Trapped Killer Whales Free Themselves

The killer whales trapped under ice in a remote Quebec village reached safety after the floes shifted on Hudson Bay, according to the mayor's office in Inukjuak.

Water opened up around the area where the orcas had been coming up for air and the winds seemed to have shifted overnight, creating a passageway to the open water six miles away.

"This is great news," Johnny Williams, a resident who works for the mayor's office, told ABC News.

Williams said he was unsure how far the whales have moved, but that they were definitely not under the ice hole.

Residents in the remote village of Inukjuak had been watching helplessly as at least 12 whales struggled to breathe out of a hole slightly bigger than a pickup truck in a desperate bid to survive.

The community had asked the Canadian government for help in freeing the killer whales, believed to be an entire family. The government denied a request to bring icebreakers Wednesday, saying they were too far away to help. Inukjuak, about 900 miles north of Montreal, was ill-equipped to jump into action.

Joe Gaydos, director and chief scientist at the SeaDoc Society in Eastsound, Wash., said that although the whales can go a long time without food, the length of time they can hold their breath, which they must do underwater, was the question.

"The challenge [was] to figure out where the next hole is," he told ABCNews.com before the whales found freedom. "If that lake freezes over, it's an unfortunate situation. It's a very limited chance. It's a matter of luck."

Inukjuak residents posted a video online to show the whales' struggles. In the clip, the whales are seen taking turns breathing. They can't bend their necks so they do a "spy-hopping" maneuver, Gaydos said, in order to look for another hole in the ice.

A hunter first spotted the pod of trapped whales Tuesday. It is believed that the whales swam into the waters north of Quebec during recent warm weather.

ABC News' Bethany Owings contributed to this report

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/trapped-killer-whales-free-themselves-155432001--abc-news-topstories.html

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Irish fans, recruits left wondering about Kelly

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) ? Notre Dame nose tackle Louis Nix III captured the emotion of just about everyone who follows the Fighting Irish with a simple tweet: "Didnt see that coming!"

News that coach Brian Kelly had interviewed with the Philadelphia Eagles one day after the Irish were thoroughly beaten 42-14 by Alabama in the BCS title game caught just about everyone by surprise.

The job, after all, has not traditionally been a springboard to the NFL and is viewed by many ? at least Notre Dame fans ? as a destination job for a deep-pocketed program with one of the most storied histories in college football. And why would anyone leave after coming so close to the national championship?

Nix, who already announced he was skipping the NFL draft and returning to Notre Dame next season, told his followers he wasn't concerned about Kelly's interview.

"Im not worried and you shouldnt be either," he tweeted.

The early reaction from Notre Dame recruits indicated they are still committed to the Irish.

"If Kelly leaves!!!!!,,,,, I'm still a domer S/O to my ND fans," linebacker Jaylon Smith tweeted.

Cornerback Devin Butler expressed similar feelings, tweeting: "I committed to a program and school.. Not a coach." He then added: "But I doubt he leaves."

Still, the interview alone could prove costly. Recruiting analyst Tom Lemming of CBS Sports says Notre Dame was on track to possibly have the top recruiting class this year, but said some recruits will get antsy if Kelly doesn't announce his intention soon. He said other schools probably started calling recruits shortly after the news broke.

"There will be kids looking at other schools now. I don't see that happening unless Kelly's telling them he's not leaving," Lemming said.

Kelly, who was believed to be out of the country, originally signed a five-year contract three years ago at a reported $2.5 million a year and was given a two-year extension a year ago. Athletic director Jack Swarbrick told reporters Sunday he had planned to talk with Kelly about extending his contract. Swarbrick did not respond to messages left by The Associated Press at his office or on his cellphone seeking comment. Neither did Kelly's agent, Trace Armstrong.

Kelly told reporters in Florida before the game that Notre Dame was his dream job, but said while he was coaching at Cincinnati he was focused on that. He then added: "I think that's the same thing with the NFL."

"I think from my perspective I've got the best job in the country, NFL, college, high school, whatever. I just look at the place that I'm at and thankful for the opportunity that I have," he said.

The question is, will he have another opportunity? He is the first Notre Dame coach in recent memory to interview for another job. Former Irish coach Charlie Weis was given a 10-year contract when there were reports the New York Giants might be interested in talking to him.

Former Big Eight Commissioner Chuck Neinas, who has spent years helping coaches and administrators find jobs and recently spent about 10 months as the Big 12 interim commissioner, said it's hard to tell what might motivate a coach to interview for a job.

"Some people might be using this as a stepping stone, others to get their name out, that they're movable," he said. "But I think most people that interview are interested in the position."

Kelly could be trying to get something more than a better contract, including more money for his assistants, and he has indicated he would like a massive scoreboard that can show video replays and synthetic turf at Note Dame Stadium.

Neinas said he doesn't think most coaches have hidden interests. He said his advice is to interview only if you want the job.

"I tell them, 'If you're not interested, don't interview,'" he said.

But sports attorney Darren Heitner says Kelly owed it to himself to at least talk with the Eagles.

"Even if he had no intention of actually accepting that job, it is the most beautiful bargaining chip he has in his possession. Even if the entire time he intended to stay, why not entertain the offer and perhaps get some more money into his pocket?" he said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/irish-fans-recruits-left-wondering-kelly-225140895--spt.html

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How to Prevent Time-Caused Conflict at Home and at Work

Elizabeth Grace Saunders

How to Prevent Time-Caused Conflict at Home and at WorkWhen the worlds of the Planners and the Spontaneous collide, fireworks?not the romantic kind?can erupt. The Planners think the Spontaneous are being inconsiderate jerks. The Spontaneous think the Planners are being controlling freaks. Who's right? Who's wrong? And can they possibly get along?

"I thought you had this taken care of!"
"I didn't know that this was that important to you."
"I told you about this a month ago."
"Something came up."
"I can never count on you for anything."
"I'm making progress and doing the best I can-just chill out."
"Where are you?!"
"I'm on my way."

And so on?

And so forth?

As a time coach and the author of The 3 Secrets to Effective Time Investment, I've listened with a sympathetic ear to the plight of both time personalities. Through my professional and personal experience, I've developed a way of explaining their distinct differences, and more importantly knowing what techniques can help them to respect and appreciate-or at least work with-each other in a somewhat civil manner.

If you've ever struggled with someone with a different time personality than you such as a friend, co-worker, significant other, or family member?read on. The insight in the coming paragraphs could lead to a 2013 full of a lot more peace and joy than you experienced in 2012.

The Spontaneous & Planner Perspectives

Whether you fall into the Spontaneous or Planner camp has part to do with nature and part to do with nurture. From a young age, you may have had a tendency to respond to what entered your environment or to stay fixated on your mission of the moment. That inclination can carry on throughout life. However certain environmental factors can have a dramatic impact on your tendency toward one side of the spectrum or the other. For example, people who in general lean toward the Planner side may resist making commitments when they have an overwhelming job where they feel little sense of control over their schedule. Or individuals with a fondness for Spontaneity may cross over to the Planner side when they have their first child and all of the sudden precise nap times can make the difference between giggling and screaming babies.

Just as I discussed in my article on the differences between self-pleasers and people-pleasers , having a tendency toward one time personality or another doesn't make you a good or bad person. It just is. The problems erupt when the people around you interpret your behavior in a negative way and end up infuriated at you for what to you seems like no apparent cause.

How to Prevent Time-Caused Conflict at Home and at Work

In short, future commitments are the pillars that support Planners and give them a sense of security in the present moment. While for the Spontaneous, commitments feel like an oppressive burden limiting their options in the future and filling them with dread in the present. Given the diametric opposition of the two sides, neither can simply think and operate out of gut instinct and make the other side happy.

How to Reduce Time-Caused Drama

Sure it would be great if you could just explain to the other people in your life how you have a different time personality so they just need to deal with it. But? that's rarely the most effective or lasting way to improve your relationships. To give you a few ideas on how you can stay true to yourself and keep other people from strangling you, here are a few ideas adapted from my book chapter on "Time Peace: How to Reduce Time-Caused Drama."

