FBI to scour California well for more 'Speed Freak' victims

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The FBI is preparing to search one of four abandoned wells in California recently singled out by convicted "Speed Freak" serial killer Wesley Shermantine as a site where he and his partner in crime disposed of their victims' bodies.

The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors agreed on Tuesday to spend up to $200,000 for an FBI-supervised contractor to conduct excavations in and around the well and unearth its contents, expanding a months-long quest for human remains linked to the killers.

"Everyone's goal, if there's remains in these wells, is to recover them and return them to their loved ones," said Les Garcia, a spokesman for county Sheriff Steve Moore.

Shermantine and his now-deceased co-defendant, Loren Herzog, have long been suspected in as many as 22 deaths, mostly of young women and girls who vanished during the 1980s and 1990s.

Ultimately convicted in connection with six slayings, they were dubbed the Speed Freak killers for the methamphetamine-fueled violence they unleashed in and around California's farm-rich San Joaquin Valley.

In recent months, Shermantine has suggested in letters to reporters and others that the pair may have been responsible for more than 70 killings, a claim which if true would rank the duo among the most prolific serial killers in U.S. history.

Crude maps drawn by Shermantine after more than a decade of silence on the fate and whereabouts of his victims helped lead authorities in February to the skeletal remains of five teen girls and young women.

Two were unearthed from shallow graves in San Andreas, 100 miles northeast of San Francisco, and three were found in a nearby abandoned well adjacent to a former cattle ranch in the San Joaquin County town of Linden.

A bag of remains returned by sheriff's deputies to the mother of one victim was later determined by a forensic anthropologist to contain commingled fragments of at least two other people, one believed to be a long-missing child.

Then in a rare step state lawmakers authorized earlier this year, Shermantine was briefly released under guard from his death row cell in August to personally guide FBI agents to further sites he claimed were dumping grounds for his victims.

His unusual daylong furlough led authorities to four more defunct wells. Garcia said the FBI would direct drilling and excavation work at one of those sites in the near future.

FBI spokeswoman Gina Swankie declined to say when the work would begin.

A jury convicted Shermantine in 2001 of four murders, and Herzog was found guilty in a separate trial of three slayings, one that overlapped with Shermantine's case.

While Shermantine was later sentenced to death, Herzog's conviction was reduced on appeal to a single count of manslaughter, and he was paroled after 11 years in prison.

But Herzog committed suicide by hanging in January, just hours after learning that Shermantine was starting to pinpoint grave sites.

(Editing by Steve Gorman and Lisa Shumaker)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fbi-scour-california-well-more-speed-freak-victims-041657974.html

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Your Table Could Be Your Next Mobile Keyboard

Not a fan of typing on a touchscreen but don't want to have to carry around a bluetooth keyboard just for your phone or tablet? There might be a new option on the table soon, so to speak. This prototype software tracks keystrokes by using the accelerometer to track vibration, turning all kinds of things into keyboards. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/hdddqm8VIFU/your-table-could-be-your-next-mobile-keyboard

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Fiscal cliff combines tax hikes, spending cuts

Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, talks about the elections and the unfinished business of Congress, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012. The first post-election test of wills could start next week when Congress returns from its election recess to deal with unfinished business ? including a looming "fiscal cliff" of $400 billion in higher taxes and $100 billion in automatic cuts in military and domestic spending to take effect in January if Congress doesn't head them off. Economists warn that the combination could plunge the nation back into a recession. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, talks about the elections and the unfinished business of Congress, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012. The first post-election test of wills could start next week when Congress returns from its election recess to deal with unfinished business ? including a looming "fiscal cliff" of $400 billion in higher taxes and $100 billion in automatic cuts in military and domestic spending to take effect in January if Congress doesn't head them off. Economists warn that the combination could plunge the nation back into a recession. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev. gestures as he discusses Tuesday's election results during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? So just what is this "fiscal cliff" that has the financial markets rattled and economists and policymakers alike in a tizzy over the potential for sending the economy into another tailspin?

It's a one-two punch of expiring Bush-era tax cuts and major across-the-board spending cuts to the Pentagon and domestic programs that could total $800 billion next year, based on Congressional Budget Office estimates.

