Sports: K-State wins Diamond Head Classic

Tuesday, Dec. 27

10 to 11 a.m. Bible study at Senior Citizens Center

4 p.m. Doors open at the Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

5 to 8 p.m. Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie and Auxiliary kitchen is open with full meals

6:30 p.m. JC Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie Bingo, 203 E. 10th St., open to public

7 p.m. Composite Squadron Civil Air Patrol, JC airport terminal, 540 Airport Road

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

Wednesday, Dec. 28

6:45 a.m. Breakfast Optimist Club, Stacy?s Restaurant, Grandview Plaza

9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Exercise at Senior Citizens Center

Noon Noon Kiwanis meets at Kite?s, Sixth and Washington streets

Noon Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

12:15 p.m. Weight Watchers, Presbyterian Church 113 W. Fifth St.

1 to 4 p.m. Cards at Senior Citizens Center

5:30 p.m. Weight Watchers, Presbyterian Church, 113 W. Fifth St.

6 to 7:45 p.m. AWANA Club, First Southern Baptist Church

7 p.m. Woodcarvers meet at JCAC studio, 109 W. Seventh St.

8 p.m. Narcotics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, Presbyterian Church, 113 W. Fifth St.

Senior Citizens Center birthday party for December birthdays

Senior Citizens Center errands to Fort Riley and Dillons

Thursday, Dec. 29

9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Line dancing at Senior Citizens Center

9:30 a.m. MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers), First Southern Baptist Church, child care provided

1 p.m. TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), Episcopal Church of the Covenant, 314 N. Adams St.

4 p.m. Doors open at the Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

5 to 8 p.m. Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie and Auxiliary kitchen is open with full meals

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

Senior Citizens Center errands to Walmart

Friday, Dec. 30

9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Exercise at Senior Citizens Center

Noon Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

4 p.m. Doors open at the Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

5 to 8 p.m. Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles kitchen is open with short-order meals?

6 p.m. Ogden American Legion Bingo, 515 Riley Blvd.

6 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, Women?s meeting, 119 W. 7th St.

6:30 p.m. JC Fraternal Order of Eagles Auxiliary Bingo, 203 E. 10th St., open to public

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

Senior Citizens Center errands to Dillons

Saturday, Dec. 31

Noon Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

Noon to 1 p.m. Drawing class for elementary ages, JCAC, 109 W. Seventh St.

1 p.m. Doors open at JC Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

1 to 8 p.m. Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles kitchen is open with full meals, evening special available from 5 to 8 p.m.

1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Drawing class for middle school ages, JCAC, 109 W. Seventh St.

6:30 p.m. JC Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie Bingo, 203 E. 10th St., open to public

7 p.m. American Legion Post 45 Bingo, Fourth and Franklin Streets

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

Source: http://www.thedailyunion.net/newsdetail.asp?article_id=10880

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Bigfoot sparks curiosity in Texas, worldwide

Bigfoot. Sasquatch. Skunk Ape. Yowie. Yeti. Abominable Snowman. In Texas you may have heard of the Caddo Creature, the Lake Worth Monster/Goat-Man or the Liberty County Monkey Man.

There are many names for the hairy humanlike creature that walks on two legs and has eluded searchers for decades. Even Animal Planet's Finding Bigfoot series has been unable to find the ape-man typically described as being 6 to 8 feet tall, with a massive, bulky build.

The Finding Bigfoot crew has not visited Texas yet, but something is out there deep in the Big Thicket, say members of Texas groups dedicated to hunting the beast.

Ken Gerhard of the Gulf Coast Bigfoot Research Organization has never seen one, but he thinks technology will help solve the mystery.

"I have been immersed in Sasquatch research for a number of years, and I can tell you in my mind a mountain of evidence supports the existence of these creatures," Gerhard said. When hunting season ends, he will return to the woods to look for tracks, hair and habitations and to listen for vocalizations at night.

There have been sightings along the Trinity River corridor, and a cast of a suspected Bigfoot track was made in Sam Houston National Forest, said Gerhard, a San Antonio cryptozoologist who co-wrote Monsters of Texas (CFZ, $16.99) with Nick Redfern.

Texas is in the top 10 states for Bigfoot sightings, Gerhard said, outranked only by Washington, California, Oregon, Ohio and Florida.

