Friday, 31 January 2014

Harvard Business School's Surprising Apology to Women..

Harvard Business School's all-male graduating class in 1938. (Getty Images)
On Monday night, Nitin Nohria, dean of the Harvard Business School (HBS) stood in the packed ballroom of the Ritz-Carton Hotel in San Francisco and said "I'm sorry" to a crowd gathered to honor more than 100 Harvard alumnae by the HBS Association of Northern California. Nohria was making an extraordinary public apology to female students and faculty –– past and present –– for their having been "disrespected, left out, and unloved." He continued, "The school owed you better, and I promise it will be better."

In his speech, he also committed to quantifiable changes, including doubling the number of female protagonists used in case studies (real-life situations and analyses used by the school instead of textbooks) from 9 percent to 20 percent. Harvard's case studies are used by as many as 80 percent of business schools internationally, so this change could have an impact on the perception of women business leaders around the world.

It wasn't the first time Nohria had apologized for gender issues at HBS, according to Brian Kenny, the school's communication director. "In many communications, he's acknowledged it hasn't always been a welcoming place," Kenny tells Yahoo Shine.

Still, Nohria's latest attempt has garnered widespread attention and strong reactions from both the press and alumnae. 
Commenting on an article about the event in Fortune, alumn Betsy Masar wrote, "I too am from HBS in the '80s, and I was even one of the honorees at the dinner. I think that it's a shame that the problems he's pointing out are still problems. And I am grateful that he is standing up and saying something about it. I would have liked it to be otherwise, but guess what, he's talking about it. And he's putting the resources of a great institution behind the change. Thank goodness."

Not everyone was so quick to applaud Nohria's speech, however. Writing about the event in Slate, Katy Waldman grumbled, "Frankly, I hope that any school charging $50,000 a year in tuition would be open and encouraging to everyone it admits. This whole mea culpa smacks of gesture and performance: Nohria's one concrete vow, to teach woman-centered case studies one-fifth of the time, feels underwhelming in a world where we make up half of the population."

What she's missing is that the speech comes after three years of turning around a "Wolf of Wall Street"-like culture of gender bias at HBS that once seemed intractable. Nor was she in the ballroom where the audience reacted with excitement.  "The whole evening was electric," the event's closing speaker, Cathleen Benko, class of '89, vice chairman and chief talent officer for Deloitte LLP, and author of "The Corporate Lattice: Achieving High Performance in the Changing World of Work" tells Yahoo Shine, adding, "Under his leadership over the last couple of years, the school has done a remarkable job –– a soulful and transparent job –– of looking into the gender labyrinth [that existed]."

Nohria was appointed in 2010 by Harvard's first female president, Drew Gilpin Faust, and tasked, in part, with improving the status of women and international students. A New York Times article published in September 2013 outlined some of the historical and rampant sexism at the institution, including the hazing of female students and junior faculty members (one-third of whom quit between 2006 and 2007), as wellas male students bullying women into silence in the classroom, where participation often counted for 50 percent of the grade. "You weren't supposed to talk about it in open company," Professor Kathleen L. McGinn told the Times. "It was a dirty secret that wasn't discussed."
Under Nohria's leadership, HBS tackled the gender gap by methods such as coaching female professors, monitoring classrooms for unfair grading, and addressing widespread sexual harassment (which John Byrne, executive editor of BusinessWeek, described as a "'Man Men' culture"). HBS even produced a data-driven, critical case study of itself and its failures to serve women students. While some students have chafed at what they felt was force-fed political correctness, the results achieved in the last three years have been impressive. "Women make up almost half of the incoming class," says Benko, "The gender gap for grades has closed as has that of student satisfaction." In 2009, women made up only 11 percent of Baker Scholars, students in the top 5 percent of the class. Now that number is a notable 38 percent.
This year, HBS is celebrating what it calls W50, the 50th anniversary of women being admitted into the institution. At the celebration's kickoff back in April 2013, famous alum Sheryl Sandberg spoke about the fact that, for the incoming class of eight women in 1963, "they did not take the urinals out of the restroom. That took a little time. A woman I met from that class told me, 'It was as if they were saying, we're not quite sure this whole girl thing will work out. And if it doesn't, we don't have to reinstall the urinals so we'll just leave them there.'" She went on to praise the school's current administration: "They were determined to change. They decided they would go around, classroom to classroom, and say that openly. No one ever said that when I was here," she added. "They said, 'We are going to define leadership differently. Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.'"




Tuesday, 28 January 2014

300,000-Year-Old Caveman 'Campfire' Found in Israel...

