Second-guessing one's decisions leads to unhappiness, psychology researcher finds

ScienceDaily (Dec. 15, 2011) ? You're in search of a new coffee maker, and the simple quest becomes, well, an ordeal. After doing copious amounts of research and reading dozens of consumer reviews, you finally make a purchase, only to wonder: "Was this the right choice? Could I do better? What is the return policy?"

Reality check: Is this you?

If so, new research from Florida State University may shed some light on your inability to make a decision that you'll be happy with.

Joyce Ehrlinger, an assistant professor of psychology, has long been fascinated with individuals identified among psychologists as "maximizers." Maximizers tend to obsess over decisions -- big or small -- and then fret about their choices later. "Satisficers," on the other hand, tend to make a decision and then live with it.

Happily.

Of course, there are shades of gray. In fact, there's a whole continuum of ways people avoid commitment without really avoiding it.

Ehrlinger's latest research on decision making was published in the peer-reviewed journal Personality and Individual Differences. The paper was co-authored with her graduate student, doctoral candidate Erin Sparks, and colleague Richard Eibach, a psychology assistant professor at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. It examines whether "maximizers show less commitment to their choices than satisficers in a way that leaves them less satisfied with their choices."

The paper, based on two studies of Florida State undergraduate volunteers, finds that the maximizers' focus on finding the best option ultimately undermines their commitment to their final choices. As a result, the authors argue, "maximizers miss out on the psychological benefits of commitment," leaving them less satisfied than their more contented counterparts, the satisficers.

Past research into the differences between maximizers and satisficers looked at how the two groups made choices differently and, more importantly, how the process itself varied. Ehrlinger's research, however, looked at something else entirely: What happened after a choice was made?

"Because maximizers want to be certain they have made the right choice," the authors contend, "they are less likely to fully commit to a decision." And most likely, they are less happy in their everyday lives.

Whether being a maximizer is a central and stable part of the personality or simply a frame of mind remains unclear, but Ehrlinger hopes to isolate the cause of the behavior in future research.

"Current research is trying to understand whether they can change," she said. "High-level maximizers certainly cause themselves a lot of grief."

Over the years, Ehrlinger's scholarly research has led her to study self-perception and accuracy and error in self-judgment. Her latest research into the ways maximizers avoid commitment is important for several reasons.

First, the differences between maximizers and satisficers may play a bigger role than previously thought in consumer decision making and purchasing. For example: "Maximizers get nervous when they see an 'All Sales Are Final' sign because it forces them to commit," Ehrlinger said.

Also, a maximizer's lack of contentment creates a lot of stress, so the trait could potentially have an enormous effect on health, Ehrlinger explained. It's not just coffee-maker purchases they stress over -- and second-guess themselves about -- it's also the big life decisions such as choosing a mate, buying a house or applying for a job.

Even after considerable deliberation before choosing a mate or a house, a high-level maximizer may still feel unhappy, even depressed, with his or her final decision.

"Identifying the 'right' choice can be a never-ending task (for a maximizer)," Ehrlinger and her co-authors write. "Feelings about which option is best can always change in the face of new information. Maximizers might be unable to fully embrace a choice because they cannot be absolutely certain they chose the best possible option."

Recommend this story on Facebook, Twitter,
and Google +1:

Other bookmarking and sharing tools:


Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Florida State University.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. Erin A. Sparks, Joyce Ehrlinger, Richard P. Eibach. Failing to commit: Maximizers avoid commitment in a way that contributes to reduced satisfaction. Personality and Individual Differences, 2012; 52 (1): 72 DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2011.09.002

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111215135846.htm

tay sachs tay sachs watch the walking dead giuliana and bill giuliana and bill 2012 camry endometriosis

Oil above $94 on signs of improving US economy (AP)

SINGAPORE ? Oil prices rose above $94 a barrel Friday in Asia amid signs the U.S. economy is slowly improving, which could boost demand for crude.

