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The Huffington Post | Full News Feed         Iceland Debates Making Cigarettes Prescription-Only July 5, 2011 at 12:39 PM   In Iceland, you may soon need to head to the pharmacy to get your cigarettes. The country is considering a counter-intuitive measure that would make cigarettes a prescription-only product. Read More... More on Iceland         Chinese And Non-Western Languages "Critical" For Competitive Students July 5, 2011 at 12:39 PM   Mandarin teacher Li Wang sat in a chair small enough for a 4-year-old, her enthusiastic students sitting on the classroom carpet in a separate square. She placed a picture of a chicken on the board, pointed, and asked: In unison, the prekindergarten class answered: "Ji!'' (Chicken!) Such classes have usually been taught in suburban classrooms and prep schools. But this is no suburb: It's a Hyde Park charter school, where most students are black or Latino, and many from low-income homes. They have yet to perfect English, let alone Chinese. Read More...         Jennifer Aniston's Topless 'Horrible Bosses' Scene: Is It Real? July 5, 2011 at 12:23 PM   When you're playing a supporting character in a film with three of the day's funniest actors, two Oscar-winning stars and another one of Hollywood's go-to leading men, and a scene of yours that may or may not even exist is drawing the most anticipation and driving the marketing campaign, well, that's superstardom. And that's Jennifer Aniston. America's Sweetheart changes it up in the upcoming R-rated comedy, "Horrible Bosses," going bad and playing a sex-crazed dentist bent on destroying the life of Charlie Day -- or at least his marriage. The film stars Day, Jason Sudeikis and Jason Bateman as put-upon employees out to kill their bosses -- Aniston, Kevin Spacey and Colin Farrell -- with the help of Jamie Foxx. A lot of star power there, but still, any number of marketing materials has emphasized the new Aniston, including racy red-band trailers that feature her in lingerie and still images that tease her brown-haired evil side. Read More... More on Celebrities         10 Highest-Paying Jobs Right Out of College July 5, 2011 at 12:23 PM   What do you mean, no more student discount?! Graduation (along with flowers, cards and photos) brings with it a few unsettling novelties, including an end to Thirsty Thursdays and a sudden expectation that we have the money to pay full price. And though we'll surely miss the Friday morning hangovers, having to fork over the same stacks of cash as adults in the Real World is what hits us where it hurts. How can we avoid starvation after graduation while still managing to live on our own and work off our student debts? Let's take a deep breath. There will be no end to mani/pedis and end-of-summer shopping sprees. According to CareerBliss and Payscale.com, there is a way to live comfortably right out of college. We report to you 10 of the highest-paying entry-level jobs for college graduates that are sure to afford you both some debt-induced stress relief and a few trips to Bloomingdale's. Read more at HerCampus.com Read More...         Paula Deen Cited For Chicken Possession July 5, 2011 at 12:23 PM   Last week, The Huffington Post noted that Paula Deen's backyard hens faced eviction due to zoning violations. A new dispatch from the Savannah Morning News indicates that their expulsion may be moving forward. Deen was apparently cited for her chickens by Chatham County Building Safety and Regulatory Services for their violation of county zoning codes. The citation came after similar action against neighbors of Deen's, Bill and Jan Lynes, who keep 22 chickens. The Lynes have said that they plan to contest the current zoning laws to keep their chickens. Deen's representatives have remained noncommittal in their response to the citation, saying that Deen will comply with whatever ruling county officials ultimately reach. Read More...         Sen. Martin Sandoval: Scholarship To Michael Giorango, Mobster's Son, Was An 'Error' July 5, 2011 at 12:23 PM   State Sen. Martin Sandoval (D-Cicero) awarded a taxpayer-funded college scholarship for $8,200 to Michael A. Giorango, who's the son of three-time felon and reputed mobster Michael C. "Jaws" Giorango. And then Sandoval did something that state officials say was even more unusual: He tried to revoke the scholarship that he'd awarded to the younger Giorango to attend Illinois State University. Read More...         