News

Tragic News: Brittany Murphy has died

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:21:00 +0000

This is such a tragic story and one that I wish handle with as much respect and sensitivity as I can….

The Sad Story from TMZ:

Brittany Murphy died early this morning after she went into full cardiac arrest and could not be revived, multiple sources tell TMZ.
She was 32.
A 911 call was made at 8:00 AM from a home in Los Angeles that is listed as belonging to her husband, Simon Monjack, the Los Angeles City Fire Department tells TMZ.

This hits home. I am 37; that is much too young to die.

From her Wikipedia Entry:

She was raised a Baptist and later became a non-denominational Christian.

I also happened to notice this:

Murphy performs for the crew during a United Services Organization (USO) show aboard USS Nimitz on June 19, 2003.

She was, I would assume, at least someone who thought much of our Military.

May God be with her husband and with her family.

May Brittany rest in peace in the arms of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Breaking News: Tackling abolished in Kansas City!

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:50:00 +0000

We don't know when during the week the decision might have made, but we're pretty sure that at some point during the preparation for their home game against the Cleveland Browns. Todd Haley and the Kansas City Chiefs apparently decided that tackling just, y'know, kinda wasn't worth it.

When the Chiefs concluded their 41-34 loss at Arrowhead Stadium with Matt Cassel's (notes) attempt to throw for a field goal at the end of the game (bringing to mind Alex Karras' famed "I keek touchdown!" reference), the Browns had amassed an astonishing 735 total yards. Key among the stars was Josh Cribbs, who returned two kickoffs for touchdowns -- 100 and 103 yards -- to set the NFL career record with eight. Not only is Cribbs the best return man of his era (sorry, Devin Hester (notes)),he's also a demon on kick coverage, and he's probably the Browns' best quarterback. One wonders what a mind like Mike Holmgren's could do with this guy...

More unexpected was the performance by fourth-year running back Jerome Harrison (notes). The former Washington State star had rushed 88 times for 301 yards all year before today, despite a very strong performance against the Bengals in Week 4 (29 carries, 121 yards). Still, who expected this? Against the Chiefs, Harrison ran 34 times for 286 yards and three touchdowns, adding in one catch for 12 yards for good measure. The performance puts him third all-time in single-game rushing yards behind Adrian Peterson and Jamal Lewis (notes). One also wonders what might have happened had Brady Quinn (notes) been able to throw for more than 66 yards -- Quinn almost outgained himself on the ground with 39 rushing yards.

Of course, the Browns pitched in with their own repugnant defensive efforts -- any time you see the Chiefs put up 34 points, problems abound. Running back Jamaal Charles (notes), another guy who needs to see more time on the field, put up 154 rushing yards of his own on 25 carries. Still, Harrison was the real story here. Whoever takes over this Browns team (and my money's on Holmgren) will have a few players to build with. Cribbs and Harrison are at the top of the list.

Bad News Week Ends With A Costly Loss

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:49:00 +0000

The news only continued to get worse for the Bengals on Sunday, who lost a big game in San Diego while learning that yet another member of the Bengals' family lost his life.

Three days after receiver Chris Henry died from injuries suffered in a fall from the back of a pickup truck following what police say was a domestic dispute with his fiance in Charlotte, N.C., a 34th former Bengal died today while Cincinnati was losing 27-24 to the Chargers.

"It was a little empty feeling," Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco said of Sunday's game. "It was bigger than football without (Henry). Today I played with an extra set of hands, an extra set of legs and an extra heart."

Too bad the Bengals didn't get him the ball more. Number 85 finished with just three catches, but one of them was huge.

Back home, Clem Turner, 64, of Green Township, Ohio, went left of center on Guerley Road near Sunset Avenue on Cincinnati's west side and crashed head-on into a minivan around 1 p.m. today. Police say Turner, a graduate of Woodward High School and the University of Cincinnati, died at the scene. Turner played as a running back with the Bengals for one season and with the Denver Broncos for three seasons.

About six hours later, the Bengals, wearing helmet decals to honor Henry, squandered yet another chance to get into the playoffs for just the second time in 19 years.

Talk about your bad news weeks.

Meanwhile, San Diego clinched its fourth straight AFC West title at Qualcomm Stadium with the victory.

The good news of the day for the Bengals was Carson Palmer finally got the passing game back on track with his first 300-yard performance since the 2007 season finale.

But San Diego's Philip Rivers outdid Palmer. The San Diego quarterback drove the Chargers 46 yards in 51 seconds with no timeouts to set up a Nate Kaeding game-winning 52-yard field goal with 3 seconds left that stunned the grieving Bengals. Rivers finished with 308 yards passing with a pair of touchdowns to Vincent Jackson (5 catches for 108 yards), and one to Antonio Gates, which gave the Chargers a 7-0 lead.

For the second straight week, the Bengals (9-5) failed to clinch the AFC North Division title, while they let playoff-bound San Diego (11-3) put a stranglehold on the conference's No. 2 seed with its ninth win in a row and 17th straight victory in the month of December.

The best Cincinnati can do now is earn the No. 3 conference seed. If the Bengals, who have the same record as the 9-5 New England Patriots, make the playoffs by winning just one more game, they will play the first week. They can still eke out home-field advantage for the first week if they win their final two games.

But, if the Bengals fall off the table instead of run the table over the last two games, they run the risk of not making the playoffs at all. Baltimore won again on Sunday and improved to 8-6. The Ravens stand just one game behind the Bengals in the division race. The Bengals own the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Ravens, but it won't matter if they can't win another game while the Ravens win their last two. There is a pack of AFC teams at 7-7.

For the snake-bitten Bengals, it looks dire on many fronts. But, they can redeem themselves with a win next Sunday at home vs. the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Bengals need just one win to make the playoffs. But they have been in a similar scenario before where they needed to win one game in their final three to make the postseason, and they didn't do it. Recall in 2006, the Bengals could have made the playoffs for the second year in a row with just one win in their final three games, but they lost them all and ended the season with a thud.

Could this happen again?

You bet.

In 2006, with Carson Palmer making his miraculous comeback from a knee injury, the Bengals were 8-5, but lost at Indianapolis, at Denver and at home to Pittsburgh to finish 8-8. The Bengals actually went into the season finale against the defending Super Bowl champion Steelers with an outside shot at securing a Wild Card playoff berth, needing a win plus help from other teams to make the playoffs. But they lost 23-17 in overtime.

The Bengals know heartbreak. They know bad dreams. They know history repeats itself.

They know this turn-around 2009 season could turn into an absolute nightmare if they can't win another game.

Kansas City is playing better football now after a tough start. The 3-10 Chiefs scored 34 points while losing to Cleveland on Sunday and had a 300-yard passer in Matt Cassell (331 yards on 22-of-40 passing), a 100-yard rusher in tailback Jamal Charles (154 yards on 25 carries) and a 100-yard receiver in Chris Chambers (114 yards on 4 catches).

The Jets, who the Bengals play on the road in the regular-season finale, have won three of their last five games to get back into playoff contention with a 7-7 record.

If the Bengals don't make the playoffs, it won't matter that Palmer looked like the old Carson Palmer on Sunday, wheeling and dealing for 314 yards during a passing game revival. Palmer found Ochocinco with a 49-yard touchdown toss to give the Bengals a 10-7 second-quarter lead, and he hit tight end J.P. Foschi! with eight passes for a team-high 82 yards. Chad totaled 79 yards. Palmer scored on a beautifully called keeper for a critical two-point conversion to cut the Chargers' lead to 24-21 early in the fourth quarter after finding Laveranues Coles! with a 2-yard TD pass on a drive set up by a Keith Rivers interception.

If the Bengals don't make the playoffs, it won't matter that they couldn't run on the Chargers on Sunday, even though they were expected to. Cedric Benson ran 15 times for 53 yards, that's it. Larry Johnson carried just four times for 35 yards. Meanwhile, San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson totaled 117 yards and he had a 36-yard reception.