Benchmark crude for January delivery was up 40 cents to $94.27 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell by $1.08 to settle at $93.87 on Thursday.

In London, Brent crude was up 43 cents at $104.03 on the ICE futures exchange.

Crude has dropped from $100 this week because of expectations Europe's debt crisis will trigger a recession next year and undermine global oil consumption. However, the U.S. economy has shown evidence of growth the last few months.

The government said that applications for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level since May 2008. While manufacturing output fell last month after six straight months of steady gains, a regional report on Thursday showed manufacturing activity is rising this month in the Philadelphia area.

"We look for the oil market to move into a choppy, consolidation phase into the holiday period now that the euro appears to have stabilized for now amid a fresh flow of supportive U.S. economic guidance," energy consultant Ritterbusch and Associates said in a report.

In other energy trading on the Nymex, natural gas rose 1.1 cent to $3.14 per 1,000 cubic feet. Heating oil gained 1.5 cents to $2.85 a gallon and gasoline futures added 2.2 cents to $2.52 a gallon.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_on_bi_ge/oil_prices

la galaxy david blaine jordy nelson hot chelle rae guile alton brown weather los angeles

NYPD: 4 face murder charges in officer's death (AP)

NEW YORK ? New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly says authorities plan to charge at least four men with murder in the shooting death of a police officer.

Five suspects have been arrested so far in Monday's slaying of officer Peter Figoski, including the alleged gunman.

Police say the officer was shot when he interrupted an armed holdup of a suspected drug dealer in Brooklyn.

Police identified the shooter as 27-year-old Lamont Pride, of Greensboro, N.C.

Kelly says Pride has made statements implicating himself in the killing.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

Four more suspects have been taken into custody following the deadly shooting of a New York Police Department officer who interrupted an armed holdup of a suspected drug den in Brooklyn, authorities said Tuesday.

Among the men was one who had fled after struggling with an officer at the shooting scene on Monday. He was captured early Tuesday at his girlfriend's apartment.

They also include two men who were initially believed to be witnesses but later identified as members of the robbery crew, plus a suspected getaway driver, said NYPD spokesman Paul Browne.

Officer Peter Figoski, a 22-year NYPD veteran, was shot in the face early Monday while backing up other officers who were responding to a report of a break-in at the basement apartment in Brooklyn. Investigators believe the suspects had a targeted the location because it was used for marijuana sales, Browne said.

Lamont Pride, 27, was arrested on murder charges. There was no answer to calls at a Greensboro, N.C., address where he told police he lived, and no phone listed for a Brooklyn home. It's wasn't clear when he would be arraigned, and there was no information on whether he had an attorney.

The 47-year-old Figoski's career included more than 200 arrests and 12 medals ? one of them an exceptional merit award for coming under fire in a brush with a man who would later be convicted as the city's Zodiac copycat killer of the early 1990s.

He was part of a backup team of officers who responded around 2:15 a.m., after a landlord reported a break-in at the apartment in the East New York section of Brooklyn, police said.

Two of the suspects had tried to flee through the back of the long, narrow apartment, but they couldn't find a way out and were hiding in a side room full of tools as officers walked past them and started to interview the tenant and a neighbor. They were trying to escape through the front when they ran into Figoski, police said.

He was shot once at so close a range his gold collar insignia flew off. A handprint, possibly the suspect's, was found in a pool of blood.

Figoski's partner of three years, Glenn Estrada, was struggling with the second suspect in front of the house when he heard the shot and saw the shooter take off, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. Estrada chased after Pride for blocks before capturing him, Kelly said. Estrada, a decorated 15-year veteran, was treated for a shoulder injury.

"I want to commend Officer Estrada, who had the presence of mind to focus on the man with the gun, and the courage to chase him down and capture him," Kelly said.

