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Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said in a phone interview with Alaska Dispatch News on Tuesday that she plans to speak out against oil company-funded efforts to maintain the oil tax structure put in place in January. “I don’t want Alaskans to be deceived,” she said.

New York is America's most unhappy region, a new study has found - while Richmond tops the table as American's most contented place. The study from the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research relies on a large survey that asks respondents about their satisfaction with life. Researchers say that despite this, areas such as New York still attract people because of its job prospects.

If the amount of press ink used to report a study is any indicator of its contribution to public understanding, the National Institute on Retirement Security's (NIRS) 2013 report, "The Retirement Savings Crisis: Is It Worse than We Think?" might be the gold standard on the subject of retirement security. The report concludes that 84% of Americans are falling short of reasonable retirement savings targets and, even when total net worth is considered, two-thirds are at risk of an inadequate retirement income. The total "retirement savings gap," NIRS claims, may reach $14 trillion. According to New York Times writer Nancy...

It may seem to some as something of a dream job - working alongside childhood heroes such as Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Donald Duck. But in order to get, and keep, a job as a character at a Disney park or resort, employees must abide by a number of strict rules, ranging from the obvious to the bizarre. For anyone thinking of trying to get a job at a Magic Kingdom, here is a rundown of some of the more idiosyncratic employee rules implemented by the bosses at Disney.

New York is America's most unhappy region, a new study has found - while Richmond tops the table as American's most contented place. The study from the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research relies on a large survey that asks respondents about their satisfaction with life.

Denver Broncos team owner Pat Bowlen is steeping down from day-to-day operations because he is battling Alzheimer's Disease ... The Broncos said Bowlen had already been reducing his role in recent years while he was, "courageously and privately battling Alzheimer’s disease." "The Broncos are very saddened that Mr. Bowlen is no longer able to be part of the team’s daily operations due to his condition," the team said on its website. "We continue to offer our full support, compassion and respect to ‘Mr. B,’ who has faced Alzheimer’s disease with such dignity and strength." Team president Joe Ellis will assume...

Watchmaking is a noble tradition stretching back hundreds of years when they would make all the parts by hand. While technology today has lightened some of their workload, it's still a fascinating sight when a watchmaker creates another mechanical beauty.

Outgoing Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) may be down but she wants everyone to know she’s not out. “The only thing that the media has speculated on is that it’s going to be various men that are running (in 2016),” Bachmann said in a new interview with Real Clear Politics. “They haven’t speculated, for instance, that I’m going to run. What if I decide to run? And there’s a chance I could run.” Politics watchers will recall Bachmann’s first failed run for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. After winning the not-that-significant Iowa Ames Straw Poll in 2011, she enjoyed a brief...

MINNEAPOLIS — A Twin Cities man is upset about the way his family was treated on a Southwest Airlines flight because of a tweet. Duff Watson says he was asked to de-board a flight from Denver to Minneapolis with his two kids on Sunday after an agent didn’t like a tweet he wrote about her service. Watson and the agent had a disagreement before boarding initially. ... He’s an “A-List” passenger, which means he gets priority boarding. But a gate agent wouldn’t let his 6-year-old and 9-year-old board with him — so they’d all have to wait to board later....

When I load FR certain words are appearing as hyperlinks. I scanned the hard drive using super anti spyware and got rid of one program called "immenent". Also getting pop-ups. Ad block is on and I'm using firefox browser. I also use windows defender. Any help appreciated, thanks.

Word For The Day, Wednesday, July 23, 2014-- potentate ; In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day". potentate [poht-n-teyt]hear it pronounced noun a person who possesses great power, as a sovereign, monarch, or ruler. Origin: [1350-1400: from Late Latin potent�tus ruler, from Latin: rule, command, from potens powerful, from posse to be able] Rules: Everyone must leave a post using the Word for the Day in a sentence. The sentence must, in some way, relate to the news of the day....

