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BEIJING ? A man from a southern Chinese fishing village whose death in police custody helped spark a rare revolt was given a hero's farewell Friday as thousands of tearful residents mourned what they called his sacrifice for them.
Wukan, a village of 20,000, has for months been the site of simmering protests by locals who say officials sold farmland to developers without their consent.
Protests against official misconduct are increasingly common in fast-developing China, but Wukan residents have taken things a step further, erecting barricades over the weekend to keep police out and posing a challenge to the authoritarian government. On a near-daily basis, thousands of villagers gather for rallies, shouting slogans for the return of their land and pumping their fists in the air.
The gathering took on a more somber note Friday as about 7,000 people attended a memorial ceremony for local butcher Xue Jinbo, who before his death had been one of the village's representatives in tense negotiations with officials over the land seizure.
Banners saying "You sacrificed your life for our land" and "Sadly mourn Xue Jinbo" were displayed at the ceremony, said villager Qin Zhuan, who was reached by phone.
Qin said they made speeches and lined up to bow in front of a large photograph of Xue, who died Sunday, not long after he was detained by police on suspicion of participating in riots in September.
Expressing commonly held suspicions over Xue's death, another villager said he appeared to have been abused in custody.
"He is man with a loving heart for people. He was killed for struggling to win the land for the villagers. We all cried for him," said villager Huang Hancan. "He must have suffered from mistreatment for a good healthy man to turn into a dead man just a day after being detained. No doubt, he was beaten to death and everyone can imagine that."
In an interview this week with Hong Kong online magazine iSun Affairs, Xue Jinbo's daughter said his body showed signs of bruising and swelling on his mouth, hands, neck and elsewhere, as well as open wounds on his forehead and jaw.
"When we looked at his back, there were also many bruises that look like he had been kicked or stamped on," she said in a video posted on the magazine's website.
Calls to the offices of the Communist Party propaganda department and the government of Shanwei city, which oversees Wukan, rang unanswered Friday. Chinese media reported that local authorities said Xue died of cardiac failure.
Problems in Wukan erupted in violence in September, when hundreds of villagers smashed buildings and clashed with police in protest against the sale of their farmland without their consent. Villagers since have submitted petitions and sought meetings with higher officials without success.
Last Friday, police took away several village representatives and when police tried to return the next day, residents blockaded the roads with tree trunks and barriers to stop them. Residents say police fired tear gas and water cannons at the villagers, who armed themselves with sticks, clubs, hoes and other farming tools.
Police then retreated and set up blockades on the main roads into Wukan, preventing villagers from entering and leaving and food from being brought in, villagers reached by phone said.
Huang said the residents would not give up. "We want justice from the government and we will fight to the end," he said, adding that the villagers also wanted the truth about Xue's death.
On Wednesday, the mayor of Shanwei city threatened to take strong measures against the leaders of the rebellion. He also promised to investigate local officials for wrongdoing and impose a temporary freeze on one farmland development project until a majority of villagers are satisfied with the conditions of the land transfer.
But signs of a split in the community were starting to emerge. Government supporters were offering food in exchange for villagers' signatures, said Qin, the woman who attended the funeral.
"Most of them are former village officials and their relatives who have an interest in the land sales," Qin said. "They offered us rice and cooking oil on condition that we must sign an empty white paper. We suspected that our signatures would be used for other purposes, so we refused to sign."
With a booming economy, demand for land to build factories and housing complexes in China has soared. Land disputes have grown apace, becoming one of the leading causes of the tens of thousands of large-scale protests that hit China every year.
Around Wukan village and in much of the rest of Guangdong province, conflicts have been intense because the area is among China's most economically developed, pushing up land prices.
___
Follow Gillian Wong on Twitter at http://twitter.com/gillianwong
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ScienceDaily (Dec. 15, 2011) ? Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 has captured this image of a giant cloud of hydrogen gas illuminated by a bright young star. The image shows how violent the end stages of the star-formation process can be, with the young object shaking up its stellar nursery.
