Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Samsung Galaxy S Advance gets official: 1GHz dual-core CPU, Super AMOLED and Gingerbread

Samsung added a new star to its Galaxy universe today, with the release of the Galaxy Advance S. Powered by a 1GHz dual-core CPU, this handset boasts a four-inch, 480 x 800 Super AMOLED display, and packs up to 16GB of memory, along with 768MB of RAM. The device also supports HSPA connections at speeds of up to 14.4Mbps, and boasts a five megapixel rear-facing camera, along with a 1.3 megapixel shooter, up front. As far as software goes, the Advance S will ship with Android 2.3 Gingerbread, plus a full suite of Samsung's apps, available via its Hubs and ChatON services. No word yet on pricing, but the Korean manufacturer plans to roll out its latest smartphone on a gradual basis, beginning with Russia next month, followed by Europe, Africa, Middle East, Southeast and Southwest Asia, Latin America and China. Notably absent from that list, of course, is the US. Find more details in the full press release after the break, as well as the gallery of press shots, below.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy S Advance gets official: 1GHz dual-core CPU, Super AMOLED and Gingerbread

Samsung Galaxy S Advance gets official: 1GHz dual-core CPU, Super AMOLED and Gingerbread originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/30/samsung-galaxy-s-advance-smartphone-announced/

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Stimulation of brain hormone action may improve pneumonia survival

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

An international research team may have found a way to block a second wave of death that can result from pneumonia treatment.

Antibiotics are effective at killing pneumococcus ? the cause of about 50 percent of pneumonias ? but as it dies the bacterium releases potentially lethal toxins.

Adding an agonist that mimics the action of growth hormone-releasing hormone ? which ultimately enables growth ? may stop that second wave, according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"You have to take antibiotics, if you don't, the bugs will grow and you most likely will die anyway," said Dr. Rudolf Lucas, vascular biologist at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Health Sciences University.

Problems start when a bacterium that causes pneumonia, in this case pneumococcus, is inhaled. Symptoms include mucus buildup, cough, fever, chills and shortness of breath. Antibiotics are the front line treatment to kill the infection.

An unfortunate result of bacterium death is release of pneumolysin, a toxin that can trigger formation of holes in the walls of the millions of tiny air sacs and blood vessels in the lungs. The result is that fluid, blood and other products find their way into air sacs that were intended for oxygen exchange.

"It's like making a hole in a bucket," said Lucas. He and Dr. Andrew V. Schally, Distinguished Leonard M. Miller Professor of Pathology & Professor of Hematology/Oncology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, are co-corresponding authors on the study.

Pneumolysin naturally binds to cholesterol, a component of all cell membranes including cells lining the air sacs, or alveoli. Once attached to the membrane, the toxin produces complexes that make holes in the membranes of the air sacs before escaping to do similar damage to nearby capillaries. While the close proximity of capillaries normally enables air sacs to replenish blood with oxygen and to remove carbon dioxide, the now open exchange enables fluid and cells from the capillaries to penetrate air sacs as well as the space in between them. To make matters worse, the toxin also blocks a protective sodium uptake system in the lungs that can help remove fluids. Within a few days, the patient is back in jeopardy. "These patients are being treated with an antibiotic and aggressive intensive care support and they (can) still die," Lucas said.

Schally, a Nobel Prize recipient for his discovery of hypothalamic hormones and Head of The Endocrine, Polypeptide and Cancer Institute, Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Miami, developed the agonist that may one day make the difference for these patients. The agonist was previously shown to help protect heart muscle in the aftermath of a heart attack.

Surprisingly, GHSU scientists detected receptors for growth hormone releasing hormone in cells lining the air sacs. Typically, growth hormone-releasing hormone is produced by the hypothalamus then goes to the pituitary which makes and releases growth hormone. "We were asking ourselves, what is it doing there?" Lucas said.

They got a clue when they applied the agonist to the growth hormone-releasing hormone in an animal model of pneumonia as well as human lung cells in culture: leaking was significantly reduced and beneficial sodium uptake was restored. Conversely, when they applied a hormone antagonist ? to block its action ? lung cells became leaky even without toxin exposure, further indicating the hormone's apparent role in protecting the lining of the air sacs and capillaries.

"This is an acute problem; dangerous lung fluid accumulation occurs within days in patients," said Lucas who anticipates the agonist, or a compound with a similar function, could someday be given to patients in those first few critical days to avoid the second onslaught.

As a result of the findings, extensive collaborative studies are being planned on the use of growth hormone-releasing hormone agonists to prevent edema in patients with bacterial pneumonia. Next steps include pursing a National Institutes of Health grant with Dr. Michael A. Matthay, Senior Associate, Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California, San Francisco, to support more studies that include an isolated human lung model and a preclinical model of laboratory animals who follow the same course as patients: they are infected with the bacterium then given an antibiotic. In the model for the PNAS study, scientists gave the resulting toxin directly.

Dr. Trinad Chakraborty, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Giessen in Germany, developed the purified toxin used for the study. Study co-authors Dr. Richard White, GHSU pharmacologist, showed restoration of sodium uptake, and Dr. Supriya Sridhar, GHSU research associate, performed the cell permeability experiments. University of Miami co-authors included Dr. Norman L. Block, Professor of Pathology, Urology, Oncology and Biomedical Engineering, as well as Dr. Ferenc G. Rick, Assistant Research Professor of Pathology.

###

Georgia Health Sciences University: http://www.georgiahealth.edu

Thanks to Georgia Health Sciences University for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/117204/Stimulation_of_brain_hormone_action_may_improve_pneumonia_survival

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Prince Harry: Queen needs husband for her work (AP)

LONDON ? Britain's Prince Harry says be believes Queen Elizabeth II's husband is so important to her that she could not carry out her public duties without him.

In rare public comments about his grandparents, Harry highlighted the role of Prince Philip in supporting the queen on her many duties, including occasional visits abroad and hosting foreign dignitaries. He also paid tribute to the monarch's hard work ethic despite her age.

