5 car bombs kill 26 in Shiite areas across Iraq

BAGHDAD (AP) ? Five car bombs exploded Monday in public areas in predominantly Shiite cities and districts in central and southern Iraq, killing 26 civilians and wounding dozens, officials said.

The blasts come amid a week-long spike in sectarian violence following clashes at a Sunni protest camp in the north of the country. No one has claimed responsibility, but coordinated bombings in civilian areas are a favorite strategy used by al-Qaida in Iraq.

Two parked car bombs went off simultaneously Monday morning in the city of Amarah near a gathering of construction workers and a market, killing 13 civilians and wounding 42, according to police.

Another police officer said a parked car bomb exploded near a restaurant in the city of Diwaniyah, killing eight civilians and wounding 25 others.

Amarah, some 320 kilometers (200 miles) southeast of Baghdad and Diwaniyah, 30 kilometers (80 miles) south of the capital, are heavily Shiite and normally comparatively peaceful.

Hours later, another parked car bomb went off in the revered Shiite city of Karbala, killing two civilians and wounding 12 others, police said. Two early Islamic figures revered by Shiites are buried in the city, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) south of Baghdad.

A parked car bomb ripped through a Shiite neighborhood in the otherwise predominantly Sunni town of Mahmoudiya, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) south of Baghdad, killing three and wounding 16, another police said.

Four medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information.

Sectarian violence has spiked since Tuesday, when security forces tried to make arrests at a Sunni Muslim protest camp in the northern city of Hawija. The move set off a clash that killed 23 people, including three soldiers.

The Hawija incident and a spate of follow-up battles between gunmen and security forces as well as other attacks, including Monday's, have left around 200 dead in the last week.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/5-car-bombs-kill-26-shiite-areas-across-091440443.html

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Beckett News ? New Jersey family spends the day with a New York ...

04.29

By Susan Lulgjuraj | Beckett Football Editor

On a sunny Saturday afternoon, Michael Rosato played football on his front lawn with a few of his friends. They ran routes to get to the end zone disguised as a driveway. They handed off the ball to their secret weapon, a little girl who giggled the whole time.

But one of the players stood out above the group of 7-year-olds.

New York Giants second-year player Prince Amukamara was the quarterback.

?It was priceless seeing him out there playing football,? Michael?s mother Anne Rosato said.

The Rosato family won Panini America?s NFL Player of the Day promotion where they got to meet an NFL player. Initially, it was announced they would get to hang out with wide receiver Hakeem Nicks, but the New York Giant canceled that morning. After calling around and scrambling to find a new player, Amukamara was happy to come to the family?s house, play football, sign a few autographs and check out Michael?s extensive card collection.

?It was pretty wild,? Frank Rosato said. ?We couldn?t ask for a better person than Prince. He was absolutely tremendous. Panini did a really great job.?

Frank Rosato, 43, was the winner of the grand prize, but shared the day with his family and friends. About 100 people greeted Amukamara when he pulled up to the Rosato home in a stretch limousine that the family got to ride in afterward.

Amukamara bought jerseys and even brought his Super Bowl championship ring, which a number of the family members tried on and took pictures with it.

Even though the family was prepared for Nicks with banners and posters bearing his name, they quickly removed them and found new photos of Amukamara. There were New York Giants balloons in front of the two-story home. Inside, the family decorated with blue and white ribbons and Giants napkins.

At the end of the day, disappointment was not a feeling any of them would use to describe it.

?It was really fun,? said Michael, who wouldn?t leave Prince?s side. ?My favorite part was playing football with my friend and Prince.?
Frank Rosato, an avid Pittsburgh Steelers fan, seemed surprised it was announced in March he won the contest. It didn?t hit him even a couple of weeks after the fact. Instead, it seemed his co-workers were more excited for him.

?When the numbers came out and told us how many people entered and won, I was shocked,? Rosato said. ?In some respects, I?m still in shock. You never get over it. It?s a huge deal.?

After an hour at the family?s house in New Providence, N.J., Amukamara signed for another hour at Attack of the Baseball Cards in Union, N.J., where Rosato was entered to win the contest. The promotion gave publicity to the card shop owned by Steve Mandy tucked away next to batting cages.

Mandy, who has been in business for 31 years, was happy his loyal customers got to take part of the festivities.

?We had about 150 people here,? Mandy said. ?We take part in all the contests the card companies do. We?re constantly doing stuff. Prince is a good player too, a first-round draft pick.?

Amukamara, who was drafted in 2011, seemed bewildered by all the children running. However, he quickly got into the action and enjoyed his time with the Rosato family asking questions throw at him by Michael and his sister Emily.

He got to see Michael?s room, which was decorated with football posters and McFarlane figures, and saw his football card collection. Amukamara even saw the ?Steelers room? as the family calls it with Frank Rosato?s Steeler memorabilia draped around.

Amukamara gets the collecting aspect. The 22-year-old said he collected cards are as a child, but they were Pokemon cards.

?It was almost overwhelming, but definitely worth it,? Amukamara said. ?I?m glad I my calendar was free and I was able to come down and celebrate with them.?

Susan Lulgjuraj is an editor of Beckett Football. You can email her here with questions, comments or ideas. Follow her on Twitter here. Follow Beckett Media on Facebook and Twitter.

Source: http://www.beckett.com/news/2013/04/new-jersey-family-spends-the-day-with-a-new-york-giant/

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Gun vote backlash: Five senators who said 'no' see ratings plunge

Approval ratings have plummeted for five senators who voted against expanded background checks for gun buyers, says a PPP survey. But only one is up for reelection in 2014. Will it still matter in 2016 or 2018?

By David Grant,?Staff writer / April 29, 2013

A customer tests a Glock 20 10mm handgun at the Guns-R-Us gun shop in Phoenix, Ariz., Dec. 2012. Five senators have seen their approval ratings drop after they voted against a measure to expand background checks to gun buyers online and at gun shows, according to a new survey.

Ralph D. Freso/Reuters/File

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Five senators have seen their approval ratings drop after they voted against a measure to expand background checks to gun buyers online and at gun shows, according to recent surveys from Public Policy Polling, a Democratic-leaning firm.

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But only the Democrat ? Sen. Mark Begich of Alaska ? is up for reelection in 2014. So the question becomes, will these poll numbers have any bite when the Republican senators return to the electoral ring in 2016 or 2018?

The answer depends, as so often is the case, on who you ask.

?This will remain a persistent political problem for them,? asserts Geoff Garin, a Democratic pollster and strategist, speaking on a conference call with reporters to discuss the PPP survey.

True, the polling numbers for the four Republican senators ? Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Rob Portman of Ohio, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Jeff Flake of Arizona ? don't look good.

Senator Flake, for example, has a 19-percentage point spread between those who approve of his performance (32 percent) versus those who don?t (51 percent), making him the most unpopular senator in PPP?s polling data.

Senators Ayotte, Portman, and Murkowski saw their approval ratings decline by more than 15 percentage points, compared with previous PPP polls taken in recent months. Senator Begich saw an eight-point decline, and Senator Dean Heller (R) of Nevada held roughly steady with a three-point drop in approval.

The liberal polling firm zeroed in on Ayotte, Portman, Heller, and Flake because those senators represent states that voted for President Obama in 2012 or, in Flake?s case, have been trending more Democratic in recent years.

?For Republican senators to be successful [in their reelection bids] in those states, they have to come across as centrists,? Tom Jensen, director of Public Policy Polling, said in the call Monday with reporters.??This is a vote that could haunt them for six years down the road,? he argued, because it risks their independent-minded images, making the senators look like ?Washington Republicans when Washington Republicans are about the most unpopular things you can be in politics.?

