Oprah Winfrey receives "unimaginable" Oscar (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? Oprah Winfrey received an honorary Oscar for her charitable work on Saturday in what she called an unimaginable moment for a black woman who grew up poor in Mississippi and rose to the top of Hollywood stardom.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences annually bestows its Governors Awards on people who have made an impact in the industry. This year, the honorary Oscars went to Winfrey, actor James Earl Jones and makeup artist Dick Smith at a black-tie affair that brought out stars such as John Travolta, Glenn Close and Alec Baldwin.

Talk show host and film actress Winfrey, who was nominated for a supporting-actress Academy Award in 1985's "The Color Purple," was given a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award by a young woman who was sent through high school on a financial grant she earned from Winfrey's foundation.

Winfrey teared up when accepting her honorary Oscar and described the moment as "unimaginable" given her humble roots growing up in Mississippi.

"All of us can make a difference through the life we lead," Winfrey said. "We're all here to help each other."

She talked of her career as a TV chat show host and her movie work, and said it was "The Color Purple" that paved the way to stardom which, ultimately, led to philanthropy.

That movie "door opened to me through the magic and majesty of film," she said.

James Earl Jones was given his honorary Oscar for a body of acting work that ranges from his Academy Award-nominated performance as a boxer in "The Great White Hope" to voicing the role of the villainous Darth Vader in the "Star Wars" movies.

Jones was not on hand because he is in working in London, but he spoke to the Los Angeles audience in a speech that was taped earlier on Saturday.

He said he was "deeply honored, mighty grateful and just plain gobsmacked," using British slang for being astounded.

Finally, the "Godfather of makeup" Dick Simon was given an honorary Oscar for his behind-the-scenes work using makeup and prosthetics to make actors look old, young, sick, dying and dead in films ranging from "The Exorcist" to "The Godfather."

Simon gave a tearful and heartfelt acceptance speech in which he said he has loved every minute of his work in the movie business. "This kind of puts the crowning cap on all that," Simon said.

The Oscars, or Academy Awards, for the films of 2011 will be given out in a ceremony in Los Angeles on February 26.

(Editing by Will Dunham)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111113/en_nm/us_oscars_winfrey

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Pakistan allows more imports from India as ties improve (Reuters)

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) ? Pakistan removed restrictions on the import of 12 goods from India as part of measures to normalize trade between the nuclear-armed rivals, Pakistani officials said on Saturday.

Pakistan has long been reluctant to open up trade with its neighbor because of long-running political disputes, particularly over the Kashmir region. But both countries have been trying to boost their trade following a recent thaw in ties.

Lasting peace between the rivals is seen as essential to South Asian stability and to helping a troubled transition in Afghanistan as NATO-led combat forces plan their military withdrawal from that country in 2014.

Pakistan last week said it would grant India most-favored nation (MFN) trade status that would help normalize trade by ending huge restriction. India gave MFN status to Pakistan in 1996.

Pakistan's Commerce Ministry recently requested the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), the top decision-making body on economic affairs, to increase the number of items that can be imported from India.

"The ECC met on Friday and approved the addition of 12 goods in the positive list of items that can be imported from India," a ministry official said.

Another official said the goods included machinery and raw materials for the leather and textile industries.

The decision came as senior commerce officials of the two countries prepare to meet early next week in New Delhi to explore ways to boost bilateral trade.

Despite having a combined population of more than a billion, Pakistan and India's official bilateral trade stood at $1.4 billion in 2009/10 while an estimated $3 billion unofficial trade is routed through third countries in the Gulf.

Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai said on Thursday the two countries would take the process of normalization of trade to its "logical conclusion" and India would also work toward a preferential trade agreement with Pakistan and easing of visa restrictions for businessmen.

Pakistan and India have fought three wars, two of them over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, since their independence in 1947 but their relations have improved since they resumed a dialogue in February that was derailed by an attack by Pakistan-based militants in the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh hailed progress in diplomatic ties and promised a "new chapter" in ties when they met on the sidelines of a regional summit in the Maldives on Thursday.

