A poll released Wednesday of nearly 150,000 people around the world says seven of the world's 10 countries with the most upbeat attitudes are in Latin America.

Many of the seven do poorly in traditional measures of well-being, like Guatemala, a country torn by decades of civil war followed by waves of gang-driven criminality that give it one of the highest homicide rates in the world. Guatemala sits just above Iraq on the United Nations' Human Development Index, a composite of life expectancy, education and per capita income. But it ranks seventh in positive emotions.

"In Guatemala, it's a culture of friendly people who are always smiling," said Luz Castillo, a 30-year-old surfing instructor. "Despite all the problems that we're facing, we're surrounded by natural beauty that lets us get away from it all."

Gallup Inc. asked about 1,000 people in each of 148 countries last year if they were well-rested, had been treated with respect, smiled or laughed a lot, learned or did something interesting and felt feelings of enjoyment.

In Panama and Paraguay, 85 percent of those polled said yes to all five, putting those countries at the top of the list. They were followed closely by El Salvador, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Thailand, Guatemala, the Philippines, Ecuador and Costa Rica.

The people least likely to report positive emotions lived in Singapore, the wealthy and orderly city-state that ranks among the most developed in the world. Other wealthy countries also sat surprisingly low on the list. Germany and France tied with the poor African state of Somaliland for 47th place.

Prosperous nations can be deeply unhappy ones. And poverty-stricken ones are often awash in positivity, or at least a close approximation of it.

It's a paradox with serious implications for a relatively new and controversial field called happiness economics that seeks to improve government performance by adding people's perceptions of their satisfaction to traditional metrics such as life expectancy, per capita income and graduation rates.

The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan famously measures policies by their impact on a concept called Gross National Happiness.

British Prime Minister David Cameron announced a national well-being program in 2010 as part of a pledge to improve Britons' lives in the wake of the global recession. A household survey sent to 200,000 Britons asks questions like "How satisfied are you with your life nowadays?"

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, which unites 34 of the world's most advanced countries, recently created a Better Life Index allowing the public to compare countries based on quality of life in addition to material well-being.

Some experts say that's a dangerous path that could allow governments to use positive public perceptions as an excuse to ignore problems. As an example of the risks, some said, the Gallup poll may have been skewed by a Latin American cultural proclivity to avoid negative statements regardless of how one actually feels.

"My immediate reaction is that this influenced by cultural biases," said Eduardo Lora, who studied the statistical measurement of happiness as the former chief economist of the Inter-American Development Bank

"What the empirical literature says is that some cultures tend to respond to any type of question in a more positive way," said Lora, a native of Colombia, the 11th most-positive country.

For the nine least positive countries, some were not surprising, like Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan and Haiti. For others at the bottom, Armenia at the second lowest spot, Georgia and Lithuania, misery is something a little more ephemeral.

"Feeling unhappy is part of the national mentality here," said Agaron Adibekian, a sociologist in the Armenian capital, Yerevan. "Armenians like being mournful; there have been so many upheavals in the nation's history. The Americans keep their smiles on and avoid sharing their problems with others. And the Armenians feel ashamed about being successful."

The United States was No. 33 in positive outlook.

Jon Clifton, a partner at Gallup, acknowledged the poll partly measured cultures' overall tendency to express emotions, positive or negative. But he said skeptics shouldn't undervalue the expression of positive emotion as an important phenomenon in and of itself.

"Those expressions are a reality, and that's exactly what we're trying to quantify," he said. "I think there is higher positive emotionality in these countries."

Some Latin Americans said the poll hit something fundamental about their countries: a habit of focusing on posivites such as friends, family and religion despite daily lives that can be grindingly difficult.

Carlos Martinez sat around a table with 11 fellow construction workers in a Panama City restaurant sharing a breakfast of corn empanadas, fried chicken and coffee before heading to work on one of the hundreds of new buildings that have sprouted during a yearslong economic boom driven in large part by the success of the Panama Canal. The boom has sent unemployment plunging, but also increased traffic and crime.

Martinez pronounced himself unhappy with rising crime but "happy about my family."

