Marvel Entertainment brings superheroes to the small screen.
By Todd Gilchrist
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1707349/agents-of-shield-teaser.jhtml
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DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) ? Pakistani officials say six troops have been killed in various operations and a bomb attack.
A military official says two soldiers were killed and three were injured on Sunday during a Pakistani army operation against militants in the lawless Tirah valley area of the Kyber tribal region. Sixteen militants also were killed.
In a second incident, intelligence officials say two soldiers were killed and three others were wounded when their convoy was bombed Sunday in the North Waziristan tribal region.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with policy.
Also, two members of Pakistan's Frontier Corps were killed on Sunday during an operation in Bolan district of Baluchistan. Senior government official Waheed Shah says 13 criminals suspected in kidnappings and robberies also were killed.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/6-pakistani-troops-killed-operations-attack-121946585.html
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Berkshire Hathaway chairman and chief executive Warren Buffett said that he would not sell shares of IBM Corp., even as the company missed earnings expectations last month.
"I won't be a seller of IBM," Buffett told cable television network CNBC ahead of Berkshire's annual shareholder meeting, which will begin May 4 in Omaha, Nebraska.
Buffett also said he did not buy more shares of IBM following the company's disappointing earnings results, which led to an 8 percent drop in the company's shares a day later.
Buffett added that he may buy more shares in IBM "from time to time," but that he neither bought nor sold shares after the company's quarterly earnings miss. He said that he "may have added a little bit" to Berkshire's stake in the company in the first quarter.
Buffett also told CNBC that he is "100 percent" in favor of JPMorgan Chase chairman and chief executive Jamie Dimon maintaining both roles at the bank. Dimon faces a shareholder vote this month at JPMorgan's annual meeting that could push the board to strip him of his chairman's role.
(Reporting by Sam Forgione; Editing by Alden Bentley and Chizu Nomiyama)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/buffett-says-wont-sell-shares-ibm-cnbc-114006612.html
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Double amputee Jason Koger, 34, of Owensboro, Ky., demonstrates his i-limb ultra revolution hands during an interview with the Associated Press, Thursday, May 2, 2013, in Philadelphia. Koger, a husband and father of three who lost his limbs in an accident, can now activate with an iPhone app 24 different grip patterns for his new hands. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Double amputee Jason Koger, 34, of Owensboro, Ky., demonstrates his i-limb ultra revolution hands during an interview with the Associated Press, Thursday, May 2, 2013, in Philadelphia. Koger, a husband and father of three who lost his limbs in an accident, can now activate with an iPhone app 24 different grip patterns for his new hands. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Double amputee Jason Koger, 34, of Owensboro, Ky., demonstrates his i-limb ultra revolution hands during an interview with the Associated Press, Thursday, May 2, 2013, in Philadelphia. Koger, a husband and father of three who lost his limbs in an accident, can now activate with an iPhone app 24 different grip patterns for his new hands. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Double amputee Jason Koger, 34, of Owensboro, Ky., demonstrates his i-limb ultra revolution hands decorated with images of his children during an interview with the Associated Press, Thursday, May 2, 2013, in Philadelphia. Koger, a husband and father of three who lost his limbs in an accident, can now activate with an iPhone app 24 different grip patterns for his new hands. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Double amputee Jason Koger, 34, of Owensboro, Ky., demonstrates his i-limb ultra revolution hands during an interview with the Associated Press, Thursday, May 2, 2013, in Philadelphia. Koger, a husband and father of three who lost his limbs in an accident, can now activate with an iPhone app 24 different grip patterns for his new hands. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Double amputee Jason Koger, 34, of Owensboro, Ky., smiles during an interview with the Associated Press, Thursday, May 2, 2013, in Philadelphia. Koger, a husband and father of three who lost his limbs in an accident, can now activate with an iPhone app 24 different grip patterns for his new bionic hands. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) ? Double-amputee Jason Koger used to fly hundreds of miles to visit a clinician when he wanted to adjust the grips on his bionic hands.
Now, he's got an app.
Koger came to Philadelphia this week to demonstrate the i-limb ultra revolution, a prosthetic developed by the British firm Touch Bionics. Using a stylus and an iPhone, Koger can choose any of 24 grip patterns that best suit his needs.
It's the latest evolution in equipment for Koger, a 34-year-old married father of three from Owensboro, Ky., who lost his hands in an all-terrain vehicle accident in 2008.
