troubleshooter dimwitted: 2013

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Beam her up: Gabby Douglas is back in the gym

FILE - In this Aug. 2, 2012 file photo, U.S. gymnast Gabrielle Douglas displays her gold medal during the artistic gymnastics women's individual all-around competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Douglas is back in the gym.The Olympic all-around champion was to practice Monday afternoon, May 20, 2013 after meeting with coach Liang Chow to discuss her comeback plan. The workout is in her old gym in West Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File)

Gabby Douglas had been looking forward to this appearance for a long time.

The Olympic all-around champion returned to the gym Monday, going through her first practice since the London Games after meeting with coach Liang Chow to discuss her comeback plan.

"She is very excited to be coming back," Chow told The Associated Press. "She can't wait any longer."

Douglas has always said she wanted to continue competing through the Rio Olympics in 2016. She is only 17, and Chow said in London that she hadn't come close to reaching her potential. (The Olympics were only the fifth international event for Douglas.)

But her life has been a whirlwind since London, where she also helped the U.S. win only its second team title. Her Olympic success, dazzling smile and captivating personality turned her into a worldwide celebrity, and she's been going nonstop since the games ended.

She was the AP's female athlete of the year and one of Barbara Walters' "10 Most Fascinating People" in 2012. She was the only female on Forbes' recent list of 10 most influential athletes in the U.S. She had a guest spot on "The Vampire Diaries," one of her favorite shows, and she performed at the Video Music Awards after walking the red carpet with the rest of the Fierce Five.

Douglas and fellow Fierce Five members Aly Raisman, Jordyn Wieber and McKayla Maroney did a 40-city gymnastics tour last fall, and she's made dozens of other celebrity appearances. She signed deals with Nike, Kellogg Co. and AT&T, among others, and recently published her second book.

Gymnastics was never far from her mind, though, and Chow got the sense from the text messages Douglas would send him that she'd eventually be back in the gym in West Des Moines, Iowa.

"She's the kind of person who wants to be achieving," he said. "She wants to feel good about her improvement and her goal setting. That's the attitude Gabby is about and now she can set out a goal and achieve it, through the sport."

Chow wouldn't put a timetable on Douglas' return, saying she has to get back in gymnastics shape before they can put a "realistic" training plan together.

"I think 2014 is an excellent possibility for competition," he said.

But this won't be an easy process, Chow said. Gymnastics is a sport that requires hundreds of hours of repetition to perfect skills, and Douglas has been out of action for nine months.

"I did warn her, 'If you think preparing for London was hard, preparing for Rio will be harder.' There's many challenges ahead of us," Chow said. "Also, 'You're going to have to have a lot more patience with yourself. Nine months off, you have to get yourself in very good physical condition first before we even talk about the training plan for the next steps."

But Douglas is undeterred.

"She understood," Chow said, "and she is super excited."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-05-20-GYM-Douglas-Returns/id-ef5035ffb4ba40e2b43b605bbeeb9316

mike the situation jacksonville jaguars jacksonville jaguars benjarvus green ellis shaka smart hungergames bagpipes

Arthritis | Revista Women s Health

Who is at risk?

Arthritis could be a term which means ?joint inflammation?. There area unit over one hundred styles of inflammatory {disease} that have an effect on the joints of these tormented by the disease which can conjointly have an effect on the muscles additionally as different tissues within the body. the 2 commonest styles of inflammatory disease area unit atrophic arthritis and degenerative arthritis.

Osteoarthritis: malady|arthritis} could be a disease of the joints. Persons that have a high level of wear and tear and tear on their joints usually develop the malady. The animal tissue, that could be a slippery, soft tissue, covers the top of the bones during a joint. once the animal tissue breaks down, the malady happens. once the animal tissue is healthy, the bones within the body glide over each other, gripping the strain that?s placed on the joint, therefore protective them from harm. once the layer of animal tissue is worn down, the bones rub along that causes nice pain and swelling and may result in a loss of movement.

Rheumatoid arthritis: White blood cells area unit accountable for serving to to shield the body. With atrophic arthritis, the person?s system is flawed and causes the white blood cells to attack healthy tissues, particularly those tissues within the joint lining. The joint laid low with the condition could lose its alignment and form and leads to pain and loss of movement. the consequences of atrophic arthritis will be felt throughout the body and not simply within the joints. issues like swelling, redness, warmth, stiffness and pain area unit common conditions which can be intimate throughout the body.

Different styles of inflammatory disease include:

Gout: could be a rheumatic malady that happens most frequently within the tiny joints of the body, like the large toe. The malady could be a results of a defect within the body?s chemistry.

Juvenile inflammatory disease: Juvenile inflammatory disease could be a term that is employed for all styles of Arthritis that have an effect on kids.

Ankylosing inflammation: autoimmune disorder could be a condition that causes inflammation within the joints of a person?s backbone. The condition causes the bones of the spine to conjoin, making inflammation and pain.

What puts you at the danger of arthritis?

To be able to stop inflammatory disease, you need to bear in mind of what puts you in danger for developing the malady.

Common risk factors that area unit related to developing the malady and flare ups include:

Elderly: Among the aged, there?s a high rate of inflammatory disease. Among persons over sixty five [*fr1] area unit suffering with inflammatory disease. inflammatory {disease} isn?t simply a disease that affects the elderly; it will be intimate in the least ages.

Women: Among inflammatory disease sufferers, ladies area unit inflicted with the malady additional therefore then men. this is often true in all ages cluster that suffers with inflammatory disease. as an example, among those living with inflammatory disease, common fraction area unit ladies. Throughout the planet, the share of ladies living with inflammatory disease is twenty four.4% wherever because the proportion of men is eighteen.1%. inflammatory disease will occur all told age teams and every one racial and ethnic teams.