Despite the celestial colours of this picture, there is nothing peaceful about star forming region Sh 2-106, or S106 for short. A devilish young star, named S106 IR, lies in it and ejects material at high speed, which disrupts the gas and dust around it. The star has a mass about 15 times that of the Sun and is in the final stages of its formation. It will soon quieten down by entering the main sequence, the adult stage of stellar life.
For now, S106 IR remains embedded in its parent cloud, but it is rebelling against it. The material spewing off the star not only gives the cloud its hourglass shape but also makes the hydrogen gas in it very hot and turbulent. The resulting intricate patterns are clearly visible in this Hubble image.
The young star also heats up the surrounding gas, making it reach temperatures of 10,000 degrees Celsius. The star's radiation ionises the hydrogen lobes, making them glow. The light from this glowing gas is coloured blue in this image.
Separating these regions of glowing gas is a cooler, thick lane of dust, appearing red in the image. This dark material almost completely hides the ionising star from view, but the young object can still be seen peeking through the widest part of the dust lane.
S106 was the 106th object to be catalogued by the astronomer Stewart Sharpless in the 1950s. It is a few thousand light-years distant in the direction of Cygnus (The Swan). The cloud itself is relatively small by the standards of star-forming regions, around 2 light-years along its longest axis. This is about half the distance between the Sun and Proxima Centauri, our nearest stellar neighbour.
This composite picture was obtained with the Wide Field Camera 3 on the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. It results from the combination of two images taken in infrared light and one which is tuned to a specific wavelength of visible light emitted by excited hydrogen gas, known as H-alpha. This choice of wavelengths is ideal for targetting star-forming regions. The H-alpha filter isolates the light emitted from hydrogen in gas clouds while the infrared light can shine through the dust that often obscures these regions.
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Ryan Seacrest tweets he 'can't think of a better guy' for the pop star than fiancé Jason Trawick.
By Kara Klenk
Jason Trawick and Britney Spears in the "Criminal" music video
Photo: Jive
Britney Spears is officially off the market. Reports were confirmed Friday (December 16) that the singer is engaged to Jason Trawick, her boyfriend of two years and "Criminal" video co-star.
Fans of the pop princess sent their love and congratulatory wishes online shortly after the story surfaced. Everyone loves a comeback, and Britney Spears' fans are no exception. After a rough period in 2007 that included losing custody of her children and an infamous public head-shaving, Spears has spent the past three years getting her life together, and fans have taken notice.
Take a walk down memory lane with this timeline of Britney and Jason's relationship!
Facebook user Rosanna Principessa Fabbro wrote, "So happy for her. She really nailed it, turned her life way around, and look — now with a good man :)" Other fans gushed, while Zakir Khan wrote simply on Facebook, "Best of luck."
On Twitter, @Elina_BS made a Twitpic card for the singer wishing her and Jason well.
Many of Britney's fans have been listening to her music for almost their entire lives, so news of her engagement felt especially personal for them. @mollypanell1 tweeted, "Is it weird how happy I am for @britneyspears? So cuuute. I still remember when her first video came out. I was 7!"
Celebs also took to Twitter to send their love. Ryan Seacrest tweeted his approval of the union, "I used to work w/ Jason Trawick and can't think of a better guy and more perfect match for @BritneySpears. Congrats guys." Nick Cannon also tweeted "Congrats @BritneySpears is engaged" and included a link to a post from his website that included a family photo of Britney, Jason and her two sons.
If nothing else, this milestone in Britney's personal life has renewed her fans' love. @Mae_tweet wrote, "You can't help liking @britneyspears! With Britney's infectious, resilience & strength. Born survivor. Credits to her X."
Share your well-wishes for the newly engaged couple in the comments below!