"Five years ago, I couldn't pull my pants up by myself," said Koger. "Today, I go hunting and do some of the things that I probably never imagined I could have done five years ago."
The technology indicates how rapidly the field of prosthetics is changing, benefiting patients from injured military members to victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. Practitioners say increased government research in the wake of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is driving some of the advances.
In Koger's case, he was shocked by a downed power line. He went into a coma and had no idea until he woke up three days later that doctors had amputated both his limbs at mid-forearm.
His wife spent those three days researching prosthetics, Koger said.
Since then, he's used a variety of prostheses, which he considers like tools ? different extensions for different tasks. Electric hooks have allowed him to pursue his passion for hunting. Myoelectric hands, which react to electrical impulses generated by his remaining arm muscles, offer more precise movements.
The previous version of Koger's myoelectric device required programming by a prosthetist, meaning Koger had to fly to Advanced Arm Dynamics in Dallas. The prosthetist would work with Koger to pick a few grip patterns ? such as pinching, pointing or shaking hands ? to program into the i-limb.
Yet sometimes Koger would get home and realize they weren't the ones he needed. Now, the latest i-limb comes with iPhone or iPad app that allows Koger to reprogram his hand with the touch of a stylus. On Thursday, he demonstrated by gripping an orange, a baseball and a can of soda.
The i-limb allows fingers and thumbs move independently to conform around certain objects, said Ryan Spill, a prosthetist for Advanced Arm Dynamics' new office in Philadelphia, who is working with Koger. The thumb is also motorized, not passive, as in previous prostheses.
The Boston Marathon bombings, which wounded more than 260 people including many with serious leg injuries, have shined a light on the advances in prostheses. But experts note that technology for upper extremity bionics, which involve fine motor skills, is much different from what's needed for lower extremities, which focuses on weight distribution and gait.
There have also been huge advances in computerized knees and feet, said Joe Reda, assistant director of orthotic and prosthetic services at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in West Orange, N.J.
"The changes are happening rather rapidly now and I think it's because of our wars overseas," said Reda. "The government is trying to put more money into research and development."
The i-limb ultra revolution costs about $100,000, though some insurance might cover it. Koger, who received his free in exchange for testing them and providing feedback, met Friday in Philadelphia with other amputees interested in the new technology.
Mark Dowling, 50, of Newark, Del., lost his arm to cancer several months ago. He said he cried while watching Koger demonstrate how the hand worked.
"I'm very touched with his story," Dowling said.
___
Online:
http://www.jasonkoger.com
http://www.touchbionics.com
http://www.armdynamics.com
___
Follow Kathy Matheson at www.twitter.com/kmatheson
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Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says he?s gotten a court order to shut down the operators of what was a phony breast cancer charity, the Coalition Against Breast Cancer.
Here are the details:
Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced that his office obtained a landmark decision shutting down Campaign Center, Inc., one of New York?s largest professional fundraising firms, for defrauding the public out of millions of dollars in the name of fighting breast cancer. The decision requires Campaign Center and owner Garrett Morgan to pay restitution for the fraud, the full amount of which will be determined at an upcoming hearing. It also bars Morgan and Campaign Center from any further charitable fundraising in New York State.
The directors of the now-shuttered sham charity, Coalition Against Breast Cancer (CABC), separately reached an agreement with Attorney General Schneiderman?s office last month requiring them to pay $1.55 million in restitution and prohibiting them from ever again running a New York charity.
?Sham charities and professional fundraisers who line their pockets by tricking New Yorkers into thinking they are donating their hard earned money to fund breast cancer research and other charitable causes have no business operating in our state, and we will take action to shut them down,? Attorney General Schneiderman said. ?This important decision reaffirms my office?s determination to use the powers available under New York law to ensure honesty and integrity in the field of charitable fundraising, and to protect New Yorkers.?
The decision, issued yesterday by New York Supreme Court Justice Emily Pines in Suffolk County, found that Campaign Center and Morgan deceived thousands of donors into making charitable contributions to CABC based on false representations that CABC helped women fight and survive breast cancer through research, education and early detection. In reality, despite raising nearly $10 million from the public from 2005-2011, CABC did not engage in any research, it did not carry out any public education and it supported mammograms for only 40 women over this 7-year period. The decision held that Campaign Center and Morgan?s deceptive fundraising constituted repeated violations of New York law.
