Senin, 30 April 2012

petMD.com Lists the Top 5 Dog and Top 5 Cat Breeds for Families with Children at Current News

MIAMI, April 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- April 26 is National Kids and Pets Day, a day to celebrate the special bond children have with animals. Choosing to welcome a pet into a home with children can be an overwhelming commitment, but knowing the characteristics that are common to certain cat and dog breeds can aid in the decision making process and help families find the breed that best fits their lifestyle. While just about any breed can be raised to be a loving and affectionate pet, petMD.com has pulled together the following top 10 kid friendly dogs and cats.  

Top 5 Dog Breeds for Kids

  1. The Bulldog: Known for its sturdy build, the Bulldog is an excellent choice for families with children who like to roughhouse. A docile, friendly, and loyal breed, the Bulldog will not retaliate to the poking and prodding of little children. Not overly active, this breed can live comfortably in a house with a sprawling backyard or in a small apartment.
  2. The Vizsla: A lesser known breed, the Vizsla has a gentle disposition and manner perfect for living with children. Loyal, quiet, and affectionate, the Vizsla breed is extremely obedient and can pick up on tricks and commands quickly. Another benefit appreciated by many Vizsla owners is that they lack the common "eau de dog" that many breeds possess.
  3. The Golden Retriever: The most popular dog breed in America, the Golden Retriever is smaller than the Labrador Retriever but they share similar personalities. Golden Retrievers are known for being confident, smart, loyal, and kind, qualities appreciated by families with children. Needing plenty of exercise, this breed is best suited for active families who can take their dog with them on outings.  
  4. The Bull Terrier: Known to be friendly and loving, the Bull Terrier was bred to be a companion dog and is an excellent breed to own if your children are learning to handle a dog for the first time. Bull Terriers are built with a high threshold for pain so they can withstand a few tugs of their tails from little hands.
  5. The Newfoundland: A large dog, the Newfoundland, or "Newfie," is known to love and protect the children in the family. Gentle, kind, intelligent, and patient, this dog is easily trained and enjoys human companionship. An active breed, Newfies need a daily walk or romp in the backyard.   

 Top 5 Cat Breeds for Kids

  1. The Birman: A social cat, the Birman loves to love his human family. Not a stereotypical "scaredy-cat," this breed will run up and greet new guests in your home rather than hide in a different room. However, the Birman is not an active breed of cat, preferring to lounge around instead of play.
  2. The Ragdoll: Named from the limp position it assumes when you pick it up, the Ragdoll breed is a great choice for a child-friendly pet. Although this breed is soft-voiced and gentle, they enjoy playing games and running around with their human families, only to be followed by long periods of relaxation afterwards.
  3. Himalayan: Quiet yet active, this breed of cat enjoys a daily game of laser tag and then plenty of quiet and relaxing time afterwards. An indoor breed, Himalayans will bond and love their family for their entire lives.
  4. Maine Coon: One of the oldest companion cat breeds, the Maine Coon is naturally familiar with human temperaments and is adaptive to our needs. A patient breed, Coons are very calm around even the most rambunctious of children, and can help them expel their energy by playing active games of fetch and catch. 
  5. Exotic Shorthair: Known for its easy going and laid back personality, Exotic Shorthairs are quiet and loving. Greeting you at the door when you come home and curling up with you as you watch T.V., all this breed needs is affection.

Having pets in the family can create entirely new adventures and experiences for children, as well as teach them responsibility. Before welcoming a pet into your home, research what breeds best match your family's lifestyle.

About petMD.com

petMD is the leading online resource focused solely on the health and well-being of pets. The site maintains the world's largest pet health library, written and approved by a network of trusted veterinarians. petMD was founded to inspire pet owners to provide an ever-increasing quality of life for their pets and to connect pet owners with pet experts and other animal lovers. petMD is a subsidiary of the Pet360 family of brands, which also includes www.PetFoodDirect.com – the most complete pet food and supply retailer online, and www.NationalPetPharmacy.com – a fully certified, full-service pet pharmacy delivering pet meds, vitamins and comprehensive pet health and wellness products. For more information, visit www.petMD.com.

CONTACT: Kelly Lange, 610-234-4114, klange@pet360.com

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Grover Norquist Has No Interest in Bipartisan Cooperation - Dashiell Bennett - Politics at Current News

The conservative activist defended our polarized politics in a conversation with presidential historian David Gergen and Nation editor Katrina vanden Heuvel.

norquist.JPG

Elena Olivo

The only thing Americans seems to agree on these days is that we can't agree on much. With a divided Congress, a 5-4 Supreme Court, and a president who has as much difficulty with his own party as the opposing one, it seems like a legitimate miracle when our government accomplishes anything. Presidential historian and former presidential adviser David Gergen says things have gotten so bad that "we're in danger of national decline" because we can't resolve any of our issues.

Conversations and debates on the big issues of the day.

Maybe the question isn't "Why can't we all get along?" but "Did we ever?" Grover Norquist is reviled on the left for his anti-tax pledge that has bedeviled congressional revenue efforts for years, and he is often singled out as a leading cause of our current gridlocked condition. Yet Norquist says that people who recall a golden era of bipartisanship are merely revealing how old they are. The fights of yesteryear may not have been "partisan" -- since parties tended to form around regional alliances rather than ideology -- but they were still fights. Liberal Democrats teamed up with liberal Republicans to take on the conservative wings of their own party. It's only in the last 30 years that they have aligned under the same political banner.

