An Israeli law center said Thursday it is threatening to sue Twitter unless the social network cuts off access to groups, including Hezbollah, that are considered terrorist organizations by the United States.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/45819210#45819210
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The Melbourne Heart have stamped themselves as genuine contenders for the A-League title and continued their dominance over Sydney FC, thumping the woeful Sky Blues 4-0 at the Sydney Football Stadium on Thursday night.
The Heart had never lost to Sydney in their short history in the A-League and extended that run to five games as the Melbourne team scored their biggest-ever win with a clinical display in front of more than 16,000 fans - the Sky Blues' biggest home crowd of the season.
But the majority of the supporters went home disappointed as first-half goals to youngster Eli Babalj and Mate Dugandzic, followed by second-half strikes from substitutes Jason Hoffman and Alex Terra ensured the Heart handed Sydney their worst-ever home defeat.
The win was the second-placed Heart's fifth in a row and gives them a four-point edge over the Brisbane Roar.
And the Heart are now only two points behind league leaders Central Coast.
After showing enormous amounts of character to fight back in a number of games this season, the Sky Blues simply had no answers as they were totally out-fought and out-classed by John van 't Schip's side.
Captaining the Sky Blues for the first time in the absence of suspended skipper Terry McFlynn, Socceroos midfielder Brett Emerton had another frustrating night, while goalkeeper Liam Reddy will have nightmares for some time for his howler which led to the Heart's fourth goal.
The early stages were fairly scrappy with both sides enjoying good chunks of possession in their own half without being able to create anything of note going forward.
There was one contentious moment in the opening 30 minutes when Sky Blues striker Bruno Cazarine chased down a through ball, getting to it first and heading past an advancing Clint Bolton before being clattered into by the Heart custodian.
While Bolton failed to make any contact with the ball, referee Peter Green waved away Sydney's appeals for a penalty.
It proved a vital decision just four minutes later as the Sky Blues' habit for giving away the opening goal continued when young striker Babalj gave the visitors the lead.
And Sydney only had themselves to blame for surrendering the lead.
There appeared little trouble as a loose ball around the box looked like being cleared but defenders Pascal Bosschaart and Scott Jamieson got in each other's way and allowing Heart skipper Fred to sneak in and steal possession before putting the ball on a plate for Babalj.
While the Heart were gifted the opener their second right on the stroke of half-time was simply brilliant.
It started with a perfectly-weighted defence-splitting pass from Aziz Behich which released Rutger Worm down the left and the Dutchman put in a perfect cross to give Dugandzic an easy tap-in.
Sydney boss Vitezslav Lavicka brought on Mark Bridge at half-time and the Sky Blues immediately looked more of a threat in attack.
But they were still failing to give Bolton too much work to do, although Cazarine may have done better when he turned his marker Simon Colosimo in the box, only to shoot tamely at the former Sydney shot-stopper.
The Heart lost skipper Fred to injury 15 minutes after the break but it had little effect as they continued to snuff out any Sydney attack while also looking dangerous on the break.
And it was on one of those counter-attacks the Heart made the game safe
?
Source: http://sportal.com.au/news-display/heart-thump-sydney-154158
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Bright House Networks will be featuring the?123rd Tournament of Roses Parade live in stunning 3D - at no additional cost for digital HD customers.
The parade is a New Year?s tradition held in Pasadena, CA featuring elaborate floats and participants.
Coverage will begin at 11 a.m. on Monday, January 2 on HGTV, available on channel 1770.
Digital HD customers must have a 3D television and the manufacturer?s specified 3D glasses.
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This isn?t the first time that Apple?s Find my iPhone service has helped to recover a lost device, but with Christmas involved in this particular story (as well as a resoundingly happy ending) we thought we would share it.
At around 3:30am on Christmas morning, a Westlake Village man was awoken by the noise of a burglar stealing Christmas gifts from his house. Amongst them was an iPad, which had, thankfully, already been activated and set up with an Apple ID. After a short foot chase the thief got away, but not for long.
The next morning, the owner of the iPad set about tracking the device?and discovered that it was only a few doors away?
The police then arrested a 20-year old man at the location, while retrieving the iPad as well as the other missing gifts.
Also discovered at the address was a collection of other items that had apparently been taken from another house days earlier. Items including a notebook and two televisions were recovered and returned to their rightful owners.
The thief is now in custody with a $50,000 bail placed on his head.
A true Christmas miracle!
[MacNN]
Source: http://www.idownloadblog.com/2011/12/29/christmas-scrooge-caught-ipad/
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LAKE FOREST, Ill. ? The Chicago Bears have placed quarterback Jay Cutler and running back Matt Forte on injured reserve, meaning they will miss the season finale at Minnesota this week.
The moves on Tuesday were hardly surprising given Chicago's recent struggles. The Bears (7-8) have lost five straight since Cutler broke his right thumb late in a win over San Diego on Nov. 20, and things took another bad turn two weeks later when Forte sprained the medial collateral ligament in his right knee against Kansas City.
Cutler, who was scheduled to have surgically inserted pins removed Tuesday, threw for 2,319 yards with 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Forte finished with 997 yards rushing and 490 receiving.
The Bears elevated defensive tackle Jordan Miller from the practice squad and signed guard Mansfield Wrotto.
Cutler's injury sent Chicago into a tailspin, knocking out of contention a team that appeared on its way to the playoffs after last year's run to the NFC title game. The Bears were mathematically eliminated with a loss at Green Bay on Sunday, but they probably weren't going to make it by the time they arrived at Lambeau Field.
One reason for that was the lack of a reliable backup quarterback.
Chicago put in a waiver claim on Kyle Orton after Cutler went down, but Kansas City had priority and got him. The Bears wound up signing Josh McCown, who was coaching quarterbacks at a North Carolina high school, and passed on going after Donovan McNabb after Minnesota let him go.
Meanwhile, backup Caleb Hanie struggled in a big way and went 0-4 as the starter. McCown got the nod against the Packers and performed better, throwing for 242 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions in his first NFL appearance since 2009, but the Bears saw their playoff hopes vanish in a 35-21 loss.
