Round two of candidate finance reports | EdNewsColorado

Wide gaps in dollars raised by school board candidates in Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties appear little changed in a second round of campaign finance reports filed with the Secretary of State?s Office on Friday.

In Denver, at-large candidate Happy Haynes is edging closer to a new fundraising record, reporting a total of $230,037 raised as of Oct. 23 in her quest to fill the citywide seat being vacated by Theresa Pe?a, who is term-limited.

Haynes, a former Denver City Council president and school district administrator, still has one more reporting period for the current election, covering Oct. 24 through Nov. 26. That third and final report, due Dec. 1, could show Haynes surpassing the $240,605 record set by at-large candidate Mary Seawell in 2009.

Friday?s filings cover the past three weeks, from Oct. 7 to Oct. 23, and show the nine candidates for three Denver school board seats raised a combined total of $133,982 during that time. Altogether, the candidates have raised nearly $790,000 so far in their campaigns to govern the city school district.

More than half of that money is coming in for just three candidates ? Haynes, Anne Rowe and Jennifer Draper Carson. Each has raised more than twice the total of her nearest competitor.

For example, among Haynes? four opponents for the at-large seat, the closest in dollars on hand is high school teacher Frank Deserino, with $17,290. Most of that he donated to himself.

Three Denver ?reform? candidates share more big donors

The top fundraiser for the recent three-week reporting cycle was Draper Carson, who is seeking to unseat incumbent Arturo Jimenez to represent District 5 northwest Denver on the board. Draper Carson raised $52,680, bringing her total to $177,440.

Jimenez reported raising an additional $8,595 in the second reporting cycle, for a total of $68,073.

Emily Sirota, a candidate for the District 1 seat representing southeast Denver, raised the second-highest amount in the recent reporting period, with $29,331. That brings her total to $87,293.26.

Her opponent, Rowe, reported raising $20,525 for a cumulative total of $196,845.

Haynes, Draper Carson and Rowe, who have been endorsed by Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and other groups supportive of the reforms of Denver Schools Superintendent Tom Boasberg, share big donors.

In the first filing period, five men combined to give each candidate $82,000. Those contributors are Daniel Ritchie, CEO of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts; Henry Gordon, president of Strata Capital; Kent Thiry, CEO of DaVita Inc.; CU President Bruce Benson; and Scott Reiman of Hexagon Investments.

In the second reporting period, Richard Sapkin of Edgemark Development gave Draper Carson $10,000. He previously had given that amount to Haynes and to Rowe. So six donors have now combined to give each of the three candidates $92,000.

In addition, Michael Fries of Liberty Media gave $20,000 to Draper Carson during the second reporting cycle. He previously had given that amount to Rowe.

Teachers? union still biggest contributor to two DPS candidates

Sirota and Jimenez share the endorsement of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association, and the union?s small donor committee is also their biggest donor.

• Learn more about candidates for Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties by clicking on the EdNews Election Center

Sirota received additional DCTA contributions of $14,000 in the second reporting period, bringing her DCTA total to $46,580 ? or more than half of her total financial take. That doesn?t include the $24,860 in non-monetary contributions she?s received from the union, in members canvassing on her behalf.

Other contributors in the second reporting cycle included Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, Sirota?s former boss, who donated $250 and headlined a fundraiser for her, and friends and family from outside the state such as Adam McKay, an actor and writer in LA, who?s given $6,000.

Jimenez, who previously received $24,000 from the DCTA and $6,000 from the statewide teachers union, the Colorado Education Association, reported no more financial contributions from teachers? unions in the second reporting period.

He did list $7,400 in non-monetary contributions from the DCTA, in members canvassing for his re-election. That brings his total non-monetary contributions from the DCTA to $15,720.

Jimenez also has received $1,000 from the AFL-CIO and $250 from the Fraternal Order of Police, bringing his total monetary contributions from unions to $31,250. His biggest contributor in the second reporting cycle was Rob Alvarado, CEO of Palo Alto Inc., who gave $3,000.

DENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS AT-LARGE RACE

Daniel

John Daniel

• Daniel did not file a second campaign finance report so all numbers are for the first reporting period.
• Total money raised: $244
• Total spent: $237
• Remaining balance: $7
• Non-monetary contributions: 0
• Largest donation to date: $244
• Donors of note: Donor figures add up to more than $244; expenditures add up to $237, which Daniel lists as paying himself for advertising
• Link to finance report

Candidates listed in alphabetical order

Deserino

Frank Deserino

• Total money raised: $17,290 ? $16,790 first filing period, $500 second filing period
• Total spent: $17,793.43 ? $13,057.14 first filing period, $4,736.29 second filing period
• Remaining balance: (-$503.43)
• Non-monetary contributions: 0
• Largest donation to date: $15,500
• Donors of note: Deserino donated $15,500 to his campaign; Denver school board member Jeannie Kaplan, $200; Retired CU professor William Juraschek, $200
• Key expenditures: $3,545 to Robin Van Ausdall for consulting services
• Link to finance report

Candidates listed in alphabetical order

Haynes

Allegra ?Happy? Haynes

• Total money raised: $230,037 ? $213,789 first filing period, $16,248 second filing period
• Total spent: $194,654.03 ? $119,855.40 first filing period, $74,798.63 second filing period
• Remaining balance: $35,382.97
• Non-monetary contributions: $36,326.38, including $31,191.04 Stand for Children in Denver, canvassing and staff support, and $4,062.60 Great Schools for Great Kids, staff support
• Largest donation to date: $26,000
• Donors of note: Dan Ritchie, CEO of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, $26,000; Henry Gordon, president of Strata Capital in Englewood, $25,000; Kent Thiry, CEO of DaVita Inc., $11,000; former Denver Public Schools Superintendent Evie Dennis, $150; former state Sen. Regis Groff, $100
• Key expenditures: $50,500 to Terra Strategies of Des Moines for consulting services, $49,516.35 to Ridder/Braden Inc. for printed materials and design, $19,754.73 to C&D Printing for printing and postage
• Link to finance report

Candidates listed in alphabetical order

Kilgore

Roger Kilgore

• Total money raised: $9,841 ? $8,464 first filing period, $1,377 second filing period
• Total spent: $9,632.90 ? $7,507.15 first filing period, $2,125.75 second filing period
• Remaining balance: $208.10
• Non-monetary contributions: 0
• Largest donation to date: $3,000
• Donors of note: Kilgore donated $3,000 to his campaign; Realtor Candidate Political Action Committee, $300
• Key expenditures: $2,727.66 to Campaign Products of the Rockies for advertising
• Link to finance report

Candidates listed in alphabetical order

Shumway

Jacqui Shumway

• Total money raised: $2,523.97 ? $2,033.97 first filing period, $490 second filing period
• Total spent: $1,852.47 ? $1,852.47 first filing period, 0 second filing period
• Remaining balance: $671.50
• Non-monetary contributions: $880, use of personal cell phone for campaign and website maintenance
• Largest donation to date: $1,500
• Donors of note: Shumway donated $1,500 to her campaign and transferred $493.97 from her 2009 school board campaign committee
• Key expenditures: $1,631 for signage
• Link to finance report

DENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS ? DISTRICT 1 SOUTHEAST DENVER

