Booker scores 19 as Colorado upsets No. 16 Baylor
Label: LifestyleCHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Colorado coach Tad Boyle always has a backup plan. The Buffaloes sure needed it Friday to take down No. 16 Baylor at the Charleston Classic.
Boyle knew his young players struggled from the foul line and watched them do it again, going 4 for 18 against Baylor.
"That's when you rely on defense and rebounding," he said, smiling.
The Buffaloes (3-0) got plenty of both to defeat the Bears 60-58 and advance to the championship of the eight-team tournament Sunday night. Not that it was easy to stomach down the stretch. Andre Roberson and Spencer Dinwiddie each missed in one-and-one situations, the usually reliable Booker was just 1 of 2 from the line and Roberson missed two more — all within the game's last 61 seconds.
All of it gave the Bears a chance to steal this one away.
Baylor's final chance ended when 7-foot-1 Isaiah Austin was off the mark on a catch-and-shoot prayer with a second left.
"They weren't making free throws but we weren't rebounding from the free-throw line," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "I think it was two teams that wanted to win bad that didn't have postseason execution, but had early-season execution."
Askia Booker scored 19 points to lead Colorado, which earned a measure of payback for last March, when the Bears (3-1) knocked them out in the NCAA tournament's third round.
"We fought through the whole game because we know they're going to make shots," said Booker, who scored 15 points in the NCAA loss to Baylor. "It's going to come down to who wants it more."
Baylor star Pierre Jackson had just 12 points after scoring 31 in an opening-round win here against Boston College.
Cory Jefferson led the Bears with 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting. Austin finished with eight points and 12 rebounds.
Dinwiddie added 11 for Colorado, while Roberson had seven points and 13 rebounds, his second straight tournament game with double-digit boards.
Roberson and the Buffaloes had to be strong on the glass with so many missed free throws. Roberson missed a one-and-one try with 1:01 to go and Colorado ahead 59-56.
Jackson's bucket with 19.8 seconds left drew Baylor within a point.
Dinwiddie next went to the line for Colorado and he, too, missed a one-and-one. But Shane Harris-Tunks came up the rebound for the Buffaloes, and Booker was fouled.
He made only one attempt and Baylor was on the run. A.J. Walton was short on his driving shot, though, and Roberson collected the rebound and got fouled to set up the final moments.
Baylor had hoped to duplicate what it accomplished against Colorado in March in an 80-63 victory. But those Bears were loaded with tall, strong, talented players like Quincy Acy, Quincy Miller and Perry Jones III to get going down low. Brady Heslip helped outside with nine 3-pointers in that one.
This time, Heslip was off the mark, making just one of his six 3-point tries.
Booker said the Buffaloes took extra care to slow down Heslip, who they watched connect for 27 points in the NCAA win. The emphasis, Booker said, was to work through screens and not let Heslip get going with his outside shot.
Booker said Colorado accomplished a big goal of its trip South in defeating Baylor. The next step, he said, is leaving with the Charleston Classic championship.
"This last one's going to be very important," he said. "We didn't want to just beat Baylor, we want to win the whole thing."
Baylor falls to the third-place game Sunday afternoon. Drew knew his club would have early growing pains, melding five freshmen into what had been an experienced, savvy team last fall.
Drew said he took on this tournament to put his younger players into difficult situations so they'll feel more comfortable when the games get bigger later in the season.
"But right now, unfortunately, we might pick up some losses like today," Drew said.
Change Rattles Leading Health-Funding Agency
Label: Health
Major changes erupted at one of the world’s leading health-funding agencies Thursday as it hired a new director, dismissed the inspector general who had clashed with a previous director and announced a new approach to making grants.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Dr. Mark Dybul, who led the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, in 2007.
Dr. Mark Dybul, the Bush administration’s global AIDS czar who was abruptly dismissed when President Obama took office, was named the new executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Dr. Dybul, who was selected over candidates from Canada, Britain and France, was backed by the United States, which donates about a third of the fund’s budget, and by Bill Gates, who helped the fund through a cash crisis earlier this year.
He is respected by many AIDS activists in the United States, though there is some lingering controversy about his time in the Bush administration related to abstinence policies and anti-prostitution pledges imposed by conservative lawmakers as well as concerning strict licensing requirements for generic drugs.
The fund, which is based in Geneva and has given away more than $20 billion since its founding in 2002, has been in crisis for more than a year. Some donors shied away after widely publicized corruption scandals, while others, notably Mr. Gates, said the scandals were exaggerated and increased donations.
