How to jailbreak iOS 6.0-6.1.2 untethered on all iOS devices (and 6.1.3 tethered on older iOS devices). Apple has released iOS 6.1.3 and 6.1.4; do not upgrade/restore (if you want to keep your jailbreak). You cannot downgrade/upgrade/restore to 6.1.2 using SHSH blobs on newer devices; older devices that can use SHSH blobs are iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and iPod touch 4th gen. Learn more.
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For the first time since the infamous 2012 Daytona 500, when Juan Pablo Montoya ran into a jet dryer and sent it erupting into a fireball, rain has forced the postponement of a NASCAR Sprint Cup race.
The Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway, the 17th race of the 2013 Sprint Cup season, was supposed to take place Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. ET, but persistent rains caused the event to be rescheduled for noon ET on Sunday.
After trying to wait out the rain, NASCAR officials pulled the plug for good around 9:15 p.m. Saturday night.
Weather could still play a factor on Sunday. The National Weather Service is calling for a 40-50 percent chance of rain all day on Sunday at the 1.5-mile Kentucky facility.
Track officials said parking lots will open at 8 a.m. Sunday and all speedway gates will open at 10 a.m. ?
Nokia's Lumia phones show promise despite the company's dwindling overall sales, and now's your chance to nab one at more affordable prices -- if you're willing to trade in an old phone, that is. The Finnish company's new trade up program in the US will take in old mobile devices and send back up to $300 loaded on a Visa prepaid card, so long as you also purchase a Lumia. A lot of brands and models are accepted (check out if yours is via the trade up portal linked below), but popular ones like the iPhone 4S, the Galaxy S 4, and the HTC One will net you the most money. So, if you're sick of being lost in a crowd of Androids and iPhones, now's the time to give WP8 a whirl.
No matter how you look at it, cutting energy innovation doesn?t make sense, Stepp writes. If the House Energy and Water appropriators are interested in ensuring national security and economic growth, then their proposed energy budget would look the opposite it does today
By Matthew Stepp,?Guest blogger / June 29, 2013
A wind turbine stands near Arlington, Ore. Federal investment in energy innovation enhance the United States? economic advantage and energy security, Stepp writes.
Rick Bowmer/AP/File
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The House Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee voted this week on an energy appropriations bill that decimates federal investment in clean energy innovation in the name of prioritizing funding for national security and economic growth. This bill presents the harshest proposed cuts to energy innovation programs in the last two years, cutting total funding for key Department of Energy offices by nearly 20 percent from already-sequestered FY2013 levels.
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To make matters worse, the most significantly impacted programs under the proposal are arguably the most important efforts for ensuring the future growth of clean energy in the United States. The legislation cuts the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) budget by 43 percent from FY2013 levels under sequestration, or nearly 65 percent from the President?s requested levels for FY2014. EERE?s responsibility as the ?connective tissue? of the U.S. energy innovation ecosystem, as well as its efforts to enable and develop an advanced manufacturing sector in the United States would likely be derailed by such significant funding cuts.
The proposal also calls for combining the programs within the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE) with those at EERE. Lack of specific details within the legislation prevent a full understanding of which projects within the two offices might be cut or eliminated, however it is clear that the proposal, which funds both EERE and OE at $982 million, would be a 67 percent cut from the President?s FY2014 request for the combined budgets ($2.9 billion).?
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R.J. Morris is a player easy to root for because he's like us, living out a childhood dream.
Only nine weeks from today the crew from College Gameday will be prepping us for the first Saturday of college football, but in the interim, get to know redshirt freshman R.J. Morris.
Morris is an offensive lineman who hails from Naperville, IL, and is one of those players who makes himself easy to root for. Like most of us, he grew up a Razorback fan but instead of remaining a just a fan, he headed to join the team as a preferred walk-on.
He stands at 6-foot-4, 312-pound and played guard and tackle in high school, and mind you, Bret Bielema loves these kids too because he was once a walk-on out of high school as well.
Now while most of us never had the opportunity to accept a preferred walk-on offer, I have respect for anyone in his shoes--at any level-- who pays his own way through school while experiencing the pressures of such a demanding extracurricular activity.
If you can handle the Mississippi State-esque cowbells midway through this video for a few minutes, here are some high school highlights:
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A native of Arkansas now calling the Hogs from yonder in Georgia, you can follow Graham on Twitter @grahamreaves or read his blog, On My Mind In Georgia.
Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts after beating Jeremy Chardy of France in their Men's singles match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Saturday, June 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)
Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts after beating Jeremy Chardy of France in their Men's singles match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Saturday, June 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)
Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns to Jeremy Chardy of France in their Men's singles match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Saturday, June 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)
Serena Williams of the United States plays a return to Kimiko Date-Krumm of Japan during their Women's singles match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Saturday, June 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
Jeremy Chardy of France returns to Novak Djokovic of Serbia in their Men's singles match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Saturday, June 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)
Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic plays a return to Ekaterina Makarova of Russia during their Women's singles match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Friday, June 28, 2013. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
LONDON (AP) ? Even by his own lofty standards, Novak Djokovic put in a Wimbledon performance that was close to perfect.
The top-ranked Serb played near-flawless tennis to reach the fourth round of the grass-court Grand Slam on Saturday, going close to a full match without making an unforced error in dispatching Jeremy Chardy of France 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.
Serena Williams wasn't bad either, giving a lopsided schooling to the oldest woman in the tournament.
Williams recorded her 600th career win, brushing aside 42-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-2, 6-0 in an evening match that was moved to Centre Court so it could be played under the lights with the roof closed.
It still wasn't as impressive as Djokovic's play on the same court earlier.
By the time he finally did make an error, it was the simplest sort. At 4-1, 40-0 in the third set, Djokovic double-faulted. Until that point, he had lost just three points on his own serve.
It was a temporary glitch, though, as he closed out the game on the next point, and wrapped up the match in just 87 minutes.
"Everything went my way," Djokovic said. "I did everything I wanted to do. ... When you play that well, obviously you feel great, you feel confident. This kind of performance came in the right time for me."
He finished with 38 winners and just three unforced errors in a masterful display that cemented his status as the favorite to win a second Wimbledon title, having seen seven-time champion Roger Federer and two-time winner Rafael Nadal already knocked out.
He will next face Tommy Haas, the 35-year-old German who is enjoying a late career revival and beat Feliciano Lopez of Spain 4-6, 6-2, 7-5, 6-4.
"He's playing maybe the best tennis ever," Djokovic said. "I don't see any clear favorite to be honest."
Most fans probably do, especially after Djokovic picked apart Chardy so convincingly. Even though fourth-seeded David Ferrer managed to advance in five sets and remain on course for a semifinal against Djokovic, most fans are probably already penciling the Serb's name in the final.
