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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/YXMIrPf9CLw/story01.htm
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Saturday, December 31, 2011
2011 TiPb Readers Choice Awards
The TiPb Nation picks their favorite devices, features, stories, and new or majorly updated apps and accessories of 2011! Your votes have been counted. The results have been tallied....
WCSH6: Ever been to a book brigade? Here is how the Portsmouth community helped out @RiverRunBkstore today: http://t.co/5ZfrZhTu
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Ever been to a book brigade? Here is how the Portsmouth community helped out @RiverRunBkstore today: on.wcsh6.com/uK3hE9 
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Source: http://twitter.com/WCSH6/statuses/152586419079086081
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Friday, December 30, 2011
60Beat, a Proper Game Controller for iOS
The iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad have turned out to be great for games. I play more these days than I have anytime since I was a stoner in college, hooked up to a SNES all day long. But sometimes you just really need a proper controller. Enter the 60Beat GamePad, a Playstation-style joypad for [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/7PNA_4SmkAA/
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US teen, 2 others found dead in western Mexico (AP)
MORELIA, Mexico ? Mexican prosecutors say teeth and clothing remnants were used to identify a suburban Chicago teenager whose charred remains were found on Christmas Eve in western Mexico.
The bodies of 18-year-old Alexis Marron of Rolling Meadows and two Mexican friends were found in a burned-out car in rural Michoacan, a western state plagued by violence linked to drug trafficking.
Prosecutors' documents obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press quote an uncle saying Marron was on his way to see a girlfriend, apparently without telling some of his relatives.
Marron was a U.S. citizen and high school student. His family was from Michoacan.
Friends in suburban Chicago have been holding vigils and setting up memorial Facebook pages.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
China unveils high-speed train despite safety woes
The train, whose sleek design was inspired by an ancient Chinese sword, was built using plastic reinforced with carbon fibre and magnesium alloy to reduce weight and therefore increase speed, the report said.
Initial reports suggested signalling problems were to blame for the crash, which sparked strong public criticism of China's government, but the results of an official investigation have not yet been released.
Separately, a new high-speed railway linking the capital of the southern province of Guangdong, Guangzhou, to Shenzhen city on the border with Hong Kong went into service on Monday, the official Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday.
China plans to extend the route to Hong Kong by 2015 as part of the planned Beijing-Hong Kong high-speed line, it said.
The latest moves come despite China saying last week it will cut spending on its railways next year.
The railways ministry will invest 400 billion yuan (?40 billion) on rail infrastructure in 2012, down from an estimated 469 billion yuan this year and 700 billion yuan in 2010, state media said.
The cash-strapped ministry is burdened by debt after borrowing to finance railway projects and some banks have stopped lending it money.
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Sunday, December 25, 2011
Union Labour & Employment Minister Shri Mallikarjun Kharge to chair the 197th meeting of ?the Central Board of Trustees (EPF)
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????????????????????????? Event??? :????????? Union Labour & Employment Minister Shri Mallikarjun Kharge to ?chair the
????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?197th meeting of ?the Central Board of Trustees (EPF)
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???????? Date????? :??????? 23th? December, 2011 ?(Friday)????????????????????????
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????????????????????????? Venue :???????? EPF Headquarters,14- Bhikaiji Cama Place,New? Delhi-110066
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(Sudhir Tiwari)
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All accredited Correspondents/camerapersons
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ADG(News), Doordarshan
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Director, Photo Division
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Source: http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=79163
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Saturday, December 24, 2011
L.A.'s greatest sports moments No. 2: Magic's junior sky hook
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We asked you to send in your picks for the greatest sports moments?in L.A. history, and 1,181 ballots later we are unveiling the top 20 vote-getters. Each weekday?we will unveil a new moment until we finally reach No. 1.
No. 2: Magic's junior sky hook (32 first-place votes, 3,788 points)
Magic Johnson firmly established himself as the Lakers? offensive leader in the 1986-87 season, so it was appropriate that he made the biggest shot of that championship year.
Coach Pat Riley decided that season that Magic would be the Lakers? No. 1 option on offense instead of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA?s all-time leading scorer but also 39 years old at the time.
Magic?s scoring average increased five points from the previous season to a career-high 23.9 a game. He also led the NBA in assists, helped the Lakers compile a league-best 65-17 record and won his first most valuable player award.