Its last executive director, Dr. Michel Kazatchkine, quit in January after the day-to-day management duties of his job were given to a Brazilian banker, Gabriel Jaramillo, who was charged with cutting expenses.
By some accounts, 40 percent of the employees soon left, although Seth Faison, a fund spokesman, said the total number of employees declined by only 8 percent. The fund also dismissed its inspector general, John Parsons, on Thursday, citing unsatisfactory work.
Mr. Parsons and Dr. Kazatchkine had privately clashed. Mr. Parsons’s teams aggressively pursued theft and fraud, and found it in Mali, Mauritania and elsewhere. But the total amount stolen — $10 million to $20 million — was relatively small, and aides to Dr. Kazatchkine said the fund cut off those countries and sought to retrieve the money. The aides claimed that Mr. Parsons, who reported only to the board, went to news outlets and left the impression that the fund was covering up rampant theft.
The fuss scared off some donor countries that were already looking for excuses to cut back on foreign aid because of the global economic crisis.
Mr. Parsons did not return messages left for him Thursday.
Dr. Dybul’s appointment was welcomed by the United Nations AIDS program, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Malaria No More and Results.org, an anti-poverty lobbying group. By contrast, Jamie Love, an American advocate for cheaper AIDS drugs who works in Washington and Geneva, said he expected Dr. Dybul “to protect drug companies.”
The fund also announced a new application process, which it said would be faster and focus more on the hardest-hit countries rather than all 150 that received some help in the past.
In an interview, Dr. Dybul said he felt the fund was “on a strong forward trajectory” after changes were put in place in the last year by Mr. Jaramillo, and now would focus on “hard-nosed implementation of value for money.”
Both the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the fund spend billions, but in different ways.
The fund supports projects proposed by national health ministers and then hires local auditors to make sure the money is not wasted or stolen. Pepfar usually gives grants to American nonprofit groups or medical schools and lets them form partnerships with hospitals or charities in the affected countries.
The conventional wisdom is that the Global Fund’s model is more likely to win the cooperation of government officials but more vulnerable to corruption — and also spends less on salaries and travel for American overseers.
Dr. Kazatchkine said he did not expect Dr. Dybul to “Pepfarize” the Global Fund.
“I hope that, after a year of turbulence, the fund finds the serenity needed to move forward again,” he said.
Wealth Matters: Advisers Caution Against Hasty Decisions in Advance of Tax Changes
Label: Business
WITH all the ominous talk of tax increases and a “fiscal cliff” if President Obama and Congressional leaders can’t agree on a plan to avert automatic tax increases on Dec. 31, some investors may be tempted to act soon to take advantage of the current tax rates.
But financial advisers say that in their rush to do something this year, investors may end up with regrets.
“Any time you make a decision purely for tax reasons, it has a way of coming back and biting you,” said Mag Black-Scott, chief executive of Beverly Hills Wealth Management. “Could you be at a 43 percent tax on dividends instead of 15 percent? The straight answer is yes, of course you could. But what if that doesn’t happen? What if they increase just slightly?”
Various proposals are on the table, but the taxes the wealthy say they worry most about are an increase in the capital gains rate to 20 percent from 15 percent, which would affect investments like stocks and second homes; an increase in the 15 percent tax on dividends; and a limitation on deductions, which would effectively increase the tax bill. For the truly wealthy, there is also the question of what will happen to estate and gift taxes.
In addition, the health care law sets a 3.8 percent Medicare tax on investment income for individuals with more than $200,000 in annual income (and couples with more than $250,000). Taking taxes on capital gains as an example, Ms. Black-Scott, who started her career at Morgan Stanley in the late 1970s, said people needed to remember that the rates were 28 percent when Ronald Reagan was president. “If they go from 15 to 20 percent, is it really that bad?” she asked. “You need to say, ‘Do I like the stock?’ If you do, why would you get rid of it?”
Here is a look at some of the top areas where short-term decisions based solely on taxes could end up hindering long-term investment goals.
APPRECIATED STOCK Many people have large holdings in a single stock, often the result of working for a company for many years. And the stock may have appreciated significantly over that time. But if they are selling now solely for tax reasons, advisers say they shouldn’t. The stock may continue to do well and more than compensate for increased capital gains.
But there is an upside to an increase in the capital gains rate: wealthier clients may finally be pushed to diversify their holdings. “If you have 75 percent of your wealth in one stock, then it’s a really appropriate time to think about this,” said Timothy R. Lee, managing director of Monument Wealth Management. If the increased tax rate “is a motivating factor for some people, O.K. Letting go of that control and the pride that goes with it is a really difficult decision.”
