WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama is urging Americans to make climate change a political litmus test, asking them to declare they won't vote for any politicians who don't protect future generations from environmental devastation.
Obama says Americans are already paying the price for climate change, including in lost lives and hundreds of billions of dollars. He says America will be judged as a people and a nation by how it responds.
"If you agree with me, I'll need you to act," Obama says, appealing to Americans to spread the word to their family, friends and classmates. "Remind everyone who represents you, at every level of government, that there is no contradiction between a sound environment and a strong economy ? and that sheltering future generations against the ravages of climate change is a prerequisite for your vote."
Obama's remarks in his weekly radio and Internet address, released Saturday but recorded at the White House prior to the start of Obama's weeklong trip to Africa, marks the start of a new phase for Obama's efforts on climate change: convincing the public to sell it for him.
Obama last week unveiled a national plan to combat climate change and prepare for its effects, bypassing Congress after years of frustrated efforts to get lawmakers to pass legislation to deal with the issue. At the core of Obama's plan are new controls on new and existing power plants that emit carbon dioxide ? heat-trapping gases blamed for global warming. The program also will boost renewable energy production on federal lands, increase efficiency standards and prepare communities to deal with higher temperatures.
None of the measures in Obama's plan require Congress to act ? a consideration that liberates the president but also poses risks if it's perceived as executive overreach. Republicans and some Democrats have already denounced the plan as a job-killing "war on coal," and opponents could try to hinder Obama's plan or hinder it through legal action if Americans don't seem to be on board.
"The question is not whether we need to act. The question is whether we will have the courage to act before it's too late," Obama says, adding that a sound environment and a strong economy aren't mutually exclusive.
In the Republican address, Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas says there are troubling, unanswered questions about the implementation of Obama's health care law.
"We must put an end to the fear and uncertainty," Roberts says. "Those 'bumps' and 'glitches' the president talks about? It's a train wreck, folks, and we have to get America out of the way."
Finally, my dream of a Google smartwatch is looking more like a reality!?News hit the rounds on Thursday that Google is taking its next steps into becoming a hardware maker as the Wall Street Journal reported plans for an Android gaming console, media streaming device and a smartwatch.
I?m not too excited about a gaming console: There are already enough gaming devices available and as far as media sharing hardware, Google has already attempted this with its ill-fated Nexus Q last year.?But a smartwatch? Now that sounds exciting for a few reasons.
For starters, the wearable device market is finally showing signs of life. There have been intelligent watches for years but it?s only recently that the hardware needed to make a fantastic smartwatch has appeared. Chips are becoming more powerful, even as they use less juice and become smaller. Wireless technologies are advanced as well: The Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy standard is a great example. Touch screens and noise-cancelling array microphones now help with input on devices of nearly any size.
So it?s not surprising to me that some recent smartwatches have quickly gained a following or raised millions of dollars in crowd-sourced funding. Think of the Pebble or, more recently, the Kreyos Meteor, for example. Sony is also participating here, having just announced a newly updated SmartWatch 2 that arrives in September. Various other companies too are all taking a crack at being on your wrist: MetaWatch, WIMM, I?m Watch?. and the list goes on.
I?ve tried a number of these wearables in the past, but time and again, I keep returning to the Motorola MotoACTV smartwatch. It continues to impress me because unlike most of the other smartwatches, it?s not a simple second screen for your smartphone. Yes, it can show incoming messages, calls or social networking status updates when paired with a phone but it provides plenty of standalone functionality as well: GPS exercise tracking, a virtual caddie and scorekeeper on the golf course, a step tracker and an MP3 player with its built-in music player and 8 or 16 GB of flash storage.
What does that have to do with Google? A lot, since Google owns Motorola. Yes, it runs Motorola as a completely separate division, but it would nonsensical for Google not to take a good hard look at the MotoACTV for the basis of a new smartwatch. To be honest, most of what Google needs is already present and accounted for in the MotoACTV, even though the device is two years old.
It already runs on Android ? something the WSJ reported a new Google smart watch would do as well ? and has nearly every type of connectivity option available: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS. Sure, the components need an upgrade from 2011 standards, but the basis of a great smart watch is already there.
There?s more, however, that Google has in its arsenal of tools to make a great watch, even if it isn?t based solely on the MotoACTV: Google Now and Google Glass.
Google Now provides personal, contextual information on phones and tablets today based on your email, calendar and web searches. Look up an address on the web and Google Now will?provide directions and an estimated time of arrival based on traffic without having to be asked. If you have to travel for an appointment on your calendar, Google Now notifies you when it?s time to leave. Nearby events, stock prices, sports scores for your favorite teams are part of Google Now as well. And collectively, these are exactly the bite-sized type of bits that are perfectly suited for a small screen on the wrist.
The card-based look of Google Now could easily work on a small screen. We already know that because Google took a similar approach with the Google Glass user interface. It?s simple to navigate through Glass with a finger swipe on the glasses and the screen don?t inundate with information. Again, that?s perfect for a wristwatch. And the look of Google Glass, which Google designed, isn?t too bad for the type of product that it is.
Bear in mind that Google isn?t the only ?big player? reportedly working on new wearable devices. Rumors of Apple building a smartwatch have been making the rounds for some time. And that makes sense: Apple often jumps into product markets with big opportunities, but only when it?s sure it can deliver the best experience. And both companies could benefit from developers creating new apps for wearables.
While I have no knowledge of Google?s detailed plans for a smart watch, I can see that the company has all of the ingredients of a potentially successful recipe. With just a small bit of hardware tweaking to the existing MotoACTV in a more fashionable design, combined with the basics of Google Now and the ability to run small but useful standalone Android apps, I?d stand in line for a Google smart watch. Would you?
Superconducting magnets are freakin' awesome. You should know this already. But the folks at the Royal Institution took it a step further with their futuristic upside-down, M?bius strip track that's fit for a racing game set in 21xx. Hopefully this is what the Hot Wheels of the future are like. Err, "Hot Superconducting Magnets," I guess.
But on top of the sheer cool-factor of seeing something hover upside down, you'll also get a nice explanation on how this kind of stuff actually works. It's not as great as getting an actual superconducting magnet car and accompanying track of your own, but here's to hoping. [Boing Boing]
02:12 PM ET?06.29 | The UFC is continuing their international expansion of the popular mixed martial arts series, The Ultimate Fighter. On Saturday, the promotion announced on their Chinese-language website that they are preparing tryouts for The Ultimate Fighter: China.
The UFC will hold tryouts on July 21 at the Beijing Metropark Lido Hotel, July 25 at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, and Aug. 3 at The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel in Macao. They are looking for fighters in the featherweight, lightweight and welterweight divisions.
The Dow and S&P 500 dropped on Friday as investors were reluctant to jump in following a three-day rally, but major averages still capped the volatile quarter with gains.