There were two critical junctures before the Chargers' game-sealing drive. Earlier in the fourth quarter, Cincinnati was driving for a go-ahead touchdown and had it first-and-16 from the Chargers 25 when Andre Caldwell took a pass from Palmer. ButTim Dobbins popped the ball loose and it bounced all the way back to the San Diego 45 where it was pounced on by Palmer who nevertheless was able to direct the Bengals back into field goal range for Graham. Had the Bengals scored a touchdown and made the extra point, they would have been sitting on a 28-24 lead with less than a minute left, forcing Rivers and the Chargers to drive for a game-winning TD, instead of just a field goal.

In the third quarter with the Bengals trailing 14-13, Palmer was picked off by cornerback Quentin Jammer. Two plays later, Jackson scored his second TD on a 34-yard pass from Rivers. That helped make it 21-13 Chargers, but the Bengals rallied.

Shayne Graham's third field goal of the day tied the score, 24-24, with 54 seconds left. However, the Bengals suddenly vaunted defense, which received opportunistic play from Keith Rivers, who also had a key sack, couldn't stop the other Rivers (3-for-4 passing on the winning drive) from dissecting them in the final seconds.

Leon Hall, the Bengals 5-foot-11 cornerback making a push for the Pro Bowl, had a particularly tough day against the 6-5 Jackson. And Hall let receiver Malcolm Floyd haul in a 15-yard pass along the sideline, which allowed the clock to be stopped for the Chargers on their game-winning drive. San Diego was out of timeouts, but Hall did not deny the 6-5 Floyd the sideline on a play the Bengals were blitzing.

That pass play to Floyd from the Bengals 49 yard line to the 34 set up Kaeding's heroics - a boot that was one of several kicks in the tail the Bengals received this week.

The deaths of Chris Henry and Clem Turner are tragic. In light of their deaths in the last four days, the Bengals failure to make the playoffs over the next two weeks after such a news-making season would not be tragic. It would be merely disappointing.

They can still do something about it by winning next Sunday at home against Kansas City. The Chiefs won't be pushovers. So the Bengals need to push on.

Ice storm, Nunn's arrest lead list of top 10 2009 Ky. news stories

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:48:00 +0000

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A brutal ice storm that killed 36 people and paralyzed more than half the state was named Kentucky's top story of 2009.

With 769,000 power outages reported statewide and much of the western half of the state immobilized by downed trees and utility lines, Gov. Steve Beshear became the first governor in state history to call up every Kentucky National Guardsman. The troops helped maintain order, conducted door-to-door checks, delivered food and water to housebound Kentuckians and were credited with several lifesaving rescues.

The Jan. 27 storm is now considered the worst natural disaster in recent Kentucky history, with an official estimate of at least $616 million in damages.

"I'm not sure I could come up with a scenario that would be much worse," said Brig. Gen. John Heltzel, the head of Kentucky's Division of Emergency Management, which responded by using a plan developed to handle a major earthquake.

The storm was selected the biggest story in the state this year in voting by The Associated Press staff and AP member newspapers and broadcasters.

The No. 2 story revealed the private troubles of a public figure. Former Republican state lawmaker Steven Nunn of Glasgow, heir to one of the most famous names in Kentucky politics, was arrested Sept. 11 after his former fiancee, Amanda Ross, was found shot to death outside her Lexington townhouse.

In public life, the son of the late Gov. Louie B. Nunn had been known as a compassionate politician with a warm smile and a zeal to help the disadvantaged. But after his arrest, public records came to light that show he may have been prone to domestic attacks against his ex-girlfriend and even his own elderly father, who died in 2004 at age 79.

Private troubles of another sort for Louisville men's basketball coach Rick Pitino was voted the No. 3 story.

Three weeks after the Cardinals fell to Michigan State in the regional finals of the NCAA tournament, Pitino found himself in a race to save his career and reputation after Karen Cunagin Sypher, wife of the team's equipment coach, was charged in April with trying to extort millions from him.

The scandal played out over much of the summer, leading to Pitino's admission that he had a sexual encounter with Cunagin Sypher at a Louisville restaurant. Police declined to file charges over her claim that she was raped. But during questioning by authorities, the married coach acknowledged the two had consensual sex and, two weeks after they met, gave her $3,000 for health insurance, money she used for an abortion.

The No. 4 story was the acquittal of former Louisville Pleasure Ridge Park football coach David Jason Stinson on reckless homicide and wanton endangerment charges stemming from the collapse and death of 15-year-old sophomore offensive lineman Max Gilpin during practice. Days later, Stinson was cleared to return to the classroom and to apply for coaching positions in the Jefferson County Public Schools.

Coming in fifth was the University of Kentucky's spring decision to hire away Memphis men's basketball coach John Calipari to restore luster to a program that hasn't reached the Final Four in more than a decade and missed the NCAA tournament for the first time in 18 years.

"I want this brand to be back where it was," Calipari said.

State budget woes and potential ways to fix them were the sixth and seventh stories of the year.

Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear called legislators back to Frankfort for a special session to address a $456 million budget gap, pushing for legislation that would have allowed alternative gaming -- slot machines -- at horse tracks. The slots proposal passed the House but died in the Senate.

Lawmakers did opt to increase revenue by raising taxes on Kentucky's signature industries -- tobacco and alcohol.

The decision by Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning, 77, to not seek a third term, citing a lack of campaign money and interference from Senate Republicans pushing for him to exit the race, took the No. 8 spot.

In the ninth spot was the story of eastern Kentucky census worker Bill Sparkman, whose naked body was found in September bound with duct tape and hanging from a tree with "fed" scrawled on his chest. Authorities concluded Sparkman, 51, killed himself but staged his death to make it look like a homicide.

Rounding out the Top 10 was the fast-spreading illness that gripped the world in 2009 -- swine flu. Kentucky health officials blamed at least 30 deaths on the flu.

News of Brittany Murphy dying today leaves fans in shock (photos, video)

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:47:00 +0000

News of Brittany Murphy dying today leaves fans in shock (photos, video)

News of Brittany Murphy dying today from a cardiac arrest has left the nation in shock and saddened fans world wide. Brittany Murphy was only 32 years old, and many do not think of someone her age as suffering from a heart attack. There are many conditions that could contribute to cardiac arrest in younger adults, but it will not be until an autopsy is performed that the cause of death will be determined.

Rumors have surrounded Brittany Murphy for many years, regarding her weight and possible drug addiction. Both eating disorders and drug use can disturb the electrical rhythms of the heart and result in cardiac arrest.

According to a report by Radar Online, paramedics were called to the actresses home by her husband, Simon Moniack. Reports by TMZ also state that Brittany’s mother found her unconscious in the shower. Paramedics arrived and transported Brittany to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; at 10:04 a.m. PT, Brittany Murphy was pronounced dead.

There is an active investigation underway to determine the cause of the starlet’s sudden death.

Michigan AG to hold news conference on Asian carp

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:46:00 +0000

DETROIT - Michigan's attorney general plans to file a lawsuit to protect the Great Lakes and Michigan workers from the threat posed by the invasive Asian carp.

Attorney General Mike Cox's office said Sunday that Cox will hold a news conference at 10 a.m. Monday at the Cobo Center in downtown Detroit to announce details of the lawsuit. Cox, a Republican running for governor, said earlier this month that he would file a suit in federal court.

Officials poisoned a section of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal this month to prevent the carp from getting closer to Lake Michigan while an electrical barrier was taken down for maintenance.

Scientists say if the carp reach the Great Lakes, they could consume plankton, interrupt the food chain and devastate the $7 billion fishery.

Gentlemen, start your engines

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:45:00 +0000

It's an easy joke, but it's true.

The Bears would have been better off not landing in Baltimore at all.

The Bears' plane, "Bear Force 6-10," couldn't take off as it planned to Friday because of the blizzard blanketing the East Coast, and the Bears were lucky to get out Saturday night.

The NFL moved the game back three hours to give Baltimore extra time to prepare, and by late Sunday afternoon, the field at M&T Bank Stadium was cleaner than Joe Flacco's jersey.

Meanwhile, the Ravens pounded their visitors like it was "The Day After Tomorrow."

Designated 2009 goat Jay Cutler threw his customary interceptions, three in all -- though only two were important -- but you can't blame this latest loss solely on his slumped shoulders. It was another total team meltdown. Another unwatchable game. Another loss.

The Chicago offense is an embarrassing unit, feckless and scoreless in the 31-7 loss to the Ravens. And the defense wasn't much better. You have to wonder what's going through the Bears' collective heads aside from "When can we go home?"

