Asian shares steady, refocusing on U.S. fiscal cliff

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares steadied on Wednesday, after a two days of gains, as investors refocused on the risk of a U.S. fiscal crisis following Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's remarks that the budget impasse was already damaging growth.

U.S. stocks halted a two-day rally on Tuesday, while European shares edged higher on expectations euro zone finance ministers will approve the next tranche of bailout cash for Greece.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.miapj0000pus> was little changed, with Australian shares <.axjo> easing 0.1 percent and South Korean shares <.ks11> opening up 0.3 percent.

Japan's Nikkei average <.n225> opened up 0.8 percent to a fresh two-month high, buoyed by a weaker yen. <.t/>

Bernanke on Tuesday repeated a warning that failing to halt the $600 billion "fiscal cliff" in expiring tax cuts and government spending reductions could lead to recession, and said worries over how budget negotiations will be resolved were already damaging growth.

He also reiterated the Fed's guidance for keeping interest rates new zero until at least mid-2015, but offered few clues as to how the central bank might tweak its bond-purchase program at the start of next year.

"We remain wary of the fiscal cliff," Barclays Capital said in a research note. "We think the uncertainty associated with the current range of fiscal outcomes during the tax cliff negotiations and beyond is under appreciated by investors."

As activity was slowing ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving long weekend, traders were eyeing the outcome of the European meeting which was still underway in early Asia on Wednesday.

Euro zone finance ministers are considering allowing Athens to buy back up to 40 billion euros of its own bonds at a discount as one of a number of measures to cut Greek debt to 120 percent of GDP within the next eight years.

"Virtually everyone is expecting the Eurogroup to deliver, so the risk of them disappointing could be relatively high. Therefore, a two pronged approach may be prudent to prepare for both sides of the ledger," Neal Gilbert, currency strategist at GFT, said in a note.

The euro was steady around $1.2815, after rising to a two-week high of $1.28295 on Tuesday.

The dollar has been underpinned broadly by data indicating a moderate U.S. recovery taking root, while the yen has been undermined by expectations that Japan's elections on December 16 will see a new government that could push for more aggressive monetary and fiscal stimulus to bolster the sagging economy.

Data on Wednesday showed Japanese exports fell 6.5 percent in October from a year ago, the fifth month in a row of drops, weighed down by weakening global demand and a territorial row with China, its top export destination.

In the U.S. on Tuesday, a report showed U.S. housing starts rose to the highest rate in more than four years in October.

The dollar rose to a seven-month high against the yen of 81.80 yen in early Asia on Wednesday. The euro was at 104.64 yen after hitting a peak of 104.77, its highest point since May 4, on Tuesday.

Oil prices fell on Tuesday amid signs of a ceasefire between Palestinians and Israelis. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday and pledged to work for a truce in the Gaza Strip "in the days ahead".

But U.S. crude futures were up 0.6 percent to $87.30 a barrel, as Palestinian rocket fire and Israeli air strikes continued.

(Editing by Michael Perry)

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Gaza shakes, Israelis killed as Clinton seeks truce

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli air strikes shook the Gaza Strip and Palestinian rockets struck across the border as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held talks in Jerusalem in the early hours of Wednesday, seeking a truce that can hold back Israel's ground troops.

Hamas, the Islamist movement controlling Gaza, and Egypt, whose new, Islamist government is trying to broker a truce, had floated hopes for a ceasefire by late Tuesday; but by the time Clinton met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu it was clear there would be more argument, and more violence, first.

Hamas leaders in Cairo accused the Jewish state of failing to respond to proposals and said an announcement on holding fire would not come before daylight on Wednesday. Israel Radio quoted an Israeli official saying a truce was held up due to "a last-minute delay in the understandings between Hamas and Israel".

An initial halt to attacks may, however, not see the sides stand their forces down from battle stations immediately; Clinton, who flies to Cairo to see Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi later on Wednesday, spoke of a deal "in the days ahead".

As she arrived in Israel after nightfall, Israel was stepping up its bombardment. Artillery shells and missiles fired from naval gunboats offshore slammed into the territory and air strikes came at a frequency of about one every 10 minutes.

After seven days of hostilities that have killed over 130 Palestinians and five Israelis, two of these on Tuesday, both sides are looking for more than a return to the sporadic calm that has prevailed across the blockaded enclave since Israel ended a much bloodier air and ground offensive four years ago.

ELECTION

Netanyahu, who faces an election in two months that he is, for now, favored to win, told Clinton he wanted a "long-term" solution. Failing that, Netanyahu made clear, he stood ready to step up the military campaign to silence Hamas's rockets.

