New York Athletes Use Twitter to Gain Cult Hero Status

If you’re one of the over 20.6 million Americans who has a Twitter account, chances are you’ve stumbled across the official SoccerGirlProblems Twitter handle, @SoccerGrlProbs, at least once while using the popular social media networking site.

SoccerGirlProblems, a feed spawned by three New York-based athletes, is a Twitter handle dedicated to the true-life outrageous complaints about everyday life as a high school or college soccer player.

The simple concept was started as a joke, but it has grown to startling dimensions.

SoccerGirlProblems has over 148,000 Twitter followers, and its explosive popularity led to the creation of a spinoff blog, a well-known YouTube account, a custom-made T-shirt business, and an official website.

Since opening in the beginning of 2012, the SoccerGirlProblems YouTube account has racked up over 3.2 million video views, and T-shirts have been selling like hotcakes. The SoccerGirlProblems Twitter page is also busier than ever, as it gained 50,000 new followers between May and November.

Punch #SGP or #SoccerGrlProbs into the Twitter search box on any given day, and you’ll immediately get a slew of hilarious tweets like “Took a long, hard stare at a pair of jeans this morning…Almost felt bad for neglecting them for so long. SWEATS IT IS,” along with other comedic gems like “family dreads thanksgiving if…i’m not on their team for flag football. Come on people what’s wrong with a little ‘friendly’ competition??”

With the SoccerGirlProblems brand finding so much success, one would expect the girls behind it to be household names by now, much like other Twitter/YouTube personalities like Jenna Marbles and Tay Zonday.

In fact, the founders of SoccerGirlProblems were afraid to reveal their identities until recently, as they feared retribution from conservative school administrators at their current school, Fairfield University.

The SoccerGirlProblems ladies believed that school officials from Fairfield would possibly find some of their hilarious tweets to be offensive or inappropriate. The founders did not want their tweets to bring negative exposure to their current or former schools.

It took over a year for the SoccerGirlProblems girls to reveal their identities publicly, but two of the three founders finally decided it was time to come out and detail how they became cult heroes via Twitter.

Carly Beyar, a South Hempstead, New York, resident and graduate of South Side High School in Rockville Centre, New York, along with Alanna Locast of Wantagh, New York, revealed that they are among the core group of tweeters handling the SoccerGirlProblems Twitter and YouTube accounts.

Locast, a graduate of Long Island’s Seaford High School, was an attacking offensive option for Fairfield until her graduation in 2011, while Beyar is still playing for the Fairfield Stags.

“It is still a shock to us that all of these girls relate to what we are saying,” Beyar said of her dedicated legion of Twitter followers in an exclusive online interview in May. “The soccer world is evidently a small one. It is comforting to know that we are not the only women soccer players out there dealing with these problems every day. Also, don’t get us wrong, we love soccer and will do anything for it; sometimes you just need to complain to keep you sane. ‘With training comes complaining.’”

Beyar and Locast, both standout high school soccer players on Long Island, think they can take SoccerGirlProblems to new heights due to the power of online marketing.

“I think it is easy to relate to our tweets when we are sarcastic and humorous,” Beyar said. “We try to take bothersome problems every day and turn it into something to just sit back and laugh about. We appreciate all of the support that our fans have given us since August. They are the best fans any Twitter account can ask for. Originally, we made this Twitter account for fun. We wanted to make it a team-based thing where everyone would tweet a problem from our team to get a laugh out of it. Little did we know how powerful the Web can be.”

Eric Holden covered the South Side Lady Cyclones girls’ soccer team in the 2010-11 season and has reported on Long Island soccer events since 2009. Follow him on Twitter @ericholden.

Social Media News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Harley Pasternak: 5 Ways to Avoid Blowing Your Diet on Thanksgiving

Only on People.com

By Harley Pasternak

11/21/2012 at 01:10 PM EST

Harley Pasternak and Jessica Simpson

John Sciulli/BEImages

Celebrity trainer and PEOPLE.com blogger Harley Pasternak give his top 5 tips for a healthy, happy Thanksgiving. Plus, he shares some holiday recipes from some of his star clients like Jessica Simpson and Megan Fox.

