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Whether you're a huge Adam Levine fan or not so much, it's pretty hard to deny that he's good-looking - as in, really good-looking. The sexy Maroon 5 singer has been in the spotlight since the early 2000s, and over the past couple years, he's cemented himself as one of Hollywood's hottest heartthrobs. Along with his music career, Adam also became a small-screen star thanks to The Voice, and he made his big-screen debut with Begin Again in 2013. That same year he won the title of Sexiest Man Alive, and in 2014, he said "I do" to another sexy star, model Behati Prinsloo. This week, Adam turns 36, so to celebrate his birthday (and those good looks), check out 24 times Adam looked superhot, then take a look at the Maroon 5 and Nick Minaj "Sugar" remix, which may be even catchier than the original. When He Posed For This Jaw-Dropping Centerfold When He Actually Glowed on Stage When He Smirked on the Red Carpet When He Showed Off His Yoga Skills When He Expertly Rocked a Bow Tie When He Smoldered Straight Into the Camera When He Looked Studly in a Suit When He Went Shirtless For a Music Video When He Had That James Dean Thing Down Pat When He Made His Way to an Oscars Afterparty When He Looked All Cute and Cozy When He Smiled Adorably on the Today Show When Extra Scruff Made Him Extrahot When He Showed Off Those Biceps When He May as Well Have Been a Model When He Was Moody and Beautiful When He Kept It Casual in Vegas When He Had a Sexy Bedhead Moment When He Left You Jealous With This Hot Embrace When He Was Superready For His Close-Up When He Paraded Around in His Underwear And When He Absolutely Nailed a Sexy-Musician Moment | 6 | 6,200 | entertainment |
Cops: Victims include suspect's wife and daughter | 5 | 6,201 | news |
A major US insurance company found itself on the defensive Monday after its sobering Super Bowl ad about children who die in preventable accidents triggered a social media backlash. Nationwide Mutual Insurance said it wanted to raise awareness about accidental childhood deaths, which experts say occur about once every hour in the United States. "I couldn't grow up because I died from an accident," says a young boy in the ad, after regretting he will never be able to ride a bike, get married or travel the world. Haunting images follow -- of an overflowing bathtub, cleaning solvents under a kitchen sink, and a large flat-screen television that fell onto the floor. "The number one cause of childhood death is preventable accidents," stated the gloomy 45-second ad that promoted the Twitter hashtag #makesafehappen. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say a "staggering" 9,000 American children die every year from unintentional injuries -- or about 25 a day. Nationwide's commercial rivaled a sentimental horse-and-puppy Budweiser spot as the most-mentioned ad on social media, but not in the way it might have hoped. "Unnecessary," "ugly manipulation for profit" and "just a punch in the gut for parents that have lost their child" were some of the comments seen on Twitter about the insurance ad. Others joked at Nationwide's expense. "I won't watch Katy Perry because I died in a depressing Nationwide commercial," quipped one tweet, referring to the pop diva's half-time show. Party mood shattered Johns Hopkins University marketing lecturer Keith Quesenberry said Nationwide fumbled by trying to raise an important social issue at the very moment when Americans were in a collective party mood. "Most consumers want to support serious causes, but there is a time and place," Quesenberry, an expert on Super Bowl advertising, told AFP. "They don't want to be brought down in the middle of their celebration," he said, adding that, according to his research, viewers "generally like happy 'Hollywood' endings" to their ads. Sentiment140.com, which tracks how consumers feel about brands on social media, reported 53 percent negative sentiment for Nationwide on Monday, compared to a 72 percent positive feeling for Budweiser. During a 4-1/2 hour period Sunday that included the game itself, Nationwide was mentioned more than 126,100 times on Twitter, second only to Budweiser, added Brandwatch.com, a social media monitoring firm. Nationwide could take comfort, however, in the likes of a tech consultant who tweeted on Monday: "I will have to admit I checked the cabinets, doors and children after that commercial." "This ad really makes you think about how precious life is," read another comment on the website of Adweek, a trade journal. "It was a daring move." In a statement, Nationwide defended the commercial, which stood out dramatically from a raft of father-friendly "dad-vertising" that featured prominently among this year's Super Bowl spots. "The sole purpose of this message was to start a conversation, not sell insurance," said the Ohio-based mutual, which is among the 100 biggest companies in the United States. Forgotten 'invisible' ad Virtually forgotten was Nationwide's other Super Bowl ad -- a humorous take on customer service featuring an "invisible" Mindy Kaling hitting on actor Matt Damon in a restaurant. Cable news channel CNN, which had exclusive access to the making of the child death ad, described Nationwide executives hoping the spot would upend "normal Super Bowl advertising." "In 60 seconds, we can probably bring more attention and awareness and action around this issue than we have in 60 years," said Ogilvy and Mather president Adam Tucker, whose firm created the ad. More than 70 advertisers paid a reported $4.5 million per 30 seconds of air time to appear during the Super Bowl, the annual American football championship that is viewed by 115 million Americans. | 5 | 6,202 | news |
At least three suspected al Qaeda militants were killed on Monday in a U.S. drone strike on a car in southeastern Yemen, local residents said, the third such strike in a week. The attacks show there has been no let up in a U.S. campaign against suspected militants despite a power vacuum left by the resignation of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi who had publicly backed the program. The United States regards Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which has claimed responsibility for last month's deadly attack on France's Charlie Hebdo newspaper in Paris, as one of the most powerful branches of the global militant group. Yemeni officials said the drone fired two missiles at the vehicle, which was traveling on a dirt road between the town of Maswara in al-Bayda province and the city of Beihan in Shabwa province in southeastern Yemen. The strike destroyed the vehicles, killing the three people inside it. Residents reported explosions inside the vehicle after the strike, suggesting it was carrying weapons. The United States has been cooperating with Yemeni security forces to track and kill suspected AQAP members in the country's deserts - a strategy that rights groups have criticized for causing repeated civilian deaths. But after Shi'ite Muslim rebels overran the capital Sanaa in September and took over President Hadi's residence in January, he and his cabinet resigned. Hadi was a staunch defender of the drone program, and his exit has left the Shi'ite Muslim Houthi group, whose motto is "death to America", the de facto rulers of the country. U.S. officials have told Reuters the Houthi takeover was depriving them of sufficient intelligence to locate AQAP targets and avoid killing civilians in the attacks. On Saturday, a drone struck a vehicle in the remote desert town of al-Saeed in Shabwa, and residents told Reuters the dead men were al Qaeda militants. The first drone strike since Hadi's resignation came last Monday and killed two suspected AQAP militants and a sixth grader. Nineteen U.S. drone strikes killed 124 militants and four civilians in Yemen in 2014, according to the New America Foundation, which maintains a database of drone operations. (Reporting by Mohammed Mukhashaf; Writing by Sami Aboudi; Editing by Alison Williams) | 5 | 6,203 | news |
DALLAS (AP) Dallas Mavericks point guard Rajon Rondo will miss at least three games after suffering an orbital fracture to his left eye. The Mavericks said Monday that Rondo wouldn't play against Minnesota and will not travel with the team to the West Coast for games at Golden State and Sacramento later this week. Rondo will remain in Dallas to undergo additional testing and evaluation. Less than 2 minutes into Saturday night's win at Orlando, Rondo tripped over the leg of Magic guard Elfrid Payton. While trying to get up, Rondo was inadvertently kneed in the face by teammate Richard Jefferson. In 21 games since being traded to Dallas from Boston, Rondo has averaged 9.2 points and 6.5 assists per game. | 1 | 6,204 | sports |
1. She knows what he's going to order at a restaurant before he orders it. 2. They do not work out at the gym together. Too much competition? No one looks attractive while sweating it out and grunting on a treadmill? We'll never know, but there is an exception: Elderly couples. Nothing's cuter than two 70-year olds power-walking side by side in Boca. 3. They agree that naming their dogs after Golden Girls characters is a terrific idea. The stranger the pet name, the stronger the marriage. 4. They have the ability to be stranded together in a small apartment during a severe weather event without hating each other (Superstorm Sandy we're looking at you!) bonus points if there's nothing to do but binge-watch bad movies on Netflix. 5. It's not a guaranteed fight-starter when one of them just needs to lose their cool for a minute. You do you, honey. 6. They use each other's toothbrushes. 7. They have an entire secret language of inside jokes, abbreviations, and nicknames that no one else would understand. 8. They pluck out each other's gray hairs. 9. They have matching winter hats. 10. If they discuss "what we learned in couples' therapy" openly with their friends. 11. They have pet names for specific occasions . 12. They remember to look at each other from across the room. | 4 | 6,205 | lifestyle |
Dave Miller from NationalFootballPost.com joins us to discuss recruiting. Is it a surprise that the SEC continues to dominate in recruiting? | 1 | 6,206 | sports |
Eating too much sugar certainly isn't wise for your waistline, but overindulging in dessert can also add years to your face. "Good nutrition is a fundamental building block of healthy skin," explains Leslie Baumann, MD, a dermatologist based in Miami Beach. The natural ingredients in whole foods such as romaine lettuce and strawberries help increase cell turnover, and boost production of collagen fibers to help keep skin smooth and firm. Conversely, foods with little-to-no nutritional benefits, like sugar-packed doughnuts, can actually damage the collagen and elastin that keep skin firm and youthful. These aging effects start at about age 35 and increase rapidly after that, according to a study published in the British Journal of Dermatology . And even if you do strenuous cardio workouts each week, you'll be missing out on potential anti-aging body benefits if your schedule doesn't include yoga, weight training, and rest. For example, if you only do cardio at the expense of other types of exercise, like yoga and strength-training, you could be missing out on skin-protective benefits. Find out if you're making one of these 8 common diet and exercise mistakes and learn what to do instead. 1. You overdo dessert. The breakdown of sugars, called glycation, damages the collagen that keeps skin smooth and firm. To prevent this natural process from careening out of control, Naila Malik, MD, a dermatologist in Southlake, TX, sticks to low-glycemic carbs like whole grains; they're naturally low in sugar, and the body processes them slowly to limit the loss of collagen. If you want to sweeten up your tea or oatmeal without making your skin look older, try all-natural stevia. It's an easily digested herbal sweetener that doesn't trigger glycation, according to board-certified dermatologist Nicholas Perricone, MD, an adjunct professor of medicine at Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine. 2. You spin away stress. Taking your work angst out on the bike or treadmill might make you feel better for a little while, but incorporating yoga into your fitness routine regularly may help you look younger and prevent breakouts while whittling away stress. "Yoga moves like Child's Pose, Downward-Facing Dog, and Sun Salutations improve circulation the boost of oxygen is what gives skin that lovely yoga glow," says Hema Sundaram, MD, a Washington, DC area dermatologist. Research shows regular yoga practice may reduce the inflammation and stress that speed skin aging. If you need another reason to om away your stress: High levels of tension can spike hormone production that leads to breakouts or aggravates conditions like psoriasis. "Controlling stress keeps your skin calm," says Annie Chiu, MD, a dermatologist in LA. 3. You always choose coffee. Research suggests that green and black tea contain protective compounds like EGCG and theaflavins that help prevent skin cancers and the breakdown of collagen, the cause of wrinkles. Following a regular strength-training routine that creates better, more supportive muscle tone will help you firm sagging skin from the neck down. "I am religious about strength-training, and I always tell patients to do it more as they get older," says Patricia Farris, MD, a dermatologist in Metairie, LA. "It's like adding volume to the face with fillers, except on your body," she says. 4. You never lift. Following a regular strength-training routine that creates better, more supportive muscle tone will help you firm sagging skin from the neck down. "I am religious about strength-training, and I always tell patients to do it more as they get older," says Patricia Farris, MD, a dermatologist in Metairie, LA. "It's like adding volume to the face with fillers, except on your body," she says. 5. Your meat isn't organic. "Hormones in traditionally produced dairy, poultry, and meat may contribute to acne," says Katie Rodan, MD, a dermatologist in the San Francisco Bay area. She says that her patients who eat those less frequently or at least choose grain-fed beef and poultry and organic dairy often notice their skin looks better. 6. You're missing alkaline. Kimberly Snyder, a Los Angeles nutritionist and author of The Beauty Detox Solution , says she sees a big improvement in her clients' skin and hair when they eat more alkaline-forming foods, such as parsley, almonds, kale, pears, lemons, and apples. "If your body is too acidic, which can happen when your diet is unbalanced, it leaches the alkaline minerals, such as calcium, potassium, and magnesium, that allow us to have strong, healthy bones, teeth, and hair," Snyder explains. 7. You don't take a break. When your exercise routine is so intense that you're tired all the time but can't sleep at night, you're setting yourself up for overuse injuries not to mention dark circles and bags under your eyes from those sleepless nights. These symptoms could be a sign of overexhaustion, says Ryan Halvorson, a personal trainer and IDEA Health and Fitness Association expert. Other clues that you're working out too much include extreme muscle soreness that persists for several days, unintended weight loss, an increased resting heart rate, interruptions in your menstrual cycle, or decreased appetite. "Plan your rest as well as you plan exercise," says Polly de Mille, RN, a registered clinical exercise physiologist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. "If there is no balance between breakdown and recovery, then the muscle is in a state of chronic inflammation, and what may start as a simple case of soreness after a hard workout can turn into an actual overuse injury." 8. You drastically cut fat. When your diet isn't balanced, your skin, hair, and nails will suffer. Cutting calories can deprive your body of certain nutrients that promote healthy cell division, cell regeneration, and overall skin tone and texture, explains David E. Bank, MD, FAAD, director of the Center for Dermatology, Cosmetic and Laser Surgery in Mount Kisco, NY. "The skin also requires essential fatty acids which the body can't produce on its own to maintain hydration. A diet that's too low in fat could cause dry skin, hair loss, and brittle nails." Other key youth-boosting nutrients include vitamins A, C, and E. Being deficient in A can cause acne, dry hair, dry skin, and broken fingernails. Get your daily vitamin A fix by eating five baby carrots each day. A lack of vitamin C can affect collagen synthesis (the "glue" that binds our ligaments, bones, blood vessels, and skin), impair wound healing, and make you more likely to bruise; incorporate vitamin C rich foods in the form of citrus fruits, brussels sprouts, peppers, and leafy greens. Low levels of vitamin E can result in easy bruising and cause chronic skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis to flare up. Get more vitamin E in your diet by eating almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, spinach, and fortified cereals. | 7 | 6,207 | health |
Microsoft continues to reconfigure itself as primarily a services company that isn't all that concerned with what platforms users prefer in terms of actually employing its applications and offerings. Today, the company revealed that it has hired former Adobe VP of Experience Design Michael Gough to lead design of Office 365 and other key software applications, signalling that an even more Adobe-like philosophy when it comes to software and services is indeed imminent. Redmond has shown under new CEO Satya Nadella that it doesn't hold its own operating systems, on any kind of hardware, nearly as precious as it once did. The recent introduction of Outlook for iOS and Android is a good example, as are the native Office apps for those platforms. Office 365 clearly aims to provide Microsoft services wherever users happen to be working, and Microsoft poaching a key architect of Adobe's Creative Cloud experience design seems like a good way to push forward with that agenda. Gough was a strong proponent of iOS-based experiences at Adobe, and helped create the Ink and Slide digital stylus and ruler for iPad-based drawing. He was also a proponent of holistic, platform-specific design that considers the software not in a vacuum, but specific to its surroundings. In a 2013 interview with Engadget , Gough offered the following: You'd think by now that other tech companies would get beyond thinking about the product or its capabilities alone to consider the experience holistically, like say an automobile company does, but not so far. Not only is Gough partially responsible for Adobe's ability to address the needs of users on multiple platforms, but he also champions the specific case of creatives a market that Microsoft seems to be courting with renewed vigour with devices like the Surface line. The company recently teamed up with Adobe to help the Photoshop-maker developer special interfaces designed for Windows running on tablets with high-density displays, so it'll be very interesting to see what Gough joining MS does for both its cross-platform and creative software strategies. | 5 | 6,208 | news |
For months, Johnny Manziel has said all the right things about what he was going to do to turn himself into the Cleveland Browns' starting quarterback. But the statements about hard work and studying meant little when his offseason started with parties in Miami and Aspen, Colo. Now, finally, Manziel has taken meaningful action by entering treatment for unspecified reasons. "Johnny knows there are areas he needs to improve on to help him be a better family member, friend and teammate, so he decided to take this step in his life during the offseason," Brad Beckworth, an adviser for Manziel, said in a statement. Manziel must commit to the treatment plan in ways he did not commit to his rookie year in the NFL. His career depends on it. Manziel's off-field antics in the months since the Browns drafted him with the 22nd pick last May have been well documented by the paparazzi, strangers with cell phone cameras, and his own social media accounts, most notably in pictures of him swigging champagne while floating on an inflatable swan at a Texas nightclub and in a video of him slurring words into a wad of cash held to his face like a phone. Living up to his Johnny Football persona and the celebrity lifestyle that came with it took priority ahead of his career. Manziel didn't apologize for his social agenda, even when it clearly affected his job performance from the moment he arrived to Browns minicamps in May through late December, when he missed the team's final regular-season walk-through. Though the Browns went through the motions of a quarterback competition last summer between Manziel and veteran Brian Hoyer, Manziel was never ready to win the job. And he wasn't ready to play by December when the Browns finally decided to make him their starter. Manziel gave the Browns no reason to believe that he'd be any more prepared to be their No. 1 quarterback next season. Maybe entering treatment will change that. Maybe it will make him realize that football his job has to be his priority. "I would tell you that the words don't mean anything. I'm not a big word guy. It's all about action. I think that's really where we're at in time, and I think that's for everybody," general manager Ray Farmer said recently. "I think that's what all of our players and our coaches and our staff, everybody with this organization want to see. That's what our fans want to see. It's about action." This is the time of year when NFL players are set free of their team responsibilities, forbidden from meeting with their coaches to do football-related things. So this is the perfect time for Manziel to make whatever changes to his personal life he needs to prove to the Browns they didn't waste a first-round pick on him. Manziel and other Browns players will be expected to return to the team in April for the start of voluntary offseason workouts. By then, what sort of person will Manziel be? What sort of quarterback? The answers won't come for months, maybe even longer. Starting treatment is just the first action. "Our players' health and well-being will always be of the utmost importance to the Cleveland Browns. We continually strive to create a supportive environment and provide the appropriate resources, with our foremost focus being on the individual and not just the football player," Farmer said in a statement Monday. "Johnny's privacy will be respected by us during this very important period and we hope that others will do the same." *** Follow Lindsay H. Jones on Twitter @bylindsayhjones | 1 | 6,209 | sports |
It all adds up You've probably thought, 'Yeah, I should probably save more.' But eking out an existence is tough on a starting salary and sometimes comfort takes precedence over cutting corners. Besides, if you can only save $50 or $100 a month, is it really worth it? The answer: absolutely. By starting to save now, you're giving your money -- however little it is -- time to grow on its own. The magic of compound interest means that you can contribute less money for fewer years if you start when you're young and still end up with more cash than someone who waits. For example, if Natasha starts saving or investing when she's 25 and saves $100 a month for ten years then lets the money sit, her stash will grow to $174,928 by the time she turns 65 (assuming an 8% annual return). If Anna waits to until age 35 to start saving, and socks away the same $100 a month for the next 30 years, she'll have only $135,940 by 65. Anna will have contributed three times as much as Natasha, but will end up with nearly $39,000 less. ( See why you should start saving now .) Think you don't have enough money to save? We've compiled a list of our best tips to find extra money in your budget to sock away. These strategies won't require you to take a vow of poverty -- we know money's tight already. Rather, they're small and simple cost-cutters that'll help you get started saving as soon as possible. 1. Give yourself a raise and bank it. Boost your take-home pay by adjusting your tax-withholding and have the difference in pay automatically transferred to an online savings account. Kiplinger's tax-withholding calculator can help you revise your W-4. 2. Enroll in a 401(k). If your employer offers a 50-cent match for every dollar you contribute, even adding $60 a month will net you over a grand a year. Plus, you defer paying taxes on your contributions, so they take a smaller bite out of your paycheck. See how even small amounts can add up . 3. Raise your car insurance deductible. Upping your out-of-pocket outlay from $250 to $1,000 can save you 15% or more off your premium. Learn more about how to save money on your car insurance . 4. Pay off your credit card. Carrying a $1,000 balance at 18% blows $180 every year on interest that you could put to better use elsewhere. 5. Go green. Control energy costs with a programmable thermostat. Prices start around $50, but you'll cut your heating-and-cooling bill by 10-20%. For more energy-saving tips, see 12 Ways to Save Money by Going Green . 6. Bundle up. You may be able to save by getting a package of phone, Internet and cable from one provider. 7. Use your employer's FSA. Flexible spending accounts let you pay healthcare costs with pre-tax dollars. If your company offers them, take advantage and save 33% or more. See Take Advantage of Tax-Deferred Accounts for help. 8. Get a credit card with rewards. Spending $80 a week on gas and groceries? Putting it on a card with 5% cash rebates will earn you nearly $200 a year. Learn how to get the right card for you . 9. Kick the cigarette habit. Smoking is hard on your health and the wallet. Someone who smokes a pack a day will spend $2,200.95 annually. Learn more about healthy habits that save you money . 10. Brown bag it. Instead of spending $8 on takeout every day at work, bring a bagged lunch for $5. You'll save $60 a month and $720 a year. Do your own calculation at FeedThePig.org . 11. Negotiate your rate. Instead of paying an APR of 18% on your credit card, call your issuer and ask for a lower rate. If you have good credit, your lender might consider it and if you can provide examples of offers you've gotten from other companies, it'll strengthen your case. For more help, see How to Pay Off Your Credit-Card Debt in a Year . 12. Travel on the cheap. Bypass the old trifecta of travel search engines (Travelocity, Expedia and Orbitz) and head straight for Kayak.com , which will search them all -- saving you money and time. See our list of the 25 Best Travel Sites for more cost-cutting resources. 13. Insure yourself. Even if your company has a health plan, you may be able to do better for yourself. Pairing a high-deductible medical policy with a health savings account -- which lets you put away pre-tax dollars for out-of-pocket medical expenses -- can save money on premiums. Shop around at www.ehealthinsurance.com . 14. Make media free. Dust off your library card and enjoy DVDs and books for free. If you'd normally rent a movie a week and buy a book a month, you can cut costs by $30. 15. Change your calling plan. The average wireless-phone user spends about $60 a month, including taxes and fees. If you talk for 200 or fewer minutes per month, switching to a prepaid plan where minutes cost 25 cents a minute could save you $10 a month. Compare plans at www.myrateplan.com . 16. Park your car. Why pay $25 a week in gas when you could pay half that to use public transit? Check out carpooling at www.erideshare.com , or see how much you could save by biking or walking to work . 17. Ditch your gym. Forget the $40/month gym membership that'll cost you almost $500 a year and check out community centers in your area. Some may be free or charge a minimal fee such as $100 a year. Or buy a good pair of running shoes and work out the old-fashioned way. 18. Reshop your auto insurance. Using a comparison site like InsWeb can help you determine if you've got the best deal. 19. Learn to cook. Cooking at home saves on your food budget and it could even improve your dating prospects -- who isn't impressed by someone who can prepare a great meal? 20. Keep track of your money. The best way to save is to know what you spend. It might not be pretty, but detail every expense for a month to get an idea of where you can cut back. Nearly everyone has some fat they can trim from their spending to put toward a savings goal. | 3 | 6,210 | finance |
PHOENIX (AP) -- Julian Edelman passed a concussion test after a big hit in the Super Bowl appeared to leave him groggy, allowing him to continue and catch the winning touchdown a few minutes later, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Monday. The Patriots top wide receiver was leveled by Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor after a 21-yard completion with just under 11 minutes left in New England's 28-24 win over Seattle on Sunday night. After that series, Edelman was checked on the New England sideline by medical staff and an independent neurologist and cleared to return, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter. Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Monday he doesn't handle medical issues. "I'm a coach and I had a deal with our trainers and doctors," he told reporters during a news conference the morning after winning the NFL title. "They're the medical experts and they don't call plays, and I'm the coach and I don't get involved in the medical part. When they clear players to play, then if we want to play them we play them. The plays we call, I don't have to get approval from them. It's a good setup." Under the NFL's concussion protocol, team doctors are ultimately responsible for diagnosing concussions and deciding whether to allow players to return to games, though independent neurologists help on sidelines and unaffiliated athletic trainers review replays to help recognize potential injuries. Before a player can return to a game, teams are required to complete a two-page sideline assessment, looking for obvious signs of a concussion and testing other things like orientation, concentration and recall. The protocol is then compared with baseline tests taken in the preseason. Edelman missed the last two regular-season games with a concussion and led the team with 92 receptions. He played in all three postseason games and led the Patriots with 109 yards on nine catches in the Super Bowl. After the game, Edelman said, "we're not allowed to talk about injuries." Brady, who won his third Super Bowl MVP award, said Edelman ran a great route on the play but Chancellor was able to get a "good shot on him." "Yeah, he took a big hit on what I thought, obviously, (was) one of the big plays of the game," Brady said. "He got up and kept running. Obviously, they ruled him down, but it was a huge hit." Edelman stayed in the game and four snaps later, caught a 21-yard pass to the 4. Two plays later, Brady threw one of his four touchdowns to Danny Amendola to cut Seattle's lead to 24-21. With Edelman on the sideline after that touchdown, the Seahawks went 3-and-out. Edelman made a fair catch on the punt and was back on the field for the start of the Patriots winning drive with just under seven minutes remaining. On the third play of the 10-play series he caught a 9-yard completion. And on the 10th play, from the 3-yard line, he spun around backup cornerback Tharold Simon on the left side and caught a 3-yard scoring pass for the 28-24 lead with 2:02 left. "Coach called a return route," Edelman said. "They hit hard so we had to take advantage of our ... strengths (which) are our quickness and we were able to do that." | 1 | 6,211 | sports |
Making your first Twitter account often isn't a great experience. Even after all these years, the service still comes across as nebulous to many, sending them out into the world with a new account, a sparsely populated timeline, and little idea of what to do next. Now, Twitter is trying something much better: it's testing out a revamped sign-up process that automatically fills a new user's timeline with tweets to make sure that they actually have something to read. Twitter announced plans to introduce this "Instant Timeline" last year, and now The New York Times reports that Twitter has started testing it out with a small number of people on Android. It apparently works pretty well if you have contacts on Twitter To use Instant Timeline, Twitter reportedly checks over a person's phone contacts to see who they know that's already signed up. It'll then look at the accounts that those people are following and pull out ones that it believes will be relevant to the new user. When the new user loads up Twitter, their timeline will be filled with tweets from these accounts. Twitter's recommendations will slowly leave the timeline as they begin to follow more people on their own. The Times got a chance to try out Instant Timeline and appears to have come away quite satisfied with the results. The tool managed to find journalists and news outlets that the author actually follows, and it also inserted some comedians and celebrities that he felt were relevant enough. Unfortunately, Instant Timeline also gave him Sports Twitter, but that's unavoidable even with manual curation. If Twitter's tests on Android are successful, Instant Timeline should eventually roll out to all new users. That's likely to be a big help. If Twitter can automatically pull together tweets that people want to see, there's a good chance that new users will come back after signing up and have a better understanding of how to use the site. Making the service more accessible should also lead to more users something that Twitter would very much like to see instead of the slowing growth it's had lately. | 5 | 6,212 | news |
CNN's Nick Valencia reports on the health of Bobbi Kristina Brown, the daughter of Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown. | 5 | 6,213 | news |
Farm to plate in one emotional afternoon. | 8 | 6,214 | video |
