One of the coolest inventions shown at CES was IllumiRoom, a projector technology from Microsoft that would expand the gaming experience beyond the TV. In other words, it would display visuals from the game on the wall around the TV to create an immersive experience.
The original demo released during CES only showed IllumiRoom in action. The new demo goes into the hardware powering IllumiRoom, and explains how the engineers at Microsoft are hoping to revolutionize home entertainment.
At this point in time, IllumiRoom is still very much a prototype. That being said, Microsoft would be stupid to not integrate it into the next Xbox. It has the potential to be the next big innovation in games, especially if games can go beyond expanding the field of view. Some of the examples, like warping reality and realistic snowflakes, could go a long way in increasing immersion in games.
There?s a lot of anxiety in the gaming community today regarding the next Xbox. Many aren?t too keen on having to keep up a constant Internet connection just to play games while others are concerned that Microsoft?s console will block used games. Despite that, IllumiRoom may be one of the few things gamers can overwhelmingly get behind, especially if Microsoft can knock it out of the park with the final hardware.
Discovery helps explain how children develop rare, fatal diseasePublic release date: 30-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Christian Basi BasiC@missouri.edu 573-882-4430 University of Missouri-Columbia
COLUMBIA, Mo. One of 100,000 children is born with Menkes disease, a genetic disorder that affects the body's ability to properly absorb copper from food and leads to neurodegeneration, seizures, impaired movement, stunted growth and, often, death before age 3. Now, a team of biochemistry researchers at the University of Missouri has published conclusive scientific evidence that the gene ATP7A is essential for the dietary absorption of the nutrient copper. Their work with laboratory mice also provides a greater understanding of how this gene impacts Menkes disease as scientists search for a treatment.
Humans cannot survive if their bodies are lacking the ATP7A gene, yet children can develop Menkes disease when the gene is mutated or missing. Previously, scientists did not have a good model to test the gene's function or develop an understanding of the underlying causes of the disease symptoms. In his new study, Michael Petris, associate professor of biochemistry, was able to modify mice so that they were missing the ATP7A gene in certain areas of the body, specifically the intestinal track where nutrient absorption takes place.
"These findings help us to understand where in the body the function of this gene is vital and how the loss of the gene in certain tissues can give rise to Menke's disease," said Petris, who is a researcher in the Bond Life Sciences Center and holds an appointment in the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology. "We want to continue to explore the underlying biology of Menke's disease to determine where we should focus our research efforts in the future. If we know which organs or tissues are most responsible for transporting copper throughout the body, we can focus on making sure the gene is expressed in those areas. This disease is ideal for gene therapy down the road."
Petris found that young mice missing the ATP7A gene in their intestinal cells were unable to absorb copper from food, resulting in an overall copper deficiency that mimics symptoms of Menkes disease in children. Petris says it's vital to ensure that the developing newborns absorb enough copper during the neonatal period when the demand for the mineral is highest.
"Copper is a little-appreciated but essential trace mineral in all body tissues," Petris said. "Cells cannot properly use oxygen without copper; it helps in the formation of red blood cells, and it helps keep the blood vessels, nerves, skin, immune system and bones healthy. Normally, people absorb enough copper through their food. However, in the bodies of those with Menkes disease, copper begins to accumulate at abnormally low levels in the liver and brain and at higher than normal levels in the kidney and intestinal lining."
Newborn screening for this disorder is not routine, and early detection is infrequent because it can arise spontaneously in families, Petris said. Many times, the disease is not detected until the symptoms are noticed, and by that time, it can be too late for any aggressive treatments.
"The clinical signs of Menkes disease are subtle in the beginning, so the disease is rarely treated early enough to make a significant difference," he said. "However, a single dose of copper injected into mice within a few days of birth restored normal growth and life expectancy. Early intervention was critical because treatment that began after symptoms developed wasn't successful."
Petris says that understanding the roles of copper in biology may have far-reaching health implications for the general population because copper underpins many facets of biology, including the growth of cancer tumors and the formation of toxic proteins in Alzheimer's disease.
The development of these mice provides a novel experimental system in which to test treatments for patients with this disease. The early-stage results of this research are promising, but additional studies are needed.
The study, "Maternofetal and neonatal copper requirements revealed by enterocyte-specific deletion of the Menkes disease protein," was published in the American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology. Co-authors were Yanfang Wang, Sha Zhu and Gary Weisman, researchers in the MU Department of Biochemistry; Joseph Prohaska from University of Minnesota Medical School; and Jonathan Gitlin from the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass. The research was funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.
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The Department of Biochemistry is housed in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources and the School of Medicine. The Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology is a joint effort by MU's College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources; College of Human Environmental Sciences; and School of Medicine.
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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.
Discovery helps explain how children develop rare, fatal diseasePublic release date: 30-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Christian Basi BasiC@missouri.edu 573-882-4430 University of Missouri-Columbia
COLUMBIA, Mo. One of 100,000 children is born with Menkes disease, a genetic disorder that affects the body's ability to properly absorb copper from food and leads to neurodegeneration, seizures, impaired movement, stunted growth and, often, death before age 3. Now, a team of biochemistry researchers at the University of Missouri has published conclusive scientific evidence that the gene ATP7A is essential for the dietary absorption of the nutrient copper. Their work with laboratory mice also provides a greater understanding of how this gene impacts Menkes disease as scientists search for a treatment.
