If you're an Amazon Kindle for iOS app user, Amazon is warning you to avoid their latest update. Kelly Hodgkins from TUAW writes:
Apparently, a glitch in the update is erasing the user's entire book library from their iOS device.
Ouch. Since Amazon stores copies of every Kindle book you buy on the cloud, this is likely more annoying than annihilating, but it would absolutely interrupt your ability to keep reading on your iOS device, short term. Amazon is obviously aware of the issue, so a fix should be on its way. Until then, if you haven't updated already, stay clear.
Scientists from Brigham and Women's Hospital are on the brink of the next treatment advancement that may spell relief for the nearly nineteen million adults and seven million children in the United States suffering from asthma. The scientists discovered two new drug targets in the inflammatory response pathway responsible for asthma attacks.
The study will be published on February 27, 2013 in Science Translational Medicine.
Researchers studied the lungs and blood of 22 people with mild and severe asthma. They saw that immune cells called natural killer cells and type 2 innate lymphoid cells played significant roles in airway inflammation in study participants with severe asthma.
Natural killer cells decreased airway inflammation by encouraging programmed cell death in immune cells called eosinophils, whereas type 2 innate lymphoid cells promoted airway inflammation by secreting cell-signaling molecules called interleukin-13.
Both mechanisms were controlled by a molecule called lipoxin A4 which is responsible for resolving inflammation. To achieve this, lipoxin A4 acted in both pro-resolving and anti-inflammatory ways. The researchers saw that lipoxin A4 encouraged natural killer cells to decrease inflammation by facilitating eosinophil cell death. Lipoxin A4 also discouraged type 2 innate lymphoid cells from promoting inflammation by blocking interleukin-13 secretion.
"Stopping airway inflammation is similar to putting out a forest fire," said Bruce Levy, MD, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Division, BWH Department of Internal Medicine, senior study author. "Firefighters tackle forest fires in two ways?dousing the fire with water and clearing away dry brush that could fuel the fire. Lipoxin A4 does just that to resolve inflammation. It is an airway inflammation fighter that performs the double duty of dampening pathways that ignite inflammation while at the same time clearing away cells that fuel inflammation."
In previous studies, Levy and his team discovered that lipoxin A4 production was defective in patients with severe asthma. Together with their new findings, this observation provides researchers and drug manufacturers with a new direction toward boosting lipoxin A4 in severe asthmatics when designing next-generation asthma therapies.
"Most patients with severe asthma have chronic airway inflammation that never fully resolves. This can lead to daily and often disabling symptoms despite available therapies. Our study provides new information on cellular targets that regulate inflammation and will enable the development of lipoxin-based therapeutics to decrease chronic inflammation in asthma and other diseases." said Levy.
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Brigham and Women's Hospital: http://www.brighamandwomens.org
Thanks to Brigham and Women's Hospital for this article.
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(Reuters) - Police identified a 22-year-old woman on Tuesday as a "person of interest" in the slaying of an aspiring rapper who was shot and killed while driving his Maserati on the Las Vegas strip and for the deaths of two more people in a fiery crash that ensued.
Las Vegas police said Tineesha Lashun Howard was riding in a black Range Rover with prime suspect Ammar Harris when he opened fire on the Maserati being driven by 27-year-old Kenneth Wayne Cherry Jr. before dawn on Thursday.
Cherry, who performed under the name "Kenny Clutch," was mortally wounded and his silver sports car veered out of control, colliding with a taxicab in an intersection at the heart of the strip, near several casino resort hotels.
Harris, 26, has been the subject of a multistate manhunt since the incident, and police say he has a long criminal history that includes arrests for robbery, sexual assault, kidnapping and soliciting prostitution.
Police believe Harris is "involved in the sex trade," said Las Vegas Metropolitan Police spokesman Officer Bill Cassell.
Harris is described as having several tattoos, including a large black-eyed owl on his neck and small heart on his upper right cheek.
Police officials described Howard as a "missing and possibly endangered individual" from the Miami area.
"She's listed as a missing person," Cassell said. "How she went missing is part of the Miami Police Department's investigation."
Several photos released by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department showed Howard and Harris together in each others' arms. In one of them they are seen riding in a sport utility vehicle, possibly the Range Rover.
The Range Rover used in the shooting, which bore paper dealer plates, has been impounded by police, but officials have not said where they found the luxury sport utility vehicle. No weapons were recovered from inside.
Earlier on Tuesday, Las Vegas taxicab companies pledged $35,000 toward a reward fund for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Harris.
Authorities say the dramatic shooting in a busy intersection of the desert resort city may have stemmed from a verbal altercation in the valet area of the Aria Resort and Casino a few blocks away on the Strip.
The incident took place less than a mile from where rapper Tupac Shakur was fatally shot in September 1996 while riding in a BMW with Death Row Records co-founder Marion "Suge" Knight after the two men had attended a Mike Tyson boxing match.
Shakur, 25, was hit by gunfire from at least one assailant in a Cadillac while sitting in Knight's car at the intersection of Flamingo Road and Koval Lane and died six days later at a hospital. His murder remains unsolved.
(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Cynthia Johnston, Bernard Orr and Lisa Shumaker)
Now that Disney owns George Lucas?s Star Wars franchise, we already know that Episode VII is a done deal and that VIII and IX are coming unless something unexpected happens. It?s also quite likely that before long the series will see its tenth entry go into production, not counting the rumored spinoffs.
Even if I agreed with some hardcore purists that Star Wars should have ended after Return of the Jedi (I don?t), I certainly see why double digits are now a real possibility. The Star Wars universe is a rich one, and the potential for very cool stories that don?t involve tax disputes or a teenage Darth Vader is still great.
