OSU women fall to Texas Tech in Big 12 opener

Oklahoma State (8-2, 0-1 Big 12) trailed by eight points early in the second half, but the Cowgirls held Texas Tech (13-0, 1-0) to one basket over the next 8 minutes for a 39-34 lead.

Texas Tech took the lead for good with 3:30 to play on a 3-pointer by Mary Bokenkamp. Oklahoma State pulled within a point with 15 seconds left before a pair of free throws by Monique Smalls gave the Red Raiders their three-point lead.

Kendra Suttles led Oklahoma State with 13 points.

Source: http://www.tulsaworld.com/site/articlepath.aspx?articleid=20120105_93_B5_LUBBOC956592&rss_lnk=93

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VH1 checks out of "Celebrity Rehab" for now (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) ? VH1 has decided to drop "Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew" like a bad habit. At least for the time being.

While the cable network hasn't outright canceled the series, which has run for five seasons since its 2008 debut, it has no plans for new episodes of the reality offering for the foreseeable future.

A representative for VH1 told TheWrap that "Celebrity Rehab" -- which stars Dr. Drew Pinsky and a rotating cast of famous faces struggling to recover from substance abuse -- "is not on the schedule currently." Which doesn't automatically spell doom, but it certainly doesn't bode well.

While popular, the series has generated controversy, with some questioning whether the show fosters effective treatment. Last year, two former cast members died, with "Grease" star Jeff Conaway succumbing to complications from prescription drug use and former Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr expiring at the age of 44, weeks after being arrested while in possession of unauthorized prescription drugs. Meanwhile, "Real Housewives" alum Michaele Salahi was removed from the Season 5 cast, reportedly because she had no actual addiction (other than to fame, of course) to treat.

Luckily for fans of Pinksy, there'll be no shortage of him on the airwaves. In addition to "Dr. Drew" on HLN, there's also his CW daytime show, "Lifechangers," which launched in September.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120105/tv_nm/us_celebrityrehab

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Exercise is good for your waistline -- but it's a writing exercise

ScienceDaily (Jan. 4, 2012) ? Is losing weight as simple as doing a 15-minute writing exercise? In a new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, women who wrote about their most important values, like close relationships, music, or religion, lost more weight over the next few months than women who did not have that experience.

"We have this need to feel self-integrity," says Christine Logel of Renison University College at the University of Waterloo, who cowrote the new study with Geoffrey L. Cohen of Stanford University. When something threatens your sense that you're a good person, like failing a test or having a fight with a friend, "We can buffer that self-integrity by reminding ourselves how much we love our children, for example," she says.

For this study, the researchers recruited 45 female undergraduates who had a body mass index of 23 or higher. A body mass index of 18.5 to 24.9 is considered normal weight; 58% of the women were overweight or obese. Each woman was weighed, and was then given a list of important values, like creativity, politics, music, and relationships with friends and family members. Each woman ranked the values in order of how important they were to her. Then half the women were told to write for 15 minutes about the value that was most important to her. The other half, a control group, were told to write about why a value far down on their list might be important to someone else.

The women came back between one and four months later to be weighed again. Women who had written about an important value lost an average of 3.41 pounds, while women in the control group gained an average of 2.76 pounds, a pattern of weight gain that is typical for undergraduates.

"How we feel about ourselves can have a big effect," Logel says. "We think it sort of kicks off a recursive process." Maybe when one of the women who wrote about an important value went home that night, she felt good about herself and didn't eat to make herself feel better. Then the next day snacking wasn't as much of a habit, so she skipped it. Over a few months, that could make a real difference in her life.

Many studies have found that even briefly thinking about values can have a big effect on situations where people feel a threat to their integrity. For example, Cohen used the same technique on minority seventh-graders who were underperforming relative to their white peers. Those who did the exercise were still performing better years later.

It's too soon to say whether this could work for everybody; the women in the study didn't know that writing about values was supposed to help them live better (although they may have wondered why this psychology study required a weigh-in).