Stocks finished lower for the month of June, logging their first monthly drop this year. But all three major averages logged their third winning quarter in four. And so far for the year, the Dow has surged more than 14 percent, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have spiked more than 13 percent each.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 114.89 points to close at 14,909.60, pulling back after logging its third-straight day higher. Still, the Dow posted its strongest first half of the year since 1999.
The S&P 500 fell 6.92 points to finish at 1,606.28. The S&P 500 logged its best first half performance since 1998. The Nasdaq eked out a gain of 1.38 points to end at 3,403.25.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, finished unchanged below 17.
For the quarter, the Dow rose 2.27 percent, the S&P 500 climbed 2.36 percent, and the Nasdaq soared 4.15 percent. Microsoft was the best performer for the quarter on the Dow, while IBM tumbled.
Financials topped the S&P 500 sector gainers in the second quarter, while utilities lagged.
Stocks initially opened in negative territory after Fed Governor Jeremy Stein highlighted the upcoming September policy meeting as a possible time when the central bank may need to consider paring back its QE program, adding that the Fed consider the overall economic improvements since it launched the stimulus instead of giving undue weight to the most recent round of tepid economic data.
(Read More: Buckle Up! Expect More Market Volatility This Year)
Stein's comments contradicted comments from other Fed policymakers who have suggested the central bank will bide its time before scaling back its bond purchases.
Menawhile, Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker said markets should brace for more volatility as they digest news the Fed will scale back bond buying later this year, but the swings will not derail growth. Lacker said he expects U.S. growth to remain around 2 percent for the "foreseeable future."
(Read More:Fed Out in Force as Markets Stabilize)
On the economic front, business activity index in the Midwest fell in June to 51.6 from 58.7 in May, according to the Institute for Supply Management-Chicago. A Reuters survey of economists on average expected a median reading of 56.0 in June versus the May figure of 58.7.
Meanwhile, consumer sentiment improved in late June, with the final reading on the overall index at 84.1, above the preliminary reading of 82.7, according to Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the final June reading of 82.8.
Japan's benchmark stock index hit a three-week high on the heels of positive economic reports that include much stronger than expected industrial output and retail sales numbers.
"We had better job market numbers, better production numbers, and even consumer prices are picking up. So data-wise, today is a pretty good day for Japan," said Takuji Okubo, principal and chief economist at Japan Macro Advisors.
Traders will closely watch gold prices, as the precious metal dipped below a key level of $1,200 per ounce. Analysts warned that miners could be severely affected if prices remain this low.
JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? The ex-wife of critically ill Nelson Mandela said Friday that the 94-year-old beloved former president is showing a "great improvement" compared to a few days ago.
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela gave the update while speaking to journalists outside Mandela's former home in Soweto.
"I'm not a doctor but I can say that from what he was a few days ago there is great improvement," said Madikizela-Mandela, who is a member of South Africa's Parliament.
Madikizela-Mandela pleaded with the media to "understand the sensitivities and the feeling of the family."
One of Mandela's daughters, Makaziwe Mandela, was among family members who arrived at the Pretoria hospital on Friday. The ministers of health and defense also visited, the South African Press Association reported.
Outside the Pretoria hospital on Friday, a man flying a drone-like object with a camera attached was led away by several policemen, adding to an already heightened atmosphere where well-wishers continue to gather to pray for Mandela.
Mandela was taken to the hospital on June 8 to be treated for what the government said was a recurring lung infection. South Africans have held prayers nationwide, and many have left flowers and messages of support outside the hospital as well as his home in Johannesburg.
On Thursday, the office of South African President Jacob Zuma said Mandela's health had improved overnight, and that his condition was critical but stable.
An Egyptian protester shouts anti-President Mohammed Morsi slogans and holds a red card with Arabic reading "leave", during a protest in Tahrir Square, the focal point of Egyptian uprising, in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, June 28, 2013. Elsewhere, thousands of supporters of Egypt's embattled president are rallying in the nation's capital in a show of support ahead of what are expected to be massive opposition-led protests on June 30 to demand Mohammed Morsi's ouster.(AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
An Egyptian protester shouts anti-President Mohammed Morsi slogans and holds a red card with Arabic reading "leave", during a protest in Tahrir Square, the focal point of Egyptian uprising, in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, June 28, 2013. Elsewhere, thousands of supporters of Egypt's embattled president are rallying in the nation's capital in a show of support ahead of what are expected to be massive opposition-led protests on June 30 to demand Mohammed Morsi's ouster.(AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
An Egyptian man waits at train stop in front of the presidential palace, days ahead of planned protests against the country's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, June 28, 2013. Arabic reads, "leave, left, evacuation day."(AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
An Egyptian man walks past Arabic graffiti Arabic that reads, "traitor will betray the brotherhood", on an outer wall of the presidential palace, in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, June 28, 2013, days ahead of mass protests against the country's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Opponents of Egypt's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi wave national flagsin Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, June 28, 2013. Elsewhere, thousands of supporters of Egypt's embattled president are rallying in the nation's capital in a show of support ahead of what are expected to be massive opposition-led protests on June 30 to demand Mohammed Morsi's ouster. (AP Photo/ Amr Nabil)
An Egyptian protester holds posters depicting U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson and President Mohammed Morsi blocking an entrance to Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, June 28, 2013. Arabic on the poster at left reads," the end of the reign of terror." Elsewhere, thousands of supporters of Egypt's embattled president are rallying in the nation's capital in a show of support ahead of what are expected to be massive opposition-led protests on June 30 to demand Mohammed Morsi's ouster. (AP Photo/ Amr Nabil)
CAIRO (AP) ? Thousands of backers of Egypt's Islamist president rallied Friday in Cairo in a show of support ahead of planned opposition protests this weekend demanding his removal, as passengers swamped the capital's international airport to leave, fearing widespread violence.
The opposition plans to bring out massive crowds on Sunday in protests nationwide, vowing to force President Mohammed Morsi to step down. Across the city from the pro-Morsi rally Friday, thousands massed in Cairo's central Tahrir Square, shouting for the president to "leave, leave,"
For the past several days, Morsi's opponents and members of his Muslim Brotherhood have been battling it out in the streets of several cities in the Nile Delta in violence that has left at least five dead. The latest died Friday from injuries suffered in fighting the day before, security officials said.
Many fear the clashes are a prelude to more widespread and bloodier battles on Sunday. In a sign of the charged atmosphere, a senior cleric, Sheik Hassan al-Shafie, from Al-Azhar, the country's most eminent Muslim religious institution, warned of the possibility of "civil war" after the street clashes in the Delta.
The Cairo International Airport was flooded with departures, in an exodus airport officials called unprecedented. They said all flights departing Friday to Europe, the United States and the Gulf were fully booked with no vacant seats.
Many of those leaving were families of Egyptian officials and businessmen and those of foreign and Arab League diplomats ? as well as many Egyptian Christians, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to the press.
