Canadian Alice Munro Wins Nobel's Literature Prize

Alice Munro, "master of the contemporary short story," has won the Nobel Prize in Literature," the Royal Swedish Academy announced Thursday morning. In 2009, she won the Man Booker International Prize for her lifetime work.

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Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/10/10/231352197/canadian-alice-munro-wins-nobel-s-literature-prize?ft=1&f=1032
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Hajj pilgrims set for Eid al-Adha feast

Muzdalifah (Saudi Arabia) (AFP) - Throngs of Muslim pilgrims converged Monday on Muzdalifah to prepare for Eid al-Adha feast after a day of prayer on Mount Arafat for an end to disputes and bloodshed.

The faithful will spend the night in Muzdalifah to collect stones which they will use a symbolic ritual of stoning the devil in nearby Mina on Tuesday, the first day of the feast of sacrifice.

Most of the pilgrims taking part in the annual hajj to Islam's holiest sites in Saudi Arabia travelled from Arafat to Muzdalifah on foot, while others took buses and trains, some riding on the roofs.

Thousands of security men were deployed to organise the traffic flowing into Muzdalifah, which only comes to life during the five days of the hajj.

Earlier in the day men, women and children from across the Muslim world flooded the roads to Arafat chanting "Labaik Allahum Labaik" (I am responding to your call, God), as they observed the peak of the hajj.

Helicopters hovered overhead and thousands of Saudi troops stood guard.

Many pilgrims camped in small colourful tents or took shelter under trees to escape temperatures of around 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). Special sprinklers were set up to ward off the heat.

In his annual sermon, top Saudi cleric Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Sheikh urged Muslims to avoid divisions, chaos and sectarianism, without explicitly speaking of the turmoil unleashed by the Arab Spring.

"Your nation is a trust with you. You must safeguard its security, stability and resources," he said.

"You should know that you are targeted by your enemy... who wants to spread chaos among you... It's time to confront this."

The cleric did not speak specifically of the deadly war wracking Syria, where Sunni-led rebels backed by Saudi Arabia are at war with a regime led by Alawites -- an offshoot of Shiite Islam -- and closely allied with Shiite Iran and Hezbollah.

The cleric insisted that Islam prohibits killing and aggression and said there is "no salvation or happiness for the Muslim nation without adhering to the teachings of the religion."

Attendance is sharply down from last year, due to fears of the MERS virus which has killed 60 people worldwide, including 51 in Saudi Arabia, and to expansion work at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

Prince Khaled al-Faisal, the governor of Mecca province who heads the central hajj committee, said 1.38 million pilgrims had come from outside the kingdom while 117,000 permits were issued for locals.

This puts the total number of pilgrims at almost 1.5 million, less than half of last year's 3.2 million, after Riyadh slashed hajj quotas.

Prince Khaled said authorities had turned back 70,000 nationals and expatriates for not carrying legal permits and had arrested 38,000 others for performing the hajj without a permit.

Authorities have also seized as many as 138,000 vehicles for violating the hajj rules, and owners would be penalised, he said.

Saudi health authorities have stressed that no cases of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus have been detected so far this pilgrimage.

Prayers for peace in troubled times

Many pilgrims said they were praying for peace in Muslim nations mired in sectarian and political strife.

"I will pray the whole day for God to improve the situation for Muslims worldwide and for an end to disputes and bloodshed in Arab countries," said 61-year-old Algerian pensioner Saeed Dherari.

"I hope that God will grace all Muslims with security and stability," said 75-year-old Ahmad Khader, who hails from the southern Syrian province of Daraa, where the country's uprising began.

"The regime is tyrannical and I pray for God to help the oppressed people," he said, referring to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's embattled government.

Egyptian Ahmad Ali, who is performing hajj for the first time, prayed for peace in his country where hundreds have been killed in fighting between security forces and Islamist supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi.

"I pray for Egypt to enjoy security and stability and for the people to reach understanding and reconciliation," Ali said.

The hajj, which officially ends on Friday, is one of the five pillars of Islam that every capable Muslim must perform at least once.