Family history (Heredity / Genetic tendency): inflammatory disease will be hereditary which means, if a loved one has the malady, you?ve got a bigger probability of developing the malady.

Obesity: as a result of once an individual is overweight the joints expertise additional pressure, that will increase the danger of the condition.

Joint trauma: If you?ve got intimate Associate in Nursing injury early in life, it will later result in the event of inflammatory disease.

Low socioeconomic class: Among persons with less financial gain and fewer education, inflammatory disease is additional common. In fact, third of adults suffering with the malady, have but a highschool education. Also, lower incomes area unit higher among older ladies suffering with the malady.

Being tuned in to the danger factors that result in the event of the malady, can assist you to forestall and treat the condition of inflammatory disease which might be disabling. Knowing additional can assist you to forestall additional.

Source: http://revistawomenshealth.com/diseases/arthritis-2.html

brady quinn brady quinn bloom box obama sweet home chicago accenture match play george washington carver king cake

Asia markets up after US delivers positive data

BANGKOK (AP) ? Evidence of a steady economic recovery in the U.S. helped push Asian stock markets higher Monday.

A gauge of future economic activity issued Friday rose more than expected, a sign that the world's biggest economy is improving. Consumer confidence also rose, offsetting several lackluster reports on slowing manufacturing and an increase in applications for unemployment benefits.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.4 percent to 15,353.28. Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 1.7 percent to 23,478.62. South Korea's Kospi added 0.2 percent to 1,990.05. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 1.2 percent to 5,242.20.

Investors will have a slew of data to sift through this week, including a key Chinese manufacturing report and homes sales and durable goods orders from the U.S. Analysts are somewhat pessimistic about the strength of China's recovery but are expecting to see solid improvement in the U.S.

"Although US data was mixed last week the recovery theme will continue this week, with housing data and durable goods orders set to record gains," Mitul Kotecha of Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong said in a commentary.

Additionally, remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to members of Congress on Wednesday will be closely examined for hints about the central bank's future direction regarding its monetary policy.

Benchmarks in mainland China, Indonesia and New Zealand also rose, while those in Taiwan and the Philippines fell.

Wall Street stocks again pushed higher Friday after the Conference Board said its index of leading economic indicators rose 0.6 percent last month after a revised decline of 0.2 percent in March. The index is intended to predict how the economy will be doing in three to six months. Separately, the University of Michigan's preliminary survey of consumer confidence climbed to 83.7. Economists had predicted that the gauge would climb to 76.8.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.8 percent to close at 15,354.40. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 1 percent, to 1,666.12. The Nasdaq composite index rose 1 percent to 3,498.97.

Benchmark oil for June delivery was down 10 cents at $95.92 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In currencies, the euro rose to $1.2835 from $1.2829 late Friday in New York. The dollar fell to 102.81 yen from 103.18 yen.

___

Follow Pamela Sampson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pamelasampson

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/asia-markets-us-delivers-positive-data-035103567.html

the shining mariano rivera mariano rivera jobs report tiger woods masters 2012 nikki haley stan van gundy

Play of the Day: Rounding Up a Tough Week for the White House

With three scandals dogging Barack Obama, the president and government functions continue to be a focal point on late-night television. David Letterman went headlong into the jokes, opening with a connection to the 40th anniversary of the Watergate hearings. He also brought baseball, the Republican party and Joe Biden into the mix.

The Tonight Show's Jay Leno hit similar notes, comparing Obama to Richard Nixon and suggesting that the president might call up Leno guest Mitt Romney and offer him the job.

Saturday Night Live presented its season finale with a surprise Weekend Update appearance by former anchor -- and TV good government supporter -- Amy Poehler to rehash "Really!?! with Seth and Amy." The segment picked apart the IRS, the Tea Party and Obama.

Fast forward to 4:20 to see why the IRS is on edge this time of the year.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/play-day-rounding-tough-week-white-house-120731476.html

Mlk Quotes Elder Scrolls Online joe biden michelle obama lupe fiasco jason wu jason wu

Monday, May 20, 2013

How the IRS Scandal Could Backfire (Powerlineblog)

Share With Friends:

| Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/306818863?client_source=feed&format=rss

jenny mccarthy auld lang syne dick clark Happy new year fiscal cliff Pitbull Hannah Storm

Maths Jokes, Explained

If you have to explain a joke, that usually means it's not a very good joke. But, if you're telling a math joke, maybe it just means your audience never enjoyed algebra as much as you did. Either way, these videos help explain to the less able mathematicians out there why they're funny.

Big bling free to celebs in Cannes 'gifting suites'

Celebs

Randee Dawn TODAY contributor

17 hours ago

Gather hundreds of celebrities and film executives on the French Riviera for the Cannes Film Festival and naturally, they need their glitter and glam.

One way the famous end up looking so good and so trendy is that often, they don't have to bring, or buy, their own fabulousness: They get special invitations to luxury "gifting suites" set up in hotel rooms at the film festival and can walk out with thousands of dollars of clothes and jewelry.

These rooms of swag aren't the only places where there's bling-related excitement to be found -- someone stole jewels meant for celebrities to wear on the red carpet straight from a hotel room very early on in the festival.

The Hollywood Reporter took a look inside some of these swag rooms stocked by famous brands including Chanel, Swarovski, Dior, and Jimmy Choo to find out what's up for grabs -- if you've got the right A-list name. Check out the video!

