wish You Happy New Year 2011(celebrities)

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2011 best college in US(Top 10 College)

1.Yale University New Haven, CT

Rank=1,
Percent receiving need-based grants:54.3%
Average discount from total cost:73%

2.Harvard University Cambridge, MA

Rank:2
Percent receiving need-based grants:60.0%
Average discount from total cost:72%

3.Princeton University Princeton, NJ



Rank:3

Percent receiving need-based grants:58.7%
Average discount from total cost:69%

4.Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA

Rank:4

Percent receiving need-based grants:62.2%
Average discount from total cost:68%

5.Stanford University Stanford, CA

Rank:5

Percent receiving need-based grants:49.4%
Average discount from total cost:69%

6.Columbia University New York, NY

Rank:6

Percent receiving need-based grants:49.2%
Average discount from total cost:66%

7.Dartmouth College Hanover, NH

Rank:7

Percent receiving need-based grants:53.0%
Average discount from total cost:66%

8.California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA

Rank:8

Percent receiving need-based grants:54.6%
Average discount from total cost:60%

9.Duke University Durham, NC

Durham, NC

Rank:9

Percent receiving need-based grants:41.0%
Average discount from total cost:63%

10.Cornell University Ithaca, NY

Rank:10

Percent receiving need-based grants:44.7%
Average discount from total cost:61%



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Reese Witherspoon and jim are engaged(pic)

Reese Witherspoon is ready to make it official with boyfriend Jim Toth: The couple are engaged, PEOPLE confirms.
The Oscar-winning actress, 34, and Toth, 40, began quietly dating last January and quickly grew serious about each other.
In October, a source close to Toth, an agent at Creative Artists Agency in Los Angeles, told PEOPLE he was smitten with Witherspoon.
"Jim knows Reese is the one for him," the source said. "It's what he's been waiting for. [Getting engaged] is a natural step for them."
Witherspoon was equally thrilled with the relationship, a source close to the actress told PEOPLE at the time. "Reese quickly realized that Jim was someone that she felt safe with and could count on," the source said.
Just as important, Toth bonded easily with Witherspoon's children, Ava, 11, and Deacon, 7, who she had with her ex-husband Ryan Phillippe.
"They have vacationed together with Reese's kids and everyone [got] along great," the source added.
Months before that, a source close to Witherspoon described a relationship on the fast track, with Witherspoon happy to be with someone "who's more mature and in a place in his life where he's ready to settle down. I think for the first time in a very long time, she feels as if she's with a grown-up."
Witherspoon's relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal ended in 2009. She split from Phillippe in 2006 after seven years of marriage.
Witherspoon currently stars in the romantic comedy How Do You Know. She won an Oscar in 2006 for her portrayal of June Carter Cash in Walk the Line

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US empowers,Muslim women(pic)

ATLANTA: Around September 11, 2001, not long after she founded the Islamic Speakers Bureau of Atlanta, Soumaya Khalifa heard from a group whose name sounded like " Bakers Club." It wanted a presentation.
The address was unfamiliar, but she went anyway. The group turned out to be the Bickerers Club, whose members love to argue. Islam was their topic du jour and their venue was a tavern. Khalifa laughed, and made the best of it.
Khalifa, born in Egypt and raised in Texas, wears a head scarf but also juggles, comfortably, the demands of American suburbia: crowded schedule, minivan and all. She is one of a type now found in most US cities: vocal Muslim women wary of predominantly male leadership of their community and weary of suspicions of non-Muslims about Islam.
These women have achieved a level of success and visibility unmatched elsewhere. They say they are molded by the freedoms of the United States and by the intellectual ferment stirred when American-born and immigrant Muslims mix.
"What we're seeing now in America is what has been sort of a quiet or informal empowerment of women," said Shireen Zaman, director of Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, founded after 2001 attacks to provide research on American Muslims. "In many of our home countries, socially or politically it would've been harder for Muslim women to take a leadership role. It's actually quite empowering to be Muslim in America."
Tayyibah Taylor is a convert of Caribbean descent in Atlanta who founded a glossy magazine, Azizah, to celebrate Muslim women of achievement. "I didn't see Islam as taking my freedoms as a woman," said Taylor, who is 57 and studied the Koran in Jidda for six years. "It really opened up worlds for me."