Rowe

Anne Rowe

• Total money raised: $196,845 ? $176,320 first filing period, $20,525 second filing period
• Total spent: $149,108.04 ? $100,607.65 first filing period, $48,500.39 second filing period
• Remaining balance: $47,736.96
• Non-monetary contributions: $18,236.51, including $15,663.21 Stand for Children in Denver, canvassing and staff support, and $2,031.30 Great Schools for Great Kids, staff support
• Largest donation to date: $26,000
• Donors of note: Dan Ritchie, CEO of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, $26,000; Henry Gordon, president of Strata Capital in Englewood, $25,000; Kent Thiry, CEO of DaVita Inc., $25,000; Michael T. Fries, CEO of Liberty Media, $20,000; CU President Bruce Benson, founder of Benson Mineral Group, $10,000; former state lawmaker Pat Pascoe, $100; political consultant Eric Sondermann, $50
• Key expenditures: $36,650 to Colorado Voter Contract for campaign field services, $12,338.16 to BC Printing for mailers and cards, $10,000 to Tyson Organization for phone calls
• Link to finance report

Candidates listed in alphabetical order

Sirota

Emily Sirota

• Total money raised: $87,293.26 ? $57,962.26 first filing period, $29,331 second filing period
• Total spent: $62,109.93 ? $27,716.15 first filing period, $34,393.78 second filing period
• Remaining balance: $25,183.33
• Non-monetary contributions: $25,162.64 ? $11,676.48, including $11,200 to Denver Classroom Teachers Association for canvassing, first filing period; $13,846.16, including $13,660 to Denver Classroom Teachers Association for canvassing, second filing period
• Largest donation to date: $46,580
• Donors of note: Denver Classroom Teachers Association, small donor committee, $46,580 (doesn?t include non-monetary gifts); Adam McKay, actor/writer, Los Angeles, $6,000; Leo Hindery, managing partner of InterMedia, New York, $5,000; Denver school board member Jeannie Kaplan, $2,352; Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, $250; State Sen. Morgan Carroll, $75
• Key expenditures: $19,772.07 to Campaign Products of the Rockies for yard signs, printing, postage; $12,500 to Amanda Snipes, consulting services; $10,000 to Rocky Mountain Voter Outreach for canvassing
• Link to finance report

DENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS ? DISTRICT 5 NORTHWEST DENVER

Draper Carson

Jennifer Draper Carson

• Total money raised: $177,440 ? $124,760 first filing period, $52,680 second filing period
• Total spent: $152,347.67 ? $103,712.14 first filing period, $48,635.53 second filing period
• Remaining balance: $25,092.33
• Non-monetary contributions: $21,839.43, including $16,657.18 from Stand for Children in Denver, canvassing and staff support, and $4,062.60 from Great Schools for Great Kids, staff support
• Largest donation to date: $26,000
• Donors of note: Dan Ritchie, CEO of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, $26,000; Henry Gordon, president of Strata Capital in Englewood, $25,000; Michael Fries, Liberty Media in Englewood, $20,000; Kent Thiry, CEO of DaVita Inc., $11,000; Richard Sapkin, Edgemark Development, $10,000; Denver Scholarship Fund founding donor Timothy Marquez, Veneco, $2,000; Blueflower Fund, small donor committee supporting female Democratic candidates, $250
• Key expenditures: $50,237.50 to Terra Strategies of Des Moines for consulting services, $18,716.36 to Ridder/Braden for consulting and mail services
• Link to finance report

Candidates listed in alphabetical order

Jimenez

Arturo Jimenez

• Total money raised: $68,073 ? $59,478 first filing period, $8,595 second filing period
• Total spent: $57,614.16 ? $40,210.45 first filing period, $17,403.71 second filing period
• Remaining balance: $13,398.07 (includes $2,939.23 from prior school board campaign fund)
• Non-monetary contributions: $16,232.90, including $15,720 from Denver Classroom Teachers Association, canvassing
• Largest donation to date: $24,000
• Donors of note: Denver Classroom Teachers Association, small donor committee, $24,000 (does not include non-monetary donations); Colorado Education Association, small donor committee, $6,000; Rob Alvarado, CEO of Palo Alto Inc., $3,000; AFL-CIO, small donor committee, $1,000; Denver school board member Jeannie Kaplan, $1,440.94; Colorado Fraternal Order of Police, small donor committee, $250
• Key expenditures: $28,642.18 to C&D Printing for campaign materials, $12,166.66 to Dave Sabados for campaign management
• Link to finance report

DOUGLAS COUNTY ? DISTRICT A

Meek

Susan Meek

• Total money raised: $3,732.96 ? $3,062.97 first filing period, $669.99 second filing period
• Total spent: $2,679.63 ? $402.78 first filing period, $2,276.85 second filing period
• Remaining balance: $1,053.33
• Non-monetary contributions: 0
• Largest donation to date: $1,000
• Donors of note: Jim Christensen, former Douglas County schools superintendent, $1,000
• Key expenditures: $1,073.92 for campaign postcards
• Link to finance report

Candidates listed in alphabetical order

Reilly

Kevin Reilly

• Total money raised: $2,823.46 ? $2,725.68 first filing period, $97.78 second filing period
• Total spent: $1,300.92 ? $1,276.39 first filing period, $24.53 second filing period
• Remaining balance: $1,522.54
• Non-monetary contributions: $63.85, campaign kickoff party
• Largest donation to date: $350
• Donors of note: Sarah Mann, chair of the Douglas County Democratic Party, $350; Reilly loaned himself $858.19
• Key expenditures: $507.43 for business cards and brochures
• Link to finance report

Candidates listed in alphabetical order

Richardson

Craig Richardson

• Total money raised: $20,900 ? $20,700 first filing period, $200 second filing period
• Total spent: $16,936.36 ? $1,725.75 first filing period, $15,210.61 second filing period
• Remaining balance: $3,963.64
• Non-monetary contributions: $1,045.79, including $1,016.24 from Douglas County Republican Central Committee for mailer
• Largest donation to date: Two donations of $10,000 each
• Donors of note: Ed McVaney, founder and former CEO of J.D. Edwards software corp., $10,000; Ralph Nagel, president of Top Rock investments, $10,000; Richardson donated his campaign $500; Marge Knutson, retired, Franktown, $100
• Key expenditures: $15,080.41 to Wiz Bang Solutions for mailers
• Link to finance report

DOUGLAS COUNTY ? DISTRICT C

Frances

Gail Frances

• Total money raised: $3,739.34 ? $2974.34 first filing period, $765 second filing period
• Total spent: $2,607.65 ? $1,425.32 first filing period, $1,182.33 second filing period
• Remaining balance: $1,131.69
• Non-monetary contributions: $123.84, including $63.85, campaign kickoff party
• Largest donation to date: Two donors gave $250
• Donors of note: Daniel Galloway, attorney in Lone Tree, $250; Sarah Mann, chair of the Douglas County Democratic Party, $250; Frances has loaned her campaign $556.80
• Key expenditures: $423 for yard signs
• Link to finance report