The decision permanently barred both Campaign Center and Morgan from any further charitable fundraising in New York State and ordered that Campaign Center be dissolved. The court set a May 20 hearing date for the limited purpose of determining how much in restitution Campaign Center and Morgan will be required to pay. Prior to the court?s decision, the Attorney General entered into a settlement agreement with CABC and its directors, Andrew Smith, Debra Koppelman and Patricia Smith. Under the settlement, CABC will be dissolved and its directors permanently barred from serving as officers or directors of a New York charity and from engaging in charitable fundraising in the State. In addition, the directors have been ordered to pay a money judgment totaling $1,555,000 in restitution.
Attorney General Schneiderman sued Campaign Center, Morgan and CABC and its directors in June 2011, charging them with violations of New York State not-for-profit and charitable fundraising laws. The Attorney General?s investigation revealed that CABC and Campaign Center exploited breast cancer as a national charitable cause and made false claims about the activities and services it provided. CABC?s website featured stock photos of children and mothers, played emotional music and asked donors to help achieve the ?dream? of ?eradicating breast cancer,? though the organization itself directed virtually none of the funds it raised to that cause. Donors were misled into believing that their money would be used to fund breast cancer research, mammogram screenings through a mobile van, and seminars and forums for survivors and their families.
Morgan is a longtime associate of CABC?s founding director, Andrew Smith, and controlled CABC?s fundraising operation. His company, Campaign Center, was CABC?s principal outside fundraiser and, under a deal with CABC, kept up to 85 percent of the money it raised for CABC.
The Attorney General?s investigation determined that CABC was not affiliated with any cancer institution, and spent virtually nothing on breast cancer programs. According to the lawsuit, CABC spent less than one-half of 1 percent of donations raised for mammograms or any other purpose related to breast cancer prevention or detection. In 2010, a year in which CABC raised more than $1.1 million from the public, it spent a mere $632 on mammograms. In total, CABC spent only 4 percent of all donations on any of its alleged charitable programs.
This case has been handled by Charities Bureau Enforcement Section Chief David E. Nachman, Scott R. Wilson, Special Counsel to the Attorney General, and Assistant Attorneys General Rose Firestein and Kerin E. Coughlin, under the supervision of Charities Bureau Chief Jason Lilien and First Deputy of Affirmative Litigation Janet Sabel.
A copy of the decision can be found here: www.ag.ny.gov/pdfs/judge_pines_order.pdf
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FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) ? Tough auto markets worldwide ? including a deep slump in Europe ? and investment in new technology dented first-quarter earnings at German automaker BMW AG.
BMW's net profit fell 3 percent to 1.312 billion euros ($1.73 billion) as revenues declined 4.1 percent to 17.55 billion euros.
The earnings figures follow a quarter in which the European car market shrank 9.8 percent as many countries have sunk back into recession.
Still, the company's drop in profit for the quarter was smaller than its German competitors, Daimler AG and Volkswagen AG.
"Despite the current weakness of car markets in Europe, the BMW Group has made a good start to the new financial year 2013," CEO Norbert Reithofer said in a statement Thursday. "Despite high expenditure on new technologies and challenging market conditions worldwide, we managed to keep revenues and earnings at high levels."
The maker of the 1-series compact and the X5 sport utility noted that its overall auto profit margin of 9.9 percent, a key earnings figure, was near the top end of its 8-10 percent goal. Profit margin is what's left over from the price after the expenses of making and selling the car. The group net profit figure also beat the estimate for 1.102 billion euros among analysts surveyed by financial information provider FactSet.
Munich-based BMW said earnings would continue to be affected by higher expenses for investment in new technology and production facilities. Renewing the model line with fresh designs and the latest technology is considered key to the automaker's profitability down the road. BMW's luxury brand identity also depends in part on deploying the latest technologies such as the lightweight carbon-fiber materials used in its i3 electric compact.
And the drop in profit was not as big as at Volkswagen, where earnings fell 38 percent in the quarter, or at Daimler, where they were off 60 percent. U.S. based Ford Motor Co.'s European operation lost $462 million in the same quarter.
BMW gave a cautious outlook, staying with its forecast for earnings "on a similar scale" to last year's and for increased in unit sales.
"We do not expect to receive a great deal of impetus from most European markets over the next few months and economic conditions in these areas are likely to remain challenging," Reithofer said.
Numbers of vehicles sold improved in all regions, up 3.1 percent in Europe, 5 percent in the Americas, and 9.5 percent in Asia. Europe's problems were evident in drops of 5.1 percent in Italy and 7.4 percent in France.
