'Facebook phone' likely to put social network at front of Android

Rosa Golijan , NBC News ? ? ? 1 hr.

"Come See Our New Home on Android," the invitation sent to members of the press on Thursday declared. Does this mean the long-rumored Facebook phone is about to become official? What is the social network's next move? And does it stand a chance?

Facebook is intending to introduce a modified version of Google's Android operating system, according to sourcing from TechCrunch's Josh Constine, the New York Times' Nick Bilton and Brian X. Chen, and the Wall Street Journal's Evelyn M. Rusli and Amir Efrati. This version of Android will put Facebook front and center and "will debut on a handset made by HTC, according to a Facebook employee and another person who were briefed on the announcement," Chen and Bilton explain.

"Imagine Facebook?s integration with iOS 6, but on steroids, and built by Facebook itself," Constine adds. "It could have a heavy reliance on Facebook?s native apps like Messenger, easy social sharing from anywhere on the phone, and more."

?It?s putting Facebook first,? a person familiar with the matter emphasized to Wall Street Journal reporters. But unlike competitors such as Amazon and Google, it is not putting Facebook itself into the hardware game.

"With Amazon, it's pretty clear," mobile industry consultant Chetan Sharma told NBC News. "They want to sell their content and services. They're building their own devices, which is different from what Facebook is doing."

However, the idea of a modified version of Android may be viewed as an act of hostility directed at Facebook's frenemy, Google.

"The reaction from Google will be interesting to see," Sharma pointed out. "There's obviously overlap ... It seems to Google that it's underpinning their Google+ efforts. Longer term, I don't see them letting it go and letting other people do their work."

But even if Google lets Facebook's plans fly, there are other issues to consider, Sharma says. "If it's just a phone that's going to be pushed by HTC, its chances are going to be limited," he explains. "[HTC] doesn't have the marketing powers." To truly stand a shot, Facebook needs to join hands with carriers.

Of course, some might wonder whether any carriers would be game. After all, Facebook's VoIP efforts and its baked-in Messenger service might conflict with carriers' business agendas, right?

Not necessarily so, says Sharma. "In certain markets [VoIP and Messenger] would be challenging," he elaborates. "In markets where unlimited voice and messaging is already bundled in ? in those scenarios operators have less resistance to the idea. They already make money on voice and messaging and they'll also make money on the data used by Facebook."

Initial whispers don't suggest that "Facebook Home," as the social network's device/software combo is expected to be named, is going to be pitched by any carriers, so we'll have to see how things fare with merely HTC. (Of course, that's assuming all these rumors and reports pan out.)

Things will be official on Thursday, April 4, and we'll be in Menlo Park, Calif., to report live.

Want more tech news or interesting links? You'll get plenty of both if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653377/s/2a2435f1/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Ctechnology0Ctechnolog0Cfacebook0Ephone0Elikely0Eput0Esocial0Enetwork0Efront0Eandroid0E1C9144291/story01.htm

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Carole E. and John Barrowman on the Art of Word Painting and ...

Following the author?s axiom ?Write what you know,? Carole E.? and John Barrowman can point to an ever-growing list of successful publications to prove their mastery of this concept. In a short few years, the Barrowman siblings have written best-selling non-fiction with the autobiographical Anything Goes (Michael O?Mara, 2008) and I Am What I Am (Michael O?Mara, 2009).

Then there?s the Torchwood fiction, beginning with a comic book story ?Selkie?, and possibly concluding with the novel Torchwood: Exodus Code (BBC Books, 2012). Now they are working on their third young adult novel in the popular Hollow Earth series, published by Michael O?Mara Books in the UK and Simon and Schuster, under its Aladdin imprint, in the US.

John Barrowman is an all-around entertainer. He has starred in numerous West End musicals, become a much-sought BBC presenter, developed and hosted Tonight?s the Night (a television series bearing the logo of his Barrowman Barker production company), given life to one of Doctor Who?s most memorable characters?Captain Jack Harkness?and brought him to international prominence via Torchwood, and currently plays Malcolm Merlyn in the CW?s Arrow. When it comes to theater, film, or television, John thoroughly understands what it takes to attract and please an audience.

Carole E. Barrowman often expresses her creativity through teaching. She is an English professor and Director of Creative Studies in Writing at Milwaukee?s Alverno College. True to her roots as an educator, Carole by nature is a researcher and writer. In addition to writing books, she reviews them in her crime fiction column in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and discusses her favorites once a month on television during WTJM4?s Morning Blend.

Perhaps the common denominator in their creativity is the ability to tell a good story. The Barrowmans excel in writing characters with special connections to others, whether that involves humans and otherworldly creatures or families sharing loss or laughter. Frequently their fiction takes readers and characters throughout space and time (a trick perhaps learned from the Doctor), but the stories always provide a strong link back ?home?, no matter how untraditional that home or family structure may be.

Whereas the pair generates story ideas together, Carole writes the chapters, then John provides feedback, and the story is further shaped through their collaboration. ?John and I do all the brainstorming together,? Carole elaborated, ?and I take the notes. I take about a 40-page outline away with me. I actually go back and do the physical writing involved.??

Do they ever disagree about a character or plot point? The siblings laughed. John said that everyone wants to hear stories about big blow-ups when ?we threw wine on each other,? but in truth, ?we haven?t disagreed. When Carole has written stuff and lets me read it, that?s when I?ll have comments, but I never have disagreed on anything.?

Carole quickly provided an example. ?At dinner the other night, we were sort of figuring out some final things that we want in the third book. We were thinking that this has been such a welcoming success in both books that we would like to think of more than just the trilogy. When we were thinking of how we might resolve some things in the third book, things that we really needed to talk about, John came up with a fabulous idea. We spent the rest of the dinner talking that through.

My challenge then, when I get that information, is to get the narrative to that point. That?s my part of the process, but if I get us there in a way that John and I didn?t really think about, he?s not going to care. If I alter a little bit of what an outcome will be, then he?ll just jump in and say ?if you try this? or ?let?s think about this.? We trust each other?s strengths in this collaboration, and I think that?s why it works so well.?

