Cain announces he's suspending his campaign (AP)

ATLANTA ? The Cain train has come to a stop.

Herman Cain suspended his bid for the Republican presidential nomination on Saturday following a steady drumbeat of sexual misconduct allegations he said were harming his family and drowning out his ability to deliver his message.

With just one month to go until the lead-off Iowa caucuses, Cain's announcement is tantamount to a concession. Still, he told supporters, he planned to continue his efforts to influence Washington and announced "Plan B" ? what he called a grassroots effort to return government to the people.

Cain denounced the accusations of impropriety against him as "false and unproven" but said that they had been hurtful to his family, particularly his wife, Gloria.

"So as of today, with a lot of prayer and soul-searching, I am suspending my presidential campaign. I am suspending my presidential campaign because of the continued distractions and the continued hurt caused on me and my family," a tired-looking Cain told about a 400 supporters.

It was a remarkable turnabout for a man that just weeks ago vaulted out of nowhere to the top of the GOP field, fueled by a populist, outsider appeal and his catchy 9-9-9 tax overhaul plan.

Saturday's event was a bizarre piece of political theater even for a campaign that has seemed to thrive on defying convention.

Cain marked the end of his bid at what was supposed to be the grand opening of his new campaign headquarters in Atlanta. Minutes before he took the stage to pull the plug with his wife, Gloria, at his side, aides and supporters took to the podium to urge attendees to vote for Cain and travel to early voting states to rev up support for his bid.

"Join the Cain train," David McCleary, Cain's Georgia director, urged the audience.

Cain said he would offer an endorsement in the near future and he predicted a scramble among Republicans in the field to win the backing of his conservative, tea party base.

Former GOP rivals quickly issued statements Saturday praising Cain's conservative credentials and appeal. His withdrawal could help those seeking to run as an alternative to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, seen by some as too moderate.

Cain's announcement came five days after an Atlanta-area woman claimed she and Cain had an affair for more than a decade, a claim that followed several allegations of sexual harassment against the Georgia businessman.

"Now, I have made many mistakes in life. Everybody has. I've made mistakes professionally, personally, as a candidate, in terms of how I run my campaign. And I take responsibility for the mistakes I've made, and I have been the very first to own up to any mistakes I've made," he said.

But Cain intoned: "I am at peace with my God. I am at peace with my wife. And she is at peace with me."

Cain, the former Godfather's Pizza chief executive who has never held elected office, rose just weeks ago to lead the volatile Republican race. But Cain fumbled policy questions, leaving some to wonder whether he was ready for the presidency. Then it was revealed at the end of October that the National Restaurant Association had paid settlements to two women who claimed Cain sexually harassed them while he was president of the organization.

A third woman told The Associated Press that Cain made inappropriate sexual advances but that she didn't file a complaint. A fourth woman also stepped forward to accuse Cain of groping her in a car in 1997.

Cain has denied wrongdoing in all cases, and continued to do so Saturday.

Polls suggest his popularity has suffered. A Des Moines Register poll released Friday showed Cain's support plunging, with backing from 8 percent of Republican caucusgoers in Iowa, compared with 23 percent a month ago.

But Cain said Saturday he would not go away and would continue trying to influence Washington from the outside,

He announced the formation of CainSolutions.com, which he said was a grassroots effort to bring government back to the people.

"I am not going to be silenced, and I am not going away. And therefore, as of today, Plan B. Plan B," he said.

_____

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111203/ap_on_el_pr/us_cain

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Two men face hefty fine after flight diverts (AP)

VANCOUVER, British Columbia ? BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion suspended two employees on Thursday after their drunken rowdiness forced an Air Canada flight from Toronto to Beijing to be diverted to Vancouver and a court ordered them to pay US$70,699.49 (CA71,757) in restitution.

George Campbell, 24, and Paul Alexander Wilson, 38, pleaded guilty to mischief on Thursday. They were also given suspended sentences and probation for a year.

"Based on the limited information available at this time, RIM has suspended the individuals involved pending further investigation," RIM spokesman Marisa Conway said in a statement.

Another passenger aboard the plane said Campbell and Wilson were fighting with the flight attendants and it took the entire crew to subdue the men, who were eventually handcuffed to seats on the plane on Monday.

After the jet diverted to Vancouver, the other passengers were put up in hotels overnight and the flight resumed the next day, 18 hours behind schedule.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111201/ap_on_bi_ge/cn_canada_plane_diverted

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U.S. jobless rate drops to 2-1/2 year low (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The U.S. unemployment rate tumbled to a 2-1/2 year low in November, even though the pace of hiring remained too slow to suggest a significant acceleration in the labor market recovery.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 120,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said on Friday, and the jobless rate dropped to 8.6 percent, the lowest since March 2009, from 9.0 percent in October.

