On Tuesday, the White House’s website highlighted President Barack Obama’s campaign-trail support for the H-1B visa program. Just hours before, he had dismissed a woman’s worries about her husband and other American engineers losing jobs to foreign engineers allowed into the United States under the H-1B program.

“I don’t know your husband’s specialty, but I can tell you there’s a huge demand around the country for engineers,” Obama told Jennifer Weddel of Fort Worth, Texas on Monday night. The question came during a Google-hosted online interview of the president by several Americans.

Weddel told Obama that her husband, a semiconductor engineer, was laid off three years ago and has not found a full-time job.

“Why does the government continue to issue and extend H-1B visas when there are tons of Americans just like my husband with no jobs?” Weddel asked.

He “should be able to find a job right away,” Obama responded, though the phenomenon of middle-aged high-tech engineers being replaced by younger, immigrant high-tech engineers is well documented.

Obama told Weddel that “the H-1B [visas] should be reserved only for those companies who say they cannot find somebody in that particular field,” but this is not true.

“It really does show how clueless immigration enthusiasts really are,” said Mark Krikorian, the director of the Center for Immigration Studies. “The line that companies only bring in H-1B people when they can’t find someone else to do the job is simply false.”

Promotion of the H-1B program is part of Obama’s re-election strategy.

On Tuesday morning, the White House’s blog highlighted Obama’s decision to invite a Brazilian-born immigrant software engineer, Mike Krieger, to sit with the first lady during his Jan. 24 State of the Union Speech. (RELATED: First lady’s SOTU guest list indicates 2012 campaign priorities)

Krieger is in the country on a student visa because he’s enrolled at Stanford University. But he has also gained a temporary H-1B visa that allows him to stay in the county and compete against American engineers for high-tech jobs.

Krieger was included, alongside an engineer born in Taiwan, as part of the administration’s outreach to Silicon Valley and the high-tech sector, which includes many other foreign-born engineers.

That support for the H-1B program also helps to win support from communities of immigrants — especially Indians, Asians and Brazilians — who are prominent in the high-tech sector and have been courted by the Obama administration for years.

The White House website highlighted Krieger’s praise of Obama’s pro-immigrant policies.

“The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) agency is taking a page from Silicon Valley and is recruiting a set of entrepreneurs … to clarify the options available to immigrant entrepreneurs who want to start companies and … President Obama called on Congress to help grant permanent status to immigrants who want to ‘staff our labs, start new businesses, and defend this country,’” Krieger wrote.

In responding to Weddel’s H-1B question, Obama also cited recommendations by industry.

“What industry tells me is that they don’t have enough highly skilled engineers … there’s a huge demand for engineers around the country right now,” said Obama, whose Council on Jobs and Competitiveness includes several CEOs that employ H-1B engineers.

Obama is using the council to build support in the business sector, and also to show voters that he has some support from business during a time of record unemployment.

Each year, the government allows companies to hire 65,000 H-1B high-tech workers, including many engineers. Another 20,000 visas are given to foreigners with advanced degrees, and tens of thousands more are available under numerous other categories.

Google, General Electric, Microsoft, Intel and many other high-tech companies use the H-1B visa to attract technical experts, thus opening American workers to foreign competition.

Many of the foreign-born engineers are hired as subcontractors to work in low-wage high-tech jobs for several years.

A 2008 review by Krikorian’s center of the H-1B program concluded that many American high-tech workers are replaced by cheaper H-1B immigrants, and that “wages for H-1B workers averaged $ 12,000 below the median wage for U.S. workers in the same occupation and location.”

Others win permanent residency and form companies, including Krieger. According to the White House website, his 12-employee company, Instagram, “is the fastest growing social mobile startup in the U.S. today, and exemplifies President Obama’s belief that ‘entrepreneurs embody the promise of America: The idea that if you have a good idea and are willing to work hard and see it through, you can succeed in this country.’”

When confronted by Weddel’s husband’s struggle, Obama offered to look closer into it.

“If you send me your husband’s resume I’d be interested in finding out exactly what’s happening right there because the word we’re getting is that somebody in that kind of high-tech field — that kind of engineer — should be able to find something right away,” Obama said.

Obama’s promotion of H-1B is politically significant because Weddel is a middle-class voter whose economic well-being is being undermined by high-tech immigration, and because she and her many peers could swing against Obama in the 2012 election, Krikorian said.