The Lakers rolled to the NBA Finals, winning 11 of 12 playoff games to set up another matchup with the Boston Celtics. After the Lakers? fast-break offense led to two routs at the Forum, there was considerable talk of a sweep.
But the defending champion Celtics rallied for a Game 3 win in Boston and built a 16-point lead in the third quarter of Game 4. While most of his teammates struggled, Magic kept the Lakers in the game, scoring 27 points through three quarters and helping them enter the final 12 minutes down by only seven.
The fourth quarter was a classic. The Lakers tied the score midway through the period, fell behind by eight with 3 1/2 minutes left, then scored nine in a row to take a one-point lead with 29 seconds left. Larry Bird?s three-point basket with 12 seconds left put the Celtics ahead by two.
With eight seconds left, Abdul-Jabbar was fouled. He made the first free throw but missed the second. Boston?s Kevin McHale, battling the Lakers? Mychal Thompson, dropped the rebound out of bounds, setting the Lakers up for a final play.
Following a timeout, Magic received an inbounds pass from Michael Cooper about 20 feet from the basket. McHale wound up as the primary defender, but Magic?s stutter-step dribble left the big forward slightly off balance. Magic continued into the lane and put up a running hook shot from 12 feet over McHale and Robert Parish. It swished in with two seconds left for a 107-106 Lakers lead.
After Bird missed a shot at the buzzer, the Lakers had a 3-1 series lead. They won the title in Game 6 at the Forum.
Magic has called the ?junior, junior, junior sky hook? the biggest shot of his career.
?I started to take the jumper,? Magic said after the game, ?but I saw [McHale]? coming at me, so I decided to cut toward the middle. I put it up, and saw it as I released it, but then someone jumped in my face. I never saw it go in.?
The shot did go in ? right into Lakers? lore.
RELATED:
No. 3: 1984 Olympics opening ceremony
No. 4: John Wooden goes out a winner
No. 5: Angels win the World Series
No. 6: The 1967 USC-UCLA game
No. 7: Anthony Davis defeats Notre Dame
No. 8: Lakers finally defeat Celtics
No. 9: Fernandomania
No. 10: Magic scores 42 in Game 6 of 1980 NBA Finals
No. 11: Lakers win first title in L.A.
No. 12: Dodgers first game in L.A.
No. 13: Marcus Allen's Super Bowl run
No. 14: Lakers win 33 in a row
No. 15: Robert Horry's game-winner
No. 16: Honoring Roy Campanella
No. 17: Miracle on Manchester
No. 18: Lakers three-peat
No. 19: Rick Monday saves the flag
No. 20: Kobe to Shaq alley-oop
? Hans Tesselaar
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Here's Why The Apple TV Might Be Awesome ... - Business Insider
Over at The Perfection Paradox, product consultant Jonathan Bingham offers a smart take on the problems the forthcoming Apple TV could eventually fix if Apple gets it right.
He also offers an explanation of why Google's ongoing TV efforts are probably doomed to failure, or at least doomed to addressing only a small, specific niche of the TV market ? households managed by tech geeks.
Basically, the explanation for Google's ongoing incompetence in the TV market boils down to this:
When Jonathan described his vision for the "perfect TV" to a Googler friend, the Googler friend scoffed at the idea because it didn't include an easy way for viewers to stream content from BitTorrent.
As if the vast majority of TV users have even heard of "BitTorrent," let alone care what it is or want to stream content from it. The vast majority of TV users don't even know what "streaming" is.
What Googlers and other technorati seem to forever fail to understand is that TV is the dominant broadcast medium because it is drop-dead simple.
For decades, TV users haven't had to do much more than press "on."
TV, in other words, has just worked.
Of course, in recent years, with the addition of cable boxes and VCRs and DVRs and IP TV and Netflix and iTunes and YouTube and remotes, et al, TV has started getting complicated.
Image: Engadget Remember this? Laughable. |
Apple, meanwhile, Bingham reasons, will approach the market with the aim of making TV simple again, by making the "perfect" TV.
What do TV "users" really want? What would make TV simple again? What would make a TV perfect?
TV users just want to press "on" and watch what they want to watch.
That's it.