Inventing a World Far from Hollow

The Hollow Earth series follows the adventures of two Animare (people who can animate their drawings), Matt and Em Calder, almost-teenaged twins forced to flee London to their ancestral home on Auchinmurn Isle. There they learn more about the creatures hidden deep in Hollow Earth?and why others will want the twins to use their gift to free these mythic beings.

Whereas in the first novel, Hollow Earth sets up the mythology and outlines the dangers the twins face, the recently published The Bone Quill is a more tightly structured, faster paced story involving time travel?between the island?s present and medieval past?and providing truly scary moments. Although both books are enjoyable reads, the second novel, freed from much of the exposition necessary to the first book, soars and offers a more satisfying (and terrifying) adventure that further hooks readers into the third book. At the conclusion of a recent UK book-signing tour, I talked with the Barrowmans about their highly prolific and successful collaboration.

Early in their writing partnership, the duo produced autobiographical books focusing on John?s career in the entertainment industry. After such success with non-fiction, the shift to young adult fiction must have provided a very different kind of challenge. John admitted he found it more difficult to write children?s fiction than adult non-fiction. He and Carole agree that they will ?never talk down to young people.? Sometimes getting that blend of language just right so that adults will want to read the Hollow Earth series but younger readers can understand the terminology can be challenging.

?Carole and I wanted them to be books that adults would also read and not feel that they?re reading kids? books,? John explained, ?so it was a difficult thing for Carole to do because she had to appeal to the younger audience of the piece and the momentum and yet she had to write it in the sense that she wasn?t dumbing down [the plot] and it was also going to be interesting for adults.?

Carole added that, in The Bone Quill, ?the concepts of the Middle Ages, in particular, might not be familiar to everybody. I think we made a few conscious choices about things, like all the illuminated manuscript stuff. We tried to be accurate historically,? especially because the authors ?hoped teachers might use the book.?

John told the story of one little girl who approached the Barrowmans during a recent signing. She ?came up to us and said, ?I have a couple of questions.? She rattled off her questions, which were really good questions, but then she said, ?I don?t understand that when the monk was killed, why did you put coins on his eyes?? We like things like that, [young readers] asking those kinds of questions.

So Carole whispered in her ear, like secret stuff. In that period of time that?s what they did to pass into the afterlife. The girl read it, she thought it was kind of a weird thing, something that she didn?t get, but she was going to ask a question later, so she did. Therefore, she learned something.?

Beyond the word choice and historic accuracy, establishing an appropriate reading pace for a younger audience was another early challenge with fiction. Carole recalled that ?John and I had this idea that we wanted to have the house in Hollow Earth with the Kitten sisters as the landlords. When I was writing the draft, I wrote two pages of this wonderful backstory for the Kitten sisters, and our editor said ?Cut it. It?s lovely, but cut it.? You just can?t have that kind of excess [in a young adult novel], even though an adult might love to wander in the backstory of those characters.? John promptly summarized:? ?Kids get bored.?

Perhaps more surprising as they drafted the adventures of Matt and Em Calder is the editor?s and publishers? request: ?We want it scarier.? The Barrowmans ably complied, especially in The Bone Quill, which benefits from intriguing cliffhangers that tantalizingly dangle readers between the island?s pivotal point in history (when the creatures of Hollow Earth could be released) and the dangers of the present, as the twins struggle with their increasing powers as Animare and the disappearance of their mother. Along the way are some literally death-defying situations as characters leap between the past and the present, never knowing exactly what they will find when they land. The tag line for the first novel proclaims ?Imagination can be a dangerous thing,? and the authors deliver on this promise.

Using their imaginations is what the Barrowmans do best, and the characters often have talents beyond those of their creators. Art provides a way for the authors to interest readers into learning more about famous painters and their works, as well as serving as a clever plot device to allow characters to enter another time or place. However, John exclaimed, ?We can?t even draw!?

Appreciating art, even if they cannot paint or draw, is a gift they share with readers. Carole likes to integrate information about paintings, such as Seurat?s ?Bathers at Asni?res? into their novels. ?When John was doing Phantom of the Opera, and I was just over [from the US to London] for a visit, he would finish the matinee and, before he would start the evening performance, just around the corner, we would meet up at the National Gallery. I always was attracted to that painting, so we would meet in front of it.

When I left after a couple of weeks, John bought me a limited print of just the section of the boy in the red hat from the painting. What?s really funny is that my son Turner grew up with that painting, and he always assumed it was him. He thought he was the boy in the red hat. So when we knew that we wanted to have a big opening and establish the powers of Matt and Em right away, we just immediately said together it has to be that Seurat painting.?

Part of the appeal of writing is that it lets them explore the world from another perspective. ?As different people,? John said. ?As superheroes,? Carole added. ?I always think if I?m going to have an imaginary or fantasy life, I want to be a lot younger than I am right now,? she joked. More seriously, Carole ?gets a lot of pleasure just sitting and doing the writing about the characters in my head,? but ?from a teacher?s perspective, there really is something quite thrilling about standing in front of an audience of young children, eight-, nine-, ten-year-olds, and having them read along with us.?

The Barrowmans design their stories to be highly visual; each novel could be turned into a script, and, in fact, they have plans to produce a Hollow Earth children?s television series. Early on, John knew exactly how their stories should be told. ?The main point when we started was that you have to write this like a movie or a TV show so that we can lift it right from the book and put it on the screen, so that people will be reading it and visually picturing it on the screen.? If all goes according to plan, the Calder twins may be animating themselves onto television in the near future.

Source: http://www.popmatters.com/pm/column/169885-the-art-of-word-painting-and-visual-storytelling/

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U.S. B-2 bombers sent to Korea on rare mission: diplomacy not destruction

By Warren Strobel

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The stealthy, nuclear-capable U.S. B-2 bomber is a veteran of wars in Iraq and Libya, but it isn't usually a tool of Washington's statecraft.

Yet on Thursday, the United States sent a pair of the bat-winged planes on a first-of-its-kind practice run over the skies of South Korea, conducting what U.S. officials say was a diplomatic sortie.

The aim, the officials said, was two-fold: to reassure U.S. allies South Korea and Japan in the face of a string of threats from North Korea, and to nudge Pyongyang back to nuclear talks.

But whether North Korea's young new leader, Kim Jong-un, interprets the message the way the White House hopes is anybody's guess. His first reaction, according to North Korean state media, was to order his country's missiles ready to strike the United States and South Korea.