"Not many times it happens on the grass against a big server (that) you get to play this well and return this well," Djokovic said. "I managed to find the right balance."
Williams picked up where Djokovic left off, dominating Date-Krumm in their first career meeting.
Date-Krumm was the oldest woman to reach the third round of Wimbledon in the Open era ? having made the semifinals here in 1996 ? and the Japanese veteran never stood a chance against the power game of the 31-year-old Williams.
Williams finished with 28 winners to 8 for Date-Krumm and broke her five times. The five-time champion will next face Sabine Lisicki of Germany.
"It's unbelievable playing here on Centre Court, closed roof, under the lights," Williams said. "I don't think it gets any better for me than a closed roof on grass."
Ferrer had a much tougher time, struggling with blisters on his foot and the tenacious game of Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine before winning 6-7 (6), 7-6 (2), 2-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Top-ranked Serena Williams still had to play her third-round match against 42-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm of Japan.
Earlier, Petra Kvitova avoided becoming the latest former champion to be knocked out in the first week, rallying from a break down in the final set to beat Ekaterina Makarova of Russia 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.
Last year's runner-up, Agnieszka Radwanska, also advanced, while Centre Court featured another upset when ninth-seeded Richard Gasquet lost to Bernard Tomic, the Australian whose father has been barred from tournaments because of an assault case.
Radwanska held off a hard-serving performance by American teenager Madison Keys to win 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. Tomic, who in 2011 as an 18-year-old qualifier became the youngest Wimbledon quarterfinalist since Boris Becker in 1985, beat Gasquet 7-6 (7), 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (5).
Tomic's father and coach, John, is accused of head-butting his son's training partner before a tournament in Madrid and has been barred from even buying a ticket to Wimbledon. However, Tomic said he's still getting advice and help from his father.
"He's helping me at this tournament," Tomic said. "I'm not doing it on my own. My dad is still involved. That's why I've gotten to where I am in this tournament."
Former runner-up Tomas Berdych and No. 8 Juan Martin del Potro also advanced, although the latter said he would need to see a doctor after injuring his ankle and knee in a scary late fall during his 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-0 win over Grega Zemlja of Slovenia.
Del Potro hurt his left leg when chasing down a drop shot in the third set, skidding awkwardly on the grass and tumbling face first.
"It was really painful. I was a little scared at that moment," del Potro said.
As is traditional on the middle Saturday of the tournament, the Royal Box on Centre Court was filled with invited sports stars, this year mainly British gold-medal winners from the London Olympics. Among those getting the biggest ovation from the crowd were cyclists Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton, as well as Murray, who donned a suit and tie to make a brief appearance in the box to celebrate his singles gold medal won on Centre Court.
Laura Robson gave the crowd another reason to cheer when she became the first British woman since Sam Smith in 1998 to reach the fourth round. Robson rallied from a set and a break down to beat Marina Erakovic of New Zealand 1-6, 7-5, 6-3.
Igor Sijsling of Netherlands retired against Croatia's Ivan Dodig when trailing 6-0, 6-1, 1-0, the 13th retirement or walkover of the tournament. That equals a Wimbledon record from 2008.
Indian airline GoAir is--apparently--doing everything in its power to lighten its aircraft and improve fuel efficiency.
Like (who else?) Ryanair before it, the airline has decided to only hire lightweight female flight attendants in the future, since males are--in general--heavier. Taking a page right out of Ryanair's playbook, the airline will also reduce the size of the in-flight magazine and the amount of water in their fleet's water tanks.
The airline currently employs about 130 male flight attendants, who will not be dismissed. Yet over the next seven years, GoAir plans to induct about 80 aircraft, and the expected 2,000 future cabin recruits will be female only.
But will it actually work? An unnamed former executive with an Indian legacy carrier told the First Post, "There are umpteen number of things an airline can do to reduce weight. For example, it can reduce the weight of food and water that is carried on board, use lighter cutlery, uplift only as much fuel as is necessary depending on flight duration etc. GoAir uses Airbus 320 fleet which means it would have, on an average, four crew members per domestic flight. If even one of them is male, does it make such a huge difference to aircraft weight??
The physicial characteristics of flight staff has been a concern of airlines in many past instances, too. In August 2010, Turkish Airlines gave 28 flight attendants six months to lose weight or they'd be sacked. In March 2011, Thai Airways provided employees with required BMI and waist line measurements and told them they has six months to lose the weight. And finally, in March of this year, Nok Air released qualifications for its ideal cabin attendant on its Facebook page. She "must have a weight in proportion with their height" and "must not wear dental braces," for example.
BOSTON (Reuters) - A grand jury has indicted accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on charges of killing four people and using a weapon of mass destruction, federal prosecutors in Boston said on Thursday.
Tsarnaev, 19, is one of two ethnic Chechen brothers accused of carrying out the April 15 attack, which killed three people. A fourth victim, a university police officer, died in a gunfight with the pair four days later as authorities raced to capture them.
The younger Tsarnaev, who was badly injured in that gun battle, has been held in a prison hospital west of Boston since his capture on April 19.
(Reporting by Scott Malone; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)
Darko Milicic, second pick of the famed 2003 NBA draft, was a professional bust.
Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
Ten years ago, a young man destined to transform the sport of basketball was drafted into the NBA. He hadn?t played a single minute in college and had appeared on the cover of a national magazine before turning 18. ?He?s going to own the game,? one scout declared.
Darko Milicic did not own the game. A decade after he was chosen with the No. 2 pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, he?s not even playing in the NBA. The only player drafted above him, LeBron James, is celebrating his fourth league MVP and second NBA title; the three taken after him?Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade?are likely bound for the Hall of Fame. Draft ?busts? are a beloved sports talk topic, rich with the schadenfreude that comes when a bunch of people making a lot of money turn out to be terrible at their jobs. The common bust narrative decontextualizes its subject, with the bust seen as an isolated mistake as opposed to what it more often is?the product of widespread and deeply misbegotten consensus. The Detroit Pistons drafted Darko second overall because pretty much everyone would have drafted Darko second overall. In 2003, a scout told Sports Illustrated that one-fifth of NBA teams thought the young Serb would be better than LeBron himself.