Related Videos Related PhotosSource: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1676171/britney-spears-engagement-fan-reaction.jhtml
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BAGHDAD ? After nearly nine years, 4,500 American dead and 100,000 Iraqi dead, U.S. officials formally shut down the war in Iraq ? a conflict that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said was worth the American sacrifice because it set Iraq on a path to democracy.
Panetta stepped off his military plane in Baghdad Thursday as the leader of America's war in Iraq, but departed as one of many U.S. and global officials who hope to work with the struggling nation as it tries to find its new place in the Middle East and the broader world.
Bombings and gun battles are still common. And experts are concerned about the Iraqi security force's ability to defend the nation against foreign threats.
In addition to the dead, the war left 32,000 Americans wounded and cost the U.S. more than $800 billion.
Still, Panetta said earlier this week, it "has not been in vain."
Panetta and several other U.S. diplomatic, military and defense leaders participated Thursday in a symbolic ceremony during which the flag of U.S. Forces-Iraq was officially retired, or "cased," according to Army tradition. The U.S. Forces-Iraq flag was furled around a flagpole and covered in camouflage. It will be brought back to the United States.
"You will leave with great pride ? lasting pride," Panetta told the troops. "Secure in knowing that your sacrifice has helped the Iraqi people to begin a new chapter in history."
During a stop in Afghanistan this week, Panetta described the mission as "making that country sovereign and independent and able to govern and secure itself."
That, he said, is "a tribute to everybody ? everybody who fought in that war, everybody who spilled blood in that war, everybody who was dedicated to making sure we could achieve that mission."
Iraqi citizens offered a more pessimistic assessment. "The Americans are leaving behind them a destroyed country," said Mariam Khazim of Sadr City. "The Americans did not leave modern schools or big factories behind them. Instead, they left thousands of widows and orphans."
The Iraq Body Count website says more than 100,000 Iraqis have been killed since the U.S. invasion in 2003.
A member of the political coalition loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr saw another message in the U.S. withdrawal. "The American ceremony represents the failure of the U.S. occupation of Iraq due to the great resistance of the Iraqi people," said Sadrist lawmaker Amir al-Kinani.
Panetta echoed President Barack Obama's promise that the U.S. plans to keep a robust diplomatic presence in Iraq, foster a deep and lasting relationship with the nation and maintain a strong military force in the region.
As of Thursday, there were two U.S. bases and about 4,000 U.S. troops in Iraq ? a dramatic drop from the roughly 500 military installations and as many as 170,000 troops during the surge ordered by President George W. Bush in 2007, when violence and raging sectarianism gripped the country. All U.S. troops are slated to be out of Iraq by the end of the year, but officials are likely to meet that goal a bit before then.
The total U.S. departure is a bit earlier than initially planned, and military leaders worry that it is a bit premature for the still maturing Iraqi security forces, who face continuing struggles to develop the logistics, air operations, surveillance and intelligence sharing capabilities they will need in what has long been a difficult neighborhood.
U.S. officials were unable to reach an agreement with the Iraqis on legal issues and troop immunity that would have allowed a small training and counterterrorism force to remain. U.S. defense officials said they expect there will be no movement on that issue until sometime next year.
Still, despite Obama's earlier contention that all American troops would be home for Christmas, at least 4,000 forces will remain in Kuwait for some months. The troops will be able to help finalize the move out of Iraq, but could also be used as a quick reaction force if needed.
Obama met in Washington with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki earlier this week, vowing to remain committed to Iraq as the two countries struggle to define their new relationship. Ending the war was an early goal of the Obama administration, and Thursday's ceremony will allow the president to fulfill a crucial campaign promise during a politically opportune time. The 2012 presidential race is roiling and Republicans are in a ferocious battle to determine who will face off against Obama in the election.
Panetta acknowledged the difficulties for Iraq in the coming years, as the country tries to find its footing.