Selling stock now may also make sense when it is in the form of stock options set to expire early next year. “Do you want to take the risk the price will drop in January?” asked Melissa Labant, director of the tax team at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. “What if we have a fiscal cliff or a change in the markets? If you’re comfortable, do it now.”
Some investors may also fear that higher taxes will drive all stocks down. Patrick S. Boyle, investment strategist at Bessemer Trust, said there was no historical link between tax increases and stock market performance.
In the most recent three tax increases, he says, “the market has actually gone up in the six months before and after.” He added: “It’s not that tax rates aren’t important. They are. It’s just that there are so many other things going on that are more important than tax policy.”
MUNICIPAL BONDS Bonds sold to finance state and local government projects are tax-free now and will be tax-free next year. That is no reason to load up on them.
Tax-free municipal bonds have always been attractive to people in higher-income tax brackets. Now, advisers fear that individuals just above the $200,000 threshold, people who say they do not feel wealthy but will probably be paying higher taxes on their income and investments, will try to offset that increase by moving more of their investments into municipal bonds.
Beth Gamel, a certified public accountant and executive vice president at Pillar Financial Advisers, imagined a case where people in higher tax brackets, thinking they were acting rationally, sold stocks this year to take advantage of the lower capital gains rates and then, to avoid higher taxes next year, put all or some of that money into municipal bonds. Maybe they outsmart the tax man, but they do so at risk to their retirement.
“It will be very difficult for them to reach their long-term goals,” she said, “because the yield on muni bonds is lower than stocks over time.”
Or as Will Braman, chief investment officer of Ballentine Partners, said of this trade-off: “It’s not about minimizing the taxes but maximizing the after-tax returns.”
He suggested that people use their deductions to reduce what is owed from taxable securities.
Attacks Resume After Israeli Assault Kills Hamas Leader
Label: World
KIRYAT MALACHI, Israel — Israel and Hamas widened their increasingly deadly conflict over Gaza on Thursday, as a militant rocket killed three civilians in an apartment block in this small southern town. The deaths were likely to lead Israel to intensify its military offensive on Gaza, now in its second day of airstrikes.
In Gaza, the Palestinian death toll rose to 11 as Israel struck what the military described as medium- and long-range rocket and infrastructure sites and rocket-launching squads. The military said it had dispersed leaflets over Gaza warning residents to stay away from Hamas operatives and facilities, suggesting that more was to come.
The regional perils of the situation sharpened, meanwhile, as President Mohamed Morsi of Egypt warned on Thursday that his country stood by the Palestinians against what he termed Israeli aggression, echoing similar condemnation on Wednesday.
“The Egyptian people, the Egyptian leadership, the Egyptian government, and all of Egypt is standing with all its resources to stop this assault, to prevent the killing and the bloodshed of Palestinians,” Mr. Morsi said in nationally televised remarks before a crisis meeting of senior ministers. He also instructed his prime minister to lead a delegation to Gaza on Friday and said he had contacted President Obama to discuss strategies to “stop these acts and doings and the bloodshed and aggression.”
In language that reflected the upheaval in the political dynamics of the Middle East since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak last year, Mr. Morsi said: “Israelis must realize that we don’t accept this aggression and it could only lead to instability in the region and has a major negative impact on stability and security in the region.”
The thrust of Mr. Morsi’s words seemed confined to diplomatic maneuvers, including calls to the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, the head of the Arab League and President Obama.
The 120-nation Nonalignmed Movement, the biggest bloc at the United Nations, added its condemnation of the Gaza airstrikes in a statement released by Iran, the group’s rotating president and one of Israel’s most ardent foes. “Israel, the occupying power, is, once more, escalating its military campaign against the Palestinian people, particularly in the Gaza Strip,” the group’s coordinating bureau said in the statement. The group made no mention of the Palestinian rocket fire but condemned what it called “this act of aggression by the Israelis and their resort to force against the defenseless people” and demanded “decisive action by the U.N. Security Council.”
In his conversation with Mr. Obama, Mr. Morsi said, he “clarified Egypt’s role and Egypt’s position; our care for the relations with the United States of America and the world; and at the same time our complete rejection of this assault and our rejection of these actions, of the bloodshed, and of the siege on Palestinians and their suffering.”
Mr. Obama had agreed to speak with Israeli leaders, Mr. Morsi said.
