Review: 'Madden NFL 13' a bold revamp of franchise

EA Sports has rolled the dice on a major overhaul of its best-selling "Madden NFL" football franchise this season ? and most of its gambles have paid off.

"Madden NFL 13" (for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, $59.95) swapped out the booth announcers, switched to a more classic presentation, overhauled the menu system and crafted a comprehensive Connected Career mode.

But the most notable change is a new physics engine that dramatically varies the hits and avoids the repetitive sequences of previous years. The real-time action is way more exciting than in previous years, as players bounce off each other with force and stumble over on-field pileups.

The Infinity Engine is far from perfect, resulting at times in bent-back arms, overly dramatic flailing and enough neck snaps to keep a team neurologist running tests around the clock. But most of the animations hold their realism in slow motion. Introducing real physics into collisions is a huge change for the Madden franchise, and the developers are sure to refine it in future installments.

One of the major offensive changes this season is the addition of receiver awareness. A quarterback now must wait for a receiver to be ready (as indicated by his icon changing from grayed-out to color) before making a throw. That's a big improvement, since quickly throwing a 10-yard pass to a wide-out running a deep route should not result in a completion.

Xbox 360 players can now use the Kinect microphone to control some of the action. To be able to simply call out "Audible, Deep Pass" when you see the defense stacked against the run or yell "Blitz" on defense is much easier than scrambling with buttons.

After modeling its presentation style in previous years around Fox Sports and ESPN broadcasts, "Madden NFL 13" has opted for a more subdued CBS-style approach, replacing rock and hip-hop tunes with orchestral scores and putting Jim Nantz and Phil Simms in the booth.

The play-by-play and commentary are remarkably natural considering EA Sports started from scratch with the announcing pair, and their laid-back style is better suited to make 9,000 recorded phrases sound like they're being spoken in sentences. Attempts during the past two years to piece together clips of Fox announcer Gus Johnson ? ranging from calm to frenzied ? never quite worked.

After revamping the franchise mode last year, "Madden NFL 13" combines the franchise and be-a-star modes into Connected Careers, which offers incredible depth. Gamers can create a rookie, become a coach or take control of a Hall of Famer in either off-line or online modes.

Altogether, the upgrades in "Madden NFL 13" provide great hope for the future of the franchise. Three-and-a-half stars out of four.

___

EA Sports has taken a more conservative approach with its college football sim, "NCAA Football 13" (for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, $59.95).

The series has continued to improve its graphics to keep up with its pro-football cousin. It also made some key improvements on offense, adding new quarterback drop-backs, throw and catch animations and pass trajectories as well as the receiver awareness feature found in "Madden NFL 13."

A great new mode is the Heisman Challenge that allows players to take control of a legendary player during his breakout season. Since EA can only refer to current college athletes with generic names like "RB (hash)22," the ability to play to run over defenses as Barry Sanders or Herschel Walker is a welcome addition. The Heisman Challenge also offers the ability to briefly slow time to look down receivers or find key blocks to trail. It's like the bullet time in "Fallout 3" ? without the bullets.

"NCAA Football 13" is a solid game, but its improvements are incremental and I'm not sure it's worth shelling out another $60 if you own last year's model. Three stars out of four.

Source: http://feeds.sfgate.com/click.phdo?i=3ce14eb3839266a82ce6692c8b67c60a

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California Filmmaker Clint Eastwood Is Romney?s Unscripted Opening Act

Actor Clint Eastwood speaks during the final day of the Republican National Convention at the Tampa Bay Times Forum on August 30, 2012 in Tampa, Florida. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was nominated as the Republican presidential candidate. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

TAMPA, Fla. (CBS / AP) ??Clint Eastwood, the Hollywood filmmaker and Northern California native who knows all about sticking to the script, turned in a bizarre, unscripted endorsement of Republican Mitt Romney Thursday night.

Standing on the convention stage with an empty chair, Eastwood carried on a sometimes rambling conversation with an imaginary President Barack Obama. The Oscar-winning director of ?Unforgiven? and ?Million Dollar Baby? criticized Obama for failing to turn the economy around and for wanting to close the Guantanamo Bay prison for terror suspects.

?How do you handle the promises you?ve made? What do you say?? Eastwood asked the imaginary Obama. ?I know even some of the people in your party were disappointed you didn?t close Gitmo,? the Guantanamo prison.

?What do you mean `shut up??? said Eastwood, acting indignant. ?I thought it was just because somebody had a stupid idea of trying terrorists in New York City.?

At another point, the 82-year-old Eastwood acted as if he were listening to the imaginary Obama unleash a diatribe against Romney, poking Vice President Joe Biden and letting the convention audience guess what the president said.

?He can?t do that to himself. You?re absolutely crazy!? Eastwood responded. ?You?re getting as bad as Biden. Biden is the intellect in the Democratic Party. It?s just kind of a grin with a body behind it.?

The actor and director talked about Oprah Winfrey, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and lawyers. Eastwood said Obama has failed to deliver on his promises and it?s time for Romney and his running mate, Paul Ryan, to take over.

RELATED CONTENT:???RNC Photo Gallery?| ??RNC Twitter Newsfeed| ??More Politics 2012

At one point, Eastwood talked about the need for change.

?When somebody doesn?t do the job, you gotta let `em go,? Eastwood said. The tough-guy actor of ?Dirty Harry? fame drew a finger across his throat.

The crowd cheered Eastwood?s entrance and shouted his famed catchphrase, ?Go ahead, make my day.? The freewheeling performance was a sharp contrast to the highly choreographed convention in which the Romney campaign has vetted the speeches.

Backstage, stern-faced Romney aides winced at times as Eastwood?s remarks stretched on. The actor was the only speaker not reading from a teleprompter as he spoke. The machine was blank.

Twitter was instantly ablaze with comments mocking Eastwood?s rambling speech.

Howard Kurtz, host of CNN?s ?Reliable Sources,? tweeted that ?Clint?s empty chair act? was the ?weirdest convention moment I have ever seen.? Joe Scarborough, the conservative host of MSNBC?s ?Morning Joe,? declared ?a great night for Mitt Romney just got sidetracked by Clint Eastwood. Wow. That was bad.?

Minutes after Eastwood began his speech, someone created the @InvisibleObama account on Twitter. It already has 17,000 followers and counting.

?Clint Eastwood is now backstage arguing with a vending machine,? joked Canadian comedian Daryn Jones.

