| Obama keeps his word on hate crimes bill

Obama-keeps-his-word-on-hate-crimes-bill For this accomplishment, President Barack Obama sought maximum publicity.

There was a bill signing at a wooden desk set up in the East Room of the White House, with the media invited, followed by a reception for joyous, champagne-sipping supporters and an address to them, again, from the East Room.

Obama was keeping a campaign promise to gays and lesbians by putting his signature on a bill to include violence against gays in federal hate crimes law.

Of several such commitments to gay and lesbian supporters, its the first one hes kept. Other promises are either pending or stalled entirely, proving a source of continued dismay for gay and lesbian advocates who worked to help him get elected.

As a candidate, Obama promised to end the dont ask, dont tell policy that bars gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. He pledged to work to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act, which limits how states, local and federal bodies can recognize partnerships and determine benefits. He also promised to outlaw job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Nine months into his term, those promises are not close to being met.

While clearly pleased by Wednesdays signing ceremony, which was attended by many members of Congress who came to witness the fruits of a decade of effort, Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, said there is still a lot of work to be done.

We look forward to the days ahead when we will join together again to celebrate full equality and recognition of our community, including in employment, the military and in the full recognition of our families, Carey said.

The expanded law now also covers crimes motivated by gender identity or disability.

No one in America should ever be afraid to walk down the street holding the hands of the person they love. No one in America should be forced to look over their shoulder because of who they are or because they live with a disability, Obama said,

Obamas relationship with gay activists has been rocky since his election. They objected to the participation of evangelist Rev. Rick Warren in Obamas inauguration because of Warrens support for repealing gay marriage in California. Obama responded by having Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson, the denominations first openly gay bishop, participate at another event.

As president, Obama has not taken any concrete steps to urge Congress to overturn the Clinton-era dont ask, dont tell policy. He restated the pledge this month in a speech at the annual dinner of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay civil rights advocacy group.

Obama also pledged during the campaign to work for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act. But administration lawyers did the opposite, defending the law in a court brief. White House aides said the lawyers were only doing their jobs by supporting an existing law.

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| Microsofts naming math: Vista plus 1 is 7

Microsoft's-naming-math:-Vista-plus-1-is-7 Microsofts naming math: Vista plus 1 is 7 - | Microsofts naming math: Vista plus 1 is 7 |

| FIFA president Blatter to stand for re-election

FIFA-president-Blatter-to-stand-for-re-election MILAN -FIFA president Sepp Blatter will run for re-election in 2011, saying Tuesday he still wants to introduce new initiatives to develop soccer worldwide.




I have not finished my mission in football. I need more time, Blatter told La Gazzetta dello Sport. I hope that in 2011 the FIFA Congress once more has faith in me, otherwise Ill go back to my village.




The 73-year-old Swiss was elected president of FIFA in 1998, and he then survived accusations of corruption to win the 2002 election. He was elected for a third time in 2007.




Blatter also said that FIFA was wrong to seed the European World Cup playoff matches.




FIFA was criticized for announcing only a few weeks ago that the eight playoff teams from Europe would be seeded. Ireland coach Giovanni Trappatoni claimed it was a way of ensuring that the more powerful teams, such as France and Portugal, were given an easier chance of reaching next years tournament in South Africa.




Ireland drew France for the two-leg playoff next month.




Hes right. We should have announced it from the start, Blatter said. There is something in the rules, but it isnt clear. If we learn, well change for 2014, but in 180 minutes anything is possible.




Blatter also said that FIFA wouldnt enforce a salary cap on teams, but continued to call on club presidents to curb their spending. He said FIFA would continue to try to enforce the 6+5 system of six domestic players alongside five non-nationals per team, despite it contravening European Union work rules.




Im happy that Berlusconi, Abramovich, Moratti and all the others have finally stopped wasting money, but there wont be a salary cap, Blatter said. We cant intervene in a free-market system, which works with supply and demand. The solution is something else: the 6+5 system. It would develop players, teams would spend less and it would help national teams. - | FIFA president Blatter to stand for re-election |

| Quiz: Where can you find happiness?

Quiz:-Where-can-you-find-happiness? Recent studies have shown that as women get older, they get sadder . Author Marcus Buckingham cites these studies and offers solutions to this unhappy paradox in his book, “Find Your Strongest Life: What the Happiest and Most Successful Women Do Differently.”

Want to learn more about what makes you happy? Buckingham designed a quiz called the Strong Life Test to help women find their “strongest life” — what he defines as the life that fulfills you and brings you happiness. The test is like a compass. He says it identifies your lead role and helps you to know where to start to look — in any domain of your life — and to know what kind of moments are going to strengthen you the most, invigorate you the most, bring joy or excitement or fun, because they reflect who you are.

Ready to give it a try? Hit “start” on the quiz panel on the right.

- | Quiz: Where can you find happiness? |

| Woman missing 5 days found on raft

Woman-missing-5-days-found-on-raft IOWA CITY, Iowa - A 63-year-old woman trapped on a small raft caught in tangled river brush could hear passing cars and people talking but wasnt discovered until a fisherman on his way to his favorite hole spotted her five days later, the womans son said Tuesday.

Jeanne Schnepps odyssey began last week with a fishing trip on a tiny inflatable raft along the Wapsipinicon River. But when the Iowa woman found herself on raging waters that nearly flooded the banks, she partially deflated the raft and headed for the side.

