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Tuesday, January 31, 2012
RIM's Super Cartoon Funtime Experiment Already Backfiring [BlackBerry]
Pythons pose rising threat in Everglades
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.?? A burgeoning population of huge pythons ? many of them pets that were turned loose by their owners when they got too big ? appears to be wiping out large numbers of raccoons, opossums, bobcats and other mammals in the Everglades, a study says.
The study, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that sightings of medium-size mammals are down dramatically ? as much as 99 percent, in some cases ? in areas where pythons and other large, non-native constrictor snakes are known to be lurking.
Scientists fear the pythons could disrupt the food chain and upset the Everglades' environmental balance in ways difficult to predict.
"The effects of declining mammal populations on the overall Everglades ecosystem, which extends well beyond the national park boundaries, are likely profound," said John Willson, a research scientist at Virginia Tech University and co-author of the study.
Tens of thousands of Burmese pythons, which are native to Southeast Asia, are believed to be living in the Everglades, where they thrive in the warm, humid climate. While many were apparently released by their owners, others may have escaped from pet shops during Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and have been reproducing ever since.
Can swallow alligators
Burmese pythons can grow to be 26 feet long and more than 200 pounds, and they have been known to swallow animals as large as alligators. They and other constrictor snakes kill their prey by coiling around it and suffocating it.
The National Park Service has counted 1,825 Burmese pythons that have been caught in and around Everglades National Park since 2000. Among the largest so far was a 156-pound, 16.4-foot snake captured earlier this month.
For the study, researchers drove 39,000 miles along Everglades-area roads from 2003 through 2011, counting wildlife spotted along the way and comparing the results with surveys conducted on the same routes in 1996 and 1997.
The researchers found staggering declines in animal sightings: a drop of 99.3 percent among raccoons, 98.9 percent for opossums, 94.1 percent for white-tailed deer and 87.5 percent for bobcats. Along roads where python populations are believed to be smaller, declines were lower but still notable.
Rabbits and foxes, which were commonly spotted in 1996 and 1997, were not seen at all in the later counts. Researchers noted slight increases in coyotes, Florida panthers, rodents and other mammals, but discounted that finding because so few were spotted overall.
"The magnitude of these declines underscores the apparent incredible density of pythons in Everglades National Park," said Michael Dorcas, a professor at Davidson College in North Carolina and lead author of the study.
Prime suspect
Although scientists cannot definitively say the pythons are killing off the mammals, the snakes are the prime suspect. The increase in pythons coincides with the mammals' decrease, and the decline appears to grow in magnitude with the size of the snakes' population in an area. A single disease appears unlikely to be the cause since several species were affected.
The report says the effect on the overall ecosystem is hard to predict. Declines among bobcats and foxes, which eat rabbits, could be linked to pythons' feasting on rabbits. On the flip side, declines among raccoons, which eat eggs, may help some turtles, crocodiles and birds.
Scientists point with concern to what happened in Guam, where the invasive brown tree snake has killed off birds, bats and lizards that pollinated trees and flowers and dispersed seeds. That has led to declines in native trees, fish-eating birds and certain plants.
In 2010, Florida banned private ownership of Burmese pythons. Earlier this month, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced a federal ban on the import of Burmese pythons and three other snakes.
Salazar said Monday that the study shows why such restrictions were needed.
"This study paints a stark picture of the real damage that Burmese pythons are causing to native wildlife and the Florida economy," he said.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46194981/ns/technology_and_science-science/
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Monday, January 30, 2012
Officers checking robbery find 5 dead in Ala. home
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) ? Police officers called early Sunday morning to investigate a possible robbery at a home in Birmingham found five people dead inside, authorities said.
Birmingham Police Sgt. Johnny Williams said the officers arrived at the house around 3:30 a.m. Sunday after getting a call that a robbery was in progress and soon discovered the five victims.
The victims were not immediately identified, and the cause of death was not yet released. No arrests or charges were filed on Sunday morning, but Williams said police launched a homicide investigation.
Brenda Houston, who lives across the street from the west Birmingham house where the bodies were found, said the house had been rented for about a year and a half by a woman in her late 40s and her son and brothers.
"They would speak to us, and that's all we knew," she said. "We didn't know their names but they were always friendly."
Houston, 64, said her street was a quiet one filled with older residents who were friendly with each other. She said there was a constant stream of visitors coming in and out of the home, but that the residents never seemed to cause any disturbances.
"Most people are in a state of shock. They never had any trouble over there," Houston said. "I never seen the police over there. This was really strange that this happened. It wasn't like they were real rowdy."
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British police arrest 5 in tabloid bribery probe (AP)
LONDON ? The criminal investigation into British tabloid skullduggery turned full force on a second Rupert Murdoch publication Saturday, with the arrest of four current and former journalists from The Sun on suspicion of bribing police.
A serving police officer was also held, and authorities searched the newspaper's offices as part an investigation into illegal payments for information.
The arrests spread the scandal over tabloid wrongdoing ? which has already shut down one Murdoch paper, the News of the World ? to Britain's best-selling newspaper.
London police said two men aged 48 and one aged 56 were arrested on suspicion of corruption early in the morning at homes in and around London. A 42-year-old man was detained later at a London police station.
