Analysis: Waiving hearing was Sandusky's best option: experts (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? When Jerry Sandusky waived his right to confront his accusers at a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, the former Penn State football coach passed up a potentially valuable opportunity to bolster his defense.

But strategically, it may have been his best option, according to legal experts.

The announcement of the waiver was made before a packed courtroom in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania just before the hearing was to begin. Some of Sandusky's accusers were expected to testify.

In Pennsylvania, preliminary hearings are generally offered to defendants arrested on criminal charges. In some cases, as in the Sandusky matter, it comes after a grand jury has issued its report on evidence gathered by the government. The hearings give a judge the chance to evaluate the evidence. They also provide the defense an opportunity a look at the government's case and question its witnesses.

At both the grand jury and the preliminary hearing stages, the questions tend to be the same: was a crime committed and was the defendant probably involved?

In Sandusky's case, the questions turn on whether or not the former coach molested 10 boys over more than a decade. By waiving his right to a preliminary hearing, Sandusky declined to challenge whether the government had enough evidence to proceed to trial.

Though Sandusky told reporters after the hearing that he and his lawyers intend "to stay the course, to fight four quarters," his actions contradicted that statement, said Steven Fairlie, a criminal defense attorney based in North Wales, Pennsylvania who is not involved in the case. Sandusky gave up a chance to cross-examine his accusers, said Fairlie. In essence, Sandusky "skipped a quarter," said Fairlie.

There are several advantages to participating in a preliminary hearing for defendants, according to legal experts. Defendants can assess the witnesses' credibility and their ability to hold up to cross-examination. The hearings can also create an opportunity to exploit inconsistencies with what witnesses said before the grand jury, said Lisa Friel, former chief off the Manhattan District Attorney's Sex Crimes Prosecution Unit.

"Given that no human being ever related an event that happens to them the same way every time they say it, just by making them say it again and againexploits the possibility of inconsistencies at trial," said Friel.

But dispensing with the hearing may have been the best option, experts said. Sandusky's public image, which has already suffered from the charges, could have taken another hit if alleged victims had told emotional stories.

While no television broadcasts or photos were to be allowed in the courtroom, media would have reported the stories extensively.

"I think they weighed those two things and decided that the advantage they might have gotten out of going forward with a hearing was outweighed by how bad they were going to look in the media," said Friel.

Since many sexual abuse cases do not involve physical evidence, they often come down to credibility contests. But under Pennsylvania law, judges are not allowed to consider a witness's credibility in deciding whether to allow a case to move forward at the preliminary hearing stage.

"Given that there are so many victims, they didn't have a chance of prevailing on the hearing or perhaps intimidating the witnesses into not going forward by insisting on the hearing," said Friel.

When defendants waive their right to a preliminary hearing, it can signal that they are poised to engage in plea negotiations. A government prosecutor denied that those kinds of talks have taken place. But Jeff Lindy, a criminal defense attorney in Philadelphia, said that the decision to waive the hearing could come into play later.

"If there have been conversations in the back room (by prosecutors who say) 'hey look if you waive and do us the courtesy and not force us to put these kids on the witness stand, we will favorably consider it if we engage in plea negotiations down the road," said Lindy.

(Reporting by Andrew Longstreth; Editing by Greg McCune)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111213/us_nm/us_crime_coach_strategy

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What You Must Know About Car Insurance | Car Insurance Rates

It is important that you protect yourself from car accidents. You see, car insurance is the best way for you to protect your investment. When you think about it, there are more motor vehicular accidents now compared to before. You are in luck if you get away with minor injuries. But what happens if you wind up in an uglier scenario? Well, that?s why you need to be ready with car insurance. You will get covered during such accidents.

With car insurance rates aside, you need to get an insurance coverage suitable for the car that you are buying. Never get caught in a positive thinking that you will never get into a car accident. It is better that you are ready. Go ahead and invest in car insurance.

No one can predict what can happen in the future. As you drive on the road, there?s a change that you will get involved in a car accident. You are still prone to accidents despite the fact that you drive carefully and slowly. There?s no escaping even if you follow all the rules of the road. You will still be vulnerable to accidents considering that most car accidents are due to the mistake of the other party. So to speak, any car driven would be better off with a car insurance.

Consider your auto insurance as your security umbrella for your car. The auto insurance rates will greatly vary from one car insurance provider to the other. Nevertheless, the coverage will still be beneficial to your investment. Call different insurance companies and get quotes from them. It is important for you to know that the car insurance provider will check out your records and car. By the time the agent is done with the assessment, you will be able to determine the coverage amount for your car.