A healthy Forte might have made a difference, but his season ended when he took a hit to the knee against Kansas City. It didn't help that backup Marion Barber committed costly mistakes in losses to the Chiefs and Denver the following week.
He had a touchdown catch in a 10-3 loss to Kansas City called off because he lined up illegally, forcing Chicago to settle for a field goal, and things only got worse for him the following week. Barber got pushed out of bounds on a run near the end of regulation, helping give Denver enough time to tie the game. In overtime, his fumble led to the winning field goal.
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MOSCOW ? A Russian court decided Wednesday not to ban a religious text central to the global Hare Krishna movement, rejecting claims that the text is "extremist" and ending a case that has angered Hindus around the world.
The Indian Foreign Ministry said it appreciated "this sensible resolution of a sensitive issue."
Prosecutors in the Siberian city of Tomsk had argued that the Russian translation of "Bhagavad Gita As It Is" promotes "social discord" and hatred toward nonbelievers, causing an outcry in India, where many considered the proposed ban a violation of the rights of Hindus in Russia.
The text is a combination of the Bhagavad Gita, one of Hinduism's holiest scriptures, and commentary by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, which is often called the Hare Krishna movement.
The prosecutors had asked the court to include the book on the Federal List of Extremist Materials, which bans more than 1,000 texts, including Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" and books distributed by the Jehovah's Witness and Scientology movements.
Alexander Shakhov, a lawyer for Hare Krishna devotees in Tomsk, said the group is satisfied with the court's decision.
"This judge's decision shows that Russia is becoming a truly democratic society," Shakhov was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. "We are very excited about this victory."
Yury Pleshakov, a spokesman for the group in Moscow, said the book in question has existed in Russia for 25 years and has never inspired violence or extremist activity.
"On the contrary, this book teaches humane attitude towards all living beings," Pleshakov said.
The trial, which began in June, followed this year's ban on the construction of a Hare Krishna village in Tomsk and was based on an assessment by professors at Tomsk University, who concluded that "Bhagavad Gita As It Is" includes strong language against nonbelievers and promotes religious hatred and discrimination on the basis of gender, race, nationality and language.
The ruling came a day after Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna met with Alexander Kadakin, Russia's ambassador to India, and urged the Russian government to resolve the issue. Indian officials had last week appealed to high-level Russian authorities to intervene.
The Tomsk court had postponed the decision from Dec. 19, when protesters gathered outside the Russian consulate in Kolkata, and the speaker of India's lower house of parliament adjourned the body for several hours after members began shouting in anger over the proposed ban.
After hearing further testimony from academic experts on Wednesday, the judge ruled that the prosecutors' claims were unfounded.
The Bhagavad Gita "is not merely a religious text, but one of the defining treatises of Indian thought," said Indian Ambassador to Russia Ajai Malhotra in a statement. "The Bhagavad Gita has circulated freely across the world for centuries and there is not a single instance of it having encouraged extremism."
The Indian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday sought to soothe over any tensions.
"We appreciate this sensible resolution of a sensitive issue and are glad to put this episode behind us," ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said in a statement. "This demonstrates yet again that the people of India and Russia have a deep understanding of each other's cultures and will always reject any attempt to belittle our common civilizational values."
The Russian Foreign Ministry had insisted the Tomsk court was not taking issue with core Hindu scripture itself, but rather with the author's commentary and poor translation in "Bhagavad Gita As It Is."
"I would like to emphasize that this is not about 'Bhagavad Gita,' a religious philosophical poem, which forms part of the great Indian epic Mahabharata and is one of the most famous pieces of the ancient Hindu literature," ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said at a briefing in Moscow last week, adding that the book was first published in Russian in 1788.
Still, followers of the Hare Krishna movement in Russia saw the proposed ban as a result of continued intolerance of minority religions by the Russian Orthodox Church. Pleshakov estimates there are at least 150,000 Hare Krishna devotees in Russia.
"The current problem is, above all, the misuse of the law on combating extremism," Pleshakov said. "It is used to search for enemies where they can not even be defined."
In 2005, a Russian Orthodox archbishop asked the mayor of Moscow to ban the construction of a proposed Hare Krishna temple, calling the Hindu deity Krishna "an evil demon, the personified power of hell opposing God," according to Interfax. The temple was later allowed in a Moscow suburb.
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The Fast Money Halftime Report traders break down today's market moving headlines, including the S&P sitting on a 200-day moving average and the stocks that are poised for a breakout.
Related Links:
Business & financial news headlines from msnbc.com
Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/45806376/
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WSJ | December 22, 2011
Excerpts:
?How did Republicans manage to lose the tax issue to Obama?
GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell famously said a year ago that his main task in the 112th Congress was to make sure that President Obama would not be re-elected. Given how he and House Speaker John Boehner have handled the payroll tax debate, we wonder if they might end up re-electing the President before the 2012 campaign even begins in earnest.
The GOP leaders have somehow managed the remarkable feat of being blamed for opposing a one-year extension of a tax holiday that they are surely going to pass. This is no easy double play.
Republicans have also achieved the small miracle of letting Mr. Obama position himself as an election-year tax cutter, although he's spent most of his Presidency promoting tax increases and he would hit the economy with one of the largest tax increases ever in 2013. This should be impossible.
House Republicans?voted down the Senate's two-month extension of the two-percentage-point payroll tax holiday to 4.2% from 6.2%. They say the short extension makes no economic sense, but then neither does a one-year extension. No employer is going to hire a worker based on such a small and temporary decrease in employment costs, as this year's tax holiday has demonstrated. The entire exercise is political, but Republicans have thoroughly botched the politics.
Their first mistake was adopting the President's language that he is proposing a tax cut rather than calling it a temporary tax holiday. People will understand the difference-and discount the benefit.
Republicans also failed to put together a unified House and Senate strategy. The House passed a one-year extension last week that included spending cuts to offset the $120 billion or so in lost revenue, such as a one-year freeze on raises for federal employees.
Then Mr. McConnell agreed with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on the two-month extension financed by higher fees on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (meaning on mortgage borrowers), among other things. It passed with 89 votes and all but seven Republicans.
