Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/334581847?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Sunday, 20 October 2013
Verizon third quarter earnings, revenue beat Wall Street estimates
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc on Thursday posted stronger- than-expected third-quarter earnings and revenue on strong wireless growth, sending its shares up 2.4 percent in early trade.
While the company's wireless customer growth numbers were slightly below Wall Street estimates, its Verizon Wireless venture with Vodafone Group Plc posted good profit and revenue growth as customers spent more on their services.
"The numbers were fine but it wasn't a blowout quarter. It was a good third quarter," said Hudson Square analyst Todd Rethemeier.
Verizon Wireless added 927,000 net retail subscribers in the quarter, compared with Wall Street expectations of about 1 million customers, according to eight analysts, with estimates ranging from 900,000 to 1.2 million. Verizon has agreed to buy out Vodafone's 45 percent share of the mobile venture.
Verizon said it expects wireless customer growth to improve sequentially in the fourth quarter.
Verizon reported a third-quarter profit of $2.2 billion, or 78 cents per share, compared with $1.59 billion, or 56 cents per share, a year ago.
Excluding unusual items, Verizon earned 77 cents per share in the quarter, compared with Wall Street expectations of 74 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Its wireless profit margin was 51.1 percent, based on earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization(EBITDA) as a percentage of service revenue, and above its target range of 49 percent to 50 percent for the full year.
Rethemeier said the profit margin would likely come down in the fourth quarter due to steep holiday season costs, since the company kept its wireless margin target for the year despite the strong third-quarter number.
Revenue rose 4.4 to $30.28 billion from $29.01 billion. Wall Street expected $30.16 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
A 7.2 percent increase in wireless revenue for the quarter was offset by a slower 4.3 percent rise in wireline revenue.
Verizon shares rose 2.4 percent to $48.40 in premarket trading after closing at $47.25 in the regular New York Stock Exchange session.
(Reporting by Sinead Carew; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/verizon-posts-higher-quarterly-revenue-114734155--finance.html
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Zac Efron: Getting naked was truly awkward
Celebs
Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/zac-efron-getting-naked-awkward-moment-was-truly-awkward-8C11408674
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3 hours ago
FRED THORNHILL / REUTERS
Zac Efron's new movie, "That Awkward Moment," lived up to its name for the actor.
Zac Efron has more than a few awkward moments in his new movie, "That Awkward Moment." In one, he's fully nude, stretched out horizontally on a toilet. In another, he wears an X-rated costume to a party where his date's parents are in attendance.
But being naked on-set came with its own strange costume, Efron said. "There was, like, a sock thing," he said Tuesday, according to People magazine. "It fell off. You just cup your hands."
"High School Musical" made Efron a teen idol in 2006, but fame hasn't been all smooth sailing since then. According to People, he completed a stint in rehab earlier this year.
Efron said that his family was what helped him get through tough times. "My family's my rock," he said. "I know they're not going anywhere."
Efron stars with Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan in the romantic comedy, which opens Jan. 31, 2014. Efron also stars as a young doctor in "Parkland," the new movie about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/zac-efron-getting-naked-awkward-moment-was-truly-awkward-8C11408674
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Jackson leads revamped Detroit lineup to 7-3 win
DETROIT (AP) — A revitalized Austin Jackson delivered in manager Jim Leyland's revamped lineup as the Detroit Tigers built a big lead and held on this time, beating the Boston Red Sox 7-3 Wednesday night to even the AL championship series 2-2.
Torii Hunter had a two-run double and Miguel Cabrera drove in two runs after Leyland dropped Jackson to eighth in the order and moved everyone else up a place following the Tigers' 1-0 loss in Game 3. Jackson drew a bases-loaded walk off Jake Peavy for the first run of Detroit's five-run second inning.
Doug Fister allowed a run in six innings, and after blowing a 5-0 lead in Game 2, Detroit kept the Red Sox at bay Wednesday.
Game 5 is Thursday night in Detroit. The Tigers' Anibal Sanchez faces Boston's Jon Lester in a Game 1 rematch won by Detroit.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jackson-leads-revamped-detroit-lineup-7-3-win-033859097--spt.html
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Syria's civil war plays out on social media
BEIRUT (AP) — Amid all the bloodshed, confusion and deadlock of Syria's civil war, one fact is emerging after 2½ years — no conflict ever has been covered this way.
Amateur videographers — anyone with a smartphone, Internet access and an eagerness to get a message out to the world — have driven the world's outlook on the war through YouTube, Twitter and other social media.
The tens of thousands of videos have at times raised outrage over the crackdown by the regime of President Bashar Assad and also have sparked concern over alleged atrocities attributed to both sides.
The videos have also made more difficult the task of navigating between truth and propaganda — with all sides using them to promote their cause. Assad opponents post the majority of videos, and nearly every rebel-held area or brigade has a media office that produces and disseminates them. To a lesser degree, regime supporters produce some videos — but they also pick apart opposition videos, trying to show they are fake.
In the Vietnam War, the 1991 Gulf War and the second Gulf War in 2003, foreign media directly covered the conflicts, often with reporters embedded with or accompanying the American military.
Media organizations, including The Associated Press, have sent teams to Syria to cover events directly, often at great risk. But they are for temporary stints and are limited both by government regulations and by war zone dangers, ranging from random bombardment to kidnappings. At least 28 journalists were killed in Syria in 2012.
That has forced international media to cover the war to a large extent from the outside, and the flow of videos is one element taken into account in the reporting.
The videos have undeniably ensured that details of a bloody conflict that has killed more than 100,000 people and ravaged the country do not go unnoticed, providing a look at the horrors of war: villagers digging with through destroyed buildings with their bare hands for survivors; massacre victims in pools of blood; children with grave wounds from heavy bombardment.
"In the past, if the media wasn't there to cover an event, it was like it never happened," said Yuval Dror, head of the digital communication program at Israel's College of Management Academic Studies.
The phenomenon of amateurs chronicling the war themselves "is changing the rules of war," he said. "There are no restrictions. It's cheap, it's easy and you don't need permission from anyone to do it."
Magda Abu-Fadil, veteran journalist and director of the Beirut-based Media Unlimited, said that while some professionals in the field have covered the war, it has mostly been "citizen journalists, activists, warriors and anybody with a mobile device, Internet connection or functioning telephone line."