LiveScience.com
 
300,000-Year-Old Caveman 'Campfire' Found in Israel
An arrow points to the Qesem Cave hearth, where hominins may have tended to fires as early as 300,000 …
A newly discovered hearth full of ash and charred bone in a cave in modern-day Israel hints that early humans sat around fires as early as 300,000 years ago — before Homo sapiens arose in Africa.
In and around the hearth, archaeologists say they also found bits of stone tools that were likely used for butchering and cutting animals.
The finds could shed light on a turning point in the development of culture "in which humans first began to regularly use fire both for cooking meat and as a focal point — a sort of campfire — for social gatherings," said archaeologist Ruth Shahack-Gross of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. [10 Things that Make Humans Special]
"They also tell us something about the impressive levels of social and cognitive development of humans living some 300,000 years ago," Shahack-Gross added in a statement.
The centrally located fire pit is about 6.5 feet (2 meters) in diameter at its widest point, and its ash layers suggest the hearth was used repeatedly over time, according to the study, which was detailed in the Journal of Archaeological Science on Jan. 25. Shahack-Gross and colleagues think these features indicate the hearth may have been used by large groups of cave dwellers. What's more, its position implies some planning went into deciding where to put the fire pit, suggesting whoever built it must have had a certain level of intelligence.
Controversial cave
Qesem Cave was discovered more than a decade ago during the construction of a road some 7 miles (11 kilometers) east of Tel Aviv. At the site, excavators had previously uncovered other traces of fire (scattered deposits of ash and clumps of soil that had been heated to high temperatures) as well as the butchered bones of big game like deer, aurochs and horse left their by the prehistoric cave dwellers, possibly up to 400,000 years ago.
Anthropologists have debated what constitutes the earliest evidence of controlled fire use — and which hominin species was responsible for it. Ash and burnt bone in Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa suggests human ancestors used fire at least 1 million years ago. Some researchers, meanwhile, have speculated that the teeth of Homo erectus suggest this early human was adapted to eat food cooked over a fire by 1.9 million years ago. A study out last year in the Cambridge Archaeological Journal argued that fire-builders would have needed some sophisticated abilities to keep their hearths burning, such as long-term planning (gathering firewood) and group cooperation. 
It's not entirely clear who was cooking at Qesem Cave. A study published about three years ago in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology described teeth found in the cave dating to between 400,000 and 200,000 years ago. The authors speculated the teeth might have belonged to modern humans (Homo sapiens), Neanderthals or perhaps a different species, though they noted they couldn't draw a solid conclusion from their evidence.
Nonetheless, study researcher Avi Gopher, an archaeologist from Tel Aviv University, said in an interview with Nature at the time, "The best match for these teeth are those from the Skhul and Qafzeh caves in northern Israel, which date later [to between 80,000 and 120,000 years ago] and which are generally thought to be modern humans of sorts."
That interpretation is at odds with the predominant view that modern humans, the only human species alive today, originated about 200,000 years ago in Africa before dispersing to other parts of the world.

Toddler Hears Himself Laugh for the First Time and It's Wonderful...



  • An adorable toddler letting out squeaky fits of laughter is pretty much guaranteed to make any reasonable human smile, but this video of 2-year-old Dylan Lipton Lesser's uncontrollable giggling just might bring you to tears, too. Turns out the little guy is laughing at something he's getting to discover loud and clear for the first time: the sound of his own voice.


    When Dylan was born on Valentine's Day 2012, he was 11 weeks premature, weighed only 3 pounds and 3 ounces, had brain bleeds and an infection, and was unable to breathe without assistance. Before Dylan’s parents, Shirley Lesser and India Lipton of Richmond, Virginia, could even hold their newborn son, a doctor warned them that it was likely he would be severely disabled. But Dylan has happily defied these early predictions and is steadily on his way to having a normal, healthy childhood — especially with the help of those new hearing aids he finds hilarious.


    While Dylan initially passed multiple hearing screenings as a baby, doctors discovered in October that he had developed moderate hearing loss. On Dec. 20, 2013, Dylan received hearing devices, and his reaction to wearing them for the first time — that big grin and infectious laughter — is priceless. With Dylan sitting on his mother India Lipton's lap, his other mother, Shirley Lesser, captured the cute scene on camera. “We got the hearing aids and the audiologist warned us that a lot of kids cry, so we’re not sure how he’s going to react,” Lesser tells Yahoo Shine. But Dylan, nicknamed “Chill Dyl” for his happy, relaxed, and easygoing demeanor, responded to hearing his moms' voices, as well as his own laughter, in a distinctly opposite fashion. The audiologist at Children's Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University even admitted that she had never seen a kid behave like Dylan before. 

    Though many children who wear hearing aids have a hard time adjusting to the devices, Lesser says that from the start Dylan has recognized that they’re helping him. Since he started wearing them last month, Dylan said "hi" for the first time and has been playing the piano and savoring the sounds.  
    Like any proud parents, Lipton and Lesser are attempting to capture every gurgle, crawl, smile, and milestone. But what makes this particular video (which has racked up about 98,000 views on YouTube) even more meaningful in Dylan’s case is what he's already overcome in his short life thus far, including a staggering 15 brain surgeries. Lesser hopes that when he’s older he can look back and think, “I lived through that, I overcame that." Dylan joins countless other children who have gotten to experience hearing for the first time a little later than most kids. Such as when 3-year-old Grayson Clamp heard his father's voice last June thanks to an experimental electrical implant that directly stimulates his brain. The video went viral and has nearly 1.4 million views to date.

    Dylan turns 2 in a couple of weeks and his family knows exactly what they're going to do to celebrate. Back when a doctor delivered Dylan’s “doom and gloom” diagnosis to his parents shortly after his birth, both Lipton and Lesser told him through tears that they'd be back with Dylan on his second birthday to have him shake the doctor's hand. Knowing Dylan, he'll probably be cracking up the whole time.

    We love seeing someone's first time trying something new! Film your baby or child testing something out for the first time, and then share their reaction with us here.

    Thursday, 16 January 2014

    Military: 1 killed, 2 injured aboard Army helicopter in 'hard landing' at US airfield..

    Associated Press
     
    MH-60 Pave Hawk,

    SAVANNAH, Georgia - A U.S. military spokesman says one member of an elite Army helicopter unit is dead and two crew members suffered injuries when their aircraft slammed into the ground while trying to land at a Georgia airfield.
    Maj. Allen Hill said Thursday that the MH-60 Black Hawk was returning from a routine training flight to Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah when it made a "hard landing" late Wednesday on or near the airstrip. The names of the dead and injured soldiers were not immediately released.
    The crew belongs to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, which trains to fly helicopters behind enemy lines under cover of darkness. Also called the Night Stalkers, the unit has a battalion based in Savannah.
    On Jan. 8, a Navy helicopter crashed about 18 miles off Virginia Beach, killing three aboard.

    Tunnelling under London.


      Tunnelling Under London
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      Crossrail, the largest infrastructure project in Europe which will provide a new link across London, has reached the half-way stage. The 15 billion pound ($25 billion) project, due to open in 2018, will connect London's Heathrow airport west of London to the county of Essex in the east in a bid to speed up connections and relieve pressure on London's crowded underground rail network. Work began in 2009 and digging the new tunnels has uncovered a range of archaeological finds including 20 Roman skulls and a graveyard which could hold the remains of some 50,000 people killed by the plague more than 650 years ago. (Reuters)

      Three arrested as LA fire forces evacuations..