Analyst Max Warburton at Sanford C. Bernstein said the quarter was "not fantastic" but still "better than most of us had anticipated given some tough end market trends." He noted BMW sales growth has slowed in the key China market, and that a larger share of sales there came from lower-margin vehicles produced with local partner Brilliance, resulting in a less profitable product mix.
BMW shares rose 2.7 percent after the announcement to 71.95 euros in morning trading in Europe.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tough-auto-market-dents-bmw-earns-sales-q1-070916367.html
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AMSTERDAM (AP) ? The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has reopened after a seven-month renovation, kicking off with "Van Gogh At Work," an exhibition that shows the famously tortured artist's working methods right down to his paints, brushes and other tools.
Appropriately, the final painting curators hung Wednesday was a self-portrait in which Vincent Van Gogh painted himself behind a canvas, brushes and palette in hand. Nearby, on loan from the Musee d'Orsay in Paris, are an actual palette and paints that Van Gogh used.
Marije Vellekoop, head of collections, said they were preserved by Dr. Paul-Ferdinand Gachet, the physician who treated the artist in the final months before his 1890 suicide.
Although Van Gogh received little acclaim during in his life and sold few paintings, Gachet decided to hold on to some of his patient's tools.
"Van Gogh's star was starting to rise, and there had been an exhibition of his work," Vellekoop said. "Dr. Gachet saw his quality, or perhaps he had some vision of the future."
In all, 145 paintings and sketches are on display, almost double the museum's usual collection.
A highlight is the display of two versions of Van Gogh's famed yellow "Sunflowers," hung on either side of a green-dominated portrait he painted known as "La Berceuse."
In a surviving letter, Van Gogh indicated that he intended the paintings, which usually hang in three different museums, to be displayed that way. The museum displays a replica of part of the letter, which shows sketches of the three paintings in miniature.
Other displays show how Van Gogh, rather than being a self-taught genius as is sometimes thought, was a late starter who worked extremely hard to master his craft in the decade before his death at age 37.
In many of his best-known works, he employed tools to help him render perspective correctly, with varying results.
Some displays show the progression from a sketched idea in Van Gogh's notebook to larger study to completed painting ? such as the 1888 "Fishing Boats on the Beach of Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer."
Among the more surprising elements on display are copies that Van Gogh made of originals by other artists in order to practice different styles and techniques. One such piece is a large color replica of a Japanese print. It closely resembles the original on which it is based, but with Van Gogh's trademark thick brush strokes.
The reopening of the museum is something of a milestone for Amsterdam's cultural scene: with it, all three of the city's biggest art museums are open for the first time in years.
The Stedelijk, or city museum, known for modernist art by Piet Mondrian, Gerrit Rietveld and Willem de Kooning, in addition to many of their non-Dutch contemporaries, opened in September after a lengthy expansion.
The Rijksmuseum, or national museum, which houses national treasures and many of the greatest masterpieces of painters such as Rembrandt van Rijn, Johannes Vermeer and Jan Steen, opened in April after an epic 10-year, top-to-bottom overhaul.
Alterations at the Van Gogh were more modest, with fire and safety improvements, new floors and new paint. But the museum, which receives a million visitors a year and is known for long lines, has also instituted a new Internet reservation system that aims to smooth the flow of traffic over the day.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/van-gogh-museum-reopens-display-craft-112112790.html
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This undated image made available by Teva Women's Health shows the packaging for their Plan B One-Step (levonorgestrel) tablet, one of the brands known as the "morning-after pill." The Plan B morning-after pill is moving over-the-counter, a decision announced by the Food and Drug Administration just days before a court-imposed deadline. On April 30, 2013, the FDA lowered to 15 the age at which girls and women can buy the emergency contraceptive without a prescription ? and said it no longer has to be kept behind pharmacy counters. Instead, the pill can sit on drugstore shelves just like condoms, but that buyers would have to prove their age at the cash register. (AP Photo/Teva Women's Health)
This undated image made available by Teva Women's Health shows the packaging for their Plan B One-Step (levonorgestrel) tablet, one of the brands known as the "morning-after pill." The Plan B morning-after pill is moving over-the-counter, a decision announced by the Food and Drug Administration just days before a court-imposed deadline. On April 30, 2013, the FDA lowered to 15 the age at which girls and women can buy the emergency contraceptive without a prescription ? and said it no longer has to be kept behind pharmacy counters. Instead, the pill can sit on drugstore shelves just like condoms, but that buyers would have to prove their age at the cash register. (AP Photo/Teva Women's Health)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? In a surprise twist to the decade-plus effort to ease access to morning-after pills, the government is lowering the age limit to 15 for one brand ? Plan B One-Step ? and will let it be sold over the counter.
