Correction: Obit-Magic Slim story

In an obituary Feb. 21 for blues guitarist Magic Slim, The Associated Press erroneously described his album "Bad Boy." It is a collection of original songs and covers, not a mix of covers.

A corrected version of the story is below:

Blues guitarist Magic Slim dies in Pa. at age 75

Chicago-style blues guitarist Magic Slim dies in Philadelphia at 75; got sick while on tour

By MARK SCOLFORO

Associated Press

Magic Slim, a younger contemporary of blues greats Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf who helped shape the sound of Chicago's electric blues, died Thursday. He was 75.

He died shortly after midnight Thursday at a Philadelphia hospital, said his manager, Marty Salzman. The musician had health problems that worsened while he was on tour several weeks ago in Pennsylvania, Salzman said.

Magic Slim and his backing band, the Teardrops, performed a no-holds-barred brand of Chicago-style electric blues, led by his singing and guitar playing, and were regulars on the music festival circuit.

Slim's given name was Morris Holt. The Mississippi native established himself in Chicago's thriving blues community in the 1960s, but more recently lived in Lincoln, Neb.

Holt's story was one of persistence. Like many bluesmen from rural Mississippi, he left a life that revolved around cotton fields and moved to Chicago in 1955. But competition on the South Side was fierce in those days, and he moved back home after failing to establish himself.

Playing plantation parties and small gigs, he honed his skills to a fine edge and enlisted his brothers, Nick and Douglas, as his backing band. They returned to Chicago, where they formed the Teardrops and refused to be dismissed.

Younger than many of the renowned bluesmen in Chicago, he maintained a career well into the 21st century. Holt and the Teardrops won blues band of the year at the 2003 Blues Music Award, and he released a record last year.

"If you were going to take somebody who'd never seen blues to one of their shows, it would be like putting them in a time machine and putting them in 1962," Salzman said. "No frills, no rock 'n' roll. It was just straight-ahead, real-deal blues."

Holt came by the sound authentically. Born in Torrance, Miss., in 1937, he grew up in the cotton fields of the Mississippi Delta. His first love was piano, but he lost the little finger on his right hand to a cotton gin and switched to guitar. Like many of his contemporaries, he started out on a one-string instrument he made by nailing a piece of wire stolen from a broom to the wall.

He moved to Grenada at age 11 and met Magic Sam, an older guitarist and influential blues figure. Sam taught him about the instrument and gave him his first job as a bass player years later when he first moved to Chicago.

He didn't make his first recordings until 1966. He released his first album, "Born Under A Bad Sign," on a French label in 1977 and put out an album of original songs and covers, "Bad Boy," last year.

Salzman said that bleeding ulcers sent Holt to the hospital, but that he also suffered from heart, lung and kidney ailments.

___

Scolforo reported from Harrisburg, Pa. AP Music Writer Chris Talbott contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/correction-obit-magic-slim-story-220120984.html

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Iran may allow UN team to visit key military site

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? Iran's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday raised prospects that Tehran may allow inspectors from the U.N. nuclear agency to visit a military site where the country is suspected of conducting nuclear-related experiments.

A ministry spokesman said the upcoming talks with a delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency could lead to a visit to the suspected site ? if a "deal" was struck with the Iranian side.

The IAEA inspectors are due for talks in Tehran on Wednesday in hopes of restarting a probe into the country's disputed nuclear program, which the West fears masks ambitions to obtain a nuclear weapon.

The agency in particular wants to visit Parchin, southeast of Tehran, where Iran is suspected of testing components needed to develop nuclear weapons. Iran denies any such activity, insisting that Parchin is only a conventional military site.

"Discussion over visiting Parchin could be part of a deal" with the IAEA inspectors, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters on Tuesday. He did not say when a visit to Parchin could take place.

"The prospect of reaching an agreement with the agency is bright, if Iran's nuclear rights are recognized," Mehmanparast added.

Iranian officials often say that as a signatory to the 1970 Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty ? under whose terms U.N. inspectors visit Iranian nuclear sites ? Tehran has a right to develop a nuclear program for peaceful purposes.

Iran also insists it does not seek nuclear arms and repeatedly cites a 2005 edict by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that called atomic weapons a violation of Islamic tenets, saying it only wants to enrich uranium to make fuel for reactors and cancer treatment.

But Mehmanparast said in a veiled warning the IAEA should not escalate the Iranian nuclear case by referring it to the U.N. Security Council, saying such a move would be "illogical and illegal."

Referrals to the Security Council have in the past led to new sanctions against Tehran. Iran has already faced four rounds of U.N. sanctions, as well as stepped-up sanctions and economic measures by the United States and the European Union that have sharply reduced Iran's critical oil exports and blocked access to international banking networks.

Mehmanparast also confirmed reports that Iran started changing some of its 20 percent enriched uranium ? which is only a small step away from weapons-grade material ? into reactor fuel.

His confirmation followed reports Monday from Vienna, where the IAEA is headquartered, that Iran was changing some nuclear material that could be used for weapons into another form. However, those reports from Vienna-based diplomats, said the amount was too small to reduce concerns about the Iranian atomic program.

"Conversion of enriched uranium into fuel for the reactor is under way," said Mehmanparast, adding that accounts of the process have been given to the IAEA.

Tehran last year converted close to 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of 20-percent uranium into reactor fuel before stopping the process.

The talks with the IAEA are separate from another set of difficult nuclear negotiations ? talks between Iran and a powerful six-nation group, which includes the permanent Security Council members and Germany.

Three rounds of those negotiations last year ended in stalemate, with Tehran pushing for a rollback of Western sanctions in exchange for any key concessions on its nuclear program. The next round is set for Feb. 26 in Kazakhstan.

Reinforcing Tehran's hard stance, Mostafa Dolatyar, a member of the Iranian negotiating team to Kazakhstan, said Tuesday that Tehran was "only going to listen" to what the six world powers have to say "in terms of new offers and proposals" in Almaty.

Dolatyar said Iran tried to explain its own viewpoint during talks in Moscow last May and that the other side "knows that they have to come up with a new proposal" on how to resolve the nuclear standoff.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iran-may-allow-un-team-visit-key-military-102056124.html

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African-American, Caucasian women should take identical vitamin d doses, study says

Feb. 12, 2013 ? African-American women battling vitamin D deficiencies need the same dose as Caucasian women to treat the condition, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

Although women with darker skin tones tend to have lower levels of the biomarker used to measure Vitamin D levels, called 25-hydroxyvitamin D or 25OHD, the study found that older African-American and Caucasian women responded in the same way when they received vitamin D supplements.