Aaron Crow Balk: White Sox Beat Royals After Pitcher's Mistake (VIDEO) July 5, 2011 at 11:51 AM   CHICAGO — Adam Dunn showed signs of coming out of a season-long slump. The struggling slugger hit a clutch two-run homer in the eighth inning before a crazy finish gave the Chicago White Sox a 5-4 win over the Kansas City Royals on Monday night. "I hadn't hit one in so long I almost forgot," Dunn said. "Seriously. I know it hit it on the barrel and hit it straight up. But I'm just glad there was little wind that blew it out." Read More... More on Video         North Korea Blamed For Cyberattack On U.S., South Korea: Report July 5, 2011 at 11:51 AM   WASHINGTON -- North Korea or its sympathizers were responsible for the cyberattack against South Korean government and banking websites earlier this year, according to a new analysis that said it also appears to have been linked to the 2009 massive computer-based attack that brought down U.S. government Internet sites. A study by computer security software maker McAfee Inc. concludes that the attack that targeted more than two dozen sites in South Korea was a type of reconnaissance mission to see how quickly South Korea's government detected the problem and recovered from it. The McAfee report, expected to be released Tuesday, said clues in the code suggest that the attack was probably engineered by North Korea or its sympathizers. Read More... More on North Korea         Greek Default Needed To Lure Long-Term Investors Back To Greece July 5, 2011 at 11:51 AM   LONDON (Marius Zaharia) - Long-term investors standing aloof from the Greek debt crisis want holders of its government bonds to take a loss big enough to slash the country's debt to sustainable levels before they consider returning. Greece is still expected to default at some point and for most investors who have dumped bonds over the past two years and who are crucial to put the ailing economy back on its feet, the longer that is delayed, the longer it will be before they consider looking at Greek assets again. Read More...         'Party In The CIA': Weird Al Parodies Miley Cyrus (VIDEO) July 5, 2011 at 11:51 AM   Since the early 1980s, each of "Weird Al" Yankovic's albums have served as pop music time capsules, and his newest release "Alpocalypse" is no exception. His Lady Gaga spoof "Perform This Way" may have received the most attention, but the album also includes parodies of Taylor Swift ("TMZ"), B.o.B. ("Another Tattoo") and representing the Disney Channel crowd, Miley Cyrus. Weird Al's Cyrus parody, "Party in the CIA," adapts the ubiquitous hit "Party in the U.S.A." that introduced Cyrus to millions who don't regularly watch "Hannah Montana." But instead of singing about clubbing in Los Angeles, Yankovic transforms the song into an ode to clandestine operations. Sample lyrics: "We got our black ops all over the world, from Kazakhstan to Bombay / Payin' the bribes like yeah / pluggin' the leaks like yeah..." This isn't the first time Yankovic has parodied a member of the Cyrus family -- he spoofed her dad Billy Ray's omnipresent hit "Achy Breaky Heart" in 1994 with "Achy Breaky Song." Read More... More on Video         Twin Babies Laugh In Sync (VIDEO) July 5, 2011 at 11:51 AM   OK Internet, we get it. Twin baby videos can do no wrong. Whether they're sneezing in unison, having a babbling conversation, or (as you'll see below) laughing in sync, twins are the most entertaining babies on the web. We don't know what these particular twins are laughing at, but we could watch them do it all day. Read More... More on Video         Heart Disease Often Sneaks Up On Women: Report July 5, 2011 at 11:51 AM   WASHINGTON (AP) -- Heart disease can sneak up on women in ways that standard cardiac tests can miss. It's part of a puzzling gender gap: Women tend to have different heart attack symptoms than men. They're more likely to die in the year after a first heart attack. In fact, more than 40 percent of women still don't realize that heart disease is the No. 1 female killer. One in 30 women's deaths in 2007 was from breast cancer, compared to about 1 in 3 from cardiovascular disease, according to the American Heart Association. Read More... More on New Research         Jealousy And Creative Writing: Dealing With Green-Eyed Monster July 5, 2011 at 11:51 AM   In Natalie Merchant's 1995 song "Jealousy," a