Monday, April 29, 2013

Reports: Cops shot outside Italian premier office

ROME (AP) ? Reports say two paramilitary police officers were shot and wounded outside the Italian premier's office as the new leader was sworn in about a kilometer (half-mile) away.

An AP television producer reported seeing one officer lying on the pavement, with blood pouring out of his neck. The Italian news agency ANSA said the assailant, described in reports as a man dressed in a suit and tie, had been detained by police.

The shooting came as Enrico Letta and his Cabinet took their oaths Sunday in the Quirinal presidential office, after he nailed down a coalition agreement between his center-left forces and the conservative bloc of ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi.

It was unclear if there was any connection between the events, but political tensions have been running high in Italy.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/reports-cops-shot-outside-italian-premier-office-100457952.html

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Fire erupts at Israeli prison holding ex-president

JERUSALEM (AP) ? Israel's prisons service says a fire has broken out at the facility where former President Moshe Katsav is serving time.

Spokesman Itsik Gorlov said the fire erupted at a factory at Maasiyahu prison in central Israel Sunday. He had no immediate details on its cause or whether there were any casualties. He said it had not spread to the wards where prisoners are held.

Katsav has been serving a seven-year sentence since 2011 after being convicted of rape and other charges. He has denied the accusations.

Israel on Sunday was battling a series of brushfires caused by the combination of hot, dry weather and the Lag Baomer holiday, in which revelers traditionally celebrate with bonfires.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fire-erupts-israeli-prison-holding-ex-president-114922858.html

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Mad Men Review: MLK's Death Opens "The Flood" of Personal Demons

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/mad-men-review-martin-luther-king-jrs-death-opens-the-flood-of-p/

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Friday, April 26, 2013

Uber's back in Gotham: NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission approves cab-hailing app

Car service Uber and New York City's Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) have had a rocky relationship, as the Commission banned Uber from Gotham's taxicabs last year. Susequently, the TLC green-lit a trial to test cab hailing apps and after a brief legal delay, the pilot program is back in action, and Valleywag reports that Uber is the first app approved. Uber's co-founder Travis Kalanick is, quite naturally, excited to be back in NYC taxis with the commission's tacit explicit approval, and stated that the app will be ready for use across the city "monetarily." So, it's official, good people of Gotham, you can now legally go forth and get your Uber on.

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Drug Czar Questions Drug Arrests, Says Administration Will ...

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Homemade Dressings for Homegrown Salads - Vitacost Blog

No matter how small your backyard, there?s often enough soil to plant at least a few items. And when space is at a premium, the vegetation of choice tends to be ones that can land in a salad bowl. There?s not only a huge array of lettuces to cultivate, but also fresh green herbs, which have a delicate flavor and consistency, and which can be a much larger component of the salad presentation than most people realize.

Don?t have time to make your own? Shop for natural and organic salad dressing at Vitacost!

That leaves us with dressings ? the healthy ones you make yourself and that don?t come?from a bottle. Here are three dressing ingredient options:

Apple Cider Vinegar. Apple cider vinegar, which can provide the acid kick to a salad dressing, is the fermented juice of pressed, fresh apples. An unpasteurized product, it contains ?mother,? the nutrient-rich sediment responsible for the liquid?s amber-brown color which has a string-like appearance.

Stevia. When you?re creating a fruit-based dressing ? try mashing up strawberries for a fragrant surprise ? you might want to add more sweetener, such as stevia, which is twice as sweet as sugar. An all-natural product and a great alternative to artificial sweeteners, stevia comes from the sweetest part of the stevia leaf. It can also be used in beverages.

Cayenne Pepper. For upping the heat quotient of a salad, there?s nothing better than cayenne pepper, which is a powdered form of red chili pepper, a fruit from the capsicum family. What provides the heat is cayenne?s high concentration of capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide), a natural alkaloid. In traditional Ayurvedic health practices, it?s used for a variety of health-promoting purposes. Popular in Mexican, Cajun and Carribean cuisine, cayenne also contains vitamin A carotenoids, including the antioxidant beta-carotene, as well as vitamins B6, C and K, manganese and fiber.

What?s your favorite way to add flavor to salads? Share it with us in the comments below.

Laurie Steelsmith, ND, LAc, is a naturopathic physician and licensed acupuncturist who specializes in women?s health. She is the co-author of Great Sex, Naturally: Every Woman?s Guide to Enhancing Her Sexuality Through the Secrets of Natural Medicine and co-author of Natural Choices for Women?s Health: How the Secrets of Natural and Chinese Medicine Can Create a Lifetime of Wellness.

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Source: http://blog.vitacost.com/food-and-drink/diy-dressing-ideas-for-homegrown-salads.html

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SKorea demands talks with NKorea on closed factory

FILE - In this June 22, 2006 file photo, North Koreans work at a factory of South Korean apparel maker Shinwon company in the inter-Korean industrial park in Kaesong, North Korea. South Korea on Thursday, April 25, 2013 warned of an unspecified "grave measure" if North Korea rejects talks on the jointly run factory park shuttered for nearly a month - setting up the possible end of the last remaining major symbol of inter-Korean cooperation.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

FILE - In this June 22, 2006 file photo, North Koreans work at a factory of South Korean apparel maker Shinwon company in the inter-Korean industrial park in Kaesong, North Korea. South Korea on Thursday, April 25, 2013 warned of an unspecified "grave measure" if North Korea rejects talks on the jointly run factory park shuttered for nearly a month - setting up the possible end of the last remaining major symbol of inter-Korean cooperation.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