"They're going face challenges in the future," Panetta said Wednesday during a visit with troops in Afghanistan. "They'll face challenges from terrorism, they'll face challenges from those that would want to divide their country. They'll face challenges from just the test of democracy, a new democracy and trying to make it work. But the fact is, we have given them the opportunity to be able to succeed."
The ceremony at Baghdad International Airport also featured remarks from Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. Lloyd Austin, the top U.S. commander in Iraq.
Austin is leading the massive logistical challenge of shuttering hundreds of bases and combat outposts, and methodically moving more than 50,000 U.S. troops and their equipment out of Iraq over the last year ? while still conducting training, security assistance and counterterrorism battles.
The war "tested our military's strength and our ability to adapt and evolve," he said, noting the development of the new counterinsurgency doctrine.
Over the coming days, the final few thousand U.S. troops will leave Iraq in orderly caravans and tightly scheduled flights ? a marked contrast to the shock and awe that rocked the country on March 20, 2003, as the U.S. invasion began.
Saddam Hussein has been ousted, the reports of weapons of mass destruction largely laid to rest. And the future of a nascent democracy awaits.
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The WWE Universe was brought to its feet when Kane returned with a new mask and the same cold, ruthless attitude of his debut, chokeslamming John Cena as the show went off the air. The Big Red Monster's motives, and targets, remain unclear, but to coincide with his return, WWE.com presents a look at the sort of developments the WWE Universe (and locker room) might expect to see from the last time he wore the trademark mask.
Big ?Bad? Machine
For years, it looked like there was nobody who could stop The Undertaker's reign of dominance over the WWE roster, until Paul Bearer warned The Phenom that his brother - long believed dead thanks to a fire Undertaker had started as a child - was not only alive, but hell-bent on vengeance against The Deadman. At Badd Blood 1997, Bearer's warnings came true when Kane, a hulking brute in a red mask, interfered in the first-ever Hell in a Cell Match between Undertaker and Shawn Michaels. Kane's distraction cost his sibling the victory over HBK, but the night kicked off a rivalry between The Deadman and The Big Red Machine that would span the length of both men?s careers.
Masked Men![]()
The Big Red Machine finally took to the ring the next month at Survivor Series, facing off against Mankind. Despite a valiant effort by his twisted challenger (and Mankind's notable threshold for pain), Kane made quick work of his foe, tossing Mankind through the Spanish announce table and slamming him onto the unforgiving concrete before administering his brother's Tombstone Piledriver for the victory.
Brother Against Brother
The Deadman initially refused to step into the ring against his own flesh and blood, but after Kane betrayed his brother by locking him in a casket and setting it ablaze, The Undertaker relented. The brothers faced off in WrestleMania XIV in a match where The Phenom ultimately prevailed, although it took three Tombstone Piledrivers to finally keep The Big Red Monster down long enough for a three-count. And even that wasn't enough in the long run; Kane recovered quickly from the pin and returned the favor, giving Taker a Tombstone of his own onto a steel chair.
"Bloodbath
"
At King of the Ring 1998, Kane secured a title opportunity against then-WWE Champion "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in a First Blood Match, where the title would go to whoever could draw blood from his opponent the quickest. On the Raw before King of the Ring, Kane gave The Rattlesnake a gruesome warning of things to come, dousing him in a shower of fake blood and warning the shaken champion that, on the pay-per-view, "the blood on you will be for real."
The Champion From Hell
Following the ?bloodbath? on Raw, Austin and Kane met at King of the Ring for The Rattlesnake's WWE Championship. Their contest took them all over the arena and finally ended with the two Superstars encased in the Hell in a Cell structure, which mysteriously lowered itself onto the ring towards the end of the match. Despite ?Stone Cold's? best efforts, Kane withstood the champion's attacks, including a ?Stone Cold? Stunner and a steel chair to the head. Interference by The Undertaker ultimately ensured the title would pass to Kane. The monster?s reign was short-lived, though ? Austin reclaimed the championship the next night on Raw, and Kane would not hold a world title again until he captured the World Heavyweight Championship 12 years later.
