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Thursday, November 17, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Romney criticizes Obama's 'lazy' comment to CEOs (AP)
COLUMBIA, S.C. ? White House hopeful Mitt Romney on Tuesday criticized President Barack Obama for saying the U.S. had grown "a little bit lazy" in trying to attract business investment.
The Republican former Massachusetts governor spoke from the floor of a Columbia sign-making factory during a brief stop in this first-in-the-South primary state.
"First, sometimes I just don't think that President Obama understands America," Romney said. "Now, I say that because this week, or was it last week, he said that Americans are lazy. I don't think that describes Americans."
Obama's campaign spokesman said Romney's got it wrong and that the president was trying to encourage business leaders to create jobs.
Romney also rapped the president for saying the U.S. had lost its inventiveness and ambition, citing a speech where Obama talked about lost ingenuity.
Romney said Obama thinks the country isn't working hard enough.
"I don't think he gets what's happening in this country," Romney said.
Addressing a gathering of corporate chief executives at a regional economic summit in Hawaii over the weekend, Obama was asked to discuss impediments to U.S. investment from the perspective of China.
Obama said the U.S. still gets the largest share of foreign investment in the world.
"But we've been a little bit lazy, I think, over the last couple of decades. We've kind of taken for granted ? well, people will want to come here ? and we aren't out there hungry, selling America and trying to attract new business into America," Obama said.
Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said in a statement that "only Mitt Romney would criticize the president for encouraging CEOs to promote the United States abroad in order to create American jobs and attract investment at home."
LaBolt said Romney, when he worked in the private sector, "was more focused on outsourcing American jobs and creating profits for investors without any regard for the impact of his decisions on middle-class families."
White House spokesman Josh Earnest had said Obama was saying that the U.S. is "in a circumstance where we need to redouble our efforts to be engaged in this region."
Romney's campaign stood by its characterization of the president's remarks. Romney has been emphasizing the economy and jobs as he tries to give his campaign a lift.
"I'm convinced that America is not lazy ? is not soft; has not lost its ambition or its inventiveness," Romney said. But "they're being held down today by a government that is too big, that thinks it know more than it does and that needs to be replaced by a people who fundamentally believe in American principles and the American future."
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Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Home Depot outshines Lowe's again; ups outlook (Reuters)
(Reuters) ? Home Depot Inc (HD.N) raised its fiscal-year outlook for the third time in six months as a host of efforts to improve distribution and boost customer service helped the No. 1 home improvement chain gain share from archrival Lowe's Cos Inc (LOW.N).
Home Depot, which reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results on Tuesday, also raised its quarterly dividend by 16 percent to 29 cents per share.
The news came a day after Lowe's also beat quarterly profit estimates and laid out a blueprint to win back shoppers from its larger competitor.
Home Depot has benefited from more centralized distribution centers, better merchandising tools, efforts to shift more employees to jobs where they serve customers directly and the use of more technology in stores.
The company has also been quicker to cut costs than Lowe's, and in some cases has benefited as housing markets have improved in regions where it has a heavy presence.
Home Depot has also gained from its slower expansion strategy. Under Chief Executive Frank Blake, Home Depot has been closing concept stores and upgrading service and products in its core retail business to win market share from Lowe's.
Blake, who became chairman and CEO in early 2007 after Robert Nardelli resigned, returned the company's focus to being the regular big-box strip-mall type store and improving its merchandise, supply chain and customer service.
"Overall, they are just out-executing Lowe's at this point," RBC Capital Markets Scot Ciccarelli said. "Lowe's is trying to copy a lot of these same efforts that I think have helped Home Depot, but it is going to take a while for them to benefit from some of the changes that they are currently making."
Home Depot's sales at stores open at least a year rose 4.2 percent globally, including a 3.8 percent rise in the United States. This was the 10th consecutive quarter that the company has outshone Lowe's, whose same-store sales rose 0.7 percent in the quarter. Both chains got a lift from sales related to Hurricane Irene.
The home improvement industry grew 2 percent in the 12 months ending September 2011, a report from market research firm NPD showed. However, the industry -- pressured by the weak economy and housing market -- is still down 7 percent compared with the same time period in 2009.
"We still don't see and we don't expect to see in the near term any meaningful tailwind from the housing market," Home Depot's CEO said on Tuesday, echoing comments from Lowe's CEO Robert Niblock earlier this week.
Net income rose to $934 million, or 60 cents a share in the third quarter ended on October 30, from $834 million, or 51 cents a share, a year earlier.
Analysts on average were expecting a profit of 58 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Sales rose 4.4 percent to $17.33 billion, beating the analysts' average estimate of $17.12 billion.
For the current fiscal year, Home Depot sees earnings of $2.38 a share, up from its prior outlook of $2.34. It continues to expect sales to rise 2.5 percent in the period.
The strong results from Home Depot coincided with a report from the Commerce Department that showed U.S. retail sales rose broadly in October, suggesting the economy started the fourth quarter with some strength.
Home Depot shares, which had risen as much as 1.3 percent earlier on Tuesday, were down 8 cents at $38.17 on the New York Stock Exchange.
(Reporting by Dhanya Skariachan; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn, Dave Zimmerman)
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Monday, November 14, 2011
Players reject NBA's offer, begin to disband union (AP)
NEW YORK ? NBA players rejected the league's latest offer Monday and began disbanding the union, likely jeopardizing the season.
"We're prepared to file this antitrust action against the NBA," union executive director Billy Hunter said. "That's the best situation where players can get their due process."
