FILE - In this combination of July 11, 2013, file images from Senate Television Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., top, and Republican leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speak on the floor of the Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington. Democrats threatened to change Senate rules unilaterally if Republicans block yes-or-no votes on several of President Barack Obama?s top-level nominees. Reid accused Republicans of trying to deny Obama the right to have his team in place, and accused McConnell of failing to live up to his commitments to allow votes on all nominees, except under extraordinary circumstances. Moments later, McConnell said Reid was misquoting him and at the same time failing to honor his word not to change the rules of the Senate unilaterally. (AP Photo/Senate TV, Files)
FILE - In this combination of July 11, 2013, file images from Senate Television Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., top, and Republican leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speak on the floor of the Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington. Democrats threatened to change Senate rules unilaterally if Republicans block yes-or-no votes on several of President Barack Obama?s top-level nominees. Reid accused Republicans of trying to deny Obama the right to have his team in place, and accused McConnell of failing to live up to his commitments to allow votes on all nominees, except under extraordinary circumstances. Moments later, McConnell said Reid was misquoting him and at the same time failing to honor his word not to change the rules of the Senate unilaterally. (AP Photo/Senate TV, Files)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid is driving his chamber toward rule changes that would help President Barack Obama win confirmation for some of his nominees for posts overseeing workers' and consumers' rights. But the changes might strip future senators of their prized ability to delay action.
Reid, D-Nev., planned to continue his push to let nominees win approval with a simple majority of senators' backing instead of the 60-vote threshold that has stalled many nominations. All 100 senators have been invited to a closed-to-the-public meeting Monday evening to seek a compromise on how to approach those nominated to serve in senior positions in Obama's administration.
"We're not touching judges," Reid said Sunday. "This is not judges. This is not legislation. This is allowing the people of America to have a president who can have his team ... in place."
Reid was expected to address the issue during a morning speech at an advocacy organization linked to the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank with close ties to the White House.
Critics of Reid's proposal, including the Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, called Reid's move one that would "change the core of the Senate."
Reid and McConnell, along with their rank-and-file members, have traded barbs over just what the proposed changes would mean, both for Obama's current slate of nominees awaiting confirmation and for future senators who can delay or derail agendas.
Democrats, who are the majority in the Senate, are pushing to erode the rights of minority Republicans to block confirmation of Obama's picks for posts on a labor rights board and a consumer protection bureau. Republicans previously stalled confirmation votes for Obama's pick for labor secretary and chiefs of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Export-Import Bank, but last week, GOP lawmakers stepped aside and said they would allow those nominations to move forward.
"Is there anyone out there in the world ? the real world ? that believes that what's going on in the Congress of the United States is good?" Reid said. "Our approval rating is lower than North Korea's."
McConnell called Democrats' proposed changes contrary to Senate tradition, which typically requires 60 votes to end debate and move forward on nominations or legislation.
"I hope that we'll come to our senses and not change the core of the Senate. We've never changed the rules of the Senate by breaking the rules of the Senate," McConnell said.
But Democrats control the Senate, and Republicans could be at their mercy.
"We need to start talking to each other instead of at each other," McConnell said.
It's not clear a conversation would produce any agreement. Reid calls the changes minor and narrow. McConnell calls them unprecedented and overbroad.
Reid said the proposal applies only to those tapped to serve in the administration, not for lifetime posts as judges. McConnell said it would fundamentally deny senators their prerogative to query potential officials.
Reid said the nominees would protect consumers, workers and the environment. McConnell and his GOP allies argue the picks are payback to Obama's political base.
"They're driven by the unions," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.
Countered Reid: "They have nothing against the qualifications. They don't like the jobs these people have."
In particular, Republicans have objected to a pair of union-backed members of the National Labor Relations Board, Richard Griffin and Sharon Block. They were appointed by Obama when he said the Senate was in recess. An appeals court has ruled that Obama exceeded his authority, and the board's actions since they took their seats are in legal limbo.
Republicans also have objected to Obama's pick to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which was created as part of Wall Street overhaul legislation that was opposed by the GOP. Obama nominated his pick, former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray, more than two years ago.
"I think a president should have the right to put their team out there," said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.
"Why we can't just do 51 votes is beyond me," she added.
Reid and McConnell spoke during separate interviews with NBC's "Meet the Press." Hatch and Klobuchar were on ABC's "This Week."
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Jordan Spieth, de 19 a?os, super? el domingo a David Hearn y a Zach Johnson en el quinto hoyo de desempate para proclamarse campe?n del torneo John Deere Classic, con lo que es el golfista m?s joven que gana un torneo de la Gira de la PGA en 82 a?os.
Spieth, quien cumplir? 20 a?os en un par de semanas, emboc? un putt para par a poco m?s de medio metro, lo que le dio adem?s un boleto del Abierto Brit?nico que comienza la semana pr?xima en Muirfield. Es asimismo el primer adolescente en conseguir un t?tulo de la PGA desde que Ralph Guldahl triunf? en el Abierto de Santa M?nica, en 1931.
Al comienzo de la jornada, Spieth estaba seis golpes debajo de Daniel Summerhays, el l?der de la tercera ronda. Sin embargo, el joven fue avanzando hasta colarse a los playoffs. Lo consigui? con un tiro de unos 12 metros, saliendo de la trampa, para meter la pelota en el ?ltimo hoyo.
Luego, Spieth Hearn y Johnson se apuntaron par en los primeros cuatro hoyos del desempate. Otro par de Spieth le dio la victoria en el quinto.
Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson y Rory McIlroy ten?an 20 a?os cuando ganaron su primer torneo.
Estonian president Toomas Hendrik Ilves and EC digital chief Neelie Kroes at a meeting earlier this month. Image: Jelena Rudi/Office of the president of Estonia
Estonian president Toomas Hendrik Ilves, who chairs the steering board of the new European Cloud Partnership, is convinced that Europe should have its own clouds rather than rely on those from US service providers.
"Recent months have proven it again: it is very important for Europe to create its own data clouds, operating under EU law and completely safe for users. Right now, 95 percent of the cloud services used in Europe are provided by US companies. EU data protection legislation also needs to be modernised and we should understand that big private firms are able to gather more information than any state," Ilves said at a press conference held after a board meeting in Tallinn earlier this month.
According to the president, the international spying scandal shows that Europe has to "do its own thing, its own cloud, its own services, here at a European level, and it is especially important for small countries to do that on a European level, because otherwise the economies of scale will leave us behind".
In his speech, the president criticised US technology companies, saying that they have proven not to be trustworthy.
"As we have found out, if you use Apple, Google Mail, those do not provide privacy and security, or don't guarantee it, whereas with a Europe-based system or with European standards on these issues, we can offer the citizens of Europe something which right now doesn't exist."
Ilves believes that the PRISM scandal has brought an understanding of the need for security to Europe and it should be used to create fresh regulations and new, secure services.
"I think it is an opportunity for us and we must use this opportunity instead of beating our breast, saying 'oh, how terrible that United States is following everything we do'."
