Millions of Hindus bathe in Ganges to cleanse sins

ALLAHABAD, India (AP) — Millions of devout Hindus plunged Monday into India's holy Ganges River in a ritual they believe can wash away their sins.
Monday is considered the most auspicious day of the Kumbh Mela, or Pitcher Festival, which lasts 55 days and is one of the world's largest religious gatherings.
Over 110 million people are expected to take a dip at the Sangam, the place where three rivers — the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati — come together at the edge of this North Indian city. There are six auspicious bathing days, decided by the alignment of stars, when the Hindu devout bathe to wash away their sins and free themselves from the cycle of death and rebirth. The festival continues until March 10.
About 50,000 policemen have been deployed to keep order at the festival, fearing everything from terrorist attacks to the ever-present danger of stampedes of pilgrims.
Top festival official Mani Prasad Mishra said nearly 3 million people had bathed by late morning and 11 million were expected to enter the frigid water by the day's end.
According to Hindu mythology, the Kumbh Mela celebrates the victory of gods over demons in a furious battle over a nectar that would give them immortality.
As one of the gods fled with a pitcher of the nectar across the skies, it spilled on four Indian towns- Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Haridwar. The Kumbh Mela is organized four times every 12 years in those towns. Hindus believe that sins accumulated in past and current lives require them to continue the cycle of death and rebirth until they are cleansed. If they bathe at Ganges on the most auspicious day of the festival, believers say they can rid themselves of their sins.
Thousands of naked Hindu holy men known as sadhus began the day by running to the river and plunging in amid a cacophony of religious chants. Applause rose from tens of thousands of pilgrims waiting behind barricades as the heads of various Hindu monasteries reached the bathing points, called ghats, riding silver chariots or carried on silver palanquins, and accompanied by marching bands.
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AP PHOTOS: Finding the salt of the soil of Benin

DJEGBADJI, Benin (AP) — In this village in Benin, the salt of the Earth means business.
The women of Djegbadji, a village near the town of Ouidah, wake up in the morning to dig away the surface of the marshy soil near the Atlantic Ocean. They put the soil into large pots, then draw water from local wells to pour through the dirt.
Small spigots at the bottom of each pot allow the water to escape after coursing through the soil. The women dip a glass containing palm kernel nuts into the water. If the all the nuts float, they've found a rich supply of salt. They'll continue to pour water into the pot until all the nuts rest at the bottom of the glass.
After that, they'll go inside shacks made of dried palm fronds and boil the water, releasing the salt. They sell it to marketers and others. For the equivalent of $1, one can buy enough salt to fill two salt shakers.
The salt naturally contains iodine, said Kakpo Augustine, 32, as she spoke with visitors to the village on Friday. She worked with her 4-month-old daughter Kouton Prunelle on her back and said the salt always returns to the soil.
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Zimbabwe: Zimplats agrees to sell shares to gov't

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe's largest platinum mining company says it has signed a deal to sell off its majority shareholding to the government as part of the country's black empowerment laws.
South African-owned Zimplats chief Terence Goodlace said Friday the sale, worth $971 million, was "non-binding" until the end of June when the Zimbabwe government must pay $153 million for what he called a "release of ground agreement" and meet other obligations.
It is the biggest handover in several years of an empowerment program to force foreign-owned mines to cede 51 percent control to black Zimbabweans.
The mining enterprise will lend Zimbabwe the money to buy the majority stake at 10 percent interest and the loan is to be repaid in regular dividends.
Zimbabwe is one of the world's largest producers of platinum.
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Angels land slugger Hamilton in $125 million deal: report

(Reuters) - Free agent slugger Josh Hamilton has agreed to a five-year, $125 million deal to join the Los Angeles Angels, Major League Baseball's (MLB) website reported on Thursday.
The five-time All-Star, who overcame drug and alcohol addictions to become one of MLB's most feared hitters, helped power the Texas Rangers to consecutive World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011.
The 31-year-old hard-hitting outfielder broke into the major leagues in 2007 with the Cincinnati Reds but spent the next five years with the Rangers and took home American League Most Valuable Player (MVP) honors in 2010.
Hamilton has a career .304 batting average, 553 runs batted in and 161 home runs, including a career-high 43 last season.
He joins an Angels team that already boasts three-time National League MVP Albert Pujols, a 32-year-old slugger who signed with the team last offseason.
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Angels land slugger Hamilton in $125 million deal