Hamas for its part is exploring the opportunities that last year's Arab Spring has given it to enjoy favor from the new Islamist governments of states once ruled by U.S. proteges, and from Sunni Gulf powers keen to woo it away from Shi'ite Iran. It has used longer-range missiles, some sent by Tehran, and hopes to eclipse Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Hamas has spoken of an easing of Israel's blockade on the 40-km (25-mile) slice of Mediterranean coast that is home to 1.7 million people. It may count on some sympathy from Mursi, though Egypt's first freely elected leader, whose Muslim Brotherhood inspired Hamas's founders, has been careful to stick by the 1979 peace deal with Israel struck by Cairo's former military rulers.

Clinton, who broke off from an Asian tour with President Barack Obama and assured Netanyahu of "rock-solid" U.S. support for Israel's security, spoke of seeking a "durable outcome" and of Egypt's "responsibility" for promoting peace.

She repeated international calls for the kind of lasting, negotiated, comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian settlement that has eluded the two peoples for decades - something neither of the two warring parties seems seriously to be anticipating.

"In the days ahead, the United States will work with our partners here in Israel and across the region toward an outcome that bolsters security for the people of Israel, improves conditions for the people of Gaza and moves toward a comprehensive peace for all people of the region," Clinton said.

"It is essential to de-escalate the situation in Gaza. The rocket attacks from terrorist organizations inside Gaza on Israeli cities and towns must end and a broader calm restored.

"The goal must be a durable outcome that promotes regional stability and advances the security and legitimate aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians alike."

"SELF-DEFENCE"

Netanyahu, who has appeared in no immediate rush to repeat the invasion of winter 2008-09 in which over 1,400 Palestinians died, said: "If there is a possibility of achieving a long-term solution to this problem with diplomatic means, we prefer that.

"But if not, I'm sure you understand that Israel will have to take whatever action is necessary to defend its people."

As Israeli aircraft have carried out hundreds of strikes on rocket stores, launchpads and suspected Hamas command posts since assassinating the head of its military wing a week ago, tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers have been preparing tanks and infantry units for a possible invasion.

During the night, explosions again rocked the city of Gaza and other parts of the Strip, while rockets from the enclave, some essentially home-made, others Iranian-designed and smuggled through tunnels from Egypt, landed in southern Israel.

One reached as far as Rishon Lezion, near Tel Aviv, on Tuesday, the latest to jar Israel's metropolis, long untroubled by Palestinian attacks. Another rocket fell close to Jerusalem, the holy city claimed by both sides in the conflict.

Medical officials in Gaza said 31 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday. An Israeli soldier and a civilian died when rockets exploded near the Gaza frontier, police and the army said.

Gaza medical officials say 138 people have died in Israeli strikes, mostly civilians, including 34 children. In all, five Israelis have died, including three civilians killed last week.

AMMUNITION STORES

Obama, whose relations with the hawkish Netanyahu have long been strained, has said he wants a diplomatic solution, rather than a possible Israeli ground operation in the densely populated territory, home to 1.7 million Palestinians.

Israel's military on Tuesday targeted more than 130 sites in Gaza, including ammunition stores and the Gaza headquarters of the National Islamic Bank. Israeli police said more than 150 rockets had been fired from Gaza by the evening.

"No country would tolerate rocket attacks against its cities and against its civilians," Netanyahu said with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who arrived in Jerusalem from talks in Cairo, at his side. "Israel cannot tolerate such attacks."

Critics have accused Israel of using disproportionate force that has killed civilians. Israel accuses Hamas of putting Gaza's people in harm's way by siting rockets among them.

Media groups have criticized attacks on Gaza media facilities. On Tuesday, three local journalists died in air strikes on their vehicles.

A building housing AFP's bureau was bombed. The French news agency said its staff were unhurt. Israel's military said it had been targeting a Hamas intelligence center in the tower.

Hamas executed six Palestinians accused of spying for Israel, who a security source quoted by Hamas Aqsa radio said had been "caught red-handed" with "filming equipment to take footage of positions". The radio said they had been shot.

Militants on a motorcycle dragged the body of one of the men through the streets.

A delegation of nine Arab ministers, led by the Egyptian foreign minister, visited Gaza in a further signal of heightened Arab solidarity with the Palestinians.