(Reporting by Zeeshan Haider; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111112/wl_nm/us_pakistan_india_trade

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Russians desperately try to save Mars moon probe

In this Nov.2, 2011 photo distributed by Russian Roscosmos space agency on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011, Russian space engineers work to prapare the unmanned Phobos-Grunt probe on the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. The daring Russian mission to fly an unmanned probe to Phobos, a moon of Mars, and fly samples of its soil back to Earth was derailed on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011, right after its launch by equipment failure.(AP photo/ Russian Roscosmoc space agency, HO) EDITORIAL USE ONLY

In this Nov.2, 2011 photo distributed by Russian Roscosmos space agency on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011, Russian space engineers work to prapare the unmanned Phobos-Grunt probe on the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. The daring Russian mission to fly an unmanned probe to Phobos, a moon of Mars, and fly samples of its soil back to Earth was derailed on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011, right after its launch by equipment failure.(AP photo/ Russian Roscosmoc space agency, HO) EDITORIAL USE ONLY

The Zenit-2SB rocket with Phobos-Grunt (Phobos-Soil) craft blasts off from its launch pad at the Cosmodrome in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, early Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011. The daring Russian mission to fly an unmanned probe to Phobos, a moon of Mars, and fly samples of its soil back to Earth was derailed right after its launch by equipment failure.(AP Photo/Oleg Urusov, Pool)

In this Nov.2, 2011 photo distributed by Russian Roscosmos space agency on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011, the unmanned Phobos-Grunt probe is seen on the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. The daring Russian mission to fly an unmanned probe to Phobos, a moon of Mars, and fly samples of its soil back to Earth was derailed on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011, right after its launch by equipment failure.(AP photo/ Russian Roscosmoc space agency, HO) EDITORIAL USE ONLY

(AP) ? A Russian space probe became stuck in orbit Wednesday after an equipment failure, raising fears it could come crashing down and spill tons of highly toxic fuel on Earth unless engineers can steer it back to its flight path.

One U.S. expert said the spacecraft could become the most dangerous manmade object ever to hit the planet. The mishap was the latest in a series of recent Russian failures that have raised concerns about the condition of the country's space industries.

The unmanned $170 million Phobos-Ground craft was successfully launched by a Zenit-2 booster rocket just after midnight Moscow time Wednesday (2016 GMT Tuesday) from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It separated from the booster about 11 minutes later and was supposed to fire its engines twice to set out on its path toward Mars, but never did. The craft was aiming to get ground samples from Phobos, one of Mars' two moons.

Federal Space Agency chief Vladimir Popovkin said neither of the two engine burns worked, probably because the craft's orientation system failed. He said engineers have three days to reset and fix the spacecraft's computer program before its batteries die ? but the space agency later said the probe's orbit and its power sources could allow it to circle the Earth for about two weeks.

Russia news agencies cited space experts who offered widely varying estimates of how long the craft could stay in orbit before crashing down ? from five days to one month.

James Oberg, a NASA veteran who now works as a space consultant, said it's still possible to regain control over the probe.

"This is not an impossible challenge," Oberg said in an email to The Associated Press. "Nothing irreversibly bad has happened, the full propellant load is still available, and short-term 'stay healthy' maneuvers can be performed" like deploying the craft's solar panels to boost its power.

He warned, however, that if controllers failed to bring the Phobos-Ground back to life, the tons of highly toxic fuel it carries would turn it into the most dangerous spacecraft ever to fall from orbit.

"About seven tons of nitrogen teroxide and hydrazine, which could freeze before ultimately entering, will make it the most toxic falling satellite ever," he said. "What was billed as the heaviest interplanetary probe ever may become one of the heaviest space derelicts to ever fall back to Earth out of control."

Oberg said such a crash could cause significantly more damage than the Russian Mars-96 that crashed in the Andes Mountains or the American USA 193 spy satellite that was shot down by a U.S. Navy missile in 2008 to prevent it from splashing its toxic fuel.

The Russian rescue effort Wednesday was being hampered by a limited earth-to-space communications network that already forced flight controllers to ask people in South America to help find the spacecraft. Amateur astronomers were the first to spot the trouble when they detected the craft was stuck in an Earth orbit.

The Phobos-Ground was Russia's first interplanetary mission since a botched 1996 robotic mission to Mars, which failed when the probe crashed shortly after the launch due to an engine failure.

The spacecraft is 13.2 metric tons (14.6 tons), with fuel accounting for a large share of its weight. It was manufactured by the Moscow-based NPO Lavochkin, which specializes in interplanetary vehicles.

The company also designed the craft for Russia's botched 1996 launch and the two probes sent to Phobos in 1988, which also failed. One was lost a few months after the launch due to an operator's mistake, and contact was lost with its twin when it was orbiting Mars.

The Russian space agency responded to the failures by promising to establish its own quality inspection teams at rocket factories to tighten oversight over production quality.