And that's a tragedy as far as NBA Commissioner David Stern is concerned.
"It looks like the 2011-12 season is really in jeopardy," Stern said in an interview aired on ESPN. "It's just a big charade. To do it now, the union is ratcheting up I guess to see if they can scare the NBA owners or something. That's not happening."
Hunter said players were not prepared to agree to Stern's ultimatum to accept the current proposal or face a worse one, saying they thought it was "extremely unfair." And they're aware what this battle might cost them.
"We understand the consequences of potentially missing the season; we understand the consequences that players could potentially face if things don't go our way, but it's a risk worth taking," union vice president Maurice Evans said. "It's the right move to do."
But it's risky. The league already has filed a pre-emptive lawsuit seeking to prove the lockout is legal and contends that without a union that collectively bargained them, the players' guaranteed contracts could legally be voided.
During oral arguments on Nov. 2, the NBA asked U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe to decide the legality of its lockout, but he was reluctant to wade into the league's labor mess. Gardephe has yet to issue a ruling.
Stern, who is a lawyer, had urged players to take the deal on the table, saying it's the best the NBA could offer and advised that decertification is not a winning strategy.
Players ignored that warning, choosing instead to dissolve its union, giving them a chance to win several billion dollars in triple damages in an antitrust lawsuit.
"This is the best decision for the players," union president Derek Fisher said. "I want to reiterate that point, that a lot of individual players have a lot of things personally at stake in terms of their careers and where they stand. And right now they feel it's important ? we all feel it's important to all our players, not just the ones in this room, but our entire group ? that we not only try to get a deal done for today but for the body of NBA players that will come into this league over the next decade and beyond."
Fisher, flanked at a press conference by dozens of players including Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony, said the decision was unanimous. But there were surely players throughout the league who would have preferred union leadership put the proposal to a vote of the full membership instead.
Hunter said the NBPA was in the process of converting to a trade association and that all players will be represented in a class-action suit against the NBA by attorneys Jeffrey Kessler and David Boies ? who were on opposite sides of the NFL labor dispute, Kessler working for the players, Boise for the league.
"The fact that the two biggest legal adversaries in the NFL players dispute over the NFL lockout both agree that the NBA lockout is now illegal and subject to triple damages speaks for itself," Kessler said in an email to The Associated Press. "I am delighted to work together with David Boies on behalf of the NBA players."
Stern was not impressed with his legal adversaries.
"Mr. Kessler got his way, and we're about to go into the nuclear winter of the NBA," he told ESPN. "If I were a player ... I would be wondering what it is that Billy Hunter just did."
The sides still can negotiate during the legal process, so players didn't want to write off the season just yet.
"I don't want to make any assumptions," union VP Keyon Dooling said. "I believe we'll continue to try to get a deal done or let this process play out. I don't know what to expect from this process."
Hunter said the NBPA's "notice of disclaimer" was filed with Stern's office about an hour before the news conference announcing the move.
Hunter said the bargaining process had "completely broken down." Players and owners have been talking for some two years but couldn't reach a deal, with players feeling the league's desires to improve competitive balance would hurt their free agency options.
And beyond that, the owners' desire for a 50-50 split of basketball-related income, after players were guaranteed 57 percent under the old deal, meant players were shifting at least $280 million per year to the owners.
"This deal could have been done. It should have been done," Hunter said. "We've given and given and given, and they got to the place where they just reached for too much and the players decided to push back."
Over the weekend, Stern said he would not cancel the season this week.
Regardless, damage already has been done, in many ways.
Financially, both sides have lost hundreds of millions because of the games missed and the countless more that will be wiped out before play resumes. Team employees are losing money, and in some cases, jobs. And both the NBA and NBPA eventually must regain the loyalty of an angered fan base that wonders how the league reached this low point after such a strong 2010-11 season.
The proposal rejected by the players called for a 72-game season beginning Dec. 15.
On Sunday, the league made a very public push on the positives of the deal ? hosting a 90-minute twitter chat to answer questions from players and fans, posting a YouTube video to explain the key points and sending a memo from Stern to players urging them to "study our proposal carefully, and to accept it as a fair compromise of the issues between us."
In the memo, posted on the league's website, Stern highlighted points of the deal and asked players to focus on the compromises the league made during negotiations, such as dropping its demands for a hard salary cap, non-guaranteed contracts and salary rollbacks.
Union officials repeatedly have said the system issues are perhaps more important to them than the split of basketball-related income, but owners say they need fundamental changes in both to allow for a chance to profit and to ensure more competitive balance throughout the league.
The previous CBA expired at the end of the day June 30. Despite a series of meetings in June, there was never much hope of a deal before that deadline, with owners wanting significant changes after saying they lost $300 million last season and hundreds of millions more in each year of the old agreement, which was ratified in 2005.
Owners wanted to keep more of the league's nearly $4 billion in basketball revenues. And they sought a system where even the smallest-market clubs could compete, believing the current system would always favor the teams who could spend the most.
The NBA's last work stoppage reduced the 1998-99 season to 50 games. Monday marked the 137th day of the lockout; the NFL lockout lasted 136 days.
In its labor battle, NFL players tried to get the courts to overturn the lockout and let players return to work. Although a Minnesota judge initially ruled in favor of the players, that ruling was put on hold by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
"Given the rulings that came down in the NFL case, which are not binding in the 2nd circuit but would be influential, right now the owners are not in a bad spot," said antitrust attorney David Scupp of Constantine Cannon in New York City. "It could very well be that the players have an uphill battle toward getting that lockout enjoined. If they can do that, then it might swing things in their favor."