Humans cannot survive if their bodies are lacking the ATP7A gene, yet children can develop Menkes disease when the gene is mutated or missing. Previously, scientists did not have a good model to test the gene's function or develop an understanding of the underlying causes of the disease symptoms. In his new study, Michael Petris, associate professor of biochemistry, was able to modify mice so that they were missing the ATP7A gene in certain areas of the body, specifically the intestinal track where nutrient absorption takes place.
"These findings help us to understand where in the body the function of this gene is vital and how the loss of the gene in certain tissues can give rise to Menke's disease," said Petris, who is a researcher in the Bond Life Sciences Center and holds an appointment in the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology. "We want to continue to explore the underlying biology of Menke's disease to determine where we should focus our research efforts in the future. If we know which organs or tissues are most responsible for transporting copper throughout the body, we can focus on making sure the gene is expressed in those areas. This disease is ideal for gene therapy down the road."
Petris found that young mice missing the ATP7A gene in their intestinal cells were unable to absorb copper from food, resulting in an overall copper deficiency that mimics symptoms of Menkes disease in children. Petris says it's vital to ensure that the developing newborns absorb enough copper during the neonatal period when the demand for the mineral is highest.
"Copper is a little-appreciated but essential trace mineral in all body tissues," Petris said. "Cells cannot properly use oxygen without copper; it helps in the formation of red blood cells, and it helps keep the blood vessels, nerves, skin, immune system and bones healthy. Normally, people absorb enough copper through their food. However, in the bodies of those with Menkes disease, copper begins to accumulate at abnormally low levels in the liver and brain and at higher than normal levels in the kidney and intestinal lining."
Newborn screening for this disorder is not routine, and early detection is infrequent because it can arise spontaneously in families, Petris said. Many times, the disease is not detected until the symptoms are noticed, and by that time, it can be too late for any aggressive treatments.
"The clinical signs of Menkes disease are subtle in the beginning, so the disease is rarely treated early enough to make a significant difference," he said. "However, a single dose of copper injected into mice within a few days of birth restored normal growth and life expectancy. Early intervention was critical because treatment that began after symptoms developed wasn't successful."
Petris says that understanding the roles of copper in biology may have far-reaching health implications for the general population because copper underpins many facets of biology, including the growth of cancer tumors and the formation of toxic proteins in Alzheimer's disease.
The development of these mice provides a novel experimental system in which to test treatments for patients with this disease. The early-stage results of this research are promising, but additional studies are needed.
The study, "Maternofetal and neonatal copper requirements revealed by enterocyte-specific deletion of the Menkes disease protein," was published in the American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology. Co-authors were Yanfang Wang, Sha Zhu and Gary Weisman, researchers in the MU Department of Biochemistry; Joseph Prohaska from University of Minnesota Medical School; and Jonathan Gitlin from the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass. The research was funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.
###
The Department of Biochemistry is housed in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources and the School of Medicine. The Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology is a joint effort by MU's College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources; College of Human Environmental Sciences; and School of Medicine.
[ | 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.
Scientists have long observed that species seem to have become increasingly capable of evolving in response to changes in the environment. But computer science researchers now say that the popular explanation of competition to survive in nature may not actually be necessary for evolvability to increase.
In a paper published this week in PLOS ONE, the researchers report that evolvability can increase over generations regardless of whether species are competing for food, habitat or other factors.
Using a simulated model they designed to mimic how organisms evolve, the researchers saw increasing evolvability even without competitive pressure.
"The explanation is that evolvable organisms separate themselves naturally from less evolvable organisms over time simply by becoming increasingly diverse," said Kenneth O. Stanley, an associate professor at the College of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Central Florida. He co-wrote the paper about the study along with lead author Joel Lehman, a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Texas at Austin.
The finding could have implications for the origins of evolvability in many species.
"When new species appear in the future, they are most likely descendants of those that were evolvable in the past," Lehman said. "The result is that evolvable species accumulate over time even without selective pressure."
During the simulations, the team's simulated organisms became more evolvable without any pressure from other organisms out-competing them. The simulations were based on a conceptual algorithm.
"The algorithms used for the simulations are abstractly based on how organisms are evolved, but not on any particular real-life organism," explained Lehman.
The team's hypothesis is unique and is in contrast to most popular theories for why evolvability increases.
"An important implication of this result is that traditional selective and adaptive explanations for phenomena such as increasing evolvability deserve more scrutiny and may turn out unnecessary in some cases," Stanley said.
Stanley is an associate professor at UCF. He has a bachelor's of science in engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and a doctorate in computer science from the University of Texas at Austin. He serves on the editorial boards of several journals. He has over 70 publications in competitive venues and has secured grants worth more than $1 million. His works in artificial intelligence and evolutionary computation have been cited more than 4,000 times.
Lehman has a bachelor's degree in computer science from Ohio State University and a Ph.D. in computer science from UCF. He continues his research at the University of Texas at Austin and is teaching an undergraduate course in artificial intelligence.