      AFP                    
      Southern California wildfires
      The Colby fire that broke out near Glendora, north of Los Angeles on the edge of the Angeles National Forest, exploded in size Thursday January 16, 2014 as dry brush, steep terrain and winds made for rough firefighting conditions. Nathan Judy, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service, said the fire had grown to at least 125 acres by 8 a.m. and that it was moving quickly " going up and down the hills." The fire was reported shortly before 6 a.m. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times/Polaris)
      Los Angeles (AFP) - Three men are in custody after a wildfire scorched forests near Los Angeles, casting a huge plume of smoke over the city and forcing nearly 900 homes to be evacuated Thursday.
        Up to 2,000 people were ordered out of their homes after the fire, which ravaged about 1,700 acres in the suburbs, according to police in Azusa, just north of Los Angeles.
        Several schools and colleges were also evacuated in Azusa and Glendora. The blaze damaged at least three homes, according to local media.
        Glendora police detained three men who allegedly set a campfire which sparked the blaze, shortly before 6:00 am (1400 GMT). The long pall of smoke drifted across toward downtown as dawn broke.
        "They are being cooperative ... one has made an admission and has admitted to setting this fire," Glendora police chief Tim Staab told reporters at a late morning press conference about the fire.
        The three, one of whom is homeless, are being held on $20,000 bail each, he said.

        Ohio killer executed with new lethal drug combo...

        Associated Press
         
        FILE-In this undated file photo provided by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction shows Dennis McGuire. A condemned Ohio killer facing a never-tried lethal injection method has arrived at the state death house a day ahead of his scheduled execution. The Department of Rehabilitation and Correction plans to use a combination of a sedative and a painkiller to put McGuire to death for the 1989 rape and fatal stabbing of Joy Stewart in Preble County in western Ohio. (AP Photo/Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, File)
        FILE-In this undated file photo provided by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction shows Dennis McGuire. A condemned Ohio killer facing a never-tried lethal injection method has arrived at the state death house a day ahead of his scheduled execution. The Department of Rehabilitation and Correction plans to use a combination of a sedative and a painkiller to put McGuire to death for the 1989 rape and fatal stabbing of Joy Stewart in Preble County in western Ohio. (AP Photo/Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, File)
        LUCASVILLE, Ohio (AP) — A condemned Ohio inmate appeared to gasp several times and took more than 15 minutes to die Thursday as he was executed with a combination of drugs never before tried in the U.S.
        Death row inmate Dennis McGuire made several loud snorting or snoring sounds during one of the longest executions since Ohio resumed capital punishment in 1999.
        In attempting to halt his execution with the new method, McGuire's attorneys had argued last week he was at substantial risk of "agony and terror" while straining to catch his breath as he experienced a medical phenomenon known as air hunger.
        Ohio officials used intravenous doses of two drugs, the sedative midazolam and the painkiller hydromorphone, to put McGuire to death for the 1989 rape and fatal stabbing of a pregnant woman, Joy Stewart.
        The state had adopted the new execution method after supplies of another execution drug dried up because the manufacturer put it off limits for capital punishment.
        McGuire thanked Stewart's family for a letter he apparently received from them referring to "kind words" he said meant a lot. "I'm going to heaven, I'll see you there when you come," he said.
        McGuire's adult children sobbed a few feet away in a witness room as they looked on at the state death house in Lucasville in southern Ohio.
        McGuire opened and shut his left hand as if waving to his daughter, son and daughter-in-law. More than a minute later he raised himself up, looked in the direction of his family and said, "I love you. I love you."
        McGuire was still for almost five minutes, then emitted a loud snort, as if snoring, and continued to make that sound over the next several minutes. He also opened and shut his mouth several times without making a sound as his stomach rose and fell.
        "Oh my God," his daughter, Amber McGuire, said as she observed her father's final moments.
        A coughing sound was Dennis McGuire's last apparent movement, at 10:43 a.m. He was pronounced dead 10 minutes later.
        Previous executions with the former execution drugs took much less time, and typically did not include the types of snorts and gasps that McGuire uttered.
        State attorneys had disputed claims that McGuire would experience terror as he was put to death with the new method. A federal judge sided with the state but acknowledged the new method was an experiment. At the request of McGuire's lawyers, Judge Gregory Frost ordered the state to photograph and then preserve the drugs' packaging boxes and vials and the syringes used in the execution.
        McGuire, 53, was sentenced to death for killing Stewart in Preble County in western Ohio. The newlywed was eight months pregnant at the time.
        Stewart's slaying went unsolved for 10 months until McGuire, jailed on an unrelated assault and hoping to improve his legal situation, told investigators he had information about the woman's Feb. 12, 1989, death. His attempts to blame the crime on his brother-in-law quickly unraveled and soon he was accused of being Stewart's killer, according to prosecutors.
        More than a decade later, DNA evidence confirmed McGuire's guilt, and he acknowledged that he was responsible in a letter to Gov. John Kasich last month.
        "One can scarcely conceive of a sequence of crimes more shocking to the conscience or to moral sensibilities than the senseless kidnapping and rape of a young, pregnant woman followed by her murder," Preble County prosecutors said in a filing with the state parole board last month.
        His attorneys argued McGuire was mentally, physically and sexually abused as a child and has impaired brain function that makes him prone to act impulsively.
        "Dennis was at risk from the moment he was born," the lawyers said in a parole board filing. "The lack of proper nutrition, chaotic home environment, abuse, lack of positive supervision and lack of positive role models all affected Dennis' brain development."
        Documents obtained by The Associated Press show McGuire unsuccessfully sought a reprieve in recent weeks to try to become an organ donor. In November, Kasich granted a death row inmate an eight-month reprieve to let the prison system study his request to donate a kidney to his sister and his heart to his mother.
        Kasich said McGuire couldn't identify a family member who would receive his organs, as required under prison policy.

        Wednesday, 15 January 2014

        Frat members sued over death at Yale-Harvard game...

