Military hearing resumes in Manning leak case (AP)

FORT MEADE, Md. ? The military court case against the young soldier blamed for the largest leak of classified material in American history resumed Saturday after an Army appeals court rejected a defense effort to remove the presiding officer.

Army Pfc. Bradley Manning was back in a military courtroom Saturday, his 24th birthday, to hear prosecutors begin presenting their case against him as the source for the WikiLeaks website's collection of U.S. military and diplomatic secrets.

The purpose of the hearing is to determine whether prosecutors have enough evidence to bring Manning to trial. Manning's lawyers tried to oust Lt. Col. Paul Almanza as the presiding officer because of alleged bias, but an Army appeals court rejected their request late Friday.

Separately, lawyers for WikiLeaks and founder Julian Assange are asking the Army Court of Criminal Appeals to guarantee them two seats in the courtroom at Fort Meade.

Manning, a one-time intelligence analyst stationed in Baghdad, is accused of leaking hundreds of thousands of sensitive items including Iraq and Afghanistan war logs, State Department cables and a classified military video of a 2007 American helicopter attack in Iraq that killed 11 men, including a Reuters news photographer and his driver.

The Obama administration says the released information has threatened valuable military and diplomatic sources and strained America's relations with other governments.

Friday was Manning's first appearance in public after 19 months in detention. He appeared slight but serious in his Army camouflage fatigues and dark-rimmed glasses, taking notes during the proceedings and answering straightforwardly when called upon by Almanza.

Manning, a native of Crescent, Okla., is relying on a defense that will argue much of the classified information posed no risk.

In addition to claims of partiality, his lawyer, David Coombs, argued that Almanza wrongly denied the defense's request to call as witnesses the officials who marked as secret the material WikiLeaks later published. Instead, the officer accepted unsworn statements from those people, Coombs said.

Friday's tangling, however, centered primarily on Almanza's Justice Department job. "I don't believe I'm biased," Almanza said, explaining that his government work concerns child exploitation and obscenity. He said he hasn't talked about WikiLeaks or Manning with anyone in the department or FBI.

The Justice Department has a separate criminal investigation into Assange. A U.S. grand jury is weighing whether to indict Assange on espionage charges, even as he is in Britain fighting a Swedish request that he be extradited because of rape allegations.

Manning's hearing at this Army post outside Washington is open to the public, with limited seating. Assange's lawyer filed a request Friday with the Army appeals court seeking two guaranteed seats in the Fort Meade courtroom, one for the attorney representing the Wikileaks organization and the other for Assange's non-U.S. attorney.

Inside the courtroom, no civilian recording equipment is allowed. Instead of a judge, a presiding officer delivers a recommendation as to whether prosecutors have enough evidence to bring a suspect to trial. A military commander then makes the final decision.

The case has spawned an international support network of people who believe the U.S. government has gone too far in seeking to punish Manning, and a few dozen showed up outside Fort Meade on Friday to rally on his behalf.

"I plan to march all night tonight and bring as much attention as I can to put the entire country on notice that we have a hero who's standing trial for nothing more than telling the truth," said Dan Choi, a gay West Point graduate discharged from the military for revealing his sexual orientation. He wore a bright orange "Bradley Manning Support Network" sticker on the lapel of his uniform jacket.

Others were less supportive.

"That man did something very wrong," said Mandie Stanley, a 19-year-old who lives on the Army post with her husband, a member of the Air Force. She spotted the protesters and decided to come out with a sign that said: "Don't leak classified information, stupid!"

___

Associated Press writers Sarah Brumfield and Mark Sherman contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111217/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_manning_wikileaks

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Lagarde: Global economy facing gloomy prospects (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The head of the International Monetary Fund sketched a dim outlook for the global economy and said all countries must work together to resolve Europe's escalating debt crisis.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said Europe's problems will not be solved by Europe alone.

"It's not a crisis that will be resolved by one group of countries taking action," Lagarde said in remarks at a State Department conference. "It's going to be hopefully resolved by all countries, all regions, all categories of countries actually taking action."

She said if the issues are not dealt with decisively, the global economy could confront the same threats that pushed the world into the Great Depression of the 1930s.

"It's a question of actually facing the issues, not being in denial, accepting the truth, accepting the reality, then dealing with it," Lagarde said.

She did not provide details on what actions she expected individual countries or the IMF to take.

She also cautioned financial markets to allow time for individual nations to work through the political process to arrive at a solution.

"It would be ideal and it would be lovely from a market perspective if it was not just currently but immediately signed, sealed and delivered, done deal, overnight," she said. "Unfortunately, for those of you who have the privilege of belonging to democracies, things do not happen in that way and things do take time and have to go through parliamentary processes."

