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Back in 1980, Nolan Ryan caused a ruckus when he became the first player paid more than $1 million annually. That's a lot of clams for us regular folk, even by today's standards, but it was okay. He was a five-time All-Star, a machine who could throw 100 mph and make 30-40 starts every year. He had won 167 games to that point, striking out 2,909 with a 3.16 ERA. If any pitcher was going to break the seven-figure barrier, it might as well be Ryan. In 2014, Brett Anderson signed a one-year deal for $10 million. He's never thrown more than 200 innings, and he hasn't thrown more than 100 since 2010. He has the same career ERA+ that Ryan did when he signed that million-dollar contract, but he's still something of a gamble. And yet, there was no ruckus. Up there, when the All-Star and future Hall of Famer signed? A long, sustained ruckus. A left-hander who has been solid when healthy, which hasn't been often, on a $10 million flier? No ruckus. It's not just inflation, either. When adjusting for inflation, Ryan's deal was worth about $3.6 million per season. When adjusting for inflation, Anderson's deal is worth about $10 million for next season. This brings us to our thesis. Indeed. But they make a lot more money now than they used to, even compared to post-Messersmith players who were allowed to test the market. What would buy you three years of an ace in Ryan's time will buy you a solid pitcher with a checkered injury history today. So how much money would players from the past have made today? We asked this last year , and there are so many interesting hypothetical cases, it makes sense to revisit it every offseason. Here, then, are what some players of yesteryear might have made today if they became free agents after their first six years of service time in the majors. Don Drysdale When would he have been a free agent ? After the 1962 season, when he was 25 and coming off a Cy Young season. What kind of season did he just finish ? An excellent one. His 128 ERA+ and 2.83 ERA, while excellent, aren't exactly the stuff that unanimous Cy Youngs are made of, but Drysdale also led the league in innings pitched and strikeouts. He was a three-time All-Star, and he was almost as young as the typical prospect. Notes Max Scherzer signed for seven years and $170 million (in net present value ), and he's been a good statistical comp for Drysdale over the last two seasons, but he's also four years older than Drysdale would have been. So you need to look for a younger pitcher. Clayton Kershaw was even more impressive than Drysdale to begin his career, which is why he received a seven year, $215 million deal, but he never reached the open market. He didn't get a chance to find out that Jed Hoyer has a Clayton Kershaw Fathead in his office, and that they wouldn't be underbid. If Kershaw were on the open market this offseason, for example, do you think he would only get seven years? So he's also an imperfect comparison. Contract today ? Nine years, $240 million. If the Nationals could have added Scherzer's previous four years to their cart for an extra $70 million, they would have. You don't see a lot of pitchers get more than seven years, but you don't see a lot of 25-year-olds entering free agency after winning a Cy Young. Would it have been worth it ? It would have been a touch underwhelming, but it wouldn't have been anything like a Zito-esque flop. Drysdale pitched for seven more years, eventually succumbing to injuries after his age-32 season. He averaged four wins above replacement in those seven seasons, or three WAR per season if you include the phantom eighth and ninth seasons. Drysdale is known for having a truncated career compared to other Hall of Famers, but he was productive for longer than you might think. Even if you lop off the first six years of his career, he still had six more that any team would have been thrilled to have. In a way, this is how every team expects a gigantic free agent deal to turn out: Some scintillating seasons, a couple of All-Star appearances, and a slow or sudden decline at the end that doesn't matter as much when you think about the value at the front of the deal. The trick is to sign the stars when they're 25, everyone. We've solved baseball! ★★★ Donie Bush When would he have been a free agent ? After his age-26 season in 1914. What kind of season did he just finish ? A typical Donie Bush season. He led the league in walks and at-bats, reportedly played a great defensive shortstop, and he had a low average, high OBP, and absolutely no power. It was good enough to finish third in the MVP voting. Wait, who is this guy? We're getting to that. Notes This is where, in the past, a co-worker like Rob Neyer or Steven Goldman would have interjected. "Oh, Donie Bush is the guy who had his ear bitten off in a bar fight by the guy who invented the sousaphone," because every baseball player from before 1920 had their ear bitten off in a bar fight. Here, though, I'm on my own. All I know is that Bush was a dead-ball shortstop. He might be the most dead-ball shortstop, a true marvel of singles, glove work, and general derring-do. When the Angels decided to create David Eckstein, they started with Bush's DNA. Over at Baseball-Reference's Bullpen, this is how Bush is described: He was consistently among the league leaders in all fielding categories, showing tremendous range. Still, he was underappreciated because, for all his times on base and runs scored, his best weapon was drawing walks, a skill that was not held in high regard, and his forte was scoring and not driving in runs. That's why I picked him. C'mon, little buddy. Let me show you the future, where people give a damn about walks and defense. Let me show you the path to millions. Take an Altuve-sized grain of salt and note that defensive records from that era are spotty, at best. Still, before he would have been a theoretical free agent, he was worth between four and five wins for each season except one. He would have caused something of a bidding war, especially with the dearth of shortstops on the open market. Contract today ? Six years, $103 million. We're talking no power, remember, so he wouldn't have gotten Choo or Ellsbury money. He would have come up short of Andrus money, too, because that was probably factoring in a peak that hasn't shown up yet, whereas Bush wasn't projectable in the slightest. What you saw was what you were going to get. Slap slap slap, pick pick pick, slap slap slap. Would it have been worth it Sadly, no. While Bush had a very memorable baseball career -- he managed the Pirates team that lost to the '27 Yankees in the World Series, managed six other major league teams, owned a couple of minor league teams, and was the president of the Cleveland Indians for over 25 years. But he peaked in 1914 on both sides of the ball. He had two more four-win seasons, but averaged just a single WAR over his remaining 10 seasons, and 1.7 WAR over the life of this hypothetical contract. ★★★ Andruw Jones When would he have been a free agent ? In 2002, after his age-25 season. What kind of season did he just finish ? Another Gold Glove year, with 35 homers and plenty of walks. Using the newfangled WAR, he was worth about seven wins -- the fourth time in his career he had done that. (Again, he was 25.) Notes Ah, this is a special all-defense edition of What Would They Have Made?, apparently. Except Jones was more than a perennial Gold Glover and perhaps the best defensive center fielder since Willie Mays. He could sock some dingers, too. There were a couple of years there where he even hit for average. Can you imagine? Jones just missed the right era for his talents. It's not like he got paid in dried noodles and scrip, like Donie Bush up there, so don't weep too hard, but if Jones was a young star back then, the defensive stats of today would have made him a mega-star. Here's what Ken Rosenthal wrote about him for the Sporting News in 2001: Manager Bobby Cox estimates that Andruw Jones saves the Braves 100 runs a season, claiming that his center fielder has "RBIs in his glove." The exact number of Jones' RBIs is well-chronicled. His most obscure offensive statistics are reported widely. But good luck finding an accurate gauge of his defensive value. And here's Scott Boras, ahead of the danged curve, as usual: "I'm in arbitration with all these catchers and all these center fielders," Boras says. "Why? Because clubs believe we can't establish defensive value." When he was 24, Jones had his worst season as a regular. The Braves, not being dummies, used the opportunity to swoop in with a generous contract extension , six years and $75 million, so we never got to see the bidding war that would have transpired. It would have been bloody. Many Bothans would have died to get Jones on their team. Contract today ? It helps to use the Baseball-Reference toy that gives us an idea of how Jones's stats would translate to today's hitting environment. The 30-homer seasons are still there, but the OPS start to shrink to the .330 range. He's not a magic hitter, even if his numbers look more impressive through the lens of 2015. But that defense, man. That defense. It's hard to explain, especially considering that we haven't seen it for over a decade. There aren't a lot of Andruw Jones videos showing his defensive greatest hits, and even if they were, it would be hard to appreciate them. They would show a player gliding back and going to where the ball was. You would need a Mario Kart ghost of another center fielder, diving helplessly for the ball, to appreciate Jones fully. Andrelton Simmons got $58 million before he had two years of service time, and he's not exactly a threat to hit 30 dingers. He wasn't even close to the open market. So double that, then. Triple that? No, Robinson Cano got $240 million, and while he's on a Hall of Fame track, he was 30. This would have been a chance to get a star in his prime, someone the same age as George Springer is now. There would have been a chance for Jones to set records and possibly require his new team to take his name. The Los Angeles Andruws. Everything acquired in The Louisiana Purchase would have been transferred to Curacao. This contract, man ... Ten years, $300 million. It comes close to the Giancarlo Stanton contract, with a slight deduction for the low batting averages. He would have been introduced at a huge press conference, with a thrilled, beaming owner and general manager. Would it have been worth it ? Yeah. Not so much, it turns out. Not so much. It's better than you might think, though. Jones was an absolute star for four more years. He hit .266/.348/.527 with 157 homers -- including a 51-homer season -- and the defense was still outstanding. He averaged five wins over those seasons. And then ... poof. He lost his defense in a poker match, and his contact went from sketchy to abysmal. The last time we saw him, he was a platooning DH, he was Jake LaMotta performing poetry and jokes. He was a first baseman in Japan, hitting .232 with copious dingers and strikeouts. He wants to come back , you know. I implore teams to make this happen, just to give him a one-percent chance of helping his Hall of Fame case instead of hurt it. There's one thing going in his favor: He won't be remembered for one of the worst contracts in baseball history. ★★★ Randy Johnson When would he have been a free agent ? After 1994, when he was 30. He got a slow start to his career, remember. What kind of season did he just finish ? An excellent one, finishing third in the Cy Young voting in a strike-shortened season. He lead the league in strikeouts, complete games, and shutouts. Notes Ah, but he wasn't Randy Johnson yet. He kind of was, but he was still a confusing anomaly. He was still a threat to walk 100 batters every season, and 1994 was just the second time he walked fewer than four batters per nine innings (just barely). And what about the body type? He was all elbows and humerus bone, Chris Sale in a funhouse mirror. There wasn't any evidence that he was going to break down, but just look at the guy. He was already 30, you know. He was striking out 300 batters, though. That would have intrigued the teams of today, enough to ignore the Jonathan Sanchez-like seasons that came before 1993. He had a history of health, a penchant for missing bats, and a newfound ability to prevent runs. He would have been amply compensated. Contract today ? But would he have been in the Max Scherzer tier? Probably not. Certainly not if he were a free agent after the '93 season, when he had his first great year, but there was only a strike-shortened stack of evidence that Johnson was really a changed pitcher after that. Considering his age and hard-to-compare physical profile, I'll guess that he would have got the annual value, but not the years. Six years, $152 million, then. Something closer to Jon Lester, with the new team making cartoonish GULP sounds every time they thought about the contract. Johnson was such an unknown. Would it have been worth it ? Like few contracts in history. You know there were people in 2009 who were hemming and hawing over Apple at $20 a share. With a big enough transaction, it would have been a lot of money to lose. Now those people are absolutely appalled that they didn't buy more. So it would have been with Johnson, who would have two of his greatest years after the risky hypothetical contract. After his six-year deal, he probably would have gotten another one, possibly with even crazier money. That's how good he was. ★★★ Curt Flood When would he have been a free agent ? 1963, after his age-25 season. What kind of season did he just finish ? A very good one, hitting .302/.345/.403 with sterling defense in center (and a Gold Glove). Notes We're inundated with millions this and millions that for five miserable, cold months, and the numbers turn into abstractions. These millions are fake dollars that baseball fans play with when they want to put a house on Yawkey Way or a hotel on West Addison Street. In this analogy, I guess minor league free agents come from the Community Chest? Still working that out. But they're real dollars we're talking about. Real wealth. And it would still be going to the owners without Flood's help, so it's only fair to include him in the green pastures of what-if. Flood had a more typical start to his career than someone like Jones. He got regular time when he was 20, and hit like someone who probably would have been in Class-A today. When he was 21, he hit like someone who probably would have been in Double-A. He had his breakout season in 1961 when he was 23, and he was a perennial Gold Glover after that. Like Jones, he would have been even more appreciated now. The difference isn't quite as extreme, though, considering he was still hitting for average, which was more appreciated back then. Here's what he was: a superlative defender, excellent baserunner, and high-average hitter. Denard Span with a higher batting average and even better glove? Carlos Gomez without the power? Lorenzo Cain, but quicker to develop? I'm not sure there's a perfect present-day comp for Flood, but he was an electric player who would have been very much in demand. Contract today ? Six years, $90 million. B.J. Upton got five years after his age-27 season, so we'll give Flood another year because of his age. It's possible that a team would go seven or eight years, counting on a slow decline in the early 30s, but the offensive profile wasn't that dynamic, probably not enough to get a nine-figure deal. Would it have been worth it ? Every penny, and then some. He hit .301/.346/.384 over his next six seasons, good for a 106 OPS+. His defense remained valuable, and he picked up six consecutive Gold Gloves, finishing with MVP votes in five consecutive years. He was worth about four wins, on average, for those seasons, and he missed more than two weeks in just one of his remaining seasons. Then he sat out for year, challenging the reserve clause and suing Major League Baseball . He lost the case and his career. He returned to play for the Senators and manager Ted Williams, but he retired after just 13 games, suffering from serious alcohol problems . In our scenario, he makes millions, plays well, then comes back to make more millions. In real life, his photography business went bankrupt and the IRS almost took his mother's apartment building. He hopped around the Mediterranean, broke, sick, and occasionally homeless before returning to the U.S. and eventually getting sober shortly before his death in 1997. I like our scenario better. Flood deserved better, and we get to play our silly what-ifs and pretend GM in the hot stove league because of him. Heck, six years, $120 million. Just because.
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I can finally sleep soundly with the knowledge that " I Adore Mi Amor ," a silky smooth 90's track by R&B boy band Color Me Badd, was the No. 1 song on the day I was born. Luckily, you too can find out what the No. 1 song was on your birthday thanks to the online music and radio blog Billboard.fm , a fun little website that was started as a hobby by a guy named Jeff. We first heard about Billboard.fm over at Product Hunt. To find your own birthday song, all you have to do is select your birthday and the site will reveal what song was at the top of the charts the day you entered the world. It even includes the YouTube video for the track so you can watch the (likely) cringe-worthy music video as well. You can find out your own birthday song by clicking here.
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Rep. Mo Brooks and potential presidential hopeful Ben Carson both suggested a connection between illegal immigration and the spread of diseases such as measles in the United States. Though it is often difficult to pinpoint precise origins of disease outbreaks, there is no evidence supporting a link between the recent outbreaks and illegal immigration. Brooks, a Republican from Alabama, was asked about the current measles outbreak in an interview with radio host Matt Murphy (at the 14:24 mark). The congressman said the immunization practices in the home countries of immigrants who are living in the U.S. illegally could be responsible for outbreaks. Brooks, Feb. 3: I don't think there is any health care professional who has examined the facts who could honestly say that Americans have not died because the diseases brought into America by illegal aliens who are not properly health care screened, as lawful immigrants are. It might be the enterovirus that has a heavy presence in Central and South America that has caused deaths of American children over the past six to nine months, it might be this measles outbreak there are any number of things. … [U]nfortunately our kids just aren't prepared for a lot of the diseases that come in and are borne by illegal aliens. You have to have sympathy for the plight of the illegal aliens, I think we all understand that. But they have not been blessed with in their home countries with the kind of health care, the kind of immunizations that we demand of our children in the United States. The first example Brooks mentioned refers to an outbreak of enterovirus D68 in 2014, which sickened many thousands and did kill at least two children . During that outbreak, some implied that it was connected to illegal immigration, in particular because of a surge of children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, has specifically noted that children entering the country illegally from Central America present little risk of spreading diseases among the public. Furthermore, the CDC found that the strain of enterovirus was genetically similar to strains found in the U.S., Europe and Asia in previous years, suggesting the outbreak did not start via immigration from Central and South America. A 2013 study published in the journal Virology found that only 3 percent of 3,375 patients with flu-like symptoms across a variety of Latin American countries actually had any type of enterovirus, and an even smaller proportion had the relevant strain to the U.S. outbreak. The measles outbreak in the U.S., which includes most of the 102 cases in 14 states between Jan. 1 and Jan. 30 this year, likely did originate from outside this country. Whether it came from an immigrant living in the U.S. illegally, however, is unknown. According to Anne Schuchat, an assistant surgeon general and director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, illegal immigration is not the likely culprit. "Although we aren't sure exactly how this year's outbreak began, we assume that someone got infected overseas, visited the Disneyland parks and spread the disease to others," she said in a press briefing on Jan. 29 . For example, travelers to the Philippines could have been exposed to the disease, as that country suffered an outbreak possibly involving more than 50,000 cases last year . Schuchat did say that there have been no confirmed cases of transmission from the Philippines yet this year; Indonesia, India and the United Arab Emirates are among the countries currently under investigation as a source for the outbreak. Between January and May 2014, the CDC reported 288 cases of measles and was able to pinpoint the origin for all but eight of them. The CDC counted 45 "direct importations" of the disease, which included 40 U.S. residents returning home from abroad and five foreign visitors; 22 of those were transfers from the Philippines. Only three came from the Americas, and the rest came from Southeast Asia and Europe. Measles cases in the U.S. have spiked in recent years , with 644 reported cases in 2014. One large outbreak, with 383 cases, occurred last year among Amish communities in Ohio, where vaccination rates are very low. The 102 cases so far in 2015 puts the country on pace to reach an even higher number this year. Since 2000, the fewest cases of measles in the U.S. occurred in 2004, when there were only 37 confirmed cases . Notably, the recent cases of measles that do occur in the U.S. are concentrated among unvaccinated individuals . On Jan. 21, the California Department of Public Health said that 28 of 34 of the confirmed cases of measles involved people who were not vaccinated . Schuchat, in her Jan. 29 briefing, noted that the majority of cases are in people who "did not get vaccinated or don't know whether they have been vaccinated." Brooks also contended that "illegal aliens" come from countries that don't have "the kind of immunizations that we demand of our children in the United States." Brooks would have been correct if he were talking about the 1980s, when Central American countries showed low rates of vaccination. But since 2000, the vaccination rates of Central American countries have been largely on par with or have exceeded that of the United States. According to the World Health Organization , the United States in 2013 had a measles vaccination rate for 1-year-olds of 91 percent. Though Mexico's rate dropped to 89 percent in 2013, it had been at 95 percent or higher for every other year since 2000. Guatemala's 2013 rate was 85 percent, down from 93 percent the previous year. Honduras also had a coverage rate of 89 percent, down from above 90 percent in previous years. El Salvador's rate was 94 percent in 2013. Brooks was not alone in suggesting illegal immigration could be connected to the spread of disease. Speaking with CNN's Jake Tapper, B en Carson a retired neurosurgeon who is considering running for the Republican presidential nomination echoed that sentiment. Carson, Feb. 3: These are things that we had under control. We have to account for the fact that we now have people coming into the country, sometimes undocumented people, who perhaps have diseases that we had under control. So now we need to be doubly vigilant about making sure that we immunize our people to keep them from getting diseases that once were under control. Though the U.S. did declare measles " eliminated " in 2000, the declining vaccination rate in California and elsewhere in the U.S. has led to the increase in cases and outbreaks. The CDC's reporting on measles outbreaks over the last 15 years has concerned only U.S. travelers returning from abroad and spreading the disease, or refugees from countries such as Burma . In earlier reports on outbreaks that occurred in 2001 and again in 2013 , the CDC noted that children adopted from China brought measles into the country. China's measles immunization rate has held steady at 99 percent over the last five years. Another report from the CDC on measles outbreaks between 2001 and 2004 cited U.S. residents returning from travel abroad as a major source of the disease, along with foreigners visiting this country. "Importation of measles from foreign visitors is unavoidable because no regulations are in effect requiring vaccination of visitors," the report noted. Editor's Note: SciCheck is made possible by a grant from the Stanton Foundation. Dave Levitan
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. As the bodies exhumed from dozens of old graves at a shuttered Florida reform school continue to yield grudging answers to stubborn mysteries, researchers investigating the cases this week released a report on what they know so far. There was the 6-year-old boy who ended up dead after being sent to work as a house boy. And another boy who escaped but was later found shot to death with a blanket pulled over his body and a shotgun across his legs. Then there was the "rape dungeon" where boys were taken and abused. What the researchers have learned about decades of horrific acts carried out at the now closed Arthur G. Dozier School in Marianna is outlined in a report released by the University of South Florida as researchers continue grappling with the mystery of the graves and deaths there. University anthropologists have found the remains of 51 people buried at the school during a dig that also uncovered garbage, syringes, drug bottles and a dog encased in an old water cooler buried in the cemetery. They are not only trying to identify who was buried there, but the stories behind how they and others died at the school. Beyond studying remains, researchers are looking through the school and state records, newspaper archives and interviewing boys' families, former inmates and former school employees to provide a history of the dead. "Maybe I've been doing this too long, but I'm not surprised at what horrible things people do to one another," said USF anthropologist Erin Kimmerle, the team leader who has researched other mass graves. "It's just really sad the way people treat one another, which may be in part what's captured the public's attention on this just the sense that it's not right." The report, prepared for the Florida Cabinet, identifies two more people buried in graves, in addition to three who were identified previously. One was Bennett Evans, an employee who died in a 1914 dorm fire. While there wasn't a DNA match, remains found are consistent with his age and cause of death. The other was Sam Morgan, who was brought to the school in 1915 at age 18 and later wound up dead in a case that still has unanswered questions. Morgan was identified through a DNA match with his relatives. To date, the remains of four people have been identified through DNA matches. It's not an easy project. The school underreported deaths; didn't provide death certificates, names or details in many cases, particularly involving black boys; and simply reported some boys who disappeared as no longer at the school. And many in the Panhandle community don't want to talk about the school's dark past. Several of the boys were killed after escape attempts, including Robert Hewitt, whose family lived a few miles from the school. He was hiding in his family's house and men from the school came looking for him several times after the 1960 escape, according to relatives. The family came home one day to find his covered body lying in a bed. He had a shotgun wound and his father's shotgun was lying across his legs. There's also the story of 6-year-old George Grissam, who the school sent out to work as a house boy in 1918. He was delivered back to the school unconscious and later died. George's 8-year-old brother Ernest also disappeared from school records, which simply described him as "not here." Other boys died after severe beatings, being smashed in the head or other injuries. Former inmates and employees interviewed also told researchers about a "rape dungeon" where boys, some younger than 12, were sexually assaulted. While many of the cases are nearly a century old, some of the dead have surviving brothers, sisters and other relatives still seeking answers. "To some of this is history, but for many of the people who are involved it's actually their reality every day," Kimmerle said. "They're really committed and moved by this because it's their direct family." ____ Follow Brendan Farrington on Twitter: http://twitter.com/bsfarrington
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During last night's men's basketball game between the Washington Huskies and the Oregon Ducks, Bill Walton showed once again why he is undoubtedly a man of the people. Walton, whose been seen sporting a Grateful Dead t-shirt on more than one occasion, started talking about his weekly crusade for the NCAA to modernize the rules, but took a sharp left turn by going in about Obama and marijuana legalization . Heh? "This whole war on drugs has been an absolute failure across the board," ranted Walton. "…Why are we punishing people for things that are legal?" Why indeed, Bill. [ via Barstool U ] Send all complaints, compliments, and tips to [email protected] .
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CNBC's Julia Boorstin reports Sony Pictures Entertainment is announcing co-chairman Amy Pascal will be leaving her post, and begin a new venture under the studio.
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Amy Pascal announced Thursday she will step down as co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment. Pascal's departure is believed to be related to the November cyberattack on Sony studios that leaked thousands of email correspondences, some of which reflected poorly on Pascal and other industry players. The cyberattack has been blamed on North Korea, as a threat against the release of the Sony comedy The Interview. Pascal, whose contract would have ended in March 2015, will remain at Sony as a producer. In a statement published by the Hollywood Reporter , she put a positive spin on news that many in the industry believed was imminent. "I have spent almost my entire professional life at Sony Pictures and I am energized to be starting this new chapter based at the company I call home," she said. "I have always wanted to be a producer. (Sony Entertainment CEO) Michael (Lynton) and I have been talking about this transition for quite some time, and I am grateful to him for giving me the opportunity to pursue my long-held dream and for providing unparalleled support. As the slate for the next two years has come together, it felt like the right time to transition into this new role. I am so grateful to my team, some of whom I have worked with for the last 20 years and others who have joined more recently. I am leaving the studio in great hands. I am so proud of what we have all done together and I look forward to a whole lot more." It is unclear yet who will succeed Pascal, who has been with Sony since 1988, as chairman, though a Deadline report suggested Doug Belgrad, President of Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group and President of Columbia Pictures, as a possible candidate. Among the damaging email leaks were an exchange between Pascal and producer and Scott Rudin in which the two jokes that President Obama prefers films with an African-American theme, and another in which Pascal compared the trend of movie stars appearing on television to Hollywood stars adopting black children.
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The United Nations Security Council urged West and Central African countries on Thursday to improve regional military coordination to more effectively combat Boko Haram militants in northern Nigeria. Boko Haram has become the main security threat facing Nigeria, Africa's biggest economy and top oil producer, and increasingly threatens neighboring countries. The African Union (AU) has authorized a force of 7,500 troops from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin to fight the Islamist militants. In a statement, the U.N. Security Council welcomed a meeting in Cameroon from Thursday to Saturday to finalize how the force will operate. Diplomats say once that is complete, the AU is likely to ask for U.N. Security Council support. Nigeria and Chad are currently both members of the Security Council. Boko Haram insurgents seek to create an Islamist emirate in northern Nigeria, and killed some 10,000 people last year. Chad has already deployed some 2,500 troops to the regional force that will take on the militant group. Chadian troops clashed with Boko Haram fighters in the northeastern Nigerian town of Gambaru on Tuesday in a bid to break the insurgents' grip on the town bordering Cameroon. The U.N. Security Council "noted that the Chadian military counterattack against Boko Haram into Nigerian territory was conducted with the consent and the collaboration of ... Nigeria whose territorial integrity remained intact." It "commended the Chadian army's swift assistance in the fight against Boko Haram in Nigeria, during which territory was recaptured from Boko Haram and more than two hundred Boko Haram terrorists were neutralized and equipment was recovered, including a dozen vehicles mounted with heavy weapons." The council condemned the Boko Haram attack and also a separate incident that killed at least three Cameroonian troops and a "sizeable number" of civilians. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols. Editing by Andre Grenon)
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MALABO, Equatorial Guinea (AP) With riot police protecting the players from incensed rival fans and using tear gas to disperse trouble-makers, Ghana advanced to the African Cup of Nations final with a 3-0 win over host Equatorial Guinea on Thursday. Gabonese referee Eric Otogo-Castane halted the match in the 82nd minute. It resumed after about a 40-minute delay, and finished soon after. The fans first became incensed after Ghana scored two late goals in the first half, and riot police were called in to protect Ghana's players and fans. After Ghana scored a third goal in the second half and water bottles began to rain again, the match was halted and the team's fans were escorted out of the stadium for their own safety. It took about 30 minutes for the Ghana fans to finally be cleared. During the stoppage, one fan ran onto the field and confronted one of the linesmen, but he was quickly taken away by security. A police helicopter appeared over the stadium several times, flying perilously close to fans in one end of the stadium. The wind from the propellers caused debris to fly up from the emptying seats. Riot police later entered another section and cleared the area of fans, whacking their shields with their batons to scare spectators. The Ghana players remained in the middle of the field until the restart, while many from the Equatorial Guinea squad tried to calm the angry fans. Jordan Ayew and Wakaso Mubarak scored for Ghana late in the first half, prompting angry local fans to throw bottles filled with liquid toward Ghana's players and officials. Riot police held their shields over their heads to escort them off the field, and then on again for the second half. Despite pleas for calm from the public address announcer, bottles continued to be thrown throughout the second half, including after Andrew Ayew scored the third goal in the 75th. Jordan Ayew gave the four-time champions the lead by converting a penalty in the 42nd. Ghana was awarded the spot kick after Kewsi Appiah was taken down by Equatorial Guinea goalkeeper Felipe Ovono on the edge of the area. Mubarak made it 2-0 in injury time, collecting a pass from Christian Atsu in the area and beating opposing defender Ruben Belima before shooting in. Some fans then went wild, throwing bottles at Ghana's players as they attempted to head to the changing rooms. Equatorial Guinea made a surprising run to the semifinals after taking over as host at short notice. The team was kicked out of qualifying for fielding an ineligible player, but reinstated when it assumed hosting responsibilities from Morocco in November. Equatorial Guinea also endured trouble in the quarterfinals, when a controversial late penalty against Tunisia led to extra time. The hosts ended up winning 2-1, but furious Tunisian players attacked the referee, damaged their changing room, and were fined for their actions. Although the hosts benefitted from the questionable call last weekend, the fans were clearly furious with the decision-making of Otogo-Castane on Thursday.
