Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and the top U.S. commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan yesterday issued a blunt assessment of the alliance's shortcomings in that country, arguing that the unwillingness of some member states to risk combat casualties is threatening NATO's future and undermining the prosecution of the Afghan war.

The hottest holiday gadgets

For those too reserved to kick out the jams, digital cameras continue to top electronics gift lists. Chris Odle teaches digital camera classes at Jack's Camera Shop.

"The classes fill up and we're offering more all the time," Odle said. "I think interest is heightened. Older adults, especially, feel pressure from kids and grandkids to share pictures online. But they're apprehensive to begin the search. Once I get a camera in their hands, they see how easy it is to successfully capture their vision."

Has Odle seen a particularly hot camera this year?

"Panasonic cameras," he said. "I can't keep them in stock. We have the mainstays like Canon and Nikon, but right now Panasonic is a great brand."

The demand for consumer electronics is increasing and is only likely to grow, Dubravac said.

Beyonce Knowles plans country album

The singer is shedding her R'n'B roots to experiment with a new sound following the success of her live reworked performance of Irreplaceable with country band Sugarland in Los Angeles last weekend.

A source said: "Beyonce wants to try something completely different.

She also penned James Blunt's hit single You're Beautiful.

NEP Supershooters & Screenworks Build HD Future for WWE(R) On the Air ...

PITTSBURGH, Jan. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- One of America's great entertainment stars just got brighter. NEP Supershooters and Screenworks have been working with World Wrestling Entertainment(R) for over a year on creating a new HD experience for fans at home and at WWE events around the country.

The NEP Systems Integration team and WWE management joined forces to custom design and build the new High Definition Remote Television Production home for WWE. The two new double expando units dubbed Red and Black were built to specifications as outlined by WWE's Mike Grossman, Duncan Leslie and Marty Pingree. They include a spacious new main production control room equipped with Grass Valley Kalypso switcher, 6 EVS Servers, 11 Sony HD Cams and 2 SRW VTR's along with technical management, video and graphics areas.

Intel's Silverthorne Chip Could Power Apple's Future

Intel's new Silverthorne chip is ideal for ultra-portable laptops like Apple, Inc.'s MacBook Air, but Intel may be laying the foundation for future Apple processors. Intel gave a hint of Apple's future in one of 14 papers it will present at the International Solid-State Circuit Conference in San Francisco. .

moon phase info

La Nina and severe weather in the Ohio Valley...there seems to be a bond between the two entities. Much like the bond between Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, or Daryl Hall and John Oates, or maybe even Ed McMahon and Johnny Carson. You get the idea. Just for review, La Nina is the abnormal cooling of the tropical Pacific waters that usually spells warm and wet weather for the Blue Grass state. But when that warm, moist air clashes with colder, drier air to the north, stronger-than-normal storm systems for mid-winter standards tend to be the result. The past tells us a La Nina pattern can be a recipe for trouble in this part of the world. Sure enough, history repeated itself on February 5th. The "Super Tuesday Outbreak" was one for the ages!

Now I won't rehash all the stats about that deadly night in this post (our links about that are on the weather page just below the forecast discussion), but I want to discuss how similar our current pattern is to another La Nina season: 1973-1974.