U.S. Army soldiers ride an armored vehicle during their military exercise near the border village of Panmunjom, that separates the two Koreas, in Paju, north of Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 24, 2013. For weeks, North Korea has threatened to attack the U.S. and South Korea for holding joint military drills and for supporting U.N. sanctions. Washington and Seoul said they've seen no evidence that Pyongyang is actually preparing for a major conflict, though South Korean defense officials said the North appears prepared to test-fire a medium-range missile capable of reaching the American territory of Guam. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

(AP) ? South Korea on Thursday warned of unspecified "grave measures" if North Korea rejects talks on a jointly run factory park shuttered for nearly a month ? setting up the possible end of the last remaining major symbol of inter-Korean cooperation.

The demand for talks, which is likely to draw an angry response from North Korea, follows a lull in what had been a period of rising hostility between the Koreas. Pyongyang has recently eased its threats of nuclear war and expressed some tentative signs of interest in dialogue, and Washington and Seoul have also pushed for an easing of animosity.

Despite North Korea's threats, there were few major actions; perhaps the biggest was Pyongyang's suspension of operations at the inter-Korean factory park in the North Korean border town of Kaesong. Early this month, it barred South Koreans from crossing the border and entering the factory, which is a holdover from an era that saw the Koreas set up various cooperative projects meant to facilitate better ties. It also withdrew the 53,000 North Koreans who manned assembly lines there.

South Korea's Unification Ministry on Thursday proposed working-level talks on Kaesong and urged the North to respond by noon Friday, warning that Seoul will take "grave measures" if Pyongyang rebuffs the call for dialogue.

In a televised news conference, spokesman Kim Hyung-suk refused to describe what those measures might be, but some analysts said Seoul would likely pull out its remaining workers from the complex if the working-level talks don't happen.

The factory has operated with South Korean know-how and technology and with cheap labor from North Korea since 2004. It has weathered past cycles of hostility between the rivals, including two attacks blamed on North Korea in 2010 that killed 50 South Koreans.

More than 120 South Korean companies, mostly small and medium-sized apparel and electronics firms, operated at Kaesong before North Korean workers stopped showing up on April 9. Raw material came from South Korea, with finished goods later sent back south. Last year, the factories produced goods worth $470 million. South Korean companies paid salaries to North Korean workers averaging $127 a month, according to South Korea's government. That is less than one-sixteenth of the average salary of South Korean manufacturer workers.

Impoverished North Korea objects to views in South Korea that the park is a source of badly-needed hard currency. It also has complained about alleged South Korean military plans in the event Pyongyang held the Kaesong managers hostage.

At the factory, food has dwindled, and with no apparent end to North Korea's suspension in sight, a daily trickle of South Korean workers have returned home. Still, Pyongyang hasn't forced South Koreans to leave, and about 175 are still there.

Kim, the Unification Ministry spokesman, said South Korea set a deadline because the remaining workers at Kaesong are seeing food and medicine shortages. He said the companies there are suffering economically because of the shutdown.

To resolve deadlocked operations at Kaesong, Kim said North Korea should first allow some South Koreans to cross the border to hand over food and medicine to the managers.

South Korea on Wednesday proposed talks, but the North rebuffed the offer, Kim said.

"It's very regrettable for North Korea to reject (taking) the minimum humanitarian measures for our workers at the Kaesong industrial complex," he said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-04-25-Koreas-Tension/id-1f59e1f813a84c9ea4085c17e8486a30

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Wii U spring update now live, promises to speed up software load times

Wii U spring update now live, promises to speed up software load times

Owning a Wii U can feel like an exercise in patience: games and apps can take up to 30 seconds to load, and downloaded software needs to be manually installed. Thankfully, Nintendo heard its fans lamentations, and has issued the first of two major updates designed to mitigate the problem. In addition to dramatically speeding up software load times, the update revises how the Wii U handles downloads and installs. Rather than manually having to install software, the system will automatically update, download and unwrap patches in the background, even if the console is powered down. The system update also puts the finishing touches on the Wii U Virtual Console, which is promised to launch officially in the coming days. Nintendo's old VC can be accessed a little quicker now, too, as the update now allows users to jump directly into the sandboxed Wii ecosystem by holding the B button during start up. All in all, a pretty solid update to a system that needs a little fixing. Check out the full list of changes after the break.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/x568JPahOpQ/

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Wednesday, April 24, 2013

T-Mobile?s BlackBerry Q10 available for preorder beginning April 29th

MUNICH, April 23 (Reuters) - Barcelona centre half Gerard Pique acknowledged his team were thoroughly second best as Bayern Munich romped to a 4-0 win in their Champions League semi-final first leg at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday. "They gave us a thrashing," he said. "We will try to turn it around in the return leg (on May 1) and put in a good performance for the fans. "They were better and faster than us. There is no point talking about the referee, there is no excuse." Arjen Robben, who sparkled on the wing for Bayern and scored one of the goals, hailed his team's spectacular performance. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/t-mobile-blackberry-q10-available-preorder-beginning-april-222047555.html

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When to Throw Out Microwaveable Plastic Containers

Reheating meals in plastic containers in the microwave is something that most of us probably do, but over time those containers start to break down and leach plastic into the food. According to The Wall Street Journal, knowing when to throw them out is easy.

