The UAE's first all-female team of 24 aspiring engineers, researchers and astronauts, between the ages of 12 and 18, has completed an on-site space training at the NASA Space Center, ...
Source: http://www.arabherald.com/index.php/sid/211671938/scat/48fcf33f9aeb6130
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Little master Feared and respected by opponents, he changed the definition of Indian batting and is greeted as one of the best cricketers to have ever played the sport. Truly in our nation, cricket is a religion and Sachin is the god. It is very sad for cricket lovers for retiring of great Master blaster, if he is playing against Pakistan; they will definitely loss all matches. Not only he is the greatest cricketer of last two decades but also he is a very humble and nice person, qualities which are very rare in super cricketers.
He took risk for 2 decades, and proved his mettle. Pakistan has not set any benchmark in cricketing, and to compare his career just on a series against a team like Pakistan..the risk he took and what he proved is clearly shown by these figuresODI: with 18,426 runs from 463 matches at an average of 44.83 with 49 centuries. Test: 15,645 runs in 194 matches at an average of 54.32 with 51 centuries, and most of his centuries have come against top teams like Australia, England and others.
He played cricket for 23 long years, carrying the expectations of a billion plus people from this subcontinent & beyond, is not an easy task What I like the most in him is the sincere dedication towards the game. He proved that you can be an icon to 1/6th of the people on this planet and still have steady head on shoulders. His aptitude to take pressure was incredible. No sportsman on this planet can last that long with the kind of pressure little master had. Honestly, you could find Amitabh, or the khans or even Tom cruise at an event in Mumbai. But he was out of boundaries. He can create mass mania anywhere. To keep his head steady for over 2 decades as one of the world best sportsman, he deserves a Nobel Prize. He is not a lightning but a Haleys comet; have to wait for another thousand years before a person like Sachin is born.
I wish all the very best for his future ahead, may Lord bless good health to him and his family. We always miss you in the format of that game in which you have set the benchmarks. We love and salute you
About the Author:
I work at pSocial.in. I am good in writing, So I developed writing as my hobby and started writing on amazing things like Sachin Tendulkar and Current Affairs
Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/The-Legend-Retires---/4355874
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Apple and Google have been attempting for years to entice customers to ditch cable television for set top boxes that deliver TV shows, movies and more via the internet. For the past year or so, Intel has also quietly been working on a top-secret set-top box that could not only be better than what Apple, Google, and even Microsoft offer today, but also kill the cable industry as we know it.
This set-top box, said by industry insiders to be available to a limited beta of customers in March, will offer cable channels delivered ?over the top? to televisions anywhere there is an Internet connection regardless of provider. (Microsoft Mediaroom, for example, requires AT&T?s service, and Xbox has limited offerings for Comcast and FiOS customers). For the first time, consumers will be able to subscribe to content per channel, unlike bundled cable services, and you may also be able to?subscribe per show as well. Intel?s set-top box will also have access to Intel?s already existing app marketplace for apps, casual games, and video on demand. Leveraging the speed of current broadband, and the vast shared resources of the cloud, Intel plans to give customers the ability to use ?Cloud DVR?, a feature intended to allow users to watch any past TV show at any time, without the need to record it ahead of time, pause live tv, and rewind shows in progress.
Intel had hoped that GoogleTV and AppleTV would spur demand for Intel chips, but that having failed they poached much of Microsoft?s Mediaroom team. Much of the direction of Mediaroom came from the leadership of Jim Baldwin, who is now VP of this Intel initiative.
At Microsoft, Jim demonstrated that the technology to enable customers to watch TV over the internet using any device was feasible, but content licensing, the goals of ISP?s and bandwidth limitations previously stood in the way.
?In creating Mediaroom, we brought together key emerging technologies to create the world?s most modern television system: better video compression, higher access network bandwidth, lower cost single-chip devices, cloud computing; and added to it some great software to make it all work together seamlessly with a great user experience. Our goal was to provide technology to operators that will continue to delight consumers as the world of internet-delivered content unfolds.?
According to an Intel job posting, Jim joined Microsoft in 1997 as a part of the WebTV acquisition, and Jim has been a key architect of digital video technology for various products including the WebTV Plus, Echostar Dishplayer, DirecTV UltimateTV and Microsoft TV.
Along with hiring the right key players with the expertise needed to develop a revolutionary set-top box, Intel also has the technology to create a product unlike its competitors. Intel has been providing chips for set top boxes since the days of Akimbo, which had a similar vision as far back as 2005. Back then, though, no one had digital rights to content ? and up until now, no one wanted to risk unbundling the channels. This is clearly the biggest barrier for Intel ? but since Intel is used to betting billions on chip design, it has allocated a budget significantly larger than Apple or Google?s. While Silicon Valley measures investments in tens of millions, Hollywood often drops more than $100 million into a single movie. Intel came to the table knowing this, and so was able to negotiate the licensing agreements with Hollywood that other tech giants have never been able to.
Intel has made it clear to Hollywood they are serious about this product and dedicated to its longevity. Intel is also prepared to invest heavily in making it a success. In contrast, Apple, Google, and Microsoft have always viewed Hollywood as something of a hobby. (Steve Jobs even said as much of Apple TV). As Intel has approached Hollywood with much more dedication (and dollars), this is likely the single reason that Intel, more than any company before it, has the potential to really bring to consumers the things we have never seen in online content before, such as live sports, release schedules that match broadcast, and first episode through current libraries for video on demand.
Intel is scheduled to hold a press event at CES, where Intel will likely officially announce this new product. However, while industry insiders say a working version is scheduled to be ready for CES, it will likely be only for limited demos.
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Getting Real With +Shadra Bruce, Owner of +MomsGetReal
How often have you dreamed of change but decided it was too hard ? or that you could only start working for the change on Mondays or the first of the month?
Change doesn?t happen because we think about it; it happens because we choose to take action.
It?s simply a matter of getting up.
Whether you want to lose weight, write a book, get a new job, or pay off debt, it all begins with you choosing to do more than simply think about taking action and actually taking the action.
Most people, when they think about change, get overwhelmed at the distance between where they are and where they want to end up. It?s not about arriving, though?it?s about the steps you take each day to get where you want to be.