How did so many of the league?s talent evaluators convince themselves of something that now seems so absurd? As Pistons GM Joe Dumars himself admitted last year, the Pistons didn?t know all that much about Milicic when they drafted him. ?With Darko, we may have had two sources of information. That was it,? Dumars said. Darko was the dubious beneficiary of a hazy mixture of groupthinking and magical thinking, a pre?YouTube moment made of wishful scouting reports from distant lands and flavored by a hint of racism. Milicic was the idealized vision of the Euro prodigy, a fantasy of the young and impossibly skilled white big man that proved so elusive in reality that it was practically cryptozoological. The story of Darko is the story of Nikoloz Tskitishvili, Maciej Lampe, Pavel Podkolzin, and Yaroslav Korolev, shipwrecks one and all, strewn upon the far shores of Basketball-Reference.com.
Before Darko, there was Dirk. In 1998, Germany?s Nowitzki was selected with the ninth pick in the draft. Three years later, both Pau Gasol and Tony Parker were taken in the first round. The Euro prodigy craze of the Milicic era, though, had less to do with the success of their continental predecessors than with the rise of young Americans like Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant. In 1995, Garnett became the first player in 20 years to jump from high school to the NBA, setting off a 10-year prep-to-pro run that produced some of the best players of a generation: Bryant, Jermaine O?Neal, Tracy McGrady, Amar?e Stoudemire, Dwight Howard, and of course LeBron James.
Despite their obvious skills, these players made many media members and front office executives uncomfortable. Intimations swirled that the game was deteriorating, that young Americans were bereft of ?fundamentals,? ?discipline,? and ?grounding??all qualities that European players were presumed to possess in abundance. Darko ?lives in a world where only the strong survive. He doesn?t need to be coddled,? declared ESPN?s Chad Ford, who in this period established himself as bard-poet of the Euro prodigy. (In 2003, Ford also questioned the Heat?s decision to draft Dwyane Wade over Maciej Lampe.)
On the one hand, as a 17-year-old whom only the smallest handful of NBA observers had ever laid eyes on, Darko was almost a parodic extreme of the sight-unseen adventurism of the prep-to-pro era. On the other, Darko was the imagined prep-to-pro antithesis, a man-child from a war-torn land who promised toughness and grit and everything that young American stars were imagined to lack. Ford interviewed an NBA scout who favorably compared Milicic to young American big men, whom the scout characterized as ?lazy and dunking all the time.? And as one unnamed insider told ESPN the Magazine for its cover story on Milicic: ?The brothers are gonna respect him.?
Ah yes, ?the brothers.? In case the racial overtones of all this weren?t suitably naked, Darko offered a potent Great White Hope-fulness at a time when dominant white American big men had seemingly gone the way of Bill Walton?s right foot. The great imagined fear of the prep-to-pro era was that (black) American teenagers would use their talent to con generous NBA benefactors out of millions, only to turn their attention to dunk contests and rap albums as they destroyed the moral fabric of basketball. (The fact that the NBA finally banned American high schoolers the same year that it implemented its controversial dress code hardly seemed coincidental.) One of the many ironies of Darko bust is that so many saw him as a bulwark against what he actually became: a terrible investment in an unprepared kid. He just didn?t look the part.
Any bust as spectacular as Milicic invites counterfactuals??what-ifs? and ?if-onlys.? Darko?s first coach, Larry Brown, was resolutely uninterested in the prized Serbian prodigy, playing him a total of 159 minutes in his rookie season. In a recent 2003 ?re-draft? for ESPN, Chad Ford had Darko going 14th overall to the Sonics, where, Ford notes, ?the chances of his earning minutes and developing right away would have gone up dramatically.? Earning many more minutes would have been difficult, though?had Darko played as often as LeBron James did that same season, he would have averaged more than eight fouls per game. A number like that is the mark of someone who does not know how to play basketball, and Brown had no interest in teaching him, not in a season in which the Pistons won the NBA championship, nor the next season when they were one quarter away from doing so again.
The team that?s done the best job developing international players was the same one that denied Darko?s Pistons their second title, the San Antonio Spurs. The 2013 Spurs have nine players who grew up outside the United States; according to this recent ESPN the Magazine story, they win because they Play the Right Way and eschew AAU phenoms who don?t dribble or pass.The ?recruiting analyst? concerned with ?loafing, lousy fundamentals, [and] a pervasive disinterest from players in showcasing anything but themselves? may not be the same voice that once urged the drafting of Darko over ?lazy and dunking? Americans. The tone sure matches, though, and it?s as ill-informed today as it was 10 years ago. Players like Manu Ginobili and Tiago Splitter?both of whom were drafted at age 22, and debuted in the NBA at 25?fit in with the Spurs for the same reason that Americans like Bruce Bowen and Danny Green fit in: They are experienced, thoroughly professional basketball players who know how to play in a system. That wasn?t the case with Darko, no matter his country of origin.
Darko wasn?t the first kid to go bust in the NBA?s youth-obsessed era. In 1999, Jonathan Bender was taken fifth overall and was out of the league after 262 injury-riddled games. Nor was Darko the first Euro prodigy to be grossly overvalued. In 2002, the Denver Nuggets drafted 19-year-old Nikoloz Tskitishvili fifth overall, four spots ahead of 19-year-old Amar?e Stoudemire. And Darko didn?t even have a totally terrible pro career?he logged serviceable years in Orlando, Memphis, and Minnesota, and for a long while his name graced one of the finest basketball blogs of all time. He just had a terrible career for a player drafted ahead of Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade, and as such is destined to spend eternity as the answer to a boringly easy trivia question.
In the 10 years since Darko came to America, international talent evaluation has become a calmer endeavor. In 2009, Spain?s Ricky Rubio was picked fifth overall and quickly emerged as one of the league?s most thrilling players; in 2011, the Czech Republic?s Jan Vesely was picked sixth overall and has thus far accrued more fouls than field goals. We?ve come to understand that sometimes these guys work out and sometimes they don?t, one of the many ways in which they are exactly like American players. Today, Darko would be drafted at an older age and likely stashed overseas for a few more years, at which point he?d join a team and might be a contributing player, even a star. But of course then he wouldn?t really be ?Darko,? the international superhero everyone tried a little too hard to believe in.
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Intel Corp's new CEO said on Friday he would speed up the rollout of chips for smartphones, tablets and wearable devices as consumers move away from personal computers.
Brian Krzanich, an Intel manufacturing guru who took over as chief executive officer in May, also took a cautious tone about the top chipmaker's planned foray into television and said Intel continues to look at the business model.
"We believe we have a great user interface and the compression-decompression technology is fantastic," Krzanich said. "But in the end, if we want to provide that service it comes down to content. We are not big content players."
In their first sit-down with reporters since their promotions in May, Krzanich and Intel President Renee James said wearable computing devices would become a key battleground for mobile industry players.
Krzanich, who mentioned he had Google's Glass wearable device in his knapsack, said computing in the next few years would focus more on items for eyes and ears, as well as wristbands and watches.