Gergen and Norquist were both joined by Katrina vanden Heuvel (editor of the one of the most partisan magazines in the country, The Nation), at the New York Ideas conference, sponsored by The Atlantic, the Aspen Institute, and the New-York Historical Society. The title of their panel asked "Will a Divided House Come Back Together?" But judging by the debate the audience witnessed, the answer is not encouraging. 

Norquist, for one, is proud that liberals and conservatives have finally parted ways, because now when you pull the lever for that R or D, at least you know where you stand. It's also, in a perverse way, the solution to divided government. States have drawn their own battle lines so clearly between red and blue (more than half have both legislatures and governorships controlled by one party) that the people can decide for themselves which system works better ... and which brand they want to live under. 

Vanden Heuvel, meanwhile, appeared positively exasperated by Norquist's repeated claims that the fundamental goal of everything should be liberty (which he defines as the government leaving people alone). Issues of inequality or the idea that, as she puts it, "government is rigged against the average person," brushed past him without a glancing blow. Norquist seemed to know what he was aiming for and the target was in his sights. Even as vanden Heuvel stood by the idea of a common purpose, however, she didn't seem eager to call for total unity either, asking how anyone can demand "shared sacrifice" when so few people have benefited from recent prosperity. It's not that either one seemed to be spoiling for a fight or uninterested in making the world better. It's just that they expressed very different ideas about how to accomplish this. 

That brings us all the way back to our original problem: how to get the two parties to agree on anything. The trouble with our ideologically strident system is that the center no longer exists, and that puts the ability to compromise in danger. David Gergen remarked that James Madison would be appalled at the state our discourse, because while the Constitution was designed for a clash of ideas, the clash was supposed to "lead us to a higher place, not a lower one." The panel certainly didn't lower the discourse, but it also didn't agree on one either.

To Norquist, however, the solution is simple: a Romney victory combined with a Republican Senate takeover (complete with supermajority) by 2014. Then, as far as he's concerned, the problem of gridlock will solve itself.

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ORANGEBURG | Cordova resident supports Locks of Love to honor mother, niece | The Herald at Current News

ORANGEBURG -- 

Cordova resident Andrew Rickenbaker has worn a ponytail ever since he was a little boy, but he was willing to part with it for a sixth time to support what he says is a worthy cause.

Rickenbaker had his long locks trimmed to support Locks of Love in honor of his beloved mother and niece, both named Carolyn, who died of cancer years ago.

A public, nonprofit organization created in 1997, Locks of Love uses donated hair to provide hairpieces to children under age 18 who are suffering from long-term medical hair loss.

"I want to make people aware of cancer and the fact that a little thing like giving your hair would help a lot," Rickenbaker said.

He is no stranger to the nonprofit organization's mission as he has had his hair cut a total of five times – for a total of 8.5 feet – for the group in memory of his loved ones.

"When my mama had cancer years ago, a lady approached me about giving my ponytail. I've always had a ponytail, but I told her I'd donate it. I've been doing it ever since," Rickenbaker said, noting that it generally takes his hair two and a half years to grow back out.

"One time I didn't donate for a long time. I didn't want to get rid of it, but this is for a good cause," he said. "My wife just had a sister die of cancer in July, and she's got a sister now with cancer."

Rickenbaker is indeed lovingly attached to his hair, even amid the taunts he sometimes receives for letting it grow so long. He said this year will, in fact, be the last time he donates his hair.

"I'm real particular about my hair, I really am. People pick at me all the time. They said I'm too old to have it so long," he said, laughing.

"If the good Lord lets me grow my ponytail back, I'm taking it to the grave."

He said he will, however, continue to participate in raising funds and awareness in the fight against cancer, including his family's participation in Relay for Life, the American Cancer Society's signature fundraising event. The Orangeburg County Relay for Life event began Friday evening and ended early this morning at the William J. Clark Middle School track.

"There are thousands of ways you can get involved. You can volunteer your time. And from now on, I'm going to do a lot more. I'm getting close to my retirement so I want to really get involved," Rickenbaker said.

The father of three said his 4-year-old grandson, Caleb, is already demonstrating a desire to participate in charitable giving.

"My grandson's already talking about it. He's talking to his grandmamma now about wanting to grow his hair in a ponytail," said Rickenbaker, who stressed that it's all about giving back.

"That's all I care about," he said. "I just want people to help."

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Apple indeed has a TV in the works, claims Reuters at Current News

Apple has reportedly engaged in talks to stream films to a long-rumored Apple-created TV, among other devices, according to sources speaking to Reuters. The company was allegedly talking to EPIX to stream movies to Apple's devices, but according to Reuters' sources, those talks were in the preliminary stages and have since stalled.

Talk of a TV created by Apple has been floating around for many years, but the company has not yet released such a product nor commented on rumors about one. In Walter Isaacson's recent biography of Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, however, it was revealed that Jobs was at least thinking about how to develop an integrated television set that would be "completely easy to use" and seamlessly sync data across iCloud, similar to current Apple devices like the iPhone and iPad. Jobs had reportedly tapped iTunes creator Jeff Robbin to help with the project, and told Isaacson that he had "finally cracked" a way to make TVs as simple and elegant as Apple's other products.

But even though Jobs was pondering the concept, it doesn't necessarily mean that Apple is currently planning to roll out such a product. According to Reuters, a TV was part of Apple's streaming plan, though the publication offers no further details about the supposed product. Unsurprisingly, Apple officially told Reuters that the news was "speculation" and did not comment further.