Murdoch's News Corp. confirmed that all four were current or former Sun employees. The BBC and other British media identified them as former managing editor Graham Dudman, former deputy editor Fergus Shanahan, current head of news Chris Pharo and crime editor Mike Sullivan.
A fifth man, a 29-year-old police officer, was arrested at the London station where he works.
Officers searched the men's homes and the east London headquarters of the media mogul's British newspapers for evidence.
The investigation into whether reporters illegally paid police for information is running parallel to a police inquiry into phone hacking by Murdoch's now-defunct News of the World.
Police said Saturday's arrests were made based on information provided by the Management and Standards Committee of Murdoch's News Corp., the internal body tasked with rooting out wrongdoing.
News Corp. said it was cooperating with police.
"News Corporation made a commitment last summer that unacceptable news gathering practices by individuals in the past would not be repeated," it said in a statement.
In an email to staff after the arrests, Tom Mockridge ? chief executive of Murdoch's British operation, News International ? said the internal investigation into wrongdoing at The Sun "is well advanced."
"News International is confronting past mistakes and is making fundamental changes about how we operate which are essential for our business," Mockridge said.
"Despite this very difficult news, we are determined that News International will emerge a stronger and more trusted organization," he added.
Thirteen people have now been arrested in the bribery probe, though none has yet been charged. They include Rebekah Brooks, former chief executive of Murdoch's News International; ex-News of the World editor Andy Coulson ? who is also Prime Minister David Cameron's former communications chief; and journalists from the News of the World and The Sun.
Two of the London police force's top officers resigned in the wake of the revelation last July that the News of the World had eavesdropped on the cell phone voicemail messages of celebrities, athletes, politicians and even an abducted teenager in its quest for stories.
Murdoch shut down the 168-year-old tabloid amid a wave of public revulsion, and the scandal has triggered a continuing public inquiry into media ethics and the relationship between the press, police and politicians.
An earlier police investigation failed to find evidence that hacking went beyond one reporter and a private investigator, who were both jailed in 2007 for eavesdropping on the phones of royal staff.
But News Corp. has now acknowledged it was much more widespread.
Last week the company agreed to pay damages to 37 hacking victims, including actor Jude Law, soccer star Ashley Cole and British politician John Prescott.
The furor that consumed the News of the World continues to rattle other parts of Murdoch's media empire.
As well as investigating phone hacking and allegations that journalists paid police for information, detectives are looking into claims of computer hacking by Murdoch papers.
News Corp. has admitted that the News of the World hacked the emails as well as the phone of Chris Shipman, the son of serial killer Harold Shipman. And The Times of London has acknowledged that a former reporter tried to intercept emails to unmask an anonymous blogger.
News Corp. is preparing to launch a new Sunday newspaper ? likely called the Sunday Sun ? to replace the News of the World.
___
Jill Lawless can be reached at: http://twitter.com/JillLawless
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Sunday, January 29, 2012
North claims 23-13 Senior Bowl victory
By JOHN ZENOR
updated 8:34 p.m. ET Jan. 28, 2012
MOBILE, Ala. - Isaiah Pead took a stutter step forward, then raced to the left sideline and traveled 60 yards up the field before finally getting tripped up by a leg tackle.
The former Cincinnati running back followed that nifty punt return with a 38-yarder a couple of minutes later, late in the first half, to play a starring role Saturday in the North's 23-13 victory over the South in the Senior Bowl.
The first one set up a field goal and helped Pead outshine bigger names to earn Most Valuable Player honors.
"(Coach) told me what the punt return call was, left, right or in the middle, and told me to make sure I set my blocks up or the play would be dead," said Pead, who set a Senior Bowl record with 98 yards on punt returns. "I tried to do that the best that I could. The rest was just ability."
Michigan State's Kirk Cousins and Wisconsin's Russell Wilson threw touchdown passes for the North. Purdue kicker Carson Wiggs put it away with his third short field goal, a 28-yarder with 4:11 left in the showcase for senior NFL prospects.
Boise State's Kellen Moore led that clinching 13-play drive that consumed 8:36 with the help of a running clock.
It snuffed out a spark provided by South quarterback Nick Foles of Arizona, who started his career with Cousins at Michigan State.
Foles had gotten the South into the end zone by firing a 20-yard touchdown pass to Arizona teammate Juron Criner with 12:55 left in the game.
It was an up-and-down day for a crew of quarterbacks with sparkling college credentials, but threw a combined five interceptions.
It was mostly up for Pead, who only had 74 yards on eight punt returns as a senior. The 5-foot-10, 193-pounder did rush for 1,338 yards and 12 touchdowns and gained a team-high 31 yards on eight carries in the Senior Bowl.
"I think he may have opened some eyes," said Minnesota Vikings coach Leslie Frazier, who led the North. "Some people may have wondered if he can do certain things. I think he may have answered some questions today.
Cousins completed 5 of 11 passes for 115 yards but threw an interception. Moore, who won an college-record 50 games as a starting quarterback, was 6-of-12 passing for 50 yards, and had a 23-yarder to set up the final field goal that put the North up two scores.
Wilson completed 4 of 7 passes for 45 yards with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Jones in the second quarter. He also threw an interception.
"I think I did a really good job, besides the interception," Wilson said. "You never want to throw an interception obviously. I think I waited a little bit too long on that one. Other than that, I came back. I had amnesia and just forgot about it and got the ball in the end zone there."