When you heat up plastic, the chemicals inside can migrate out and into your food. It takes a while for that to happen, and you just need to watch out for a couple things:

The amount of chemicals leaching into food depends on the type of plastic that is put in the microwave, the time it is heated and the physical condition of the container, says Dr. Halden. Old, cracked containers and those that have been washed hundreds of times often give off more toxins when heated. Any deformities or discoloration are a sign it's time for the recycling bin.

And reheating foods heavy in cream and butter in plastic is always a bad idea. "Fatty foods absorb more of these harmful chemicals when heated," he says.

Of course, you can always skip the plastic container and use ceramic or glass instead. But if you're stuck with plastic, make sure you toss it out when it starts to get deformed or discolored.

Burning Question: Is it OK to Heat Food in Plastic? | The Wall Street Journal

Photo by Sarah.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/yLeTbmYeLI4/when-to-throw-out-microwaveable-plastic-containers-477924415

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'Red line': Chemical weapons in Syria

By Maayan Lubell

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Syrian government forces have used chemical weapons - probably nerve gas - in their fight against rebels trying to force out President Bashar al-Assad, the Israeli military's top intelligence analyst said on Tuesday.

Brigadier-General Itai Brun made the comments at a Tel Aviv security conference a day after U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on a visit to Israel that U.S. intelligence agencies were still assessing whether such weapons had been employed.

"To the best of our understanding, there was use of lethal chemical weapons. Which chemical weapons? Probably sarin," Brun said in the most definitive Israeli statement on the issue to date.

Brun's comments seemed likely to deepen international concern over events in Syria. U.S. President Barack Obama has called the use of chemical weapons there a "red line" for the United States that would trigger unspecified U.S. action.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday that NATO needed to consider how practically prepared it was to "respond to protect its members from a Syrian threat, including any potential chemical weapons threat".

Brun told the annual conference of The Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University that forces loyal to Assad were behind the attacks on "armed (rebels) on a number of occasions in the past few months, including the most reported incident on March 19."

The Syrian government and rebels last month accused each other of launching a chemical attack near the northern city of Aleppo.

FOAMING AT MOUTH

Speaking with a Powerpoint presentation showing what appeared to be a wounded or dead child, Brun said that foam coming out of victims' mouths and contracted pupils and "other signs" indicated deadly gas had been used.

He gave no other details about how Israel, which has been closely monitoring events in Syria, a northern neighbor, formed its assessment.

Ralf Trapp, an independent consultant on chemical and biological weapons arms control based in Geneva, said the symptoms described by Israeli intelligence were "consistent with sarin gas," but photographic evidence alone was not conclusive.

"There is a limit to what you can extract from photograph evidence alone," he said.

"What you really need is to get information from on the ground, to gather physical evidence and to talk to witnesses as well as medical staff who treated victims."

Asked about Brun's remarks, Pentagon spokesman George Little signaled no change in the official U.S. line: "The United States continues to assess reports of chemical weapons use in Syria. The use of such weapons would be entirely unacceptable."

On Monday, Hagel said the use of chemical weapons by Assad's forces would be a "game changer" and the United States and Israel "have options for all contingencies".

Hagel met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Tuesday, a day after flying in an Israeli military helicopter over the occupied Golan Heights on the edge of the fighting in Syria that has entered its third year.

"This is a difficult and dangerous time, this is a time when friends and allies must remain close, closer than ever," Hagel, in remarks to reporters before his talks with Netanyahu, said of the United States and Israel.

Discussions between Syria and the United Nations on a U.N. investigation of possible use of chemical weapons have been at an impasse due to the Syrian government's refusal to let the inspectors visit anywhere but Aleppo, diplomats and U.N. officials said last week.

U.N. diplomats said Britain and France had provided U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's office with what they believed to be strong evidence that chemical weapons also had been used in the city of Homs.

Israel, which has advanced intelligence capabilities that it shares with its Western allies, has voiced concerned that parts of Syria's chemical arsenal would end up in the hands of jihadi fighters or the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah, with which it waged a 2006 war.

Israeli leaders have cautioned they will not allow that to happen. In an attack it has not formally confirmed, Israeli planes bombed an arms convoy in Syria in February, destroying anti-aircraft weapons destined for Hezbollah.

(Additional reporting by Jeffrey Heller and David Alexander in Jerusalem, David Brunnstrom in Brussels and Anthony Deutsch in Amsterdam; Editing by Jeffrey Heller, Alison Williams and Mike Collett-White)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/israeli-general-says-syria-government-forces-used-chemical-074330220.html

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Teen Mom 2 Recap: Jenelle Evans Probably Gets High on Heroin on National TV

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/teen-mom-2-recap-jenelle-evans-probably-gets-high-on-heroin-on-n/

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Monday, April 22, 2013

Big scramble seen in open Senate seat in Georgia (The Arizona Republic)

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David Ortiz F-Bomb Fires Up Boston Crowd

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Rescuers struggle to reach China quake zone

By Michael Martina and Maxim Duncan

LUSHAN, China (Reuters) - Rescuers struggled to reach a remote corner of southwestern China on Sunday as the toll of the dead and missing from the country's worst earthquake in three years climbed to 203 with more than 11,000 injured.

The 6.6 magnitude quake struck in Lushan county, near the city of Ya'an in the southwestern province of Sichuan, close to where a devastating 7.9 temblor hit in May 2008 killing some 70,000.