Senate Republicans say Mr. Boehner had signed off on the two-month extension, but House Members revolted over the weekend and so the Speaker flipped within 24 hours. Mr. Boehner is now demanding that Mr. Reid name conferees for a House-Senate conference on the payroll tax bills. But Mr. Reid and the White House are having too much fun blaming Republicans for "raising taxes on the middle class" as of January 1. Don't be surprised if they stretch this out to the State of the Union, when Mr. Obama will have a national audience to capture the tax issue.
But if they knew they would eventually pass it, as most of them surely believed, then they had one of two choices. Either pass it quickly and at least take some political credit for it.
Or agree on a strategy to get something in return for passing it, which would mean focusing on a couple of popular policies that would put Mr. Obama and Democrats on the political spot. They finally did that last week by attaching a provision that requires Mr. Obama to make a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline within 60 days, and the President grumbled but has agreed to sign it.
But now Republicans are drowning out that victory in the sounds of their circular firing squad. Already four GOP Senators have rejected the House position, and the political rout will only get worse.
One reason for the revolt of House backbenchers is the accumulated frustration over a year of political disappointment. Their high point was the Paul Ryan budget in the spring that set the terms of debate and forced Mr. Obama to adopt at least the rhetoric of budget reform and spending cuts.
But then Messrs. Boehner and McConnell were gulled into going behind closed doors with the President, who dragged out negotiations and later emerged to sandbag them with his blame-the-GOP and soak-the-rich re-election strategy. Any difference between the parties on taxes and spending has been blurred in the interim.
After a year of the tea party House, Mr. Obama and Senate Democrats have had to make no major policy concessions beyond extending the Bush tax rates for two years. Mr. Obama is in a stronger re-election position today than he was a year ago, and the chances of Mr. McConnell becoming Majority Leader in 2013 are declining.
At this stage, Republicans would do best to cut their losses and find a way to extend the payroll holiday quickly. Then go home and return in January with a united House-Senate strategy that forces Democrats to make specific policy choices that highlight the differences between the parties on spending, taxes and regulation. Wisconsin freshman Senator Ron Johnson has been floating a useful agenda for such a strategy. The alternative is more chaotic retreat and the return of all-Democratic rule.?
Read full article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...pinion_LEADTop
??.
OMG: I can hardly wait for the January session to start and see what high-school rhetoric the republicans/T-baggers will come up with next in their destructive quest to have President Obama a one- term-president while Obama himself is basking in the Hawaii sun reveling in his enormous wins against the House republicans/T-baggers thus far, and contemplating what other nasty tricks they are capable of in the year 2012.
I predict a rowdy, tumultuous, highly tempestuous Democratic campaign which will put both the House and the Senate under solid control for Obama?s next four years. The Dems have much work to do with what will be a working, functional House of Representatives and a hard working Senate to get America into a brand new Democracy.
The demand by Americans to have the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes will be a reality, as 99% of us do no longer have any faith, respect for, or hope that corporate America will not continue to entitle themselves to even more money and power. If every working American would refuse to go to work for a specified time in total solidarity with our unemployed, displaced, and homeless brothers and sisters, I guarantee you, the problems we are having would be cleared up really fast.
Source: http://www.politicalforum.com/current-events/223890-gops-payroll-tax-fiasco-new-post.html
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Melbourne: Statistical highlights of the second day's play of the first Test between India and Australia on Tuesday.
# Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid were associated in a third-wicket partnership of 117 - their 20th partnership of 100 or more. The pair became the first to register 20 partnerships of 100 or more in Tests - their run-aggregate is 6864 at an average of 51.22 in 140 innings.
# The above stand is Dravid's 88th of 100 or more in Tests, extending his record.
# In the course of his excellent innings of 68 not out, Rahul Dravid has completed his 2,000 runs against Australia - 2040 (ave 42.50) in 30 Tests. He is the third Indian player after Tendulkar (3224) and Laxman (2279) to accomplish the feat.
# Dravid's above tally includes 23 runs in two innings for ICC World XI against Australia in October 2005.
# Dravid has also crossed his 1,000 runs against Australia in Australia, aggregating 1040 at an average of 52.00 in 13 Tests. He has become the third Indian batsman to complete 1,000 runs in Australia in Tests, joining Tendulkar (1595) and Laxman (1081).
# Dravid has reached 99 innings of fifty-plus (36 centuries and 63 fifties). The said tally is bettered only by India's Sachin Tendulkar - 115 (51 centuries + 64 fifties).
# Virender Sehwag (67) has registered his 31st fifty in Tests - his 9th against Australia. Sehwag's tally of fifties against Australia includes 76 for ICC World XI at Sydney in 2005-06.
# Sehwag, during his superb knock, has completed his 8,000 runs in Tests.
Sachin wait continues after Siddle strikes
# Sehwag is the 23rd batsman and the fifth Indian batsman to achieve the distinction. The top five Indian run-getters in Tests are - Sachin Tendulkar (15,256), Rahul Dravid (13,162), Sunil Gavaskar (10,122), VVS Laxman (8626) and Virender Sehwag (8047).
# Sehwag has amassed 8,000 runs in 160 innings - the fifth quickest in Tests. Kumar Sangakkara (152), Sachin Tendulkar (154), Garry Sobers (157) and Rahul Dravid (158) are the four quickest to 8,000.
# As regards Tests taken, Sehwag's brilliant feat of reaching 8,000 runs in 93 Tests is the fourth quickest. Kumar Sangakkara (91) and Gary Sobers (91) jointly hold the record, followed by Matthew Hayden (92), Virender Sehwag (93), Rahul Dravid (94), Brian Lara (94) and Sunil Gavaskar (95).
# Sachin Tendulkar took his runs' tally to 3224 (ave 60.83) in 32 Tests against Australia. His tally includes 11 centuries and 14 fifties.
# Tendulkar's international aggregate of 6282 (ave 52.78) in 100 matches is the highest by any batsman against Australia - a tally not likely to be surpassed. Amongst his contemporaries, Jacques Kallis has the next best tally - 3401 (ave 36.18) in 78 matches.
# With his 73 off 98 balls, Sachin has established a world record for most half-centuries (64) in Test Cricket, bettering the tallies of Allan Border (63) and Rahul Dravid (63).
