Club Card Shuffle Traffics in Anonymous Rewards Card IDs [Saving Money]

Retailers don't hand out discounts to club card members out of the goodness of their hearts; they do it so they can track your purchases and mine your data. If you're not keen on all that tracking, web site Club Card Shuffle hands out club card IDs for your corporate subversion pleasure.

As the site puts it:

The goal of this site is to screw up the data that different club cards generate to manipulate your buying habits by anonymously storing and trading your club card numbers. Corporate subversion in its lamest form. Have fun.

Once you've got your card number, you could use a service like KeyRingThing (webapp) or KeyRing (for iPhone, Android, and Windows Phone 7) to generate your club cards, or you could make your own consolidated loyalty card. Right now the service only supports 19 retailers, but they say they're willing to add more if you email them.

Last but not least, don't forget that you can use Jenny's number at almost any store that uses phone numbers to identify you without signing up for a rewards card.

Club Card Shuffle

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You can contact Adam Pash, the author of this post, on Twitter, Google+, and Facebook.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/z5l8Wo4X_Vs/club-card-shuffle-traffics-in-anonymous-rewards-card-ids

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Incomes stall as interest on savings dwindles

FILE - In this file photo taken Sept, 29, 2011, Elsy Santiago, left, and her sister Betsy shop at a store in Hialeah, Fla. Consumers boosted their spending in September at three times the pace of the previous month but their incomes barely budged. They financed the gains from savings, sending the savings rate to the lowest level since the start of the Great Recession. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz, File)

FILE - In this file photo taken Sept, 29, 2011, Elsy Santiago, left, and her sister Betsy shop at a store in Hialeah, Fla. Consumers boosted their spending in September at three times the pace of the previous month but their incomes barely budged. They financed the gains from savings, sending the savings rate to the lowest level since the start of the Great Recession. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz, File)

FILE - In this Sept. 29, 2011 file photo, unidentified shoppers unload their shopping cart at a Pembroke Pines, Fla., Costco store. Consumers boosted their spending in September at three times the pace of the previous month but their incomes barely budged. They financed the gains from savings, sending the savings rate to the lowest level since the start of the Great Recession. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Americans' incomes have stagnated for three straight months. Yet they boosted their spending in September 0.6 percent ? three times the increase in August.

Under normal circumstances, that would be a troubling sign for the economy.

But a closer look at Friday's report from the Commerce Department on September income and spending suggests another possibility: Many people are cutting their savings because the interest they are earning has become nearly worthless.

Consumers earned only 0.1 percent last month. And after adjusting for inflation, their after-tax incomes fell 0.1 percent last month ? the third straight monthly decline.

But the decline was largely because of a 1.4 percent drop in interest income last month, the third sharp monthly drop. Wages and salaries increased 0.3 percent in September.

Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics, said the report could signal that there is a transfer of income from those who saved to those with high debts, which could result in more spending by consumers.

"The sharp decline in the saving rate doesn't concern us quite as much as it did, since it is possible that it partly reflects a sharp decline in debt servicing costs," Ashworth said.

Consumer spending is closely watched because it accounts for 70 percent of economic activity. A sharp rise in spending over the summer helped fuel annual growth of 2.5 percent in the July-September quarter, the best quarterly expansion in a year.

Still, the economy would have to grow at nearly double the third-quarter pace to make a dent in the unemployment rate, which has stayed near 9 percent since the recession officially ended more than two years ago.

In recent months, job growth has stagnated. Employers have added an average of only 72,000 jobs per month in the past five months. That's far below the 100,000 per month needed to keep up with population growth. And it's down from an average of 180,000 in the first four months of this year.

Employers added only 103,000 jobs in September, and the unemployment rate remained 9.1 percent for a third straight month.

The government releases the October employment report on Nov. 4.

And spending could tumble next year if Congress fails to extend a Social Security tax cut, which gave most Americans an extra $1,000 to $2,000 this year, or long-term unemployment benefits. Both expire at the end of the year.

The spending increases in September included a 2.2 percent jump in purchases of durable goods, reflecting strong car sales during the month. Sales of non-durable goods such as clothing were also up a solid 1.1 percent while purchases of services such as rent and utility payments edged up 0.2 percent.

Inflation, as measured by a price gauge tied to consumer spending, edged up 0.2 percent in September. But core inflation, which excludes food and energy, showed no gain at all. That left core inflation rising at a moderate 1.6 percent over the last 12 months.

Many economists worry that consumers won't be able to keep spending like they did this summer without earning more. For spending gains to be sustained, employers need to step up hiring.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-10-28-Consumer%20Spending/id-36294c9dd9ae432aa88257cd7f93bb46

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After Scandal, Solar Industry Looks On Bright Side

Solar power's image has taken a hit lately with the bankruptcy of Solyndra. The California solar panel manufacturer received more than half a billion dollars in Energy Department loan guarantees before going belly up.

Enlarge Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP/Getty Images

A worker stands next to an array of Sharp solar cell modules at a power plant south of Tokyo in August. Sharp was one of 1,400 solar panel manufacturers in attendance at the Solar Power International conference, where industry optimism was high.

Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP/Getty Images

A worker stands next to an array of Sharp solar cell modules at a power plant south of Tokyo in August. Sharp was one of 1,400 solar panel manufacturers in attendance at the Solar Power International conference, where industry optimism was high.

But the industry is still optimistic ? that much was apparent at the Solar Power International conference held in Dallas in mid-October. Walking into the big hall of the Dallas Convention Center, it was impossible not to be impressed by the huge array of black solar panels hanging from the ceiling.

Those were the Japanese manufacturer Sharp's new state-of-the-art panels for residential customers, and right beside them were panels from its large Chinese competitor Suntech. Next to Suntech was the elite German glass manufacturer Schott.

A Gloom-Free Industry

Salesman Matthew Kraft has his pitch ready. Schott likes to think of its panels as the Mercedes-Benz of solar panels.

"What we're looking at here is a couple of our innovations modules," Kraft explains. "You know how at car shows they always have the concept cars of what's coming down the line, or what they could be making?"

In the U.S., Schott focuses its sales on commercial rooftops, customers who might be less interested in the cheapest price than the quality of the solar panel.

"Every step of the manufacturing process, every material choice including the encapsulate, the back sheet ? all have to work together well if they're going to survive 25 years and generate the electricity expected," says Tom Hecht, a top executive at Schott's U.S. division.

The displays at the conference were from China, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Spain, Korea, Portugal ? in all, 1,400 panel manufactures from 125 different countries. If you were expecting a certain level of gloom and malaise because of the negative press surrounding the Solyndra bankruptcy, there's just not much of it to be found.

With a dramatic drop in silicon prices, solar panel prices have come down 50 percent and business is good.

The United States is the fastest growing market for solar energy in the world today. In fact, solar is the fastest growing industry in the United States. In the last year we've grown by more than 70 percent.

- Roan Resch, chief executive officer of the Solar Energy Industries Association

"The United States is the fastest growing market for solar energy in the world today," says Roan Resch, chief executive officer of the Solar Energy Industries Association. "In fact, solar is the fastest growing industry in the United States. In the last year we've grown by over 70 percent."

