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Brandon Marshall's Big Day: Marshall Catches Two TDs In First Quarter

2009-11-15T18:59:10Z

After one quarter of football, Brandon Marshall is already having a great day. Two minutes into today's game against the Washington Redskins, Marshall hauled in a 40-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Orton. Later in the in the quarter, the Broncos receiver caught a 75-yard bomb to give Denver a 14-7 lead. With 9:30 remaining in the second quarter, Marshall has three receptions for 120 yards and two TDs.

To follow this and the rest of today's games, check out HuffPost's live NFL Twitter coverage.

Bloomberg L.P.: The Business Media Underdog Turned Growing Empire

2009-11-15T18:32:43Z

After years of being an underdog pushing its troops to be better and faster, Bloomberg now has an upper hand. Publishing giants like Condé Nast, Time Inc. and The New York Times, with their veteran scribes and rich histories, have laid off people and scaled back. Bloomberg may lack the pedigree and gloss of some of its rivals, but it has one thing they don't right now: money to throw around.

DeAngelo Williams Injury Update: Active Against Falcons

2009-11-15T18:25:15Z

It looks like the Panthers will have DeAngelo Williams in the lineup against the Falcons on Sunday afternoon.

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Kathryn Wylde: Why the Preemptive Break Up of Financial Institutions Would Be Bad for New York -- and America

2009-11-15T17:56:53Z

(Kathryn Wylde sent this letter to the New York Congressional Delegation on November 11, 2009).

Dear Members of the New York State Congressional Delegation,

The Partnership for New York City is an organization of business leaders who are committed to the continued success of the city and state economy. We are writing because we know you share this commitment and that you are working to develop policies that will lead us toward economic recovery and full employment.

In that regard, we want to alert you to proposed legislation that could diminish America's standing as a preeminent, global financial center and inflict particular damage on New York. This is the call for the preemptive and arbitrary break up of large, complex, and interconnected financial institutions. Enacting such a provision would give foreign competitors the opportunity to capture market share among the world's largest corporate and investor clients -- those that demand the huge capacity and global reach that only our biggest U.S. banks have. We cannot afford for proposals like this to make it into the financial reform package and we hope every member of the delegation will make it their business to oppose them.

The "FIRE" sector - finance, insurance, and real estate - is particularly important in New
York. It produced more than $363 billion in economic output in 2008, accounting for 31.7% of New York's Gross State Product, and currently employs 684,100 people statewide. The securities industry has the greatest impact, with every Wall Street job responsible for creating or maintaining 3.3 additional jobs in other sectors. In terms of taxes, financial services represents 20% of the state and 12% of the city tax revenues.

The global finance industry, with companies and top talent that could locate anywhere in the world, is heavily concentrated in New York, with benefits that reverberate across the country. To retain its position as a global financial leader, the U.S. needs institutions of all sizes, business models, and expertise. For a global city like New York, large, multinational institutions are what connect our local businesses, large and small, to markets around the world and attract foreign companies to come to New York to raise capital and generate jobs. (One out of nine employed New Yorkers works for a foreign company.)

Reform of America's financial regulatory framework is essential. There are plenty of ways to achieve reform and reduce risk and taxpayer exposure without destroying institutions that are the anchors of our global financial center. We hope you will work with us to distinguish useful reform from overkill reactions.

Thank you for your consideration.

Vikings Vs. Lions: Detroit Meets Vikings In Minnesota

2009-11-15T17:52:44Z

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The Minnesota Vikings host the Detroit Lions today at 1:00 PM ET on FOX (certain regions only). The 7-1 Vikings are favored by 16.5 points against the 1-7 Lions.

The Lions are coming off an embarrassing loss in Seattle, where they blew a 17-0 first quarter lead. Rookie QB Matthew Stafford, picked first overall in the 2009 NFL Draft, threw five interceptions in the game. The Vikings had their bye last week; their previous game was an impressive win at Green Bay on November 1. To follow this and the rest of today's games, check out HuffPost's live NFL Twitter coverage.

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Eating Dark Chocolate Daily May Improve Metabolic Stress Response, Nestlé Researchers Say

2009-11-15T17:47:59Z

A new study by Nestlé researchers suggests that eating a few pieces of dark chocolate every day may improve the metabolic response of people who report feeling highly stressed.