On the other hand, some franchises just don?t know when to quit. Obviously there is money to be made in bleeding dry what might have been fun or worthy concepts at one time, otherwise this article wouldn?t exist. But when a series reaches the point where even fans are asking ?really??, it?s probably time to close up shop. Here are seven such franchises.
#1. Leprechaun
The first Leprechaun movie was released in 1993, and is now more known for the fact that it was Jennifer Aniston?s first feature movie role than for anything else. But it did pull in $8.5 million on a modest budget of $900,000, so a sequel was inevitable. By the time the third installment rolled out in 1995, the franchise had moved to the mystical land of direct-to-video release, which meant the filmmakers clearly understood that the ceiling of audience interest had been reached.
Armed with the freedom of only having to appeal to their limited fan base, Leprechaun producers were free to explore strange new settings. That led to masterpieces like Leprechaun 4: In Space and Leprechaun: In the Hood, the latter of which holds a franchise-high 33% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Six Leprechaun movies have been released to date, and there are reported discussions to reboot the franchise with a seventh.
#2. Air Bud
You might think that one movie is enough to explore the world of a golden retriever that can play basketball, but you?d be wrong. Disney scored a relative success with the 1997 original ($23 million U.S. box office) and has pumped out four sequels since. And that doesn?t even include the direct-to-video?Air Buddies?spinoff series, which saw its sixth installment released in 2012.?But to be fair, Disney did mix things up in the sequels?by showcasing Bud?s uncanny ability to play soccer, baseball, and even volleyball. Woof.
#3.Bloodfist
Here is the first sentence of Wikipedia?s plot summary for the 1989 Roger Corman martial arts film Bloodfist, starring American kickboxing legend Don ?The Dragon? Wilson: ?The film opens with a man getting beaten by his opponent, then after the guy finds out the fight was rigged, decides to fight back. The opponent is dead on the floor, and the first guy is announced as the winner. On his way back to his home, he is killed by another man.?
Man, I?m already lost. Luckily I have eight ? count ?em, eight ? sequels to get my bearings in this face-smashing world of kicking, boxing, and (apparently) bloody fists. I?m already looking forward to watching the final installment, Bloodfist 2050, starring martial arts champion Matt Mullins. It takes place in a bleak, futuristic version of Los Angeles that bears a striking resemblance to the bleak, current version of Los Angeles.
Here?s some bonus Bloodfist 2050 trivia for you: the audience members from all the fight scenes is made up of every single person who saw Bloodfist VIII: Trained to Kill.
#4. Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th is the machete-wielding poster child for mainstream horror franchises that offer frighteningly?diminishing returns. Some might argue that A Nightmare on Elm Street or?Halloween?are at least equally guilty, but they actually managed to sneak in a few decent sequels here and there. I was a huge horror fan back in the day, and even I was done with Jason Voorhees by the time the ?80s were over.
The producers of Friday the 13th trotted out just about every horror plot clich??imaginable over the course of twelve movies, all built upon the firm foundation of a masked mass murderer slaughtering naked teenagers. Jason killed camp counselors. Jason killed people in 3-D. Jason killed people ?for the last time? (a promotional stunt first pulled with movie number four). Jason sat out for a movie and let someone else do the killing. Jason came back (again). Jason transformed from a run-of-the-mill psychopath into a supernatural force. Jason killed people in New York City. Jason killed people in space, and in the future. The only person Jason hasn?t killed is Kenny.
Finally, horror fan boys got their wish in 2003, when Jason squared off against Freddy Krueger in Freddy vs. Jason, which actually was fun. And then, of course, Jason killed people in a reboot.
#5. Puppet Master
I remember seeing the first Puppet Master film a long time ago and thinking it seemed like a sort-of clever take on Child?s Play. Except instead of a killer talking doll, it involved killer puppets. The idea that these tiny creatures could wreak such big havoc was neat. I enjoyed the movie and quickly forgot about it.
Well it turns out that not everyone forgot, because there are now ten of these things. I?m not even going to lie and pretend I?ve seen any of the sequels, but I might have to remedy that. After all, how can you go wrong with deadly puppets, sorcery, Egyptian mummies, demons, and Nazis? Oh, and you know who stars in the supposedly non-canon ninth film (Puppet Master vs. Demonic Toys)? Corey fucking Feldman, that?s who.
Here?s the trailer for the most recent entry, Puppet Master X: Axis Rising. Screw Captain America, when the chips are down and the Nazis are threatening our American way of life, I want the puppet with the tiny head and giant hands fighting by my side.
#6. Police Academy
All you need to know about the Police Academy series is that even Steve Guttenberg disappeared after the fourth movie, and Bobcat Goldthwait has?publicly?stated he wants nothing to do with the reported reboot. It?s a shame too, since the first movie was one of the better screwball comedies of the ?80s and the first few sequels have their moments. If I?m feeling really charitable I?ll say that they should have stopped with the fourth installment, Citizens on Patrol. Because once you cut a soundtrack with a rap number featuring the movie?s name, it?s time to stop. Seriously.
But no, we had to find out what happened when a metropolitan police force traveled to Miami Beach and Russia in the span of a few years. The box office returns kept dwindling but the films kept coming. However, not even the most masochistic producer would tackle an eighth movie after 1994?s Police Academy: Mission to Moscow made a whopping $126,247. No, I didn?t leave any numbers out. That?s about $11 million less than Cops & Robbersons made the same year.
The basic plot of any Police Academy sequel goes like this: Hacky exposition ? Michael Winslow makes sound effects with his mouth ? Tackleberry likes to shoot stuff ? the blonde officer has really big boobs ? hacky middle part ? Cmdt. Lassard bumbles around ? Capt. Harris screams at someone ? Hooks talks quietly then yells ? more mouth sound effects ? the end.