woman asks these questions about a rival for her lover's affections: "Is she bright/so well read/are there novels/by her bed?" Read More... More on Writing         Yale Raises Nearly $4 Billion In Largest Campaign July 5, 2011 at 11:35 AM   NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Yale University has raised $3.88 billion amid tough economic times, finishing the largest fundraising campaign in its history that will help pay for its biggest expansion in decades, extend its international reach and make its school of music tuition free. The campaign exceeded its goal of $3.5 billion. More than 110,000 alumni, parents, friends, corporations and foundations contributed. Read More... More on Yale         Ugandan School Found Using Bomb As Bell July 5, 2011 at 11:35 AM   A bomb-awareness team was shocked to find that an elementary school in Uganda was using an unexploded bomb as a school bell when the team arrived to teach students about the dangers of unexploded mines and how to identify bombs. Worse, the bomb was still active -- at a school of about 700 students. Wilson Bwambale, coordinator of the Anti-Mine Network Rwenzori, told the Daily Monitor: "Its head was still active, which means that if it is hit by a stronger force, it would explode instantly and cause untold destruction in the area." Read More... More on Uganda         Sarah Ferguson's 9/11 Children's Book Rejected By Publishers For Being 'Too Offensive To Publish' July 5, 2011 at 11:35 AM   Publishers have rejected a children's book by Sarah Ferguson about a tree that survived the 9/11 attacks because of fears Americans will find it offensive. Read More... More on Children's Books         Booksellers Fear Stranglehold As Amazon Snaps Up British Online Rival The Book Depository July 5, 2011 at 11:35 AM   Amazon acquired its rival The Book Depository yesterday in a move that industry experts warned could tighten the American company's "stranglehold" over the online book trade in the UK. Amazon acquired the Gloucester firm, which claims to be the fastest-growing bookseller in Europe, for an undisclosed sum. Read More...         Three Senators Call For Afghanistan Withdrawal By End Of 2012 July 5, 2011 at 11:35 AM   WASHINGTON -- Two Democratic senators and one Republican senator are calling for the removal of all regular combat troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2012, a timetable that is significantly shorter than the one President Obama recently announced. "We commend the president for sticking to the July date he had outlined for beginning the withdrawal. However, his plan would not remove all regular combat troops until 2014," Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.) wrote in a Tuesday op-ed in The New York Times. "We believe the United States is capable of achieving this goal by the end of 2012. America would be more secure and stronger economically if we recognized that we have largely achieved our objectives in Afghanistan and moved aggressively to bring our troops and tax dollars home," the senators continued. Read More... More on 112th Congress         Amazon To Acquire The Book Depository July 5, 2011 at 11:35 AM   Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN - News) today announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire The Book Depository International. The Book Depository is an online bookseller offering over six million books for delivery worldwide. Read More... More on Kindle         Heart Disease Often Sneaks Up On Women: Report July 5, 2011 at 11:35 AM   WASHINGTON -- Heart disease can sneak up on women in ways that standard cardiac tests can miss. It's part of a puzzling gender gap: Women tend to have different heart attack symptoms than men. They're more likely to die in the year after a first heart attack. In fact, more than 40 percent of women still don't realize that heart disease is the No. 1 female killer. One in 30 women's deaths in 2007 was from breast cancer, compared to about 1 in 3 from cardiovascular disease, according to the American Heart Association. Read More... More on New Research         North Korea Universities Lose Students To Construction Work: Diplomat July 5, 2011 at 11:35 AM   By Jeremy Laurence SEOUL, July 1 (Reuters) - North Korea has told university students to put their studies on hold for a year to join efforts to revitalise its broken economy ahead of its heralded emergence next year as