Greek bill opens way for civil service layoffs

Public servants shout slogans during a protest in front of the Parliament in Athens, Sunday April 28, 2013. A few hundreds public servants protested peacefully outside the Greek Parliament as lawmakers vote on new austerity bill.(AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)

Public servants shout slogans during a protest in front of the Parliament in Athens, Sunday April 28, 2013. A few hundreds public servants protested peacefully outside the Greek Parliament as lawmakers vote on new austerity bill.(AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)

A protester burns an effigy depicting a Greek worker during a protest in front of the Parliament in Athens, Sunday April 28, 2013. A few hundred public servants protested peacefully outside the Greek Parliament as lawmakers voted on new austerity bill.(AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)

Public servants shout slogans during a protest in front of the Parliament in Athens, Sunday April 28, 2013. A few hundred public servants protested peacefully outside the Greek Parliament as lawmakers vote on new austerity bill.(AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)

A protester (not seen) waves a labour union flag during a protest in front of the Parliament in Athens, Sunday April 28, 2013. A few hundreds public servants protested peacefully outside the Greek Parliament as lawmakers vote on new austerity bill.(AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)

Public servants cast their shadows on a banner of a labour union during a protest in front of the Parliament in Athens, Sunday April 28, 2013. A few hundred public servants protested peacefully outside the Greek Parliament as lawmakers voted on new austerity bill.(AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)

ATHENS, Greece (AP) ? Greece's Parliament approved an emergency bill Sunday to pave the way for thousands of public sector layoffs and free up 8.8 billion euros ($11.5 billion) in international rescue loans.

The bill, which passed in a 168-123 vote, will allow for the first civil service layoffs in more than a century. About 2,000 civil servants will be laid off by the end of May, with another 2,000 following by the end of the year and a further 11,500 by end-2014, for a total of 15,500.

The legislation is the latest wave of Greece's draconian austerity program. It agreed this month with its bailout rescue lenders ? the European Union and International Monetary Fund ? to implement the measures as a condition to receive new emergency loans worth 8.8 billion euros ($11.5 billion).

The permanence of civil servant jobs has been enshrined in all constitutions since 1911, a form of protection from wholesale sacking when the government changes hands.

To get around the constitutional protection, the bill stipulates the first layoffs will take place in state agencies that will be disbanded or merged. A provision also aims to bypass, if needed, the notoriously slow and lenient disciplinary councils, which have refused to lay off even people convicted of felonies. More than 2,000 such cases are pending, nearly 600 on appeal.

The civil servants' union, ADEDY, bitterly opposed the bill's provisions and called for a protest outside Parliament. Authorities took strict security measures, such as barricading a Parliament entrance since Sunday morning and diverting traffic and shutting down a subway station two hours before the announced start of the protest. In the end, fewer than 300 people showed up.

The bill contained many unrelated provisions, from the payment of back taxes and social security contributions to the end of bakeries' monopoly in baking bread.

To shorten debate and to present the bill as a sort of confidence vote, the government bundled 110 pages of legislation into a single article. Debate in committee lasted a single day and so did debate in the full Parliament, despite opposition protests and claims of a "parliamentary coup."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-04-28-Greece-Financial%20Crisis/id-95a39a2f706e4fe39b43b43d6d3637b5

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Make Money On The Internet From Home. The Passive, Newbie ...

Chances are you?re at this site right now to learn how to build your own passive income from home.? I commend you because I was in your shoes about 5 years ago!

Below I am going to break down what you need to do and how you can start working, beside my partner on this (Justin Lewis) and I, from home starting today (Left:Michael, Right: Justin).

Before I start, who am I?? My name is Michael Brown and I started making money online in 2007 and within 12 months, I quit my job.? I did this while working a full time job and raising my son...

In fact, I owe many thanks to Lynn Terry here at ClickNewz for kicking me in the butt early on and getting me motivated.?

I?m also a father and a husband and consider myself a strong family man first and Internet marketer second.

I now train other people to make money online as I do with my friend; Justin Lewis.? Justin started off as a student of mine and really came into his own.

Here is what I know to be undeniably true in the making money online world.