Turkey, stuffing, corn bread, cranberry sauce, apple pie, sweet potatoes with marshmallow topping: Thanksgiving has gone from being a day when we give thanks for everything we have, to a day when we EAT everything we have!

Studies show that people can eat between 3,000 to 4,500 calories on Thanksgiving alone, which is, of course, a lot more than necessary on a generally sedentary day.

While I completely support treating yourself on Thanksgiving, I encourage you to be at least somewhat mindful about what you consume. Studies show that people tend to gain 5 to 7 lbs. between Thanksgiving and Christmas. And I don't want your health and fitness goals to be set back because of what's supposed to be a joyous holiday.

Let this Thanksgiving be the first one in which the turkey – and not you – is the thing getting stuffed!

5 Tips for Making Thanksgiving Healthier

1. Walk it out!
The morning of Thanksgiving, go for a brisk walk. If you're traveling to Thanksgiving dinner, park your car a few blocks away and walk the extra distance. After dinner, get some fresh air and walk around the block. Before you know it, you will have taken a few extra thousand steps, burned off your dessert and helped your digestion!

2. Eat a healthy breakfast and lunch
Filling up on "good calories" on Thanksgiving is key in controlling your appetite come dinnertime. Showing up ravenous to Thanksgiving dinner is never a good idea.

3. Exercise portion control
I know some think this is Thanksgiving sacrilege, but honestly portion control is the name of the game. First, start with a smaller plate. Smaller plates equal smaller portions. Next, follow the 3:2:1 rule: 3 parts veggies, 2 parts protein, 1 part whole grains.

4. Lose the booze!
Not only is alcohol almost twice as calorically dense as carbohydrates and protein, but your body stops burning fat as efficiently when you drink!

5. Take your time
I always say, life's too short not to enjoy yourself on special days, and Thanksgiving dinner is definitely one of them! So go ahead and cut yourself a piece of mom's pecan pie – but instead of shoveling it in your mouth, slow down and enjoy each bite.

Try Some of My Clients' Thanksgiving Recipes

Jessica Simpson's Broccoli Rice Casserole
The truth is that my client Jessica Simpson – who is looking amazing these days! – loves using Cheese Whiz. But I modified her recipe and substituted real light cheddar cheese to make this holiday casserole more healthy.

Ingredients
• 2 (10 ounce) boxes frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
• 2 cups cooked rice
• 8 ounces shredded lite cheddar cheese
• 2 (10¾ ounce) cans cream of chicken soup. Or you use 1 can each of cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soup
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil

Directions
• Cook onion in oil in a large skillet until soft.
• Add remaining ingredients and cook just until cheese is melted.
• Put in 2 quart casserole dish.
• Bake at 350 (uncovered) for 1 hour.

To make ahead and freeze: Mix all ingredients together (start with your rice cooked, not raw) and spoon into two or even three smaller casserole dishes, cover, label and freeze. If you thaw overnight, just cook for one hour. If cooking from frozen state, add 10 minutes or so, check for doneness.
Serves 6

Megan Fox's 'Healthy' Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
• 1 (15 ounce) can of pumpkin
• 8 ounces of skim milk or 8 ounces low-fat soymilk
• 3 egg whites
• ½ reduced fat graham cracker crust (Take off the sides of the crust and discard)
• 1 cup agave
• pumpkin pie spice
• 2 egg whites, for the crust

Directions
• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Mix pumpkin, milk and egg whites until smooth.
• Gradually stir in agave.
• Add the pumpkin pie spice; taste and add more if needed.
• Pour into crust and spread evenly.
• Bake in the oven for 15 minutes then reduce the temperature to 350°F and bake for another 45 minutes (may vary depending on ovens).
• Let cool and serve
Makes 8 servings

Jordana Brewster's Healthy Stuffing
Ingredients
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 14 ounces of stuffing bread (such as Pepperidge Farm
or Mrs. Cubbisons)
• ½ cup chopped onion
• ½ cup diced celery
• ½ cup diced carrots
• ½ cup diced mushroom
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 2- 2½ cup chicken broth
• Poultry seasoning to taste (I usually use 1-2 tsp)
• Pepper to taste around 1 tsp