You may want to pay off your credit cards, but the overwhelming debt may seem to be too much to face. But you can pay $5 or $10 more per month on a card and shave years and thousands of dollars off what you owe. A $10,000 credit card bill might seem like too much, but $5 a month is not overwhelming. (At 18% interest, an extra $5 per month can save you more than $20,000 in interest and cut more than 10 years off the repayment time).
Losing 50 pounds might seem like an enormous battle, but making one small change to having a salad instead of potato chips every day is manageable ? and effective. Exercising 30 minutes every day might seem like more than you can do, but taking the stairs rather than the elevator, or parking as far away from the entrance as possible is not.
Change happens when we stop putting mental barriers in the path of our journey through change.
Get up.
Source: http://momsgetreal.com/2012/12/let-change-happen/
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This iPhone case has been created to fit the iPhone 4 & 4S. It is made from a hard plastic that has been rubberized to prevent design chipping.?
Source: http://sharpshirter.3dcartstores.com/Panda-Bitchslap-iPhone-4-4s-Case-_p_218.html
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Carol Stack is the former Director of Admissions at Macalester College and Augsburg College. For the past 15 years, Stack has worked as a principal at Hardwick-Day, an enrollment consulting firm that works with the admissions and financial aid offices of private colleges and universities. Through Hardwick-Day, she has consulted on financial aid policy at dozens of colleges, including Whittier, Grinnell, Mills, Randolph-Macon, and Xavier University.Ruth Vedvik has held the position of Director of Admissions at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Ball State University, and Agnes Scott College. For the past 9 years, Vedvik has worked as a principal at Hardwick-Day, an enrollment consulting firm that works with the admissions and financial aid offices of private colleges and universities. Through Hardwick-Day, she has consulted on financial aid policy at dozens of colleges, including Whittier, Grinnell, Mills, Randolph-Macon, and Xavier University.
(Continue Reading >>>)
Source: http://www.nexlibrary.org/the-financial-aid-handbook-getting-the-education-you-want-for-the-price-you-can-afford-paperback/
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Source: http://glenabbott.posterous.com/the-financial-aid-handbook-getting-the-educat
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WASHINGTON (AP) ? Senate leaders rushed to assemble a last-ditch agreement to avoid middle-class tax increases and possibly delay steep spending cuts in an urgent attempt to find common ground after weeks of postelection gridlock.
An impatient President Barack Obama pressed top lawmakers to cut a deal, even one that falls short of the ambitions he and congressional leaders may once have harbored for a bigger deficit reduction package. Without a resolution, he warned, "every American's paycheck will get a lot smaller."
"Congress can prevent it from happening, if they act now," he said in his weekly Saturday radio and internet address.
Following a White House meeting Friday among Obama and congressional leaders, aides to Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., began racing against the clock for a bipartisan bargain. The leaders could present legislation to senators as early as Sunday, with a vote possible on Sunday or Monday.
The guest list for the White House meeting included Reid, McConnell, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. But the key players were clearly Reid and McConnell, both of whom stayed behind briefly at the White House and huddled with their staffs and Obama's top legislative aide, Rob Nabors, in the West Wing Cabinet Room just outside the Oval Office.
Neither side expected compromise to be easy. However, McConnell and Reid voiced unexpected optimism that they could work toward a deal that could win support in both their camps.
Warned Reid: "Whatever we come up with is going to be imperfect."
Looking to add pressure on negotiators, Obama said that absent a compromise he expects Reid to put legislation on the floor to prevent tax increases on the middle class and extend unemployment benefits ? an implicit challenge to Republicans to dare to vote against what polls show is popular.
Speaking for Republicans in a Saturday radio address, Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri sought to put the burden of a deal on Obama and Reid.
"We still can avoid going over the fiscal cliff if the president and the Democrat-controlled Senate step forward this week and work with Republicans to solve this problem and solve it now," he said.
Whatever manages to pass in the Senate, with its Democratic majority, would then face a second test in the Republican-controlled House.
Boehner, a Republican speaker who has struggled recently with anti-tax rebels inside his own party, said through an aide that he would await the results of the talks between the Senate and White House. A House vote could come as late as Wednesday, the final full day before a new Congress takes office.
Officials said there was a general understanding that any agreement would block scheduled income tax increases for middle-class earners while letting rates rise at upper-income levels.
Obama was sticking to his campaign call for increases above $250,000 in annual income, even though in recent negotiations he said he could accept $400,000.
The two sides also confronted a divide over estate taxes. Obama favors a higher tax than is currently in effect, but one senior Republican, Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, said he's "totally dead set" against it. Speaking of fellow GOP lawmakers, he said they harbor more opposition to an increase in the estate tax than to letting taxes on income and investments rise at upper levels.
But the estate tax was more likely to be used as a possible bargaining chip that Democrats could give away in exchange for higher rates for top earners and other Obama priorities.
Obama and Democrats want to prevent the expiration of unemployment benefits for about 2 million long-term jobless men and women, and there is widespread sentiment in both parties to shelter doctors from a 27 percent cut in Medicare fees.
Also likely to be included in the negotiations are taxes on dividends and capital gains, both of which are scheduled to rise with the new year. Also the alternative minimum tax, which, if left unchanged, could hit an estimated 28 million households for the first time and mean an average increase of more than $3,000.
The White House has shown increased concern about a possible doubling of milk prices if a farm bill is not passed in the next few days, although it is not clear whether that issue too might be included in the talks.
One Republican who was briefed on the White House meeting said Boehner made it clear he would leave in place spending cuts scheduled to take effect unless alternative savings were included in any compromise to offset them. In previous White House proposals, Obama has suggested finding enough cuts in government spending to put off the steeper cuts for up to six months.
Obama, speaking to reporters following his meeting with the congressional leaders, faulted a system that left crucial decisions to the last minute, a way of governing that he said the public finds "mindboggling."
"Outside of Washington nobody understands how it is that this seems to be a repeat pattern, over and over again," he said.
Still, Obama himself is part of the negotiating process, and his meeting with all four top leaders Friday was the first since Nov. 16. A phone call he placed Wednesday night to McConnell was the first the Republican leader had received from a Democrat on the fiscal talks since Thanksgiving.
Looking to add pressure on negotiators, Obama said he expects Reid to put legislation on the floor to prevent tax increases on the middle class and extend unemployment benefits ? an implicit challenge to Republicans to dare to vote against what polls show is popular.
The start of negotiations in the Senate marked a new endgame for discussions that have moved in fits and starts since the November election.