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/celebrities-visit-luxury-gifting-suites-cannes-walk-out-serious-swag-1C9983842

kenny powers kenny powers carl hagelin triple play james neal virginia tech emancipation proclamation

Andrus collects five hits; Rangers top Tigers

Associated Press Sports

updated 12:10 a.m. ET May 19, 2013

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Anibal Sanchez was knocked out of the game early Saturday night, the second time in three games a Tigers starter hasn't made it out of the third against the Rangers.

Elvis Andrus had a career-high five hits, Mitch Moreland homered and Texas roughed up Sanchez in the Rangers' 7-2 victory over the Tigers.

Sanchez (4-4) gave up a season-high six runs in 2 2-3 innings, his shortest start in almost two years. The right-hander yielded nine hits, walked two and struck out two as his ERA jumped from 2.05 to 2.77.

Andrus ended Sanchez's night after 74 pitches with an RBI single that gave Texas a 6-2 lead.

Tigers ace Justin Verlander gave up eight runs in 2 2-3 innings in Detroit's 10-4 loss to the Rangers on Thursday night.

"Sometimes you just don't have it and you're trying to do the best you could," Detroit catcher Alex Avila said. "When guys have been as consistent as (Sanchez) has or like Justin has, everybody gets really worried. But I'm pretty confident he'll have a pretty good start his next time around."

Detroit has lost seven of 11 games and dropped a game behind the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central.

Torii Hunter snapped an 0-for-15 slide with an RBI double and he scored two batters later on Prince Fielder's single, bringing the Tigers within 4-2 in the third.

Sanchez was gone soon after that.

Moreland led off the bottom of the third with his 10th homer and Andrus' run-scoring hit made it 6-2 and forced Sanchez out of the game.

Sanchez threw 32 pitches in each of the first two innings. This was his shortest start since going 1 2-3 innings Aug. 10, 2011 as a member of the Marlins.

"It's a bad outing," Sanchez said. "I don't have an excuse. We have to give credit to the team, they swung well."

Andrus scored three runs, had two RBIs and stole a pair of bases as he hit leadoff for the second straight game in place of ailing second baseman Ian Kinsler. Andrus was a home run shy of the cycle and finished off his 5-for-5 game with a single to right in the eighth.

The Texas shortstop admitted that he was swinging for a homer in his last at-bat against reliever Phil Coke.

"(Adrian) Beltre told me to take three hard swings," Andrus said. "Try to go yard. That's what I did, but the pitch was down. But I'm really happy with a base hit."

Texas starter Justin Grimm (3-3) gave up two runs in 6 2-3 innings to snap a three-game losing streak. The rookie allowed seven hits and struck out two while throwing a career-high 105 pitches.

After allowing two runs in the third, Grimm retired 12 of the final 14 batters he faced and left to a standing ovation. He credited a pep talk from manager Ron Washington after the third inning for his success Saturday.

"Wash got me in the dugout and told me to trust my stuff," Grimm said. "He kind of tapped me in the face and caught me off guard. Just hearing that he had confidence in me meant a lot."

Andrus singled on Sanchez's first pitch of the game, then stole second and advanced to third on Avila's throwing error. The Texas shortstop scored on Avila's passed ball.

The Rangers extended their lead to 4-0 with three runs in the second.

Andrus got the inning going with an RBI triple that tipped the end of Hunter's glove in right. Hunter said that he lost the ball in the lights.

"I went to where I thought it was going to be and it wasn't there," Hunter said. "You can't catch something you can't see."

Andrus scored on Sanchez's throwing error and Lance Berkman capped the second inning with an RBI single.

Berkman's RBI double scored Andrus, who led off the sixth with a double.

NOTES: Texas RHP Colby Lewis (elbow) and C A.J. Pierzynski (strained right oblique muscle) will begin rehab assignments Monday for Double-A Frisco. Lewis was removed from his rehab stint earlier in the week with triceps tendinitis, but he threw on the field Saturday with no problems. . Detroit manager Jim Leyland said he expects OF Austin Jackson (strained right hamstring) to return from the disabled list when he is eligible May 27. . Kinsler missed his second straight game with bruised ribs, an injury that was aggravated after he was hit by a pitch from Verlander on Thursday night.

More newsBrian Garfinkel / Getty Images

Chooch's hammy a worry for Phils

HBT: Carlos Ruiz was lifted from Sunday afternoon?s game against the Reds after straining his right hamstring while running the bases in the bottom of the second inning.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/51930399/ns/sports-baseball/

hunger games movie review bats hunger games review jeff saturday jason smith jon corzine austin rivers

Gold loses value. Gold mining stocks plunge.

Gold loses 1.6 percent in the spot and futures markets, hovering near lows set in April. But the GDX, the ETF for gold miners, loses 4 percent and now stands at lowest point since December 2008.?

By Bruno J. Navarro,?CNBC Online Producer / May 17, 2013

An excavator loads a dump truck at Kumtor open pit gold mine in the Tien Shan mountains in Kyrgyzstan in March. As gold loses value, the value of mining stocks is falling even more. The GDX, an index of gold mining stocks, is at a four-year low.

Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters/File

Enlarge

The gold miners exchange-traded fund?GDX?has plummeted to its lowest point since December 2008 as the precious metal has lost ground, putting it in a new light, Strategic Financial Group CIO Lincoln Ellis said Friday.

Skip to next paragraph

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; // google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

"The bloom is definitely off the rose in the gold market, and the gold miners are feeling it, too," he said, adding that the pain trade in gold "has been twice the pain" for miners.

