Anyone in the UK on Vodafone hoping for some LTE soon will be disappointed, as their CEO has confirmed the carrier won't be switching on 4G until around September. This is in part due to the current iPhone 5 being incompatible with their proposed LTE network. Speaking to The Guardian, CEO Vittorio Colao said:
"We are convinced our own 4G will be better performing. We want to be able to launch it when it's really ready. End of the summer means when there is going to be a good commercial window for launching it."
Currently, the iPhone 5 will only operate LTE on the 1800MHz bands in the UK, while Vodafone acquired 800MHz and 2100MHz in the recent spectrum auctions. Had Vodafone launched soon as they were initially expected to, they would have launched without an LTE iPhone. Not a great marketing play. Stepping back to September plays right into the "good commercial window for launching it," as we're naturally expecting a new iPhone in the latter stages of the year.
Stacy Keibler and Paul Wesley hit up the Stella Artois Suite during the 2013 Cannes Film Festival held at Radisson Blu on Wednesday (May 22) in Cannes, France.
The 33-year-old entertainer looked gorgeous at the De Grisogono Party the evening before.
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African stocks fell sharply on Thursday, logging their biggest daily drop in nearly two years, as some major mining companies slid on weak Chinese economic data and signs the U.S. central bank could soon cut its stimulus measures.
Investec also featured prominently on the losers' list after the investment bank missed expectations with its annual earnings.
Charts suggested the domestic equity market was due for a pullback, after rising about 10 percent so far this month, with both major indices booking record highs in May.
Before Thursday's fall, the benchmark JSE Top-40 index was in an overbought territory, according to its 14-day relative strength index, or RSI.
The Top-40 index fell 2.67 percent to 36,312.44, its biggest daily decline since September 2011. The broader All-share index ended down 2.34 percent at 40,855.89.
Ben Bernanke, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, threatened an earlier-than-expected pullback of stimulus measures that have helped propel equities to multi-year highs.
Also weighing on sentiment was data that showed factory activity in China, the world's biggest consumer of metals, shrank for the first time in seven months.
"The news out of China and from Bernanke is not good but the market seems to be over-reacting or using the news as an excuse to also take some money off the table after a recent strong run," said Ferdi Heyneke, a portfolio manager at Afrifocus Securities.
Mining giant Anglo American topped the decliners' list on the Top-40 index, sliding 5.8 percent to 225.49 rand. Rival BHP Billiton lost 3.34 percent to 279.55 rand.
Investec was down 3.6 percent after posting a below-forecast 16 percent increase in its annual earnings.
On the flip side, investors picked up gold mining shares as bullion prices cruised higher. Gold Fields added 1.04 percent to 56.58 and rival AngloGold Ashanti was 0.75 percent higher at 158.99 rand.
Trade was robust with at least 220 million shares changing hands, according to preliminary bourse statistics. Decliners outpaced advancers 206 to 84.
NEW YORK (AP) ? Twitter is adding an extra security measure to users' accounts in an effort to prevent unauthorized logins.
Twitter said in a blog post Wednesday that users will be able to enroll in a login verification program. For those who sign up, Twitter will send a six-digit code using a text message each time they sign in to Twitter.com. Besides their username and password, users will have to enter the code as well to log in.
Microsoft Corp., Google Inc. and Facebook Inc. already allow two-step verification as an option. Twitter has been criticized for not having this option, especially following recent breaches of Twitter accounts belonging to major news organizations and other companies.
Unlike the other Internet companies, though, Twitter will ask users for a verification code each time they log out and log back in, even if it's from the same computer. The others allow you to bypass that if you are using the same computer regularly. Microsoft began offering two-step verification last month. Facebook and Google have offered them longer.
Twitter users can sign up for two-step verification under their account settings. To do this, Twitter will ask for either a confirmed email address associated with the account or a phone number that's been verified. Even as the two-step verification process adds an extra security layer to Twitter logins, Twitter said users should still take common precautions. That includes selecting complex passwords that are unique to their Twitter account, and not clicking on suspicious email links.
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Intel Corp's new chief executive, Brian Krzanich, has reorganized key business groups and created a "new devices" unit, according to a source who has seen an internal email, shaking up the world's top chipmaker days after formally assuming control.
The chipmaker's main product groups - including the PC client group, mobile communications and data center unit that previously reported to Intel Architecture group chief Dadi Perlmutter - now report directly to Krzanich, the source said, citing the email sent to employees.
"As your CEO I am committed to making quick, informed decisions. I am committed to being bolder, moving faster, and accepting that this means changes will be made knowing that we will listen, learn and then make adjustments in order to keep pace with a rapidly changing industry," Krzanich said in the email, according to the source.
Krzanich, a 30-year Intel veteran, officially took over as CEO last week and said that under his leadership, the top chipmaker will be more responsive to customers in an intensified focus on the fast-growing smartphone and tablet market where it lags rivals.
President Renee James, formerly head of the software arm, will now also oversee the company's sprawling global manufacturing operations and take on additional parts of security efforts.
Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy confirmed Krzanich sent the internal email describing the chipmaker's reorganization. He said Intel presidents have traditionally been responsible for managing the manufacturing operations.
Mike Bell will head up Intel's newly formed "new devices" group," which Mulloy said will focus on emerging product trends.
