GRAND STRAND, SC (WMBF) - The Tornado Watch has been canceled in the Pee Dee but remains in effect for Horry and Georgetown counties until 5 p.m.
Around 12:30 p.m. they also issued a TORNADO WARNING for Robeson County until 1 p.m. That warning was canceled as the storm moved quickly out of that area.
The Tornado Watch has been canceled for everyone EXCEPT Horry and Georgetown counties.
Areas of the deep south experienced this severe weather on Christmas with an unofficial count of at least 30 reported tornadoes. These conditions will continue to affect drivers hitting the roads as the storms pass through the Carolinas.
WMBF Storm Team Meteorologist Jamie Arnold warns that the biggest concern for travelers will be strong winds at 60 mph or higher.
"Our probabilities for tornadoes are unusually high. Obviously late December you don't think of as your typical severe weather season but this is a very dynamic storm system," Arnold explains. "It's already produced a record number of tornadoes so far on Christmas day and we're going to see that threat continue into the Carolina's."
To break down the threat, Arnold says that areas along I-95 from Darlington to Bennettsville may experience effects as early as 9 a.m. Other inland areas from Florence to Marion can expect severe storms from 11 a.m. until around 12 p.m. Wednesday.
Coastal areas from Whiteville, to Conway and Murrells Inlet to Georgetown should be prepared for severe weather from 12 p.m. until 3 p.m.
Arnold says the system should move out of the Grand Strand around 4 p.m. Wednesday.
To stay on top of local weather conditions continue to tune into WMBF News on the air, online at WMBFNews.com or download the?free WMBF News Storm Team App?for your iPhone or Android phone.
If you don't have a smartphone just text "WMBFFORECAST", all one word, to 84300 to start receiving daily updates twice a day straight to your phone.
Iran to relocate airport after oil found under runway. Iran plans to relocate an airport in the southwest of the country after discovering oil deposits under its runway, media reported. The National Iranian Oil Company "intends to buy Ahvaz airport due to the existence of oil deposits under the airport's tarmac," the state broadcaster's website quoted Mohammad Rasoulinejad, managing director of the Iranian Airports Company, as sayin...
Top 10 Sports Stories of 2012: #4 - State Volleyball | KTVQ.com | Q2 | Billings, Montana
www.ktvq.com
BILLINGS - South Central Montana has been a hotbed of volleyball talent for years. At least one, usually more, state title trophies come home to this area every November. But when all four make their way back, it's hard to ignore.
Jesco von Puttkamer, a NASA engineer who helped launch the first astronauts to the moon, died Thursday (Dec. 27) at the age of 79 following a brief illness.
Von Puttkamer joined NASA in 1962 when Wernher von Braun invited him to join his rocket team based at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Von Braun and his team's work led to the development of the mighty Saturn V rocket ? the rocket responsible for landing the Apollo 11 astronauts on the moon in 1969.
"Jesco was an institution at NASA," said William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Human Exploration and Operations at NASA headquarters in Washington D.C., in a statement. "His time here spanned almost the entire breadth of the agency's human spaceflight programs. He was a direct link from von Braun's efforts to get people off the ground to the International Space Station and 12 years of continuous human presence."
After ending his work at Marshall in 1974, von Puttkamer moved to NASA's headquarters in Washington D.C. to work with the International Space Station team documenting the lives of the residents aboard the ISS.
In addition to his contributions space science, von Puttkamer also made his mark on the world of science fiction. He served as the technical advisor for "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" in 1979, and his novelette, "The Sleeping God," was included in an anthology of work based on the series. He also penned more than a dozen books on spaceflight.
Follow Miriam Kramer on Twitter?@mirikramer?or SPACE.com?@Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook?&?Google+.?
Copyright 2012 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama says 50 U.S. troops have deployed to the African country of Chad to help evacuate U.S. citizens and embassy personnel from the neighboring Central African Republic's capital of Bangui in the face of rebel advances toward the city.
Obama informed congressional leaders of Thursday's deployment in a letter Saturday citing a "deteriorating security situation" in the Central African Republic.
The evacuation of the U.S. diplomats comes in the wake of criticism of the Obama administration's handling of diplomatic security at its consulate in Benghazi, Libya. The ambassador and three other Americans were killed in a Sept. 11 attack.
In the Central African Republic, rebels have seized at least 10 northern towns. On Saturday they continued their advance, seizing the city of Sibut, 114 miles from Bangui.
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All Critics (45) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (44) | Rotten (1)
"Brooklyn Castle" easily checkmates your inner cynic.
Katie Dellamaggiore's lively and affecting documentary introduces us to a cast of characters that's very winning (in both senses of the word).
It's not To Sir, With Love: It's fierce ambition, the channeling of emotion, and hours of drilling.
Enlightening, inspiring and expertly crafted.
An irresistibly uplifting doc.