A senior U.S. official said Kim's late father, Kim Jong-il, was at least more predictable: He would issue threats that got the world's attention without provoking open conflict, and then use them as leverage in subsequent diplomatic negotiations.

This time, U.S. intelligence analysts are divided over whether Kim Jong-un is pursuing the same strategy. "It's a little bit of an 'all bets are off' kind of moment," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity,.

The official said the idea for the practice bombing run, part of annual U.S.-South Korean military exercises named Foal Eagle, emerged from government-wide discussions over how to signal to Seoul and Tokyo that Washington would back them in a crisis.

It is less clear whether Washington informed China, North Korea's neighbor and only major ally, in advance.

The plan was approved by the White House and coordinated with South Korea and Japan, the official said.

REASSURING ALLIES

While the 20-year-old B-2 often flies for long durations - 44 hours is the record - Thursday's flight of approximately 37-1/2 hours was the plane's first non-stop mission to the Korean peninsula and back from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, Air Force officials said.

With Pyongyang threatening missile strikes on the U.S. mainland, as well as U.S. bases in Hawaii and Guam, the flight seemed designed to demonstrate how easy it would be for the United States to strike back at North Korea.

It is far from clear that Pyongyang, which has had mixed success in its missile tests, can make good on its own threats.

"This is useful reminder to the South Koreans that the U.S. nuclear arm can reach out and touch North Korea from anywhere. We don't need to be sitting there at Osan Air Base," south of Seoul, said Ralph Cossa, president of the Hawaii-based Pacific Forum CSIS think tank.

"This also reminds the Chinese that North Korean actions have consequences. It tells them that the U.S. is taking North Korean threats seriously but we're not panicking," he added.

The senior U.S. official said that once the Foal Eagle exercises are concluded, the Obama administration hopes to pivot to a diplomatic approach to North Korea, and hopes Pyongyang will reciprocate.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to travel to East Asia in about two weeks, the first of a parade of senior Washington officials headed toward the region.

45-MINUTE NAPS

Thursday's drill was a rare moment in the limelight for the B-2 "Spirit" bomber, which began life with a slew of cost and development troubles for manufacturer Northrop Grumman Corp but has become a mainstay of U.S. nuclear deterrence.

Long-duration missions, in which the bomber is refueled in midair, are "a challenge on your body and mind, staying sharp," said an Air Force captain and B-2 pilot. Under the service's security rules, the pilot could only be identified by his radio call sign, "Flash."

The captain, who did not participate in Thursday's practice mission over South Korea, said flight doctors have devised special regimens to keep the plane's two-man crew sharp.

They include 45-minute naps, on a cot in the back of the plane, that end a half hour before "critical events" such as in-air refueling or dropping ordnance, he said.

All 20 of the United States' B-2 bombers are based at Whiteman, and they saw combat during the U.S. invasion of Iraq and the NATO mission that led to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's overthrow.

In the 1980s, the Pentagon had planned to buy 132 of the bombers, whose main mission was to penetrate the Soviet Union's airspace undetected. The program was drastically cut back after the Berlin Wall collapsed in 1989.

So elite is the B-2 pilot corps that more people have been in outer space than have flown the aircraft, "Flash" said.

(Reporting by Warren Strobel; Additional reporting by Phil Stewart and Paul Eckert; Editing by Tiffany Wu and Eric Beech)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-b-2-bombers-sent-korea-rare-mission-044010739.html

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Charity crackdown coming? ? Business Management Daily: Free ...

According to a new report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), the IRS needs to get tougher on certain charitable donations. (TIGTA Ref. No. 2013-40-009, 12/20/12)

TIGTA estimates that more than half of the tax??payers who claim large deductions for noncash charitable gifts may not be complying with IRS reporting requirements. As a result, it is urging the IRS to increase efforts to substantiate such claims. Read the full report here.

Like what you've read? ...Republish it and share great business tips!

Attention: Readers, Publishers, Editors, Bloggers, Media, Webmasters and more...

We believe great content should be read and passed around. After all, knowledge IS power. And good business can become great with the right information at their fingertips. If you'd like to share any of the insightful articles on BusinessManagementDaily.com, you may republish or syndicate it without charge.

The only thing we ask is that you keep the article exactly as it was written and formatted. You also need to include an attribution statement and link to the article.

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Office-As-A-Service RocketSpace Doubles Real Estate To Accomodate Bigger Startups

Startups around the world are desperate for office space in the San Francisco Bay Area, so tomorrow RocketSpace will announce the lease of a new 50,000 sq ft office so it can house startups with up to 60 employees instead of capping them at 30. Along with this RocketSpace Suites project, the "office-as-a-service" plans to lock down another 100,000 sq ft spot and open a space in London this year.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Tfc2k1Zk_W4/

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Dufnering: A sleepy pose makes Dufner

HUMBLE, Texas (AP) ? Jason Dufner was sitting in a classroom with children for a charity event when he leaned against a wall and zoned out for a minute.

That's all it took for one photo that went viral and made Dufner a Twitter sensation.

Dufner, dressed in a red golf shirt, is shown slouched against the wall at J. Erik Jonsson Community School in Dallas, next to two children who are listening intently to the teacher. His legs are erect, his arms stiff at his side, and he has a vacant look on his face. Dufner is known for showing little emotion, even with a major championship at stake. He looks even more lifeless in this photo.

"Just caught me at a perfect time," Dufner said Friday from Auburn, Ala. "The funny thing about it is the photo taken represents how I act all the time. It was a sheer moment of 'Jason Dufner' by whoever captured the moment for the 30 seconds I checked out."

That would be Christine Lee of KXAS-TV, a video journalist for the NBC affiliate in Dallas who was covering Dufner's appearance at the school.

Dufner won the Byron Nelson Championship last year. The Salesmanship Club of Dallas, which runs the tournament, directs some of its charitable proceeds to the school for disadvantaged children. To drum up publicity as the defending champion, Dufner made an appearance at the school Thursday.

He never imagined where it would lead.

Lee took a photo of Dufner in that perfect moment and gave it to sports anchor David Watkins, who posted it to Twitter.