Concerns Over Chinese Subsidies

But not everything is coming up roses. Last week a group of seven U.S. solar panel manufacturers filed petitions with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission alleging that China is illegally subsidizing its solar industry and flooding the worldwide market with underpriced panels to drive weaker competitors bankrupt.

Resch wants an investigation. "I think the jury's still out, but this case at least will be a very transparent process in which the information will be gathered, and the courts will be able to decide whether the Chinese have been unfairly subsidizing their industry or not," he says.

But the manufacturers' petition has split the solar industry because the lower panel prices have been a boon to solar developers and installers. For them, lower prices mean more customers.

New Ideas In The Market

Still, in this economy, laying out $35,000 is asking a lot of a residential customer, so some in the industry are taking a page out of Dish Network's playbook and renting the necessary equipment to residential customers. That means there's no money down.

"Instead of what you would be paying to your electricity [company], you're going to make a lease payment to us," says Sherry Pittman, a vice president at Sungevity, based in Oakland, Calif. "That lease payment that you're paying to Sungevity is going to be less than what you were paying to your electricity company."

Sharp, on the other hand, is attacking the financing issue through technology. Its new residential panels each come with their own inverter. Sharp Senior Vice President Eric Hafter explains the significance of the development.

"The inverter is matched with the panel so each panel is actually producing AC power, which goes straight into the home. It's also set up so that you can install as [little] as one panel and then add to the system over years," Hafter says.

Hafter says there is no question that U.S. manufacturers can compete, and points out that the cheapest solar panel currently on the market is made by an American company, not a Chinese one.

Regardless, there's going to be a lot of product in the market going forward, prices are expected to remain fiercely competitive, and the industry predicts robust growth for this coming year at 60 percent.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/10/29/141808249/after-scandal-solar-industry-looks-on-bright-side?ft=1&f=1007

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GameStop to offer Android gaming tablets this holiday season (Appolicious)

Android?s open platform has incurred countless devices, all flooding the market. But the gaming industry is helping some manufacturers set themselves apart. With a lucrative gaming sector drawing in advertisers, in-app purchases and virtual goods, mobile gaming has created a sub-market all its own. There?s a growing number of gadget makers looking to put their stamp on Android devices. Video game retailer GameStop, for instance, will soon sell Android tablets as part of an effort to expand its device offerings.

Just in time for the holiday season, GameStop?s family of specialized tablets will come from manufacturers Asustek, Acer and Samsung. They?ll be pre-loaded with a handful of games, including EA titles like Madden NFL. The Android-powered game tablets will also become distribution channels for GameStop?s own mobile app store, Kongregate Arcade. The game store was an early initiative for GameStop as it felt its way into the mobile realm, and only gains potential with a concentrated effort around GameStop devices. The tablets will be priced around $400 to $500, which could be an issue for the retailer if it hopes to compete with the Amazon Kindle Fire, also primped with a gaming marketplace.

Sony looks to Android for PlayStation distribution

Sony is another company anxious to cash in on Android?s gaming potential. In an effort to control more of its mobile offerings, Sony is paying Ericsson about $1.5 billion for its half of the Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications joint venture. Their devices have pretty much always been media-centric, but Sony really began to realize its mobile promise with the Xperia PLAY launch. The device was designed for true gamers, with familiar button placement and optimized graphics support. The Xperia PLAY has also become a distribution channel for the Sony PlayStation network, closing the loop for Sony?s mobile and gaming offerings.

Sony also hopes its PlayStation Suite will help sell more Android devices in the future, extending beyond the Xperia PLAY to include the Sony Tablet S and Sony Tablet P. But the company may be looking even further, as Sony executive deputy president Kazuo Hirai shares their plans beyond Sony devices.

?That?s the beauty of Android,? Hirai says. ?We?re in discussions with non-Sony companies to bring them on board. We?ll make those announcements when it?s time to go public with it. This is not just for Sony devices.?

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/videogames/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/appolicious_rss/rss_appolicious_tc/http___www_androidapps_com_articles10051_gamestop_to_offer_android_gaming_tablets_this_holiday_season/43420346/SIG=13d5joirl/*http%3A//www.androidapps.com/tech/articles/10051-gamestop-to-offer-android-gaming-tablets-this-holiday-season

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Commonwealth nations agree to change royal rules

Queen Elizabeth II sits in a chair during a state reception at Government House in Perth, Australia, on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011. The queen, on her first visit to Australia since 2006, will attend the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting during her stay in Perth. (AP Photo/Lincoln Baker, Pool)

Queen Elizabeth II sits in a chair during a state reception at Government House in Perth, Australia, on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011. The queen, on her first visit to Australia since 2006, will attend the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting during her stay in Perth. (AP Photo/Lincoln Baker, Pool)

British Prime Minister, David Cameron pauses during the Executive Session 1 meeting at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting on Friday, Oct. 28, 2011 in Perth, Australia. (AP Phoro/Paul Kane, Pool)

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, center left, is joined by Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, left, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, center right, and Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar for group photos at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth, Australia, Friday, Oct. 28, 2011. The Queen vowed to bring needed relevancy to the Commonwealth in a time of global uncertainty and insecurity as a major meeting of the nations linked to Britain's former empire opened Friday. (AP Photo/Torsten Blackwood, Pool)

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, sitting second left, is joined by Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma, sitting left, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, sitting second right, Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, sitting right, and leaders from other Commonwealth nations for the official photo of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth, Australia, Friday, Oct. 28, 2011. (AP Photo/Torsten Blackwood, Pool)

Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa walks towards a meeting during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth, Australia, Friday Oct. 28. 2011. (AP Photo/Theron Kirkman)

PERTH, Australia (AP) ? The British monarch's first-born child, whether a girl or a boy, will ascend the throne under new succession rules approved Friday by Commonwealth nations, reversing centuries of tradition.

Commonwealth national leaders also agreed at a summit in the western Australian city of Perth to lift a ban on monarchs marrying Roman Catholics, British Prime Minister David Cameron said.

Britain or any of the 15 former British colonies for which Queen Elizabeth II is monarch could have vetoed the changes to current rules that ensure that a male heir takes the throne ahead of older sisters.

"Attitudes have changed fundamentally over the centuries and some of the outdated rules ? like some of the rules of succession ? just don't make sense to us any more," Cameron told reporters in Perth.

"The idea that a younger son should become monarch instead of an elder daughter simply because he is a man, or that a future monarch can marry someone of any faith except a Catholic ? this way of thinking is at odds with the modern countries that we have become," he added.

All 16 countries now have to begin their own legislative processes to enact the reforms. In Britain, that means passing and amending several pieces of legislation.

The complexity of getting all the countries to begin the processes has held up the changes for decades. Following Friday's announcement, New Zealand will chair a working group for the countries to discuss how to accomplish the reforms.

Cameron's announcement came on the first day of a biennial meeting of 53 Commonwealth leaders.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Australia's first female leader and chairwoman of the summit, welcomed the decision.

