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Kelly's Clarkson - "Mr Know it All" (new single)


Kelly Clarkson dropped her new single, "Mr. Know It All," on her website this week. 
It's the first track off her Stronger album, due in October.
Check it out:



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Homelessness Arrives to Middle Class


Homelessness could spread to middle class, Crisis study warns

"The economic downturn and the government's deep cuts to welfare will drive up homelessness over the next few years, raising the spectre of middle class people living on the streets, a major study warns.
The report by the homelessness charity Crisis, seen by the Guardian, says there is a direct link between the downturn and rising homelessness as cuts to services and draconian changes to benefits shred the traditional welfare safety net.
In the 120-page study, co-authored by academics at the University of York and Heriot-Watt University, Crisis highlights figures released over the summer that show councils have reported 44,160 people accepted as homeless and placed in social housing, an increase of 10% on the previous year and the first increase in almost a decade.
Last year another 189,000 people were also placed in temporary accommodation – such as small hotels and B&Bs – to prevent them from becoming homeless, an increase of 14% on the previous year.
Crisis says that with no sign of economic recovery in sight, there are already signs that homelessness is returning to British streets. In London, rough sleeping, the most visible form of homelessness, rose by 8% last year. Strikingly, more than half of the capital's 3,600 rough sleepers are now not British citizens: most are migrants from eastern Europe who cannot find work and, unable to get benefits or return home, are left to fend for themselves on the streets.
The charity says the evidence is that the current recession has seen the poor suffer the most, but other parts of society may be in jeopardy if the government's radical welfare agenda is acted on as the economy stutters. (...)"


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Next big drug against cholesterol takes shape


" A handful of drugmakers are racing to develop a new class of medicines they believe could be the biggest weapon against heart disease since statins were introduced in the 1980s.
The contest is taking place largely out of public view, but researchers and industry analysts say excitement is building over the injectable medicines. They work by blocking PCSK9, a protein whose natural function is to preserve levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol in the bloodstream.
Researchers in Paris, Montreal and Dallas, through experiments with thousands of patients that began in 1999, discovered the gene behind PCSK9 and deciphered its function.
Biotechnology company Regeneron and its big pharmaceutical partner Sanofi are now ahead of the pack in developing a drug that goes after PCSK9. A single injection of their medicine, called REGN727, slashed LDL levels by more than 60 percent for a month in an early trial. Results from mid-stage studies are expected later this year. (...)"

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Commuting nightmare after Irene floods U.S. northeast


"New Yorkers faced a hellish commute on Monday and millions of Americans throughout the northeastern United States were left in the dark and flooded after Hurricane Irene battered the region before moving into Canada.
Downgraded to a tropical and then a post-tropical storm, Irene pelted eastern Canada with rain and 50-mph (80-kph) winds after killing 20 people in the United States. It cut power to five million homes and businesses and choked towns with floodwaters.
New York subways and air travel at major airports were due to slowly regain service starting at 6 a.m. EDT but there were expected to be delays and overcrowding. Most of the commuter rail services feeding the city were out indefinitely.
Wall Street was largely unaffected as was Ground Zero, where the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks is soon to be observed. Financial markets would be open for normal trading, but volume is expected to be low.
Suburban New Jersey and rural Vermont were hit particularly hard. Both states were inundated with rain after an unusually wet summer season left the ground soaked and rivers swelled even before the storm rumbled through. (...)"

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Apple's board set for bigger role under new regime


" The departure of Steve Jobs as Apple's CEO is likely to trigger some major changes for the company's board.
Rather than acting as mere advisers to one of the world's great visionary leaders, the board may have to take more control, be less deferential to the new CEO Tim Cook than it was to Jobs, and meet more often.
"Over time that board is going to have to step up to greater responsibility and a more traditional role," said Jim Post, a professor of management at Boston University School of Management.
Jobs, after a lengthy battle with a rare form of pancreatic cancer and other health problems, on Wednesday said he could no longer fulfill his duties at the world's most valuable technology company and handed the CEO reins to his long-time lieutenant Cook.
Initially at least, the board will be chaired by Jobs himself, though there are questions over whether he will be in that position long, or play a major role, given the state of his health.
The creation of a chairman's position is a first step in restructuring the board. Apple was one of the few U.S. companies that lacked a chairman, raising concerns that there was no one to balance the power of the CEO.
The company had defended the lack of a chairman, saying it was in the best interests of the company and shareholders for the CEO to instead interact with two co-lead directors, Art Levinson and Andrea Jung.
That leadership structure "enhances the board's oversight of and independence from management...and the company's overall corporate governance," Apple had said in a proxy statement in January. (...)"

