7 miners rescued from China mine, 50 still trapped

Rescuers move an injured miner at the Qianqiu Coal Mine in Yima city in central China's Henan province Friday, Nov. 4, 2011. Rescuers pulled seven injured miners to the surface Friday and were trying to reach 50 others trapped after a rock explosion in a coal mine in central China, state media reported. (AP Photo) CHINA OUT

Rescuers move an injured miner at the Qianqiu Coal Mine in Yima city in central China's Henan province Friday, Nov. 4, 2011. Rescuers pulled seven injured miners to the surface Friday and were trying to reach 50 others trapped after a rock explosion in a coal mine in central China, state media reported. (AP Photo) CHINA OUT

Rescuers move an injured miner at the Qianqiu Coal Mine in Yima city in central China's Henan province Friday, Nov. 4, 2011. Rescuers pulled seven injured miners to the surface Friday and were trying to reach 50 others trapped after a rock explosion in a coal mine in central China, state media reported. (AP Photo) CHINA OUT

In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, an injured miner receives first aid in an ambulance at the Qianqiu Coal Mine of Yima Coal Group in Sanmenxia City, central China's Henan Province, Friday, Nov. 4, 2011. Rescuers pulled seven injured miners to the surface Friday and were trying to reach 50 others trapped after a rock explosion Thursday in the coal mine, the state media reported. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Zhu Xiang) NO SALES

In this photo released by China's Xinhua news agency, rescuers queue up to carry out rescue missions after a rock burst occurred in a coal mine in central China's Henan Province, Friday, Nov. 4, 2011. The state news agency says a sudden ejection of rock has killed four miners and trapped 57 others underground. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Zhu Xiang) NO SALES

In this photo released by China's Xinhua news agency, rescuers work at the Qianqiu Coal Mine belongs to Yima Coal Group after an explosion of rock in Sanmenxia, central China's Henan Province, Friday, Nov. 4, 2011. The sudden explosion of rock following a small earthquake killed four miners and trapped 57 others, the state news agency reported. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Zhu Xiang) NO SALES

(AP) ? Rescuers pulled seven injured miners to the surface Friday and were trying to reach 50 others trapped after a cave-in at a coal mine in central China, state media reported.

Four miners were killed when the cave-in blasted rock into the mine shaft Thursday evening and 14 managed to escape, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The rock explosion happened just after a small earthquake shook near the mine in the city of Sanmenxia in Henan province.

State broadcaster CCTV showed rescuers with helmets and oxygen tanks carrying the seven found alive Friday afternoon from a mine elevator as waiting officials applauded and medical staff rushed to attend to them.

The rescued miners lay on stretchers, wrapped with blankets with their eyes covered by towels to prevent them from being damaged by the sudden exposure to light after hours of being trapped.

Xinhua said six had minor injuries but one was seriously hurt.

At least 200 workers were digging a small rescue tunnel about 1,650 feet (500 meters) deep to try to reach the trapped miners, the People's Daily newspaper said. There have been no reports of communication with the trapped miners.

The mine belongs to Yima Coal Group, a large state-owned coal company in Henan, the State Administration of Work Safety said on its website.

Luo Lin, head of the administration, said a magnitude-2.9 earthquake occurred near the mine shortly before a "rock burst" was reported.

The phenomenon occurs when settling earth bears down on mine walls and causes a sudden release of stored energy. The exploding chunks of coal and rock, or the shock waves alone, can be lethal.

Survival depends on the intensity of the rock explosion and if ventilation can be provided, a local official told The Associated Press.

"If it was not very strong, it might have caused the tunnel to get narrower, but we might still be able to send some air in there to ensure ventilation," said the Yima city Communist Party's head of propaganda, who would give only his surname, Tian, as is common with Chinese officials.

"But if the impact was pretty strong and caused the tunnel walls to collapse, then the ventilation was probably cut off immediately, suffocating the people trapped there," he said.