Arkansas receiver Joe Adams, the South's Most Outstanding Player, had eight catches for 133 yards after losing a fumble on the opening drive. He had a 36-yarder and a 29-yarder in the third quarter.
Criner gained 77 yards on six catches.
Linebacker Bobby Wagner of Utah State had seven tackles and an interception and was the North's Most Outstanding Player.
"We were just getting after it, having fun out here," said North defensive lineman Mike Martin of Michigan. "The scheme was real simple so it was just guys playing with effort and intensity."
Wiggs made kicks of 27, 32 and 28 yards while missing a 37-yarder in the final minutes.
Foles almost got the South back in it earlier, but his fourth-down pass from the 13 was incomplete with 3:59 left in the third quarter.
He had the best stat line of the six quarterbacks. Foles was 11-of-15 passing for 136 yards and the TD, and was the only South quarterback who wasn't picked off.
San Diego State's Ryan Lindley was 10 of 21 for 103 yards and also was intercepted once. Oklahoma State's 28-year-old Brandon Weeden started for the South but was picked off twice on nine attempts, completing five passes for 56 yards.
Cousins put the North ahead 20-6 early in the second half with a 41-yard touchdown pass to Arizona State's Gerell Robinson. The 6-foot-3, 223-pound Robinson caught it coming across the middle and raced down the right sideline.
It was the second time on the drive Cousins had thrown for a nice gain on third down, hitting T.J. Graham (North Carolina State) for 22 yards earlier.
The North's Kendall Reyes of Connecticut had two sacks.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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More newsKansas gambles on Weis
It's on the hilly campus of Kansas, one of college football's wayward outposts, where Charlie Weis has chosen to make one more stand.
Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46177089/ns/sports-college_football/
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Davis-White win dance title at US championships
Meryl Davis and Charlie White compete in their free dance in the ice dancing event at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Meryl Davis and Charlie White compete in their free dance in the ice dancing event at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Charlie White and Meryl Davis compete in their free dance in the ice dancing event at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Alex and Maia Shibutani compete in their free dance in the ice dancing event at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Alex and Maia Shibutani compete in their free dance in the ice dancing event at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) ? When Meryl Davis and Charlie White are around, everyone else is fighting for second place.
The world champions left no doubt they are the gold standard in ice dance these days, routing the competition on their way to a fourth straight title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Saturday. Their final score of 191.54 points was nearly 13 points ahead of siblings Maia and Alex Shibutani, who aren't exactly slouches as the reigning world bronze medalists.
They were so dominant, their free dance score ? 114.65 points ? was higher than three couples' total scores. Davis and White are now one title shy of matching the U.S. record for dance crowns, shared by five teams.
"I think we are continuing to grow every day," Davis said. "That's the thing Charlie and I love most about us as a team and skating as a whole, that it allows us to learn and improve on a daily basis. When we stop doing that something is wrong, so that's what we go after every day."
Davis and White haven't been beaten since finishing second to Olympic champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada at the 2010 world championships, and their title at last year's worlds was the first ever for a U.S. dance team. Keep skating this way, and the Canadians are going to have to do something pretty spectacular to catch them.
Skating to "Die Fledermaus," Davis and White transported the audience back to 19th century Vienna, when grand balls were the height of fashion. You could practically see the parquet floor filled with elegant ladies and refined gentlemen in their beautiful costumes, a crystal chandelier twinkling overhead.
"We were trying to build on the characters and the way they relate to each other on the ice and I think definitely we were able to do that," White said. "It's always a great feeling when you work on something and you are able to, at a big competition like this, come and do it."
Davis and White had such a big lead ? 4.28 points after the short dance ? and are so far ahead of everyone else in the United States that they simply could have stroked around the rink and probably still won. But the duo put on a show worthy of their status as world champions.
Unlike so many other couples, whose programs are a series of elements needing to be checked off, Davis and White skate as ice dance was meant to be done. One element flows right into another, the entire program a seamless performance. The lean of their bodies was matched perfectly and their edge quality is magnificent, carving deep, crisp patterns into the ice that look like a piece of art.
Their speed was breathtaking and their lifts innovative ? she was in the full splits during the rotational lift, when he is spinning like a whirling dervish.
Even their mistakes were impressive. White got a little wobbly on their first set of twizzles ? traveling spins ? yet not only managed to hang on, but stayed in unison with Davis.
The audience was so delighted with the program they were clapping along midway through.
The Shibutanis train with Davis-White and Virtue-Moir in the Detroit area, but they have a style all their own. Their big band medley was lively and fun, and filled with deceptively difficult skills. Their twizzles are a sight to behold, done in perfect unison and with blinding speed.
But the Shibutanis, who also were runners-up last year, are not in Davis and White's class. Not yet, at least.
"I think we feel we put out a lot stronger programs than we did this fall in the Grand Prix series," Maia Shibutani said. "It's just really a great start for us for the second half of the season."
Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue were a distant third.
The women's free skate is later Saturday.
___
Follow Nancy Armour at http://www.twitter.com/nrarmour
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Saturday, January 28, 2012
Huawei Ascend II (U.S. Cellular)
The original Huawei Ascend was a low-end, free-with-contract smartphone?released on a number of different carriers. It sold well because of its low price, but it wasn't a very good device. The Huawei Ascend II for U.S. Cellular addresses some of that phone's issues, but it's a case of too little, too late. The Ascend II won't cost you a dime, but you can get a much better phone if you're willing to spend some cash.