Moreover, the pollsters expect that the deep-pocketed Mayors Against Illegal Guns (bankrolled by billionaire New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg) and the politically savvy and emotionally resonant Americans for Responsible Solutions (led by former US Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona, herself the victim of gun violence) will keep the issue of gun regulation and gun violence in front of the public between now and those distant elections.?

?We think there is a very good likelihood that this is an issue that will be injected into public debate and public discourse with some constancy and consistency over the coming months and coming years, if it's not resolved before then,? said Mr. Garin. ?Sadly, violence is a continuing problem in our society, so the salience of the issue gets renewed periodically.?

Charlie Gerow, a veteran GOP political observer in Pennsylvania, has heard such claims before ? and he?s still not buying them.

?Mayor Bloomberg?s money will help them,? acknowledges Mr. Gerow. But ?there have been groups around for decades that haven?t been able to ultimately persuade people that they should constrict their constitutional freedoms,? he adds.

Sen. Pat Toomey (R) of Pennsylvania got a modest bump in his approval ratings after he introduced the background-check measure with Sen. Joe Manchin (D) of West Virginia. But it?s much too early to say one whether Senator Toomey, who is actually up for reelection in 2014, has hurt or helped himself, Gerow says.

?Those [polling] numbers will move many, many, many times between now and when he has to run for reelection,? he says of Toomey.

Among Toomey?s GOP base, moreover, there?s been some ?slippage,? Gerow says. "There was a Second Amendment rally here at the Capitol [in Harrisburg, Pa.], and Pat Toomey was not kindly referred to.?

Garin, though, argues that the difference this time is that the public has crossed a threshold of support for expanded background checks, and that will make the issue resonate with voters longer than in the past.

That goes for traditional gun-rights strongholds ? something Democratic senators serving those states should take into consideration, Garin says.

?Can voters who support Second Amendment rights understand why it?s a good idea to have background checks. and will they support candidates who make those distinctions?? Garin asks.??What we?re seeing in our polling is that voters in places like Montana and North Dakota are capable of drawing distinctions that, when in doubt, senators can actually feel quite safe treating their voters as if they are smart enough to be able to hold these two thoughts in their minds at the same time.?

Whether Democratic senators in red states are convinced of that remains to be seen. As Gerow notes, four red-state Democrats (including Senator Begich) bailed on the Manchin-Toomey measure because they, whether for reasons of conscience or politics, don?t yet believe the polls showing solid majorities of voters in their states support expanded background checks. ??

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/FMxT8CyjVJY/Gun-vote-backlash-Five-senators-who-said-no-see-ratings-plunge

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Looking For Dividend Growth? Try These 8 Regional Banks ...

It's earnings season. This means, among many things, dividend increases. I track these for my own investing purposes, and I've noticed a trend over the past week: overwhelming dividend increases within the financials. I have noticed this trend among the regional banks especially. Many of these companies were hit hard in the 2008 crisis and ensuing "great recession". However, due to their small size and the maneuverability and flexibility that this enables them to have, many of the regional banks have begun to bounce back and are in healthy positions to begin building back their dividends (this is especially apparent in the 2012 EPS growth rates of the companies discussed below).

These regionally based banks have the assets and lending power to give their clients the "big bank" experience; however, they also have a localized focus due to their regional approach that lends itself to unparalleled customer service. With sector confidence rising and stock prices stabilizing in the industry, for investors in search of dividend growth, regional banks are worth looking into.

Wells Fargo (WFC)

Wells Fargo and Co. is a bank holding company which operates in three segments: Community Banking, Wholesale Banking, Wealth, Brokerage, and Retirement. WFC has become one of the, if not the best, run banks in the world. As of December 31, 2012, WFC had the highest market value of any of the US financial service companies, ranking third in the world. Wells Fargo, while a large entity, is focused on providing services and solutions to its local communities. WFC is the number 1 retail mortgage lender, mortgage servicer, used auto lender, small business lender, bond administrator for Commercial MBS, crop insurance provider, and total commercial real estate originator in the United States. The company holds $1.4 trillion in assets, manages more than 9,000 stores, and operates more than 12,000 ATM machines. Wells Fargo maintains 70 million customers and more than 265,000 team members.

WFC provides investors with a 20 year average dividend growth rate of 17.5% (the company did cut its dividend in 2009 and 2010, but has since increased its dividend 140% in 2011 and 83% in 2012). Over the same period of time, Wells has given shareholders a 10.8% annualized shareholder rate of return. The company has increased its quarterly dividend twice already in 2013, most recently a 20% increase from $0.25/share to $0.30/share. WFC goes ex-dividend on May 8.

(click to enlarge)

WFC fundamentals:

• Current Yield: 2.69%
• P/E multiple: 10.5x
• P/S: 2.3x
• P/Tangible Book: 1.6x
• Operating Margin: 34.38%
• Net Profit Margin: 23.65%
• ttm payout ratio: 25.4
• ROE: 13.45%
• Sales (5 year average): 6.59%
• 5 year EPS growth rate: 7.15%
• 1 year EPS: 19.16%

(click to enlarge)

Because he is an idol of mine, I will mention that Wells Fargo is currently Warren Buffett's largest holding with Berkshire Hathaway.

Bar Harbor Bankshares (BHB)

Bar Harbor Bankshares (BHB) is a bank holding company with one wholly owned operating subsidiary: Bar Harbor Bank and Trust. BHB was founded in 1887 and now manages 15 branches across the state of Maine. This is a more traditional company in the sense of local banking, and it takes pride in the value that it brings to the communities that it serves. BHB is coming off of a record 2012 in regards to its earnings and EPS (up 12.9% and 11.6% YoY respectively). Bar Harbor Bankshares manages $1.3 billion in total assets which were also up 11.6% in 2012. BHB exceeds the "well capitalized" requirements with its leverage (8.85%), risk based capital (14.14%), and total risk-based capital (15.77%).

In 2012, BHB increased its cash dividends by 6.9% while lowering its payout ratio from 38.3% to 36.6% compared to 2011. The company kept this 7% increase trend up in Q1 2013, increasing its dividend to $0.305/share. BHB offers investors an 18 year average dividend growth rate of 6.9%. The company hasn't cut its dividend since 1999, which is as far back as my data goes. It did however not raise its dividend in 2010, paying out the same annual cash that it did in 2009. BHB provided an 8.9% annualized shareholder return over this same 20 year period. Like First Financial Bankshares (FFIN) (discussed below), BHB performed noticeably well during the "great recession", maintaining a healthy upward trend in stock price. BHB goes ex-dividend on May 13.

(click to enlarge)

BHB fundamentals:

• current yield: 3.42%
• P/E multiple: 11.2x
• P/S: 3.1x
• P/Tangible Book: 1.1x
• P/Cash Flow: 10.2x
• Operating Margin: 38.97%
• Net Profit Margin: 27.90%
• ttm payout ratio: 36.6
• ROE: 10.12%
• Sales 5 year growth rate: -0.38%
• 5 year EPS growth rate: 6.71%
• 1 year EPS growth rate: 11.70%

(click to enlarge)

SunTrust Banks (STI):

SunTrust Banks, Inc. is a commercial banking organization that offers services to clients through its three operating segments: consumer banking and private wealth management, wholesale banking, and mortgage banking. STI's total assets amounted to $173.4 billion on December 31, 2012. SunTrust operates primarily in the southeastern portion of the United States where the company manages more than 1,600 retail branches and 2,900 ATMs. STI has focused on efficiency as of late. Due to lower expenses (Q1 noninterest expense decreased 12% YoY) and higher credit quality the company was able to post $0.63 EPS in Q1 2013 (opposed to $0.46 EPS in Q1 2012).