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University of Central Florida: http://www.ucf.edu
Thanks to University of Central Florida for this article.
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ROME (Reuters) - Italy's new Prime Minister Enrico Letta won his first vote of confidence in parliament on Monday after promising to press for a change to the European Union's focus on austerity and pursue economic growth and jobs.
Letta said Italy could not afford to focus simply on trying to cut its huge public debt and needed a new emphasis on lifting the economy out of recession.
The confidence motion in his right-left coalition government easily passed as expected, by 453 votes to 153 in the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house.
Letta was backed by his own centre-left Democratic Party (PD), Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right People of Freedom (PDL) party as well as centrists led by former prime minister Mario Monti. The government will be fully empowered after a second vote in the Senate on Tuesday.
However, the first opinion poll published since his cabinet was announced, conducted by the EMG agency, gave Letta an approval rating of just 41 percent, showing that many Italians are unconvinced by the coalition of former adversaries.
Just 13 percent of Italians said they wanted Letta as prime minister, suggesting he may struggle to obtain the honeymoon period usually enjoyed by new governments. Monti began his government with approval ratings as high as 70 percent.
"We will die of fiscal consolidation alone, growth policies cannot wait any longer," Letta said in his speech to the Chamber of Deputies, describing the country's economic situation as still "serious" after more than a decade of stagnation.
POSITIVE REACTION
Financial market reaction to Letta's appointment and the end of months of political stalemate in the euro zone's third largest economy has been positive, with bond yields falling and shares rising.
Italy's cost of borrowing dropped to its lowest since October 2010 at an auction of mid and long term bonds.
Letta, a 46-year-old moderate with strong contacts outside Italy, pledged to stick to Rome's budget commitments to its European Union partners, announcing he would visit Brussels, Paris and Berlin this week.
He joined the growing numbers of European politicians attacking the former consensus on budget austerity but offered few specific proposals about how to restore growth to Italy's economy, which has shrunk below the level it was in 2001.
"We all have the clear and strong feeling that our destiny will be the destiny we want only if the choices Europe makes are different from the choices made up to now," he said.
Stefano Fassina, the PD's main economic spokesman, said Letta should renegotiate Italy's budget target to gain more breathing room. "Other countries have done it and so should we," he said in parliament.
Letta was pushed into a coalition with Berlusconi after the centre-left fell short of a viable parliamentary majority in February's inconclusive election, which left no side with the numbers to govern alone.
Berlusconi, who is fighting legal battles over a tax fraud conviction and charges of paying for sex with a minor, will not be in cabinet but will exercise a powerful influence behind the scenes, to the disgust of many on the left who find the idea of working with their old enemy abhorrent.
POINTS OF CONFLICT
In a speech that ranged from tax to constitutional reform and touched on issues including tourism, prisons and two Italian marines at the centre of a diplomatic standoff with India, Letta avoided points of conflict between members of his coalition.
He made no reference to a law tackling conflicts of interests, which was promised by his PD party before and after the election but would be unacceptable to media tycoon Berlusconi, who has staked a claim to chair a special commission examining institutional reforms.
Responding to centre-right demands for an unpopular housing tax to be scrapped, Letta said payments due in June would be halted although he did not promise to abolish the tax altogether as Berlusconi has demanded.
He hoped a planned increase in sales tax, which would see the main rate rise from 21 percent to 22 percent in July, could be delayed and said payroll taxes that dissuaded companies from hiring should be lowered.
He did not indicate how he would pay for tax changes, which together with proposed measures to extend unemployment protection would require as much as 10 billion euros ($13 billion) in 2013.
The current electoral law, which contributed heavily to the inconclusive election result in February would be changed before the next election and he proposed a special commission to consider other political and constitutional reforms.
(Additional reporting by Catherine Hornby, Gavin Jones, Steve Scherer, Naomi O'Leary; Editing by Giles Elgood)
When it comes to major news, we didn't expect to hear much from Google in the run-up to I/O, but clearly, the company just couldn't wait that long. Google Now, a service that Android users have enjoyed for a year, just became available on iOS devices in the form of an update to the Google Search app, confirming those leaked videos we saw a few weeks ago. It won't have integration with notifications or alerts at launch -- it may come in a future update, but the company wasn't willing to divulge its future plans -- so you'll need to enter the app and swipe up to refresh your list of cards. The iOS version won't have every type of card that you'll find on Android, either: boarding passes, activity summary, events, concerts, Fandango and Zillow aren't included this go-round. Improvements and additional features will likely trickle in over time, but it's certainly better than nothing for iOS fans who've looked at Jelly Bean users with a slightly jealous eye. We've included Google's blog post in its entirety below, and you can jump to More Coverage to download the app.
The fortunes of Tyler Bray and Marcus Lattimore showed the ups and downs of what was a historic 2013 NFL Draft for the Southeastern Conference.
By Mark Sappenfield,?Staff writer / April 28, 2013
Running back Marcus Lattimore speaks with the media during South Carolina's NFL football pro day on this spring in Columbia, S.C.