In her speech at the same press conference, the European digital agenda commissioner Neelie Kroes also pointed put the need for Europe to have its own secure clouds.
"If I were an American cloud provider, I would be quite frustrated with my government right now," she said, adding that if the new EU data privacy regulations hurt US companies, then "so be it".
The CEO of Microsoft in the Baltic states, Estonian Rain Laane, doesn't believe that US cloud service providers will be upstaged in European market.
"It just has to do with legal nuances. They have the Patriot Act in the USA, which stipulates a lot and which isn't always compatible with the laws of European countries. I believe that a solution which allows the use of other service providers' [including those from the US] technology platforms will be found. The right legal solution has to be found and I believe that our president along with the leaders of other countries will find it."
In his interview with the Estonian newspaper Postimees last week, Ilves said that although he doesn't find the situation where friends spy on friends normal, Europe should still "tame its indignation a bit" because since the beginning of July it's emerged that many countries in Europe including Germany, the UK and France have carried out similar activities to the US.
And it's not only governments which people should be worried about.
In his speech at the press conference and also in the interview for Postimees, the president pointed out that a lot of the privacy approaches that have been taken in EU are too focused just on governments instead of global internet companies. "They are only looking at Big Brother, but the real problem is Little Sister ? your Little Sister who knows everything about you and blabs about it everywhere," he said.
Ilves warned security fears shouldn't encourage the smaller countries of the EU towards the idea of ring-fencing.
"OK, our data is not secure, we will not allow our data to go out of our country. Now if you're a big country, if you're Germany for example, well, there are plenty of services which are available to you, but if you're a small country like Finland, Estonia, Denmark, then you have problems. For example ? Estonia is not a country which can cut itself off with the Great Wall of Estonia'. But that is the threat I think we face today in Europe - that the countries will feel the need to adopt national legislation that will in fact hinder the development of internet and the cloud services."
Ilves was asked to chair the steering board of the European Cloud Partnership by the EC last November. The function of the committee is to promote the use of cross-border digital public services in European business and the public sector.
At a meeting in November in Brussels last year, the steering board established two key goals for the project. First, the establishment of a common European cloud data processing framework. Second, promoting the transition of public sector IT into the cloud (and, consequently, promoting the use of the services in the private sector, particularly among small and medium-sized enterprises).
The steering board also includes Leo Apotheker (former CEO of HP), Christian Fredrikson (CEO of F-Secure), Hans Vestberg (Ericsson's CEO), Werner Vogels (VP at Amazon), Thierry Breton (CEO of Atos), and Bernard Charles (CEO of Dassault Syst?mes).
Batman, Captain America, Iron Man, Adolf Hitler? A top university in Thailand issued an apology after displaying a banner with Adolf Hitler surrounded by superheroes as part of a tribute to this year's graduating class. ?
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A Thailand University issues an apology after first year students paint a mural displaying Adolf Hitler in a Nazi salute among superheroes. (photo: Reuters)
The Hitler mural said "Congratulations" in bold white letters, featuring Hitler with his arm raised in the Nazi salute. The Hitler billboard was up for two days prior to being removed Saturday after the university received backlash for the ignorant image. ABC News reports that online photos revealed graduate students in their robes imitating Hitler's Nazi salute.
"[We] would like to formally express our sincere apology for our students' 'Superhero' mural," art school dean Suppakorn Disatapundhu said in a statement issued Monday, Yahoo News reports. "I can assure you we are taking this matter very seriously."
Disatapundhu said that freshman art students painted the mural outside the art faculty of Chulalongkorn University as part of a customary farewell from incoming students to the graduating class. The Hitler banner was one of dozens across campus.
"They told me the concept was to paint a picture of superheroes who protect the world," Disatapundhu said in a telephone interview. "Hitler was supposed to serve as a conceptual paradox to the superheroes," he said. "This kind of thoughtless display will not happen again."
Associate Professor Disatapundhu noted that while the superheroes were painted in bright colors, Hitler's image was in grey scale. Still, imitations as well as criticism together point to the offensive effect of the Thailand Hitler banner.
An international Jewish human rights group, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, commented on the offensive Hitler banner before its eradication, AP News reports.
"Hitler as a superhero? Is he an appropriate role model for Thailand's younger generation -- a genocidal hate monger who mass murdered Jews and Gypsies and who considered people of color as racially inferior," Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean at the center, said in a statement Friday. "The Simon Wiesenthal Center is outraged and disgusted by this public display at Thailand's leading school of higher education."
AP News also notes that Thai school systems focus primarily on the history of Thailand and often skim over world history. Studies typically give little or no mention to the Holocaust, which could partly explain the obliviousness to the offensiveness of the Hitler banner.
Associate Professor Supakorn said that he talked with the students connected to the Hitler banner and found they had no malevolent intentions, Phuket News reports. However, whether or not the first year students had malicious intent, the Thailand Hitler banner has gained global attention in its offensive nature.
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Richard Lewis caught up with Eternity Gaming shortly after their defeat in the grand final of Gfinity London.
The French team enjoyed an excellent first day at the event, coming through their group alongside Copenhagen Wolves after TCM Gaming withdrew.
After defeating Ozone Giants in the semi-final earlier this morning they were given a shot at beating hot favourites Copenhagen Wolves. Unfortunately it wasn't to be as they slumped to a 2-0 defeat, but still walked out of the event with $15,000.
Trevor Gretzky arrived in Vancouver on Wednesday for baseball, but it?s his hockey roots that are drawing attention his way.
As an outfielder with the Boise Hawks, Gretzky is in town for a five-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays? Class-A short season affiliate, the Vancouver Canadians. But he is under no false illusions about what?s causing the spotlight around him.
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?I know it happens because of my dad,? said Gretzky, whose father Wayne played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League, bringing four Stanley Cup championships to the city of Edmonton, and winning the Hart Trophy for the league?s most valuable player nine times.
The baseball-playing Gretzky grew up in Los Angeles, ditching hockey at a young age to focus on football and baseball.
?If I had grown up in Canada I would?ve probably played hockey,? he said.
As a teenager at Oaks Christian High School in California, Gretzky was named starting quarterback of the prep school?s football team. Three games into his senior season, however, a shoulder injury halted his young football career.
So Gretzky turned his sights back to baseball and in 2011, he was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the seventh round of the MLB amateur draft.
Gretzky played last season in the Arizona Rookie League, batting .304 in 25 games.
?I kind of always knew I was going to come back to baseball,? he said. ?I just didn?t know when.?
Before Boise?s trip to Vancouver, Gretzky was in and out of the lineup, making appearances in just eight of the Hawks? first 25 games. Since Wednesday, he?s earned three straight starts.
Hawks? manager Gary Van Tol is happy with Gretzky?s performance in Vancouver so far.
?He?s done everything I?ve asked him to,? Van Tol said about Gretzky, who has gone 4-for-10 since Wednesday?s game.
Through 11 games this season, Gretzky is batting .256 with 10 hits and one RBI.
?At the beginning of the year it was tough for him to find some at-bats because we do have a very strong outfield,? Van Tol said. ?This was an opportunity for him to really do some things and I think he?s done a great job.?