Steelers Vs. Bengals: Pittsburgh, Cincinnati Face Off

2009-11-15T17:43:00Z

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The Pittsburgh Steelers face the Cincinnati Bengals at 1:00 PM ET on CBS (only in certain regions). The match-up could have major playoff implications for the entire AFC, as both teams are 6-2 and in the running for a first-round bye. Pittsburgh is favored by seven points.

It is unusual for the division foes to play each other in a meaningful game. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes that in just three instances during the past 30 years have the two teams played each other with winning records. Joe Reedy at the Cincinnati Enquirer writes that this Bengals team seems to be more able to handle success than in past years. To follow this and the rest of today's games, check out HuffPost's live NFL Twitter coverage.

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McCain Urges Town Hall Attendees To Cut Up AARP Membership Cards

2009-11-15T17:40:13Z

Last week, the AARP, a nonpartisan organization that advocates on behalf of those aged 50 and over, endorsed the House health care bill. "We can say with confidence that it meets our priorities for protecting Medicare, providing more affordable health insurance for 50- to 64-year-olds and reforming our health care system," AARP vice president Nancy Leamond said. At a town hall meeting in Arizona on Friday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) vowed to "fight with every fiber of my body" to oppose a similar health care reform bill in the Senate. He then claimed that Medicare will actually be "cut" and reportedly urged the town hall attendees to tear up their AARP membership cards:

World Leaders Agree To Delay Binding Climate Deal Until After Copenhagen

2009-11-15T17:32:11Z

SINGU.S. President Barack Obama and other world leaders on Sunday supported delaying a legally binding climate pact until 2010 or even later, under a compromise deal for next month's Copenhagen summit.

Does The Flu Vaccine Matter?

2009-11-15T17:29:55Z

Vaccination is central to the government's plan for preventing deaths from swine flu. But what if everything we think we know about fighting influenza is wrong?

NFL LIVE On Twitter

2009-11-15T17:26:18Z

Watch Sunday's NFL games develop on Twitter right here on HuffPost.

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Allison Kilkenny: Covert Officers Spy On Passengers In US Airports

2009-11-15T17:20:34Z

The Transportation Security Administration has admitted to stationing "behavior-detection officers" at 161 US airports, including in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Los Angeles.

The officers can be anywhere, from the parking garage to the gate, looking for passengers who seem highly nervous or stressed.

If that description seems vague, that's because it is. Who isn't nervous and stressed out at an airport? After enduring the always colorful commute to the airport, taking off my shoes, having strangers rifle through my belongings, setting off the metal detector at least 18 times -- and then having some huge Russian-looking man-woman grope my boobs and ask if my bra has an underwire (Yes, don't most bras?) -- jamming all of my shit back into my suitcase, freaking out when the airport changes my gates, and then running back across the airport to my new gate, I probably also look like a terrorist hell-bent on destroying the west.

Of course, I'm not a brown person, so I'm sure my grumblings of "wanting to blow up the place" don't raise any eyebrows.

TSA wants you to know they don't focus on nationality, race, ethnicity or gender, and you're just going to have to take their word for that.

Officers have been very busy with the program. Last year, they required nearly 99,000 passengers nationwide to undergo additional screenings. Police questioned about 9,900 passengers and arrested 813.

As tends to happen when thousands of passengers are targeted, the officers have caught a few bad apples in these broad sweeps. There was a guy who was trying to sneak $2.5 million worth of Ecstasy in his carry-on bag. Then there was a vague story about some guy bolting when he was flagged for secondary screening. The story never explains why he ran. Though, it does mention that he broke his arm during the pursuit, and officers found "several IDs" on him, which I guess means he was the next Osama bin Laden.

There is also a story about an officer starting a "friendly conversation" with a red-eyed man, who the officer assumed was stoned on the marijuana. Turns out, the guy was just tired because he'd been on an airplane for a few hours. "He was pretty calm," says the officer.

"We're not looking for a type of person, but at behaviors," says Sari Koshetz, a spokeswoman for TSA. Yet, in order to become a behavior-detection officer, no background in behavior analysis is required. Officers undergo four days of behavior training, which includes trying to spot would-be terrorists, then receive 24 hours of on-the-job training. Basically, it's more difficult to get a certificate in unicycle-riding excellence than it is to become a behavior-detection officer.

And yet we're told these average Joes, who have undergone less than a week's worth of behavior detection training are using only their vast expertise in behavioral observation -- and not their preexisting prejudices or fears -- to harass airport passengers.

The article includes the following statement from some douchebag businessman named Alex: "Honestly, I haven't even noticed them. They must be doing a good job. It's better to have more security than not enough."

