The next time you stroll through downtown Kabul, you might be able to buy batteries from a RadioShack (RSH) outlet, the result of a new effort by the U.S. to shore up Afghanistan’s economy: selling American franchises to Afghan entrepreneurs.The U.S. has set a 2014 deadline for troops to withdraw from Afghanistan and turn security over to Afghan military and police. That is prompting capital...
James Cameron Relives Voyage to Ocean’s Deepest Spot
Label: TechnologySAN FRANCISCO — The first thing James Cameron saw 7 miles below the sea was man-made: tracks from a remotely operated vehicle.“When I got to the bottom, I saw skid marks from the ROV,” Cameron said yesterday (Dec. 4) here at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union, referring to a 2009 survey by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. Scientific results of the film director’s expedition...
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards to duet on “Letterman” Top 10
Label: LifestyleLOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are no strangers to Top 10 lists, but now they’re poised to expand their knowledge of them beyond the music charts.Rolling Stones leaders Jagger and Richards will appear on “Late Show With David Letterman” on Tuesday to deliver the Top Ten list for the night, CBS said Friday.Though this will mark the first time that Jagger and Richards have...
USDA to allow more meat, grains in school lunches
Label: HealthWASHINGTON (AP) — The Agriculture Department is responding to criticism over new school lunch rules by allowing more grains and meat in kids’ meals.Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told members of Congress in a letter Friday that the department will do away with daily and weekly limits of meats and grains. Several lawmakers wrote the department after the new rules went into effect in September saying...
Dec
07
Oil prices fall slightly after US jobs report
Label: BusinessThe price of oil ended the week lower after the latest U.S. jobs report offered a mixed picture of the economy.Benchmark oil dropped 33 cents to finish at $ 85.93 per barrel in New York Friday, which marked the fourth consecutive day of price declines. Oil fell 3.4 percent this week.The Labor Department said 146,000 jobs were created in November, which was more than economists had anticipated. The...
Protesters surge around Egypt’s presidential palace
Label: WorldCAIRO (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of Egyptian protesters surged around the presidential palace on Friday and the opposition rejected President Mohamed Mursi‘s call for dialogue to end a crisis that has polarized the nation and sparked deadly clashes.The Islamist leader’s deputy said he could delay a December 15 referendum on a constitution that liberals opposed, although the concession only partly...
The Era of Twitter Without Instagram Has Now Begun
Label: TechnologyWe know everyone is a little bummed about all those filtered photos disappearing from your Twitter streams this weekend, but let’s not get all worked up about it: They are disappearing, and there is no scandal.RELATED: Why You Can’t See Instagram Photos on Twitter AnymoreTechCrunch’s Drew Olanoff got a little too excited on Friday and thought a single in-stream photo meant that Instagram...
“American Idol” producer Nigel Lythgoe signs with Shine America
Label: LifestyleLOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – “American Idol” and “So You Think You Can Dance” executive producer Nigel Lythgoe has entered a multi-year production deal with Shine America.Under the exclusive deal between Nigel Lythgoe Productions and Shine, Lythgoe will jointly develop and produce entertainment franchises for the global television marketplace with the Shine Group, Shine America CEO Rich Ross said Thursday.Nigel...
Should breast cancer patients skip the pre-op MRI?
Label: HealthNEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A new review of existing evidence suggests that using magnetic resonance imaging to “stage” a woman’s breast cancer before surgery might do more harm than good.MRI produces a much clearer image than X-rays and ultrasound, and is recommended for detecting early tumors in women at increased risk for breast cancer. But routinely using the technology once any woman is diagnosed...
Dec
06
Ghana election to test credentials of “model democracy”
Label: BusinessACCRA (Reuters) – Ghanaians choose on Friday who will run one of Africa‘s most stable democracies as a surge in oil revenues promises to boost development and economic growth.Ghana has earned a reputation as an oasis of stability and progress in West Africa, a part of the world better known for civil wars, coups, entrenched poverty and corruption.“These elections are important not just to Ghana, but...
Zynga moves to enter US gambling market
Label: TechnologyNEW YORK (AP) — Online games company Zynga said it has asked Nevada gambling regulators for a decision that could pave the way for it to enter the U.S. gambling market.This follows Zynga’s October disclosure that it has signed a deal to offer online poker and casino games, played with real money, in the U.K. It plans to launch those games in the first half of 2013.Zynga Inc. said in an email late...
“Breaking Bad,” dominates Writers Guild TV nominations
Label: LifestyleLOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Dark drug drama “Breaking Bad” dominated television nominations for the annual Writers Guild Awards on Thursday, with “Modern Family” leading the way in the comedy category.A trio of HBO newcomers – Lena Dunham‘s “Girls,” Aaron Sorkin‘s “The Newsroom,” and political satire “Veep” – will compete in the new series category, along with network comedy “The Mindy Project” and country...