Both sides have vowed to remain peaceful, and each side has blamed the other for the violence so far.
Tamarod, the activist group whose anti-Morsi petition campaign evolved into Sunday's planned protest, said in a statement it was opposed "to any attack against anybody, whatever the disagreement with this person was," and accused the Brotherhood of sparking violence to scare people from participating Sunday.
Tamarod says it has collected nearly 20 million signatures in the country of 90 million demanding Morsi step down.
The Brotherhood says the five killed in the Delta clashes were its members. Some people "think they can topple a democratically elected President by killing his support groups," Gehad el-Haddad, a Brotherhood spokesman, wrote on his Twitter account.
The pro-Morsi rally was held in front of the Rabia el-Adawiya Mosque in Cairo, not far from the presidential palace, which is one of the sites where the opposition plans its protests Friday.
In his Friday prayer sermon, the cleric of Rabia el-Adawiya warned that if Morsi is ousted "there will be no president for the country" and Egypt will descend into "opposition hell."
Thousands of Morsi backers filled the street outside, chanting religious slogans. "It is for God, not for position or power," they shouted. "Raise your voice strong, Egyptian: Islamic Shariah." Many wore green headbands with the slogans of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Security officials say three people have died in the past three days in Nile Delta city of Mansoura, along with two others in the nearby province of Sharqiya.
In Sharqiya on Thursday, an Islamist march encountered an anti-Morsi march, leading to scuffles that evolved into full-fledged battles, the officials said. The two sides hurled stones at each other and fired gunshots, and at least 70 were injured. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.
In the Delta city of Tanta on Friday, four unidentified men believed to be Morsi supporters tried to attack a mosque preacher during his sermon, in which he called on worshippers to stand with Al-Azhar's calls to avoid bloodshed.
Hundreds of protesters in the nearby city of Bassioun hurled stones at the local headquarters of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party. They tore down the party's sign and crushed it, security officials said.
BETHESDA, Md. (AP) ? Tiger Woods can't say whether his left elbow will be fully healed in time for the British Open, only that it will be "good enough."
Woods returned to the AT&T National on Wednesday as the defending champion only in name.
Doctors have recommended that he sit out this week at Congressional, along with next week at The Greenbrier, because of a left elbow strain that has been bothering him for more a month and was made worse by hacking out of the dense U.S. Open rough at Merion.
"I pushed it pretty good at the Open to play it and to play through it," Woods said. "Made it worse by hitting the ball out of the rough, and eventually got a point where I wasn't able to play here. We're treating it, and eventually I'll start the strengthening process, then starting hitting balls to get up to speed for the British."
The British Open is July 18-21 at Muirfield, and Woods could not say that he would be at 100 percent by then.
"How about ... good enough," he said.
There was no visible evidence of an elbow injury until he began dangling his left arm and flexing his wrist after hitting out of the rough at Merion in the opening round. He eventually said he first hurt it during The Players Championship, which he won on May 12, but he did not mention a specific shot or even a round.
On Wednesday, he said it wasn't a single shot.
"It was just playing there, and it didn't feel good then early in the week, but I pushed through it," Woods said. "It progressively just got worse. Got to a point where I was starting to struggle a little bit."
Woods still played the Memorial in the month between The Players Championship and the U.S. Open, which he conceded might have been a mistake. Woods was the defending champion and a five-time winner at Muirfield Village, so it was shocking when he turned in a 44 on the back nine ? the highest 9-hole score of his PGA Tour career ? and wound up 20 shots out of the lead. That was his largest deficit in a full-field tournament.
Asked if he should have sat out the Memorial, Woods said, "It would have been better, yes."
"I wouldn't necessarily say regret," Woods said. "I wish I would have played better so I didn't have so many shots I had to hit."
Woods had won three out of four tournaments going into the Memorial ? the exception was a tie for fourth in the Masters. In the two tournaments after The Players Championship, he finished a combined 32 shots out of the lead with a scoring average of 73.6. That includes his score of 293 at Merion, his worst ever in the U.S. Open.
He is treating the injury with electrical stimulation, ice, soft tissue treatment and anti-inflammatories to help with the swelling.
"Eventually, as I said, I'll start the strengthening process here," he said. "Hopefully, that will be sooner than later, and then start hitting balls."
Woods already has won four times this year, twice as many as anyone else, and he has established a comfortable margin again at No. 1 in the world. He still remains stuck on 14 majors dating to the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, which he won despite shredded knee ligaments and a double stress fracture in his lower left leg.
Now 37, Woods has to cope with injuries at an alarming rate.
He had reconstructive surgery on his left knee after his U.S. Open win. He withdrew from The Players Championship in consecutive years, with a sore neck in 2010 and after only nine holes in 2011 with Achilles tendon and other injuries in his left leg that forced him to miss two majors.
Woods said he has been dealing with injuries much longer.
"I played with a lot in my early 20s and no one ever knew about it," he said. "I just didn't play in certain tournaments. I took a few weeks off here and there, and that was the end of it. But I played a few events where I really shouldn't have played, and it caused some damage. There's a difference between being hurt and being injured. It's a delicate balance. I know what it's like to play both, unfortunately.
"You can play hurt," he said. "But playing injured, it can sideline you for a while."
Woods attended the opening ceremonies at the AT&T National, which benefits his foundation, and then he did a couple of interviews. The biggest pain Wednesday was not being able to play Congressional, which has hosted four major championships and presents as strong as test as the PGA Tour offers all year.
"Looks like the golf course is in fantastic shape," he said. "It's green. It's lush. It's thick. Temperature is up. It's going to present a hell of a test for the guys. I'll be watching."
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) ? Kevin Rudd will be sworn in as Australian prime minister on Thursday, three years and three days after he was ousted from the nation's leadership in an internal government showdown.
Julia Gillard tendered her resignation as prime minister to Governor-General Quentin Bryce Wednesday night after losing a ballot of ruling lawmakers to Rudd 57 votes to 45.
Bryce revealed she took late night legal advice on whether she should swear Rudd in as her replacement.
A minority government such as Gillard led has not been seen in Australian federal politics since World War II and the ruling Labor Party's leadership change has raised unique constitutional questions.
While Rudd has the support of his party, he does not necessarily have the support of a majority of lawmakers in the 150-seat House of Representatives.
He could face a vote of no confidence before Parliament adjourns Thursday night for what is likely to be the last time before elections.
Gillard had set Sept. 14 as the election date. But Rudd has given no indication of whether he would stick with that timetable.
A loss of a no-confidence motion could trigger an election as early as Aug. 3.
Acting Solicitor-General Robert Orr wrote to Bryce that Rudd should be commissioned as prime minister.
Bryce's secretary Stephen Brady wrote that she wants an assurance from Rudd " that he will announce his appointment at the first possible opportunity to the House of Representatives on order to give the House the opportunity for whatever, if any, action it chooses to take."