Unlike many vitamins that are absorbed primarily from foods, the body's main source of vitamin D is sunlight. Vitamin D deficiency, which is primarily caused by inadequate exposure to sunlight and very poor diet, can result in abnormalities in calcium, phosphorus and bone metabolism. Vitamin D deficiency can cause rickets in children or a bone-softening condition called osteomalacia and muscle weakness in adults.

In a double-blind study that gave varying vitamin D doses to African-American and Caucasian women of similar body size, levels of the 25OHD biomarker were very similar. The findings suggest that vitamin D absorption and metabolism is the same in both groups. Researchers concluded that African-American women tend to have lower levels of the biomarker 25OHD because they naturally produce less vitamin D in the skin after sunlight exposure.

"African-American women don't have to worry about taking larger doses of vitamin D to compensate," said J. Chris Gallagher, MD, of Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Neb., and lead author of the study. "They should follow the current medical guidelines for vitamin D supplementation suggested recently by the Institute of Medicine."

The Endocrine Society has issued a separate set of clinical practice guidelines governing vitamin D dosage. The guidelines are available at http://www.endo-society.org/guidelines/final/upload/FINAL-Standalone-Vitamin-D-Guideline.pdf.

Previously there was no research in minority populations to determine whether the same guidelines applied to them. Researchers designed this study to develop dosing guidelines for older African-American women. The study, which looked at vitamin D doses in 110 African-American women between the ages of 57 and 90, was the first randomized controlled dose response study conducted in this population.

"We saw a real need to study optimal vitamin D doses in African-American women and help their health care professionals make informed medical decisions," Gallagher said.

Although exposure to sunlight increases vitamin D levels, concerns about melanoma and other types of skin cancer necessitate avoidance of excessive exposure to the sun.

Other researchers working on the study include: M. Peacock of Indiana University School of Medicine, V. Yalamanchili of Creighton University School of Medicine and L. Smith of the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

The National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Aging and Office of Dietary Supplements funded the research.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Endocrine Society.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. J. C. Gallagher, M. Peacock, V. Yalamanchili, L. M. Smith. Effects of Vitamin D Supplementation in Older African American Women. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2013; DOI: 10.1210/jc.2012-3106

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/nutrition/~3/Y-8vWBwKBvs/130212075117.htm

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Pr?vo: Czechs purchasing property in German border areas ...

?TK |

12 February 2013

Prague, Feb 11 (CTK) - Czechs are buying flats and family houses in German border regions as they are cheaper than at home, while Germans' interest in real estate in Czech borderland is almost zero, the daily Pravo writes yesterday, referring to local mayors and real estate agents.

"We have not made a deal with a Germen client for five years. Rather the opposite is true. The real estate prices in Germany have decreased and Czechs often use a more advantageous offer on the German side of the border," real estate agent Jirina Muellerova, who focuses on the Sumava area, told the paper.

Michal Snebergr (Civic Democrats, ODS), mayor of the border town of Zelezna Ruda, west Bohemia, has confirmed this trend.

"I have no information about any Germans purchasing real estate in our region. There is rather a trend of Czechs buying flats and small houses in German Zelezna Ruda (Eisenstein) where they are often cheaper," Snebergr said.

A real estate agent in Tachov, west Bohemia, also says Germans are not interested in Czech houses and flats. However, they are buying land in the locality as investments.

Pravo writes that a number of Czechs are buying real estate on the German side of the Ore Mountains (Krusne hory), for instance, in Oberwiesenthal mountain resort.

They are purchasing primarily flats at the local old housing estate the prices of which are comparable with those on the Czech side where they are not available, however, said Jan Hornik (STAN), mayor of Bozi Dar in the Ore Mountains, west Bohemia.

People do not make any difference between houses on the Czech and German sides of the border any more as the costs of living are comparable, Hornik added.

An employee of the Brunner Immobilien agency, from Weiden in Upper Palatine, told Pravo that Czech citizens demand for flats and other real estate in these areas had increased since last December.

The only limiting factor for Czechs are job opportunities in Germany, Wofgang Kastner, representative of a housing cooperative in Johanngeorgenstadt on the Saxon side of the Ore Mountains, told Pravo.

"In the past few weeks, we have registered interest in the possibilities to acquire a flat (in Saxony) not only from the (Czech) border areas but also from Prague and central Bohemia," he said.

Copyright 2011 by the Czech News Agency (?TK). All rights reserved.
Copying, dissemination or other publication of this article or parts thereof without the prior written consent of ?TK is expressly forbidden. The Prague Daily Monitor and Monitor CE are not responsible for its content.

Source: http://praguemonitor.com/2013/02/12/pr%C3%A1vo-czechs-purchasing-property-german-border-areas

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Pope vs. Jobs: The Resignation-Off of the Century

In the latest high-profile resignation to send the technosphere reeling, popular Twitter user and leader of the Catholic Church Pope Benedict XVI said Monday that he would resign from the Vatican?s top slot.

Obviously, upon hearing the news it would be physically impossible to avoid drawing parallels to the last abdication of power by a revered, somewhat controversial religious leader with millions of devoted followers: Steve Jobs. Here?s how the two resignations stack up.

• Reason for resignation
• Ailing health
• Ailing health

• Delivered resignation via
• In-person address to assembled Cardinals of Rome, in Latin
• Email

• Twitter followers
• 1.5 million
• 0

• Distinct outfits
• 3 (choir, ordinary, vestments)
• 1

• Controversially, was opposed to
• Condoms
• 7-inch tablets

• Fallible, in eyes of most devoted followers?
• Maybe
• No

• Successor announced by
• Plume of white smoke
• Press release

• Successor appointed by
• Conclave, a secret, mysterious gathering of some of the world's most powerful men
• The Apple board, which is approximately the same thing plus Al Gore

• Potential pitfalls
• Successor may have different beliefs than ex-Pope, causing a crisis of papal infallibility and schism in congregation
• Successor launches Apple Maps, with same results

• Wait time before official canonization as saint
• Many decades after death
• Canonized in 2007 following launch of iPhone

• Approximate reaction of followers
• "I'm sad to hear this, but they'll elect another wise leader."
• WHAT NO IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD

?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/wiredunderwire/~3/lXVE6UiH4Yk/

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Cal beats No. 7 Arizona 77-69 for big road win

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) ? Allen Crabbe scored 19 of his 31 points in the second half, Justin Cobbs hit a big shot in the closing seconds and California held its composure down the stretch to knock off No. 7 Arizona 77-69 Sunday night.

Cal (14-9, 6-5 Pac-12) rallied from a 15-point deficit behind its defense against Arizona State on Thursday before coming up just short in a 66-62 loss. The Bears did the same thing to Arizona, keying a big run that put them up 10 with their zone.