Among those who saw it was Keegan Bradley, who beat Dufner in a playoff for the 2011 PGA Championship and has been engaged in friendly banter over the last month. And it took off from there.

Dufner's name became a verb. It's call "dufnering."

Luke Donald tweeted a photo of a pillow under his shirt as he slouched against the wall in his home. Rory McIlroy was dufnering in his hotel room, and he couldn't stop talking about it Friday at the Houston Open. At one point in his round, he walked behind the 13th green, saw a reporter and said, "Did you see the Dufner photo? How good is that? That's the greatest thing I've ever seen!"

Bubba Watson was dufnering against his General Lee 01 car. Dufner even got in on the act Friday, dufnering in the weight room at Auburn.

Those who think it's an example of a professional golfer who couldn't be bothered spending time in a classroom with children were missing the point. Dufner always looks that way. Even in the PGA playoff at Atlanta Athletic Club, he didn't appear to have a pulse.

In an era when players don't always return to the cities where they won, Dufner participated in two media days in one week. He was in New Orleans on Wednesday (the Zurich Open was his first PGA Tour win), and then headed to Dallas for the classroom.

The subject?

"They were talking about focusing and relaxation," Dufner said, a master at the latter. "They have some big test coming up for the class on ways to relax and concentrate. And I guess I took it to another level."

After all the Twitter photos of people "dufnering," the man himself finally replied.

"What can I say, I was tired, my back hurt from sitting on the floor, and we were talking about relaxation and focusing. (hash)dufnering" he tweeted.

By then, it was all the rage.

Dufner thought nothing of the charity event until he arrived at the airport and noticed the photo had been posted on Deadspin. Bradley took over from there.

"Every time I looked at it, I laughed harder than the first time," Bradley said from the Houston Open. "Dufner is so funny with some of the things he does. That's him."

Bradley said he has never seen his Twitter account fill up with thousands of pictures and responses, and he was stunned to wake up Friday morning to see that "dufnering" was trending on Twitter, especially during the NCAA basketball tournament and American idol.

When he arrived at Redstone on Friday morning, he got together with Dustin Johnson and Brandt Snedeker for a "dufnering" pose by the putting green.

"I saw a basketball player doing it in the locker room," Snedeker said. "I never knew Dufner had such a wide range of appeal. His personality is not a welcoming personality. But once you get to know him, he's actually one of the funniest guys you'll ever meet. He just doesn't give you anything on the golf course."

Snedeker's impression of the photo?

"It looks like someone put him in timeout," he said.

Dufner, however, figures he's getting the last laugh. Hardly anyone knew who he was two years ago. Then, he lost a four-shot lead with three holes to play in the PGA Championship and wound up losing to Bradley in a playoff. He handled the loss with dignity and ? as always ? no emotion. A year later, he won in New Orleans and Dallas in the span of a month, and played on his first Ryder Cup team, winning three of four matches.

"I think Keegan tried to use it against me but it blew up in his face with all the publicity," Dufner said with a chuckle.

So what's next? Dufnering at Augusta National during the Masters?

"Oh, for sure," McIlroy said. "I would 'Dufner' on the lawn. No. On the tree out back by the clubhouse."

About the only person not caught up in all the hype is Dufner's wife, Amanda.

"She gets to see me 'dufnering' the most," Dufner said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dufnering-sleepy-pose-makes-dufner-210801833--golf.html

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Sprint Epic 4G Touch will receive Android Jelly Bean update today (update)

Sprint's Galaxy S 4 recently took one step towards being ready for mass consumption, however the carrier hasn't forgotten the device's forefathers. We've received a memo from an anonymous tipster advising that the Epic 4G Touch is set to make the jump to Jelly Bean (Android 4.1, to be exact) starting sometime today. The new software bump will come directly from Samsung and will require a visit to an external website that has yet to go live. The memo also notes that in order to perform the update, you'll need access to a rig with Windows 7, Vista or XP -- in other words, OS X and Windows 8 users will have to visit a Sprint store to get their fix. For those fortunate enough to gain access in the coming hours, let us know how it's treating you in comments below.

Update: Waiting for official confirmation? Then just check Sprint's official log of updates for the Epic 4G Touch on its website, which now lists the GB27 version. It's scheduled to start today, and to answer the question of why it's only going out via PC download and not OTA, the log cites the (unspecified) size of the update.

[Thanks, anonymous]

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Sprint

Comments

Source: Sprint

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/28/sprint-epic-4g-touch-jelly-bean-update/

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Prosecutors not ready to agree to Holmes plea

FILE - In this March 12, 2013 file photo, James Holmes, left, and defense attorney Tamara Brady appear in district court in Centennial, Colo. for his arraignment. Prosecutors say they are not are ready to accept an offer from Colorado theater shooting suspect James Holmes to plead guilty in exchange for avoiding the death penalty. In a court filing Thursday, March 28, 2013 prosecutors criticized defense attorneys for publicizing Holmes' offer to plead guilty. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, RJ Sangosti, Pool, File)

FILE - In this March 12, 2013 file photo, James Holmes, left, and defense attorney Tamara Brady appear in district court in Centennial, Colo. for his arraignment. Prosecutors say they are not are ready to accept an offer from Colorado theater shooting suspect James Holmes to plead guilty in exchange for avoiding the death penalty. In a court filing Thursday, March 28, 2013 prosecutors criticized defense attorneys for publicizing Holmes' offer to plead guilty. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, RJ Sangosti, Pool, File)

DENVER (AP) ? Prosecutors said Thursday they are not ready to accept an offer from Colorado theater shooting suspect James Holmes to plead guilty in exchange for avoiding the death penalty.

In a court filing, prosecutors criticized defense attorneys for publicizing Holmes' offer to plead guilty, calling it a ploy meant to draw the public and the judge into what should be private plea negotiations.

They say the defense has "steadfastly and repeatedly" refused to provide key details they need to consider a plea.

No agreement exists, and one "is extremely unlikely based on the present information available to the prosecution."

Legal experts say the case pivots on whether Holmes was legally insane when he opened fire in a packed theater in Aurora, killing 12 people.

Holmes' attorneys disclosed in a court filing Wednesday that their client has offered to plead guilty to killing 12 people at a midnight screening of the latest Batman movie, but only if he wouldn't be executed.

