty equipment ? purchased in July, the same month the outbreak started ? was previously used to wash and dry potatoes, the agency said, and the listeria "could have been introduced as a result of past use of the equipment," according to the report.

FDA officials said that they are not concerned about similar listeria contamination in the potatoes that were previously processed on the equipment because those vegetables are rarely eaten raw. Cooking can kill the bacteria.

A warning letter from the agency to Jensen Farms said that a third of 39 swabs taken throughout the facility tested positive for listeria.

"This significant percentage of swabs that tested positive for outbreak strains of (listeria) demonstrates widespread contamination throughout your facility and indicates poor sanitary practices in the facility," the letter said.

Though the agency said the contamination likely happened in the packing house, the way the cantaloupes were cooled after being picked may have exacerbated the listeria growth. The farm did not use a process called "pre-cooling" that is designed to remove some condensation, thus creating moist conditions on the cantaloupe rind that are ideal for listeria bacteria growth. Listeria grows in cool environments, unlike most pathogens.

FDA said that samples of cantaloupes in Jensen Farms' fields were negative for listeria, but bacteria coming off the field may have initially introduced the pathogen into the open-air packing house, where it then spread. Listeria contamination often comes from animal feces or decaying vegetation.

Another possible source of contamination was a truck that frequently hauled cantaloupe to a cattle operation and was parked near the packing house. Contamination could have come from the cattle operation and then tracked into the house by people or equipment, the report said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 123 people have been sickened in the outbreak, including the 25 who died. It is the deadliest known outbreak of foodborne illness in the U.S. since an outbreak of listeria in Mexican-style cheese in 1985.

The tainted fruit, which Jensen Farms recalled in mid-September, should be off store shelves by now. But the number of illnesses may continue to grow ? symptoms of listeria can take up to two months to appear. Barbara Mahon of the CDC said that the illnesses peaked from mid-August through September, but that the government would continue to monitor the situation for at least another two weeks.

The CDC on Tuesday confirmed a sixth death in Colorado and a second in New York. Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming have also reported deaths.

FDA officials said Wednesday that the agency has never visited the farm to do an inspection. But that would likely change under a new food safety law signed by President Barack Obama earlier this year that boosts the number of inspections the FDA conducts annually. Currently, the agency may only visit a food facility every five or 10 years, at the most.

FDA officials said they have visited many food facilities over the years and the conditions at Jensen Farms were unique.

"There is no reason to believe these practices are indicative of practices throughout the industry," said Sherri McGarry, a senior officer in FDA's office of foods.

McGarry said the agency is still considering what enforcement actions it will take. Officials said the farm had cooperated in all aspects of the recall and investigation.

Messages left for the farm's owners were not immediately returned.

Listeria is rare but more deadly than well-known pathogens such as salmonella and E. coli. While most healthy adults can consume listeria with no ill effects, it can kill the elderly and those with compromised immune systems. The CDC said the median age of those sickened is 78, and most ill people are over 60 years old.

It is also dangerous to pregnant women because it easily passes through to the fetus. CDC said it is aware of one miscarriage associated with the outbreak and four illnesses total associated with pregnancy. One newborn was born with listeria infection.

Symptoms include fever and muscle aches, often with other gastrointestinal symptoms.

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Associated Press writer P. Solomon Banda in Denver contributed to this report.

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Find Mary Clare Jalonick on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MCJalonick

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-10-19-Listeria-Cantaloupe/id-735384be2f5f4c64a0b7b9ed390e53bf

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