"These things seem straightforward, but just because they seem straightforward to our modern minds doesn't mean we should underestimate their historic significance," Gillard told reporters.

Elizabeth II is head of state of Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Belize, St. Christopher and Nevis, St. Lucia, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Papua New Guinea.

She opened the meeting of leaders representing 30 percent of the world's population on Friday by vowing to bring needed relevancy to the Commonwealth in a time of global uncertainty and insecurity.

The queen cited financial concerns, food supply insecurity and climate change among key issues she expected the forum to tackle.

"This Commonwealth meeting is, for its part, the perfect opportunity to address these issues and find responses for today's crises and challenges," she said in her opening address.

The queen also said the meeting would bring "new vibrancy" to the Commonwealth forum, which will be forced to defend itself against accusations of irrelevancy. A scathing report questioning its effectiveness will be presented to Commonwealth leaders during the summit.

Britain's government began the process of reviewing the rules of royal succession so that if Prince William's first child is a girl, she would eventually become queen. The review started before William married commoner Kate Middleton in April. She is now formally known as Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.

William is second in line to the throne after his father, Prince Charles, who is the queen's first-born child. Charles' sister Anne is lower in the line of succession than her younger brothers Andrew and Edward. Charles, in turn, had only sons, William and Harry.

Elizabeth II succeeded her father, King George VI, because he had no sons. If she had had a brother, however much younger he was, he would have jumped above her in the line of succession.

The thorny issue of the succession has been an on-and-off topic in Britain, but has never been resolved. In 2009, then Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government considered a bill that would end the custom of putting males ahead of females in the succession line, as well as lift a ban on British monarchs marrying Roman Catholics. The government did not have time to pursue it before Brown's term ended.

The rule has excluded women from succeeding to the throne in the past. Queen Victoria's first child was a daughter ? also called Victoria ? but it was her younger brother who succeeded to the throne, as King Edward VII.

Buckingham Palace has always refrained from commenting on the political issue, saying it's a matter for the government to decide.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-10-28-AS-Australia-Commonwealth/id-f37508f0737e439f9d561ac211aa16e2

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Struggling Berlusconi pledges reforms to EU summit (Reuters)

ROME (Reuters) ? Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi presented European leaders on Wednesday with a hastily constructed package of economic reforms in response to an ultimatum demanding action to boost growth and cut Italy's huge public debt.

It was not clear whether the leaders meeting in Brussels, who are highly skeptical about Berlusconi's ability to deliver, would be satisfied by a series of promises of future measures to get Italy out of the firing line in the euro zone debt crisis.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told reporters in Brussels before the summit that the letter had made a good impression.

Berlusconi, in political trouble at home, had been caught between the EU ultimatum and the refusal of his Northern League partners in a center-right coalition to make more than slight concessions on pensions -- a key plank of the reform program.

A "letter of intent" carried by Berlusconi to the summit, and seen by Reuters, promised a much delayed economic development plan by November 15 and a series of other measures to boost growth and ensure the budget is balanced by 2013.

They included a commitment to raise the pension age to 67 by 2026, and steps to cut red tape and improve conditions for business.

Berlusconi's political position is so weak he has little room for maneuver. The 75-year-old premier, badly weakened by sex scandals, corruption charges and political setbacks, made no comment to reporters as he arrived for the summit.

Initial market reaction to a minimalist pension deal with League leader Umberto Bossi was not encouraging, with Italy paying the highest yield in more than three years on six-month treasury bills at an auction on Wednesday.

FIGHTING IN PARLIAMENT

Tensions over the reform program broke into the open in Italy's parliament, where opposition and government deputies exchanged blows and the sitting was suspended.

President Giorgio Napolitano and incoming European Central Bank governor Mario Draghi warned that Berlusconi's promises must be followed by resolve to take painful measures to dig Italy out of a deepening economic crisis by cutting massive public debt and boosting stagnant growth.

The head of Italy's biggest retail bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, said he was disappointed by the sketchy agreement reached between Berlusconi and Bossi on Tuesday, which provided for only a slight acceleration in raising the pension age from 65 to 67.

"In the situation we are in, I expected an economic program that would be agreed by everyone and not just unconfirmed suggestions to take to Europe. I am disappointed," Corrado Passera told reporters.

Bossi refused point blank to agree to a more significant reform abolishing a system under which workers can retire early if they have paid 40 years of pension contributions.

An Italian diplomatic source told Reuters the summit's final communique would specifically mention Italy.

The letter outlines Italy's plan for reforms demanded by the EU as a condition for ECB buying of its bonds -- vital to prevent Italy being overwhelmed by debt repayments.

Incoming ECB chief Mario Draghi said ideas outlined in Berlusconi's letter must be implemented rapidly. Draghi, who is leaving Italy's central bank to take up the new role, said the situation in Italy was "confused and dramatic."

Napolitano, who has regularly worked closely with Draghi to try to stave off economic disaster in Italy, said in a speech in Belgium that anybody who wanted to govern the country must grasp the nettle of unpopular economic reforms.

"We can no longer dither over the categoric imperative of making a consistent and constant effort to lower our debt," he said.

DEBT MOUNTAIN

The euro zone's number three economy is at the center of the debt crisis. It needs to issue over 600 billion euros in bonds in the next three years to refinance maturing debt.

Berlusconi's office denied he had made a secret agreement with Bossi to resign at the end of the year but the League leader said he was pessimistic about the coalition's survival.

Analysts say Berlusconi is unlikely to last beyond December or January and elections are expected in spring, a year ahead of schedule.

Berlusconi has until now repeatedly said he expects to serve out his term until 2013. But reports are circulating that, caught between demands for action on the economy and the obstinacy of the League, he may throw in the towel sooner.

Analysts say neither the League -- where Bossi's leadership is also under threat from within -- nor Berlusconi's PDL party wants a government crisis before the end of the year because that might tempt Napolitano to appoint a stop-gap government of technocrats to pass urgent reforms.

A delay would enable the center-right to keep control of the way the crisis plays out ahead of elections in the spring.

The center-left opposition is also in disarray and is thought to be reluctant to take responsibility at this point for highly unpopular austerity reforms.

Italy has a public debt of 1.9 trillion euros, equal to 120 percent of GDP, second only to Greece in the euro zone.

The impatience of euro zone leaders at Berlusconi's repeated procrastination is sharpened by fears that a major debt crisis in Italy -- much bigger than Greece and too big to bail out -- would threaten the entire European project.

Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti has promised a package of reforms that would open up closed professions, cut red tape and raise revenue through steps such as privatizations and a new wealth tax, but the measures have been repeatedly delayed.

(Additional reporting by James Mackenzie and Alberto Sisto, Giuseppe Fonte, Stefano Bernabei and Giselda Vagnoni; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111026/wl_nm/us_italy

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Ban Terry?

By ROB HARRIS

AP Sports Writer

Associated Press Sports

updated 6:27 p.m. ET Oct. 26, 2011

LONDON (AP) -Former England striker Les Ferdinand, whose cousin is at the center of the racism investigation against John Terry, does not want the England captain to be allowed to play for his country again if he is found guilty.

