Move over Clay Buchholz. Marlins starter Alex Sanabia went old school on Monday, bypassing the sunscreen and rosin and simply hocking a big ol? loogie on the baseball after giving up a home run to the Phillies? Domonic Brown.
The video isn?t embeddable yet, but here?s the link to it at MLB.com, as well as some still shots.
As it turned out, that second-inning homer by Brown was the lone run for the Phillies tonight in a 5-1 loss. Sanabia scattered seven hits over 6 1/3 innings in improving to 3-6 on the season. He lowered his ERA to 4.56.
While one can debate the legality of sunscreen on the arm, there?s no doubt what Sanabia was doing was against the rules, and though no one caught him during the game, it will be interesting to see if a suspension follows based on the obvious visual evidence.
Photographer Jared Lim has an knack for capturing colorful patterns around the world, and they make for some eye-catching photos in his series Urban Exploration.
As he told MyModernMet, the project is a work in progress that's spanned many years. The Singapore-based Lim travels for work, and over the course of his trips, he's culled images from all over the world:
Since most of the places I travel to are major cities, architecture is the prevailing theme. I have loved geometry since I was a kid. Even when I was young, I loved to create repeated patterns and designs at school.
For example, here's one called Origami, taken from the facade of a building in Melbourne, Australia:
Check out the curves in the roof of the Sydney Opera House:
Or the symmetry of this building in Nagoya, Japan:
And the fading gradient of the colors of these chairs in a Beijing stadium:
As well as the organized green and yellow blocks on this place in Adelaide, Australia.
Lim has quite the gift for spotting the lively patterns in every day buildings. You can check out more of his work on his Facebook page. [MyModernMet]
Michele Bachmann was the muse for a new romance novel called Fires of Siberia, to be published June 1, about a fiery presidential candidate who tries to bone up on her foreign policy credentials only to get stuck in the wilderness with a sexy stranger. "Inspired by the life of Tea Party leader and Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, Fires of Siberia is an old-fashioned bodice ripper romance that brings the heat for the 2013 summer beach reading season," touts publisher Badlands Unlimited.
Badlands Unlimited is not your traditional romance novel publisher. It's run by New York artist Paul Chan, and offers an eclectic mix of titles, from a collection of Saddam Hussein's early speeches to a set of 1964 interviews with Marcel Duchamp, which includes audio files on iTunes.?Badlands Unlimited's website?says it publishes ebooks "Because you can?t publish a .GIF on paper," plus "reading an e-book on e-readers like the iPad or Kindle means you only have to use one hand to read, freeing your other hand to do whatever you please." Or, in the fancier words of the Los Angeles Review of Books, "As a publishing outfit, they are blurring the distinctions between art press, curatorial experiment and publishing industry gambit, while putting out a series of works that are strange enough individually, but seem even stranger when grouped together under the same moniker."
RELATED: Bachmann Is the Howard Dean of 2012
So Fires of Siberia might not be so much a sexy romance inspired by a plucky congresswoman as a political book in a funny format. The author, Tr?y Sager, is a poet whose prior works include Dear Failures and O New York. That being said, the press release indicates the book follows romance novels' classic formula (1. Bring a couple together 2. Tear them apart, 3. Emotional justice). It says:
Presidential candidate Danielle Powers, full of firebrand pluck and red state sex appeal,?has the country in a tizzy. But on an international tour to beef up her foreign policy experience, disaster ensues?her plane explodes over Siberia. Miraculously, Danielle survives, along with one other passenger?a mysterious stranger named Steadman Bass. Trapped in a wilderness of snow and ice, the two begin a journey that pushes Danielle to the brink. There she must confront her deepest self and choose between civilization and a wild, primitive ecstasy.
Granted, the cover art leaves something to be desired on the sexiness front ? and that cover line may be NSFW ? but the illustrator nailed Bachmann's suit and haircut from the 2012 campaign. What the book might lack in design it makes up with old-fashioned Midwestern thriftiness. Fires of Siberia will be available for only $2.99 on Apple iBooks and Amazon Kindles. (Photo from the publisher above, and Facebook page below.)
RELATED: Bachmann Knows Social Security Fear-Mongering When She Sees It
Will Bachmann pick the book up? Maybe! Her reading list is eclectic, according to her website in 2011. It included Ludwig von Mises: The Man and His Economics by Israel M. Kirzner and the uncomfortably soft-on-the-Confederacy Call of Duty: The Sterling Nobility of Robert E. Lee by J. Steven Wilkins. She told The Weekly Standard in 2011 that after reading Gore Vidal's Burr, she was so disgusted, "And at that moment, I became a Republican. I was done." Perhaps after reading?Fires of Siberia?she will consider running for president again.
RELATED: Live Feed: Watch Michele Bachmann's Iowa Announcement
TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - As final ballots come in on a proposal to strip JPMorgan Chase & Co Chairman and Chief Executive Jamie Dimon of his chairman title, some worry about what will happen if shareholders win what will likely be a close vote.
JPMorgan's annual meeting on Tuesday will bring to head a months-long and bitter shareholder campaign demanding more oversight of Dimon, who has suggested that he may eventually leave the bank if he loses the vote.
Investors say that while Dimon, 57, may need more oversight after the bank posted $6.2 billion in losses from failed derivative trades last year, they do not want him to quit.
Among big bank CEOs, Dimon ranks first for stock returns and has been praised for leading the bank through the financial crisis with no quarterly losses and a strong balance sheet.
If Dimon were to leave, the bank's shares could fall as much as 10 percent and erase about $20 billion of market value, according to Mike Mayo, a bank analyst with brokerage CLSA.
JPMorgan also has no ready replacement for Dimon, Mayo wrote in a research note, adding that the two lieutenants best positioned to succeed him - Matt Zames, 42, and Mike Cavanagh, 47 - seem to be about three years short of being ready for the job.
