AP source: Obama poised to pick Perez for Labor

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Two people familiar with the process say President Barack Obama is close to naming Thomas Perez, a civil rights official in the Justice Department, as his choice to head the Department of Labor.

His nomination could come as early as Monday, the people familiar with the process said Saturday. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the official announcement has not yet been made.

If confirmed, Perez would replace Hilda Solis, who resigned in January.

White House spokesman Matt Lehrich declined to comment.

Perez was the first Latino elected to the Montgomery County Council in Maryland, where he served from 2002 to 2006.

Perez, 51, has led the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division since 2009 and previously served as Maryland's labor secretary. He is expected to have solid support from organized labor and the Hispanic community, which is eager to have Hispanic representation in Obama's Cabinet.

Perez would come to the Labor Department as Obama pushes a major immigration overhaul, which could include changes in how employers hire guest workers. Labor Department officials have also taken a prominent role in supporting Obama's effort to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $9 an hour.

At the Justice Department, Perez played a leading role in the decision to challenge voter ID laws in Texas and South Carolina that could restrict minority voting rights. A federal court later struck down the Texas law and delayed implementation of the law in South Carolina until after the 2012 election.

Perez was easily confirmed by the Senate for his Justice Department post, but since then, some GOP lawmakers have criticized his role in persuading the city of St. Paul, Minn., to withdraw a lending discrimination lawsuit from the Supreme Court. In exchange, the Justice Department declined to join two whistle-blower lawsuits against St. Paul that could have returned millions in damages to the federal government.

The St. Paul case had challenged the use of statistics to prove race discrimination under the 1968 Fair Housing Act, and Justice Department officials were concerned the court could strike down the practice.

A letter last year from four Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Rep. Darrell Issa of California, criticized Perez for a "quid pro quo arrangement" that potentially cost taxpayers more than $180 million.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-10-US-Labor-Secretary/id-2a5e525d4a454332ade5d9801faee9b0

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Teaching a Love of Reading: Education Reforms Go Nowhere

The Washington Post has an article titled "The Education Reforms We've Been Arguing About? ?Mostly They Go Nowhere?here. ?It makes the case that so-called game-changing reforms don't raise scores much at all. ?Well, of course. Kids still aren?t reading much.? It?s as simple as that.? I taught high school English for 37 years, and saw over and over again that the best students, in all subjects, were the avid readers.? Avid readers read better, write better, concentrate better, and have wider frames of reference that help them excel in all subjects.? Kids who read book after book after book learn how to process information more efficiently.? They?ve kept multiple plots straight, understood complex characters, become sensitive to theme and tone.? They are continually pulled into the viewpoints of various narrators, and so become aware of different layers of meaning. The current practice, of assigning class books for everyone to read?and then dragging the class through with comprehension questions, vocabulary lessons, and assigned papers--does nothing to develop a habit and love of reading.? Au contraire.? It drives kids away from books.

Source: http://teachloveofreading.blogspot.com/2013/03/education-reforms-go-nowhere.html

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Slow Cooker Recipe Blog

by mediocremum on 10/03/2013

I finally decided to take the plunge and start a new blog just for my slow cooker recipes. I was very conscious that I may be confusing my readers.

Those who subscribed just for recipes may not be interested in my parenting antics and those who were coming to laugh at my parenting ability (or lack of) and didn?t have a slow cooker, may not be interested in all the recipes.

Don?t worry if you have any of my old recipes bookmarked as they will stay put, but any new recipes will be posted on Slow Cooker Queen. So, feel free to pop over and subscribe to the new blog. I?d love to hear any of you feedback both positive and negative.

?

As for the name, Slow Cooker Queen, I genuinely don?t believe I?m royalty but on a few occasions I?ve been called this on Twitter so it seemed fitting and I?m always tickled when people do say it.

Thanks again for all your support and I do hope to see a few of you over there.

Cheers, ?Chrissie

About Chrissie Saunders

A slightly older mum of one, who drinks far too much red wine and has an unhealthy obsession with her slow cooker. During the day she's an ICT Trainer, Social Media/Online Marketing consultant and does a bit of public speaking.