Boehner refused for weeks to accept any rate increases, and simultaneously accused Obama of skimping on the spending cuts he would support as part of a balanced deal to reduce deficits, remove the threat of spending cuts and prevent the across-the-board tax cuts.
Last week, the Ohio Republican presented a Plan B measure that would have let rates rise on million-dollar earners, well above Obama's latest offer for a $400,000 threshold.
Facing defeat, Boehner scrapped plans for a vote, leaving the economy on track for the cliff that political leaders in both parties had said they could avoid.
___
Associated Press writers Alan Fram and Andrew Taylor contributed to this report.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/eyes-them-senate-leaders-seek-fiscal-deal-082435547--politics.html
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In this Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012 photo, people walk past a Bank of America branch in Philadelphia. U.S. banks are closing the year with the strongest profits since 2006 and fewer failures than at any time since the financial crisis struck in 2008. They're helping support an economy slowed by high unemployment, flat pay, sluggish manufacturing and anxious consumers. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
In this Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012 photo, people walk past a Bank of America branch in Philadelphia. U.S. banks are closing the year with the strongest profits since 2006 and fewer failures than at any time since the financial crisis struck in 2008. They're helping support an economy slowed by high unemployment, flat pay, sluggish manufacturing and anxious consumers. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
In this Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012 photo, a man walks past a Wells Fargo location in Philadelphia. U.S. banks are closing the year with the strongest profits since 2006 and fewer failures than at any time since the financial crisis struck in 2008. They're helping support an economy slowed by high unemployment, flat pay, sluggish manufacturing and anxious consumers. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
This Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012 photo shows a Citibank in Philadelphia. U.S. banks are closing the year with the strongest profits since 2006 and fewer failures than at any time since the financial crisis struck in 2008. They're helping support an economy slowed by high unemployment, flat pay, sluggish manufacturing and anxious consumers. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
In this Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012 photo, a woman walks past a Wells Fargo location in Philadelphia. U.S. banks are closing the year with the strongest profits since 2006 and fewer failures than at any time since the financial crisis struck in 2008. They're helping support an economy slowed by high unemployment, flat pay, sluggish manufacturing and anxious consumers. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Chart shows the number of U.S. bank failures
WASHINGTON (AP) ? U.S. banks are ending the year with their best profits since 2006 and fewer failures than at any time since the financial crisis struck in 2008. They're helping support an economy slowed by high unemployment, flat pay, sluggish manufacturing and anxious consumers.
As the economy heals from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, more people and businesses are taking out ? and repaying ? loans.
And for the first time since 2009, banks' earnings growth is being driven by higher revenue ? a healthy trend. Banks had previously managed to boost earnings by putting aside less money for possible losses.
Signs of the industry's gains:
? Banks are earning more. In the July-September quarter, the industry's earnings reached $37.6 billion, up from $35.3 billion a year earlier. It was the best showing since the July-September quarter of 2006, long before the financial meltdown. By contrast, at the depth of the Great Recession in the last quarter of 2008, the industry lost $32 billion.
? Banks are lending a bit more freely. The value of loans to consumers rose 3.2 percent in the 12 months that ended Sept. 30 compared with the previous 12 months, according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. More lending fuels more consumer spending, which drives about 70 percent of economic activity. At the same time, overall lending remains well below levels considered healthy over the long run.
? Fewer banks are considered at risk of failure. In July through September, the number of banks on the FDIC's confidential "problem list" fell for a sixth straight quarter. These banks numbered 694 as of Sept. 30 ? about 9.6 percent of all federally insured banks. At its peak in the first quarter of 2011, the number of troubled banks was 888, or 11.7 percent of all federally insured institutions.
? Bank failures have declined. In 2009, 140 failed. In 2010, more banks failed ? 157 ? than in any year since the savings and loan crisis of the early 1990s. In 2011, regulators closed 92. This year, the number of failures has trickled to 51. That's still more than normal. In a strong economy, an average of only four or five banks close annually. But the sharply reduced pace of closings shows sustained improvement.
? Less threat of loan losses. The money banks had to set aside for possible losses fell 15 percent in the July-September quarter from a year earlier. Loan portfolios have strengthened as more customers have repaid on time. Losses have fallen for nine straight quarters. And the proportion of loans with payments overdue by 90 days or more has dropped for 10 straight quarters.
"We are definitely on the back end of this crisis," says Josh Siegel, chief executive of Stonecastle Partners, a firm that invests in banks.
The biggest boost for banks is the gradually strengthening economy. Employers added nearly 1.7 million jobs in the first 11 months of 2012. More people employed mean more people and businesses can repay loans. And after better-than-expected economic news last week, some analysts said the economy could end up growing faster in the October-December quarter ? and next year ? than previously thought.
That assumes Congress and the White House can strike a budget deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" ? the steep tax increases and spending cuts that are set to kick in Jan. 1. If they don't reach a deal, those measures would significantly weaken the economy.
Banks have also been bolstered by higher capital, their cushion against risk. Banks boosted capital 3.8 percent in the third quarter, FDIC data show. And the industry's average ratio of capital to assets reached a record high.
On the other hand, many banks are no longer benefiting from record-low interest rates. They still pay almost nothing to depositors and on money borrowed from other banks or the government. But steadily lower rates on loans other than credit cards have reduced how much banks earn.
"This interest-rate pressure on the banks becomes very difficult to overcome," says Fred Cannon, chief equity strategist and director of research at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. "It's a big headwind for banks."
Many banks have reported lower net interest margin ? the difference between the income they receive from loans and the interest they pay depositors and other lenders. It's a key measure of a bank's profitability.
The industry's average net interest margin fell to 3.43 percent in the third quarter from 3.56 percent a year earlier.
Some big banks have also cautioned that their earnings are up mainly because they've shed jobs, bad loans and weak businesses rather than because of an improved economy. They include JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. All managed to recover from the financial crisis in part because of federal aid.
Small and midsize banks have taken longer to rebound. They held risky commercial real estate loans used to develop malls, industrial sites and apartment buildings. Many such loans weren't repaid. But as the economy has strengthened, fewer such loans have soured, and many small and medium-size banks have recovered.
For example, at M&T Bank Corp., a regional institution based in Buffalo, N.Y., net income soared in the third quarter. M&T attributed its gain to reduced loan losses and higher mortgage revenue. The bank repaid the remaining $381 million of the $600 million in bailout aid it had received during the crisis.