“Somebody is going to be in trouble for letting that woman’s question get through,” Krikorian said.

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In the wake of an immigration snafu at The University of Georgia, football commit Chester Brown has signed on to play football for the The University of Central Florida.

The 6-foot-5, 340-pound offensive lineman had initially committed to the UGA Bulldogs last July. This January, however, Brown withdrew his commitment “for personal reasons,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

The Atlanta newspaper later confirmed, however, that the real reason for the Samoan-born athlete’s withdrawal was his immigration status and the Georgia Board of Regents’ 2010 policy regarding students unable to prove that they are American citizens. The policy states that undocumented students cannot take the spot of a legal Georgia resident if enrollment space is limited.

According to ESPN, Brown immigrated with his family to Long Beach, Calif. in the mid-1990s from Samoa. In 2004, the Brown family moved to Hinesville, Ga.

Nevertheless, Brown — who was so excited to join the UGA family that he had his commit date, July 15, 2011, tattooed on his arm — will now be playing for The University of Central Florida.

UCF did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

National Signing Day is Feb. 1.

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FILE – In this Oct. 26, 2009, file photo, New York Yankees’ Jorge Posada celebrates in the locker room after winning Game 6 of the American League Championship baseball series, against the Los Angeles Angels, in New York. The Yankees say Posada is going to announce his retirement Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012 at Yankee Stadium. The 40-year-old five-time All-Star catcher will end his 17-year big league career with the team that drafted him rather than pursue another team. The Yankees announced Posada’s decision in a statement Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)

New York Yankees baseball player Jorge Posada becomes emotional during a news conference where he announced his retirement, at Yankee Stadium in New York, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York Yankees baseball player Jorge Posada smiles during a news conference where he announced his retirement, at Yankee Stadium in New York, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York Yankees baseball player Jorge Posada, second from left, sits with his family, wife Laura Posada, second from right, and his children Paulina Posada, left, and Jorge Posda Jr., during a news conference to announce his retirement at Yankee Stadium in New York, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York Yankees baseball player Jorge Posada, center, is flanked by teammates Mariano Rivera, left, and Derek Jeter, while standing behind five World Series trophies during a news conference to announce his retirement at Yankee Stadium in New York, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York Yankees baseball player Jorge Posada smiles while standing behind five World Series trophies he helped to win during a news conference to announce his retirement at Yankee Stadium in New York, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York Yankees baseball player Jorge Posada becomes emotional during a news conference where he announced his retirement, at Yankee Stadium in New York, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

FILE – In this Oct. 19, 2009 file photo, New York Yankees’ Jorge Posada reacts after hitting a home run during the eighth inning of Game 3 of the American League Championship baseball series against the Los Angeles Angels, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)

FILE – This 2010 file photo shows Jorge Posada of the New York Yankees baseball team. The Yankees say Posada is going to announce his retirement Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012 at Yankee Stadium. The 40-year-old five-time All-Star catcher will end his 17-year big league career with the team that drafted him rather than pursue another team. The Yankees announced Posada’s decision in a statement Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

New York Yankees’ Jorge Posada, right, poses for a picture with five World Series trophies and his family, wife Laura Posada, left, and children Paulina Posada, second from left, and Jorge Posda Jr. during a baseball news conference at Yankee Stadium in New York, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. Posada announced his retirement Tuesday. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

NEW YORK (AP) — Jorge Posada was watching television when he saw speculation on which teams were interested in signing him as a free agent.

“They put my face on different uniforms,” he said. “And it didn’t look good.”

He began a Yankee and ended as a Yankee, spending his entire career in pinstripes.

Flanked by his wife and children, with five World Series trophies sitting on a table to his right, the five-time All-Star catcher retired at age 40 on Tuesday after 17 major league seasons. He finished with a .273 career batting average, 275 home runs and 1,065 RBIs.

At a crowded Yankee Stadium news conference, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and CC Sabathia were among those who watched Posada fight off tears as he sat on a dais with wife, Laura, 12-year-old son Jorge Jr. and 9-year-old daughter Paulina. It was clear the rest of the family also wanted to be Yankees lifers.

“This is so cool,” Paulina said to her dad as she picked up the cardboard in front of her seat with her name and the famous interlocking “NY” logo. “I’m going to keep this.”

