Drought rolls on: Half of U.S. counties now disaster areas

ST. LOUIS (AP) ? Nearly 220 counties in a dozen drought-stricken states were added Wednesday to the U.S. government's list of natural disaster areas as the nation's agriculture chief unveiled new help for frustrated, cash-strapped farmers and ranchers grappling with extreme dryness and heat.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's addition of the 218 counties means that more than half of all U.S. counties ? 1,584 in 32 states ? have been designated primary disaster areas this growing season, the vast majority of them mired in a drought that's considered the worst in decades.

Counties in Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wyoming were included in Wednesday's announcement. The USDA uses the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor to help decide which counties to deem disaster areas, which makes farmers and ranchers eligible for federal aid, including low-interest emergency loans.

To help ease the burden on the nation's farms, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Thursday opened up 3.8 million acres of conservation land for ranchers to use for haying and grazing. Under that conservation program, farmers have been paid to take land out of production to ward against erosion and create wildlife habitat.

"The assistance announced today will help U.S. livestock producers dealing with climbing feed prices, critical shortages of hay and deteriorating pasturelands," Vilsack said.

Vilsack also said crop insurers have agreed to provide farmers facing cash-flow issues a penalty-free, 30-day grace period on premiums in 2012.

As of this week, nearly half of the nation's corn crop was rated poor to very poor, according to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. About 37 percent of the U.S. soybeans were lumped into that category, while nearly three-quarters of U.S. cattle acreage is in drought-affected areas, the survey showed.

The potential financial fallout in the nation's midsection appears to be intensifying. The latest weekly Mid-America Business Conditions Index, released Wednesday, showed that the ongoing drought and global economic turmoil is hurting business in nine Midwest and Plains states, boosting worries about the prospect of another recession, according to the report.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss, who oversees the index, said the drought will hurt farm income while the strengthening dollar hinders exports, meaning two of the most important positive factors in the region's economy are being undermined.

The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

Thursday's expansion of federal relief was welcomed in rain-starved states like Illinois, where the USDA's addition of 66 counties leaves just four of the state's 102 counties ? Cook, DuPage, Kane and Will, all in the Chicago area ? without the natural disaster classification.

The Illinois State Water Survey said the state has averaged just 12.6 inches from January to June 2012, the sixth-driest first half of a year on record. Compounding matters is that Illinois has seen above-normal temperatures each month, with the statewide average of 52.8 degrees over the first six months logged as the warmest on record.

"While harvest has yet to begin, we already see that the drought has caused considerable crop damage," Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn said. In his state, 71 percent of the corn crop and 56 percent of soybean acreage is considered poor or very poor.

In South Dakota, where roughly three-fifths of the state is in severe or extreme drought, Vilsack earlier had allowed emergency haying and grazing on about 500,000 conservation acres, but not on the roughly 445,000 acres designated as wetlands.

Vilsack's decision to open up some wetland acres in a number of states will give farmers and ranchers a chance to get good quality forage for livestock, federal lawmakers said.

"The USDA cannot make it rain, but it can apply flexibility to the conservation practices," Sen. Tim Johnson, a South Dakota Democrat, said Wednesday. The USDA designated 39 of his state's counties disaster areas.

___

Associated Press reporter Chet Brokaw contributed to this report from Pierre, S.D.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/half-us-counties-now-considered-disaster-areas-210826921.html

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Amazon Instant Video iPad app now available, iPhone and iPod Touch still left wanting

A day after upgrading its cloud music player, Amazon has delivered a native Amazon Instant Video app for iPad (not iPhone or iPod Touch, yet) to the App Store. It has access to streaming Prime Instant Video for subscribers, as well as downloaded or streamed video on-demand. Other key features include access to the Watchlist / queue, and automatic access to any shows subscribed to with a Season Pass the day after they air on TV. The free app is available in the iTunes store right now, however like the sudden appearance of Hulu Plus on Apple TV yesterday we don't have any official PR to share just yet.

We've had a chance to play around with it and we must say, Amazon is really coming after Netflix with this one. The app runs smoothly, and while the video player itself gets just the bare bones iOS treatment, every other part of the app seems polished, including the Watchlist. Add in the fact that you can watch things via subscription and seamlessly jump to fresher / premium content available for purchase or individual rental (with the notable caveat that you can't actually browse the VOD content, or purchase or buy it from within the app itself) and there's a serious competition going on.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Tablet PCs

Amazon Instant Video iPad app now available, iPhone and iPod Touch still left wanting originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Aug 2012 08:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/01/amazon-instant-video-ipad-app/

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Man allegedly yells 'This is it!' at Batman, panic ensues

A man in Florida is arrested after scaring moviegoers by pacing and yelling at a showing of "The Dark Knight Rises." WTVJ's Ari Odzer reports.

