Mary Landrieu Falls to Bill Cassidy in Louisiana Runoff

Senate Republicans expanded their majority in the upcoming Congress on Saturday when Republican Rep. Bill Cassidy defeated Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu in a runoff election.

The Associated Press called the race for Cassidy, who enjoyed substantial help from outside groups determined to knock off another Democratic incumbent senator this election cycle.

Democrats, however, had largely given up on Landrieu once it became clear they no longer would retain control of the Senate. After the November 4 primary, liberal groups aired just 100 television ads in support of the three-term senator, whereas conservative groups aired 6,000, according to the Center for Public Integrity.

Cassidy stuck to the GOP's successful strategy of tying Landrieu with President Barack Obama in a state Obama lost by 17 points in his 2012 re-election. He repeatedly said she voted with the president 97 percent of the time and painted her as the "deciding" vote for the Affordable Care Act.

Exit polls from the primary showed troubling signs for Landrieu, even though she won a plurality of the vote running against Cassidy and another Republican. She earned the support of just 18 percent of white voters, significantly less than the 33 percent she got during her 2008 election.

The daughter of former New Orleans mayor and the sister of the current one has come out on top of tough races before, but this election she struggled to define herself as an independent-minded Democrat.

Her message during the runoff election was that Senate control has already been decided and voters must now choose who is best for the Pelican State. Landrieu told supporters that replacing her with Cassidy is like replacing popular New Orlean Saints quarterback Drew Brees with a rookie.

But her veteran leadership was not enough to pass the Keystone XL pipeline last month when the bill failed to get Senate approval by one vote.

"I came here 18 years ago, fighting to get here, fighting to stay here, and I'm going to fight for the people of my state until the day that I leave I hope that will not be soon," a defeated Landrieu said after the vote. "There's only joy in the fight. Where I come from, we just never talk about quitting, and we don't talk about whining."

Landrieu's loss means Southern states no longer have a Democrat representing them in the Senate, a remarkable shift in a region the party used to firmly control.

First published December 6 2014, 6:27 PM

Andrew Rafferty

Andrew Rafferty has been a political reporter for NBCNews.com since 2013. Rafferty writes and reports on politics for the web, and shoots and produces video for all NBC platforms.

Prior to joining NBCNews.com, Rafferty was a campaign reporter covering the 2012 presidential election. Rafferty was on the road for both the Republican primaries and general election, providing content for both the web and television.

Rafferty began at NBC News through a fellowship at "Meet The Press."

He is from Buffalo, N.Y., and attended John Carroll University in Ohio.

... Expand Bio

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/mary-landrieu-falls-bill-cassidy-louisiana-runoff-n262801

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'Wild': Laura Dern on feeling 'vulnerable' as Reese Witherspoon's mom

Laura Dern is having a mother of a year. In the spring, Dern played a cheery, soothing parent to cancer patient Shailene Woodley in the hit teen weepie "The Fault in Our Stars." In the fall festival darling "99 Homes," which will be released next year, Dern is mom to evicted construction worker Andrew Garfield.

And in "Wild," which just arrived in theaters in New York and Los Angeles this week, the Academy Award-winning actress has one of the year's most significant maternal roles, as the mother of memoirist Cheryl Strayed, played by Reese Witherspoon.

In the bestselling book and the new film directed by Jean-Marc Vallee, Dern's character, Bobbi Strayed, is the soul of the story, an ethereal, optimistic woman whose untimely death helps spark her daughter's breakdown and subsequent decision to hike 1,100 miles alone.

When Dern was first cast in the meaty part the news raised eyebrows in age-conscious Hollywood; at 47 she's only nine years older than Witherspoon. On the industry news website Deadline.com, commenters questioned the logic of the decision -- "Her mother?Is this a comedy?It seems like a bad joke," one wrote.

There is, in fact, logic to the casting -- Bobbi's scenes unfold in flashback, as Cheryl is recalling her while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Dern said the age difference never occurred to her until another actor brought it up over a meal.

"After we did it we went to dinner with a mutual girlfriend whos an actor too, and she was like, 'I cant believe you did that. Arent you nervous about doing that?'" Dern said. "I was like, 'Wait, wha?' It didnt give me pause before, but after I felt maybe vulnerable that somebody else pointed it out."

Dern, whose own mother, actress Diane Ladd, is from Meridian, Miss., said she felt a "kindred spirit Southern family kind of thing" with the New Orleans-born Witherspoon.

"Laura came at this with absolutely no ego," Witherspoon said of her costar's casting. "Ego is the death of creativity."