"These are the things that, at her age, she shouldn't be doing, yet she's carrying on and doing them," he said in an interview with The Radio Times published Tuesday.

"Regardless of whether my grandfather seems to be doing his own thing ... The fact that he's there ? personally, I don't think that she could do it without him, especially when they're both at this age," Harry added.

At 85, Elizabeth is Britain's second longest-serving monarch after Queen Victoria. Her 60th year on the throne ? called the Diamond Jubilee ? will be celebrated this year in major events both in Britain and in Commonwealth nations around the world.

The monarch has been supported in most of her duties and overseas trips by Philip, who turned 90 last June. Although he had expressed a desire to scale down his royal engagements, last year the pair still made a historic trip to Ireland, hosted a state visit by U.S. President Barack Obama and visited Australia on a 10-day tour.

Philip, who is known to be active and robust, suffered a health scare before Christmas when he went to the hospital complaining of chest pains. He recovered after undergoing a successful coronary stent procedure.

The royal has resumed his official duties and in the next few months, he will accompany the queen on travels throughout Britain, while their children and grandchildren plan to travel around Commonwealth countries to mark the Jubilee.

Harry's comments were part of a series of interviews conducted for an article on the queen published in the Radio Times. The report also quoted Prince William, Prime Minister David Cameron and his predecessor Tony Blair on their impressions of the monarch.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/britain/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120131/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_royals

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Lange 'thinking about' returning to 'Horror Story'

Prashant Gupta / FX

By Ted Casablanca, E! Online

The bey-otch is back!

Well, probably. At least that was what Jessica Lange -- Best Female Actor in a Drama Series winner at last night's SAG Awards--alluded to when we asked her whether she'd be returning to "American Horror Story" for season two:

READ: The 'American Horror Story House' Is on the Market for How Much?

"I'm thinking about it," she told us backstage.

Which is still far too coy for our liking ... but much more encouraging than the blanket "I don't know" Ms. Lange dished out after nabbing a trophy at the Golden Globes.

Because now we know that Ryan Murphy has already asked her to return. And, let's be honest, it would have been criminal for him not to -- Lange only stole every scene she was featured in during season one.

"As we talked about at the Globes, there just isn't it any better writing out there," Jessica gushed to us.

Then it'd be absolutely insane for the award season's scream queen to jump ship now, eh? We're putting good money on the fact that we'll see Constance (or, likely, some fab new character played by Jessica) in season two.

PHOTOS: 2012 SAG Awards: Winners!

But don't expect more horror out of Jessica after Murphy's boob-tube sensation:

When we asked whether she would consider doing the ghouls and ghosts thing on the big screen, Lange quickly informed us: "I think I'm done with the genre after this."?

Are you thrilled that Jessica will probably be back on "American Horror Story"? Or are you worried that it'll be impossible to top the delicious evilness of Constance, and they should just leave well enough alone? Tell us on our Facebook page!

Related content:

Source: http://theclicker.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/30/10272929-jessica-lange-is-thinking-about-returning-to-american-horror-story

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Monday, January 30, 2012

Cars circle Moscow in anti-Putin protest

Thousands of cars flying white ribbons or balloons circled central Moscow on Sunday in a show of protest against Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

The cars ? ranging from luxury sedans and sporty convertibles to old, exhaust-spewing Soviet models ? jammed the inner lanes all along the nearly 10-mile Garden Ring, which has as many as 16 lanes of traffic at its widest points.

More protesters stood along the side of the road waving white ribbons and flags as the vehicles passed, their horns blaring. White ribbons became an opposition symbol during protests that broke out after a fraud-tainted Dec. 4 parliamentary election won by Putin's party.

Tens of thousands turned out for two protest rallies last month to demand free and fair elections, and protest organizers are now preparing for a third big demonstration Feb. 4.

Putin is running in a March 4 presidential election to reclaim the post he held from 2000 to 2008. He is expected to win, but is under pressure to show he can win fairly.

Sunday's action was aimed at helping to build momentum for the protest movement and it provided another outlet for the creativity that has been a defining feature of the demonstrations.

While most drivers were content to tie white ribbons and balloons to their cars' antennas, sideview mirrors and door handles, some decorated their vehicles with original signs and banners.

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny said the traveling protest action was a "wonderful advertisement" for the Feb. 4 rally.

The protest movement has been driven by young professionals, cultural figures and other members of the urban middle class, many of them connected through online social networks.

Kremlin supporters have begun to try to counter their activism by organizing rallies by blue-collar workers in support of Putin and the stability he promises. The first rally was held Saturday in Yekaterinburg, the capital of an industrial region in the Ural Mountains east of Moscow.

Videos of the rally posted online showed one speaker, a member of Russia's parliament, trying to get the crowd of several thousand to shout "Ural, Russia, Putin!" The response was muted.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46180316/ns/world_news-europe/

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HBT: Rangers will meet with Oswalt on Monday

Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News reports that the Rangers are going to meet with Roy Oswalt on Monday. There?s no offer on the table, but there is a meeting.

This, combined with the multiple denials from the Cardinals that they were, as previously reported, close to a deal with Oswalt, could suggest that Texas is making a move. ?But then again, the Rangers met with Prince Fielder too, and see how that turned out.

So, my guess: Oswalt signs a $200 million deal with Detroit. Because that?s how this works, right?

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/29/the-rangers-are-going-to-meet-with-roy-oswalt-on-monday/related/

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Drug Addiction May Make Users More Vulnerable to Stress

Head Lines | Mind & Brain Cover Image: January 2012 Scientific American MagazineSee Inside

ECK: Depression and substance abuse modify the same brain circuitt

Image: Malcolm Case-Green Alamy

Mood disorders such as depression are known to increase drug abuse risk. Yet mounting evidence suggests that substance abuse also makes people more vulnerable to depression and the negative effects of stress, according to Eric J. Nestler, chair of neuroscience at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He and his team reported new details about the link between depression and drug abuse in Neuron in August.

