PFT: Mara laughs off Jones: 'Caught up in Tebow'

AP

Jets coach Rex Ryan can?t remember where he first heard it, but after his team acquired Tim Tebow, Ryan heard an idea he found intriguing: Someone suggested that Tebow is such a good goal-line quarterback, as both a runner and a passer, that the Jets ought to go for two after every touchdown

?I don?t know where it came from but they were like, ?They ought to go for two every time this year.? That might make sense,? Ryan said.

Intrigued by the notion, Ryan gave it some thought. He said that it?s not realistic to simply do away with the one-point extra point, but it is realistic to think the Jets can feel much more confident than most teams when they go for two, thanks to Tebow.

?Now, we?re not going to, I can tell you that right now, but I can understand where the guy?s coming from, whoever came up with that, because it?s 11-on-11 football and he?s a 250-pound man who?s running downhill at you, or throwing. That?s the other thing. It?s not just that he can run it but he can throw it as well,? Ryan said.

Obviously, no team is ever going to go for two after every touchdown. There are certain game situations when having a nearly 100 percent chance of making a one-point extra point is a much safer bet than going for two. But if there?s a team that has good enough personnel for goal-line situations that it believes it can convert a two-point conversion more than 50 percent of the time, then that team should go for two most of the time.

So far, there?s never been a team that took that approach: The one-point conversion is the default choice for every team. But maybe Ryan can be persuaded to use Tebow on two-point conversions even when the ?chart? says he should kick. Ryan might just be enamored enough with Tebow?s skills to defy conventional wisdom, and regularly go for two.

Here?s the video of Ryan?s comments:

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/08/02/john-mara-laughs-off-jerry-jones/related/

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Exclusive: Obama authorizes secret U.S. support for Syrian rebels

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has signed a secret order authorizing U.S. support for rebels seeking to depose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his government, U.S. sources familiar with the matter said.

Obama's order, approved earlier this year and known as an intelligence "finding," broadly permits the CIA and other U.S. agencies to provide support that could help the rebels oust Assad.

This and other developments signal a shift toward growing, albeit still circumscribed, support for Assad's armed opponents - a shift that intensified following last month's failure of the U.N. Security Council to agree on tougher sanctions against the Damascus government.

The White House is for now apparently stopping short of giving the rebels lethal weapons, even as some U.S. allies do just that.

But U.S. and European officials have said that there have been noticeable improvements in the coherence and effectiveness of Syrian rebel groups in the past few weeks. That represents a significant change in assessments of the rebels by Western officials, who previously characterized Assad's opponents as a disorganized, almost chaotic, rabble.

Precisely when Obama signed the secret intelligence authorization, an action not previously reported, could not be determined.

The full extent of clandestine support that agencies like the CIA might be providing also is unclear.

White House spokesman Tommy Vietor declined comment.

'NERVE CENTER'

A U.S. government source acknowledged that under provisions of the presidential finding, the United States was collaborating with a secret command center operated by Turkey and its allies.

Last week, Reuters reported that, along with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Turkey had established a secret base near the Syrian border to help direct vital military and communications support to Assad's opponents.

This "nerve center" is in Adana, a city in southern Turkey about 60 miles from the Syrian border, which is also home to Incirlik, a U.S. air base where U.S. military and intelligence agencies maintain a substantial presence.

Turkey's moderate Islamist government has been demanding Assad's departure with growing vehemence. Turkish authorities are said by current and former U.S. government officials to be increasingly involved in providing Syrian rebels with training and possibly equipment.

European government sources said wealthy families in Saudi Arabia and Qatar were providing significant financing to the rebels. Senior officials of the Saudi and Qatari governments have publicly called for Assad's departure.

On Tuesday, NBC News reported that the Free Syrian Army had obtained nearly two dozen surface-to-air missiles, weapons that could be used against Assad's helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Syrian government armed forces have employed such air power more extensively in recent days.

