Spanish unemployment reaches 25%

Unemployment in Spain continued its steady march higher in the third quarter, as the euro zone’s fourth-largest economy remained in recession, to hit a fresh high at just over 25%.

The jobless rate in the quarter rose to 25.02% from 24.63% in the second quarter, the national statistics bureau said Friday.

Spain is suffering from the collapse of a decade-long housing bubble and from deep spending cuts as the government tries to narrow its budget deficit to 6.3% of gross domestic product from well above 9% of GDP last year. Its unemployment rate is the highest in the euro zone.

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Criminal probe opened over video showing Va. rep's son discussing vote scheme

Local police in Arlington, Va., have opened a criminal investigation after a secretly recorded video showed the son of a Democratic congressman apparently advising someone who claimed to be looking for ways to commit voter fraud.
In a brief statement, the Arlington County police department and attorney's office said they were "aware" of the video "allegedly depicting" Patrick Moran, son of Virginia Rep. Jim Moran, "assisting another to vote illegally."
"The Arlington County Police Department has initiated a criminal investigation of this matter," the statement said.
Patrick Moran has resigned from his father's campaign in the wake of the video. Moran was secretly recorded by controversial conservative activist James O'Keefe's group, Project Veritas.
After Moran was approached, and at first resisted the questions, he did eventually give tips on how to forge ID's -- like a utility bill -- to illegally cast ballots for 100 people he was told were not going to show up to vote.
The audio on the tape is unclear at times, but Moran appears to say: "With the new voter ID laws ... he'll need bills. He'll need something with a name and their address on it.
"There'll be a lot of voter protection, so if they just have, you know, just the utility bill or a bank statement -- bank statement would obviously be tough -- but they can fake a utility bill with ease."
Patrick Moran told The Associated Press that he was not taking the person seriously, and thought he was unstable. He was merely humoring him, Moran claimed, but said in hindsight he should have walked away. "At no point have I, or will I, ever endorse any sort of illegal or unethical behavior," he told the AP.
But O'Keefe blasted Moran, and took issue with his claims that he was just playing along. "Moran brainstorms with our reporter on the most effective manner in which to commit voter fraud for the goal of circumventing voter ID laws; he suggests that our reporter should fabricate utility bills and impersonate poll workers over the phone, calling the unsuspecting voters before compromising their vote to ensure they hadn't voted already," O'Keefe wrote in an email to Fox News, calling the tape "manifestly damning."
The flap, though, has caused problems for Rep. Jim Moran's campaign. Patrick Moran resigned as field director Wednesday. Then his opponent, Republican Patrick Murray, put out a statement calling for an investigation by "local, state and federal election officials," adding that "it is not clear whether or not there was any wrongdoing."
"The integrity of our nation is at stake, and it appears that my opponent's campaign seems prepared to undermine free and fair elections right here in Virginia," he said.
The Arlington County Democrats, in Virginia, also said that they have asked Pat Moran "not to return to our offices."
The controversy comes as Moran and two other Virginia Democratic congressmen demand a federal investigation into a case where a 23-year-old worker for a Republican contractor was charged with 13 counts of destroying voter registration forms -- after allegedly dumping them in a mall Dumpster.
The local sheriff said it appears what happened was not widespread, but limited.
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, a Republican, is investigating that case and said he will protect the election's integrity.
"I wouldn't say there's any particular pattern that we've observed around the commonwealth, this is a continual problem. Human nature is what it is and people are going to continue to break the law and cheat and that tends to not know any sorts of boundaries, left, right, up, down. We're going to go after it wherever it exists," he told Fox News. "The attorney general is going to do everything that he can to keep their vote secure and to make sure it's not diluted by illegal voting and also to protect their own ability to get in there and cast their own vote by protecting their registration, which is what's at stake in the case that we've been called into."

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Kingfisher to arrange own funds to restart airline

NEW DELHI | Fri Oct 26, 2012 2:14pm IST

(Reuters) - Kingfisher Airlines(KING.NS), which agreed this week to pay overdue salaries to its staff, will source funding from its own resources to get the grounded carrier flying, the DGCA said on Friday.
The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked the debt-ridden airline to prepare and submit its winter schedule, the regulator said in a statement.
"The (Kingfisher) CEO further informed that at present, the source of funding for the airline will be through their own resources," the DGCA said.
Kingfisher Airlines, owned by liquor-baron Vijay Mallya has not flown since the beginning of this month, after an employee protest turned violent, and the DGCA on Saturday suspended the carrier's licence over safety concerns.
The airline management on Thursday succeeded in getting its employees join work.

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Obama says he has lead, as poll shows Romney ahead and gaining among women