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Weather improves,but thousands stranded across snow-hit in US(pic)

WASHINGTON: Air and rail traffic was limping back to normalcy in eastern USA after a monster blizzard left thousands of holiday travellers, including Indian Americans, stranded at airports and broke off power supplies across towns and cities.
Weather showed a remarkable improvement today in the six worst affected states that have been all but paralysed under a shroud of icy white.
However, fresh reports said many of the travelers stranded at airports are unlikely to reach home before the yearend in view of the long delays.
More than 5,000 flights were cancelled at airports across the US as more than half of the country was covered with heavy snow over the weekend with some cities receiving even 30 inches of snow.
Governors declared states of emergency in Virginia, Maryland and Massachusetts ahead of the approaching storm. The mayors of Philadelphia, Boston, Providence and Portland, Maine, also called snow emergencies.
This was was New York's sixth worst storm since 1869. "This storm was one of the most challenging storms we've had in a decade or two," said Thomas Bosco, general manager of LaGuardia, told the CNN.
"We had 25 inches several years ago, but the snow stayed in place. Today the snow piles are drifting," he said.
Travel plans of a large number of Indian-Americans, who wished to go back home during the holiday season, were affected as many flights had been cancelled from key airport hubs like New York and Newark.
"Business class, first class, everyone was on the floor all night," Mumbai-bound Queens resident Natalie Mohanty told The Wall Street Journal.
After she spent the night on the floor at JFK airport, her airline finally bused her to a room at the Holiday Inn in Maspeth in New York.
"People are exhausted. They want to get home," Eric Schorr, marooned at New York's Kennedy Airport since Sunday afternoon, told The Washington Post.
Besides the JFK, other airports in the region too were hit by the blizzard - Newark, Buffalo, Boston and Philadelphia.
More than 1,700 overseas travelers, including many India-bound, were stranded at the Chicago airport this evening.
Authorities said the airport is making special arrangements to help passengers rushing to make connections avoid delays.
Yesterday, more than 500 flight were cancelled in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport, which flies several flights a day to various Indian cities.

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Man faces 5-yr jail:hacking wife's emails(pic)

NEW YORK: A 33-year-old man is facing up to five years in jail in the US for allegedly hacking his wife's e-mails, after he suspected her of cheating on him, a media report said.
Leon Walker has been charged by prosecutors in Oakland county, Michigan, under the state's anti-hacking laws aimed at preventing identity theft in the US, for allegedly reading her wife Clara's e-mails without her prior permission, The Daily Telegraph online reported.
Leon had suspected his wife, who had been married twice before, was having an affair with her ex-husband. He is alleged to have used his computer skills to gain access to her e-mail account on their shared home computer and discovered e-mails which confirmed his suspicions that his wife was cheating on him.

Leon handed the e-mails over to the son of Clara's first husband who was forced into revealing the source of the leaked e-mails. When his wife realised her e-mails were read, she lodged a complaint with authorities. Clara later divorced him earlier this month, when he was arrested for hacking.

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Happy New year 2011(pic & animations)

A Foreshadowing of the New Year? Let's HopeThis has nothing to do with this photo, but I am riding my bike from Austin to Alaska in the summer of 2011 for cancer research. This photo gets the most views out of any other photo, and if you have the time to visit to check out what we're all about, i'd greatly appreciate it :) And, if you can donate under my name, Shiyam Galyon, then THANK YOU! ***********

Happy New Year!

My parents and I went to the Museum of Fine Arts-Houston today and it was really neat. I wasn't allowed to take pictures though but as we were walking back to our car I saw this vehicle conspicuously parked a few spots down from us. There was a hippie inside looking at art too, but since it was an art museum i really couldn't be sure as to the ownership.

if you want more animation picture mean please click this site

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50 Ways:Improve Your Finances in 2011(pic)

1. Decide on your big goals. Do you want to have more money in your bank account? Take a five-star vacation? If you're having trouble putting your finger on it, ask the people who know you best. Brainstorming with your significant other, family members, and friends can help shake loose your own thoughts.