"My dream, and my research goal, is to get this to the point where people can do it deliberately to benefit themselves," Logel says. In the meantime, she carries around a keychain that reminds her of a value that she considers to be important. And everyone else can do that, too. "There's certainly no harm in taking time to reflect on important values and working activities you value into your daily life," Logel says.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Association for Psychological Science.

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Journal Reference:

1. C. Logel, G. L. Cohen. The Role of the Self in Physical Health: Testing the Effect of a Values-Affirmation Intervention on Weight Loss. Psychological Science, 2011; DOI: 10.1177/0956797611421936

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120104134811.htm

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Murdoch takes to Twitter

Published: January 03. 2012 4:00AM PST

Rupert Murdoch, the media tycoon once portrayed as a skeptic of the Internet, has started his own Twitter account, sharing views on topics from a biography on Steve Jobs to U.S. politics and his New Year?s resolutions.

The News Corp. chairman and chief executive officer has attracted more than 56,000 followers since comments appeared on the microblogging website two days ago under the handle rupertmurdoch. Daisy Dunlop, a spokeswoman for News Corp.?s U.K. publishing unit, confirmed the authenticity of the account.

The 80-year-old Murdoch, on vacation on the Caribbean island of Saint Barthelemy, wrote that a recently published biography on Apple Inc.?s founder was ?interesting but unfair,? while an article in News Corp.-owned Wall Street Journal on Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul showed the ?huge appeal of libertarian message.?

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bendbulletin/xKIE/~3/Kb7JyweHNeg/article

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Sarkozy accuses Syrian regime of 'massacres' (AP)

BEIRUT ? French President Nicolas Sarkozy issued a new call Tuesday for Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down because of massacres by his regime, and an Arab League official said it will discuss withdrawing an observer mission to the country due to the ongoing bloodshed.

While the Arab League said some progress was seen in Syria by the team of monitors who began working last week, it noted that the mission was still in its early stages.

But Sarkozy insisted that Assad "must leave power."

"The massacres being committed by the Syrian regime rightly arouse disgust and revolt in the Arab world, in France, in Europe and everywhere in the world," Sarkozy said in a New Year's address at a navy air base in Lanveoc-Poulmic, France.

The U.N. estimated several weeks ago that more than 5,000 people have been killed by Syrian security forces in the crackdown on the anti-government protests that began in March. Since that report, opposition activists say hundreds more have been killed.

The violence has drawn broad international condemnation and sanctions, but Assad remains defiant. The Arab League sent in about 100 observers a week ago to verify Syria's compliance with the organization's plan that requires the regime to remove security forces and heavy weapons from city streets, start talks with opposition leaders and free political prisoners. Syria agreed to the plan, intended to halt the crackdown, on Dec. 19.

In Washington, White House spokesman Jay Carney insisted the violence must stop. "We have made clear that if the Arab League initiative is not implemented, the international community will have to consider new measures to compel a halt to the regime's violence against its own citizens," he said.

The Arab League mission has been coming under increasing criticism by opponents of Assad's regime who say some observers lack experience. Its chief, Lt. Gen. Mohamed Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi, raised opposition concerns because he served in key security positions under Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted on an international arrest warrant for crimes against humanity in Darfur.

The Arab League's deputy secretary-general, Ahmed bin Heli, said there will be a meeting Saturday to look into the first report by the head of the monitoring mission.

Arab League official Adnan al-Khudeir, who heads the operations room that the monitors report to, said the meeting will be chaired by Qatari Prime Minister Sheik Hamad Bin Jassem Bin Jabr Al Thani, a harsh critic of Assad's crackdown.

"There is noticeable progress," al-Khudeir said referring to the reports he received so far.

"It is hard to make a judgment on the mission of the monitors because they are still in the beginning," he said, adding: "We can't tell if they failed or succeeded right now."

Another official told The Associated Press that the ministerial meeting will discuss whether to pull out the monitors because of the ongoing violence. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

No final decision will be made Saturday, but recommendations will be sent to another, high-level ministerial meeting. No date was set for that session.