Figoski was taken to a hospital, where he died about five hours later. The 47-year-old officer was a divorced father of four daughters: Carolyn, 16, and Corrine, 14, both in high school, and Christine, 20, and Caitlyn, 18, who are in college upstate. Kelly and State Police Lt. Michael Greco arranged to have them flown by helicopter to Albany, N.Y., and then by state police plane to Kennedy Airport so they could be with their father.

His brother Robert Figoski is a retired police officer, and his brother-in-law is currently an officer.

"It is a family that has dedicated its lives to making this city safe," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

The Brooklyn tenant told police he heard the suspects pounding on the basement door, claiming to be police. They got in and demanded money, pistol-whipped him and took $770 in cash and a watch, police said.

Detectives were investigating whether some of the stolen money was drug money. According to police, Pride told them he was at the home to buy pot, and Browne said Pride had made statements implicating himself as the gunman.

Pride is a convicted felon who served a prison term in North Carolina and was wanted on three outstanding warrants for a shooting in Greensboro in August. The warrants charge him with possession of a firearm by a felon; assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury; and felony conspiracy.

Court records show that Pride also was arrested on a drug charge in Brooklyn in November and released. He had been due back in court on January.

Police found a silver, semi-automatic pistol under a parked car near where Pride was arrested. One round had been shot; it was still loaded with 10 more live rounds, Kelly said.

Police found a second gun stashed inside a filthy microwave at the apartment. They believed the weapon, an unloaded revolver, belonged to the at-large suspect.

A Suffolk County police cruiser kept guard Monday outside Peter Figoski's Cape Cod-style home on a quiet street in suburban West Babylon, N.Y.; no one answered the door.

"I got goosebumps all over my body when I heard the news," said Helen Krebs, who lives across the street. She said Figoski's two eldest daughters had babysat for her 5-year-old son, Matthew, and she frequently saw Figoski working on his yard.

"He raised his daughters wonderfully. They were hard-working, conscientious, wonderful, salt-of-the-earth-type people," Krebs said.

During his career, Figoski was one of the first officers to respond to a call of a man having shot his sister in their Brooklyn apartment on June 18, 1996, police said. The man, Heriberto Seda, fired homemade guns at Figoski and other officers from the windows at the start of what turned into a 3 1/2-hour standoff with officers. Seda eventually gave himself up, and police then linked him to the "Zodiac" killings that had terrorized New York six years before, in which he, using the same moniker as the infamous northern California serial killer, vowed to slay one person born under each of the 12 astrological signs.

Seda was convicted of three murders and numerous attempted murder counts. He is serving a 235-year sentence.

It was the second time this year an NYPD officer was killed on duty. Officer Alain Schaberger fell nine feet off a stoop and broke his neck while responding to a domestic violence call in Brooklyn in March. The man accused of pushing him has pleaded not guilty to murder.

The shooting Monday recalled the 2007 death of Officer Russel Timoshenko, who was shot twice in the face during a traffic stop in Brooklyn.

___

Associated Press writers Frank Eltman in West Babylon, N.Y., and Samantha Gross, Colleen Long and Jennifer Peltz in New York and Martha Waggoner in Raleigh, N.C., contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111213/ap_on_re_us/us_officer_shot

elisabeth hasselbeck roger craig roger craig cadillac xts rambus rambus pabst blue ribbon

RARE INTERVIEW WITH DORIS DAY IN PARADE

The December 25 issue of PARADE features a rare interview with legendary singer and actress Doris Day, who recently released a new album, My Heart. Here are some highlights: ON GOING SOLO… The first time I ever worked alone, I had two shows a night at the Little Club on East 55th St. in New [...]

Source: http://www.celebritymound.com/rare-interview-with-doris-day-in-parade/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rare-interview-with-doris-day-in-parade

world series october 28 2011 october 28 2011 jenelle evans jenelle evans miami hurricanes vlad the impaler

Solar storms could sandblast the moon

ScienceDaily (Dec. 7, 2011) ? Solar storms and associated Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) can significantly erode the lunar surface according to a new set of computer simulations by NASA scientists. In addition to removing a surprisingly large amount of material from the lunar surface, this could be a major method of atmospheric loss for planets like Mars that are unprotected by a global magnetic field.