Film critic Roger Ebert didn?t give the speech two thumbs up.

?Clint, my hero, is coming across as sad and pathetic,? tweeted Ebert. ?He didn?t need to do this to himself. It?s unworthy of him.?

Comedian Roseanne Barr put it simply: ?clint eastwood is CRAY? ? a slang reference to being crazy.

Not everyone agreed.

?Clint Eastwood made my day,? tweeted Southern rocker Charlie Daniels. The Hollywood trades gave it positive marks, perhaps a reflection of the movie world?s appreciation for genuineness.

Eastwood, a fiscal conservative who leans left on social issues, has confounded the political world. He starred in Chrysler?s ?It?s Halftime in America? Super Bowl ad earlier this year even though he opposes government bailouts. The commercial angered conservatives.

Eastwood endorsed Romney earlier this month at a campaign event in Sun Valley, Idaho.

Eastwood was born in San Francisco in 1930. He was elected to a two-year term as mayor of Carmel in Monterey County in 1986.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Source: http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/08/30/california-filmmaker-clint-eastwood-is-romneys-unscripted-opening-act/

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Mexico tycoons widen U.S. sports reach with Padres, Chivas USA deals

MEXICO CITY --?A cousin of the world's richest man, Carlos Slim, has become a part owner of the San Diego Padres, and a married couple who are Mexican millionaires have taken control of Chivas USA, a Major League Soccer team.

The deals, announced in separate reports Wednesday, widen the reach of Mexico's hyper-wealthy in the high-stakes world of professional sports in Southern California.

Alfredo Harp Helu, a?billionaire banker and Slim's cousin, appeared Wednesday on a list of eight new part-owners of slightly less than half of San Diego's Major League Baseball team.

The sale was?reported to be worth $800 million during negotiations, but details on the final purchase price paid by members of the team's new minority group of owners were not revealed. Harp's wealth is estimated at $1 billion.

From its Carson-based clubhouse, meanwhile, Chivas USA announced that Jorge Vergara and Angelica Fuentes, the founder and chief executive, respectively, of the Omnilife nutritional supplements company have acquired the second half of the squad's ownership from partners, becoming full owners.

Vergara and Fuentes are already owners of the original Chivas in Guadalajara, the popular First Division team in Mexico's second largest city. The details of the Chivas USA deal were not released.

It's been a good week for Fuentes, one of Mexico's wealthiest women. On Tuesday she was named a chief patron of the newly renovated Rufino Tamayo Museum, which accompanied a minor controversy in Mexico's art world.

Fuentes' name appears prominently in a renovated gallery inside the museum, along with a gallery named in honor of billionaire Carlos Hank Rhon, brother of the scandal-ridden former mayor of Tijuana, Jorge Hank Rhon.?Critics bemoaned the presence of the Hank Rhon name inside the museum as a symbol of the increasing privatization of public art institutions in Mexico.

RELATED:

Jorge Vergara takes full ownership of Chivas USA

Mexicans see a losing battle in the war on crooked police

A 'Hank Rhon' appears in a museum, and Mexicans mostly shrug

-- Daniel Hernandez

Photo:? Chivas USA fans gather for opening day at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., in 2005. Credit: Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times?

Source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2012/08/mexico-san-diego-padres-harp-helu-business-sports-teams-angelica-fuentes.html

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Dropbox syncs up with Samsung Galaxy Camera, Galaxy Note II

Dropbox is expanding its reach for syncing content from anywhere with integration announced for the recently released Samsung Galaxy Note II along with the networked Samsung Galaxy Camera.

The cloud storage provider says that this latest Samsung integration further builds upon Dropbox?s mission "to make it as easy and seamless as possible for people to have their life?s work available to them, anytime, anywhere."

The onboarding process for both devices comes completely out-of-the-box. Once the supported device is registered, users can get up to 50GB of free Dropbox space for two years.

Also, for the first time ever, Dropbox boasts that the Galaxy Note II will automatically sync photos and videos stored in the cloud app via the Gallery application. Thus,as soon as the Gallery is opened, all of those photos should already be stored in and accessible from the user's Dropbox account.

Dropbox's efforts here build upon previous integrations on Samsung?s flagship model Galaxy S III as well as the Galaxy tablet range.

The expansion to mobile devices -- the camera, in particular -- represents a new direction for syncing and storing consumer content to the cloud.

Similar integrations are already available in other ways, such as photos taken on Android handhelds can be automatically uploaded to Google+ after being snapped.

But being able to wirelessly sync photos and videos to a cloud account offers Dropbox another competitive edge.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zdnet/BTL/~3/aNqQaDrQc-I/

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Journalist arrested in UK computer hacking probe

LONDON (AP) ? British police investigating computer hacking and privacy offenses arrested a journalist Wednesday at his home.

The 28-year-old man was being questioned at a London police station for alleged hacking related to the identification of an anonymous blogger in 2009. He is also suspected of perverting the course of justice, police said.

Police did not identify the journalist by name but the Press Association said he was Patrick Foster, a former reporter at The Times.

The journalist was the 11th person arrested by detectives from Operation Tuleta, one of three parallel police investigations triggered by the phone-hacking scandal that has rocked Britain and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. media empire.

More than 40 people have been arrested in the probes of media wrongdoing and corruption. Criminal charges have been brought against suspects such as Rebekah Brooks, the former chief of News Corp.'s British operations, and Andy Coulson, a former Murdoch tabloid editor and the former communications chief for Prime Minister David Cameron.

Separately, police in Scotland said they detained a journalist in Glasgow on Wednesday over allegations he attempted to pervert the course of justice during the 2006 defamation court case between Murdoch's News of the World Scotland tabloid and former lawmaker Tommy Sheridan.

British media including the Press Association identified the 56-year-old man as former News of the World editor Bob Bird, who edited the now-closed Scottish edition of the tabloid when it ran allegations about Sheridan's private life.

Sheridan successfully sued the newspaper for defamation in 2006.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/journalist-arrested-uk-computer-hacking-probe-102133581--finance.html

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Russell Brunson And DotComSecrets Reviews

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Source: http://dev.submitarticlemarketing.com/uncategorized/russell-brunson-and-dotcomsecrets-reviews/

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Orioles?rally to end?White Sox's 6-game win streak

By DAVID GINSBURG

AP Sports Writer

Associated Press Sports

updated 10:39 p.m. ET Aug. 27, 2012

BALTIMORE (AP) - Nate McLouth and Lew Ford added their names to the Baltimore Orioles' rapidly expanding list of unlikely heroes.