Zames became sole chief operating officer of the largest U.S. bank in April. Last year, Cavanagh became co-CEO of the company's reconstituted corporate and investment banking segment following a stint as head of treasury and securities services and several years as chief financial officer.
JPMorgan was not immediately available for comment.
"Take a winning football team. One could always ask the question whether the team would have been as effective without the quarterback," said Benjamin Ram, a co-manager of the $1.6 billion Oppenheimer Main Street Select fund.
"The team gets part of the credit, but Jamie Dimon as the leader also gets the credit," Ram added.
Ram's fund has 6.4 percent of its assets in JPMorgan shares, more than any other diversified fund, according to Lipper, a Thomson Reuters company.
The shareholder proposal is non-binding, meaning the bank's board does not have to follow through with the recommendation even if the measure gets majority shareholder support. Still, a defeat would be an unpleasant rebuke for Dimon.
A similar shareholder proposal last year won 40 percent of the vote, before most of the trading losses from the so-called "London Whale" imbroglio came to light.
JPMorgan's board has recommended that shareholders vote against the proposal and the bank has been lobbying hard against the measure, with tensions rising in the run-up to the meeting.
Proponents of the independent chair proposal said that if the measure gets 40 percent or more of the vote for a second consecutive year that the board should feel obligated to make at least some changes to increase its oversight of management.
Last week, the company that collects votes from investors, Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc, stopped telling shareholders how votes had been cast so far for this and other measures. Investors use this information to determine how to tailor their campaigns.
JPMorgan decided to release the results to shareholders after the New York Attorney General's office intervened over the weekend, a source familiar with the situation said on Monday.
"We were cut off from the tallies during the crucial week leading up to the meeting," said Dieter Waizenegger, executive director of the CtW Investment Group, which advises pensions that were voting against the bank in a separate measure regarding the reelection of directors.
Waizenegger said receiving the information at this late stage was of limited use.
The vote comes amid a growing trend in U.S. corporate governance to have an independent chairman lead the board. Many investors believe that doing so ensures that the chief executive does not have too much sway over the board and leads to better outcomes for shareholders overall. The debate, however, is far from settled.
Even if Dimon wins the vote, some shareholders plan to keep the pressure on the bank's board. Two major JPMorgan investors have told Reuters that they will continue to press directors behind the scenes to increase their oversight over management.
One investor said that they will likely encourage the bank to give more authority to its lead independent director, former ExxonMobil Chief Executive Lee Raymond.
PHOENIX (AP) ? Jodi Arias has told a jury that she can contribute to society from prison if she is allowed to live.
Arias address the jury Tuesday in the penalty phase of her trial as the panel considers whether to sentence her to life in prison or execution.
She says she'd like to start literacy and recycling programs in prison.
Arias also says she never meant to cause pain to the family of Travis Alexander and that her family kept her from committing suicide.
Her lawyers have said Arias is the only witness they'll call to testify on her behalf.
The judge instructed jurors they can consider a handful of factors when deciding what sentence to recommend, including the fact that Arias has no previous criminal record
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
Jodi Arias has begun addressing the jury in the penalty phase of her trial as the panel considers whether to sentence her to life in prison or execution.
Arias spoke Tuesday morning before the same jury that convicted her of first-degree murder in the 2008 killing of her one-time lover.
Her lawyers have said Arias is the only witness they'll call to testify on her behalf.
It's unknown whether the former waitress will plead for mercy. She told a TV reporter minutes after she was convicted that she'd rather be executed than spend the rest of her life in prison.
The judge instructed jurors they can consider a handful of factors when deciding what sentence to recommend, including the fact that Arias has no previous criminal record.
Despite recent disruption in the gaming industry, former Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello thinks the next-gen consoles can excel even in a world of smartphones and tablets. In a guest column on Kotaku today, Riccitiello laid out what he sees as four potential stumbling blocks that, if avoided, will guarantee next-gen success for Microsoft and Sony.
Ricitiello's first point of emphasis was that the systems need to be aimed squarely at gamers. To reach the core audience, the new consoles shouldn't be positioned as all-in-one multimedia boxes.
"The risk is that either or both of the new platforms emphasize these 'value-add' experiences too much, both in the user interface on the consoles themselves, or in the story they tell consumers when they unleash their avalanche of advertising," Riccitiello said.
The second and third points were more about not repeating the mistakes of previous console launches. Specifically, Riccitiello said supply chains need to be improved such that anyone who wants a new console at launch can find one on shelves, and the end product needs to be priced low enough that consumers will snatch up all the systems produced.
Finally, Riccitiello said Microsoft and Sony need to tread lightly around "third-rail topics" like DRM and second-hand game sales. In his view, the solution is to make the console ecosystem more open, and less of a walled garden. If they play their cards right, Microsoft and Sony will actually find gamers will "learn to love" more connected console experiences, Riccitiello said.
"It needs to be simple, seamless and without a bunch of headaches with multiple registration, identity and pay gates," Riccitiello said. "The walled garden will fall eventually."
DETROIT (WWJ) ? With auto insurance rates in Detroit among the highest in the nation, some Democratic state legislators say they have ideas for real reform.
There are a lot of problems with the Republican sponsored no fault bill say some Detroit Democrats.
First, they say a savings of $125 per vehicle for one year of auto insurance is not enough when you consider the average cost of car insurance is five thousand dollars in Detroit.
It?s just not enough says State Representative Thomas Stallworth, (D-Detroit) not when you consider the real cost of insuring a vehicle in Detroit.
?Detroit?s average premium of five thousand dollars is the nation?s most expensive and is some twelve hundred dollars higher than second place Philadelphia,? he tells WWJ?s Marie Osborne.
These Democrats want changes on how auto insurance is calculated .
?Presently, a driver with a DUI and a good credit score gets a better rate than a laid off factory worker with a challenged credit score, who has never had a ticket,? said Stallworth.
Often, the cost of insurance exceeds the cost of the vehicle.