But time is not on anyone's side.
"If you look at what happened with the NFL case, that whole legal battle surrounding the temporary injunction was resolved relatively quickly, and it still took a few months," Scupp said. "There's not a few months to spare this time around."
___
AP Sports Writers Rachel Cohen in New York and Jon Krawczynski in Minneapolis contributed to this report.
___
Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: twitter.com/Briancmahoney
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Why the Religious Right Can't Seem to Get the Candidate It Wants (Time.com)
Was it just a month ago that religious conservatives were busy trying to stir up concerns about Mormonism and rally evangelicals behind Rick Perry? At the time, it looked like Perry's slide in the polls could be reversed and his debate performances improved. Since then, however, his support has cratered ? and if Perry can come back from his latest squirm-o-rific moment, he should change his name to Lazurus.
If the whispers about Mitt Romney's faith have faded, it's not because conservative evangelicals suddenly feel ashamed about their qualms, but because they're starting to realize that it's a lost cause. They find themselves without a strong candidate to stand behind. And that's remarkable. For three decades, the influence and power of the Religious Right within the GOP has been an article of faith. But if the movement is so powerful, why couldn't it field a single viable candidate for a presidential election that was supposed to favor Republicans? (See what Mitt Romney's fiscal plan says about GOP tax cut mania.)
It wasn't supposed to be this way. Mike Huckabee was supposed to join Romney in the race for a second go-round, and this time evangelical leaders were going to throw their support behind him instead of splitting their endorsements among the field as they did in 2008. If Huckabee wouldn't run, then maybe Congressman Mike Pence ? a fan favorite at social conservative gatherings ? could take his place.
But Huckabee and Pence both passed on the race. Michele Bachmann jumped in, and that was good ? until it wasn't. "She and Perry were supposed to be the evangelical candidates," says Michael Cromartie, who directs the Evangelical Studies Project at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. "They're not going anywhere." Herman Cain caught fire for a few weeks, but now he seems intent on burning his campaign down to the ground. (See a TIME video with Cain)
Barring a come-from-way-behind Rick Santorum boomlet, that leaves Newt Gingrich as the last Anybody But Romney candidate to rise in the polls. Voters sometimes go for unconventional candidates, but they are unlikely to fall for a man whose campaign slogan seems to be: "Listen Up, Stupid People. Because I Am Very, Very Smart."
In part, then, religious conservatives are left without a winning candidate to support because stronger competitors simply chose not to run. But that fact itself indicates the relative weakness of the Religious Right. Social conservatives comprise a significant percentage of the GOP primary electorate, particularly in early states like Iowa and South Carolina. The prospect of their unified support should have been tempting enough to persuade a candidate who pleases Religious Right leaders to enter the race. By the time they were able to find a candidate willing to run, however, it was too late in the campaign cycle for Perry to ever get his footing, even if he hadn't also suffered from a habit of sabotaging his own cause.
But candidates also know that the Religious Right ? not to mention the evangelical electorate ? is too divided to be able to deliver unified support. To call the movement loosely organized would be generous, and it is populated by too many would-be kingmakers. In 2008, they scrambled to pragmatic choices: Pat Robertson endorsed Rudy Giuliani, Paul Weyrich and Bob Jones III backed Romney, John Hagee and Jerry Falwell supported McCain, and Huckabee won the approval of conservatives like Don Wildmon and Tim LaHaye.
In addition, there is a serious but oft-overlooked theological and cultural division that runs through the Religious Right. Most people think of the movement as a co-production of Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. But while those two religious leaders did partner on some efforts, they had deep differences and kept largely to their own operations ? Falwell with the Moral Majority and Robertson with the Christian Coalition. Falwell was a Baptist and a fundamentalist, highly skeptical of the charismatic Pentecostal tradition of Robertson. When Robertson ran for the GOP nomination in 1988, winning the Iowa caucuses, Falwell backed George H.W. Bush, with whom he had a long-standing relationship. (See pictures of George H.W. Bush.)
This election cycle's version of the Robertson-Falwell split was between backers of Michele Bachmann (of the charismatic school) and Rick Perry (from more fundamentalist Baptist and Methodist roots). Even if one or both of the politicians had turned out to be stronger candidates, they would have had a hard time uniting conservative evangelicals behind them.
But perhaps the simplest answer to the question of why the Religious Right doesn't have a viable candidate this year is that it has never been terribly influential in selecting the Republican nominee. Look at the Republican nominees since the rise of the Religious Right: Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bob Dole, George W. Bush, and John McCain. Reagan's place in popular history as the candidate of the Religious Right is actually a fluke of history. Many evangelical Christians entered politics for the first time in 1976 to support the candidacy of Democrat (and fellow evangelical) Jimmy Carter. When they became disillusioned with Carter ? and mobilized by Falwell and Co. ? they supported the Republican nominee in 1980. But the Religious Right didn't play much of a role during that year's primaries, and if it had, a divorced, non-church-going former actor would not have been the first choice of social conservatives.
Nor were George H.W. Bush, Bob Dole, or John McCain much beloved by religious conservatives. Again, Pat Robertson won Iowa in 1988 over the Episcopalian Bush. Pat Buchanan mounted a challenge to Bush in 1992, and was the choice of many conservative religious leaders in 1996 over Bob Dole. Even George W. Bush was embraced by religious conservatives only after preferred candidates Gary Bauer and John Ashcroft barely cracked single digits in the polls.