SunTrust has offered investors a 4.5% average annualized shareholder return over the past 20 years. This figure lags the S&P 500's annualized return of 7.7% over the same period. STI was hit hard by the financial collapse in 2008. The company's share price fell significantly, and the dividend was cut in three consecutive years spanning from 2008-2010: -2%, -92%, and -82%. SunTrust's annual dividend payout decreased from $2.92 to $0.04. During the past two years, the company has decided to increase its dividend, 200% ($0.04 to $0.12) in 2011 and 67% ($0.12 to $0.20) in 2012. The company has recently announced that it would double its current quarterly payout from $0.05 to $0.10. STI goes ex-dividend on May 29.

(click to enlarge)

STI fundamentals:

• Current Yield: 1.41%
• P/E Multiple: 7.5x
• P/S: 1.5x
• P/Tangible Book: 1.1x
• P/Cash flow: N/A
• Operating Margin: 28.32%
• Net Profit Margin: 20.07%
• ttm payout ratio: 5.3%
• ROE: 10.08%
• Sales 5 year growth rate: -10.18
• 5 year EPS growth rate: -4.49%
• 1 year EPS growth rate: 282.53%

(click to enlarge)

First Financial Bankshares:

First Financial Bankshares, Inc is a financial holding company which, through its subsidiaries, offers full service commercial banking throughout the state of Texas. FFIN manages 11 regional banks with 55 banking locations and a trust company with 6 locations. The company has $4.5 billion in assets (up 9.3% from 2011 totals). FFIN's new "One Bank, Eleven Regions" concept enables it to combine the best of what a "big bank" and a localized community bank can offer. First Financial Bankshares has produced higher earnings for 26 consecutive years. The company has been ranked either 1 or 2 in the top performing publicly traded bank ($1-$5 billion dollar category) by Bank Director for the past four years.

In 2012 FFIN's net income grew 8.6%, from $68.4 million in 2011 to $74.2 million. The company also experienced noticeable loan growth (16.9% YoY): $2.09 billion versus $1.79 billion in 2011. Total deposits were up 8.9% and year-end shareholder equity was up 9.5%. What's more, is that company's Financial Trust and Asset Management subsidiary might have outperformed the rest of the company's growth, posting 16.8% YoY book value of total assets in management and 14.2% company fee income. The company boasts a 48.14% efficiency ratio, a 4.28% net interest margin, and a return on average assets ratio of 1.75%.

Unlike some of the other banks discussed in this article, FFIN has shown steady growth in its recent past. The "great recession" did not affect this stock like it did many of the other financials. FFIN offers investors an 18 year average dividend growth rate of 11.2%. During this 18 year period, the company only decreased its annual dividend payout once (2007). Over the same period of time, First Financial has given shareholders a 12.5% annualized rate of return. FFIN recently announced a 4% increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.25/share to $0.26/share. FFIN goes ex-dividend on June 12.

(click to enlarge)

FFIN Fundamentals:

• Current Yield: 2.12%
• P/E Multiple: 20.6x
• P/S: 7.3x
• P/Tangible Book: 3.1x
• P/Cash flow : N/A
• Operating Margin: 47.11%
• Net Profit Margin: 35.24%
• ttm payout ratio: 41.6
• ROE: 13.88%
• Sales 5 year growth rate: -1.16
• 5 year EPS growth rate: 8.24%
• 1 year EPS growth rate: 8.43%

(click to enlarge)

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (FCF):

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation is a financial holding company which operates through its subsidiary, First Commonwealth Bank. Founded originally in 1934 before becoming a subsidiary of First Commonwealth in 1983, FCF currently manages approximately $6 billion in assets. The company's headquarters are located in Indiana, Pa and it operates banks in 15 Pennsylvania counties with a focus on western PA and Pittsburgh. FCF has 112 branch offices and over 50,000 ATMs, allowing it to serve over 300,000 clients. In 2012, First Commonwealth's net income increased drastically, from $15.3 million in 2011 to $42.0 million. FCF's return on average equity improved from 2.0% in 2011 to 5.5% in 2012. First Commonwealth's total assets increased by 154.3 million, and its loans increased 161.1 million (4%) in 2012.

FCF has offered investors a 4.1% annualized shareholder rate of return over the past 20 years. This figure is almost doubled by the S&P 500's annualized return of 7.7%. First Commonwealth has increased its dividend heftily in the past two years with increases of 100% in 2011 and 50% in 2012. The company recently announced a 20% dividend increase, bringing its quarterly payment up to $0.06/share. Investors should be aware that previous to the 2011 increase, FCF's dividend had been decreased in 2009 and 2010 (before that it had been stagnant at $0.68/share annually since 2006).

(click to enlarge)

FCF fundamentals:

• Current Yield: 3.47%
• P/E Multiple: 17.2x
• P/S: 2.7x
• P/Tangible Book: 1.2x
• P/Cash flow : 13.4x
• Operating Margin: 22.26%
• Net Profit Margin: 16.49%
• ttm payout ratio: 44.7
• ROE:5.58%
• Sales 5 year growth rate: 7.93%
• 5 year EPS growth rate: -8.62%
• 1 year EPS growth rate: 176.84%

(click to enlarge)

Webster Financial Corporation (WBS):

Webster Financial Corporation is a bank holding company and financial holding company whose principal asset is Webster Bank, National Association, which offers business and consumer banking, mortgage lending, financial planning, and trust and investment services to its clients throughout southern New England and Westchester County, New York. WBS has 167 banking offices and 293 ATMs. The company has recently announced a 4.7% Q1 YoY increase in EPS. The company also posted significant growth in its combined commercial and commercial real estate loans: 15.5%. To sum up WBS's Q1 report, James C. Smith, the company's chairman and CEO said:

Webster's first quarter results delivered a solid 16 percent increase in core pre-tax, pre-provision net earnings from a year ago. Core revenue grew and expenses dropped, creating positive operating leverage of six percent compared to a year ago. Loans grew by six percent from a year ago, led by another double-digit increase in the commercial portfolio as we continued to help lead the region's economic recovery. (quote taken from the company's first quarter earnings report)

Webster Financial offers investors a 7.3% average annualized shareholder return over the last 20 years. WBS has increased its annual dividend payout for 15 consecutive years before 2009, when the company cut its dividend 97%, from $1.20 to $0.04. In the last two years the company has increased its annual dividend drastically: 300% (from $0.04 to $0.16) and 119% ( from $0.16 to $0.35). WBS recently announced a 50% dividend increase from $0.10/share quarterly to $0.15/share quarterly. WBS does ex-dividend on May 2.

(click to enlarge)

WBS fundamentals:

• Current Yield: 2.62
• P/E Multiple: 12.2x
• P/S: 2.7x
• P/Tangible Book: 1.3x
• P/Cash flow :N/A
• Operating Margin: 32.61
• Net Profit Margin: 22.72
• ttm payout ratio: 20.4
• ROE: 8.93%
• Sales 5 year growth rate: -6.98%
• 5 year EPS growth rate: -1.49%
• 1 year EPS growth rate: 17.34%

(click to enlarge)

Cardinal Financial Corporation (CFNL):

Cardinal Financial Corporation is a financial holding company that owns Cardinal Bank which is a state-chartered community bank operating in Northern Virginia, Maryland, and Washington D.C. The company has 27 banking offices in the area. CFNL stock has experienced a run as of late (the stock offered investors a total shareholder return of 54% in 2012). The companies total assets increased 16.8% in 2012 to $3.04 billion. CFNL's loans also increased by double digits (10.5%) in 2012 to over $1.8 billion. Cardinal Financial's tangible common equity capital amounted to 9.4% of the company's total assets at the previous year's end. In 2012, the company also increased its net income by 61.8%, from $28 million is 2011 to $45.3 million. CFNL also posted record numbers in the ROA (1.7%) and ROE (16.02%) categories.

