Business, labor close on deal for immigration bill

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Prospects for a Senate deal on an ambitious rewrite of the nation's immigration laws improved markedly as business and labor appeared ready to set aside their differences over a new low-skilled worker program holding up the agreement.

The AFL-CIO and U.S. Chamber of Commerce had been fighting over wages for tens of thousands of low-skilled workers who would be brought in under the new program to fill jobs in construction, hotels and resorts, nursing homes and restaurants, and other industries. But on Friday, officials from both sides said there was basic agreement on the wage issue, and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said a final deal on the low-wage worker dispute was very close.

That likely would clear the way for Schumer and seven other senators in a bipartisan group to unveil legislation the week of April 8 to overhaul the U.S. immigration system ? strengthening the border, cracking down on employers, allowing in tens of thousands of new high- and low-skilled workers and providing a path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants already in the country.

"We're feeling very optimistic on immigration: Aspiring Americans will receive the road map to citizenship they deserve and we can modernize 'future flow' without reducing wages for any local workers, regardless of what papers they carry," AFL-CIO spokesman Jeff Hauser said in a statement. "Future flow" refers to future arrivals of legal immigrants.

Under the emerging agreement between business and labor, a new "W'' visa program would bring tens of thousands of lower-skilled workers a year to the country. The program would be capped at 200,000 a year, but the number of visas would fluctuate, depending on unemployment rates, job openings, employer demand and data collected by a new federal bureau pushed by the labor movement as an objective monitor of the market.

The workers would be able to change jobs and could seek permanent residency. Under current temporary worker programs, personnel can't move from employer to employer and have no path to permanent U.S. residence and citizenship. And currently there's no good way for employers to bring many low-skilled workers to the U.S. An existing visa program for low-wage nonagricultural workers is capped at 66,000 per year and is supposed to apply only to seasonal or temporary jobs.

The Chamber of Commerce said workers would earn actual wages paid to American workers or the prevailing wages for the industry they're working in, whichever is higher. The Labor Department determines prevailing wage based on customary rates in specific localities, so that it varies from city to city.

There was also disagreement about how to deal with certain higher-skilled construction jobs, such as electricians and welders, and it appears those will be excluded from the deal, said Geoff Burr, vice president of federal affairs at Associated Builders and Contractors. Burr said his group opposes such an exclusion because, even though unemployment in the construction industry is high right now, at times when it is low there can be labor shortages in high-skilled trades, and contractors want to be able to bring in foreign workers. But unions pressed for the exclusion, Burr said.

The low-skilled worker issue had loomed for weeks as perhaps the toughest matter to settle in monthslong closed-door talks on immigration among the senators, including Republicans John McCain of Arizona and Marco Rubio of Florida. The issue helped sink the last major attempt at immigration overhaul in 2007, when the legislation foundered on the Senate floor after an amendment was added to end a temporary worker program after five years, threatening a key priority of the business community.

The amendment passed by just one vote, 49-48. President Barack Obama, a senator at the time, joined in the narrow majority voting to end the program after five years.

___

Follow Erica Werner on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ericawerner

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/business-labor-close-deal-immigration-bill-185315130.html

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Kelly: Gun checks need mental health component

FILE - In a Jan. 30, 2013 file photo Mark Kelly testifies at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, D.C. The daughter of former astronaut Mark Kelly was walking her dog Shiner on Goff Island Beach when the dog bolted, ripping the leash from her hand and fatally attacking a beached baby sea lion Saturday March 23, 2013. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, file)

FILE - In a Jan. 30, 2013 file photo Mark Kelly testifies at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, D.C. The daughter of former astronaut Mark Kelly was walking her dog Shiner on Goff Island Beach when the dog bolted, ripping the leash from her hand and fatally attacking a beached baby sea lion Saturday March 23, 2013. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, file)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Gun control activist Mark Kelly says a proposed national gun background bill under discussion in the Senate should include better access to mental health records that could prevent psychologically disturbed people from obtaining guns.

Kelly, a former astronaut and husband of former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, said Sunday that the suspect accused of severely wounding his wife could not have bought the guns he wielded if a background check had exposed his mental problems.

Jared Loughner pleaded guilty to shooting Giffords and killing six people in Tucson in January 2011. Case records released last week showed Loughner passed a background check despite evidence of his agitated mental state.

Kelly pressed for the proposed background check law in an interview on Fox News Sunday.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-03-31-Gun%20Control-Mark%20Kelly/id-e33a7fdbd9cf45e0b37bee5e52b7da24

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Under Amazon's Wing, Goodreads Plans Closer Integration While ...

Following this afternoon?s announcement that Amazon has agreed to acquire Goodreads, I had a few minutes to talk to the Goodreads CEO Otis Chandler and Amazon VP of Kindle Content Russ Grandinetti. They stayed pretty vague about the two things I was most curious about ? how the deal came together, and the specifics of the planned Kindle/Goodreads integrations ? but they did drop a few hints about future plans.

Chandler (pictured here with his co-founder and wife Elizabeth) said that Kindle integration has been a popular request among Goodreads users, and Grandinetti said he wants to make it ?super easy? to have a social experience on the Kindle device and apps. As for what that will look like, he said, ?We prefer to talk about features when we ship.?

One of the points highlighted by TechCrunch?s Drew Olanoff when he covered the news was the fact that this gives Amazon a social advantage over its e-bookselling competitors, particularly Apple. When I asked if the Amazon acquisition precludes building Goodreads integrations with non-Kindle devices, Grandinetti said the Amazon team ?worked hard at Kindle to make the app work on iOS and Android,? so you?ll be able to access Goodreads features on, for example, your iPad through the Kindle app. (That doesn?t take away from Drew?s point, which was more about the iBookstore. It?s also worth noting that Amazon has acquired a social reading startup before, Shelfari, and that hasn?t led to big breakthroughs on the social front.)

I asked if Goodreads will continue to be closely integrated with Facebook, or if it?s going to be building more of a standalone social experience on Amazon. Chandler replied that Facebook ?will continue to be an important part of Goodreads ? our mission is to help people express themselves through what?s on their bookshelves,? and leveraging Facebook?s enormous user base makes it easier to do that.

Chandler also wrote in his blog post about the acquisition that Goodreads will ?continue offering you everything that you love about the site.? For one thing, he told me that the entire Goodreads team will be staying on, and that it will remain in San Francisco. He said it will operate as an independent subsidiary similar to ?how Zappos and IMDb are run.?

?We?re going to keep hiring and and growing the team,? he added.