They don't want to have to figure out where the content is. They don't want to have to "search" for it. They don't want to have to know when it's "on." They don't want to scan "channel" selectors and guides. They don't want to write emails or shop for products or search the web. They don't want to chat with their friends over the TV. They don't want to make phone calls. They just want to press "on" and watch what they want to watch when they want to watch it.
When Steve Jobs said, "I've finally cracked it," Bingham reasons, what he meant was he finally figured out how to give TV users what they want.
Image: ZatsNotFunny.com No one wants this. They just want to watch what they want to watch. |
No wires. No boxes. No remotes. No "cable." No "broadcast." No "channels." No "networks." No "content selection screens." No "navigation." No "Netflix."? No "YouTube." No "Hulu."
Just what you want to watch.
If Apple can eventually make the Apple TV do that, the Apple TV will indeed be a massive home run.
Especially if Google and all the other TV makers are still figuring out how to allow people to "record content" with one box and "play content" with another box and "find channels" with another box and "stream content from the web or BitTorrent" with another box ? or, worst of all, invent a hyper-complex box and remotes that do all of that and that you need a PhD to figure out how to operate.
Because the last thing TV users want is for TV to get more complicated.
Read Jonathan Bingham's post here >
SEE ALSO: Here's Everything We Know About The Forthcoming Apple TV
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-tv-vs-google-tv-2011-12
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Friday, December 23, 2011
The Hobbit Trailer Released: Watch Now!
From Academy Award winning director Peter Jackson comes The Hobbit, the precursor to The Lord of the Rings trilogy, based on the famous books by J.R.R. Tolkien.
The Hobbit follows title character Bilbo Baggins in his epic journey to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug.
Martin Freeman stars as Bilbo, with familiar faces such as Gandalf (Ian McKellen), Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Gollum (Andy Serkis) making appearances along the way.
Can it possibly live up to the incredible LOTR films? Based on this first glimpse, it looks like it just might. Watch The Hobbit trailer below and see what you think:
Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/12/the-hobbit-trailer-released-watch-now/
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Wednesday, December 7, 2011
PFT: Archie Manning doesn't want Luck on Colts
Getty ImagesRegardless of whatever accomplishments he enjoys in the NFL, Jason Garrett will forever be known as the coach who iced his own kicker.? But the criticism of Garrett conceals a more troubling truth regarding the final moments of regulation in the Cowboys? eventual overtime loss to the Cardinals.
Quarterback Tony Romo found yet another way to blow a game in the clutch.
Yes, Garrett inexplicably called for a time out while his team was in field-goal position.? Kicker Dan Bailey made the one that didn?t count, and he missed the one that did.
Before it ever got to that point, however, Tony Romo failed to realize that the Cowboys had two time outs remaining, after a completion on third and 11 gave Dallas a first down at the Arizona 32, with 26 seconds to play.
Instead of immediately calling for a time out, Romo rushed the offense to the line of scrimmage for a spike play.? A full 19 seconds later, the clock had been stopped by the intentional incompletion.
After the game, Romo clumsily explained that he didn?t call the time out because he didn?t know whether the Cowboys had gotten a first down.? But the tape shows no hesitation on Romo?s part; he immediately urged his teammates to get in position to spike the ball, which means that he simply didn?t realize he had two time outs in his pocket.? (Besides, if the Cowboys hadn?t gotten a first down, spiking the ball would have given possession to the Cardinals.? Thus, if Romo had any doubt at all about whether it was first down or fourth down, his first move should have been to take the time out.)
In fairness to Romo, Garrett could have called for a time out from the sideline while Romo was rushing the offense into position for the spike play.? But Romo, if he truly intends to be a Super Bowl winning quarterback and to overcome a reputation for finding new and exciting ways to screw up with the game on the line, needs to know how many time outs he has left and when to use him.? Otherwise, he?ll again per perceived as finding new and exciting ways to screw up with the game on the line.
The only thing saving Romo from more widespread criticism is that most NFL fans were watching the Packers-Giants game at the time.
The Romo situation was a topic during Tuesday?s episode of PFT Live.? Though I said pretty much the same things that I?ve just typed, you can assess Romo?s explanation for yourselves, while also trying to figure out why he?s wearing a dress shirt with a neck hole roughly eight sizes too big.