a "great and prosperous nation", a top diplomat and media reports said. Read More... More on North Korea         Yale Raises Nearly $4 Billion In Largest Campaign July 5, 2011 at 11:19 AM   NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Yale University has raised $3.88 billion despite the worst economy in decades, finishing the largest fundraising campaign in its history. The Ivy League school plans to use the funds for its largest expansion in decades, to extend its international reach and to make its school of music tuition free. Read More... More on Yale         Darlington Nagbe Goal: Portland Timbers Midfielder's Amazing Blast (VIDEO) July 5, 2011 at 11:19 AM   Portland Timbers midfielder and No. 2 pick in the MLS SuperDraft Darlington Nagbe tallied his first career goal on Saturday, and let's just say he set the bar pretty high for his next score. Sporting KC goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen thought he made a textbook clearance when he punched the ball out of the box, but Nagbe was ready with a brilliant trap, two juggles and a lighting right-footed strike that flew beautifully across the zone and into the top left corner of the net. Despite Nagbe's potential goal-of-the-season, Portland dropped the match, 2-1. Read More... More on Video         10 of the best British pubs to stay in July 5, 2011 at 11:19 AM   Pubs-with-rooms are brilliant for inexpensive weekends away, whether you're escaping for a romantic break or taking the whole family. Here's our pick of the best. Read More... More on getaways         Ray Deter, Owner Of East Village Bar d.b.a., Dies After Canal Street Bike Accident July 5, 2011 at 11:19 AM   MANHATTAN -- The owner of a popular East Village bar died Sunday, less than a week after being struck while riding his bike on Canal Street. Ray Deter, owner of the bourbon bar d.b.a. on First Avenue, died as a result of blunt impact head trauma following the June 27 crash, the city medical examiner's office confirmed. Read More... More on New York Restaurants         Minnesota Shutdown 2011: Budget Dispute Continues, Negotiations Resume (LATEST UPDATES) July 5, 2011 at 11:00 AM   The post and live blog below are a collaboration between Patch and HuffPost reporters. On the fifth day of the Minnesota state government shutdown, Governor Mark Dayton (D) said that he's prepared to resume budget negotiations with Republican lawmakers to close the state's $5 billion budget gap. "This is a terrible situation," Dayton told Minnesota Public Radio on Tuesday. Over the weekend, he said to local station Fox 9 that the day of the shutdown was one of the worst days of his life and certainly the worst of his political career. Read More... More on Mark Dayton         Carla Bruni, Likely Baby Bump & Nicolas Sarkozy Go For A Stroll By Fort De Bregancon (PHOTOS) July 5, 2011 at 11:00 AM   Carla Bruni, her as-yet-to-be-confirmed bump de bébé and her husband Nicolas Sarkozy went for a stroll outside Fort de Brégancon, a presidential residence on an island off the Mediterranean on Monday. Carla covered up whatever's going on under there with a white caftan, while Sarko showed off his belly, opting for an unbuttoned look and shorts. The pair was later spotted taking a dip. Read More... More on Carla Bruni         George R.R. Martin Threatens To Decapitate Amazon Employee July 5, 2011 at 11:00 AM   Fantasy novelist George R.R. Martin threatened to decapitate an unknown Amazon employee after 180 copies of A Dance with Dragons leaked ahead of the highly anticipated novel's July 12 release date. Martin blamed Amazon Germany for the mistake. Read More...         Ewan McGregor Admits On-Screen Nudity Can Be Distracting For Fans July 5, 2011 at 11:00 AM   Ewan McGregor has admitted that his on-screen nudity has become such a frequent occurrence over the years that his fans are now likely to lose track of storylines once they spot the re-emergence of his own personal entourage. "I have to be careful now," the Scottish star told Harper's Bazaar. "If people think 'there's McGregor taking his clothes off again, it can actually distract them from the movie." However, despite every pore of his oft-revealed flesh being magnified on the big screen, McGregor has joined the growing brigade of actors shunning the idea of a little bit of help, despite, or perhaps because of, what he sees around him in his adopted city of LA. Read More... More on Film         