in the first inning of their MLB American League baseball game in Arlington, Texas …more
(Reuters) - The Los Angeles Angels grabbed Major League Baseball's prized free agent for a second consecutive year on Thursday by signing slugger Josh Hamilton to a five-year, $125 million contract.
Hamilton, a five-time All-Star who overcame drug and alcohol addictions to become one of Major League Baseball's most feared hitters, powered the Texas Rangers to consecutive World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011.
He joins a high-powered Angels lineup that includes three-time National League Most Valuable Player (MVP) Albert Pujols, a 32-year-old slugger who signed a 10-year $240 million deal with the team last year.
The Rangers had been hopeful of resigning the 2010 American League MVP and admitted they were caught off guard by Hamilton's jump to their American League West division rivals.
"Our full expectation was that the phone call was going to be before he signed, certainly not after," Texas General Manager Jon Daniels said on the team's website.
"Josh had indicated recently, last week, he told us he felt it might be time to move on but that we were still talking ... I'm a little disappointed in how it was handled, but he had a decision to make and he made it."
The 31-year-old hard-hitting outfielder broke into the major leagues in 2007 with the Cincinnati Reds but was traded to the Rangers the following year.
Hamilton has a career .304 batting average, 553 runs batted in and 161 home runs, including a career-high 43 last season.
The Rangers stood by Hamilton as he battled to control is addictions, including a relapse before the start of last season.
But the slugger got the campaign off to a sizzling start and looked to be a Triple Crown threat after slamming 18 homers in the Rangers' opening 34 games.
Hamilton, however, saw his production fall off in the second half of the season finishing with a .285 batting average and 128 runs batted in.
"Josh has done a lot for the organization, the organization has done a lot for Josh -- a lot of things that aren't public and things of that nature," said Daniels.
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Yankees sign former rival Youkilis to one-year deal

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former Red Sox rival Kevin Youkilis officially joined the New York Yankees on Friday when he signed a one-year contract to fill a void left by the absence of Alex Rodriguez, the American League team said.
The three-time All-Star, 33, will serve as the starting third baseman with slugger Rodriguez expected to be sidelined until midseason after having surgery on his left hip.
The deal for Youkilis, a career .283 hitter, will pay the infielder $12 million, according to media reports.
Youkilis, who has played all but 80 games of his nine-year major league career for Boston, batted a combined .235 last season with 19 home runs and 60 runs batted in 122 games for Boston and the Chicago White Sox, to whom he was traded in late June.
Rodriguez told reporters at a recent charity event in Miami that Youkilis would be a good addition to the Yankees' lineup.
"Youk has always been a tough out," he said. "He's a tough player, a guy that's a winning player."
With Youkilis's deal finalized, the Yankees were working to finalize a two-year contract with Japanese outfielder Ichiro Suzuki.
Acquired by the Yankees in July from the Mariners, Ichiro thrived in New York, batting .322 with five homers, 27 RBIs and 14 stolen bases in 67 games and provided a late-season spark that helped the club win the American League East title.
Overall last season, Ichiro batted .283 with nine homers, 55 RBIs and 29 stolen bases.
It was believed New York was nearing agreement on a two-year deal that would present Ichiro a chance to reach the 3,000-hit mark with the Yankees.
Ichiro, a career .322 hitter, has amassed 2,606 hits in the major leagues since coming to the Mariners from Japan in 2001.
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Google drops key patent claims against Microsoft

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Google unit Motorola Mobility has asked a trade panel to drop two key patents from an infringement complaint that it filed against Microsoft, according to a filing at the International Trade Commission.
The ITC has been considering accusations by Motorola Mobility, which has since been purchased by Google, that Microsoft infringed on its patented technology to make its popular Xbox.
Google filed a motion with the ITC on Tuesday, asking that two patents be withdrawn from the case. One patent remains, according to the filing.
The withdrawal was required under an agreement that Google made with the Federal Trade Commission last week settling a pair of long-running antitrust investigations.
The FTC, U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office assert that companies should not request sales bans when filing patent infringement lawsuits based on patents that are essential to a standard in most cases. Standard essential patents ensure that devices are interoperable.
Microsoft identified the two patents withdrawn from the ITC case as standard essential patents.
"We're pleased that Google has finally withdrawn these claims for exclusion orders (sales bans) against Microsoft, and hope that it will now withdraw similar claims pending in other jurisdictions," David Howard, Microsoft's deputy general counsel, said in an emailed statement.
Google did not immediately respond to requests for a comment.
Microsoft said that standard essential patents had been asserted in cases in Wisconsin and Washington district courts, both of which have been stayed. Sales bans, or injunctions, were requested in both cases, Microsoft said.
The ITC is a popular venue for patent lawsuits because it can bar the importation of infringing products and because it issues decisions relatively quickly.
The International Trade Commission case is No. 337-752.
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Pebble Smart Watch Finally Ready