Wild cards, but notable Android entry Summary: Amazon's Fire Phone proved itself to be a good everyday phone even though it's unclear whether Dynamic Perspective and Firefly will be hits. Amazon's Fire gives us something unique in the me-too land of Android smartphones. I was skeptical before I even turned the device on. Amazon's Fire Phone is one of the few things to really talk about in the Android smartphone derby, but faces a few hurdles. My doubts revolved around the following: Was Dynamic Perspective, which delivers 3D effects, useful or a gimmick? After playing with the phone for four...

I was browsing video on Youtube of the MH17 crash scene and noticed something unusual. The source of the video is Russian Television, but posted to Youtube on the 17th here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fjpB5gw3iM in line with the timeline of the crash. Best views :16-:30 in. I searched post-by-post here at FR back to the 17th and didn't see any Title asserting this had been observed. Notice the Chaff falling from the sky...

Narnia meets The Lord of the Rings in a new movie project slated for release next spring. Tolkien & Lewis will delve into the historical relationship between two of the greatest epic fantasy writers of all time: J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. ADVERTISEMENT Hard-core fantasy fans know that Lewis and Tolkien were friends and colleagues, but the average movie-goer may not even realize that the two authors were connected at all, though their best-known works have become blockbuster Hollywood movies. Indeed, there is much exciting history between the two legendary British authors, and each heavily influenced the other. According to...

Quinn and Rose are off the air, and we await word that they are returning soon. (Stand by) Meanwhile, our friendly group of dedicated FReeper Q&R fans will meet in our usual spot - same time, same station - as we always have! So grab your coffee - or whatever you choose to start your day - and drop in for some political chit-chat, or just to shoot the breeze! We are all coming from - or going to - work, but we all stop in to say ‘hi!’ Feel free to join us!

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENTS ESPN 3 WEDNESDAY (23 JULY)THE BEACH 9AM Pacific Points Available: 100 For time: Swim 250 yards 50 kettlebell thrusters (35 / 24 lb.) 30 burpees Swim 500 yards 30 burpees 50 kettlebell thrusters (35 / 24 lb.) Swim 250 yards OVERHEAD SQUAT 6:30PM Pacific Points Available: 100 1-rep-max overhead squat Athletes will each have 3 attempts.

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Once a year rental marketIt is that time of year when San Diegans open their homes to strangers. People across the county rent rooms, apartments, condos and houses to visitors of Comic-Con. It is the largest convention in San Diego, and places to stay are hard to find and expensive -- leaving the door open the locals who want to make some extra money renting out space for the convention. But there can be complications. Besides the fact that you are opening your door to complete strangers, many rental contracts and Condo Association rules ban renting out your property. Regardless,...

A few weeks ago it was teeming with sunspots, as you would expect since we are supposed to be in the middle of solar maximum -- the time in the sun's 11-year cycle when it is the most active. But now, there is hardly a sunspot in sight. If you look closely at the image above, taken on July 18 by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, you will see a tiny smidge of brown just right of center where a small sunspot appears to be developing. But just one day before, there truly was nothing. It was a totally spotless day....

Nihad Awad is a born in Jordan Palestinian living in the U.S. for more than two decades. He is co-founder and CEO of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), one of the largest Muslim civil rights organizations in the United States. He was an advisor to Al Gore and met Presidents Bush and Clinton as well as several U.S. Secretary of State. His e-mails were monitored from 2006 to 2008. "As a citizen I am beside myself that the government spies on activists. Though we have done so much for society in this country, we are still suspected." Awad believed...

A Colorado Springs man was arrested Tuesday on a felony warrant after police drew him out of his apartment southeast of Airport Road and South Academy Boulevard. Nicholas Rogers, 34, was wanted on a felony menacing warrant. Police looked for him at his apartment in a complex in the 700 block of Chapman Drive. No one answered the apartment door, but police found an extension cord running from his residence to an outlet in the laundry room, an illegal utilities connection. Police disconnected the cord and hid in the laundry room to wait. After about half an hour, Rogers left...