Tian said it was difficult to determine how deep in the mine the trapped workers were.

According to Xinhua, workers were digging a tunnel about 2,500 feet (760 meters) long, but after the rock burst, the tunnel appeared to have "basically folded" a little more than halfway down the passage, at 1,580 feet (480 meters). It was unclear what the condition of the tunnel was beyond that point, Xinhua said.

China's coal mines are the deadliest in the world, although the industry's safety record has improved in recent years as smaller, illegal mines have been closed. Annual fatalities are now about one-third of the high of nearly 7,000 in 2002.

Last Sunday, a gas explosion at a coal mine in central China's Hunan province killed 29 workers, the worst accident in recent months.

___

Gillian Wong can be reached at http://twitter.com/gillianwong

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-11-04-AS-China-Miners-Trapped/id-ee73460afb184fb89878b31899f3ac7a

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Lawsuit against Golden Globes group to go forward (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) ? Judge Kevin Brazile has denied a motion by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to dismiss portions of the lawsuit brought by its former publicist Michael Russell, paving the way for the litigation to move forward to court.

The group is best known for producing the popular annual awards show, the Golden Globes.

Russell slapped the organization last January with a $2 million suit alleging a glittering array of unethical practices by the group's members, including accepting money and gifts from studios in exchange for nominating their films, and selling media credentials for personal profit.

Judge Brazile also denied a motion to dismiss portions of a related lawsuit filed against the HFPA and its chairman Philip Berk by the nonprofit charity "Stars for a Cause."

In a suit filed just weeks after Russell's bombshell accusations, Stars for a Cause alleged that Berk and the HFPA sabotaged its relationships with a number of corporate sponsors that had supported its charity campaigns, including Chrysler and celebrity TV new show "Entertainment Tonight."

Berk and the HFPA now have 20 days to answer Russell's complaint.

A spokesperson for the HFPA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

James Ramsey, an attorney for Russell's company and Stars for a Cause, hailed the decision.

"By rejecting the efforts of the HFPA and Philip Berk to avoid answering the charges in these lawsuits, the judge's ruling effectively closes the door on the first stage of the cases and rings in the discovery round, which will begin in earnest," Ramsey said in a statement.

The Russell and Stars suits are not the only legal challenges facing the HFPA. The organization sued Dick Clark Productions last November, claiming that the production company -- the longtime producer of the Golden Globes -- improperly negotiated a new contract with NBC to air the awards.

Originally scheduled for this past September, that case may not go to trial until next July, after the judge who was originally intended to hear the case became sick.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/enindustry/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111103/media_nm/us_goldenglobes

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Film producer Gest promises fresh take on Jackson (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? Reality TV star and concert promoter David Gest has promised fans a fresh insight into Michael Jackson in his documentary about the late "king of pop" which has its premiere in London on Wednesday.

Gest has teamed up with Universal Pictures to make "Michael Jackson: The Life of an Icon," released this week on Blu-ray and DVD with the blessing of Jackson's mother Katherine.

"This is not a rehashed story," Gest told Reuters in a recent interview to promote the picture. "It's totally new in what you learn."

The producer, a long-time friend of the "Thriller" singer, is also involved in a singing and spoken-world tribute tour to Jackson which kicks off in Britain next spring.

His projects are part of a series of Jackson-related events that have been staged, screened or planned since the star died in June 2009.

"Michael Jackson's This Is It," a 2009 documentary film about rehearsals for his comeback tour which never took place, made more than $260 million at the global box office.

A posthumous album entitled "Immortal" is due out this month, a $60 million Cirque du Soleil extravaganza recently launched in Canada and Wales hosted a tribute gig last month attended by Jackson's mother and three children.

Jackson, who was 50 when he died of an overdose of the surgical anesthetic propofol which he used as a sleep aid, was one of the most successful recording artists of all time.