By NBCMiami.com

A Miami Beach man is in custody after he caused a panic in a theater during a showing of "The Dark Knight Rises," police said Tuesday.

According to a?Miami Beach Police?arrest affidavit, 44-year-old David Martin Escamillo was at the Regal Movie Theater late Monday night when he got into an altercation with another moviegoer, left the theater and returned wearing black gloves and screamed "This is it!" from the back of the theater.

Escamillo's actions sent a hundred moviegoers fleeing for the exits, the affidavit said.

When officers responded to the theater to a call of shots fired, they found three moviegoers detaining Escamillo, who was screaming, "I didn't shoot anybody," the affidavit said.

James Butler said he and his brother were two of them. They waited outside the theater and chased Escamillo down and held him until police arrived.

"My instincts kicked in, and I was like, let's get this guy. He was screaming, 'I never shot anyone, I never hurt anyone,'" Butler said.

Escamillo, who sounded irrational and had a strong smell of alcohol on his breath, was taken into custody, the affidavit noted.

"We were able to determine there was never any weapon, it was just this individual with the two black gloves saying, 'This is it,'" Miami Beach Police Sgt. Bobby Hernandez said.

Witnesses said Escamillo had left his seat during the movie and was going up and down the stairway several times, according to the affidavit.

The witnesses also said no shots were fired and no shell casings were found, the affidavit said.

When officers searched the theater, they found several sandals that were left behind by moviegoers who fled the scene.

Escamillo is facing disorderly conduct and affray charges in the incident and has a warrant for battery, jail records showed. He was being held on $8,000 bond and it was unknown whether he has an attorney.

The theater declined to comment Tuesday.

The incident comes just days after?12 people were killed and dozens injured?in a shooting in an Aurora, Colo., theater during a showing of "The Dark Knight Rises."

Police said they responded with massive force here because of what happened in Colorado.

"We can't take any chances, and we also understand the sensitivity of that, everybody's thinking Colorado, it's on everybody's mind," Hernandez said.

He added, "Had that incident not happened in Colorado maybe none of this would've happened, maybe people would've just thought, here's another nut and let's just keep watching our movie."

While some may be thinking about the scare, other ticketholders say they aren't going to let it affect them.

"If we focus on the negative energy, we're giving more power to them, so I try to avoid that," moviegoer Jose Salaicez said.

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Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/01/13067471-man-allegedly-yells-this-is-it-at-batman-showing-panic-ensues?lite

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Lufthansa Q2 profit falls on fuel costs, taxes ... - The Finance Room

on August 2, 2012 8:06 am in Business News / no comments

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German airline Lufthansa blamed high fuel costs and new taxes on air travel in its home and Austrian markets for a 24 percent decline in second-quarter earnings.

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Source: http://www.financeroom.net/?p=459508

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Taking A Look At Yourself: Personal Development Tips | The Secret ...

The number of people looking to improve themselves is huge, if not limitless. Some people are looking for improvement in their personal lives, while others have their focus on the professional aspect of their life. If you have an interest in personal development, this article is a great place to start.

Therapy might be the answer for someone with a real issue. Self-help books can be useful for many small problems, but they won?t help you tackle the bigger issues which could be haunting you. For some people, they have much more success when they can talk openly about their problems. Books don?t provide the give and take, back-and-forth communication, that a personal meeting with the therapist can.

Improving your life is closely tied to willpower, and a lot can be said for the karma you develop along the way. If you consider things this way, you will wish only good things for those around you. By having positive emotional energy, you?ll be less likely to experience being pulled down by negative feelings.

If you want to enhance your approach to personal development, learn to be humble. If you admit that you are simply a tiny part of this world, you will begin to recognize how much you still have to learn. Once you see the bigger picture, you will be able to embrace everything that the world has to offer you.

Strive to increase the time you spend working as much as possible in order to accomplish more. Take an ample amount of breaks when you are working hard. It can seem like the opposite would be true, but taking mini breaks frequently will allow you to feel less bored, and get more done during the times you are working.