#7. Universal Soldier
The Universal Soldier series started behind the artistic eight ball, given that it featured B-list action stars Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren. Nevertheless, the first film performed respectably enough at the box office with a $36 million haul, making it the 40th highest-grossing movie of 1993. From there it gets confusing and a little sad. I?ll try to unpack it for you.
There are six Universal Soldier films in total. The first one was produced by Carolco Pictures, which went bankrupt in 1995. In the late ?90s two sequels followed ? Brothers in Arms and Unfinished Business ? which were released direct-to-video and meant as the precursor to a potential TV series. Neither starred Van Damme or Lundgren, and they?ve basically been ignored from a canonical standpoint.
The first ?official? theatrical sequel ? 1999?s The Return?? featured Van Damme and assorted other muscly men, but was a colossal flop. It had a production budget of $45 million but earned just short of $11 million domestically. So powerful was the stench from The Return that it was also ignored by the next sequel, 2009?s direct-to-video?Regeneration. In late 2012, Day of Reckoning was given a limited theatrical release but mostly screened through Video on Demand.
So if you?re keeping score, that?s three official Universal Soldier movies, three unofficial Universal Soldier?movies, and six Universal Soldier?movies that we all probably could?ve done without.
These days it seems like every app wants your Facebook or Twitter info -- it figures that Google wants a piece of that action, too. Today the software giant announced Google+ Sign-in, a new feature that makes it possible to log into non-Google apps using your credentials for its myriad services (your Gmails, your YouTubes, et al). Google promises that Sign-in, which will be available for Android, iOS and web apps alike, will deliver the "protections and safeguards you've come to expect," plus some tweaks for the Google Maps Android API. The feature also makes it possible to decide what information you're sharing, so you don't spam the rest of us with your fitness goals (have we mentioned how fit you're looking these days?). You can also manage all of the apps you're using with Sign-In through Google+. More information for developers and users alike can be found in the source link below.
If your severance packages to departing workers include a waiver of future potential lawsuits, that?s a smart strategy. But be aware that small mistakes with severance packages?especially for older workers?can lead to big problems in court. Here are two recent lessons learned in the courts:
Lesson 1: Give employees time
Following a dispute with a lab technician, Columbia University in New York offered a deal: The worker would resign in exchange for a small severance payment and compensation for unused vacation leave.
The university gave him an hour to consider the offer, which had been negotiated with the help of a local union rep. The employee accepted the terms, but later regretted signing. He sued, saying he?d signed the severance under duress. The court let the case go to trial, noting the short time and the fact that he didn?t have access to an attorney. (Mandavia v. Columbia University)
Note: To comply with age bias laws, you should give employees at least 21 days to consider severance packages that include waivers of age discrimination lawsuits.?
Lesson 2: Sweeten the deal
Another requirement for severance waivers of age discrimination claims: They?re only valid if the agreement gives the departing worker more money (or some other benefit) than they would otherwise receive if they didn?t sign the deal.
That?s why any severance packages must be crystal clear about the basis of extra payments?and what the employee would get if he or she didn?t sign. ?
Example: When Charles was laid off from Motorola, he signed a severance agreement that gave him $80,000 in exchange for promising not to sue. He sued anyway, arguing that it wasn?t clear whether he would have received the same amount even if he didn?t sign the lawsuit waiver.
The court said the case could go forward. Motorola will have to show how the payment compares to what Charles would have received if he didn?t sign. (Lamberti v. Motorola Solutions)
Final tip: Severance agreements aren?t do-it-yourself projects. Get your attorney?s help, especially if the employees involved are over age 40.
Age discrimination: 6 parts of a legal severance waiver
Severance packages must conform to the Age Discrimination in Em??ploy??ment Act (ADEA) and its companion law, the Older Workers Ben??efit Protection Act (OWBPA). Together, the laws dictate how you can legally ask employees to waive their rights to sue. When asking employees to waive their rights to age discrimination lawsuits, the waiver must:
Be in writing and be understandable.
Specifically refer to the ADEA rights or claims.
Not waive rights or claims that may arise in the future.
Be provided in exchange for other consideration.
Advise the person in writing to consult an attorney before signing.
Provide the person at least 21 days to consider the agreement and at least seven days to revoke the agreement after signing it.
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A White House report stresses the huge impact the sequester spending cuts would have on states. For some states, that might be true. But for others, the cuts might just be a blip.
By Mark Trumbull,?Staff writer / February 25, 2013
Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia (l.) and Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley of Maryland speak on CBS's 'Face the Nation' in Washington Sunday. McDonnell joined with O'Malley to call for Congress to prevent impending defense cuts that would hit their states hard.
Chris Usher/CBS News/AP
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A White House report released Sunday is designed to send a clear message: If automatic spending cuts take effect, your state will be affected.
Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition
Correspondent Liz Marlantes with insights into the politics behind the impending spending cuts.
The report on the "sequester" includes 50 state documents ? plus one more for the District of Columbia ? to show ?the devastating impact the sequester will have on jobs and middle class families across the country if Congressional Republicans fail to compromise to avert the sequester by March 1st.?
But, rather than making the case that the cuts will be devastating, the 51 reports suggest the sequester?s impact would vary widely by state, depending largely on the degree of activity related to the US military. And in many states, defense plays a small role in the economy.
Consider one large Midwestern state, Ohio. The White House report for this state finds that 26,000 civilian employees of the Defense Department would be furloughed, with a new work schedule that reduces their gross pay by $161.4 million during the fiscal year that ends in September.
That sounds large. But, when coupled with $5 million in expected cuts to Army and Air Force operations in Ohio, that amounts to about $14 for each of Ohio?s 11.5 million residents, spread over half a year. Ohio would take an additional hit from a decline in defense contractor work, but that industry (not analyzed in the White House estimates) makes up only about 2 percent of the state?s economy.