The pilgrims started the hajj journey on Sunday, moving out of the holy city of Mecca to nearby Mina, where most of them spent the night following the traditions of the Prophet Mohammed, who performed the rituals 14 centuries ago.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/muslim-pilgrims-throng-mount-arafat-hajj-climax-065848537.html
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Automatic cuts re-emerge as budget battle issue

WASHINGTON (AP) — The broad, automatic spending cuts known as sequestration have re-emerged as a central issue in efforts to end the partial government shutdown and avert a federal default.

Many conservatives view the past seven months of lower spending levels as one of their rare accomplishments in dealing with President Barack Obama and want to continue them.

But GOP defense hawks complain that the next round of automatic cuts falls almost entirely on the Pentagon, and many Republicans want to shift that burden to domestic programs.

Obama and Democrats would do away with them altogether, substituting new taxes and maybe some spending cuts elsewhere in their place. Republicans are agreeable — Democrats much less so — to trimming future Social Security benefits or making wealthier retirees pay higher premiums for Medicare in place of the automatic cuts.

Sequestration deals mostly with the day-to-day operating budgets of federal agencies. The Veterans Administration is exempt, as are the biggest "mandatory" benefit programs like Social Security, food stamps and Medicaid. The president's health care program — "Obamacare" —also is exempt.

The impact of the automatic cuts that went into effect in March was not as harsh as many people feared. Some agencies were able to move money around to prevent or reduce furloughs.

For many Americans, however, the impacts have been real. Health research has slowed, thousands of Head Start slots have been eliminated and poor people have been left hanging on waiting lists for housing subsidy vouchers.

The future is uncertain but easing or eliminating a new round of automatic spending cuts in January is likely to be a focus of any budget talks once the government reopens fully. Giving agencies more flexibility to adjust to reduced funding levels also is being discussed.

A brief primer on the automatic spending cuts and what might happen next:

—Sequestration was established by the 2011 Budget Control Act to reduce government spending by $1.2 trillion over 10 years. The cuts were to be divided between defense and domestic programs and achieved through caps on the money Congress can appropriate each year.

—For fiscal 2013 ending Sept. 30, sequestration lowered Congress' spending cap from $1.043 trillion to $988 billion. Of the $55 billion in spending cuts, $22 billion was from a 4.5 percent cut in domestic programs and $33 billion was from a 6 percent cut in military spending. That reduced the Pentagon's budget this past year from $552 billion to $519 billion. In addition, benefit programs were cut $17 billion. Of that, $11 billion was from fee reductions for Medicare providers like doctors and hospitals. The other $6 billion was spread among smaller programs like farm subsidies. Altogether the sequester produced total budget savings of $72 billion in 2013.

—For fiscal 2014, the sequester lowers the cap on what Congress can spend to $967 billion. Virtually all of the additional savings would come from new and deeper cuts to the military. The Pentagon's budget would drop from $519 billion to $498 billion.

—The debate: House Republicans want to maintain the $967 billion cap for fiscal 2014 but shift all the sequester cuts from the Pentagon to domestic programs. Democrats want to do away with the sequester entirely and set the spending cap at $1.06 trillion.

Congressional leaders tentatively have agreed to extend the 2013 cap of $988 billion for three months while they attempt to negotiate a broader deal for easing or replacing the automatic spending cuts.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/automatic-cuts-emerge-budget-battle-issue-060358892--finance.html
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NC Chamber to help with health insurance | CharlotteObserver.com

The N.C. Chamber, the state’s powerful business lobby, is setting up a private statewide insurance exchange to sell health policies to people whose employers drop health coverage for their workers.

It’s a first for North Carolina and is scheduled to go public next week, offering a glimpse into the nation’s emerging insurance landscape. It will be one of a number similar private exchanges being prepared in about 18 states, said Jim Simpson, chief operating officer of the N.C. Chamber.

Chamber officials expect a significant healthcare shift in which companies stop offering insurance in a move to manage healthcare costs. Instead, employers will opt to pay workers a cash allowance so they can shop for their own policies.

The shift is expected to spread among small employers across the country; larger businesses, meanwhile, will be required to provide insurance under the nation’s healthcare law, the Affordable Care Act.

The Chamber’s exchange is designed to function much like the federal insurance exchange, www.healthcare.gov, that was launched Oct. 1 to sell subsidized policies to the uninsured. But the Chamber’s version will not offer federally subsidized insurance, and many of those who shop on the private exchange will be employees accustomed to workplace coverage who will be purchasing an individual insurance policy for the first time.

