Tug pilot pleads guilty in Philly duck boat crash (AP)

PHILADELPHIA ? A tug operator consumed by a family emergency pleaded guilty Monday to involuntary manslaughter for a fatal crash with a duck boat filled with tourists, an accident he acknowledged was caused largely by his continuous use of a cellphone and laptop computer while he was steering a barge.

Pilot Matt Devlin said he "didn't really make the best decisions" aboard the tug after learning that his 5-year-old son had suffered life-threatening complications during routine eye surgery. His distraction ultimately resulted in the barge plowing into the duck boat on the Delaware River, killing two Hungarian students.

"I wish I could take it all back ... I just wasn't thinking clearly after getting that news," Devlin said during a federal court hearing.

The remarks by Devlin, 35, of Catskill, N.Y., were his first public statements since the crash last summer involving the tug Caribbean Sea, the barge Resource and the duck boat, an amphibious tourist vehicle.

The accident occurred in Philadelphia on July 7, 2010, after the duck boat stalled in the busy shipping channel. As it sat anchored, awaiting help, the barge began bearing down and Devlin didn't respond to distress calls because he had silenced the radios to talk on the phone, authorities said.

Devlin had learned shortly before the crash that his son had been deprived of oxygen for about eight minutes during surgery. He then repeatedly made and received calls on his phone, surfed the Internet for medical information and moved to a lower wheelhouse for more privacy ? putting the duck boat in his blind spot, according to a report by the National Transportation Safety Board.

"I believe that took away the best view," Devlin said Monday.

The crash sent all 37 people on the duck boat into the river, but 16-year-old Dora Schwendtner and 20-year-old Szabolcs Prem never resurfaced. The Hungarians were visiting the United States through a church exchange program; their families have filed wrongful-death lawsuits.

Devlin was charged with misconduct of a ship operator causing death, a maritime offense that authorities describe as the equivalent of involuntary manslaughter. As a condition of the plea agreement, he also surrendered his Coast Guard license. He faces 37 to 46 months in prison under federal sentencing guidelines.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Zauzmer described the medical emergency as "a legitimate personal crisis" and called Devlin "very remorseful." Still, he said Devlin should have handled it better.

"What he needed to do, obviously, was turn over his duties to the captain of the ship and not try to deal with two things at the same time," Zauzmer said after the hearing.

Devlin's lawyer, Frank DeSimone, stressed said that his client wasn't talking "frivolously" on his cellphone. Although Devlin's son, now 6, has fully recovered, at the time Devlin thought the boy might die or suffer brain damage, DeSimone said.

"As soon as he was told about what happened to his son, he was in a fog," DeSimone said.

The attorney said Devlin has repeated nightmares about the crash. Devlin himself said in court that he's been seeing a psychiatrist, is on medication and has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Devlin shared an emotional hug with his wife after the hearing. He declined to comment and was released on bond pending sentencing Nov. 1.

Georgia-based Ride the Ducks offers tours in Philadelphia; San Francisco; Branson, Mo.; Stone Mountain, Ga.; and the Cincinnati area.

The company suspended its Philadelphia tours after the accident but resumed them this spring, albeit with a shortened water route. The boats did not operate on the anniversary of the crash.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110801/ap_on_re_us/us_duck_boat_accident

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Dem group raises $5M to counter Republican ads (AP)

WASHINGTON ? An outside group founded this spring by two former Obama White House advisers has raked in millions in donations since April, relying in part on top-flight fundraisers and labor unions to counter GOP-leaning ads critical of the president and congressional Democrats.

Priorities USA Action, an independent group founded by former Obama aides Bill Burton and Sean Sweeney, said Sunday its donations included $2 million from film producer Jeffrey Katzenberg, as well as $500,000 each from Fred Eychaner, founder of Chicago-based Newsweb Corp., and the Service Employees International Union.

Priorities USA Action and sister organization Priorities USA have raised more than $5 million since this spring, Burton said Sunday. Those amounts paled in comparison to the $86 million raked in by the Democratic National Committee from April through June, as top donors focused on President Barack Obama's first fundraising quarter.

Burton said Priorities has had a major impact with targeted local advertisements ? tallying more than $700,000 ? in part by making Medicare cuts a litmus test for Republican presidential candidates. That included a targeted ad against former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney on Medicare.

Priorities' ad buys contrast with the $20 million to be spent this summer by Republican-leaning American Crossroads ? tied to former President George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove ? on a series of ads critical of Democrats ahead of the November 2012 election.

In response to "Rove's negative ads on the economy," Burton said, "we choose to invest in only swing states and, within those states, the most efficient television markets. Dollar for dollar, our spending is having a much greater impact on the voters who will decide the 2012 race."

The group planned to file its report with the Federal Election Commission on Sunday.