Design and Call Quality
Like a diet-version of the original, the Ascend II measures 4.6 by 2.4 by 0.5 inches (HWD) and weighs 4.1 ounces. It looks and feels nicer than the Ascend, clad all in black with a soft touch plastic back and a shiny plastic ring around the display. The display is the same 3.5-inch, 320-by-480-pixel capacitive touch screen as the last time around, which looks reasonably sharp and bright. There are four haptic feedback-enabled touch keys beneath it, and typing on the on-screen keyboard felt fine.
The Huawei Ascend II is a dual-band EVDO Rev A (850/1900 MHz) device with 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi. In New York where we test, U.S. Cellular phones use Sprint's network. Signal reception was fine, and it connected to my WPA2-encrypted Wi-Fi network without a problem. It can also function as a mobile hotspot with the appropriate data plan.
Call quality was decent on the Ascend. Voices sound clear, but thin and a touch robotic. Calls made with the phone are easy to understand and feature good noise cancellation, but can sound a bit muffled. The speakerphone sounds fine and is loud enough to use outdoors. Calls sounded clear through a?Jawbone Era?Bluetooth headset ($129, 4.5 stars) and voice dialing worked fine. Battery life was on the shorter side of average at 5 hours, 8 minutes of talk time.
Android and Apps
The Ascend II runs Android 2.3.5 (Gingerbread). There's no word on whether it will receive an update to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), but we wouldn't hold out hope. Huawei has added some very limited customizations to the UI. Unfortunately, they give off a bargain bin vibe; Huawei would've fared better leaving well enough alone in this case.
There are five customizable home screens you can swipe between, which come preloaded with a number of useful apps and widgets, along with a bunch of nonremovable bloatware.
Everything is powered by a 600MHz Qualcomm S1 MSM7627 processor. This was standard for lower-end smartphones a year ago, but it's really starting to show its age. The Ascend II turned in some of the worst benchmarks we've seen for a device sporting these specs, and you can really feel that while using the phone. Most tasks felt sluggish, and it took longer to open and close apps than usual.
App-wise, you get Google Maps Navigation for free voice-enabled, turn-by-turn GPS directions, along with all that bloatware from U.S. Cellular. You should also be able to run most of the 300,000+ third-party apps in the Android Market, but again, be prepared to encounter stalls and crashes.
Multimedia, Camera, and Conclusions
The Ascend II has 146MB of internal memory, along with a 2GB microSD card; my 32GB and 64GB SanDisk cards worked fine as well. Thankfully, the phone has a standard 3.5mm headphone jack this time around, which makes it easy to find a pair of earbuds. Music tracks sounded fine over both wired earbuds and Altec Lansing BackBeat?Bluetooth headphones ($99.99, 3.5 stars). I was able to play AAC, MP3, OGG, and WAV files, but not FLAC or WMA.
Video playback is lackluster. I was able to watch movies at resolutions up to 800-by-480, but anything above 640-by-480 looked choppy. I could play H.264 and MP4 files, but not AVI, DivX, or Xvid.
The Ascend II's 5-megapixel camera lacks auto-focus and an LED flash. Test photos looked soft and dark, with muted color detail. The camera also records 640-by-480 video at 16 frames per second indoors and 19 outside.
The Huawei Ascend II isn't a terrible phone, it's just not a very good one. It's sluggish today; a year from now, it will probably feel glacial. If you're looking to score a smartphone on the cheap, you'll get a faster processor but slower Internet with the Samsung Repp?(Free, 3 stars). For $49.99 there's the LG Genesis?(3 stars), which gets you two higher-res displays, along with a physical QWERTY keyboard. But you'd do best to spend $100 and pick up the HTC Hero S?(3.5 stars), or $149.99 for the Motorola Electrify?(4.5 stars). Both phones feature faster processors, sharper displays, and better cameras than the Ascend II. The Electrify can even convert into a laptop PC with the proper accessories. And even better, in both cases you won't be itching to upgrade your phone in just a few months.?
Benchmarks
Continuous talk time: 5 hours 8 minutes
More Cell Phone Reviews:
??? Huawei Ascend II (U.S. Cellular)
??? ZTE Score (Cricket Wireless)
??? RIM BlackBerry Curve 9370 (Verizon Wireless)
??? Samsung Replenish (Boost Mobile)
??? HTC Titan (AT&T)
?? more
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/Ui3j0zUK4Hk/0,2817,2399392,00.asp
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Google Maps will now warn you about emergency situations
By Rosa Golijan
Whether you're unaware that an earthquake warning has been issued for the area you're visiting later or whether you desperately need more information about the hurricane headed your way, Google Maps should be able to help. Why? Because the popular mapping service now incorporates emergency alerts from several public safety organizations.
According to a post on Google's LatLong blog,?the Google Public Alerts platform was launched on Wednesday. It's "designed to bring you relevant emergency alerts when and where you?re searching for them."
This means that searches for places with active public alerts will trigger a message which offers related information. (If you'd rather see all active alerts in one spot instead, you can do so on the main Google Public Alerts page.)
The information offered by Google Public Alerts will be initially be drawn from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Weather Service, and the US Geological Survey (USGS), but Google intends to add data from other public safety organizations in the future.