Prosecutors say defense attorneys are trying to pull the judge into a possible plea agreement, and criticized comments to the media, including The Associated Press, from Doug Wilson, who heads the state public defenders' office.

Wilson didn't immediately return a call Thursday.

George Brauchler, the current Arapahoe County DA, is scheduled to announce Monday whether he will seek the death penalty for Holmes. Brauchler hasn't publicly revealed his plans. He has refused repeatedly to comment on the case, citing the gag order and his spokesman didn't immediately return a call Thursday evening.

Pierce O'Farrill, who was shot three times, said he would welcome an agreement that would imprison Holmes for life. The years of court struggles ahead would likely be an emotional ordeal for victims, he said.

"I don't see his death bringing me peace," O'Farrill said. "To me, my prayer for him was that he would spend the rest of his life in prison and hopefully, in all those years he has left, he could find God and ask for forgiveness himself."

A plea bargain would bring finality to the case fairly early so victims and their families can avoid the prolonged trauma of not knowing what will happen, said Dan Recht, a past president of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar.

"The defense, by making this public pleading, is reaching out to the victims' families," he said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-28-Colorado%20Shooting/id-b0287a132d224de5a1cf3ce04c601e75

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Architectural Mailboxes are on Houzz.com | Architectural Mailboxes ...

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.architecturalmailboxes.com/blog/2013/03/architectural-mailboxes-are-on-houzz-com/

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You'll now have to wait until at least June to not buy the HP Slate 7

Look the HP Slate 7 Android tablet didn't exactly bowl us over when it got a look at it at Mobile World Congress in February in Spain. OK, the industrial design was actually pretty good -- along the lines of a nicely done Nexus 7-type tablet -- but the internals and display should have been enough to make even a first-timer think twice. The $169 tablet was supposed to go on sale sometime in April, but HP's microsite apparently has pushed that launch to June. 

The Slate 7 ain't getting any younger, folks. While there's a place for budget tablets, an extra $30 would get you a base Nexus 7. There's no contest there. And considering that we're very likely going to see an updated 7-incher (or thereabouts) at Google I/O in May, the prospect of an even older Slate 7 just isn't tempting at all.

Source: HP; via Engadget
More: See our hands-on with the HP Slate 7

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/uXTJ_YI-fC4/story01.htm

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TIBCO assigns LaunchSquad corporate PR duties - PRWeek US

PALO ALTO, CA: Enterprise software company TIBCO has hired LaunchSquad as its corporate PR AOR in North America.

LaunchSquad began working with TIBCO in 2011 on another assignment: raising the profile of ?Tibbr,? an enterprise social networking tool, rivaling Yammer.

TIBCO did not issue an RFP or formal pitch process for the business.

The company did not say whether there was an incumbent on the business. It is no longer working with Horn, which it hired in March 2011 as its ...

Source: http://www.prweekus.com/tibco-assigns-launchsquad-corporate-pr-duties/article/286553/

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The Vitamin As Good As A Drug To Fight Diabetes : Easy Health ...

Carl Lowe | Mar 28, 2013 | Comments 0

In trying to control blood sugar in kids who are very overweight and in danger of diabetes, researchers have discovered a vitamin that produces blood sugar benefits ?nearly as powerful as what we have seen using a prescription drug.?

The vitamin that controls blood sugar and helps insulin levels is vitamin D.

?By increasing vitamin D intake alone, we got a response that was nearly as powerful as what we have seen using a prescription drug,? says researcher Catherine Peterson, an associate professor of nutrition and exercise physiology at the University of Missouri. ?We saw a decrease in insulin levels, which means better glucose control, despite no changes in body weight, dietary intake or physical activity.?

Peterson adds:??The vitamin D dosage we gave to the obese adolescents in our study is not something I would recommend for everyone. For clinicians, the main message from this research is to check the vitamin D status of their obese patients, because they?re likely to have insufficient amounts. Adding vitamin D supplements to their diets may be an effective addition to treating obesity and its associated insulin resistance.?

The researchers gave the children in the study 4,000 International Units of vitamin D3 daily during the six-month study.

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Filed Under: Alternative Medicine ? Diabetes and Metabolic ? Diabetes Concerns ? Easy Health Options News

Source: http://easyhealthoptions.com/alternative-medicine/the-vitamin-as-good-as-a-drug-to-fight-diabetes/

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Google Launches Maps Engine Lite, Makes It Easy To Create Advanced Custom Maps

For years now, Google has offered its Google Maps Engine to enterprises that want to visualize their custom geospacial data. Starting today, anybody will be able to use a subset of this functionality, thanks to the launch of Google Maps Engine Lite?(beta). This new tool, Google says, will allow any mapping enthusiast?to “create and share robust custom maps using this powerful, easy-to-use tool.” Maps Engine Lite allows users to upload small spreadsheets with locations and visualize them on a map. They can also compare up to three different data sets for, the company stresses, non-businesses purposes. These custom maps can have multiple layers, and users who don’t have spreadsheets to upload can also manually draw lines, mark specific areas and set place markers. Google offers a total of nine base maps, including its usual satellite and terrain maps, as well as styles that emphasize city boundaries, political boundaries and highways. Maps Engine Lite also offers about 150 different icons that can be used to mark specific places. To help new users get started, Google also published a tutorial that offers a few sample data sets and a step-by-step guide to publishing a custom map. Google says it will still offer My Maps, its earlier custom mapping tool, for the time being and My Maps users can import their maps into the new Maps Engine Lite. Over time, however, Google product manager Beth Liebert writes in today’s announcement, My Maps will be “incorporated into Google Maps Engine Lite.” For now, Google is officially labeling Maps Engine Lite as a beta, and it’ll only be available in English for the time being.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/75QNsA-JXEs/

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RIM sells a million new BlackBerry 10 phones in 4Q

TORONTO (AP) ? Research In Motion says it sold about 1 million of its critically important new BlackBerry 10 devices and returned to profitability in the fourth quarter.

The earnings provide a first glimpse of how RIM's new touch-screen Z10 is selling internationally and in Canada since its debut Jan. 31. Details on the U.S. launch are not part of Thursday's financial results because the Z10 just went on sale in the U.S. last week.