Both the Democratic- and GOP-aligned groups, known as "super" political action committees, have gained momentum following the Supreme Court's 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which overturned a previous ban on corporate spending in federal elections.

Obama has publicly criticized the ruling ? even during a 2010 State of the Union address, with court members a stone's throw from the House rostrum ? but that hasn't stopped Democratic-leaning groups from trying to keep up with an influx of spending by new GOP-leaning groups, including Crossroads.

Indeed, wealthy donors have poured money into GOP-leaning super PACs, but labor unions and activists have also opened their checkbooks, an Associated Press review of FEC records found. Democratic-tilting American Bridge, for instance, received a bulk of its $3 million from liberal congressional districts in New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Crossroads, meanwhile, raised $105,000 within the last two weeks, more than 95 percent coming from the John Templeton Foundation, FEC records show. Templeton Foundation President John Templeton Jr. himself contributed the maximum $5,000 to America's Foundation, the political action committee of former GOP Sen. Rick Santorum, a 2012 candidate for the White House.

___

Associated Press writer Ken Thomas contributed to this report.

___

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/democrats/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110731/ap_on_el_ge/us_campaign_finance_dems

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Nintendo 3DS early adopters get 20 free games with updated multiplayer (Digital Trends)

After Nintendo dropped the price of the 3DS by over 30% earlier this week, the company announced a program to reward consumers that purchase the 3D device before the price drop on August 12. If a consumer connects to the?Nintendo eShop before?11:59pm Eastern time on August 11, they will automatically be qualified for the?Ambassador?program. This?initiative?rewards Nintendo 3DS owners with ten free?NES Virtual Console games as well as ten?GameBoy Advance titles that Nintendo isn?t planned to release to the public. Five of the NES games include?The Legend of Zelda,?Balloon Fight,?Donkey Kong Jr.,?Ice Climber and?Super Mario Bros. The GBA games include?Mario vs. Donkey Kong,?Metroid Fusion,?Mario Kart: Super Circuit,?Yoshi?s Island: Super Mario Advance 3 and?WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame.

Other games will be announced later in the year. Further details indicate that these games will be in 2D, however upgrades will be made to the titles when they become available to the public. New features may include multiplayer modes and 3D visuals. 3DS?Ambassadors can download the updates to the titles at no extra cost. It?s unclear if Nintendo plans to?schedule?weekly releases on the 3DS eShop of its extensive library of classic titles. ?Nintendo has been releasing titles weekly on the Nintendo Wii.

The price of the Nintendo 3DS is also dropping in Europe and Japan this year, however the main reason for the drop was poor North American sales due to a lackluster lineup of titles. Nintendo has made strides with the 3DS as of late with the release of Nintendo Video, a video delivery system to provide 3D video downloads, and Netflix support. However, the lackluster lineup of titles is often the main complaint from consumers. Nintendo is hoping to impress consumers with the release of several high profile titles this year including?Mario Kart 7,?Super Mario 3D Land,?Kid Icarus: Uprising and?Star Fox 64 3D.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/digitaltrends/20110730/tc_digitaltrends/nintendo3dsearlyadoptersget20freegameswithupdatedmultiplayer

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Shower Mini | A Bunch A Hugs

When it comes to baby showers, the food is often neglected or taken for granted. Planners tend to focus more on the theme, d?cor, and other planning ideas and food is the last thing to be thought of. Though each component of a baby shower is important, the food has always been on the short end. Preparation should be done for everything whether it?s the theme, guest invites, program, decorations, and especially the food.

If done well, the food could end up being the most memorable thing at the baby shower. You can amuse the guests with a wide variety of flavor and texture from different dishes. To help you in this whole journey, here are some baby shower food ideas and tips.

The first thing you should do is to make a decision on whether or not you want the shower to be catered by a food company or prepared by the family. If you hire a catering company, they will prepare the food and make sure it is delivered at your venue on time. The only thing you have to worry about is for the caterer to show up and prepare the food.

There?s always special about preparing home-cooked meals. In many ways, the party gets more intimate because you know that the food is cooked from the heart. In the baby shower, you can ask other family members to come up with favorite dishes that the mother-to-be prefers. This is also a chance to serve signature family dishes that will bring back loads of memories. Since they are done by the family, you can be sure of the quality and the flavors. A disadvantage that people rarely see in catering services is that the food is usually of low-quality because they focus more on quantity and big servings. It?s always up to if you want to cook the food yourself or hire someone else. In both choices, you have to consider the costs and the food itself.

After you decide what to do, it?s time for you to make a list all the food you are going to serve in the baby shower.? Think about all the dishes starting from the appetizers, then the entrees, and finally the desserts. When it comes to baby shower food ideas you need to focus more on finger foods. Big plated servings aren?t really common when it comes to showers because you need food that can be easily eaten by guests.