"We're being bombarded with messages from every direction at breakneck speed, the likes of which we've never seen before," she said.
The world's response to the use of chemical weapons in Syria was driven in part by opposition activists documenting a suspected sarin attack outside Damascus on Aug. 21, with images of choking, convulsing victims, as well as the bodies of victims, including children. The Syrian government denied it was behind the attack, blaming it on extremists among the rebels.
The U.S. and its allies used those videos to build a case against Damascus, at first threatening to bomb Assad regime targets in retaliation, then agreeing to a compromise by which Syria would join the international treaty banning chemical weapons and give up a toxic arsenal it long kept secret.
The White House assessment on the attack cited more than 100 videos and "thousands of social media reports from at least 12 different locations in the Damascus area," along with other U.S intelligence information. The report said the opposition "does not have the capability to fabricate all of the videos, physical symptoms verified by medical personnel and NGOs, and other information associated with this chemical attack."
Jamal Flitani, a 24-year-old video activist, was among those who rushed to Damascus suburbs of Zamalka and Ein Tarma to record the aftermath of the attack.
"I honestly never thought our videos would be adopted by the U.S. administration and Western governments. ... We were simply doing our duty," he said.
Flitani is an engineering student, but when the uprising against Assad began in early 2011, he and his friends began shooting video of protests with their cellphones.
"Only after we saw similar videos and photos being used on satellite TVs and international agencies, only then did we start realizing the importance of our work," added Flitani, who now heads an opposition media office in Douma.
Almost every opposition-held neighborhood now has a media center complete with high-definition cameras, satellite connections and software for secure uploading, many of them funded by Gulf Arab supporters. Syrian video activists regularly receive training from NGOs, with funds from abroad.
The government and its supporters regularly post images and videos of rebel bombings inside regime-held territory. State media even airs rebel video claiming to show regime massacres, bringing in analysts to dissect the videos and suggest forgery.
Government supporters challenged the video of the Aug. 21 attack. Mother Agnes Mariam al-Salib, a Catholic nun who has lived in Syria for decades, produced a detailed study after poring over dozens of the videos, citing alleged discrepancies she said showed they were staged. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov cited her report to back up claims rebels carried out the gassing.
Assad, who maintains a modern media machine that includes Facebook, Twitter and even Instagram accounts, ridiculed the U.S. reliance on such video.
"We're not like the American administration. We're not social media administration or government. We are the government that deals with reality," he said in an interview with CBS News last month.
The videos can be a double-edged sword. They provide a crucial glimpse into the war and sectarian massacres that may otherwise have remained secret, but they also are a potentially warped vision.
Several videos on social media sites turned out to be hoaxes, including one that purported to show soldiers burying a rebel alive, and another that alleged to show Assad supporters pouring fuel on prisoners, striking a match and burning them.
The news media's use of YouTube video as a primary source "is really unexplored territory," said Philip Seib, professor of journalism and diplomacy at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
"One of the biggest issues involves verifying the content because sometimes you don't know where these YouTube videos are coming from," Seib said. "There is a higher responsibility for the news organizations that decide to disseminate YouTube videos to verify before they disseminate it."
Asked if this is the first time a conflict is being mainly covered by YouTube and social media, Seib said, "In terms of the heavy reliance on YouTube, it probably is."
But he added that there should be caution about "overstating the influence of YouTube. I think it is a big factor but not the determinative factor in shaping opinion about the war."
YouTube, an arm of Google, Inc., did not immediately reply to emails from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Like most news organizations, the AP runs user-generated content to supplement its own newsgathering. It only uses the material from channels that have proven reliable in the past, with video that has been authenticated and verified, and always works to ensure the content is aligned with its own reporting.
The AP also has a correspondent based in Damascus and uses a variety of other sources of information, including U.N. agencies, NGOs and relief and aid organizations, as well as journalists, doctors and others inside Syria. In addition, AP monitors Syria's state-run media for the government perspective and images, and AP teams have made numerous trips to Damascus when given permission from the Assad administration.
Elliot Higgins, author of the popular Brown Moses blog, which has tracked the civil war since March 2012, said he scrutinizes videos for potential problems, including comparing them to satellite imagery. From his home in England, he monitors 650 YouTube channels daily, looking for images of types of arms being used and the evolution of rebel groups.
Syria imposed a near blackout at the beginning of the uprising in 2011, expelling foreign journalists. The government continues to restrict the movements of local and foreign media, who have to go through a stifling process to get visas to Damascus. Journalists who sneak into opposition-held territory through Turkey face the threat of arrest, kidnapping, injury and death.
The proliferation of amateur videos is all the more striking in a country like Syria, which had been a closed society for so long. When Assad's father, Hafez, crushed a 1981-82 uprising in the city of Hama, killing thousands of civilians, he was able to keep it almost completely hidden from the world. To this day, the final death toll is not known.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Syria is the most dangerous place in the world for journalists, with at least 28 killed and 21 abducted by various sides of the conflict in 2012 alone.
To Dror, the absence of more traditional media has compelled citizens to try to fill the void.
"It has almost become a survival mechanism for them. If the world didn't know, it wouldn't act," he said.
___
Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Aron Heller in Jerusalem and Raphael Satter in London contributed this report.
- Politics & Government
- Unrest, Conflicts & War
- Bashar Assad
- YouTube
- Syria
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Saturday, 19 October 2013
Tech Startups Face All The Usual Challenges And More In Gaza
Building an IT startup in the Gaza Strip isn't simple: Electricity is sporadic, there's no mobile 3G and even if you can sell your app outside Gaza's tightly controlled borders, it's difficult to get paid. Still, IT has some advantages in Gaza, and the possibilities have fostered a crop of devout entrepreneurs. At a first-of-its kind session to win seed money this week, Gazan entrepreneurs pitched, among other things, an app that uses music to help colorblind people dress well, a sports social network and 3-D printing for the masses.
Copyright © 2013 NPR. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Audie Cornish.
Building an IT startup on the Gaza Strip isn't simple: electricity is sporadic, there is no 3G network. You can sell your product outside Gaza's tightly controlled borders, but it can be difficult to move the money back into Gaza. Nonetheless, half a dozen entrepreneurs from Gaza recently pitched their ideas for consideration in a unique program, one that could catapult their businesses into the global marketplace.
NPR's Emily Harris reports.
