Billings and Beirnes score two goals each as Toronto Rock beat Edmonton Rush 10-9

EDMONTON - Garrett Billings and Kasey Beirnes had two goals and two assists apiece as the Toronto Rock won 10-9 over the Edmonton Rush on Sunday in the National Lacrosse League.
Josh Sanderson and Scott Evans also had two-goal games while Stephan Leblanc and Rob Hellyer added each for the Rock. Toronto improved to 2-0 despite a difficult back-to-back start on the road, including a 13-11 win over the Calgary Roughnecks on Saturday.
Rookies Mark Matthews and Curtis Knight each had hat tricks and added two assists for the Rush, who were playing their season opener. Corey Small, Ryan Ward and Zack Greer also scored for Edmonton.
Matthews, the first overall pick from the 2012 NLL entry draft at six-foot-five, 230 pounds, made an immediate impact with a goal on his first shot of his pro debut, scoring less than two minutes in on the power play. The Oshawa, Ont., product then assisted on a goal less than a minute later on another power-play marker by second-round pick Knight, also making his pro debut for the Rush.
The two teams traded goals before the Rock made it 3-2 with a power-play goal by Billings.
Edmonton took a two-goal lead into the second quarter on a late goal by Ward.
The Rush went up by three on Knight’s second of the game on the power play, but Toronto came right back on goals by Beirnes, Sanderson and Billings to tie the game midway through the second.
The Rush went into the locker rooms at the half with a 6-5 lead on Matthews’ second of the match.
Greer gave the Rush back a two-goal edge early in the third and his long shot beat Toronto goalie Nick Rose.
However, Toronto came roaring back with three quick goals, two from Evans and one from Sanderson to take their first lead of the game, up 8-7 halfway through the third quarter.
Edmonton equalled things up with eight seconds remaining in the third on Knight’s hat trick goal.
The Rock’s Beirnes scored the only goal through the first 12 minutes of the fourth quarter to put Toronto up 9-8.
Toronto got a big insurance goal with three minutes left as Hellyer picked the top corner.
Edmonton got back into the game with two minutes left as Matthews scored his third goal on a diving play in front of the net, but the Rush could not force extra time.
The Rock return to Toronto for their home opener against Philadelphia on Saturday night. The Rush are in Washington to face the Stealth on Sunday.
Notes: Last season the Toronto Rock entered the playoffs atop the East Division with a 9-7 record. After defeating the rival Buffalo Bandits in the first-round of the 2012 playoffs, the Rock saw their season end with the 17-13 loss to the Rochester Knighthawks. ... The Knighthawks also ended the Rush’s season, albeit in the National Lacrosse League championship game. The Rush placed fourth in the West at 6-10 but caught fire in the post-season with wins over Calgary and Minnesota. ... Toronto came into the game with a 10-3 all-time record against Edmonton. ... It was the pro debut of not only first overall pick Matthews for the Rush, but also highly-touted second round pick Curtis Knight, also from Oshawa, Ontario… Canadian Football League star quarterback Ricky Ray dropped the ball for the ceremonial face-off. Ray won the Grey Cup championship with the Toronto Argonauts this season after being traded by the Edmonton Eskimos.

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Acceleration, not speed, behind BMW diesel launch in U.S.