Wednesday's leadership ballot was forced by government lawmakers hoping to avoid a huge defeat in upcoming elections.
Gillard lacked Rudd's charisma, and although many Labor lawmakers preferred her style, her deepening unpopularity among voters compelled a majority to seek a change ahead of looming elections.
Labor depends on independents and a minor party for its fragile ruling coalition, but Rudd appeared capable of retaining it after two independent lawmakers who did not back Gillard's government said they would support his.
Rudd gave no indication of new policy directions or when he expected Australians would go to the polls.
"In 2007, the Australian people elected me to be their prime minister and that is a task I resume today with humility, with honor and with an important sense of energy and purpose," he said.
Swiss painter Christian Brechneff's story ? a beguiling mix of genres, from travelogue to art guide ? is the next best thing to actually going to a Greek island.
By Richard Horan / June 26, 2013
The Greek House,
by Christian Brechneff and Tim Lovejoy,
Farrar, Straus and Giroux,
304 pp.
Enlarge
?I believe there are places that have real power, places where the connection between nature and man is absolutely direct, without thought of any kind, places that penetrate you so deeply that they become part of you,? writes Christian Brechneff in his newly published work The Greek House: The Story of a Painter?s Love Affair with the Island of Sifnos.
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For Gauguin, that place was Tahiti; for John Muir, Yosemite; for O?Keefe, the Southwest. And for Brechneff, a Swiss painter of Russian lineage, it was the Greek island of Sifnos ? ?a small island of the past, a living tradition captured like a creature in amber.? For 30 years, beginning at age 21, on that starkly beautiful yet backward island out in the middle of the Aegean, the author lived, painted, and grew to eventually become more and more ... himself. (His mother was a Jungian analyst.)?
Leaving the uber-conventional confines of Basel, Switzerland, confused about his identity ? both national and sexual ? the author takes flight and eventually finds himself on a remote Greek island. Standing there on the deck of the ferryboat, heading to this unknown land in the Cyclades archipelago, he recalls every sight and sound and contour, even the very odor of first contact: ?I could smell for the first time the delicate scent of the island, like a package of spices and herbs suddenly spilled open in the palm of my hand.??
Forever inspired by the magic of Sifnos, Brechneff returns year after year, through graduate school, through failed love affairs with both men and women, through professional zigs and zags, to the place where it was ?impossible to be depressed? in order to recharge his battery and to paint, paint, paint.?
Then one day, five years after his first visit, an islander, out of the blue, offers to sell him a house. The little whitewashed spiti (domicile) in the middle of an ancient village didn?t even have running water or electricity. But Brechneff was enchanted, and being an all-or-nothing sort of person, he borrows the money from his parents ($7,500), and just like that, the tall, blonde, 27-year-old Adonis the islanders called calo pediChristo (good little Chris) becomes a Sifniot. And for the next 25 years, as the proud owner of an island home, he rides a roller coaster of agonies and ecstasies, from painting beautiful morning sunrises in his new addition to managing lying property managers; from growing fruit trees to dealing with psychotic neighbors.
"The Greek House" is a mix of many different genres ? travelogue, memoir, international real estate guide, anthropology, art ? the kind of book that bookstores will have the devil of a time categorizing. From beginning to end, we see the rare and magical sights of a culturally pure island world as told through the eyes of a painter with its shadow-casting mountains, fig trees and olive groves, sheep and goats and mules and donkeys, dovecotes (?little stone pyramids worked together as in a house of cards?), and "crowning every peak ... monasteries and their churches, white, white against the blue, blue sky.?
Huge falls in diabetes mortality in UK and Canada since mid-1990sPublic release date: 26-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Marcus Lind lind.marcus@telia.com 46-073-831-1742 University of Gothenburg
Both the UK and Canada have experienced huge falls in diabetes-related mortality since the mid-1990s, with the result that the gap in mortality risk between those with and without diabetes has narrowed substantially. The findings are in new research published in Diabetologia, the Journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), and written by Dr Marcus Lind, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden and colleagues.
A previous review of studied investigated diabetes mortality suggested that having diabetes increased a person's mortality risk by 80% compared with the general population.
However, many studies in the review were from before 2000, and some recent studies have suggested diabetes might increase mortality by less than this.
Thus in this new study, the authors estimated the current mortality rate ratio in patients with versus without diabetes and whether it has changed over time.
The UK and Canada were selected for analysis because the authors in both nations and Sweden are part of an ongoing collaboration, and this is a study objective that cannot be examined in many countries, since there are limited numbers of databases with long follow-up which are also population-based with mortality data on individuals both with and without diabetes. Both Canada and the UK hold such data.
The population-based databases from the province of Ontario, Canada, and The Health Improvement Network (THIN) database from the UK, from years 1996 to 2009 were used to calculate mortality rates in persons with and without diabetes.
The excess risk of mortality estimated during 2009 was 51% in Ontario and 65% in THIN for diabetic patients on a group level, compared to 90% and 114%, respectively, in the year 1996. The excess risk of mortality for diabetic patients declined to a similar extent for men and women over the study period, and no significant differences between sexes were observed in 2009.
"It is noteworthy that the prevalence of diabetes in Ontario (adults 20 years or older) increased from 5.4% to 11.4% over the study period, and in the THIN cohort there was an increase in prevalence from 3.2% to 5.9% over the corresponding time period," says Lipscombe.
The excess risk of mortality for diabetic patients decreased in all age groups over timeapproximately 25%-40% lower in age groups below 64 years and 50%-65% lower in those aged 64 years and older during the study period. In 2009 the excess risk of mortality for individuals with diabetes 20-44 years of age was 70%-80% in both cohorts. In those 45-64 years old, mortality was approximately doubled and was 15-25% greater in individuals 65 years of age and over.
The authors say that more aggressive treatment during recent decades may explain these results, including more intensive control of blood sugar in people with diabetes, and blood pressure control and statins to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in people both with and without diabetes.
A shift towards more diabetes screening and earlier diagnosis in recent years may also have contributed to lower mortality rates within more contemporary diabetes populations.
Although not a primary focus of this study, the authors say it should be noted that the prevalence of diabetes was considerably higher in the Ontario cohort than in THIN during the study period. The reasons for this discrepancy are unclear, but may be related to differences in factors known to influence the incidence of diabetes such as screening programmes, ethnicity, eating habits or physical activity patterns between the two cohorts. Further research would be needed to explore these possibilities.
The authors conclude: "The excess risk of age-standardized mortality in patients with versus without diabetes has decreased over time in both Canada and the UK, having fallen to an increased risk of 50-65% in 2009. The excess risk related to diabetes however varies by age:70%-80% in individuals 20-44 years of age, approximately double in those aged 45-64 years, and 15%-25% greater in individuals above age 65 years and over."
