UPS pays $40M to end online pharmacies probe

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Shipping company UPS has agreed to pay $40 million to end a federal criminal probe connected to its work for online pharmacies.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday that the Atlanta-based company would also "take steps" to block illicit online drug dealers from using their delivery service.

The DOJ says the fine amount is the money UPS collected from suspect online pharmacies.

UPS won't be charged with any crimes. Its biggest rival, FedEx Corp., has also been a target of the federal investigation.

The investigation of the two companies stems from a global campaign to shutter illicit online pharmacies launched in 2005. Since then, dozens of arrests have been made and thousands of websites closed worldwide as investigators continue to broaden the probe beyond the operators.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ups-pays-40m-end-online-pharmacies-probe-173535406--finance.html

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Business, labor close on deal for immigration bill

FILE - In this May 17, 2012 file photo, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Big business and major labor unions appeared ready Friday, March 29, 2013 to end a fight over a new low-skilled worker program that had threatened to upend negotiations on a sweeping immigration bill in the Senate providing a pathway to citizenship for 11 million immigrants already in the U.S. Schumer, who's been brokering talks between the AFL-CIO and the Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement that negotiators are "very close, closer than we have ever been, and we are very optimistic." He said there were still a few issues remaining. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

FILE - In this May 17, 2012 file photo, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Big business and major labor unions appeared ready Friday, March 29, 2013 to end a fight over a new low-skilled worker program that had threatened to upend negotiations on a sweeping immigration bill in the Senate providing a pathway to citizenship for 11 million immigrants already in the U.S. Schumer, who's been brokering talks between the AFL-CIO and the Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement that negotiators are "very close, closer than we have ever been, and we are very optimistic." He said there were still a few issues remaining. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Big business and major labor unions appeared ready Friday to end a fight over a new low-skilled worker program that had threatened to upend negotiations on a sweeping immigration bill in the Senate providing a pathway to citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants already in the U.S.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who's been brokering talks between the AFL-CIO and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement that negotiators are "very close, closer than we have ever been, and we are very optimistic." He said there were still a few issues remaining.

The talks stalled late last week amid a dispute over wages for workers in the new program, and senators left town for a two-week recess with the issue in limbo. Finger-pointing erupted between the AFL-CIO and the chamber, with each side accusing the other of trying to sink immigration reform, leaving prospects for a resolution unclear.

But talks resumed this week, and now officials from both sides indicate the wage issue has been largely resolved. An agreement would likely clear the way for a bipartisan group of senators to unveil legislation the week of April 8 to dramatically overhaul the U.S. immigration system, strengthening the border and cracking down on employers as well as remaking the legal immigration system while providing eventual citizenship to millions.

"We're feeling very optimistic on immigration: Aspiring Americans will receive the road map to citizenship they deserve and we can modernize 'future flow' without reducing wages for any local workers, regardless of what papers they carry," AFL-CIO spokesman Jeff Hauser said in a statement. "Future flow" refers to future arrivals of legal immigrants.

Under the emerging agreement, a new "W'' visa program would bring tens of thousands of lower-skilled workers a year to the country. The program would be capped at 200,000 a year, but the number of visas would fluctuate, depending on unemployment rates, job openings, employer demand and data collected by a new federal bureau pushed by the labor movement as an objective monitor of the market.

The workers would be able to change jobs and could seek permanent residency. Under current temporary worker programs, workers can't move from employer to employer and have no path to permanent U.S. residence and citizenship.

The new visas would cover dozens of professions such as long-term care workers and hotel and hospitality employees. Currently there's no good way for employers to bring many such workers to the U.S.; an existing visa program for low-wage nonagricultural workers is capped at 66,000 per year and is supposed to apply only to seasonal or temporary jobs.

The Chamber of Commerce said workers would get paid actual wages paid to American workers or the prevailing wages for the industry they're working in, whichever is higher. The Labor Department determines prevailing wage based on rates prevailing in specific localities, so that it would vary from city to city.

The labor organization had accused the chamber of trying to pay workers in the new program poverty-level wages, something the chamber disputed.

There was also disagreement about how to deal with certain higher-skilled construction jobs, such as electricians and welders, and it appears those will be excluded from the deal, said Geoff Burr, vice president of federal affairs at Associated Builders and Contractors. Burr said his group opposes such an exclusion because, even though unemployment in the construction industry is high right now, at times when it is low there can be labor shortages in high-skilled trades and contractors want to be able to bring in foreign workers. But unions pressed for the exclusion, Burr said.

The low-skilled worker issue had loomed for weeks as perhaps the toughest matter to settle in monthslong closed-door talks on immigration among Schumer and seven other senators, including Republicans John McCain of Arizona and Marco Rubio of Florida. The issue helped sink the last major attempt at immigration reform in 2007, when the legislation foundered on the Senate floor after an amendment was added to end a temporary worker program after five years, threatening a key priority of the business community.

The amendment passed by just one vote, 49-48. President Barack Obama, a senator at the time, joined in the narrow majority voting to end the program after five years.

___

Follow Erica Werner on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ericawerner

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-29-Immigration/id-f3b8353c38984d139c8d1cb47ee273d0

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Britain opens inquest into Berezovsky's unexplained death

By Maria Golovnina

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain opens a judicial inquiry into the death of Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky on Thursday to establish how he died in the locked bathroom of his vast mansion near London.

Berezovsky, who survived years of intrigue, power struggles and assassination attempts in Russia, was found dead on Saturday in his home in Ascot, a town close to Queen Elizabeth's Windsor Castle.

Police said there was no sign of a struggle and the 67-year-old's death was "consistent with hanging", suggesting he might have killed himself.

Berezovsky was the king-maker behind Vladimir Putin's ascent to power in Russia but later became his number-one enemy and fled to Britain in 2000.

Berezovsky's associates have hinted he was depressed after losing a $6 billion (3.9 billion pounds) court case against another tycoon, Roman Abramovich, last year, when a judge humiliated him publicly by saying he was an unimpressive and unreliable witness.

Other people close to him have said they were not convinced by the official account.

"If he really hanged himself why was that not known from the very beginning?" said Andrei Sidelnikov, an opposition figure who knew Berezovsky. "I don't believe it was a suicide."

In Russia, state media quoted Deputy Prosecutor General Alexander Zvyagintsev as saying the government would continue efforts to "bring back assets that Berezovsky and his accomplices acquired criminally and legalised abroad".

Mass-circulation tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda, which supports the Kremlin, ran a front page headline on Wednesday that read: "Did Berezovsky hang himself or did he have help?"

The inquest will open in the town of Windsor on Thursday.

MANIPULATOR

A master of political manipulation, Berezovsky had been known as the "godfather of the Kremlin" and wielded immense influence during a decade that followed the Soviet collapse.

Once a mathematician with Nobel Prize aspirations, he built a massive business empire under former President Boris Yeltsin and was the first of Russia's so-called oligarchs.