(Additional reporting by Cairo bureau; Writing by Alastair Macdonald)

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Eric Stonestreet Wasn’t Drunk, He Swears

We realize there’s only so much time one can spend in a day watching new trailers, viral video clips, and shaky cell phone footage of people arguing on live television. This is why every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the videos that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention. Today:

RELATED: What Happens When You Sing ‘All Night Long’ All Night Long

So if you were one of the few people watching the American Music Awards, (which no one watched) you may have seen Eric Stonestreet be a little tipsy. But that isn’t half as enjoyable as watching Eric Stonestreet watching himself be a little tipsy that night. (Also, wow, he’s sort of a bro.)

RELATED: Modern Family Is Scary

RELATED: ‘Seven Psychocats’ and the 50 Best Bond Moments in 007 Minutes

A few days ago we found out that Paul Rudd was in play called Grace on Broadway because … (wait for it) someone in the balcony puked on the audience members during the play. Four days late we can laugh at the whole thing. Mostly because we weren’t barfed on: 

RELATED: A ‘Mad Men’ Rickroll and the Man That Destroys Carnival Games

RELATED: A Video to Restore Our Faith in Humanity and a Glacier Tsunami

Here’s how to make some magic. What you’ll need: 

(1) Canadian newscaster with chubby fingers

(1) Technology

(1) Drunk piece of technology

Voila: 

And finally. Thanksgiving is upon us!  Today we’re thankful for squirrels who like to eat plastic: 

Wireless News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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The Voice: Top Eight Contestants Revealed

TV Watch

By Julia Haskins

11/20/2012 at 10:05 PM EST

From left: Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green, Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton and host Carson Daly

Mark Seliger/NBC

Following what Blake Shelton called the "best episode of The Voice we've ever had", spirited group performances on Tuesday night's show kept the energy up and distracted viewers just long enough from the business at hand – impending eliminations.

Christina Aguilera brought the heat with her song "Let There Be Love." Rascal Flatts shared their hit "Changed." Later, Adam Levine performed a rendition of Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," followed by the contestants taking on Pat Benatar's "Hit Me with Your Best Shot."

But once again, the decisions about who would stay and who would go were completely up to the viewers. No input from the coaches could save contestants this time. Keep reading to find out which contestants will sing again next week ...

The first round of results turned out to be good news for Nicholas David and Cassadee, later joined by Dez Duron and Cody Belew in the top eight.

America also gave Terry McDermott, Melanie Martinez, Trevin Hunte and Amanda Brown another shot at superstardom.

That means Bryan Keith and Sylvia Yacoub won't be singing again on Monday night's episode.

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OB/GYNs back over-the-counter birth control pills

WASHINGTON (AP) — No prescription or doctor's exam needed: The nation's largest group of obstetricians and gynecologists says birth control pills should be sold over the counter, like condoms.

Tuesday's surprise opinion from these gatekeepers of contraception could boost longtime efforts by women's advocates to make the pill more accessible.

But no one expects the pill to be sold without a prescription any time soon: A company would have to seek government permission first, and it's not clear if any are considering it. Plus there are big questions about what such a move would mean for many women's wallets if it were no longer covered by insurance.

Still, momentum may be building.

Already, anyone 17 or older doesn't need to see a doctor before buying the morning-after pill — a higher-dose version of regular birth control that can prevent pregnancy if taken shortly after unprotected sex. Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration held a meeting to gather ideas about how to sell regular oral contraceptives without a prescription, too.

Now the influential American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is declaring it's safe to sell the pill that way.

Wait, why would doctors who make money from women's yearly visits for a birth-control prescription advocate giving that up?

Half of the nation's pregnancies every year are unintended, a rate that hasn't changed in 20 years — and easier access to birth control pills could help, said Dr. Kavita Nanda, an OB/GYN who co-authored the opinion for the doctors group.

"It's unfortunate that in this country where we have all these contraceptive methods available, unintended pregnancy is still a major public health problem," said Nanda, a scientist with the North Carolina nonprofit FHI 360, formerly known as Family Health International.

Many women have trouble affording a doctor's visit, or getting an appointment in time when their pills are running low — which can lead to skipped doses, Nanda added.

If the pill didn't require a prescription, women could "pick it up in the middle of the night if they run out," she said. "It removes those types of barriers."

Tuesday, the FDA said it was willing to meet with any company interested in making the pill nonprescription, to discuss what if any studies would be needed.

Then there's the price question. The Obama administration's new health care law requires FDA-approved contraceptives to be available without copays for women enrolled in most workplace health plans.

If the pill were sold without a prescription, it wouldn't be covered under that provision, just as condoms aren't, said Health and Human Services spokesman Tait Sye.