1. There are a lot of scams
2. Big gurus try to persuade you by telling you they have millions of dollars and fancy cars, homes, etc.
3. Many claim it takes absolutely no-work
4. Many claim there are simply push-button systems and you don?t have to do anything else
5. It can be frustrating!

I?ll tell you first hand that to make money online it takes?

1. Work
2. Motivation
3. Proper training / mentor(s)
4. A support group that you can trust
5. Determination

Anyone that guarantees you will make $xxxxx amount of dollars; steer clear.? Anyone promising push-button riches; steer clear.? Anyone continuously flaunting their income or success; steer clear.? Never bank your potential income on the results of someone else.

Yes, it?s easy to do once you know how but getting there takes times, practice, hands on help and good friends you can ultimately get help from and trust.

Below is what I found to work well and how I train raw beginners and people who have yet to have success making money online.

Note: some of this you may already know, but reinforce your knowledge as repetition will help breed success.

Step 1: Find A Niche

First, you?ll find a niche that you like.? I know many people say ?go for the money only.? However, I think you need to find a niche you really like, rather than just a cash cow.? As you gain experience go for the larger cash cows but, in the beginning going for things you love that have less competition is probably a smart idea.

Step 2: Research Your Niche & Audience

Knowing what is going on in your industry can help lead to a great passive online income. It simply involves looking at how competitive other sites are in your industry and what keywords and phrases are relevant to your market.

Many people skip this step simply because they don?t understand it (don?t worry in a moment I?ll show you how you can do this absolutely free with complete video and text training).

Step 3:? Create A Website Using WordPress

Next, you create a website using WordPress.? Why WordPress?? It?s free, stable, looks great and is easy enough for anybody to use.

You?ll simply build your site based around your topic.

Step 4: Add Content To Your Website

Content can be text, images, video, audio, info charts, graphs and even PDFs.? Create compelling content that your visitors will be interested in.?

Creating good content can be based on:

• Demos or Demonstrations
• Product Reviews
• Hot Industry Topics
• Questions In Your Niche
• Problems In Your Niche
• Shortcuts In Your Niche
• Thing That Are Entertaining In Your Niche

Step 5: Start Driving Traffic

This can be done through the search engines, forums, video and social media sites.? But, traffic is critical.? If you?re creating good content and sharing it often, the traffic will come!

Step 6:? Monetize For Income (Add Money)

Often times we are eager to make money so much we focus too much on how to monetize our niche than the previous steps? However, what we do is teach you to do the other steps first and worry about money last.

Here?s why?.

You?ll be more inclined to help your audience which will help you dramatically increase your sales and income.? Most people miss this because they simply only worry about their own pockets.? Help those in your market and it will help you succeed in making more money online.

Think of companies like Facebook, they didn?t monetize until late in the game and are now the top social network, period.

These are the things you need to do to make money on the Internet.?

But, it?s not the end!

Over the last few years I?ve been teaching people how to make money using these tactics. However, about 8 months ago I decided I wanted to make something truly amazing to help people interested in building their very own business that they can make money online with.

Justin Lewis shared this vision with me and has a knack for modernizing the training and keeping it relevant. Plus, he is a pure master at social media and that is something we wanted to make sure we taught in great detail inside the course. So Justin Lewis and I got together and started laying out the ground work for what we call Niche Optimizer.

Inside of Niche Optimizer we remove the frustration that usually comes with making money on the Internet.? Not only do we provide hands-on help every step of the way, we make it step-by-step newbie friendly?.

Here is exactly what we created & teach on the inside:

• Lesson 0:? Understanding The Basics
• Lesson 1:? Finding Your Niche
• Lesson 2:? Finding Your Audience
• Lesson 3:? Creating Your Domain & World
• Lesson 4:? Building Your Niche Website (with 20 easy WordPress tutorials)
• Lesson 5:? Creating Awesome Content
• Lesson 6:? Building & Growing Your Traffic (tons of sub-lessons here)
• Lesson 7:? Making Money
• Lesson 8:? Advancing

Each lesson has several sub?lessons that are organized in a step-by-step manner complete with easy to follow videos and text with image walk-throughs as well.

