Rubio Answers Question on Age of Earth

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., clarified his answer about the age of the Earth on Wednesday, two weeks after he passed on answering a question on the Earth's age in an interview with GQ.

"Science says it's about four and a half billion years old, and my faith teaches that that's not inconsistent," Rubio said at a Politico Playbook breakfast hosted by Mike Allen. "The answer I gave was actually trying to make the same point the president made a few years ago, and that is there is no scientific debate on the age of the Earth. I mean, it's established pretty definitively as at least four and a half billion years old ? I was referring to a theological debate and which is a pretty healthy debate."

"I still believe God did it," Rubio added. "And that's how I've been able to reconcile that and I think it's consistent with the teachings of my church. But other people have a deeper conflict and I just think in America we should have the freedom to teach our children whatever we believe."

In a recent interview with GQ, Rubio said he was not "qualified" to answer a question about the age of the Earth, adding, "I'm not a scientist, man."

"At the end of the day, I think there are multiple theories out there on how the universe was created and I think this is a country where people should have the opportunity to teach them all," Rubio said in the interview with GQ. "Whether the Earth was created in 7 days, or 7 actual eras, I'm not sure we'll ever be able to answer that."

Despite the heat he received for not answering the question, Rubio said he has no regrets about how he responded to the initial question.

"I don't regret it," Rubio said. "I wish I would have given a better answer, a more succinct answer, but we went from talking about hip hop and then it got pivoted to the Earth - I'm not a robot, I got caught off guard, I guess."

At the breakfast Wednesday morning, the young Florida senator also weighed in on the topic of homosexuality, saying he believes it is a sin.

"I can tell you what faith teaches and the faith teaches that it is," Rubio said.

Rubio expressed hope that immigration reform could be achieved in the next two years, saying that a comprehensive package of bills is needed to solve the issue, and he gave 50/50 odds to the prospect of passing some type of pathway to citizenship for current undocumented immigrants in the next four years.

"I'm really hopeful we can deal with the issue of immigration holistically," Rubio said of immigration reform. "I am optimistic if we can depoliticize this issue that we can solve it."

On the fiscal cliff negotiations, Rubio said he's "optimistic" that a deal will be reached by Christmas Eve.

"I think something will happen. I believe that we'll avoid this," Rubio said. "There's just too much at stake. I think something will happen."

Rubio, who did not mention Romney in his speech Tuesday night at a dinner hosted by the Jack Kemp Foundation, doled out a bit of praise for Romney, suggesting the former GOP nominee will play a yet-to-be-determined role in the future of the Republican Party.

"Mitt Romney is a role model as a person," Rubio said. "I think he has a lot to offer the Republican Party and this country, and I don't know exactly what that role is going to be ? he has a lot to contribute."

But when asked who currently personifies leadership the best in Washington, D.C., Rubio reached outside of politics and chose a figure in the Washington Redskins' world, naming Robert Griffin III as his pick for the best leader in D.C. Griffin is a quarterback; in 2011 he won the Heisman Trophy playing football for Baylor University.

And when it came to his own future to lead the country, Rubio demurred on whether or not he'd launch a bid for the White House, saying, "I have no idea. I just don't know, so I think right now I should focus on being a good United States senator."

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rubio-answers-age-earth-223005538--abc-news-politics.html

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New video bills from AT&T aim to explain

1 hr.

Wireless carrier AT&T has added a video primer to help explain customers' bills. Each video offers an overview of an account holder's bill, includes multiple mentions of the person's name and is set to a catchy tune, which may ease the shock of a unexpectedly high bill.

The video includes the amount owed, the previous amount paid and the due date for the next payment. In addition, the video breaks out recurring charges such as data fees and one-time charges such as late fees and service changes. It ends with an option to enroll in an automatic payment plan.

AT&T said in a blog post that it's the first?wireless carrier?in the U.S. to offer video bills. The video is in addition ? not a replacement ? to online statements.?