Earl Bennett's 49-yard punt return for a touchdown in the second quarter was the only highlight of the day. The rest of this 5-9 team might have just stayed home.

Johnny Knox and Matt Forte fumbled on the Bears' side of the field during a disastrous third quarter in which the Ravens scored 17 points in the first seven minutes, turning a 14-7 halftime lead into a rout.

"Turnovers," embattled offensive coordinator Ron Turner said to reporters after the game on Comcast SportsNet Chicago. "Same story all year."

With good field position, Flacco completed 21 of 29 passes for 234 yards and four touchdowns, and Ray Rice gained 87 yards on 16 carries.

The Ravens started their three scoring drives in the third quarter at their own 35-yard line and at the Bears' 29 and 23. They needed 14 plays, and just more than six minutes, to score three times. The Bears' defense couldn't pressure Flacco, tackle Rice or cover the Ravens' wide receivers. It wasn't as jarring as the offense, but Lovie Smith's defense deserves its share of the blame.

But let's look at the offense again. Here are the Bears' third-quarter possessions:

No plays (Knox fumble on kickoff return)

Two plays for minus-1 yard (fumble)

Three plays for minus-1 yard (punt)

Five plays for 22 yards (punt)

It should be noted that 20 of those yards in the last drive came on one pass to Bennett. Chicago had just two first downs in the second half.

What can you say anymore? Baltimore has a top-10 defense, according to Football Outsiders, but this isn't 2000. You can score on this team. The Ravens' front four predictably chewed up the Bears' woeful offensive line and Cutler couldn't get the time to find anything downfield, if the receivers could even get open.

Although Baltimore opened the game with two scoring drives, coming off Cutler interceptions, the Bears had two long drives in the first half that ended with Cutler's interception at the 19-yard line and a fourth-and-goal turnover on a slightly overthrown fade pass to Greg Olsen in the end zone.

Cutler completed only 10 of 27 passes for 94 yards, and almost half of those yards came on two plays. He had a quarterback rating of 7.9, which was less than Flacco's average yards per attempt (8.1).

Cutler's first pick was a telegraphed throw, and Domonique Foxworth jumped the route. The next possession, defensive end Jarret Johnson guessed the play and tipped a pass toJason McKie in the flat.

"The ball was deflected, and he caught it," Cutler said, preparing for a future in broadcasting. "It was a good play by him."

Cutler has thrown 25 interceptions, the most by any quarterback since Brett Favre tossed 29 in 2005 and just six shy of tying Sid Luckman's team record. Cutler isn't going anywhere -- his agent, Bus Cook, should get the Nobel Prize for getting that $30 million extension done during the season -- but he should have some new bosses next season.

Bears general manager Jerry Angelo didn't give Smith a vote of confidence in a pregame interview with a group of Chicago reporters, noting "he's our head football coach. What else is there to clarify?"

"I'm not going to get into that,'' Angelo said, according to the Chicago Tribune. "At the end of the year we'll talk. I know we're not in the playoffs, and obviously didn't meet expectations. We did have some problems, and I want to make sure I focus on that first and foremost. I don't look at money in those times. It's not about money. It's about doing what we need to do to be a good football team.''

ESPNChicago.com Bears blog

The latest news from Bears beat reporter Jeff Dickerson. Blog

To that, I say: Look in the mirror, Jerry. All those years of bad first-round picks have played a major role in the Bears' missing the playoffs the past three years. There are no hidden gems on the Bears' roster, no guys buried by an avalanche of talent. The Dan Bazuins and Michael Okwos have helped destroy the defense's depth, which was tested mightily by injuries. The decision during the season to trade a second-round pick for Gaines Adams, a steep price to pay, is another head-scratcher.

The decisions to draft Chris Williams and sign Frank Omiyale and Orlando Pace have done more to retard Cutler's growth than Turner's failed wide receiver screen plays.

No one thought the Bears could win this one. Even the reporters who "pick" the Bears to win every week, out of sympathy perhaps, unanimously went with Baltimore this week. They were dead right.

Aesthetically, the Bears couldn't have done worse. In a season of ugly games, the Bears' second half Sunday ranks up there with the first halves of the games in Cincinnati and against Arizona for pure rancidness.

Smith said he doesn't think about his job security, and with $11 million owed to him over the next two seasons, he shouldn't sweat it too much.

"What's a vote of confidence at this time?" Smith asked reporters rhetorically after the game. "You let the season play out. I'm sure Jerry, like me, is disappointed in the play, disappointed in the record. I'm the head coach, and I'm sure a lot of people aren't knocking down the door, trying to pat me on the back."

Smith noted in his postgame that you could tell one team was playing for the playoffs and the other was not.

"Players get paid to make the plays," he said.

"Every time we go out, we're always playing for something, even when we're not getting paid," he said. "If you're playing a pickup game, you play to win. You want the best effort always. We expect that every time."

Expecting it is one thing, getting it out of the players is another. The Bears, to a man, back Smith. They like him and they respect him. But they're sure not showing the effort necessary for him to keep his job.

There are some goofy commercials right now exclaiming that No. 6 is a lucky number in Chicago right now, pointing to Cutler's jersey number.

No, the best number for the Bears right now is two. As in: Only two games left.

The waiting begins at ABC News

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:44:00 +0000

Reporting from New York - Thursday night, retiring ABC anchor Charles Gibson was feted by colleagues in a Lincoln Center reception hall overlooking the Hudson River. Among the hundreds on hand, one person was conspicuously absent: Diane Sawyer, who succeeds him tonight on the network's flagship evening newscast, "World News."

She was already on assignment, headed to Copenhagen to meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for an exclusive interview to kick off her tenure. It was a move that speaks volumes about her ambitions for "World News" -- a post she has long sought.

Sawyer has declined to speak publicly about her plans for the broadcast, but news division employees say the 63-year-old anchor has spent the last months immersed in discussions about the show.

ABC executives stressed that any changes will be subtle, particularly in the early days.

"People should not tune in and expect a revolution," said ABC News President David Westin.

But with the Ahmadinejad interview, her second with the Iranian leader, Sawyer made clear that she plans to continue to pursue the kind of high-impact "gets" that have been her calling card.

Whether her competitive zeal will change the program's fortunes remains an open question.

Sawyer's ascension to "World News" marks the fourth anchor changeover on the newscast since Peter Jennings' lung cancer forced him to leave the program in spring 2005. Gibson, Elizabeth Vargas and Bob Woodruff filled in during an eight-month interregnum while Jennings was ill and after his death that August. Vargas and Woodruff were then named the new "World News" anchor team in December 2005. That pairing was cut short when Woodruff was seriously wounded during a reporting trip to Iraq, prompting Gibson's return as sole anchor in May 2006.

"We have had more turnover in our evening news anchors than probably at any time in the history of broadcast television," Westin said. "And that's not a good thing for the evening news."

But ABC officials are optimistic that Sawyer will be welcomed by the audience -- so much so that they've done little to trumpet her arrival, aside from a few promotional spots that cast her as tough-minded journalist in the mold of Jennings and Gibson.

"The viewers all know Diane," said "World News" executive producer Jon Banner. "She is no stranger."

Indeed, after 20 years at ABC, Sawyer is the network's most bankable star. But with its low-key handling of her move from "Good Morning America" to "World News," ABC is also working to lower expectations that Sawyer's arrival will be an immediate game-changer in the evening news race. It's a lesson learned from CBS' much-ballyhooed hiring of Katie Couric, which did not budge its newscast out of third place.

During Gibson's tenure, ABC at one point pulled past "NBC Nightly News" but lost ground this season and last. Almost 8 million people on average have tuned into "World News" since September, a drop of 5% from last season, while NBC has attracted 8.9 million viewers, up 1%, according to Nielsen. "CBS Evening News" trails with 6 million, down 4%.

"We certainly want to succeed," Banner said. "But for our purposes, we know this is a long-term effort, not something that is going to happen overnight. I'm much more interested in what happens six months from now than what happens six days from now."

Sawyer's selection as Gibson's successor precipitated a round of anchor shuffling inside the news division that is still playing out. Last week, "This Week" anchor George Stephanopoulos took Sawyer's spot on "GMA," a move that now requires executives to find a new anchor to host the Sunday political talk program.