EMILY HARRIS, BYLINE: Lina Shamia is a soccer fan. Real Madrid is her favorite team, and she and friends gather at a cafe or apartment in Gaza City to watch televised games whenever they can. She noticed that a lot of people in Gaza do the same.
LINA SHAMIA: After the end of the game, they have a social talk, discussing the game itself and analyzing it, and sharing their opinions of it. So we thought about translating this idea into an online world.
HARRIS: Specifically, an online social network centered around sports. Lina co-founded Datrios, a Gaza startup that just won $14,000 in seed funding from Oasis500, a Jordanian firm. Salwa Katkhuda is Oasis' investment manager.
SALWA KATKHUDA: There are several sports networks. But this specific company has certain unique selling points, like the Arabic interface, like allowing crowdsourcing, which is something that these networks don't have.
HARRIS: Another just-funded Gaza startup is developing an app to help people who are colorblind choose clothes. Color Vision takes a picture of what you want to wear, then tells you the colors using text, or music.
MANAL SLEEM: Every color has tune of a piano. So when red, do.
(SOUNDBITE OF A TONE)
HARRIS: Manal Sleem came up with this idea thanks to a friend who is colorblind, and uses a stand-alone device to help her distinguish between colors.
SLEEM: But this device is too expensive. It's from Germany. Yeah, but I get the same solution by one point nine nine dollars.
HARRIS: One dollar ninety nine cents.
SLEEM: One dollar - $1.99.
HARRIS: And even though it's hard for Manal herself to travel outside of the Gaza Strip, her app could be sold anywhere.
One hundred sixty four Gazan entrepreneurs applied for a chance to pitch their ideas to the Jordanian investment firm. Seven got a shot. Three, so far, have been chosen for funding. Salwa Katkhuda of Oasis500 says she's looking forward to working with these groups from Gaza.
KATKHUDA: They are hungry to start their own business. They are ready to work really hard. They are ready to beat the odds and they have that culture embedded in them.
HARRIS: In addition to the $14,000, each startup will participate in several months of intensive training then have a chance to pitch other investors for a lot more money. This business accelerator is a partnership with the humanitarian aid organization Mercy Corps.
John Ross directs Mercy Corps Digital Economy Program. He wants to build a blueprint from this experience in Gaza.
JOHN ROSS: A model that can be replicated in other countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa; we're looking at Tunisia, Libya, Yemen, Iraq, West Bank and Gaza.
HARRIS: Young IT entrepreneurs in Gaza hope this recent chance to pitch outside investors won't be their last.
Emily Harris, NPR News
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
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NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.
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Chinese Media Touts Need for 'De-Americanized' World Amid Washington Shutdown
China's official state news agency Xinhua has launched a fierce editorial broadside against the United States, saying Washington's current fiscal woes showed the need for "a de-Americanized world."
"As U.S. politicians of both political parties are still shuffling back and forth between the White House and the Capitol Hill without striking a viable deal to bring normality to the body politic they brag about, it is perhaps a good time for the befuddled world to start considering building a de-Americanized world," ran the op-ed, which was carried in English, but widely reported in the Chinese-language media.
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China is run with an iron fist by the Communist Party, and dissent is not tolerated, and official Chinese official media have been quick to use the U.S. shutdown as evidence of the shortcomings of the democratic system.
At the same time, some of the spiky commentary comes out of China's fears that its debt holdings in American government bonds could be under threat because of the crisis on Capitol Hill.
"Instead of honoring its duties as a responsible leading power, a self-serving Washington has abused its superpower status and introduced even more chaos into the world by shifting financial risks overseas, instigating regional tensions amid territorial disputes, and fighting unwarranted wars under the cover of outright lies," said the commentary.
The op-ed ran in Sunday's (Oct. 13) Global Times newspaper, which is the official organ of the ruling Chinese Communist Party. The Global Times later reported on the follow-up to the article, saying that U.S. media were guessing as to the real intention of the article and saying that the piece had gotten Washington worried.
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Beijing is the largest overseas holder of U.S. government debt and has issued many warnings about the danger of a U.S. default. The Treasury reckons China holds some $1 trillion in Treasuries, and it also has additional U.S. agency debt.
Premier Li Keqiang told Secretary of State John Kerry last week (Oct. 10) that Beijing was "highly concerned" about Washington’s debt ceiling problem and its failure to resolve its debt crisis.
"The U.S. government has gone to all lengths to appear before the world as the one that claims the moral high ground, yet covertly doing things that are as audacious as torturing prisoners of war, slaying civilians in drone attacks, and spying on world leaders," it said.
"Under what is known as the Pax-Americana, we fail to see a world where the United States is helping to defuse violence and conflicts, reduce poor and displaced population, and bring about real, lasting peace."
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Saudis Reject Security Council Seat, Citing 'Double Standards'
The U.N. Security Council votes on a resolution that will require Syria to give up its chemical weapon, at U.N. Headquarters last month.
Craig Ruttle/AP
Saudi Arabia says it will turn down a two-year seat on the United Nation's Security Council in protest over "double standards" in resolving international conflicts.
"Saudi Arabia ... is refraining from taking membership of the U.N. Security Council until it has reformed so it can effectively and practically perform its duties and discharge its responsibilities in maintaining international security and peace," said a Foreign Ministry statement issued on state media.
"The kingdom sees that the method and work mechanism and the double standards in the Security Council prevent it from properly shouldering its responsibilities towards world peace," the foreign ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA.
The New York Times writes:
"The gesture seemed to reflect Saudi Arabia's simmering annoyance at the Security Council's record in Syria, where Russia and China — two of the five permanent members — have blocked Western efforts, broadly supported by Saudi Arabia, to pressure President Bashar al-Assad. The other permanent members are the United States, Britain and France.
The Saudi announcement came a day after Chad, Chile, Lithuania, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia were elected to seats on the 15-member Security Council for a two-year term starting in January. They replace Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Morocco, Pakistan and Togo.
It was the first time that Saudi Arabia had sought to gain one of the nonpermanent seats on the council. Its decision to turn down the seat seemed all the more surprising because its efforts to seek representation had been taken by experts as a reflection of the kingdom's wish to be more assertive in resolving the Syrian civil war and the Arab-Israeli conflict."
Reuters adds:
"It is the second time this month that Saudi Arabia has made a public gesture over what it sees as the Security Council's failure to take action to stop the civil war in Syria that has killed more than 100,000 people.