Once you are done with the coverage amount you want, your next concern would be the deductible amount. You have to decide on it too because it will be the expenses that you have to pay yourself so you can get your car repaired before your car insurance company pays for the? rest of the expenses. It would be best if you get a higher deductible amount. That way, your premium payments will be lesser.

There are different factors to be measured before a car insurance provider hands in their quotation. Your driving record will be checked. A background check on your credit score will also be done. The kind of car and how old it is will greatly affect the insurance quotation. Expect that a brand new luxury car will have a more expensive premium compared to a two-year old station wagon. You would be surprised to know that the place where you live in will also matter. You pay for higher car insurance coverage if you live in a place where crime rate is high.

Prior to signing the contract with your chosen car insurance provider, you have to scrutinize the terms and conditions they offer. Otherwise, it is a wasted investment.

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Source: http://carautoinsurancerates.com/car-insurance-information/what-you-must-know-about-car-insurance/

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Obama prods GOP on payroll tax cut (AP)

WASHINGTON ? President Barack Obama accepted a move by Senate Democrats to scale back his Social Security payroll tax cut extension on Monday, then prodded Republicans to support it despite a requirement for the very wealthy to pay more taxes.

Obama also called on lawmakers to renew a program of extended unemployment benefits due to expire on Dec. 31. He said the checks, which kick in after six months of joblessness, are "the last line of defense between hardship and catastrophe" for some victims of the recession and a painfully slow recovery.

The president made his remarks at the White House as Republicans and Democrats in Congress said a holiday-season package was beginning to come into focus that could cost $180 billion or more over a decade. Elements include not only the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefit renewals, but also a provision to avert a threatened 27 percent reduction in fees to doctors who treat Medicare patients.

While there are differences over the details of the three principal components ? many Republicans are reluctant to extend the tax cut ? there is at least as much disagreement among senior lawmakers in the two political parties over ways to cover the cost so deficits don't rise.

House Republicans are drafting legislation to extend an existing pay freeze for federal workers as partial payment for the tax cut and unemployment benefits. Other cost-savers are expected to include a proposal Obama advanced earlier this year to raise pension costs for federal employees, officials said. The bill may also include another presidential recommendation, this one for a surcharge on Medigap policies purchased by future Medicare recipients.

Officials said that to offset the two-year, $38 billion price tag of the Medicare provision, House Republicans want to cut funds from the year-old health care legislation that stands as Obama's signature domestic policy accomplishment. Some Democrats want instead to count defense funds approved but unspent for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ? a proposal that many GOP lawmakers deem an accounting gimmick.

The Medicare proposal enjoys strong popularity among lawmakers in both parties. House Republican leaders signaled last week they intend to include it in the overall package as a sweetener for members of the party's rank and file who are unhappy at the prospect of extending the payroll tax cut.

GOP critics say there is no evidence that the current tax cut has helped create jobs, and also say they fear the impact of a renewal on the deficit and on the fund that pays Social Security benefits. A majority of Republican senators voted last week against a plan backed by their own leadership to extend the cut.

But Obama noted House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has said that the renewal would help the economy, and said the party's Senate leaders had made similar comments.

"I couldn't agree more. And I hope that the rest of their Republican colleagues come around and join Democrats to pass these tax cuts and put money back into the pockets of working Americans," the president said.

Obama also added, "I know many Republicans have sworn an oath never to raise taxes as long as they live. How could it be that the only time there's a catch is when it comes to raising taxes on middle-class families? How can you fight tooth-and-nail to protect high-end tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans, and yet barely lift a finger to prevent taxes going up for 160 million Americans who really need the help?"

He spoke as Senate Democrats unveiled revisions that cut the cost of the administration's proposal by one-third, to an estimated $179 billion. As rewritten, it deepens the current Social Security payroll tax cut and extends it until the end of 2012, but jettisons Obama's request to give businesses relief at the same time.

Republicans were critical despite the changes.

"Frankly, the only thing bipartisan about this latest political gambit is opposition to the permanent tax hike on small businesses to pay for temporary one-year tax policy," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee. Republicans often refer to the proposal as a tax increase on small business owners in hopes of recasting Democratic claims that it would fall on "millionaires and billionaires."

Advanced by Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., the revised proposal also scales back the surtax on seven-figure earners that Democrats had originally proposed to cover the bill's entire cost, from 3.25 percent to 1.9 percent.

Also included are higher fees for consumers whose mortgages are from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as well as a GOP proposal from last week to make sure millionaires don't receive unemployment benefits or food stamps.