"Eventually someone is going to come up with some evidence, although it is very frustrating that we have not found a body yet," he said. "And it is a very good argument against Bigfoot's existence."

Exactly, said Mike Cox, a spokesman for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, which discounts the idea of Bigfoot running around the woods. Someone would have found some verifiable piece of evidence by now, TPWD biologists contend.

"The theory is that with as much traffic as there is in East Texas that sooner or later a Bigfoot would not stop, look and listen and make the mistake of walking out into traffic and become the victim of a hit-and-run," Cox said. Or a hunter would mistakenly shoot one.

Texas has 180 known mammals ranging from bats to white tail deer, Cox said. Bigfoot is lumped with the cryptids, legendary creatures.

Bigfoot makes TPWD's top 3 cryptid list. The department gets more calls about chupacabra, which biologists think are mangy coyotes, Cox said. Bigfoot, which they call pure folklore, ranks No. 2. Then there are sightings of lechuzas, usually along the border and generally thought to be swooping owls in the night sky, not swooping witches.

As a student of Texas history and mythology and a hunter, Cox appreciates the intrigue of the Bigfoot story.

"I've been out in some pretty desolate places in the pursuit of game, so it has crossed my mind: What would I do if I was sitting up in a deer blind and ?waiting to see a big buck come out of the brush and instead I saw another creature come out. But it hasn't happened yet to me," he said. "It's fun to imagine what might be there."

Biological sciences professor Jeffrey Meldrum of Idaho State University is convinced Sasquatch is not a myth.

Meldrum, who dislikes the tabloid connotations of the name Bigfoot, studies primate comparative anatomy, especially footprint evidence. From tracks he has analyzed, Meldrum leans toward the hypothesis that Sasquatch is a species of large ape. Yet the creature does not exhibit evidence of material culture or use of tools, fire or home bases.

The author of Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science (Forge Books, $16.99) says the popularity of the Finding Bigfoot TV series makes researchers more skeptical of Bigfoot reports.

"You have to be careful. I have been out with people for whom every overturned rock, every bent twig, every bump in the night is attributed to Bigfoot," he said.

Vaughn M. Bryant, professor of anthropology at Texas A&M University, became involved in Bigfoot research in the early 1970s at Washington State University, an area where Bigfoot is a tourist attraction.

Although he is open to possibilities, Bryant says he can't be a Bigfoot believer without physical evidence. "Photos and footprints are not enough. They can and have been faked fairly effectively," Bryant said.

His specialty is paleo nutrition and the study of coprolites, or fossilized feces.

"Quite frankly, I have tried to get out of the Bigfoot-poop business because it is very time consuming and didn't really lead anywhere productive," Bryant said. At A&M he is studying excrement found in the Paisley Caves of Oregon that is 12,000 years or older.

Plus, he noted, most universities don't encourage their professors to publicly ponder Sasquatch.

"If you are in academia, if you start talking about Bigfoot, people start to wonder: Has this guy lost his mind or what?" Bryant said.

Lyle Blackburn, a member of the Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy, has heard snickers when he is asked: "Do you believe in Bigfoot?"

It is a question that provokes the author of the upcoming The Beast of Boggy Creek: True Story of the Fouke Monster "Belief implies some sort of faith. Either the animal exists or it doesn't. There's no faith to it," Blackburn said.

The Bedford resident described Bigfoot as one of the larger mysteries of the world. "The point is, I like camping and I like hunting and I like mysteries, and it sort of combines all that," he said.

"It's not about the end goal always. It's about meeting people, having fun and hearing some really cool stories. So if you look at it that way, it's an interesting subject, and if turns out to be true, all the better."

?

lana.berkowitz@chron.com

Source: http://feeds.chron.com/~r/houstonchronicle/topheadlines/~3/P-KmKnbIiZ8/Searching-for-Bigfoot-in-Texas-2425856.php

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decent sports bra?

Hi ladies,

I did a search because I'm sure that this question must have been asked previously, but I didn't come up with results. So, here I am.

I've always just bought sports bras from Kohls or Target. They always squish me and when I see myself in the mirror, they make my chests look like some artificial hump in the middle of the front of me that's about to erupt all alien like.

Anyway. Are there are sports bras that are made to support, and lift and separate.. if you know what I mean?

I wear a pretty "normal" size, I think... 38-40 C, sometimes a D. I just don't want to be smooshed and squished so abnormally.