        Associated Press
         
        FILE -- In this Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011 file photo, people look at the scene of a fatal accident in a parking area outside an NCAA college football game between Harvard and Yale, in New Haven, Conn. Yale has tightened its policy on tailgating after a Massachusetts woman was killed and two others injured when a U-Haul truck drove through a tailgating area at the football game. Yale will no longer permit kegs at university athletic events or functions, according to the revised policies released Thursday, Jan. 19. (AP Photo/Bob Child, File)
        FILE -- In this Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011 file photo, people look at the scene of a fatal accident in a parking area outside an NCAA college football game between Harvard and Yale, in New Haven, Conn. Yale has tightened its policy on tailgating after a Massachusetts woman was killed and two others injured when a U-Haul truck drove through a tailgating area at the football game. Yale will no longer permit kegs at university athletic events or functions, according to the revised policies released Thursday, Jan. 19. (AP Photo/Bob Child, File)
        HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Dozens of current and former members of a fraternity at Yale University are being sued over a deadly tailgating crash at the 2011 Yale-Harvard football game in New Haven
          A U-Haul truck carrying beer kegs heading to the Sigma Phi Epsilon tailgating area outside the Yale Bowl fatally struck 30-year-old Nancy Barry, of Salem, Mass., and injured two other women. Brendan Ross, a Yale student and fraternity member who was driving the truck, entered a probation program that erased the criminal charges against him.
          Barry's family and one of the injured women, Yale student Sarah Short, first sued Ross, the national chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon, Yale, U-Haul and others, seeking damages for Barry's death and Short's injuries. Those lawsuits remain pending.
          The plaintiffs' lawyers said they filed new lawsuits Dec. 30 against 86 former and current members of the Yale chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon after the national chapter of the fraternity, based in Richmond, Va., and its insurer disclosed part of their defense — that the national chapter wasn't responsible for the Yale chapter's actions, didn't sanction the tailgating event at the game and its insurance company doesn't cover non-fraternity events.
          The Yale chapter is a voluntary association, is not incorporated or organized in any legal way and is not insured itself, said Paul Edwards, the lawyer for Barry's estate. He said those facts prompted the lawsuits against former fraternity members, who belonged at the time of the crash, and current members.
          Edwards said filing the new lawsuits was "a move that we were forced to take by the defense and the posturing of the national fraternity's lawyers."
          "They are effectively cutting off its local chapter and members," Edwards said. "I think that defense is bogus. It's our claim that what happened at Yale two years ago was very clearly, definitively and obviously a Sigma Phi Epsilon-sponsored fraternity event."
          Jeremy Platek, a White Plains, N.Y., lawyer representing nearly all the past and current Yale chapter members, declined to comment on the lawsuit Wednesday.
          Short's attorney, Joel Faxon, also criticized the defense strategy by the Sigma Phi Epsilon's national chapter and its insurer as illegitimate, saying there's no doubt the national chapter is liable. He said the strategy forced him to sue the fraternity members.
          "It's a completely unnecessary effort we've gone through that caused unnecessary agitation to all of the individuals we had to sue and no doubt their families," Faxon said.
          Faxon said Platek is representing the fraternity members on behalf of the national chapter's insurer.
          An attorney for the national chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon didn't immediately return a message.
          State prosecutors said the accident happened outside the Yale Bowl on Nov. 19, 2011, when Ross was driving a truck carrying beer kegs in a parking lot crowded with pedestrians while on the way to the fraternity's tailgating area. The truck turned a corner and sped up, striking the three women, authorities said.
          Ross, of O'Fallon, Mo., had revved the truck's engine in an effort to get pedestrians to move, but the vehicle took off, prosecutors said. Ross told police he tried to hit the brake but hit the gas pedal instead. Ross passed a field sobriety test after the accident and was charged with negligent homicide and reckless driving.
          Last February, he was granted accelerated rehabilitation, which allows the charges to be erased after a probation period, and ordered to perform 400 hours of community service.
          After the accident, Yale tightened its tailgating rules. It now bans kegs at university athletic events and other functions. Also, oversized vehicles, such as box trucks and large commercial vehicles, are barred from university lots at athletic events unless they are driven by a preapproved authorized vendor.

          'Sully': 5 years after the 'Miracle on the Hudson'...

          It's been five years since Capt. Chesley B. Sullenberger safely landed US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River after the plane hit a flock of geese and lost power — saving the lives of all 155 people on board and making "Sully" a household name.

          Sullenberger is in New York this week to commemorate the anniversary of the "Miracle on the Hudson." So just what has he been up to since the heroic landing? He writes and speaks about aviation safety and provides consulting services.
          Sullenberger, who retired from US Airways in 2010, told the "CBS Evening News" he's concerned that the airline industry is getting complacent when it comes to safety. "We'll forget what's really at stake when we fly and how many near misses there are every day and how many things have to go right in this complex system to keep every flight safe every day," he said.
          The 62-year-old, who serves as CBS News' resident aviation and safety expert, says he's disappointed that the FAA has not adopted any of the reccommendations made by the National Transportation Safety Board as a result of its investigation into his historic emergency landing.
          "One of them — such a common-sense one you'd think it would've been adopted immediately — would be to include life vests for every passenger on domestic flights," Sullenberger said, "and not just seat cushions for flotation."
          Sullenberger, who lives Danville, Calif., with his wife, Lorrie, and two daughters (ages 19 and 21), weighs in whenever there is a plane crash, like the Asiana Airlines flight that cartwheeled at San Francisco International Airport in July.
          "The pilot must always be mentally engaged," Sullenberger said.
          He has also recently taken up a new cause: making America's hospitals safer.
          "It's applying all the things we've learned for decades in aviation and making them transferable to medicine, where the need is so great," Sullenberger told the Contra Costa Times.
          According to a 2013 study in the Journal of Patient Safety, more than 200,000 people die from preventable medical errors each year. "[That's] equivalent to three airline passenger planes crashing a day with no survivors," he said.
          One thing Sullenberger and his supporters are pushing for: a "checklist manifesto" for doctors similar to the ones pilots use.
          "I guess I'm the eternal optimist," he said. "I think in our society, as with every other crisis it has faced, whether it's slavery or seat belt use or smoking, we eventually do the right thing. The question is when. In 20 years, when we've lost 4 million more people to preventable deaths? My vote is to do it now."