Directions
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Heat a large sauté pan. Once heated, add oil and spray with cooking spray.
• Add carrots and saute. Add celery, onion, garlic and mushroom add additional cooking spray. If needed, continue cooking until veggies are tender.
• Remove from heat, transfer to bowl and allow to cool slightly.
• In a large bowl add bread stuffing and veggies. Toss together and season with pepper and poultry seasoning.
• Add chicken broth and mix until moist, but not soaking. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.
• Spray casserole dish with cooking spray and add stuffing mix.
• Cover with foil and bake 20-25 minutes. Uncover and cook additional 10 minutes or until slightly crispy on top.
Makes around 16 servings

Have a healthy Thanksgiving recipe? Tweet me at @harleypasternak or leave a comment below!

Check back every Wednesday for more insider tips from celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak on Hollywood's hottest bodies – and learn how to get one yourself! Plus: follow Harley on Twitter at @harleypasternak

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New push for most in US to get at least 1 HIV test

WASHINGTON (AP) — There's a new push to make testing for the AIDS virus as common as cholesterol checks.

Americans ages 15 to 64 should get an HIV test at least once — not just people considered at high risk for the virus, an independent panel that sets screening guidelines proposed Monday.

The draft guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force are the latest recommendations that aim to make HIV screening simply a routine part of a check-up, something a doctor can order with as little fuss as a cholesterol test or a mammogram. Since 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also has pushed for widespread, routine HIV screening.

Yet not nearly enough people have heeded that call: Of the more than 1.1 million Americans living with HIV, nearly 1 in 5 — almost 240,000 people — don't know it. Not only is their own health at risk without treatment, they could unwittingly be spreading the virus to others.

The updated guidelines will bring this long-simmering issue before doctors and their patients again — emphasizing that public health experts agree on how important it is to test even people who don't think they're at risk, because they could be.

"It allows you to say, 'This is a recommended test that we believe everybody should have. We're not singling you out in any way,'" said task force member Dr. Douglas Owens of Stanford University and the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System.

And if finalized, the task force guidelines could extend the number of people eligible for an HIV screening without a copay in their doctor's office, as part of free preventive care under the Obama administration's health care law. Under the task force's previous guidelines, only people at increased risk for HIV — which includes gay and bisexual men and injecting drug users — were eligible for that no-copay screening.

There are a number of ways to get tested. If you're having blood drawn for other exams, the doctor can merely add HIV to the list, no extra pokes or swabs needed. Today's rapid tests can cost less than $20 and require just rubbing a swab over the gums, with results ready in as little as 20 minutes. Last summer, the government approved a do-it-yourself at-home version that's selling for about $40.

Free testing is available through various community programs around the country, including a CDC pilot program in drugstores in 24 cities and rural sites.

Monday's proposal also recommends:

—Testing people older and younger than 15-64 if they are at increased risk of HIV infection,

—People at very high risk for HIV infection should be tested at least annually.

—It's not clear how often to retest people at somewhat increased risk, but perhaps every three to five years.

—Women should be tested during each pregnancy, something the task force has long recommended.

The draft guidelines are open for public comment through Dec. 17.

Most of the 50,000 new HIV infections in the U.S. every year are among gay and bisexual men, followed by heterosexual black women.

"We are not doing as well in America with HIV testing as we would like," Dr. Jonathan Mermin, CDC's HIV prevention chief, said Monday.

The CDC recommends at least one routine test for everyone ages 13 to 64, starting two years younger than the task force recommended. That small difference aside, CDC data suggests fewer than half of adults under 65 have been tested.

"It can sometimes be awkward to ask your doctor for an HIV test," Mermin said — the reason that making it routine during any health care encounter could help.

But even though nearly three-fourths of gay and bisexual men with undiagnosed HIV had visited some sort of health provider in the previous year, 48 percent weren't tested for HIV, a recent CDC survey found. Emergency rooms are considered a good spot to catch the undiagnosed, after their illnesses and injuries have been treated, but Mermin said only about 2 percent of ER patients known to be at increased risk were tested while there.

