Discovery may allow scientists to make fuel from CO2 in the atmosphere

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Excess carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere created by the widespread burning of fossil fuels is the major driving force of global climate change, and researchers the world over are looking for new ways to generate power that leaves a smaller carbon footprint.

Now, researchers at the University of Georgia have found a way to transform the carbon dioxide trapped in the atmosphere into useful industrial products. Their discovery may soon lead to the creation of biofuels made directly from the carbon dioxide in the air that is responsible for trapping the sun's rays and raising global temperatures.

"Basically, what we have done is create a microorganism that does with carbon dioxide exactly what plants do?absorb it and generate something useful," said Michael Adams, member of UGA's Bioenergy Systems Research Institute, Georgia Power professor of biotechnology and Distinguished Research Professor of biochemistry and molecular biology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.

During the process of photosynthesis, plants use sunlight to transform water and carbon dioxide into sugars that the plants use for energy, much like humans burn calories from food.

These sugars can be fermented into fuels like ethanol, but it has proven extraordinarily difficult to efficiently extract the sugars, which are locked away inside the plant's complex cell walls.

"What this discovery means is that we can remove plants as the middleman," said Adams, who is co-author of the study detailing their results published March 25 in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences. "We can take carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere and turn it into useful products like fuels and chemicals without having to go through the inefficient process of growing plants and extracting sugars from biomass."

The process is made possible by a unique microorganism called Pyrococcus furiosus, or "rushing fireball," which thrives by feeding on carbohydrates in the super-heated ocean waters near geothermal vents. By manipulating the organism's genetic material, Adams and his colleagues created a kind of P. furiosus that is capable of feeding at much lower temperatures on carbon dioxide.

The research team then used hydrogen gas to create a chemical reaction in the microorganism that incorporates carbon dioxide into 3-hydroxypropionic acid, a common industrial chemical used to make acrylics and many other products.

With other genetic manipulations of this new strain of P. furiosus, Adams and his colleagues could create a version that generates a host of other useful industrial products, including fuel, from carbon dioxide.

When the fuel created through the P. furiosus process is burned, it releases the same amount of carbon dioxide used to create it, effectively making it carbon neutral, and a much cleaner alternative to gasoline, coal and oil.

"This is an important first step that has great promise as an efficient and cost-effective method of producing fuels," Adams said. "In the future we will refine the process and begin testing it on larger scales."

###

University of Georgia: http://www.uga.edu

Thanks to University of Georgia for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127479/Discovery_may_allow_scientists_to_make_fuel_from_CO__in_the_atmosphere

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BOJ chief says Japan economy on the mend

TOKYO (AP) ? Japan's economy has stopped weakening and should show signs of recovery by midyear, the newly appointed central bank governor said Thursday, as weaker-than-expected retail sales for February underscored the challenge he faces in restoring consumer confidence.

"The bank currently assesses that the economy has stopped weakening," Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda told lawmakers in presenting the bank's semiannual report. But he said there was still "a high degree of uncertainty" about the economy because of the crisis in Europe, the tenuous state of the U.S. recovery and often testy relations with China.

Kuroda has pledged to work with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government in achieving a 2 percent inflation target, preferably within two years, and ending years of growth-inhibiting deflation. However, the success of that program will hinge on ensuring that domestic demand is strong enough to spur investment and hiring by companies that are sitting on huge cash reserves.

Exports, battered by feeble demand in the key U.S. and European markets and by anti-Japanese protests in China, appear to have stopped declining, Kuroda said, while private consumption has remained resilient.

"With regard to the outlook, the pick-up in Japan's economy is expected to become more evident around mid-2013," he said.

However, data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, released Thursday, showed retail sales falling 2.3 percent from a year earlier in February, worse than the 1.2 percent drop forecast by most analysts. Sales rose 1.6 percent from the month before.

By boosting inflation, Japan's planners hope to persuade consumers to spend more now in anticipation of price increases in the future. That could prove a daunting challenge given a drop in real wages over the past two decades and a weak job market, said Susumu Takahashi, head of the Japan Research Institute and a member of a government economic advisory council.

The only way to achieve the inflation target within two years, he said, was to change expectations.

"The only way is for the deflationary way of thinking to change. Without that it will be very hard," he said.

After taking power late last year, Abe's administration embarked on an aggressive stimulus program of government spending, monetary easing and planned reforms aimed at improving Japan's competitiveness. Revised figures show Japan's economy likely emerged from a recession late last year, but other data has been mixed.

Kuroda said prices are unlikely to rise for the next few months but after that Japan would see some progress toward its inflation target as the economy moved toward a "moderate recovery path."

The central bank asset purchases and other strategies adopted so far have not been sufficient to reach the inflation target, he said, reiterating his intention to manage market expectations and "make clear that we have adopted the uncompromising stance that we will do whatever is necessary to overcome deflation."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/boj-chief-says-japan-economy-mend-040231149--finance.html

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Top U.S. court to decide on deals to delay cheaper drugs

By Diane Bartz

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on Monday over whether big drug companies can settle patent litigation with generic rivals by making deals to keep cheaper products off the market.

U.S. and state regulators say the practice costs consumers, insurers and government billions of dollars annually.

The Federal Trade Commission, which has dubbed the arrangements "pay for delay," has fought them in court for more than a decade with mixed success, culminating in the case now before the Supreme Court.

"The continuing stream of monopoly profits is large enough to pay the generic competitors more than they could hope to earn if they entered the market at competitive prices," the FTC said in a brief.

At the same time, the brand-name manufacturer receives greater profits than it could earn in the face of generic competition, the regulatory agency argued.

The Justice Department, the European Union and more than two dozen U.S. state attorneys general view the deals as illegal, but drug companies defend them as a way to avoid potentially lengthy patent litigation.

"In every case that we've been involved in that resulted in a settlement, it has resulted in years being taken off the patent life," said Paul Bisaro, chief executive of generic drug maker Actavis, Inc. Actavis was formerly Watson Pharmaceuticals.

"It's very unsophisticated to say 'Oh, they get paid a bunch of money to stay off the market,'" said Bisaro.

In the case before the court, Solvay Pharmaceuticals Inc, now owned by AbbVie, sued generic drug makers Watson, Paddock Laboratories Inc and Par Pharmaceutical Cos in 2003 to stop them from making cheaper versions of AndroGel, which is used to treat men with low testosterone.

The firms settled in 2006, reaching a deal that generic AndroGel would not be marketed until 2015. The patent expires in 2020.