Mosquito Prevention 101 July 5, 2011 at 11:00 AM   Worldwide, mosquitoes can transmit a wide variety of diseases, including encephalitis, malaria and Yellow Fever, and more are on the radar of the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention and other health organizations. But instead of worrying about these specific diseases, there are other things you can do to protect yourself from the insects and their bites. Read More... More on Healthy Living Health News         Mika Myllyla Dead: Former Olympic Ski Champion Dies At 41 July 5, 2011 at 10:44 AM   HELSINKI -- Former Olympic cross-country ski champion Mika Myllyla of Finland has died at 41. Police say he was found dead Tuesday. They declined to give details except to say no crime was involved. National broadcaster YLE reports he was found dead in his apartment in the northwest town of Kokkola. Read More... More on Olympics         'Bridesmaids' Sequel? Director Paul Feig Talks Possibility July 5, 2011 at 10:44 AM   There are few things guaranteed in the upside down, always changing world of Hollywood, but here's one thing you can bank on: a successful film, if at all possible, will get a sequel. And as the summer moves forward, "Bridesmaids" is becoming more than just a success. A big opening weekend got the speculation started, but having just passed "Sex and the City" as the highest grossing R-rated female-driven comedy of all time, there's little doubt that Universal will be hungry for another helping of the Kristen Wiig-starring, Paul Feig-directed and Judd Apatow-produced laugh factory (with names like those, was there any doubt it'd be a hit?). Read More... More on Movies         Yellowstone Oil Spill Cleanup: Exxon Operations Complicated By Rising River July 5, 2011 at 10:44 AM   LAUREL, Mont. -- The initial cleanup along the oil-fouled Yellowstone River could be tested Tuesday as rising waters make it harder for Exxon Mobil Corp. to get to areas damaged by the crude spilled from a company pipeline. The National Weather Service predicts the Yellowstone River, swelling with mountain snowmelt amid hot summer temperatures, will peak at Billings on Tuesday afternoon – a day after Exxon Mobil Pipeline Co. President Gary Pruessing promised to do "whatever is necessary" to mop up oil spilled from the duct at the river bottom. That pledge included sending crews to walk the river banks in search of pooled oil once the flooding river recedes. Read More... More on Environment         Libby, Montana: New Danger Found In Asbestos-Plagued Town July 5, 2011 at 10:44 AM   LIBBY, Mont. -- For a decade, the people of Libby have longed for the day when they will be rid of the asbestos that turned their town into the deadliest Superfund site in America. Now they are being forced to live through the agony all over again, thanks to two giant piles of bark and wood chips on the edge of town. Read More... More on Environment         Iraq: Coffee Percolates Through Nation's Cultural History July 5, 2011 at 10:44 AM   By Raheem Salman and Ned Parker, Los Angeles Times Reporting from Baghdad— Read More... More on Iraq         Larry Dominick, Cicero Town President, Slurred Latinos, Illegally Fired Workers: Lawsuit July 5, 2011 at 10:44 AM   Merced Rojas, once a handyman on the payroll of the town of Cicero, Illinois, is suing the town's president Larry Dominick for illegally firing him from his post because of his race, and his wife's occupation. In the lawsuit, Rojas alleges that Dominick described Latinos as "spics," "wetbacks" and "illegal f***ing immigrants," according to the Chicago Sun-Times. That's a particularly volatile claim in Cicero, an overwhelmingly Latino suburb of Chicago. The president's lawyer, Craig Tobin, argues that there are no "credible" witnesses who will testify that Dominick made the remarks. Dominick's wife is Latina, Tobin notes, arguing that the president would never use such language. Read More...         Libya: Senate Takes Up Resolution Authorizing U.S. Military Action July 5, 2011 at 10:44 AM   WASHINGTON -- The Senate is weighing whether to give President Barack Obama the authority to continue U.S. military action against Libya. