The court sentenced a former congressman, a former leader of the governing Workers' Party and a former treasurer of the Brazilian Labor Party on charges of money laundering, embezzlement and passive corruption.

The alleged corruption dates back to the government of Brazil's hugely popular former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was not charged. After two 4-year terms, Silva left office Jan. 1, 2011, with an 87 percent approval rating in opinion polls and remains a powerful political force in Brazil

Earlier this month the court convicted Silva's once powerful former chief of staff, Jose Dirceu of racketeering and of leading the vote-buying scheme in Congress. He was sentenced to 10 years and 10 months in prison. Dirceu, who was once considered a likely presidential candidate, resigned his post when the scandal broke in 2005.

Known in Brazil as the "mensalao," or big monthly allowance, for the sums of up to $10,000 handed over to politicians, the corruption scandal is considered the biggest in Brazil's history and may "tarnish the image and legacy" of Silva, said David Fleischer, a political scientist at the University of Brasilia.

He said the trial could become a turning point toward cleaner governance in Brazil where corruption and impunity have long marred public service.

"The trial represents a game change," Fleischer said by telephone. "It points not to the total elimination of impunity and the immunity enjoyed by congressmen, but to their substantial weakening."

Gil Castelo Branco, secretary general of the Brasilia-based nonprofit watchdog group Contas Abertas (Open Accounts), which advocates for transparency in government, agreed.

"Impunity is one of the factors that feeds corruption in Brazil. A corruptor is a gambler who will think twice before corrupting someone when he realizes that crime does not pay," Castelo Branco said. "The Supreme Court's handling of the mensalao is encouraging because it makes it clear that authorities who commit illicit acts will also go to jail something we have seldom, if ever, seen in Brazil."

"The trial was a watershed that will hopefully lead to a less corrupt Brazil," he added. "The conviction of several important people has sent a clear signal that things are beginning to change, that Brazilians are fed up with corruption."

The Supreme Court must still determine if it can order the expulsion from the national legislature's Chamber of Deputies of the three congressmen convicted during the trial, or if that decision is up to the legislative branch.

Another issue the court must decide is if those convicted must start serving time immediately or if they can remain free pending appeals.

And an aide to House Speaker Boehner described the White House's offer as "completely unrealistic" and "a break with reality."

Meanwhile, a top Democratic insider complained to ABC's Jonathan Karl that "the Republicans have taken to screaming at us."

Sources familiar with the phone call Wednesday night between Speaker Boehner and President Obama -- which lasted 30 minutes -- told Karl it was as "unproductive" and "blunt." One source said the president did most of the taking, explaining why he will insist that tax rates go up.

Get more pure politics atand a lighter take on the news at

"No substantive progress has been made over the last two weeks," said House Speaker John Boehner at a press conference yesterday. "It's time for the president and Congressional Democrats to tell the American people what spending cuts they're really willing to make."

With few signs of optimism in Washington and just 33 days before the end-of-the-year fiscal cliff deadline, President Obama is taking his show on the road.

ABC's Mary Bruce notes that the president is bypassing the wrangling between both sides and traveling to Hatfield, Pa. today where he will tour a toy manufacturing facility and speak to workers there.

According to the White House, "the President will continue making the case for action by visiting a business that depends on middle class consumers during the holiday season, and could be impacted if taxes go up on 98 percent of Americans at the end of the year."

FROM THE SPEAKER'S OFFICE: Boehner's office gives six reasons why the Obama administration's fiscal cliff offer won't fly:

"1) Twice the Taxes: It's absolutely true that the President ran on a tax plan of raising the top two rates. That's what Americans heard from him. That yields about $800 billion in new tax revenue. He just asked for twice that. 2) Not Even the Votes in His Own Party: The Senate was barely able to pass a bill with $800 billion in new tax revenue a few months ago (51 votes). There is no chance there are votes in the Senate for anything close to $1.6 trillion. 3) Unbalanced: The President also ran on a so-called balanced approach. Apparently his idea of balance is four times as much revenue as spending cuts. 4) No Net Spending Cuts: The spending cuts they are offering (which come later) are wiped out by all the new goodies he's also requesting. (stimulus, UI, payroll, housing, etc). 5) Debt Limit Pipe Dream: Permanently doing away with the debt limit? Come on. Guess what - the debt limit is actually very popular. Raising it to infinity is not. 6) We're Far From Opening Bids: Even as an "opening bid," this offer would be ludicrous. But we're way past that. We had about seven weeks to resolve this. Three of those weeks are gone, and this is what he comes with?"

FROM THE WHITE HOUSE: : "Right now, the only thing preventing us from reaching a deal that averts the fiscal cliff and avoids a tax hike on 98 percent of Americans is the refusal of Congressional Republicans to ask the very wealthiest individuals to pay higher tax rates. The President has already signed into law over $1 trillion in spending cuts and we remain willing to do tough things to compromise, and it's time for Republicans in Washington to join the chorus of other voices -- from the business community to middle class Americans across the country -- who support a balanced approach that asks more from the wealthiest Americans."