On Monday, Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby acknowledged the killings have continued even with the monitors in Syria, but he insisted the mission has yielded important concessions from Damascus, such as the withdrawal of heavy weapons from cities.

"Yes, there is still shooting and yes there are still snipers," he said. "Yes, killings continue. The objective is for us to wake up in the morning and hear that no one is killed. The mission's philosophy is to protect civilians, so if one is killed, then our mission is incomplete."

Syrian opposition groups have been deeply critical of the mission, saying it is giving Assad cover for his crackdown. The Local Coordination Committees, an umbrella group of activists, says the observer mission is witnessing mainly regime-staged events, and they move about the country only with the full knowledge of the government.

Syrian dissident Omar Idilbi told The Associated Press that statements by Arab League officials "were surprising and we were shocked by what they said." Idilbi was referring to Elaraby's comments in which he said Syria's government has pulled tanks and artillery from cities and residential neighborhoods and freed some 3,500 prisoners."

"Many videos posted by activists show that tanks are still in the streets, and since the mission arrived in Syria, the regime is staging wild campaigns of arrests," he said. Still, he said, the mission's presence had advantages such as ending the regime blackout on what is going on in Syria and releasing some activists.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said the regime must not be allowed to interfere with the observers on the ground.

"The conditions in which this observer mission is taking place need to be clarified," he told French television I-Tele. "Does it really have completely free access to information? We await the report that it will submit in the coming days to see more clearly."

Amateur video posted online by activists showed observers going on with their work in different parts around the country.

In the southern village of Tafas, in Daraa province, observers visited the home of a person who was said to have been killed by security forces. The mother of Khaled Majed Kiwaz told an observer at her home "he did not participate in any protest."

The woman, dressed in mourning, said her son and his paternal uncle "were shot while leaving a mosque" last month.

Activists reported more violence Tuesday.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that as dozens of soldiers were defecting in the southern village of Jassem, they came under fire from security forces in a clash that killed at least 18 government troops. The Observatory said security forces later launched raids in the area, detaining more than 100 people.

The group also said security forces shot and killed three people in the restive city of Homs and three in the central province of Hama. The LCC had a higher toll, saying security forces killed four people in Homs, two in the Damascus suburbs of Kfar Batna and Arbeen, four in the central province of Hama, and one in the capital.

While most of the violence reported early in the uprising involved Syrian forces firing on unarmed protesters, there are now more frequent armed clashes between military defectors and security forces. The increasing militarization of the conflict has raised fears the country is sliding toward civil war.

The head of the observatory, Rami Abdul-Rahman, said activists will try to organize a rally Wednesday of 100,000 people in Homs modeled after Cairo's Tahrir Square. Such attempts were forcefully disperse by security forces in the past.

Syria has banned most foreign journalists from the country and prevented independent reporting, making it difficult to confirm claims from either side.

___

Michael reported from Cairo. AP writers Elizabeth Kennedy and Sylvie Corbet in Lanveoc-Poulmic, France, contributed.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/terrorism/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120103/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_syria

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With Depression, Helping Others May in Turn Help You (HealthDay)

MONDAY, Jan. 2 (HealthDay News) -- Doing something nice for someone else often leaves people feeling good about themselves and positive about their place in the world.

But does that mean practicing random acts of kindness has scientifically proven therapeutic value in treating mood disorders like depression?

Yes, according to a growing body of research that has found that "positive activity interventions" -- like helping someone with groceries, writing a thank you note or even counting your blessings -- can serve as an effective, low-cost treatment for depression.

"They seem really trivial. They seem like, what's the big deal, you feel good for 10 minutes," said Sonja Lyubomirsky, a psychology professor at the University of California, Riverside, who co-authored a recent paper on the topic. "But for a depressed person, they aren't trivial at all. Depressed individuals need to increase positive emotions in their life, even a minute here and there."