By contrast, some states would see much larger defense-related impact from the sequester, either because they have lots of civilian defense workers (Virginia, Maryland) or lots of military operations (Hawaii, Alaska) or lots of defense contractors (Washington, Connecticut) relative to their overall population.
The sequester would also affect a host of non-defense federal activities across the 50 states. Those, also, would be somewhat unevenly dispersed among states. But only in Maryland, Virginia, and New Mexico does non-defense federal spending account for more than 5 percent of economic output, according to research by forecasters at the banking firm Wells Fargo.
Kantar Worldpanel, the WPP firm that analyses how well smartphones are selling with consumers (not shipping to sales channels) across key worldwide markets, has picked the week of a major mobile show in Europe, Mobile World Congress, to shift some of the focus back to the U.S., today releasing numbers on smartphone sales for the 12 weeks to the end of January, which show that Android was the top smartphone platform, beating out previous leader Apple's iOS, and that Verizon has ousted AT&T as the top smartphone operator.
All you need to know about how good the NBA 2K series is that EA Sports is positively terrified of going up against it. Twice in the last three years now, the pattern has gone like this: EA announces a rival NBA game, designs a box for it, releases some pretty-ish screenshots to the press and even goes so far as to set a release date for it. Then, at the last minute, it sees 2K's latest effort, cacks its (New York) knicks and puts its series in the freezer for another year.
Take to the court in NBA 2K13 and it becomes immediately obvious why. Its presentation towers over other sports titles like Blake Griffin at a jockey convention. It captures American sports in all its glitzy and garish excess; its sidelines bustle with activity, from animated coaches and busybody photographers to cheerleaders and little red dinosaur mascots who spring onto the court during time-outs to fire t-shirts into the crowd. Compare this to FIFA, which can't even put a manager on the sidelines.
In the Paint
The enthusiasm of US sports broadcasting is captured, too, with knowledgeable and lively commentators who babble away seamlessly, their words always relevant to the on-court action. There's even a Sprite Slam Dunk Intensity Meter graphic that flashes up after robust plays.
All this is before you even consider the game's stylish hip-hop aesthetic (it's been "executive produced" by Jay-Z), with matches prefaced by promo packages soundtracked by the likes of Nas, Kayne West and, er, Coldplay. It won't be to everyone's taste, but it's artfully done. No other sports game in history has done such a masterful job of capturing the sights, sounds and essence of the game-day atmosphere and if that wasn't daunting enough for the competition, NBA 2K13 has the gameplay to match.
Of course, if EA is planning another assault on 2K's throne, maybe it should begin on Wii U, because for some reason the hoops are set a little lower on our console. It's still a handsome game, but the courts and player models have lost a little of their fidelity on their way across, and the framerate, while not exactly bothersome, isn't as stable as it is on Xbox. It's still the same great game, though and that's what's important, because it's the deep, tactical action and the immersive career modes that'll keep you dribbling away long after the visual wows have ceased causing you to froth at the mouth.
It is by no means an accessible game, however. If you're looking for something you can pick up and play, you'd be far better served by hunting out a copy of the underrated NBA Jam on Wii, because NBA 2K13 takes time and commitment to understand and to get the most out of. A tutorial mode will tell you how to perform the moves, but not how to use them - that's a skill you can only learn out in the wild, as early CPU thumpings teach you restraint when defending, creativity when attacking and, ultimately, how to turn losses into wins.
Rebound Relationship
After some time you'll realise that NBA 2K13 gives you the toolset to do almost anything you want on court. In particular, mapping the flair moves to the right analogue stick is a masterstroke. Put the hours in and you'll be performing crossovers, half-spins and such on a regular basis, leaving hapless defenders for dead. Once it clicks, it's incredibly satisfying.
When you've got the basics down, NBA 2K13 gives you plenty to do with them. The MyCareer mode is one of the deepest and most absorbing we've seen, giving you the chance to build a rookie into an all-star, the virtual currency (XP) system enabling you to tailor his strengths to your specifications. Again, it's the presentation that makes it; while the likes of FIFA pepper their career modes with spreadsheet language, NBA 2K13 concentrates on the human side of being a pro athlete, allowing you to participate in sit-down interviews with potential employers and enjoy the pageantry of major events, such as your draft day. There's even a mock Twitter feed where you can find out what your fans really think of you (if it's anything like our feeds... gulp!). NBA 2K13 is a fresh and vibrant sports sim, then, but given that it looks nicer on the other formats, should you get it on Wii U? Maybe. There are a couple of neat format exclusives, such as the laughably named Gatorade Biometric Scan, which lets you hold up the GamePad to the screen to see which of your players is gassed and in need of subbing. Plus, it plays like a dream on the GamePad and the value of that really cannot be underestimated. Either way, NBA 2K13 is definitely worth considering.
A little too suggestive? Actress Anne Hathaway arrives at the Oscars on Feb. 24, 2013 in Hollywood, California.
By Rina Raphael, TODAY
Is it getting chilly in L.A.?
Anne Hathaway's 2013 Oscars gown went viral the moment she stepped on the red carpet, but probably not for the reason she intended. The Best Supporting Actress nominee wore a pale pink Prada dress which featured rather, well, unfortunate darts.
"My mom says it's business in front, party in the back," Hathaway joked on the red carpet on Sunday.
(More like the other way around?)
Of course, it wasn't long before the unique dress was the talk of the Twitterverse, even inspiring a mock Twitter account (sample posts include: "I'm cold. Would anyone mind if Anne wore the red carpet?"). Others called the dress "perky," "Paltrow-esque" and "leaving little to the imagination," all things which can be viewed as either good ... or bad.
What do you think of Anne Hathaway's fashion choice? Are you a fan? Let us know!
Getty Images, Reuters
Oscar nominees and presenters show off their stunning outfits as they arrive to celebrate the best movies of the year.