Castle is suspenseful, funny and, particularly in its depiction of the challenging home lives of some of the kids, moving.
... a powerful and positive story about dedicated teachers helping kids succeed no matter what their circumstances
Like chess, not exactly a high-energy experience but seeing what these kids accomplish, seemingly against all odds is breathtaking all the same.
...provides a corrective to the popular image of American schools as obsessed with sports and popularity, and it makes the strongest possible case for funding after-school activities.
Chess, brilliant young students and great teachers potent mix.
The I.S. 318 team? A delightfully motley, vulnerable, multicultural bunch, whose addiction to chess has allowed them higher aspirations for top high schools and, eventually, college and careers. You will root for them like crazy.
We meet five of the team's members and several of their teachers; by its end, you'll be rooting for them all.
"BROOKLYN CASTLE is a compelling, engaging and inspiring Documentary, featuring Junior High kids that you can relate to. Even if you don't know the game of Chess all too well, it won't stop you from enjoying this pleasant film."
Brooklyn Castle provides a snapshot of indomitable American can-do attitude, and gives one hope.
The admirable Brooklyn Castle transcends its formula to become an optimistic look at extracurricular education and young people.
Great story, well-made, what's not to like?
It's clear that chess isn't just a game; for these students, it can also open doors.
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Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the most extravagant flashy lifestyle, the deluxe villa, the fly palace of Samsung Semiconductor Inc. It only exists as a pile of architects' drawings right now, and probably looks nothing like the Minecraft wonderment shown above, but when it's finished the 10-story San Jose structure will boast the following:
A new sales and R&D center, built in the stead of some existing Samsung offices, with floor space totaling 1.1 million square feet.
A layout that seeks to "encourage interaction among staff" and "foster connections with the community," while ultimately improving Sammy's "soft capabilities"
A parking garage and an "amenity pavilion" (whatever that is, we just know we can't afford one)
So, that's pretty much it in terms of detail. But to put all this into perspective, we're talking about an HQ that will be slightly bigger than Apple's recent 3,600-worker expansion in Austin, Texas -- or around a third the size of an infinite loop.
Begin a new page separate?authentic nfl jerseys? from the text for your bibliography or reference list. A reference list is different from a bibliography. The Eco-Friendly Bay Packers entered the NFL playoffs as a single with the league?s hottest teams, and mounted a 21 level second half comeback to drive overtime in opposition to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Factors seemed great when Eco-Friendly Bay won the toss, but only moments later on their season was above right after an Aaron Rodgers fumble that Karlos Dansby returned 17 yards to the recreation profitable rating.
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If your team is doing well, you probably?http://www.2012bestjerseystop.com?? won?t have to mess around with the prices of tickets, merchandise, food or parking (which means you?ll have more money for advertising and for those off-season acquisitions), but if you keep having losing records, be prepared to lose some of your money by having to sell tickets and the like at a cheaper price. And of course, only on the Playstation 2 will you find online playIn the end, MADDEN 2004 is the best football game of the season.
2) Address the issues that caused the problem. For Vick, this meant finding a new circle of friends. In conclusion, you should invest your time into looking for the most professional sports book that has strict ethical guidelines and principles to provide you with accurate NFL odds. Online reviews and personal experience of friends and family members are great aids in choosing the respective sports book.
Their lucrative deal will allow one of their most successful tracks ?fire? to be used in the title sequences of every match over the next three years. If this was only a deal for the UK, it would still be incredibly valuable but the league plans to use the song on every game it shows in the 200 countries it broadcasts..
You know how the word-association game goes: Someone says a word, and you blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. If a friend said ?fantasy sports,? you probably answer, ?football.? So, you might be surprised to learn that fantasy sports actually started with baseball back in the early 1980s.
Oxfam UK launched a new advertising campaign this week seeking to shift the focus to progress in Africa and away from 'depressing' images fostered by Live Aid and other well-intentioned efforts.
By M. Alex Johnson, NBC News
Twenty-seven years after Live Aid viscerally brought Africa's famine and poverty home to billions worldwide, the head of a major international charity?warned Wednesday that the "depressing" stereotypes left in its wake were counterproductive and risked driving help away.
The British arm of Oxfam International called images of starving babies and other familiar depictions of Africa over the last quarter-century "manipulative and hopeless," desensitizing potential donors and leading them to the conclusion that conditions in the developing world can never improve.?
Oxfam launched a new advertising campaign this week celebrating Africa's natural beauty and progress toward alleviating hunger. Called "Food for All," the campaign features images of lush green scenery, wildlife and thriving African food markets.
The campaign's tagline: "Let's Make Africa Famous for Its Epic Landscapes, Not Hunger."
Dame Barbara Stocking, the British charity's chief executive, said in a posting on Oxfam's website that "we've come a long way since the 1980s and Band Aid's 'Do They Know It's Christmas?'"