Yet analysts say regional banks are still feeling squeezed from reduced borrowing by companies.
Many banks complain they've been hampered by new regulations, especially stricter requirements for the capital they must hold to protect against unexpected losses. Rules enacted after the crisis have compelled some banks to move more capital into reserves and reduce the amount available to lend.
Some of the biggest banks say their customers have held off on borrowing in part because of slower global growth and concern about the "fiscal cliff."
To avoid a collapse, some weak banks have sought mergers with larger institutions. In the July-September quarter, 49 banks were absorbed in mergers, up from 45 in the April-June quarter, FDIC data show.
The torrent of failures after the crisis and the increased mergers have thinned the number of banks to 7,181 with about 2.1 million employees as of Sept. 30. That compares with 8,451 banks with 2.2 million employees in the second quarter of 2008.
"The pressure is on to consolidate the industry," says Siegel of Stonecastle Partners. He thinks more than 1,000 banks will be absorbed within five to seven years.
Consider BancTrust Financial Group Inc., based in Mobile, Ala., with around $1.3 billion in assets. Burdened with bad loans tied to Florida real estate, the bank couldn't repay $50 million in federal bailout aid it received during the meltdown, and it struggled to stay profitable. So it decided to put itself up for sale.
It's now being acquired by Trustmark Corp in Mississippi, which has about $9.9 billion in assets. The acquisition will help Trustmark expand in Florida and Alabama.
"Some of the smaller (banks) are just throwing up the flag," says Cornelius Hurley, a former counsel to the Federal Reserve Board who heads Boston University's Center for Finance, Law and Policy.
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There can be no doubt that 2012 was a very important year for Microsoft, though it probably wasn't the successful year the company had envisioned when it planned it. With the launch of Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, Microsoft's biggest challenge beyond just getting people to buy them, was getting developers to write apps for them. According to Todd Brix, Microsoft's Senior Director for Windows Marketplace, there are now more apps available for Windows Phone users "than at any time since we first launched Windows Phone 7 two years ago" (it would, of course, be pretty embarrassing if that wasn't the case). Overall, Microsoft certified and published over 75,000 new apps and games in 2012, roughly doubling the number of available apps over the year. Developers also published over 300,000 updates.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/6AuVI9BqKZU/
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Getty ImagesPeyton Manning (L)?and Adrian Peterson capped their comeback seasons with Pro Bowl nods.
By BARRY WILNER
updated 7:51 p.m. ET Dec. 26, 2012
NEW YORK - Peyton Manning and Adrian Peterson want to cap their sensational comebacks with Super Bowl appearances. For now, they can be proud of Pro Bowl spots.
So can Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III, one of two rookies chosen Wednesday for the Jan. 27 NFL all-star game.
Manning missed all of the 2011 season with neck and back problems that required several operations. He then signed with Denver as a free agent and has led the Broncos on a 10-game winning streak to take the AFC West.
Four other Broncos made the AFC roster: DE Elvis Dumervil, linebacker Von Miller, CB Champ Bailey and tackle Ryan Clady. Bailey's 12th appearance is a record for defensive backs.
"My goal has always been to go out and help the team win and play at a high level," Manning added. "Anything that comes along with that, like being honored as a Pro Bowl selection, is very humbling."
Minnesota's Peterson tore up his left knee on Christmas Eve last year, underwent major surgery, then was back for the season opener. He's gone from uncertain to unstoppable, running away with the rushing title with a career-high 1,898 yards and lifting the Vikings toward an NFC wild card.
"Coming into the season after going through the rehab process, I just told myself that I wanted to lead my team to a championship and make sure that I contribute and do my part," Peterson said. "I've been doing it."
Griffin is one of three rookie QBs who had superb debut seasons, along with Andrew Luck of Indianapolis and Russell Wilson of Seattle. Luck and Wilson weren't voted to the Pro Bowl by players, coaches and fans, although their teams are in the playoffs; Griffin can get to the postseason if Washington beats Dallas on Sunday.
"You can't play down those kind of things," Griffin said. "I've always said my whole football career that you don't play for awards. They just come. You don't say you're going to win the Heisman. You don't say you're going to win MVP. You go out and you prove it on the field, and if everyone feels that way then they'll give you that award."San Francisco had the most players selected, nine, including six from its second-ranked defense. Houston was next with eight, six on offense.
Kansas City, despite its 2-13 record that is tied with Jacksonville for worst in the league, had five Pro Bowlers, including RB Jamaal Charles, who like Peterson is coming back from a torn ACL.
One other rookie, Minnesota kicker Blair Walsh, was chosen. Walsh has nine field goals of at least 50 yards, an NFL mark.
The AFC kicker is at the other end of the spectrum: Cleveland's Phil Dawson earned his first selection in his 14th NFL season.
"I deliberately tried not to know," Dawson said. "We wanted to watch the show with my kids. I had a really good idea what was going on, but it was a pretty priceless moment when we saw the name flash up on the screen. My kids went nuts `cause my wife went nuts. That makes these 15 years of waiting worth it."
Another record setter will be heading to Honolulu: Detroit WR Calvin Johnson.
Johnson broke Jerry Rice's single-season yards receiving record and has 1,892 yards with a game left.
Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez set the record for Pro Bowls at his position by being chosen for the 13th time.
The league's top two sackmasters, DEs Aldon Smith of San Francisco and J.J. Watt of Houston, were first-time selections. Watt has 20 1-2 sacks, one ahead of Smith; the NFL record is 22 1-2.
Other newcomers, along with Griffin, Walsh and Dawson, were AFC players tackle Duane Brown and guard Wade Smith of Houston; safety LaRon Landry of the Jets; kick returner Jacoby Jones of Baltimore; and punter Dustin Colquitt of Kansas City.
For the NFC, first-timers were Giants WR Victor Cruz; Atlanta WR Julio Jones; Seattle tackle Russell Okung and center Max Unger; San Francisco guard Mike Iupati, linebacker NaVorro Bowman and safety Donte Whitner; Chicago cornerback Tim Jennings and defensive tackle Henry Melton; Washington tackle Trent Williams and special teamer Lorenzo Alexander; Minnesota fullback Jerome Felton; Tampa Bay DT Gerald McCoy; and New Orleans punter Thomas Morstead.