The research is being led by Rosemary Killen at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., as part of the Dynamic Response of the Environment At the Moon (DREAM) team within the NASA Lunar Science Institute.

CMEs are basically an intense gust of the normal solar wind, a diffuse stream of electrically conductive gas called plasma that's blown outward from the surface of the Sun into space. A strong CME may contain around a billion tons of plasma moving at up to a million miles per hour in a cloud many times the size of Earth.

The moon has just the barest wisp of an atmosphere, technically called an exosphere because it is so tenuous, which leaves it vulnerable to CME effects. The plasma from CMEs impacts the lunar surface, and atoms from the surface are ejected in a process called "sputtering."

"We found that when this massive cloud of plasma strikes the moon, it acts like a sandblaster and easily removes volatile material from the surface," said William Farrell, DREAM team lead at NASA Goddard. "The model predicts 100 to 200 tons of lunar material -- the equivalent of 10 dump truck loads -- could be stripped off the lunar surface during the typical 2-day passage of a CME."

This is the first time researchers have attempted to predict the effects of a CME on the moon. "Connecting various models together to mimic conditions during solar storms is a major goal of the DREAM project," says Farrell.

Plasma is created when energetic events, like intense heat or radiation, remove electrons from the atoms in a gas, turning the atoms into electrically charged particles called ions. The Sun is so hot that the gas is emitted in the form of free ions and electrons called the solar wind plasma. Ejection of atoms from a surface or an atmosphere by plasma ions is called sputtering.

"Sputtering is among the top five processes that create the moon's exosphere under normal solar conditions, but our model predicts that during a CME, it becomes the dominant method by far, with up to 50 times the yield of the other methods," says Killen, lead author of a paper on this research appearing in a special issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research Planets.

CMEs are effective at removing lunar material not only because they are denser and faster than the normal solar wind, but also because they are enriched in highly charged, heavy ions, according to the team. The typical solar wind is dominated by lightweight hydrogen ions (protons). However, a heavier helium ion with more electrons removed, and hence a greater electric charge, can sputter tens of times more atoms from the lunar surface than a hydrogen ion.

The team used data from satellite observations that revealed this enrichment as input to their model. For example, helium ions comprise about four percent of the normal solar wind, but observations reveal that during a CME, they can increase to over 20 percent. When this enrichment is combined with the increased density and velocity of a CME, the highly charged, heavy ions in CMEs can sputter 50 times more material than protons in the normal solar wind.

"The computer models isolate the contributions from sputtering and other processes," says Dana Hurley, a co-author on the paper at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. "Comparing model predictions through a range of solar wind conditions allows us to predict the conditions when sputtering should dominate over the other processes. Those predictions can later be compared to data during a solar storm."

The researchers believe that NASA's Lunar Atmosphere And Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) -- a lunar orbiter mission scheduled to launch in 2013 -- will be able to test their predictions. The strong sputtering effect should kick lunar surface atoms to LADEE's orbital altitude, around 20 to 50 kilometers (about 12.4 to 31 miles), so the spacecraft will see them increase in abundance.

"This huge CME sputtering effect will make LADEE almost like a surface mineralogy explorer, not because LADEE is on the surface, but because during solar storms surface atoms are blasted up to LADEE," said Farrell.

The moon is not the only heavenly body affected by the dense CME driver gas. Space scientists have long been aware that these solar storms dramatically affect Earth's magnetic field and are responsible for intense aurora (Northern and Southern Lights).

While certain areas of the Martian surface are magnetized, Mars does not have a magnetic field that surrounds the entire planet. Therefore, CME gases have a direct path to sputter and erode that planet's upper atmosphere. In late 2013, NASA will launch the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission that will orbit the Red Planet to investigate exactly how solar activity, including CMEs, removes the atmosphere.