Amazon and Goodreads have had some bumps in their relationship in the past ? most notably, back in January of last year, Goodreads switched from Amazon to Ingram as its primary source of book data, because Amazon?s data ?came with many restrictions.? When I brought that up today, Grandinetti said, ?I don?t think any side took any pleasure at the point that [Goodreads] stopped using the API.? Now is the chance to bring Amazon data back to Goodreads and to ?explore whole new areas of discovery and reading,? he said.

Chandler added that one of the downsides of moving away from Amazon was the loss of international data. With the acquisition, Goodreads will have access to that data again.

Speaking of APIs, Chandler said in another interview that Goodreads will continue to offer its own public API and to continue offering a review feed to Kobo.

Goodreads is a world?s largest site for book readers and recommendations. As of December 2011, Goodreads has more than 6,700,000 members who have added more than 230,000,000 books to their shelves. A home for casual readers and bona-fide bookworms alike, Goodreads users recommend books, compare what they are reading, keep track of what they?ve read and would like to read, find their next favorite book, form book clubs and much more. Goodreads was launched in January 2007.

? Learn more

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2013/03/28/amazon-goodreads-interview/

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Mate choice in mice is heavily influenced by paternal cues

Friday, March 29, 2013

Mate choice is a key factor in the evolution of new animal species. The choice of a specific mate can decisively influence the evolutionary development of a species. In mice, the attractiveness of a potential mate is conveyed by scent cues and ultrasonic vocalizations. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Pl?n investigated whether house mice (Mus musculus) would mate with each other even if they were from two populations which had been separated from each other for a long time period. To do this, the researchers brought together mice from a German population and mice from a French population. Although to begin with all the mice mated with one another randomly, the hybrid offspring of French and German parents were distinctly more choosy: they showed a definite preference for mating with individuals from their father's original population. According to the researchers, this paternal imprinting accelerates the divergence of two house mouse populations and thus promotes speciation.

In allopatric speciation, individuals of a species become geographically isolated from each other by external factors such as mountains or estuaries. Over time, this geographic separation leads to the sub-populations undergoing various mutations, and thus diverging genetically. Animals from the two different sub-populations can no longer successfully reproduce, so two new species evolve.

To find out what role partner selection plays in such speciation processes, Diethard Tautz from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology and his colleagues conducted a comprehensive study on house mice ? the classic model organisms of biology. "To investigate whether there are differences in the mating behaviour of the mice in the early stages of speciation, we caught wild house mice in southern France and western Germany. The two populations have been geographically separate for around 3,000 years, which equates to some 18,000 generations," says Diethard Tautz. Due to this geographical separation, the French and German mice were genetically different.

The Pl?n-based researchers created a semi-natural environment for their investigations ? a sort of "Playboy Mansion" for mice. The research enclosure was several square meters in size and was divided up using wooden walls, "nests" made out of plastic cylinders, and plastic tubes. It also featured an escape tube with several entrances, which led into a cage system nearby. "We constructed the enclosure in such a way that all animals had unimpeded access to all areas, but thanks to the structural divisions were also able to create their own territories or retreat into nests," explains Tautz. "The escape tube was a control element. If the mice retreated to it only very seldom ? as was the case in our experiment ? then we could be sure there was no overpopulation in the central enclosure."

In this central enclosure, the French and German mice had both time and space to mate with each other and reproduce. "At first, all the mice mated with each other quite randomly. But with the first-generation offspring, a surprising pattern emerged," says Tautz. When the first-generation hybrid offspring of mixed French and German parentage mated, they showed a specific preference for pure-bred mates whose "nationality" was that of their father only. "There must be some kind of paternal influence that prompts the hybrid mice to choose a mate from a specific population, namely that of their father," concludes the biologist, based on the results of his study. "This imprinting must be learned, however, meaning that the animals must grow up in the presence of their fathers. This was not the case for the original mice, which were kept in cages for a time after being caught."

"We know that mice use ultrasonic vocalizations to communicate with each other and that particularly in the case of male mice these vocalizations can reveal signals of individuality and kinship. We believe that, like birdsong, the vocalizations of the males have a learned component and a genetic component," says Tautz. Therefore, French and German mice really could "speak" different languages, partly learned from their fathers, partly inherited from them. Individual mice thus have a mating preference for mice that speak the same language as they do.

The French and German mouse populations had evidently been geographically separated long enough for preliminary signs of species differentiation to be apparent as regards mating preferences. In addition, another aspect of mating behavior also sped up the speciation process.

Although mice have multiple mates, the researchers found evidence of partner fidelity and inbreeding. The tendency to mate with relatives fosters the creation of genetically uniform groups. When both occur together, this accelerates the speciation process.

In a next step, Diethard Tautz wants to find out whether the vocalizations of the mice play the decisive role in paternal imprinting, or if scent cues are also involved. Furthermore, the biologist wants to identify the genes that are involved in mate selection.

###

Inka Montero, Meike Tesche and Diethard Tautz: "Paternal imprinting of mating preferences between natural populations of house mice (Mus musculus domesticus)", Molecular Ecology (2013), doi: 10.111/mec.122271;

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft: http://www.mpg.de

Thanks to Max-Planck-Gesellschaft 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/127520/Mate_choice_in_mice_is_heavily_influenced_by_paternal_cues

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'American Idol' Report Card: Amber Holcomb Cruises, Angie Miller Crashes

MTV News breaks down the best and worst of Wednesday's homage to the Motor City.
By James Montgomery

Amber Holcomb on "American Idol"
Photo: Getty Images/FOX

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1704495/american-idol-amber-holcomb-angie-miller.jhtml

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CA-BUSINESS Summary

Banks lift TSX on Cyprus calm; index up for quarter

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index powered ahead in a late surge on Thursday, led by strength in financial and industrial shares, on relief that banks in Cyprus reopened relatively smoothly following a bailout deal. The market received further support from BlackBerry after the smartphone maker reported a surprise quarterly profit.

Lazaridis to keep BlackBerry stake, focus on new venture

TORONTO (Reuters) - BlackBerry co-founder Mike Lazaridis said on Thursday he has no plans to sell his stake in the smartphone maker even as he steps down from the board to focus on a new quantum computing investment fund. BlackBerry, formerly Research In Motion, announced the former co-CEO's departure from the board on Thursday as it reported its first quarterly earnings since launching its make-or-break new BlackBerry 10 smartphones.