Candidates listed in alphabetical order

Larsen

Kevin Larsen

• Total money raised: $20,820.23 ? $20,105 first filing period, $715.23 second filing period
• Total spent: $16,993.76 ? $1,796.90 first filing period, $15,196.86 second filing period
• Remaining balance: $3,826.47
• Non-monetary contributions:$1,045.79, including $1,016.24 from Douglas County Republican Central Committee for mailer
• Largest donation to date: Two donations of $10,000 each
• Donors of note: Ed McVaney, founder and former CEO of J.D. Edwards software corp., $10,000; Ralph Nagel, president of Top Rock investments, $10,000; current Douglas County School Board President John Carson, $100; Gerald Stueven, Platte River Academy principal, $100
• Key expenditures: $15,080.41 to Wiz Bang Solutions for mailers
• Link to finance report

DOUGLAS COUNTY ? DISTRICT F

McMahon

Susan McMahon

• Total money raised: $11,029.30 ? $8,444 first filing period, $2,585.30 second filing period
• Total spent: $8,670.88 ? $7,957.78 first filing period, $713.10 second filing period
• Remaining balance: $2,358.42
• Non-monetary contributions: $6,530.36, including $3,125 each from John and Ronda Funchess for video
• Largest donation to date: $1,000
• Donors of note: Deborah Hill of Castle Rock, not currently employed, $1,000; Jerri Hill, attorney, Parker, $435; Sarah Mann, chair of the Douglas County Democratic Party, $275; Blueflower Fund, small donor committee supporting female Democratic candidates, $200; State Sen. Evie Hudak, $25
• Key expenditures: $4,991.13 to C&D Printing for mailers
• Link to finance report

Candidates listed in alphabetical order

Williams

Justin Williams

• Total money raised: $21,785 ? $20,820 first filing period, $965 second filing period
• Total spent: $17,208.49 ? $2,535.63 first filing period, $14,672.86 second filing period
• Remaining balance: $4,576.51
• Non-monetary contributions: $1,245.79, including $1,016.24 from Douglas County Republican Central Committee for mailer
• Largest donation to date: Two donations of $10,000 each
• Donors of note: Ed McVaney, founder and former CEO of J.D. Edwards software corp., $10,000; Ralph Nagel, president of Top Rock investments, $10,000; current Douglas County School Board President John Carson, $100
• Key expenditures: $15,080.41 to Wiz Bang Solutions for mailers
• Link to finance report

JEFFERSON COUNTY ? DISTRICT 3

Branaugh

Preston Branaugh

• Total money raised: $8,855 ? $7,795 first filing period, $1,060 second filing period
• Total spent: $1,132.10 ? $308.15 first filing period, $823.95 second filing period
• Remaining balance: $7,722.90
• Non-monetary contributions: 0
• Largest donation to date: Two donors gave $1,000 each
• Donors of note: John Coors of Evergreen, CEO of CoorsTek and part of the Coors brewery family, $1,000; Andy Hoover of Littleton, retired, $1,000; Ron Ellis, Englewood, $300; Mountain Republican Women, $250; U.S. Congressman Mike Coffman, $100; Colorado State Board of Education member Debora Scheffel, $50
• Key expenditures: $570 to Tactical Data Solutions for fundraising expenses
• Link to finance report

Candidates listed in alphabetical order

Fellman

Jill Fellman

• Total money raised: $43,581 ? $31,096 first filing period, $12,485 second filing period
• Total spent: $40,343.66 ? $11,632.73 first filing period, $28,710.93 second filing period
• Remaining balance: $3,237.34
• Non-monetary contributions: $55.97, most in the form of pencils
• Largest donation to date: Three donors gave $1,000 each
• Donors of note: Jonathan Abramson, attorney, $1,000; Kelly Johnson of Golden, no occupation, $1,000; John Sands, attorney, $1000; Realtor Candidate political action committee, $500; U.S. Congressman Ed Perlmutter, $250; Jane Goff, former Jeffco board member and current State Board of Education member, $200; Hereford Percy, former Jeffco board member and current chair of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, $200; Jefferson County Democratic Party, $50
• Key expenditures: $19,723.64 to C&D Printing for postage
• Link to finance report

JEFFERSON COUNTY ? DISTRICT 4

Dahlkemper

Lesley Dahlkemper

• Total money raised: $54,592 ? $42,422 first filing period, $12,170 second filing period
• Total spent: $33,673.40 ? $19,788.43 first filing period, $13,884.97 second filing period
• Remaining balance: $20,918.60
• Non-monetary contributions: 0
• Largest donation to date: $2,500
• Donors of note: Greg Stevinson, Denver West Properties, $2,500; John Sands, attorney, $2,450; Robert Benson, AMBP, $2,000; Blueflower Fund, a small donor committee supporting female Democratic candidates, $350; U.S. Congressman Jared Polis, $250; U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, $200
• Key expenditures: $13,433.34 to Colorado Data Mail for fliers, postcards and thank you cards
• Link to finance report

Candidates listed in alphabetical order

Powers

Jim Powers

• Total money raised: $8,595 ? $8,370 first filing period, $225 second filing period
• Total spent: $1,619.76 ? $795.81 first filing period, $823.95 second filing period
• Remaining balance: $6,975.24
• Non-monetary contributions: 0
• Largest donation to date: $1,000
• Donors of note: Andy Hoover of Littleton, retired, $1,000; Mountain Republican Women, $250; Tim Cuthriell, retired, Morrison, $200
• Key expenditures: $570 to Tactical Data Solutions for fundraising expenses
• Link to finance report

Source: http://www.ednewscolorado.org/2011/10/29/27464-round-two-of-candidate-finance-reports

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Kirsten Dunst, Orlando Bloom re-team for "Cities" (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) ? Kirsten Dunst and Orlando Bloom will co-star in Roger Donaldson's "Cities."

The pair teamed up once before for Cameron Crowe's critically maligned "Elizabethtown," with decidedly uneven results.

They join a previously announced Clive Owen and Anil Kapoor in the thriller, a genre that Donaldson, the director of "No Way Out" and "Thirteen Days," has had success with in the past.

Matthew Metcalfe and Chris Curling will produce.

Lisa Wilson's Parlay Films is handling international rights to the film that is set to shoot in Spring 2012. The film will shoot in multiple cities, including London, Mumbai and New York.

After a post-"Spider-Man" career hiatus, Dunst has been re-establishing herself in the industry with a series of roles in independent films such as Lars von Trier's "Melancholia" and "All Good Things."

Bloom is currently filming Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" and has a supporting role in the box-office disappointment "The Three Musketeers."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111029/people_nm/us_kirstendunst

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Cell Phones, But Not Tablets, OK for Youngest Teens, Poll Finds (LiveScience.com)

The appropriate age for a child to receive his or her first cell phone has been long been debated. A majority of the respondents in a new online poll say that between the ages of 13 and 15 is best.

The survey by opinion community site SodaHead.com involved 1,066 respondents of various ages, including teenagers. ?Most said they believe cell phones are suitable for early teens to own but that tablets and smartphones shouldn?t be given out until the recipient is old enough to drive.

Fifty-four percent of the respondents believed children should receive their first cell phone between the ages of 13 and 15, while 24 percent said that children 12 and under should have a phone. About 22 percent said cell phones should be given out only to those ages 16 and older.?

Married respondents were more than twice as likely as singles to believe that kids should wait until 16 to get their first cell phone, the poll found.?About 33 percent of parents believed 16 is the appropriate age for a phone, while only 17 percent of those who are unmarried said a child should have to wait that long.

When it comes to more expensive high-tech products such as smartphones and tablets, the majority of respondents believed kids shouldn?t own smartphones (66 percent) and tablets (67 percent) until they are 16.