The Football Association is investigating whether the Chelsea captain directed a racial slur at Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand during a Premier League match on Sunday.

The probe was triggered Tuesday by QPR's official complaint after footage of Terry apparently mouthing the insult at the black player spread on social networking sites.

Terry has denied allegations of racism, saying his comments were taken out of context.

But if Terry was found guilty, his future playing for England - not only as captain - would be thrown into doubt, just seven months after regaining the armband following a sex scandal.

Anton Ferdinand's close relative said the English football authorities need to be seen to be acting tough on racism.

Asked if Terry should be banned from the national team if the allegations were proven, Les Ferdinand said Wednesday: "It's down to the FA, but I'd be shouting from the rooftops (for that)."

"They need to make a statement," he added. "If they don't make a statement, paltry fines that have been handed out in the past prove to people that these people do not believe there is a problem with racism in football."

Ferdinand spoke to The Associated Press at the Black List Awards in London, which recognize the achievements of black people in English football. He said he has to speak to his cousin about the incident.

"The more we see (racism) is a problem and we can do something about it, the more it eradicates the problem from happening," Ferdinand said. "Until we can do that, this problem will continue (to) happen and I think it will steadily get worse until major steps are taken about stamping this out."

The Terry incident is also being investigated by police in London.

The 30-year-old defender said the alleged comments directed at Ferdinand were taken out of context by social media users who spread the video on Sunday night.

"I thought Anton was accusing me of using a racist slur against him," he said after the match. "I responded aggressively, saying that I never used that term."

The incident happened during English football's anti-racism week, which highlights the progress made since abuse marred the game in the 1970s and 80s.

And it came just a week after the FA launched a probe into allegations that Liverpool striker Luis Suarez racially abused Manchester United's black defender Patrice Evra during a Premier League match.

"I think the FA, FIFA and UEFA have been in positions where they have been able to stamp out a few problems which have reared their ugly heads in the last few years and they haven't done so, or they haven't done it diligently enough," Ferdinand said. "And I think that's what has brought us to where we are today talking about this situation (with Anton)."

? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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More news

I'm no saint, but I'm no racist

Barcelona's Cesc Fabregas says he is no saint but he did not direct any racist abuse toward Sevilla's Frederic Kanoute during a heated encounter on Saturday.

Ban Terry?

Ex-striker Les Ferdinand wants English captain banned if racism allegations are proven.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45027296/ns/sports-soccer/

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EU to force banks to raise $148 billion (AP)

BRUSSELS ? The European Banking Authority says that big banks across the continent have to raise euro106 billion ($148 billion) to fulfill new capital rules agreed by EU leaders at a crisis summit in Brussels.

The EBA said Wednesday that Greek banks have a capital shortfall of about euro30 billion, followed by Spanish banks, which have to raise euro26.2 billion.

Italian banks have to boost their rainy-day funds by euro14.8 billion, followed by French banks which need to find euro8.8 billion.

The EBA said the figures were based on preliminary calculations and would be updated in November.

Markets are particularly worried over how cash-strapped Italy and Spain will be able to fund the bank recapitalizations and how the French lenders' needs will affect France's credit rating.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

BRUSSELS (AP) ? European countries will force their largest banks to quickly increase their capital buffers as part of a grand strategy to solve the continent's debt troubles, but leaders gathered at a crisis summit struggled to agree on the other key parts of the plan.

Strengthening Europe's banks is crucial to finally getting a grip on the debt crisis that has roiled the continent for almost two years and threatens the future of the euro, the common currency that is at the heart of Europe's postwar unity.

Fears that financially weak countries like Greece, Ireland and Portugal ? and even larger economies like Italy and Spain ? could default on their borrowings has eroded confidence in Europe's banks, which own much of those countries' debt in the form of bonds.

The hope is that forcing banks to value those bonds close to what they would sell for on the market, and at the same time make them expand their rainy-day funds, will help prevent a credit crunch similar to the one created in 2008 by the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers.

However, the plan to recapitalize banks, much of which had been known for several weeks, was the easiest part of a broader package designed to end the debt crisis.

Leaders of the 17-country eurozone continued to fight over two other elements ? reducing Greece's massive debts and increasing the firepower of the eurozone's bailout fund so it can effectively stop the crisis from spreading.

The fear is that more delays and half-baked solutions could push not only Europe, but much of the rest of the developed world back into recession, eliminate hundreds of thousands of jobs and eliminate decades of bringing Europe's once-warn torn nation states closer together.

"Our challenge today is not simply to save the euro. It's to safeguard the ideals we cherish so much in Europe: peaceful cooperation amongst our nations, social cohesion and solidarity without prejudice amongst our people," said George Papandreou, the prime minister of Greece, whose country kicked off the continent's debt drama almost two years ago.

Greece's debt ? on track to top 180 percent of economic output ? was also the most fought-over issue at the summit.

Until now, the eurozone has failed to reach a deal with the country's private creditors, big banks and investment funds, to accept significant losses on their Greek bondholdings. That in turn has triggered disputes among the currency union's members.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told lawmakers in Berlin that the goal was to bring Greece's debt down to 120 percent of economic output by 2020. That would imply a cut of more than 50 percent to the face value of Greek bonds and may be more than private investors would be willing to accept voluntarily.

Others, including France, the European Commission and the European Central Bank are in favor of a softer deal with banks, stressing that any solution will have to be voluntary to avoid creating even more market panic.

Merkel's Austrian counterpart Werner Faymann told reporters that a cut of "40 to 50 percent is part of the debate," signaling that even Germany's traditional ally was taking a more flexible stance.

Doubts also remained over the other, final issue on the table: How to give the eurozone's bailout fund, the euro440 billion ($612 billion) European Financial Stability Facility, the firepower it needs to stop the crisis from engulfing large economies like Italy and Spain and help keep big banks from collapsing in the worsening market turmoil.

"I think that effectively, it has to be able to intervene a good deal beyond euro1 trillion ($1.4 trillion)," Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme said of the bailout fund, also known as the EFSF.

Since states have ruled out boosting their financial commitments to the fund, the eurozone was working on two complex schemes that would allow the EFSF to act as an insurer for new bonds from wobbly countries like Italy and Spain.

If the fund promised to compensate investors against the first 20 percent or 30 percent of losses in the case of a default, that would make those bonds a much safer investments. Spending some euro250 billion ($348 billion) on guarantees could under that scheme attract new lending of up to euro1 trillion.

Using the insurance promise, the eurozone also hopes to attract big institutional investors from outside the eurozone, such as sovereign wealth funds, to contribute to a separate fund that would back up the EFSF.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy was due to speak to Chinese President Hu Jintao on Thursday. On Friday, the head of the EFSF Klaus Regling will travel to China, which has huge cash reserves, to detail the insurance set-up.

Figuring out these parts of the plan ? the cuts to Greek debt and the bailout fund changes ? is necessary before the new rules on bank capital buffers can come into effect.