Empowerment for the Spontaneous

  • When you're tempted to be annoyed at Planners: Look at the chart above and remember that making plans is something that comes as naturally to Planners as spontaneity comes to you. Planners don't mean to make you feel controlled or constrained instead they achieve a sense of security in plans so they need them to relax and be present in the moment.
  • If you have a tendency to overestimate how much can fit in a day: Start to track actual versus estimated times on the activities you do on a regular basis. This could look like making a notation in Evernote beside your daily activities, filling in an Excel sheet, or using a time tracking app like HoursTracker. This time audit will start to give you a sense of what will actually fit in 24 hours. If you're still struggling with over commitment, plan for a four-hour day when you actually have eight hours to work so you can wrap up on time.
  • If you won't make personal commitments because work feels overwhelming: Think very carefully about what you really want out of life. Of course, you will have times when your job or business is crazy and everything else needs to get put on hold. But if you hit "pause" on your personal life too long, you'll soon find that it no longer exists. Making personal plans can keep you connected with people even when you wouldn't naturally feel like disconnecting from your computer.

Empowerment for the Planners

  • When you're tempted to be annoyed at Spontaneous people: Review the chart above and remember that the Spontaneous see planning completely differently than you do. The fact that they're not making plans with you most likely means that they don't want to disappoint you, not that they don't value you. Also, remember the times their spontaneity came in handy, like when they didn't get upset when you arrived late or they willingly came to your assistance at the last minute.
  • Make plans to make plans: Instead of trying to get a Spontaneous person to commit to a certain time, date, and location so you can fill out all of the fields in your calendar, make a plan to follow up with them closer to the date. Or simply decide on a day you will do something, and then work out the details the day of the event.
  • If you get really upset when plans change: Ask yourself what thoughts and feelings the change triggered. Then challenge yourself to consider whether your reaction had to do with the other person or with yourself. If you feel insecure, frustrated, overwhelmed, and unappreciated, your response to others' lack of planning will most likely be disproportionate to the actual offense. Also, try to remember a time when you had to change or cancel plans so that you're more empathetic to the other side.

This strategy will help you in a number of ways:

  • It keeps you from feeling like a victim of your circumstances.
  • It puts you in control because the only person you can decide to change is yourself.
  • It helps others to respect you more when you do ask for their assistance in accommodating your time personality because they can see that you are already making efforts on your part.

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is a time coach, the founder of Real Life E Time Coaching & Training, and the author of The 3 Secrets to Effective Time Investment: How to Achieve More Success With Less Stress. Find out more at www.ScheduleMakeover.com.

Image remixed from Andresr and Darrin Henry (Shutterstock).

Want to see your work on Lifehacker? Email Tessa.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/imTbZ2dz_gc/how-to-prevent-time+caused-conflict-at-home-and-at-work

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Grand jury declines to indict driver in Texas train collision that killed 4 veterans in parade

Coordinates38?53?51.61?N77?2?11.58?N
NameTexas
FullnameState of Texas
FormerRepublic of Texas
FlagFlag of Texas.svg
FlaglinkFlag
SealSeal of Texas.svg
SeallinkSeal
MapTexas in United States.svg
NicknameThe Lone Star State
MottoFriendship
DemonymTexanTexian (archaic)Tejano
CapitalAustin
LargestcityHouston
LargestmetroDallas?Fort Worth
GovernorRick Perry (R)
Lieutenant governorDavid Dewhurst (R)
LegislatureTexas Legislature
UpperhouseSenate
LowerhouseHouse of Representatives
SenatorsKay Bailey Hutchison (R)John Cornyn (R)
Representative23 Republicans, 9 Democrats
PostalabbreviationTX
TradabbreviationTex.
BorderingstatesArkansas, Louisiana,New Mexico, Oklahoma
OfficiallangNo official language(see Languages spoken in Texas)
LanguagesEnglish 68.7%Spanish 27.0%
Arearank2nd
Totalareaus268,581
Totalarea696,241
Landareaus261,797
Landarea678,051
Waterareaus6,784
Waterarea17,574
Pcwater2.5
Poprank2nd
2000pop25,674,681 (2011 est)
Densityrank26th
2000densityus98.1
2000density37.9
Total gdp$1,065,891,000
Total gdp rank2nd
Per capita gdp$43,283
Per capita gdp rank16th
Admittanceorder28th
AdmittancedateDecember 29, 1845
TimezoneCentral: UTC ?6/?5
Tz1wheremost of state
Timezone2Mountain: UTC ?7/?6
Tz2wheretip of West Texas
Latitude25??50? N to 36??30? N
Longitude93??31? W to 106??39? W
Widthus773
Width1,244
Lengthus790
Length1,270
HighestpointGuadalupe Peak
Highestelevus8,751
Highestelev2667.4
Meanelevus1,700
Meanelev520
LowestpointGulf of Mexico
Lowestelevus0
Lowestelev0
IsocodeUS-TX
Electoralvotes34
Websitewww.texas.gov/ }}
Texas is the second most populous and the second-largest of the 50 states in the United States of America, and the largest state in the 48 contiguous United States. Located in the South Central United States, Texas shares an international border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Le?n and Tamaulipas to the south, and borders the US states of New Mexico to the west, Oklahoma to the north, Arkansas to the northeast and Louisiana to the east. Texas has an area of , and a growing population of 25.7 million residents.

Houston is the largest city in Texas and the fourth-largest in the United States, while San Antonio is the second largest in the state and seventh largest in the United States. Dallas?Fort Worth and Greater Houston are the fourth and fifth largest United States metropolitan areas, respectively. Other major cities include El Paso and Austin?the state capital. Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State to signify Texas as a former independent republic and as a reminder of the state's struggle for independence from Mexico. The "Lone Star" can be found on the Texas state flag and on the Texas state seal today.

Due to its size and geologic features such as the Balcones Fault, Texas contains diverse landscapes that resemble both the American South and Southwest. Although Texas is popularly associated with the Southwestern deserts, less than 10% of the land area is desert. Most of the population centers are located in areas of former prairies, grasslands, forests, and the coastline. Traveling from east to west, one can observe terrain that ranges from coastal swamps and piney woods, to rolling plains and rugged hills, and finally the desert and mountains of the Big Bend.

The term "six flags over Texas" came from the several nations that had ruled over the territory. Spain was the first European country to claim the area of Texas. France held a short-lived colony in Texas. Mexico controlled the territory until 1836 when Texas won its independence, becoming an independent Republic. In 1845 it joined the United States as the 28th state. The state's annexation set off a chain of events that caused the Mexican?American War in 1846. A slave state, Texas declared its secession from the United States in early 1861, joining the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. After the war and its restoration to the Union, Texas entered a long period of economic stagnation.

One Texas industry that thrived after the Civil War was cattle. Due to its long history as a center of the industry, Texas is associated with the image of the cowboy. The state's economic fortunes changed in the early 20th century, when oil discoveries initiated an economic boom in the state. With strong investments in universities, Texas developed a diversified economy and high tech industry in the mid-20th century. As of 2010 it shares the top of the list of the most Fortune 500 companies with California at 57. With a growing base of industry, the state leads in many industries, including agriculture, petrochemicals, energy, computers and electronics, aerospace, and biomedical sciences. Texas has led the nation in export revenue since 2002 and has the second-highest gross state product.

Etymology

The name Texas, based on the Caddo word tejas meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in East Texas.

During the Spanish colonial rule, the area was officially known as the Nuevo Reino de Filipinas: La Provincia de Texas. Antonio Margil de Jes?s was known to be the first person to use the name in a letter to the Viceroy of Mexico in July 20, 1716. The name was not popularly used in daily speech but often appeared in legal documents until the end of the 1800s.

Geography

Texas is the second largest U.S. state, behind Alaska, with an area of . It is 10% larger than France and almost twice as large as Germany or Japan, though it ranks only 27th worldwide amongst country subdivisions by size. If it were a country, Texas would be the 40th largest behind Chile and Zambia.

Texas is in the south-central part of the United States of America. Three of its borders are defined by rivers. The Rio Grande forms a natural border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Le?n, and Tamaulipas to the south. The Red River forms a natural border with Oklahoma and Arkansas to the north. The Sabine River forms a natural border with Louisiana to the east. The Texas Panhandle has an eastern border with Oklahoma at 100? W, a northern border with Oklahoma at 36?30' N and a western border with New Mexico at 103? W. El Paso lies on the state's western tip at 32? N and the Rio Grande.