To discourage US companies from stockpiling billions of dollars in overseas shell corporations, the White House has come up with a plan that cuts taxes on US multinationals but because Washington is Washington and tax policy is crazy, many of the corporations that would see a lower tax rate will likely oppose it. Some $2 trillion is being reinvested overseas to avoid US taxes. Technically, American companies operating overseas have to pay the 35% tax rate on corporate income, minus credits for taxes they paid in the foreign jurisdiction. The US has one of the world's highest corporate tax rates, but a wealth of loopholes and breaks make it easy for companies, particularly multinationals, to keep money overseas and avoid those high rates, and pay far less than required: Some profitable companies have famously paid nothing at all (paywall), while others pay single-digit rates. Some of those breaks create opportunities for clever firms to shift their intellectual property and the profits that go with it offshore. (Apple was accused of doing this by Senate investigators.) Nobody thinks this is a good situation: The government loses out on revenue, and companies need to spend lots of money on lawyers, accountants and insane corporate structures to keep it that way. None of it is particularly efficient . Two powerful forces oppose efforts to end special tax exemptions for foreign income. One is the ideological commitment to low taxes of the Republican party. The other is the lobbying of corporations themselves. Nearly every year, lawmakers try to close these loopholes, but they typically slip through as " tax extenders. " Corporate leaders tend to talk up schemes for tax reform that would close those loopholes while lowering rates, but they and their lobbyists know that once the tax code gets opened up, it will be a knock-down, drag-out battle between sectors and companies to preserve lucrative tax treatment. For the companies that win under the current system, the outcomes of reform are far more uncertain than keeping the loopholes they know, and that's the choice they back in practice . Let's make a deal, says the lame-duck president: For one year, any earnings brought back to the US will be taxed at just 14%, with the money going toward a $478-billion program for infrastructure investments around the country (a spending priority some Republican leaders have supported , at least rhetorically). After that, repatriated foreign earnings will be taxed at a 19% rate, a 45% tax cut from the statutory rate. This won't force companies to move their money back, but it does tilt their incentives toward doing so. Republicans typically want a 0% rate on the income of US companies earned abroad, but some economists fear such a policy would lead to more profits being shifted overseas, while Democrats worry about making up for the lost tax revenue. However, conservatives have shown support for short-term breaks like the one Obama is proposing before: During George W. Bush's presidency, a "repatriation holiday" that lowered taxes on foreign profits to 5.25% returned some $360 billion to the US, but analysts struggled to find any evidence of the job-creating investment promised by the holiday's backers. Tax fairness groups say the holiday helped give companies an incentive to keep money overseas until the next temporary break, creating the conditions for today's massive offshore cash hoards. That depends on what you think of current tax reform proposals and their likelihood of becoming a reality. The kind of compromise Obama has offered here is disappointing to both coalitions who fervently care about corporate taxes: The companies who have to pay, and the people who want the companies to pay more. Obama and other Democrats have offered versions of this deal before, with little interest from Republicans. Now that conservatives have control of both chambers of Congress, they'll want to present their own tax reform proposals. Since agreement on a comprehensive overhaul is so unlikely, a pragmatic deal could be forged if corporations and their antagonists alike decide that cutting taxes to make firms pay more is better in the short term than waiting until the 2016 elections. But in Washington, it never hurts to bet on inertia. | 3 | 6,215 | finance |
The newest thirst quencher is water from birch trees. | 7 | 6,216 | health |
A plan by regulators for the world's biggest banks to hold more capital to withstand financial shocks is overly demanding, major U.S. bank groups said on Monday, urging further study into how to avoid future taxpayer bailouts. The proposal by the Financial Stability Board, a global group of regulators, would force big banks to have between 16 and 20 percent of their liabilities in equity and long-term bonds that can be written down in times of financial stress. The banks supported the idea of boosting their capital buffers - so-called Total Loss Absorbing Capacity, or TLAC - to more than what is required by the internationally agreed Basel III rules, they said in a letter to the FSB. "But our empirical analysis shows that a TLAC requirement calibrated even on the low end of the FSB's proposed range is more than is needed," said Paul Saltzman, who heads the Clearing House Association, one of the groups. The letter was also signed by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, the American Bankers Association and the Financial Services Roundtable. The banks did not give a number for what they thought the TLAC level should be. The FSB launched the plan last year, marking a watershed in a quest to end taxpayer bailouts of banks, after governments spent billions of dollars on propping up Wall Street and European banks during the credit crisis. The TLAC proposal will apply to the 30 largest banks across the world such as JP Morgan Chase (JPM.N), Goldman Sachs (GS.N), HSBC (HSBA.L), Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX), Santander (SAN.MC), and Mitsubishi UFJ FG (8306.T). Such banks have often been seen as "too-big-to-fail," because their demise would wreak havoc in the financial system, and markets expected governments to always come to their rescue with taxpayer money if they landed in trouble. The Federal Reserve is working on the U.S. implementation of the TLAC proposal. It has often come out with rules that are tougher than the global standards in the past few years. (Reporting by Douwe Miedema; Editing by Eric Beech) | 3 | 6,217 | finance |
Ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn goes on trial accused of "pimping" as part of a prostitution ring, four years after a sex scandal cost him his job and a shot at the French presidency. The judge says it is no ordinary trial. Duration: 01:10 | 8 | 6,218 | video |
Sony Online Entertainment has been acquired from Sony by investment management firm Columbus Nova, according to an announcement by a member of the company on Reddit. The publisher, responsible for massive multiplayer online role-playing game Everquest , has been renamed Daybreak Game Company, shedding its Sony branding altogether. "This name," says Reddit user SOE_Legion, "embodies who we are as an organization, and is a nod to the passion and dedication of our employees and players. It is also representative of our vision to approach each new day as an opportunity to move gaming forward. Sony Online Entertainment has changed its name and is ready to make Xbox One games Sony Online Entertainment has had a rough few years, with a handful of MMOs tied to expensive intellectual properties that failed to meet the grand financial expectation of the genre, including Star Wars Galaxies, DC Universe Online , and The Matrix Online . Last year, the company laid off employees in both the San Diego and Austin offices. In a company-wide email that followed the layoffs, then SOE president, now Daybreak president John Smedley said : "I know most of the people we're laying off today. Some of them have been with us here since the beginning. None of them deserved this. Our goal as a company needs to be to make incredible games and grow again so we can bring our friends back." According to TechCrunch , Columbus Nova will continue to support the publisher's online catalog, including H1Z1 , the zombie survival MMO, which recently launched via Earl Access on Steam. And the company still plans to release EverQuest Next , the follow-up to the publisher's most famous game, in the "near feature." In the Reddit post, the team points at console and mobile platforms playing an important role in Daybreak's future. "In fact," says SOE_Legion, "we expect to have even more resources available to us as a result of this acquisition. It also means new exciting developments for our existing IP and games as we can now fully embrace the multi-platform world we are living in." Or as Smedley tweeted this morning: can't wait to make Xbox One games! John Smedley (@j_smedley) February 2, 2015 | 5 | 6,219 | news |
Kentucky is a unanimous No. 1 again in The Associated Press' Top 25 poll. The Wildcats are the only undefeated team in Division I following Virginia's loss to No. 4 Duke last week. Kentucky, which rolled over Missouri and Alabama last week, received all 65 votes from a media panel and has held the top spot all season. The Wildcats are a unanimous No. 1 for the first time since Jan. 4. Gonzaga moved up to No. 2 after two easy victories. Virginia dropped to No. 3 and is one spot ahead of Duke despite losing to the Blue Devils. Wisconsin is No. 5, with Arizona, Villanova, Notre Dame, Kansas and Louisville rounding out the top 10. No. 20 Ohio State and No. 23 SMU are back in the poll after dropping out. Miami and Indiana fell out. | 1 | 6,220 | sports |
The "modern" recruiting era is tied directly to the online recruiting websites. Rivals and Scout began the explosion around 2001 and ESPN and 247Sports have powerfully entered the market since. The rankings databases only go back 10 or 11 years, so it is difficult to evaluate historic recruiting classes. But since the turn of the millennium, fans and analysts alike have a tremendous amount of data to evaluate recruiting rankings, talent development and scouting evaluations. Here are the top 10 recruiting classes of the modern era:, along with the original ranking of the class that year: Note: All team ranks by 247Sports Composite 1. Alabama, 2008 Original rank: 3rd (33 signees) Key Players: Mark Barron, Julio Jones, Terrence Cody, Marcell Dareus, Dont'a Hightower, Mark Ingram, Barrett Jones, Courtney Upshaw, Damion Square, Michael Williams, Robert Lester, Brad Smelley Nick Saban began his domination of the recruiting trail back in 2008 when he signed a top three class in his first full cycle. This monstrous haul was a huge part of the 2009 national championship run and obviously featured upperclass stars in the '11 and '12 title runs. This group includes five first-round picks and countless other draft selections. It's hard to argue with a group that won three BCS titles as the best collection of talent ever signed in the modern era. 2. USC, 2003 Original rank: 2nd (26 signees) Key Players: Reggie Bush, Sam Baker, Sedrick Ellis, Lawrence Jackson, Ryan Kalil, Terrell Thomas, Steve Smith, LenDale White, Fili Moala, John David Booty, Eric Wright, Brandon Ting, Ryan Ting, Drean Rucker, Chauncey Washington Much like the '08 Alabama group, this team experienced three national championship runs. Only two ended in victory lost to Texas in 2005, but more on that in a second but this class was the foundation of USC's Pac-10 dynasty. Reggie Bush won the Heisman Trophy and is one of four first-round picks from this class. This class began USC's dominance in what is now the Pac-12. 3. Florida, 2006 Original rank: 2nd (24 signees) Key Players: Tim Tebow, Percy Harvin, Brandon Spikes, Maurice Hurt, Riley Cooper, Jermaine Cunningham, Brandon James, Marcus Gilbert, Lawrence Marsh, Terron Sanders, Dustin Doe, AJ Jones, Carl Johnson At one point or another, 16 of the 24 recruits in this class went on to start a game for the Gators. But this class was led at the top by elite superstars Tim Tebow, Percy Harvin and Brandon Spikes. Jermaine Cunningham and Spikes were second-rounders while Maurice Hurt and Riley Cooper went later in the draft. Tebow alone makes this class a gem for Florida and it led directly to two BCS national championships. 4. Alabama, 2009 Original rank: 2nd (28 signees) Key Players: AJ McCarron, Trent Richardson, Dre Kirkpatrick, James Carpenter, Chance Warmack, D.J. Fluker, Eddie Lacy, Quinton Dial, Nico Johnson, Ed Stinson, Anthony Steen, Kenny Bell, Kevin Norwood, Tana Patrick This group was a big part of three national championships at the Capstone and played a much bigger role in the 2011-12 titles than the '08 haul. This class produced six first-round picks among those who were taken in the NFL Draft. An interesting thing to note about this class is the offensive line. It was the best OL in the nation in 2012 and three-fifths of the starters signed in this class. 5. Texas, 2002 Original rank: 1st (26 signees) Key Players: Vince Young, Kasey Studdard, Rod Wright, Brian Robison, Aaron Ross, Chase Pittman, Justin Blalock, Aaron Harris, David Thomas, Selvin Young This group was the core of the 2005 national championship run led by superstar quarterback and five-star recruit Vince Young. He was the gem of the nation's No. 1 class that eventually featured numerous NFL Draft picks. Ross, Studdard, Wright, Robison, Pittman, Thomas and Blalock were all huge pieces to Mack Brown's championship puzzle and several of them made a mark in the NFL too. 6. Oklahoma, 2006 Original rank: 8th (28 signees) Key Players: Sam Bradford, Gerald McCoy, Jermaine Gresham, Trent Williams, Demarco Murray, Jeremy Beal, Quinton Carter, Chris Brown, Dominique Franks, Mossis Madu, Tim Johnson, Brandon Caleb, Malcolm Williams, Chase Beeler All four Sooners who went in first round of the 2010 NFL Draft signed with Bob Stoops in this class and all four NFL draft picks from Oklahoma in the '11 draft came from this class too. Sam Bradford set all types of records, won the Heisman Trophy and led this team to the 2008 BCS National Championship Game. Even a guy who ended up transferring (Beeler) went on to star at his second school (Stanford). 7. Ohio State, 2002 Original rank: 4th (24 signees) Key Players: A.J. Hawk, Santonio Holmes, Nick Mangold, Troy Smith, Maurice Clarett, Bobby Carpenter, Mike D'Andrea, Doug Datish, Quinn Pitcock, Nate Salley, Roy Hall This class was a big part of the 2002 national championship run as freshmen, with Maurice Clarett playing the biggest role. This group features elite offensive firepower and Troy Smith, a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback who led his team to the national title game in 2006. This group provided four first-round picks in the 2006 NFL Draft and included six other picks from the 2005-07 drafts as well. This group won three Big Ten titles in five years. 8. Florida State, 2011 Original rank: 2nd (29 signees) Key Players: Kelvin Benjamin, Nick O'Leary, Timmy Jernigan, Terrance Smith, Tank Carradine, Rashad Greene, Karlos Williams, Bobby Hart, Devonta Freeman, Josue Matias, Tre Jackson, Nile Lawrence-Stample, Nick Waisome This group already has proven itself, as one of the deepest hauls in history led directly to a BCS national championship. This group, ranked No. 1 in the nation by Athlon Sports in 2011, featured over a dozen starters on the '13 title team and has already delivered three ACC titles as well. This class produced three draft picks last year, including first-rounder Kelvin Benjamin, with more to come this May. 9. Alabama, 2010 Original rank: 5th (25 signees) Key Players: C.J. Mosley, Dee Milliner, Blake Sims, Brandon Ivory, Jalston Fowler, Arie Kouandjio, Chad Lindsay, Austin Shepherd, DeAndrew White, Adrian Hubbard, Brian Vogler, Nick Perry, Jarrick Williams, Deion Belue This unit featured six offensive starters on the '14 SEC championship and playoff squad while both Mosley and Milliner were stars for the '12 BCS title team and first-round picks. This group has star power at the top and tremendous depth that produced two BCS titles and nearly made a third trip to the title game. 10. LSU, 2009 Original rank: 1st (25 signees) Key Players: Michael Brockers, Morris Claiborne, Kevin Minter, Rueben Randle, Chris Faulk, Sam Montgomery, Barkevious Mingo, Chris Davenport, Bennie Logan, Michael Ford, Craig Loston, Josh Downs, Stavion Lowe, Lamin Barrow, Russell Shepard This group was the foundation of the 13-0 regular season run to the title game in 2011. And had it finished the job against Alabama, it might be considered the better group. The potential of this class is astounding. It features three first-round picks in Morris Claiborne, Michael Brockers and Barkevious Mingo and three others were selected in '14 NFL Draft as well. The star power is obvious but the supporting cast is impressive in its own right. | 1 | 6,221 | sports |
By Rachel Wold Last year, cornerback Brandon Browner was a member of the Seattle Seahawks but was serving a suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. This means that he did not participate in the Super Bowl. Despite not playing in the game, he traveled with his team to the White House so the Seahawks could receive recognition from President Obama. Since then, Browner has felt slighted that the President didn't mention his name when speaking about the Legion of Boom. Now with the New England Patriots, Browner had these comments to share regarding the White House visit. "I was at the White House and what-not, and President Obama got to speaking about the L.O.B. [Legion of Boom]," he said, via ESPN. "And he left my name out. "That was tough for me. [Seahawks head coach] Pete Carroll is such a great guy, and once he had seen that he looked back at me. We have a photo. As soon as [Obama] said that, we made eye contact and that was pretty much what I needed to settle me, to be like 'as long as my coach understands how much those guys meant to me then I'm good.'" If a tweet Browner sent Sunday night is any indication, he doesn't expect that he'll be excluded from the president's recognition speech this year. "See you in a few," Browner tweeted at Obama. Calling out the president on Twitter is pretty bold. However, I'm sure this got Obama's attention and we'll all be anxious to see what special acknowledgement Browner receives when he shows up for the ceremony. | 1 | 6,222 | sports |
PHOENIX (AP) -- Less than 16 hours later, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll was still stunned by the outcome while defending the decision to call a pass from the 1-yard line in the Super Bowl's closing seconds, a choice that will long be debated. So close to another celebration. So close to becoming the next NFL dynasty. "The shock of disappointment that this game gets away from us and goes another way right at the finish line," a somber Carroll said Monday, before Seattle returned to the Pacific Northwest after the 28-24 loss to New England. "It's something that we have to deal with that in the long run of it will make us stronger, and we'll be able to put it in some kind of perspective. It's pretty hard right now." Carroll stood by the decision for Russell Wilson to throw from the New England 1 with 26 seconds left, a pass that was intended for Ricardo Lockette and intercepted by Malcolm Butler. Carroll also defended offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, who was widely criticized for calling a pass with Marshawn Lynch in the Seattle backfield. "We're so lucky to have him. He's been absolutely instrumental in everything that we have done," Carroll said. "There is no reservation in that thought, and don't make it out like there is, because he is an awesome guy on our staff, and he is crucially important to our future as well." Carroll said the clock and the Seahawks' timeout situation dictated they would have to throw once and possibly twice from the 1. He gave credit to Butler for making the interception and fellow cornerback Brandon Browner for jamming up wide receiver Jermaine Kearse on the play, creating open space for Butler to break on the ball. Seattle decided to throw after seeing New England bring in its goal-line defenders, Carroll said. The Seahawks were also attempting to melt as much time from the clock with Tom Brady standing on the other sideline. "We easily could have gone otherwise, but when they sent their goal-line guys in, I know that we have the advantage on the matchups in the passing game so let's throw it. It's OK," Carroll said. "One of those downs we were likely to throw the ball -- maybe two of those downs we would have thrown the ball depending on how we had to save the clock. We had to get all of our plays." | 1 | 6,223 | sports |
With the clock ticking toward the NHL trade deadline one month from today, Red Wings General Manager Ken Holland stands ready to make a deal -- like he always is this time of year. "My history as a manager has been that I'll pull the trigger and pay the price if there's a player out there that our scouts, (coach) Mike Babcock -- and we think will be a real good fit for us at a price we feel good about," Holland said in a recent conversation. But as talks warm up -- and it was still very quiet even a week after the league congregated in Columbus for its annual All-Star debacle -- Holland finds himself in an enviable position with a relatively healthy team that has no critical needs sitting near the top of the NHL standings. He also sees more depth at every position than he's seen in years. And he's got plenty of space under the salary cap to make just about any kind of deal he sees fit. In other words, despite the misguided headlines about the need for a right-shot defenseman the Wings aren't desperate like they were last year at the trade deadline, when Holland gave up promising center Calle Jarnkrok, with Patrick Eaves and a second-round pick for David Legwand. A Grosse Pointe native who played junior hockey with the Plymouth Whalers, Legwand turned out to be a rental when he signed a free-agent deal with Ottawa last July. Jarnkrok is having a nice rookie season with five goals among 13 points and a plus-7 rating in 45 games, and appears to have a bright future. A good deal? Holland thinks so. "We don't make the playoffs without Legwand," he said, noting that Legwand served the Wings well as a second-line center. "We traded a real good prospect, but we played our way in (to the postseason)." The Wings start the week tied for second in the Eastern Conference with Montreal, just a point behind Tampa Bay. They're 15 points ahead of ninth-place Florida, meaning that it would take some kind of catastrophe for them not to make the playoffs. So Holland is sitting in the catbird's seat, considering how he might upgrade an already good roster. Expect a lot of weird rumors. Since Babcock said at the end of last season that he'd like to add a right-shot defenseman, anybody with a pulse who fit that description has been linked to Detroit -- from Washington's Mike Green and his $6 million cap hit on a contract that expires at the end of the season, to Jeff Petry, the son of former Tigers pitcher Dan Petry who has been a healthy scratch recently in Edmonton. Both are unrestricted free agents at the end of the season, and Holland has been adamant about not dipping into his depth for a player who turns out to be a rental. He's looking long-term with this team, and if he can deal for a right-shot defender with some years left on his odometer who might upgrade an already lethal power play, he won't hesitate. The Legwand deal was necessary because the Wings were decimated by a record-number of injuries last year, many of them to key players. This season, they're hard-pressed to find opportunities to get a look at several minor-league prospects they think have NHL credentials. On Saturday, defenseman Alexey Marchenko acquitted himself nicely in his season debut in Detroit, taking the place of Xavier Ouellet, whom the Wings loved when he was pressed into duty. In January they gave Teemu Pulkkinen a six-game audition, allowing him to showcase a shot that will get him a lot of goals in the NHL, before returning him to Grand Rapids to work on other parts of his game. In the coming weeks they'd like to take a look at some others, among them forwards Mitch Callahan, Landon Ferraro and Tomas Nosek, as well as defensemen Ryan Sproul and Nick Jensen. But don't expect the Wings to rev up the Grand Rapids shuttle just to kick the tires on their prospects. Points in the standings remain precious as they strive to secure home-ice in the playoffs. In the absence of injuries, there may be few opportunities in Detroit for those prospects. "The question is, whose spot are they going to take?" Holland asks. And he's right. It's the same question Babcock asks whenever someone inquires about Daniel Cleary, the seldom-used veteran forward the coach rather insisted that Holland sign this year. Cleary has turned out to be little more than a pricey insurance policy against injuries that haven't occurred this year -- and he's being passed by a lot of youngsters. "We like our depth. We like our kids," Holland said, adding that he's approaching the trade deadline this year like he always does. "I'll work the phones. I haven't talked to a lot of teams, but I have talked to a few." Will he do anything? That remains to be seen, but the important thing is the Wings shouldn't be force to do anything. Standing pat with a young team playing as well as it has for 50 games this season wouldn't be the worst thing. And both Holland and Babcock know that. | 1 | 6,224 | sports |
Two senior Republican lawmakers urged President Barack Obama on Monday to work with them on legislation "to establish permanent protections for an open Internet." Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton said in a letter to Obama that they "believe there is an opportunity to work together to provide legislative certainty to the net neutrality goals you articulated on November 10, 2014." Last November, Obama said Internet service providers should be regulated more like public utilities to make sure they grant equal access to all content providers, touching off intense protests from cable and telecoms companies and Republican lawmakers. (Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Will Dunham) | 5 | 6,225 | news |
Tottenham striker Harry Kane has penned a new five-and-a-half-year deal at White Hart Lane | 1 | 6,226 | sports |
Nationwide Insurance upset a lot of people with one of it's Super Bowl ads, which was meant to help people make their homes safer. Mara Montalbano (@maramontalbano) shows us. | 8 | 6,227 | video |
A new study released Monday offers airlines, an often-hated industry, a simple secret to further their success and pad their bottom lines: Be nice. "Call it a back-to-basics mantra, but sometimes in a technology-riddled world, we all can benefit from a few therapeutic reminders to reset our moral compasses," says the IdeaWorksCompanyreport, "Boost Ancillary Revenue Through Empathy, Competence and Kindness." Ancillary revenue is what the airlines call all the add-on fees that aren't in the airfare, such as fees for checked bags, extra legroom and onboard meals. The fees often irritate customers but help make airlines profitable. Airlines typically don't rate well on customer satisfaction surveys. For example, theAmerican Customer Satisfaction Index last year ranked airlines very low, with cable TV providers and the IRS. The report released Monday advocates use of empathy, not just sympathy, for passengers and for fellow airline employees, which "injects the human element into the planning and decision-making process." "In practice, empathy helps prevent ancillary revenue managers from adding a la carte services on board aircraft and at airports before knowing how operations, staffing and culture are affected," the report said. The report noted that front-line employees, such as airport agents and flight attendants, must "tolerate the results of management's mistakes, experiments and dreams." As an example of an inherent problem, airline employees are discouraged from buying tickets at the airline website, like customers do, and often are prevented from enrolling in the frequent-flier program."It's a troubling reality for employees who never get to experience flying from the customer perspective," the report said. The same goes for decision-makers. "The travel experience is stunningly disconnected from reality for airline executives," it said. The report cites confusing rules, such as carry-on bag limits, and the use of abbreviations and poorly organized websitesas examples of ways airlines aren't nice to customers. "If airlines truly consider themselves to be in the business of hospitality, kindness should be part of the mandatory equipment list required before takeoff," the report said. Kindness enhances loyalty and lack of it turns bad fast, especiallyin the era of social media when customers can spread stories of their unhappiness quickly, it said. The report quotes Michael O'Leary, CEO of Irish airlineRyanair,who noted in a 2014 interview with the Daily Mail, "If I had known being nicer to our customers was going to work so well, I would have done it years ago." [email protected] Twitter @spendingsmart | 2 | 6,228 | travel |
The cost of managing diabetes has more than doubled in the past 20 years, a new analysis says. The average diabetes patient now spends $2,790 more per year than they did in 1987 - and more than half the additional spending is for medications. "People need to be mindful about the substantial increase in the cost of diabetes, which has been partially fueled by the rising prices of newer drugs," said Xiaohui Zhou, a health economist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) who led the study. Zhou and colleagues compared National Medical Expenditure Survey data from 1987, 2000-2001 and 2010-2011. The 1987 survey, involving 22,538 people, showed that diabetics spent $2,588 per person more on healthcare than people without diabetes. In 2000 and 2010, with more people responding (roughly 39,000 each time), the extra spending by diabetics rose to $4,205 and $5,378, respectively. When the researchers accounted for factors like age, race, obesity and type of care, 55 percent of spending by diabetic patients was on prescription medication, 24 percent was for inpatient visits, 15 percent was for outpatient visits and 6 percent went toward ER visits and other expenses. The researchers also asked whether costs were higher because people used health services more, or because the price of the service had risen. The answer: both. Patients now use more medication, and the costs of the drugs have also risen. The increased cost of outpatient visits was mainly due to more visits, and inpatient and ER expenses grew as a result of rising prices, they write in the journal Diabetes Care. The U.S. is not alone in facing this issue. "A growing trend of increased spending on anti-diabetic prescription medications has also been observed in other developed countries," Zhou said in an email. Tim Dall, a managing director with IHS Life Sciences who studies the economic side of diabetes care but was not involved in this research, said the American Diabetes Association has previously found that "a large portion of diabetes-related costs are associated with the complications of diabetes rather than with treating diabetes itself." Zhou noted that new drugs and devices are constantly emerging and "patients now receive a more complicated treatment regimen than the past." Some newer drugs are eight to 10 times the cost of older drugs such as sulfonylureas, Zhou said. Dall feels that while costs may be great, the benefits of new developments are also substantial. "The average medical cost to treat people with diabetes has been increasing over time, but patients are getting better care and living longer," he told Reuters Health by email. However, he said, if a certain regimen is working well for a patient, there may not be a need to upgrade. Zhou and Dall say more effort needs to be put toward diabetes prevention and not merely management of the disease. "This growing trend of diabetes cost is simply unsustainable. Besides the efforts to bend the treatment cost, the efforts to reduce the number of future diabetes patients are imperative," Zhou said. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1K8OaIc Diabetes Care, online January 15, 2015. | 5 | 6,229 | news |
There's only one great strategy for making the Chase for the Sprint Cup and setting up for a championship run: win as early as possible in the regular season. After one year to see how the new format worked, drivers say the most obvious approach is the best one win, and win now. Though it seems like a no-brainer, the benefits of winning early could be greater than first anticipated when the new Chase was unveiled a year ago. The format admits 16 drivers (win and in, other spots filled on points) for a 10-race title run broken into four elimination segments with four points resets. "Everyone will tell you a key to this is getting in early and securing your spot," Denny Hamlin said. Of the four drivers in the winner-take-all championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, three won in the first 10 races of the season (the fourth, Ryan Newman, never won). And of the final eight drivers in the Chase, six won in the first 11 races of the year (Matt Kenseth did not win all year). Though it might have been a sign of year-long strength, winning early seemed to provide big advantages. "We're always trying to win races, but the urgency to win earlier in the season seems to have been heightened," Jeff Gordon told USA TODAY Sports. "It allows you to really start focusing your attention on stepping outside your comfort zone and that box that we're all in, to try to figure out what we can do to win the championship, to focus on those 10 tracks in the Chase, to focus on Homestead and just do everything that you can to get ready." In addition, Kevin Harvick told USA TODAY Sports there were other pluses, such as easing the team's mental approach to the weekends, saving the best new cars for the Chase instead of using them in the mid- to late summer and being more aggressive on race calls in hopes of scoring more wins (which come with bonus points that carry into the Chase). "And that's really the thing you want to do you want to win as much as you can to try and get yourself the maximum amount of bonus points to get through the first round," Harvick said. Hamlin said it was not like teams that had won early could take the summer off but it allowed them to go to work on experimental setups for the Chase. Of course, that doesn't work for everyone. Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Daytona 500 and swept at Pocono Raceway but then suffered from a lack of speed in the Chase. Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch were among the other drivers who won races before May but didn't advance far into the playoff. Still, Harvick said it was priceless to give a team the opportunity to develop a Chase strategy while others were still scrambling to secure their spots. Said Gordon: "We were in that position this past year. We won early, and it allowed us to focus our attention on prepping cars and getting cars ready, and I felt like that was what kept us competitive in the Chase." That doesn't mean early victories are the only way to guarantee Chase success. Just look at Newman, who made it to the championship race and had a shot to win his first title before ultimately finishing second. Because there were 13 different winners last year, there were three available spots for drivers to race their way into the field based on points (Newman, Kenseth and Greg Biffle got those). And there have never been 16 different winners before the Chase since it began in 2004, so it stands to reason points racing might be a viable strategy. Still, trying for consistency with top-10 and top-15 finishes seems much less reliable than just winning one race even if it's on fuel mileage or at a restrictor-plate track. Points racing isn't necessary to make the Chase now; all it takes is one win. "Everything lined up for Newman last year, but they still had that stress of worrying about, 'Are we actually going to get in?' " Harvick said. "You don't want to deal with that if you don't have to." Follow Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck | 1 | 6,230 | sports |
Talk about a royal getaway. Just two months away from welcoming another royal into their brood, Duchess Kate and Prince William headed off for one last pre-baby hurrah. With 18-month-old Prince George in tow, the couple jetted off to Mustique, a small private island in the West Indies, for a two-week getaway on Jan. 22. And the digs during the babymoon were simply fit for a prince (or future King.) The family stayed in a 5-bedroom hilltop estate that goes for $26,000 a week. "This will be their last big trip before the baby is born in April," a source told Us Weekly. But, it wasn't all about Will, Kate and her growing baby bump during the getaway -- the couple celebrated Kate's mother's 60th birthday while on the luxurious island, and tended to Prince George, who spent his time playing in the estate's private children's pool. "He loves splashing about," the source told the magazine. "It's the perfect place for him to play!" | 6 | 6,231 | entertainment |