On exposed small bodies like asteroids, the dense, fast-streaming CME gas should create a sputtered-enhanced exosphere about the object, similar to that expected at the Moon.

Papers on different aspects of the CME impact simulation are being written and will appear in the special issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research Planets. The team's research will also be presented December 5 during the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco.

For more information about the DREAM team visit: http://ssed.gsfc.nasa.gov/dream/

NLSI is a virtual organization that enables collaborative, interdisciplinary research in support of NASA lunar science programs. The institute uses technology to bring scientists together from around the world and is composed of competitively selected U.S. teams and several international partners. NASA's Science Mission Directorate and the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate in Washington fund NLSI, which is managed by NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif.

For more information about the NLSI, visit: http://lunarscience.nasa.gov/

Recommend this story on Facebook, Twitter,
and Google +1:

Other bookmarking and sharing tools:


Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111207000851.htm

extract bobby jindal bobby jindal talladega pumpkin carving texas tech football bridge school

Exclusive: ?Teen Mom? Chelsea falls for Adam

Chelsea seems charmed by her on-again-off-again boyfriend, Adam, on the season premiere of "Teen Mom 2."

By Ree Hines

Some things never change on ?Teen Mom 2.? If there?s trouble to be had, Jenelle Evans will find herself in the middle of it. If anyone?s going work hard to have it all, it?s Leah Messer. And if there?s one young mom that just can't put a certain teen dad behind her, well, that?s Chelsea Houska.

At the end of the first season of ?Teen Mom 2,? Chelsea finally said "so long" to her on-again-off-again boyfriend. But by the second season premiere, it seems she?s falling for Adam Lindt?s sometimes-good-guy act once again.

In an exclusive sneak peek MTV provided to TODAY.com, Adam can be seen turning on the charm while fawning over daughter Aubree.

?(Aubree) does tricks,? Chelsea told Adam.

?What is she? A dog?? Adam responded, clearly easing into his charming ways.

Aubree then impressed both parents by delivering an adorable ?get mad? face on demand. That inspired Adam.

?I want to hold her ? as a family,? he said.

Chelsea then told her daughter to give each of them a kiss. Aubree obliged, but Adam turned it into something more.

?It?s like we just kissed,? he told a blushing Chelsea.

?No, it?s not!? she said.

?Yes, it is,? Adam insisted. ?You just kissed me.?

The flirty routine continued until Adam finally walked out the door.

?Teen Mom 2? returns to MTV Tuesday, Dec. 6 at 10 p.m. ET.

What do you think of the latest between Chelsea and Adam? Is she just setting herself up for more disappointment from his usual good-dad-bad-dad routine, or is there a chance they can make it work this time? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.

?

Related content:

Source: http://theclicker.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/05/9223404-exclusive-teen-mom-2-clip-chelsea-falls-for-adams-good-guy-act-again

academy barnes and noble nook 12 days of christmas a christmas carol arkansas football player dies anne mccaffrey anne mccaffrey

Egg Timer: Separate Biological Clocks Govern Female Fertility and Life Span

News | Health

A new study finds that separate sets of genes control bodily and reproductive aging processes


Image: Flickr/Jesica_11

As a biological feat, it was the equivalent of an 80-year-old woman giving birth: Because of a mutation, Coleen Murphy's worms were still fertile and laying eggs right up until the end of their lives. The worms' impressive performance adds weight to the evidence that the biological clock that rules reproduction is separate from the one that grants us the traditional threescore and 10.

In a new study, Murphy, a molecular biologist at Princeton University, showed that long-lived bodily, or somatic, cells in Caenorhabditis elegans, a one-millimeter nematode commonly used as a model for aging studies in labs, activate genetic pathways completely separate from those found in long-lived egg, or oocyte, cells. Murphy presented her work at the American Society for Cell Biology in Denver on December 5.