"A bank recapitalization without any remaining element ? such as the firewall, to name one example ? would not have any chance of success," said Polish Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski, whose country currently holds the revolving EU presidency.

By the end of June, the banks will need to have a core Tier 1 capital ratio of at least 9 percent, Rostowski said in a news conference after the 10 EU countries that don't use the euro left their colleagues to sort out the other problems. The core Tier 1 ratio measures how much good capital a bank holds compared with its risky investments.

The new capital threshold is much higher than the 5 percent capital ratio the banks had to prove in stress tests carried out just this summer.

On top of that, the new rules will require banks to fully account for all sovereign debt they hold. The banks' capital levels will be calculated only after they mark down the government bonds. In the July tests, they had been allowed to assume that at least some of the bonds from struggling countries would be paid in full.

___

DiLorenzo contributed from Paris. Juergen Baetz and Geir Moulson in Berlin; Raf Casert, Don Melvin and Robert Wielaard in Brussels; and Sylvie Corbet in Paris also contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111026/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_europe_financial_crisis

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Apple rolls out refresh of MacBook Pro, adds speed and storage (Yahoo! News)

If you were waiting to pounce on a new Apple notebook, now's the time

Right on schedule, and just like we were anticipating, Apple launched a refresh of their premium MacBook Pro notebooks. A few processor tweaks and additional storage options are now available to all would-be Pro owners, and all 3 models retain their original price points, as is customary.

The biggest change in the new wave of top-of-the-line Apple laptops is a considerable bump in processor speeds. The 13" model now comes with a 2.4GHz, dual-core chip standard, as well as a sizable 500GB hard drive for $1,199. These specs can be upgraded to a 2.8GHz chip and 750GB hard drive for $1,499.

The 15" model makes the move to a 2.2GHz quad-core i7 processor and 500GB drive standard, starting at $1,799. $2,199 will get you a 15" Pro with a slightly speedier 2.4GHz chip and 750GB of storage. The base model of the 17" Pro model is offered only with the 2.4GHz i7 and 750GB hard drive. The 15" and 17" models also get an AMD graphics upgrade, while the 13" version retains its integrated graphics hardware.

Apple's premium MacBook line is rumored to be poised for a complete redesign in the near future. Though with the now-beefed-up specs of the current models, an updated form factor is still likely many months away, so feel free to spring for one if you're in the market.

[via This Is My Next]

This article originally appeared on Tecca

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/techblog/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_technews/20111025/tc_yblog_technews/apple-rolls-out-refresh-of-macbook-pro-adds-speed-and-storage

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Video: Death toll soars after Turkey quake

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/45013887#45013887

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Huge turnout in Tunisia's Arab Spring election (Reuters)

TUNIS (Reuters) ? Tunisians turned out in huge numbers to vote in the country's first free election on Sunday, 10 months after Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in a protest that started the Arab Spring uprisings.

The leader of an Islamist party predicted to win the biggest share of the vote was heckled outside a polling station by people shouting "terrorist", highlighting tensions between Islamists and secularists being felt across the Arab world.

The suicide of vegetable peddler Bouazizi, prompted by despair over poverty and government repression, provoked mass protests which forced President Zine al-Abidine to flee Tunisia. This in turn inspired uprisings in Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria and Bahrain.

Rachid Ghannouchi, leader of the moderately Islamist Ennahda party, took his place in the queue outside a polling station in the El Menzah 6 district of the capital.

"This is an historic day," he said, accompanied by his wife and daughter, both wearing Islamic headscarves, or hijabs. "Tunisia was born today. The Arab Spring was born today."

As he emerged from the polling station, about a dozen people shouted at him: "Degage", French for "Go away", and "You are a terrorist and an assassin! Go back to London!"

Ghannouchi, who spent 22 years in exile in Britain, has associated his party with the moderate Islamism of Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. He has said he will not try to impose Muslim values on society.

In Tunisia, ideas about Islam, and restrictions on things like alcohol, are more relaxed than in many Arab countries.

"This morning I voted for Ennahda and this evening I am going to drink a few beers," said Makram, a young man from the working class Ettadamen neighbourhood of Tunis.

Nevertheless, the party's rise worries secularists who believe the liberal traditions in Tunisia , a former French colony, are now under threat.

Across the country, queues stretching hundreds of metres formed outside polling stations from early in the morning for an election which could set the template for other Middle Eastern states emerging from the Arab Spring.

"Out of the 4.1 million people registered, more than 90 percent voted," said Boubaker Ben Thaber, Secretary-General of the independent commission that organized the vote.

That level of voter interest was never seen during Ben Ali's rule. Then, only a trickle of people turned out for elections because they knew the result was predetermined.

"This is the first time I have voted," said Karima Ben Salem, 45, at a polling station in the Lafayette area of Tunis.

"I've asked the boys to make their own lunch. I don't care ... Today I am not on duty. Or rather, I am on duty for my country," she said.

ISLAMIST INFLUENCE

Sunday's vote is for an assembly that will draft a new constitution to replace the one Ben Ali manipulated to entrench his power. It will also appoint an interim government and set elections for a new president and parliament.

Election officials say they will spend Sunday night counting the ballot papers, and are unlikely to release preliminary results until Monday.

Most forecasts are that Ennahda will not have enough seats for a majority in the assembly, forcing it to seek a coalition which will dilute its influence. Secularist parties will try to form a coalition to stop Ennahda forming a majority.

Ennahda has been at pains to assuage the concerns of secularists and Western powers. Yet observers say there is tension inside the party between Ghannouchi's moderate line and more vehement Islamists among the rank and file.

A final election rally on Friday illustrated the party's contradictions as Suad Abdel-Rahim, a tall, glamorous female Ennahda candidate who does not wear a veil, addressed the crowd.

But many books on sale on the fringes of the rally were by writers who belong to the strict Salafist branch of Islam. They believe women should be segregated from men in public and that elections are un-Islamic.

"I'm not so optimistic about the result of the vote," said Ziyed Tijiani, a 26-year-old architect who had just cast his vote. His forefinger was stained with the blue ink used in polling stations to stop ballot fraud.

"I think the Islamists could win. It's not want I want. They may try to change the way I live," he said, accompanied by a young woman in jeans and T-shirt.

An Ennahda victory would be the first such success in the Arab world since Hamas won a 2006 Palestinian vote. Islamists won a 1991 election in Algeria, Tunisia's neighbor. The army annulled the result, provoking years of conflict.

Ennahda's fortunes may have a bearing on Egyptian elections set for next month in which the Muslim Brotherhood, an ideological ally, also hopes to emerge strongest.

Tunisia's election will be watched too in neighboring Libya, which plans elections next year after a bloody revolt ousted Muammar Gaddafi.

Tunisian election officials say they are unlikely to release preliminary results until Monday.

Tim Pawlenty, former governor of the U.S. state of Minnesota, was part of a delegation observing the vote from the International Republican Institute.

"The turnout seems to be good. The process has been orderly so far but it is too early to make any final conclusions," he told Reuters.

He said at one voting precinct he asked a man if Tunisia had left enough time to prepare for the election. "He paused, looked at me and said: 'Yes, I had 30 years preparation for this'," Pawlenty said.