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sports
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The NCAA women's basketball selection committee is taking a cue from the College Football Playoff committee this year. It announced Thursday it will be publicly releasing potential tournament seeds before Selection Monday. The selection committee, which will be meeting in Indianapolis this coming week, will release its top 20 teams to the public on Wednesday. The four No. 1 seeds will be revealed in order, while the remaining 16 teams will be revealed alphabetically. South Carolina, Connecticut, Baylor and Notre Dame are the top four teams in the most recent USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. These 20 teams will host the first- and second-round games, so the reveal will give the schools the opportunity to plan and make necessary arrangements to host the games. The regional rounds will still be held at pre-determined locations -- Oklahoma City, Spokane, Wash., Albany, N.Y., and Greensboro, N.C. -- followed by the Final Four in Tampa. The football playoff committee released its rankings each week starting around midseason on ESPN. The show was credited for generating increased interest as the selections for the first major college playoff approached. The NCAA men's basketball selection committee considered a similar move but recently announced it would not release seeds or rankings before its March 15 Selection Sunday.
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sports
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CHICAGO (Reuters) - Five babies at a suburban Chicago daycare center have been diagnosed with measles, adding to a growing outbreak of the disease across the United States, Illinois health officials said on Thursday. Officials are investigating the cluster of measles cases at KinderCare Learning Center in suburban Palatine, said a joint statement from the Illinois and Cook County health departments. All the children are under 1 year old and therefore would not have been subject to routine measles vaccination, which begins at 12 months. Public health officials have reported that more than 100 people across the United States have been infected with measles, many of them traced to an outbreak that began at the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim in December. One adult in Illinois was previously diagnosed with measles. The diagnoses for the adult and two of the babies have been confirmed through laboratory testing, health officials said. Test results for the other three cases are still pending, but they have been diagnosed based on clinical and epidemiological criteria, officials said. The source of the infection for the children was not immediately known. "This just underlines the importance of everyone being vaccinated," said Melaney Arnold, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Public Health. Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease that causes fever, red and sore eyes, runny nose, cough and a characteristic rash. The disease sometimes causes severe complications including encephalitis and death. (Reporting by Mary Wisniewski; Editing by Will Dunham)
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health
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The Michael Kors brand might be past its prime. The fashion label, which enjoyed a stunning rise in popularity in recent years, is facing new challenges to its business. Michael Kors shares are falling after the company reported a weak outlook for the future. Here are a few big problems with the brand. 1. Everyone is wearing Michael Kors. Widespread popularity is the "kiss of death for trendy fashion brands, particularly those positioned in the up-market younger consumer sectors, " industry expert Robin Lewis writes on his blog . Lewis compares Michael Kors to Tommy Hilfiger, which reached its peak in the late '90s. Michael Kors is considered an aspirational brand, with consumers paying a premium for its label. Once everyone has the product, it is no longer considered cool. Other brands who have experienced this phenomenon include Juicy Couture, Jordache, and Coach. 2. Inventories are piling up. Michael Kors is entering the current quarter with a 65% inventory increase, writes retail equity analyst Marie Driscoll. While the company says that the excess inventory is because of the company taking the e-commerce business in-house, Driscoll is skeptical that it will sell. "That's a lot of inventory in an increasingly competitive category," she writes. "I'm worried." She also compares Michael Kors to the Tommy Hilfiger collapse more than a decade ago. "While the brand continues to enjoy vibrant demand, these investors are on to greener pastures," she says. "It's probably time to sell KORS shares!" 3. The strategy could backfire. Michael Kors has also has several brands at different price points, a strategy that could easily backfire, Lewis says . Kors has a high-end department store brand, a middle-market brand, and discount outlet stores. "Some would argue all of those segments will simply end up competing with each other, thus cannibalizing the top end of the spectrum," he writes. In other words, consumers won't pay $300 for a department store Michael Kors bag when they can get one at the outlet mall for half-price. NOW WATCH: Watch Out Lululemon Women Are Going Crazy Over These No-Underwear Yoga Pants
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lifestyle
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The desire from Hassan Whiteside has been relentless, to make his mark, to prove his worth, to show how he rates ... on NBA 2K15. OK, perhaps it hasn't reached that point. And it's safe to say that making points with Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra remains the priority over the video game. But since he mentioned his passion for the game and improving his rating the emerging center has decided to ride the video wave beyond nights such as Wednesday in Minnesota, when he had 24 points and 20 rebounds. That had him this week going back and forth with NBA 2K digital-marketing manager Ronnie Singh about the expanding diversity of his repertoire. From Whiteside's Twitter account: "I hope you see this mid range jumpers and lobs I got that." From Singh's, "I see you bro." Already, Whiteside's rating has gone from the upper 50s to the high 70s, a formula that is updated through the web based on the center's nightly performances. "He DM'd me. I kind of responded back. I thought it was funny," Whiteside said of the Twitter exchange, with the Heat now turning their attention to Friday night's game against the San Antonio Spurs at the AT&T Center, the final stop on this four-game trip that has gotten off to a shaky 1-2 start. Whiteside said the social-media fallout regarding his 2K passion has been another element of his unexpected celebrity. "It's funny to me. I'm enjoying it," he said. "I've been playing 2K since I was young. And we always joked around, saying if my player was ever in the game, if you make it to the NBA, you want your player to be as good as possible. "So it's funny when you're playing as yourself on there, and you know you can do stuff, but you can't do it (in the game)." That's why he requested a higher rating for his mid-range shooting, an unexpected aspect he has displayed in recent games. And he's not shy about taking them, with a jumper the only shot he missed during his 12-of-13 performance in the 102-101 loss to the Timberwolves. Asked about the reply he received, Whiteside said, "It's just kind of what you do on the court. I hit a couple of mid-range jumpers, so he might add a better rating." But Whiteside also makes clear that for all the notoriety his numbers have created, the Heat's 21-28 record remains a sobering reminder of where he stands, currently with no guarantee that he'll be able to take his game to the playoffs for the first time. "It's tough. It's tough that we lost like that," he said of the 102-101 loss to the league-worst 'Wolves. "I mean, having 20 and 20, it looks good, but if we lose, it really doesn't mean anything. It's records and all, but it's really nothing. It really don't mean nothing if you don't win." That's where the video game enters the equation, as a bit of needed escapism. For now, Whiteside said he has been unable to unlock or secure any cheat codes of his video version, even as he cozies up to the game's staff. "Nah, I need some, though," he said with a smile. Spoelstra said the video-game Whiteside is the least of his concerns. "As long as it's not stopping him from coming to work an hour and half before, an hour and a half after," he said. "As long as he's committing to the player-development program that we talked about when I met with him eyeball to eyeball, I don't care about that. "Maybe if he was doing that instead of committing to the player development, then I'd be." For all the advanced stats and metrics he deals with, Whiteside's NBA2K rating is not something Spoelstra has investigated. And, no, he has never played the game. "I have just heard from my nephew that the coach of the Miami Heat doesn't look like me," Spoelstra said. "He's eight." Spoelstra explained that when it was his turn to have his image digitized for the game, the special equipment broke. Until this return to the league and breakthrough, Whiteside said he had to create his own Hassan Whiteside video version. He did not go as far, though, as to scan his image into the game, as is possible. "Nah," he said, "I never did that. It was just another guy. I was a point guard, 6-7."
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sports
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NEW YORK Get ready for a familiar mix of gentle, cornball jokes and country music when a stage version of "Hee Haw" lands in Texas this fall. "Moonshine: That Hee Haw Musical" will make its world premiere at Dallas Theater Center in September and its Grammy Award-nominated co-composer said it will be centered on a love story and feature all new characters. "I would say they're 21st century 'Hee Haw' characters," Brandy Clark told The Associated Press on Thursday. "We wouldn't want to try to just copy those characters. Those characters were too great to just be copied. They're kind of like the grandchildren of those characters." Clark, a Grammy Award-nominee this year for best new artist, is writing the score with Shane McAnally, a two-time Grammy winner who has written songs for Lady Antebellum, Kelly Clarkson and Miranda Lambert. Clark called the songs "a little bit of everything" but they tried to keep the score timeless and classic. "What we've really shot for, Shane and I, was for someone to walk into this musical maybe someone who thinks they don't like country music and, when they leave, say, 'Wow, if that's was country music, I love it.'" The story set in present day is by Robert Horn, who has written episodes of "Living Single" and "Designing Women," and direction by Gary Griffin, who also directed the Broadway show "Honeymoon in Vegas." Clark said she loved the process since she enjoys writing songs that tell a story, but had to adjust to the notion of telling a story with multiple tunes, not all at once. "We're used to a format where in 3½ minutes we tell the whole story." "Hee Haw" started as a summer replacement for "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" in 1969 and ran on CBS until 1971 as a country version of the comedy series "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In." When CBS dropped it, it went into syndication and ran through 1992. It starred Roy Clark along and Buck Owen, and often had on the top stars of country music. Many segments of "Hee Haw" portrayed people in overalls and straw hats. Regulars included George Lindsey, Junior Samples, Minnie Pearl, Archie Campbell, Roy Acuff, Misty Rowe, Lisa Todd, Gunilla Hutton, Barbi Benton and the Hager twins. Critics mostly disliked the simple humor and twangy country music, and sometimes it was criticized for perpetuating stereotypes. But it had an impact on the culture: The phrase "pickin' and grinnin'" became popular after a segment with Clark and Owens playing guitar while smiling and telling jokes. Blake Shelton lampooned "Hee Haw" as host of "Saturday Night Live" this year. Clark said the new musical is "definitely in on the joke" there's even a song called "Corny" and will make fun of the "Hee Haw" stereotype. "What we're really working on is to make sure it has as much heart as it does humor," she said. "My dream for it would be the modern-day 'Oklahoma!'" Clark has co-written Lambert's "Mama's Broken Heart," Kacey Musgraves' "Follow Your Arrow," The Band Perry's "Better Dig Two" and Toby Keith's "Drunk Americans." She released her debut album, "12 Stories," in October 2013. She'll perform "Hold My Hand" at the Grammy Awards on Sunday. ___ Online: http://www.DallasTheaterCenter.org ___ Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits
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entertainment
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After almost every game, the opposing coach says the same few words about TCU's Trey Zeigler. "You can tell he's a coach's son." Zeigler would probably say thank you. "Yeah, I take it as a compliment," he said. "Being able to show that I have knowledge of the game is definitely a compliment. That's something that's followed me throughout my career, my dad's career, people knowing that I have a high basketball IQ." The Horned Frogs and coach Trent Johnson have been counting on it most of the season from the senior guard. Eligible after sitting out last season following his transfer from Pittsburgh, Zeigler is perhaps the most reliable player - certainly the most versatile - for the Horned Frogs (14-8, 1-8) as they head into the second half of the Big 12 schedule at home on Saturday against Oklahoma. "He's been doing everything we thought he would do," Johnson said. "He's a lot better player defensively than we anticipated. He's been our leader, he's been our go-to guy at crucial points. And he's playing well." Zeigler, the son of University of Detroit Mercy assistant Ernie Zeigler, almost provided the moment of the season for the Horned Frogs. His jumper with 1.8 seconds left in overtime at West Virginia three weeks ago put the Horned Frogs up by a point, but they lost the game on free throws less than a second later. The play demonstrated that natural basketball IQ - he took the inbound pass with 6.8 seconds left, dribbled right, crossed over into the lane and popped a jumper from inside the foul line. "My immediate reaction was that I wanted the ball," Zeigler said. "Just to try to create a shot, not necessarily for me, but I knew if I got in the paint, maybe I'd draw two or three guys and make a play for somebody else. Actually, I told some of my teammates, when I dribbled up the court, I knew right away what shot I was going to be able to take. You've just got to step up to those moments with confidence and make a play for your team." West Virginia coach Bob Huggins wasn't surprised to see that from a coach's son. "First of all, he's a good player," he said. "He's able to understand what's supposed to happen and the way it's supposed to happen in different situations, just to have a great feel for the game." Zeigler has had to. He starts at shooting guard, but also plays backup minutes for Kyan Anderson at point guard and has just enough size at 6-foot-5 to move in at the forward spots in a pinch. He has started all 22 games and averages 9.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and is shooting 45.7 percent. Despite the results in wins and losses, he is getting the playing time and leadership role Johnson said he could in recruiting him to TCU from Pittsburgh, where was a sixth man for the Panthers' 2013 NCAA Tournament team. "I'm glad. That's what I came here for, the responsibility," said Zeigler, who had been recruited to LSU by Johnson out of Mount Pleasant (Mich.) High School. "Being able to be a leader on this team, that's what I'm here for, being able to step up to the challenge. Me, Amric Fields and Kyan Anderson, we have that responsibility. We have to be willing to step up to the plate." Zeigler accepts the task easily because of the influence of his father, who coached him as a freshman and sophomore at Central Michigan. Father and son talk every day and go over every part of the game. "Throughout the years, he's been my workout guru. He worked me out through high school, middle school - he was at all my games, I'd get a full scouting report after every game, what I did right, what I did wrong," Zeigler said. "Even to this day. He's my right-hand man. He watches film on all the teams we play, believe it or not, while he's still doing his job." So he's got an OU report ready? "He does." Zeigler smiles. He is eager for Saturday's game, another chance to turn the season around, but also a chance to hear what his dad has to say about another performance. "He knows where we are. He's been nothing but encouraging," Zeigler said. "He says a lot of the things we've talked about - being leaders, stepping up, being able to make plays and help the team out when the time comes. We know these next games are going to come down to making plays. That's really what we have to focus on in getting over this hump." Straight from the coach's son. Carlos Mendez, 817-390-7407 Twitter: @calexmendez
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sports
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Hackers have found a way to use BMW's Connected Drive system to remotely unlock car doors, according to PCWorld. The website quotes Dave Buchko, a BMW spokesman, saying that the perpetrators were able to "reverse engineer some of the software that we use for our telematics . . . and they were able to mimic the BMW server." The glitch was first discovered by the German Automobile Association (ADAC). The PCWorld article reports that BMW is beaming "software patches to the 2.2 million cars equipped with Connected Drive and said it hadn't come across any cases in which the vulnerability had been used to unlock or attempt to unlock its cars." Buchko went on to say that U.S. customers will start getting the patch beginning from next week. PCWorld says that the fix "adds HTTPS encryption to the connection from BMW to the car, which runs over the public cellular network. The added encryption will not only safeguard the content of the messages but also ensures that the car only accepts connections from a server with the correct security certificate." This issue brings to light the possible downside of remote locking/unlocking services from various manufacturers: vulnerability to creative hackers to get in your car. The BMW breach comes on the heels of the massive data breach that hit health insurance company Anthem. Mike Quincy More from Consumer Reports: Worst cars of 2014 in Consumer Reports' tests 5 best used cars for teen drivers Best & worst car values Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this website. Copyright © 2006-2015 Consumers Union of U.S.
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autos
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Investors said they wanted good governance. Then Shake Shack came along. Shake Shack shook up Wall Street on Jan. 30. With investors eager to buy into New York restaurateur Danny Meyer's thoroughly modern vision of a burger joint (complete with beer and wine), the company was able to sell its shares for more than it originally planned. And the stock price still doubled on the first day of trading. Yet beneath the contemporary design and trendsetting cuisine, there's something very old-school about Shake Shack: its corporate governance. Despite the recent brouhaha over shareholder democracy, independent directors, and "one man, one vote," Shake Shack is happily accepting new shareholders' cash but keeping the levers of corporate power firmly in the hands of Meyer and his original investors. The company has two classes of stock, a complex setup giving Meyer and his founding investors 85.9 percent of the voting rights. The buyers of the stock in the initial public offering paid $105 million to get 44.2 percent of the economic stake but only 14.1 percent of the voting power. And the board is far from independent, with Meyer and other insiders controlling five of seven seats. The IPO deal even requires that some of the public company's future tax benefits be given to Meyer and his original investors. Meyer declined to comment. Shake Shack Chief Executive Officer Randy Garutti says the dual-stock ownership structure is not unique. "A number of companies have done it recently," he says, citing Habit Restaurants, operator of Habit Burger Grill, as an example. Many of Shake Shack's IPO buyers seem to have ignored the corporate governance issues in hopes of catching a ride on a rocket. And lately they've had plenty of company. Whether it's the perceived genius of founders such as Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook or Larry Page and Sergey Brin at Google, or a chance to bankroll a trend like designer burgers, investors worried about missing the big payoff from the next great idea may throw caution to the wind, says Elaine Eisenman, dean of executive education at Babson College. "In America, we love to be affiliated with fame and glory, and Danny Meyer is an iconic man," says Eisenman, who's a director at shoe retailer DSW. "There's also that sense of FOMO the fear of missing out. Whoever was left behind by the last hot IPO doesn't want to be left behind by the next one." Dual-stock IPOs took off as dot-com mania took hold 1-800- Flowers.com and Hotels.com were two notable examples. The dot- com implosion in 2000 pared such offerings until Google got them moving again in 2004. Its successful dual-class IPO encouraged others, especially tech startups, to follow after the recession ended. Zillow, Zynga, and Yelp joined the pack starting in 2011. Since then the offerings have gained popularity, as with Facebook in 2012. James Post, a governance professor at Boston University School of Management, says a company's biggest asset is often the chief executive officer or the founder, and that's what shareholders want to invest in, even if they don't get to boss her around. And the asset at Shake Shack is clearly Meyer, who built the company from a single hot dog stand in Manhattan's Madison Square Park into a 63-store international brand with 2013 profits of $5.4 million, up 31 percent from the prior year, and revenue of $84.5 million, up 45 percent from 2012. "A person who built up a company doesn't want to operate at the whim of shareholders," Post says. "It's a governance problem without question, but these are situations where the investors have an optimistic outlook." Governance experts say the drawbacks often aren't apparent until tough times hit. "It's shortsighted for investors to accept dual voting shares, because when something goes wrong, which it always does in business, they have no power to push for a management change," says Charles Elson, director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware and a finance professor there. The limits on shareholder power were apparent in 2011 with the phone-hacking scandal at Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. James Murdoch, then co-chief operating officer, might have lost his seat on the board after the scandal became public without his father's outsized votes, because of a preferential share class held mainly by the family. At the time, the Class A shares mostly held by ordinary investors represented 70 percent of the economic ownership but had no voting rights. News Corp. has since split into 21st Century Fox and News Corp., with both those companies retaining dual-share structures. The preferential-shares strategy isn't new, but prior to the late 1980s, the New York Stock Exchange wouldn't list dual- stock companies. Traditional media outfits, including New York Times, have used the approach for decades, sometimes arguing that insulation from the vagaries of the public market helps protect a news outlet's editorial independence. Old-line businesses, including J.M. Smucker and Ford, have adopted a dual-voting-share structure to preserve a family's influence. And few people complain that Warren Buffett uses dual shares at his Berkshire Hathaway investment powerhouse. About 7.5 percent of the Russell 3000 Index, or more than 200 companies, have a dual-share structure, according to data from MSCI, an investment advisory company. "Maybe Shake Shack investors are putting themselves at the mercy of the founders who are still in control, but they're clearly betting they will make money on the company anyway," says Jay Lorsch, a professor at Harvard Business School. "And as long as you have entrepreneurs with growth products doing this when they go public, you'll have investors forgetting about governance issues." Many mutual funds and other passive investors don't have a choice, says Brian Rice, a portfolio manager at California State Teachers' Retirement System. CalSTRS invests $189.7 billion in stock indexes, not individual companies, and if an index allows dual-share companies, then CalSTRS has to own them, he says. Meyer and his original investors can retain control of five board seats as long as they hang on to half the shares they got in the IPO. They can still control four seats a board majority as long as they retain 25 percent of their stock. And the terms of the directors are staggered, which means all the members can't be voted off the board at once, even if most shareholders lose confidence in them. The IPO's terms reserve 85 percent of certain amortization tax credits for the founding investors, leaving 15 percent for the public company. While such agreements aren't uncommon in IPOs, the terms at Shake Shack "are a windfall for the original owners," says Robert Willens, a tax consultant in New York. Shake Shack CEO Garutti says the tax agreement benefits all shareholders. "It's a win-win situation for everyone involved, and it has everything to do with being efficient about tax planning," he says. The bottom line: Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer and his backers sold almost half the company but retain 86 percent of the votes. With Craig Giammona To contact the authors on this story: Jeffrey Green at [email protected] Carol Hymowitz at [email protected] To contact the editor on this story: James Ellis at [email protected]
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finance
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A Cook County measles outbreak is apparently unconnected to the other outbreaks.
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video
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King Cake Inspiration From Pinterest The King Cake is a Mardi Gras food that is both beautiful and delicious. The traditional King Cake hides a plastic baby inside the batter. When the cake is shared amongst friends, one lucky slice gets the figurine inside. The person who gets the baby is said to have good luck for the year (and has to supply the King Cake for the next year's celebration). Click ahead to see examples of traditional King Cakes, boozy King Cakes and more. Happy Mardi Gras! Browse: Check out other Cajun and Creole recipes King Cake, Filled Two Ways Recipe from Lemon-Sugar Via Tam on Pinterest Easy Mini King Cake Recipe Recipe from I'm Not the Nanny Via Camille Gabel on Pinterest Mardi Gras King Cake Fruit & Honey Pancakes Recipe from Anyonita Nibbles Via European Cutie on Pinterest Mini Boozy King Cakes Recipe from Baker Peabody at Tablespoon Via Tablespoon on Pinterest King Cake Jelly Shots Recipe from BevCooks Via Beverly Weidner on Pinterest King Cake Pops Recipe from 6 Bittersweets Via F Ellen Wxx on Pinterest Homemade King Cake Doughnuts Recipe from Emerils Via Rebecca Kuhlman on Pinterest Mardi Gras Monkey Bread Recipe from Spicy Southern Kitchen Via Spicy Southern Kitchen| Christin Mahrlig on Pinterest King Cake Scones Recipe from Louisiana Cookin' Via Lin Larson on Pinterest Gluten-Free King Cake for Mardi Gras Recipe from Gluten Free on a Shoestring Via Valerie Noelle on Pinterest
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foodanddrink
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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) GoPro Inc. will increase its pace of deals to stream content over the next two years as it seeks to build a media empire and diversify beyond just cameras. The company, which on Thursday announced a deal to stream a GoPro channel on Roku devices starting this spring, told MarketWatch it is lining up additional streaming deals that it expects to announce in 2015 and 2016, but declined to be more specific. "We have more deals in the works for 2015 and even 2016," a spokesperson said. The push into streaming comes as GoPro reported much stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings on the back of robust sales of its Hero line of cameras during the key holiday period. The company said it shipped 2.4 million devices last quarter, surpassing Wall Street expectations and topping its shipments for all of 2012. GoPro continues to explore "new and innovative approaches" to bring its content to consumers, a spokesperson said and that means making streaming a bigger part of its business. "There's a natural evolution from devices to services that include a device," said Roger Kay, a tech analyst and founder of Endpoint Technologies, a consulting firm. "If they can establish broad distribution for their content, it makes them stickier, gives them a longer-lasting grip on that market." That's especially important as other companies try to muscle in on its turf. Apple Inc. won a patent last month for its own "rugged" digital camera that it says has a better battery life than the GoPro and is less wind-resistant on moving objects, such as bicycles. See also: Should GoPro investors fear Apple? Streaming partnerships could open GoPro to the fast-growing digital-advertising market, giving it additional revenue sources and a much wider reach than it would just selling hardware. So far, GoPro licensing deals have been a mere trickle. The company first got into streaming when it launched an in-flight entertainment channel on Virgin America in October 2013. Three months later, it started a streaming channel on Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox, but efforts were muted as GoPro prepared for an initial public offering. Now that it has had three successful quarters as a public company, and has proved its popularity through impressive sales growth, the company is poised for a streaming resurgence. In January, GoPro announced a streaming cannel on the LG Smart TV app. It then announced a deal with Vislink to enable broadcasters to live-stream GoPro content during big events. Imagine one day being able to watch an Olympic skier do a 180-degree turn on the half pipe live from the athlete's perspective. GoPro might one day be thought of as not just a camera maker, but as an all-in-one "extreme video solutions company" offering an array of intertwining hardware and software products, Kay said. Shares of GoPro climbed 4.8% to $54.37 in Thursday trade and climbed another 3.9% to $56.50 in after-hours trade following the release of its earnings.
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news
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Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka said Thursday he and Roger Federer will decide next week whether to compete in the upcoming Davis Cup first round tie in Belgium. "We're currently discussing it with Roger (Federer) and Severin (Luethi, captain)," Wawrinka said on Thursday. Swiss Tennis Federation president Rene Stammbach has put the chances of the pair competing in the first round tie as "below 25percent". Wawrinka and Federer helped Switzerland lift their first ever Davis Cup title against France in Lille last November. The Swiss open their title defence against Belgium in Liege from March 6-8. "My objective for this season is to qualify for the London Masters. I know that I'm capable but I know how difficult it is," said Wawrinka, who was beaten in the semi-finals of the Australian Open to eventual winner Novak Djokovic. Wawrinka, the 2014 Australian Open champion, has fallen from fourth to ninth in the ATP rankings. "Reaching the semi-finals remains something exceptional for me. After my victory at Chennai (India) it was an ideal month of January, I'm very positive concerning my current game," said Wawrinka. He was speaking at the launch of the new Geneva Open ATP tournament which will replace the Duesseldorf ATP event to be played on May 17-23 just before the French Open at Roland Garros.