Hockey helps Canada's economy grow again in January

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's economy bounced back from a year-end slump in January thanks to factories, mines and the return of professional ice hockey, but growth still looks too weak to match the central bank's upbeat outlook and interest rates are unlikely to budge until 2014. Gross domestic product expanded by 0.2 percent in the month, Statistics Canada said on Thursday, following the weakest two quarters since the 2008-09 recession and a 0.2 percent contraction in December.

Boeing CEO urges FAA to return 787 to service, delays continue

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - - Boeing Co Chief Executive Jim McNerney on Thursday urged regulators reviewing battery problems on the company's grounded 787 passenger jet to let the plane back into service, saying he was confident the redesigned battery was safe. He would not specify when he expected the jet to be flying customers again other than saying "sooner rather than later."

BofA markets chief was bank's highest paid executive in '12

(Reuters) - Bank of America Corp's co-chief operating officer, Tom Montag, was once again the bank's highest paid executive in 2012, making $14.5 million in a year in which the bank showed signs of healing. Montag's compensation, which included a $5.46 million bonus and $8.19 million in stock, increased 21 percent to eclipse the $12 million awarded to Chief Executive Brian Moynihan, according to a filing the bank made on Thursday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Oil veteran Gandur plans Canada IPO for Oryx Petroleum

GENEVA (Reuters) - Addax & Oryx Group (AOG), chaired by billionaire Jean Claude Gandur, plans to list its oil exploration subsidiary Oryx Petroleum in Canada, the firm said on its website. Oil industry veteran Gandur was catapulted onto the Forbes rich list in 2009 when he sold Addax Petroleum to Sinopec three years after its IPO.

Exclusive: Cerberus seeks to bankroll investor landlords

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management wants to provide financing to small investment firms that are buying foreclosed homes as part of a long-term bullish bet on the housing recovery, according to four sources familiar with the situation. Cerberus is targeting investment firms that are looking to buy a small number of homes in niche housing markets in the U.S. and rent them out, the sources said. These investors cannot tap the much larger financing deals being put together by banks such as Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse , and Goldman Sachs Group for institutional buyers of foreclosed homes.

Cyprus bank controls to last a month, minister says

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus conceded on Thursday that tight capital controls would remain in force longer than expected as the island's banks reopened for the first time after the government was forced to accept a tough EU rescue package to avoid bankruptcy. Cypriots lined up calmly to withdraw limited amounts of cash, but there was no sign of a run on deposits, as had been feared.

EBay sets aggressive 2015 targets, shares climb

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - EBay Inc foresees annual earnings growth of 15 percent to 19 percent over the next three years, and is targeting an increase in revenue of as much as 68 percent for the period. The aggressive goals drove its shares up more than 4 percent. Executives told analysts at eBay's annual investor day on Thursday that they expect revenue of $21.5 billion to $23.5 billion in 2015, versus $14 billion in 2012, as the company expands globally, focusing more on local commerce and using mobile technology to lure shoppers.

Bank of Canada searches far and wide for Carney's successor

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The search for a new Bank of Canada chief to replace Mark Carney has pitted internal front-runner Tiff Macklem against a range of external candidates as officials look outside the bank for people who may have more hands-on business experience. Most central bank watchers believe Macklem, currently second-in-command at the bank, has outstanding credentials and deserves to take over when his boss leaves.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-business-summary-004845905--finance.html

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What matters (and what doesn't) when buying a gaming desktop ...

Want to game on a PC? Buy a desktop. While notebooks have come a long way over the last decade, they are, to this day, an inherently compromised solution. Fast processors and video cards consume gobs of power and produce tons of heat, so mobile systems have to cut back on performance while packing on the pounds.

That leaves desktops to bear the weight of PC gaming. Even a modest system can put current consoles to shame and run today?s most demanding games at 1080p. Want more? You can have it. The most powerful gaming rigs are several times faster than the least powerful, and every gradation of performance between those extremes is available.

Yet, there?s more to the equation than raw horsepower. Upgradability, storage, and add-on cards also deserve thought. This guide will help you cut through the confusion and buy an amazing gaming desktop computer at a surprisingly low price.?

One size doesn?t fit all

Most gamers start with the hardware inside a computer. We?ll cover that soon enough, but, before we get there, let?s talk about the exterior.

Gaming computers now come in many shapes and sizes. There are small systems like the?Falcon Northwest Tiki, mid-size towers like the?Acer Predator,?and monoliths like the?Origin Genesis.

Small systems are, well, small. They are unobtrusive and fit where larger systems simply can?t. They?re ideal for gamers who lack a large desks or want to use the desktop in a home theater. Going small can limit future upgrade options, however, and some pint-sized PCs?make a lot of noise.

Mid towers are a good compromise and are ideal for most people. They?re small enough to fit under, on, or in a typical desk, yet large enough to offer upgradability and acceptable cooling. Flair, or lack thereof, is the only flaw. Most mid towers look like any other ho-hum desktop.

Finally, we come to the monoliths known as full towers. These are often so large that they won?t fit on top of a desk without hanging off the front or rear, and a few full towers are so tall they won?t even fit under a desk. A full tower system can also carry a slightly higher premium over a mid tower. However, full towers are easy to upgrade and can handle hardware that won?t fit in smaller PCs.

Some custom manufacturers, like Origin and CyberPower, offer a selection of cases during customization. We recommend the full tower if you can find room for it, but make sure you understand the size before buying. Otherwise, a mid tower is best. Smaller systems can be great, but are also a niche solution. You should only buy one if space is at a premium or you?re dead set on a small system for aesthetic reasons.

Start with the heart: The processor

When you buy a gaming desktop, be it a customized model from a boutique or a pre-made model from Dell or HP, the processor will be the first specification you see ? and for good reason. The processor determines how a system will perform in most software.

Your first choice will be between dual- or quad-core processors. We recommend a quad unless your budget is extremely low ($1,500 or less). A dual-core processor is often fine, but some modern games make use of additional cores and can be crippled by a dual-core CPU.

Gamers with a lot of money may be lured in by Intel?s six-core processors. These are priced at a premium and not worthwhile for gaming. We only recommend them to buyers who have absolutely no concern about a rig?s final price. The same can be said of Intel?s Extreme Edition processors.

Also, we suggest you avoid AMD. Though potentially competitive at a few price points, and boasting up to eight cores, all of the company?s processors fail to offer solid single-thread performance. That?s a problem for games because most place their heaviest load on just one or two cores.

A great GPU makes a great gaming PC

The video cards sit side-by-side with the processor in importance. This one component is entirely responsible for drawing the beautiful graphics you see onscreen. Faster video cards allow better, smoother graphics and a more immersive experience.