Cal held on behind Crabbe and Cobbs, who scored on layup with 39 seconds left and had 21 points.

Arizona (20-3, 8-3) never fully recovered after struggling against Cal's zone defense to open in the second half and had 17 turnovers to end a five-game winning streak.

Mark Lyons had 16 points, Solomon Hill added 13 and Brandon Ashley 12 for the Wildcats, the sixth top-10 team to lose this week.

Arizona has had a penchant for getting off to slow starts this season, particularly at home, of all places.

The Wildcats did it against Florida in a matchup of top-10 teams in December before rallying for a victory and did the same thing against Stanford the last game to nearly spoil the 40th anniversary of the McKale Center opening doors.

Arizona wasn't so fortunate against UCLA on Jan. 24, unable to fully recover after missing 12 of its first 13 shots and falling behind 19-3.

The Wildcats weren't as bad as they were against UCLA, but weren't particularly sharp, either.

Arizona struggled with its shooting early and had some breakdowns defensively, allowing Cal to make 15 of 28 shots and Crabbe to score 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting.

The Wildcats still managed to lead 38-33 at halftime, thanks to Hill's 11 points and 10-of-13 shooting from the free throw line.

The Bears helped Arizona out with eight mostly-careless turnovers ? two by David Kravish sailed directly into the crowd ? that led to 12 points for Arizona.

Once the second half started, Cal tried to run away with it.

The Bears gave Arizona State problems by switching defenses with 8 minutes left in Thursday's game. Cal got its defensive mojo going earlier against Arizona by switching to a zone to start the second half.

Indecisive and tentative, the Wildcats opened the half by missing nine of their first 10 shots against the Bears' zone, many of those late in the shot clock and contested.

At the other end, the Bears made their first five shots to open with a 17-2 run, going up 50-40 on Crabbe's four-point play.

The Wildcats clawed their way back with a 9-2 run to stay within reach, but Cal pulled away in the closing seconds. Crabbe scored on a difficult baseline drive with just under 2 minutes left and Cobbs hit his layup that put the Bears up 75-69.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cal-beats-no-7-arizona-77-69-big-024026666--spt.html

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Police: 4 wounded in Bourbon Street shooting

This frame grab of a bystander's video provided by the New Orleans Police Department shows one of the suspects, left, that police say they are seeking in a shooting that wounded four people on New Orleans' famed Bourbon Street late Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013. Police said late Saturday the victims were two males and two females, and the most severely wounded man was undergoing surgery while the others were stable. (AP Photo/New Orleans Police Department)

This frame grab of a bystander's video provided by the New Orleans Police Department shows one of the suspects, left, that police say they are seeking in a shooting that wounded four people on New Orleans' famed Bourbon Street late Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013. Police said late Saturday the victims were two males and two females, and the most severely wounded man was undergoing surgery while the others were stable. (AP Photo/New Orleans Police Department)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? Gunshots erupted in a crowd of bead-wearing, drink-carrying late-night revelers on Bourbon Street during the countdown to Mardi Gras, wounding four people and sending bystanders running and screaming. Hours later on Sunday, though, the same stretch was packed with partiers who said they weren't letting the violence dampen their fun.

In a video taken by a witness Saturday night and released the next day, the shootings are preceded by footage of people standing shoulder to shoulder in New Orleans' famed tourist district, with some holding green plastic cups and wearing gaudy hats or masks. A section of the frame highlighted by police shows people jostling and speaking with angry expressions.

Police said in an email that the video depicts an argument involving one of the shooting victims and the suspects. Two men are seen leaving the argument and returning with a third, then approaching the victim as at least one of the suspects begins shooting, according to police. Four shots are heard in rapid succession, followed by screams as some in the crowd stagger into one another and a nearby wall. A man whom police identified as one of the suspects is shown walking through the crowd with his arm extended as the gunshots are heard, though it's difficult to make out a weapon.

Police said Sunday that they were seeking the three men.

The shootings wounded two males and two females. One male victim hit in the abdomen, thigh and pelvis was in guarded condition Sunday after surgery the previous night, New Orleans Police spokesman Frank B. Robertson said. The second male was shot in the buttocks, one female was shot on the chin and right foot, and the second female was shot on the toe, according to Robertson's statement. Those three were in stable condition. No ages or names were released.

The shooting came on the last weekend of partying before Mardi Gras, the Fat Tuesday celebration that is the signature tourist event of the year in New Orleans. And for thousands, the partying continued despite the shooting. Parades rolled under cloudy skies Sunday before crowds of onlookers, though the shootings were on the minds of some revelers.

"It was very disappointing," said New Orleans resident Carol Redmann-Bailey as she watched Thoth roll by. "I was disappointed and sad, but it seems like Bourbon Street stayed open. ... Let the good times roll."

New Orleans has been plagued for years by violent crime, including gun violence that has soared since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005.

In 2011, sixteen people were shot and at least two killed in Halloween shootings in New Orleans. One of the victims was slain near the Chris Owens nightclub, about a block away from Saturday's incident.

Patrick Clay, a 21-year-old Louisiana State University student, told The Times-Picayune that he was standing on the corner of Bourbon Street on Saturday night when suddenly he saw a crowd running and people screaming that there had been a shooting.

"Everyone immediately started running and the cops immediately started running toward where people were running from," Clay said. "I was with a group of about seven people and at that point, we all just kind of grasped hands and made our way through the crowd as soon as possible."

Julia Rosenthal, a 19-year-old from Westchester, N.Y., had mixed feelings about hanging out in the French Quarter after the shooting. "It's not an OK thing that happened, and it's definitely scary. But I'm not going to let it affect my night," she said.

Peter Manabani, an employee at the Rat's Hole bar, said police had shut down a whole Bourbon Street block for an hour to investigate but allowed people to return to the area later.

Hours later on Sunday, there was little evidence that a shooting had occurred. Revelers were in full party mode, packing the block amid a heavy police presence.

Laura Gonzalez, 21, of Baytown, Texas, said it was her first Mardi Gras and she spent some time in the Fat Catz bar nearby as police investigated. She said the bar locked its doors quickly after the shots rang out and wouldn't let anyone in or out while police went to the scene.

Asked if it was frightening, she responded: "Not really. We were just locked in a bar and we weren't going to let this one incident wreck our party."

Parades rolled all day Saturday but none on Bourbon Street because the streets are too narrow. One of the biggest Mardi Gras parades, the Krewe of Endymion, rolled down a major thoroughfare and just skirted Bourbon Street a few hours before the shooting. Typically, once the parades end, partygoers head to the French Quarter.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-02-10-Mardi%20Gras%20Shooting/id-c360e4c66ec648019db2c5b976fcba48

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Djarum Superliga Badminton: Sony Dwi Kuncoro overwhelms Daren ...