But "we need to shrug off the old stereotypes and celebrate the continent's diversity and complexity," she contended.
Band Aid, the musical charity supergroup formed in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, recorded "Do They Know It's Christmas?" in response to the crippling famine in Ethiopia. In 2004, on the song's 20th-anniversary re-release, the World Development Movement condemned it as "patronizing, false and out of date."
Geldof and Ure organized the landmark fundraising concert Live Aid in 1985, bringing dire conditions in Africa front and center to people around the world.
"'Patronizing' isn't the word" to describe the message fostered by Band Aid and other well-intentioned campaigns, Stocking said Wednesday in an interview on Sky News. "It's just this negativity. ...
"In order for people to understand what's happening in Africa, we've also got to tell the good stories, and there has been good news in Africa," said Stocking, who is retiring in the new year after serving with the charity since 2001.?
"Otherwise, people just feel put off and (believe) there's nothing that can be done about Africa," she said. "And that's the big worry for us ? that people feel it's all hopeless, when it clearly isn't."
World Bank statistics indicate that the world's heaviest concentration of malnutrition remains in Africa, afflicting as many as 15 percent of all children under 5 in some countries in the southern and eastern regions. And in June, the U.N. Children's Fund reported that 1.5 million children were at imminent risk of starvation in the western half of the continent.
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But while acknowledging that international aid has made few if any inroads on hunger, Oxfam said in a report this month that countries south of the Sahara Desert had made "one of the most remarkable turnarounds in development ... in the last decade." It called the 22 years from 1990 to 2011 an "African renaissance."
Oxfam: Africa is wide awake but still hungry (.pdf)
"Economies have been growing even in the face of economic and financial instability elsewhere in the world, poverty has fallen and child mortality has dropped considerably, among the most visible indicators of progress," the report said.
The real story, Stocking said Wednesday, is that "aid money is really working."
But in the end, she said, "we don't want to have to give aid money to Africa. We want economic development, enterprise ? that's what we're really aiming to do."
More world stories from NBC News:
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The Article: States Shift to Merit Scholarships The Source: The Wall Street Journal The Author: Jennifer Levitz and Scott Thurm The Date: 12/23/12
More than 25 states award some financial aid for college students based on academic achievement, as opposed to need. Thirteen states, primarily in the South, award more than half of their financial aid based on merit.
Now that movement may be picking up steam.
Last year, with Georgia?s scholarship program facing financial distress, lawmakers decided to increase the academic requirements for scholarships. Administrators say the change will help keep the program solvent. But it also wound up funneling a greater portion of the remaining aid to higher-income students.
Georgia?whose Hope scholarship program is among the largest merit-based programs in the country?is at the forefront of a growing national debate over state-backed financial aid for college students. Should states direct aid to the highest-achieving students, regardless of income? Or should the money go to poorer students?
Proponents of merit, or some combination of merit and need, say focusing on achievement helps reduce a ?brain drain? of talented residents leaving home states, and rewards those who study hard and apply themselves.
Though the trend rarely gets much attention and is obscured by increases in federal grants to poor students, 27 states have created some sort of merit-aid program since Georgia launched its own in 1993.
Of those, 13 states based over half of their grant money on merit in 2010-2011, the latest year available. In Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Dakota and Georgia, more than 85% of grants were merit-based.
Now, with funding for the scholarships falling behind steady hikes in college tuition and in the number of kids receiving them, lawmakers in Tennessee, South Carolina, New Mexico and other states are weighing some tough calls on how to distribute their grants.
For its part, Georgia rejected proposals by some lawmakers for an income cap and decided instead to require better grades and, for the first time, strong SAT or ACT test scores for full-tuition scholarships.
Digging Deeper:
How does a state balance the need for responsible budgets, with a desire to make college more affordable for all people? Do they have a moral obligation to make a college education accessible to all people? Does this trend in merit based scholarships represent a new form of de facto discrimination?
This entry was posted on Thursday, December 27th, 2012 at 5:21 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Life cannot survive without water. However, water, which is a source of all lives, can also be a source of diseases when contaminated with microbes and toxic substances. It is therefore necessary to ensure you are drinking is free from impurities and contaminants.
With the rising risk of water contamination,water filtershave become indispensable for most homes.Always purchase an NSF certified water filter which removes a lot of hazardous and life-threatening pollutants and contaminants. Also make sure to check with the manufacturer of that filter to see if their product removes the contaminants. You can filter the tap water that comes from your faucet by adding a water filter. Some of them are mounted on walls while others are directly attached at the end of your faucets. This is definitely less expensive than bottled water.
Carbon filters are commonly used at home. There are two types of carbon filters- granular activated filtration devices and carbon block filters. The use of carbon membrane as a filtering device is essential because carbon absorbs contaminants and offensive odors from the water.
Here is a breakdown of the different kinds of water filter available:
Jug type water filters - is a good choice as it comes with a good filter cartridge.