Related stories:
Want more tech news, silly puns or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on?Twitter, subscribing to her?Facebook?posts, or circling her?on?Google+.
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Friday, January 27, 2012
Mitt Romney Overseas Money: GOP Candidate Revising Disclosures For Overseas Accounts
First Read :
But while the returns have produced no revelations about any improper dealings on Romneys' part, they have continued to raise questions about how and why some of his multiple overseas investments were made in the first place, and why there were not more fully reported on Romney's financial disclosure forms.?
But while the returns have produced no revelations about any improper dealings on Romneys' part, they have continued to raise questions about how and why some of his multiple overseas investments were made in the first place, and why there were not more fully reported on Romney's financial disclosure forms.?
Read the whole story: First Read
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
Obama: Spat with Arizona governor not a big deal (Reuters)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? A tense airport exchange with Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, in which she wagged her finger in his face, was blown out of proportion, President Barack Obama said in an ABC News interview on Thursday.
"I think it's always good publicity for a Republican if they're in an argument with me. ... But this was really not a big deal," Obama said. "Last time we met, she wasn't fully satisfied. But, you know, I think this is a classic example of things getting blown out of proportion."
The testy exchange with Brewer on Wednesday distracted from the economic message Obama has sought to emphasize during a three-day campaign-style tour that followed his State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday night.
Obama, who spent much of last year locked in battles with Republicans in the U.S. Congress, took a combative tone in the address as he pressed Republicans to work with him on the effort to fix the sluggish economy.
The president has also differed sharply with Brewer over immigration policy.
The Justice Department has challenged a controversial bill Brewer signed in 2010 cracking down on illegal immigrants in Arizona that called for police to check the immigration status of anyone suspected of being in the country illegally.
Obama has referred to the Arizona immigration law as "misguided." Critics have said the measure is a mandate for racial profiling, but its supporters believe tougher measures are needed to prevent non-citizens from taking U.S. jobs in a tough economic climate.
But Obama sought to play down any tension during his brief meeting with Brewer at the Phoenix airport.
"She wanted to give me a letter, asking for a meeting. And I said, 'We'd be happy to meet,' " Obama told ABC.
Brewer and Obama spoke when she met him on the airport tarmac to welcome him to her state.
During their chat, Obama told Brewer he disagreed with an account she had given of a meeting they had at the White House two years ago. At one point during the conversation, she pointed a finger at the president.
Brewer handed him a letter asking for a meeting to talk about Arizona's economy.
"Let me say that I respect the office of president, and when I went to meet him at the tarmac, I went with a happy heart," Brewer said on Thursday on CNN.
"He turned that conversation immediately to my book 'Scorpions for Breakfast' and was immediately somewhat distraught, disappointed about the way that he was portrayed in that book," she said.
A White House official said the subject of the book came up after Brewer gave Obama the letter.
"The president said he'd be glad to meet with her again, but did note that after their last meeting, a cordial discussion in the Oval Office, the governor inaccurately described the meeting in her book," the official said.
Immediately after the 2010 meeting with Obama, Brewer described the exchange as "cordial" but she later wrote in the book that she felt he had lectured her.
(Additional Reporting By Caren Bohan and Tim Gaynor; Editing by Peter Cooney)
(This story was corrected to fix Brewer quote to replace "portrayed" with "disappointed")
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How Will Google's New Privacy Policy Affect You? [Google]
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
HBT: Darvish wants to be 'best pitcher in the world'
Reason I was out the past few days: trip to Texas. Reason for the trip to Texas: none of your beeswax, frankly, but know this: the entire time I was there I barely heard a single word about the Rangers. Maybe that?s because I was doing way too much of this. Hard to say.
All I know for sure is that the Rangers buzz is going to get pretty big down there pretty soon as everyone wakes up from football season and realizes just how great a race there?s going to be in the AL West this year. And a big part of that is going to be Yu Darvish.
There was a press conference in Tokyo this morning featuring Darvish. Oh, and 10,000 fans too, which tells you what kind of figure Darvish is over there. At the press conference, Darvish set his sights pretty high when explaining his move to the United States to pitch for the Texas Rangers:
?I want to become the kind of pitcher that will make people say ?Darvish is the No. 1 pitcher in the world? ? I want to feel the thrill of pitching against the world?s best hitters. It was becoming harder to stay motivated in Japan.?
World?s best hitters, huh? ?Did anyone tell him just how many games he?s going to have against the A?s, Mariners and Astros over the next several years?
Oh well, I won?t tell him if you won?t. Would hate to disappoint him.
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Romney to release taxes, Gingrich ready for Obama (AP)
WASHINGTON ? Newt Gingrich worked to capitalize Sunday on his upset victory in South Carolina's Republican presidential primary, while Mitt Romney moved quickly to cut his losses before the next contest with a promise to release his income tax returns within 48 hours.
Gingrich said in a round of television interviews that his win, both unexpected and unexpectedly large, showed he was the Republican best able to go toe to toe with President Barack Obama in the fall. "I think virtually everybody who looks at the campaign knows I represent the largest amount of change of any candidate, and I think that's why they see me as representing their interest and their concerns, not representing Wall Street or representing the politicians of Washington," he said.