The team found that mice given cocaine daily for a week?a simulation of chronic drug abuse in humans?were more likely than their drug-free counter?parts to display behaviors reminiscent of depression after being subjected to socially stressful situations involving an aggressive and intimidating mouse. The drug-treated mice became lethar?gic and reluctant to interact with other mice following a shorter-than-usual bout of this ?social defeat? stress, which is commonly used to study depression in mice.

Most striking, the researchers found that the cocaine use led to the same molecular changes in the nucleus accumbens, a reward region, as are found in mice prone to stress and depression. The mice had lower levels of a molecule that polices the activity of certain genes and keeps at least one signaling circuit in check.

When the researchers artificially dialed down or up the levels of this regulatory molecule in the nucleus accumbens, they were able to produce or protect against depression in mice. This effect suggests that shifts in that brain region can cause?and are not just a side effect of?depression.

Testing for such changes in the human brain is trickier, of course.The team did find low levels of some of the same gene-regulating com?ponents in postmortem tissue sam?ples from the nucleus accumbens of people diagnosed with depression, hinting that humans with the disorder might experience altered signaling in this brain region, too.

If so, the findings may provide clues about why cases of drug abuse and depression sometimes spiral out of control, given that drug-induced de?pression is believed to ratchet up the chances of subsequent abuse in the same way that naturally occurring depression can.


Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=708027251e95280f8505d89698f5f74f

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Sunday, January 29, 2012

Peru: 26 killed in fire at rehabilitation center (AP)

LIMA, Peru ? A fire swept through a private rehabilitation center for addicts in Peru's capital on Saturday, killing at least 26 people and injuring 10 as firefighters punched holes through walls to rescue residents trapped inside.

One resident of the "Christ is Love" center for drug and alcohol addicts in Lima's eastern Zarate district said he was eating breakfast at 9 a.m. local time on the center's second floor when he saw flames coming from the first floor, where the blaze apparently originated.

Gianfranco Huerta told local RPP newsradio station that he leapt from a second floor window to safety.

"The doors were locked, there was no way to get out," he told the station.

Health Minister Alberto Tejada said the number of deaths had risen to 26 with 10 people injured.

Peru's chief fire fighter, Antonio Zavala, said the fire was of "Dantesque proportions." Firefighters had to punch a hole through a wall with an adjoining building to help the people trapped inside the rehabilitation center.

"We've had to use electric saws to cut through the metal bars of the doors to be able to work," Zavala said.

Television images showed relatives of center residents weeping in front of the building, located in a poor section of eastern Lima.

The cause of the fire is still not known, said Zarate police chief Clever Zegarra.

Local media reported that the "Christ is Love" rehabilitation center sought to use Biblical teachings to help treat addicts.

No representative of the center could be immediately reached for comment.

Peru's fire fighters are notoriously underfunded. All the South American country's firefighters are volunteer and the annual firefighting budget for the entire country is $19 million.

(This version CORRECTS name of center to 'Christ is Love' instead of 'God is Love.')

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/latam/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_peru_fire

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UN nuclear officials want Iranian cooperation (AP)

VIENNA ? The head of a U.N. nuclear team traveling to Iran on Saturday urged the country to work with his mission on probing Tehran's alleged attempts to develop an atomic arms program, adding such cooperation is long overdue.

The unusually blunt comments by International Atomic Energy Deputy Director General Herman Nackaerts reflected the importance the IAEA is attaching to the chief focus of the trip ? ending more than three years of Iranian refusal to answer questions about such suspicions.

Ahead of departure, Nackaerts told reporters at Vienna airport he hopes Iran "will engage with us on all concerns."

"So we're looking forward to the start of a dialogue," he said: "A dialogue that is overdue since very long."

Diplomats said Iran had accepted the inclusion of two senior weapons experts ? Jacques Baute of France and Neville Whiting of South Africa ? with relatively little fuss. That suggests the Islamic Republic may be prepared to address some issues related to the allegations.

Also on the team is Rafael Grossi, IAEA chief Yukiya Amano's right-hand man.

Any progress would be significant.

Tehran has blocked IAEA attempts for more than three years to follow up on U.S. and other intelligence, dismissing the charges as baseless and insisting all its nuclear activities were peaceful and under IAEA purview.

Faced with Iranian stonewalling, the IAEA summarized its body of information in November, in a 13-page document drawing on 1,000 pages of intelligence. It stated then for the first time that some of the alleged experiments can have no other purpose than developing nuclear weapons.

Iran continues to deny the charges and no change in its position is expected during the three-day Tehran talks with IAEA officials. But even a decision to enter a discussion over the allegations would be a major departure from outright refusal to talk about them.

The diplomats said that the IAEA team was looking for permission to talk to key Iranian scientists suspected of weapons work, inspect documents relating to such suspected work and get commitments for future visits to sites linked to such allegations.

Iran says it is enriching only to generate energy. But it has also started producing uranium at a higher level than its main stockpile ? a move that would jump-start the creation of highly enriched, weapons-grade uranium, should it chose to go that route. And it is moving its higher-enriched operation into an underground bunker that it says is safe from attack.

__

AP video reporter Philipp Jenne contributed.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_re_eu/iran_nuclear

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TV and radio union approves merger plan with SAG (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? The board of directors of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists has approved a proposed merger with the Screen Actors Guild, a day after SAG's board made the same move.

In a statement, AFTRA says 94 percent of its board voted for the merger Saturday at a videoconference meeting of board members in Los Angeles and New York.

Referendum ballots will now be sent out for a vote by members of both unions. AFTRA leaders say ballots will be mailed in late February and counted in late March.

The merger plan comes after two years of negotiations between the groups to join forces, hoping to gain more leverage in contract negotiations with producers.

