New York Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw (44) rolls into the end zone for a touchdown during the second half of the NFL Super Bowl XLVI football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Eli Manning and the Giants one-upped Tom Brady and the Patriots again, coming back with a last-minute score to beat New England 21-17 Sunday night for New York's fourth Super Bowl title.

It was a rematch of the 2008 NFL championship, when Manning led New York past New England to ruin the Patriots' bid for a perfect season.

This was the first Super Bowl with two starting quarterbacks who previously won the big game's MVP award -- and they took turns being brilliant. Manning became the first QB to open a Super Bowl with nine consecutive completions. Later, Brady put together a run of 16 completions in a row, breaking another Super Bowl mark.

But in the end, it was Manning who directed the nine-play, 88-yard drive that put New York ahead.

Panama's former strongman Manuel Noriega gesturing while being carried in a wheelchair by a police officer inside El Renacer prison, on the outskirts of Panama City -- December 11, 2011. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

PANAMA CITY (AP/BuzzFeed) — Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, who was toppled by a 1989 American invasion and later convicted of drug running, was transferred from prison to a hospital on Sunday, possibly because of a stroke, police said.

The 77-year-old Noriega has high blood pressure and apparently suffered a brain hemorrhage, Panamanian National Police said in statement. He was taken from the El Renacer prison where he was serving out his sentence to Hospital Santo Tomas in Panama City.

One of his three daughters, Sandra, was seen entering the hospital, which was guarded by police agents.

In December, Panamanian authorities said Noriega was suffering from mobility due to a previous stroke.

Noriega, who ruled Panama from 1983 to 1989, spent about 20 years in U.S. and French prisons on drug-trafficking and money-laundering convictions, before returning to Panama on Dec. 11, 2011. Shortly after returning home under heavy security, he was seen publicly in a wheelchair being helped by prison authorities.

Noriega was Panama's longtime intelligence chief before becoming its top leader.

While he had been considered a valued CIA asset for years, the U.S. government soured on him, especially after a top political opponent was killed in 1985 and Noriega appeared to join forces with Latin American drug traffickers.

U.S. President George H.W. Bush ordered an invasion in December 1989 to oust him from power. He was captured and brought to Miami.

Prosecutors said Noriega helped the Medellin cocaine cartel ship "tons and tons of a deadly white powder" into the United States. But the defense said the indictment "smells all the way from here to Washington."

Jurors convicted him in April 1992 of eight of 10 charges. Under the judge's instructions, they were told not to consider the political side of the case, including whether the U.S. had the right to invade Panama and bring Noriega to trial in the first place.

When his 17-year sentence ended in 2007, France extradited him on money-laundering charges.

Noriega also had legal troubles awaiting him in Panama, where he had been convicted in absentia of murder, embezzlement and corruption charges that carried a combined 60-year prison sentence.

On October 25th, the Danish Refugee Council's Jessica Buchanan, 32, and Poul Hagen Thisted, 60, were abducted by pirates in Galkayo, Somalia. They have now been rescued by U.S. Navy SEALs in a well-planned operation that took less than an hour with no U.S. casualties.

WASHINGTON (AP) — "Good job tonight," President Barack Obama told his Defense chief as he arrived for his annual State of the Union message.

Unknown to a global television audience watching the speech moments later, a bold hostage rescue operation had played out half a world away with an elite Navy SEAL team's rescue of two hostages in Somalia, one of them an American. It was the same SEAL team that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, a U.S. official said Wednesday.

Publicly, Obama did not tip his hand during his speech, though microphones picked up his congratulation to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta as he entered the House chamber Tuesday night.

Unknown to those watching the speech, Obama had learned shortly before that the operation to rescue American aid worker Jessica Buchanan and another hostage had been successful. And, immediately after the speech, Obama returned to the White House to inform Buchanan's father that she was safe and "on her way home," according to a White House statement.

It was a dramatic bookend to the pomp and ceremony of one of Washington's most elaborate rituals — the State of the Union. The president did not mention the operation during his address to Congress and the nation, though he did refer to another successful military operation — the May 2011 killing of Osama bin Laden by Navy SEAL Team 6.

