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Iran delays missile test, ready for nuclear talks (Reuters)

TEHRAN (Reuters) ? Iran said it had delayed planned long-range missile tests in the Gulf on Saturday and signalled it was ready for fresh talks with the West on its disputed nuclear programme.

Tensions between Iran and the West have been growing since EU leaders said they wanted tougher sanctions against Tehran by the end of next month in a bid to force it to curb a research programme that they suspect is developing nuclear weapons.

Iran responded by warning it could shut the Strait of Hormuz if the EU imposed sanctions on its oil exports, and launched 10 days of naval wargames in the Gulf as a show of strength, rattling oil markets and pushing up the price of crude.

The U.S. Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain, said it would not allow shipping to be disrupted in a waterway through which 40 percent of the world's oil passes.

In the past, Iran has threatened to close the waterway only if attacked by the United States and Israel.

Analysts say that Iran, already under pressure from four rounds of U.N. sanctions, is playing for time and that Tehran's increasingly strident rhetoric shows its clerical leadership is concerned about even harsher penalties.

Against this backdrop, Iran's state media reported early on Saturday that long-range missiles had been launched during the naval exercises.

But Deputy Navy Commander Mahmoud Mousavi later went on the English language Press TV channel to deny they had in fact been fired: "The exercise of launching missiles will be carried out in the coming days."

CARROT AND STICK

Separately, Iranian media reported that nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili would write to the EU foreign policy chief to say Iran was ready for fresh talks on its nuclear programme, which it says is aimed exclusively at power generation.

"Jalili will soon send a letter to Catherine Ashton over the format of negotiations ... then fresh talks will take place with major powers," the semi-official Mehr news agency quoted Iran's ambassador to Germany, Alireza Sheikh Attar, as saying.

Negotiations between Iran and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council - the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France - plus Germany (P5+1) stalled in January.

Ashton, leading the European negotiators, wrote to Jalili in October and has not yet had a reply, her spokesman Michael Mann said. But the bloc was open to meaningful talks with Tehran:

"We continue to pursue our twin-track approach and are open for meaningful discussions on confidence-building measures, without preconditions from the Iranian side."

A U.S. administration official added: "We have indicated for years that we are willing to engage in talks with Iran, provided it is ready to engage in a meaningful and constructive fashion."

Iranian analyst Hamid Farahvashian said Tehran was seeking to send a message to the West that it should think twice about the economic cost of putting pressure on Iran.

"The Iranians have always used this method of carrot and stick ... first they used the stick of closing Hormuz and now the carrot is their willingness for talks," said Farahvashian.

UNDER PRESSURE

Talks between Iran and the P5+1 have been stalled for a year and Malcolm Chalmers, Research Director at the Royal United Services Institute think tank in London, said Europe would be sceptical about the offer.

"EU countries will be wary of yet another attempt by Iran to play for time, seeking to postpone sanctions simply because talks have resumed," he said.

"So Iran will have to offer significant concessions even to get a conversation started on slowing the implementation of sanctions. And, all the time, the Europeans are aware of the growing war talk in Washington, where the pressure on (U.S. President Barack) Obama to launch an 'October surprise' to clinch the (U.S. presidential) election seems to be growing."

The United States and Israel have not ruled out a military option if diplomacy fails to resolve the nuclear dispute.

A senior Western diplomat in Tehran, who asked not to be named, said the fact that the Iranians were stepping up their threats "shows that they are worried about losing petrodollars, on which more than 60 percent of the economy depends."

The Iranian threat briefly pushed benchmark Brent crude up by more than a dollar to over $109 a barrel this week.

Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi told Saturday's weekly Aseman that further EU sanctions would push oil over $200 a barrel.

"IRANIANS WORRIED"

Chalmers said sanctions were most effective in influencing behaviour when they were imminent and credible but not yet in place as, once in place, they were hard to lift, short of a comprehensive conflict resolution.

"The Iranians know this, and are seriously worried by the prospect of an EU oil embargo, especially as it could be followed by action by the U.S.'s close Asian allies," he said.

"They could then be left at the mercy of China and India, who are likely to demand big price discounts in order to shift purchases from Arab countries, who will not be happy, to Iran."