Surprisingly, 64 percent of teen respondents also said teenagers should have to wait until they are 16 to get their first tablet.? But only 8 percent of teens believed they should have to wait until 16 for their first cell phone.

SodaHead did not provide a margin of error for its poll findings.

This story was provided by TechNewsDaily , a sister site to LiveScience.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20111028/sc_livescience/cellphonesbutnottabletsokforyoungestteenspollfinds

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'Hunger Games' Posters, Rue's Song & Peeta Vs. Gale

"Hunger Games" fans, today is your day. Want an exclusive look at a new poster of Josh Hutcherson's Peeta? We've got it. How about some talk from Amandla Stenberg about playing Rue in the Gary Ross-directed picture? Got that too, plus more!
Click past the jump to satisfy all of your "Hunger Games" needs!
Posters Galore
Brand new [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2011/10/27/hunger-games-posters-rues-song-peeta-gale/

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Codecademy Raises $2.5 Million To Teach You How To Code

The term "hot startup" gets bandied about pretty frequently. But there are few companies it applies to more than Codecademy, a startup which, of all things, teaches you how to program. Today, the company is announcing that it's raised $2.5 million from an all-star roster to continue that mission. The $2.5 million funding round was led by Union Square Ventures, with participation from O'Reilly AlphaTech, Thrive Capital, SV Angel, Yuri Milner, Social + Capital Partnership (Chamath Palihapitiya), Founder Collective (Chris Dixon), CrunchFund, Collaborative Fund (Craig Shapiro),Joshua Schacter, Vivi Nevo, Dave Morin, Sam Altman, Ruchi Sanghvi & Aditya Agarwal, and Naval Ravikant. It also includes GroupMe founders Jared Hecht and Steve Martocci ??which is notable because Codecademy cofounder Zach Sims was a GroupMe employee shortly before leaving to help start Codecademy.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/EuWGnZobNhE/

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7 dead after semi-truck slams into minivan in Ind.

BRISTOL, Ind.?? A tractor-trailer slammed into the back of a packed minivan in northern Indiana late Thursday, killing at least seven people and sending four other to hospitals, authorities said.

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The minivan was carrying 10 people when it was hit along the Indiana Toll Road near Bristol, just south of the Michigan border, according to Indiana State Police. Witness accounts suggest that the minivan may have hit a deer, then slowed or stopped in the eastbound lanes before it was hit from behind by the tractor-trailer, police said.

Seven of the minivan's occupants died at the scene and the other three were taken to hospitals, including two who were airlifted. The driver of the tractor-trailer also was hospitalized.

None of the victims' names has been released. The conditions of those who survived also haven't been released.

State Police spokesman Sgt. Trent Smith said early Friday that the minivan had an Illinois license plate, and the truck had a Wisconsin tag. Both vehicles ended up in the center median, blocking traffic in both directions.

"That's not to say that the driver of the truck was from Wisconsin or the driver of minivan was from Illinois, but that's where the vehicles were registered," Smith said.

No other vehicles were involved in the accident, which was reported shortly before 8 p.m. Thursday. The crash shut down the toll road, though it was reopened just before midnight.

Other details weren't immediately available, Smith said.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45071878/ns/us_news/

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Gut bacteria linked to MS

Questions remain about how autoimmune disorder is triggered

Web edition : Wednesday, October 26th, 2011

The spark that ignites multiple sclerosis may come from within. A new study in mice points to normal intestinal bacteria as a trigger for the immune disorder.

In patients with multiple sclerosis, the body?s immune system attacks the brain, stripping away a protective sheath called myelin from nerve cells. This causes inflammation that leads to the disease. Although the exact causes of MS are not known, scientists generally agree that a genetic predisposition combines with one or more environmental triggers to set off the attack on the brain. The new study provides evidence that friendly bacteria may be one of those triggers.

Mice genetically engineered to develop multiple sclerosis?like symptoms don?t get the disease when raised without any bacteria in their guts, a research team from Germany reports online October 26 in Nature. But germ-free mice that were then colonized with intestinal bacteria quickly developed the disease, the team found. About 80 percent of mice with intestinal bacteria developed MS-like symptoms, but none of the germ-free mice did.

The result is not a total surprise. Previous reports had indicated that gut bacteria might be involved in autoimmune disorders such as MS, juvenile diabetes and arthritis, says Simon Fillatreau, an immunologist at the German Rheumatism Research Center in Berlin. ?So maybe it was expected, but that it is really such a black-and-white response? Probably not,? says Fillatreau, who was not involved in the study. ?It?s very big news.?

Despite their possibly nefarious role in multiple sclerosis, intestinal bacteria are not generally bad guys, says Amy Lovett-Racke, a neuroimmunologist at Ohio State University in Columbus. Gut bacteria help the immune system mature properly and interact with the immune system all the time. ?Most of the time, those immune responses are very good and even protective,? she says. ?We?re all colonized with bacteria in our guts and most of us lead normal, healthy lives.?

Researchers need to figure out whether multiple sclerosis is caused by a faulty immune system that reacts inappropriately to gut bacteria, or if some specific bacterium sets off the chain reaction.

Gurumoorthy Krishnamoorthy and Hartmut Wekerle of the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried, Germany, and their colleagues used the genetically engineered mice to try to figure out the series of events that might connect gut bacteria to the immune system?s attack on the brain. Something happens in the gut to stir up immune cells called T cells. The riled-up T cells then leave the gut and travel to lymph nodes in the neck where they meet up with antibody-producing immune cells called B cells. The T cells produce chemicals that help B cells mature and prepare to attack myelin. Then, both types of immune cells travel to the brain and spinal cord and begin fraying the myelin coating on nerves, the researchers propose.?

It?s not clear, however, how gut bacteria prompt T cells to ramp up, or which of the hundreds of species of bacteria in the intestines might be responsible.

?I don?t personally believe that one type of bacteria will do the job,? says Krishnamoorthy. He thinks the overall mix of bacteria may be important. The researchers are beginning systematic work to try to narrow down their vast pool of suspect bacteria. Preliminary evidence suggests that some type of Clostridium may be involved, but it is still too early to say for sure, he says.

Found in: Genes & Cells

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/335561/title/Gut_bacteria_linked_to_MS

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Coinstar's 3Q earnings soar, Redbox prices to rise (AP)

SAN FRANCISCO ? Redbox's DVD rental kiosks are attracting movie lovers fed up with Netflix's video subscription service. But now Redbox's owner, Coinstar Inc., is risking its own customer backlash by raising its prices, the same move that triggered Netflix's recent loss of 800,000 U.S. subscribers.

The plot twist emerged Thursday in Coinstar's latest quarterly report. The company's earnings nearly doubled, largely because of robust growth at Redbox's more than 34,000 rental kiosks.

But the strong performance was upstaged by Redbox's decision to raise prices for standard DVDs by 20 percent beginning Monday.

The new rental rate will be $1.20 per day, instead of the current $1 daily rate. Redbox prices will remained unchanged for Blu-ray discs at $1.50 per day and video games at $2 per day.

Redbox's change isn't as jarring as what Netflix did last month, when it hiked prices as much as 60 percent and then irked subscribers even more by announcing a now-aborted plan to split its DVD rentals from its Internet video streaming service.

But it spooked investors, especially because Redbox appears to be picking up customers still stewing over the higher prices at Netflix. Coinstar's shares plunged 10 percent in Thursday's extended trading.