McLouth put Baltimore ahead with a two-run homer in the eighth inning, Ford also connected, and the Orioles beat the White Sox 4-3 on Monday night, ending Chicago's six-game winning streak.

It was the franchise-record 13th consecutive one-run win for the Orioles, who trailed 2-1 in the sixth and 3-2 in the eighth. Baltimore is 24-6 in one-run games and 45-18 in games decided by one or two runs.

"This is as good of a club as I've ever had about staying in the moment," said manager Buck Showalter, now 173-173 since being hired on Aug. 3, 2010. "That's a challenge when you are around so many things that aren't really realistic, to stay together and challenge the things that really are important."

It's hard to fathom what the Orioles (70-57) have accomplished this year following 14 straight losing seasons. It's also difficult to imagine players like McLouth and Ford making major contributions in an important win. They were teammates with Triple-A Norfolk a month ago, and now they're providing Baltimore with a playoff push.

"That's why they got us up here," said Ford, whose second-inning homer was his first in the majors since July 29, 2007, with Minnesota against Cleveland. After that season, Ford didn't return to the big leagues until being summoned by the Orioles in late July.

After the White Sox went up 3-2 in the eighth against Pedro Strop (5-2) on a run-scoring infield single by Adam Dunn, Baltimore answered in the bottom half against Brett Myers (2-2).

Mark Reynolds drew a one-out walk and McLouth drove a 1-0 pitch far over the wall in right-center. It was his third RBI of the game and second home run since the Orioles purchased his contract from Norfolk on Aug. 4.

"I sure didn't want it to go straight over the plate, which is where it went," Myers said of the ill-fated fastball. "I wish I could have that one pitch back, but you know that isn't going to happen."

Asked if he ever doubted something like this could happen after being released by Pittsburgh at the end of May, McLouth replied, "Maybe. I think that's probably fair to say. But I love playing baseball. The Orioles were gracious to give me an opportunity and I'm happy to be here. I'm excited. It's been fun so far."

Jim Johnson pitched the ninth for his 40th save in 43 opportunities.

Facing the Orioles for the first time with Chicago after tormenting them as a member of the Boston Red Sox, Kevin Youkilis hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning and singled in the eighth to set up Dunn's RBI hit. Youkilis has a lifetime .322 batting average against Baltimore, with 23 homers and 87 RBIs.

"You never want to lose a game like that," Youkilis said. "We had the lead and Nate hit that home run."

The duel between the first-place White Sox and the surprising Orioles - who moved within 3 1/2 games of first-place New York in the AL East and stayed in the midst of the wild-card race - attracted a meager crowd of 10,955 on a clear night at Camden Yards.

Orioles starter Wei-Yin Chen gave up two runs, one earned, and four hits in six innings. He struck out eight, including A.J. Pierzynski three times.

Down 1-0, Chicago took the lead in the sixth. After Chen dropped a throw to first base for an error, Youkilis homered on the next pitch.

Baltimore pulled even in the bottom half. A walk to Matt Wieters and a single by Ford put runners at the corners with no outs and prompted White Sox manager Robin Ventura to replace starter Francisco Liriano with Jesse Crain, who walked Reynolds and McLouth to force in a run. Crain then got Manny Machado to hit into a force at the plate, struck out Robert Andino and retired Nick Markakis on a slow roller to shortstop.

It was another missed opportunity for the Orioles, who had several in the early going.

In the first inning, Markakis was tagged out by Liriano while trying to score from third on a pitch that bounced away from Pierzynski and rolled to the right of the plate.

After Ford hit an opposite-field drive to right leading off the second, the Orioles loaded the bases with one out before Markakis lined into a double play.

NOTES: White Sox RHP Gavin Floyd had a MRI on his right elbow Monday in Chicago. Ventura said no damage was found, but Floyd was scratched from Friday's start against Detroit in favor of Jake Peavy, who was slated to pitch Wednesday. Dylan Axelrod will pitch Wednesday. ... The Orioles optioned Jake Arrieta to Norfolk to make room for LHP Joe Saunders, obtained Sunday in a trade with Arizona. Saunders will make his first start either Wednesday or Thursday, Showalter said. ... RHP Jason Hammel (knee) threw a simulated three-inning game at Camden Yards. He will next make a rehabilitation start on Sept. 1 and could rejoin the team on Sept. 6, Showalter said. ... Baltimore's Adam Jones went 0 for 4 and is homerless in 108 at-bats, tying the longest drought of his career.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Beckett's Dodgers debut not so hot

HBT: Ex-Red Sox ace allows mammoth homer to first batter, ends up taking loss and knocking L.A. to 2 1/2 games back of Giants in NL West.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/48808750/ns/sports-baseball/

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Latest 'ransomware' attacks are scarily sophisticated

By Herb Weisbaum, The ConsumerMan

Imagine having all of your computer files ??including taxes and other important data ??kidnapped and held for ransom. It?s happening more and more. Internet criminals are now targeting U.S. computers with online extortion attacks.

?Ransomware? is not new, but the latest version ? named Reveton ? is more sophisticated than most of this malicious software.

The Reveton Trojan instantly locks the infected computer. Then it displays a message on the screen that? looks like it's from the FBI. The bogus message says the user violated?federal?law by downloading child pornography or illegally using or distributing copyrighted music or video.

To unlock the machine, the user is told to pay a ?fine? via a prepaid money card, online payment service or wire transfer.

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center, reports being ?inundated? with complaints about the Reveton ransomware.

?We are getting dozens of complaints every day,? IC3?s Donna Gregory wrote in a scam alert posted on the FBI website. ?Some people have actually paid the so-called fine.?

A victim who was instructed to pay a $200 fine told IC3: ?The page said if the demands were not met, criminal charges would be filed and my computer would remain locked on that screen.?

Keep in mind: The FBI does not ask people for money and never sends unsolicited email.

The feds issued a warning about Reveton in May. Since that time, this malware has become more widespread in both the U.S. and internationally. And it?s getting more aggressive.

Some versions can turn on the hijacked computer?s webcam and show the victim?s picture on the frozen screen. Others take the extortion threat to a whole new level.?