The Thursday’ deaths in Kiryat Malachi were the first casualties on the Israeli side since Israel launched its assault on Gaza, the most ferocious in four years, in response to persistent Palestinian rocket fire.
Southern Israel has been struck by more than 750 rockets fired from Gaza this year that have hit homes and caused injuries. On Thursday, a rocket smashed into the top floor of an apartment building in Kiryat Malachi, about 15 miles north of Gaza. Two men and one woman were killed, according to witnesses at the scene. A baby was among the injured and several Israelis were hospitalized with shrapnel wounds after rockets hit other southern cities and towns, they said.The apartment house was close to a field in a blue-collar neighborhood and the rocket tore open top-floor apartments, leaving twisted metal window frames and bloodstains.
Nava Chayoun, 40, who lives on the second floor, said her husband, Yitzhak, ran up the stairs immediately after the rocket struck and saw the body of a woman on the floor. He rescued two children from the same apartment and afterward, she said, she and her family “read psalms.”
Belize prime minister says McAfee “bonkers,” should help in murder case
Label: TechnologyBELIZE CITY (Reuters) – Belize‘s prime minister on Wednesday urged anti-virus software pioneer John McAfee to help the country’s police with a murder inquiry, calling McAfee “bonkers” for recent media statements.
“I don’t want to be unkind, but he seems to be extremely paranoid – I would go so far as to say bonkers,” Prime Minister Dean Barrow said in Belize City. “He ought to man up and respect our laws and go in and talk to the police.”
Belizean police want to question McAfee, 67, about the murder of his neighbor and fellow U.S. citizen, Gregory Viant Faull, 52, with whom McAfee had quarreled.
Police have been unable to track down McAfee since finding Faull dead on Sunday in his house on Ambergris Caye, an island off the coast. In an interview on Tuesday, McAfee said he had gone into hiding because he believed Belizean authorities were trying to frame him for Faull’s murder.
“You can say I’m paranoid about it, but they will kill me, there is no question. They’ve been trying to get me for months,” Wired magazine’s website quoted McAfee as saying. “I am not well liked by the prime minister.
According to the magazine, which has published details of several interviews with the entrepreneur, McAfee says he has been riding in boats, hunkering down on the floorboards of taxis, and sleeping in a bed that he said was infested with lice.
Since he went into hiding, McAfee has repeatedly told Wired he had nothing to do with Faull’s death. Explaining his actions, McAfee said he does not want to give himself up because he is afraid the authorities will torture or kill him.
But McAfee said they would track him down in the end. On Wednesday, the magazine said that McAfee claimed to have dyed his hair, eyebrows, beard, and mustache jet black.
“I’ll probably look like a murderer, unfortunately,” it quoted him as saying.
PUBLIC SPOTLIGHT
Barrow called McAfee’s statements “nonsense,” noting he had “never met the man” and that the media attention McAfee had attracted was offering him “the best possible safeguard.”
“It’s not as if the police have said he is a suspect and certainly there is no question at this point of charges pending,” Barrow said. “The fact that this is smeared across international headlines means the police would have to act extremely cautiously in the full glare of the public spotlight.”
McAfee, who invented the anti-virus software that bears his name, has homes and businesses in Belize, and is believed to have settled around 2010 in the tiny Central American nation bordered by Mexico and Guatemala.
There is already a case pending in Belize against McAfee for possession of illegal firearms, and police previously suspected him of running a lab to make the synthetic drug crystal meth.
On Wednesday, Belizean police said they had charged McAfee’s British bodyguard William Mulligan, 29, and Mulligan’s wife, Stefanie, 22, for having unlicensed weapons and ammunition.
Barrow rejected statements made by McAfee and an associate that the software pioneer was being targeted for refusing to donate to Belize’s ruling United Democratic Party (UDP) to help fund its successful re-election bid in March.
“I know of no individual in the UDP who has spoken to McAfee about contributions,” Barrow said.
McAfee was one of Silicon Valley’s first entrepreneurs to build an Internet fortune. The ex-Lockheed systems consultant started McAfee Associates in 1989. He now has no relationship with the company, which was sold to Intel Corp.
(Writing by Gabriel Stargardter; Editing by Dave Graham and Eric Walsh)
Internet News Headlines – Yahoo! News
Jim Harbaugh has procedure for irregular heartbeat
Label: LifestyleSANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh has been sent to the hospital for a "minor procedure" after doctors discovered he had an irregular heartbeat.
The team said Harbaugh was having the procedure done at Stanford Hospital on Thursday. The 49ers anticipate Harbaugh will be back at the team's facility Friday, though it's unclear in what capacity.