Every time, as Cromartie reminded me, "Evangelicals find ways and reasons to say why they would vote for the nominee ? even John McCain." And they will again this year. Already, many of the evangelical leaders I've talked with speak of Romney's nomination as an inevitability and are looking to focus evangelical attention on beating Obama. Still, they have to wonder why their supposedly-powerful cultural and religious movement never gets the candidate it wants. (See pictures of Barack Obama's college years.)
Amy Sullivan is a contributing writer at TIME, and author of the book The Party Faithful: How and Why Democrats are Closing the God Gap (Scribner, 2008). Articles of Faith, her column on the intersection of religion and politics, appears on TIME.com every Friday.
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Sunday, November 13, 2011
Arne Duncan calls for personal finance lessons starting in kindergarten (The Lookout)
Duncan (AP)
Education Secretary Arne Duncan said this week that schools should incorporate personal finance into lesson plans. He proposes that such instruction should start as early as kindergarten to combat widespread financial illiteracy."As important as reading and math and social studies and science, I think today more than ever financial literacy has to be part of that," Duncan said at a speech at the Treasury Department. "To continue to have a population that is relatively illiterate in these matters I think has real negative consequences to our democracy."
Duncan acknowledged that it's up to individual districts and states to make the move, however, since the Education Department doesn't have any authority over curriculum content. (Unlike Australia, for example, which began?mandating K-12 financial education in all schools this year.)
Some American schools have already taken the lead on this, showing their students not only how to open savings accounts but also how to understand credit markets and interest rates.
More...
Schools affiliated with the National Academy Foundation--a nonprofit network of career academies--teach high school students the basics of personal finance. More than 200 of their high schools focus on finance as a career, linking students to internships in the finance industry and offering them electives in subjects such as accounting.In the elective classes, students learn to read and interpret documents such as a company's annual report or a home loan. But they also learn about economic principles in their traditional classes.?"We connect finance education to Math, History and Language Arts," NAF Chief Academic Officer Andy Rothstein said.
Some credit unions open up branches in the high schools--partially staffed by the students--where students can also open up savings accounts. Rothstein said that since most of the students in NAF schools are poor and live in urban areas, it's even more important that they learn how to navigate basic financial decisions.
"Their financial needs are higher by definition," Rothstein said. "They need to be able to access that knowledge to move from poverty to middle class. Too often their own communities and families are not sophisticated in financial management."
And poorer students need to be able to understand student loans in order to access higher education. "There are a lot of forms that are very complicated to complete. FAFSA"--the Free Application for Federal Student Aid--"is worse than a tax return," Rothstein said.
A recent working paper by Dartmouth economist Annamaria Lusardi?found that?"the majority of Americans lack basic numeracy and knowledge of fundamental economic principles such as the workings of inflation, risk diversification, and the relationship between asset prices and interest rates." Most Americans do not prepare for retirement or their kids' college expenses, and a?significant minority of them do not know the terms of their own mortgages or the interest rates on their loans. Since employer-controlled pension plans have largely been replaced by 401k plans, it's even more important that Americans know how to plan for their own retirement.
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Saturday, November 12, 2011
Jackson Doctor defends self in NBC broadcasts
Dr. Conrad Murray reacts after the jury returns with a guilty verdict in his involuntary manslaughter trial Monday, Nov. 7, 2011 in a Los Angeles courtroom . Murray was convicted Monday of involuntary manslaughter after a trial that painted him as a reckless caregiver who administered a lethal dose of a powerful anesthetic that killed the pop star. (AP Photo/Al Seib, Pool)
Dr. Conrad Murray reacts after the jury returns with a guilty verdict in his involuntary manslaughter trial Monday, Nov. 7, 2011 in a Los Angeles courtroom . Murray was convicted Monday of involuntary manslaughter after a trial that painted him as a reckless caregiver who administered a lethal dose of a powerful anesthetic that killed the pop star. (AP Photo/Al Seib, Pool)
In this frame grab from video, deputies place handcuffs on Dr. Conrad Murray after his conviction on involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of pop star Michael Jackson, in Los Angeles Superior Court Monday, Nov. 7, 2011. Murray was Michael Jackson's physician when the pop star died in 2009. (AP Photo/CNN, Pool)
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? The doctor convicted of killing Michael Jackson never testified at his trial, but he is now defending himself in multiple NBC interviews taped just days before a jury returned his guilty verdict.
NBC's "Today" show planned to broadcast interviews with Dr. Conrad Murray in which he defends his use of the surgical anesthetic propofol to put Jackson to sleep. Although multiple experts testified at his trial that propofol should not have been administered in Jackson's home, the doctor disagreed.
"I think propofol is not recommended to be given in the home setting," Murray said, "but it is not contraindicated."
He also said Jackson had been using the substance long before the pop star met Murray.
The interview with the Houston cardiologist, who was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter Monday, is set to air Thursday and Friday. NBC released excerpts of the interview Wednesday.
Under questioning by the "Today" show's Savannah Guthrie, Murray said it was not necessary for him to monitor Jackson because he had given him only a small dose of propofol, and he said that was the reason he didn't mention it to paramedics when they arrived at Jackson's mansion.
"That's a very sad reason," he said, "because it was inconsequential ? 25 milligrams and the effect's gone. Means nothing."
Guthrie asked, "Well, you told them about the other drugs, but you didn't tell them about propofol?"
"Because it had no effect," Murray said. "It was not an issue."
The coroner would subsequently find that Jackson, 50, died of "acute propofol intoxication" after a huge dose of the drug complicated by other sedatives.