Romney argued that point, but not another, agreeing in a television interview that he had made a mistake by refusing to release his tax returns before the South Carolina vote. "If it was a distraction, we want to get back to the real issues in the campaign -- leadership, character and vision for America, how to get jobs in America, and how to rein in the excessive scale of the federal government," he said.
The former Massachusetts governor, who made millions in business, said he will make his 2010 return and an estimate for 2011 available online on Tuesday.
The decision marked a concession, as if one were needed, that Romney had stumbled on his way through South Carolina, a state where he led handsomely in the polls several days before the primary.
Florida votes next, on Jan. 31, a 50-delegate contest in one of the most expensive campaign states in the country, and one that Romney can ill afford to lose.
The former governor was an easy winner in the New Hampshire primary earlier in the month. Before that, he was a close runner-up behind former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum in Iowa caucuses where the vote count was so confused that he was originally announced the victor.
Despite his loss on Saturday, Romney remains the contender with the largest and best-funded organization. "Three states in now, we got 47 more to go," he said, adding he was looking forward to the rest.
For all the political momentum gained in South Carolina, Gingrich made it immediately obvious that he is short on funds. He urged supporters via Tweet Saturday night to donate money, and then announced the name of his campaign website while making a nationally televised victory speech.
With their comments, both Romney and Gingrich indicated the race was a two-way competition, likely to go into the spring if not longer.
Santorum had other ideas.
"We're going to Florida and beyond," he said. As he did in a pair of debates in South Carolina, he criticized both Gingrich ? calling him a "very high-risk candidate" ? and Romney, whom he called a moderate ill-suited to appeal to conservative voters.
Texas Rep. Ron Paul, the fourth contender, has already said he will skip Florida and focus on Nevada and other caucus states.
Gingrich won South Carolina despite being outspent. But in addition to the prohibitive cost of campaigning in Florida, a long-term shortage of funds can cripple efforts to compete in the fast-paced series of primaries and caucuses ahead.
Aides say the former speaker raised $9 million in the final quarter of 2011.
Romney has reported taking in $24 million over the same period.
In addition, both men are supported by outside groups that have paid for millions in television advertising. So far, though, Romney's has spent more, and to greater evident effect.
When Gingrich surged in the polls two weeks before the Iowa caucuses, Restore Our Future responded with hard-hitting ads that knocked the former speaker off-stride and protected Romney's standing.
Gingrich lacked the funds to respond effectively, lashed out angrily, and sank to a poor fourth place finish. He did not begin to recover until the final days of the race in South Carolina, when he was aided by Romney's missteps, Texas Gov. Rick Perry's mid-week withdrawal and endorsement, and his own strong debate performances.
Also in the interim, Gingrich supporters said that casino magnate Sheldon Adelson had written a $5 million check to an outside group set up to help the former speaker.
Allies of Gingrich have made no secret of their hope that Adelson will help again in Florida, where the pro-Romney organization shows no signs of slowing down.
Even before the polls closed in South Carolina, Romney and a group supporting him had spent $7 million on television advertising in Florida. So far, the only other political ads to run in the state were financed by ASCME, a labor union working to weaken the standing of the former Massachusetts governor.
While a protracted battle for the nomination could benefit Obama, the signs pointed toward a particularly bruising struggle in Florida.
"I don't think that the people of this country are going to choose as the next president of the United States a person who spent 40 years in Washington as a congressman and a lobbyist," Romney said. "That is not going to be, in my opinion, be the most effective way to replace the current president who also spent his career in politics."
Said Gingrich: "I think South Carolinians were the first state to really understand how liberal Governor Romney's record was" as Massachusetts governor said Gingrich. He said his main rival lost ground "as people began to realize that he'd been pro-choice, pro-gun control, pro-tax increase in a whole range of areas that despite his advertising and his pretending, it was clear that he was way to the left of South Carolinians."
With votes counted from all of South Carolina's precincts, Gingrich had 40 percent to Romney's 28 percent. Santorum won 17 percent to Paul's 13 percent.
Gingrich won at least 23 of the 25 delegates at stake. The other two have yet to be allocated.
Gingrich appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press," CBS' "Face the Nation" and CNN's "State of the Union." Romney was on "Fox News Sunday," while Santorum was on ABC's "This Week" and CNN.
_____
Eds: AP reporter Jack Gillum in Washington and Shannon McCaffrey in South Carolina contributed to this story.
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Oprah Winfrey charms "chaotic" India at book event (Reuters)
JAIPUR, India (Reuters) ? Amid raucous cheers from thousands of admirers, television superstar Oprah Winfrey praised the contrast of calm and chaos in India at the region's largest literature festival fast becoming a global cultural gala.
Considered one of the world's most influential women, Winfrey lived up to her billing as the headline draw at an event boasting literary giants such as Tom Stoppard, Michael Ondaatje and Richard Dawkins, charming the crowds on Sunday morning.
"I came here with an open mind, and it has been expanded... It's the greatest life experience I have ever had," Winfrey said at the annual Jaipur Literature Festival in India's north-western state of Rajasthan.
"You feel like you're in the centre of something bigger and greater than yourself."
Hundreds of eager visitors jostled against barricades at the back of the main stage area as Winfrey began speaking. Security guards struggled to shut the main entrance gates as angry admirers tried to push their way inside.
"It's like being in a video game. I don't know which way to look," Winfrey told crowds on her arrival in Mumbai. "It's a bit chaotic, but there's an underlying calm, a flow, that you all seem to understand. India is a paradox."