As a gamer, you?ll want to stay away from low-end cards. In Nvidia?s stable, this means you want to stay away from products that have a 20, 30, or 40 in their model number (like the GT 630). In AMD?s product line, you want to stay away from cards that have a 4, 5, or 6 as the second digit in the model number (like the Radeon 6670).

The price-performance sweet spot usually sits with mid-range cards like the Nvidia GTX 660 and AMD Radeon HD 7850. These can handle almost any game in 1080p with full detail. If you want to make sure that games run well, or you want to play at an even higher resolution, like 2560 x 1600, you should move up to an even more powerful card.

While shopping, you may sometimes find yourself with a choice between two cards that are similar but offer different memory. More memory does not have a significant impact on overall performance by itself, but more memory does allow a video card to handle more data before choking. We recommend at least 1GB of memory if you have a display below 1080p resolution, and at least 2GB of memory if your display is 1080p or above.

We don?t recommend multiple video cards. Though potentially quick, multi-card configurations often run into driver or game support issues that prevent them from unlocking their full potential. They?re also louder and hotter than a single card.

Don?t waste money on too much RAM

Our recent review of the?Acer Predator?provided the perfect example of how marketing is sometimes placed before performance. That system, which is relatively affordable, came to us with 32GB of RAM. Thirty-two! As in 30, and then two more.

That?s insane, yet not uncommon. Why? RAM is currently inexpensive, so adding more makes a system seem powerful to uneducated consumers at minimal cost. But, don?t fall for it. The majority of games sold today will run well on a computer with only 4GB of RAM (as we proved in our?Steam Box build). For a serious gaming rig, however, 8GB is our recommendation. Anything on top of that is effectively useless.

Additional memory doesn?t make a game run more quickly; it merely sits unused. Any money that might be spent on RAM beyond 8GB should instead be put towards a component that matters.

Solid-state drives are expensive, but useful

Most computers sold today come with at least a 500GB mechanical hard drive and, in most cases, a 750GB or 1TB model. More space is better, but unused space isn?t needed, so our recommendation is simple: buy as much space as you need.

Whether or not you should buy a computer with a solid-state drive is a more difficult question. SSDs are many times more expensive than mechanical drives when measured by gigabyte-per-dollar. They also have no impact on in-game performance. Still, we recommend that you buy an SSD if you can afford one that offers over 200GB of storage. Why?: load times.

A solid-state drive is many times quicker than a mechanical drive. For games, this means a level that could take 30 seconds to load on a normal drive instead loads in 5 to 10 seconds. Games with short load times may sometimes load almost instantly.

If you do choose a solid-state drive, make sure it?s also the drive that contains the operating system. You?ll gain the benefit of quick boot times and fast operation in day-to-day use. This is also why we don?t recommend an SSD with less than 200GB of space. With Windows installed, a small drive can only contain a handful of games.?

Don?t lose money on the kitchen sink

?

After you?ve nailed down the processor, video card, RAM and hard drive you?ll start to browse through a wide selection of extras including sound cards, Ethernet adapters, additional USB ports, and more.

These extras aren?t required. Today?s motherboards ship with a built-in sound card, Ethernet adapter, and gobs of connectivity. Some even come with standard Wi-Fi. These have made peripheral cards far less of a necessity.

That doesn?t mean they?re useless, but skip it if you don?t already?know?that you need a certain add-on card for a specific reason.

Conclusion

As you browse computers and choose custom hardware, you should always return to one question: ?Does this make games look and play better??

A gaming desktop is a balancing act. No one component should dominate without bringing the others up to par, and unnecessary hardware should be axed to keep the price down. For example, a system with 32GB of RAM and a dual-core processor doesn?t make sense. The money spent on memory could be far better spent on a fast quad-core.

Restraint is required to perfect the balance. When you buy a gaming desktop, you?ll be bombarded by ads, both on manufacturer websites and elsewhere, that insist what you?really?want is a fancy Ethernet card that allegedly improves multiplayer games, or a triple-GPU rig, or a computer the size of a cat.

As you browse computers and choose custom hardware, you should always return to one question: ?Does this make games look and play better?? The information in this guide will help you answer that question, and if the answer is no, you don?t need it.?

Source: http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-to-buy-a-gaming-desktop/

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Anthony Johnson wins at heavyweight and Josh Burkman scores a KO at World Series of Fighting 2

Breaking sports news video. MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL highlights and more.

At the World Series of Fighting's second show on Saturday, one-time UFC welterweight won over one-time UFC heavyweight champ Andrei Arlovski. As seen in the highlights above, Johnson had Arlovski hobbled at the end of the first round, but Arlovski was saved by the bell. Arlovski's jaw was reportedly broken in the bout that was Johnson's first fight at heavyweight.

As a welterweight who was bigger than other 170 lbers in the UFC, he struggled with his weight cut and missed weight three times. He moved to light heavyweight last August, and now won his heavyweight debut.

In other WSOF action, Marlon Moraes won his fourth straight by knocking out Tyson Nam with a headkick. Paulo Filho, the troubled one-time WEC champ, dropped a decision to Dave Branch.

Josh Burkman knocked out Aaron Simpson in the first round. After the fight, he said the win earned him a title shot, but questioned if one-time UFC title contender Jon Fitch had earned the WSOF title shot against him.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/anthony-johnson-wins-heavyweight-josh-burkman-scores-ko-142146575--mma.html

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Genetic alterations linked with bladder cancer risk, recurrence, progression, and patient survival

Public release date: 25-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Amy Molnar
sciencenewsroom@wiley.com
Wiley

A new analysis has found that genetic alterations in a particular cellular pathway are linked with bladder cancer risk, recurrence, disease progression, and patient survival. Published early online in CANCER, a peer- reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the findings could help improve bladder cancer screening and treatment.

Alterations in the regulators of G-protein signaling (RGS) pathway, which is important for various cellular processes, have been implicated in several cancers. Eugene Lee, MD, of the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and his colleagues sought to determine the role of RGS alterations in bladder cancer risk, recurrence, disease progression, and patient survival. Dr. Lee is currently a fellow of Dr. Ashish M. Kamat. The researchers worked together with Dr. Xifeng Wu's Epidemiology Lab. They studied 803 patients with non-muscle invasive or muscle invasive bladder cancer and 803 healthy individuals.