The?Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF, as the GDX is called, closed down 4 percent at $26.38.

"And things are starting to look cheap," he added.

The gold mining sector could start to see consolidation or supply restrictions, Ellis said.

Spot gold?declined 1.6 percent, hovering at a four-week low below $1,364 an ounce, Reuters reported.?U.S. gold futures?for June delivery dipped 1.6 percent at $1,364.70.

"If the dollar continues to strengthen, gold will continue to come down, those margins'll compressed and the valuations will continue to look reasonable, or in some cases slightly cheap," Ellis said. "Hopefully, you get consolidation in the bottom part of that index. That would also be helpful to the top-tier players."

Ellis added that gold has fallen out of favor as a safety trade.

"Everybody who's wanted to be long gold has been long gold, and that trade is over," he said. "Those people are exiting that trade."

Now, he argued, the story was more about fundamentals in such emerging economies as India and China.

"Moving away from gold as the driver but looking more to the fundamentals of what's going on in the mining business, a broader commodity issue, may be a reason to take a second look at them," Ellis said.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/95yFQunq9TE/Gold-loses-value.-Gold-mining-stocks-plunge

Rebel Wilson Patriots Day aubrey plaza boston marathon turbotax Catching Fire trailer Marfa Texas

Sunday, May 19, 2013

College women exceed NIAAA drinking guidelines more frequently than college men

May 18, 2013 ? In order to avoid harms associated with alcohol consumption, in 2009 the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism issued guidelines that define low-risk drinking. These guidelines differ for men and women: no more than four drinks per day, and 14 drinks per week for men, and no more than three drinks per day, and seven drinks per week for women. A study of how well college students adhere to these limits has found that female college student drinkers exceed national drinking guidelines for weekly drinking more frequently than their male counterparts.

Results will be published in the October 2013 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View.

"Recommended drinking limits are lower for women than for men because research to date has found that women experience alcohol-related problems at lower levels of alcohol consumption than men," explained Bettina B. Hoeppner of the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Addiction Medicine, an assistant professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School as well as corresponding author for the study.

"It is always important to take gender into account when studying health or risk behaviors," added Melissa A. Lewis, associate professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington. "Even if you hold weight constant, there are differences in terms of how alcohol affects men and women. For example, men have more of an enzyme in the stomach -- a gastric alcohol dehydrogenase -- that lowers the amount of alcohol that makes it into the bloodstream. Also, women have less blood going through the bloodstream than a man at the same weight, so alcohol gets more concentrated in the bloodstream."

For this study, Hoeppner and her colleagues asked 992 college students (575 females, 417 males) to report their daily drinking habits on a biweekly basis, using web-based surveys throughout their first year of college.

"We found that female college-student drinkers exceeded national drinking guidelines for weekly drinking more frequently than their male counterparts," said Hoeppner. "Weekly cut-offs are recommended to prevent long-term harmful effects due to alcohol, such as liver disease and breast cancer. By exceeding weekly limits more often than men, women are putting themselves at increased risk for experiencing such long-term effects."

"In addition," said Lewis, "men's weekly drinking declined over time whereas women's weekly drinking did not. This finding is concerning. If women continue to exceed weekly drinking recommendations over time, it puts them at greater risk for health issues, such as liver or heart disease and certain forms of cancer."

"These findings contribute to our understanding of how populations adhere to national drinking guidelines," said Hoeppner. "Specifically, it examines college student drinkers, where adherence to weekly drinking limits has not been examined before. Generally, 'binge drinking' receives more attention when examining college student drinking, however, for long-term health, it is also important to examine the establishment of drinking patterns that may lead to long-term harmful effects, not just short-term effects."

"These findings highlight the need for prevention efforts to focus on both daily and weekly limits to reduce harm from short- and long-term negative consequences related to alcohol use," said Lewis. "Current preventative interventions often do not focus on weekly drinking recommendations, which is important and a warranted area of future research.

Hoeppner agreed. "Our results might motivate clinicians to address weekly drinking limits and the potential for long-term alcohol related harm with their patients," she said. "The reasons that many college students exceed these weekly limits are unclear. It is possible that lack of awareness of the guidelines and possible consequences of exceeding them contributes to these high rates. If so, clinicians might reduce harm by educating their college-student patients about the guidelines and the harm they seek to prevent, especially their female patients. Similarly, researchers and clinicians designing prevention/intervention programs might find it useful to address weekly drinking limits in their programs, both to reduce incidence rates thereof, and to identify the reasons for exceeding these guidelines."

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/I3iLBgGeV-k/130518153738.htm

lindsay lohan snl lindsay lohan on snl real housewives of disney awakenings phantom of the opera agoraphobia andrew lloyd webber

Chris Brown Rests Face on Naked Karrueche Tran A$$, Wishes Her Happy Birthday

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/05/chris-brown-rests-face-on-naked-karrueche-tran-a$$-wishes-her-ha/

Lane Johnson Barkevious Mingo nfl draft 2013 NFL draft NFL.com Rebecca Martinson EJ Manuel

GOP hopes IRS scandal will snag health care law

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Political scandals have strange ways of causing collateral damage, and Republicans are hoping the furor over federal tax enforcers singling out conservative groups will ensnare their biggest target: President Barack Obama's health care law.

But no one appears to have connected the factual dots yet, and it's unclear whether they will.

The Internal Revenue Service has a major role in carrying out the health care law, because financial assistance to help the uninsured afford coverage will be funneled through the tax system. At the same time, the IRS is also responsible for penalties on individuals and employers who fail to comply with the law's requirements.