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sports
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WASHINGTON Twenty-two months ahead of the 2016 election, the nascent presidential campaign already has a leading issue: the economy's failure to produce rising incomes for the middle class. From World War II through the 1970s, virtually all working Americans saw paychecks rise. Those gains have become uneven since the 1980s, however, and in the last 15 years, they stopped for most families. Americans at the middle of the income ladder now earn less, adjusted for inflation, than they did in 2000. Small gains during the early years of the last decade were wiped away by the deep recession that began in 2007. Although economic growth has resumed, the stock market has soared into record territory, and the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits has fallen to its lowest level in nearly 15 years, income has remained stuck except for those at the very top. Voters have noticed. A Gallup poll released Friday, for example, showed that two-thirds of Americans said they were dissatisfied with the way income and wealth are distributed in the U.S. The unhappiness was most pronounced among those earning $30,000 to $75,000, roughly the middle third of the U.S. population. Nearly 80 percent expressed dissatisfaction. That discontent has begun to shape the agendas of presidential hopefuls in both parties. The issue has moved Democrats to the left, bolstering arguments for a more aggressive effort to redistribute income away from the wealthiest Americans and to do more to help families who earn far less. The impact can be seen in the budget that President Barack Obama released Monday and in a recent policy blueprint from a group closely aligned with former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Both advocated increasing taxes on inherited wealth to pay for tax cuts and wage supplements for middle-class and lower-income working families. Republicans also have begun talking about the issue, as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush did Wednesday in a speech to the Detroit Economic Club. Among other goals, Republicans hope to underscore the fact that income inequality has worsened on Obama's watch. Until recently, most Republicans dismissed arguments about inequality as an invitation to what they labeled as "class warfare." Now Bush, as well as Florida's Republican senator, Marco Rubio, and other GOP hopefuls have publicly identified the issue as a key problem facing the country. "The fact that Republicans are feeling they have to talk about inequality" testifies to the issue's power, said Dartmouth College political scientist Brendan Nyhan. The language Republicans use, at least to describe the problem, often sounds much like Democratic rhetoric. Bush's Right to Rise political action committee, for example, declares in its mission statement that millions of Americans feel "the playing field is no longer fair or level," a metaphor also employed by the liberals' hero Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts for her PAC. In his speech, Bush said Americans were frustrated seeing "only a small portion of the population riding the economy's up escalator." Rubio, at a recent breakfast for reporters sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor, said the country had experienced a "recovery at the upper echelons in the economy." "So much of the recovery over the last couple of years has gone to such a small segment of the population that now middle-class and upward-mobility stagnation has become more apparent," he said. "I think it's good that there's a consensus that's what we need to focus on." Republicans have criticized Obama's proposals, saying they would just make the problem worse. Rep. Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, for example, accused Obama of preaching "envy economics" in his budget, and Bush said in his speech that liberals had built "a spider web that traps people in perpetual dependence" instead of providing incentives for business growth. Beyond that criticism, Republicans have had an easier time identifying the problem than proposing solutions. Bush, for example, said he would outline proposals in "coming weeks." Even identifying the problem, however, can help a campaign, at least initially. "It's a way to demonstrate that 'I care about your needs. I care about the average voter,'" said pollster Margie Omero of the bipartisan firm Purple Strategies, based in Alexandria, Va. "'Does he get me?' is the door" that candidates have to get through before voters will listen to policy prescriptions. When the argument does get to policies, Republicans face the problem that stagnant wages challenge a cornerstone of their economic creed. The GOP has historically argued that growth benefits all segments of society and that, as a result, government can largely leave economic affairs to the free market. The results of the last 15 years undermine the idea that a rising tide reliably lifts all boats. Even as the economy has rebounded from the recession, which technically ended in mid-2009, nearly all the gains have gone to the top. In the first three years of the recovery, 91 percent of income gains went to the wealthiest 1 percent of households, a group with incomes above roughly $400,000, University of California, Berkeley, economics professor Emmanuel Saez has found. Inequality has reached levels not seen since the 1920s, his data show. Democrats argue that the trend shows the need for a more active role for government. The U.S. and other major economies have experienced a "toxic combination of too little growth and rising inequality," a panel of Democratic economists and policymakers with close ties to Clinton recently declared. The group, headed by Lawrence H. Summers, who served as Treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton and as chief White House economic adviser under Obama, issued a report that has been widely seen as an early draft of a Hillary Clinton economic platform, should she decide to run. The report was published by the Center for American Progress, a Washington think tank that is headed by Neera Tanden, policy director for Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign. It was previously run by John Podesta, the White House counselor, who is expected to head her 2016 effort. Their report contends that the yawning gap between the wealthy and everyone else contradicts America's belief in social mobility and hurts the economy overall. That's because the wealthy tend to spend proportionally less of their income than middle-class families do, so concentrated wealth leads to lower demand for goods and services. Globalized competition, changes in technology that have eliminated many low-skill jobs and the declining power of labor unions have all played a big role in producing the problem, it says. Over the long term, the group says, the surest path to higher incomes is improved education to increase the skills of the U.S. workforce. But that could take years to show an impact. In the meantime, many Americans will continue to struggle to gain financial security, the report says. To combat that, the report offers a menu of policies that add up to a relatively liberal, populist economic platform that Clinton could espouse. They include steps to strengthen unions, an expansion of wage supplements for low-income workers, a middle-class tax cut and more spending on roads, bridges and other infrastructure projects to generate jobs and improve the economy's productivity. To pay for those measures, the report advocates increased taxes on inherited wealth as well as closing what the report labels as unjustified tax loopholes for corporations and wealthy individuals. On the Republican side, most potential candidates have not come up with similarly detailed proposals, although Rubio laid out several ideas in a new book he is promoting. GOP hopefuls have generally argued that Obama's policies should take the blame for stagnant wages, saying that too much regulation and high taxes have stifled business growth and job creation. For Republicans, however, a credible plan for expanding middle-class incomes may be a necessity for 2016. In the last election, polls showed one of Obama's strongest advantages was the voter perception that he, more than Republican nominee Mitt Romney, cared about the problems of average Americans. Changing that impression will be even more important this time around, when Democrats hope to finally be able to brag about solid economic growth and unemployment at or below 5 percent. Accomplishing that goal is not impossible but will require the GOP to fight on what voters have traditionally seen as Democratic turf. Republicans, said Omero, "have a lot of ground to make up."
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Imagine tracking Sidney Crosby's every move on the ice in real time. It may not be far off. The NHL is experimenting with player-tracking technology that could be available as early as next season for broadcasters and fans. During last month's All-Star game in Columbus, Ohio, chips were put in jerseys and pucks to track everything from speed and movement to shift length and ice time. The success of this first experiment could make it more widespread. ''We're not exactly sure where this will all take us,'' NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said last week in Vancouver, British Columbia. ''Ultimately, we are hoping to deliver the kind of data that will create insights and tell stories that avid and casual hockey fans will enjoy. ''We are attempting to embark upon a journey that hopefully will enable us to create and then maintain a digital record of everything in our game and compile a complete digital history.'' Sportvision, the same company responsible for first-and-10 lines in football and ''K zone'' strike-zone mapping in baseball, has worked with the NHL for six years to get to this point. In co-operation with the NHL Players Association, each player had a chip in the collar of his jersey during All-Star weekend. Chips were in each puck so infrared cameras in the ceiling of Nationwide Arena could track every movement. With this technology, teams, players and fans can see how fast a player is skating, his top speed and average. The league and NHLPA must come to an agreement before there's even a consideration about having player tracking in place for real games. It's much more available data, and with that comes some hesitancy on behalf of some players. ''We haven't finished discussing all that with the players,'' NHLPA executive director Don Fehr said. ''Are there issues some players are concerned about? Sure. But it falls into the generalized category of creating meaningless statistics.'' Sportvision CEO Hank Adams thinks there's a use for the stats. TV networks cans determine speed and movement in real-time, with lots of information to mine. ''I'd say all around it was a success for us,'' Adams told The Canadian Press. ''We were very pleased and at some point hopefully it translates into something more long-term. But that's yet to be seen.'' Stumbling blocks exist, but the expectation is the technology will be ready for games by next season or after. Some things, like hits, giveaways and takeaways will remain subjective, and video review will still be necessary to determine goals. But the aim is to make everything more precise: What's a shot on goal? How much time did a team spend in the offensive zone? How long was that shift? In theory, this would replace the hand scoring that currently exists and subjectivity would be taken out of the equation on shots and saves. ''Right now we have a real-time scoring system, which has served us well and is the basis for everything that we do in the stats area right now,'' NHL chief operating officer John Collins said. ''But that's humans sitting up in the catwalk kind of manually logging everything they see on the ice, maybe influenced by their own personal feelings about what's a shot on goal or a GM's influence. This kind of takes that away and makes it consistent across the entire league.'' Mathieu Schneider, a former defenseman now working as special assistant to Fehr, voiced excitement but some trepidation. ''This is the first step, but these are the discussions we're having with the players right now,'' Schneider said. ''Will coaches coach by statistics sitting on the bench with an iPad? There still needs to be that sense from the guys that it's not going to get overused or used improperly.'' Bettman thinks it's too early to tell how it plays out. ''We're still testing,'' Bettman said. ''I think we're in the embryonic stage of what is at best a work in progress. But I do believe we will get to a place where we'll have better access to what's going on in the game for media, broadcasters and our fans.''
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sports
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Twitter reported quarterly earnings and revenue that beat analysts' expectations on Thursday. The social media company posted fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 12 cents, compared with 2 cents per share a year earlier. Revenue nearly doubled to $479 million from $243 million. The stock fell in after-hours trading right after the earnings announcement, but rebounded to a more than 9 percent gain. Analysts had expected Twitter (TWTR) to report adjusted earnings of about 6 cents per share on $453 million in revenue, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters. The company said it saw 288 million monthly active users (MAUs) for the fourth quarter, which represented a 20 percent year-over-year increase, but only 4 million net adds since the prior quarter. Wall Street had expected 292 million MAUs for the fourth-quarter. "We closed out the year with our business advancing at a great pace. Revenue growth accelerated again for the full year, and we had record quarterly profits on an adjusted EBITDA basis," Dick Costolo , Twitter's CEO, said in the company's earnings release. "In addition, the trend thus far in Q1 leads us to believe that the absolute number of net users added in Q1 will be similar to what we saw during the first three quarters of 2014," he said. Timeline views on Twitter touched 182 billion for the quarter, a year-over-year increase of 23 percent, the company said. Advertising revenue came in at $432 million, a 97 percent rise. In its forward-looking guidance, Twitter said its 2015 first-quarter revenue is projected to range from $440 million to $450 million. Analysts had expected $449.7 million, according to Reuters. "One of the biggest problems Twitter has is it's already so big and because Twitter is its own ecosystem that's very different than the way the public communicates, I don't think they can grow that much bigger," Ross Gerber of Gerber Kawasaki said on CNBC's "Closing Bell." "They've got 300 million people. Facebook (FB) has a billion people. How many people are there in the world?" he added. Instagram, the photo-sharing app owned by Facebook, recently surpassed Twitter's audience size and announced it had 300 million monthly users. The social media company's stock has struggled over the past year, falling more than 37 percent in that time. Costolo has taken some heat for his management over the past several months, with some analysts predicting that his tenure may soon be up at the company. Still, Twitter has attempted to innovate on several fronts, including a reported deal with Google that would help tweets show up in the search engine. Twitter launched a video tool in January, which could potentially pave the way for video ads and group chats . It also revealed recently that it will be pushing its "promoted tweet" ads to syndicated feeds on other platforms like Flipboard. "There's a lot of great things to come" David Hirsch, Metamorphic Ventures managing partner, told CNBC. "They have a huge opportunity to extend into a really powerful media company." The options market indicated traders were anticipating big moves one way or the other on the company's stock following earnings, RiskReversal.com 's Dan Nathan said on CNBC's " Fast Money ." Reuters contributed to this report.
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finance
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If you can test drive a car, why not a house? That is the theory behind several programs that let buyers try out a condominium or resort home before they commit to buying. A handful of developers, listing agents and homeowners say they are willing to let potential buyers hang out with the neighbors, have dinner in the kitchen or even spend a night or two in a home before making a final decision. Raquel Gillett, an officer at a bank in Irvine, Calif., decided to test the waters before buying a Mediterranean-style home for more than $700,000 in Toll Brothers' master-planned Parkview community in October. Ms. Gillet took advantage of the sales manager's offer to introduce prospective buyers to residents for an inside view of what it was like to live there. She attended a pool party where she met her potential neighbors. "I think the most important thing to me was getting to know them," she says. "It gave us a comfort level with each other when we were going to be on the same block." For individual homes on the market, the opportunity to test out a home or a neighborhood in advance remains rare. Carol Bird, Malibu, Calif.-based real-estate agent says that in her 25 years in the business, she has fielded only a couple of requests from clients asking to spend significant time alone in a home before buying. One, she said, wanted to get a sense of traffic noise at different times of day. He ended up purchasing. The second wanted to try out a home's numerous high-tech features, unusual at the time. He decided not to buy. Ms. Bird says she thinks the test-run is ill-advised. "Either they already liked the house and then change their mind and you lose the deal, or it stays the same," she says. Others say it can benefit buyers. "It makes sense; you spend more time trying on a pair of shoes than you do buying a house," says Susan Vanech, a Westport, Conn.-based agent who recently listed a home she owned for $574,000 and was open to potential buyers sleeping over. "It's quite possibly the largest individual investment you'll make in your life." Ms. Vanech says no one took her up on the offer to spend a night in the listed home; it recently sold for just above asking. Toll Brothers, one of the country's largest home builders, also has a Fly and Buy program for buyers who want to travel to a new town to check it out. Travel costs can then be put toward a purchase contract. The company says for liability reasons they don't allow overnights in model homes, but can put prospective buyers up in guest units in certain communities or in nearby hotels. Honua Kai Resort & Spa, a luxury condominium complex on Maui's Kaanapali Beach, launched a Stay and Play program about three years ago when sales were slow amid the recession. Though sales have picked up in the past year or two, they have continued the promotion. Prospective buyers can rent condos that have been placed in a rental pool for between $250 and $2,200 per night. If they decide to purchase, the cost of the stay can be applied to their purchase. Prices range from $985,000 for two-bedroom condos to $3.9 million for the largest three-bedroom units. Erika Alm, a principal at PowerPlay Destination Properties, which overseas sales and marketing for the development, says two of the latest three units sold were to people who tested them out while in contract, before closing the deal. "Some people know they're going to buy at Honua Kai but they're not quite sure," she says. "They make an offer and then say, 'Could we try this out?' " Wheelhaus, a company that manufactures luxury prefab houses as small as 400 square feet, recently launched a "try before you buy" campaign where potential buyers willing to travel to the company's headquarters in Jackson, Wyo., can spend the night at a resort made up of several Wheelhaus models. The company fully reimburses the cost of a stay if a guest goes through with a purchase. A big problem with buying a tiny house is making the transition and the shock of, 'What did I just do?' " says Jamie Mackay, the company's founder. "It's good for our buyers to get to touch and feel." So far, about 40 people have taken advantage of the program, says Mr. Mackay, and more than 75% of them have ended up purchasing their own Wheelhaus. Vince Crivello was one of them. He was interested in a 400-square-foot Caboose model Wheelhaus with one bedroom and a sleeping loft, in part to downsize from his 2,700-square-foot home in Marin County, Calif., but he wanted to make sure he'd be comfortable with such a major change. "The first thing I did was go to the grocery store to buy a bunch of groceries," says Mr. Crivello, who is in the investment-management business. The kitchen had a two-burner stove, a small refrigerator and minimal cabinet space, and he "wanted to make sure it would work." Mr. Crivello says his test-drive prompted him to add an outdoor storage shed to his property, and to request the windows be placed to maximize his view of the outdoors. He also figured out that cooking larger meals was doable if he also used an outdoor grill on the patio. His total cost for the home will be about $125,000, including making some adjustments to his plot of land to prepare it for the Wheelhaus, such as adding septic, electrical and water connections. Ginny Beasley, a Ridgefield, Conn.-based real-estate agent says the sellers are open to overnights for a historic country estate in Redding that has recently been reduced to $4.5 million. "We would need to do a background check there are some really wonderful antiques in the house," she says. The 6,385-square-foot home has six bedrooms and seven bathrooms and is on a 24.3-acre lot with formal gardens, river frontage and a swimming pool with a pool house. Homeowner Janice Meehan says she and her husband are open to either hosting qualified buyers for dinner or letting them spend the night alone. The house, built in 1768, has been on the market since May, she adds, and the two are eager to move on now that their children have left home. She says she feels like "it belongs to everyone" because it has so much history. "There's so much to it and it's such an experience, not just like, 'Come in and see six bedrooms and six bathrooms,' " she says. "It would be fascinating to host my neighbors and introduce a prospective buyer or if they wanted to be by themselves, that's cool, too." Write to Candace Jackson at [email protected]
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Taking your shopping skills to a new level at these treasure-filled flea markets. Daytona Flea Market Where: Daytona Beach, Florida Cost: Free admission; free parking Shake off the sand for a bit at the Daytona Flea Market , an impressively scaled bargain-hunting haven. Open weekly, Friday through Sunday, this market by the sea hosts over 800 vendors within its 30-acre complex. Vendors hawk everything from sunglasses to souvenirs and memorabilia from the local legends of the Daytona International Speedway. Artisanal pickles, homemade jams, and local honey are among some of the market musts along with a vast offering of farm-fresh produce. Complete with a barber's stall and tattoo parlor, the Daytona Flea Market encompasses the full spectrum of needs for all of its visitors. Insider Tip: The flea market hosts a local car show on the first Saturday of every month, when locals bring out celebrated and rare antique and race cars. Arrive on the early side, as the parking lots can get crowded. Plan Your Trip: Visit Fodor's Daytona Beach Travel Guide Shipshewana Flea Market Where: Shipshewana, Indiana Cost: Free admission; $3 parking Known as the largest in the Midwest, Shipshewana Flea Market is the main attraction of the small town of Shipshewana (population around 658) on the northern border of Indiana. Running seasonally outdoors, May through October on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, an eclectic array of goods attracts a regional crowd. Over 900 vendors sell both new and used items, though antique goods are the hot sellers. The Flea's antique auctions continue the deal-hunting spirit year-round, as high quality antiques start bidding wars every Wednesday in an indoor facility. If haggling makes you hungry, the onsite food stalls won't disappoint with delicious pulled pork, chicken croissants, and homemade pie. Insider Tip: On your return trip from the market, seek out the Quilt Gardens along the Heritage Trail , where 19 large, quilt-patterned gardens vibrantly dot the way through seven Indiana communities. Plan Your Trip: Visit Fodor's Indiana Travel Guide Springfield Antique Show & Flea Market Where: Springfield, Ohio Cost: General admission is $7 Less than an hour west of Columbus, the Springfield Antique Show & Flea Market is a destination for fine furniture as well as countless collectibles. Let your decorating instincts go wild as locally-made wooden furniture, vintage lamps, and classic beer signs are just some of the countless home décor items on sale. Specialty shows throughout the year, focusing on toys, holiday items, and folk art are highlights of the market, as the events bring out the rarest of items. The Springfield Antique Show & Flea Market is only open one weekend a month, so make sure to plan accordingly. Insider Tip: For the best homemade ice cream and shakes, stop by Young's Jersey Dairy , where a new flavor of the week keeps palettes fresh. Plan Your Trip: Visit Fodor's Ohio Travel Guide Brooklyn Flea Where: Brooklyn, New York Cost: Free admission An artisanal paradise, Brooklyn Flea captures the best of the borough's hipster vibe with over 100 vendors hawking one-of-a-kind items such as vintage rugs, furniture, and rare watches. The local craft stands are bold and creative with knit scarves, purses, and jewelry among the many items for sale. A hub of Brooklyn's renaissance for locally-sourced and inventive food, the Flea is home to up to 30 fine food stalls, including Asia Dog (hot dogs with Asian-inspired toppings) and Chickpea & Olive (a vegan pop-up known for their "Phatty Sliders," melts, and BLTs). Insider Tip: The plus-sized doughnuts at Dough are fantastic. Though the selection changes daily (and the cakes sell out quickly), seek out the chocolate with earl grey and the lemon ginger doughnuts. Plan Your Trip: Visit Fodor's Brooklyn Travel Guide Randolph Street Market Where: Chicago, Illinois Cost: Advance tickets are $8 online; $10 at the door Downtown Chicago's Randolph Street Market , located west of the Loop, features the Chicago Antique Market and Indie Designer Market. Open one weekend during most months throughout the year, professional pickers and deal seekers descend on the three-level Market for its storied variety of vintage fashion and apparel, ceramics, glass, jewelry, and paintings. During the warmer months, the shopping experience extends outside, where city blocks are transformed into a vintage and antique shopping center along with food stalls, beer, and live music. Insider Tip: Be sure to bring cash to the market; if you run out or need extra, there are two ATMs on site. While some dealers accept credit cards, having cash can sometimes allow for additional bargaining power. Plan Your Trip: Visit Fodor's Chicago Travel Guide Austin Country Flea Where: Austin, Texas Cost: Free admission; $2 parking Explore Austin beyond the downtown district for a taste of true Texan life at the Austin Country Flea . Cowboy boots, specialty Mexican ingredients, and wow-sized fresh produce are staples of this indoor-outdoor market that encourages bargaining and trades. Arrive hungry as the deep-fried turkey legs ($7.50) make for a perfect lunch paired with $2.50 margaritas and $1 ice cream cones. While you've got your turkey leg in hand, don't pass up the condiment station, where the southern-style "fixins" include lime juice, hot sauce, and garlic powder. The Flea is cash only with one ATM on site. Insider Tip: Driveway Austin is hotspot for thrill seekers, as gas-powered racing karts with speeds up to 60 mph race around courses with varying levels of difficulty. The warm-up lap and Formula 1-style start adds to the authenticity of the race. The experience costs $25 per race/driver. Plan Your Trip: Visit Fodor's Austin Travel Guide Treasure Mart Where: Ann Arbor, Michigan Cost: Free admission Perfect the art of browsing at the Treasure Mart , a trove of antiques, rare collectibles, knick-knacks, and just about everything else you never thought you needed until it's yours. Vintage fabrics, photo frames, and jewelry boxes line the shelves alongside antique flatware and glassware in this well-maintained three-story shop. Appraisers are available at the Treasure Mart for estate consultations at $45 per hour, offering invaluable insight into the many rare and unique items that collectors cherish. Insider Tip: While in Ann Arbor, don't pass up the chance to have a corned beef sandwich at Zingerman's Delicatessen where the pickles nearly steal the show from the deli meats. Plan Your Trip: Visit Fodor's Michigan Travel Guide Rose Bowl Flea Market Where: Pasadena, California Cost: General admission is $8 Rare finds are routine at the Rose Bowl Flea Market in Pasadena, California, held on the second Sunday of every month alongside America's beloved Rose Bowl stadium. A market for many professional pickers, the gates open as early as 5 am for VIP admission for the first three hours to those willing to pay $20 a person. What sets this market apart is its five miles of booths, grouped by category, that stretch in rows throughout the parking lot of the stadium, filled with vintage clothing, furniture, and local crafts. Insider Tip: Be on the lookout for some of Hollywood's celebrity bargain hunters known to peruse the stalls. Madonna, Cher, and Clint Eastwood have been spotted making rare finds. Plan Your Trip: Visit Fodor's Los Angeles Travel Guide Mower's Saturday Flea Market Where: Woodstock, New York Cost: Free admission Woodstock's arts community has fostered many unique shops, galleries, and fine dining spots that have kept the town alive since its famed '69 music festival. Mower's Saturday Flea Market is a seasonal weekend gathering (May through November) of the region's many independent arts and crafts vendors on a two-acre field. Caravans of vintage goods and apparel line the way as informed shoppers browse the endless racks of clothes. Fresh fruits and vegetables are sold at farm stands, as well. Insider Tip: Dine outside to the babble of a stream at The Bear Cafe in Woodstock, a fine dining spot that offers organic grilled salmon and unique tempura five-spice bean curd. Plan Your Trip: Visit Fodor's Woodstock Travel Guide First Monday Trade Days Where: Canton, Texas Cost: Free admission; $5 parking An hour east of Dallas, this oasis of commerce, buzzing with trade since the 1850s, has grown immensely throughout the decades. Known as First Monday Trade Days , since 19th-century vendors would gather on the first Monday of each month, the market now operates seasonally, Thursday through Sunday. A staggering 6,000 vendors fill the hundreds of acres of indoor and outdoor space as up to 100,000 shoppers seek out the best deals. Antiques, clothing, crafts, and jewelry are most commonly found in the stalls that line the pathways along with typical fair food, including hand cut fries and corn dogs. Insider Tip: Plan to leave the market an hour or so early at the end of the day as the parking lot can become overcrowded and create a gridlock. Plan Your Trip: Visit Fodor's Dallas-Fort Worth Travel Guide
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Twitter chief Dick Costolo said Thursday that "a relationship" with Google has been rekindled, but he was coy on the details. The deal will make Twitter messages more visible on the Internet, according to reports by Bloomberg News and The New York Times, with tweets showing up in Google searches as soon as they are posted. "I do want to confirm that we have a relationship that we have agreed to with Google," Costolo said during a quarterly earnings call with analysts. "I don't have any more details to share with you at this time." Deutsche Bank analyst Ross Sandler said in a research note this tie-up "could be the catalyst to push shares meaningfully higher," and help Twitter add users.
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news
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There are people who like candles. There are people who love candles. And then there are people who are a wee bit obsessive about their candles and can't stand it when they have dust, sinkholes, or a single nick in the side. I am one of those people, so I sought professional help (for my candle problems, not my underlying neurosis). Sinkholes. You know that annoying crater that forms around your wick? First of all, that's not supposed to happen. "High-quality candles should burn evenly, and if they don't, it's because they're not using the right wick," says Tamara Mayne, founder of Brooklyn Candle Studio. But if it does, Mayne advises letting the candle burn until the sinkhole reaches all the way to the perimeter, then let it cool on a completely flat surface. The problem may recur the next time you light the candle, but at least it will look nice in the interim. (If you're impatient, some beauty bloggers wrap aluminum foil around the top of the candle to distribute the heat evenly. But never, ever put your candle on the stove or in the microwave you know who you are because it could explode.) Nicks. If you get a nick or a divot in a pillar candle, you're going to need more wax to fill it. Turn the candle on its side, light a long candle in the same color, and slowly let the hot wax from the long candle drip into the divot until it's full. Then let it cool completely before standing it back upright. Dust. There's honestly nothing worse than a dirty candle, and a simple dustcloth won't pick up the dust. Instead, moisten a cotton pad with a bit of baby oil and sweep it over the candle's surface, advises Shaun Rowan, the director of education at Jo Malone London. That picks up the dust easily without marring the wax.