In contrast with the failures that dogged Soviet and Russian efforts to explore Mars, a succession of NASA's landers and rovers, including Spirit and Opportunity, have successfully studied the Red Planet.

If Russian space experts manage to fix the Phobos-Ground, it should reach Mars orbit in September 2012 and land on Phobos in February 2013. The return vehicle is expected to carry up to 200 grams (7 ounces) of ground samples from Phobos back to Earth in August 2014.

It is arguably the most challenging unmanned interplanetary mission ever. It requires a long series of precision maneuvers for the probe to reach the potato-shaped moon measuring just 20 kilometers (over 12 miles) in diameter, land on its cratered surface, scrape it for samples and fly back.

Scientists had hoped that studies of Phobos' surface could help solve the mystery of its origin and shed more light on the genesis of the solar system. Some believe Phobos is an asteroid captured by Mars' gravity, while others think it's debris from when Mars collided with another celestial object.

China contributed to the mission by adding a mini-satellite that is to be released when the craft enters an orbit around Mars on its way to Phobos. The 115-kilogram (250-pound) satellite, Yinghuo-1, will become the first Chinese spacecraft to explore Mars, studying the planet during two years in orbit.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2011-11-09-EU-Russia-Mars-Moon-Mission/id-129b1dd15b0f4557b2d0e297d8df0305

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Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and BGI announce partnership and new Joint Genome Center

[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 9-Nov-2011
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: John Ascenzi
ascenzi@email.chop.edu
267-426-6055
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Center will target pediatric diseases

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and BGI, the world's largest genomics institute, today announced they have formed a partnership, BGI@CHOP, to conduct large-scale human genome sequencing and bioinformatics analysis at a newly established, state-of-the-art Joint Genome Center at Children's Hospital. The partnership will focus on the discovery of genes underpinning rare and common pediatric diseases using next-generation sequencing. The Center became fully operational last month.

The BGI@CHOP partnership will bring together the unique strengths of two world-class institutions. BGI's capabilities and expertise in whole-genome sequencing and analysis, combined with Children's Hospital's extensive biobank and expertise in clinical phenotyping, will allow scientists and clinicians to harness the power of large, detailed data sets to improve the lives of patients and families.

"The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has built the largest pediatric biobank in the world, and because many of these samples have been linked to clinical data using an electronic medical record, we can now follow disease processes into adulthood," said Hakon Hakonarson, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Center for Applied Genomics at Children's Hospital. "Through our partnership with BGI, we now have a clear path forward into the genomics-based personalized medicine arena."

"We are very excited about this new partnership with BGI," said Philip Johnson, M.D., Chief Scientific Officer at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "It is an ideal collaboration between two world-class institutions. The ultimate goal is to change the way we diagnose and treat diseases that affect children and families, and our work with BGI is an important first step toward that end."

"This new partnership will accelerate the discovery of genetic variants underpinning rare and common pediatric diseases by joining the forces of one of the best pediatric hospitals in the world with the world's largest genomics institute," said Jun Wang, Executive Director of BGI.

"We look forward to a productive relationship with The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, a global leader in pediatric care and research," stated Greg Wang, Chief Executive Officer of BGI Americas. "Given BGI's expertise in genomic sequencing and bioinformatics, we expect our partnership with Children's Hospital and the establishment of the BGI@CHOP Joint Genome Center to lead to significant breakthroughs that may be translated into improved patient care."

###

About BGI

BGI was founded in Beijing, China, on September 9th, 1999, with the mission of being a premier scientific partner to the global research community. The goal of BGI is to make leading-edge genomic science highly accessible through its investment in infrastructure that leverages the best available technology, economies of scale, and expert bioinformatics resources.

BGI, and its affiliates, BGI Americas, based in Cambridge, MA, and BGI Europe, based in Copenhagen, Denmark, have established partnerships and collaborations with leading academic and government research institutions as well as global biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, supporting a variety of disease, agricultural, environmental, and related applications. BGI has established a proven track record of excellence, delivering results with high efficiency and accuracy for innovative, high profile research that has generated more than 170 publications in top-tier journals such as Nature and Science. For additional information about BGI please see http://www.genomics.cn or http://www.bgiamericas.com.