A day after an interview aired in which President Obama declared he still has the lead, another national poll showed Mitt Romney slightly ahead while erasing Obama's advantage among women.
The Associated Press-GfK poll showed Romney pulling 47 percent of likely voters to Obama's 45 percent -- a split within the margin of error, but which certainly challenges the president's claim of having the edge. Even in the battleground states, which decide the election, polls now reflect a series of tossups.
The president had claimed the advantage over Romney during an interview with NBC News. Asked about the polls showing a virtually tied race, Obama appeared to challenge the premise.
"Well, actually, I think that, you know, we always knew this was going to be a close race from the start. And what we have right now is a lead that we've maintained throughout this campaign," Obama said. "And we are going to just continue to drive home the message that there are two fundamentally different choices in this election about where we take the country."
Polls show Obama is ahead in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania. But Romney has long since taken the lead in Florida, North Carolina and elsewhere. And nationally, the Republican nominee typically has a very slight edge.
The Associated Press-GfK survey was no different. But significantly, the poll showed each candidate's gender advantage shrinking. The poll showed Romney erasing the president's 16-point lead among women, pulling to a 47-47 percent tie. Also, Romney's 13-point advantage among men had shrunk to 5 points in the poll.
The erosion of Obama's support among women, though, was more dramatic. And this week, the president was making a fresh attempt to appeal to that base -- trying to link Romney to comments made by a Republican Senate candidate in Indiana about rape. Richard Mourdock said during a debate that pregnancy resulting from rape can be "something God intended."
Romney has since distanced himself from the remark, with the campaign reiterating that Romney -- while pro-life -- condones abortion in cases of rape and incest. But the Obama campaign has nevertheless tried to link Romney to Mourdock, noting that the Republican nominee has not dropped his support for the Senate candidate and appeared in a new ad on his behalf.
The Obama campaign put out a web video Thursday morning tying Mourdock's position on abortion to Republican running mate Paul Ryan's. The ad reads: "Mitt Romney's 'solution' to extremism against women? Promote the extremists." It shows a split picture of Ryan and Mourdock.
The president also told late night host Jay Leno on Wednesday that, "I don't know how these guys come up with these ideas. Let me make a very simple proposition. Rape is rape."
The comments and video pick up the "war on women" claims that Democrats have been making about Republicans for months.
However, Romney has made an effort to show his moderate side and direct his economic pitch to a female audience -- and the latest poll suggests it was having an effect.
A month ago, women favored Obama over Romney on the economy 56 percent to 40 percent. Now, the split has shifted to 49 percent for Romney and 45 percent for Obama.
The poll still showed Obama with a hefty lead, 55 percent to 41 percent, among female likely voters on the question of which candidate would make the right decisions on women's issues.
Overall, people are significantly more optimistic about the economy and unemployment in the coming year than they have been at any point in AP-GfK polling going back to March 2011, when the poll first started asking those questions. Likely voters are even more optimistic than other adults.
Nearly six in 10 likely voters think the economy will improve in the next year, up from 46 percent last month. And 42 percent think the number of unemployed Americans will drop in the next year, up from 32 percent in September.
Obama launched a marathon two-day campaign journey Wednesday. In the 17th hour of his day, he spoke before thousands of supporters in Las Vegas. By then it was nearly 1 a.m. in Washington, where his day had begun.
After spending the night on Air Force One, Obama was campaigning in Florida, Virginia and Ohio before heading back to the White House.
The president was scheduled to stop in his hometown of Chicago to vote, becoming the first president to vote early in person.
Romney was kicking off a daylong swing through three Ohio towns, sharpening his focus on a state that is critical to his hopes of winning the White House. Public polling has shown Obama with a slim lead.
The Associated Press-GfK poll was conducted Oct. 19-23 by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Corporate Communications. It involved landline and cellphone interviews with 1,186 adults across the United States, including 839 likely voters. Results for the full sample have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points; for likely voters it is 4.2 points.
The Associated Press contributed to this report

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Samsung / Apple UK judgment

On 9th July 2012 the High Court of Justice of England and Wales ruled that Samsung Electronic (UK) Limited’s Galaxy Tablet Computer, namely the Galaxy Tab 10.1, Tab 8.9 and Tab 7.7 do not infringe Apple’s registered design No. 0000181607-0001. A copy of the full judgment of the High court is available on the following link www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Patents/2012/1882.html.

In the ruling, the judge made several important points comparing the designs of the Apple and Samsung products:
"The extreme simplicity of the Apple design is striking. Overall it has undecorated flat surfaces with a plate of glass on the front all the way out to a very thin rim and a blank back. There is a crisp edge around the rim and a combination of curves, both at the corners and the sides. The design looks like an object the informed user would want to pick up and hold. It is an understated, smooth and simple product. It is a cool design."
"The informed user's overall impression of each of the Samsung Galaxy Tablets is the following. From the front they belong to the family which includes the Apple design; but the Samsung products are very thin, almost insubstantial members of that family with unusual details on the back. They do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design. They are not as cool."
That Judgment has effect throughout the European Union and was upheld by the Court of Appeal on 18 October 2012. A copy of the Court of Appeal’s judgment is available on the following link www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2012/1339.html. There is no injunction in respect of the registered design in force anywhere in Europe.
However, in a case tried in Germany regarding the same patent, the court found that Samsung engaged in unfair competition by copying the iPad design. A U.S. jury also found Samsung guilty of infringing on Apple's design and utility patents, awarding over one billion U.S. dollars in damages to Apple Inc. So while the U.K. court did not find Samsung guilty of infringement, other courts have recognized that in the course of creating its Galaxy tablet, Samsung willfully copied Apple's far more popular iPad.

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Harvey Weinstein editing, releasing 'SEAL Team Six' documentary to help President’s re-election bid