Water masked the brush, which caught the raft and held it — and Schnepp — for five days before rescuers pulled her from the river Monday afternoon.

Shes always out doing something that she probably shouldnt have been doing, her son, Clint Schnepp, 33, said Tuesday. Like this.

Even when the river receded, Jeanne Schnepp remained caught. The river banks grew farther away as Schnepp sank, trapped between a 12-foot wall of rocks and a logjam she couldnt climb over.

With only two cans of Mountain Dew and a bottle of water, Schnepp shouted herself hoarse. The brush was a couple hundred yards from a concrete bridge. Clint Schnepp said his mother could see cars driving over it.

So, she waited in just a tank-top and shorts, exposed to constant sun, two thunderstorms, hot days and cold nights. The brush was out in the middle of nowhere, Clint Schnepp said, so passers-by were scant.

She said, I heard the cars, I heard people talking, Clint Schnepp said. She was in a place where no one could see me, no one could hear me. If you werent on that bank directly above her looking down, she was hidden.

Caught by a fisherman
Rescuers spent days in and out of the water near where Jeanne Schnepp had left her car, about a mile upstream. Her purse was there; her fishing gear was gone.

Clint and his brother Corey went out on the river in small boats, but struggled as their spotlights overheated and shut off. Worse, the Jones County sheriffs offices boat was out of commission.

After days with no sign, Schnepps sons search for their mother became a search for a body.

But as Jeanne Schnepps luck would have it, she was caught near local angler Larry Williams fishing hole.

He just went out to go fishing, apparently he walked by the snag because he always fished that little eddy, Clint Schnepp said. Out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw something, then he actually went back to check it out, and lo and behold.

He said, Oh my God, youre that lady theyve been looking for!

Jeanne Schnepp was sunburned, covered in bug bites and scratches, and severely dehydrated. But Clint Schnepp said his mother was on her feet Tuesday. She remained hospitalized, but was expected to be released within a couple of days.

Shes doing remarkably great, he said.

- | Woman missing 5 days found on raft |

| Chop it up! Giada’s summer salad

Chop-it-up!-Giada’s-summer-salad Looking for a light and refreshing meal to have on a hot summer night? Try Giada De Laurentiis’ chopped summer salad. The celebrity chef shares her recipe for this quick and simple dish that’s bursting with fresh flavors and bold tastes.

Summer chopped saladGiada De Laurentiis - | Chop it up! Giada’s summer salad |

| Sources: Plot suspect contacted al-Qaida

Sources:-Plot-suspect-contacted-al-Qaida NEW YORK - An Afghan immigrant accused of plotting a terrorist attack in New York after receiving training in Pakistan was in contact with a senior al-Qaida operative, intelligence officials familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press.

The CIA learned about Najibullah Zazi through one of its sources and alerted domestic agencies, including the FBI, intelligence officials said. The officials, who declined to offer more details on the operative, spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

The fact that intelligence officials learned of Zazi through a CIA source sheds more light on the governments claim that the charges against Zazi are part of a broader, international case and begins to explain why the investigation triggered such a large offensive from the nations intelligence community.

It also shows the case stems from the CIAs counterterrorism efforts to track al-Qaida and not an investigation initiated in this country by someones suspicious actions, like most other domestic terrorism cases handled by the FBI.

President Barack Obama received briefings on the investigation as intelligence officials were crafting their case against Zazi, a White House official familiar with those updates said. The official, who was not authorized to speak about the case publicly, spoke on condition of anonymity.

The CIA declined to comment for this story, spokesman George Little said.

Speaking Monday in Colorado at a conference of police chiefs, Attorney General Eric Holder said the plot had the potential to kill scores of people.

Zazi, 24, is the only suspect publicly identified in the terror plot. More arrests are expected. Prosecutors have said three others in New York City worked with Zazi, although they do not currently pose a threat.

Calls to Zazis lawyer were not returned Monday.

Zazi was arrested last month initially on charges that he lied to federal investigators. He remains held without bond and has pleaded not guilty to conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction. The charges related to his statements to investigators later were dropped.

Zazis father, Mohammed Wali Zazi, and a Queens, N.Y., imam, Ahmad Wais Afzali, face charges of lying to investigators last month when first questioned about Zazi.

Prosecutors said Zazi received explosives training at an al-Qaida training camp. They have accused him of planning an attack in New York, perhaps on the citys subway system around the anniversary of the 9/11 World Trade Center attack, using powerful homemade bombs of hydrogen and flour. Would-be shoe bomber Richard Reid attempted to use the same type of explosive in 2001 and the material was used by the terrorists in the London bombings in 2005 that killed 52 people.

Zazi received the training to make the bombs from common supplies purchased at beauty supply stores after making contact with al-Qaida, intelligence officials said, although they declined to say when that occurred. Zazis contact with the senior al-Qaida operative occurred through an intermediary, one official said.

Zazi, who moved to the U.S. with his family as a teenager, has denied any involvement in a terror plot. He has said his travels to Pakistan, which began in 2006, were to visit family, including his wife, whom he married on that first trip.

The case against Zazi involves classified information as well as evidence the FBI collected in searches of Zazis computer that discussed bomb making.

Prosecutors submitted court documents saying they intend to use electronic information the FBI obtained through the use of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

- | Sources: Plot suspect contacted al-Qaida |