AT&T said it launched a test of the new format to several thousand wireless customers in the Mountain Time Zone and 85 percent of customers said they found the video bill helpful. The company also said the video bills resulted in fewer bill-related calls from customers.

By early 2013, AT&T plans to roll out video bills to all new customers and those that have changed or upgraded their service.

Copyright 2012 TechNewsDaily, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/new-video-bills-att-aim-keep-customers-calm-1C7429538

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Three youths to be charged after fatal soccer attack ? Sports ...

THE HAGUE, Netherlands ? Richard Nieuwenhuizen was doing what he loved: watching his son play soccer and volunteering as a linesman.

On Monday, the 41-year-old father?s passion for the sport cost him his life.

Prosecutors announced Tuesday they are charging three players, two 15-year-olds and a 16-year-old, in the attack on Nieuwenhuizen after a youth match between local clubs ? Buitenboys and Nieuw Sloten.

The players, whose identities have not been released, are to be charged with manslaughter, assault and public violence. They will be arraigned Thursday at a closed hearing.

Prosecutors have released no details of a possible motive, and Buitenboys club chairman Marcel Oost said the reason for the attack was not certain.

?We still don?t have a clear picture yet,? prosecution spokeswoman Brigit Haan told The Associated Press.

The deadly assault sent shock waves through the Netherlands, a country where soccer is king. The sports minister, soccer federation and coach of the nation?s most storied club, Ajax, expressed disbelief.

The Royal Netherlands Football Association on Tuesday said it was canceling all amateur soccer games this weekend as a mark of respect for Nieuwenhuizen. Professional matches will proceed, but players and officials will wear black armbands and observe a minute?s silence before kickoff.

The attack hit at one of the foundations of Dutch youth sport ? the participation of parents.

?It is unbelievable that something like this could happen on a football pitch,? said Bert van Oostveen, the association?s director of professional soccer. ?These are the volunteers on which our sport is built. Without them we cannot go on.?

On any given weekend, at thousands of games across the Netherlands, parents are the engine powering youth soccer. They volunteer for everything from brewing tea to marking out lines on fields and wielding whistles and flags as referees and linesmen.

In the overwhelming majority of matches, players and parents enjoy the game and then have a drink together in the clubhouse.

But sometimes frustrations boil over into violence after the final whistle.

Amsterdam alderman Eric van der Burg, whose responsibilities in the city cover sports, said the team from Nieuw Sloten had been in trouble twice before, once for verbally abusing a referee and once when a player fought with a spectator. The player involved in the fight was suspended by the club, Van der Burg told the AP in an email.

He said the city already has an agreement from four-time European champion Ajax at the top all the way down to small local clubs to prevent aggression on and around fields.

?It?s important that parents but also the professional players give good examples how to behave,? Van der Burg said. ?Sports should be fun.?

FIFA President Sepp Blatter weighed in on the national debate about how such an attack could happen.

?Football is a mirror of society and sadly, the same ills that afflict society ? in this case violence ? also manifest themselves in our game,? Blatter said Tuesday in a statement. ?Nevertheless, I remain convinced that football ? through the example set by the tireless efforts of people like Mr. Nieuwenhuizen ? is a force for good, and we must continue to use its positive example to educate people against these wrongs.?

Prosecutors say a group of Nieuw Sloten players surrounded Nieuwenhuizen after the match Sunday, kicking and punching him.

Nieuwenhuizen initially appeared to have recovered from the assault at the club whose fields are squeezed into an industrial neighborhood of Almere, a fast-growing commuter city just outside Amsterdam. He went home and lay down, but returned later to watch another game. It was then that he collapsed and was rushed to the hospital.

A day later, with his family surrounding his hospital bed, he died.

A few hours later, decorations marking Wednesday?s St. Nicholas day ? a national celebration similar to Christmas ? were still hanging at the Buitenboys clubhouse as team members wept and consoled one another.