About The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the first pediatric hospital in the United States. Through its long-standing commitment to providing exceptional patient care, training new generations of pediatric healthcare professionals and pioneering major research initiatives, Children's Hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children worldwide and its pediatric research program is among the largest in the U.S. In addition, its unique family-centered care and public service programs have brought the 516-bed hospital recognition as a leading advocate for children and adolescents. For more information, visit http://www.chop.edu.

To see brief videos of scientists from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and BGI describing the new Joint Genome Center, go to http://bit.ly/ue6APR

Contact Information:

John Ascenzi
Public Relations Department
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
267-426-6055
ascenzi@email.chop.edu

Joyce Peng, Ph.D.
Marketing Director
BGI Americas Corporation
626-222-5584
joyce.peng@bgiamericas.com
http://www.bgiamericas.com

Bicheng Yang
Public Communication Officer
BGI
86-755-82639701
yangbicheng@genomics.cn
http://www.genomics.cn



[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 9-Nov-2011
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: John Ascenzi
ascenzi@email.chop.edu
267-426-6055
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Center will target pediatric diseases

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and BGI, the world's largest genomics institute, today announced they have formed a partnership, BGI@CHOP, to conduct large-scale human genome sequencing and bioinformatics analysis at a newly established, state-of-the-art Joint Genome Center at Children's Hospital. The partnership will focus on the discovery of genes underpinning rare and common pediatric diseases using next-generation sequencing. The Center became fully operational last month.

The BGI@CHOP partnership will bring together the unique strengths of two world-class institutions. BGI's capabilities and expertise in whole-genome sequencing and analysis, combined with Children's Hospital's extensive biobank and expertise in clinical phenotyping, will allow scientists and clinicians to harness the power of large, detailed data sets to improve the lives of patients and families.

"The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has built the largest pediatric biobank in the world, and because many of these samples have been linked to clinical data using an electronic medical record, we can now follow disease processes into adulthood," said Hakon Hakonarson, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Center for Applied Genomics at Children's Hospital. "Through our partnership with BGI, we now have a clear path forward into the genomics-based personalized medicine arena."

"We are very excited about this new partnership with BGI," said Philip Johnson, M.D., Chief Scientific Officer at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "It is an ideal collaboration between two world-class institutions. The ultimate goal is to change the way we diagnose and treat diseases that affect children and families, and our work with BGI is an important first step toward that end."

"This new partnership will accelerate the discovery of genetic variants underpinning rare and common pediatric diseases by joining the forces of one of the best pediatric hospitals in the world with the world's largest genomics institute," said Jun Wang, Executive Director of BGI.

"We look forward to a productive relationship with The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, a global leader in pediatric care and research," stated Greg Wang, Chief Executive Officer of BGI Americas. "Given BGI's expertise in genomic sequencing and bioinformatics, we expect our partnership with Children's Hospital and the establishment of the BGI@CHOP Joint Genome Center to lead to significant breakthroughs that may be translated into improved patient care."

###

About BGI

BGI was founded in Beijing, China, on September 9th, 1999, with the mission of being a premier scientific partner to the global research community. The goal of BGI is to make leading-edge genomic science highly accessible through its investment in infrastructure that leverages the best available technology, economies of scale, and expert bioinformatics resources.

BGI, and its affiliates, BGI Americas, based in Cambridge, MA, and BGI Europe, based in Copenhagen, Denmark, have established partnerships and collaborations with leading academic and government research institutions as well as global biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, supporting a variety of disease, agricultural, environmental, and related applications. BGI has established a proven track record of excellence, delivering results with high efficiency and accuracy for innovative, high profile research that has generated more than 170 publications in top-tier journals such as Nature and Science. For additional information about BGI please see http://www.genomics.cn or http://www.bgiamericas.com.

About The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the first pediatric hospital in the United States. Through its long-standing commitment to providing exceptional patient care, training new generations of pediatric healthcare professionals and pioneering major research initiatives, Children's Hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children worldwide and its pediatric research program is among the largest in the U.S. In addition, its unique family-centered care and public service programs have brought the 516-bed hospital recognition as a leading advocate for children and adolescents. For more information, visit http://www.chop.edu.

To see brief videos of scientists from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and BGI describing the new Joint Genome Center, go to http://bit.ly/ue6APR

Contact Information:

John Ascenzi
Public Relations Department
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
267-426-6055
ascenzi@email.chop.edu

Joyce Peng, Ph.D.
Marketing Director
BGI Americas Corporation
626-222-5584
joyce.peng@bgiamericas.com
http://www.bgiamericas.com

Bicheng Yang
Public Communication Officer
BGI
86-755-82639701
yangbicheng@genomics.cn
http://www.genomics.cn



[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-11/chop-cho110911.php

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What Is This? [Image Cache]

Just what the hell is going on here? A piece of candy under the microscope? An oil slick? Are we all on drugs right now? No—well, maybe you are—but this picture isn't the result. It's from spaaa-aaace. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/uHX31a4FKUo/what-is-this

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6 legal mistakes that could ruin your small business - Holy Kaw!