So if you love video and hate text, no problem!? Hate video and love text and screen shots?? We have that too.? Easy.

But, here is where the course gets really good.

After you understand the first segment of the course you can go on to our in-depth Facebook Fanpage course.

Inside this part of the course you?ll find 7 additional lessons:

• Lesson 1: Facebook Basics
• Lesson 2: Naming Your Fanpage
• Lesson 3: Creating Your Page
• Lesson 4: Facebook Sharing
• Lesson 5: Growing Your Fanbase
• Lesson 6: Using Paid Ads Effectively
• Lesson 7: Automating

Using our easy-to-follow lessons on making money on the Internet with Facebook, you?ll be master social media in no time.

After you finish this segment up you can continue onto creating an email list.? An email list not only provides traffic on a regular basis to your site, but also sales.

Email List Profits

Lesson 1:? Setting Up Your First Email List/Form

Lesson 2:? Automating Your Emails

More lessons added soon to this area.

As we continue to grow the course we?ll be adding new lessons and new training to every segment. Which you?ll get immediate access to when available.

This course also includes what I believe sets us apart from anything else on the Internet:

Weekly live events.? These are sometimes Q and A and other times just straight training.? These events are great to meet us and get hands on feedback from real industry experts.

Weekly Podcasts:? Justin and I shoot these live and then share them with you.? These are typically created based on things our members ask us or are looking for.

You can see an example here:

http://www.nicheoptimizer.com/you-are-an-expert/

These events are a great way to increase your knowledge will help you make more money online.

24/7 Support:? One of the things that online training tends to suffer from is lack of support.? Our community is extremely active.? Our members are on day and night and Justin and I are on several hours each day.

We will answer every single question that is submitted and our premium students and support team will as well.

We give you a NO-STUCK guarantee as our member.

A community is important while you?re learning to build your own online business.

We have several hundred more videos and training segments that will be coming over the next few years.? The training we provide will never become stale or out-of-date.

So rest easy, that everything we teach is always up-to-date and very useful to decreasing your learning time, increasing your success and keeping this course constantly relevant when other courses seem to fall out of date.

We also created an area where you can take the first 4 modules free and even ask us questions!? Get started by going to Niche Optimizer and click on the green button at the top labeled "Create Your Account".

We keep the atmosphere light and fun.? We want you to build a serious business online, but we also want you to enjoy yourself!

I want to thank Lynn Terry for the opportunity to share this with you today and if you have questions, please ask below.

By the way, since this is free to join, we ask that you just give us a chance to help you.? We know that even if you have prior training you?ll be pleasantly surprised by our premium training, attention to detail and understanding of exactly what you need to succeed.

Justin and I can?t wait to see you on the inside with us, but no matter what you choose to do; please keep working on your online business!? The Internet is an awesome place and we share your passion.

To your success,

Michael Brown

?

* This post was written by Michael Brown and sponsored by NicheOptimizer.

Source: http://www.clicknewz.com/6830/make-money-on-the-internet-from-home/

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Millionaire businessman goes to jail for selling fake bomb detectors

LONDON (AP) ? A millionaire businessman who sold fake bomb detectors that were based on a novelty golf ball finder to countries including Iraq was convicted Tuesday of fraud in a British court.

Police investigators said the bogus devices put people's safety at risk.

James McCormick, 56, is said to have made an estimated 50 million pounds ($76 million) from sales of his detectors, which claimed to be able to find explosives, drugs and people from planes, under water, underground and through walls. They could purportedly detect at distance and bypass "all known forms of concealment."

But experts said the hand-held devices, which were sold for up to 27,000 pounds ($41,000) each, in fact lacked "any grounding in science" and were "completely ineffectual as a piece of detection equipment."

"The devices did not work, and he knew they did not work," prosecutor Richard Whittam said. One of the earlier models McCormick sold was based on a novelty machine for finding golf balls that could be bought in the U.S. for less than $20, he added.

The detectors were sold to military and police forces around the world, including Iraq, Niger, Georgia, Egypt and Thailand.