          Venezuelan papers threatened by newsprint shortage...

          Associated Press                    
          A student protestor demanding more information about President Hugo Chavez's health reads a newspaper with a front page headline that reads in Spanish; "The President worsens," in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, March 5, 2013.  A brief statement read on national television by Communications Minister Ernesto Villegas late Monday carried the sobering news about the charismatic 58-year-old leader's deteriorating health. Villegas said Chavez is suffering from "a new, severe infection." The state news agency identified it as respiratory. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
          A student protester demanding more information about President Hugo Chavez's health reads a newspaper with a front page headline that reads in Spanish; "The President worsens," in Caracas, Venezuela, March 5, 2013; Chavez died later that day.
          CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuela's oldest newspaper is scrambling for newsprint as worsening shortages threaten to take several publications out of circulation in the coming weeks.
            While newspapers have been beset for years by currency controls that make it difficult to import supplies, the situation has turned critical in recent weeks as reserves of newsprint have fallen to an all-time low, says the Venezuelan Press Block, which represents the nation's broadsheets.
            Journalists accuse the government of restricting access to newsprint to censor newspapers, one of the last bastions of government criticism after a crackdown on radio and TV stations in recent years.
            "They want to silence us," El Impulso, Venezuela's oldest newspaper, wrote in a Jan. 5 front-page headline. The Barquisimeto-based newspaper warns that it may have to halt its presses in three weeks unless it receives a delivery of newsprint.
            Authorities didn't comment on the paper shortage. But the government has previously denied its policies are strangling press freedom, and has instead launched probes into larger papers favored by the opposition for possible hoarding of supplies as part of an "economic war" to destabilize the government. At the end of last year, it said it would directly supply 5,000 metric tons of newsprint for 83 regional papers, enough to guarantee circulation until March.
            But El Impulso, which has been publishing for 110 years, has been waiting for months for the state agency that manages the country's dwindling supply of dollars to process its request to import newsprint.
            "We don't know what's going to happen," said Jose Angel Ocanto, the paper's chief editor.
            El Impulso is not alone in feeling the squeeze.
            El Correo del Caroni reduced its page count to extend supplies that it says will run out in two weeks. Caracas-based El Nacional, one of the nation's largest newspapers, has enough paper to continue publishing for only one month, says its president and editor Miguel Henrique Otero. And its main rival, El Universal, says it can hold out for just six weeks.
            The situation is most dire among smaller papers outside the capital, several of which have been forced to interrupt printing or cut back on coverage over the past year.
            The Inter American Press Association this week said it holds President Nicolas Maduro's government "directly responsible" for bringing about the shutdown of El Impulso and other print media for their critical editorial stance.
            ___ Associated Press writer Gisela Salomon in Miami contributed.

            Tuesday, 14 January 2014

            Boy, 12, opens fire at New Mexico school, wounds two students..

            Reuters                    
            Photos of the day - January 14, 2014
            A woman waits at a staging ground area where families are being reunited with Berrendo Middle School students after a shooting at the school, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014, in Roswell, N.M. A shooter opened fire at the middle school, injuring at least two students before being taken into custody. Roswell police said the school was placed on lockdown, and the suspected shooter was arrested. (AP Photo/Roswell Daily Record, Mark Wilson)
            By Alex Dobuzinskis
              (Reuters) - A 12-year-old boy armed with a shotgun opened fire at a middle school in New Mexico on Tuesday, seriously wounding at least two students before a staff member persuaded him to put down the firearm, the governor and police said.
              The shooting at Berrendo Middle School in Roswell took place in a gym where students had gathered to stay warm from the frigid weather outside before the start of class, Governor Susana Martinez told reporters.
              "The shooter was quickly stopped by one staff member who walked right up to him and asked him to set down the firearm, which he did," Martinez said.
              Police said they took the shooter into custody at the school, which was placed on lockdown. A police lieutenant who had been dropping off his child helped in "securing" the shooter, Martinez said.
              The two students wounded in the attack were a 12-year-old boy in critical condition and a 13-year-old girl in serious condition, Martinez said at a news conference. A hospital official had earlier put the boy's age at 14.
              The wounded students were taken to a local hospital, where they were stabilized. They were then flown by helicopter to University Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas, about 150 miles east of Roswell, because that facility has a Level 1 trauma center, said hospital spokesman Eric Finley.
              The incident was the second to take place at a middle school in three months, after a 12-year-old boy opened fire with a handgun at his middle school in Sparks, Nevada, in October, killing a teacher and wounding two other students before shooting himself to death.
              It comes amid a national debate on gun control, after a gunman shot to death 20 students and six adult staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, in December, 2012. Following that attack, President Barack Obama called for sweeping new gun control measures.
              Most of Obama's proposals were defeated in Congress, but his administration proposed new regulations this month aimed at clarifying restrictions on gun ownership for the mentally ill and bolstering a database used for firearms background checks.
              GUN CONCEALED IN BAG
              The 12-year-old boy who opened fire at the school arrived with a shotgun concealed in a bag, said New Mexico State Police Chief Pete Kassetas, who commended adult staff at the school for their quick response to the shooting.
              "It's one thing for an armed state police officer to enter the school and do his or her job," Kassetas said. "It's another thing for a teacher, staff member to intervene in a situation like this."
              The wounded boy was shot in the face, students told the Albuquerque Journal. Sixth-grade student Anyssa Vegara told the paper she had been talking to a security guard when she heard a shot.
              "I turned around and all I saw was someone on the floor with their arm bleeding," Anyssa told the Journal.
              Kathy Sigala, a parent, told Roswell television station KOBR, an NBC affiliate, that she was made aware of the shooting by a phone call from an office colleague.
              "It was scary, it was freaky," Sigala told the station. "We just can't believe that it would happen here."
              Roswell, a city of 48,000 people in southeastern New Mexico, is best known for its association with UFO lore because of the 1947 crash at a nearby site of an object UFO proponents believe was an alien ship. The U.S. military says materials recovered near the site were from an experimental surveillance craft.
              (Additional reporting by Laila Kearney in San Francisco and Karen Brooks in Austin, Texas; Editing by Cynthia Johnston, Bernadette Baum and Cynthia Osterman)

              Cops Raid Justin Bieber's Home Over Egg-Throwing Charges, Cocaine Found..