In exchange, the FTC alleges, the generic manufacturers were each paid as much as $30 million annually. AbbVie's 2012 sales of AndroGel totaled $1.2 billion.

Solvay internal documents dating from April 2006 which were released at the Supreme Court on Friday, show that months before the companies struck their deal, Solvay concluded that it would make about $1.4 billion from AndroGel if it won the court fight and $359 million if it did not.

The documents also show what appear to be a list of ideas of what to offer the generic firms to make it attractive to them to settle and delay entry. One was to allow Watson to promote the drug to urologists, while Solvay would not.

The FTC declined comment on the documents.

COMPANY CONFIDENT

AbbVie spokeswoman Adelle Infante described the papers as "a single document among hundreds of thousands of pages of documents that were provided to the FTC."

"This internal analysis is insignificant because the negotiated patent settlement led to generic entry years in advance of the expiration of the patent, she said.

The company also said that it expected to prevail.

"The federal district and appellate courts have both previously ruled that the plaintiff's allegations lacked merit. We are confident that these decisions will be upheld," Adelle Infante, an AbbVie spokeswoman, said in a statement.

The Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision by the end of June.

AbbVie's arrangement with the generic manufacturers is similar to the 40 deals made in the 2012 fiscal year, which ended on September 30. That was up from 28 the previous year, despite FTC efforts to stop them. The FTC said the agreements involved 31 different brand-name drugs with total U.S. sales of more than $8.3 billion annually.

The FTC sued to stop the AndroGel arrangement, arguing that it was illegal under antitrust law because the companies divided up the market.

The FTC lost at the district court level and lost an appeal as well. But another appellate court has said the deals were illegal, prompting the Supreme Court to step in.

The FTC also sued Cephalon Inc, accusing it in 2008 of blocking a generic version of the anti-sleep drug Provigil. The case has been stayed, pending the Supreme Court's decision.

In 2001 the FTC sued Schering-Plough Corp., which was later bought by Merck and Co Inc, because of payments to rivals to delay generic versions of its potassium supplement, K-Dur 20. The FTC lost that case.

But in a private case that also involved K-Dur, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in New Jersey, backed the FTC position and found the deals to be illegal.

BATTLES ON CAPITOL HILL, EUROPE

Opponents of pay-for-delay deals in the United States and Europe are not waiting for a high-court decision, though.

Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota and chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust panel, and Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, introduced legislation in February to make the deals illegal.

Previous bills have failed, in part because of opposition from the drug industry, both branded and generic.

In Brussels, EU regulators have eight investigations under way involving more than a dozen drugmakers. The European competition regulator says the deals violate antitrust law.

The decision will be made by an eight-member U.S. Supreme Court. Justice Samuel Alito recused himself, without giving a reason.

The case is Federal Trade Commission v. Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc et al, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 12-416.

(Reporting By Diane Bartz; editing by Ros Krasny, Kenneth Barry and David Brunnstrom)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/supreme-court-decide-deals-delay-cheaper-drugs-050210746--finance.html

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NRSC Creates Blogger Outreach Position To Facilitate ...

This week, the Republican National Committee released an "autopsy" on how the GOP lost the election in 2012 and where it can improve its branding going forward. William Jacobsen of Legal Insurrection noted that the 100 page report failed to mention New Media and bloggers as an opportunity to improve communications. However, the National Republican Senatorial Committee has seen the power of New Media and has decided to take a more proactive approach. The NRSC recently hired Bill Murphy to direct blogger outreach.

Murphy, Director of BlogBash, appeared at a blogger's briefing at CPAC this past weekend and said, "They get it now. Their whole team is fired up and ready to reach out to all the conservative online activists and all the bloggers. You (bloggers) will start getting a lot of emails from us, and if you have any comments or any kind of criticism, we will appreciate hearing from you." Murphy previously served in a similar capacity on the Romney campaign.?

It will be interesting to see if they reach out to bloggers and activists that are aligned with groups such as FreedomWorks where there has been pushback against the incumbent protection machines. Will they make a concerted effort to strengthen the party by choosing many voices instead of one? Many believed that the RNC report served as a roadmap for centralizing power at the top, instead of allowing the grassroots to help craft new election strategies. The true power of the decentralized media is the ability to have many voices and perspectives. Time will tell if the NRSC will embrace the democratization of media, or will rather seek to homogenize the message.

With the decline of traditional media and the decline of access to actual news in those mainstream media outlets, digital media is poised to become the dominant force in news dissemination. The annual report from the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism on The State of the News Media says, in part,

[Increasingly] newsmakers and others with information they want to put into the public arena have become more adept at using digital technology and social media to do so on their own, without any filter by the traditional media.? They are also seeing more success in getting their message into the traditional media narrative. ?

We saw what the Obama campaign was able to do when it combined astonishingly detailed data analysis with online outreach and digital media. The NRSC seems to have taken that lesson to heart. As traditional news outlets slowly die out, it will be more important than ever for Conservatives to own the digital arena and properly leverage their advantages.

We no longer live in an age of passive participation in politics.

Source: http://www.freedomworks.org/blog/lt1800/nrsc-creates-blogger-outreach-position-to-facilita

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SmackDown Five-Point Preview: Mar. 22, 2013

All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, logos and copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. ? 2012 WWE, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This website is based in the United States. By submitting personal information to this website you consent to your information being maintained in the U.S., subject to applicable U.S. laws. U.S. law may be different than the law of your home country. WrestleMania XXIX (NY/NJ) logo TM & ? 2012 WWE. All Rights Reserved. The Empire State Building design is a registered trademark and used with permission by ESBC.

Source: http://www.wwe.com/shows/smackdown/2013-03-22/five-point-preview

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Movie review: 'Stoker' goes wild with Hitchcock style | The Salt Lake ...

Evelyn (Nicole Kidman, left) and her daughter India (Mia Wasikowska) mourn India's father Richard in the thriller "Stoker." Courtesy Fox Searchlight

When you?re going to rip off Hitchcock, you might as well go for it with both feet ? as Korean director Park Chan-Wook does in his first Hollywood film, the eerie thriller "Stoker."

When the patriarch of the Stoker clan, Richard (Dermot Mulroney), dies in a mysterious car accident, the news hits his wife, Evelyn (Nicole Kidman), hard. But their awkward daughter, India (Mia Wasikowska), who turned 18 on the day of the accident, takes it harder. Evelyn and India have little time to mourn when Richard?s long-absent brother Charlie (Matthew Goode) arrives, stirring the loins of mother and daughter. But India starts to see Uncle Charlie?s dark side and is both repulsed by it and attracted to him.

