The Cumberland River, which winds through downtown Nashville, Tennessee, crested Monday at 51.9 feet, 12 feet above flood stage, spilling into the city and surrounding neighborhoods. As the waters are now receding, cleanup and recovery begins, as municipal workers begin to repair power supplies and water treatment plants, and residents return to their homes to recover what they can.

Ira Godsy, who lives in the Knights Motel in East Nashville, wades out to his car.

A car is pinned up against a tree by floodwater flowing under a bridge.

Jackson Police and Madison County Sheriff’s Department close Airport Road near McKenzie Store to rescue a woman washed off the road by high flood waters during heavy storms in Jackson.

Airplanes sit partially submerged in floodwater at the Cornelia Fort Airpark.

Donald Sweat and Sarah Tippett take photos of a railroad bridge that was washed off its foundations when floodwaters swelled the creek that leads to the Lebanon square.

The General Jackson Showboat floats in the Cumberland River as the Opry Mills shopping complex stands in floodwaters from the Cumberland River in Nashville, Tennessee.

The loading docks at the Opryland Hotel are flooded and damaged from heavy rains on Monday, May 3, 2010. All of the estimated 1,500 guests were evacuated overnight.

Michael Bunch wades on a flooded downtown sidewalk in Nashville.

State vehicles sit stranded in a parking lot.

Floodwater from the Cumberland River creeps into downtown Nashville.

Gabe Gardiner, left, sits with a neighbor on his living room sofa outside his flood damaged home in the River Walk subdivision of in Nashville.

People paddle canoes down a street in Nashville.

Lighthouse Christian School teacher Heather Harrell reacts after finding her grandmother’s Bible in her classroom that was destroyed by the flood in Antioch.

An American flag hangs on a fence to dry as Lighthouse Christian School student Noah Jackson,12, cleans debris from his school athletic fields in Antioch.

Kim Shaw and wife Jennie watch floodwaters from the swollen Loosahatchie River encroach on their front lawn in the Waverfly Farms area south of Millington.

Messages are written on cabinets outside a home that was flooded.

Metro Fire Department Special Operation rescues a Belle Meade police officer off Harding Road in Belle Meade. Police officer Norm Shelton was clinging to a tree for an hour before being rescued. The location of his patrol car is unknown.

A sign in River Front Park becomes visible once again as the waters of the Cumberland River slowly started to ebb across from LP Field.

A vehicle rests upside down in a sink hole which opened on West Forest Avenue during heavy storms just west of Madison County General Hospital in Jackson. The vehicle’s driver was rescued and taken to the hospital.

Kristi Hellerman walks her daughter Kallie Cox, 3, through their flooded neighborhood near Pleasant Planes.

A flooded neighborhood in Nashville.

Jennifer Coleman walks down a ditch where a car identified by family members as belonging to Bill and Frankie Rutledge, Coleman’s aunt and uncle, was found.

Robert Turner describes the rapid rise of water in his home.

A woman wades through floodwaters on a downtown sidewalk.

Dover Anthony sings on as he overlooks the parking lot of submerged cars at the Knights Motel in East Nashville.

An army of 500 blondes put a smile back on the face of recession-weary Latvians by staging a festival over the weekend to show that they really do have more fun.

A girl poses with her dog during the “Go Blonde!” fundraising charity event in Riga.

 The Blonde Weekend included a parade by a bevvy of blondes through the streets of the capital Riga, to the accompaniment of music from a blonde orchestra, a fashion show and an evening ball.

A dog named Chanel is seen during the “Go Blonde!” festival in Riga.

NEW YORK (Reuters)

Users would be able to house files they would normally store on personal computers — such as word-processing documents, digital music, video clips and images — on Google’s computers, the Journal said, citing sources familiar with the matter.

According to the Journal, the service could let users access their files through the Internet from different computers and mobile devices when they sign on using a password.

The service could be released as soon as a few months from now, the Journal said, citing a source.

The newspaper also said Google plans to provide some free storage, with additional storage allotments available for a fee.

Planned pricing isn’t known, the Journal added.

Representatives of Google could not immediately be reached for comment.

According to the Journal, a Google spokeswoman declined to comment on any specific online storage plans beyond what it already offers as part of its email and other services.

(Reporting by Justin Grant; Editing by Quentin Bryar)

Overweight Americans who lose a lot of weight also tend to build more wealth as they drop the pounds, according to new research.