The Monster is Loose
On a 1998 episode of Raw, Kane lost the guidance of Paul Bearer and, as such, had no one and nowhere to turn to. Angry and alone, the monster took out his frustrations on the entire WWE locker room, interfering in several matches throughout the night and laying waste to any Superstar who stood in his way. At the end of the evening, his's rampage came to a close when he ambushed Austin and The Undertaker, who were battling inside a steel cage. The Big Red Machine set the structure ablaze, broke his way in, and joined his brother and longtime opponent in a furious brawl as Raw faded to black.
11 Men Down
Throughout his WWE career, Kane's dominance has been his calling card, and yet he has made himself a particular name in the Royal Rumble Match. The Big Red Monster holds several records, including the most consecutive (11) and total (13) appearances in the match, as well as the quickest elimination of a Superstar (Santino Marella in less than two seconds). In 2011, he also became the first Superstar to join the Rumble at No. 40. His most famous Rumble appearance, however, remains the 2001 contest, where he ousted ten Superstars - The Rock, Steve Blackman, Al Snow, Perry Saturn, Raven, Grand Master Sexay, Scotty 2 Hotty, Tazz, Albert, Crash Holly ? and celebrity entrant Drew Carey, setting a record for most eliminations in a single Royal Rumble. Kane ultimately came in second place behind ?Stone Cold? Steve Austin, but he did not make victory easy for The Texas Rattlesnake. It took Austin three chair strikes and a Stunner before he could successfully throw his opponent over the ropes.
All-American Homecoming![]()
In August of 2002, Kane made his fury-filled return from injury in August of 2002, interrupting the Canadian team The Un-Americans as they attempted to desecrate the American flag in the middle of the ring. Booker T and Goldust had first attempted to stop the heinous display, but when their efforts failed, Kane ? clad in a new mask and ring attire ? stormed to the ring and took matters into his own hands: He singlehandedly dismantled the stable, shaking off a chair attack from Christian and chokeslamming Test to the mat. This drove The Un-Americans back to the locker room and, in addition, kicked off The Big Red Monster?s brief alliance with Booker T and Goldust.
Eliminator
In 2002, The Big Red Machine was selected to compete in the first-ever Elimination Chamber Match in Madison Square Garden at Survivor Series against Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Booker T, Chris Jericho and Rob Van Dam. While the carnage raged inside the steel structure, The Devil's Favorite Demon was left to bide his time in his pod. When his number was called, Kane did not disappoint ? he blasted into the ring and immediately laid waste to his opponents, felling Jericho with quick strikes and flattening Booker with a body press against the ring post. For the finishing touch, however, the monster hurled Jericho through one of the empty Plexiglass pods, leaving Y2J a crumpled mess in the corner while the 7-footer continued to bring the heat to his opponents.
Unmasking![]()
In 2003, Kane held the Intercontinental Championship and squared off against World Heavyweight Champion Triple H in a match that would unify the two titles. The Cerebral Assassin went on to defeat Kane in the match, but Raw's co-GM Eric Bischoff granted a rematch on the condition that The Big Red Machine would unmask should he lose. Interference from Triple H's Evolution teammates cost Kane the match, and, despite pleas of protest from Rob Van Dam, The Devil?s Favorite Demon honored the agreement and exposed his deepest, darkest secret to the WWE Universe.
Resurrection
The Big Red Monster went on to compete without his mask for eight years, even capturing the World Heavyweight Championship at Money in the Bank 2010. And yet, by his own admission, there was something missing in his approach. Before a match with Randy Orton in July 2011, Kane vowed to the WWE Universe that he would exorcise his humanity and return to the monstrous ways of his past, but an injury at the hands of World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry cut his efforts short. Later in the year, strange videos began to play showing Kane in isolation while his old mask burned, promising a ?Resurrection? of sorts. Finally, at the Dec. 12th episode of Raw SuperShow, after four weeks of the cryptic messages, The Big Red Monster returned with a brand-new mask, attacking John Cena and paving the way for his next reign of destruction.
