Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/179927240?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Thursday, December 29, 2011
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Cowboys play it safe, rest Romo, Felix vs. Philly (AP)
ARLINGTON, Texas ? Tony Romo was in the locker room dealing with a passing hand that wasn't broken, but was swelling.
At the same time, the New York Giants were polishing off a victory that rendered the result of this game just about meaningless, and turned their game against the Cowboys in New York next weekend into a battle for the NFC East title.
So Jerry Jones left his midfield viewing booth and marched right to coach Jason Garrett on the sideline. Neither would give a clear explanation of their conversation, but it's obvious how the chat went considering Romo didn't return and oft-injured running back Felix Jones soon joined him on the sideline.
Missing those crucial players, and lacking intensity, the Cowboys came within 7 seconds of being shut out at home for the first time in 20 years, losing 20-7 to the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday.
"You have to step back and understand what the situation is," Garrett said. "We need to be as healthy as we can be next week."
New York's victory eliminated the Eagles from the playoffs and meant the Cowboys couldn't clinch the division title with a win. Dallas could've still been playing for a wild-card backup plan, but was clearly more concerned about getting ready for the "win and you're in" route to the playoffs, especially after Romo banged his hand on the helmet of a defender.
Garrett said the club had decided earlier in the week who would and wouldn't play if the Giants won. Garrett said Romo's injury added a new wrinkle.
The question of why Jones decided to personally go over the plan with Garrett again, and in light of the Romo injury, wasn't really answered.
"I did want to go and communicate real good and we did communicate real good," Jones said. "These are decisions made by Jason, ultimately."
Michael Vick threw touchdown passes on his first drive and just before halftime, which was all the scoring the Eagles would need. They added a pair of field goals in the second half, while their defense prevented an offense powered by Stephen McGee, Sammy Morris and Chauncey Washington from sustaining any drives.
Dallas' only points came after a blocked punt set up McGee on the Philadelphia 16-yard line with 19 seconds left. He ran for 12 yards, then hit Miles Austin for a 4-yard touchdown pass to avoid the first shutout since November 2003, and the first at home since September 1991, also against Philadelphia.
"I just feel like we dodged a bullet ? Romo is healthy, that's critical to us," Jones said. "I certainly agree with how we played the game tonight, and who played what, when and how they played ? complete agreement with it."
Dallas (8-7) lost for the third time in four games, guaranteeing another losing record after Thanksgiving. If the Cowboys end up missing the playoffs, this flop at the finish will loom large all offseason. Of course, if they win the division, it'll only be a footnote.
The upcoming week will be filled with all sorts of similar high-stakes ramifications that will be riding on the finale for both Dallas and New York. Anticipating huge interest ? and high ratings ? that game has been moved to NBC's prime-time Sunday night showcase.
"If at the beginning of the year you told us we would have a chance to win the division in Week 17, we would have jumped at it," tight end Jason Witten said. "We will have to play our best football. It's on the road. It's going to be tough. But that's the environment you have to take. The Giants have been in these situations, too. It's going to be a huge challenge."
When this game kicked off, the Giants were up by only six points midway through the fourth quarter, so the Cowboys and Eagles still had a lot to play for.
Philadelphia got the ball first and Vick picked up where he left off the last time these teams met, cruising 80 yards in eight plays for a 7-0 lead. Then the Eagles snuffed Romo, forcing a punt from around midfield.
On the final play of that series, Romo rushed a third-down pass to avoid a sack. On his follow-through, he smacked his passing hand on Jason Babin's helmet. That's when things got about as interesting as they'd be the rest of the afternoon.
The drama began with Jones leaving his midfield viewing booth to chat with Garrett. He returned to his booth about the same time Romo returned to the sideline.
Romo couldn't grip the ball or take a snap, so he got his hand and wrist wrapped. While he was trading his helmet for a baseball cap, team vice president Stephen Jones arrived on the sideline and spoke with trainers. Felix Jones then joined Romo as being done for the day.
McGee ? who moved up from third-stringer to backup when Jon Kitna went on injured reserve ? took over for Romo and went 24 of 38 for 182 yards, with four runs for 28 yards.