Earlier this month, the Saudi foreign minister cancelled a speech at the U.N. General Assembly in frustration over the international inaction on Syria and the Palestinian issue, a diplomatic source said."
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Daily Beast President Rob Gregory Joins WhoSay
Daily Beast president Rob Gregory is leaving the company to join the digital media company WhoSay, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
Gregory will become chief revenue officer of the three-year-old company, where he will develop strategies for premium advertising, brand partnerships and other ways to monetize WhoSay’s web and mobile products, which include a fan app launched last month. The New York City-based company enables its 1,500-plus celebrity members — including Eva Longoria, CeeLo Green and golfer Rory McIlroy — to publish content across multiple social media platforms, and now also allows fan users — the website receives 12 million monthly visitors — to curate customized feeds based on their favorite stars.
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“WhoSay has built a platform that combines all the elements required for any premium media company of the future,” Gregory said in a statement. “The company reaches a highly social and mobile audience in a premium and brand-safe environment, and then combines that with very valuable and unique first-party data targeting. The unique benefits to advertisers are clear. I’m excited to use what I’ve learned in my years in media to help take WhoSay to the next level.”
Gregory became the first president of the newly-merged Newsweek Daily Beast Co. in September 2011, where he focused on brand strategy and digital advertising revenue for the company’s digital publications and events. Prior to that, he was president of the luxury lifestyle-focused Plum TV network following more than 20 years in the magazine industry. As group publisher at Maxim he supervised revenue streams on multiple platforms, and Rolling Stone and Men’s Health each published their largest issues ever while Gregory served as their publisher.
“We have spent the last two years building a groundbreaking media company,” WhoSay CEO Steve Ellis, who co-founded the company with CAA in 2010, said in a statement. “It is time to focus on developing our premium advertising platform for brand and agency partners. Rob has a tremendous amount of experience in entertainment and media across premium print, digital and mobile products, and is the right person to lead these efforts.”
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Lena Dunham Instagrams 'Girls' return date
12 hours ago
Rather than spread the news in an interview or through a press release, "Girls" creator Lena Dunham took to her Instagram account Wednesday to announce the return date for her acclaimed HBO dramedy. Along with the phrase "We're comin' right back #GIRLS," Dunham posted a selfie photo that reads "1/12/14 10 p.m. EST" scrawled (possibly in lipstick) on a mirror.
Cringe Your Way Through the Biggest WTF Moments of Girls' Season Two
The show's third season has been highly anticipated for months, partially due to shake-ups within the cast. Christopher Abbott (who played Marnie's on-again, off-again love interest, Charlie) left the series back in April following creative struggles with Dunham. Michael Zegen ("Boardwalk Empire", "The Walking Dead") signed on back in June and — perhaps in response to criticism of the show's almost entirely white cast — Danielle Brooks ("Orange Is the New Black") will join the season as well. "I will be the first black woman to be on 'Girls,'" Brooks said in an interview with Ebony, "so that's exciting for me."
Despite its many controversies, "Girls" has earned consistently strong reviews in its first two seasons. The series earned five Emmy nominations at this year's ceremony, including nods for outstanding directing for a comedy series (for Dunham) and outstanding comedy series.
Though the show won't be back on TV until January, HBO recently gave fans a taste of the third season with this promotional teaser.
Related:
Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/girls-creator-lena-dunham-uses-instagram-announce-shows-return-8C11406531
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Russian Nationals Riot, Attack Minorities
Police in Moscow have been rounding up hundreds of migrant workers after an ethnic riot in the southern part of the city. Thousands of ethnic Slavic men rioted after an ethnic Slav was murdered-allegedly by a migrant from the North Caucasus region. Migrants from southern Russia and the Central Asian republics are routinely blamed for crimes in the Russian capital.
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Friday, 18 October 2013
'Glee' Star Chris Colfer Inks Three-Book Deal
Glee Star Chris Colfer has inked a new three-book deal with Little, Brown’s children’s imprint.
PHOTOS: 'Glee' Season Five in Pictures
Fueled by the success of the first two books in his Land of Stories series, he’ll write the third and fourth volumes of the series.
"The Land of Stories has been an incredible journey for me as a writers," said Colfer in a statement announcing the deal.
"The fan support and love for these characters has been more than a dream come true -- I'm humbled and excited to be able to share these new adventures with my readers."
Scheduled for publication in 2014 and 2015, the two new books will continue the adventure depicted in his previous two books -- a fusion of reality and fairytales that’s witnessed through the eyes of the twin protagonists, Alex and Connor Bailey.
The first two books made The New York Times bestseller list.
He’s also doing his debut picture book, The Curvy Tree, inspired by part of The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell. Brandon Dorman will provide illustrations for the book.
.
Colfer is best known for his performance in Glee as Kurt Hummel. He won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in a Series in 2011 for the role.
Colfer was represented by Rob Weisbach at Rob Weisbach Creative Management.
Alvina Ling and Andrew Smith negotiated on behalf of Little, Brown.
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Harper Lee sues hometown museum in Alabama
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — "To Kill a Mockingbird" author Harper Lee is suing a museum in her hometown of Monroeville to stop it from selling souvenirs with her name and the title of her Pulitzer Prize-winning book.
The lawsuit, filed last week in federal court in Mobile, said the Monroe County Heritage Museum has traded on Lee's fame without her approval and without compensating her. It seeks an unspecified amount in damages.
"Every single statement in the lawsuit is either false, meritless, or both," museum attorney Matt Goforth said Friday in an email.
The lawsuit comes after Lee sought a federal trademark for the title of her book when it's used on clothing. The museum opposed her application, saying its souvenir sales are vital to its continued operation. A ruling is over a year away.
Lee's book is set in fictional Maycomb County, but her suit says the setting was inspired by the real Monroe County where she lives in south Alabama. The museum in Monroeville has displays honoring her and presents the play "To Kill a Mockingbird" each summer in the old county courthouse courtroom, which served as a model for the movie's courtroom. The museum pays royalties for using the play, and that is not an issue in the suit.
The suit contends the museum has profited from the unauthorized use of Lee's name and book title through the sale of clothing and a variety of souvenirs. Its website also uses the title (http://www.tokillamockingbird.com ) without any compensation, the suit says.