Unlike Netflix, Redbox tested the price increases in several cities during the past year to see how they would change rental patterns. Management concluded there only would be a slight drop-off in DVD rentals.

"We didn't take this lightly," Coinstar CEO Paul Davis said in a Thursday interview with The Associated Press.

Coinstar, which is based in Bellevue, Wash., is charging more to help offset higher expenses for DVDs and processing debit card transactions.

Netflix raised its prices in hopes of generating more revenue to license more movies and TV shows for streaming over high-speed Internet connections. The plan backfired, though, leaving Netflix on track to start losing money next year as it tries to repair a badly damaged brand.

Coinstar Inc. earned $37.1 million, or $1.18 per share, in the three months that ended in September. That compared with $19.5 million, or 60 cents per share, at the same time last year.

The results for the latest quarter blew by the average estimate of 88 cents per share among analysts surveyed by FactSet.

The company's revenue rose 22 percent from last year to $466 million, about $3 million above analyst projections. The Redbox kiosks were Coinstar's main attraction; revenue in the rental division climbed 28 percent in the quarter to $390 million.

Although Davis said the company couldn't know for certain, it appeared Netflix's customers losses are turning into Redbox's gains.

As an indication that more people may have been renting from Redbox for the first time, Davis told The Associated Press that the number of unique credit cards used at the kiosks in July through September increased by 8 percent from the previous quarter.

By Coinstar's reckoning, Redbox surpassed the market share of Netflix's DVD-by-mail service for the first time during the third quarter. Coinstar said it ended September with a U.S. market share of nearly 35 percent compared to 33 percent for Netflix and other DVD-by-mail services. A year ago, Coinstar pegged its market share at 24 percent with Netflix and other DVD-by-mail services at nearly 36 percent.

Netflix expects the shift to continue as it focuses more on its video streaming service. Netflix predicted it may end December with 10.3 million DVD subscribers, down 25 percent, or 3.6 million, from the end of September.

"We always try to roll out the red carpet for customers who may feel disenfranchised," Davis said during an interview with the AP.

With another potential influx of former Netflix subscribers looming, Coinstar expects its revenue to rise as high as $510 million in the fourth quarter. But the company doesn't expect to make as much money in the holiday season as it did in the third quarter because a slew of year-end DVD releases of popular movies will drive up its expenses. Coinstar predicted its fourth-quarter earnings will range from 57 cents per share to 67 cents per share.

Analysts had projected fourth-quarter earnings of 78 cents per share on revenue of $483 million.

Coinstar's shares fell $5.30 to $47.65 in extended trading after the results were released. If the sell-off holds in Friday's regular trading, it will wipe out most of the gains Coinstar's stock has made since Netflix raised its prices.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/earnings/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111028/ap_on_hi_te/us_earns_coinstar

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Mothers trial begins in disputed '01 Iowa killing (AP)

FORT DODGE, Iowa ? Jurors chosen Tuesday to hear a first-degree murder case in Iowa will be asked to decide whether the mother on trial killed her 20-year-old neighbor in 2001 in self-defense or as part of an apparent plot to frame her first husband for a crime.

Six men and six women will hear the case against Tracey Richter, 45, who now lives in Omaha. Opening statements are expected Wednesday.

Richter's attorney, Scott Bandstra, repeatedly told potential jurors questioned Tuesday that his client shot and killed Dustin Wehde on Dec. 13, 2001 at her home in Early, a small town 100 miles northwest of Des Moines, but did so in self-defense.

He asked jurors whether they kept guns for self-protection or opposed them and whether they would use them to protect their children or judge anyone who did.

"If the evidence shows she was being assaulted at the time, is there anyone here who believes that Ms. Richter should not have protected herself and her children on Dec. 13, 2001?" Bandstra asked.

One man said he would question "was it necessary to go that far?" depending on the circumstances but others did not speak up.

Richter says two men broke into her home and assaulted her before she was able to get guns from a safe and shoot Wehde nine times with two weapons, leaving him dead on her bedroom floor as the second man fled. She said she acted to protect her children, ages 11, 3 and 1.

But prosecutors insist Richter never was a victim.

They say she killed Wehde and planted a notebook in his car suggesting he was a hit man hired by an ex-husband she had feuded with for years. At the time of the killing, they were in a custody dispute over their 11-year-old son.

Richter was charged this year after the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation took a fresh look at the case and developed new evidence, including a forensic expert who concluded the final three shots came as Wehde was face down on the ground.

District Judge Kurt L. Wilke said the trial is expected to last more than a week at the Webster County courthouse in Fort Dodge, where the case was moved after the defense argued Richter could not get a fair trial near Early. Richter, a Chicago native, moved to Early with her second husband Michael Roberts in the late 1990s.

Michael Roberts and Richter have since divorced. He wrote in an email to The Associated Press that he thinks Wehde was "simply a prop" used by Richter in a scheme to frame her first husband. After they filed for divorce in 2004, she later suggested Roberts also could have been involved in the home invasion.

The pink notebook found in the front seat of Wehde's car after his death is expected to be a point of contention at the trial.

In it, Wehde wrote he was hired by a "mysterious fellow" named John Pitman, a Virginia plastic surgeon whose divorce from Richter was finalized in 1996, to kill her and her 11-year-old son, Bert. Investigators have said while the entry was in Wehde's handwriting, they never believed it was credible or that Wehde was actually a hit man, and they kept the existence of the notebook and its contents a secret.

Investigators say that an acquaintance of Pitman later came forward and said Richter told her shortly after the shooting that authorities had found the notebook and would soon be arresting Pitman.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111025/ap_on_re_us/us_hero_mom_or_killer

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Lung Cancer Deaths Unchanged by Annual Chest X-Rays (LiveScience.com)

Patients at high risk for lung cancer who are screened annually with chest X-rays are no less likely to die from the disease, a large trial has found.

The new results come following a separate study that found screening patients instead with computed tomography (CT) scans does decrease the lung cancer death rate. Together, the findings suggest that X-ray screening for lung cancer should be abandoned in favor of CT scanning, researchers say.

X-ray screening is less expensive, and has a lower rate of false positives (findings that seem to indicate cancer, but later turn out not to be) than CT scans. But previous studies of X-ray screening, done in the 1970s and 1980s, found no benefit to chest X-rays in terms of reducing lung cancer deaths.

Still, those studies were smaller and harder to draw conclusions from. The new study included 155,000 patients and followed them for up to 13 years.

"We've now got a bigger study, much more well-designed, with much longer follow-up," said Philip Prorok of the National Cancer Institute, an author of the new study. "And still, the effect of X-ray screening is null."

The results were presented today (Oct. 26) at the annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians, in Honolulu, Hawaii, and published online in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Before CT scans

The new study was conceived in 1988, Prorok said, before CT scans were used as a screening tool. The idea was to put together a large enough trial that clinicians could detect even a small change in the death rate from annual chest X-rays.

Previous studies "were all very small, and if there was a small positive effect of screening with X-rays, the studies wouldn't have detected it," Prorok said.

Between 1993 and 2001, men and women at high risk of lung cancer between the ages of 55 and 74 were recruited at 10 locations around the country. Half were assigned normal courses of care, which involves no screening test for lung cancer, and the other half were offered annual chest X-rays for four years. All patients were then followed for the remainder of the study period, or up to 13 years.

