Senate confirms Galante as FHA chief despite losses

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate on Sunday confirmed the head of the Federal Housing Administration in her position despite mounting losses the mortgage funding agency that some fear could eventually lead to a taxpayer bailout.

In a 69-24 vote, the Senate confirmed Carol Galante as an assistant secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Galante, a former affordable housing developer in San Francisco, had been running the FHA in an acting capacity since July 2011.

The FHA, a key source of mortgage funding for first-time home buyers and those with modest incomes, backs $1.1 trillion in U.S. home mortgages. Last month it reported a projected shortfall of $16.3 billion due to souring loans that it insured during the housing market downturn during the past several years.

An independent audit suggested that the FHA would require taxpayer funding for the first time in its 78 years, though that won't be decided until February when the Obama administration releases its next budget proposal.

In response to the shortfall, the agency raised the premiums it charges on guaranteed loans by one-tenth of a percentage point, adding, on average, about $13 to a borrower's monthly mortgage payment.

Senator Tim Johnson, the Democrat who heads the Senate Banking Committee, said Galante was "highly qualified" and attributed the FHA's problems to legacy loans that were still threatening the agency's finances.

"It is important that the FHA have a confirmed management team in place to continue oversight of these legacy loans," Johnson said prior to the vote.

Following the collapse of the private subprime mortgage market during the 2007-2009 financial crisis, FHA-backed loans took over as the sole financing source for nearly all of the lower end of the U.S. housing market, which has continued to struggle.

The deteriorated finances had caused some Senate Republicans not to support Galante, who prior to her current position ran multifamily housing programs for HUD.

She joined the agency in 2009 after serving as president of Bridge Housing Corp, the largest non-profit developer of affordable housing in California.

But Republican Senator Bob Corker, who had been one of her biggest critics, publicly dropped his opposition to her confirmation after she sent him a letter pledging to take certain steps to improve the agency's finances, including tightening lending standards for buyers with lower credit scores and limiting the amount of money that could be borrowed in the FHA's reverse-mortgage program.

(Additional reporting by Margaret Chadbourn; Editing by Eric Walsh)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/senate-confirms-galante-fha-chief-despite-losses-220248798--sector.html

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Video: Russia cancels adoptions to American families

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/50315130/

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Grameen America open for business in Charlotte - Charlotte Observer

As soon as Perla Perez cashes her $1,000 check, her business plan kicks in.

She?s been making cheesecakes and other desserts out of her kitchen, but wants to expand. She?ll buy business cards, and kitchen equipment to bake more efficiently. Then she?ll start marketing.

Perez was one of four women to receive the first microloans from Grameen America?s new Charlotte branch on Friday.

It?s the latest expansion of the microfinance nonprofit started by economics professor Muhammad Yunus that won a Nobel Prize in 2006. The organization?s goal across the world is to lift low-income people out of poverty through entrepreneurship.

And it caps a three-year effort by three local business leaders to bring the concept of microfinance to the banking town of Charlotte.

?We are going to put our name in the history of North Carolina,? branch manager Shah Alam told the crowd gathered to see the checks awarded, as they celebrated with bags of Doritos, iced sugar cookies and bottled water. ?Let us put poverty in the museum.?

Fast paced start

Alam has worked with Grameen since 1985, originally in its home base of Bangladesh. He came to the United States to help launch its New York City branches several years ago.

His plane touched down in Charlotte on Nov. 25. Since then, he?s moved into an apartment, hired several center managers, reached out to low-income communities and sampled chicken and dumplings for the first time.

They?ll squeeze the Charlotte branch into a small, wood-floored former classroom in the International House building on Central Avenue.

The three other women receiving loans Friday have been making a living predominantly out of their living rooms and kitchens.

Gladys Rivera, who?s lived in Charlotte for 12 years, will put her $1,000 check toward building her Honduran food business.

Gloria Turcios received $1,200 to put toward her business selling clothing, often at flea markets.

And Dunia Chacon will use her $1,000 to build her nutritional product business.

All four took classes to explain the program and brush up on financial literacy. Once they get their business going, they?ll be responsible for weekly repayments of $42 ? of which $40 is principal and $2 in interest.