Murray's defense tried to show that Jackson gave himself an extra dose of propofol while Murray was out of the room, but prosecution experts said there was no evidence of that and it was a crazy theory.
Asked by Guthrie if he became distracted by phone calls, emailing and text messages, Murray said, "No I was not."
"When I looked at a man who was all night deprived of sleep, who was desperate for sleep and finally is getting some sleep, am I gonna sit over him, sit around him, tug on his feet, do anything unusual to wake him up? No," Murray said.
"You walked out of the room to talk on the phone?" Guthrie asked.
"Absolutely, I wanted him to rest."
He insisted Jackson was not on an infusion that would stop his breathing and, "I was not supposed to be monitoring him at that time because there was no need for monitoring."
Other doctors testified at Murray's trial that leaving a patient alone after giving him an anesthetic was an egregious deviation from the standard of care expected of a physician.
In one exchange, Murray suggested that had he known that Jackson had a problem with addiction to medications he might have acted differently. Experts testified that he should have researched Jackson's medical history before he undertook his treatment for insomnia.
On the day Jackson died, June 25, 2009, Murray said he believed he had weaned the singer off of propofol, the drug Jackson called his "milk."
But when Jackson could not sleep, Murray told "Today," he gave the entertainer a very small dose of propofol.
In retrospect, he said he probably should have walked away when Jackson asked for propofol. But he said he would have been abandoning a friend.
Meanwhile, the disclosure that MSNBC will air a documentary about Murray brought outrage Wednesday from the executors of Jackson's estate, who said Murray is getting a prime-time platform to smear Jackson's reputation without fear of cross-examination.
The executors, John Branca and John McClain, demanded the program entitled "Michael Jackson and the Doctor: A Fatal Friendship" be cancelled. The network said it had no comment.
Murray, 58, was hired by Jackson at a promised salary of $150,000 a month to accompany the singer on his "This Is It" concert tour to London.
A jury that heard six weeks of testimony convicted Murray of involuntary manslaughter. He is now being held in Los Angeles County Jail awaiting sentencing Nov. 29 and could face up to four years in prison.
In a separate interview broadcast Wednesday, one of the jurors said there were contentious moments, including yelling and cajoling, during the two days of deliberations.
Debbie Franklin, 48, told ABC-TV's "Good Morning America" in the first juror interview so far that most of the jurors had decided on guilt Friday, the first day of deliberations.
But, she said "not everyone was convinced that Dr. Murray was solely responsible for Michael Jackson's death."
"Toward the end of the day, we finally took a vote," Franklin said. "It was not unanimous and we talked a little more about it."
The panel decided to think it over during a weekend break.
"It was stressful," said the mother of two, who is a paralegal. She said there was "yelling and we had to keep saying, 'Nobody talk while this person is talking. Raise your hand if you have something to say."
The majority managed on Monday to convince all jurors that Murray was negligent and his mistakes led to Jackson death, Franklin said.
"He had addictions. He asked other doctors to do it (give him the operating room anesthetic propofol). They said no. He was looking for somebody to say yes. And Conrad Murray said yes," she said.
An Associated Press reporter approached Franklin for an interview Wednesday but she refused. She said all jurors had agreed not to speak to the media, but she did not explain why they made that agreement or why she spoke to ABC.
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Family Photo: The Portman-Millipieds ? Baby?s Day Out
Natalie Portman and fianc? Benjamin Millepied prepare to hit the town with 4-month-old son Aleph on Thursday in Hollywood, Calif.
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Friday, November 11, 2011
VIDEO: ?OC Housewives? Star Tamra Barney ?I?m Not Dead?
A FALSE report from Global Associated News claimed “The Real Housewives of Orange County” star Tamra Barney was killed during a jet-ski accident while vacationing in Turks and Caicos. The fake death reported Barney as an “actress.” Tamra appeared via Skype in an interview with “Extra,” and said, “Don’t believe everything you read! I’m very [...]
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Thursday, November 10, 2011
Video: Perry gains Twitter momentum
Had a Perry moment? What causes memory lapses
No matter your political views, you probably couldn?t help but feel a little sorry for Gov. Rick Perry?s memory hiccup during Wednesday night?s CNBC Republican presidential debate. After all, memory lapses happen to the best of us. An expert explains why.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/45247566#45247566
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Vans, Ray-Bans and film fashion influence
Everett Collection
The black-and-white checkered Vans Sean Penn wore in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" became a fashion trend.
By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
James Van Doren, the man who designed the classic Vans shoes that Sean Penn's Jeff Spicoli wore in 1982's?"Fast Times at Ridgemont High," died Oct. 12, and the news started us thinking about how movie fashions often seep off the screen and into our closets.
As the Hollywood Reporter notes?in Van Doren's obit, Vans were already popular when "Fast Times" came out. Skateboarders loved them because they helped them get a good grip on the board. But the shoes, especially the black-and-white checked ones Penn wears in the movie, blew up after the rest of the world saw them. Recently we've even seen toddler versions.
Ray-Ban Wayfarers had their own publicity surge after Tom Cruise wore them in 1983's?"Risky Business," and knockoffs are still sold as "Risky Business" shades today. 1977's "Annie Hall" inspired women to layer blazers over vests, skirts and boots. (The costumer on "Annie Hall" didn't agree, reportedly telling Woody Allen he had to make Diane Keaton dress differently.)
1999's "The Matrix" also was a fashion inspiration, from Neo's swirling black coat to Morpheus' sunglasses that lacked earpieces, though not every moviegoer could pull off Trinity's skintight catsuit.