In the quarter that ended March 2, Research In Motion Ltd. earned $98 million, or 19 cents a share, compared with a loss of $125 million, or 24 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 36 percent to $2.7 billion, from $4.2 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected $2.82 billion.

The company also announced that co-founder Mike Lazaridis will retire as vice chairman and director.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-03-28-CN-Earns-Research-In-Motion/id-32edc544bab24a429f7a0b7412206e1d

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First lady: Priority is ensuring 'family is whole'

This cover image released by Vogue shows first lady Michelle Obama on the cover of the April 2013 issue of Vogue. The issue is available on newsstands on March 26. (AP Photo/Vogue, nnie Leibovitz)

This cover image released by Vogue shows first lady Michelle Obama on the cover of the April 2013 issue of Vogue. The issue is available on newsstands on March 26. (AP Photo/Vogue, nnie Leibovitz)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Michelle Obama is pushing back against the notion that she and President Barack Obama don't socialize enough in Washington.

The first lady says in an interview in the April issue of Vogue magazine that she and the president were straightforward when they said ? before moving from Chicago to Washington in 2009 ? that their family, including two young daughters, would be their priority.

She said "the stresses and the pressures" of the White House are so real that they prefer to spend free time with their daughters, now 14 and 11.

"Our job is, first and foremost, to make sure our family is whole. You know, we have small kids; they're growing every day. But I think we were both pretty straightforward when we said, 'Our No. 1 priority is making sure that our family is whole,'" Mrs. Obama said in the interview, a copy of which was provided to The Associated Press before the magazine hits newsstands on March 26.

She noted that most of the couple's friends are parents, too, and that when she and the president go on vacation, usually with longtime friends or relatives, they are surrounded by children.

"The stresses and the pressures of this job are so real that when you get a minute, you want to give that extra energy to your 14- and 11-year-old," the first lady said.

The interview, conducted in January shortly after Obama began his second term, was released in the midst of his attempts to do more of what critics say he hasn't done enough of: reaching out to lawmakers, particularly Republicans, he needs to get his agenda through Congress. The list of action items includes legislation to limit access to firearms, overhaul the immigration system and make progress toward deficit reduction, among other issues.

Obama recently had dinner with a group of Republican senators at a hotel near the White House. He followed up by having lunch at the White House with the House Budget Committee chairman, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and the panel's top Democrat, Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland.

The president also has been making multiple trips to Capitol Hill this week to meet with the individual party caucuses in both chambers.

He joked in the Vogue interview that he and the first lady might start hitting the town, now that their daughters are older and have less time for them.

"As I joked at a press conference, now that they want less time with us, who knows? Maybe you'll see us out in the clubs," Obama said.

Mrs. Obama added that "90 percent" of what she and the president talk about has to do with the girls: what they're up to, who has practice, which one of their friends is having a birthday party and did they get that person a gift ? conversation she described as "endless" and "pretty exhausting."

She suggested that neither one of them wants to miss any of it. Obama grew up without his father and has talked publicly about his desire to be there for his kids.

"He's doing it while still dealing with Syria and health care. He's as up on every friend, every party, every relationship," the first lady said. "And if you're out to dinner every night, you miss those moments where you can check-in and just figure them out when they're ready to share with you."

___

Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-14-Michelle%20Obama/id-f65d21e2fa0449d1950d34937035ab08

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Radio Casting for business owners seeking advice ...

City: New York City

State: National

Are you a business owner who is seeking legal advice? Do you have an idea for a business you are looking to get off the ground? Our expert business lawyer can help you with all of your problems!!! We are looking for callers for a popular radio show who need advice for their business! Coco Soodek is a business lawyer and wants to help you! You can look on her website at profitandlaws.com and please apply if you are interested. We look forward to hearing from you!!!!

Source: http://www.realitywanted.com/call/24002-radio-casting-for-business-owners-seeking-advice

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Barcelona's third goal against Ac Milan | Morocco World News

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Source: http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2013/03/82063/barcelonas-third-goal-against-ac-milan/

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4 teens killed in Illinois crash, adding to deadly toll

NBC Chicago

Emergency personnel at the scene where a car crashed into a creek in Illinois, killing four teens.

By Tracy Connor, Staff Writer, NBC News

Four Chicago-area teens were killed when their car plunged into a rain-swollen creek early Tuesday -- the latest in a string of horrific traffic accidents involving young people.

The toll -- 15 dead in three major accidents since Sunday -- underscores how dangerous driving can be for teenagers. Crash injuries are the leading cause of death for people ages 13-19, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, even though deadly crashes have been on the decline for decades.

The Illinois victims -- two boys and two girls, ages 15 to 17 -- left their homes Monday evening and never returned, NBCChicago.com reported. Their bodies were found in an overturned car in Forked Creek near Wilmington, about an hour from Chicago, about 7:30 a.m.

Will County Sheriff's spokesman Ken Kaupas said it appears the accident was weather-related.

"There may have been water coming over the roadway just before the bridge," he said. "We've had a tremendous amount of runoff and melting as everyone in the area has experienced, and that may have contributed to this horrific crash."

The grim discovery came amid word of another devastating wreck in Texas that left five teenagers dead over the weekend.

Three boys and two girls, who were sisters, were killed when their Chevy SUV ran a stop sign and collided with a fuel tanker on Sunday afternoon in Dumas, about 45 miles north of Amarillo.

The truck driver, identified by The Associated Press as Ezequiel Garcia, was burned over much of his body and was in critical condition.

That same day, six Ohio teens were killed when an SUV sped off a stretch of road known as dead man's curve and flipped into a pond.

The State Highway Patrol revealed Tuesday that the driver, Alexis Cayson, 19, did not have a valid license. The owner of the vehicle says it was stolen and it's not clear how the teens ended up in it.

Cayson was killed, along with five boys ages 14 to 19. Two boys survived by smashing a rear window and swimming to safety. One of them told police the driver may have been going 80 mph as she rounded a bend in the two-lane road in Warren, about 60 miles from Cleveland.

?The car had jerked out of control,? another survivor, Brian Henry, 18, told Youngstown TV station WYTV.??I don?t know if she did it on purpose, or how fast she was going.?