Nieuw Sloten immediately banned the players involved and scrapped their team from the league as well as canceling all matches for the coming weekend.

As a wave of grief swept over the soccer community, another Amsterdam club, TOS-Actief, said on its website it was canceling all matches for the weekend.

?By doing this, TOS-Actief is taking a clear stance against excesses in football,? the club said. ?We say stop violence on and around the pitch.?

Van der Burg proposed calling off all amateur matches nationwide for the weekend.

A delegation from the Royal Netherlands Football Association visited Buitenboys on Tuesday to discuss a ?fitting way to pay tribute? to Nieuwenhuizen and express support for the club.

Nieuwenhuizen?s death came almost exactly a year after a Dutch amateur soccer player fatally kicked a 77-year-old fan following a match.

Amsterdam District Court last week sentenced the player, identified only as Silvester M. in line with Dutch privacy law, to three years in prison for kicking the fan so hard in the chest his spleen ruptured. He died of his injuries a month later.

Source: http://bangordailynews.com/2012/12/04/sports/three-youths-to-be-charged-after-fatal-soccer-attack/

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Video: What American learn from Greece, Euro crisis

Frankie Muniz not alone: More strokes among young

When the actor Frankie Muniz, who starred in the hit sitcom ?Malcolm in the Middle,? told his Twitter followers Tuesday that he?d been hospitalized after suffering a ?ministroke,? he joked ?Have to start taking care of my body!

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/hardball/50093755/

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Seeing Old and Torn Stuffed Animals Is Sort of Horrifying

When you're a kid, sometimes the only friend you have is a stuffed animal. It's always with you—when you eat, when you sleep, when you play—and all those years take a toll on a fake teddy bear! These pictures show the after effects of teddy bears and stuffed animals who were loved too much. It's a little heartbreaking? More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/AR1WDucYQMY/

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Father: Sick girl safe and being treated in Mexico

In this hospital surveillance photo released by the Phoenix Police Department on Monday, Dec. 3, 2012, a woman is seen with her 11-year-old daughter, a leukemia patient who had her arm amputated and a heart catheter inserted due to an infection. Authorities say the woman inexplicably took the girl from the hospital last week. Police say that if the catheter is left in too long it could lead to a deadly infection. The family?s identity is being withheld but they are calling the girl Emily. (AP Photo/Phoenix Police Department)

In this hospital surveillance photo released by the Phoenix Police Department on Monday, Dec. 3, 2012, a woman is seen with her 11-year-old daughter, a leukemia patient who had her arm amputated and a heart catheter inserted due to an infection. Authorities say the woman inexplicably took the girl from the hospital last week. Police say that if the catheter is left in too long it could lead to a deadly infection. The family?s identity is being withheld but they are calling the girl Emily. (AP Photo/Phoenix Police Department)

In this hospital surveillance photo released by the Phoenix Police Department on Dec. 3, 2012, a woman is seen with her 11-year-old daughter, a leukemia patient who had her arm amputated and a heart catheter inserted due to an infection. Authorities say the woman inexplicably took the girl from the hospital last week. Police say that if the catheter is left in too long it could lead to a deadly infection. The family?s identity is being withheld but they are calling the girl Emily. (AP Photo/Phoenix Police Department)

(AP) ? The mystery surrounding the whereabouts of a sick girl with leukemia deepened Wednesday after her father said his 11-year-old daughter is being treated in Mexico and authorities considered bringing child neglect charges against the family.

Phoenix police have been looking for Emily since surveillance video one week ago showed the girl's mother walking her out of Phoenix Children's Hospital a day before the child was set to be released.

Authorities are searching for the girl in Arizona, California and Mexico, where the family has relatives, as doctors say she could contract a potentially deadly infection if not returned for treatment.

The girl underwent about a month of chemotherapy and had been treated for an infection that forced doctors to amputate her arm, police said. Doctors had inserted a tube through her chest to deliver medications through her heart. Her mother unhooked the tubing from an IV and left with the girl, leaving her susceptible to infection.