2. Share those goals with other people. Telling friends and family members about your plans will help you stick to them. But you don't necessarily have to share your goals with people you know. At 43things.com, strangers list goals such as "save 20 percent of what I earn" or "identify 100 things that make me happy (besides money)." The website MyLifeList.org can also help; after you make a list of your goals, you can share them with others and give and receive encouragement.
3. Do a little every day. Take small steps toward your big goals every day, even if it means spending 60 seconds checking out a relevant website before bed. If you want to launch a small business, for example, small steps can include purchasing your website name, interviewing Web designers, and reading a book or two on being an entrepreneur. The most successful savers profiled in Generation Earn started by automatically saving a small percentage of their income; Nicole Mladic, a 31-year-old communications director in Chicago, couldn't afford to put away a big chunk of her salary when she was in her mid-20s, so she started saving 2 percent. A few months later, she raised it to 3 percent, then to 4 percent, and eventually she reached her goal of 10 percent. Today, her net worth is more than $90,000.
4. Take time to reflect. Look back on 2010. What were your personal money highs and lows? What mistakes did you make and what challenges did you face? What financial decisions are you most proud of?
Spending:
5. Get rid of junk mail. The website catalogchoice.org lets retailers know which customers no longer want to receive their mail. Participating companies agree to stop sending any more catalogs within three months. Signing up with 41pounds.org halts junk mail. The Direct Marketing Association (the-dma.org) will let its members know when people sign up to stop receiving direct-mail marketing offers. Junk mail piles up over time, so these fixes can really make a difference in the long run. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that Americans receive four million tons of junk mail each year, almost half of which is never even opened. In addition to saving paper, you'll prevent yourself from spending needlessly by avoiding the temptations on those glossy pages.
6. Stop receiving E-mail sales alerts from your favorite retailers. Electronic junk mail might not carry the same environmental impact, but it can still convince you to spend money on items you don't need. Unsubscribe to retailer alerts to avoid the temptation.
7. Negotiate one big-ticket item each month. Often, big-box stories and department stores offer some wiggle room on their posted prices, especially when competitors offer a product for less. Before making any significant purchases, especially electronics, comparison shop and be prepared to ask the store clerk if their company can give you a better deal.
8. Get familiar with comparison and coupon websites. Websites such as PriceGrabber.com, BradsDeals.com, and Dealnews.com can help you pay less for items you buy often as well as splurges. Get in the habit of checking these sites before buying anything online or shopping in stores.
[In Pictures: 10 Ways to Save on Big-Ticket Items]
9. Budget by the year. Research shows that budgeting by the year instead of the month makes it easier to stay within your spending limits. That's partly because when we create an annual budget, we remember to take into account occasional expenses such as gifts.
10. Keep a spending diary. Even if you just track every dollar you spend for two weeks, it will open your eyes to where your money goes and what you could cut back on. You might not realize that you spend $100 a week on lunches, or that your taxi-cab habit is eating up half of your discretionary income.
11. Take advantage of your bank's free tools. Banks are increasingly offering easy ways of tracking your spending online. If your bank offers a free tool, use it to see where your money is going and where you can cut back.
Security:
12. Check up on your insurance. Do you have the auto insurance, renters insurance, and life insurance that you need? According to Allstate insurance, 2 in 3 renters skip insurance altogether, even though most people could benefit from the protection and it's relatively cheap. Life insurance is another awkward topic since no one wants to talk about death. But many people are under-insured, which puts their families at risk. Review the insurance that you have and decide whether you have the right amount.
13. Write a will. Consider working with a professional to make sure your assets will go where you want them to upon death; if you have any minor children, appointing a guardian is essential. At the very least, explore some of the online sites that allow people to write their own wills, such as buildawill.com and legacywriter.com, if you have a simple situation. (Financial experts say most people benefit from working with a professional.)
14. Protect your privacy. Whenever someone asks for your Social Security number, question if it's necessary to share it. Never give it to a solicitor on the telephone or in an E-mail, and if you ever notice a suspicious charge on your credit card, follow up with your card company—it could be the first sign of identity theft.
Saving:
15. Write down how much money you want to save by the end of the year. As with your other goals, the simple act of writing it down will help keep that goal at the top of your mind throughout the year.
16. Become a better cook. Sometimes you have to spend money to save money. Nowhere is that truer than in the kitchen, where investing in a few key pieces of hardware can help you cook better, faster, and cheaper. And anything that makes your food taste better and gets it on the table quickly can lessen the temptation to order budget-busting take-out. Consider investing in a slow cooker to make meals even easier.
17. Reduce your utility bills. Making sure your home is properly insulated can save you money on heating and cooling costs. Using a programmable thermostat so that the temperature automatically rises (in the summer) and falls (in the winter) when no one is home during the day can yield annual savings of about 30 percent. While some 25 million households own programmable thermostats, only half actually use them.
18. Use less energy. Small changes, like closing doors to unused rooms or turning off the air conditioner during the day, can make a serious dent in utility bills. So can unplugging appliances, turning off lights, and shutting down computers at night. Even televisions can use power when they're turned off, so unplugging them when they're not in use saves energy. A $30 power strip, called the Smart Strip, automatically cuts power to devices that don't need it when they're off, such as a DVD player, while maintaining power to those that do, such as a cable box.