More from TODAY: 'Argo,' Day-Lewis, Lawrence are winners on sluggish Oscar night Who wore it best? Vote on the best Oscar looks Helen Hunt opts for H&M on the red carpet What is the 'Vampire Facelift' in Oscar goody bag?
See the styles Jessica Chastain and other stars wore on the red carpet at the 2013 red carpet.
Sunday was the biggest night of Anne Hathaway's life, and she didn't let us forget it. For months, the actress gushed to any magazine or TV show that would listen about her Les Miserables performance: how she was inspired by her actress mother, how she starved herself and chopped off her hair to play the role, how she decided to sing "the truth" instead of "the pretty version" of "I Dreamed a Dream." It's a great story, and a great performance -- but as awards season has worn on, Hathaway's combination of gee-whiz enthusiasm and self-important actor-speak has gotten tiresome. With the Hathaway backlash in full force, the Academy Awards was her last chance to make a good impression.
WTOL11 Your? Community is currently seeking community members who want to get involved in? their community sites.?
You don?t have to be an accomplished journalist or popular blogger to contribute; you just have to know of something happening in your area.
Here are some examples of what community bloggers could write:
Review a local eatery ? Whether it's your favorite caf? or a restaurant you've never tried before, people love to read about places to eat and drink.? Snap some cell phone pictures and write about what the eatery has to offer.?
Cover an event ? Local charity events, farmers markets, festivals, or anything going on in the community make for great stories.? Try writing a preview of the event beforehand, then write about what happened at the event after word.
Write about what you know ? Writing about something you're passionate about is a great way to produce interesting content.? For example, if you play golf regularly, you could highlight local golf courses.?
Cover a local sporting event ? Head out to a high school sporting event, take a few pictures, and write up the highlights.? You could event conduct an interview with a player or coach an include quotes in the story.
Post some photos ? Not all blog posts have to be news articles.? Take some interesting photos of something going on in your neighborhood and include a few sentences about it.?
Visit an area attraction ? Check out something in your area, and tell people what they can expect to find there. ?It could be a museum, historical site, park, or any other public place people might be interested in visiting.
Of course, these are just a few ideas.? We are open to any story in our communities.? For information on how to become a Community Blogger and publish stories to WTOL 11 Your Community, email Communities@wtol.com.
The Weather Channel's Kim Cunningham has the latest on a storm that's headed to New England and a second storm that's coming out of the Rockies.
By Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Ross Kerber, Reuters
BOSTON - A weather system threatening New England with a third straight weekend of winter storms appeared to be weakening on Saturday night, promising less snowfall than expected.?
Another storm was rolling out of the Rocky Mountains in the Western United States and could create blizzard conditions in Colorado over the weekend, according to a National Weather Service advisory.?
Forecasters were also predicting blizzard conditions from Oklahoma through Missouri early next week when another snowstorm hits an area of the Northern United States from the Plains to the Great Lakes.?
But by Saturday evening, the East Coast storm was moving more east and offshore than anticipated - potentially leaving areas like Boston with much less snowfall than originally expected, said Eleanor Vallier-Talbot of the National Weather Service in Taunton, Massachusetts.?
"The further south you go, the less snow. Boston proper might not even see an inch of snow," she said. "The forecast models have been slowly but surely backing off this thing."?
Related:?Snow, freezing rain to lash New England through Sunday
Much of the Midwest is already blanketed with snow, with more than a foot reported in Kansas on Thursday, forcing airports to cancel hundreds of flights and leaving motorists stranded on highways.?
On Colorado's high plains, up to a foot of snow was possible overnight and throughout Sunday, with winds gusting up to 45 miles an hour, said Frank Cooper, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boulder.?
A spokeswoman for the Denver International Airport said passengers could expect delays on Sunday as crews de-iced aircraft and cleared runways, and a Southwest Airlines spokeswoman, Olga Romero, said 46 flights in and out of Denver had been canceled until 11 a.m. on Sunday.?
States of emergency? The New England coast - from northern Connecticut to southern Maine - was expecting an extended mix of snow and rain, according to a National Weather Service advisory. Residents were taking it in stride.?
"Look, it's winter, it's New England, it snows. Happens every time!" said Steve Scardino, a software sales executive and lifelong New Englander from Hopkinton, Massachusetts.?
Farther north, near Portland, Maine, the heaviest snow was not expected until Sunday, with accumulations up to 8 inches farther inland.?
The weather service said the storm may bring sleet and freezing rain to the Appalachians and mid-Atlantic states as well, with thunderstorms expected in the Southeast. It likely will dump rain from New York City to Philadelphia, it said. The storm barreled eastward after pummeling the Midwest during the week. In Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Sly James said about 60 buses were stuck on snowbound streets on Friday, and even tow trucks were immobilized.?
After a storm last week dumped some 14 inches of snow on Wichita, Kansas, and 11 inches on Kansas City, residents from Texas to Nebraska were bracing for another one early next week, according to AccuWeather.com.?
Forecasters predicted heavy snow developing on Sunday night and increasing to a rate of 2 inches an hour from northern Oklahoma through central Kansas.?
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon and Kansas Governor Sam Brownback declared states of emergency because of possible power outages and generally hazardous travel.?
Drought-stricken farmers in the Great Plains, one of the world's largest wheat-growing areas, welcomed the moisture, although experts said even more rain or snow would be needed to ensure healthy crops.?
Related:
Storm expected to give New England third straight weekend of snow
Storms to dump snow on New England, heavy rain on Southeast, forecasters warn
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Feb. 21, 2013 ? If a genome is the blueprint for life, then the chief architects are tiny slices of genetic material that orchestrate how we are assembled and function, Yale School of Medicine researchers report Feb. 21 in the journal Developmental Cell.