ACOG's opinion, published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, says any move toward making the pill nonprescription should address that cost issue. Not all women are eligible for the free birth control provision, it noted, citing a recent survey that found young women and the uninsured pay an average of $16 per month's supply.

The doctors group made clear that:

—Birth control pills are very safe. Blood clots, the main serious side effect, happen very rarely, and are a bigger threat during pregnancy and right after giving birth.

—Women can easily tell if they have risk factors, such as smoking or having a previous clot, and should avoid the pill.

—Other over-the-counter drugs are sold despite rare but serious side effects, such as stomach bleeding from aspirin and liver damage from acetaminophen.

—And there's no need for a Pap smear or pelvic exam before using birth control pills. But women should be told to continue getting check-ups as needed, or if they'd like to discuss other forms of birth control such as implantable contraceptives that do require a physician's involvement.

The group didn't address teen use of contraception. Despite protests from reproductive health specialists, current U.S. policy requires girls younger than 17 to produce a prescription for the morning-after pill, meaning pharmacists must check customers' ages. Presumably regular birth control pills would be treated the same way.

Prescription-only oral contraceptives have long been the rule in the U.S., Canada, Western Europe, Australia and a few other places, but many countries don't require a prescription.

Switching isn't a new idea. In Washington state a few years ago, a pilot project concluded that pharmacists successfully supplied women with a variety of hormonal contraceptives, including birth control pills, without a doctor's involvement. The question was how to pay for it.

Some pharmacies in parts of London have a similar project under way, and a recent report from that country's health officials concluded the program is working well enough that it should be expanded.

And in El Paso, Texas, researchers studied 500 women who regularly crossed the border into Mexico to buy birth control pills, where some U.S. brands sell over the counter for a few dollars a pack. Over nine months, the women who bought in Mexico stuck with their contraception better than another 500 women who received the pill from public clinics in El Paso, possibly because the clinic users had to wait for appointments, said Dr. Dan Grossman of the University of California, San Francisco, and the nonprofit research group Ibis Reproductive Health.

"Being able to easily get the pill when you need it makes a difference," he said.

___

Online:

OB/GYN group: http://www.acog.org

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Budget talk optimism spurs Wall Street rally

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks bounced higher for a second consecutive session on Monday as investors were encouraged by the early atmosphere surrounding talks to tackle the nation's fiscal crunch.

Stronger-than-expected earnings from Lowe's and Tyson Foods, as well as encouraging housing data, also contributed to the market's advance. Tyson and Lowe's were the top two percentage gainers on the S&P 500.

The S&P 500 is up more than 2 percent in the last two sessions as rhetoric from legislators over the weekend suggests a deal could be reached to stave off the looming "fiscal cliff," a series of tax and spending changes that will begin to take effect in the new year. The two sides are still far apart in negotiations, however.

The benchmark S&P index had fallen 5.3 percent between Election Day and Friday's rebound, as investors took the opportunity to sell stocks - including some of the year's best performers - just in case Washington cannot come to an agreement and taxes on dividends and capital gains rise in 2013.

"Everyone is quietly breathing a sigh of relief, because frankly, we are no longer looking over the edge of a cliff, we are looking at an opportunity to step back and recalibrate," said Peter Kenny, managing director at Knight Capital in Jersey City, New Jersey.

However, the rebound could be a short-lived reprieve from the sharp declines and market volatility could still rise, depending on progress in negotiations. A number of sectors were considered oversold on a technical basis - suggesting a buying opportunity.

"There is no question, what lit the fuse was constructive conversation, constructive talking points out of Washington that has done far more to help the market than anything else - the backdrop is the oversold" market, Kenny said.

Monday's advance marked the biggest percentage gain for the S&P 500 since November 6, when the European Central Bank announced a new bond-buying program aimed at containing the region's debt crisis.

Shares of Lowe's Cos Inc , the world's No. 2 home improvement chain, jumped 6.2 percent to $33.96 to hit a 52-week high after the company reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit and raised its full-year sales forecast.

Home improvement chains tend to benefit as housing strengthens. U.S. home resales unexpectedly increased in October, while separate data showed homebuilder sentiment rose to its highest level in over six years in November.

The PHLX Housing Index <.hgx> rose 1.8 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> gained 207.65 points, or 1.65 percent, at 12,795.96. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was up 27.01 points, or 1.99 percent, at 1,386.89. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was up 62.94 points, or 2.21 percent, at 2,916.07.

The S&P edged above its 200-day moving average at around 1,382, which has acted as a resistance level since a drop below the technically significant mark on November 8.