Phoenix police said the parents could face criminal neglect charges if they didn't return the girl.

U.S. Border Patrol agents stopped the father, Luis Bracamontes, 46, as he crossed into Arizona from Mexico over the weekend, but the man denied any involvement in removing his daughter from the hospital and said he didn't know where she was.

However, in an interview this week with NBC News, Bracamontes said his daughter was safe and being treated by doctors in Mexico.

"She is well and she is fine," he said while declining to reveal where the girl was being treated.

Bracamontes blames the Phoenix hospital for the loss of his daughter's arm and says the family was being pressured over mounting medical bills. He displayed photos of the girl both before and after the surgery and talked on his mobile phone to a girl and a woman he claimed were his daughter and wife.

The hospital cannot comment on Emily's condition due to health privacy laws, but in a statement Wednesday said decisions about patient care are not based on ability to pay.

"Phoenix Children's Hospital is deeply concerned about Emily's safety and well-being and continues to cooperate with law enforcement," the hospital statement read. "If Emily's family has questions about her care, we encourage open communication and discussion of options with the care team."

The girl's grandfather, Luis Bracamontes, said he has not talked to his son in 15 days and doesn't know where the girl is ? including if she is even in Mexico.

"We are worried because we don't know what's going on," said Bracamontes, 76, in Spanish from his home in San Jose, Calif.

He doesn't know why the girl was taken from the hospital but said the amputation might have had something to do with it. He said some of his relatives are assuring him that the girl is fine and getting good medical attention.

Bracamontes said his son sometimes lived in San Jose and sometimes in Phoenix. The family is originally from Mexico.

Phoenix police, meanwhile, say the story of the girl's father raises even more red flags.

"We're in the same spot we were in last Thursday when we began looking for her," police Sgt. Steve Martos said Wednesday. "We understand the right of a parent to change doctors, to change hospitals, we're not challenging that. We just want to make sure that Emily is getting the right medical attention that she requires to prevent this potential horrific ending."

Martos said doctors in Phoenix told authorities that if Emily's catheter is not tended to, it could make her susceptible to a deadly infection that could kill her in a matter of days.

Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said Emily's immune system is already compromised from the cancer and chemotherapy.

"If bacteria get into the blood stream, that can cause a serious infection," Schaffner said.

The open catheter could serve as a pathway for bacteria, he said, adding that a potentially deadly infection is not only possible, but likely.

Martos said the father's story only adds to investigators' bewilderment that began when the mother inexplicably removed the child from the hospital. He said surveillance video shows the mother and child getting into a dark-colored minivan, but the license plates on the car were registered to a different vehicle.

"It all just makes us even more curious that they're unwilling to provide us with basic information to confirm what he is saying, and they're still trying to hide Emily," Martos said. "There's certainly the potential for some criminal charges."

"So we're going to continue looking for her until we either run out of leads or she is found," he added. "We can't just drop it."

___

Associated Press writer Brady McCombs contributed to this report from Salt Lake City.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-12-05-Sick%20Girl%20Sought/id-a0d407655a98475183a6e02f99ddd924

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'Peanuts' creator's love letters going to auction

NEW YORK (AP) ? The late "Peanuts" creator Charles Schulz was once so infatuated with a young woman 23 years his junior he sent her dozens of romantic letters and drawings of his beloved cartoon characters. Many of the themes of that correspondence made it into his daily comic strips at the time.

Now those love notes from 1970-1971 are being offered for sale at Sotheby's in New York by the family of Tracey Claudius, who the auction house says is ill at her home near Philadelphia. It's estimated the notes will fetch $250,000 to $350,000 at the Dec. 14 auction.

Claudius met the cartoonist on March 16, 1970, while accompanying a friend on an interview assignment. She ostensibly came along as a photographer but afterward admitted in a letter to Schulz that it was a chance for her to meet her idol and thank him "for all the enjoyment Charlie Brown and that 'stupid beagle' provide me."