"Overall, I'm happy because this is a country with many natural resources, a country that plays an important role in the world," he said. "We're Caribbean people, we're people who like to celebrate, to eat well and live as well as we can. There are a lot of possibilities here, you just have to sacrifice a little more."

Singapore sits 32 places higher than Panama on the Human Development Index, but at the opposite end of the happiness list. And things weren't looking good Wednesday to Richard Low, a 33-year-old businessman in the prosperous Asian metropolis.

"We work like dogs and get paid peanuts. There's hardly any time for holidays or just to relax in general because you're always thinking ahead: when the next deadline or meeting is. There is hardly a fair sense of work-life balance here," he said.

In Paraguay, tied with Panama as the most-positive country while doing far worse than Panama by objective measures, street vendor Maria Solis said tough economic conditions were no reason to despair.

"Life is short and there are no reasons to be sad because even if we were rich, there would still be problems," she said while selling herbs used for making tea. "We have to laugh at ourselves."

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Associated Press writers Romina Ruiz-Goiriena in Guatemala City; Juan Zamarano in Panama City; Heather Tan in Singapore; Avet Demourian in Yerevan, Armenia; Pedro Servin in Asuncion, Paraguay, contributed to this report.

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Michael Weissenstein on Twitter: http://twitter.com/mweissenstein

The Australian Open will now pay more prize money per round than any other tournament, with increases also coming in doubles and qualifying matches, but mixed doubles saw a money freeze.

The biggest increases were for first round losers in the men's and women's singles, who will now receive A$27,600 ($29,000), representing a 32.7 percent boost from 2012, with those exiting in the second round taking home $45,500, up 36.6 percent.

The move is likely to appease the players council, led by 17-times grand slam champion Roger Federer, who had been calling for more revenue from the four elite tournaments to be passed down to those hitting the shots.

"Our motivation is to make a major contribution toward helping ensure professional tennis players can make a decent living," Craig Tiley, the Australian Open tournament director, said in a statement.

"As we have said in the past, it is a real issue and needs to be urgently addressed throughout the sport."

In October, Tiley's team announced that the players would be vying for a share of a record A$30 million for the Jan. 14-27 event without giving the breakdown of how that money would be divided.

Serbia's Novak Djokovic and Victoria Azarenka of Belarus pocketed A$2.3 million each for their singles successes and a repeat next month in Melbourne would give them A$2.43 million.

While the multi millionaires at the top of the game will appreciate the extra rewards, the players scrambling to make the top 100 of the men's and women's rankings and those who mainly compete in doubles will be happier.

MAIN DRAW

At the 2012 event, Israeli doubles veterans Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram shared A$9,500 for their first-round loss to the American Bryan brothers, offering little in the way of winnings once expenses had been taken into account.

A similar result next month will see the pair collect A$12,500.

"That is why the biggest increases are in the earlier rounds, qualifying and doubles which in effect rewards a lot of the lower-ranked players for their achievements which, by the way, should not be undersold,"

"To just reach the main draw of a slam, a professional tennis player has to be among the top 100 in what is one of, if not the most, competitive professional sport in the world," Tiley added.

"At the same time, we also still want to continue to recognise the incredible drawing power and contribution of the top players."

On Monday, the men's governing body, the ATP, gave a lukewarm response to the U.S. Open increasing prize money for the 2013 edition by $4 million to a record $29.5 million.

"The ATP remains committed to continuing discussions on this issue, with the objective of ensuring that the players' share of the revenues at the U.S. Open truly reflects the value that they generate for the event," the body said.

Tiley said his team had been in full discussion with the players and tours before announcing their increases with more likely to come

"It is always a balance which is why we undertook unprecedented consultation on this subject with the tours and players who have been extremely supportive," Tiley said.

"We will not be stopping here. There will be more talks and more increases during the next four years. This is just a very positive first step."

($1 = 0.9528 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Patrick Johnston in Singapore; Editing by John O'Brien)

Perhaps you can predict the future, tame the weather and forecast winning lottery numbers, too.