In the latest twist, it turns out that the former head of the office that subjected tea-party groups seeking tax exemptions to tougher scrutiny is now running the tax agency's division in charge of implementing the health care law.

That official apparently switched roles before internal alarm bells went off about the problem. But feed all that into today's frenzied world of online speculation, and red-meat associations are irresistible.

"Now we've learned that the IRS, which is tasked with enforcing this very unpopular bill of Obamacare, the IRS admitted they targeted Americans," Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., said during floor debate this week on repealing the health care law.

"And so this gargantuan government expansion known as Obamacare will allow bureaucrats access to our most intimate, personal health information," she added. "It will be a huge database that government is putting together and building right now. Under Obamacare, the average American will pay more, they'll get less, and now they have to worry that their government may punish them because of their beliefs."

Nonsense, says Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., ranking Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee, which oversees the IRS.

"There really isn't a tie," said Levin. "This is another effort by the Republicans to essentially try to score political points."

The head of the IRS health care office, Sarah Hall Ingram, was in charge of the tax exempt division when agents first started improperly targeting conservative groups over their applications for tax-exempt status. The fallout has already led to the ouster of acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller, followed by the announcement that the current head of the division will retire.

But the IRS said Ingram was re-assigned to help the agency implement the health care law in December 2010, about six months before a Treasury inspector general's report said her subordinate, the director of exempt organizations, learned about the targeting.

"There isn't any evidence that Sarah Ingram had any inkling of the problems," said Levin. By comparison, Levin continued, ousted commissioner Miller failed to adequately inform Congress after he learned.

Tom Davis, a former Republican congressman from Virginia, said GOP lawmakers are right to be looking for a connection, but must be careful not to overplay their hand.

The health care law "is 50-50 with the public on a good day," said Davis. "You put that together with the IRS and it's combustible. For Republicans, I think they need to go a little slower and get some facts in."

"I don't think it's just a couple of underlings, but they don't have any smoking gun yet," he added.

Though it plays a crucial role in carrying out the health care law, the IRS is part of the back-office operation. IRS agents won't be setting up health insurance markets, and they won't have a say in which health plans people get to pick or what doctors they see.

However, agency officials will determine who is eligible for financial assistance under the law ? and who must pay penalties.

The reason the IRS is involved in what's essentially a social program is that lawmakers crafted the financial subsidies available under the health law as tax credits. The agency already administers another major social program, the earned income tax credit, which long ago surpassed welfare as the main source of government assistance for low-income families.

The IRS is involved with four major components of the health care law. The most important one is determining if individual Americans are entitled to new tax credits to help pay private insurance premiums. It's a complex calculation.

Keyed to income on a sliding scale, the credits are available starting in 2014 to households making up to four times the federal poverty level, or about $94,000 for a family of four. Individuals or families are eligible if they don't have affordable coverage on the job. But if you understate your income to get a bigger credit, you'll owe more taxes next year.

The agency is also in charge of assessing penalties on people who ignore the law's requirement to carry health insurance, which applies to virtually all Americans starting next year.

On the employer side, the IRS administers a tax credit to help small businesses with low-wage employees afford coverage, and it's also in charge of imposing penalties on companies with 50 or more employees that don't offer coverage.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gop-hopes-irs-scandal-snag-health-care-law-201029658.html

Nolan Daniels angus t. jones monday night football monday night football SEC Championship Game 2012 kansas city chiefs Javon Belcher

What's Next for the 'American Idol' Top 4 Finalists?

The winners been announced, the confetti's been dropped, and (rumor has it) the judges have permanently left the building.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/candice-glover-wins-american-idol-whats-next-top-4-finalists/1-a-536491?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Acandice-glover-wins-american-idol-whats-next-top-4-finalists-536491

pope joan strikeforce tate vs rousey strawberry festival the monkees ciaa love actually strikeforce

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Computer Games May Improve 'Chemo Brain' in Cancer Patients

Doing computer puzzles may improve thinking skills in women who've undergone chemotherapy, according to a Stanford study.

In the study, breast cancer survivors who suffered from cognitive impairments due to chemotherapy, sometimes called chemo brain, showed enhanced cognitive functions after three months of playing online games, according to the researchers. The games targeted various cognitive skills such as verbal fluency and memory.

While physical side effects of chemotherapy such as fatigue, nausea and hair loss are well-known and common, many cancer patients also experience cognitive problems that affect their quality of life. Research shows that chemotherapy can change the brain, and damage cognitive functions.

The study included 41 breast cancer patients who were randomly assigned to either a group that completed computer exercises four times a week for three months, or a control group. Exercises included mentally rotating objects, word finding, route planning and puzzle solving.

The women who played the games showed markedly larger improvements in word finding, thinking speed and verbal memory, compared to the control group.

The women who played the games also reported fewer everyday cognitive function problems, according to the study published this month in the journal Clinical Breast Cancer.

The findings suggest that cancer patients with cognitive deficits might benefit from behavioral and non-pharmacological interventions such as brain training exercises, researchers said.