The 57-year-old has caused a media storm in India, with news channels and front pages filled with stories of her touring the city of Mumbai with the Bachchans, Bollywood's first family. On Sunday she drew huge cheers as she appeared on stage in a traditional Indian churidar kameez smock.
"I will take with me a sense of calmness, and a genuine respect... people don't talk religion here, they live it," Winfrey said.
Her appearance on Sunday was seen as a welcome distraction from the Salman Rushdie furor that has overshadowed the five-day festival, after the author cancelled his planned visit due to reported assassination threats against him.
The talk-show host and interviewer's "Book Club" turned little-known authors into global stars, with 59 of the club's 70 selected books making the USA TODAY Top 10 best-sellers list.
Winfrey told the festival that in 2008, after witnessing the completion of her mission to get then-Senator Barack Obama to the White House, she stuck a picture of a woman riding a camel on her pinboard, that said "Come to India."
"It was important for me to go to slums but not show the worst of the worst, but show that people can live in poverty and still have hope and meaning in their lives," said Winfrey, who also called for Indians to work to eradicate discrimination against widows in society.
(Editing by Ron Popeski)
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Rate of physician referrals nearly doubled
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Public release date: 23-Jan-2012[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: David Cameron
david_cameron@hms.harvard.edu
617-432-0441
Harvard Medical School
Increase in referrals could lead to increase in health care costs
BOSTON, MA -- Physician referral rates in the United States doubled between 1999 and 2009, a new study finds, an increase that likely contributes to the rising costs of health care.
The increase in referral rates coincides with an increase in chronic conditions such as Type 2 diabetes. The results are staggering: over the same time period, the estimated absolute number of visits resulting in a referral increased 159 per cent, from 40.6 million to 105 million.
"If you add that up, it's real money," said Bruce Landon, senior author of the paper and professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School.
The researchers found a 92 percent increase in referral rates (from 4.83 to 9.29 percent) over the last decade, analyzing a nationally representative sample of 845,243 ambulatory patient visits from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys, 1993-2009.
"Understanding trends in physician referrals is critical both for improving patient care and for managing costs," said Michael Barnett, lead author on the study and a first-year resident in internal medicine and primary care at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
The results will be published January 23 in the Archives of Internal Medicine. For many years, the rate of referrals stayed flat, until about ten years ago, when they began a steady climb. This paper is the first research to analyze referral data since the trend began. The marked increase in referral rates is likely due to increased specialization in medical care, and increasing responsibilities for primary care physicians during a typical visit. "Sometimes physicians may find it easier to refer a patient to another doctor than to find the necessary time to spend with him or her," said coauthor Zirui Song, an HMS student and PhD student in health policy.
The researchers noted that referrals to specialists are often gateways to a cascade of potentially costly services which may or may not be needed: The cost associated with a referral isn't just the cost of a single visit, it's the potential for an ongoing series of visits, diagnostic tests, procedures and hospitalizations that might result.
In some cases, a more conservative approach can have better results and lower costs. For example, instead of referring a patient with ankle pain for an MRI and a visit to an orthopedist, a primary care physician might first recommend rest and physical therapy.
"This study is step one, an attempt to start to get our heads around the question by describing the basic epidemiology of physician referrals," said Landon. In order to manage the rising costs of health care and guarantee the best outcomes for patients, he added, researchers need to understand the interactions between networks of referring physicians and the appropriateness of referrals.
###
This research was funded by the Department of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School.
Zirui Song was supported by a Pre-doctoral M.D./Ph.D. National Research Service Award from the National Institute on Aging and a Pre-doctoral Fellowship in Aging and Health Economics from the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Jake Miller CITATION
Archives of Internal Medicine, Jan. 23, 2012
"Trends in Physician Referrals in the US, 1999-2009" by Barnett et al
Harvard Medical School http://hms.harvard.edu> has more than 7,500 full-time faculty working in 11 academic departments located at the School's Boston campus or in one of 47 hospital-based clinical departments at 17 Harvard-affiliated teaching hospitals and research institutes. Those affiliates include Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Womens Hospital, Cambridge Health Alliance, Childrens Hospital Boston, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Forsyth Institute, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Hebrew SeniorLife, Joslin Diabetes Center, Judge Baker Childrens Center, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Massachusetts General Hospital, McLean Hospital, Mount Auburn Hospital, Schepens Eye Research Institute, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, and VA Boston Healthcare System.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 23-Jan-2012[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: David Cameron
david_cameron@hms.harvard.edu
617-432-0441
Harvard Medical School
Increase in referrals could lead to increase in health care costs
BOSTON, MA -- Physician referral rates in the United States doubled between 1999 and 2009, a new study finds, an increase that likely contributes to the rising costs of health care.
The increase in referral rates coincides with an increase in chronic conditions such as Type 2 diabetes. The results are staggering: over the same time period, the estimated absolute number of visits resulting in a referral increased 159 per cent, from 40.6 million to 105 million.
"If you add that up, it's real money," said Bruce Landon, senior author of the paper and professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School.
The researchers found a 92 percent increase in referral rates (from 4.83 to 9.29 percent) over the last decade, analyzing a nationally representative sample of 845,243 ambulatory patient visits from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys, 1993-2009.