Source: http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/2011-12-12/kane-most-destructive-moments
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FILE - In this Nov. 20, 2011 file photo, singer Katy Perry arrives at the 39th Annual American Music Awards in Los Angeles. Perry is MTV's first artist of the year. MTV said Thursday that Perry's achievement of tying Michael Jackson with five No. 1 singles from the same album made her omnipresent in pop culture. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, file)
FILE - In this Nov. 20, 2011 file photo, singer Katy Perry arrives at the 39th Annual American Music Awards in Los Angeles. Perry is MTV's first artist of the year. MTV said Thursday that Perry's achievement of tying Michael Jackson with five No. 1 singles from the same album made her omnipresent in pop culture. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, file)
NEW YORK (AP) ? Katy Perry's run of No. 1 singles has earned her the distinction of becoming MTV's first artist of the year.
Perry topped Adele after a spirited discussion among MTV's internal panel of experts, the network said Thursday. Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" was chosen top song of 2011, said Amy Doyle, the network's chief of music programming.
MTV also declared Skrillex its electronic dance music artist of the year over David Guetta.
Different parts of MTV would make "best of" lists in the past, but the network wanted to establish a franchise that brought all its online and TV arms together and emphasized MTV's music roots, Doyle said. The network, established in 1981, hopes it becomes an annual thing.
Seven panelists made the final choice, and their deliberations were featured in MTV programming this week.
"Rolling in the Deep" was an obvious selection as top song, Doyle said. Runners-up were Nicki Minaj's "Super Bass" and Rihanna's "We Found Love."
"I loved the song the moment I wrote it," Adele said. "The melody and the beat added some conviction to it. I think that's why people connected with it."
Perry's achievement of tying Michael Jackson's "Bad" as the only albums to yield five No. 1 singles was particularly impressive, Doyle said. Along with the title cut, "California Gurls," ''E.T.," ''Firework" and "Last Friday Night" (T.G.I.F.) all topped the charts. She's trying to beat the record with the current single "The One That Got Away."
"You just really felt her presence in pop culture throughout the year," Doyle said.
Skrillex, whose real name is Sonny Moore, describes his music as a combination of "dubstep, electro and glitch." MTV included the category of best electronic dance music artist to pay tribute to the way the style is taking off with its young viewers, she said.
MTV also asked its viewers to vote on their choice of the best live performances shown on MTV all year. Their choice was "Hurricane" by Thirty Seconds to Mars.
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Hitchens (AP)
Christopher Hitchens, the author, writer and Vanity Fair contributing editor, has died, the magazine announced late Thursday. He was 62.
Hitchens, who had been battling esophageal cancer since early 2010, died at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, surrounded by friends, Vanity Fair said.
"There will never be another like Christopher," Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Graydon Carter said in a statement. "A man of ferocious intellect, who was as vibrant on the page as he was at the bar. Those who read him felt they knew him, and those who knew him were profoundly fortunate souls."
The brash, combative and provocative Hitchens was an "incomparable critic, masterful rhetorician, fiery wit, and fearless bon vivant," Vanity Fair's Juli Weiner wrote in one of what will assuredly be many memoriams in the next several hours.
His last book, "Hitch-22," was published shortly before his diagnosis, forcing him to cancel a book tour.
"I have been advised by my physician that I must undergo a course of chemotherapy on my esophagus," Hitchens wrote then. "This advice seems persuasive to me. I regret having had to cancel so many engagements at such short notice."
Yet, he continued to write about his fight with cancer--among other weighty topics--in the months that followed.
"Cancer victimhood contains a permanent temptation to be self-centered and even solipsistic," he wrote in Vanity Fair last year.