High-powered lawyer Jeffrey A. Unger is offering free legal advice for 500 startups. Why? Because simple legal mistakes can ruin your company before you know it. Unger met with the folks at Open Forum and gave six pieces of advice for all entrepreneurs to follow. For example:

Incomplete filing

?There?s umpteen websites that offer a boilerplate approach to preparing and filing the Articles of Incorporation for a new business,? states Jeff. ?But there?s a lot more to properly forming a company than just filing your Articles. If you don?t do it right, the corporation won?t protect the business owner from liability. And it won?t be respected by the IRS, and that?s not good. In addition to the Articles, you need to prepare bylaws, execute organizational minutes, issue shares of stock, execute key agreements, file IRS elections (e.g., S-Election), etc. So be careful..the boilerplate, fill-in-the-blank documents won?t hold up in court.?

Full story at Open Forum.

Top tips for small businesses.

Photo credit: Fotolia

Source: http://holykaw.alltop.com/6-huge-legal-mistakes-that-could-ruin-your-sm

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Experts: Okla. quakes too powerful to be man-made

Joe Reneau displays the damage his home received in two earthquakes in less than 24 hours in Sparks, Okla., Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011. Reneau said the trash can at center had been filled with items damaged in an early morning quake on Saturday. The items on the floor and countertops spilled out of the cabinets during a quake on Saturday night. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Joe Reneau displays the damage his home received in two earthquakes in less than 24 hours in Sparks, Okla., Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011. Reneau said the trash can at center had been filled with items damaged in an early morning quake on Saturday. The items on the floor and countertops spilled out of the cabinets during a quake on Saturday night. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

(AP) ? Experts say the flurry of earthquakes in Oklahoma can't be blamed on man's thirst for oil and gas.

The weekend quakes were far stronger than the weak tremors caused by drilling ? especially the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking. The shaking caused by drilling is usually so weak that it can't be felt.

Experts say the Oklahoma quakes released nearly 16,000 times more energy than the strongest attributed to hydraulic fracturing.

Federal, state and academic experts say preliminary readings show that the Oklahoma quakes are natural, following along the lines of a long-known fault.

The drilling question has been raised because of recent small quakes in Oklahoma and neighboring oil and gas states.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-11-07-US-SCI-Quake-Drilling/id-b414ba3f10304b2fbe455e9efa971eab

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Cowboys hope Seahawks offer springboard for season (AP)

ARLINGTON, Texas ? The Dallas Cowboys will celebrate their past Sunday, devoting halftime of their game against Seattle to the induction of 1970s star Drew Pearson, and 1990s greats Charles Haley and Larry Allen into their Ring of Honor.

Even their foe conjures memories of Cowboys lore, as the Seahawks will be visiting for the first time since the day in 2002 when Emmitt Smith became the NFL's career rushing leader. Really digging deep, it was a draft-day trade with Seattle in 1977 that brought Dallas the rights to another Hall of Fame running back, Tony Dorsett.

Why the emphasis on the past? For Cowboys fans, it's easier and more enjoyable than scrutinizing the present.

Dallas comes into this game still trying to get a handle on the 2011 club, which sits at 3-4 and part of a three-way tie for second place in the NFC East.

At home two weeks ago, against a winless team, the Cowboys looked darn good. On the road last Sunday against a struggling but talented team, the Cowboys looked horrible. Their five games before that were all decided in the final minutes ? every win a play away from being a loss, every loss a play away from being a win.

Now it's November, the part of the NFL season where the standings start to bear watching.

With nine games left, Dallas still has plenty of time to make a run at the division title or a wild-card spot. But a roll better start soon, especially with the way the Cowboys' schedule sets up.

Four of the next five opponents have a losing record, with Seattle (2-5) actually among the better teams in that group. The best-case scenario for Dallas is using that stretch to build some momentum for a final month that includes a pair of games against division-leading New York. This is probably what owner Jerry Jones was referring to earlier this week when he said a lopsided loss to Philadelphia was no reason to panic.