Asked if he felt such projects were merely attempts to cash in on the singer's name, Gest replied:

"There's a place if it tells a story that nobody knows and you enlighten the public (as) to who he is.

"I think if a project is interesting and new and different people are fascinated by Michael Jackson," the American added.

"I think the Cirque du Soleil (show) is brilliant. I think people will by entertained (by my film). This film is so different because I would say 90 percent of it is new information you have never heard.

"You see who the man was behind the music."

The Life of an Icon features interviews with Katherine Jackson, the singer's siblings Tito and Rebbie and friends and colleagues including Smokey Robinson, Dionne Warwick and Whitney Houston.

Tito discusses what the family went through during the child molestation trial in 2005 where his brother was eventually acquitted on all counts.

The film traces Jackson from his breakthrough in the Jackson 5 to his rise to fame as a solo artist through to his sudden death in Los Angeles.

"You see Katherine Jackson in a totally different light," said Gest. "She's very honest and she's very open and you really feel for her, especially when you see her talking about his death and how it affected her."

Gest promised amusing anecdotes as well as moving recollections.

One, he said, involved Houston recalling a visit she made to Jackson's Neverland Ranch in California where she was involved in an embarrassing mealtime mix-up between Jackson and his pet chimpanzee Bubbles.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111102/music_nm/us_michaeljackson_film

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Change in crack sentencing means early releases

Darryl Flood thought he would have to wait until 2013 to get out of prison, more than a decade after he pleaded guilty to being part of a conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine.

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If all goes as planned, the 48-year-old could walk out of a Kentucky prison two years early, as one of thousands of federal inmates to benefit when a change goes into effect Tuesday changing sentences for crack cocaine to be closer to the penalties for powder cocaine.

Flood's sister, Susan Cardwell, said she cried after getting a phone call from his defense attorney Monday saying his release has been approved by a Virginia judge.

"He wants to get out, get a job and get his life back together," she said in a telephone interview. "He says he'll work two jobs if he has to."

The disparity in sentences for crack versus powder had long been criticized as racially discriminatory because it disproportionately affected black defendants. The Fair Sentencing Act passed by Congress in 2010 and signed by President Barack Obama reduced the disparity for future cases.

This summer the U.S. Sentencing Commission, which sets federal sentencing policy, decided to apply the act to inmates already serving time.

The commission estimates about 12,000 inmates could benefit overall. The effect of the change will largely be spread out over the next several years, with inmates getting an average of three years shaved off. But nearly 1,900 prisoners are estimated to be eligible for immediate release Tuesday.

It's not clear how many individuals will go free on the first day inmates are eligible.

Chris Burke, a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, said Monday that officials had already received hundreds of orders for early release from judges and the number has been going up daily, "if not hourly." Prison officials have been given a grace period of several days to release certain inmates.

Those releases and others are the result of months of work by prosecutors, public defenders and judges across the country. Some public defender offices reviewed hundreds of files of potentially affected inmates.

In some districts, defense attorneys and prosecutors agreed that a certain individuals' sentences should be reduced to time served based on Tuesday's new guidelines and asked judges to enter orders that go into effect the same day.

The number of affected inmates varies in each federal district.

In San Antonio, Texas, the federal public defender's office had about 15 to 20 immediate release cases according to assistant federal public defender Kurt May. In St. Louis, public defender Lee Lawless said his office reviewed a list of 400 people who might be affected and ultimately submitted between 30 and 50 petitions asking for inmates' immediate release. In the eastern district of Virginia, which has the highest number of affected inmates anywhere in the country, public defender Michael Nachmanoff said that by Monday evening judges had signed off on the immediate release of approximately 75 people for Tuesday.

Jim Wade, the federal public defender for Harrisburg, Pa., said he canceled vacation for his 10 attorneys until the first wave of releases is over.

"We're trying to make sure you don't serve one more day than necessary. That's the goal," Wade said.