Follow Bahar Gholipour @alterwired. Follow MyHealthNewsDaily @MyHealth_MHND, Facebook & Google+. Originally published on LiveScience.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/computer-games-may-improve-chemo-brain-cancer-patients-120305128.html

2013 Grammy Winners abraham lincoln Chris Dorner 1800 Flowers walking dead The Pope bruno mars

Obama appoints former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords to Fulbright scholarship board (Star Tribune)

Share With Friends:

| Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/306331705?client_source=feed&format=rss

Tropical Storm Debby legend of korra magic mike trailer Alan Turing brave Stephanie Rice Meet the Pyro

Despicable Me 2 Clip: Watch Now!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/05/despicable-me-2-clip-watch-now/

weather.com nemo redbox Nemo Storm weather forecast national weather service weather channel

Obama travels to Baltimore as part of his 'middle class jobs and opportunity tour' (Washington Bureau)

Share With Friends:

| Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/306423597?client_source=feed&format=rss

lesotho a wrinkle in time benjamin netanyahu storm shelters nick lachey lifelock chevy volt

Why did GM buy another auto company's historic factory ...

Photo courtesy All Things Buick.

Amid all the reports of southeast Michigan automotive landmarks either facing the wrecking ball or similar uncertain futures comes news that General Motors has stepped in to buy a historic former automobile factory in Flint, Michigan; however, the factory never built a GM vehicle and is not suited for manufacturing use. So why is GM buying the old Durant-Dort Carriage Company factory?

As GM?s North America President Mark Reuss noted earlier this month when he announced the pending purchase of the 25,000-square-foot factory, located on Water Street on Flint?s waterfront and known as Factory One, he considers the location to be ?the birthplace and ground zero of General Motors.? At the same time he disclosed that General Motors would provide funds for the upkeep and renovation of the Durant-Dort Carriage Company?s offices, a three-story building across the street from the factory currently owned by the city of Flint and occupied by the Genesee County Historical Society. GM spokesman Tom Wickham later clarified that the office building is actually where GM considers its inception to have taken place.

?That?s where the paperwork was signed,? Wickham said. ?GM might have been incorporated elsewhere, but technically, we view the birthplace as being there in the Durant-Dort offices.?

Photo courtesy Michigan State Housing Development Authority.

Indeed, William C. Durant incorporated GM in September 1908 in New Jersey ? a location chosen perhaps as much for privacy as for favorable incorporation laws ? but the company didn?t simply materialize out of thin air. Durant, a Flint businessman, had already built a successful business out of the Flint Road Cart Company ? later renamed the Durant-Dort Carriage Company ? in partnership with Josiah Dallas Dort starting in 1886. Durant-Dort Carriage, spread over several factories in and around Flint, had in fact become so successful that Durant grew bored and looked for new challenges. In 1904, he found that challenge in the Buick Motor Company, which had recently moved from Detroit to Flint, but still hadn?t found much success. Durant turned it around almost overnight, with Buick production taking place initially on Kearsley Street and then later in a dedicated factory on Hamilton Avenue.

The success then set the stage for a consolidation of auto companies around Buick. Initial attempts to consolidate, led by Durant and Maxwell-Briscoe owner Benjamin Briscoe in meetings held in Detroit and New York City, fell apart. Briscoe, Henry Ford, and Ransom Olds all balked. But the talk of consolidation did inspire Durant to try again, this time using Buick and Lansing?s Oldsmobile as the nucleus, later adding Cadillac, Oakland, and a host of suppliers to the General Motors portfolio.

Dort, who provided plenty of behind-the-scenes help as Durant built Buick and General Motors, kept the carriage company going until around 1915, when he, too, switched to automobiles. Dort employees assembled the eponymously named cars, designed by Etienne Planche, in Factory One over the next nine years, until Dort went out of business and liquidated the company. According to GM sources, Factory One never again produced an automobile: Instead, it was used by a wholesale paper company, as a produce warehouse, as a furniture warehouse, by a watch repair company, and by a neon sign company over the next few decades. Following Factory One?s restoration in the mid-1980s, it has seen use as an antique mall and by Flint area social services providers. Its listing history on Loopnet show that Factory One has been placed on the market a number of times since 2001.

Photo courtesy Michigan State Housing Development Authority.

The Durant-Dort office building, meanwhile, served as the office and headquarters of both the Durant-Dort Carriage Company and the Dort Motor Car Company from when it was built in 1896 to the end of Dort production in 1925. Not only is Durant said to have laid the plans for GM in that building, but he also reportedly conceived of Chevrolet while there. Used by various civic organizations for half a century, the building fell into the hands of the city of Flint in 1977 and was restored by the Genesee County Historical Society over the next decade. Since then, the society has asked GM for help with heating and cooling the building (about $20,000 per year) and with repairs and maintenance to the building (another $20,000).

Wickham said that GM has pledged $50,000 for the office building. He didn?t release the selling price for Factory One because the purchase has yet to be finalized.

Both Reuss and Wickham said the plans for Factory One are still under development, but they said that it?s possible that it could be used to showcase some of the historic cars in GM?s collection. ?We?ve got a lot of really beautiful, historic GMCs and Buicks in the company that don?t get shown a lot of justice,? Reuss said. ?One of the thoughts is that we?d convert Factory One [to show the historic vehicles] and we could launch vehicles like the trucks that are made here in Flint. It could be really, really beautiful.? GM currently displays a portion of its collection in the 80,000-square-foot GM Heritage Center in Sterling Heights, Michigan, but keeps the remainder in storage.

However, some have expressed skepticism about GM?s intentions in buying Factory One. MLive.com noted that the purchase comes on the heels of three recently announced GM plant closings in the Flint area resulting in at least 730 lost jobs (and at about the same time that GM announced a $1.3 billion Cadillac factory in China); local UAW president Dan Reyes called it a ?good sentiment? purchase. GM has also only given the Factory One purchase a by-and-by mention in a press release on a tree planting program; word of the purchase was only made public when Reuss spoke at the United Way of Genesee County?s annual dinner. Wickham countered that the purchase process began in December, before the plant layoffs were announced, and that it is by no means a feel-good move. ?You can?t replace a plant closing by buying a historic building,? he said. ?We approached it with an open mind not knowing exactly what to do with it, and we?re open to ideas from the community on how to develop it.?