The study pinpoints the molecular regulators of epigenetics -- the process by which unchanging genes along our DNA are switched on and off at precisely right time and place.
"Our genome is like a landscape with lakes, mountains, and rivers, but it is not yet a community or a city full of buildings," said Haifan Lin, director of the Yale Stem Cell Center and senior author of the study. "What this system does is decide where and when to send out the masons, carpenters, and electricians to build a city or a community."
In the past 20 years, scientists have discovered that some proteins, called epigenetic factors, traverse the static genome and turn the genes on or off. The staggering number of potential combinations of active and inactive genes explains why a relatively small number of genes can carry out such a wide range of functions. But what guides these epigenetic factors to their target? The answer, the Yale team has found, is specialized RNAs called piRNAs.
In the latest study, the Yale team discovered that piRNAs guide epigenetic factors to numerous sites throughout the genome of the fruit fly Drosophila, where these switches work to turn genes on or off. The dramatic change in gene expression patterns found illustrated piRNAs key role in coordinating biological activity.
"This is the first major mechanism discovered that controls where epigenetic factors -- the gene switches -- are to be placed in the genome," Lin said.
Several types of cancers appeared to be triggered when the wrong kinds of piRNAs guide epigenetic factors to activate the wrong genes. Blocking the action of these piRNAs should become a new opportunity to treat cancers, Lin said.
Xiao A. Huang and Hang Yin of Yale are co-lead authors of the paper.
The research was funded by a National Institutes of Health Pioneer Award to Haifan Lin and a grant from Connecticut Stem Cell Research Fund to Lin and former Yale professor and co-author Michael Snyder, now of Stanford University.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Yale University. The original article was written by Bill Hathaway.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Xiao?A. Huang, Hang Yin, Sarah Sweeney, Debasish Raha, Michael Snyder, Haifan Lin. A Major Epigenetic Programming Mechanism Guided by piRNAs. Developmental Cell, 2013; DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2013.01.023
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
If you thought that the BlackBerry Z10 bears a lot of similarity to the Apple iPhone 5 in the design department, it is nothing compared to the HTC One which has almost seemingly been moulded on Apple?s popular handset. A new render of the device has emerged, showing just how similar the two devices look ? not that its a bad thing of course as the HTC One looks absolutely lovely.
Whether you are a fan of Apple or not, there?s no denying that the iPhone 5 is a lovely device to look at from a design point of view. It appears that HTC has taken the popularity for the dual-layered effect on board, as where Apple has included the layered effect on the back of their iPhone 5, HTC may be opting to showcase a similar design on the front of the HTC One, if the latest image of the device is proved to be legitimate.
The guys over at UnwiredView have uploaded an image, which claims to be a real look at the black version of the HTC One. Notice that the top and bottom panels are reminiscent of the iPhone 5 to say the least, while we also get another decent look at those front speaker grills as well which should provide adequate sound quality with the Beats Audio integration.
Also take note that there appears to be only just two capacitive touch buttons on the display screen ? a back key and a home key rather than the traditional three that we usually see on another Android handsets. If this really is the final design of the device formally known as the HTC M7, then we would be very happy indeed as it looks great.
We just have hours to go until HTC?s official event gets under way so we will all find out the answers soon. Hopefully the company gives some solid availability and pricing information so consumers in the UK and US can find out exactly when they can buy one.
What are your opinions on the iPhone 5 style design ? do you agree with us that it looks great?
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Feb. 19, 2013 ? The most frequent turning point in father-daughter relationships is shared activity -- especially sports -- ahead of such pivotal events as when a daughter marries or leaves home, according to a study by Baylor University researchers.
"This is the masculine style of building closeness -- called 'closeness in the doing' -- whereas the feminine orientation is talking, 'closeness in the dialogue,'" said Mark T. Morman, Ph.D., a professor of communication in Baylor's College of Arts & Sciences.
An article about the findings by Morman and former Baylor graduate student Elizabeth Barrett is published in the Journal of Human Communication.
When asked what key experiences changed closeness in their relationships, fathers and daughters who were study participants mentioned events typical of those that help cement masculine friendships. Morman noted that the study is qualitative -- based on written responses by participants rather than by a statistical analysis. But it reveals meaningful markers of when relationships changed, regardless of whether they became closer or more distant, he said.
The 43 fathers and 43 daughters in the study were not related to one another but were asked to pinpoint in writing a crucial moment of change in their own father-daughter relationships. Daughters in the study were required to be at least age 22, while fathers ranged from 45 to 70. Adoptive and step-family relationships were among those included.
"These (turning points) . . . were independent of some type of family history," Morman said.
Most frequently mentioned of 14 relationship changes by daughters were engaging activities with their fathers, their marriages and physical distance from their fathers. Fathers most frequently mentioned joint activities, a daughter's marriage and the beginning of a daughter's dating.
Other pivotal times noted by both fathers and/or daughters in the study were adolescence, a family crisis, parents' divorce, a daughter's financial independence, giving birth, entering elementary school, high school graduation, a daughter's developing outside friendships, a daughter's maturation/beginning a friendship with her father and poor decisions on a daughter's part.
Daughters weigh in on turning points
-- Shared Activities:
Sports, working together and vacationing together were the shared activities most frequently mentioned.
Many daughters said they became closer to their fathers when they began to play a sport, an intimacy in which the father is the "primary playmate" as daughters learn to compete, take risks and stand up for themselves.
Sports gave daughters a chance to be the center of their dad's attention. "It made me feel really important," one woman wrote. Another said that "I used to love it when my dad would take off work to come coach my softball team."
Working together was another life-changing shared activity.
"Growing up, I didn't see much of my dad because he was at the office," one daughter wrote. But through working together, "now I know him on so many different levels."
A third shared activity was vacationing, several daughters said. "The first time I really talked with my dad, I was 6 years old. We took a road trip together and talked about everything," one woman wrote.