In the film, Dern, herself a mother of two, acts opposite Strayed's real-life 9-year-old daughter, who is named Bobbi, after the grandmother she never met. The scenes provided an opportunity for some closure for Strayed.

"Cheryl was so heartbroken that her mother would never meet her children and when she saw Bobbi run into my arms on the first day ... she watched her daughter meet her grandmother for the first time," Dern said.

Copyright 2014, Los Angeles Times

Source: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-wild-laura-dern-reese-witherspoons-mother-20141206-story.html

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Dear Dana White: Send CM Punk Back to the WWE�UFC Doesn't Need Him

Fights happened at UFC 181. Titles were defended. Blood spilled. But all that went down in a very large shadowdeposed WWE wrestling kingpin CM Punk is coming, per an announcement during the pay-per-view Saturday night,to the UFC Octagon.

Punk, whose real name is Phil Brooks, left the WWE on bad terms in January. He's been the subject of whispers ever since, rumors of his eventual signing with the UFC swirling around for months before the company finally pulled the trigger Saturday.

Brooks, who will compete as either a middleweight or a welterweight, appeared on the UFC 181 broadcast to discuss his multi-fight deal with announcer Joe Rogan.

I have a background in kempo, and Ive been doing Brazilian jiu-jitsu for a long time," Brooks said. "This is my new career, 100 percentI'm going to go full steam ahead, all systems go after today, and it's going to be fun.

"I have nothing but respect for everybody here at the UFC, everybody who steps in the Octagon to fight.And when it's all said and done, when I'm finished, everybody's going to have to respect me because I have come here to fight."

It was a move that shocked the combat-sports world, me included. To be honest I never gave a potential Punk signing much thought. It simply seemed too far-fetched to warrant much brain power. Sure, Punk was a noted MMA fan who trains with Rener Gracie. And, yes, he's expressed some interest in giving MMA a try.

But in the UFC?The Super Bowl of mixed martial arts?

It just didn't seem feasible. After all, this is a man with no history of athletic success, no track record in martial arts competition and a laundry list of injuries than made continuing his career as a wrestling showman untenable.

Giving fighting a shot is Punk's choice. Putting him in the Octagon, where ostensibly the best cage fighters in the world compete, is White's. And it's nothing more than a sideshow, the kind of hucksterism the UFC was supposedly escaping when it ran towards respectability and away from its early reputation as human cockfighting.

This is a publicity stunt and a n***d cash grab. The UFC is eschewing sport for spectacle, walking the opposite path it followed to grow the "sport" to this point. But there's no underestimating the levels Dana White and company will sink to in the name of American capitalism.

The UFC is struggling in the American market. Television numbers are down. Pay-per-view numbers are reportedly at the lowest levels since the dawn of The Ultimate Fighter in 2005. It's, no doubt, pretty scary to ponder the future these days. They've bet it all, everything White and his partners have built over more than a decade, on successful foreign expansion.

And that's a bet that will be slow paying offif it does at all. In the meantime, with it's top stars either in decline like Anderson Silva, pondering a movie career like Ronda Rousey or in an extended public spat with the promotion over drug testing and other issues like George St-Pierre, the UFC is desperate for something to click with their fans.

Enter CM Punk.

The UFC has seen the potential power of a professional wrestler at the box office before. When former (and current) WWE champion Brock Lesnar signed with the company in 2008, it lit a fire that burned hot and fast. The promotion broke box-office records behind Lesnar, riding his success to unthinkable heights.

It's tempting to compare the two men because of their WWE backgrounds. But Lesnar was an athletic marvel, a former NCAA champion wrestler who once tried out for the Minnesota Vikings on a whim and impressed even NFL scouts with his raw ability.

Comparing Punk to Lesnar rings hollow. At best it's naive. At worst it's manipulative and dishonest. Punk has no athletic credentials. He never even played sports in high school. And, while he's had some training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, he's never competed at a high level in that art either. He's a complete unknown.

If he wants to fightfine. But putting him in the hallowed UFC Octagon, once meant only for the best of the best, turns a sport into a carnival show, especially if he's fighting in a high-profile bout. Is this athletics? Or is it celebrity fantasy camp?

Even worse, from a moral standpoint, is Punk's age and history of injuries. The 36-year-old entertainer, though not a sportsman, did travel the world with the WWE, sacrificing his health and well-being in thousands of televised wrestling collisions and slams.

They took their toll. In a revealing podcast interview, Punk said not only had he torn his meniscus, PCL, MCL and injured his ACL, he also had serious troubles with his elbow. Worse still, he had suffered more than a dozen concussions in his career, and it was affecting him nightly (transcribed by Cageside Seats):

I worked Luke Harper in a match and I got hit with something and it f------g rung my bell and I got a concussion. But we were leaving for Europe the next day. So Doc was leaning on me going 'do you want me to... do you have a concussion or can you go to Europe' kind of thing. And I was just like 'you f-----g... you pigs.