WASHINGTON - The Los Angeles Kings and LA Galaxy are making visits to the White House a habit. For the second time in three seasons, President Obama honored the NHL champion Kings and MLS champion Galaxy in the East Room. "Today feels a little like Groundhog Day," Obama joked. "If you're feeling a little déjà vu, you're not alone. Two years ago, we had the Galaxy and the Kings here together, so if you see Bill Murray playing the piano in the foyer, you know something weird's going on." The Kings defeated the New York Rangers in five games in the Stanley Cup Final to claim their second Cup victory since 2012. The Galaxy won their third title in four seasons by defeating the New England Revolution. PHOTOS: Kings' Stanley Cup celebrations Conspicuously missing from the gathering was recently waived Kings forward Mike Richards. Richards was an integral part of the team's 2012 Cup win and played in every game for their 2014 victory. Now with the American Hockey League's Manchester Monarchs, the team said Richards politely declined the invitation to attend Monday's ceremony. Defenseman Jeff Schultz, who played seven games in the 2014 Cup run but has spent most of this season with the Monarchs, did attend. Retired Galaxy star Landon Donovan didn't make the ceremony. The Galaxy gave the president a jersey and the Kings gave him a hockey stick. "This is better than a veto pen," Obama joked to Kings coach Darryl Sutter. At least one Kings player cleaned up a little for the visit. Center Anze Kopitar shaved his beard out of respect for the occasion. "I didn't want to be seen as a grizzly bear," he told the Los Angeles Times on Sunday. After their White House visit, the Kings will head a few streets over to the Verizon Center to face the Washington Capitals on Tuesday. | 1 | 6,232 | sports |
What you really need to know about those frustrating dimples, and how to get rid of 'em. Truth, lies, and cottage cheese thighs Got cellulite ? You're not alone: The cosmetic condition affects nearly 90% of women at some point during their lives, even women who are otherwise slender and fit. As common as cellulite is, there's also an awful lot of misinformation out there about what it is, what causes it, and how to get rid of it. So before placing blame, scheduling a cosmetic procedure, or spending a fortune on over-the-counter products, read up on the real story behind cellulite. Cellulite is caused by toxins in your body Myth Some over-the-counter cellulite products may claim to help remove impurities and toxins from the body. But neither their efficacy nor their claims about what causes cellulite are supported by science. Rather, cellulite occurs when underlying fat deposits begin to push through layers of collagen fibers, or connective tissue, under the skin (often in the buttocks and thigh areas, but also on arms, stomachs, and other common trouble spots, as well). Connective tissue can be weakened by hormones, lack of exercise and muscle tone, excess fat, and poor circulation, says New York City-based dermatologist Cheryl Karcher, MD. But the condition is not caused by "toxins." Women get more cellulite than men Fact Women tend to carry more fat around their hips and thighs. We also have less supportive connective tissue to keep it all in place. "If you think of a scaffolding outside a building that has those X crosses on them, that is sort of what men's fat chambers have," says David McDaniel, MD, director of the Institute for Anti-Aging and assistant professor of clinical dermatology at Eastern Virginia Medical School. It is estimated, however, that about 10% of men suffer from cellulite, as well. Cellulite gets worse with age Fact Hormones also seem to play a role in the appearance of cellulite: As women age , their bodies produce less estrogena hormone that helps keep blood vessels flowing smoothly. Less estrogen can mean poorer circulation, which can also mean a decrease in new collagen production and the breakdown of older connective tissue. Cellulite may be in your genes Fact It's true that cellulite runs in families; if your mother and grandmother had cellulite, you have a better chance of also developing it. In fact, there's even a genetic test on the market that can tell you whether you have a gene variant that puts you at higher risk for moderate to severe cellulitebut, considering that most women will develop cellulite in their lifetimes (and the fact that you'll know it when you see it), it's not exactly worth its hefty price tag. If you're not one of the lucky ones with smooth-skinned relatives, take heart: Genetics is only one small part of the cellulite puzzle; factors like diet, exercise, and maintaining a healthy weight also play a role. Cellulite only happens to out-of-shape people Myth Being overweight does make the appearance of cellulite more noticeable; the more fat you have underneath your skin, the more it's likely to put stress on your connective tissue and bulge out of its weak spots. But cellulite also happens to women of all shapes and sizes, says Shira Ein-Dor, owner of the American Cellulite Reduction Center in New York City. "I even treat Victoria's Secret models," she says. "They're very lean, they work out and eat well, they do everything right but they still have cellulite." Exercise can reduce the appearance of cellulite Fact A regular exercise practice cannot cure cellulitebut in many cases it can help prevent or reduce its appearance. Cellulite occurs when connective fibers underneath the skin become weak or lose their elasticity, but stretching and strengthening those areas (in addition to burning away excess fat overall) can help. "Firming and toning those muscles will in turn tighten the skin, giving the illusion that cellulite is less noticeable," says Dr. McDaniel. Yoga routines that target the butt and thighs can help, as well as strength-training moves that build muscle and boost circulation. Watch the video: 6 Fast Cellulite Fighters Cardio is best for reducing all-over jiggle Myth Running or other forms of cardio can help keep weight off, which may reduce the appearance of dimples and dents. But to really smooth out your skin, you've got to strength train. One study by researchers at the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Massachusetts, found that adults who did three 30-minute aerobic workouts each week for eight weeks lost four pounds, but gained no muscle and only slightly improved body composition. When they paired 15 minutes of aerobic activity with 15 minutes of strength training three times a week, however, they lost 10 pounds of fat, added two pounds of muscle, and saw a greater overall improvement in body composition. In other words, they looked better and lost some of the wiggle! Skin-firming creams can cure cellulite Myth Despite what you might read on their labels, no topical creams - prescription or over-the-counter - have been shown to permanently reduce the appearance of cellulite. Studies have found, however, that products containing retinoids (labeled as retinol over-the-counter) may provide some temporary effects by creating a thicker skin cover that can help camouflage bumps . There is limited evidence that creams or scrubs with stimulant ingredients, like caffeine , ginger , and green or black tea, may also help by improving circulation and breaking down fat-cell stores, but they are less proven. "Mostly I think if these topical creams work - and I think most probably do little or nothing - they are more likely to help with slimming and body contouring, which is not the same as cellulite," says Dr. McDaniel. Skin fillers can even out dimply skin Fact Injectable dermal fillers like Restylane and Radiesse, used primarily to plump up sagging cheekbones and remove facial wrinkles, have also shown to be beneficial - at least temporarily - for cellulite-plagued sections of skin. "It's like putting icing on a lumpy cake to make it look better," says Dr. Karcher. "Especially if someone is really skinny and they have a few really deep divots, a filler can plump that up and even it out really well. However, the procedure can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars per leg, she adds, and the results tend to only last a few months. Non-invasive procedures for cellulite really do work Fact Laser, radio-frequency, and massage techniques have been used for several years to reduce the appearance of cellulite and while their results are not permanent, they are effective in the short-term, says Dr. Karcher. "These are going to work better than some drug-store cream, and they can be worth it if you have the time and the money to spend on them." Some (like TriActiv and VelaSmooth laser treatments) require 10 to 15 sessions to significantly improve appearance, and require monthly maintenance appointments. Others (like the radio-frequency treatment Thermage CL) are more expensive but results seem to last six months to a year. Liposuction will make your legs (or arms, or tummy) look better Myth If cellulite is your problem, liposuction should not be your solution, says Dr. McDaniel. In fact, the cosmetic procedure could even make fat distribution more uneven, making its outward appearance even worse. Another vacuum-like (but non-surgical) procedure, however, known as Endermologie, has been shown to help: During Endermologie, a technician runs a suctioning device surrounded by rollers over a patient's skin, pulling and squeezing trouble spots for about 30 minutes. Results are visible after about 10 visits (two per week), which can cost between $80 and $150 each. Certain foods can help fight cellulite Fact Your diet alone can't determine whether you will or will not get cellulite, but eating a well-balanced, plant-heavy diet can reduce inflammation throughout your body and help you maintain a healthy weight, says Dr. McDaniel. Staying hydrated - both by drinking water and by eating plenty of foods with high water content - will also keep your connective tissue strong and supple, and may even help you slim down . Aim to eat more cucumbers, radishes, tomatoes, and bell peppers, which (along with many other fruits and veggies) are all more than 90% water. Only a dermatologist should perform cellulite treatments Myth A skin doc is a good place to start, and many dermatologists do perform treatments in their clinics. But cellulite is not a medical condition, says Ein-Dor, and a medical professional is not required to treat it. "I am not a doctor, but because I focus only on cellulite, I can provide many more options in my center than most doctors can provide in their offices," she says. Medi-spas can also perform treatments such as Endermologie and non-invasive laser procedures - but Ein-Dor cautions that you make sure your technician is licensed and has received proper training on whatever device you choose. (If you want a surgical procedure like Cellulaze, however, you'll need to see a dermatologist or cosmetic surgeon.) The clothing you wear can make an impact Myth Yes, wearing compression-style leggings while you exercise can reduce thigh jiggle as you move - but it's only a temporary effect, says Dr. Karcher, and you're unlikely to see any change after you strip down post-workout. "For any clothing that claims to actually have lasting results, it's just a marketing gimmick and it's not true," she adds. In fact, for some tight clothes, the opposite may be true: Elastic bands on underwear, for example, can actually contribute to the appearance of cellulite if they cut off circulation and limit blood flow. Smoking can affect the appearance of cellulite Fact Cigarette smoke has been shown to reduce blood vessel flow and to weaken and disrupt the formation of collagen, allowing for the connective tissue to become stretched and damaged more easily and for underlying fat to show through. Plus, smoking can make you look bad (literally) in lots of other ways, as well: It causes premature wrinkles and aging , leave skin dry and discolored and can contribute to stretch marks , to name a few. There's no permanent cellulite solution Fact (for now) This one's not exactly true or false, but scientists do seem to be getting better and better at finding long-term solutions for treating trouble spots. The most recent and promising procedure is a surgery called Cellulaze, approved by the FDA in 2012, in which an optic laser melts fat, breaks up fibrous connective tissue and stimulates the growth of new collagen, all through a pinhole-sized incision in the skin. "It's great because it works on both those fibers that are pulling down your skin and on the fat globules that are popping through," says Dr. Karcher. Recovery is quick, too: "You might be a little bit sore afterward, but you can have it done on a Friday and be back to work by Monday." The treatment starts at about $3,500 per leg, but results seem to last at least a year or two. | 7 | 6,233 | health |
Apple (AAPL) will build a $2 billion global command center in Mesa, Arizona , the company announced Monday. The new facility is expected to employ 150 full-time Apple employees and will hire 300 to 500 construction and trade jobs, according to a news release from Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey. The tech giant said it would be one of the largest investments it has ever made. Apple has pledged to completely power the facility with renewable energy, building out solar projects in the process. "This multibillion-dollar project is one of the largest investments we've ever made, and when completed it will add over 600 engineering and construction jobs to the more than one million jobs Apple has already created in the U.S." Apple said in a statement on the project. The announcement comes four months after an earlier Apple plan for the 1.3 million-square-foot facility it bought in 2013 failed. Apple had a deal with Merrimack, New Hampshire-based GT Advanced Technologies (GTATQ) to use the plant to make sapphire glass for its products, but the company declared bankruptcy in October after production issues developed. GT openly accused Apple of using a "classic bait-and-switch strategy." For its part, the Arizona government was happy to announce the major investment. "This is a great day for Arizona, and we have moved rapidly to make this happen and take advantage of Apple's interest in our state," Ducey said in a release. "Apple is by far one of the most innovative and successful companies in the world. Its decision to bring this new facility to Mesa is a huge win for Arizona and a high testament to our business-friendly climate and talented workforce." "This expansion will bring a significant economic investment, and propel Arizona's position as one of the best states in the nation in which to do business," he added. Apple's renewable energy initiatives set a high bar for its competitors, according to a statement from Greenpeace following the Apple announcement. "Other major data center operators, especially market leader Amazon (AMZN) Web Services, should begin to match the speed and scale of Apple's progress by adopting renewable energy at a pace that matches their growth," Greenpeace Senior IT Sector Analyst Gary Cook said in the news release. CNBC's Josh Lipton and The Associated Press contributed to this report. | 3 | 6,234 | finance |
Think it's tough to buy a new car? Try buying a plane that has all the bells and whistles fit for a president, including some that might not have been invented yet. The aircraft is the easy part. In this case, it's a massive, four engine, two-floor Boeing 747-8 from a company that has been churning out aircraft from its Washington State assembly lines for nearly a century. But the must-have equipment needed on the plane that acts as a mobile White House is where things get more complicated. First, the plane must be able to refuel inflight so, if need be, it could remain airborne indefinitely. A nuclear war is likely the only time this would happen, but Air Force One must be prepared for everything. But that's not the hard part. The must-haves include the latest, cutting edge military communications equipment that allow the president to work as if he's sitting in the Oval Office in Washington. The president must be able to conduct secure video conferences and phone calls, access classified government computer networks and order a nuclear strike. It also needs an operating room, walk-in refrigerator and defensive systems that could allow the jetliner to evade a missile attack. President Barack Obama on Monday will set aside money in his 2016 budget proposal for a new Air Force One, a jet he, and possibly his successor, will never have the chance to fly. President Reagan bought the two VC-25 aircraft that currently serve as Air Force One. While they look bright and shiny 747s on the outsides, their insides have aged. Not so much the leather seats in the cabin, but the guts of planes. The VC-25 is a highly modified 747-200, a design that have been significantly modified and improved three times over the past 40 years. To put it in perspective, the first 747-200 jetliner began flying passengers in 1971, according to Boeing. The last commercial version came off the Boeing's Everett, Washington, production line 24 years ago, in 1991. The two VC-25s were among the last 747-200s ever built, with Boeing delivering them to the Air Force in 1990. George H.W. Bush was the first president to fly on this aircraft. Since the 747-200 hasn't been built in nearly a quarter century, replacing broken parts is tough. In fact, some of the companies that built the original parts no longer exist. There have been times when spare parts have been taken from retired jetliners parked in desert, according to Air Force and industry officials. Sometimes parts have to be specially made. A new plane, experts say, would not only boost reliability but improve efficiency. There are little-known, unwritten rules a president must follow when buying a new Air Force One. Most important, the buy has to come in a president's second term. That ensures the current president will never use the aircraft. He or she is expected buy the plane for future presidents. There would be plenty of negative perceptions, and likely political ramifications, if a first-term president bought himself a new jet. Obama will join Reagan, who bought the current Boeing 747s, and President Dwight Eisenhower, who bought the first VC-137, an Air Force One based on the Boeing 707 jetliner first used by President John F. Kennedy, and set aside money for the presidential aircraft in their second terms. President George W. Bush tried to buy a new Air Force One before the end of his presidency, but was blocked. Inside the Pentagon, top generals could not agree on how many new aircraft to buy; some wanted three aircraft, others two. There are two VC-25s now. One of the aircraft is typically in maintenance, a process that lasts about six months. But when the ever-expanding campaign season comes around, the White House often wants both VC-25s ready hit the trail, according to former Air Force officials associated with the plane. Some within the Pentagon felt a fleet of three Air Force One aircraft would ease maintenance pressure and ensure two jets were always ready. Others felt that the Air Force should combine buying new presidential jets with the overdue replacement of the defense secretary's plane, the E-4B Nightwatch, more commonly called the "Doomsday Plane." The E4-B is a specialized 747 designed to serve as the command center in the sky during a nuclear war. There are four Doomsday Planes, all heavily modified 747-200s built for the military in the 1970s. If the Air Force buys the planes in 2016, the earliest it would likely carry a president would not be until 2019. At the time, a separate project to build a new Marine One, the president's helicopter, was delayed and wildly over budget. In the end, everything was canceled, delaying the new Air Force One project at least six years. Now as the 2016 budget proposal goes to Congress for review, it is the last opportunity to buy a new Air Force One for at least another five years. This will be the last budget the Obama administration crafts and executes. It will build a 2017 budget, but Obama's successor will likely modify it upon taking the oath of office in January of that year. If the new plane is not purchased now, the project would certainly be delayed indefinitely as a two-term president would be needed to make the buy. And there is another reason why the Pentagon is running out of time to buy an aircraft. Boeing announced late last year that it would slow production of the 747-8, the most recent variant of the 747, which is much larger, more efficient and high-tech than VC-25 airframe. The Air Force formally announced last week that the new Air Force One would be a modified 747-8, not a surprise since the only other candidate was the quad-engine Airbus A380, which is a gargantuan, two-deck super jumbo jet. Airbus had expressed little interest in the new Air Force One project as it had been viewed as a political dark horse for one major reason: The aircraft is built by the multinational, European company in France. Boeing the only American wide-body aircraft manufacturer left in business after decades of consolidation had been seen as the only option for the new presidential aircraft. And when it comes to buying an aircraft that will fly around the president of the United States, buying American really matters, experts and historians say. In an attempt to control costs throughout the project, the Air Force is looking to compete long-term maintenance and upgrade work on the new jets over the 30 years it is expected to carry American presidents. There is no formal delivery timeline for the new aircraft yet, but if the Air Force buys the planes in 2016, the earliest it would likely carry a president would not be until 2019 or 2020, experts say, as the specialized modifications will likely take two or three years. While the 747 has been considered the most likely contender to fly the president, the Air Force could have gone with a smaller, twin-engine 777 aircraft, but experts say it was not a likely candidate for two reasons: First, the extra two engines on the 747 generate much more power for the special communications and electronic equipment. The other is ramp presence, or the plane's ability to stand out against other aircraft on the flight line. The president still flies on other military aircraft, which use the call sign Air Force One when he is on board, usually on short-distance flights or when an airport's runway is not long enough for the VC-25. In those cases, the president would use a C-32, a modified Boeing 757, or a C-37B, an even smaller Gulfstream 550 business jet. The smaller planes do not have all of the bells and whistles of the larger 747. With the new Air Force One project now moving along, the speculation can begin on who will be the president to christen it. | 5 | 6,235 | news |
Caffeine is popular, but before you get all hyped up on energy drinks, there are a few things you should know. Krystin Goodwin (@krystingoodwin) has the facts. | 8 | 6,236 | video |
New England's dramatic victory over Seattle in Super Bowl 49 on Sunday was the most watched show in American television history, seen by a record 114.4 million US viewers, telecaster NBC said Monday. The Patriots' 28-24 triumph over the Seahawks in the National Football League's championship spectacle lured 2.2 million more viewers than the previous record holder, the telecast of last year's Super Bowl when Seattle routed Denver. "Last night's Patriots-Seahawks Super Bowl ranks among the most exciting sporting events in US history," NBC Sports group chairman Mark Lazarus said. "Super Bowl 49 delivered for all of our partners, proving once again that the Super Bowl is the most dominant and consistent property on television." The Patriots rallied from a 24-14 deficit with two fourth-quarter touchdowns and denied Seattle from the one-yard line in the dying seconds to capture the crown. Seven of the eight most watched shows in US history are Super Bowl telecasts, with the past six NFL title games filling the top six spots ahead of the only scripted program, the 1983 final episode of the TV series M.A.S.H., which attracted a US audience of 106 million people. Sunday's game drew a 47.5 rating and a 71 share, becoming the highest-rated Super Bowl since 1986 when Chicago defeated new England in Super Bowl 20. It ranks as the fourth-highest rated telecast ever and ninth in US TV history, the only one in the top six from the past 29 years as audiences have enjoyed greater viewing options with the evolution of cable and satellite telecasts. Rating is a measure of potential audience members tuned into a program at a given time, while share is the percentage of people watching television tuned into a specific show at a certain time. Viewership peaked at 120.8 million viewers during the fourth quarter, when Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Tom Brady completed 13-for-15 passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns to rally New England to victory. Katy Perry's half-time show was watched by 118.5 million viewers. Viewership figures are determined by calculating the average number of people watching over the course of the entire game. Boston, the home market for the Patriots, led US major metropolitan areas in ratings with its best mark ever at a 61.0 rating and 85 share. Seattle shared 17th on the list with a 52.1 rating and 89 share. | 6 | 6,237 | entertainment |
An Indiana boy who was too sick to take advantage of his Make-A-Wish trip gave his closest friend the vacation of a lifetime. Six-year-old Levi Mayhew , who is from Martinsville, has a rare genetic disorder that falls on the Zellweger spectrum and can no longer walk or talk. The Make-A-Wish Foundation contacted Levi's family about his dream to go to Florida last year, but his mother Rebecca Drake knew it would be impossible for her son to travel. "We didn't know what to do for a long time," she told the Daily News. "I didn't even have a wheelchair for Levi yet." That's where Emma Broyer comes in. The 10-year-old is one of Levi's biggest fans and has been doing everything she can to help him, from writing encouraging notes to selling little bags of candy. Drake suggested that they send Emma and her family to Orlando instead. She brought up the idea with Levi and got a clear response. "He locked eyes with me, which he doesn't typically do much anymore," she said. The whole situation came together with the Make-A-Wish Foundation's blessing. But Levi wasn't forgotten. Emma traveled to Disney World and took a trip to the beach in mid-December with a laminated cutout dubbed "Flat Levi" in tow. She took pictures with the 2D figure everywhere she went and surprised Levi and his family with a scrapbook full of photos when she returned. "It really melted my heart that they found a way to include Levi even though he wasn't able to go," Drake said. Flat Levi is currently on display at the family house, but Drake said his adventures are far from over. "My daughter is going to take Flat Levi to high school," she said, adding that the cutout might even make a cameo in the school's production of "Peter Pan." Learn more about Levi at the Loving Levi Facebook page [email protected] | 5 | 6,238 | news |
ROSWELL, Georgia The parallels are haunting: Bobbi Kristina Brown and her mother, Whitney Houston, were both found face-down in bathtubs as the music industry prepared for the Grammy Awards. Both lived in the constant glare of entertainment industry attention, both struggled with drugs; both married men criticized by family and friends as wrong for them. As the pop star's 21-year-old daughter lay hospitalized Monday, police in Roswell, Georgia, issued a very brief incident report, saying officers were called Saturday in response to her "drowning" at her home in suburban Atlanta. Her husband, Nick Gordon, was at the scene and tried to revive her while a friend called 911. "Bobbi Kristina is fighting for her life and is surrounded by immediate family," a Houston family statement said Monday. "We are asking you to honor our request for privacy during this difficult time. Thank you for your prayers, well wishes, and we greatly appreciate your continued support." With no details forthcoming from police or family about her condition or what may have caused the tragedy, many people looked to see what she's been posting online. Her last tweet, from Thursday, reflected obvious frustration over her failure to break out as an entertainer: "Let's start this career up&&moving OUT to TO YOU ALLLL quick shall we !?!???!" Two days later, her non-responsive body was discovered, in circumstances eerily similar to her mother's death. On Feb. 11, 2012, just before the Grammys, Houston's assistant found the singer's lifeless body face-down in a foot of water. Authorities found a dozen prescription drug bottles in the Beverly Hills Hotel suite and listed heart disease and cocaine use as contributors, but concluded that she accidentally drowned. Bobbi Kristina, then 18, became so distraught that she needed to be hospitalized. "She wasn't only a mother, she was a best friend," she told Oprah shortly after her mother's death in 2012. Bobbi Kristina identified herself on Twitter as "Daughter of Queen WH," ''Entertainer/Actress" with William Morris & Co., and "LAST of a dying breed." But her mother was an impossible act to follow. Houston had her first No. 1 hit at 22, and then a flurry of No. 1 songs, selling more than 50 million records in the United States alone. Her voice, an ideal blend of power, grace and beauty, made classics out of "Saving All My Love For You," ''I Will Always Love You," ''The Greatest Love of All" and "I'm Every Woman." Her six Grammys joined many other awards. Bobbi Kristina inherited her mother's entire estate, but not her voice. Aside from her family's short-lived reality TV show "The Houstons: On Our Own," she has mostly appeared in online "selfies" and images captured by paparazzi. She told Oprah she wanted to sing, act and dance, like her mother and that she was coping as best she could. But in the years after her mother's death, she mostly made headlines for drug use, weight loss and family disputes, failing to escape the tumult she had known all her life. Houston met R&B star Bobby Brown at the Soul Train Music Awards in 1989. The gifted singer and her bad boy partner married in 1992, much to the dismay of Houston's family. It was a toxic relationship, characterized by domestic violence and drugs. A year later, she gave birth to Bobbi Kristina, and by the time she was a toddler, Houston told S2SMagazine that she was a "functioning junkie." Her husband's struggles with addiction also have been also well-chronicled. Around 2002, the family decamped to the Atlanta area, drawn to a healing service by a singer-turned evangelical preacher. Houston's love for her only child was evident throughout. She sang "Happy Birthday" to Bobbi Kristina while on Oprah, and often brought her on stage. The girl made a few appearances on "Being Bobby Brown," the reality show that infamously captured her parents fighting, swearing and appearing in court. The Hollywood Reporter said "not only does it reveal Brown to be even more vulgar than the tabloids suggest, but it manages at the same time to rob Houston of any last shreds of dignity." Soon, Gordon joined the family. Houston never formally adopted him, but he became like a brother to Bobbi Kristina. Houston took the kids with her when she sought rehab in California in 2004, and then divorced Brown in 2007. The pair who had called each other big brother and little sister went public with their romance about a month after Houston's death. Later that year, Houston's mother Cissy and sister-in-law Patricia were so concerned that others would prey on the young woman's fortune that they petitioned a judge to delay part of the inheritance, and Bobbi Kristina agreed. The young couple's announcement of their marriage in January 2014 troubled some members of the family. Her aunt Patricia Houston soon obtained a restraining order against Gordon, effective through April 2015. "Damn, lol, it's incredible how the world will judge you 4ANY&EVERYthing," Bobbi Kristina tweeted last March. But by September, Patricia Houston was praising her niece. "I'm very proud of Krissy. You know, young people today are up against so much with social media and everything else that presents itself to them, and they have to use everything within their power to stay abreast and to keep a foundation, and that's what the family does," Patricia Houston told the Associated Press. "We try to be there for her, just to try to guide and direct her." Throughout, Bobbi Kristina expressed love for her husband. Just last week, she tweeted again: "Littlelady&yourgrowing young man @nickdgordon miss you mommy ..:') SOmuch.. loving you more every sec. #Anniversary!" ___ Contributors include Kathleen Foody and Mesfin Fekdu. Lush reported from St. Petersburg, Fla. | 5 | 6,239 | news |
NEWTOWN, Conn. A former Connecticut death row inmate convicted of fatally stabbing a pregnant woman over a drug debt has collapsed in prison and died. The Correction Department says 57-year-old Robert Courchesne (KOHR'-chayne) was walking inside the Garner Correctional Center at about 10:35 a.m. Monday when he collapsed. He was taken to Danbury Hospital and pronounced dead about an hour later. Courchesne was convicted in 2004 and sentenced to death for killing Demetris Rodgers in Waterbury in 1998. Rodgers was 8 ½ months pregnant, and the baby didn't survive. The death sentence was applied under a provision that allowed for capital punishment in cases where there were two or more victims. The Connecticut Supreme Court overturned Courchesne's death penalty in 2010, finding the state hadn't proved the baby had been born alive. | 5 | 6,240 | news |
We bring in Michael Beller to discuss how big of a loss Briante Weber is for VCU. | 1 | 6,241 | sports |
It was good while it lasted. The end of $2 per gallon gasoline has likely arrived. After falling to the lowest average price in nearly six years last month, retail gasoline costs are once again on the rise and they're expected to keep increasing through spring. Still, experts say, it's no reason to panic. "This is not revisiting 2011 to 2014 this is the normal increase and we're probably a little low," says Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis for the Oil Price Information Service. "That's still an awful good price." The average price at the pump has increased from $2.03 on Jan. 25 to $2.05 on Monday but is still far below the average price of about $3.28 last year. Driven by a glut of oil and falling global demand, prices had previously fallen for a record 123 days. The last time prices increased was Sept. 25. "Many drivers are noticing an uptick in gas prices for the first time in months," AAA spokesman Avery Ash said in a statement. "It is typical to see gas prices increase this time of year due to refinery issues, yet hopefully the consumer impact will be less problematic given how low prices are today." Monday's average price was $1.22 per gallon less than in 2014. "That's good news for consumers," says Gregg Laskoski, senior petroleum analyst with GasBuddy.com Experts expected prices to rebound at about this time, when refineries start preparing to shift from winter to summer blends of fuel. Hot weather traps more air pollution, so federal law requires refineries to blend cleaner-burning and more expensive ingredients into their gasoline mixes than in winter. The transition begins around Groundhog Day, when many refineries deplete their stocks of winter fuel and go offline for maintenance, decreasing the supply of gasoline on the market and therefore driving up prices. "It's like a segment of the movie 'Groundhog Day': For years it's traditionally been the bottom of the market, and you could set your clocks that prices would go up from Groundhog Day to Cinco de Mayo," Kloza explains. "Gasoline it's like cake that's gluten-free in the spring and summer, but the rest of the summer, you can load it up with all sorts of cheap flour." Benchmark Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices, however, have also experienced a recent uptick, perhaps contributing to the increase in gasoline prices. The reason for the rise in crude prices is less clear, but some analysts suspect it could be a sign of oil prices achieving balance after the nearly 60 percent drop they experienced from June. "Crude seems to be rebounding from the floor that it hit," Laskoski says. "The hope or the expectation is that the market will find equilibrium." Kloza is less certain. Crude prices, he speculated, will probably increase through May, but they could then fall again if supply keeps outpacing demand. Contract negotiations between labor unions and refineries could also prove a factor, he adds, driving gasoline prices higher in the event of a strike an event he characterized as extremely unlikely. "For gasoline, we see this every year," Kloza says. "Crude oil, it's really unscripted. You've got new projects coming on that were orchestrated years ago when you could sell crude for $100. A year from now, do I think crude prices will be higher than they are now? Probably. But I think this spring probably March, April, May boy, it's hard to figure out where it's going to all go." Copyright 2015 U.S. News & World Report | 5 | 6,242 | news |