He then became one of the first victims of a ruthless political crackdown of the early Putin era after falling out with his prot?g?.

Once in exile, Berezovsky often said he feared for his life, particularly after the fatal poisoning of his friend and former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko with a dose of the radioactive isotope polonium-210 in London in 2006.

Another friend and business partner, Badri Patarkatsishvili, also died in unclear circumstances two years later.

For many, Berezovsky personified the decade of wild capitalism, chaos and violence that followed the Soviet fall. He left a trail of enemies in Russia and beyond, and no doubt once featured on many a hit list.

Berezovsky survived an assassination attempt in 1994 when a bomb exploded in his car, decapitating his driver.

In his final months he led a much less extravagant life, apparently bitter and broken and rarely seen in public.

He suffered another blow in 2011 when he was forced to pay one of Britain's biggest divorce settlements to his former wife Galina. Media reported the settlement topped $100 million.

"My father was not the typical parent, nothing about him was ordinary," said his daughter Anastasia in a tribute. "He has coloured my life in infinite ways, and I know that what he concerned himself most with was making all his children proud."

(Additional reporting by Steve Gutterman in Moscow; Writing by Maria Golovnina; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/britain-opens-inquest-berezovskys-unexplained-death-231602692.html

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Who really shot Osama bin Laden?

Despite renewed controversy over who actually killed Osama bin Laden, the one member of SEAL Team Six who could settle the whole thing -- and the man who may have actually pulled the trigger that fateful night -- may never speak out, according to new reports and a former member of the elite unit.

"You're never going to hear from him," the ex-SEAL Team Six member told ABC News. "I've spoken to him. He's just the type that doesn't care about it... [He] doesn't think he did anything special. He simply pulled the trigger when he was supposed to. That's why he'll never go public."

The al Qaeda leader was killed almost two years ago, but questions over who exactly took him down reignited this week after a pair of reports -- first out of the special operations website SOFREP.com and then from CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen -- cited anonymous SEAL Team Six members who claimed that the account of "the Shooter" featured in a recent Esquire magazine article was, to quote SOFREP's source, "complete bulls**t."

Both CNN's and SOFREP's reports cite a single anonymous SEAL Team Six member each, and both point out apparent inconsistencies in the Esquire account.

In the Esquire article, an ex-SEAL, who the magazine only calls "the Shooter," claims he and another SEAL, the "point man," were alone on the stairs heading up to the third floor of bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Before they reached the third floor, the point man saw a man poke his head out of the bedroom doorway on the third floor so the point man unleashed a few shots in his direction. The shots missed, however, and when the pair reached the third floor, the point man peeled off to tackle two women who were in the hallway -- a move meant to protect his teammates from possible suicide bombs. The Shooter, then, was the first to enter the bedroom where he came face-to-face with bin Laden, standing just inches away, and was the one who shot him three times in the head before he could get to a nearby AK-47.

READ: Bin Laden Shooter Reportedly Speaks: 'That's Him, Boom, Done'

That account is markedly different from the first SEAL account of the raid, as written by the pseudonymous Mark Owen in the book "No Easy Day," which came out last fall.

In Owen's account, Owen, the point man and a third SEAL -- since identified as Esquire's "the Shooter" -- all went up to the third floor together after the point man's shots from the stairway. But when they entered bin Laden's room together, they found the al Qaeda leader already down and bleeding from the head. The point man's earlier shots had apparently connected.

The two women were inside the bedroom when the point man, having deemed the downed bin Laden was not a threat, tackled them into the corner. Owen and the Shooter then fired a few more bullets into bin Laden's dying body. Only later did the SEALs realize who they had killed, Owen said.

READ: Former SEAL on Why We Shot Bin Laden on Sight

Clouding the events further is another account written by "Black Hawk Down" author Mark Bowden called "The Finish" based on interviews with higher-level military officials up the chain of command all the way to President Obama. In that account, three SEALs ascended the steps together but bin Laden was alive and standing in the bedroom when the point man entered. The point man tackled the two women in the room and the second SEAL through the door, who Bowden did not identify, was the one that shot bin Laden first in the chest and then in the head.

Bowden's book, which was still in press when "No Easy Day" hit bookshelves, later carried an insert deferring to Owen's version of events.

Esquire Author: Claims 'Extraordinarily Speculative'

The unidentified SEALs who spoke recently to CNN and SOFREP said certain parts of Esquire's Shooter account don't add up, such as the idea the Shooter knew bin Laden was a threat because he had a weapon nearby. They said that none of the SEALs knew that an AK-47 was nearby until minutes after bin Laden was killed when they found it during a search of the compound. It was stashed above the bedroom doorway, where the Shooter would not have seen it as he entered, they said.

In addition, the Shooter's detractors claimed the men on the mission had been told to try not shoot bin Laden in the head for identification purposes, meaning the Shooter either ignored that directive when he was just feet from his target, or, in their opinion, it was more likely the point man's shots were the ones that killed bin Laden well before the SEALs knew who it was they had hit.

Phil Bronstein, the executive chairman of the Center for Investigative Reporting and author of the Esquire article, told ABC News Wednesday he "absolutely" stands by his original story and said arguments like those made by the other SEALs are "extraordinarily speculative... about what they would've done, what they shouldn't have done."

Bronstein also referred ABC News to Wednesday's statement from Esquire's Editor in Chief, David Granger, which defended the Esquire story, saying that facts of the original article had been vetted by SEAL Team Six members.

"Multiple members of SEAL Team Six confirmed the Shooter was one of those two [first on the top floor] and reported to us that it was known within the unit that the Shooter had fired the fatal shots," Granger wrote. "Other individuals briefed on the mission confirmed this to us."

A spokesperson for the U.S. Special Operations Command, which oversees the Joint Special Operations Command that launched the raid, told ABC News the command wouldn't be the one to settle the controversy anytime soon. He declined to comment on operations and said the official version of events probably wouldn't be declassified for more than two decades.

That leaves the point man, the only SEAL in the room when bin Laden breathed his last who hasn't spoken publicly, to throw his hat in the ring. And according to the CNN and SOFREP reports and the ex-SEAL with whom ABC News spoke, he's not the type to trade the special warfare shadows for the media spotlight. Not "in a million years," the CNN report said.

One thing every account does agree on is that the point man was one of the heroes of that night for risking his life to tackle the two women closest to bin Laden.

"If either woman had on a suicide vest, he probably saved our lives, but it would've cost him his," Owen wrote in "No Easy Day." "It was a selfless decision made in a split second."

"He thought he was going to absorb the blast of suicide vests; he was going to kill himself so I could get the shot. It was the most heroic thing I've ever seen," the Shooter said in Esquire.

CLICK HERE to return to The Investigative Unit homepage.