With 10 climatic regions, 14 soil regions, and 11 distinct ecological regions, regional classification becomes problematic with differences in soils, topography, geology, rainfall, and plant and animal communities. One classification system divides Texas, in order from southeast to west, into the following: Gulf Coastal Plains, Interior Lowlands, Great Plains, and Basin and Range Province.

The Gulf Coastal Plains region wraps around the Gulf of Mexico on the southeast section of the state. Vegetation in this region consists of thick piney woods. The Interior Lowlands region consists of gently rolling to hilly forested land and is part of a larger pine-hardwood forest.

The Great Plains region in central Texas is located in spans through the state's panhandle and Llano Estacado to the state's hill country near Austin. This region is dominated by prairie and steppe. "Far West Texas" or the "Trans-Pecos" region is the state's Basin and Range Province. The most varied of the regions, this area includes Sand Hills, the Stockton Plateau, desert valleys, wooded mountain slopes and desert grasslands.

Texas has 3,700 named streams and 15 major rivers. The largest of these rivers is the Rio Grande. Other major rivers include the Pecos, the Brazos, Colorado, and Red River, which forms the border with Oklahoma. While Texas has few natural lakes, Texans have built over 100 artificial reservoirs.

The size and unique history of Texas make its regional affiliation debatable; it can be fairly considered a Southern or a Southwestern state, or both. The vast geographic, economic, and cultural diversity within the state itself prohibits easy categorization of the whole state into a recognized region of the United States. Notable extremes range from East Texas which is often considered an extension of the Deep South, to Far West Texas which is generally acknowledged to be part of the interior Southwest.

Geology

Texas is the southernmost part of the Great Plains, which ends in the south against the folded Sierra Madre Occidental of Mexico. The continental crust forms a stable Mesoproterozoic craton which changes across a broad continental margin and transitional crust into true oceanic crust of the Gulf of Mexico. The oldest rocks in Texas date from the Mesoproterozoic and are about 1,600 million years old.

These Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rocks underlie most of the state, and are exposed in three places: Llano uplift, Van Horn, and the Franklin Mountains, near El Paso. Sedimentary rocks overlay most of these ancient rocks. The oldest sediments were deposited on the flanks of a rifted continental margin, or passive margin that developed during Cambrian time.

This margin existed until Laurasia and Gondwana collided in the Pennsylvanian subperiod to form Pangea. This is the buried crest of the Appalachian Mountains?Ouachita Mountains zone of Pennsylvanian continental collision. This orogenic crest is today buried beneath the Dallas?Waco?Austin?San Antonio trend.

The late Paleozoic mountains collapsed as rifting in the Jurassic period began to open the Gulf of Mexico. Pangea began to break up in the Triassic, but seafloor spreading to form the Gulf of Mexico occurred only in the mid and late Jurassic. The shoreline shifted again to the eastern margin of the state and the Gulf of Mexico passive margin began to form. thumb|left|Palo Duro Canyon Today to of sediments are buried beneath the Texas continental shelf and a large proportion of remaining US oil reserves are located here. At the start of its formation, the incipient Gulf of Mexico basin was restricted and seawater often evaporated completely to form thick evaporite deposits of Jurassic age. These salt deposits formed salt dome diapirs, and are found in East Texas along the Gulf coast.

East Texas outcrops consist of Cretaceous and Paleogene sediments which contain important deposits of Eocene lignite. The Mississippian and Pennsylvanian sediments in the north; Permian sediments in the west; and Cretaceous sediments in the east, along the Gulf coast and out on the Texas continental shelf contain oil. Oligocene volcanic rocks are found in far west Texas in the Big Bend area. A blanket of Miocene sediments known as the Ogallala formation in the western high plains region is an important aquifer. Located far from an active plate tectonic boundary, Texas has no volcanoes and few earthquakes.

Climate

The large size of Texas and its location at the intersection of multiple climate zones gives the state highly variable weather. The Panhandle of the state has colder winters than North Texas, while the Gulf Coast has mild winters. Texas has wide variations in precipitation patterns. El Paso, on the western end of the state, averages of annual rainfall, while parts of southeast Texas average as much as per year. Dallas in the North Central region averages a more moderate per year.

Snow falls multiple times each winter in the Panhandle and mountainous areas of West Texas, once or twice a year in North Texas, and once every few years in Central and East Texas. Snow rarely falls south of San Antonio or on the coast except in rare circumstances. Of note is the 2004 Christmas Eve Snowstorm, when of snow fell as far south as Kingsville, where the average high temperature in December is 65??F.

Maximum temperatures in the summer months average from the 80s ?F (26??C) in the mountains of West Texas and on Galveston Island to around in the Rio Grande Valley, but most areas of Texas see consistent summer high temperatures in the range.

Night-time summer temperatures range from the upper 50s ?F (14??C) in the West Texas mountains to in Galveston.

Thunderstorms strike Texas often, especially the eastern and northern portions of the state. Tornado Alley covers the northern section of Texas. The state experiences the most tornadoes in the United States, an average of 139 a year. These strike most frequently in North Texas and the Panhandle. Tornadoes in Texas generally occur in the months of April, May, and June.

Some of the most destructive hurricanes in U.S. history have impacted Texas. A hurricane in 1875 killed approximately 400 people in Indianola, followed by another hurricane in 1886 that destroyed the town. These events allowed Galveston to take over as the chief port city. The Galveston hurricane of 1900 subsequently devastated that city, killing approximately 8,000 people (possibly as many as 12,000), making it the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history.

Other devastating Texas hurricanes include the 1915 Galveston Hurricane, Hurricane Audrey in 1957 which killed over 600 people, Hurricane Carla in 1961, Hurricane Beulah in 1967, Hurricane Alicia in 1983, Hurricane Rita in 2005, and Hurricane Ike in 2008. Tropical storms have also caused their share of damage: Allison in 1989 and again during 2001, and Claudette in 1979 among them.

Texas emits the most greenhouse gases in the U.S. The state emits nearly 1.5 trillion pounds (680 billion kg) of carbon dioxide annually. As an independent nation, Texas would rank as the world's seventh-largest producer of greenhouse gases. Causes of the state's vast greenhouse gas emissions include the state's large number of coal power plants and the state's refining and manufacturing industries.

History

Pre-European era

Texas lies between two major cultural spheres of Pre-Columbian North America: the Southwestern and the Plains areas. Archaeologists have found that three major indigenous cultures lived in this territory, and reached their developmental peak before the first European contact. These were:
  • the Pueblo from the upper Rio Grande region, centered west of Texas;
  • the Mississippian culture, also known as Mound Builder, which extended along the Mississippi River Valley east of Texas; and
  • the civilizations of Mesoamerica, centered south of Texas. Influence of Teotihuacan in northern Mexico peaked around AD 500 and declined over the 8th to 10th centuries.
  • No culture was dominant in the present-day Texas region, and many peoples inhabited the area. Native American tribes that lived inside the boundaries of present-day Texas include the Alabama, Apache, Atakapan, Bidai, Caddo, Coahuiltecan, Comanche, Choctaw, Coushatta, Hasinai, Jumano, Karankawa, Kickapoo, Kiowa, Tonkawa, and Wichita. The name Texas derives from , a word in the Caddoan language of the Hasinai, which means "friends" or "allies".

    Whether a Native American tribe was friendly or warlike was critical to the fates of European explorers and settlers in that land. Friendly tribes taught newcomers how to grow indigenous crops, prepare foods, and hunt wild game. Warlike tribes made life difficult and dangerous for Europeans through their attacks and resistance to the newcomers.

    Colonization

    The first historical document related to Texas was a map of the Gulf Coast, created in 1519 by Spanish explorer Alonso ?lvarez de Pineda. Nine years later, shipwrecked Spanish explorer ?lvar N??ez Cabeza de Vaca and his cohort became the first Europeans in what is now Texas. Cabeza de Vaca reported that in 1528, when the Spanish landed in the area, "half the natives died from a disease of the bowels and blamed us."

    European powers ignored the area until accidentally settling there in 1685. Miscalculations by Ren? Robert Cavelier de La Salle resulted in his establishing the colony of Fort Saint Louis at Matagorda Bay rather than along the Mississippi River. The colony lasted only four?years before succumbing to harsh conditions and hostile natives.