All American presidentson holiday decorating. In 1923, Calvin Coolidge introduced the inaugural National Christmas Tree, festooned with more than 2,500 electric lights; in the 1960s, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy enacted Nutcracker decor and holiday decorating in the White House has been themed ever since. In short, it's all kept pretty restrained: no one ever sets the seat of power alight to, say,and there's never an

That's not to say the Obamas haven't had their fun: two years ago celebrity designer David Starkto jazz up select rooms and a marzipan Bo the Portuguese Water Dognext to the official gingerbread White House replica; last year37 Christmas trees and a 400-pound gingerbread house, the largest ever in the history of the White House. This year it's all about "Joy to All," with 54 trees and patriotic wreaths and ornaments that "pay tribute to our Armed Forces and their families," according to the officialAnd POTUS and FLOTUS aren't above thetrend of using pets as architectural tour guidesin this case, please allow Bo toyou around:

The Video:

[YouTube via ][White House]

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El sistema operativo Android funciona en casi tres de cada cuatro telfonos inteligentes vendidos en el mundo en el trimestre que acaba de finalizar en momentos en que la plataforma mvil domina el mercado, de acuerdo con los analistas de la industria de la firma IDC.

"Android ha sido uno de los principales motores de crecimiento del mercado de telfonos inteligentes desde su lanzamiento en 2008", dice el gerente de investigacin de telfonos mviles de IDC, Ramon Llamas.

"Cada ao desde entonces, Android ha desbordado el mercado y robado participacin en el mercado de la competencia", agrega.

En las tabletas, la cuota de mercado de Apple cay a poco ms del 50%, desde el 65% que registr en el segundo trimestre, mientras Android ha ganado terreno, de acuerdo con cifras de IDC.

"Tener una gran cantidad de personas que construyen un montn de cosas que cubren una gran cantidad de rangos de precio con mltiples marcas en varios lugares hace una gran diferencia", dice el analista de NPD Group Stephen Baker.

"La variedad es la fuerza cuando se trata de artefactos mviles", estima.

Los pedidos de telfonos inteligentes Android aumentaron a 136 millones de dlares, superando los del mismo trimestre del ao pasado por un poco ms del 90%, de acuerdo con informes de IDC.

Galaxy S3 de Samsung super al iPhone 4S de Apple en el tercer trimestre para dar a la empresa de Corea del Sur el modelo de telfono inteligente ms vendido del mundo por primera vez, segn la firma de investigacin Strategy Analytics.

"El ritmo de la innovacin en Android es ms rpido que el de Apple", dice el vicepresidente de computacin mvil de Gartner, Ken Dulaney. "Ellos estn tratando de hacerlo ms fuerte, Apple est muy por detrs en esa rea".

Android se est beneficiando de ser una plataforma "open-source" que los fabricantes de aplicaciones usan gratuitamente y mejoran a medida que lo estiman conveniente, proporcionando a Google conocimientos en el camino.

Apple, por su parte, supervisa muy de cerca sus productos desde el software al hardware, e inclusive la tienda online de msica, libros, juegos u otro contenido.

"Lo que se obtiene con Android es este increble circuito de retroalimentacin con los desarrolladores, fabricantes de equipos, clientes y diseadores", dice Dulaney.

"En Apple, si bien tienen una gran visin interna que est bien, no tienen la retroalimentacin que Android tiene", aade.

Tener miles de diferentes dispositivos Android disputndose el dinero de los consumidores es un fuerte estmulo cuando se trata de participacin de mercado pero pone a los fabricantes de hardware en un escenario altamente competitivo, segn Baker.

"Aparte de Samsung, no s si otros chicos (vinculados a) Android estn haciendo dinero", estima el analista.

Google ofrece Android de forma gratuita, pero la plataforma est diseada para hacer que sea ms fcil para la gente usar servicios de Google, como el de bsqueda o de mapas, entre otros, y hallar contenido en sus tiendas en lnea Google Play.

El analista de Forrester Charles Golvin estim que parte importante del xito coyuntural de Android tiene que ver con cambios demogrficos de los compradores de telfonos inteligentes.

Los primeros usuarios de telfonos multifunciones apreciaban ms las nuevas tecnologas que el precio, pero los dispositivos se han vuelto imprescindibles y con un costo cada vez ms importante para los compradores, segn Golvin.

"La gente est ms inclinada hacia la plataforma Android, porque hay ms posibilidades de eleccin y la mayora de las opciones que da es de bajo precio", dice.

La naturaleza abierta de Android y la variedad de modelos ofrecidos por los fabricantes de dispositivos funcionan como un "arma de doble filo", seala no obstante el analista.

Apple lanza anualmente actualizaciones del sistema operativo mvil iOS a sus dispositivos, mientras que las nuevas versiones de Android, aunque lo hacen ms a menudo, deben obtenerse a travs de los fabricantes de hardware y servicios de telecomunicaciones para llegar hasta los telfonos.