(Additional reporting by Andrew Hammond in Sidi Bouzid and Abdelaziz Boumzar, Mohamed Argoubi and Warda Al-Jawahiry in Tunis; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Andrew Roche)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111023/wl_nm/us_tunisia_election

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1,000-Year-Old Viking Found Buried In His Boat

Archaeologists announced this week that they have found a 1,000-year-old Viking burial site in the Scottish Highlands of Ardnamurchan. Host Scott Simon takes note of the find, which has been called "one of the most important Norse graves ever excavated in Britain."

Copyright ? 2011 National Public Radio?. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.

SCOTT SIMON, host: Archaeologists announced this week they found a 1,000-year-old Viking burial site in the Scottish Highlands of Ardnamurchan. Dr. Hannah Cobb of the University of Manchester told the BBC that the intact artifacts and preservation make this one of the most important Norse graves ever excavated in Britain. The Ardnamurchan Viking, as he will now be known, was found buried in his boat, with an axe, a decorated sword, a spear, a shield, and a bronze ring pin; all of which indicated that the deceased was a high-ranking warrior.

Copyright ? 2011 National Public Radio?. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/10/22/141613693/1-000-year-old-viking-found-buried-in-his-boat?ft=1&f=1007

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Rodgers helps Pack stay unbeaten, top Vikes 33-27 (AP)

MINNEAPOLIS ? Aaron Rodgers had some competition from fearless rookie Christian Ponder. The defending champion Packers still kept their cool.

Rodgers kept Green Bay unbeaten with three touchdowns and 335 yards passing, holding off the plucky Ponder in the rookie's first start to defeat the Minnesota Vikings 33-27 on Sunday.

Rodgers completed his first 13 passes and finished 24 for 30, another near-unstoppable afternoon for him. Ponder was picked off twice in the third quarter by Charles Woodson, who almost grabbed a couple more interceptions, but he kept the Vikings in it the whole game after a 71-yard completion on his first play.

Adrian Peterson rushed 24 times for 175 yards and a touchdown for the Vikings (1-6), but James Starks put the game away with two big gains for first downs before the 2-minute warning and finished with 75 yards on 13 carries.

Mason Crosby had four field goals for the Packers (7-0), including a franchise record 58-yarder, delighting the thousands of Packers fans in attendance who made the trip across the border.

This rivalry is still fierce, as evidenced by a couple of skirmishes early in the game.

Vikings defensive end Brian Robison, frustrated by some unwelcome contact from Packers guard T.J. Lang during one second-quarter play, gave Lang a swift kick to the groin area, a caught-on-camera personal foul that drew a penalty and is likely to bring Robison a fine.

Ponder's first foray against the Packers, despite the mistakes, showed flash and promise.

He went 13 for 32, but the kid from Florida State never looked rattled ? including one third-down completion when Clay Matthews leveled him as he threw, drawing a disputed late hit call ? and finished with 219 yards and two touchdowns.

With Donovan McNabb watching by himself on the sideline, wearing a backward black baseball hat with his hands on his hips, Ponder moved around in the pocket and put the ball there for his receivers in stride, which McNabb struggled to do. Ponder also ran four times for 31 yards.

Ponder found Michael Jenkins for a score with 7:49 left after a rare three-and-out by the Packers to cut the lead to six points and had the ball back with plenty of time to win it before a couple of errant heaves effectively ended the comeback.

Rodgers found a jogging Greg Jennings more than open on an egregiously blown coverage by the Vikings for a 79-yard touchdown on the second play of the second half, giving the Packers their first lead at 20-17.

Green Bay has quite the grip on the NFL right now, after hitting stride last winter and winning the Super Bowl as a remarkably confident wild-card team. The Packers haven't slowed done one bit this fall, with Rodgers and his rocket right arm leading the reign.

The Vikings have struggled in the secondary at full strength, and they weren't even close to that. Safety Jamarca Sanford was recovering from a concussion. Antoine Winfield was still on the sideline with a stiff neck, and fellow cornerback Chris Cook ? their best player in pass coverage ? was not even at the stadium. He was in the county jail, for an alleged domestic assault.

The rest of the Vikings were in the building, but they're just not in Green Bay's league this year. This usually tight rivalry has been this one-sided in decades.

The Packers won for the eighth time in the last 11 meetings, and the common denominator there, of course, is Rodgers.

He's connecting on roughly seven of every 10 passes, and many of those rare incompletions have been drops by his otherwise-stellar receivers. Rookie Randall Cobb was wide open on a drag route across the middle on third-and-16 at the 20, but the pass from Rodgers glanced off his hands and the Packers settled for three points.

Yes, Jared Allen tacked two sacks on his NFL-leading total to give him 11 1/2, but Rodgers spread the ball around to just about every receiver and made a perfect throw to just about every spot on the field. He went 6 for 6 on his first drive, firing passes to six different players during a ho-hum 91-yard march for the tying score.

The only three incompletions he threw in the first half? Two drops and a spike to stop the clock.

To keep this game competitive, the Vikings needed a timely turnover or two, and the rookie Cobb gave them one at the end of the first quarter when he fumbled a fair catch with teammate M.D. Jennings getting in his way. The Vikings recovered at midfield and scored a few minutes later to make it 14-7.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111023/ap_on_sp_fo_ga_su/fbn_packers_vikings

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Mobile phones don't hike cancer risk: Danish study (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? Mobile phones do not increase the risk of cancer, according to a large study involving more than 350,000 people by Danish researchers published Friday.

The results, released on the British Medical Journal's website, chime with a series of other studies that have reached similar conclusions.

Scientists from the Institute of Cancer Epidemiology in Copenhagen looked at people aged at least 30 who subscribed to mobile phone contracts and compared their rates of brain tumors with non-subscribers between 1990 and 2007.

Outside experts said the large scale of the trial was impressive.

"This paper supports most other reports which do not find any detrimental effects of phone use under normal exposures," said Malcolm Sperrin, director of Medical Physics at Britain's Royal Berkshire Hospital and Fellow of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine.

At the end of May, the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer decided cellphone use should be classified as "possibly carcinogenic to humans," putting then in the same category as lead, chloroform and coffee.

But just over a month later the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection's committee on epidemiology said the scientific evidence increasingly pointed away from a link between mobile phone use and brain tumors.

The number of mobile phones has risen hugely since the early 1980s, with nearly 5 billion handsets in use today, prompting lengthy debate about their potential link to the main types of brain tumor, glioma and meningioma.

(Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Hans-Juergen Peters)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111021/hl_nm/us_phones_cancer

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Pathogen Genomics Has Become Dirt Cheap

60-Second Science | More Science

Microbiologist Paul Keim at the ScienceWriters2011 conference in Flagstaff on October 16 explained that sequencing a pathogen's genome has dropped in 10 years from $500,000 to as low as $10. Steve Mirsky reports.

October 21, 2011

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?The human genome was sequenced, and in the process of moving that forward the technology that was developed was incredible. And because of their efforts in the human genome, that technology is available to folks like us.?