"Investigators of aging in humans have been interested in studying somatic aging, and they've been interested in looking at the effects of age on fertility, but, in general, there haven't been any people trying to tie those two lines of investigation together," saysTerry Hassold, a reproductive biologist at Washington State University in Pullman who was not involved in the study. "That's an extremely important aspect of Murphy?' work, because it will help those of us that study human reproduction think about it in a different way."

Longevity researchers have long turned to C. elegans to learn more about the human aging process. Although it may seem unlikely that the 959-celled roundworms have much in common with humans, many genetic pathways were conserved during the course of evolution. As a result, many of the genes and proteins that regulate various processes are almost identical in C. elegans, mice (another animal model) and humans. Their reproductive cycles are similar, too. Middle-aged human females and C. elegans (which live two- to three-weeks) generally show few outward signs of senescence halfway through their lives. The oocytes of both the women and the worms, however, age much more rapidly, effectively ending the ability to reproduce during the second half of life, a relatively unique phenomenon in the animal kingdom.

Most mutations in C. elegans affect both life span and reproduction, which had led scientists to believe that body cells and female reproductive cells aged according to the same clock. But in Murphy's worms, a mutation in a gene known as transforming growth factor beta (TGF-?) enabled the production of high-quality eggs right up to the day they died.

While completing her postdoc, Murphy began to study C. elegans mutants that could live and reproduce twice as long as normal worms. These long-lived worms had mutations that decreased the production of a protein known as insulinlike growth factor 1 (IGF-1), which helps drive cellular growth and division. The TGF-? mutants that Murphy also studied could reproduce far longer than wild-type (nonmutant) worms?but, unlike the IGF-1 mutants, they didn?t actually live any longer. Their oocytes might have been young, but their bodies were decrepit.

"Worms, like humans, have to be in good enough shape to actually be pregnant and have kids successfully. If they're not in good enough shape, then they die while they?re trying to lay the eggs or give birth," Murphy says. "I think there are more parallels to human reproduction and the post-reproductive life span than we anticipated."

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=1fda6ad4760b6a78b95ae640a69be817

raiders vincent jackson veterans day rick perry paterno oakland raiders carson palmer

Brooke Mueller Arrested For Enjoying The ?Snow? In Aspen

Brooke Mueller Arrested For Enjoying The “Snow” In Aspen

Charlie Sheen’s ex-wife Brooke Mueller was arrested for assault and cocaine possession in Aspen, Colorado this weekend. Brooke, 34, was taken into custody early Saturday [...]

Brooke Mueller Arrested For Enjoying The “Snow” In Aspen Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stupidcelebrities/~3/d39TUGkdaBw/

amerigo vespucci julio jones elizabeth warren coptic church steve bartman columbus day columbus day

McCready's ex says she's pushing luck over son

FILE - In this undated file photo, country singer Mindy McCready performs in Nashville, Tenn. A missing persons report has been filed for McCready and her 5-year-old son Zander. The Department of Children and Families says the report was filed with Cape Coral Police Tuesday night after McCready took Zander from McCready's father's home. McCready doesn't have custody of her son ? her mother does ? and was allowed to visit the boy at her father's home. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, file)

FILE - In this undated file photo, country singer Mindy McCready performs in Nashville, Tenn. A missing persons report has been filed for McCready and her 5-year-old son Zander. The Department of Children and Families says the report was filed with Cape Coral Police Tuesday night after McCready took Zander from McCready's father's home. McCready doesn't have custody of her son ? her mother does ? and was allowed to visit the boy at her father's home. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, file)

(AP) ? Country singer Mindy McCready is pushing her luck with the legal system by not following a judge's order to return her 5-year-old son to the care of her mother in Florida, her ex-boyfriend and father of the boy said Friday.

McCready said Thursday she would not bring her son back from Tennessee, despite violating a custody arrangement.

McCready took the boy during a recent visit at her father's Florida home, and a judge signed an order Thursday ordering authorities to take the boy into custody and return him. It's not yet clear whether the singer could face criminal charges.