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid has scheduled a vote for 5 p.m. on Tuesday on whether to proceed with debate on the measure this week. Read More... More on John McCain         LeAnn Rimes Shows Off Bikini 'Curves' (PHOTOS) July 5, 2011 at 10:28 AM   LeAnn Rimes spent the holiday weekend enjoying her curvy bikini body and she wants everyone to know. "CURVES....They are there LOL," she wrote on Sunday alongside the below pic of her standing in the sand, providing a back view. LeAnn also tweeted a photo (scroll down) of herself lounging on a towel with the caption "Beach Bum..." Later that evening she tweeted about dinner plans: "SUSHI tonight......YUM...my heaven." Read More... More on Celebrity Body         An open letter to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan July 5, 2011 at 10:28 AM   This was written by Carol Corbett Burris, the principal of South Side High School in New York. She was named the 2010 New York State Outstanding Educator by the School Administrators Association of New York State. The full letter can be read at The Washington Post Dear Mr. Duncan: You have never been to my high school, but if you visited, you would be impressed. It is an integrated suburban public high school that meets AYP each year for all groups of children. We are on all of the top 100 lists -- U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek and The Washington Post. Over 80% of our students graduate having passed the state exam in Algebra 2/Trigonometry and over 60% graduate with AP Calculus under their belt. We do a good job by the students we serve, some of whom have difficult life circumstances. I doubt that you will ever visit -- we are not a KIPP or other charter school likely to attract your attention. I think you should know, though, something about the teachers who work with me. Read More... More on Wash Post         Reporter Chris Unitt Volunteers For Ridiculous Bike Stunt (VIDEO) July 5, 2011 at 10:28 AM   Roving reporter Chris Unitt is what some might call a good sport. But we're willing to bet that after watching this video, more than a few of you will be calling him out of his mind. As you'll see below, Unitt was given a live demonstration of one of circus act Cirque Eloize's thrilling stunts in Boston, only this act involved his head coming dangerously close to a bouncing bicycle. And did we mention the wheel also goes between his legs? We can hardly imagine what was going through Unitt's head while he was lying there, but if we had to guess, it was probably something close to "AAAAAAAHHHAHHHHHHHHHH!!" Read More... More on Funny Videos         Ron Barber, Gabrielle Giffords Staffer Shot In Arizona, Returns To Work July 5, 2011 at 10:28 AM   TUCSON, Ariz. -- A staffer for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is returning to work for the first time since being seriously injured in the Tucson mass shooting. Ron Barber was shot in the cheek and thigh during the Jan. 8 attack, which killed six people and injured 13, including Barber and Giffords. Read More... More on Gabrielle Giffords         Vatican Archives To Be Opened For Unprecedented Exhibit July 5, 2011 at 10:28 AM   VATICAN CITY — The Vatican will be displaying 100 select documents from its Secret Archives at an unprecedented exhibit next year, including previously unpublished papers on its World War II-era pope. The Vatican No. 2, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, unveiled plans for "Lux in Arcana: The Vatican Secret Archives Revealed" at a briefing Tuesday. Read More... More on Catholic Church         July 4 Fireworks: Pictures From New York City (PHOTOS) July 5, 2011 at 10:28 AM   Forget the barbecue and apple pie (or whatever food you eat to celebrate) -- everyone knows that the best part of the Fourth of July is the fireworks. In case you missed New York's fireworks above the Hudson River, we've compiled a slideshow of some of the best moments. Enjoy! All photos taken by Kathy Kottwitz Read More...         Christina Romer: Tax Raises Makes More Sense Than Spending Cuts July 5, 2011 at 10:28 AM   The Republicans who walked out of budget negotiations the other week think they know the answer. They insist that higher taxes would threaten our fragile economic recovery and do serious long-term damage. Better to cut federal spending, they say. Read More... More on Republicans         John Klusmire, Gaza Boat's U.S. Captain, Released From Custody In Greece July 5, 2011 at 10:28 AM   PIRAEUS, Greece (AP) — A Greek court has released from custody the American captain of a boat participating in an international flotilla aiming to breach Israel's blockade of the Gaza