Tyson Foods Inc beat expectations and gave an upbeat forecast, sending its stock up 10.9 percent to $18.72.

Intel shares edged higher, up 0.3 percent to $20.25 after the company said its chief executive will retire in May.

Commodities prices surged, boosting shares of resource companies. Freeport-McMoRan rose 4.1 percent to $38.28, while U.S. Steel rose 5.3 percent to $21.15. The S&P materials sector <.gspm> advanced 2.9 percent as the best performing of the 10 major S&P sectors.

Volume was light and is expected to remain so throughout the Thanksgiving Day holiday-shortened trading week, with about 6.14 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE MKT and Nasdaq, below the daily average of 6.49 billion.

Advancing stocks outnumbered declines on the NYSE by 2,678 to 350, while on the Nasdaq, advancers beat decliners 1,949 to 521.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Dan Grebler)

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Gaza truce pressure builds, Cairo in focus

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - International pressure for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip puts Egypt's new Islamist president in the spotlight on Tuesday after a sixth day of Palestinian rocket fire and Israeli air strikes that have killed over 100 people.

Israel's leaders weighed the benefits and risks of sending tanks and infantry into the densely populated coastal enclave two months before an Israeli election, and indicated they would prefer a diplomatic path backed by world powers, including U.S. President Barack Obama, the European Union and Russia.

Any such solution may pass through Egypt, Gaza's other neighbor and the biggest Arab nation, where the ousting of U.S. ally Hosni Mubarak and election of President Mohamed Mursi is part of a dramatic reshaping of the Middle East, wrought by the Arab Spring and now affecting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Mursi, whose Muslim Brotherhood was mentor to the founders of Hamas, took a call from Obama on Monday telling him the group must stop rocket fire into Israel - effectively endorsing Israel's stated aim in launching the offensive last week. Obama, as quoted by the White House, also said he regretted civilian deaths - which have been predominantly among the Palestinians.

"The two leaders discussed ways to de-escalate the situation in Gaza, and President Obama underscored the necessity of Hamas ending rocket fire into Israel," the White House said.

"President Obama then called Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel and received an update on the situation in Gaza and Israel. In both calls, President Obama expressed regret for the loss of Israeli and Palestinian civilian lives."

Three Israeli civilians and 108 Palestinians have been killed. Gaza officials say over half of those killed in the enclave were civilians, 27 of them children.

EGYPT SEES DEAL

Mursi has warned Netanyahu of serious consequences from a ground invasion of the kind that left over 1,400 people dead in Gaza four years ago. But he has been careful not to alienate Israel, with whom Egypt's former military rulers signed a peace treaty in 1979, or Washington, a major aid donor to Egypt.

A meeting on Tuesday in Cairo between Mursi and Ban Ki-moon, the secretary-general of the United Nations who flew in late on Monday, could shed light on the shape of any truce proposals.

Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Kandil told Reuters: "I think we are close, but the nature of this kind of negotiation, (means) it is very difficult to predict."

Israeli media have said Israeli officials are also in Cairo to talk. And Ban is due to meet Netanyahu in Jerusalem soon.

After Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal laid out demands in Cairo that Israel take the first step in restoring calm, and warned Netanyahu that a ground war in Gaza could wreck his re-election prospects in January, a senior Israeli official denied a Hamas assertion that the prime minister had asked for a truce.

"Whoever started the war must end it," Meshaal said, referring to Israel's assassination from the air last Wednesday of Hamas's Gaza military chief, a move that followed a scaling up of rocket fire onto Israeli towns over several weeks.

An official close to Netanyahu told Reuters: "Israel is prepared and has taken steps and is ready for a ground incursion which will deal severely with the Hamas military machine.

"We would prefer to see a diplomatic solution that would guarantee the peace for Israel's population in the south. If that is possible, then a ground operation would no longer be required," he added. "If diplomacy fails, we may well have no alternative but to send in ground forces."

NETANYAHU CONSIDERS

Fortified by the ascendancy of fellow Islamists in Egypt and elsewhere, and courted by fellow Sunni Arab leaders in the Gulf, keen to draw the Palestinian group away from old ties to Shi'ite Iran, Hamas has tested its room for maneuver, as well as longer-range rockets that have reached the Tel Aviv metropolis.

As Netanyahu and his top ministers debated their next moves in a meeting that lasted past midnight, Israeli statistics showed some easing in the ferocity of the exchanges on Monday.