Northern Arizona University?s Paul Keim at the ScienceWriters2011 conference. The ability to compare genomes is a powerful tool for identifying the origins of a natural disease outbreak or bioterrorism. Keim?s team examined the anthrax mailed to victims in the 2001 attacks and determined that it did not come from Iraq.

?The govt really wanted to figure out what was going on there. Half a million dollars to sequence a genome, no problem, go do it. Go do it 20 times if you want. And so we had access to this technology. And so we were able to push the limits of what could be done in this area of molecular identification of pathogens at a very early stage. Ten years ago. Now we?re doing it on everything. Because the cost of this technology has plunged. We can sequence a genome of a bacterium for somewhere between $10 and $100.?

?Steve Mirsky

[The above text is a transcript of this podcast]

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=c3343d39709a0c08856486107f3f720b

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Normal brain communication in people who lack connections between right and left hemispheres

Normal brain communication in people who lack connections between right and left hemispheres

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Like a bridge that spans a river to connect two major metropolises, the corpus callosum is the main conduit for information flowing between the left and right hemispheres of our brains. Now, neuroscientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have found that people who are born without that link?a condition called agenesis of the corpus callosum, or AgCC?still show remarkably normal communication across the gap between the two halves of their brains.

Their findings are outlined in a paper published October 19 in The Journal of Neuroscience.

Our brains are never truly at rest. Even when we daydream, there is a tremendous amount of communication happening between different areas in the brain. According to J. Michael Tyszka, lead author on the Journal of Neuroscience paper and associate director of the Caltech Brain Imaging Center, many areas of the brain display slowly varying patterns of activity that are similar to one another. The fact that these areas are synchronized has led many scientists to presume that they are all part of an interconnected network called a resting-state network. Much to their surprise, Tyszka and his team found that these resting-state networks look essentially normal in people with AgCC, despite the lack of connectivity.

"This was a real surprise," says Tyszka. "We expected to see a lot less coupling between the left and right brain in this group?after all, they are missing about 200 million connections that would normally be there. How do they manage to have normal communication between the left and right sides of the brain without the corpus callosum?"

The work used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to demonstrate that synchronized activity between the left and right brain survives even this sort of radical rewiring of the nerve connections between the two hemispheres. The presence of symmetric patterns of activity in individuals born without a corpus callosum highlights the brain's remarkable plasticity and ability to compensate, says coauthor Lynn Paul, research staff member and lecturer in psychology at Caltech. "It develops these fundamental networks even when the left and right hemispheres are structurally disconnected."

The study that found the robust networks is part of an ongoing research program led by Paul, who has been studying AgCC for several decades. AgCC occurs in approximately one of every 4000 live births. The typical corpus callosum comprises almost 200 million axons?the connections between brain cells?and is the largest fiber bundle in the human brain. In AgCC, those fibers fail to cross the gap between the hemispheres during fetal development, forcing the two halves of the brain to communicate using more indirect and currently unknown means.

"In the 1960s and 1970s, Roger Sperry at Caltech studied 'split-brain' patients in whom the corpus callosum was surgically severed as a treatment for epilepsy," explains Paul. "Our research on AgCC has moved in a different direction and focuses on a naturally occurring brain malformation that occurs before birth. This allows us to examine how, and to what extent, the brain can compensate for the loss of the corpus callosum as a person grows to adulthood."

According to the team, the findings are especially valuable in light of current theories that link impaired brain connections with clinical conditions including autism and schizophrenia.

"We are now examining AgCC subjects who are also on the autism spectrum, in order to gain insights about the role of brain connectivity in autism, as well as in healthy social interactions," says Tyszka. "About a third of people with AgCC also have autism, and altered connectivity in the corpus callosum has been found in autism. The remarkable compensation in brain functional networks that we found here may thus have important implications also for understanding the function of the brains of people with autism."

###

California Institute of Technology: http://www.caltech.edu

Thanks to California Institute of Technology for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/114469/Normal_brain_communication_in_people_who_lack_connections_between_right_and_left_hemispheres

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Fashion guru gets the boot on 'Dancing' (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? Carson Kressley can go back to evaluating wardrobes.

The fashion guru was booted off "Dancing With the Stars" on Tuesday night. It wasn't unexpected, given that the judges of ABC's competition had given him the lowest scores for his 1980s-themed routine a night earlier.

Kressley dressed in a cheerleader's outfit for his routine with partner Anna Trebunskaya.

Remaining contestants are actor J.R. Martinez; reality TV personality Rob Kardashian; actor David Arquette; soccer star Hope Solo; activist Chaz Bono and TV hosts Ricki Lake and Nancy Grace.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111019/ap_en_ot/us_tv_dancing_with_the_stars

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Heart failure hospital stays fall, saving billions

In this Aug. 25, 2011 photo, registered nurse Mary Schlitter, left, speaks to heart patient Maria Marure, with the help of medical interpreter Marina Moreno at Our Lady of the Resurrection Medical Center in Chicago. A study has shown that hospital stays for heart failure fell a remarkable 30 percent in Medicare patients over a decade. Next year, the nation?s new health law begins punishing hospitals with high readmission rates for heart failure by shrinking Medicare payments. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

In this Aug. 25, 2011 photo, registered nurse Mary Schlitter, left, speaks to heart patient Maria Marure, with the help of medical interpreter Marina Moreno at Our Lady of the Resurrection Medical Center in Chicago. A study has shown that hospital stays for heart failure fell a remarkable 30 percent in Medicare patients over a decade. Next year, the nation?s new health law begins punishing hospitals with high readmission rates for heart failure by shrinking Medicare payments. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

CHICAGO (AP) ? Hospital stays for heart failure fell a remarkable 30 percent in Medicare patients over a decade, the first such decline in the United States and forceful evidence that the nation is making headway in reducing the billion-dollar burden of a common condition.

But the study of 55 million patients, the largest ever on heart failure trends, found only a slight decline in deaths within a year of leaving the hospital, and progress lagged for black men.

"While heart failure hospitalizations have decreased nationally overall, certain populations haven't seen the full benefit of that decrease," said lead author Dr. Jersey Chen of Yale University School of Medicine.

Possible explanations for the decline in hospital stays abound, including healthier hearts, better control of risk factors like high blood pressure, and more patients treated in emergency rooms and clinics without being admitted to hospitals, said Dr. Mariell Jessup, medical director of the Penn Heart and Vascular Center in Philadelphia.

"I think it's extraordinary news," said Jessup, who wasn't involved in the new research. "Many efforts at changing the natural history of this disease seem to be having an effect, especially with the hospitalization rate. But it's still a very problematic disease."

More than 5 million Americans and 22 million people globally have heart failure. Their hearts strain to pump blood because of damage, often from a heart attack or from high blood pressure. Fluid backing up into the lungs can leave people struggling to breathe.

Heart disease contributes to heart failure. Last week, federal health officials reported that the prevalence of self-reported heart disease in the U.S. decreased from nearly 7 percent to 6 percent from 2006 to 2010.