Van Tol, a native of Pincher Creek Alta., is well aware of the weight behind Trevor?s last name. He has been impressed with the way Gretzky has carried himself.
?He?s just another 20-year-old kid, really,? the Hawks manager said. ?He?s dealt with [the media] great and he handles it very well.?
As Gretzky slogs his way through baseball?s ranks, he?s asked to contrast his own road against the way his father was thrust into the highest levels of hockey.
?He is the Great One,? Gretzky said, shrugging off the question.
Many might assume that this Gretzky made the choice to steer away from hockey to forge his own path, but the 20-year-old balks at that notion.
?Even today I never think, ?Oh I have to do something for myself.? It?s selfish thinking,? Gretzky said. ?Everyone says it?s hard to live in [my dad?s] shadow, but it?s really not. I respect the shadow he made, the things he?s done for hockey. It?s awesome.?
Though Gretzky hasn?t necessarily dominated his sport the way his father dominated hockey, there are similarities between father and son. Cut from the same cloth as his championship-clad father, the young Gretzky has his sights set high.
?Win a championship, that?s my personal goal,? he said. ?You don?t come here trying to get hits for yourself. That?s why you played the game as a kid. You dream of being up there, getting that at-bat at the World Series and winning a championship.?
His work ethic sounds like the elder Gretzky as well.
?If you play the game hard, good things will happen,? he said. ?That?s been preached to me since I was a kid.?
Authored by Catey Hall, via Jim Quinn's Burning Platform blog,
The aging 'me' generation is still putting itself first...
1. ?Paws off, Junior. This cash is mine.?
Children of boomer parents shouldn?t expect a big inheritance, even if their parents are rich. Only about half of high-net-worth baby boomers ? those with more than $3 million in investible assets ? say they consider leaving money to their kids a priority, according to a 2012 U.S. Trust Survey. In contrast, nearly three-quarters of people older than boomers say it?s important to them.
Even boomers ? typically defined by demographers as those born between 1946 and 1964 ? who do plan to leave an inheritance may do so with strings attached. Indeed, nearly seven in 10 high-net-worth boomers surveyed by U.S. Trust said they were not fully confident that their children could handle an inheritance.
?More often than not, clients leave inheritances in trusts,? says John Olivieri, a partner at New York law firm White & Case who works with a lot of boomer clients. With a trust, a third party manages the money and doles it out at intervals that the parent has specified. ?Some parents have concerns about how their kids would invest and spend the money,? Olivieri says.
2. ?Make room, kids. We?ll be living with you when we?re old??
Boomers are expected to live longer than any previous generation. At the same time, many haven?t saved nearly enough for retirement. More than 44% of early boomers (whom the Employee Benefit Research Institute defines as those born between 1948 and 1954) and 43% of late boomers (born between 1955 and 1964) may not be able to afford basic living expenses in retirement, according to a 2012 analysis by EBRI. The result? Kids could be supporting mom and dad well into their 80s and 90s.
One of the biggest drains on boomer retirement savings will be health-care expenses. Medicare pays for only about 60% of the cost of health services the typical retiree will face, estimates EBRI. A couple that is 65 today might need nearly $300,000 to cover health costs. ?People who haven?t saved enough for health-care costs may deplete their assets,? says Michael Markiewicz, a partner at New York-based Fogel Neale Partners. ?A lot of them may have to live with their kids or depend on them for money and care.?
If parents do move in, their kids should expect to spend an extra $6,000 to $10,000 annually on food, clothing and other basics, says Andy Cohen, CEO of Caring.com, a website that provides resources for caregivers. Add thousands more for big-ticket items like wheelchair ramps or home health-care aids. Expensive as that sounds, it?s still often less than what it would cost to move a parent into an assisted living community, about $42,600 per year, on average, according to 2012 data from the MetLife Mature Market Institute.
3. ??and we blame you for that.?
Nearly one in six people ages 45 to 64 say that paying for their kid?s college tuition got in the way of saving for their own retirement, compared with just one in 20 who say that buying a home did, according to a 2012 study from Capital One ShareBuilder.
That?s not surprising, given that the typical middle-income family will spend more than $230,000 to raise a child from birth to age 18, up 23% (in today?s dollars) since 1960, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. When you add paying for college to the mix ? for tuition, fees and room and board as of the 2012-2013 school year, you?d pay an average of $17,860 per year for a four-year in-state public school, $30,911 per year for a four-year public out-of-state school or $39,518 per year for a private four-year school, according to the College Board ? you could easily spend upwards of $100,000 on the basic?s for your child?s education. This means that retirement savings can really take a hit. ?A lot of parents prioritized saving for their kids? college over saving for retirement,? says Dan Greenshields, the president of CapitalOne ShareBuilder.
The reason? ?Parents often equate paying for college with helping their child become successful in life,? says Deborah Fox, the founder of Fox College Funding, a San Diego-based college-funding consulting firm. That?s something they feel they have a duty to do, whether or not they can afford it, she adds.
4. ?We can?t face reality.?
What boomers think retirement will be like and what it actually is like are two very different things. A case in point: The forever-young generation just can?t deal with the idea of growing old. Only 13% of pre-retirees (people over 50 who have not yet retired) think their health will be significantly worse in retirement than it is now, while 39% of retirees report that it actually is worse, according to 2011 research by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health.
Boomers are a little fuzzy on the financial realities as well. While only 22% of pre-retirees think their financial situation will be worse in retirement, roughly one-third of retirees say that it is worse. Along those same lines, only 14% of pre-retirees predict that life overall will be worse when they retire, but a quarter of retirees report that it actually is worse. ?There?s a real disconnect because your life pre-retirement is much different than your life post-retirement,? says Hal Hershfield, a professor at NYU?s Stern School of Business who conducts research on judgment, decision-making and social psychology with an emphasis on how thinking about time can alter decisions and emotions.
5. ? ?Til death do us part? doesn?t apply to us.?
Boomers are untying the knot at a record pace. The divorce rate for people over 50 has doubled in the past 20 years, says the National Center for Family and Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University, compared with a slight decrease in divorce overall. More than 600,000 individuals over 50 divorced in 2009, and if the rate continues to grow at the current pace, that number will hit more than 800,000 by 2030.
What?s fueling this trend? Empty nesters find they are a lot less compatible when the kids aren?t around is one phenomenon, says Toronto-based psychologist Tami Kulbatski. Another might be that boomers are more likely to have married young (boomers were far more likely to be married when they were between the ages of 18 and 30, than were members of Generation X, according to research from the Pew Research Center for People & the Press). Now, a lot of boomers are in their second, third or even fourth marriage, and these marriages are more likely to end in divorce, says Krista Kay Payne, a researcher at the center.
Divorce will likely take a chunk out of the average boomer?s already inadequate retirement funds. Lawyers? fees alone can range from a couple of thousand to tens of thousands of dollars or more, says attorney Jeff Landers, author of ?Divorce: Think Financially, Not Emotionally: What Women Need to Know About Securing Their Financial Future Before, During and After Divorce.? Add to that things like alimony and having to split up assets, and boomers? financial picture gets even murkier.