Park (who directed the Korean classic "Oldboy") amps up every moment with a sweaty, ghoulish atmosphere, and he plants the Hitchcock references like an Easter egg hunt. There are a plot point from "Shadow of a Doubt" and swinging light fixtures out of "Psycho," among other things. But Park?s bravura directing moves, while giving Kidman and Wasikowska some meaty scenes to chew up, cover the glaring story holes that screenwriter Wentworth Miller (yes, the actor from "Prison Break") leaves all over the field.

movies@sltrib.com; www.sltrib.com/entertainment

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/entertainment2/56024725-223/india-park-hitchcock-stoker.html.csp

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iCloud revealed as America?s most-used cloud storage service

Apple (AAPL) may not have the best reputation for online services but that hasn?t stopped its iCloud online storage service from becoming the most-used cloud service in the United States. A new report from Strategy Analytics shows that 27% American web users user iCloud, giving it a lead of 10 percentage points over runner-up Dropbox, which is used by 17% of American web users. What makes Dropbox?s share remarkable is that, as Strategy Analytics notes, it ?has no associated content ecosystem,? which should seemingly put it at a disadvantage compared to iCloud, Amazon?s (AMZN) Cloud Drive and Google (GOOG) Play. So the fact that Dropbox ranks only behind Apple for the title of America?s most-used cloud service is impressive, especially for a company that Microsoft (MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer recently dismissed as a ?little startup.??Strategy Analytics? full press release is posted below.

THE CLOUD STORAGE WARS: APPLE LEADS WITH 27% MARKET SHARE

[More from BGR: BlackBerry Z10 said to have ?disappointing? preorder volumes in the U.S.]

Dropbox hits 17% of market share with no associated content ecosystem

Over half of Americans online have never used cloud storage service

Boston, MA ? March 21, 2013: Apple is dominating the cloud storage wars, followed by Dropbox, Amazon and Google according to Strategy Analytics ?Cloud Media Services? surve.?In a recent study of almost 2,300 connected Americans, Strategy Analytics found that 27% have used Apple?s iCloud followed by 17% for Dropbox, 15% for Amazon Cloud Drive and 10% for Google Play (see chart).

Usage of cloud storage is heavily skewed towards younger people, in particular 20-24 year olds, whilst Apple?s service is the only one with more female than male users. Amongst the big four, Google?s is the one most heavily skewed towards males.

Cloud storage is overwhelmingly dominated by music; around 90% of Apple, Amazon and Google?s cloud users store music. Even Dropbox ? which has no associated content ecosystem ? sees around 45% of its users storing music files. Dropbox?s recent acquisition of Audiogalaxy will add a much needed native music player to the platform in the coming months.

?Music is currently the key battleground in the war for cloud domination. Google is tempting users by giving away free storage for 20,000 songs which can be streamed to any Android device, a feature both Amazon and Apple charge annual subscriptions for,? observes Ed Barton, Strategy Analytics? Director of Digital Media. ?However, the growth of video streaming and the desire to access content via a growing range of devices will see services such as the Hollywood-backed digital movie initiative Ultraviolet ? currently used by 4% of Americans ? increase market share.?

Barton continues, ?The cloud?s role in the race to win over consumers? digital media libraries has evolved from a value added service for digital content purchases to a feature-rich and increasingly device agnostic digital locker for music and movies. Dropbox being used by 1 in 6 Americans shows that an integrated content storefront isn?t essential to build a large user base, however we expect competition to intensify sharply over the coming years.?

Strategy Analytics found that, the big four cloud storage services aside, recognition of other brands was uniformly low. Furthermore 55% of connected Americans have never used a cloud storage service ? although, amongst consumers who have used one, one third (33%) had done so in the last week.

?There needs to be considerable investment in evangelizing these services to a potentially willing yet largely oblivious audience,? suggests Barton. ?Given the size of bet Hollywood is making with Ultraviolet, this will be essential to their success given a crowded market and widespread apathy. However, more fundamental questions remain ? is the use of more than one cloud service going to be too much for consumers to handle and will consolidation in such a fragmented market become inevitable??

Barton concludes, ?Although cloud storage is fast becoming a key pillar of digital platform strategies for the world?s leading device manufacturers and digital content distributors, there?s still a lot of work to do in educating consumers ? particularly those over 45. With over half of consumers yet to use any consumer cloud based service, 2013 predictions for the ?year of the cloud? seem unrealistic. However given the market influence of the leading players pushing the concept, in particular Apple, Amazon, Google and Ultraviolet, I won?t be surprised to see mainstream adoption and usage spike within the next two to three years in the key US market.?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/icloud-revealed-america-most-used-cloud-storage-030747050.html

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What Should You Know about Pink Eye Symptoms | Health Clinic

Health Clinic ?
Eyes Vision ?

What Should You Know about Pink Eye Symptoms

Posted on March 12, 2013 | No Comments

Just about everyone has to deal with the soreness and humiliation associated with pink eyesight at least in our lives. Some people (in particular those together with little ones) have to endure it frequently. This particular irritating contamination may be hard to recognize not understanding many of the more established pink eye symptoms. Much of the time, any viral infection would be to guilt to your case regarding conjunctivitis. Viral pink eye symptoms add a watering release, and in most cases comes along with the signs and symptoms of your chilly. The eyelids will likely be inflamed and you?ll be very understanding of light.

An additional common type of?pink eye,?also called conjunctivitis; is actually bacterial conjunctivitis. The particular?pink eye symptoms linked to this particular infection contain: large launch very often gathers up while asleep, launch throughout sight that is certainly yellow or green in color, discomfort and also level of sensitivity from the eye area, and plenty of soreness throughout whitened of your respective eye.

People who have problems with hypersensitivity may also have problems with an instance of non-infectious pink eye. This translates to the hypersensitivity trigger?pink eye symptoms like attention level of sensitivity, irritation, swelling, and a red or pink color within the eye. If you suffer allergies as well as encounter signs honestly, chances are that your own hypersensitivity are usually leading to this kind of, along with the pink eye will disappear when your hypersensitivity settle down.

Non-infectious pink eye need not be taken care of except if it is on your mind. If your allergies are generally interfering with your lifetime, make sure you view your medical professional to go over these problems.

Infectious pink eye, conversely, has to be taken care of immediately to prevent blindness along with other life-long eye issues. To deal with your conjunctivitis, you can use a white vision do-it-yourself solution; you can also see your doctor who?ll most likely prescribe several eyesight drops and even perhaps a good prescription antibiotic for your requirements.