After a rigorous review of research on the therapeutic benefits of positive emotion, Lyubomirsky said, she and her colleagues found widespread support for the notion that people with a tendency toward depression can help themselves by helping others or otherwise introducing positivity into their day-to-day lives.

Such a simple, low-cost path to well-being could have big-time implications, given that more than 100 million people worldwide suffer with depression, according to Lyubomirsky's study. That includes more than 16 million U.S. adults, of whom about 70 percent of reported cases either do not receive enough treatment or do not get treated at all.

Positive activity interventions come in a variety of forms, including:

• Being kind to others
• Expressing gratitude
• Thinking optimistically
• Meditating on the good things in life

"The major aspect is the positive emotion," Lyubomirsky said. "The most significant feature of depression is the absence of positive emotion -- just a feeling of nothing, of emptiness."

Not only can being positive improve your mood, it can develop into a self-sustaining "upward spiral," she said.

"You might be more approachable to others, or be more creative and imaginative," Lyubomirsky said. "It snowballs, and you are more likely to experience even more positive emotion." For example, your boss might be more likely to compliment you if you are happy in your work, or your husband or wife might be friendlier after an act of kindness.

Dr. Michelle Riba, former president of the American Psychiatric Association, a psychiatry professor and associate director of the Depression Center at the University of Michigan, agreed that positivity can have a dramatic effect on people's psychological well-being.

"There's a lot of good research that shows these kinds of actions can have a positive impact on life," Riba said. "In general, people who help others stop focusing on their own pains and problems and worries and feel good about themselves."

And perhaps the best thing about it is that people can pursue these positive actions on their own.

"They are simple," Lyubomirsky said. "They don't involve going to a doctor. They aren't a substitute, but they are a great alternative or addition to therapy or medication."

Researchers are still assessing the best ways to pursue and implement positive thought and action to help treat depression, Lyubomirsky and Riba said.

For now, those who want to improve their mood through positivity need to figure out what works best for them through trial and error. This may include thinking long and hard about the best ways they can help others and reminding themselves of the good things in their own lives.

"You have to do work," Lyubomirsky said. "It takes effort to continually remind yourself to do acts of kindness for others, although I think it gets easier over time."

It's also important, she said, to vary your activities, lest you fall into a rut.

"You want to do them in optimal ways," Lyubomirsky said. "You want to vary what you do. You don't want to do the same thing every day. You want to do them at a rate that's optimal to you."

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health has more on depression.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/diseases/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20120102/hl_hsn/withdepressionhelpingothersmayinturnhelpyou

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GOP candidates barnstorm across Iowa in final campaign push

Evan Vucci / AP

Republican presidential candidate former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney shakes hands during a campaign stop on Monday, Jan. 2, 2012, in Marion,?Iowa.

David Espo and Mike Glover, Associated Press

Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012 | 2 a.m.

Evan Vucci / AP

Republican presidential candidate Texas Rep. Ron Paul makes remarks during a campaign stop on Monday, Jan. 2, 2012, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

DES MOINES, Iowa ? The White House their goal, Republican presidential hopefuls raced across Iowa on Monday in a final, full day of frenzied appeals for support in precinct caucuses that open the 2012 campaign. "It is the race you make it," an upset-minded Rick Santorum told voters soon to pick a winner.

In the race's final hours, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney predicted victory and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich all but forecast his own defeat.

From Sioux City in the western part of the state to Davenport in the east, the six presidential hopefuls hustled through 23 fast-paced campaign events combined. That and the $13 million or more already spent on television commercials was evidence enough of the outsized importance Iowa holds in the race to pick a Republican opponent for President Barack Obama next fall.

Romney had one eye on his GOP rivals and another on Obama as he argued he is in the best position of all to capture the White House. The president has been "a great divider, the great complainer, the great excuse giver, the great blamer," said the former Massachusetts governor, who is making his second try for the nomination and has been at or near the top of the Iowa polls since the campaign began.