"Ms. Lee has suffered a stroke and is in ill health. The defendant apparently believes that she lacks the desire to police her trademarks, and therefore seeks to take advantage of Ms. Lee's condition and property. The defendant is mistaken," the suit says.
The suit says that in August, the museum refused an offer from Lee to sell it merchandise she had authorized.
Clay Rankin, the Mobile attorney representing the 87-year-old author, did not respond to requests for comment Friday.
The museum's Birmingham attorney said the tourist attraction is within its rights to educate the public and preserve the area's history. "It's sad that Harper Lee's handlers have seen fit to attack the nonprofit museum in her hometown that has been honoring her and the town's rich history associated with that legacy for over 20 years," Goforth said.
The suit says the museum took in more than $500,000 in revenue in 2012. Goforth said the museum earned $28,566 from merchandise sales in 2012.
U.S. District Judge William Steele has not scheduled any hearings in the case.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/harper-lee-sues-hometown-museum-alabama-190735376.html
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Federal shutdown affected US in ways unseen
In this Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013 photo, Carter Howard sits and watches a cartoon during his asthma treatment at his home in Northbrook, Ill. On the days when asthma gives Carter the most trouble, his mother is reminded how doctors at Rush University Medical Center had to stop submitting applications for research grants to study childhood asthma and other diseases and disorders due to the federal government shutdown. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
In this Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013 photo, Carter Howard sits and watches a cartoon during his asthma treatment at his home in Northbrook, Ill. On the days when asthma gives Carter the most trouble, his mother is reminded how doctors at Rush University Medical Center had to stop submitting applications for research grants to study childhood asthma and other diseases and disorders due to the federal government shutdown. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
In this Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013 photo, Monique Howard holds Waldo as she caresses her son Carter's head while he sits through his asthma treatment at their Northbrook, Ill., home. On the days when asthma gives Carter the most trouble it reminds her about how doctors at Rush University Medical Center had to stop submitting applications for research grants to study childhood asthma and other diseases and disorders. Hospital officials have said the shutdown could have delayed funding for nearly half a year. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
FILE - In this June 24, 2013 file photo, storm clouds pass over downtown Chicago. The federal government shutdown may have seemed like a frustrating squabble in far-off Washington, but in Chicago, it crept into our lives in small, subtle ways _ from missed vegetable inspections to inaccessible federal websites. (AP Photo/Scott Eisen)
FILE - In this Oct. 2, 2013 file photo, despite signs stating that the national parks are closed, people visit the World War II Memorial in Washington. The federal government shutdown may have seemed like a frustrating squabble in Washington, but it crept into our lives in small, subtle ways _ from missed vegetable inspections to inaccessible federal websites. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
In this Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013 photo, Monique Howard, right, holds Waldo as she talks with her son Carter after his asthma treatment at their home in Northbrook, Ill. Howard is worried that federal government shutdown might set research for childhood asthma back five or six months. "It just seems to me like a lot of these studies are going to be scrapped or they will have to restart them," she said. "It is just so frustrating as a parent." (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
CHICAGO (AP) — Our food was a little less safe, our workplaces a little more dangerous. The risk of getting sick was a bit higher, our kids' homework tougher to complete.
The federal government shutdown may have seemed like a frustrating squabble in far-off Washington, but it crept into our lives in small, subtle ways — from missed vegetable inspections to inaccessible federal websites.
The "feds" always are there in the background, setting the standards by which we live, providing funds to research cures for our kids' illnesses, watching over our food supply and work environment.
So how did the shutdown alter our daily routines? Here's a look at a day in the life of the 2013 government shutdown.
WAKING UP
That sausage patty on your breakfast plate was safe as ever because meat inspectors — like FBI agents — are considered "essential" and remained at work. But federal workers who inspect just about everything else on your plate — from fresh berries to scrambled eggs — were furloughed.
The Food and Drug Administration, which in fiscal year 2012 conducted more than 21,000 inspections or contracted state agencies to conduct them, put off scores of other inspections at processing plants, dairies and other large food facilities. In all, 976 of the FDA's 1,602 inspectors were sent home.
About 200 planned inspections a week were put off, in addition to more than 8,700 inspections the federal government contracts state officials to perform, according to FDA spokesman Steven Immergut. That included unexpected inspections that keep food processors on their toes.
It worried Yadira Avila, a 34-year-old mother of two buying fruit and vegetables at a Chicago market.
"It's crazy because they (the FDA) sometimes find the bacteria," she said.
The FDA also stopped doing follow-ups on problems it previously detected at, for example, a seafood importer near Los Angeles and a dairy farm in Colorado.
And what about the food that made it to your plate? The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, which furloughed 9,000 of its 13,000 workers, said the shutdown slowed its response to an outbreak of salmonella in chicken that sickened people in 18 states.
OFFICE HOURS
At a warehouse, factory or other worksite, a young minority exposed to racial slurs by his boss had one fewer place to turn for help. Federal officials who oversee compliance with discrimination laws and labor practices weren't working, except in emergencies.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was not issuing right-to-sue letters, so people could not take discrimination cases into federal court, said Peter Siegelman, an expert in workplace discrimination at the University of Connecticut's law school.
Workplaces weren't inspected by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. One result? Employees could operate dangerous equipment even if not trained or old enough to do so.
"The afternoon before the shutdown we got a complaint of a restaurant where a ... 14-year-old was operating a vertical dough mixer," said James Yochim, assistant director of the U.S. Department of Labor's wage and hour division office in Springfield, Ill. "We (were) not able to get out there and conduct an investigation."
Yochim's office also put on hold an investigation at another restaurant of children reportedly using a meat slicer.
HOME SAFE
Getting around was largely unaffected. Air traffic controllers were on the job, flights still taking off. Trains operated by local agencies delivered millions of commuters to their jobs.
But if something went wrong, such as the mysterious case of a Chicago "ghost train," people were left in the dark.
On the last day of September, an empty Chicago Transit Authority train somehow rumbled down the tracks and crashed into another train, injuring a few dozen passengers. The National Transportation Safety Board dispatched investigators, and they kept working when the shutdown started the next day because they were "essential." But the agency furloughed others whose job is to explain to the public what happened.
So millions of commuters used the transit lines without knowing more about what caused the crash.
The CDC slashed staffing at quarantine stations at 20 airports and entry points, raising chances travelers could enter the country carrying diseases like measles undetected.