-- Marriage:
A daughter's marriage was the second most frequently reported turning point -- sometimes bringing them closer together, usually due to gaining a father's approval of their husbands -- but many reported the marriage distanced them somewhat because the father was no longer the protector and provider.
--Leaving Home:
The third most mentioned shift for daughters was when they left home for the first time, often to attend college. Some felt they lost touch; others felt a strain was lifted as they had their own space and developed a friendship with their dad rather them viewing him as a provider, adviser and disciplinarian.
Fathers' Perspectives
-- Shared Activities:
Sports was the most frequently mentioned activity by fathers, with some saying it gave them a bond their daughter did not have with her mother or siblings. Others said it opened the lines of communication to talk about other subjects. Additional activities fathers mentioned were church functions, household projects and teaching their daughters to drive.
One father even learned how to sing so he could be in a school talent show with his daughter.
--Marriage:
Marriage, the second most frequent turning point mentioned by fathers, was crucial, regardless of whether it strengthened or weakened the relationship. Said one father: "She became dependent on her husband instead of me, and I determined not to interfere to the point of driving a wedge between her husband and me."
On the flip side, one father said that being involved in her daughter's wedding plans gave him a reason to talk regularly to her.
--Daughter Begins Dating:
Fathers attempted to fiercely protect their daughters during this time, worrying constantly about them, and as a whole, their closeness lessened.
"She communicated more with her mother about personal matters and less with me," one man reported.
As their "little girls" grew into young women, fathers realized they could not shelter them forever and were forced to begin "letting go."
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Baylor University, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Mark T. Morman, Marianna Whitely. An Exploratory Analysis of Critical Incidents of Closeness in the Mother/Son Relationship. Journal of Family Communication, 2012; 12 (1): 22 DOI: 10.1080/15267431.2011.629969
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Pat Derby, a show business animal trainer who worked on the television programs "Flipper" and "Lassie" before becoming an animal rights activist, has died of throat cancer, her organization said.?
Derby, 69, worked on other television shows, including "Gunsmoke" and "Daktari", according to the Performing Animal Welfare Society or PAWS. She was the trainer and spokesperson for the Lincoln Mercury "Sign of the Cat" cougars Chauncey and Christopher, featured in ads.?
Those were among the memorable TV shows and ads of the 1960s and '70s, along with "Flipper", starring a bottlenose dolphin from 1964 to 1967, and "Lassie", starring a series of collie dogs from 1954 to 1974.
Derby became shocked at the neglect and abuse she found in the performing animals business. Her autobiography, "The Lady and Her Tiger" in 1976, was an expose on the harsh treatment of animals in the entertainment industry, according to PAWS.?
Along with her longtime partner Ed Stewart, Derby founded PAWS in 1984 to rescue and provide humane sanctuary for animals from the exotic and performing animal trades.?
With Stewart by her side, Derby died on Friday at her home in San Andreas, California, outside Sacramento, PAWS said in a statement dated Saturday and made available to Reuters on Monday.?
"She was the first to champion the cause of performing animals, and today, because of her tireless work, and fierce determination, most animal protection organizations now have captive wildlife programs that address the issues of performing animals," PAWS said.
Derby testified before Congress twice and served on several state committees setting standards for the care and handling of elephants and other exotic species, PAWS said.?
PAWS said it maintains three sanctuaries for captive wildlife in northern California, providing refuge for more than 100 animals, including elephants, lions, tigers, bears, bobcats, coyotes, leopards, mountain lions, deer and monkeys.
It was her own experience with debilitating side effects after cancer treatment that led Dr. Julie Silver to realize that there is a huge gap in care that keeps cancer patients from getting the rehabilitation services that could help them.
Silver was 38 in 2003 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Even though she is a physician, she was shocked at the toll chemotherapy and radiation took on her body. Silver was dealing with extreme fatigue, weakness and pain.
"I was really, really sick ? sicker than I ever imagined," says Silver, who is an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. "I did some exercise testing and I tested out as a woman in my 60s. So I had aged three decades in a matter of months through cancer treatment."
Silver went to her oncology team for help. They told her to go home and heal. "The conversation should have been, 'We're going send you to cancer rehab to help you get stronger,' " she says. But that's not what happened, and after Silver came to realize that her experience was typical, she set out to change the system for other patients.
In 2009 she started a program designed to offer cancer survivors rehabilitation therapy after treatment. It's called STAR ? for Survivorship Training and Rehab ? and is now offered in nearly all U.S. states. The program is growing, as is research showing that many of the quality-of-life problems cancer survivors have are physical and can be helped with rehab.
Physical therapist Jennifer Goyette is a STAR-trained therapist who works with cancer patients in Westborough, Mass.
"I've seen cases where someone has had a lot of pain, and they've done scans and it's not a malignancy. And maybe they have done exploratory surgery to see what is happening and not really finding much except a lot of scar tissue," says Goyette. "I am able to get a lot of relief and a lot of times patients don't need to have further intervention. They don't want to be on the narcotics for the pain management. They would rather come here."
One of Goyette's clients is 56-year-old cancer survivor Deborah Leonard. For two years after her treatment for early stage breast cancer, Leonard had swelling, pain and a large mass in her breast ? which was not cancer.
"Clearly I didn't have that before the surgery because the tumor was so small and this was much bigger, and it just kept getting bigger," says Leonard. "By nighttime my breast was extremely swollen and very painful."
At first doctors thought Leonard might have an infection and gave her antibiotics. When that didn't work they did another surgery to remove scar tissue. But the problem returned. Her doctors were suggesting a third surgery when Leonard finally found Goyette.
After three sessions with Goyette doing what is called lymphatic drainage, Leonard felt much better. Goyette uses manual pressure to clear Leonard's lymphatic system, allowing the buildup of fluid causing Leonard's pain and swelling to subside.