Assistant head coach and special teams coordinator Brad Seely oversaw team meetings and the afternoon practice.
The 49ers said Harbaugh visited with doctors Wednesday night. No further details were immediately announced.
Players were informed by Seely during the morning walkthrough and said the news caught them by surprise.
"He seemed fine to me. He actually sat right behind me in meetings," Willis said. "He seemed fine. I didn't know anything was wrong. But like I said, we know he's going to be alright."
The 48-year-old Harbaugh won NFL Coach of the Year in his first season with 49ers after coming over from Stanford. He led San Francisco to a 13-3 record in the regular season and to the NFC championship game, where the 49ers lost in overtime to the New York Giants.
The NFC West-leading 49ers (6-2-1) host the Chicago Bears on Monday night. And suddenly, quarterback Alex Smith's recovery from a concussion is San Francisco's second-biggest injury concern.
"It's one of those things that, like Coach Harbaugh always tells us, he's tougher than a $2 steak," 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis said. "We know he's going to be alright. We know we have a bunch of great coaches here that keep everything on track, and we're going to practice today as if he was here."
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Antonio Gonzalez can be reached at: www.twitter.com/agonzalezAP
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Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL
Well: Southern Flavors on a Vegetarian Table
Label: HealthIf you’re looking for new ways to cook vegetables, a trip south of the Mason-Dixon line is a good place to start. The fair weather and long growing season of the South means there’s always a plentiful supply of fresh vegetables and produce.
“We live in Memphis, and it’s true there is a lot of barbecue, but there are a good deal of farmers’ markets too,” says Amy Lawrence, co-author of “The Southern Vegetarian Cookbook: 100 Down-Home Recipes for the Modern Table,” with photography by her husband, Justin Fox Burks. “My dad farms too, so we always have many vegetables at our disposal. We have tomatoes out on the porch right now, and the peppers are coming in.”
Ms. Lawrence and Mr. Burks may be better known for their food blog, The Chubby Vegetarian, which celebrates vegetarian cooking and eating on the way to better fitness and health. Mr. Burks said he has lost about 70 pounds since starting the blog four years ago. “When you’re writing down the ingredients in everything you’re eating and photographing it, there’s no fooling yourself about the wrong turns you’re making,” he said.
For Well’s Vegetarian Thanksgiving series, Mr. Burks and Ms. Lawrence offer some of their personal favorites for the holiday table. They include two dishes — stuffed squash and a smoky brussels sprouts salad — that they make every year for their families. There’s also a mushroom gravy, an apple-parsnip soup and a cranberry-pomegranate sauce that will wow your guests.
“The Southern Vegetarian Cookbook”
Chanterelle and Apricot Stuffed Acorn Squash With Miracle Mushroom Gravy
“In our family, Thanksgiving stretches from Tuesday to Friday, with a whole lot of celebrating and a whole lot of food,” Mr. Burks explains. “Our job is to bring a dish that rivals that big bird. For the last couple of years, this stuffed squash dish has been a family demand. If we didn’t bring it, we’d be in trouble.”
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup finely diced celery
1 cup finely diced white onion (about 1 small)
1 vegetable bouillon cube
1/4 cup white wine (like Pinot Grigio)
1 cup chanterelles, torn into strips
1/4 cup finely diced dried apricots
Sea salt flakes and cracked black pepper (to taste)
2 cups brioche or good-quality white bread, torn into pieces
2 large eggs (beaten)
1 large acorn squash (or two small)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Miracle Mushroom Gravy (recipe below)
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium pan over medium heat, melt the butter and then sauté the celery, onion and bouillon cube until lightly browned. Deglaze the pan with the wine, and reduce until most of the liquid has evaporated.
2. Add the chanterelles and apricots to the pan and warm through. Add salt and pepper. Chill the mushroom mixture thoroughly. In a large bowl, mix the bread, eggs and the cooled vegetable mixture.
3. Using a sharp kitchen knife (and plenty of caution), trim the stem end off of the squash and cut the squash into 3/4 inch rings. You should be able to get 4 rings out of a large acorn squash. Discard the stem end and bottom piece. Using a spoon, scrape the seeds and membrane out of the squash and discard. Lay the squash rings out on a large parchment-lined baking sheet and drizzle slices of squash with olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes.
4. Remove squash from the oven and press the mushroom and apricot stuffing into the center of each squash ring. Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until the stuffing has set and started to brown. Garnish with mushroom gravy.
Yield: 2 to 3 servings.