Eight teams had no Pro Bowl players: Carolina, Philadelphia and St. Louis in the NFC, Tennessee, Buffalo, Jacksonville, San Diego and Oakland in the AFC.
? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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More newsSensational comebacks have Peyton Manning and Adrian Peterson headed for the Pro Bowl.? Also selected Wednesday to the NFL's all-star game was Redskins rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III.
??ProFootballTalk: The Cowboys at Redskins game has been flexed into primetime and both teams have the opportunity to clinch a playoff berth. Mike Florio details how both teams might fare and who needs the win more.
Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/50300637/ns/sports-nfl/
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Public release date: 27-Dec-2012
Share ] Contact: Tim Parsons
tmparson@jhsph.edu
410-955-7619
Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health was awarded a four-year, $5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to promote the effective use of oral cholera vaccine around the world. The Delivering Oral Vaccine Effectively (DOVE) program will provide relief agencies and governments with technical assistance on how to use oral cholera vaccine, evaluate current vaccine-use practices and develop new field surveillance methods for monitoring and controlling outbreaks of the disease.
Cholera is an infectious disease caused by drinking unsanitary water. The disease is estimated to be responsible for between 100,000 to 200,000 deaths worldwide each year and infects as many as 2.5 million people annually. The oral cholera vaccine is over 70 percent effective and costs $1.85 per dose, but is not yet widely used in preventing outbreaks.
"We believe this grant will greatly facilitate the appropriate use of the new cholera vaccine. In partnership with the World Health Organization, UNICEF and other national and international agencies, we believe the DOVE project will provide the knowledge, technical assistance and encouragement to bring this life-saving vaccine to those who need it most," said David Sack, MD, director of DOVE and professor in the Department of International Health at the Bloomberg School.
In addition to researching and evaluating vaccine-use practices, DOVE will establish cholera surveillance in the northern region of Cameroon near Lake Chad, which appears to be a cholera hotspot. The site will help researchers develop and study methods for detecting outbreaks in remote areas and potentially for using oral vaccine to contain the disease.
The DOVE program will be part of a network of vaccine projects funded by the Gates Foundation to prevent outbreaks of cholera worldwide.
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Public release date: 27-Dec-2012 Share ] Contact: Tim Parsons
tmparson@jhsph.edu
410-955-7619
Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health was awarded a four-year, $5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to promote the effective use of oral cholera vaccine around the world. The Delivering Oral Vaccine Effectively (DOVE) program will provide relief agencies and governments with technical assistance on how to use oral cholera vaccine, evaluate current vaccine-use practices and develop new field surveillance methods for monitoring and controlling outbreaks of the disease.
Cholera is an infectious disease caused by drinking unsanitary water. The disease is estimated to be responsible for between 100,000 to 200,000 deaths worldwide each year and infects as many as 2.5 million people annually. The oral cholera vaccine is over 70 percent effective and costs $1.85 per dose, but is not yet widely used in preventing outbreaks.
"We believe this grant will greatly facilitate the appropriate use of the new cholera vaccine. In partnership with the World Health Organization, UNICEF and other national and international agencies, we believe the DOVE project will provide the knowledge, technical assistance and encouragement to bring this life-saving vaccine to those who need it most," said David Sack, MD, director of DOVE and professor in the Department of International Health at the Bloomberg School.
In addition to researching and evaluating vaccine-use practices, DOVE will establish cholera surveillance in the northern region of Cameroon near Lake Chad, which appears to be a cholera hotspot. The site will help researchers develop and study methods for detecting outbreaks in remote areas and potentially for using oral vaccine to contain the disease.
The DOVE program will be part of a network of vaccine projects funded by the Gates Foundation to prevent outbreaks of cholera worldwide.
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Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-12/jhub-jhr122712.php
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The biggest holiday of the season is over, but retailers are hoping that you aren?t done with your holiday shopping quite yet.
?The next few days are critical for retailers. They?ve got some catching up to do,? said Marshal Cohen, retail industry analyst with NPD Group.
On Wednesday, big chains including Macy's were already pushing their post-Christmas bargains, while major discounters?including Wal-Mart were encouraging shoppers to redeem their gift cards right away. But the fallout from a big Christmas storm could hurt their efforts if shoppers decide they prefer a cozy rest of the week at home instead.
Retailers had started off the all-important holiday shopping season in a much cheerier mood, as Black Friday shoppers appeared to gobble down turkey and rush to the stores ? and their computers ? in search of holiday gifts and bargains.
But then, a combination of factors including Superstorm?Sandy and the political upheaval over the fiscal cliff appeared to dim shoppers? moods. Experts also?said the stronger start to the season may have been a sign that people finished up early and had fewer last-minute shopping trips to make.
?The early start certainly looked like it meant that the consumer was in full spirits,? Cohen said. ?But in reality just because they had a front-loaded holiday didn?t mean there was going to be that much more spending to come.?
It's too early to paint a complete picture of how retailers fared so far in the most crucial season of the year. But early indications have some fretting that the year will end up being weaker than many had initially hoped.
Holiday-related sales rose 0.7 percent from Oct. 28 through Dec. 24, as compared to last year, according to data from Mastercard Advisors SpendingPulse. That was the lowest growth rate for that period?since 2008, at the depths of the recession. The same?survey showed a 2 percent increase in 2011.
The SpendingPulse data is based on estimates of payments made through the MasterCard network as well as by cash and check. It tracks holiday-related purchases including apparel, electronics and jewelry.
Research firm ShopperTrak, which compiles sales estimates based on foot traffic, said last week that it expects holiday sales to increase by 2.5 percent. That?s down from?its previous estimate that sales would increase by 3.3 percent.
But other researchers have not changed their initial forecasts for the season.
On Wednesday, the International Council of Shopping Centers, which produces an index of chain store sales along with Goldman Sachs, said it was holding to its estimate that holiday sales at chain stores would rise 3 percent this year.
?The ICSC?s chief economist, Michael Niemira, said in a note that sales in the last week of December could benefit from a calendar shift that put Christmas Eve on Monday this year.
A National Retail Federation spokeswoman said in an e-mail Wednesday that it also was sticking with its forecast that holiday sales would grow 4.1 percent to $586.1 billion.
Experts caution that it?s hard to say just yet what the final data will show, especially once post-holiday bargains are factored in.
?There?s no question that we saw a lot of (the) momentum slow down. How much did it slow down? We don?t really know yet,? Cohen said.
