Good Morning

(Reuters) - New York State Police on Wednesday were looking for a woman who slipped $1,000 inside a Christmas card she gave to a trooper, saying that while he is grateful for her gift he is legally barred from accepting it.

The unidentified woman approached Trooper Christopher Maniscalco on Sunday while he was investigating a complaint in the town of Guilderland, outside Albany.

She told the trooper that she often saw him around, commended him on his good work, and wished him a Merry Christmas, as she handed him a holiday card, police said.

Maniscalco discovered the $1,000 inside the card when he opened it after his shift.

Police cannot accept such gifts under state law.

Authorities hope to find the woman - described as blonde, 5 feet 8-inches tall and about 40 years old - to find out whether they might donate the money elsewhere on her behalf.

The death toll from the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year has topped 1,000, the government says - bit.ly/U1CzUc

good morninggggggggg

(Reuters) - Weeks before he accepted a $1 billion offer from Facebook Inc, Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom had verbally agreed to sell his photo-sharing company to Twitter Inc for $525 million in March - but then called off the deal, according to a New York Times report citing unnamed sources.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg ultimately acquired Instagram after pushing through a cash-and-stock deal just weeks before Facebook's May initial public offering. The transaction closed in September at a $715 million valuation, reflecting Facebook's stock drop since the offering.

a good monday morning everyone

Dec 16 (Reuters) - The Castelao Arena in the northeastern Brazilian city of Fortaleza became the first stadium to be inaugurated for the 2014 World Cup finals on Sunday.

Along with the Mineirao in Belo Horizonte, to be opened on Dec. 21, they are the only stadiums to meet the December 2012 deadline set originally for next year's Confederations Cup, a World Cup finals dress rehearsal.

President Dilma Rousseff attended the opening ceremony at the Castelao, which has been completely refurbished at a cost of 518.6 million Brazilian reals ($249.18 million) with a capacity for 67,000.

She said inauguration of the first stadium for the 2014 tournament and Corinthians' victory in the Club World Cup final in Japan earlier on Sunday showed Brazil's strength on and off the soccer field.

"Brazil is capable of both things, winning on the football fields and building a stadium of this standing," she said.

During CBS News' Face the Nation on Sunday, host Bob Schieffer said if the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooter had an Arab name, "people would be going nuts.”

He also remarked how quickly and drastically lawmakers made changes after the 9/11 terrorist attack, but not after gun violence committed by Americans, reports Mediaite.com.

Schieffer said: “After 9/11, we turned this culture upside down. We doubled our defense budget... If this person had, I’m sorry to say this, but if he had had an Arab name, people would be going nuts. And yet, we can’t seem to even decide if this a problem we can solve.”
Video: Bob Schieffer Says if Sandy Hook School Shooter had Muslim Name, "People Would be Going Nuts"