Pay up or we?ll notify the police!?
Variants of this malware are infecting computers in Europe and they are devilishly sophisticated. They encrypt all the files on the hard drive. This prevents the owner from accessing them until the ransom is paid to get the decryption key.

?The bad guys have improved the nastiness of this attack,? said Chester Wisniewski, a senior security advisor at SophosLabs. ?They basically steal all of your documents and lock them in a vault. And only they have the key.?

Sophos detected the Troj/Ransom-HC variant in July. ?It demands $3,000 Euros (about $3,800 in U.S. dollars) to unlock the encrypted data. The encryption is so strong, Wisniewski told me, there?s virtually no way for the average PC user to crack it.

?All malware is bad, but it?s disturbing that they are able to do this,? he said.

The bold extortion message displayed on the screen gives the victim 96 hours to pay up. ?Otherwise,? it says, ?we will send report to the police with special password to decrypt some files which contains (sic) spam software and child pornography files.?

?This is pretty scary stuff, said security expert Brian Krebs. ?The majority of people who get hit with it would be in a spot because they aren?t serious about backing-up their computer.?

Expect to see more ransomware?? because online extortion is lucrative. On his security blog, Krebs wrote about income data he obtained for one criminal group that uses Reveton. It shows they made $54,000 in a single day.

"People react to the threat and pay the money,? Krebs told me. ?The response should be to shut it down, think about it and have a computer repair person look at it."

Protect yourself?
The Reveton Trojan is delivered by a ?drive-by? download. ?Just visit a compromised website and malware is injected onto your computer without any action on your part. This is why good security software is a must.? Set your machine to do this automatically.

But even the best protection won?t stop all malware attacks.

If your computer gets infected with this new ransomware, it may difficult or impossible to open your files. That?s why it?s so important to constantly back-up your data. You need to be prepared for a disaster like this because you may not get a second chance.

The Internet Crime Complaint Center advises victims of a ransomware extortion attempt not to pay any money or provide any personal information.

Remember: Even if you are able to unfreeze your computer on your own, the malware may still operate in the background, capturing account numbers, passwords and other personal information.

Your best bet is to take a compromised computer to a professional to have the malware removed.

SOPHOS: Exposing the Money Behind the Malware?

More money and business news:

Follow NBCNews.com business on Twitter and Facebook?

?

Source: http://bottomline.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/29/13530504-latest-ransomware-attacks-are-scarily-sophisticated?lite

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Nutrition tied to improved sperm DNA quality in older men

Monday, August 27, 2012

A new study led by scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) found that a healthy intake of micronutrients is strongly associated with improved sperm DNA quality in older men. In younger men, however, a higher intake of micronutrients didn't improve their sperm DNA.

In an analysis of 80 healthy male volunteers between 22 and 80 years of age, the scientists found that men older than 44 who consumed the most vitamin C had 20 percent less sperm DNA damage compared to men older than 44 who consumed the least vitamin C. The same was true for vitamin E, zinc, and folate.

"It appears that consuming more micronutrients such as vitamin C, E, folate and zinc helps turn back the clock for older men. We found that men 44 and older who consumed at least the recommended dietary allowance of certain micronutrients had sperm with a similar amount of DNA damage as the sperm of younger men," says Andy Wyrobek of Berkeley Lab's Life Sciences Division.

"This means that men who are at increased risk of sperm DNA damage because of advancing age can do something about it. They can make sure they get enough vitamins and micronutrients in their diets or through supplements," adds Wyrobek.

Wyrobek conducted the research with a team of researchers that includes Brenda Eskenazi of the University of California at Berkeley's School of Public Health and scientists from the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom. They report their findings in the August 27 online issue of the journal Fertility and Sterility.

Their research comes as more men over 35 have children, which raises public health concerns. Previous research conducted in Wyrobek's lab found that the older a man is, the more he's likely to have increased sperm DNA fragmentation, chromosomal rearrangements, and DNA strand damage. Older men are also more likely to have increased frequencies of sperm carrying certain gene mutations, such as those leading to dwarfism. These findings help explain why aging men are less fertile and are predicted to have more chromosomally defective pregnancies and a higher proportion of offspring with genetic defects.

But until now, researchers haven't understood whether diet can protect against the detrimental effects of aging on the sperm genome.

The scientists studied a group of about 80 men between 20 and 80 years old with an average age of 44. They were recruited several years ago as part of the California Age and Genetic Effects on Sperm Study when Wyrobek was at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Each man who participated in the study filled out a 100-item questionnaire that estimated their average daily vitamin intake, both from food and supplements.

In addition, their sperm DNA quality was assessed via a lab analysis in which a voltage gradient pulls broken DNA strands from intact strands within the sperm nucleus.

Each volunteer's intake of a micronutrient was classified as low, moderate, or high based on how they compared to other participants. The median daily intake, both from diet and supplements, was 162 milligrams for vitamin C, 23.7 milligrams for vitamin E, 2,586 micrograms for ?-carotene, 475 grams for folate, and 12.3 milligrams for zinc. Many participants, even those who reported to be healthy, consumed much less than the recommended dietary allowance for many of the micronutrients.

The scientists analyzed the data several ways and came up with the same result each time: A diet high in antioxidants and micronutrients may decrease the risk of producing sperm with DNA damage, especially in older men.

Why this is so isn't a mystery. Antioxidants scavenge reactive molecules that cause oxidative damage to cells. Studies have shown that dietary supplementation with antioxidants and increased consumption of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables can decrease the amount of oxidative DNA damage.

Based on their results, the scientists believe this same protective mechanism may also be at work in the reproductive tract of older men.

"The different response of the old and young men presents new opportunities for health care, especially for older men planning families," says Wyrobek.

More research is needed, however. Although the scientists found a clear link between higher vitamin intake and improved sperm DNA quality in older men, they don't know whether this link extends to male fertility and the health of offspring.

"Our research points to a need for future studies to determine whether increased antioxidant intake in older fathers will improve fertility, reduce risks of genetically defective pregnancies, and result in healthier children," says Wyrobek. "The research also raises a broader question beyond sperm DNA: How might lifestyle factors, including higher intakes of antioxidants and micronutrients, protect somatic as well as germ cells against age-related genomic damage?"

###

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory: http://www.lbl.gov

Thanks to DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/122945/Nutrition_tied_to_improved_sperm_DNA_quality_in_older_men

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RNC chairman on Chris Matthews attack: ?If more than 10 people actually watched his show I?d actually care?