McGee beat the Eagles in last season's finale, but he struggled to even sustain drives this time. It didn't help that his running backs were Morris (pulled from retirement before last week's game) and Washington (signed off the street this week).
"It took me a little while to get comfortable," McGee said. "I don't get very many reps, basically never in a real game. I felt like I made progress through the game."
Philadelphia (7-8) won its third straight, giving the preseason "Dream Team" and midseason nightmare the chance to break even if it can beat the Redskins at home in its finale next weekend. The Eagles also swept the season series against the Cowboys for the first time since 2006, having clobbered Dallas 34-7 in October.
"If we had gotten into the playoffs we would have definitely done some damage," Vick said. "It's unfortunate we didn't. That's the game of football. We made some mistakes early (this season) and got behind in the win-loss column. But we're just happy we're finishing strong."
The defense sure is. Philadelphia has allowed just 36 points and 683 yards over the last three games, with 16 sacks.
"I think it took a little time to gel," said defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins, one of the offseason additions whose arrival raised expectations. "I guess it took longer than we anticipated. We just didn't get the job done. You can make all the excuses in the world, but they really don't mean anything. At the end of the season when you look at our final record, there's not going to be asterisk by it. You just have to own up to it. We let a lot of opportunities get away from us early. All we can do now is control what we do in the future."
Vick was 18 of 32 for 293 yards, with the touchdowns going to Jeremy Maclin and Brent Celek. Jason Avant nearly had another TD, but fumbled inches before touching the pylon, resulting in a touchback for the Cowboys.
DeSean Jackson caught five passes for 90 yards, and ran for 27 yards on two end arounds, both on consecutive plays.
Alex Henery kicked field goals of 43 and 51 yards for the Eagles' only points in the second half.
"They're disappointed we don't have a shot at the playoffs," coach Andy Reid said. "At the same time I was pleased with the energy they brought to the football field. They wanted to dominate and play aggressive football. Nobody was hanging their heads."
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Thursday, December 22, 2011
ispazio: Apple starebbe sperimentando l?iWatch dotato di Siri?: In un articolo recentemente pubblicato dal New York Times... http://t.co/k2DZjX3Y
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Apple starebbe sperimentando l?iWatch dotato di Siri?: In un articolo recentemente pubblicato dal New York Times... bit.ly/rAh0u4 
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Friday, December 16, 2011
Daily Apps: GoodReader for iPad, Wind-up Knight, Hugo Retro Mania, TapShot, mGifts
GoodReader for iPad: Now with AFP connections + AFP Auto Sync to connect to shared folders on a Mac, to Apple Time Capsule, and to other AFP-enabled NAS drives. $4.99 for iPad – App Store link Wind-up Knight: Guide your Wind-up Knight through devilish levels–over 50 in all–to...
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/LndPY4H2DRI/story01.htm
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Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Chantal Sicile-Kira: French Psychoanalysts Take Legal Action to ...
On Dec. 8, a French judge in the Lille Regional Court in France must decide whether or not to ban a documentary by Sophie Robert, "The Wall: Psychoanalysis Put to the Test for Autism," that highlights the treatment -- psychoanalysis -- that families are offered in France when seeking help for their child with autism.
The documentary consists of interviews of 30 French psychoanalysts (many of them lead psychiatrists at treatment centers and department heads of notable French hospitals) who place the blame for autism on mothers who are either too cold or too incestuous towards their children.
The psychoanalysts in the film quote Bruno Bettelheim (a proponent of the "refrigerator mother" theory of autism), Sigmund Freud (father of the Oedipus complex and penis envy), and Jacques Lacan when discussing the causes and treatment of autism. In the 1960s, Lacan described psychotic and autistic children as victims of the alienation of a psychogenic mother who is unable to separate from a child who is a substitute for the penis she was born without.
The 50-minute film has been available online for about two months and can be seen in the original French version, with English subtitles, or with Spanish subtitles.
Three psychoanalysts have taken legal action to ban the release of this film in which they were interviewed. The plaintiffs, Eric Laurent, Esthela Solano and Alexandre Stevens, members of the School of the Freudian Cause, contend that they were deceived about the purpose of the film. The filmmaker's attorney, M. Beno?t Titran, says:
"The plaintiffs delivered information and were properly informed of the purpose of the film. But they realized afterwards the scope of their statements; therefore they don't assume them anymore and they want to be able to reconsider the authorizations they gave. If the Court accepts their request, the basis of journalistic work will be undermined."