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lifestyle
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The Japanese government plans to submit legislation to the country's parliament that would make it mandatory for workers to take at least five days of paid vacation a year. The move reflects the desire of the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to curb Japan's notorious work culture, where office workers are known to log long hours and often work overtime for no additional compensation. The cause for roughly one-third of suicides in Japan in 2011 was attributed to overwork. A survey by the country's Labor Ministry in 2013 found that employees only took nine out of an average entitlement of 18.5 days of paid vacation. Another poll, according to the Japan Times, found that 1 in 6 workers took no paid vacation whatsoever. Americans, known for their uncompromising work ethic, look like laggards in comparison. A 2014 study found that 40 percent of American employees leave vacation days on the table, as part of a post-recession "martyr complex." That said, the United States remains the only country in the developed world that does not guarantee its workers paid vacation days. Below is a chart from a 2013 report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research. (Some European countries even mandate employers to pay an employee a premium for a given holiday period, in order to help cover travel and vacation costs; they also have far more stringent laws regarding the hours employees can keep on a given work day.) Japan ranks at the bottom with the United States, but its neurosis around work may be even worse. Japanese work culture is so intense that it has spawned its own word -- " karoshi ," or death from overwork. According to a 2008 article in The Post , the phrase entered Japanese parlance during "the boom years of the late 1970s, as the number of Japanese men working more than 60 hours a week soared." Since then, the "salaryman" -- the hard-working, white-collar paragon of Japan's economic success -- became a sort of national icon. A generational shift and more enlightened views on gender roles have slowly eroded this conventional norm. "We must also reform the work style that places importance on the amount of time spent working, an orientation created by men," Abe said in a speech last May. The country's health ministry last year recommended office workers take 30 minute naps in the early afternoon. But old habits remain, including the pressure to be so committed to your job that only a mandate from the government could convince you to take a break.
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travel
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Electronics retailer RadioShack Corp filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and said shareholder Standard General LP would buy 1,500 to 2,400 of its stores. RadioShack listed assets of $1.2 billion and liabilities of $1.39 billion in its bankruptcy petition in a Delaware court. The company warned in September that it could file for bankruptcy protection if talks with lenders and stakeholders about a sale or a restructuring failed. RadioShack's top lenders include hedge fund Standard General LP, which is also its largest shareholder, and Salus Capital Partners. Sprint Corp said it would set up co-branded stores in up to 1,750 of the stores acquired by Standard General's General Wireless Inc. The case is In Re: RadioShack Corp, Delaware Court, District of Delaware, Case No: 15-bk-10197. (Reporting by Ramkumar Iyer and Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
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Separate factions of the beer industry introduced competing bills Thursday, as they jockey for preferred changes to the way their products are taxed. The Fair BEER Act was introduced in the House with 23 lawmakers signing on. The measure is championed by the Beer Institute, a trade group whose largest members include Anheuser-Busch Inbev and MillerCoors, is pushing for the Fair Brewers Excise and Economic Relief (BEER) Act. It would create new tiers for how excise taxes on beer are levied allowing those who produce 7,143 barrels of beer or less on an annual basis to pay no excise taxes. About 90 percent of all permitted beer producers in the United States fall into this category, including micro-pubs or restaurant breweries. The bill would set out three additional rate levels, topping out at 2 million or more barrels per year. "This comprehensive reform bill supports brewpubs, microbrewers, national craft brewers, major brewers, and importers alike and encourages their entrepreneurial spirit, which is exactly the spirit we need to get America's economic engine going again," Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), who is sponsoring the bill, said in a statement. Rep. Ron Kind (Wis.) is his Democratic counterpart on the legislation. The Fair BEER Act also extends tax breaks to beer importers, which would include brands like Heineken and Corona. For decades, American brewers have paid a lower excise tax rates on the first 60,000 barrels of beer produced than the $18 per barrel after that amount, effectively creating a lower marginal tax rate for smaller producers and allowing the craft beer industry to grow. Meanwhile, the Small Brewer Reinvestment and Expanding Workforce Act (BREW) Act was reintroduced in the Senate with 25 initial co-sponsors, joining a companion bill introduced last month in the House. That measure is preferred by the Brewers Association, an organization primarily representing smaller craft brewers as well as larger ones such as Boston Beer Co., which produces Sam Adams. That bill also lowers excise taxes for smaller producers. However, it also expands the definition of a small brewer from 2 million barrels produced to 6 million, saying that the increase would help keep pace with the growth of the industry and the world's largest producers. "Small brewers have been anchors of local communities and America's economy since the start of our history," said Sen. Ben Cardin (Md.), the bill's Democratic lead, in a statement. "The federal government needs to be investing in industries that invest in America and create real jobs here at home. With more than 3,200 small and independent breweries currently operating in the US, now is the time to help this industry and our economy keep growing stronger." Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) joins him as the primary Republican on the Small BREW Act. Last session, the Small Brew Act garnered signatures from 182 House members and 47 senators. The BEER Act, which was written differently than this year's version, had 114 supporters in the House and 12 in the Senate.
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Nick Diaz has always had a love/hate relationship with the sport of MMA, but after losing his third straight decision and also testing positive for marijuana for the third time in his career, is the Stockton, Calif. bad boy finally riding off into the sunset? Diaz has never been shy about walking away from fighting. Following his loss to Georges St-Pierre in 2013, Diaz stated he was retiring from the sport unless he received an offer to compete again that made sense for him to return. That call finally came in 2014 when the UFC offered him the bout against Anderson Silva at UFC 183, but Diaz once again sounded unsure about his future in the sport when another decision was rendered against him. "I'm kind of tired of being a loser," Diaz said at the UFC 183 post fight press conference. "I'm still here but I'm losing all these fights. I'm doing well as far as this being a job versus these other guys that are out there. I don't know what to make of it right now." Just days after UFC 183 ended as well as the revelation that Diaz failed a post-fight drug where he had double the legal limit for marijuana in his system, the former welterweight title contender put up a cryptic post on Instagram that could once again signal the end of his career. Diaz posted a picture of the training partners he worked with for his fight camp and attached the hash tag #dunfighting. As previously noted, Diaz has retired from fighting before and still found his way back, but with the current situation he's in, could this really be the end? Diaz has always stated that fighting was always more work than pleasure for him and he'll certainly earn a healthy payday for his fight against Silva that could keep him from needing to fight again any time soon. The Nevada State Athletic Commission disclosed that Diaz made $500,000 for his fight against Silva for his base salary. Diaz will also likely score a hefty backend from the pay-per-view numbers, which by all indications could land him at closer to a multi-million dollar payday once it's all said and done. And then there's the drug test result that Diaz will still have to deal with from the Nevada State Athletic Commission at some point in either March or April. Diaz will likely be handed a temporary suspension in February and then face a full disciplinary hearing later this year. At that point, Diaz will likely face at least a one-year suspension from the sport following his third positive test for marijuana. Diaz tested positive previously in 2007, which earned him a six-month suspension followed by another positive test in 2012 that yielded him one-year off from fighting. Maybe Diaz has finally had enough and with another suspension coming as well as the money he'll earn from the fight with Silva (minus any penalties he might receive from the commission), have we really seen the last of him in the Octagon? When it comes to Diaz, the only thing to do is wait and see.
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Syracuse.com writer Brent Axe joins Campus Insiders' Ray Crawford to discuss the impact the self-imposed postseason ban is having on the basketball team and Jim Boeheim's legacy.
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PHILADELPHIA The Flyers have made some dangerous pickups before. This time, it's for a different reason. The risk-reward debate has nothing to do, in this case, with financial investment. Defenseman Kimmo Timonen, who had blood clots in both lungs and his right calf in early August, was given medical clearance to resume skating. The defenseman, who turns 40 in March, was on a daily blood thinner called Xarelto until late January. If a skate somehow cuts him during play, his life would be in jeopardy even more than the average NHL player's would be. Timonen, his mother and both brothers all have protein C deficiency, which causes his greater disposition to blood clots. According to the National Institutes of Health, a mild case of protein C deficiency affects 1 in 500 people. He had gone through a slew of tests since the clots were found in the summer as he prepared for his 16th NHL season. It's potentially starting much later than he'd hoped. "He's the piece that we've been missing," NHL points leader Jakub Voracek said last month. "He's a defenseman that's played over 1,000 games. He's an experienced guy, played five Olympics. He knows what it takes to find a way to win the games. Obviously that's the leadership, it's everything at this moment. If he's going to play it's going to be great for us and great for him." Timonen has a $2 million base salary and a $1.5 million salary bonus that can be pushed to next season. Dave Isaac writes for the (Cherry Hill, N.J.) Courier-Post
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They're people just like you and I.
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Jacque Vaughn has left the building. A franchise stuck in the mud has not. The Orlando Magic fired their head coach on Thursday, a passive-aggressive kind of thing since team officials had acknowledged privately that Vaughn was dead man walking a week ago. It is the cold and calculating business of professional sports. Just ask Stan Van Gundy to show you his scars. Vaughn succeeded Van Gundy after the Dwightmare drama of 2012. Keeping Stan after ditching disgruntled superstar Dwight Howard would have made no sense. Stan doesn't do baby-sitting. That was Vaughn's job. He was brought in to be patient and lose a lot of games, and he did that very well. But ultimately, the business model flipped. Vaughn proved to be an adept baby-sitter, but as a coach, not so much. He had to go, before everyone else starting leaving the Amway Center. The empty seats, the apathy and the Twitter firebombs from disgruntled fans sent a message to the higher-ups: Do something. We are tired of a team spinning in circles. This is insulting. The Magic are bleeding, heavily. And dumping Vaughn is the Band-Aid approach. Now comes the challenging part. As Magic general manager Rob Hennigan is fond of saying, this is a "process," one that becomes increasingly challenging in the months to come. Both Hennigan and Magic President Alex Martins admitted Thursday that one of the reasons Vaughn is out of a job is that the team hasn't shown measurable progress. The Magic have the same record 15-37 as they did a year ago. And Vaughn's .269 winning percentage is the second-lowest in NBA history for a coach with at least 200 regular-season games. "We're in this to win, not in this for continual losing," Martins said. "We suffer with every loss as much as every fan out there." This isn't spin city. Martins who has been around in different capacities for most of the team's history is invested in this team. He stews just like Jim and Joan in Section 245. But only Martins and Hennigan have the disposable income to fix the problem. Martins told me that won't be an issue. The team will have $20 million to $30 million in salary-cap space to chase a superstar through free agency. We aren't talking about Channing Frye and Willie Green. There will also be money from owner Rich DeVos' coffers to go after a veteran coach. Interim coach James Borrego is a nice guy and has potential, but no one is looking at him beyond a stopgap to close out the last 30 games of the season. The Magic need to go big or go home next season. It is difficult to ask people to care when the franchise business model has been etched in failure in recent years. The team has lost 10 consecutive games and has allowed 100 points or more in 77 losses during the past three years. Where is the heart, and where is the hustle? Things are all gray and mucked up and fuzzy now. Hennigan says the Magic have hit a bit of a "speed bump," although at times it feels like a head-on collision. This is the pain that comes with losing so badly. Vaughn may have lost the locker room, as they say in this business when a coach can't connect with his players. Martins and Hennigan can't afford to lose Central Florida. "Apathy" is the worst word in the world for a sports franchise. Indifference is toxic. It spills over from the folks in the cheap seats to the corporate suites and court-side seats. Magic fans will likely praise the decision to dump Vaughn and then put the people in the jerseys and the suits on notice. Dwight, Stan and Jacque are history. They've all left the building. Hennigan and Martins have to make sure the paying customers don't. ABOUT THE WRITER George Diaz is a columnist for the Orlando Sentinel.
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With Channing Tatum's Jupiter Ascending hitting theaters, we have sexy sci-fi men on the brain. So of course, we're counting down our favorite science fiction stars, from The Matrix's Keanu Reeves to Men in Black's Will Smith. Take a look to see if your sci-fi boyfriend made the list!
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In his first game back since January 13, Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne struggled, allowing four goals in a 5-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks.
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A decision on whether or not baseball will be reinstated to the Olympics will be made in August. Should baseball make its return? #120Talk
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STANFORD, Calif. (AP) -- Nothing has come easy when UCLA and Stanford have met this season. So when Chasson Randle's running 3-pointer floated toward the basket as the final buzzer sounded, both teams thought anything was possible. They watched the ball for what seemed like forever until it banked off the backboard, hit the front of the rim and bounced out, cutting the Cardinal's wild rally one shot short. Norman Powell finished with 20 points and eight rebounds, Isaac Hamilton scored 18 points and UCLA survived to beat Stanford 69-67 on Thursday night for its third straight win. "I was going to be sick if that made it in," said Bruins guard Bryce Alford, who added 18 points but split a pair of free throws in the final seconds to give the Cardinal a chance to win. "Unfortunately I didn't get it done, and fortunately a great player missed a shot." The Bruins built a 22-point lead with 11 minutes remaining before holding off the Cardinal's comeback. Even with all the late drama, it was still an easier affair for UCLA than the last time it played Stanford. The Bruins outlasted the Cardinal 86-81 in double-overtime on Jan. 8 at Pauley Pavilion, which had been their only win over a team in the RPI top 50. That victory vaulted UCLA's turnaround that continues to show no end. The Bruins (14-9, 6-4 Pac-12) have won six of eight following a five-game losing streak, including six in a row with big man Tony Parker in the lineup. UCLA improved to 2-5 on the road and won its first non-neutral site game outside of Los Angeles all season. "We're healthy. Hopefully we're gaining some momentum. We're getting some confidence," Bruins coach Steve Alford said. For as sweet of a victory as it was for UCLA, it was equally difficult for Stanford to absorb. Anthony Brown had 19 points and nine rebounds, and Randle scored 13 for the Cardinal (15-7, 6-4), who dropped consecutive games for the first time since last March. It was only Stanford's second loss at Maples Pavilion this season. "We have to make sure that we bounce back. Adversity's part of the season. Most teams are going to face adversity at some point. We're facing adversity right now," Cardinal coach Johnny Dawkins said. About the only thing the Bruins didn't do well was close each half -- and that almost cost them. UCLA led 31-15 with 3:29 left in the first half, seemingly ready to rout the home team. Instead, the Cardinal closed the period with 10 straight points. The Bruins burst out of the locker room again with a 19-5 spurt, pouncing on the Cardinal's costly errors. They led by 22 with less than 11 minutes to play when Stanford slowly started to trim the deficit behind a series of long-range shots. Brown's 3-pointer sliced UCLA's lead to 67-61 with 3:49 remaining. The Bruins grabbed three consecutive offensive rebounds to drain the clock, then watched Stanford miss twice on the other end. After another botched Bruins possession, Rosco Allen split a pair of free throws. Stanford stopped UCLA again, then Brown put back a rebound to bring Stanford within three with 21.5 seconds to play. The Cardinal got another chance when Powell missed the front end of a one-and-one. Randall raced down out of control and lost the ball, though, giving UCLA possession. Powell made 1 of 2 free throws before Allen connected on a 3-pointer to pull Stanford within 68-67 with 4.8 seconds left. Alford was fouled with 3.3 seconds to go, but only made the second free throw. Following a timeout by UCLA to set its defense, Randle hauled in a pass near half court. He took a couple of dribbles and attempted the running shot a few feet beyond the arc that just missed. "I'd liked to say we deserved it," Steve Alford said. "But they deserved it, too." PARKER'S PLAY Parker had eight points, eight rebounds and two blocks in 27 minutes before fouling out. Alford said he went up to Parker after the game and told him how important the junior has been to UCLA's resurgence. Parker missed the Oregon trip with back spasms two weeks ago, when the Bruins lost to the Ducks and Beavers. Those are UCLA's only losses in the last eight games. TIP-INS UCLA: The Bruins have won nine of their last 11 games against Stanford, including six of nine at Maples Pavilion. ... UCLA's longest winning streak is four games this season. Stanford: The Cardinal had won their last eight games after a loss. They hadn't dropped two in a row since losing to Arizona and Colorado last March. UP NEXT UCLA: At California on Saturday. Stanford: Host Southern California on Sunday.
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Dustin Johnson holed out for eagle from 160 yards on the 4th hole at the Farmers Insurance Open, but his play fell off after the impressive shot. Johnson is currently tied for 112th place.
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LA JOLLA, Calif. It's serious now, more serious than it's ever been. It's no longer off-base to ask whether Tiger Woods is done for good. Woods, who assured us last week he was fit as a fiddle , couldn't even get through his first 47 holes of 2015 before that familiar scene in the parking lot was re-enacted, the scene where he is driven away from the golf course in pain and to an uncertain future, for the third time in his last eight events. It's the back again, the same issue that turned 2014 into the worst season of his career. A microdiscectomy for a herniated disc last March 31 was supposed to have fixed it, but he rushed back to play in the Quicken Loans National and by August, at the PGA Championship, he was unable to swing a golf club. Doctors explained the procedure as putting a patch on a tire and that patch is not going to be as strong as the original tire. And now he's been breaking down more than a '58 Edsel. There were early signs something was wrong. He was hitting everything right as if he couldn't get through the ball. It's just that he's been so erratic, who could tell it was because of an injury. He started limping on his second hole, No. 11 on the North Course, and kind of grabbed his back when he missed the 12th green and landed on the 13th tee. A couple of holes later, he was picking the ball out of the hole with his left hand, which he never does. On the 15th, he popped up a drive and grabbed for his back, wincing in pain. It was a wonder he didn't quit at the turn. Woods sounded almost pathetic explaining how he couldn't activate his glutes during a second, one-hour fog delay Thursday. But if Woods couldn't even wait out this delay, how is going to prevent this from happening again and again and again? There were even unconfirmed whispers that Woods was hurting last week in Scottsdale. If that's the case or even if it's not what was he doing Tuesday in chilly Vail, watching Lindsay Vonn compete on the slopes? As it turns out, he could be watching her a lot more often. It's sad. Few had ever dominated a sport so thoroughly or brought as much excitement to a golf course. It's one thing to watch him hack his way to a career-high 82 last week because you always thought he'd eventually find his way out of it. Fighting through a bad back is different. People are comparing him to a broken-down Willie Mays stumbling around the Mets outfield, to Mickey Mantle hobbling on bad knees, Muhammad Ali getting punched around by Larry Holmes or Johnny Unitas laboring through a final season with the Chargers. But Tiger is not even 40. He just looks 60. He should still be challenging for the top spot in the world, not garnering sympathy from competitors. It wasn't supposed to happen. He hooked up with new swing coach Chris Como, an expert in biomechanics, to find an easier way to swing the golf club. This would indicate it's not because of the swing but because of his condition. There was no word Thursday on whether he will be able to return for the Honda Classic, which starts Feb. 26. Then there's only one tournament he's likely to play before the Masters, the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. Could Woods miss Augusta for the second straight year? Woods said Wednesday he was trying to work through all of his short game woes to be able to peak for Augusta. Back spasms aren't going to allow him to work much on his game. We've seen how far off he is and at the very place where we saw how great he was. Torrey Pines is where he battled through a broken leg to win the 2008 U.S. Open before a fire hydrant became the line of demarcation in his career. It was the last time he won a major. The way it looks, it may stay that way.
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HOUSTON Some nights, the problem is defense. Wednesday in Houston, it was offense. Some nights, these Bulls still resemble the grinders that averaged 51.3 regular-season wins in coach Tom Thibodeau's first four seasons. Wednesday in Houston, they did not. Asked what he believes is the biggest reason for the Bulls' recent struggles, Derrick Rose did not hesitate: "The effort. The effort. And lack of communication on the defensive side. Been saying this for a couple of weeks now." And it's not as if Rose just blurted that out. Asked later why the Bulls had given up runs of 12-2 in the second quarter and 13-0 to start the fourth to the Rockets, the point guard replied: "For sure, effort. And lack of communication in transition defense." Said Joakim Noah: "We play hard in spurts but just can't do it for 48 minutes right now. We need to figure it out or it's going to be a long year." Fifty games in, the Bulls still have a record (30-20) most teams would envy. But they've lost 10 of their last 15 and are actually a threat to be passed by the Jabari Parker-less Bucks (27-22) for the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race. "Teams in the NBA can go through a rut," TNT analyst Kenny Smith said Thursday. "Maybe they're playing for the fourth time in five nights or guys have the flu or the other team is just making shots. When you're not playing well, do you trust what's going on? If you trust, you'll get out of the rut. I'm not in the (Bulls) locker room, so I'm not privy to know. "The question is: Are you losing games but still doing the right things?" Smith said he believes the Bulls are, but you have to wonder. They shot just 34.8 percent in their 101-90 loss to the Rockets, as Noah went 0-for-8 but grabbed a season-high 19 rebounds. Rose, with two dishes in 38 minutes, had another low-assist game. The Bulls fell to 7-10 without Mike Dunleavy, who remains out with an ankle injury. Replacements Kirk Hinrich and Nikola Mirotic shot a combined 2-for-14 on Wednesday. But those are the numbers. What about the intangibles, the effort? "Early in the year, everyone was constantly telling you how good you are," Taj Gibson said. "When your jump shot is hitting, it's human nature to relax on defense, and I think that has happened with us. But we have to change that." Rose said the team intensity "is there, but we can't pick and choose when we want to show it. We show glimpses throughout the game, but it's about playing the whole game together." Asked about his role as a team leader, Rose replied: "I'm trying my hardest. I'm in control of what I can control. Right now I'm trying to lead by example and giving it my all. It's not a one-man sport. It's a team sport, so everyone has to be on the same page." Said Pau Gasol: "I feel I'm giving everything I've got ... It's not a matter of effort, it's a matter of working together, figuring out what needs to be done individually and collectively. We all have to look ourselves in the mirror: What are we doing that's working? What can we do differently?" Thibodeau, whose team will practice in Houston on Friday before taking on the Pelicans and Magic to conclude the six-game road trip, said the up-and-down intensity is because of a "compilation of things. Where do you get your intensity from? Your concentration and maximum effort. How do you build that habit? You build it through repetition. Practice is important. Practicing together is important. Meetings are important. Shootarounds are important. It's all important. "We have had a lot of guys who have been out (with injuries), and we're trying to overcome that. It's not easy. But that's our deal, what we have to do."
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By Matt Yoder College football is its own worst enemy. And it has been for years. That's particularly true when it comes to the sport's governing bodies and powers that be, who have truly earned their place other failing institutions in sports like FIFA and the IOC. The continued ineptitude and impotence of the NCAA has turned it into little more than a house of cards. And the power structures, inequalities, and downright exploitation of athletes that still plagues college athletics is no closer to actually being solved. Even when college football stumbles into unbelievable success, these powers that be still find a way to screw it up. The sport was dragged into a college football playoff kicking and screaming decades too late and the results were extraordinary. The three playoff games are now the three biggest audiences in the history of cable television. So naturally, with now arguably the second biggest annual event in sports behind the Super Bowl firmly within its grasp, the oligarchy of the bowl system and the College Football Playoff will do everything possible to ruin it. With the success of the inaugural playoff, we were one of the first to point out that the second edition had an odd loophole the semifinals would be played on New Year's Eve instead of New Year's Day because of the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl being locked into their time slots. Of course, everyone outside the playoff committee and the bowls realized this was absurd. The semifinals should never be played on December 31st because the CFP would be taking a machete to their own audience. The semis would draw a fraction of the audience on New Year's Eve that they would on New Year's Day. Even ESPN lobbied for the college football playoff committee to see the light and move the semis to Saturday, January 2nd next season because the current playoff schedule is just that ridiculous. And to the surprise of no one, the playoff committee will not be moved from the happy little rut they've dug themselves into. According to a report from ESPN's Heather Dinich , the CFP semis are staying on Dec. 31 this year: The College Football Playoff will not move its semifinal date for the 2015 season, in spite of a request from ESPN to change it from New Year's Eve to Jan. 2, 2016. The 2015 semifinals to be played at the Capital One Orange Bowl and the Goodyear Cotton Bowl are scheduled for Dec. 31. "We [the playoff's management committee] reviewed it and rejected it," Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott said. "We like the concept that we've developed for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Going forward, we think that's the right model for college football." Ten FBS commissioners, along with Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick, comprise the playoff's management committee. Bill Hancock, executive director of the College Football Playoff, confirmed no change would be made. He said those conversations are "over and done with." "We're not going to change," Hancock said. "It's a done deal." This just shows the lunacy of the decision. The best reason why the playoff committee refuses to change is because they refuse to change. The fact that they think they can suddenly make New Year's Eve into a night where America will want to sit down in front of a television and watch a football game is the height of delusion. The New Year's Six playing a non-playoff game on New Year's Eve isn't the worst idea in the world, but for the playoff games? There's a reason why nobody has ever scheduled anything of consequence beyond Ryan Seacrest, Pitbull, or some kind of sideshow daredevil stunt for New Year's Eve. If the semifinals draw over half of the 28 million that watched this year on New Year's Eve, it will be quite the accomplishment. It's hard to find the right words to describe just how short-sighted and narrow-minded this decision is, especially when it's such an easy fix. Move the semis to Saturday or have the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl make a sacrifice that's best for college football. For once college football could have put what's best for the sport and best for its fans first. Yet once again, they refused. The decision to play the semifinals on the night of Dec. 31 is so bad it makes Roger Goodell look like the intelligent one when it comes to football's power brokers.