Djarum Superliga Badminton: Sony Dwi Kuncoro overwhelms Daren Liew in Men?s Singles encounter

Indonesia?s experienced player Sony Dwi Kuncoro proved his mettle in the arena as he played terrific badminton and outplayed Malaysia?s Daren Liew in Men?s Singles encounter at Djarum Superliga Badminton 2013 in Indonesia, on Friday, February 8.

Kuncoro, representing PB Jaya Raya Suryanaga badminton club, put up spectacular show of top quality badminton and remained successful in winning the battle in just 30 minutes without facing any problem.

The local shuttler was at his best in the arena as he did not show any respect to his Malaysian rival at any stage and ended up the contest in straight games with a crushing 21-11 and 21-13 total on the score board.

Daren, who is representing Malaysia Tigers Badminton Club in the tournament, could not put up strong show as he failed to play positive badminton at any stage in the whole battle. He failed to stop the aggression of his challenger and lost the match with a humiliating margin.

Kuncoro delivered extremely well from the starting rallies of first game as he played with spectacular speed and took over the charge of rallies.

The lofty skills and tricky game plan assisted Kuncoro to grab the control of the rallies and he easily created pressure on his Malaysian challenger.

Until the end of starting half of starting set, the remarkable Kuncoro attained a strong position on score board by establishing a sufficient gap.

After the break, Daren tried to show aggression as he increased his speed in all areas of the court but could not take charge of rallies and remained trailing behind on the board.

Kuncoro continued hitting powerful smashes in targeted areas and grabbed the opening game with a stunning total of 21-11.

Daren increased his speed to play tricky badminton in the starting half of second set but he failed to build pressure on his rival.

Indonesian shuttler impressed the crowd with his incredible craft that helped him to maintain pressure on his opponent who failed to find good rhythm.

Kuncoro continued putting up reasonable show in the concluding part of second game and remained successful in winning the set with a superb 21-13 margin on score board.

Source: http://blogs.bettor.com/Djarum-Superliga-Badminton-Sony-Dwi-Kuncoro-overwhelms-Daren-Liew-in-Mens-Singles-encounter-a213433

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The Secretary of the Treasury: from tax cheat to ?tax scam? beneficiary (Powerlineblog)

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German bin-divers get connected to wage war on food waste

BERLIN (Reuters) - Just past midnight behind a Berlin supermarket, two youngsters with flashlights strapped to their woolen hats sift through trash cans for food that is still edible, load their bikes with bread, vegetables and chocolate Santas and cycle off into the darkness.

It is not poverty that inspires a growing number of young Germans like 21-year-old student Benjamin Schmitt to forage for food in the garbage, but anger at loss and waste which the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates at one-third of all food produced worldwide, every year, valued at about $1 trillion.

In environmentally aware, cost-conscious Germany, "foodsharing" is the latest fad, using the Internet to share food recovered from supermarket dumpsters while it is still in good condition.

"Dumpster-diving" for society's cast-offs is a fast-growing phenomenon among sub-cultures in Europe and the United States and "freegans" - vegans who do not believe in paying for food - have long been sifting through supermarket dumpsters.

But the "foodsharing" movement that has sprung up in cities like Cologne and Berlin brings efficiency and technical skills to the table in ways that make it uniquely German.

More than 8,200 people across Germany have registered to share food on the www.foodsharing.de website in just seven weeks of existence, said Berlin organizer Raphael Fellmer.

The website - which has an appropriately recycled-paper look - advises people where there are "baskets" and what is in them: organic sausages in Cologne or spaghetti and Darjeeling tea in Chemnitz. Members can log in or use a Smartphone app to see the address of nearby baskets or a pick-up time and place. They can then rate the transaction like ordinary online retailers.

For people who cannot afford the Internet, Fellmer has set up the first of what he hopes will be many "hot spots" where food can be picked up anonymously: a fridge at a covered market in Berlin's Kreuzberg, where anyone can help themselves to food.

"I've come for some bread rolls, just a couple," said Frank, an unemployed 47-year-old, who was alerted to the location of a hoard of fresh bread on the website and called at Fellmer's house.

Opening his rucksack, he helped himself from a bag of rolls that had been on sale at a nearby bakery till 7 p.m. the previous evening.

TASTE THE WASTE

Throwing away food is a rich country phenomenon but a poor country's problem.

Camelia Bucatariu, a policy expert on food waste at the FAO in Rome, said North American and European consumers waste 95-115 kg of food per capita a year, compared to just 6-11 kg in sub-Saharan Africa and southeast Asia. As economies develop, the level of food waste grows, said Bucatariu, who is Romanian.

The foodsharers' argument that the tons of food wasted in Germany could feed people in poor countries is not as simplistic as it sounds: less waste means less drain on resources in the producer countries and less upward pressure on prices, she said.

"It is not only wasting an apple, but wasting the resources embedded in that apple which may be produced outside of Europe," Bucatariu told Reuters. As well as economic damage there is the cost to the environment of using energy to grow food that ends up in a landfill site, emitting greenhouse gases like methane.

The FAO is studying how to change such behavior and whether changes are needed to legislation on the retailers' "date marks" differentiating "Best By" from "Use By" - the latter being the date when food may start to become a biological hazard.

Fellmer is on a three-year-old "money strike": he does not earn or spend a euro and he, his wife and child eat only food that has been rescued from the trash.

A rangy 29-year-old in a baggy blue jumper with spiky blond hair and a pointed beard, he is already something of a German media phenomenon. On a recent visit, a TV documentary crew and a reporter from a local daily were crowded into his one-room flat.

He plonks on the table a packet of ginger biscuits for Christmas - from a batch of hundreds fished out of the garbage nearby - bearing a "use by" date which is still a month away. They taste fine, as do some red and gold-wrapped chocolate Santas.

The "use by" dates infuriate the foodsharers, many of whom were first inspired by the 2011 film "Taste the Waste" by their guru Valentin Thurm.

It documents waste ranging from farmers discarding tomatoes that are not red enough to bakeries burning the excess bread they made to keep the shelves looking full until closing time.

Fellmer's friend Schmitt was brought up in a "very food-conscious vegetarian household". His mother is a food chemist who advises him on hygienic ways to eat and share food from plastic sacks that he admits are sometimes "mushy" under your fingers in the dark.

Like Fellmer, he lives not in east Berlin, with its history of squats and communes, but in the leafy western suburb of Dahlem where he dumpster dives under the noses of the German capital's most affluent residents.

Foodsharing appeals to the "hipster" culture of Berlin with its tradition of anti-establishment protest, Schmitt said.