WOODCLIFF LAKE, New Jersey (Reuters) - BMW has a message for the incorrigible speed freaks looking for a more politically correct set of wheels in this era of energy efficiency: switch to a diesel.
The German luxury carmaker is rolling out a new range of sporty new diesel sedans in the United States this year to complement its sole diesel on offer - the X5 xDrive 35d sport utility vehicle - and believes the hitherto unloved powertrain will find greater acceptance in an age of downsized engines.
Diesels boast roughly 25 percent improved fuel consumption versus conventional cars, but their renaissance in the U.S. market long prophesied by German automakers such as Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz has been an uphill battle due to a poor image, higher fuel prices relative to gasoline and a spotty filling station infrastructure.
"The X5 diesel is selling like hot cakes, so we know from the X5 how strong customer acceptance can be as long as you have the right product," said Ludwig Willisch, president of BMW of North America, during an interview at its Woodcliff Lake headquarters on the outskirts of New York City.
"The next step then is launching a four-cylinder diesel in the 3 Series and a six-cylinder diesel in the 5 Series in the market this year," he continued, speaking prior to this week's North American auto show in Detroit.
Roughly a quarter of the 56,800 X5 SUVs that BMW sold last year were equipped with a diesel engine rather than a conventional gasoline engine, which Willisch said makes the SUV the second-best-selling diesel in the United States after the much cheaper Volkswagen Jetta TDI.
A German national, Willisch previously headed up the group's sales activities for Europe, where diesel penetration steadily rose from over 20 percent in 1997 to 56 percent last year, due partly to a more beneficial tax treatment in many countries.
Luxury carmakers like BMW also tend to be more dependent on diesels than their mass-market peers. Fuel bills would make the total cost of owning a large sedan or a heavy SUV much higher in Europe were the vehicles powered by gasoline. Two-thirds of BMW brand cars sold in Germany last year were diesels.
Diesels traditionally aren't found in high-revving sports cars because they already generate at lower engine revolutions the maximum amount of force they can apply to the wheels, or torque, which is so crucial to quick acceleration. Their power curve tends to drop the faster the engine runs, making diesels ideal for towing heavy loads.
Yet BMW for the first time last year rolled out its first diesel-powered line of tuned M performance cars such as the M550d to send a statement - diesels are every bit as sporty.
CONSTRAINED OPTIMISM
"Torque is especially important to Americans. Flat-out top speed doesn't really count anymore," Willisch said.
"So I cannot imagine that the advantages of a diesel in terms of both torque and fuel consumption will not find appeal with customers in the U.S."
Whereas half of the new cars in Europe run on diesel, Americans have long eschewed the alternative powertrain due to the widespread image that stuck from the 1970s of loud, smelly cars that often could not start in the cold, and when they did, clouds of black soot would belch out of the tailpipe.
Diesels are, however, often better equipped to handle the long commutes typically driven in America than the densely congested areas of Europe, where a gasoline-electric hybrid is often more suitable.
A Toyota Prius operates more efficiently in stop-and-go traffic, for example, since it depends on recouping kinetic energy otherwise lost when the brakes are applied.
Mercedes currently plans to add diesel versions of the C-Class sedan and GLK mid-size SUV in addition to those on offer for its larger M-Class and GL-Class SUVs.
Despite its expansion plans, sales of Mercedes BlueTEC diesels rose 7.4 percent to just 15,416 vehicles last year, lagging the brand's overall growth rate in the U.S. market. VW saw its U.S. penetration rate of diesels drop one full percentage point to 20.6 percent last year.
In an attempt to rebrand the technology, the industry has taken to calling them "Clean Diesels". Sales did increase some 25 percent in 2012 in the United States, but this still lagged the near-68 percent gain in hybrid sales, according to data cited by industry group Diesel Technology Forum.
In an interview on Tuesday, the U.S. head of Mercedes said he had only a "constrained optimistic" view on diesels.
"The U.S. market is just not going to develop like Canada or Europe, period. There is nothing on the horizon that would indicate any strong movement either from a supply or a consumer demand standpoint that is going to move us towards diesel," Stephen Cannon told Reuters.

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UK finance job sackings and suspensions at five-year high: law firm