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I’m ‘A Bachelorette’; Singer Wants ‘A Guy That Smells Good’ at Current News

First Published: April 30, 2012 5:17 PM EDT Credit: Getty Images

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Rihanna attends the 'Battleship' photocall at the Battleship Missouri Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on April 28, 2012Caption Rihanna attends the 'Battleship' photocall at the Battleship Missouri Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on April 28, 2012Rihanna's dating life is known to make just as many headlines as her music, as well as her blossoming movie career – but the star tells Access Hollywood's Shaun Robinson that's she's single.

"I am a bachelorette," the 24-year-old revealed at the "Battleship" junket in Hawaii.

"Still eligible?" Shaun asked.

"Yes," the singer-turned-actress said.

So what does Rihanna want in a potential beau?

"A guy that smells good," she explained. "If I see you and look good, chances are you won't turn my head. I will look away… but if you smell good, I will whip my neck around! [A guy] can't leave until I figure out what [he's] wearing."

Luckily for future men in the superstar's life, she's about help out guys who might not smell up to par.

"I am making my own male fragrance," she told Shaun. "I want dudes to smell like [when] you wake up, you know that smell… their cologne is a little bit old… you spray it on their jackets and take it with you just to keep them there, that it smells cozy and it smells sexy."

When it comes to her big screen debut, the star was a bit rattled upon hearing herself.

"I hate to hear myself speak," Rihanna explained. "Especially because I was speaking in an American accent… but I guess I've always been like that. I hate to hear myself speak, so now it's a whole different thing. I have to get used to it."

Rihanna also cleared up recent remarks she gave to Rolling Stone, where she stated she liked being submissive, at times, in a relationship.

"I think, not all women, because I can't speak for all women, but girls like me, women like me – we're into that," she explained.

Adding, "Not like we have to be submissive. We can totally take charge of the relationship. We just let them wear the pants. We let them borrow the pants, so that they can feel good and in turn we feel better."

"Battleship" – with Taylor Kitsch, Liam Neeson, Alexander Skarsgard and Brooklyn Decker — blasts into theaters on May 18.

Copyright 2012 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Independence students ‘pay it forward’ - Local News - Cleveland, OH at Current News

& Sixth graders from Independence Middle School helped out around their community Thursday. &

The students, who would normally be in class on a weekday afternoon, took part in national "Pay It Forward" day.

Groups of students did yard work for local residents and in their school's courtyard. They also decorated place mats and served lunch at the local senior center.

Students, along with the Independence Schools superintendent, handed out gift certificates, candy and water to surprised shoppers at the Rockside Plaza.

Rick Jones, of Stanek Windows, helped fund the event. He said it sends a simple message to the kids.

"Continue to show kindness and give without any expectation of getting anything in return," Stanek said.

It's a message that the students seem to understand.

"Pay it forward is like a chain reaction," said student Will Knopa. "Do one nice thing and then another person will do another nice thing for someone else and it will start a chain reaction."

Math teacher Ken Deangelis said he's never been so excited.

"To know that it's going to have a ripple effect, I mean the exponential impact we can have. We told the kids this morning they could literally change the world," Deangelis said.

Changing the world is a pretty big job, but to some in Independence, these kids are well on their way.

& & & &
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One World Trade Center Becomes New York City's Tallest Skyscraper, Floors Still Being Added (VIDEO)

One World Trade Center

Viewed from Jersey City, N.J., two birds fly by as the sun rises over buildingsin New York, including One World Trade Center, tallest building at left, Monday, April 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

NEW YORK — One World Trade Center, the monolith being built to replace the twin towers destroyed in the Sept. 11 attacks, claimed the title of New York City's tallest skyscraper on Monday, as workers erected steel columns that made its unfinished skeleton a little over 1,250 feet high, just enough to peek over the roof of the observation deck on the Empire State Building.

City officials and iron workers applauded as the first 12-ton column was hoisted onto the tower's top deck.

"This project is much more than steel and concrete. It is a symbol of success for the nation," said David Samson, chairman of the Port Authority, the agency that owns the World Trade Center.

Clear skies afforded an immaculate 360-degree view from the top, although it wasn't easy getting up there. After riding an elevator to the 90th floor, a small group of officials and journalists had to climb three steep ladders to reach the top platform, which was encircled by blue netting along the perimeter.

The milestone is a preliminary one. Workers are still adding floors to the building once called the Freedom Tower. It isn't expected to reach its full height for at least another year, at which point it is likely to be declared the tallest building in the U.S., and third tallest in the world.

Those bragging rights, though, will carry an asterisk.

Crowning the world's tallest buildings is a little like picking the heavyweight champion in boxing. There is often disagreement about who deserves the belt.

In this case, the issue involves the 408-foot-tall needle that will sit on the tower's roof.

Count it, and the World Trade Center is back on top. Otherwise, it will have to settle for No. 2, after the Willis Tower in Chicago.

"Height is complicated," said Nathaniel Hollister, a spokesman for The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitats, a Chicago-based organization considered an authority on such records.

Experts and architects have long disagreed about where to stop measuring super-tall buildings outfitted with masts, spires and antennas that extend far above the roof.

Consider the case of the Empire State Building: Measured from the sidewalk to the tip of its needle-like antenna, the granddaddy of all skyscrapers actually stands 1,454 feet high, well above the mark reached by One World Trade Center on Monday.

Purists, though, say antennas shouldn't count when determining building height.

An antenna, they say, is more like furniture than a piece of architecture. Like a chair sitting on a rooftop, an antenna can be attached or removed. The Empire State Building didn't even get its distinctive antenna until 1952. The record books, as the argument goes, shouldn't change every time someone installs a new satellite dish.