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              Police raid Bieber's home on Tuesday (X17 Online)


              This week doesn't look like it'll be over easy for Justin Bieber.

              That's because deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department descended upon the "Baby" singer's Calabasas home Tuesday morning with a felony search warrant tied to egg-throwing accusations. Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore confirms eight people were detained, including Bieber, adding that everyone "has been very cooperative" and that the investigation was ongoing. At this time, Bieber has not been arrested or charged.

              One of his pals wasn't so lucky.
               Detectives discovered cocaine on Bieber associate Lil Za, who was staying at the house. Za, real name Xavier Smith, was arrested on site, cuffed, and taken to the Malibu/Lost Hills station for booking on felony drug-possesion counts. He remains held on $20,000 bail.
               
              Xavier Smith — aka: Lil Za — being taken into custody (Splash News)
              A rep for Bieber has not yet returned calls seeking comment.
              Bieber's neighbor alleged that during an incident last Thursday night, the singer egged the adjacent house while yelling profanities at the owner and his family, law enforcement officials told "The Insider." According to California law, vandalism charges hit the felony level when damages exceed $400. Bieber's neighbor has claimed the egging did $20,000-plus worth of damage to his abode.
              Eleven squad cars showed up to conduct the search at 8 a.m. Authorities were looking for any evidence connecting Bieber to the egg-tossing altercation, according to Lt. David Thompson. This includes everything from egg cartons to surveillance camera video, or any videotaped evidence of the evening that may exist on computers or other cameras. X17 aerial footage showed patrol cars, SUVs, and motorcycle officers swarmed outside the sprawling home. According to TMZ, Bieber was held in his garage while the search took place.
              The raid is the latest development in a year's worth of incidents between Bieber and his neighbors in this celeb-filled L.A. suburb. Calabasas, situated in the western part of San Fernando Valley, is known for its mega-million dollar homes, exclusivity, and relative privacy. Many celebs move there to get away from the spotlight and frenetic energy of Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, and other more central areas.
              The Kardashians live there, as does Michael Jackson's family. Tommy Lee, Gary Sinise, Ken Jeong, Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O'Connell, Brandy, and Kendra Wilkinson all have called the community home. Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey resided there while filming their MTV show "Newlyweds." According to Forbes, smaller homes in the ritzy Estate at the Oaks enclave — which sits behind two large guarded gates — start around $2 million. Larger homes in the Estate section go for as much as $12 million.
              Bieber reportedly bought his home in 2012 from Eddie Murphy's ex-wife, Nicole Murphy. His problems in the neighborhood first came to light in March 2013, when a verbal altercation took place between the "Boyfriend" singer and an unnamed resident. (It’s unclear if this is the same neighbor involved in the egg-throwing incident). The person in question accused Bieber of spitting on him during their argument.
              Then last May, several of Bieber's neighbors (most famously, former NFL player and current ESPN personality Keyshawn Johnson) called authorities complaining about Bieber and his posse's reckless driving habits. In June, the neighborhood home owner's association reportedly sent a letter around encouraging folks to call the police if they witnessed any questionable behavior from Bieber and his friends. In October, the Biebs caught a lucky break when the spitting and speeding charges were dropped due to a lack of evidence by the D.A.'s office.
              This article was originally published at 10 a.m. PT

              Murray warning as heat collapses hit Aussie Open..

              AFP                   
              Britain's Murray stretches to hit a shot during an exhibition match against Australia's Hewitt at the Kooyong Classic tennis tournament in Melbourne
              Melbourne (AFP) - Andy Murray warned organisers were risking a tragedy Tuesday as extreme temperatures caused players to faint and vomit in a day of extraordinary scenes at the Australian Open.
              The Scot, who safely progressed alongside Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, queried whether it was safe to play in temperatures which touched 42.2 Celsius (108 Fahrenheit).
              "Whether it's safe or not, I don't know. You've just got to be very careful these days," said the world number four after his first-round win against Japan's Go Soeda.
              "There's been some issues in other sports with, you know, players having heart attacks. I don't know exactly why that is. Or collapsing."
              On one of the hottest days the tournament has ever seen, untoward incidents littered the day and overshadowed the conclusion of round one at Melbourne Park.
              Federer, watched by new coach Stefan Edberg, was regal in his 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 win over Australia's James Duckworth, and Murray, who is returning from back surgery, overpowered Soeda 6-1, 6-1, 6-3.
              In the comparative cool of the evening session, Nadal was given easy passage when mercurial home hope Bernard Tomic retired with a thigh injury when one set down.
              "I felt really sorry for Bernard. I was in that situation a few years ago and I know how tough is to take that decision," said Nadal, who retired himself during the 2010 quarter-finals.
              "But if you feel bad, there is no reason why you have to continue. You're risking the next tournaments for nothing."
              In the women's draw, defending champion Victoria Azarenka beat Johanna Larsson and former world number one Caroline Wozniacki ousted Lourdes Dominguez Lino for the loss of just two games.
              Maria Sharapova, still using ice vests in temperatures over 30 Celsius after 11:00 pm, beat Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-3, 6-4.
              And it was the severe heat that dominated discussion, after Canada's Frank Dancevic felt dizzy and then blacked out during his loss to Benoit Paire.
              "I think it's inhumane, I don't think it's fair to anybody, to the players, to the fans, to the sport, when you see players pulling out of matches, passing out," he complained.
              "I've played five-set matches all my life and being out there for a set-and-a-half and passing out with heat-stroke, it's not normal."
              Meanwhile, a ball boy collapsed during Milos Raonic's win over Daniel Gimeno-Travers, and China's Peng Shuai cramped up and vomited before losing to Japan's Kumuri Nara.
              "I had no energy, I couldn't run, I couldn't serve," she said, blaming the heat for her defeat. "So it's impossible to play tennis like this."
              Officials said because humidity remained low, they chose not to invoke emergency rules which allow them to halt play and close the roofs on the centre and second court. Temperatures are set to remain above 40 Celsius for the next three days.
              "Of course there were a few players who experienced heat-related illness or discomfort, but none required significant medical intervention after they had completed their match," said chief medical officer Tim Wood.
              Japan's Kei Nishikori came through a thrilling five-setter with Marinko Matosevic, but Australian veteran Lleyton Hewitt was sent crashing despite going the distance with Italy's Andreas Seppi.
              Former finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga went through smoothly against Filippo Volandri and Juan Martin del Potro won in four sets against America's Rhyne Williams.
              Among the women, Polish fifth seed Agnieszka Radwanska progressed and America's Sloane Stephens, a semi-finalist last year, got off the mark in two sets against Kazakhstan's Yaroslava Shvedova.
              In the stifling conditions, Polona Hercog was one of a number of retirements. The Slovak won only one point and was on court for 10 minutes before she pulled out with a right shoulder problem.