Holiday sales are considered crucial to retailers, and some can expect to make as much as half their profits, and 30 percent of their sales, during the two-month period.
The fiscal cliff, Superstorm?Sandy and other external factors are partly to blame for souring shoppers? moods toward the end of the season. But experts say shoppers have in recent years also become more savvy about sussing out bargains.
They?ve also become more bargain-conscious. C. Britt Beemer, retail analyst with America?s Research Group, said in a research note that major discounters appeared to fare best in keeping their customers.
?Consumers were very frugal this year, as we said all along,? Beemer said in the note.
The increasing shift to online shopping also may not be helping retailers pick up any extra sales. That?s because when a person shops online, they tend to seek out the best bargain and then buy that item. An in-store shopper may be more tempted to walk the other aisles, pick up a few things for themselves or do some other impulse shopping they hadn?t planned on.
?The consumer didn?t spend a lot of time this year buying those extra gifts. They didn?t spend a lot of time spending on themselves instead of others,? Cohen said.
Information from Reuters was included in this report.
Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economywatch/nervous-retailers-hope-post-christmas-rush-1C7659314
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On Christmas day, Callie Schweitzer, director of marketing and projects at Vox Media, tweeted out a photo of the Zuckerberg family gathered around a kitchen island freaking out while using the new Facebook "Poke" app.
It's an adorable, humanizing family photo. It was also supposed to be a private photo.
Schweitzer subscribes to Randi Zuckerberg's public feed on Facebook. She therefore assumed the photo came from Randi and assumed it was meant for public consumption. Randi previously ran marketing for Facebook, and is now a producer of a reality TV show about Silicon Valley, so it's not unreasonable to think this is a public pic.
When Randi saw the photo was tweeted, she blasted Schweitzer on Twitter: "not sure where you got this photo. I posted it to friends only on FB. You reposting it to Twitter is way uncool."
Schweitzer immediately apologized and deleted the photo. The two tweeted back and forth to figure out what happened.
Turns out that Schweitzer is Facebook friends with Randi's sister, who was tagged in the photo. As a result, the photo was in Schweitzer's stream. She mistakenly believed it was a photo from Randi and posted it to Twitter.
Randi has since deleted her tweets blasting Schweitzer, but BuzzFeed has screen caps of the whole thing.
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/randi-zuckerberg-photo-2012-12
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Aww! Bella Thorne decorated her home for the holidays this week alongside her friends and her family. Bella shared the cute collage of photos above along with posting:
Good times, good food and lots of love
Bella and her boyfriend Tristan are just the cutest couple, aren?t they? Bella recently revealed to her fans that she would be spending the holidays at Lake Tahoe. No word yet if Tristan will be joining his girlfriend to celebrate!
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MOGADISHU, Somalia - The battle-scarred capital of Somalia has long been called the "most dangerous city in the world," but after more than two decades of war and lawlessness, there is evidence it might finally be able to shed that ominous title.
For the first time, the leaders of U.N. humanitarian agencies felt it was relatively safe enough to gather in Mogadishu with journalists and local government leaders for the public launch Tuesday of the annual appeal for donor support. The location was meant to stress the country's fragile progress as they present crisis-weary donors with a bold new funding request to further expand programs beyond emergency life-saving assistance.
"I think a lot of people are optimistic about Somalia's future right now. This is the time to invest and not to walk away. Somalia is not in a situation where we can safely believe that tomorrow is for sure going to be a better day," said Justin Brady, head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Somalia.
For operations in 2013, U.N. humanitarian officials in Somalia are asking international donors for $1.3 billion, and for the first time they are asking for a commitment beyond the next budget year. They want donors to commit to a three-year strategy to enable 177 U.N. agencies and partnering groups to reach nearly half of Somalia's population with coordinated programs to build resilience in a country with a history of chronic conflict and recurring droughts.
"We cannot just wait for another crisis, because it will come, and we have to be prepared for that. And nowadays we can be prepared for that," said Stefano Porretti, head of the U.N. World Food Programme Somalia and current U.N. Somalia Humanitarian Coordinator. "I am convinced that we are at a critical time in the history of Somalia."
More than 2 million Somalis are still living in crisis and dependent on humanitarian aid to survive, according to a recent report by the U.N. Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit. That's down from the peak of 4 million during last year's famine, and progress is being on other fronts.
Within just the last few months, regional African forces in Somalia managed to push the Islamist militant group Al Shabab out of all major towns. For years the al Qaeda affiliate implemented a cruel form of strict Sharia law across much of the country and banned aid agencies during last year's devastating famine.
A joint international naval mission to improve security in the waters off the Horn of Africa has nearly put Somalia's 21 st century pirates of business. And the country's corrupt and inept transitional government was replaced by a new parliament, which then peacefully elected a new president.
At the launch of the three-year U.N. funding appeal for Somalia, Ministry of Interior Adulkarim Hussein Guled promised this government will do better.
"We are ready and committed to assist and facilitate the humanitarian organizations to do their work in a better way. We will never accept the humanitarian assistance to go directly in the wrong hands. We need that help to go directly to the needy people," Guled said.
Promises in Somalia have a bitter history of being broken, and there remain many daunting obstacles to a lasting peace and security, including clan rivalries and persistent Al Shabab guerrilla fighters.
U.N. staff and visitors are still required to wear flak jackets and travel in armored convoys in Mogadishu because of continued bombings, but the danger is no longer keeping Somalis from daring to move on with their lives: In Mogadishu, there's a construction boom. Restaurants, government buildings and schools are opening again.
U.N. humanitarian officials in Somalia hope the recent progress will be seen by international donors as encouragement to stay committed to long-term solutions, rather than a signal to withdraw until yet another catastrophe demands a rushed and expensive response.
"If we don't get the funding needed for this, the risk is to be trapped again in the vicious cycle of being obliged to respond to crisis and starting to build something we cannot finish. And then start all over with the next crisis," Porretti said.