She was 25. The married Schulz was 48. His comic strip ran for nearly half a century.

Schulz died in 2000 at age 77.

There are 44 letters totaling 56 pages, including 22 original drawings of some of the characters, primarily Charlie Brown, Snoopy and Lucy. Many are signed "Sparky," Schulz nickname.

Sotheby's says it the most significant collection of correspondence and drawings by Schulz to come to auction.

"He was quite a private and reserved person," said Selby Kiffer, Sotheby's head of fine books and manuscripts. "I don't think he carried on long correspondence with friends and acquaintances. There's no record in the commercial world and auction records of that."

Schulz often lovingly writes Claudius' name in triplicate: "Tracey Tracey Tracey." One letter comments on Claudius' "good points," including being "beepable," ''huggable" and "buggable" ? language he applied to Lucy and Snoopy in later comic strips, like "Lucy playfully beeped Snoopy's nose" and Snoopy calling himself "buggable and huggable."

In two letters from 1970 Schulz writes that he must cease calling Claudius because his long-distance phone calls to her had been discovered by his wife. Soon after, he created a strip in which Charlie Brown berated Snoopy for his obnoxious behavior when he's not allowed to go out "to see that girl beagle." In subsequent panels, Charlie warns Snoopy "you'd better start behaving yourself" and when Snoopy picks up the telephone, Charlie Brown yells "And stop making those long-distance phone calls."

He also sent her a dictionary dust jacket filled with comments including "I'm going to return my new dictionary ... there are no words to tell you how much I love you."

In his 2007 book, "Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography," David Michaelis said Schulz was almost between two marriages when he embarked on the romance with Claudius. The first marriage ended in 1972; he remarried in 1973.

Michaelis said Schulz twice proposed to Claudius but she turned him down for fear of ruining his reputation as one of America's most loved icons.

___

Online: www.sothebys.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/peanuts-creators-love-letters-going-auction-183457153.html

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David Lazarus: Collecting on travel insurance is not smooth sailing

A couple that cancels a trip along the Danube River for medical reasons struggles to get Trip Mate to pay up.When it comes to travel, especially involving something as pricey as a cruise ship, it?s wise to take precautions. You never know when you may have to cancel your trip.

Read more

Source: http://calopinion.com/2012/12/david-lazarus-collecting-on-travel-insurance-is-not-smooth-sailing/

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Green Throttle Games Raises $6 Million to Turn Phones Into Game ...

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Green Throttle Games, which is attempting to turn Android phones into videogame consoles that connect to the TV, has raised $6 million in a first round of funding. Trinity Ventures led the round with participation from DCM. The Santa Clara, Calif., company said it will use the cash to support internal and external game development for its platform.

Source: http://allthingsd.com/20121204/green-throttle-games-raises-6-million-to-turn-phones-into-game-consoles/

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20 Dependable Holiday Stress Busters | World of Psychology

20 Dependable Holiday Stress BustersI have a theory regarding holiday stress: In the month of December, high levels of Cortisol (stress hormone) turn 80 percent of the American population into fruitcakes ? just like the stale one delivered to your house yesterday.

Because on top of adding 675 things to your to-do list, you?ve now got to deal with the strained relationship with your dad and two brothers. Bummer.

Here, then, are my tips to keep your stress down a notch, so that you don?t turn into a fruitcake or hurl the mistletoe at an obnoxious relative.

1. Simplify

Cut your to-do list in half. In December??? Yep. Keep on asking yourself this question: Will I die tomorrow if this thing doesn?t get done?

2. Prioritize.

Santa needs to put something under the tree for maybe your daughter, mother, husband, and two best friends. He need not use plastic for 300 of your closest friends and their cousins.

3. Stay flexible.

When it comes to the holidays, you had better be amenable to last-minute changes. Because the honey-baked ham you bought for Christmas dinner won?t work for your brother?s Muslim girlfriend and her extended family of 14. Call 1-800-Turkeys?