In the first week of the shutdown, the number of illnesses detected dropped by 50 percent, CDC spokeswoman Barbara Reynolds said. "Are people suddenly a lot healthier?" she wondered.
STUDY TIME
Children learned the meaning of shutdown when they got home and booted up computers to do homework. From the U.S. Census bureau site to NASA maps, they were greeted by alerts that said government sites were down "due to the shutdown."
Linda Koplin, a math teacher in Oak Park, a Chicago suburb, asked her sixth-grade pupils to use a reliable online source to find the highest and lowest elevations.
"They were able to find all the elevations for the rest of the continents but they couldn't find information for their continent," Koplin said.
It was the same at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Ill., where social studies teacher Robin Forrest said government statistics are more important because of so much dubious information on the web.
"We try to steer our kids toward websites and databases that are legitimate, the same way we would college students," he said.
NIGHT, NIGHT
After hours is when the shutdown arrived at many people's homes.
Monique Howard's 5-year-old son, Carter, has the most trouble with his asthma at night, when his breathing is labored. Her family dreams of a cure, the kind doctors are hunting through federally funded research grants at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
During the shutdown, the doctors had to stop submitting grant applications to study childhood asthma and other diseases and disorders. Hospital officials said the shutdown could have delayed funding for nearly half a year.
"I have met some of these doctors who are close to breakthroughs, and if this sets us back five or six months, it just seems to me like a lot of these studies are going to be scrapped or they will have to restart them," Howard said. "It's just so frustrating as a parent."
There was a comedic effect, too. The shutdown might have saved raunchy entertainers from punishment for obscene or offensive language on late-night TV and radio.
The Federal Communications Commission investigates broadcast misbehavior only if viewers or listeners complain. During the shutdown, callers heard a voice with a familiar ring: "The FCC is closed."
Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-10-18-Shutdown-The%20Average%20Day/id-b98a2458b93f4be4b779ba0042f03f0aSimilar Articles: Once Upon A Time In Wonderland
Adrian Peterson's Baby Mama -- He Left Me High & Dry For YEARS
Adrian Peterson's Baby Mama
He Left Me High & Dry
For YEARS
Exclusive
Adrian Peterson baby mama #2 Erica Syion left out one HUGE detail when she said the NFL star has taken good financial care of his kids -- back in April, TMZ has learned, she sued his ass for $52,032 in unpaid child support and other child-related bills.
Erica -- who has a 4-year-old son with Adrian -- went on "TMZ Live" Wednesday, claiming AP dutifully pays his child support on time. But that wasn't the case earlier this year.
We've learned Erica filed court docs, claiming Peterson failed to pay child support for three straight years, and also failed to reimburse her for their son's travel expenses and school tuition -- a bill that totaled $52,032.
There must have been some bad blood after that -- because Erica filed additional docs in July, asking the court to order Peterson not to trash talk her in front of their son, and not to hide their son from her.
But it was all resolved in September -- according to court docs, the two reached a settlement ... which included a bump in child support to $2,500 a month. Erica tells us, Adrian paid all his back child support as well as the other bills.
But there's a catch -- according to the docs, AP plans to stop paying school tuition for their son by next year. Interesting.
Calls to Adrian's camp weren't returned.
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L.A. Dodgers Star Andre Ethier to Craig Sager: I See Your Ugly Suit ... AND RAISE YOU!!
Dodgers Star to Craig Sager:
I See Your Ugly Suit ...
AND RAISE YOU
This is L.A. Dodgers star Andre Ethier stealing a page from serial fashion assassin (and TBS sideline reporter) Craig Sager ... and rocking an aggressively ugly plaid suit near the team bus.It appears the pic was taken outside Dodger Stadium today as Ethier and the team boarded the team bus for their trip to St. Louis for Game 6 of the NLCS.
We're not saying Ethier's outfit is the worst we've ever seen (we're looking at YOU Dwyane Wade) ... but it's definitely up there.
Diggin' the yellow bow tie though.
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Wait Until Dark: Theater Review
Michael Lamont
"Wait Until Dark"
The Bottom Line
Creaky suspense machine operates smoothly thanks to a well-lubricated refurbishment.
Venue
Geffen Playhouse, Westwood (runs through Nov. 17)
Cast
Alison Pill, Adam Stein, Mather Zickel, Rod McLachlan, Matt McTighe, Brighid Fleming
Playwright
Frederick Knott, adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher
Director
Matt Shakman
Recently blinded Susan (Alison Pill, of The Newsroom) is first manipulated and then terrorized in her basement apartment by three con men searching for a lost doll of great value that had been unknowingly slipped to her absent husband. Insecure and not a little bitter, the vulnerable Susan must muster her resources to outmaneuver her tormentors, turn her disability to advantage, and survive.
This 1966 success by Frederick Knott (Dial M for Murder) originally starred Lee Remick and Robert Duvall under the direction of Arthur Penn (just before he started work on Bonnie and Clyde). It was filmed the following year with Audrey Hepburn (her last hit) and Alan Arkin, becoming a local theater staple, an early HBO canned version and a misbegotten 1998 Broadway revival with Quentin Tarantino. In short, this is a vehicle that has been around, with so many miles it might readily be consigned a junker.
PHOTOS: Exclusive Portraits of 'The Newsroom' Cast
It’s unclear why the Geffen would be so keen to put it back on the road, but they’ve gone about it intelligently by commissioning the incredibly prolific playwright and serial adapter Jeffrey Hatcher (Compleat Female Stage Beauty, A Picasso, Tuesdays with Morrie, Cousin Bette, The Government Inspector) to rejigger the engine and director Matt Shakman, invaluable founder of the eminent Black Dahlia Ensemble, to guide it round the track. The period has been transposed back to 1944 from 1966, given a wartime light-noir patina, and the brownstone relocated from the Lower East Side to Greenwich Village. In a sense, by positioning the setting as more antique, the story’s datedness becomes more palatable with the distance.
More interestingly, Hatcher and Shakman are unafraid to recognize that the plot machinations can be baldly apparent, so their take is not unlike those repurposed urban spaces that retain the visible industrial pipes and paraphernalia as a design statement. While the audience may well see some (or most) of the twists coming, that anticipation becomes a part of the thriller mechanism, adding a meta-tinge that lends some ersatz contemporary fizz.
