Can streetcars save America's cities?

(CNN) -- In a down economy, pursuing the American dream can be challenging, but restaurant owner Todd Steele was willing to take a chance.

For nearly 20 years, Steele worked all levels of the restaurant game, from dishwasher to general manager, before partnering with his mom and opening his own eatery called Metrovino on Portland, Oregon's, 11th Avenue streetcar line.

"I would not have picked this spot if it weren't for the streetcar, and my business has certainly benefited from our location," Steele said. "Streetcars are also a romantic way to travel, and they are fun to watch from inside Metrovino."

While America lost much of its love for streetcars as public transportation during the 1960s, a few cities have kept the romance burning. The heart of San Francisco includes its nearly 140-year-old electric cable car system. In New Orleans, the location for Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire," many tourists are drawn by the picturesque St. Charles Avenue Line.
Interactive map: How we get to work
Interactive map: Key streetcar projects
Streetcars, light rail around the world
Washington's streetcar battle


The Obama administration recently offered some U.S. cities a piece of a $130 million federal fund for streetcar projects aimed at reducing traffic congestion, cutting pollution and reliance on foreign oil, and creating jobs. Transit systems in Dallas, St. Louis, Cincinnati and Charlotte, North Carolina, are slated to share grants from the Federal Transit Administration's Urban Circulator program.

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CLARA OSHIOMOLE'S DEATH

Clara Oshiomhole’s Last Moments
The death of Mrs. Clara Oshiomhole, 54, wife of governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo state came as a rude shock to many, even though her battle with breast cancer has been kept as top secret for long.

She has been abroad receiving treatment for the ailment and but had to return to Nigeria from the United States of America recently to attend to her daughter’s wedding preparations slated for December 18th.

The situation however got worse last week wednesday and she had to be admitted in an Abuja clinc for immediate medical attention, but she lost the battle for her life at exactly 10.53 pm Nigerian time on Tuesday, December 7, 2010.

She is survived by five children Cyril, Winnie, Jane, Steve and Adams Jnr.
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Rahul stands by his remarks on Hindu terror

New Delhi: Congress General Secretary is standing by his comments on Hindu terror leaked by WikiLeaks. The Congress party issued a statement on Friday saying that India should remain vigilant against terrorism of all kinds.

"Rahul Gandhi's view is that terrorism and communalism of all types is threat to India. We need to remain vigilant, against acts of terrorism of all kinds no matter who commits them," the press statement said.

Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari, after issuing the statement, attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and said that it had a habit of making a communal and political issue out of everything.

"Fighting terrorism should be the responsibility of all citizens. Fingers are being raised on those who attained martyrdom. Those who escorted terrorists to Kandahar, those who were found wanting to take action when Parliament was under attack are raising these questions," Tewari said.

The latest WikiLeaks cables on Friday revealed that Rahul Gandhi had voiced fears about the growth of Hindu extremists groups to US Ambassador Timothy Roemer in 2009.

The cable contained details of Rahul's conversation with the envoy at a luncheon hosted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at his residence in July 2009 in honour of visiting Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

"Responding to the Ambassador's query about Lashkar-e-Toiba's activities in the region and immediate threat to India, Gandhi said there was evidence of some support for the group among certain elements in India's indigenous Muslim community," the cable notes.
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The man who owns the Internet

REMEMBER HIM?

UPWARDLY MOBILE: Kevin Ham's kitchen-table business now inhabits the 27th floor of a skyscraper in Vancouver.
The man who owns the Internet
Kevin Ham is the most powerful dotcom mogul you've never heard of, reports Business 2.0 Magazine. Here's how the master of Web domains built a $300 million empire.

(Business 2.0 Magazine) -- Kevin Ham leans forward, sits up tall, closes his eyes, and begins to type -- into the air. He's seated along the rear wall of a packed ballroom in Las Vegas's Venetian Hotel. Up front, an auctioneer is running through a list of Internet domain names, building excitement the same way he might if vintage cars were on the block.