"We got to start getting some wins together and we can do that by getting a win this week against Seattle," quarterback Tony Romo said. "There is a sense of urgency. It's time for us to get started."

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll called Dallas' 34-7 loss to Philadelphia the outlier among the Cowboys' performances this season. He also pointed out there wasn't much his team could borrow from the Eagles' game plan. Much of the Eagles' success stemmed from the running of their quarterback, and Seattle's Tarvaris Jackson is no Michael Vick.

"I'd like to think that we could learn something from it, but we might have to get a mo-ped or something for our quarterback to ride around in to be like Michael," Carroll said. "Well, maybe, that's probably not right. Call it a Harley or something, all right?"

Jackson threw for a career-best 323 yards, but that was in relief of Charlie Whitehurst. He didn't start because of a pectoral injury that also kept him out of the previous game, a loss to Cleveland.

Star running back Marshawn Lynch ? who made the Richter scale move with a sensational touchdown run in last year's playoffs ? missed the game against the Browns with a back injury. Carroll said he expects Lynch to play but warns that the back locked up the day of the Cleveland game, so he's always wary.

It's worth noting that Seattle was 2-3 and coming off a victory over the Giants in New York when a bye hit, followed by the absences of Jackson and Lynch. If both are back and close to full strength this week, it might be the best chance the Seahawks to regain whatever they've been missing.

"We're growing and I'm feeling more and more comfortable each week and the guys are feeling more and more comfortable with me and the coaches have more trust in me, so that's good," Jackson said.

A potential stumbling block is that Jackson will be facing a Dallas defense that wants to bounce back strong after getting humiliated by Vick and LeSean McCoy.

The Cowboys had been the NFL's top run defense until allowing the Eagles to stomp them for 239 yards. Rob Ryan's unit remains tops in the NFC, though, at 328.3 yards per game of total defense. One wrinkle this week is that Sean Lee, the linebacker who leads the club in tackles and interceptions, probably won't play because of a wrist injury. That should open more time for veterans Bradie James and Keith Brooking, and perhaps rookie Bruce Carter, a second-round pick who debuted last week only on special teams.

Defense is Seattle's strength, too. The Seahawks have allowed three teams to scored 13 points or less; problem is their offense has scored 13 points or less four times.

Carroll said a young offensive line is part of the problem. However, their defense is young, too, and is among the league's best in a few categories. Their specialties mainly involve stopping the run. They are tops in yards per attempt (3.16), second in limiting yards on first downs and 11th overall against the run.

"We have to keep hanging until we play well and get right and get some consistency and feel good about our play," Carroll said.

Seattle's leading tackler is David Hawthorne, who is in his fourth year out of nearby TCU. Two other Texans start on the defense, Earl Thomas and Red Bryant. Coming home is a treat for them because Seahawks games are rarely shown in these parts, making this a rare chance to "let your friends know that you play ball and play ball well."

Hawthorne grew up a little more than an hour away from the stadium in Corsicana, the son of a die-hard Cowboys fan. His loyalty to his son and his team will be shaken this weekend.

"He'll probably still be like 50-50 because he'll drive up there with a Dallas Cowboys star on the back of his truck," Hawthorne said. "He'll be wearing a Seahawks jersey and that's a big step for him."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111106/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_seahawks_cowboys

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'Porky's' actor Knight commits suicide in Hawaii

(AP) ? Wyatt Knight, who starred in the 1980s "Porky's" films, has been found dead in Hawaii with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 56.

A family statement Friday said the actor chose to end his life after a painful bout with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which was in stage 4. He underwent radiation treatments that left him in "physical and emotional pain," and had a bone marrow transplant in 2003.

"He was tired of the pain and after much contemplation, chose to end his life in a beautiful and a serene place," the statement said. "His family and friends are devastated. He was deeply loved by all who knew him and will be missed every day."

Maui police Lt. Wayne Ibarra said Knight's body was found Oct. 26 in the upcountry region. An autopsy determined Knight died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Knight's most well-known role was playing Tommy Turner in the "Porky's" comedy trilogy.

"Wyatt was an incredibly talented, intelligent and loving person with an amazing spirit. He is free and at peace," the family's statement said.

Knight lived in Los Angeles and had been staying in Kula for several months. He is survived by his wife, Silvina, and two children from a previous marriage.

The family didn't provide any information about memorial services.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2011-11-04-Obit-Knight/id-a6becdbb42454e7f9f606e2f34ff75ea

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