The results revealed no significant difference in mortality between the two groups. ?During the follow-up period, 1,213 people who received X-rays, and 1,230 people who didn't, died of lung cancer.

The final results of a separate study ? the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) ? showed that high-risk patients who received CT scans had a 20 percent decrease in lung cancer deaths, compared with patients who received X-rays. The findings were published Aug. 4 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Toward annual screening

The new study complements the findings of the NLST, said Dr. Harold Sox, of Dartmouth Medical School, who wrote editorials accompanying both studies in the journal.

"Now you have one study that compared CT scans with chest X-rays, and another study that compared chest X-rays with nothing," Sox said. "So now we're in a position to make a pretty good guess about the potential impact of CT scans compared with doing nothing, which is the current standard practice."

The conclusion that X-rays provide no benefit in lung cancer mortality over no screening puts the final nail in the coffin for X-ray screening, Sox said. And the next questions are whether and how CT scanning should be implemented.

"Where we go to now is a serious consideration of whether to screen people at high risk of lung cancer using low-dose CT," Sox said. "People will have to wrestle with the question of should we do this or not."

In the NLST, 96 percent of positive screening test results turned out to be false alarms, and false alarms can bring unnecessary further testing, such as biopsies.

Further studies, he said, will have to analyze different frequencies of scanning, which patient populations are most helped out, and whether there is a cost benefit.

"The takeaway message from our study is that screening for lung cancer using chest X-rays is not an effective tool," Porok said. "People who are at high risk for lung cancer and want to get screened should talk to their physicians, and consider CT scans."

Pass it on: ?Annual chest X-rays are not an effective way to screen for lung cancer. CT scans, however, show promise.

This story was provided by MyHealthNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience. Follow MyHealthNewsDaily on Twitter @Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/cancer/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20111026/sc_livescience/lungcancerdeathsunchangedbyannualchestxrays

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J. Michael Welton: Turning Data into Art

For Wired magazine executive editor Thomas Goetz, it was an opportunity to transform mountains of data into meaningful art.

With Adobe, he curated InForm: Turning Data into Meaning on AMDM, an online exhibit of the works of ten graphic artists that shows how significant digital information is in people's lives -- of how our social lives are digitally quantified.

"Basically, I wanted to use the digital medium of the web to show data visualization -- to show it in a new and robust way," he says. "I landed on showing how digitalized people's lives are, through Skype, tweets and Facebook -- the part of our lives we do online."

He sought not just to depict the visualization of online data, but the beautiful and compelling aspects of it as well. For example, one artist graphically depicts the number of tweets broadcast in the minutes leading up to New Year's Day in Amsterdam -- and then the dramatic and exuberant spikes in tweets just as the new year arrives. (See the data here.)

"When you go online, you think you're spending time in a digital reality -- that's the conventional wisdom," he says. "You think it's not much more meaningful than if you're watching television. But that's changing -- now you can actually see what you're doing."

As curator, one of his challenges lay in finding the artists and designers who could take that experience and turn it into something beautiful visually. He found a number of them from the pages of his own magazine, and the exhibit celebrates a new generation of visual pioneers -- part graphic designer, part statistician, part artist -- who have a facility for turning data into meaning.

The commissioned images are based on data sets gathered from across the Internet centering on three themes: Wikipedia as a crowd-sourced network with constantly evolving data; how the Twitter platform of followers, interactions and re-tweeting ranks its various users; and the impact and fluidity of an online financial social network.

See more about the exhibit here.

For more by J. Michael Welton, visit his Web site.

?

Follow J. Michael Welton on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mikewelton

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/j-michael-welton/data-visualization-art_b_1033443.html

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Hours after release, Michael Lohan back in jail

TAMPA, Fla.?? The estranged father of actress Lindsay Lohan was back in police custody Thursday, hours after being released from a Tampa jail on domestic violence charges.

Tampa police responded to a 911 call from Michael Lohan's on-and-off girlfriend early Thursday. Kate Major told police Lohan, 51, made a harassing phone call to her shortly after being released from jail Wednesday afternoon.

Lohan called again while police were at Major's condo. Major, 28, put the call on speaker so police could listen. After hearing what Lohan said, the police department notified the Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office of a violation of Judge Walter Heinrich's pre-trial release orders that he stay away from Major and an arrest order was authorized.

Police went to the Tahitian Inn in Tampa, where Lohan was reportedly staying. According to a news release from police, Lohan spotted the officers and jumped off a third-floor balcony in an attempt to escape.

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Lohan was arrested after a short pursuit on foot. He was taken into police custody and taken to the Hillsborough County Jail. There, deputies suspected he may have broken his foot when he jumped off the balcony, so he was taken to Tampa General Hospital for evaluation.

Authorities said he will be returned to the jail once he's been cleared by doctors.

Lohan was arrested Tuesday on domestic violence charges involving Major, a former reporter for the Star tabloid. Police say he grabbed her arms and pushed her down multiple times during a daylong argument. When Lohan was released from jail Wednesday, he said he "didn't do anything" and the charges were Major's way of making money.

The St. Petersburg Times reported that Lohan claimed Major set him up to be overheard by police Thursday. "She needs help, she calls me, and I'm a sucker so I call her back. I'm an idiot," Lohan said as he was being put into the back of a police cruiser.

In July, a misdemeanor domestic violence charge against Lohan stemming from a fight with Major was dismissed in Los Angeles after she failed to show up for the trial. Lohan's attorney said Major declined to cooperate to avoid a court spectacle.

Lohan has a history of arrests in New York over allegations of harassment from ex-girlfriends.

Meanwhile, his daughter Lindsay Lohan could also return to jail in California after a judge last week ruled she violated probation involving a community service assignment. A Nov. 2 court date was set to decide whether Lindsay Lohan should be jailed.

The 25-year-old actress was given probation for a 2007 drunken driving case and a misdemeanor theft case this year.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45059571/ns/today-entertainment/

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Wall Street extends losses after consumer data (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? Stocks extended losses on Tuesday after data showed consumer confidence tumbled to its lowest level since March 2009.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) was down 122.16 points, or 1.03 percent, at 11,791.46. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) was down 15.45 points, or 1.23 percent, at 1,238.74. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) was down 29.79 points, or 1.10 percent, at 2,669.65.

(Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Theodore d'Afflisio)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111025/bs_nm/us_markets_stocks

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Jennifer Lopez Concert Tears: Explained, Depicted

Yes, Jennifer Lopez really did break down during a concert in Connecticut on Saturday night. But not for the reason many outlets are reporting.

Because the incident took place following a rendition of "Until It Beats No More," and because Lopez talked a lot about love before and after the tears flowed, most people have been assuming J. Lo was lamenting her recent split with Marc Anthony.

But sources tell TMZ the water works were NOT a result of any break-up. Instead, the jumbotron at Mohegan Sun flashed THIS PHOTO of Jennifer and her twins and it was just too much to take. Consequently, we were treated to a rare moment of raw emotion from a celebrity. Watch it unfold below:

Jennifer Lopez Cries During Concert

UPDATE: In a new interview with Extra, Jennifer said she cried because she saw her mom in the audience. Either way, what a sweet, emotional glimpse at the star.