Finding remedies and understanding about pink eye symptoms and also treatment solutions are a must in the event you value your health.

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Source: http://www.uwcareclinic.org/what-should-you-know-about-pink-eye-symptoms/

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3 Red Hot Dividend ETFs - Zacks.com - Zacks Investment Research

Even though markets are surging higher, income investing remains as popular as ever. This is especially true in the dividend ETF world, as many top income funds have seen huge inflows to start 2013.

Seemingly, investors continue to embrace these products as a way to achieve equity appreciation with a lower level of risk. It also doesn?t hurt that many are concerned about the Fed looming over the market, causing some to reconsider their bond holdings for the long term.

These trends make dividend ETFs a viable option for nearly all stripes of investors in this current market environment (See 4 Excellent Dividend ETFs for Income and Stability).

However, not all dividend ETFs are created equal, and some have fallen by the wayside in terms of popularity to start the year. ETFs like the WisdomTree Dividend ex-Financials Fund ( DTN - ETF report ) and the First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Fund ( FDL - ETF report ) both have seen outflows to start the year, despite the overall bullish tone in the market.

This hasn?t been a problem for some funds in the space though, as a few have seen huge inflows to start 2013. In fact, a handful have captured a great deal in assets, suggesting that sentiment is extremely bullish on these few products going forward.

While some might scoff at looking at popularity to find trends in the space, the strategy does have some merit. It can show the ETFs?and investment segments?that are increasingly in favor with investors, and which are believed to be the best places for portfolios going forward.

After all, we have seen a huge increase in invested capital for a number of Japan ETFs such as DXJ?timed along with the country?s surge?to start 2013, while we have also witnessed a big outflow in gold and gold mining ETFs like GDX, alongside a historic plunge in this commodity to open up the year (read Three Most Popular ETFs of February).

So there can definitely be something to looking at the top asset accumulating ETFs in the time period as a signal for trends heading into Q2 and beyond.

For investors subscribing to this theory, we have highlighted below three dividend ETFs that have led the way in terms of AUM accumulation so far in 2013. All three have gained more than four times as many inflows as the average unleveraged equity ETF in the time frame, suggesting they are surging up the popularity charts.

Due to this factor and some of the current market conditions favoring equities?and especially income generating stocks?over bonds, any of these three could be great choices for those seeking to ride a wave of popularity higher in the dividend ETF space:

iShares Dow Jones EPAC Select Dividend Index Fund ( IDV - ETF report )

This dividend ETF has seen nearly $300 million in inflows to start 2013, a level far in excess of many other products this year. It is especially noteworthy as it is one of the few broad developed market ETFs to see such impressive inflows in the time frame (read 4 International ETFs Yield more than 5%).

The ETF has nearly 20% of its assets in financials, and then about 14% in industrials, and 13% in both energy and utilities. Large caps do account for the bulk of the assets, while European securities make up roughly two-thirds of the total as well.

IDV does have a truly impressive yield though, as the fund is currently sporting a 5.3% 30 Day SEC payout. The cost is a bit higher at 50 basis points a year, but the fund does have a high volume and tight bid ask spread, which should keep overall fees low.

Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF ( VYM - ETF report )

For a pick closer to home, many investors have pushed towards this U.S.-centric high dividend ETF. The fund has seen more than $470 million in inflows to start the year, putting it into the top 50 equity funds for the time frame.

The dividend ETF is ripe with household names though, as a variety of U.S. large caps dominate the top holdings. Consumer staples take up about 20% of the assets, followed by 13% for health care, energy, and industrials (see Guide to 10 Great ETFs Yielding 7% or More).

The yield for this fund comes in at 3.1% for 30 Day SEC terms, a robust level when compared to many bond products. Furthermore, the ETF is an ultra-low cost choice, costing investors just 0.1% a year in fees, along with very high volume.

This fund has a Zacks ETF Rank of 1 or ?Strong Buy? while it has a medium risk rating.

Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF ( VIG - ETF report )

The most popular dividend ETF?by inflows?to start 2013 is the ever trendy VIG. This ETF has seen over one billion in fresh assets this year, enough to put it in the top 10 for inflows to start the year.

The fund does have similar holdings to its cousin VYM, but a little bit of a difference. This dividend ETF looks to zero in on companies that have a track record of increasing their dividends year after year, rather than a pure focus on yield.

This results in a fund that has about 150 securities that have a heavy large cap focus. Household names are again atop the fund, with a big holding in consumer staples and industrials.

The focus on dividend growth does reduce the yield to a level of just 2.2% in 30 Day SEC terms, easily the lowest on the list. However, it does have a low expense ratio of just 13 basis points and it has outperformed the S&P 500 to start the year (see Two Unconventional Sources of ETF Yield).

This fund has a Zacks ETF Rank of 1 or ?Strong Buy? while it has a low risk rating.

Bottom Line

Yes, equity markets are broadly at, or are within striking distance, of all-time highs. But investors still continue to embrace dividend ETFs as great ways to obtain broad market exposure, as they can arguably offer up the best of both worlds in the current investing landscape.

Though, investors should note that there are literally dozens of choices out there that can offer up great exposure to this space. This can make sorting through the market very difficult, especially in generally positive market conditions.

For this reason, it could be a good idea to take a closer look at ETFs that have seen a surge in popularity to start 2013. Not only are there a number of great dividend focused options in this group, but they could be impressive picks for many investors if current trends in the market hold into the second quarter.

If you still aren?t sold, consider that all three of the ETFs highlighted above have beaten out the S&P 500 over the past six month period, further showing that investing in popular dividend ETFs could be the way to go in this market.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >>

Follow @Eric Dutram on Twitter

Source: http://www.zacks.com/commentary/26232/3-red-hot-dividend-etfs

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US yet to provide meals, medicine to Syrian rebels

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Obama administration said Wednesday it has yet to begin shipping meals and medical supplies to Syria's armed opposition, a key pledge of John Kerry during his first overseas trip as secretary of State.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the U.S. was still in talks with the Free Syrian Army about the package of nonlethal assistance that would be the first direct help provided by Washington to the militia fighting to overthrow President Bashar Assad's regime. She said the supplies would come from Defense Department stocks but that nothing has been shipped yet.

The administration hasn't publicly provided any figures for its nonlethal aid to Syrian rebel fighters.

At a conference last month in Rome, Kerry announced $60 million more in U.S. financial support to the opposition.