Set to air on the National Geographic Channel two days before the Presidential election, “SEAL Team Six: The Raid on Osama bin Laden,” is billed as the “real inside story behind the manhunt and raid that took down al-Qaeda’s notorious leader, told through the eyes of the military and intelligence teams involved.”
But rather than focusing on the heroes who carried out the mission, President Obama now takes center stage in the film, with voice-overs, still photographs and archival footage being added after "SEAL Team Six" was purchased in May for a reported $2.5 million by Harvey Weinstein, a big supporter of the President.
Not only that, Meghan O’Hara – a producer for Obama supporter Michael Moore’s films “Fahrenheit 9/11,” “Sicko” and “Bowling for Columbine” – was the one hired to gather that extra footage.
A report in the New York Times said the new footage serves to “strengthen Mr. Obama’s role and provide a window into decision-making in the White House,” a move the report says will “bolster claims that the 90-minute film amounts to a political stunt.”
Indeed FrontPageMag.com called it an “Obama Infomercial From Michael Moore’s Favorite Producer” which they say is essentially “about the man that sat on his ass while they (SEAL Team Six) risked their lives.”
But filmmaker John Stockwell denies the claims the film and its release timing are politically motivated, telling FoxNews.com that he and Weinstein “never discussed politics. He was just concerned with getting the details right.” But it seems some political aspects of the movie were too much for the National Geographic Channel, which had a scene depicting GOP nominee Mitt Romney appearing to oppose the raid removed from the final cut, the Times reports.
“We were trying to use news footage that gave some context as to who was in favor and who was against (the raid),” Stockwell explained, adding that the axed footage of Romney was from a 2007 primary, four years before the raid took place.
A rep for The National Geographic Channel told FoxNews.com that when they received the film, they asked to make some edits on things that “seemed a little out of context and that we felt wasn't appropriate.”
“We have a very stringent Standards and Practices department that reviews anything we put on our network, and that seemed out of context,” the rep said.
“SEAL Team Six” is not Weinstein’s first foray into pre-election political movies. He was the force behind Michael Moore’s anti-Bush film “Fahrenheit 9/11” prior to the 2004 election. He also held off on releasing political satire “Butter,” which depicts a Michele Bachmann-like GOP hopeful who pulls out all stops to win a butter-carving competition, until just a couple of weeks ago.
So far this election cycle Weinstein has given $5,000 to President Obama’s reelection campaign and $61,600 to the Democratic National Committee, which has coordinated fundraising with the Obama campaign. In August, he opened the doors of his Connecticut compound for a star-studded Obama fundraiser. The two are seemingly cyber buddies as well, with Weinstein joking earlier this year that he “turned down” a film pitch idea e-mailed to him from Obama.
Despite the film’s Nov. 4 release, National Geographic denies claims of vote swaying.
“The way the deal was presented to the network was Netflix has a window for the film November 5th and 6th. If we wanted the exclusive for the premiere, we had to air it before then. Obviously we are aware of the election happening and the proximity is not lost on us, but we think the topic of national security is certainty of interest to our viewers especially during an election year anyone that watches this film knows that this film is a film about American Heroes,” the rep said. “It is utterly ridiculous that a film on the National Geographic channel is going to affect the outcome of the election of the leader of the free world. We would not air it if we thought it was propaganda.”
But not everyone is convinced.
“It's an apt metaphor for Hollywood that even the brave actions of SEAL Team Six get twisted into liberal themes and used to push a political message just before a close election. It's unfortunate but unsurprising that the issue of propaganda has taken the focus away from our amazing heroes,” noted Dan Gainor, VP of Business and Culture for the Media Research Center. “The timing of this film is absolutely ridiculous. For an Obama supporter to be releasing a ‘prObama’ film just before the election is a blatant attempt to sway voters. And liberals wonder why conservatives complain about Hollywood.

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NYPD officer plotted to kidnap, cook and eat women, authorities say

A New York City police officer plotted to kidnap, cook and eat women, using a crime victim database and possibly an online dating forum to choose potential victims and discussing his twisted scheme in grisly detail online, local and federal law enforcement authorities said.
Six-year NYPD veteran Gilberto Valle, 28, who worked in Harlem, was arrested Wednesday by federal officers on a conspiracy to kidnap charge Wednesday. The U.S. Attorney’s office said Valle conspired with multiple, unnamed people “to kidnap, rape, torture, kill, cook and cannibalize a number of women.”

“Gilberto Valle’s alleged plans to kidnap women so that they could be raped, tortured, killed, cooked, and cannibalized shocks the conscience."

- Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara

“Gilberto Valle’s alleged plans to kidnap women so that they could be raped, tortured, killed, cooked and cannibalized shocks the conscience," Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a prepared statement. "This case is all the more disturbing when you consider Valle’s position as a New York City police officer and his sworn duty to serve and protect."
According to the criminal complaint, the FBI discovered that Valle was discussing the plot through email and instant messaging. The complaint includes stomach-turning details about Valle's alleged plans to victimize and kill numerous women. Investigators discovered that he allegedly created a personal registry on his computer of more than 100 women, complete with photographs and personal information, including addresses and physical descriptions.
“The allegations in the complaint really need no description from us," said FBI Acting Assistant Director-in-Charge Mary Galligan. "They speak for themselves. It would be an understatement merely to say Valle’s own words and actions were shocking.”
The criminal complaint details some of the conversations that took place between Valle and various co-conspirators.
In a conversation from July 9 of this year, Valle is asked by an unknown co-conspirator, “How big is your oven?”
Valle allegedly responded: “Big enough to fit one of these girl[s] if I folded their legs…the abduction will have to be flawless…I know all of them.
“I can just show up at [one prospective victim's] home unannounced, it will not alert her, and I can knock her out, wait until dark and kidnap her right out of her home,” he also said before boasting that he could make his own chloroform.”
Later, Valle, who law enforcement sources told FoxNews.com is married with a child, mentioned how he would cook his victim.
“I was thinking of tying her body onto some kind of apparatus…cook her over a low heat, keep her alive as long as possible,” he allegedly wrote.
The complaint also alleges that he met one of his potential victims for lunch. Data from Valle's cell phone revealed that he made contact with the victim while he was on her block in Manhattan, according to authorities. Sources say that the victim was someone Valle knew from his past.
In what law enforcement sources confirmed was his profile on the online dating site OKCupid, Valle describes himself as a “ very calm individual”  with “an endless supply of hilarious short stories from work that can't be made up.” Valle lists his favorite book as “Green Eggs and Ham,” and says he enjoys Italian, Mexican, Chinese and Japanese food, adding, “I'll try anything and am not picky at all.”
Valle, who last visited the site Sept. 16, wrote that he is "looking for a partner in crime who I look forward to seeing again seconds after I kiss her good-bye." His activity on the site coincides with the time in which he was allegedly conspiring to kidnap and kill women.
Law-enforcement sources close to the case tell FoxNews.com that Valle had recently got into an argument with his wife and she fled to her family's home out of state and contacted local authorities and said that there was "weird stuff" on her husbands computer. That agency contacted the NYPD who through their Internal Affairs department, confiscated his computer and found the incriminating plot scheme on the hard drive.
Sources also say that the co-conspirators were people from overseas and that talks of kidnapping victim for a fee along with other detail was "fantasy stuff." It was not immediately clear if he intended to carry through his cannibalism aspect of his plans.
Valle was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and accessing a computer without authorization and could face up to life in prison.
Officials for the NYPD tell FoxNews.com that Valle was immediately placed on suspension after his arrest.
Fox News Channel reached a man who identified himself as Valle's brother by phone who said the charges are "bulls---."
“I don’t freakin believe what is going on,” the man told Fox News. “I spoke to him last a couple of nights ago”
“I am freakin' angry, this is an outrage,” he added. "Damn … man I’m shocked, he’s a family man.

