New French President has quiet determination

Newly elected French President Francois Hollande has spent much of his political career on the side stage of the Socialist Party bureaucracy. 

He made news rarely, had never run for elected office, and it was his comon-law wife, Segolene Royal, who was the national political star for years.

"Monsieur Normal," as he is known, has a style that is distinct from the man he has replaced. Nicolas Sarkozy had been criticised in opinion polls for leading an extravagant lifestyle and having a bad temper.

Hollande is more modest, a think tank in Paris if you will. Where as Sarkozy was very unpopular because of his style, but people recognised that he was efficient and energetic, and Hollande has to prove that he too can be efficient - that is his main challenge.

Born to a doctor in the city of Rouen, Hollande attended one of France's elite universities, L'Ecole Nationale d'Administration. As a young man, he traveled to the USA for a summer on a business grant to study fast food.

In the world of politics, analysts say, his patience and good nature depicts a very different type of determination.

He has very often been underestimated in France. Francois Hollande is someone who mediates, and listens - even at risk of appearing weak. But in reality, he's someone with a great deal of firmness.

Hollande, 57, led the Socialist Party for 11 years and was not meant to take on Sarkozy. The party turned to him after preferred candidate Dominique Strauss-Kahn was accused of attempted rape of a maid in a New York hotel.

Five years ago, Hollande's then-partner and the mother of his four children, Segolene Royal, faced Sarkozy at the polls and lost.

As France's first Socialist president since Francois Mitterrand departed 17 years ago, Hollande, must boost France's ailing economy and follow through on his vow to address the debt crisis of the European Union without harsh spending cuts.

That may mean more government spending, or stimulus as President Obama calls it. Hollande has called for a 75% top rate of tax and the recruitment of 60,000 new teachers.

He vowed to renegotiate the EU's fiscal pact forged by Sarkozy. This means confronting the leading voice for EU austerity measures, Germany, whose leader, Chancellor Angela Merkel, backed Sarkozy in the campaign.


Only time will tell whither or not the talks between the EU officials will be successful or not.

Asian tiger shrimp invade U.S waters

Though tasty with lemon and garlic butter, Asian tiger shrimps are spreading through the Gulf of Mexico and Eastern seaboard and menacing the areas' ecosystems.

The crustaceans can measure up to 13 inches long and weigh nearly a pound, with dark and white stripes circling their bodies. They can be very disruptive to the Gulf's ecosystem, says James Morris, a marine ecologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research in Beaufort, N.C.

Originally from the western Pacific Ocean, the shrimp have been spotted sporadically in U.S waters for the past two decades. But last year, 331 were counted in the Gulf of Mexico, up from 32 in 2010 and just six in 2006, according to a tally kept by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Scientists are trying to figure out where the invasive shrimp came from. Theories include that they spawned from a batch that escaped a lab two decades ago or that they immigrated here in the ballast water of ocean-crossing ships.  

DNA testing is expected to show whether they are breeding in the Gulf or were swept in from other regions.

Santorum drops out of presidential campaign

Rick Santorum suspended his campaign for the GOP presidential nomination, effectively giving Mitt Romney a clear path to be the party's standard-bearer.

Santorum made his announcement in Gettysburg, Pa., just two weeks before the Keystone State primary. Recent Pennsylvania polls had Santorum in danger of losing the state where he was a senator for 12 years.

"We made the decision over the weekend that while this presidential race is over for me, and we will suspend our campaign effective today, we are not done fighting," Santorum said "We are going to continue to go out there and fight to make sure that we defeat President Barack Obama, that we win the House back and that we take the United States Senate."

By suspending his campaign, Santorum will no longer be actively running for the White House. But he will be able to continue raising money for his political activities through the political action committee he launched for the 2012 election. Santorum immediately sent out a fundraising appeal, asking donors to help reduce his campaign debt.

Shortly after Santorum's news conference, Romney issued a statement hailing his rival as "an able and worthy competitor, and I congratulate him on the campaign he ran."

Santorum opened his news conference by thanking people for their prayers for his youngest daughter, Bella, who was hospitalized on Friday and released last night.

Her condition "caused us to think ... about the role we have as parents," Santorum said, adding that the weekend was a time for "prayer and thought" about his future.

Santorum's decision marks the end of an unpredictable ride for the former Pennsylvania senator, who was seen as having little chance for the White House more than a year ago when he launched his bid.

Santorum's rise to the final four GOP presidential candidates was unlikely, especially because he had lost his 2006 re-election bid as a Pennsylvania senator by more than 17 percentage points.

Despite being underfunded and in low single-digits in most national polls for much of 2011, Santorum concentrated on meeting Iowa voters in small groups so he could do well in the first-in-the-nation caucuses. His surprise showing in Iowa -- after weeks of vote counting he was declared the winner by a tiny margin -- positioned him as a viable candidate, and the sweater vests that he wore while campaigning became a symbol of his success.

Santorum's wife, Karen, and the couple's older children were ever-present on the campaign trail and at election-night parties. Santorum suspended campaigning at least three times since last year because of Bella's health, including most recently this weekend.