I'll go to Europe. Whatever.' That's on me. That's my fault. I probably shouldn't have.

After the European tour, the whole European tour, I'm dry heaving after every match. I mean, luckily I was in tags.

It was me and Daniel Bryan vs. The Wyatts and they were awesome, and they were fun -- the parts I remember -- but I'm on all fours after every match and I'm either puking for real or I'm just dry heaving because I don't have anything in my stomach. I have no appetite. I don't know what is up and what is down. I can't sleep. I can't f-----g train. It's like a bus, a hotel, a cold building.

This doesn't sound like a man who needs to be competing in a brutal sport like mixed martial arts. This sounds like a man who should be taking measures to protect his brain for what willhopefullybe a long and productivelife.

It will ultimately be an athletic commission's job to decide whether Punk is fit to fight. Of course athletic commissions let Muhammad Ali fight into the 1980s, long after it was clear he was doing himselfirreparableharm. Ifthere's money to be made with CM Punk, the UFC will find a way to get him in the cage.

Does CM Punk Deserve to Fight in the UFC?

Will CM Punk make the UFC money? In the short term, I have no doubt. While he wasn't a great box-office PPV attraction for WWE, no one was giving up on him, which is how they ended up creating the WWE Network, he is asignificantstar toan audience of several million wrestling fans.

People will watch CM Punk, at least once or twice. The question, then, is whether his signing will further degrade MMA's standing in the broader sports mainstream.

No other sport would even consider signing a celebrity to compete at the highest level or try to pass one off as an equal to their hardworking professionals. Even Michael Jordan, arguably the greatestathleteof his era, wasforced to give baseball a try in the minor leagues, not for the Chicago White Sox.

Jordan, famously, failed. So, too, will this. The UFC will cash in on Punk at the cost of their hard-earned credibility.

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2291848-dear-dana-white-send-cm-punk-back-to-the-wwe-ufc-doesnt-need-him

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Lil Wayne Compares Cash Money Records To Prison

Rapper Lil Wayne says he wants off Cash Money Records and likens his record contract to a prison sentence.

Assuming youve been following hip-hop music since the late 1990s, youll remember a scrawny, nasally rapper based out of New Orleans who couldnt help but scream Cash Money every time he saw a television camera.

Much hasnt changed over the past decade plus as Lil Wayne is still scrawny and nasally, though the pockets of the Fireman rapper are much heavier and his influence in the rap game can not be denied. Hes also apparently no longer feeling the love towards Cash Money Records either as the only musical home to Lil Wayne has apparently frustrated the hip hop icon enough to liken his record contract to a prison sentence.

I want off this label and nothing to do with these people but unfortunately it aint that easy, Wayne stated. I am a prisoner and so is my creativity. Again, I am truly sorry and I dont blame ya if ya fed up with waiting for me and this album. But thank you.

Its bit of an odd situation considering as a teenager, Lil Wayne was essentially raised by Cash Money Records co-owner Brian Baby Williams and has routinely suggested Williams to be a father figure. Now all of a sudden, Wayne, who owns a parent company on the label, Young Money, wants to rid himself of those who made him who he is today.

Many have wondered if its nothing more than a publicity stunt in effort to drive up sales for Waynes potential album.

Despite his popularity, Waynes recent releases havent exactly been impressive in terms of sales relative to his popularity. Perhaps that could also be behind Waynes frustration as hes looking for more promotion and financial backing from a larger record company.

Either way, its certainly an odd situation and one to keep an eye closely on if youre fan of Weezy or Cash Money Records.

d**k's Sporting Goods Giving Away 100 Basketball Hoops:

Tags: Lil Wayne Music Rap

Source: http://fansided.com/2014/12/06/lil-wayne-compares-cash-money-records-prison/

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NASA's Orion launch a success: "There's your new spacecraft, America!"

Dec. 5, 2014 -- A Delta IV Heavy rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida carrying NASA's Orion spacecraft on an unpiloted flight test to Earth orbit. Liftoff was at 7:05 a.m. EST. During the two-orbit, four-and-a-half hour mission, engineers will evaluate the systems critical to crew safety, the launch abort system, the heat shield and the parachute system. Photo: NASA

NASA's new Orion spacecraft made a flawless launch, a glorious flight to space, and a "bull's-eye" splashdown today. The journey was "the most perfect flight you could ever imagine," said Mission Control commentator Rob Navias.