The breakdown is as follows:

?$10 million to local council and other organizations governing areas "liberated" within Syria from Assad's control.

?$30 million for an emergency project fund controlled by Syria's opposition coalition that would be disbursed among on-the-ground opposition authorities, civil society groups and professional associations.

?$7 million to repair essential services such as water and electricity.

?$6 million in technical assistance to the Syrian opposition and to help it spread its message around the country.

?$7.7 million in programs to improve justice mechanisms, document human rights violation, resolve conflicts, prevent sectarian violence and educate on the risks involved with mines.

The aid to the political opposition is separate from the $385 million the United States is providing in humanitarian aid to victims of Syria's two-year civil war. The U.S. is the biggest individual donor.

Other countries have yet to provide all of the money they have promised.

At a January conference in Kuwait, the United Nations received $1.5 billion in aid pledges. But the global body says it has only received a fifth of the money so far.

In a telephone briefing, U.S. aid organizations decried what they called "bafflingly" low support for Syrians trapped by war or stranded as refugees across the border.

Joel Chamy, vice president of the aid umbrella group InterAction, said the violence in Syria makes it hard to deliver assistance to civilians inside the country. But he said there is no excuse for the lack of international funding for refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and other neighboring countries.

Michael Young of the International Rescue Committee said more money is needed to combat sexual assault and exploitation of women refugees, which he called "pervasive."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-13-US-Syria-Aid/id-90eba19c4a3e4585989b6ac75a600dcd

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Get a Natural Smile for Photos by Saying Words that End in ?Uh?

When smiling for a photo, avoid the urge to say "cheese." The word actually stretches your mouth into an unnatural, unflattering smile. Instead, if you have a hard time smiling naturally, say words that end in "uh," like "mocha" or "yoga" to bring the corners of your mouth up naturally.

The video above is a little cringe-worthy, but the tips themselves are sound. Words that bring your mouth into a natural smile are better if you have a hard time smiling for an impromptu photo. If that doesn't work for you, try to think of something funny. A laughing smile is almost always a better looking one than a staged or forced one, so it's a good option.

Of course, smiles are only part of a good photo. Knowing how genuine facial expressions feel goes a long way towards looking great in photos, but we have some other tips to help with that too.

How to Smile Naturally for Photos | Pleated Jeans via Apartment Therapy

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/LFbz-nJJjew/get-a-natural-smile-for-photos-by-saying-words-that-end-in-uh

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Exercise during gestation might affect future fertility

Public release date: 11-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Madeline McCurry-Schmidt
madelinems@asas.org
217-689-2435
American Society of Animal Science

Swine study shows that moderate exercise can affect ovarian cells

Des Moines, IA - A short walk around the barn might improve the future fertility of Yorkshire gilts. According to research presented by Samantha Kaminski, a graduate student at North Dakota State University, swine fetuses showed significant ovarian development after their mothers exercised.

Kaminski and fellow researchers already knew that uterine blood flow could affect blood flow to the ovaries of developing fetuses. To further study the relationship between uterine blood flow and ovary development, Kaminski and fellow researchers designed an experiment to increase blood flow through exercise.

The team selected 15 female pigs and bred them to a boar. They then exercised the pregnant sows between days 40 and 105 of gestation. For exercise, the sows were walked for 30 minutes a day, three times a week. The researchers used this exercise regimen with two generations of pigs.

With the first generation, Kaminski and fellow researchers studied ovaries from neonate piglets, adolescent piglets and gilts at six months of age. They looked at ovarian weight, cell proliferation and types of developing cells to compare how exercise might affect ovarian development.

They found that the effects of exercise seemed to decrease as the female pigs grew. In an analysis of heavier weight neonates, Kaminski saw more cell proliferation in the group from the exercised sows.

The adolescent pigs showed no differences in ovarian weight or overall cell proliferation. Kaminski did find a difference in the types of cells in the ovaries between treatment groups. The pigs from exercised sows had a greater proliferation of cells in the antral healthy follicles. The proliferation of antral healthy follicles has been used in previous studies as an indicator of healthy ooyctes and follicles.

With the second generation, the researchers studied the ovaries from developing fetuses on day 94 of gestation. Though she found no difference in fetal ovarian weight, Kaminiski did see more cell proliferation in the ovaries of fetuses from the exercised sows.

Kaminski acknowledged that it would be impractical to walk individual sows in a production setting. She said the exercise regimen of 30 minutes of exercise three times a week could be compared with any "moderate" amount of movement.

"This would be very similar to what a group house setting would be like for sows," said Kaminski.

Kaminski recommended future studies to determine if cell proliferation is a good indicator of future fertility. She would also like to know why there were not significant differences in ovarian weight or cell proliferation in neonatal and adolescent pigs.

###

Kaminski's abstract was titled "Impact of maternal exercise on ovarian development in the pig. The presentation was part of the Graduate Student Competition at the 2013 American Dairy Science Association Midwest Branch / American Society of Animal Science Midwest Section Meeting.

---

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?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 11-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Madeline McCurry-Schmidt
madelinems@asas.org
217-689-2435
American Society of Animal Science

Swine study shows that moderate exercise can affect ovarian cells

Des Moines, IA - A short walk around the barn might improve the future fertility of Yorkshire gilts. According to research presented by Samantha Kaminski, a graduate student at North Dakota State University, swine fetuses showed significant ovarian development after their mothers exercised.

Kaminski and fellow researchers already knew that uterine blood flow could affect blood flow to the ovaries of developing fetuses. To further study the relationship between uterine blood flow and ovary development, Kaminski and fellow researchers designed an experiment to increase blood flow through exercise.

The team selected 15 female pigs and bred them to a boar. They then exercised the pregnant sows between days 40 and 105 of gestation. For exercise, the sows were walked for 30 minutes a day, three times a week. The researchers used this exercise regimen with two generations of pigs.

With the first generation, Kaminski and fellow researchers studied ovaries from neonate piglets, adolescent piglets and gilts at six months of age. They looked at ovarian weight, cell proliferation and types of developing cells to compare how exercise might affect ovarian development.

They found that the effects of exercise seemed to decrease as the female pigs grew. In an analysis of heavier weight neonates, Kaminski saw more cell proliferation in the group from the exercised sows.

The adolescent pigs showed no differences in ovarian weight or overall cell proliferation. Kaminski did find a difference in the types of cells in the ovaries between treatment groups. The pigs from exercised sows had a greater proliferation of cells in the antral healthy follicles. The proliferation of antral healthy follicles has been used in previous studies as an indicator of healthy ooyctes and follicles.