              Health care signups: More older Americans so far..

              Associated Press
              This handout photo provided by the Brookings Institution, and taken on June 25, 2013, shows Health and Human Services Director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight Gary Cohen speaking at the Institution in Washington. Health insurance sign-ups under President Barack Obama’s law have skewed toward an older, costlier crowd. "We think that more and more young people are going to sign up as time goes by," said Cohen. (AP Photo/Brookings Institution, Paul Morigi)
              WASHINGTON (AP) — Younger people went for President Barack Obama at election time, but will they buy his health insurance?
              New government figures show it's an older, costlier crowd that's signing up so far for health insurance under Obama's health care law. Enrollments are lower for the healthy, younger Americans who will be needed to keep premiums from rising.
              Young adults from 18 to 34 are only 24 percent of total enrollment, the administration said Monday in its first signup figures broken down for age, gender and other details.
              With the HealthCare.gov website now working, the figures cover the more than 2 million Americans who had signed up for government-subsidized private insurance through the end of December in new federal and state markets.
              Enrolling young and healthy people is important because they generally pay more into the system than they take out, subsidizing older adults. While 24 percent is not a bad start, say independent experts, it should be closer to 40 percent to help keep premiums down.
              Adults ages 55-64 were the most heavily represented in the signups, accounting for 33 percent of the total. Overall, the premiums paid by people in that demographic don't fully cover their medical expenses. Some are in the waiting room for Medicare; that coverage starts at age 65.
              The administration and its allies remain confident they'll be able to get young adults interested. Many experts expected older, sicker people to be more heavily represented in the early numbers. Younger people might procrastinate, waiting until the March 31 enrollment deadline is near, weighing whether they want to risk tax penalties for remaining uninsured.
              "The dynamic of younger people is that they are going to get educated, they are going to get informed, and they are going to enroll as we get closer to that deadline," said Aaron Smith, founder of Young Invincibles, an advocacy group for young adults.
              Insurers, nonprofit groups and advocates are moving ahead with marketing campaigns that were put on hold when the federal website that serves 36 states was struggling.
              Administration officials said that in the coming weeks they plan to increase outreach to young people in 25 communities located in states served by the federal website. That effort includes a national youth enrollment day on Feb. 15 and targeted outreach by sororities and fraternities, as well as Voto Latino, which focuses on Hispanic youth.
              But even if the age mix remains tilted toward older adults, "it's nothing of the sort that would trigger instability in the system," said Larry Levitt, an insurance expert with the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. Premiums would go up next year for the overhaul, along with taxpayer costs per enrollee, but not enough to push the system into a "death spiral" in which rising premiums discourage healthy people from signing up.
              Still, he said, "it underscores a need to heighten outreach efforts to young people."
              Considering that the federal health care website was down most of the time in October, administration officials said they were pleased that the percentage of young adults was as high as it was.
              "We think that more and more young people are going to sign up as time goes by," said Gary Cohen, head of the Health and Human Services Department's office in charge of Obama's push to cover the uninsured.
              With Monday's numbers, a fuller picture has started to emerge of who's signing up.
              Some of the highlights:
              — The administration continues to play catch-up. Originally, officials hoped to sign up more than 3.3 million people through the end of 2013, nearly halfway to the goal of 7 million enrollments by the end of March. Instead, enrollment as of Dec. 31 was not quite 2.2 million.
              — Fifty-four percent of those who signed up were women, a slightly higher proportion of females than in the population.
              — Nearly four out of five who signed up got financial help with their premiums.
              — The most popular coverage option was a so-called silver plan, which covers about 70 percent of expected medical costs. Three out of five people picked silver. One in five picked a lower-cost bronze plan. Only 13 percent picked gold, which most closely compares to the typical employer plan. Another 7 percent went for top-tier platinum plans, and about 1 percent picked skimpy "catastrophic" plans available only to certain groups of people, including those under 30.
              — A few states accounted for a huge share of the enrollment. California alone had 23 percent of the signups. California, New York, Florida, Texas and North Carolina accounted for nearly half the total.
              Some questions remained unanswered. For example, the administration is unable to say how of many of those enrolling for coverage had been previously uninsured. Some might have been among the more than 4.7 million insured people whose previous policies were canceled because they didn't meet the law's standards.
              In Miami, 19-year-old college student Stacy Sylvain was one of the last-minute online signups as 2013 drew to a close. In about an hour, the part-time waitress signed up for a plan with a $158 monthly premium, with the feds kicking in $48. She has a $2,500 deductible. Sylvain said she had no trouble navigating the website.
              "Many people have a preconceived notion that young people are healthy and don't need to go to the doctor," said Sylvain, who suffered a minor injury when she fell and hit her head during an indoor soccer class in 2012. "Not having to worry about being uninsured and the what-ifs has made an incredible impact on my life."
              ___
              Associated Press White House Correspondent Julie Pace and AP writer Kelli Kennedy in Miami contributed to this report.