Then six more women are scheduled to receive micro-loans. Over time, Grameen?s Charlotte branch will help clients around the city launch or expand home-based businesses.

A $27 start

Grameen grew out Yunus?s experience in the 1970s, when he gave $27 to a group of Bangladeshi women who worked bamboo into furniture and baskets. They used the money to buy more materials, and all repaid him.

Several years later, he founded the Grameen Bank to support entrepreneurs, mostly women, in poor areas around Bangladesh. It eventually became an international nonprofit, and expanded into the U.S. It touts a nearly perfect repayment rate.

The Charlotte branch marks the fifth U.S. city to have one. They?re already in New York City, Omaha, Neb., Indianapolis and Oakland, Calif.

In each city, loan officers find groups of borrowers who would make good candidates for the program. They must set up savings accounts and be legal residents of the U.S.

Wells Fargo corporate banking managing director Joe Mynatt, former mayoral candidate John Lassiter and Red F Marketing chief executive Sara Garces Roselli took the lead on fundraising the $2.5 million it would take to bring a branch to Charlotte.

?Being a banker, the microfinance concept makes a lot of sense to me,? Mynatt said. He said he began sending emails and making phone calls several years ago to help bring a branch to North Carolina.

Their committee approached the city of Charlotte in 2010, pitching it as a way to help people making less than $12,000 per year support their families.

The city ultimately kicked in $230,000.

Wells Fargo ponied up $500,000, and the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation pledged $450,000. Other donors included Whole Foods Market?s foundation, the Merancas Foundation, Leon Levine Foundation, Bank of America and Duke Energy.

They had originally hoped to have the branch operating by the middle of 2011, but fundraising delays pushed it back.

Some of that was because of the nature of the organization, which isn?t yet common in the United States, Mynatt said Friday. The increase in charitable needs during the recession also played a role.

?It?s nice to see it finally get here,? Mynatt said. ?It works. That?s the bottom line.?

Source: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/12/28/3751920/grameen-america-aims-to-lift-lower.html

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Top 10 latest Israeli advances in breast cancer - Israpundit

Israel 21C

And don?t miss ISRAEL21c?s top 10 stories of 2012

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, ISRAEL21c has put together a list of the top 10 latest Israeli advances in breast cancer.

One out of every eight women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. It is the most commonly diagnosed non-skin cancer in women worldwide, and also strikes thousands of men.

Though the three areas with the highest breast cancer rates are Western Europe, Australia/New Zealand and Northern Europe, Israel has taken a leading role in researching causes and treatments. The Breast Cancer Research Foundation?s very first international research grant was awarded in 2001 to Shaare Zedek Medical Center?s Dr. Ephrat Levy-Lahad to do a comprehensive Israeli Breast Cancer Study, now an international model for genetic breast cancer prevention screening.

Over the past 12 months, ISRAEL21c has reported on exciting news in cancer research from Israeli laboratories. We present 10 of the most promising advances here with our hope that breast cancer may soon be relegated to history.

1.?IceSense 3

The novel Israeli medical device IceSense3, made by IceCure, is already helping American doctors destroy benign breast lumps by freezing them. In June, a leading Japanese breast surgeon started clinical trials using the minimally invasive, ultrasound-guided procedure to successfully obliterate small cancerous tumors as well. Similar trials will soon begin in the United States.

The cryoablation process takes five or 10 minutes in a doctor?s office, clinic or breast center under local anesthesia. No recovery period or post-care is necessary, and there is no scarring.

2.?RUTH

The Israeli company Real Imaging offers a no-radiation, no-contact alternative to mammography pioneered by electro-optical engineer Boaz Arnon and named in memory of his mother, who died of breast cancer in 2004.

RUTH uses a new trademarked platform that enables automatic quantitative analysis of 3D and infrared signals emitted from cancerous and benign breast tissue. Results are interpreted by computer, with unprecedented accuracy in patients of all ages ? 90 percent as opposed to 80% for mammography. Thousands of women have been involved in clinical trials for RUTH since 2007. The next step is CE and FDA approval.