The rising tensions are having an impact at home. Iran's currency has nosedived in recent weeks as ordinary Iranians withdraw money from savings accounts to move them into gold or foreign currency.

The price of staple foods has increased by up to 40 percent in recent months and many critics have put the blame on increasing isolation brought about by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's economic and foreign policies.

Iran's massive media coverage of the naval manoeuvres appeared an attempt by the authorities to strike a patriotic chord among ordinary Iranians worried about a military strike.

"I have already witnessed a war with Iraq in the 1980s ... I can hear the drumbeat of war," said merchant Mohsen Sanaie, 62, glancing over newspaper headlines at a central Tehran newsstand. "One stray bullet could spark a war."

(Additional reporting by Hossein Jaseb, Hashem Kalantari and Ramin Mostafavi; Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Additional reporting by Vicky Buffery in Paris, Matthew Falloon in London and Alexandra Hudson in Berlin; Editing by Jon Boyle and Kevin Liffey)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111231/wl_nm/us_iran_drill_missile

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'Synthetic' marijuana is problem for US military (AP)

SAN DIEGO ? U.S. troops are increasingly using an easy-to-get herbal mix called "Spice," which mimics a marijuana high and can bring on hallucinations that last for days.

The abuse of the drug has so alarmed military officials that they've launched an aggressive testing program that this year has led to the investigation of more than 1,100 suspected users, according to military figures.

So-called "synthetic" pot is readily available on the Internet and has become popular nationwide in recent years, but its use among troops and sailors has raised concerns among the Pentagon brass.

"You can just imagine the work that we do in a military environment," said Mark Ridley, deputy director of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, adding, "you need to be in your right mind when you do a job. That's why the Navy has always taken a zero tolerance policy toward drugs."

Two years ago, only 29 Marines and sailors were investigated for Spice. This year, the number topped 700, the investigative service said. Those found guilty of using Spice are kicked out, although the Navy does not track the overall number of dismissals.

The Air Force has punished 497 airmen so far this year, compared to last year's 380, according to figures provided by the Pentagon. The Army does not track Spice investigations but says it has medically treated 119 soldiers for the synthetic drug in total.

Military officials emphasize those caught represent a tiny fraction of all service members and note none was in a leadership position or believed high while on duty.

Spice is made up of exotic plants from Asia like Blue Lotus and Bay Bean. Their leaves are coated with chemicals that mimic the effects of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, but are five to 200 times more potent.

More than 40 states have banned some of its chemicals, prompting sellers to turn to the Internet, where it is marketed as incense or potpourri. In some states, Spice is sold at bars, smoke shops and convenience stores. The packets usually say the ingredients are not for human consumption but also tout them as "mood enhancing."

Service members preferred it because up until this year there was no way to detect it with urine tests. A test was developed after the Drug Enforcement Administration put a one-year emergency ban on five chemicals found in the drug.

Manufacturers are adapting to avoid detection, even on the new tests, and skirt new laws banning the main chemicals.

"It's a moving target," said Capt. J.A. "Cappy" Surette, spokesman for the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.

The military can calibrate its equipment to test for those five banned chemicals "but underground chemists can keep altering the properties and make up to more than 100 permutations," Surette said.

Complicating their efforts further, there are more than 200 other chemicals used in the drug. They remain legal and their effects on the mind and body remain largely unknown, Navy doctors say.

A Clemson University created many of the chemicals for research purposes in 1990s. They were never tested on humans.

Civilian deaths have been reported and emergency crews have responded to calls of "hyper-excited" people doing things like tearing off their clothes and running down the street naked.

Navy investigators compare the drug to angel dust because no two batches are the same. Some may just feel a euphoric buzz, but others have suffered delusions lasting up to a week.

While the problem has surfaced in all branches of the military, the Navy has been the most aggressive in drawing attention to the problem.

It produced a video based on cases to warn sailors of the drug's dangers and publicized busts of crew members on some of its most-storied ships, including the USS Carl Vinson, from which Osama bin Laden's was dropped into the sea.

Two of the largest busts this year involved sailors in the San Diego-based U.S. Third Fleet, which announced last month that it planned to dismiss 28 sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan.