Thanks for any suggestions!

Source: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/exercise/249133-decent-sports-bra.html

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Lions in, Eagles out, heading into NFL finales (AP)

The Lions are in; the Eagles are out. Atlanta is closing in on a playoff berth, as is Cincinnati, while the Bears, Jets and Raiders need some help.

All part of a wild closing act to the NFL season.

With two games remaining this weekend before teams hunker down for their finales (Chicago at Green Bay on Sunday night, Atlanta at New Orleans on Monday night), the most notable news was made by Detroit.

The last time the Lions were a force, Barry Sanders was in their backfield. Sanders retired after the 1998 season, and Detroit made the postseason the next year then plummeted to the bottom of the league. In 2008, the Lions posted the only 0-16 record in NFL history.

Now, they're in the chase for the championship. Their 38-10 rout of San Diego secured an NFC wild card.

"Once you get to the playoffs, it's anybody's ballgame," defensive end Cliff Avril said. "The city of Detroit needs it. They've been waiting on us to win for a while. It's such a football town and we haven't been winning, so it's huge."

At 10-5, the Lions join North champion Green Bay, West winner San Francisco and South leader New Orleans in the postseason parade. Either Dallas or the New York Giants also will get there ? they meet next Sunday night at the Meadowlands in a winner-take-all matchup.

So if the Cowboys and Giants, both 8-7, are battling for the NFC East crown, where does that leave the Eagles, the most disappointing team in the league?

Dreaming of the playoffs.

The team that "won" free agency after the NFL lockout by signing such prizes as cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, defensive end Jason Babin and receiver Steve Smith needs to beat Washington next Sunday to finish at .500. Not much return on the dollar for Philly.

"If we had gotten into the playoffs, we would have definitely done some damage," Michael Vick said after the Eagles (7-8) beat Dallas 20-7 on Sunday. "It's unfortunate we didn't. That's the game of football. We made some mistakes early (this season) and got behind in the win-loss column. But we're just happy we're finishing strong."

Finishing strong but going to the playoffs: New England, which won its seventh in a row by rallying from a 17-0 hole to beat Miami 27-24. It was the 10th time this season a team has come back from at least 17 points to win, the most in a single NFL season.

"All the while, we never gave up on one another and never said anything negative to one another," defensive lineman Vince Wilfork said. "Going down 17-0 is a pretty big deficit, but once again this team showed its character."

The AFC East champion Patriots (12-3) would get home-field advantage for the playoffs by beating Buffalo next weekend.

Green Bay (13-1 heading into its home game against Chicago) needs one more win to grab the home-field edge in the NFC.

That's the simple stuff. As for the chaotic, well, just one look at the AFC wild-card race after Sunday's results can make your head spin.

Suffice to say that the Bengals (9-6) are in control. But if they lose to Baltimore (11-4), which needs a victory to clinch the AFC North over Pittsburgh (also 11-4), it brings three other teams into play for the final AFC berth: Tennessee, Oakland and the New York Jets.

The Jets (8-7), like Philadelphia, are one of the NFL's major flops this year. For much of the stretch drive, the Jets were in charge of the chase for the second AFC wild card. They kept messing up, though, and after Sunday's ugly 29-14 loss to the Giants, they barely are relevant.

"We play this game to win the Super Bowl," star cornerback Darrelle Revis said. "So even to be talking about that excites me, and I think it excites the team for us to go out there and try to win the Super Bowl. That's what it's about. It's not about nothing else."

Unless everyone else in the AFC wild-card scramble loses, Revis and company can forget the Super Bowl this winter.

Among the notable individual performance in Week 16:

? Reggie Bush went over 1,000 yards rushing for the first time in his career, gaining 113 in Miami's loss to New England.

? The Rams' Steven Jackson ran for 103 yards in a 27-0 loss to Pittsburgh to go over 1,000 on the season for the seventh straight year.

? Seattle's Marshawn Lynch scored the first TD rushing against San Francisco all season, a 4-yarder. It was the 11th straight game in which he had a touchdown.

? 49ers kicker David Akers set an NFL record with 42 field goals for the season, including four in the 19-17 win at Seattle.

? Carolina's Cam Newton broke Peyton Manning's NFL rookie record for yards passing in a season with 3,893 as the Panthers routed Tampa Bay 48-16.