It was the biggest monthly decline since January. While part of the decrease was due to people leaving the labor force, the household survey from which the department calculates the unemployment rate also showed solid gains in employment.

"The economy is continuing to head in the right direction," said Millan Mulraine, senior macro strategist at TD Securities in New York. "However, the ultimate test of the sustainability of the recovery is for the economy to create a sufficient number of jobs to sustain a consumer-led rebound in activity."

"On this measure, this report falls short," he said.

Although the gain in the number of jobs created as measured by the survey of employers was relatively modest, it marked a pick-up from October's upwardly revised 100,000 increase.

In all, 72,000 more jobs were created in October and September than previously reported.

The retail sector accounted for more than a third all new private sector jobs in November as shops geared up for a busy holiday season, but average earnings fell two cents.

So far data ranging from manufacturing to retail sales suggest the U.S. economy's growth pace could top 3 percent in the fourth quarter, an acceleration from the third quarter. In contrast, much of the rest of the world is slowing and the euro zone appears to have already fallen into recession.

FED MAY STILL ACT

Stocks on Wall Street rose on both the employment report and growing optimism of a solution to the European debt crisis. Prices for U.S. government debt rose and the dollar gained against a basket of currencies.

The report could temper the appetite among some Federal Reserve officials to ease monetary policy further.

In forecasts released earlier this month, the Fed said the jobless rate would likely average 9 percent to 9.1 percent in the fourth quarter. It did not expect it to drop to an 8.5 percent to 8.7 percent range until late next year.

"The drop in the unemployment rate may make them a little less antsy to pull out the big guns, but there is still not enough evidence of sustained, above-trend growth to get them to stop worrying about downside risks," said Michael Feroli, an economist at JPMorgan in New York.

However, it is unlikely to take much pressure off President Barack Obama, whose economic stewardship will face the judgment of voters next November.

Obama used the report to press Congress to extend a payroll tax holiday which expires this month. Economists have warned that failure to renew the tax cut would a significant drag on the recovery next year.

"Now is not the time to slam the brakes on the recovery, right now its time to step on the gas," Obama said.

ROBUST HOUSEHOLD JOB GAINS

While the government's survey of employers has shown a still-tepid pace of job growth, its separate poll of households has shown robust jobs gains for four straight months amounting to 1.28 million.

Analysts were unperturbed by the exit by 315,000 people from the labor force last month, noting that more people had piled in over the last three months. If the labor participation rate had held steady, the unemployment rate would have fallen less dramatically to 8.9 percent.

The expiration of extended long-term unemployment benefits at the end of December may have contributed to the big drop in the labor force, as well as some of the so-called baby-boomers retiring.

In order to qualify for unemployment benefits, recipients have to be actively looking for work.

"It is likely that many long-term unemployed workers are dropping out as their unemployment insurance benefits expire. Many of these workers will likely stay out of the job market permanently," said Sophia Koropeckyj, a director of research at Moody's Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Also pointing to the improving labor market tone, a broad measure of unemployment that includes people who want to work but have given up looking for jobs and those working only part time for economic reasons dropped to a 2-1/2 year low of 15.6 percent in November from 16.2 percent in October.

Last month, the private sector added 140,000 jobs and government employment fell 20,000. Elsewhere, retail employment surged 49,800, the most in seven months.

Construction payrolls fell for second straight month, while factory jobs edged up 2,000. Temporary hiring -- seen as a harbinger for future hiring - increased 22,300.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111202/bs_nm/us_usa_economy

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Britain, EU to intensify pressure on Iran (Reuters)

BRUSSELS (Reuters) ? European Union foreign ministers aim to exert pressure on Iran and deepen its economic isolation, but the nature of new sanctions is still being discussed, Britain and the EU's foreign policy chief said on Thursday.

"I hope we will agree today additional measures that will be an intensification of the economic pressure on Iran, peaceful legitimate economic pressure, particularly to increase the isolation of the Iranian financial sector," British Foreign Minister William Hague said, two days after protesters stormed the British Embassy in Tehran.

Hague also blamed the Iranian government for assisting the Syrian government in trying to suppress protests in Syria.

European Union foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, arriving just after Hague for a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels, said there was support for new sanctions.

"On Iran it's a case of adding more," Ashton said. "You know we've been working to, if you like ratchet up the sanctions," she said. "We're talking about a range of sanctions. It will be decided today exactly what those sanctions should be."

(Reporting By Robin Emmott and Ben Deighton)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111201/wl_nm/us_iran_sanctions_eu

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Iranian diplomats leave UK after expulsion (AP)

TEHRAN, Iran ? Iran prepared a high-profile welcome for its diplomats expelled Friday from London in retaliation for attacks on British compounds in Tehran that Western leaders claim were sanctioned by Tehran's ruling elite.

