Spending cuts seem here for good

President Barack Obama gestures as he speaks to reporters in the White House briefing room in Washington, Friday, March 1, 2013, following a meeting with congressional leaders regarding the automatic spending cuts. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

President Barack Obama gestures as he speaks to reporters in the White House briefing room in Washington, Friday, March 1, 2013, following a meeting with congressional leaders regarding the automatic spending cuts. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The spending cuts are here to stay if you believe the public posturing Sunday.

The Senate's Republican leader Mitch McConnell called them modest. House Speaker John Boehner isn't sure the cuts will hurt the economy. The White House's top economic adviser, Gene Sperling, said the pain isn't that bad right now.

So after months of dire warnings, Washington didn't implode, government didn't shut down and the $85 billion budget trigger didn't spell doom. And no one has a tangible proposal for rolling back those cuts.

"This modest reduction of 2.4 percent in spending over the next six months is a little more than the average American experienced just two months ago, when their own pay went down when the payroll tax holiday expired," McConnell said.

"I don't know whether it's going to hurt the economy or not," Boehner said. "I don't think anyone quite understands how the sequester is really going to work."

And Sperling, making the rounds on the Sunday news shows, added: "On Day One, it will not be as harmful as it will be over time."

Both parties cast blame on the other for the automatic, across-the-board spending cuts but gave little guidance on what to expect in the coming weeks. Republicans and Democrats pledged to retroactively undo the cuts but signaled no hints as to how that process would start to take shape. Republicans insisted there would be no new taxes and Democrats refused to talk about any bargain without them.

"That's not going to work," said Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H. "If we're going to increase revenue again, it's got to go to the debt with real entitlement reform and real tax reform when you actually lower rates. ... I'm not going to agree to any more tax increases that are going to go to increase more government."

All of this comes ahead of a new, March 27 deadline that could spell a government shutdown and a debt-ceiling clash coming in May.

Boehner said his chamber would move this week to pass a measure to keep government open through Sept. 30. McConnell said a government shutdown was unlikely to come from his side of Capitol Hill. The White House said it would dodge the shutdown and roll back the cuts, which hit domestic and defense spending in equal share.

"We will still be committed to trying to find Republicans and Democrats that will work on a bipartisan compromise to get rid of the sequester," Sperling said.

Obama has phoned lawmakers but it isn't clear to what end. Boehner and McConnell said they had a productive meeting with Obama on Friday, but it didn't yield a deal.

"Well, no one can think that that's been a success for the president," said Mitt Romney, Obama's unsuccessful rival in November's election. "He didn't think the sequester would happen. It is happening."

Obama and the Republicans have been fighting over federal spending since the opposition party regained control of the House of Representatives in the 2010 midterm elections. The budget cuts were designed in 2011 to be so ruthless that both sides would be forced to find a better deal, but they haven't despite two years to find a compromise.

The $85 billion in cuts apply to the remainder of the 2013 fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. But without a deal they will continue slashing government spending by about $1 trillion more over a 10-year period.

McConnell spoke to CNN's "State of the Union." Boehner was interviewed on NBC's "Meet the Press." Sperling appeared on ABC's "This Week," NBC and CNN. Ayotte appeared on ABC. Romney was a guest on "Fox News Sunday."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-03-03-Budget%20Battle/id-9246d02fa304499d82c6205e115130f5

demi moore roy oswalt kevin martin 2012 senior bowl chuck series finale welcome back kotter 2001 a space odyssey

Our Family Scrapbook: SEVEN

I can't believe how quickly time is flying! ?My biggest baby girl is 7! ?We had a big day Thursday celebrating! ?Sara Beth is still so sweet and thoughtful. ?She absolutely loves school and learning! ?She has really enjoyed playing soccer this year.

We started the morning before school with some of "Mrs. Kipp's bread" while she opened presents from us!

A quick pic of the kiddos--this was about as good as Sam was all day. ?He quickly went downhill with strep! Poor guy!

We had her birthday party right after school. ?She decided she wanted to do a cake decorating party! It was such a fun party! ?We will definitely be doing it again! I have been baking and freezing cakes for about three weeks so that each child would have a 9 inch round. ?That part was fun and not hard. ?I did make all the icing which I will not do again. ?It was an absolute mess! ?It took hours and I think my kitchen will permanently have a layer of powdered sugar! ?Next time, I will find a bakery that will sell me some!

While the girls were eating snacks I showed them (in about 3 minutes) how to decorate a cake. ?This was the cake we used as her birthday cake and ate at the end of the party.

Cake boxes they decorated with foam stickers and sharpies?

One of the little girls was allergic to eggs so I made her an eggless cookie cake. They took home their spreaders and cake. ?I had sprinkles, m &m's, and 3 different colors of icing to decorate their masterpiece. ?They all frosted their cake with a light pink.