Excluding the antenna brings the Empire State Building's total height to 1,250 feet. That was still high enough to make the skyscraper the world's tallest from 1931 until 1972.

From that height, the Empire State seems to tower over the second tallest completed building in New York, the Bank of America Tower.

Yet, in many record books, the two skyscrapers are separated by just 50 feet.

That's because the tall, thin mast on top of the Bank of America building isn't an antenna but a decorative spire.

Unlike antennas, record-keepers like spires. It's a tradition that harkens back to a time when the tallest buildings in many European cities were cathedrals. Groups like the Council on Tall Buildings, and Emporis, a building data provider in Germany, both count spires when measuring the total height of a building, even if that spire happens to look exactly like an antenna.

This quirk in the record books has benefited buildings like Chicago's recently opened Trump International Hotel and Tower. It is routinely listed as being between 119 to 139 feet taller than the Empire State Building, thanks to the antenna-like mast that sits on its roof, even though the average person, looking at the two buildings side by side, would probably judge the New York skyscraper to be taller.

The same factors apply to measuring the height of One World Trade Center.

Designs call for the tower's roof to stand at 1,368 feet – the same height as the north tower of the original World Trade Center. The building's roof will be topped with a 408-foot, cable-stayed mast, making the total height of the structure a symbolic 1,776 feet.

So is that needle an antenna or a spire?

"Not sure," wrote Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the building.

The needle will, indeed, function as a broadcast antenna. It is described on the Port Authority's website as an antenna. On the other hand, the structure will have more meat to it than your average antenna, with external cladding encasing the broadcast mast.

Without that spire, One World Trade Center would still be smaller than the Willis Tower in Chicago, formerly known as the Sears Tower, which tops out at 1,451 feet (not including its own antennas).

Debate over which of those buildings can truly claim to be the tallest in the U.S. has been raging for years on Internet message boards frequented by skyscraper enthusiasts.

As for the Council on Tall Buildings, it is leaning toward giving One World Trade the benefit of the doubt.

"This is something we have discussed with the architect," Hollister said. "As we understand it, the needle is an architectural spire which happens to enclose an antenna. We would thus count it as part of the architectural height."

But, he noted, the organization has also chosen to sidestep these types of disputes, somewhat, by recognizing three types of height records: tallest occupied floor, architectural top and height to the tip.

Hollister also pointed out that, technically speaking, One World Trade Center isn't a record-holder in any category yet, as it is still unfinished.

"A project is not considered a building until it is topped out, fully clad, and open for business or at least occupiable," he said.

The debate doesn't quite end there.

Neither the Willis Tower nor One World Trade are as high as the CN Tower, in Toronto, which stands at 1,815 feet. That structure, however, isn't considered a building at all by most record-keepers, because it is predominantly a television broadcast antenna and observation platform with very little interior space. The tallest manmade structure in the Western Hemisphere will continue to be the 2,063-foot-tall KVLY-TV antenna in Blanchard, N.D.

As for the world's tallest building, the undisputed champion is the Burj Khalifa, in Dubai, which opened in 2010 and reaches 2,717 feet.

Not counting about 5 feet of aircraft lights and other equipment perched on top, of course.

___

Associated Press Writer Meghan Barr contributed to this report.

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Apple iPhone 5 To Be 20 Percent Thinner, Jefferies Predicts at Current News

A report from global securities and investment group Jefferies has added to the speculation surrounding the next Apple iPhone.

Its report suggests the latest generation of Apple's best-selling iPhone will be 20 percent thinner, have a 4-inch screen, and could get an improvement in its dots-per-inch (DPI) resolution.

The note comes on the heels of weeks of speculation and rumours about the latest version of Apple's sleek smartphone, which may sport liquid metal components and could debut sometime between June and October, depending on where the (unconfirmed) information is coming from.

Launch Information

Jefferies' report mentions that they do not think it matters economically to Apple when the phone is launched, and investors should not stress about it. "We have pencilled in 15 million iPhone 5 shipments for [the third quarter], out of their 40 million total estimate, and 50 million total iPhones in the fourth quarter," the report says. "Beginning in September, Apple will have more than 175 million iPhone subscribers globally. Assuming a two-year replacement implies a base case of about 20 million iPhones a quarter."

The report says that assuming Chinese carriers DoCoMo, and possibly China Mobile, as well as a handful of other carriers, obtain the iPhone in the fourth quarter, there could be incremental geographic demand of 10 million in that quarter. "Consensus' expectations for 20 percent smartphone market growth implies another 15 million units," the report predicted. "We therefore expect Apple to beat estimates in Q4 (and in Q3, should it launch in September)."

As for the upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), which takes place in June, Jefferies believes Apple will unveil the iOS 6 mobile operating system and an iCloud upgrade, matching much of the syncing functionality of services like Google Drive. "Based on our coding and developer work, we also believe iOS 6 will focus on video," the research note said.

The note also commented on the long-rumoured Apple TV, which they connected to better second-quarter outlooks from display-related companies, which could partially be due to early iTV builds. "Also, of interest was the Time Warner Cable call where management acknowledged new entrants into the TV market and said they were ready to open their APIs. We view this as a departure and [it] opens up the possibility that Time Warner Cable could be a third distribution partner for iTV in conjunction with Verizon and AT&T."

No Steve Jobs

The news cycle has been inundated in recent days with rumours about Apple's plans.