Democrats are outlining points of change they?d like to see including: prohibiting the use of a credit score and education to determine a premium and disallowing steerage to collision shops owned by insurance companies.
The number one issue these legislators hear about from their constituents? The high cost of auto insurance.
Is America coming undone? New Yorker writer George Packer describes a slow meltdown.
By Craig Fehrman / May 20, 2013
The Unwinding,
by George Packer,
Farrar, Straus and Giroux,
448 pp.
Enlarge
The first thing to note about The Unwinding, George Packer?s masterful new book, is its title. He?s selected an ambitious subject: how, over the last few decades, and all across America, our norms, practices, and communities have come undone. It?s never surprising when Packer, a staff writer at The New Yorker, arrives at a cranky conclusion. (He once used his magazine?s website to tell Twitter to ?stop.?) But Packer?s crankiness is also thoughtful, thorough, and persuasive. Think of all the destructive, marketing-friendly metaphors he might have chosen for his title ? maybe, say, a ?cliff.? Instead, Packer opted for something more subtle and insidious. Whatever bound America together, he argues, has slowly been unwound.
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Packer advances this argument by telling stories. ?The Unwinding? features four main characters: Dean Price, a small business owner in rural North Carolina; Tammy Thomas, a factory worker in Youngstown, Ohio; Jeff Connaughton, a lobbyist in Washington; and Peter Thiel, a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley. In rotating chapters, he narrates their lives from the 1970s up to today.
Perhaps the best part of ?The Unwinding? is the way these chapters inhabit and animate each character?s perspective. When Dean Price graduates from high school in 1981, he faces three options: work at the furniture or textile factories; work at the cigarette factory, which adds in benefits and two free cartons a week; or head off to college. Packer describes this choice in terms of report cards, with the C and D students going into textiles and the B students into tobacco. ?The A students,? he writes, ?three in his class, went to college." It?s a simple moment, but also one that immerses you in Dean?s world, and Packer excels at these touches.
Still, every few chapters Packer will set his characters aside and consider the big picture. Here he borrows from a surprising model: John Dos Passos?s "U.S.A." trilogy. While Dos Passos?s novels were widely read in the 1930s, in today?s literary geography they?re more Youngstown than Silicon Valley. But Packer resurrects Dos Passos?s unique structure ? not just the rotating perspectives but also the ?Newsreel? sections, which consist of fragments from pop songs, TV shows, and newspaper clippings, and the short polemical biographies of politicians and celebrities. (Packer skips Dos Passos?s ?Camera Eye? sections, and wisely so, since no one?s ever figured out what the novelist was up to.)
All Critics (100) | Top Critics (24) | Fresh (101) | Rotten (8) | DVD (39)
The enthralling man-vs.-nature parable based on the late Michael Crichton's best-selling novel hasn't aged one bit.
The 3-D process adds not just dimension but depth - a technological extension of cinematographer Gregg Toland's deep-focus innovations in The Grapes of Wrath and Citizen Kane. The change in perspective creates greater intensity.
I'm a fan of this movie. It is thrilling, and the 3-D treatment is a nice enhancement.
This movie doesn't just stand the test of time, it transcends it.
"Jurassic Park" remains an absolute thrill from a Spielberg in top form: Funny, scary, fast-moving and full of just-right details.
"Jurassic Park" was impressive in 1993. Twenty years later, it's flawless.
Some things have dated - Sam Jackson wouldn't be allowed to smoke in the office; everyone would have mobiles; Google Earth would have kept the island from being kept a secret - but the power of the film's pioneering CGI remain strangely undiminished.
Steven Spielberg's summer adventure is still one of the ultimate movie roller coaster rides.
Jurassic Park is a how-to guide for structuring a multi-character disaster film.
Still proves as thrilling as ever.
A classic gets even better.
Steven Spielbeg's 1993 tale of an island plagued dinosaurs running amok holds up surprisingly well in the special effects category.
The film is a classic and the chance to see it on the big screen again (or for the first time) should not be missed
Sentiment is explained by science as the family impulse that motivates so many Steven Spielberg stories is revealed to be an evolutionary imperative in this near-perfect action-adventure.
[Looks] better not only than effects-driven movies of the same period, but better, frankly, than half of what gets released nowadays.
Kids who love dinosaurs will love it. And who doesn't?
confirms both Spielberg's mastery of cinematic thrills and the comparatively empty bombast of today's summer tentpole movies, even the better ones.
Jurassic Park shows us a director in transition, and the film captures his transformation in its own kind of cinematic amber.
[The] 3D [conversion] provides the definitive version of this classic film. Jurassic Park has been transformed with with artistry, nuance and sophistication, and it's an absolute must-see during this brief run.
The 3D effects had me nearly jumping out of my seat. Some say Hollywood is converting too many old films to 3D. But, "Jurassic Park" was the perfect choice. There's nothing more fun than sharing a seat with a snapping dinosaur.
Spielberg treats us as he does his characters, leading us into a strange land and expecting us to make it out with all our faculties intact; it's a tall order, given the heart-stopping, bloodcurdling, limbs-numbing excitement packed into the second hour.
It is as if time has passed the movie by. "Jurassic Park" remains solid entertainment, but the awe and wonder have faded.
The thrill of seeing live dinosaurs on screen is not as acute today as it was 20 years ago admittedly, but there is still some 3D awe left in the creations that roared 65 billion years ago...
The 3D isn't pushed on the audience, but it does reveal the amount of depth that Spielberg actually put into the film 20 years ago.
While it's not the most profound of Spielberg's works or the most entertaining from a popcorn perspective, it's one of the most technically flawless movies he's ever produced.
Jurassic Park 3D is like being reunited with an old friend; an old friend that wants to eat you and maul you to death, but still. A classic is reborn in glorious IMAX with a vibrantly stunning use of 3D.
DAMASCUS, Va. (AP) ? Witnesses described a frantic scene and close calls after an elderly driver plowed into dozens of hikers marching in a small Virginia mountain town's parade. Investigators were looking into whether the motorist had suffered a medical emergency before the accident.