6. ?We?re unhappy ??
Boomers are the least happy of all age groups, according to a 2008 study published in the American Sociological Review journal. ?The generation as a group was so large, and their expectations were so great,? Yang Yang, the author of the study, told the American Sociological Association, ?not everyone in the group could get what he or she wanted due to competition for opportunities.?
Another report from the Pew Research Center came to a similar conclusion: On a scale of one to 10, boomers, on average, rate their lives a 6.2, compared with a 6.7 for older adults and 6.5 for younger adults. That may not look like much of a difference, but this pattern has held steady for the past two decades. In other words, the boomers ? even when they were younger ? have been consistently less happy than other generations for the past 20 years.
7. ?? and we eat our feelings.?
Nearly 40% of people ages 60 and up and nearly 37% of people 40 to 59 are now considered obese, according to a 2012 report from the Centers for Disease Control, compared with less than one in three for people age 20 to 39. What?s more, baby boomers are fatter than their parents? generation, according to a study released this year by JAMA Internal Medicine, with nearly 40% of boomers reportedly obese, versus 29% of the previous generation.
Obesity can lead to serious health problems, including diabetes and heart disease. A 65-year-old person who has been obese since age 45 personally incurs roughly $50,000 more in Medicare costs over the course of his or her lifetime than a ?normal weight? 65-year-old does, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Medicare and Medicaid end up paying for roughly half of the cost of obesity, which accounts for $190 billion in medical spending annually, according to a 2012 study published in the Journal of Health Economics.
8. ?And we?re addicts.?
Maybe it?s because so many grew up in the ?60s, but whatever the excuse, boomers are drinking and drugging their way into old age at a rate much higher than their parents? generation. The number of people 50 and over who were admitted to substance abuse treatment programs increased 136% between 1992 and 2010, according to the latest data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Alcohol is the most common reason that boomers seek treatment, but the proportion of admissions of people over 50 for heroin abuse nearly doubled and for cocaine use more than tripled over that period. ?Because of the magnitude of these changes and their potential impact, it is increasingly important to understand and plan for the health care needs, including the substance use prevention and treatment needs, of this population,? the administration writes.
Treatment doesn?t come cheap. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the mean cost per admission for outpatient substance abuse treatment is more than $1,400 without methadone (a synthetic opioid used to treat heroin and morphine addictions) or $7,415 with it; prices can run into the tens of thousands for inpatient treatment. What?s more, Medicare will only pay about 65% of an outpatient treatment program, and it will pay for inpatient treatment only if a doctor deems it ?medically necessary? and the care is in a hospital. (Medicare doesn?t fund treatment at those designer ?rehab spas.? Sorry, boomers.)
9. ?We will bury you in debt.?
We?re a nation in record debt ? an estimated $16 trillion ? and the sheer number of boomers is expected to significantly add to that in the coming years, as more begin to receive Social Security and Medicare benefits. (Social Security and Medicare spending represented 38% of federal expenditures in fiscal year 2012, and ?both programs will experience cost growth substantially in excess of GDP growth through the mid-2030s,? according to the Social Security Administration.)
But in many ways, boomers have been less willing than other demographic groups to support policy changes that could trim the debt. Fully 68% of boomers oppose eliminating the tax deduction for interest paid on home mortgages, compared with just 56% of all adults, according to the Pew Research Center. Furthermore, 80% of boomers (vs. 72% of all adults) oppose taxing employer health insurance benefits and 63% of boomers (vs. 58% of all adults) oppose increasing the age one qualifies for full Social Security benefits, the study shows.
Many boomers are more opposed to these plans because ?they would feel the impact more than other groups,? says Kim Parker, the associate director of the Pew Research Center?s Social and Demographic Trends Project. But without some sort of deficit reduction, future generations will be left with the dire economic consequences a massive deficit can cause, she says.
10. ?We?re obsessed with (not) aging.?
Sagging skin, crows? feet, a dull complexion ? these used to be the inevitable signs of aging. But if the boomers have anything to say about it, that?s going to change. Revenue for so-called cosmeceutical companies ? which manufacture cosmetics with pharmaceutical capabilities, some of the most popular being wrinkle-reducing moisturizers and creams that even skin tone ? is expected to hit $5 billion this year and is expected to grow 7.5% each year through 2018, according to data from market research firm IbisWorld; people over 50 account for more of cosmeceutical companies? consumers than any other age group.
And it?s not just lotions and serums that they?re into. People 51 and up had 24% of all surgical cosmetic procedures, like face-lifts and tummy tucks, and 30% of all cosmetic ?minimally invasive? procedures like cellulite treatments, Botox injections and laser hair removals, in 2012.
It also appears that boomer men are one of the fastest-growing segments of the population going under the knife. While overall cosmetic procedures in men increased just 9% in 2012 compared with 2011, face lifts, which are typically performed on the over-50 set, increased 21%, according to data from the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. And this will become more popular, says Jack Fisher, the president of the society, as many boomers want to look and feel young.
Chester, Pa. ? The Philadelphia Union (8-6-6) came back from a goal down to earn a 3-1 victory over Chivas USA Friday night at PPL Park, as goals from Brian Carroll, Michael Farfan and Conor Casey were enough to give the Union three points.?
With the victory, the Union move into a tie for second place in the Eastern Conference standings.
?This was a really big game. Because of the previous three games, we knew we had to come here and get three points,? Team Manager John Hackworth said. ?They deserve a lot of credit because what they do, they do it really well. They make it really hard for teams, as Dallas found out and Montreal found out. So I think that just furthers the point that our guys really dug deep and showed a lot of character to got the win and do it in good fashion.?
Played in a torrential downpour that featured whipping wind, goals from Carroll, Farfan and Casey proved the difference. But it was the go-ahead goal that provided the drama at PPL Park, as an errant backpass from a Chivas defender to goalkeeper Dan Kennedy allowed for an indirect free kick inside the box. Farfan waited to catch an 11-man Chivas slipping on the restart and buried a shot at the edge of the six-yard-box past Kennedy.
While it was a play that has gone unseen by fans of the Union, it was a situation Farfan claimed to have seen on a few occasions, which set up the impetus of where that ball needed to be placed.
??I?ve seen a couple goals scored like that and I think that?s probably where I got the idea from [of where to place my shot],? said Farfan postgame, who scored his first goal of the year. ?[Where I placed it] is probably the most open spot on a free kick like that when you got 11 guys lined up inside the goal, so I figured I would try it and try my best to keep it on frame.?
It was a goal Union manager John Hackworth would have loved to have commented on ? except moments before referee Jorge Gonzalez made the call, Hackworth was sent off for an undisclosed reason. Though visibly incensed over what appeared to be a handball in the box, Gonzalez did not disclose the reason as to which he sent Hackworth ? who could miss the Union?s next match against Portland next Saturday.
??Well, I was in a position where I really wasn?t about to see that [infraction and subsequent goal],? quipped Hackworth. ?I was back here under the River End, but?I don?t know, there are a lot of things that were puzzling about that play.?