NBC said the shoulder-fired missiles, also known as MANPADs, had been delivered to the rebels via Turkey.

On Wednesday, however, Bassam al-Dada, a political adviser to the Free Syrian Army, denied the NBC report, telling the Arabic-language TV network Al-Arabiya that the group had "not obtained any such weapons at all." U.S. government sources said they could not confirm the MANPADs deliveries, but could not rule them out either.

Current and former U.S. and European officials previously said that weapons supplies, which were being organized and financed by Qatar and Saudi Arabia, were largely limited to guns and a limited number of anti-tank weapons, such as bazookas.

Indications are that U.S. agencies have not been involved in providing weapons to Assad's opponents. In order to do so, Obama would have to approve a supplement, known as a "memorandum of notification, to his initial broad intelligence finding.

Further such memoranda would have to be signed by Obama to authorize other specific clandestine operations to support Syrian rebels.

Reuters first reported last week that the White House had crafted a directive authorizing greater U.S. covert assistance to Syrian rebels. It was unclear at that time whether Obama had signed it.

OVERT SUPPORT

Separately from the president's secret order, the Obama administration has stated publicly that it is providing some backing for Assad's opponents.

The State Department said on Wednesday the U.S. government had set aside a total of $25 million for "non-lethal" assistance to the Syrian opposition. A U.S. official said that was mostly for communications equipment, including encrypted radios.

The State Department also says the United States has set aside $64 million in humanitarian assistance for the Syrian people, including contributions to the World Food Program, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other aid agencies.

Also on Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury confirmed it had granted authorization to the Syrian Support Group, Washington representative of one of the most active rebel factions, the Free Syrian Army, to conduct financial transactions on the rebel group's behalf. The authorization was first reported on Friday by Al-Monitor, a Middle East news and commentary website.

Last year, when rebels began organizing themselves to challenge the rule of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Obama also signed an initial "finding" broadly authorizing secret U.S. backing for them. But the president moved cautiously in authorizing specific measures to support them.

Some U.S. lawmakers, such as Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, have criticized Obama for moving too slowly to assist the rebels and have suggested the U.S. government become directly involved in arming Assad's opponents.

Other lawmakers have suggested caution, saying too little is known about the many rebel groups.

Recent news reports from the region have suggested that the influence and numbers of Islamist militants, some of them connected to al Qaeda or its affiliates, have been growing among Assad's opponents.

U.S. and European officials say that, so far, intelligence agencies do not believe the militants' role in the anti-Assad opposition is dominant.

While U.S. and allied government experts believe that the Syrian rebels have been making some progress against Assad's forces lately, most believe the conflict is nowhere near resolution, and could go on for years.

(Additional reporting by Tabassum Zakaria and Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Warren Strobel and Peter Cooney)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-obama-authorizes-secret-u-support-syrian-rebels-215804682.html

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Millionaire admits preventing US-born wife's burial

Alan Davidson / Picture Library Ltd via AP, file

Eva and Hans Kristian Rausing attend the Glamour America Fashion Show and lunch at the residence of the U.S. ambassador to Britain in London on Nov. 26, 1996.

By NBC News staff and wire services

LONDON -- Multi-millionaire Hans Kristian Rausing pleaded guilty Wednesday to preventing the proper burial of his wealthy U.S.-born wife Eva, whose badly decomposed body was found in the luxury London home she shared with her husband.

A spokeswoman for Britain's judiciary told The Associated Press that Rausing, whose father made billions selling his stake in the Tetra Pak drinks-carton empire, pleaded guilty at London's Isleworth Crown Court to charges of "preventing the lawful and decent burial" of his 48-year-old wife.

She spoke on condition of anonymity, citing office policy.

---

Police discovered Eva Rausing's body in early July after her husband was stopped by police after driving erratically. It was found in a fly-filled room under a pile of clothing and garbage bags which had been taped together. ??