Apartment by night, office by day. That's the concept behind a Scandinavian startup that's helping city residents turn their homes into co-working spaces from 9 to 5. Calling itself Hoffice , the Stockholm-based project connects telecommuters into groups who then meet in a participant's house or apartment to spend the working day together. By teaming up like this, freelancers get the looseness and freedom of homeworking but without the supposed productivity-sapping isolation that comes attached. As each Hoffice session begins, everyone in the group shares what they plan to do with their day. Home-based co-working spaces have been around for a while, of course. What makes Hoffice different is that it attempts to mold a co-working group into a shared enterprise, creating a specific, collectively observed structure to the workday designed to keep everyone focused. As each Hoffice session begins, everyone in the group shares what they plan to do with their day, also outlining what they think might get in the way of reaching that goal. The day is then split into 45-minute sessions, interspersed with short breaks taken together. Swedish journalist Agneta Lagercrantz outlines how it works, and makes it all sound a little cult-ish: For 45 minutes at a time, we only hear the wall clock tick-tock, tick-tock and laptop key sounds. Or how someone suddenly gets up, and whispering disappears with the mobile phone. Then comes the alarm signal. It is time for the ten-minute break with stretching, meditation or, why not, disco dancing? Add the fact that during lunch breaks "the idea is to avoid too superficial subjects in order to build trust between the participants" and the concept starts to look a little groupthink-y. Still, none of Hoffice's growing roster of participants has a gun to their backs, so it must work for them. The concept has another layer of significance beyond its refashioning of freelance work: it's being promoted as part of a Nordic-wide startup acceleration program run by think tank Demos Helsinki , whose purpose is dreaming up better ways of using urban space. Demos Helsinki itself frames Hoffice as an exploration of this issue, noting in a statement that "Stockholm is struggling with a severe housing shortage and its entrepreneurs are finding innovative ways around the problem." The idea looks like it has legs there are now five Hoffice groups in Sweden, and one apiece in Helsinki and Copenhagen. In its current form, it's still not likely to become the Airbnb of offices anytime soon, thanks to Hoffice's determination to keep the process free. Participants contribute voluntarily to expenses, but no fee as such is levied. This sounds like good news. As the idea stands framed with the well-paid freelance worker in mind it seems sensible enough. If you know you're going to be working in an apartment all day, why not reduce utility costs by making sure that the apartment in question isn't always your own? If you're going to work for yourself, why not reduce your isolation and boost productivity by creating your own impromptu workplace, complete with its own rituals? Taking this further as a business model, however, could easily ring alarm bells that go off more than every 45 minutes. Were a fee-paying version of a project like this to truly take off, potential profits from daytime apartment sublets would no doubt end up stirring the same types of regulatory controversies that have haunted Airbnb. Plus, as things stand, many apartments are already sold as "live/work spaces" simply because they have space for a desk. If cities are to plan for and protect decent living conditions, there's surely a case to made for protecting the idea of what "home" means. That's admittedly a strong reaction to a kitchen-full of laptop-tapping Swedes chipping in for a communal cookie jar but I guess I was never one for dancing at the office. | 5 | 6,243 | news |
Sharpen your memory with these surprising anti-aging tricks. Keep your brain young What's good for your body is good for your brain. That means eating a balanced diet with lots of fruits and veggies and not much sugar, saturated fat, or alcohol, as well as getting enough exercise and sleeping about eight hours a night. But evidence is accumulating that a whole host of other activities can help keep our brains young even as we advance in chronological age. There is no one magic activity that you need to take on, but trying a handful of the following will help. BING: Find more anti-aging tips Take dance lessons Seniors who danced three to four times a week -- especially those who ballroom danced -- had a 75% lower risk of dementia compared with people who did not dance at all, found a 2003 landmark study in the New England Journal of Medicine. Why? "Dancing is a complex activity," says study lead author Joe Verghese, MD, chief of geriatrics at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. "It's aerobic so it improves blood flow to the brain which has been shown to improve brain connections. It also provides mental challenges." While it can be hard to prove cause and effect (people with dementia may cut back on activities), the study enrolled people without dementia and followed them over time. Play an instrument Whether it's the saxophone, the piano, or a ukulele, researchers found that playing an instrument for 10 or more years was correlated with better memory in advanced age compared to those who played music for less than 10 years (or not at all). Other research shows that even listening to music can help boost your brainpower. A study from the Stanford University School of Medicine found that listening to baroque music (Vivaldi, Bach) leads to changes in the brain that help with attention and storing events into memory. Learn a foreign language Being bilingual may help delay the onset of dementia . Individuals who spoke two languages developed dementia an average of four and a half years later than people who only spoke one language in a 2013 study published in the journal Neurology. Other research shows that people who speak more than one language are better at multitasking and paying attention. Experts say the earlier you learn, the better -- growing up speaking two languages is optimal -- but that it's never too late and every little of language learning helps. Play chess Playing chess, bingo, checkers, and card games may help keep your brain fit . A 2013 French study found a 15% lower risk of dementia among people who played board games versus those who did not. And the effects seemed to last over the study's 20-year follow-up. "The idea is that this helps build cognitive reserve," says Dr. Verghese, whose study also found benefits to playing board games like Monopoly. "The more these activities buffer against the disease, you may be able to mask the effects of the disease for longer periods of time. It buys you extra time." Read more of less Reading, in general, is good for the brain. But reading fewer books and articles so you can give them each of them more focused attention may be even better. "Our brain doesn't do very well with too much information. The more you download, the more it shuts the brain down," says Sandra Bond Chapman, PhD, director of the Center for Brain Health at the University of Texas at Dallas. "It's better to read one or two good articles and think about them in a deeper sense rather than read 20." Change your font Next time you have to read through some documents for work, consider changing the typeface before you print them out. Chances are, the docs came to you in an easy-to-read font like Arial or Times New Roman, but switching it to something a little less legible like Comic Sans or Bodoni may improve your comprehension and recall of the information, according to a small study out of Harvard University. Likewise, a study at a Ohio high school revealed that students who received handouts with less-legible type performed better on tests than the students who were given more readable materials. It's a version of the no-pain-no-gain phenomenon: When you exert more effort, your brain rewards you by becoming stronger. But make sure you keep things new by changing fonts regularly. Single-task If you think your ability to multitask proves you've got a strong brain, think again. "Multitasking hijacks your frontal lobe," says Chapman, who is also the author of Make Your Brain Smarter . The frontal lobe regulates decision-making, problem-solving, and other aspects of learning that are critical to maintaining brain health. Research has shown that doing one thing at a timenot everything at oncestrengthens higher-order reasoning, or the ability to learn, understand, and apply new information. Write about your stress In one study, college students who wrote about stressful experiences for 20 minutes three days in a row improved their working memories and their grade point averages. Students who wrote about neutral events saw no such improvements. "We hypothesized that stress causes unwanted, intrusive thoughts," says study co-author Adriel Boals, PhD, associate professor of psychology at the University of North Texas in Denton. "Writing gets rid of intrusive thoughts then working memory increases." If something's bothering you, don't bottle it up. Take up knitting Activities that put your hands to work, like knitting, crocheting, and gardening, are proven stress relievers, and they may also keep your brain young. In a 2013 survey of about 3,500 knitters around the world, there was a correlation between knitting frequency and cognitive function; the more people knitted, the better function they had. Find your purpose People who feel they've found their purpose in life have lower rates of depression and tend to live longer. Studies also show that this positive outlook also benefits the brain. In one study, those who reported having a strong purpose in life were more than twice as likely to stay Alzheimer's-free than people who did not profess a purpose. To develop a sense of purpose, focus on the positive impact you have at home or at work. You could also try volunteering for a cause that's meaningful to you. Be social Spending lots of time with friends and family, especially as you get older, may be one of the best buffers against mental decline. In one study, people who participated in social activities more often and who felt that they had ample social support did better on several measures of memory, as well as mental processing speed. "Social engagement is linked with mental agility," says Carey Gleason, PhD, a clinical neuropsychologist at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison. Play a video game Companies like Lumosity charge you a monthly fee for brain-training games, but playing puzzle games on your kid's Xbox may have the same effects -- and depending on what you play, may be even more effective. In a Florida State University study, subjects either played games on Lumosity.com or played Portal 2, a popular action-puzzle game for computers, Playstation, and Xbox. Those who played Portal 2 scored better on problem solving, spatial skill, and persistence tests. Other research shows that playing Tetris may increase gray matter in the brain. Use your time efficiently Don't spend an hour doing something that should take you 10 minutes. Conversely, don't spend 10 minutes on something that deserves an hour. In other words, calibrate your mental energy. "Decide from the get-go how much mental energy you are going to spend on a task," says Chapman. "Giving your full forceful energy all the time really degrades resources. You need to know when to do something fast and when to do something slow." Write by hand Sure, typing is faster, but writing longhand may be better for your brain. Studies have shown that students learn better when they take notes by hand because it forces them to process the information as they take it in. The cursive you learned in elementary school may be particularly useful. First graders who learned to write in cursive scored higher on reading and spelling than peers who wrote in print. Take naps Go ahead, sneak in a super-quick catnap : it'll recharge your brain. One group of German researchers saw improvements in memory among people who dozed for as little as six minutes, although the results were even better among those who napped longer. Conversely, problems sleeping, including sleep apnea and insomnia, are associated with dementia. That research is still early (people with dementia have disturbed sleep), but bear in mind that sleeping seven to eight hours a night may help you live longer and, hopefully, healthier. Wash the dishes It may be easier than you think to get the optimal amount of physical activity. According to one study, washing the dishes, cooking, and cleaning can add to our daily activity total and are linked with a reduced risk of dementia. In the study, people with the least amount of total physical activity were more than twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's compared with people reporting the most activity. Even playing cards and moving a wheelchair counted. Ramp it up Whether it's physical activity or mental activity, you need to keep pushing your limits in order to reap the benefits. "You need to challenge yourself to the next level so you get the benefits," says Verghese. Don't be satisfied with finishing Monday's easy crossword puzzle. Keep going until you master Saturday's brainteaser as well. The same with walking: keep lengthening your distance. | 7 | 6,244 | health |
There's good news for those who adhere to the "slow and steady wins the race" adage: A light jog a few times a week may help you live longer, a new study from Denmark suggests. In contrast, running too hard may have drawbacks, the study found. Researchers analyzed information from about 1,000 healthy joggers ages 20 to 86, and about 400 people who were healthy, but did not jog, and were mostly sedentary. The analysis showed that light joggers were about 78 percent less likely to die over the 12-year study than those who were sedentary. "Light joggers" were defined as those who ran at a speed of about 5 mph (8 km/h) a few times a week, for less than 2.5 hours per week total. [ 7 Common Exercise Errors and How to Fix Them ] In contrast, those who jogged strenuously were just as likely to die during the study period as those who were sedentary, according to the research published today (Feb. 2) in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Strenuous joggers were defined as those who ran at a speed of more than 7 mph (11 km/h), for more than four hours per week. The finding "suggests there may be an upper limit for exercise dosing that is optimal for health benefits," study co-author Dr. Peter Schnohr, of the Copenhagen City Heart Study and Frederiksberg Hospital in Denmark, said in a statement. "If your goal is to decrease risk of death and improve life expectancy, jogging a few times a week at a moderate pace is a good strategy. Anything more is not just unnecessary, it may be harmful." Dr. Karol Watson, co-director of preventive cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, agreed, and said that many previous studies have produced similar findings: A moderate amount of jogging is linked with the best outcomes in terms of a longer life span, but when people run too far for too long, the health benefits start to drop off. "[Humans] weren't meant to do mountain biking or marathon running every day ... and you don't have to" to live longer, said Watson, who was not involved in the study. Being a marathon runner is still likely going to be good for heart health overall, but those runners should be aware that there is a slight increase in mortality over a given period for extreme runners compared to moderate runners, Watson said. Other experts stress that more research is needed to determine whether there really is an upper limit on how much exercise is good for you. "The goal is not to unnecessarily frighten people who wish to participate in more-strenuous exercise," Duck-chul Lee, of Iowa State University's Department of Kinesiology, and colleagues, wrote in an editorial accompanying the study in the journal. Although most research suggests that, beyond a certain point, more physical activity is not necessarily better, "we still need more data to truly determine 'is more actually worse?'" they said. The authors of the editorial also noted that in the new study, the "strenuous" jogging group included only 40 people, while the other groups included hundreds. If the study had included more people who jogged strenuously, the researchers may have found a link between strenuous jogging and a decreased risk of dying during the study, the editorial authors said. Also, the study relied on participants' own reports of how much they run, which may not have been entirely accurate. The study's authors offered a possible explanation for the negative effects linked to strenuous exercise in the results. It could be that long-term, strenuous endurance exercise has harmful effects on the heart , the researchers said. Some studies of marathon runners have found that these athletes have a higher rate of heart scarring than people who don't run marathons. The study also adds to a growing body of evidence that has shown that even small amounts of exercise can have health benefits . In the study, people who jogged less than one hour a week were less likely to die than those who didn't jog at all. The best outcomes in the study were associated with running between 1 and 2.4 hours per week, with no more than three days of running per week, at an average or slow pace. "Many adults will perceive this to be a goal that is practical, achievable and sustainable," the researchers said. Follow Rachael Rettner @RachaelRettner . Follow Live Science @livescience , Facebook & Google+ . Original article on Live Science . 9 Tips for Exercising in Winter Weather 5 Most Amazing Marathon Feats A Bit of Walking Takes Strain Out of Running a Marathon | 7 | 6,245 | health |
The Atlanta Hawks have the league's best record at 40-8, but Brian Scalabrine says their defense could keep them from a championship. | 1 | 6,246 | sports |
She believes the menu's surcharge violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. A woman is suing pan-Asian restaurant chain P.F. Chang's over the prices of their gluten-free options. According to Nation's Restaurant News , Anna Marie Phillips believes that the surcharge on the restaurant's gluten-free menu "violates the Americans with Disabilities Act" by forcing those who cannot eat gluten to pay more. Currently, P.F. Chang's charges gluten-free diners an additional dollar per item, compared to the regular versions of the dishes. The lawsuit argues that the pricing discriminates against consumers with celiac disease . Phillips hopes to bring a class-action lawsuit "on behalf of diners with celiac disease or gluten intolerance who ordered items from P.F. Chang's gluten-free menu." Celiac.com writes that the lawsuit claims that over the past four years, more than 3,000 people in 39 states have been affected by the surcharge. The lawsuit also asks for an injunction against the chain to stop them from continuing to enforce the surcharge, restitution for all surcharges paid, and compensatory damages. It's been a rough year for the chain: In June, P.F. Chang's confirmed that it was a victim of a data breach and that hackers stole the credit and debit card information of customers. The card info was then sold on an underground website where criminals purchase credit card data. | 0 | 6,247 | foodanddrink |
The last time Tim Hardaway coached, he was a father first. This time, the former Miami Heat guard has made the craft a professional priority. And he's having a blast, finding a calling nearly as fulfilling as those step-back 3-pointers with the Heat or killer crossovers with the Golden State Warriors. "It's great," Hardaway said, as he settles into his first season as an NBA assistant coach, working on Stan Van Gundy's staff with the Detroit Pistons. "I'm learning. And the players relate. They understand I went out there and I did it." The bug has been in place for years, beyond that volunteer time alongside Tim Jr. at Palmetto Senior High. He tried to latch on with Isiah Thomas at Florida International University, patiently waited a turn that never came with the Heat, as he worked as a team ambassador. And then Van Gundy called after taking over the entire Pistons basketball operation this past offseason. "It's like being around my son, basically, because that's what these guys are, they're 22, 23, 24, 25 years old, that we have on this team," Hardaway said, with the Pistons to host the Heat at the Palace of Auburn Hills on Tuesday night. "I treat 'em like my sons." Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who has maintained a relationship with the Palmetto staff, saw the possibilities during Hardaway's time in that gym, before the younger Hardaway went off to play at Michigan. "He helped out one of my friends who coached at Palmetto, who coached Junior there," Spoelstra said, "and Tim Sr. ended up helping out the last couple of years as a volunteer assistant and I think he really took to it, and he really did a good job with player development. "I think it just took him finally deciding, 'I want to give this a real shot,' the whole deal, the lifestyle, possible move and everything that comes with coaching." For years, Heat President Riley had moved those he had worked with onto the Heat staff, from Bob McAdoo to Keith Askins to Juwan Howard. But as Spoelstra emerged as more of a presence, Riley backed off. All the while, Riley was monitoring Hardaway, keeping him within reach in a community-relations role, similarly to how he had cultivated Alonzo Mourning for a role in the Heat front office. "We were coming very close to making a decision with Tim to have him work with our point guards," Riley said. "Look, he's one of the greatest players that I ever coached, one of the greatest point guards that I ever coached. He's a great competitor. He knows the position. He's very smart. But we always had a plethora of coaches, a lot of 'em. "He did a great job for the organization in being an ambassador with Zo, and then he went out and scouted. I think he learned a lot when he went to summer leagues and stuff with our guys. But it just wasn't happening right now. And it doesn't mean it wouldn't have happened down the road. But when Stan called, I said, 'You know what Tim? This is a great opportunity. This is what you want.' And he totally agreed." Before, coaching was as much novelty as passion for Hardaway, including a stint as player-coach of the Florida Pit Bulls of the minor-league ABA, a team that briefly played at the Florida Panthers' arena. This current leap, Riley said, shows a true commitment. "Now he's getting his feet wet completely," Riley said. "So I'm happy for him. I really am. He's in the bubble, he's inside the bubble. Once you're back in the basketball bubble, then you're back in the competition." This time, Hardaway said it feels different than his other post-playing roles. The commitment is 24/7. The NBA grind is back. "He's absolutely right," Hardaway said of Riley's "bubble" talk. "It's totally different than what you even thought it would be. When you get into it, it's hard. But once you start doing it and doing every day, it becomes easy, because I'm a basketball junkie, I love basketball." Hardaway said part of the responsibilities on a Van Gundy staff that also includes former Heat players Malik Allen and Quentin Richardson is being assigned responsibilities for scouting specific teams. The Heat are among the teams that Hardaway has to game-plan against. "It's a lot that goes into it," he said. "It's player development, coaching, film." Of course, most of Hardaway's Pistons players weren't even born during his Run TMC days with the Warriors, were too young to appreciate how he led the Heat into those fierce Heat playoff battles against the New York Knicks, for whom his son now plays. "Actually," he said, "they try to emulate my move, the crossover. And they want me to teach it to 'em. They know that I could still go out there and show them some stuff at real pace, real time. "I'm an old guy, but not a dinosaur. They still can relate to me because I was around my son, and I was at the Michigan games and they saw me there, and they still can relate to me as a basketball player, too." | 1 | 6,248 | sports |
Last spring, for the first time in 20 years, Indiana farmer Jim Benham planted his fields entirely with soybean seeds that hadn't been genetically modified to withstand herbicides. It wasn't because the 63-year-old suddenly had embraced the anti-GMO movement. Instead, he was drawn to a nearly 14% per-bushel premium for non-GMO soybeans offered by a local grain terminal, which sells them to Asian feed processors. Mr. Benham is among a small but growing number of Midwestern farmers moving away from biotech seeds developed by Monsanto Co., DuPont Co. and other companies in response to lower crop prices over the past two years that have slashed farm profits. More U.S. consumers are seeking out non-GMO foods, which proponents perceive as healthier and friendlier to the environment. Retail sales of GMO-free cereal, salad dressing, eggs and other food products increased 15% to $9.6 billion last year, among the fastest-growing U.S. food segments, according to market-research firm Nielsen NV. Nielsen sharply increased its non-GMO food sales estimate last year after incorporating a broader range of products and stores. Fueling the trend are packaged-food companies such as General Mills Inc. and Post Holdings Inc. that have moved to strip genetically modified ingredients from some products. Food companies pay extra for non-GMO grain and oilseeds due to the relatively small supply and the cost of separating those crops from the genetically modified versions that dominate the U.S. Farm Belt. "I was profitable because I made the switch," said Mr. Benham, who farms near Versailles, Ind. "In our business margins are so critical that we chase a dollar anytime we can." Biotech crops have become deeply embedded in the Farm Belt, rising rapidly in use since their introduction 19 years ago, though growth has begun to level off. In 2014, 94% of soybean acreage was sown with GMO seeds, the same as in 2011, but up from 54% in 2000, according to U.S. Agriculture Department data. For corn, acreage rose to 93% last year from 90% a year earlier and just a quarter of all acreage in 2000. In two big farm states Illinois, the top soybean producer, and Nebraska, which ranks fifth farmers slightly reduced GMO soybean acreage last year to 91% and 95%, respectively. Many farmers prize GMO crops, saying they help increase yields and can curb pesticide use because some biotech plants produce their own bug-killing toxins. But U.S. corn prices have tumbled about 50% over the past two years, while soybeans have fallen about 35%, prompting some farmers to revisit non-GMO crops as a way to preserve profits. Many Midwestern farmers who have made the switch say their motives are economic and not an embrace of the anti-GMO movement that has intensified in the U.S. in the past few years. Critics of biotech crops say more research is needed on whether foods containing GMOs are safe for consumers and argue the crops rely on synthetic pesticides and fertilizers that could hurt the environment. The Food and Drug Administration and many U.S. health and science groups say food made with GMOs is safe. "We're seeing more interest in producing for the [non-GMO] markets than we ever have," said Lynn Clarkson, president of Clarkson Grain Co., a company in Cerro Gordo, Ill., that contracts with farmers to grow non-GMO crops. "The drop in [crop] prices has put many farmers in a break-even or loss situation for the 2014 crop." The shift is boosting sales for some smaller U.S. seed makers that specialize in non-biotech crops. Beck's Superior Hybrids Inc., which sells both genetically modified and non-GMO seeds, is sold out of some non-GMO soybean varieties ahead of this spring's planting season, according to Kevin Cavanaugh, research director for the Atlanta, Ind., company. Beck's, which is family-owned, estimates a 45% increase in sales of non-GMO corn seeds this year and an 8% increase for non-GMO soybeans, he said. Non-GMO seed sales at Albert Lea Seed House Inc. are on track to jump by about one-fifth this year and it already is sold out of some varieties, said Mac Ehrhardt, co-owner of the company, which had $24.5 million in total sales last year. Many of those sales are to farmers looking to save money by purchasing non-GMO seeds, which typically are cheaper than biotech versions, he said. "We're getting calls from people who never bought corn from us," Mr. Ehrhardt said. Prairie Hybrids, a Deer Grove, Ill., company also specializing in non-GMO seeds, expects to sell 15% more of the products ahead of next spring, compared with a year earlier, according to Larry Kropf, a sales representative.. Some large biotech-seed companies view the trend as an incremental increase in a niche market. Monsanto sells some non-GMO corn and soybean varieties, but "they're always in excess and never sell out," said Robert Fraley, Monsanto's chief technology officer, who helped pioneer biotech crops in the 1980s. "We see the trend going the other way." DuPont, which sells biotech seeds and estimates it is the market-share leader in non-GMO corn and soybean seeds, expects its sales of those products will likely increase by "low to mid-single digits" this year, according to Russell Sanders, DuPont's director of food and industry markets. "No question there's a bigger move, in some areas," said Mr. Sanders, who talks with food companies about their need for grains and oilseeds as DuPont plans its seed production. Still, he said, the non-GMO seed business isn't yet at an "inflection point." For many farmers, switching to the non-GMO crops means deploying a broader array of pesticides, some of which they say already are needed to kill weeds that have evolved to survive common herbicides like Monsanto's Roundup. Savings on typically cheaper non-GMO seeds mostly offsets the cost of additional chemicals, farmers say. Wendel Lutz, who farms about 500 acres near Dewey, Ill., said he has shifted his soybean fields entirely to non-GMO varieties and plans to plant more non-GMO corn this year. He said the lower-tech crops generally yielded about the same amount of grain and oilseeds as the biotech varieties. "Money talks," said Mr. Lutz, age 57, who said he secured a $2 per-bushel premium for his soybeans last year. "I'll be looking to do it from here on out." Write to Jacob Bunge at [email protected] | 3 | 6,249 | finance |
ATLANTA (AP) The Braves are trying to be optimistic after a flurry of offseason moves signaled the franchise going into rebuilding mode. Three pitchers were at Turner Field on Monday for voluntary workouts leading up to spring training, all looking to put a positive spin on the dealing of sluggers Justin Upton, Jason Heyward and Evan Gattis. ''We have a group of guys who kind of have a chip on their shoulder,'' said left-handed pitcher Alex Wood, expected to be one of the few holdovers on this year's roster. ''Guys that want to come out and show what they can still do and show what they're going to do for us younger guys down the road. It's exciting to go in with a chip on your shoulder. I think it's going to bring a lot of guys on this team together.'' Wood was joined by newcomers Shelby Miller and Michael Kohn on a cold, blustery day that hardly seemed indicative of spring training being just a few weeks away. The first workout for Atlanta's pitchers and catchers is scheduled for Feb. 21 at the Disney World complex near Orlando, Florida; the full squad gets started on Feb. 26. Miller was acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals in the deal for Heyward, one of the few major league-ready players acquired in Atlanta's plethora of trades. Upton and Gattis were both dealt for prospects, part of the team's goal to rebuild a once-mighty farm system that has fallen on hard times. While those moves could pay huge dividends a few years down the road, they've stripped away the perception of the Braves as a perennial contender, a team that has been to the playoffs 17 times in the last 24 years. Atlanta, which captured the NL East with 96 wins just two seasons ago, is now cast in the role of underdog. Wood said the team plans to embrace it. ''That's the great thing about baseball. You don't have to have to have nine superstars,'' Wood said. ''We're going to play a different brand of baseball. We'll probably play a closer brand of real baseball. I guess I'm kind of old school - I guess it's the coaches I had growing up - but I think we're going to be a team that really does the small things right. Partially, because we're going to have to. But partially, because I think that's the way this team has been put together.'' Miller and Kohn are hardly the only new faces heading into spring. There's a chance that as few as eight players who started last season with the team will be there for opening day this year. In the clubhouse at Turner Field, only a handful of lockers contained gear from last season, the most striking sign that this will be a vastly different roster in 2015. That's not necessarily a bad thing, considering the Braves slumped to a 79-83 record, finished a whopping 17 games behind the Washington Nationals and had one of the lowest-scoring offenses in baseball - even with Upton, Heyward and Gattis. Also, Wood and others have indicated there was a bit of discord in the clubhouse, players splitting off into cliques and unable to muster any sense of camaraderie to help pull out of a late-season slide. ''There are always (potential) negatives when you have so many new guys, because you don't know how you'll mesh together and come together as a unit,'' Wood said. ''I think we've got a bunch of fighters and it's going to be exciting to get around these guys and see what they're all about.'' Kohn, who will battle for a left-handed spot in the bullpen, acknowledges that the Braves are a team in flux. He and Wood still think they can be a contender. Both pointed to the Kansas City Royals, who surprisingly made the playoffs last season and got all the way to Game 7 of the World Series. ''It may be a rebuilding year, but teams can surprise you,'' Kohn said. ''When there are really not a lot of expectations for you, so you can go out and play relaxed and win and surprise some people. I think that's what this team is built around.'' --- Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 | 1 | 6,250 | sports |
Friends: If your biggest complaints these days sound something like "I just got home from vacation, and I have six TV shows I need to catch up on" or "I went to the Whole Foods to stock up for the Snowpocalypse, but they didn't have the kind of Brie that I like," then perhaps you've also found yourself peeved that your sheet masks just won't stay put. Good news: The universe has heard your cry for help. Sheet masks are popping up all over, and they have definitely kicked our at-home facial efforts up a notch. But if you stick one of these babies on and attempt to get on with your day, you'll soon find yourself as frustrated as someone trying to watch the Game of Thrones finale with with glitchy Wi-Fi. Enter Dermovia. Their Lace Your Face Calming Chamomile Facial Mask is the first I've seen with ear straps. The support system allows you to stay mobile while treating your skin to a mega dose of hydration. The mask contains chamomile to calm skin and collagen to plump. And if people make fun of you when you're wearing it? Just remind them you have far more serious issues to worry about. | 4 | 6,251 | lifestyle |