The hostage rescue in Somalia was carried out by the same team, a U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the operation.

In a predawn White House statement, Obama praised U.S. Special Operations Forces who rescued Buchanan and Dane Poul Hagen Thisted, who had been kidnapped at gunpoint by Somali pirates in October.

"As Commander-in-Chief, I could not be prouder of the troops who carried out this mission, and the dedicated professionals who supported their efforts," Obama said in a statement.

Two U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the top secret operation, said the operation was carried out by U.S. Navy SEALs. The team parachuted in to the site of the rescue, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details.

Obama was briefed on developments throughout the day, the White House said.

Panetta, in a separate statement, said Buchanan and Hagen Thisted "have been transported to a safe location where we will evaluate their health and make arrangements for them to return home." He said the two hostages were not harmed during the operation, and no U.S. troops were killed or injured.

"This was a team effort and required close coordination, especially between the Department of Defense and our colleagues in the Federal Bureau of Investigation," Panetta said.

On NBC's "Today," Vice President Joe Biden said the U.S. decided to move after determining that Buchanan's health "was beginning to decline."

"We wanted to act," Biden said.

Obama approved the mission Monday. On Tuesday, Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, gave the president half a dozen updates on the movement of forces and the progression of rescue operation.

About two hours before Obama was scheduled to begin delivering his State of the Union address, Brennan told him Buchanan and Thisted were safe and in U.S. hands.

After delivering his address, Obama called Buchanan's father. In his statement Wednesday, Obama said he told John Buchanan "that all Americans have Jessica in our thoughts and prayers, and give thanks that she will soon be reunited with her family."

"The United States will not tolerate the abduction of our people, and will spare no effort to secure the safety of our citizens and to bring their captors to justice," Obama said. "This is yet another message to the world that the United States of America will stand strongly against any threats to our people."

Biden had high praise for the special forces. "It takes your breath away, their capacity and their bravery," he said on ABC's "Good Morning America." ''These guys and women are amazing."

January 24, 2012 -- After giving his State of the Union speech in Washington, President Barack Obama tells John Buchanan that his daughter Jessica had been rescued by Navy SEALs in Somalia.

Via: whitehouse

Source: Reuters Pictures

GENARO C. ARMAS, AP Sports Writer

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Former Penn State coach Joe Paterno died Sunday after experiencing health complications from lung cancer, according to reports from CBS Sports. He was 85.

“Over the last few days Joe Paterno has experienced further health complications,” family spokesman Dan McGinn said in a brief statement Saturday to The Associated Press.

The 85-year-old Paterno had been in the hospital since Jan. 13 for observation for what his family had called minor complications from cancer treatments.

Paterno was diagnosed with cancer in November, days after getting ousted as head coach in the aftermath of the child sex abuse charges against former assistant Jerry Sandusky.

This was Paterno’s second time in the hospital in a month. He was also recovering from a broken pelvis that required a weeklong stay to make it easier for cancer treatments. Paterno first hurt his pelvis in August when he was accidentally bowled over by a player in preseason practice.

The injury forced the Hall of Famer to spend most of the season coaching from the press box — until trustees dismissed him Nov. 9, four days after Sandusky was first charged.

Sandusky is out on bail and awaiting trial after denying the allegations. Paterno testified before a state grand jury investigating Sandusky, and authorities have said he is not a target of the probe.

But school trustees voted unanimously to oust him anyway — even though Paterno had announced that morning he would retire by the end of the season — in part because Paterno failed a moral responsibility to report an allegation made in 2002 against Sandusky to authorities outside the university.

Paterno testified he had relayed the allegation told to him by graduate assistant Mike McQueary to a superior, and the information was then passed on to another school administrator who oversaw the campus police department.

Paterno’s lawyer, Wick Sollers, on Thursday called the board’s comments self-serving and unsupported by the facts. Paterno fully reported what he knew to the people responsible for campus investigations, Sollers said.

“He did what he thought was right with the information he had at the time,” Sollers said.