AFTRA supported a SAG merger in 1998 and 2003, but the efforts failed.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_en_tv/us_hollywood_labor

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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Costa Cruises offers compensation to rescued passengers (Reuters)

ROME (Reuters) ? Costa Cruises has offered 11,000 euros ($14,500) in compensation to each of the more than 3,000 passengers aboard its liner that ran aground and capsized two weeks ago, Italian consumer groups said on Friday.

The offer is an attempt by Costa Cruises to limit the legal fallout of the accident off the coast of Italy.

Each passenger on the Costa Concordia will also receive a refund on the cruise and the costs of their return home. The offer applies to all passengers, whether child or adult, who suffered no physical injuries.

Injured passengers will be dealt with individually.

Sixteen bodies have been recovered after the 290-metre long cruise liner, with more than 4,200 passengers and crew on board, struck a rock near the Tuscan island of Giglio.

The ship's captain, Francesco Schettino, is under house arrest and is blamed for causing the accident by steering too close to the island's shore.

Costa Cruises' U.S. parent company Carnival Plc is already facing legal action for compensation. Those accepting Friday's offer will have to agree to drop all future litigation, and receive payment within seven days.

Codacons, a consumer group which did not participate in the negotiations, is collecting names for a class action suit to be filed in Miami requesting 125,000 euros for each passenger.

Carlo Rienzi, president of Codacons, said the offer was insufficient and urged passengers to see a doctor to check whether they had suffered psychological trauma.

John Arthur Eaves, a U.S. personal injury lawyer, is urging passengers to file individual lawsuits in the United States. Eaves represented families of some of those killed when a U.S. military jet struck and severed cables holding skiers in a cable car in northern Italy in 1998, killing 20.

"The class action is not the right tool for this case," Eaves told Reuters Television. "In this case people need to be treated like individuals. Everyone in this boat had different damages."

But Roberto Corbella, head of Italy's association of tour operators, and who helped Costa negotiate the offer with the consumer protection groups, urged passengers to accept it.

"Lawsuits have uncertain outcomes, they take a long time, there are legal costs, and some studies indicate that it's not at all certain that passengers would get more than the company is offering," he said.

"DANGEROUS CONDITIONS"

Crew member Gary Lobaton has already filed a lawsuit against

Carnival in a U.S. district court. His lawyers said in his court filing that he was not aware of the "dangerous conditions" of the cruise ship until it was too late to abandon it safely.

Keiko Guest, a photographer from Atlanta, was a passenger on the Concordia and she said she may consider the offer as long as the equipment she lost was covered by it.

"If they would return my stuff to me alongside this money offer I'd feel better," she said. "I don't know how appealing it will be for some people" who lost $10,000 rings.

Passengers have complained the evacuation was chaotic, with some left waiting in lifeboats for two hours before being able to leave the ship. Several bodies were found by divers in submerged evacuation assembly points, wearing life vests.

On Thursday, Italy's top-ranking Coast Guard official, Marco Brusco, said Schettino lost "a precious hour" which made evacuating the ship more difficult.

Had the order been given earlier "the lifeboats could have been launched calmly, people could have been reassured," Brusco said in Senate testimony.

As divers searched the submerged parts of the ship, Dutch salvage team SMIT finalized preparations to remove fuel from its tanks.

"We could finish today the process of inserting valves on six tanks," said a spokesman for the civil protection agency, which is in charge of operations. That would open the way for fuel removal to begin on Saturday or Sunday.

Many other toxic materials are still onboard the Concordia, including a ton of chlorine to disinfect pools, insecticides, and detergents, according to a list of products distributed by Italian officials. ($1 = 0.7601 euros)

(Additional reporting by Emilio Parodi on Giglio, Gabriele Pileri in Rome, and Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware.; Editing by Myra MacDonald)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/wl_nm/us_italy_ship

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Health Tip: Manage Pain During Childbirth (HealthDay)

(HealthDay News) -- Pain is a virtual certainty during childbirth, but there are ways to ease the discomfort without medication.

The womenshealth.gov website mentions these no-medication possibilities:

  • Practicing relaxation and breathing techniques.
  • Relaxing in a warm shower or bath, or getting a gentle massage.
  • Receiving hot and cold therapy, including placing a cool washcloth on the forehead or a heating pad on the lower back.
  • Seeking the care and support of a doula, nurse or loved one.
  • Trying various positions to get more comfortable, from crouching to walking.
  • Listening to soothing music.
  • Using a labor ball.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/meds/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20120128/hl_hsn/healthtipmanagepainduringchildbirth

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Nokia profits dive as new phones slow to take off (Reuters)

HELSINKI (Reuters) ? Nokia Oyj reported a 73 percent fall in fourth-quarter earnings as sales of its new Windows Phones failed to dent the dominance of Apple Inc's iPhone or compensate for diving sales of its own old smartphones.

The world's largest cellphone maker by volume unveiled a year ago a major strategy shift to Microsoft Corp software for its smartphones in an attempt to challenge Apple and Google Inc's Android. But Apple's phones in particular have proved far more popular.

Apple reported earlier this week sales of 37 million iPhones for the December quarter. Nokia has sold over 1 million Windows 'Lumia' Phones, since its launch in mid-November.

"It is more than some were expecting, but it's not going to worry Apple or Google," said analyst Nick Dillon from research firm Ovum.

Nokia said it expected its phone business' underlying earnings to be around breakeven in the first quarter, well below analysts' forecasts, with sales falling more than usual in the seasonally weaker quarter.

"The report highlights that the start of the Windows strategy is slow, and we have very little concrete data to predict its success at this point," said analyst Michael Schroder from FIM Securities.

"There are a lot of uncertainties. These are critical times for the future of the whole company. The next months will be extremely important."

SCALING UP

Ben Wood, head of research at mobile consultancy CCS Insight, compared Nokia to a late starter in a marathon, saying it needed to move fast: "The reality is that it's going to have to be an exceptionally fast marathon if it wants narrow the gap with its rivals."