“The employee will have a heck of a lot more choice in what they actually need,” Simpson said. “This will be an option where they can get a full-suite package.”

Private insurance exchanges have recently been introduced by IBM, Time Warner and other large corporations as a means of providing supplemental Medicare coverage to retirees. Private exchanges make it easier to compare prices because they include policies from multiple insurers on one website.

Such exchanges are sometimes greeted with skepticism because companies use them to control runaway healthcare costs. But many also prefer the wider range of options than workplace coverage, which typically involves a single insurer.

“My only concern is consumer confusion,” said Adam Linker, a policy analyst with the N.C. Justice Center in Raleigh. “I don’t think it’s a bad thing as long as people aren’t confused about the fact that there’s only one federal exchange where you can get your subsidy.”

The Chamber will offer its private exchange through CieloStar, a nationwide health benefits technology company. The private exchange will offer at least three insurers, including the state’s biggest, Blue Cross Blue Shield.

CieloChoice will offer health, dental, vision, Medicare supplemental and other types of policies. The policies can be purchased from multiple insures but will be bundled on one bill, Simpson said.

With regard to learning about insurance policies, the other options for insurance shoppers who lose coverage at the office will be talking to an insurance agent or navigating websites of insurance companies that sell policies here. Some independent agents, however, represent only one insurer.

Simpson said the Chamber’s private exchange will also receive a “small royalty” for every policy sold through the exchange. He expects many other private exchanges to become available in North Carolina — some created by insurance companies, insurance agents and other organizations — but not all providing information about all available insurance options.

The number of private exchanges will reflect the number of employees who lose workplace coverage and are forced to buy their own policies.

“The potential pool is huge,” Simpson said.

Source: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/10/11/4381668/nc-chamber-to-create-health-insurance.html
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Court says suit testing blogger's rights can go on

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A federal appeals court says former Agriculture Department employee Shirley Sherrod can continue her defamation case against a conservative blogger.

Larry O'Connor, a colleague of the late blogger Andrew Breitbart, asked a federal court of appeals to throw out the case, saying it violates his freedom of speech rights. The appeals court on Tuesday upheld a federal district court's rejection of that motion to dismiss.

The case is one of the first high-profile federal lawsuits to test bloggers' freedom of speech rights, and large news organizations including the New York Times Co., Washington Post Co. and Dow Jones & Company, Inc., have filed friend-of-the-court briefs in the suit.

Sherrod was ousted from her job as a rural development official in 2010 after Breitbart posted an edited video of Sherrod, who is black, supposedly making racist remarks. She sued Breitbart, O'Connor and an unnamed defendant for defamation and emotional distress after USDA officials asked her to resign and the video ignited a racial firestorm.

Breitbart died unexpectedly last year. Sherrod's lawyers say the unnamed defendant is the person whom they believe passed the video on to Breitbart, though the person's identity remains unknown.

The video on Breitbart's website turned out to be edited, and when Sherrod's full speech to an NAACP group earlier that year came to light, it became clear that her remarks about an initial reluctance to help a white farmer decades ago were not racist but an attempt at telling a story of racial reconciliation. Once that was obvious, Sherrod received public apologies from the administration ? even from President Barack Obama himself ? and an offer to return to the Agriculture Department, which she declined.

Sherrod's 2011 lawsuit says the incident affected her sleep and caused her back pain. It contends that she was damaged by having her "integrity, impartiality and motivations questioned, making it difficult (if not impossible) for her to continue her life's work assisting poor farmers in rural areas" even though she was invited to return to the department.

O'Connor's lawyers had argued to have the case dismissed under a District of Columbia statute called an anti-SLAPP law that aims to prevent the silencing of critics through lawsuits. A federal district court judge rejected their motion to dismiss, citing timing and jurisdictional issues, prompting the appeal.

In March arguments, the lawyers told the court of appeals that O'Connor and Breitbart, before he died, stood by the content, saying the blog post was opinion.

"What happened here is what happens in journalism every day," said Bruce Brown, a lawyer for O'Connor.

Sherrod's lawyers disagreed and said dismissal under the District of Columbia statute would violate their right to a trial.