These 10 Foods Will Help You Get a Better Night's Sleep (Slideshow) These 10 Foods Will Help You Get a Better Night's Sleep Whether you are having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, changing your diet can help restore your sleep patterns. Almonds According to a study published in The Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, magnesium deficiency makes it difficult to stay asleep. Almonds are a good source of magnesium, so snack on a few before bed or sprinkle them on salads or a stir-fry at dinner if you're having trouble sleeping. Bananas Cook with bananas for a vitamin B6 boost; this vitamin can also help your body produce more melatonin, the "sleep hormone". Though we often think of bananas as an ingredient for baking or dessert, they're also delicious in sweet and savory main dishes like salads. Barley Like almonds, barley is a good source of magnesium. As an added bonus, it's also a wholesome source of carbohydrates, which can help your brain get the sleep-inducing amino acids it needs. After it's cooked and cooled, sprinkle barley on top of salads at dinner. Cherries Tart cherries are particularly rich in melatonin. They pair nicely with pork chops; after you're done cooking the pork chops, add some pitted and halved cherries to the pan that you cooked them in. Use the cherries, about a tablespoon of brown sugar, a splash of red wine vinegar, a splash of water, and your favorite herbs and seasonings to make a quick pan sauce, scraping up any brown bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan. Honey Since carbohydrates help tryptophan enter the brain more easily, eating a spoonful of honey before bed can help you get a better night's sleep. One of the easiest ways to cook with honey is to use it to glaze roasted vegetables. After the vegetables have been roasted in the oven, brush them with a small amount of honey and return them to the oven for 1-2 minutes. Kale Kale, already hailed for its numerous other health benefits, is also a good source of calcium. Calcium is believed to help your brain use tryptophan and make melatonin. Snack on kale chips before bed or cook raw kale in vegetable stock for five minutes before tossing it garlic oil and serving it alongside your dinner. Lettuce Garden lettuce is a mild natural sedative and sleep aid thanks to the lactucarium it contains. Add a small side salad to dinner for a solid night's sleep. Shrimp Shrimp and other crustaceans are rich in tryptophan and can help you achieve a more restful night's sleep. Try making one of these delicious shrimp recipes for dinner if you're having trouble sleeping. Tuna A great source of vitamin B6, fish like tuna (and halibut and salmon) will help your body make melatonin and serotonin, which are essential for quality sleep. Not sure how to cook tuna? Click here for some of our best recipes. Yogurt It turns out that warm milk does help you sleep at night, owing to the fact that it's rich in calcium. Calcium helps your body produce the sleep hormone, melatonin. Try using Greek yogurt as a substitute for sour cream when you're making Tex-Mex for dinner. | 0 | 6,252 | foodanddrink |
It's been less than a day since Punxsutawney Phil was reunited with his shadow , and Mother Nature is already reminding us that we still have a long, wintry road ahead of us. Meanwhile, we're staring down at our not-at-all-weather-appropriate shoes, dreading our morning commutes. Instead of ruining a perfectly good pair of cute, leather boots or, worse, carrying around two sets of shoes all day why not cheat your way to dry feet with covert rain boots? Yes, there is such a thing: These beauties have the rubber shell and sturdy sole you need to face the wintry mix, with a sleek look that makes discreetly changing your shoes in the lobby a thing of the past. Rain, rain, you can stay for once, we'll actually be prepared. Glossy, glossy. Burberry Glossed-Rubber Rain Boots, $375, available at NET-A-PORTER . We can't believe it's not leather. Aigle Jodhpur Rubber Boot, $149, available at La Garçonne . Puddles, be very afraid: These waterproof, patent booties are coming for you. Rockport Lorraine II Lite Chelsea, $99.99, available at Rockport . To the naysayers who said Chucks weren't all-weather shoes: Eat your words. Converse Women's Chuck Taylor Rubber Rain Boot Sneaker, $61.70, available at Shoes.com. Tell me about it, stud. Studio Pollini Studded Rain Booties, $80, available at Shopbop . Walk on the wild side and don't fear the puddles along the way. J.Crew Chelsea Leopard Rain Boots, $68, available at J.Crew . No need for a change of shoes: These sleek, rubber Chelsea boots will survive your rainy commute and a full day at the office. kate spade new york Sedgewick Rain Boots, $150, available at Bloomingdale's . Buckle up for some serious puddle-jumping. Loeffler Randall Fenton Rain Boot, $195, available at Nordstrom . Rainy-day blues, meet your match. Barneys New York Leather-Belt Rain Boots, $85, available at Barneys Warehouse . The rubber keeps your toes nice and dry, while the stretchy neoprene comfortably covers your calves. French Connection Cat Rubber & Neoprene Boots, $100, available at French Connection . That classic, stand-any-rainstorm rubber, in a more contemporary style. Hunter Women's Original Lace-Up Boots, $165, available at Hunter . Wintry mix won't stand a chance against these Scandinavian boots. Ilse Jacobsen Hornb?k 'Rub' Boot, $169.95, available at Nordstrom . | 4 | 6,253 | lifestyle |
Alabama Daron Payne (Alabama) Payne is a big, powerful interior defensive lineman the Crimson Tide can build their defense around. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Arizona Christian Kirk (Texas A&M) Kirk owns just about every major receiving record that Arizona has. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Arkansas Will Gragg (Arkansas) Gragg is a big tight end who looks like an inline blocker but has soft hands to bring in passes as well. Can be a three-down tight end. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS California Kahlil McKenzie (Tennessee) In just two years living in California (where he moved from Wisconsin), McKenzie became the first national No. 1 player from the state since Mark Sanchez. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Colorado Eric Lee (Nebraska) Lee continued Valor Christian's recent run of producing the top player in Colorado. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Connecticut Chris Clark (UCLA) While many teams move toward a spread, Clark is more of a traditional tight end, but he has the speed and ball-catching skills to be moved into the slot at times to create huge mismatches. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Delaware Darnell Savage (Maryland) Savage, a cornerback, breaks on the ball well and can stay on the hip of a receiver even on sharp cuts. He also has the speed to turn and run with a receiver down the field. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Florida Martez Ivey Ivey is an offensive lineman with great length, good bend, and someone who loves to finish. Could be a tackle or a pulling guard in college. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Georgia Trenton Thompson (Georgia) UGA was first to offer the five-star defensive tackle, and the Dawgs kept the best in state in 2015. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Hawaii Canton Kamautule (Oregon) With the success of Marcus Mariota, Kaumatule, a defensive lineman, is keeping the Hawaii-to-Oregon pipeline going. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Idaho Tristen Hoge (Notre Dame) The highest rated player to ever come from Idaho, Hoge, a guard, was a national recruit who brought a lot of attention to Idaho football. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Illinois Terry Beckner The Flyers always have talent, but hadn't landed the top guy in the state in a while. Beckner, a 6-4, 295-pound defensive tackle, who has been heavily recruited since his sophomore year, is referred to as "rare" by his high school coaches. That is saying something considering who has been in and out of that program. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Indiana Josh Barajas (Notre Dame) The popular thought is that all the talent in the state is in Indianapolis, but Barajas showed that there is plenty of reason for big colleges to look north. A smart, athletic linebacker, he helped his team get to two state title games, winning one, and is destined for similar success at Notre Dame. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Iowa Levi and Landan Paulsen (Iowa) These twins are located off the beaten path, but it didn't take the Iowa Hawkeyes long to find their 6-5 frames. Both have the athleticism and size to turn into the next great Hawkeye linemen, carrying on a long tradition. Kansas A.J. Harris (Missouri) Harris is very strong and often overpowering at the point of attack. This offensive lineman takes good angles to get in position to have downfield blocks and keeps his head on a swivel to find contact around the pile. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Kentucky Damien Harris (Alabama) Harris has been a star running back since his freshman season and was consistently a big-play threat. His talents brought schools from around the country to Madison before he decided on Alabama, where he will have an opportunity to carry on their recent lineage of great backs. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Louisiana Donte Jackson (LSU) Jackson is a dynamic corner with speed to burn. The Tigers are known for producing top defensive backs and Jackson could be next. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Maryland Kamonte Carter (Penn State) Carter, a defensive end, is athletic and long. He is also a smart kid who will learn technique quickly. He has the size and strength to play early, and he can rush the passer or drop into coverage. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Massachusetts Joe Gaziano (Northwestern) Gaziano, a defensive end, uses his hands well, keeps a low pad level and has very good body control. His burst is also a positive as he gets to the quarterback well. MORE ANALYSIS Michigan Mike Weber (Ohio State) Weber helped his team to a city title and several playoff wins with big rushing games even when teams were keying on him. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Minnesota Jashon Cornell (Ohio State) The state's top player being from Cretin is nothing new, and Cornell has been a star there since his sophomore season. He's had double-digit sacks in each of the last three years and now gets to work with one of the nation's best defensive line coaches in Larry Johnson at Ohio State. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Mississippi Jamal Peters (Mississippi State) Peters is an athlete that rarely left the field in high school. The state of Mississippi has put some defensive backs in the NFL over the past few years, and Peters could be on his way. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Missouri Alex Ofodile (Oregon) Ofodile has the ability to jump in to the air and contort his body to make tough catches. His quarterback looks to him often and he drew the attention of the opposing defense at all times, but is still very hard to stop. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Montana Jesse Sims (Oregon State) Sims, a tight end, was a longtime commit to Oregon State and one of the best players from the state since Brock Osweiler. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Nebraska Michael Decker (Nebraska) Decker obliterates the competition on the prep level. It's almost criminal at times the way he abuses defensive linemen on the field. He has a nasty streak and likes to finish blocks off with a flare. MORE ANALYSIS AND VIDEO Nevada Alize Jones (Notre Dame) This outstanding tight end helped the Gaels win a national championship and their sixth straight state title. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS New Jersey Minkah Fitzpatrick (Alabama) Fitzpatrick excels as a receiver, safety and cornerback, and his competitive drive and physical attributes make him an elite prospect. His length at cornerback is an asset, but he can impact the running game as a safety. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS New Mexico Zach Gentry (Michigan) The highest-rated recruit from New Mexico since Landry Jones, Gentry flipped to Michigan from Texas. MORE ANALYSIS AND VIDEO New York Tyrone Wheatley Jr. Wheatley likes tight end, but is best suited for defensive end because of his first few steps, his length and his ability to shed blockers. The son of former Michigan running back Tyrone Wheatley Sr. has quick feet. MORE ANALYSIS North Carolina Johnny Frasier (Florida State) Frasier is a downhill back with a good center of gravity and the ability to get to the perimeter or run between the tackles. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Ohio Justin Hilliard (Ohio State) Hilliard had a tough challenge from several other great players in the state this year, but his combination of production against top competition, along with how his fast, aggressive style of play at middle linebacker translates to college, gives him the state Senior of the Year honors. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Oklahoma Will Sunderland (Oklahoma) Sunderland has the perfect size to be the centerfield type of safety, but will need to learn to play the ball at times and worry less about demolishing receivers. Still, it is hard to look at that aggressive attribute as a weakness. MORE ANALYSIS Oregon Cameron Scarlett (Stanford) Scarlett is a running back who helped the Rams win two straight big school state titles and go 29-1 in two seasons. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Pennsylvania John Reid (Penn State) Reid, a cornerback, was getting offers as an eighth grader because of his loose hips and his ability to turn and run with a receiver. He is a very bright kid with a tremendous work ethic, and he can cover anywhere on the field. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS South Carolina Albert Huggins (Clemson) Huggins is an early enrollee and this defensive lineman should see the field in 2015. He is athletic and plays with leverage. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS South Dakota Grant Schmidt (Ohio State) Schmidt, who will play as an offensive lineman for the defending national champions, has a big frame and is in good shape as a lean kid without a ton of body fat. He can move and run better than most kids his size. He plays hard, gives great effort and is a smart, coachable kid. He will have to adjust to college competition. MORE ANALYSIS Tennessee Kyle Phillips (Tennessee) Phillips had a monster senior season and he has the size and ability to be a big end or a quick tackle in Knoxville. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Texas Malik Jefferson (Texas) Because of his elite speed, this linebacker makes a ton of plays behind the line of scrimmage. He has a long, athletic frame, but is ripped. Still has room to add some more size, which makes his physique potential even more impressive. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Utah Osa Masina (USC) Utah's top prospect since Haloti Ngata was an Army All-American and one of the premier linebackers nationally. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Virginia Josh Sweat (Florida State) Sweat is rehabbing a torn ACL, but his combination of speed, size, length and motor makes him a stellar defensive end prospect as long as he returns to form. Kids that size rarely move the way Sweat can. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Washington D.C. Richie Petitbon (Alabama) Petitbon is strong and nasty but also has the athleticism to pull as a guard, locate his target and deliver an accurate block. He also has very good technique, from his hand placement to footwork. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Washington Benning Potoae (Washington) A defensive end, Potoae is the latest in a long line of Lakes Lancers to go to Washington. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS West Virginia Stone Wolfley (West Virginia) Wolfley, a tight end, blocks well and gets into his pass patterns quick, tracks the ball well and has soft hands. His size and speed is the combination that can make him a special player in college. MORE ANALYSIS Wisconsin Jon Dietzen (Wisconsin) A big offensive lineman from Wisconsin? You don't say! The 330-pound Dietzen is a road-grader who is surprisingly nimble for how big he is, but the name of his game is definitely power. He regularly put opponents on their backs, something that should make him a great fit in the Badgers' power running attack. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Wyoming Tevis Bartlett (Washington) The top player in Wyoming is also a state champion wrestler. He played outside linebacker at East High. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS | 1 | 6,254 | sports |
Rick Leventhal reports from LaGuardia Airport | 2 | 6,255 | travel |
SAO PAULO (AP) IndyCar says it will not schedule another race to replace the canceled season-opener that was expected to take place in Brazil in early March. Monday's announcement comes four days after Brazilian officials canceled the event saying it would be too costly for the local government. Brazilian promoters had been looking for options to replace the Brasilia race, but acknowledged ''it would be very complicated'' to find another track capable of hosting the event on March 8, the original date set for the opener. Race promoter Band TV said Monday it will ''definitely try to find other venues'' to try to keep Brazil on the series' calendar, without elaborating. Local media said organizers were looking into the possibility of racing in the neighboring city of Goiania, which recently renovated its track. | 1 | 6,256 | sports |
The military has never been a particularly family-friendly career. (Thus the old saying that if Uncle Sam had wanted you to have a family, he'd have issued you one.) Yet 44 percent of military personnel have children, and families serve, too. In recognition of the rigors of service, every branch of the military runs programs to support the psychological health of military families. But a report released in 2013 by the Institute of Medicine concluded that these efforts are falling short in many areas. Even relatively smooth deployments can strain families, says psychologist David Riggs. The person who comes back from war is not the same person who left, but the family that stays behind changes, too. "It's not like the service member comes back" and family life just returns to normal, says Riggs, executive director of the Center for Deployment Psychology in Bethesda, Md., which trains behavioral health professionals to work with military personnel and their families. Studies show that partners and children may develop anxiety, depression and other mental health problems while a family member is deployed, Riggs says, and these problems can persist after their loved one has come home. The departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs have invested billions of dollars to expand their capacity to support veterans and their families, but it's not clear that those dollars are translating into better results, says Terri Tanielian, a senior research analyst at the Rand Corp. in Arlington. "When people get care, are they getting the right care? Are they getting better, and if they're not, is the system able to identify that and adjust accordingly?" Those questions remain unanswered, she says. The IOM analysis found that, too often, programs for military personnel and their families are implemented without evidence that they're effective, and few programs are monitored to track whether they're making a real difference, says Kenneth Warner, the University of Michigan professor of public health who led the assessment. He and his colleagues recommended that efforts to prevent psychological disorders in service members and their families include outcome measurements to ensure that they're getting the intended results. Stigma barrier Stigma remains a major barrier to care. "Members of the military are notoriously stoic," Riggs says. "Even when they're in a great deal of psychological pain, they're not likely to show it." Often, someone with mental health needs will seek help for a physical pain instead, so health-care providers need training to identify underlying mental health issues. "The number one complaint that brings people in for care is sleep disturbances," Riggs says. Instead of telling a doctor that they're having flashbacks, they'll say that they can't sleep, he says. "People worry that 'if I go see a psychiatrist, my career is over.' Yet we know that's not the case most of the time," Riggs says. As an example of how stigma can be fought, he points to the Real Warriors program, a campaign by the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury to encourage service members and their families to get help treating invisible wounds. Once people make the decision to get help, they need to find it accessible. "One comment that we hear from family members is that it is sometimes difficult to find the recourse they need at the time they need it," Riggs says. In many cases these resources exist, but people don't know how to find them when they're in the middle of a crisis, he says. When Alyssa Mansfield, a VA epidemiologist in Honolulu, surveyed spouses of Vietnam-era veterans who were receiving treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder about their own needs, the response was overwhelming. "They wanted their own support groups," she says. "The veterans had their groups, and the spouses wanted support, too." Defining families Because of the narrow focus on traditional families a service member, spouse and child others are shut out of support programs, the IOM report found. To remedy this, the definition of families must include unmarried partners, same-sex partners, stepparents, parents and siblings. "We often think about the kids in schools who have a parent deployed. But what if I'm 12 and my 19-year-old sister is deployed?" Riggs says. Parents and unmarried partners of military members are also too often overlooked, he says. While elected officials and military leaders clearly took note of the IOM report, it's too early to tell how much impact it will have, says Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth, who helped write the analysis. In August, President Obama announced 19 executive actions aimed at improving services for military members, veterans and their families, and these included a promise to provide better care and access to mental health care. Given what many military members and their families have been through, such support is crucial, says Wadsworth, who is director of the Military Family Research Institute at Purdue University. "These people have voluntarily subjected themselves to a series of potentially traumatic experiences, because they wanted to serve their country," she says. "The country made a commitment to take care of them, and if we want to see better outcomes than we had for previous wars, this is the time to get it right." Aschwanden, a regular contributor to the Post's AnyBODY wellness column, was a 2014 Rosalynn Carter Fellow for Mental Health Journalism. | 5 | 6,257 | news |
Where does a basketball player find the perfect shot? In a gym? A high-tech sports science and medical lab? On a paddleboard on the ocean? In marriage? Mind? Body? In a system that accentuates three-point shooting? For Atlanta Hawks guard Kyle Korver, the best three-pointer shooter in the NBA, it is all of those places and more. But let's start on the Pacific Ocean two summers ago. Korver participated in his first misogi, the grueling practice of pushing oneself beyond boundaries in unfamiliar territories. His quest: paddleboard about 25 miles from the Channel Islands to Santa Barbara, Calif. An inexperienced paddleboarder, Korver said he fell 45 seconds into the voyage. His toes bled, and after 90 minutes, he was miserable. "But eventually," he said, "you hit a point where, 'We're not going to turn around. We're not going to stop. How do we do this?' " He began searching for the perfect stroke. "I started breaking down every single little detail of this simple stroke and tried to make it perfect. Get one perfect stroke and try to do it again. And just got lost in trying to perfect the stroke," he said. "I focused on one detail and after 100 strokes, that didn't feel like a detail anymore. That felt natural. "There was a smaller detail after that. I found a new detail and then a new detail and then a new detail. Eventually I was stroking, and eventually I wasn't that tired. "That exercise of finding that stroke was revolutionary to me in shooting. You take the same concept of the stroke and do it with your shot." Zen and the art and science of the three-point shot, by Kyle Korver . Korver, who turns 34 on March 17, is having his best season at an age when most players aren't getting better. If Dwyane Wade can't play in the All-Star Game because of an injury, Korver is a logical commissioner's choice to replace him. He set a record last season for most consecutive games with a made three-pointer at 127 and is flourishing with the Hawks, a key reason why the Eastern Conference leaders were running on a 19-game winning streak and stand at 40-8 entering Monday's game against New Orleans. San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich called Korver the best shooter in the league. He leads the league in three-point shooting percentage (53.7%) and is on pace to become the first player in NBA history to shoot at least 50% from the field, 50% on three-pointers and 90% on free throws. But this is not a story about numbers, impressive as they are. This is a story about a man's obsessive pursuit of the perfect shot. Korver loves shooting, and he loves talking shooting. "To be a great shooter, to be a consistent shooter, which is what constitutes a great shooter the goal is to make your shot exactly the same every single time," he said. He has made three-pointers seem easier than they are. "If you shoot it with all the leverage you have in your mechanics using your legs and your technique there's a way to make a three-point shot feel like it's not as far," he said. This season is as close as Korver has felt to taking the same shot every time. "This is the best I've ever shot, for sure," he said. "There's a lot of reasons for it. As you get older, you should just become a better shooter. You've shot more shots." Korver has a 20-point checklist that helps him determine how sound his shot is. "It's things I've identified that are keys to my shot," Korver said. "I'm not going to check every single one of them every time," Korver said. "There's a certain point, a certain feel I'm trying to get to every day. Some things, you do more naturally. Some things, I have to think about them. As I'm shooting, I have this list in the back of my head, and I know I'm not doing one or two of them. Once I feel I get all 20 of them clicking, then I'm going to have natural rhythm in my shot." It took time for Korver to develop that list. Some of it is self-explanatory to great shooters, and some of it is specific to Korver, especially as he worked through injuries to his wrist, elbow and knee all key components to a mechanically sound shot. Those injuries prevented Korver from performing the way he wanted. Beyond the pain, he was frustrated. "I saw some clips of me shooting in Utah. I was just like, 'That's gross.' It was so sloppy, and I was so disgusted with myself," Korver said. "When you go through a couple of seasons where you can't use your knee and you're trying to play basketball and it affects how you shoot and it affects how you feel about the game, it's just not fun playing hurt." "Then all of sudden, you find out information that can change all that and I was all in." Enter P3 Peak Performance Project a sports science and medical lab in Santa Barbara led by Marcus Elliott, a graduate of Harvard Medical School. P3 specializes in identifying the body's weak spots before they become issues. "We use more technology and data to design precise training programs and precise injury-prevention programs for our athletes," Elliott said. Skeptical of the outbreak of "shot doctors," Korver has never had a shooting coach. Instead, Elliott taught Korver how to use his body to his advantage. Using motion-capture cameras that record more than 5,000 data points on the body, Elliott discovered Korver wasn't loading his right knee, back and elbow property. He also wasn't using elasticity using flexibility to create greater energy to his advantage. Elliott put a program in place to fix those issues. Using motion-capture cameras, Korver saw his testing with all the problems and then saw improvement when re-tested. It's about $5,000 a week for an NBA player at P3, worth it for a player such as Korver. "It's been a lot of years trying to fix everything in my body. I got results pretty quickly," Korver said. "The light clicked on. I need to know this stuff, about my body and how it can work more properly." Elliott led Korver to the misogi, too, and Korver's passion for the challenge is profound. Last summer, Korver, Elliott and three others participated in an underwater five-kilometer relay in which each person carried an 80-pound rock as far as they could and dropped it for the next person to do the same until they covered 5K. "The thought process behind it all is when you're young or for our kids, we want them to think everything's possible," Korver said. "If you put in the work, anything is possible. As we get older, what do we do? We go the other way. That's just not healthy. "As I was getting older, I said, 'Do I just want to spot up in the corner or do I want to keep working on my game? Do I want to keep thinking things are possible or do I want to be comfortable right here?' I'm in. I get it. " But all the checklists, high-tech biofeedback and misogi challenges couldn't have equaled the lifechanging effects of his 2011 marriage. "(P3) and being married to my wife (Juliet) have changed the trajectory of my career," Korver said. "She has been such a stabilizing and grounding force for me. She's a source a strength, a source of wisdom, companionship. She's my best friend. It is obvious, the year I got married my career started going that way." Ask teammates and coaches to tell a Korver shooting story, and smiles break out. Except for Hawks forward DeMarre Carroll. He's still demoralized by a shooting contest against Korver last summer. Seven spots around the three-point line, five shots from each spot. "You would think he would miss one, but he didn't miss one. That's my testimony," Carroll said. "It's remarkable. I ended up quitting that contest. It told me I need to get in the gym more." Hawks forward Elton Brand remembers a scouting report he received at the start of the playoffs in 2012 when he played for the Philadelphia 76ers and Korver played for the Chicago Bulls. "The scouting report was based on Kyle Korver ," Brand said, almost questioning the validity of the report. "They had Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer. And we were worried about Kyle Korver, trapping him and getting the ball out of his hands. I played with him last season and then I understood why. He's an amazing shooter. ... It's unreal." Atlanta is Korver's fourth team (the 76ers, Jazz and Bulls are the others) in 12 NBA seasons, and he has found a home in Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer's offense, which emphasizes ball movement and versatility on the perimeter and in the lane. Atlanta guard Kent Bazemore loved it when Korver launched a deep three against the Wizards this season. "He pulls up from like 30-feet and just hits the bottom of the net. Caught it right in rhythm. Rolls up and bang. The place went crazy," Bazemore said. Fans appreciate Korver's threes. "If he misses, it's like 'ahhhh,' " Brand said. The Hawks love Korver's threes, too. Pay attention when Korver shoots a three-pointer in front of the Hawks bench. Before he shoots and sometimes before he even gets into his shooting motion, players on the bench being celebrating. They clear a little space for him so they're not crowding him. Dennis Schroder has his towel ready to start waving. Mike Muscala makes three-point goggles with his hands. Bazemore is ready for a fist pump. Hawks forward Mike Scott recalled a game three seasons ago. The Hawks trailed the Boston Celtics 48-21 in the second quarter, but Korver made eight of 10 three-pointers in the second half, leading Atlanta to an overtime victory. "It's automatic," Scott said. You could say that about the shooting of several basketball players in Korver's family. His three brothers played college ball Klayton at Drake, Kaleb at Creighton, where Kyle played, and Kirk at Missouri-Kansas City. Cousin Kari Korver plays for UCLA, and she's shooting almost 40% on threes this season. Uncle Kris Korver is the men's basketball coach at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa. Korver's mom, Laine, scored 74 points in a high school game. "My mom gets a bunch of love because she scored 74 points in a game. But my dad (Kevin) can shoot the lights out," Korver said, explaining the tight spin his dad puts on the ball on each shot. "He shoots a super tight football spiral. He shoots it so soft." A lifetime of basketball and the pursuit of the perfect shot has made Korver one of the most accurate three-point shooters in NBA history. He's No. 6 on the all-time three-point shooting percentage list, and it's easy to imagine Korver shooting 1,000 shots a day. Not the case. "I don't ever shoot a ton of shots at once because I want to shoot them game-like," Korver said. "You can't shoot 500 shots at the exact speed and exact intensity that you're going to in a game. "Very rarely will I shoot more than 150 shots at once." He has four opportunities to feel good about his shot on gameday: during the morning shoot-around, after the morning shoot-around, during his pregame routine and during warmups just before tip-off. "That helps me more than shooting a ton of shots at once and trying to find this rhythm that everyone talks about," Korver said. "I want to seek perfection. Four times during that day, that's what I'm trying to do." His high-energy pregame routine is worth watching and if you have a ticket to a Hawks game home or away you can watch it. He begins his routine about 50 minutes before gametime with player development coaches passing, defending and setting screens. Korver takes shots from several spots on the court, including several spots around the three-point arc. The routine is tailored to the Hawks' offense, and Korver has to make a certain number of shots before he can move to the next spot. Most players won't leave the floor on a miss. Korver isn't most guys. He can't leave the court without making 10 consecutive free throws and three consecutive three-pointers from the top of arc. One miss and he starts over. "Ten in a row, three in a row," Korver said. "I've done that for a while. If I make all of my shots, I can have it done in less than 10 minutes eight or nine minutes if I miss two, three, four shots." As Korver runs toward the locker room after his pregame workout, a Hawks security officer is waiting with a Sharpie marker. He gives it to Korver, who begins signing autographs. "I have to be in the locker room 32 minutes before the game," Korver said. "So if I make all my shots, I have more time to sign autographs. I'll sign until I need to run into the locker room." Running into the locker room, running onto the court, running in the ocean, always in search of the perfect shot. And, there's this intriguing possibility. "I feel," Korver said, "like I can get better." | 1 | 6,258 | sports |