The cliff is the punishment for previous failures of a bitterly-divided Congress and White House to deal with the government's spiraling debt or overhaul its unwieldy tax code.

The largest component of the cliff comes with the expiration of tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 and extended two years ago in the wake of President Barack Obama's drubbing in the 2010 midterm elections.

It also includes sharp spending cuts imposed as a consequence of the failure of last year's deficit-reduction supercommittee" to reach agreement. There are other elements, chiefly a 2 percentage point cut in payroll taxes orchestrated by Obama and unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless that would disappear.

Specifically, the fiscal cliff includes:

?The expiration of Bush-era tax cuts on income, investments, married couples and families with children and inheritances.

?A $55 billion, 9 percent cut in defense spending next year and another $55 billion in cuts to domestic programs, including a 2 percent cut to Medicare providers.

?The expiration of unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless and a sharp cut in reimbursements for doctors participating in Medicare.

?The expiration of Obama's temporary 2 percentage point cut in payroll taxes.

?The imposition of the alternative minimum tax on some 26 million households, which would raise their taxes by an average of $3,700.

?A variety of smaller taxes cuts for both businesses and individuals collectively known as tax "extenders" in Washington-speak. They include a tax credit for research and development and a deduction for sales taxes in states that don't have an income tax.

A Congressional Budget Office study in May estimated that the fiscal cliff would force tax hikes and spending cuts totaling over $600 billion in the first nine months of next year ? or perhaps $800 billion or so over the entire year if allowed to stay in effect.

A subsequent less detailed CBO update estimates a somewhat smaller impact. The agency is expected to release a new estimate soon.

The fiscal cliff would require such a sharp cut in the deficit that the economy would contract, economists say.

Not all elements of the fiscal cliff are guaranteed to be averted. New taxes on family investment income exceeding $250,000 set to take effect Jan. 1 as a way to help pay for Obama's health care law are unlikely to be forestalled; and the common wisdom in Washington is that temporary payroll tax cuts and unemployment benefits won't be extended.

Some Democrats have called on Obama to propose renewing the payroll tax cut, but he has not taken a position.

Some experts say that the economy could withstand going over the fiscal cliff for a short period of time because the Treasury Department might be able to adjust tax withholding tables to mitigate its affects and that agency budget chiefs could be flexible in allocating the automatic cuts, known as a sequester, and buy several weeks' worth of time to negotiate.

Some Democrats want Obama to play hardball on the fiscal cliff to try to force Republicans to accept increased tax rates on income exceeding $250,000 for couples. Republicans warn that type of approach would get Obama's second term off to a bad start.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-11-07-Congress-Fiscal%20Cliff/id-d0392fa714484c578e1529cd2ffb7354

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Motivation Psychology for Weight Loss and Exercise | Healthy ...

Webmaster | November 8, 2012 (8 hours ago) | no comments

If you?ve made the decision to take off some weight ? congratulations!

For most, committing to their own health is the hardest part.

But in spite of self-motivation, many people find they don?t know what exercises to incorporate for rapid weight loss.

There are three chief types of exercise: aerobic exercise, such as biking or running; flexibility exercises, such as yoga and other forms of stretching; and strength training, such as resistance exercises and weight lifting.

Aerobic and strength training will help you burn up the most calories. Because losing weight is dependent on either taking in less calories or burning more, it?s best to focus on these initially to guarantee your self motivation persists as you lose body weight.

Usually, thirty minutes of aerobic exercise three times a week is ideal. Build the time and frequency as you progress.

But many people whose self-motivation has urged them to begin an exercise for weight loss program neglect the importance of strength training. Aerobic exercise burns more calories initially, but weight lifting increases muscle mass, and muscle burns more calories than fat.

A pound of muscle requires 35 calories per day to function at rest; a pound of fat requires just two calories for the same function.

The fitness consensus used to believe that to ?build? muscle, you should do fewer reps (3-5) at higher weights, and to simply ?tone,? higher reps (12-15) with lighter weights was key. But there is no such thing as ?toning.? Definition that happens with what?s incorrectly called toning occurs because you have lost the layer of fat covering muscle, making it more visible.