"I think you'll start to see stuff with our silicon toward the end of the year and the beginning of next year," Krzanich said. "We're trying to get our silicon into some of them, create some ourselves, understand the usage and create an ecosystem."
The world's biggest chipmaker dominates the PC industry, but has been slow to adapt its chips to be suitable for smartphones and tablets. Intel is anxious to make sure it does not fall behind in future technology trends.
Krzanich and James said that under their leadership, Intel will give much more priority to its Atom mobile chips. In the past, Intel's most cutting-edge manufacturing resources were reserved for making powerful PC chips, with Atom chips made on older production lines.
"We see that Atom is now at the same importance, it's launching on the same leading edge technology, sometimes even coming before Core (Intel's line of PC chips)," said Krzanich.
"We are in the process of looking at all of our roadmaps and evaluating the timing of some of those products. It's fair to say there are things we would like to accelerate."
BIGGER FOUNDRY BUSINESS
James said Intel would grow its small contract chip manufacturing business, a potentially significant source of revenues. As did his predecessor, Krzanich left open the possibility of opening Intel's factories to customers making chips designed with architectures that compete against Intel's own.
Apple Inc, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and other smartphone manufacturers favor processors designed with architecture licensed by Britain's ARM Holdings Plc, a trend Intel would like to reverse. Wall Street has speculated in recent years that Intel could strike a deal to manufacture Apple's iPhone chips.
"If there was a great customer that we had a great relationship with laptops and other mobile devices, and they said look, we'd really love you to build our ARM-based product, we'd consider it. It depends on how strategic they are," Krzanich said.
Krzanich, a three-decade Intel veteran, said he changes laptops and smartphones about once a month to try new ones out. He is currently using a Samsung Galaxy phone and a Lenovo Helix laptop with a detachable keyboard.
Under previous CEO Paul Otellini, Intel embarked on a plan to launch an Internet television service with live and on-demand content, entering a hotly competitive race outside its core chip business.
While Intel has said it expects to launch its service later this year, as of earlier this month it had not yet finalized programming deals with major content companies.
It faces competition from Apple, Amazon and Google, as well as traditional cable companies.
"We're being cautious. We're experts in silicon, we're experts in mobility, in driving Moore's law," Krzanich said. "But we are not experts in the content industry and we're being careful."
Processors based on technology from ARM and designed by Qualcomm Inc QCOM.O>, Samsung and Nvidia Corp account for most of the mobile market. But Intel has shown some recent signs of improvement in mobile, progress Krzanich is keen to build on.
Samsung has chosen an Intel processor for one of its top-tier Android tablets for the first time.
And last month, the U.S. chipmaker unveiled Silvermont, the most extensive overhaul of its mobile processors to date, with improved performance and lower power consumption that some experts believe might help it compete better against Qualcomm.
(Reporting by Noel Randewich, additional reporting by Bill Rigby; Editing by Bernard Orr)
NEW YORK (AP) ? Paula Deen's media and merchandising empire is collapsing.
Sears, J.C. Penney and Walgreen said Friday that they're cutting ties with Paula Deen, adding to the growing list of companies severing their relationship following revelations that the Southern celebrity chef used racial slurs in the past.
Meanwhile, Paula Deen's publisher has canceled a deal with her for multiple books, including an upcoming cookbook that was the No. 1 seller on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com.
Ballantine Books announced Friday it would not release "Paula Deen's New Testament: 250 Favorite Recipes, All Lightened Up," which was scheduled for October and was the first of a five-book deal announced early last year. Interest in it had surged as Deen, who grew up in Albany, Ga., and specializes in Southern comfort food, came under increasing attack for acknowledging she had used the N-word.
Ballantine, an imprint of Random House Inc., said it had decided to cancel the book's publication after "careful consideration." It had no comment beyond what was in its brief statement, spokesman Stuart Applebaum said.
Sears Holdings Corp. said it will phase out all products tied to the brand after "careful consideration of all available information."
"We will continue to evaluate the situation," said the parent company of Sears and Kmart stores.
Both Sears and Kmart sold Paula Deen products.
In an email statement to The Associated Press, J.C. Penney Co. Inc. said it decided to discontinue selling Deen-branded products.
Walgreen Co. said it was phasing out Paula Deen-branded products, which included tortilla chips and a selection of soups.
QVC took a more gentle approach on Friday and said that it has decided to "take a pause" from Deen. The home shopping network said that Deen won't be appearing on any upcoming broadcasts, and it will phase out her product assortment on its online sales channels over the next few months.
"We all think it's important, at this moment, for Paula, to concentrate on responding to the allegations against her and on her path forward," said Mike George, QVC's president and CEO in a letter posted on the company's website.
But QVC left the door open for Deen to return. "Some of you wonder whether this is a 'forever' decision ? whether we are simply ending our association with Paula," continued George. "We don't think that's how relationships work. People deserve second chances."
Deen issued her own statement that was posted on QVC's webpage. "As you know, I have some important things to work on right now, both personally and professionally. And so we've agreed that it's best for me to step back from QVC and focus on setting things right
The developments are the latest blows dealt to Deen since comments she made in a court deposition became public.
Earlier this week, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Target Corp. and Home Depot all announced that they plan to stop selling cookware and other items with Deen's brand.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Novo Nordisk said it and Deen have "mutually agreed to suspend our patient education activities for now." Deen, who specializes in Southern comfort food, had been promoting the company's drug Victoza since last year, when she announced she had Type 2 diabetes
On Monday, pork producer Smithfield Foods dropped her as a spokeswoman.
Caesars Entertainment also announced that Paula Deen's name is being stripped from four buffet restaurants owned by the company. Caesars said that its decision to rebrand its restaurants in Joliet, Ill.; Tunica, Miss.; Cherokee, N.C.; and Elizabeth, Ind., was a mutual one with Deen.
Last week, the Food Network said that it would not renew her contract.
The stakes are high for Deen, who Forbes magazine ranked as the fourth highest-earning celebrity chef last year, bringing in $17 million. She's behind Gordon Ramsay, Rachael Ray and Wolfgang Puck, according to Forbes.
Paula Deen Enterprises, which spans from TV shows to cookware and furniture, generates total annual revenue of nearly $100 million, estimates Burt Flickinger III, president of retail consultancy Strategic Resource Group.
But Flickinger estimates she could lose up to 80 percent of her business by next year as suppliers extricate themselves from their agreements.
Not every company Deen does business with has severed ties with the celebrity chef. Among other stores that sell her products, Kohl's Corp. declined to comment, while Macy's Inc. said Thursday that it continues to "monitor the situation."
Hoffman Media LLC, the publisher of "Cooking with Paula Deen" magazine, announced Friday that it was continuing to publish her bi-monthly publication.