Most of the deaths were concentrated in Lushan, a short drive up the valley from Ya'an, but rescuers' progress was hampered by the narrowness of the road and landslides, as well as government controls restricting access to avoid traffic jams.

"The Lushan county centre is getting back to normal, but the need is still considerable in terms of shelter and materials," said Kevin Xia of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

"Supplies have had difficulty getting into the region because of the traffic jams. Most of our supplies are still on the way," Xia said.

In Ya'an, relief workers from across China expressed frustration with gaining access to Lushan.

"We're in a hurry. There are people that need help and we have supplies in the back (of the car)," said one man from the Shandong Province Earthquake Emergency Response Team, who declined to give his name.

In Lushan, doctors and nurses tended to people in the open or under tents in the grounds of the main hospital, surrounded by shattered glass, plaster and concrete that fell during the quake. Water and electricity in the area were cut off by the quake.

"I was scared. I've never seen an earthquake this big before," said farmer Chen Tianxiong, 37, lying on a stretcher between tents, his family looking on.

Nearby, an elderly woman sat dazed mumbling to her son, while nurses wiped blood from another woman's foot as her husband cradled her head.

In another tent, Zhou Lin sat tending to his wife and three-day-old son who were evacuated from a Lushan hospital soon after the quake struck on Saturday.

"I was worried the child or his mother would be hurt. The buildings were all shaking. I was extremely scared. But now I don't feel afraid any more," said Zhou, looking at his child as he slept soundly wrapped in a blanket on a makeshift bed.

Premier Li Keqiang flew into the disaster zone by helicopter to comfort the injured and displaced, chatting to rescuers and clambering over rubble.

"Don't be sad, we will rebuild after this disaster and your new homes will be even better than before," state media quoted him as telling residents.

Xinhua news agency put the number of dead and missing at 203, with almost 11,500 injured, 960 of them seriously.

Chen Yong, the vice director of the Ya'an city government earthquake response office, told reporters that the death toll was unlikely to rise dramatically.

"We understand the situation in most areas. Most of the casualties have been reported. In some remote mountain areas, it is possible that we don't fully understand the situation," he said.

SCHOOLS WITHSTAND QUAKE

But no schools had collapsed, unlike in 2008 when many schools crumpled causing huge public anger, prompting a nationwide campaign of re-building.

"Our schools are the safest and sturdiest buildings," Chen said. "The Chinese government has put a lot of money into building schools and hospitals. I can guarantee that no schools collapsed."

Xinhua said 6,000 troops were in the area to help with rescue efforts.

Rescuers in Lushan had pulled 91 survivors out of rubble, Xinhua said. In villages closest to the epicenter, almost all low-rise buildings had collapsed, footage on state television showed.

The China Meteorological Association warned of the possibility of landslides in Lushan county, with more than 1,000 aftershocks registered.

Ya'an is a city of 1.5 million people and is considered one of the birthplaces of Chinese tea culture. It is also the home to one of China's main centers for protecting the giant panda.

Sichuan is one of the four major natural gas-producing provinces in China, and its output accounts for about 14 percent of the nation's total.

Sinopec Group, Asia's largest oil refiner, said its huge Puguang gas field was unaffected.

The U.S. Geological Survey initially put the magnitude at 7, but later revised it down.

In 2010, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake killed 2,700 people in Yushu, a largely Tibetan region in northwest China.

(Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/china-earthquake-toll-rises-164-injuries-6-700-021635904.html

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American Greetings Taylor Swift Greeting Card Mobile App and ...

This post has not been monetarily compensated. I received a prize pack. Please note that any personal opinions reflected in this post are my own and have not been influenced by the sponsor in any way.

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift is so popular right now. I?ve learned that Taylor Swift has teamed up with American Greetings to help consumers send a little love and celebrate life?s amazing moments, by launching the American Greetings Taylor Swift Greeting Card Mobile App and Sweepstakes!

The (free) Taylor Swift Greeting Card Mobile App by American Greetings allows you to send lovely custom greeting card anytime, anywhere, for anyone! These digital greeting cards are for sharing a little happiness with all the awesome people in your life?on their birthday, a holiday, or any day you?re feeling especially grateful and want to let them know. Find the perfect card, add a message, a favorite photo or even sign it on you touch screen and then send from a mobile phone or tablet to a recipient via text message, email, Facebook and Twitter.

I?ve never seen Taylor Swift in concert, but a teenage girl that I love has, and she told me it was amazing. I can only imagine how thrilled she would be to see Taylor live in concert, in Nashville, with three of her friends and family. Well, American Greetings can make exactly that happen for one lucky winner of the sweepstakes.

They?ll be sending one Grand Prize winner to Nashville to see the final stop on the Taylor Swift The RED Tour on September 21, 2013. The prize will include airplane + hotel + concert tickets + spending money. Entrants will have opportunities to win lots of other fun prizes, too, like Taylor t-shirts, Taylor bracelets, Taylor notebooks, Taylor posters. There will be 13 great Taylor Swift prize packages for each of the 13 weeks of the sweepstakes.

So if you?re waiting for the perfect time to enter the sweepstakes how about right now? And again tomorrow, and again on the day after that?! You can enter once every single day of the sweepstakes now through June 11. Check out the official rules for all the info, and good luck!!

Taylor Swift Prize Pack

WIN IT!