It is not just the basis of journalistic work that is in question here; it is whether or not the public will learn the truth about the ineffective and demoralizing treatment that families with autism are subjected to when other evidence-based (and less expensive) treatments and strategies recognized and implemented everywhere else in the civilized word (except perhaps in Argentina) could be used.
Psychoanalysts have a stronghold in France for the treatment of children despite the lack of any research showing progress in their expensive psychiatric day programs paid for by government medical funds. These ineffective treatments include "Le Packing" -- derived from a 17th century treatment for mentally-ill patients in insane asylums -- where autistic children and teens are wrapped in cold, wet towels. French non-profit autism organizations such as Autistes sans Frontieres and Vaincre l'Autism among others have been battling for years to have their children educated at schools with evidence-based strategies provided by trained teachers and paraprofessionals, rather than to have to enroll their children in psychiatric day programs run by the medical system.
In 2004, a study conducted by the INSERM (The French National Institute of Health and Research) concluded that psychoanalysis therapy is far less effective than other psychotherapies including cognitive behavior therapy. However, the Minister of Health at the time, Minster Douste-Blazythe, had the results of the study removed from the official Ministry of Health website after psychoanalysts complained to him. Such is the political power that psychoanalysts wield in France.
In 2007 Didier Sicard, President of the French Comit? Consultatif National d'Ethique (CCNE), a French advisory council on bioethics issues, released the findings of a working group charged with looking into the situation of the 350,000 to 600,000 individuals with autism in France.
The report stated (among other concerns) that children and their families encountered huge problems accessing early and specialized educational programs, had little if any choice in the treatment or educational modality, and that little support was provided to parents. It also stated that the Council of Europe had condemned France in 2004 for not meeting its obligations to provide children with autism an appropriate education, but that this had not resulted in any significant change in the educational care provided to these children. The report affirmed that "ethical and humane solutions are not more expensive."
Despite these findings by two different yet reputable sources, psychoanalysis continues to be the treatment offered to children with autism. Upon questioning, the psychoanalysts admit their techniques are useless. In "The Wall," when asked, "What can an autistic child reasonably expect from an analytic work in terms of results?" one psychoanalyst replies:
"Personally, if the kid does not do anything during the session, if I drowse beside him, I don't care. I am used to that in my work as a psychoanalyst."
Another one answers:
"The pleasure of taking interest in a soap bubble. I can't answer anything else."
French press coverage of the legal action taken can be read in English here.
In my opinion, "The Wall" should not be banned. It needs to be seen by as many people as possible so that the plight of French families impacted by autism can be understood and hopefully improved. If this documentary is banned, it is the French children with autism and their families who continue to struggle to access evidence-based treatments and strategies in an educational setting who will suffer.
Watch the film while you still can. Please spread the word and leave your comments below.
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Follow Chantal Sicile-Kira on Twitter: www.twitter.com/sicilekira
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chantal-sicile-kira/the-wall-film-autism_b_1127680.html
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Emmert considers advisory role on abuse guidelines
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? NCAA President Mark Emmert is asking the U.S. Education Department to help create advisory guidelines for universities about dealing with ball boys, ball girls and other minors on campus.
Emmert said he contacted Education Secretary Arne Duncan after allegations of child-sex abuse surfaced at Penn State and Syracuse over the past month.
"We're looking into that right now," Emmert told The Associated Press on Monday. "Because we've never been involved with this kind of thing before, we're trying to determine what is the best thing to do."
The Education Department announced a month ago that it would conduct an investigation at Penn State. Rep. Patrick Meehan, R-Pa., a former U.S. attorney, has encouraged Duncan to investigate possible Clery Act violations; the law requires schools to report the number of crimes on campus and provide warnings in a timely manner if safety is threatened.
The scandal at Penn State has cost coach Joe Paterno and university President Graham Spanier their jobs. Former Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky is accused of molesting boys for years.
Syracuse and area police are investigating allegations made by three men who claim they were abused by assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine, who has been fired.