19. Use fewer products. Instead of lathering up with soap, shaving cream, shower gel, and body scrub, Diane MacEachern, author of Big Green Purse, suggests cutting back to just a handful of products. "Put everything you use in one day on the counter and it will blow your mind. Pick a day where you just brush your teeth and your hair and forget about the rest," she says. In addition to creating less waste, the change will lower your monthly drugstore bills, because you won't be buying all of those unnecessary lotions and creams. You can save up to $200 a year.
20. Start making cleaning supplies from scratch. Even Martha Stewart endorses this technique. A bowl of vinegar or simmering lemon rinds can absorb smells just as well as manufactured air freshener. Scrubs made of baking soda and water make kitchens sparkle just like chemical-laden cleaners. The Internet contains hundreds of do-it-yourself recipes; Jennifer Taggart's thesmartmama.com can get you started.
21. Find inspiration online. There are hundreds of personal finance blogs and websites; find the ones that speak to you and visit them regularly to help keep you on track. Popular options include Wise Bread, The Simple Dollar, and Centsible Life.
22. Give yourself a stress test. How vulnerable are you to sudden job loss or unexpected expenses? Do you have an emergency fund? If not, start building one. You should have at least three months' worth of living expenses in your bank account.
23. Work with family members. Sometimes, family members can help each other save more money by working together. Adult children are increasingly living with their parents, for example, but this arrangement doesn't have to be a burden if the adult children contribute to household costs or pay rent. You can also help out by gardening, doing housework, or sharing your computer skills.
[See top-rated mutual funds funds by category ranked by U.S. News Score.]
Investing:
24. Decide what type of investor you want to be. If you're like most people, you probably want to skip stock-picking and put your money in low-cost index funds instead. Create a diversified portfolio, with longer-term savings in more aggressive investments (such as an index fund that tracks the S&P 500) and shorter-term savings in safer spots such as money market funds.
25. Begin investing today. Waiting to start a retirement account until you feel like you can afford it might mean that you can never retire. Don't put off opening a 401(k) account if your employer offers it, even if you start by contributing just 2 percent of your salary. Soon, you can raise that percentage to 4 percent, and eventually to 10 percent or higher. For extra motivation, plug your numbers into a retirement calculator on Bankrate.com, and see how much you need to fund your golden years—it's probably much more than $1 million.
26. Ignore the market (for the most part). Focusing too much on the ups and downs of the market just causes stress. When the market's plunging, instead focus on your hobbies, family, and getting outside. Avoid cable television news, which often treats every dip in the market like a major crash. If your investments are well-diversified, you've done all you can.
Debt:
27. Pay off your expensive debt, even student loans. Student loans that carry a 5 or 6 percent interest rate (or higher) are costing you much more than your savings can earn in this current low-interest rate environment. Paying off a chunk of your student loans will immediately start saving you more money than you could if you continue to make those slow-and-steady monthly payments. Of course, not everyone has the cash to pay off a large portion of their loans, and it will probably take five-plus years after graduation to get to the point when you can even consider it. But once you have a healthy bank account, don't wait too long to start paying off big chunks of those more-expensive student loans.
28. Choose the best credit card for you. If you pay your balance off each month, you should have a card that gives you rewards points. If you carry debt, just focus on getting the card with the lowest interest rate. Most people have multiple cards that aren't suited to their needs. Pick the one that fits you best and stop using the other ones. Don't close them, though, because that can hurt your credit score.
29. Improve your credit score. The easiest way to do this is by making steady, on-time payments every month and otherwise keeping your accounts in good standing. Get your free credit report once a year at annualcreditreport.com to check for any mistakes (and fix them).
30. Make a plan for paying off high-interest rate debt. If you carry any credit card debt, auto loans, or high-interest student loans, it's time to come up with a plan for paying them off. With interest rates on savings account so low, it often makes more sense to unload your expensive debt rather than continuing to make interest payments.
Retirement:
31. Run some numbers. Most people fail to calculate exactly how much they're on track to save, or how much they'll need, in retirement. Check out the retirement calculators available through your financial institution (Fidelity, T.D. Ameritrade, Transamerica, and T. Rowe Price have them, among others) or use free calculators from Bankrate.com. Experiment with different rates of returns, inflation rates, tax rates, and lifetime expectancy, since no one can predict those factors with any accuracy.
32. Ramp up your retirement savings by a few percentage points. Those calculations might convince you that you need to start saving more. To keep anxiety (and a major budget crunch) at bay, increase your savings in small increments. Start by upping your retirement account contribution 2 percent, and see if you can add another 2 percent in six months. Most people need to save about 15 percent of their salaries to be on track for a healthy retirement
.
33. Consider opening up new tax-advantaged accounts. Make sure you know what tax-advantaged accounts are available to you. If you're currently not working, you might be eligible for a spousal IRA or Roth IRA. If you work full-time and have access to a 401(k), make sure you're taking full advantage of it. If your employer offers the relatively new Roth 401(k), which lets workers invest post-tax dollars into an account that will not be taxed again in the future, you might want to consider doing so.
[Visit the U.S. News Retirement site for more planning ideas and advice.]