One UK man underwent plastic surgery to transform himself into a human Ken doll. Keri Lumm (@thekerilumm) has the story. | 8 | 6,259 | video |
WASHINGTON Robbie Rogers' role as a sports pioneer has been recognized by many across the globe and Monday, the President of the United States was added to the list. At a White House ceremony honoring the LA Galaxy for winning the 2014 MLS Cup, Barack Obama singled out the Galaxy left back at the end of his short remarks. "I want to recognize what Robbie Rogers of the Galaxy has done for a lot of people by blazing a trail as one of professional sports' first openly gay players," Obama said in the East Room. "My guess is that as an athlete Robbie wants to win first and foremost, that's what competition is all about, but Robbie, you've also inspired a whole lot of folks here and around the world, and we are very proud of you." Rogers came out early in 2013, and became the first openly gay active male player in America's major professional sports when he made his debut with the Galaxy later that year. Following the ceremony, the University of Maryland product told the assembled media he was pleasantly surprised by Obama singling him out. "I was really surprised, actually, and pleasantly surprised," Rogers said. "Just for him to mention where I've come from is special for me. "There is a long way to go for the LGBT community. It's slowly getting there. It's changing. Slowly, it's changing." After initially struggling with the Galaxy, Rogers became a crucial part of the team as a left back in 2014. The 27-year-old started MLS Cup 2014, where he helped his team to a 2-1 extra-time win over New England. | 1 | 6,260 | sports |
"I think people forget that we're all built differently." | 8 | 6,261 | video |
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is moving strongly towards a presidential bid. But most Floridians don't want him to run, according to a new poll. Just 15 percent of Florida voters want Rubio to run for president, while 57 percent prefer that he run for reelection in 2016, according to a live-caller poll conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research. The freshman senator doesn't fare that much better with Republicans 19 percent want him to run for president while 68 percent prefer that he runs for reelection. Part of that hesitance may be due to Florida's other likely presidential favorite son candidate. Roughly equal numbers of voters want former Gov. Jeb Bush (R) to run, with 42 percent saying he should and 43 percent saying he shouldn't. That number spikes considerably with Republicans, with 59 percent wanting him to run and 31 percent thinking he shouldn't. Those numbers don't matter too much for either potential candidate, as they'll likely need to do well in other early-primary states. But Florida is likely to be fairly early in the presidential calendar, at which point Bush's higher popularity could be a big factor if both are still contenders for the nomination. Rubio has to decide whether to seek the White House or run for reelection next year, and has sent signals in recent weeks that he's leaning towards a presidential bid. The live-caller poll of 625 registered Florida voters reached on landlines and cell phones was conducted from Jan. 27-29 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent. | 5 | 6,262 | news |
Larry Summers and Neera Tanden discuss a new report from Oxfam on what can be done to improve the wealth gap. | 3 | 6,263 | finance |
If you live in the Northeast, you're now preparing for another winter storm. As you're trapped inside and contemplating eating the macaroni necklace your niece made you at her after-school program, remember that now is the time to make your own body scrub out of stuff in the kitchen pantry, wear a shower cap over your coconut-oil-covered hair while you work remotely, and actually get good at shaping your nails while having a bit of a Netflix binge. (Suggestions for your overindulgence: Black Mirror , The Fall , Gilmore Girls , Twin Peaks , Psych , and Friends , obviously.) Here are three things we'll be doing to weather out the storm that maybe you should try, too. Make a banana-honey hair mask. If commercials have taught me anything, you probably have these two yogurt toppers in your kitchen right now, because yogurt is the official food of women. Use the banana-and-honey hair-mask recipe concocted by my fave, Allure 's 2012 Beauty Blogger of the Year, Shannon Ray of Gloss and Dirt. After a Netflixed episode of Friends (22 minutes without commercials), rinse it out and enjoy your shine. Practice putting on false eyelashes. Some of the best beauty advice I've ever gotten from a celebrity came from RuPaul. The Drag Race host lamented that so many women try a semi-complicated new look, such as cat-eye liner or false eyelashes, for the first time just five minutes before they have to leave for a party. He advised instead spending some dull nights in or lazy Sundays having fun with these looks so that when the time comes for you to actually wear them out, you'll have the skills. He encouraged me in particular to futz around with false lashes, which I'd attempted to put on only once for a Halloween costume and gave up on before I even had the second cluster out of the packaging. Need some guidance in this area? Check out our uber-helpful Beauty Basics video. Do some winter cleaning. Go through all your makeup and see what's past its prime. You can get more than two years out of most powder products, but anything liquid-y has a shorter shelf life, and mascara has to go after three months, max. You probably also have products that you simply never use, because they were either a swing-and-miss failure, a free gift with purchase, or a misguided prezzie from your mom. Anything that's completely unopened can be donated. I've given some beauty-bag freebies to Covenant House, a shelter for homeless teens. (Acne-fighting face washes can be expensive and are key for that age demo. Tampons are a great item to donate, too.) Toss any opened stuff that you think a friend might use into a shopping bag. If she's worn your jeans before, she can finish off the rest of that shampoo you hate with no ick factor. Clean out and recycle the bottles of stuff no one should ever use again, then take the time to wipe down both your bathroom shelves and your products' packaging. You hate picking up slippery hair oil and dealing with a sticky hair-spray canister, right? Well, fix it all now. Let us know what you're up to with the hashtag #stormbeauty. | 4 | 6,264 | lifestyle |
Greece's new government dropped calls for a write-off of its foreign debt and proposed ending a standoff with its official creditors by swapping the debt for growth-linked bonds on Monday, a week after its election on an anti-austerity platform. Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, in London to reassure private investors that he was not seeking a showdown with Brussels over a new debt agreement, said the new left-wing government would spare privately held bonds from losses, a source told Reuters. The reported proposals, which included a pledge to reform the Greek economy, contrast sharply with the government's strident vows in Athens last week to ditch the tough austerity conditions imposed under its existing bailout. Late on Monday, Varoufakis issued a statement saying that comments of his to financial investors had been misinterpreted. He gave no details but he was widely reported in Greek media to be backing down from the government's aim of reducing the debt. "The government and the finance minister will not back down, irrespective of how grieved some people are by our determination," he said in the statement. It was not clear whether the proposals would be accepted by European heavyweight Germany, which opposes softening the terms. Varoufakis had not discussed the swap with officials from its European Union or European Central Bank creditors, said the source, who had direct knowledge of the plans but would not be named due to the sensitivity of the issue. The finance minister also said he had not put a value on the swap, the source said, calling it a "work in progress". "These bonds held by the ECB right now can be restructured. It's possible to turn it into perpetual bonds to be serviced, or growth-linked debt," said the source. "It's the same with a proportion of the other bilateral bonds held by the official sector." Germany's Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told Reuters in an interview earlier on Monday that Berlin would not accept any unilateral changes to Greece's debt programme. "We want Greece to continue going down this successful path in the interests of Greece and the Greeks but we will not accept one-sided changes to the programme," he said at the Reuters Euro Zone Summit. Varoufakis called his plan a "menu of debt swaps" that meant Athens would no longer call for a write-off of Greece's 315 billion euros ($360 billion) of foreign debt, the Financial Times reported. "What I'll say to our partners is that we are putting together a combination of a primary budget surplus and a reform agenda," Varoufakis told the newspaper. "I'll say, 'Help us to reform our country and give us some fiscal space to do this, otherwise we shall continue to suffocate and become a deformed rather than a reformed Greece'." Athens planned to target wealthy tax-evaders and post primary budget surpluses of 1 to 1.5 percent of gross domestic product, he told the paper, even if it meant his party, Syriza, could not fulfil all the spending promises on which it was elected. The finance minister and Greece's new Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras are touring European capitals in a diplomatic offensive to replace Greece's bailout accord with the European Union, ECB and International Monetary Fund, known as the "troika". On Tuesday, Tsipras will meet Italy's Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, a young centre-left leader thought to be among those most sympathetic to calls for leniency. Varoufakis said he was confident he could reach a negotiated settlement soon, telling Britain's Channel 4 news it was time to stop Greece being a "festering wound" on Europe and dismissing a suggestion the ECB could block a new deal. He met international investors on Monday evening. Michael Hintze, founder and CEO of hedge fund CQS, asked afterwards if the minister had proposed a debt swap, said "It's more balanced and broader than that," without elaborating. The source told Reuters losses would not be forced on private investors, saying: "They have had enough hair cuts." In a statement released by the Greek Finance Ministry early on Tuesday in Athens, Varoufakis said the government's aim was to pull the country out of "debt serfdom". MILDER MESSAGE After a tumultuous first week in which the firebrand government indicated it intended to keep campaign promises to ditch the tough austerity conditions imposed under its existing bailout, the emphasis this week appears to be on maintaining that a new deal is still possible. "We are in substantial negotiations with our partners in Europe and those that have lent to us. We have obligations towards them," Tsipras said at a news conference in Cyprus during his first foreign visit as prime minister. When asked whether Greece would seek aid from Russia, which is a worsening standoff with Europe and the United States over Ukraine, he said: "Right now, there are no other thoughts on the table." Germany said Russia would not be a viable substitute. Greece, unable to borrow on the markets and facing pressure to extend the current support agreement when it expires on Feb. 28, is looking for a bridging deal to provide breathing space to propose a new debt arrangement. Exactly how much time Athens has to reach a deal with its creditors remains to be seen. In theory, there are only weeks left: once the bailout expires at the end of February, the ECB could be obliged to pull the plug on funding for Greek banks. In practice, however, an alternative interim funding mechanism for the banks may be found. After that, Greece has large debt payments due in March, although officials say it could have enough cash on hand to meet them, avoiding a crunch until later in the spring. "NEIN" Tsipras repeated calls already made by Varoufakis for a mechanism of inspections by experts from the "troika" overseeing Greek finances to be dismantled and replaced by direct negotiations between Athens, the EU and IMF. "I believe that this would be a mature and necessary development for Europe," he said. But Germany said "Nein". "The German government sees no reason to scrap this mechanism of evaluation by the troika," Finance Ministry spokeswoman Christiane Wirtz said in Berlin. Varoufakis, an outspoken economist who has likened EU austerity policies to "waterboarding", began his European tour over the weekend in Paris, where the centre-left government is thought to be more sympathetic than others to the case for relaxing lending conditions. He then moved to London to meet investors whose confidence is crucial, saying he was not in "a kind of Wild West showdown" with the EU, but aimed to strike a mutually beneficial deal to minimise the cost of the crisis for the average European. French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said after meeting Varoufakis that Athens could not expect a straight debt write-off, but left the door open to other options that include giving Athens more time for repayment. Varoufakis met about 100 banks and financial institutions in London. An organiser said one of the meetings had to be moved from a upmarket London members' club, because Varoufakis wouldn't wear a tie. Varoufakis also met British officials, seeking more European allies, although Britain is not a euro zone member. After meeting him, Britain's finance minister, George Osborne, called the stand-off between Greece and the euro zone "the greatest risk to the global economy". "I urge the Greek finance minister to act responsibly but it's also important that the euro zone has a better plan for jobs and growth," Osborne said. ($1 = 0.8816 euros) (Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Additional reporting by Carolyn Cohn and Emelia Sithole-Matarise; Writing by Philippa Fletcher; Editing by Hugh Lawson, Toni Reinhold) | 3 | 6,265 | finance |
Daoism might be the only world religion that is often not thought of as a religion at all. This could have something to do with the fact that there has never been an internationally renowned Daoist leader like the Pope or the Dalai Lama. There is no all-important Daoist holy site equivalent to Mecca or Jerusalem. Nor is it possible to come up with even the roughest of estimates for how many Daoists there are around the world. Daoist teachings and practices began to emerge around 2,500 years ago in China. More than once, the rulers of China tried to stamp out Daoism. The entire Daoist canon might have been lost forever, if not for the work of some intrepid scholars of the early 20th century. But across the ages, Daoism has proved to be a remarkable, adaptable survivor in its native China and around the world. That goes a long way to explaining why Daoism is included as one of six religious traditions in the Norton Anthology of World Religions, published in November. The giant two-volume tome was nearly a decade in the making. And in addition to sections on Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism, it has a broad array of translations of Daoist scriptures, commentaries and musings on the ancient religion. People often think of Daoism as philosophy rather than a religion, says James Robson of Harvard University, who edited the section on Daoism for the Norton Anthology. But this is based on a long-running misconception of Daoism, he suggests. Jesuit missionaries were the first westerners to travel to China in the 17th and 18th centuries and translate what they considered to be the Holy Bible of the Daoist faith. The Daode jing, or The Scripture of the Way and its Virtue, was authored by the Chinese sage and philosopher Laozi, who is also considered to be the founding father of Daoism. Starting with the Jesuits, "Daoism [in the West] was just represented as a tradition that existed within this sacred book," Robson says, as a philosophy. Western scholars have also been particularly drawn to a second book, called the Zhuangzi, or The Book of Master Zhuang, and they have tended to ignore the religious aspects of Daoism the rituals, symbols and practices associated with the tradition, many of which are tied up with traditional Chinese folk religion. This is not to take away from the impact of these Daoist ideas on western writers, thinkers and artists. Following in the footsteps of the Jesuits, for example, philosophers Immanuel Kant and Marin Heidegger were inspired by translations of the Daoist classics. As were Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Oscar Wilde. Then came the counterculture icons of the late 1960s, like Timothy Leary who published "a psychedelic reading" of The Scripture of the Way and its Virtue. George Harrison put some lines from Daode jing to music and recorded Inner Light with the Beatles, singing "Without going out of my door, I can know all things on Earth." This version of Daoism with its 'go with the flow' ethos, James Robson says, has had tremendous appeal around the world. And it touches on a classic irony in Daoism, "which is they Daode jing itself was never meant to be written down." As the story goes, Laozi was leaving China when he was stopped by a guardian at the gates and persuaded to write down his teachings. "So, you have this irony of something that's supposed to be inexpressible in words, but it's become the most-translated book around the world besides the Bible." Robson says two or three new translations of the The Scripture of the Way and its Virtue are still published almost every year. But another side of Daoism has grabbed the popular attention of the western world in the last quarter century or so, he says. And it is related to the practices of martial arts, health and healing. "Qigong is the art of moving your life force," says Marie Favorito, who directs the Boston Healing Tao. "Qi means energy. Gong means practice, your discipline." Taking a moment during a taijiquan also known as tai chi class she teaches at a local senior center, Favorito says, "What makes this so powerful is that it works. If you do it, if you practice, it works. It gives you a way of aging gracefully." "It's not just a philosophy, it's a practice," she adds. These kinds of body cultivation practices have become more and more popular across the United States and Europe, says Robson. And this is where RZA of the Wu Tang Clan fits in. The Norton Anthology includes an excerpt from RZA's 2005 book, The Wu-Tang Manual, in which the rapper talks about meeting Shi Yan-Ming. The monk from Shaolin temple emigrated from China to the US in 1992. RZA says Shi helped him and the other members of the Wu Tang Clan learn about balance and humility in life. "I think if you talk to everybody in the crew and ask them why they're humble now, they'd say it's because they felt the need to achieve balance. Once you have knowledge of yourself, you'll seek balance consciously. If you don't seek balance yourself, life will balance you," RZA writes. Robson says there was a reason to include writings from RZA and other popular culture figures in the anthology. "It's not just to have shock value," he says. "I think it actually helps to the tell the story of this longer arc of the appropriation of Daoism by the West." "I hope that's not all people focus on though," Robson adds. The bulk of the anthology, which runs at 700-plus pages, is made up of translated texts from the Daoist tradition itself, compiled in one volume for the first time. RELATED: Daoism gains a foothold, again, in China | 5 | 6,266 | news |
Australian Open quarter-finalist Eugenie Bouchard has pulled out of Canada's home Fed Cup tie against holders the Czech Republic next weekend and been replaced by Charlotte Robillard-Millette announced Tennis Canada on Monday. Bouchard, ranked seven in the world, is coming off an impressive Australian Open campaign where she was beaten in straight sets by Maria Sharapova, who also beat her in the French Open semi-finals last year. "Of course we are disappointed that Genie is unable to be available for this tie and we know her fans in Quebec City will be disappointed as well," Tennis Canada chief executive Kelly Murumets said. "However, Genie wants to be the best in the world and win Grand Slams and she needs to make the right decisions for her schedule and her training to give her the best opportunity to achieve that. Tennis Canada is fully supportive of Genie as she strives towards her goals." Robillard-Millette, 16, comes off her best career showing, a run to the Australian Open junior women's quarter-finals that left her 814th in the world. She joins 230th-ranked Francoise Abanda, 185th-rated Gabriela Dabrowski and 134th-ranked Sharon Fichman on the Canadian squad. The Czechs will be without fourth-ranked Petra Kvitova but will be led by world number 22 Karolina Pliskova and 62nd-ranked Tereza Smitkova. | 1 | 6,267 | sports |
Many pre-packaged toddler meals are heavy on the salt or sugar, study finds. | 7 | 6,268 | health |
(Bloomberg) -- Makers of wind turbines such as Siemens AG and warships including Austal Ltd. would be among the winners in President Barack Obama's budget plan, which would boost defense spending and extend tax credits for renewable energy. Oil companies including Exxon Mobil Corp. would take a hit from increased public-land lease costs, and drugmakers such as Gilead Sciences Inc. would probably receive lower revenue from Medicare. The $4 trillion budget Obama sent to Congress Monday outlines his goals for agency spending and tax policy for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. Republicans, who control the U.S. House and Senate, will work on their own blueprint and are already rejecting major elements of the president's plan. Construction machinery makers -- including Caterpillar Inc., Deere & Co. and Terex Corp. -- would benefit from highway funding in Obama's six-year, $478 billion infrastructure program, said Bloomberg Intelligence senior analyst Karen Ubelhart and analyst Brian Friel. The program would be funded in part by a 14 percent one- time tax on about $2 trillion in U.S. companies' profits that are stockpiled overseas. Lawmakers in Congress have instead proposed a one-time tax incentive to pay for infrastructure spending. 'Significant Repair' About 65 percent of the country's major roads are rated in less than good condition, said a report in July by the White House Council of Economic Advisers and National Economic Council. About 25 percent of bridges require "significant repair." New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are among the states with the most roads rated in poor condition, the report said. Wind turbine manufacturers including General Electric Co., Gamesa Corp. Tecnologica SA, Nordex SE, and Vestas Wind Systems A/S would benefit from the extension of production tax credits for the industry, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence note. "All of these renewable energy credits have been on-again, off-again," Rob Barnett, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence in Washington. "Absent comprehensive tax reform, there is an argument that since the oil and gas industry have these benefits, why can't renewable energy companies enjoy them?" Defense Spending Military contractors would gain from Obama's push to bolster defense funding. The Defense Department seeks $534.3 billion for fiscal 2016, exceeding existing budget caps by $36 billion. Lockheed Martin Corp., based in Bethesda, Maryland, is the No. 1 military contractor and top vendor across federal agencies, according to a Bloomberg Government ranking last year. The Air Force plans to spend $13.8 billion from fiscal 2016 through 2020 to develop a new long-range strike bomber. Falls Church, Virginia-based Northrop Grumman Corp. is competing against a team of Lockheed and Chicago-based Boeing Co. for the program. The Air Force plans to select a winner this year. For the Navy, the five-year defense budget calls for building 48 vessels, including 14 Littoral Combat Ships built in different versions by Lockheed and Henderson, Australia-based Austal. Adding defense funds after five years of decline would require a compromise between Obama, who wants to raise spending caps on domestic programs, and Republicans who oppose more domestic funding. Information Technology Information technology companies that perform work for the federal government, such as NCI Inc., Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp. and CACI International Inc., would be poised for slight gains under Obama's plans, according to a review by Friel, the analyst. Federal agency spending on information technology services would increase by about 3 percent to $86 billion in fiscal 2016 from an estimated $84 billion this year. The administration seeks to let federal agencies use a streamlined process for purchases of as much as $500,000 in goods and services. Currently, federal agencies can buy certain items valued as high as $150,000 without following the same paperwork requirements as for larger purchases. Telecommunications and information technology companies, such as Verizon Communications Inc. or Insight Enterprises Inc., would be among the main beneficiaries from the change, Friel said. The losers, under Obama's proposal: Obama's plan would boost royalty rates on oil and gas leases on public lands, raising $2.5 billion over the next 10 years, according to the budget. It's unlikely to happen with Republicans controlling both chambers of Congress, Barnett said. Regarding the oil and gas companies, Barnett said, "I think they're very safe." Oil and gas companies also would lose some tax preferences, including the expensing of intangible drilling costs. Drugmakers, including Foster City, California-based Gilead Sciences and North Chicago, Illinois-based AbbVie Inc., would suffer under a revision in the way Medicare prescription drug prices are determined. The Department of Health and Human Services would be allowed to negotiate drug prices directly with manufacturers of certain high-cost drugs. Currently, insurance plans negotiate with drug manufacturers and the government can't intervene. Gilead Sciences and AbbVie produce hepatitis C treatments, which can cost $1,000 a day and do away with less effective drugs for the liver infection. Pharmaceutical Industry Because letting the government negotiate with drug manufacturers would lower the cost of the drugs, "the pharmaceutical industry would suffer," said Brian Rye, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst. Many college sports fans would lose a tax deduction for money they donate to get seats at college sporting events. Currently they can deduct 80 percent of such donations. Eliminating that tax break would raise about $2.5 billion over the next decade. Obama's budget also would repeal tax-exempt bond financing for professional sports facilities. The proposal would raise $542 million over 10 years. --With assistance from Tony Capaccio, Mark Drajem, Jonathan Allen, Jim Snyder and Richard Rubin in Washington and Margaret Collins in New York. To contact the reporters on this story: Kathleen Miller in Washington at [email protected]; Heidi Przybyla in Washington at [email protected] To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jodi Schneider at [email protected] Laurie Asseo | 3 | 6,269 | finance |
Samsung has sent out invitations to its latest Unpacked event, where the company is expected to reveal its flagship phone for the year. The Galaxy Unpacked 2015 event will take place on March 1st ahead of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. From the teaser image below, it looks like Samsung could well be applying the curved-screen technology seen in the Galaxy Note Edge (above) to its mainline series of smartphones. | 3 | 6,270 | finance |
WASHINGTON Few things defy gravity more than federal spending. In the nation's capital, what goes up does not come down. It goes up more. When President Barack Obama was elected, there was a temporary $535 billion increase in spending during the Great Recession. Yet as the recession faded and that spending ended, total spending eased just a fraction and just temporarily, never returning anywhere near the pre-recession total of $2.9 trillion. Now, Obama is proposing a budget that would hit $4 trillion in spending next year when rounded. And it would grow from there if he succeeded in getting Congress to abandon bipartisan budget caps adopted in 2011. Overall, he wants to boost spending from $3.7 trillion this year to $6.2 trillion in 2024, also increasing as a share of a growing economy from 20.9 percent to 22.2 percent, higher than post-World War II averages. Obama entered office amid financial crisis and the deepest downturn since the Great Depression. He also inherited two costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and he pushed for stimulus spending on top of his predecessor's emergency spending. Those wars ended. The pressures to increase spending did not. One is the tens of millions of Americans who receive checks from the government. Spending is mandatory for programs such as Social Security and Medicare and for interest on the debt. These three, with each passing year of inaction by lawmakers, account for more and more of federal spending. Those three items alone account for 30 percent of all spending. Mandatory spending more broadly, including Medicaid, pensions and other required spending, accounts for about 63 percent of all spending in Obama's plan. "They've done too much of the easy things, and almost nothing of the harder stuff," said Shai Akabas, a budget expert with the Bipartisan Policy Center, a fiscal think tank. A 2011 budget deal imposed caps on spending for discretionary programs, both defense and non-defense. Obama proposes ending these caps and replacing them with new spending, paid for with tax hikes on the wealthiest Americans. His plan calls for a 7 percent increase in discretionary spending in the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, or five times the administration's expected rate of inflation. That doesn't count the larger mandatory spending. "About half our spending these days is going to Social Security and various health programs, and most of those are extraordinarily popular politically," said Rudolph Penner, a former director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. "To the extent that we have shown spending restraint in recent years, it's been discretionary programs." Therein rests the problem with federal spending. It's hard to cut programs that have a constituency with a vested interest. Want to reduce benefits or make significant changes to Medicare, the health program for those 65 and over? In 2014, there were 53.8 million Americans enrolled in Medicare, about 9 million of them disabled, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Want to change the way cost-of-living-adjustments are calculated for Social Security recipients to slow rising costs? There were 62 million of them as of December, according to the Office of the Chief Actuary. About 48 million of them are Social Security beneficiaries or a surviving spouse. Another 11 million are disabled and receiving Social Security benefits and another 3 million are minor children receiving the benefits of deceased recipients. Here's how that translates into federal spending. Programmed spending, which includes mandatory programs such as Social Security, Medicare and federal pensions, topped $1 trillion in 2000 for the first time, $2 trillion in 2009 and topped $2.37 trillion in the 2014 fiscal year that ended last Sept. 30. Social Security, Medicare and net interest on the debt accounted for more than $1.6 trillion of that. "If you really wanted to focus your effort on reducing spending growth, that's where you would have focused on," said Penner, now a fellow at the centrist think tank Urban Institute. Discretionary spending, which is appropriated by Congress each year, topped $1 trillion in 2006, peaked at $1.347 trillion in 2010 and 2011, and then dropped to $1.18 billion in 2014. That's still 3.8 percent above the 2008 level of $1.13 trillion, the last year before Obama took office. And it would jump another 7 percent under Obama's new budget plan. Since people with a stake in the mandatory spending programs aren't going to take the changes without exerting a political price, lawmakers instead fight over a considerably smaller slice of federal spending, the discretionary programs. "It is literally squeezing down the rest of government, whether you talk about infrastructure, children's programs, education," Penner said. Some economists think this focus on discretionary spending actually hurts the economy. Government spending, especially on defense, is a good part of the nation's overall economic activity. "I think the emphasis on deficit reduction held back growth in 2012 and 2013," said Gus Faucher, a senior economist at PNC Financial Services in Pittsburgh. "I think the emphasis on near-term deficit reduction is missing the bigger question." By focusing on discretionary spending, lawmakers are not making changes to Medicare and Social Security to put them on a more sustainable path, he said. And that's the part of spending that's really driving deficits, which take new borrowing to pay bills already incurred. Federal debt held by the public has gone from $3.5 trillion in 2002 to $5 trillion in 2007 to a staggering $10 trillion in 2011 and just under $13 trillion last year. The Congressional Budget Office last month estimated that absent changes to current law, debt will top $21 trillion in 2025. That same year, deficits will be back over $1 trillion, the CBO said, almost twice where they are today. | 5 | 6,271 | news |
Manchester United has signed young Bolton Wanderers defender Andy Kellett on loan for the remainder of the season, sending Saidy Janko the other way. Kellett has started just one match for the Trotters - a 4-2 defeat to Rotherham United - and spent two months on loan with League Two Plymouth Argyle earlier in the campaign. The 21-year-old becomes the second young defender to join Louis van Gaal's side during the January transfer window after Saqiq El Fitouri joined from Salford City. Janko heads to the Macron Stadium having yet to make a senior appearance for the Red Devils, though he does have six Switzerland Under-19 caps to his name. | 1 | 6,272 | sports |