They are the ugliest scandals in a year of college sports marred by alleged improprieties at major institutions including Boise State, Miami, Ohio State and Tennessee.
"We have had a heck of a year of scandals and disruptions," Emmert said. "To have really good success on the one hand and all these grenades blowing up has been frustrating."
But nothing has been more disconcerting to Emmert than these allegations of child-sex abuse.
"I think we all, and by that I mean society, need to be very vigilant when there are people in positions of power and who entail a great deal of trust because someone can be taken advantage of," Emmert said.
Last month, Emmert announced that the NCAA had started an inquiry into whether Penn State had violated rules of institutional control. It is not yet a formal investigation.
Emmert has asked Penn State to respond to a variety of questions by Dec. 16, though he noted Monday that it was unlikely the school could provide all the answers in time.
Emmert said he has not yet begun a similar inquiry at Syracuse.
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Sunday, December 4, 2011
Feds: Tuna Probably OK After BP Oil Spill
Last year's BP oil spill probably won't push the troubled bluefin tuna Gulf of Mexico population over the edge as some scientists had worried, a federal analysis shows.
Of all the potential damage from the 172-million-gallon spill in April 2010, scientists had been most concerned about how the oil spill would harm an already overfished species of large tuna. That's because about one-fifth of the spawning habitat where the Gulf's baby tuna were living was coated with oil, according to satellite records. Tuna less than a year old are most vulnerable to pollution.
An analysis by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, using two different projections from computer models, says that at most, such a spill probably would result in a 4 percent reduction in future spawning of the fish, but probably far less.
Bluefin tuna is considered one of the Gulf's signature species. A summit that begins Monday in Houston will examine the Gulf's health, including the government's restoration plans and the tuna's fate.
"It appears so far that the impact on the larval population is relatively small," said Clay Porch, director of sustainable fisheries for NOAA's Southeast Fisheries Science Center in Miami.
The agency's analysis, which was mentioned in two pages of a 114-page government update on overall tuna health released in May, is based on an assumption that 1 in 5 baby tuna was killed or unable to reproduce in the future because that's the size of the spill in the spawning area.
That 20 percent potential loss of year-old tuna translates to 4 percent of the overall tuna population in the future. Overall population figures also have to factor in the fact that in general many baby tuna at that age die naturally.
But that is probably way too high a figure, Porch said in an interview.
Instead of 20 percent of baby tuna being harmed, more recent analysis yet to be published said it should be 11 percent or maybe even 5 percent, he said. Those figures should be reduced even more for the overall future population of tuna, down nearer to 2 percent.
At most that number should be 1 in 9 or even in 1 in 20 deaths of baby tuna, and that's only the effect on one year for the long-lived tuna.
Those smaller figures are based on larval surveys that have not been released publicly because of a potential court case with BP over damages from the spill, and more simulations "that are conditioned on real data," Porch said.
Porch said it's unlikely that the effect on tuna stock would hit 4 percent and "it is not an additional major source of stress" on the overall population of the bluefin tuna in the Gulf. Other work on baby tuna health will be published in peer reviewed science journals.
But that's only the young. So far NOAA doesn't know how the spill affected adults and whether adults of all ages were killed or made infertile in massive numbers that could have a bigger effect on the overall population than the oiling of one year's worth of young, Porch said.
Boris Worm, a fisheries professor at Dalhousie University in Canada who has warned of problems with tuna populations in the past, said the NOAA figures are within the yearly variations of mortality for tuna.
"So it will be a bad year, but not a catastrophic year," Worm said. "This wouldn't push them over the brink."
Former NOAA chief scientist Sylvia Earle, a renowned ocean explorer who has campaigned against overfishing of tuna, isn't convinced that bluefin tuna weathered the oil slick.
"I think it's too early to celebrate a possible greater survival than had been predicted. These are, after all, models," Earle said. "The truth is we don't have enough information to be able to clearly say one way or another what happened to the 2010 class of baby tuna."
Gulf scientists have wondered for months about the health of the bluefin tuna, said Larry McKinney, executive director of the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi.
"They are sentinel species that gives us an idea of the health of the open ocean, where we don't know a lot," McKinney said.