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mystery-seal-could-settle-bin-154506551.html

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Ecobank says 2012 profit rose to highest ever of $348 mln

LAGOS (Reuters) - Pan-African lender Ecobank Transnational (ETI) said on Wednesday its full-year pretax profit rose 25 percent in 2012 to its highest ever of $348 million, compared with $277 million the previous year.

ETI, which has operations in 32 African countries, said in the results announcement that gross earnings jumped 46 percent to $1.8 billion during the period, adding it will pay a dividend of $0.4 per share on June 20.

Ecobank shares rose 1.5 percent to 14 naira on the Nigerian bourse at 1151 GMT to hit a market value of 185 billion naira, stock exchange data showed. The lender also has listings in Ghana and the West African stock exchange.

It has gained 22 percent in the year to date in Nigeria.

ETI said that it had started to reap synergies from acquisitions in Nigeria and Ghana, exceeding its $300 million target for pretax profit for last year.

It closed a buy-out for failed Nigerian lender Oceanic bank and Ghana's Trust Bank in 2012.

The Togo-headquartered bank said it grew its loan book to $10 billion last year against $15 billion in customer deposits and total assets at $20 billion. It had a shareholders' fund of $2 billion in 2012, the bank said.

Shortly after he took up his post in October, Ecobank Chief Executive Thierry Tanoh said he the bank was seeking to enter into Equatorial Guinea, Angola and Mozambique.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ecobank-says-2012-profit-rose-highest-ever-348-114509028--finance.html

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Michael S. Broder, Ph.D.: Discover Ingredients for a Fulfilling ...

Whether you are in a long-term relationship or you're looking for one, you've probably noticed something rather obvious: that not all of us are looking for the exact same things in love relationships. Most of us have unique priorities when it comes to what we value most in this as well as every major aspect of our lives. But certain ingredients that stand the test of time usually characterize the most fulfilling marriages and love relationships. So whether yours is in a difficult period right now, or you simply want to make a good relationship even better, remember the acronym TOUCH:

T stands for tenderness and talking. Tenderness can be expressed both physically and emotionally. Think of this as how you express kindness and caring toward one another. This sounds simple and quite obvious, but isn't always easy when you're in the middle of life's challenges. Communication is also a key. Talk about the issues that concern you; and make it a priority to resolve conflicts before they grow larger.

O is for openness and objectivity. Expressing your thoughts and feelings when they occur can increase intimacy and closeness. Allow yourself to be vulnerable at times. True intimacy is about letting your partner know about parts of you that are most difficult to share. During conflict, being objective can often save the day. It may be easier to stand with your own perspective, but the bigger challenge is taking a step back and looking at your problem almost as if you were a third party. Then, it's much easier to go into problem solving mode. When neither of you are willing or able to do this, you're likely to hit an impasse resulting in more accumulated "baggage" when there's a disagreement.

U is for understanding. This is also known as empathy -- not necessarily agreeing with what your partner is feeling, but knowing and understanding it. Asking questions and showing genuine compassion for what your partner needs can help you know what kind of comfort and support to offer each other.

C is for chemistry and comfort. Who knows how chemistry develops, but it's an ingredient that can lead to great sexual, sensual, emotional, intellectual and spiritual connection. While passion in your relationship is important, so is the ability to be together during the ordinary and mundane moments of daily life. So strive for a healthy mix of chemistry and comfort as one more way to keep your romance alive.

H stands for honesty. This is another prerequisite for intimacy. But be careful about being so brutally honest that your message is lost in anger. The goal here is never to build resentment, but trust!

So together, take an inventory of your relationship; and commit to adopting or reigniting these ingredients as a roadmap to fulfillment for both of you!

More specific tips for improving your relationship can be found in my new book, Stage Climbing: The Shortest Path to Your Highest Potential.

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Follow Michael S. Broder, Ph.D. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/DrMichaelBroder

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-s-broder-phd/discover-ingredients-for-_b_2852370.html

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Business Highlights

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Study: Health overhaul to raise claims cost 32 percent

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Medical claims costs ? the biggest driver of health insurance premiums ? will jump an average 32 percent for Americans' individual policies under President Barack Obama's overhaul, according to a study by the nation's leading group of financial risk analysts.

The report could turn into a big headache for the Obama administration at a time when many parts of the country remain skeptical about the Affordable Care Act. The estimates were recently released by the Society of Actuaries to its members.

While some states will see medical claims costs per person decline, the report concluded the overwhelming majority will see double-digit increases in their individual health insurance markets, where people purchase coverage directly from insurers.

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Housing, manufacturing give US economy lift

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Gains in housing and manufacturing boosted the U.S. economy over the winter, according to reports released Tuesday, and analysts say they point to the resilience of consumers and businesses as government spending cuts kick in.

U.S. home prices rose 8.1 percent in January, the fastest annual rate since the peak of the housing boom in the summer of 2006. And demand for longer-lasting factory goods jumped 5.7 percent in February, the biggest increase in five months.

February new-home sales and March consumer confidence looked a little shakier, but the overall picture of an improving economy drove stocks higher on Tuesday.

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GM in next phase of hoped for Buick revival

NEW YORK (AP) -- Stop me if you've heard this one before: There's this famous car brand whose average driver is more familiar with Social Security than social media.

General Motors Co. will make another attempt to get Buick to appeal to younger buyers with freshened up versions of the Regal midsize sports sedan and the LaCrosse luxury car. GM unveils the pair Tuesday ahead of the New York auto show.

Youth has been the theme of several Buick marketing campaigns during the last three decades, with famous pitchmen like Tiger Woods and Shaquille O'Neal. Sales have even risen recently after a dramatic and lengthy decline. But even with that recent success, odds are against GM making Buick a go-to option for large numbers of drivers below the age of 40.

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T-Mobile to start selling iPhones on April 12

NEW YORK (AP) -- T-Mobile USA on Tuesday said it will start offering the iPhone on April 12, filling what its CEO said was "a huge void" in its phone lineup.

T-Mobile, the fourth-largest of the national U.S. phone companies, has been losing customers to the bigger companies, which all sell the iPhone.

The company will charge $100 up front for the iPhone 5, then another $20 per month for two years. That's on top of service fees for voice, text and data that start at $50 per month. Total monthly cost starts at $70 per month, substantially below prices offered by bigger companies.

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Cyprus businesses hurt as banks stay shut

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) -- Cypriot businesses were under increasing strain to keep running on Tuesday after financial authorities stretched the country's bank closure into a second week in a an attempt to stop depositors from rushing to drain their accounts.

Cyprus Central Bank governor Panicos Demetriades said "superhuman efforts are being made" to open banks on Thursday.

"Temporary" restrictions will be imposed on financial transactions once the banks open, he said, but he would not specify what they would be or how long they would be in place.

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Ratings dip but 'American Idol' gets the ads

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- In the heyday of "American Idol," the notion that it could lose ratings to a zombie slugfest or standard crime drama would have been laughable.