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LIVONIA, Mich. A defense lawyer says an argument about presidential politics led to a fight in which his client is accused of beating her 66-year-old friend to death with a slow cooker. A suburban Detroit judge on Thursday ordered 50-year-old Tewana Sullivan of Detroit tried for first-degree murder in the October death of Cheryl Livy at Livy's home in a Livonia senior housing complex. Police Officer Michael Lewallen says he found Sullivan sobbing near her mortally injured friend and saying she was "sorry" she "did it." Defense lawyer John McWilliams tells The Detroit News (http://bit.ly/1C3Xf34) the women were arguing over "presidential politics" and "whatever the controversy is between Democrats and Republicans." He won't say which woman took which side. First-degree murder carries a mandatory penalty of life without parole. Sullivan's next court date is Feb. 12. ___ Information from: The Detroit News, http://detnews.com/
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Friday night might be the final time Charlotte Christian fans can enjoy watching both the Phills siblings play basketball in the Knights' gym. Bobby Ray Phills III, nicknamed "Trey," will play perhaps his last home game when the Knights face rival Charlotte Latin on Senior Night. The son of the late Charlotte Hornets star Bobby Phills, Trey is a 6-foot-1 senior who averages 22 points, six rebounds, three steals and nearly three assists per game. He has signed to play college ball at Yale. Christian boys' coach Shonn Brown and girls' coach Luke Boythe agree that Phills is one of the best players in school history. His sister Kerstie is a junior who averages 14 points, six rebounds, three steals, two blocks and two assists per game. She's being recruited by Yale, Princeton, Davidson and several other colleges. The Phills are honor-roll students and are among Mecklenburg County's best players. Rare feats, Brown said. "They're special, special kids," he said. "Take Trey. Look at his GPA and the college he's signed to attend. On the court, watch how he plays the game. He's very passionate about playing at a high level and making his teammates better. He's fully aware he can't control the winning part, but he'll do his absolute best." Trey has led the Knights' boys to a 19-6 record. Christian is 6-2 in the CISAA, tied for second place with Charlotte Latin, which visits Christian on Friday. . Kerstie, who is 5-9, has led the Knights' girls to a 17-9 record. Christian (4-3 CISAA) is tied for third in league play, one game behind Latin. The girls' game will tip off at 6 p.m., followed by the boys' game. Like always, Trey will watch as much of his sister's game before he goes to the locker room to change for his. "I love it," Trey said. "It's fun seeing her attack the competition. We always have to leave early and get ready for our game, but I'm always trying to stay as long as possible to cheer her on and watch her do work." And when Kerstie's games are over, she changes as quickly as possible and returns to watch her brother on the court. "It's really fun to hear him cheer me on," she said, "and then I get to cheer him for his games." Like most siblings, the Phills fight - over what time to get up, what's for breakfast and always over the remote. Kerstie wants to watch the reality housewives shows. Trey wants to watch SportsCenter and college basketball. But they definitely share a love for basketball, which their father played so well. Honoring Bobby Phills Bobby Phills was drafted by Milwaukee with the 45th pick in the 1991 NBA draft. He played six seasons with Cleveland before being traded to Charlotte. On Jan. 12, 2000, Phills died in a car crash after he left a Hornets pregame shoot-around. Trey was 3. Kerstie was 1. Last November, the Hornets honored Phills and re-hung his No. 13 jersey during a halftime ceremony against Memphis. No. 13 had been raised to the rafters by the original Hornets on Feb. 9, 2000, less than a month after Phills' death. It is the only retired Hornets jersey. "During the process of bringing the Hornets name back to Charlotte (from New Orleans), one of the most important elements to us was to once again honor the retired jersey of Bobby Phills," Hornets President & COO Fred Whitfield said in a team media release. "It is our responsibility to appropriately recognize the legacy of a man who impacted so many people with his contributions both on and off the basketball court." A 6-5 guard, Phills signed with the Hornets before the 1997-98 season and played in 133 games. He averaged 12.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.4 steals in 32.2 minutes per game with Charlotte. Trey, who wears No. 13 to honor his father, said people still talk to him about his dad. "Growing up," he said, "I always felt like people said (I have to play basketball) because of who my dad was, but over time it became one of my first loves. I was always thinking about it. Dad was a great community leader. He was humble and soft-spoken. People remind me of that." Kerstie said she often hears from others about her father, too, and tries to emulate his all-around game. She grew up as an inside player and was quicker than her opponents. As her contemporaries caught up and in some cases grew taller, Kerstie evolved into a guard. She's remained quite effective, said Knights coach Luke Boythe, who won a state championship in 1997 as a player. "I love how hard she plays and how hard she leads," he said. "If you need her to shoot, she can shoot. If you need her to rebound, she can rebound. She literally does everything for us. She's one of those players that is hard to replace, because she does a lot of things well." Knights boys' coach Brown said similar things about Trey, who played much of his junior season with a ligament tear in his knee. He had surgery last March and is now enjoying his best season. "After the surgery, he sat out most of the spring, but came back late summer and played really, really well," Brown said. "That's carried over into this season. But he doesn't think about himself. It's all about team. "When we say, 'We need you to take 15 shots a game,' he's like, 'Coach, really?' But he understands how to win and knows what it takes to win."
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Have you ever been on the subway and seen something that you did not quite recognize, something mysteriously unidentifiable? Well, there is a good chance scientists do not know what it is either. Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College released a study on Thursday that mapped DNA found in New York's subway system a crowded, largely subterranean behemoth that carries 5.5 million riders in an average week, and is filled with hundreds of species of bacteria (mostly harmless), the occasional spot of bubonic plague, and a universe of enigmas. Almost half of the DNA found on the system's surfaces did not match any known organism and just 0.2 percent matched the human genome. "People don't look at a subway pole and think, 'It's teeming with life,' " said Dr. Christopher E. Mason, a geneticist at Weill Cornell Medical College and the lead author of the study. "After this study, they may. But I want them to think of it the same way you'd look at a rain forest, and be almost in awe and wonder, effectively, that there are all these species present and that you've been healthy all along." Dr. Mason said the inspiration for the study struck about four years ago when he was dropping off his daughter at day care. He watched her explore her new surroundings by happily popping objects into her mouth. As is the custom among tiny children, friendships were made on the floor, by passing back and forth toys that made their way from one mouth to the next. "I couldn't help thinking, 'How much is being transferred, and on which kinds of things?' " Dr. Mason said. So he considered a place where adults can get a little too close to each other, the subway. Thus was the project, called PathoMap, born. Over the past 17 months, a team mainly composed of medical students, graduate students and volunteers fanned out across the city, using nylon swabs to collect DNA, in triplicate, from surfaces that included wooden benches, stairway handrails, seats, doors, poles and turnstiles. In addition to the wealth of mystery DNA which was not unexpected given that only a few thousand of the world's genomes have been fully mapped the study's other findings reflected New York's famed diversity, both human and microbial. The Bronx was found to be the most diverse borough in terms of microbial species. Brooklyn claimed second place, followed by Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island, where researchers took samples on the Staten Island Railway. On the human front, Dr. Mason said that, in some cases, the DNA that was found in some subway stations tended to match the neighborhood's demographic profile. An area with a high concentration of Hispanic residents near Chinatown in Manhattan, for example, yielded a large amount of Hispanic and Asian genes. In an area of Brooklyn to the south of Prospect Park that roughly encompassed the Kensington and Windsor Terrace neighborhoods, the DNA gathered frequently read as British, Tuscan, and Finnish, three groups not generally associated with the borough. Dr. Mason had an explanation for the finding: Scientists have not yet compiled a reliable database of Irish genes, so the many people of Irish descent who live in the area could be the source of DNA known to be shared with other European groups. The study produced some less appetizing news. Live, antibiotic-resistant bacteria were discovered in 27 percent of the collected samples, though among all the bacteria, only 12 percent could be associated with disease. Researchers also found three samples associated with bubonic plague and two with DNA fragments of anthrax, though they noted that none of those samples showed evidence of being alive, and that neither disease had been diagnosed in New York for some time. The presence of anthrax, Dr. Mason said, "is consistent with the many documented cases of anthrax in livestock in New York State and the East Coast broadly." The purpose of the study was not simply to satisfy scientific curiosity, the authors said. By cataloging species now, researchers can compare them against samples taken in the future to determine whether certain diseases, or even substances used as bioterrorism weapons, had spread. City and transit officials did not sound grateful for the examination. "As the study clearly indicates, microbes were found at levels that pose absolutely no danger to human life and health," Kevin Ortiz, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said in an email. And the city's health department called the study "deeply flawed" and misleading. Dr. Mason responded by saying he and his team had simply presented their complete results. "For us to not report the fragments of anthrax and plague in the context of a full analysis would have been irresponsible," he said. "Our findings indicate a normal, healthy microbiome, and we welcome others to review the publicly available data and run the same analysis."
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SI is making waves by including a swimsuit ad with plus size model Ashley Graham who says, "curves are here to stay!"
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RALEIGH - The ACC acknowledged game officials made a mistake near the end of Wake Forest's 88-84 win against N.C. State on Tuesday. Wake Forest forward Devin Thomas should have been called for a flagrant one foul with 40.5 seconds left, ACC head of officials John Clougherty wrote in an email to N.C. State athletics director Debbie Yow on Wednesday. The News & Observer obtained a copy of Yow's email Thursday via a Freedom of Information Act request. Michael Roberts, Jeffrey Anderson and Joe Lindsay were the officials working the game in Winston-Salem. With 40.5 seconds left and N.C. State's Ralston Turner at the free-throw line, Thomas drove his left elbow into the chest of N.C. State's Cody Martin as the two were going for a rebound. The elbow by Thomas should have been called a flagrant one foul, Clougherty wrote in the email. Under NCAA rules, a flagrant one foul is "non-excessive" contact, such as a player swinging an elbow, and it results in two free throws and possession of the ball. "I thought there was a flagrant one foul," N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried said Thursday. "The league office confirmed that it was, but unfortunately it wasn't called. We just have to move on." N.C. State was down 86-77 when the altercation between Thomas and Martin occurred. During the same sequence, N.C. State's Caleb Martin rebounded Turner's miss and was fouled by Wake Forest's Codi Miller-McIntyre. Cody Martin and Thomas continued to jostle away from the ball. Thomas, after a second elbow to him, pushed Martin, who in turn grabbed Thomas and threw him to the ground. Officials reviewed the altercation on the courtside video monitor and Cody Martin and Thomas received flagrant one fouls for their actions. Neither team received free throws for the offsetting fouls. As a result of the sequence, Caleb Martin took two free throws and made both to cut Wake Forest's lead to 86-79. Wake Forest got the ensuing possession. If the flagrant foul had been correctly called, N.C. State would have gotten four free throws plus possession of the ball. The Wolfpack got as close as 87-84 with 11.2 seconds left but never led in the second half. This is the second time in three seasons that the ACC has acknowledged an officiating error in an N.C. State game. There was a procedural mistake in N.C. State's game with Virginia Tech on Feb. 16, 2013 on a late free-throw attempt by Virginia Tech, which helped the Hokies score and tie the game at the end of regulation. N.C. State went on to win the game 90-86. Giglio: 919-829-8938
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Fairy Bread and 8 Other Birthday Treats Around the World Fairy Bread and 8 Other Birthday Treats Around the World The Daily Meal looks at the birthday celebrations from 9 countries around the world. Browse: Awesome birthday treats Argentina In Argentina, birthdays are typically celebrated with sandwiches de miga, which are similar to tea sandwiches, and masas, or sweet pastries from the bakery. Tradition also dictates that friends and family members pull a celebrating child's earlobes for each year of his or her age. Australia No Australian birthday is complete without one of Australia's most, well, confusing foods to outsiders: Fairy bread. Fairy bread is simple and sweet very sweet. It's a treat of buttered bread decorated with lots of sprinkles, or "hundreds and thousands," as they are called in Australia. Fairy bread is a standard part of any Australian childhood. Brazil In Brazil, one common sweet treat eaten on birthdays is brigadeiro, a very popular candy that is made using sweetened condensed milk and a Brazilian chocolate powder similar to Nesquik. The brigadeiro are rolled into balls and are usually decorated with chocolate sprinkles or some kind of granulated chocolate. Kids also eat candies shaped like fruits and vegetables. China In China, long noodles, also called long life noodles or longevity noodles, are eaten to celebrate one's birthday. The dish is typically made with vermicelli noodles and a hardboiled egg, which represents fertility or life, served in a broth. England British birthday traditions are similar to those in America, with lots of birthday cake served at parties; however, in England, is it common to place coins inside someone's birthday cake as a symbol of wealth for the future. Ghana In Ghana, birthday breakfast is the way to go. A typical morning repast is oto, which is a dish made from hardboiled eggs, mashed yam, and some type of oil, typically palm oil (though margarine can be used instead). Mexico We all love the piñata, a tradition with Mexican roots. Birthday piñatas are filled with candy and are a staple in any birthday celebration in Mexico. Additionally, there is the tradition of "la mordida" ("the bite"), when the birthday girl or boy's face is shoved into the cake for a first taste, while friends and family shout, "Mordida! Mordida! Mordida." Traditionally, the cake is a tres leches cake, or a multicolored layered cake. Russia A traditional birthday meal in Russia usually consists of fish as well as potato and beet salads. Pirozhki, fried dumplings filled with meat, fish, or vegetables, are also common. There is typically no birthday cake; instead, it's more common to have fruit pies with a birthday greeting carved into the crust of the pie. South Korea There is only one meal to have on your birthday in South Korea: miyeokguk, seaweed soup, associated with birthdays because Korean women eat seaweed soup for nourishment while they're pregnant and after giving birth. The soup is said to bring good luck for the coming year.
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DENVER One immigrant woman told of visiting five gynecologists in recent months, each of whom gasped audibly at her anatomy. Another went to see a doctor, only to become the subject of a gawking crew of medical residents. And a third said she had never visited a gynecologist, despite experiencing abdominal pain since age 10, when her genitals were cut in her native Gambia. "I feel ashamed," said the woman, Mariama Bojang, 25. "The doctor has probably never seen anything like this. How am I supposed to explain it?" As the number of African immigrants in the United States has grown, so has the number of women living in this country who have undergone genital cutting. About half a million women in the United States have experienced the procedure or are likely to be subjected to it by their families, according to a preliminary report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That figure is about three times the last government estimate, made in 1997. A study to be released Friday by the Population Reference Bureau is expected to show similar numbers. Public health officials, however, are warning that some doctors and nurses are not prepared to deal with the physical and emotional complications associated with the procedure sometimes called female genital mutilation or F.G.M./C and in some cases may unintentionally traumatize the women they are trying to help. "More and more health providers are going to be taking care of women who've undergone F.G.M./C," said Dr. Nawal Nour, the director of the African Women's Health Center in Boston, considered by many to be the leading clinic in the United States for women who have undergone genital cutting. Many of her patients, she said, describe "a humiliating time with health providers." Female genital cutting is an ancient tradition concentrated in 29 countries in Africa and the Middle East. It is on the decline in some communities but still the norm in others, with more than 90 percent of women cut in Somalia and Guinea. The cutting can be as limited as a small incision or as extensive as an infibulation, which can involve removing the clitoris and repositioning the labia to form a seal with a small opening. The practice remains a respected tradition in some cultures, linked to purity and community acceptance, though it has no medical benefits and is commonly described as excruciatingly painful, as it is usually conducted without anesthesia. It is outlawed in United States, and it is also illegal to send a girl abroad to undergo the process. But the country has had a surge of African immigrants in the last two decades, at least some of whom experienced it before they arrived. And some families flout the law and send their daughters abroad to be cut. Here in Denver, a refugee hub, Dr. Gretchen Heinrichs, a gynecologist, has treated many women who have had their genitals altered. Her patients come from Ethiopia, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Mali and elsewhere. "We're seeing a lot more F.G.M.," she said. Patients' needs are many. For women who complain of painful sex, Dr. Heinrichs has opened fused closures, using anesthesia. She once removed a large cyst that a woman had developed as a result of the procedure. Dr. Heinrichs treats wound-related infections and sends unsatisfied couples to sex therapists. She also works to balance foreign tradition and American medical ethics. Sometimes, a pregnant woman asks that the doctor reseal her labia after birth, returning her body to its previous, traditional appearance. Federal law and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists allow for this, and some doctors, including Dr. Heinrichs, comply. But it is a difficult point for Dr. Heinrichs and her colleagues at Denver Health Medical Center. In one case, a patient gave birth, and her husband, a physician in his home country, turned to the doctor. "He said, 'Make sure you repair her circumcision,' " recalled Dr. Heinrichs. "I said to her, 'Is that what you want?' And she said, 'Yes,' but you're never going to know if that's truly her wish." The procedure has caused some controversy, particularly in London, where one doctor was recently charged with violating the United Kingdom's 2003 Female Genital Mutilation Act after he stitched a woman's labia in the minutes after she gave birth. The doctor, who was performing an emergency delivery, was found not guilty. In a statement, he called genital cutting "an abhorrent practice." The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has had a guide on the issue of female genital cutting since 1995, and in immigrant hubs like Denver, New York and Seattle, physicians have been treating women with genital alterations for years. In medical schools, however, education on the issue is "rare and random," Dr. Nour said. "It's treated as a haphazard topic of interest." Most health care providers have no experience discussing the issue with women or their partners, and do not know how to treat complications, she said. Dr. Nour said she received calls from flummoxed health professionals treating immigrant women whose jobs have brought them to places like Hawaii, North Dakota and Florida. She points them to a DVD about genital cutting. "The worst thing a health care provider can do is wince or cringe or ask an inappropriate question," Dr. Nour said. "It deters a patient from returning." Ms. Bojang, the Gambian woman with abdominal pain, now lives in Tyler, Tex., about 100 miles east of Dallas. She came to the United States in 2010 to study political science and said she was now considering visiting a gynecologist, spurred by the support of people who oppose the tradition. "When I start talking about this topic, I get really emotional," she said. "Everything comes back. Going to the doctor I don't want to have to explain everything from the beginning."
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"Saved by the Bell" has been off the air since 1993, but the legacy of the iconic high school TV show live on. On the heels of several of the actors reprising their roles for a hilarious skit on " The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon ," the Yankees' Single-A affiliate Brooklyn Cyclones are saluting the show with their June 24 "Salute To 'Saved by the Bell' Night" promotion . MORE: Best MiLB team names | Best MiLB states | Deflate-gate promotion The unique promotion provides a bevy of fun events that will take you back to the glory days at Bayside High. - A.C. Slater's sitting backwards musical Chairs - "I'm So Excited" fan cam - Mr. Tuttle's learner's permit on-field obstacle course - Screech Powers chess tournament - Oldest cell phone in the ballpark competition. Sadly, Kelly Kapowski won't be in attendance.
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It is about time that India shows its white-collar workers some tender loving care. Legally, that is. Contrary to popular belief, millions of corporate managers are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. The reason: there aren't any labour legislations protecting them. A manager's legal relationship with the employer is governed largely by his or her employment contracts. And often employees have little or no bargaining power in the negotiation of the contracts, leaving them entirely at the mercy of their employer. The effect of workplace abuse is harmful to all, including the employer. It is not unknown for costs to rise and productivity to decline in abusive organisations. Abuse at workplace could stem from psychological stereotyping of employees because of gender, pregnancy, age, caste, religion, sexual orientation or disability. Employer-organisations typically single out employees or a class of employees and the various forms of harassment could include inequitable pay, long hours, non-recognition, bullying, favouritism to other workers, unfair demands, public humiliation and intrusive electronic surveillance. Employees continue to accept abusive behaviour from their superiors because of the fear of losing their jobs. And employers take full advantage of the situation using harassment as a tool to extract more work for less pay. It is, therefore, not surprising that most of these instances go unreported. It is imperative to create a level playing field for managerial employees in India. I am recommending two measures, perhaps as a start point, towards achieving this equilibrium.. Such regulators exist in many developed countries. For instance, the US has in place the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the UK has the Equal Opportunity Commission. This independent body will investigate all discrimination and harassment complaints against employers. The regulator would also provide assistance through education and training, mediation and litigation. Arbitration : The use of arbitration clauses must be encouraged, if not mandated. Court litigation tends to be public, and information about such trials circulate swiftly in employer circles. It makes employability during the pendency of a litigation and usually even thereafter doubtful. Given deep pockets, large corporations unabashedly protract and file multiple litigations in a concerted strategy to wear employees down. Employees, on the other hand, usually have limited resources at their disposal and without a source of regular income, the contest is not only one-sided, but often insurmountable. Moreover, since arbitration is a closed room process, it is possible to maintain the privacy of the parties involved and employers are restricted in their options of filing multiple proceedings. Organisational efficacy is important, but inequitable power creates imbalance, and deepens stratification and nepotism. This may produce short-term results, but ultimately is to the detriment of all constituents, including the organisation itself.
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Carolina's Elias Lindholm scored the only goal in the shootout to give the 'Canes a 2-1 win on the road in Arizona.
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Canon has announced the EOS M3, the third in its line of mirrorless cameras. The M3 has a 24-megapixel APS-C sensor, Wi-Fi connectivity, and 49-point hybrid phase-detection autofocus, but perhaps more important are the design changes. This looks to be by far the most photographer-friendly mirrorless camera yet from Canon. While the prior two EOS M cameras had very few physical controls, relying almost entirely on the touchscreen, the M3 adds a dial for traditional PASM modes as well as another for exposure compensation. The grip appears much more substantial, and there's support for an optional electronic viewfinder. Although Canon is the market leader in DSLRs, it's been slow to take notice of mirrorless. The EOS-M3 won't be a direct competitor to more pro-focused models like the Sony A7 II, Fujifilm X-T1, or Olympus OM-D EM-1, and Canon needs to play serious catch-up with its lenses for the compact system. But for Canon shooters wanting a smaller, lighter, and more convenient alternative to a DSLR, this is a welcome sign that the camera giant hasn't bailed on the category altogether. It's unclear, however, whether the EOS M3 will make it to North America at all its predecessor did not.
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Losing a gadget sucks, but having to change all your passwords to make sure no thief gets to your bank accounts is much worse for some people. That's why it's awesome that Chrome OS devices can now be locked when stolen or lost -- if they're Enterprise/Business or Education computers, that is. Google has introduced the feature as an update to the admin console, and according to Google employee François Beaufort, there's no way to do it for personal devices yet. That's unfortunate, but seeing as Chromebooks are doing especially well in the education sector, we're not entirely surprised. Those who do use a school /work-issued Chromebook only have to ask their IT admin to lock it remotely from the web-based control system. After that, people who switch the device on will only see a lock screen with the company's or school's address and phone number, in an attempt to guilt them into finding the rightful owner. Chrome Releases
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DALLAS (AP) -- Once Cincinnati settled down and got away from an early turnover-per-minute pace, everything turned out OK against No. 23 SMU. So far, the Bearcats are the only American Athletic Conference team to beat coach Larry Brown's squad. And they have done it twice. Jermaine Sanders scored 15 points, including one of two huge 3-pointers for Cincinnati as it started to pull away late in a 62-54 win Thursday night over a Mustangs team playing its first game since getting back into the Top 25. "We shot ourselves in the foot by throwing the ball away so much. Once we got past that, then we were fine," associate head coach Larry Davis said. "It could have been a disaster. We could have been down 20 the way we were turning the ball over." Cincinnati (16-6, 7-3 American Athletic) didn't miss a shot in the first 10 minutes of the game, but took only three shots while committing 10 turnovers in that span. After being plagued by all those miscues and down only 25-20 at halftime, the Bearcats pulled out the game that featured nine lead changes and eight ties after that. They led for good after Octavius Ellis made two free throws to make it 45-44 with 7 1/2 minutes left, then Sanders and Shaq Thomas hit big 3s late. "Players made plays in the second half," Davis said. "Guys jumped up and made shots, but again, we kept defending. I can't say enough about the kids' character and how they just kept fighting when they were turning it over, and it wasn't going right for them." Sanders swished a 3-pointer from the right corner with 4:40 left to put Cincinnati up 53-46. SMU (18-5, 9-2), which was up by eight points early, pulled to 55-52 after Sterling Brown had a putback of his own shot after he had rebounded a Cincinnati miss and drove the court only to miss a layup. But with the shot clock running down after the Bearcats got the ball back, Thomas hit from the right wing. Brown can only hope that his Mustangs have the same response to another loss to Cincinnati. SMU has won 16 of its last 18 games. The only losses in that span are both against Cincinnati, including one on the road the first weekend of January before the eight-game winning streak that was snapped at Moody Coliseum. "As a coaching staff, we've got to coach them better and have confidence that our kids are going to go out the next game and be better," Brown said. "That's what happened the last time we played Cincinnati. We've got to learn from this and move on." The Mustangs play Saturday at AAC-leading Tulsa (17-5, 10-0), which has won 12 in a row. Farad Cobb and Troy Caupain each added 14 points for the Bearcats, who shot 57 percent overall (21 of 37) and finished with 17 turnovers. Cannen Cunningham led SMU with 14 points while Sterling Brown had 12. STRANGE SHOOTING SMU had as many made baskets (11) as Cincinnati had shots in the first half. With all the turnovers, the Bearcats managed only 11 shots, but made seven of them before halftime. TIP-INS Cincinnati: The Bearcats have held 26 consecutive opponents under 70 points, the nation's longest active streak. ... Ellis has made 22 consecutive free throws the previous five games, but missed his first attempt against SMU midway through the first half. He made the second. SMU: Mustangs seniors Ryan Manuel and Cunningham have each played in 123 career games. That is only two short of the school record 125 set by Butch Moore from 1982-86. ... The Mustangs were up 15-8 after a 10-1 run in the first half capped by Sterling Brown's 3-pointers -- the first SMU make that wasn't a dunk or tip-in (two each) since his 3 for SMU's first basket of the game. UP NEXT Cincinnati: Hosts South Florida on Saturday night. SMU: At Tulsa on Saturday night.
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This week, the Department of Transportation released Beyond Traffic , a report the agency describes as a 'draft framework' for the future of transportation here in the United States. And as it stands, our future looks pretty bleak . In the forward to the report, the authors write: "Beyond Traffic reveals that, if we don't change, in 2045, the transportation system that powered our rise as a nation will instead slow us down. Transit systems will be so backed up that riders will wonder not just when they will get to work, but if they will get there at all. At the airports, and on the highway, every day will be like Thanksgiving is today." The study itself is over 300 pages long, looking into the current state of transportation and the outlook for the next 30 years. In an accompanying (and much shorter) slideshow packed with infographics, the DOT outlines some of the takeaways from the study, which are pretty disheartening in their condensed form. The United States' transportation infrastructure earns a D+ from the authors, who cite poor or aging roads, bridges, and locks , devices that help transport boats between bodies of water with different water levels. To get a better picture of what some of that means, take a look at this post by Christopher Ingraham from the Washington Post . Ingraham put together a map looking at the conditions of highway bridges, showing where the highest percentage of structurally deficient bridges are. Colors range from beige, areas where 5 percent of the bridges are structurally deficient, to a deep maroon, where over 35 percent have earned that dubious distinction. In some states, there's a whole lot of red. And to top things off, the DOT also mentions that higher sea levels, higher temperatures, and more frequent storms all pose a threat to an aging transportation system. Though people often say they want to fix our roads, as a society, we aren't exactly putting our money where our mouths are. The study estimates that it will take $120 billion annually to fix damaged roads and highways between now and 2020, but governments at all levels (local, state and federal) are only spending a total of $83.1 billion. As for public transit, $43 billion is needed to invest in repairs, expand existing systems, and make access more frequent and reliable. Yet only $17 billion is being spent currently. While the outlook is pretty gloomy, the DOT seems surprisingly optimistic about the future, touting improvements in car safety (deaths due to car crashes went down by 80 percent in the past 50 years), and the benefits of using data to track freight, planes, and just about anything else that moves through the transportation grid. This early report is also just a first attempt to gather ideas for how to move forward. As part of this initiative, the DOT is encouraging the public to submit your ideas to their website. They hope to release a final framework later this year .
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Alex Ovechkin scored for the Caps and mixed it up with Bobby Ryan in the Caps 2-1 win against the Senators. The Caps currently lead the Wild Card. Can they make noise in the playoffs?