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Al-Qaeda Nº2 killed in Afghanistan with a bullet

"Al Qaeda Deputy Reportedly Killed: No. 2, With a Bullet"

"The relentless U.S. campaign against elements of al Qaeda and the Taliban inside Pakistan has put another big notch in its belt with the reported killing of al Qaeda's new second-in-command. A drone missile strike is believed to have killed Atiyah Abd al-Rahman last Monday, Aug. 22, in Pakistan's lawless Waziristan region, a U.S. official said Saturday. (He also allegedly died in a 2010 strike, so the claim needs to be verified.)


Coming four months after the SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden, al-Rahman's demise bolsters Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's claim in July that the U.S. is "within reach" of defeating the terror network may be on the money. While few have heard al-Rahman's name, he was a trusted confidant of bin Laden and was kind of a chief operating officer, guiding the Islamic radical group's daily actions. The Iranian government, the U.S. government alleged last month, enabled much of his work. Like his fellow countryman, Muammar Gaddafi, who also has had a tough few days recently, al-Rahman was a native of Libya.

The U.S. government described al-Rahman July 28 as "al-Qa'ida's overall commander in Pakistan's tribal areas and as of late 2010, the leader of al-Qa'ida in North and South Waziristan, Pakistan. Rahman was previously appointed by Usama bin Laden to serve as al-Qa'ida's emissary in Iran, a position which allowed him to travel in and out of Iran with the permission of Iranian officials."

Taking him out deals a blow to the organization's planning, and could disrupt future attacks contemplated by al Qaeda, Pentagon officials say. Big terror attacks generally require supervision, communication, logistics and money – all key elements in al-Rahman's portfolio. He was working with bin Laden, at the time of bin Laden's death, to try to mark the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks two weeks from now, according to documents retrieved by the SEALs from bin Laden's Abbottabad lair May 2.

Despite his recent promotion, the bounty put on his head by the State Department's "Rewards for Justice" anti-terror program was "up to $1 million," according to the RFJ website. (...)"


in Time
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East Coast braces for Irene


"Hurricane Irene rages up U.S. east coast"



" Hurricane Irene lashed North Carolina with heavy winds, rain and surf Saturday as it neared land on a path threatening the densely populated U.S. east coast with flooding and power outages.

New York City ordered unprecedented evacuations and transit shutdowns as states from the Carolinas to Maine declared emergencies due to Irene, whose nearly 600 mile width guaranteed a stormy weekend for tens of millions of people.
With winds of 90 miles per hour, Irene weakened slightly to a Category 1 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale by early Saturday but forecasters warned that it remained a large and dangerous storm.
In the port and holiday city of Wilmington, North Carolina, thousands of people were without electricity as Irene's winds intensified. The streets were empty before dawn and the air was filled with the smell and sound of pine trees cracking under the advancing storm.
At 5 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT), the center of Irene was about 35 miles south of Cape Lookout, North Carolina, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
"Some weakening is expected after Irene reaches the coast of North Carolina but Irene is forecast to remain a hurricane as it moves near or over the mid-Atlantic states and New England," it said.
In summer weather, hundreds of thousands of residents and vacationers had evacuated from Irene's path. Supermarkets and hardware stores were inundated with people stocking up on food, water, flashlights, batteries, generators and other supplies. (...) "

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Beyonce's new music video: "1+1"

Check it out:
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53 dead in attack on Mexico casino


"Workers are continuing to pull bodies out of a burned casino in northern Mexico, where gunmen spread petrol and ignited a fire which trapped and killed at least 53 gamblers and employees.
Relatives gathered at the cordon outside the Casino Royale in Monterrey, some crying and others yelling at police for providing no information. Later they were allowed to view bodies to help identify the victims.
Governor Rodrigo Medina told the Televisa network that the death toll had reached 53. The fire in a city that has seen a surge in drug cartel-related violence represented one of the deadliest attacks on an entertainment centre in Mexico since President Felipe Calderon launched an offensive against drug cartels in late 2006.
Mr Calderon tweeted that the attack was "an abhorrent act of terror and barbarism" that requires "all of us to persevere in the fight against these unscrupulous criminal bands".
Attorney general Leon Adrian de la Garza said a drug cartel was apparently responsible for the attack, though he did not say which one. Cartels often extort casinos and other businesses, threatening to attack them or burn them to the ground if they refuse to pay.
It was the second time in three months that the Casino Royale had been targeted. Gunmen struck it and three other casinos on May 25, spraying the building with bullets, but no-one was reported injured in that attack. (...)"