“The Southern Vegetarian Cookbook”
Miracle Mushroom Gravy
“With this gravy we were trying to get sausage-type flavor without the sausage. You have to try it,” said Mr. Burks.
1 (10-ounce) package cremini (baby bella) mushrooms
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 cup diced shallots
1 teaspoon dried sage
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Scant 1/8 teaspoon ground clove
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1. Slice mushrooms about 1/4-inch thick. You will blend them later, so there’s no need to be overly precise. Add the canola oil to a medium frying pan over high heat, and then sauté the mushrooms until browned. Add the shallots to the pan and continue to cook for another minute until the rawness has been cooked out of the shallots and they’re translucent.
2. Place the mushrooms and shallots into the work bowl of your food processor, and add the sage, red pepper flakes, clove powder, soy sauce and maple syrup.
3. In the same pan over medium heat, melt the butter and add the flour. Whisk the mixture until fragrant, about five minutes. Whisk in the whole milk, and heat the mixture until slightly thick. Add the milk mixture to the food processor that contains the mushroom mixture. Pulse until the mushrooms are finely chopped and well incorporated into the milk, but leave some chunkiness for a nice texture.
4. Return the mixture to the pan and keep warm until ready to serve. If it gets too thick, add some milk or stock to thin it out.
Yield: 6 servings.
“The Southern Vegetarian Cookbook”
Honeycrisp Apple and Parsnip Soup
If you’re looking for a delicious soup to start the meal, this flavorful apple and parsnip soup captures the flavors of fall.
1 1/2 cups diced white onion (1 medium)
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup sparkling wine
2 large parsnips, peeled and roughly chopped, about 2 cups
2 large Honeycrisp apples, peeled and roughly chopped, about 2 cups
1 russet potato or white sweet potato, peeled and roughly chopped, about 1 1/2 cups
1 teaspoon dried sage
2 cups vegetable stock
1 cup half-and-half
Sea salt and cracked black pepper (to taste)
1/2 cup sliced green onions (to garnish)
1. In a soup pot or Dutch oven, sauté onions in butter over medium heat until translucent, and then add wine. Allow the mixture to reduce until most of the liquid has evaporated, and then add parsnip, apple, potato and sage to the mixture.
2. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes, or until vegetables have softened and have taken on a slight color. Add the stock and reduce heat to medium-low. Bring the stock up to temperature. Slowly add the half-and-half to the warm mixture. Do not allow soup to boil after adding the half-and-half as it could curdle.
3. Using an immersion blender, blend the mixture smooth. Add enough stock or water to achieve the consistency you desire up to another full cup. Garnish with sliced green onion.
Yield: 4 servings
“The Southern Vegetarian Cookbook”
Warm Brussels Sprout Salad With Smoked Feta and Candied Pecans
The trick to this salad is to blanch the brussels sprouts in salty water to remove the bitterness.The candied pecans combined with smoky feta creates a heavenly dish. “Even the little kids eat it,’’ said Ms. Lawrence.
1 pound brussels sprouts (15 to 20 larger ones work best here)
1/4 cup vegan cane sugar
1 1/2 cups whole roasted and salted pecans
4 ounces smoked feta
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons golden balsamic vinegar
Sea salt flakes and cracked black pepper (to taste)
1. Start by tearing apart the brussels sprouts. Cut off about 1/3 of the stem end and pull the leaves apart; this takes some time, but it’s worth it. Start by pressing outward with your thumbs on the cut side. This will yield the largest leaves and make for a fluffier salad. When you get to the core, just split it in half and throw it in with the leaves.
2. Blanch the leaves in boiling, salted water (as salty as the sea) until they turn bright green. This will take 10 seconds. Run the leaves under cold water to stop the cooking. Dry the sprout leaves in a salad spinner or lay them out on a clean towel to dry.
3. Spread the sugar in a cold 10-inch frying pan and melt it over medium heat. Once the edges of the sugar start to melt, stir the sugar until all the lumps disappear. Remove from the heat. Toss the pecans in the melted sugar until coated. It will look a bit like spun sugar as you stir the pecans into the sugar, and the pecans will stick together as they cool. Transfer to a plate to cool completely. Once the pecans have cooled, break the mass apart using your hands. Roughly chop the pecans.
4. Cut the feta into a 1/4-inch dice. If you cannot find smoked feta in your area, just use feta cheese and add 1/4 teaspoon Liquid Smoke to the dressing.