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/10/jennifer-lopez-concert-tears-explained-depicted/

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Vatican investigating sex abuse claims at UK abbey

LONDON?? The Vatican has ordered an inquiry into decades of sexual abuse by clerics at a Benedictine abbey in London, whose former head monk has disappeared while facing allegations of sexual assault.

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Ealing Abbey runs St. Benedict's School, a private Catholic institution whose former pupils have made allegations of abuse dating back to the 1960s.

A former headmaster, Father David Pearce, was jailed in 2009 for abusing boys at the school over a 35-year period. He was dubbed the "devil in a dog collar" by one of his victims.

Father Laurence Soper, who was abbot of Ealing between 1991 and 2000, was arrested last year on suspicion of sexual assault. He is the subject of an international manhunt after jumping bail in March.

The Vatican confirmed Tuesday it had launched an investigation, known as an apostolic visitation.

Bishop John Arnold and the Right Rev. Richard Yeo, president of the English Benedictine Congregation, visited Ealing Abbey last month as part of the Vatican inquiry, according to Eddie Tulasiewicz, spokesman for the Catholic diocese of Westminster.

St. Benedict's School is holding its own inquiry into the scandal, led by lawyer Lord Carlile, and his report is due to be published soon.

London's Metropolitan Police said police are trying to trace Soper, the former abbot arrested and bailed last year on suspicion of "historic sexual assault."

Ealing's current abbot, Martin Shipperlee, said earlier this month that in March, Soper "left the monastery in Rome where he had been living to travel to London for an appointment with the police."

"Unfortunately he failed to keep that appointment and we have heard nothing from him since and all efforts to contact him have been without success," Shipperlee said in a statement.

The wide-ranging clergy abuse scandal has shaken the Catholic church, from the Vatican to parishes around the world. Thousands of victims have spoken out about priests who molested children, bishops who covered up for them and Vatican officials who turned a blind eye to the problem for decades.

Britain, where Catholics make up about 10 percent of the population, has been less traumatized than neighboring Ireland, a once-devoutly Catholic nation whose faith has been profoundly shaken by the scale of the abuse. There, judge-led investigations have revealed how tens of thousands of children suffered repeated abuses in workhouse-style residential schools.

___

Associated Press writer Victor L. Simpson in Rome contributed to this report.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45028835/ns/world_news-europe/

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Research finds gallium nitride is non-toxic, biocompatible - holds promise for implants

Research finds gallium nitride is non-toxic, biocompatible - holds promise for implants

Monday, October 24, 2011

Researchers from North Carolina State University and Purdue University have shown that the semiconductor material gallium nitride (GaN) is non-toxic and is compatible with human cells ? opening the door to the material's use in a variety of biomedical implant technologies.

GaN is currently used in a host of technologies, from LED lighting to optic sensors, but it is not in widespread use in biomedical implants. However, the new findings from NC State and Purdue mean that GaN holds promise for an array of implantable technologies ? from electrodes used in neurostimulation therapies for Alzheimer's to transistors used to monitor blood chemistry.

"The first finding is that GaN, unlike other semiconductor materials that have been considered for biomedical implants, is not toxic. That minimizes risk to both the environment and to patients," says Dr. Albena Ivanisevic, who co-authored a paper describing the research. Ivanisevic is an associate professor of materials science and engineering at NC State and associate professor of the joint biomedical engineering program at NC State and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Researchers used a mass spectrometry technique to see how much gallium is released from GaN when the material is exposed to various environments that mimic conditions in the human body. This is important because gallium oxides are toxic. But the researchers found that GaN is very stable in these environments ? releasing such a tiny amount of gallium that it is non-toxic.

The researchers also wanted to determine GaN's potential biocompatibility. To do this they bonded peptides ? the building blocks that make up proteins ? to the GaN material. Researchers then placed peptide-coated GaN and uncoated GaN into cell cultures to see how the material and the cells interacted.

Researchers found that the peptide-coated GaN bonded more effectively with the cells. Specifically, more cells bonded to the material and those cells spread over a larger area.

"This matters because we want materials that give us some control over cell behavior," Ivanisevic says. "For example, being able to make cells adhere to a material or to avoid it.

"One problem facing many biomedical implants, such as sensors, is that they can become coated with biological material in the body. We've shown that we can coat GaN with peptides that attract and bond with cells. That suggests that we may also be able to coat GaN with peptides that would help prevent cell growth ? and keep the implant 'clean.' Our next step will be to explore the use of such 'anti-fouling' peptides with GaN."

###

"Gallium Nitride is Biocompatible and Non-Toxic Before and After Functionalization with Peptides," is forthcoming from Acta Biomaterialia and was co-authored by Ph.D. students Scott A. Jewett and Matthew S. Makowski; undergraduate Benjamin Andrews; and Michael J. Manfra

North Carolina State University: http://www.ncsu.edu

Thanks to North Carolina State University for this article.

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

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/114556/Research_finds_gallium_nitride_is_non_toxic__biocompatible___holds_promise_for_implants

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Jobs says Bill Gates "unimaginative" in his biography (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Steve Jobs called long-time rival and Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates as "unimaginative" and not really a product person, according to a biography of the deceased Apple Inc chief executive.

"Bill is basically unimaginative and has never invented anything, which is why I think he's more comfortable now in philanthropy than technology," Jobs told author Walter Isaacson. "He just shamelessly ripped off other people's ideas."

"He'd be a broader guy if he had dropped acid once or gone off to an ashram when he was younger," Jobs added.

The biography "Steve Jobs" by Isaacson hits bookstores on Monday, but was released earlier-than-expected on Apple's iBooks and Amazon.com's Kindle late Sunday.

Gates, for his part, was slightly envious of Jobs' mesmerizing effect in people but found the technology icon "weirdly flawed as a human being."

But Gates, despite his differences with Jobs, enjoyed his frequent visits to Apple's office in Cupertino, especially when he got to watch Jobs' interaction with his employees, according to the biography.

"Steve was in his ultimate pied piper mode, proclaiming how the Mac will change the world and overworking people like mad with incredible tensions and complex personal relationships," Gates said.

Isaacson's biography reveals that Jobs refused potentially life-saving cancer surgery for nine months, was bullied in school, tried various quirky diets as a teenager, and exhibited early strange behavior such as staring at others without blinking.

The book paints an unprecedented, no-holds-barred portrait of a man who famously guarded his privacy fiercely but whose death ignited a global outpouring of grief and tribute.

Isaacson, in an interview with "60 Minutes" on CBS on Sunday, provided more insight on Jobs' personality and character traits.

While Jobs revolutionized multiple industries with his cutting-edge products, he was not the world's best manager, Isaacson said.

Jobs changed the course of personal computing during two stints at Apple and then brought a revolution to the mobile market but the inspiring genius is known for his hard edges that have often times alienated colleagues and early investors with his my-way-or-the-highway dictums.

"He's not warm and fuzzy," Isaacson said in the interview. "He was not the world's greatest manager. In fact, he could have been one of the world's worst managers."

"He could be very, very mean to people at times," he added.

Jobs loved to argue but not everyone around him shared that passion, which drove some of his top people away. While his style had yielded breakthrough products, it didn't make for "great management style," Isaacson said.

In one of the more than 40 interviews that Jobs gave the biographer, the technology icon said he felt totally comfortable being brutally honest.