Among the food you can serve are mini burgers, thin crust pizza slices, bruschetta, cookies, cupcakes, and cakes. To help you narrow down the choices, you can always go back to the theme. If the theme was Mexican for example, you can serve mini burritos, tacos, chorizo, and many more. For almost any theme, you can serve a tray filled with an assortment of fruits and vegetables and dip. A platter of broccoli, celery, tomatoes, asparagus, strawberry, grape, melon, and mango is perfect for sharing.

As you can see, you can have fun with all your baby shower food ideas. Food is important in any type of party and that includes a baby shower. Planning for the program, decorations, theme, or any other component of the party shouldn?t be excuses for you not to come up with witty food ideas.

About the Author

Edie Mindell writes for SimplyUniqueBabyGifts.com. Check out thetrendy newborngifts and babyshower party gifts for your event.

Baby Shower Scrapbooking Mini Album

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Wilton 2105-4923 24-Cavity Silicone Brownie-Squares Baking Mold $7.12 Enjoy the chewy texture and delicious taste of freshly baked brownies with this fun-to-use baking mold. Comprised of 24 individual cavities, each measuring 1-1/2 inches wide by 3/4 inches deep, the innovative unit sizes down the traditionally dessert-portioned treats into bite-sized squares?perfect for birthday parties, dessert buffets, holiday gatherings, and other special-occasion or everyday e?

Wilton 307-250 Cupcakes `n More 24-Count 4-Tier Mini Dessert Stand $12.65 Individually decorated cupcakes are the perfect way to add a personal touch to celebrations. Now, with Cupcakes ?N More, you have the perfect way to serve them! The look is fresh and fun, featuring bold silver-finished wire spirals to securely hold each cupcake. The twisting, towering design is perfect for any setting: anniversaries, wedding party tables, showers, kids? birthdays, holidays, gradua?

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Intellitec LPL822 Mini LED Wash & Brush Timer $5.89 Avoid germs, colds, the flu, plaque, and cavities with the Lancer & Loader Intellitec LED Mini Wash and Brush Timer. This innovative wireless product features two timing modes for a fun and accurate way to measure how long you wash your hands and brush your teeth. Incredibly easy to use, the timer mounts to virtually any surface in just seconds.This wireless timer helps perfect your household?s ha?

Bidet BB-50: Hand-held bidet with room temperature water and adjustable pressure $36.00 Blue Bidet BB-50. Chrome metal, hand held sprayer shower bidet. Our bidets are products that allow every member of the family, including young babies to ?Include Water? on their personal hygiene after the use of the toilet, in a very convenient way. Our bidets are units of very easy installation. They do not require any modifications in your bathroom, and can be easily uninstalled if needed to ?

CandyGirl Video: Sweet Satisfaction Kobe Lee $36.99 You can view a trailer of this DVD for free at candygirlvideo.comOur best selling series ?Sweet Satisfaction? returns with an all new batch of Favorite Flavors featured in scenes that include: upskirts, explicit nudes, stripteasing, panty teasing, shower scenes, tight jeans and more.DVD Feature Includes:Striptease: Indy invites us into her home to show us her Nudes ?a? Poppin? trophies that she wo?

Ximeta NetDisk Mini 40GB External USB 2.0 Network Hard Drive Store and securely backup all of your files onto one easily accessible drive! The NetDisk Mini from Ximeta is an Ethernet and USB 2.0 combo hard drive that is the perfect shared storage solution for a home or small business network! With its 40 GB capacity and NDAS technology, you can connect the NetDisk Mini to the local area network and instantly share secure storage. Multiple PCs can simultan?

Source: http://www.bunchahugs.com/motivation/shower-mini/

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Choosing The Best Plants For Your Garden | Home and Family

Posted on | July 27, 2011 | No Comments

Choosing the best plants for your garden

Excite, c?est comme ?a que vous avez vous avez vu ressenti Quand que dans l?espace votre cour. Et vous avez quelques Achete plants, corn sans consider m?me d?abord que vous That kind of plot avez ? votre jardin, ou Peut-?tre, sans planifier survivent soigneusement ce type de plants. Maintenant, votre jardin UN g?chis east. Pensez-y.

Before you buy plants you should be careful if you intend to invest in planting the garden ? shade-loving plants in sheltered areas, sun-lovers hot spots, drought-resistant plants, barren fields, which can be sunny or shaded, and the plants marsh in some poorly drained areas. Once you have decided on your choices it is time to choose how you plan to take them in your garden.

Check out these tips:

Lo que la planta

Do you want fruits, vegetables, flowers? Remember to start small, you can always increase your garden if you choose. But do it gradually. This is particularly important if you have the budget, of course.