Last week, a number of European countries said their central banks would make loans to the IMF to bolster IMF resources. After the announcement, the Obama administration said it would not provide more support to the IMF because it said the agency had sufficient resources.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111215/ap_on_bi_ge/us_imf_europe

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Asia stocks rise as data shows US layoffs easing

BANGKOK (AP) ? Asian stocks rose Friday amid improving U.S. jobs and manufacturing data and the expected approval in Italy of an austerity plan intended to get the country's finances under control.

Benchmark oil lingered below $95 per barrel while the dollar fell against the euro and the yen.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index was 0.4 percent higher at 8,409.08. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.5 percent to 1,827.04 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.5 percent to 18,107.23. Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan and mainland China also rose.

Analysts stopped short of calling the gains a recovery, as trading was light ahead of the holidays. The Hang Seng, snapping a six-day losing streak, was higher on a technical rebound, said Linus Yip, a stategist at First Shanghai Securities in Hong Kong.

"The market dropped for six straight days. Now it may find some excuse for a technical rebound. So the U.S. job figures may be the excuse," Yip said.

Later Friday, the Italian government will hold a critical confidence vote in the lower house of parliament on a multibillion euro austerity package.

Despite widespread opposition, the plan aimed at persuading bond markets that the country can emerge from the widening European debt crisis is expected to pass. The country now sits on a 1.9 trillion euros ($2.5 trillion) powder keg of debt that could spark a global economic recession if a default occurs.

"While the plan will very likely get the required support from MPs, it will be important to see whether amendments are proposed in terms of spending cuts and implementation schedule, in particular," Frederik Ducrozet, an economist at Credit Agricole CIB, said in a research note.

Among Japanese stocks, online game firm Gree rose 0.8 percent after Nomura Holdings rated the stock a "buy" on an expected increase in profits, Kyodo News Agency reported. Major automakers fell, including Toyota Motor Corp., down 1.8 percent, and Mazda Motor Corp. dropping 2.2 percent.

Retailers led Australia stocks down. JB Hi-Fi tumbled 14.9 percent after surprising investors with a profit warning late Thursday. Myer Holdings fell 2.6 percent.

Investor sentiment rose after the U.S. government reported that the number of people applying for unemployment benefits dropped sharply last week to 366,000, the fewest since May 2008. That's a sign that layoffs are easing, a first step toward bringing down the unemployment rate, which currently stands at 8.6 percent.

Traders were also encouraged by a report from the Federal Reserve of New York that its index measuring regional manufacturing jumped to the highest level since May. That was far more than economists were expecting. A similar report from the Philadelphia branch of the Fed also increased more than analysts anticipated.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.4 percent to 11,868.81. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 0.3 percent to 1,215.76. The Nasdaq rose marginally to 2,541.01.

Benchmark oil for January delivery was up 30 cents to $94.17 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.08 to finish at $93.87 per barrel on Nymex on Thursday.

In currency trading, the euro rose to $1.3034 from $1.3011 late Thursday in New York. The dollar fell to 77.85 yen from 77.91 yen.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-12-16-World-Markets/id-a644cf4410c9428e8498d3681cd12254

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Rochester man hospitalized following Pearl St. stabbing (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)

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The Top Gadget-Related Search Query Of 2011: ?iPod? (But ?iPhone? Isn?t In The Top 10?)

It's Google Zeitgeist day ??the annual event where Google rounds up the year's top search queries and trends to present a data-centric recap of the last twelve months (minus, ahem, any adult searches). Most of the Zeitgeist data went live this morning ??see our earlier post for the top trends overall. Spoiler: Rebecca Black took the top spot. And now Google has given us some additional datapoints that haven't been published yet, which focus on electronics ??namely, the top gadgets, the top consumer electronics, and the fastest rising consumer electronics. I'm not sure exactly how Google defines a gadget versus a consumer electronics product (I asked and was told gadgets are a subset of CE), though I'm guessing it has something to do with the device being portable. Note that these lists apply to the United States, only.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/7wTSWDL9Oik/

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Did Bumbo ignore child safety in favor of profits? (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Like millions of other parents over the past several years, Kevin and Lucy Ferrell used a new baby product called the Bumbo Baby Sitter that they bought at Toys R Us to prop up their son, Colby. The simple molded plastic seat is more upright than a bouncy chair, and less rigid than a high chair, making it a hit with parents looking for new infant gear.

But when 9-month-old Colby fell out of the seat and fractured his skull, his parents learned very quickly that the seat wasn't ideal for a small, moving child.