___
Online:
NOAA's status of the bluefin tuna: http://tinyurl.com/bmwoauf
NOAA's Southeast Fisheries Science Center: http://www.sefsc.noaa.gov
Gulf summit: http://www.sgmsummit.org
Harte Research Institute for the Gulf of Mexico Studies: http://www.harteresearchinstitute.org
Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/12/04/143109143/feds-tuna-probably-ok-after-bp-oil-spill?ft=1&f=1007
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Friday, December 2, 2011
Russia's Putin: don't make politics a circus (Reuters)
ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) ? Prime Minister Vladimir Putin urged voters and politicians on Friday to unite behind the government and prevent Russian politics turning into a "circus" after Sunday's parliamentary election.
Talking to a shipyard worker on the factory floor in St Petersburg, Putin echoed remarks by President Dmitry Medvedev calling for a strong parliament that amounted to an appeal for a big mandate for his and Putin's United Russia.
Their ruling party is expected to win the election to the State Duma lower house; but Putin and Medvedev have struggled during a lackluster election campaign to prevent its huge majority being cut after signs of weariness with the party.
Putin, seeking to avoid an electoral setback that might take some of the gloss off his plan to return as president next year, said bickering among politicians would undermine the government.
"If people behind their TV screens see how people are fighting, pulling each other's hair like in some neighboring countries, then we won't have coherent, effective work," Putin said during the visit to Russia's second city.
"If people want to see a show then they should go to the circus, theater or the movies," he said before laughing and shaking hands with a shipyard worker dressed in overalls.
Medvedev, who is leading the party in to Sunday's election and is likely to become premier next year, made clear it would be a step backwards if voters chose a Duma as divided as it was during the 1990s, when rival parties battled for supremacy.
United Russia has dominated the parliament since 2003, making it little more than a rubber-stamp body for Putin.
"Will this be a legislative body that is torn by irreconcilable differences and is unable to decide anything, as we have unfortunately already had in our history?" Medvedev said in a nationwide address.
"Or will we get a functioning legislature where the majority are responsible politicians who can help raise the quality of life of our people, whose actions will be guided by the voters' interests and national interests?" he said.
COMPLAINTS ABOUT CAMPAIGN
Opposition parties say United Russia has benefited from favorable television coverage and fear there will be voting irregularities, but Medvedev said: "In accordance with the law, conditions were created for free and equal competition."
Many voters say they are not planning to vote because they expect the voting to be rigged and they are fed up with politicians not fulfilling their promises.
"I'm not going to vote because there's no difference between all the political forces. They've all been around for 20 years, making the same promises and doing nothing," said a 35-year-old Muscovite who gave his name only as Dmitry.
Campaign posters for United Russia have dominated cities in the run-up to the election and opposition parties say the ruling party has had much more air time on television.
Kommersant newspaper, which publishes the daily average amount of television coverage given to competing parties, showed United Russia taking the lion's share of air time with over an hour. The liberal Yabloko party was second with 10 minutes.
The seven parties competing in the election were holding a series of rallies on Friday, the last day of campaigning across the world's largest country and the biggest energy producer.
Medvedev and Putin have appeared in numerous high-profile events to try to win votes for United Russia but opinion polls show it is unlikely to retain its two-thirds majority in the State Duma, the lower house of parliament.
Although Putin's personal ratings are still high, they have slipped from their peak and he was jeered when he spoke after a martial arts bout in Moscow last month.
He has reverted less often in the past few weeks to the kind of stunts that built up his macho image, such as shooting a tiger or riding a horse bare-chested, in a sign that advisers believe voters may have grown tired of such antics.
The biggest gainer in the election is expected to be Gennady Zyuganov's Communist Party, still the main opposition force 20 years after the fall of the Soviet Union. Opinion polls suggest it will come second, but far behind United Russia.
Also hoping for gains are Vladimir Zhirinovsky's nationalist LDPR and Grigory Yavlinsky's Yabloko party, which had no seats in the previous parliament.