NEWINGTON — When Talia Maselli envisioned her perfect prom date, one man immediately sprang to mind: Vice President Joe Biden. “Joe Biden makes me laugh,” the Maselli said. “He just cracks me up.” So she mailed Biden a handwritten note last fall asking him to escort her to the Newington High School prom. “I am inviting you so far in advance because I’m sure many 17-year-old girls send you prom invitations, and I had to beat them to it,” Maselli said in her letter. “I could only tolerate a high school dance if I was to be escorted by the...

MacDailyNews presents live notes from Apple’s Q314 Conference Call with analysts starting at 5pm EDT/2pm PDT today. For its fiscal 2014 third quarter ended June 28, 2014, Apple today announced Q314 financial results with quarterly revenue of $37.4 billion (vs. $35.3 billion YOY) and quarterly net profit of $7.7 billion (vs. $6.9 billion YOY), or $1.07 per diluted share.“Our record June quarter revenue was fueled by strong sales of iPhone and Mac and the continued growth of revenue from the Apple ecosystem, driving our highest EPS growth rate in seven quarters,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, in a statement. “We...

Things are heating up on planet Earth. Average global temperatures shattered records this June ... for the second month in a row, according to a new report from the National Climactic Data Center. The NCDC, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, analyzed data from 2,000 weather stations scattered across the globe measuring both ocean and land temperatures and found that global average temperatures surpassed the previous record by 1.3 degrees Fahrenheit. That makes June 2014 the warmest June since record keeping began in 1880. If this trend continues, 2014 could top 2010 as the warmest year recorded.

With 148 counties out of 169 reporting, WRDW-TV in Augusta, GA has called this very, very close primary runoff for Perdue, a political "newcomer", his word. Details: Jack Kingston 234,238 votes 49% David Perdue 242,137 votes 51%This has been a particularly nasty campaign.

I don't know exactly why, but I wanted to share this. This is how it's done.

President Barack Obama says a wildfire that has burned nearly 400 square miles in the north-central part of Washington state, along with blazes in other Western areas, can be attributed to climate change. Obama, speaking at a fundraiser Tuesday, offered federal help to deal with Washington’s wildfire, the largest in the state’s history. …

We are well into the 2014 election season, and there’s a lot at stake. Not just control of the U.S. Senate, as newly minted New Hampshire resident Scott Brown ignores his GOP primary opponents in his rush to target incumbent Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. Not just the perversity quotient of the U.S. House, as primary voters sort through which candidates – representing which wing of the Republican Party? – will challenge Democratic incumbents Annie Kuster and Carol Shea-Porter. Not just the balance of power in the New Hampshire General Court, as we’re still trying to forget – or at least recover...

You can’t deny an economic collapse. We are about to see the greatest stock crash of our lifetimes I recently read a good article in Barron’s by Randall W. Forsyth called “Deus ex Machina 2.0: Is the Fed Trying to Take Human Nature Out of the Credit Cycle?” It was particularly interesting in light of the Bank for International Settlements’ warning that central banks are stoking financial bubbles that will burst, creating an even larger financial crisis… and that they should reverse their endless stimulus policies sooner rather than later. Music to my ears: Were they singing my song or...

TMZ first reported the incident and she told them "I wasn't speeding, I was qualifying," according to the website.... Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/2014-07-22/story/caught-speeding-alaskan-hometown-sarah-palin-answers-i-wasn-t-speeding-i-was#ixzz38Fjr2xDT

In the latest episode of Snoop Dogg's GGN News, guest Jimmy Kimmel asked the rapper what frankly we've all been wondering: If Snoop has ever gotten high at the White House. "In the bathroom. Not in the White House, but in the bathroom," Snoop told Kimmel. "I said, 'May I use the bathroom for a second?' And they said, 'What are you gonna do, Number 1 or Number 2?' I said, 'Number 2,'" he told Kimmel, adding that it was the "the CIA or the FBI" inquiring about his bathroom needs. "So I said, 'Look, when I do the Number...