To live life fully, you must be willing to take some risks. Being a little too risk-averse carries its own dangers, because someone who avoids failure or rejection at all costs can wind up feeling safe, but unsatisfied. It takes courage to take risks, but doing so can help make you happier for the future.

If you have a habit of overreacting, you are causing yourself unneeded stress. Think about the situation, and try to find constructive ways to deal with it. You?ve probably made mistakes, but you can find ways to fix it, or even live with it. Don?t focus on what you lost; focus on what you have.

You can learn how to handle difficult problems without over-reacting. Learning ways to maintain your composure when stressed will help boost your self-esteem, and help you triumph under any circumstance. Take the time to reflect on the situation, breathe deeply and relax.

Read about how your heroes became successful. Find out what other people have done to become more successful in their careers. By learning from the experiences of others, you help yourself.

A new trait called sexual capital is currently being researched and encouraged for development. This is about gaining confidence about your looks, not about using your body as a tool. While some may not have the best social skills, developing sexual capital will help you in many aspects in your life.

Many people have a feeling that something is amiss in their lives, but they are not sure exactly what the problem is or where to begin to correct it. This article has tips and advice that can be the impetus to your personal development plan, but you are the one who has to do the actual work. You?ll discover ways to keep your motivation and drive from waning by referring back to these suggestions periodically.

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Source: http://www.el-secreto.biz/blog/uncategorized/taking-a-look-at-yourself-personal-development-tips-3

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Panetta: Egypt's leaders promise full democracy

CAIRO (AP) ? Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Tuesday that Egypt's new president and its military chief have reassured him they will steer the country to full democracy.

"It's clear that Egypt, following the revolution, is committed to putting into place a democratic government," Panetta told reporters after meetings in Cairo with President Mohammed Morsi and Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi.

It was Panetta's first encounter with Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate who assumed the presidency in June. Panetta said it was clear to him that Morsi is "his own man."

Panetta said both Egyptian leaders told him they will continue their country's cooperation with the United States in fighting the al-Qaida terrorist network.

The defense chief arrived in Cairo Tuesday seeking assurance that the country will remain a military partner at a time of political tumult in the Middle East and growing worry about Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Panetta's visit comes on the heels of one by Secretary of State Hillary Rodman Clinton, who was the first member of President Barack Obama's Cabinet to meet with Morsi since his election.

Clinton said in Washington on Monday that the jury was out on whether Egypt's Islamist political parties will equally represent non-Muslims. She said the Obama administration's future relationship with Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood party would depend on how they respect the rights of Coptic Christians, women and other minorities.

Speaking to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Clinton said Egypt was still grappling with the challenge of religious liberty as it seeks to establish a democracy after decades of dictatorship.

In his talks Tuesday, Panetta stressed U.S. support for the completion of a transition to civilian democratic rule, and to gauge Morsi's interest in maintaining longstanding U.S.-Egyptian military relations.

Panetta was last in Cairo in October, after the fall of long-time autocrat President Hosni Mubarak but prior to Morsi's election.

After his Cairo meetings Panetta was headed to Israel for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. A potential Israeli military attack on Iran's nuclear sites was expected to be a major topic, but Panetta also planned to discuss with the Israelis the progress they are making on building an air defense system, known as the Iron Dome, which is designed to shoot down short-range rockets and artillery shells.

Asked about news reports in Israel that Panetta plans to share American plan for potential war with Iran when he meets with Israeli leaders Wednesday in Jerusalem, Panetta said that is a "wrong characterization" of what he will talk about.

He said his talks in Jerusalem will be "more about what is the threat we are confronting" in Iran's nuclear program and sharing intelligence information.

Panetta arrived in Cairo from Tunisia, where he held talks with that North African country's new Islamist leaders. He plans to end his trip with a stop Thursday in Jordan. U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is?seeking assurances from Egypt's new Islamist government that the country?will remain a military partner at a time of political tumult in the Middle East and growing worry about Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/panetta-egypts-leaders-promise-full-democracy-145720212.html

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The New Digg Arrives Ahead Of Schedule, Features Tight Facebook And Twitter Integration

After just six weeks of hard work, Digg's new owners at Betaworks just flipped the switch and re-launched the site. The new Digg was originally scheduled to launch tomorrow, but despite the tight deadline, the Digg team managed to get this completely rewritten version of the site out ahead of schedule. As promised, the new version of Digg puts a strong emphasis on images and is currently free of ads. With this relaunch, Digg is also shipping a new iPhone app and mobile web page.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/WHdukHq4rmw/

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