For families who have loved ones affected by the change, days make a difference. Susan Cardwell said the last time she saw her brother was the day he went to prison. She can't wait to see him, she said, and has already promised an all-you-can-eat buffet dinner to celebrate his return.

"After jail food for all those years, I'm sure he's going to pig out," she said.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45113882/ns/politics/

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BOJ supplies dollars in rare move, warns on markets (Reuters)

KOFU, Japan (Reuters) ? The Bank of Japan supplied dollars in market operations on Wednesday for the first time in more than a year, a sign of the global market strains that board member Sayuri Shirai separately said could push the yen higher again.

Dollar funding has become increasingly tight in money markets globally as uncertainty over bank exposure to the euro zone debt crisis raises fears of a new credit crunch.

Japan had been immune to these concerns as the Bank of Japan's operations to supply unlimited amounts of dollars went untapped since July last year. Money markets in Japan have been largely stable.

But on Wednesday, the central bank supplied $2 million for a week in one operation and $100 million for three months in a second operation. Bankers speculated the currency was likely sought by a non-Japanese bank with operations in the country.

"This is probably a foreign bank trying to secure funds for the end of the year," said Tomohiko Katsu, deputy general manager of the asset liability division of Shinsei Bank.

"Europe's debt woes are behind a widening in money market rates. Some banks will have to rely on funding from central banks."

The BOJ's fixed-rate dollar operation, in which it offers unlimited amounts of dollars against collateral, rarely draws bids because it usually costs more than borrowing dollars in the open market.

However, dollar-funding costs have risen in Japan reflecting market jitters over Europe's debt crisis, making it cheaper for banks to raise dollars under the BOJ's operation.

A call by the Greek prime minister for a national referendum on the euro zone's latest measures to reduce Greece's debts provided the latest reason for markets to swoon.

Stocks have wiped out all the gains they made last week in a relief rally after EU leaders drew up the measures.

Global markets are likely to remain under intense strain because there is little chance that Europe's debt problems will be resolved soon, BOJ policymaker Shirai said.

She said Greece was in a negative spiral as taking additional steps to reform its public finances came at the cost of further weakness in its economy.

The euro zone debt crisis posed risks to Japan's economy because it could spur further gains in the yen, which authorities sold heavily this week after it rose to a fresh record high against the dollar.

"As domestic and overseas markets become increasingly interconnected, prices of equity and other risk assets may fall globally as investors seek safer assets," she said in a speech to business leaders.

"That may lead to falls in Japanese stocks or push up the yen -- regarded as a safe haven -- further against the dollar and emerging currencies.

"As a result, the economy could underperform our forecasts as business and household sentiment deteriorate."

The latest flare-up in Europe's debt crisis pushed Japan's Nikkei share average (.N225) down more than 2 percent on Wednesday after overseas shares skidded on Tuesday.

She maintained the BOJ's official view that the world's No. 3 economy is set to resume a moderate recovery, driven by efforts to rebuild from the March earthquake, even if risks were slightly tilted to the downside.

"We are in the process of stepping up monetary easing, and the effects will continue to emerge," Shirai said.

Having already cut rates close to zero, the central bank last week eased monetary policy by boosting its funds for asset purchases to 20 trillion yen ($255 billion).

The BOJ next meets to review rates on November 15-16.

"If the yen rose again or there was another credit crunch, then the BOJ couldn't afford to sit idly by," said Yasuo Yamamoto, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute.

ON EDGE

On Monday, Japan sold nearly $100 billion worth of yen -- a record amount for single-day intervention -- to tame its high-flying currency.

Shirai, speaking to reporters after her speech, declined to comment on the intervention but said the central bank was watching the impact on sentiment of a strong yen.

The BOJ will refrain from draining the funds that enter the market through the yen-selling intervention, a central bank source said.

The so-called "unsterilized" money will effectively expand monetary easing, at least in the short term. But analysts say its effect on curbing yen strength and supporting the economy will be limited because policy rates are so low.