The German crowdsourcing techniques could turn out to be "best practice" for reducing waste in other countries too, said the FAO's Bucatariu.

"Solutions may vary according to the culture, the context and to what access to food there is," she said. "But each and every one of us can do something."

(Additional reporting by Fabrizio Bensch; Editing by Gareth Jones and Sonya Hepinstall)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/german-bin-divers-connected-wage-war-food-waste-140617797.html

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Researchers building foundation for heat-tolerant electronics

Public release date: 7-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Kevin Mayhood
kevin.mayhood@case.edu
216-368-4442
Case Western Reserve University

AFOSR awards $2.9 million grant to CWRU-led effort

Case Western Reserve University is leading an international investigation of a finicky alternative to silicon-based electronics and its use in high temperatures or under radiation that would render traditional components useless.

The Air Force Office of Scientific Research has awarded a $2.9 million grant to the engineers and scientists to systematically analyze what's called a Quasi-2Dimensional-Electron Gas (Q-2D-EG) forming at an oxide-heterointerface. The interface between a metal oxide film and a substrate, can be formed into a transistor.

The goal is to make it in such a way that it will operate at more than 200 degrees Celsius without external cooling.

These researchers and others investigators studying and developing technologies aimed at producing hardier electronics, materials and devices are kicking off their efforts at the Office of Scientific Research's weeklong Aerospace Materials for Extreme Environments Program Review, which begins Monday, Feb. 11.

Air and space, automotive, oil and gas drilling and nuclear industries can benefit from devices that can handle extreme environments.

Researchers have shown that they can form the electron gas basically a two dimensional layer with large electrical conductivity between two insulating oxides. This layer of conductivity can be manipulated, that is tuned, to make the conductivity stronger or weaker. And, using external electrical forces, scientists have changed the conductivity, essentially creating two electrical states equivalent to binary numbers to store memory. But none of these phenomena are well understood.

"This is temperamental stuff: only when you have a certain film on a certain substrate at a certain orientation and thickness, and prepared in a certain way does it work. The films we are talking about are only a few atomic layers thick" said Alp Sehirlioglu, an assistant research professor of materials science and engineering at Case Western Reserve, and leader of the investigation.

The electron-gas-producing interfaces can be designed as transistors and are applicable for developing next generation nano-scale, non-volatile memory devices, the researchers say. The investigators also propose to develop a new way to use the interfaces for applications such as memristors; another type of memory device dependent on the defects in the film.

But to do that, they have to understand a lot of basic information.

To begin with, the research team will identify how the electrical charge is formed at the heterointerface. They will mainly investigate interfaces between a lanthanum aluminum oxide film deposited on to a strontium titanate single crystal substrate. The investigators will study ways of processing the materials with controlled variation of defects, interfacial strains caused by different materials, and surface conditions,all as a function of temperature.

All the parameters contribute to the electrical behavior of the interface and are affected differently by temperature, the researchers say.

Their goal is to find the characteristics that, when combined, produce the best properties.

Sehirlioglu will investigate processing and compositional analysis of films and perform bulk structural analysis.

Also from Case Western Reserve, Walter Lambrecht, a physics professor, will model the electronic structure of point defects, and determine their quantitative contribution to the Q-2D-EG. Xuan Gao, an assistant professor of physics, will characterize the electrical properties of the interfaces as a function of temperature.

Marie-Helene Berger, at Ecole de Mines, Paris, will characterize interface nanostructures, point and line defects, and more.

Wei Lu, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan will build devices based on the findings.

Reviewers from the Air Force office said it is funding this team because it offers the right mix of specialties and capabilities to uncover the fundamentals needed to design new materials with properties specifically tailored to withstand extremes.

###

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 7-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Kevin Mayhood
kevin.mayhood@case.edu
216-368-4442
Case Western Reserve University

AFOSR awards $2.9 million grant to CWRU-led effort

Case Western Reserve University is leading an international investigation of a finicky alternative to silicon-based electronics and its use in high temperatures or under radiation that would render traditional components useless.

The Air Force Office of Scientific Research has awarded a $2.9 million grant to the engineers and scientists to systematically analyze what's called a Quasi-2Dimensional-Electron Gas (Q-2D-EG) forming at an oxide-heterointerface. The interface between a metal oxide film and a substrate, can be formed into a transistor.

The goal is to make it in such a way that it will operate at more than 200 degrees Celsius without external cooling.

These researchers and others investigators studying and developing technologies aimed at producing hardier electronics, materials and devices are kicking off their efforts at the Office of Scientific Research's weeklong Aerospace Materials for Extreme Environments Program Review, which begins Monday, Feb. 11.

Air and space, automotive, oil and gas drilling and nuclear industries can benefit from devices that can handle extreme environments.

Researchers have shown that they can form the electron gas basically a two dimensional layer with large electrical conductivity between two insulating oxides. This layer of conductivity can be manipulated, that is tuned, to make the conductivity stronger or weaker. And, using external electrical forces, scientists have changed the conductivity, essentially creating two electrical states equivalent to binary numbers to store memory. But none of these phenomena are well understood.

"This is temperamental stuff: only when you have a certain film on a certain substrate at a certain orientation and thickness, and prepared in a certain way does it work. The films we are talking about are only a few atomic layers thick" said Alp Sehirlioglu, an assistant research professor of materials science and engineering at Case Western Reserve, and leader of the investigation.

The electron-gas-producing interfaces can be designed as transistors and are applicable for developing next generation nano-scale, non-volatile memory devices, the researchers say. The investigators also propose to develop a new way to use the interfaces for applications such as memristors; another type of memory device dependent on the defects in the film.

But to do that, they have to understand a lot of basic information.

To begin with, the research team will identify how the electrical charge is formed at the heterointerface. They will mainly investigate interfaces between a lanthanum aluminum oxide film deposited on to a strontium titanate single crystal substrate. The investigators will study ways of processing the materials with controlled variation of defects, interfacial strains caused by different materials, and surface conditions,all as a function of temperature.

All the parameters contribute to the electrical behavior of the interface and are affected differently by temperature, the researchers say.

Their goal is to find the characteristics that, when combined, produce the best properties.

Sehirlioglu will investigate processing and compositional analysis of films and perform bulk structural analysis.

Also from Case Western Reserve, Walter Lambrecht, a physics professor, will model the electronic structure of point defects, and determine their quantitative contribution to the Q-2D-EG. Xuan Gao, an assistant professor of physics, will characterize the electrical properties of the interfaces as a function of temperature.

Marie-Helene Berger, at Ecole de Mines, Paris, will characterize interface nanostructures, point and line defects, and more.

Wei Lu, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan will build devices based on the findings.