Nigel Rock, an investigating officer with the Avon and Somerset Constabulary ? the police force that arrested McCormick in 2010 ? said the businessman sold 6,000 devices to Iraq for more than $40 million between 2008 and 2010.

"The devices were used at numerous checkpoints within Iraq during this period. It is clear that both civilians and armed forces personnel were put at significant risk in relying upon this equipment," Rock said.

McCormick was found guilty of three counts of fraud at London's Central Criminal Court. He will be sentenced on May 2.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/uk-man-convicted-selling-fake-bomb-detectors-131902046--finance.html

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Tom and Ashley Arnold: Our Rough Road to Parenthood

Happily settled in at home with their son, Arnold and his wife spoke to PEOPLE exclusively about their emotional experience.

Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/_Xob_AeheVw/

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How the ban on earmarks killed the gun bill (Washington Post)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/300180759?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Black Diamond jet team coming to Rome, Ga., air show

Black Diamond Jet Demonstration Team

The Black Diamond Jet Demonstration Team, one of the world?s only non-military jet demonstration teams, will headline the 2013 Wings Over North Georgia air show here, according to a news release.

Government funding cuts have grounded the U.S. Navy?s Blue Angels and the Air Force Thunderbirds squads. The Black Diamond team?s inaugural season was in 2011

The four-ship L-39 aerobatic jet team, based in Lakeland, Fla., consists of experienced air show pilots and former members of military jet teams. Jerry ?Jive? Kirby is the flight leader and Dale ?Snort? Snodgrass is the lead solo pilot.

The Wings Over North Georgia air show will be Oct. 12-13 at Rome?s Richard B. Russell Regional Airport.

about Staff Report...

Get breaking news from the Times Free Press on Twitter at www.twitter.com/timesfreepress or by visiting us on Facebook or Twitter at the right:

Source: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2013/apr/18/black-diamond-jet-team-coming-rome-ga-air-show/

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Kelvin Gastelum wins ?The Ultimate Fighter? with upset of Uriah Hall

The Uriah Hall hype train came to a halt on Saturday night as Kelvin Gastelum managed a tight, split-decision win over the heavily favored Uriah Hall in the final of "The Ultimate Fighter" on Saturday night. The judges saw it 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 for Gastelum. With the win, Gastelum won the UFC's reality show tournament, a new motorcycle and a six-figure UFC contract.

Hall got to the final by knocking out three straight opponents in spectacular fashion. Gastelum, his teammate on the show, neutralized Hall with several takedowns throughout the bout. Early in the fight, he added in nasty ground and pound with elbows. Hall answered with a big slam in the second round and some takedowns and strikes of his own, but the overwhelming power he used to get to the final was not there.

Gastelum was the last fighter picked by Chael Sonnen during the first episode of the show, but he got to the final with three straight upsets. He continued with the upset win over Hall, and has now guaranteed his spot in the UFC. He still has plenty to prove in the UFC's middleweight division as he looked gassed late in the bout, but being the guy who stopped Hall is a good way to enter the division. At just 21, he has plenty of time to develop into an even better middleweight.

Hall's loss was shocking because the three straight wins he rattled off to get to the final were so overwhelming. His knockout of Adam Cella in the first round was one of the most memorable in TUF history, and earned him a $25,000 bonus as the fans voted it the best of the season. Sonnen, who coached Hall during the show, said that Hall was well on his way to being a UFC champion.

He has been such a popular fighter this season that it's highly likely that Hall will still get another shot in the UFC. But the buzz around him will drop off considerably, and his rise to the top of the MMA world will not be as fast as everyone expected.

Other popular content on Yahoo! Sports:
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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/kelvin-gastlum-wins-ultimate-fighter-upset-uriah-hall-034306348--mma.html

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Teens face sex assault charges after girl's suicide

By Laila Kearney

SAN JOSE, California (Reuters) - Three teenage boys have been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl from northern California who hanged herself within days of the attack after an image of it circulated online, police and her family's lawyer said.

Audrie Pott felt devastatingly humiliated by Internet exposure of the September 2012 incident, which occurred while she was passed out from drinking at a friend's home, said Robert Allard, an attorney for Pott's parents.