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If you thought the megapixel wars were over, think again: Canon's latest DSLRs cram just over 50 of them into a full-frame sensor. The EOS 5DS and 5DS R variant which omits the antialiasing filter for better sharpness at the potential expense of moiré patterns on fine textures have so much resolution that you'll get 19-megapixel images even if you shoot in crop mode with lenses designed for APS-C sensors. Other specs include shooting at 5 frames-per-second, 61-point autofocus, dual Digic 6 processors, 3.2-inch 1-million-dot LCDs, a mirror vibration control system to combat camera shake, and viewfinders with 0.71x magnification and 100 percent coverage. Canon is also introducing a new 11-24mm f/4 L lens, which it says is the widest-angle rectilinear zoom lens in the world. (Rectilinear means that the glass has been optically corrected so that straight lines are rendered free of distortion even at extremely wide angles; fisheye lenses can be wider, for example, but give you severe distortion.) At the other end of the scale, Canon is also introducing new entries in its popular line of entry-level DSLRs. The 750D, follow-up to the camera known as the 700D in Europe and the Rebel T5i in North America, is a pretty standard DSLR that should match up to the mirrorless EOS M3 in most respects; it uses the same 24-megapixel APS-C sensor and has added Wi-Fi connectivity. Another model, the 760D, shuffles the layout around to make room for an extra dial and top-mounted monochrome LCD, making it closer to a high-end DSLR in operation. Both the 5DS and 5DS R will be available in Japan this June. Pricing information isn't yet available.
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Despite the rise of mirrorless cameras, Canon has been relatively cautious updating its Rebel DSLR line. The last big upgrade was the T5i from two years ago , and even that was considered more of a refresh than a revamp. Well, the series is finally getting an overhaul -- and in some cases, it might be enough to make you skip more expensive shooters. Both the new Rebel T6i and T6s (above) carry sharper 24.2-megapixel sensors and DIGIC 6 processors that let them pull off feats that are both welcome and, frankly, a little overdue. They now have EOS-70D -like fast autofocusing embedded in the pixels themselves, 1080p video at a smoother 60 frames per second, and new-to-Canon color tone detection. You'll also be glad to know that the Rebel range is finally getting built-in WiFi for photo transfers, and you can pair with Android phones or accessories over NFC. The big deal this year, though, is what's on top of the T6s: there's now an LCD panel and a quick control dial, much like what you'd see on many higher-end DSLRs. You won't always have to wade through the rear screen interface just to peek at the ISO sensitivity or exposure compensation. There are still reasons to splurge on more sophisticated cameras (you're stuck with 5FPS continuous shooting and a maximum ISO 25,600 light sensitivity, for example), but you now have a taste of pro-level camera control without spending pro money. Canon is also giving the T6s a high dynamic range movie recording for those tricky lighting situations, and there's servo autofocus to keep track of targets when you're shooting burst photos in Live View. Not surprisingly, these augmented Rebels won't be the cheapest DSLRs you can get when they ship in April. The T6i will start at a sizable $750 for just the body, $900 with a standard 18-55mm lens and $1,100 with a longer-ranged 18-135mm lens. Go for the T6s and you're looking at $850 for the body alone, or $1,200 with a 18-135mm lens in the box. With that said, both the 70D and Nikon's D7100 started at $1,200 body-only when they were new -- if you're more interested in those cams' control schemes than anything else, the T6s may represent a bargain. Edgar Alvarez contributed to this report. Canon
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Every college football coach talks about building a fence around his particular state. Or in the case of the most talent-rich regions of the country, it's absolutely imperative to out recruit your in-state rivals for the region's blue-chippers. In most instances, save for maybe Oregon, if you can't bring aboard the best and the brightest from your own backyard, it's unlikely that championships will be in your future. Now that the dust has begun to settle on another National Signing Day, which schools actually followed through on the edict to win the local area? And which rivals are already a step behind before the first game of 2015 has even been played? Who won the state of Alabama ? The Crimson Tide, with five-star DT Daron Payne and four-star OG Lester Cotton tipping the arrow in the direction of Tuscaloosa. The classes of 'Bama and Auburn were about as different as beige and tan on the color wheel. Both schools laid great foundations for the future with their 2015 recruiting classes, each plucking four gems from the state's top 10 prospects. Who won the state of Alaska ? No one. The Last Frontier will not be sending any of its high school graduates to an FBS program in the fall. Who won the state of Arizona ? The Sun Devils, though the Wildcats have a strong case, too. The blood feud between Arizona State and Arizona isn't relegated to late November, as Signing Day attested. The rivals went toe-to-toe for the state's best products, with ASU gaining an ever-so-slight edge with the additions of three-star QB Bryce Perkins and OT Cade Cote. It's worth noting, however, that two of Arizona's best recruits, five-star WR Christian Kirk and QB Brian Lewerke, are now expats headed to Texas A&M and Michigan State, respectively. Who won the state of Arkansas ? The Razorbacks. And it wasn't close. If Bret Bielema wanted a local player, he got him, save for North Little Rock WR K.J. Hill, who's headed north to Ohio State. It was a banner year for the Hogs inside the state of Arkansas, landing quality on both sides of the ball and a quarterback of the future, four-star standout Ty Storey. This is the type of group that'll help Bielema off the momentum at the end of last season. Who won the state of California ? USC. UCLA put up a valiant fight, but strictly in the Golden State, nobody was better than the Trojans. Troy hoarded four and five-star recruits, which will feed depth-deprived units on both sides of the ball. Justin Wilcox's D, in particular, is going to get an infusion of ready-made stoppers, such as DE Rasheem Green, LB John Houston and CB Iman Marshall. The Bruins' signature moment was when the state's top quarterback, Josh Rosen, gave his signature to Jim Mora. Who won the state of Colorado ? Nebraska, with the Buffaloes close behind. In his first season with the Huskers, Mike Riley has done well to maintain the class Bo Pelini started. Riley held on to the commitments of two of the state's best prospects, DBs Eric Lee and Avery Anderson. Who won the state of Connecticut ? Boston College, but the state's blue-chip prospects are taking their talents completely outside the Northeast. Four-star DT Christian Wilkins will continue his career at Clemson, while elite TE Chris Clark has chosen UCLA over Michigan. The Eagles did land future starters Sharrieff Grice, Zach Allen, William Harris and massive O-lineman Anthony Palazzolo. UConn and Bob Diaco, however, were completely shut out on the state's top players. Who won the state of D elaware ? No one. The diminutive state rarely produces blue-chippers. This cycle's top athletes, three-star CB Darnell Savage and WR Quadree Henderson, elected to play for Maryland and Pittsburgh, respectively. Who won the District of Columbia ? No one. D.C.'s talent pool, primarily coming from Gonzaga and St. John's College High, was distributed so evenly that it's impossible to declare a winner. For example, the district's three best players, Richie Petitbon (Alabama), Marcus Lewis (Florida State) and Quarvez Boulware (Maryland), won't even be playing in the same conference next year. Who won the state of Florida ? Florida State. The Seminoles hauled in both depth and elite talent to maintain an edge over Auburn, Florida and others who tapped into the rich Sunshine State pipeline. No fewer than four five-star recruits will begin their careers in Tallahassee, ensuring that the 'Noles will continue to reload instead of rebuild. The secondary, in particular, will remain an embarrassment of riches with the additions of DBs Derwin James and Tarvarus McFadden. Florida State couldn't get 'em all, though seeing DE Byron Cowart go to Auburn and OT Martez Ivey wind up at Florida could not have been enjoyable. Who won the state of Georgia ? The Dawgs. Georgia's nationally-ranked recruiting class is built largely in its own backyard. The Bulldogs fended off competition from around the country, amassing a war chest of local blue-chippers, such as five-star DT Trenton Thompson and ATH Terry Godwin. Even better, the Dawgs stockpiled talent on defense, especially up front. Georgia's most disappointing misses included RB Taj Griffin (Oregon), OT Mitch Hyatt (Clemson), WR Preston Williams (Tennessee) and OG Chuma Edoga (USC). Who won the state of Hawaii ? Oregon. The Ducks inked the top prospect on the islands, Honolulu DE Canton Kaumatule, as well as a few of the state's other top 10 high school players. As usual, Hawaii coach Norm Chow was unable to stop the exodus of players heading to the mainland to matriculate at larger programs, particularly in the Pac-12. Who won the state of Idaho ? Notre Dame. The Irish went into Pocatello and landed Idaho's biggest prize, four-star C Tristen Hoge. Boise State picked off three-star LB Drew Berger and OT Garrett Larson, but failing to keep Hoge in the region hurts. Who won the state of Illinois ? Missouri. The Tigers only signed one player from the state of Illinois, but it happened to be the premier player. East St. Louis DT Terry Beckner is capable of keeping Mizzou's tradition of dominant D-lines alive for the foreseeable future. Gary Pinkel also hopes to have access to Beckner's teammate Natereace Strong, who's currently working on his grades at a junior college. Who won the state of Indiana ? Notre Dame. Four-star LB Darrin Kirkland is off to Tennessee, but the Irish have more than compensated with the additions of blue-chippers Mykelti Williams, Asmar Bilal, Brandon Tiassum and Josh Barajas, the state's top prospect. Special recognition goes to Western Michigan head coach P.J. Fleck for beating out Big Ten schools for S Justin Tranquill and RB Levante' Bellamy. Who won the state of Iowa ? The Hawkeyes. Iowa and Iowa State did an outstanding job of building a fence around the state. But it was the Hawkeyes who landed seven of the top 10 prospects, led by the package deal of twin offensive linemen Levi and Landan Paulsen. Who won the state of Kansas ? Kansas State. Sure, coveted C A.J. Harris will be playing in the SEC at Mizzou, but the Wildcats beefed up the roster with local three-star recruits, such as underrated offensive linemen Scott Frantz and Evan Applegate. Who won the state of Kentucky ? Western Kentucky. Alabama and Kentucky nabbed some quality with the signings of RB Damien Harris and LB Eli Brown, respectively. Jeff Brohm, though, filled his roster with quantity, signing a slew of local kids who'll be vying for starting jobs in a couple of years. Who won the state of Louisiana ? LSU. It's no surprise at all that Les Miles has once again protected his home turf, keeping Louisiana's best and brightest from crossing state lines. The Tigers corralled the state's top three players, WR Tyron Johnson, RB Derrius Guice and CB Donte Jackson, as well as a cadre of other coveted prospects. Among the ones that got away were CB Deshawn Raymond (TCU) and DT Jerry Tillery (Notre Dame). Who won the state of Maine ? No one. The state of Maine will not be sending any of its high school graduates to an FBS program in the fall. Who won the state of Maryland ? Georgia. The Bulldog footprint extended considerably north with the additions of two of Maryland's best high school players, four-star OT Pat Allen and coveted CB Juwuan Briscoe. Ohio State inked arguably the region's best blocker, budding OT Isaiah Prince. Who won the state of Massachusetts ? Boston College. Had Steve Addazio flipped Northwestern commit Joe Gaziano, a three-star defensive end, he would have delivered a clean sweep of the state's best players. The coach will settle for consistently beating out Syracuse and UConn for the region's most attractive prospects. Who won the state of Michigan ? Michigan State. Jim Harbaugh has done a nice in a short span in Ann Arbor. And Urban Meyer beat out both Michigan schools for elite RB Mike Weber and DL Joshua Alabi. But Mark Dantonio eked out the state for the Spartans by earning the signatures of LB Tyriq Thompson, CB Tyson Smith, OG Kyonta Stallworth and ATH Khari Willis. Who won the state of Minnesota ? No one. Sure, the Golden Gophers added a pair of future building blocks in the trenches, O-linemen Nick Connelly and Bronson Dovich, but they whiffed on their two biggest targets. Four-star DE Jashon Cornell is off to Ohio State, while heralded OG Drayton Carlberg is headed west to play for Oregon. Who won the state of Mississippi ? Mississippi State. Good luck getting blue-chippers out of the Magnolia State, which used to be a cherry picker's paradise for the rest of the SEC. The Bulldogs and Ole Miss built a blockade around the state, which kept nearly all of the top talent from straying. Dan Mullen has trumped Hugh Freeze this season, signing a bumper crop of potential stars, including LB Leo Lewis and six of Mississippi's 10 best prospects. Who won the state of Missouri ? Mizzou. Gary Pinkel's recent success in the SEC East is helping him keep the state's best talent from exiting the region. Sure, there were misses, like Alabama TE Hale Hentges, Nebraska twins Carlos and Khalil Davis and especially Oregon WR Alex Ofodile, a Columbia native. But no one outsold the Tigers, especially with the additions of touted four-star QB Drew Lock and RB Marquise Doherty. Who won the state of Montana ? No one. Montana will not be sending any of its high school graduates to a Power Five FBS program this season. Who won the state of Nebraska ? Nebraska. The Huskers had a laser focus on two kids, three-star DE DaiShon Neal and C Michael Decker, and will have both Omaha products in Lincoln in the fall. Who won the state of Nevada ? Notre Dame. The Irish hit a mini-jackpot in Nevada, landing two of the state's top 5 recruits, S Nicco Fertitta and blue-chip TE Alize Jones. Who won the state of New Hampshire ? No one. The Granite State will not be sending any of its high school graduates to a Power Five FBS program this season. Who won the state of New Jersey ? Penn State. The Garden State makes and the rest of college football takes. New Jersey's two best high-schoolers, CB Minkah Fitzpatrick and QB Brandon Wimbush, will be playing at Alabama and Notre Dame, respectively. However, no one thrived more than James Franklin, who's bringing half of the state 10 best players back with him to Happy Valley. Rutgers, the hometown team? The Knights were boxed out of the state's gems, a recurring and worrisome theme for the program. Who won the state of New Mexico ? Michigan. There was one gem in New Mexico during this cycle, Eldorado High's Zach Gentry, one of the nation's highest rated quarterbacks. And he's headed to Ann Arbor to be mentored by Jim Harbaugh after changing his mind about signing with Texas. Who won the state of New York ? Michigan. Only two players drew national attention, TE Tyrone Wheatley and DE Austrian Robinson. Robinson signed with Ole Miss, while Wheatley is headed to Michigan, where his father played football. Wheatley is a four-star recruit who'll fit in nicely with a Jim Harbaugh-led offense that liberally uses its tight ends. Who won the state of North Carolina ? Carolina, but by the smallest of margins. Dave Doeren has assembled a terrific class at NC State, spearheaded by five local four-star players, backs Reggie Gallaspy, Nyheim Hines and Johnny Frasier, OL Emanuel McGirt and DT Darian Roseboro. The Tar Heels, though, were just a sliver better by loading up on tremendous depth, headed by can't-miss DE Jalen Dalton and WR Juval Mollette. Who won the state of North Dakota ? Minnesota. Jerry Kill and the Gopher staff plucked from Fargo the state's highest-rated recruit, RB James Johannesson. Who won the state of Ohio ? Ohio State. In hardly an upset, the Buckeyes and Urban Meyer capitalized on their national championship by locking down five of the state's seven highest rated recruits. Ohio State has really stockpiled talent at linebacker in 2015 with the signings of four-star standouts Jerome Baker, Justin Hilliard and Nick Conner. Meyer's rare in-state misses in this cycle were CB Shaun Crawford (Notre Dame) and RB Larry Scott (Michigan State). Who won the state of Oklahoma ? The Sooners, but there were some high-profile losses that downgraded Bob Stoops' class. Oklahoma went hard after TE Austin Cantrell, CB Darreyl Patterson, OL Jalin Barnett and especially DT Josh Wariboko, yet lost all of them. Still, four-star DT Marquise Overton and S Will Sunderland will get an opportunity to play right away. Who won the state of Oregon ? Stanford. The Cardinal beat out the Ducks for the state's one player, RB Cameron Scarlett, targeted by both Pac-12 North rivals. Oregon is never a hotbed for elite high school talent, making the Ducks' recent run of excellence that much more impressive. Who won the state of Pennsylvania ? Penn State. The Lions currently own talent-rich Pennsylvania, and James Franklin is making sure that dynamic doesn't change anytime soon. Even as the program continues to search for on-field consistency, the future is bright thanks to the additions of potential stars, like RB Saquon Barkley and linemen Ryan Buchholz, Ryan Bates and Sterling Jenkins. Franklin's most glaring miss was CB Jordan Whitehead, who's now a Pitt Panther. Who won the state of Rhode Island ? No one. Rhode Island will not be sending any of its high school graduates to a Power Five FBS program this season. Who won the state of South Carolina ? Clemson. The Gamecocks and the Tigers went head-to-head on a bunch of players, with the latter winning most of the battles. Clemson signed twice as many in-state stars as South Carolina, headlined by DT Albert Huggins and QB Kelly Bryant, who could someday be the heir to Deshaun Watson. Who won the state of South Dakota ? Ohio State. No one in the state attracted more attention than heralded Sioux Falls OT Grant Schmidt. The Buckeyes landed him, beating out competitors from across the country. Who won the state of Tennessee ? Tennessee. Consistent with the 2015 recruiting class as a whole, the Volunteers dominated the Volunteer State. UT absolutely loaded up on potential building blocks of the future, including the state's two five-star gems, OT Drew Richmond and DE Kyle Phillips. There were a few that got away from Butch Jones, like WR Van Jefferson (Ole Miss) and S Rico McGraw (Georgia), but this is still the type of class on which a turnaround can be constructed in Knoxville. Who won the state of Texas ? Texas A&M. In one of the most important state battles, the Aggies surged past the Longhorns, with Oklahoma, Baylor, Texas Tech and LSU also harvesting crops from the fertile Lone Star State. In a tight competition, the Aggies pulled ahead with the signings of can't-miss DT Daylon Mack and Kyler Murray, a potentially transformational playmaker behind center. UCLA and USC swooped in from the Pac-12 to pluck out five-star backs Soso Jamabo and Ronald Jones II, respectively. Who won the state of Utah ? USC. As high school programs improve in Utah, it's become harder and harder for the state's FBS programs to keep blue-chippers at home. The Beehive State's two premier players, heralded linebackers Osa Masina and Porter Gustin, have elected to become Trojans. The Utes had to settle for three-star recruits, many of whom were not pursued heavily by other Pac-12 schools. Who won the state of V ermont ? No one. Vermont will not be sending any of its high school graduates to an FBS program in the fall. Who won the state of Virginia ? Virginia Tech. UVa was unable to duplicate last year's Signing Day success in large part because of the efforts of the Hokies. No, Tech couldn't sign the Commonwealth's crème de la crème, such as DE Josh Sweat, LB Chad Smith and CB Garrett Taylor. But it assembled an impressive all-around class, highlighted by linemen Tim Settle, Austin Clark and five of Virginia's 15 best high school prospects. Who won the state of Washington ? Washington. The Huskies gobbled up no less than half of the state's top 10 targets, including DE Benning Potoa'e and ATH Austin Joyner, who were sought by teams up and down the West Coast. Still, it must sting head coach Chris Petersen that the state's most decorated quarterback, Brett Rypien, will play his college career at former employer Boise State. Who won the state of West Virginia ? West Virginia. The Mountaineers locked down two of the state's top three recruits, DB Deamonte Lindsay and versatile Stone Wolfley, who can play either defensive end or tight end. The only other West Virginian who'll be playing at a Power Five school is Maryland QB Gage Shaffer. Who won the state of Wisconsin ? Wisconsin. With few exceptions, the Badgers are going to get who they target within the confines of the state border. Penn State DE Robert Windsor is one of those outliers, though Paul Chryst compensated by signing the state's best offensive lineman, Jon Dietzen, and Zack Baun, an underrated all-around athlete. Who won the state of Wyoming ? Washington. The Huskies will be the destination for the state's only player who received multiple offers from Power Five schools, Cheyenne LB Tevis Bartlett.
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CLEVELAND LeBron James scored 23 points, Kevin Love had 24 and the Cleveland Cavaliers pushed their winning streak to 12 games Thursday night with an easy 105-94 win over the Los Angeles Clippers, who also lost their composure. The Cavs built a 32-point lead in the third quarter, allowing James and Love to sit out the fourth and rest. With their longest winning streak since a franchise-best 13-gamer in 2010, the Cavs moved into first place in the Central Division. Cleveland was seven games behind Chicago when the streak began with a victory over the Lakers on Jan. 15. The Clippers were whistled for five technical fouls, including four in a contentious third quarter when they lost their California cool and forward Matt Barnes was ejected. Blake Griffin scored 16 and Jamal Crawford 13 for Los Angeles, whose subs made the score respectable in the fourth. On Jan. 16, the Cavs beat the Clippers 126-121 for the second win in their streak. Cleveland was a different team back then, "in disarray" as Clippers coach Doc Rivers put it before the game. But the Cavs are now connecting at both ends of the floor, first-year coach David Blatt has his team's attention and Cleveland is looking every bit like an NBA title contender. The Clippers figured to be a strong test for the Cavaliers, but were no match as Cleveland won its eighth straight over Western Conference opponents. The Cavs led by 23 at halftime and the Clippers began to unravel emotionally early in the third. Barnes was called for a technical for shoving Love, and seconds later, Chris Paul got a technical for something he said to referee Lauren Holtkamp. DeAndre Jordan was assessed a technical for taunting, and Barnes was sent to the locker room for muttering a choice word to official Eric Lewis. Barnes had to be restrained by his teammates from charging after Lewis. James and his teammates produced some highlight-package plays in the first half, when the Cavs moved the ball well on offense, clamped down on defense and built a 65-42 lead. With a national TV audience watching, James drove down the lane for a two-handed slam and followed it up moments later with another strong layup. Cleveland's passing was superb, and Kyrie Irving, who made only one field goal, had the best assist of the first 24 minutes when he fed James for an alley-oop dunk to give the Cavaliers a 21-point lead. J.R. Smith's 3-pointer put the Cavs up 23, and after the Clippers failed to get off a last-second shot, several Los Angeles players, including Griffin and Barnes, briefly stayed on the floor as if in shock. After scoring a season-low five points Monday against Philadelphia, Love came out aggressively. He scored 10 points in the first 3 minutes, setting the tone for the Cavaliers. ___ TIP-INS Clippers: Los Angeles has lost 12 of 13 in Cleveland and is just 3-17 all-time in Quicken Loans Arena. ... G J.J. Reddick sat out with back spasms. ... Los Angeles has four more games before the All-Star break and won't finish its road trip until Feb. 9 in Dallas. In total, the Clippers will travel 7,399 miles. ... Barnes is tied for the league lead with 11 technicals. Cavaliers: James had eight assists at halftime. ... Irving has been added to next week's All-Star Weekend 3-point shooting contest in New York. Irving won the event in 2013 at Houston. ... Blatt bristled at learning his team leads the league in a dubious offensive stat: isolation points. "We're becoming too much like football," he said, noting the over-analysis. "We used to be this beautiful, free-flowing game. I don't know if that's good or bad." UP NEXT Clippers: At Toronto on Friday. Cavaliers: At Indiana on Friday.
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England and Wales will face off in the Six Nations opening match on Friday
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- One night after getting humiliated by Golden State, the Dallas Mavericks took out their frustration on the struggling Sacramento Kings. Monta Ellis had 21 points and six assists to lead the Mavericks, minus Dirk Nowitzki and Rajon Rondo, to a 101-78 victory Thursday. The Mavericks broke open a tie game in the second quarter when they made nine straight shots, including four 3-pointers, in a 3 1/2-minute span as they outscored the Kings 22-6. Dallas had a 37-20 edge in the second to take a 60-43 halftime lead. BOX SCORE: MAVS 101, KINGS 78 Dallas was coming off one of its worst road games of the season Wednesday, squandering a 22-point lead and allowing Stephen Curry to score 51 points in a 128-114 loss to the Warriors. ''Everybody knew it was a big game,'' Mavericks guard J.J. Barea said. ''They beat us and someone scored 51 points against us. You never like that.'' Dallas outhustled the Kings and forced 17 turnovers. The Mavericks hit 12 3-pointers and committed just nine turnovers. Dallas led by 23 after three quarters and the cushion never got under 20 points in the fourth. ''It was a game we had to get. Last night was a really tough loss,'' Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. ''We really wanted to bounce back and we did.'' Tyson Chandler had 16 points and 16 rebounds for the Mavericks. Barea and Devin Harris each scored 15 points, and Richard Jefferson added 14. Carlisle chose to rest Nowitzki on the second night of a back-to-back. The veteran forward, second on the team in scoring at 18.2 points per game, missed his fourth game of the season. The Mavericks were also without Rondo (broken orbital bone), who missed his third straight game. The point guard is not expected back until after the All-Star break. DeMarcus Cousins had 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Kings, who have lost two straight and 10 of 11. Rudy Gay added 11 points and nine rebounds, but shot 2 of 13. The Kings missed 18 of 21 attempts from 3-point territory and shot 36.7 percent overall. After a promising 9-5 start to the season, Sacramento has dropped 26 of 34 games. ''It comes down to playing hard and with pride; have some self-respect and act like you care,'' Cousins said. ''That's what it comes down to. There's nothing wrong with this team. It's the same team everybody was praising at the beginning of the season. It's just a matter of us changing our attitude.'' It didn't help the Kings that point guard Darren Collison played only 14 minutes after straining an abdominal muscle in the first half. Dallas completed a three-game sweep of the Kings. The Mavericks defeated Sacramento for a sixth straight time and have won 21 of 23 meetings in the last six years. The Mavericks are 19-10 away from home and lead the NBA in road wins. --- TIP-INS Mavericks: Ellis shot 14 of 40 in the previous two games, but was 7 of 8 in the first half against the Kings and had 17 points. He made a trio of 3-pointers and finished 9 of 16 from the field. ... Dallas improved to 17-2 when holding opponents under 100 points. Kings: Ex-King Mitch Richmond sat courtside with his wife and was honored for his induction last year into the Hall of Fame. ... Another Hall of Fame player, former Celtics great Bill Russell, sat next to Kings owner Vivek Ranadive at midcourt. UP NEXT The Mavericks host Portland on Saturday. The Kings play at Utah on Saturday.
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Although he did give up a late goal, Antti Niemi was dominant against the Canucks on Thursday, making 33 saves en route to a commanding 5-1 Sharks win in Vancouver.
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He made his name playing a physicist, won a global following as a brilliant private detective and has Bafta and Oscar nominations for his role as a World War II maths genius. But ahead of the BAFTA awards in London on Sunday, Benedict Cumberbatch rejects the idea that he is typecast. The 38-year-old British actor, who has a best actor nod for playing codebreaker Alan Turing in "The Imitation Game", insists he can and has played idiots. "If anyone's got any other stupid people I can play, let me know," he said while being quizzed about his latest incarnation as the troubled intellectual. In the movie, Cumberbatch harnesses the astonishing energy he showcases in hit TV series "Sherlock" into the obsession that Turing had with cracking the Nazis' Enigma code machine. He puts in a mesmerising performance as a brilliant, tortured man who helped bring forward the end of World War II but ended his life in despair after being prosecuted and then chemically castrated for being gay. S Barry Cooper, a maths professor who has written a book about Turing, said Cumberbatch "deeply inhabited Turing's story, encompassing all his brilliant insight, struggle and 1954 suicide". Cumberbatch said Turing "got under my skin", and is a passionate defender of a man he said was a "war hero" but who was treated deplorably by the country he served. - Playing 'the long game' - Cumberbatch is not classically handsome but has remarkable allure -- entire fan sites are dedicated to his cheekbones -- and in 2013 was named Empire magazine's sexiest movie star. He has an army of followers who call themselves the "Cumberbitches" although, with the good manners instilled by his expensive Harrow boarding school, he prefers to call them "Cumberpeople". But despite working solidly since graduating from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, he has never sought out the typical 'leading man' roles. Cumberbatch first caught the attention of the critics a decade ago in a TV biopic of wheelchair-bound theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking. It is a role that fellow Briton Eddie Redmayne has reprised for the big screen in "The Theory of Everything". He is up against Cumberbatch at the forthcoming Oscars as well as the BAFTAs. His next big break was "Sherlock", the BBC's sharp remake of the detective stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle, which turned Cumberbatch into a star overnight. He portrays Sherlock Holmes as a manic, obsessively intelligent man with few social skills, a performance that has won him an Emmy and a Golden Globe nomination. Since then, Cumberbatch has barely been off our screens, with parts in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy", "Star Trek Into Darkness", "12 Years A Slave", "August: Osage County", and even "The Simpsons". "The Fifth Estate", where Cumberbatch played WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, was something of a flop, although his performance was well-regarded. Once described as having a voice like a "jaguar hiding in a cello", the actor also played the dragon in "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" and stars in the upcoming movie "Penguins of Madagascar". Cumberbatch found his calling watching his mother Wanda Ventham on stage. "It was like looking behind the curtain and seeing how a magician does his tricks - and it thrilled me," he told one interviewer. His father Timothy Carlton is also an actor and the couple played his on-screen parents in "Sherlock". Cumberbatch is now starting his own family, having recently announced his engagement to Sophie Hunter and that they are expecting their first child. But he shows little sign of slowing down -- another series of "Sherlock" is in the pipeline and his much-anticipated "Hamlet" opens in London in August. While he is clearly having a moment, Cumberbatch is determined not to be taken in by the hype, repeatedly insisting: "I'm in it for the long game."