    In 1690 Spanish authorities, concerned that France posed competitive threat, constructed several missions in East Texas. After Native American resistance, the Spanish missionaries returned to Mexico. When France began settling Louisiana, mostly in the southern part of the state, in 1716 Spanish authorities responded by founding a new series of missions in East Texas. Two?years later, they created San Antonio as the first Spanish civilian settlement in the area.

    Hostile native tribes and distance from nearby Spanish colonies discouraged settlers from moving to the area. It was one of New Spain's least populated provinces. In 1749, the Spanish peace treaty with the Lipan Apache angered many tribes, including the Comanche, Tonkawa, and Hasinai. The Comanche signed a treaty with Spain in 1785 and later helped to defeat the Lipan Apache and Karankawa tribes. With more numerous missions being established, priests led a peaceful conversion of most tribes. By the end of the 18th century only a few nomadic tribes had not converted to Christianity.

    When the United States purchased Louisiana from France in 1803, American authorities insisted that the agreement also included Texas. The boundary between New Spain and the United States was finally set at the Sabine River in 1819, at what is now the border between Texas and Louisianna. Eager for new land, many United States settlers refused to recognize the agreement. Several filibusters raised armies to invade the area west of the Sabine River. In 1821, the Mexican War of Independence included the Texas territory, which became part of Mexico. Due to its low population, Mexico made the area part of the state of Coahuila y Tejas.

    Hoping that more settlers would reduce the near-constant Comanche raids, Mexican Texas liberalized its immigration policies to permit immigrants from outside Mexico and Spain. Under the Mexican immigration system, large swathes of land were allotted to empresarios, who recruited settlers from the United States, Europe, and the Mexican interior. The first grant, to Moses Austin, was passed to his son Stephen F. Austin after his death.

    Austin's settlers, the Old Three Hundred, made places along the Brazos River in 1822. Twenty-three other empresarios brought settlers to the state, the majority of whom were from the United States. The population of Texas grew rapidly. In 1825, Texas had a population of approximately 3,500, with most of Mexican descent. By 1834, Texas had grown to approximately 37,800 people, with only 7,800 of Mexican descent.

    Many immigrants openly flouted Mexican law, especially the prohibition against slavery. Combined with United States' attempts to purchase Texas, Mexican authorities decided in 1830 to prohibit continued immigration from the United States. New laws also called for the enforcement of customs duties angering both native Mexican citizens (Tejanos) and recent immigrants.

    The Anahuac Disturbances in 1832 were the first open revolt against Mexican rule and they coincided with a revolt in Mexico against the nation's president. Texians sided with the federalists against the current government and drove all Mexican soldiers out of East Texas. They took advantage of the lack of oversight to agitate for more political freedom. Texians met at the Convention of 1832 to discuss requesting independent statehood, among other issues. The following year, Texians reiterated their demands at the Convention of 1833.

    Republic

    Within Mexico, tensions continued between federalists and centralists. In early 1835, wary Texians formed Committees of Correspondence and Safety. The unrest erupted into armed conflict in late 1835 at the Battle of Gonzales. This launched the Texas Revolution, and over the next two months, the Texians defeated all Mexican troops in the region. Texians elected delegates to the Consultation, which created a provisional government. The provisional government soon collapsed from infighting, and Texas was without clear governance for the first two months of 1836.

    During this time of political turmoil, Mexican President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna personally led an army to end the revolt. The Mexican expedition was initially successful. General Jose de Urrea defeated all the Texian resistance along the coast culminating in the Goliad Massacre. Santa Anna's forces, after a thirteen-day siege, overwhelmed Texian defenders at the Battle of the Alamo. News of the defeats sparked panic amongst Texas settlers.

    The newly elected Texian delegates to the Convention of 1836 quickly signed a Declaration of Independence on March 2, forming the Republic of Texas. After electing interim officers, the Convention disbanded. The new government joined the other settlers in Texas in the Runaway Scrape, fleeing from the approaching Mexican army. After several weeks of retreat, the Texian Army commanded by Sam Houston attacked and defeated Santa Anna's forces at the Battle of San Jacinto. Santa Anna was captured and forced to sign the Treaties of Velasco, ending the war.

    While Texas had won their independence, political battles raged between two factions of the new Republic. The nationalist faction, led by Mirabeau B. Lamar, advocated the continued independence of Texas, the expulsion of the Native Americans, and the expansion of the Republic to the Pacific Ocean. Their opponents, led by Sam Houston, advocated the annexation of Texas to the United States and peaceful co-existence with Native Americans. The conflict between the factions was typified by an incident known as the Texas Archive War.

    Mexico launched two small expeditions into Texas in 1842. The town of San Antonio was captured twice and Texans were defeated in battle in the Dawson Massacre. Despite these successes, Mexico did not keep an occupying force in Texas, and the republic survived. The republic's inability to defend itself added momentum to Texas's eventual annexation into the United States.

    Statehood

    As early as 1837, the Republic made several attempts to negotiate annexation with the United States. Opposition within the republic from the nationalist faction, along with strong abolitionist opposition within the United States, slowed Texas's admission into the Union. Texas was finally annexed when the expansionist James K. Polk won the election of 1844. On December 29, 1845, Congress admitted Texas to the U.S. as a constituent state of the Union.

    After Texas's annexation, Mexico broke diplomatic relations with the United States. While the United States claimed that Texas's border stretched to the Rio Grande, Mexico claimed it was the Nueces River. While the former Republic of Texas could not enforce its border claims, the United States had the military strength and the political will to do so. President Polk ordered General Zachary Taylor south to the Rio Grande on January 13, 1846. A few months later Mexican troops routed an American cavalry patrol in the disputed area in the Thornton Affair starting the Mexican-American War. The first battles of the war were fought in Texas: the Siege of Fort Texas, Battle of Palo Alto and Battle of Resaca de la Palma. After these decisive victories, the United States invaded Mexican territory ending the fighting in Texas.

    After a series of United States victories, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the two year war. In return, for US$18,250,000, Mexico gave the U.S. undisputed control of Texas, ceded the Mexican Cession in 1848, most of which today is called the American Southwest, and Texas's borders were established at the Rio Grande.

    The Compromise of 1850 set Texas's boundaries at their present form. Texas ceded its claims to land which later became half of present day New Mexico, a third of Colorado, and small portions of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Wyoming to the federal government, in return for the assumption of $10 million of the old republic's debt. Post-war Texas grew rapidly as migrants poured into the cotton lands of the state.

    Civil War and Reconstruction (1860-1900)

    Texas was at war again after the election of 1860. Abraham Lincoln's election triggered South Carolina's declaration of secession from the Union, which was quickly followed by that of five other Lower South states. A State Convention considering secession opened in Austin on January 28, 1861. On February 1, by a vote of 166?8, the Convention adopted an Ordinance of Secession from the United States. Texas voters approved this Ordinance on February 23, 1861. Texas joined the Confederate States of America, ratifying the permanent C.S. Constitution on March 23, 1861.

    Not all Texans favored secession initially, although many of the same would later support the Southern cause. Texas's most notable unionist was the state Governor, Sam Houston. Not wanting to aggravate the situation, Houston refused two offers from President Lincoln for Union troops to keep him in office. After refusing to swear an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy, Houston was deposed as governor.

    While far from the major battlefields of the American Civil War, Texas contributed large numbers of men and equipment to the rest of the Confederacy. Union troops briefly occupied the state's primary port, Galveston. Texas's border with Mexico was known as the "backdoor of the Confederacy" because trade occurred at the border, bypassing the Union blockade. The Confederacy repulsed all Union attempts to shut down this route, but Texas's role as a supply state was marginalized in mid-1863 after the Union capture of the Mississippi River. The final battle of the Civil War was fought near Brownsville, Texas at Palmito Ranch with a Confederate victory.

    Texas descended into anarchy for two months between the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia and the assumption of authority by Union General Gordon Granger. Violence marked the early months of Reconstruction. Juneteenth commemorates the announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Galveston by General Gordon Granger, over two and a half years after the original announcement. President Johnson, in 1866, declared the civilian government restored in Texas. Despite not meeting reconstruction requirements, Congress readmitted Texas into the Union in 1870. Social volatility continued as the state struggled with agricultural depression and labor issues.

    20th century to present

    In 1900, Texas received the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history during the Galveston hurricane. On January 10, 1901, the first major oil well in Texas, Spindletop, was found south of Beaumont. Other fields were later discovered nearby in East Texas, West Texas, and under the Gulf of Mexico. The resulting "Oil Boom" transformed Texas. Oil production eventually averaged three million barrels per day at its peak in 1972.