The three 16-year-old boys, who attended Saratoga High School with Pott at the time of the alleged sexual assault, were arrested on Thursday in Santa Clara County, about 10 miles from San Jose, said Sheriff Laurie Smith.

The boys, whose identities were not revealed by authorities because they are minors, were booked on suspicion of sexual assault by digital penetration and distributing a photo of a minor in sexual positions, both of which are felonies. They also face a misdemeanor count of inappropriate touching, Smith said.

Reuters does not name victims of sexual assault, but Allard said Pott's parents consented to allowing their daughter to be named in media reports.

The arrests follow public outrage over the sexual assault last year of a 16-year-old girl by two high school football players in Steubenville, Ohio. That case and others like it have raised concerns about the shame young victims of rape can suffer when pictures of the attack are circulated among their peers via social media networks.

Pott committed suicide eight days after the alleged sexual assault. She had posted messages on Facebook that read, "my life is ruined" and "the whole school knows," Allard said.

"She felt that her reputation was spoiled forever," Allard told Reuters. "Imagine how you'd feel, through the push of a button, people know the most intimate details about you and they're taunting you and shaming you."

"It causes great damage, and in this case it led to her death," he said.

Allard said he planned to file a wrongful death lawsuit in the attack.

Marc Buller, spokesman for the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office, said his office was in the process of filing formal charges against the three boys but that because they are minors he could not comment further.

The investigation remains open and more arrests are possible, said Santa Clara County Sheriff's spokesman Lieutenant Jose Cardoza.

Allard said the delay of seven months between the alleged assault and the arrests may have stemmed from the reluctance of some students to cooperate with investigators.

Smith said her department confronted a number of legal issues related to investigating the actions of juveniles. "I won't be apologetic for why this took so long," she said.

Allard said Pott went to a friend's house for a visit that turned to drinking when she and others consumed alcohol taken from a liquor cabinet in the home. He said the boys arrived at the house after Pott had gone upstairs and fallen asleep.

"The boys accused of assaulting Pott were her friends," Allard said. "The trust that she had in her friends was just obliterated by what happened. Perhaps it was her view of life in such a positive way that made this so much harder for her."

(Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Steve Gorman and Lisa Shumaker)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/california-teens-face-sexual-assault-charges-girls-suicide-030350664.html

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MR images taken during the systole phase improve diagnoses of scars on the heart

Public release date: 13-Apr-2013
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Contact: Samantha Schmidt
sschmidt@arrs.org
703-858-4316
American Roentgen Ray Society

MR images taken when the ventricles of the heart relax and fill with blood and then when the ventricles contract and eject blood to the rest of the body provide a more complete picture of the extent of myocardial scar in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy, a new study finds.

Detection of scar is important because it helps identify patients who are at higher risk of a fatal event, said Dr. James Fernandez, the first author of the study.

The standard protocol to determine scar in these patients is to collect just diastolic data (when the ventricles relax), said Dr. Fernandez. "However, our study of 30 patients at the University of Southern California found that images taken during the systolic cardiac phase (when the ventricles contract) can show scars not seen on images taken in the diastolic phase," Dr. Fernandez said. "Scars were seen in 23 studies in diastole versus 25 studies in systole," he said. In three studies, systolic images showed scars beneath the left ventricle, an area prone to ischemic damage, that were not detectable on diastolic images," Dr. Fernandez said.

The study will be part of the electronic exhibit program at the ARRS Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 13-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Samantha Schmidt
sschmidt@arrs.org
703-858-4316
American Roentgen Ray Society

MR images taken when the ventricles of the heart relax and fill with blood and then when the ventricles contract and eject blood to the rest of the body provide a more complete picture of the extent of myocardial scar in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy, a new study finds.

Detection of scar is important because it helps identify patients who are at higher risk of a fatal event, said Dr. James Fernandez, the first author of the study.

The standard protocol to determine scar in these patients is to collect just diastolic data (when the ventricles relax), said Dr. Fernandez. "However, our study of 30 patients at the University of Southern California found that images taken during the systolic cardiac phase (when the ventricles contract) can show scars not seen on images taken in the diastolic phase," Dr. Fernandez said. "Scars were seen in 23 studies in diastole versus 25 studies in systole," he said. In three studies, systolic images showed scars beneath the left ventricle, an area prone to ischemic damage, that were not detectable on diastolic images," Dr. Fernandez said.