3. MarginProbe

Dune Medical, a graduate of the?Misgav Venture Accelerator, in June received pre-market approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for MarginProbe, its trademarked system that uses electromagnetic waves to identify possibly cancerous tissue on the edges of a breast tumor in real time. The application was based on data from a 600-patient study conducted primarily in the United States.

MarginProbe is meant to improve on the current rate of 30 percent to 60% of women who must undergo secondary breast cancer surgery after a lumpectomy because the initial surgery failed to get rid of all cancerous tissue at the margins of the tumor.

4.?Monoclonal antibodies

Herceptin, a frequently prescribed drug for blocking the chemical signals that stimulate uncontrolled growth of breast cancer cells, is one of an advanced class of pharmaceuticals called monoclonal antibody drugs. Currently, these drugs must be administered together with chemotherapy.

The two-year-old Israeli company Immune Pharmaceuticals is developing a ?guided missile? system, licensed from the Hebrew University, which encloses thousands of chemotherapy molecules inside a monoclonal antibody nanoparticle. The drug payload isn?t released until reaching the cancerous tissue.

In addition, Immune is collaborating with the Weizmann Institute to develop antibody therapeutics targeting a growth factor that causes chemotherapy resistance in many patients with breast and ovarian cancer.

5. Better biomarkers

Tel Aviv University PhD student Livnat Jerby won a prestigious 2012 Dan David Scholarship for performing the first genome-scale study of the metabolic progression of breast cancer ? an algorithm that can profile the traits of each individual patient?s tumor. These profiles help in studying the underlining mechanisms of the disease, classifying patients according to their prognosis and identifying potential metabolic biomarkers as a non-invasive, cost-effective means for early diagnosis and monitoring treatment efficiency.

?The Holy Grail of our work is to provide the basis for rational drug discovery, aiming to find drugs that ? unlike most conventional treatments ? will harm only the tumor, and not the healthy cells,? Jerby tells ISRAEL21c. ?We had some success with providing a new potential target for treating renal cancer and published those results in?Nature. With breast cancer, we can apply the same computational tools to better diagnose and choose the best treatment for the individual patient.?

6.?An HIV approach

Two Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School researchers have patented a protein encoded by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as a treatment to make radiation and chemotherapy more effective.

This small peptide, dubbed 25-39, inhibits a substance involved in repairing DNA damage from cancer therapy. It?s important to prevent such repair in order to wipe out the cancer cells. Now the search is on for investment partners to further develop and commercialize the product that already proved itself in the lab.

7.?The gene that can suppress tumors

It?s long been known that the p53 gene produces a protein that can suppress tumors. In 2012, a team at the Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem discovered that p53 also governs a mechanism that keeps cancer cells from invading healthy epithelial tissue. Most cancers, including breast cancer, spread through epithelial cells.

Investors are being sought for clinical studies on breast-cancer patients. The long-term goal is to boost the group-control function of p53 to keep tumors from developing the capacity to spread.

8. Immunotherapy

Two therapeutic vaccines against cancer are under development in Israel.

Vaxil BioTherapeutics? ImMucin, can be tailored to treat 90% of cancers by activating and enhancing the body?s immune system to seek and destroy cancer cells present in the body. The treatment causes no side effects, and can be taken indefinitely, like vitamins. ImMucin could be on the market in about five years.

Vacciguard, another Israeli biomed startup, is introducing a technology for developing vaccines against cancer and a wide range of other diseases that currently have no effective treatments. The technology is based on the research of world-renowned Weizmann immunologist Prof. Irun Cohen.

9.?Cancer ?family trees?

Israeli researchers from the Weizmann Institute and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology used computational biology to chart a unique ?family tree? of cancer stem cells from living patients. The chart will help determine exactly how these cells divide and spread, as well as how they can survive chemotherapy treatments and remain latent in the body only to reappear with a vengeance at a later time.

Preliminary results show that slow-dividing cancer cells are more likely to evade cancer drugs, whereas chemotherapy most commonly targets only rapidly dividing cells. The Israeli research points to a need for devising new treatments targeting slow-dividing cells.

10. Weizmann Breast Cancer Research Program

During 2012, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the US Department of Defense were among overseas organizations awarding postdoctoral fellowships at the Breast Cancer Research Program at Israel?s Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot.