Not all memorable movie fashions are those you want to imitate, of course. Even if you admired Molly Ringwald's Andie in "Pretty in Pink" for her sense of thrift-store DIY style, we've yet to meet anyone who wanted to wear the prom dress she whipped up.
Are you a fan of Vans? What about Ray-Ban Wayfarers? What other movie fashions do you remember leaping off the big screen and into America's closets?
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Wednesday, November 9, 2011
XPert MTB/RIF cost effective for TB diagnosis in low- and middle-income settings
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Public Library of Science
A study led by Frank Cobelens of the Amsterdam Institute of Global Health and Development, Amsterdam, The Netherlands and colleagues reports on the cost-effectiveness of implementing the Xpert MTB/RIF diagnostic test for tuberculosis (TB) in high burden countries. Based on their findings, which are published in this week's PLoS Medicine, the authors predict that Xpert will be a cost-effective method of TB diagnosis, compared with current standard techniques, in low- and middle-income countries.
The Xpert diagnostic test has been endorsed by the World Health Organization. But there are fears that it won't be cost-effective in the low- and middle-income countries that have the highest TB burden, because the test is more expensive than current standard methods for TB diagnosis.
In this study the authors simulated the outcomes of 10,000 individuals with suspected TB as they passed through a diagnostic and treatment pathway in three countries (India, South Africa, and Uganda) using a mathematical model.
The authors found that the introduction of Xpert increased the proportion of TB-infected patients who were correctly diagnosed with TB in all of the settings. However, they also found that the cost per TB case detected increased by approximately $100. This increase in diagnostic costs was more than offset by the benefits of saving additional years of life suggesting that Xpert will be a cost-effective method of TB diagnosis in high burden countries.
The authors note that additional unknown costs associated with the scale-up of Xpert may exist but conclude that, "our results suggest that Xpert is likely to be a highly cost-effective investment," but also caution, "[roll-out should be carefully evaluated] to validate our results before full scale-upto ensure that Xpert implementation is done in a way that does not negatively impact TB programmes, their funding, and the health systems that support them."
###
Funding: The Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) supported the study financially and had a role in data interpretation and writing the manuscript. FIND authors (MDP and CCB) had a role in data interpretation and writing the manuscript (commented on the results and the draft manuscript). The first and corresponding authors (AV and FC) had full access to all study data and, in consultation with the other authors, made a final decision to submit this work for publication.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Citation: Vassall A, van Kampen S, Sohn H, Michael JS, John KR, et al. (2011) Rapid Diagnosis of Tuberculosis with the Xpert MTB/RIF Assay in High Burden Countries: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis. PLoS Med 8(11): e1001120. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001120
CONTACT:
Frank Cobelens
Department of Global Health
Amsterdam Institute of Global Health and Development
Academic Medical Center
Amsterdam
The Netherlands
f.cobelens@aighd.org
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 8-Nov-2011[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Clare Weaver
press@plos.org
44-122-344-2834
Public Library of Science
A study led by Frank Cobelens of the Amsterdam Institute of Global Health and Development, Amsterdam, The Netherlands and colleagues reports on the cost-effectiveness of implementing the Xpert MTB/RIF diagnostic test for tuberculosis (TB) in high burden countries. Based on their findings, which are published in this week's PLoS Medicine, the authors predict that Xpert will be a cost-effective method of TB diagnosis, compared with current standard techniques, in low- and middle-income countries.
The Xpert diagnostic test has been endorsed by the World Health Organization. But there are fears that it won't be cost-effective in the low- and middle-income countries that have the highest TB burden, because the test is more expensive than current standard methods for TB diagnosis.
In this study the authors simulated the outcomes of 10,000 individuals with suspected TB as they passed through a diagnostic and treatment pathway in three countries (India, South Africa, and Uganda) using a mathematical model.
The authors found that the introduction of Xpert increased the proportion of TB-infected patients who were correctly diagnosed with TB in all of the settings. However, they also found that the cost per TB case detected increased by approximately $100. This increase in diagnostic costs was more than offset by the benefits of saving additional years of life suggesting that Xpert will be a cost-effective method of TB diagnosis in high burden countries.
The authors note that additional unknown costs associated with the scale-up of Xpert may exist but conclude that, "our results suggest that Xpert is likely to be a highly cost-effective investment," but also caution, "[roll-out should be carefully evaluated] to validate our results before full scale-upto ensure that Xpert implementation is done in a way that does not negatively impact TB programmes, their funding, and the health systems that support them."
###
Funding: The Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) supported the study financially and had a role in data interpretation and writing the manuscript. FIND authors (MDP and CCB) had a role in data interpretation and writing the manuscript (commented on the results and the draft manuscript). The first and corresponding authors (AV and FC) had full access to all study data and, in consultation with the other authors, made a final decision to submit this work for publication.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Citation: Vassall A, van Kampen S, Sohn H, Michael JS, John KR, et al. (2011) Rapid Diagnosis of Tuberculosis with the Xpert MTB/RIF Assay in High Burden Countries: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis. PLoS Med 8(11): e1001120. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001120
CONTACT:
Frank Cobelens
Department of Global Health
Amsterdam Institute of Global Health and Development
Academic Medical Center
Amsterdam
The Netherlands
f.cobelens@aighd.org
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-11/plos-xmc110111.php
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Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Death toll from Thailand floods rises past 500 (AP)
BANGKOK ? The death toll from Thailand's worst floods in half a century climbed past 500 Sunday, as advancing pools of polluted black water threatened Bangkok's subway system and new evacuations were ordered in the sprawling capital.