Also ReadSource: http://gma.yahoo.com/hopeful-signs-most-dangerous-city-123112760--abc-news-topstories.html
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This combo made from undated photos provided by the FBI shows cousins Lyric Cook, 10, right, and Elizabeth Collins, 8, who have been missing since Friday, July 13, 2012. Authorities say hunters have found bodies believed to be two young Iowa cousins who disappeared while riding their bikes in July. (AP Photo/FBI)
This combo made from undated photos provided by the FBI shows cousins Lyric Cook, 10, right, and Elizabeth Collins, 8, who have been missing since Friday, July 13, 2012. Authorities say hunters have found bodies believed to be two young Iowa cousins who disappeared while riding their bikes in July. (AP Photo/FBI)
Black Hawk County sheriff's Capt. Rick Abben addresses the media about two bodies found in a wooden area earlier today at the Evansdale Police Station in Evansdale, Iowa Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012. Hunters discovered two bodies Wednesday believed to be the young Iowa cousins who vanished five months ago while riding their bikes, authorities said. (AP Photo/Waterloo Courier, Tiffany Rushing)
Black Hawk County sheriff's Capt. Rick Abben addresses the media about two bodies found in a wooden area earlier today at the Evansdale Police Station in Evansdale, Iowa Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012. Hunters discovered two bodies Wednesday believed to be the young Iowa cousins who vanished five months ago while riding their bikes, authorities said. (AP Photo/Waterloo Courier, Tiffany Rushing)
Black Hawk County sheriff's Capt. Rick Abben prepares to address the media about two bodies found in a wooden area earlier today at the Evansdale Police Station in Evansdale, Iowa Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012. Hunters discovered two bodies Wednesday believed to be the young Iowa cousins who vanished five months ago while riding their bikes, authorities said. (AP Photo/Waterloo Courier, Tiffany Rushing )
EVANSDALE, Iowa (AP) ? Hunters discovered two bodies Wednesday believed to be the young Iowa cousins who vanished five months ago while riding their bikes, authorities said.
The families of 9-year-old Elizabeth Collins and 11-year-old Lyric Cook have been notified of the discovery and are asking for privacy, Black Hawk County sheriff's Capt. Rick Abben said. He wouldn't say where the bodies were found or if there were suspects in the girls' disappearance.
The cousins were last seen July 13 near a popular recreational lake in Evansdale, a city about 110 miles northeast of Des Moines. Investigators found their bikes and a pink purse near the lake hours later, but no sign of the girls.
"It's definitely not the outcome that we wanted, obviously," Abben said, appearing to fight back tears during a news conference in Evansdale. "This is a difficult thing for us to go through. It's a difficult thing for the community."
He said the bodies were being sent to the state medical examiner's office to confirm their identities.
Hundreds of volunteers helped investigators search for girls after they went missing, traipsing through cornfields and wooded areas in and around Evansdale, a city of 8,000 residents. The mayor even flew above in his private plane looking for them.
Days later, an FBI dive team brought in specialized equipment to search the bottom of the lake for the girls but found nothing. Police then classified the case as an abduction.
Investigators had largely been tight-lipped in the months since. An FBI spokeswoman initially said investigators had reason to believe the girls were alive, raising the region's hopes. But other investigators backtracked, saying only that there was no reason to believe the girls were dead.
Authorities had asked hunters to look for the girls in the region during this fall's popular deer hunting season.
Abben said the bodies were discovered around 12:45 p.m. Wednesday, but refused to say where, saying the area was still being processed as a crime scene and could not be compromised.
"Preservation of that scene is paramount," he said.
Abben said he hoped to release additional details Thursday.
Abben said the girls' families wanted to express gratitude to the community for their support but have asked the media to respect their privacy at this time.
Investigators have poured through thousands of tips and chased many different theories in the case.
They looked into Cook's parents, who had criminal records for prior involvement in making methamphetamine. Cook's father, Daniel Morrissey, is being prosecuted for domestic assault and a series of meth and other drug charges, and he backed out of a plea agreement with prosecutors the day before the disappearance. They have denied any involvement.
The region had rallied in support of the girls. Photographs of the cousins seemed to be everywhere in northeastern Iowa: on T-shirts and buttons worn by locals, and on fliers hung on gas station walls and in business windows.
Local residents held repeated prayer vigils for the girls and their families, even as days passed and both girls had birthdays. Just last week, an anonymous donor pledged $100,000 for information about the girls' whereabouts, on top of the $50,000 that police had offered.
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In this Dec. 4, 2012 photo, Brazilian transgender model Felipa Tavares poses for portraits during a photo session in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The 6-foot-tall Tavares is among Brazil's small but growing ranks of transgender models _ leggy, high-cheekboned sirens who were born men and are causing a splash here as well as in Paris and other international fashion capitals. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
In this Dec. 4, 2012 photo, Brazilian transgender model Felipa Tavares poses for portraits during a photo session in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The 6-foot-tall Tavares is among Brazil's small but growing ranks of transgender models _ leggy, high-cheekboned sirens who were born men and are causing a splash here as well as in Paris and other international fashion capitals. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
FILE - In this June 1, 2011 file photo, Brazilian model Lea T. wears a creation by Blue Man during the Fashion Rio Summer 2012 collection in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Today's trans-model trend exploded with Lea T., a 5-foot-11-inch stunner who catapulted to international stardom in 2010 as the muse of coveted Paris couture label Givenchy. Lea T. was born a boy to Brazilian soccer-star Leandro Cerezo. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
In this Dec. 4, 2012 photo, Brazilian transgender model Felipa Tavares is photographed by fashion photographer Emerson Muniz during a photo session in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The 6-foot-tall Tavares is among Brazil's small but growing ranks of transgender models _ leggy, high-cheekboned sirens who were born men and are causing a splash here as well as in Paris and other international fashion capitals. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
In this Dec. 4, 2012 photo, Brazilian transgender model Felipa Tavares poses for photos during a photo session in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The 6-foot-tall Tavares is among Brazil's small but growing ranks of transgender models _ leggy, high-cheekboned sirens who were born men and are causing a splash here as well as in Paris and other international fashion capitals. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
In this Dec. 4, 2012 photo, Brazilian transgender model Felipa Tavares has her makeup applied in preparation for a photo session in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The 6-foot-tall Tavares is among Brazil's small but growing ranks of transgender models _ leggy, high-cheekboned sirens who were born men and are causing a splash here as well as in Paris and other international fashion capitals. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) ? Walking the catwalk in a Brazilian bikini is a nerve-racking experience for even the most seasoned of models, but for Felipa Tavares it's nothing short of terrifying.
The 6-foot-tall Tavares is among Brazil's small but growing ranks of transgender models ? leggy, high-cheekboned sirens who were born men and are causing a splash here as well as in Paris and other international fashion capitals.