"T tienes esta lenta cadena de intermediarios que estn retrasando la instalacin del nuevo software y sus innovaciones en los dispositivos existentes en el mercado", advierte Golvin.

Los telfonos inteligentes y tabletas informticas con el sistema operativo Android de Google estn acaparando el mercado de dispositivos mviles y robando espacio a Apple al saciar el apetito por la innovacin y los bajos precios, estiman analistas.

Scorers:

England - Tries: Brad Barritt, Chris Ashton, Manu Tualagi. Conversion: Owen Farrell. Penalties: Farrell (4), Freddie Burns (2). Drop goal: Farrell.

New Zealand - Tries: Julian Savea (2), Keiran Read. Conversions: Dan Carter (2). Aaron Cruden. (Compiled by John Mehaffey)

An Associated Press reporter in the capital, Damascus, says service is back. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said access to the Internet had been restored, saying it was getting dispatches from Damascus, the central cities of Homs and Hama, the northern city of Aleppo and areas along the coast.

The communications blackout began Thursday, raising fears of a burst of fighting outside the public eye. The government and rebels have blamed each other for cutting the lines.

Syrian troops are fighting a 20-month-old revolt against the President Bashar Assad's regime. Activists say some 40,000 people have been killed in the violence.

Roberts himself had indicated to Gov. Rick Snyder earlier in the month that he may voluntarily quit his position if P.A. 4 was struck down by voters in the elections. Michigan residentsP.A. 4 on Nov. 6.

Here is some of the key information to emerge from the court's ruling, and the situation regarding Roberts' appointment.

* According to the MLive report, the court ruled that the repeal of P.A. 4 by voters on Nov. 6 effectively repealed all aspects of the law, including the portion of its wording which stated that P.A. 4 replaced P.A. 72. Therefore, the court decided that P.A. 72 is back in effect.

* Davis had argued that the repeal of P.A. 4 also made P.A. 72 null and void, and that therefore, Roberts could not hold his position as the emergency financial manager of the Detroit Public Schools.

* Instead, Roberts will now hold his position under the statutes of P.A. 72.Roberts was appointed under P.A. 72 while P.A. 4 was suspended pending the elections on Nov. 6. Roberts is allowed to stay in his position because his most recent appointment did not occur under P.A. 4.

* Davis told the Detroit News and other media outlets on Friday that he was pleased with the decision by the court, because now he can take his case to the Michigan Supreme Court. He has said that he plans to file with the Michigan Supreme Court on Monday.

* Davis' lawsuit was challenged at the Michigan Court of Appeals by state Attorney General Bill Schuette. According to aSchuette had argued that the repeal of P.A. 4 had placed P.A. 72 back into effect, which was essentially what the court ruled on Friday.

* The Detroit News quoted part of Schuette's response to the lawsuit, in which he said that the voter repeal of P.A. 4 had the legislative effect of wiping the slate clean, as if the measure itself "had never existed," which, he argued, left "in place, and intact, P.A. 72."

Vanessa Evans is a musician and freelance writer based in Michigan, with a lifelong interest in politics and public issues.

THE SPARK: The companies said in regulatory filings Thursday that they have amended their 2010 contract to say Zynga will no longer have to display Facebook ads or use Facebook payments on its own properties, such as Zynga.com.

In addition, Zynga, which makes the games "FarmVille" and "CityVille," will no longer be required to use Facebook as the exclusive social site for its games, or to grant Facebook exclusive games. Any social game Zynga launches will also be available on Facebook either at the same time or shortly after it launches elsewhere.

Facebook, meanwhile, will be able to develop its own games after the end of March, though it said it has no plans to do so. Its deal with Zynga previously prohibited Facebook from developing games.

THE BIG PICTURE:While it's not exactly splitsville, the original 2010 contract gave Zynga special status among Facebook game developers. Zynga relies on Facebook for most of the revenue it generates even as it works to establish its independence.

Facebook also makes money from Zynga, though the portion of its revenue that the game maker accounts for has declined. In the third quarter, Facebook said that 7 percent of its total revenue came from Zynga, down from 12 percent in the third quarter of 2011.

ANALYSIS: Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said while Zynga investors reacted badly to the news, he sees the changes as a long-term positive for both companies.

"Zynga now has an incentive to expand the reach of its most popular social games beyond Facebook and Zynga.com and be able to offer additional payment options, likely resulting in additional payers who are not Facebook users," the analyst wrote in a note to investors.

Pachter rates Zynga "Outperform" with a target price of $4.

STOCK ACTION: Shares of San Francisco'S Zynga Inc. fell 19 cents, or 7.3 percent, to $2.43 in afternoon trading. Zynga went public in December 2011 at a price of $10 per share but its stock have fallen sharply amid concerns about its ability to keep growing quickly.