Shares of Intel were up 0.6 percent at $24.23 in early afternoon on the Nasdaq.
(Editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Matthew Lewis)
The Xbox One's 50GB Blu-ray discs will automatically rip to your 500GB harddrive, Microsoft tells us, and it looks like you won't have to wait 'til they're done to get going. That's according to the Xbox One landing page on Xbox.com, spotted by our friends at Joystiq, which says, "With Xbox One, you can start playing immediately as games install. And updates install seamlessly in the background, so your games and entertainment won't be interrupted."
And that's not all they've sussed out in details -- the Xbox One will also have a 1,000-person friend cap. How does that tie into the Skype integration? Good question! That's not clear just yet, but it stands to reason that they're independent of each other.
If you had been looking up at the moon at the right moment on March 17, you could have seen a one-second burst of heat caused by the impact of a large meteoroid.
By Mark Trumbull,?Staff writer / May 18, 2013
Hundreds of meteoroid impacts on the moon, detected by NASA's lunar monitoring program, are pictured in this undated NASA handout photo. The brightest, detected on March 17, 2013, in Mare Imbrium, is marked by the red square.
NASA/Handout/REUTERS
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If you had been looking up at the moon at the right moment on March 17, you could have seen an unusual flash of light ? a one-second burst of heat caused by the impact of a large meteoroid.
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NASA researchers who monitor the Moon for meteoroid impacts have detected the brightest explosion in the history of their program.
No telescope required.
?For about one second, the impact site was glowing like a 4th magnitude star,? NASA said in reporting the news Friday.
This meteoroid was the size of a small boulder, and was travelling very fast. NASA estimates the size at 0.3 to 0.4 meters wide, and the speed at 56,000 miles per hour.?
The resulting explosion? delivered a force equal to 5 tons of TNT.
NASA puts a footnote on the word ?explosion.? The bright light wasn?t combustion, since the moon has no oxygen atmosphere. Rather, it was the glow of molten rock and hot vapors after an impact of large kinetic force.
That said, this was the biggest such ?explosion? in eight years of close monitoring of the moon?s surface.
And it?s not that meteoroids on the lunar surface are rare.
The moon lacks a protective atmosphere like Earth?s, in which meteoroids typically burn up. Lunar meteor showers have turned out to be more common than expected, with hundreds of detectable impacts per year.
On March 17, the pyrotechnics on the moon coincided with an active night for meteors in Earth?s atmosphere as well.
NASA?s Space Exploration Policy eventually calls for extended astronaut stays on the moon, so tracking meteor activity has long-term relevance.
?Identifying the sources of lunar meteors and measuring their impact rates gives future lunar explorers an idea of what to expect,? the space agency said in announcing the bright explosion Friday. ?Is it safe to go on a moonwalk, or not?? The middle of March might be a good time to stay inside.??
Pop quiz: what does a country on the brink of economic collapse, with dozens of unfinished buildings dotting its countryside, really need? A monstrous, phallic space hotel, of course!
In many respects Google Hangouts is impressive?it brings together Google's disparate chat options rather neatly?but you should think twice about using it if you rely on making Google Voice calls from your computer.
Those who have updated Google Talk in their Gmail accounts?easy enough to do by selecting "Try the new Hangouts" after clicking your chat avatar?are reporting that it's now impossible to place or receive Google Voice calls from the inbox. In fact, as Verge explains, that means the only option for making a Google call from the a computer is to use the web-based calls app, which calls one of your connected phones, and can then be rerouted to the person you're trying to get in touch with. Basically, a pain in the ass.
What to do? Well, don't bother upgrading to Hangouts in Gmail if you use Google Voice to make phone calls from your computer. If you already have upgraded, though, fortunately you can revert back to the old-style chat by clicking on your avatar again.
It should be clear by now that Hangouts is far from a final, finished product, and Google has already hinted that it plans to add more of the its Voice features into Hangouts over time, along with SMS support at some point in the future. With any luck, that'll include making phone calls from your computer, too. [Verge]
IMRT may not be more effective than older radiation techniques after prostatectomyPublic release date: 20-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: William Davis william_davis@med.unc.edu 919-966-5905 University of North Carolina Health Care
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Intensity-modulated radiation therapy has become the most commonly used type of radiation in prostate cancer, but research from the University of North Carolina suggests that the therapy may not be more effective than older, less expensive forms of radiation therapy in patients who have had a prostatectomy.
The comparative effectiveness study, published online May 20 by JAMA Internal Medicine, evaluated the long-term outcomes of prostate cancer patients who received radiation treatments following prostatectomies using conformal radiation therapy (CRT) against the newer and more expensive intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). Study lead Ronald Chen, MD, MPH, assistant professor of Radiation Oncology in the UNC School of Medicine, said the results showed little difference in the long-term health of patients who used the newer and older radiation therapies.
"Many prostate cancer patients need radiation treatment after prostatectomy, the surgical removal of the prostate, either because the cancer is aggressive or for recurrence. In prostate cancer, we have seen a trend in our healthcare system where new technologies are adopted quickly, maybe because there is a belief that newer treatments are better, but often there is a lack of studies to actually compare patient outcomes from older vs. newer treatments," said Dr. Chen.