"Hoffman Media has worked closely with Ms. Deen since 2005," said Eric Hoffman, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Hoffman Media in a statement. "The recent images portrayed by the media do not reflect the person we know on a personal or a professional level."
___
AP National Writer Hillel Italie contributed to this report
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WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) ? A New Zealand meteorologist took the last known calls from the seven people aboard an American schooner: "The weather's turned nasty, how do we get away from it?"
The phone calls and texts ended June 4. More than three weeks later, searchers said Thursday they have grave concerns for the crew on the classic 85-year-old wooden vessel that went missing while sailing from New Zealand to Australia. Attempts to contact the crew by radio and an aerial search this week have proved fruitless.
Authorities say the skipper of the 70-foot (21-meter) vessel Nina is American David Dyche. They say there are two other American men and three American women aboard, aged between 17 and 73. Also aboard is a British man, aged 35.
Messages posted online by friends indicate the boat originally left from Panama City, Florida.
Meteorologist Bob McDavitt said he took a satellite phone call from the boat June 3. A woman named Evi asked how to get away from the weather. He said to call back in 30 minutes after he'd studied a forecast. She did.
"She was quite controlled in her voice, it sounded like everything was under control," McDavitt said, adding that the call itself indicated she was concerned about the conditions.
McDavitt said he spoke only briefly to Evi, advising her to head south and to brace for a storm with strong winds and high seas. The next day he got a text, the last known communication from the boat: "ANY UPDATE 4 NINA? ... EVI"
McDavitt said he advised the crew to stay put and ride out the storm another day. He continued sending messages the next few days but didn't hear back. Friends of the crew got in touch with McDavitt soon after that, and then alerted authorities June 14.
Kevin Banaghan, who is spearheading search efforts by Maritime New Zealand's Rescue Coordination Centre, said rescuers weren't worried at first because there had been no distress call from the boat and its emergency locator beacon had not been activated. He said rescuers on June 14 initiated a communications search, in which they tried contacting the boat over various radio frequencies as well as contacting other vessels in the area to see if they'd spotted the Nina.
This week, he said, rescuers escalated their efforts. An Air Force plane on Tuesday searched the area where the boat went missing. A second search by the plane on Wednesday went as far as the Australian coast but again turned up nothing. Banaghan said searchers are considering their next options.
The boat left the Bay of Islands in northern New Zealand on May 29 bound for the port of Newcastle, near Sydney. The last communication was from 370 nautical miles west of New Zealand.
Banaghan said the crew hoped to arrive in Australia mid-June but that, given the conditions, he considered a realistic arrival date to be about June 25. He said Dyche is a qualified captain and the crew has varying degrees of experience.
"We're very concerned for their safety and wellbeing," he said.
Authorities say the storm three weeks ago saw winds gusting up to 110 kilometers (68 miles) per hour and waves of up to 8 meters (26 feet).
Banaghan said the Nina is a "lovely old craft" which won races when it was new and had been maintained in excellent condition. He added that it had a new engine installed in recent months which had apparently created some initial leaking problems.
He said there are several possible scenarios, including the boat losing communications, drifting off course, or the crew taking to lifeboats. He said there's also a possibility the boat suffered a catastrophic failure and sank before anybody had time to react.
It's going to be a very small picture, but we're all going to be in it. All trillions of us on Earth.
It's not our first group portrait, but Carolyn Porco, the woman in charge, says it's going to be gasp-worthy. She should know. She helped shoot some of the early ones.
What am I talking about?
Well, going back a bit, here's the first one, the granddaddy of Earth pictures. It's often called the "Blue Marble" shot, and it was our first look at our whole planet suspended in space, taken in 1972 as the Apollo 17 crew headed toward the moon. It makes us look dazzlingly blue ? and quite alone.
The next one on my list is trickier. For one thing, the camera was much farther from Earth ? about 3.7 billion miles away. It was on a space probe called Voyager sent by NASA to explore the outer solar system. In 1990, after traveling for 12 years, just as it was about to leave the solar system, astronomer Carl Sagan asked that it be turned around and given one last photographic instruction. Carolyn Porco was on the team that did this. Sagan wanted to make pictures of the various planets so we could see what we looked like from far, far away. Earth makes a teeny appearance here.
You can find us at the midpoint of this image, inside the band of scattered sun rays at the far right, peeping through. That little dot is Earth, our planet.
Looking at this, Carl Sagan thought, first, how small we look, how small we are ? which inspired him to write his eloquent Pale Blue Dot meditation, which, if you haven't read it lately, take a minute and a half to look at this short version gorgeously animated by Joel Somerfield at Order, a British design studio. Carl Sagan himself is narrating.
Our smallness, our alone-ness impressed Sagan, but so did our noisy colorfulness. We emit radio waves and TV signals. We have technology. We are blue in our watery parts, reddish on our land parts (because the chlorophyll in our plants absorbs red and blue light waves, reflecting green back into space). Which gave Sagan an idea.
Imagine you are sweeping through a solar system, looking for a place, any place that might harbor some sign of life, and there, in the blackness, you see a dot of light, a little pinprick shining back at you. Could you, from a distance, learn if there is life there? Are there telltale signs?
Check Out This Place Called 'Earth'
Sagan imagined four traits that he thought would be strong indicators of life: the persistent presence of methane, an unusual proportion of oxygen in the atmosphere (both often produced by life), a reddish coloring on land, (because of the chlorophyll) and radio waves. If the planet is broadcasting, somebody down there must be talking (and tinkering).
Then he proposed an experiment ? the first ever life-sensing test. He knew, back in 1990, that another NASA spacecraft, Galileo, was zipping past Earth on its way to Jupiter, so he asked NASA to turn to the probe to earth to see if it could pick up the four traits. Yup, yup, yup and yup. Methane, oxygen, reddish tones and radio waves, all of them, of course, were there.
Then, because he wanted this to be the world's first-ever controlled experiment in astrobiological sensing, he asked that the probe be turned to the moon.
Check Out This Place Called 'The Moon'
We all know there's life on Earth, (i.e., you reading this, me writing this) and we are pretty sure that there's none on the moon. It's cold. It's barren. It's always been so. So would Galileo pick up any life traces when looking moonward? No, no, no and no. Galileo sniffed and found "Nothing," says David Noever, a NASA astrobiologist.
"There was no evidence for life. No chlorophyll, no oxygen-methane atmosphere, no artificial radio transmissions. It was just as we would have expected, and consistent with the Sagan criteria."
Ever since, we have been looking, using Sagan's criteria and a few more, to hunt for signs of like on distant dots of light. We like signs of water. There are several watery orbs in our solar system. It's why we like the color blue. It's our color, and so it's a hue that teases us, that makes us wonder, "You too?"