    The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl dealt a double blow to the state's economy, which had significantly improved since the Civil War. Migrants abandoned the worst hit sections of Texas during the Dust Bowl years. Especially from this period on, blacks left Texas in the Great Migration to get work in the Northern United States or California and to escape the oppression of segregation. In 1940, Texas was 74% Anglo, 14.4% black, and 11.5% Hispanic.

    World War II had a dramatic impact on Texas, as federal money poured in to build military bases, munitions factories, POW detention camps and Army hospitals; 750,000 young men left for service; the cities exploded with new industry; the colleges took on new roles; and hundreds of thousands of poor farmers left for much better paying war jobs, never to return to agriculture.

    Texas modernized and expanded its system of higher education through the 1960s. The state created a comprehensive plan for higher education, funded in large part by oil revenues, and a central state apparatus designed to manage state institutions more efficiently. These changes helped Texas universities receive federal research funds.

    On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas.

    Government and politics

    The current Texas Constitution was adopted in 1876. Like many states, it explicitly provides for a separation of powers. The state's Bill of Rights is much larger than its federal counterpart, and has provisions unique to Texas.

    State government

    Texas has a plural executive branch system limiting the power of the Governor. Except for the Secretary of State, voters elect executive officers independently; thus candidates are directly answerable to the public, not the Governor. This election system has led to some executive branches split between parties. When Republican President George W. Bush served as Texas's governor, the state had a Democratic Lieutenant Governor, Bob Bullock. The executive branch positions consist of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Comptroller of Public Accounts, Land Commissioner, Attorney General, Agriculture Commissioner, the three-member Texas Railroad Commission, the State Board of Education, and the Secretary of State.

    The bicameral Texas Legislature consists of the House of Representatives, with 150 members, and a Senate, with 31 members. The Speaker of the House leads the House, and the Lieutenant Governor, the Senate. The Legislature meets in regular session biennially, but the Governor can call for special sessions as often as desired. The state's fiscal year spans from the previous calendar year's September 1 to the current year's August 31. Thus, the FY dates from September 1, through August 31, .

    The judicial system of Texas is one of the most complex in the United States, with many layers and overlapping jurisdictions. Texas has two courts of last resort: the Texas Supreme Court, for civil cases, and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Except for some municipal benches, partisan elections select judges at all levels of the judiciary; the Governor fills vacancies by appointment. Texas leads the nation in executions? 442 as of October 2009 (see Capital punishment in Texas).

    The Texas Ranger Division of the Texas Department of Public Safety is a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction. Over the years, the Texas Rangers have investigated crimes ranging from murder to political corruption. They have acted as riot police and as detectives, protected the Texas governor, tracked down fugitives, and functioned as a paramilitary force both for the republic and the state. The Texas Rangers were unofficially created by Stephen F. Austin in 1823 and formally constituted in 1835. The Rangers were part of several important events of Texas history and some of the best-known criminal cases in the history of the Old West.

    Politics

    + Texas Presidential elections results
    ! Year Republican Party (United States)>Republican Democratic Party (United States)>Democratic
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    As in other "Solid South" states, whites resented the Republican Party after the American Civil War, and the Democratic Party dominated Texas politics from the end of Reconstruction until the late 20th century. The state has since become a Republican stronghold.

    The Texas political atmosphere leans towards fiscal and social conservatism. Since 1980, most Texas voters have supported Republican presidential candidates. In 2000 and 2004, Republican George W. Bush won Texas with 60.1% of the vote, partly due to his "favorite son" status as a former Governor of the state. John McCain won the state in 2008, but with a smaller margin of victory compared to Bush at 55% of the vote. Austin consistently leans Democratic in both local and statewide elections. Counties along the Rio Grande generally vote for Democrats, while most rural and suburban areas of Texas vote Republican.

    The 2003 Texas redistricting of Congressional districts led by the Republican Tom Delay, was called by the New York Times "an extreme case of partisan gerrymandering". A group of Democratic legislators, the "Texas Eleven", fled the state in a quorum-busting effort. Despite these efforts, the legislature passed a map heavily in favor of Republicans. Protests of the redistricting reached the national Supreme Court in the case League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry, but the ruling went in the Republicans' favor.

    As of the general elections of 2010, a large majority of the members of Texas's U.S. House delegation are Republican, along with both U.S. Senators. In the 112th United States Congress, of the 32 Congressional districts in Texas, 23 are held by Republicans and 9 by Democrats. Texas's Senators are Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn. Since 1994, Texans have not elected a Democrat to a statewide office. The state's Democratic presence comes primarily from some minority groups in East Texas and South Texas as well as urban voters, particularly in Beaumont, El Paso, Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston.

    Administrative divisions

    Texas has 254 counties? the most nationwide. Each county runs on Commissioners' Court system consisting of four elected commissioners (one from each of four precincts in the county, roughly divided according to population) and a county judge elected at large from the entire county. County government runs similar to a "weak" mayor-council system; the county judge has no veto authority, but votes along with the other commissioners.

    Although Texas permits cities and counties to enter "interlocal agreements" to share services, the state does not allow consolidated city-county governments, nor does it have metropolitan governments. Counties are not granted home rule status; their powers are strictly defined by state law. The state does not have townships? areas within a county are either incorporated or unincorporated. Incorporated areas are part of a municipality. The county provides limited services to unincorporated areas. Municipalities are classified either "general law" cities or "home rule". A municipality may elect home rule status once it exceeds 5,000 population with voter approval. Municipal elections are nonpartisan as are elections for school boards and community college districts.

    Economy

    As of 2010, Texas had a gross state product (GSP) of $1.207 trillion, the second highest in the U.S. Its GSP is comparable to the GDP of India or Canada, which are the world's 12th- and 11th-largest economies, respectively. Texas' economy is the fourth-largest of any country subdivision globally, behind England (as part of the UK), California, and Tokyo Prefecture. Its Per Capita personal income in 2009 was $36,484, ranking 29th in the nation.

    Texas's large population, abundance of natural resources, thriving cities and leading centers of higher education have contributed to a large and diverse economy. Since oil was discovered, the state's economy has reflected the state of the petroleum industry. In recent times, urban centers of the state have increased in size, containing two-thirds of the population in 2005. The state's economic growth has led to urban sprawl and its associated symptoms.

    As of April 2012, the state's unemployment rate is 6.5%.

    In 2010, Site Selection Magazine ranked Texas as the most business-friendly state in the nation, in part because of the state's three-billion-dollar Texas Enterprise Fund. Texas has the joint-highest number of Fortune 500 company headquarters in the United States, along with California.

    In 2010, there were 346,000 millionaires in Texas, constituting the second-largest population of millionaires in the nation.

    Taxation

    Texas has a "low taxes, low services" reputation. According to the Tax Foundation, Texans' state and local tax burdens rank among the lowest in the nation, 7th lowest nationally; state and local taxes cost $3,580 per capita, or 8.4% of resident incomes. Texas is one of seven states that lack a state income tax.

    Instead, the state collects revenue from a state property tax and sales tax, which is charged at the rate of 6.25%, but local taxing jurisdictions (cities, counties, special purpose districts, and transit authorities) may also impose sales and use tax up to 2% for a total maximum combined rate of 8.25%. Texas is a "tax donor state"; in 2005, for every dollar Texans paid to the federal government in federal income taxes, the state received approximately $0.94 in benefits.

    Agriculture and mining

    Texas has the most farms and the highest acreage in the United States. Texas leads the nation in livestock production. Cattle is the state's most valuable agricultural product, and the state leads nationally in production of sheep and goat products. Texas leads the nation in production of cotton. The state grows significant amounts of cereal crops and produce. Texas has a large commercial fishing industry. With mineral resources, Texas leads in creating cement, crushed stone, lime, salt, sand and gravel.

    Energy

    Ever since the discovery of oil at Spindletop, energy has been a dominant force politically and economically within the state. According to the Energy Information Administration, Texans consume the most energy in the nation per capita and as a whole. Unlike the rest of the nation, most of Texas is on its own alternating current power grid, the Texas Interconnection. Texas has a deregulated electric service.