Those claiming to know what will happen in pro football need only look at what went on this wild weekend, which featured a half-dozen super matchups that didn't turn out quite so super.

Nothing could be juicier than the defending champion New York Giants at Atlanta.

Oops: Falcons 34, Giants 0.

OK, then Denver at Baltimore. Delicious.

Sorry: Broncos 34, Ravens 17.

Houston, coming off an embarrassing Monday night rout at New England, against Indianapolis for AFC South supremacy.

Pffft: Texans 29-17 to clinch the division.

For something even more absurd than the lack of competitiveness in those games, try this one: San Francisco 31, New England 3 in the third quarter.

And this: Patriots 31, 49ers 31 with 6:43 left in the fourth quarter.

Just when the Patriots were on their way to matching the greatest regular-season comeback win in NFL history, the Niners turned around and won 41-34.

"It's a little bit crazy, a little bit surreal," said 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who threw for a career-best four touchdowns in his fifth start since replacing Alex Smith.

A little bit? That's the NFL this season.

If anyone thinks the weirdness has ended with two weeks remaining, well, don't count on it.

"The season's not over," Tom Brady said after his team that doesn't lose at home in December (20 straight wins heading into the San Francisco game) or in the second half of the schedule (21 straight victories anywhere) lost. And committed four turnovers, nearly half the 10 it had given away beforehand. "There's still a lot of football to play."

Plenty of meaningful football. About the only thing predictable is that there will be lots of surprises in those remaining games, too.

Here's what everyone can look forward to.

NFC

Atlanta (12-2 in the South) and Green Bay (10-4 in the North ) are division winners, with the Falcons in position to get home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

San Francisco (10-3-1) will earn the West with a victory at Seattle (9-5) next Sunday. But the Seahawks are 6-0 at home, have a dynamic defense to match the 49ers' unit, and are oozing with confidence thanks to a three-game winning streak and five victories in the last six outings.

The league moved that game to the prime-time telecast and NBC must be salivating after the Seahawks scored 50 points for the second straight week.

"What's important is that you continue to execute really well regardless of the circumstances and who you're playing," coach Pete Carroll said.

The East is in a three-team deadlock: New York, Washington and Dallas, all at 8-6. If either the Redskins or Cowboys win out, they'll take the division. They meet at Washington in the season finale.

Meanwhile, after three straight road losses, the Giants need help to repeat in the division.

Very alive for the wild card are all three East teams, the runner-up in the West, plus Minnesota and Chicago, also 8-6. But the Bears are skidding and banged-up. With the way Adrian Peterson is playing, counting them out would be foolhardy.

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AFC

Houston (12-2), despite that flop at Foxborough, is in good shape to remain at home throughout; one more victory earns the South champion that advantage. However, both remaining opponents, Minnesota and Indy, are chasing wild-card slots.

Denver (11-3) has won nine in a row and is a far superior team to the one that lost earlier this season to the Texans and Patriots. Peyton Manning has gotten more in tune with his teammates as the season has progressed, and the defense is fierce.

Plus, the West-winning Broncos finish with home games against weaklings Cleveland and Kansas City.

New England's strange loss to the 49ers puts it in a precarious position for a club that certainly looked like the league's best before Sunday. If it beats Jacksonville and Miami, it will finish 12-4, but that might get only the third seed and no bye for the East champ.

It also could mean a trip to the Mile High City in the divisional round.

The North has three teams struggling to reach the finish line. Baltimore (9-5) has lost three in a row, yet secured a playoff berth Sunday. It leads Cincinnati by one game and finishes with the Bengals after meeting the Giants next weekend.

Cincinnati and the Steelers (7-7) face off next week at Pittsburgh. A loss pretty much eliminated the Steelers.

The Colts (9-5) have the best shot at a wild card and a win at Kansas City next week should do it.

Not that we're predicting any such thing these days.

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Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

At issue are changes MBIA sought to make to the terms of some of its bonds to eliminate the risk that it might be considered in default if a troubled unit were put into rehabilitation or liquidation by New York regulators.