"I'm doing all this to protect Zander, not stay out of trouble," McCready wrote in an email to The Associated Press on Thursday. "I don't think I should be in trouble for protecting my son in the first place."

McCready says she is in Tennessee and cannot travel because she's nearly seven months pregnant with twins.

The judge's order means law enforcement anywhere can pick up the boy and bring him back to Florida.

The boy's father, Billy McKnight, told the NBC "Today" show Friday he spoke on the phone with McCready and their boy after the judge's deadline expired.

"He did sound healthy and ok. He wasn't crying or scared," McKnight said about their son.

"I think she believes she has a case and doesn't realize she's pushing her luck on this one," he said.

McCready and her mother have had a long custody battle over the boy. The boy was living with McCready's mother, who was awarded guardianship in 2007. McCready says her son has suffered abuse at her mother's house; her mother, Gayle Inge, denies the abuse allegations.

"Once the child is located, we will pick him up and bring him back to Florida," said Terri Durdaller, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Children and Families. "Although these circumstances are unfortunate for a young child, his safety and well-being are our number one priority."

McCready provided a series of emails to the AP with Lee County Judge James Seals' ruling to return the boy.

"Mom has violated the court's custody order and we are simply restoring the child back into our custody," the judge wrote. "Nothing more. Nothing less. The court makes no judgment about whether Mom will or will not competently care for the child while in her custody. It only wants the child back where the court placed him."

McCready found fame in the mid-1990s and has lived a complicated life in recent years.

In August, she filed a libel suit against her mother and the National Enquirer's parent company, American Media Inc., over a story published in the tabloid newspaper that quoted Inge.

And in 2008, McCready was admitted to a hospital after police said she cut her wrists and took several pills in a suicide attempt.

During the TV show "Celebrity Rehab 3" in 2010, McCready came off as a sympathetic figure, and host Dr. Drew Pinsky called her an angel in the season finale.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2011-12-02-US-People-McCready/id-4c1577aecf3d47f9ae50e819088d235f

lytro camera st. louis cardinals gaddafi bodyguards gaddafi bodyguards muammar gaddafi muammar gaddafi lord monckton

Leaders at Americas talks: world economy top worry

Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez, left, talks to Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff during the group photo of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, CELAC, summit in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Dec. 2, 2011. CELAC members are gathering in a two-day, 33-nation summit welcoming countries from Brazil to Jamaica, adding one more bloc to a region with other smaller organizations like Unasur, Mercosur and the Caribbean Community. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez, left, talks to Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff during the group photo of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, CELAC, summit in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Dec. 2, 2011. CELAC members are gathering in a two-day, 33-nation summit welcoming countries from Brazil to Jamaica, adding one more bloc to a region with other smaller organizations like Unasur, Mercosur and the Caribbean Community. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez, left, and Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez wave after the group photo of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, CELAC, summit in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Dec. 2, 2011. CELAC members are gathering in a two-day, 33-nation summit welcoming countries from Brazil to Jamaica, adding one more bloc to a region with other smaller organizations like Unasur, Mercosur and the Caribbean Community. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos, center, talks to Bolivia's President Evo Morales as Ecuador's President Rafael Correa, left, looks on during the group photo of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, CELAC, summit in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Dec. 2, 2011. CELAC members are gathering in a two-day, 33-nation summit welcoming countries from Brazil to Jamaica, adding one more bloc to a region with other smaller organizations like Unasur, Mercosur and the Caribbean Community. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

From left: presidents of Ecuador Rafael Correa, Colombia Juan Manuel Santos, and Venezuela Hugo Chavez, share a laugh after the group photo of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, CELAC, summit in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Dec. 2, 2011. CELAC members are gathering in a two-day, 33-nation summit welcoming countries from Brazil to Jamaica, adding one more bloc to a region with other smaller organizations like Unasur, Mercosur and the Caribbean Community. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff, left, embraces Uruguay's Jose Mujica after the group photo of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, CELAC, summit in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Dec. 2, 2011. CELAC members are gathering in a two-day, 33-nation summit welcoming countries from Brazil to Jamaica, adding one more bloc to a region with other smaller organizations like Unasur, Mercosur and the Caribbean Community. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

(AP) ? Leaders from across Latin America and the Caribbean pledged to work together to fend off the effects of the world financial crisis and safeguard the region's growing economies.