Penn State University football coach Joe Paterno enters a car after leaving his home to attend practice in State College, Pennsylvania, in this November 8, 2011 file photo. Paterno, fired in the fallout from the school's child sex abuse scandal, was hospitalized on January 13, 2012 for observation due to complications from lung cancer treatments, his family said in a statement.

Via: PAT LITTLE / Reuters

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — A family spokesman says former Penn State coach Joe Paterno, who is battling lung cancer, is in serious condition after experiencing health complications.

The 85-year-old Paterno has been in the hospital since Jan. 13 for observation for what his family had called minor complications from cancer treatments.

"Over the last few days Joe Paterno has experienced further health complications," spokesman Dan McGinn said in a brief statement Saturday to The Associated Press. "His doctors have now characterized his status as serious.

"His family will have no comment on the situation and asks that their privacy be respected during this difficult time," he said.

Paterno was diagnosed with cancer in November, days after getting ousted as head coach in the aftermath of the child sex abuse charges against former assistant Jerry Sandusky.

By ANDY BROWNFIELD and KANTELE FRANKO
Associated Press

ZANESVILLE, Ohio (AP) -- A mountain lion, grizzly bear and monkey were the only animals still running loose after being set free from an exotic-animal preserve, an Ohio sheriff said Wednesday, as authorities tried to piece together why the preserve's owner apparently released dozens of animals before committing suicide.

The Muskingum County Sheriff's office has received numerous complaints since 2004 about animals at the property in eastern Ohio, sheriff Matt Lutz added.

Muskingum County Animal Farm owner Terry Thompson killed himself after freeing the animals, Lutz said, following a night during which officials hunted down and shot to death nearly 30 of the 48 animals, including lions, bears and wolves.

Via: Jay LaPrete / Getty Images

As officials warned that more animals still were on the loose, three school districts in the region and some private and special schools canceled classes as the remaining bears, big cats and other beasts from the Muskingum County Animal Farm were hunted down.

Flashing signs along area highways told motorists, "Caution exotic animals" and "Stay in vehicle."

The animals' cages had been opened and the farm's fences had been left unsecured, police said.

Via: Tony Dejak / AP

The preserve in Zanesville, about 55 miles east of Columbus, had lions, tigers, cheetahs, wolves, giraffes, camels and bears.

Lutz called the animals "mature, very big, aggressive" but said a caretaker told authorities the animals had been fed on Monday.

Tuesday night, more than 50 law enforcement officials - including sheriff's deputies, highway patrol officers, police officers and officers from the state Division of Wildlife - patrolled the 40-acre farm and the surrounding areas in cars and trucks, often in rainy downpours. Lutz said they were concerned about big cats and bears hiding in the dark and in trees.

Via: Heather Ellers and Dustin Burton / AP

Via: EMMANUEL DUNAND / Getty Images

NEW YORK (AP) — The 11-year prison sentence for a wealthy hedge fund founder convicted of insider trading charges set a record for its length, but still left the government well short of the two-decade-long prison sentence it had sought to send a stern message to Wall Street.

Raj Rajaratnam, 54, left federal court in Manhattan on Thursday after U.S. District Judge Richard J. Holwell announced a sentence that was four years below a Probation Department recommendation and well short of the government's request that the Galleon Group founder serve as much as 24½ years.

Holwell credited Rajaratnam for acts of charity and cited his diabetes and need for a kidney transplant as reasons for leniency.

"Given the role Mr. Rajaratnam played in this scheme, many people could criticize the sentence as being too lenient," said Robert Mintz, a former federal prosecutor who heads the white collar defense group at the firm McCarter & English.

"In this environment where there's a palpable public antipathy to Wall Street, many people expected a sentence that was going to be closer to what prosecutors were seeking than what the defense was asking for," he added.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Reed Brodsky told Holwell that Rajaratnam made up to $75 million between 2003 and 2009 at his Galleon Group of funds by working a network of friends, former classmates and other tipsters at various companies and investment firms to get lucrative secrets about public companies including Google, IBM, Hilton Hotels and Goldman Sachs before they were announced publicly.

He said insider trading — carried out by smart, educated people — had "become rampant" because the incentives to commit it were higher than ever before and detecting it was extremely difficult. Too often, Brodsky said, those in the securities industry rationalize that they are justified to use inside information.