I'd love to hear your thoughts? Please leave a comment, share using the nifty buttons or subscribe to have future posts delivered to your inbox.

Tagged as: blog, cooker, recipe, slow

Source: http://mediocremum.com/2013/03/introducing-my-new-slow-cooker-blog/

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Woods stretches his lead on Blue Monster

DORAL, Fla. (AP) ? With one last birdie putt that never looked like it was going anywhere but in the hole, Tiger Woods walked off the Blue Monster in a familiar position.

He had a four-shot lead over Graeme McDowell in the Cadillac Championship, the 17th time on the PGA Tour that he has led by at least four shots going into the final round. Woods has never lost when leading by that much on tour.

Saturday at Doral was a reminder, however, how quickly it all can change.

Woods knocked in a short birdie putt on the 15th hole to put six shots between him and McDowell.

Two holes later, after McDowell chipped in for eagle and Woods found himself staring some 20 feet in the air at his golf ball lodged in a palm tree to the right of the 17th fairway, the lead was cut in half.

Woods saved his best for the final hole.

He drilled a tee shot into the fairway, hit 9-iron to 15 feet and made his 24th birdie of the tournament for a 5-under 67, putting him on the cusp of another World Golf Championship and a big step toward returning to No. 1 in the world.

"After I made birdie on 15, I was looking pretty good with a six-shot lead, and with a drivable par 4," Woods said. "Two holes later, it's now cut down to three. I piped a tee shot down there, hit a little 9-iron there and was able to pour that putt in there."

The ball never came down from the tree, which was about the only thing that didn't fall his way.

The 24 birdies and 74 putts are personal records for Woods. More importantly, it put him in great position to win his 17th WGC title, and his first since 2009.

"He controlled every part of his game very well, very few loose shots," said McDowell, who did well to two-putt for par from 85 feet on the last hole for a 69 that at least kept him in final group for Sunday.

"You know, 17 was a really bad break for him. But in true Tiger fashion that we've become very accustomed to over the years, to come back and birdie the last, he was fantastic today," he said.

"So maximum respect there. He's going to be a tough man to catch tomorrow. I get to watch it and get to see him, and hopefully get a chance to get close to him tomorrow."

Woods has a 39-2 record when he has the outright lead going into the final round on the PGA Tour. The only time he has ever lost a lead of more than two shots in any tournament around the world was in 2010 against an 18-man field at the Chevron World Challenge, when McDowell beat him in a playoff.

McDowell certainly was up for the fight on a breezy, sunny afternoon near Miami. Despite a shaky stretch of holes that appeared to end his chances, he drove just over the green on the par-4 16th and chipped in for eagle, and hit that putt across the 18th green that amazed even Woods.

"He hit a hell of a putt," Woods said.

Woods was at 18-under 198.

Phil Mickelson, who badly wanted to get into the final group, overcame a three-putt from 4 feet for double bogey on the third hole by making four birdies the rest of the way. He had a 69, along with Steve Stricker, and both were five shots behind.

"I threw away five or six shots on the greens and around the greens, and I feel like I don't have to play too much different," Mickelson said. "I just can't afford to give away those shots. I'm going to have to play a round like I played at Pebble last year, something in the low 60s."

A year ago, Mickelson shot 64 in the final round to win at Pebble Beach while playing in the same group with Woods.

Rory McIlroy, the world's No. 1 player, had a rough start until rallying on the back nine with five birdies in a six-hole stretch that carried him to a 71. He was 15 shots behind.

Woods used to own these WGC events, winning 16 of the first 30 that he played. He has gone 0-for-10 since Firestone in August 2009, though the odds were stacked in his favor at the Cadillac Championship. He already is a three-time winner at Doral, and he has been putting well ever since Stricker gave him a tip on the eve of the tournament.

"You know what kind of closer he is," Stricker said. "When he gets the lead in a golf tournament, it's tough. He doesn't let too many guys in usually when he gets the lead. We've all got our work cut out for us. We're going to have to go out and try to make birdies on a difficult golf course, which is hard to do."

It's even tougher with Woods playing like this. He has matched the low round of the tournament all three days.

For nine holes, McDowell threw his best golf at Woods, and Woods counterpunched in a magnificent display on the breezy Blue Monster.