What was not puzzling was the effort the Union contributed to battle back and pick up three valuable points as they outshot Chivas USA, 21-7 and edged in possession percentage (56.4 vs. 43.6).
??This means a lot the way we were able to battle back and get the three points, it says a lot about our team,? said rookie forward-midfielder Leo Fernandes, who played 70 minutes and looked a threat to Chivas for much of it. ?This gives us a lot of confidence and now it?s important we take this into the next game and fight for another three points.?
The Timbers come calling next Saturday (7:30 p.m., CSN) followed by a road trip to Vancouver on July 27.
BOX SCORE
Philadelphia Union 3, Chivas USA 1 July 12, 7:30 p.m. ET PPL Park, Chester, Pa.
LogicBUY’s Deal for Friday is the 7″ Lenovo?IdeaTab A2107 tablet with Android 4.0 for?$119. ?Features: 1GHz dual-core processor 512MB RAM 16GB storage; expandable with the built-in microSD slot Front & rear cameras $229 – $110 coupon code?= $119 with free shipping. This deal expires July 17, 2013 or sooner. Check the above link for more [...]
Anthony Pettis was supposed to open August fighting Jose Aldo for the UFC featherweight title. Instead, after two injuries, Pettis will instead close the month rematching Benson Henderson at UFC 164 on Aug. 31 in Milwaukee for the UFC lightweight belt.
Pettis defeated Henderson in the final event in World Extreme Cagefighting history, lifting that organization's belt from Henderson by pulling off the now-legendary "Showtime kick" in the waning moments of a close fight. Pettis leaped up against the cage, pushed off and blasted a surprise Henderson in the head with a kick.
That move, one of the most spectacular in modern mixed martial arts history, lifted Pettis to the WEC title.
Henderson later went on to win the UFC lightweight belt and was supposed to defend it against T.J. Grant at UFC 164. But, according to UFC president Dana White, Grant suffered an injury and had to withdraw.
But that opened the door for the Henderson-Pettis rematch. Pettis had injured a knee that forced him to pull out of his planned Aug. 3 featherweight title fight with Aldo in Brazil. He was replaced on that card by "The Korean Zombie," Chan Sung Jung.
MMA Junkie first reported Grant's injury and the coach of Pettis as his replacement.
Pettis coach Duke Roufus said Pettis' knee "is feeling great after rehab."
White was ecstatic to be able to make the bout and said he thinks the UFC is set up for a memorable finish to 2013.
"If all of these fights we have set hold up and no one else gets hurt, this is going to be the baddest string of fights we've ever done in a six-month period," White said. "Without question, this will be the best second-half of a year in UFC history."
White noted that the string began last week with Chris Weidman's stunning upset win over middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 162 in Las Vegas.
The rest of the 2013 pay-per-view schedule, according to White, is:
? Aug. 3, UFC 163 in Rio de Janeiro, Aldo vs. "The Korean Zombie" for the featherweight title.
? Aug. 31, UFC 164 in Milwaukee, Henderson vs. Pettis II for the UFC lightweight title.
? Sept. 21, UFC 165 in Toronto, Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson for the UFC light heavyweight title.
? Oct. 19, UFC 166 in Houston, Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos III for the UFC heavyweight title.
? Nov. 16, UFC 167 in Las Vegas, Georges St-Pierre vs. Johny Hendricks for the UFC welterweight title.
? Dec. 28, UFC 168 in Las Vegas, Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate II for the UFC women's bantamweight title.
White spent much of his day Friday in Los Angeles negotiating with Silva about a rematch with Weidman that he hopes to put on UFC 168. Silva has commitments to sponsors he's already made, though, that may make it impossible for him to fight as soon as December.
"We'd love to have him on that New Year's Eve card in Vegas," White said. "That would be sick. We're working on that, but all that stuff Anderson has going on is why the Super Bowl card is still a possibility."
Pettis could be reached for comment on Friday, but Roufus was with Pettis when he was offered the fight with Henderson. He was thrilled, not only for the title opportunity but for the chance to do it in Milwaukee, his hometown.
"Anthony and I received the news together here," Roufus said. "He can't wait to get the UFC championship. Ben is a great fighter, but Anthony is a special fighter who will beat Ben again."
White said one of the reasons he likes Pettis so much is that he is willing to fight anyone at any time. He said Pettis had no concern about having started to get ready to fight at featherweight and then having to go up and fight at lightweight.
Pettis, he said, just loves to compete in big fights.
"What I love about this guy is he doesn't give a [expletive] about stupid [expletive] like whether it's at 145 or 155 or where it is or when it is or any of that," White said. "He has the attitude, 'I'm the best. I'm going to win. I don't care when or where. Let's do it.' Those are the kind of guys I love."
White also said he is in talks to re-sign heavyweight Roy Nelson, whose contract expired in June after a loss to Stipe Miocic at UFC 161 in Winnipeg. White said if he re-signs Nelson in time, he plans to pair him with Daniel Cormier at UFC 166 on the Velasquez-dos Santos III undercard.
Nelson and Cormier have had a feud on social media and have been eager to fight. Cormier is also Velasquez's training partner, close friend and wrestling coach.
If you are still holding on to the glory days of Vine, even after Instagram tried its best to kill it by introducing its own video service, you?ll be happy to hear about the latest update. Released this afternoon to Google Play, the new version of Vine includes channels (15 of them to be precise), ?revining? of favorite posts, a fast capture widget, new capture tools (focus, grid, and ghost), and more.
Go get it! (Assuming it?s not a staged rollout.)?
Here is the full changelog:
This update to Vine is our biggest yet!
CHANNELS Browse or submit your posts to 15 new channels
REVINING Share your favorite posts with all your followers on Vine in one tap
FAST CAPTURE WIDGET Instantly jump to the Vine camera right from your home screen
NEW CAPTURE TOOLS Shoot with style using the new focus, grid, and ghost tools
1:15 PM: The Washington Kastles World Team Tennis team lost to the Texas Wild Wednesday night, ending the Kastles' 34-match winning streak.
1:00 PM: Last night's Late Night With David Letterman featured a Top Ten list of ESPN's lowest-rated shows.
12:45 PM: Video of an L.A. Dodgers fan getting pushed into the pool at Chase Field during Wednesday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
12:30 PM: Former Nebraska & current New England Patriots defensive back Alfonzo Dennard was arrested on drunk driving charges in Lincoln early Thursday morning. Dennard was previously sentenced to 30 days in jail for punching an officer outside a Lincoln bar last year.
12:15 PM: The Arizona Republic reports a new non-profit is hoping to save the only certified Olympic-size swimming pool in Phoenix before a developer builds 35 new homes on the site.
12:00 PM: Fox Sports Wisconsin report that Big Ten football teams will pay $4.945 million to host FCS opponents in games this season. The largest payout is Ohio State giving Florida A&M $900,000 to come to Columbus on September 21.
11:45 AM:Jose Lambiet's Gossip Extra reports that Ernesto Arguello, current boyfriend of Tony Parker's ex-wife Eva Longoria, is currently $4.1 million in debt and has listed assets totaling only $1,555.