34. Rebalance your retirement investments. If your investments have been battered by the stock market swings—and whose hasn't—it might be time to rebalance. For a quick evaluation, subtract your age from 100. That's roughly the percentage of your funds you should have in stocks, with the rest in more conservative investments such as bonds. If you're 40, that means you should have about 60 percent in stocks and 40 percent on bonds.
35. Check in with the Social Security Administration. Every year, wage earners receive a statement from the Social Security Administration, which provides a useful estimate of your future monthly benefits. It will help you determine how much you'll need to supplement with your own savings.
[See the 50 Best Careers of 2011.]
Earning:
36. Invest in your career—even when you're being frugal everywhere else. Investing in a career coach or development course can help you snag a promotion, get "unstuck" from a career rut, or transition into your dream job. The price of one-on-one coaching typically starts at about $200 an hour, but less formal advice can come from meeting with more experienced colleagues over lunch or coffee.
37. Start earning extra money on the side. Many people don't realize they have valuable skills that other people are willing to pay for, such as a second language or even craft skills. To get ideas for how to earn extra money, check out the services section on Craigslist and see what people are advertising—editing, gardening, and event planning. Earning just a few hundred dollars a month can help get you back on your feet, plus you'll get valuable job experience and the possible start of a successful small business that you can continue to grow.
38. Launch your own business. Have you always dreamed of being your own boss? Make this the year you start taking small steps toward that goal. Decide what you can sell, buy your website address, and consider taking on a few clients.
39. Use social media tools to boost your career. Making connections on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn can enhance your overall profile in your field and strengthen connections that will come in handy when you're job-hunting. Many people err by not fleshing out their profile information on their social network accounts; start by adding more information about yourself, along with a photo.
40. Develop a back-up plan. In today's economy, no job is 100-percent secure. Create a list of steps you would take if you were to lose your job, even though you hope never to have to use it. Having a Plan B can give you peace of mind as well as a practical "to-do" list if you ever face the shock of an unexpected job loss.
41. Schedule creative time for yourself. Boost your productivity with scheduled downtime, in which you give yourself the freedom to brainstorm about new ideas and possibilities for yourself and your career. Todd Henry, founder of the Accidental Creative, suggests blocking out a regular time period and reading material that you wouldn't normally look at, such as an engineering magazine or copy of Vogue.
42. Consider asking for a raise. If it's been a while since you've seen an increase in your paycheck, it might be a good time to make an argument to your boss for why you deserve a raise. Put the reasons in writing and run the request by a friend to make sure it's as strong as possible. Of course, if your industry or company is experiencing especially difficult times, you might want to put that request on hold until business picks up again.
43. Free up your time and energy by outsourcing chores. Think of money spent on a cleaning service or grocery delivery as an investment in your career, because these things free up more time (and energy) for you to focus on your day (or night) job.
Giving:
44. Talk with parents and siblings about any support you expect to give to them. Giving doesn't relate only to charities; many people also support their aging parents and needy siblings. Make sure you understand what your parents or siblings expect from you, if anything, and that you can afford to provide them the support that they need. If you can't, talk with them about your limits and potential nonmonetary ways that you can assist them.
45. Choose a cause that you believe in. Many of us give haphazardly throughout the year, donating $30 for a friend's walkathon and $100 at a school auction. Instead, put some thought into the causes you'd like to support this year. Read a book or two to further educate yourself. For example, if you believe in ending world water shortages, then you might want to read When the Rivers Run Dry: Water—The Defining Crisis of the Twenty-first Century. If your passion is addressing poverty, then you might want to check out When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor. . .and Yourself. Then, figure out what you can do to help
46. Learn everything you can about your chosen cause. Bill Gates shared this advice for would-be philanthropists with the New York Times: "The key thing is to pick a cause, whether it's crops or diseases or great high schools ... Pick one, and get some more in-depth knowledge" by traveling, reading, or volunteering. Studying up on your cause doesn't need to cost much money, but it will make you a more informed—and more effective—giver.
47. Look for free ways to give, too. Giving blood, signing up to be an organ donor, or donating the gently used books and clothes in your home can be just as helpful as monetary gifts. Your time, of course, is one of the most valuable things you can give, along with any special skills, such as computer expertise, to charities in need of such assistance.
48. Give better gifts. Surveys show that most Americans say they want to spend less and give more meaningful presents. When birthdays or other events come up, think about how you can give an experience, such as an afternoon at a museum or conversation over tea, instead of things.
49. Clean out your closet. Not only will you have a more organized space for the new year, but you probably have some valuable items—books, CDs, and games—that charities could make good use of. See what you have that you're ready to give away, then look up local charities in need. Be sure to retain a record of what you give for next year's taxes.
50. Join forces with friends. By forming a giving circle, a group of friends can pool their money for a good cause. The number of giving circles has doubled to at least 800 over the past four years, and the trend is partly frugality-driven. Combining money and time makes it easier to research charities more extensively, check up on how the funds are being used, and garner enough power as donors that charities make an effort to reach out to you. A representative might visit your donor circle one night to explain the programs, or invite you to participate in some of the charity's activities. To find a giving circle that already exists in your area, visit givingcircles.org.