    The Railroad Commission of Texas, contrary to its name, regulates the state's oil and gas industry, gas utilities, pipeline safety, safety in the liquefied petroleum gas industry, and surface coal and uranium mining. Until the 1970s, the commission controlled the price of petroleum because of its ability to regulate Texas's oil reserves. The founders of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) used the Texas agency as one of their models for petroleum price control.

    Texas has known petroleum deposits of about , which makes up approximately one-fourth of the known U.S. reserves. The state's refineries can process of oil a day. The Baytown Refinery in the Houston area is the largest refinery in America. Texas also leads in natural gas production, producing one-fourth of the nation's supply. Several petroleum companies are based in Texas such as: Conoco-Phillips, Exxon-Mobil, Halliburton, Valero, and Marathon Oil.

    The state is a leader in renewable energy sources; it produces the most wind power in the nation. The Roscoe Wind Farm in Roscoe, Texas, is the world's largest wind farm as of October 2009 with a 781.5 megawatt (MW) capacity. The Energy Information Administration states that the state's large agriculture and forestry industries could give Texas an enormous amount biomass for use in biofuels. The state also has the highest solar power potential for development in the nation.

    Technology

    With large universities systems coupled with initiatives like the Texas Enterprise Fund and the Texas Emerging Technology Fund, a wide array of different high tech industries have developed in Texas. The Austin area is nicknamed the "Silicon Hills" and the north Dallas area the "Silicon Prairie". Texas has the headquarters of many high technology companies, such as Dell, Inc., Texas Instruments, Perot Systems, Rackspace and AT&T.

    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (NASA JSC) located in Southeast Houston, sits as the crown jewel of Texas's aeronautics industry. Fort Worth hosts both Lockheed Martin's Aeronautics division and Bell Helicopter Textron. Lockheed builds the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the largest Western fighter program, and its successor, the F-35 Lightning II in Fort Worth.

    Commerce

    Texas's affluence stimulates a strong commercial sector consisting of retail, wholesale, banking and insurance, and construction industries. Examples of Fortune 500 companies not based on Texas traditional industries are AT&T, Kimberly-Clark, Blockbuster, J. C. Penney, Whole Foods Market, and Tenet Healthcare. Nationally, the Dallas?Fort Worth area, home to the second shopping mall in the United States, has the most shopping malls per capita of any American metropolitan area.

    Mexico, the state's largest trading partner, imports a third of the state's exports because of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). NAFTA has encouraged the formation of controversial maquiladoras on the Texas/Mexico border.

    Demographics

    The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Texas was 25,674,681 on July 1, 2011, a 2.10% increase since the 2010 United States Census. The state's rate of natural increase (births and deaths) since the last census was 1,389,275 people, immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 801,576 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 451,910 people.

    As of 2004, the state had 3.5 million foreign-born residents (15.6 percent of the state population), of which an estimated 1.2 million are illegal aliens. Texas from 2000?2006 had the fastest growing illegal immigration rate in the nation. In 2010, illegal aliens constituted an estimated 6.0% of the population. This was the fifth highest percentage of any state in the country.

    Texas's population density is 34.8 persons/km2 which is slightly higher than the average population density of the US as a whole, at 31 persons/km2. In contrast, while Texas and France are similarly sized geographically, the European country has a population density of 116 persons/km2.

    Two-thirds of all Texans live in a major metropolitan area such as Houston. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area is the largest in Texas. While Houston is the largest city in Texas and the fourth largest city in the United States, the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area is considerably larger than that of Houston.

    Race and ethnicity

    According to the 2010 United States census, the racial and ethnic composition of Texas was the following:
  • White: 70.4% (Non-Hispanic Whites: 45.3%)
  • Black or African American: 11.8%
  • Native American: 0.7%
  • Asian: 3.8% (1.0% Indian, 0.8% Vietnamese, 0.6% Chinese, 0.4% Filipino, 0.3% Korean, 0.2% Pakistani, 0.07% Japanese, 0.05% Laotian, 0.05% Cambodian)
  • Pacific Islander: 0.1% (0.02% Guamanian, 0.01% Samoan, 0.01% Tongan, 0.01% Native Hawaiian)
  • Some other race: 10.5%
  • Two or more races: 2.7%
  • Hispanic or Latino (of any race): 37.6% (31.6% Mexican, 0.5% Puerto Rican, 0.2% Cuban)
  • White Americans are the racial majority in Texas. However, non-Hispanic whites represent roughly 48% of the population; therefore, Texas is a minority-majority state. Just over 17,020,000 Texans are white (both non-Hispanic and Hispanic), and roughly 11.4 million are non-Hispanic whites. German, Irish, and English Americans are the three largest European ancestry groups in Texas. German Americans make up 11.3% of the population, and number over 2.7 million members. Irish Americans make up 8.2% of the population, and number over 1.9 million members. There are roughly 600,000 French Americans and 472,000 Italian Americans residing in Texas; these two ethnic groups make up 2.5% and 2.0% of the population respectively. In the 1980 United States census the largest ancestry group reported in Texas was English with 3,083,323 Texans citing that they were of English or mostly English ancestry making them 27% of the state at the time. Their ancestry primarily goes back to the original thirteen colonies and for this reason many of them today simply claim "American" ancestry, though they are of predominately English stock.

    Black Americans are the largest racial minority in Texas. Blacks of both Hispanic and non-Hispanic origin make up 11.5% of the population; blacks of non-Hispanic origin form 11.3% of the populace. Black Americans of both Hispanic and non-Hispanic origin number at roughly 2.7 million individuals.

    Native Americans are a smaller minority in the state. Native Americans make up 0.5% of Texas' population, and number over 118,000 individuals. Native Americans of non-Hispanic origin make up 0.3% of the population, and number over 75,000 individuals. Cherokee Indians made up 0.1% of the population, and numbered over 19,400 members. In contrast, only 583 were identified as Chippewa.

    Asian Americans are a sizable minority group in Texas. Americans of Asian descent form 3.8% of the population, with those of non-Hispanic descent making up 3.7% of the populace. Altogether, they number over 808,000 individuals. Non-Hispanic Asians number over 795,000. Just over 200,000 Indians make Texas their home. Texas is also home to over 187,000 Vietnamese and 136,000 Chinese. In addition to 92,000 Filipinos and 62,000 Koreans, there are 18,000 Japanese Americans living in the state. Lastly, over 111,000 people are of other Asian ancestry groups, such as Cambodian, Thai, and Hmong. Sugar Land, a city within the Houston metropolitan area, and Plano, located within the Dallas metropolitan area, both have high concentrations of Chinese and Korean residents. The Houston and Dallas areas, and to a lesser extent, the Austin metropolitan area, all contain substantial Vietnamese communities.

    Americans with origins from the Pacific are the smallest minority in Texas. According to the survey, only 18,000 Texans are Pacific Islanders; 16,400 are of non-Hispanic descent. There are roughly 5,400 Native Hawaiians, 5,300 Guamanians, and 6,400 people from other groups. Samoan Americans were very scant; only 2,920 people were from this group. The city of Euless, a suburb of Fort Worth, contains a sizable population of Tongan Americans, at nearly 900 people, over one percent of the city's population. Killeen has a sufficient population of Samoans and Guamanian, and people of Pacific Islander descent surpass one percent of the city's population.

    Multiracial individuals are also a visible minority in Texas. People of multiracial heritage form 1.9% of the population, and number over 448,000 people. Almost 80,000 Texans claim European and African heritage, and make up 0.3% of the population. People of European and Native American heritage number over 108,800 (close to the number of Native Americans), and make up 0.5% of the population. People of European and Asian heritage number over 57,600, and form just 0.2% of the population. People of African and Native American heritage were even smaller in number (15,300), and make up just 0.1% of the total population.

    Hispanics and Latinos are the second largest group in Texas after non-Hispanic European Americans. Over 8.5 million people claim Hispanic or Latino ethnicity. This group forms 36% of Texas' population. People of Mexican descent alone number over 7.3 million, and make up 30.7% of the population. Over 104,000 Puerto Ricans live in the state. Roughly 38,000 Cubans reside in the state. Over 1.1 million people (4.7% of the population) are of varying Hispanic and Latino ancestries, such as Costa Rican, Venezuelan, and Argentine.