The case has been closely watched as a test of the District of Columbia's anti-SLAPP statute.

___

Follow Mary Clare Jalonick on Twitter: http://twitter.com/MCJalonick

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-06-25-USDA-Racism-Resignation/id-829de553f12b4414bda2836c405a16eb

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Countdown To The Eisners ? Best Adaptation From Another Medium ...

by Cameron Hatheway

Adaptations can be tricky, no matter what the medium may be. The fans are the ones who will be hardest to please, despite companies/studios/etc trying their best to please the target demographics along with the fans. The results from some adaptations are the uninitiated become interested in the source material, and go forth and scavenge for the comics, books, movies through Amazon and flea markets, and become fans that way. You can?t please everyone, but it?s always fun to witness the adaptation doing better that the source material in some cases. Today I?ll be focusing on the Best Adaptation from Another Medium category. If you need a reminder of what?s been nominated, you can find the entire list right here, and see what I chose last time right here.

Keep in mind I cannot vote for who wins (nor can you, probably), as per the rules. However, that?s not keeping me from being vocal regardless!

Who is not eligible to vote?

• Comics press or reviewers (unless they are nominees)
• Non-creative publisher staff members (PR, marketing, assistants, etc.)
• Fans

Before I get back to adapting Fifty Shades of Grey into a graphic novel so I can be eligible for next year, let the games begin!

?

Best Adaptation from Another Medium

Chico and Rita, by Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal (Self Made Hero)

Review copy unavailable.

Homer?s Odyssey, adapted by Seymour Chwast (Bloomsbury)

The classic tale with a new and quirky take from graphic artist Seymour Chwast. Odysseus? longs for home after the Trojan War, and is constantly being blown off course by the vengeful Gods. With the help of Athena, he?s able to eventually make it back home to his dear wife and son, as the entire story is taking place with a science-fiction backdrop. It?s definitely a more zany and interesting take on one of the best stories ever told.

Richard Stark?s Parker: The Score, adapted by Darwyn Cooke (IDW)

Just when he thinks he?s out, they pull him back in! Parker returns to take on his biggest heist yet; robbing a small mining town out in the middle of nowhere. The only problem being he?s managing a crew of other professionals this time around, and not everyone ends up sticking to the plan. Cooke makes adapting the Richard Stark novels look like a breeze, so much so that anything with ?Darwyn Cooke? and ?Parker? in the title is almost a guaranteed Eisner win at this point.

Road to Oz, by L. Frank Baum, adapted by Eric Shanower and Skottie Young (Marvel)

Dorothy walks the long way from Kansas to Oz, picking up a new band of misfits along the way. It?s Princess Ozma?s birthday soon, and it seems like everyone Dorothy meets on her journey wants an invitation to the royal ball. Adapted from the Frank L. Baum book of the same title, Shanower and Young continue bringing their A-games to the cherished children?s saga with so much love and pizazz.

A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L?Engle, adapted by Hope Larson (FSG)

Review copy unavailable.

Who I think should win:
Richard Stark?s Parker: The Score, adapted by Darwyn Cooke (IDW)

Like The Hunter and The Outfit before it, The Score is the latest epic installment from Darwyn Cooke, adapting from the Richard Stark novels. In fact, I?m feeling bold enough to proclaim that The Score is even better than its predecessors. Parker is back and just as unlovable as ever, yet for whatever reason we want him to pull-off the biggest heist of his career with a group of fellow ?professionals.? The beauty of this book in particular is that you don?t need to be familiar with the first two.

Everything from the layouts to the retro style artwork is fantastic, and the color of this installment is a brilliant yellow. Cooke has done such a profound job with this latest graphic novel that it will be interesting to see if he can top himself with the upcoming Slayground.

Who I think could win:
Road to Oz, by L. Frank Baum, adapted by Eric Shanower and Skottie Young (Marvel)

Like Cooke, Shanower and Young are also used to raking in the Eisners for their ongoing Oz series adaptations. With Road to Oz the fun continues with the introduction of The Shaggy-Man (my personal favorite), Button-Bright, the foxes, and the return of some familiar faces such as Ozma and Jack Pumpkinhead.