Rainier Ehrhardt/AP/File
Enlarge
Somehow, University of Tennessee quarterback Tyler Bray ? a 6-foot-6 specimen with a cannon arm ? was not selected in the seven rounds of the 2013 NFL Draft.
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Somehow, University of South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore found two knees to stand on at his pro workout earlier this spring ? enough to get him a standing ovation from the coaches and scouts present and a selection by the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth round.
In a draft where 63 players from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) were selected ? a record for any college football conference ? two of the SEC players who made the biggest splash on the last day of the three-day extravaganza Saturday did it for opposite reasons.
Bray was left standing at the altar. Admittedly, this was not a sterling draft for quarterbacks. But perhaps that's why he decided to leave Tennessee a year early year to go pro. According to one mock draft, NFLDraftScout.com, he was seventh best pick of the litter. In the end, he wasn't even among the 11 chosen.
It's a glimpse into a situation that plagued basketball for years. Many high school players, egos inflated by friends and hangers on, would enter the National Basketball Association draft, forgoing any college eligibility. When they were not drafted ? or drafted late and then let go ? they would be left in a limbo, not good enough to make a pro team, but not able to go to college to hone their skills.
The situation forced the NBA to institute a "one year in college" rule for all players, giving each time to assess his draft prospects with clearer eyes. The NBA has also started a developmental league akin to the baseball minor leagues to help those who fall through the cracks.
In the end, Bray was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs after the draft ? and as a junior, he had ample time to make an informed decision about his pro prospects. But the National Football League also has a Draft Advisory Board precisely for this reason. It offers undergraduate prospects an impartial assessment of where they're likely to land in the draft.
ROME (Reuters) - Enrico Letta was sworn in as Italy's new prime minister on Sunday and immediately faced an emergency after an unemployed man shot two police officers outside his office.
The 49 year-old gunman, from the poor southern region of Calabria, told investigators he had planned to attack politicians but had found none within range.
One of the officers was shot in the neck, hitting his spinal cord, and he was in a serious condition, surgeons said. The other was shot in the leg.
In a surreal scene, outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti received the official trumpet salute in the courtyard of the renaissance Chigi palace before walking across the cordoned-off square, past police crouching over the scene of the shooting, looking for evidence.
There were immediate calls for parties to try to calm a heated public mood that has been exacerbated by deep political divisions as Italy languishes in its longest recession for 20 years and has been without a proper government for months.
"Our politicians have to start providing solutions to the social crisis and to peoples' needs because the crisis transforms victims into killers like the man who shot today," said lower house speaker Laura Boldrini.
"There's a social emergency that needs answers and our politicians have to start giving them."
Letta, 46, who will set out his program in parliament on Monday, has said his first task will be to tackle the economy which has contracted for six consecutive quarters and pushed youth unemployment close to 40 percent.
Official data this month showed that alongside Italy's 2.7 million officially unemployed in 2012, there were 3 million more who were so demoralized they had given up the search for work, a far higher number than in any other EU country.
The gunman's home town of Rosarno has a jobless rate far above the national average and is renowned for the activities of the local mafia, the 'Ndrangheta, and riots by African immigrants paid a pittance to collect the local fruit harvest.
"SHOOT ME"
Having fired several shots at the police on duty outside the prime minister's office, the man, dressed in a suit, shouted "shoot me, shoot me" to other officers nearby, police said.
Letta, on the right of his center-left Democratic Party (PD), ended two months of stalemate that followed an inconclusive general election by uniting political rivals in a broad coalition government.
The mix of center-right and center-left politicians and unaffiliated technocrats has a record number of seven female ministers and is made up by relative youngsters in an attempt to respond to public disillusion with the political elite.
But the continued risk of political instability was spelled out by an ally of center-right leader Silvio Berlusconi.
Renato Brunetta, lower house leader of Berlusconi's People of Freedom party (PDL), said the government would fall unless Letta promised in his maiden speech to swiftly abolish an unpopular housing tax and repay the 2012 levy to taxpayers.
"If the prime minister doesn't make this precise commitment we will not give him our support in the vote of confidence," following the speech, Brunetta told daily Il Messaggero.
He said that during negotiations for the formation of the government Letta had "given his word" on the abolition and repayment of the tax, which would gouge an 8-billion-euro hole in public accounts.
New Economy Minister Fabrizio Saccomanni, formerly deputy governor of Italy's central bank, said he wanted to cut public spending and taxes, but made no reference to the housing tax.
DISCREDITED
In the election, Italians vented their anger at a discredited political class by giving 25 percent of votes to the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement led by former comic Beppe Grillo, which refused to join any coalition.
Divisions have deepened since the vote, with millions of center-left voters upset, first by a bad split inside the PD and then by the party's decision to govern with Berlusconi after its leadership, including Letta, had ruled out that possibility.
Berlusconi, widely written off after being forced from office in 2011 at the height of a debt crisis, is now a vital part of the ruling majority and has placed several ministers in the cabinet, including the PDL's national secretary Angelino Alfano as deputy prime minister and interior minister.
Recent polls give him a lead of between five and eight percentage points over the center-left, and many commentators believe he may bring down the government as soon as he is fully confident of winning an election.