A provocative blog post by Forrester Research CEO George Colony suggested without the leadership of Apple founder and former CEO Steve Jobs, who passed away last year, the company was doomed to an eventual decline.

Whenever the release of the iPhone 5 actually occurs, Apple's latest earnings support suggests the company is in a fine position to release new products at its own pace: Apple's stock price ($602/£372 as of 3:30 EST 27 April) is an eye-popper, and its second-quarter earnings report, released 24 April, shows that the world's richest company made $39.2 billion (£24bn) last quarter and banked $11.6 billion (£7.2bn) as profit.

Apple sold 35.1 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 88 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. It sold 11.8 million iPads during the quarter, a 151 percent unit increase from the year-ago quarter.

How much do you know about the iPhone and its rivals? Find out with our quiz!

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Wilson On Angels' Slow Start: That's The Way Baseball Go at Current News

The beginning to the 2012 baseball season hasn't been very kind to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and CJ Wilson is going to the well of Ron Washington wisdom to explain it.

Following the Angels' 3-2 loss to Tampa Bay on Wednesday, Wilson had the following bit of familiar-sounding words for the gathered media:

"To paraphrase a guy I used to play for, `That's the way baseball go,' " Wilson said, per the Dallas Morning News. "I really feel like we're close. I genuinely feel we're close to breaking through."

Perhaps, but as of now, things aren't going well in LA. The team is off to a 6-12 start, and Albert Pujols has yet to leave the yard as a member of the Halos.

If there is a silver lining here, it's this, as pointed out by Gerry Fraley of the Morning News: When the Angels won the World Series in 2002, they did so after starting 6-12.

& & & Copyright NBC Owned Television Stations &
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How the new Seahawks uniforms came to be | Seattle Seahawks & NFL News at Current News

In a sport such as football, where tradition is as important as modernization, it's no wonder Seahawks fans are mixed on the team's new Nike uniforms.

New Seahawks blue home uniform shoulder

The feather-pattern neckline striping can be clearly seen in 'arena green' on the Seahawks' new home jerseys. (Seahawks image)

On the one hand, the Seahawks returned to a more classic look with the incorporation of gray in the updated logo. Gone is the lighter "Seahawks blue" that debuted 10 years ago, when Seattle last got an image overhaul. And most Seahawks fans were relieved that Nike's new Seahawks uniforms, unveiled Tuesday, did not use lime green as a base color.

On the other hand, the new uniforms are far more contemporary than the old ones. Especially compared to the rest of the NFL teams, the Seahawks got a more modern look, comparable to the edgy designs Nike has developed for college teams like Oregon.

But whether it's obvious or not, tradition was the core inspiration for the new Seahawks uniforms. As Clare Farnsworth wrote Tuesday for Seahawks.com, it was the spirit of the Pacific Northwest — specifically, Native American art and totems — that influenced Nike's global creative director, Todd Van Horne, when he started designing the new unis two years ago.

"That's our inspiration," Van Horne told Seahawks.com. "Living in the Northwest, you see a lot of that native style. So we just thought the most powerful image of that are the totems, and the most treasured of those totems is typically the thunderbird totem.

"Thunderbird. Seahawks. You have that obvious relationship. It's the symbol of supernatural power and strength. So we thought this is a great inspiration. Let's bring that into the design."

New Seahawks uniform blue home pants

The stripes as seen on the Seahawks' new home pants. (Seahawks image)

One significant design element of the new Seahawks jerseys is the feather pattern that shows up in many places. The design, inspired by coastal Indian art, shows up as texturing for the numbers and helmet, and as stripes on the pants and neckline.

But those stripes have another meaning, one with roots in a more recent Seahawks tradition. On the pants and on the neckline, the stripes are each composed of 12 feathers, representing the 12th Man.

"They are feathers for that exact same reason: that Northwest style," Van Horne told Farnsworth. "It's collaborative. (The Seahawks) said, 'Here are the stories we'd like to tell.' For the Seahawks, it was the 12th Man and honoring their fans. They love that relationship and they described it. And we just said, 'Wow, let's do something with this. We can add some subtle coding and nuance to that 12th Man that make the fan feel part of it.'"

You can read much more about Van Horne and Nike's uniform design at Seahawks.com. Below are some photo galleries of the new Seahawks uniforms and helmets, and of Seattle's uniforms through the ages.

What do you think of the new Seahawks uniforms? Vote in our poll below.

New Seahawks uniforms

If no text is displayed, click 'Show Caption' in the bottom-right corner.

 

New Seahawks helmet

If no text is displayed, click 'Show Caption' in the bottom-right corner.

 

Seahawks uniforms through time

If no text is displayed, click 'Show Caption' in the bottom-right corner.

 

Visit seattlepi.com for more Seattle news. Contact Nick Eaton at nickeaton@seattlepi.com or on Twitter as @njeaton.

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Dover NH, Rochester NH, Portsmouth NH, Laconia NH, Sanford ME at Current News

& & PORTSMOUTH – Hours before Mitt Romney arrived to give a stump speech at the Portsmouth Fish Pier on Monday, local Democrats gathered at the pier to offer their support for the president.

Romney was scheduled to campaign alongside New Hampshire senator Kelly Ayotte on Monday, April 30, at the pier and address federal regulations that affect local commercial fishermen.

As early as 8 a.m., more than two hours before Romney's scheduled appearance, about a dozen Obama supporters gathered on the sidewalks lining the road to the fish pier, holding sings in support of President Barack Obama and intermittently chanting.