A month earlier, 64 sailors, including 49 from the Vinson, were accused of being involved in a Spice ring.

Many of the cases were discovered after one person was caught with the drug, prompting broader investigations.

Lt. Commander Donald Hurst, a fourth-year psychiatry resident at San Diego's Naval Medical Center, said the hospital is believed to have seen more cases than any other health facility in the country.

Doctors saw users experiencing bad reactions once a month, but now see them weekly. Users suffer everything from vomiting, elevated blood pressure and seizures to extreme agitation, anxiety and delusions.

Hurst said the behavior in many cases he witnessed at first seemed akin to schizophrenia. Usually within minutes, however, the person became completely lucid. Sometimes, the person goes in and out of such episodes for days.

He recalled one especially bizarre case of a sailor who came in with his sobbing wife.

"He stood their holding a sandwich in front of him with no clue as to what to do," he said. "He opened it up, looked at it, touched it. I took it and folded it over and then he took a bite out it. But then we had to tell him, `you have to chew.'"

An hour later when Hurst went back to evaluate him, he was completely normal and worried about being in trouble.

"That's something you don't see with acute schizophrenic patients," he said. "Then we found out based on the numbers of people coming in like this, that OK there's a new drug out there."

Hurst decided to study 10 cases. Some also had smoked marijuana or drank alcohol, while others only smoked Spice.

Of the 10, nine had lost a sense of reality. Seven babbled incoherently. The symptoms for seven of them lasted four to eight days. Three are believed to now be schizophrenic. Hurst believed the drug may have triggered the symptoms in people with that genetic disposition. His findings were published in the American Journal of Psychiatry in October.

He said there are countless questions that still need answering, including the drug's effects on people with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or traumatic brain injuries.

What the research has confirmed, he said, is: "These are not drugs to mess with."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/usmilitary/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111230/ap_on_re_us/us_military_fake_marijuana

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LeGrand-inspired Rutgers wins Pinstripe Bowl 27-13

(AP) ? All year long Eric LeGrand inspired Rutgers from his wheelchair.

How could the Scarlet Knights ever slack off when their former teammate stayed so positive, was so sure he could overcome a devastating spinal injury and one day walk again?

After Rutgers completed its season with a 27-13 victory over Iowa State in the Pinstripe Bowl on Friday, it was time for the Scarlet Knights to thank LeGrand.

"Hey Big E! Hey Big E!" coach Greg Schiano shouted into the microphone as he stood at midfield at Yankee Stadium with the bowl trophy and pointed toward the press box. "This one's for you buddy."

LeGrand, paralyzed after making a tackle during a game last season, was shown on the huge video scoreboard while Schiano spoke ? busting out a wide grin.

"My heart kind of jumped because I wasn't expecting it," LeGrand told the AP in a phone interview.

He then went to the locker room and celebrated his friends. He said he even did a little shoulder dancing.

"That's our brother before and after the injury, and that's how we're going to treat him forever," Rutgers linebacker Khaseem Greene said. "Just having his presence around, it's amazing. He makes the locker room glow."

On the field, a couple of redshirt freshmen lit it up for the Scarlet Knights. Brandon Coleman hauled in an 86-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter after Iowa State trimmed the lead to 20-13, and Jawan Jamison ran for 131 yards and two scores on 27 carries.

"That's what we love to do. That's who we want to be," Schiano said about a running game that struggled much of the season, but seems to be in good hands going forward.

The Scarlet Knights (9-4) ran their bowl winning streak to five and improved to 2-0 this season at Yankee Stadium, where they beat Army last month. Rutgers, which played in one bowl game before 2005, is 5-1 in the postseason under Schiano.

The Cyclones (6-7) finished on a three-game losing streak, their last win coming Nov. 18 in Ames, Iowa, when they pulled off the biggest upset of the season against Oklahoma State.

That night Jared Barnett threw for 376 yards. In this game, Steele Jantz, who started the first six games, relieved Barnett in the second quarter and helped pull the Cyclones to 20-13 in the fourth on Jeff Woody's 20-yard touchdown run with 10 minutes left.

