U.S. official says Iran becoming a pariah state (Reuters)

SEOUL (Reuters) ? A senior U.S. official on Monday said the situation over Iran's nuclear program was becoming increasingly worrying and an urgent diplomatic solution needs to be found.

The United States and Israel have not ruled out military action against Iran's nuclear facilities if diplomacy fails to resolve a dispute over a program they suspect is aimed at developing atomic weapons.

Iran denies it is seeking nuclear weapons and says it would respond to any strike by attacking Israel and U.S. interests in the Gulf.

"Iran is violating international obligations and norms. It is becoming a pariah state," Robert Einhorn, the State Department senior adviser for non-proliferation and arms control, told a news conference in the South Korean capital.

"The situation in Iran has become more and more worrisome. The timeline for its nuclear program is beginning to get shorter, so it is important we take these strong steps on an urgent basis.

"If we do not, pressures will grow for much stronger actions. The U.S. favours a diplomatic solution pressure, but if we cannot achieve a diplomatic solution soon, inevitably interests will grow in a different kind of solution. That is why we need to act soon."

Iran's nuclear ambitions, its claim to have shot down a U.S. spy drone in its airspace on Sunday and last week's storming of the British embassy in Tehran by protesters has contributed to a sharp increase in tensions in the region.

He said enforcing sanctions would force Iran to negotiate seriously.

Western nations last week significantly tightened sanctions against Iran, with the European Union expanding an Iranian blacklist and the Senate passing a measure that could severely disrupt Iran's oil income.

Einhorn said the latest round of sanctions do not include crude oil imports, crucial to energy-starved economies like South Korea.

"But we discourage countries from continuing to import crude oil in large quantities," added Einhorn, acknowledging that at the present time "pressure was tight" on the oil market.

"We are conscious of energy security needs of countries like the Republic of Korea and don't want to interfere with those needs," he said, of Asia's fourth largest economy.

Einhorn said he had received a positive response during talks with South Korean officials about tightening sanctions, adding Seoul was considering what additional measures to take.

(Reporting by Jeremy Laurence, Editing by Jonathan Thatcher)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111205/wl_nm/us_iran_sanctions

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From the Archives: President Obama's Surprise Visit to Troops in Afghanistan

Posted by Megan Slack on December 03, 2011 at 12:00 PM EST

On this day last year, President Obama made a surprise visit to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan to thank troops for their service. Watch video from his address below.

Watch First Lady Michelle Obama make a surprise call to a military spouse to say thanks

Add a note to the USO's interactive thank you card for service members and their familes

Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/12/03/archives-president-obamas-surprise-visit-troops-afghanistan

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Water leaks from crippled Japanese nuclear plant (AP)

TOKYO ? Japan's crippled nuclear power plant leaked about 45 tons of highly radioactive water from a purification device over the weekend, its operator said, and some may have drained into the ocean.

The leak is a reminder of the difficulties facing Tokyo Electric Power Co. as it tries to meet its goal of bringing the tsunami-damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant to a cold shutdown by year's end.

A pool of radioactive water was discovered midday Sunday around a decontamination device, TEPCO said in a statement on its website. After the equipment was turned off, the leak appeared to stop. Later, workers found a crack in a concrete barrier leaking the contaminated water into a gutter that leads to the ocean.

TEPCO estimated about 300 liters leaked out before the crack was blocked with sandbags.

Officials were checking whether any water had reached the nearby ocean.

The leakage of radioactive water from the Fukushima plant into the Pacific Ocean in the weeks after the March 11 accident caused widespread concern that seafood in the coastal waters would be contaminated.

The pooled water around the purification device was measured Sunday at 16,000 bequerels per liter of cesium-134, and 29,000 bequerels per liter of cesium-137, TEPCO said. That's 270 times and 322 times higher, respectively, than government safety limits, according to the Citizens' Nuclear Information Center in Tokyo.

Cesium-137 is dangerous because it can last for decades in the environment, releasing cancer-causing radiation. The half-life of cesium-134 is about two years, while the half-life of cesium-137 is about 30 years.