With the second generation, the researchers studied the ovaries from developing fetuses on day 94 of gestation. Though she found no difference in fetal ovarian weight, Kaminiski did see more cell proliferation in the ovaries of fetuses from the exercised sows.

Kaminski acknowledged that it would be impractical to walk individual sows in a production setting. She said the exercise regimen of 30 minutes of exercise three times a week could be compared with any "moderate" amount of movement.

"This would be very similar to what a group house setting would be like for sows," said Kaminski.

Kaminski recommended future studies to determine if cell proliferation is a good indicator of future fertility. She would also like to know why there were not significant differences in ovarian weight or cell proliferation in neonatal and adolescent pigs.

###

Kaminski's abstract was titled "Impact of maternal exercise on ovarian development in the pig. The presentation was part of the Graduate Student Competition at the 2013 American Dairy Science Association Midwest Branch / American Society of Animal Science Midwest Section Meeting.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/asoa-edg031113.php

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The "iPhone 5S" problem

Apple may or may not release a product called the "iPhone 5S" this year. The presumption, however, fueled by Apple having previously released the 2009 iPhone 3GS-as-in-speed, and the 2011 iPhone 4S-as-in-Siri, is that 2013 will see an iPhone 5S-as-in-something update. Whether it ultimately proves real or not, the perception of a yearly update cycle and its tick-tock nature, is becoming problematic.

Between 2007 and 2010, Apple released new iPhones in late June or early July, one after the other, like clockwork. In 2011 and 2012, Apple released new iPhones in October and September respectively. While that pushed the date from summer to fall, it still kept the iPhone release window within a roughly a 3 month period. It made it predictable.

Some people like predictability, they like McDonald's, they like to read the spoilers. However, even consumers that don't read sites like iMore every day, and don't track every rumor on the web, began to realize when new iPhones would be released. That led to a slowdown in sales for existing iPhone models just prior to the presumed next release. Apple taught people when to buy, and by extension, when not to buy.

Apple also taught competitors how to counter-program the iPhone. It's probably not a coincidence that HTC announced their next-generation Android phone, the HTC one, back in February, or that Samsung is holding their Galaxy S4 event this March. While I assume BlackBerry might have preferred their relaunch to have been sooner rather than later, they're also introducing the BlackBerry Z10 in the U.S. this spring, far from the long, fall shadow of the iPhone.

Rather than competing for attention with Apple, who continues to dominate the media cycles and best-seller lists during their launch quarter, competitors are waiting until halfway in, when the iPhone is no longer fresh, and yet still not due for a refresh.

Thanks to Apple's tick-tock product cycle, where a new design is introduced one year, and that design is iteratively updated with new internals the next year, both of those problems -- consumer presumption and competitive counter-programming -- become amplified.

When the impression is that Apple will "only" release an S-class phone in any given year, consumers might be more interested in seeing what else is out there. They might be interested in seeing something different.

While the iPhone 5 was almost entirely new from a manufacturing standpoint, because it had the same general, flat, rounded rectangle design as its predecessor, it was criticized by some consumers, and more than its fair share of tech pundits, for being boring. New unibody construction, a camera that was a feat of optical engineering, a taller, 4-inch display, and LTE -- boring. If marketing the iPhone 5 as re-revolutionary was tough, marketing an almost identical-looking iPhone 5S to the same crowd would inevitably be tougher.

Keeping the same design for two years allows Apple tremendous economies of scale, and instead of funding an entirely new phone every year, they can spend their resources on making the same phone better for the same price. That's theoretically good for everyone.

However, holding to the same design also limits what Apple can do to make the iterative iPhone "better". Making the screen bigger again would require a new casing. Adding extra radios like NFC or wireless charging could require changes to the entire package. Fingerprint scanners could complicate the current mechanisms or require other changes. Anything more aggressive than a better camera, more advanced processor, and more encompassing LTE chipset could simply be beyond the constraints of an S-style update.

In the past, to mitigate against hardware similarity, Apple has turned to software differentiation. Even if it felt arbitrary, the iPhone 3GS had video recording and the iPhone 4S had Siri. An iPhone 5S could also have some other, exclusive flagship software feature.

Competitors, however, are free to take their biggest shots at Apple during the S-years, throwing even more against the wall in an effort to see what sticks and what clicks. Whether it's digitizer-based styluses and incredibly large, ridiculously dense displays, and software that listens for you and watches your every move, anything perceived and sold as different has a better chance of standing out against anything perceived as the same, no matter how it's sold.

2013 could be especially brutal in that regard. In previous years Apple enjoyed tremendous market and media support. Even in the face of major PR stumbles like the iPhone 4 antenna, overall Apple received incredibly positive coverage. iOS 6 maps wasn't recovered from as easily or fully, and now Apple is doomed rhetoric fills Wall Street and its journals of record. In this current climate whatever iPhone is fielded this year, no matter how good it might be, Apple may have to work harder than ever before to get even a percentage of the positive coverage they enjoyed in the past.

That shift in reality distortion is benefiting competitors. Google is getting a lot of buzz for Project Glass and the Pixel, and Samsung is enjoying unprecedented mindshare for a mobile company without a fruit in its logo. They're also far, far, exceeding Apple and everyone else in the market when it comes to ad-spend. And that's working for them. They're shaping perception.

A few years ago Apple convinced the world that technology alone wasn't enough. That it was experience, not specs, that mattered. Now specs and feature lists are being hurled at Apple, and they're being accused of losing their sense of innovation, and failing to push the envelop.

The original iPhone didn't have 3G or GPS. The iPhone 3GS didn't have the larger, higher resolution screens of then cutting-edge Android phones. The iPhone 4S lacked LTE. The iPhone 5 skipped NFC. That used to cause some complaints among power users. Now even the idea that an un-announced iPhone 5S might not have a 1080p, 400+ ppi display and biometrics is pointed at by an increasingly mainstream audience as proof positive Apple has lost their way, and that other manufacturers are now leading that way.

In tick years Apple has leapt ahead with technology like Retina display. But in tock years like this one? Markets are fickle and sentiment can gain momentum. And the fear facing some iPhone users is that, in the face of all this, an "iPhone 5S" simply won't be enough.

Apple's a smart company, though. They understand the problems that come from predictability and the reality-distorting power of perception. Last year, when explaining why the iPad 3 was called the new iPad, Apple's senior vice-president of global marketing, Phil Schiller, said it was because Apple "didn't want to be predictable". Only 7 months later Apple CEO Tim Cook said they were putting the "pedal to the metal" and announced the iPad 4. They said it, and then they did it. If Apple can release two iPads (three if you count the iPad mini) in one year, what else could they do?