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Jellyfish Swarm Northward:Warming World(pic)

KOKONOGI, Japan—A blood-orange blob the size of a small refrigerator emerged from the dark waters, its venomous tentacles trapped in a fishing net. Within minutes, hundreds more were being hauled up, a pulsating mass crowding out the catch of mackerel and sea bass. The fishermen leaned into the nets, grunting and grumbling as they tossed the translucent jellyfish back into the bay, giants weighing up to 200 kilograms (450 pounds), marine invaders that are putting the men's livelihoods at risk.

The venom of the Nomura, the world's largest jellyfish, a creature up to 2 meters (6 feet) in diameter, can ruin a whole day's catch by tainting or killing fish stung when ensnared with them in the maze of nets here in northwest Japan's Wakasa Bay.
"Some fishermen have just stopped fishing," said Taiichiro Hamano, 67. "When you pull in the nets and see jellyfish, you get depressed."
This year's jellyfish swarm is one of the worst he has seen, Hamano said. Once considered a rarity occurring every 40 years, they are now an almost annual occurrence along several thousand kilometers (miles) of Japanese coast, and far beyond Japan.
Scientists believe climate change—the warming of oceans—has allowed some of the almost 2,000 jellyfish species to expand their ranges, appear earlier in the year and increase overall numbers, much as warming has helped ticks, bark beetles and other pests to spread to new latitudes.
The gelatinous seaborne creatures are blamed for decimating fishing industries in the Bering and Black seas, forcing the shutdown of seaside power and desalination plants in Japan, the Middle East and Africa, and terrorizing beachgoers worldwide, the U.S. National Science Foundation says.
The foundation found in a 2008 study that 500,000 people are stung annually in Chesapeake Bay on the U.S. East Coast, and 20 to 40 die each year in the Philippines from jellyfish stings.
In 2007, a salmon farm in Northern Ireland lost its more than 100,000 fish to an attack by the mauve stinger, a jellyfish normally known for stinging bathers in warm Mediterranean waters. Scientists cite its migration to colder Irish seas as evidence of global warming.
Increasingly polluted waters—off China, for example—boost growth of the microscopic plankton that "jellies" feed upon, while overfishing has eliminated many of the jellyfish's predators and cut down on competitors for plankton feed.
"These increases in jellyfish should be a warning sign that our oceans are stressed and unhealthy," said Lucas Brotz, a University of British Columbia researcher.
Here on the rocky Echizen coast, amid floodlights and the roar of generators, fishermen at Kokonogi's bustling port made quick work of the day's catch—packaging glistening fish and squid in Styrofoam boxes for shipment to market.
In rain jackets and hip waders, they crowded around a visitor to tell how the jellyfish have upended a way of life in which men worked fishing trawlers on the high seas in their younger days and later eased toward retirement by joining one of the cooperatives operating nets set in the bay.
It was a good living, they said, until the jellyfish began inundating the bay in 2002, sometimes numbering 500 million, reducing fish catches by 30 percent and slashing prices by half over concerns about quality.
Two nets in Echizen burst last month during a typhoon because of the sheer weight of the jellyfish, and off the east coast jelly-filled nets capsized a 10-ton trawler as its crew tried to pull them up. The three fishermen were rescued.
"We have been getting rid of jellyfish. But no matter how hard we try, the jellyfish keep coming and coming," said Fumio Oma, whose crew is out of work after their net broke under the weight of thousands of jellyfish. "We need the government's help to get rid of the jellyfish."
The invasions cost the industry up to 30 billion yen ($332 million) a year, and tens of thousands of fishermen have sought government compensation, said scientist Shin-ichi Uye, Japan's leading expert on the problem.
Hearing fishermen's pleas, Uye, who had been studying zooplankton, became obsessed with the little-studied Nomura's jellyfish, scientifically known as Nemopilema nomurai, which at its biggest looks like a giant mushroom trailing dozens of noodle-like tentacles.
"No one knew their life cycle, where they came from, where they reproduced," said Uye, 59. "This jellyfish was like an alien."
He artificially bred Nomura's jellyfish in his Hiroshima University lab, learning about their life cycle, growth rates and feeding habits. He traveled by ferry between China to Japan this year to confirm they were riding currents to Japanese waters.
He concluded China's coastal waters offered a perfect breeding ground: Agricultural and sewage runoff are spurring plankton growth, and fish catches are declining. The waters of the Yellow Sea, meanwhile, have warmed as much as 1.7 degrees C (3 degrees F) over the past quarter-century.
"The jellyfish are becoming more and more dominant," said Uye, as he sliced off samples of dead jellyfish on the deck of an Echizen fishing boat. "Their growth rates are quite amazing."
The slight, bespectacled scientist is unafraid of controversy, having lobbied his government tirelessly to help the fishermen, and angered Chinese colleagues by arguing their government must help solve the problem, comparing it to the effects of acid rain that reaches Japan from China.
"The Chinese people say they will think about this after they get rich, but it might be too late by then," he said.
A U.S. marine scientist, Jennifer Purcell of Western Washington University, has found a correlation between warming and jellyfish on a much larger scale, in at least 11 locations, including the Mediterranean and North seas, and Chesapeake and Narragansett bays.
"It's hard to deny that there is an effect from warming," Purcell said. "There keeps coming up again and again examples of jellyfish populations being high when it's warmer." Some tropical species, on the other hand, appear to decline when water temperatures rise too high.
Even if populations explode, their numbers may be limited in the long term by other factors, including food and currents. In a paper last year, researchers concluded jellyfish numbers in the Bering Sea—which by 2000 were 40 times higher than in 1982—declined even as temperatures have hit record highs.
"They were still well ahead of their historic averages for that region," said co-author Lorenzo Ciannelli of Oregon State University. "But clearly jellyfish populations are not merely a function of water temperature."
Addressing the surge in jellyfish blooms in most places will require long-term fixes, such as introducing fishing quotas and pollution controls, as well as capping greenhouse gas emissions to control global warming, experts said.
In the short term, governments are left with few options other than warning bathers or bailing out cash-strapped fishermen. In Japan, the government is helping finance the purchase of newly designed nets, a layered system that snares jellyfish with one kind of net, allowing fish through to be caught in another.
Some entrepreneurs, meanwhile, are trying to cash in. One Japanese company is selling giant jellyfish ice cream, and another plans a pickled plum dip with chunks of giant jellyfish. But, though a popular delicacy, jellyfish isn't likely to replace sushi or other fish dishes on Asian menus anytime soon, in view of its time-consuming processing, heavy sodium overload and unappealing image.
Associated Press writer Shino Yuasa contributed to this report from Tokyo.