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Hurricane Irene: Evacuations in North Carolina


"Evacuations in N.C. as Irene Approaches"


"Thousands were fleeing an exposed strip of coastal villages and beaches off the North Carolina coast and dozens of Navy ships were ordered to leave their port to the north Thursday as Irene approached, threatening to become the first major hurricane to hit the East Coast in seven years.

An evacuation order took effect for an estimated 150,000 tourists in coastal Dare County hours after forecasters issued a hurricane watch for much of the state's coast. Meanwhile, emergency officials all the way to New England were scrambling to get ready.

Irene could hit North Carolina's Outer Banks on Saturday afternoon with winds around 115 mph. It's predicted to chug up the East Coast, dumping rain from Virginia to New York City before a much-weakened form reaches land in Connecticut.
Dare County officials were considering making thousands of year-round residents leave, too. "It wouldn't behoove anyone to stay in these circumstances," Dare County emergency management spokeswoman Sharon Sullivan said. "Businesses are boarding up. Nobody can guarantee their safety."

The Navy ordered the Second Fleet in southeastern Virginia, including at Norfolk Naval Station, to leave so ships would be safe from the approaching hurricane. Thursday's order applied to 64 ships in the area, some of which were already at sea.
The Navy, which moves it ships when storms can produce winds of 50 knots and a five- to seven-foot storm surge, said ships at sea can better weather storms. The move will also help protect piers from being damaged. (...)"




in Time
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Steve Jobs quits as Apple Chief


"Apple boss Steve Jobs to be replaced by Tim Cook"


"Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has resigned as chief executive of the technology giant and will be replaced by chief operating officer Tim Cook.
Mr Jobs, who underwent a liver transplant following pancreatic cancer, said he could no longer meet his chief executive's duties and expectations.
The Silicon Valley legend will become chairman of the firm.
The 56-year-old has been on medical leave for an undisclosed condition since 17 January.
In a short letter to the board of Apple, Mr Jobs wrote: "I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's chief executive, I would be the first to let you know.
"Unfortunately, that day has come. I hereby resign as chief executive of Apple." (...) "

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'Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark', Guillermo Del Toro's New Movie


" 'Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark' Is Guillermo Del Toro's 'Hide And Seek' "



" It's a cautionary tale straight out of a mother's mouth: "If you don't brush your teeth, monsters will creep into your mouth at night and devour them like candy." But Guillermo del Toro's rated-R version is less cavity, more cryptic.

Based on a 1973 TV movie with the same name, Friday's "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark," starring Katie Holmes and Guy Pearce, features the same hollow whispers from menacing monsters trapped behind brick fireplaces, only now those creatures are out for innocent, bright-white baby teeth.

But even with del Toro's new spin on what he said was the scariest movie he'd ever seen as a kid, the producer told MTV News some things always stay the same.

"In horror films, there are only two dynamics. One is what I call hide and seek, meaning there's a lot of tension. If you're searching, you're really tense about opening the door and somebody jumping out of the closet that was hiding.

"And if you're hiding in the closet, you're really afraid when you hear footsteps nearby," he added. "And then tag, when the person finally comes out, and you're going to chase them to tag them."

With a mind as complicated and fantastical as Pan's Labyrinth, you'd expect del Toro to have a more intricate stream of thought. But the method behind his moviemaking is simply, well, simple.

"I do sort of a tag, hide and seek, hide and seek, hide and seek, tag, tag, tag," he explained. "So that's the rhythm of the movie in a horror genre. You just pace it like that."

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German Chancellor Merkel tops powerful women list



"German Chancellor Angela Merkel topped the Forbes list of the world's most powerful women, which is dominated by politicians, businesswomen and leaders in media and entertainment.


U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who came close to defeating President Obama when he sought the Democratic nomination in 2008, was second, followed by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.


"Our list reflects the diverse and dynamic paths to power for women today, whether leading a nation or setting the agenda on critical issues of our time," said Moira Forbes, president & publisher of ForbesWoman, said in a statement.


Eight heads of state and 29 CEOs made Forbes' roster of the 100 most powerful women released on Wednesday. They have an average age of 54 and collectively control $30 trillion. Twenty two are single. (..)"

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Lady Gaga on The Simpsons



"Lady Gaga sets to make guest appearance in The Simpsons"



Lady Gaga is set to appear in The Simpsons, producers of the long-running cartoon US show have confirmed.
The singer, whose real name is Stafani Germanotta, recorded her voice-over earlier this month.
She's described the experience as "one of the coolest things I've ever done".
The episode, titled Lady Goes Gaga, will air in America in spring 2012 and is likely to air in the UK later in the year.