McDowell opened with a 20-foot eagle, Woods with back-to-back birdies. McDowell hit his approach to 10 feet on the third hole, and Woods followed with a shot 6 inches inside as both made birdie.

McDowell finally tied him for the lead with a 20-foot putt on the sixth hole, and he had a 10-foot birdie attempt on the seventh for the outright lead. The stroke was tentative, and the ball dipped on the low side.

And that was as close as McDowell could get.

Woods had a one-shot lead as they walked toward the green on the par-5 10th hole, with McDowell on the green in two and poised to catch him again.

It all turned so suddenly.

Woods hit another superb wedge to 6 feet for birdie, while McDowell's eagle attempt slid 4 feet by the cup, and he missed it coming back for par. McDowell was furious, slapping his leg in disgust. McDowell and Woods each had 6 feet for par on the 11th ? Woods made, McDowell missed, his first bogey of the week.

That gave Woods a three-shot lead, and McDowell fell even further behind when he muffed a pitch behind the 14th green and took double bogey, and Woods hit a towering tee shot on the par-3 15th to 6 feet for birdie.

"The three-putt on 10 kind of rattled me a little bit, because Tiger didn't look like he was going to do anything wrong," McDowell said. "I really felt like I needed to be making putts like that."

McDowell at least stayed in the game, but after his putt across the length of the 18th green stopped inside a foot from the hole, he could only watch as Woods poured in another putt for yet another birdie, making the task on Sunday even more difficult.

The leaderboard still had the best golfers. Woods, however, separated himself from them.

Honda Classic winner Michael Thompson and Sergio Garcia each had a 67 and were at 11-under 205, along with Charl Schwartzel (69) and Keegan Bradley (69). Masters champion Bubba Watson could only manage a 71 and was eight shots behind.

Woods will be going for his second win of the year, an ominous sign with the Masters a month away. Woods has not won twice before the Masters in five years.

"All respect to the way he handled himself today and the way he played," McDowell said. "He's going to be a tough guy to catch. But according to the forecast tomorrow, we are going to have strong winds. I think that's an advantage to the rest of the field. ... With tough conditions tomorrow, hopefully we'll have a chance."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-03-09-Cadillac%20Championship/id-3368a56f1c5640859032e2c35c22e37c

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Recovery slow as Japan marks 2 years since tsunami

Relatives of of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami victims offer chrysanthemums during the national memorial service to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the disaster in Tokyo, Monday, March 11, 2013. Japan marked the second anniversary on Monday of the disaster that left nearly 19,000 people dead or missing and more than 300,000 people still displaced. (AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa, Pool)

Relatives of of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami victims offer chrysanthemums during the national memorial service to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the disaster in Tokyo, Monday, March 11, 2013. Japan marked the second anniversary on Monday of the disaster that left nearly 19,000 people dead or missing and more than 300,000 people still displaced. (AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa, Pool)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, left, bows to Emperor Akihito, second right, and Empress Michiko during the national memorial service for the victims of the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami in Tokyo, Monday, March 11, 2013. Japan marked the second anniversary on Monday of the disaster that left nearly 19,000 people dead or missing and more than 300,000 people still displaced. (AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa, Pool)

Japanese Emperor Akihito, left, and Empress Michiko leave the national memorial service for the victims of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Tokyo, Monday, March 11, 2013. Japan marked the second anniversary on Monday of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that left nearly 19,000 people dead or missing and more than 300,000 people still displaced. (AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa, Pool)

Japanese Emperor Akihito, right, and Empress Michiko bow to pay tribute to the victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami at the national memorial service in Tokyo, Monday, March 11, 2013. Japan marked the second anniversary on Monday of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that left nearly 19,000 people dead or missing and more than 300,000 people still displaced. (AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa, Pool)

A woman prays during a rally against nuclear power plants as victims of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami are remembered, at a park in Tokyo, Monday, March 11, 2013. Japan marked the second anniversary on Monday of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that left nearly 19,000 people dead or missing. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

TOKYO (AP) ? Amid growing dissatisfaction with the slow pace of recovery, Japan marked the second anniversary Monday of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that left nearly 19,000 people dead or missing and has displaced more than 300,000.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that the government intends to make "visible" reconstruction progress and accelerate resettlement of those left homeless by streamlining legal and administrative procedures many blame for the delays.