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He'd do anything for a vote (But he won't do that)

Mitt Romney is joined by Randy Owen (L) and Meat Loaf (C) as they sing 'God Bless America' at a campaign rally in Defiance, Ohio. Credit: REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney was joined on stage during the campaign trail in Defiance, Ohio by Meat Loaf and country singer Randy Owen. The singers performed a rendition of 'God Bless America' during their appearance.

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The Entente Cordiale takes to the seas

Nearly a third of the Royal Navy fleet is positioned off the coast of France today for a major exercise with the French military.

Six British ships and 3,000 UK military personnel are taking part in Exercise Corsican Lion to develop the joint naval force being set up by Britain and France.
The two countries are creating a ready-made task group which can react at short notice to events anywhere in the world.

Undated Ministry of Defence handout picture of HMS Bulwark Credit: Royal Navy/PA

The Defence Secretary, Philip Hammond, and the Chief of the Defence Staff, General Sir David Richards, are flying to the Mediterranean to inspect the force.
Mr Hammond says the joint Task Group will "ensure that the Royal Navy can respond to, and deal with, emerging events around the world."
He stresses the joint operation with "our French allies is in both our interests."
The joint operation is the result of a major agreement signed in 2010 as both countries come to terms with their own tight defence budgets which will limit what each can achieve militarily on its own.

The French aircraft carrier the Charles de Gaulle Credit: Chris Young/ PA

The Royal Navy, currently operating without an aircraft carrier, has sailors on board the French carrier Charles de Gaulle.
Britain will not have a carrier in its fleet until it takes delivery of the Queen Elizabeth, currently under construction in Scotland.
She will not start sea trials until 2017 and won't become operational before 2020.
The Ministry of Defence is building a second aircraft carrier, the Prince of Wales, but the Government will not decide until 2015 whether it will be sold, mothballed or put to work.
Exercise Corsican Lion is being led by the Royal Navy's flagship HMS Bulwark.
Reporters travelling with the Defence Secretary have been told there is "no time" to film him when he visits the French aircraft carrier.

A hull section of the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers at BAE Systems in Portsmouth earlier this month Credit: Chris Ison/PA

But the exercise is a major advance for Anglo-French relations since the Battle of Waterloo - when the British defeated Napolean in 1815.
And Royal Navy sources also admit many in the French Navy have not forgotten a decision by Winston Churchill in 1940 to sink the French fleet off the Algerian coast to prevent it falling into Nazi hands. More than 1200 French personnel were killed.

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Controversial New Diet Pill Hits Market

Hailed as a Miracle Fat Burner — But Should It Be Banned?

A new dietary supplement containing an extract from red raspberries is currently the hottest diet product in the U.S. — but not without controversy.

Critics say the compound — called raspberry ketone — causes such a significant amount of weight loss that it runs the risk of being abused by non-dieters. Proponents argue that research shows the nutrient to be both safe and effective and that banning the natural compound would be akin to banning vitamins. 
One thing people on both sides can agree on is the controversial new supplement works.
Several recent studies from Japan show that raspberry ketones — which are chemically similar to capsaicin, the heat compound from chile peppers — significantly increases fat oxidation (burning), especially the fat that builds up in the liver.
In 2010, Korean researchers reported that raspberry ketone increased fat cells' secretion of a hormone called adiponectin that regulates the processing of sugars and fats in the blood. The reported benefits are impressive: Increased total weight loss, including a significant reduction of abdominal fat — with zero side effects.
In fact, not only were there not any side effects, but a 2012 study from China found that raspberry ketones had several health benefits — including improved cholesterol levels, insulin sensitivity, and reduced fat in the liver. 
And if all that weren't reason enough to have desperate slimmers stocking up, one of America's leading medical doctors is a fan, recently calling raspberry ketones a "miracle weight loss supplement" on his Emmy-winning daytime TV show.

Results in Five Days?

Raspberry ketones are the compounds within raspberries that give the fruit its characteristic aroma. More important to dieters, however, is the recent research showing these compounds can also melt away the pounds.
According to Lisa Lynn, a leading weight-loss expert and television health contributor, many of her clients have been supplementing with raspberry ketones and experiencing stunning fat-loss results in as few as five days.

Lynn described the compounds as "very healthy" with "no side effects" and says the pills enable the body to "burn fat easier" by stimulating the production of adiponectin, a hormone found in fatty tissue that improves our ability to metabolize fat.
Studies show that thin people have higher levels of adiponectin than overweight individuals. What's more, researchers agree that the hormone improves insulin sensitivity and helps regulate weight.
"Too Much" Weight Loss?
Word-of-mouth marketing has led to raspberry ketones overtaking Alli as the most popular diet product in America today. However, according to Kathy Hodges, M.S., CPT, a dietician from Kent State University, raspberry ketones may, in fact, cause too much of a weight reduction to be offered over-the-counter and therefore should be regulated like Xenical and other prescription diet aids.
"My issue isn't necessarily that the supplement causes weight loss, but rather how much it causes," says Hodges. "Research shows the nutrient increases the fat-burning hormone adiponectin, resulting in a signficant amount of weight loss within a period of only one week — that's more than most prescription diet pills."
Hodges says she fears the new super slimmer may be abused by people who have no business taking it.
"With the way the media glamorizes extreme thinness, I'm concerned that people with a very low or normal BMI (body mass index) and already-high adiponectin levels will be able to use it without restrictions. This can become a huge issue, leading to an unhealthy degree of leanness and body-image issues."
Social Media Sensation 
Whether or not raspberry ketone causes "too much" weight loss doesn't concern the tens of thousands of dieters rushing to use it.
Erin Bates, a 36-year-old mother of two from Denver, Colorado, says she lost just over 20 pounds in 4 weeks as a result of using 2 capsules of raspberry ketone three times daily with meals. 
Bates says she began to lose weight almost immediately. "After the first week, I had lost 11 pounds — I thought something was wrong with my scale," says Bates with a laugh. "The pounds were falling off so fast that I actually got excited to step on the scale each morning to see how much more I'd lost."
According to Bates, raspberry ketone is the most effective weight-loss product she's ever used. "I've tried other things like Alli, but I didn't really notice a difference. The change I'm seeing with raspberry ketone is shocking. It's like liposuction in a bottle," says Bates with a laugh.
David Jefferies, a 37-year-old journalist from Columbia, Missouri, says he's experienced similar weight-loss success with raspberry ketone.