11:30 AM: Former Dallas Cowboys coach Barry Switzer doesn't like the NFL putting cameras in team locker rooms: "If I was coaching I would kick their a** out of there because it's now going to be all theatrical. You're turning coaches into damn actors. It's sickening to see that (cameras) are able to do this."
11:15 AM: A photographer for National Geographic was arrested in Kansas for taking pictures of a cattle feedlot while flying above in a paraglider.
11:00 AM: The New Britain Rock Cats minor league baseball team unveiled a new outfield banner in tribute to Sandy Hook Elementary School before Wednesday's game. The two Rock Cats employees who did the unveiling are residents of Newtown, Connecticut.
10:45 AM: A 19-year-old Shoshone, Idaho man was hospitalized in serious condition a 25-year-old was arrested on battery charges after being involved in a "fight club" boxing match.
10:30 AM: The New York Red Bulls Major League Soccer team is offering to pay its fan groups to not shout "You Suck, A**hole!" during matches. The Red Bulls will only pay out if fans can go four games without yelling the chant.
10:15 AM:Shaquille O'Neal clarified his comments about Dwight Howard going to a "little town like Houston": "I meant that Houston is a smaller city, a smaller market than L.A. .... (There is) not that much pressure in Houston. Well, there's a little bit of pressure. Just not as much pressure as playing for L.A."
10:00 AM: Missouri Governor Jay Nixon signed a new bill Wednesday naming a new St. Louis bridge after Cardinals Hall of Famer Stan Musial. But the Mississippi River bridge will officially be called the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge in a compromise between Missouri & Illinois officials.
9:00 PM: KPTV reports on Sorella Stoute, a one-year-old girl who managed to buy a car on eBay while playing around with her father's smartphone. Paul Stoute says he plans to fix up the 1962 Austin-Healey Sprite Sorella got for $225 and give it back to his daughter on her 16th birthday.
If you're like us, you've always wondered who would win in a rap battle between Grumpy Cat and Nyan Cat... despite the fact that one's a cat and one's not even a real thing.
Fortunately, the folks at Animeme Rap Battles had the same question. WARNING: Some NSFW kitty language happens.
The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for Eastern Stark County until 5:30 p.m. A storm capable of producing a tornado was located near East Sparta and moving east.
A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for 1/4 inch hail and damaging winds through downtown Canton until 5:15 p.m.
At 4 p.m., a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located near Hartville and moving east at 30 mph.
WENATCHEE ? University of Washington football star Kasen T. Williams pleaded guilty Monday to committing an alcohol-related traffic offense in Chelan over Memorial Day weekend.
A Washington State Patrol sergeant stopped the 20-year-old Huskies receiver for speeding on Highway 97A May 26, and Williams admitted to drinking and using marijuana earlier that day. A Breathalyzer test showed his blood alcohol content at 0.059 percent, and a marijuana pipe was found in the car Williams shared with a male passenger, police said.
Williams, a UW junior from Seattle, admitted to the charges in Chelan County District Court on Monday, with Judge Roy S. Fore deferring his sentence for two years. He paid $695 in court costs and fines, but will face no penalties if he receives drug and alcohol counseling within 90 days and avoids similar traffic or drug-related offenses until June 2015.
UW Athletics spokesman Jeff Bechthold said Tuesday that football coach Steve Sarkisian knew of Williams?s case prior to his plea, and any team disciplinary measures would be kept confidential. He said no further comment would be forthcoming.
That leaves questions about Williams?s status with the Huskies, scheduled to open their season in an Aug. 31 home game against Boise State. The UW Student-Athlete Handbook prohibits players from any unlawful use of alcohol or non-medicinal marijuana.
The athletics department ?reserves the right to withhold a student-athlete from practice and competition? until he or she completes a course of drug abuse education or treatment.
The state patrol report said Williams was traveling 15 mph over the 30 mph limit when pulled over in the 2200 block of West Woodin Avenue, and pulled into the lot of the hotel where he was staying. The sergeant detected the odor of both marijuana and alcohol from the vehicle. In a police interview, Williams admitted to smoking ?a bowl 5 hours ago,? and said ?last I had a beer before my nap? at about 7 p.m. at ?a friend?s house.?
His passenger was not arrested or cited.
Williams chose UW in 2011 after turning down attractive recruitment offers from UCLA and Boise State University, among others. Last year he made 77 catches, the third-best season record in UW history. His father, Aaron Williams, is also a former UW receiver.
As a receiver for Skyline High School in Sammamish, Williams notched 56 touchdowns ? 20 of them in 2009 alone, including three in the state title game ? and finished his prep career with 4,121 receiving yards and 235 catches. He was named Parade magazine?s Player of the Year in 2011, and was also a star track and field athlete in the long jump and high jump.
Williams has been fined a total of $525 for four speeding tickets in the last three years, including one in Chelan County in 2010.
Jefferson Robbins: 664-7123
robbins@wenatcheeworld.com or twitter.com/JRobbinsWW
According to research at Emory University, BYU is one of the best schools in the country at turning recruits into draftable, NBA prospects.
A recent story out of Emory University's Sports Marketing Analytics group ranked BYU 2nd among non-BCS conference schools at transforming high school talent into NBA draft picks. They looked at recruiting classes from 2002 to 2011. Nevada was top among non-BCS schools. Truth be told, Nevada and BYU had the highest rates of any schools in the country.
* Chart courtesy of Emory Sports Marketing Analytics. For a full explanation of their system and the complete rankings, look here.
Of course, this is not apples to apples. In the time period covered, BYU only had one 4+ star recruit according to Rivals.com (DeMarcus Harrison); Duke averages nearly 3 of those recruits every single season. What the BYU coaching staff has excelled at is taking 3-star recruits (like Jimmer Fredette and Trent Plaisted) and turning them into NBA prospects. Or in one extreme case, they took a JC transfer (Rafael Araujo) and groomed him to be a lottery pick.
Why is this important? Well, this is the opposite of the criticism Bronco Mendenhall has endured from some observers about his inability to turn players into NFL prospects. That's mainly been put to bed with the early selection of Ziggy Ansah in the NFL draft, and the draft prospects of Kyle Van Noy and Cody Hoffman in 2014.
As the line goes, recruiting should be helped if you can show high school prospects that their professional dreams are more likely at your school than another. Not that Dave Rose is going to start handing out analytical reports to parents and high school athletes, but the point Rose could (and maybe does) make is that BYU has been a well above average place for 3-star recruits to turn into NBA draftees. It's not just Jimmer either. Trent Plaisted was drafted, Araujo was a nobody, and Travis Hansen was drafted as well if you go back a little further. Brandon Davies made an NBA summer team, and Tyler Haws is likely to get drafted and is playing for team USA.
BYU is not, in most cases, in the business of recruiting the elite hoops talent. This incoming class (which includes two 4-star recruits in Nick Emery and Eric Mika) is a huge exception to that. But what if Rose can get the best 3-star talent, in part by using the NBA draft success of guys like Jimmer and Plaisted as a recruiting pitch?