Shirai, a former IMF economist, joined the BOJ board in April as its only female member. Previously a professor of economics and policy at Tokyo's Keio University, she is considered one of the board's more pessimistic members on the economy.

($1=78.28 yen)

(Reporting by Rie Ishiguro; Editing by Edmund Klamann)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/japan/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111102/bs_nm/us_japan_economy_boj_operation

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Reading, math scores for eighth-graders (AP)

Skip to navigation ? Skip to content ? AP By The Associated Press The Associated Press ? Tue?Nov?1, 11:01?am?ET
A state-by-state look at the percentage of eighth-graders who scored at or above reading and math proficiency levels on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which is administered by the Education Department's National Center for Education Statistics. Proficiency levels in both subjects are shown for both 2009 and 2011, with reading scores in the first two columns and math scores in the next two.
2009 2011 2009 2011
Jurisdictions at or above proficient in reading at or above proficient in reading at or above proficient in math at or above proficient in math
National public 30 32 33 34
Alabama 24 26 20 20
Alaska 27 31 33 35
Arizona 27 28 29 31
Arkansas 27 28 27 29
California 22 24 23 25
Colorado 32 40 40 43
Connecticut 43 45 40 38
Delaware 31 33 32 32
District of Columbia 14 16 11 17
Florida 32 30 29 28
Georgia 27 28 27 28
Hawaii 22 26 25 30
Idaho 33 34 38 37
Illinois 33 34 33 33
Indiana 32 32 36 34
Iowa 32 33 34 34
Kansas 33 35 39 41
Kentucky 33 36 27 31
Louisiana 20 22 20 22
Maine 35 39 35 39
Maryland 36 40 40 40
Massachusetts 43 46 52 51
Michigan 31 32 31 31
Minnesota 38 39 47 48
Mississippi 19 21 15 19
Missouri 34 35 35 32
Montana 38 42 44 46
Nebraska 35 35 35 33
Nevada 22 26 25 29
New Hampshire 39 40 43 44
New Jersey 42 45 44 47
New Mexico 22 22 20 24
New York 33 35 34 30
North Carolina 29 31 36 37
North Dakota 34 34 43 43
Ohio 37 37 36 39
Oklahoma 26 27 24 27
Oregon 33 33 37 33
Pennsylvania 40 38 40 39
Rhode Island 28 33 28 34
South Carolina 24 27 30 32
South Dakota 37 35 42 42
Tennessee 28 27 25 24
Texas 27 27 36 40
Utah 33 35 35 35
Vermont 41 44 43 46
Virginia 32 36 36 40
Washington 36 37 39 40
West Virginia 22 24 19 21
Wisconsin 34 35 39 41
Wyoming 34 38 35 37
DoDEA 39 39 36 37
Notes: DoDEA stands for Department of Defense Education Activity, which supervises schools on overseas military bases. Details may not sum to totals because of rounding. Some apparent differences between estimates may not be statistically significant.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics of the Education Department.
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  • Copyright ? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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    Yahoo hopes to reach readers with iPad magazine

    (AP) ? Yahoo is joining the computer tablet bandwagon with a digital magazine designed for the iPad.

    The magazine software unveiled Wednesday is called Livestand. It can be customized to pull content from Yahoo's website and other participating publishers to cater to each user's interest.

    Yahoo Inc. is counting on Livestand to keep its brand and services relevant as more people embrace Apple Inc.'s iPad and other mobile devices to consume digital content. Yahoo also hopes the magazine brings in more advertising revenue as it tries to break out of a long-running financial funk.

    The slump has frustrated investors and thrown Yahoo's fate into doubt.

    Livestand is debuting nearly nine months after Yahoo first previewed it. At that time, Yahoo hoped to introduce Livestand by the end of June.

    Associated Press

    Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2011-11-02-Yahoo-Tablet%20Magazine/id-0237ead85818440f88468a2ebc2916d0

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