5. Now you’re ready to assemble the salad. Place 4 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of vinegar into a large frying pan over low heat. The heat should not be so high that the dressing sizzles. Once the dressing is warm, place the sprout leaves in the pan and toss with the dressing. Transfer to a large plate. Sprinkle with cheese and nuts. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Yield: 4 servings
“The Southern Vegetarian Cookbook”
Cranberry-Pomegranate Sauce
Pomegranates are a special way to boost the flavor of a traditional Thanksgiving dish.
1 12-ounce bag fresh cranberries (organic ones taste sweeter)
1/2 cup pomegranate juice
1 whole pomegranate
3/4 cup vegan cane sugar
1 tablespoon local honey
Zest of 1 Meyer lemon
Pinch of sea salt
Pinch of clove powder
1. Rinse cranberries and pour them into a tall saucepan. Pour in pomegranate juice. Turn heat on medium-low.
2. Cut the whole pomegranate and remove all the seeds; run them through a food processor and then a sieve or a food mill in order to strain out the seeds. Pour into the pan along with the sugar, honey, lemon zest, salt and clove. Cook for about 30 to 40 minutes until the cranberries pop and the sauce thickens.
Yield: 6 servings
BP to Admit Crimes and Pay $4.5 Billion in Gulf Settlement
Label: Business
BP, the British oil company, said Thursday that it would pay $4.5 billion in fines and other payments to the government and plead guilty to 14 criminal charges in connection with the giant oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico two years ago.
US Coast Guard, via Associated Press
The explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico that was connected to a well owned by BP killed 11 workers and spilled millions of barrels of oil.
The payments include $4 billion related to the criminal charges and $525 million to securities regulators, the company said in a statement. As part of the settlement, BP agreed to plead guilty to 11 felony counts of misconduct or neglect related to the deaths of 11 people in the Deepwater Horizon accident in April 2010, which released millions of barrels of oil into the gulf over the course of the next few months.
The Justice Department also filed criminal charges against three BP employees on Thursday.
The government charged the top BP officers aboard the drilling rig, Robert Kaluza and Donald Vidrine, with manslaughter in connection with each of the men who died, alleging that they were negligent in supervising tests before the well blowout and explosion that destroyed the rig.
Prosecutors also charged BP’s former vice president for exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, David Rainey, with obstruction of Congress and making false statements about the rate at which oil was spilling from the well.
“All of us at BP deeply regret the tragic loss of life caused by the Deepwater Horizon accident as well as the impact of the spill on the Gulf coast region,” Robert Dudley, BP’s chief executive, said in a statement. “From the outset, we stepped up by responding to the spill, paying legitimate claims and funding restoration efforts in the Gulf. We apologize for our role in the accident, and as today’s resolution with the U.S. government further reflects, we have accepted responsibility for our actions.”
While the settlement dispels one dark cloud that has hovered over BP since the spill, others remain. BP is still subject to other claims, including billions of dollars in federal civil claims and claims for damages to natural resources.
In particular, BP noted that the settlement does not resolve what is potentially the largest penalty related to the spill: fines under the Clean Water Act. The potential fine for the spill under the act is $1,100 to $4,300 a barrel spilled. That means the fine could be as much as $21 billion.
In addition to the 11 felonies related to the men killed in the accident, the company agreed to plead guilty to one misdemeanor violation of the Clean Water Act and one misdemeanor violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
BP also acknowledged that it had provided inaccurate information to the public early on about the rate at which oil was gushing from the well.
The company agreed to plead guilty to one felony count of obstruction of Congress over its statements on that issue. It also agreed to pay a civil penalty of $525 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission, spread over three years, to resolve the agency’s claims that the company made misleading filings to investors about the flow rate.
As part of its resolution of criminal claims with the Department of Justice, BP will pay about $4 billion, spread over five years. That amount includes $1.256 billion in criminal fines, $2.394 billion to the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation and $350 million to the National Academy of Sciences.
The criminal fine is one of the largest ever levied by the United States against a corporation, roughly equal to the $1.3 billion fine paid by Pfizer in 2009 for illegally marketing an arthritis drug. BP has repeatedly said it would like to reach a settlement with all claimants if the terms were reasonable. The unresolved issue of the claims has been weighing on BP’s share price.
On Thursday, BP’s American shares were trading at about $40 at midday, roughly unchanged on the day and down about 34 percent since the accident.
“It’s one less thing to be negative on BP about and a minor step in the right direction toward the rehabilitation of BP,” Iain Armstrong, an equity analyst at the investment manager Brewin Dolphin, in London, said. But he added that there were still concerns about remaining claims and that “lawyers might yet have their day at court.”