The study used Medicare data to compare the outcomes of 457 IMRT and 557 CRT patients treated between 2002 and 2007. The patients, 66 years of age or older who underwent radical prostatectomy and subsequent radiation therapy within three years of their surgery, showed no difference in regards to urinary side effects, bowel side effects, sexual dysfunction and other long-term side effects or cancer control.
"For patients with newly diagnosed prostate cancer who have chosen to receive curative radiation treatment, our prior study showed that IMRT was associated with less long-term side effects and better cancer control than CRT. However, for patients who have had a prostatectomy already, and subsequently need radiation treatment, this study shows that IMRT and CRT seemed to have similar outcomes," said Dr. Chen.
Prostate cancer is the most common malignancy among American men. Each year, 240,000 men are diagnosed and 30,000 die from the disease. Health care costs for treating prostate cancer have risen by $350 million a year, fueled in part by the adoption of new technology. This rise led the Institute of Medicine to identify comparative effectiveness research in prostate cancer as a top research priority.
Radiotherapy using IMRT offers promise because of its ability to deliver precise doses of radiation to the tumor. The ability of the radiation machine to deliver high doses of radiation to the tumor while minimizing the radiation exposure of surrounding tissues led to its rapid adoption as a clinical therapy for prostate cancer, because the prostate is situated near sensitive organs such as the bladder and rectum.
A lot of men across the United States who need radiation therapy after prostatectomy are not getting it, said Dr. Chen, and he speculates that the cost of treatment may play a factor. While research shows that as many as one-third to one-half of the patients undergoing surgery for prostate cancer may benefit from radiation treatments subsequently to achieve a cure, Dr. Chen said that the data show only 10 to 15 percent of those who could benefit actually receive the therapy.
"If 3D conformal radiation provides an effective and safe treatment for these patients, then we can probably show that radiation is a very cost effective treatment and potentially remove one of the large obstacles to patients being able to get this necessary treatment after surgery," said Dr. Chen.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
IMRT may not be more effective than older radiation techniques after prostatectomyPublic release date: 20-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: William Davis william_davis@med.unc.edu 919-966-5905 University of North Carolina Health Care
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Intensity-modulated radiation therapy has become the most commonly used type of radiation in prostate cancer, but research from the University of North Carolina suggests that the therapy may not be more effective than older, less expensive forms of radiation therapy in patients who have had a prostatectomy.
The comparative effectiveness study, published online May 20 by JAMA Internal Medicine, evaluated the long-term outcomes of prostate cancer patients who received radiation treatments following prostatectomies using conformal radiation therapy (CRT) against the newer and more expensive intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). Study lead Ronald Chen, MD, MPH, assistant professor of Radiation Oncology in the UNC School of Medicine, said the results showed little difference in the long-term health of patients who used the newer and older radiation therapies.
"Many prostate cancer patients need radiation treatment after prostatectomy, the surgical removal of the prostate, either because the cancer is aggressive or for recurrence. In prostate cancer, we have seen a trend in our healthcare system where new technologies are adopted quickly, maybe because there is a belief that newer treatments are better, but often there is a lack of studies to actually compare patient outcomes from older vs. newer treatments," said Dr. Chen.
The study used Medicare data to compare the outcomes of 457 IMRT and 557 CRT patients treated between 2002 and 2007. The patients, 66 years of age or older who underwent radical prostatectomy and subsequent radiation therapy within three years of their surgery, showed no difference in regards to urinary side effects, bowel side effects, sexual dysfunction and other long-term side effects or cancer control.
"For patients with newly diagnosed prostate cancer who have chosen to receive curative radiation treatment, our prior study showed that IMRT was associated with less long-term side effects and better cancer control than CRT. However, for patients who have had a prostatectomy already, and subsequently need radiation treatment, this study shows that IMRT and CRT seemed to have similar outcomes," said Dr. Chen.
Prostate cancer is the most common malignancy among American men. Each year, 240,000 men are diagnosed and 30,000 die from the disease. Health care costs for treating prostate cancer have risen by $350 million a year, fueled in part by the adoption of new technology. This rise led the Institute of Medicine to identify comparative effectiveness research in prostate cancer as a top research priority.
Radiotherapy using IMRT offers promise because of its ability to deliver precise doses of radiation to the tumor. The ability of the radiation machine to deliver high doses of radiation to the tumor while minimizing the radiation exposure of surrounding tissues led to its rapid adoption as a clinical therapy for prostate cancer, because the prostate is situated near sensitive organs such as the bladder and rectum.
A lot of men across the United States who need radiation therapy after prostatectomy are not getting it, said Dr. Chen, and he speculates that the cost of treatment may play a factor. While research shows that as many as one-third to one-half of the patients undergoing surgery for prostate cancer may benefit from radiation treatments subsequently to achieve a cure, Dr. Chen said that the data show only 10 to 15 percent of those who could benefit actually receive the therapy.
"If 3D conformal radiation provides an effective and safe treatment for these patients, then we can probably show that radiation is a very cost effective treatment and potentially remove one of the large obstacles to patients being able to get this necessary treatment after surgery," said Dr. Chen.