###
For more information please contact:
Dr Marcus Lind Sahlgrenska Academy University of Gothenburg Gothenburg, Sweden T) +46 (0)738 31 17 42 / +46-(0)10-4350000 E) lind.marcus@telia.com / sofia.i.dahlqvist@vgregion.se
Dr Lorraine Lipscombe Women's College Hospital Women's College Research Institute Toronto, ON, Canada please contact Julie Saccone in Communications Department T) +1 416-323-6400, ext.4054
E) julie.saccone@wchospital.ca / Lorraine.Lipscombe@wchospital.ca
Alternative contact:
Tony Kirby at Tony Kirby PR Ltd T) +44 7834 385827
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Huge falls in diabetes mortality in UK and Canada since mid-1990sPublic release date: 26-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Marcus Lind lind.marcus@telia.com 46-073-831-1742 University of Gothenburg
Both the UK and Canada have experienced huge falls in diabetes-related mortality since the mid-1990s, with the result that the gap in mortality risk between those with and without diabetes has narrowed substantially. The findings are in new research published in Diabetologia, the Journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), and written by Dr Marcus Lind, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden and colleagues.
A previous review of studied investigated diabetes mortality suggested that having diabetes increased a person's mortality risk by 80% compared with the general population.
However, many studies in the review were from before 2000, and some recent studies have suggested diabetes might increase mortality by less than this.
Thus in this new study, the authors estimated the current mortality rate ratio in patients with versus without diabetes and whether it has changed over time.
The UK and Canada were selected for analysis because the authors in both nations and Sweden are part of an ongoing collaboration, and this is a study objective that cannot be examined in many countries, since there are limited numbers of databases with long follow-up which are also population-based with mortality data on individuals both with and without diabetes. Both Canada and the UK hold such data.
The population-based databases from the province of Ontario, Canada, and The Health Improvement Network (THIN) database from the UK, from years 1996 to 2009 were used to calculate mortality rates in persons with and without diabetes.
The excess risk of mortality estimated during 2009 was 51% in Ontario and 65% in THIN for diabetic patients on a group level, compared to 90% and 114%, respectively, in the year 1996. The excess risk of mortality for diabetic patients declined to a similar extent for men and women over the study period, and no significant differences between sexes were observed in 2009.
"It is noteworthy that the prevalence of diabetes in Ontario (adults 20 years or older) increased from 5.4% to 11.4% over the study period, and in the THIN cohort there was an increase in prevalence from 3.2% to 5.9% over the corresponding time period," says Lipscombe.
The excess risk of mortality for diabetic patients decreased in all age groups over timeapproximately 25%-40% lower in age groups below 64 years and 50%-65% lower in those aged 64 years and older during the study period. In 2009 the excess risk of mortality for individuals with diabetes 20-44 years of age was 70%-80% in both cohorts. In those 45-64 years old, mortality was approximately doubled and was 15-25% greater in individuals 65 years of age and over.
The authors say that more aggressive treatment during recent decades may explain these results, including more intensive control of blood sugar in people with diabetes, and blood pressure control and statins to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in people both with and without diabetes.
A shift towards more diabetes screening and earlier diagnosis in recent years may also have contributed to lower mortality rates within more contemporary diabetes populations.
Although not a primary focus of this study, the authors say it should be noted that the prevalence of diabetes was considerably higher in the Ontario cohort than in THIN during the study period. The reasons for this discrepancy are unclear, but may be related to differences in factors known to influence the incidence of diabetes such as screening programmes, ethnicity, eating habits or physical activity patterns between the two cohorts. Further research would be needed to explore these possibilities.
The authors conclude: "The excess risk of age-standardized mortality in patients with versus without diabetes has decreased over time in both Canada and the UK, having fallen to an increased risk of 50-65% in 2009. The excess risk related to diabetes however varies by age:70%-80% in individuals 20-44 years of age, approximately double in those aged 45-64 years, and 15%-25% greater in individuals above age 65 years and over."
###
For more information please contact:
Dr Marcus Lind Sahlgrenska Academy University of Gothenburg Gothenburg, Sweden T) +46 (0)738 31 17 42 / +46-(0)10-4350000 E) lind.marcus@telia.com / sofia.i.dahlqvist@vgregion.se
Dr Lorraine Lipscombe Women's College Hospital Women's College Research Institute Toronto, ON, Canada please contact Julie Saccone in Communications Department T) +1 416-323-6400, ext.4054
E) julie.saccone@wchospital.ca / Lorraine.Lipscombe@wchospital.ca
Alternative contact:
Tony Kirby at Tony Kirby PR Ltd T) +44 7834 385827
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We first heard about Rust-Oleum's liquid-repelling product, NeverWet almost two years ago. It looked absolutely magical, and now you can finally buy it.
Home Depot is carrying NeverWet for $20 a can. Spray the silicon-based coating on electronics, clothing, or almost any surface and it'll become almost completely impervious to moisture. Of course, we're skeptical until we try it out ourselves. But in the convincing demo you see liquid hit a surface and immediately scurry away without leaving any damage. Spill mustard on your white shoes? Don't worry about it. Drop your iPhone in the toilet? It will survive. We've all had accidents with our expensive gadgets, so a $20 waterproofing solution is hard to disagree with. Just, you know, try not to inhale it. [NeverWet via LancasterOnline]
JERUSALEM (AP) ? Israeli aircraft pounded targets in the Gaza Strip early Monday after rockets were fired at Israel from the territory, the military said, unsettling a tenuous cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
The military said its aircraft struck two weapons storage facilities and a rocket launch site. No injuries were reported.
Rocket fire from Gaza has declined since Israel carried out an eight-day military campaign last November in response to frequent attacks. An Egyptian-brokered cease-fire has largely held, but sporadic fire still persists.
No militant group claimed responsibility for the rocket launch, but Israel said it holds Hamas, which rules the coastal territory, accountable.
"Last night's rocket attack is an intolerable act of aggression against Israel and its civilians. Hamas is held accountable for all acts of terrorism deriving from the Gaza Strip," said military spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner.
Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said a total of six rockets were fired at Israel overnight, causing no damage or injuries. The military said two rockets were intercepted by the "Iron Dome" missile defense system. The other four landed in open areas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the rocket fire, saying "my policy is to harm whoever tries to harm us ... That is how we will work and will continue to act against threats that are close and threats that are far."
In Gaza, Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said he would not be intimidated by Israel's strikes. "Any Israeli aggression does not scare the Palestinian people," he said.
Israel last struck in Gaza in April, when its aircraft hit and killed a top militant in a shadowy al-Qaida-influenced group who had been involved in a rocket attack. The rocket was launched from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, where Gaza militants are believed to operate. A rocket last landed in Israel in May.
Meanwhile, Israeli police said that vandals slashed the tires of 21 cars in an Arab neighborhood of east Jerusalem. The vandals also scribbled slogans on nearby walls.