The study found that the link between weight loss and wealth gains was particularly strong among white women. Black women and white men also gained wealth as they lost weight, but not as much as did white women. The wealth of Black men was basically unaffected by their weight.

Overall, the results showed that a one unit increase in a young person’s BMI was associated with a $1,300 or 8 percent reduction in wealth. But the changes varied dramatically by ethnicity and gender.

“Maybe it’s because when people lose weight, they become more motivated to accomplish goals.”

What do you want to achieve?

Gland, Switzerland, 12 November, 2007 (IUCN) – The world’s smallest species of bear, the sun bear (Helarctos malayanus), has been classed as Vulnerable, while the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) remains in the Endangered category on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

The sun bear’s new status has been accepted for inclusion in the 2007 IUCN Red List. The sun bear lives in mainland Southeast Asia, Sumatra and Borneo and was previously listed as Data Deficient, meaning that not enough was known about the species to give it a status on the IUCN Red List.

Rob Steinmetz, co-chair of the IUCN Bear Specialist Group’s sun bear expert team, said: “Although we still have lot to learn about the biology and ecology of this species, we are quite certain that it is in trouble. We estimate that sun bears have declined by at least 30% over the past 30 years (three bear generations), and continue to decline at this rate. 

“Deforestation has reduced both the area and quality of their habitat. Where habitat is now protected, commercial poaching remains a significant threat. We are working with governments, protected area managers, conservation groups and local people to prevent extinctions of the many small, isolated sun bear populations that remain in many parts of Southeast Asia.”

The only bear presently considered Endangered is the giant panda. That status remains unchanged despite enormous efforts in China directed towards its conservation, including the establishment of nearly 60 panda reserves, a ban on logging, and widespread reforestation programmes.

Dave Garshelis, co-chair of the IUCN Bear Specialist Group, said: “Quite a bit is now known about the ecology of giant pandas and substantial work and expense has been aimed at trying to estimate total numbers of these animals. However, these estimates are imprecise and prone to significant error. 

“Even though some people have claimed that panda populations are on the rise, we still consider them Endangered because too much uncertainty exists to justify changing their status to Vulnerable. It would be unwise to assume that in less than 10 years under the new habitat improvement policies in China that panda populations could have dramatically increased.”

Although hunting bears is illegal throughout Southern Asia, bears suffer heavy losses from poachers, who risk the small chance of being caught against lucrative gains from selling parts.  Bile from the bear’s gall bladder is used in traditional Chinese medicine and their paws are consumed as a delicacy. Additionally, bears are often killed when they prey on livestock or raid agricultural crops. Bears simply roaming near a village may be killed because they are perceived as a threat to human safety.

Dave Garshelis said: “Although we do not have any reliable population estimates for the sun bear, or any of the other Asian bears for that matter, we fear that bears in Southeast Asia are declining at a particularly rapid rate due to extensive loss of forest habitat combined with rampant poaching.” 

The Bear Specialist Group concluded a meeting in Monterrey, Mexico, on November 10 and has updated the status of the seven species of terrestrial bears.

Vulnerable species include Asiatic black bears and sloth bears, both inhabitants of Asia, and Andean bears (formerly called spectacled bears) from the Andes Mountains of South America.

Sloth bears live on the Indian subcontinent, where habitat loss has been severe. They have found sanctuary mainly in reserves set up to protect tigers. The IUCN Bear Specialist Group indicated that this species might have disappeared entirely from Bangladesh during the past decade.

Brown bears, the most widespread ursid, are not listed as threatened globally because large numbers still inhabit Russia, Canada, Alaska and some parts of Europe. Nevertheless, very small, isolated, and highly vulnerable populations exist in southern Europe and central and southern Asia. Several brown bear populations are protected under national or provincial laws.  Grizzly bears – brown bears living in interior North America – are considered Threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act outside of Alaska.

In 2006, the polar bear was listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Technically a marine mammal, the polar bear is distinct from the other seven terrestrial bears and has a different specialist group.

Among the eight species of bears, only the American black bear is secure throughout its range, which encompasses Canada, the United States and Mexico. At 900,000 strong, there are more than twice as many American black bears than all the other species of bears combined. They are legally hunted in most parts of their range.

Bruce McLellan, co-chair of the IUCN Bear Specialist Group, said: “An enormous amount of effort and funding for conservation and management continue to be directed at bears in North America where their status is relatively favorable. It is unfortunate that so little is directed at bears in Asia and South America where the need is extreme. We are trying to change this situation but success is slow.”