"I had a 6-inch mass that is now down to half its size," says Leonard. "I'm sleeping at night. I have energy again. More people need to know about this because you don't have to be a martyr and grin and bear it. This works."
The issues are different for every type of cancer: Head and neck cancer patients may need swallowing and speech therapy. Blood cancer patients may need therapy similar to cardiac rehab to rebuild their strength and stamina. Patients treated for colon cancer can get help from physical therapists with back pain and abdominal swelling.
Most insurers do cover rehab for cancer patients, but sometimes patients must battle to get more than the standard nine to 12 sessions.
Another barrier to care is that too few oncologists and cancer surgeons refer their patients to rehab.
The Commission on Cancer, the arm of the American College of Surgeons that accredits cancer programs in U.S. hospitals, however, recently announced new requirements aimed at improving care for survivors of cancer, including better access to rehabilitation therapy.
PALM CITY, Fla. (AP) ? Faced with a long weekend in an empty White House, President Barack Obama figured he needed a getaway, too, so he put together a golf outing with some buddies.
Not at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland or at Fort Belvoir in Virginia, two Washington-area military posts where he's a regular on their courses.
Instead, he went south, to Florida, to spend the long Presidents Day weekend staying and playing at the Floridian, an exclusive and secluded yacht and golf club on the state's Treasure Coast.
He arrived Friday night after a speech in Chicago and wasn't expected to be seen again in public until he returns to Washington on Monday.
"At this time, there are no public events scheduled or plans for the president to leave the grounds of the golf club," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Saturday.
Call it a weekend with the boys, presidential style.
Eyebrows might have been raised at the thought of the president, any president, high-tailing it out of Washington, without his family, for some "me time" hundreds of miles away from the Oval Office. First lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha are on an annual ski vacation out West.
As it turns out, it isn't at all uncommon for a president to go on vacation on his own.
And, Obama has gone off alone in the past.
During the weekend, the president, a sports enthusiast and avid golfer, planned to practice his putting technique on the club's private, 18-hole course, which opened in 1996, according to golfnow.com, and is owned by Jim Crane, a Houston businessman who also owns Major League Baseball's Astros.
Members of the club and their guests have access to one of eight cottages, a 68-slip deep water marina, the club's 61-foot Viking yacht, a 24-foot Hurricane Deck Boat and the club's private helicopter service with two on-site helipads along the St. Lucie River.
The White House arranged for the reporters who travel with the president to stay at a hotel in Port St. Lucie, about a 25-minute drive away. They were not expected to see the president during the three-day holiday weekend until he boards Air Force One to return home.
Obama's longtime friend from Chicago, Eric Whitaker, joined him on the flight from Chicago to Florida. The two have played golf together in the past. Another regular member of Obama's golf foursomes is White House trip director Marvin Nicholson, who also traveled with the president on Friday.
The White House said it would release the names of those who played golf with the president on Saturday later in the day.
At least one instructor to some of golf's top professionals put out the word that he'd be out on the green with Obama in the afternoon.
"I will be with POTUS this afternoon, playing 9 holes and some practice time," Butch Harmon, Tiger Woods' former swing coach, said in a text to The Associated Press.
POTUS is the acronym for president of the United States.
Harmon was Woods' coach when he turned pro and reached what many believe to be the peak of his game in the early 2000s. He also was Greg Norman's coach when he was No. 1 in the world in the 1990s. Harmon has taught a number of top golfers, including Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Fred Couples and Adam Scott, and annually ranks No. 1 on magazine lists of golf's best teachers.
America's presidents have been taking solo vacations for decades, according to Larry Knutson, a former White House reporter for The Associated Press who wrote a book about presidents and their vacations.
Although Bess and Margaret Truman visited him there just a couple of times, President Harry Truman vacationed most often by himself in tropical Key West, Fla. Many aides, all men, accompanied him.
Truman enjoyed the male companionship and his wife may have stayed away out of a desire to not interrupt his cherished late afternoon and evening games of poker. Truman vacationed in Key West 11 times between November 1946 and March 1952; his wife and daughter joined him for the first time in November 1948, after his surprise victory in that year's election campaign.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt often visited his cottage at Warm Springs, Ga., alone; wife, Eleanor, didn't much care for the place or the Southern atmosphere. Roosevelt was at Warm Springs, on his own, when he died in April 1945.
He also often traveled solo to his home in Hyde Park, N.Y., during World War II. The first lady often did not accompany Roosevelt on his wartime visits to Shangri-La, which is now the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland, or when he traveled on the presidential yacht or on Navy warships.
In 1997, President Bill Clinton was in Florida for fundraising and to play in a golf tournament when he stumbled on steps at the home of golf pro Greg Norman and needed surgery to repair a torn tendon in his right knee. He was treated at a hospital in West Palm Beach before being flown to Washington for the operation.
Obama's stay at the Floridian isn't his first get-away without his wife and daughters.
In 2010, as his 49th birthday approached, Obama was left home alone after the first lady took Sasha with her on a trip to Spain, and Malia was away at camp.
Rather than stay in the sprawling White House by himself, Obama fled, taking family dog Bo, home to Chicago for a birthday dinner with friends there that included Oprah Winfrey, her pal Gayle King, Whitaker and White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, a fellow Chicagoan.
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AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson contributed to this report.
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Here is the first sentence of Wikipedia?s plot summary for the 1989 Roger Corman martial arts film Bloodfist, starring American kickboxing legend Don ?The Dragon? Wilson: ?The film opens with a man getting beaten by his opponent, then after the guy finds out the fight was rigged, decides to fight back. The opponent is dead on the floor, and the first guy is announced as the winner. On his way back to his home, he is killed by another man.?