Current projects within this program focus on better diagnosis and treatment options, such as using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in an advanced noninvasive method to detect malignant breast tumors without biopsies; and in evaluating the effectiveness of hormone therapy for breast cancer. Another Weizmann team recently revealed new details about a crucial mechanism that controls the first stage of breast cancer metastasis.

Related Articl

Source: http://www.israpundit.com/archives/51895

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Sue the Gun Makers, and the Sellers, Too

A Glock pistol similiar to the one used by Adam Lanza. The gun manufacturer faced a lawsuit in 2003 until Congress passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.

Photo illustration by Joe Raedle/Getty Images.

The horror of Newtown has finally snapped us out of our delusional reverie about guns. Swiftly, a barrage of promising proposals have been thrown on the table: Close the gun-show loophole, which allows guns to be sold to anyone without the simple safeguard of a background check. Ban assault weapons. Ban or control the sale of large ammunition clips. Increase funding for mental health awareness, services, and surveillance.

Like any major public health problem, stemming gun violence will require multiple, overlapping strategies. Let me offer another one, overlooked until now, but potentially a dynamo: Repeal the little-known, but pernicious, Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. In other words, reopen the door to lawsuits against gun sellers for wrongful conduct in the design and marketing of their weapons. ?

In 2005, at a high point of the NRA?s control of the national agenda on guns, Congress passed this breathtakingly broad and virtually unprecedented law. Overriding states? power to regulate harmful conduct within their borders, the PLCAA eliminated most tort claims anyone might bring against the manufacturers and other sellers of guns, and did so for past and well as future misconduct.

Until that point, with my colleague Jean Eggen at Widener University School of Law, I?d been developing an argument that, under certain limited conditions, people injured by gun violence, and cities bearing the financial cost of that violence, should be able to sue sellers. David Kairys at Temple Law School was making similar arguments. And courts had started to see things our way.

In one prominent California case in 2003, Ileto v. Glock Inc., an appellate court allowed a negligence claim against several gun manufacturers, distributors, and dealers. The claim was that they?d been part of the chain of gun distribution that led to the deaths of a postal worker and injuries to three young kids in a 1999 shooting spree. The killer was carrying at least seven firearms, all bought illegally. The suit argued that Glock and the other defendants intentionally placed into the market more firearms than could reasonably be sold legally, and that these strategies created a substantial risk that the guns would fall into the hands of criminals. But then the PLCAA came into effect, and the judge had no choice but to throw the case out.

Around the same time in the late 1990s, a bunch of cities?including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, and Gary, Ind.?hit hard by the human and financial cost of gun violence, brought suits against prominent gun manufacturers, including Smith & Wesson, Baretta U.S.A., and Glock. The suits generally alleged that the defendants? illegal marketing and misleading advertising of their guns had caused the city to spend substantial money on crime fighting, depleting resources. The Chicago case was filed after a sting operation revealed that many retailers were engaging in all manner of illegal sales, multiplying the risk of deadly outcomes.

When a state or city can convince a court that an activity threatens the safety of its citizens, it can require the nuisance-causer, like a toxic waste dumper, to stop, and to pay for the cost of clean-up. The cities argued that the gun sellers were creating a nuisance. And some of these lawsuits?notably, those brought by Gary and Cincinnati?successfully advanced through the courts. But the PLCAA stopped them cold, too.

To be fair, these cases faced difficulties before the PLCAA. Suits like Ileto, based on bad marketing and advertising practices, are controversial, in part because it?s hard to prove that the marketing led to a particular injury. And while the cities? claims show the power of public nuisance theory, they also suggested that cities could effectively regulate guns right out of the market.

But the law evolves by testing theories, discarding some and ultimately embracing others. And until the NRA got Congress to choke off these suits, no industry got a free pass on the whole litigation process. Even with vaccines?where untrameled access clearly benefits the public?drug manufacturers got only a partial shield: If you can show you?re injured by a vaccine, you win compensation from a federal fund (paid for by a small excise tax on each dose of vaccine). People who are injured or killed by guns, or cities saddled with the financial costs that gun violence causes, by contrast, are without recourse.