? Denver's Willis McGahee joined Ricky Watters as the only players to reach 1,000 yards rushing with three teams. He previously did it with Buffalo and Baltimore.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111225/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_nfl_rdp

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Training stepped up for Afghan special forces

In this Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011 photo, members of the growing Afghan special forces, practicing a house raid, prepare to enter and clear the building of suspected insurgents on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Deb Riechmann)

In this Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011 photo, members of the growing Afghan special forces, practicing a house raid, prepare to enter and clear the building of suspected insurgents on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Deb Riechmann)

(AP) ? "Attention! Attention! You are surrounded by Afghan forces. Come out with your hands up."

The order barked by an Afghan soldier launched a training exercise last week that pitted members of the nation's growing elite force against actors posing as Taliban fighters.

Afghanistan and the U.S.-led coalition have stepped up training of the Afghan special forces unit to fill the vacuum that will be left by foreign troops slated to end their combat mission in 2014. In the future, it will be Afghan special forces countering insurgents in villages across the country.

As the force expands, they will also lead more of the controversial house searches ? something that could mitigate Afghan President Hamid Karzai's intense opposition to the nighttime raids by international troops that Afghans have found culturally offensive.

Even though Afghan troops have been along for the more than 2,800 raids during the past year, Karzai has argued that the teams often treat innocent Afghans as if they were insurgents and violate citizens' privacy in the conservative Afghan society.

Karzai wants all raids halted. He wants foreign troops to stop entering Afghan homes. The thorny issue is being negotiated by U.S. and Afghan officials crafting a strategic agreement that will govern how remaining American forces operate in Afghanistan after 2014.

A recent national assembly of elders advised the Karzai government to allow the raids to continue as long as they are conducted solely by Afghans. If so, many more Afghan special forces soldiers need to be trained.

Neither NATO nor the Afghan Ministry of Defense would disclose how many Afghan special forces had been trained or how large the force will become. Jalaluddin Yaftali, a special forces team leader at the training site, said the force currently numbered 1,000 to 1,500.

"It takes time. It's like nation-building ? an endless task. It will take years, but the will is there and right now the force is growing," said Afghan army Col. Mohammad Farid Ahmadi.

"The program started two years ago, but now we are jointly working with the coalition forces to Afghanize as soon as possible. We have already started. It's growing."

So far, most have been recruited from the Afghan National Army Commandos, a quick reaction force regarded as the most professional unit in the Afghan army. Commandos receive 10 weeks of training on top of the roughly 10 weeks they completed to become an Afghan soldier. Moreover, Afghan soldiers usually serve about four years as commandos before being selected for special forces training.

Their training is further refined while partnered with American forces. Eventually, they will be tasked with a variety of operational missions, including night raids, throughout the country.

"It not only takes a long time to select the right people for the job, but also to bring them through a training program so they are capable of operating with other special forces or on their own," German Brig. Gen. Carsten Jacobson, a NATO spokesman, said at the training site on the outskirts of Kabul, the Afghan capital.

While some are already conducting solo operations, the Afghan special forces will continue to need coalition air power, intelligence and other support for years to come, he said.

Seth Jones, a RAND Corp. political scientist who advised the commander of U.S. Special Operations forces in Afghanistan, said it's hard to rush special forces training.

"The Afghan program, which was first conceptualized in 2009 and established in 2010, is relatively new. I remember participating in the brainstorming sessions as we helped build the Afghan special forces," Jones said.

"Focusing on numbers, rather than quality, and trying to mass produce Afghan special forces would be a serious mistake. I'm not suggesting anyone is doing this yet, but it should be monitored very closely."

The Afghan soldiers conducting the training exercise crouched in shadows at the foot of man-made hills surrounding the practice compound. The residential compound resembled a western cowboy movie set.

"Drop your weapons!" the Afghan soldier barked into a bullhorn. "Keep your hands raised and come out."

Trying to give the occupants time to cooperate, the more than 20-man Afghan special forces team waited patiently, their guns drawn. When nobody came out, they tossed two harmless grenades that made loud bangs when they landed in front of the house.

A few minutes later, an actress covered in a red shawl slowly emerged with her hands raised. The soldier with the bullhorn asked her to reveal her face so the troops could be sure she was a woman and not a man. When it was clear that she was female, she was led away to be searched by a female Afghan soldier.