Though they emerged onto the scene here just around two years ago, Brazil's so-called trans-models have already added a pinch of exoticism to the country's showcase modeling sector ? long dominated by blonde women such as Brazilian uber-model Gisele Bundchen. The trans-models' newfound prominence also points to a seismic shift in Brazilian society, which has seen macho, homophobic attitudes soften in recent years as gays win more legal rights.
"We are in the 21st century and there is just more tolerance in the air. Here in Brazil we now have gay mayors, gay lawmakers," said Sergio Mattos, director of the Rio-based modeling agency 40 Graus Models. "So why not trans-models? The world has evolved and now discrimination is, thankfully, becoming a thing of the past."
In the fashion world, gender ambivalence has been a la mode since the 1970s with the emergence of glam rock and its poster child, David Bowie. But today's trans-model trend exploded with Lea T., a 5-foot-11-inch stunner who catapulted to international stardom in 2010 as the muse of coveted Paris couture label Givenchy. Born a boy to Brazilian soccer-star Leandro Cerezo, the wild-maned brunette model appeared last year on the cover of edgy British fashion magazine Love, where she's shown locked in a smoldering kiss with supermodel Kate Moss.
Mattos, the eagle-eyed former head of Elite models in Brazil who's best known for discovering a gangly Bundchen at age 14, and other top models including Ana Beatriz Barros and Isabeli Fontana, said he jumped on the trans-train almost by accident.
Mattos was giving a two-day basics-of-modeling class to Tavares, unaware of her gender history. Impressed by her raven locks and enormous doe eyes, Mattos offered her a spot among the 200 models he represents.
"It wasn't till I saw her ID with her birth name that I realized she wasn't born a woman," said Mattos. "I thought, 'What the hell, let's give her a shot.'"
In some ways, the trans-models have a proverbial leg up on their female colleagues, Mattos said. Unlike even the thinnest of women, who often fight cellulite and stretch marks, the trans-models have long, sinewy limbs unscarred by such typically female afflictions. Once they've lasered away facial or body hair, they can sometimes look more feminine even than models who were born female.
With her sharp features and lanky silhouette, 26-year-old Tavares said she'd always harbored vague dreams of becoming a model. But growing up a boy in the interior of Minas Gerais state, far from Brazil's glitzy coastal metropolises of Rio and Sao Paulo, it always felt like something of a pipe dream, said the model.
"As a kid, I remember being so uncomfortable in the boys' clothes my parents dressed me in. I never played football and I just wanted to hang around with the girls, playing dolls or dress-up," said Tavares, who goes by the feminized version of her birth name, Felipe. But it wasn't until her late teens that, thanks to some Internet research, she learned about transsexuality and sought out the hormone treatments that have allowed her to transition into womanhood.
The hormones filled out her hips and gave her small breasts, while laser treatments erased any trace of the light beard she once had. Cascading locks of artfully layered hair mask her sharp Adam's apple.
"Strangers started approaching me in the street, and every time it happened, I was so scared they were going to chew me out for being a transsexual," she said. "But actually, they all wanted to tell me I should become a model."
Tavares is still saving money for the $15,000 sex reassignment surgery that will give her female genitalia. Still, that hasn't stopped her from donning itsy-bitsy bikinis in ad campaigns for Brazilian swimwear labels. Walking the catwalk in a swimsuit, however, is still a prospect that frightens her.
"The bikinis here are so tiny, the idea of wearing one in a show, with the lights and the cameras and everyone looking at you, it's super scary," she said.
Carol Marra, a 25-year-old transgender who is also with Mattos' modeling agency, became a cause celebre at Rio fashion week last May when she sported swimwear on the runway. The 5-foot-11 brunette model, who has had breast implants and the tip of her nose fixed, said she plans to undergo sex-reassignment surgery next month.
A journalist by training, Marra worked for a local TV station before her trademark androgynous style launched her career as a fashion stylist.
"The photographers I worked with were always saying, 'You should model, let me take pictures of you.' But I was really shy and I didn't want to be in front of the camera," said Marra, who also hails from Minas Gerais state. Eventually, she agreed to pose for a friend, she said, and those photos led to other photos and to a modeling career that took off about a year and a half ago.
Since then, she's enjoyed remarkable success, doing a whirlwind of commercial work, as well as her much-hyped appearances at Fashion Rio and Sao Paulo fashion week and a nearly nude cover of men's magazine Trip.
Still, being a transgender remains a double-edged sword in Brazil, said Marra. She's been rejected for jobs because clients were worried that she would send the "wrong message" to customers. Scenes she shot for a pharmacy commercial ended up on the editing room floor when the client panicked at the last minute.
The head of a gay, lesbian and transgender advocacy group, Toni Reis, cautioned that success on the runway doesn't mean transgenders and transsexuals are out of the woods yet.
Despite its international reputation as a haven for transgendered people, 114 trans people have been killed in Brazil this year to date. Brazil and Thailand are reputed to have among the world's largest trans populations.
"These were people killed in terrible ways, stabbed 40 times, their heads split open with a machete," said Reis. "They were not victims of the sort of everyday violence we see here in Brazil, like armed robberies and such, but rather the victims of homophobia.
"Within the gay community," he said, "transsexuals continue to be the most vulnerable group, by far."
Nonetheless, the gay rights movement has made major headway in Brazil, the world's largest Catholic country. A 2011 decision by the nation's high court to recognize same-sex civil unions was hailed as a watershed, although it stopped short of legalizing gay marriage.
In a major coup for transgendered people, nearly all Brazil's 26 states have so-called "common name" laws on the books, requiring school teachers to call trans students by the names they go by, as opposed to their birth names, activists said.
Transgenders are even entering the mainstream media and culture.
Last year, the top-rated reality show Big Brother Brazil featured its first transgender contestant and a transgender also competed late last month in the second annual Miss Bumbum competition, a beauty contest that focuses exclusively on Brazil's most obsessed-over part of the female anatomy.
There's even talk that TV Globo, Brazil's No. 1 broadcaster, might soon include a transgender character in one of its prime-time soap operas.
Trans-model Marra said she's been thinking about taking acting classes, just in case the opportunity should arise.
"You know fashion is fickle, what's in one day is out the next," said Marra. "I hope trans models are not just a trend, to be dropped like a hot potato next season."
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