"I pray that the peaceful lives of those affected can resume as soon as possible," Emperor Akihito said at a somber memorial service at Tokyo's National Theater.

At observances in Tokyo and in still barren towns along the northeastern coast, those gathered bowed their heads in a moment of silence marking the moment, at 2:46 p.m. on March 11, 2011, when the magnitude 9.0 earthquake ? the strongest recorded in Japan's history ? struck off the coast.

Japan has struggled to rebuild communities and to clean up radiation from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, whose reactors melted down after its cooling systems were disabled by the tsunami. The government has yet to devise a new energy strategy ? a central issue for its struggling economy with all but two of the country's nuclear reactors offline.

About half of those displaced are evacuees from areas near the nuclear plant. Hundreds of them filed a lawsuit Monday demanding compensation from the government and the now-defunct plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., or TEPCO, for their suffering and losses.

"Two years after the disasters, neither the government nor TEPCO has clearly acknowledged their responsibility, nor have they provided sufficient support to cover the damages," said Izutaro Managi, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs.

Throughout the disaster zone, the tens of thousands of survivors living in temporary housing are impatient to get resettled, a process that could take up to a decade, officials say.

"What I really want is to once again have a 'my home,' " said Migaku Suzuki, a 69-year-old farm worker in Rikuzentakata, who lost the house he had just finished building in the disaster. Suzuki also lost a son in the tsunami, which obliterated much of the city.

Further south, in Fukushima prefecture, some 160,000 evacuees are uncertain if they will ever be able to return to homes around the nuclear power plant, where the meltdowns in three reactors spewed radiation into the surrounding soil and water.

The lawsuit filed by a group of 800 people in Fukushima demands an apology payment of 50,000 yen ($625) a month for each victim until all radiation from the accident is wiped out, a process that could take decades. Another 900 plan similar cases in Tokyo and elsewhere. Managi said he and fellow lawyers hope to get 10,000 to join the lawsuits.

Evacuees are anxious to return home but worried about the potential, still uncertain risks from exposure to the radiation from the disaster, the worst since Chernobyl in 1986.

While there have been no clear cases of cancer linked to radiation from the plant, the upheaval in people's lives, uncertainty about the future and long-term health concerns, especially for children, have taken an immense psychological toll on thousands of residents.

"I don't trust the government on anything related to health anymore," said Masaaki Watanabe, 42, who fled the nearby town of Minami-Soma and doesn't plan to return.

Yuko Endo, village chief in Kawauchi, said many residents might not go back if they are kept waiting too long. Restrictions on access are gradually being lifted as workers remove debris and wipe down roofs by hand.

"If I were told to wait for two more years, I might explode," said Endo, who is determined to revive his town of mostly empty houses and overgrown fields.

A change of government late last year has raised hopes that authorities might move more quickly with the cleanup and reconstruction.

Since taking office in late December, Abe has made a point of frequently visiting the disaster zone, promising faster action and plans to raise the long-term reconstruction budget to 25 trillion yen ($262 billion) from 19 trillion yen (about $200 billion).

"We cannot turn away from the harsh reality of the affected areas. The Great East Japan Earthquake still is an ongoing event," Abe said at the memorial gathering in Tokyo. "Many of those hit by the disaster are still facing uncertainty over their futures."

The struggles to rebuild and to cope with the nuclear disaster are only the most immediate issues Japan is grappling with as it searches for new drivers for growth as its export manufacturing lags, its society ages and its huge national debt grows ever bigger.

Those broader issues are also hindering the reconstruction. Towns want to rebuild, but they face the stark reality of dwindling, aging populations that are shrinking further as residents give up on ever finding new jobs. The tsunami and nuclear crisis devastated local fish processing and tourism industries, accelerating a decline that began decades before.

Meanwhile, the costly decommissioning the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant could take 40 years as its operator works on finding and removing melted nuclear fuel from inside, disposing the spent fuel rods and treating the many tons of contaminated wastewater used to cool the reactors.