PHOTOS: Broadway Musicals That Have Sung Their Way to the Big Screen
While television has mined most of its inspirations for innumerable episodics, Wait Until Dark remains unquestionably a sturdy construction, no longer surprising yet still satisfyingly tense, evergreen clever, with gratifying thematic undercurrents. Especially upfront, there is a surfeit of prolix exposition, which Shakman sagely keeps breakneck – even unto risking a missed point here and there. He has also loyally kept faith with longtime design collaborators, yielding a satisfying cohesive vision for the piece, with a terrific set and spot-on costumes. Nevertheless, for all the sumptuous mounting and the ingenious lighting gambits, one could still imagine it being nearly as effective as a radio suspenser, as heard by the heroine.
Susan remains a swell role (Remick was nominated for a Tony, and Hepburn for an Oscar), which the reliably talented Pill instills with a distinctive individuality. As the cunning, sadistic Roat, Adam Stein has fun with the hoarier conceits of impersonation and villainy, though his personal best moment on opening night was an improvised cover for a prop failure that lent an inadvertently nihilistic cast to the climax, serendipitously endowing him with a moment of anguished pathos.
Everyone else plays stoutly to type in a patented Forties manner that enjoyably never lapses into the overdone. (Mather Zickel, as the husband’s service buddy, is especially on-point as an ambiguous nice guy.) Unfortunately, the trademark violent shock of the final confrontation no longer has any traction after countless repetitions have reduced it to the show’s most expected trope.
Venue: Geffen Playhouse, Westwood (runs through Nov. 17)
Cast: Alison Pill, Adam Stein, Mather Zickel, Rod McLachlan, Matt McTighe, Brighid Fleming
Director: Matt Shakman
Playwright: Frederick Knott, adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher
Set designer: Craig Siebels
Costume designer: E.B. Brooks
Lighting designer: Elizabeth Harper
Music & sound designer: Jonathan Snipes
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Thursday, 17 October 2013
NASA sees Typhoon Francisco headed to the other side of Guam
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Public release date: 17-Oct-2013
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Contact: Rob Gutro
robert.j.gutro@nasa.gov
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Typhoon Francisco on Oct. 17 after it had passed the eastern side of Guam and started to head on a track that would take it past the western side of Guam. Tropical Storm Warnings are in effect for Guam on Oct. 17 and 18 (local time).
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured an image of Typhoon Francisco on Oct. 17 at 04:05 UTC in the Pacific Ocean as it started turning to the northwest after passing the eastern side Guam. The MODIS image clearly showed Francisco's eye, indicating its strength and organization.
On Oct. 17 at 1500 UTC/11 a.m. EDT Francisco had maximum sustained winds near 85 knots and was moving to the north-northeast, but is expected to take a turn to the northwest. Francisco's center was located about 147 nautical miles southwest of Guam, near 12.5 north and 143.1 east.
On Oct. 17 and 18 (local time), a Tropical Storm Warning was in effect for Guam. The National Weather Service bulletin on Oct. 17 at 3 p.m. EDT noted: as Typhoon Francisco (26w) passes...sustained tropical storm force winds are expected. Maximum winds are still forecast to be in the 30 to 40 mph range with gusts to 60 mph. Minor damage may occur to poorly constructed homes. Isolated power outages will be possible. Choppy seas of 12 to 14 feet will persist through tonight.
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Text credit: Rob Gutro
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 17-Oct-2013
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Contact: Rob Gutro
robert.j.gutro@nasa.gov
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Typhoon Francisco on Oct. 17 after it had passed the eastern side of Guam and started to head on a track that would take it past the western side of Guam. Tropical Storm Warnings are in effect for Guam on Oct. 17 and 18 (local time).
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured an image of Typhoon Francisco on Oct. 17 at 04:05 UTC in the Pacific Ocean as it started turning to the northwest after passing the eastern side Guam. The MODIS image clearly showed Francisco's eye, indicating its strength and organization.
On Oct. 17 at 1500 UTC/11 a.m. EDT Francisco had maximum sustained winds near 85 knots and was moving to the north-northeast, but is expected to take a turn to the northwest. Francisco's center was located about 147 nautical miles southwest of Guam, near 12.5 north and 143.1 east.
On Oct. 17 and 18 (local time), a Tropical Storm Warning was in effect for Guam. The National Weather Service bulletin on Oct. 17 at 3 p.m. EDT noted: as Typhoon Francisco (26w) passes...sustained tropical storm force winds are expected. Maximum winds are still forecast to be in the 30 to 40 mph range with gusts to 60 mph. Minor damage may occur to poorly constructed homes. Isolated power outages will be possible. Choppy seas of 12 to 14 feet will persist through tonight.
###
Text credit: Rob Gutro
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-10/nsfc-nst101713.php
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Fitch puts US credit rating on negative watch
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Fitch credit rating agency has warned that it is reviewing the U.S. government's AAA credit rating for a possible downgrade, citing the impasse in Washington that has raised the threat of a default on the nation's debt.
Fitch placed the U.S. credit rating on negative watch Tuesday, a step that would precede an actual downgrade. The agency said it expects to conclude its review within six months.
The announcement comes as House and Senate leaders face a Thursday deadline to raise the nation's $16.7 trillion borrowing limit. Fitch says it expects the debt limit to be raised soon. But it adds, "the political brinkmanship and reduced financing flexibility could increase the risk of a U.S. default."
A Treasury Department spokesman said Fitch's announcement "reflects the urgency with which Congress should act to remove the threat of default hanging over the economy."
Dow Jones industrial futures were essentially unchanged Tuesday evening. Fitch made its announcement after financial markets had closed.
Lawmakers spent most of Tuesday trying to reach an agreement to lift the government's borrowing limit and avoid an eventual default. The limit is a cap on how much debt the government can accumulate to pay its bills. The government borrows in most years because its spending has long exceeded its revenue.
Fitch is one of the three leading U.S. credit rating agencies, along with Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service.
S&P downgraded U.S. long-term debt to "AA+" in August 2011. But three months ago, it raised its outlook. That was in part because of tax increases and spending cuts that have helped shrink the budget deficit. S&P has said it's unlikely to change its rating because of the debt-limit fight.
Moody's said last week that even if Congress failed to raise the limit by Thursday, Treasury could make its interest payments ahead of other bills, "leaving its creditworthiness intact."