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College-educated and gainfully employed 36-year-old Eriko Sekiguchi should be a sought-after friend or date, planning nights on the town and faraway resort vacations. But she works in Japan, a nation where workaholic habits die hard. Often toiling 14 hours a day for a major trading company, including early morning meetings and after-hours "settai," or networking with clients, she used just eight of her 20 paid vacation days last year. Six of those days were for being sick. "Nobody else uses their vacation days," said Sekiguchi, who was so busy her interview with The Associated Press had to be rescheduled several times before she could pop out of the office. The government wants to change all that. Legislation that will be submitted during the parliamentary session that began Jan. 26 aims to ensure workers get the rest they need. In a break with past practice, it will become the legal responsibility of employers to ensure workers take their holidays. Japan has been studying such legislation for years. There has been more impetus for change since 2012 as a consensus developed that the health, social and productivity costs of Japan's extreme work ethic were too high. Part of the problem has been that many people fear resentment from co-workers if they take days off, a real concern in a conformist culture that values harmony. After all, in Japan, only wimps use up all their vacation days. Most of the affected workers are "salarymen" or "OL" for office ladies like Sekiguchi, so dedicated to their jobs they can't seem to go home. They are the stereotypes of, and the power behind, Japan Inc. That has come with its social costs. Sekiguchi worries she will never get married or even find a boyfriend, unless he happens to be in the office. She wishes companies would simply shut down now and then to allow workers to take days off without qualms. The workaholic lifestyle and related reluctance of couples to raise children have long been blamed as a factor behind the nose-diving birth rate that's undermining the world's third-biggest economy. Working literally to death is a tragedy so common that a term has been coined for it: "karoshi." The government estimates there are 200 karoshi deaths a year from causes such as heart attacks or cerebral hemorrhaging after working long hours. It's aware of many cases of mental depression and suicides from overwork not counted as karoshi. About 22 percent of Japanese work more than 49 hours a week, compared with 16 percent of Americans, 11 percent of the French and Germans, according to data compiled by the Japanese government. South Koreans seem even more workaholic, at 35 percent. Barely half the vacation days allotted to Japanese workers are ever taken, an average of nine days per individual a year. The problem in Japan in some ways parallels the situation of American workers, many of whom don't get guaranteed paid vacations at all. But those who get them usually do take all or most of them. Japanese must use their vacations for sick days, although a separate law guarantees two-thirds of their wages if they get seriously ill and take extended days off. That means workers save two or three vacation days for fear of catching a cold or some other minor illness so they can stay home, said Yuu Wakebe, the Health and Labor Ministry official overseeing such standards. Wakebe himself routinely does 100 hours of overtime a month, and took only five days off last year, one of them for staying home with a cold. He managed to take a vacation to Hawaii with his family. "It is actually a worker's right to take paid vacations," he said. "But working in Japan involves quite a lot of a volunteer spirit." Younger workers feel uncomfortable going home before their bosses do. Working overtime for free, called "sah-bee-soo zahn-gyo," or "service overtime," is prevalent. Job descriptions also tend to be vague, especially in white-collar occupations, meaning a person not coming in translates to more work for others in his or her team. The new law will allow for more flexible work hours, encouraging parents to spend more time with their children during summer months, for instance, when school is closed. Although Japan is notorious for hard work, it's equally known for inefficiency and bureaucracy. Workers sit around in the name of team spirit, despite questionable performance and productivity. Experts say the law is a start, while acknowledging the roots of the dilemma lie deep. When night falls in Tokyo, groups of dark-suited salarymen can be seen, drinking at drab lantern-bobbing pubs under the train tracks, unwinding before heading home. They laugh, guzzle down their beers and pick at charcoal-broiled fish. Ask any of them: they haven't taken many days off. One said the 12 days he took off last year were too many. Regulating time off might be easier to implement if the economy improves under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's anti-deflationary policies that weakened the yen, a plus for giant exporters such as Toyota Motor Corp. The overwork problem intensified during the past two decades of economic stagnation in Japan. The use of cheap labor became common to stay competitive in a rapidly globalizing economy, while the culture of loyalty to the company stayed. Abe, not a person noted for taking long vacations, has been stressing the need for change. Japan's work ethic, he said, is "a culture that falsely beatifies long hours."
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ET's Nischelle Turner spoke to Clive Davis after rehearsals for his legendary annual GRAMMYs party on Thursday, where he -- like everyone who was close to Whitney Houston -- had his mind on Bobbi Kristina Brown.
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Professional Slap Fighting appears to be an actual sport, and there's no chance we wouldn't bring you the video.
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Japanese automakers are being forced to ship some car parts to U.S. plants by expensive air cargo and tweak production processes as a protracted labor dispute at U.S. West Coast ports shows no signs of letting up. Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd's Subaru, the fastest-growing brand in the United States, said this week that it now had to shoulder an extra 7 billion yen ($60 million) in costs a month due to air freight, which has seen prices go up with the extra demand. "It looked like the labor talks were going well at one point but in recent days the slowdown has grown quite severe," Fuji Heavy Chief Financial Officer Mitsuru Takahashi said. He said that without the move to chartered cargo flights, the automaker's U.S. production would have come to a halt in mid-February. "I think others are in the same boat," he added. Ports along the U.S. West Coast have been experiencing severe delays since October, due partly to lengthy labor talks between dockworkers and the group representing shippers and terminal operators - a situation reminiscent of the disruptions seen during the West Coast ports shutdown in 2002. The chief labor negotiator for the operators this week warned ports were days away from complete gridlock. Union officials in turn played down the potential for shutdowns, suggesting management was exaggerating the situation as a negotiation tactic. Toyota Motor Corp, which built about 2 million vehicles in North America last year, has eliminated overtime at some factories in North America, a spokeswoman said. The company declined to disclose whether it was using air freight, adding only that it expected no major change to its overall production plans. Honda Motor Co and Nissan Motor Co said they had switched to air freight for some components, from late-January and December, respectively. Hyundai Motor said it was seeing no impact on production so far as it had added and diversified shipping routes. Hyundai uses eastern ports more than western ones to supply its factory in Alabama, a spokesman said. The last time dockworkers' contract negotiations led to a shutdown of West Coast ports was in 2002, when the companies imposed a lockout that was lifted 10 days later under a court order sought by President George W. Bush. The latest dispute had also forced McDonald's Japan to offer only small-sized french fries temporarily and ship in some by air, although a spokeswoman said its menu was now back to normal. KFC Japan suspended sales of its fries last month, and it remains unclear when they would restart, a spokeswoman said. ($1 = 117.3300 yen) (Additional reporting by Ritsuko Shimizu in Tokyo and Hyunjoo Jin in Seoul; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
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People who purchase Powerball tickets may talk about odds and statistics. But if they really paid attention to such things, they'd never buy a ticket in the first place. Chances are, you're going to lose. But with a potential payout of $360 million Saturday night, chances are Pennsylvanians and those in 42 other states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands will be lining up to buy tickets. The prize would rank as the seventh-largest Powerball jackpot annuity. The game's record jackpot is a $590.5 million prize won in Florida in May 2013. You never know where luck is going to strike. Wednesday night's Powerball drawing, for example, brought luck to someone who stopped in to S&R Market on Second Avenue in Hazelwood and paid $2 for a Powerball ticket and an extra $1 for the Power Play option. Today, that unknown individual is holding a ticket worth $2 million. "Usually, people when they hit, they don't run right to the store," said Stephen Gombas, 44, owner of S&R Market for 23 years. "They'll go to the lottery for instructions on how to handle things." Mr. Gombas, who will receive a $10,000 check for selling that ticket, has a bit of experience with lottery winners, having sold his fair share. "Well, of course, the lottery takes in more than it pays out, but we do have the occasional $10,000 winner," he said Thursday afternoon as customers lined up, dollars in hand. "We've had one $1 million winner, back when I first started. It was the Super 6. And one time I had a customer who said her dry cleaner found a ticket in the pocket of her jacket and asked me to see if it was a winner. She won $10,000. "But it's been over 20 years since we've had a winner that was anything like this. Everybody's talking about it. I really hope it's somebody from this community, one of my regulars. That would make me very happy." Hazelwood resident Vanessa Hicks, who is in her 50s, is a regular customer of the convenience store. But she wasn't the winner. "My cousin called me at work today and said, 'Hello, Millionaire.' I had to tell her it wasn't me," Ms. Hicks said. She already has her ticket for Saturday's drawing. "I've had some luck. Nothing life-changing," she said. "But it would be great if it's somebody from the community. If it's me, after I come to, I'll first get me a good financial consultant. I'll give some to my church, of course, then help my family. Maybe a little traveling." Linda King, 55, and her fiance, Gordon Thomas, 48, also get their lottery tickets at S&R Market. "I come here every single day," Ms. King said. "My baby does the scratch-off and I play the three-digit number. Now I'm going to do it all. I'm jumping up to win the millions. Share the love! "I have five grandchildren. My fiance has a new granddaughter. We're gonna bless everybody. And we're going on a cruise. And I want to go to Paris." The odds, so to speak, are with them. Since the state joined the multistate Powerball game in June 2002, more winning tickets have been sold in Pennsylvania (17) than in any other state. (Remember when someone in your office had to drive down to West Virginia to buy them?) In the 2013-14 fiscal year, in addition to awarding nearly $230.2 million to winners across Allegheny County, the Pennsylvania Lottery contributed more than $129 million to programs serving the county's older residents, according to a lottery news release. But none of the 11 jackpot tickets in 2014 were sold in Pennsylvania. So we're due. "Saturday will be hot," Mr. Gombas said, predicting his store's lottery sales. "People who believe in lottery tend to believe in luck, so they're more likely to want to buy from a place that is a little lucky." The number of jackpots hit each year ranges from 11 to 18, meaning there tends to be a winner every three to four weeks. Drawings are held each Wednesday and Saturday night. But right now, the country is in a Powerball dry spell of 10 weeks (19 drawings). During this stretch, however, Pennsylvania Powerball players have won nearly $11.3 million, including four $1 million prizes from the Dec. 6, Dec. 17 and Jan. 17 drawings and, of course, Wednesday's mystery winner. That person correctly matched all five white balls drawn 24-36-51-52-56 but not the red Powerball 22. Luckily, that player chose the Power Play option, and doubled the $1 million prize. "Think about it," Mr. Gombas said. "The winner spent one extra dollar and won one extra million." Yes. Think about it. Dan Majors: [email protected]
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NEW YORK New York City's decade-long, multi-billion dollar effort to overhaul its 911 system is $700 million over budget and years behind schedule due to a series of mistakes made by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration, according to a Department of Investigation report. The probe which was ordered by Bloomberg's successor, Bill de Blasio, and released on Friday found "persistent mismanagement" between 2004 and 2013 led to the cost overruns, delays and a project that remains unfinished. "For years there was no central decision maker that would insist that all the agencies involved be on the same page and operate together," said Department of Investigation Commissioner Mark Peters, in an interview about the report's findings. "The people in charge of running the project failed to properly manage on a real close level the contractors and consultants they hired," Peters said. "And there was a real lack of transparency we didn't have accurate reports on how the project was going and how much it was costing." Former members of the Bloomberg administration disputed the findings. The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and the blackout that enveloped much of the Northeast in 2003 prompted the Bloomberg administration to commission a program to modernize the city's 911 system, which had suffered failures during each crisis. The Bloomberg administration's plan was sweeping. It aimed to obtain better communication gear for first responders, streamline and safeguard the 911 call-taking and dispatch system, and merge the city's Police, Fire and Emergency Medical Service dispatching systems into a joint operation to be located at two secure centers. The original plan was budgeted at $1.345 billion and set to be finished by September 2007. But it may not be fully finished until 2017 and costs have ballooned to $2.031 billion, according to the probe. By 2012, the new call-taking software had been installed and one multi-agency dispatching center known as Public Safety Answering Centers was completed in downtown Brooklyn. But the second center being built in the Bronx is not fully operational. The fire department's computer-aided dispatch system also has not yet fully come online, according to the DOI report. The probe did not discover any criminal behavior but laid the blame squarely at the feet of the Bloomberg administration. It said that the former mayor's team allowed private contractor costs to soar out of control and that it did not initially devote the needed oversight to a project of this scope. The report also suggests the former mayor's team attempted to keep news of the rising costs from the public. Former members of the Bloomberg administration strongly pushed back against the investigation's findings. They stressed that the modernization was badly overdue and pointed to the massive improvements to the system, including several layers of redundancy that could kick in during a crisis and the 911 system's ability to field 50,000 calls an hour, a dramatic increase. The officials also noted delays at the Bronx dispatching center were in part because the original venue for the center, in Queens, was later deemed unfit. The officials also denied that the administration did not devote enough resources to the project, noting that former Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway was intimately involved with the details of the project. Holloway acknowledged that the project was "not without challenges" but insisted that the project "achieved all of its major objectives." "The Bloomberg administration committed to and delivered a new, reliable and redundant 911 system that serves New Yorkers far better than the decrepit, fragmented systems it replaced," Holloway wrote in a report released in advance of DOI's findings. Bloomberg's team also blamed a pair of contractors, Verizon and Hewlett-Packard Co., for delivering products that were faulty and behind schedule. Verizon later paid the city $50 million to compensate for the delay while HP paid $33 million in a settlement.
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CLEVELAND Clippers All-Star guard Chris Paul was critical of referee Lauren Holtkamp following a 105-94 loss to the Cavaliers on Thursday night. Paul was assessed a technical foul in the third quarter by Holtkamp, who worked with officials Ken Mauer and Eric Lewis. Los Angeles was given five technicals four in the third quarter, three of them in a 52-second span. Paul got his technical with 10:17 left in the third. Following a free throw by Cleveland, the Clippers were attempting to inbound the ball quickly when Holtkamp, one of two active female officials in the NBA, stepped in. Paul questioned her and was slapped with the technical. "The tech I got was ridiculous," Paul said. "That's terrible. There's no way that can be a technical. We try to get the ball out fast every time down the court. When we did that, she said, 'Uh-uh.' I said, 'Why uh-uh?' and she gave me a technical. That's ridiculous. If that's the case, this might not be for her." Clippers coach Doc Rivers also received a technical and forward Matt Barnes was ejected in the third by Lewis after getting his second "T." Barnes got tangled up with Cavaliers forward Kevin Love, shoved him and got the technical. He got the second one when he complained about teammate Jamal Crawford getting called for a charging foul and told Lewis, 'Don't give them the game.' Barnes is tied for the league lead with 11 technicals and has been ejected twice. "It keeps happening," Barnes said. "Some of these I earn, some of them I don't."
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SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -- As soon as Gonzaga stopped giving the ball away, the Bulldogs shot their way to another victory. Byron Wesley scored 17 points and keyed a crucial second-half run that helped No. 2 Gonzaga rally for its 16th straight win with a 77-63 victory over Santa Clara on Thursday night. Kyle Wiltjer led the way with 22 points and Gary Bell Jr. added 16 for the Bulldogs (23-1, 11-0 West Coast Conference), who shot a season-high 69 percent from the field to overcome a sloppy first half and win the game. ''We had 10 turnovers in the first half,'' Wesley said. ''That's unlike us. We knew once we started taking care of the ball and make them take tough shots, we'd be fine.'' Jared Brownridge scored 25 points to lead the Broncos (11-13, 5-7), who have lost 26 straight games against ranked teams and 10 straight to the Bulldogs. ''We have to understand that if we play that hard all the time, we'll win some games,'' coach Kerry Keating said. Gonzaga fell behind by six early in the second half on a 3-pointer by Brandon Clark despite shooting better than 70 percent from the field. The Bulldogs then tightened up on defense while still converting at a torrid pace offensively and tied the game at 47 when Kevin Pangos hit a 3-pointer for his first points of the game with 14:37 left. Wesley then scored the next five points to give Gonzaga the lead for good. The Bulldogs went on a 16-3 run overall as the Broncos missed eight of nine shots to end their upset bid. ''In the first half, they were hitting a lot of shots,'' Wiltjer said. ''What really made the difference was our defensive efficiency. We got stops in the second half. That's what really changed the momentum.'' Bell started the game quickly, making three straight 3-pointers to give Gonzaga a 21-10 lead less than 7 minutes into the game. But the Broncos rallied behind Brownridge and a string of Bulldogs turnovers to take the lead at halftime. Brownridge hit a 3-pointer to cap a 10-0 run that gave Santa Clara its first lead of the game. Brownridge scored the final 12 points of the half for Broncos, including a layup that made it 36-34 at the break. ''They're the No. 2 team in the country coming in, so we had some extra energy and we were able to feed off the fans,'' Brownridge said. ''Now we have to keep this going into our next game.'' --- TIP-INS Gonzaga: The Bulldogs trailed at halftime for just the second time this season. Gonzaga trailed Southeastern Louisiana 33-32 on Dec. 2, before winning 76-57. Santa Clara: The Broncos last beat a ranked team on Nov. 18, 2004, with a 77-66 over No. 4 North Carolina. The Tar Heels won the national title that season. SORRY FOR SLAM Despite leading the team in scoring, Wiltjer would have rather had two fewer points. He dunked at the buzzer, drawing boos from the crowd and the ire of coach Mark Few about the needless exclamation point. ''I feel really bad for that,'' Wiltjer said. ''I apologize to the fans and the coaches. It's the heat of the moment. Someone said something on the sideline and I took it personal. That's not me.'' SITTING OUT Andrew Papenfus, who played his first game last Saturday since undergoing brain surgery in October, will sit this weekend for Santa Clara after suffering a mild setback in his recovery. UP NEXT Gonzaga: At San Francisco on Saturday. Santa Clara: Hosts Portland on Saturday.
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Are the Anaheim Ducks the best team in the NHL? The guys take a closer look.
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Struggling US consumer electronics chain RadioShack filed for bankruptcy protection Thursday, pulling the plug after failing to compete with big-box stores and online retailers. The storied 94-year-old company, which sold the first mass-market personal computer, said it had filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors in court in Wilmington, Delaware. As part of the bankruptcy deal, RadioShack will sell up to 2,400 company-owned stores in the United States to General Wireless, a subsidiary of Standard General, which is RadioShack's largest shareholder. The plan calls for General Wireless to team up with Sprint, the number-three US wireless operator, to establish co-branded stores that will exclusively sell Sprint mobile devices and RadioShack products and services. Not included in the Chapter 11 filing or the store sale, RadioShack said, are more than 1,000 dealer franchise stores in 25 countries, stores operated by its Mexican subsidiary, and its Asia operations. RadioShack, which sold the first mass-market personal computer, the TRS-80, in 1977, currently has about 4,000 company-owned stores in the US. The company said its was in discussions to sell all of its remaining assets. "These steps are the culmination of a thorough process intended to drive maximum value for our stakeholders," said Joe Magnacca, RadioShack's chief executive, in a statement. Launched as a leather shoe parts store in Texas in 1919, the business shifted two years later to ship radios and "ham" radios in the first "Radio Shack" in 1921. The Boston store was named for the small wooden structure onboard ships that housed radio equipment. Through the years, Radio Shack shed its leather operations, was renamed Tandy Corp and became the go-to place for computers and technology. In 2000 it changed its name to RadioShack Corp. Despite recent sharp cost-cutting to fight growing losses, the company could not compete with the big-box stores like Wal-Mart and Target, and online giants such as Amazon.
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Maria Sharapova leads Russia in their Fed Cup World Group opener against Poland this weekend looking to take a step closer to the 2016 Olympics. It will be the first meeting between the two countries and a rare Fed Cup appearance by 2012 Olympic silver medallist Sharapova, who must compete in the women's team event if she wants to bid for gold in Rio next year. The hardcourt clash on Saturday and Sunday at Krakow Arena will see 27-year-old Sharapova return to Fed Cup for the first time since February 2012. Russia are favourites with world number two Sharapova joined by 27th-ranked Sveltana Kuznetsova, a two-time Grand Slam winner, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (34), and Vitalia Diatchenko (82). AFP
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A Florida congressman is not backing off his assertion that Texas is a "crazy state," and he's now citing an old law restricting dildos to make his case. "One of their cities has a law that says that women can only have six dildos, and the certain size of things," Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) told CNN. " And if that ain't crazy I don't know what is ." Hastings may have been referring to a law that was struck down in 2008 restricting the sale of sex toys . As Lone Star Q points out, Texas' Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who was the state's attorney general at the time, actually went to court in an attempt to uphold the dildo ban. The law in question includes, " A person who possesses six or more obscene devices or identical or similar obscene articles is presumed to possess them with intent to promote the same ." Hastings called Texas a "crazy state" during a committee hearing on the Affordable Care Act on Monday, causing Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas), to demand an apology. It also led to a memorable segment on "The Daily Show" pitting their two states against one another. But to many Texans, the insult is no laughing matter. Hastings told CNN of one Texas family that canceled a trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando because of what he said about their state. "I love Texans, but I do not like their policy makers who are in the majority," Hastings said. "The simple fact of the matter is, evidently, I touched a nerve deep in the heart of Texas. And I would ask them to tie a yellow rose around it and do like 'Frozen' and 'Let It Go.'" But Hastings didn't just mess with Texas. He also took a shot at his own state. "Consider the fact that I am a native Floridian and that I dislike it," he told CNN. "I have cautioned about living in Florida and when I retire I'm not so sure I'm going to stay there ." (h/t Mediaite )
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Termites, the pesky insects whose fondness for wood makes them the bane of homeowners, help halt desertification in semi-arid areas and protect against the effects of climate change, a study said. In grasslands, savannahs and arid areas of Africa, Latin America and Asia, termite mounds, which store moisture and nutrients and contain multiple tunnels, allow water to better penetrate the ground, said the authors of the study in the journal Science. Vegetation thrives on termite mounds in ecosystems vulnerable to desertification. "The rain is the same everywhere, but because termites allow water to penetrate the soil better, the plants grow on or near the mounds as if there were more rain," said lead study author Corina Tarnita of Princeton University. "Even when you get to such harsh conditions where vegetation disappears from the mounds, revegetation is still easier. As long as the mounds are there, the ecosystem has a better chance to recover." Jef Huisman, an aquatic microbiology professor and theoretical ecologist at the University of Amsterdam who did not participate in the research, said the research shows that early warning signals for desertification were too simple in the past, and failed to take into account nature's complexities. According to current models, there are five stages in the transition to desert, each with specific characteristics in terms of vegetation growth, and scientists can use satellite images to determine an area's desertification stage. But semi-arid ecosystems with termite mounds and those in the fifth and last stage appeared very similar, the researchers said. The scientists thus showed that what had appeared to be the final stage before desertification was sometimes the total opposite, thanks to termite mounds. Climate models, Huisman added, should better take into account the impact of organisms such as termites and mussels that "engineer their own environment." Ants, prairie dogs, gophers and other mound-building creatures could play an important role in the ecosystem, said co-author Robert Pringle, assistant professor in ecology and evolutionary biology at Princeton. "I like to think of termites as linchpins of the ecosystem in more than one way," Pringle said. "They increase the productivity of the system, but they also make it more stable, more resilient."
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Two Australian members of the "Bali Nine" drug trafficking ring, arrested in Bali in 2005 for attempting to smuggle 8 kg (18 lb) of heroin to Australia, will be executed this month, a government official said on Friday, ignoring clemency pleas from their home country. Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan are among eight prisoners due to be executed as President Joko Widodo pursues a hardline approach to drug offences, drawing criticism from rights activists at home and abroad. "We received notification from Bali's attorney general yesterday that the two Australians whose clemency has been rejected by the president will be executed in February 2015," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Armanatha Nasir. "We have informed the Australian embassy of this." Last month, Indonesia executed six prisoners by firing squad for drug offences, including five foreigners from Brazil, Malawi, the Netherlands, Nigeria and Vietnam. Brazil and the Netherlands recalled their ambassadors in Indonesia, while Nigeria summoned Indonesia's ambassador in Abuja. Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said last month she would not rule out recalling the country's envoy if the executions go ahead. Nasir played down potential for a diplomatic fallout as a result of the executions. "This is not a political or diplomatic issue," Nasir said. "We are just upholding our law by addressing the crimes that these individuals committed. We are not against any particular nation." Others in line for execution include citizens of Brazil, France, Ghana, Indonesia, Nigeria and the Philippines, a spokesman for the attorney general's office said last week. (Reporting by Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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Aaron Hernandez is on trial for murder, but the seriousness of the allegations didn't stop his attorney from trying to lighten the mood in the courtroom. James Sultan tested his comedic skills Thursday while cross-examining Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Timothy Dowd. Sultan asked Dowd about tire tracks that were found at the crime scene. Sultan inquired if Dowd had training in tire deflation devices. Here's what came next, via The Boston Globe . Dowd said that he had, and Sultan followed up with an apparent reference to the Deflategate scandal that ensnared the Patriots before the Super Bowl. "Did you ever receive training in football deflation devices?" Sultan said with a straight face. "No," Dowd replied. MORE: Boston PD joked about tire inflation | Esiason blames Colts, Ravens for Deflate-gate | Hernandez timeline ZING! Video of the wisecrack didn't pick up any laughs from the crowd. Probably because this is, you know, a murder trial.
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The US Secretary of State arrived in Kiev. CNN's Jim Sciutto has this update.