Since 2004, Cardinal Financial has provided investors with a 3.2% annualized shareholder rate or return. This more or less mirrors the S&P 500's 3.5% annualized rate of return over the same period of time. CFNL has shown great dividend growth in the recent past and no dividend decreases since its inception in 2004. In 2010, the company doubled its annual dividend payment from $0.04/share to $0.08/share. In 2011, Cardinal increased its divided by 50% and again in 2012 by 67%. The company has recently announced a 20% dividend increase to $0.06/share quarterly. CFNL goes ex-dividend on April 30.

(click to enlarge)

CFNL fundamentals:

• Current Yield: 1.6%
• P/E Multiple: 10.1x
• P/S: 2.9x
• P/Tangible Book: 1.5x
• P/Cash flow : 9.5x
• Operating Margin: 43.73%
• Net Profit Margin: 29.10%
• ttm payout ratio:15.3
• ROE: 15.48%
• Sales 5 year growth rate: 3.13%
• 5 year EPS growth rate: 53.16%
• 1 year EPS growth rate: 60.64%

(click to enlarge)

Susquehanna Bancshares (SUSQ):

Susquehanna Bancshares, Inc (SUSQ) is a financial holding company that operates through its subsidiaries in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The company manages more than 260 office locations in 40 counties and 4 states. Susquehanna now has a focus on the greater Philadelphia area where the company operates more than 60 branches with more than $3 billion in deposits. SUSQ had approximately $18 billion in total assets at year's end, 2012, making it the 35th largest commercial bank in the US.

Since 2008, the company has increased its capital ratios in all three tier 1 categories: leverage (8.97%), risk-weighted assets (11.37%), and total risk based capital (13.0%). SUSQ performed very well across the board in 2012. This performance is highlighted by a 93% in EPS from $0.40/share in 2011 to $0.77/share in 2012. The company's core revenue was up approximately 31% on the year. Net interest income was up 36% with core noninterest income having grown by 16%. As a part of this noninterest income, SUSQ hit an all-time high in regards to annual mortgage income in 2012. Susquehanna experienced net organic loan growth of $471 million (4.5%) in 2012. The company also managed to improve its net interest margin from 3.60% in 2011 to 4.01% in 2012.

Over the past 20 years, Susquehanna has provided investors with a 3.6% annualized rate of return. This is primarily due to the fact that the company lost over half of its market cap in the 2008 market crisis. As expected, during this crisis, SUSQ cut its dividend twice, -64% in 2009 and -89% in 2010. In 2008, the company was paying a $1.04/share annual dividend. In 2010, this figure was $0.04. Although, prior to the 2009 cut, the company had increased its dividend ever year since 1990 (this is as far back as my data goes). In 2011 and 2012, the company has increased its dividend 100% and 250% respectively. SUSQ recently announced a 14% quarterly dividend increase to $0.07/share. SUSQ went ex-dividend on April 26.

(click to enlarge)

SUSQ fundamentals:

• Current Yield: 2.76
• P/E Multiple: 15.2x
• P/S: 2.9x
• P/Tangible Book: 1.7x
• P/Cash flow : 10.5x
• Operating Margin: 26.91%
• Net Profit Margin: 18.62%
• ttm payout ratio: 36.4
• ROE: 5.90%
• Sales 5 year growth rate: 6.20%
• 5 year EPS growth rate: -8.90%
• 1 year EPS growth rate: 91.71%

(click to enlarge)

All research for this article was performed using the above companies' Q1 earnings reports, 2012 annual shareholder reports, dividend history tabs on their investor relations webpages, and F.A.S.T. Graphs.

Disclosure: I am long WFC. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. (More...)

Source: http://seekingalpha.com/article/1380171-looking-for-dividend-growth-try-these-8-regional-banks?source=feed

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Latinos In Foster Care Reach Historic High - Huffington Post

Deporting Mom

Estrella Manuel, 2, holds an American flag in her mouth during a news conference in Miami Wednesday, June 17, 2009. Roughly 150 children are suing President Barack Obama to halt the deportations of their parents until Congress overhauls U.S. immigration laws. The U.S.-born children say their constitutional rights are being violated because they, too, will likely have to leave the country if their parents are forced to leave. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Memorial dedicated to the children of the Paris Vel D'Hiv round-up

French former President Jacques Chirac looks at photographs of victims, on January 27, 2011 in Orleans, central France, during the unveiling of a memorial dedicated to the children of the Paris Vel D'Hiv round-up, as part of a worldwide souvenir day. On July 16 and 17, 1942, some 13,000 Jews were detained and taken to the Velodrome d'Hiver cycling stadium near the Eiffel Tower, where they spent a week in appalling conditions, before being deported to Nazi concentration camps. AFP PHOTO/ALAIN JOCARD (Photo credit should read ALAIN JOCARD/AFP/GettyImages)

Deportations From Greece

Migrants on a police bus in central Athens, Sunday, Aug. 5, 2012. Greek police say officers have begun an operation to arrest and deport illegal migrants from the center of the capital and along the country

Flying Kites In Memory Of Orphans Deported To Treblinka

Members of the Israeli youth movement HaMachanot HaOlim fly kites in memory of Janusz Korczak on August 5, 2012 during an event marking 70 years since the deportation to Treblinka of Korczak, Stefa Wilczynska, and the children of their orphanage, from the Warsaw Ghetto at the Yad Vashem holocaust memorial museum in Jerusalem. On August 5, 1942, the Nazis rounded up Korczak, Wilczynska and the 200 children of the orphanage. He and Stefa never abandoned the children, even to the very end. Korczak, Wilczynska and the children were sent to Treblinka, where they were all murdered. AFP PHOTO/GALI TIBBON (Photo credit should read GALI TIBBON/AFP/GettyImages)

Hamas leader holds a portrait of arrested Islamist leader

Hamas leader Ismail Haniya holds a portrait of Sheikh Raed Salah, head of the radical wing of the Islamic Movement in Israel, during a protest in Gaza City on July 5, 2011, after the controversial Arab-Israeli Islamist leader was arrested in London for entering the country despite a government ban and now faces deportation from Britain. AFP PHOTO / MOHAMMED ABED (Photo credit should read MOHAMMED ABED/AFP/Getty Images)

Remembering Deportation Of Chechens

A woman holds a poster showing President Putin's portrait drawn as a razor wire during anti-Putin rally in Moscow, 23 February 2005, during Democtraic Union party's protest action for the 61th anniversary of Stalin's deportation of Chechens to Siberia and Kazakhstan. AFP PHOTO/ ALEXANDER NEMENOV. (Photo credit should read ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/GettyImages)

Suspected FARC Member Deported From Ecuador

Edilson Castro Lopez, center, a suspected member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, is escorted by police officers, after arriving in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, Aug. 6, 2012. Castro was deported from Ecuador where he was captured Saturday. Castro Lopez was in Ecuador negotiating an arms deal for the FARC, according to police chief, Gen. Jose Roberto Leon. (AP Photo)

Iraqi and Iranians protest in the Iraqi city of Baquba

Iraqi and Iranians protest in the northeastern Iraqi city of Baquba, the capital of the province of Diyala, on November 18, 2011, calling on the government to have the residents of the Ashraf camp deported and the camp closed. Iraq has served a virtual 'death warrant' on some 3,400 Iranian dissidents exiled in a camp north of Baghdad, the head of the European parliament's delegation for relations with Iraq said. Camp Ashraf was set up when Iraq and Iran were at war in the 1980s by the People's Mujahedeen Organisation of Iran (PMOI) and was later placed under US control until January 2009, when US forces transferred security for the camp to Iraq. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read -/AFP/Getty Images)