TEPCO is using the purification devices to decontaminate water that has been cooling the reactors. Three of the plant's reactor cores mostly melted down when the March 11 tsunami knocked out the plant's cooling system.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/environment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111205/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_nuclear_plant

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Pot cigarette winds up in tot's lunch, police say

By NBC News and msnbc.com staff

CLINTON, Conn. -- Police say a?33-year-old man?sent along a little something extra?in his 18-month-old son's lunch box this week: a marijuana cigarette.

Clinton police arrested John Sulzbach of Killingworth after?workers at the Clinton Child Care Center reported finding the pot in the child's food container on Thursday, NBCConnecticut.com reported. The child is 18 months old, police said.

Read the original story at NBCConnecticut.com

The cigarette was accidentally dropped in the food container while Sulzbach made the child's lunch the night before, police said.

?Police found less than one ounce of marijuana in Sulzbach?s basement after searching his home. He faces charges of risk to injury to a minor and drug possession.

Sulzman was charged with possession of a controlled substance and risk of injury/impairing the morals of a child. He was released on a written promise to appear in court on Dec. 22.

Msnbc.com staff contributed to this report from NBCConnecticut.com.

Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/03/9196746-police-man-accidentally-put-marijuana-cigarette-in-sons-lunch

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Video: Motorcycle stunt goes horribly wrong

>>> they don't call them dare devils for nothing. two motorcycles showing off their skills. one stuntman slammed head first into a car flying 80 feet into the air and rolling to the asphalt for another 40 feet. but all's well that ends well. somehow the biker escaped serious injury and, get this, was back at

Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/45522623/

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Senate approves sanctions on Iran Central Bank (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The Senate unanimously approved tough new sanctions on Iran's Central Bank amid fears of Tehran developing a nuclear weapon.

The 100-0 vote Thursday was for an amendment to the defense bill. Lawmakers had argued that concerns about a nuclear-armed Iran outweighed reservations about driving up oil prices and hurting Americans at the gas pump.

Sens. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and Mark Kirk of Illinois offered the amendment that would target foreign financial institutions that do business with the Central Bank of Iran, barring them from opening or maintaining correspondent operations in the United States. It would apply to foreign central banks only for transactions that involve the sale or purchase of petroleum or petroleum products.

Administration officials cautioned that driving up oil prices could mean more money for Iran.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111202/ap_on_go_co/us_congress_defense_iran

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Senate approves sanctions on Iran Central Bank (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The Senate unanimously approved tough new sanctions on Iran's Central Bank amid fears of Tehran developing a nuclear weapon.

The 100-0 vote Thursday was for an amendment to the defense bill. Lawmakers had argued that concerns about a nuclear-armed Iran outweighed reservations about driving up oil prices and hurting Americans at the gas pump.

Sens. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and Mark Kirk of Illinois offered the amendment that would target foreign financial institutions that do business with the Central Bank of Iran, barring them from opening or maintaining correspondent operations in the United States. It would apply to foreign central banks only for transactions that involve the sale or purchase of petroleum or petroleum products.

Administration officials cautioned that driving up oil prices could mean more money for Iran.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111202/ap_on_go_co/us_congress_defense_iran

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CBS wins ratings night with "Victoria's Secret" and Rudolph (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) ? CBS scored an overall ratings victory Tuesday night with quite the mixed bag of entertainment, taking the top two spots with a record-breaking "Victoria's Secret Fashion Show" and the children's holiday chestnut, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," according to preliminary numbers.

"Rudolph," airing on CBS at 8 p.m., inched up 3 percent from last year's presentation, taking the second-best ratings of the night with a 4.0 rating/11 share in the adults 18-49 demographic, with 12.6 million total viewers. Following a repeat of "NCIS" at 9 -- which drew the night's top total viewership with 13.3 million total viewers -- the "Victoria's Secret Fashion Show" at 10 grabbed its best numbers ever, jumping 35 percent over last year's show with a 4.6/11 in the demographic and 10.3 million total viewers. Overall the network drew the best average in the demographic with a 3.2/9, and the evening's top viewership, with an average 12.1 million total viewers.