    German descendants inhabit much of central and southeast-central Texas. Over one-third of Texas residents are of Hispanic origin; while many have recently arrived, some Tejanos have ancestors with multi-generational ties to 18th century Texas. In addition to the descendants of the state's former slave population, many African American college graduates have come to the state for work recently in the New Great Migration. Recently, the Asian population in Texas has grown?primarily in Houston and Dallas. Other communities with a significantly growing Asian American population is in Austin, Corpus Christi, and the Sharyland area next McAllen, Texas. Currently, three federally recognized Native American tribes reside in Texas: the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe, the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe, and the Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo.

    In 2010, 49% of all births were Hispanics; 35% were non-Hispanic whites; 11.5% were non-Hispanic blacks, and 4.3% were Asians/Pacific Islanders. Based on Census Bureau data released on February 2011, for the first time in recent history, Texas' white population is below 50 percent (45 percent) and Hispanics grew to 38 percent. Between 2000 and 2010, the total population growth by 20.6 percent, but Hispanics growth by 65 percent, whereas non-Hispanic whites only grew by 4.2 percent.

    Cities and towns

    The state has three cities with populations exceeding one million: Houston, San?Antonio, and Dallas. These three rank among the 10 most populous cities of the United States. As of 2000, six Texas cities had populations greater than 500,000 people. Austin, Fort?Worth, and El?Paso are among the 25 largest U.S. cities. Texas has four metropolitan areas with populations greater than a million: , , , and . The Dallas?Fort Worth and Houston metropolitan areas number about 6.3 million and 5.7 million residents, respectively.

    Three interstate highways?I-35 to the west (Dallas?Fort Worth to San Antonio, with Austin in between), I-45 to the east (Dallas to Houston), and I-10 to the south (San Antonio to Houston) define the Texas Urban Triangle region. The region of contains most of the state's largest cities and metropolitan areas as well as 17 million people, nearly 75 percent of Texas's total population. Houston and Dallas have been recognized as beta world cities. These cities are spread out amongst the state. Texas has 254 counties, which is more than any state by 95 (Georgia).

    In contrast to the cities, unincorporated rural settlements known as colonias often lack basic infrastructure and are marked by poverty. The office of the Texas Attorney General in 2011 that Texas had about 2,294 colonias and estimates that about 500,000 lived in the colonias. Hidalgo County, as of 2011, has the largest number of colonias. Texas has the largest number of people of all states, living in colonias.

    Religion

    The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Roman Catholic Church with 4,368,969; the Southern Baptist Convention with 3,519,459; and the United Methodist Church with 1,022,342.

    Known as the buckle of the Bible Belt, East Texas is socially conservative. Dallas-Fort Worth is home to three major evangelical seminaries and a host of monasteries. Lakewood Church in Houston, boasts the largest attendance in the nation averaging more than 43,000 weekly. Lubbock, according to local lore, has the most churches per capita in the nation.

    Adherents of many other religions reside predominantly in the urban centers of Texas. In 1990, the Islamic population was approximately 140,000 with more recent figures putting the current population of Muslims between 350,000 to 400,000. The Jewish population is around 128,000. Approximately 146,000 adherents of religions such as Hinduism and Sikhism live in Texas.

    Culture

    Historically, the whole of Texas culture comes from a blend of Southern (Dixie), Western (frontier), and Southwestern (Mexican/Anglo fusion) influences, varying in degrees of such from one intrastate region to another. A popular food item, the breakfast burrito, draws from all three, having a soft flour tortilla wrapped around bacon and scrambled eggs or other hot, cooked fillings. Adding to Texas's traditional culture, established in the 18th and 19th centuries, immigration has made Texas a melting pot of cultures from around the world.

    Arts

    Houston is one of only five American cities with permanent professional resident companies in all of the major performing arts disciplines: the Houston Grand Opera, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Ballet, and The Alley Theatre. Known for the vibrancy of its visual and performing arts, the Houston Theatre District?a 17-block area in the heart of Downtown Houston? ranks second in the country in the number of theater seats in a concentrated downtown area, with 12,948 seats for live performances and 1,480 movie seats.

    Founded in 1892, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, also called "The Modern", is Texas's oldest art museum. Fort Worth also has the Kimbell Art Museum, the Amon Carter Museum, the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, the Will Rogers Memorial Center, and the Bass Performance Hall downtown. The Arts District of Downtown Dallas has arts venues such as the Dallas Museum of Art, the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, the Trammell & Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art, and the Nasher Sculpture Center.

    The Deep Ellum district within Dallas became popular during the 1920s and 1930s as the prime jazz and blues hotspot in the Southern United States. The name Deep Ellum comes from local people pronouncing "Deep Elm" as "Deep Ellum". Artists such as Blind Lemon Jefferson, Robert Johnson, Huddie "Leadbelly" Ledbetter, and Bessie Smith played in early Deep Ellum clubs.

    Austin, The?Live?Music?Capital?of?the?World, boasts "more live music venues per capita than such music hotbeds as Nashville, Memphis, Los Angeles, Las Vegas or New York City." The city's music revolves around the nightclubs on 6th Street; events like the film, music, and multimedia festival South by Southwest; the longest-running concert music program on American television, Austin City Limits; and the Austin City Limits Music Festival held in Zilker Park.

    Since 1980, San Antonio has evolved into "The Tejano Music Ca

    Source: http://article.wn.com/view/2013/01/09/Grand_jury_declines_to_indict_driver_in_Texas_train_collisio_9/

    creighton new smyrna beach st. joseph puerto rico primary manning peyton florida state

    California Prison Population: Jerry Brown Challenges Inmate Cap

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. ? Reducing California's inmate population further to meet a federal order would endanger public safety and require the state to ignore its own sentencing laws, Gov. Jerry Brown warned Tuesday as he challenged judges to reject those options.

    After years of changes, the Democratic governor said California would have to grant shorter sentences to inmates convicted of violent or serious felonies to meet the court's mandate.

    He also called for restoring the state's authority over its prison system, vowing to take that battle to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.

    The prison population cap was imposed in 2009 after federal judges blamed crowding for dismal conditions that violated inmates' constitutional rights and resulted in the death of an average of one inmate a week due to neglect or poor care.

    The judges gave the state until June to reduce the population of California's 33 adult prisons by about 33,000 inmates, to a total of 110,000 inmates.

    "Under protest we're offering some options for further release. But make no mistake about it: Releasing prisoners who were convicted of serious and dangerous crimes is not in the public interest," Brown said at a Capitol news conference where he called for the judges to rescind the population cap order.

    California already is sending thousands of less-serious offenders to local jails instead of state prisons under a 14-month-old state law designed to reduce crowding and prison spending. But the state is still set to fall short of the court-imposed population cap.

    "It's not a smart idea or a sound idea to add further to the burden of the counties," Brown said.

    Brown's administration said in court documents filed overnight Monday that it could comply with the court's current population cap only if the federal court waives numerous state laws and "orders the outright early release of inmates serving prison terms for serious and violent felonies."

    The plan includes granting early release credits to "second strike" inmates who have serious prior convictions, the state said. State sentencing laws would also have to be changed, and inmates who would normally serve nine months or less in state prison would have to spend their time in county jails.

    The state also could lower the threshold for sending inmates to firefighting camps, expand work furlough, restitution centers and alternative custody programs, and keep more inmates in private prisons in other states.

    Attorneys representing inmates' welfare said the state could adopt those changes without endangering the public, while saving money.

    "Incarceration is the most expensive of all the options for taking care of people in the criminal justice system," said Michael Bien, one of the lead attorneys for inmates.

    Attorneys also argued in their court filing that, while conditions have improved, inmates still are needlessly dying of neglect and mentally ill inmates go untreated.

    Brown's reasoning also drew swift criticism from reform groups.

    "Rather than implement the kinds of sentencing reforms that would significantly reduce the number of people needlessly behind bars in California, Gov. Brown has instead committed to business as usual," said Allen Hopper, director of criminal justice and drug policy for the American Civil Liberties Union of California.

    Spending more money on prisons means less money for other needs such as public schools, he said in an email.

    Brown argued that the conditions that led to the court oversight ? extremely poor medical and mental health care for inmates ? have been solved and prisoners now receive care exceeding constitutional levels.

    Brown ended a 2006 emergency proclamation by former Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that let the state send thousands of inmates to private prisons in other states. Brown's move cleared the way for them to be returned to California starting in July.

    "California is a powerful state. We can run our own prisons. And by God, let those judges give us our prisons back. We'll run them right," Brown said.