At about 9:30 a.m., a contingent of seven Obama supporters advanced to the center of a small bridge overlooking the fish pier and began hollering "flip flop" toward the stage – an apparent effort to lampoon Romney.

They were eventually asked to exit from the bridge by security personnel in anticipation of the 10:50 a.m. Appearance at the pier, which was attended by tight security.

Among the Romney opponents in attendance Monday was Hampton resident Marcella Quandt, who held a tall, wooden paddle with at least four Obama campaign posters affixed to it. Quandt said she holds liberal beliefs on social issues and is fiscally moderate, but began supporting Democrats when the country waged war in Iraq, and wanted to show her support for the president.

Ben Wessel, of Manchester, and Bonnar Spring, of Hampton, focused their energy on Romney's record. They were holding an over-sized representation of an Etch-of-Sketch, made with canvas, paint and paper plates.

Wessel said the sign was constructed last week by the Obama campaign to highlight a remark made by a Romney campaign strategist earlier this year.

In a television interview, the advisor said Romney's efforts to craft his message for a general election audience are tantamount to erasing an Etch-a-Sketch image.

"Romney has had so many positions," Spring said. "I lived in Massachusetts when he was governor, and he's not saying the same things he was then. I don't know who he is anymore."& & & &

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Haddadin/Democrat photo& Local supporters of President Barack Obama gather at the Portsmouth Fish Pier on Monday morning, April 30, ahead of a campaign appearance by Republican Mitt Romney.

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Spring said she is an independent, but will vote a Democratic ticket this fall because she's been "offended" by the GOP agenda, including efforts to provide exemptions to contraception coverage and restructure public education funding.

In an early morning appearance at the fish pier, Portsmouth Rep. Terie Norelli, the Democratic minority leader of the New Hampshire House, also offered a rebuke of Romney's "budget-busting" policies.

Ticking off a list, Norelli highlighted Romney's support for the budget advanced by Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan and his efforts to "cut health care services for women," give tax breaks to the wealthy and "eliminate Planned Parenthood."

By contrast, Norelli said, the president is implementing policies that will foster an "economy that's built to last."

"I think that there's a very sharp contrast between (the president's economic policies and) Mitt Romney's economic policies that are all too familiar and troubling," she said. "Whether that's tax cuts for the wealthy, or fewer rules for Wall Street, those are unfortunately the same formula that did benefit a few, but it collapsed our economy, and certainly hurt the middle class."

Romney's appearance in Portsmouth Monday was his second in New Hampshire in less than one week. It followed on the heels of a speech in Manchester on Tuesday, April 24.

Romney scored decisive primary victories in five states last Tuesday. His most potent challenger for the GOP nomination, former Sen. Rick Santorum, also suspended his campaign earlier this month, paving the way for Romney to challenge Obama in the fall election.& & & &

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Jeff Goldblum brings his quirky style to Broadway at Current News

(CBS News) - For the past 35 years, actor Jeff Goldblum has been delighting and confounding audiences in movies like "The Big Chill," "The Fly" and "Jurassic Park."

Jeff Goldblum, Brian Stokes Mitchell cast as Rachel Berry's gay dads on "Glee"

Currently, he's starring on Broadway in "Seminar," a new comedy about a relentlessly critical writing teacher who leads his students through the crises of confidence, emotion and relationships in a private writing class.

On "CBS This Morning," Thursday, he spoke with Gayle King and Erica Hill about the role and his real-life role as an acting teacher.

"I'm a very passionate teacher," Goldblum said. "I love to do it. I had great teachers myself... Sanford Meisner encouraged us to be unlike anybody else -- encouraged us to find our voices, like this guy is telling his students to be."

In "Seminar," Theresa Rebeck's new play, four aspiring, young novelists sign up for private writing classes with an international literary figure, played by Goldblum. Under his unorthodox instruction, some thrive and others flounder as innocence collides with experience and wordplay turns vicious.

"These are people who want to be involved in creative things," Goldblum said of his onstage students. "That means that they have to be -- bring all of themselves to it and learn quick and hard lessons. So I rip band-aids off psychologically and ego-wise."

Goldblum is best-known for his eccentric, nerdy, and quirky characters and his stuttering/halting style of speech involving head movements and hand/finger gesticulations. He said that he has always had a love of acting and that it is still very much with him today.

"I was given a gift of passion early on," he said. "In high school, I would write on my shower door, when it was steaming - I would write, 'Please, God, let me be an actor,' and then wipe it off."

Goldblum also discussed his other love interest, Canadian gymnast and acrobat, Emily Livingston. She recently coaxed him out of his comfort zone and on to a flying trapeze for the first time.

"It was fantastic, but scary," he said about the experience. "Just like everything worthwhile."

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Danny Green Wants Anthony Mundine To Put Up or Shut Up at Current News

By Justin Chadwick

A boxing rematch between arch rivals Danny Green and Anthony Mundine is back on the cards, but whether the long-anticipated fight will actually go ahead remains up in the air.

Green has been desperate to avenge his 2006 loss to Mundine, even coming out of retirement in 2009 to take up the offer of a re-match.

Negotiations swiftly broke down and the difference in weight between the men has proved to be a continual stumbling block.

In 2006, Green struggled to make the super-middleweight limit of 168-pounds in his points loss.

The pair have gone in drastically different directions since then, Mundine dropping to the light-middleweight limit (154) and Green moving up to cruiserweight (200).

Despite the difference in body mass, the pair have reignited talk of a rematch in recent days, with Mundine even declaring he would contemplate conceding 10kg [22-pounds] to ensure the fight goes ahead.