The size of the muscle underneath depends on how actively you train.

You must ?tear down? the muscle so it can rebuild itself afterward. In fact, you don?t build muscle while pumping iron but you do in the days afterward when the muscle is ?resting.?

The general guideline for strength training is beginning with three sets of 8-12 reps at a weight that leaves you nearly incapable of completing the entire set. Then, rest for 30-60 seconds before beginning your next set.

Do not be disappointed if you?re unable to complete all of the reps on every set. In fact, use that to gauge when to add weight. If you are doing each set without any muscle strain, you will want to add weight.

Self-motivation helped you to begin, but many people have trouble maintaining the pace. It helps knowing that the source of our motivations is a belief. Consider it: If you did not believe the gnawing sensation in your stomach meant you were hungry, you would not feel motivated to eat.

Understanding what ideas motivate you is essential to weight loss, because when you feel powerfully motivated, you will exercise without fail.

NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) is a form of self hypnosis. And there are NLP methods that can create exercise motivation because, over time, desire to exercise for weight loss alone likely won?t be enough to keep you working out. Exercise hypnosis motivation therapy can help.

Your first task is naming the most important things in your life. We call these things your highly valued criteria. Highly valued criteria are generally intangibles: money would not be highly valued criteria, but the freedom, fun, or security that money can buy would be.

Next, determine what you need to believe to feel highly motivated to exercise. It?s important to bear in mind that logic has nothing to do with belief. Things don?t have to be logical to believe them. You may find you already have a belief that opposes this new idea. That?s okay.

While understanding what motivates us is valuable, exercise hypnosis motivation therapy can put these ideas to work by ensuring self motivation lasts. Hypnosis for motivation does this by modifying the computer codes in your brain, so you accept thoughts that motivate you.

Belief systems are based in our unconscious, which is like a computer. Computers don?t have any ability to reason. The input controls the output. The methods used in exercise hypnosis motivation therapy can make you believe nearly anything, as long as you are willing to believe.

You begin by creating an image in your mind that illustrates something you already believe, such as, ?I love my children.? Then you learn to calibrate the elements or ?Submodalities? of that mental belief picture.

Next, you make a mental picture that illustrates your motivational idea. Let?s say your motivational idea is, ?If I exercise, then I will look great and my marriage will get better.?

Then you learn how to alter the Submodalities of this mental image to correspond with the Submodalities in your calibrated belief picture. Conversely, if a belief is holding you back, the same technique can change that belief to doubt.

Hypnosis for motivation that incorporates NLP can give you something of an internal personal trainer.

Using a hypnosis for exercise motivation program ensures that the passion you started with continues until reaching your objective, and then helps you maintain that objective.

?

Article by Alan Densky

About the Author :?Alan B. Densky, CH has specialized in all aspects of hypnotherapy weight loss, including motivation psychology CDs since 1978. Visit his Neuro-VISION self hypnosis website for Free hypnosis newsletters, videos, and articles.

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Tags: Aerobic exercise, Exercise, Healthy Lifestyle Plus, Loss, Motivation, Muscle, Neuro-linguistic programming, Psychology, Strength training, Tim Guba, Weight, Weight loss, Weight training, www.healthylifestyleplus.com

Category: Healthy Mind

Source: http://www.healthylifestyleplus.com/mind/motivation-psychology-for-weight-loss-and-exercise/

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Reveal your dreams with Residential Remodeling Why opt for San ...

When you are tired of living in the same house for years, its time for residential remodeling for a new home with fresh interior designing in San Diego. Nowadays, you can choose various methods for home improvement. Some areas like kitchen and bath need more attention and renovation in these rooms becomes necessary due to excessive usage. Good San Diego kitchen designs focus towards the best utilization of space from storage point of view.

Sometimes during commencement, you might feel that bathroom remodeling in San Diego is the most boring process. However, a little patience will let you enjoy its utility for years. On the other hand, several accessories make your bath astonishingly perfect to use. Some of these are shower fixtures with remote control, steam shower, electronic toilet seats, waterproof speakers, and body jets. Experiencing state of the art facilities improves user experience. If your San Diego home improvement contractor can add all these to your bath, you need not look further for anything else. The best advantage is you can shop for all such exclusive accessories and select them on your own.