"We were not executing in a manner that I felt was going to lead us to a win, and from what we've seen in December's practices, made the switch," Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads said about the quarterbacks.

After an exchange of punts left Rutgers deep in its own end, Chas Dodd went deep to Coleman. The 6-foot-6 Coleman went over 5-7 cornerback Jeremy Reeves, then outran the corner to the end zone to make it 27-13 with 5:47 left.

It was Coleman's only catch, but it turned out to be the play of the game.

"I didn't go out there trying to make a play. I just went out there trying to do my job," Coleman said. "The number was called but I was still calm, cool and collected."

Rutgers grabbed a 7-6 lead early in the second quarter when Jamison powered through a tackler and scored on fourth-and-goal from the 1. On the next possession, Iowa State couldn't handle one of Rutgers' many blitzes, and Greene and Wayne Warren swarmed and stripped Barnett. Scott Vallone scooped up the fumble and returned it 12 yards to the Iowa State 4. The Cyclones managed to hold Rutgers to San San Te's 21-yard field goal.

Jantz replaced Barnett on the next Iowa State series.

The Cyclones didn't hold up as well on Rutgers' next possession. The Scarlet Knights marched 66 yards, 49 on the ground, and Jamison juked his way into the end zone from 12 yards out to make 17-6.

Justin Francis finished Rutgers' strong second half by blocking Zach Guyer's 44-yard field- goal attempt with 57 seconds left.

Iowa State jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first quarter, with Guyer kicking field goals of 40 and 46 yards on the Cyclones' first two possessions. Inaccurate throws by Barnett were key to stalling each drive.

The redshirt freshman was 2 for 7 before giving way to Jantz, who was 15 for 31 for 197 yards and ran for 36 yards.

"Most of it falls on the offense not executing and not what they did," Jantz said. "Not to take away anything from them because they have a great defense, but then again it ultimately comes back to me because I run the offense."

The Scarlet Knights missed the postseason last year for the first time since 2004, but rebounded this season to challenge for the Big East title behind a defense that came in ranked 14th in the nation.

Greene led the charge Friday with 13 tackles, three for losses, before being carted off in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury. The junior was on crutches after the game and said he thinks he'll be OK in the long run.

Just like LeGrand.

"To have him in the locker room right now with all his buddies, that's special," Schiano said. "That's his senior class."

After Schiano made his short postgame speech, the fans in Yankee Stadium chanted "Eric! Eric!"

"Honestly, this was picture perfect," LeGrand said. "The only thing that would have made it better is if it could have run out there with them."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-12-31-FBC-Pinstripe-Bowl-Folo/id-9a39cdb282194b5794a8b0fab9f74817

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Black Male Engagement Amplifies Detroiters' Good Deeds

Black Male Engagement (BME or "be me") launched in August as an initiative to offer support and positive reinforcement to black men who are active in their communities.

The program is currently piloting in Detroit and Philadelphia, sponsored by a grant from the Knight Foundation and Open Society Foundation.

Knight's Rishi Jaitly explained BME as a "social network that's all about resident leadership." The idea, Jaitly said, was to make it easy for Detroiters to recognize one another for good work they're doing in the city.

Since BME launched, 1,065 men have shared their stories in video messages available on the organization's website. Community leaders talk about their projects and have the chance to connect with others doing similar work in Detroit.

The focus on black men, as opposed to other groups, is the product of BME organizers' experience in Detroit.

"In the course of our work here as a foundation, we've just come across a lot of engaged black men and teenagers in the community who've just played a vital role in a lot of our initiatives," Jaitly explained. "It's an easier community for us to begin with; we'd just seen so much leadership."

The list of Detroit BME participants is long and varied. It includes mentors, entrepreneurs, urban gardeners, a barber, a ball room dance instructor and City Council Member (and former interim Mayor) Ken Cockrel Jr.

Other BMErs: Eddie Connor, a 13-year cancer survivor who is now a mentor; Fran Westbrooks, founder of Detroit Comeback Kids; Curtis Lipscomb of KICK, which supports LGBT African Americans.