I don't think this report or these data points are likely to be the deciding factor in a recruit's decision, or will bring in 5-star talent; as Jabari Parker recently showed the world, BYU is not in the elite schools. But Rose (and Steve Cleveland before him) have shown they can create an experience that seems to enhance a recruit's chances to make an NBA roster.
Not many 3-star recruits make the NBA, and BYU is one of the best places to make that happen.
After shocking the world by beating Anderson Silva at UFC 162, Chris Weidman's first task was getting his new accessory through security at the airport. They can be sticklers about not wearing a belt through the metal detectors. After getting the belt home, what is next for Weidman?
A layoff: He had surgery in winter, then started preparing for the fight with Silva. He wouldn't likely mind taking a little time to relax and enjoy his accomplishment.
A middleweight contender: Since losing to Silva, Vitor Belfort has four straight wins at middleweight. (His loss to Jon Jones was at light heavyweight.) He's already had two highlight reel knockouts in 2013, and is begging for a title shot on Twitter. Michael Bisping, one of the fighters who was knocked out by Belfort, is also throwing his name in the hat.
A rematch with Silva: Even before their bout, UFC president Dana White said Weidman and Silva would rematch if Weidman won. He didn't change that stance after the fight.
"Anderson Silva has gone undefeated since 2006 and has beat everybody and held the title," White said after Saturday night's fights. "He deserves the rematch. I mean, Chris Weidman said that before he even fought him. Vitor is just going to have to wait.
This fight is so likely that White already has a date in mind. He is considering it for UFC 168 on Dec. 28. Right now, a bout between UFC women's bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate is scheduled for that card.
What do you want to see Weidman do next? Speak up on Facebook or Twitter.
PILOTS PROBED: The National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday interviewed the four pilots onboard Asiana Airlines Flight 214, which crash landed July 6 at San Francisco International Airport.Image: The National Transportation Safety Board
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Federal investigators are asking several key questions as they continue their probe into Saturday?s Asiana Airlines crash landing at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) that killed two passengers and injured dozens. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is hoping that its interviews Tuesday with the four pilots of Flight 214 will shed some light on the aircraft?s erratic approach and the cockpit?s last-minute attempt to abort the landing before the Boeing 777?s landing gear and tail struck a seawall at the end of the runway.
The NTSB will also examine how safety systems and procedures onboard enabled all but two of the 307 passengers and crew to escape with their lives despite severe damage to the aircraft?s fuselage.
Air traffic controllers at SFO had cleared Flight 214 for a visual approach to its runway late Saturday morning. Despite good visibility around the airport and no reports of onboard mechanical failure during the descent, the aircraft flight data recorder indicates that the 777 approached about 64 kilometers per hour slower than the target landing speed of 250 kph, NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman said in a press conference Sunday.
Seven seconds before impact one of the crew members called for the aircraft to increase its speed, according to information obtained from the cockpit recorder. Three seconds later, the aircraft?s "stick shaker??a feature that vibrates the pilot?s control yoke?warned of an incorrect approach angle. Finally, a crewmember initiated a ?go around??an attempt to abort the landing and regain altitude?1.5 seconds before impact.
During an NTSB press conference Tuesday afternoon, Hersman indicated that her agency had interviewed three of the four flight crew members, with the fourth being interviewed as the press briefing was underway. She relayed that the pilot at the helm of the 777 during the crash landing was in the process of certifying on that aircraft (although he is an experienced pilot on other aircraft models) and was accompanied by a flight instructor (an experienced 777 pilot) in the co-pilot?s seat.
Although information provided by the flight crew still needs to be verified against the voice and flight recorders, the instructor told NTSB investigators that the crew had set the aircraft?s speed at 250 kph and thought that the 777?s automatic throttles, or autothrottles, were maintaining that speed during the approach. At about 60 meters from the runway, he realized the autothrottles were not maintaining the correct speed and the aircraft was coming in too low, hence the belated attempt at a go around.
Hersman said that the autothrottles recovered from the wreckage were in the ?armed? position, meaning that they ?were available to be engaged.? The NTSB will be able to determine whether these were set properly only after checking the flight data recorder, she added.
Runway safety tech The NTSB?s investigation encompasses not only on the onboard factors that may have led to the crash but also the performance of safety features on the runway, which is about 3,500 meters long and sits four meters above sea level. The Federal Aviation Administration requested a flight test of the runway?s instrument landing system, which guides pilots to a safe approach, shortly after the crash. The system?s localizer, which orients incoming aircraft with respect to the runway?s centerline, functioned properly during the test.
But investigators are also examining the relative importance of the airport landing system?s other key component?the glide-slope indicator that provides pilots with a steady path of descent?which at SFO has been out of commission since June 1. Hersman said in her Sunday press conference that pilots had been notified in advance of the outage.
The glide-scope indicator gives pilots a 3-D arc to follow from a predetermined destination in the sky, says Jason Day, an instructor in Arizona State University?s Aviation Program and a former commercial airline pilot. Although the system is not infallible, he adds, ?if you follow that, your main wheels should touch down on what are called the 1,000-foot markers, those giant white rectangular blocks painted on the runway.? Commercial airline pilots use the glide-slope indicator during more than 99 percent of landings, Day says. Still, he adds, ?on a clear day, it should be no challenge at all for a pilot to land without the glide-path system.?
Day?s first reaction on seeing the accident was that the aircraft ?landed short, meaning they were trying to utilize as little of the runway as possible, and they just came in too low and struck the tail.? Pilots often try to minimize runway use to keep airport traffic moving, according to Day: ?The air traffic controllers want you to get on the ground and get off the runway as soon as possible, and most pilots try to accommodate that.?
Switch to manual The pilot at the helm of Flight 214, identified as Lee Kang-kuk, turned off the autopilot?which regulates airspeed, among other things?at 500 meters above the ground, 82 seconds before the crash, according to Hersman.
If the pilot had kept the autothrottle engaged, the aircraft would have made adjustments to keep the power up and maintain the proper speed, Day says. But it?s not uncommon for pilots to switch to manual control for a landing. ?A lot of pilots don?t like the automation when they get that close to the ground,? he says. ?They don?t trust those systems.? Both localizer and glide-slope systems use complex antennas that are sensitive to runway obstructions?such as parked vehicles or uneven terrain?that might interfere with their signal and provide an incorrect reading.
Investigators will want to know exactly how events unfolded as soon as the pilot switched to manual controls, because that coincided with the dramatic reduction in speed, says Dave Esser, professor of aeronautical science at Embry?Riddle Aeronautical University. Once the aircraft lost so much speed, it was less likely to respond to attempts to abort the landing, he adds. ?When you have an aircraft of that size, inertia is working against you,? he says. ?You?ve got that much mass, and you get slow, and then when you do put the throttles up they don?t respond immediately. If they had initiated the full takeoff and go around sooner, I?m sure it would have worked.?