TAMPA, Fla. ? During a heated television appearance Monday,?Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus responded to verbal attacks MSNBC host Chris Matthews has launched at him,?and dismissed the left-leaning host?s relevance in the political world.

?If more than 10 people actually watched his show I?d actually care,? Priebus told a gaggle of reporters Monday. ?But they don?t. So whatever.?

Matthews slammed Priebus when both men appeared on MSNBC?s ?Morning Joe? show, accusing the Republican Party and its presidential nominee Mitt Romney of playing the race card and calling Priebus??views ?insane.? He also excoriated Priebus for his insistence that President Obama is ?looking to Europe for guidance.?

?You are playing that little ethnic card there,? Matthews told Priebus.??You can play your games and giggle about it, but the fact is your side is playing that card.?

Speaking to reporters gathered at the Republican National Convention, Priebus said of the ?Hardball? host: ?When someone wants take the prize [for] being the biggest jerk in the room, he made the case for us.?

He dismissed the importance of the televised segment during which Matthews had attacked him, and said he would still happy to appear on MSNBC.

?Sure. I mean I?m happy to go on MSNBC. I tell you what, Joe and Mika, they weren?t too happy about it,? he said about the ?Morning Joe? hosts. ?The feeling in the room was clearly that there was a lot of unhappiness directed towards Chris.?

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RNC chairman on Chris Matthews attack: 'If more than 10 people actually watched his show I'd actually care'

In-your-face protesters storm Tampa

Paul Ryan makes plea to Ron Paul and his supporters

Mike Leavitt and the 'Mormon mafia,' ctd

RNC unveils national debt clock, immediately recesses

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rnc-chairman-chris-matthews-attack-more-10-people-200606277.html

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Tax Financial debt Relief Info - CareCrunch Answers

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Source: http://answers.carecrunch.com/?p=171212&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tax-financial-debt-relief-info

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Here' s How Little The New York Times Was ... - Business Insider

Daniel Goodman / Business Insider

The Times' HQ.

?

IAC has agreed to buy About.com from the New York Times for $300 million in cash, according to Bloomberg.

But the sale won't fix NYT's overall digital problems?it's still seeing declining digital revenues, which mostly come from selling ads.

NYT bought About for $410 million in 2005, in one of those attempts to move a newspaper brand into the digital age.

Here are About's most recent top and bottom lines, according to Bloomberg, almost all of which come from ad sales:

The website?s revenue fell 8.7 percent to $25.4 million last quarter, and it posted an operating loss of $186.8 million ...

That loss includes a non-cash writedown of $194.7 million.* Once you back that out of About's numbers, the unit made $7.9 million operating profit before taxes and other expenses in Q2 2012.

That sounds reasonable until you look at About's revenue trends. NYT reported:

About Group advertising revenues decreased 8.9% in the second quarter and 16.7% in the first six months of 2012 ...

At that rate of decline, The Times' operating profit on About would have been wiped out completely in about a year. It appears The Times got out just in time.

IAC boss Barry Diller will combine About with Ask.com. Hopefully, he has a plan to fix About's revenue side.

Meanwhile, here's the overall picture at the Times?including About and the various newspaper titles?before the sale, per the most recent 10-Q:

Digital advertising revenues decreased 4.0% and 7.2% in the second quarter and first six months of 2012, respectively.

That portends more structural changes at the paper in the near future.

*Correction: This item originally described incorrectly the nature of the Times' losses on About.com. The writedown is a non-cash loss.

Related:

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-how-much-money-the-new-york-times-was-losing-on-aboutcom-2012-8

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Neil Armstrong, first person to walk on moon, dies at 82

When Neil Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the moon, on July 20, 1969, he uttered a phrase that has been carved in stone and quoted across the planet: "That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind."

The grainy black-and-white television images of him taking his first lunar stroll were watched by an estimated 600 million people worldwide ? and firmly established him as one of the great heroes of the 20th century.

Armstrong, who had heart surgery in early August, died Saturday in Cincinnati at 82, said NASA spokesman Bob Jacobs. The cause was complications from cardiovascular procedures, his family announced.

PHOTOS: Neil Armstrong | 1930-2012

For the usually taciturn Armstrong, the poetic statement was a rare burst of eloquence, a sound bite for the ages that only increased his fame. He was never comfortable with celebrity he saw as an accident of fate, for stepping on the moon ahead of fellow astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin. The reticent, self-effacing Armstrong would shun the spotlight for much of the rest of his life.

In a rare public appearance, in 2000, Armstrong cast himself in another light: "I am, and ever will be, a white-sock, pocket-protector, nerdy engineer."

History would beg to disagree.

In a statement, President Obama said that when Armstrong stepped on the moon, "he delivered a moment of human achievement that will never be forgotten."

And when Armstrong and his two fellow crew members lifted off from Earth in Apollo 11, "they carried with them the aspirations of an entire nation," Obama said. "They set out to show the world that American spirit can see beyond what seems unimaginable ? that with enough drive and ingenuity, anything is possible."

NASA administrator Charles Bolden spoke for many when he said, "As long as there are history books, Neil Armstrong will be included in them."

"Besides being one of America's greatest explorers, Neil carried himself with grace and humility that was an example to us all," Bolden said in a statement.

PHOTOS: Notable deaths of 2012

In the years that followed the flight of Apollo 11, Armstrong was asked again and again what it felt like to be the first man on the moon. In answering, he always shared the glory: "I was certainly aware that this was the culmination of the work of 300,000 to 400,000 people over a decade."

Yet how many other self-proclaimed nerdy engineers flew 78 combat missions as a Navy fighter pilot during the Korean War? Logged more than 1,000 hours as a test pilot in some of the world's fastest and most dangerous aircraft? Or became one of the first civilian astronauts and commanded Apollo 11, the first manned flight to land on the moon?

His biographer, James R. Hansen, called Armstrong "one of the best-known and least-understood people on the planet."

When asked to describe the astronaut in just a few words, Hansen told Ohio's Columbus Dispatch in 2005 that Armstrong was "stoic, self-controlled, dedicated, earnest, hardworking and honest."

Neil Alden Armstrong was born Aug. 5, 1930, on his grandfather's farm near Wapakoneta, Ohio, and had a happy and conventional upbringing.