As part of Thursday’s agreements, BP said it was increasing its reserve for all costs and claims related to the spill to about $42 billion.
Israelis Launch Major Assault on Gaza, Killing Hamas Commander
Label: World
Reuters
Palestinians extinguished a fire after an Israeli airstrike on a car carrying Ahmed al-Jabari, who ran Hamas's military wing, on Wednesday in Gaza City.
GAZA — Israel on Wednesday launched one of the most ferocious assaults on Gaza since its invasion four years ago, hitting at least 20 targets in aerial attacks that killed the top military commander of Hamas, drew strong condemnation from Egypt and escalated the risks of a new war in the Middle East.
The Israelis coupled the intensity of the airstrikes with the threat of another ground invasion and warnings to all Hamas leaders in Gaza to stay out of sight or risk the same fate as the Hamas military commander, Ahmed al-Jabari, who was killed in a pinpoint airstrike as he was traveling by car down a Gaza street. “We recommend that no Hamas operatives, whether low level or senior leaders, show their faces above ground in the days ahead,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a Twitter message.
The ferocity of the airstrikes, which Israel called Operation “Pillar of Defense” in response to repeated rocket attacks by Gaza-based Palestinian militants, provoked rage in Gaza, where Hamas said the airstrikes amounted to war and promised a harsh response. Civil-defense authorities in Israel raised alert levels and told residents to take precautions for rocket retaliation from Gaza.
Health officials in Gaza quoted by news agencies said the Israeli attacks had killed at least nine people and wounded at least 40.
The abrupt escalation in hostilities between Israel and Hamas, the militant organization regarded by Israel as a terrorist group sworn to Israel’s destruction, came amid rising tensions between Israel and all of its Arab neighbors. Israel has faced growing lawlessness on its border with the Sinai, including cross-border attacks. It recently fired twice into Syria, which is caught in a civil war, after munitions fell in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, and it has absorbed rocket fire from Gaza, which has damaged homes and frightened the population.
Israeli officials had promised a robust response to the rocket fire, but for the moment, at least, opted against a ground invasion and instead chose airstrikes and targeted killings.
The Israeli attacks especially threatened to further complicate Israel’s fragile relations with Egypt, where the Islamist-led government of President Mohamed Morsi, reversing a policy of ousted predecessor Hosni Mubarak, had established closer ties with Hamas and had been acting as a mediator to restore calm between Israel and Gaza-based militant groups.
In the first crisis in Israeli-Egyptian relations since Mr. Morsi came to power, he ordered Egypt’s ambassador to Israel to return home, summoned the Israeli ambassador to protest, and called for emergency meetings of both the United Nations Security Council and the Arab League over the Gaza attacks. Egyptian state media said the Foreign Ministry had demanded that Israel “stop its aggression at once.”
Mr. Morsi’s Freedom and Justice Party, which was founded by the Muslim Brotherhood, issued a statement saying: “The wanton aggression against Gaza proves that Israel has yet to realize that Egypt has changed and that the Egyptian people who revolted against oppression will not accept assaulting Gaza.”
A spokesman for Hamas, Fawzi Barhoum, said the Israelis had “committed a dangerous crime and broke all redlines,” and that “the Israeli occupation will regret and pay a high price.”
Military officials in Israel, which announced responsibility for the death of Mr. Jabari, later said in a statement that their forces had carried out additional airstrikes in Gaza targeting what they described as “a significant number of long-range rocket sites” owned by Hamas that had stored rockets capable of reaching 25 miles into Israel. The statement said the airstrikes had dealt a “significant blow to the terror organization’s underground rocket-launching capabilities.”
Yisrael Katz, a minister from Israel’s governing Likud Party, issued a statement saying that the operation had sent a message to the Hamas political leaders in Gaza “that the head of the snake must be smashed. Israel will continue to kill and target anyone who is involved in the rocket attacks.”Hamas and medical officials in Gaza said both Mr. Jabari and a companion were killed by the airstrike on his car in Gaza City. Israeli news media said the companion was Mr. Jabari’s son, but there was no immediate confirmation.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that Mr. Jabari had been targeted because he “served in the upper echelon of the Hamas command and was directly responsible for executing terror attacks against the state of Israel in the past number of years,” including the 2006 abduction and five-year incarceration of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier, on the Israel-Gaza border.
The statement said the purpose of the attack was to “severely impair the command and control chain of the Hamas leadership as well as its terrorist infrastructure.”
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