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DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (AP) The SUV driver involved in a train wreck that claimed six lives was "a beautiful soul" who always took a genuine interest in others, her rabbi said Friday outside her funeral. Many young adults were among the mourners at the Dobbs Ferry funeral for Ellen Brody, a 49-year-old mother of three daughters in their teens and 20s. "I was looking through our archives last night. We have dozens of pictures of Ellen," Rabbi Benjy Silverman said before the service. "And in each one, without fail, she has a huge smile, a warm smile. We call it the Ellen Smile." She was "a beautiful soul" who also found beauty in others, Silverman said. "She adored her daughters and husband. She was their biggest fan and supporter." Brody's husband, daughters and brother spoke at the "sad and moving" service, said Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner, a family friend. The service was "a celebration of her life. ... Everyone said she was upbeat. There was a universal description of her life as a very warm, caring, compassionate, kind, giving person." Brody worked at a suburban jewelry store and was married to Alan Brody, an author and journalist. She was active in Chabad of the Rivertowns throughout the synagogue's 12 years. "She was a warm, vivacious and dynamic presence in our lives, and the most loving and nurturing mother, wife, daughter and sister," Ellen Brody's family said in a statement. Another funeral was planned Friday in Mount Kisco for 53-year-old Eric Vandercar, one of the five train passengers killed. According to investigators' preliminary findings, Brody's car was in the danger zone inside railroad crossing gates for about half a minute before the train hit. Brody got ahead of the crossing gate in inching traffic, then got out of her car to examine it after the gate came down and hit the back of it, a witness has said. But then she got back in, seeming unhurried, and advanced onto the track, the witness told news outlets and investigators. The train's engineer also told investigators that he saw the car moving onto the tracks. A relative of Brody's expressed condolences at her funeral for the other victims' families, but her role in the accident was not mentioned, Feiner said. Data recorders also show the Metro-North Railroad train's engineer hit the emergency brakes and sounded the horn as the train bore down on the Valhalla crossing, traveling 58 mph in a 60 mph zone, National Transportation Safety Board Vice Chairman Robert Sumwalt said Thursday. Flashing warning lights at the crossing illuminated 39 seconds before the crash, and the gates came down a few seconds later, Sumwalt said. That would leave about 30 seconds that the SUV was inside the gates. Investigators haven't found any problems with the warning signals or the nearby traffic lights, which are synched to let drivers clear the crossing when a train is coming, Sumwalt said. The crossing also had painted warnings on its pavement, and a sign 65 feet from the rail warns drivers not to stop on the tracks, he noted. After the impact, flames enveloped the SUV and part of the train, and the electrified third rail pierced them. Hundreds of passengers scrambled through spreading smoke and fear, some helping each other to escape despite their own injuries. Trains hit cars on the tracks many times a year, but such crashes rarely kill train riders. Investigators have emphasized that they want to figure out why this one did, becoming the deadliest accident in the 32-year history of one of the nation's busiest commuter railroads.
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INDIANAPOLIS President Barack Obama is set to make his case for two years of free community college during a town hall at one of the nation's largest community college systems. Obama will visit Ivy Tech Community College in Indianapolis Friday afternoon to promote the plan that is part of a broader effort to boost the middle class. The plan has gotten a cool reception among Republicans who control the House and Senate. But it has support from educators who want to make college affordable, close the nation's skills gap and ensure that more students who enter college leave with a degree. About 40 percent of the nation's college students attend a community college. Obama says his plan could save students thousands of dollars in tuition each year.
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DENVER As vaccine skeptics fight laws that would force more parents to inoculate their kids, they are finding unexpected allies in conservative Republicans. Though the stereotype of a vaccine skeptic is a coastal, back-to-the-land type, it's generally been Democratic-controlled states that have tightened vaccination laws. This week, Democrats in two of those states California, where a measles outbreak was traced to Disneyland, and Washington state proposed eliminating laws that allow parents to opt out of vaccination for personal reasons. Meanwhile, in Maine, Republicans are objecting to a similar effort. In Minnesota, only Democrats have signed onto sponsor a bill to make it harder to avoid vaccinating children. And last year in Colorado, it was largely Republicans who squashed an effort to force parents to get a physician's approval if they chose not to inoculate their kids. "This boils down to, does the government force everyone to conform or do we empower everyone to make decisions on their own?" said Colorado state Sen. Kevin Lundberg, a Republican who did not fully vaccinate his children and led the fight against last year's bill. This year, Colorado Republicans introduced a bill stating that parents have the right to make all medical decisions for their children, legislation that was cheered by vaccination opponents Thursday at a hearing. American skepticism toward vaccinations dates back at least to the Revolutionary War, when George Washington was initially reluctant to inoculate his troops against smallpox. "There is a long history to the fight against vaccination, and it does seem to break down along liberal versus conservative lines," said Kent Schwirian, a sociology professor at Ohio State University. He surveyed people during a 2009 swine flu scare, asking whether they would get vaccinated, and found that conservatives who distrusted government were less likely to support inoculation. Modern-day vaccine skeptics are hard to pigeonhole politically. "We're the bridge between the granola moms and the stiletto moms," said Dotty Hagmier, a nurse whose group Moms In Charge includes vaccine skeptics. A Pew poll found that Republicans are slightly more likely than Democrats to oppose vaccine mandates. In legislatures, the issue has not been purely partisan, with some Democrats joining Republicans to fight vaccine requirements and some members of the GOP pushing to increase vaccinations. The administration of Michigan Republican Gov. Rick Snyder last year required parents to go to the state health department before they could skip vaccinations for their children. In Vermont, Democrats and Republicans alike scaled down a bill in 2012 that would have limited parents' options. Still, people on both sides see a divide forming. Diane Peterson of the Immunization Action Coalition, which tracks vaccination legislation nationwide, said she has had difficulty getting Republicans to sign onto a bill to expand vaccinations in her home state of Minnesota. "I don't feel this should be a partisan issue in any way, and it's disturbing that it is," Peterson said. Vaccination politics erupted into the national spotlight this week when three Republican presidential contenders New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and former Hewlett-Packer CEO Carly Fiorina seemed to side with parents who oppose vaccinating their children. Several other prominent Republicans including House Speaker John Boehner spoke out in support of vaccinations, and conservatives noted that Hillary Clinton told an anti-vaccine group in 2008 that she wanted more research into the discredited theory that inoculations cause autism. Barbara Loe Fisher of the National Vaccination Information Center said she sees no partisan divide. "This has always been a bipartisan issue," said Fisher, whose organization fights vaccine mandates. "The demographic spans the political spectrum." The main difference, she said, is that her side has far less money than the pharmaceutical companies and medical groups that she blames for the push to tighten vaccination requirements. In Maine, Democratic state Rep. Ralph Tucker has proposed legislation to end that state's exemption for parents who are personally opposed to vaccinating their children. But Republican Rep. Deborah Sanderson said her party dislikes the idea. "If you're going to mandate that a parent do something that philosophically they are opposed to, that's a tremendous overreach of government," Sanderson said, adding that she still thinks vaccinations are important. Vaccination opponents are teaming with Republicans and, they say, some Democrats to instead create a state office of vaccine safety to monitor problems with inoculations. In Colorado, Democratic state Sen. Irene Aguilar, a doctor who sponsored the bill making it harder to opt out of vaccinations, said it was mostly Republicans who scuttled her proposal, but said that a few Democrats were wary too because they had grandchildren who were not vaccinated. "This is another of those far left-far right issues," she said. Neil Miller puts himself on the left side of the political spectrum. A resident of famously liberal Santa Fe, New Mexico, Miller favors organic food, made sure his children were home-birthed and supports left-wing Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. But he's also spoken widely about what he sees as the risks of vaccination, and he was happy to publicize the statements by Christie and Paul -- two politicians he does not normally support -- on Facebook. "I'm very happy there's a segment of the conservative party that supports the rights of parents to make these decisions," Miller said. ___ Associated Press writers Brian Bakst in St. Paul, Minnesota; Lisa Bauman in Helena, Montana; Alana Durkin in Augusta, Maine; David Gram in Montpelier, Vermont; Rachel LaCorte in Olympia, Washington; and Juliet A. Williams in Sacramento, California, contributed to this report.
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There is a fine line between speaking the truth and making excuses, and U.S. national team fans are starting to wonder where that line is when it comes to comments made by Jurgen Klinsmann. The U.S. coach ruffled feathers recently when he criticized the fitness levels and training habits of his players after many of them wilted in the South American summer heat in last week's 3-2 loss to Chile. He recycled his well-established concerns about the length of the MLS season and delivered a clear message in what is becoming a sort of Klinsmann code speak, that the team would have beaten Chile if everybody would have shown up to camp in shape. In other words, Klinsmann did his job, but others did not. "I don't blame anybody. It's just reality," Klinsmann said on FOX Sports 1 on Wednesday when asked about his criticisms. "What happens here is that maybe soccer isn't as far as American football, baseball, basketball where athletes in their offseason go specifically for their own preparation before they join their preseason with their professional teams. We don't have that culture yet. "The MLS season goes nine months and they should take it and go back to preparing themselves for the next year," Klinsmann said. "A couple of guys haven't done that and that's why we're looking a little bit shaky right now, but we're going to get back and hopefully get out of it. "My wish, at the end of the day, that domestically here the MLS goes to an 11-month season like the rest of the world and they shorten a little bit their vacation, but they get back in their rhythm right away and they're prepared for it. Extending that season of MLS would solve my issue that I have right now, but we're working on it." Perhaps Klinsmann's latest complaints felt a bit more like excuse-making than straight talk because of the fact this is his fourth January camp with his team, his fourth time around with MLS-based players coming in off long off seasons. He didn't speak in familiar tones though, sounding more like a first-year coach coming to grips with a player culture that surprised him. The interesting thing is that if you go back to Klinsmann's first January in charge of the team, in 2012, you will find results that suggest a team that didn't have too much trouble making the transition from the MLS offseason to the new year. The U.S. posted shutout wins against Venezuela and on the road against Panama, and while the team didn't exactly dominate or play outstanding soccer, it won, defended well, and played like a team with few fitness issues. Which brings us to the World Cup, which saw a U.S. team that didn't look as fit as past American World Cup teams, and endured a rash of injuries that led to whispers of overtraining and mismanagement by Klinsmann. Late-game fatigue, mistakes and blown leads were inconvenient truths Klinsmann tried his best to ignore as he played up the "We survived the 'Group of Death'" narrative, but the team's bad trends have carried over into post-World Cup results, making his most recent comments about team fitness issues feel a bit ironic. Is there truth to Klinsmann's latest comments? The tired legs seen late in the Chile loss suggests there is, but the backlash Klinsmann has faced from fans and critics isn't about his words lacking truth, but lacking proper timing. The team is winless in five, having blown multiple leads in the process, and struggling to show any semblance of sustained progress or even a clear identity. It seemed an odd time for Klinsmann to once again spread blame and leave none left over for himself. That may ultimately be the biggest issue Klinsmann faces now. The sense in American soccer circles that he is far too quick to issue blame, but immune to accepting any himself. Sure, we can see how a man who was a World Cup champion and one of the best strikers in the world has a healthy ego, but to go more than three years without ever accepting any blame for any failures, mistakes or bad trends his team has endured is a pretty remarkable track record. Nobody is suggesting that Klinsmann shouldn't be allowed to criticize his team, but if he isn't ready to start sharing in some of the blame for why his team has no identity, established style, preferred formation or clear-cut signs of progress after three and a half years with him in charge, then Klinsmann might want tone down his straight talk.
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Undaunted by the popularity and outperformance of index-tracking investments, mutual fund companies last year rolled out 193 new actively managed stock funds, many with some highly colorful concepts. The fund companies aren't giving up their efforts to win investment dollars with their stockpicking prowess. Rather, they are floating funds that are increasingly niche-oriented in the hope of getting shelf space next to the generic S&P 500 index and other passive funds that are sucking cash out of active funds. Last year, passive funds brought in $166 billion in new investor dollars, while investors pulled $98 billion out of traditional funds run by stockpickers. The idea behind the push to specialized funds is that as index funds and exchange traded funds increasingly take up market share in the broadest categories, fund companies can still find profits in the spots where passive funds can't - or won't - compete. Of the new actively managed stock funds introduced by firms in 2014, more than half focused on niche strategies or markets, according to Morningstar data. New funds in 2014 included the ATAC Beta Rotation fund, which attempts to move in and out of sectors based on inflation expectations, and the 3D Printing and Technology fund. A new actively-managed fund typically requires as much as $60 million in start-up costs, and will often need that much in assets before they become profitable. Index funds, by comparison, typically have much higher break-even points because of their lower fees, said Luke Montgomery, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. If a fund doesn't become a hit with investors, then companies can always pull the plug. The average fund lasts just 7 years before it's closed, according to Lipper data. Most firms either sell the fund, merge it with another one, or send cash back to their shareholders for the value of their holdings. "There's not a lot of whitespace left that isn't being taken up by passive funds or well-established active funds. Unless it's a fund manager starting up his own shop, the only way for most funds to break in is to market a more sophisticated strategy," said Todd Rosenbluth, director of mutual fund research at S&P CapitalIQ. STOCKPICKING REWARDED? Portfolio managers of active funds that do come to market say that they think the stockpicking will be increasingly rewarded as the current bull market which began in 2009 begins to wane. "I would like to think that people who are in our fund recognize we are five years into a bull market built upon central bank intervention. I think that investors in our fund are a more sophisticated type who looking for risk management techniques," said Edward Dempsey, co-manager of the ATAC Beta Rotation fund, launched last year. Funds like Dempsey's face an uphill battle for assets. In 2014, the average active fund underperformed its passive counterpart by an average of 3.1 percent, the widest margin in more than 10 years, according to Lipper. "Even the most ardent proponents of the efficient market hypothesis will say that there are pockets of inefficiencies, and the most common is small-cap and international stocks," said James Oberweis, the president of Chicago-based Oberweis Funds, which launched a international stock fund last year. Indeed, 77 of the funds that launched last year - or 40 percent of the total - were categorized as emerging markets, international, or small-cap funds, according to Morningstar. There were 48 new large cap funds, with the majority of those focused either on dividend strategies or so-called concentrated funds, which only hold a handful of stocks and are considered riskier options. Los Angeles-based Causeway Funds introduced a new fund focusing on international small-cap stocks in 2014 in part because it saw it as a market where there was little competition from passive competitors and its stockpicking process would be more valuable, said Harry Hartford, president and a portfolio manager at the firm. "Our thought process was, 'Is there a niche that we can fill in the marketplace, and do we have the resources to fill that niche?'" he said. The Causeway international small-cap fund is lagging its benchmark by 0.1 percent since it launched in October. ATTRACTING DOLLARS Fund managers say that outperforming the benchmarks is the most reliable way to attract investor dollars in a time when passive funds are gaining more traction. While brokers may have an incentive to push actively managed funds because they can get earn commissions for selling them, few investors will opt for a fund that has a poor track record. John Langston, a Fort Worth, Texas-based fund manager who launched the Panther Small Cap fund last year, said, "If you're putting up good performance numbers, that's the best way to get your story out there and hope investors follow." (Reporting by David Randall; editing by Linda Stern and John Pickering)
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finance
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The Red Sox have signed left-hander Wade Miley to a three-year, $19.25 million contract to avoid arbitration, according to an announcement from his agents at O'Connell Sports Management . According to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe , the deal includes a $12 million team option for 2018, extending the team's control over the left-hander. Miley was not eligible to become a free-agent until after the 2017 season, so the Red Sox will achieve cost certainty and one extra year of control as a result of the new deal. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported the structure of the contract, which has the ability to reach a maximum of $31 million over four seasons. Miley's #Redsox deal;,$500,000 signing bonus;$3.5M in 2015;$6M in 2016;$8.75M in 2017:12M option in 2018 w $2M in incentives/$500,000 buyout Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) February 5, 2015 Miley, 28, was originally acquired by Boston during the Winter Meetings and will join a new-look Red Sox rotation alongside Clay Buchholz , Joe Kelly , Rick Porcello and Justin Masterson. The southpaw has posted a 38-35 record and 3.79 ERA in four seasons with the Diamondbacks , and was named to the NL All-Star team in 2012.
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Two female Southern California high school teachers initially accused of inappropriate sexual contact with two male students during a beach camping trip will face misdemeanor charges over accusations they provided alcohol to minors, prosecutors said on Thursday. Melody Suzanne Lippert, 38, and Michelle Louise Ghirelli, 30, each face a maximum sentence of one year in jail on charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor over accusations they gave alcohol to underage students, the Orange County District Attorney's Office said. The teachers were not charged with offenses relating to the sex allegations because prosecutors found insufficient evidence to prove sex charges at trial. The prosecutor's office said in a statement that the investigation continues "and additional charges could be filed at a later date." The two educators were initially arrested last month over accusations that Lippert met a group of students from South Hills High in suburban West Covina, where she is a teacher, at the beach in November, gave them alcohol and had sex with an 18-year-old male student, according to police. Several weeks later, police said, Lippert and Ghirelli had an overnight camping trip at the same beach with some of the students, and Lippert had sex again with the 18-year-old while Ghirelli had sex with an underage student. Police did not give the younger student's age. The delinquency charges stem from accusations linked to an unsanctioned overnight trip to San Clemente State Beach, prosecutors said. Lippert is accused of having sent a group text message inviting fellow teacher Ghirelli and five male students to the trip. Then, between Dec. 27 and Dec. 29, the teachers gave alcohol to the underage students while on the trip, prosecutors said. The teachers, who were placed on administrative leave from their jobs last month, will be arraigned on the misdemeanor charges on Friday in Orange County Superior Court in Newport Beach. Another teacher at the same school, Sean Patrick Kane, who teaches art, was suspended last month after ranting on Facebook that the male students should have kept their "stupid mouths shut" about the experience, officials have said. Neither of the two female teachers could immediately be reached for comment, and prosecutors said they did not immediately know who the women had retained as counsel. (Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Eric Walsh)
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news
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MINNEAPOLIS More than three months after his legal case closed in Texas, banished Minnesota Vikings star Adrian Peterson remains at the center of the fight between the NFL and its players union over personal conduct. That fight goes to federal court here Friday, when U.S. District Court Judge David S. Doty is scheduled to hear arguments from both sides on the NFL Players Association's motion to vacate the arbitration decision that upheld Peterson's suspension and reinstate him immediately. Peterson, 29, will attend Friday's hearing but isn't expected to speak, a person close to Peterson told USA TODAY Sports, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. Attorneys Jeffrey Kessler and David Greenspan are part of the NFLPA's legal team on the suit, which was filed days after NFL appeals officer Harold Henderson upheld Peterson's suspension for at least the rest of the 2014 season, with reinstatement no sooner than April 15. Among other things, the union argues Henderson who spent roughly two decades working for the NFL was "evidently partial" in his decision and the retroactive application of the NFL's new personal conduct policy defies the essence of the collective bargaining agreement. The league countered in an opposition filing Jan. 16 that the union's case is "based on arguments that were all considered and specifically rejected in the arbitration proceeding below. Federal labor law, which governs this action, completely forecloses the Union's request." The standard for tossing out an arbitration decision is extremely high, making the suit something of a Hail Mary for the NFLPA. Lose, and the union would have to play ball with the NFL, which has ordered Peterson to be evaluated by a league-appointed psychologist and follow the treatment plan she lays out. Peterson, the 2012 NFL MVP, hasn't played since his September indictment on a charge he injured his 4-year-old son in May while disciplining the boy with a wooden switch. He avoided jail time by pleading no contest Nov. 4 to a misdemeanor reckless assault charge. But the league declined to reinstate Peterson from the commissioner's exempt list while it considered additional discipline, touching off the battle with the NFLPA. Arbitrator Shyam Das handed the union its first loss by ruling the NFL was within its rights not to reinstate Peterson, and Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended him Nov. 18. The Vikings have not made a definitive statement on their plans for Peterson if he's reinstated, though general manager Rick Spielman became the latest team official to speak highly of the eight-year veteran running back in a session with reporters last month. Friday's hearing comes at a time the union is awaiting a hearing date for the grievance it filed over the new personal conduct policy NFL owners unanimously passed Dec. 10. The union contests portions of the policy violate the CBA and wants those vacated. Another remnant of the NFL's tumultuous season will head into court next week. Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy's jury trial on a domestic violence charge is scheduled to begin Monday. He was found guilty by a judge of assault and communicating threats in July but appealed the ruling. *** Follow Tom Pelissero on Twitter @TomPelissero
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HBO and Showtime have agreed on how they would broadcast a fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, promoter Bob Arum said Thursday, leaving only two remaining issues to be settled before the much anticipated May 2 fight can be signed. Arum told The Associated Press that the rival networks have come to terms on an announcing team and other details for the pay-per-view blockbuster, and that talks this week have narrowed the remaining differences between the Mayweather and Pacquiao camps. "We had four issues and we resolved two," said Arum, who promotes Pacquiao. "Now we're working on resolving the other two. Unless something else comes up at the last minute, that's what my take is." Not so fast, said Stephen Espinoza, executive vice president for Showtime Sports. "There are a few significant issues remaining on both the fighter side and the network side of this deal," Espinoza said. "While we are optimistic, it's a bit premature to say that the networks are in total agreement." Arum declined to say what those two issues are, saying he didn't want to sabotage the negotiations just as they are reaching a critical juncture. And it was not clear whether the Mayweather side views the negotiations the same as Arum, or even if Mayweather will agree to the fight. Mayweather's adviser is Al Haymon, who reportedly has been doing the negotiating on his fighter's behalf. But Haymon doesn't talk to the media, and Mayweather communicates almost exclusively through social media. Mayweather's latest postings showed him enjoying a trip on a private jet to the Caribbean and getting a fish pedicure. He did post on social media last week that a media report the fight was a done deal was a "lie" and posted another picture Thursday from his earlier meeting with Pacquiao and saying it was Pacquiao's side that was holding up the fight. Arum said the major financial points of the fight have been agreed to, including a reported 60-40 split in the purse in Mayweather's favor. Based on the fight doing a record $200 million or more in revenue, Mayweather's payday could be at least $120 million. "There's a lot of devil in the details and that's what we're sorting through now," Arum said. "The remaining issues are obviously important to the participants, and are things we have to work out." Mayweather's representatives have dictated most of the terms of the fight, and Arum said Mayweather will be the one to announce it if it is made. Mayweather fights under contract to Showtime and Pacquiao to HBO, and there was speculation the two networks could hold up the fight by not coming to terms themselves. But talks between top executives have been ongoing for weeks, and HBO issued a statement Monday saying it was not an "impediment" to the fight. "We stand ready to go," the statement said. "The principals need to agree to terms and come to a deal." An HBO spokesman declined further comment Thursday. While Mayweather has been vacationing, Pacquiao was heading home Thursday to the Philippines after a trip to the U.S. and England. While in Miami for the pageant, Pacquiao attended a Miami Heat basketball game the same night Mayweather was there and the two fighters exchanged numbers and discussed the fight. They later met for an hour, and Arum said the meeting convinced him that Mayweather wanted to make the fight. Before heading home, Pacquiao also met in Washington with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and on Thursday attended the National Prayer Breakfast, where President Barack Obama spoke.
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The town of Igarata has been underwater since 1969, but due to a historic drought, it's re-emerged.
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video
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Japan's biggest showcase of ice and snow sculptures began in the northern city of Sapporo on Thursday, as tourists flocked to the site to see over 200 frozen works of art. Photo: Getty
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video
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Incubus has released their first new song, "Absolution Calling," since 2011's "If Not Now, When?" The single comes off their upcoming four-song EP, "Trust Fall: Side A," which is scheduled to drop on March 24. A second EP -- presumably "Side B" -- will release later in the year, date yet unknown. The band stopped in on the "Kevin & Bean Show" on KROQ-FM in Los Angeles this morning for an interview, where guitarist Mike Einziger explained how the song came about. "Actually, Brandon [Boyd] was in Bali, in a land far away. He had to leave on this trip so we were like, let's just try to make studio magic while he was gone so we started sending him idea. All four of us were in the studio jamming. That song just came out of us all in the studio improvising. It was like, oh wait, what's that? Oh, cool. And it just evolved," Einziger said. You can watch the lyric video for "Absolution Calling" below. It will be available for purchase on iTunes on Friday.
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entertainment
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Former linebacker Lawrence Taylor, who was No. 56 with the Giants, turned 56 on Wednesday. It was a day he didn't think he would live to see. "It's hard to believe that I got to 56, yes," Taylor said to the New York Post , "but I'm here." MORE: Junior Seau's call to Hall of Fame comes with chilling reminder Taylor battled drug addiction and depression for years. He was suspended from the league in 1988 for 30 days for cocaine use, the second time he failed a drug test. Once Taylor retired, he began abusing drugs and alcohol on a daily basis and was arrested twice in the 1990's for buying drugs from undercover police officers. Now, Taylor is living a quiet life in Florida. "Don't get me wrong it hasn't been an easy road. It's been a rough road. It's been a rocky road, it's been a rough road ... and every day I face things that really make you just hesitant about how life is, but one thing I know, I'll get through it, and I can make it happen," Taylor said. "Bad things will happen, but I have a lot of good things that happen in my life. I have a lot in my life to be thankful for."
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sports
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How President Obama's budget proposal could directly impact retirement savings, with CNBC's Sharon Epperson.
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finance
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INDIANAPOLIS Indiana Pacers star Paul George said Thursday he wants be able to practice at full speed by March 1. George said he's uncertain if he will be able to play this season, but he wants to. "Ideally, that's a great time where I want to be back. Obviously I'm a long shot away from it," George said. "I've got so many steps to get to that point but looking forward that's (March) when I want to be back." George suffered a severely broken right leg Aug. 1 in a USA Basketball exhibition. The All-Star said he's particularly eager to get back on the court if the Pacers are in playoff contention. "I think adding me to a great team, we definitely have enough firepower to make some noise in the playoffs if I come back," he said. Pacers coach Frank Vogel said he has no idea when George will be able to practice at full speed. George playfully said he was ready to defend LeBron James on Friday night when the Cleveland Cavaliers visit Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Vogel's response: "With minutes restriction? Thirty-five seconds." George said he has participated in 3-on-3 half-court drills, but hasn't played in a full scrimmage, and has not taken part in contact drills. "I don't want to come back too soon and be out there and have a chance to re-injure … I want it to be fully right," he said, adding he's certain the leg will completely heal. George said most of his current conditioning is on an elliptical bike and some light running, and that it will take some time to get into game shape. He said he hopes he can do that in two weeks once he's fully practicing.
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sports
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All it takes is one ill-fated trip to the dishwasher for your trusty cutting board to go from flat and stable to a warped surface that shimmies across your countertop. In other words: a complete nuisance. Do keep in mind that if it's seriously warped or cracked, it might be time to replace it, but if it's minor, try this trick to stabilize it and save yourself a lot of frustration. Dampen a clean dishcloth (a thinner cloth is better than a thick towel), place it under the cutting board, and slice and dice away. (The cloth will create enough friction to temporarily glue your board to the countertop.) No clean dishcloths in sight? Try a damp paper towel; while less eco-friendly, it'll serve the same purpose. PS: To avoid this predicament in the future, keep these cutting board care best practices in mind.
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foodanddrink
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David Moyes has finally lifted the lid on complaints made by Rio Ferdinand last year about the Scots troubled 10 month spell as Manchester United manager.
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sports
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