Refrigerator Filters - these are plumbed into a refrigerator.
Under sink water filters - These are plumbed into your kitchen faucet and provide clean water on tap.They have the disadvantage of not removing micro-organisms.
Multi stage filters - These are usually a multi part filter system which may have three different filters. These are usually pumped systems so they need an electricity supply.
A further advanced filter is called the reverse osmosis filter - Although this filter produces excellent quality water, but the process is rather slow and can take a time to process enough for a large family.
Whole House Water filters This is much larger but works on the same basis as multi stage water filters. They are correspondingly more expensive and many whole house water systems are designed for different house sizes.
Depending upon personal requirements and nature of contaminants present in water, users can purchase a water filter that best suits their homes.
If you are looking for the best Water Filters for your home then, visitwww.iceandwine.com we are completely committed to making this website your destination of choice for the products you want.
The internet has provided more and more convenient ways of shopping and one of the increasingly popular nowadays is?online auctions site. With more businesses discovering the benefits of putting their items on online auctions sites, this industry is starting to flourish. But what can these online auctions site bring to you as an individual and to you as the seller. Below is the rundown of the advantages of participating on an online auction whether by being a bidder or a seller:
When you are a bidder:
No time, place and location limit
Gone were that days that auctions is set on a certain day in a certain place at a certain time. With online auctions, you may bid on an item that you want anytime, anywhere and any day as long as you have an access to the internet. You may participate in auction that is based on another country for as long as they ship to your country and you may bid on an item anytime.
Win an item even if it?s not available on your location
The flexibility of online auctions is that you may take advantage of an overseas one for as long as the shipping can be arranged. Thus if the item is not available at your country you may try your luck looking for that item on an?online auctions site, bid on the item and once you win it have it shipped to you. Easy right!
Spend less, save more
Online auction sites are meant for you to save thus take advantage of that! Bid on items that you want and get great deals for it. You?ll not only get to spend less, you also get to save a lot!
When you are a seller:
Increases exposure
With online auction sites available, well, online, it gives your business and products a wider coverage of exposure. Even visitors from another country may access online auctions thus if you plan to expand internationally this is one thing that you have to consider. These online auction sites also do their own marketing featuring your items, which means additional promotions for your products and services in return.
Profitability
With the wide coverage that online auction sites can provide, visitors may turn into sales on your behalf. Think of it as another form of marketing strategy but instead of just plain marketing you still get to gain profit from it. A win-win situation for all businesses!
Instant sale
Once you put an item on an auction, there is a great chance that people will turn into bidding on it (as long as your item is worth bidding for). Thus take advantage of the benefits an online auction can bring to you and your business and see your products sold easily!
Whether you are a bidder or seller, online auction sites are meant for you to have fun! Make sure that you maximise your online bidding experience.
After being approved by a 64 percent vote in a referendum, Egypt's Islamist-backed constitution was signed into law by President Mohamed Morsi Wednesday.
By Tamim Elyan,?Reuters / December 26, 2012
Members of the constitutional assembly speak during a session at the Shura Council building in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday. The official approval of Egypt's disputed, Islamist-backed constitution Tuesday held little hope of stabilizing the country after two years of turmoil. Islamist President Mohammed Morsi may now face a more immediate crisis with the economy falling deeper into distress.
Mohammed Asad/AP
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Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi signed into law a new constitution shaped by his Islamist allies, which he says will help end political turmoil and allow him to focus on fixing the fragile economy.
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Anxiety about a deepening political and economic crisis has gripped?Egypt?in past weeks, with many people rushing to buy dollars and take out their savings from banks. The government has imposed new restrictions to reduce capital flight.
The new charter, which the secularist opposition says betrays?Egypt's 2011 revolution by dangerously mixing religion and politics, has polarised the Arab world's most populous nation and prompted occasionally violent protest on the streets.
Results announced on Tuesday showed Egyptians had approved the text with about 64 percent of the vote, paving the way for a new parliamentary election in about two months.
The win in the referendum is the Islamists' third straight electoral victory since veteran autocrat?Hosni Mubarak?was toppled in 2011, following parliamentary elections last year and the presidential vote that brought Mursi to power this year.
Mursi's government, which has accused opponents of damaging the economy by prolonging political upheaval, now faces the tough task of building a broad consensus as it prepares to impose unpopular austerity measures to prop up the economy.
The presidency said on Wednesday that Mursi had signed a decree enforcing the charter overnight after the official announcement of the result of the referendum approving the basic law,?Egypt's first constitution since Mubarak's overthrow.
The opposition has condemned the new basic law as too Islamist, saying it could allow clerics to intervene in the lawmaking process and leave minority groups without proper legal protection. It also said the referendum was marred by widespread electoral violations.