When Paul Revere’s alarm, “The Redcoats are coming!”, was sounded through the countryside centuries ago, it was made to people who were prepared to meet a challenge. Whether the coming challenge in our present day is one of economics or something else, will you be prepared to respond when the alarm is sounded? Here are some ideas you should consider as you get started in your preparations for whatever hard times might await:

The Queen was among the guests at Kensington Palace for Prince George's first birthday party She was joined by Prince Harry, Zara and Mike Tindall, the Middleton clan and Kate's childhood friend Emilia d'Erlanger The latter joined the Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George on a trip to Buckingham Palace this morning George's first birthday party has been organised by Carole Middleton and has a Peter Rabbit theme During the party, guests will tuck into a special cake made by George's Spanish nanny, Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo Grandparents Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall were notable absentees but did...

After reports that wandering elks were scaring the public, police on the island of Frösön have decided not to open fire on the animals, but have urged locals to exercise caution instead. Swede killed after crashing into an elk (12 Jul 14) Curious elk breaks into house in Sweden (07 Jul 14) Kids flee as elk breaks into woodwork class (02 Jun 14) The authorities on the island in northern Sweden were flooded with calls from concerned members of the public saying that elks were roaming the streets of a residential area and terrifying people. Witnesses reported that two elks...

Blames overweight wife for refusing to compromiseA 40-year-old Yemeni citizen, identified as Yassin, divorced his wife because of her snorting, the ‘Al Rai’ newspaper has reported. The husband said that his wife used to eat many nuts and chocolates till she now weighs more than 80kg, up from her original 50kg, the paper reported. He added that she refused to undergo any diet or weight- loss programme. However, the final straw for the man was her snoring at night, which he attributed to her weight. The report quotes the man as saying: “We have three children, but she does not...

Thousands of litres of beer were spilled on a motorway near Duisburg in western Germany on Monday night, when a truck carrying several hundred crates of Bitburger toppled over, shutting the Autobahn. Germans damage World Cup trophy at afterparty (21 Jul 14) Police find cannabis growing on motorway (18 Jul 14) Burglars steal 300,000 litres of beer (15 Jul 14) The truck was on the A40 motorway heading towards Dortmund and was approaching the A3 motorway towards Arnheim at the Kaiserberg interchange. The 66-year-old driver then lost control of the vehicle and slid off the road. Hundreds of bottles were...

Germany’s long and rowdy World Cup celebrations did not just take a toll of fans and players – the trophy was also damaged on Sunday night at the afterparty in Brazil as the team celebrated victory over Argentina. President of the German Football Association (DFB) Wolfgang Niersbach told Spiegel that a “small piece of it was chipped off”. “Don’t worry about it,” he added. “We have specialists who can fix it.” The 63-year-old added the culprit had not been identified, despite their “persistent” investigation. “The investigation was terminated without result,” Niersbach added. After beating Argentina 1:0 in the World Cup...

The craters, believed to be formed by an underground explosion, are now filled with snow and ice. Reindeer herders in Russia's Far North have discovered yet another mysterious giant hole about 30 kilometers away from a similar one found days earlier. Located in the permafrost of the subarctic Siberian region of Yamal, which means "end of the earth" in the local Nenets language, both craters appear to have been formed in recent years and have icy lakes at their bases. Scientists who examined the first hole theorized that it could have been created when a mixture of water, salt and...

Dan Borislow, the inventor of magicJack and a pioneer in developing phone calls over the Internet, died Monday, officials at the company he founded said. He was 52. A spokeswoman for MagicJack Vocaltec Ltd., said he died of a heart attack. In a statement, MagicJack CEO Gerald Vento praised Borislow as a visionary.

Police found bank deposits receipts worth Dh1.2m and expensive four-wheel car with himSaudi police arrested an Arab man for begging although he had in excess of SR1.2 million (Dh1.2 million) and an expensive four-wheel vehicle. Police said the unnamed man, a resident of a nearby Gulf country, is visiting the Gulf kingdom on a tourist visa with his wife and three children, adding that he was found to be staying in a luxury furnished apartment in the Western Saudi port of Yanbu. “We found large sums of cash with him and receipts for bank deposits…he had a total of more...