Later, before a noisy crowd in Marion, he predicted his own victory in a state that humbled him four years ago. "We're going to win this thing with all of our passion and strength," he said.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul flew into the state accompanied by his son, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, and urged supporters to "send a message tomorrow night that echoes not just around Iowa but ... around the world." Many in the audience of about 300 chanted "end the Fed," a reference to the Texan's pledge to abolish the nation's central bank as a first step toward repairing the economy.

Most polls in recent days have put Romney and Paul atop the field in Iowa, with Santorum in third and gaining ground. More than a third of all potential caucus-goers say they could yet change their minds.

"Do not settle for less than what America needs to transform this country. Moderate candidates who try to appeal to moderates end up losing," Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator, said in a slap at Romney.

Evan Vucci / AP

Republican presidential candidate former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, left, accompanied by his wife, Callista, gestures during a campaign stop, Monday, Jan. 2, 2012, in Walford, Iowa.

After absorbing a pounding in television commercials from Romney's deep-pocketed allies, Gingrich said he was looking ahead to next week's primary in New Hampshire, and then to one in South Carolina on Jan. 21

"I don't think I'm going to win, I think when you look at the numbers that volume of negativity has done its damage," he said of the Iowa caucuses.

Romney is viewed as the overwhelming favorite in New Hampshire, although Santorum, Paul and Gingrich have all said they intend to campaign there.

South Carolina figures to be more wide-open, the first contest in the South, and in a deeply Republican state.

If others were thinking about conceding Iowa, they did not show it.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry took swipes at Romney, Santorum and Paul in an appearance in Sioux City. "If you have my back tomorrow at the caucuses, I'll have your back for the next four years in Washington, D.C," he said.

Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann unveiled the first television ad in months. It hailed her as Iowa-born and the only "consistent conservative fighter" in the race and concluded, "She'll never back down."

The commercial was the last in a race in which the candidates' own ads were sometimes overshadowed by the more negative ones run by super PACs, organizations established and funded by their allies.

Perry and a super PAC supporting him spent the most, $5.5 million, according to one tally of the ad spending.

But it was the combination of Romney ($1.3 million) and his super PAC ($2.7 million) that appeared to have the most noticeable impact on the race. That was particularly so in the final few weeks, when Gingrich surged to the front of the polls.

The former speaker soon found himself under relentless attack in ads by the Romney super PAC. At the same time, the former Massachusetts governor's campaign took the high road, airing positive ads designed to show him in a favorable light.

Short on funds, Gingrich was unable to respond in kind, declaring instead he would run only a positive campaign.

It wasn't much of a contest, and before long, he faded, while Paul and then Santorum rose.

In fact, Gingrich's emergence was only one in a series of twists that seemed to produce a new front-runner every few weeks.

Charlie Riedel / AP

Republican presidential candidate former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum speaks at a campaign stop at Pizza Ranch in Boone, Iowa, Monday, Jan. 2, 2012.

Bachmann earned that distinction when she won a straw poll last summer in Ames, but she was bumped off stride when Perry entered the race. His boomlet lasted until his first few debate performances were judged lacking, and then it became Herman Cain's turn. The former business executive suspended his campaign after being accused of personal indiscretions, and Gingrich began gaining ground, then Paul.

Throughout it all, Romney remained steady, advantaged by his well-funded campaign, the super PAC that supports him and the missteps of his rivals.

Yet to the end, the polls suggested the former Massachusetts governor was having trouble persuading Iowa Republicans that he was conservative enough to warrant their support.

Somehow, even an intense post-Christmas push by the candidates through Iowa's cities, small towns and smaller towns left Iowa Republicans uncertain about which contender to back.

"I'm really still undecided," said Bill Brauer, of Polk City, as he listened to Santorum speak on the campaign's final day.

"I'm going to make up my mind tonight," he said.

ssociated Press writers Brian Bakst, Thomas Beaumont, Philip Elliott, Mike Glover, Kasie Hunt and Shannon McCaffrey in Iowa contributed to this report. Espo reported from?Washington.

Source: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2012/jan/03/gop-candidates-barnstorm-across-iowa-final-campaig/

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