DEAR ABBY: While searching for two of my husband's childhood friends, with his knowledge, I believe I may have found a child he doesn't know is his. I'm not positive that the child is his, but the time frame and location indicate that he could be, and there's a strong resemblance to my husband's brother. (I have seen photos on the Internet.) I am curious whether my hunch is correct, but I'm afraid of asking the questions, not knowing how they would be received. My husband is a kind and caring person, a great husband and father. ...
Foreclosure has affected many people till date resulting in a drastic increase of foreclosure victims. Not just this, these rapidly increasing foreclosures are affecting the financial system and the realty market as well. The only way to recover these bad debts is to sale the property of the foreclosure victims by organizing an auction. In this public sale, there is a possibility to recuperate these non performing assets.
A foreclosure victim is a person who suffers the legal course of action of foreclosure. When an owner purchases a home using a home loan, he deposits a security interest which is a legal agreement. When he is not able to pay the mortgage loan and misses the installments, the lender takes a step against the owner and files a lawsuit against him. At this point, the owner is termed as a Foreclosure Victim.
However the foreclosure victim is given a chance, when a notice is send to him, as a warning, to take a step to stop foreclosure. If in any case, he does not respond to the ?Notice of Default?, a court order called ?Right of Redemption? takes action in which the whole property that was actually the security interest is taken back by the lending institution in a period of two to three months.
There may be many reasons due to which the foreclosure victim might not be able to make the payments of the mortgage loan. For instance, being without a job, death of the homeowner, financial crisis, divorce, transfer to other state and interest rate hike to name a few. All such causes raise the reasons for the Foreclosure victim to make default payment. The foreclosure victim and his family are badly affected as they need to vacate the house on a short notice.
Foreclosure victims can opt for several alternatives like short sale, deed in lieu of foreclosure, loan mitigation and hardship letter to name a few. Hardship letter is a preventive measure that can make a way out for the foreclosure victim and he can stop the course of action.
In this letter, the foreclosure victim brings up all his problems, which he is going through including all the reasons for default payments and expects that the lender will cooperate and find a middle ground. The Loss Mitigator reads the letter and decides whether to facilitate the foreclosure victim or continue with the course of action. The owner can mention some major points that can be negotiated like to reduce the installment size, pardon a few installments, helping in short sale, extend the loan period or provide time for paying installments to name a few. This will help the owner to come out of his problem and ultimately will stop the process of foreclosure.
There are a several options that are provided on the internet, which can also lend you a hand in coming out of the huge problems of foreclosure. So if you want some information regarding dealing with foreclosures, do not forget to surf the internet as well.
Panda Penguin SEO Is Now Offering Business Search Engine Optimization Plans With New Affordable SEO Prices Panda Penguin SEO Services has released their new business search engine optimization plans offering low SEO prices after the last Panda Penguin updates from Google. (PRWeb December 12, 2012) Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/business-search-engine/optimization/prweb10226089.htm
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TECKpert Receives Top Award as Leading Provider of Internet Marketing and Web Design Services TECKpert is recognized as a leading firm in South Florida for corporate web design and internet marketing services. (PRWeb December 03, 2012) Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/Legal_Marketing/12/prweb10170428.htm
Internet Marketing Services Toronto Company Powerhouse Internet Marketing Presents Conversion Rate Optimization to ? Powerhouse Internet Marketing ? http://www.powerhouseinternetmarketing.com is pleased to announce the inclusion of Conversion Rate Optimization tools as part of their award winning client dashboard. Getting traffic to your website is hard enough, getting them to convert to a sale is even harder. This new tool makes it easy for clients to see precise user flow throughout their website.New York ?
Ribbun Software Launches World Class SEO Services at Local Rates Ribbun Software to Provide Cost-Effective Internet Marketing Solutions to Indian BusinessesJaipur, Rajasthan (PRWEB) November 27, 2012 A well-known leader in the internet marketing services segment, Ribbun Software is now all set to provide cost-effective online branding and marketing services to businesses in the Indian sub-continent. Many small and medium scale companies operating in the ?
How SEO Is Revamping Itself for 2013 Anyone who has been inside the world of SEO for more than a year or two can tell you all about what Google Panda and Google Penguin meant for developers and how they were greeted with cataclysmic fervor. But through all the change, hardship, and confusion, there is at least [...]
SEO Buying & Selling: 4 Tricks Creating Unachievable Expectations Four SEO selling and buying tricks produce unrealistic expectations and create imbalance in the SEO services market. These tricks will only lead to failure, because the time and effort required to meet SEO expectations and results won t match.
Lodging Interactive More Than Doubles its Growth and Service Offering in 2012 Hospitality's leading provider of interactive Internet marketing services earned multiple awards, introduced numerous new services, offered several FREE audits, and continued to support leading industry associations and tradeshows in 2012
(Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune) Governor Gary Herbert on Dec. 12, 2012 as he releases his budget recommendations at Granite Technical Institute in Salt Lake City.