Posada joins Bernie Williams and Andy Pettitte in retirement, leaving only the 37-year-old Jeter and 42-year-old Rivera from the core group that led the Yankees to four World Series titles in five years from 1996-2000.

“Mariano said this is it. He says one more year. But Derek says he’s got like three more to go. So we’ll see,” Posada said, adding he didn’t expect the great closer to quit after next season.

“I don’t think about it right now. But the time will come,” Rivera said. “Definitely the time will come when I’ll have to just admit it and hang (up) the glove and the uniform and move on. We all go through that.”

Jeter, the Yankees’ captain and leader, expects to outlast Rivera.

“Mo’s still got to go first. He’s a lot older than me,” he said before adding with a laugh: “Mo’s going to be here longer than all of us.”

Shrieking at success and fuming over failure, Posada often was nuclear fission at the center of the Yankees and what became known as the Core Four. While Jeter and Rivera rarely reveals their feelings, and Pettitte does only on occasion, Posada has been a passionate open window into the Yankees, praising, strutting, venting and battling.

“We feel the same way; I’m just better at hiding it. But we feel the same way inside, and I think that’s why we’ve gotten along so well throughout the years,” said Jeter, who first played alongside Posada in the minors in 1992.

He has called him “Posado” for years, even since late Yankee Stadium announcer Bob Sheppard mispronounced his name when he pinch ran for Wade Boggs in Game 2 of the 1995 AL playoffs.

In the same room where Pettitte announced his retirement 11½ months ago, select season ticket holders were invited to sit in the audience.

Posada talked with great fervor about the team that drafted him on the 24th round in 1991.

“Every time I step through the Yankee Stadium doors,” he began, “I quoted Joe DiMaggio and said, I want to thank the good Lord for making me a Yankee.”

“I could never wear another uniform,” he said. “I will forever be a Yankee.”

Posada’s voice broke up, especially when he spoke in Spanish. He thanked his teammates, rubbing his chin three times and wiping his eyes. He called Rivera “my brother” and praised Jeter “who helped me stay focused and positive.”

“Hopefully you won’t miss me that much,” he said.

Diana Munson, wife of the late Yankees catcher Thurman Munson, spoke admiringly of Posada, who kept a quote from her husband in his locker: “Batting fourth and being in the lineup is important, but I think the stuff I do behind the plate is more important.” One day at Yankee Stadium, Posada sat next to her and told her about his admiration for the former captain, who died in a plane crash when Posada was 7. She wound up following Posada in the box scores.

“He in fact is the one who brought me back to baseball again. After losing Thurman, I kind of lost my heart for baseball,” she said. “He plays the game I think the way Thurman played it: a lot of grittiness, lot of toughness. … I think he and Thurman would have been best buds. He definitely has the it factor. I can’t describe it. I don’t know what it is. But I knew immediately upon meeting him that he had it, and I think the Yankee fans also have realized that, and I imagine they’re as sad today as we all are.”

She was followed by a video of fan tributes and by Lisa and Brett Niederer from Bristol, Wis. She talked about the Jorge Posada Foundation and its emotional support and financial assistance to families affected by craniosynostosis, a disease that causes bones in the skull to fuse prematurely.

Jorge Jr. has had nine operations, and Lisa Niederer was watching on television when the father and son went onto the field together during the introductions for the 1992 All-Star game. Brett, then 2½, was diagnosed the disease around the start of that year, and they talked about the Posada family’s assistance.

“I knew we were not alone anymore,” said Lisa, who has become a mentor for the foundation.

When the focus returned to baseball, Posada recalled how he started his professional career as a shortstop, was moved to second base and was asked by the Yankees to move to catcher after the 1991 season.

“I felt like it was the worst decision ever,” he said, remembering all the passed balls he allowed while catching top draft pick Brien Taylor. “It was not a pretty sight.”

He went on to have one of the better offensive careers by a catcher. The switch-hitting Posada made the decision to retire during a season that turned tumultuous May 14 when he was batting .165 and was dropped to No. 9 in the batting order against Boston. He asked to be taken out of the lineup, saying he wasn’t ready to play.