Watch the stunning launch video:

The entire operation was as close to perfect as it gets. The unmanned Orion craft launched successfully atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket today, Dec. 5 2014, at 7:05 a.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Orion splashed down some 4.5 hours later in the Pacific after a breathtaking test flight that reached 3,604 miles from earth, and in doing so, heralded a new era of manned spaceflight.

Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) is the first flight test for NASAs new deep space capsule and represents a critical step on NASA's journey to Mars.

"There's your new spacecraft, America," said Navias when the Orion capsule prepared to splash down some 270 miles off Mexico's Baja California peninsula.

Don't miss our earlier dispatch from Cape Canaveral by Sawyer Rosenstein, and here's the official NASA blog with a blow-by-blow of today's wonderful, historic flight. Go Orion! Some photos from NASA today, in more or less reverse chronological order.

The Orion spacecraft has been powered down following a flawless first flight test. Photo: NASA

The recovery teams are within about 120 yards of the Orion crew module as it floats in the Pacific Ocean. Photo: NASA

The Orion crew module splashed down in the Pacific Ocean approximately 600 southwest of San Diego at 11:29 a.m. EST. Flight controllers have reported that the spacecraft is in a stable configuration. The recovery team from NASA, the U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin will perform initial recovery operations, including safing the crew module and towing it into the well deck of the USS Anchorage, a landing platform-dock, or LPD, ship. Photo: NASA

Dec. 5, 2014 - Following splashdown of the Orion crew module, U.S. Navy crews from the USS Anchorage began recovering the three parachutes while other teams began safing the spacecraft. After lines are attached, Orion will be towed into the well deck of the recovery ship, USS Anchorage. Photo: NASA

Dec. 5, 2014 - Following more than four hours in Earth orbit, NASA's Orion spacecraft is seen from an unpiloted aircraft as it descends under three massive red and white main parachutes. Splashdown in the Pacific Ocean will take place at less than 20 mph. It will be recovered by the USS Anchorage, a landing platform-dock, or LPD, ship. Photo: NASA

Dec. 5, 2014 - A video camera onboard NASA's Orion spacecraft captured views out the window during the heat of re-entry is the capsule plumitted back toward Earth. Photo: NASA

Looking back at Earth: Dec. 5, 2014 A camera in the window of NASA's Orion spacecraft looks back at Earth during its unpiloted flight test in orbit. Photo: NASA Television

An onboard camera records the separation of one of the Delta IV Heavy rocket boosters as it separates following lift off from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida carrying NASA's Orion spacecraft on an unpiloted flight test to Earth orbit. Liftoff was at 7:05 a.m. EST. During the two-orbit, four-and-a-half hour mission, engineers will evaluate the systems critical to crew safety, the launch abort system, the heat shield and the parachute system. Photo: NASA

An onboard camera provides a view of Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station as a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy lifts off carrying NASA's Orion spacecraft on an unpiloted flight test to Earth orbit. Liftoff was at 7:05 a.m. EST. The flight test also will validate systems such as Orions parachutes, avionics and attitude control, and demonstrate major separation events such as the launch abort system jettison and the service module fairing separation. Photo: NASA

An onboard camera captures separation of the three 13 by 14-foot Orion service module fairings following lift off the Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The flight test also will validate systems such as Orions parachutes, avionics and attitude control, and demonstrate major separation events such as the launch abort system jettison and the service module fairing separation. Photo: NASA

Source: http://boingboing.net/2014/12/05/nasas-orion-launch-a-success.html

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Rapid Reaction: Chicago Bears

December, 4, 2014

Dec 4

11:37

PM ET

CHICAGO -- A few thoughts on the Chicago Bears' 41-28 loss to the Dallas Cowboys at Soldier Field.

What it means: The Chicago Bears move to last place in the NFC North, and the best they can hope to achieve at this point is a .500 record. Theyd have to win out to do that, and thats an unlikely possibility, given the way this team has performed in recent outings, with upcoming matchups on tap against the New Orleans Saints, Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings. With the Bears playing two of their final three at Soldier Field, its worth pondering how much more ownership can take. Several players believe theyre currently auditioning for jobs with the Bears in 2015. If thats truly the case, theyre not making compelling cases to remain in Chicago.

Stock Watch: Bears coach Marc Trestman and the offensive coaching staff talked all week about the need to establish balance on offense but ran the ball just seven times in the first half and trailed just 14-7 at intermission. Offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer even said it would be important for the club to run the ball if it faced an early deficit, yet the Bears did the opposite against the Cowboys. With 10:48 left to play and the Bears down 38-13, Matt Forte received just his 12th handoff of the game. So offensively, the coaching staff didnt stick to the game plan to run the ball against a Dallas squad ranked No. 22 against the run.