During a residential remodel, you need to be choosy while selecting your contractor. When you pick the right person, you can be rest assured on the seamless completion of work. You need to convey all your ideas and ask for a free estimation or quote. Never be enticed with too low quotes, it might be an open booby trap. Open discussions during a walk-around in the house are ideal. You can always stress on the use of quality material and accessories. They may appear more expensive than some cheap variants, but you can choose to be economical in the end. Always buy and use electrical appliances with energy star grading. They help you save on power bills. It is always recommended not to pay full advance before completion of project.

You can decide your range; put the facts on a paper. Calculate what you can afford and plan your budget. You can discuss item wise breakup and bifurcate funds. In addition, you can also borrow money from reputed banks or financial institutions. When you ask yourself a question like how much does it cost to remodel a kitchen; you can get the best answer from proficient contractor. Get ready to enjoy good living in a perfect citadel.

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Source: http://www.articleswide.com/article/9315-Reveal_your_dreams_with_Residential_Remodeling_Why_opt_for_San_Diego_Home_Improvement.html

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Wisconsin's Baldwin becomes first openly gay senator

Darren Hauck / Getty Images

U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin celebrates her victory over former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson on Tuesday.

By Jeff Black, NBC News

Wisconsin Democratic Rep. Tammy Baldwin became the first openly gay U.S. senator on Tuesday, defeating popular former Gov. Tommy Thompson, NBC News projected.

Jeffrey Phelps / AP

U.S. Senate candidate Tommy Thompson gets hugs from supporters after conceding defeat.

Thompson, who served as Secretary of Health and Human Services in the administration of George W. Bush, retired from politics in his concession speech.

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?I'm not going to run again,? Thompson, 70, who survived a divisive ideological primary, ?told supporters on Tuesday. ?But I certainly am going to be supporting people to do the right things for the right reasons to build Wisconsin and build America.?

The Senate race was the most expensive in state history with the two candidates raising at least $65 million, Reuters reported.

Baldwin will take the seat of Democratic Sen. Herb Kohl, who is retiring after his fourth term.

Baldwin, 50, is a former Wisconsin assemblywoman who was first elected to Congress in 1998. With her projected victory, she also becomes the first female senator from Wisconsin.

Baldwin joined protesters at the state capital in Madison who objected to Gov. Scott Walker?s proposed curbing of collective bargaining rights for public workers.

Baldwin's sexual orientation wasn?t a major issue in the campaign.

Baldwin is expected to be replaced in the House by Democrat Mark Pocan, also an openly gay politician.

Baldwin promised to support investments in infrastructure, education and research to create jobs in her campaign. She also painted Thompson as favoring tax cuts for the wealthy.

Thompson argued that lower taxes, fewer regulations, large spending cuts and entitlement reform will boost the sluggish U.S. economy.

Reuters contributed to this report.

More election coverage from NBCNews.com:

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Source: http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/07/14983715-wisconsins-tammy-baldwin-becomes-first-openly-gay-senator-tommy-thompson-retires?lite

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For all the worries, long lines biggest poll issue

WASHINGTON (AP) ? For all the worries about potential major problems at polling places, the worst impediments to voting on Election Day were exceedingly long lines at dozens of precincts.

Hundreds of voters stood in line to cast ballots for well over four hours past the 7 p.m. closing times in Miami-Dade County, Fla., even after President Barack Obama was projected Tuesday night as winning re-election over Republican Mitt Romney. Long waits were also common in Virginia, South Carolina, Tennessee and elsewhere.

Most states allow voters who were in line when polls closed to cast ballots. Candidates, political operatives and their supporters turned to social media to encourage voters through the long wait. "(hash)StayInLine (hash)StayInLine (hash)StayInLine," Wisconsin Democratic Senate candidate Tammy Baldwin tweeted.

"If you were in line before your poll closed you still have the right to vote," film director Spike Lee tweeted. "We are counting on you."

Other problems with voter access, machine failures and some legal skirmishes, especially in Pennsylvania, were scattered, but there didn't appear to be any wholesale disenfranchisement of voters. Tense confrontations among poll monitors were few, and no major instances of election fraud were reported.