Teen deaths from car crashes are on the decline in the United States, dropping from 8,748 in 1975 to 3,115 in 2010, according to the insurance institute, but the risk of being in an accident is three times higher for teens than older drivers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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This story was originally published on Tue Mar 12, 2013 12:25 PM EDT

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/12/17284069-chicago-area-crash-kills-four-teens-after-deadly-accidents-in-ohio-and-texas?lite

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Dominican Republic rallies past Italy 5-4 in WBC

Dominican Republic's Jose Reyes (7) is congratulated by teammate Hanley Ramirez after hitting a solo home run against Italy in the third inning of the World Baseball Classic game as Italy catcher Drew Butera, left, looks on in Miami, Tuesday, March 12, 2013. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

Dominican Republic's Jose Reyes (7) is congratulated by teammate Hanley Ramirez after hitting a solo home run against Italy in the third inning of the World Baseball Classic game as Italy catcher Drew Butera, left, looks on in Miami, Tuesday, March 12, 2013. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

Italy's Chris Colabello (25) is congratulated at home plate by teammates Anthony Rizzo (44) and Chris Denorfia (11) after Colabello hit a three-run home run against the Dominican Republic in the first inning of the World Baseball Classic game in Miami, Tuesday, March 12, 2013. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

Italy's Tiago Da Silva pitches against the Dominican Republic in the first inning of a World Baseball Classic game in Miami, Tuesday, March 12, 2013. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

MIAMI (AP) ? Nelson Cruz's two-out RBI single broke a seventh-inning tie, and the Dominican Republic overcame an early four-run deficit to beat Italy 5-4 Tuesday in the World Baseball Classic.

The Dominicans (4-0) remained unbeaten and advanced to a winner's-bracket game Thursday night in the double-elimination second round.

Robinson Cano had three hits, including his second homer of the WBC with a drive off the upper-deck facade in right field. Jose Reyes also homered for the Dominican Republic.

Chris Colabello hit a three-run homer, his second, to give Italy a 4-0 lead in the first inning.

The Dominicans trailed 4-2 in the seventh, when they loaded the bases with one out on consecutive singles by Reyes, Erick Aybar and Cano off Pat Venditte (0-1).

Edwin Encarnacion walked to force in a run, and Hanley Ramirez tied the game with a sacrifice fly. Cruz followed with a broken-bat, two-out single to give the Dominicans their first lead.

Cruz has six RBIs in four WBC games.

The crowd of 14,482 was festive for the opening game in Miami, with horn-honking and chanting by Dominican fans who created a steady din. The retractable roof, closed for all but eight Marlins games last year, was open on an 80-degree afternoon.

Pedro Strop (2-0) threw a scoreless seventh. Fernando Rodney, who has yet to allow a hit in four appearances, pitched a hitless ninth for his third save.

Five relievers limited Italy to one hit and no runs over the final 4 2-3 innings.

Early wildness plagued Dominican starter Edinson Volquez, who threw only one of his first 13 pitches for a strike as he walked the bases loaded. Alex Liddi's sacrifice fly made it 1-0, and Colabello followed with a homer.

Volquez allowed four runs in 4 1-3 innings.

Tiago Da Silva went 5 1-3 innings for Italy and allowed two runs, both on homers. The Italians play in a losers'-bracket game Wednesday.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-03-12-BBI-WBC-Italy-Dominican-Republic/id-26653694579a423192d8feab726e75b3

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Taylor Swift visits, cheers young cancer patient

Omaha World-Tribune

Taylor Swift visting with 10-year-old cancer patient Lauren Hacker.

By Alexis L. Loinaz, E! Online

Taylor Swift is never too busy to meet with the fans who need her the most.?This past weekend, the "Red" ?singer stopped by a hospital in Omaha, Neb., to visit a young cancer patient who scored some plum one-on-one time with the Grammy winner.

According to the Omaha World-Herald, Swift met with 10-year-old Lauren Hacker early Saturday afternoon at Omaha's Children's Hospital & Medical Center.

Taylor Swift commands the stage while rehearsing for "Red" tour -- see the pics

In the photo, Swift can be seeing hugging the beaming fifth grader, who suffers from acute myelocytic leukemia, as they posed next to a keyboard.

The get-together was reportedly set up after Lauren's loved ones created a YouTube video message to Swift titled "Come See Lauren Please, Taylor!" in which the singer's hit "You Belong With Me" was tweaked into a musical message asking the singer to visit her ailing fan.

Lauren's parents then managed to set up a meeting after reaching out to the 23-year-old singer's camp. The young fan's father, Phil Hacker, later chronicled the encounter on Lauren's Caring Bridge blog.

Celebrity salaries revealed: Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Honey Boo Boo make how much?!

"Taylor Swift stopped by Lauren's room at the hospital around 1 p.m. in the afternoon," he wrote. She spent about an hour chatting with Lauren...Lauren got in on the act and played a song on the electronic piano keyboard that she got for her birthday."

He also added that "Taylor shared stories from her childhood as she was getting her start as an entertainer...Just before she had to leave, Taylor got out a bag of goodies for Lauren and provided autographs on notebooks, photographs and guitar picks...It was a great afternoon for everyone and I'm sure Lauren will remember it for many years to come."

We don't doubt that one bit.

Swift's "Red" tour kicks off in Omaha on Wednesday and will be making pit stops in 47 North American cities before coming to a close on Sept. 21 in Nashville.

Check out Taylor's top 10 red carpet moments

Related content:

Source: http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2013/03/12/17282934-taylor-swift-visits-young-cancer-patient-in-nebraska?lite

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Mutated gene causes nerve cell death

Mar. 10, 2013 ? The British astrophysicist Stephen Hawking is likely to be the world's most famous person living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. ALS is a progressive disease affecting motor neurons, nerve cells that control muscle function, and nearly always leads to death. Researchers at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA) in Vienna have now identified a completely new mechanism in the onset of motor neuron diseases. Their findings could be the basis for future treatments for these presently incurable diseases.

A new principle on motor neuron death

The IMBA scientists, working with an international team of researchers under the leadership of Josef Penninger and Javier Martinez, discovered a completely new fundamental mechanism that triggers the death of motor neurons. Motor neurons are nerve cells responsible for stimulating muscles. The loss of these motor neurons in mice with a genetic mutation in a gene named CLP1¹ leads to severe and progressive muscular paralysis and, in some cases, to death.