# Zaheer Khan (4-77) has registered his best bowling performance at MCG, surpassing the 4 for 94 four years ago. The said figures are his second best in Australia, behind the 5 for 95 at Brisbane in December 2003.
# With his aforesaid performance, Zaheer has completed his 50 wickets against Australia at 35.42 runs apiece in 16 Tests.
# Zaheer is the seventh Indian bowler to take 50 wickets or more against Australia. He has joined Anil Kumble (111), Harbhajan Singh (90), Kapil Dev (79), Erapalli Prasanna (57), Bishan Singh Bedi (56) and Shivlal Yadav (55).
# Sehwag enjoys an impressive record at MCG, aggregating 273 (ave 91.00) in three innings - the strike rate being 82.97 - his highest is 195 in 2003-04.
# In just eight Tests in Australia, Sehwag has totalled 900 runs at an average of 60.00, including two centuries and four fifties.
# Peter Siddle (41) has recorded his second highest score in Tests - the highest being 43 against England at Sydney in January this year.
# Siddle and Haddin put on 72 for the seventh wicket - Australia's highest against India at MCG, eclipsing the 66 between Bright and Matthews in December 1985.
# Dhoni became the second Indian wicketkeeper after PK Sen in 1947-48 to effect four dismissals in an innings at MCG.
# Australia have managed 333 for the second time in Tests - the first occasion being against India at Bangalore in 1979. Triple nelson has been witnessed eight times in Tests - three times by Pakistan and twice by Australia and once each by West Indies, Bangladesh and South Africa.
# James Pattinson (18 not out) has recorded his highest innings in Tests, surpassing the 17 against New Zealand at Hobart in December this year.
# Ben Hilfenhaus (19) has posted his highest innings at MCG.
# Rahul Dravid (68 not out) has posted his 13th fifty against Australia - his 63rd in Tests.
#NAHL 12/31: Texas Tornado VS. Odessa Jackalopes 7:05 PM, 
tanman9 Tanner Wilson
Source: http://twitter.com/tanman9/statuses/151371049768988672
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U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama sent out a greeting to the American people today wishing them the best for the holiday season.
The two thanked troops, military families, and veterans for their service and sacrifice.
?After nearly nine years, our war in Iraq is over. Our troops are coming home. And across America, military families are being reunited. So let's take a moment to give thanks for their service; for their families' service; for our veterans' service. And let's say a prayer for all our troops standing post all over the world, especially our brave men and women in Afghanistan who are serving, even as we speak, in harm's way to protect the freedoms and security we hold dear," Obama said.
Obama is spending the holidays in Hawaii with his family, a day after signing a hard fought two month payroll tax cut extension in Washington.
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WASHINGTON ? Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich failed to qualify for Virginia's Super Tuesday primary ballot, the latest setback for a candidate whose standing in polls has been slipping. Gingrich's campaign said he would pursue an aggressive write-in campaign, though state law prohibits write-ins on primary ballots.
The state party said early Saturday that Gingrich and Texas Gov. Rick Perry had failed to submit the required 10,000 signatures to appear on the March 6 ballot.
Failing to get on the ballot in Virginia, where Gingrich lives, underscores the difficulty first-time national candidates have in preparing for the long haul of a presidential campaign.
And it illustrates the advantage held by Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, who has essentially been running for president for five years. Romney's team, larger than those of most of his opponents, has paid close attention to filing requirements in each state. He will appear on the Virginia ballot along with Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who also has run a national campaign before.
Ironically, Gingrich had a slight lead over Romney in a Quinnipiac poll of Virginia Republicans released earlier in the week.
The former House speaker surged in popularity in early December and tried to use that momentum to make up for a stalled campaign organization. But his standing in polls has slipped in recent days amid a barrage of negative ads in Iowa, where the Jan. 3 caucuses begin the contest for the Republican presidential nomination.
Three other candidates ? Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman ? did not submit signatures before Virginia's deadline of 5 p.m. Thursday.
Gingrich's campaign attacked Virginia's primary system on Saturday, saying that "only a failed system" would disqualify Gingrich and other candidates and vowing to run a write-in campaign.
"Voters deserve the right to vote for any top contender, especially leading candidates," Gingrich campaign director Michael Krull said in a statement. "We will work with the Republican Party of Virginia to pursue an aggressive write-in campaign to make sure that all the voters of Virginia are able to vote for the candidate of their choice."
However, according to state law, "No write-in shall be permitted on ballots in primary elections."
"Virginia code prohibits write-ins in primaries. He can't do it," said Carl Tobias, a law professor at University of Richmond.
Tobias said Gingrich may have had trouble meeting a requirement that he must submit 400 signatures from each of Virginia's 11 congressional districts.
Gingrich's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Gingrich had been concerned enough to deliver his signatures personally. Rushing Wednesday from New Hampshire, which holds its primary on Jan. 10, he had supporters sign petitions before entering a rally in Arlington, Va.
Virginia GOP spokesman Garren Shipley said in a statement that volunteers spent Friday validating signatures on petitions that Romney, Paul, Perry and Gingrich had submitted. "After verification, RPV has determined that Newt Gingrich did not submit required 10k signatures and has not qualified for the VA primary," the party announced early Saturday on its Twitter feed. Shipley did not respond to telephone calls Saturday seeking comment.
Forty-six delegates will be at stake in Virginia's Super Tuesday primary. That's a small fraction of the 1,144 delegates needed to win the nomination. But they could prove pivotal in a close race, especially for a candidate like Gingrich, who expects to do well in Southern contests.
Gingrich already missed the deadline to appear on the ballot in Missouri's Feb. 7 primary, though he insists it doesn't matter because the state awards delegates based not on the primary but on a Republican caucus held in March.
Meanwhile, Virginia's Democrats said President Barack Obama's re-election campaign gathered enough signatures to get him on the state's primary ballot though he was the only candidate who qualified.
___
Associated Press writers Will Lester and Stephen Ohlemacher contributed to this report.