###
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Hot on the heels of yesterday's rumors, Yahoo and Tumblr have jointly announced a "definitive agreement" for the former to acquire the latter for $1.1 billion. The agreement makes it clear that Tumblr will be "independently operated as a separate business" with its own branding and line of development. A frankly worded press release says that this arms-length arrangement will help Yahoo "not to screw it up" and promises that the 300 million monthly visitors to the blogging site will continue to experience Tumblr's "irreverence, wit, and commitment to empower creators." If all this is to be believed, those who have allegedly fled to WordPress, for fear of Tumblr being shut down or re-versioned, may have slightly jumped the gun.
By Genevra Pittman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who eat diets high in fruit, certain vegetables, pasta and red wine are less likely to have hot flashes and night sweats during menopause, a new study from Australia suggests. Researchers found that of about 6,000 women followed over nine years, those who ate a lot of??
Si Yajie and Liu Huixia dominate Women?s 10m Synchro Platform ? Swimming news
Si Yajie and Liu Huixia of China dominated the final of Women?s 10m synchronised Platform on day one of the FINA/MIDEA Diving World Series 2013 in Guadalajara, Mexico on Friday, May 17.
The duo remained dominant over their opponents from the start and paved their way to the medal rostrum for gold medal. With their remarkable efforts, they remained comfortably ahead of their competitors on the scorecard and secured top spot on the podium.
They faced strong competition from their toughest pair and Malaysian divers, Pamg Pandelela Rinong and Leong Mun Yee, who gave them tough time in the first two rounds but eventually lost the score in the third round.
The Chinese and Malaysian pair remained head-to-head in the first two rounds securing 46.80 and 52.20 points respectively but the Malaysian pair dropped down on the scorecard in the third round.
With their continued efforts, the Chinese duo excelled on the scorecard in the third round by adding 80.10 points to their score. In contrast, the Malaysian team managed to get only 63.90 points.
Subsequently, Yajie and Huixia ended fourth and fifth rounds with a score of 80.64 and 76.80 points respectively. On the other hand, Rinong and Mun Yee managed to get 72.96 points in the last two rounds.
As a result, the Chinese pair secured gold medal of the event with a score of 336.54 points while the Malaysian pair occupied silver medal of the race by earning 308.83 points.
Following that, Couch Tonia and Barrow Sarah of Great Britain remained marginally away from overpowering their opponents and secured third place with a score of 304.38 points.
Fourth fastest spot of the race was obtained by Benfeito Meaghan and Filion Roseline of Mexico, who was almost two points away from the British duo by securing a total of 302.52 points.
Last position of the event was obtained by Orozco Alejandra and Mendoza Carolina of Mexico, who were unable to upset any of their competitors and ranked fifth on the scorecard with 292.56 points.
In addition, the position holders received medals and accolades at the prize distribution ceremony of the event.
?.as Zambia is rated highest cancer mortality in world-over NEW DEHLI ? India has highest number of women dying from cervical cancer and Zambia has highest mortality rate. Australia provides a global model for dramatically preventing cervical cancer. More women die of cervical cancer in India than anywhere in the world. India along with China, Brazil, Bangladesh and Nigeria represent over 50 percent of the global burden of cervical cancer deaths. However, African countries are struggling to deal with cervical cancer too according to the new Cervical Cancer Crisis Card, which ranks countries from across the world based on the number of deaths from cervical cancer and the overall mortality rate. The Crisis Card is available on the Cervical Cancer Free Coalition website and launched globally to mark International Mother?s Day last Sunday. Cervical cancer kills an estimated 275,000 women every year and 500,000 new cases are reported worldwide. This entirely preventable disease is the second largest cancer killer of women in low and middle-income countries. According to the Crisis Card, Zambia has the highest mortality rate for cervical cancer. ?It is shocking that Zambia is ranked number 1 on the Cervical Cancer Crisis Card for mortality rate,? said Zambia?s First Lady Christine Kaseba. ?We can change this by making life saving vaccines available that almost entirely prevent the disease. We have the tools and technologies, this mother?s day we must stop talking and act to save women?s lives.? However, there are reasons for hope too. According to the Crisis Card, Australia has the lowest cervical cancer mortality rate, which is due to the successful rollout of a comprehensive package of HPV vaccines, treatment and prevention. According to the Government of Australia, there has also been a decline in genital warts and cervical abnormalities among young women since the introduction of the HPV vaccine in Australia. Jennifer Smith, Executive Director of the Cervical Cancer Free Coalition said: ?Cervical cancer is a preventable cancer, yet we are still seeing so many deaths around the world. At Cervical Cancer Free Coalition we are working towards building networks across the globe to help support our common goal of a world free of cervical cancer. Together we can dramatically reduce this disease through vaccination, screening and education.? The startling disparities between women in the developed and developing world are personified by cervical cancer.? A woman in Zambia is 25 times more likely to die from cervical cancer than a woman in Australia and India has 750 times more deaths than Norway. This level of inequity is also reflected across gender indicators with girls less likely to attend school but more likely to be malnourished and married as a child. Unless life-saving HPV vaccines are prioritised by decision makers this inequity will remain. Seth Berkley, CEO of the GAVI Alliance said ?2013 is the beginning of a dramatic shift in women?s health. A new low price for the HPV vaccine has been negotiated by GAVI for countries eligible for support, opening the door for millions of girls in the world?s poorest countries to be protected against one of the leading cancer killers of women. Ghana will be one of the first African countries to receive HPV vaccines this year with GAVI support.? Coming in the same month as the global Women Deliver 2013 conference that will have a focus on gender