Britain on Tuesday became the first country in the world to allow the creation of babies with DNA from three people after MPs voted for the controversial procedure. Lawmakers at the House Commons voted by 382 to 128 in favour of allowing the creation of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) babies with DNA from three people, a move aimed at preventing serious inherited diseases being passed on from mother to child. Under the change to the laws on IVF, as well as receiving the usual "nuclear" DNA from its mother and father, the embryo would also include a small amount of healthy so-called mDNA from a woman donor. "Families who know what it is like to care for a child with a devastating disease are best placed to decide whether mitochondrial donation is the right option for them," said Jeremy Farrar, director of health charity Wellcome Trust. "We welcome this vote to give them that choice." The bill is expected to be rubber-stamped by the House of Lords, the upper chamber of parliament, later this month, paving way for the procedure to begin next year. The change could apply to up to 2,500 women of reproductive age in Britain with hereditary mitochondrial diseases but opponents say it opens the way to the possibility of "designer babies" in future. Mitochondrial DNA (mDNA) is passed through the mother and mitochondrial diseases cause symptoms ranging from poor vision to diabetes and muscle wasting. Mitochondria are structures in cells which generate the energy that allows the human body to function. Health officials estimate around 125 babies are born with the mutations in Britain every year. - 'Invaluable choice' - The law will allow Britain's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to authorise the procedure and a pioneering research centre in Newcastle is expected to be the first where it would take place. Genetic disease charities celebrated the historic vote. "We have finally reached a milestone in giving women an invaluable choice, the choice to become a mother without fear of passing on a lifetime under the shadow of mitochondrial disease to their child," said Robert Meadowcroft, Chief Executive of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign. John Tooke, President of the Academy of Medical Sciences, said he was "delighted" by the vote. "These treatments could reduce the number of children born with rare mitochondrial diseases, and help dozens of families to lead happy and healthy lives. "Today's vote is the culmination of many years of scientific and public debate." - 'Destructive manipulation' - But many Britons are still against the proposed change despite years of consultation by health authorities with the public and the scientific community. A poll by the ComRes market research agency in the run-up to the vote showed only 20 percent of respondents in favour of the change and 41 percent against, while 39 percent said they had no view either way or did not know. Opponents include scientists and religious leaders. David King, director of the watchdog group Human Genetics Alert, said: "If we want to avoid the nightmare designer baby future we must draw the line here." Josephine Quintavalle from the pro-life organisation Comment on Reproductive Ethics said there should be more focus on finding cures "which do not rely on destructive manipulation of early human life". The Roman Catholic Church is firmly opposed to the move, pointing out that it would involve the destruction of human embryos as part of the process. The Church of England has also said that ethical concerns "have not been sufficiently explored". There is also concern on purely scientific grounds. Justin St John from the Centre for Genetic Diseases at Monash University in Australia said the new IVF techniques required "further validation". "It is essential to analyse offspring to determine that no abnormalities appear at least during early life," he said in a statement last week. | 7 | 6,273 | health |
Tom Bradby is a British Journalist, not a Super Bowl winning quarterback who goes by the name Tom Brady. There are a lot of people making this mistake on Twitter. Patrick Jones (@Patrick_E_Jones) explains. | 1 | 6,274 | sports |
MADRID (AP) Spain's prosecutor on Monday asked a National Court judge to investigate Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu in a case of alleged tax fraud in the signing of Brazil striker Neymar. In a statement, prosecutor Jose Perals said he has requested that judge Pablo Ruz probe Bartomeu and the club for allegedly defrauding the Tax Office of 2.8 million euros ($3.2 million). Ruz is overseeing an investigation into whether former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell misappropriated funds to hide the transfer cost paid to Santos. The statement reiterated previous charges that Rosell allegedly acted without consulting or informing Barcelona's board of the financial implications of acquiring Neymar. Rosell had deliberately decided to split up the payment ''with the intention of hiding the real cost of the player,'' the statement said. The prosecutor said that unpaid taxes - including the amount attributed to Bartomeu's oversight - amounted to more than 12 million euros ($13.6 million). Ruz had previously required Neymar's father to supply the court with documents relating to the signing, including the payment terms and conditions, and asked Barcelona to provide its 2013 boardroom minutes up to and including June. Neymar's transfer fee has been under scrutiny since his presentation at the Camp Nou on June 3, 2013. | 1 | 6,275 | sports |
Nicole Richie is a hair-color daredevil: Within the past year, she's been lavender and dark teal, and now, she's gone hot pink. But when I call her a daredevil, I'm not just referring to having the confidence to pull off My Little Pony hair. No, what's most shocking isn't that she's chosen these bold shades; it's that her hair hasn't completely broken off, fallen out, or turned to the texture of cotton candy in the process. In the name of every woman who might want to make some drastic hair-color changes, I asked a pro to tell me why. "Color like that has no ammonia or peroxide in it," says Nikki Ferrara, a colorist at the Marie Robinson Salon in New York City. "The hair has been prebleached, and then the color is more like a gloss that fills in the cuticle of the hair." So it's likely that Richie only has to bleach her roots every now and then, not her entire head every time she makes a color swap. And because bright shades like the ones she's chosen tend to fade pretty quickly on their own, they don't need to be stripped out with additional chemical processing. But what if you want to pull a Nicole and try a new color even before your old one's begun to fade? "Shampoo your hair with liquid dish soap," says Ferrara. "It has higher detergent levels than you'd find in normal shampoo, so it helps the color slip out." To make the dish soap even more effective, Ferrara recommends shampooing your hair with it, covering your head with a plastic shower cap to trap in heat, and hitting it with a blow-dryer. Now, it's not as bad as straight-up bleach, but dish soap is going to be plenty drying on hair, too. Ferrara's fix? A DIY hot-oil treatment. "Heat up some coconut oil and comb it through your hair, then sit with that for 30 minutes," she says. "That'll help take out any residual color still left behind, and it'll also be a deep-conditioning treatment to make hair less dry." | 4 | 6,276 | lifestyle |
The rich want Roth IRAs like everybody else, but President Barack Obama's just released FY 2016 budget proposes ending the popular strategy known as a backdoor Roth. It's one of 10 revenue raisers listed under "Loophole closers" totally separate from grabs from the rich like restoring the estate tax to a $3.5 million exemption, not indexed for inflation, and bumping the top capital gains rate to 28%. The 10 loophole closers would bring in $143 billion over 10 years; killing the backdoor Roth Individual Retirement Account would bring in $385 million, according to revenue estimates. One unintended consequence of trying to kill off backdoor Roths is that the Administration has in effect given a tacit validation to the strategy, says IRA expert and CPA Ed Slott. "It seems to me they're saying that was a good workaround, but we don't want you to do it anymore," he says. Here's the deal. You can only contribute directly to a Roth IRA if your modified adjusted gross income is under a specified limit, indexed for inflation. In 2015, the income phase-out range for taxpayers making contributions to a Roth IRA is $183,000 to $193,000 for married couples filing jointly, up from $181,000 to $191,000 in 2014. For singles and heads of household, the income phase-out range is $116,000 to $131,000, up from $114,000 to $129,000. So how do you get a Roth if you earn too much? You can open a nondeductible IRA (that's a regular, traditional IRA, just you don't get the income tax deduction) and convert it to a Roth IRA as Congress lifted any income restrictions for Roth IRA conversions back in 2010. You can contribute $5,500 a year (plus an additional $1,000 catch-up if you're 50 or older). To learn more about this strategy, see How A High-Earner Couple Got A Roth IRA And You Can Too . "A lot of people do it, anyone with income too high to do a direct Roth IRA contribution," says Slott. "If you could move money from one pocket to another and now it grows tax-free who wouldn't do it?" Here's the proposal out of the Green Book : "The proposal would permit amounts held in a traditional IRA to be converted to a Roth IRA (or rolled over from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA) only to the extent a distribution of those amounts would be includable in income if they were not rolled over. Thus, after-tax amounts (those attributable to basis) held in a traditional IRA could not be converted to Roth amounts. A similar rule would apply to amounts held in eligible retirement plans. The proposal would apply to distributions occurring after December 31, 2015." One problem with the proposal is that it conflicts with rules the Internal Revenue Service just put out in September on after-tax rollovers converting after-tax funds from workplace 401(k) plans to a Roth IRA. "They didn't look at the practicality of how it butts heads with the rules that we're working with now," Slott says. Whether the idea to clamp down on backdoor Roths goes anywhere is hard to say. The Republican Congress could simply reject the loophole closers as a whole. Or they could come up one at a time. Slott says another so-called "loophole closer" ending the stretch IRA is a bigger danger. That proposal would require non-spouses beneficiaries of deceased IRA owners and retirement plan participants to take inherited distributions over no more than five years, instead of being allowed to stretch out the distributions over their lifetimes. | 3 | 6,277 | finance |
Before hauling your rug outside on a cold day after a snowstorm, first vacuum its front and back. Alternatively, shake the rug well, releasing all the loose dirt and debris. Next, let the rug sit outside and acclimate to the temperature for about 30 minutes. Don't skip this step! There are two good reasons for the waiting period: One is that this exposure to the freezing weather will cause accumulated grease and grime on the rug to harden and break up. Equally important is that once chilled, the rug is not likely to melt the snow it's soon going to lie upon. That's critical, because if the rug were to be warm, this process would leave it a wet mess.So once and only once the rug is good and chilly, go ahead and lay it face down in the snow. Next this is the best part proceed to beat it with a broom or rake or whatever you have on hand. If you want, you can simply walk back and forth over the rug, but it's better to use a long-handled tool. You don't want to crush the rug into the snow. Instead, the goal is to create vibrations between the textile and the snowy ground. When you get tired, flip the rug over and repeat the process.Finally, pick up the rug and carry it back to your deck, porch, or patio. Shake out as much excess snow as you can, then hang it with clothespins or fold it over a railing. Leave it for about 30 minutes. That should be enough time for the snow within the weave of the rug to turn back into water vapor. When you're putting the rug back into place indoors, you can admire its renewed colors and the fact that, while it may have been looking the worse for wear, it now looks virtually new! | 4 | 6,278 | lifestyle |
Escape the lunch rut with these delicious, creative ideas Travelling Noodles A hearty on-the-go soup made with noodles, leftover meat, vegetables and spices is a must when the weather turns cooler. For this recipe, simply add hot water and you've got an unforgettable homemade soup that will keep you satisfied until dinner. Image via The Londoner Kale Avocado Wrap This simple recipe for one is colorful, fresh and delicious boasting creamy hummus and avocado, crisp kale and salty feta, it travels just as easily as a sandwich and takes no longer to pull together in the morning. Image via Mind Body Green Artichoke Power Millet Salad This protein-packed salad features millet, a light and lovely gluten-free grain that we've become quite smitten with. Add a good bit of lemon and parsley, a smattering of seeds and tender white beans and you've got an unforgettable lunch you'll continue to crave. Image via Vitamin Sunshine Herbed Quinoa and Pomegranate Salad Ruby red pomegranate seeds and vibrant mint and parsley join forces in this light and healthy quinoa salad that's as colorful and pretty as it is healthy. Image via Cookie + Kate Smooth, Simple Hummus Not all hummus is created equal, and this recipe walks you through the tips and tricks to make a super smooth spread at home to use inside of wraps, in salads, or as a sandwich spread. Super versatile and great to have on hand for harried weekday lunches. Image via Inspired Taste Easy Spicy White Chicken Chili Leftover rotisserie chicken? This spicy chili comes together quickly and always gives us something to look forward to when the lunch hour rolls around. Image via The Cookie Rookie Rainbow Thai Chicken Salad There's nothing like a big, colorful bowl of crisp veggies to start the week off right, and this salad is just the ticket. If nothing else, the peanut dressing alone is a stunner we love it as a dip and a marinade, too. Image via Gimme Some Oven Greek Pasta Salad A loaded pasta salad is an easy choice when workplace lunches become ho hum. This version relies on a simple lemon vinaigrette, diced cucumber and tomatoes and feta. For extra protein, feel free to fold in white beans, baked tofu, or leftover chicken. Image via Joy the Baker Tofu Vietnamese Spring Rolls Almond butter dipping sauce? Say no more. These portable soft spring rolls will quickly liven up the lunch scene. We're addicted. Image via Minimalist Baker Mini Frittata Mini frittatas are a great way to incorporate some protein into the workday; add any vegetables, cheese or meat you'd like and grab a few to reheat at the office when breakfast feels like a distant memory. Image via Oh Sweet Day | 0 | 6,279 | foodanddrink |
The White House issued a veto threat on Monday for a bill from the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives bill that would repeal President Barack Obama's signature healthcare legislation, the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Eric Walsh) | 5 | 6,280 | news |
The long-term future of the nation's electric grid is under threat from an unlikely source energy-conserving Americans. That is the fear of some utility experts who say that as Americans use less power, electric companies won't have the revenue needed to maintain sprawling networks of high-voltage lines and generating plants. And if the companies raise rates too high to make up for declining sales volumes, customers will embrace even more energy-saving gizmos and solar panels, pushing down demand for grid power. The Edison Electric Institute, the trade group for investor-owned utilities, has warned that they could face a "death spiral." "Utilities seem to have concrete shoes on," says Elisabeth Graffy, co-director of Arizona State University's Energy Policy, Law and Governance Center. Since 2004, average residential electricity prices have jumped 39%, to 12.5 cents a kilowatt hour and prices for all users have jumped 36% to 10.42 cents, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Retail sales to homes and businesses still are less than they were in 2007, before the recession. Even in parts of the country where the population has been growing, electricity sales have been anemic. Southern Co., for example, said that in the third quarter of 2014, residential accounts grew 0.7% in its four-state region but total home electricity sales contracted 0.6%. Some people think talk of a death spiral is exaggerated. "It's indisputable that a lot is happening," says Ralph Izzo, chief executive of Public Service Enterprise Group, a big utility in Newark, N.J. But he does not believe, he says, "the industry will be turned upside down." Moody's Investors Service agrees, contending that regulators will work to keep utilities solvent because the grid is critical to the nation's standard of living. But some utilities are taking measures to counter the trend. Power companies in 20 states are trying to overhaul their rates so that they are less dependent on kilowatt-hour sales. One of the most radical proposals surfaced recently in Wisconsin. Last May, Madison Gas & Electric Co., a unit of MGE Energy Inc., asked state utility regulators to let it charge residential customers $68 a month by 2017 as a fixed monthly fee for electricity service, covering 77% of the utility's fixed costs, versus the existing $10.50 fee, which covered 12%. In return, the utility agreed to cut the price of electricity in half, to 7 cents a kilowatt hour. The proposal created such uproar that the utility withdrew the request. Instead, it got approval to begin charging about $20 a month, enough to cover 23% of its fixed costs, and to slightly reduce its electricity price. Utilities like fixed fees but "they've not met with much success because customers dislike them," says Steve Kihm, chief economist for the Energy Center of Wisconsin, a nonprofit research institute. He says customers think these fees punish energy-conservers and lengthen pay-back periods for solar power and energy-efficiency upgrades. David Owens, executive vice president at the Edison Electric Institute, says it costs most utilities $40 to $60 a month to serve a home. So customers who use little power shift costs to others. Some utilities are embracing the possibility that customers could leave the grid. Elizabeth Killinger, president of NRG Retail, a unit of NRG Energy Inc., says the nation is entering the "era of personal power." NRG is a big owner of conventional power plants that sell electricity to utilities. But Ms. Killinger is helping build a side business that sells energy products directly to consumers, including rooftop solar systems and portable devices that make or store electricity. In August, the company bought Goal Zero, a Utah energy-products company founded five years ago to take solar power to the world's poor. It sells small solar units that charge battery-powered devices and power small appliances. Small solar-powered battery chargers sell for as little as $40 but solar generators cost up to $1,800. NRG also is tinkering with prototypes of stove-sized machines that make electricity from natural gas something the company says is likely to appeal to the roughly 50% of U.S. homes served by gas. The company's goal is help customers unplug from the grid and become largely self-sufficient in a way not seen since the days of wood heat and candles. "Our vision is puzzle pieces that fit together," Ms. Killinger says. "And even though it doesn't all exist today, we think it's years, not decades, away." In Phoenix, Arizona Public Service Co. got the green light in December to compete directly with solar-power providers by offering rooftop solar systems to about 1,500 homes in a pilot project. Homeowners would rent their rooftops to the utility in exchange for $30-a-month off their electric bills for 20 years. APS told regulators it would seek out customers with poor credit scores who otherwise might find it hard to buy solar panels. Donald Brandt, CEO of APS parent Pinnacle West Capital Corp., says all he needs is "a structurally sound roof and a customer is good to go." Uncertainty about the future role of utilities is stimulating soul-searching among utility executives. Bill Johnson, chief executive of the government-owned Tennessee Valley Authority, provider of electricity to seven million people, says he's trying to help TVA remember its original purpose not to sell more electricity but to "make the quality of life better." But even as power production becomes more decentralized, there is value in the centralized electric system, says Tom Farrell, chief executive of Dominion Resources Inc. in Richmond, Va. To allow a $1 trillion system to decay would be unconscionable, he says. "You can't run a country on solar panels." Write to Rebecca Smith at [email protected] | 3 | 6,281 | finance |
These 10 Foods Will Help You Get a Better Night's Sleep Whether you are having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, changing your diet can help restore your sleep patterns. Almonds According to a study published in The Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, magnesium deficiency makes it difficult to stay asleep. Almonds are a good source of magnesium, so snack on a few before bed or sprinkle them on salads or a stir-fry at dinner if you're having trouble sleeping. Bananas Cook with bananas for a vitamin B6 boost; this vitamin can also help your body produce more melatonin, the "sleep hormone". Though we often think of bananas as an ingredient for baking or dessert, they're also delicious in sweet and savory main dishes like salads. Barley Like almonds, barley is a good source of magnesium. As an added bonus, it's also a wholesome source of carbohydrates, which can help your brain get the sleep-inducing amino acids it needs. After it's cooked and cooled, sprinkle barley on top of salads at dinner. Cherries Tart cherries are particularly rich in melatonin. They pair nicely with pork chops; after you're done cooking the pork chops, add some pitted and halved cherries to the pan that you cooked them in. Use the cherries, about a tablespoon of brown sugar, a splash of red wine vinegar, a splash of water, and your favorite herbs and seasonings to make a quick pan sauce, scraping up any brown bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan. Honey Since carbohydrates help tryptophan enter the brain more easily, eating a spoonful of honey before bed can help you get a better night's sleep. One of the easiest ways to cook with honey is to use it to glaze roasted vegetables. After the vegetables have been roasted in the oven, brush them with a small amount of honey and return them to the oven for 1-2 minutes. Kale Kale, already hailed for its numerous other health benefits, is also a good source of calcium. Calcium is believed to help your brain use tryptophan and make melatonin. Snack on kale chips before bed or cook raw kale in vegetable stock for five minutes before tossing it garlic oil and serving it alongside your dinner. Lettuce Garden lettuce is a mild natural sedative and sleep aid thanks to the lactucarium it contains. Add a small side salad to dinner for a solid night's sleep. Shrimp Shrimp and other crustaceans are rich in tryptophan and can help you achieve a more restful night's sleep. Tuna A great source of vitamin B6, fish like tuna (and halibut and salmon) will help your body make melatonin and serotonin, which are essential for quality sleep. Yogurt It turns out that warm milk does help you sleep at night, owing to the fact that it's rich in calcium. Calcium helps your body produce the sleep hormone, melatonin. Try using Greek yogurt as a substitute for sour cream when you're making Tex-Mex for dinner. | 7 | 6,282 | health |
It's easy to see why doubters of China's world-beating equity rally are growing louder. Manufacturing contracted last month for the first time in two years, industrial profits are falling at the fastest pace since at least 2011 and the government is clamping down on trading with borrowed money. After a 63 percent surge in six months, the CSI 300 Index posted its biggest drop in a year last week. Yet for the Chinese stock strategist who helped deliver the best returns among Asian hedge funds with at least $1 billion of assets last year, the bears are short-sighted. Joseph Zeng, who helps run the Golden China Fund with Greenwoods Asset Management founder George Jiang, says the $5.1 trillion market is only in the first phase of a three-part rally. While Zeng declined to put a target on how high the CSI 300 index of locally traded A shares will climb and says there will be corrections along the way, his forecast that the gauge may trade at a multiple of as much as 30 times earnings gives an idea of what may be in store. That estimate implies an additional 100 percent gain, even if corporate profits flat-line at current levels. Here's how Zeng sees the rally playing out: * Phase One: Valuations Return to Normal Much of the gains in Chinese stocks can be explained by a return to historical valuation levels, according to Zeng. When the rally began accelerating six months ago, the CSI 300 traded at about 9.6 times reported earnings, versus the decade average of 19 times. The gauge now has a multiple of 15, and Zeng says a "fair" valuation would be a range of 20 to 30. When the market peaked in 2007, the price-to-earnings ratio was 49, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. "Over the last three to six months, the biggest driver of the A-share market's rally was the normalization of valuation," said Zeng. "Why should it be trading at such a low level? The market's sentiment is back to normal." * Phase Two: Earnings Recovery Chinese profits will probably start rebounding in the second or third quarter as the central bank's interest-rate cut in November filters through the economy, Zeng said. He predicts further reductions in borrowing costs as falling commodity prices keep inflation contained. Profits in the CSI 300 index are poised to climb about 24 percent during the next 12 months, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The gauge rose 2.5 percent on Tuesday, halting a five-day decline. "The Phase Two rally can be longer and stronger," said Zeng, who favors consumer-discretionary companies such as appliance makers and jewelry retailers. "This isn't about liquidity or margin debt. We are talking about fundamentals. If you see a recovery in earnings because of monetary easing -- which just started -- upward revision of earnings should last two to three years. That can be a big support for the rally." * Phase Three: Global Inflows The final stage of the rally will come when global investors start pouring money into Chinese shares, Zeng said. So far, they've yet to pile in. Overseas exchange-traded funds tracking mainland equities recorded outflows for four straight months through January, while foreigners have used up just 30 percent of their quota of Shanghai stock purchases through the city's exchange link with Hong Kong, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The potential inclusion of mainland shares in MSCI Inc.'s global indexes may persuade global funds to increase holdings, Zeng said. "Most international investors didn't benefit from the Phase One rally," Zeng said. "Local smart money benefited. When you hear mums and pops in Oklahoma talking about Chinese stocks, that's the time global liquidity is coming in." --With assistance from Bei Hu in Hong Kong. To contact the reporter on this story: Kyoungwha Kim in Hong Kong at [email protected] To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael Patterson at [email protected] Nikolaj Gammeltoft | 3 | 6,283 | finance |
Valentine's Day can feel like a daunting holiday for the single gal . But, for those of you amazing ladies out there who are unattached, there are still plenty of ways to celebrate. Today, I thought I'd put together some fun ideas so that you can enjoy this love-filled holiday with your friends, besties , or even yourself. After all, there are plenty of ways to spread the love on February 14, whether you're in a relationship or not. Goon a group trip. Why not? Plan a getaway with couples and single friends alike. If you have a group of friends who are into the idea, go for it! Everyone can celebrate together, and it will turn into one big party. This is what my friends and I are doing this year. We rented a big cabin in the snow and have a fun dinner reservation for Valentine's night. Hosta girls' night in. I'm a huge fan of a good girls' night in, Valentine's Day or not. There's nothing better than wearing comfortable clothes, watching chick flicks, and ordering takeout with your best friends. If you're hosting, be sure to have some great movie choices on hand ( here are a few of our favorites). And, if nobody is in the mood for a sappy rom-com, an awesome action flick or a scary movie can do the trick. Oh, and be sure to include plenty of wine, chocolate, and cozy blankets. Plan a girls' night out. If you think about it, going out with your girlfriends on Valentine's Day is a pretty great idea, because many single (and hopefully cute!) guys will be doing the same thing. Buy yourself a fun new outfit and choose a cool spot for cocktails with your besties. It's highly likely that you'll spend the night laughing and making fun memories out with the girls. And, hey, you might even meet someone new. Pamper yourself. It might sound intimidating to be alone on Valentine's Day, but that's not the case if you're giving yourself some much-needed TLC. After all, everyone needs some alone time once in a while. Book yourself a spa day a massage, facial, and steam room will feel decadent. Or, use some of those gift cards you've been saving to take yourself on a little shopping trip to your favorite stores. Then, order takeout from your favorite restaurant and throw on one of your favorite movies. If you're staying busy and spending your time treating yourself to a fun day, you might just find that this Valentine's Day is one for the books. Get set up on a date. If you're single and ready to mingle, have your friends set you up on a double date on Valentine's night. Believe it or not, this is actually how I met William! The two of them went out to dinner with a group of mutual friends as a set-up, and the rest was, well, history.Ask around and see if any of your friends want to set up a double date or group date. Even if you don't connect with your date, you'll be in the presence of good friends. | 4 | 6,284 | lifestyle |
Illustrated by Ly Ngo, Photo: Image Source/REX USA Valentine's Day is on the way, and whether you're paired up or not, it's only natural to ponder whether or not there's such a thing as "the one." It's time to forget the pickup lines and personality tests: Here's what science says actually makes us physically and emotionally attractive to others and compatible with them as well. What gets us noticed? Before anything else can happen, you've got to have an "in." What is it that's going to catch someone else's attention? One factor might your facial symmetry. By looking at which faces we find the most attractive, researchers have found that our favorites tend to be symmetrical. But, that doesn't mean you have to have the features of a supermodel. We're actually drawn to faces that look average artificially-created, perfectly symmetrical faces, meanwhile, tend to be disconcerting rather than cute. Other studies suggest we're into faces that reflect certain traits related to hormone expression, such as men's large, defined jawbones. The thinking usually goes that we find these things so attractive because, evolutionarily speaking, they're signs of good genes: These are the people we want to make babies with, because those babies will have the best chance of surviving in this cold, dark world. However, a recent study indicates that asymmetry isn't actually related to a likelihood of illness knowledge that has led some people to disregard the previous idea that we seek out symmetry for its good health indications. Instead, research suggests there may be some correlation between symmetrical facial features and certain personality traits, such as extraversion and openness, that humans like. When we're on the lookout for "the one," other genetic factors could come into play. For instance, we may favor partners with complimentary MHC genetics in order to beef up our offspring's immune systems. But, although there's an entire dating site based on this idea, there's not enough evidence to suggest we should be basing our relationships on genetic compatibility. And, even if these are some of our deciding relationship factors, they probably aren't the predominant ones. Our genes do have some relationship to our body odor, and smell does play a role in whom we're into. One oft-cited study had heterosexual women sniff mens' shirts at different points during their menstrual cycles. As their hormones fluctuated, so did the women's preferences for different scents, often depending on the guys' MHC profile. And, perhaps predictably, a few small studies suggest that homosexual men and women respond differently to male and female hormone-dependent scents than heterosexual people do. For women, using hormonal birth control has also been found to change our preferences. Oh, and those instant-attraction pheromones we're always hearing about? Probably not that helpful. Although they do exist, they don't function the same way in humans as they do in other mammals. What makes us "click" with someone? When we find someone physically attractive, we tend to find that person attractive in a lot of other ways, too. This "halo effect" causes us to rate those we find sexier as also being more trustworthy, powerful, and competent. A recent study suggests that this works both ways, too: Acting like a nice person can actually make other people rate your face as more attractive. With new dating sites and find-your-match algorithms coming out seemingly every week, it's interesting to note that recent studies suggest there isn't much to support these tools' claims of accuracy. In one article, published a few years ago in Psychological Science , the authors argue that the online dating boom has definitely increased the accessibility of potential partners. But, it does so in quick snapshots that don't give us enough info to accurately make decisions about people. And, the algorithms tend to match people up with similar interests and individual characteristics, which aren't always the best predictors of actual compatibility. There's some research indicating that your level of neuroticism could be an important player in relationship success, but whatever your personality, other factors will probably matter more in the long run. For instance, one of the best predictors of intimacy is referred to as the "quality of interaction," which includes the amount of time spent communicating and how satisfying both participants found the interaction. Unfortunately, this is one of those things it just takes time to cultivate and figure out no dating-site shortcuts here. Of course, there's also little ol' oxytocin, the neurotransmitter that's been linked to feelings of attachment especially during and right after sex. However, oxytocin's penchant for helping us bond with others applies to a wide range of scenarios, even including the induction of labor contractions. While it might be the "cuddle chemical" or the "love hormone," it's also a lot of other things. There are additional key players needed to create something as complicated as love: heavy hitters such as dopamine and serotonin. So, yes, brain chemicals play a role in the formation of relationships, but there are many of them, and they're involved in many complex ways. Great, now what? You've passed the hurdles and made it into a relationship of whatever kind you desire. Excellent. The way attraction works, though (how you and your partner are attracted to each other and how you're both attracted to other people) can obviously change once you're in a relationship. In one recent study, participants were asked about whether or not they thought their partner was tempted by other people, and how they reacted to that suspicion. It turned out that those who thought their partners were tempted actually stepped up their own "mate-guarding" game, meaning they tried to limit their partners' interactions with other potentially attractive people. Despite sounding kind of creepy, mate-guarding actually increased both partners' commitment levels in the short-term. There's a whole lot out there about what makes people actually go through with infidelity, mate-guarding be damned. For instance, those who have cheated in the past are more likely to do it again in the future, and research suggests that people who end up being "stolen" from a former relationship via cheating aren't as satisfied with their new partners. Just because you may be attracted to someone new enough to leave your current partner, that attraction won't necessarily lead you down a happy path. So, how do you know if your one is the one? A surprising clue is simply how well you and your partner remember the course of your relationship, including the progression of your intimacy with and attraction to each other. No matter how far apart you get physically, that satisfaction is easier to maintain when you savor the good times and take the time to pay attention to your relationship. Of course, at some point, there's no explaining what really makes us attracted to each other. Whatever it is, we're just happy the magic happens. | 4 | 6,285 | lifestyle |