Reviewers from the Air Force office said it is funding this team because it offers the right mix of specialties and capabilities to uncover the fundamentals needed to design new materials with properties specifically tailored to withstand extremes.

###

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/cwru-rbf020713.php

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Government condemns "criminal" horsemeat scandal

LONDON (Reuters) - The government said on Friday crime lay behind some cases of horsemeat finding its way into "beef" products on supermarket shelves, amid a growing scandal in a country where many regard the idea of eating horse with horror.

Investigations into suppliers have been launched in recent weeks after the revelation that beef products sold to companies including Britain's biggest grocer Tesco and fast-food chain Burger King contained horsemeat.

On Thursday the scandal appeared to widen further with the news that horsemeat had been found in Findus's beef lasagne, prompting the government to call it "very distasteful", and forcing the firm to apologise to customers.

"At the moment we're looking at two incidents that have come to light, which at the heart are acts of criminality," Prime Minister David Cameron's spokeswoman said on Friday.

"If you are a company buying a particular meat and you are led to believe it is what you asked for, but then you find it's not, then clearly there's been some law broken there," the spokeswoman said.

In a statement Findus said it knew there was a possible problem with its ready meals two days before the products were withdrawn from the shelves of British supermarkets.

"We understand those concerns, we are sorry that we have let people down and we want to outline the facts," it said.

"Findus UK had extensive DNA testing completed by leading independent experts. On Wednesday 6th February these tests confirmed that horsemeat was present in a number of samples and this information was shared with the Food Standards Agency."

Supermarket chains Aldi, Lidl, Iceland and the Co-operative Group have also been sold beef products found to contain horse DNA.

Britain's Food Standards Agency (FSA) put the horsemeat content at Findus at more than 60 percent while one Tesco burger contained about 29 percent horsemeat, making those the two most serious incidents to date.

Tesco has since dropped the Irish supplier of frozen beef burgers, Silvercrest, a unit of ABP Food Group. Findus began a recall of its beef lasagne from retailers earlier in the week on advice from its French supplier, Comigel.

DRUG

In response to the problem, the FSA has demanded that food retailers and suppliers test all beef products and present their findings to the agency by February 15.

The issue dominated government on Friday, with Prime Minister David Cameron's office promising to review food standards and enforcement.

Cameron's spokeswoman said there was no evidence to suggest any health risk from the products. Experts say horsemeat could contain traces of veterinary drug phenylbutazone, or "bute", which can be harmful to humans in high concentrations.

"It is completely unacceptable that a product which says it's beef lasagne turns out to be mainly horsemeat," environment minister Owen Paterson said in a statement, adding that "urgent" checks were being made on meat supplies to schools and hospitals.

Two senior MPs earlier on Friday advised against eating processed beef products. Asked whether Cameron would continue to eat such products, his spokeswoman said the premier would follow the advice of the FSA.

The FSA advised against eating Findus beef lasagne products, but - pending further testing for bute - said it had no evidence to suggest the product was a food safety risk.

(Reporting by Mohammed Abbas and Neil Maidment; editing by Andrew Roche)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/government-condemns-criminal-horsemeat-scandal-153354011--finance.html

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Ouya plans to deliver newer, more powerful game consoles every year

The first Ouya video game consoles are expected to ship in March. They?ll feature Android software and 1.6 GHz NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processors. When the Ouya project was first announced last year, those were some of the most impressive specs available for an Android device.

These days, Tegra 3 is already old hat, with Qualcomm, Samsung, and others already offering faster mobile processors. And NVIDIA?s Tegra 4 platform is set to launch shortly after the Ouya hits the street. So in some ways, the hardware will be dated on day one.

But don?t worry ? the next Ouya will be more powerful.

Ouya CEO Julie Uhrman tells Engadget and The Verge that the company plans to launch a new game console every year, offering faster processors and other improvements at about the same price.

In other words, you won?t have to wait 5 years to get a next-generation game console the way you do with Nintendo, PlayStation, or Xbox devices. Instead, Ouya is following a mobile phone/tablet-like strategy and putting out new hardware every year.

That means we could see a Tegra 4 based model eventually, or a device with a different, faster mobile chip. Thanks to the falling prices of storage and other components, future Ouya consoles might also have more than 8GB of built-in storage.

Does that mean you?ll have to purchase new games every year? Not necessarily ? games purchased from the Ouya Store will be tied to your account, not your hardware. So if you pay $99 to get next year?s model, all of the games you bought for your first-generation Ouya should still be available (although it?s not yet clear if your saved games and other data will be transferred automatically).

With rumors suggesting that the PlayStation 4 could cost more than $400, a $99 Ouya seems like an interesting low-cost alternative. It might not be as powerful as a PS4, but you could buy a new one every year for 4 years and still spend less than you would on Sony?s next-gen game console (if the rumors are correct).

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed, follow us on Twitter, or "like" us on Facebook. Thanks for visiting!

• key specs
• reviews ? 0
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• Game formatDownloadable
• Drive capacity8 GB
• Controller typeWireless
• Video outputsHDMI
• Released04/01/2013

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Source: http://liliputing.com/2013/02/ouya-plans-to-deliver-newer-more-powerful-game-consoles-every-year.html

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Certain hormonal contraceptive may pose risk of Type 2 diabetes for obese women

Feb. 7, 2013 ? A first-of-its-kind study by researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) indicates that healthy, obese, reproductive-age women who use long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) containing the hormone progestin have a slightly increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes when compared to those who use non-hormonal contraception.

The research concludes that progestin-releasing LARC appears to be safe for use by such women but needs further investigation.

Nicole M. Bender, assistant professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology at the Keck School, was the principal investigator for the study "Effects of progestin-only long-acting contraception on metabolic markers in obese women," which appeared online in the journal Contraception on Jan. 2, 2013.

"Contraceptive studies often only look at normal-weight women," said Penina Segall-Gutierrez, co-investigator of the study and an assistant professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology and family medicine at the Keck School. "Studies such as this are necessary because, today, one-third of women in the U.S. are overweight and one-third are obese. All women, including overweight and obese women, need to have access to safe and effective contraception."

Obese women are at increased risk for pregnancy-related complications and are sometimes warned by their doctors not to use contraceptives containing estrogen, such as the pill, patch and vaginal ring.

"[Those choices] raise the risk for blood clots," Segall-Gutierrez said. "So they need other, viable alternatives. The implanted LARC devices last three to 10 years, are easily reversible, and women don't have to remember to do anything with them, in contrast to the birth-control pill."