About 50 to 60 people suffered injuries ranging from critical to superficial, but no fatalities were reported. Three of the worst injured were flown by helicopter to area hospitals. Their conditions weren't immediately available.
Another 12 to 15 victims were taken to hospitals by ambulance and the rest were treated at the scene, where some paramedics and other first-responders were participating in the parade.
It happened around 2:10 p.m. during the Hikers Parade at the Trail Days festival, an annual celebration of the Appalachian Trail in Damascus, near the Tennessee state line about a half-hour drive east of Bristol.
Damascus Police Chief Bill Nunley didn't release the driver's name or age but said he was participating in the parade and he had traversed the Appalachian Trail in the past. Several witnesses described him as an elderly man.
Nunley said the man's 1997 Cadillac was one of the last vehicles in the parade and the driver might have suffered an unspecified medical problem when his car accelerated to about 25 mph and struck the crowd on a two-lane bridge along the town's main road. The driver was among those taken to hospitals.
"It is under investigation and charges may be placed," Nunley said.
Rudolph "Chip" Cenci, 64, of Minoa, N.Y., told The News-Item newspaper in Shamokin, Pa., that he heard people yelling "get out of the way" and turned around to find the car was about to hit him. He jumped onto the hood and held onto the gap at the base of the windshield near the wipers. He said the driver had a blank stare on his face.
"I bet you that man never realized someone was on his hood," Cenci said.
Cenci said he had a bump on his knee but was otherwise OK. He added that his wife, Susan, 63, narrowly missed being hit.
Amanda Puckett, who was watching the parade with her children, ran to the car, where she and others lifted the car off those pinned underneath.
"Everybody just threw our hands up on the car and we just lifted the car up," she said.
Keith Neumann, a hiker from South Carolina, said he was part of the group that scrambled around the car. They pushed the car backward to free a woman trapped underneath and lifted it off the ground to make sure no one else was trapped.
"There's no single heroes. We're talking about a group effort of everybody jumping in," he said.
Nunley cited quick action by police, firefighters, paramedics and hikers to tend to the victims, including a volunteer firefighter who dove into the car to turn off the ignition. The firefighter, whose name wasn't released, suffered minor injuries.
Mayor Jack McCrady had encouraged people to attend the festival on Sunday, its final day.
"In 27 years of this, we've never had anything of this magnitude, and is it our job to make sure it doesn't happen again," he said.
McCrady said a donation fund was being set up to assist the injured, some of whom don't have medical insurance.
"We want to make sure they don't suffer any greater loss than they already have," he said.
Dan Seco, 26, is undergoing chemotherapy treatment but lost his health insurance months before he was diagnosed. He?s hoping Republicans fail to repeal Obamacare.
It was a so-called ?scandal?-filled week for the Obama administration with Benghazi, the IRS and the AP dominating the chatter in the old, new and social medias. It was all?red meat for Republicans and righties everywhere are drooling.
?Nothing dissolves the bonds between the people and their government like the arrogance of power here in Washington,? Speaker John Boehner said on Thursday. ?And that?s what the American people are seeing today from the Obama administration, remarkable arrogance.?
Republicans will undoubtedly?be talking about these ?scandals? for months. But there?s a real scandal going on in Washington right now.
Republicans in Congress voted to repeal Obamacare for the 38th time on Thursday. And of course, the vote didn?t go down without a show.
?We see this coming just like the Titanic, we see that iceberg, only it`s not just in a mist,? said Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn. ?Shortly in front of our eyes, we have time to turn. And that?s why we are here. We?re here to make a turn from a train wreck.?
?It is a malignant tumor metastasizing on American liberty and must be ripped out by the rules and completely repealed,? said Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa.
But the Republican-led House is taking the phrase ?do nothing? to a whole new level. Out of the 138 days so far this year, Boehner?s House has been in session for only 51. And one of those precious days was wasted trying to take away your health care.
It?s estimated since Republicans took control of the House in January 2011, they?ve spent 15% of their time attempting to repeal Obamacare. But Boehner is trying to convince Americans it?s about jobs.
?These are the thousands and thousands of pages of Obamacare regulations,? Boehner said Thursday. ?And if we want jobs, we need to get rid of this because this is getting in the way of employers hiring workers around the country.?
But so far this year, there has not been one vote in the House on a jobs bill. Instead, it looks like the Republican master plan for job creation is taking health care away from 30 million Americans.
Meanwhile, there is another major health care story grabbing headlines this week. After undergoing genetic testing, actress Angela Jolie learned she had an 87% chance of developing breast cancer, and a 54% chance of developing ovarian cancer. With those odds, Jolie opted to have a double mastectomy in February. At this time, it?s still unclear whether Jolie will have her ovaries removed.
Jolie is brave but also very lucky. She had the means to undergo testing and take care of the problem before it got serious. But many Americans are in desperate need of health insurance. And it is literally a matter of life and death.
On May 11, MSNBC host Ed Schultz asked for a volunteer with cancer, but no health insurance, to come forward and share their experience. And he found a perfect example of why Republicans should leave Obamacare alone.
Dan Seco, 26, who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma after he lost his health care.
Dan Seco, 26, is a freelance sports writer. He played by the rules his whole life. He worked hard, studied hard, went to graduate school and pursued a career as a freelance sports journalist.
As soon as Dan turned 26, he lost his health care, and as a freelance writer he didn?t have the money to buy private health insurance. Then after losing his health care, through no fault of his own, Dan was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma?back in February. So now Dan is facing the monumental task of figuring out how to pay for his cancer treatment.
Dan wanted to appear on The Ed Show Saturday, but he is undergoing another chemo treatment. The Ed Show offered to go to his hospital room to tape an interview, but his doctors didn?t want to risk Dan?s health (editor?s note: Dan?s brother Kyle Seco, who is raising money for Dan?s treatments, agreed to appear in his place on Saturday?s The Ed Show).