"Choc has come out and said that he's been chasing the big fights, and he's finally come to his senses and realised the biggest fight anywhere in the world is right here in his backyard in Australia against myself," Green said on Friday.

"He's also said he's prepared to give away 10 kilograms to make this fight happen to prove he's the best.

"I'm just saying, if you want to put on the biggest fight this country has ever seen, if you want to back your mouth up, then I'm here and I'm ready to go."

Green has tasted euphoric highs and devastating lows since coming out of retirement three years ago.

In 2009, Green was on top of the world after retaining his IBO cruiserweight world title with a first-round knockout of legendary American Roy Jones Jr in Sydney.

But consecutive losses to Antonio Tarver and Krzysztof Wlodarczyk has left some critics questioning whether Green should retire.

Mundine, who recently opted against taking on WBA champion Austin Trout, has struggled in his bid to crack the lucrative American market.

Tags: Anthony Mundine , Danny Green
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Markets await Friday jobs report | Money at Current News

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -

Investors will have to wait until Friday for the most important reading on the economy and the markets: the April jobs report.

While the Labor Department's monthly employment report is typically one of the most watched economic readings during any given month, investors will be scrutinizing it more closely next week as signs of a slowdown have been trickling out.

"What people are really trying to determine is whether we are seeing a slowdown and a possible double dip recession," said Brian J. Lazorishak. "If [jobs are] weak, it raises anxiety that the recovery has stalled out."

Investors hope the report shows that employers added more jobs in April than the 162,000 forecast by economists. In March, employment gains from previous months receded with just 120,000 jobs added.

Over the last few weeks, the number of Americans filing for unemployment claims has also increased. Investors want to know whether that's a blip or the new normal.

But before the jobs data, there are several economic reports for investors to consider. On Tuesday morning at 10 a.m., a key national reading on manufacturing will be released. The ISM manufacturing index is expected to drop to 53 in April from 53.4 in March. Anything above 50 indicates an expanding economy.

Auto manufacturers will release April sales figures for new vehicles at 2 p.m. on Tuesday. Sales are expected to increase to 5.4 million vehicles, up from 5.1 million in March.

Those economic numbers will add more context to a gross domestic product reading that showed growth slowing in the first quarter of 2012.

Despite a choppy week of trading, the U.S. stock markets closed the week higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.5%. The S&P 500 advanced 1.8%, and the Nasdaq moved up 2.3%.

Most bellwether companies have already posted earnings, including Apple, Caterpillar, General Electric, Bank of America, and Citigroup. But with 45% of companies left to report, investors will see a slew of earnings next week, primarily retail, pharmaceutical and media companies.

On Tuesday, Pfizer will report before the bell, and CBS and Chesapeake Energy, which has come under fire recently, will report after the close.

On Wednesday before the bell, consumer products company Clorox, as well as MasterCard and Time Warner will report, with Visa posting earnings after markets close.

On Thursday, General Motors and Sara Lee will release before the bell, and Kraft will release numbers after the close.

Investors won't be able to ignore Europe, which remains in turmoil. England slipped back into recession territory this week, just one of the worrisome recent developments in the region. Spain's bond auctions next week will draw extra scrutiny.

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Lisa Marie Presley: I Thought I’d Die at 42 Like My Dad | OMG Now at Current News

James Gooding/Elle MagazineJames Gooding/Elle Magazine

The death of Elvis Presley in 1977 sent a shock wave through his millions of fans all over the world, but none took the news as hard as his only child, Lisa Marie Presley, who was only 8-years-old at the time. Growing up under a microscope after that was difficult, especially as she struggled with drug use, questionable romances, and a music career many saw as a joke. But she made it through (barely) and now has a husband she calls "The One" as well as four beautiful, healthy children. So when she celebrated her 42nd birthday, the last one her father ever saw for himself, two years ago it was a bittersweet milestone. "It freaked me out," Presley tells Elle in its May issue. "It was my grandmother as well [who died at] the same age, and I was like, 'What are my odds here?'" And when she thinks about the fact that her father was robbed of ever meeting her wonderful husband, Michael Lockwood, or his grandchildren, "I get emotional."

[Related Content: Movie Star Kids With Musician Parents (Photos)]

While Presley is quite content with her current state in life, it wasn't easy getting there. In order to find her prince, she had to kiss a lot of frogs. After divorcing fellow Scientologist Danny Keough (the father of her older two children Riley, 22, and Benjamin, 19) in 1994, 20 days later Elvis' beloved daughter rebounded very publicly with Michael Jackson, who at the time was fighting molestation charges. Although the cringe-worthy relationship was deemed a ploy for positive publicity for the King of Pop, Presley swears it was the real deal — well, at least for her. In fact, she also reveals in the Elle interview that even after their 1996 divorce, she and Jackson continued an on-off affair for four years. That's when she met Nicolas Cage, an admitted Elvis Presley superfan, and embarked on a wild, tabloid-friendly romance that was rife with fights and breakups (during one, she flung her $65,000 engagement ring into the ocean). Still, the doomed pair married in 2002 … and divorced 108 days later.

The Most Iconic Celebrity Lips

After that, Presley threw herself into her music and released her debut album, To Whom It May Concern, in 2003 and kicked off a tour in support of it. As fate would have it, Lockwood was the musical director of her touring band, and after a year-long flirtation the two finally made it official. In 2006, they said "I do" in Japan and welcomed twin girls Finley and Harper two years later. "I had to have gone through a lot of other things before I could appreciate him," Presley says of Lockwood, with whom she moved from Los Angeles to England to raise their daughters. "I don't think you can be happy without knowing unhappiness as well, or else you don't appreciate happiness."