We should care about preserving the right to sue not only for those who are injured or killed, but because litigation is a useful supplement to regulation. Especially for guns, given that regulation is anemic in the first place. Often, defendants will change their behavior?self-regulate, in other words?rather than risk liability. ?Faced with the public nuisance suits, Smith & Wesson agreed to limit retail customers to no more than one gun within a two-week period and threatened dealers with cancellation of their contracts if "a disproportionate number" of crimes were committed with guns they sold. S&W also began installing safely locks on its weapons. That last bit is particularly important because the Consumer Product Safety Commission is forbidden from regulating firearms.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=90e9bf28adc8654f8030c1d5e85503fd

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US Home Values Expected to End 2012 Up More Than $1.3 Trillion ...

After five consecutive years of annual declines in cumulative value, the overall change in value of all U.S. homes in 2012 should be back in black, with a projected year-end gain of more than $1.3 trillion this year.

Gains were calculated by measuring the difference between cumulative home values as of the end of 2011 and anticipated cumulative home values at the end of 2012. This year?s gain in national cumulative home values ??the total value of all homes in a given area ??is the first annual increase since U.S. homes gained $483 billion in total value in 2006. Cumulative home values fell each year from 2007 through 2011, with the largest drop coming in 2008, when homes lost more than $3.2 trillion in value, according to Zillow.

The projected gain this year would be the largest year-over-year gain since 2005 and represents a marked recovery from 2011?s annual value loss of approximately $792 billion.

More than 75 percent of the 177 metro areas included in this analysis ??135 in all ??experienced cumulative home value gains in 2012. Among the 30 largest metro areas covered by the report, only Philadelphia failed to record an annual gain in cumulative home values. Of the 30 largest metros, those with the largest gains in cumulative value as measured by total dollar volume include Los Angeles ($122.1 billion), San Francisco ($93.3 billion), San Jose, Calif. ($54.7 billion), Phoenix ($52 billion) and Miami-Fort Lauderdale ($47.5 billion).

?After a sluggish 2011, the housing market really turned a corner in 2012, as historic affordability and sustained investor interest helped keep demand at a boil,? said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries. ?We expect value gains to continue into 2013. As home values rise, and more homeowners are freed from negative equity, we can expect a continued slow transition to a more normal housing environment driven by local market fundamentals and conditions.?

Source: http://www.zillow.com/blog/2012-12-19/us-home-values-expected-to-end-2012-up-more-than-1-3-trillion/

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Genius Among Us (And Bushmaster) (talking-points-memo)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

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Minnesota Lets Robosigning Zombie Debt Buyer Off With Hand Slap; Consent Order Requires Outfit To Do What It Should Have Already Been Doing Anyway When Clipping Consumers For Unpaid Bills

Minnesota Lets Robosigning Zombie Debt Buyer Off With Hand Slap; Consent Order Requires Outfit To Do What It Should Have Already Been Doing Anyway When Clipping Consumers For Unpaid Bills

From the Office of the Minnesota Attorney General:

• Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson [] announced a Consent Judgment with Midland Funding, LLC, one of the country?s largest debt buyers and which has offices in St. Cloud, to settle a lawsuit she filed against the company last year for filing unreliable ?robo-signed? affidavits in collections lawsuits and sometimes targeting the wrong people for payment of old bills that it purchased from credit card companies and banks for pennies on the dollar.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheHomeEquityTheftReporter/~3/OxcIwlc6NeM/minnesota-lets-robosigning-zombie-debt.html

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Diet To Cure Eczema ? Six Super Foods That Cure Eczema

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Rating: 5.0/5 (1 vote cast)

Eczema is one of the most common skin-related disorders, generally characterized by blisters on the skin, with itchy and scaly rashes. It can affect anyone but children are more vulnerable to this disease. Genetic and hereditary factors, though, also play a key role. Those with a family history of allergic conditions like hay fever or asthma are at a higher risk of developing eczema.

If you are affected with this condition, you should avoid exposure to allergens and irritants in the environment because such things can aggravate eczema symptoms. Following is a brief rundown on six super foods that cure eczema.