"After just two weeks of using raspberry ketone, I lost 18 pounds of fat, including a lot of fat off my gut," says Jefferies. "I'm amazed at how fast the weight is falling off me. Already my jean size has dropped from 36 to 34."

You Be the Judge...

Does raspberry ketone deliver weight-loss wonders? Well, judge for yourself. While the supplement is currently advertised all over the Internet, be cautious about where you buy because a high percentage of raspberry ketone supplements advertised online are actually low-quality knock-offs from China. We recommend the raspberry ketone product offered from Applied Nutritional Reserach at  see Gold Box Deal below.

The product is manufactured in the United States and tested daily for quality control and potency.  What's more, the company offers a 100% risk-free trial of the product, with each serving providing the same dosage used in the clinical research. In addition, each order is a one-time-only transaction. In other words, there are no reoccurring charges or hidden offers.

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Tennessee-Alabama border town shaken by six unsolved killings

The recent homicides of six people along the Tennessee-Alabama state line have brought back fear and bad memories of previous violent killings near the quiet rural town of Fayetteville, Tenn.
Dozens of law enforcement personnel in Tennessee and Alabama have been working long hours over the past three days to identify a suspect in the deaths of three women and a toddler near Fayetteville and the deaths of two men in Alabama. The bodies of the women and child were found Monday. The bodies of the men were found the following day.
The killings come just three years after six people, including a family in Tennessee and a man in Alabama, were slain near the same border town.
For Lincoln County Sheriff Murray Blackwelder, this is his second multiple-homicide case in a six-year career. The recurrence so soon of such violence has taken a toll on everyone in the county, from police officers to the families who live there, he said.
"It shakes the community," he said. "It shakes it to its core and I understand people being nervous. I understand people being scared because of the unknown."
Authorities on Monday found the bodies of 22-year-old Chabreya Campbell, her 18-month-old son, Rico Ragland, and her friend, 21-year-old Amber McCaulley of Huntsville, Ala., in a home near Fayetteville. Campbell was six months pregnant. A 3-year-old boy was unharmed.
Hours later, police found 21-year-old Jessica Brown's body in a house elsewhere in the county. A 2-month-old infant in the house was not hurt.
Investigators started looking for 24-year-old Warren Vincent Crutcher as a person of interest in the case, but he was found dead Tuesday, his body dumped in some Alabama woods just across the state line. A sixth victim, identified as Jeffrey Pope, was found dead the same day in his Huntsville, Ala., home. The common thread in all three cases: Crutcher knew the other victims.
As investigators try to unravel the case, some in the community can't help but be reminded of the July 2009 killings. Like the events of that year, the latest crimes have left them in shock.
In the 2009 case, sheriff's deputies found 38-year-old Traci Shaffer, her son, Devin Brooks, and neighbor Robert Berber, both 16, dead in their home. The bodies of Traci Shaffer's brother, Chris Hall, 34, and father Billy Hall, 57, were found in a home across the road.
Jacob Shaffer and his unharmed 4-year-old daughter were found by authorities sitting on the porch of one of the homes where the bodies were found. Authorities then found 50-year-old Sidney Wade Dempsey beaten to death at a business in Huntsville, Ala., about 30 miles south.
Shaffer pleaded guilty to five counts of murder in the Tennessee slayings and was given five life sentences. He has not yet gone to trial in Dempsey's slaying.
Sheila Brannon, 50, has lived in Fayetteville her whole life and works just over the state line in Alabama at a fast food restaurant not far from where one of the bodies was found this week. Brannon said she immediately thought back to the Shaffer family.
"I never expected it to happen here again," she said, while standing outside the Fayetteville courthouse in the town's bustling downtown square.
She said the latest slayings have made her skittish and fearful, and she doesn't understand why anyone would kill a child.
"I thought it was sick. It's horrible," she said. "It's not like the baby could talk."
Blackwelder said there are similarities between this year's case and the 2009 killings.
While he said he couldn't go into detail, in both instances, family members and acquaintances were targeted, some children were killed while others were left unscathed, and the crime scenes were in both Tennessee and Alabama, miles apart.
Blackwelder said the intensity of the police work necessary to bring the Shaffer case to trial has been difficult on his deputies and staff.
"Unfortunately we have the distinction of having two multiple homicides and it takes a huge toll on the personnel," he said. "It takes a toll on their personal lives and it takes a toll on the resources that we have."
He said the investigators are working just as diligently as they did three years again to solve the latest killings. And he tried to assure residents that they shouldn't be afraid.
"I don't feel like the residents of Lincoln or Madison counties, either one, should be concerned with their safety, because this was not a random act," he said.

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Police: 37 dead after Afghan mosque suicide bomb

Police in northern Afghanistan told the Reuters news agency that the death toll following a suicide bombing at a mosque in northern Afghanistan has risen to 37.
The attack, on the first day of the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday, happened in Maimana, capital of Faryab province, said Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai, a spokesman for police in the Afghan north.

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Suspect in New York police officer's killing charged with murder