James Gooding/Elle MagazineJames Gooding/Elle Magazine

[Related Content: The Big Business of Rock Estates]

Although she's happy on the inside, Presley has always had a cold outer shell, which she says is a total misconception. "I think people think I'm harder and more arrogant and cocky than I am because I know how to put on a front, but it's nothing like who I am inside," she says. "To be honest, I'm really overly, scarily sensitive, and I feel way too much, so I have to have something to hide under."

The 50 Most Beautiful People in America

But in her older age, having experienced all that she has, Presley is finally finding a way to let go, let loose, and just embrace the good feelings. As she is set to release her third album, Storm and Grace — a record she says her father would be proud of — the chips are all starting to fall into place. "It's hard for me to be happy because I'm always worried about something going awry, or what could happen to screw up," she tells Elle during a stop in Memphis before she sets off on a nationwide tour with her family in tow. "It's hard for me to sit and look around, going, 'Ah, I'm really happy.' … [But] the truth is that I am."

Will You Age Well?

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Zimmerman, Attorney Launch New Website - Local News - Orlando, FL at Current News

& & ORLANDO, Fla.  — WESH.com &

George Zimmerman is back online. This time, his website is being run by his defense attorney.

The Mark O'Mara Law Group confirmed that www.GZlegalcase.com belongs to them. It's a place where people can information about Zimmerman's case, and even ask questions.

Zimmerman faces second-degree murder charges in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

O'Mara's firm said they have launched the website to dispel misinformation, discourage speculation and discredit other, fraudulent websites.

"A critical part of this effort is establishing the credibility of official digital properties that media and the public can trust," O'Mara's firm said.

The new site comes after a hearing in the case Friday, when O'Mara disclosed to the judge that Zimemrman raised more than $200,000 through a previous website.

According to the new website, the firm does plan to take donation for Zimmerman's defense.

The website also includes social media profiles, including Twitter and Facebook pages.

For more on the Trayvon Martin case, visit WESH.com's extended coverage section .

Most Popular Stories at WESH

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NWCN.com | Oregon News at Current News

BOISE -- A Jerome, Idaho, soldier was killed in Afghanistan Saturday by an improved explosive device.

Sergeant Daniel J. Brown, 27, was stationed in the Kandahar province when enemy forces attacked his unit with an IED.

According to the Department of Defense, Brown answered the call to join the U.S. Army after the 9/11 attacks.  They say he was a leader who took his role as a soldier seriously, and he led by example. 

He leaves behind a wife and twin daughters, who are three months old. 

Sergeant Daniel J. Brown, 27, was part of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division out of Fort Carson, Colorado.  He was stationed in the Kandahar province when enemy forces attacked his unit with an IED.

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Eagles Looking Up; Umenyiora Unhappy at Current News

The Giants seemed pleased with themselves about their draft picks this past weekend, but managed to displease one of their current players. It's not a new story. Osi Umenyiora has been unhappy with General Manager Jerry Reese for a while. Giants fans have to hope that Umenyiora can set aside contract distractions and play with abandon, as he did last season during the team's Super Bowl run. But it seems too much to expect that he'll be happy doing it.

Ralph Vacchiano, The Daily News:

One day after the Giants' GM insisted the team has offered Umenyiora a contract extension in each of the last two seasons, the unhappy defensive end fired back, saying Reese was distorting the truth to make him look like "a greedy pig." In an email to the Daily News on Sunday, Umenyiora said the Giants' offer last summer wasn't actually an extension, and their offer this year wasn't much of an offer at all.

The Eagles appeared to emerge with more harmony:

Dan Graziano, ESPN:

The Eagles seemed to have one of those drafts in which everything fell their way. They didn't even need to pay too heavy a price in their first-round trade up for Fletcher Cox, as the Cowboys and Redskins did in their first-round trades.

Jonathan Tamari, Philadelphia Inquirer:

After a toxic 2011, Andy Reid and the Eagles management have restored a sense of optimism and hope around their team.

Some other stories to follow after three days of drafting:

Matt Waldman, Rookie Scouting Portfolio, on the 49ers:

One thing is easy to tell with San Francisco's offseason acquisitions: they felt they were deficient in the vertical game. Randy Moss, Mario Manningham, A.J. Jenkins, and Chris Owusu are all speedsters.

The selection of Kendall Hunter last year and LaMichael James in this draft does indicate that they want runners that operate best in the screen, draw, and delay portion of the run game.

The Redskins raised eyebrows by picking a quarterback so soon after selecting Robert Griffin III. Michael Silver of Yahoo Sports says Kirk Cousins could learn something from Gus Frerotte.

Clark Judge of CBSSports.com on two 2012 favorites:

Look what happened with Green Bay and New England. The Packers ranked last in overall defense. The Patriots were 31st. So where did they go this weekend? Defense, that's where, with neither drafting an offensive player until the seventh round.

Stanford wideout Chris Owusu embodies the mystery of concussions in football. He wasn't drafted, but his former coach with the Cardinal, Jim Harbaugh, is making sure he's getting his chance.

ESPN Stats and Info with a draft wrapup:

More than 55 percent of the drafted players (142 of 253) came from four conferences: SEC (42 players), Big Ten (41), ACC (31), Pac-12 (28). It's the sixth straight year that the SEC had the most selections. Almost 20 percent of the players drafted (50 of 253) were defensive backs.

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