"That's the ante for being in the room. So we're brutally honest with each other and all of them can tell me they think I'm full of shit, and I can tell anyone I think they're full of shit," Jobs said. "And we've had some rip-roaring arguments where we're yelling at each other."

'FEW OTHER VISIONS'

Jobs, who has revolutionized the world of personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet, digital publishing and retail stores, would have liked to conquer television as well, Isaacson said.

"He had a few other visions. He would love to make an easy-to-use television set," said Isaacson, speaking of Job's last two-and-a-half years of life. "But he started focusing on his family again as well. And it was a painful brutal struggle. And he would talk, often to me about the pain."

Jobs, in his final meeting with Isaacson in mid-August, still held out hope that there might be one new drug that could save him. He also wanted to believe in God and an afterlife.

"Ever since I've had cancer, I've been thinking about (God) more. And I find myself believing a bit more. Maybe it's because I want to believe in an afterlife. That when you die, it doesn't just all disappear," Isaacson quoted Jobs as saying.

"Then he paused for a second and he said 'yeah, but sometimes I think it's just like an on-off switch. Click and you're gone," Isaacson said of Jobs. "He paused again, and he said: And that's why I don't like putting on-off switches on Apple devices."

(Editing by Anshuman Daga and Derek Caney)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/applecomputer/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111024/wr_nm/us_apple_jobs

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Swedish dads swap work for child care (AP)

STOCKHOLM ? One of Henrik Holgersson's friends laughed in his face when he told him he was going to spend the better part of 2011 as a stay-at-home dad.

"What kind of a man are you?" the friend asked Holgersson, who works for an event management company. But just about everyone else was positive. His employer and co-workers patted him on the back and wished him luck.

Holgersson took out 240 days of parental leave paid for by the government while his girlfriend, Jenny Karlsson, went back to her job as a real estate agent, after eight months at home with their son Arvid.

"To take care of Arvid is a real fatherly thing to do. I think that's very masculine," said Holgersson, 34, gently rocking his 1-year-old son's stroller on a walk around the block near his apartment in southern Stockholm.

Holgersson's experience isn't unusual here, largely because Sweden encourages dads to stay at home with their newborn through a parental leave policy that is among the most generous in the world.

While more than a dozen countries now offer paid paternity leave, usually for a couple of weeks, Sweden subsidizes such leave for up to 14 months.

In Sweden, men pushing strollers ? sometimes in twos or threes ? have become part of the landscape. Baby changing stations are typically found in both men's and women's restrooms. Brawny men with Viking tattoos can be overheard discussing their "pappaledighet," Swedish for daddy leave, over a pint in the pub.

Parents share 480 days of paid parental leave for each child, courtesy of the government. The benefits amount to 80 percent of the stay at home parent's salary for the first 390 days, but no more than 910 kronor ($135) a day. Thereafter the amount drops to 180 kronor ($30) a day for the remaining period.

Mothers are still taking more leave than fathers, but things are changing. In 2000, Swedish men took out only 12.4 percent of the parental leave; by last year their share had nearly doubled to 23.1 percent, according to government statistics.

Though there is widespread agreement that the gap should close even more, Swedes so far have resisted calls by women's rights activists for a compulsory 50-50 split.

However, Sweden has introduced incentives and rules to encourage men to take more time off with their babies.

To qualify for the maximum benefits, couples must split the parental leave so that one of them takes at least 60 days. (Single parents ? male or female ? can take out the full 480 days on their own.)

In addition, the government awards an "equality bonus" in the form of tax breaks that are proportional to how evenly couples split the parental leave. A household with a 50-50 division qualifies for a maximum deduction of 13,500 kronor ($2,000).

Even at a time when Europe's debt crisis is leading to painful austerity cuts across the continent, Sweden's parental leave benefits appear safe. The economy is in relatively good shape, the budget is balanced and the government would commit political suicide if it scaled back on a program embraced by Swedes across all income brackets.

Foreigners often grow to appreciate it, too.

"I think it's great, I'm a huge fan of it. Here is the Swedish state subsidsdizing it for both parents. It's almost too good to be true," said Joel Sherwood, a 35-year-old American living in Sweden.

He took more than six months off work to stay home with his daughter, Mary Lee. When he told his friends back home, they were flabbergasted that his employer was OK with it, and that the government would foot the bill.

"The more you get into the details of it, the more floored they get," Sherwood said.

In the U.S. there is no nationwide policy for government-subsidized parental leave. Some states, including California and New Jersey, have begun adopting such policies, but most parents are instead offered 12 weeks of unpaid leave. Some companies offer paid leave to their employees.

When state-subsidized parental leave was introduced in Sweden in 1974, women took nearly all of the parental leave. Men would wash dishes and fold the laundry, but child-rearing was considered a female domain.

Four years later, the government launched an advertising campaign featuring national weightlifting champion Lennart Dahlgren to convince fathers you could stay home with a child and still be a real man. The poster of a smiling Dahlgren cradling a baby in his muscular arms remains an iconic image in Sweden.

A milestone was crossed in 1995 when the government started earmarking one month of parental leave benefits for each parent. Seven years later it was increased to two months. Then came the equality bonus that further encouraged men to take daddy leave.

Roger Klinth, a researcher on gender issues at Linkoping University, said the legislative changes have helped normalize the idea of men taking care of children in Sweden.

"You're not different anymore ... you're a part of the political system," he said.

There is widespread agreement in Sweden that it doesn't matter for a child's development whether the primary caretaker is a man or a woman. Suggesting the contrary, especially in this gender-equality conscious country, can be highly controversial.

Child psychologist Eva Sternberg provoked an outcry last year when she blamed an increase in accidents involving toddlers on the growing numbers of stay-at-home dads. Men are preconditioned through evolution to hunt and are not fit to replace women as caretakers, especially in the first year of a baby's life, she argued in a newspaper column that drew a flood of angry responses.

"There is no special gene that makes women more suited to provide comfort and care than men, just like men are no better equipped to drive a car or lead a company," replied Lars Ohly, leader of Sweden's opposition Left Party.

Such attitudes can seem foreign to the growing number of immigrants in Sweden, who represent about 14 percent of the population.

Jafar Feili, an Iraqi who has been living in Sweden since 1998, said his wife took as much parental leave as possible, while he chose to forgo the two months that were earmarked for him.

Although he supports the Swedish system, Feili said it would have been difficult to explain to friends and family in Iraq if he had chosen to stay at home with the children.

"There's no question about it. They would laugh and make fun of me," he said. "Most men down there are pretty macho and they would say things like 'he's scared of his wife and doesn't dare to open his mouth.' They would think that it was the wife who had decided on something like that."

Half-way through his leave, Holgersson noted a shift in his son's behavior. When both parents were around, Arvid no longer ran to his mother when he hurt himself, but to his father. Holgersson felt as if he had become the caretaker parent, while Karlsson was the "fun" parent that Arvid liked to play with in the evening.

Toward the end of his parental leave, Holgersson had mixed feelings about going back to his job. Though he looked forward to seeing his work colleagues, he knew he would miss the long days of casually playing with Arvid in the playground behind the apartment block.

Holgersson said he had forged an unbreakable bond with his son, learning to recognize Arvid's huffs, snivels and snorts, and what they say about his mood ? or the content of his diaper.

"How could you not want to spend time with this little one?" he said, sharing a hammock with Arvid in the playground. "Yes, I could imagine having another one, too."

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