Having male troops search females is taboo in Afghanistan. So is touching a family's Quran, the Muslim holy book, or entering a home without being invited ? things that foreign forces have learned in the decade-long war.

Soon after the woman left, two men walked from the house with their hands held high. Making sure they weren't armed, the troops ordered them to lift their shirts and pant legs. The would-be Afghan suspects then were cuffed and taken away.

"We are asking the Defense Ministry to make one special forces platoon of just female soldiers so they can go talk to the families, the children, the women," Yaftali said. "If you are a female, you can talk openly with the family."

It was clear to onlookers that the more than 20 Afghan special forces soldiers who conducted the house search and did a live ammunition training exercise with M4 rifles and 9mm pistols were the best of the elite force. With their dark glasses, night vision headsets, microphones and radios, they looked just like their U.S. Special Operations forces counterparts.

Jones said the first Afghan special forces soldiers trained were very competent because they were recruited directly from the Afghan National Army Commandos.

"In practical terms, this suggests that there will be some variation in the competence of Afghan special forces by 2014," Jones said. "Some will be fully capable ... but others may struggle."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-12-25-AS-Afghanistan-Elite-Force/id-a9cdd393cc2541bb939afbe3c2eed73d

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Live WWE Raw SuperShow results: December 26, 2011

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Get in touch with the WWE Universe with WWE InterAction

Alberto Del Rio vowed to be more ruthless
For once, The Mexican Aristocrat looked humbled. Rolled out in a wheelchair by Ricardo Rodriguez, Alberto Del Rio revealed that he suffered a torn groin in the previous Monday?s main event, which will cause him to miss some ring time. (FULL STORY) When WWE fans cheered his misfortune, Nikki and Brie Bella came to their crush?s defense, but only ended up bickering between themselves. Irritated, Del Rio sent the twins away and vowed to return more vicious than ever in 2012.

Big Show def. David Otunga by Disqualification
With one arm tied behind his back, Big Show squared off with the litigious David Otunga, but quickly learned he?d been set up. Sabotaged by the vicious Mark Henry, the giant was nearly brutalized until World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan hit the ring and distracted The World?s Strongest Man. Henry managed to escape before Show could destroy him, but Otunga wasn?t so lucky. The World?s Largest Athlete hit him with a chokeslam so huge, the lawyer may have forgotten where he went to college.

John Cena def. The Miz by Count-out; R-Truth returned
Outraged over Kane?s recent attacks, John Cena demanded The Big Red Monster face him in the ring live in Chicago. Instead, he got The Awesome One. Looking to end 2011 on a high note, The Miz challenged the man he beat at WrestleMania XXVII and ended up getting tossed around by a very focused Cena.

Frustrated, Miz rolled out of the squared circle and talked trash until he got counted out. But before he could escape without any more damage, he was stopped by R-Truth. Returning after being put in the hospital by The Awesome One, Truth recklessly battered his former friend around the ringside area and then warned, ?This New Year?s, acquaintances be forgot? No! They?re going to get got!?

U.S. Champion Zack Ryder & Eve def. Tyson Kidd & Natalya
Now that Zack Ryder has the United States Championship, he?s set his sunglasses on a greater prize ? Eve. Teaming with the gorgeous Diva after spoiling her with Broski merchandise for Christmas, Long Island Iced-Z proved that he can work very well with the former Divas Champion. Eve definitely enjoyed their success over Tyson Kidd & Natalya, but she doesn?t seem ready to accept Ryder?s offer for a date.

Booker T def. Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes in a Title-Free Match (PHOTOS | WATCH)
Aw, shucky ducky. Three days after his distraction caused Cody Rhodes to fall to Zack Ryder on SmackDown, Booker T beat his vicious rival in the ring with the scissors kick. The six-time World Champion proved that not only does he have Cody?s number, but he?s still got it in the ring.

Interim Raw General Manager John Laurinaitis set a Gauntlet Match for WWE Champion CM Punk (PHOTOS)
The Chicago crowd hoping to give their hometown hero a rousing ovation was disappointed when Raw kicked off with Interim General Manager John Laurinaitis mocking CM Punk's signature entrance. With the WWE Champion's T-shirt pulled over his suit jacket, the executive proceeded to give himself credit for the exciting changes in sports-entertainment.