In his BME video, Lipscomb explains he's worked with nearly 3,500 people in nearly 20 years of service. One of those services is offering sensitivity training to Detroit Public Schools administrators with the goal of preventing bullying.

The next step for BME is to move from recognition to funding. The organization is sponsoring a grant competition, open to individuals, corporations and nonprofits. The application was just a few paragraphs long in an effort to make it easier to participate for those who had not previously looked for funding through formal grant channels.

Jaitly said BME is asking grant competitors a simple question: "What else might you do if you had access to more resources, a bigger stage?"

Those who made the second round are eligible for grants up to $50,000 to continue their community work. The winners will be announced in January, and Jaitly said he hopes some of them will go on to win future funding from local grant-making groups.

Whether or not individual BMErs win the money, Jaitly says the idea has proven a success, with members getting together informally to discuss their projects and promote strong leadership and community involvement.

"What's been fascinating is when people feel their narrative all of a sudden is being amplified by a big megaphone, that in and of itself has proved empowering," Jaitly said.

* * * * *

As 2011 comes to a close, HuffPost Detroit looks to honor those who made an impact in our city this year. The 2011 Detroit Impact series will profile one organization per day until the end of the year. There are 11 organizations included in the series (see them all in the slideshow below), but there are dozens more doing good in and around Detroit. For full coverage of the people and organizations helping others, visit HuffPost Detroit Impact.

Student Mentor Partners

1?of?12

Student Mentor Partners makes private school accessible for at-risk youth in the Detroit area. The group supports more than 35 boys and girls in 11 private high schools and is dedicated to helping "the academically average or marginal student who, without proper guidance and support, may 'fall through the cracks,' become frustrated with school, and eventually drop out." Read more about Student Mentor Partners here. Student Mentor Partners makes private school accessible for at-risk youth in the Detroit area. The group supports more than 35 boys and girls in 11 private high schools and is dedicated to helping "the academically average or marginal student who, without proper guidance and support, may 'fall through the cracks,' become frustrated with school, and eventually drop out."

Read more about Student Mentor Partners here.

MORE SLIDESHOWS NEXT?> ??|?? <?PREV

Student Mentor Partners

Student Mentor Partners makes private school accessible for at-risk youth in the Detroit area. The group supports more than 35 boys and girls in 11 private high schools and is dedicated to helping "the academically average or marginal student who, without proper guidance and support, may 'fall through the cracks,' become frustrated with school, and eventually drop out." Read more about Student Mentor Partners here. '; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/30/black-male-engagement-detroit_n_1175238.html

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Russia submarine fire "totally extinguished" (Reuters)

MURMANSK, Russia (Reuters) ? Russia said on Friday it had doused a raging blaze aboard a nuclear submarine after nearly a full day and night, by partially submerging the vessel after battling the flames with water from helicopters and tug boats.

There was no radiation leak and crew inside the submarine were monitoring the stricken vessel's nuclear reactors which had been shut down, Russian officials said.

At least nine people were injured fighting the flames which witnesses quoted by local media said rose 10 meters (30 feet) above the Yekaterinburg submarine at the navy ship yard in the Murmansk region of northern Russia.

"The fire on the submarine has been totally extinguished," Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu told officials leading the firefighting effort, more than twenty hours after the blaze began Thursday afternoon at 1220 GMT.

His remarks were reported by Interfax news agency.

Emergency officials decided to partially submerge the 18,200-tonne Yekaterinburg submarine at the Roslyakovo dock, one of the main dockyards of Russia's Northern Fleet, 1,500 km (900 miles) north of Moscow, after hours of fighting the fire.

Russia's nuclear submarine fleet, once the pride of the Soviet Union's mighty armed forces, has been involved in a host of disasters including the sinking of the Kursk nuclear submarine in 2000 with the loss of all 118 people on board.

Official statements were vague, but the blaze is believed to have started when wooden scaffolding caught fire during welding repairs to the 167-meter (550 feet) Yekaterinburg submarine, which had been hoisted into a dry dock.

President Dmitry Medvedev ordered an investigation into the incident, the Kremlin said.

NUCLEAR SUBMARINE

The submarine, which launched an intercontinental ballistic missile from the Barents Sea at a firing range as recently as July, can carry 16 ballistic missiles, each with four warheads, and a crew of 140.