Their snacks were goldfish, oranges, and cheese cubes. ? The drinks took 5 minutes to do and were so fun. ?I took pink chocolate and put it around the glasses with pink and orange sugar. ?I filled the glasses with orange sherbert and gingerale.

snack time

sick Sam

The girls had so much fun and worked so hard! ?I could not have done it without my Mom and Sandi! ?They both helped so much! ?Definitely need extra hands!

Dad (he helped a ton too) did get Sam to eat a few bites of a frozen milkshake!

Source: http://zebandanna.blogspot.com/2013/03/seven.html

bobby valentine bobby valentine miguel cabrera Karrueche Tran dodd frank Lark Voorhies Jennifer Livingston

Asian shares capped by China PMI slip, US budget worry

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares were capped on Friday, with sentiment dented by lacklustre manufacturing data from China and worries over the economic fallout from Italy's political confusion as well as possible U.S. spending cuts.

European markets are seen narrowly mixed, with financial spreadbetters predicting London's FTSE 100, Paris's CAC-40 and Frankfurt's DAX would open between a 0.1 percent rise and a 0.2 percent fall. Italy's main FTSE MIB stock market index is expected to open down 0.2 percent.

A 0.1 percent drop in U.S. stock futures also hinted at a weak Wall Street start.

But losses were limited by renewed confidence that major central banks will keep taking stimulative steps to support their economies.

China's factory growth cooled in February to multi-month lows after domestic demand dipped to weigh on firms already hit by slack foreign sales, two surveys showed on Friday, underlining the country's patchy economic recovery. But it does not signal China's economy is slipping into another slowdown, analysts said.

China's February official purchasing managers' index (PMI) came in at 50.1, slightly below a 50.2 Reuters poll consensus and the 50.4 posted in January. A private survey showed the final HSBC PMI fell to 50.4 after seasonal adjustments from January's two-year high of 52.3, in line with a flash reading.

"While comfort can be sought from the fact that the Chinese economy remains in expansion territory, the dip from prior PMI readings does illustrate that the recovery is far from linear and that there are still a few bumps in the road," said Tim Waterer, senior trader at Sydney-based CMC Markets.

The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.1 percent, after ending February up 0.5 percent, showing muted reaction to Chinese data.

Australian shares slipped 0.4 percent, pulling back from 4-1/2-year highs touched in the previous session, as big miners lost ground on lower metal prices. South Korean markets were closed on Friday for a public holiday.

The Australian dollar, which is sensitive to data from China, Australia's largest trading partner, was up 0.2 percent to $1.0230.

Japan's Nikkei stock average erased earlier losses to rise 0.5 percent, lifted by expectations for strong reflationary measures from the Bank of Japan in coming months.

Stocks in Indonesia edged higher to a fresh record. Data showed Indonesia's trade deficit narrowed slightly in January from the previous month as exports posted their smallest fall in nearly a year, reflecting recovering global demand and providing early hope that the nation's external balances may improve in 2013.

From Japan, Friday's data showed Japanese companies cut spending on plant and equipment in October-December by 8.7 percent from the same period last year, down for the first time in five quarters amid a slump in exports, showing the world's third-largest economy was still struggling to find a solid footing.

In contrast, a drop in new U.S. claims for jobless benefits last week and a sharp rise in factory activity in the Midwest in February suggested the U.S. economy is improving.

The relative outperformance of the world's leading economy over Japan's may soon turn the Japan-based yen selling into U.S.-led dollar buying, giving a fresh push higher in the dollar/yen, traders say.

The dollar inched up 0.1 percent to 92.65 against the yen.

One factor that could cloud such a positive outlook is the uncertainty over the possible extent of economic damage from the $85 billion in automatic across-the-board "sequestration" spending cuts in the United States set to begin taking effect on Friday.

"Financial markets are eerily calm about the issue. Nobody is talking about the sequestration, and I worry about the seeming lack of interest when market sentiment is far from stable after sharp swings following the Italian election," said Hiroshi Maeba, head of FX trading Japan at UBS in Tokyo.

He said reaction, if any, will likely come in equities and bonds first and spill over to forex, hitting risk-sensitive currencies which may possibly underpin the dollar.

The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday it would likely cut its 2013 growth forecasts for the United States by at least a 0.5 percentage point if the cuts are fully implemented. The IMF now projects that the U.S. economy will grow 2 percent this year.

"The $85 billion in spending cuts is simply too small to make much of a difference to the economy and although it could cause some problems, it will have no bearing on influencing investor allocations among different asset classes," said Ed Meir, an analyst at INTL FCStone, in a note.