4. Give away the Santa hat.

I know it?s tempting to believe that you can be 35 places at the same time just like the white-bearded dude. Alas, you can?t. So give your Santa hat to Goodwill and try not to double book. Triple booking is absolutely prohibited.

5. Get some elves.

Santa sure does know how to delegate, with all those elves working for him. Imitate him! Find a young, poor, desperate person and ask him what he would accept (plastic ? your coin collection ? your kid?s old toys) as payment to do one of your jobs. Then seal the deal.

6. Persevere

?The greatest oak was once a little nut who held its ground.? ? Author Unknown

7. Don?t rush the process

Only in struggling to emerge from a small hole in the cocoon does a butterfly form wings strong enough to fly. Should you try to help a butterfly by tearing open the cocoon, the poor thing won?t sprout wings, or if it does, its friends will make fun of it.

8. Protect yourself

Avoid the highly educated relative who might tell you ?all things happen for a reason? or that you somehow attracted this disappointment with the wrong thoughts. Build an imaginary bubble and hide inside.

9. Stay big

Newspaper columnist Ann Landers once wrote, ?Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life, and when it comes, hold your head high. Look it squarely in the eye, and say, ?I will be bigger than you. You cannot defeat me.? For once in your life, the bigger you are, the better!

10. Allow cracks

A crack in your marriage, career, or personal plans doesn?t mean that your life is broken. According to Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, ?There is a crack, a crack in everything. That?s how the light gets in.?

11. Write about it

Recent research by Dr. James Pennebaker, chair of the psychology program at the University of Texas, has concluded that writing about painful feelings and emotional events relieves stress and promotes healing on many levels. So keep a journal.

12. Back up

Sometimes you can?t make sense of a picture until you back up. Up close all you see is dots ? lots of them in different shapes and colors. But with some distance the painting comes alive. It tells a story.

13. Stand up again.

A Japanese proverb says, ?fall seven times, stand up eight.? Notice there is no mention of sitting down when you?re tired, or crawling when you?re scared.

14. Join the race

That?s the human race I?m talking about. Because no one is perfect. The human experience is an exercise in collecting disappointments and mistakes, ruminating on them for a little bit, and turning them into wisdom.

15. Take the fork

Yogi Berra once said, ?When you come to the fork in the road, take it? ? meaning: it doesn?t matter which direction you choose as long as you keep moving.

16. Start over

Every disappointment is an opportunity to start over. A white piece of paper. And if this time you still can?t color within the lines, you get another blank sheet, as many new beginnings as you want.

17. Be gentle

Don?t scream at yourself. Speak to yourself with loving kindness, the same way you would to your friend who was just dealt a big, fat, unfair blow.

18. Get directions

Oprah Winfrey was taken off the air in Baltimore at the start of her career, when she was given a shot at a talk show. Says Oprah: ?I have learned that failure is really God?s way of saying, ?Excuse me, you?re moving in the wrong direction?.?

19. Dance in the rain

My mom once told me, ?You can?t wait for the storm to be over. You have to learn how to dance in the rain.?

20. Believe in miracles and hang on to hope

I?ve witnessed enough miracles in my life to know they happen ? usually when I least expect it.

And there is one thing that never, ever disappoints ? hope. Hold on to it forever.

Therese J. Borchard is the author of Beyond Blue: Surviving Depression & Anxiety and Making the Most of Bad Genes and The Pocket Therapist: An Emotional Survival Kit. Write to her at comment@thereseborchard.com or follow her on Twitter @thereseborchard.

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????Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 3 Dec 2012
????Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.

APA Reference
Borchard, T. (2012). 20 Dependable Holiday Stress Busters. Psych Central. Retrieved on December 4, 2012, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/12/03/20-dependable-holiday-stress-busters/

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Source: http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/12/03/20-dependable-holiday-stress-busters/

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