The six-month study observed the metabolic markers in three groups of obese women: a control group using non-hormonal birth control methods, including condoms, the copper IUD, and female or male sterilization; a second group with a progestin-releasing LARC device implanted in the uterus (IUD); and a third group with a progestin-releasing LARC device implanted under the skin.

"All three methods were found to be safe and effective, and they did not create changes in blood pressure, weight, or cholesterol," Segall-Gutierrez said. "However, there was a 10 percent increase in fasting blood-glucose levels among the skin implant users, compared to a 5 percent increase among the IUD users and a 2 percent decrease among those using non-hormonal methods. The effects on sensitivity to insulin showed a similar trend. It is unknown if these effects would continue if the devices were used and studied for a longer period of time."

Segall-Gutierrez and her Keck research partners have studied the metabolic effects of other birth-control methods as well. In 2012, they reported findings that obese women receiving a progestin birth-control shot every three months may be at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

"Overall, we're finding that methods such as the progestin injection and the progestin skin implant, which both have higher circulating progestin, may have an increased risk for metabolic changes compared to methods like the IUD, which only has a local effect ? in the uterus," she said.

Segall-Gutierrez added that the progestin-releasing IUD has other benefits. It is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding, which often affects obese women. The IUD also protects against endometrial cancer, which disproportionately affects obese women.

"Choosing a birth-control method requires consideration of many factors, including the patient's lifestyle and willingness to use the method, desire for future fertility, and risk for a host of diseases ? diabetes and endometrial cancer being two of them for obese women," she said. "We would like to expand our most recent study by looking at more participants over a longer period of time to see if the metabolic effects we observed in the progestin-releasing implants persist or are only temporary."

In addition to Bender and Segall-Gutierrez, the research team includes Sandy Oliver Lopez Najera, Frank Z. Stanczyk, Martin Montoro and Daniel R. Mishell.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Southern California - Health Sciences, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Nicole M. Bender, Penina Segall-Gutierrez, Sandy Oliver Lopez Najera, Frank Z. Stanczyk, Martin Montoro, Daniel R. Mishell. Effects of progestin-only long-acting contraception on metabolic markers in obese women. Contraception, 2013; DOI: 10.1016/j.contraception.2012.12.007

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/lEbQCJ_TIcA/130207172115.htm

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East Passyunk's New Restaurant Sophia's Presents The Snow Day ...

February 7, 2013

Sophia's snow day special which features discounted food and drinks, will have you hoping for snow. (Photo courtesy Sophia's)

East Passyunk recently welcomed a new (and awesome) restaurant to their avenue. Sophia?s?is a restaurant owned by Michelin starred chef, Christopher Lee.

The spot has lots of delicious menu options like fresh seafood, award-winning burgers, steak and more.

Tasty meals aren?t all they?re offering. When the sky turns grey and snow starts to fall, put on your warmest jacket and head over to Sophia?s for their snow day special. That?s right, at the first sight of snow, Sophia?s is serving up an extended happy hour menu.

Snow trekking guests will enjoy a half-priced hot cocktail as well as other drink and food specials, including Sophia?s signature meatballs. This special is reason enough to wish for lots of snow.

Next time flurries fall, head out to Sophia?s for tasty food and drinks.

Sophia?s Snow Day Special
When: Anytime snow falls
Where: Sophia?s, 1623 East Passyunk Ave
Cost: Pay as you go
More info: www.sophiasphilly.com

Source: http://www.uwishunu.com/2013/02/east-passyunks-new-restaurant-sophias-presents-the-snow-day-special-featuring-great-food-and-drink-deals/

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Wall Street stymied as investors lack catalysts to trade

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were little changed on Wednesday as investors, without any major economic reports to guide them, awaited fresh incentives to trade after rallies took the S&P 500 to five-year highs.

Transportation stocks were among the worst performers, weighed down by a 10 percent drop in CH Robinson Worldwide to $60.40 after the freight transport company posted a lower-than-expected adjusted quarterly profit.

The Dow Jones Transportation index <.djt> shed 0.3 percent after closing at a record high Tuesday for a gain of more than 10 percent in 2013.

The benchmark S&P 500 index has advanced 6 percent this year, climbing to its highest since December 2007. The Dow industrials <.dji> have risen above 14,000 recently, making it a challenge for investors to push stocks higher in the absence of strong positive catalysts.

"Overall, we believe that the next near-term market dip should provide an opportunity to buy stocks ahead of rallies higher in the coming months, but we are skeptical about the long-term sustainability of these gains due to the maturing age of the bull market," said Ari Wald, equity research analyst at C&Co\PrinceRidge in New York.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> was up 5.28 points, or 0.04 percent, at 13,984.58. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was up 0.56 point, or 0.04 percent, at 1,511.85. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was up 1.67 points, or 0.05 percent, at 3,173.25.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq index was supported by Apple Inc , which rose 1.1 percent to $462.62.

Walt Disney Co was among the bright spots, up 1.1 percent at $60.31, after the company beat estimates for quarterly adjusted earnings and gave an optimistic outlook for the next few quarters.

According to Thomson Reuters data through Wednesday morning, of 301 companies in the S&P 500 <.spx> that have reported earnings, 68.1 percent have exceeded analysts' expectations, above a 62 percent average since 1994 and 65 percent over the past four quarters. In terms of revenue, 65.8 percent of companies have topped forecasts.

Looking ahead, fourth-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies are expected to grow 4.7 percent, according to the data, above a 1.9 percent forecast at the start of the earnings season.

The benchmark S&P index rose 1.04 percent Tuesday, its biggest percentage gain since a 2.5-percent advance on January 2 after lawmakers agreed on a temporary delay of the "fiscal cliff."

Ralph Lauren Corp climbed 8 percent to $178.15 as the best performer on the S&P 500 after reporting renewed momentum in its holiday-quarter sales and profits.

Time Warner Inc jumped 4.4 percent to $52.15 after reporting higher fourth-quarter profit that beat Wall Street estimates, as growth in its cable networks offset declines in its film, TV entertainment and publishing units.

Visa , the world's largest credit and debit card network, is expected to report earnings per share of $1.79 for its first quarter, up from $1.49 a year earlier. Smaller rival MasterCard MA.N recently reported better-than-expected results but said its revenue growth could slow in the first half of the year due to economic uncertainty.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum and Kenneth Barry)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stock-index-futures-point-slightly-higher-wall-street-103207021--finance.html

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New Monopoly Piece: Unveiled!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/02/new-monopoly-piece-unveiled/

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Postal Service could end Saturday mail delivery

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Postal Service is planning to drop Saturday delivery of first-class mail by August, a congressional source said on Wednesday.

The cash-strapped mail agency will still deliver packages, said the source, who is familiar with the matter but not authorized to speak on the record.