But Dan really felt it was important to tell you his story, so he called The?Ed Schultz Radio Show?on Friday.
?I?m currently in the hospital right now, I?m undergoing chemotherapy treatment. I?m about half way through with my current regime,? Dan told Schultz. ?I had health insurance up until my 26th birthday, which was last August. I was working for a travel company and I wanted to pursue my writing career full-time. And I took a little bit of a risk by not having health insurance, but I didn?t have any options really as a writer.?
Dan says he?s applying for Medicaid and relying on charity and the good-natured spirit of other people to help him out. Meantime, he and 30 million Americans are waiting for the benefits of Obamacare to kick in.
Dan?s story is like millions of other Americans. Thirty million people are waiting for Obamacare.
?I think I?m the model case for why Obamacare needs to pass and what it can do to help people in my situation, who are pursuing what they want to do with their life,? Dan said. ?And they need the care that they can?t afford. You pay out of pocket for some things like a PET Scan that shows how much cancer you have in your body, $14,000. Who has the money to pay for that??
Dan says he?s trying to comprehend why Republicans are spending so much time trying to repeal Obamacare.
?I can?t understand why someone would work against this type of policy, which is really going to make the lives of so many people so much easier,? said Dan. ?Even I find out I?m better by August, who knows that happens a year later, two years later, further down the road. The bottom line is, I need health insurance.?
To learn more about Dan and to help him in his battle against cancer, click here and give what you can.
NEW YORK (AP) ? A gunman used homophobic slurs before firing a fatal shot point-blank into a man's face on a Manhattan street alive with a weekend midnight crowd, a killing New York's police commissioner called an "anti-gay" hate crime.
Before opening fire early Saturday, the gunman confronted the victim and his companion in Greenwich Village and asked if they "want to die here," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.
The shooting follows a series of recent bias attacks on gay men in New York, but this was the first deadly one.
About 15 minutes before the bloodshed, the gunman was seen urinating outside an upscale restaurant a few blocks from the Stonewall Inn, a birthplace of the gay rights movement, according to Kelly. He then went inside the restaurant and asked if someone was going to call the police about him.
Police said the gunman, identified later as 33-year-old Elliot Morales, told both the bartender and the manager, "if you do call the police, I'll shoot you" and opened his sweatshirt to reveal a shoulder holster with a revolver and made anti-gay remarks, Kelly said.
Morales has a previous arrest for attempted murder in 1998, police said. Details of that arrest weren't immediately clear.
Out on the street minutes later, the gunman and two others approached the 32-year-old victim, identified by police as Harlem resident Marc Carson, and a companion on Sixth Avenue. One of the three men yelled out, "What are you, gay wrestlers?" according to Kelly.
The two men stopped, turned and, according to Kelly, said to the group taunting them, "What did you say?" ? then kept walking.
"There were no words that would aggravate the situation spoken by the victims here," the commissioner said. "This fully looks to be a hate crime, a bias crime."
Two of the men kept following the victim and his companion, Kelly said, adding that witnesses saw the pair approach from behind while repeating anti-gay slurs.
The gunman asked the men if they were together and when he got an affirmative answer, Kelly said, "we believe that the perpetrator says to the victim, 'Do you want to die here?'"
That's when suspect produced the revolver and fired one shot into Carson's cheek, Kelly said.
The gunman fled to 3rd Street, where an officer who had heard a description on his radio spotted him and ordered him to stop, Kelly said. The suspected gunman threw his revolver to the ground and was arrested on the edge of the New York University campus.
Police found the mortally wounded victim on the pavement. He was pronounced dead at Beth Israel Hospital.
Authorities said they could not immediately identify Morales because he was carrying forged identification. But investigators learned his name after the forged ID was submitted to the department's Facial Recognition Unit.
Of the other recent New York bias attacks on gay men, one was reported last week on nearby Christopher Street, where a 35-year-old man told police he was beaten up and heard anti-gay words after leaving a bar.
On May 10, two men trying to enter a billiards hall on West 32nd Street were approached and beaten by a group shouting homophobic slurs, police said.
And on May 5, a man and his partner were beaten near Madison Square Garden after a group of men wearing Knicks shirts hurled anti-gay slurs at them.
The commissioner said Saturday that police were looking into possible links between the incidents.
Multiple lawmakers have condemned the violence.
"I am horrified to learn that last night, a gay man was murdered in my district after being chased out of a Greenwich Village restaurant and assailed by homophobic slurs," New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said. "I stand with all New Yorkers in condemning this attack."
The Democratic mayoral candidate said there was a time in New York when hate crimes were common ? when two people of the same gender could not walk down the street arm in arm without fear of violence and harassment.
But "we refuse to go back to that time," she said. "This kind of shocking and senseless violence, so deeply rooted in hate, has no place in a city whose greatest strength will always be its diversity."
New York State Sen. Brad Hoylman, a Democrat whose district includes Manhattan's West Side, called on New Yorkers "to unite against hate and gun violence."
And State Assemblywoman Deborah Glick declared that "New York is not open for bigotry."
The New York City Anti-Violence Project plans to gather on Friday night for what it calls a "Community Safety Night."
Another week on the books means another week's worth of beautiful items. From structures made out of salt to Venice's beautiful beachfront facades, here are some of our favorite architecture and design posts from the past seven days.
Alt-week takes a look at the best science and alternative tech stories from the last seven days.
If we're to find a common thread in this week's collection of stories, it'd be nature's guiding hand. How it inspires science, how we seek to imitate it, and how unnatural the future of policing could be. This is alt-week,
Contact: Aimee Frank newsroom@gastro.org 301-941-2620 Digestive Disease Week
Innovation for healthy outcomes presented at DDW 2013
Orlando, FL (May 18, 2013) The use of a smartphone application significantly improves patients' preparation for a colonoscopy, according to new research presented today at Digestive Disease Week (DDW). The preparation process, which begins days in advance of the procedure, includes dietary restrictions and requires specific bowel preparation medication to be taken at strict intervals. The better the preparation, the easier it is for doctors to see cancer and precancerous polyps in the colon. The study, which was conducted by the gastroenterologists of Arizona Digestive Health in Phoenix, featured the first doctor-designed app of its kind.