Posada rallied to hit .268 for the rest of the season, leaving him with a .235 average, 14 homers and 44 RBIs. And then on Sept. 21, his two-run pinch-hit single beat Tampa Bay to clinch the AL East and earn another huge ovation. He hit .429 (6 for 14) in the five-game loss to Detroit in the division series.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi and general manager Brian Cashman said that was just a blip in his career — part of Posada’s fiery disposition, the one that drew fans to him, one that he may take with him into coaching or managing — after the Yankees likely honor him with a tribute this year.

That nature caused him to tell his agents not to negotiate with other teams.

“They kept saying that people are asking about you,” Posada said. “I’m like — not interested.”

First came a squabble in the huddle. Then, Santonio Holmes found himself on the bench.

The New York Jets’ receiver and captain was yanked as his team tried to rally in the fourth quarter Sunday and avoid elimination from the playoff race. To compound the soap opera, coach Rex Ryan said he thought Holmes took himself out of the game.

The Jets lost 19-17 to the Miami Dolphins. Following a spat with teammates, Holmes was replaced by Patrick Turner.

Full Story: Jets receiver Santonio Holmes benched after squabble with teammates in huddle

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Flying cameras have been providing unique perspectives on everything from golf to college and professional football for more than a decade, becoming so commonplace that fans rarely notice the whizzing remote-controlled devices.

At the Insight Bowl on Friday night, no one could miss the overhead camera when it came crashing down to the field late in the fourth quarter, nearly taking out one of the players.

The ESPN camera narrowly missed Iowa receiver Martin McNutt Jr., who became entangled in the guide wire but wasn’t hurt.

“First, I looked: ‘What is it that fell from the sky?’” McNutt said after Iowa’s 31-14 loss to No. 19 Oklahoma. “The next thing I know, the camera kind of scratched me a little bit. It was just pulling me and I knew I didn’t want to keep going with it.”

The camera at the Insight Bowl was supplied by SkyCam, a division of Winnercomm, Inc., a sports production and development company in Tulsa, Okla. According to the company’s website, SkyCam is the only stabilized camera system in the world that can unobtrusively fly anywhere in a defined three-dimensional space.

The camera is 36 inches high, weighs 25 pounds and travels up to 30 mph across the guide wire, according to the company.

“We apologize for the accident,” ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz said Saturday. “The independent company that operates SkyCam for us is in the midst of a thorough review to determine the cause of the problem. We will work with them and bowl officials to determine our future course of action. As always our primary concern will be the safety of fans and those on the field.”

ESPN has consistently used the cameras for football coverage, making it a staple of “Monday Night Football.” The cameras also have been used occasionally in the NBA, NHL, NASCAR, NCAA basketball, baseball and at the island-green 17th hole at the TPC Sawgrass during The Players Championship.

The cameras, despite flying over the playing field, have rarely interfered with the action.

In 2007, a cable camera was forced to make a controlled descent during an NFL game between the New Orleans Saints and the Seattle Seahawks from what was called human error.

At the 2009 Las Vegas bowl between BYU and Oregon State, the overhead camera reportedly had to be taken down due to wind gusts of around 40 mph.

The incident at the Insight Bowl occurred with Iowa trying to rally from a 10-point deficit in the closing minutes.

While lining up for a play near the 20-yard line at the south end of Sun Devil Stadium, two Hawkeyes had to jump out of the way when the camera fell when the wire appeared to snap with 2:22 left.

McNutt dodged the camera as it fell behind him, but became entangled in the guide wire after it thudded to the ground. McNutt suffered only a minor scratch, but the game was delayed for about five minutes as crews dragged the camera off the field and made sure the wire was out of the way.

McNutt was able to joke about the incident.

“I fell like somebody was trying to kill me on their (Oklahoma’s) staff,” he said. “If you are looking, I’m looking for you. No. It was lucky it didn’t hit me.”

(Reuters) – England’s Ian Poulter shot a near-flawless four-under-par 67 in windy conditions to reel in overnight leader Geoff Ogilvy and win the Australian Masters by three strokes on Sunday.

The much-anticipated final round shoot-out between the Briton and the Australian failed to materialize as Ogilvy surrendered his two-stroke overnight lead on the first hole and plunged to third after wilting with a bogey-strewn back nine.