Mermin calls that "a tragedy. It's a missed opportunity."

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Wall Street falls as Bernanke's comments weigh

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks slid as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's comments added to worries about the economic impact of the U.S. "fiscal cliff" and Hewlett-Packard's stock sank on news of an $8.8 billion accounting charge.

Bernanke, in comments before the Economic Club of New York, said the Fed does not have the tools to offset the damage that would result if politicians fail to strike a deal to prevent going off the fiscal cliff. If a solution isn't approved in time, then mandatory tax increases and spending cuts will go into effect early next year. Bernanke said he does not believe the possible benefits of cutting the interest it pays on bank reserves are sufficient to outweigh the risk of trouble in money markets.

"In the short run, we're hostage to the fiscal cliff. I think (Bernanke's) got to be really, really fearful that Washington doesn't get its act together and that creates stresses on the financial system," said Dan Veru, chief investment officer of Palisade Capital Management in Fort Lee, New Jersey.

Stocks rallied for the last two sessions on optimism that Washington politicians could agree on a deal to avoid the U.S. fiscal cliff. But the gains followed two weeks of sharp losses.

Hewlett-Packard Co shares sank 12 percent to a 10-year low at $11.70 as the computer and printer maker swung to a fourth-quarter loss. The company said it took an $8.8 billion charge related to its acquisition of software firm Autonomy, citing "serious accounting improprieties.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> was down 63.43 points, or 0.50 percent, at 12,732.53. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was down 5.78 points, or 0.42 percent, at 1,381.11. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was down 15.01 points, or 0.51 percent, at 2,901.06.

Another factor weighing on stocks was Moody's Investors Service's reduction of France's sovereign rating by one notch to Aa1 after the market's close on Monday. Moody's cited an uncertain fiscal outlook as a result of the weakening economy.

(Additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak Editing by Jan Paschal)

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Truce in Gaza Is Close, Egyptian Officials Say

JERUSALEM — Diplomatic efforts accelerated on Tuesday to end the deadly confrontation between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, as the United States sent Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to the Middle East and Egypt’s president and his senior aides expressed confidence that a cease-fire was close.

The diplomatic moves to end the nearly week-old crisis came on a day of some of the most intense violence yet, in what appeared to be efforts by the antagonists to get their last attacks done before a cease-fire went into effect.

Israeli aerial forces assaulted several Gaza targets in multiple strikes, including a suspected rocket-launching site near Al Shifa hospital, which killed more than a dozen people, and Israeli naval vessels launched an intensive shelling aimed at the Gaza coastline. A delegation visiting from the Arab League canceled a news conference at the hospital because of the Israeli aerial assaults as wailing ambulances brought victims in, some of them decapitated.

Militants in Gaza fired a barrage of rockets into southern Israel, killing an Israeli soldier — the first military casualty on the Israeli side since the hostilities broke out last week. The Israel Defense Forces said the soldier, identified as Yosef Fartuk, 18, died from a rocket strike that hit an area near Gaza.

Other Palestinian rockets hit the southern Israeli cities of Beersheba and Ashdod, and longer-range rockets were fired at Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, but neither main city was struck and no casualties were reported. One Gaza rocket hit a building in the Israeli city of Rishon Lezion, just south of Tel Aviv, injuring one person and wrecking the top three floors.

Senior Egyptian officials in Cairo said Israel and Hamas, the militant Islamist group that governs Gaza, were “very close” to a cease-fire agreement that could be announced within hours. “We have not received final approval but I hope to receive it any moment,” said Essam el-Haddad, President Mohamed Morsi’s top foreign affairs adviser.

Foreign diplomats who were briefed on the outlines of a tentative agreement said it had been structured in stages — first, an announcement at approximately 10 p.m. local time (3 p.m. E.S.T.) of a cease-fire, followed by its implementation at midnight, for 48 hours. That would allow time for Mrs. Clinton to arrive, and to create a window for negotiators to agree on conditions for a longer-term cessation of hostilities.