Bella, now 3 years old, suffers from trisomy 18, a rare genetic disorder. Also known as Edwards syndrome, trisomy 18 is caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 18th chromosome. There is a low rate of survival, and Santorum has often talked about how Bella was not expected to live past her 1st birthday.

Plane carrying 43 people crashes in Siberia

A passanger plane carrying 43 people crashed in Siberia shortly after taking off from Moscow on Monday morning. Russian emergancy officials said at least 16 people were confirmed dead but at least 12 survived.
The ATR-72, a French-Italian made twin-engine turboprop, operated by UTair was flying from Tyumen to the oil town of  Surgut with 39 passengers and four crew.
The aircraft went down outside Tyumen, a major regional center in Siberia. The cause of the crash was not yet clear.
Emergency Situations Ministry spokeswoman Irina Andrianova said the 12 survivors were being flown to ah hospital by helicopter. She said 16 bodies had been recovered so far.
The State RIA-Novosti news agency, citing rescue workers, said 17 people had survived the crash.
Russia has seen a string of deadly crashes in recent years. Some have been blamed on the use of aging Soviet-era aircraft, but industry experts point to a number of other problems, including poor crew training, crumbling airports, lax government controls and widespred neglect of safety in the pursuit of profits.

Trayvon murder inquiry deepens

The 17-year-old's death has sparked a national conversation about racial profiling. Trayvon was fatally shot Feb. 26 after Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, followed him because he said the teen looked suspicious.

Trayvon, who is black and wore a hooded sweatshirt, was unarmed; Zimmerman is described by police as white; his family says he is Hispanic.

No charges have been filed against Zimmerman. He had told police that Trayvon jumped him and smashed his head into the pavement. According to an initial police report, an officer noticed Zimmerman was bleeding from the nose and back of his head and showed signs of having been in a struggle.

David Notowitz, a forensic video expert, said the video of Zimmerman entering the police station appeared to one of high quality and resolution and could be analyzed to determine if Zimmerman's nose is broken or there were wounds on his back.

Notowitz, founder of the National Center for Audio and Video Forensics, said the video supplies shots of Zimmerman at various angles which could be enhanced, studied and compared.

A video expert could use the footage to zoom in on Zimmerman's head, neck, nose and jacket, he said. Experts, such as doctors, could then analyze the pictures.

Zimmerman's lawyer and friends have spoken in defense of the neighborhood watch volunteer, saying he is not a racist. He has dropped from sight since the killing and has not made any public remarks.

Despite the police decision not to charge Zimmerman at the time, several other probes are ongoing. The U.S. Justice Department has opened an investigation, and a Seminole County Fla., grand jury is considering possible charges. The grand jury is likely to convene April 10.

Two Killed in Pittsburgh Psychiatric Hospital Shooting

Two people were killed. including the gunman, and seven others were injured this afternoon in a shooting at the University of Pittsburgh psychiatric hospital.
In a recent news briefing at 6:13 p.m ET: Officials confirmed that the gunamn entered the hospital with two semiautomatic handguns. It is believed that most, if not all, of the shootings happened on the first floor, but investigations are underway to confirm wither he may have been active on the second floor.
Dr. Don Yealy of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center stated " the injured were six emplyees and one visitor. All are expected to survive."
Currently two people are in intensive care, three were admitted and two were discharged. A campus police officer were reported to of been grazed by a bullet but not seriously injured.
The gunman was killed by a University police officer but at this time the identities of the two people killed  in the shooting have not yet been released by police.

Kony Video causes a Storm.

A 30 minute long film by the Invisible Children Organization, condeming African guerilla leader Joseph Kony has created a huge social media surge as the video takes the internet by storm, causing critics to argue that it is causing more harm than good.
"Kony 2012" has been viewed over 41 million times on YouTube. A further 445,000 people "liked" it on Facebook and celebrities such as Will Smith, J.K Rowling, Justin Bieber and P. Diddy have pushed the trend by "tweeting" about it on Twitter.
Filmmaker, Jason Russell, who heads the San Diego organization "Invisible Children" introduces his audience to Joseph Kony, who for the past 26 years has led the Lords Resistance Army in the Jungle around the area of Uganda. The United Nations and the International Criminal Court have called for Kony to be trialed for crimes against humanity as he has cultivated thousands of child soldiers and girl sex slaves whilst conducting a campaign of terror against Ugandan villagers by abducting, mutilating and murdering tens of thousands of adults and children.
The Invisible Children's website encourages people to send donations and buy merchandise that go toward education anbd security programs in central Africa and promote the cause, claims Russell.
However critics have argued that the film sends the message that "Kony 2012" is the sole reason for the corruption in this part of the world and that Invisible Children portrays that a $30 action kit or security program as the solution to this problem when infact it is causing more corruption.
Many Bloggers have questioned the timing of the videos release because the U.S military is already involved in trying to find Kony in Uganda and in the Congo. The integrity of the fundrasiing effort has also come under major scrutiny as Invisible Children's financial statements, only 37% of its $8.9 million budget in 2011 was spent on programs in Africa and 35% was spent on awareness programs.