After evaluating 95 single nucleotide alterations or variants in 17 RGS genes, the investigators identified several that were linked with overall risk of bladder cancer. The strongest association was seen with the rs10759 variant on the RGS4 gene: it was linked with a 0.77-fold reduced risk of overall bladder cancer. The researchers also found that with an increasing number of unfavorable variants, the risk of bladder cancer increased. "Screening for bladder cancer has proven to be difficult on a population level, and our work may be a first step in identifying molecular markers for potential genetic-based screening tests. This will help recognize specific groups at increased risk beyond the existing known risk factors such as smoking and chemical exposure," said Dr. Lee.

Dr. Lee and his team also revealed that in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, 11 variants were linked with recurrence and 13 variants were linked with progression. Ten were associated with earlier death in patients with muscle invasive bladder cancer; rs2344673 was the most significant, with an average survival of 13.3 months in patients with the variant compared with 81.9 months in patients without it.

In the current era of personalized medicine, an individual's genetic information can provide valuable information on screening, treatment, and surveillance. "Our study provides an initial step in how we can use a patient's genetic makeup to identify those at risk for bladder cancer. Furthermore, we can identify patients who already have a diagnosis of bladder cancer that are at increased risk of worsening of disease or dying from their cancer," said Dr. Lee. "The goal is to find as many genetic alterations that confer risk and create a panel of markers that would aid in diagnosis, treatment, and follow- up."

###

URL Upon publication: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/cncr.27871

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

Public release date: 25-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Amy Molnar
sciencenewsroom@wiley.com
Wiley

A new analysis has found that genetic alterations in a particular cellular pathway are linked with bladder cancer risk, recurrence, disease progression, and patient survival. Published early online in CANCER, a peer- reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the findings could help improve bladder cancer screening and treatment.

Alterations in the regulators of G-protein signaling (RGS) pathway, which is important for various cellular processes, have been implicated in several cancers. Eugene Lee, MD, of the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and his colleagues sought to determine the role of RGS alterations in bladder cancer risk, recurrence, disease progression, and patient survival. Dr. Lee is currently a fellow of Dr. Ashish M. Kamat. The researchers worked together with Dr. Xifeng Wu's Epidemiology Lab. They studied 803 patients with non-muscle invasive or muscle invasive bladder cancer and 803 healthy individuals.

After evaluating 95 single nucleotide alterations or variants in 17 RGS genes, the investigators identified several that were linked with overall risk of bladder cancer. The strongest association was seen with the rs10759 variant on the RGS4 gene: it was linked with a 0.77-fold reduced risk of overall bladder cancer. The researchers also found that with an increasing number of unfavorable variants, the risk of bladder cancer increased. "Screening for bladder cancer has proven to be difficult on a population level, and our work may be a first step in identifying molecular markers for potential genetic-based screening tests. This will help recognize specific groups at increased risk beyond the existing known risk factors such as smoking and chemical exposure," said Dr. Lee.

Dr. Lee and his team also revealed that in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, 11 variants were linked with recurrence and 13 variants were linked with progression. Ten were associated with earlier death in patients with muscle invasive bladder cancer; rs2344673 was the most significant, with an average survival of 13.3 months in patients with the variant compared with 81.9 months in patients without it.

In the current era of personalized medicine, an individual's genetic information can provide valuable information on screening, treatment, and surveillance. "Our study provides an initial step in how we can use a patient's genetic makeup to identify those at risk for bladder cancer. Furthermore, we can identify patients who already have a diagnosis of bladder cancer that are at increased risk of worsening of disease or dying from their cancer," said Dr. Lee. "The goal is to find as many genetic alterations that confer risk and create a panel of markers that would aid in diagnosis, treatment, and follow- up."

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URL Upon publication: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/cncr.27871

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Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/w-gal032013.php

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Some Pebble smartwatches bricking after shutdown, company replacing faulty units

It appears that Pebble's smartwatch is officially feeling its largest growing pain since debuting just two months ago. A five-page long (and growing) thread on the company's forum has some owners describing a bug that's leaving their Pebbles pebbled bricked after shutdown. Pebble's Eric Migicovsky let us know that is actively replacing affected units, while examining those being sent in to find out the root cause:

We've had reports of this issue, and we understand of course that it's annoying for users. We're replacing any Pebbles for users who report this issue. We're reviewing the Pebbles that get returned, working to get to the bottom of the issue. We have our support team ready to follow up to any user that reports this issue.

As it stands, there's no word on whether firmware update 1.9 has any role in keeping the devices from turning on after being shut down. Owners have further reported that no amount of charging their Pebble will help it to actually come back to life. We've reached out to the company for more info on the matter (including nailing down how many units the company has replaced so far), and we'll be sure to keep you updated. For now, let us know whether your experience with Pebble has been rocky at all so far.

Update: That was fast -- apparently Pebble has received about 30 reports of this issue since Friday. Here's the official word from Migicovsky:

We're tracking a few reports of this issue. Up to Friday, we've had 20-30 reports (out of 30,000+ pebbles in the field). We've gotten several back to the office, and we're getting to the bottom of it.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals, Wearables, Mobile

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Source: Pebble (forum)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/23/pebble-smartwatch-dead-after-shutdown-report-owners/

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Northern lights dance with a comet

Swedish photographer Goran Strand created a 10-image mosaic of the sun using a hydrogen-alpha filter on March 16, and then captured full-sky views of the northern lights over Ostersund during a four-hour period on March 17 for this time-lapse video. "The time lapse consists of 2,464 raw images for a total data amount of 30GB. ... All in all, this movie contains over 40GB of data that I've been processing over the last five days. Hope you enjoy it," Strand writes. Watch the video in full-screen HD for maximum effect. Music: "I Am a Man Who Will Fight for Your Honor," by Chris Zabriskie.

By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News

Talk about dancing with the stars: The glow of the northern lights danced through the night sky this week, thanks to a solar storm that swept past Earth over the past few days. Comet PanSTARRS, which is appearing a little bit farther north in western skies every evening, adds some extra sparkle.

The time around the equinox is considered the peak of the aurora season, because this time of year strikes a balance between the dark skies of winter and the more clement temperatures of summer. And although PanSTARRS may not have panned out the way some of the more optimistic skywatchers might have expected, it's still observable in the Northern Hemisphere?? particularly if you're watching with binoculars from a vantage point far from city lights, with a clear view to the western horizon.

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Sky & Telescope's PanSTARRS page helps you track the comet day by day, and you can always rely on SpaceWeather.com to have the latest, greatest pictures of PanSTARRS as well as the auroral glow.

For example, French photographer Sylvain Dussans managed to capture both phenomena in one glorious picture, taken from Norway's Senja Island.

