Jones takes shot to throat

Without hesitation, NIU shortstop Alex Jones summed up the strange yet delightful eighth inning of Saturday's win against Miami (OH).

"That was the weirdest inning I've ever been a part of," Jones said.

The strange inning started when NIU skipper Ed Mathey brought in Tony Manville in relief of starting pitcher Tom Barry. With a 5-3 lead, Manville got off to a rough start by surrendering back-to-back singles to Miami's Adam Weisenburger and Kyle Weldon.

The RedHawks brought in pinch hitter Kevin Bower, who would deliver with a sacrifice fly to cut the Huskies' lead to 5-4.

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Catherine Zeta-Jones seeks inpatient treatment for bipolar disorder, back to work this week

( Chris Pizzello, file / Associated Press ) - FILE - In this Jan. 16, 2011 file photo, actress Catherine Zeta-Jones arrives at the Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif.

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After Masters charge, Scott defends Texas title

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SAN ANTONIO, Texas (AFP) - Australian Adam Scott defends his Texas Open title this week, trying to build on a strong showing at the Masters and set aside any lingering disappointment in his runner-up finish at Augusta.

Scott's victory at the TPC San Antonio last year came despite a bogey at the final hole, where he pulled his approach shot.

Faced with a similar half-swing of a seven-iron at 16 in the final round at Augusta there was no mistake.

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US says fighter jets still bombing Libya

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US fighter jets are still carrying out bombing raids on Libya's air defences, the Pentagon says, days after indicating American combat aircraft had withdrawn from NATO operations.

US warplanes have attacked air defence targets three times since April 4, when NATO assumed command of the air campaign, spokesman Colonel Dave Lapan said in a statement on Wednesday.

US military officials had previously said about 50 combat jets had been pulled back after the handover to NATO, and that air strikes would be carried out by allies while the United States would provide refuelling and surveillance aircraft.

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Catherine Zeta-Jones treated for bipolar disorder

Actress Catherine Zeta-Jones has been treated for bipolar disorder after the stress of husband Michael Douglas's battle with advanced throat cancer, her representative said on Wednesday.

"After dealing with the stress of the past year, Catherine made the decision to check in to a mental health facility for a brief stay to treat her Bipolar II Disorder," the actress's publicist Cece Yorke said in a statement.

"She's feeling great and looking forward to starting work this week on her two upcoming films," the statement said.

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Another earthquake strikes northeast Japan

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Another powerful aftershock struck near Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant on Tuesday afternoon, shaking buildings in Tokyo.

No tsunami warning was issued and no damage was immediately reported.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake, which struck at 2.47pm local time (1547 AEST), had a magnitude of 6.0 and hit less than 11 kilometres below ground.

Japanese officials had put the magnitude at 6.3.

Its epicentre was 70 kilometres south of Fukushima city in the prefecture of the same name.

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Japan upgrades nuclear emergency

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Japan has upgraded its nuclear emergency to a maximum seven on an international scale of atomic crises, the first time the highest ranking has been invoked since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.

The regrading to a "major accident" with "widespread health and environmental effects"
puts Fukushima on a par with the world's worst ever peacetime nuclear event 25 years ago in the then Soviet Union.

Japan's Nuclear Safety Agency said radiation emissions from the Pacific coast plant, whose cooling system was knocked out by a massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11, were equal to 10 per cent of the Chernobyl catastrophe.

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US lawmakers: Move ice hockey tourney from Belarus

WASHINGTON — US lawmakers, joined by an ice hockey hall of famer, said Monday that "totalitarian nightmare" Belarus should not be allowed to host an international ice hockey championship in 2014.

Senator Dick Durbin, Representative Mike Quigley, both Democrats, urged International Ice Hockey Federation President Rene Fasel to postpone the competition over concerns about human rights.

They were joined by former Slovak ice hockey player Peter Stastny, who is now serving as a member of the European parliament.

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Libya rebels reject peace plan

Around 200 people waving rebel flags gathered outside Benghazi airport when the AU delegation arrived, welcoming its efforts but demanding Gaddafi's overthrow. (AFP Photo)

BENGHAZI: Libyan rebel leader Mustafa Abdul Jalil on Monday rejected an African Union initiative for a ceasefire with the forces of Muammar Gaddafi and demanded the ouster of the veteran strongman. "This (African Union) initiative has now been surpassed. From the first day the demand of our people has been the ouster of Gaddafi and the fall of his regime," Abdul Jalil said at a news conference in rebel-held Benghazi. 

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Japan's reactor crisis hits maximum level, equal to Chernobyl

A composite image shows newly released photos from Japan's Fukushima nuclear reactor in the aftermath of last month's tsunami. Water can be seen near an access road, left, and then flooding the plant. Source: AP

 

JAPAN will upgrade the rating of the Fukushima nuclear crisis to the same level as the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in the former Soviet Union. 

News of the re-rating of the nuclear crisis came as Japan’s main island, Honshu, was battered by another series of strong aftershocks today.

Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano confirmed this morning that the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant would be upgraded from a level 5 to a level 7, which is the maximum, on the international scale.