The latest district added to the government's evacuation list was Chatuchak, home to major public park and an outdoor shopping zone that is a major tourist attraction. The Chatuchak Weekend Market was open but missing many vendors and customers Sunday as floodwaters poured past the market's eastern edge for a second day.
So far, Bangkok Gov. Sukhumbhand Paribatra has ordered evacuations in 11 of Bangkok's 50 districts, and partial evacuations apply in seven more.
The evacuations are not mandatory, and most people are staying to protect homes and businesses. But the orders illustrate how far flooding has progressed into the city and how powerless the government has been to stop it.
Chatuchak is just a few miles (kilometers) north of Bangkok's central business district, which still is dry. On Sunday, cars sloshed through a flooded road underneath Chatuchak's Mo Chit Skytrain station, the northernmost stop on Bangkok's elevated train system.
Floodwaters also reached roads at three subway stops in northern Bangkok, though both mass transit networks are functioning normally.
Relentless rainfall has pummeled vast swaths of Thailand since late July, swamping the country and killing 506 people, according to the latest government statistics. Most victims have drowned, while a handful died from flood-related electrocutions.
No deaths have been reported in Bangkok. The nearby province of Ayutthaya, which has been submerged for more than one month, has the highest toll with 90 reported dead.
Floodwaters have begun receding in some provinces north of the capital, and a major cleanup is planned in Ayutthaya this week. But the runoff has massed around Bangkok and completely submerged some of the city's outer neighborhoods.
Also in Chatuchak, water has begun approaching a main road near the Mo Chit bus terminal, a major gateway to northern Thailand. The bus station and roads in the area remained open, traffic police chief Uthaiwan Kaewsa-ard said.
In the last few days, floods have also begun moving southward in adjacent Lad Phrao, a district studded with office towers, condominiums and a popular shopping mall.
On Friday, workers completed a 3.7-mile (6-kilometer) flood wall made from massive, hastily assembled sandbags to divert some of the water flowing toward central Bangkok. But large amounts of water are already beyond that wall, and officials say that besides a network of canals and underground drainage tunnels, there are no more barriers preventing water from pushing south into the heart of the city.
Over the past two decades, Bangkok's much enlarged and improved drainage system has increasingly been able to siphon off water during monsoon seasons with average rainfall. But amid Thailand's worst flooding since World War II, that system is facing its greatest test yet.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra says a plan to be put before the Cabinet on Tuesday would allocate 100 billion baht ($3.3 billion) for post-flood reconstruction.
Yingluck's government has come under fire for failing to predict the threat to the capital. Residents also have been frustrated by widely different assessments of the flooding situation from the prime minister, Bangkok's governor and the country's top water experts and officials.
___
Associated Press writer Vee Intarakratug contributed to this report.
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Monday, November 7, 2011
Sunday, November 6, 2011
A year before election, Obama campaign steps up work to build volunteer base (Star Tribune)
Broken foot won't stop Bradshaw?
APColts quarterback Peyton Manning already has missed eight games after a pair of neck surgeries.? It?s still unknown whether he?ll miss eight more.? Or even more than that.
Manning made on Tuesday an unexpected appearance in the team?s locker room.? And he said he?s got more healing to do before he can practice or play.
?We?re still waiting for the fusion to take place, it?s still going slow and we still have some issues with the regeneration of the nerve,? Manning said, according to the Associated Press.? ?I still have some restrictions.?
Characterized as ?more serious? in his demeanor than Manning was during his last visit with reporters, Manning opted not to talk about his future or the possibility that the Colts will draft Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck.? ?Those are all fair questions, but that?s not what I?m going to talk about right now,? Manning said. ?I?m thinking about how can I get a little better?? [The contract] is really a one-year deal with a four-year extension and that was my recommendation because I wasn?t healthy when I signed the contract.?
He?s right, but the Colts need to decide by early March whether to kick in the four-year extension by picking up a $28 million option bonus.? On Manning?s current timeline, the Colts may not be able to make the decision without watching Manning throw, because he may not be able to throw before the 2011 season ends.
Of course, Manning could choose to throw for the team privately, before the 2012 offseason program begins.? Or he could choose not to, which would force the team to make a big decision with incomplete information.
Likewise, he could choose to delay until April, May, or beyond the trigger for the $28 million payment.? Or he could choose not to, forcing the team to decide whether to cut him, trade him, or pay him.
There will be many unanswered questions as it relates to Manning?s playing career, and based on his comments from Thursday the chance he?ll never play again can?t be completely disregarded.? There?s no pill or exercise for regenerating nerves.? If it doesn?t happen for Manning, he won?t be able to throw the ball like used to be able to throw the ball.
Here?s hoping that the healing happens.? All-time great quarterbacks should be able to leave the game on their own terms.
Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/11/03/ahmad-bradshaw-could-still-play-this-week/related/
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Saturday, November 5, 2011
Inside Social Games ? Social Gaming News Roundup: Sony ...
New Social Game Focused PlayStation Home Debuts ? Sony has unveiled the new look for its proprietary gaming service PlayStation Home. Formerly a virtual social destination for PS3 owners, the service never quite captured the interest of the gaming community. The new version of Home switches the focus from social to social gaming, and now lets users explore an environment filled with quests, shopping and more than 230 games, some of which are free-to-play social games, supported by advertising and microtransactions.