His civil servant father, Stephen Armstrong, audited county records in Ohio and later served as assistant director of the Ohio Mental Hygiene and Corrections Department. The family of his mother, Viola, owned the farm.

For more than a decade, his family moved around Ohio to accommodate his father's job before settling down in Wapakoneta.

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/SdHqKzyhizI/la-me-neil-armstrong-20120826,0,2645678.story

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From Script to Screen - Yvonne Grace | Brit Writers Awards

From Script to Screen?
Bit Writers spoke to?Yvonne Grace ?

?

Who is Yvonne Grace?

I am trained in Theatre Design (got a BA Hons degree in it anyway!) and am an ex-actress, having worked for 5 years in Theatre In Education and Community Theatre Companys. I realised that it was the written word, not the spoken, that interested and excited me and so I went into script development and reading lots of scripts for lots of organisations including, Channel Four, Radio Four, The Young Vic, The Bush Theatre, and most new writing venues in London in the late 80?s early 90?s. I set up The Deptford Wives (since I was then living in Deptford ? the title suggested itself!) ? a script development company and ran successful script in hand performances out of the Birds Nest Theatre Pub in Deptford. I went into television via a script editing job on Eastenders and worked my way along the script editing route and into drama producing. I have produced children?s drama for CITV and Holby City for the BBC and also executive produced Crossroads for ITV as well as developing lots of long running series ideas for both markets with a wide variety of writers. I set up Script Advice in 2007 to help writers write better scripts, primarily for the tv market. I also design and run short courses for organisations such as C4, The National Film and TV school, and The Script Factory and am speaking at the London Screenwriters Festival in October and at their Breakfast Club in September. In 2006 I left the city, moved to the country, got married and had a little boy in space of a year. His name is Michael, he is 4 and a half and starts school in September. I plan then to re-start my own writing career!

?

?

Had you always been interested in scriptwriting?

I have always been interested in how writers write and why they do. I have always been fascinated by the written word and by stories. I believe storytelling is in my blood and the need to express stories to as many people as possible is a very real thing in me. I love to read and to immerse myself in a book or a film or a radio play. I enjoy all genres of storytelling and found shaping a writer?s ideas for a large audience (which is ultimately the work I have done on television) a very exciting and rewarding job to do.

?

?

What were the most difficult challenges you?ve had to overcome?

I believe the most difficult challenge for me when I was starting out was the fact that I did not know anyone in the television world or anyone who had even done the job or heard of the job that I had managed to land for myself on Eastenders. I wasn?t educated at Oxford or Cambridge and at the time I was trying to get into telly, most drama jobs seemed to have an Oxbridge graduate in them. So I had to be tenacious, confident, polite, thick-skinned and also really really know my stuff. I thankfully managed to achieve some, if not all, of the requirements necessary and after 2 years of knocking on doors I got the intro I needed by the insightful invitation to join Eastenders from Helen Greaves.

?

What has been your major highlight to date and tell us more about some of the projects you?ve been involved with?

A major highlight for me was winning the LWT Comedy Award for Best Children?s Comedy for the Children?s pilot I produced ?My Dad?s A Boring Nerd? written by Joe Turner. I also have huge affection for Crossroads, and particularly the last metamorphosis of the show, as I Executive Produced the show, changed it?s image and cast Jane Asher as the Uber Bitch Angel Sampson. I am very proud of the ratings we achieved (1.5 million a day across the week) and enjoyed working with such a talented team of creatives both in front and behind the camera. I am also very proud of the success I made of Holby City series 2. I turned the show around from being a critical, but not ratings success, to being both popular with the critics and popular with audiences. My series gained a top viewing figure of 9.6 million and I believe these figures ensured Holby?s continued success. Again, the success of this show is a team effort and it is working with writers and actors and production crews that both know their stuff and enjoy doing their stuff that really makes working in television enjoyable and rewarding.

?

?

What advice would you give to new unpublished scriptwriters?

Write yourself a very very good calling card script first and foremost. Then target the people you want to read your work. Be selective and be respectful at all times. Be tenacious and try at all times to show confidence in your work and in yourself (even if you dont always feel like that!) When someone gives you a chance, no matter how small it may seem at the time, or that it might not be just exactly what you want ? take it and do your best always with the opportunities you are given and those you create for yourself.

?

Tell us more about ?Script Advice??

Script Advice is a website that I run that offers script reading, script editing, script development and treatment reading services for any writer interested in developing their skill base and writing craft. I know about television, so that is my main area of expertise that I like to pass on to my clients, but I also read plays, novels and radio plays. I know what it is like to write in a vacuum and feel isolated from other writers ? so I also, via Script Advice, offer writers a place to go to ask questions, to find support and advice. I write 2 blogs and distribute a newsletter 4 times a year via my Facebook group Script Advice Writers Room and by my mail list. If writers contact me on my email address from my website I also try and help and will get back to you as soon as I can. I also run workshops and short courses on storylining, script editing and treatment writing. I basically love working with people and although I see myself as a leader, not a team player, I thrive on the buzz we all get from sharing our experiences and learning from each other ? my workshops celebrate the difference in all our writer voices and I try and pass on my experience in writing and shaping drama for the small screen to as many people as I can.

?

?

How important are initiatives such as Brit Writers?

Brit Writers is a great organisation. I love the support that you offer both young people and fully grown ups! Your work in schools regarding literacy and encouraging joy in reading and writing is very important work and I commend you for this.

?

?

What would you like to say to anyone reading this right now?

I would like to say to anyone reading this; have faith in your own ability and stretch yourself and your writing, if possible, on a daily basis. Self belief and looking challenge in the face is something all writers need to be able to master and do. Writing is like psychotherapy in some ways, know yourself and you will make a better writer ? so always look to yourself to find the truth in what you write. Listen to those that have experience in the craft and the industry, take all advice with grace and as much as possible, be realistic about what you can achieve and about your own skill. Do not worry about your failings, try and improve and go forward each day.

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http://scriptadvice.co.uk/

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Thank you Yvonne.

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Source: http://www.britwriters.com/news/from-script-to-screen-yvonne-grace.html

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Scenes from Tampa: The calm before the storm (Los Angeles Times)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/243521490?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Specialist Information Recovery Services | Internet and Technology ...