To close the gap, Nokia will need to move quickly to push out the phone into more markets and with secure more partners.

Windows Phones have only been released in 15 markets so far, meaning Nokia has yet to take full advantage of its worldwide sales force -- a presence that could help boost sales fast.

In the United States, it has partnered with No. 4 U.S. carrier T-Mobile to enter the U.S. smartphone market, and has yet to break into two of the other largest smartphone markets in the world -- China and Japan. A ramp up in those countries could help Nokia close the gap with rivals.

Analysts said Nokia also needed to focus on marketing and sales channel to drive Lumia sales volumes.

"They need to market the hell out of it," said Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi. "Android is still an easy sale. Nokia needs to convince the sales people in stores to sell Nokia."

BETTER THAN FEARED

Nokia's fourth-quarter core earnings per share of 0.06 euro were better than the market's expectation for 0.04 euro. The results were boosted by a $250 million payment from Microsoft as part of the Windows Phone sales deal.

Shares in the Nokia were up 1 percent to 4.10 euros at 1526 GMT, regaining some ground lost over the past week following poor results from its suppliers.

Nokia proposed a 0.20 euro-per-share dividend for 2011, slightly more than expected.

The board put forward Risto Siilasmaa as its next chairman replacing long-time leader, Jorma Ollila, who steps down in May.

Nokia's quarterly net loss totaled 1.1 billion euros ($1.43 bln), or 0.29 euros per share, due to a 1.1 billion writedown for its digital mapping assets.

Microsoft has tried to enter the mobile industry for more than ten years, but with little success. Its market share is 1-2 percent. Canalys analyst Pete Cunningham said Microsoft's deal with Nokia was make or break for its ambitions in this sector.

"Nokia gives Microsoft a chance to enter the big stage. If they cannot make it work, arguably this is the end of the road," he said.

($1 = 0.7708 euros)

(Additional reporting by Jussi Rosendahl, Terhi Kinnunen and Eero Vassinen; Editing by Jodie Ginsberg and Erica Billingham)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/applecomputer/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120126/wr_nm/us_nokia

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Hispanics in focus as GOP race intensifies in Fla. (AP)

DORAL, Fla. ? Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is suggesting that the news media is responsible for tarnishing his party's reputation among immigrants.

Addressing a Hispanic leadership conference near Miami, Romney said Republicans aren't against immigrants or immigration. He said a Romney presidency would expand legal immigration and bring a commitment and conviction that the mainstream media would not be allowed to confuse.

Romney also said that in his first 100 days in office he would name a Latin American envoy to measure and improve relations with those countries. He also wants to create a hemispheric task force to focus on drugs and other threats from Latin America.

He said America needs to work harder at selling democracy in the region.

Newt Gingrich addressed the conference earlier Friday. Florida's presidential primary is Tuesday.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich is calling for a measured approach to revising the nation's immigration laws, saying "too many enemies" stand in the way of sweeping change.

The former House speaker says he wants stricter border control, faster deportation proceedings and a guest worker program for certain immigrants.

Gingrich spoke Friday at a conference of influential Hispanic leaders meeting near Miami.

Immigration is a major flashpoint issue among the GOP presidential candidates in Florida. They are trying to strike a balance between sounding compassionate yet firm about stemming the tide of illegal immigration.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was scheduled to address the conference on Friday afternoon.

Florida's presidential primary is Tuesday.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

More than a million Hispanic voters are the prize as Republican presidential rivals Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich campaign hard in Florida after a feisty, final debate that served to heighten political tensions with the state's GOP primary just days away.

Romney was the aggressor Thursday night in the second debate in four days, pressing Gingrich to apologize for an ad labeling him as anti-immigrant and calling the idea "repulsive."

Both men arranged for appearances Friday in Miami with the Hispanic Leadership Network. The state has roughly 1.5 million Hispanic voters, who figure to play prominently in next Tuesday's Florida primary.

Immigration sparked the first clash Thursday night, moments after the debate opened, when Gingrich responded to a question by saying Romney was the most anti-immigrant of all four contenders on stage. "That's simply inexcusable," the former Massachusetts governor responded.

Gingrich fired back that Romney misled voters by running an ad accusing the former House speaker of once referring to Spanish as "the language of the ghetto." Gingrich said he was referring to a multitude of languages, not just Spanish.

Romney initially said of the ad, "I doubt it's mine," but moderator Wolf Blitzer pointed out that Romney, at the ad's conclusion, says he approved the message.

Gingrich rushed out an ad using debate footage that raised questions about Romney's credibility, including his reluctance to own up to the "ghetto" commercial. "If we can't trust Romney in a debate, how can we trust him in the White House," a narrator says in the Gingrich ad.

The debate was the 19th since the race for the Republican nomination began last year, and came five days before the Florida primary. Opinion polls show a close race, with a slight advantage for Romney and two other contenders, former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and Texas Rep. Ron Paul, far behind.

Paul has already made clear his intention to skip Florida in favor of smaller, less-expensive states. And Santorum, who had been campaigning aggressively here, conceded that he's better off sitting at his own kitchen table Saturday doing his taxes instead of campaigning in a state where he simply can't keep up with the GOP front-runners.

Outside advisers are urging him to pack up in Florida completely and not spend another minute in a state where he is cruising toward a loss.

The cash-strapped Santorum said he'll make a handful of Florida campaign stops early in the day, but will finish Friday with his family in Pennsylvania, where he'll spend all day Saturday before returning to Florida.

Still, Santorum stood out at times Thursday night.

He drew applause when he called on the front-runners to stop attacking one another. "Can we set aside that Newt was a member of Congress ... and that Mitt Romney is a wealthy guy?" he said in a tone of exasperation.

