NC Rumors

2010 NFL preview capsules

admin — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:31:40 +0000

Capsules for the 32 NFL teams as they begin the 2010 season, in predicted order of finish:

AFC EAST

New England Patriots

Few teams seem on the surface to have as many givens as the Patriots. We know Tom Brady is an all-world quarterback and winner; that Randy Moss is as dangerous as any receiver and Wes Welker as reliable as any; that the offensive line is a stone wall; that the defense will be stingy and make big plays; and that Bill Belichick is a coaching genius.

Today in History

admin — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:31:10 +0000

Today is Tuesday, Sept. 7, the 250th day of 2010. There are 115 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Sept. 7, 1940, Nazi Germany began its eight-month blitz of Britain during World War II with the first air attack on London.

On this date:

Obama assails GOP, promotes new jobs program

admin — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:30:46 +0000

A combative President Barack Obama rolled out a long-term jobs program Monday that would exceed $50 billion to rebuild roads, railways and runways, and coupled it with a blunt campaign-season assault on Republicans for causing Americans’ hard economic times.

GOP leaders instantly assailed Obama’s proposal as an ineffective one that would simply raise already excessive federal spending. Many congressional Democrats are also likely to be reluctant to boost expenditures and increase federal deficits just weeks before elections that will determine control of Congress.

Smoke rises just in time to make championship push

admin — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:30:02 +0000

Tony Stewart went to Atlanta Motor Speedway mired in a 31-race winless streak and an afterthought, at best, on the list of championship contenders.

By the time he left the track early Monday morning he may very well have become the front-runner for the Sprint Cup Series title.

The streakiest driver in NASCAR knocked down his first win of the season late Sunday night with a dominating performance at Atlanta, and based on Stewart’s own track record, he’s got to be considered a credible contender. When Smoke gets hot — and he usually does every summer — he is very, very hard to beat.

Apologetic Federer advances to US Open quarters

admin — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:29:22 +0000

Even Roger Federer had to say he was sorry for the way he won the pivotal second-set tie-breaker over pal Jurgen Melzer and advanced to the US Open quarter-finals on Monday.

The Swiss second seed won two points off forehands that hit the net cord and dropped over the net in a 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 triumph over Austrian 13th seed Melzer that put the 16-time Grand Slam champion into the quarter-finals.

“You couldn’t be more lucky in a tie-breaker than he was in this tie-breaker,” Melzer said.

Martin Short revives Cat in the Hat for PBS series

admin — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:27:53 +0000

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – More than a half-century ago, the Cat in the Hat was on a mission.

Challenged to create a figure that would make children more interested in reading, Dr. Seuss came up with an engaging feline with a red- and white-striped top hat. With his anarchic style and penchant for adventure, the Cat in the Hat led several generations of youngsters to appreciate the written word.

Now the ever-smiling creature has been reprogrammed to interest young children in science. But is it possible to teach an old cat new tricks?

Petraeus Warns Against US Church’s Planned Koran Burning

VOA News — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:07:59 +0000

The commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan says a plan by a church in the southeastern U.S. state of Florida to burn Korans on September 11 could endanger U.S. troops and damage the overall war effort there.

General David Petraeus said Monday that the planned burning of the Muslim holy book "is precisely the kind of action the Taliban would exploit for propaganda purposes."

He said it could cause "significant problems," not only in Afghanistan, but everywhere the U.S. is "engaged with the Islamic community."

Hundreds of Afghan took to the streets in the capital Kabul Monday to protest the plan by the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, to burn copies of the Koran. The protesters chanted "Death to America" as they rallied outside a mosque.

Similar protests were held outside the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia on Saturday.

Leaders of the Florida church say they are taking the action to mark the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks against the United States, in which nearly 3,000 people were killed.

Tropical Storm Hermine Reaches Texas

VOA News — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 11:37:57 +0000

U.S. weather forecasters say Tropical Storm Hermine has begun to weaken as makes its way across the southeastern U.S. state of Texas.

The National Hurricane Center says Hermine is moving north-northwest, not far from the Texas coastal town of Corpus Christie. The storm has winds of 85 kilometers an hour, after making landfall in northeastern Mexico late Monday with winds of 105 kilometers an hour.

Forecasters expect the storm to weaken to a tropical depression by late Tuesday afternoon.

Forecasters have said the storm could bring up to 20 centimeters of rain to the region, as well as life-threatening flash floods and mudslides as the storm pushes through southern Texas. Hermine could also spawn tornadoes along the lower and middle Texas coast.

Mexican emergency officials have canceled the tropical storm warning issued for the area south of Rio San Fernando.

Hours before Hermine made landfall, authorities expressed concerns about the impact the storm could have on residents in low-lying areas or in areas near hillsides that could collapse if soaked by heavy rain. Shelters have been established for people displaced by flooding, which is also a concern on the U.S. side of the border.

VIDEO: Raleigh Council Mulls High-Speed Rail Alternatives

JLF > CJ Exclusive — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 11:00:00 +0000

RALEIGH - Residents of the city's Five Points neighborhood are urging the city to choose one of the two options that would keep the trains on the opposite side of Capital Boulevard from their homes. City planners prefer this option as part of their plans for a $212 million Union Station transit hub. The city council is scheduled to consider the choices during its 1:00 p.m. meeting...

Iran Claims Right to Pick UN Inspectors

VOA News — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 05:06:16 +0000

Iran's nuclear chief has said the country has the right to choose the inspectors who monitor its nuclear facilities.

Tehran's ISNA news agency quoted Ali Akbar Salehi Tuesday saying Iran had rejected two inspectors it says filed false reports with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The IAEA denies the claim, and in a report Monday said Iran's "repeated" objections to personnel appointments are disrupting the agency's work.

The IAEA also said for the past two years Iran has refused to answer questions about possible undisclosed nuclear activities, including those related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile.

Iran's envoy to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, denied allegations of selective bans and intimidation of agency inspectors, calling the report "not balanced."

In Washington, a White House spokesman, Tommy Vietor, said the IAEA report is "troubling" and demonstrates Iran is still trying to develop nuclear weapons capability.

In areas where inspectors have been allowed access, the report indicates slow but steady progress in the production of low-enriched uranium.

The IAEA said Iran has produced about 2.8 tons of low-enriched nuclear material in recent years at its main facility at Natanz, a 15 percent increase in the country's stockpile since May and enough for roughly two bombs.

The report indicated that separate enrichment for what Iran says will be fuel for its research reactor has produced about 22 kilograms of higher-grade uranium at 20 percent purity. This higher-grade material must still be purified to 90 percent before it can be turned into weapons, but experts say that a relatively quick process.

The United States and its allies accuse Iran of using its civilian nuclear program as a cover to develop atomic weapons. Iran denies the charge.

In a separate report Monday, the IAEA expressed similar concerns about Syria's refusal to allow the agency to probe U.S. assertions that a desert facility destroyed in 2007 by Israeli warplanes was a secretly-built reactor meant to produce plutonium.

It has been over two years since Syria allowed the IAEA to inspect the site, known as either al-Kibar or Dair Alzour. U.S. intelligence reports have said the facility, still under construction when it was bombed, was a North Korean-designed reactor.

The U.N. agency urged Syria to cooperate in its investigation, saying potential evidence may deteriorate over time or be lost entirely. Syria, an ally of Iran, says the site was a non-nuclear military installation.

Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.