Saudi woman have been blamed more than men for the high divorce rate in the Gulf Kingdom and one of the main reasons is their disobedience. A study issued this week by a local legal centre showed there are 11 key reasons for the surge in divorces in the world’s largest oil exporter. Six of them are related to women and four to men while the 11th reason has to do with the couple’s families and their interference in their marital life, showed the study by the Riyadh-based consultancy Centre for Legal Training. “One of the main reasons for the...

It's 2014. We should be well beyond the "women can't drive" sexism. But at one Chinese shopping mall, this clearly isn't the case. At the Dashijiedaduhui — or "World Metropolis" — centre in the northern port city of Dalian, there are now parking spaces designated for women outside its main entrance. Marked in pink and about 30 cm wider than the average parking spots, signs above them read: "Respectfully reserved for women." "We just wanted to make things easier for women, who make up most of our customers," said mall manager Yang Hongjun, a woman herself.

Explanation: Yes, but have you ever seen aurora from a cave? To capture this fascinating juxtaposition between below and above, astrophotographer Bjargmundsson spent much of a night alone in the kilometer-long Raufarhólshellir lava cave in Iceland during late March. There, he took separate images of three parts of the cave using a strobe for illumination. He also took a deep image of the sky to capture faint aurora, and digitally combined the four images later. The 4600-year old lava tube has several skylights under which stone rubble and snow have accumulated. Oh -- the person standing on each mound --...

But I Voted For Obama For "Free Stuff",And I Am Entitled!.So how do these 65.9 Americans feel now that they are indirectly responsible for the horrific events of the last 2 or 3 weeks?,Was the free-stuff worth watching thousands of children suffering and dying trying to cross the border?,Was voting for a liberal worth what happened in the Ukraine along with god knows how many innocent people have died in the mid-east?And now here we are 5.5 years into the Obama Administration and thanks to these 65 Million"Selfish/Greedy" Americans, we are beyond a Nation In Fear!And to think we were...

California voters will have a chance in the November elections to vote on a ballot measure asking them if Congress should amend the U.S. Constitution to overturn Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. The Governor of California signed into law Senate Bill 1272 on July 16 -- the Overturn Citizens United Act -- to put the advisory question on the November 2014 ballot. The group behind the initiative is Money Out Voters In, who were supported by Common Cause. Common Cause is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to accountable government in the public interest. "This is a great day for...

An Edmond teenager faces a possible life in prison sentence after authorities say they learned about shocking crimes he allegedly committed on an African mission trip. The suspect was volunteering at a Kenyan children’s home when he allegedly raped and molested a number of young children. According to court records, 19-year-old Matthew Durham confessed to raping several young girls, forcing some boys to perform oral sex on him and even making other kids watch. “This is a young man in our community that made choices to exploit children in an orphanage,” said United States Attorney Sanford Coats. “It’s a true...

A tree planted in memorial to late Beatles guitarist George Harrison following his death in Los Angeles in 2001 has been killed by bark beetles amid California's epic drought, a local official said on Tuesday.

The highlight of the excavation was the discovery of a Judea Capta coin, which was minted by Roman Emporor Domitian during his reign of 81 – 96 CE in honor of the conquest of Judea and the destruction of Jersusalem in 70 CE by his father, Vespasian, and brother, Titus. Christie Cobb, a doctoral student at Drew University in New Jersey, discovered the coin. There are only 48 other versions of this coin that have been found, and fewer still at Biblical sites such as Bethsaida. “The coin confirms other ceramic data about the date of the large Roman period...

STURGIS | Perhaps, the comeback starts in Sturgis. Lance Armstrong, who has been stripped of seven Tour De France titles and received a lifetime ban from competitive cycling for doping, was named Monday as the grand marshal of the 12th Annual Mayor's Ride at the Sturgis motorcycle rally.

This morning, a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit invalidated a 2012 IRS rule allowing tax subsidies in federal insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act. Within hours, a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a contrary ruling in a similar, but separate, case, allowing exchange subsidies in both state-based and federal exchanges. Though both decisions are still subject to further review and will have no immediate impact, such “circuit splits” are often considered strong evidence that a case will ultimately end up before the U.S. Supreme...