Foods To Cure Eczema

Wild Blue-Green Algae

Wild blue-green algae contain powerful harmonizing properties that can be very beneficial for those suffering from eczema. It strengthens immune system and acts as an excellent blood builder. It also helps in food absorption by providing your body with thousands of liver-active enzymes. At the same time, the high amount of vitamin B present in this food promotes healthy red blood cells. All these features eventually help in relieving the itchiness and inflammation caused by eczema. The combined effects of all these properties accelerate the healing process.

Flaxseeds

Flaxseeds contain a powerful natural body lubricant. They also provide your body with essential fatty acids (both omega 6 and omega 3). Flaxseeds are one of the best foods that not only promote clear skin but also help in maintaining a good health.

It alleviates inflammation in the body, including the one caused by eczema. It helps in building new tissues and speeds up the healing process. If you want to treat eczema faster, you must consider eating flaxseeds daily. The best way is to sprinkle the seeds in your salad.

Aloe Vera

Aloe Vera has anti-viral, anti-parasitic, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties that can be very effective in reducing inflammation and repairing the skin damages caused by eczema.

Various Forms Of Sprouts

The best forms of sprouts that can be very helpful in healing eczema include mustard, sesame, sunflower, pumpkin seeds and alfalfa sprouts. All these are wonderful foods for enhancing, strengthening, regenerating, revitalizing and improving eczema skin almost immediately.

The alkaline environment that these sprouts create in the body helps in relieving the itchiness, scaly rashes and inflammation caused by eczema. Eczema patients are often advised to eat these sprouts raw for maximum benefits.

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Salmon And Other Omega 3?s

Salmon and other foods containing high amount of omega-3 fatty acids are also very effective in staving off the eczema condition. Eating these foods prevents inflammation and helps your body to grow new skin. At the same time, it also strengthens your body?s ability to fight allergens more efficiently.

Yogurt With Live Creatures

Fermented foods like Kefir and yogurts with live creatures contain beneficial bacteria which promote the production of certain antibodies and white blood cells in the body. Such foods also act as anti-inflammatory agents. At the same time, they improve your immune system as well. All these properties, when combined, prevent your body from over-reacting to allergens. Therefore, eating yogurts with live creatures daily can also be a great way to win your battle against eczema.

Last, but not the least, knowing which foods can trigger eczema is also important. Your foods-to-avoid list must include food preservatives, oranges, corn, chocolates, eggs, soybeans, peanuts, shellfish, wheat and cow?s milk.

Six Super Foods That Cure Eczema, 5.0 out of 5 based on 1 rating

Source: http://www.ayushveda.com/magazine/six-super-foods-that-cure-eczema/

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Samsung drops attempt to ban Apple sales in Europe

US-APPLE-SAMSUNG:Samsung drops attempt to ban Apple sales in Europe

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Korea's Samsung Electronics on Tuesday said it would drop law suits aimed at banning the sale of Apple Inc. products in Europe just a day after scoring a victory in a battle in the United States with the maker of iPhones.

Samsung and Apple, the world's top two smartphone makers, have been locked in patent disputes in at least 10 countries over the last 18 months since Apple sued Samsung, saying the Korean firm copied its best-selling iPhone and iPad.

On Tuesday, Samsung said it was dropping an attempt to stop the sale of some Apple products in Germany, Britain, France, Italy and the Netherlands, though it did not say it would halt its court battle for compensation.

"Samsung remains committed to licensing our technologies on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms, and we strongly believe it is better when companies compete fairly in the marketplace, rather than in court," the company said in a statement.

A spokesman for Apple declined to comment on Samsung's decision.

The decision comes a day after a judge rejected Apple Inc's request for a ban on the sale of Samsung Electronics' smartphones in the United States.

In August, Apple was awarded $1.05 billion in damages after a U.S. jury found Samsung had copied critical features of the iPhone and iPad. The Samsung products run on the Android operating system, developed by Google.

In January, the European Commission opened an investigation into whether Samsung Electronics has distorted competition in the European mobile device market, breaking EU antitrust rules.