Nexon America Q3 Revenues Up 29% -?Nexon America?is reporting?its third quarter revenues were up 29% year-over-year, partially to the due to the success of its microtransaction business model. This is the ninth consecutive quarter of year-over-year revenue growth, according to the developer. In the last year, Nexon has entered the social games market with MapleStory Adventures and Zombie Misfits, as well as with investments in social game developers A Bit Lucky and 6waves Lolapps.
DeNA?s Baseball Team Won?t Sport Mobage Name -?Andriasang?is reporting that?DeNA?has reached an agreement to purchase the Yokohama BayStars. Unfortunately for the company, Nippon Professional Baseball, the organization that manages the league quashed DeNA?s plans to add Mobage branding to the name of the team.
Call of Duty Elite Features Deep Facebook Integration -?Activision?s?Call of Duty Elite, a multiplayer subscription service for first person shooter Call of Duty will integrate Facebook directly into the game, allowing players to log in with their Facebook profiles and play with their friends from the social network according to a?developer video posted on Destructoid.
More Details Emerge for DeNA/Grasshopper Manufacture Partnership -?In September?we reported?that Japanese developer?Grasshopper Manufacture?would be teaming with?DeNA?to create games for social and mobile networks. This week DeNA?revealed that the two companies are forming a spin-off venture?which will be tentatively called Grasshopper Social Network Service Inc.?The new company will be headed by Grasshopper CEO and auteur designer Goichi ?Suda 51? Suda.
Social Games Profitable for Konami ? Japanese gaming giant Konami?s video game segment brought in 58.1 billion yen between April and September of this year, up five billion yen from the same period in 2010. The company was helped by a 12 billion yen increase in social game revenue from games on the Mobage and GREE networks. According to the company, it had 11.5 million registered users on social game networks in September, but only 2.5 million at the beginning of the year. Its latest social game, Frogger Pinball, is now live on Facebook.
Funzio is the Most Innovative Social Game Company -?Crime City developer?Funzio?has been named to this year?s?Dow Jones VentureWire FASTech 50, a list of the most investment worthy startups as selected by the VentureWire and a board of venture capitalists. Funzio was the only gaming company who made this year?s list.
Hilleman: HTML5 Will Need to Improve to Survive -?EA?s?creative director Richard Hilleman has revealed that HTML5?s performance issues have proven to be major hurdle for game developers. According to?Gamasutra, who attended the presentation at the New Game Conference in San Francisco, Hilleman said it was difficult to predict how an app would run different hardware specifications, and that HTML5?s audio issues will need to be addressed. Hilleman encouraged the industry to set technical standards for the platform and improve how games using HTML5 are distributed and monetized if the platform is to ultimately be successful.
Playdom Files for Trademark on City of Warfare - Fusible has discovered that Playdom has filed four trademark applications for the name City of Warfare. At this point its unknown if City of Warfare is a new IP or if the trademarks are for rebranding City of Might, a Playdom game currently in closed beta.
Gameforge Laying off 100, Cancels Games ? Gameforge is significantly realigning its business structure to better integrate with Frogster in a move that will see the company scrap at least two upcoming games and lay off 100 staff. Gameforge is eliminating its client based games and web games divisions and replacing them with development and publishing divisions. Gameforge and Frogster merged in August.
Beach Cooler Games Rises from Ashes of Blue Fang -?Gamasutra?is reporting the former CEO and lead designer of now defunct studio Blue Fang Games have formed?Beach Cooler Games, a Boston based startup that will focus on the mobile and social markets. Blue Fang was best known for the Zoo Tycoon series and the Facebook games The Oregon Trail and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego.
Social Games Evolving Faster Than Any Other Entertainment Medium: Insomniac CEO?-?Insomniac Games??CEO Ted Price has given a candid interview to Gamespot explaining why a AAA console developer is getting into the social games market with its new division Insomniac Click. According to Price, social games are an exciting new frontier that is? ?evolving faster than any other entertainment medium in the past 50 years,? which makes it difficult for developers who are ?trying to figure out exactly where we want to focus in terms of making our mark in social games, because? there is no right way to do it.? The full interview can be read?here.
Zynga: Developing in HTML5 Painful, But Worth It -?Zynga?s?Paul Bakaus had some interesting comments to make about HTML5 at the New Game Conference in San Francisco. According to?Gamasutra, Bakaus explained that the lack of gaming support in the emerging platform makes developing for the platform feel like the dark ages of gaming, but it offers great opportunities to make the web a better platform for games.
Twiitz Blends Real and Virtual Goods in Online Store -??Twiitz?is hoping to crack into the online shopping market with a store exclusively targeted towards social gamers. Featured items in the online retailer?s store come with $15 dollars worth of Facebook credits, delivered via pre-paid cards included with the items.
TheBroth Hires Claritics to Improve Barn Buddy -?Australian social game developer?TheBroth?is implementing social analytics make its flagship Facebook game Barn Buddy even more popular. The developer has selected?Claritics, who make a line of cloud-based SaaS analytics apps that provide real-time information and feedback on engagement and monetization efforts. According to?AppData, Barn buddy currently has 1.6 million MAU and 370,000 DAU.
[Launch] Tight Lines Fishing Brings Social Fishing to Facebook - Independent Austrian studio Socialspiel released its first Facebook game this week, social fishing game Tight Lines Fishing. The game challenges players to compete against their friends to catch the biggest fish. Socialspiel was formed in 2010 by former employees of Deep Silver and Rockstar Vienna.
Source: http://www.insidesocialgames.com/2011/11/04/social-gaming-news-roundup-sony-playdom-and-dena/
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