One (1) winner will receive a Taylor Swift prize pack of their own, which will include a Taylor Swift-branded T-Shirt, Branded guitar pick pack and Taylor Swift IPhone case (4s).

HOW TO ENTER. (MANDATORY)

To enter please leave a comment telling me what your favorite Taylor Swift song is.

BONUS ENTRIES ? LOTS OF THEM!

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THE SMALL PRINT.

The winner will be selected using the ?And the winner is? plugin. US addresses only please, no PO Boxes. This contest will end on Sunday 04/28/13 at 11:59 pm est. If you?ve entered any of my giveaways before then you know that only comments containing all of the requested information will be eligible for entry. Good luck to everyone!

Source: http://www.valmg.com/index.php/2013/american-greetings-taylor-swift-greeting-card-mobile-app-and-sweepstakes-with-giveaway/

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The Real Housewives of Atlanta Recap: Twirl On Out of Here

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/the-real-housewives-of-atlanta-recap-twirl-on-out-of-here/

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Sunday, April 21, 2013

Nintendo executive claims digital sales are soaring

Nintendo

Nintendo?s new Wii U has been?labeled a flop with?estimated sales of only 55,000 units domestically in the month of March. Nintendo of America?s chief executive Reggie Fils-Aime isn?t worried, however. The executive told GamesIndustry.biz that digital downloads are soaring and fast becoming a ?notable contributor? to the company?s bottom line, a trend he believes will continue.

[More from BGR: The future of gaming is already here [video]]

?We have 15 Nintendo-published titles available, both physically and digitally [on the 3DS],? he said. ?So far in 2013, of those 15 available in this format, 11 percent of sales have come through full digital downloads of those games.?

[More from BGR: Apple warned not to stay quiet, must do ?something by September?]

Nintendo?s 3DS handheld has been a surprise success for the company, selling 8 million units in the U.S. in its first two years of availability. Fils-Aime revealed that the hit 3DS game Fire Emblem alone has seen digital sales of around 80,000 copies.

The executive wasn?t keen on talking about the rocky performance of the Wii U, though he said that the company is disappointed in the current pace of availability, noting that ?the pace of launches for Wii U is going to dramatically increase.?

Nintendo will face another major hurdle when Sony and Microsoft release their next-generation consoles ahead of the holidays this year.

This article was originally published on BGR.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nintendo-executive-claims-digital-sales-soaring-023023664.html

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Saturday, April 20, 2013

Tsarnaev Brothers' Mother Suggests Son Was ... - Business Insider

Zubeidat K. Tsarnaeva,?the?mother of Boston bombing suspects?Dzhokar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, suggested Friday that the FBI had been surveilling her older son for several years prior to Monday's attack.

In an interview with Russia Today Friday, Tsarnaeva said that Tamerlan Tsarnaev?got involved in "religious politics" five years ago, and that the FBI had previously contacted her about her son's activities.?

"He was controlled by the FBI, like for three, five years," she said.?"They knew what my son was doing, they knew what actions and what sites on the Internet he was going [to], they used to come...and talk to me...they were telling me that he was really a serious leader and they were afraid of him."?

"How could this happen?...They were controlling every step of him, and they are telling today that this is a terrorist attack," she added.?

A spokesperson for the FBI told?Business Insider?Friday that the agency would be putting out a statement "shortly" regarding its?previous contact with either of the?Tsarnaev suspects. The spokesperson would not confirm or deny that the agency had had any previous contact.?

Tsarnaeva doubled down on her statements later in the interview, insisting that her sons were innocent, and had been "set up" by the FBI:?

"FBI, they were scared of my oldest son, they always told me that he's a leader...they are afraid of him because, you know, he is a leader, he talks about Islam a lot."?

"They were talking to my son, and they called me officially and they told me that my son is an excellent boy and they have no problem with him," she added. "At the same time, they were telling me that...he is getting information on really extremists...sites, so they were very, very afraid of him. So that's why I think that this is a setup."?

Tamerlan, 26, died Thursday night in a shootout with Boston Police. A manhunt is still underway for Tsarnaeva's younger son, Dzhoker, 19.?

Watch the clip below:?

UPDATE, 5:58 p.m.:?

CBS News' Bob Orr reports that the FBI interviewed Tamerlan Tsarnaev two years ago about his ties to extremist groups.?

From CBS' Major Garrett:?

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/tsarnaev-brothers-mother-fbi-boston-bombing-2013-4

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Richard III may have gone through painful medical treatments to 'cure' his scoliosis

Apr. 19, 2013 ? Richard III may have undergone painful medical treatments for his spinal curvature, according to research from a University of Leicester researcher.

Dr Mary Ann Lund, of the University's School of English, has carried out research into the kinds of scoliosis treatments available at the time Richard III was alive.

The remains of Richard III discovered by University of Leicester archaeologists revealed that the King suffered from severe scoliosis, which he probably developed in early adolescence.

Scoliosis -- a lateral or side-to-side curvature of the spine -- can be a very painful condition to live with.

But some of the treatments practised in the late medieval period would have themselves caused sufferers a lot of anguish.

Among the "cures" practised was traction -- the same principle on which "the Rack" worked as an instrument of torture.

The patient would be tied under the armpits and round the legs. The ropes were then pulled at either end, often on a wooden roller, to stretch the patient's spine.

The treatment would probably have only been available to those who could afford it.