and health equity in terms of the post-2015 framework (the follow framework to the Millennium Development Goals), the report is a timely reminder of the challenges facing women, especially in the low to middle income countries. By prioritising women?s health in the next developmental framework, world leaders would show that they?re serious about challenging inequity and building sustainable societies where universal rights are guaranteed for all. ?By investing in women, nations are investing in their future prosperity. If women are educated, are represented politically and have access to good quality health services, then they and their children are much more likely to stay healthy and contribute positively to their nation,? said Sania Nishtar, Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Information Technology, Education and Training in the Government of Pakistan. ?Huge progress has been made across the world, but much more can be done to save and improve millions of women?s lives, particularly those from the poorest and most marginalised communities.? Cervical cancer is a taboo issue in many places as it is linked to sexual reproduction and cancer. Unless women?s groups and civil society join together to lead movements that break through stigma, patriarchy and other societal barriers, we will continue to see large numbers of deaths and high mortality rates. Projections show that by 2030, almost half a million women will die of cervical cancer, with over 98 percent of these deaths expected to occur in low and middle-income countries. The time to act is now. The crisis card also calls for: The rollout of a comprehensive approach to cervical cancer that includes the aggressive rollout of HPV vaccines that prevent disease and for the scaling up of screening and treatment options. Women to be encouraged to visit their health provider for early screening of precancers using either the pap smear (colposcopy), visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) and HPV testing to help diagnose precancerous cells. Treatment of precancers is advancing, which provides hope to the hundreds of thousands of women who missed out on the vaccine. Health systems need to be strengthened so that all women who need access to treatment can access affordable, quality care. ? CERVICAL CANCER FREE COALITION.
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NC unemployment rate 8.9 percent ?, Greensboro News Record AP article quotes Duke University Economics Professor, Labor force participation rate dropped .3 percent, Good news?
?With a 63.7% labor force participation, ?conditions in the labor market are considerably worse than indicated? in July?s report??economist Joshua Shapiro, WSJ August 3, 2012
?Although the numbers are not directly comparable, local labor markets across much of North Carolina began 2013 no differently than they began 2012,? said Quinterno. ?Simply put, unemployment rates remain elevated across the state, and twice as many North Carolinians are jobless and seeking work than was the case five years ago.??SBN Strategies March 22, 2013
?Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.??George Orwell, ?1984?
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The Associated Press has always been a problem. A member ?news? organization creates a report and it is regurgitated across the nation & world, in most cases without fact checking.
We have another example recently from the Greensboro News Record.
Is this because the Rhino Times just shut down?
Or because John Coleman, an economics professor at the Duke University Fuqua School of Business was quoted?
?North Carolina?s unemployment rate fell to 8.9 percent in April _ the lowest in the state in four years.
The state?s unemployment rate was 9.2 percent in March.
?This is very encouraging for North Carolina,? said John Coleman, economics professor at Duke University?s Fuqua School of Business.
The state Commerce Department said Friday the number of people unemployed fell by 15,259 between March and April. On the downside, nearly 4,200 fewer people held jobs than in March.
The industry with the largest monthly increase: Leisure and hospitality services, which added 6,100 jobs. It was followed by financial activities with 2,000; government with 1,300, and professional and business services with 1,300.
January 2009 was the last time the state?s unemployment rate was at 8.9 percent.?
??Coleman said the report contained good news about North Carolina?s economy.?
??What?s encouraging about the report is the large drop in the number of unemployed,? he said. That number seems to have more to do with new jobs than people who are deciding to give up rather than keep competing for work.
He also said the new figures bode well for North Carolina in the future.?
(Reuters) - Nearly 50 people were injured on Friday when two commuter trains collided during evening rush hour near the Connecticut town of Fairfield, shutting down Amtrak service between New York and Boston indefinitely, police and transit officials said.
Authorities said there were no reports of fatalities in the accident that occurred shortly after 6 p.m. EDT (2200 GMT).
Anita Shrum, a spokeswoman for Bridgeport Hospital, said one person was seriously injured but the other 21 people it had received could be described as "walking wounded" with a variety of injuries. "They are doing OK, they are very stable," Shrum said.
Dianne Auger, a spokeswoman for St. Vincent's Medical Center in Bridgeport, said one of the 27 people taken there was in serious condition with head and neck injuries. Commuter trains on this busy commuter line to New York typically carry up to 300 passengers.
The number of injured could rise because hospital officials were told to prepare to receive up to 180 patients total.
The accident occurred when an eastbound train on the Metro-North commuter rial line derailed and collided with a train headed in the opposite direction near the suburban town of Fairfield, said spokesman Aaron Donovan of the Metropolitan Transit Authority, which runs the railroad.
Amtrak officials said in a statement that it suspended service indefinitely on the heavily traveled Northeast Corridor between Boston and New York.
The cause of the derailment was not immediately known. Fairfield is about 50 miles north of New York City.
(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein, David Bailey, Kevin Gray and Dan Whitcomb; Writing by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Philip Barbara)
DAMASCUS, Va. (AP) ? An elderly driver plowed into dozens of hikers marching in a Saturday parade in a small Virginia mountain town and investigators were looking into whether he suffered a medical emergency before the accident.