The last photo on my list was taken in 2006 by the Cassini probe, 930 million miles from Earth, near Saturn. You can see some of Saturn's rings on the right. Earth, once again, is a little dot in the background, but in this image, we've enlarged ourselves, so you can see us better.
Carolyn Porco, now a team leader on the Cassini project, says what we see here, hanging in dark space, is a "pale blue orb, and a faint suggestion of the moon." The moon is a "dim protrusion to the upper left of Earth" and from this angle, if we could zoom in (we can't), we'd be looking down on the Atlantic Ocean and the west coast of North Africa.
In 2006, this was the best Cassini could do. But Carolyn says they're going to try again, On July 19, in just a few weeks, Cassini's cameras will take advantage of Saturn eclipsing the sun, and snap a new photo. It will be, says Carolyn "an image of the highest resolution we are capable of taking."
That doesn't mean we'll see cities glowing at night, or continents. What we will see, she thinks, is a telltale difference. The part of the image that is the moon, she says, will be "a colorless, star-like point of light." That's our lifeless moon. The other part, the bigger part, will have traces of color, hints of red, and the distinct blush of blue.
That little beacon of life-light, of course, is our home, our pale blue dot.
Pacifica shark attack: Shark attacks are on the rise, but odds of becoming a shark attack victim are still very close to nil.
By Elizabeth Barber,?Contributor / June 27, 2013
A great white shark near Mexico drags buoys after taking bait.
Chris Ross/Chris Fischer/National Geographic Channel
Enlarge
A shark attacked a kayaker near Pacifica State Beach in Pacifica, California on Tuesday, the latest victim in a rising tally of shark attacks that likely has less to do with burgeoning shark aggression and more to do with more aggressive media coverage of shark incidents.
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The victim, Micah Flansburg, was fishing some 100 yards off from the beach at 3:30 p.m. when a Great White shark rose up under the boat and then took it in its teeth. The man was frightened, but unharmed.
"It was intense. It was just like the Discovery Channel where you see the eyes roll to the back of the head and the pink gums and his teeth bared," Flansburg told ABC.
Shark attack news reached a decade high in 2012, with about 80 unprovoked shark attack reports?worldwide, seven of which were fatal. Some eight of those attacks were off the US Pacific coast and another 26 were in Florida, the state that accounts for about half of all shark attacks in the United States, mostly because that state?s appealing beaches are so heavily trafficked. North America as a whole also accounts for about half of all shark attacks worldwide, but researchers are unsure what combination of meteorological, oceanographic, economic, and social factors are to blame for that trend.
Attacks that are considered provoked, such as when a shark attacks someone trying to pet or fish it, are not included in those tallies. Attacks on already drowned humans are also not included.
On the whole, shark attacks have been on upswing over the last century, but scientists have said that those worrying numbers are largely due to increased efforts to document those incidents. Rates have also climbed as people spend more recreational time in the water, especially so in remote areas where sharks once reigned supreme. Other factors in shark attacks, such as climate change, have not yet been adequately studied to be linked to climbing reports of attack rates.
Some 60 percent of all shark attacks are on surfers, since that category of water users are more likely to be in the surf zone, where sharks sometimes lurk. Surfers are also more likely than swimmers to be kicking up water and alerting sharks to their presence.
In the event of a shark attack, scientists at The Florida Museum of Natural History recommend an aggressive response, like hitting its snout or clawing at its eyes or gills.
But that?s a tip we?re unlikely to ever need to use. The odds of becoming a shark attack victim, based on beach attendance rates in the US, is about one in 11.5 million. The odds of dying in an attack are about 0 in 264.1 million ? or, about nil.?
For perspective:
Odds of getting crushed by a vending machine are about 1 in 112 million.
Odds of becoming president are 1 in 10 million.
Odds of dating a supermodel are 1 in 88,000.
Odds of finding a pearl in an oyster are 1 in 12,000.
Odds are, these things are more likely to happen to you than a fatal shark attack.
Odds are, none of these things will happen to you.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) ? Rescue crews searching for a classic American schooner carrying seven people believe the boat sank between New Zealand and Australia, although they haven't given up hope of finding survivors.
A third day of aerial searches Friday turned up no sign of the 85-year-old wooden sailboat or its crew. Named Nina, the boat left New Zealand on May 29 bound for Australia. The last know contact with the crew was on June 4. Rescuers were alerted the boat was missing on June 14, but weren't unduly worried at first because the emergency locator beacon had not been activated.
The six Americans on board include captain David Dyche, 58, his wife Rosemary, 60, and their son David, 17. Also aboard was their friend Evi Nemeth, 73, a man aged 28, a woman aged 18, and a British man aged 35.
The leader of Friday's search efforts, Neville Blakemore at New Zealand's Rescue Coordination Centre, said it's now logical to assume the 70-foot (21-meter) boat sank in a storm but added it's possible some crew members survived either in the life raft that was aboard or by making land.
On the day the boat went missing, a storm hit the area with winds gusting up to 110 kilometers (68 miles) per hour and waves of up to 8 meters (26 feet).
Blakemore said the Southern Hemisphere winter months tend to produce the year's worst storms, although he added that he wouldn't normally expect a sturdy and well-maintained craft like the Nina to sink in a storm like the one in early June.
Friday's search focused on the coastline around northern New Zealand, including the small Three Kings Islands. Rescuers were looking for wreckage or the life raft.
Blakemore said plane searches earlier this week covered a wide band of ocean between New Zealand and Australia. He said searchers were considering their options for the weekend.
He said the logical conclusion is that the boat sank rapidly, preventing the crew from activating the locator beacon or using other devices aboard including a satellite phone and a spot beacon. He said that unlike many locator beacons, the one aboard the Nina is not activated by water pressure and wouldn't start automatically if the boat sank.
Dyche is a qualified captain and he and his family are experienced sailors. Blakemore said the family had been sailing around the world for several years and were often joined on different legs by friends and sailors they met along the way.
Susan Payne, harbor master of the St. Andrews Marina near Panama City, Florida, said the couple left Panama City in the Nina a couple of years ago and sailed to Mystic Seaport in Connecticut where they prepared for the trip.
New Zealand meteorologist Bob McDavitt was the last person known to have been in contact with the schooner, when the boat was about 370 nautical miles west of New Zealand.
He said Nemeth called him by satellite phone June 3 and said: "The weather's turned nasty, how do we get away from it?"
He advised them to head south and brace for the storm.