Full Story: Poulter wins Australian Masters after Ogilvy fades

“Farmville” by Zynga is shown on an electronic billboard at the Nasdaq MarketSite, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011, in New York. Stock in the San Francisco company began trading at Nasdaq, Friday following its IPO. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

The corporate logo for Zynga, center, is shown on an electronic billboard at the Nasdaq MarketSite, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011, in New York. Stock in the San Francisco company began trading at Nasdaq, Friday following its IPO. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

NEW YORK (AP) — Investors will get the chance to reap “Farmville’s” harvest on Friday, as shares of online game developer Zynga Inc. start trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

The San Francisco company, which specializes in Facebook games, priced its initial public offering late Thursday at $ 10 per share, raising $ 1 billion. That makes it the largest Internet-related IPO since Google Inc. went public in 2004, raising $ 1.4 billion.

The price was at the top of its expected range, a sign that investors are eager to dig into the latest in a series of high-profile technology IPOs this year. It values the company at about $ 7 billion.

Zynga charges small amounts of money — a few cents, sometimes a couple of dollars — for virtual items in online games. The games are free to play. Players can aquire items that range from crops in “Farmville” to buildings in “CityVille,” its most popular Facebook game.

With its huge player base and a few loyal spenders, Zynga earned a net income of $ 90.6 million in 2010, an unusual pre-IPO money maker in the sector.

Cowen & Co. analyst Doug Creutz, however, initiated coverage Friday with a “Neutral” rating on the stock. While Zynga is the leader in Facebook gaming, he’s concerned that it won’t be able to grow fast enough to justify its stock price. Growth in Facebook gaming has slowed, and Zynga’s market share has declined from 50 percent to 38 percent of daily active users, he wrote.

He’s also concerned that Zynga’s famously aggressive and hard-charging culture may not be the best field to grow good games in. Others have raised concerns that the focus on deadlines and profits might be squeezing out creativity and talent.

In November, online coupon company Groupon Inc. raised $ 700 million in its IPO. The granddaddy of all Internet IPOs might happen next year, as Facebook Inc. is expected to raise as much as $ 10 billion.

Zyna will trade under the ticker “ZNGA” on Friday.

CORVALLIS, Ore. — An Oregon State defensive tackle who collapsed during a pick-up basketball game and died was stricken so suddenly that even if emergency personnel had been on the scene, they likely could not have saved him, a state police spokesman said.

Lt. Gregg Hastings says there is no evidence of a crime in the death of freshman Fred Thompson on Wednesday night.

An autopsy will be conducted on Friday to determine the cause of death, but Hastings said it appeared Thompson likely suffered cardiac arrhythmia, an irregular heartbeat that in certain conditions can lead to death.

Oregon State coach Mike Riley said Thursday that Thompson had no history of heart issues. He knew of no family history, either.

“This is just one of those things you never want to be a part of. We will never forget Fred,” said Riley, who was clearly shaken and struggled to hold back tears. “I was so proud of him.”

Thompson was to turn 20 on Sunday. He collapsed while playing at a campus recreation center and was pronounced dead a short time later at Good Samaritan Hospital in Corvallis.

The 6-foot-4, 317-pound Thompson was from Richmond, Calif., and played at Oakland Tech High School.

Oregon State athletic director Bob De Carolis said a memorial service was being planned, and that counseling would be made available to students, who were in finals week.

Thompson was part of the 2010 recruiting class but delayed his enrollment until this January. He spent this season recovering from shoulder surgery and was considered a grayshirt.

He was expected to compete for a starting role this season.

“Everybody liked Fred. That’s the best way to say it. Fun, great smile,” Riley said. “I think he’s just one of those guys everybody liked. Like the perfect teammate.”

Some players gathered Wednesday night at Valley Football Center after word spread of Thompson’s death, and the front page of the Beavers’ website paid tribute to the young player. The Oregon State basketball team cancelled its weekly media availability on Thursday.

Oregon State cornerback Jordan Poyer posted on Twitter: “R.I.P Fred Im really gonna miss you bro. My prayers go to you and your family.”

His team biography said Thompson chose Oregon State because of the “family vibe, nice campus and great academics.” It says he was contemplating majoring in business.

At Oakland Tech, Thompson had 90 tackles and seven sacks his senior season. He also had an interception return for a touchdown for the Bulldogs, who went 9-3.

De Carolis also said the Beavers were working to set up a memorial fund.

“I think it’s always a tough situation whenever you lose a loved one, family member, a teammate. In this case, it’s even more tragic when you see a young person’s life end in a moment,” De Carolis said. “The thought here is how fragile a life is.”