Rumors abound of less expensive iPhones, and of large screen iPhones. Apple has already bifurcated their tablet lineup into the 9.7-inch iPad and the 7.9-inch iPad mini. We've heard rumors that the next full-size iPad could arrive as early as this spring. If Apple chooses to, they could conceivably release one iPad now and one in fall, to better spread out the schedule. We've also heard the iPhone 5S could arrive as soon as August. Apple could also do the same thing with the iPhone, have two sizes, 4-inch and 5-inch, and eventually have spring/summer and fall releases for those as well.

And then there's that watch thing, which could directly or indirectly increase the perception of overall platform value.

Some of these rumors, like all rumors, are no doubt misinterpretations or completely baseless, and believing all of them, especially for this year, would be a mistake. But to dismiss all of them all, for all time, just because they don't fit a previous pattern, or because they sound like something Apple would never do, could be just as big a mistake.

The "iPhone 5S" problem is the idea that Apple has become predictable coupled with the perception that the next big thing might just come from somewhere else. There are signs Apple is already moving to break those patterns and challenge those expectations. That's just one way to solve that problem.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/O26lIgaVNUw/story01.htm

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Ex-Detroit mayor convicted, jailed until sentence

Former U.S. congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick exits the Theodore Levin Federal U.S. Courthouse in Detroit, Monday, March 11, 2013. Her son, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was convicted Monday of corruption charges and then sent to jail to await his prison sentence in yet another dramatic setback for a man who once was among the nation's youngest big-city leaders. Jurors convicted Kilpatrick of a raft of crimes, including racketeering conspiracy, which carries a maximum punishment of 20 years behind bars. Kilpatrick's long-time contractor friend, Bobby Ferguson was found guilty of 9 of 11 racketeering and extortion counts. Kwame Kilpatrick's father, Bernard Kilpatrick was convicted of 1 of 4 counts, including filing a false tax return. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Former U.S. congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick exits the Theodore Levin Federal U.S. Courthouse in Detroit, Monday, March 11, 2013. Her son, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was convicted Monday of corruption charges and then sent to jail to await his prison sentence in yet another dramatic setback for a man who once was among the nation's youngest big-city leaders. Jurors convicted Kilpatrick of a raft of crimes, including racketeering conspiracy, which carries a maximum punishment of 20 years behind bars. Kilpatrick's long-time contractor friend, Bobby Ferguson was found guilty of 9 of 11 racketeering and extortion counts. Kwame Kilpatrick's father, Bernard Kilpatrick was convicted of 1 of 4 counts, including filing a false tax return. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Ex- Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick peers out from the Theodore Levin Federal U.S. Courthouse in Detroit following his 6-month-long corruption trial in which Kilpatrick was found guilty on 24 of 30 counts, including racketeering and extortion convictions on Monday, March, 11, 2013. Kilpatrick's long-time contractor friend, Bobby Ferguson was found guilty of 9 of 11 racketeering and extortion counts. Kwame Kilpatrick's father, Bernard Kilpatrick was convicted of 1 of 4 counts including filing a false tax return. (AP Photo/AnnArbor.com, Tanya Moutzalias)

Ex- Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick peers out from the Theodore Levin Federal U.S. Courthouse in Detroit following his 6-month-long corruption trial in which Kilpatrick was found guilty on 24 of 30 counts, including racketeering and extortion convictions on Monday, March, 11, 2013. Kilpatrick's long-time contractor friend, Bobby Ferguson was found guilty of 9 of 11 racketeering and extortion counts. Kwame Kilpatrick's father, Bernard Kilpatrick was convicted of 1 of 4 counts including filing a false tax return. (AP Photo/AnnArbor.com, Tanya Moutzalias)

Bobby Ferguson, a friend of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, leaves federal court after being found guilty, in Detroit on Monday, March 11, 2013. Ferguson has been convicted of a federal racketeering conspiracy charge. (AP Photo/Detroit Free Press, Ryan Garza)

Bernard Kilpatrick makes his way in to federal court in Detroit on Monday, March 11, 2013. Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was convicted Monday of corruption charges, ensuring a return to prison for a man once among the nation's youngest big-city leaders. (AP Photo/Detroit Free Press, Regina H. Boone)

DETROIT (AP) ? Jurors in a city buffeted by financial crisis convicted former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick on corruption charges Monday, capping a five-month trial that exposed a brazen pay-to-play culture during his years in office while the distressed city lost jobs and people and veered toward insolvency.

Kilpatrick could face more than 10 years in prison for two dozen convictions, from racketeering conspiracy to bribery to tax crimes. Once hailed as a hip, young big-city leader, he was portrayed at trial as an unscrupulous politician who took kickbacks, rigged contracts and lived far beyond his means.

"Kwame Kilpatrick didn't lead the city. He looted the city," U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said in victory.

At the government's urging, Kilpatrick, 42, was ordered to jail to await his sentence, along with Bobby Ferguson, a city contractor who benefited from having a pal as mayor and also was convicted.

Businesses said they were forced to hire Ferguson as a subcontractor or risk losing work through the city's water department. Separately, fundraiser Emma Bell said she gave Kilpatrick more than $200,000 as his personal cut of political donations, pulling cash from her bra during private meetings at city hall. A high-ranking aide, Derrick Miller, told jurors that he often was the middle man, passing bribes from others.

Internal Revenue Service agents said Kilpatrick spent $840,000 beyond his salary as mayor, from 2002 to fall 2008.

"I saw a lot that really, really turned my stomach," said a female juror, a Detroit resident who had voted twice for Kilpatrick when he ran for mayor. "I couldn't believe this type of thing was going on."

The names of jurors were not released by the court, part of the secrecy promised by the judge last summer. Eleven agreed to speak to reporters, although they declined to give their names and refused to be interviewed by TV crews.

The trial occurred at a time of extraordinary crisis in Detroit. Population has fallen 25 percent to 700,000 since 2000. Public finances are in the red for billions of dollars, mostly future pension obligations. Half of property owners are overdue with their property taxes. Meanwhile, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder could appoint an emergency financial manager in a matter of days, making Detroit the largest city in the country to be taken over by state government.

Detroit's woes were decades in the making. But Kilpatrick's crimes certainly fueled perceptions that he and his staff were far adrift, selfishly lining their pockets, while the city slipped even further.