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New York ? The state media says al Qaeda was behind two deadly blasts that killed dozens Friday. Others think the Assad regime may have orchestrated the attacks
Two car bombs outside state security facilities rocked the Syrian capital of Damascus Friday, killing at least 40 and injuring more than 100, according to officials. Syrian state media was quick to suggest that al Qaeda was behind the suicide bombings, but leaders of the opposition contend the attacks might have actually been orchestrated by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime in a brutal PR ploy to justify his violence against protesters. Who is really behind the bombings?
This is clearly an act of terrorism: "We said it from the beginning, this is terrorism," Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faysal Mekdad tells MSNBC. "They are killing the army and civilians," especially civilians. In addition, Jihad Makdesi, a spokesman for the Syrian foreign ministry tells the BBC that Lebanan warned the ministry earlier in the week that "al-Qaeda groups had infiltrated inside Syria through the town of Arsan."
"Syrian government blames terrorists as blasts kill 40, injure 150 others"
"Syria says twin suicide bombings in Damascus kill 40"
Or is it? The bombings were "very mysterious because they happened in heavily guarded areas that are difficult to be penetrated by a car," Omar Idilbi, a member of the Syrian National Council, an umbrella group for those who oppose the regime, tells MSNBC. The timing is also quite convenient, given that it happened just a day after the Arab league arrived in Syria to assure that the regime ends its violent crackdown on protesters. Perhaps the blasts were orchestrated to "to make the Arab League and international public opinion believe that Syria is being subjected to acts of terrorism by members of al Qaeda" and therefore undercut the popular uprising.
"Syrian government blames terrorists as blasts kill 40, injure 150 others"
Either way, it benefits the regime: The attacks "are good news for the regime of President Hafez al-Assad, and bad news for the opposition protest movement," says Tony Karon at TIME. They neatly support Assad's narrative that the uprisings are "not a citizens' movement for democracy, but a sectarian, extremist terror campaign" and so justify his violent crackdowns. Still, while the bombings might benefit the regime's image, it's not unlikely that al Qaeda really is to blame, given Thursday's attacks in Baghdad, apparently by Sunni jihadists, and the fact that Sunni insurgents in Iraq have close ties with Sunni extremists in Syria across the border. While it's certainly feasible that the regime could have orchestrated the attacks, "it would also be naive to deny the existence of a jihadist element" within the opposition movement.
"Why the Damascus bombing is better news for Syria's regime than for its opposition"
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BERLIN ? Fresh figures show that immigration to Germany from countries hard-hit by Europe's economic woes rose sharply in the first six months of the year.
Germany's Federal Statistical Office said Thursday that the number of Greek citizens moving to Germany rose by 84 percent on the year to about 8,900. It says the number of Spaniards settling in Germany from January through June rose by 49 percent to 7,250.
The agency says a total of 381,000 foreigners moved to Germany, among them about 250,000 citizens from the European Union ? an increase of 29 percent.
EU citizens can move and settle freely across the bloc.
Germany, Europe's biggest economy, enjoyed robust growth in 2011, while Greece is mired in a deep recession and Spain seeks to battle an unemployment rate of about 20 percent.
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DAMASCUS, Syria ? Two car bombers blew themselves up Friday outside the heavily guarded compounds of Syria's intelligence agencies, killing at least 44 people and wounding dozens more in a brazen attack on the powerful security directorates, authorities said.
State-run TV said the al-Qaida terrorist network was possibly to blame for the first suicide car bombings in the nine-month uprising against authoritarian President Bashar Assad.
The opposition, however, immediately questioned the government's account and hinted the regime itself could have been behind the attack, noting it came during a visit by Arab League observers investigating Assad's bloody crackdown of the popular revolt.
The government has long contended that the turmoil in Syria this year is not an uprising but the work of terrorists and foreign-backed armed gangs.
Syrian officials said a suicide attacker detonated his explosives-laden car as he waited behind a vehicle driven by a retired general who was trying to enter a military intelligence building in Damascus' upscale Kfar Sousa district. About a minute later, a second attacker blew up his SUV at the gate of the General Intelligence Agency, the officials said.
Government officials took the Arab League observers to the scene of the explosions and said it supported their accounts of who was behind the violence.
"We said it from the beginning, this is terrorism. They are killing the army and civilians," Deputy Foreign Minister Faysal Mekdad told reporters outside the headquarters of the General Intelligence Agency, where bodies still littered the ground.
Alongside him, the head of the Arab League's advance team, Sameer Seif el-Yazal, said, "We are here to see the facts on the ground. ... What we are seeing today is regrettable, the important thing is for things to calm down."
Such attacks are rare in Syria, although security agencies have been targeted in the past.
The impact is also powerful because Damascus is home to the presidential palace and headquarters of security and military bodies. Although the uprising has spread through many parts of Syria, Damascus has been relatively quiet amid the tight control of ruthless security agencies loyal to Assad.
The General Intelligence Agency has been taking a major part in the crackdown against the uprising.
In recent months, dissident soldiers have broken from the military to side with peaceful protesters and have attacked government forces. But Friday's attack was qualitatively different, adding new and ominous dimensions to a conflict that has already brought the country to the brink of civil war.
Omar Idilbi, a member of the Syrian National Council, an anti-regime umbrella group, raised doubts over the authorities' version of events and suggested the regime was trying to make its case to the observers.
The explosions "very mysterious because they happened in heavily guarded areas that are difficult to be penetrated by a car," Idilbi said.
He stopped short of accusing the regime of the bombings, but he said authorities wanted "to give this story" to scare observers from moving around the country and send a message that "Syria is being subjected to acts of terrorism by members of al-Qaida."
Hilal Khashan, a political science professor at the American University of Beirut, said it is highly unlikely the regime was behind the attacks because the blasts harmed its image.
"The regime could blow up a military hospital or a supermarket and then say 'look at what they are doing.' The regime would not blow up its security headquarters," Khashan said. "The regime will take advantage of such events but won't do such things although they could do things that are worse."
U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement that Washington condemns the bombings "in the strongest terms." He said it was "crucial" that the attack not impede the work of the Arab League observers and that the regime must "cooperate fully and quickly" with it.
Friday's first blast came at the military intelligence compound at 10:18 a.m., while the second followed at the General Intelligence Agency about a minute later, authorities said.