A Defense Ministry spokesman said all its weapons had been removed before repairs started and its nuclear reactors were shut down.

"Radiation indicators are within normal levels. There is no threat to the local population," the Emergencies Ministry said in a statement. Russian submarines' reactors are built to withstand enormous shocks and high temperatures.

Part of the crew was onboard the submarine to check carbon dioxide levels, the temperature and to ensure the safety of the nuclear reactors.

"Part of the crew remains on board and is carrying out regular monitoring every 30 minutes of the situation in the nuclear submarine and around it," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement.

The Yekaterinburg is a Delta IV class submarine. Russia's Northern Fleet was established under the Soviet Union to watch over European waters and was armed during the Cold War against threats from NATO.

The navy was criticized by Russia's political leaders following the Kursk disaster for failing to give accurate information about the true nature of the disaster.

(Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Peter Graff)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/russia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111230/wl_nm/us_russia_submarine_fire

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Lesnar retires after first-round loss at UFC 141

FILE - In this Oct. 23, 2010, file photo, Brock Lesnar faces Cain Velasquez in a UFC mixed martial arts match with in Anaheim, Calif. Lesnar returns to the octagon after a 14-month absence, taking on heavyweight Dutch kickboxer Alistair Overeem at the MGM Grand Garden in the UFC's traditional end-of-the-year show in its hometown. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 23, 2010, file photo, Brock Lesnar faces Cain Velasquez in a UFC mixed martial arts match with in Anaheim, Calif. Lesnar returns to the octagon after a 14-month absence, taking on heavyweight Dutch kickboxer Alistair Overeem at the MGM Grand Garden in the UFC's traditional end-of-the-year show in its hometown. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

Jim Hettes, right, takes down Nam Phan in the second round of their UFC featherweight mixed martial arts match Friday, Dec. 30, 2011, at The MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Eric Jamison)

Alexander Gustafsson, of Sweden, left, celebrates after knocking out Vladimir Matyushenko during their UFC light heavyweight mixed martial arts match Friday, Dec. 30, 2011 at The MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Eric Jamison)

Alexander Gustafsson, of Sweden, right, lands a kick to Vladimir Matyushenko, during their UFC light heavyweight mixed martial arts match Friday, Dec. 30, 2011 at The MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Eric Jamison)

Nate Diaz, right, punches Donald Cerrone during the first round of their UFC lightweight mixed martial arts match Friday, Dec. 30, 2011, at The MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Eric Jamison)

(AP) ? Brock Lesnar took one last kick to his stomach and crumpled at the side of the cage, unable to fight back when Alistair Overeem pounced.

Lesnar had been finished by a 6-foot-5 Dutch kick boxer in the first round at UFC 141. A few minutes later, the UFC's former heavyweight champion finished his own meteoric mixed martial arts career.

Lesnar retired from the UFC after Overeem stopped him with one vicious kick to the body at 2:26 of the first round in their heavyweight bout Friday night, leaving the UFC heading into 2012 without its biggest pay-per-view star.

"This is the last time you'll see me in the octagon," Lesnar said.

Largely thanks to his fame from a career in pro wrestling, the hulking Lesnar (5-3) played a significant role in expanding the UFC's profile and fan base over the past four years. He beat Randy Couture in 2008 to win the heavyweight title, defending it twice before losing the belt to Cain Velasquez last year.

But Lesnar has fought just three times in the past 2 1/2 years while dealing with bouts of a lower-intestinal ailment that nearly killed him. The accumulation of pain and rehabilitation finally undid Lesnar, whose famed strength and stubbornness couldn't overcome diverticulitis.

"I've had a really difficult couple of years with my disease, and I'm going to officially say tonight is the last time," Lesnar said.

Lesnar's return from a 14-month injury absence was a short, one-sided beating. After taking damage from two knee blows early on, he couldn't recover from a kick to the liver from Overeem (36-11), who made a stellar UFC debut despite getting cut near his right eye by a punch from Lesnar.