Fewer hospital stays saves Medicare a lot of money because heart failure is the most common cause of hospitalization in older patients.

From 1998 to 2008, the rate fell from 2,845 hospitalizations per 100,000 Medicare beneficiaries to 2,007 per 100,000, according to research appearing in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.

If the rate had remained the same, there would have been 229,000 more heart failure hospital stays in 2008 at an additional cost to Medicare of $4.1 billion, Chen said.

Other reasons for declining hospital stays may include specialized pacemakers and better use of medications such as ACE inhibitors that relax blood vessels, diuretics that prevent fluid buildup, digoxin that boosts heartbeat strength and beta blockers that ease strain on the heart.

Shortness of breath sent heart failure patient Maria Marure to several Chicago hospitals this year. In August, the 56-year-old spent a week at Our Lady of the Resurrection Medical Center, where leaders are focused on keeping heart failure patients healthy once they're home and avoiding readmissions. Next year, the nation's new health law begins punishing hospitals with high readmission rates for heart failure by shrinking Medicare payments.

The Chicago hospital made sure Marure had a medical interpreter to translate a nurse's instructions into Spanish and convey her questions. Marure said it was the first time she understood her heart failure and why it was important for her to watch her weight ? which can signal excess fluid. The hospital sent her home with a scale, made sure she had home care and a nurse called her periodically.

Even with all that, in less than three weeks, Marure was struggling to breathe again. A doctor sent her to a different hospital, where she was admitted for four days.

That patient's experience illustrates why heart failure is still a challenge, despite the new findings ? as does the one-year death rate found in the study. The proportion of patients who died within a year after being discharged fell, but only slightly, from about 32 percent to about 30 percent during the decade.

"The death rate is still unacceptably high," said Dr. Mihai Gheorghiade of Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. Hospitals need to aggressively treat heart failure patients' other ailments and immediately schedule follow-up care after discharge, said Gheorghiade, who wrote an accompanying editorial in the journal.

"It is a sign of hope. However, we are far from achieving our goals," he said.

___

Online:

JAMA: http://jama.ama-assn.org

___

AP Medical Writer Carla K. Johnson can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/CarlaKJohnson

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2011-10-18-US-MED-Heart-Headway/id-413a330cd09247c6820c495864bedd84

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Captain Scott?s Lost Photographs

The whereabouts of most of the photographs Robert Falcon Scott took around the 1910-13 expedition?s winter quarters on Ross Island and while on the journey toward the South Pole were long a mystery. The unpublished photos had apparently languished in a commercial archive for decades. Here are some of the images that the polar historian David M. Wilson has published in ?The Lost Photographs of Captain Scott,? along with descriptions of where and when they were taken, as best Mr. Wilson could determine.

Begin Slide Show ?

Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=2308a59e5faf212cb9191b68b145cdf1

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Michael Jackson doctor's trial to resume Wednesday (omg!)

LOS ANGELES - A judge says the involuntary manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson's doctor will resume Wednesday and defense attorneys will begin their case on Friday.

The judge said Tuesday that if the prosecution's final witness finishes his testimony Wednesday, there will be no testimony on Thursday. Defense attorneys for Dr. Conrad Murray say their witnesses aren't available until Friday.

The defense plans to call 15 witnesses, including the head of AEG Live, the company that promoted Jackson's planned series of comeback concerts. Other witnesses will include police detectives who have not testified, character witnesses and experts.

Jurors haven't heard any testimony since Thursday due to the schedule of a witness and to give defense attorneys time to investigate newly conducted tests to determine how much of the sedative lorazepam was in Jackson's body.

Murray has pleaded not guilty

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New ADHD Guidelines Include Preschoolers, Older Teens (HealthDay)

SUNDAY, Oct. 16 (HealthDay News) -- In new guidelines released Sunday, the American Academy of Pediatrics has expanded the age range for the diagnosis and treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to children as young as 4 and as old as 18.

For the youngest children, the academy is emphasizing the use of behavior treatments over medication in most cases.

"I think the most significant changes are expanding the ages from preschool through adolescence. The original guidelines were from 6 to 12, because that's where the evidence was. We've been able to broaden the scope of the guidelines because there was more evidence available for preschoolers and adolescents," said the lead author of the new recommendations, Dr. Mark Wolraich, CMRI Shaun Walters Professor of Pediatrics and the Edith Kinney Gaylord Presidential Professor at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City.

Wolraich added that the new guidelines also give pediatricians advice on managing inattention or hyperactivity problems that don't quite meet the definition of ADHD.

The new guidelines will be presented at the academy's annual meeting in Boston and will be published in the November issue of Pediatrics.

More than 5 million children in the United States have been diagnosed with ADHD, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Children with the disorder show signs of inattentiveness, impulsivity and hyperactivity. They may be unable to pay attention in class, or may spend a lot of time fidgeting in their seats or talking nonstop. Although most kids may display this type of behavior at one time or another, it becomes a problem when it occurs most of the time, according to the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health.

Treatment for ADHD may include medications or behavior therapy, or both. In fact, Wolraich said that "the combination of both medication and behavioral therapy is probably the best choice when possible."

A recent study, published online on Sept. 28 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, found that the use of ADHD medication is on the rise, with 5 percent of American children now taking stimulant medications such as Ritalin or Adderall to treat the disorder. Those researchers suggested that the increase might be due to a greater recognition of ADHD as a chronic condition, leading to children staying on medications for longer periods.

The new guidelines recommend that unless a child in the 4- to 6-year-old age group has a serious problem, that behavior therapy should be the first treatment tried. If necessary, medications can be added later.

"Although there is less evidence [on outcomes for this age group], the hope is that starting treatment in preschool if a child has serious problems will lead to better outcomes," said Wolraich.

Dr. Richard Gallagher, director of special projects at the Institute for Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity and Behavior Disorders at the NYU Child Study Center in New York City, said, "Medications should be used very carefully. I'm admittedly biased since I primarily do behavioral work, but behavioral work does have its limits. If a child is getting into dangerous situations or presenting with problems interacting appropriately with peers and adults, medications can be very useful. When monitored carefully, medications are safe for the vast majority of kids."

The guidelines also emphasize the need for pediatricians to recognize that ADHD is a chronic condition, and while treatments are available to control symptoms, there is no cure for the disorder.

Wolraich said that one of the reasons the AAP expanded the age up to 18 is because there have been more studies showing that ADHD continues into late adolescence, and even into adulthood.

"ADHD is a chronic condition. We can provide symptomatic treatment, but it doesn't cure the condition. Treatment has to be an ongoing process. Symptoms may change over time, and there needs to be consideration for change in treatment as a child develops," said Wolraich.

"Kids usually stay on medications for about three years. For some, that's enough. It gives them time to become better at compensating for their deficits. But, for many kids, the need for treatment is ongoing," he added.

Gallagher recommended that parents bring up any concerns they have about their child with their pediatrician. "This is a condition that can be recognized early," he said.

More information

To learn more about attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, visit the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20111017/hl_hsn/newadhdguidelinesincludepreschoolersolderteens

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