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Tuesday, December 6, 2011
FDA takes aim at "unproven" HCG weight-loss brands (Reuters)
NEW YORK (Reuters) ? Regulators have taken first steps to remove from the market over-the-counter products containing HCG hormone, saying the homeopathic formulations fraudulently claim to produce weight loss and may pose serious health risks.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission issued seven warning letters on Tuesday to companies that sell the over-the-counter products, noting they have not been approved by the FDA for weight loss.
The FDA and FTC said the products, taken as oral drops, pellets or sprays, instruct buyers to use them in conjunction with a very low-calorie diet that the agencies consider potentially dangerous.
"Consumers on a very low calorie diet are at increased risk for side effects including gallstone formation, electrolyte imbalance and heart arrhythmias," a type of dangerous irregular heartbeat, the agencies said in a press release.
HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) is a hormone produced by the human placenta and found in the urine of pregnant women. Although not approved for weight loss, an injectable form of the hormone is approved by the FDA to treat some cases of female infertility and other medical conditions.
The letters warned the companies that they are violating federal law by selling drugs that have not been approved and by making unsupported claims.
"The joint action is the first step in keeping the unproven and potentially unsafe products from being marketed online and in retail outlets," the agencies said.
Warning letters were sent to Nutri-Fusion Systems of Sandy, Utah; Natural Medical Supply LLC, dba HCG Complete Diet; HCG Platinum LLC; Theoriginalhcgdrops.com; HCG Diet Direct LLC and Hcg-miracleweightloss.com.
The companies have 15 days to notify the FDA of corrective action.
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S-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g electrical conductance to the limit
Monday, December 5, 2011
Individual molecules have been used to create electrical components like resistors, transistors and diodes, that mimic the properties of familiar semiconductors. But according to Nongjian (NJ) Tao, a researcher at the Biodesign Institute? at Arizona State University, unique properties inherent in single molecules may also allow clever designers to produce novel devices whose behavior falls outside the performance observed in conventional electronics.
In research appearing in today's issue of Nature Nanotechnology, Tao describes a method for mechanically controlling the geometry of a single molecule, situated in a junction between a pair of gold electrodes that form a simple circuit. The manipulations produced over tenfold increase in conductivity.
The unusual, often non-intuitive characteristics of single molecules may eventually be introduced into a broad range of microelectronics, suitable for applications including biological and chemical sensing; electronic and mechanical devices.
Delicate molecular manipulations requiring patience and finesse are routine for Tao, whose research at Biodesign's Center for Bioelectronics and Biosensors has included work on molecular diodes, graphene behavior and molecular imaging techniques. Nevertheless, he was surprised at the outcome described in the current paper: "If you have a molecule attached to electrodes, it can stretch like a rubber band," he says. "If it gets longer, most people tend to think that the conductivity will decrease. A longer wire is less conductive than a shorter wire."
Indeed, diminishing conductivity through a molecule is commonly observed when the distance between the electrodes attached to its surface is increased and the molecule becomes elongated. But according to Tao, if you stretch the molecule enough, something unexpected happens: the conductance goes up?by a huge amount. "We see at least 10 times greater conductivity, simply by pulling the molecule."
As Tao explains, the intriguing result is a byproduct of the laws of quantum mechanics, which dictate the behavior of matter at the tiniest scales: "The conductivity of a single molecule is not simply inversely proportional to length. It depends on the energy level alignment."
In the metal leads of the electrodes, electrons can move about freely but when they come to an interface?in this case, a molecule that sits in the junction between electrodes?they have to overcome an energy barrier. The height of this energy barrier is critical to how readily electrons can pass through the molecule. By applying a mechanical force to the molecule, the barrier is lowered, improving conductance.
"Theoretically, people have thought of this as a possibility, but this is a demonstration that it really happens," Tao says. "If you stretch the molecule and geometrically increase the length, it energetically lowers the barrier so electrons can easily go through. If you think in optical terms, it becomes more transparent to electrons."
The reason for this has to do with a property known as force-induced resonant tunneling. This occurs when the molecular energy moves closer to the Fermi level of the electrodes?that is, toward the region of optimal conductance. (See figure 1) Thus, as the molecule is stretched, it causes a decrease in the tunneling energy barrier.
For the experiments, Tao's group used 1,4'-Benzenedithiol, the most widely studied entity for molecular electronics. Further experiments demonstrated that the transport of electrons through the molecule underwent a corresponding decrease as the distance between the electrodes was reduced, causing the molecule's geometry to shift from a stretched condition to a relaxed or squeezed state. "We have to do this thousands of times to be sure the effect is robust and reproducible."