Here are a couple more videos of the solar storm and the comet, as seen from Earth and space:

Chad Blakley / Lights Over Lapland

This movie from NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory, or STEREO, shows Comet PanSTARRS as it moved around the sun from March 10 to 15. The clip is repeated three times. The images were captured by the Heliospheric Imager, an instrument that looks to the side of the sun to watch coronal mass ejections as they travel toward Earth, which is the unmoving bright orb on the right. The bright light on the left comes from the sun, and the bursts from the left represent the solar material erupting off the sun.

More about the comet and the aurora:

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Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's?Facebook page, following?@b0yle on Twitter?and adding the?Cosmic Log page?to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log and the rest of NBCNews.com's science and space coverage, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box. You can also check out?"The Case for Pluto,"?my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

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Indiana overpowers James Madison 83-62

Indiana guard Yogi Ferrell drives against James Madison in the first half of a second-round game at the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 22, 2013, in Dayton, Ohio. Ferrell led Indiana to an 83-62 win with 16 points and six assists. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

Indiana guard Yogi Ferrell drives against James Madison in the first half of a second-round game at the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 22, 2013, in Dayton, Ohio. Ferrell led Indiana to an 83-62 win with 16 points and six assists. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

Indiana forward Cody Zeller, left, and guard Victor Oladipo smile on the bench in the closing minute of Indiana's 83-62 win over James Madison in a second-round game at the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, Friday, March 22, 2013, in Dayton, Ohio. (AP Photo/Skip Peterson)

Indiana guard Victor Oladipo (4) dunks past James Madison guard Devon Moore in the first half of a second-round game at the NCAA college basketball tournament on Friday, March 22, 2013, in Dayton, Ohio. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

Indiana coach Tom Crean urges on his players in the second half of a second-round game against James Madison at the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, Friday, March 22, 2013, in Dayton, Ohio. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

James Madison guard Andre Nation (15) sits on the bench at the end of their 83-62 loss to Indiana in a second-round game at the NCAA college basketball tournament on Friday, March 22, 2013, in Dayton, Ohio. Nation led James Madison with 24 points. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) ? Indiana's got a few brutes, some big boys from the Big Ten who know how to throw their weight around.

But in their NCAA tournament opener, the Hoosiers turned to their speedy, 178-pound point guard to make James Madison's knees buckle right away.

Yogi Ferrell was the bully.

Ferrell scored Indiana's first nine points and had 14 in the first six minutes as top-seeded Indiana powered its way to an easy 83-62 win in the second round of the East Regional on Friday.

Not taking any chances with a No. 16 seed, the Hoosiers (28-6) started fast, building a 21-point halftime lead. They pushed it to 33 in the second half before letting up and had little trouble with the Dukes (21-15), who won their first tournament game in 30 years on Wednesday and thought they could hang with the Hoosiers.

"The speed they play with is unbelievable," Dukes guard Devon Moore said. "We haven't seen anything like that."

After being bruised and battered all year in the Big Ten, the Hoosiers finally got a chance to pick on a little guy.

"I've been waiting for this all week," said Ferrell, who added eight rebound and six assists. "A lot of us are jacked up to get out here, play against some different competition."

Looking every bit like a team capable of cutting down the nets in Atlanta next month, Indiana, which spent a good chunk of the season atop the AP poll, will play Temple in the second round on Sunday.

Will Sheehey scored 15 and Cody Zeller 11 ? eight on rim-rocking dunks ? for Indiana.

Freshman Andre Nation scored 24 and Charles Cooke 18 for James Madison, which made the score somewhat respectable in the final minutes but never really threatened.

Of the many upsets in NCAA tournament, there still hasn't been a No. 16 over a No. 1. And any thoughts James Madison, which beat LIU Brooklyn in a First Four game to get here, had of making history were over shortly after player introductions.

Indiana wasn't fooling around.

"We played excellent," Indiana coach Tom Crean said.

With Ferrell, playing in his first tourney game darting in and around the Dukes, the Hoosiers unleashed their offensive fury on the Dukes and clamped down on a James Madison team that never experienced anything like Indiana's man-to-man pressure this season in the Colonial Athletic Association.

After falling behind by 20, the Dukes got within 34-20 when Nation made two straight 3-pointers. However, the spurt only seemed to anger the Hoosiers and they closed the first half with a 9-2 run to take a 43-22 lead at halftime.

As he headed to the locker room, James Madison coach Matt Brady straightened his tie and scratched his head. Back in the staging area inside Dayton Arena even the Dukes' cheerleaders huddled to try and figure out what they could do better.

Too late.

Jordan Hulls and Christian Watford, seniors who helped Crean rebuild an Indiana program in shambles five years ago, hit 3-pointers and Zeller zoomed down the lane for a huge dunk as Indiana opened the second half with a 13-4 run. The Hoosiers barely let up, and later in the half, Victor Oladipo and Sheehey scored back-to-back baskets so quickly that the p.a. announcer said their names without taking a breath.

It was breathtaking, all right.

Indiana entered the tournament as a No. 1 seed for just the third time and saddled with higher expectations than the Hoosiers have had to deal with in years.

"Banner Up" has been the war cry of Indiana fans this season, a not-so-subtle dig at rival Purdue's "Boiler Up" cheer but also a reference to hanging a sixth NCAA title banner inside Assembly Hall.

The Hoosiers believe they can, and after overcoming a tough late-season loss at home on senior night against Ohio State, Indiana showed some of the resolve and toughness of a champ by winning at Michigan in the regular-season finale to win their first outright Big Ten title since 1993.

They've got loftier goals this March, and Oladipo said anything short of a Final Four appearance would be a disappointment.

Crean said there was a point in the season when it crossed his mind that the "gauntlet and grind" of the Big Ten would leave his team wobbly in March.

"I'd be lying to say it didn't," he said. "There's no way around it. You're in that league, and it's possession by possession, and it's so physical and taxing."

Indiana's size was a problem for James Madison right away. The 7-foot Zeller ran down a loose ball in the corner and grabbed a rebound as the Hoosiers had the ball for nearly a minute before Ferrell scored.

The lightning-quick guard scored on two more drives and then hit a 3-pointer to make it Yogi Ferrell 9, The Fourth U.S. President 0.

Brady called his first timeout, but there wasn't much he could say to his team other than to hang in there.