(Writing by Thomas Grove and Timothy Heritage)
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Unemployment rate falls to lowest since March 2009
FILE - In this Nov. 14, 2011 file photo, job seekers line up to speak to recruiters during a career expo in Las Colinas, Texas. The unemployment rate fell last month to its lowest level in more than two and a half years, as employers stepped up hiring in response to the slowly improving economy. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)
FILE - In this Nov. 14, 2011 file photo, job seekers line up to speak to recruiters during a career expo in Las Colinas, Texas. The unemployment rate fell last month to its lowest level in more than two and a half years, as employers stepped up hiring in response to the slowly improving economy. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)
FILE - In this Nov. 3, 2011 file photo, Maria Aplington, from United Parcel Service, helps Craig Wooten, of Portland, navigate their web site during a hiring event for UPS at WorkSource Oregon, in Portland, Ore. The unemployment rate fell last month to its lowest level in more than two and a half years, as employers stepped up hiring in response to the slowly improving economy. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
In this Dec. 1, 2011 photo, job seekers attend a career fair in Overland Park, Kan. The unemployment rate fell last month to its lowest level in more than two and a half years, as employers stepped up hiring in response to the slowly improving economy. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
In this Dec. 1, 2011 photo, job seekers attend a career fair in Overland Park, Kan. The unemployment rate fell last month to its lowest level in more than two and a half years, as employers stepped up hiring in response to the slowly improving economy. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The U.S. unemployment rate fell last month to its lowest level in more than 2 1/2 years. More Americans out of work either found jobs or gave up looking and were no longer counted as unemployed.
The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate dropped sharply to 8.6 percent, down from 9 percent in October. The rate hasn't been that low since March 2009, during the depths of the recession.
About 13.3 million Americans remain unemployed.
Employers added 120,000 jobs last month. And the previous two months were revised up to show that 72,000 more jobs added ? the fourth straight month that the government has revised prior months higher.
Even with the recent gains, the U.S. economy isn't anywhere close to replacing the jobs lost in the recession. Employers began shedding workers in February 2008 and cut nearly 8.7 million jobs for the next 25 months. Since then, the economy has regained nearly 2.5 million of those jobs.
The presidential election is less than a year away, which means President Barack Obama will almost certainly face voters with the highest unemployment rate of any president since World War II. Still, if the rate continues to decline, Obama stands to benefit. Rival Republicans have made the nation's joblessness a key campaign issue.
Private employers added a net gain of 140,000 jobs in November. But governments shed 20,000 jobs, mostly at the local and state level. Governments at all levels have shed nearly a half-million jobs in the past year.
More than half the jobs added last month were by retailers, restaurants and bars, a sign that holiday hiring has kicked in. Professional and business services also rose. That means the economy likely added higher-paying jobs ? more engineers, accountants and high-tech workers.
The government's report is based on two surveys: One looks at employers' payrolls, and the other surveys households.
The household survey, which is used to determine the unemployment rate, showed bigger job gains than the employer survey for the fourth straight month.
Ian Shepherdson, an economist at High Frequency Economics, said that's a good sign. It suggests hiring will continue to improve.
"Something good is stirring in the U.S. economy," he said in a note to clients.
Still, more than 300,000 people stopped their job searches last month and were no longer counted as unemployed. That contributed to the drop in the unemployment rate. The rate could rise in future months if they resume looking.
And Europe's financial crisis threatens to slow U.S. growth next year. A recession in Europe could reduce U.S. exports, hurt global financial markets and dampen business confidence.
Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics, estimates that the U.S. economy will expand 2.5 percent in the last three months of this year. But he expects growth to slow to 1.5 percent in 2012, partly because of the crisis in Europe. And if Congress fails to extend the Social Security tax cut and long-term unemployment benefits this month, growth is likely to slow even further.
Weak job growth means companies don't have to raise pay to keep their employees. Fewer jobs and lower pay leaves consumers with less money to spend. That's holding back economic growth.
In the past three months, the economy has added an average of 143,000 net jobs per month. That's enough to keep up with population growth and better than the previous three months, when the economy averaged just 84,000.
Other recent economic reports have been positive, too.
Factory output expanded last month. Retailers reported a strong start to holiday sales over the Thanksgiving weekend, consumer confidence surged in November to the highest level since July, and Americans' pay rose in October by the most in seven months.
Car sales also rose sharply in November, normally a lackluster month for the auto industry. Chrysler, Ford, Nissan and Hyundai all reported double-digit gains on Thursday, compared to a year ago.
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