That was all it took to bring out a livid Second City Savior. Explaining that Raw?s revolution is due to Punk being ?the best wrestler in the world,? the WWE Champion looked ready to hit the EVP with a GTS. That?s when Laurinaitis announced his idea for the evening ? Punk will face three opponents in a Gauntlet Match and if any of those competitors beat the champion, they will receive a WWE Title Match next week on the first Raw of the New Year!?

The Straight Edge Superstar was game, but he wanted to up the ante. If the tattooed Superstar beat all three Superstars, he proposed that he get a fourth match with none other than John Laurinaitis himself.

MATCHES

  • Booker T def. Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes in a Title-Free Match
  • U.S. Champion Zack Ryder & Eve def. Tyson Kidd & Natalya
  • John Cena def. The Miz by Count-out
  • Big Show def. David Otunga by Disqualification

Source: http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/2011-12-26/results

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VXRSI: aaaannd...a tornado kick KO in MMA...MERRY XMAS! thx to @MiddleEasy http://t.co/flTkT9lG

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New Air Jordans cause nationwide shopping frenzy (AP)

SEATTLE ? Fights, vandalism and arrests marked the release of Nike's new Air Jordan basketball shoes as a shopping rush on stores across the country led to unrest that nearly turned into rioting.

The outbursts of chaos stretched from Washington state to Georgia as shoppers ? often waiting for hours in lines ? converged on stores Friday in pursuit of the shoes, a retro model of one of the most popular Air Jordans ever made.

In suburban Seattle, police used pepper spray on about 20 customers who started fighting at the Westfield Southcenter mall. The crowd started gathering at four stores in the mall around midnight and had grown to more than 1,000 people by 4 a.m., when the stores opened, Tukwila Officer Mike Murphy said. He said it started as fighting and pushing among people in line and escalated over the next hour.

Murphy said no injuries were reported, although some people suffered cuts or scrapes from fights. Shoppers also broke two doors, and 18-year-old man was arrested for assault after authorities say he punched an officer.

"He did not get his shoes; he went to jail," Murphy said.

The mayhem was reminiscent of the violence that broke out 20 years ago in many cities as the shoes became popular targets for thieves. It also had a decidedly Black Friday feel as huge crowds of shoppers overwhelmed stores for a must-have item.

In some areas, lines began forming several hours before businesses opened for the $180 shoes that were selling in a limited release.

As the crowds kept growing through the night, they became more unruly and ended in vandalism, violence and arrests.

A man was stabbed when a brawl broke out between several people waiting in line at a Jersey City, N.J., mall to buy the new shoes, authorities said. The 20-year-old man was expected to recover from his injuries.

In Richmond, Calif., police say crowds waiting to buy the Air Jordan 11 Retro Concords at the Hilltop Mall were turned away after a gunshot rang out around 7 a.m.

No injuries were reported, but police said a 24-year-old suspect was taken into custody. The gun apparently went off inadvertently, the Contra Costa Times reported.

Seventeen-year-old Dylan Pulver in Great Neck, N.Y., said he's been looking forward to the release of the shoes for several years, and he set out at 4:30 a.m. to get a pair. After the first store he tried was too crowded, he moved on to a second location and scored a pair.

"I probably could have used a half a size smaller, but I was just really happy to have the shoe," he said.

The frenzy over Air Jordans has been dangerous in the past. Some people were mugged or even killed for early versions of the shoe, created by Nike Inc. in 1984.

The Air Jordan has since been a consistent hit with sneaker fans, spawning a subculture of collectors willing to wait hours to buy the latest pair. Some collectors save the shoes for special occasions or never take them out of the box.

A new edition was launched each year, and release dates had to be moved to the weekends at some points to keep kids from skipping school to get a pair.

But the uproar over the shoe had died down in recent years. These latest incidents seem to be part of trend of increasing acts of violence at retailers this holiday shopping season, such as the shopper who pepper-sprayed others at a Wal-Mart in Los Angeles on Black Friday and crowds looting a clothing store in New York.

Nike issued a statement in response to the violence that said: "Consumer safety and security is of paramount importance. We encourage anyone wishing to purchase our product to do so in a respectful and safe manner."