(Additional reporting by James Mackenzie and Antonella Cinelli; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
AAA??Apr. 27, 2013?12:42 PM ET AP PHOTOS: Survivors found in Bangladesh collapse By The Associated Press??By The Associated Press
A survivor is carried on a stretcher into a waiting ambulance after being evacuated from a garment factory building that collapsed Wednesday in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, April 27, 2013. Police in Bangladesh took five people into custody in connection with the collapse of a shoddily-constructed building this week, as rescue workers pulled 19 survivors out of the rubble on Saturday and vowed to continue as long as necessary to find others despite fading hopes.(AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
A survivor is carried on a stretcher into a waiting ambulance after being evacuated from a garment factory building that collapsed Wednesday in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, April 27, 2013. Police in Bangladesh took five people into custody in connection with the collapse of a shoddily-constructed building this week, as rescue workers pulled 19 survivors out of the rubble on Saturday and vowed to continue as long as necessary to find others despite fading hopes.(AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
Rescue workers provide Oxygen to a survivor from the garment factory building that collapsed Wednesday in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, April 27, 2013. Police in Bangladesh took five people into custody in connection with the collapse of a shoddily-constructed building this week, as rescue workers pulled 19 survivors out of the rubble on Saturday and vowed to continue as long as necessary to find others despite fading hopes.(AP Photo/Ismail Ferdous)
Rescue workers evacuate a survivor from the garment factory building that collapsed Wednesday, in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, April 27, 2013. Police in Bangladesh took five people into custody in connection with the collapse of a shoddily-constructed building this week, as rescue workers pulled 19 survivors out of the rubble on Saturday and vowed to continue as long as necessary to find others despite fading hopes. (AP Photo/Ismail Ferdous)
A survivor is given oxygen as she was evacuated from a garment factory building that collapsed Wednesday in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, April 27, 2013. Police in Bangladesh took five people into custody in connection with the collapse of a shoddily-constructed building this week, as rescue workers pulled 19 survivors out of the rubble on Saturday and vowed to continue as long as necessary to find others despite fading hopes.(AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
A survivor, seen at bottom right, is evacuated from a garment factory building that collapsed Wednesday in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, April 27, 2013. Police in Bangladesh took five people into custody in connection with the collapse of a shoddily-constructed building this week, as rescue workers pulled 19 survivors out of the rubble on Saturday and vowed to continue as long as necessary to find others despite fading hopes.(AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
Working round-the-clock, rescuers have pulled more than two dozen survivors from the rubble of a Bangladesh garment factory that collapsed 4 days ago, killing some 350 people.
From within the wreckage, "We are still getting response from survivors though they are becoming weaker slowly," said Brig. Gen. Ali Ahmed Khan, the head of the fire services.
"The building is very vulnerable. Any time the floors could collapse. We are performing an impossible task, but we are glad that we are able to rescue so many survivors," he said.
The disaster is the worst ever for the country's booming and powerful garment industry, surpassing a fire five months ago that killed 112 people and brought widespread pledges to improve worker-safety standards.
Molly McCrary, 11, speaks with reporters about the house fire that claimed the lives of her mother, her two sisters and two other children.
By Erin McClam, Staff Writer, NBC News
A mother, two of her daughters and two other children died early Saturday in a house fire outside Atlanta, authorities said. The only survivor was an 11-year-old girl who escaped after the mother woke her up and told her to run.
Firefighters were called just after 1 a.m. to the house, in the suburb of Newnan. The state fire marshal?s office ruled that it was an electrical fire and an accident.
The fire killed Alanna McCrary and two of her daughters, Eriel, 5, and Nikia, 2, Newnan police said in a statement. NBC affiliate WXIA reported that the mother was 28. The two other children killed were Messiah White, 3, and McKenzie Florence, 1, police said.
The surviving child was identified by local media as Nautica McCrary, nicknamed Molly.
David Tulis / AP
Sisters Brandy McCrary, left, and Breona Montgomery, who are cousins of the five fatal house fire victims, share a hug with neighbors Bonita Beasley, center, and Jennifer Moss, right.
?The mother woke her up and told her to run,? Police Chief Buster Meadows told The Associated Press. ?There was someone outside who she ran to, and the mother went back after the others. Neither her nor the other four children made it out.?
Investigators believe a faulty breaker in the electrical panel of the house started the fire, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Firefighters found the charred remains of a smoke detector, but it was unclear whether it had worked, a spokesman for the state insurance commissioner told the AP.
Neighbors left balloons, candles, teddy bears, a small cross and two bicycles beside the mailbox later Saturday, and someone spray-painted a Bible verse on a blanket and left it there, the AP reported.
This story was originally published on Sat Apr 27, 2013 5:07 PM EDT
Hearing aid repairs is an important part of owning the hearing devices. For these devices to perform their work to the fullest, the owner must maintain them well. Failure to do this will result in the devices malfunctioning.
One of the reasons why these devices need repair is the fact that wax will always accumulate in the ears. There are those devices that are worn inside the ear canal; these are the most affected compared to the ones that are worn outside the ear. This is because of the fact that there is more wax inside the ear than outside.
Water is another factor will necessitate these aid repairs. It should be noted that these aids are basically electrostatics devices. This means that water should not be allowed to penetrate into the circuits. This is because water will essentially cause a short circuit.