Israeli police counted 110 rockets, causing no casualties, of which 42 were shot down by anti-missile batteries. Israel said it had conducted 80 air strikes. Compared to over 1,000 rockets fired in total, and 1,350 air strikes, the indications were that the level of violence had fallen on Monday.

Nonetheless, blood was shed and anger seethed. Hamas said 4-year-old twin boys had died with their parents when their house in the town of Beit Lahiya was struck from the air. Neighbors said the occupants were not involved with militant groups.

Israel had no immediate comment on that attack. It says it takes extreme care to avoid civilians and accuses Hamas and other militant groups of deliberately placing Gaza's 1.7 million people in harm's way by siting rocket launchers among them.

Nonetheless, fighting Israel, whose right to exist Hamas refuses to recognize, is popular with many Palestinians and has kept the movement competitive with the secular Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who remains in the West Bank after losing Gaza to Hamas in a civil war five years ago.

"Hamas and the others, they're our sons and our brothers, we're fingers on the same hand," said 55-year-old Faraj al-Sawafir, whose home was blasted by Israeli forces. "They fight for us and are martyred, they take losses and we sacrifice too."

Thousands turned out on Monday to mourn four children and five women who were among 11 people killed in an Israeli air strike that flattened a three-storey home the previous day.

The bodies were wrapped in Palestinian and Hamas flags. Echoes of explosions mixed with cries of grief and defiant chants of "God is greatest!".

ISRAELI INVESTIGATION

Israel said it was investigating the strike that brought the block crashing down on the al-Dalu family, where the dead spanned four generations. Some Israeli newspapers said the house might have been targeted by mistake.

For the second straight day, Israeli missiles blasted a tower block in the city of Gaza housing international media. Two people were killed there, one of them an Islamic Jihad militant.

In scenes recalling Israel's 2008-2009 winter invasion of the coastal enclave, tanks, artillery and infantry have massed in field encampments along the sandy, fenced-off border.

Israel has also authorized the call-up of 75,000 military reservists, so far mobilizing around half that number.

Although 84 percent of Israelis support the current Gaza assault, according to a poll by Israel's Haaretz newspaper, only 30 percent want an invasion.

With the power balances of the Middle East drastically shifted by the Arab Spring during a first Obama term that began two days after Israel ended its last major Gaza offensive, the newly re-elected U.S. president faces testing choices to achieve Washington's hopes for peace and stability across the region.

In an echo of frictions over the civil war in Syria, Russia accused the United States on Monday of blocking a bid by the U.N. Security Council to condemn the escalating conflict in the Gaza Strip. Washington has generally stopped the U.N. body from putting what it sees as undue pressure on its Israeli ally.

(Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

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Intel CEO Paul Otellini to retire in surprise move

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Intel CEO Paul Otellini dropped a bombshell on the company’s board of directors last week, telling them in private that he plans to retire from the world’s largest maker of microprocessors in May. Otellini‘s move comes at a time when Intel faces a shaky economy and a mobile gadget craze that is eating away at demand for its PC chips —and it gives the company just six months to find a new leader.

Intel‘s board expected the 62-year-old Otellini to remain chief executive until the company’s customary retirement age of 65. The company announced his impending departure on Monday.

“The decision was entirely Paul’s,” said Intel spokesman Paul Bergevin. “The board accepted his decision with regret.”

Otellini will be ending a nearly 40-year career with Intel, including an eight-year stint as CEO by the time he leaves. He joined the Santa Clara, Calif. company after graduating from the nearby University of California at Berkeley and worked his way up the ranks before succeeding Craig Barrett as CEO in May 2005.

“It’s time to move on and transfer Intel‘s helm to a new generation of leadership,” Otellini said in a statement.

In another statement, Intel Chairman Andy Bryant praised Otellini for leading the company through “challenging times and market transitions.”

Intel‘s board plans to consider candidates inside and outside the company as it searches for Otellini’s successor. Otellini will be involved in the search.

Otellini and the four other men who have been Intel‘s CEO during the company’s 45-year history have all been promoted from within. The company’s board is believed to be leaning in that direction again.

Intel identified the leading internal candidates Monday by anointing three of Otellini’s current lieutenants as executive vice presidents. They are: Renee James, head of Intel‘s software business; Brian Krzanich, chief operating officer and head of worldwide manufacturing; and Stacy Smith, chief financial officer and director of corporate strategy.

If recent history is any indication, Krzanich has the inside track to become Intel‘s CEO. Both Barrett and Otellini served as chief operating officer before becoming CEO.