Safety improvements The final NTSB report should also provide insights into how nearly all passengers and crew survived the crash landing and fiery skid down the runway. Passengers can attribute their improved chances of survival today to a series of safety improvements that have evolved over the past half century, says Bill Waldock, professor of safety science and director of Embry?Riddle?s Robertson Aircraft Accident Investigation Laboratory. Airlines began replacing flammable plastics in the interiors of their aircraft with fire-hardened materials following two catastrophic accidents in the 1980s?one in Cincinnati and the other in Manchester, England?in which fires broke out before the planes even left the ground, claiming the lives of dozens of passengers.
Aviation engineers also took cues from the automotive industry and have designed stronger fuselages over the years built to withstand greater impacts without breaking apart. Repositioning fuel tanks helped keep fires from spreading too quickly to the cabin, giving passengers and crew precious minutes to escape. Evacuation slides, which used to be bright yellow for greater visibility in sea rescues, now have an aluminized coating to repel heat and resist bursting during evacuations, Waldock says.
Flight 214?s well-trained team of flight attendants may have also saved lives, Waldock says. Two slides that were supposed to inflate outward instead inflated toward the inside of the plane, hurting two flight attendants, according to Hersman. Still, the pilots and attendants were able to get most of the passengers to safety even as the cabin?s roof burned overhead. ?It?s the post-impact fire that kills more people,? Esser adds. ?That?s where the flight attendants come in and do their job and get the people out of the plane before the smoke and flames are an issue.?
The update for the 9.7-inch iPad with a bezel like the Mini may arrive first -- that's a common theme emerging based on chatter from suppliers.
(Credit: Apple)
A distinct theme has emerged about the timing of upcoming Apple tablets: The iPad 5 is on track, while the Retina Mini is up in the air.
The next-generation 9.7-inch iPad -- let's call it the iPad 5 -- is on track for a September debut, according to a report at Digitimes on Monday, citing sources at component suppliers.
If that sounds familiar, a report from NPD DisplaySearch last month said pretty much the same thing: It expects the iPad 5 in the third calendar quarter.
Continuing chatter also calls for a narrower side bezel like the Mini's and an overall thinner design, due to the use of a redesigned backlight apparatus.
Remember, with the iPad 3 -- the first Retina version -- the chassis got thicker and heavier than the iPad 2 due mostly to the extra backlights and battery power needed to drive the 2,048x1,536-pixel density display. And Apple maintained the same physical design for the iPad 4.
Speculation about the 7.9-inch Mini Retina has become consistent too: Don't hold your breath. Digitimes claimed Monday that Apple has not even decided whether to go Retina but, if it does, there is a chance of a product "release" in the fourth quarter sometime.
NPD DisplaySearch, on the other hand, says a Retina version is planned later -- likely months after the iPad 5 debuts.
IHS iSuppli told CNET in June that production for the high-resolution Mini could begin in the third quarter but warned that the "challenges [display makers] face are the [production] yield rates. And being able to produce in very high volume for Apple."
"Ideally, [display makers] should be producing in high volume one or two quarters before Apple can use the display," Sweta Dash, senior director of LCD research at IHS iSuppli, told CNET previously.
An interesting twist to the DisplaySearch supplier data is the emergence of another Mini model before the Retina. Due in the second half sometime, that will sport a 1,024x768 display (like the current version) but get a processor upgrade to the A6 from the A5 that's in the Mini today.
Sony recently introduced the follow up to its original "Smartwatch" with the 2013 Smartwatch 2. When it comes to the smartwatch segment, we're certainly getting more and more choices to select from. Of course, the 900 pound gorilla in the room would be the rumors swirling as to whether or not Apple will get in the game (just earlier this week they registered a trademark in China for iWatch), as well as what Dell may do.
Past that, many of the brands in the segment are smaller startups, which may (or may not) give the casual consumer some pause, wondering if the brand will be around in a few years to provide warranty service on the watch. For those folks, a watch carrying the Sony logo on it is likely some comfort.
And make no mistake - these smartwatches are aimed at the mainstream consumer, not necessarily us watch-collecting types. In other words, we look to be blown away by something, and will compare it (inevitably) to the various mechanical watches that hit the same price point. And while there's nothing wrong with that, it's missing the point of these watches.
They're either for people really into tech, and/or those who have ditched wearing a watch and instead rely completely on their smartphone to keep them on time. It's really to those two categories, primarily, that having a "second screen" on your wrist is really going to appeal. As for me, I just enjoy watches of all types, so this processor-driven segment is interesting to keep an eye on. But, enough pontificating - on to the watch!
The SmartWatch 2 features a 1.6" LCD display, via which you'll be able to interact with a whole suite of of applications such as Facebook and Twitter, pull up weather information, and see alerts about incoming mail, text messages, and phone calls. It's also billed as the first smartwatch that's water resistant, and packs in some NFC technology which is used for simplifying pairing (it also packs in Bluetooth 3.0). Of course, that would require that your phone has an NFC chip - which, of course, the Sony Android phones do. Unlike previous iterations though, they are opening up compatibility with other makes of phones - you can check the full compatibility list on this page.
Provided you have the necessary tech, you can do all sorts of interesting things, such as adjusting music volume, skipping tracks, controlling a presentation, or triggering the camera on your phone remotely. Should you be out of range of your phone, the watch doesn't become a paperweight. It still functions as a digital watch (including setting the alarm time), and you can view previously received notifications. And much like our "regular" watches, this one allows for swapping out the stock strap for a 24mm band of your choice. A minor thing, to be sure, but something that can really help make a watch like this "yours".
Unlike a regular watch, you'll be very much tied to your power outlet to charge the watch via micro USB. Battery life is estimated at 5-6 days with minimal usage, or the more realistic 3-4 days with what Sony is calling typical usage. Thankfully, with that power usage, you do get a backlit color LCD, which no other smartwatch offers to-date. This also means it can be a sort of flashlight in a pinch, much like your phone.
From a design perspective, you still get a case that looks like a screen, or rather a small boxy iPhone with Sony branding. It isn't ugly, but it certainly is a bit too straightforward in its execution, offering all the sex appeal of an androgynous stripper. They also seemed to nonchalantly borrow a strap from the Bell & Ross BR01, at least one that looks pretty close. The good news is that the smartwatch world is looking to the 'dumbwatch' world for design inspiration a little bit. Ideally it will be even more so in the future.
Ultimately, this Sony and other smartwatches are an extension of your phone. This is made even more apparent by the (relatively) large color screen and the UI mimicking what many are used to from Android phones. At this point, it's hard to tell what impact this will have in the segment. Once we start to see some real-world testing , then we can form a more solid impression on the watch. For now, we'll just have to wait until it's available in September at a price of about $250. Of course with news from Dell, Samsung, and Google that they are certainly working on new smartwatches, and the almost guaranteed rumor that Apple is, we think the smartwatch ecosystem is about to get rather complicated. sonymobile.com
But that opened the door for the Henderson-Pettis rematch. 
After shocking the world by beating Anderson Silva at UFC 162, Chris Weidman's first task was getting his new accessory through security at the airport. They can be sticklers about not wearing a belt through the metal detectors. After getting the belt home, what is next for Weidman?