It was the latest in a wave of crimes linked to Jewish extremists that has targeted mosques, churches, monasteries, dovish Israeli groups and even Israeli military bases to protest what they perceive as the Israeli government's pro-Palestinian policies in the West Bank. Vandals call the attacks the "price tag" for the policies they oppose. Last week vandals struck an Arab village outside of Jerusalem that has been a model of coexistence in Israel.
Rosenfeld said police were investigating. He said no arrests have been made in the recent string of similar crimes.
___
Associated Press writer Ibrahim Barzak contributed reporting from Gaza City, Gaza Strip.
Treaso?n trial agains?t Mushar?raf?s collab?orator?s will be initia?ted under clause 2 of Articl?e 6.
?This case will open a Pandora?s box, Musharraf?s collaborators will be tried under Article 6 of the Constitution," says senior lawyer SM Zafar. DESIGN: FAIZAN DAWOOD
ISLAMABAD:?
As Pakistan will mark the first of its kind treason trial of an army general, the sword also hangs on the heads of many collaborators of former army chief General (retd) Pervez Musharraf, legal and constitutional experts say.
Treason trial against Musharraf?s collaborators will be initiated under clause 2 of Article 6. If a court decides to go ahead with the trial, many high-ranking officials will then be answerable, experts add.
?Opening a Pandora?s box?
?This case will open a Pandora?s box,? says senior lawyer SM Zafar. ?Musharraf?s collaborators will be tried under Article 6 of the Constitution. I also mentioned names of several high-ranking officials who could possibly be Musharraf?s collaborators in this unconstitutional act,? Zafar added.
Clause two of Article 6 states that any persons aiding, abetting or collaborating with a person who abrogates the Constitution shall also be guilty of high treason.
Constitutional expert Baber Sattar said that the high treason case may be expanded by the Supreme Court and is likely to drag many high-ranking officers and political leaders.
Sattar said it will be difficult for Musharraf?s counsel to justify that collaborators had endorsed the former president?s decision to proclaim emergency in 2007.
The Supreme Court may constitute a special tribunal to hear Musharraf?s case, Sattar said, adding that it can also refer the case to any trial court for further proceedings.
Clash of institutions
Senior lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan, who is also a Pakistan Peoples Party senator, endorsed the government?s decision to try Musharraf under Article 6 and said it was a move in the right direction.
However, Ahsan foresees a clash of institutions with the initiation of the trial, as it was the first time in Pakistan?s history that a military rule is being questioned.
?All the pretexts and excuses have been given?it is going to lead to a clash of institutions and will harm democracy,? Ahsan told The Express Tribune.
November 3 emergency
Many petitions have been filed to put Musharraf to trial for high treason. One petitioner, Jameel Ahmed Malik agreed that Musharraf?s collaborators must be put to trial for high treason with the former military ruler.
To justify his claim, Malik quoted Musharraf?s proclamation of November 2007 emergency in his petition filed in the Supreme Court on September 2009.
?The situation has been reviewed in meetings with the prime minister, governors of the provinces, and with the chairman joint chiefs of staff committee, chiefs of the armed forces, vice-chief of army staff and corps commanders of the army. Therefore, in pursuance of the deliberations, and decisions of the said meetings, I, General Pervez Musharraf, Chief of the Army Staff, proclaim Emergency throughout Pakistan,? the proclamation read out.
The petition carries names of retired and serving high ranking military men, superior courts? judges and politicians who could possibly be summoned by the court during treason trial.
These names include: Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Minister for Science and Technology Zahid Hamid, former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Governor Sindh Ishrat Ul Ebad Khan, former Governor Baluchistan Owais Ahmad Ghani, former Governor Punjab Lieutenant General (retd) Khalid Maqbool and former Governor KPK Lieutenant General (retd) Ali Mohammad Jan Aurakzai. General (retd) Tariq Majid, former Chief of Naval Staff Admiral (retd) Muhammad Afzal Tahir, Air Chief Marshal (retd) Tanveer Mahmood Ahmed, Lieutenant General (retd) Sajjad Akram, Lieutenant General (retd) Khalid Shameem Wynne, Lieutenant General (retd) Waseem Ahmad Ashraf, former director general of Intelligence Bureau Brigadier (retd) Ijaz Shah, Lieutenant General (retd) Hamid Javed, MNA Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, Lt. Gen (retd) Hamid Nawaz Khan, former interior secretary Syed Kamal Shah, former Principal Secretary Law Justice (retd) Mian Muhammad Ajmal, former Attorney General Malik Muhammad Qayyum and former law secretary Mansoor Ali Khan, justice (retd) Abdul Hameed Dogar, justice (retd) Nawaz Abbasi, justice (retd) Syed Saeed Ashad, justice (retd) Faqir Muhammad Khokhar, justice (retd) Javed Buttar, justice (retd) Muhammad Qaim Jan Khan, justice (retd) Ijaz-ul-Hassan, justice (retd) Muhammad Moosa Leghari, justice (retd) Chaudhry Ejaz Yousuf, justice (retd) Mian Hamid Farooq, justice (retd) Syed Zawwar Hussain, justice (retd) Muhammad Farrukh Mehmood, justice (retd) Sheikh Hakim Ali, justice (retd) Zia Perwez, justice (retd) Sardar Muhammad Aslam, justice (retd) Akhtar Shabbir, justice Syed Zahid Hussain, justice (retd) Mian Muhammad Najum-uz-Zaman, justice (retd) Maulvi Anwar-ul-Haq, justice (retd) Nasim Sikandar.
Only Musharraf to be tried
A former ambassador, B A Malik, however, thinks otherwise. In his view only Musharraf? should be tried because he was the Chief of Army Staff and President and was hence, personally responsible for subverting the constitution like former military rulers, Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan and Ziaul Haq.
The whole army can not be dragged into the controversy of course, he said.
Former President Musharraf may not be tried for subverting the Constitution on October 1999 as the Parliament under Shaukat Aziz had validated this act.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 25th, 2013.
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - A last-minute no-show by Pope Francis at a concert where he was to have been the guest of honor has sent another clear signal that he is going to do things his way and does not like the Vatican high life.
The gala classical concert on Saturday was scheduled before his election in March. But the white papal armchair set up in the presumption that he would be there remained empty.
Minutes before the concert was due to start, an archbishop told the crowd of cardinals and Italian dignitaries that an "urgent commitment that cannot be postponed" would prevent Francis from attending.
The prelates, assured that health was not the reason for the no-show, looked disoriented, realizing that the message he wanted to send was that, with the Church in crisis, he - and perhaps they - had too much pastoral work to do to attend social events.
"It took us by surprise," said one Vatican source on Monday. "We are still in a period of growing pains. He is still learning how to be pope and we are still learning how he wants to do it."
"In Argentina, they probably knew not to arrange social events like concerts for him because he probably wouldn't go," said the source, who spoke anonymously because he is not authorized to discuss the issue.
The picture of the empty chair was used in many Italian papers, with Monday's Corriere della Sera newspaper calling his decision "a show of force" to illustrate the simple style he wants Church officials to embrace.