'Iconic personalities'
The 25-year-old told Entertainment Weekly: "I make music, but I don't do voice-overs every day of the week and their characters are so awesomely convincing and sincere and wild and funny, I had to remind myself constantly of the sincerity of the humour.
"That's what I was trying to focus on, not putting on a character too much and really being as sincere as I could with the lines."
In the episode, the singer comes to Springfield to cheer up Lisa, who's been suffering from low self-esteem.
Lady Gaga revealed that her character ends up kissing Marge, saying, "the apple doesn't fall far from my artistic tree".
Producers of The Simpsons said they were impressed by her voice acting and ad-libbing skills. (...)
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Lybia: "Martyrdom or Victory"


"Gaddafi vows 'martyrdom or victory' after fleeing compound"


" Muammar Gaddafi has vowed "martyrdom or victory" hours after Libyan rebels swarmed into his fortified compound in Tripoli.
Following a day of heavy fighting in the Libyan capital, opposition fighters broke into Gaddafi's walled citadel, Bab al-Aziziya, where they were seen stamping on a gilded bronze head of the deposed despot and setting fire to his famous tent in a cathartic end to his 42-year rule.
But in an audio recording released to a Libyan television station, the dictator called his retreat from the compound a "tactical move". Gaddafi, who has not been seen in public for weeks, told al-Rai TV that Libyans must "cleanse the capital", and claimed he had made a discreet tour of Tripoli and felt the city was not in danger.
"All Libyans must be present in Tripoli, young men, tribal men and women must sweep through Tripoli and comb it for traitors. I have been out a bit in Tripoli discreetly, without being seen by people, and … I did not feel that Tripoli was in danger," he said.
Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim, said 6,000 volunteers had arrived in Libya to join Gaddafi's cause, and warned that loyalist forces were ready and capable of fighting on for months, if not years.
In an audio recording, he warned they would turn Libya into "volcanoes, lava and fire against the imperialism". If the military strikes continued, he warned, Gaddafi forces would transform Tripoli into "a death trap".
"I don't think that the rebels will stand that fight because they haven't got the facilities to do that. They always ask Nato to help them and to intervene in their actions all the time. But I think Tripoli will be in two days or three days back to us," he said.
Rebel leaders said 400 people had been killed and 2,000 injured during the fighting, and there were reports of sporadic looting in the capital. But the whereabouts of the Libyan leader and his family remain unknown. (...)"

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Facebook: New Privacy Controls, coming up next Thursday

"Facebook to revamp privacy controls"




"Facebook is making it easier for users to control who sees their information, and to have more say over the photographs they appear in, as the world's No. 1 social networking service seeks to assuage privacy concerns.
The changes will enable Facebook's 750 million users to quickly access and modify their privacy settings each time they share information on the online network, rather than forcing them to click through various specialized sections of the website.
When a person uploads a photograph to Facebook and "tags," or labels, their friends in the picture, the friends will now have the power to approve the tag before the picture is linked to their personal profiles. Previously, users could only un-tag themselves from undesirable photos after the fact.
 (...)
Among the new features, which Facebook will introduce on Thursday, will be a drop-down menu that allows Facebook users to specify the intended audience for each message or photograph they share on the network, as well as the ability to alter who can see a message after it has already been posted online.
Facebook also added a special button to make it easier for people to check how their online profile and activity appears from the perspective of another individual, such as a boss or an ex-girlfriend.
Even as Facebook offers new privacy controls, the company is introducing new features that could cause some privacy concerns.
Facebook users will now be able to tag anyone in a photograph, loosening the previous policy in which users could only tag people with whom they were friends. The change will be paired with new safeguards, including the ability for users to approve any tags that link to their profile and the ability to block a specific person from tagging them in photos. (...)"


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Strauss-Kahn sexual assalt dismissed


"Dominique Strauss-Kahn sex assault charges dropped"




"New York prosecutors have dropped sexual assault charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn for allegedly attacking a hotel maid – but he is not yet a completely free man after the judge said an appeal court must decide on the maid's lawyer's attempts to have a special prosecutor take over the case.
It had been widely anticipated that the case would be thrown out today, but the decision to go to the appeals court caused confusion in the New York courtroom.
The judge, Michael Obus, told the packed court he would comply with a request from the prosecution to dismiss the case. "The indictment is dismissed," he said. Most legal observers think the attempt by lawyers for Nafissatou Diallo will be unsuccessful, and a decision could come as early as later on Tuesday.
A largest group of protestors had gathered outside, many of them waving placards and chanting slogans such as "DSK! Shame on you!" as Strauss-Kahn left the courtoom.
Michael Greys, co-founder of the group 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement, was furious at the dismissal of the case. (...)"