LONDON (Reuters) - The number of financial services staff sacked or suspended in Britain last year for reasons such as wrongdoing reached the highest level in five years, law firm Pinsent Masons said on Monday.
Citing figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request, Pinsent Masons said 1,373 individuals were dismissed or suspended from financial services jobs - as distinct from those who lost their jobs through general redundancy programs - a 56 percent increase on the previous 12 months.
The finding comes after a succession of financial scandals and efforts by regulators to clamp down on misdemeanors.
Britain's Financial Services Authority (FSA) regulator, due to be replaced later this year, has for instance beefed up its efforts to tackle market abuse over the last few years, successfully prosecuting a number of high-profile insider dealing cases.
Last year also saw a string of bank scandals, including mis-selling of financial products and the manipulation of global benchmark interest rates, as well as the prosecution of former UBS trader Kweku Adoboli for the biggest fraud in British history, which cost the Swiss bank $2.3 billion.
"The FSA has increasingly shown that it is cracking down on financial crime and market abuse. Financial services firms are operating under increased scrutiny and as a result employers are imposing industry rules more strictly," said Helen Farr, a London-based partner at Pinsent Masons.
"Enforcement activity has clearly had an impact on firms' willingness to tolerate wrongdoing. Firms now appear much more likely to discipline employees for offences," Farr said.
The law firm said the 1,373 total was based on changes to the employment status of individuals who have to be authorized by the FSA, and included people disciplined for poor performance or sacked for other reasons, as well as for wrongdoing.
It also said the overall number of job losses in the financial sector had reached its highest level since 2008, with 36,868 people losing their jobs last year.
That took the total number of people who had left their posts over the past five years to 177,697, it said.
Banks worldwide are shedding jobs as stricter regulations and euro zone worries take their toll on trading income and investment banking operations.
"The total number of job losses in the sector is striking," Farr said. "While it should be kept in mind that many of these people may have been re-employed and some will have simply transferred internally, the numbers certainly tell a story."

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UPDATE 1-Soccer-Ligue 1 summaries

Jan 11 (Infostrada Sports) - Summaries from the Ligue 1 matches on Friday
Paris St Germain 0
Red Card: Thiago Motta 45+1
Ajaccio 0
Halftime: 0-0; Attendance: 43,000
- - -
St Etienne 2 Loic Perrin 26, Yohan Mollo 62
Toulouse 2 Etienne Didot 27, Serge Aurier 43
Halftime: 1-2; Attendance: 18,410
- - -
Next Fixtures (GMT):
Saturday, January 12
ES Troyes AC v Olympique Lyon (1600)
AS Nancy v Lille (1900)
Evian Thonon Gaillard FC v Stade Brest (1900)
Montpellier HSC v FC Lorient (1900)
Stade Rennes v Girondins Bordeaux (1900)
Sunday, January 13
Stade de Reims v Bastia (1300)
Nice v Valenciennes (1600)
Sochaux v Olympique Marseille (2000)

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UPDATE 1-Soccer-Ligue 1 top scorers

Jan 11 (Infostrada Sports) - Top scorers of the Ligue 1 on Friday
18 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris St Germain)
11 Bafetimbi Gomis (Olympique Lyon)
10 Dario Cvitanich (Nice)
9 Anthony Modeste (Bastia)
Wissam Ben Yedder (Toulouse)
8 Julien Feret (Stade Rennes)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (St Etienne)
7 Jeremie Aliadiere (FC Lorient)
Yoan Gouffran (Girondins Bordeaux)
Romain Alessandrini (Stade Rennes)
Eden Ben Basat (Stade Brest)
6 Benjamin Nivet (ES Troyes AC)
Cedric Barbosa (Evian Thonon Gaillard FC)
Saber Khlifa (Evian Thonon Gaillard FC)
Alain Traore (FC Lorient)
Dimitri Payet (Lille)
Nolan Roux (Lille)
Younes Belhanda (Montpellier HSC)
Souleymane Camara (Montpellier HSC)
Lisandro Lopez (Olympique Lyon)
Andre-Pierre Gignac (Olympique Marseille)
Foued Kadir (Olympique Marseille)
Mevlut Erding (Stade Rennes)
Jonathan Pitroipa (Stade Rennes)

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UPDATE 1-Soccer-Ligue 1 results and standings

