Michigan governor’s race: Snyder vs. Bernero
by Jonathan Hiskes. Michigan gubernatorial candidate Rick Snyder is an unusual Republican. In a year when Tea Party fervor has propelled fire-breathing extremists onto ballots around the country, Snyder comes across as a moderate, sensible Republican with crossover appeal. He’s a high-tech venture capitalist and former president of the Gatewa....(more) (full story...)

Sam Donnellon: It isn't pretty, but Blanton gets job done for Phillies
THEY GAVE HIM $24 million for 3 years and that started his troubles. Joe Blanton is not a lights-out guy, not a shutdown guy, not a guy you want to watch pitch without your hands real close to your face. (full story...)

Two troubled lives come together, leaving one dead
AS REINALDO AMADOR waited at the crosswalk last summer for the light to change on 5th Street and Allegheny Avenue, a man pulled up in a car, clutching a blunt. He asked Amador for a light. (full story...)

Fines of $7 in "tough" new China anti-smoking rules
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's "toughest" ever smoking ban which aims to stop people lighting up during November's Asian Games will carry fines of $7, state media said on Wednesday, a limited deterrent to smokers in one of China's richest cities. (full story...)

How innovation killed the lights
The last major U.S. factory making ordinary incandescent light bulbs is slated to close this month. How the manufacturing jobs in the next lighting technology, compact fluoresecents, ended up overseas. (full story...)

Light bulb factory closes; End of era for U.S. means more jobs overseas
The last major U.S. factory making ordinary incandescent light bulbs is slated to close this month. How the manufacturing jobs in the next light ing technology, compact fluoresecents, ended up overseas. Light - Business - Business and Economy - China - Incandesc....(more) (full story...)

1 in 5 in U.S. still light up, CDC says
One in five Americans light s up regularly. If all states had prevention programs like those in California and Utah, 5 million fewer people would be smoking, the agency says.After 40 years of continual declines, the smoking rate in the United States has stabilized for the last five years, with one in every five Americans ....(more) (full story...)

Avatar director vows to publicize Amazon tribe’s eco-struggle
by Agence France-Presse. BRAZIL—Film director James Cameron said Sunday he will return to Brazil this year to make a 3D film on indigenous people of the Amazon who oppose construction of a huge dam for fear it could flood tribal lands. “I want to return to meet some of the leaders of the Xikrin-Kayapo tribe who invited me,” the C....(more) (full story...)

Best camera stores in Houston (Digital Trends)
Digital Trends - Get a little dust on your sensor at the rodeo? Need a lens filter before hitting the water wall? Want to grab a tripod to take the blur out of the Light s in the Heights? Our favorite Houston-area photo shops offer all of the above (and cleaning for your speckled sensor), plus print supplies, used lenses ....(more) (full story...)

Flashing mobile billboard in Bay Area poses questions during Jewish holidays
If you're cruising down U.S. Highway 101 or at a stop light near Palo Alto's Stanford Shopping Center, you may notice a mobile billboard prompting you to think a little harder, and more philosophically, while on your commute. (full story...)