 An ex-convict suspected of gunning down a New York policeman and a carjacking victim was charged Thursday with two counts of first-degree murder as he appeared in a courtroom packed with officers.
About 50 police officers, most in uniform, stood in the courtroom and about 50 more filled the hallways during Darrell Fuller's initial appearance on Long Island. He also faces robbery and weapons charges.
Fuller spoke inaudibly in response to the judge's questions. No plea was entered, and the defense didn't ask for bail.
Fuller had been transferred from a hospital to police headquarters on Wednesday. He was hospitalized Tuesday after police say he suffered self-inflicted gunshot wounds.
Police say Fuller was arrested hours after he fatally shot Nassau County Officer Arthur Lopez, who had suspected Fuller had been involved in a hit-and-run car accident.
The 33-year-old Queens man is suspected of fleeing that shooting and then killing a man while carjacking his vehicle.
Fuller served four years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted murder in 2005, authorities said. He was jailed again in 2010 after violating his parole on a drug arrest but was released in May 2011 because there was insufficient evidence to support a stiffer sentence, the Nassau district attorney said.
"This is a man who should rot in hell and never see the light of day again," said James Carver, president of the Nassau County police union.
Lopez was shot Tuesday in what had started out as a traffic stop near the Belmont Park horse track.
The 29-year-old Lopez was on patrol in Bellerose Terrace, a community at the border of Queens and Nassau County. He and his partner spotted a damaged silver Honda that was "running on rims" and suspected it was wanted for leaving the scene of a hit-and-run accident, authorities said.
The officers followed the car, and it pulled over. There was "a brief exchange of words" between Lopez and the driver before the driver left the vehicle and fired one round into Lopez's chest, police Chief Steven Skrynecki said, adding that the officer wasn't wearing a bulletproof vest.
The shooter got back into his car and drove away, and then accosted 52-year-old Queens resident Raymond Facey, authorities said. He shot the man in the head, dragged him out of his car and left him dead on the roadway and then drove away, they said.
Facey's daughter, Abbigail, told the New York Post that he had pulled over to call her to discuss a family trip to Jamaica to celebrate his mother's 80th birthday.
A funeral for Lopez is planned for Saturday on Long Island.

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British oil executive murdered

A British oil executive has been shot dead in front of his wife outside a restaurant in the Belgian capital of Brussels. The attack on Nicholas Mockford happened 12 days ago, but details have only emerged after a news blackout imposed by the police.

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President Assad at prayers as Eid ceasefire fails

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been filmed at Friday prayers to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, as reports of shelling appear to show that the holiday ceasefire is not holding in Damascus.

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East Coast prepares for pre-Halloween 'Frankenstorm'

The pre-Halloween hybrid weather monster that federal forecasters call "Frankenstorm" is looking more ominous by the hour for the East Coast, and utilities and local governments are getting ready.
Meteorologists expect a natural horror show of high wind, heavy rain, extreme tides and maybe snow to the west beginning early Sunday, peaking with the arrival of Hurricane Sandy on Tuesday and lingering past Halloween on Wednesday.
With a rare mix of three big merging weather systems over a densely populated region, experts predict at least $1 billion in damage.
Hurricane Sandy, which has killed 21 in the Caribbean, including 11 in Cuba and nine in Haiti, is currently sweeping through the Bahamas and is barreling north. A wintry storm is chugging across the country from the west. And frigid air is streaming south from Canada.
And if they meet Tuesday morning around New York or New Jersey, as forecasters redict, they could create a big, wet mess that settles over the nation's most heavily populated corridor and reaches as far west as Ohio.
Utilities are lining up out-of-state work crews and canceling employees' days off to deal with expected power outages. From county disaster chiefs to the federal government, emergency officials are warning the public to be prepared. And President Barack Obama was briefed aboard Air Force One.
"It's looking like a very serious storm that could be historic," said Jeff Masters, meteorology director of the forecasting service Weather Underground. "Mother Nature is not saying, `Trick or treat.' It's just going to give tricks."
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecaster Jim Cisco, who coined the nickname Frankenstorm, said: "We don't have many modern precedents for what the models are suggesting."
Government forecasters said there is a 90 percent chance -- up from 60 percent two days earlier -- that the East will get pounded.
Coastal areas from Florida to Maine will feel some effects, but the storm is expected to vent the worst of its fury on New Jersey and the New York City area, which could see around 5 inches of rain and gale-force winds close to 40 mph. Eastern Ohio, southwestern Pennsylvania and western Virginia could get snow.
Virginia's Department of Emergency Management are advising residents to make preparations in advance and to closely watch local forecasts.
“We are taking the forecast seriously,” VDEM spokeswoman Laura Southard told FoxNews.com. “We are in close contact with the National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Center, so we’re getting the best information we can.”
Residents in the storm’s expected path, Southard said, should have a three days’ supply of water on hand, or one gallon per person per day, enough for drinking, cooking and some bathing.
“They should have at least a 3-day supply and food that doesn’t need electricity to prepare it,” she said.
To combat extended power outages, Southard suggested residents purchase battery-powered radios and extra batteries.
“Pay attention,” she said. “Expect that there’s going to be some effect and go ahead and make some preparations.”
Southard said state officials likely will add more employees at its emergency center in Richmond beginning on Saturday.
“It looks like things are coming together,” she said. “And it never, ever hurts to be prepared.”
According to Cisco, the storm will take its time leaving, and the weather may not start clearing in the mid-Atlantic until the day after Halloween and Nov. 2 in the upper Northeast.
"It's almost a weeklong, five-day, six-day event," he said from a NOAA forecast center in College Park, Md. "It's going to be a widespread, serious storm."
It is likely to hit during a full moon, when tides are near their highest, increasing the risk of coastal flooding. And because many trees still have their leaves, they are more likely to topple in the event of wind and snow, meaning there could be widespread power outages lasting to Election Day.
Eastern states that saw outages that lasted for days after last year's freak Halloween snowstorm and Hurricane Irene in late August 2011 are already pressuring power companies to be more ready this time.
Asked if he expected utilities to be more prepared, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick responded: "They'd better be."
Jersey Central Power & Light, which was criticized for its response to Irene, notified employees to be ready for extended shifts. In Pennsylvania, PPL Corp. spokesman Michael Wood said, "We're in a much better place this year."
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Thursday said the city was striking a tone of calm preparedness.
"What we are doing is we are taking the kind of precautions you should expect us to do, and I don't think anyone should panic," Bloomberg said. The city has opened an emergency situation room and activated its coastal storm plan.
Consolidated Edison is warning its 9 million customers in Westchester County and New York City to stay away from any downed power lines if and when the storm strikes the state.
“Treat any downed line as if it’s alive,” Con Ed spokesman Christ Olert told FoxNews.com. “Stay away.”
Olert advised residents to charge portable devices in advance and to have extra batteries on hand in the event of outages.
“We’re watching it and we’ll be prepared,” Con Ed spokesman Chris Olert told FoxNews.com. “We’ll have extra crews available and, if need be, we’ll go to 12-hour shifts.”
Some have compared the tempest to the so-called Perfect Storm that struck off the coast of New England in 1991, but that one hit a less populated area. Nor is this one like last year's Halloween storm, which was merely an early snowfall.
"The Perfect Storm only did $200 million of damage and I'm thinking a billion" this time, Masters said. "Yeah, it will be worse."
As it made its way across the Caribbean, Sandy was blamed for at least 20 deaths. The 18th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season hit the Bahamas after cutting across Cuba, where it tore roofs off homes and damaged fragile coffee and tomato crops.
Norje Pupo, a 66-year-old retiree in Holguin, was helping his son clean up early Thursday after an enormous tree toppled in his garden.
"The hurricane really hit us hard," he said. "As you can see, we were very affected. The houses are not poorly made here, but some may have been damaged.