Fitch took a dimmer view Tuesday. It said Treasury might not be able to prioritize its interest payments. "It is unclear whether it even has the legal authority to do so," Fitch said.
A credit rating is an assessment of how able a country or company is to repay the money it's borrowed. A AAA rating lets companies and governments borrow at super-low rates.
So far, most investors have remained confident in U.S. debt, though rates have risen on short-term Treasury bills and shot up Tuesday as Congress' deadline neared. In a rare move, Fidelity Investments and JP Morgan Chase said last week that they had purged their money market funds of all U.S. bills that come due soon after this week.
Still, rates have remained stable on longer-term debt, like the benchmark 10-year Treasury note. That shows that investors remain confident in longer-term Treasurys. The rate on the 10-year note is important because it affects rates on mortgages and many other loans.
Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank, said Fitch's warning was no surprise.
"Creditworthiness is a function of two thing: ability and willingness," Ablin said. "No one is questioning our ability. But there is uncertainty about our willingness to pay."
After S&P downgraded long-term U.S. credit two years ago, investors sold stocks but continued to buy longer-term U.S. Treasurys.
Many analysts say further downgrades to the U.S. credit rating would likely have little effect on bond investors. That's because Treasurys are the most transparent and widely traded security in the world. Rating agencies have little information to assess that isn't already available to most investors.
Julian Brigden of Macro Intelligence 2 Partners, an investment consultancy, said Treasury investors may shrug off Fitch's warning, which could get lost amid Washington's budget impasse.
"It's just one more negative in the mix of news," Brigden said.
The U.S. government has never intentionally failed to pay its debts. That's why investors consider Treasurys the safest investments in times of uncertainty. Treasurys are also denominated in dollars, the main currency used by central banks and financial institutions around the world.
Late Tuesday, House Republicans pushed for passage of legislation that would allow the Treasury to borrow normally until early February and end a 15-day partial government shutdown at least until Dec. 15.
While the House readied for a possible Tuesday night vote, the immediate result was to impose a daylong freeze on Senate negotiations on a bipartisan compromise.
___
AP Business Writer Bernard Condon in New York contributed to this report.
Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-10-15-Fitch%20Ratings/id-4ffacd7eb21b4d7981a232f565861a72Category: 49ers Battlefield 4 beta First Day Of Fall 2013 evelyn lozada Larry Shippers
Dollar slides as relief at U.S. debt deal fades
By Richard Hubbard
LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar fell and Wall Street was expected to weaken on Thursday as relief over a U.S. budget deal gave way to worries over the effects of the 16-day government shutdown and prospects of a re-run early next year.
The legislation signed overnight by President Barack Obama to fund the government until January 15 and extend a debt ceiling deadline to February 7 did nothing to resolve the differences over spending and deficits that divide Republicans and Democrats.
"The U.S. can give a sigh of relief for now but the New Year could bring a dangerous sense of déjà vu," Luke Bartholomew, investment analyst at Aberdeen Asset Management, said.
Equity markets in the U.S. and Asia initially welcomed the last-minute deal which pulled the world's biggest economy back from the brink of a historic default, but the rally ran out of steam as the longer-term implications sank in.
MSCI world equity index <.miwd00000pus>, tracking shares in 45 countries, was up 0.3 percent and close to a five-year high while Europe's broad FTSE Eurofirst 300 index <.fteu3> had shed 0.15 percent by mid-morning.
U.S. stock index futures also pointed to losses when trading opens.
"Markets had expected the can to be kicked down the road, and the can's been kicked down the road a little bit. We're not really waking up in a radically new world," Bartholomew said.
"Had it all gone wrong, then the market reaction would have been very different."
FISCAL CLIFF II
The temporary nature of the agreement and longer-term worries that the debt ceiling risks would become a structural drag on the economy also weighed on debt markets.
That view was shared by Chinese credit agency Dagong, which downgraded the U.S. sovereign rating to A- from A with a negative outlook, driving further dollar losses.
The 10-year benchmark Treasury note yield slipped to 2.65 percent from around 2.68 percent late in New York. While U.S. Treasury bill futures had gained 0.1 percent.
"It casts dark clouds over the economy - politics are now the main drag for growth in the U.S," Rabobank strategist Philip Marey said.
German government bond prices, which tend to rise in times of uncertainty, tracked the U.S. Treasury market higher as well, sending the 10-year Bund yield down 4.5 basis points to 1.89 percent.
FED DELAY
Investors were also responding to the likelihood that the fiscal saga would inevitably delay the start of the Federal Reserve's planned withdrawal of its monetary stimulus.
Markets had expected the Fed to announce in September it would cut its bond purchases. When that didn't happen they switched forecasts to December, and now many anticipate no action until next year.
"We would expect this impasse to shave off part of fourth-quarter growth and hurt consumer confidence, especially from the government sector," said Simon Derrick, head of currency strategy at BNY Mellon. "What this does is push back expectations of Fed tapering to early 2014."
While expectations of a delay in tapering support equities, they tend to weigh heavily on the dollar, not least because the scale of the Fed pullback - when it does occur - far outweighs any changes in monetary policy expected in the euro zone and Japan over the same period.
Against a basket of currencies, the greenback had slipped 0.7 percent to 79.9 <.dxy> having earlier set a one-month high on the initial relief that a full-blown crisis had been averted.
Against the safer alternative of the Japanese yen, the dollar fell 0.75 percent to 98.02 yen, pulling back from an earlier three-week peak of 99.01.
The dollar's broad losses saw the euro rise 0.6 percent to $1.35570 and supported higher-yielding and growth linked currencies including the Australian and New Zealand dollars near recent highs.
The weaker dollar and the likelihood of Fed holding back on reducing its monetary stimulus also gave gold a big lift.
The spot gold price surged to a one-week high just shy of $1,320 per ounce, up more than 2.5 percent on the day. While the December COMEX gold futures contract touched a high of $1,320.50.
"Tapering will be postponed much further, so that's probably the main aspect behind the current spike in prices," Commerzbank analyst Daniel Briesemann said.
Brent crude declined 55 cents to $110.04 a barrel as of 1030 GMT, with investors reluctant to take on fresh positions ahead of a deluge of data expected to emerge as Washington gets back to business.
(Additional reporting by Anirban Nag, Marius Zaharia and Veronica Brown. Editing by John Stonestreet)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/relief-over-u-debt-deal-short-lived-dollar-093736820--finance.html
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