___

Associated Press writers Andrew Taylor and Julie Pace in Washington contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111206/ap_on_bi_ge/us_congress_payroll_tax

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Economic woes prompt power shift in Croatia (Reuters)

ZAGREB (Reuters) ? Voters handed the centre-left opposition a strong mandate on Sunday to overhaul the flagging economy before the former Yugoslav republic joins the European Union in 2013, throwing out Croatia's ruling conservatives.

The opposition bloc, known as Kukuriku ('cock-a-doodle-doo'), won 76 seats in the Adriatic country's 151-seat parliament, according to official results with 50 percent of votes counted.

The conservative HDZ, which has ruled for 16 of Croatia's 20 years as an independent state, won 47 seats and was roundly punished by voters for a string of corruption scandals and rising unemployment.

"The main thing is they did not manage to humiliate us," HDZ leader and outgoing prime minister Jadranka Kosor said, conceding defeat.

If the results stand, 45-year-old former diplomat Zoran Milanovic of the Social Democrats (SDS) will be able to form a government without seeking coalition partners, but faces a huge challenge in turning around the Croatian economy.

He will need to act fast to trim state spending and avert a potential credit rating downgrade.

"The biggest risk is a credit rating cut," said Zdeslav Santic, an analyst at Splitska Banka.

"In the coming months they have to make sure that the new budget shows a fiscal consolidation and reassures foreign investors. This is simply a must."

Supporters scrambled to greet Milanovic as he arrived at the Kukuriku victory party, but the bloc's leaders showed little euphoria.

"Obviously, they are aware of difficulty of our situation, of the hard work that lies ahead," said political analyst Nenad Zakosek.

HARD WORK AHEAD

Milanovic has told Croats they will have to work "more, harder, longer" to turn the economy around before the country of 4.3 million people becomes the second former Yugoslav republic to join the EU in July 2013.

Croatia broke away from Yugoslavia in a 1991-95 war, and has seen its economy boom over the past decade on the back of foreign borrowing and waves of tourism to its stunning Adriatic coastline.

But growth ground to a halt when the global financial crisis hit in 2009 and Croatia has been the slowest among central and south-east European countries to crawl back out of recession.

Unemployment stood at 17.4 percent in October and thousands of employees work without pay. Lack of liquidity has paralyzed many local businesses and overall foreign debt has surpassed 100 percent of gross domestic product.

"I have a decent pension but I look around me and I see poverty everywhere," 74-year-old pensioner Milan Grgurek said after voting in the capital, Zagreb. "Whoever comes to power ... will have to carry out reforms."

Trust in the governing elite has also been hit hard by a string of graft scandals mainly involving the HDZ.

Investigations have landed former prime minister and HDZ leader Ivo Sanader in court, and spread to other senior party officials accused of running slush funds.

The anti-corruption drive under Kosor helped secure Croatia a date for EU accession in July 2013, but concerns remain over the parlous state of its economy.

Milanovic told Reuters this week that the state budget for 2012 would be in place by the end of March, in time to avert a credit downgrade.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111204/wl_nm/us_croatia_election

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Microsoft rolls out Xbox TV platform

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Microsoft Corp. is rolling out a new interface for its Xbox game console, one that allows you to navigate through music, movies, TV shows and games with the wave of your hand or the sound of your voice.

The interface, first demonstrated by CEO Steve Ballmer in September, is set up similarly to Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 operating system with a series of large panes showing content options.

Xbox owners with the Kinect motion controller can swipe through screens by waving their hand in the air. It also responds to direct voice commands and incorporates Microsoft's search engine, Bing. Windows phone users can control what to watch or hear by tapping on their portable devices.

The interface will be available to Xbox users connected to the Internet via a download on Tuesday.

In a demonstration for The Associated Press, a Microsoft employee demonstrated how saying, clearly, "Xbox. Bing. 'Iron Man,'" brought up a selection of movies, TV shows, games and soundtracks related to the title. Saying "Xbox. Show. Movies," brought up places to rent or buy the movie, including Microsoft's Zune store, Wal-Mart's Vudu, Netflix or pay TV channel Epix.

Separate subscriptions are required for services like Netflix, and much of the content also requires being a gold member of Xbox Live, a connected Internet service that costs $60 a year.

Microsoft expects to have pay TV channel partners, including those supplied by Verizon FiOS. There will be no broadcast partners, so fans of the ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox networks will continue to rely on standard set-top boxes or digital rabbit ear antennas for that content.