Whether Hamas can enforce control over all of the militant Palestinian factions in Gaza to hold their fire during that period remained unclear.

The announcement of Mrs. Clinton’s active role in efforts to defuse the crisis added a strong new dimension to the multinational push to avert a new Middle East war. Israel has amassed thousands of soldiers on the border with Gaza and has threatened to invade the crowded Palestinian enclave for the second time in four years to stop the persistent rockets that have been lobbed at Israel.

Mrs. Clinton, who accompanied President Obama on his three-country Asia trip, left Cambodia on her own plane immediately for the Middle East. She was en route to Jerusalem to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, then head to the West Bank to meet with Palestinian leaders and finally to Cairo to consult with Egyptian officials.

Mr. Obama made a number of late-night phone calls from his Asian tour to the Middle East on Monday night that contributed to his conclusion that he had to become more engaged and that Mrs. Clinton might be able to accomplish something.

With Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, also in Israel on Tuesday, a senior official in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel had decided to give more time to diplomacy before starting a ground invasion into Gaza. But Israel has not withdrawn other options.

“I prefer a diplomatic solution,” Mr. Netanyahu said in a statement at the start of a meeting in Jerusalem with the German foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle. “I hope that we can get one, but if not, we have every right to defend ourselves with other means and we shall use them.

“As you know, we seek a diplomatic unwinding to this, through the discussions of cease-fire,” Mr. Netanyahu added. “But if the firing continues, we will have to take broader action and we won’t hesitate to do so.”

Intensifying the pressure on Hamas after a day of heavy rocket fire out of Gaza against southern Israel, the Israeli military said on Tuesday afternoon that it had distributed leaflets over Gaza instructing the Palestinian residents in several areas to evacuate their homes immediately, “for your safety,” and to move toward defined zones in central Gaza City. That seemed intended to signal that plans for a ground operation were imminent should the cease-fire talks fail. About three hours before Mr. Ban was scheduled to meet Mr. Netanyahu in Jerusalem, sirens sounded across the city in the early afternoon announcing an incoming rocket from Gaza. The military wing of Hamas said it had fired at the city. The rocket fell short, landing harmlessly in the West Bank just south of Jerusalem, and the military said it landed on open ground near a Palestinian village.

The rocket attack on the city, which is holy to Jews, Muslims and Christians, was the second in less than a week. On Friday, a rocket landed in a similar location, the police said.

Isabel Kershner reported from Jerusalem; Peter Baker from Phnom Penh, Cambodia; and Rick Gladstone from New York. Reporting was contributed by Jodi Rudoren from Gaza City, David D. Kirkpatrick from Cairo, Ethan Bronner from Jerusalem and David E. Sanger from Washington.

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Nintendo’s Wii U: First Impressions

GamePad

The Wii U GamePad has a 6.2-inch touchscreen.

Click here to view this gallery.

[More from Mashable: Meet the Super Fan Who Waited in Line for a Month for a Wii U [VIDEO]]

Nintendo‘s newest console has only been available for one day, but that’s still enough time for early-bird consumers to get their hands on the Wii U, and test out its features and games.

We spent the last 24 hours playing with the Wii U, and have organized our early thoughts on the system. Read on if you’re on the fence about buying one.

[More from Mashable: Toys ‘R’ Us Says Wii U Pre-Order Shipments May Be Delayed]

Out of the Box

Setting up the Wii U is easy, but installing the software is more of a process. Nintendo issued a day-one patch to activate features such as MiiVerse, the company’s social features; this means users will spend between one to three hours (depending on connection speed) downloading and installing a patch that bricks their system. Not a great way to greet consumers excited to play your games. But there’s a chance that servers won’t be as busy in the coming weeks, so download times may improve. Each game I inserted had its own patch too, which users have to install on the second playthrough.

After getting through the patch, user still face an involved setup. They have to create their Mii avatar before they start playing, and create a Nintendo Network ID for network play. Users must also set up the GamePad’s universal remote functionality, which is thankfully the easiest part of the process. They only have to pick their TV manufacturer (the Wii U knows what to do next). The GamePad controls volume, input source and channels.