Tim Cahill has announced he will join Shanghai Shenhua after agreeing an early release from his New York Red Bulls contract. The 35-year-old's future has been the subject of intense speculation during Australia's run to Asian Cup glory. While the former Everton man had been linked with the Middle East, the A-League and a return to the Premier League in recent weeks, he has now revealed he will join the Chinese Super League club. Last month Cahill's fellow Socceroos striker Tomi Juric of Western Sydney Wanderers reportedly rejected a move to Shanghai Shenhua, which was also linked with Wellington Phoenix's Australia international forward Nathan Burns. Announcing the move on Fox Sports, Cahill said he consulted his former Everton manager David Moyes, ex-Red Bulls teammate Thierry Henry and Australia coach Ange Postecoglou before making a decision. "I've taken a lot of good advice from very powerful men," he said. "I think it's exciting. To be in demand and have these offers is special." "I've enjoyed every moment of my time at the Red Bulls and leave with great memories." "You have to ask yourself what you want. I've never chased the money. If I did I would have been in Qatar or China before New York Red Bulls." Cahill also claimed he hadn't received a formal offer from an A-League club for two months, after Sydney FC had registered its interest following the World Cup. | 1 | 6,286 | sports |
Paid features for dating app Tinder that will let you undo accidental rejections, and search for people different areas, are one step closer to arriving in the US. Today, Tinder accidently released an update to its iOS app noting that both features which were announced back in November were present in its latest build, however those mentions were quickly retracted. Speaking to TechCrunch , Tinder now says that it's on track to bring both items to its app in the US by mid- to late-March, though it hasn't put a dollar figure on just how much it will actually cost users. The features in question let you fix Tinder's core functionality, allowing you to undo swiping left on someone's profile, which rejects them from being a potential match. That happens if you're using the app too quickly, or have a change of heart. The other, which Tinder calls Passport, lets you use the service in a different city than your current location, something users have been clamoring for. The company's already been testing both features in Brazil, Germany, and the UK for months as part of a paid monthly service. | 3 | 6,287 | finance |
Kentucky had lost first-place votes here and there during the season, most recently to Virginia. With the Cavaliers' loss to Duke last week, there's little doubt which team is No. 1 now. The lone undefeated team in Division I, Kentucky is again the unanimous No. 1 in The Associated Press' Top 25 poll, receiving all 65 votes cast by a media panel on Monday. Kentucky (12-0) has been No. 1 all season and is the unanimous pick for the first time since Jan. 4. ''It's a different feel,'' Kentucky guard Aaron Harrison said of being the only undefeated team left. ''But we know - the older guys know - that this doesn't really mean anything. We know it really gets serious later, late February, March and hopefully April. We want to be playing in April, so it's cool to be undefeated, but that's not why we put on the uniform.'' Virginia (19-1) drew a few first-place votes over the past few weeks, though dropped one last week, giving Kentucky 64 of a possible 65. The Cavaliers' undefeated season - and 21-game home winning streak - ended Saturday night, when No. 4 Duke rallied for a 69-62 victory in Charlottesville. The loss left Kentucky as the undisputed No. 1 and dropped the Cavaliers to No. 3, one spot behind No. 2 Gonzaga but still ahead of fourth-ranked Duke. Wisconsin stayed at No. 5, followed by Arizona, Villanova, Kansas and Louisville. Notre Dame dropped two spots to No. 10 after losing to Pittsburgh last week. Kentucky, the preseason No. 1, had lost a little of its luster after needing overtime to beat Mississippi and Texas A&M in early January. The Wildcats have been on a roll since, winning their last six games by an average of 30.8 points. Kentucky beat Missouri by 16 on Thursday and Alabama by 15 two days later With 10 regular-season games left, the Wildcats are starting to look unbeatable, though not in the eyes of their coach just yet. ''The question is: How good can we be? And I don't know yet,'' Kentucky coach John Calipari said. ''I'm trying to get guys to go to that next level. I'm prodding and pushing and screaming and yelling `go!' because I really do want to see how good we can be.'' ZAGS' RISE: Gonzaga (22-1) rose to No. 2 in this week's poll, its highest ranking since finishing No. 1 in the final poll in 2013. The Bulldogs' lone loss this season was in overtime at Arizona on Dec. 6 and they've reeled off 15 straight wins since then, the last 11 in West Coast Conference play. Gonzaga's only shot at being No. 1 will be if Kentucky loses, but the Zags, barring an unexpected loss, are looking like a solid bet to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Gonzaga has eight regular-season games left, then the WCC Tournament in Las Vegas. RISING AND FALLING: Duke fans probably won't be happy that Virginia remained ahead of the Blue Devils. Duke (19-3) rallied from a double-digit deficit to pull out a road victory against a previously undefeated road team, yet remained at No. 4. The only effect the game had on the rankings was dropping the Cavaliers (19-1) one spot. Notre Dame's loss meant two teams got to move up a spot: Kansas and Louisville from Nos. 9-10 to Nos. 8 and 9. Two Iowa teams had the biggest moves up the rankings. Iowa State jumped four spots to No. 11 after beating then-No. 19 Texas and TCU. Northern Iowa climbed four spots as well, up to No. 14 after beating then-No. 12 Wichita State. Texas dropped to the edge of the poll with the loss to the Cyclones, down six spots to No. 25. Wichita State dropped four sports to No. 16 with its loss. IN AND OUT: The poll didn't have many changes at the bottom. Ohio State and SMU, both ranked earlier this season, were back in the Top 25. The Buckeyes were 20th and the Mustangs 23rd. Indiana dropped out after two weeks in, thanks to a loss to Purdue. Miami, No. 23 last week, did not receive a vote after losing to Georgia Tech and Florida State. | 1 | 6,288 | sports |
(Bloomberg) -- Pete Carroll's late-game Super Bowl coaching blunder left Las Vegas bookmakers pulling out their hair instead of raking in the cash. Several Nevada bookmakers said they missed out on a big payday because millions of dollars were lost to gamblers in the last minute of the game. They had to settle for making a much smaller profit on the New England Patriots' 28-24 win against the Seattle Seahawks -- thanks to an abundance of proposition bets. With the Patriots one-point favorites, the majority of money wagered was on New England, which led by four in the game's closing minutes. When Seattle's Jermaine Kearse made a jaw-dropping, juggling 33-yard catch at the 5-yard line, the fate of millions of dollars in bets became in doubt. The Seahawks moved the ball to New England's 1-yard line with less than 30 seconds to play. Instead of handing off to Marshawn Lynch, the game's most bruising rusher, Seattle coach Carroll called for a pass and quarterback Russell Wilson threw an interception, leaving both teams puzzled by the play-calling and bookies apoplectic. "It's the biggest missed opportunity I've ever had," said Jay Rood, vice president of Race & Sports for MGM Resorts International. "It was real tough, when it looks like you've got it locked up and then you have it snatched away from you because of a really weird decision." The Seahawks' failure to score caused a "significant seven-figure swing" in revenue for MGM, Rood said yesterday in a phone interview. The casino did make a slight profit because of money taken in from prop bets. "Here we are, 14 hours later, and I'm still shaking my head," said Jay Kornegay, executive director of the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook. Worst Case The worst-case scenario for sports books was the Patriots beating the spread and the teams combining to score more than 47.5 points (they scored 52), Kornegay said in a phone interview. The SuperBook also ended up a small winner, as it made more money on the futures and prop bets it took on the game in Glendale, Arizona. "It would have been a good solid day if they had given the ball to Marshawn," Kornegay said. "He's going to run through three guys to score that, are you kidding me?" Lynch had 13 rushing touchdowns during the National Football League regular season, tying DeMarco Murray of the Dallas Cowboys for the league lead. He had a 3-yard rushing score in the second quarter of the game two days ago against New England. William Hill's sports books, which saw about a 10 percent increase in the amount wagered for this year's Super Bowl, "got killed on the game itself" but also managed to "eek out the smallest of profits," Nick Bogdanovich, director of trading for William Hill U.S., said in an e-mail. $116 Million Nevada's 191 sports books handled almost $116 million in wagers on this year's Super Bowl, winning more than $3.2 million, according to figures released yesterday by the Nevada Gaming Control Board. The record handle of $119.4 million for a Super Bowl was set last year, when Nevada sports books won $19.7 million. Even the game's final 20 seconds held drama for gamblers and bookmakers. New England had the ball on its own 1-yard line after the interception by Malcolm Butler and was trying to avoid a safety, which happens when a team fails to get the ball out of its own end zone. Worth two points, each of the prior three Super Bowls had featured a safety, making it among the most popular prop bets on the game this year at 6-1 odds. The SuperBook also took bets at 50-1 that a safety would be the final score of the game. 'Best Encroachment' As New England quarterback Tom Brady stepped to the line of scrimmage, the entire Seattle defense squeezed together, ready to burst into the line to keep Brady in the end zone, the only way to stay alive in the game. Defensive end Michael Bennett, however, couldn't keep from jumping early, earning a 5-yard encroachment penalty and essentially clinching the Patriots' fourth Super Bowl title. "That was probably the best encroachment in the history of football," Kornegay said. "That would have cost the books millions." (A previous version of this story incorrectly referred to Lynch's opponent in 10th paragraph.) To contact the reporter on this story: Mason Levinson in New York at [email protected] To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at [email protected] Rob Gloster, Dex McLuskey | 3 | 6,289 | finance |
LEXINGTON, Ky. University of Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari expects to be without freshman Trey Lyles again Tuesday night when the top-ranked Wildcats host Georgia and maybe beyond. Lyles, a 6-10 small forward, missed Saturday's win against Alabama because of an undisclosed illness. The former McDonald's All-American from Indianapolis has started seven games this season and averaged 7.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 21.7 minutes per game. "We don't believe he'll play Tuesday and don't know after that," Calipari said Monday morning on the Southeastern Conference teleconference. "But we're going to try to figure that out. We had to play without him (against the Tide) and I thought it was a great win without him. I mean, you're talking about a 6-10, talented, talented player, and we're playing without him now. I thought we played well without him, but we're never going to be as good without him, because he's a really good player." Calipari did not elaborate and UK athletics spokesperson Deb Moore said the school is not releasing any further information on Lyles' illness at this time. However long he's out, the Wildcats are will be without a small forward. Junior starter Alex Poythress was lost earlier this season to a torn ACL. The two-platoon system Calipari has used off and on this season is essentially impossible without Lyles, as the coach has not yet shown trust in 6-9 sophomore froward Derek Willis. He did not play Saturday, even with Lyles out. Sophomore guard Dominique Hawkins likely stands to gain the most playing time during Lyles' absence. He started against the Tide. Kentucky's three-guard lineups featuring combinations of Harrison twins Andrew and Aaron Harrison, Devin Booker and Tyler Ulis have been plenty successful this season. All five of them are former McDonald's All-Americans, of which UK still has seven healthy. | 1 | 6,290 | sports |
From the archive of manager Bob Bonis, rare photographs of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones have been put up for sale on Ebay. These photographs, taken in the mid-'60s over the years Bonis managed the two bands, have existed in a private collection for 50 years until their Ebay unveil on Feb. 2. Below are 11 of the Beatles photographs along with a few descriptions provided by the Bob Bonus Archive. 1. Bloomington, Minnesota. Aug. 21, 1965. In a beautifully intimate moment in the middle of 25,000 fans, Paul McCartney turns away from the audience and beams when he finds Bob Bonis ... the Beatles' genuine affection for their tour manager and friend is lovingly captured here. 2. Portland, Oregon. Aug. 22, 1965. With many of the Beatles' second U.S. tour dates being grueling double-headers, the boys often found strange ways to entertain themselves between shows, as this extremely rare and unguarded photo of John Lennon dressed as Lawrence of Arabia showcases. 3. Heading to a show in Cow Palace outside of San Francisco, California. Aug. 30, 1965. Also on the plane from Hollywood with the Beatles was Joan Baez, who visited them backstage in San Francisco. In the weeks before, the Beatles had played 16 shows in nine cities to more than 300,000 screaming teenage fans. 4. Heading to St. Louis, Missouri. Aug. 21, 1966. 5. Detroit, Michigan. Aug. 13, 1966. 6. Houston, Texas. Aug. 19, 1965 Predominantly teenage girls suffering from Beatlemania (thanks to the recent release of the film HELP!), began tossing jellybeans on stage because George Harrison had mentioned he loved the softer (and totally unavailable) British version, jelly babies, in an interview. Along with a barrage of hard candy, fans threw paper, cups and even a few dangerous objects. Entertainment reporter Jeff Millar noted, "Nobody missed a note as cups caromed off their faces. George Harrison adroitly dodged the largest object hurled, apparently someone's right tennis shoe." 7. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Aug. 16, 1966. 8. St. Louis, Missouri. Aug. 21, 1966. These few moments of peace turned out to be fleeting, as once the Beatles took the stage, they were pummeled with a downpour. Though the venue had constructed a makeshift shelter out of slivers of corrugated iron, rain still dripped on the amps and created a downright soggy attitude in the band. Paul McCartney called the show "worse than those early days" at the Cavern Club, one of the very reasons he finally agreed with the others to stop touring forever. 9. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Aug. 16, 1966. 10. Bel Air, California. August, 1964 With such an intense schedule, downtime was a luxury, yet this mini-vacation almost didn't happen. In town for their Aug. 23 historic show at the famous Hollywood Bowl, the boys soon found out that L.A. wasn't exactly willing to roll out the red carpet. Lockheed Airport in Burbank refused to let their plane land, and The Ambassador Hotel cancelled their reservations out of fear of being inundated with crazed fans. Luckily, British actor Reginald Owen offered up his Bel Air manse for the bargain price of $1,000. 11. Seattle, Washington. Aug. 22, 1964. When the plane finally landed in Vancouver, it was incredibly late. John quipped at the press conference before the show that it was "because of the hair have to be deloused before you can get in." In reality, the pilot was missing a necessary stamp on his passport and had to return to Seattle to get it. Perhaps flying the most famous foursome of all time made him just a little nervous. | 6 | 6,291 | entertainment |
MONTPELLIER, France (AP) -- Top-seeded Gael Monfils won a tight all-French encounter against Kenny De Schepper 6-4, 7-6 (3) to reach the quarterfinals of the Open Sud de France on Thursday. One break of serve was enough for Monfils, who saved all three break points he faced. Monfils will next take on qualifier Steve Darcis of Belgium, who defeated Jarkko Nieminen of Finland 6-2, 7-6 (3). Third-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany hit 19 aces and saved 11 of the 13 break points he faced before rallying past Paul-Henri Mathieu of France 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 in a second-round match which lasted more than two hours. Kohlschreiber will face seventh-seeded Joao Sousa for a semifinals berth. | 1 | 6,292 | sports |
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) The 18th-ranked VCU Rams will have to make some adjustments moving forward without injured floor leader and defensive lynchpin Briante Weber - changing the way they play won't be one of them. Weber tore the ACL, the MCL and the meniscus in his right knee late in the Rams' loss to Richmond on Saturday. Surgery which could come in about two weeks after the swelling goes down, coach Shaka Smart said Monday. ''We'll adjust some things,'' Smart said. ''I think your personality changes a little bit any time you lose a dominant figure on your team, but at the same time, we're not going to cancel the season. ''We're still going to play the way that we play. There may be some adjustments in terms of some of the Xs and Os stuff we do on both ends of the floor, but we're still going to be us.'' Weber, a senior point guard, was the lead orchestrator of the Rams' `Havoc' style and has led the nation in steals percentage the last three years. He was leading the nation with 3.9 steals per game this season and was 12 steals away from breaking the NCAA career record of 385 set by John Linehan of Providence in 2002. The Rams (17-4, 7-1 Atlantic 10) are back in action Wednesday night at George Mason (7-13, 2-6). VCU absorbed a double dose of disappointment on Saturday, seeing its 12-game winning streak end in a 64-55 loss to crosstown rival Richmond, and then seeing the always energetic Weber writhing in pain on the floor. He was injured with just over three minutes left when he attempted a jump-stop in the lane. Unable to practice again until Monday, the team has focused on supporting Weber after getting the details of his injury late Saturday. Smart said Weber has pushed them to get back to work. ''He's been very resilient so far. He's had a terrific attitude,'' Smart said. ''The things that he has said to me and to his teammates about our team and about what we need to do have been terrific. I think he is ready to attack any type of rehab and any type of comeback. Bri's is always a highly energetic guy.'' To replace Weber, the Rams will turn primarily to JeQuan Lewis and freshman Jonathan Williams, but they expect to have Weber on the bench for home and road games before and after his surgery. ''He's still a big part of our leadership team,'' the coach said. Smart said the hardest part of seeing Weber's college career end as it did was the idea that, as a senior, he won't get a chance to do it over as he would as an underclassman. Still, his legacy will not just be as one of the best defenders in program history, but also of a player whose growth as an individual mirrors what coaches hope to see when they recruit a player. ''He's grown a great deal and I think great evidence of that is just the way he's responded with his teammates since this injury occurred,'' Smart said, noting his refusal to feel sorry for himself. ''He could be caught up in himself and down in the dumps and upset,'' Smart said, ''but he's been great.'' --- Follow Hank on twitter at: http://twitter.com/hankkurzjr | 1 | 6,293 | sports |
College sports fans who donate money to their favorite schools and get priority seating at big games in exchange could lose a tax break under a federal budget plan proposed on Monday. Democratic President Barack Obama's plan would close a loophole that lets donors deduct four-fifths of the value of a gift made to a school, even if priority seating rights they get in exchange are worth more than one-fifth of the gift's value. Obama's plan is not likely to become law soon. Republicans, who now control both the House of Representatives and the Senate, were sharply critical of the plan within hours of its unveiling. But the budget, and its proposals, draw a lot of attention each year. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the nonprofit group that regulates college sports, declined to comment on the priority seating tax-break proposal. Tickets to big-time college games are expensive and hard to get. Major schools often set aside the best seats for fans who have donated a lot of money to the school. Often, the bigger the donation, the higher the priority in seating. Normally, U.S. tax law requires that Americans who donate money and get something of value in exchange must reduce the value of any deduction claimed later by the fair-market value of the item received in exchange. But college fans can deduct fully 80 percent of their donations, even if the market value of their seating priority exceeds 20 percent of their gift's value. "The proposal would deny the deduction for contributions that entitle donors to a right to purchase tickets to sporting events," said a summary of the Obama budget's tax measures released by the Treasury Department. Many universities have priority seating programs for football, basketball and other games. A cursory review of websites showed such programs are in place at, for instance, Florida State University, University of Connecticut, Auburn University, University of Michigan and others. Officials at these schools and their booster and athletic foundations could not immediately be reached for comment. (Editing by Jonathan Oatis) | 1 | 6,294 | sports |
A Cambridge museum claims that two bronze statues of men riding panthers, previously unattributed, are works by Michelangelo. Tara Cleary reports. | 8 | 6,295 | video |
Pricing for the 2016 Fiat 500X has been revealed. The base 500X Pop starts at $20,900 (including $900 destination), while the top-spec Trekking Plus is priced from $28,000. The $20,900 2016 Fiat 500X Pop is powered by 160-hp, 184-lb-ft 1.4-liter turbocharged I-4 mated to a six-speed manual transmission. The 180-hp, 175-lb-ft 2.4-liter I-4 and nine-speed automatic are available for $1500. Pop models are front-drive only. Black/Gray cloth seats are standard on the Pop. Five exterior colors are available including Arancio (Orange), Bianco Gelato (White Clear Coat), Grigio Argento (Grey Metallic), Nero Cinema (Black Clear Coat), and Rosso Passione (Red Hypnotique Clear Coat). All other models come with the 2.4-liter and nine-speed auto combo with front-drive standard. All-wheel drive is a $1900 option. The other models are available in seven additional colors including Blu Venezia (Blue Metallic), Grigio Arte (Grey Clear Coat), Bronzo Magnetico (Bronze Metallic), and Verde Toscana (Green Metallic) as no-cost options, and Bronzo Magnetico Opaco (Matte Bronze), Giallo Tris trato (Tricoat Yellow), and Pearl Red Tri-Coat each for an additional $1000. Starting at $23,200, the 2016 Fiat 500X Easy is available with black/gray or black/red cloth seats. Six packages called collections are available. Collection 1 ($200) adds a rearview camera, while Collection 2 ($1500) adds ambient lighting, rear park sensors, a Blind Spot Monitoring System with Rear Cross Path Detection, dual-zone automatic climate control, heated steering wheel and front seats, eight-way power driver's seat with four-way power lumbar, and more. Easy Collection 3 ($1700) adds 17-inch alloy wheels and a dual-pane sunroof, while Collection 4 ($1700) adds 17-inch alloy wheels, 3.5-inch driver information cluster display, 6.5-inch Uconnect with navigation and Bluetooth, Sirius Satellite radio and Travel Link, HD radio, and the Blind Spot Monitoring System. Key features in Collection 5 ($1900) include 17-inch alloy wheels, nine-speaker Beats Audio system, the Blind Spot Monitoring System, and more. Collection 6 ($4000) includes Uconnect with navigation, Sirius, Beats Audio system , the Blind Spot Monitoring System, dual-zone climate, heated steering wheel and front seats, power driver's seat, dual-pane sunroof, and more. The 2016 Fiat 500X Trekking starts at $24,000 and features black premium cloth. Six collections are available. Collection 1 ($200) just tacks on a rearview camera, while Collection 2 ($1200) adds a dual-pane sunroof. Trekking Collection 3 ($1300) adds 18-inch alloy wheels, dual-zone climate, heated steering wheel and front seats, power driver's seat, and more. Collection 4 ($1500) adds rear park sensors, the Blind Spot Monitoring System, heated steering wheel and front seats, and power driver's seat. Some of the features included in Collection 5 ($1700) include Uconnect with navigation, Sirius Satellite radio, Travel Link and Traffic, and the Blind Spot Monitoring System. Collection 6 ($2700) adds 18-inch alloy wheels, Beats Audio system, and more. The $25,750 2016 Fiat 500X Lounge is available with Dark Slate Gray/Light Pebble Beige or Brown cloth seats, while Nero (black) or Brown leather seats are also available. Lounge Collection 1 ($350) adds rear park sensors and the Blind Spot Monitoring System, while Collection 2 ($1550) adds all the features from Collection 1 plus leather seating. Lounge Collection 3 ($2050) adds 18-inch alloy wheels to Collection 2. Lounge Collection 4 ($3250) adds a dual-pane sunroof to Collection 3, while Collection 5 ($3450) trades the 18-inch alloy wheels for the Beats Audio system. In addition to all the pieces from the 5 previous collections, Lounge Collection 6 ($5350) adds 18-inch alloy wheels and Beats Audio, Automatic High-Beam Control Headlamps and Rain-Sensing Windshield Wipers, Full-Speed Forward Collision Warning with Active Braking, and LaneSense Lane Departure Warning with Lane Keep Assist. The 2016 Fiat 500X Trekking Plus starts at $28,000 and comes with Nero or Brown leather seats standard. Just two collections are available for the Trekking Plus trim. Collection 1 ($1900) includes the Beats Audio system and dual-pane sunroof, while Collection 2 ($2600) includes Automatic High-Beam Control Headlamps and Rain-Sensing Windshield Wipers, Full-Speed Forward Collision Warning with Active Braking, LaneSense Lane Departure Warning with Lane Keep Assist, and dual-pane sunroof. You can build your own 2016 Fiat 500X here . Source: Fiat | 9 | 6,296 | autos |
Dave Bergman was asked Friday whether he still had some fight left. "I do," he said, according to a family friend. Since a diagnosis of bile duct cancer in May 2012, the former Detroit Tigers first baseman -- a key member of the 1984 World Series championship team -- has spent the better part of three years battling the disease. Today, that fight came to an end. Bergman has died, at the age of 61. "It is with heavy hearts we extend our condolences to the family of Dave Bergman," the Tigers said in a released statement. "Dave was as spirited as a person as he was a player. He will forever hold a special place in Tigers history for the versatile roles he played and his significant contributions as a member of the 1984 World Champion Tigers. We will miss seeing 'Bergie' at the ballpark and in the community." Bergman played nine seasons in Detroit -- 1984-92 -- and was a lifetime .258 hitter in 17 big-league seasons with the New York Yankees, Houston Astros, San Francisco Giants and Tigers. "I loved Dave Bergman," former Tiger teammate Lance Parrish said today. "Everybody on the team loved him. He was a great friend and a great teammate." "It's just a sad day. We know this battle has taken every ounce of strength and energy to fight. It's sad to see it turn out this way." Bergman is most known for the 1984 season, when he hit .273 with seven home runs and 44 RBIs as a key member of the Tigers' most recent championship team. His most notable moment that season was a game-winning home run against the Toronto Blue Jays on June 4 at Tiger Stadium. Bergman capped a 13-pitch at-bat with a walk-off, three-run homer into the rightfield upper deck off of Roy Lee Jackson. "He fouled off 10 or 12 pitches," Parrish recalled. "I don't think anybody that followed us back then will forget that." It was Bergman's first home run with the Tigers -- he was acquired that spring with closer Willie Hernandez in a three-team trade with the Philadelphia Phillies and Giants -- and none of the other 38 home runs he would hit in his Tigers career were bigger. "I just happened to hit it right on the button," he said. "I felt extra good that at-bat. I felt if the ball was hittable, I was going to hit it." On the field, Bergman is remembered as the consummate professional. "He was a leader," Parrish said. "A very intelligent man who played the game the way it is supposed to be played. He played very hard and I just loved being on the field with him." Bergman also was a master of the hidden-ball trick: Off the field, he is remembered for the charitable work Bergman contributed to during and after his playing career in Detroit. He played a large role in organizations such as C.A.T.C.H., a charity for kids founded by former Tigers manager Sparky Anderson, and youth baseball around the area, most notably the Grosse Pointe Redbirds youth baseball club, which he founded. He also was a board member of the Joe Niekro Foundation, which supports research for and awareness for brain aneurysms. Niekro was a teammate of Bergman with the Astros and one of his best friends. "He was a class act," said longtime Bergman friend and coworker Robert Bilke, who visited with him Friday. "A true professional. He was giving in his ways and he served the kids. Anybody that needed him, he'd go out of his way to help." The Evanston, Ill., native is survived by his wife, Cathy, and children, Troy, Bria and Erica. Funeral arrangements have not been finalized. The family asks that memorial contributions be made to the Grosse Pointe Redbirds baseball organization. Fenech writes for the Detroit Free Press, a Gannett property | 1 | 6,297 | sports |
DUBAI -- It was a contrast impossible to miss. As Tiger Woods played a game with which he is not familiar , Rory McIlroy was simultaneously asserting his increasingly clear superiority over what currently passes for his competition. Although only half a world apart -- one in Scottsdale, the other in Dubai -- the two biggest names in golf were metaphorically on different planets. The same sort of intergalactic banishment was the collective fate of those in McIlroy's lengthy slipstream at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. Four tours of the Emirates Course saw him reach 22 under par and finish three strokes clear of the runner-up, Swede Alex Noren. As a measure of the 25-year old Irishman's now prolonged level of high performance, 18 of his last 49 competitive rounds have added up to 66 or better. His last seven finishes on the European Tour: First. First. First. Second. Second. Second. First. Related: Rory now vs. Tiger in 2000 "He's playing a different game from the rest of them," says former BMW PGA champion Tony Johnstone, who now commentates for Sky Sports in the UK. "When Tiger was at his peak he could play at maybe 70 percent of his capability and still win. Rory has reached that level too. And when he plays close to 100 percent, it is 'goodnight boys.' He is hitting shots so good we don't have enough superlatives to adequately describe them for the viewers." Such hyperbole is hardly misplaced. Having emerged towards the end of what history will surely label "the Tiger-years," McIlroy is fast creating his own eponymous era. Already it can be argued he is perhaps the best driver of a golf ball the game has yet seen. Tee-shots that routinely travel 350-yards and finish on short grass represent a potent coupling of distance and accuracy. "I'd just finished my second round here when someone told me Rory hit his drive on the second hole (351-yards) 12 feet from the pin," says former Ryder Cup player Oliver Wilson. "I had to laugh. I hit my best drive on that hole and still had 50-yards to the flag." Via Twitter, former Ryder Cup player Edoardo Molinari described McIlroy's drive off the 6th tee in the final round as "simply insane!!!" There's more to all of this than just natural talent though. "Technically, Rory is really, really good," points out leading swing coach Pete Cowen, who works with, among others, former US Open champion Graeme McDowell and world number two Henrik Stenson. "That's why he hits his drives so far and so straight. But the key to Rory's swing is balance. He couldn't swing the club as fast as he does without great balance." Related: The similar career paths of Tiger and Rory One dark cloud is currently floating over McIlroy's head. Only two days removed from his tenth European Tour victory, his presence is required in Dublin's High Court. Indeed, the way things are shaping up on and off the course, the legal action against his former management company, Horizon Sports, might be McIlroy's most hard-fought contest of 2015. More from Golf Digest: Golf Digest's 2015 Hot List Equipment Guide Tiger's Chipping Nightmare America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses | 1 | 6,298 | sports |
Next time you're about to tell someone you can't do something, stop yourself. Try saying, "I can't do that yet " instead, which may go a long way in terms of how you view yourself and your abilities, according to Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck, Ph.D. This tiny word has a big impact. Dweck has done a whole lotta research about having a fixed mindset versus a growth mindset. If you think you just are the way you are, and your abilities are what they are, then you'll think your lot in life is what it is: unchangeable and inevitable. This is a fixed mindset. On the flipside, if you have a growth mindset, then you are open and ready for improvement. You're allowing room for advancement, learning and positive change in your life. And you can change your attitude daily simply by adding "yet" to your statements. According to the Science of Us, from the perspective of a teacher and a student, Dweck explains it like this: "We've found that putting in certain phrases like not yet or yet can really boost students' motivation. So if a student says, 'I'm not a math person yet, ' ' I can't do this yet. ' And it means that with your guidance they will continue on their learning trajectory and get there eventually. It puts their fixed mindset statement into a growth mindset context of learning over time." And honestly, that's the way it should be. You are never so old that you stop growing and evolving, that you can't learn new habits and improve your well-being. You should constantly be striving to improve… so get motivated to get better in 2015 about your fitness routine, your career goals, your diet, anything and everything. You're not the best you can be yet . Looks like we just found our new favorite mantra. | 7 | 6,299 | health |
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