"Getting ready for a colonoscopy is difficult. There are a lot of steps," said Nilay Kavathia, MD, a gastroenterology fellow at Phoenix VA, who is one of the application's developers. "For patients, having an interactive, simplified and personalized app on their phone is like having a doctor at their side throughout the process."
In the study comparing the quality of bowel preparation by patients who used the app and those who did not, Dr. Kavathia found that 84 percent of individuals who used the app received a good score on the nine-point Boston Bowel Preparation Scale. By contrast, only 56 percent of those who didn't use the app received a good score. The results, which correspond with health technology trends, show how advances in smartphones are helping physicians achieve better patient outcomes.
To help increase quality bowel preparation, Dr. Kavathia worked with Dr. Paul Berggreen, the president of Arizona Digestive Health, to develop the "Arizona Digestive Health" app. Patients enter the date and time of the procedure and the bowel preparation medication chosen by their physician. Timed alerts then appear on the phone to remind the individual of the next step in bowel preparation. In addition to the alerts, the app offers information explaining the procedure, tips and pictures of preparation quality. It is available for free download.
Dr. Kavathia would like to build upon his findings by studying individual outcomes of patients who use an app to get ready for a colonoscopy. "We know that better prep means a better colonoscopy," he said, "and now we know that this app improves prep. This finding has huge implications for treatment, patient satisfaction and further research in how the use of technology can impact healthy outcomes."
A colonoscopy serves as a screening test for colorectal cancer and allows a doctor to look for polyps, or precancerous growths, in the colon and rectum. When men and women are considered together, colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S. and the third most common cancer for both sexes. Colonoscopies for average risk patients are recommended beginning at age 50.
The success of a colonoscopy depends greatly on the quality of bowel preparation by the patient. Inadequate preparation can force cancellation of an exam or can result in a compromised exam in which polyps go undetected, an increase in procedure time and more frequent surveillance.
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Dr. Kavathia will present data from the study "Outcomes of smart phone application assisted bowel preparation for colonoscopy," abstract 143c, on Saturday, May 18, at 2:30 p.m. ET in Room 203AB of the Orange County Convention Center.
Digestive Disease Week (DDW) is the largest international gathering of physicians, researchers and academics in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery. Jointly sponsored by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute, the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) and the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (SSAT), DDW takes place May 18 to 21, 2013, at the Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, FL. The meeting showcases more than 5,000 abstracts and hundreds of lectures on the latest advances in GI research, medicine and technology. More information can be found at http://www.ddw.org.
Follow us on Twitter @DDWMeeting; hashtag #DDW13. Become a fan of DDW on Facebook
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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.
Contact: Aimee Frank newsroom@gastro.org 301-941-2620 Digestive Disease Week
Innovation for healthy outcomes presented at DDW 2013
Orlando, FL (May 18, 2013) The use of a smartphone application significantly improves patients' preparation for a colonoscopy, according to new research presented today at Digestive Disease Week (DDW). The preparation process, which begins days in advance of the procedure, includes dietary restrictions and requires specific bowel preparation medication to be taken at strict intervals. The better the preparation, the easier it is for doctors to see cancer and precancerous polyps in the colon. The study, which was conducted by the gastroenterologists of Arizona Digestive Health in Phoenix, featured the first doctor-designed app of its kind.
"Getting ready for a colonoscopy is difficult. There are a lot of steps," said Nilay Kavathia, MD, a gastroenterology fellow at Phoenix VA, who is one of the application's developers. "For patients, having an interactive, simplified and personalized app on their phone is like having a doctor at their side throughout the process."
In the study comparing the quality of bowel preparation by patients who used the app and those who did not, Dr. Kavathia found that 84 percent of individuals who used the app received a good score on the nine-point Boston Bowel Preparation Scale. By contrast, only 56 percent of those who didn't use the app received a good score. The results, which correspond with health technology trends, show how advances in smartphones are helping physicians achieve better patient outcomes.
To help increase quality bowel preparation, Dr. Kavathia worked with Dr. Paul Berggreen, the president of Arizona Digestive Health, to develop the "Arizona Digestive Health" app. Patients enter the date and time of the procedure and the bowel preparation medication chosen by their physician. Timed alerts then appear on the phone to remind the individual of the next step in bowel preparation. In addition to the alerts, the app offers information explaining the procedure, tips and pictures of preparation quality. It is available for free download.
Dr. Kavathia would like to build upon his findings by studying individual outcomes of patients who use an app to get ready for a colonoscopy. "We know that better prep means a better colonoscopy," he said, "and now we know that this app improves prep. This finding has huge implications for treatment, patient satisfaction and further research in how the use of technology can impact healthy outcomes."
A colonoscopy serves as a screening test for colorectal cancer and allows a doctor to look for polyps, or precancerous growths, in the colon and rectum. When men and women are considered together, colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S. and the third most common cancer for both sexes. Colonoscopies for average risk patients are recommended beginning at age 50.
The success of a colonoscopy depends greatly on the quality of bowel preparation by the patient. Inadequate preparation can force cancellation of an exam or can result in a compromised exam in which polyps go undetected, an increase in procedure time and more frequent surveillance.
###
Dr. Kavathia will present data from the study "Outcomes of smart phone application assisted bowel preparation for colonoscopy," abstract 143c, on Saturday, May 18, at 2:30 p.m. ET in Room 203AB of the Orange County Convention Center.
Digestive Disease Week (DDW) is the largest international gathering of physicians, researchers and academics in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery. Jointly sponsored by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute, the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) and the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (SSAT), DDW takes place May 18 to 21, 2013, at the Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, FL. The meeting showcases more than 5,000 abstracts and hundreds of lectures on the latest advances in GI research, medicine and technology. More information can be found at http://www.ddw.org.