Look and Feel

The GamePad is the Wii U’s main portal, so users need it to access all the relevant menus (the console shows a different menu from the television); here, users can launch applications by touch. The default view includes apps such as Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Video Services and YouTube; but only Netflix is available now, which seems a bit like false advertising. Loading other options, such as the Nintendo eShop, requires pressing the Home button on the controller, which is unintuitive at first. But soon, the button quickly becomes a handy way to navigate to other parts of the Wii U, like the upcoming Nintendo TVii.

The most troublesome thing about the console is that everything moved slowly; launching games and apps took a long time. I felt like I spent awhile looking at a spinning blue circle.

Wii U games definitely take advantage of the console’s ability to support high-definition graphics. Cartoony games, such as Scribblenauts Unlimited or Nintendo Land look beautiful. For games such as ZombiU, which are supposed to appear more realistic, users might be disappointed. This system is supposed to be the next-generation of gaming consoles — meant to outshine the Xbox 360 — but I can’t say it achieves that.

The GamePad

Pre-launch, Nintendo has spent much of its time crowing about the features of the GamePad, a hybrid touch screen and controller that’s central to the Wii U. The first thing I noticed is its large size; but after spending a few hours with the GamePad, I’ve concluded that it won’t weigh you down like an iPad, yet is substantial enough that it doesn’t feel like a toy (though the glossy finish makes it look like one.)

Unfortunately, the GamePad takes some getting used to as an actual controller, especially for games that require more than simple controls or the gyroscope. My biggest complaint is that Nintendo bucked all gaming-controller tradition by swapping the position of the right analog stick and the four letter buttons. Anyone who has played any other modern console (including Nintendo’s own GameCube) knows instinctively that the analog stick goes below the buttons; but Nintendo flipped them on both the GamePad and the Pro Controller. If the company is only targeting non-gamers, they won’t notice; but this will be a difficult change for many others. Despite this drawback, the buttons, and especially triggers, feel good.

The GamePad is mostly dominated by the 6.2-inch touch screen with a passable resolution: 854 x 480. The most appealing feature of the Wii U — that users can play games or watch movies entirely on the GamePad — may be spoiled for some looking for HD crispness. Still, I watched a whole episode of Portlandia from Netflix on the GamePad, and also spent time playing New Super Mario Bros. U with the television off. Being able to isolate your gameplay to a smaller screen is very novel, and one of my favorite parts of the system.

Games

Nintendo’s Wii U has a better launch lineup coming out, compared to other consoles — but only a few titles stick out. Almost everyone I talked to in line at the Nintendo World store during the Wii U launch wanted New Super Mario Bros. U or ZombiU, both of which are fun titles. Nintendo Land, which is a pack-in if users purchase the Deluxe model, is going to be a huge hit at parties; from what I’ve seen so far, it has some engrossing minigames. I haven’t cracked open Scribblenauts Unlimited yet, but in demos it looks like a very promising title that would go well with a touch screen.

Some non-exclusive titles on other consoles are also appealing. I’m looking forward to digging in to Epic Mickey 2 and Tekken Tag Tournament 2. While the system had 24 launch titles, many more are expected to debut in the coming months.

I plan to spend Thanksgiving week exploring the Wii U, and will write a more detailed report on whether it’s the right console for gamers, families or casual users.

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Gaming News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Alicia Keys 'Definitely' Having 'At Least' One More Child

By Maggie Coughlan

11/20/2012 at 02:45 PM EST

Swizz Beatz, Alicia Keys and Egypt Daoud Dean

James Devaney/FilmMagic

When Alicia Keys gave birth to son Egypt two years ago everything changed.

"To have this type of love in my life at this time in my life, it means so much. Perspectives change, priorities change," she tells Lara Logan on CBS' Person to Person, airing Friday, Nov. 23 (10:00 p.m. ET).

But motherhood has been a welcomed change for Keys, 31, who tied the knot with rapper-producer Swizz Beatz, 34, in July 2010.