Amarin raises $100 million to help launch heart drug
Label: Health(Reuters) – Biopharmaceutical company Amarin Corp Plc said it raised $ 100 million in non-equity financing that will help it form a sales force to launch its heart drug Vascepa.Amarin shares, however, fell 22 percent after the bell as the company did not announce a sale or a partnership to market the drug, as some investors had expected.“This transaction provides Amarin with non-dilutive capital that...
Dec
05
UK warned on debt ‘credibility’
Label: Business5 December 2012 Last updated at 14:28 ETThe UK’s failure to meet a key public debt target “weakens the credibility” of its top AAA credit rating, the Fitch ratings agency has said.Debt will now not fall as a proportion of the country’s output until 2016-17, a year later than Chancellor George Osborne had targeted.Fitch said that the Autumn Statement confirmed the scale of the challenge facing the...
Death toll from Philippine typhoon nears 300
Label: WorldNEW BATAAN, Philippines (AP) — Stunned parents searching for missing children examined a row of mud-stained bodies covered with banana leaves while survivors dried their soaked belongings on roadsides Wednesday, a day after a powerful typhoon killed nearly 300 people in the southern Philippines.Officials fear more bodies may be found as rescuers reach hard-hit areas that were isolated by landslides,...
Microsoft #DroidRage Tweet Shows How Malware Has Moved Past Windows
Label: Technology“Do you have an Android malware horror story?” Microsoft asks through its @windowsphone Twitter account, in what may be one of the most ironic tweets of the year.After all, it wasn’t that long ago that “virus” and “worm” stories made headlines on a regular basis, all of them about “computer viruses” which were really Windows viruses. Just a few years ago, Apple advertised the fact that a Mac “Doesn’t...
A Minute With: Scottish DJ Calvin Harris hits big time in U.S
Label: LifestyleLOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Scottish DJ Calvin Harris may not be the most recognizable face in the U.S. music scene, but after writing Rihanna‘s biggest chart hit and with two other top 20 singles, Harris is fast becoming a chart staple.Harris, 28, found success in the UK over the last five years before storming the Billboard Hot 100 earlier this year with “We Found Love,” a dance-infused dark love song...
Lilly tests therapy to rid brain plaques in mice with Alzheimer’s
Label: Health(Reuters) – Drugmaker Eli Lilly & Co said it may have found a way to remove plaque from the brains of forgetful, old mice using an experimental therapy it hopes someday will be used to treat Alzheimer’s disease in humans.Previous animal studies have demonstrated that it is possible to prevent the formation of brain plaques, which are thought to be a hallmark of the progressive memory-robbing disease....
Dec
04
When Mobile Market Research Is Talkin’ Loud and Saying Nothin’
Label: BusinessAccording to a report released today from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech (apparently a division of UniWeb Digicyber Softlutions), Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone was the best-selling smartphone in the U.S. for the 12-week period ended Oct. 28th.Kantar’s data shows that iOS smartphones (remember, Apple sells the iPhone 5, but also the 4S and 4 models at a discount) command 48.1 percent of the market. That’s up 25.7...
WestJet embraces tech to woo business travelers
Label: WorldTORONTO (Reuters) – WestJet Airlines Ltd will use technological innovation, including a new Internet ticket booking system, to help it transform from a no-frills carrier to a lower-cost full-service airline courting lucrative corporate travelers, its chief executive said on Monday.Canada’s second-biggest airline plans to launch a series of technology systems, most notably the new online booking engine,...
Disney loses appeal of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” ruling
Label: LifestyleLOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The Walt Disney Co. was ordered to pay the British creator of the television game show “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” $ 319 million after a Los Angeles court rejected the company’s request for a new trial.Britain’s Celador International, which created the quiz show, sued Disney in 2004 alleging that the company hid some of the show’s U.S. profits from Celador.A three-judge...
Flu Season Begins Earliest in a Decade
Label: HealthFlu season 2012-13 has begun in the United States, according to Dr. Thomas Friedan, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . The good news: The vaccine available for the season matches up well with the flu already being reported. This information, coupled with the fact that there are ample flu shots to go around, bodes well for those who have been immunized and for those wanting...
Dec
03
Auto sales race to five-year high for November
Label: Business(Reuters) – Auto sales in November raced to a five-year high for that month on a rebound from storm-ravaged October and the need to replace aging vehicles, leaving industry executives optimistic about 2013.Sales in November rose 15 percent to 1.14 million vehicles, the highest level for that month since 2007, before a recession caused a dramatic decline in demand and led to the bankruptcy filings...
Official: Syria moving chemical weapons components
Label: WorldWASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. and allied intelligence have detected Syrian movement of chemical weapons components in recent days, a senior U.S. defense official said Monday, as the Obama administration strongly warned the Assad regime against using them.A senior defense official said intelligence officials have detected activity around more than one of Syria‘s chemical weapons sites in the last week. The...
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