Following the Fukushima disaster, Japan's 50 still viable nuclear reactors were shut down for regular inspections and then for special tests to check their disaster preparedness. Two were restarted last summer to help meet power shortages, but most Japanese remain opposed to restarting more plants.

The government, though, looks likely to back away from a decision to phase out nuclear power by the 2030s. Abe says it may take a decade to decide on what Japan's energy mix should be.

___

Associated Press writers Malcolm Foster and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo and Emily Wang in Kesennuma, Japan, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-11-Japan-Tsunami/id-ba991905acb84dbf893feeabfae629fe

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Four-year-old unhurt after falling from third story window

?I fall ? really, really far,? 4-year-old Dylan Hayes said in an interview after miraculously surviving a three story drop during which the child somersaulted twice before landing on his feet.

Local Denver CBS affiliate KCNC reports that young Dylan was standing on the living room couch trying to talk to his downstairs neighbors when he fell through.

?I was terrified,? his mother Jessica Hayes told the station. ?I didn?t know what I was going to see when I got down to the ground floor.?

She had moved the couch next to the window Dylan fell through because she was shampooing the living room carpet.

?I didn?t know what I was going to go down to, like a child who was just lying there, or a child with blood coming out of him,? Hayes said during what must have been the longest trip down that flight of stairs in her life.

Despite landing on his feet, Dylan was taken to a local hospital and kept under observation for 20 hours. Doctors placed a brace on his neck as a precaution but said he appears to not have suffered any serious physical injuries. Even more amazing, Dylan landed on a bed of rocks.

The ordeal led to one news outlet referring to Dylan as a ?superboy,? for his miraculous luck.

?There had to have been angels watching over him,? Dylan?s grandmother Kelli Hayes told the station.

For her part, Jessica Hayes said the incident has reminded her to never make assumptions about her child?s safety. She?s also moved out of the apartment and is looking for a new home on the ground floor.

?It?s gotten easier since it happened two weeks ago to not blame myself,? she said. ?I wish the danger would have crossed my mind, which it didn?t.?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/four-old-unhurt-falling-third-story-window-031804694.html

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China targets 15 pct of satellite launch market

BEIJING (AP) ? China is looking to increase its share of the global commercial satellite launching business, targeting a 15 percent share by 2020, a leading space program official said Saturday.

China hopes to increase its market share by establishing strategic alliances with major launch services providers and satellite manufacturers, along with developing its own technology, the deputy head of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, Liang Xiaohong, told the official Xinhua News Agency.

China has just 3 percent of the market now, but the goal laid out by Liang points to its ambitions to become a major player in space, just one decade after becoming only the third country after the U.S. and Russia to launch a man into space.

Elsewhere in the Xinhua interview, Liang said China's first solid-fuel rocket that could be launched on short notice would be ready to make its first flight by 2016.

China has a well-developed range of Long March rockets for use in commercial launches, all of which now mainly burn liquid fuel that must be pumped in just prior to launch. Solid fuel rockets can be kept in storage, then fired when needed, making them ideal for military use in launching ballistic missiles.

Liquid-fueled rockets are generally considered best-suited for launching large payloads, while solid rockets are used for placing smaller satellites weighing less than 2 tons into low Earth orbit.

"The development of the Long March 11 will greatly improve China's capabilities to rapidly enter space and meet the emergency launching demand in case of disasters and emergencies," Liang was quoted by Xinhua as saying.

On Friday, China's space program said it would send three astronauts to its orbiting space station this summer as part of preparations to establish an even larger permanent presence above Earth.

The Shenzhou 10 spacecraft, which will likely include one female astronaut, will spend two weeks aboard the Tiangong 1, where the trio will spend two weeks conducting tests of the station's docking system and its systems for supporting life and carrying out scientific work.

Two Chinese spacecraft, one of them manned, have docked already with Tiangong 1 since it was launched in September 2011.

The station is to be replaced in around 2020 with a permanent space station that will weigh about 60 tons, slightly smaller than NASA's Skylab of the 1970s and about one-sixth the size of the 16-nation International Space Station.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-03-02-China-Space/id-044c332b21334b11a8b073be23018ac6

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