Several presidents stressed at the start of a two-day summit Friday that they hope to ride out turbulent times by boosting their local industries and increasing trade within the region.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff led such calls, saying that if the nations are to keep thriving they will need to look more to their neighbors.

"The economic, financial crisis should be at the center of our concerns," Rousseff said. "We should respond to this crisis with a new paradigm."

Rousseff said Latin America should "realize that to guarantee its current cycle of development despite the international economic turbulence, it means that every politician must be aware that each one needs the others."

As a region, Latin America and the Caribbean have so far weathered the economic woes better than the U.S. or Europe, achieving economic growth of more than 5 percent last year.

Brazil is now one of the world's fastest growing economies, and its government said this week that it's willing to contribute funds to the International Monetary Fund to help minimize the effects of the European debt crisis.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said the region has immense potential "in this world that's going through great uncertainty, where there's a hurricane that's hitting the so-called industrialized economies hard." He said Colombia's current trade with Brazil, for instance, is minimal and could grow significantly.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez read aloud a letter from Chinese President Hu Jintao congratulating the leaders on forming a new 33-nation regional bloc, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. Hu pledged to deepen cooperation with the new group, which he said will "contribute in a significant way to strengthening the unity and the coordination among the region's countries to face global challenges together."

The U.S. remains the top trading partner of many countries in the region, with exceptions including Brazil and Chile, where China has become the biggest trading partner. China has also made diplomatic inroads, including by granting about $38 billion in loans to Venezuela in exchange for increasing shipments of oil.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez noted that experts believe the region could be vulnerable to fallout from the economic crisis. She said trade within the region should be a priority.

Some countries, such as Brazil, expressed interest in reducing imports from outside Latin America.

"Together we can be stronger, together we can grow, and that should be beneficial for everyone," Rousseff said.

Chavez and some of his closest allies, meanwhile, called for the new regional bloc to be a tool for both integration and for countering U.S. influence.

"Only unity will make us free," Chavez told the more than two dozen heads of state.

Cuban President Raul Castro said that if it's successful, the creation of the new bloc known by its Spanish initials CELAC will be "the biggest event in 200 years."

The group includes every country in Latin America and the Caribbean. Unlike the Washington-based Organization of American States, it will have Cuba as a full member and exclude the U.S. and Canada.

Both Chavez and Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said they hope the bloc eventually leaves behind the OAS.

"We need a new inter-American system and, more specifically, a new system to guarantee human rights," said Correa, referring to the Washington-based Inter-American Human Rights Commission, which has received complaints from Ecuadorean newspapers and television channels that accuse his government of trying to silence critics.

"All these attacks and threats are made in the name of freedom of expression," he added, accusing powerful media outlets of manipulating public opinion. Correa called for creating of a committee to investigate such issues.

Other presidents said they see CELAC as a forum to resolve conflicts and build closer ties, but not as an alternative to existing bodies such as the OAS.

Santos said he also sees a role for the group in re-examining whether current counter-drug efforts are the right approach. Colombia remains the world's top producer of coca, which is used to produce cocaine.

While Santos has said the amount of land being used to grow coca plants has declined, the trade "keeps flowing the problem persists."

"There is still growing demand in the consuming countries," Santos said. He added that if there is eventually debate about legalizing cocaine and marijuana as a way of reducing drug-related violence, he wouldn't be opposed.

___

Associated Press writers Ian James and Christopher Toothaker contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-12-03-LT-Venezuela-Summit/id-93fe986b04784c13a982986859fb3592

light field camera world series game 1 exotic animals exotic animals scott hall lra lra