Since his election on March 13, Francis, the former cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina, has not spent a single night in the opulent and spacious papal apartments.
He has preferred to live in a small suite in a busy Vatican guest house, where he takes most meals in a communal dining room and says Mass every morning in the house chapel rather than the private papal chapel in the Apostolic Palace.
The day before the concert, Francis said bishops should be "close to the people" and not have "the mentality of a prince".
On Saturday, while the concert was in progress in an auditorium just meters (yards) away, Francis was believed to be working on new appointments for the Curia, the Vatican's troubled central administration.
The administration was held responsible for some of the mishaps and scandals that plagued the eight-year reign of Pope Benedict before he resigned in February.
Francis inherited a Church struggling to deal with priests' sexual abuse of children, the alleged corruption and infighting in the Curia, and conflict over the running of the Vatican's scandal-ridden bank.
Benedict left a secret report for Francis on the problems in the administration, which came to light when sensitive documents were stolen from the pope's desk and leaked by his butler in what became known as the "Vatileaks" scandal.
The Vatican source said he expected Francis to make major changes to Curia personnel by the end of the summer.
Anger at the mostly Italian prelates who run the Curia was one of the reasons why cardinals chose the first non-European pope for 1,300 years.
The key appointment will be the next secretary of state, sometimes referred to as the Vatican's prime minister, to succeed the Italian Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who has been widely blamed for the failings of the Curia.
(Reporting By Philip Pullella; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) ? A southwest Missouri woman is charged with using antifreeze to fatally poison her husband and son and attempt to kill her daughter over a 14-month period.
Fifty-one-year-old Diane Staudte of Springfield was charged Friday with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of first-degree assault and one count of armed criminal action. She is being held without bond. It isn't immediately clear if she has an attorney.
The probable cause statement says authorities received an anonymous tip earlier this month.
The statement says Staudte admitted under questioning to killing her husband, 61-year-old Mark Staudte, in April 2012 and her son, 26-year-old Shawn Staudte, in September.
The statement also says she admitted poisoning her daughter, 24-year-old Sarah Staudte, this month. She survived.
This year's summer solstice,?Friday (June 21) at 1:04 a.m. EDT (0504 GMT), also features a rare chance to see Mercury, the planet usually obscured by the sun's glare.
By Geoff Gaherty,?Starry Night Education / Space.com / June 20, 2013
Land of the Midnight Sun: The sun sets just before 1 a.m. on June 16, 2013, in Anchorage, Alaska. Daylight in Anchorage will peak on Friday, June 21, with 19 hours, 21 minutes on the summer solstice.
Dan Joling / AP
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Don?t miss your chance to see Mercury in the night sky as the northern summer kicks off.
Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition
The last few weeks have provided an unusually fine opportunity for stargazers to spot the elusive?planet Mercury?because the planet has been in close proximity to brilliant Venus, and, earlier, Jupiter as well. However, the opportunity is now coming to a close as Mercury passes its maximum elongation from the sun today (June 20) and begins its rapid drop towards the horizon, passing between Earth and the sun on July 9.?
For the next few nights, Mercury will be a tiny speck just below Venus. It is closest to Venus on July 20, slightly less than two degrees away, but will also be very close one night earlier or later.
The best time to see Mercury is about half an hour after local sunset. Any earlier, and it will be lost in the sky's glare but much later and it will be too low to see. It is most easily spotted with binoculars, but once you've located it, the planet should be relatively easy to see with the naked eye.
This week also marks the?summer solstice, on Friday (June 21) at 1:04 a.m. EDT (0504 GMT). The sun will reach its most northern declination, marking the middle of summer in the Northern Hemisphere and the middle of winter in the Southern Hemisphere.
Because the sun is as far north as it can get, it is above the horizon in the Northern Hemisphere as long as is possible. At local noon, it will be as high in the sky as it can get. These two factors combine to create the maximum solar heating possible in the hemisphere.
In the Southern Hemisphere, the opposite is true. The day is as short as it can get, and the sun is low in the northern sky, giving little warmth.
If June 21 is the "midsummer" or "midwinter" day, why is it that we always think of the seasons as beginning on this day? It's because it takes time for the sun to have its effect, causing the seasons to lag behind the sun, making the hottest days of summer (or the coldest days of winter) come a month or two after the solstice.
The solstices have always been important dates for humans. Most calendars mark the beginning of the year close to the winter solstice. Determining the exact date of the solstice was important to fix the calendar, and structures like?Stonehenge?in England were built to make accurate measurements of the sun?s rising and setting points.
Editor's note: If you snap an amazing photo of Mercury in the night sky, or any other celestial object, and you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, please send images and comments, including location information, to Managing Editor Tariq Malik at?spacephotos@space.com.
This article was provided to SPACE.com by?Starry Night Education, the leader in space science curriculum solutions. Follow Starry Night on Twitter?@StarryNightEdu. Follow us?@Spacedotcom,?Facebookand?Google+. Original article on?SPACE.com.
Copyright 2013?SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
NEW YORK (AP) ? Funeral services for actor James Gandolfini will be Thursday at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in New York City.
An HBO spokeswoman speaking on behalf of the family says the funeral is scheduled for 10 a.m.
The 51-year-old star of "The Sopranos" died Wednesday in Rome. Family spokesman Michael says Gandolfini died of a heart attack.
The Italian news agency ANSA reports Gandolfini's body departed Rome for the United States on Sunday. Kobold earlier told reporters the "provisional plan" was to repatriate Gandolfini's body Monday.
The actor had been headed to Sicily to appear at the Taormina Film Festival, which paid tribute to him Saturday.
ISLAMABAD (AP) ? Police say gunmen have killed 11 foreigners who were climbing one of the highest mountains in the world in northern Pakistan.
Local police chiefBarkat Ali says the climbers from Russia, China and the Ukraine were killed before dawn Sunday as they set off to climb Nanga Parbat in the Gilgit-Baltistan area of Pakistan.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Nanga Parbat is the ninth-highest mountain in the world and is notoriously difficult to climb.