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Source: http://www.antiquarioverona.com/specialist-information-recovery-services.html

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First Test: Ashwin spins India to innings victory (Roundup)

Hyderabad, Aug 26

Off-spinner Ravichandra Ashwin ended with match figures of 12 for 85 as Indian won the first cricket test against New Zealand by an innings and 115 runs on the fourth day at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium at Uppal here Sunday.

The visitors were all out for 164 runs in the second innings after India had enforced the follow-on. The Kiwis had scored 159 in the first innings in reply to India's 438.

Man-of-the-Match Ashwin took a dozen wickets in 43.2 overs, the best match figures by an Indian bowler against New Zealand. He had picked up six for 31 in the first innings. The other Indian spinner, Pragyan Ojha, claimed six wickets for 92 in the match.

The Kiwis collapsed like proverbial ninepins as they lost nine wickets for 66 runs on the penultimate day of the rain-hit match. The Indian spinners dominated the show after a fine 159 by Cheteshwar Pujara had helped India amass a 400-plus total in the first two days.

It took just seven overs for India after the tea break to seal the victory and go one up in the two-match series. The Black Caps, who were at one stage fighting well at 98 for one were reduced to 146 for six at tea and lost the remaining wickets for the addition of another 18 runs after the break.

Resuming at their overnight 41 for one, after play was delayed by two hours due to rain, Brendon McCullum (42) and Kane Williamson (52) looked set for a big score. Playing defiantly against the Indian spinners, they denied the hosts any breakthrough till lunch. The score was then 92 for one.

The first breakthrough of the day for India came in the third over after lunch but in a rather controversial manner. McCullum was adjudged leg before to Umesh Yadav when an inside edge seemed to have hit the pad as he tried to defend. With no DRS, the Kiwi opener had no option but to walk back to the pavilion. He was furious, shaking his head repeatedly and tossing the bat from one hand to the other as he walked towards the dressing room.

McCullum and Williamson resumed well in the morning and denied any breakthrough to India in the first session. For the first time, the Kiwi batsmen showed some character against Indian spinners and executed their game plan well.

However, in the post-lunch session, the hosts turned the tables on Black Caps with the fall of McCullum. Skipper Ross Taylor (7) failed yet again as he was deceived by a Ashwin delivery, which sharply came in hitting the stumps. The lost of two wickets in quick succession shortly after lunch brought the pressure back on the visitors.

Williamson along with Flynn then tried to steer the inning. The two added 33 runs for the fourth wicket before Ojha struck again to remove Williamson. A thick outside edge landed safely into the hands of Virender Sehwag at the first slip, bringing an end to Williamson's inning. He was the most successful batsman for the New Zeland scoring 52 off 163 balls with four hits to the fence.

Ashwin dealt another blow when he trapped Daniel Flynn (11) in front of the stumps. The Kiwis slumped to 142 for five and Indian camp was already sensing victory.

James Franklin (5), who was the top scorer for the Kiwis in the first innings with an unbeaten 43, did not last long. Sehwag at the first slip dived to his right and took a sensational one-hand catch after wicket keeper Dhoni was also beaten by a ball which bounced and was sharply drifting away. It was a beauty from Ashwin, who claimed the ninth wicket of the match.

After denying Indian bowlers any success in the morning session, New Zealand lost five wickets with the addition of 54 runs between lunch and tea.

The worst was yet to come for them. There was no change of fortunes after the tea as Indian spinners tightened their grip on the tail-enders. Competing with his spin partner at the other end, Ojha dismissed Doug Bracewell (1) in the second over after tea.

Ashwin claimed 10th wicket when he had Kruger Van Wyk (13) leg before the wicket. The Kiwi wicket keeper batsman attempted a sweep shot but found himself trapped before the stumps.

The spinner completed the formalities in his next over. Boult had no clue to a ball which spun, took an outside edge and once again Sehwag took a low catch at the first slip. This was his third catch of the day.

Two balls later, Ashwin trapped Chris Martin in front of the stumps to give India their first victory after the defeat in eight tests. Ashwin also completed his second six wicket haul of the match and a holiday crowd of over 20,000 erupted in joy.

Source: http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a323386.html

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FCC wants to know if it's too modest about broadband, gives chance to fight caps and slow speeds

A common complaint with the FCC's National Broadband Plan is its conservative definition of the broadband in question: many would argue that the 4Mbps baseline is an anachronism in an era of 4G, FiOS and Google Fiber. If you've ever wanted the FCC to up the ante, now's your chance. The regulator wants comments on its definitions of fixed and mobile broadband to gauge whether real-world trends like multi-user streaming video should lead to raised expectations for internet providers. Ever been burnt by a too-low bandwidth cap? It's open season on that area as well, with the FCC asking if it should define a minimum acceptable cap and possibly call for better limits than we see today. We just share GigaOM's wish that we could ask if every cap is even necessary, although the Department of Justice might be answering that for us. Americans have up until September 20th to make their voices heard, so get cracking if you'd like to set a higher bar.

Filed under: Cellphones, Networking, Internet

FCC wants to know if it's too modest about broadband, gives chance to fight caps and slow speeds originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Aug 2012 00:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink GigaOM  |  FCC  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/O1xLzpcbmTU/

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To help clean up sport, NCAA should ban unofficial visits

The unofficial visit would seem to be one of the more innocuous elements of the college basketball recruiting process, about as threatening as a cafeteria lunch and as boring as taking a walk through an empty weight room.

And that is pretty much what an unofficial visit is.

Through the past decade, however, as scouting became more sophisticated and the identification of elite prospects accelerated, the unofficial visit became the reserve currency of the basketball recruiting process. Only seniors could make ?official visits,? and programs hardly could afford to wait that long to show off their assets with so many great talents choosing their college destination as sophomores and juniors.

So, as often happens with recruiting, the unofficial visit became a dubious enterprise.

The NCAA suspended Kentucky?s John Wall two games of his freshman season over the financing of his unofficial visits. Unofficial visits were part of the package that got Kansas? Josh Selby suspended for nine. Now, you?re hearing the same rumbling regarding Shabazz Muhammad, who has already missed UCLA?s trip to China, and the NCAA?s decision to visit the high school Kentucky freshman Nerlens Noel attended.

Given all of that, it is depressing that it took so long for the NCAA membership to figure out the best way to put an end to the nonsense was to allow players to make official visits -- paid for the school, with each athlete allowed to make only five total -- as high school juniors.