Photos courtesy GM Media.

Source: http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2013/05/16/why-did-gm-buy-another-auto-companys-historic-factory/

san francisco 49ers stan musial Mega 49ers lance armstrong Earl Weaver Inauguration Schedule

At least 6 dead in Texas tornadoes

GRANBURY, Texas (AP) ? A rash of tornados slammed into several small communities in North Texas overnight, leaving at least six people dead, dozens more injured and hundreds homeless. The violent spring storm scattered bodies, flattened homes, threw trailers onto cars.

In Granbury, the worst-hit city, a tornado tore through two neighborhoods around 8 p.m. Wednesday. Resident Elizabeth Tovar described the fist-sized hail that heralded the tornado's arrival, prompting her and her family to hide in their bathroom.

"We were all, like, hugging in the bathtub and that's when it started happening. I heard glass shattering and I knew my house was going," Tovar said, shaking her head. "We looked up and ... the whole ceiling was gone."

The powerful storm crushed buildings as it tore through the area, leaving some as just piles of planks and rubble. Trees and debris were scattered across yards, fences flattened.

Behind one house, a detached garage was stripped of most of its aluminum siding, the door caved in and the roof torn off. A tree behind the house was stripped of its branches and a vacant doublewide mobile home on an adjoining lot was torn apart.

Daniel and Amanda Layne initially thought they were safe sheltering under their carport. But then "it started getting worse and worse," and the couple took shelter in their bathroom, Daniel Layne said.

"The windows and the cars are gone. Both our cars are messed up. I had a big shop. Ain't a piece of it left now," Layne said with a shrug.

Hood County Sheriff Roger Deeds described the devastating aftermath and the hunt for bodies in Granbury, about 40 miles southwest of Fort Worth.

"Some were found in houses. Some were found around houses," Deeds said. "There was a report that two of these people that they found were not even near their homes. So we're going to have to search the area out there."

Deeds said around midnight that 14 people were still missing but Mayor Pro Tem Nin Hulett told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Thursday morning that he believed most residents had been accounted for.

"Our highest priority right now is to try to get the people that are out there in those communities under a shelter somewhere," Hulett said.

Deeds said about 50 people were taken to a hospital in Granbury. Yet more gathered at a local elementary school where paramedics provided on-site treatment. Matt Zavadsky, a spokesman for MedStar Mobile Healthcare, estimated that as many as 100 people were injured.

Utilities said about 20,000 homes and businesses were without power early Thursday.

Another tornado that storm spotters told the National Weather Service was a mile wide tore through Cleburne, a courthouse city of about 30,000 about 25 miles southeast of Granbury.

Cleburne Mayor Scott Cain said early Thursday that no one was killed or seriously hurt, although seven people suffered minor injuries. He estimated that dozens of homes were damaged and declared a local disaster.

In one neighborhood, a trucking company trailer that had been parked on the street was picked up and dropped onto a nearby car and garage.

Another tornado hit the small town of Millsap, about 40 miles west of Fort Worth. Parker County Judge Mark Kelley said roof damage was reported to several houses and a barn was destroyed, but no injuries were reported.

Hail as large as grapefruit also pelted the area around Mineral Wells on Wednesday evening. A police dispatcher reported only minor damage.

___

Associated Press writers Terry Wallace and Jamie Stengle in Dallas and freelance photographer Mike Fuentes contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/least-6-confirmed-dead-texas-tornadoes-112738025.html

Chicago Marathon 2012 texas rangers steve jobs meningitis bobby valentine bobby valentine miguel cabrera

Friday, May 17, 2013

Cannes 2013: The girls have gone wild in 'The Bling Ring,' Sofia ...

Image Credit: Merrick Morton

I?m writing my first post here at Cannes while I sit at one of my favorite side-street bistros, digging into a bowl of spaghetti carbonara, which is somehow less fattening than it would be in the U.S., because there are so many less additives in European food. That?s kind of how I feel about Sofia Coppola?s filmmaking: It?s additive-free ? a series of simple and direct gazes, purged of the usual syrup and glop, though maybe I should add that it?s deceptively simple, because the way that Coppola now works is to take her refreshingly unhurried, open-eyed, and empathetic camera style (which doesn?t descend from her father?s; I?d say it?s closer to Jonathan Demme meets mumblecore) and apply it to subjects of over-the-top extravagance. She first embraced this mode in Marie Antoinette (2006), and now, in her acerbically witty and arresting fifth feature, The Bling Ring, which premiered this morning at Cannes, she pushes it into the docudrama terrain of an American youth culture gone mad.

The movie, based on Nancy Jo Sales? 2010 Vanity Fair article ?The Subjects Wore Louboutins,? tells the true story of a pack of teenage girls in Los Angeles who broke into the homes of their celebrity idols (like Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Rachel Bilson) to steal their clothes, shoes, jewelry, and knickknacks. They wound up taking more than $3 million worth of merchandise, yet in at least one sense the film presents their highly random boutique thievery binges as ?victimless? crimes. Figuring out from the Internet which stars are going to be out of town, and what their addresses are, they?re usually able to break in quite easily, climbing over security fences and going through (mostly) unlocked windows and doors, and once inside, what they?re doing, basically, is shopping. They rifle through designer dresses, find roomfuls of necklaces and handbags, and finally get to Valhalla when they enter the sacred chamber where Paris Hilton keeps her shoes (?This is so sick!? ?Look at all her Louboutins!? ?Her feet are so big!?). Turning creepy-crawling into the ultimate designer sale, they?re like the Manson girls of starstruck consumer-culture depravity.