That was then. With Fox's singing contest shedding about 20 percent of its audience so far this season to hit new lows, it's been leapfrogged repeatedly in total viewers by series like CBS' "Person of Interest" and "NCIS."

In a harsher blow to a blockbuster that once ruled the advertiser-adored young adult segment, "American Idol" has been overtaken this season by AMC's "The Walking Dead," despite the addition of glossy new "Idol" judges Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban.

But in its 12th season, "American Idol" is managing to hit the right notes with sponsors if not always with fickle viewers: It has kept its status as TV's advertising leader among series and the loyalty of its biggest backers, including Ford and Coca-Cola.

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Berkshire amends warrant deal with Goldman Sachs

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Warren Buffett's company will likely become one of the biggest shareholders in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. later this year, and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. won't even have to part with any cash to do so.

Berkshire and Goldman said Tuesday that they had renegotiated an agreement that gave Berkshire the right to buy 43.5 million shares of the investment bank for $115 per share. Now the 2008 deal will be settled with stock this fall.

Buffett and Goldman Chairman and CEO Lloyd Blankfein both characterized the deal as an endorsement of the investment bank ? much as they did when Buffett invested $5 billion in Goldman during the financial crisis.

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Supervalu eliminating about 1,100 positions

NEW YORK (AP) -- Supervalu is eliminating about 1,100 jobs nationwide, or about 3 percent of its workforce, less than a week after the supermarket operator completed the sale of five grocery chains.

The company said Tuesday that sale of the five grocery chains means that the remaining business will need "significantly fewer" corporate and store support roles and functions.

Supervalu has struggled for years to turn around its business. The broader supermarket industry has been facing growing competition from big-box retailers like Target, drugstore chains and dollar stores. While bigger chains such as Kroger Co. have adapted by tweaking store formats and improving discount programs and product offerings, Supervalu has scrambled to keep pace.

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Warning issued on doctors' stakes in device firms

MIAMI (AP) -- Federal health officials have issued a rare warning about doctors' ownership of shares in medical device companies that allow them to profit from performing surgeries with those products.

The inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services issued a fraud alert Tuesday that called the practice "inherently suspect" and said it may violate anti-kickback laws.

The agency has only issued a handful of these national fraud alerts in the past 20 years and the warning sends a strong message to the medical industry.

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AP Source: CBS buys half of TV Guide net for $100 million

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A person familiar with CBS' deal for TV Guide says the broadcaster is buying a 50 percent stake in TV Guide's cable channel and website for nearly $100 million.

The price is less than what JPMorgan Chase's One Equity Partners paid for a similar stake four years ago and brings CBS Corp. into an equal partnership with Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.

The deal terms come from a person who wasn't authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

___

By The Associated Press(equals)

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 111.90 points, or 0.8 percent, to 14,559.65. The S&P 500 index rose 12.08 points, or 0.8 percent, to close at 1,563.77. The Nasdaq composite rose 17.18 points, or 0.5 percent, to 3,252.48.

Benchmark crude for May delivery rose $1.53 to finish at a five-week high of $96.34 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price many kinds of oil imported by U.S. refineries, rose $1.19 to end at $109.36 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

Wholesale gasoline rose 5 cents to finish at $3.11 a gallon. Heating oil added less than a cent to end at $2.88 a gallon. Natural gas advanced by 11 cents to finish at $3.98 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/business-highlights-221928528.html

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Hawley says budget changes to property tax law will not revoke all ...

Press release:

In response to widespread correspondence from his constituents, Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,I,C-Batavia) recently shed light on changes to the Basic STAR program in this year?s state budget.

Many property owners have expressed concern that their benefits will be revoked due to changes to the program in this year?s budget. However, the alterations merely call for those currently enrolled to register with the Commissioner of Tax and Finance through a yet-to-be-created form by April 1, 2014.

The purpose of the registration program is to verify a recipient?s eligibility and to determine if a homeowner is receiving more than one Basic STAR exemption.

?As the economy continues to struggle and property taxes become more of a burden for our families and businesses, it is critical that we ensure those who need and deserve relief are receiving it,? Hawley said.

?The changes to the Basic STAR program are meant to enforce the current requirements for eligibility and will not affect any property owner who currently qualifies. This measure will help protect funding for those who truly need it and deliver sorely needed relief to our families and businesses.?

Source: http://thebatavian.com/billie-owens/hawley-says-budget-changes-property-tax-law-will-not-revoke-all-star-benefits/36691

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Court grounds packed on first day of marriage case (The Arizona Republic)

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Knox will get Italian high court's decision

ROME (AP) ? Italy's highest court says it will issue a decision Tuesday morning on whether to overturn American student Amanda Knox's acquittal in the murder of her roommate.

The court heard six hours of arguments on Monday before going into deliberations. After several hours, it announced it would issue the decision at 10 a.m. (0900 GMT) Tuesday, an unusual but not unprecedented move.

The high court normally issues the decisions the same day it hears arguments. But prosecutor general Luigio Riello told reporters that "in very complex cases, it happens" that the court takes another day.

Lawyers for Knox's co-defendant, Raffaele Sollecito, declined to speculate on what the delay could mean for the decision. Both were acquitted in 2011.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/knox-must-wait-1-more-day-high-court-203217872.html

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Anxiety, hope as Supreme Court ponders gay marriage

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear two cases concerning marriage rights for same-sex couples. In one, United States v. Windsor, the court could determine whether the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) violates the constitutional rights of same-sex couples. The other, Hollingsworth v. Perry, tackles Proposition 8, California?s ban on gay marriage that voters narrowly passed in 2008.

Yahoo News asked Americans who will be affected by these cases to share their stories and perspectives. Here's a sampling of what they said.

'I can't help but hold on to a thread of hope'

In 2010, Jacob Z. Flores had two weddings. He and his husband got married first in Provincetown, Mass., and three weeks later they had a ceremony in their hometown of Victoria, Texas.

Their marriage was legal in Massachusetts. But, Flores writes, they held the second ceremony ?to demonstrate to our friends and family that we were just like the other married couples they knew, whether it was legal in Texas or not."

?Yet, when both weddings were over, I couldn't help but feel cheated," he continued. "In each other's eyes and in the eyes of our friends, we were husbands, but to the federal government we were not.?

So for Flores, this week?s arguments over same-sex marriage in the nation?s highest court are a reason to be hopeful. He sees the cases on DOMA and Proposition 8 as similar to bans on interracial marriage and notes that the Supreme Court struck down such laws.

?I can't help but hold on to a thread of hope,? Flores writes. ?My marriage might be recognized on a federal level soon.?

'I could not perform a gay wedding'

D.L. Teamor, 39, a pastor in Michigan, says she ?cannot and will not judge another person,? but that she feels gay marriage violates the tenets of her faith.