People place flowers in Vilnius honoring memory of people deported by Soviet forces

People place flowers in Vilnius on June 14, 2011 on a cattle wagon used to deport people from Lithuania to Siberia on June 14, 1941. The Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia on June 14 honoured the memory of tens of thousands of their citizens deported by Soviet forces exactly 70 years ago during World War II. In nationwide commemorations that only became possible after Soviet rule ended in 1991, leaders said the 43,000 victims of June 14, 1941 must never be forgotten. AFP PHOTO / PETRAS MALUKAS (Photo credit should read PETRAS MALUKAS/AFP/Getty Images)

Remembering The Mass Deportations From The Warsaw Ghetto

People attach colourful ribbons with the names of Jewish children on the fence of a former Jewish orphanage during ceremonies in Warsaw on July 22, 2012 marking the 70th anniversary of the start of Nazi Germany's mass deportation of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto to the death camp of Treblinka. AFP PHOTO / WOJTEK RADWANSKI (Photo credit should read WOJTEK RADWANSKI/AFP/GettyImages)

Members of the English Defence League

Members of the English Defence League (EDL) chant holding placards calling for the deportation of radical Islamist cleric Abu Qatada at opposing Unite Against Facism protesters as they gather outside the Home Office in central London on April 17, 2012. British authorities on April 17 arrested Abu Qatada, who is accused of ties to late Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, as they resumed efforts to deport him to Jordan. The UK government has been trying to extradite the 51-year-old Jordanian since 2005 arguing that he is a threat to national security, but British and European courts have repeatedly thwarted its efforts on human rights grounds. AFP PHOTO / LEON NEAL (Photo credit should read LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images)

Chinese police excort a group of suspects deported from Indonesia

Chinese police excort a group of suspects (in black hoods) deported from Indonesia upon their arrival at the airport in Beijing on June 11, 2011. Indonesia deported 76 Chinese nationals who were among hundreds rounded up across Asia in connection with an alleged massive online fraud. CHINA OUT AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)

A boy born in Israel to a foreign worker

A boy born in Israel to a foreign worker, holds a letter in Hebrew addressed to Israeli prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu asking him not to be deported during a protest against a possible deportation of their families from Israel outside Prime Minister Netanyahu's residency in Jerusalem on February 21, 2012 organized by the NGO Israeli Children. Under an August 2010 cabinet decision, foreign workers with children could obtain residency rights if the child had come here before age 13, lived here at least five years, was either in school or about to enter first grade, and spoke Hebrew fluently, on condition that the parents initially entered Israel legally. Last week the Population, Immigration and Borders Authority (PIBA) began informing foreign workers and their children whether they have the right to stay in Israel or will face deportation in the next month. AFP PHOTO/GALI TIBBON (Photo credit should read GALI TIBBON/AFP/Getty Images)

Indonesians Deportations

Rep. Rush Holt, D-NJ, addresses a gathering of Indonesian immigrants at the Reformed Church of Highland Park Friday, April 6, 2012, in Highland Park, N.J. The church has granted sanctuary to a number of Indonesian Christian immigrants with final orders of deportation. Holt was speaking in favor of a bill by Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-NY, to try and reopen their cases. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Supreme Court considers SB1070

Tuulia Lowe protests against SB1070 and immigration deportations Wednesday, April 25, 2012, in San Francisco. Supreme Court justices strongly suggested Wednesday that they are ready to allow Arizona to enforce part of a controversial state law requiring police officers to check the immigration status of people they think are in the country illegally. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

South Sudanese Refugee Deported From Israel

South Sudanese refugee Samuel Akue 30, carries his suitcases on June 11, 2012, in the Mediterranean city of Tel Aviv, as he prepares for his deportation by Israeli authorities. Israeli authorities rounded up dozens of migrants slated for deportation, most of them Africans from South Sudan, as the government weighs tough penalties against Israelis who help illegal aliens. AFP PHOTO/JACK GUEZ (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP/GettyImages)

President Obama Speaks On Homeland Security's Announcement About Deportations

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 15: Members of CASA de Maryland gather in front of the White House to celebrate the Obama Administration's announcement about deportation of illegal immigrants June 15, 2012 in Washington, DC. Obama said the administration will stop deporting undocumented immigrants who had come to the U.S. when they were at a young age. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Immigration Rights Activists Protest Possible Deportation Of Bangladeshi Student

POMPANO BEACH, FL - OCTOBER 25: (L-R) Frida Ulloa, Felipe Mato and Raul Gil and others hold a sign reading, ' Education Not Deportation'' as they stand in front of the Broward Transitional Center on October 25, 2011 in Pompano Beach, Florida. The group was protesting the possible deportation of Shamir Ali, a 25-year-old born in Bangladesh, who they say would be a candidate for the DREAM Act if it was made into a federal law. The DREAM Act bill would provide legal status to some undocumented young people. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Honduran migrants deported from the United States

Honduran migrants deported from the United States walk on a tarmac of Toncontin Airport in Tegucigalpa upon their arrival on December 23, 2011. The 134 migrants are part of the 40.000 Hondurans, including men, women and children, that have been deported from the US this year. AFP PHOTO/Orlando SIERRA (Photo credit should read ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP/Getty Images)

Drug trafficker Hector Buitriago

Colombian police custody Colombian drug trafficker Hector Buitriago, aka Martin Llanos, upon his arrival at the antinarcotics police air base after his deportation from Venezuela, in Bogota on February 9, 2012. AFP PHOTO/Luis Acosta (Photo credit should read LUIS ACOSTA/AFP/Getty Images)

Immigrants and working families march to stop deportations on May Day

Immigrants and working families march to demand legalization for all immigrants and to stop deportations and the attacks on workers in Los Angeles, California on May 1, 2011. AFP PHOTO / GABRIEL BOUYS (Photo credit should read GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images)

126 Guatemalans Arrive Back Home

Some of 126 deported Guatemalans wait for his turn to be registered by migration authorities upon arrival at the Air Force base in Guatemala City from the US Luisiana state on July 26, 2012. The United States deported 23,136 Guatemalans between January and July, a historical record that exceeds 28.3 % expulsions registered during the same period last year, according to records of the General Directorate of Migration of Guatemala. JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/GettyImages

Berlin Marks 70th Anniversary Of Jewish Deportations

BERLIN, GERMANY - OCTOBER 18: A young woman arrives to lay a rose at the Gleis 17 (Track 17) memorial on the 70th anniversary of the deportation of Jews from Berlin to concentration camps during World War II on October 18, 2011 in Berlin, Germany. On October 18, 1941, the Nazis began deporting Jewish residents of Berlin by rail to concentration camps, including to Theresienstadt and later to Auschwitz. In all approximately 56,000 Berlin Jews were deported and killed between 1941 and 1945, and today a memorial at Track 17, the original platform from which many Jews were crowded into freight cars for deportation, lists the dates, origins, destinations and numbers of Jews transported. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Immigrant Mother Of American Children Faces Deportation

DENVER, CO - MAY 23: Mexican immigrant Jeanette Vizguerra loads her children into her car after a meeting at the Mexican consulate in her fight against deportation hearings on May 23, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. She is scheduled for a final hearing July 13 at Denver's Federal Courthouse. Just one of millions of undocumented immigrants living in the United States, Vizguerra is a small business owner of a janitorial service as well as an community organizer for immigration rights. She first came to Colorado from Mexico City with her husband 14 years before, and they now have three American-born children. Two years ago she was stopped by a traffic policemen for driving with expired tags and was taken to jail when she could not prove she was in the country legally. Vizguerra has been out on bail during lengthy court proceedings, but now faces the real possibility that she will be deported back to Mexico and separated from her family in the United States. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Romanian Roma victim of deportation during World War II