              JPMorgan 4Q profit falls 7 percent on legal costs...

              Associated Press
               
              In this photo provided by the Robin Hood Foundation, Jamie Dimon, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of JP Morgan Chase & Co., speaks at the inaugural Robin Hood Investors Conference in New York, Friday, Nov. 22, 2013. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reports quarterly financial results before the market opens on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014. (AP Photo/Robin Hood Foundation, Craig Warga)
              In this photo provided by the Robin Hood Foundation, Jamie Dimon, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of JP Morgan Chase & Co., speaks at the inaugural Robin Hood Investors Conference in New York, Friday, Nov. 22, 2013. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reports quarterly financial results before the market opens on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014. (AP Photo/Robin Hood Foundation, Craig Warga)
              The bank reported net income of $5.28 billion in the last three months of 2013, down from $5.69 billion in the same period a year earlier.
              On a per-share basis, JPMorgan said it earned $1.30 a share in the quarter, compared with $1.39 a share a year earlier. The bank's revenue fell 1 percent to $24.1 billion.
              The bank's quarterly results had several one-time items, including a 27-cent-per-share charge related to legal expenses. On an adjusted basis, the bank said it earned $1.40 per share.
              One of those legal expenses was the settlement over the bank's involvement in the Ponzi scheme of Bernard Madoff. The bank agreed Jan. 8 to pay $1.7 billion to settle criminal charges stemming from its failure to report its concerns about Madoff's private investment service.
              "It was in the best interests of our company and shareholders for us to accept responsibility, resolve these issues and move forward," JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said in a statement.
              Most of the bank's divisions reported year-over-year increases in profits, with the exception of JPMorgan's investment banking business. The bank reported a 57 percent decline in earnings from investment banking, as the bank readjusted the value of some of the bank's investments.
              JPMorgan's legal problems have weighed on the bank's earnings. The bank posted a third-quarter loss in October, its first quarterly loss in 10 years.
              JPMorgan shares rose 13 cents to $57.83 in premarket trading about an hour before the market opening.

              US 'superweeds' epidemic shines spotlight on GMOs..

              AFP
               
              The United States is facing an epidemic of herbicide-resistant "superweeds" that some activists and researchers are blaming on GMOs, an accusation rejected by industry giants                           
              New York (AFP) - The United States is facing an epidemic of herbicide-resistant "superweeds" that some activists and researchers are blaming on GMOs, an accusation rejected by industry giants.
                According to a recent study, the situation is such that American farmers are "heading for a crisis."
                Many scientists blame overuse of herbicides, prompted by seeds genetically modified to resist them.
                "In parts of the country, weeds resistant to the world's most popular herbicide, glyphosate, now grow in the vast majority of soybean, cotton, and corn fields," many of which were planted with seeds resistant to the weedkiller, said the study published in the journal Science in September.
                Earlier this month, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it was considering the release of new genetically-engineered seeds that are resistant to multiple herbicides.
                But "weeds that can shrug off multiple other herbicides are also on the rise," the study said.
                Nearly half (49 percent) of all US farmers said they had "glyphosate resistant weeds" on their farms in 2012, according to the most recent review from agri-business market research firm Stratus.
                That's up from 34 percent of farmers in 2011.
                Glyphosate is the name of the most frequently used herbicide in the United States and was created by agricultural biotechnology giant Monsanto in the 1970s.
                Today, the US company markets it as Roundup while, among other versions, competitor Dow Chemical sells a similar product under the name Durango.
                Monsanto also launched the first genetically modified seeds that tolerate glyphosate in 1996 and, in its earnings call this past week, mentioned the issue of weed resistance.
                Still, the industry refuses to accept any responsibility for the "superweed" phenomenon.
                "Herbicide-resistant weeds began well before GM crops," said a Monsanto spokeswoman.
                A USDA spokesman told AFP the phenomenon has "been going on for decades, and has happened subsequent to the development of herbicides."
                "It happens naturally with all herbicide modes of action. The plants select for resistance over time," he said.
                But Bill Freese of the Center for Food Safety, an anti-GMO non-profit, said "GE crops greatly speeded up" the issue.
                That's a view shared by researchers such as Charles Benbrook of the Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources at Washington State University.
                Heavier doses of herbicides were used on fields that now harbor glyphosate-resistant weed, he noted.
                A study published on the website of Pioneer, DuPont's GE seed unit, found that "glyphosate had been used for over 20 years prior to the introduction of glyphosate-resistant crops without any resistance issues."
                But eventually, resistant weeds developed -- "first in areas where glyphosate had been applied multiple times per season for many years," the study said.
                Vicious Circle
                The USDA, backed up by researchers, emphasizes that genetically modified organisms as such are not the source of "superweeds."
                Instead, they blame "weed management tactics chosen by farmers" who have in large numbers adopted genetically modified seeds alongside glyphosate marketed by Monsanto and its competitors.
                A spokesman for Dow Chemical said "the problem is that past herbicide-tolerant cropping systems led to overuse of glyphosate, because growers saw no other strategy offering them comparable value."
                Benbrook described a vicious cycle, saying "resistant weeds have become a major problem for many farmers reliant on genetically-engineered crops, and are now driving up the volume of herbicide needed each year by about 25 percent."
                "Many experts in the US are projecting that the approval of new multiple herbicide tolerant crops will lead to at least a 50 percent increase to the average application of herbicide," he added.
                Earlier this month, the USDA announced that, at the request of Dow Chemical, it would study allowing genetically engineered seeds on the market that can tolerate several herbicides at once -- including a controversial weed killer 2,4-D that several scientific studies have blamed for cancer and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS, sometimes called Lou Gehrig's disease.