U.S. crude fell 0.1 percent to $91.93 a barrel, after earlier hitting a 2013 low of $91.43. Brent crude fell 0.3 percent to $111.05 after falling to a six-week low of $110.86 earlier. Oil prices were weighed by concerns about the global economy and the strength of demand.

Spot gold inched down 0.1 percent to $1,578.81 an ounce after dropping more than 1 percent on Thursday and ending February with its fifth straight monthly drop, the longest string of monthly declines since 1996.

The euro was up 0.1 percent to $1.3074, but near a seven-week trough of $1.3018 plumbed earlier in the week.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/asian-shares-capped-china-pmi-slip-us-budget-060356901--finance.html

april 20 jennifer love hewitt secret service prostitution 4 20 george zimmerman sheree whitfield weather dallas

Mayor reveals plan to keep Kings in Sacramento

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) ? The wealthy investors that are partnering on a plan to keep the Sacramento Kings from moving to Seattle have finally been revealed, and they're the two almost everybody expected ? with a twist.

Mark Mastrov, founder of 24 Hour Fitness, will submit a bid to buy the team to the NBA on Friday, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson said in his State of the City address Thursday night. While Ron Burkle, the billionaire co-owner of the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins, will instead only lead the effort to build a new downtown arena that he hopes will also lure back a WNBA franchise.

"With all due respect to Seattle, I do hope they get a team someday. But let me be perfectly clear: it is not going to be this team," Johnson said. "Not our team. No way."

The Associated Press and other news outlets have reported since Jan. 22 that Mastrov and Burkle were working on a plan to keep the Kings from relocating to Seattle.

Burkle, who also expressed interested in buying the Kings two years ago, had met with NBA Commissioner David Stern at the league's New York headquarters in January before deciding to back out of the bid. Mastrov was among the final bidders for the Golden State Warriors before Joe Lacob and Peter Guber bought the team for an NBA-record $450 million in 2010, and he's hoping the second time going solo in Northern California is the charm.

Neither Mastrov nor Burkle were present for Johnson's speech. Each released statements through the mayor's office expressing excitement but offered no details about the plan.

"This is about building a winning franchise for a winning community," Mastrov said. "Sacramento has proven time and again to be a great NBA market. As a longtime resident of Northern California with deep ties to Sacramento, I am thrilled to be a part of an effort to do something special for this region."

Burkle added: "I am excited about the economic possibilities for the arena and for downtown Sacramento as a whole. We have an opportunity to transform downtown into a vibrant hub of economic and cultural activity that will create jobs and generate a positive economic impact for years to come."

Now Sacramento vs. Seattle showdown is set.

The Maloof family agreed in January to sell 65 percent of the franchise for $341 million to a group led by hedge-fund manager Chris Hansen and Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer. The group already has applied to relocate the team to Seattle next season and restore the SuperSonics, which left the basketball-loving Pacific Northwest for Oklahoma City in 2008.

Johnson has been scrambling to organize local ownership for the Kings ever since.

The NBA Board of Governors is expected to make a decision on the sale by the end of its meetings in mid-April. Johnson, a two-term mayor and former NBA All-Star, believes Sacramento is back after announcing the Mastrov-Burkle plan.

"I've been assured by the commissioner of the NBA that we will be given full consideration," Johnson said.

Sacramento is hoping to revitalize the city with an arena at the Downtown Plaza shopping mall owned by JMA Ventures, whose officers have said they are eager to participate. To show local support for the Kings, Johnson also lined up 20 local investors who each committed $1 million. They hope to buy the 7 percent share of the team now under control of a federal bankruptcy court.

One of those investors is former Sacramento Kings standout Mitch Richmond, who was a 2013 Basketball Hall of Fame finalist.

"He will undoubtedly bring credibility to our efforts," Johnson said.

The mayor also said that Sacramento businesses have committed $50 million in sponsorships and season-ticket sales for the Kings over the next five years, which he hopes will be enough to convince NBA owners.

___

AP Sports Writer Antonio Gonzalez contributed to this report from San Francisco.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mayor-reveals-plan-keep-kings-sacramento-031625369--spt.html

knowshon moreno sovereign citizen komen chrome for android hatchet leah messer freedom riders

Travel & Leisure puts KC on 'best cities for pizza' list - KansasCity.com

Travel & Leisure magazine latest issue features ?America?s Best Cities for Pizza,? and it put Kansas City at No. 10.

?Pizza may seem like an afterthought in the No. 1 city for barbecue, yet the locals clearly need something to periodically cleanse their palates,? the magazine says. It calls Minsky?s Pizza Caf? & Bar the traditional favorite, but puts Pizzabella as the new contender with its chorizo-with-pesto or egg and pancetta pizza choices, and sodas and floats from locally owned Little Freshie.