Westin jokingly called the time frame for that decision a "deep, dark secret" but added that he hoped to settle on a new anchor soon to take the burden off Stephanopoulos, who is anchoring both shows in the interim. The news president said he's casting a wide net, considering candidates from both inside and outside the news division.

"Nightline" anchor Terry Moran and senior White House correspondent Jake Tapper, who have both substituted for Stephanopoulos, are considered possible successors. PBS' Gwen Ifill is also widely viewed as a prospect.

With three of the networks' major newscasts in flux at the same time, the stakes are high for ABC. Perhaps most vital is the success of "GMA," the news division's main revenue generator. A drop in ratings among 25- to 54-year-old viewers, the key demographic for advertising, could translate into a loss of millions of dollars.

During Stephanopoulos' first four days on the show, the morning program averaged 4.32 million viewers, according to early estimates, slightly higher than the show's season average of 4.24 million.

Westin said that simply keeping viewership steady initially after Sawyer's departure would be a victory.

"We know that there are many people that come to 'GMA' because of Diane Sawyer," he said. "If we hold the audience, I think that's a major accomplishment."

White House Again Hits Fox News

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:09:00 +0000

In an interview with Time Magazine released today, White House Communications Director Anita Dunn offered a blunt assessment of Fox News: "It's opinion journalism masquerading as news," she said. "They are boosting their audience. But that doesn't mean we are going to sit back."

As CNN notes, the White House has long had an adversarial relationship with the conservative news channel. President Obama pointedly left the network off the list when he made the rounds at the networks in September to push his health care plan, and it slammed Fox News in a blog post last Wednesday, complaining of a continued "disregard for the facts."

It may not be all acrimony, however: Politico reported on Tuesday that White House senior adviser David Axelrodmet with Fox News chairman and CEO Roger Ailes in September. The "cordial" conversation reportedly revolved around Fox News's coverage and the relationship between the network and the White House.

Fox News host Glenn Beck has called Mr. Obama a "racist", and commentators on the cable network have regularly attacked the president.

The flaws of science news via news conference - more on AIDS vaccine "breakthrough"

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:08:00 +0000

When the U.S. Army and its collaborators in Thailand announced at press conferences on 24 September that a large clinical trial of an AIDS vaccine had lowered the rate of new HIV infections by about one-third, researchers were surprised and encouraged. Although it was only a modest reduction, it was the first positive result from any AIDS vaccine trial.

Now some researchers who have seen more of the data in confidential briefings are complaining that a fuller analysis undermines even cautious claims of success, and they are raising questions about the way the results were announced.

The press conference and press releases discussed an analysis that included all 16,000 people who participated in the trial, except for seven who were infected before receiving any doses of the two vaccines that were used in combination. Seventy-four people in the placebo arm of the study became infected with HIV, while the similarly sized vaccinated group only had 51 infections--a 31.2% efficacy. The analysis indicated that there was about a 96% level of confidence that the effect was real and not due to chance--just above the 95% cutoff that is widely used as a measure of statistical significance.

In the private briefings, researchers learned that a second analysis, which is usually performed in vaccine studies and was part of the Thai study's design, also found that vaccine recipients had fewer infections, but the reduction was not statistically significant and the level of efficacy was slightly lower. This analysis eliminated people in both groups who did not rigorously follow the protocols. "Anything that really works, you'll have enough robustness in results to be significant with both analyses," says Douglas Richman, an AIDS researcher at the University of California, San Diego, a longtime critic of the study. Richman did not discuss the specific results with Science.
"The press conference was not a scholarly, rigorously honest presentation," said one leading HIV/AIDS investigator, who like others asked that his name not be used. "It doesn't meet the standards that have been set for other trials, and it doesn't fully present the borderline results. It's wrong." Two biostatisticians who specialize in HIV prevention trials and have not seen the data, said that the results from all participants are the more important data, but they were puzzled that the press conference did not include the analysis that excluded those who didn't follow the protocols. "I think if people saw [the two analyses] diverging in a vaccine study, they'd have a lot of questions," says David Glidden, a biostatician at the University of California, San Francisco.

Baby Talk with New Mom Jennifer Hudson

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:08:00 +0000

Jennifer Hudson is in her first months of motherhood and she's opening up about the bottle-feedings and lullabies that go with taking care of her baby son David Daniel Jr.

"I love being nurturing and caring because I love to see other people happy," Hudson -- who welcomed first child on Aug. 10 with fiancé, David Otunga -- tells People magazine. "Who better to devote my time to than my own child?"

Hudson and Otunga kept her pregnancy secret for as long as possible, saying of the secret, "David and I were the only people who knew for a long time. I would forget I was pregnant, it was so easy. I didn’t have any morning sickness, no cravings either. I just thought, ‘Oh, well, we’ll wait until it’ll tell on itself.’ I didn’t show until I was seven months so that made it easy right there."

The singer/actress says of her son's playful personality, "His favorite time to smile now is diaper changes. Or when he spits up on you – he just cracks up like he thinks it’s the funniest thing. And his bottle is his pacifier. With a pacifier, it’s like he knows, ‘Ain’t nothing come out of here. No, I don’t want that. Where’s the real deal?’ His best friend is that bottle; that’s all he wants."

She tells People that baby David will "just turn off like a switch" when she sings to him and as for his feedings, Hudson says she's "never seen a baby eat like he does."

So will the award winning actress and singer's son go down the same career path as his mother? "We'll definitely encourage education. His father is an education fanatic so we definitely want him to get an education and go to school," she tells the publication. "My mom always said, 'Whatever you want to do, I'll support you as long as you’re happy.' So I will do the same."

Oregonian memo: Many current news teams will 'cease to exist'

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:06:00 +0000

A memo from Oregonian executive editor Peter Bhatia today outlined a reorganization plan in which many teams of reporters focused on traditional coverage areas will "cease to exist" in favor of two larger teams. A separate group will handle editing and production.

The memo makes reference to thebuyout offer made last month and presumes a smaller workforce. It does not mention newsroom layoffs, thoughprevious memos have made that possibility clear.

"We will not abandon our foundation of beat reporting," the memo says, "but beats will be redefined along areas of expertise of most interest to our readers. Some beats will be eliminated because with fewer people we cannot cover everything that we have in the past."

With "some small exceptions," teams on the fourth and fifth floors of the Oregonian building will be dissolved. Those include online, business, photography, news teams, copy desk, features and A&E (O!). Other teams on those floors — sports, Homes & Gardens, FOODday, travel and editorial — will remain separate.

Eliminating these smaller groups does not mean that their corresponding newspaper sections will be eliminated, sources at the paper confirm.

One of the new, larger groups, titled "Local Expertise and Enterprise Reporting," will include 60 to 70 reporters, editors and support staff. Beats will include politics and government, sustainability, business and economy, and arts and culture. This group will also cover breaking news, watchdog and investigative reporting, and narrative storytelling.

The other group of reporters, titled "Community," will cover zoned content (stories focused on, and printed for, specific geographic areas) as well as hyperlocal websites that are in development. But community webpages will not only be geographically specific. "Community more and more also means communities of interest," the memo says, "and hyperlocal topic pages will be a key part of our Web work."

"For most reporters," the memo continues, "beats will still be the primary focus, creating the enterprising journalism we value. With a smaller staff there will be increased expectations of productivity, flexibility and greater responsibility for Web work. Reporters will need to jump in on issues that require our attention more often than has been the case and work different hours as news and Web needs dictate."