"He arched his back up and he kind of flipped out of it sideways and backwards and rolled right off (the table)," Kevin Ferrell says. "It just happened in a split second."

Bumbo, which is used to help babies sit up before they're able to do so on their own, has been an unquestioned success in sales - with nearly 4 million sold in the U.S. since 2003. But its safety record is uncertain.

The South African company recalled Bumbo in 2007 after a spate of 28 injuries reported to the Consumer Product Safety Commission - including numerous skull fractures - and placed warning labels on the seats that said they shouldn't be used on elevated surfaces. Bumbo company records obtained as part of a lawsuit the Ferrells filed in June against the company and Toys R Us, where the product was purchased off their baby registry, show some 300 reported incidents, including some in other countries, mainly Great Britain. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Austin, Texas, where the case is still in a pretrial phase.

Then in late November, the CPSC issued an unusual warning that there had been another 45 incidents since the recall, and that it had learned of another 18 older cases. It also noted that children were hurt both when the product was elevated and when it was on the ground.

Ross Cunningham of the Rose Walker firm in Austin, who represents the Ferrells and says he has settled a dozen lawsuits over Bumbo's safety, alleges in the lawsuit that Bumbo "has taken no effort" to reconfigure the product to prevent children from getting out of it, "despite having actual knowledge of the dangers associated with the Bumbo Baby Sitter...and the potential of the Bumbo Baby Sitter to cause serious injury to children."

Bumbo's U.S. attorney, Tarush R. Anand, says he cannot comment on the litigation, but did provide a statement from Bumbo, in which the company says the product is safe. "The Bumbo baby seat is a safe product for infants when it is used as intended: on the floor and never on an elevated surface," the statement says. "Children should always been closely supervised when they are in the Bumbo seat." The company also says it is working with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to educate parents on the correct use of the seat.

Toys R Us is accused in the most recent lawsuit of knowingly stocking a baby product that has caused injuries. One of the company's buyers is quoted in the litigation as saying under oath that she had never seen an infant product like that without a safety restraint, and that after learning about the severity of the injuries, she didn't think it was safe.

Nancy Cowles, executive director of the advocacy group Kids in Danger, notes the product - unlike cribs, car seats and high chairs - is not governed by any government or industry standard. The Ferrell lawsuit says Toys R Us has a huge profit margin on the seats and has ignored even voices from within the company about their safety.

Toys R Us spokeswoman Katie Reczek said in a statement in response to questions that the retailer followed the terms of the recall and stands by the decision to keep selling it.

"The safety of the products we sell is, and always has been, our highest priority," Reczek said. "At the time of the recall of the Bumbo Baby Sitter, we immediately removed the product from our store shelves, and worked with Bumbo to update the warning labels on the packaging, as was required. This warning label cautions parents not to use the Bumbo on elevated surfaces. Due to the recall and labeling process, the product was off the sales floor and was not available for purchase for several months. We continue to offer Bumbo products in our stores, and as always, we closely monitor all product safety issues."

Its only competitor, bbPOD, added a seatbelt after the Bumbo recall.

Attorney Cunningham alleges in the Bumbo lawsuit that safer alternative design existed. "Specifically, Bumbo could have incorporated any combination of the following design changes: made the Bumbo Baby Sitter wider at the base, raised the side and back walls of the seat, installed a bulbous pommel on top of the post in between the child's legs, and incorporated a safety harness, seatbelt or other securing device...that would sit low and tight across the child's hips. These, and possibly other design improvements, would have prevented a child like (Colby) Ferrell from falling out of the Bumbo Baby Sitter."

The Ferrells are now evangelists for seatbelts. Says Kevin Ferrell: "For me, it was important, if nothing else, to try to prevent (this) from happening to future parents and kids."

The author is a Reuters contributor. The opinions expressed are his own.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111214/hl_nm/us_did_bumbo

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Rosie O'Donnell and Michelle Rounds: Engaged!

Rosie O'Donnell went public with girlfriend Michelle Rounds in September, and now she's reportedly gone public with a major announcement: this couple is engaged!

Insiders tell Us Weekly the talk show host broke this exciting news to audience members at Friday's taping of The Rosie Show, telling them the pair will be getting married some time around Christmas.

Rounds is a headhunter in New York City.

O'Donnell, meanwhile, has four kids with ex-wife Kelli Carpenter, from whom she split in 2010. They split three years later. Rosie then dated Tracy Kachtick-Anders for about a year before ending that relationship last year and moving on to Rounds.

[Photo: WENN.com]

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/12/rosie-odonnell-and-michelle-rounds-engaged/

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