On Friday, Santorum said the finger-pointing between the two leaders is obscuring how similar both are to President Barack Obama on issues such as health care ? and making it harder to tell voters about his more conservative views.

"There are important issues in this race," Santorum told Fox News. "How people made money, all legitimately in my mind, should have nothing to do with it."

In the days since Romney's loss in South Carolina, Romney has tried to seize the initiative, playing the aggressor in the Tampa debate and assailing Gingrich in campaign speeches and a TV commercial. An outside group formed to support Romney has spent more than his own campaign's millions on ads, some of them designed to stop Gingrich's campaign momentum before it is too late to deny him the nomination.

With polls suggesting his South Carolina surge is stalling, Gingrich unleashed a particularly strong attack earlier in the day, much as he lashed out in Iowa when he rose in the polls, only to be knocked back by an onslaught of ads he was unable to counter effectively.

But he struggled to find an effective attack in the debate and was more often on the defensive.

Romney pounced when the topic turned to Gingrich's proposal for a permanent American colony on the moon ? an issue of particular interest to engineers and others who live on Florida's famed Space Coast.

A career businessman before he became a politician, Romney said: "If I had a business executive come to me and say I want to spend a few hundred billion dollars to put a colony on the moon, I'd say, `You're fired.'"

Gingrich tried to raise questions about Romney's wealth and his investments. "I don't know of any American president who's had a Swiss bank account," Gingrich said.

Romney replied that his investments were in a blind trust over which he had no control. "There's nothing wrong with that," declared Romney, who has estimated his wealth at as much as $250 million.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_campaign

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Friday, January 27, 2012

PFT: Vikings open to offers for No. 3 pick

New England Patriots' Gronkowski is tackled by Baltimore Ravens' Pollard in the third quarter during the NFL AFC Championship football game in FoxboroughReuters

The NFL has some great traditions.? And some bizarre habits.

One particularly goofy quirk comes from the publication of injury reports for practices that didn?t happen.? It happens from time to time during the season.? And it happens during the bye week before the Super Bowl.

On Wednesday, neither the Giants nor the Patriots practiced.? But both teams were required to predict whether and to what extent injured players would have been able to participate in practice, if there actually had been practice.

For the Patriots, the only player whom they think wouldn?t have been able to practice if there were practice was tight end Rob Gronkowski, whose ankle suffered an unnatural, Gumby-like twist on Sunday against the Ravens.

The following Patriots would have participated in practice on a limited basis, if there had been practice: receiver Deion Branch (knee), tackle Marcus Cannon (ankle), safety Patrick Chung (knee), linebacker Dane Fletcher (thumb), safety James Ihedigbo (shoulder), defensive tackle Kyle Love (ankle), guard Logan
Mankins (knee), linebacker Rob Ninkovich (hip), linebacker Brandon Spikes (knee), tackle Sebastian
Vollmer (back, foot), receiver Wes Welker (knee), and linebacker Tracy White (abdomen).

Guard Dan Connolly (groin) and receiver Matt Slater (shoulder) would have fully participated in practice.

For the Giants, running back Ahmad Bradshaw (foot), receiver Hakeem Nicks (shoulder), and safety Tyler Sash (concussion) would not have practiced.? Defensive end Osi Umenyiora (ankle, knee) would have practiced on a limited basis.

Stay tuned for further updates for who wouldn?t have practiced on days on which there wasn?t practice.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/26/spielman-says-vikings-more-than-willing-to-listen-to-trade-offers-for-no-3-pick/related/

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Risk of Heart Disease Underestimated, Researchers Say

Image courtesy of iStockphoto/energyy

Heart disease is the leading killer in the U.S., and more than 27 million Americans currently have a cardiac condition. But what is your risk of developing heart disease at some point in your entire life? It might be a lot higher than you think, according to a new paper published online Wednesday in The New England of Medicine.

?We are giving incomplete and misleading risk information if we only focus on the next 10 years of someone?s life,? Donald Lloyd-Jones, an associate professor at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and study co-author, said in a prepared statement, referring to the time span that is often given.

?The majority of adults in the United states who are considered to be at low risk for cardiovascular disease are actually at high risk across their remaining lifespan,? the researchers wrote in their paper.

As part of a 50-year-long study, researchers have been following more than a quarter of a million adults in 18 different age cohorts. For the new analysis, researchers looked at key cardiovascular disease risk factors, including blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes and smoking, as well as the participants? cardiovascular disease status each decade from the ages of 45 to 75 years.

Overall, white men had the highest risk?36 percent?of dying from heart disease or stroke during their lifetime. Black men had a 33 percent chance, and both black and white women had about a 27 percent risk.

Not surprisingly, traditional risk factors played a major role in the statistics. Nonsmokers whose blood pressure was less than 120 over 80 without medication, whose cholesterol less than 180 milligrams (per deciliter) and who did not have diabetes fared the best. Men in this category at age 45 have just a 1.4 percent chance of getting heart disease or having a stroke. When two or more of those factors are not optimal, however, the lifetime risk jumps to nearly 50 percent.

?Just even one small increase in risk,? Lloyd-Jones said, ?like slightly elevated cholesterol or blood pressure, significantly bumps up a person?s lifetime risk.? And most people in the study had at least one major risk factor.

The new data will also ?help guide public health policy? by giving a clearer picture of the future burdens of these diseases, the researchers noted in their paper. Annual costs of treating heart disease in the U.S. are already more than $272 billion and are projected to exceed $818 billion by 2030, according to a study released last year. It also ?underscores the importance of lifestyle?particularly diet, exercise and smoking cessation? in fending off heart disease and stroke in the first place, said co-author Jerry Berry in a prepared statement.? Berry is an assistant professor at Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Lloyd-Jones suggested one way to diminish lifetime risk is to focus on prevention early ?that is, to get ?kids and young adults off to better starts so they don?t gain weight and are following healthier lifestyles throughout their lives.?