Hey, thanks for contributing to the conversation, Alex.

This is the biggest platitude uttered by terrified middle-class people in America: "I'd rather give up all my freedoms so at least I know I'm safe!" These are the people who would happily live in a total police state as long as they got five minutes each day to check their e-mail: At least they're keeping us safe! Oo, my IKEA table was shipped today!

Alex's bizarre statement would confound the Founding Fathers, who would likely recoil in disgust when confronted by such a spineless declaration. Benjamin Franklin once famously said, "He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither." I like to imagine he'd then get Alex in a headlock and noogie him until he screamed that freedom is precious, and worth fighting to preserve.

What people like Franklin were able to understand is that it's impossible to be completely safe all the time unless one willingly surrenders all their freedoms and hides within a police state, adjunct of an overbearing government that shields Americans from the world and all her inherent dangers.

Ironically, Republicans -- the supposed fans of small government -- enthusiastically embraced this police state during the Bush administration, and are now the leading champions of these secret programs designed to "get the bad guys." If that means squashing freedom in the process, so be it.

Like most covert programs, there's no public data available for which passengers are detained and harassed in this program. We don't know how many people of color are detained, or what the program's success rate is. For all we know, those 813 arrests came after the unnecessary harassment of 20,000 individuals.

Of the 813 arrests, we don't know how many are serious criminals, and how many are petty crooks. Supposedly, at least one of the 813 had a suitcase of Ecstasy. Are thousands of civil rights violations worth convicting a dude with a suitcase full of a drug that one British government official called less dangerous than alcohol?

I'm sure Alex thinks so.

Cross-posted from Allison Kilkenny's blog. Also available on Facebook and Twitter.

Animals Smiling (PHOTOS)

2009-11-15T17:20:23Z

There's nothing cuter than when an animal seems to smile at you. These animals are absolutely adorable and guaranteed to make you smile along with them!

Vote for your favorite critter grin.

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Palin Refused To Shake Oliver Stone's Hand

2009-11-15T16:56:40Z

A big part of Sarah Palin's political appeal is her ability to exploit social grievances and cultural symbolism. It was visible during the 2008 campaign when she described parts of the country as "pro-American" and wondered aloud why Barack Obama was "palling around" with domestic terrorists.

In her forthcoming book, "Going Rogue," that capacity is never more evident then when Palin travels to New York for a taping of "Saturday Night Live."

The then-vice presidential candidate writes that she refused to shake Oliver Stone's hand because of the director's leftist political leanings. Stone was in the studio making an SNL appearance of his own.

"During all this, the writers, the producers, and the campaign continued to hammer out the script," Palin writes. "Josh Brolin, Mark Wahlberg, and the singer Adele were also on the show that night, as was director Oliver Stone, who made a cameo appearance. Unbelievably, he is a supporter of Communist dictator Hugo Chavez, who in a 2006 speech to the United Nations referred to the president of the United States as 'the devil himself.' I did not shake Stone's hand."

The anecdote is entirely gratuitous. But it plays right into the conservative psyche. Obama, after all, took stupendous heat for not condemning Chavez after the Venezuelan leader gave him a book.

Palin didn't end with Stone. She also took a swipe at Alec Baldwin -- the "30 Rock" star who is also known for this progressive politics:

Alec Baldwin also guested on the show that evening. The bigwigs haggled back and forth over my appearance with Alec, the writers sending down some lines where Alec was basically supposed to perform a comic dissection on me. Then I was supposed to passively take his arm and stroll offstage.

From a political messaging standpoint, the campaign could see that wasn't going to work. We put our heads together and sent the producers a counteroffer: Alec would still get his barbs in, then I would say, "Hey Baldwin, weren't you supposed to leave the country after the last election?"

Uh... no, producers said.

We tried another idea. It happened that I had recently talked with Alec's brother, Stephen, at a GOP fund-raiser. So we sent back another counteroffer based on my actual conversation with Stephen. "Hey, Alec," the proposed line went, "I saw Stephen at a fund-raiser last week and asked him when he was going to knock some sense into you."

Uh... no.

What's that line about being able to dish it out?

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Al Gore Heckled By Tea Partiers During Climate Speech In Florida

2009-11-15T16:52:12Z

Former Vice President Al Gore's global-warming speech Saturday night at Mizner Park drew about a thousand attendees, as well as more than 200 loud protesters.

Stationed outside the Mizner Park Amphitheater, the protesters jeered at Gore as he took the podium and at those walking into the open-air venue to listen to the speech.