Actor James Gandolfini's sister Leta Gandolfini, at center in black, arrives with unidentified people at the morgue of the Policlinico Umberto I hospital where the body of Gandolfini is kept, in Rome, Friday, June 21, 2013. James Gandolfini died Wednesday night after suffering a cardiac arrest while vacationing with friends and relatives in Rome. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Actor James Gandolfini's sister Leta Gandolfini, at center in black, arrives with unidentified people at the morgue of the Policlinico Umberto I hospital where the body of Gandolfini is kept, in Rome, Friday, June 21, 2013. James Gandolfini died Wednesday night after suffering a cardiac arrest while vacationing with friends and relatives in Rome. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Michael Kobold, a family friend of actor James Gandolfini, meets the media at the Exedra Hotel in Rome, Friday, June 21, 2013. Kobold said an autopsy confirmed the actor died of a heart attack and that there was no evidence of foul play or substance abuse. He said the body of the actor has been turned over to a funeral director and that the family is working to get through the red tape to get the body back to the United States. Gandolfini died Wednesday night after being discovered in a Rome hotel room by a family member. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Michael Kobold, a family friend of actor James Gandolfini, leaves after meeting the media at the Exedra Hotel in Rome, Friday, June 21, 2013. Kobold said an autopsy confirmed the actor died of a heart attack and that there was no evidence of foul play or substance abuse. He said the body of the actor has been turned over to a funeral director and that the family is working to get through the red tape to get the body back to the United States. Gandolfini died Wednesday night after being discovered in a Rome hotel room by a family member. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Michael Kobold, a family friend of actor James Gandolfini, takes questions from the media at the Exedra Hotel in Rome, Friday, June 21, 2013. Kobold said an autopsy confirmed the actor died of a heart attack and that there was no evidence of foul play or substance abuse. He said the body of the actor has been turned over to a funeral director and that the family is working to get through the red tape to get the body back to the United States. Gandolfini died Wednesday night after being discovered in a Rome hotel room by a family member. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Michael Kobold, family friend of actor James Gandolfini, center, leaves the morgue of the Policlinico Umberto I hospital where the body of Gandolfini is kept, in Rome, Friday, June 21, 2013. James Gandolfini died Wednesday night after suffering a cardiac arrest while vacationing with friends and relatives in Rome. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
ROME (AP) ? An autopsy on James Gandolfini confirmed the "Sopranos" star died of a heart attack, with no evidence of substance abuse or foul play, a family friend said Friday.
Michael Kobold told reporters that Gandolfini's body has been released to a funeral director and that the family was working with the Italian government to speed up the bureaucratic red tape to get the body back to the United States soon. While the process can take up to 10 days, Kobold said the family was hoping to have the body repatriated by mid-week with a funeral planned in New York by Saturday at the latest.
Gandolfini, 51, died Wednesday night after being discovered in a Rome hotel room by a family member.
He had arrived in Rome on Tuesday and spent his first full day in the Eternal City with his son visiting the Vatican and dining in the hotel, the luxury Boscolo Exedra.
"He had a wonderful day," Kobold said of the father-son vacation.
Asked if Gandolfini had a history of heart problems, Kobold said he was healthy.
"There's nothing out of the ordinary. It was a heart attack. It was a natural cause," he said. "There was no foul play, no substance abuse. None of that."
Morgue officials at Rome's Policlinico Umberto I hospital said the U.S. Embassy had told them not to speak to the media, and that a family representative would provide the results of the autopsy. Gandolfini's sister, Leta, went to the morgue on Friday to formally identify the body.
Gandolfini was to have helped preside over the closing ceremony on Saturday of the Taormina Film Festival in Sicily. The festival instead is organizing a tribute to him.
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff will hold an emergency meeting of top aides on Friday to figure out how to respond to massive protests that brought 1 million people into the streets and also resulted in widespread vandalism and injuries.
Demonstrations across the country on Thursday night were the biggest yet by a movement that came from seemingly nowhere over the past week, and has rallied Brazilians angry about a range of issues from corruption and poor public transportation to billions of dollars being spent to host the soccer World Cup next year.
While the protests are not targeted at Rousseff herself - or any specific politician - the left-leaning leader is under huge pressure as marches have become increasingly violent and also contributed to a recent selloff in Brazil's financial markets.
Rousseff was set to meet with members of her Cabinet at around 9:30 a.m. (8.30 a.m. EDT) in Brasilia, a government official said.
The demonstrations have been mostly peaceful and led by the middle class. But on Friday, many Brazilians woke up to TV images from overnight of masked youths looting stores, setting fires and defacing buildings including the foreign ministry in Brasilia, which had its windows shattered.
Unlike previous demonstrations, much of the violence on Thursday was generated by the protesters themselves, rather than a heavy-handed police response.
At least 77 people were injured, newspaper Estado de S.Paulo reported. One person was killed in the interior of Sao Paulo state after someone drove their car into a group of protesters.
"I support these (protests), but I think it's out of control," said Nilson Chabat, a 31-year-old gas station attendant on his way to work on Friday in Sao Paulo. "Many of us are angry but you can't just go make a mess every day."
The sudden unrest, which started on June 13 when police cracked down on a small demonstration over rising bus fares in Sao Paulo, has shocked a country that until recently was considered a successful emerging-market power on the rise.
The demonstrations have unfolded as Brazil hosts the Confederations Cup, an international soccer tournament that serves as a test run for the much bigger World Cup. Protesters have used the tournament to amplify their outrage at public spending on lavish stadiums, casting a dark cloud over an event that was supposed to bolster Brazil's image globally.
FRUSTRATION WITH STATUS QUO
Polls show that most Brazilians remain happy with Rousseff, and with an economy that has slowed recently but has still been able to keep unemployment at record lows. Unlike recent youth protesters in the Arab world, the demonstrators are not trying to bring down the government, and Brazil's robust democracy appears able to address some of their complaints.
Yet the protests have revealed clear frustration with the status quo. Brazil has some of Latin America's highest taxes but one of the lowest rates of public investment, leaving many Brazilians frustrated with subpar schools, hospitals, infrastructure and police forces.
It's unclear what Rousseff can do in the short term, apart from making a general appeal for calm. Mayors of several cities already tried to yield to one of the protesters' main demands this week by rolling back a recent hike in bus and subway fares, but the demonstrations only grew.
Rousseff, a leftist guerrilla in the 1970s, has expressed solidarity with the protesters' aims and has appeared hesitant to order a crackdown that could just make the crowds even angrier.
But she is also at risk of having her probable re-election bid next year complicated by both the growing unrest and a possible backlash against the scenes of violence.
Some think she is already tardy in her response.
Fernando Rodrigues, a columnist for Folha de S.Paulo newspaper, wrote that Rousseff's silence on Thursday night "sums up the lack of action by politicians."
"They seem, in essence, to be only rooting for the tsunami to pass," he said.
(Reporting by Brian Winter; Editing by Todd Benson and Eric Beech)
For starters, the wearable device market is finally showing signs of life. There have been intelligent watches for years but it?s only recently that the hardware needed to make a fantastic smartwatch has appeared. Chips are becoming more powerful, even as they use less juice and become smaller. Wireless technologies are advanced as well: The Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy standard is a great example. Touch screens and noise-cancelling array microphones now help with input on devices of nearly any size.
Bear in mind that Google isn?t the only ?big player? reportedly working on new wearable devices. Rumors of Apple building a smartwatch have been making the rounds for some time. And that makes sense: Apple often jumps into product markets with big opportunities, but only when it?s sure it can deliver the best experience. And both companies could benefit from developers creating new apps for wearables.
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Public release date: 26-Jun-2013
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