There are some instances when the devices may malfunction because of an electronic problem. These circumstances are rare. It should be noted that this situation can only be handled by the experts. Attempting to fix such a situation on your own can have a lot of implications. You may lose the warranty that you had for the device. This can be a big blow if the gadget was expensive. This means that you now have to pay for the device to be repaired.
Hearing aid repairs needs to be done regularly so that the wearer can be assured of their performance. The smaller devices need to be assessed more often than the larger ones. The reason for this is that these are more susceptible to damage than the larger ones.
The frequency of repair or maintenance may be influenced by a lot of factors. This is obviously how much a person sweats or how much works they form. This means that the more you sweat, the more frequently you should take your devices for maintenance. The more wax you form, the more times you need to seek maintenance. Generally, the smaller devices need repair after every 8 months. The larger devices on the other hand will need repair after 15 months.
Maintenance of these devices can be done the user of the device. This means that they can clean the device alone. This applies only for the minor cleaning. If the device needs to be checked inside, then this should be done by either the manufacturer or the audiologist. This is because doing this alone can result in damaging the equipment.
While cleaning the device, never use water. It should be known that water can have negative implication on the functioning of this device. The reason for this is that water can easily cause a short circuit which is damaging to the device.
Hearing aid repairs can attract a variety of charges. The difference on the amount charged is based on a number of factors. One of those factors is the type of device. The smaller devices will always cost more than the larger ones. The other factor is the type of repair that needs to be done.
Read more about Facts About Hearing Aid Repairs visiting our website.
In the few days that have passed since Apple?s latest quarterly results, people can?t seem to stop writing about the so-called stalled growth and ?margin collapse? that hit the company. Ok, the term ?collapse? is excessively stupid (you know who you are, stop it). Apple?s revenue is still growing, but profitability is down year over year. The profit decline is due to undeniably lower gross margin. But what does that mean?
If you look at a the last 5 quarters and put it in graph form, it looks ugly. It looks scary. It makes you wonder why anyone would own the stock. And looking at 5 quarters is a pretty typical thing to do on Wall Street. People thing of this as a longer term view of things, as crazy as that sounds. Apple just reported Q2, so looking at 5 quarters means you see Q2 from last year on the left, and Q2 from this year on the right.
Newsflash: Looking at a year over year comparison in isolation doesn?t paint a very clear picture of what?s really happening. And because Wall Street suffers from attention deficit disorder, it needs to form rapid-fire decisions on things.
Most analysts do not publish long term performance charts in their reports. I don?t know why, but it?s true. Sure, they all have the data in their models. They probably all have long term charts built in Excel, but they don?t get published.
Well, I?m publishing the one I keep in my model.
This chart goes back to Q3 2007, which is the first quarter of iPhone shipments. I could have gone back further, but I don?t think it would be as relevant because the business truly has changed ever since iOS was built.
So in blue we have a line graph representing revenue. You can see that it took a while for the iPhone to make a massive impact on the overall revenue, but in 2010 things just started to rocket upwards.
Then in the last two years, you can see that the holiday quarter has stood out as massively important. There have been two such holiday quarters so far, and they define the new peaks for revenue. In other words, Apple revenue has become much more seasonal. This means the quarters in between the seasonal peaks are less important. They are not unimportant. They are just less important.
Think of it this way. When you watch a storm build in the ocean, you can see each wave becoming bigger, crashing harder onto the beach. It doesn?t make a lot of sense to evaluate each wave on it?s way down. It makes a lot more sense to think about how high each wave crest goes. And right now, Wall Street is looking at a falling wave. Revenue could easily rocket higher again. China Mobile deal? Potentially a less expensive iPhone? Continued growth of the iPad, where sales nearly doubled year-over-year?
Now let?s look at gross margin, because this is what really has Wall Street bothered. I showed margin on the green bar chart, because somehow it just seemed easier to look at in bar format.
Apple had gross margin above 40% for 8 quarters since the iPhone launch. And a full 6 of these quarters were consecutive, from the March 2011 through to June 2012 quarter. For rear-view-mirror observers, it?s horrible to see that the gross margin peak happened in March 2012, which is the year ago quarter relative to this week?s earnings report.
But Apple does not have a history of margins above 40%. The mid to high 30% range is much more common, and it seems the company is moving back into that zone. Yes, the iPhone has higher margin than the Mac or even iPad. And that?s great. But I think we all realize that Apple can?t continue to gain global market share with a product that is out of reach for most global consumers.
So Apple has done the smart thing. They?ve taken more aggressive action on the iPhone 4 in places like China. It?s quite obvious that this makes the year-over-year margin comparison look like a case of Apple failure. But if you zoom out and look at the bigger picture, the margin moves really don?t look that shocking. If anything, it?s shocking to see how bloody high they climbed in the first place. This seems more sustainable.
And what if Apple had been more aggressive on pricing in the first place? The margin never would have climbed so high, and last year?s Q2 quarter never would have been as insanely profitable as it was. And we?d be looking at the most recent Q2 result saying, ?Wow, Apple keeps growing. Amazing!?