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=e7fd6a076a93462b7491ae6ac77454fa

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Gingrich: Use Reagan approach for post-Castro Cuba (AP)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. ? Republican presidential hopefuls are casting President Barack Obama as a failure on Cuba and say they would do a better job ushering freedom into the nation after Castro.

Newt Gingrich said during Thursday night's debate that the United States should use the same tactics President Ronald Reagan employed to bring down the Soviet Union. Gingrich says the U.S. policy should be to connect with young Cubans to persuade them that they want freedom for their generation.

Mitt Romney says he would use economic pressure to bring about freedom for the island nation 90 miles off Florida. Rick Santorum says Obama's policies to ease restrictions on Cuba are "the exact wrong message at the exact wrong time."

Ron Paul alone says the United States should engage Cuba now to ease tensions.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_debate_cuba

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Group 1 Automotive Acquires Hilton Head BMW Dealership | Benzinga

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE: GPI) today announced the acquisition of Hilton Head BMW in Blufton, S.C., that is expected to generate $45.0 million in estimated annual revenues.

(c) 2011 Benzinga.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published in its entirety or redistributed without the approval of Benzinga.

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Source: http://www.benzinga.com/news/12/01/2291719/group-1-automotive-acquires-hilton-head-bmw-dealership

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

House committee challenges government investigation into Chevy Volt battery fires (Star Tribune)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/191272698?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Wikileaks announces Julian Assange TV show, world governments fire up their DVRs

Ready or not, Julian Assange is heading toward a TV set near you. Wikileaks announced this week that its controversy-embroiled founder will be getting his own TV show, in which he'll be interviewing "key political players, thinkers and revolutionaries." Information on the series is light at present -- the largely unknown Quick Roll Productions will apparently play a role in its creation. The show is set to begin airing in the middle of March and will run as ten 30 minute weekly episodes. Assange for one, clearly has grand ambitions for the series, stating that it "will explore the possibilities for our future in conversations with those who are shaping it. Are we heading towards utopia, or dystopia and how we can set our paths?" Check out a preview of Dancing with the Leaks after the jump.

Continue reading Wikileaks announces Julian Assange TV show, world governments fire up their DVRs

Wikileaks announces Julian Assange TV show, world governments fire up their DVRs originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/t6msp90xTNs/

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Five things to watch for in Obama's State of the Union

Former White House speech writers offer pointers to watching President Obama's State of the Union Tuesday night.

President Obama is offering his fourth third (the first address a new president gives isn?t titled the ?state of the union?) - and, he hopes, not final - State of of the Union address to the nation Tuesday night. Ahead of the annual report on the state of the US (spoiler: We?re guessing the answer is ?strong?), Decoder dropped by the Bipartisan Policy Center for a talk with four former White House speechwriters to get their thoughts on what to look for tonight.

Skip to next paragraph

Here are their five things to watch.

1. Burn the straw men.

John McConnell, a writer for President George W. Bush, told a story related to him by the late great speechwriter Bill Safire, who could not get Richard Nixon to stop saying some variation of ?while some of those close to me have urged me to take the easy way, I have opted for?? before continuing on to what he wanted to do.

Unfortunately, Safire noted, nobody was advising the president to take the easy way. As such, Safire would sometimes walk past the closed door to the Oval Office and whisper ?take the easy way, Mr. President.?

Obama, McConnell advised, should ?avoid strawmen? If you?re contradicting a counter argument, make it a real counter argument.?

Bob Lehrman, a former writer for Vice President Al Gore, concurred.

?Whenever you see somebody say - and Obama does this, I?m sorry to say - ?some may say,? they?re heading straight for a straw man, Lehrman said. ?You can find real people on the other side and you can rebut what they say and you are much more credible when you do it.?

Indeed, one of the best things Obama could do ?is agree with the other side,? Lehrman said. ?People will say ?He?s a reasonable person.??

2. Big themes, but many ideas.

President Obama isn?t just laying out his plans for the next year, pointed out Vinca LaFleur, a former writer for President Bill Clinton. He?s giving a taste of what a second Obama term would look like. That?s going to mean the standard presidential laundry list of proposals - but Obama needs to find broad themes and narratives to encapsulate the policy to make it relateable. Particularly given the President?s election/political goals, making the State of the Union - always a political document - into something approaching a nationally-televised campaign speech.?

3. Watch your tone.

Chriss Winston, the former chief speechwriter to President George H. W. Bush, said Obama would be well-served to ?avoid a hectoring, lecturing tone this evening and perhaps extend the olive branch one more time.?

?The American people have kind of had it with the fighting that?s gone on between the White House and Congress. I would hope that tonight the speech will be President Obama laying out his vision but doing it in a way that allows for the possibility of some progress, at least this spring,? she said.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/MryCaPz-Nc4/Five-things-to-watch-for-in-Obama-s-State-of-the-Union

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Building collapses in center of Rio de Janeiro

A firefighter searches for survivors in a building that collapsed in downtown Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

A firefighter searches for survivors in a building that collapsed in downtown Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

Rescue worker remove a car after a building collapsed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday Jan. 25, 2012. There is no official word on deaths, but Globo television cites unidentified Brazilian authorities as saying two bodies have been found so far. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

A firefighter searches for survivors in a building that collapsed in downtown Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

Rescue workers search for victims after a building collapsed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday Jan. 25, 2012. A multistory building in Rio de Janeiro collapsed after a possible natural gas explosion. There is no official word on deaths, but Globo television cites unidentified Brazilian authorities as saying two bodies have been found so far. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Rescue workers carry an injured victim after a building collapsed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday Jan. 25, 2012. A multistory building in Rio de Janeiro collapsed after a possible natural gas explosion. There is no official word on deaths, but Globo television cites unidentified Brazilian authorities as saying two bodies have been found so far. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

(AP) ? A multistory building collapsed in Rio's center Wednesday evening, leaving rubble strewn over a wide area but confusion about the number of possible victims and the cause.