"We've been working on resolving the function of the CLP1 gene in a living organism for a long time. To do that, we developed model mice in which the function of CLP1 was genetically inactivated. To our utter surprise we discovered that deactivating CLP1 increases the sensitivity of cell die when exposed to oxidative stress². That leads to enhanced activity of the p53 protein³ and then to the permanent destruction of motor neurons," says Toshikatsu Hanada, a postdoctoral researcher working in the lab of Josef Penninger and first author of the study along with Stefan Weitzer.

Stephen Hawking -- a most renowned patient

Motor neuron diseases (MNDs), such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), are chronic disorders of the neuromuscular system. These diseases are caused by damage in the motor nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, and the nerves can no longer stimulate motion in the muscles. The primary symptoms are muscular weakness, muscular dystrophy, and problems swallowing or speaking. Stephen Hawking was diagnosed with ALS 50 years ago. But not all ALS patients live so long with the disease: so far there are no treatments for ALS. Nearly all ALS patients die of paralysis of respiratory muscles within a few years.

Completely new disease mechanism

Javier Martinez, an IMBA team leader and co-author of the study, is a specialist in the field of ribonucleic acid (RNA) research. His research group had discovered the CLP1 gene in an earlier study, published in Nature in 2007. Until now, the exact essential function of CLP1 in RNA biology was unclear. "By deactivating CLP1, we have discovered a previously unknown new species of RNA," says Javier Martinez about the scientific relevance of the work. "The accumulation of this RNA is a consequence of increased oxidative stress in the cell. We see this as one of the triggers for the loss of motor neurons that occurs in ALS and other neuromuscular diseases. Thus our findings describe a completely new mechanism of motor neuron diseases."

Seminal findings

Josef Penninger, scientific director at the IMBA and last-author of the study, is excited about the researchers' findings: "This surprising discovery of a role of CLP1 in the onset of motor neuron diseases is an entirely new principle in how RNA talks to oxidative stress. Nearly all genetic mutations found in ALS patients affect either RNA metabolism or oxidative stress, suggesting a possibly unifying principle for these diseases. Our work may have revealed the 'missing link' in how these two biological systems communicate and trigger incurable diseases like ALS."

Stefan Weitzer sees tremendous potential for these findings: "We've discovered a new mechanism that leads to the death of motor neurons. If this holds true for other neuronal disease, our results could be one day used to drive the development of treatments for previously incurable diseases. In our work we also describe how the p53 protein regulates the loss of motor neurons. Removing p53 saves mice with CLP1 mutations from certain death." If scientists are successful in applying these findings to people, the researchers may have discovered a treatment approach to cure ALS and similar diseases. The authors, however, caution that more studies will be needed to translate their findings to human medicine.

This study was performed in collaboration with research groups from the Medical Universities of Vienna and Innsbruck, the University Medical Center at Hamburg-Eppendorf in Germany, the Harvard Medical School, the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, the Boston Children's and Massachusetts General Hospitals, the Keio University School of Medicine in Tokyo, Oita University in Japan, and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot in Israel.

Notes:

¹⁾ CLP1: = Cleavage and Polyadenylation Factor 1: a kinase (enzyme responsible for transmitting signals in cells) responsible for attaching phosphate residue to RNA.

²⁾ Oxidative stress: causes damage to cells and the genome, and is involved in the ageing process. The normal repair and detoxification function of the cells is overburdened.

³⁾ p53: a protein that is mutated in many types of cancer cells. It plays a role in inhibiting the cell cycle and can trigger cell death.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Institute of Molecular Biotechnology.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. Toshikatsu Hanada, Stefan Weitzer, Barbara Mair, Christian Bernreuther, Brian J. Wainger, Justin Ichida, Reiko Hanada, Michael Orthofer, Shane J. Cronin, Vukoslav Komnenovic, Adi Minis, Fuminori Sato, Hiromitsu Mimata, Akihiko Yoshimura, Ido Tamir, Johannes Rainer, Reinhard Kofler, Avraham Yaron, Kevin C. Eggan, Clifford J. Woolf, Markus Glatzel, Ruth Herbst, Javier Martinez, Josef M. Penninger. CLP1 links tRNA metabolism to progressive motor-neuron loss. Nature, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nature11923

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/oPMO9DA-PFA/130310163827.htm

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AP source: Obama poised to pick Perez for Labor

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is poised to select Justice Department official Thomas Perez to be the next labor secretary, according to two people familiar with the deliberation process.

Perez' nomination to the Labor Department could come as early as Monday, the people familiar with the process said Saturday. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the official announcement has not yet been made. White House spokesman Matt Lehrich declined to comment.

Perez, 51, has led the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division since 2009 and previously served as Maryland's labor secretary. He is expected to have solid support from organized labor and the Hispanic community, which is eager to have Hispanic representation in Obama's cabinet.

Perez was the first Latino elected to the Montgomery County Council in Maryland, where he served from 2002 to 2006. If confirmed, he would replace Hilda Solis, who resigned in January to return to her native California.

Perez would come to the Labor Department as Obama pushes a major immigration overhaul, which could include changes in how employers hire guest workers. Labor Department officials have also taken a prominent role in supporting Obama's effort to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $9 an hour.

At the Justice Department, Perez has played a leading role in the agency's decision to challenge voter ID laws in Texas and South Carolina that could restrict minority voting rights. A federal court later struck down the Texas law and delayed implementation of the law in South Carolina until after the 2012 election.

Perez was easily confirmed by the Senate for his Justice Department post, but since then, some GOP lawmakers have criticized his role in persuading the city of St. Paul, Minn., to withdraw a lending discrimination lawsuit from the Supreme Court. In exchange, the Justice Department declined to join two whistle-blower lawsuits against St. Paul that could have returned millions in damages to the federal government.

The St. Paul case had challenged the use of statistics to prove race discrimination under the 1968 Fair Housing Act, and Justice Department officials were concerned the court could strike down the practice.

A letter last year from four Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Rep. Darrell Issa of California, criticized Perez for a "quid pro quo arrangement" that potentially cost taxpayers more than $180 million.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-source-obama-poised-pick-025308885.html

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