Detroit's budget deficit topped $300 million by 2008 when Kilpatrick was forced out in a different scandal, a series of lies to cover up an extramarital affair with a top aide.

The current mayor, Dave Bing, said the verdict would allow the city to move from "this negative chapter in Detroit's history."

Andre Falconer, a 43-year-old plumber, said Kilpatrick is yet another politician who betrayed the public.

"Everybody should be held responsible for what they do," Falconer said. "Kilpatrick's case doesn't reflect on Detroit, but reflects on his inability to perform the tasks he was elected to do. He didn't have the maturity."

McQuade hopes the case means a new day for the city.

"I hope it sends an important message ... so that businesses will want to come do business here. So that honest politicians will want to serve as the mayor here. So that people will want to work for city government without fear of being compromised," the prosecutor told reporters.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds said the jury finished its work Friday, the 14th day of deliberations, but wanted to go home for the weekend before announcing the results Monday.

"They said they wanted to sleep on it. ... I had a sense of what the verdict was," Edmunds told reporters.

Kilpatrick declined to comment outside court after days of regularly posting upbeat messages to his Twitter followers. Defense attorney James Thomas said the former mayor spoke by phone to his wife, Carlita, in Texas.

"He's a pretty strong individual. He doesn't show his emotions very easily," Thomas said when asked how Kilpatrick was holding up.

Kilpatrick's father, Bernard, also was charged as part of the racketeering conspiracy. The jury, however, couldn't reach a consensus and convicted him only of submitting a false tax return. The Kilpatricks hugged twice after the verdict, with the son appearing to console his sobbing 71-year-old dad.

Kwame Kilpatrick, who now lives near Dallas, declined to testify. He has long denied any wrongdoing and even declared before trial that he wasn't going to prison. Thomas told jurors that his client had access to loads of money because city workers and political supporters showered him with cash during holidays and birthdays.

The government also said Kilpatrick abused the Civic Fund, a nonprofit fund he created to help distressed Detroit residents. There was evidence that it was used for yoga lessons, camps for his kids, golf clubs and travel.

Kilpatrick was elected in 2001 at age 31. He resigned in 2008 and pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in a different scandal involving sexually explicit text messages and an affair with his chief of staff.

The Democrat spent 14 months in prison for violating probation in that case after a judge said he failed to report assets that could be put toward his $1 million restitution to Detroit.

Voters booted his mother, Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, from Congress in 2010, partly because of a negative perception of her due to her son's troubles.

___

AP reporters Jeff Karoub and Corey Williams contributed to this story.

___

Follow Ed White at twitter.com/edwhiteap

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-11-US-Detroit-Ex-Mayor/id-7cd7ddba9a494e5b9669e931ae66a9d4

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Tesla gives Uber a Model S boost at SXSW, so come on and take a free ride

The number of cabs per capita in Austin is probably quite reasonable for a city of under a million, but during SXSW, taxis can be difficult to come by, plagued by ridiculous traffic and a surge of carless visitors. So, to make our way from last night's Engadget+gdgt event to our hotel -- a roughly 15-mile drive north of the city center -- we turned to Uber's Android app. Selecting the UberX option, we were told, would net us a free ride, but we were expecting a clunky cab to pull up; instead, we got a brand new Tesla Model S, with a tie-clad chauffeur to match. The driver, we learned, was on loan from Dallas, while the gorgeous all-electric car was likely to quietly roll its way to distant roads following this week's Central Texas geek fest. But we weren't leaving Austin without our ride.

Gallery: Tesla Model S with UberX

Filed under: Transportation

Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/10/tesla-model-s-uber-sxsw/

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On his show, Comedian Rodney Perry covers arts and entertainment, everything from comedy and politics to music and acting, with his signature comedic slant.

MashUp Radio is a 30-minute podcast that discusses the fusion of technology, life, culture and science. Host Peter Biddle, engineer and executive for Intel?s Atom Software, dishes up a thought-provoking discussion.

Joy Keys provides her listeners with insight to improve their lives mentally, physically, monetarily and emotionally. Past guests on the show have included Meshell Nedegeocello, Blair Underwood, in addition to an impressive list of CEOs, humanitarians and authors.

Host Barry Moltz gets small businesses unstuck. He has founded and run small businesses with a great deal of success and failure for more than 15 years. This is a business radio show where he shares all the craziness of small business. It?s that craziness that actually makes it exciting, interesting and totally unpredictable.

The Bottom Line Sports Show is hosted by former NBA stars Penny Hardaway, Charles Oakley, Mateen Cleaves. Tune in to get the inside scoop on what's happening in sports today.

Hits Radio covers basketball, sports culture and entertainment with past guests including Jason Kidd, Robin Lundberg and Chris Herren.

Listeners get an earful on The Halli Casser-Jayne Show, Talk Radio for Fine Minds. Whether it?s the current political cocktail or the latest must-read award-winning book, Halli tackles all topics and likes to stir ? and sometimes shakes ? things up.

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Award-winning World Footprints is a leading voice in socially responsible travel and lifestyle. Hosts Ian & Tonya celebrate culture and heritage and bring a unique voice to the world of travel.

Football Reporters Online is a group of veteran football experts in the fields of coaching, scouting, talent evaluation, and writing/broadcasting/media placement. Combined, the group brings well over 100 years of expertise in sports.

Host John Martin interviews the nation's leading entrepreneurs and small biz experts to educate small business owners on how to be successful. Past guests have included Emeril Lagasse and Guy Kawasaki.

The Movie Geeks share their passion for the art through interviews with the stars of and creative minds behind your favorite flicks and pay tribute to big-screen legends. From James Cameron and Francis Ford Coppola to Ellen Burstyn and Robert Duvall, The Geeks have got'em all.

Sylvia Global presents global conversations pertaining to women, wealth, business, faith and philanthropy. Sylvia has interviewed an eclectic mix from CEOs and musicians to fashion designers and philanthropists including Randolph Duke and Ne-Yo.

Mr. Media host Bob Andelman goes one-on-one with the hottest, most influential minds from the worlds of film, TV, music, comedy, journalism and literature. That means A-listers like Kirk Douglas, Christian Slater, Kathy Ireland, Rick Fox, Chris Hansen and Jackie Collins.

Paula Begoun, best-selling author of Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me, separates fact from fiction on achieving a radiant, youthful complexion at any age. She?s regularly joined by health and beauty experts who offer the latest on keeping your skin in tip-top shape.

Source: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/stupidcancershow/2013/03/12/colorectal-cancer-awareness-with-beast-hunter-pat-spain

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