Bank of America countered with an offer to buy the bonds, saying it believed the changes would increase the risk of MBIA's insurance unit being placed in rehabilitation or liquidation, which could jeopardize all policyholder claims.

On Thursday, Bank of America said it had purchased $136 million of senior notes in that tender and issued a default notice over the attempt to change terms.

The bank claims in the lawsuit that the consent solicitation was the latest of MBIA's "premeditated and subversive actions" since 2008 to benefit executives and stockholders to the detriment of Bank of America and other policyholders.

In the lawsuit, filed late on Thursday, Bank of America alleged that MBIA illegally interfered with its tender offer and asked for the consent solicitation and amendment to be declared invalid. The bank also is seeking punitive and other damages.

MBIA spokesman Kevin Brown said: "Like its purported notice of default, Bank of America's latest lawsuit is meritless and we will respond to both accordingly."

MBIA shares fell 6.7 percent to $7.95 Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.

The legal wrangling is a major cloud hanging over both companies, which have struggled to recover from mortgage-related troubles from the financial crisis.

MBIA claims that Bank of America owes it billions of dollars over soured mortgages that it wants the bank to buy back. Bank of America says the insurer will likely owe it billions over certain credit default swap transactions.

MBIA and Bank of America were in court this week on pre-trial motions in a 2008 case the bond insurer brought against Bank of America's Countrywide Financial unit, accusing the lender of misrepresenting the quality of loans underlying mortgage-backed securities it insured.

MBIA claims the bank should be liable for refusing to buy back defective loans.

The two are also awaiting a decision by a New York judge over whether the state insurance department was right to approve MBIA's 2009 split into two units.

Bank of America claims it was harmed in the restructuring when $5 billion was transferred out of the MBIA unit that insures risky mortgage debt and into a new unit that guarantees municipal bonds. The judge must rule on whether to annul that split.

The newest case is Bank of America Corp. v MBIA Inc, New York State Supreme Court, 70444/2012, County of Westchester.

(Writing by Ben Berkowitz; additional reporting by Rick Rothacker; editing by Bernadette Baum, Matthew Lewis and Carol Bishopric)

An affidavit filed in Las Cruces said Dana Martin told investigators he persuaded a man he met in prison and the man's nephew to kill Bieber, along with Bieber's personal bodyguard and two others not connected to the pop star.

The plot contained several gruesome details. Investigators say the plotters wanted to castrate two of the victims with hedge clippers before traveling to New York City to find Bieber. The targets of the castration plot were not connected to Bieber, authorities say, and it doesn't appear that the pop singer was ever in immediate danger of falling victim to the plot.

Martin, a Vermont man who is serving two life sentences for the 2000 killing of a 15-year-old girl, said he was angry at Bieber because he didn't respond to any of his letters. "This perceived slight made Mr. Martin upset and that, coupled with Mr. Martin's perception of being a 'nobody' in prison, led him to begin plotting the kidnap and murder of Victim 3," court documents said.

The documents identified Victim 3 as "J.B.," which New Mexico State Police spokesman Lt. Robert McDonald later confirmed was Justin Bieber.

Martin told investigators that Mark Staake and Tanner D. Ruane headed from New Mexico to the East Coast, planning to be near a Bieber concert scheduled in New York City after killing and castrating two others. They missed a turn and crossed into Canada from Vermont. Staake was arrested on an outstanding warrant. Ruane was arrested later.

Court documents say Martin told investigators that Bieber was the "ultimate target."

New York State Police said Thursday that troopers recovered tools and documents associated with the conspiracy while executing a search warrant on Ruane's vehicle. Among the items found by troopers were a "hand-written drawing of a depiction of Justin Bieber."

Staake, 41, of Albuquerque, has been charged with two counts each of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery with a deadly weapon in connection to the plan.

Ruane, 23, Staake's nephew, also is facing multiple charges related to the plot.

Clinton Norris, of the New Mexico State Police investigations bureau in Las Cruces, said in an affidavit that Martin instructed the suspects to strangle the two first intended targets with paisley neckties, the same kind used in his 2000 murder case. The documents do not give details on how they were to kill Bieber.