(Reporting by Simon Johnson, additional reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Louise Heavens)

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Livescribe stops selling Sky smartpen in UK after being sued by BSkyB

Well, this isn't great. No sooner did we review the Livescribe Sky WiFi smartpen and then it suddenly ceases to exist -- at least in the British Isles. Livescribe has withdrawn the product from its UK store following an allegation that it is "infringing the trademark rights of British Sky Broadcasting." Other retailers have briskly followed suit, not least because they too have been threatened with legal action. It seems the risk of someone shopping for a premium TV service and then accidentally buying a cloud-connected note-taking device were just too great for the broadcaster to bear.

Filed under: Misc, Portable Audio/Video, Wireless

Comments

Source: TheNextWeb

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/17/livescrive-sky-wifi-law-suit/

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USF Bulls to host 2015 NCAA golf championships in Bradenton

Tampa?? The University of South Florida was named host school for the 2015 NCAA men's and women's golf championships, which will be played at the Concession Golf Club in Bradenton.Dates will be announced later. The NCAA last held its men's event in Florida in 1990, while the women's event visited the state in 2007.The...

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/50229680/ns/local_news-tampa_fl/

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Brain imaging identifies bipolar disorder risk in adolescents

Dec. 17, 2012 ? Researchers from the Black Dog Institute and University of NSW have used brain imaging technology to show that young people with a known genetic risk of bipolar but no clinical signs of the condition have clear and quantifiable differences in brain activity when compared to controls.

"We found that the young people who had a parent or sibling with bipolar disorder had reduced brain responses to emotive faces, particularly a fearful face. This is an extremely promising breakthrough," says study leader Professor Philip Mitchell.

Affecting around 1 in 75 Australians, bipolar disorder involves extreme and often unpredictable fluctuations in mood. The mood swings and associated behaviours such as disinhibited behaviour, aggression and severe depression, have a significant impact on day-to-day life, careers and relationships. Bipolar has the highest suicide rate of all psychiatric disorders.

"We know that bipolar is primarily a biological illness with a strong genetic influence but triggers are yet to be understood. Being able to identify young people at risk will enable implementation of early intervention programs, giving them the best chance for a long and happy life," says Prof Mitchell.

Researchers used functional MRI to visualise brain activity when participants were shown pictures of happy, fearful or calm (neutral) human faces. Results showed that those with a genetic risk of bipolar displayed significantly reduced brain activity in a specific part of the brain known to regulate emotional responses.

"Our results show that bipolar disorder may be linked to a dysfunction in emotional regulation and this is something we will continue to explore," Professor Mitchell said.

"And we now have an extremely promising method of identifying children and young people at risk of bipolar disorder."

"We expect that early identification will significantly improve outcomes for people that go on to develop bipolar disorder, and possibly even prevent onset in some people."

Results are published this week in Biological Psychiatry and come from the NHMRC-funded 'Kids and Sibs study', the biggest research study in the world focusing on genetic and environmental aspects of bipolar disorder. Based at the Black Dog Institute, the trial is still recruiting.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of New South Wales.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Gloria Roberts, Melissa J. Green, Michael Breakspear, Clare McCormack, Andrew Frankland, Adam Wright, Florence Levy, Rhoshel Lenroot, Herng Nieng Chan, Philip B. Mitchell. Reduced Inferior Frontal Gyrus Activation During Response Inhibition to Emotional Stimuli in Youth at High Risk of Bipolar Disorder. Biological Psychiatry, 2012; DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.11.004

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/Fsk_Npf7McE/121217102649.htm

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How to turn an old Kindle Fire into a Nexus 7 with Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean [video]

Kindle Fire Nexus 7 Hack

Have an old Kindle Fire lying around? Don?t trade it in just yet because with a little bit of tinkering, you can turn it into what amounts to a Google (GOOG) Nexus 7. XDA-Developers user ?Hashcode? has written up instructions on how to install Android 4.2.1 on an original Kindle Fire with almost every feature intact. If you can live without the microphone (sound still works), deep sleep mode, Swype keyboard, multi-user profiles and USB camera support, then you?re good to go. All of the major tablet features including hardware-accelerated HD video for YouTube and Netflix (NFLX) work smoothly, and?Liliputing?s hands-on video suggests the transformation works really well for browsing and games. The only downside is the battery life is not very good.?True, you won?t get the Nexus 7?s higher-resolution display or sleeker design either, but it?s still a handy way to repurpose an old tablet.