"I was such a different person seven years ago. Nothing would stop me from traipsing from here to London to L.A. back to London to L.A. in three days and not sleep. ... It was just that I thought that that was everything," she says. "But to have time to spend with my family and my son, it's like perspectives change a bit, it's like, 'Hold up! Let's not kill ourselves here.' "

Although balancing a family with her musical career has been an adjustment for the "Girl on Fire" singer, she excitedly speaks about the possibility of having more children.

When asked if she'd like to have "a lot more" children, Keys answered, "Definitely at least one more."

Watch more of the interview below:

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EU drug regulator OKs Novartis' meningitis B shot

LONDON (AP) — Europe's top drug regulator has recommended approval for the first vaccine against meningitis B, made by Novartis AG.

There are five types of bacterial meningitis. While vaccines exist to protect against the other four, none has previously been licensed for type B meningitis. In Europe, type B is the most common, causing 3,000 to 5,000 cases every year.

Meningitis mainly affects infants and children. It kills about 8 percent of patients and leaves others with lifelong consequences such as brain damage.

In a statement on Friday, Andrin Oswald of Novartis said he is "proud of the major advance" the company has made in developing its vaccine Bexsero. It is aimed at children over two months of age, and Novartis is hoping countries will include the shot among the routine ones for childhood diseases such as measles.

Novartis said the immunization has had side effects such as fever and redness at the injection site.

Recommendations from the European Medicines Agency are usually adopted by the European Commission. Novartis also is seeking to test the vaccine in the U.S.

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Wall Street bounces on hopes for budget talk success

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street climbed on Monday, putting the S&P 500 on track for its second straight advance as investors were encouraged by the early tone in talks to tackle the fiscal crunch and data that showed continued improvement in the housing recovery.

The S&P 500 is up more than 2 percent over the past two sessions as rhetoric from legislators has provided investors with some hope a deal could be reached to stave off the looming "fiscal cliff," a series of tax and spending changes that will start to come into effect in the new year.

Before the recent gains, the benchmark S&P index had fallen 5.3 percent since Election Day, as concerns about Washington's ability to reach an agreement became the top focus for investors.

Over the weekend, leading Democratic and Republican lawmakers expressed confidence that they could reach a deal to avert the "fiscal cliff", even as they laid down markers on raising taxes and spending cuts that may make any agreement more difficult.

But the recent climb could prove to simply be a bounce from the sharp declines, with market volatility expected to be heightened by the perception of negotiation progress.

"There has been a pretty steady downward move for a while so you are going to have days like this, especially when the news is good," said Uri Landesman, president at Platinum Partners in New York.

"In general, what you are going to watch is if there is no deal, you are going to see the market trade down during the week."

Stronger-than-expected earnings from Lowe's and Tyson Foods, as well as encouraging housing data, also contributed to the market's advance. Tyson and Lowe's were the top two percentage gainers on the S&P 500.

U.S. home resales unexpectedly increased in October, while separate data showed homebuilder sentiment rose to its highest level in over six years in November.

The PHLX Housing Index <.hgx> rose 1.7 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> gained 173.72 points, or 1.38 percent, to 12,762.03. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> rose 22.52 points, or 1.66 percent, to 1,382.40. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> climbed 51.59 points, or 1.81 percent, to 2,904.72.

The S&P was holding near its 200-day moving average at around 1,382, which has acted as a resistance level since a drop below the technically significant mark on November 8.

Shares of Lowe's Cos Inc , the world's No. 2 home improvement chain, jumped 6.1 percent to $33.94 after the company reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit and raised its full-year sales forecast.

Tyson Foods Inc likewise beat expectations and gave an upbeat forecast, sending its stock up 7.8 percent at $18.20.

Intel shares edged lower, down 0.2 percent to $20.15 after the company said its chief executive will retire in May.

Commodities prices surged, boosting shares of resource companies. Freeport-McMoRan rose 3.8 percent to $38.18, while U.S. Steel rose 4.3 percent to $20.94. The S&P materials sector <.gspm> advanced 2.4 percent.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak)

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Hamas Leader Dares Israel to Invade Amid Gaza Airstrikes

GAZA CITY — The top leader of Hamas dared Israel on Monday to launch a ground invasion of Gaza and dismissed diplomatic efforts to broker a cease-fire in the six-day-old conflict, as the Israeli military conducted a new wave of deadly airstrikes on the besieged Palestinian enclave, including a second hit on a 15-story building that houses media outlets. A volley of rockets fired from Gaza into southern Israel included one that hit a vacant school.