About 50 to 60 people suffered injuries ranging from critical to superficial, but no fatalities were reported. Three of the worst injured were flown by helicopter to area hospitals. Their conditions weren't immediately available.
Another 12 to 15 victims were taken to hospitals by ambulance and the rest were treated at the scene, where some paramedics and other first-responders were participating in the parade.
It happened around 2:10 p.m. during the Hikers Parade at the Trail Days festival, an annual celebration of the Appalachian Trail in Damascus, near the Tennessee state line about a half-hour drive east of Bristol.
Damascus Police Chief Bill Nunley didn't release the driver's name or age but said he was participating in the parade and he had traversed the Appalachian Trail in the past. Multiple witnesses described him as an elderly man.
Nunley said the man's 1997 Cadillac was one of the last vehicles in the parade and the driver might have suffered an unspecified medical problem when his car accelerated to about 25 mph and struck the crowd on a two-lane bridge along the town's main road. The driver was among those taken to hospitals.
"It is under investigation and charges may be placed," Nunley said.
Witnesses said the car had a handicapped parking sticker and it went more than 100 feet before coming to a stop.
"He was hitting hikers," said Vickie Harmon, a witness from Damascus. "I saw hikers just go everywhere."
Amanda Puckett, who was watching the parade with her children, ran to the car, where she and others lifted the car off those pinned underneath.
"Everybody just threw our hands up on the car and we just lifted the car up," she said.
Keith Neumann, a hiker from South Carolina, said he was part of the group that scrambled around the car. They pushed the car backward to free a woman trapped underneath and lifted it off the ground to make sure no one else was trapped.
"There's no single heroes. We're talking about a group effort of everybody jumping in," he said.
Nunley cited quick action by police, firefighters, paramedics and hikers to tend to the victims, including a volunteer firefighter who dove into the car to turn off the ignition. The firefighter, whose name wasn't released, suffered minor injuries.
Mayor Jack McCrady encouraged people to attend the festival on Sunday, its final day.
"In 27 years of this, we've never had anything of this magnitude, and is it our job to make sure it doesn't happen again," he said.
McCrady said a donation fund was being set up to assist the injured, some of whom don't have medical insurance.
"We want to make sure they don't suffer any greater loss than they already have," he said.
Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman is the latest subject in our Desktop Diaries series, although he has no desk. Kahneman, professor emeritus at Princeton University, won the Nobel Prize in economic sciences in 2002 for his research with the late Amos Tversky on our sometimes irrational intuitions and how they affect decision-making.
Tenants of a New York City apartment complex are fuming after its owner raised their rents -- some by more than $1,000 a month -- in the middle of their leases, WABC-TV in New York reported. Residents of the Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village complex on the east side of Manhattan got the surprise rent hikes when notices were slipped under their doors. Four thousand units are being affected by the increases.
The rent hikes are part of a longstanding court battle between tenants and building management. In 2009, tenants won a fight against Tishman Speyer, then-owner of the complex, charging that many apartments were illegally deregulated under rent-stabilization laws. The tenants were given a temporary agreement to lower rents. But a permanent settlement was reached in November, allowing the current owner, CW Capital, to raise rents on 4,000 units, according to the Daily News. Now the notices give those residents two weeks' notice that there rents will be raised anywhere from hundreds of dollars to $1,100 a month starting June 1. (The complex has 11,200 units.)
"We signed a two-year lease, we've been here for one year and our rent just went up $700," tenant Heidi Fredrick told WABC-TV. Another tenant, Jennifer Lutz, had a $1,000 hike on her rent. "Oh, there's no way -- it's $1,000," Lutz told WABC-TV. "That's $12,000 a year."
Tenants are reportedly planning to protest the rent increases, and they are even considering a rent strike. "It is simply unfair and disrespectful, and we are tired of people treating this community like an ATM," New York City Councilman and Peter Cooper Village resident Daniel Garodnick told the Daily News. "Make no mistake about it. These increases are eviction notices."
CW Capital said in a statement that in recognition of the hardship the short-notice rent increases causes for some residents, the company is willing to give them a 30-day extension until July 1 to decide whether they will pay the rent hikes or move out.
See more on landlord disputes: When You Can Force Your Landlord To Listen To You Gun Owner Sean Blakley Says Landlord Is Evicting Him Over Firearms Tenants' Rights in Eviction: When Do Landlords Go Too Far?
More on AOL Real Estate: Find homes for rent. Find out how to calculate mortgage payments. Find homes for sale in your area. Find foreclosures in your area.
Follow us on Twitter at @AOLRealEstate or connect with AOL Real Estate on Facebook.
There have been a number of weird news stories this week, so the Bloomberg terminal data breach scandal may not be getting enough time in the limelight.? Recently, it has come to light that employees at Bloomberg have access to at least some information regarding users' search habits.? Bloomberg currently has more than 315,000 terminals at client offices, mostly financial institutions, but also law firms.? (Our campus also has some.)? From these terminals, users can do a vast array of things, from researching specific companies to chatting to sending emails to making financial trades.? Think of it like Westlaw or Lexis -- you can do a thousand things on those websites, but you mainly read law review articles, cases and statutes.? Bloomberg terminals are very expensive ($20k/year) and also not committed to being user-friendly.? Though Westlaw and Lexis gave up dedicated terminals decades ago and went from dial-up access to a web-friendly interface, Bloomberg has remained pretty hard to learn how to use, which may be why users are so hesitant to give it up after mastering it.