"We clearly lost to a better team," he said. "Watching them on tape and trying to prepare your team for Indiana is one thing, and then being on the court with them and having to play against the speed and power with which they play was really impressive."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-03-22-BKC-NCAA-James-Madison-Indiana/id-8ca923de1f13437d8a55fa466bf94a28

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The Daily Roundup for 03.22.2013

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/22/the-daily-roundup-for-03-22-2013/

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Slumbering sun should wake up this year

The sun should roar back to life sometime in 2013, producing its second activity peak in the last two years, scientists say.

Our star has been surprisingly quiet since unleashing a flurry of flares and other eruptions toward the end of 2011. But this lull is likely the trough between two peaks that together constitute "solar maximum" for the sun's current 11-year activity cycle, researchers say.

"If you look back in history, many of the previous solar cycles don't have one hump, one maximum, but in fact have two," solar physicist C. Alex Young, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., said today (March 22) during a NASA webcast called "Solar MAX Storm Warning: Effects on the Solar System."

"That's what we think is going to happen," Young added. "So we've reached one of those humps, and we think that eventually activity will pick back up and we'll see another hump ? a double-humped solar maximum."

Before the twin peaks scenario began to gain adherents, many researchers had predicted that solar maximum for the current cycle, known as Solar Cycle 24, would come this May. But given how quiet the sun is at the moment, the second hump will likely occur later than that, and it could last into 2014, scientists have said.

Saying the sun is quiet right now, however, does not mean that it's lifeless. Indeed, our star blasted out a huge cloud of superheated plasma known as a coronal mass ejection (CME) on March 15.

This CME delivered a glancing blow to Earth two days later, sparking a mild geomagnetic storm that had no serious effects. Powerful CMEs that hit Earth squarely can spawn serious such storms, temporarily knocking out power grids, GPS signals and radio communications.

But CME effects aren't all negative. They can also supercharge Earth's auroras, also known as the northern and southern lights, giving skywatchers around the world a treat.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter?@michaeldwall.?Follow us?@Spacedotcom,?Facebook?or?Google+. Originally published on?SPACE.com.

Copyright 2013 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/slumbering-sun-wake-134357020.html

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Eric Schmidt praises Apple as an innovator, urges BlackBerry to step it up

By Steve Keating ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Rory McIlroy's decision to skip the Arnold Palmer Invitational surprised the tournament host, who expressed his disappointment on Wednesday that the world number one was not at Bay Hill this week. The 83-year-old Palmer said he had jokingly suggested he might break McIlroy's arm if he did not show up but did not try to force the young Northern Irishman into making an appearance. "Frankly, I thought he was going to play, and I was as surprised as a lot of people when he decided he was not going to play," said Palmer. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/eric-schmidt-praises-apple-innovator-urges-blackberry-step-185027754.html

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John Patrick Leary: Great Is the Emergency Manager; The Trains Will Run on Time

The vast American tourist class, which includes bankers, editors, senators and representatives, mayors and mayoresses, army officers and just plain 'folks,' returned to its native land, where railroading is an accepted institution but not necessarily a yardstick for patriotism, and roared in unison, 'Great is the Duce; the trains now run on time.'
--George Seldes, Sawdust Caesar: The Untold History of Mussolini and Fascism (1935)

Sheila Cockrel's recent op-ed in the Detroit Free Press was a depressing nadir for Detroit's liberal intelligentsia, to say nothing of a radical tradition in which she herself played such a prominent role. Her argument, which will garner some support in a town where everyone in power not named Snyder has essentially thrown up their hands, amounts to the following: democracy notwithstanding, Detroiters should welcome an Emergency Manager because Detroiters have a right to city services. "Voting is a fundamental right, of course," she concedes; "but isn't the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness of equal importance?"

Given most people's disaffection with voting and with local politicians, it's a tempting bargain, to be honest. If only it were an honest one. Cockrel is no fascist, of course, but at the risk of making a brazen analogy, it's worth pointing out that the logic at work here is that of law-and-order authoritarianism. We don't even have trains anymore, like Mussolini did, so the best we can hope for is that by sacrificing local elected government, "the police will show up on time" or "the street lights will shine on time." Cockrel is right in recognizing that appeals to abstract principles like "voting rights" may not convince many Detroit citizens so weary of poor city services. What matters more to you: the job security of your city council member or the fire department?

The trouble is that such defenses of EMs are made in terribly bad faith, based as they are on an illusion that the mandate of the Emergency Manager is, in fact, to improve services, rather than to repay Detroit's creditors. What reason, other than faith in a loving God who wants us to have a public library, do we have to expect anything other than substantially worse services? Cockrel celebrates, but does not bother to identify, the examples of Emergency Managers that have improved the quality of life in poor, industrial cities like Detroit. One can only conclude that she doesn't name them because they don't exist. The Free Press editorial board, in its own editorial shrug, concedes that city services may well deteriorate under an EM, but simply hopes that things might improve.

The other troubling claim Cockrel makes is her treatment of "rights" as discrete and particular -- some rights are less important in certain places rather than others -- rather than universal, as liberals have always claimed as a fundamental, bedrock principle. Cockrel's retail approach to democracy is also a misunderstanding of how rights work: in a truly democratic society, it's not life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness, best two out of three, but all of them, together, of equal importance. You can't lose one without degrading the others. To rationalize otherwise means that this sort of liberalism is really as bankrupt as the city is about to be.

But you can put the Declaration of Independence aside. Liberal arguments for Emergency Managers are not based on any real principle. They're little more than concessions to present state and national political trends, where austerity rules and Wall Street always wins: the only really convincing argument for an Emergency Manager is that there's no point in arguing with him. He's coming whether you voted or not.

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Follow John Patrick Leary on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JohnPatLeary

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-patrick-leary/detroit-emergency-manager_b_2924604.html

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Ronson on producing for McCartney: 'It's insane'

NEW YORK (AP) ? Mark Ronson went from being the DJ at Paul McCartney's wedding to producing for the icon in the studio.

Ronson said in an interview Thursday that he worked on three songs with the former Beatles singer. He called the process "insane."

"It's really good. He writes really good songs," Ronson said.

The British act has written and produced for a number of top musicians, including Amy Winehouse, Adele, Bruno Mars, Lily Allen and Christina Aguilera. He's won three Grammy Awards, including non-classical producer of the year in 2008 for his work on Winehouse's breakthrough album, "Back to Black."

But the 37-year-old said working with McCartney was intimidation "on another level."

"He understands that you're so nervous to be working with Paul McCartney 'cause everyone is," he said. "He gives you a lot of leeway, but then at the end of the day you need to deliver the goods."

McCartney married Nancy Shevell in 2011 at a London ceremony. He announced on his website this week that he's planning to release a new album and that that he'll launch his "Out There!" world tour June 22 in Warsaw, Poland.