Jan 11 (Infostrada Sports) - Results and standings from the Ligue 1 matches on Friday
Friday, January 11
Paris St Germain 0 Ajaccio 0
St Etienne 2 Toulouse 2
Standings P W D L F A Pts
1 Paris St Germain 20 11 6 3 36 12 39
2 Olympique Lyon 19 11 5 3 33 17 38
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3 Olympique Marseille 19 12 2 5 24 20 38
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4 Stade Rennes 19 10 2 7 29 24 32
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5 FC Lorient 19 8 7 4 32 29 31
6 Valenciennes 19 8 5 6 31 24 29
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7 Girondins Bordeaux 19 6 11 2 21 14 29
8 Lille 19 7 8 4 24 18 29
9 Nice 19 7 8 4 26 26 29
10 St Etienne 20 7 7 6 26 16 28
11 Toulouse 20 7 6 7 27 22 27
12 Montpellier HSC 19 7 5 7 29 24 26
13 Bastia 19 6 4 9 26 41 22
14 Stade Brest 19 6 3 10 20 28 21
15 Ajaccio 20 5 7 8 21 29 20
16 Stade de Reims 19 4 7 8 16 20 19
17 Evian Thonon Gaillard FC 19 5 4 10 22 32 19
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18 Sochaux 19 4 4 11 17 29 16
19 ES Troyes AC 19 2 7 10 20 37 13
20 AS Nancy 19 1 8 10 15 33 11
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Note: Ajaccio deducted 2 points.
1-2: Champions League / EC I
3: Champions League preliminary round
4: Europa League
5-6: Europa League depending on domestic cup
18-20: Relegation
Next Fixtures (GMT):
Saturday, January 12
ES Troyes AC v Olympique Lyon (1600)
AS Nancy v Lille (1900)
Evian Thonon Gaillard FC v Stade Brest (1900)
Montpellier HSC v FC Lorient (1900)
Stade Rennes v Girondins Bordeaux (1900)
Sunday, January 13
Stade de Reims v Bastia (1300)
Nice v Valenciennes (1600)
Sochaux v Olympique Marseille (2000)

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Locals say shifting sea ice frees trapped whales

MONTREAL (AP) — About a dozen killer whales trapped under sea ice appeared to be free after the ice shifted, village officials in Canada's remote north said Thursday, while residents who feared they would get stuck elsewhere hired a plane to track them down.
The whales' predicament in the frigid waters of Hudson Bay made international headlines, and locals had been planning a rescue operation with chainsaws and drills before the mammals slipped away.
Tommy Palliser said two hunters from remote Inukjuak village reported that the waters had opened up around the area where the cornered whales had been bobbing frantically for air around a single, truck-sized hole in the ice. Officials said shifting winds might have pushed the ice away.
"It's certainly good news — that's good news for the whales," said Palliser, a business adviser with the regional government.
But fears remained that the whales might have been trapped elsewhere by the ever-moving ice. Some villagers were skeptical the killer whales had escaped harm, so the community hired an airplane to scan the region Thursday for signs of the pod.
Mark O'Connor of the regional marine wildlife board said the aerial search did not locate the orcas, but he noted that large swaths of ice-free water were seen in the area.
"So as far as I could tell, the emergency, for sure, is averted," said O'Connor, the board's director of wildlife management.
"Whether the whales have found a passage all the way to the Hudson Strait, we probably will never know."
Locals said the whales had been trapped for at least two days. A recent, sudden drop in temperature may have caught the whales off guard, leaving them trapped The cornered animals were first seen Tuesday and appeared to have less energy by late Wednesday, Palliser said.
Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans said government icebreakers were too far from the area to smash the ice to free the whales, Inukjuak Mayor Peter Inukpuk said Wednesday.
After that, Palliser said, locals had agreed to try to enlarge the breathing hole in the ice and cut a second opening using chainsaws and drills.
"We certainly had our prayers with them last night during our meeting," he said.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans issued a statement Thursday saying two scientists were en route to gather information and will monitor the situation. Ice-trapped marine mammals are not unusual in the region.
Pete Ewins, an expert in Arctic wildlife at the World Wildlife Fund Canada, said the orca were still 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) from where they should be at this time of year.
"They got stuck (in Hudson Bay) and they're unlikely to get out," said Ewins, adding that killer whales are not accustomed to ice.

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U.S. attack submarine strikes vessel in Gulf

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A nuclear-powered U.S. attack submarine struck a suspected fishing vessel shortly after passing through the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf on Thursday, damaging one of the submarine's periscopes but injuring no one, a Navy official said on the condition of anonymity.
The Navy's Fifth Fleet said in a statement the vessel appeared unaware of the incident, adding it "continued on a consistent course and speed offering no indication of distress or acknowledgment of a collision."
The USS Jacksonville, a Los Angeles-class, nuclear-powered submarine, did not appear to suffer further damage, the Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet said.
"The reactor remains in a safe condition. There was no damage to the propulsion plant systems and there is no concern regarding watertight integrity," it said.
The incident, which took place at 5 a.m. local time and is under investigation, follows an August collision between a U.S. guided missile destroyer and an oil tanker.
Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz if its dispute with the United States over its nuclear program escalates. Washington says it maintains naval forces in the Gulf to ensure security in the region.