[More from BGR: New BlackBerry 10 images show off home screen UI, notifications and key apps]

This article was originally published by BGR

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/turn-old-kindle-fire-nexus-7-android-4-051817705.html

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'Tis the Season?for Making Smart Choices | Lunchquest Edinburgh

It?s that time of the year again, where the holiday office parties have already started weeks ago, and you?re trying to meet up with as many people for a quick catch-up before everyone heads out for the holidays. It?s a whole month (and more) of eating, drinking, and being merry, but that doesn?t mean you have to pack on the party pounds. By following some simple tips you can survive the holiday season without ringing in the New Year with the extra weight.

Dot your plate with little bites from the buffet, like this

Curb your hunger before a party ? It might sound strange, but feeling hungry can lead you straight to the buffet table or nibbling on snacks once you get to the party. Having a small, low-fat snack such as fruit, low-fat cheese, or a low fat yoghurt before you head out the door can help control how much you eat, and will allow you to make healthier choices at the party.

Make one trip to the party buffet ? Buffet tables can be a very dangerous place when it comes to portion control. You start at the beginning of the buffet, and by the time you have made it half way, your plate is already quite full. Although everything on the buffet might be really tempting, try visiting the buffet once, choose only the foods you really want to eat, and keep portions small. You often only need a taste of the food to satisfy cravings. If you need a full plate to feel like you?re eating enough, then try filling it with salad and vegetables first before adding on the other foods. Try to move away from the buffet to avoid any unconscious nibbling while chatting away.

At the dinner table, cut your first helping in half ? Whether you?re at a friend?s house for a dinner party or with your family for Christmas dinner putting less on your plate first may help you eat less overall. If you fill your plate to begin with, often times you might be overfilling your plate out of excitement, and end up eating more than you needed. Start with half of what you would usually eat, and then if you need more, you can always have a little more.

Choose healthier finger foods ? Try to stay away from any fried appetisers, cheese cubes, cocktail sausages, and pastry based snacks. Instead, opt for some raw veggies with a small amount of dip, pretzels, or low fat crackers. If you are hosting a party, make sure you have some healthy snacks around, not only for yourself, but others might be trying to watch what they are eating too. Some ideas for snacks could be raw vegetables with a low fat dip or hummus, low fat cheese with whole wheat crackers, or some fresh or dried fruits. If you want to include some sausages, don?t wrap them in bacon, instead grill or fry them on a pan without using any type of fat.

Drink smart ? This is probably the time of year when we drink the most alcohol, but choosing the right type of drink can cut calories. Making small changes like swapping a glass of wine for a white wine spritzer with soda water or a pint of lager instead of a pint of cider can save some calories while still having a drink. Take a look at the table below to see how many calories are in some of our favourite drinks, you may be quite surprised at how quickly the calories add up.

Drink	Calories (kcal)	Food equivalent
White wine (175ml) (11% ABV)	130	One small bag of crisps
Red wine (175ml) (11% ABV)	120	One small slice of sponge cake
Lager (pint) (4% ABV)	170	One small sausage roll
Premium lager (pint) (5% ABV)	250	One scotch egg
Bitter (pint) (4% ABV)	190	One glazed ring doughnut
Cider (pint) (5% ABV)	200	Beans on toast
Cream liqueur (50ml), such as Baileys (17% ABV)	160	One chicken drumstick
Alcopop (330ml) (5% ABV)	200	A 50g block of medium cheddar cheese
Spirits serving (25ml), such as vodka or gin (37.5% ABV)	55	A 25ml serving of single cream

Taken from www.nhs.uk

Remember to alternate your alcoholic drink with water to help you from becoming dehydrated. If possible, get out of doing rounds, as this way you can drink at your own pace, and don?t feel the need to drink as much.

Finally, be realistic ? If you are trying to lose weight, this may not be the right time to do it. Instead, aim to maintain your weight by balancing party eating with other healthy meals. Eat small, lower-calorie and lower-fat meals during the day so you can enjoy party foods later without overdoing your total calorie intake. Most importantly, enjoy the holidays!

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas, and a healthy start to 2013!

Source: http://lunchquest.co.uk/2012/12/tis-the-seasonfor-making-smart-choices/

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