The next day he got a text, the last known communication: "ANY UPDATE 4 NINA? ... EVI"
McDavitt said he advised the crew to stay put and ride out the storm another day. He continued sending messages the next few days but didn't hear back. Friends of the crew got in touch with McDavitt soon after that, and then alerted authorities.
___
Associated Press writer Melissa Nelson-Gabriel in Pensacola, Florida, contributed to this report.
High-resolution mapping technique uncovers underlying circuit architecture of the brainPublic release date: 27-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Anne Holden anne.holden@gladstone.ucsf.edu 415-734-2534 Gladstone Institutes
Joint Gladstone-Salk study to help scientists decode circuitry that guides brain function
SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- The power of the brain lies in its trillions of intercellular connections, called synapses, which together form complex neural "networks." While neuroscientists have long sought to map these complex connections to see how they influence specific brain functions, traditional techniques have yet to provide the desired resolution. Now, by using an innovative brain-tracing technique, scientists at the Gladstone Institutes and the Salk Institute have found a way to untangle these networks. Their findings offer new insight into how specific brain regions connect to each other, while also revealing clues as to what may happen, neuron by neuron, when these connections are disrupted.
In the latest issue of Neuron, a team led by Gladstone Investigator Anatol Kreitzer, PhD, and Salk Investigator Edward Callaway, PhD, combined mouse models with a sophisticated tracing techniqueknown as the monosynaptic rabies virus systemto assemble brain-wide maps of neurons that connect with the basal ganglia, a region of the brain that is involved in movement and decision-making. Developing a better understanding of this region is important as it could inform research into disorders causing basal ganglia dysfunction, including Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease.
"Taming and harnessing the rabies virusas pioneered by Dr. Callawayis ingenious in the exquisite precision that it offers compared with previous methods, which were messier with a much lower resolution," explained Dr. Kreitzer, who is also an associate professor of neurology and physiology at the University of California, San Francisco, with which Gladstone is affiliated. "In this paper, we took the approach one step further by activating the tracer genetically, which ensures that it is only turned on in specific neurons in the basal ganglia. This is a huge leap forward technologically, as we can be sure that we're following only the networks that connect to particular kinds of cells in the basal ganglia."
At Gladstone, Dr. Kreitzer focuses his research on the role of the basal ganglia in Parkinson's and other neurological disorders. Last year, he and his team published research that revealed clues to the relationship between two types of neurons found in the regionand how they guide both movement and decision-making. These two types, called direct-pathway medium spiny neurons (dMSNs) and indirect-pathway medium spiny neurons (iMSNs), act as opposing forces. dMSNs initiate movement, like the gas pedal, and iMSNs inhibit movement, like the brake. The latest research from the Kreitzer lab further found that these two types are also involved in behavior, specifically decision-making, and that a dysfunction of dMSNs or iMSNs is associated with addictive or depressive behaviors, respectively. These findings were important because they provided a link between the physical neuronal degeneration seen in movement disorders, such as Parkinson's, and some of the disease's behavioral aspects. But this study still left many questions unanswered.
"For example, while that study and others like it revealed the roles of dMSNs and iMSNs in movement and behavior, we knew very little about how other brain regions influenced the function of these two neuron types," said Salk Institute Postdoctoral Fellow Nicholas Wall, PhD, the paper's first author. "The monosynaptic rabies virus system helps us address that question."
The system, originally developed in 2007 and refined by Wall and Callaway for targeting specific cell types in 2010, uses a modified version of the rabies virus to "infect" a brain region, which in turn targets neurons that are connected to it. When the system was applied in genetic mouse models, the team could see specifically how sensory, motor, and reward structures in the brain connected to MSNs in the basal ganglia. And what they found was surprising.
"We noticed that some regions showed a preference for transmitting to dMSNs versus iMSNs, and vice versa," said Dr. Kreitzer. "For example, neurons residing in the brain's motor cortex tended to favor iMSNs, while neurons in the sensory and limbic systems preferred dMSNs. This fine-scale organization, which would have been virtually impossible to observe using traditional techniques, allows us to predict the distinct roles of these two neuronal types."
"These initial results should be treated as a resource not only for decoding how this network guides the vast array of very distinct brain functions, but also how dysfunctions in different parts of this network can lead to different neurological conditions," said Dr. Callaway. "If we can use the rabies virus system to pinpoint distinct network disruptions in distinct types of disease, we could significantly improve our understanding of these diseases' underlying molecular mechanismsand get even closer to developing solutions for them."
###
This research was supported by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.
About the Gladstone Institutes
Gladstone is an independent and nonprofit biomedical-research organization dedicated to accelerating the pace of scientific discovery and innovation to prevent, treat and cure cardiovascular, viral and neurological diseases. Gladstone is affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco.
About the Salk Institute for Biological Studies
The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is one of the world's preeminent basic research institutions, where internationally renowned faculty probe fundamental life science questions in a unique, collaborative, and creative environment. Focused both on discovery and on mentoring future generations of researchers, Salk scientists make groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of cancer, aging, Alzheimer's, diabetes and infectious diseases by studying neuroscience, genetics, cell and plant biology, and related disciplines.
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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.
High-resolution mapping technique uncovers underlying circuit architecture of the brainPublic release date: 27-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Anne Holden anne.holden@gladstone.ucsf.edu 415-734-2534 Gladstone Institutes
Joint Gladstone-Salk study to help scientists decode circuitry that guides brain function
SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- The power of the brain lies in its trillions of intercellular connections, called synapses, which together form complex neural "networks." While neuroscientists have long sought to map these complex connections to see how they influence specific brain functions, traditional techniques have yet to provide the desired resolution. Now, by using an innovative brain-tracing technique, scientists at the Gladstone Institutes and the Salk Institute have found a way to untangle these networks. Their findings offer new insight into how specific brain regions connect to each other, while also revealing clues as to what may happen, neuron by neuron, when these connections are disrupted.
In the latest issue of Neuron, a team led by Gladstone Investigator Anatol Kreitzer, PhD, and Salk Investigator Edward Callaway, PhD, combined mouse models with a sophisticated tracing techniqueknown as the monosynaptic rabies virus systemto assemble brain-wide maps of neurons that connect with the basal ganglia, a region of the brain that is involved in movement and decision-making. Developing a better understanding of this region is important as it could inform research into disorders causing basal ganglia dysfunction, including Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease.
"Taming and harnessing the rabies virusas pioneered by Dr. Callawayis ingenious in the exquisite precision that it offers compared with previous methods, which were messier with a much lower resolution," explained Dr. Kreitzer, who is also an associate professor of neurology and physiology at the University of California, San Francisco, with which Gladstone is affiliated. "In this paper, we took the approach one step further by activating the tracer genetically, which ensures that it is only turned on in specific neurons in the basal ganglia. This is a huge leap forward technologically, as we can be sure that we're following only the networks that connect to particular kinds of cells in the basal ganglia."