Prova il vostro raw land may determine il livello di di Suolo pH and quali ? necessaria nutrienti aggiungere. ? possibile modifies the pH of the soil il giardino. Tuttavia, ? molto pi? facile l?keep you a giardino senza altro, ? il pH of the soil. Richiede di Cio che scegliere sopravvivono Chirping you with a pH of the soil of the giardino ?.

Planta en grupos

The Rule of One buona ? quello di green Pollice acquistare at least one delle Piante di molto di variete piccole dimensioni. Tuttavia, ?one per tutti? method delle Piante della coltivazione ? Tendenza a renderer giardino gli impianti seeded spotty Mentre rende pi? gruppi inseriti in organizzato.

Plants positioning

The color of the plants

Foer plantning din valgte planter, national du Enten upload dem VAERO the Deres Forste Potter og Efter Arranger dem, dem hvordan du planl?gger placer in the noise that I have. The af planter Gruppering SAET tr?erne femme Normalt services eller ud af grupper the end bedr plantning lige winter. VAERO sikker p? at du har en interessant farver Kombination af af planter og teksturer.

The color palette is a good way to keep the atmosphere of harmony in your garden. Imagine the color of the flowers when in bloom. Some plants may have flowers that would not look good with other flowers, but together they can plant different flowers. The color of the foliage should not be limited to the green. Look for plants that have other colors of the leaves if it suits your taste.

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Source: http://ahomeinfo.net/choosing-the-best-plants-for-your-garden/

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Caring For Your Fish Pond | Recreation & Sports

Do you like the sound of running water? Do you find the sound soothing? Well, you can easily create the sound of running water in your own garden. You can put in a fish pond or a water garden. So, if you think that your garden requires landscaping, it might be a good idea to consider a fish pond or water garden.

People believe that a fish pond takes lot of looking after, but that is not inevitably the case. The truth is that the larger the fish pond, the less work you have to put into it. This is because a big pond can create its own ecosystem, whereas a small fish pond needs assistance.

The ways that you can help a small fish pond be a good environment for your fish are as follows:

Pond Filters ? use a pond filter with a good pump. Do not forget that you could get a solar powered pump. It will save on the environment and on your purse. You should use a pond filter on a small pond, because the ecosystem cannot cope with all the plant waste of a small ornamental pond on its own. A pond pump will feed the filtration system and a waterfall or fountain if you wish.

Your pond filtration system should be left running twenty-four hours a day, but you can not just set it and forget it. Check that the pump is running daily and keep the filter as clean as needed for it to do its job. You may find that you have to clean it two or three times a week in the summer and autumn but only once a week in the winter and spring.

Leaf Netting: stop leaves from clogging up your pond in the autumn. The net should be poised a foot or so above the pond to prevent autumn leaves falling into the water and rotting.

Feeding: all fish should be given fish food, not bread or scraps. Some fish need specific fish food in order to maintain their colour. When you buy your fish, the salesperson should inform you what they eat. In general, the larger the pond the less hassle feeding becomes as they will eat natural food like insects, grubs, larvae and flies.

Fish need less food in the winter when they become semi-dormant and live off the fat reserves that they built up in the warmer months, so give food often in the summer and autumn, but less often in the winter. You must look to see if surplus food is left floating on the surface.

Winter: make sure that there is a hole in the ice so that the water can take in oxygen and the fish can feed if they wish to. You can buy a floating de-icer or some people float a round football in a hoola-hoop, which seems to work unless the temperature gets very low.

In fact, the hoola-hoop is a good idea all year round actually. If you place the food in the hoop, it remains in one place and you can see if you have given too much. It also makes a nice site to see all the fish feeding in a shoal.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many topics, but is now involved with water garden pumps. If you are interested in a Solar Powered Pond Pump, please go to our web site right away for some extra special deals.

This entry was posted on July 27, 2011, 5:38 pm and is filed under Fish Ponds. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://recreation-sports.carebeautytips.com/caring-for-your-fish-pond/

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RelaxationBible recommended: Managing Stress: Principles And ...

Managing Stress: Principles And Strategies For Health And Well-Being

Managing Stress, Seventh Edition, Provides A Comprehensive Approach To Stress Management Honoring The Integration, Balance, And Harmony Of Mind, Body, Spirit, And Emotions. The Holistic Approach Taken By Internationally Acclaimed Lecturer And Author Brian Luke Seaward Gently Guides The Reader To Greater Levels Of Mental, Emotional, Physical, And Spiritual Well-Being By Emphasizing The Importance Of Mind-Body-Spirit Unity. Referred To As The ?Authority On Stress Management? By Students And P Unverb. Preisempf.: $ 104.95 Preis: $ 104.95 Site enhancement with a ecommerce wordpress plugin is now simpler.

Source: http://relaxationbible.com/relaxationbible-recommended-managing-stress-principles-and-strategies-for-health-and-well-being/2011-07-26/366_relaxationbible

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