Although Otellini is generally well regarded, he has faced criticism for initially underestimating the impact that smartphones and tablet computers would have on the personal computer market. It was a pivotal change that also confounded Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer, whose software company makes the Windows operating system that runs most of the PCs relying on Intel‘s chips.

“The shift came more quickly than they expected, and when they did finally see what was happening, they were a little late to react,” said technology analyst Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights & Strategy.

Indeed, in 2008, nearly 300 million PCs were sold and most of them were powered by Microsoft‘s Windows and Intel‘s microchips, according to Forrester Research. Some 142 million smartphones sold that year, at a time when the tablet market hadn’t really taken off. That wouldn’t happen until Apple‘s 2010 release of the iPad.

By contrast, this year, Forrester estimates 330 million PCs will be sold worldwide compared with 665 million smartphones and just over 100 million tablets. By 2016, Forrester predicts annual sales of PCs will rise only slightly to 370 million machines while more than 1.6 billion smartphones and tablets will be purchased.

The fates of Intel and Microsoft have been so tightly wound for the past 30 years that computers using a combination of their chips and software are famously known as “Wintel” machines.

Now, much of the technology industry is questioning whether Intel and Microsoft can catch up in the mobile market to ensure their products remain as essential — and profitable — in the future as they have been in the past three decades.

It’s a challenge that Ballmer, 56, is confident he can tackle. He signaled his intent to remain Microsoft‘s CEO earlier this month when he ushered out the head of the company’s Windows division because of philosophical differences over the company’s future direction. For whatever reasons, Otellini concluded it was time for new leadership at Intel — an opinion that many investors share, according to RBC Capital Markets analyst Doug Freedman.

“A shift in leadership could be welcome news to investors as Intel could be in greater position to broaden its portfolio into higher growth markets,” Freedman wrote in a Monday research note.

Intel‘s stock was unchanged at $ 20.19 shortly before the market closed Monday. The stock has fallen more than 20 percent during Otellini’s reign. Most of the decline occurred this year amid concerns about the company’s ability to adjust to mobile computing and weakening demand for its core products in countries with troubled economies, particularly in Europe and China. The company blamed the poor economy for a 14 percent drop in its earnings during its most recent quarter.

Intel‘s chips have become even more dominant in the PC computer market during Otellini’s tenure, helping to boost the company’s annual revenue from $ 39 billion in 2005 to $ 54 billion last year. Besides supplying Windows-powered PCs, Otellini also scored a coup in 2006 when he convinced Apple to start using Intel chips in Mac computers instead of IBM Corp.’s microprocessors.

But Apple‘s pioneering work in smartphones and tablet computers also muddled Intel‘s future. Both the iPhone and iPad inspired a wave of sophisticated handheld devices that are undercutting demand for desktop and laptop machines that house Intel processors.

Most tablets rely on a technology licensed from British chip designer ARM Holdings Plc. Even Microsoft has tweaked the latest version of the Windows operating system so it works on ARM chips.

Other chip makers such as Qualcomm Inc. have developed less expensive microprocessors that have eclipsed Intel in the smartphone market. Qualcomm‘s inroads in the mobile market are a key reason why its stock has soared by more than 70 percent while Otellini was running Intel.

The contrasting performances of the two companies’ stocks enabled Qualcomm to surpass Intel as the world’s most valuable chip maker. Qualcomm‘s market value now stands at about $ 106 billion versus $ 100 billion for Intel.

Even though its stock under Otellini has lagged the rest of the market, Intel‘s ongoing prosperity has enabled the company to reward shareholders in other ways. Intel has paid stock dividends totaling $ 23.5 billion under Otellini as its quarterly payments rose 8 cents per share in 2005 to 22.5 cents per share currently.

Gadgets News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Miley Cyrus Celebrates in New York - with Her Entire Family!

11/19/2012 at 07:05 PM EST

From left: Noah, Bill Ray, Tish, Miley, Brandi and Braison Cyrus

Bruce Glikas/Filmmagic

The Cyrus family has a lot to be thankful for this year.

Miley Cyrus is celebrating her 20th birthday on Friday. Her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, is starring as slick lawyer Billy Flynn in the Broadway hit musical Chicago. And it looks like (practically) the whole family is together for the occasions.

Photos show Billy Ray – dressed in a tuxedo – his wife Tish and their kids, Miley, 19, Noah, 12, Brandi, 25, and Braison, 18, all posing together backstage at the Ambassador Theater in New York City on Sunday. (Brother Trace is the only one absent.)

"The whole family had a great time," an observer tells PEOPLE.