?I believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman as illustrated in the Bible, the nucleus of my faith,? Teamor writes. ?The laws and lessons contained therein do not change according to modern times or popular outlooks.?

She adds that performing a gay wedding ?would completely oppose my Christian beliefs."

?Sacrilege?

Another clergy member, Gerald Watt, has the same worries as Teamor. Watt says he supports civil unions but is opposed to same-sex marriage. ?To attempt to join two same sex individuals in the sacrament of marriage would be a sacrilege for me,? Watt writes.

He lives in Illinois, which is debating legalizing gay marriage. He notes that the proposed law allows for clergy to be exempt from performing same-sex weddings, but he fears that provision might not last.

?I can see a time when test cases will eventually force the government to withdraw credentials from clergy like me,? he writes. ?I might even be sued for violation of someone's civil rights.?

?Anxiety and anticipation?

Kate Coenen has been engaged since July, but she hasn?t made any solid wedding plans. Her fianc?e is finishing her degree at the University of Michigan, and they don?t know where they?ll live after graduation.

?Because each state has its own approach to same-sex marriage, we may end up in a state that won't recognize our relationship,? Coenen, 26, writes. Regardless of where they wind up, Coenen says she and her fianc?e ?plan on building our lives together whether or not we end up living in a state where we can marry legally.?

To her, the potential for broader recognition of gay marriage is more than just a symbol. She, too, wants to take advantage of ?tangible benefits that many people in straight couples take for granted.?

The end of DOMA ?would give our lives a greater degree of stability and certainty,? she writes.

But no matter how the Supreme Court cases turn out, Coenen, who was a student at the University of Iowa when the state?s Supreme Court legalized gay marriage there in 2009, is optimistic about the prospects for gay marriage.

?I look forward to sharing that future with my wife-to-be,? she writes.

?DOMA is a slap in the face?

A.R. Treadway lives with her partner of seven years in DeLand, Fla., where they are raising her son from, as she puts it, her ?former life.?

She believes ?DOMA is a slap in the face??one with practical implications for her family.

?I want to be able to have the same rights and protections my parents have,? Treadway writes. ?When my father passes away, my mother is eligible to collect his benefits [and] make arrangements for his burial. ... If I died tomorrow, my fianc? couldn't make funeral arrangements for me or claim my son as her son, which would mean a nasty court battle between my family and his birth father.?

She also hopes to one day see gay marriage recognized in all 50 states. But, as she awaits the outcome of the DOMA and Proposition 8 cases, she is seeing some advances for LGBT rights in Florida and is ?enjoying the little victories.?

Worry at church and at work

Matt Bianco, 36, of Southern Pines, N.C., works at a Christian company and is an elder in his church. He fears that broad legalization of gay marriage could force both institutions to violate their conscience.

?In both cases, they have the right, and possibly the duty, to oppose gay marriage, including the funding of health and benefits coverage for the gay spouse,? Bianco writes.

For him, the root of the problem is the government?s involvement in marriage in the first place. He writes that ?the government has usurped authority it does not have? by giving benefits to married couples. And now, with the Supreme Court cases looming, he sees moral conflicts on the horizon over the granting of those benefits.

?This is not simply a matter of gays wanting equal access to marriage; this is a case of the government imposing acceptance of and financial support of gay marriage upon individuals and employers who are morally opposed to gay marriage,? he writes.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/anxiety-hope-ahead-supreme-court-hearings-gay-marriage-170513043--politics.html

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Jim Carrey Commits Career Suicide After Anti-Gun Song? (VIDEO)

Jim Carrey Commits Career Suicide After Anti-Gun Song? (VIDEO)

Funnyman Jim Carrey may have just lost fans after releasing a controversial video and tweeting that people against stricter gun control are “heartless motherf**kers unwilling 2 Bend 4 the safety of our kids.” Carrey released a song called “Cold Dead Hand” on Funny or Die, which many people don’t find amusing whatsoever. Jim Carrey takes ...

Jim Carrey Commits Career Suicide After Anti-Gun Song? (VIDEO) Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/03/jim-carrey-commits-career-suicide-after-anti-gun-song-video/

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Improve Any Room With These Interior Design Tips ...

Are you aiming to design your home? Are you uncertain of where to start? Interior design can be fun and simple if you have the right advice. The following short article will show you how to decorate your residence like a professional.
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Layer in patterns and textures throughout your interior design. These touches can be intriguing and impressive. As well, the textures add a new sense measurement to your space. When people are enjoying your space, they will be engaged not only by their eyes, but also by their sense of touch.

You should also be conscious of what style you are aiming for. For instance, I am going to choose a country influenced style in my home since we have just relocated to an old farmhouse in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Using Amish rustic hickory furniture, I can make my home appear simple and traditional. Amish oak furniture also brings a different color palette to my space but still complements other woods. There are several pieces such as a mission style hutch or Amish coffee table to select from. By knowing what style you want, you could focus in furniture and hardware shops instead of impulse buying.

When you choose to paint your wall, make sure to select wall colors from the same family that contrast each other well. For instance, shades of blue should be joined a lighter blue or a shade of gray. Do not mix colors together that are hard on the eyes, such as blue and yellow.

Do you work from home? If so you may want to think of the colors you use so you can lessen distractions in that location. Blue and green are the very best colors to paint the walls due to the fact that they have relaxing properties, this will decrease your stress and lessen distractions while you are working.

You could significantly enhance your interior-design options throughout your next home-improvement task by wiring one of the outlets in a duplex wall socket to a light switch. This will let you use a table or flooring lamp to light the room while still having the convenience of a wall-mounted light switch.

Hanging artwork on a wall is a terrific way to perk up any space. However, it is necessary that you do not put up excessive; this will simply make the space look littered. If you have a large wall and want to fill out room, just get a larger piece of art.

A neutral cream is a great color for a corridor. This color is neutral and will complement colors in adjoining spaces. It is also a light color, and light colors bring brightness to the area and make it look bigger. The corridor color will remain to work even if you alter the colors of other rooms at a later time.

The best way to include natural light to a space you are designing is to set up a skylight. While expensive, skylights do the best job possible with regards to brightening your room with natural light. It would be smart to set up skylights in rooms that get the least amount of natural light, such as bathrooms and corridor passages.

Identifying the amount of room you have is vital to a successful home design project. Map out the spaces you are going to be making and record the heights and widths of your windows, doors, light switches, heaters, etc. Always use graph paper so that your drawings are exact. Measure your furniture and draw an outline of each piece. Doing these things helps ensure a higher opportunity of success.

Avoid dark colored tile in the restroom. Although it might look good and coordinate well with elegant accents, cleaning is fairly burdensome. Film from soap and streaks from steam will have your tiles looking filthy even if you?ve just cleaned them. Pick lighter and brighter colored tiles for a fresh and clean look in the restroom.

Now you ought to be ready to turn your house into the home you have always imagined. With the appropriate suggestions, decorating is made much simpler. Use these handy suggestions shared here and you can decorate the space you reside in and make it a place to be proud of.