In addition to the discovery's practical importance, the new data show close agreement with theoretical models of molecular conductance, which had often been at variance with experimental values, by orders of magnitude.
Tao stresses that single molecules are compelling candidates for a new types of electronic devices, precisely because they can exhibit very different properties from those observed in conventional semiconductors.
Microelectromechanical systems or MEMS are just one domain where the versatile properties of single molecules are likely to make their mark. These diminutive creations represent a $40 billion a year industry and include such innovations as optical switches, gyroscopes for cars, lab-on-chip biomedical applications and microelectronics for mobile devices.
"In the future, when people design devices using molecules, they will have a new toolbox they can use."
###
Arizona State University: http://asunews.asu.edu/
Thanks to Arizona 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/115713/S_t_r_e_t_c_h_i_n_g__electrical_conductance_to_the_limit
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Monday, December 5, 2011
Zynga hopes to raise about $1 billion in IPO
NEW YORK (AP) ? Hoping to harvest some fresh cash, the online game company behind "FarmVille" said Friday that it plans to raise $1 billion in an initial public offering of up to 100 million shares.
Zynga Inc. is the latest in a spate of IPOs by Internet companies this year, ranging from professional networking service LinkedIn Corp. to the online deals site Groupon Inc. They're all precursors to Facebook's public debut expected sometime after April next year. Facebook could fetch as much as $10 billion in its offering.
Zynga, whose games are played mainly on Facebook, plans to sell its shares at $8.50 to $10 each. If the shares are priced at $10, Zynga will be valued at $7 billion based on the number of its total shares. That's a smaller valuation that the company's shares have traded recently on SharesPost, a secondary stock exchange used to trade the stock of privately held companies. There, a recent trade valued Zynga at $11.7 billion.
The company expects to sell 14.3 percent of its available stock, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That's a relatively high "float," which could give investors confidence that the company isn't trying to artificially inflate its value. Groupon raised some concerns when it sold just 5.5 percent of its outstanding stock. Though not unprecedented, the amount was below that of many prominent tech companies, such as Google (7.2 percent), Amazon (12.6 percent) and LinkedIn (8.2 percent).
The offering gives investors the option to buy an additional 15 million shares to cover over-allotments, bringing the total number of shares for sale to 115 million.
Newly-public tech companies aren't always a hit after their initial offering. Shares of Internet radio company Pandora Media Inc., are trading below their IPO price and Groupon is slightly above and has fluctuated wildly. Unlike those two, however, Zynga is profitable. The company makes most of its revenue by charging small amounts of money for virtual items in its games. Players pay for new crops in "FarmVille," for example, or new buildings in "CityVille," its most popular game.
The company plans to use the proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes such as game development, marketing and other expenses. It also plans to use part of it for its philanthropic venture, Zynga.org.
Zynga has about 2,300 employees. It was founded in 2007 by CEO Mark Pincus. Following the IPO, Pincus will continue to be the sole holder of Zynga's Class C stock, each share of which carries 70 votes. After the offering, Pincus, 45, will control about 36.2 percent of the total voting power at Zynga through Class B and Class C shares he owns.
Companies often split their stock into different classes to keep control of the decisions about the company in the hands of founders and early employees. But having a class of shares carry 70 votes is unusual ? about 10 is more common.
__
Associated Press Writer Mae Anderson in New York contributed to this story.
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Sunday, December 4, 2011
In or out? Cain to say whether he'll stay in race (tbo)
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Modern automotive program at PHS teaches 'invaluable skills ...
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Reader Reaction We reserve the right to remove any content at any time from this Community, including without limitation if it violates the Community Rules. We ask that you report content that you in good faith believe violates the above rules by clicking the Flag link next to the offending comment. New comments are only accepted for two weeks from the date of publication.
During a recent class, David Lilly, left, the new automotive technology teacher at Portsmouth High School, talks about identifying certain kinds of engines and knowing which tools are correct to use on them.Deb Cram/dcram@seacoastonline.com
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"; aryZooms[imgCounter] = "javascript: NewWindow(870,625,window.document.location+zTemplate+'&img="+imgCounter+"')";PORTSMOUTH ? A new automotive instructor at Portsmouth High School's career center is hoping to shed new light on a program that has traditionally been burdened with stereotypes.