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Natalie Portman:Engaged and Pregnant!(photos)

Natalie Portman and choreographer Benjamin Millepied are engaged and expecting their first child, her reps confirm to PEOPLE exclusively.

The couple met during the production of Black Swan. Portman's performance in the film has earned her nominations for a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award.

RELATED: Natalie Portman Is Back on the Carbs After Black Swan
The actress, 29, will next be seen in the romantic comedy, No Strings Attached, costarring Ashton Kutcher.

This will be the first child for the actress who is due in 2011

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Rumor Patrol! Which Royal Wedding Stories Are True (or) Not?(pic)

As excitement builds for the royal wedding, so do the rumors about the bride and groom. So, what's fact and what's fiction?
• Rumor: Due to Kate Middleton's equine allergy, the couple won't have the traditional horse-drawn carriage ride on the big day.
Likely fiction. Palace aides have not confirmed how the couple will be ushered to and from their wedding site, Westminster Abbey. But a source suggests that horses, carriages and the usual finery will be included. "There will be a procession," says the insider.
• Rumor: Kate's getting advice from Camilla.
Not entirely fiction. Prince William's stepmother, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, may be among the members of the royal family helping the upcoming princess acclimate to her new life. "Catherine will be sitting down with senior members of the royal family and members of Prince William's and Prince Harry's household to learn the ropes and find out about engagements and visits," a member of the palace staff tells PEOPLE.
And of course, she's already got her number one advisor: her fiancé. "William's a great teacher, so he'll be up to help me," she said in her first TV interview.
• Rumor: The couple must have marital counseling.
Fact. "Anyone who gets married in the Church of England will get marriage preparation from whoever is conducting the service," says a press spokesman at the Church of England. "He will talk from vast experience of marrying other couples, and talk about commitment and life as a married couple, what it means to enter into marriage and the sanctity of it."
There will also be a particular role in the counseling process for the Bishop of London, Dr. Richard Cartres, who is a friend of William's father, Prince Charles. "He knows the princes well – and he has been involved in many aspects of Prince William's life – so it wouldn't be unusual for him to be involved in guiding them."

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The 50 Best Careers of 2011 in US