strip. John Klusmire, the captain of the Audacity of Hope, had attempted to set sail from a port near Piraeus last week in defiance of a Greek ban on the flotilla boats leaving port. He was arrested on Saturday on charges of setting sail without permission and endangering passengers, and had been in custody since then. One of his lawyers, Manolis Pefanakis, said a court in Piraeus released him from custody Tuesday. Supporters at the courthouse cheered and chanted slogans in celebration. Read More... More on Israel         Black Chicagoans Fuel Growth Of South Suburbs July 5, 2011 at 10:28 AM   One path that so many black middle-class home buyers have followed from Chicago's South Side in recent years ends just off Lincoln Highway, past the entrance to the Newbury Estates subdivision in Matteson. On Willow Road, a boulevard lined with 3,200-square-foot houses, five of the nine buyers in the 1000 block moved to Newbury Estates from heavily black sections of the South Side. Buyers came from the Woodlawn, Park Manor, Morgan Park, Gresham and Englewood neighborhoods, property records show. Read More...         Should Breastfeeding Be Allowed In Public? July 5, 2011 at 10:12 AM   It's the question many are buzzing about, after last week a Detroit bus driver threatened to kick a nursing mother off the bus unless she covered up. The event has reignited the breastfeeding debate. One side of the argument says it's indecent exposure; the other cites the important health benefits of breastfeeding. The Associated Press reported: Read More... More on Breastfeeding         Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint Graduate 'Harry Potter', Avoid Child Star Failure July 5, 2011 at 10:12 AM   LOS ANGELES -- If the young cast of the "Harry Potter" films received report cards for their school days at Hogwarts, they'd all probably earn the notation, "plays well with others." Cast as impressionable children in Hollywood's biggest fantasy franchise, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and their many young co-stars have maneuvered through 11 years of fame – and the temptations it brings – without any whispers of Lindsay Lohan-style meltdowns that can derail child actors. Read More... More on Celebrities         Gaza Benefiting From Israel Easing Economic Blockade July 5, 2011 at 10:12 AM   BEIT LAHIYA, Gaza Strip -- Maher Khoudari boasts that his Gaza grocery has a wide assortment of chocolates for sale – even some you couldn't find in the cosmopolitan Israeli city of Tel Aviv. The problem is, there is no one to buy them. Israel eased its blockade of the Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory a year ago and now allows virtually all consumer goods in, meaning there are no longer acute shortages of foods or basic household items. Tiny construction projects have begun sprouting up, and Gaza is awash in big ticket items such as cars and refrigerators. Read More... More on Hamas         The 9 Most Controversial Apps Censored By Apple July 5, 2011 at 10:10 AM   Apple's strict approval process for apps can be a tough hurdle to clear for some developers. But with over 425,000 iPhone applications available in the App Store, a few are bound to offend some customers. Apple specifies in its Software Development Kit (SDK) that "Applications must not contain any obscene, pornographic, offensive or defamatory content or materials of any kind (text, graphics, images, photographs, etc.), or other content or materials that in Apple's reasonable judgment may be found objectionable by iPhone or iPod touch users." (PDF) Despite these guidelines, some developers submit potentially offensive apps that inexplicably escape Apple's censors. Other developers walk the gray line of "reasonable judgement." Meanwhile, Apple's approval guidlines protect the company from the inevitable outcry that occurs when an app that promotes a controversial issue finds its way into the App Store. Nonetheless, when a company has a consumer-base as expansive and diverse as Apple's, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep every user happy by filtering offensive content. Sometimes Apple needs to rely on its users to report these controversial apps in order to bring it to their attention. Read More... More on iPhone             This email was sent to venturepoliticalcapital@gmail.com. Delivered by Feed My Inbox PO Box 682532 Franklin, TN 37068 Account Login Unsubscribe Here