"Understanding trends in physician referrals is critical both for improving patient care and for managing costs," said Michael Barnett, lead author on the study and a first-year resident in internal medicine and primary care at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
The results will be published January 23 in the Archives of Internal Medicine. For many years, the rate of referrals stayed flat, until about ten years ago, when they began a steady climb. This paper is the first research to analyze referral data since the trend began. The marked increase in referral rates is likely due to increased specialization in medical care, and increasing responsibilities for primary care physicians during a typical visit. "Sometimes physicians may find it easier to refer a patient to another doctor than to find the necessary time to spend with him or her," said coauthor Zirui Song, an HMS student and PhD student in health policy.
The researchers noted that referrals to specialists are often gateways to a cascade of potentially costly services which may or may not be needed: The cost associated with a referral isn't just the cost of a single visit, it's the potential for an ongoing series of visits, diagnostic tests, procedures and hospitalizations that might result.
In some cases, a more conservative approach can have better results and lower costs. For example, instead of referring a patient with ankle pain for an MRI and a visit to an orthopedist, a primary care physician might first recommend rest and physical therapy.
"This study is step one, an attempt to start to get our heads around the question by describing the basic epidemiology of physician referrals," said Landon. In order to manage the rising costs of health care and guarantee the best outcomes for patients, he added, researchers need to understand the interactions between networks of referring physicians and the appropriateness of referrals.
###
This research was funded by the Department of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School.
Zirui Song was supported by a Pre-doctoral M.D./Ph.D. National Research Service Award from the National Institute on Aging and a Pre-doctoral Fellowship in Aging and Health Economics from the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Jake Miller CITATION
Archives of Internal Medicine, Jan. 23, 2012
"Trends in Physician Referrals in the US, 1999-2009" by Barnett et al
Harvard Medical School http://hms.harvard.edu> has more than 7,500 full-time faculty working in 11 academic departments located at the School's Boston campus or in one of 47 hospital-based clinical departments at 17 Harvard-affiliated teaching hospitals and research institutes. Those affiliates include Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Womens Hospital, Cambridge Health Alliance, Childrens Hospital Boston, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Forsyth Institute, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Hebrew SeniorLife, Joslin Diabetes Center, Judge Baker Childrens Center, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Massachusetts General Hospital, McLean Hospital, Mount Auburn Hospital, Schepens Eye Research Institute, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, and VA Boston Healthcare System.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/hms-rop012312.php
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Monday, January 23, 2012
KDDI putting ads in the notification bar on Android phones
KDDI putting ads in the notification bar on Android phones originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Asiajin | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/23/kddi-putting-ads-in-the-notification-bar-on-android-phones/
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What Comes After 4G? [What Is]
Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/kpe7SWUaYdc/what-comes-after-4g
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Sunday, January 22, 2012
Emma Roberts Channels Ke$ha In 'Celeste And Jesse'
'I got to bring together every pop star and fold it into one person,' actress tells MTV News.
By Josh Wigler, with reporting by Josh Horowitz
Elijah Wood and Emma Roberts
Photo: MTV News
PARK CITY, Utah — Emma Roberts has always been a friend to MTV News, particularly at the Sundance Film Festival. Last year in Park City, we were fairly sure that we got Emma to drop a massive "Scream 4" spoiler — namely that she wasn't going to survive her encounter with Ghost Face — and we were right ... partially.
At this year's Sundance, our conversation with Emma was not so grim. The up-and-coming actress has a starring role in "Celeste and Jesse Forever," a comedy about a divorcing couple struggling to maintain their friendship during an intense period of transition. In the film, which also stars co-writer Rashida Jones, Roberts goes against type as a pop star named Riley, who is an amalgamation of various musical icons. But according to the actress, there's one particular singer she took her cues from.
"I got to bring together every pop star and fold it into one person," she told MTV News about her role in the film. "[But] my hair is definitely Ke$ha. I have these fabulous long, blond, slightly ratty extensions. I miss those dearly."
Of course, hair alone does not make a pop star. Roberts had to sing and dance to get into the role, rocking out with a dance anthem that was co-written by Jones herself.
"We recorded a song that Rashida co-wrote with a bunch of people, and it's just wildly entertaining and inappropriate and it's kind of a dance anthem. It was fun," she said. "You know when you listen to songs and they yell at you to have fun? That's kind of what we decided to do, because I love being yelled at to have fun and dance!" Who doesn't?
The 2012 Sundance Film Festival is officially under way, and the MTV Movies team is on the ground reporting on the hottest stars and the movies everyone will be talking about in the year to come. Keep it locked with MTV Movies for everything there is to know about Sundance.
Related Videos Related PhotosSource: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1677684/emma-roberts-kesha-celeste-and-jesse.jhtml
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Erika Van Pelt: Mobile DJ, Wedding Singer, American Idol Hopeful
Based on your audition last night, Erika Van Pelt, the answer is yet: we'll still love you tomorrow.
This Rhode Island native tried out for the Fox smash in Pittsburgh last night, wowing the judges with a rendition of a Carole King classic and piquing the interesting of viewers with her job: she's a mobile DJ, traveling from venue to venue and spinning records. That is, when she isn't performing as a wedding singer.
Watch the audition now to see why Adam Sandler should be worried:
See you in Hollywood, Erika! Along with other night two favorites, Creighton Fraker and Hallie Day.
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Saturday, January 21, 2012
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