Utah expected its federal high-risk pool ? subsidized health coverage for the sick and uninsurable ? to be an easy sell.
But it proved easier than state officials ever imagined.
?
Examining exchange plans
In letters to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services last week, several advocacy groups complained about the lack of clarity and transparency surrounding Utah?s plans for Avenue H. Among them: a physicians group, federally certified community health clinics, AARP Utah, Voices for Utah Children and the Utah Health Policy Project.
The Salt Lake Tribune obtained parts of Utah?s exchange blueprint through a records request. They make promises, say advocates, but don?t say how the state will live up to them.
?There?s so much in there that?s theoretical,? said Judi Hilman, executive director of the Utah Health Policy Project. ?If I were the feds, I would agree to a federally facilitated exchange or give Utah conditional approval subject to our meeting certain requirements and deadlines.?
See the embedded documents for details of Utah?s blueprint.
Links to other states? plans:
New York
New Mexico
Washington state
Minnesota
That?s because hospitals, looking to get paid for treating uninsured patients, did the heavy lifting. They filled out and submitted papers on behalf of patients and, in some cases, paid their monthly premiums, no strings attached.
"People who have a financial interest in making things work will find a way to do it, and do it quickly," said Utah Gov. Gary Herbert?s health adviser, Norm Thurston, citing the experience as proof that Utah?s hands-off, private-market approach to another Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirement ? health exchanges ? will work.
Exchanges, online insurance marketplaces, are designed to be a "no wrong door" portal to health coverage where consumers can compare plans, see if they?re eligible for federal subsidies to purchase them, or enroll in low-income programs such as Medicaid.
"The idea is you can enter this door and walk out with coverage," said Lincoln Nehring, a health policy analyst at Voices for Utah Children.
Utah already has a "shop" exchange for small businesses, Avenue H, which the governor has asked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to declare as good enough for Obamacare.
Herbert promises to open it to individuals and larger employers and to enforce new insurance price controls and consumer protections. But he argues the customer outreach and hand-holding required to help people navigate insurance options are a waste of money and unrealistic.
His proposal is being viewed as a test case of just how much leeway the Obama administration is willing to give states in running their own exchanges.
HHS will not comment on the negotiations, but Thurston said sticking points are mostly on small, technical issues.
story continues below
It?s the details that worry consumer advocates, who are pushing for greater clarity on Utah?s plan and fear Herbert?s vision for Avenue H falls woefully short.
Of top concern, they say, is Utah?s poor track record in linking eligible Utahns with health safety nets.
The state ranked 50th in enrolling eligible children in Medicaid and the Children?s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in 2010, said Nehring, noting that 80 percent of the state?s 102,400 children are eligible for these programs.
"Utah families are in particular need," he said, "of the ACA?s vision of an exchange that will connect [them] with all their health coverage options."
Under the ACA, those shopping on an exchange must first be screened to see if they?re entitled to Medicaid or CHIP. They are also screened for federal tax credits to apply toward the purchase of their coverage.
States are supposed to hire navigators to help people pick plans best suited to their needs. The rules say they have to provide interpretive services, aides for people with disabilities, and publish "culturally and linguistically appropriate outreach" materials.
But Herbert?s advisers argue these services are widely available in the community.
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Copyright 2012 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Preparing for a DIY home improvement task can be quite thrilling. Whether you?re painting your house, installing new flooring or building a deck, you can look forward to how great your home will look in a few months. Although, before you initiate the process, you need to be sure that you have planned everything right, in order for things to turn out the way you would like them to.
Before you begin any form of DIY home improvement task, make sure that it is sensible and that you can fit it into your schedule and that you have the right skills to get it done. The idea of taking on a large project is something many homeowners are zealous about and then they either lose their oomph amidst it or learn that it was much trickier than they had imagined. Some tasks take quite a bit more time and expertise than others and you should think about this sincerely before you begin work. If needed, look for some guidance form an experienced individual who knows about this type of task. It is more excellent to not even start a project or hire someone else than to start it, than to never finish.
We want to say a fast word about our conversation re home improvement. Take a look at what is occurring on your end, and that may help you to refine what you need. There are always some points that will have more of an influence than others. No matter what, your careful attention to the matter at hand is one thing you and all of us have to do. The latter half of our talk will center on a few highly relevant issues as they concern your possible circumstances.
One way to make a big difference in how your rooms look is by putting in new carpets. One of the improvement jobs you might want to do on your own is laying your new carpet. Having carpets installed professionally is quite expensive, and it can save you quite a bit to do it yourself. More expensive carpet is way nicer, so saving on labor will allow you to put the money into better quality. There are many styles and varieties of carpet, and you should make your selection carefully. Choosing the carpet and its color will depend on how well it matches the furniture and walls of the rest of your house. It will take you some time and work to install your own carpet, and the right tools will have to be gotten some where.