Mutilated and torn bodies lay amid rubble, twisted debris and burned cars. Bystanders and ambulance workers used blankets and stretchers to carry the bodies as they loaded them into vehicles. Windows were shattered in the nearby state security building, which was targeted by one of the bombs.
"The explosions shook the house. It was frightful," said Nidal Hamidi, a 34-year-old Syrian journalist who lives in Kfar Sousa. Gunfire was heard immediately after the explosion, he said, with apartment windows broken in a 200-yard (meter) circle from the explosions.
The Interior Ministry said in a statement that that 44 people were killed and 166 wounded, including civilians and members of the security forces. Earlier, state TV said most of the dead were civilians but included military and security personnel.
Security officials showed journalists two mangled vehicles they said were used in the attack.
A Syrian military official said the bomb targeting the military intelligence building, the bigger of the two blasts, weighed more than 660 pounds (300 kilograms) and gouged a 6-foot-deep crater. It killed 15 people, among them a retired brigadier general.
The other bomb weighed almost the same, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with military rules.
Maj. Gen. Rustom Ghazaleh, head of military intelligence, said the attacks were proof of a foreign campaign to strike at Syria. "We will fight this project until the last drop of blood," he declared.
In the years before the uprising, Syria had occasional clashes with al-Qaida-linked militants, and the Sunni terrorist network has denounced the regime, which is largely secular and led by Assad's minority Alawite sect, a Shiite offshoot.
In September 2008, a suicide car bomber struck outside a security building on Damascus' southern outskirts, killing 17 people in the deadliest attack in decades.
Friday's blasts came as the government escalated its crackdown this week ahead of the arrival of the Arab League observers. More than 200 people were killed in two days, including an attack Tuesday in which activists and witnesses said troops pounded more than 100 fleeing villagers trapped in a valley with shells and gunfire, killing all of them.
The United Nations says more than 5,000 people have been killed since March, when the uprising began and the regime responded by deploying tanks and troops to crush protests across Syria.
The Arab League observer team is supposed to verify Syria's implementation of promises to pull back its troops and halt the crackdown. But the regime has said the team will vindicate its claims that terrorists are behind the country's turmoil, with Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem saying it's in Syria's interest for the observers to see what is really happening in the country.
David Hartwell, Middle East political analyst at IHS Jane's in London, said the timing of the bombings "is certain to be viewed with suspicion by the opposition." He said government critics are likely to highlight the timing of the attacks as "more than a little coincidental."
He added that the Arab League "will need to work extremely hard" to show it is not being played by the Syrians in an effort to stall for time.
After the advance team arranges logistics, a group of observers is to head for Syria on Monday to begin work, said Arab League Deputy Secretary-General Ahmed bin Helli. The league had initially said the team would arrive this weekend, and bin Helli gave no reason for the change.
Bin Helli told the broadcaster Al-Jazeera that the bombings didn't alter the plans of the mission but said the team would look into what happened. "We are expecting a lot of details about this crime that left behind this large number of victims," he said.
Activists also reported anti-government protests in several locations across Syria after Friday prayers during which security force shot and killed at least 15 people, mostly in restive Homs province, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Local Coordination Committees, another activist group, put the death toll at 16.
The LCC added that since the Arab League team arrived, security forces have killed 56 people.
Assad's regime has warned that the turmoil will throw Syria into chaos, religious extremism and sectarian divisions, a message that resonates among Alawites and minority Christians who fear reprisals from the Sunni majority.
Haifa Nashar, a 45-year-old Sunni living in Kfar Sousa, wailed as she stood outside the General Intelligence Agency.
"I've never seen anything like this in my life, may God curse their souls!" she cried. She denounced Qatar, the Arab Gulf nation that has been at the forefront of criticism of Syria and pushed for Arab League sanctions against it.
"There was never any difference between Syrians, Sunnis, Christians and Alawites," she added. "But if this is what they want, then I say Alawites are above anyone else."
___
Mroue reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Zeina Karam contributed to this report from Beirut.
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It was probably the most important research on flu in years, but most people won't be allowed to read it all. As New Scientist revealed in September, researchers at the University of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, created a mutated H5N1 bird flu that could go pandemic ? and would be lethal to half its victims.
Bioterrorism experts in the US immediately questioned whether the method for making such a plague should be published. Now the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity has recommended that the "general conclusions be published, but that the manuscripts not include the methodological and other details that could enable replication of the experiments by those who would seek to do harm".
"We will respect the advice and try to publish in censored form," says the study's lead author, Ron Fouchier of the University of Rotterdam. "But we still believe the detailed data should be published. We have the moral obligation to share the details with those that need to know." Researchers must investigate the threat posed by H5N1 evolving in the wild, he believes, as that far outweighs the harm that hypothetical bioterrorists might do.
"The great benefit of the work is that it shows how easily H5N1 could mutate to cause a pandemic of terrible severity, and that we really can't afford to scale down our preparedness," says Peter Openshaw, head of the centre for respiratory infection at Imperial College London.
The bioterrorism science advisory board says that the US government is developing a mechanism to give "secure access" to risky information "to those with a legitimate need", and an "oversight policy [for] evaluating research that has the potential to be misused".
Fouchier does not see how a mechanism outside the standard scientific channels would be possible, but should one be imposed, "public health experts rather than biosecurity officials should decide who to share the information with", and they should not only be US citizens, he says.
"If work on viruses in the western world comes under government control, we will rapidly fall behind the hundreds of well-equipped labs that are not under those controls," fears Openshaw. He says that the existing rules balancing risks and benefits of research "mostly get it about right".
D. A. Henderson of the University of Pittsburgh, who led the eradication of smallpox, notes that virologists already review and regulate work with smallpox virus. But flu could be a worse threat, and "special measures are warranted".
The Rotterdam research will be published in the journal Science accompanied by explanations about why it was done, and the measures taken to ensure the virus did not escape.
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Mitt Romney, speaking on Wednesday to NBC News' Chuck Todd, seemed to shift positions on the Iraq War.
As highlighted by New York Magazine's Jonathan Chait, Romney explained to Todd, "If we knew at the time of our entry into Iraq that there were no weapons of mass destruction, if somehow we had been given that information, obviously we would not have gone in."