Richard III would certainly have been able to afford the highest levels of medical care available -- and his physicians would have been well aware of the standard "traction" methods for treating the condition.

Dr Lund charted the influence of Greek philosopher Hippocrates -- who developed early prototype methods of dealing with spinal disorders -- to the 11th century Persian polymath Avicenna.

Avicenna's treatises on medicine and philosophy were highly regarded in Medieval Europe. His theories on using traction in scoliosis treatment would have been widely read and practised by doctors in Richard III's lifetime.

Avicenna also advocated the massage techniques practised in Turkish baths, and herbal applications, as treatments for back disorders. In the longer term, patients might wear a long piece of wood or metal in an attempt to straighten their back.

Dr Lund said: "Scoliosis is a painful illness, and Richard would have been in quite a lot of pain on a daily basis. These methods could also have been very painful -- but people would have expected treatments to be unpleasant.

"Medical practices could exacerbate conditions rather than improving them. These treatments would have only been open to people in the upper echelons. Richard would have probably received these treatments because he was a member of the nobility."

Later methods of treatment for scoliosis included the orthosis, which was developed by French physician Ambroise Par? in the late 16th century.

This was a tightly fitting metal corset for treating scoliosis made by an armourer, which would have been worn by patients to brace the skeleton in an attempt to correct the curvature of the spine.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/C3bQXrZE8os/130419075915.htm

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Pope Francis likely to cut staff bonus, citing hard times

ROME (Reuters) - Pope Francis, who is quickly earning a reputation for frugality since taking office last month, is likely to scrap a traditional bonus given to Vatican staff, a spokesman for the Holy See said on Thursday.

The bonus is usually paid to Vatican employees to mark special occasions such as the deaths and elections of popes.

But Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said: "I don't think there will be any bonus."

"Extra expenses are something that might be normal in a situation of abundance, but that is not the world we find ourselves in now."

Lombardi added that he was referring to the general economic climate rather than any specific need for cost-cutting at the Vatican.

Pope Francis, who took his name after a saint who chose to live in poverty, has shunned the palatial papal apartments and forgone customary ornate dress in an effort to forge a more humble, less lavish papacy.

He asked his fellow countrymen not to make costly trips from Argentina to Rome to see his inaugural mass and to donate the money to charity instead.

Francis' predecessor Benedict gave workers 500 euros ($650) each and a day off to mark his 80th birthday. To mark Benedict's election and the death of John Paul II in 2005, employees were paid 1,500 euros. The decision affects about 4,000 employees.

($1 = 0.7668 euros)

(Reporting by Naomi O'Leary; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pope-francis-likely-cut-staff-bonus-citing-hard-155458121.html

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Friday, April 19, 2013

Frog-like robot will help surgeons

Apr. 17, 2013 ? Researchers at the University of Leeds are using the feet of tree frogs as a model for a tiny robot designed to crawl inside patients' bodies during keyhole surgery.

The tiny device is one of a growing stable of bio-inspired robots being built in the University's School of Mechanical Engineering.

It is designed to move across the internal abdominal wall of a patient, allowing surgeons to see what they are doing on a real-time video feed.

The tree frog's feet provide a solution to the critical problem of getting the device to hold onto wet, slippery tissue when it is vertical or upside down. Although it is relatively easy to find ways of sticking to or gripping tissue, the patterns on the frog's feet offer a way to hold and release a grip without harming the patient.

Lead researcher Professor Anne Neville, Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Emerging Technologies at the University of Leeds, said: "Tree frogs have hexagonal patterned channels on their feet that when in contact with a wet surface build capillary bridges, and hence an adhesion force . It is the same kind of idea as a beer glass sticking to a beer mat, but the patterns build a large number of adhesion points that allow our robot to move around on a very slippery surface when it is upside down."

Professor Neville said: "To work effectively, this robot will have to move to all areas of the abdominal wall, turn and stop under control, and stay stable enough to take good quality images for the surgeons to work with.

"While basic capillary action works to an extent, the adhesion fails as soon as there is movement, so we have looked at the tiny mechanisms used in nature. It is only if you look at the scale of a thousandth of a millimetre, that you can get enough adhesion to give the robust attachment we need."

The frog-inspired robot has four feet -- each capable of holding a maximum of about 15 grams for each square centimetre in contact with a slippery surface. The researchers are aiming for a device that is 20?20?20mm, though they have been working on a prototype that is near double this size.

They are now trying to halve the size of their prototype so that it can fit through the incisions made during keyhole surgery. The prototype's weight is currently of the order of 20g and can be reduced much further.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/pk2IkGf52TI/130417224715.htm

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Boston bombing aftermath: How you can help

The gentle golden retrievers are lending a "helping paw," visiting the injured victims of the Boston Marathon bombings to offer companionship, comfort and compassion. ?NBC's Kerry Sanders reports.

By Suzanne Choney, Contributing Writer, NBCNews.com

Since Monday, both traditional and new organizations have offered help and support to those hurt physically and emotionally by the deadly blasts at the Boston Marathon.

The American Red Cross of Eastern Massachusetts says it's served 5,000 meals and snacks. A new group, The One Fund, announced by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Tom Menino, has been set up to get money to the families of those killed and most severely wounded.

As of Wednesday, 69 bomb victims remained at Boston hospitals, including 19 people in critical condition. Three people died: 8-year-old Martin Richard, and Krystle Marie Campbell, 29, both of Massachusetts; and Lingzi Lu, a Boston University graduate student from China.