It's a very good day for the Pebble smart watch. The popular watch will start shipping this month, first to people who offered financial backing online, then to anyone else who wants one.
Last April, the Pebble -- a watch that pairs with an iPhone and Android phones -- was announced on Kickstarter with a flashy video and lots of cool design images of the device. Within days the start-up received over 85,000 orders for the watch and over $10 million dollars from people who wanted to back the company. It shattered all Kickstarter records and the company promised to ship the watch to those eager fans in September.
September came and went without the watches. Now, they are finally ready and the company has announced, here at CES 2013, that the watches are rolling off the manufacturing lines and will start shipping to customers on Jan. 23.
WATCH: First Look at Pebble at CES 2013
"When we saw the massive support on Kickstarter we knew we had the opportunity to take Pebble to the mainstream," Eric Migicovsky, the CEO and founder of Pebble, told ABC News. "We feel the time we spent was making the hardware rock solid as well as the software. We wanted to make sure the core of Pebble was great. That meant we shipped a bit later than we expected to."
When the watch starts shipping most of the features Pebble advertised in its original video (which showed a quickly-assembled prototype) will work on the neatly designed watch. You will be able to pair the phone with an iPhone or Android phone via Bluetooth, download the Pebble app, and configure your watch to show you your text messages, emails and missed calls. You will also be able to play your music and easily change the watch faces.
Pebble Behind the Scenes
What you won't be able to do is use the RunKeeper fitness app Pebble had shown. That app, which lets you see the info in your phone's RunKeeper app on your wrist, will be coming later, along with other apps.
"Unfortunately we weren't able to deliver the RunKeeper feature. We are working on the feature hand in hand with RunKeeper and we expect it to come out in a couple of months," Migicovsky said.
The watch has an LCD e-paper screen that can be seen in direct sunlight -- similar to the one on the Amazon Kindle e-reader -- as well as a backlight so you can see it the dark. You can just flick the watch on your wrist or tap a bottom to turn on the light. It also fits well, unlike some of the chunky iPod Nano-like watches that have been made. And it's water-resistant, so you can swim or work out while wearing it.
So what's next for the Pebble? Migicovsky says the first priority is to fill all the orders people made for it.
"We are still seeing a massive amount of interest in Pebble," he said. "After we closed the Kickstarter project, we started taking early stage pre-orders and there are tens of thousands of people on the list now. Our job is to continue mass production to make as many Pebbles as possible for the people that are lining up to get them."
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Self-portraits: Holmes sticks out tongue, has gun

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) — Using a cell phone, James Holmes took photos of himself the night police say he shot up a Colorado movie theater.
He stuck out his tongue, smiled and posed with a Glock.
Police showed the photos in court on Wednesday, along with pictures of the theater they say Holmes took a month before the attack.
One photo included an exit door like the one investigators say Holmes propped open the night of the attack, which left 12 dead and 70 injured.
The testimony came as a hearing to determine if Holmes will stand trial wound down. Defense attorneys announced they would not call any witnesses. They had been granted permission to call two witnesses to talk about Holmes' mental state.
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End-of-the-Year Checklist for Divorcing Women

Most women wait until after the holidays to move forward with their divorces --and that’s completely understandable. Many don’t want to disrupt family traditions for their children. Some welcome the distraction offered by the hustle and bustle of the season. And, of course, others want to avoid the discussions that inevitably seem to arise whenever and wherever relatives gather.
Interestingly, though, January is the month when most divorces are filed. Obviously, turning the page towards a New Year inspires a fresh start –and that’s completely understandable, too. If you’re headed in that direction, it makes sense to spend a little time this month planning ahead. You can do so discreetly, and then know that you’ll truly be ready to start the New Year on the right foot.
To help get you begin, here are a few things you can do now to help make the divorce process smoother in 2012:
1. Start collecting financial documents. Watch the mail for year-end statements from banks, credit card companies, etc.  As we outline in our Divorce Financial Checklist, preparing for divorce requires gathering all the relevant documents related to your bank and brokerage accounts, credit cards, mortgages, etc. Once you have collected them, make copies, and take them to a trusted friend/family member, or use a safe deposit box that your husband can’t access.
2. Check your credit report. While you’re gathering your financial records, keep a careful eye on your credit card statements, and if you haven’t already done so, request a copy of your credit report. Once you have the report, monitor your score carefully so you’ll be the first to know if any unusual activity occurs.  (For example, is your husband using your joint credit cards to buy his girlfriend gifts this holiday season?)  See my post, How To Protect Your Credit Score During Your Divorce, for more tips
3. Research divorce professionals in your area. If you want to ensure the best possible outcome for your divorce, take the time to build a qualified divorce team. I recommend you start with these three players: a matrimonial/family law attorney, a divorce financial planner and a therapist/counselor. Spend some time this month researching divorce professionals and create a short list of candidates for each position. Schedule interviews with each top contender in January, and rest easy knowing that by February 2012, you’ll be benefiting from the expert guidance of a top-notch divorce team.
4. Open new accounts in your name. Moving forward as a single woman in 2012 will require that you have a bank account and credit cards in your name. Lay the groundwork now.  Don’t use the bank where you currently have your joint accounts. Go to a different bank and open both a savings and a checking account in your name. You’ll need your own credit card, too, so you should start that process now, as well. New federal regulations are making it harder than ever for women with little or no income to establish credit on their own. You can do it. But, plan accordingly and know that securing credit is going to be more complicated than just filling out an application or making a single phone call.
5. Remain vigilant. Is your husband using the good cheer of the holidays as cover while he dissipates family assets? Be attentive, and if you are concerned at all about financial shenanigans by your husband, you may want to think twice about filing a joint return with him for 2011.
Some women who are considering divorce let the holidays get them down. Don’t be one of them. Use this opportunity to start planning ahead, and you’ll be able to start the New Year confident that you are on the way to a more stable and secure financial future.
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