As names come up that interest Ham, he occasionally air-types. It's the ultimate gut check. Is the name one that people might enter directly into their Web browser, bypassing the search engine box entirely, as Ham wants? Is it better in plural or singular form? If it's a typo, is it a mistake a lot of people would make? Or does the name, like a stunning beachfront property, just feel like a winner?


When Ham wants a domain, he leans over and quietly instructs an associate to bid on his behalf. He likes wedding names, so his guy lifts the white paddle and snags Weddingcatering.com for $10,000. Greeting.com is not nearly as good as the plural Greetings.com, but Ham grabs it anyway, for $350,000.

Ham is a devout Christian, and he spends $31,000 to add Christianrock.com to his collection, which already includes God.com and Satan.com. When it's all over, Ham strolls to the table near the exit and writes a check for $650,000. It's a cheap afternoon.

Just a few years ago, most of the guys bidding in this room had never laid eyes on one another. Indeed, they rarely left their home computers. Now they find themselves in a Vegas ballroom surrounded by deep-pocketed bankers, venture-backed startups, and other investors trying to get a piece of the action.

And why not? In the past three years alone, the number of dotcom names has soared more than 130 percent to 66 million. Every two seconds, another joins the list.

But the big money is in the aftermarket, where the most valuable names -- those that draw thousands of pageviews and throw off steady cash from Google's and Yahoo's pay-per-click ads -- are driving prices to dizzying heights. People who had the guts and foresight to sweep up names shed during the dotcom bust are now landlords of some of the most valuable real estate on the Web.
Kevin Ham’s Reinvent continues to evolve,Kevin Ham’s company Reinvent continues to evolve as new ventures are launched, the company’s web site has been receiving facelifts.

The new web site look, showcases the company’s domains and now links to Reinvent’s developed properties on the Our Lab page - with clickable links to GoodNews.com, BlackFriday.com and Vancouver.com.
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Israel outlines easing of economic measures on Palestinians

Jerusalem (CNN) -- The general in charge of the Israeli government's program to ease the economic blockade of Gaza, cited major progress Tuesday, saying the flow of goods into Gaza has increased many fold.

That message given by Major Gen. Eitan Dangot, the coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories, the Israeli army section responsible for handling Palestinian civilian affairs in the West Bank and Gaza.

Speaking at a news conference, he detailed how presently 180 to 200 double container trucks are entering Gaza daily compared with about 80 to 90 such trucks before the June decision.

He estimated that soon the capacity at the Kerem Shalom crossing point will reach 300 trucks per day. But he also sounded a note of concern regarding the recent upswing of rockets and mortars fired into Israel by Palestinian militants from inside Gaza. "In the last weeks we are facing launching of rockets and mortar shells around Gaza, all over from the north to the south at Kerem Shalom," he said.

He said that this put the lives of those handling the transfer of material into Gaza in danger.

The general explained that all goods going into Gaza are coordinated with the Palestinian Authority, which is situated in the West Bank, even maintaining what he called a "24 hour hot line" with Palestinian officials in Ramallah. Looking toward the coming year, he said he planned to increase the capacity of trucks going into Gaza to 400.

The increase in materials entering Gaza supports 78 projects that are being implemented by the international community. Twenty-two projects are in education, 16 are water and sewage works, 10 agricultural and others in the field of housing, health and electricity.

There has also been an increase of business people allowed to travel out of Gaza to conduct business in the West Bank and Israel in order to promote economic growth. Daily about 60 to 80 such people travel out of Gaza. However when the general was asked about allowing unrestricted freedom of movement to go in and out of Gaza for its population, he made clear that Israeli security concerns would rule on that matter.
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Inter Milan ease into World Club final

(CNN) -- Inter Milan cruised into the final of the Club World Cup after beating Asian champions Seongnam Ilhwa 3-0 in Abu Dhabi.