This week, Bloomberg is trying allay?its clients'?fears?that journalists could see some data, but not important data (chatting, emailing, trading, specific research), and Wall Street firms are trying to get more commitments from Bloomberg as to what was accessible and what will be accessible going forward.? But what interests me is what I'm not seeing anywhere -- what does the SEC think is important here?
Back in the day, and I assume now, lots of people devoted a lot of time to try to collect information on companies that might be engaged in M&A activity.? A common legend around my law firm was that individuals would pose as messengers to go to the conference room floor and peruse the sign-in book to see what sorts of people were in the same conference room.? I'm sure that was an example of an amateurish effort.? A famous insider trading case involved the guy who worked for the financial printer trading on information he gleaned from reading documents there.? I don't think you have to be a mystery novelist to come up with a scenario whereby a journalist at Bloomberg sees which (M&A lawyer) users are logging on and what sorts of things they are looking at and cobbles together insider information.? The EIC of Bloomberg, Matthew Winkler, says that no one could access specific securities information, but could see aggregate information "akin to being able to see how many times someone used Microsoft Word vs. Excel."? What about aggregate information such as a steep increase in users accessing company information on Company X?? (N.B.:? Bloomberg offers a service called Bloomberg Law, which is separate from the terminals that are at the heart of the breach this week.? However, many law firms have Bloomberg business terminals.)
And now that we realize that Bloomberg could see that individual users were logging on and off (or not) of their terminals, is anyone interested in what folks at Westlaw or Lexis see?? I would think that a sudden unease now exists for any research service that gives us a user logon associated with an individual's name and employer, whether that's a law firm or an investment bank.
Art of Science exhibit celebrates the 'unpredictability of beauty'Public release date: 16-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Teresa Riordan triordan@princeton.edu 609-258-9754 Princeton University, Engineering School
Online gallery features images from research
The Princeton University Art of Science 2013 exhibit can now be viewed in a new online gallery. The exhibit consists of 43 images of artistic merit created during the course of scientific research:
The gallery features the top three awards in a juried competition as well as the top three "People's Choice" images.
The physical Art of Science 2013 gallery opened May 10 with a reception attended by about 200 people in the Friend Center on the Princeton University campus. The works were chosen from 170 images submitted from 24 different departments across campus.
"Like art, science and engineering are deeply creative activities," said Pablo Debenedetti, the recently appointed Dean for Research at Princeton who served as master of ceremonies at the opening reception. "Also like art, science and engineering at their very best are highly unpredictable in their outcomes. The Art of Science exhibit celebrates the beauty of unpredictability and the unpredictability of beauty."
Adam Finkelstein, professor of computer science and one of the exhibit organizers, said that Art of Science spurs debate among artists about the nature of art while opening scientists to new ways of "seeing" their own research. "At the same time," Finkelstein said, "this striking imagery serves as a democratic window through which non-experts can appreciate the thrill of scientific discovery."
The top three entrants as chosen by a distinguished jury received cash prizes in amounts calculated by the golden ratio (whose proportions have since antiquity been considered to be aesthetically pleasing): first prize, $250; second prize, $154.51; and third prize, $95.49.
The first prize image was "East-West, West-East" by Martin Jucker in the Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. Second Prize went to "Crushed birch," by Michael Kosk, Class of 2016, in the Woodrow Wilson School. Third Prize went to "Web of Art and Science" by Paul Csogi of the Lewis Center for the Arts and Chris Cane of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.
The juried prize winners were selected by a distinguished panel of judges: David Dobkin, Dean of the Faculty; the photographer Emmet Gowin; the poet Paul Muldoon; Shirley M. Tilghman, molecular biologist and President of Princeton University; and Katherine Bussard, Peter C. Bunnell curator of photography at the Princeton Art Museum.
Bussard said she was delighted to see the range of subject matter in the 2013 exhibit. "This year's theme of 'connections' generated such an array of images," she said. "The exhibit includes structural diagrams that resemble flowers, a close-up of cellulose that looks like an aerial photograph, and lots of pictures of worms!"
Bussard said she was particularly enchanted by a photograph of C. elegans worms under a microscope that undergraduate Meredith Wright '13 snapped with her cellphone camera. "She cleverly titled her work 'C. instagram' to drive home the way such a image shared through social media can instantly connect new audiences with science," Bussard said.
The People's Choice award winners were selected by paper ballots filled out by those attending the Art of Science 2013 opening reception. Out of 139 ballots cast, first prize for People's Choice went to "Messenger Meshwork," by Shawn C. Little, Kristina S. Sinsimer, Elizabeth R. Gavis, and Eric F. Wieschaus in the Department of Molecular Biology. Second People's Choice prize went to "Bridging the Gap," by Jason Wexler and Howard A. Stone of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Third prize went to "Medusa," by Jamie Barr and Cliff Brangwynne of the Departments of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Molecular Biology.
Victoria Sanchez, a graduate student in chemical and biological engineering and one of the 2013 organizers, noted that the winners selected by the jury and those selected by visitors to the opening reception were completely different. "It is a very nice example of how subjective art is," she said. "The way you view an image can be strongly influenced by your own scientific background since each image has scientific merit as well as an aesthetic one."