Saving money is the most important reason for doing home improvement jobs by yourself. Don?t reduce the quality of tools or materials, just to save money. There?s nothing wrong with buying quality used or recycled items, but don?t buy cheap materials that are going to affect the results of your project. Choosing the right interior or exterior paint, is a good example of this. Cheaper paint will cost you more money in the long run, because you will have to repaint sooner, and it won?t look as good either. In most cases, inexpensive materials fall apart quicker, so items like cheap tile which will break in a year or two, should not be purchased.
DIY home improvement projects involve many factors, which we have looked at. Any more the best place to look for information might be online, but there are plenty of books and magazines, as well as TV programs with plenty of information. With the right planning, you can make many repairs, add an addition to your home or remodel a room. Your home can be changed to look better with lots of possibilities.
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KAILUA, Hawaii (Reuters) - Taking what promised to be a very brief Christmas break from the ongoing struggle to avoid the "fiscal cliff" of tax hikes and spending cuts, President Barack Obama relaxed with his family on Saturday at a beach retreat in Hawaii.
Congress was to return to Washington next Thursday and Obama has pledged to work with lawmakers to strike a deal to avoid the economic shock from tax and spending measures set to take effect on January 1 if a deal can't be reached, which many economists say could push the U.S. economy back into recession.
The president is expected to indulge in some of his favorite pastimes on the island where he was born and raised: golf, an expedition for the local treat "shave ice," and an evening out with family and friends. He hit the links at the nearby Marine Corps base under sunny skies on Saturday afternoon.
On Sunday, he is expected to attend funeral services for Senator Daniel Inouye, the long-serving Democrat from Hawaii who died on Monday, but the president has no other public events on his schedule.
On Saturday, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he had urged Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie, a Democrat, to name Inouye's successor "with due haste."
"It is critically important to ensure that the people of Hawaii are fully represented in the pivotal decisions the Senate will be making before the end of the year," Reid, of Nevada, said in a statement.
Obama's idyll was not expected to last more than four days, and he will likely retrace the more than 4,800-mile trip from the Aloha State to Washington after Christmas in a bid to cut a deal with Republicans, who failed on Thursday to agree on competing tax and spending bills of their own.
Before leaving Washington on Friday evening, Obama urged Congress to come up with a stopgap measure to spare the U.S. economy the jolt of $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts economists say would likely derail the economy.
The president asked lawmakers for a stripped-down deal to continue lower tax rates on middle income earners and extend unemployment insurance benefits to avoid some of the worst effects of the "fiscal cliff" in the new year.
Obama's family holiday, in a quiet beach front community on the other side of the island from bustling Honolulu, should also provide some respite from the somber focus on the Newtown, Connecticut, school massacre and the consequent bitter debate over measures to change America's gun culture and prevent violence.
The president's weekly radio and Internet addresses, which in recent weeks have centered on his argument for extending tax cuts for all but the wealthiest Americans, on Saturday offered holiday greetings to U.S. military forces.
(Reporting By Mark Felsenthal and Richard Cowan; Editing by Vicki Allen, Todd Eastham and Paul Simao)
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir will address the nation and open a major dam on Sudan's national holiday next week, in one of his first major public appearances since undergoing surgery last month, state news agency SUNA said on Sunday.
Sudanese blogs and newspapers had been speculating about Bashir's health because he has cut down public rallies in the past few months.
The 68-year-old leader, who seized power in 1989, went to Saudi Arabia in November for what officials described as a "minor surgery". He also underwent surgery on his vocal cords in Qatar in August.
Bashir will travel to Blue Nile state capital El Damazin for Sudan's independence day on January 1 to open a major dam and give a "speech to the Sudanese nation", SUNA said.
Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in the Darfur region, gave a speech broadcast on television after his operation in Saudi Arabia but has otherwise been less present in public recently.
The veteran leader is known for his fiery speeches and for dancing and waving his walking stick at public events.
Over a 23-year span in power, Bashir has weathered armed rebellions, years of U.S. trade sanctions, an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, waves of student protests and the secession of oil-producing South Sudan last year.
(Reporting by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Stephen Powell)
While BlackBerry 10's final build has yet to be seen by the masses, its hardware has arguably received more views than PSY's Gangnam Style. After sporting the codenames London and L-Series, RIM's upcoming full-screen handset appears to have settled on the recently leaked "Z10" branding. Spicing things up is an alleged inventory screenshot from Carphone Warehouse obtained by N4BB displaying a product listing for a BlackBerry Z10. Sure, this could be nothing more than a placeholder for things to come, but at least now we have a new frontrunner in the Name RIM's next smartphone game. One thing's for sure, BB10 will officially be revealed to the world on January 30th and of course we'll be there to bring you the play-by-play.
He can take it all out at once if he wants, but if you run the numbers he will most likely be better off taking it out over his life expectency. He can also name additional beneficiaries in the event he dies before depleting it, but they would have to continue taking RMD's based on his life expectancy. There is no second stretch.