Fox came in second in the demographic for the night, with modest gains across the board for its slate. "Glee" at 8 was up 7 percent from its last original airing two weeks ago, posting a 3.2/8 with 7.8 million total viewers. "New Girl" the following hour received a 3.6/9 with 7.5 million total viewers, while the night closed out with "Raising Hope," which received a 2.4/6 and 5.3 million total viewers.

ABC's original programming for the night, meanwhile, experienced series lows. "Last Man Standing" at 8 dropped 11 percent to a 2.4/7, with 10.2 million total viewers, while "Man Up" at 8:30 also dropped 11 percent, to a 1.7/4 and 6.5 million total viewers. Following a repeat of "The Middle," "Body of Proof" matched its series low with a 1.8/5 and 9.4 million total viewers.

NBC, meanwhile, experienced marked gains throughout the night, with "The Biggest Loser" bouncing back with a 20 percent improvement from last week, when it competed against both the "Dancing With the Stars" finale and "The X Factor." Tuesday's episode drew a 2.4/6 with 7 million total viewers, while "Parenthood" climbed 16 percent over last week with a 2.2/5 and 5.7 million total viewers.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111130/tv_nm/us_ratings

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Bono: Alicia Keys has 'lioness energy' (omg!)

Bono, left, and Alicia Keys attend the premiere of the Showtime documentary "Keep a Child Alive with Alicia Keys", in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Bono is afraid of Alicia Keys.

While Keys talked about being pregnant and empathetic when filming her documentary about AIDS in Africa, the U2 singer chimed in and said: "She's scary, isn't she? She's scary."

Bono went on to say that Keys has "lioness energy" and that her role as a new mother won't allow her to "let other mothers suffer."

He made the comments at the premiere of "Keep a Child Alive with Alicia Keys," a documentary which followed a visit to South Africa during last year's World Cup with a pregnant Keys and five Americans. It airs on the cable television Showtime channel on Dec. 1, which is World AIDS Day.

Bono said he met Keys when they recorded a cover of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" ? with dozens of other musicians ? in 2001.

"I was terrified the moment I met her. I was shaking in my boots," he said. "I was very moved by her singing of course, but what was interesting was the hard questions afterwards, and I think it's those hard questions that she asks that lead her."

Keys started her charity, Keep a Child Alive, in 2003. It assists those affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa and India.

She says she hopes the film reaches out to those who want to help, but can't make it to Africa.

"Even if you never have been able to travel there, or if you never can, that doesn't mean you can't travel with us and really see it for yourself," she said.

Bono says Keys has what it takes to make a difference in Africa, and around the world.

"Everyone's got heart, but actually you have to have the head for this," he said. "You have to be tough and strategic, you have to be demanding, (and) the money has to be spent well." If the money isn't spent well, he said, people get annoyed, "and so all these things take a certain intellectual rigor."

Keys has composed music for the Broadway play "Stick Fly," which debuts next week. When Bono ? who along with the Edge wrote the music for "Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark" ? was asked what advice he could give Keys, he said: "You know, it's an amazing American tradition, Broadway, and she can do anything she wants."

____

Online:

http://www.sho.com/site/movies/movie.do?seriesid=0&seasonid=0&episode...

http://keepachildalive.org/

____

Mesfin Fekadu covers entertainment for The Associated Press. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/musicmesfin

Bono, left, and Alicia Keys attend the premiere of the Showtime documentary "Keep a Child Alive with Alicia Keys", in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_bono_alicia_keys_lioness_energy034506568/43752521/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/bono-alicia-keys-lioness-energy-034506568.html

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Federal report: Arctic much worse since 2006

(AP) ? Federal officials say the Arctic region has changed dramatically for the worse in the past five years.

It is melting at a near record pace and is darkening and absorbing too much of the sun's heat.

A new report card from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration gives the polar region close to failing grades. It faults both global warming and recent localized weather shifts.

A NASA satellite found that 430 billion metric tons of ice melted in Greenland from 2010 to 2011, and the melting is accelerating.

What is even more troubling to scientists is that there has been a record darkening of the normally white Arctic land and sea. White snow and ice reflect solar energy, but a melting darker Arctic in the summer absorbs that heat.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-12-01-Arctic%20Melt/id-bdd55bb66ed84035b3a7db5d82e2ec54

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