"He's done every kind of music. He invented the rule book in several different ways," Ronson said of McCartney's extensive and diverse catalogue. "I don't know if (our stuff) is revolutionary, but they're brilliant songs. I just tried to give him a sound he was looking for."

Ronson said he learned so much from collaborating with McCartney.

"You take a master class in production, like harmonies and layering sounds and arrangement. His ideas are just incredible."

___

Online:

http://www.paulmccartney.com/

http://www.markronson.co.uk/us/frontpage

___

Follow Mesfin Fekadu on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MusicMesfin

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-03-22-Music-Mark%20Ronson-Paul%20McCartney/id-b3532bf18a9e4d36a6ddbd75473fea1e

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New Season's Resolutions for the 2013 Orioles - Camden Chat

It ain't just diet and exercise.

When the calendar turns to January 1st, regular people use the new year as an opportunity to take stock of their lives, and maybe jettison some things that aren't working, or add a new routine or two for self-improvement's sake. We usually get back where we started by mid-February, but that's beside the point, isn't it?

Opening Day is New Years Day for ballplayers. I think it's a good chance for a thought exercise, where I project my own hopes and fears onto the 2013 squad in resolution format. These resolutions are things that the team can work on and, to some degree, control - more specific and achievable than just "Brian Roberts resolves not to get hurt" or "Brian Matusz resolves to fulfill his potential."

Buck Showalter resolves to play Wilson Betemit as a left-handed DH only. Some versatile ballplayers are described as swiss army knives. If the analogy holds, Betemit is more like a machete - good as a blunt instrument, but not adaptable to everyday household uses. Orioles fans shouldn't have to see Betemit put on a glove in anything short of a dire emergency, and he shouldn't bat against a lefty unless the bench is pretty thin and the game's not close. Likelihood of resolution being kept: Medium.

Adam Jones resolves to play a couple steps deeper in the outfield. Look, Adam, you're a very good defender. Folks have argued with your gold gloves, but regardless of all that, you do just fine out there. But you seem to think you can get to some deep fly balls that you just can't. And fans would rather see a few more singles fall in front of you than doubles and triples get over your head. Likelihood of resolution being kept: Low.

Adam Jones and J.J. Hardy resolve to lay off the junk low and away. The kryptonite of two of the Orioles' most promising but frustrating hitters. If these two can just learn to lay off that one pitch, they'll become much tougher outs in the lineup. Both their on-base percentages and their power numbers would see a huge benefit. Both hitters have shown the ability to get more discerning - in Jones' case, for stints of a few weeks at a time, and for Hardy, in some seasons but not others - but doing so consistently in 2013 will be a big deal. Likelihood of resolution being kept: Medium.

Chris Davis resolves to catch balls that are thrown right at him. The Orioles don't need Davis to be a flashy gold-glover at first. It'd be great, but it isn't going to happen. What the Orioles do need Davis to be is acceptable - which is to say, not to drop balls that hit his glove in mid-air, to make the basic plays that any first baseman should make. Reports on Davis's defense from spring training have been glowing, and Davis publicly acknowledged at this year's Fan Fest that he knew it was something he needed to work on. With the Orioles dedicating their DH spot to Betemit and possibly Nolan Reimold, Davis sticking in the field becomes doubly important to keep his bat in the Orioles' lineup. Likelihood of resolution being kept: High.

Jake Arrieta resolves not to come unglued in tough spots. It's not known at this point whether Arrieta will break camp with the big club, but I'd say it's a safe bet he sees time at the major-league level at some point. It's been debated endlessly whether Arrieta's struggles are the outcome of bad pitching or bad luck - and the truth might be a bit of both - but Arrieta supporters and detractors alike have seen that he responds poorly to high-pressure situations, often leaving up a meatball at the most inopportune time possible. The mental portion of Arrieta's game could be the biggest factor in whether he breaks out or continues to tread water. Likelihood of resolution being kept: Low.

Dan Duquette resolves to gas up the Norfolk Express. One of the most refreshing changes for Orioles fans in 2012 was the club's refusal to keep trotting out guys who didn't perform, particularly in the starting rotation. Showalter said at the start of spring training this year that there were 12 viable candidates for the starting rotation. The dynamic duo of Showalter and Duquette need to keep the pressure on these guys by sending them down if they don't work out, and giving the next guy his shot. Likelihood of resolution being kept: Absolutely certain.

Wei-Yin Chen resolves to get deeper into ballgames. This could be a co-resolution with Showalter, to pull Chen when he needs to come out. A lot of analysis of Chen's 2012 focused on how many days' rest he got, but to my eyes the biggest issue was that his pitches lost a lot of life late in his starts, and Showalter left him hanging a bit too long. The numbers bear this out: Chen's ERA after the sixth inning was 7.42, with an opponents' OPS of .930. Orioles fans can hope that Chen's second year in the majors will have him better conditioned to the rigors of the season, and that Showalter will learn to better see the signs of him tiring. Likelihood of resolution being kept: Medium.

A post like this probably comes off as inherently negative. I still expect good things from the 2013 Orioles, but every club, and every player, has specific areas where they can work to improve. The players and coaches know these things better than the fans, but why should that stop us from throwing in our two cents? Leave the resolutions that you'd like to see the Orioles keep in the comments.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Source: http://www.camdenchat.com/2013/3/20/4115718/baltimore-orioles-2013-resolutions

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North Korean soldiers issue battle cry as war rhetoric is ramped up

KCNA via EPA

A picture released by the North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on March 20, 2013 along with a statement saying that the North Korean army is completely ready to fight against South Korea and the United States.

By Ian Johnston, Staff Writer, NBC News

Kim Jong Un said on Wednesday that North Korea would attack U.S. military bases in the Pacific in addition to South Korea if its "enemies ? make even the slightest movement,"?according to the North?s official KCNA news agency.

The North also hit out over deployment of a U.S. B-52 bomber to South Korea, warning of "all-out action" ? the latest of a series of threats issued by Pyongyang.

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KCNA news agency said,?in its usual flowery rhetoric,?that the presence of the bomber showed the U.S. was preparing for "a pre-emptive nuclear strike," echoing its?own earlier threat to do that. Read the full story.

KCNA via EPA

The North Korean army's command accused the United States of preparing for a nuclear war in its ongoing exercises with the South Korean military.

The youngest son of Kim Jong Il succeeded his late father in 2011, becoming the third member of his family to rule the unpredictable and reclusive communist state.

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