Follow us on Twitter @DDWMeeting; hashtag #DDW13. Become a fan of DDW on Facebook
[ | 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.
May 16, 2013 ? Raising hopes for cell-based therapies, UC San Francisco researchers have created the first functioning human thymus tissue from embryonic stem cells, in the laboratory. The researchers showed that, in mice, the tissue can be used to foster the development of white blood cells the body needs to mount healthy immune responses and to prevent harmful autoimmune reactions.
The scientists who developed the thymus cells -- which caused the proliferation and maturation of functioning immune cells when transplanted -- said the achievement marks a significant step toward potential new treatments based on stem-cell and organ transplantation, as well as new therapies for type-1 diabetes and other autoimmune diseases, and for immunodeficiency diseases.
Starting with human embryonic stem cells, UCSF researchers led by Mark Anderson, MD, PhD, an immunologist, and Matthias Hebrok, PhD, a stem-cell researcher and the director of the UCSF Diabetes Center, used a unique combination of growth factors to shape the developmental trajectory of the cells, and eventually hit upon a formula that yielded functional thymus tissue.
The result, reported in the May 16, 2013 online edition of the journal Cell Stem Cell, is functioning tissue that nurtures the growth and development of the white blood cells known as T cells. T cells are a central immune cell population that responds to specific disease pathogens and also prevents the immune system from attacking the body's own tissues.
The thymus might be a bit obscure to the layperson -- it's a small gland at the top of the chest beneath the breastbone -- but it is in no way expendable, as individuals with defective thymus function succumb to infection early in life.
Given the invasive nature of cell therapy, which remains completely experimental, the first treatments using laboratory-derived thymus tissue would likely be studied in patients with fatal diseases for which there are no effective treatments, Anderson said. For example, one early treatment might be for the genetic disease DeGeorge syndrome, in which some newborns are born without a thymus gland and die in infancy.
However, a potentially greater impact may be in the area of tissue transplantation, a goal of the emerging field of stem-cell based therapies. Stem-cell-based therapies now are limited by the potential for the immune system to reject transplanted stem cells, Anderson said. For transplantation, stem cells might be coaxed down two developmental pathways simultaneously, to form both thymus tissue and a replacement organ. Transplantation of both might overcome the rejection barrier without the need for harmful immunosuppression, according to Anderson.
"The thymus is an environment in which T cells mature, and where they also are instructed on the difference between self and non-self," Anderson said. Some T cells are prepared by the thymus to attack foreign invaders -- including transplants, while T cells that would attack our own tissues normally are eliminated in the thymus.
In the same vein, thymus tissue might one day be used to retrain the immune system in autoimmune diseases in which the immune system abnormally attacks "self," thereby enhancing recognition and protecting from immune destruction.
Researchers have discovered many of the proteins and growth factors that are switched on during the course of embryonic development and that are crucial to organ formation. Hebrok has spent years trying to develop insulin-secreting beta cells, a part of the pancreas that is destroyed during the course of diabetes.
The sequential appearance of specific marker proteins within cells as they develop into the distinct organs of the gastrointestinal tract serves as a series of milestones, which has helped orient Hebrok and others as they seek to guide the formation of distinct tissues.
Hebrok likens the quest for organ specific cells, including thymus cells and the elusive pancreatic beta cell, to an adventurous road trip. The pancreas and the thymus branch off the gastrointestinal tract in different places, but they share certain developmental markers.
To get to thymus cells, the researchers tried dozens of protocols, timing the switching on of the key factors differently each time. "If we used one factor for a day longer or shorter it would not work," Hebrok said. With the milestones misplaced, "It would be like driving down the highway and missing your exit."
The researchers caution that they have not perfectly replicated the thymus, and that only about 15 percent of cells are successfully directed to become thymus tissue with the protocol used in the study.
Even so, Anderson said, "We now have developed a tool that allows us to modulate the immune system in a manner that we never had before."
Additional study authors include UCSF Diabetes Center postdoctoral fellows Audrey Parent, PhD, Holger Russ, PhD; and graduate students Imran Khan, Taylor LaFlam, and Todd Metzger.
For the second time in as many weeks, the Internet usage in Syria disappeared mysteriously around 10 a.m. local time Wednesday with little to no warning. More??
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After losing to UFC champions Anderson Silva and Jon Jones, Chael Sonnen called out Wanderlei Silva for a bout. Silva responded on Fuel's "UFC Tonight," and his words just may gross you out.
"Jon Jones and Anderson Silva have been too nice to Chael. I want to suck his blood. I want to smell it. Not just fight ? I want to hurt him. Chael is a joke, man. He?s going to be second forever. He?s never going to be first," Silva said to Ariel Helwani.
MMA is a bloody sport, and we're used to seeing blood cover fighters, their clothes and canvases. But we are not vampires, sparkly or otherwise. Blood sucking, Wanderlei? Really? Perhaps Wand is a fan of the "Twilight" novels, but let's keep the vampire aspects out of MMA and in young adults novels, OK?
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With no sign of an end to three mushrooming scandals, the White House acknowledged the rising political dangers on Wednesday by launching a concerted effort at damage control.
In a whirlwind few hours, the administration moved forcefully to counter criticism of its handling of the deadly attacks in Benghazi, Libya, the seizure of reporters' phone records in a Justice Department leak investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups for extra scrutiny.
In the most aggressive response, President Barack Obama ousted the acting IRS commissioner on Wednesday evening.
It was the sort of concerted response that Obama's political allies had been waiting for, but Republicans' skeptical reaction shows that Obama has a long way to go to dig his way out of the scandals and build goodwill as he tries to salvage his second-term legislative agenda.
"This was a belated acknowledgment that Obama is in trouble," said Jack Pitney, a politics professor at Claremont McKenna College in California. "The question is whether it was too little, too late."