    "; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

    Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/08/california-prison-populat_n_2433421.html

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    US stocks slip ahead of earnings season kickoff

    Stocks are falling on Wall Street as traders wait for corporate earnings reports to start rolling in.

    The Dow Jones industrial average was down 65 points at 13,318 at midday Tuesday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell seven points to 1,453. The Nasdaq composite index fell 17 to 3,081.

    Aluminum maker Alcoa becomes the first company in the Dow average to report earnings after the close of trading.

    Other companies that have begun reporting turned in mixed results.

    Yum brands, the parent company of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, dropped after reporting problems with a chicken meat supplier.

    Monsanto, an agricultural products maker, soared after reporting sharply higher earnings thanks to booming sales of crop seeds in Latin America.

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-stocks-slip-ahead-earnings-season-kickoff-162041616--finance.html

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    Kirk Skaugen reveals why Intel made touch mandatory for Haswell Ultrabooks

    Image

    We were able to sit down with Intel's PC chief, Kirk Skaugen, and chew through the revelations and news that were announced at the press conference the day before. We wanted to know if Ultrabooks will eventually replace Laptops, what was the motivation behind the decision to make Haswell Ultrabooks touch only and if there's one form factor from the several available that's winning the popularity war. Share our curiosity? After the break is where you need to be.

    Continue reading Kirk Skaugen reveals why Intel made touch mandatory for Haswell Ultrabooks

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    Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/08/kirk-skaugen-interview/

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    Wealth gap, debt top risks ahead of Davos

    LONDON (Reuters) - Fragile economies and extreme weather have combined to crank up the global risk dial in the past year, creating an increasingly dangerous mix, according to the World Economic Forum.

    Despite Europe's avoidance of a euro break-up in 2012 and the United States stepping back from its fiscal cliff, business leaders and academics fear politicians are failing to address fundamental problems.

    That is the conclusion of the group's Global Risks 2013 report, which surveyed more than 1,000 experts and industry bosses and found they were slightly more pessimistic about the outlook for the decade ahead than a year ago.

    "It reflects a loss of confidence in leadership from governments," said Lee Howell, the WEF managing director responsible for the report.

    Severe wealth gaps and unsustainable government finances were seen as the biggest economic threats facing the world, as they were last January. There was also a marked increase in focus on the dangers posed by severe weather.

    The 80-page analysis of 50 risks for the next 10 years comes ahead of the World Economic Forum's (WEF) annual meeting in the Swiss ski resort of Davos from January 23 to 27, where the rich and powerful will ponder the planet's future.

    Bringing together business leaders, politicians and central bankers, Davos has come to symbolize the modern globalised world dominated by successful multinational corporations.

    Chief executives arriving on their private jets may still ooze confidence but "Davos man" - and most delegates are male - has plenty to worry about these days.

    "Most of the risks have gone in the wrong direction in the past year," Howell told reporters on Tuesday.

    On the economic front, eurozone instability will continue to shape global prospects in the coming years and the "associated risk of systemic financial failure, although limited, cannot be completely discarded," the report said.

    SUPERSTORM SANDY

    Concerns about rising greenhouse gas emissions have grown notably in the past 12 months. The issue is ranked as the third biggest worry overall, while failure to adapt to climate change is viewed as the biggest single environmental hazard.

    Superstorm Sandy, which wreaked havoc on the U.S. east coast in October, was a wake-up call for many. But it was not an isolated event in a year that also saw droughts, floods and the Arctic sea ice melting to a record low level.

    Extreme weather was on display again this week as Australia grappled with fires and heatwave conditions, while temperatures in China plunged to a 28-year low.

    "Two storms - environmental and economic - are on a collision course," said John Drzik, chief executive of Oliver Wyman, a unit of insurance broker Marsh & McLennan.

    "If we don't allocate the resources needed to mitigate the rising risk from severe weather events, global prosperity for future generations could be threatened."

    This year's Davos meeting takes as its theme "resilient dynamism", in recognition of the need for governments and businesses to develop strategies to ensure critical systems continue to function in the face of such threats.

    Outside the interlinked areas of the environment and the economy, the WEF identified other dangers, including increasing resistance of bacteria to antibiotics and the danger of "digital wildfires" created by the rapid spread of misinformation online.

    More outlandish risks, dubbed "X-Factors," include the rogue deployment of geo-engineering to counter climate change, for example by injecting particles into the stratosphere, or the discovery of alien life, which would challenge many assumptions underpinning religion.

    (Editing by Jason Neely)

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/davos-man-fears-more-storms-both-real-economic-125219534--sector.html

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    You Can Buy a HAL 9000 Replica Made from the Original Movie Blueprints

    Good morning, Reader. This is a HAL 9000 replica computer. It became operational at the ThinkGeek Plant today, and is built with the same illustrations and blueprints as the one used in 2001: A Space Odyssey. More »

    Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/7u_MYcC12v0/you-can-buy-a-hal-9000-replica-made-from-the-original-movie-blueprints

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    Stocks sink, pushing S&P 500 down from 5-year high

    NEW YORK (AP) ? Stocks sank on Wall Street, pushing the Standard & Poor's 500 index down from the five-year high it reached Friday.

    The move lower on Monday is likely the result of investors taking some winnings off the table after the stock market's surge last week, said Sam Stovall, chief equity strategist at S&P Capital IQ.

    Investors are also preparing for corporate America's seasonal parade of earnings reports, which starts Tuesday.

    "You can summarize it as profit-taking and preparation," Stovall said. "Investors are digesting some of those gains from last week and positioning themselves so they're not too far extended if fourth-quarter earnings slip a bit."

    The S&P 500 dropped eight points to 1,457 as of 2:05 p.m. EST on Monday.

    The Dow Jones industrial average lost 74 points to 13,360, while the Nasdaq composite dropped 11 points to 3,090.

    Major bank stocks fell on news that JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and others banks agreed to pay $8.5 billion to settle federal complaints that they foreclosed on people who should have been allowed to stay in their homes.

    In a separate agreement, Bank of America settled with the mortgage-servicing company Fannie Mae over mortgage investments that lost value during the real-estate crash. Bank of America will pay Fannie Mae $3.6 billion and buy back $6.75 billion in loans that the North Carolina-based bank and its Countrywide unit sold from Jan. 1, 2000 through Dec. 31, 2008. BofA's stock fell 9 cents to $12.02.

    The S&P 500 closed at a five-year high Friday after a report showed that hiring held up in December during the tense fiscal negotiations in Washington, with employers adding 155,000 jobs in the month. Market indexes soared at the start of last week as lawmakers passed a bill to avoid a combination of government spending cuts and tax increases that came to be known as the "fiscal cliff." The law passed late Tuesday night avoided the full force of the budget cuts, which could have dragged the economy into a recession.

    Investors are now shifting their focus to corporate profits. Aluminum producer Alcoa launches the reporting season for the fourth quarter of 2012 after the market closes on Tuesday.

    Analysts forecast that companies in the S&P 500 will report that quarterly earnings increased 3.3 percent compared with the same period the year before, according to S&P Capital IQ. But all the events that took place in the last three months of 2012 -- Superstorm Sandy, the presidential election, and worries about the narrowly avoided "fiscal cliff" -- could make for some surprises.

    In other trading, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note was 1.90 percent. The yield on the note hit an eight-month high of 1.97 percent in intraday trading Friday, according to prices from Tradeweb, an operator of fixed-income markets.

    Among other stocks making big moves:

    ? Archer Daniels Midland dropped 4 percent. Analysts at JP Morgan Chase said the ongoing drought in the Midwest will likely squeeze the crop-processing company's profit margins. The analysts also started coverage on ADM's stock with a price target of $28, below where it opened for trading Monday. ADM fell $1.06 to $28.16.

    ? Lowe's Cos. fell 90 cents to $34.68 after analysts at the money-management firm Canaccord cut their rating on the company to "sell" from "hold," saying that the home improvement company's efforts to improve stores and sales won't be successful.

    ? Walgreen Co. gained 82 cents to $38 after Jefferies analyst Scott A. Mushkin raised his rating on the drugstore chain to "buy" from "hold," saying the company's profits may get a boost from the flu season, Medicare drug plans and President Obama's health-care overhaul.

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stocks-sink-pushing-p-500-down-5-high-190625846--finance.html

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