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2 US troops killed in Afghan insider attack

Two U.S. troops in Afghanistan were killed after an individual wearing an Afghan National Police uniform turned his weapon on them, officials said Thursday.
The attack took place in Khas Uruzgan district. Officials are investigating the incident.
It was the latest in a string of attacks from inside the Afghan Army and police force that are threatening to undermine both the partnership with international troops -- which have been the target of many attacks -- and the morale of Afghan forces, who have suffered equally heavy casualties from such strikes.
So far this year, at least 52 foreign troops -- about half of them Americans -- have been killed in insider attacks.
The Afghan government has not provided statistics on the number of its forces killed in insider attacks. However, U.S. military statistics obtained by The Associated Press show at least 53 members of the Afghan security forces had been killed in such strikes by the end of August.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Bombing kills 20 in Afghan mosque

A suicide bomber killed at least 20 people and wounded more than 50 when he struck inside a mosque in Maymana city in northern Afghanistan during Eid al-Adha holiday prayers on Friday, officials said.

"We have 20 people dead. Police are also among the victims. More than 50 were wounded as a result of the explosion," the Faryab provincial governor's spokesman, Ahmad Jawed Baidar, told AFP.

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Britain honors bomb-sniffing dog who died with handler in Afghanistan

 A bomb-sniffing army dog who died in Afghanistan on the day his handler was killed has been honored with Britain's highest award for animal bravery.
Springer spaniel mix Theo was posthumously awarded the Dickin Medal on Thursday at a ceremony in London.
Theo worked for five months in Afghanistan with Royal Army Veterinary Corps Lance Cpl. Liam Tasker, searching out roadside bombs.
Tasker was killed in a firefight with insurgents in Helmand Province in March 2011. Theo suffered a fatal seizure hours later at a British army base, likely brought about by stress.
The soldier and his dog were brought back to Britain on the same military flight.
Since 1943 the Dickin Medal has recognized wartime gallantry by animals, from carrier pigeons to a World War II commando collie.

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Prosecutors say Colorado teen confesses in death of Jessica Ridgeway

  A Colorado teenager has confessed in the abduction and killing of a 10-year-old girl and in a separate attack on a runner, prosecutors said Thursday.
The suspect, 17-year-old Austin Reed Sigg, made his first court appearance Thursday in the death of Jessica Ridgeway and an assault on a 22-year-old female runner in May.
Authorities said Thursday they have "overwhelming" DNA evidence against Sigg.
Sigg lived about a mile from Jessica Ridgeway, who disappeared Oct. 5.
He kept head bowed for much of the time, talking with his attorney but otherwise saying little.
He made eye contact at one point with relatives of Ridgeway, who were in the courtroom wearing purple ribbons in the girl's memory.
District Attorney Scott Storey said the law prevents prosecutors from seeking the death penalty because Sigg is a juvenile, even though he is being prosecuted as an adult.
Sigg's mother was in the courtroom and sat a few rows behind her son. She raised her hand when the judge asked if a parent or guardian was present. He is currently being held at the Mount View Youth Center, but could be moved to an adult facility at a later time.
Arrest papers describe Sigg as "cooperative"
Police in the Denver suburb of Westminster said they took Sigg into custody Tuesday night after receiving a phone call, apparently from his mother, that led them to Sigg.
Reached by phone Wednesday, Sigg's mother told The Associated Press he turned himself in.
"I made the phone call, and he turned himself in. That's all I have to say," said Mindy Sigg, before she broke down in tears and hung up.
Authorities said Sigg also will face charges in the May 28 attempted kidnapping of the 22-year-old runner at the Ketner Lake Open Space. Police have said the two crimes are connected, but they haven't elaborated.
In the May case, a woman fought off a stranger who grabbed her from behind and put a rag that smelled of chemicals over her mouth, authorities said. Police haven't determined if the substance on the rag was meant to subdue the woman.
Authorities have released few details about their investigation, and court documents have been sealed. A police custody report said Sigg was cooperative when he was arrested and waived his rights.
Acquaintances have said Sigg was interested in mortuary science and forensic science, often wore black and hung out in the high school cafeteria's "goth corner."
Sigg had attended Witt Elementary, but he moved on to middle school in 2007, before Jessica enrolled at Witt, Jefferson County Public Schools spokeswoman Lynn Setzer said.
Sigg later attended Standley Lake High School while also taking classes at Warren Tech, a district school that offers specialized training in health science, public safety, technology and other fields.
He left the school district in July after finishing the 11th grade and later earned a GED. School officials don't know why he left.
Arapahoe Community College officials confirmed Sigg is enrolled there but wouldn't release other details.
As technicians in white coveralls searched Sigg's home, former high school classmates painted a picture of Sigg as an intelligent teen who often wore black and complained about school but who would stay late sometimes to work on computers.
Sigg was interested in mortuary science and was taking forensics classes, said Rachel Bradley, 17, who attended Standley Lake with him. Arapahoe Community College offers the state's only accredited mortuary science program.
"It's just so weird to grasp the concept of how, like, I knew him and how he lives so close to us," Bradley said Wednesday.
"I never saw it coming," she said of the allegations against Sigg.
Yearbooks showed Sigg was a member of the choir in his freshman and sophomore years.
Former schoolmate Sarah Morevec said Sigg had been bullied for having a high voice.
Dakota Foster graduated from Standley Lake in 2011, a year before Sigg left. Foster on Wednesday said he and his friends sat at the opposite end of a cafeteria table from Sigg and his friends.
"He was really nice and laughed a lot with us and told jokes, and laughed at our jokes," Foster said.
Foster, 19, said he didn't know Sigg well, but "he used to hang out with a lot of us in what we called the goth corner (of the school cafeteria), where all the metal heads were."
"He wore all black so he fit it," Foster said. He added he wasn't surprised that Sigg left high school after the 11th grade.
"I know he didn't like his classes very much," Foster said. "He always complained about school."
Neighbor Brooke Olds, 13, said Wednesday she usually saw Sigg alone on a skateboard or scooter.
"He was shy and kept to himself," she said.
Police said they notified the Ridgeway family of the arrest Wednesday morning. Jessica lived in Westminster with her mother, Sarah Ridgeway. Jessica's father, Jeremiah Bryant, lives in Missouri.
Jessica's great-grandmother Donna Moss told Kansas City-area reporters that she feels for Sigg's mother but has to fight the rage she has toward Sigg because she knows as a Christian she should forgive.
"I think it's all I've got within me to not want to just burn him, and I mean burn him," she said.
The arrest brought some relief to the community, where some parents said they were nervous about letting their children play outside as authorities searched for Jessica's killer.
 "Every parent in every Colorado community will rest a little easier tonight," said Gov. John Hickenlooper, who has a 10-year-old son, Wednesday. "While we still mourn the death of Jessica Ridgeway, we are relieved an arrest has been made and the pursuit of justice can continue."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Lawmakers press administration for Libya answers after email release