McDonald declined to say if any of the murder charges are linked to Bieber. "That is part of the ongoing investigation," he said.

Bieber's management issued a statement that said, "we take every precaution to protect and insure the safety of Justin and his fans."

It was not immediately known if the suspects had defense lawyers.

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Follow Russell Contreras on Twitter at http://twitter.com/russcontreras

If an intoxicated male guest made suggestive comments to my daughter or touched her, he would be asked to leave the facility. But what is my son supposed to do when an intoxicated woman, usually much older than he, pinches his backside and makes inappropriate comments or "invitations"?

My son isn't a prude. His sense of humor allows him to "laugh it off," but it happens often and he is becoming annoyed. In fact, he'll say, "Mom, it's pretty gross!" Abby, what are these woman thinking? What should he do to promote self-respect but not cause an uncomfortable atmosphere for himself and the guests? -- CURIOUS MOM IN NEW JERSEY

DEAR MOM: The employee protection rules are no different for males than they are for females. What your son should do first is document the incidents with dates, times and the women involved. He should then report their behavior to the banquet supervisor at the country club. I'm sure the person in charge will want to know, because if the sexual harassment isn't stopped, it could result in a very embarrassing -- and possibly costly -- lawsuit against the club.

DEAR ABBY: I recently began dating a widowed co-worker. We are both private people and we have kept our personal lives out of the workplace. Only our close friends at work know we are dating.

The issue we now face is the office gossip queen has spotted us out and about, and is asking all our friends about whether or not we're dating. We barely know this woman and don't care much for her. How do I politely respond when people start asking me about my boyfriend?

I'm concerned that if I tell them we're seeing each other, I'll be treated differently because he had been widowed only a short time. I have spent my entire life avoiding the drama machine, and now I'm afraid I'll be thrown onto center stage. Please help me. -- DRAMA-FREE MOUSE

DEAR MOUSE: Face it, your secret is out. If you prefer not to discuss your private life, all you have to do is say so to those who question you out of curiosity.

But why are you afraid that you'll be treated differently? Whether your co-worker's wife died two weeks or two months ago, he is available. Widowers have told me that women have approached them within days of their wives' funerals. You're acting like you feel guilty for being happy. For both of your sakes, please stop feeling like you're doing something wrong.

DEAR READERS: I am pleased to offer the traditional Thanksgiving Prayer that was penned by my dear mother, Pauline Phillips. No Thanksgiving would be complete for me without it.

Oh, Heavenly Father,

We thank Thee for food and remember the hungry.

We thank Thee for health and remember the sick.

We thank Thee for freedom and remember the enslaved.

May these remembrances stir us to service,

That Thy gifts to us may be used for others. Amen.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

LOVE, ABBY

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Write Dear Abby ator P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

To receive a collection of Abby's most memorable -- and most frequently requested -- poems and essays, send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $7 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby -- Keepers Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. Shipping and handling are included in the price.

Without comment, the court let stand a June 1 ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati that Kevin Murray lacked standing to challenge the $182.3 billion bailout, including its use of taxpayer funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program ("TARP").

The bailout left the government with a controlling stake in New York-based AIG, which it has since reduced.

Murray, a Michigan resident and Marine veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, said the bailout violated the First Amendment's establishment clause because AIG has units that market and sell financing products compliant with Sharia, Islamic law based on teachings of the Koran.

He contended that the sale of such products was a basis for a "global jihadist war against the West and the United States," and sent a message that non-adherents to Islam were outsiders.

But the 6th Circuit said nothing in the law authorizing TARP suggested that Congress knew or intended that TARP funds might support the sale of the Sharia-compliant products.

"It was only through executive discretion that TARP funds were transferred to AIG and, in turn, its subsidiaries," it wrote. "Because the (law) does not contemplate the use of federal funds to support religious activities, plaintiff lacks standing."

Other defendants included the Federal Reserve System and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve.

The case is Murray v. U.S. Department of Treasury, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 12-452.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Terry Baynes in New York; Editing by Howard Goller and Nick Zieminski)