The memo also lays out changes to the editing process, a reduced focus on the evening print deadline, an increased emphasis on audience interaction, and the primary differences between print and online. Read the memo in full after the break. Bracketed explanations are ours:

Oct. 7, 2009
TLs [Team Leaders]:
With the buyout offer on the table, we want you to know where we are headed in reorganizing our newsroom operations. This note represents the why and how of where we are going.
We are committed to keeping The Oregonian strong, both in print and online. It is important to understand that publishing a compelling newspaper is absolutely essential, even as we increase our presence on the Web and embrace the tools it offers us. We are committed to the principles and values that have defined print journalism and will not shirk our responsibility to serve as a watchdog on government and the powerful. At the same time, we need to evolve our journalism, embrace the two-way nature of the Web world and be even more responsive to a public that expects more of a conversation with us. We also recognize that print and the Web are different creatures and require different emphases:
Our focus in print:
Reveal how power is used, decisions are made and the impact on citizens.
Explain how all manner of things really work.
Question and explore relevant issues in depth, and explain their substance and context.
Introduce people to others worth knowing and to new ideas and innovations.
Tell compelling stories of community.
Our focus online:
Break news.
Encourage, engage and collaborate with communities of interest (both geographic and subject).
Serve as the center and catalyst for community conversations (both geographic and subject)
Aggregate information in broad swaths across topics and provide information on topics of greatest interest/utility
Tell stories with tools unavailable for print.
These distinctions should guide us as we reorganize. We must be a dynamic and flexible local news organization that consistently connects with its audience and addresses its interests with distinct local content.
GENERAL STRUCTURE:
We will achieve what is described above with more efficient and larger work groups. There will be two large groups with reporters and one for editing and production. We need larger work groups to be able to focus our work more quickly and to bring a critical mass of talent to the big stories as they arise. We also need a larger production work group so more work can be shared among a smaller staff. We are separating content generation from production in order to maximize the time and talent of editors on their responsibilities.
Here is an overview, knowing that there is much work still to be done and that this will raise as many or more questions than it will answer. We will answer those questions as quickly as we move forward to the next stages of planning. (More on that below.)
LOCAL EXPERTISE AND ENTERPRISE REPORTING: This group of reporters will be devoted to coverage of local and regional news and features. We will not abandon our foundation of beat reporting, but beats will be redefined along areas of expertise of most interest to our readers. Some beats will be eliminated because with fewer people we cannot cover everything that we have in the past. All will have a metro-wide orientation. Our existing fourth- and fifth-floor teams, with some small exceptions, will cease to exist. Breaking news will reside within this group as well. So will watchdog and investigative reporting. So will narrative storytelling, because we must continue to maintain the craft of feature writing. We are not doing away with coverage of traditional strengths such as politics and government, green/sustainability, business/economy and culture/arts. But this reorganization will push us to redefine beats around the content we need and readers want and be less bound to traditional beats defined primarily by buildings or institutions. This group also needs to think more about opportunities to present information online and will work to differentiate stories that are posted early in the day from what appears in print.
The group will be headed up by Susan [Gage, managing editor for breaking news and online], who will have a team of editors working with her. They will have shared responsibility for working with reporters to produce content for the front page, Metro, How We Live, Business and the Web site on a daily basis. This will require greater coordination, planning and sharing of resources because we expect the content to be distinct and appropriate for newspaper sections or the Web, greater in quantity that we currently produce and of the highest quality. The group will include about 60-70 reporters, editors and support staff.
COMMUNITY: This group will be based both downtown and in bureaus and will be responsible for daily zoned content and hyperlocal community-based Web sites. Staff reporters downtown (for Portland) and in bureaus will be more trend-spotters, focused on producing enterprising zoned centerpieces and less beat-centric. We recognize that a foundation of enterprise comes from sourcing and expertise borne of beat reporting, so finding the right balance with limited resources will be challenging. Going forward, we'll use more interns and freelancers for some street-level kinds of stories. In addition, we are beginning to create hyperlocal sites for all the suburban communities and the city. These sites are critically important and represent much of our future online. Hyperlocal is to newspapers today what zoning was the past 20 years or so. It is a way we remain vital to communities, defined by geography and topic. Community more and more also means communities of interest, not just geography, and hyperlocal topic pages will be a key part of our Web work. To be successful, we must ensure all these Web pages are anchored by Oregonian journalism, as well as full of other news, information and lists. They must serve as a center for community conversations.
The community group, headed by JoLene [Krawczak, managing editor for features], will include staffers assigned to build and manage those pages. It will likely be about 40 reporters and editors, including interns.
EDITING AND PRODUCING: This group represents the nerve center of the newsroom’s editing and play decisions. It is essential that we transition from the traditional mentality and rigid time clock of newspaper production. That is, we need to organize to deal with news as it happens and to get it to the right place, whether online, print, or both. We’ll have more of a round-the-clock focus, rather than strictly aiming our energies toward the evening print deadline. Also, with a smaller staff, we need to separate section editing from story generation so editors working with reporters can focus on that task. We also need to streamline editing operations and simplify newspaper production since we will be losing many copy editors and designers. We must move toward “one-touch editing.” Therefore, all production for all sections will be done in one place.
This new operation will be headed by Therese [Bottomly, managing editor for readership and standards]. She will have a team of section editors working for her who are responsible for prioritizing and producing what goes in the paper and online each day, in consultation with the content editors. In addition, management of the OregonLive home page and other Internet operations will be part of this operation. So will copyediting, design and wire editing. Photo/multimedia/graphics will be part of this group as well. So will Listings. It will likely be about 60-70 people, but that’s the squishiest number of the three as this operation will be the most complex to build out.
For now, Sports, Homes & Gardens, FOODday, Travel and Editorial will remain separate content-generating operations, but production of all those sections and pages would move into the production group. Homes & Gardens, FOODday and Travel will continue to report to JoLene.
####
In this new structure, everyone's job will change either somewhat or a lot:
For most reporters, beats will still be the primary focus, creating the enterprising journalism we value. With a smaller staff there will be increased expectations of productivity, flexibility and greater responsibility for Web work. Reporters will need to jump in on issues that require our attention more often than has been the case and work different hours as news and Web needs dictate. More reporters on their beats will engage in chats online, will "crowdsource" on topics of coverage and engage online with people who have something to offer within their area of expertise. It is worth saying again: Substance and agenda-setting public-service journalism always will be top priorities for us. We need to make sure our work more directly connects with reader needs and interests, while fulfilling expectations that we are acting as their eyes and ears.
For assigning editors, the reorganization means greater focus on the work of reporters (as compared to sections), dedication to enterprise and flexibility. Editors will be charged with helping reporters be successful qualitatively as well as quantitatively and will make sure every reporter has cover-worthy stories under construction at any time. There will be significantly fewer assigning editors. (Some will be reassigned to new duties as we reduce staff.) Editors will (as with the reporters) be both keepers of topic areas and generalists responding to the needs of the day.
For copy editors and designers, reorganization means a less deadline-centric world and working across platforms at all times. It means managing the home page and the site as well as editing copy, writing headlines and designing pages. More work will be shared and workflows streamlined to eliminate redundancies and to free up time for the work that needs the closest attention. Rather than a universal desk, think of it as a creative production operation managing the Web and the paper.
For photojournalists, it means everyone -- editors and photographers -- must be fully trained and able to work in still or video and can flow from one to the other as needs dictate. No one can be just about still photography or just video.
This is just a start. We’ll need and seek your feedback as we begin to build the specific structure in support of these broad ideas.
The key next steps:
Set specific work priorities for each of three large groups.
Make sure we are in agreement on the primary content areas within the expertise and enterprise group and begin to define beats.
Begin to figure out how the production operation will work, what the key leadership jobs will be and how we will integrate home-page management into the function of copy editors and designers.
Please bring questions to any of the senior editors.

New DoD Website Fosters Secret Science

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:05:00 +0000

The Pentagon’s Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) last month announced the creation of a new password-protected portal where authorized users may gain access to restricted scientific and engineering publications.

“DTIC Online Access Controlled… provides a gateway to Department of Defense unclassified, controlled science and technology (S&T) and research and engineering (R&E) information,” according to a September 21, 2009 news release (pdf). “As defense S&T information advances, so does the unique community to which it belongs,” said DTIC Administrator R. Paul Ryan.

The cultivation of controlled but unclassified scientific research by DTIC seems to represent a departure [see update below] from a longstanding U.S. government position that scientific research should either be classified, if necessary, or else unrestricted. (There have always been exceptions for export controlled information and for proprietary information.)

“It is the policy of this Administration that, to the maximum extent possible, the products of fundamental research remain unrestricted,” wrote President Reagan in the 1985 National Security Decision Directive 189. “It is also the policy of this Administration that, where the national security requires control, the mechanism for control of information… is classification.”