As reported by NBC News Wednesday, the total medical cost to help those requiring rehabilitation, additional surgeries and treatment to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder may reach or surpass $9 million.

You can help. Here's how:

The American Red Cross, Eastern Massachusetts
Since Monday, the Red Cross has "provided about 500 units of blood and blood products to hospitals in the Boston area," the organization says on its website. "Blood supplies are currently sufficient to meet patient needs and people who want to give blood are strongly encouraged to schedule a donation appointment in the days and weeks ahead."

The One Fund Boston
The fund will act as a central repository to "receive much needed financial support," Gov. Patrick said Tuesday in a statement. "At moments like this, we are one state, one city and one people."

Within an hour of the explosions, Mayor Menino said in a statement he had calls from business leaders and philanthropists "who, like me, were heartbroken by the impact this hideous tragedy" had on individuals and families, and wanted to do something about it.

As of Wednesday, officials said, more than $7 million has been pledged to The One Fund by corporate partners and individuals. Individuals have contributed more than $500,000 so far.

The John Hancock company has pledged $1 million, and there are other commitments for contributions from the Boston Celtics, Boston Red Sox and Bain Capital.

The Amputee Coalition
Members from this national organization are working with Boston hospitals that are treating patients. The coalition works regularly to raise awareness about amputees, create peer mentorship programs and has a summer program for children with limb differences. To learn more, visit the coalition's main website here.

Challenged Athletes Foundation
This foundation is also working with those injured Monday. The group says its mission is to help those with physical disabilities pursue "active lifestyles," and provide funding for adaptive equipment, hold clinics to build confidence and sponsor mentorship programs.

Limbs for Life Foundation
The Oklahoma City-based group provides prosthetic care for those who otherwise can't afford it.

And a note of caution ...
If you are looking to donate money, heed what Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said Wednesday: Watch out for scammers. Potential donors, she said, need to "protect themselves from fundraising scams claiming to benefit those affected by this week's tragedy." You can read more here.

Additional reporting by Courtney Hazlett and Melissa Dahl?

Related:

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Thursday, April 18, 2013

Defiance, tenderness, wariness in wake of Boston

In this Monday, April 15, 2013, photo, emergency personnel carry a wounded person away from the scene of an explosion at the 2013 Boston Marathon in Boston. Two explosions shattered the euphoria of the Boston Marathon finish line on Monday, sending authorities out on the course to carry off the injured while the stragglers were rerouted away from the smoking site of the blasts. (AP Photo/Kenshin Okubo)

In this Monday, April 15, 2013, photo, emergency personnel carry a wounded person away from the scene of an explosion at the 2013 Boston Marathon in Boston. Two explosions shattered the euphoria of the Boston Marathon finish line on Monday, sending authorities out on the course to carry off the injured while the stragglers were rerouted away from the smoking site of the blasts. (AP Photo/Kenshin Okubo)

(AP) ? A Virginia woman makes a point to get out and go jogging. A Texas mom stays in and snuggles her toddler a little closer. A nurse from Massachusetts looks over her shoulder more often while touring D.C.

Strains of defiance, tenderness and wariness are interwoven as Americans are forced to do some post-9-11 rebalancing in the aftermath of the Boston bombings, figuring out how to move forward with life while remaining vigilant against the threat of terrorism.

The discovery of tainted letters sent to the Capitol and the White House only added a new source of jitters to the week's events, evoking eerie parallels to the anthrax attacks that followed the life-altering events of Sept. 11, 2001.

For Simone Rinaldi, playing tourist in Washington this week with her family, the twin bombings at the marathon quickly revived thoughts of the collapse of the Twin Towers in New York as she wondered anew if there would be other attacks and whether loved ones in Boston were safe.

"I've definitely been more cautious as we walk around," said Rinaldi, a nurse practitioner from Cape Cod, Mass.

Cautious, yes. But not cowed.

"The world is a really scary place, yet we have a life to live," she said from a park across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House. "The challenge is to take precautions, but again to not let our lives get small and live in fear."

Similar sentiment echoed around the country ? from a Starbucks table in Los Angeles to a smoker's bench in Billings, Mont. ? as people grappled with the balancing act involved in putting the week's events in perspective.

"Caution is always important, but so is life," said MacKenzie Edwins, a receptionist catching lunch at the Starbucks in LA.

Jennifer Miller, a hospitality industry manager smoking a cigarette on that bench in Montana, said the marathon bombing made her think this: "It's at home in America. It happened here." But also this: "I refuse to live in fear of going anywhere or doing anything."

Such perspective is precisely what terrorists try to destroy, by provoking reactions far out of proportion to actual danger.

Horrific as the bombing was ? three people died in Boston, with more than 170 injured ? five people die in car, truck or motorcycle accidents every hour in the U.S. Terrorism pushes our fear buttons, says security expert Bruce Schneier, and we have an outsized response.

"Psychologically, we are primed to overreact," he says.

And that can cause people to surrender civil liberties without full deliberation in pursuit of safety and stronger law enforcement, as happened after 9-11, Schneier warns: "The fear is that this is an excuse to put us into a police state."

Around the country, people wondered whether the bombing would ? and should ? affect security restrictions.

Security may increase for a time, but "the sad thing is it always goes back to normal," said Lynn Chamberlain, a training coordinator at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore.