It was possible Eva Rausing died up to two months before her body was found, Isleworth Crown Court heard, according to?BBC News. ?A post-mortem examination established that she had drugs in her system, including cocaine. ??

In a statement to the court Hans Kristian?Rausing said he had been unable to confront the reality of his wife's death, the BBC added.

'Very traumatized'
He told police that he did not have "a very coherent recollection of the events leading up to and since Eva's death" but that he had never wished her any harm.

"I did not supply her with drugs. I have been very traumatized since her death," he added, according to the BBC.?"I do not know what caused her death. I did not feel able to confront the reality of her death."

The judiciary spokeswoman told the AP that Hans Kristian Rausing would be sentenced later. He has been treated in a psychiatric facility in recent weeks.

His father has a net worth net worth estimated at 4.3 billion pounds ($6.7 billion) from the Tetra Pak sale.

Tragic story of addition
Hans Kristian's plea caps a tragic story of addiction and wealth.

Eva Rausing's father?Tom Kemeny, a former Pepsi executive, said in a statement on July 17 that his daughter had earlier returned to the British capital to try to persuade her husband to join her in drug treatment in the U.S.

"At the time of her death her over-riding concern was for the safety of her beloved husband, for whom she interrupted her own treatment to return to London in an attempt to take him back with her to California, but tragically to no avail," he said in the statement.

The couple's struggles with addiction -- long known to their close friends and family -- became widely known in 2008 when Eva Rausing was caught trying to smuggle crack cocaine and heroin into the U.S. Embassy in London in her handbag.

Police later found more drugs, including a sizeable amount of cocaine, in a search of the couple's townhouse and the two were charged with drug possession.

Police struggle to shed light on US-born heiress' death

Prosecutors later agreed to drop the charges in exchange for formal police warnings when the couple -- who gave millions to anti-addiction charities -- admitted guilt.

Before the embassy arrest, Eva Rausing's good looks and beautiful clothes -- along with her husband and his friendly, bear-like countenance -- had made the Rausings, who had married shortly after they met in the 1980s, welcome participants on the London philanthropic scene.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

More world stories from NBC News:

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/01/13066824-multi-millionaire-rausing-pleads-guilty-to-preventing-us-born-wifes-burial?lite

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Eurozone jobless stays at record high of 11.2 pct

BRUSSELS (AP) ? Official figures show unemployment across the economy of the 17 countries that use the euro hit a record high in June, in another stark reminder to policymakers that their failure to get a grip on Europe's debt crisis has had ramifications way beyond the confines of the bond market.

Eurostat, the EU's statistics office, says Tuesday that eurozone unemployment in June was 11.2 percent, unchanged from the previous month's upwardly-revised rate. May's rate had originally been estimated at a then record high of 11.1 percent.

The figures will add to the pressure on policymakers to deal with the crisis. Mario Draghi, the European Central Bank's president, indicated last week that new measures are imminent.

Ahead of Thursday's ECB meeting, Eurostat also says inflation was unchanged at 2.4 percent in July.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/eurozone-jobless-stays-record-high-11-2-pct-090556440--finance.html

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British give Brazil a scare before falling in basketball

Unfancied Britain battled Brazil to the verge of an Olympic men's basketball shocker on Tuesday before falling in the final seconds 67-62 in a round-robin matchup.

Tiago Splitter of the NBA San Antonio Spurs scored 21 points and Marcelinho Huertas added 13 points to lift Brazil level with Spain and Russia atop Group B at 2-0. Britain joined China and Australia at 0-2.

"When you face adversity like that and you still win, that makes you stronger," Huertas said.

Britain's Pops Mensah-Bonsu had 13 points and 12 rebounds while Nate Reinking added 13 points and Luol Deng of the NBA Chicago Bulls 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

"We played at a high level," British coach Chris Finch said. "To be in position to win the game in the last four minutes, I was pleased. If you put yourself there enough times you can win."