“The key to maintaining U.S. technological preeminence is to encourage open and collaborative basic research,” wrote then-National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice in 2001. “The linkage between the free exchange of ideas and scientific innovation, prosperity, and U.S. national security is undeniable.”

In response to a request 5 days ago, DTIC was not able to provide a comment on the matter.

Update and Clarification: “Departure” may be the wrong word for this new development. DTIC has long maintained a collection of limited distribution records, both classified and unclassified, that are not publicly available. Nevertheless, the new DTIC Online Access Controlled portal appears to expand and reinforce the barriers blocking access to certain unclassified DTIC holdings.

New Way to Make Stem Cells?

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:04:00 +0000

THURSDAY, Oct. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists say they can use chemicals to turn adult cells into patient-specific stem cells instead of relying on potentially cancer-causing genes.

U.S. researchers used chemicals to replace two of the four genes needed to turn adult cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which are similar to embryonic stem cells.

"Stem cells have the greatest potential to dramatically change and improve the way we treat diseases," study lead author Justin K. Ichida, of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, said in a news release. "We're very excited about our findings because it means that in the near future we should be able to make limitless supplies of stem cells and possibly replacement cells for patients with diseases."

Previous research identified four genes that can transform adult stem cells into iPS cells. The genes are delivered via a retrovirus that integrates into a cell's DNA. However, the DNA from the virus remains in the cells and, over time, may activate cancer-causing genes.

In this study, the researchers substituted small chemical molecules for two of the genes.

"This discovery is exciting because it demonstrates the feasibility of using chemicals to make safer patient-specific stem cells for transplantation medicine," Ichida said.

"One of the most important things we learned from this study is that with respect to molecular pathways, there may be several ways to convert one type of cell into another. By using a non-biased chemical screening approach, we uncovered a previously unknown way to make stem cells. The big challenge over the next decade will be to figure out how to make the right cells for disease treatment. This approach will be important for achieving that goal."

The study, funded by the New York Stem Cell Foundation, is published online Oct. 8 and in the Nov. 6 print issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell.

Same as it ever was: Post (preseason) opener notes

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:03:00 +0000

No two seasons are alike, so in defending a title finding the balance between sticking with what works and keeping things fresh can be tricky. Before Wednesday night's successful opening to the preseason, Lamar Odom made it clear talking to the media that having found a championship formula, the Lakers have every intention of reproducing it, right down to keeping everyone's spot on the bus exactly the same. (Ron Artest slides into TA's spot, no surprise.) It's not a question of superstition, but habit and routine. On a personal level, he's long since resolved any issues about coming off the bench. "I wouldn't change it," he said. "We won a championship. I'll keep it the same."

Identical routines, maybe, but the addition of Artest can help create new things to focus on in practice, new adjustments in games, and so on. Could help keep the collective mind sharp in what is always a very long march to the postseason.

Other notes:

*DJ Mbenga is getting close to a return. He practiced Tuesday, and was sore yesterday but otherwise undamaged. They'll be careful, though, heading forward, since groin injuries are on their best day pretty tricky. "That kind of thing, you can't (mess) with," he said. Mbenga doesn't want to step on the court until he feels he can go all out. "How I like to play, I like to be everywhere."

*Last year, we sat next to a scout with a W.C. team who pointed out many of the ways in which the Lakers are an incredibly well coached team. Last night was another indication. Yes, it was preseason, yes, it was against the Warriors, but there's a purpose and efficiency to everything they do on the floor, which is only magnified when compared to the chaos that is the Warriors.

*The dig on Ron Artest isn't that he can't pass, but all to often forgets and allows the ball to stick in his hands. There was none of that on Wednesday. His passes were quick and decisive, and moving the rock seemed to be his first instinct in nearly every situation. I predicted that Artest would be so conscious of doing the right thing in his first year that holding the ball wouldn't be a real problem. After one preseason game, I'm looking good.

*The Warriors are a terrible interior team- worst defensive rebounding crew by percentage in the NBA last season- and have nobody who can guard Andrew Bynum, but I was impressed by his work. He looked like a guy who wants to play fourth quarters, which is good whether he gets his wish or not.

*The best shot of the night from Sasha Vujacic was probably his first. He catches the ball out of rhythm beyond the three point line. Instead of hoisting from there, he took a dribble in, got set, and canned a two.

Retail roundup: Upbeat news from Macy's, Kohl's, The Gap

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:02:00 +0000

Many of the nation's largest retailers with stores in the Triangle -- including Target, Macy's, Kohl's and The Gap -- reported September sales figures Thursday.

Many retailers beat analysts' expectations, and several were well into positive sales territory.

Industrywide, September sales were projected to slip by 0.8 percent, according to Retail Metrics, a Massachusetts firm that tracks store sales. Department stores were forecast to post the second-weakest segment results, down 5.3 percent (compared with a decline of 9.5 percent in September 2008), according to Retail Metrics’ monthly report. Only teen apparel chains were expected to be worse, with an expected sales decrease of 5.9 percent.

Here's a roundup of September retailer sales results as reported by the DBJ's sister papers in the companies' headquarters cities. (Check back through the dau for more retail results as they come in.)

• Target Corp. said its September comparable-store sales declined 1.7 percent, but the results were better than the retailer expected and they were strong enough for the company to predict it will beat analysts’ average estimate of 43 cents per share in the third quarter.

The Minneapolis-based retailer had “stronger than expected” margins in its retail and credit card segments, in line with its expectations.

“While our outlook for the third quarter has improved, we remain cautious in our expectations for fourth quarter results in both of our business segments,” Target CEO, Chairman and President Gregg Steinhafel said in a statement.

Total net retail sales for the five weeks ended Oct. 3 were $5.39 billion, up 1.3 percent from $5.32 billion in September 2008. The value of Target’s average transaction declined last month, but there was an increase in the number of total transactions.

Target (NYSE: TGT) said sales performance in commodity categories continued to be strong, led by health care, household/personal/baby, and beauty product categories, which had comparable-store sales increases from the low single-digit percentages to the low double-digits.

Comporable-store sales in food were essentially flat as retail price declines offset increases in unit sales.

September same-store sales in hard-line goods were “slightly-behind” the company’s own estimates, with stronger than average performance in electronics and weaker than average performance in entertainment.

Sales in the clothing and apparel category were slightly better than the company’s overall results, led by intimate-hosiery, jewelry and shoes. However, sales were weaker than average in newborn-infant-toddler and women’s apparel.

Comparable-store sales in the company’s home segment were down in the high single-digit percentage rate.

Sales were strongest in northern California and a broad set of Northeast and mid-Atlantic states, and weakest in Texas, Southern California and Florida.

For the month of October, the company said it expects comparable store sales will decline in the low single-digit range.

• Kohl's Corp. said it is raising its estimate for third-quarter earnings after same-store sales for September increased 5.5 percent over a year ago and total sales for the period increased 9.6 percent.

Total sales for the five-week period ending Oct. 3 were $1.46 billion, compared with $1.34 billion a year earlier, the Menomonee Falls, Wis.-based retailer (NYSE: KSS) said Thursday. Kohl’s does not release dollar figures for same-store sales.

The sales figures far exceeded an estimate of a 0.1 percent same-store sales increase, according to analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

Total year-to-date sales were up 2.8 percent, to $10.22 billion, and comparable-store year-to-date sales decreased 1.7 percent. For the third quarter-to-date, total sales were $2.78 billion, up 7.2 percent, and comparable-store sales were up 2.9 percent.

STOCKS NEWS US-Liz Claiborne in exclusive deal with J.C. Penney

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:01:00 +0000

Liz Claiborne Inc said on Thursday it has reached agreement to sell

its namesake clothing brand and Claiborne-branded merchandise exclusively at

J.C. Penney Co Inc stores.

The company said the move was part of a strategy it sees lifting its

wholesale brands to profitability in 2010.

For details, see

Shares of Liz surged 15 percent to $6 while J.C. Penney was up 0.7 percent

to $35.14.

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net

0835 ET 08Oct2009-Jobless claims fell more than expected

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless insurance fell

more-than-expected last week, dropping to a nine-month low, according to a

government report on Thursday.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 33,000 to a

seasonally adjusted 521,000 in the week ended Oct.3, the lowest level since

early January, the Labor Department said. Analysts polled by Reuters had

forecast new claims slipping to 540,000.