I don?t know if Coppola shot all these scenes in actual celebrity homes, but it feels as if she did, and that?s part of the film?s lightly scandalous yet never mocking texture, its refusal to satirize. The girls, led by the breathlessly affectless Rebecca (Katie Chang), are presented as a new species of mutant: They care about nothing ? nothing! ? but fashion, tabloid star gossip, sexy consumer goods, and the way that these things all mash together to a grinding hip-hop party beat. (?It?s a Birkin!? exclaims Rebecca as she removes a white leather handbag from a star?s closet. ?Lindsay has this one!?) Coppola knows that these baby-doll label whores, in trying to get close to their idols, and even to ?become? them, by coveting what they wear to the point of going into their homes and stealing it are acting out a sociopathic version of the obsessions that now rule too many of us. Morally, they?re bankrupt, yet there?s a strange logic to what they?re up to. It?s the same impulse that gets people to buy celebrity perfumes and designer labels at Target, only here pushed to an uncompromising extreme of upscale desire.

The acting is so authentic that it takes a while to differentiate the girls, and that?s part of the film?s texture, too: its unsensational look at sensational (if trivial) crimes. Katie Chang gives Rebecca a coolly synthetic sensual glow, and Emma Watson, playing Nicki, a real mean girl, does a remarkable job of demonstrating that glassy-eyed insensitivity doesn?t have to be stupid. Wearing a brown shag that transforms her into a look-alike of the young Marilyn Chambers, Watson proves that her willingness to take chances is only growing, and that she?s an actress serious enough to turn a line like ?Your butt looks awesome!? into something that reveals character. As the lethal strumpet Chloe, singing along with M.I.A.?s ?Bad Girls? at the wheel just before she?s struck by another car (that?s not a spoiler ? she emerges with barely a scratch), Claire Julien is like a 21st-century Cherie Currie, and Israel Broussard is sympathetic in a dazed way as Rebecca?s boyfriend, Marc, who gets drawn into being the token male of the group. The way he goes along on this joyride to hell makes him, in a certain sense, our token of normality as well. Watching The Bling Ring, the audience is invited to understand the impulses of these child-woman thieves, even as Coppola stands firmly apart from their craziness and sees them for who they are. A lesser filmmaker would have turned them into warped rebels. What Coppola demonstrates is that they?re not so much rebellious as scared, because the inner lives they?re desperately trying to slather in stuff are so amazingly underdeveloped. In the end, of course, the members of the Bling Ring did get caught. Which finally made them, too, into ?celebrities.? The movie is a comic ode to how cheap our 15 minutes of fame has become.

* * * *

It?s been raining for two days now in Cannes, with the Riviera sun a sadly distant memory, though the bum weather didn?t rain on the parade of The Great Gatsby, which kicked off the festival last night with full red-carpet fireworks. The opening-night film, especially if it?s already playing in the States, often seems detached from the rest of the festival: a high-profile bubble of PR floating above everything else. Yet the sudden phenomenon of The Great Gatsby is all that anyone?s been talking about here. The film?s $50 million opening weekend has redefined it, making it that rarity, a kind of blockbuster sleeper, not to mention a far sexier player than even the Cannes programmers must have bargained for.

What everyone wants to know is: Can a tale as quintessentially American as The Great Gatsby now conquer Europe? My guess would be yes. And maybe for the same reason that the film is conquering America, even though it has no Iron Men, fast and furious hot rods, or Vulcan ears. The stylistics of Baz Luhrmann, fused not just with the story of The Great Gatsby but with the mystique of The Great Gatsby, has taken this tale of a 1920s man of wealth who is also a human mirage and made it over into a mirage of the 21st-century money culture: glitzy, top-heavy, built like a McMansion in the air. At the press conference, Luhrmann had to dodge a series of ?Gotcha!? questions about why the Jewish criminal Meyer Wolfsheim is played by a Bollywood actor (I think the answer is: because Baz Luhrmann loves Bollywood!), but aside from that tempest in a teapot, Luhrmann suddenly seems like the spirit of Cannes incarnate, a global mixmaster touching past and present, old money and new, art-house classicism and whirling, hip-hop-fueled delirium. In many ways, The Great Gatsby is a Merchant-Ivory movie for people who don?t read. But here in Cannes, we still call that cinema. And it will certainly do until the sun comes out.

Follow Owen on Twitter: @OwenGleiberman

Source: http://insidemovies.ew.com/2013/05/16/cannes-girls-gone-wild-in-the-bling-ring/

Cyber Monday 2012 Walmart.com detroit lions Thanksgiving Day cooking a turkey toysrus how to carve a turkey

Welcome to whitenoise!

Welcome old friends and lost travelers! One way or another you have found your way to whitenoise! But what is this place? And what can be your role here? Good questions! The shortest, easiest answer to both question is: Just about whatever you want it to be.

What Online Scams Would Look Like If They Were Real People

When we see Nigerian princes or weird links or invasive people who want to much personal information pop up in our e-mail inbox, we immediately know that they're scams. It's part of the Internet. But what if it was a part of real life too? It would be absolutely terrifying to see online scams and viruses as people.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Who is at risk?

What puts you at the danger of arthritis?

Related Posts

Monday, May 20, 2013

Chooch's hammy a worry for Phils

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Friday, May 17, 2013