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY MIHAELA RODINA Romanian Roma victim of deportation during World War II, Marin Safta, 89, holds an old picture of him with his wife as he recounts on January 23, 2012 the widely forgotten tragedy in Bucharest. The deportation of thousands of Roma by Romanian marshal Ion Antonescu is an indelible stigma for the victims 70 years on, survivors and analysts say. Holocaust victims are commemorated across the world on January 27, declared an International Day of Rememberance. In May 1942, Romania's Antonescu ordered the deportation of 'nomad, idle and criminal Gypsies' (Roma) in order to 'cleanse villages and cities of poor or dangerous people.' Some 25,000 Roma, out of a total of 208,000 registered, were deported to Transdniestr, a formerly Soviet region that was at the time controlled by the Romanian pro-Nazi authorities. AFP PHOTO DANIEL MIHAILESCU (Photo credit should read DANIEL MIHAILESCU/AFP/Getty Images)

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/28/latinos-in-foster-care_n_3174664.html

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Affirmations for Self-Improvement | tmcelvany

This article talks about how ?the more we practice having thoughts or beliefs that benefit our well-being, the more naturally those thoughts and beliefs will play themselves out in our everyday life,? as long as these affirmations you repeat to yourself are ?congruent with reality, and aligned with your core values.?

This is a very corny article on the surface, but the message about mindfulness and the list of affirmations are great. Really try to give this article a chance and see what it has to offer for your own life.

Trisha McElvany

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Source: http://tmcelvany.wordpress.com/2013/04/27/affirmations-for-self-improvement/

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Fire breaks out at collapsed factory in Bangladesh

SAVAR, Bangladesh (AP) -- A fire broke out late Sunday in the wreckage of the garment factory that collapsed last week in Bangladesh, with smoke pouring from the piles of shattered concrete and some of the rescue efforts forced to stop.

The fire came four days after the collapse, as rescuers were trying to free a woman they found trapped in the rubble. The flames broke out when sparks were generated by those rescuers trying to cut through a steel rod to reach the woman, said a volunteer rescuer, Syed Al-Amin Roman. At least three rescue workers were injured in the fire, he said.

Rescuers have retreated from the part of the wreckage where the fire erupted, but were still trying to reach any possible survivors in other parts of the destroyed eight-story building.

Firefighters were frantically hosing down the flames.

"Hopefully we will be able to control it," said Brig. Gen. Mohammed Siddiqul Alam Shikder, who is overseeing rescue operations.

It wasn't immediately clear what happened to the trapped woman.

The fire came hours after the owner of the illegally-constructed building was captured Sunday at a border crossing with India.

Mohammed Sohel Rana was arrested in Benapole in western Bangladesh, just as he was about to flee into India's West Bengal state, said Jahangir Kabir Nanak, junior minister for local government. Rana was brought back by helicopter to the capital Dhaka where he faced charges of negligence.

Rana's capture brought cheers and applause when it was announced on a loudspeaker at the site of the collapsed building in the Dhaka suburb of Savar.

At least 377 people are confirmed to have died in the Wednesday collapse. Three of the building's floors were built illegally. The death toll is expected to rise but it is already the deadliest tragedy to hit Bangladesh's garment industry, which is worth $20 billion annually and is a mainstay of the economy. The collapse and previous disasters in garment factories have focused attention on the poor working conditions of workers who toil for as little as $38 a month to produce clothing for top international brands.

Bangladesh's garment industry was the third largest in the world in 2011, after China and Italy, having grown rapidly in the past decade. The country's minimum wage is the equivalent of about $38 a month.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fire-breaks-collapsed-factory-bangladesh-165955376.html

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Ethiopian Airlines completes first commercial 787 Dreamliner flight since grounding

Nervous flyer? If so, it's probably best you weren't heading from Addis Ababa to Nairobi on business recently. If you were, you might have found yourself onboard the first commercial 787 Dreamliner flight since the global fleet was grounded due to concerns over battery failures. The flight comes just days after the FAA approved Boeing's fix, prompting deliveries of the new craft to resume. With Japan already having cleared the 787 for takeoff, we can expect to see a few more of them in our skies soon. We're more interested in joining the mile-high Android club.

Filed under: Transportation

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Source: Reuters

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/ma790R0JvOM/

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House gives final approval to end FAA furloughs

>>> in the past few hours, the house has decided to end the furlough that caused thousands of flights. it passed overwhelmingly. it allows the faa to shrift money from other accounts and bring staffing levels of air traffic controllers back to normal. the white house press secretary jay carney called the measure a quote, band-aid solution. but said president obama will sign it.

>> how is it fair or right or just that these kids on head start get their cuts, that these cuts go into effect and the defense department and it's tough luck. when a bunch of business travelers belly ache because their flights are delayed because of the furloughs, that they get one of the fastest pieces of legislation to move through washington in recent memory. why doesn't the president take a stand? you could have flown in members of congress who need flights home also. but the fact is the delays are -- they are a problem for not just business travelers and members of congress . but for many americans. and that's a real negative consequence of the sequester. your point is excellent. and we call on congress to show as much concern for others who are being harmed.

>> joining me now live, transportation reporter and white house reporter, thank you all for joining me. that is a heck of a question. that is the question on this friday that you're hearing over and over on blogs and when you talk to folks. when one group somehow escapes the sequester and then we talk about head start programs. we did a piece on families in the midwest suffering because the head start program in their state had been affected. meals on wheels. the list goes on and on. is that an appropriate answer from mr. carney to that question? that is on the minds of americans today.

>> i think what happened today is the starkest illustration of that inequity that exists, the sequester and til pact of it and how congress is responding to it. clearly you saw a lot of democrats today come out and say, i really hope congress works this hard and this fast when the head start cuts are being felt, meals on wheels, folks who are disabled are really facing the brunt. and a lot of the cuts as well with you it is not as widely felt. and it is a pretty valid criticism. i think that's been sort of the misstep from the white house 's perspective in terms of how they've handled this. the cuts have kicked in so gradually and incemetekr incrementally. the furloughs at the airports was viewed as one of the highest impact cuts floufl that that has been taken out of the equation with what congress did today, it may take away some of the impetus to deal with things more broadly as they come up.

>> politico has an article saying democrats blinked first on aviation cuts. it says while travelers may be relieved splrk democrats worry about saving the faa while letting other domestic programs suffer. it is that squeaky wheel thing. i'll bring in the gun debate. the nra even its own membership supporting background checks . the power of the press conferences that were held i guess by wayne lapierre and the pressure they were able to put on some republicans and democrats certainly, we saw that effort derailed. here we are again. 4-year-olds cannot go and write their letters and demand that their members of congress act on their benefit. but business travelers got the attention of those in your town. i call it your town now because everyone is bin laden at d.c.

>> i'm not sure it is business travelers as much as members of congress lou have to get out of town every week themselves get to get on their flights really, really quickly to get back and forth to washington . that i think probably had as much of an impact as anything else in terms of getting members to act as quickly.

>> is that the case? the transportation reporter, was it congress being inconvenienced? or was it truly air travelers ?

>> well, we heard a lot from air travelers during the week. because it added something like 1,000 delays nationwide. but i think part of what helped the political dynamic in washington was that even among conservative republicans, they were very nervous about having small air traffic control towers closed in their communities. they were hearing from their residents about flight delays. so there was great urgency to fix it on both sides of the aisle.

>> i want to play a little of what senator john mccain and bob cork he both today, their response to what happened. we should mention this was as they were boarding flights to get out of washington , d.c. let me play it.

>> i think everybody on both sides of the aisle knew that the white house was purposefully trying to inconvenience people to try to force us to a different place as it relates to spending.