Speaking at a news conference in Cairo, where the diplomatic efforts were under way, the Hamas leader, Khaled Meshal, suggested that the Israeli infantry mobilization on the border with Gaza was a bluff on the part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.

“If you wanted to launch it, you would have done it,” Mr. Meshal told reporters. He accused Israel of using the invasion threat as an attempt to “dictate its own terms and force us into silence.”

Rejecting Israel’s contention that Hamas had precipitated the conflict, Mr. Meshal said the burden was on the Israelis. “The demand of the people of Gaza is meeting their legimitate demands — for Israel to be restrained from its aggression, assassinations and invasions, and for the siege over Gaza to be ended,” he said.

The Hamas Health Ministry said Monday evening that a total of 102 people had been killed since Wednesday morning, when Israeli airstrikes began, following months of Palestinian rocket fire into Israel. A spokeswoman for the Israeli military said she believed that a majority of these were militants, though it is difficult to know because Hamas’s own fighting brigade and the other factional groups are secretive.

The Hamas ministry said that the dead included 24 children, 10 women and 12 men over 50, who were presumably not involved in combat. Of the remaining 56, at least 36 are known militants. Hamas officials said 850 have been wounded, 260 of them children, 140 of them women and 55 men over 50.

Three people have been killed so far in Israel, all civilians, in a rocket strike that hit an apartment house in the southern Israeli town of Kiryat Malachi on Thursday morning. The Israelis have said that at least 79 Israelis have been wounded and that Gaza rockets have reached as far north as Tel Aviv.

The latest Gaza casualties — 19 people reported killed since midnight local time — included Palestinians killed in strikes by warplanes and a drone attack on two men on a motorcycle, the Health Ministry said. Another Israeli drone attack killed the driver of a taxi hired by journalists and displaying “Press” signs, although it was not clear which journalists hired it, Palestinian officials said.

On Sunday, Israeli forces attacked two buildings housing local broadcasters and production companies used by foreign outlets. Israeli officials denied targeting journalists, but on Monday Israeli forces again blasted the Al Sharouk block, a multiuse building where many local broadcasters, as well as Sky News of Britain and the channel Al Arabiya, had offices.

That attack, which struck a computer shop on the third floor, sparked a blaze that sent plumes of dark smoke creeping up the sides of the building. Video footage showed clouds of smoke billowing.

An Israeli bomb pummeled a home deep into the ground here on Sunday, killing 11 people, including nine in three generations of a single family, in the deadliest single strike since the latest conflict began. Members of the family were buried Monday in a rite that turned into a gesture of defiance and became a rally supporting Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers.

A militant leader said Tel Aviv, in the Israeli heartland, would be hit “over and over” and warned Israelis that their leaders were misleading them and would “take them to hell.”

Israel says its onslaught is designed to stop Hamas from launching the rockets, but, after an apparent lull overnight, more missiles hurtled toward targets in Israel, some of them intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system. Of five rockets fired on Monday at the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, four were intercepted but one smashed through the concrete roof at the entrance to an empty school. There were no reports of casualties. Other rockets rained on areas along the border with Gaza.

Later a second salvo struck Ashkelon. Several rockets were intercepted, but one crashed down onto a house, causing damage but no casualties. News reports said 75 rockets had been fired by midafternoon.

On Sunday, a new volley of Palestinian rockets totaled nearly 100 by nightfall, including two that soared toward Tel Aviv but were knocked out of the sky by Israeli defenses.

Fares Akram and Jodi Rudoren reported from Gaza City, and Alan Cowell from London. Reporting was contributed by Isabel Kershner from Ashkelon, Israel; Ethan Bronner, Myra Noveck and Irit Pazner Garshowitz from Jerusalem; Rina Castelnuovo from Ashdod, Israel; Peter Baker from Bangkok; and David D. Kirkpatrick from Cairo.

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