More: Even without Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA can learn from China

From the time college basketball adopted the early letter-of-intent period, which occurred more than a quarter-century ago, the rules restricting official visits to athletes in their senior years of high school began to decay toward obsolescence. It was virtually impossible for a high school senior to squeeze in five officials before the November signing date. A large percentage of recruits made their college choices long before they were allowed to make an official.

However, the rule change that will allow basketball players to make official visits after Jan. 1 of their junior years only went into effect just three weeks ago.

It is a significant step in cleaning up another part of the business that had been corrupted.

It?s not enough, though.

The next advance in this department: ?Get rid of all unofficial visits,? Kentucky coach John Calipari told Sporting News on Thursday. ?It?s not fair to the kid who doesn?t have the means to make all these trips.?

Obviously, it would be impossible and undesirable to declare that athletes are not allowed to visit campuses that are open to the general public. An athlete shouldn?t lose a bit of his freedom merely because he?s a targeted recruit.

It would not be at all complicated, however, to declare that coaches no longer could arrange to have a recruit visit campus unofficially and could not have contact with him during a campus tour. The recruit would not be allowed to see the areas that typically are reserved for varsity athletes: Locker rooms, training areas, video suites.

If an athlete wanted to visit a campus in the same manner as a prospective journalism major or pre-med student, he could contact the admissions office and arrange the same tour as everyone else. I?ve been on a few of those with my nephews. They were all to universities with significant Division I basketball programs, and none of them showed off the players? lounge.

As it stands now, the college basketball prospect whose family has money can travel in grand style -- being hosted by famous coaches, comparing every school?s practice facility to the one he just saw and the one he?ll see next. The prospect of limited means might be able to see the schools in his immediate area, but if he is being pursued by out-of-state programs he might be stuck in the dilemma of either accepting a virtual ?visit? through the school?s web site or receiving assistance from a ?third party? to make an unofficial.

Exactly how much of the investigation of Muhammad and Noel is focused on the issue of unofficial visits is impossible to say because the NCAA rarely issues precise comments regarding ongoing investigations.

Noel never made an unofficial visit to Kentucky but did travel to other campuses. The unofficial visits in question with Muhammad reportedly were to Duke and North Carolina, not UCLA, where he plans to play.

If the change in the official visit rule had been in place, however, it?s possible none of this would be an issue. It has taken far too long for the NCAA to see clearly on this matter. Unofficially, Jan. 1 can?t come soon enough.

Source: http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/story/2012-08-24/to-help-clean-up-sport-ncaa-should-ban-unofficial-visits

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HHS Awards New Insurance Exchange Grants To 8 States - Kaiser ...

The funding will be used to help build marketplaces for consumers to buy coverage.

Modern Healthcare: HHS Awards $765 Million In Insurance Exchange Grants
HHS has awarded eight states more than $765 million in additional grant funding to establish the health insurance exchanges that are supposed to be available for consumers in 2014. The department awarded level-one establishment grants?which provide a year of funding to states that have already started the process to build an exchange?to California, Hawaii, Iowa and New York. Meanwhile, Connecticut, Maryland, Nevada and Vermont received level-two grants, which are awarded to states that have made more progress in their planning efforts. HHS reports that?34 states and Washington, D.C.,?have received establishment grants (Zigmond, 8/23).?

Politico Pro: Eight States Receive New Exchange Grants
HHS announced a new round of exchange establishment grants Thursday, and reiterated that states will have another 10 chances to apply for funding before the end of 2014. California, Hawaii, Iowa and New York were awarded Level One Exchange Establishment grants, which provide one year of funding to states that have begun the process of building their exchanges. California alone received $194.5 million (Norman, 8/23).

The Washington Post's Maryland Politics: State Unveils Name, Logo For Insurance Exchange Under The Federal Health Care Law
Gov. Martin O'Malley's (D) administration on Thursday released the name, logo and Web site for a new state government unit created to let residents purchase health insurance plans next year under the Affordable Care Act. Maryland Health Connection will begin open enrollment in October 2013?(Davis, 8/23).

Baltimore Sun: Maryland Wins Big Grant For Its Insurance Marketplace
Maryland secured $123 million of federal funding to launch its health insurance exchange, the cornerstone of President Barack Obama's health care reform, state officials announced Thursday. The money will help build the marketplace, now formally called the Maryland Health Connection, where hundreds of thousands of uninsured Marylanders will buy coverage. It is expected to open by October 2013, and insurance coverage would begin the following January (Cohn, 8/23).

California Healthline: What's In An Exchange Name?
A few ideas for a new name -- ranging from the expected, traditional options to the less expected, non-traditional ?-- were floated at yesterday's Health Benefit Exchange board meeting. The board's executive director, Peter Lee, also announced yesterday that the federal government just approved the exchange's Level 1.2 grant request for $196 million. The exchange staff has already started working on the next grant request, a Level 1.3 establishment grant, which will be submitted to federal officials in November, Lee said. The board had a full slate of issues to handle at yesterday's meeting -- from working out the details for how agents would be paid in SHOP exchanges to decisions about premium aggregation (Gorn, 8/24).

Detroit Free Press: Michigan To Ask U.S. To Run Health Insurance Website
Michigan is likely to ask the federal government in November to run a Web-based state health insurance shopping site, Gov. Rick Snyder said Thursday. Michigan still hopes to run some parts of the program and wants to collect nearly $10 million awarded to the state by federal health officials, his spokeswoman Sara Wurfel said. "Given the reality of current deadlines" and the fact that Michigan's Legislature has taken no action yet on how the program will be run here, Snyder has few other options, she said (Anstett, 8/24).

Minnesota Public Radio: Gov. Dayton Asks For Additional $42.5M To Build Health Exchange
The Dayton administration has asked the federal government for another $42.5 million to build Minnesota's insurance exchange, a key part of President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act. In a letter to top state lawmakers, Dayton also said his administration will wait to make any final decisions on the exchange until after the November elections. But that's less than two weeks before a major deadline for detailed plans of the exchange to the federal government (Stawicki, 8/24).

This is part of Kaiser Health News' Daily Report - a summary of health policy coverage from more than 300 news organizations. The full summary of the day's news can be found here and you can sign up for e-mail subscriptions to the Daily Report here. In addition, our staff of reporters and correspondents file original stories each day, which you can find on our home page.

Source: http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2012/August/24/states-reform-implementation.aspx

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