The stock market is all about comparisons. And unfortunately, the comparisons are fairly short term in nature. But even the ?fast moving? (I use that term loosely) technology sector requires a longer time frame for analysis. Apple did not build its iOS empire in a year, or even two years. Android did not grow to dominate the scene in a couple of years either. BlackBerry did not collapse in a year (and it?s potential comeback will not take one year). Things still move a lot more slowly than we all seem to think.
Apple is growing quite nicely. And if gross margin normalizes here, which seems reasonable, then next year we?ll be looking at a growth stock again. Everyone will forget about the supposed gross margin ?collapse? that we apparently just witnessed.
Since I happen to have my DSLR camera beside me right now, this metaphor seems appropriate. You don?t need to constantly take pictures with your telephoto lens set to 300mm. Sometimes the wide angle shot is better, and provides more context.
As I was listening to the radio this morning, shifting from one radio station to another searching for a worth-hearing piece of music or broadcasting program, I came across an Algerian Radio station that was covering the issue of the Moroccan Sahara from the perspective of Algerian political leaders and civil society. Without a doubt, it was a first-rate opportunity to listen to the arguments and attitudes of the other side vis-?-vis this thorny matter which has lately witnessed a surprising twist specifically due to the United States? most recent announcement concerning elaborating the missions of MINURSO in the Moroccan Sahara.
As a Moroccan, I?ve always been well aware of the Algerian stance toward the Moroccan Sahara. Algeria blindly supports the Polisario and it everlastingly advocates?for the right of the Saharan?population to obtain full independence from Moroccan sovereignty. I also mistakenly thought that only the Algerian government supports the Polisario, while civil society gives no importance to this issue.
To my amazement, I was traumatized when listening to the individuals in that broadcasting program accuse Morocco of being a colonizing nation and the Moroccan Sahara a colonized territory. They also untruthfully justified and rationalized?Algeria?s staunch-defending?stand towards supporting the Saharan people?s pursuit for autonomy Morocco and rationalized Algeria?s blind support for?Polisario as a matter of human rights. They alleged that Algeria is simply defending the rights of people to decide their own destiny, the same way it did with West Timor issue. According to these people, whom Morocco once helped defeat the French, Algeria is merely following the declaration of human rights, and if Algeria were to side with Morocco, it would imply a clear violation of this declaration.
An?outsider listening to their claims might even think that Algeria is the most politically stable and democratic nation? in the world. Needless to say, Algeria has ulterior purposes behind its support for the fabricated republic of Polisario, and this??is clear from its over- concern towards this issue. Apparently, Algeria supports?Polisario because it wants to have a getaway to the Atlantic ocean. By supporting the enemies of Moroccan?s territorial unity, Algeria aspires to get retaliation from Morocco over its disgraceful loss during the Sand war that took place in?1963 between the two countries over borders. Morocco won this war and it seems that Algerians still bitterly remember this incident and longs to find an occasion to take revenge from Morocco.
In addition, the guests of this?Algerian radio program wondered why Morocco is tenacious over the Western Sahara and why the Saharan citizens are not allowed to decide their own destiny whether to be Moroccan citizens under the Moroccan sovereignty or obtain their independence. They asserted that the Moroccan Sahara has been colonized since the 1884, and that the Spanish colonizers did not give it back to Morocco, and that Morocco imposed its hegemony over these territories by force after the Spanish withdrew from the region.
They also maintained that Morocco has had many failures, rioting, and socio-economic woes within the country. I detected an odor of joy and satisfaction from?these guests when they referred to the latest twist concerning the issue of Sahara. And how the United States, which is believed to be a strategic ally of Morocco and has always supported Morocco?s national cause and the proposal for self-government in the southern provinces, has turned its back on Morocco, and it is well in the way of supporting the right of Saharan people to decide on their destiny.
One of those guests?on this program suggested that France would do as United States has done and turn its back to Morocco as well. Upon hearing this, many queries began running through my mind as I tried to speculate and predict what would happen if Morocco were to be forced to surrender the Western Sahara to the Polisario.
Indeed it is a terrifying thought, yet such scenarios should be taken into account simply because in politics there is no eternal friends or perpetual foes?everything is interests-dependent. A country, which is an ally today can become an enemy tomorrow depending on its own interests.
? Morocco World News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten or redistributed
FILE - In this March 16, 2011 file photo, "South Park" co-creator, Trey Parker, poses for a portrait in New York. Trial has been delayed for a man accused of burglarizing Parker's home on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, because Parker didn't show up for a recent hearing. The judge allowed the trial to be delayed until June 3, 2013. (AP photo/Victoria Will, file)
FILE - In this March 16, 2011 file photo, "South Park" co-creator, Trey Parker, poses for a portrait in New York. Trial has been delayed for a man accused of burglarizing Parker's home on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, because Parker didn't show up for a recent hearing. The judge allowed the trial to be delayed until June 3, 2013. (AP photo/Victoria Will, file)
HONOLULU (AP) ? Trial has been delayed for a man accused of burglarizing "South Park" co-creator Trey Parker's home on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, after Parker didn't show up for a recent hearing.