The official reception planned for the roughly two dozen diplomats and their families ? including a rare invitation to foreign media to cover the airport event ? apparently was designed to send a message that Iran will not seek quick measures to heal the most serious diplomatic fallout with the West since the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy after the Islamic Revolution.

Germany, France and the Netherlands have recalled their ambassadors, and Italy and Spain summoned Iranian envoys to condemn Tuesday's storming of the British Embassy and residential complex.

Britain withdrew its diplomatic staff and their families, shuttered its ransacked embassy and ordered the Iranian diplomats expelled by Friday afternoon.

The larger blow may be to Iran's relations with the West and others. The diplomatic freeze from Europe, including key trading partner Germany, further isolates Iran just weeks after a report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency that alleged Iran was making strides toward mastering critical elements for atomic weapons.

Iran claims its nuclear program only seeks reactors for power and research. But the current breakdown in relations with the West could embolden hard-liners who want a tougher stance against the International Atomic Energy Agency, which they accuse of being manipulated by the U.S. and allies.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Iran will certainly "retaliate" for the British expulsions.

The British Foreign Office said "all diplomatic staff of the Iranian Embassy in London took off from Heathrow airport" on Friday afternoon. They were to be welcomed back by a group of Iranians early Saturday at the Tehran airport, Iran's semiofficial Fars news agency reported.

The offer for foreign media to cover their arrival stands in sharp counterpoint to an order Thursday banning non-Iranian outlets from reporting on rallies in front of the now-vacant British diplomatic sites in the capital without specific permission.

Britain's ambassador to Iran, Dominick Chilcott ? now back in Britain ? offered new details about the attacks, saying the experience had been "frightening."

"We had no idea how it was going to end," he said, describing how the mob trashed rooms, damaged furniture, scrawled graffiti and tore up a portrait of Queen Victoria, as staff took shelter in a secure area of the embassy.

"It felt like very spiteful, mindless vandalism, but it wasn't quite mindless," Chilcott said. "They removed anything that was electronic ? mobile telephones, personal computers ? anything that might give information about who you were talking to or what you were doing."

He said seven staff at a separate residential compound that was also attacked were seized and "quite roughly handled" by the invaders.

Hard-liners in Iran have said the attack was an outpouring of the wrath of the Iranian people who believe Britain is a hostile country seeking to damage and weaken the Islamic Republic. Mohammad Mohammadian, a representative of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, praised the attackers, saying they had targeted the "epicenter of sedition."

Iranian government officials, meanwhile, said the storming of the embassy by angry protesters was unexpected and Iranian police intervened to protect the British diplomats and get the attackers out of the buildings.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague has led the accusations that the rioters had a green light from Iranian authorities, including the powerful Revolutionary Guard. On Thursday, he said the attacks were "clearly premeditated" by high-ranking officials.

The demonstrations had been organized by hard-line groups on university campuses and Islamic seminaries and included denunciations of the latest sanctions on Iran over its nuclear efforts. Such major anti-Western rallies are rarely allowed to occur without official approval and often include state-backed forces including a paramilitary group known as the Basij, which is part of the vast security network controlled by the Revolutionary Guard.

Images broadcast around the world showed demonstrators tearing down Union Jack flags, brandishing a looted picture of Queen Elizabeth II and tossing out looted documents.

The deepening tensions with Britain and others may also trigger further rifts within Iran.

For months, Iran's ruling system has ordered arrests and intimidation against political allies of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has sharply fallen from favor after challenging decisions by the head of the theocracy, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Ahmadinejad has remained silent since the attacks, but his supporters have raised questions about whether Iran's interests are served by a diplomatic battle with the West.

___

Associated Press writers David Stringer, Jill Lawless and Cassandra Vinograd in London contributed to this report. Vinograd can be reached at http://twitter.com/CassVinograd.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/britain/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111202/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_britain

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Facebook?s Settlement With FTC Confirmed: Privacy Changes Must Be Opt In ? UPDATED

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg just issued a statement on the Facebook Blog confirming that his company has settled with the FTC over charges that it has violated user privacy over the years. Facebook is now "required to obtain consumers' affirmative express consent before enacting changes that override their privacy preferences", effectively making opt in all future privacy control changes to the audience of previously shared data or content. Facebook must also submit to privacy audits every 2 years for the next 20 years, bar access to content on deactivated accounts, and avoid misrepresenting the privacy or security of user data.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/VMG8mCOZUWE/

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Anaheim Ducks fire Carlyle, hire Bruce Boudreau