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Source: http://culturapopulara.ro/?p=40457

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Glass-blowers at a nano scale

Mar. 25, 2013 ? EPFL researchers are using the electrical properties of a scanning electron microscope to change the size of glass capillary tubes -- Their method has already been patented as it could pave the way to many novel applications.

Have you ever thrown into the fire -- even if you shouldn't have -- an empty packet of crisps? The outcome is striking: the plastic shrivels and bends into itself, until it turns into a small crumpled and blackened ball. This phenomenon is explained by the tendency of materials to pick up their original features in the presence of the right stimulus. Hence, this usually happens when heating materials that were originally shaped at high temperatures and cooled afterwards.

EPFL researchers realized that this phenomenon occurred to ultrathin quartz tubes (capillary tubes) under the beam of a scanning electron microscope. "This is not the original microscope's purpose. The temperature increase is explained by an accumulation of electrons in the glass. Electrons accumulate because glass is a non-conductive material." explains Lorentz Steinbock, researcher at the Laboratory of Nanoscale Biology and co-author of a paper on this subject published in Nano Letters.

As the glass shrinks, it can be seen live on the microscope screen. "It's like a glass-blower. Thanks to the possibilities provided by the new microscope at EPFL's Center of Micronanotechnology (MIC), the operator can adjust the microscope's voltage and electric field strength while observing the tube's reaction. Thus, the person operating the microscope can very precisely control the shape he wants to give to the glass," says Aleksandra Radenovic, tenure-track assistant professor in charge of the laboratory.

At the end of this process, the capillary tube's ends are perfectly controllable in diameter, ranging from 200 nanometers to fully closed. The scientists tested their slimmed down tubes in an experiment aiming to detect DNA segments in a sample. The test sample was moved from one container to another on a microfluidic chip. Whenever a molecule crossed the "channel" connecting the containers, the variation of the ion current was measured. As expected, the EPFL team obtained more accurate results with a tube reduced to the size of 11 nm than with standard market models. "By using a capillary tube costing only a few cents, in five minutes we are able to make a device that can replace "nano-channels" sold for hundreds of dollars!" explains Aleksandra Radenovic.

These nano-fillers have a potential beyond laboratory usage. "We can imagine industrial applications in ultra-high precision printers, as well as opportunities in surgery, where micro-pipettes of this type could be used at a cell's scale," says the researcher.

For the time being, the method for manufacturing nano-capillary tubes is manual, the transition to an industrial scale will take some time. However, the researchers have been able to demonstrate the concept behind their discovery and have registered a patent. Therefore, the road is already paved.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Ecole Polytechnique F?d?rale de Lausanne, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. L. J. Steinbock, J. F. Steinbock, A. Radenovic. Controllable Shrinking and Shaping of Glass Nanocapillaries under Electron Irradiation. Nano Letters, 2013; : 130318124758001 DOI: 10.1021/nl400304y

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

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/MagwEdbjdsE/130325111156.htm

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US hands prison over to Afghans

FILE ? This Sept. 27, 2010, file photo reviewed by the U.S. military, shows a U.S. military guard walking a corridor between detainee cells at the Parwan detention facility near Bagram, north of Kabul, Afghanistan. Saturday, March 23, 2013, the Pentagon said the U.S. has reached an agreement with the Afghanistan government to transfer the facility to Afghan control. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel spoke with Afghan President Hamid Karzai Saturday as officials finalized the agreement after days of intense negotiations. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File)

FILE ? This Sept. 27, 2010, file photo reviewed by the U.S. military, shows a U.S. military guard walking a corridor between detainee cells at the Parwan detention facility near Bagram, north of Kabul, Afghanistan. Saturday, March 23, 2013, the Pentagon said the U.S. has reached an agreement with the Afghanistan government to transfer the facility to Afghan control. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel spoke with Afghan President Hamid Karzai Saturday as officials finalized the agreement after days of intense negotiations. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File)

FILE ? This March 23, 2011, file photo shows Afghan detainees through a wire mesh fence inside the Parwan detention facility near Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan. Saturday, March 23, 2013, the Pentagon said the U.S. has reached an agreement with the Afghanistan government to transfer the facility to Afghan control. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel spoke with Afghan President Hamid Karzai Saturday as officials finalized the agreement after days of intense negotiations. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin, File)

FILE ? In this March 23, 2011, file photo a U.S. military guard watches over detainee cells inside the Parwan detention facility near Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan. Saturday, March 23, 2013, the Pentagon said the U.S. has reached an agreement with the Afghanistan government to transfer the facility to Afghan control. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel spoke with Afghan President Hamid Karzai Saturday as officials finalized the agreement after days of intense negotiations. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

BAGRAM, Afghanistan (AP) ? The U.S. military gave control of its last detention facility in Afghanistan to Kabul on Monday, a year after the two sides initially agreed on the transfer.

The handover of Parwan Detention Facility ends a bitter chapter in American relations with Afghanistan's mercurial president, Hamid Karzai, who demanded control of the prison as a matter of national sovereignty.

The dispute threw a pall over the ongoing negotiations for a bilateral security agreement that would govern the presence of U.S. forces in Afghanistan after 2014.

Top U.S. commander in Afghanistan Gen. Joseph Dunford handed over Parwan, located near the U.S.-run Bagram military base north of Kabul, at a ceremony there after signing an agreement with Afghan Defense Minister Bismullah Khan Mohammadi.

"The transfer of the detention facility is an important part of the overall transition of security lead to Afghan National Security Forces. This ceremony highlights an increasingly confident, capable, and sovereign Afghanistan," Dunford said.

An initial agreement to hand over Parwan was signed a year ago, but efforts to follow through on it constantly stumbled over American concerns that the Afghan government would release prisoners that it considered dangerous.

A key hurdle was a ruling by an Afghan judicial panel holding that administrative detention, the practice of holding someone without formal charges, violated the country's laws. The U.S. argued that international law allowed administrative detentions and also argued that it could not risk the passage of some high-value detainees to the notoriously corrupt Afghan court system.

An initial deadline for the full handover passed last September and another earlier this month.

The formula for how the two sides resolved this dilemma has not been made public. Officials say that the Afghan government will be able to invoke a procedure that ensures prisoners considered dangerous will not be released from the detention center. According to a senior U.S. official in Washington, the agreement also includes a provision that allows the U.S. and Kabul to work together to resolve any differences. The official lacked authorization to discuss the details of the agreement publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The detention center houses about 3,000 prisoners and the majority are already under Afghan control. The United States had not handed over about 100, and some of those under American authority do not have the right to a trial because the U.S. considers them part of an ongoing conflict.

There are also about three dozen non-Afghan detainees, including Pakistanis and other nationals that will remain in American hands. The exact number and nationality of those detainees has never been made public.