For details, see

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net

0823 ET 08Oct2009-Most retailers topping estimates in Sept sales

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With 15 companies having reported, a majority of retailers have posted

September same-store sales data ahead of expectations, according to Thomson

Reuters data.

Nine retailers, or 69 percent of companies that have reported, have topped

expectations with a median positive surprise of 1.7 percent, a Thomson Reuters

report read. Four companies have come in under consensus.

The biggest upside surprises came from Children's Place, Limited and Wet Seal. The biggest misses were Stein Mart,

Stage Stores and The Buckle.

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net

0813 ET 08Oct2009-Goldman downgrades L-3 Communications to 'sell'

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Goldman Sachs on Thursday downgraded L-3 Communications Holdings Inc to 'sell' and added the company to its conviction sell list in place of

Northrop Grumman Corp.

The firm wrote that there were 'substantial top-line headwinds' that would

prevent the company from growing revenue in 2010, including the company's

exposure to Iraq and to government services.

For details, see

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net

0810 ET 08Oct2009-M. Stanley: Q3 will be hard for mid-cap banks

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Morgan Stanley on Thursday said the third quarter would be hard for mid-cap

banks as higher credit costs weigh on earnings, though it added that

expectations for the group appeared realistic.

'Results are likely to be quite challenging for the group, with higher

sequential provision expenses and net charge-offs at most banks being the

biggest headwind,' the firm wrote to clients.

For details, see

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net

0807 ET 08Oct2009-Futures rise on Alcoa earnings, commodities

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

U.S. stock futures rallied on Thursday, a day after Alcoa Inc kicked

off the latest earnings season with a surprise third-quarter profit.

Advancing commodity prices also lifted energy stocks.

For details, see

Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 75 points while S&P 500

futures gained 8.3 points and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 12.25

points.

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net

0755 ET 08Oct2009-Deutsche Bank starts Goldman, M. Stanley at 'buy'

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Deutsche Bank started both Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan

Stanley as 'buy' on Thursday, saying the two banks would stay well

capitalized, even under likely increased regulatory capital requirements.

The firm said Goldman would generate superior earnings growth in the near

term, while Morgan Stanley would see improving book value growth and return on

equity over the long term.

For details, see

Morgan Stanley shares edged 0.3 percent higher to $31.24 in premarket

trading, while Goldman shares closed at $190.48.

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net

Keywords: MARKETS STOCKSNEWS

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Neither the Subscriber nor Thomson Reuters warrants the completeness or accuracy of the Service or the suitability of the Service as a trading aid and neither accepts any liability for losses howsoever incurred. The content on this site, including news, quotes, data and other information, is provided by Thomson Reuters and its third party content providers for your personal information only, and neither Thomson Reuters nor its third party content providers shall be liable for any errors, inaccuracies or delays in content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

PIGS USE MIRRORS

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Enlarge

Mirror WisdomDomesticated pigs, such as this one posing at a fair, have the capacity to figure out how to glean information from a mirror when poking around their environment.The Pug Father/Flickr

Forget lipstick on a pig. The first report of pigs learning to use a mirror is about finding the food.

Give pigs a chance to experiment with a mirror first and most of them can find dinner based on only a food bowl’s reflection, says Donald Broom of the University of Cambridge in England, who studies animal cognition and welfare. Pigs that don’t have a chance to learn about mirrors first tend to poke around behind the mirror, Broom and his colleagues report in an upcoming issue of Animal Behaviour.

Broom says the findings suggest that pigs have what he considers a relatively higher degree of awareness. In what he terms “assessment awareness,” an animal marshals observations and memories to evaluate a situation in relation to itself over a short span of time and demonstrates this awareness with appropriate action.

When he first let pigs explore a mirror, the animals approached in stages, often ending up with nose pressed against glass. One pig actually broke the mirror after charging as if it were a rival. Pigs looked behind the mirror, and often watched it as they moved in front of it.

For the test, Broom and his colleagues gave four pairs of pigs five hours to check out a mirror in a pen. Then each pig was penned with a mirror that was angled so it reflected a bowl of apple slices or M&M’s on the other side of a partition. When researchers let the test pigs free to snuffle around the area, seven of the animals went behind the partition and found the food. Most pigs in a control group that had never seen a mirror before poked around behind the mirror, as if they were searching for food there.

“It is nice to have this data point, but it has already been demonstrated in other animals,” says Marc Hauser, who directs the Cognitive Evolution Lab at Harvard University. “The paradox is why animals that can use a mirror to find hidden objects can’t use it to recognize themselves.”

For a mirror test of self-recognition, researchers often put some kind of dye or mark on an animal and then look to see if the animal pokes at the marked spot on its body after catching a glimpse of the spot in the mirror. Researchers have reported clear positive results from very few nonhuman animals — magpies, bottlenosed dolphins, elephants and apes.

Broom says he has tried marking pigs before letting them look at a mirror, but that the result didn’t tell him much. Pigs didn’t pay attention to the marks, but “this is not surprising considering how often they get marks on themselves,” he says.

The recognition that pigs have at least some degree of awareness may earn them better treatment, Broom says. Now “conditions for meat-production pigs often do not meet their needs; densities are very high,” he says. “If an animal is clever, it is less likely to be treated as if it is an object or a machine to produce food.”

AP Top News

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 06:59:00 +0000

WASHINGTON — The number of new claims for jobless benefits falls to the lowest level since early January, as employers cut fewer workers. The Labor Department says first-time claims for unemployment insurance dropped last week to a seasonally adjusted 521,000, from the previous week's upwardly revised total of 554,000.

Financial News: Bid Premium Fall Positive Sign For Europe M&A

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 06:58:00 +0000

The average premiums being offered to takeover targets in Europe have fallen for the third consecutive quarter, according to new figures released Thursday, in a further sign of stabilisation returning to the region???s mergers and acquisitions market.

One-week bid premiums - or the average amount offered for takeover targets above their share price a week before an offer was made - fell again in the third quarter, according to data provider Dealogic.

Jennifer Lopez's New Song 'Fresh Out the Oven' Found

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 06:58:00 +0000

A fresh material from Jennifer Lopez called "Fresh Out of the Oven" has made its round. Having rapper Pitbull on the hook, the track is produced by The Neptunesand contains up-tempo jams which allow people to dance.

"Definitely something very, very sexy," Pitbull offered his comment to MTV about the duet song back in September. "Produced by Pharrell [Williams], look out for it. It's kind of like eyes wide shut."

When the track came out, rumor suggested it would be included in J-Lo's upcoming studio album tentatively titled "Love?". There was also speculation that she would launch her alter ego, Lola. However, both reports were turned down by her camp.

"This is a hot club record that the label loved and Jennifer thought was fun," Amanda Ghost, president of Epic Records explained to People. "Jennifer and Pitbull got together and the record leaked. Lola is a fun character just for this song." A source close to the singer emphasized, "Lola is just for this song, it's not her ongoing persona. It's something fun. She hasn't become Sasha Fierce [Beyonce Knowles' artistic alter ego]. There won't be anything to do with Lola on her 'Love?' album."

Bad News For Those Born In 1947

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 06:56:00 +0000

Old-timers in Washington remember the Social Security "notch," as a quirk in the program's benefit formula that reduced payments for retirees born from 1917 to 1921. Eventually, a bipartisan Congressional commission concluded that the notch's effects were modest and did not require compensation. But not before members of Congress entered over 100 pieces of legislation to address the notch and senior advocacy groups, often under very dubious pretenses, reaped millions in contributions by claiming they could secure compensation for affected retirees.

A new Social Security notch coming soon should generate interest in Congress as it presents a much stronger case for help. Quirks in Social Security's formula for granting Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs), interacting with a spike in inflation during 2008, could cause a typical 62-year-old couple to lose almost $25,000 in benefits over their lifetimesSocial Security COLAs are calculated every October by comparing the third-quarter data of the Consumer Price Index for Urban Workers (CPI-W) with the previous year's numbers. An increase in the CPI results in a COLA the following January for retirees and other Social Security beneficiaries. Rising energy prices caused a 5.8% COLA to be ordered in the fall of 2008. However, plummeting prices between the fall of 2008 and the beginning of COLA payments in January 2009 caused the CPI as a whole to drop by around 5%. In effect, the 2009 Social Security COLA compensated retirees for inflation that no longer existed.