Young?s artwork continues to amaze, for the land of Oz is brought back to life and looks better than ever. I feel that the artwork alone is worth the win.

Who I think should have been nominated:
The Bible, by Sheldon Mayer, Joe Kubert, and Nestor Redondo (DC Comics)

What would Jesus do? He?d definitely checkout an adaptation of The Bible if Joe Kubert is one of the illustrators. Not doing so should be considered a sin.

Who do you think should win / been nominated?

Cameron Hatheway is the host of Cammy?s Comic Corner and Arts & Entertainment Editor of the Sonoma State STAR. You can invite him to partake in your latest heist on Twitter @CamComicCorner.

Source: http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/06/12/countdown-to-the-eisners-best-adaptation-from-another-medium/

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State-by-state look at Iowa to Mid-Atlantic storm

Massive thunderstorms swept through the Midwest on Wednesday. Meteorologists warn that the line of storms could launch a weather event called a derecho, which is a straight-line wind storm spanning at least 240 miles. Here's a snapshot of what is happening, state by state:

ILLINOIS

National Weather Service authorities are reporting several small tornadoes and quarter-size hail as severe weather moves across northern Illinois. Winnebago County emergency officials reported tornadoes briefly touched down. Meanwhile, airlines canceled more than 120 flights at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Wednesday night's White Sox game was postponed, along with Northwestern University classes and finals scheduled on its Chicago and Evanston campuses. Game 1 of the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup series was played at the United Center. Chicago authorities were mobilizing crews to deal with possible downed power lines and toppled trees. Power outages: About 39,000 in northern Illinois.

INDIANA

Several northern Indiana counties remain under severe weather warnings as a line of powerful thunderstorms rumbled into the state. The strongest part of the huge storm spanned from Gary to Plymouth to Fort Wayne. Weather service officials said golf ball-size hail damaged cars in Winamac, midway between Lafayette and South Bend. About a dozen flights have been canceled at Indianapolis International Airport, most of them in and out of Chicago. Power outages: About 34,000 in northwest Indiana.

IOWA

Weather service officials say two tornadoes touched down in northern Iowa, near Hampton in Franklin County. Another tornado was reported near Belmond in nearby Wright County. A business owner in Belmond said a tornado demolished a side of his building but that no one but his wife and an employee, who took shelter in the basement, was in the building at the time. Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management officials say at least two businesses and a home were completely destroyed, but there were no reports of injuries or deaths. Power outages: About 2,700 in northern Iowa, near Mason City.

MICHIGAN

The National Weather Service in Grand Rapids has issued a severe thunderstorm and flash flood watches for parts of southwest Michigan and counties near the Indiana state line. Officials say 1 to 3 inches of rain could be dumped on parts of southwest Michigan within a couple of hours.

MINNESOTA

A storm dumped heavy rain to parts of southern Minnesota on Wednesday morning, including nearly 3.25 inches at Hutchinson airfield. Madison, in far western Minnesota, recorded a wind gust of 65 mph. No significant damage was reported. Hail estimated at 1.75 inches fell near Wells and Freeborn in southern Minnesota.

OHIO

Storms were causing minor outages late Wednesday in the Buckeye State. FirstEnergy Corp, which covers Cincinnati, Columbus and Akron, reported 627 customers were without power. An emergency management official in Morrow County told The Columbus Dispatch late Wednesday that there were reports of two possible tornadoes in the central Ohio county. Downed trees were blocking some area roads, but there were no reports of injuries.

PENNSYLVANIA

The entire state of Pennsylvania remains under a flood watch overnight and through the day Thursday. Weather service officials say the greatest risk of flooding is in the northern portion of the state, while the worst thunderstorms are expected in southern areas. Officials say a standby worker was added at the emergency operations center in Harrisburg and officials had ensured two National Guard helicopters were ready if needed for water rescues.

WISCONSIN

A partial roof collapse at a Wal-Mart in Lake Delton left two employees with minor injuries as heavy rain and high winds spread across southern Wisconsin. Tornado warnings were issued for several southwestern Wisconsin counties. Weather service officials said wind gusts in a couple areas were clocked at 60 mph. Street flooding was reported in parts of the village of Boscobel in Grant County.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/state-state-look-iowa-mid-atlantic-storm-222903928.html

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