A new agreement, or memorandum of understanding, was signed at the ceremony by Dunford and Khan, but the U.S. military said it will not be made public. The agreement supplants one signed last March, which had been made public.

The U.S. military said in a statement that the new agreement "affirms their mutual commitment to the lawful and humane treatment of detainees and their intention to protect the people of Afghanistan and coalition forces," an apparent reference to the release of detainees deemed to be dangerous.

The handover should also open the way for a resumption of talks for a bilateral security agreement that would govern the presence of U.S. forces in Afghanistan after 2014.

It is part of an ongoing effort to gradually shift control of the country's security to the Afghans as the U.S. and allies move toward the full withdrawal of combat troops by the end of 2014.

There are about 100,000 coalition troops in Afghanistan, including about 66,000 from the United States. American officials have made no final decision on how many troops might remain in Afghanistan after 2014, although they have said as many as many as 12,000 U.S. and coalition forces could remain.

The U.S. started to hold detainees at Bagram Air Field in early 2002. For several years, prisoners were kept at a former Soviet aircraft machine plant converted into a lockup.

In 2009, the U.S. opened a new detention facility next door. The number of detainees incarcerated at that prison, renamed the Parwan Detention Facility, went from about 1,100 in September 2010 to more than 3,000.

After Monday's handover, it was renamed the Afghan National Detention Facility at Parwan and the U.S. military said it would provide the Afghan army with advisers and $39 million in funding.

The United States has spent about a quarter of a billion dollars to build the Bagram facility along with Kabul's main prison located in the capital.

_____

Patrick Quinn contributed from Kabul.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-25-Afghanistan/id-65542736ec1e4b3d82e5df71e29ee17e

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NYC art museum accused of duping visitors on fees

In this Tuesday, March 19, 2013 photo visitors to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York wait in line to buy admission tickets. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

In this Tuesday, March 19, 2013 photo visitors to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York wait in line to buy admission tickets. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

In this Tuesday, March 19, 2013 photo the exterior of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is photographed. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

In this Tuesday, March 19, 2013 photo visitors to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York congregate in the main lobby. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

In this Tuesday, March 19, 2013 photo, the board at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York displays admission fees, which are recommended but not mandatory. Many visitors to the museum, especially foreign tourists, don?t realize that the fees listed on the sign are merely suggestions. Confusion over what?s required to enter the Met, which draws more than 6 million visitors a year, is at the heart of a class-action lawsuit this month accusing it of an illegal ?scheme? to defraud the public into believing the fees are required. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Before visitors to the Metropolitan Museum of Art can stroll past the Picassos, Renoirs, Rembrandts and other priceless works, they must first deal with the ticket line, the posted $25 adult admission and the meaning of the word in smaller type just beneath it: "recommended."

Many people, especially foreign tourists, either don't see it, don't understand it or don't question it. If they ask, they are told the fee is merely a suggested donation: You can pay what you wish but you must pay something.

Some who choose to pay less than the full price pull out a $10 or $5 bill. Some fork over a buck or loose change. Those who balk at paying anything at all are told they won't be allowed in unless they pay something, even a penny.

"I just asked for one adult general admissions and he just said, '$25,'" says Richard Johns, a high school math teacher from Little Rock, Ark., who paid the full price at the museum this past week. "It should be made clear that it is a donation you are required to make. Especially for foreign tourists who don't understand. Most people don't know it."

Confusion over what's required to enter one of the world's great museums, which draws more than 6 million visitors a year, is at the heart of a class-action lawsuit this month accusing the Met of scheming to defraud the public into believing the fees are required.

The lawsuit contends that the museum uses misleading marketing and training of cashiers to violate an 1893 New York state law that mandates the public should be admitted for free at least five days and two evenings per week. In exchange, the museum gets annual grants from the city and free rent for its building and land along pricey Fifth Avenue in Central Park.

Met spokesman Harold Holzer denied any deception and said a policy of requiring visitors to pay at least something has been in place for more than four decades. "We are confident that the courts will see through this insupportable nuisance lawsuit."

The suit seeks compensation for museum members and visitors who paid by credit card over the past few years.

"The museum was designed to be open to everyone, without regard to their financial circumstances," said Arnold Weiss, one of two attorneys who filed the lawsuit on behalf of three museum-goers, a New Yorker and two tourists from the Czech Republic. "But instead, the museum has been converted into an elite tourist attraction."

Among the allegations are that third-party websites do not mention the recommended fee, and that the museum sells memberships that carry the benefit of free admission, even though the public is already entitled to free admission.

Lined up to testify is a former museum supervisor who oversaw and trained the Met's admissions cashiers from 2007 to 2011. Michael Hiller, the other attorney representing the plaintiffs, said the supervisor trained cashiers to encourage visitors to pay the full freight by saying things like "you must realize it is very expensive to run the museum." He will also say that in 2010-2011 the term on the sign was changed from "suggested" to "recommended" because administrators believed it was a stronger word that would encourage people to pay more.

The Met's Holzer denied the former employee's allegations. He also said the basis for the lawsuit ? that admission is intended to be free ? is wrong because the state law the plaintiffs cited has been superseded many times and the city approved pay-what-you-wish admissions in 1970.

"The idea that the museum is free to everyone who doesn't wish to pay has not been in force for nearly 40 years," Holzer said, adding, "Yes, you do have to pay something."

As to the wording change on the sign, he said the museum "actually thought at the time, and still thinks, that 'recommended' is softer than 'suggested,' so the former employee is quite wrong here."

New York City's Department of Cultural Affairs agreed to the museum's request in 1970 for a general admission as long as the amount was left up to individuals and that the signage reflected that. Similar arrangements are in place for other cultural institutions that operate on city-owned land and property and receive support from the city, such as the American Museum of Natural History and the Brooklyn Museum. It's also a model that's been replicated in other cities.

The Metropolitan Museum is one of the world's richest cultural institutions, with a $2.58 billion investment portfolio, and isn't reliant on admissions fees to pay the majority of its bills. Only about 11 percent of the museum's operating expenses were covered by admissions charges in the 2012 fiscal year. As a nonprofit organization, the museum pays no income taxes.

Holzer also noted that in the past fiscal year, 41 percent of visitors to the Met paid the full recommended admission price ? $25 for adults, $17 for seniors and $12 for students.

A random sampling of visitors leaving the museum found that there was a general awareness that "recommended" implied you could pay less than the posted price.

But Dan Larson and his son Jake, visiting the museum last week from Duluth, Minn., were unaware there was any room to negotiate the admission price. They paid the full $25 each for adult tickets.

"My understanding was you pay the recommended price," said Larson, 50. "That's clearly not displayed."

Alexander Kulessa, a 23-year-old university student from Germany, said friends who had previously visited New York tipped him off about the admission fee.

"They said, 'Don't pay $25,'" said Kulessa. "They said it will be written everywhere to pay $25 but you don't have to pay that. You don't even have to pay the student price."