The 34-year-old Lesnar's announcement stunned fans who already realized he faced a difficult matchup in the UFC's traditional end-of-the-year event in its hometown. The matchup was a classic MMA clash of styles, with Lesnar's brute wrestling contrasting sharply with Overeem's vicious striking.

"I had no idea he would do that, (but) am I surprised? No," UFC President Dana White said. "Brock Lesnar has made a lot of money in his career and has achieved a lot of things. ... He brought a lot of excitement to the heavyweight division. What he accomplished in a short amount of time is amazing, but I get it. It doesn't shock me."

Overeem is three years younger but much more experienced than Lesnar, hurting the former champion at least twice earlier in the round while Lesnar failed in his attempt at a one-legged takedown.

"I promised my wife and my kids if I won this fight, I would get a title shot, and that would be my last fight," Lesnar said. "But if I lost tonight ... you've been great."

Overeem will get the next shot at UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos, who watched from a seat near the octagon.

Overeem is a champion kick boxer who has fought in multiple promotions over the past decade, winning titles in Dream and Strikeforce with nearly unbeatable striking and size. He joined the UFC in September, finally presenting his formidable skills and intimidating physique to the sport's largest audience.

"My experience in UFC was, it's huge," Overeem said. "I think it's like 100 times bigger than Strikeforce. K-1 (kick boxing) is big, but this is a lot bigger. I was a little bit blown away, still am. I loved every second of it."

White might have given an immediate title shot to Overeem if the timing had been better, but Dos Santos only claimed Velasquez's belt in early November. Overeem welcomed a debut against Lesnar, even guaranteeing a knockout in the first two rounds.

"First or second round, I promised," Overeem said.

Lesnar hadn't fought since losing his heavyweight belt to Velasquez in October 2010, cancelling a bout against Dos Santos last June in Vancouver after another flare-up of diverticulitis. The former NCAA wrestling champion and fake WWE wrestler kept his unparalleled popularity during his recovery, and Lesnar used the time off to modify both his diet and his standup game, attempting to improve his biggest weakness.

As it turned out, Lesnar couldn't improve enough to contend with the supremely skilled Overeem, who embraced Lesnar afterward.

The undercard at the MGM Grand Garden featured two upsets: Lightweight Nate Diaz won a bloody unanimous decision over Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone with superior boxing, and Johny Hendricks stopped welterweight star Jon Fitch with one punch just 12 seconds into their bout.

In the co-main event, Diaz (15-7) backed up his tough talk and rude behavior in a fight that had the sellout crowd on its feet as he battered Cerrone, nearly a 3-to-1 favorite in the MGM Grand sportsbook, for most of the three-round standup fight.

Diaz, the brother of bad-boy welterweight Nick Diaz, picked apart Cerrone's defense for most of the fight, leaving Cerrone bloody after his first loss in seven fights since September 2010.

Cerrone (17-4) knocked down Diaz at least a half-dozen times with kicks and leg-whips, but Cerrone refused to fight Diaz on the ground, repeatedly allowing Diaz to get up.

The unusual strategy showed respect for Diaz's ground skills, but also minimized the importance of those knockdown shots in the eyes of the judges, who scored the bout 30-27 twice and 29-28 once, all for Diaz.

Hendricks (12-1) ascended to elite status with one sneaky left hook that caught Fitch (27-4-1) right on the button, flattening the favored San Jose fighter, whose return from a 10-month absence was stunningly brief. Hendricks, a two-time NCAA champion wrestler at Oklahoma State, completely stunned Fitch, who had lost just one fight since December 2002.

Early in the pay-per-view portion of the card, Swedish light heavyweight Alexander Gustafsson (13-1) stopped veteran Vladimir Matyushenko with a perfect left hand midway through the first round.

Unbeaten featherweight Jim Hettes got new fans' attention with a comprehensive thrashing of veteran Nam Phan, repeatedly threatening to finish the fight with strikes and ground work.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-12-31-MMA-UFC-141/id-47055802753a42d8abff0c5bc1b0c2e7

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Video: Gingrich: I?m the Reagan in this race

?The fight I?m in with Romney is exactly the fight that Reagan was in with the establishment in ?80,? GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich tells NBC?s Chuck Todd in a one-on-one interview.

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Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/45814187/

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