Leading congressional lawmakers applied new pressure to the Obama administration Thursday for information on the Libya terror attack, after emails published this week showed top officials being told within hours that a local militant group had claimed responsibility.
Republicans are using the alert on Sept. 11, contained in State Department emails, to challenge initial claims by administration officials that attackers were reacting to protests over an anti-Islam film.
House Speaker John Boehner, in a lengthy letter sent to President Obama on Thursday, called on the president to "explain to the American people" what happened.
"The American public is increasingly reading information contradicting early accounts by your administration of the causes of the events of the day," Boehner said. "In the absence of your direct engagement to clarify these concerns, the public's frustration and confusion is likely to discredit efforts to achieve our shared goals of justice and accountability for the direct assault on American interests and the deaths of four public servants."
He called the latest information "deeply troubling" to lawmakers who attended a briefing after the attack, "as there are perceived inconsistencies between what they learned during the briefing and the now widely available documentation regarding what was known at the time of the attack."
Boehner's letter came as the Senate intelligence committee announced it would hold a closed oversight hearing on Nov. 15, "with additional hearings to follow."
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House oversight committee, and Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, also wrote a letter to Obama on Thursday asking about the newly disclosed emails.
"The committee is concerned that this important report in an inter-agency dialogue appears to have been discarded in favor of different conclusions that have since been found to be false," they wrote. "We request your assistance in understanding why this report was disregarded for weeks in favor of flawed conclusions about a spontaneous protest."
The emails show top officials were alerted to militant group Ansar al-Sharia in Benghazi claiming responsibility on Facebook and Twitter shortly after the strike began. The group has since denied carrying out the attack - though it is still suspected of being behind strike.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton downplayed those emails on Wednesday.
"Posting something on Facebook is not in and of itself evidence," Clinton said. "And I think it just underscores how fluid the reporting was at the time and continued for some time to be."
Though the emails are just one piece of the puzzle, they reveal some of the most detailed information yet about what officials were saying to each other in the initial hours after the attack. And they again raise questions about why U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice, apparently based on intelligence assessments, would claim five days after the attack that it was a "spontaneous" reaction to protests over an anti-Islam film.
"It is clear that information now in the public domain contradicts how you and senior administration officials consistently described the cause and nature of the terrorist attack in the days and weeks immediately following.  Why did the administration fail to account for facts that were known at the time?" Boehner wrote in his letter.
Boehner also raised concerns about documented "security problems" in the country before the attack and asked when was the last time Obama was briefed by Stevens. Further, he asked for more information on what military options were available during the attack and "why it appears assets were not allowed to be pre-positioned, let alone utilized."
To that point, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the military "had forces in place" to respond but did not want to intervene without a clear picture of what was happening on the ground.
"I'm sure there's going to be -- there's a lot of Monday morning quarterbacking going on here," he said. "But the basic principle here ... is that you don't deploy forces into harm's way without knowing what's going on."
Meanwhile, more signs of extremist involvement in the attack continue to surface. Fox News was told that the suspect currently in Tunisian custody - Ali Ani al-Harzi - has a brother who was a jihadist with Al Qaeda in Iraq. Separately, among the list of suspects being reviewed by the FBI and intelligence community is at least one individual who is believed to have fought for Al Qaeda in Iraq and also participated in the consulate attack.
These links between Benghazi and AQI are described as "limited" at this point in the investigation.
Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, also told Fox News that he believes a second attack on the U.S. Embassy in Tunisia on Sept. 14 was the work of Ansar al-Sharia as well.
"Clearly a jihadist group. I believe it will be determined probably Ansar al-Sharia," Rogers said, adding he believes the group was emboldened by its success in Benghazi and struck again.
"Clearly they decided to take advantage of the momentum of 9/11 -- clearly that was their case and they had moderate success," he said.

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Police detain 1, seek motive in LA family shooting

 Authorities say they will continue to detain for questioning a man who fits the description of the gunman in shootings that killed three people and critically wounded two others at a family-owned business in suburban Los Angeles.
Downy Police Lt. Dean Milligan says the man is one of four people detained and questioned earlier Thursday. The other three have been released.
Milligan identified the three people who were killed as 26-year-old Josimar Rojas, 35-year-old Irene Cardenas and 34-year-old Susana Perez-Ruelas.
Additionally, a vehicle that the suspect stole and used as a getaway car has been recovered.
Thursday's shooting at a family-owned fire extinguisher business and a relative's nearby home shocked the community.
Police have not released a motive, though they believe the family was targeted.

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