Two free throws by Splitter gave Brazil a 56-51 lead, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Deng gave Britain a 57-56 edge with 3:56 remaining and put the Olympic hosts within reach of a stunning upset.

Splitter sank a layup, Marquinhos Veira Sousa followed with a 3-pointer and Nene Hilario of the NBA Washington Wizards slammed in a dunk to give the South Americans a six-point cushion.

"We didn't have a good night shooting the ball but we still hit important threes at the end of the game," Splitter said.

Joel Freeland got a basket on a goaltending call against Hilario but Splitter answered with a layup, then Deng was fouled by Alex Garcia attempting a 3-point shot, sending Deng to the free throw line for three crucial attempts.

Deng made only 1-of-3, trimming Brazil's lead to 65-60, but Huertas followed with two free throws to seal Britain's fate.

"We were fighting the whole way," Reinking said. "It just comes down to making plays. We just have to break through and get a win."

Their next chance comes Thursday against reigning European champion Spain.

"We're not here for people to tell us we did a good job," Britain's Drew Sullivan said. "We're here to win games. We didn't get it done in the end."

Britain seized a surprise 11-4 lead after a first quarter in which neither side found a shooting touch, the Brazilians hitting a miserable 2-of-20 shots from the field in the period while the Olympic hosts were a woeful 4-of-15.

"That never happened to me before in my life, to score only four points in a quarter," Brazil coach Magnano Ruben said.

The game was deadlocked 27-27 at half-time and stayed tight in the third quarter, Britain making 5-of-6 from the field to open the second half while Brazil missed 5-of-7 free throws to open the third quarter.

"It's clear we won the match thanks to our defence," Ruben said.

Dan Clark hit a 3-pointer and Reinking followed with an inside jumper and a 3-pointer to put Britain ahead 51-50 with 7:18 remaining, a wild cheer erupting from a sellout crowd.

"We just have to learn how to play down the stretch a bit better and get a victory," Clark said. "The fans were great. It doesn't get much better."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/brazilians-hold-off-stubborn-britain-basketball-180456239--nba.html

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Defense official: Cuts hit warfighters, weapons

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Warfighters heading to Afghanistan would receive less training while the Navy would be forced to buy fewer ships if lawmakers fail in the next five months to come up with an alternative deficit-reduction plan, a Pentagon official said Wednesday.

Imploring Congress to act, Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and the White House's acting budget chief, Jeff Zients, outlined the devastating effect on defense and domestic programs if $110 billion in across-the-board reductions begin on Jan. 2.

That approach "is a blunt, indiscriminate instrument designed to force congressional action on achieving a balanced deficit reduction plan," Zients told the House Armed Services Committee. "It is not the responsible way for our nation to achieve deficit reduction."

Compromise, however, seems highly unlikely before the November election as the issue is caught up in the political fight over taxes and spending. Democrats insist any plan to spare the military include tax increases on high-wage earners; Republicans reject any plan that calls for higher taxes.

The hearing underscored that political reality. The meeting of the typically bipartisan panel quickly degenerated into finger-pointing over who was responsible for last year's budget deal to cut spending and raise the nation's budget authority.

There was little discussion of a solution to the automatic cuts.

In a testy exchange, Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., insisted that President Barack Obama has done nothing to address the "atrocities" of the impending cuts.

Zients pointed out that Congress wrote the law calling for the automatic cuts and has five months to act. "What's holding it up is the Republican refusal to make the top 2 percent pay their fair share" in taxes, he said.

Carter said military personnel would be exempt from the automatic cuts, but every other military account would be affected, from weapons to the number of hours commissaries operate to potential furloughs.

"Some later-deploying units (including some deploying to Afghanistan) could receive less training, especially in the Army and Marine Corps," Carter said. "Under some circumstances, this reduced training could impact their ability to respond to a new contingency, should one occur."