To make up for this overpayment, Social Security will pay no COLAs until prices rise back to their previous fall 2008 levels, which, according to the Congressional Budget Office, won't be until 2012. While seniors are upset by the lack of a COLA in the coming year, they actually benefited from the original overpayment. The overly large January 2009 COLA increased Social Security benefits purchasing power by around 5% above 2008 levels. For a typical retiree this is equivalent to an annual benefit increase of almost $700. Given that COLAs are designed merely to keep purchasing power constant, this is a large gain. Moreover, for all but the richest retirees, Medicare Part B premiums are not allowed to increase in a year without a COLA. This will save the typical senior almost $100 next year.

There is, however, one class of Americans who will lose big: people who turned 62 this year. 62 is the first age at which Social Security retirement benefits can be claimed, which means that individuals born in 1947 did not receive the 5.8% "windfall COLA" paid in January of this year. Like current retirees, however, today's 62-year-olds will not receive COLAs for the next two years. Inflation over the next two years will reduce the purchasing power of benefits for today's 62-year-olds by around 5% before COLAs resume in 2012. If today's 62-year-olds had received the "windfall COLA" of 2009, the lack of COLAs over the next two years would simply return their benefits to the proper level. But since today's 62-year-olds did not receive the 2009 COLA, the lack of COLA payments in 2010 and 2011 will have a significant negative impact on their lifetime benefits.

In addition, due to details of the Social Security benefit formula, this financial loss can't be avoided by delaying retirement until after COLAs resume in 2012. For a typical newly retired couple with a monthly benefit of $2,235, this penalty will cost them around $1,340 per year, for every year of their retirement. If they survive to a typical age of 83, these couples will lose almost $25,000 in lifetime benefits. While high-income households may shrug off a 5% cut in their Social Security benefits, for low earners every penny counts.

AP, News Corp bosses say pay up

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 06:55:00 +0000

BEIJING — The leaders of two of the world's major news organizations said Friday that it is time for search engines and others who use news content for free to pay up.

The comments from The Associated Press' Tom Curley and Rupert Murdoch of News Corp., come as the media industry struggles in the Internet age. Many news companies contend that sites such as Google have reaped a fortune off their articles, photos and video without fairly compensating the news organizations producing the material.

"We content creators have been too slow to react to the free exploitation of news by third parties without input or permission," Curley, The AP's chief executive, told a meeting of 300 media leaders in Beijing.

"Crowd-sourcing Web services such as Wikipedia, YouTube and Facebook, have become preferred customer destinations for breaking news, displacing Web sites of traditional news publishers," Curley said. "We content creators must quickly and decisively act to take back control of our content."

He said content aggregators, such as search engines and bloggers, were also directing audiences and revenue away from content creators.

"We will no longer tolerate the disconnect between people who devote themselves — at great human and economic cost — to gathering news of public interest and those who profit from it without supporting it," Curley said.

Murdoch also told the opening session of the World Media Summit in Beijing's Great Hall of the People that content providers would be demanding that they be paid.

"The aggregators and plagiarists will soon have to pay a price for the co-opting of our content. But if we do not take advantage of the current movement toward paid content, it will be the content creators — the people in this hall — who will pay the ultimate price and the content kleptomaniacs who triumph," the News Corp. chief executive said.

Curley said in a speech earlier this week in Hong Kong that The AP was considering selling news stories to some online customers exclusively for a certain period, perhaps half an hour.

The AP licenses its stories and photographs to many of the Internet's main hubs, including Google, Yahoo and Microsoft's MSN, and its work is also used by hundreds of Web sites owned by newspapers and broadcasters. Currently, they all get the material at the same time.

Curley did not clarify how a product that provided some news earlier would work or specify the target customers for the potential new service.

The AP already plans to roll out a system, called a news registry, that will track its content online and detect unlicensed uses in ways that could help boost revenue for the not-for-profit news cooperative, which was founded in 1846, and its member newspapers. The system will be tested in six weeks by nine newspapers as well as a sports statistics provider run jointly by AP and News Corp.

The AP and its member newspapers contend that unauthorized use of their material is costing them tens of millions of dollars in potential advertising revenue at a time when they can least afford it.

The AP's revenue is expected to be around $700 million this year, down from $748 million in 2008, in part because of reductions in the fees it charges newspapers and broadcasters, whose advertising revenue has been dwindling as more marketers shift to less-expensive or better-targeted options online.

Murdoch and Curley were speaking to 300 representatives from more than 170 media outlets from 80 countries at a meeting that will look at the challenges and opportunities the media face from the Internet, technology changes and the world economic crisis.

New School Bus Policy Terrifies Parents on State

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 05:28:00 +0000

This year some public grade school students are not eligible for school bus service, which prompts concern on Staten Island. "City forces seventh- and eighth-graders from their comfort zone -- namely, the yellow bus," reports the Staten Island Advance. "At 7 a.m. in the wintertime," they lede, "Anna Nieves imagines the Staten Island Mall parking lot as dark, desolate and possibly dangerous." The borough's public transportation is not as comprehensive as is that of the rest of the city, which alarms parents such as Donna Perez, who says "It just concerns me because [her 12-year-old daughter is] a little girl traveling alone." All the borough's city councilmembers have complained. Interestingly, the Times had a story this weekend about parents who are terrified by the prospect of children walking to school even when the children are not their own. The horrific case of Jaycee Dugard is mentioned. An Advance commenter says, "Why do Island kids have to be driven every place until they are 16, when they are handed a brand new BMW? Is it any surprise that our Island 25 year olds act like they are 9?"

Flu shots make early debut

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 03:34:00 +0000

The seasonal flu vaccine has arrived unseasonably early.

It was still summer vacation for most, but several local distributors started offering the flu shot early last week.

Typically, the shot is first advertised in late September and early October, but distributors offering the shot now say they are acting in compliance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation.

Health officials are predicting an early flu season in which the seasonal flu will spread rampantly. For that reason, and to gear up for the swine flu vaccine which will be available this fall, CDC recommends getting the seasonal flu shot now.

“There’s going to be such a complex schedule this year with the H1N1 vaccine,” said family nurse practitioner Mitch Borskin of Eugene Urgent Care. “If we wait (until later) it’ll be too clustered. People will be confused.”

Eugene Urgent Care has about 1,500 doses chilling in its refrigerator and at least 1,000 more on the way. The clinic offers the vaccine on a walk-in basis.

The vaccine protects against three seasonal viruses that health officials believe will be the most common this year. The vaccine does not protect against the swine flu.

A separate vaccine against the swine flu will be made available in October or November, according to the CDC. The vaccine may require more than one dose, but the details have yet to be released.

Borskin said the only potential risk in getting the seasonal flu shot this early is that if the flu season hits late this year — say, not until February or March — a person’s immunity to the virus could weaken. But the CDC says early protection is worth that risk.

If the flu doesn’t hit until late winter, clinics will offer booster shots, Borskin said.

Amid concerns of the swine flu reaching pandemic levels, the CDC also expects the seasonal flu to hit hard.

Since the vaccine is the best way to guard against the flu, Borskin said, this year it’s not just the elderly and very young who should be vaccinated. It’s “pretty much everybody,” he said.

Bruce Hight, store manager of the Walgreens on Coburg Road, said Walgreens has “plenty” of the vaccine. Despite the early delivery, he said, the vaccine has been in high demand.

Walk-ins are welcome, but Hight recommends that people call ahead to make vaccination appointments because not all pharmacists at the store are certified immunizers.

Hight said he has noticed some confusion over whether the vaccine is for the swine flu or seasonal flu.

Both Eugene Urgent Care and the Coburg Road Walgreens have applied to be swine flu vaccine distribution sites. They expect to find out whether they will receive the swine flu vaccine soon.

Lane County Public Health will make the seasonal flu vaccine available starting in October, according to its Web site.

For those paying cash and not billing through their health insurance plans, the vaccinations are $24.99 at Walgreens, $25 at Eugene Urgent Care and $28 at Lane County Public Health.