The worry lines are finally starting to fade.
After 18 months of a stutter-step recovery, the economy seems to be gathering steam. Most companies that survived the recession are lean and profitable, and there's a good chance they'll begin hiring again in 2011. Consumers who have jobs feel better about their prospects, which means they'll be more comfortable spending money. The latest stimulus and tax-cut plan out of Washington is surprisingly meaty, with the impact likely to be felt in many American households. "Despite threats, 2011 is shaping up to be a better year for the U.S. economy," writes economist Mark Zandi of Moody's Analytics, who predicts healthy growth in 2011 of nearly 4 percent. "After three years of recession and weak recovery, the change will feel significant."
The benefits will be spread unevenly, however, and high unemployment will be a huge, nagging problem. Many Americans may simply live in the wrong region or work in the wrong industry, which will keep them out of the job market or cause them to miss the updraft that lifts the overall economy. Here's who's likely to benefit the most from positive economic trends in 2011:
Stock investors. Perhaps the biggest beneficiary of bailouts and stimulus programs has been the stock market, which has surged since early 2009 thanks to deep corporate cost-cutting, record profits, and the Federal Reserve's "quantitative easing," meant to drive investors out of safe assets like government securities and into riskier assets like stocks. Since March 2009, the S&P 500 has soared by about 85 percent—and the rally could continue throughout 2011. Stock movements are notoriously hard to predict, and a financial shock or other ugly surprise could deflate the market. But many Wall Street analysts believe stocks may still be undervalued, despite all the repair work companies have done on their balance sheets over the last two years. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, for instance, predicts that the S&P 500 will rise another 13 percent or so in 2011. More conservative predictions still call for 5 to 7 percent gains.
There's a floor of sorts to stock prices at the moment, since the Fed is trying mightily to help companies recover from the recession, so they start hiring again, and to help ordinary Americans rebuild their investment and retirement portfolios. So the Fed is likely to continue with quantitative easing, and keep interest rates at rock-bottom lows, until it feels the economy is recovering on its own. Since the first quarter of 2009, in fact, the Fed has helped Americans recover about $6 trillion worth of lost wealth, virtually all of that through gains in financial portfolios. Since household net worth is still down about $9 trillion, or 14 percent, from the peak levels of 2007—all of that due to falling home values—the Fed plans to stay on the case indefinitely.
Multinational U.S. companies. Another reason stock indices like the S&P 500 have skyrocketed is strong growth in developing economies like China, India, and Brazil. Such "emerging markets" are riskier than the developed economies of Europe and the United States, but companies with sales or investments there, such as IBM, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, and Boeing can also earn much higher returns than in the developed world. Companies in the S&P 500 index, for example, earn about 40 percent of their pre-tax income from emerging markets, which helps explain why corporate profits have soared and stock prices surged, even though the U.S. economy has been weak. American companies with a strong overseas presence tend to be more stable than companies with a regional focus, which is good news even for local employees who never travel abroad.
Workers in growing industries. Healthy companies in stable industries are starting to get back to normal, with profits up and hiring beginning to resume. Healthcare is probably the most well-known recession-resistant industry, with hiring up in virtually every field even during the recession. But other industries like energy, mining, Web publishing, high-end IT work, public transportation, and even waste management have been growing as well. And other industries that cut back during the recession—such as retail, hospitality, and warehousing—are starting to replace some of the jobs lost.
It's vital to work in a growing industry because that's where the opportunities for promotions, career advancement, and raises are likely to be concentrated. The recession caused the temporary contraction of some industries, which will bounce back as they have after other downturns. But it also accelerated the long-term decline of industries like textiles, print publishing, and lower-end information technology. And industries like construction were hit so hard that it will still be years before hiring returns to meaningful levels. In shrinking industries, it will continue to feel like a recession, with ongoing layoffs, scarce raises, and few opportunities to get ahead.
Taxpayers. The recent tax deal negotiated by President Obama and Congressional Republicans lowers taxes for Americans at every income level, by keeping income tax rates where they are (instead of allowing them to rise, as the prior law would have done), cutting other taxes like the Social Security withholding, and extending other tax incentives. For a family with income between $50,000 and $75,000, that adds up to an annual tax savings of $2,260, on average, according to the Tax Policy Center. For an average family earning between $100,000 and $200,000, it's a $6,212 windfall. That's a big chunk of change that will make a difference for many families. But don't get used to it. It's a near certainty that taxes will rise at some point, to help pay down the ballooning national debt. Taxpayers probably have until the 2013, at least, before federal tax hikes become a serious possibility.
Savers. The Fed's efforts to push interest rates to historic lows have slashed costs for borrowers, but they've also crushed savers dependent on interest income. Savers may finally start to feel a little relief in 2011. Interest rates have started to creep upward from low points reached in early November, and most analysts expect a modest rise in Treasury rates in 2011, which in turn will raise interest rates on some savings accounts and perhaps boost the return of fixed-income investments. Once the economy is healthy again, the Federal Reserve will start to raise short-term rates, which will directly affect savings accounts. That doesn't seem likely until 2012 or 2013, but if growth is better than expected, it could happen in 2011. Plus, most forecasters expect inflation to stay very low for the next year, which is good news for those on fixed incomes.
Home buyers. The buyer's market will continue into 2011, with home prices likely to fall another 5 to 10 percent or so—but finally hit a bottom in many markets within the next 12 months. The recent uptick in mortgage rates has caused worries about buyers packing it in, but even if 30-year rates hit 5.5 or 6 percent, they'd still be low by historical standards. It's also possible that rising rates will motivate buyers who have been sitting on the fence, convincing them to make an offer instead of waiting for rates to rise even more. A bit of increased activity could also convince reluctant sellers to accept low-ball offers while they're on the table. And lending standards should gradually ease in 2011, making more buyers eligible for mortgages. It will be a long time before the overall housing market returns to normal, but buyers with solid finances, stable jobs, and a bit of gumption could get remarkable deals in 2011. Optimism needs to start somewhere.

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