In the three months to the election, Republicans are using the looming reductions in military spending as a political cudgel against Obama, arguing that the commander in chief is willing to risk the nation's security as he uses the leverage in the budget showdown with Congress. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has echoed GOP lawmakers' criticism.

Democrats counter that Republicans who voted for the cuts are trying to wriggle out of last August's deficit-cutting agreement and they must consider tax increases as part of any congressional compromise to stave off reductions.

Twenty-two Republicans on the committee, including the chairman, Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon of California, and 18 Democrats voted for the cuts. Thirteen committee Republicans and seven Democrats, including ranking member Rep. Adam Smith of Washington state, opposed them.

Raising the political stakes, GOP Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina spent two days in some of the most contested presidential states warning of the impact of the cuts on local businesses and jobs. They demanded that Obama negotiate with Republicans and Democrats to work out a solution.

Responding to the announcement sparing personnel, the three expressed frustration with the administration's handling of the issue.

"Rather than coming to the table with Republicans and Democrats in Congress to finally address the issue of budget sequestration, the Obama administration is flailing around," they said, in an attempt to make the cutting "look less devastating than it actually is. Today's announcement increases the impact of these arbitrary cuts on the readiness of our armed forces."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., noted that there are "a few Republicans wandering around the country stirring up things" on the looking cuts, and he urged the lawmakers to try to persuade other Republicans to back tax increases.

Major defense contractors are wary of the impending cuts and debating whether they need to advise employees 60 days in advance of possible layoffs. That would be four days before the election. A law says those notices would have to go out ahead of time.

The Labor Department, however, said Monday that federal contractors do not have to warn their employees about potential layoffs from the automatic, across-the-board budget cuts due to kick in Jan. 2. The guidance letter said it would be "inappropriate" for employers to send such warnings because it is still speculative if and where the cuts might occur.

The White House told agency officials Tuesday to "continue normal spending and operations" since more than five months remain for Congress to act to avert the automatic cuts.

According to a U.S. government official, the automatic budget cuts would slash about 10,000 jobs within the intelligence community. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly about numbers that have not been released.

___

Associated Press writer Lolita C. Baldor contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/defense-official-cuts-hit-warfighters-weapons-141312003--finance.html

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SBA economic injury disaster loans available in Michigan following ...

ATLANTA ? The U.S. Small Business Administration announced Monday (July 30) that federal economic injury disaster loans are available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private non-profit organizations of all sizes located in Michigan as a result of drought that began on July 17, 2012.

The SBA?s disaster declaration includes the following counties: Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Hillsdale, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Lenawee, Saint Joseph and Van Buren in Michigan.

?When the Secretary of Agriculture issues a disaster declaration to help farmers recover from damages and losses to crops, the Small Business Administration issues a declaration to eligible entities affected by the same disaster,? said Frank Skaggs, director of SBA?s Field Operations Center East in Atlanta.

Under this declaration, the SBA?s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program is available to eligible farm-related and nonfarm-related entities that suffered financial losses as a direct result of this disaster.? With the exception of aquaculture enterprises, SBA cannot provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers.? Nurseries are eligible to apply for economic injury disaster loans for losses caused by drought conditions.

The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates of 3 percent for private non-profit organizations of all sizes and 4 percent for small businesses, with terms up to 30 years.? The SBA determines eligibility based on the size of the applicant, type of activity and its financial resources.? Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant?s financial condition.? These working capital loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred.? The loans are not intended to replace lost sales or profits.

Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA?s secure website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.

Disaster loan information and application forms may also be obtained by calling the SBA?s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing) or by sending an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.? Loan applications can be downloaded from www.sba.gov.? Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.

Completed loan applications must be returned to SBA no later than March 25, 2013.

Source:? News release regarding SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans Due to Drought

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Source: http://www.rivercountryjournal.info/2012/07/30/sba-economic-injury-disaster-loans-available-in-michigan-following-secretary-of-agriculture-disaster-declaration-for-drought/

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