For Colette Leger, a tourist from Toronto who visited the museum with her teenage daughter, paying the full $25 was worth every penny.

"It's a beautiful museum and I was happy to pay," she said.

___

Associated Press writer Jake Pearson contributed to this report.

___

www.metmuseum.org

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-03-25-Museum%20Admissions/id-4027da7768724f9792bca6e5279a282f

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Bose SoundLink Bluetooth Mobile Speaker II

Bose products may have their detractors in audiophile circles, but there are many things the company does right, and some the company does brilliantly. The original Bose SoundLink Bluetooth Mobile Speaker is the perfect example of the latter. It's the compact, sounds excellent, and streams stereo Bluetooth audio reliably. The SoundLink Bluetooth Mobile Speaker II ($299.95 direct) is an evolution of the first version, and contains just enough improvements to keep it at the top of the heap for portable wireless Bluetooth speakers?including retaining its Editors' Choice award.

Design, Covers, and Setup
At first glance, it's easy to dismiss the SoundLink Bluetooth Mobile II as a minor update, but there's more going on underneath the surface than it appears. As before, the SoundLink II's nylon and leather covers denote the two trim levels. For $299.95, you can get a black-trimmed SoundLink II with a dark gray nylon cover; a chrome-trimmed premium version comes with a dark brown leather cover for $349.95. You can also buy accessory covers in red or blue nylon for $39.95 each, or in black or tan leather for $59.95 each.?All of the covers are of a new bi-fold design that doubles as the stand (when opened) and the power switch (when closed), which evokes the Apple iPad with its Smart Cover.

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Otherwise, externally, the SoundLink II remains the same. It measures a svelte 5.1 by 9.6 by 1.9 inches (HWD) and weighs 2.9 pounds. It's certainly portable in that it's lighter than most full-size iPod speaker docks, and with the attached cover it folds up nicely. However, it's not as small or light as something like, say, the Beats by Dre Pill; just keep in mind that everyone's definition of "portable" is different.

A battery indicator light at the top of the front panel lets you know the unit's status when you plug it in, while a companion Bluetooth icon pulses in pairing mode, stays solid when connected, and flashes when it can't find any nearby paired Bluetooth devices.?The top edge features a row of oversized buttons: Power, Aux, Bluetooth, Mute, and Volume. The back panel, as before, includes a DC power in jack, a micro USB port labeled "service," and a 3.5mm auxiliary input. The DC jack is a bit of a disappointment, because it means you'll need to take the included AC adapter with you everywhere; some other portable Bluetooth speakers use micro USB, which makes it easier to charge multiple devices with a single cable. The built-in rechargeable battery lasts for eight hours of moderate-level listening, and takes three hours to fully charge with the AC adapter.

Pairing with the SoundLink II is simple, and it remembers the last six devices you connected with. I had no problem pairing the SoundLink II with an iPhone 5, upon which I tested the unit with a series of locally stored tracks in various music genres. There's no multi-point support, so you can't leave two devices connected simultaneously and stream from either one; still, it's simple to just power one off and power up the other before cueing up your music.

Performance and Conclusions
Underneath the speaker grille, the SoundLink II features new neodymium drivers and revised digital signal processing circuitry. That's in addition to the original model's dual-opposing passive radiators. The SoundLink II sounds robust considering its tiny size; it puts out a lot of sound with a smooth, even timbre. That said, it's not for audiophiles; there's a lot of digital signal processing going on underneath the hood to prevent distortion and project so much output, and this has a tendency to make things sound nice, but not natural.

When compared with the original SoundLink, the improvement is small, but noticeable. On our standard bass test track from The Knife, "Silent Shout," the new model doesn't distort at all when playing back the introductory electronic synth bass, which is the same as before. But the kick drum is ever so slightly punchier, with a short "boom" tail, on the new model; that's not as good as some larger speakers we've tested, but it's a bit more than you get with the original model, which barely registered in that frequency range.

With other test tracks, the sound was much closer between the two models. Muse's "The Resistance" sounded a bit crisper and less muddy with the SoundLink II, thanks to a slightly enhanced upper midrange presence and a smoother, airier-sounding high range. The same goes for Bill Callahan's "Drover;" his robust baritone sounded clear and full over the acoustic guitar on both models, although you get a slightly more realistic sense of the strings from the new model. One gripe with the older model remains: Sometimes the beginning of a song gets clipped off, either when cueing it up for the first time or when skipping between tracks, thanks to a delay in when the Bluetooth wireless protocol reconnects.

None of the sonic differences are dramatic, or even that noticeable at first listen; if you have the original SoundLink, there's no need to upgrade. But the modest revisions are enough to keep the SoundLink II in the lead as our favorite high-end portable stereo Bluetooth speaker. The Jawbone Big Jambox doesn't sound quite as crisp or detailed, but it's a solid option in its own right and worth consideration, thanks to its long 15-hour battery life, and ability to work as a speakerphone. If you want a low-cost Bluetooth speaker option that's exceptionally portable, have a look at the budget Editors' Choice Logitech UE Mobile Boombox, although that model doesn't begin to approach the SoundLink II's bass response or overall output level.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/SKIAup2t9ew/0,2817,2416617,00.asp

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Blockbuster's ailing UK stores sold to investment firm

LONDON (Reuters) - Blockbuster's chain of film and computer game rental shops in Britain has been sold to an investment firm, two months after the struggling retailer went into a form of bankruptcy protection, administrators said on Saturday.

Deloitte, which took control of Blockbuster's British operations after it entered administration on January 16, said the company had been sold to Gordon Brothers Europe for an undisclosed sum.

Under the terms of the deal, the global restructuring specialist will keep 264 of Blockbuster's 528 stores, safeguarding the jobs of nearly half its 4,190 staff.

Blockbuster's UK shops fell victim to increased competition from supermarkets, the shift towards people watching films over the internet and a harsh economic backdrop in Britain.

"This transaction provides Blockbuster a future in the UK," said Deloitte's Lee Manning, joint administrator.

The new owners said the surviving shops would reopen under the Blockbuster brand, licensed from U.S. satellite TV company Dish Network, which owns the American operation.

Gordon Brothers Europe said it would make a "substantial" investment in the stores, offering new products to try to return the company to profitability.

"We acknowledge the industry is in transition; we know that we have a challenge ahead but there is still a market to be served," Frank Morton, chief executive officer of Gordon Brothers Europe, said in a statement.

Blockbuster opened its first shop in Britain in 1989 and its blue and yellow branding soon became a familiar site in most high streets across the country. It had nearly three million members before it closed its doors.

It was one of a string of household names in British retailing hit by the internet, increased competition and years of weak economic growth.

(Reporting by Peter Griffiths; editing by James Jukwey)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blockbusters-ailing-uk-stores-sold-investment-firm-162911541--finance.html

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