After a largely scandal-free first term, the administration had been slow to respond decisively to the growing criticism - mostly from Republican foes but in some cases from Democrats - in the three controversies.
Days of deflecting blame by administration officials had sparked criticism of Obama's willingness to accept responsibility. During a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday afternoon with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Republicans repeatedly attacked the administration for not being forthright on the emerging scandals.
"I believe there has been a pattern by this administration in not taking responsibility for failures, avoiding blame, pointing the fingers in somebody else's direction," said U.S. Representative Steve Chabot, a Republican from Ohio.
But Obama, known for his deliberative style and an aversion to overreacting, decided on Wednesday it was time to fight back.
Appearing at the White House, he said the administration had forced the resignation of acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller and he strongly condemned the agency's apparent targeting of conservative groups for extra scrutiny. He promised to cooperate with Congress in an investigation.
Obama's appearance came shortly after the White House released a series of emails detailing discussions about the now famous "talking points" memos that U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice used when discussing the September 11, 2012, attacks that killed four Americans in Benghazi.
'POLITICAL DAMAGE CONTROL'
Those emails had been the focus of Republican criticism that the Obama administration had not been forthright about the nature of the attack on a diplomatic compound by Islamic militants.
Hoping to defuse criticism about the secret seizure of phone records from Associated Press journalists, the administration sought to revive a 2009 media shield bill sponsored by Democratic Senator Charles Schumer of New York.
The bill would give federal protection to reporters who decline to reveal their confidential sources, but would also allow national security needs to outweigh those journalists' rights.
Nobody expected the White House response to put an end to the controversies, but it showed the administration was finally willing to openly confront the potential political fallout.
"They clearly have realized it's time to mount political damage control," said Bruce Buchanan, a political scientist at the University of Texas.
"You can't just stay quiet and take it, although it does fit Obama's personal style of not foaming at the mouth every time something goes wrong, which is actually something people seem to like about him," he said.
Pitney said the Obama administration appeared to be caught off-guard by the scandals, which have not taken the classic form of a public official caught with his hand in the fiscal till.
"They perhaps didn't anticipate that scandal can take many forms," he said. "They obviously did not see this coming and they weren't prepared for this kind of controversy."
Republicans plan to press congressional investigations of all three incidents in a growing political assault that could still overwhelm Obama's effort to work with his political rivals on immigration reform and looming budget negotiations.
With congressional elections approaching in 2014, any longstanding political damage also could hurt Democrats' efforts to maintain control of the Senate and retake the majority in the House.
But without additional evidence of wrongdoing that traces directly to the White House, Buchanan said, the three scandals may not resonate widely with voters over the long term.
"I don't think they are in trouble except in D.C.," he said. "There might be something there but in the absence of a smoking gun it will blow over."
Microsoft vs Sony vs Nintendo. ?Console vs. mobile. Hardcore vs. casual. ?PC vs. console. ?Am I missing any?
If you follow all the hype around the new consoles, apparently Nintendo is dying and Sony will beat out Microsoft depending on the DRM requirements. ?Yeah, sure, I understand where this is going. ?We have to compare, say something is better than another and all that. ?But isn?t it sort of a waste of time?
Looking at the current generation, I had two consoles, a handheld device, a computer, a tablet and a mobile phone. ?Yes, I know that I?m yuppie scum, but am I really that abnormal? ?Most people I know (gamers and non-gamers alike) have at least a computer, phone and tablet, plus a console. ?That?s four platforms for gaming, and they are all used for gaming to at least some degree. ?Then we have hard core gamers, who will definitely buy at least one console ? but probably two!
Sure, there is a battle between Microsoft and Sony, but isn?t there already brand loyalty? ?The gamer who has been using the PS3 will most likely buy a PS4 ? maybe due to the exclusive releases, or familiarity with the remote, or simply loyalty to PS. ?The same goes for the Xbox. ?As a wide sweeping generalization (and yes, I know I?m going to get flak for this), PS is for those who are more interested in RPGs and Action/Adventure genres while Xbox is for FPS players ? just look at the exclusive releases.
And then there?s Nintendo. ?Most people I know have a Wii ? whether they like gaming or not. ?What is to say it will be any different with the Wii U? ?It may not be the ?main? console in the house, but I?d wager that most gamers will end up with one, if only to play a few titles a year. ?It has unique features and certain games will simply be better on it ? plus ZombieU 2 is coming, as it Wii Fit U.
Then there is the issue of mobile gaming. ?People keep saying mobile gaming will kill PC gaming, or is it the other way around? ?Just like handheld devices are separate from consoles, mobile games are simply a new platform for different types of games. ?No one would sit and play angry birds on their next-gen console, and I doubt any phone or tablet could run a full-length RPG. ?As long as there have been phones, people have played games on them ? I certainly killed hours on my original Nokia playing snake. ?This isn?t a new concept ? it?s been around for a while and it isn?t going anywhere. ?Bigger and better games may come to mobile devices, but the same is true of consoles and PCs.
Which brings me to the humble computer. ?No matter how great consoles get, there will always be the PC gamer. ?In fact, the feud between PC and console gamers is far older and way more bitter than the feud between consoles. ?But you know what, both are still going strong. ?Some games are simply more enjoyable on the computer ? and easier to distribute. ?Some people?s lives are configured in such a way that they can only play games on consoles.
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Despite numerous feuds, the industry keeps going. ?Like the battle between Coke and Pepsi, or Apple and Microsoft, or McDonalds and Burger King (which Burger King is totally gonna win in South Africa) ? the battle is both inevitable and inconsequential. ?Plenty of people are going to buy consoles, most likely more than one. ?They will also still use computers, tablets and mobile phones. ?Like the Cold War, there won?t really be any battle, and in the end, consumerism will win.
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Public release date: 18-May-2013
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After losing to UFC champions Anderson Silva and Jon Jones, Chael Sonnen 