The retro version of the Air Jordan 11 was a highly sought-after shoe because of the design and the fact that the original was released in 1996 when Jordan and the Bulls were at the height of their dominance.

Pulver said they were a "defining shoe in Jordan's career."

Other disturbances reported at stores in places like Kentucky and Nebraska ranged from shoving and threats to property damage.

In Taylor, Mich., about 100 people forced their way into a shopping center around 5:30 a.m., damaging decorations and overturning benches. Police say a 21-year-old man was arrested.

In Toledo, Ohio, police said they arrested three people after a crowd surged into a mall.

In Lithonia, Ga., at least four people were apparently arrested after customers broke down a door at a store selling the shoes. DeKalb County police said up to 20 squad cars responded.

In Northern California, two men were arrested at a Fairfield mall after crowds shoved each other to get in position for the Nikes, police said.

In Stockton, Detective Joe Silva said a person was taken into custody at Weberstown Mall on suspicion of making criminal threats involving the shoes. Police also were investigating an attempted robbery in the mall's parking lot. The victim was wrongly believed to have just purchased Air Jordans.

In Tukwila, Officer Murphy said the crowd was on the verge of a riot and would have gotten even more out of hand if the police hadn't intervened.

About 25 officers from Tukwila and surrounding areas responded. Murphy said police smelled marijuana and found alcohol containers at the scene.

"It was not a nice, orderly group of shoppers," Murphy said. "There were a lot of hostile and disorderly people."

The Southcenter mall's stores sold out of the Air Jordans, and all but about 50 people got a pair, Murphy said.

Shoppers described the scene as chaotic and at times dangerous.

Carlisa Williams said she joined the crowd at the Southcenter for the experience and ended up buying two pairs of shoes, one for her and one for her brother. But she said she'll never do anything like it again.

"I don't understand why they're so important to people," Williams told KING-TV. "They're just shoes at the end of the day. It's not worth risking your life over."

___

AP Business Reporter Sarah Skidmore contributed to this report from Portland, Ore. AP Writer Michelle Price contributed from Phoenix.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111224/ap_on_sp_ot/us_air_jordan_crowds

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Meet the Real-Life War Machines [Video]

Like the prologue of any robopocalypse movie where the machines rise up to destroy us, most of the robots we hear about do things we could do, but don't want to. They mop our floors. They put together cars. They die for us. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/ytSuk2vIIGY/meet-the-real+life-war-machines

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Courts challenge content on Facebook, Google

U.S. companies Facebook, Google and Yahoo, and other internet firms, have been ordered by two Indian courts to remove material considered religiously offensive, the latest skirmish in a growing battle over website content in the world's largest democracy.

One court in the capital Delhi on Friday issued summons to 19 companies to stand trial for offences relating to distributing obscene material to minors, after being shown images it said were offensive to Hindus, Muslims and Christians, the PTI news agency said.

"The accused in connivance with each other and other unknown persons are selling, publicly exhibiting and have put into circulation obscene, lascivious content, Metropolitan Magistrate Sudesh Kumar said on Friday in the PTI report.

India has generally unrestricted access to the Internet for those of its 1.2 billion people who can afford it and are on the electrical and telephone grids.

So far only about a tenth of the population uses the Web, but with the number of connections growing fast in the religiously conservative society, concerns about the nature of web content are growing in some quarters, including senior government officials.

Another Delhi court earlier this week told the websites to remove photographs, videos or text which might hurt religious sentiments.

"We believe that access to information is the foundation of a free society," a Google spokesman said in an emailed statement. "Where content is illegal or breaks our terms of service we will continue to remove it."

The spokesman told Reuters the company had not yet been officially notified of the courts' action.

The courts and the other companies were not immediately available for comment.

Earlier this month, Telecoms Minister Kapil Sibal urged Facebook, Twitter, Google and others to remove offensive material, unleashing a storm of criticism from internet users complaining of censorship.

The Delhi court cases were brought by individuals, one by a journalist and the other by an Islamic scholar who runs a website called fatwaonline.org that gives answers to moral questions.

Despite rules to remove offensive content, India's internet access is largely free when compared with tight controls in fellow Asian economic powerhouse China. But in line with many other governments around the world, India has become increasingly nervous about the power of social media.

India has 100 million internet users, the third-largest user base behind China and the United States which is forecast to grow to 300 million users in the next three years.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45778702/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/

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