Thick layers of debris covered cars and motorcycles. A neighboring building sustained serious damage, and television showed at least two people on its roof apparently awaiting help from firefighters.

There were differing reports about possible deaths.

A spokeswoman from the city's Civil Defense department said two people were confirmed dead, but officials from City Hall and the municipal health department later disputed that, saying no deaths had been confirmed by early Thursday. It was not clear how many people were injured.

Searchers were still picking through the rubble hours after the collapse.

There was a strong smell of natural gas in the area, but Rio's mayor said there were doubts that a gas leak caused the accident.

"There apparently was not an explosion. The collapse occurred because of structural damages," he said. "I don't think there was a gas leak."

Witnesses had reported hearing a loud explosion-like sound just before the building fell, and a strong odor of gas hung over the scene.

It was not immediately clear how big the damaged buildings were. The one nearly destroyed was at least five stories high. It sat near Rio's historic Teatro Municipal and the Fine Arts Museum, both of which appeared undamaged.

The Civil Defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said she believed the collapsed building was for commercial use and not residential. The explosion happened after 8 p.m. and there were hopes that would minimize the number of people who might have been in the area.

Police cordoned off the area and electricity to the street was cut off for safety reasons.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-25-LT-Brazil-Building-Collapse/id-94a0e47eb12a483aba77a2af72939275

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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Katy Perry unfollows Russell Brand on Twitter

Katy Perry is cutting Russell Brand out of her life in more ways than one.

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The 27-year-old "Firework" singer has unfollowed her soon-to-be ex-husband on Twitter. As of Friday, Perry is still one of the 78 people Brand subscribes to via the social networking site.PHOTOS: Katy's crazy cleavage

It's not surprising, given that Perry is only communicating with Brand, 36, via phone or email. "She's limiting those interactions," a source tells the new issue of Us Weekly (out now). "He's being so atrocious that she feels like she never really knew him."

VIDEO: Why did Katy and Russell call it quits?

Perry has been keeping Brand off her mind by focusing on her career: she performed in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Thursday, and she recently shot an Adidas ad in Santa Barbara, Calif.

"She doesn't want to look battered and have people for sorry for her," a Perry source tells Us. "She's very strong and confident."PHOTOS: Katy and Russell's zany romance

For much more on the couple's nasty split -- including Brand's plans for a tell-all book documenting his 14-month marriage to Perry -- pick up the new issue of Us Weekly, out now!

Copyright 2012 Us Weekly

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/46095129/ns/today-entertainment/

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ABC Finally Admits Emily Maynard is The Bachelorette


ABC finally confirmed the news we've been all but sure of for over a week: Emily Maynard is getting her second shot at love on The Bachelorette in 2012!

The 25-year-old single mom from North Carolina, will footsteps of Ashley Hebert ... who she bested for Brad Womack's love on The Bachelor last spring.

Maynard, who went on to split with Brad last summer, will begin filming in March, a source said, adding, "She's looking for a man ... not a little boy."

An interesting comment, since Brad is more than a decade older than Em.

An Emily Maynard Photo

The West Virginia native, who resides in Charlotte, N.C., with her 6-year-old daughter Ricki, was previously engaged to NASCAR driver and owner Ricky Hendrick.

He died in a plane crash in October 2004 while Maynard was pregnant, but before she even realized it. She went on to name their daughter after her late fiance.

"Emily’s strength, passion and southern charm - as a mother and as a woman - would make anyone happy to make her his wife," ABC says in a press release.

"She found love again with Brad and, even though it didn’t work out, she realized that the series can work. Among those 25 men, she is looking for someone who makes her laugh, doesn’t take himself too seriously and can be her best friend."

"Emily Maynard is hoping that the third time is the charm."

Emily Maynard as The Bachelorette: Good pick?

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/abc-finally-admits-emily-maynard-will-be-the-bachelorette/

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Apple Talks Retail: 110 Million People Visited Apple Stores In Q1

Image (6) apple_store_beijing.jpg for post 335697I'm not a huge fan of schlepping around needlessly when I can do most of my shopping from the comfort of my chair, but Apple fans don't seem to have much trouble going to their local Apple store when the urge strikes. According to their recent earnings call, 110 million people went to an Apple store in Q1, which breaks down to roughly 22,000 customers per Apple store per week.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/QiPJp-W7VwQ/

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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

6 considerations before starting a business - Holy Kaw!

If becoming your own boss is high on the to-do list for 2012, your best bet is to listen to the advice of those who have blazed the path of starting a business before you, so 2013, 2014 and beyond may still find you in the driver?s seat.

Nellie Akalp has been there on a number of occasions and wants to pass on the things she wished she knew when starting her first ? and even second ? business.

1. Don?t underestimate a business plan.

If you?re not seeking outside funding at the start, it?s tempting to forgo writing out a formal business plan. However, taking the time to write out your business plan, forecasts and marketing strategy is a particularly effective way to hone your vision. All planning should center around two essential questions: How is my business serving a particular need or pain point, and does this represent a major market opportunity?

In addition, don?t overlook the exit strategy at the beginning. Do you want your children to take over the company? Do you want to sell it? It?s critical to think about these questions from the start, as the building blocks of your company (such as legal structure) should vary depending on your preferred final outcome.

2. Don?t get stuck in the past.

My husband and I launched our first online legal document filing service in 1997, and then re-entered the market with our second company in 2009. While our previous experience certainly gave us a leg up the second time around, we soon realized the market landscape had changed dramatically since our first company. We had to stop dwelling on previous competitors, customer needs and service expectations and write a brand new playbook.

The marketplace and your business plan are living entities; they?re continually in flux. Whether it?s your first company or fifth in a given market, you?ve got to keep asking: What do we need to do today?

Full story at Mashable.

Giving your business a head start.

Photo credit: Fotolia

Source: http://holykaw.alltop.com/6-considerations-before-starting-a-business

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