>> it is a failure of congress , frankly, and the president to join together to prevent these really unnecessary hardships on the american public.

>> so again you see the airport background there. how much of a role did the airlines play in all of this?

>> the airlines had resisted these cuts strenuously. they filed a lawsuit last friday to try to stop the furloughs. that case had not been heard and i guess now becomes moot. but the airlines had resisted this. they said it would bring an important facet of the economy to a halt. so they fought it strongly.

>> the president said he will sign this bill. what do we believe will happen next?

>> we'll have to wait for the next sort of issue to pop up with sequestration. this will obviously the furloughs will be averted. but like democrats have been saying all yesterday, all day, is that these cuts are still going to go into effect. hit people pretty broadly. i think the national parks this summer may be the next sort of focal point for more widespread attention. but again, this is coming. these cuts are kicking in sort of so gradually and incrementally that it is hard to see what the next sort of big tension point is that forces congress to act short of going with this gang in the senate, the group of republicans trying to work with the white house , maybe on larger deficit deal. in many ways, the white house what they view as their best hope, dealing with this for the long term. this issue will pop back up at the end of the fiscal year. even if they're dealing with it piecemeal until then.

>> great pleasure have you gone

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/2b38ca85/l/0Lvideo0Bmsnbc0Bmsn0N0Cid0C51679345/story01.htm

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Hitched: Please Don't Have A Million People In Your Wedding Party ...

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Please don?t have a million people in your wedding party.

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There, I said it. I know you are the most popular and lovable person who ever lived, and you don?t want to exclude anyone, not even your sixth cousin because your fifth cousin is totally going to throw a fit, but I think you will make yourself crazy if you have a million people in your wedding party.

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Hear me out.

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Actually, no, hear this person out, the letter writer to Miss Manners who lamented, ?I have 10 bridesmaids but only five groomsmen! What do I do??

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What you do is cut some bridesmaids. (Gently, with a plastic butter knife.) Or better yet: don?t field a wedding baseball team in the first place. Wedding planning, even for small events, can be days after days, weeks after weeks, months after months, of asking yourself ?What do I do?!?

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The more people you wrangle on your wedding day, the more times you?ll have to ask yourself, ?What do I do?!? Not because your friends and family are terrible. But because there?s a 99.99999 percent chance they?re human beings.

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Wedding parties mean different things to every couple. Some want their wedding party to represent a melding of two families, including siblings and cousins they?d like to have stand with them at the altar. Others build parties of close friends as their day-of witnesses; many mix some combination of the two.

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But I strongly advise drawing the line at organizing a wedding party that looks like it could suddenly break into the full-fledged finale of a snazzy Broadway musical. Not because it?s tacky or gauche or any of those other judgy words people use to snoot at weddings that don?t adhere to their personal tastes ? I would watch the fuck out of a choreographed wedding number! Let?s wash that man right into our hair! ? but because wrangling wedding people is annoying and hard, even when you love them and they love you.

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Something I didn?t realize before my husband and I planned our wedding was how many conversations wedding-planning folks are having at one time. Brides and grooms planning almost anything beyond a spontaneous trip to the courthouse are probably talking to a caterer, an officiant, a tailor, a florist, a baker, a DJ or band, a venue manager, a rental company and a photographer, plus a passel of parents, grandparents and extended family members, many of whom may be confused about whose wedding day it is (specifically, not theirs).

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Wedding attendants, be they bridesmaids or groomsmen or bridesmen or groomsmaids (Patrick and I collected them all!), are whole people with whole people?s wants and needs, and they are going to have questions, opinions and feelings about your wedding. Some of those questions, opinions and feelings are going to be helpful and welcomed. Some of those questions, opinions and feelings ? invariably shared with the best of intentions ? are going to make you want to tear your hair out of your scalp in small chunks.

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When you?re fielding 50 questions at once, that 51st question, whether it?s ?Do you think open-toed shoes are too casual?? or ?Should David?s Bridal have shipped my tie by now?? or ?You ordered me a 100 percent vegan, gluten-free, paleo dinner, right?? can really be a doozy.

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So don?t wrangle more people than you have to. One person might be upset that they didn?t get to be in your wedding. Sorry to that person. But five people, six people, seven people? Are not all upset they didn?t get to be in your wedding. If they are, I wonder how you became friends with so many five-year-olds.

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Indeed, I would genuinely be surprised if any one person knows 10 people who are just dying to be in their wedding party. You might know 10 people who?d be happy to do it, or 10 people who wouldn?t mind doing it, but you just plain don?t know 10 people who are going to shit 10 tuxedoed bricks if they don?t get to be in your wedding party.

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Take advantage of the fact that those other, say, five or six people, might rather take on the sole responsibility of getting a conga line started at the reception.

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Because yes, your wedding is a show. Everyone?s wedding is a show, it?s just that some are performed for justices of the peace and some are performed for 400 people having chicken marsala for dinner later. But I?ve been to weddings where wedding attendants were treated like social achievements, badges of honor, accessories, or aesthetic complements to the altar tableaux.

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That Miss Manners letter writer? Is on the verge of telling her fiance to scrounge up five people just to fill out some photographs. She?s going to drive herself into the wedding ground. The saddest ground. The ground where you?re putting on a show show, not a public commitment ceremony filled with people who love and support you.

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I know this gets harder when you truly do have a ton of friends, or family members who think a blood relationship automatically snags them a spot in the wedding party. A thing they don?t tell you when you get engaged is how much wedding planning is an exercise in managing other people?s ability to find surprising new ways to be butthurt. But I think you?ll be a more relaxed wedding-planning and wedding-day person if you decide what you want your wedding party to represent for you and your new family and accomplish that with as few live bodies as possible, with sincere but firm apologies where necessary.

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Of course, that tip doesn?t work if what you want your wedding party to represent really is ?How popular I am,? which is all I can think of when I read that poor Miss Manners letter.

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If a visual biography shared via taffeta-and-tuxes is seriously the point of your wedding party, at least make sure all your attendants are up to speed on the choreography to ?Seasons of Love.?

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Reprinted with permission from The Frisky.?Want more?

Source: http://www.xojane.com/relationships/hitched-please-dont-have-a-million-people-in-your-wedding-party

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Dual-SIM Samsung Galaxy S 4 launches in China with an Exynos 5 Octa inside

Remember the leaked GT-i9502, that dual-SIM variant of the Galaxy S 4 that ultimately confirmed many rumors? That smartphone is at last exists beyond a collection of photos, as Samsung just launched it for China Unicom customers. The support for an extra cellular line is naturally the highlight, although there's another perk for GS 4 connoisseurs: the i9502 has the same 1.6GHz Exynos 5 Octa processor as the i9500, which might eke out more performance than the Snapdragon 600 models. There isn't any word on whether or not the i9502 edition will leave China, although we wouldn't count on European or North American editions when there isn't LTE inside to please 4G-obsessed carriers.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung

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Via: GSMArena

Source: Samsung (translated)

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/nmthDUR-Q-k/

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Twitter Actually Updates Twitter For Mac, Adds Retina Support And 14 New Languages

Twitter for Mac has long languished, not seeing an update since 2011, but Twitter just pushed out a new one that brings Retina display support to the official client, as well as a revised interface for sharing photos, and 14 additional languages. The update is available now through the Mac App Store, and Twitter promises further improvements to come in the future.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/9xIe3ccFnpY/

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38 die in mental hospital fire outside Moscow

MOSCOW (AP) ? A fire swept quickly through a psychiatric hospital outside Moscow early Friday, killing 38 people, most of them sedated and in their beds, officials said.

The one-story brick-and-wood hospital building housed patients with severe mental disorders, Health Ministry officials said. An Emergencies Ministry official said the fire started in a wooden annex and then spread to the main brick building, which had wooden beams.