The physical exhibit is located in the Friend Center on the Princeton University campus in Princeton, N.J.. The exhibit is free and open to the public, Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
###
Art of Science 2013 is sponsored by the David A. Gardner '69 Fund in the Council of the Humanities, the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, and the School of Engineering and Applied Science. It is co-sponsored by the Office of the Dean for Research, Lewis Center for the Arts, PICSciE, Keller Center, Office of the Vice President for Facilities, Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, the Cooperative Institute for Climate Science, and the departments of Astrophysical Sciences, Computer Science, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Molecular Biology, Physics, and Psychology.
The organizers for Art of Science 2013 are Zach Donnell, Department of Molecular Biology; Adam Finkelstein, Department of Computer Science; Teresa Riordan, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Victoria Sanchez, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Andrew Zwicker, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.
###
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Art of Science exhibit celebrates the 'unpredictability of beauty'Public release date: 16-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Teresa Riordan triordan@princeton.edu 609-258-9754 Princeton University, Engineering School
Online gallery features images from research
The Princeton University Art of Science 2013 exhibit can now be viewed in a new online gallery. The exhibit consists of 43 images of artistic merit created during the course of scientific research:
The gallery features the top three awards in a juried competition as well as the top three "People's Choice" images.
The physical Art of Science 2013 gallery opened May 10 with a reception attended by about 200 people in the Friend Center on the Princeton University campus. The works were chosen from 170 images submitted from 24 different departments across campus.
"Like art, science and engineering are deeply creative activities," said Pablo Debenedetti, the recently appointed Dean for Research at Princeton who served as master of ceremonies at the opening reception. "Also like art, science and engineering at their very best are highly unpredictable in their outcomes. The Art of Science exhibit celebrates the beauty of unpredictability and the unpredictability of beauty."
Adam Finkelstein, professor of computer science and one of the exhibit organizers, said that Art of Science spurs debate among artists about the nature of art while opening scientists to new ways of "seeing" their own research. "At the same time," Finkelstein said, "this striking imagery serves as a democratic window through which non-experts can appreciate the thrill of scientific discovery."
The top three entrants as chosen by a distinguished jury received cash prizes in amounts calculated by the golden ratio (whose proportions have since antiquity been considered to be aesthetically pleasing): first prize, $250; second prize, $154.51; and third prize, $95.49.
The first prize image was "East-West, West-East" by Martin Jucker in the Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. Second Prize went to "Crushed birch," by Michael Kosk, Class of 2016, in the Woodrow Wilson School. Third Prize went to "Web of Art and Science" by Paul Csogi of the Lewis Center for the Arts and Chris Cane of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.
The juried prize winners were selected by a distinguished panel of judges: David Dobkin, Dean of the Faculty; the photographer Emmet Gowin; the poet Paul Muldoon; Shirley M. Tilghman, molecular biologist and President of Princeton University; and Katherine Bussard, Peter C. Bunnell curator of photography at the Princeton Art Museum.
Bussard said she was delighted to see the range of subject matter in the 2013 exhibit. "This year's theme of 'connections' generated such an array of images," she said. "The exhibit includes structural diagrams that resemble flowers, a close-up of cellulose that looks like an aerial photograph, and lots of pictures of worms!"
Bussard said she was particularly enchanted by a photograph of C. elegans worms under a microscope that undergraduate Meredith Wright '13 snapped with her cellphone camera. "She cleverly titled her work 'C. instagram' to drive home the way such a image shared through social media can instantly connect new audiences with science," Bussard said.
The People's Choice award winners were selected by paper ballots filled out by those attending the Art of Science 2013 opening reception. Out of 139 ballots cast, first prize for People's Choice went to "Messenger Meshwork," by Shawn C. Little, Kristina S. Sinsimer, Elizabeth R. Gavis, and Eric F. Wieschaus in the Department of Molecular Biology. Second People's Choice prize went to "Bridging the Gap," by Jason Wexler and Howard A. Stone of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Third prize went to "Medusa," by Jamie Barr and Cliff Brangwynne of the Departments of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Molecular Biology.
Victoria Sanchez, a graduate student in chemical and biological engineering and one of the 2013 organizers, noted that the winners selected by the jury and those selected by visitors to the opening reception were completely different. "It is a very nice example of how subjective art is," she said. "The way you view an image can be strongly influenced by your own scientific background since each image has scientific merit as well as an aesthetic one."
The physical exhibit is located in the Friend Center on the Princeton University campus in Princeton, N.J.. The exhibit is free and open to the public, Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
###
Art of Science 2013 is sponsored by the David A. Gardner '69 Fund in the Council of the Humanities, the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, and the School of Engineering and Applied Science. It is co-sponsored by the Office of the Dean for Research, Lewis Center for the Arts, PICSciE, Keller Center, Office of the Vice President for Facilities, Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, the Cooperative Institute for Climate Science, and the departments of Astrophysical Sciences, Computer Science, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Molecular Biology, Physics, and Psychology.
The organizers for Art of Science 2013 are Zach Donnell, Department of Molecular Biology; Adam Finkelstein, Department of Computer Science; Teresa Riordan, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Victoria Sanchez, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Andrew Zwicker, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.
###
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
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Public release date: 20-May-2013
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