"Now we're going to have to raise up not only our national security but our local security," said Zeke Reardon, a Denver electrician.

Terrorism peaked as a public concern just one month after the 9/11 attacks. In October 2001, Gallup found that 46 percent of Americans called terrorism the most important problem facing the country, up from less than 1 percent in the days before the attack.

It has not reached that level of importance since, and in surveys this year, it once again stood at less than 1 percent.

But while it may not be Issue No. 1, security nonetheless remains a priority for most Americans. In a January 2013 poll by the Pew Research Center, 71 percent said defending against terrorism should be a top priority for the president and Congress, down just 5 points from four years earlier.

In Seattle, accountant John Calhoun laments that young people may be desensitized to the threat of terrorism in the post-9-11 environment. He was troubled that his children, ages 13 and 21, weren't more upset as they watched news about the marathon bombing unfold on TV.

"It's a different world than we used to think we lived in," Calhoun said, wearing a half-marathon shirt from a past race as he ran stairs at the Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Sculpture Park on a sunny Tuesday afternoon.

Runners, in particular, seemed to push back against the notion that the marathon bombing could intimidate Americans.

Spontaneous running events popped up around the country, and social media was filled with posts from those pulling on their sneakers to send a message.

"I am going running today as a small sign of support for Boston and to show those responsible for the tragic events that we are stronger than they are," Ironman CEO Andrew Messick said in an email to athletes.

Tammi DeVan, in Alexandria, Va., did just that. "Jogged a couple miles for those who will never be able to again," she posted on Facebook.

For some Americans, the bombing was reason to slow down at least for a moment, and to hope it would bring Americans closer together.

"Usually at this time of day, I am looking for an excuse to get out of my house," Nancy Worth, a mother of four in Plano, Texas, posted on Facebook on Tuesday. "Today I feel happy to stay home, do mundane things like laundry, and snuggle Sammy," her 2-year-old.

"What's important right now is that it brings us closer together in times of tragedy," said Kathryn King, a Baltimore pediatrician who grew up not far from where the Virginia Tech shootings unfolded six years ago. The Boston bombings reminded her of how her neighbors in Virginia "taught the nation how it is to stand together and heal."

There may be a lesson for all Americans in the reaction of those injured in the Boston bombings.

Dr. Horacio Hojman, associate chief of trauma at Tufts Medical Center, which treated some of the injured, said that despite the seriousness of their injuries, patients were in surprisingly good spirits when they were brought in.

"Despite what they witnessed, despite what they suffered, despite many of them having life-threatening injuries, their spirits were not broken," he said. "And I think that should probably be the message for all of us that this horrible act of terror will not bring us down, and I think that the patients were the ones who say that the loudest."

David Lee, a truck driver from Lansing, Mich., gave voice to both that unbroken spirit and the worries that nag at Americans as they grapple with an unknown source of the terror.

"They want everyone to alter their lives again. And I said to myself, 'Well, I'm not going to get all wrapped up in this,'" Lee said.

But he also allowed: "When you're alone at night, in the dark, it worries you. It affects you. You think about the people that someone thought were expendable for them to get their point across."

___

Associated Press writers Stacy A. Anderson, Seth Borenstein, and AP Director of Polling Jennifer Agiesta in Washington, Donna Blankinship in Seattle; Shaya Tayefe Mohajer in Los Angeles, Alex Dominguez in Baltimore, Matthew Brown in Billings, Mont., Jay Lindsay in Boston, Alexandra Tisley in Denver and Alanna Durkin in Lansing, Mich., contributed to this report.

___

Follow Nancy Benac on Twitter: http://twitter.com/nbenac

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-04-17-Boston%20Marathon-Nation's%20Psyche/id-53916d72980c4c1b97c2c97f406b04e8

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Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Smoking in the home sharply reduces real estate value: study - From ...

Homeowners risk coughing up big bucks if they?re also smokers, according a survey of?

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Homeowners risk coughing up big bucks if they?re also smokers, according a survey of Ontario real estate agents and brokers.

The survey found that smoking in the home can reduce the value of the property on resale by up to 29 per cent.

The study was sponsored by Pfizer Canada, a pharmaceutical company whose products include a smoking cessation medication.

It estimates a potential loss of up to $107,000 on an home in Ontario, where the average price is currently around $369,000.

The study found that an overwhelming majority of 401 real estate agents and brokers in the survey agreed that it is more difficult to sell a home where owners have smoked.

More than half of respondents ? 56 per cent ? said most buyers are less likely to purchase a home where people have smoked, and 27 per cent went said most buyers are actually unwilling to buy a home where people have smoked.

In Canada, an estimated 15 per cent of homes have at least one regular smoker.

The study found that almost half, or 44 per cent of respondents said smoking in the home affects resale value.

Of these, one-in-three said smoking in the home may lower the value by 10 to 19 per cent and a further one-in-three said it may lower the value by 20-29 per cent.

?Smoking has a profound impact on how appealing a home is to a prospective buyer,? says David Visentin, a real estate agent and co-host of the W Network?s Love it or List program.

?It stains walls and carpets, and leaves a smell that can be hard to eliminate. Many prospective buyers are really put off by homes that have been smoked in and they can be very challenging to sell.?

The survey was conducted between Jan 31 and Feb. 6 and is considered by the pollsters to accurate 19 times out of 20 within a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.

Source: http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/04/16/smoking-in-the-home-sharply-reduces-real-estate-value-study/

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