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Sitanka: The Full Story of Wounded Knee

Pauline Hanson fails to win seat in NSW

Pauline Hanson has failed in her bid to be elected to the upper house of the NSW parliament.

Despite being well ahead on the primary votes, Ms Hanson was overtaken by Greens and Liberal-Nationals candidates when preferences were distributed on Tuesday.

Ms Hanson stood as an independent candidate at the state election on March 26, having severed formal links with One Nation, the party she co-founded.

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Egypt's army to replace Mubarak-era governors

Protesters remained in Tahrir Square despite an army threat to use force to remove them

Egypt's interim military government has said it will remove some provincial governors appointed by former President Hosni Mubarak.

The move is an apparent concession to protesters who want Mr Mubarak and his allies tried for corruption.
It follows an army move on protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Saturday in which at least one person was killed.

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7 killed, 15 wounded in Dutch mall shooting

BEIJING, April 10 (Xinhuanet) -- At least seven people have been killed in the Netherlands after a gunman opened fire with a machine gun at a crowded shopping mall.

16 others have been injured in the attack at the Ridderhof mall in Alphen aan den Rijn, about 20 kilometers south-west of the capital Amsterdam.Four of the injured are in a critical condition.

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Sitanka: The Full Story of Wounded Knee 

Offer of Talks by Ivory Coast’s Gbagbo Was a ‘Ruse,’ U.S. Government Says

The U.S. said the offer to negotiate by Ivory Coast’s former leader Laurent Gbagbo was a deception and called on him to end fighting and surrender to the forces of President-elect Alassane Ouattara.

“It is clear that Gbagbo’s attempts at negotiation this week were nothing more than a ruse to regroup and rearm,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said yesterday in a statement in Washington. He said the U.S. “condemns the renewed assault” by Gbagbo’s forces in Abidjan, the commercial capital of the world’s largest cocoa producing nation.

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Ya'alon to Hamas: War is last option, but don't test us

Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon expressed hope that Israel is not drawn into another war in the Gaza Strip but warned Hamas against testing Jerusalem's willingness to defend itself, in an interview with Army Radio on Sunday.

Ya'alon, a former IDF chief of general-staff, said that military action is always the last option.

"I don't recommend that Hamas test us in the coming days," he warned. "They have taken some hard hits and they will sustain even harsher ones" if they continue firing rockets and mortars at Israel, he said.

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Animoto Videos Via AirPlay and Apple TV Can Now be Viewed Through Your TV

(Credit: Animoto / CNET)

Animoto, the video slideshow creation service which allows consumers to make professional quality videos, announced the integration with Apple AirPlay, giving users the ability to watch their videos on their TV.
Thus, videos created with Animoto that exist on an iPod, iPad, or iPhone, can now be played on a television at the click of a mouse using AirPlay. According to Brad Jefferson, the CEO of Animoto, “Animoto videos have always looked great on a big-screen TV and now it’s one-click easy for families to enjoy their Animoto videos on their home televisions without messing with wires or requiring a DVD Player.”

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Manny Ramirez 'at ease' with decision to retire 5

Manny Ramirez says he is at peace with his decision to retire from baseball.

"I'm at ease," Ramirez told ESPNdeportes.com by phone Saturday from his home in Miami. "God knows what's best (for me). I'm now an officially retired baseball player. I'll be going away on a trip to Spain with my old man."

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‘Fat Pig’ Broadway Debut Starring Dane Cook and Julia Stiles Has Been Delayed

Neil LaBute’s play Fat Pig was scheduled to debut on Broadway for the 2011-2012 season, however the play starring comedian Dane Cook and actress Julia Stiles has been delayed.

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TV best bets: Sat., April 9

8 p.m., ABC: War of the Worlds — The H.G. Wells classic about an alien invasion of Earth gets an overhaul in this genuinely chilling update, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Cruise as a less-than-reliable dad. His parenting skills improve radically as he tries to save his children (Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwin) and himself from lethal invaders who are wreaking havoc on the planet.

8 p.m., ANIMAL PLANET: It's Me or the Dog — John and Connie are a New Jersey couple whose four unruly dogs have destroyed their social lives and are threatening their marriage. Connie, who's been injured multiple times while walking the animals, cries herself to sleep every night, and John is ready to walk out. Can this marriage be saved? If anyone can do it, it's dog trainer Victoria Stilwell.

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Recap: 'Saturday Night Live' - Helen Mirren and Foo Fighters

Dame Helen Mirren, Foo Fighters and Andy Samberg

Credit: NBC

I have to say I can’t quite figure out the number of lengthy breaks during this season of “Saturday Night Live.” After tonight, there won’t be another episode until early May, when Tina Fay returns to host for the third time. That’s essentially a month in between episodes, which might give the show’s featured players more time to make feature films but doesn’t appease many with a love for as much new “SNL” as possible. (Or those with a love/hate relationship with the show, a demographic that probably far exceeds the former.) Hopefully tonight’s Dame Helen Mirren/Foo Fighters edition will provide enough good vibes to last us through Easter Sunday.  


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