The former Massachusetts governor then gave a more detailed response:
Todd: "You don't think we would have gone in?"Romney: "Well of course not. The president went in based upon intelligence that they had weapons of mass destruction. Had he known that that was not the case, the U.N. would not have put forward resolutions authorizing this type of action. The president would not have been pursuing that course. But we did not know that. Based upon what we knew at the time, we were very much under the impression as a nation, our president was under the impression, that they had weapons of mass destruction, that Saddam Hussein was intent on potentially using those weapons, and so he took action based upon what he knew. But to go back and say, well knowing what we know now would we have gone in. Well, knowing what we know now, they did not have weapons of mass destruction, there would have been no effort on the part of our president or others to take military action."
Chait points out that Romney previously took a much different position on the conflict. Per The New York Times, moderator Tim Russert asked Romney during a 2008 presidential debate if the Iraq War was "a good idea worth the cost in blood and treasure we have spent." Romney answered, "It was the right decision to go into Iraq. I supported it at the time; I support it now." As Chait explains, Romney's debate answer came at a time when it was already clear that Iraq possessed no weapons of mass destruction.
Romney's latest comments come only a few days after the U.S. marked the end of the nearly nine year conflict. The Republican contender has not been shy in his criticism of President Obama's handling of the troop withdrawal. This past Sunday, BBC News reported that Romney said, "I think we're going to find that this president, by not putting in place a status-of-forces agreement with the Iraqi leadership, has pulled our troops out in a precipitous way and we should have left 10-, 20-, 30,000 personnel there to help transition to the Iraqis' own military capabilities."
WATCH ROMNEY'S MSNBC INTERVIEW ABOVE -- IRAQ SECTION BEGINS AT 1:33 (via MSNBC)
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A person's pattern of "likes" and "friends" on Facebook may betray their hipster tendencies, suggests a new study that found when more of your friends like the same alternative and indie bands as you, you are more likely to stop liking the bands.
The opposite was found on classical music tastes, which seem to be contagious between friends. Overall, however, the research found that most tastes aren't spread among friends, with most people seeking out Facebook friends who are already similar in their tastes.
"In the past three years we've been pounded over the head with the idea that everything spreads and everything is contagious, and your peers can influence you in so many ways," study researcher Kevin Lewis of Harvard University said, referring to recent studies, including one that suggested obesity is socially contagious. "Once you disentangle these things, you find that peer influence plays a minimal role," at least in the Facebook setting.
"Students who share some tastes in music and in movies are indeed more likely to become friends, but it's very rarely the case that students adopt the preferences of their friends," Lewis said.
Cultural networking
The researchers examined the Facebook activity of about 200 college students over four years, beginning when they were freshmen in March 2006. Annual information was collected about their social networks (who they are "friends" with) and their "likes" (the music, movies and books they've liked on their profiles). This data was combined with academic and housing data on each of the students.
More science news from MSNBC Tech & Science
Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: You'll be hearing a lot about impending doom over the next year, demonstrating the powerful hold that even a bogus doomsday has on the human psyche.
They found that students who shared particular tastes in music and movies, but not books, were likely to befriend one another, instead of these tastes passing from one friend to another. Students tended to befriend others who shared musical tastes in "light/classic rock" or "classical/jazz" or liked movies in the "dark satire" or "raunchy comedy/gore" genres.
There were outliers: Tastes in classical/jazz music were contagious between friends, students whose friends expressed tastes in "indie/alternative" music were significantly less likely to express these tastes themselves.
"Part of liking these (indie/alternative) bands is not just liking them, but liking them before everyone else likes them," Lewis said. "The students feel like, 'this sets me apart from others, and if someone else starts liking this band, it make me less unique.'"
Fast Facebook friends
Facebook friends shared other similarities as well: their housing, college major and friends. All of these similarities had major influences on the odds of two students becoming and staying friends over four years on Facebook.
The finding supports past studies, which have shown over and over that social networks are homogeneous ? like a soup, members of your social network tend to be similar to you in their likes and backgrounds.
"We all seek out similarity in our friends. This is the case on Facebook as well, we find racial and socioeconomic segregation, and two students sharing a major are especially likely to be friends," Lewis said. "These are all things sociologists and social scientists had known that we were able to replicate."
These similarities between friends indicate that online social interactions serve to strengthen a student's social ties with those they already resemble. People befriend others who are similar to them rather than becoming more similar to their friends over time, according to the study authors, who detailed the research Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
You can follow LiveScience staff writer Jennifer Welsh on Twitter @microbelover. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.
? 2011 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45728967/ns/technology_and_science-science/
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ATLANTA ? Ho hum, another winning season for the Atlanta Falcons.
That's not such a big deal anymore.
This team has much higher goals.
Putting together their most complete effort of the season, the Falcons clinched a fourth straight winning record with a 41-14 rout of the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night. Matt Ryan had another big game, throwing three touchdown passes in less than three quarters of work, and John Abraham terrorized rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert with 3 1/2 sacks.
Atlanta (9-5) strengthened its hold on an NFC wild card, shrugging off the immediate accomplishment of another above-.500 finish.
"Our expectations are much higher than winning seasons," coach Mike Smith said. "I'm glad we've been able to accomplish that as an organization and a football team. But believe me, it's not one of those expectations we really want to talk about. If we're where we think we are as an organization and a football team, that's expected each and every year."
It wasn't so long ago that nine wins was a big deal. The Falcons went through the first 42 years of their existence without so much as back-to-back winning seasons. All that changed when Smith and general manager Thomas Dimitroff took over in 2008.
Since then, Atlanta has been to the playoff two times and is closing in on a third appearance.
"I can't speak to the people who came before, but I know since Thomas and I had the opportunity to be here, we've just kind of put our heads down and gone to work," Smith said. "When you do that, good things usually happen. We are not finished, believe me. Our expectations and internal goals are much higher than having a winning football season."
This one was over by halftime. Atlanta led 27-0 when the teams trotted to the locker room, Gabbert and the shellshocked Jaguars (4-10) saddled with a net passing total of minus-1 yard.