If you are talking about taking the RMD and investing it into a Roth or TIRA, the usual limitations regarding whether he is an active participant in a qualified plan and income would apply. It would also be limited to the normal allowed contribution based on his age.
Though Robert Pattinson stuck by her, Ben Affleck has left Kristen Stewart?in the dust. Citing a schedule crunch, the actor has backed out of?Focus, a con-artist movie set to costar Stewart and begin filming this spring. Stewart had just said in a recent interview that she was excited to start shooting, but now who knows what will happen. "Hi Kristen. We know that you were excited about working with Ben, but he dropped out, so we got you a replacement," a producer says to her the day she arrives on set. ...
Since World War II, the U.S. has been hailed as the world's breadbasket, pumping grains and meat from its fertile heartland out to the world.
But another country is snatching that mantle away: Brazil.
In 2001, Brazilian agricultural exports totaled $16 billion, according to USDA analyst Oliver Flake. By 2010 exports had climbed to a record $62 billion and reached approximately $80 billion in 2011.
That represents an increase of 400 percent over 10 years. Comparatively, U.S. exports rose about 175 percent over the same period, Flake says.
Inspiring Entrepreneurship & SMB Creation on the World?s Largest Stage
Scottsdale, AZ (PRWEB) December 19, 2012
For the third year in a row, Go Daddy is teaming up with the .CO domain to create a 2013 Super Bowl commercial aimed at anyone who has ever thought about starting their own business. The 30-second ad is set to feature Go Daddy Girl Danica Patrick, but that?s about all either company is revealing about the commercial at this point.
.CO is one of the fastest-growing domain name extensions on the Internet and is a commonly referenced abbreviation for ?company.? Like Go Daddy, .CO is intently focused on helping small businesses, innovators and entrepreneurs to achieve their dreams online.
?It?s a fun story to tell, the trick is to do it in thirty seconds,? said Juan Diego Calle, CEO and Founder of .CO Internet S.A.S., the company behind the .CO domain. ?The Super Bowl is unlike any other broadcast event in the world. We get to share our message with more than a hundred million people during a program where many tune in especially for the commercials. So what will we do? We?re going to inspire people to seize the moment ? to actually launch their big ideas online!?
Go Daddy, the world?s leading Web hosting and domain name provider, has certainly delivered historically when it comes to Super Bowl campaigns. Go Daddy?s Super Bowl resume includes records for Share of Voice, highly sought-after in the PR battles, and Internet traffic spikes, a bonanza for any business.
?Partnering with the dot-CO domain is a great fit for Go Daddy, especially considering we share the same goal of helping small businesses leverage the power of the Internet,? said Go Daddy CMO Barb Rechterman. ?Domain names and websites are part of the mainstream vernacular now and there?s no better place to tell a story than in a Super Bowl commercial.?
The story-telling for the 2013 .CO ad will revolve around how easy it is to create your own business online and use the Internet to grow it quickly. The commercial is being shot in Los Angeles in early January and was developed by the Deutsch NY team.
The Go Daddy, .CO partnership has proven successful in two previous years. Last year?s ?Body Paint? Super Bowl ad drove significant traffic to the GoDaddy.co website. In 2011, .CO garnered massive attention as iconic comedienne Joan Rivers was revealed as the ?surprise? new Go Daddy .CO Girl. That commercial triggered a record-breaking 466 percent increase in domain name registrations within 15 minutes of airing.
One company that experienced the power of registering a .CO domain on the heels of the first .CO Super Bowl ad is CauseForCelebration.CO, an event planning business with a cause-supporting twist. ?The introduction of .CO was a milestone in my business,? said company owner and Go Daddy customer Janet Finden. ?The availability of dot-CO allowed me to secure an ideal domain name to deliver my brand message online.?
To register your .CO domain name, visit GoDaddy.CO.
To find out more about starting a business online, visit Go Daddy.
About Go Daddy
Go Daddy is the world?s largest domain name provider, Web hosting provider and new SSL certificate provider, focused on helping small businesses grow larger. Go Daddy provides dozens of cloud-based services and is the largest worldwide mass-market hosting provider by annual revenue according to Tier1 Research (Mass-Market Hosting Report-Winter 2011) and is the #1 provider of net-new SSL certificates for 2011, according to the Netcraft, LTD Secure Server Survey. To learn more about the company, visit GoDaddy.com/PR.
About .CO
In just over two years since its launch, the .CO domain has become one of the most successful top level domain extensions in history, with nearly 1.4 million web addresses registered by people and companies in over 200 countries. From start-ups and small businesses to big brands and multinational corporations, .CO is increasingly becoming the web address of choice for innovators and entrepreneurs the world over. For more information about .CO, please visit go.co or follow us on Twitter @dotCO.