"Despite the shameful attempts to suppress voting, voters are standing up," said Bob Edgar, president and chief executive of Common Cause.

High turnout rather than glitches appeared to be the cause of the long lines, but there were plenty of other problems around the country. In Pennsylvania, the day began with a confrontation involving Republican inspectors over access to some polls and a voting machine that lit up for Romney even when a voter pressed the Obama button.

The Election Protection coalition of civil rights and voting access groups said they had gotten more than 80,000 complaints and questions on a toll-free voter protection hotline.

In Philadelphia, the Republican Party said 75 legally credentialed voting inspectors were blocked from polling places in the heavily Democratic city, prompting the GOP to obtain a court order to gain access. Local prosecutors were also looking into the reports. Democratic Party officials did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Also in Pennsylvania, Department of State spokesman Ron Ruman said the voting machine in the central part of the state that switched a person's vote from Obama to Romney was put back into service after being recalibrated. Video of what Ruman called a "momentary glitch" was widely viewed on YouTube.

Pennsylvania was also the scene of what a state Common Cause official called "widespread" confusion over voter ID requirements. The state this year enacted a new photo ID requisite, but a judge put it on hold for Tuesday's election amid concern many voters would not be able to comply in time.

Barry Kauffman, executive director of Common Cause in Pennsylvania, said election workers in many places were demanding IDs even though they are not required. It was unclear, however, just how many voters may have been turned away or discouraged.

Also in Philadelphia, a judge ordered a mural of Obama covered up after a Republican election worker snapped a picture of it at a school polling place, according to a statement from the Republican Party.

In Florida, a robocall glitch occurred in Pinellas County, where the supervisor of elections said about 12,000 voters were wrongly told they could vote Wednesday.

Spokeswoman Nancy Whitlock said the office had contracted with a firm, callfire.com, to call voters who had requested mail ballots but had not yet returned them. Whitlock said the calls with the erroneous election date went to those voters mistakenly Tuesday; a second call went out advising them of the error.

In Ohio, officials in Franklin County, seat of the state's capital, barred the tea party-linked True the Vote group from monitoring polling places because applications to do so weren't filed properly.

Catherine Engelbrecht, president of the Houston-based group, claimed the Ohio Democratic Party had pressured several local candidates to withdraw their permission for the group's members to act as election observers.

Both political parties in Nebraska accused each other of voter disenfranchisement after a woman claimed she was handed a ballot already filled out for Romney and Republican Rep. Lee Terry ? a situation elections officials chalked up to a mistake. The GOP, meanwhile, contended some voters were being falsely told in recorded phone calls that they were ineligible to cast ballots.

In New Orleans, advocates said they received several complaints from large Vietnamese-American communities that in at least three major polling places, language services were not provided to voters needing help with translations. Of particular concern were several proposed constitutional amendments and ballot initiatives, said Jennifer Coco, a volunteer field director with the Louisiana Election Protection Program.

Meanwhile, voters in several storm-ravaged areas in New York and New Jersey expressed relief and even elation at being able to vote at all, considering the devastation from Superstorm Sandy. Lines were long in Point Pleasant, N.J., where residents from the shore communities of Point Pleasant Beach and Mantoloking had to cast their ballots due to damage in their hometowns. Many people still have no power eight days after Sandy pummeled the shore.

"Nothing is more important than voting. What is the connection between voting and this?" said Alex Shamis, a resident of hard-hit Staten Island, gesturing to his mud-filled home.

Any voting problems were being closely monitored after months of legal and political battles over more voter ID restrictions and other laws, mostly fruitless hunts for ineligible people on voting rolls in many states and sustained claims that black and Hispanic voters are being targeted for intimidation and suppression.

It remained possible that court fights will continue on some of these issues well after the election.

___

Associated Press writers Suzanne Gamboa in Washington; Tamara Lush in St. Petersburg, Fla.; A.J. Connelly in New York; Andrew Welsh-Huggins in Columbus, Ohio; and Patrick Walters in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

___

Follow Curt Anderson on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Miamicurt

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/worries-long-lines-biggest-poll-issue-083554073--election.html

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