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Drugs didn't kill Amy Whineouse


"Tests Show No Illegal Drugs Involved in Amy Winehouse's Death"

"A spokesman for Amy Winehouse's family revealed on Tuesday that a toxicology report shows there were no illegal drugs in the singer's system at the time of her death.

The 27-year-old soul singer had publicly battled with drug and alcohol addiction throughout her career, and many were quick to say that her death on July 23 had seemed like a foregone conclusion. However, the initial autopsy of Winehouse's body didn't shed any light on the specific cause of death.

While Tuesday's announcement complicates the many quick-hit theories on what killed Winehouse, there's still a real possibility that her addiction had a direct hand in her death. The toxicology report did find that "alcohol was present" in her system, though the family spokesman said it was unclear if that contributed to Winehouse's death."


in Time
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Toyota & Ford = Hybrid Trucks


"Toyota, Ford to collaborate on hybrid trucks"



" Ford and Toyota plan to collaborate on product development for the future rear-wheel drive hybrid vehicles, as well as for telephone, Internet and entertainment systems.
Developing the hybrids will help each automaker meet stringent U.S. fueleconomy  standards in coming years, said Takeshi Uchiyamada, vice president for Toyota research and development, and Derrick Kuzak, Ford's product development chief.
There are no plans for collaboration beyond rear-wheel drive hybrids and on-board phone, navigation and entertainment systems, Kuzak said.
Toyota has been the world leader in hybrids since it introduced the Prius sedan in 1997. It has since sold 3.3 million hybrid vehicles. led by the Prius, which like most fuel-efficient cars, has front-wheel drive.
Rear-wheel drive vehicles in the U.S. market include sports cars and high-performance sedans.
"This is the kind of collaborative effort that is required to address the big global challenges of energy independence and environmental sustainability," Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally said in a prepared statement.
Toyota President Akio Toyoda, also in a prepared statement, said the tie-up "should also become an important building block for future mobility in the U.S."
While Toyota has led in hybrid sales, Ford has been a leader in pickup trucks, which are predominately sold in the United States and Canada. Its F-series pickup trucks have been the best-selling vehicle in the U.S. market since the 1970s.
The two companies will work on the details of a fuller agreement expected "sometime in 2012" that will lay out more specifically how they will collaborate, Kuzak said. (...)"
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Lybia re-connected to the World


"Libya starts to reconnect to internet"



"Libya's internet connections appear to be slowly coming back online after a six-month blackout.
The state-run internet service provider (ISP) carried a message on its website that said: "Libya, one tribe".
However, local people have reported patchy reliability with connections coming and going.
Internet traffic in Libya dropped to almost nothing in early March when Colonel Gaddafi's government pulled the plug in an attempt to suppress dissent.
With Tripoli under siege, and the rebels reportedly gaining the upper hand, the authorities' stranglehold on net connections appeared to be loosening.
Both Google's web analytics and Akamai's net monitoring service showed a spike in traffic coming from the country early on 22 August.
Akamai's director of market intelligence, David Belson, said that internet activity had increased almost 500%, although it had declined again later in the day. (...)"

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Weight: Men Vs Women




"Men vs. Women: Who Gains More 

Weight After Marriage and 

Divorce?"


"Marriage and divorce are life-changing events, the effects of which are evident in innumerable ways — including on the bathroom scale.

Both marriage and divorce appear to lead to weight gain among couples, but each occasion affects men and women differently, according to a new study. Researchers from Ohio State University found that women tended to gain more weight than men after marriage, while after a divorce, men's girth expanded more than women's.

Previous studies of weight gain and coupledom have looked at average gains and losses, but sociology professor Zhenchao Qian and his doctoral student Dmitry Tumin decided to break down the weight effects by gender to better understand whether marital transitions affected men differently than women.
The researchers looked at survey data from a nationally representative sample of more than 10,000 men and women who were 14 to 22 years old when the survey began in 1979. The participants were questioned every year up to 1994, and then every other year afterward.


The scientists found interesting gender differences when they focused on the two-year mark after a marriage or divorce. Although both men and women who married tended to gain weight compared with their counterparts who stayed single, women were tended to gain more weight than men.

Conversely, two years after a divorce, separated partners tended to be heavier compared with couples who remained married, but men posted larger weight gains than women. (...)"

in Time
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