FILE - In this April 6, 2010 file photo, Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin, right, of Russia, cools down on the bench with coach Bruce Boudreau, during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, in Pittsburgh. Boudreau isn't blaming his newfound unemployment on Ovechkin. The Capitals coach spoke publicly Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011, for the first time since being fired on Monday. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

FILE - In this April 6, 2010 file photo, Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin, right, of Russia, cools down on the bench with coach Bruce Boudreau, during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, in Pittsburgh. Boudreau isn't blaming his newfound unemployment on Ovechkin. The Capitals coach spoke publicly Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011, for the first time since being fired on Monday. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Anaheim Ducks' head coach Randy Carlyle looks toward the scoreboard in the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Montreal Canadiens in Anaheim, Calif., on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011. The Ducks won 4-1. (AP Photo/ Christine Cotter)

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) ? Randy Carlyle appeared relieved after his Anaheim Ducks snapped a seven-game skid Wednesday night, figuring his talented club had turned a corner.

If only the winningest coach in franchise history had known what was waiting for him around that corner.

Fed up with the Ducks' inexplicably slow start, the club fired the Stanley Cup-winning coach and his staff late Wednesday night. Anaheim swiftly replaced Carlyle with former Washington coach Bruce Boudreau, who was dismissed by the Capitals just two days earlier.

The Ducks made the abrupt moves after beating Montreal 4-1 on Wednesday night for just their third victory in 19 games. Despite the presence of league MVP Corey Perry, captain Ryan Getzlaf, 41-year-old scorer Teemu Selanne and All-Star goalie Jonas Hiller, the Ducks are off to a 7-13-4 start, ahead of only Columbus in the 15-team Western Conference.

"Randy is a terrific head coach, and did a tremendous job for us for six-plus seasons," Anaheim general manager Bob Murray said. "We thank him greatly for his hard work and dedication to our franchise, not the least of which was a Stanley Cup championship. At this time, we simply felt a new voice was needed. Bruce is a proven winner with a great track record, and we are optimistic we can turn this season around under his leadership."

Carlyle coached the Ducks to the franchise's only Stanley Cup title and Pacific Division championship in 2007, but the longtime NHL defenseman struggled to get his talented club's attention this fall after agreeing in August to a three-year contract extension through the 2013-14 season.

After Anaheim's seventh straight defeat last Sunday night, a dispassionate 5-2 loss to Toronto, Carlyle lamented that his players sometimes seemed to be "dead between the ears." He was in a better mood after the Ducks handled the Canadiens, praising their tenacity and his stars' leadership through a tough stretch.

A few minutes later, Carlyle was dismissed from the job he had held since August 2005. Anaheim cleaned house Wednesday night, also firing assistant coaches Dave Farrish and Mike Foligno and video coordinator Joe Trotta.

The Ducks hired Brad Lauer as an assistant coach to Boudreau, and will add another assistant soon.

Carlyle is the fourth coach to be fired in the always-impatient NHL's young season, and the third this week. Paul Maurice was also dismissed on Monday by the Carolina Hurricanes, while Davis Payne was let go by the St. Louis Blues on Nov. 6.

Boudreau, after doing a round of interviews Wednesday morning in which he said the Capitals made the right move by firing him, took a new job less than 72 hours after leaving a remarkably similar situation in Washington, which dropped him Monday after a slow start with a talented roster that's had little recent playoff success.

Boudreau will run the Ducks' practice on Thursday before his formal introduction, and his new players will be in for a major change from the sometimes-crusty Carlyle to the personable Boudreau, nicknamed "Gabby" for his garrulous style. Anaheim hosts Philadelphia on Friday night for Boudreau's debut.

Carlyle was behind Anaheim's bench for many of the 1993 expansion franchise's biggest moments. He had compiled a 273-182-6 record after taking over for Mike Babcock as the seventh head coach in club history.

Carlyle led Anaheim to the postseason in five of his first six seasons, winning more playoff games during that stretch than any coach except Babcock in Detroit. But Anaheim won just one playoff round in the past four years since winning the Cup, losing to fifth-seeded Nashville in the first round last season.

Boudreau led Washington to the last four Southeast Division titles and the 2010 Presidents' Trophy while winning 201 games in just four years on the job, but the Caps' lack of playoff success helped to seal his fate when they slumped following a 7-0 start to this season.

He won the Jack Adams award as the NHL's best coach in 2008, but never got past the second round of the playoffs despite a roster featuring Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin and talented supporting casts. Boudreau favors an attacking offensive style that should suit the Ducks' talented forwards, although Carlyle also gave his players plenty of freedom for offensive creativity.

Lauer was promoted from the Ducks' AHL affiliate in Syracuse, where he had been an assistant since July. He spent the previous two seasons on the Ottawa Senators' staff.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-12-01-Ducks-Carlyle%20Fired/id-b7b2677103d844d7bcf4939fbb44a985

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