They came backstage at intermission to spend time with Billy Ray in his dressing room, and again after the show to meet some of his fellow cast members.

Billy Ray, who began his Broadway run recently, told PEOPLE that his family hadn't come to see him yet partly because he wanted to get comfortable in the role. "I gotta get my legs up [before they see it]," he said. "I think everybody's coming in for Thanksgiving. So we'll see what happens."

Now that they've seen it, it seems his family is giving his performance a thumbs-up. "So glad to be back with my daddy (@billyraycyrus) for the first time in 3 MONTHS!! He was so great on broadway," Noah Tweeted on Monday.

Miley, too, is having a blast in the Big Apple. "What a dope morning. So many fans outside my hotel this a.m. in NYC. If there's this much chaos NOW imagine when I drop this record! #ohsnap," she Tweeted.

As for Billy Ray, whose Chicago run ends Dec. 23, he says taking the part on Broadway has been great fun – and a great challenge.

"I couldn't come up here and do something predictable," he says of the role. "I was offered Rock of Ages, and my instincts said, 'That's a bit predictable for me.' "

But when the role of Billy Flynn came up, Ray explained, "He's the total opposite of me" – and that was just what he wanted.

For more on Billy Ray Cyrus – including what he does (and doesn't) know about Miley's wedding plans – pick up PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday

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New push for most in US to get at least 1 HIV test

WASHINGTON (AP) — There's a new push to make testing for the AIDS virus as common as cholesterol checks.

Americans ages 15 to 64 should get an HIV test at least once — not just people considered at high risk for the virus, an independent panel that sets screening guidelines proposed Monday.

The draft guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force are the latest recommendations that aim to make HIV screening simply a routine part of a check-up, something a doctor can order with as little fuss as a cholesterol test or a mammogram. Since 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also has pushed for widespread, routine HIV screening.

Yet not nearly enough people have heeded that call: Of the more than 1.1 million Americans living with HIV, nearly 1 in 5 — almost 240,000 people — don't know it. Not only is their own health at risk without treatment, they could unwittingly be spreading the virus to others.

The updated guidelines will bring this long-simmering issue before doctors and their patients again — emphasizing that public health experts agree on how important it is to test even people who don't think they're at risk, because they could be.

"It allows you to say, 'This is a recommended test that we believe everybody should have. We're not singling you out in any way,'" said task force member Dr. Douglas Owens, of Stanford University and the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System.

And if finalized, the task force guidelines could extend the number of people eligible for an HIV screening without a copay in their doctor's office, as part of free preventive care under the Obama administration's health care law. Under the task force's previous guidelines, only people at increased risk for HIV — which includes gay and bisexual men and injecting drug users — were eligible for that no-copay screening.

There are a number of ways to get tested. If you're having blood drawn for other exams, the doctor can merely add HIV to the list, no extra pokes or swabs needed. Today's rapid tests can cost less than $20 and require just rubbing a swab over the gums, with results ready in as little as 20 minutes. Last summer, the government approved a do-it-yourself at-home version that's selling for about $40.

Free testing is available through various community programs around the country, including a CDC pilot program in drugstores in 24 cities and rural sites.

Monday's proposal also recommends:

—Testing people older and younger than 15-64 if they are at increased risk of HIV infection,

—People at very high risk for HIV infection should be tested at least annually.

—It's not clear how often to retest people at somewhat increased risk, but perhaps every three to five years.

—Women should be tested during each pregnancy, something the task force has long recommended.

The draft guidelines are open for public comment through Dec. 17.

Most of the 50,000 new HIV infections in the U.S. every year are among gay and bisexual men, followed by heterosexual black women.

"We are not doing as well in America with HIV testing as we would like," Dr. Jonathan Mermin, CDC's HIV prevention chief, said Monday.

The CDC recommends at least one routine test for everyone ages 13 to 64, starting two years younger than the task force recommended. That small difference aside, CDC data suggests fewer than half of adults under 65 have been tested.

"It can sometimes be awkward to ask your doctor for an HIV test," Mermin said — the reason making it routine during any health care encounter could help.

But even though nearly three-fourths of gay and bisexual men with undiagnosed HIV had visited some sort of health provider in the previous year, 48 percent weren't tested for HIV, a recent CDC survey found. Emergency rooms are considered a good spot to catch the undiagnosed, after their illnesses and injuries have been treated, but Mermin said only about 2 percent of ER patients known to be at increased risk were tested while there.

Mermin calls that "a tragedy. It's a missed opportunity."

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Online:

Task force recommendation: http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org

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