Protests empty seats: According to multiple reports, hundreds of demonstrators marching in the Chicago Loop in protest of a grand jurys decision to not indict a New York police officer in the death of Eric Garner played a role in stopping traffic on Lake Shore Drive and the Dan Ryan Expressway, resulting in empty seats at Soldier Field for the early part of Thursdays game. The demonstrations started at approximately 5 p.m. The stands at Soldier Field didnt fill up until approximately halfway through the first quarter, and the thought at first was that fans werent showing up because of the clubs disappointing record. There were 6,293 unused tickets for the game.

Game ball: Tight end Martellus Bennett hauled in 12 receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown against his former team and now has a career-high 77 receptions on the season. This marks the third consecutive year Bennett has set a new career high for receptions.

Whats next: The Bears wont return to the practice field until Wednesday to begin prep for their matchup on Dec. 15 against the New Orleans Saints at Soldier Field.

• Joined ESPN in 2010
• Previously covered Jaguars and Redskins
• Played college football at West Texas A&M

Source: http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/bears/post/_/id/4696213/rapid-reaction-chicago-bears-25

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Ikhana To Capture Orion Splashdown For NASA TV

December 4, 2014

Image Caption: Preparing Ikhana for a long mission. Credit: NASA / Tony Landis

Provided by NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center Public Affairs

Orion Splashdown Mission

Ikhana, NASAs remotely piloted, unmanned aircraft system (UAS), will be used to capture video of the Orion crew module Exploration Flight Test 1 (EFT-1) as the module descends through the atmosphere into the Pacific Ocean.

The aircrafts camera, mounted on the planes underside, will generate a live video feed of the descent. Ikhana was acquired by NASA in November 2006 to support Earth science missions and advanced aeronautical technology development.

While Ikhana loiters at 27,000 feet altitude, the infrared camera will detect the capsule. Once the camera has located and acquired the Orion module, the camera operator will switch to an optical camera that will observe Orions descent through parachute deployment and splashdown.

The pilot will fly the UAS from the Ikhana ground control station located at NASAs Armstrong Flight Research Center on Edwards Air Force Base, California, while a sensor operator will point the optical camera for visual sighting of the module.

Video will be sent real-time via satellite to NASA TV for live broadcast of the modules descent and recovery. The aircraft will depart Armstrong hours before EFT-1 launch to arrive at the planned reentry and splashdown area ahead of Orion.

Ikhanas versatility allows it to fly for more than 20 hours at a time and reach altitudes above 40,000 feet. The aircraft has a wingspan of 66 feet, and it is 36 feet long.

Background

NASA uses the Ikhana aircraft as an airborne science test bed, and to develop capabilities and technologies to improve the utility of unmanned aircraft systems. The name Ikhana originates from Native American Choctaw language meaning intelligent, conscious or aware.

In 2012, NASA also used the Ikhana to test an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast device. ADS-B is an aircraft tracking technology that determines a planes position using satellite navigation. The Federal Aviation Administration will be requiring all airplanes operating in U.S. airspace to have this device by January 2020.

Ikhana is currently using ADS-B and other technologies in flight tests of Autonomous Collision Avoidance System for UAS (ACAS-Xu). These tests will provide decision makers with information about safe approaches that will advance autonomous collision avoidance and self-separation of aircraft.

Built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., Ikhana is a demilitarized MQ-9 Predator B owned and operated by the agency with technical support from the Air Forces Medium Altitude UAS Division and the Nevada Air National Guard.

Missions

The Ikhana project concluded its deployment over the Hawaiian Islands in August 2014. On that mission, new aircraft systems were tested that may allow the plane to fly future science missions into the Arctic Circle region as part of NASAs commitment to improving understanding of Earth and its resources.

Ikhana was also used in the Western States Fire Mission from 2007 2009 demonstrating improved wildfire imaging and mapping capabilities of a sophisticated sensor and real-time data communications equipment.

After years of laboratory development and test, large-scale dynamic field test of a NASA-patented fiber optic-based sensor technology began in 2008 when the technology was flown on the Ikhana to measure real-time changes in wing shape during flight. The effort represented one of the first comprehensive flight validations of fiber optic sensor technology.

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Source: Provided by NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center Public Affairs

Topics:Technology Internet, Human spaceflight, Signals intelligence, Spaceflight, Ikhana, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, Unmanned aerial vehicle, Orion, War on Terror, General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper

Source: http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1113292639/ikhana-to-capture-live-orion-splashdown-for-nasa-tv/

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