The European champions, who have struggled to replicate last year's form, when they claimed the Champions League, Italian Serie A title and Italian Cup, will now face African champions TP Mazembe in Saturday's showpiece after this comfortable victory.

Despite the setback of playmaker Wesley Sneijder limping off injured early in the match, Inter were always in control and took the lead in just the third minute when Dejan Stankovic coolly slotted the ball home from the edge of the area.

And that advantage was doubled in the 32nd minute when same superb interplay between Argentine duo Javier Zanetti and Diego Milito resulted in captain Zanetti sliding the ball past Seongnam goalkeeper Jung Sung-Ryong.

The victory was sealed 17 minutes from time when Milito, making his return to action after five weeks on the sidelines, stabbed home a rebound after Samuel Eto'o's shot was parried by Jung.

Meanwhile, the fifth-place play-off was won by Mexican side Pachuca, who rallied from going two goals behind to defeat local side Al-Wahda on penalties, after the match finished 2-2.

A late double from Dario Cvitanich sent the match into extra time, where no further goals were scored.

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Breaking news-Helena Bonham Carter and Colin Firth both received Golden Globe nominations...

Helena Bonham Carter and Colin Firth both received Golden Globe nominations Tuesday for their work in "The King's Speech."
(CNN) -- The critically acclaimed film "The King's Speech" led the 68th Annual Golden Globe nominations Tuesday morning.

The film starring Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush scored seven nominations including best film -- drama, best performance by an actor in a motion picture -- drama for Firth, best supporting actress in a motion picture for Carter and best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a motion picture for Rush.

"I'm truly grateful to be recognized by the Hollywood Foreign Press for this film, and euphoric to be in the company of so many of my colleagues," Firth said.

"The Social Network" and "The Fighter" followed with six nominations each, including best film -- drama, joining "Inception" and "Black Swan."

Actors Josh Duhamel, Katie Holmes and Blair Underwood joined Hollywood Foreign Press Association president Philip Berk on Tuesday to announce the nominations.

As many critics predicted, Natalie Portman scored recognition for best actress in a motion picture -- drama for her work in "Black Swan." Other nominees for best actress include Halle Berry for "Frankie and Alice," Nicole Kidman for "Rabbit Hole," Jennifer Lawrence for "Winter's Bone" and Michelle Williams for "Blue Valentine."
The Golden Globe nominees are...
Golden Globe movie nominations
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Joining Firth in the best actor in a motion picture nominations were Jesse Eisenberg for "The Social Network," James Franco for "127 Hours," Ryan Gosling for "Blue Valentine" and Mark Wahlberg for "The Fighter."

On the small screen, familiar names such as "Glee," "30 Rock" and "Modern Family" snagged nominations in the best TV series -- comedy category, along with "The Big C," "Nurse Jackie" and "The Big Bang Theory."

Last year's winner for best actor in a comedy TV series, Jim Parsons from "The Big Bang Theory," was again nominated and joined by Alec Baldwin for "30 Rock," Steve Carell for "The Office," Thomas Jane for "Hung" and Matthew Morrison for "Glee."

Baldwin expressed his joy with the nominations.

"'30 Rock' is back, bigger and better than ever," he said. "We are very grateful to the Hollywood Foreign Press."

This year's nominees for the best TV drama series include "Dexter," "The Good Wife" and "Mad Men" as well as newcomers "Boardwalk Empire" and "The Walking Dead."

Actor Johnny Depp pulled off a double nomination in the category for best actor in a motion picture -- comedy or musical for his role in both "Alice in Wonderland" and "The Tourist."

British comic Ricky Gervais will return to host the Globes award ceremony, which will air live January 16 on NBC.

Gervais said he will push the envelope even more than he did when he hosted the last show and took jabs at NBC and the Foreign Press Association.

"I don't think I was too bad," Gervais told reporters last week about his first turn hosting. "I don't think I went far enough."

The following is a full list of the nominees: Details here