The patients were under sedatives and most of them did not wake up, Yuri Deshevykh of the Emergencies Ministry told RIA Novosti.

At least 29 people were burned alive, said Irina Gumennaya, a spokeswoman for the federal Investigative Committee.

Investigators said the 38 dead included 36 patients and two doctors. They said a nurse managed to escape and save one patient, while another patient got out on his own. The Emergencies Ministry also posted a list of the patients indicating they ranged in age from 20 to 76. Gumennaya told Russian news agencies that most of the people died in their beds.

Moscow region Governor Andrei Vorobyev said some of the hospital windows were barred. Gumennaya cited the surviving nurse as saying that the doors inside the hospital were not locked.

Investigators said they are looking at violations of fire regulations and a short circuit as possible causes for the blaze that engulfed the hospital in the Ramensky settlement, some 85 kilometers (53 miles) north of Moscow.

Vadim Belovoshin of the Emergencies Ministry said that it took firefighters an hour to get to the hospital because a ferry across a canal was closed and they had to make a detour.

Vorobyev told Russian state television that the fire alarm seems to have worked, but the fire spread too quickly.

Russia has a poor fire safety record, with about 12,000 deaths reported in 2012. In January, a fire in an underground parking lot killed 10 migrant workers from Tajikistan who were working and living there. In a similar incident in September, 14 Vietnamese workers were killed by fire at a clothing factory near Moscow.

In one of the most high-profile cases of negligence, more than 150 people died in a night club in the city of Perm after a pyrotechnic show ignited a wooden ceiling.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/38-die-mental-hospital-fire-outside-moscow-051615611.html

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Reclusive lawyer opens up about defending killers

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Judy Clarke is in the business of cheating death, but she rarely talks about it.

Clarke, one of the nation's top lawyers and defender of the despised, broke her silence Friday in a speech at a legal conference, where she spoke about her work saving notorious criminal defendants from execution.

The names of her past clients ? Susan Smith, Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski and most recently, Tucson shooter Jared Loughner ? run like a list of the most reviled in American criminal history. But she did not say whether she would add to that list the latest name in the news: The suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing.

Clarke was reticent throughout her keynote speech and declined to take questions from the audience. Instead, she talked about how she had been "sucked into the black hole, the vortex" of death penalty cases 18 years ago when she represented Smith, who drowned her two children.

"I got a dose of understanding human behavior and I learned what the death penalty does to us," she said. "I don't think it's a secret that I oppose the death penalty. "

She saved Smith's life and later would do the same for Kaczynski, Loughner and the Atlanta Olympics bomber Eric Rudolph. All received life sentences instead of death.

Before an audience of lawyers, judges and law students at Loyola Law School's annual Fidler Institute, Clarke shared her approach in handling death penalty cases.

"The first clear way death cases are different is the clients," said Clarke, now a visiting professor at Washington and Lee University School of Law in Virginia. "Most have suffered from serious severe trauma, unbelievable trauma. We know that from brain research. Many suffer from severe cognitive development issues that affect the core of their being."

She added that they had another thing in common: When she first meets them, they do not want to plead guilty. Her job is to change their resolve, she said.

"They're looking into the lens of life in prison in a box," she said. "Our job is to provide them with a reason to live."

Connecting with the client by finding out "what brought them to this day that will define the rest of their lives" is the first step, she said. In most cases, she said she finds underlying mental illness. Kaczynski was ultimately diagnosed as schizophrenic and, on the eve of seating a jury, he agreed to plead guilty.

Clarke said a veteran lawyer once told her: "The first step to losing a capital case is picking a jury.

The San Diego-based attorney often appears in court as a federal public defender, and appealed to judges in the audience to provide sufficient funding for death penalty cases. She also told defense lawyers and students that death penalty clients deserve their loyalty.

"Our clients are different," she said. "We should enjoy the opportunity to step into their lives. It can be chaotic. But it's a privilege to be there as a lawyer."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/reclusive-death-penalty-lawyer-opens-003542698.html

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Family upset over Air Force officer's transfer (Providence Journal)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/301444591?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Ace Technology Partners Wins Huge Air Force NETCENTS II Contract

CHICAGO (PRWEB) April 23, 2013

Ace Technology Partners, LLC, one of the leading custom computer builders and resellers in the U.S., was recently re-awarded a major contract by the U.S. Air Force through its NETCENTS II initiative. Ace Technology Partners is one of only eight companies to share the $ 7.4 billion contract and triumph in the exhaustive multi-year vetting process. The companys OEM division is Ace Computers.

The U.S. Air Force (USAF) chose winners based on product and service quality demonstrated expertise, depth of industry experience, procurement experience, financial stability, and overall value. John Samborski, CEO of Ace Technology Partners said, Obviously we are very, very pleased to win this contract. Not only will this boost our current growth trajectory, but it is the supreme vote of confidence from one of the most prestigious organizations in the world.

Technology products sold through the contract include networking equipment, servers and storage, peripherals, multimedia, software, and identity management/biometric hardware and associated software.

The USAF?s NETCENTS II (Network Centric Solutions II) contract is a collection of acquisitions that will replace the original NETCENTS initiative with seven separate contracts. The purpose of NETCENTS II is to provide the USAF, Department of Defense and other federal agencies with a vetted source for standardized networking equipment, supplies and associated services. NETCENTS II contracts will be the USAF?s main source of IT products, services and solutions. The total value of NETCENTS II, which spans seven years, is more than $ 24 billion.

Ace Technology Partners brilliant track record with federal and state organizations makes it a logical choice for state-of-the-art technology solutions that deliver what they promise.

I hope our clients and prospects know what this means to them, Samborski said. Having come out on top in this very, very thorough vetting process?ahead of top global competitors?we have the experience and expertise; and can offer the highest quality, most cost-effective products and services available in the marketplace.

Multiple award-winning Ace Technology Partners, LLC along with the companys OEM division Ace Computers is a custom technology systems builder and reseller for the public sector as well as the commercial sector. It has been an industry leader since 1983. In addition to some of the finest academic institutions in the U.S., long-term clients include the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Defense. The company builds custom technology with the same components that top manufacturers use without the premium price. Its principal, recognized industry expert John Samborski, is an alumnus of Intels prestigious board of advisors. In addition to its Greater Chicago headquarters, the company has locations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Idaho. To contact the company, call 1-877-223-2667 or 1-847-952-6900 or visit http://www.acetechpartners.com.

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For media inquiries, contact Jean Van Rensselar at Smart PR Communications;

630-363-8081; jean(at)smartprcommunications(dot)com

For Company Background, visit: http://www.acecomputers.com/aboutus.asp

Multiple award-winning Ace Computers is a custom technology systems builder and reseller for the public sector as well as the commercial sector. It has been an industry leader since 1983. In addition to some of the finest academic institutions in the U.S., long-term clients include the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Defense. Ace Computers builds custom technology with the same components that top manufacturers use without the premium price. Its principal, recognized industry expert John Samborski, is an alumnus of Intels prestigious board of advisors. In addition to its Greater Chicago headquarters, Ace Computers has locations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Idaho. To contact Ace Computers, call 1-877-223-2667 or 1-847-952-6900 or visit http://www.acecomputers.com.

Ace Computers on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/98135?trk=tyah

Ace Computers on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/AceComp

If so, then it is unlikely that the operating system, the application software or the computer hardware is at fault. Rather it might be corruption of the working file data used for favorite applications that can be cleared by use of Time Machine ?
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Tagged as: Contract, Force, Huge, NETCENTS, partners, technology, Wins

Source: http://computerhardware.only-the-news.com/ace-technology-partners-wins-huge-air-force-netcents-ii-contract/

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