"They know they are committing crimes, but it's OK because they need to beat the competition, it's OK because they need to achieve the best, it's OK because is it really so bad? That was Mr. Rajaratnam's attitude," Brodsky said.

"Today you sentence a man who is the modern face of illegal insider trading," Brodsky told the judge. "He is arguably the most egregious insider trader to face sentencing in a courthouse in the United States."

Holwell agreed with the need for deterrence, saying Rajaratnam's "crimes and the scope of his crimes reflect a virus in our business culture that needs to be eradicated." He also agreed that federal sentencing guidelines recommended that Rajaratnam serve nearly 20 years in prison.

For his part, Rajaratnam remained silent, declining to speak when the sentencing proceeding reached the point when defendants normally address the judge.

Holwell imposed a $10 million fine and ordered forfeiture of $53.8 million, representing illicit profits, for a man who in 2009 was ranked No. 559 by Forbes magazine among the world's wealthiest billionaires, with a $1.3 billion net worth.

He was returned after the proceeding to his $10 million Manhattan condominium, where he will continue to undergo electronic monitoring under a $100 million bail package until he reports to prison on Nov. 29. His lawyers asked that the Sri Lanka-born Rajaratnam be sent to the medical facility at the federal prison in North Carolina where Bernard Madoff is serving his 150-year sentence.

Since his October 2009 arrest, more than two dozen people were arrested in the investigation, nicknamed Perfect Hedge, and all were convicted.

The scandal — along with the 2008 financial meltdown and the Wall Street abuses it exposed — stoked populist anger in the U.S. and complaints that the stock market is a sucker's game, rigged by insiders.

The longest previous sentence in an insider-trading case was 10 years, given twice before, most recently last month to one of Rajaratnam's co-defendants.

Galleon was one of the world's largest hedge funds before it collapsed in the wake of Rajaratnam's arrest, and the case against him and his cohorts was one of the most closely watched insider-trading scandals since the Ivan Boesky and Michael Milken cases in the 1980s.

Boesky was a stock speculator who pleaded guilty and served two years in prison. Milken, known as the junk bond king, pleaded guilty to securities violations in 1989, served 22 months and paid a $200 million fine.

The Rajaratnam probe relied heavily on the most extensive use of wiretaps ever for a white-collar case. Prosecutors captured conversations in which he and his accomplices could be heard gleefully celebrating their inside information.

In court papers, prosecutors noted that Rajaratnam had now shown remorse, noting that he told probation officers: "I am not aware of anyone who lost money as a result of my actions."

Prosecutors wrote: "Rajaratnam's statements reflect absolutely no appreciation that he cheated the system, and every law-abiding participant."

"We can only hope that this case will be the wake-up call we said it should be," U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement Thursday. "It is a sad conclusion to what once seemed to be a glittering story. ... Privileged professionals do not get a free pass to pursue profit through corrupt means."

___

Associated Press Writer Karen Matthews contributed to this report.

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- San Diego police say surveillance tape shows a person dressed like Gumby telling a convenience store clerk he is being robbed, fumbling inside the costume as if to pull a gun, dropping 27 cents and leaving.

Police say the attempted robbery took place Monday at a 7-Eleven in Rancho Penasquitos, Calif.

Detective Gary Hassen tells San Diego's 10News the clerk never heard of Gumby. He described the character as a green SpongeBob SquarePants.

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   By MATT APUZZO and ADAM GOLDMAN, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) Despite having no Internet access in his hideout, Osama bin Laden was a prolific email writer who built a painstaking system that kept him one step ahead of the U.S. government's best eavesdroppers.

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   (AP Photo/Garry Jones)

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   Side by side comparison of the nexus of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers on April 28, 2011, top, and on April 29, 2010 after days of flooding.

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   ABBOTTABAD, Pakistan (AP)  When a woman involved in a polio vaccine drive turned up at Osama bin Laden's hideaway, she remarked to the men behind the high walls about the expensive SUVs parked inside. The men took the vaccine, apparently to administer to the 23 children at the compound, and told her to go away.

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