David Lilly, 32, was hired this year to replace Ken Sommers, who retired over the summer. Lilly formerly managed Carter's European Auto Repair in Greenland and is bringing a lifelong enthusiasm for cars to students willing to get their hands dirty and learn something about the vehicles they rely on every day.
"I felt like it was a good move for me," Lilly said, explaining he has always felt drawn to teaching.
Lilly was an automotive student himself in his youth, when he attended Winnacunnet High School in Hampton. But he said today's program at PHS has evolved considerably from a course that, in the past, was viewed by some in a negative light.
"This isn't the automotive program I grew up with," he said. "There's so much more to it, as far as the different opportunities" for students.
Portsmouth's program is accredited by the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation, and can be beneficial to all students, said Career/Technical Education Director Diane Canada. "Every 14, 15, 16-year-old should be taking this class," she said. "These are invaluable skills."
There are multiple offerings in the automotive program at PHS. Introductory classes on car care and automotive principles feed into a two-year program that would help not only a student hoping to become an automotive technician, but also anyone interested in areas such as sales or manufacturing, Lilly said.
The fact the class has attracted a number of female students indicates to Canada that it has broad appeal.
This past week, introductory students were getting hands-on experience with the parts of a car engine. They were expected to take the engine apart and identify each component.
"I'd like to consider them life skills, and not just job skills," Lilly said, pointing to the value of knowing a thing or two about what goes on under the hood of a car.
In the PHS garage, students have an array of cars they can work on. They even bring their own cars in for some free work.
For student Cam Geeslin, 15, an admitted "auto head" from Rye, the automotive program's main draw is its primary difference from the rest of the school day: "This is fun."
Geeslin said he enjoys the opportunity to get away from a desk, get his hands greasy and work on "self-directed learning." The Rye teen said what he's learning now will help him attain his goal of enrolling at the Naval Academy and earning a degree in mechanical engineering. "It's just great knowledge to have," he said.
For Canada, that is precisely what the automotive program, and all programs at the career center, are about.
"It's beneficial, going into post-secondary education, to have these skills," she said. "They're getting a step up when they go on to college."
Reader Reaction We reserve the right to remove any content at any time from this Community, including without limitation if it violates the Community Rules. We ask that you report content that you in good faith believe violates the above rules by clicking the Flag link next to the offending comment. New comments are only accepted for two weeks from the date of publication.
Source: http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20111203-NEWS-112030303
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Senate Republicans offer tax-cut renewal plan (Reuters)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? A pay freeze for federal workers would be extended for another three years as part of a Senate Republican plan offered on Wednesday to cover the cost of President Barack Obama's call to extend a popular payroll tax cut.
The Republican proposal, deemed unacceptable by Democrats who control the Senate, would also achieve savings by reducing the size of the federal workforce. Smaller savings would be gained by tightening eligibility requirements for jobless benefits, food stamps and the Medicare healthcare program for the elderly.
Senator Dean Heller proposed the funding mechanism, which was embraced by Republican leadership. Under the plan, for example, millionaires and billionaires would be forced to pay higher Medicare premiums, according to a summary. Other eligibility changes also are targeted at the wealthy, who generally do not qualify for these social safety net programs.
"This bill will provide some relief to struggling workers who continue to need it but without raising taxes on job creators, which is what the Democrats' proposal would do," said Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.
The Republican plan would help workers by extending a payroll tax cut, but hurt those in the federal workforce by extending for another three years a two-year pay freeze approved by Congress at the request of Obama in December 2010.
Senate Democrats have an alternative proposal to renew and expand the payroll tax cut and cover the cost with a new tax on annual income of more than $1 million.
Republicans oppose any additional tax on the wealthy, saying it would undermine job creation and the fragile U.S. economy.
Until earlier this week, Republicans had been lukewarm, at best, to extending the payroll tax cut. But they have come under political pressure to do so in advance of next year's presidential and congressional elections.
Without congressional action by December 31, the payroll tax that workers pay would revert to 6.2 percent, up from the current, temporary 4.2 percent tax.
On average, it would cost American families about $1,000.
Adam Jentleson, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, said the Democratic plan "would put more money in the pockets of middle-class families and create more jobs."