The study will be part of the electronic exhibit program at the ARRS Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.

###

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?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/arrs-mit041013.php

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Mother of Sandy Hook Victim Delivers White House Weekly Address

In a message traditionally reserved for the president, Francine Wheeler, whose 6-year-old son Ben was among the 20 students and six educators killed at Sandy Hook Elementary last year, delivered the White House's weekly address today, urging the country to come together to support measures that proponents say will alleviate gun violence.

"As you've probably noticed, I'm not the president. I'm just a citizen. And as a citizen, I'm here at the White House today because I want to make a difference," Wheeler said. "I've heard people say that the tidal wave of anguish our country felt on 12/14 has receded. But not for us. To us, it feels as if it happened just yesterday.

"And in the four months since we lost our loved ones, thousands of other Americans have died at the end of a gun. Thousands of other families across the United States are also drowning in our grief. Please help us do something before our tragedy becomes your tragedy.

RELATED: Obama, With Newtown Families, Demands Gun Control Vote

"We have to convince the Senate to come together and pass commonsense gun responsibility reforms that will make our communities safer and prevent more tragedies like the one we never thought would happen to us," she said. "Help this be the moment when real change begins. From the bottom of my heart, thank you."

Wheeler, who was accompanied by her husband, David, in the address, shared memories of her young son less than four months after he was killed.

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"Ben's love of fun and his excitement at the wonders of life were unmatched His boundless energy kept him running across the soccer field long after the game was over. He couldn't wait to get to school every morning. He sang with perfect pitch and had just played at his third piano recital. Irrepressibly bright and spirited, Ben experienced life at full tilt," she said.

"Sometimes, I close my eyes and all I can remember is that awful day waiting at the Sandy Hook Volunteer Firehouse for the boy who would never come home - the same firehouse that was home to Ben's Tiger Scout Den 6. But other times, I feel Ben's presence filling me with courage for what I have to do - for him and all the others taken from us so violently and too soon," Wheeler said.

After President Obama delivered a speech on gun violence in Connecticut Monday, the Wheelers were among the 11 families who traveled with the president on Air Force One to lobby members of Congress in Washington.

"When I packed for Washington on Monday, it looked like the Senate might not act at all. Then, after the president spoke in Hartford, and a dozen of us met with Senators to share our stories, more than two-thirds of the Senate voted to move forward," Wheeler said. "But that's only the start. They haven't yet passed any bills that will help keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. And a lot of people are fighting to make sure they never do. Now is the time to act. Please join us."

Earlier this week, ABC News' Jeff Zeleny caught up with the Wheelers as they knocked door to door on Capitol Hill, lobbying members of Congress to vote in favor of gun control measures earlier this week.

"We represent Ben's life and that's why I'm here," Francine Wheeler told Zeleny.

"This is the event that defines us in many ways. And I'm not going to hide from that," David Wheeler said.

The Senate voted Thursday in favor of considering a comprehensive gun package, which includes a new bipartisan background check deal brokered by Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa.

The president tweeted out a message Friday urging Americans to listen to the Newtown mother's message.

"Francine Wheeler, a Newtown mom, will take my place in tomorrow's Weekly Address. It's a message everyone should hear: #NowIsTheTime. -bo," the president tweeted from the White House account. The signature "-bo" indicates the tweet was written and sent from the president himself.

Wheeler is the first civilian to deliver the White House's weekly address. Vice President Joe Biden gave the weekly address on the economy in November 2011 while the president was overseas at a summit. First lady Laura Bush delivered the address at least twice, once on the fate of women in Afghanistan under Taliban control in 2001 and another time regarding Burma in January 2008.

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mother-sandy-hook-victim-delivers-white-house-weekly-100029488--abc-news-politics.html

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CA-BUSINESS Summary

Canada posts worst monthly job losses in more than four years

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada posted its worst monthly jobs loss in more than four years in March, another sign the economy is struggling to cope with weak foreign markets and a strong Canadian dollar. Canada shed 54,500 positions in March, more than wiping out the 50,700 jobs that were added in February, Statistics Canada said on Friday. Market operators had expected a modest gain of 8,500 jobs.