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From monkeys to surfers, San Diego braces for cold

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Strawberry growers covered their crops while San Diego zookeepers turned on heaters for the chimpanzees as Southern California braced for a cold snap that was expected to drop temperatures to a six-year low.
Forecasters warned that a low pressure trough sinking over San Diego County and parts of neighboring Orange County could keep nightly temperatures below freezing in coastal areas, the low deserts and inland valleys, threatening orange, avocado orchards and other sensitive plants. The coldest nights were expected to hit Friday and Saturday.
Farmers were prepared to pull out giant fans to circulate the frosty air and keep it from settling on their citrus trees, said Eric Larson of the San Diego County Farm Bureau. Other growers were placing soft cloth over their strawberries and flowers. The National Weather Service predicted overnight lows in the 20s in the lower deserts and inland valleys and 30s along the coast.
"These guys are going to be up all night watching thermometers," Larson said.
Freezing temperatures weren't the only weather challenge for a region boasting one of the planet's most temperate climates.
Forecasters say a combination of astronomical high tides, high surf and strong winds will bring minor flooding to low-lying areas of the Southern California coast. The weather service issued coastal flood advisories for all counties from San Luis Obispo south to San Diego through Saturday morning.
They also warned motorists to watch out for blowing sand across coastal highways and snow in the mountains down to 2,000 feet. Snow briefly closed the Grapevine section of Interstate 5 north of Los Angeles on Thursday. Several accidents and spinouts were reported in the mountain pass as the winter weather bore down on Southern California.
Winds could gust to 60 mph there and up to 45 mph in valleys and coastal areas. Highs will only hit the 50s and 60s and rain showers are expected throughout the region.
Families pushed aside boogie boards and pulled out sleds as snow fell Thursday in the mountains of San Bernardino and Riverside counties. Chains were required on all vehicles.
Workers at SeaWorld planned to crank up the heat for their macaws, toucans and parrots. San Diego zookeepers were also heating rooms for chimpanzees, apes and other tropical animals.
"They'll probably be huddling together and not be in areas where people will be able to see them," said zoo spokeswoman Christina Simmons.
Many local residents planned to do the same.
"We'll have to huddle up, drink coffee, and tell stories," joked J.P. Pierre, owner of Surfy Surfy Surf Shop in the beach town of Leucadia. "But there's a no whining rule around here because I have so many friends from the northeast and Canada. If everyone had a decent jacket it would be no big deal, but everyone is walking around in flip flops."
The so-called king tides will peak Friday morning around 7 feet, depending on location. The conditions may cause some flooding across beaches, parking lots and around estuaries, lagoons and harbors. Parts of Pacific Coast Highway between Sunset Beach and Seal Beach could see standing water.
San Diego's Mission Beach was nearly empty Thursday except for a few snowbirds who scoffed at a cold snap that seemed downright balmy to them. Some shot pictures of the wind-swept waves.
"We're from Chicago so to us this is like a heat wave," said Rod Erdohaty, 54, walking to the beach in blustering wind.

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Senator Reid rejects Boehner "fiscal cliff" backup plan

Congressional leaders and the Obama administration are attempting to negotiate a …more
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House Speaker John Boehner's backup plan that would simply extend low income tax rates for households with incomes below $1 million a year "cannot pass both houses of Congress," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Tuesday.
Reid, a Democrat, said Boehner instead should focus on reaching a broad deficit-reduction deal with President Barack Obama. "Now is the time to show leadership, not kick the can down the road," Reid said.
Last July, Reid's Democrats passed a bill in the Senate that would have continued low tax rates, which are set to expire on December 31, for families with net incomes below $250,000.
(Reporting by Richard Cowan)

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