Microsoft says there have been 57 million Xbox units sold around the world and there are more than 35 million users who have logged on to its Xbox Live service at least once in the last three months. It did not divulge how many Xbox Live users are paying gold members.

Ross Honey, general manager of Xbox Live entertainment and advertising, said about 40 content partners were expected for the platform. Available apps from those partners will roll out over time. Other partners include the British Broadcasting Company, Hulu Plus, Disney's online ESPN3 service, Ultimate Fighting Championship, YouTube and cable giant Comcast Corp.'s Xfinity on-demand subscription service.

Many of the offerings require separate pay TV subscriptions or one-time payments. Honey said that many deals with content providers are still in the works.

"As with any new technology that comes with the entertainment industry, it takes time," he said. "What we have here is a start."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2011-12-05-Microsoft-Xbox-TV/id-5c9103fa108b41018a267240dc14419e

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Blind French eatery seeks to conquer New York

PARIS?? A French restaurant where diners cannot see what they are eating, often spill their wine and must conduct conversations while staring into pitch darkness has proved such a success in Europe that it is making a foray into the Americas.

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After expanding from Paris into London, Moscow, Barcelona and St. Petersburg, the "Dans Le Noir" chain, staffed by blind waiters, will open an outlet in the neon-lit tourist hub of New York's Times Square this month.

What seemed at the outset to be just a bizarre fad, has proved surprisingly popular, as patrons who have often never encountered a visually impaired person before discover what it is like to be blind and realize how skillfully the blind adapt.

"When I started this business, everyone thought I was crazy, from my bankers to my mother," Edouard de Broglie, 49, CEO of the chain's owner, Ethik Investment, and founder of the restaurant chain, told Reuters.

"I wanted to show that a company where 50 percent of staff are very heavily handicapped can perfectly well be profitable, thrive each year and become international like any other one."

Dans Le Noir, French for "In the Dark," is not the first restaurant of its kind, although it has spread the fastest, having served more than a million people at its restaurants and temporary venues in Warsaw, Geneva and Bangkok.

Pioneer Blindekuh, German for "Blind Cow," opened in 1999 in Zurich, starting a blind-dining trend that spread to France with de Broglie's eatery and has spawned a series of copycat venues in cities around the world including Berlin, Shanghai, Montreal and San Francisco.

Dans Le Noir uses visually impaired waiters to guide patrons past heavy black curtains into a pitch-dark dining room where they are served a surprise two or three-course menu.

"It's quite brutal. You have no idea what's on your plate, your senses are completely confused. You speak louder, it's very surprising," said Jerome Linyer, 40, after a birthday dinner with friends at the Paris restaurant.

The first permanent Dans Le Noir restaurant opened in Paris in 2004, followed by London in 2006. At the time, the British tabloids were harsh, Edouard de Broglie recalls.

"They said it was a gimmick, that the food wasn't good. But, as the British say, bad advertising is advertising. Today it's our most profitable restaurant, and constantly packed," he said.

He said that Prince William and Kate Middleton had come several times to the London restaurant, noting that it may be one of the few "where they can escape from paparazzi."

BIG EMPLOYER FOR THE BLIND

As in London, the restaurant in New York will offer four surprise menus, one entirely secret and the others tailored for meat eaters, vegetarians or fish and seafood lovers. A three-course dinner with wine starts at $56 a head.

Slightly larger than its predecessors, the restaurant can accommodate 72 guests. It is betting on steady traffic from the neighboring theatres of Times Square and will offer several services a night. It will also feature a Sunday gospel brunch.

De Broglie said the restaurant, which he sees as being a bigger success than the Paris one, was fully booked for its first three weeks.

Dans le Noir is now eyeing South America and Asia, De Broglie said, mentioning Brazil, Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo and Seoul as possible target cities. De Broglie quipped that he may already be the world's biggest employer of blind people.

Ethik Investment, which also runs in-the-dark spas, donates 10 percent of its profits to charity, mainly to groups focused on helping disabled people integrate into society. It also runs corporate events to raise awareness about physical handicaps and advises companies on hiring disabled people.

"We tell people: stop hiring handicapped people to fill quotas, but try instead to see how they can be productive within your business," de Broglie said.

Mohand Touat, 46, found his first job at Dans le Noir's Paris restaurant four years ago. He heads to work cautiously, holding a white cane, but once inside he flits from table to table as diners shout for him to come and help them, "I dropped my fork" being a frequent cry.

"In the dark, we're the ones serving as guides, so we're sort of switching roles," Touat said. "I feel good here."

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45525544/ns/today-food/

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