In June 2011, he observed: "My chief consolation in this year of living dyingly has been the presence of friends."
We'll post selections of remembrances from some of those friends, and obituaries, below. Check back here for updates.
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— Voice of San Diego (@voiceofsandiego) December 15, 2011
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Brandon Thibodeaux for msnbc.com
Samuel and Megan Moss stand in their kitchen with their 10-month-old daughter, Mary Margaret, at their apartment in Plano, Texas.
By Allison Linn
With careful budgeting, Sam and Megan Moss are able to get by on their combined salaries of about $50,000 a year.
But the couple is weighed down by around $110,000 in student loan debt that Sam, now 28, accrued while they were students at University of Mississippi.
Megan, 25, says they don?t want their 10-month-old daughter, Mary Margaret, to be burdened by such high debt when she goes to college. That?s one reason the Plano, Texas, couple is unsure whether they will have more children.
?I would love for her to have siblings ? but I don?t see us being able to afford it,? Megan said.
Megan works full-time in sales for a hotel company, while Sam is in the mortgage industry.
What's it like to live on around $50,000 a year?
It is a challenge. It definitely takes planning and budgeting to make everything work.
How has the weak economy affected your finances?
We have been affected simply through the rising cost of living. Everything is more expensive, from gas to groceries to utilities.
Do you worry about money?
I'm not worried about the everyday, for example not being able to put food on the table or buy diapers or gas, but I worry about emergencies.? I worry that our cars, which are both older models, might give out on us and we don't have the extra cash flow to fix (them). I worry about something happening to one of us that makes us unable to work, or in some way negatively affects our job situation.
What are your biggest expenses?
Our biggest expenses are rent, student loan payments and daycare. We pay about $550 a month on Sam?s student loan payments. Our daycare bill every month is close to $800; it is a mortgage payment for some people.
We could probably find a cheaper apartment to live in, but it is worth it to us to pay a little bit more and not have to worry about the neighborhood we live in, or commute too far to work. We both drive less than three miles to work every day.
What do you splurge on?
We splurge on our cable, because it is our entertainment. And occasionally we will go to a movie or out with friends if my parents are available and willing to watch the baby for us. We also splurge on stuff for the baby.

Brandon Thibodeaux for msnbc.com
What kind of debt do you have, and do you find it hard to pay off your loans or other debts?
Sam has student loan debt, quite a bit of it. It averages out to about a $500+ monthly payment.
?I am lucky enough to have a grandfather who is generous enough to pay for my education (as well as my three brothers and my cousins). It was (and still is) the best gift I have ever been given, other than my daughter. I don't know if I will ever be able to fully thank him or show him enough gratitude for what he has done for me.
We also have (around $2500 of) credit card debt that we got into while I was on maternity leave for three months. We pay minimum monthly payments for those every month, and plan to use our tax refund to pay those down completely.
Are you able to save money for the future?
Right now, unfortunately, we are not able to. We have plans though to put the money that has been going to credit card payments into a savings account when we pay those off.?
What are you most proud of in terms of your financial situation?
We own both of our cars. We have steady jobs, with growth potential in the near future.
?Are there any financial mistakes you think you've made?
?I?d say our biggest mistake is not saving the money we had to spare before the baby was born. We didn?t plan as well as we would have liked, financially, before her birth. Hindsight is always 20/20, though.
Over the next few years, do you expect things to get better or worse for you financially?
I hope things will get better for us. We both have the potential for growth in our careers, and we are lucky enough to work in companies that offer those opportunities.
Right now, I would say we are on the right path for success. However, Sam?s loans are on an adjustable rate, and when rates go back up it could really make things more difficult.
Click here to see previous stories in our "We are the median" series. We?re also?sharing our thoughts?? and yours ? on Twitter?(hashtag #median), Facebook and Google Plus. We invite you to comment on our posts ? but keep it civil and on topic, please!
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Are you carrying student loan debt?
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