Jentleson added that now that Republicans "have seen the light" and are backing a payroll tax cut extension, "We look forward to working with them to negotiate a consensus solution."
(Reporting by Thomas Ferraro and Richard Cowan; Editing by Eric Walsh)
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Friday, December 2, 2011
Skin cancer rate may be higher in high-radon areas (Reuters)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) ? Rates of one form of skin cancer may be elevated in areas with naturally high levels of the radioactive gas radon, a UK study suggests.
But researchers caution the findings do not prove that radon raises people's risk of the disease, known as squamous cell carcinoma -- a highly curable type of skin cancer.
Their study looked only at wider geographical patterns, showing a correlation between an area's radon levels and rates of the skin cancer.
Radon -- a gas produced from the decay of naturally occurring uranium in soil and water -- is already considered a risk factor for lung cancer.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that radon contributes to about 21,000 lung cancer deaths each year -- although smoking is also involved in the majority of those cases.
For the new study, reported in the journal Epidemiology, UK researchers looked at skin cancer rates across 287 postal codes in southwest England.
They found that the rates of squamous cell carcinoma varied by postal code. In some areas, the yearly rate was about 35 cases or fewer per 100,000 people; in others, it was as high as 182 cases per 100,000.
There was an association between an area's average household radon level and its rate of squamous cell skin cancer. In postal codes where the radon level topped 230 Becquerel per cubic meter (Bq/m3), the rate of the cancer was 76 percent higher versus areas with the lowest average radon levels.
In the UK, radon levels above 200 Bq/m3 are considered "action" levels -- that is, people are advised to take steps to cut their home's radon concentration.
That can mean measures like sealing off cracks in basements and floors, and installing ventilation systems.
In the U.S., the EPA suggests taking those steps if home radon levels are around 150 Bq/m3. (The agency uses a different unit, giving the threshold as 4 picoCurie per liter, or pCi/L.)
The current study did not measure people's actual exposure to radon, which would vary by household even within a postal code with a high radon level, according to lead researcher Benedict W. Wheeler of the University of Exeter.
"This type of study is at the population/area level, so we only know that areas with high average household radon tend to also have high population rates of squamous cell carcinoma," Wheeler told Reuters Health in an email.
"It is possible that this relationship does not exist at the individual level," he added.
The researchers also had no information on people's individual behavior -- including how much time they spent in the sun, which is a key factor in skin cancer risk.
But if people in high-radon areas tended to spend more time in the sun, you'd expect to see higher rates of basal cell carcinoma as well, Wheeler noted.
Basal cell carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer. Unlike melanoma -- the least common but deadliest skin cancer -- both basal cell and squamous cell cancers are rarely fatal.
In this study, however, radon levels were unrelated to rates of basal cell cancer or melanoma.
Wheeler said it is plausible that radon could specifically raise the risk of squamous cell cancers. Those tumors form in the more superficial layers of skin, while basal cell cancers arise in deeper layers. And radioactive particles from radon would not be expected to penetrate that deeply into the skin; the particles, Wheeler said, can be stopped by a sheet of paper.
A radon expert not involved in the study agreed.
"Radon decay products deposit on skin in a similar manner to how they plate out on surfaces in a home," said R. William Field, a professor at the University of Iowa College of Public Health who studies the health effects of radon.
Some researchers have suggested that radon exposure could be behind two percent of non-melanoma skin cancers, he told Reuters Health in an email.
Now, Field said, more rigorous studies are needed to see whether people's individual exposure to radon is related to their skin cancer risk. He said that will require "case-control" studies, where people with squamous cell cancer are compared with people without the disease.
Wheeler agreed that further studies are necessary.
And he said that avoiding excessive sun exposure remains your best bet for cutting your skin cancer risk.
"The number-one risk factor for skin cancer in most cases is still UV from the sun," he noted, "and people should be aware of 'safe sun' guidance given by public health authorities."
When it comes to radon, the EPA suggests that all homes be tested, due to the lung cancer risk. Some state programs offer free or low-cost test kits; the agency has information on state radon contacts at http://www.epa.gov/radon/radontest.html.
The EPA estimates that for every 1,000 non-smokers exposed to 4 pCi/L of radon over a lifetime, seven could develop lung cancer. That's on par with the risk of dying in a car crash.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/vUwYmx Epidemiology, online November 10, 2011.
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