Canada's Flaherty: big March job losses just a snapshot in time

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's job losses in March are disappointing, Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Friday, but he described the broader performance of employment since the global recession as much more positive. "After strong job growth in February I am disappointed with the job numbers announced by Statistics Canada today," Flaherty said in a statement, referring to the loss of 54,500 positions in the month.

Judge approves BofA $2.43 billion settlement over Merrill

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp on Friday won a federal judge's approval for a $2.43 billion settlement with investors who said the lender hid crucial information when it bought Merrill Lynch & Co. The accord, among the largest investor settlements stemming from the recent global financial crisis, was approved by U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel in Manhattan.

TSX in five-day losing streak on lackluster jobs data

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index capped a five-day losing streak by slumping to its lowest in more than 3-1/2 months on Friday, led by declines in the financial sector, as gloomy Canadian and U.S. jobs data suggested the North American economy could be losing steam. The economic uncertainty weighed on oil prices, which fell to a five-month low, but a rising bullion price took gold shares higher.

Boeing completes 787 Dreamliner test flight for battery fix

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Boeing completed a test flight on Friday of its 787 Dreamliner jet, part of a regimen of tests aimed at certifying a reworked system to prevent fire or overheating of the plane's lithium-ion batteries. The flight lasted about 1 hour and 50 minutes, landing at 12:28 pm Pacific Time (1928 GMT), according to Boeing. Data from the flight, which had Federal Aviation Administration officials aboard, will be submitted to the FAA, which will decide whether to approve the plane for flight. The 787 was grounded by regulators in January after batteries overheated on two planes.

Big funds pick sides as Agrium-Jana battle nears climax

TORONTO (Reuters) - Agrium Inc's fierce battle with activist investor Jana Partners could go down to the wire as Agrium's large institutional investors look to be split on who they are backing ahead of a shareholder vote at Agrium's annual meeting next week. The big Canadian fertilizer maker and farm products retailer has been locked in a war of words for months with Jana Partners, a New York-based hedge fund, over the direction the company should take. Jana has named a slate of five nominees for election to Agrium's board and the battle is now set to come to a head at Agrium's AGM on its home turf in Calgary, Alberta, on April 9.

Boeing finishes 787 testing, focus shifts to regulators

NEW YORK (Reuters) - With a successful flight on Friday, Boeing's 787 Dreamliner completed tests aimed at proving that a revamped safety system can prevent the jet's lithium-ion batteries from catching fire or overheating. Friday's test flight marks a major step toward resuming passenger flights and jet deliveries, which would stem millions of dollars in losses that have piled up at airlines and Boeing since the jet was grounded more than two months ago.

Exclusive: SocGen mulls up to 700 job cuts - union sources

PARIS (Reuters) - French bank Societe Generale may cut between 600 and 700 jobs as part of a broader cost-cutting drive in the face of stagnant growth in its home market, three union sources told Reuters on Friday. SocGen management met with unions on Wednesday to discuss the proposals, which have not yet been finalized, the sources said.

Exclusive: Some wealth advisers take a fee for client fund assets

(Reuters) - At least three wealth management firms that market themselves as objective financial advisers are getting payments for investing their clients' money in certain mutual funds, a practice that even some of these firms say could create conflicts of interest. The firms, known as registered investment advisers, are typically paid by clients with fees tied to the growth or contraction of client assets, and not to specific products. But Fidelity Investments and Charles Schwab Corp are paying these financial advisers as much as 0.25 percent of the assets that their clients put into no-transaction-fee mutual funds.

Bankruptcy judge approves MF Global's liquidation plan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - MF Global on Friday won court approval of a plan to liquidate its assets, pay back creditors and end the $40 billion bankruptcy that rocked the financial world in 2011. The commodities brokerage, run by former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, collapsed after investors were spooked by its exposure to about $6.3 billion in European sovereign debt.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-business-summary-010222419--finance.html

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