USPS spokesman Mark Saunders could not confirm the change, but said the agency would issue a news release on Wednesday.

The move is part of the mail carrier's larger effort to aggressively to cut costs amid rising use of email and the Internet as well as looming payments for future retiree's health benefits. USPS lost almost $16 billion last year.

The 237-year-old institution has already run into its legal borrowing limit and defaulted twice on required payments to the federal government.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey; Additional reporting by Emily Stephenson and Elvina Nawaguna; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Vicki Allen)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/postal-seeks-end-saturday-mail-delivery-132211069--sector.html

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Iraq War vet charged in fatal shooting of ex-SEAL

In this April 6, 2012, photo, former Navy SEAL and author of the book ?American Sniper? poses in Midlothian, Texas. A Texas sheriff has told local newspapers that Kyle has been fatally shot along with another man on a gun range, Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013. (AP Photo/The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Paul Moseley)

In this April 6, 2012, photo, former Navy SEAL and author of the book ?American Sniper? poses in Midlothian, Texas. A Texas sheriff has told local newspapers that Kyle has been fatally shot along with another man on a gun range, Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013. (AP Photo/The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Paul Moseley)

In this April 6, 2012, photo, former Navy SEAL and author of the book ?American Sniper? poses in Midlothian, Texas. A Texas sheriff has told local newspapers that Kyle has been fatally shot along with another man on a gun range, Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013. (AP Photo/The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Paul Moseley)

This photo provided by the Erath County Sheriff?s Office shows Eddie Ray Routh. He was charged with murder in connection with a shooting at a central Texas gun range that killed former Navy SEAL and "American Sniper" author Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield, the Texas Department of Public Safety said Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013. (AP Photo/ Erath County Sheriff's Office)

Map showns path of texas gunman following a double shooting

STEPHENVILLE, Texas (AP) ? An Iraq War veteran charged with murdering former Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle and a friend turned a gun on the pair while they were at a Texas shooting range, authorities said Sunday.

Eddie Ray Routh, of Lancaster, was arraigned early Sunday in the deaths of Kyle, who wrote the best-selling book "American Sniper," and Chad Littlefield, 35. They were killed at a shooting range at Rough Creek Lodge, about 50 miles southwest of Fort Worth.

Travis Cox, the director of a nonprofit Kyle helped found, told The Associated Press on Sunday that Kyle, 38, and Littlefield had taken Routh to the range to try to help him. Littlefield was Kyle's neighbor and "workout buddy," Cox said.

"What I know is Chris and a gentleman ? great guy, I knew him well, Chad Littlefield ? took a veteran out shooting who was struggling with PTSD to try to assist him, try to help him, try to, you know, give him a helping hand, and he turned the gun on both of them, killing them," Cox said.

Capt. Jason Upshaw with the Erath County Sheriff's Office said Routh had not made any comments that might indicate a motive. "I don't know that we'll ever know. He's the only one that knows that," Upshaw said.

Sheriff Tommy Bryant said Routh was unemployed and "may have been suffering from some type of mental illness from being in the military himself."

Bryant didn't know whether Routh was on any medication or had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Routh was being held on one charge of capital murder and two charges of murder.

Upshaw said officials believe Routh used a semi-automatic handgun, which authorities later found at his home. Upshaw said ballistics tests weren't complete Sunday, but authorities believe it was the gun used in the shootings. Upshaw declined to give any more details about the gun.

The U.S. military confirmed Sunday that Routh was a corporal in the Marines, serving in active duty from 2006 to 2010. He was deployed to Iraq in 2007 and Haiti in 2010. His current duty status is listed as reserve.

Routh is being held on $3 million bond. Bryant said he believed Routh was in the process of seeking a public defender.

A knock on the door at Routh's last known address went unanswered Sunday. A for-sale sign was in front of the small, wood-framed home.

Kyle's best-selling book, "American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History," detailed his 150-plus kills of insurgents from 1999 to 2009. Kyle said in his book that Iraqi insurgents had put a bounty on his head. According to promotional information from book publisher William Morrow, Kyle deployed to Iraq four times.

Bryant said Kyle, Littlefield and Routh went to the shooting range around 3:15 p.m. Saturday. A hunting guide at Rough Creek Lodge came across the bodies of Kyle and Littlefield around 5 p.m. and called 911.

Upshaw said autopsies were still pending and he could not say how many times the men were shot or where on their bodies they were hit.

After the shootings, Routh left the shooting range in Kyle's black pickup truck, Bryant said, first going to his sister's home in Midlothian, about 25 miles southwest of Dallas, where he told her and her husband what he had done. Routh left, Bryant said, and the couple called local police.

Routh arrived at his home in Lancaster, about 17 miles southeast of Dallas, at about 8 p.m. Police arrested him after a brief pursuit.

Kyle's nonprofit, FITCO Cares, provides at-home fitness equipment for emotionally and physically wounded veterans.

"Chris was literally the type of guy, if you were a veteran and needed help, he'd help you," said Cox, the director of FITCO Cares.

Cox described Littlefield as a gentle, kind-hearted man who often called or emailed him with ideas for events or fundraisers to help veterans. He said he was married and had children.

"It was just two great guys, with Chad and Chris trying to help out a veteran in need and making time out of their day to help him. And to give him a hand. And unfortunately this thing happened," Cox said.

Bryant expressed a similar understanding of the situation. The sheriff said Routh's mother "may have reached out to Mr. Kyle to try to help her son."

"We kind of have an idea that maybe that's why they were at the range for some type of therapy that Mr. Kyle assists people with. And I don't know if it's called shooting therapy, I don't have any idea," Bryant said.

Lt. Cmdr. Rorke Denver, who served with Kyle on SEAL Team 3 in Iraq in 2006, called Kyle a champion of the modern battlefield. Denver wasn't surprised that Kyle apparently used a shooting range to help someone with PTSD.

"For us, for warriors, that's a skill set that has become very familiar, very comfortable for us," said Denver, a lieutenant commander in a reserve SEAL team. His book "Damn Few," about training SEALs, will be released this month. "So I actually see it as kind of a perfect use of Chris' unique skill set and expertise of which he has very few peers."

Craft International, Kyle's security training company, had scheduled a $2,950-per-person civilian training event at Rough Creek Lodge called the "Rough Creek Shoot Out!" for March 1-3. The price included lodging, meals and shooting instruction. Kyle was scheduled to teach the first class, called "precision rifle."

Kyle is survived by his wife, Taya, and their two children, Cox said.

___

Sherman reported from McAllen, Texas. Associated Press writers Andale Gross and Erica Hunzinger in Chicago contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-02-03-Sniper%20Author-Shooting/id-061c9a6cc385420fbb7248940e2faf18

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