At Gladstone, Dr. Kreitzer focuses his research on the role of the basal ganglia in Parkinson's and other neurological disorders. Last year, he and his team published research that revealed clues to the relationship between two types of neurons found in the regionand how they guide both movement and decision-making. These two types, called direct-pathway medium spiny neurons (dMSNs) and indirect-pathway medium spiny neurons (iMSNs), act as opposing forces. dMSNs initiate movement, like the gas pedal, and iMSNs inhibit movement, like the brake. The latest research from the Kreitzer lab further found that these two types are also involved in behavior, specifically decision-making, and that a dysfunction of dMSNs or iMSNs is associated with addictive or depressive behaviors, respectively. These findings were important because they provided a link between the physical neuronal degeneration seen in movement disorders, such as Parkinson's, and some of the disease's behavioral aspects. But this study still left many questions unanswered.
"For example, while that study and others like it revealed the roles of dMSNs and iMSNs in movement and behavior, we knew very little about how other brain regions influenced the function of these two neuron types," said Salk Institute Postdoctoral Fellow Nicholas Wall, PhD, the paper's first author. "The monosynaptic rabies virus system helps us address that question."
The system, originally developed in 2007 and refined by Wall and Callaway for targeting specific cell types in 2010, uses a modified version of the rabies virus to "infect" a brain region, which in turn targets neurons that are connected to it. When the system was applied in genetic mouse models, the team could see specifically how sensory, motor, and reward structures in the brain connected to MSNs in the basal ganglia. And what they found was surprising.
"We noticed that some regions showed a preference for transmitting to dMSNs versus iMSNs, and vice versa," said Dr. Kreitzer. "For example, neurons residing in the brain's motor cortex tended to favor iMSNs, while neurons in the sensory and limbic systems preferred dMSNs. This fine-scale organization, which would have been virtually impossible to observe using traditional techniques, allows us to predict the distinct roles of these two neuronal types."
"These initial results should be treated as a resource not only for decoding how this network guides the vast array of very distinct brain functions, but also how dysfunctions in different parts of this network can lead to different neurological conditions," said Dr. Callaway. "If we can use the rabies virus system to pinpoint distinct network disruptions in distinct types of disease, we could significantly improve our understanding of these diseases' underlying molecular mechanismsand get even closer to developing solutions for them."
###
This research was supported by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.
About the Gladstone Institutes
Gladstone is an independent and nonprofit biomedical-research organization dedicated to accelerating the pace of scientific discovery and innovation to prevent, treat and cure cardiovascular, viral and neurological diseases. Gladstone is affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco.
About the Salk Institute for Biological Studies
The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is one of the world's preeminent basic research institutions, where internationally renowned faculty probe fundamental life science questions in a unique, collaborative, and creative environment. Focused both on discovery and on mentoring future generations of researchers, Salk scientists make groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of cancer, aging, Alzheimer's, diabetes and infectious diseases by studying neuroscience, genetics, cell and plant biology, and related disciplines.
[ | 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.
At least one Hollywood filmmaker thinks actor Liam Hemsworth, left, would be the right man to play Edward Snowden in a movie.
Fugitive National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, charged with violating espionage laws, is in the transit zone of the Moscow Airport, presumably trying to find a way to get to the Ecuadorian Embassy to seek asylum. How his story will end no one knows, but one Hollywood director is already envisioning what it would look like on the big screen.
Phillip Noyce, a director best known for spy and thriller films like "Salt" and "Patriot Games," told NBC News that he is personally fascinated by the espionage thriller that is playing out in front of the world. As he reads every article available about the case, Noyce says he can easily picture it as a suspenseful film with some comedic elements. He's already identified a possible leading man, but what excites him the most is that the verdict on the story's central question may remain unrendered for decades.
"This is a movie that's playing out before our eyes, even though we can't see anything," Noyce said. "We can't see the hero or the villain -- the central character. Like my last big movie, 'Salt,' it's a story where you're not quite certain if you're dealing with a heroine or a villain. And we may not be certain until the end of the movie or even beyond that. That's a beautiful duality to deal with when you're making a story or watching a movie. You can speculate he's motivated by complete unselfish motives through belief in protecting worldwide public interests. Or you can speculate he was himself a victim of knowing that notoriety might bring him immortality."
Who would play the 29-year-old who revealed the existence of the Prism Program, which gives the NSA direct access to the systems of Google, Facebook, Apple and other Internet giants? Noyce thinks that's an easy one: Liam Hemsworth, the 23-year-old actor who starred in "The Hunger Games" and "The Expendables 2."
"He's perfectly positioned as a rising star," Noyce said. "I think he'll probably be one of the great ones. His older brother, Chris, could also play him but Liam looks more like an everyman. I think he'd be perfect."
Noyce's movie, which he described as just "chatter in my head" for now, would open with the The Guardian's disclosure of Snowden as the leak and an exciting chase.
"We'd have this wonderful Harold Lloyd comedy sequence which is the best part of the movie - -the chase," he said. "In this case, it's a chase that's both funny and serious. It involves some of the highest officials in the world, and their different points of view while Mr. Snowden is holed up presumably at the Moscow Airport. That's a great sequence as world leaders argue over this 29-year-old and the merits or otherwise of his actions. "
The story, he added, also would need to feature WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and deal with the gaps in American intelligence-gathering illuminated by Snowden -- which brings up another key question the film would address: how safe are our secrets?
"Although Assange was the original whistleblower and people feel he did commit a betrayal, he changed American policy and how people felt about the war and the legality of the war," Noyce said. "And as far as Mr. Snowden is concerned, he was a contractor who did not inherit the ethos of a permanent public servant, like a CIA or NSA employee. But he seems to have had access to the names of operatives around the world and could have betrayed that confidence. The issue is not whether he did or didn't but that he could have. That brings up the security of our operatives, the people that willingly give their lives fighting the intelligence wars. Why did a 29-year-old contractor know so much? He knew who they are and had the ability to reveal that to the nation's enemies."
As an observer of the quickly unfolding story and its would-be storyteller, Noyce said he hasn't made up his mind about how he feels about his protagonist, Snowden.
"I would need access to him to understand his psychology a lot better," Noyce said. "In his own mind, he's obviously a hero. But what is truly motivating him? Does he want to be a 15-minute celebrity? Is it fame or fortune? Or does he truly want to sacrifice himself Christ-like for the rest of mankind? We don't know how this will end and the end might not come for another 50 years. We haven't even finished Act 1 yet."
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Public release date: 27-Jun-2013
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