Atlanta stretched out its lead to 41-0 before Jacksonville scored on a blocked punt. Going back to the previous week, when the Falcons overcame a 16-point halftime deficit at Carolina, they ripped off 65 points in a row over five quarters.
Now that's more like it from a team that was projected as a Super Bowl contender but had not quite lived up to expectations.
"I feel like we've hit our stride," said Roddy White, who had 10 catches for 135 yards and became just the eighth receiver in NFL history with 80 receptions and 1,000 yards in five straight seasons.
Gabbert had one of his worst games in a miserable rookie season, coughing up the ball twice on hits by Abraham. Both fumbles led to Atlanta scores, with defensive tackle Corey Peters scooping up the second one and trotting to the end zone early in the third quarter for a touchdown that ended any thought of the Jaguars getting back in the game.
"It wasn't just me," said Abraham, who came into the game with only five sacks on the season. "The whole team was able to get to the quarterback."
Ryan was 19 of 26 for 224 yards and three touchdowns, with a season-high rating of 137.3. White caught two of the scoring passes, Julio Jones the other.
Gabbert was 12 of 22 for 141 yards, also throwing an interception during a truly awful night full of bad decisions when he wasn't running for his life. He was sacked five times and got most of his yards on a meaningless final drive, which resulted in the only offensive touchdown of the night: a 16-yard pass to Chastin West with 59 seconds remaining.
"It wasn't our best night," Gabbert said. "We've just got to learn from it, take the positives out of it and just get better."
The injury-riddled Jaguars, playing out the season with an interim coach and a new owner, were coming off their best performance, having scored 41 straight points in a 41-14 victory over Tampa Bay. But, playing for the third time in 11 days, they couldn't build any momentum for a strong finish.
Shahid Khan must have been wondering why he paid an estimated $760 million to buy the team from original Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver, a deal that was unanimously approved by NFL owners a day earlier.
"You've just got to keep fighting," Gabbert said. "Things didn't go our way early, but what can you do? It's football."
On the first snap of the game, Michael Turner burst off left guard for 15 yards, and the Falcons were off and running. Ryan capped the opening drive by stepping up to avoid the pressure, flipping a short pass to Jones, then watching the rookie turn on an impressive burst of speed for a 29-yard touchdown.
Gabbert got an idea of what he'd be up against on his first snap: Abraham shrugged off a blocker and threw the quarterback for a 10-yard loss. The rookie finally completed a pass on the final play of the opening quarter, but Sean Weatherspoon sniffed out the screen and slammed Marcedes Lewis for a 4-yard loss.
Matt Bryant kicked a 33-yard field goal that made it 10-0, then another brutal mistake by the Jaguars early in the second quarter helped turn this one into a rout. Jarrett Dillard let a punt slip right through his hands, and Weatherspoon fell on it at the Jacksonville 5. The next play, Turner rumbled into the end zone standing to make it 17-0.
The Falcons weren't done, not by a long shot. Ryan finished off a nine-play, 72-yard by hooking up with White in the back on the end zone on a 6-yard touchdown, a pass that Tony Gonzalez was nearly in position to catch as well.
Now down 24-0, the Jaguars couldn't even get off the field without turning it over again. Abraham popped the ball loose from Gabbert, and after a wild scramble Curtis Lofton finally fell on it at the Jacksonville 19. That set up Bryant's second field goal, a 31-yarder on the final play of the half.
"I've just got to get rid of the ball," Gabbert said. "I can't take those sacks and those fumbles. That's completely on me."
NOTES: Jacksonville had negative net yards passing most of the game and finished with just 91, actually lowering what was already the NFL's worst passing average. ... Jones finished with five catches for 85 yards. ... Jacksonville's Maurice Jones-Drew, the NFL's leading rusher, had 112 yards on 17 carries.
___
Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963
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FILE - In this Feb. 13, 2010, file photo, Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant and his wife, Vanessa, attend the skills competition at the NBA basketball All-Star Saturday Night in Dallas. Vanessa Bryant filed for divorce from the Lakers star, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011, in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana, Calif., citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)
FILE - In this Feb. 13, 2010, file photo, Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant and his wife, Vanessa, attend the skills competition at the NBA basketball All-Star Saturday Night in Dallas. Vanessa Bryant filed for divorce from the Lakers star, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011, in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana, Calif., citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)
ORANGE, Calif. (AP) ? Kobe Bryant's wife, who stood by her husband when he was charged with sexual assault in 2003, filed for divorce on Friday from the Los Angeles Lakers star, citing irreconcilable differences after a decade of marriage.
Vanessa Bryant signed the papers on Dec. 1. Kobe Bryant signed his response on Dec. 7 and it was filed Friday, according to the documents.
"The Bryants have resolved all issues incident to their divorce privately with the assistance of counsel and a judgment dissolving their marital status will be entered in 2012," according to a statement from a representative for the couple.
In the filing, Vanessa Bryant asked for joint legal and physical custody of the couple's two daughters, Natalia, 8, and Gianna, 5. Kobe Bryant asked for the same in his response. Vanessa Bryant also requested spousal support.
The Bryants "ask that in the interest of our young children and in light of the upcoming holiday season the public respect our privacy during this difficult time," according to the statement.
Bryant met his future wife in 1999 on a music video shoot when Vanessa Laine was 18 years old. Six months later, she and the then-21-year-old Bryant became engaged. They married on April 18, 2001.
The Bryants have been through trying times together.
Vanessa Bryant appeared at a news conference with her husband when he was charged with sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman who worked at the exclusive Lodge & Spa at Cordillera near Vail, Colo., in 2003. She held his hand and stroked it tenderly as the NBA star admitted he was guilty of adultery ? but nothing else. Earlier she had issued her own statement to the media, vowing to stand by her husband.
"I know that my husband has made a mistake ? the mistake of adultery," she said in the statement at the time. "He and I will have to deal with that within our marriage, and we will do so. He is not a criminal."
A year later, prosecutors dropped the criminal charge against Kobe Bryant because the woman did not want to go ahead with a trial.
Last year, Kobe and Vanessa Bryant settled litigation with a former maid who accused the NBA star's wife of harassment. The Bryants countersued Maria Jimenez for violating a confidentiality agreement by talking to reporters about the family.
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