Parker was subpoenaed to testify in the first-degree burglary case against former Kauai police officer Joseph Bonachita, who's accused of breaking into Parker's Wailua home in 2009. Bonachita is also accused of threatening Parker and a woman with a knife.
When Parker missed a hearing last week, a warrant was issued. But Kauai Prosecuting Attorney Justin Kollar said Friday that the warrant was never sent to police because Parker contacted the prosecutor's office and explained he had scheduling issues.
"He had been served with a subpoena," Kollar said. "He should have been in court."
The judge delayed the trial until June 3.
Mark Zenger, a Kauai attorney representing Parker, said Friday that Parker wasn't aware he had to appear in person and the trial would have been delayed anyway for other reasons.
"Had he actually flown out here he would have essentially flown out here for no reason," Zenger said. "I guess you could call it no harm, no foul."
Parker will be on the island for a hearing May 29, and depending on how things go at that hearing, the trial will begin June 3, and Parker will be there for that as well, Zenger said.
"He got his wires crossed on this last hearing," Zenger said. "He was apologetic in the extreme to all concerned."
Bonachita's defense attorney, Michael Soong, said in court he's concerned the accommodation may not allow enough time for hearings on motions before the trial, the Garden Island reported.
Bonachita, who wasn't an officer at the time of the break-in, is free on bail. Plea negotiations have been unsuccessful, Kollar said.
Parker continues to live part-time at his Kauai home, Zenger said. An episode of his animated TV series last year poked fun at Kauai's part-time residents.
___
Follow Jennifer Sinco Kelleher at http://www.twitter.com/jenhapa .
Samsung's latest and greatest smartphone, the Galaxy S 4, is making a big move into the US today with an online arrival at Sprint and in-store availability at AT&T. If you're a Now Network subscriber and happened to miss out on the carrier's pre-order action, you might want to make some quick moves onto Sprint's website in order to secure your new handset, which goes up for sale at midnight Central Time. In a not-so-cool move, however, only those porting their number to Sprint are eligible for the carrier's $100 price break, which means all of you who've stuck through the dark days of EV-DO will need to pony up $249.99 for the Galaxy S 4. Meanwhile, if you're aching to lay your hands on Samsung's 1080p handset, you can finally get some gratification, as AT&T is now offering the smartphone for in-store purchase and play. Here, you'll pay $199.99 for the handset, and while it's potentially more expensive, at least AT&T's pricing scheme doesn't involve fine print shenanigans.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama is close to choosing White House deputy national security adviser Mike Froman to be the next trade representative, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters on Friday.
After a long vetting process, Chicago businesswoman and Obama fundraiser Penny Pritzker is still in line to be nominated as commerce secretary, the sources said.
The two trade jobs are among the final positions Obama has to fill in his second-term cabinet. Both require confirmation by the Senate. An announcement of their nominations is likely to be made next week.
The White House declined to comment.
Froman was an early front runner for USTR but sources told Reuters earlier this year he preferred to stay in his current White House job, which includes the trade portfolio along with energy, development, and other international economic issues.
Jeff Zients, the long-time acting White House budget director, then became a top contender for the post, but Obama asked him to stay at the budget office.
Froman played an instrumental role in negotiations that led to congressional approval of the South Korea, Colombia and Panama trade pacts during Obama's third year in office.
He is well known in diplomatic circles for his work as Obama's right-hand man or "sherpa" in the G8, G20, and other international forums.
Froman would replace former U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, who stepped down last month.
Pritzker, the 271st richest American according to Forbes magazine, was Obama's national finance chair in 2008 and his campaign co-chair in 2012. Her personal fortune is worth an estimated $1.85 billion, putting her at the pinnacle of the top 1 percent of American households.
The Stanford University-trained lawyer and business woman is on the board of the Hyatt Hotels Corp, which her uncle Jay Pritzker founded in 1957, two years before she was born.
Pritzker was in the running to be commerce secretary in Obama's first term but bowed out.
She could face questions during a Senate confirmation process over the Pritzker family's reputation for sheltering income to avoid taxes, Hyatt's battle with a labor union and the 2001 failure of Superior Bank, which was half-owned by the Pritzker family.
Current acting Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank said in March she planned to become chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in July.
Former Commerce Secretary John Bryson resigned for health reasons last year.
(Additional reporting by Doug Palmer; Editing by Vicki Allen, Bill Trott and Lisa Shumaker)
TULSA, Okla. (AP) ? Supporters of folk singer Woody Guthrie say the opening of a center chronicling his storied life and career is long overdue in his native state of Oklahoma.
The 12,000-square-foot Woody Guthrie Center opens Saturday afternoon in Tulsa.
It features Oklahoma's only permanent exhibit on the Dust Bowl and also includes Guthrie's original handwritten copy of "This Land Is Your Land," perhaps his best-known song.
Guthrie's daughter Nora says Oklahomans should take pride in knowing that the core of who her father was as a man and a musician was determined in Oklahoma.
The center is also home to the Woody Guthrie Archives, a collection featuring nearly 3,000 song lyrics, hundreds of pieces of artwork, journal entries, postcards, manuscripts and more than 500 photographs, among other rare items.
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Public release date: 30-Apr-2013
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