Chicago got the top spot for best pizza city. The magazine says consumers can now find decent ? or even excellent ? New York-style pizza in almost any medium-sized to large city in America, but finding even ?passable Chicago-style pizza outside of Chicago still poses a challenge.?

Authentic, Neapolitan-style pizza also is growing in popularity, and pizza places across the country are putting their own local spin into their products - brisket pizza in San Antonio, lobster pizza in Boston, and a Fritos-topped one in Houston.

Source: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/03/01/4094144/travel-leisure-puts-kc-on-best.html

nicki minaj grammy jason whitlock beach boys tony bennett joe walsh the civil wars duggar miscarriage

Mutation location is the key to prognosis

Friday, March 1, 2013

The three most important factors in real estate are location, location, location, and the same might be said for mutations in the gene MECP2, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute (NRI) at Texas Children's Hospital in a report in the journal Cell.

"Where a mutation occurs can affect the severity of the symptoms of the disease," said Dr. Huda Zoghbi, professor of molecular and human genetics at BCM and director of the NRI. Zoghbi, corresponding author of the report, found the MECP2 gene in 1999 and confirmed that deficiency in the protein causes Rett syndrome, a post natal genetic disease that mainly affects girls.

In the study, she and her colleagues relied on data from rare male patients with disruptions in MECP2 that showed that severity of symptoms could be influenced by the location of the gene mutation. The few boys with this disorder fell into two broad categories: Those who suffered severe brain disease and death before age 4 and those who lived for decades with symptoms similar to that of Rett or developmental delay and other disorders similar to those seen in autism.

Looking at the placement of the mutations in the boys, they hypothesized there was a distinct difference in symptoms seen in boys who had mutations at amino acid 270 in the protein and those who had mutations only slightly farther along, at amino acid 273. The protein is truncated or shorter in those with amino acid 270 mutations than those with the mutation at amino acid 273.

After Steven Baker, a graduate student in the Program in Developmental Biology at BCM, generated and characterized mice that had mutations at the two sites of the protein, he found that mice who had mutations at amino acid 273 lived longer and developed symptoms later than those mice who had mutations at amino acid 270 or those who lacked the MeCP2 protein all together (knock-out mice).

One reason for the differences could be that the mutation at amino acid 270 disrupts a key topological feature of the DNA ? an AT-Hook domain that is a DNA binding motif. By disrupting this domain, the mutation could affect the way the protein bind the DNA and make the already truncated protein much less effective.

"The participation of patients and their families with Rett researchers really helped us to key in on regions of MeCP2 that are critical for its function," said Baker, who is also an M.D./Ph.D. student in BCM's Medical Student Training Program.

The researchers propose a model for this DNA binding in which MeCP2 binds to sites across the genome. In some spots where this occurs, the protein manipulates the structure of the nearby chromatin.

"We think that one function of MeCP2 (the protein associated with the gene) is to alter the architecture of chromatin (the mass of proteins and DNA found in the nucleus of the cell)," said Zoghbi, who is also Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.

Baker said, "The picture of MeCP2 as a chromatin architectural factor is emerging from the combined efforts of many laboratories. Understanding how MeCP2 modifies chromatin structure will ultimately allow us to understand why it is so important for neuronal health."

Others who took part in this work include Lin Chen, Angela Dawn Wilkins, Peng Yu and Olivier Lichtarge, all of BCM.

###

Baylor College of Medicine: http://www.bcm.edu/news/mediacenter

Thanks to Baylor College of Medicine for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 11 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127076/Mutation_location_is_the_key_to_prognosis

adrian gonzalez Jerry Nelson Foo Canoodle Isaac path Tropical Storm Isaac path Hurricane Katrina

Apple's newly revealed satellite phone patent could technically ...

Feb 28, 2013 - 05:15 PM EST ? AAPL: 441.40 (-3.17, -0.71%) | NASDAQ: 3160.19 (-2.07, -0.07%)

Thursday, February 28, 2013 ? 4:02 pm ? 9 Comments

?On February 28, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals technology that could support a future iPhone with satellite capabilities,? Jack Purcher reports for Patently Apple.

?Satellite phones or satphones are popular on expeditions into remote areas where terrestrial cellular service is unavailable,? Purcher reports. ?Apple?s patent filing states that the use of satellites for personal and business communications is an important technique in global communication networks.?

Purcher reports, ?Satellite communication systems provide obvious benefits that allow users to transmit and receive communication signals over a large footprint. Apple?s invention advantageously provides a method and system for achieving a link improvement in a diverse communication system such as a satellite-based system.?

Read more in the full article here.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader "Dan K." for the heads up.]

Source: http://macdailynews.com/2013/02/28/apples-newly-revealed-satellite-phone-patent-could-technically-apply-to-tv/

hoodie hoosiers temperance world bank kim kardashian flour bomb hunger games box office xavier