Today, Plan B and its generic competition are sold behind pharmacy counters, and people must prove they're 17 or older to buy the emergency contraception without a prescription. A federal judge had ordered an end to those sales restrictions by next Monday.
But Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration approved a different approach: Plan B could sit on drugstore shelves next to condoms, spermicides or other women's health products ? but to make the purchase, buyers must prove they're 15 or older at the cash register.
Manufacturer Teva Women's Health, which had applied for the compromise path, said it planned to make the switch in a few months.
The question is whether Tuesday's action settles the larger court fight. Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Edward Korman of New York blasted the Obama administration for imposing the age-17 limit, saying it had let election-year politics trump science and were making it hard for women of any age to obtain emergency contraception in time for it to work.
The FDA said Tuesday's decision was independent of the court case and wasn't intended to address it. The Justice Department remained mum on whether it planned to appeal Korman's ruling by Monday's deadline, and the White House had no immediate comment.
The women's group that sued over the age limits said Tuesday's action is not enough, and it will continue the court fight if necessary.
Lowering the age limit "may reduce delays for some young women but it does nothing to address the significant barriers that far too many women of all ages will still find if they arrive at the drugstore without identification," said Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights.
The FDA said the Plan B One-Step will be packaged with a product code that prompts the cashier to verify a customer's age. Anyone who can't provide such proof as a driver's license, birth certificate or passport wouldn't be allowed to complete the purchase. In most states, driver's licenses, the most common form of identification, are issued at age 16.
"While an improvement over current policy, today's announcement is still disappointing," said Marcia D. Greenberger of the National Women's Law Center. "Because all women will be required to show an ID to establish their age, those without IDs could be denied access."
Other advocates called the move promising. "This decision is a step in the right direction for increased access to a product that is a safe and effective method of preventing unintended pregnancies," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. "It's also a decision that moves us closer to these critical availability decisions being based on science, not politics."
Social conservatives had opposed any efforts to loosen restrictions on sale of the morning-after pill, arguing that it was important for parents and medical professionals to be involved in such decisions involving young girls.
The group Concerned Women for America charged that health officials were putting politics and so-called progress ahead of the health of children as well as women.
"It makes no sense that kids need parental permission to take aspirin at school, but they're free to buy and administer Plan B," Penny Nance, CEO and president of CWA, said in a statement.
Half the nation's pregnancies every year are unintended, and doctors groups say more access to morning-after pills could cut those numbers. The pills contain higher doses of regular contraceptives and, if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex, can cut the chances of pregnancy by up to 89 percent. But they work best if taken in the first 24 hours.
The FDA had been poised to lift all age limits and let Plan B be sold over the counter in late 2011, but Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, in an unprecedented move, overruled her own scientists. Sebelius said some girls as young as 11 are physically capable of bearing children but shouldn't be able to buy the pregnancy-preventing pill on their own.
President Barack Obama supported Sebelius' move and a spokesman said the president's position hadn't changed.
The Justice Department could appeal Korman's ruling and seek a stay. If granted, the appeals process would move through the courts, while Plan B is sold over the counter whenever Teva has the product repackaged to meet the FDA's requirements.
Absent a stay, "we will want to go back to court as quickly as possible and ask the judge to hold them in contempt," said Janet Crepps, a senior counsel for the Center for Reproductive Rights.
The FDA said Tuesday that Teva had provided data proving that girls as young as 15 could understand how Plan B works and use it properly, without the involvement of a health care provider. Teva plans to conduct a consumer-education program and indicated it is willing to audit whether stores are following the age requirement, the agency said.
The FDA said its ruling applies only to Plan B One-Step, and not to generic versions of the pill, which would remain behind pharmacy counters with the age-17 restriction.
If a woman already is pregnant, the morning-after pill has no effect. It prevents ovulation or fertilization of an egg. According to the medical definition, pregnancy doesn't begin until a fertilized egg implants itself into the wall of the uterus. Still, some critics say Plan B is the equivalent of an abortion pill because it may also be able to prevent a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus, a contention that many scientists ? and Korman, in his ruling ? said has been discredited.
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The Facebookification of Instagram continues today as the photo sharing service just added an official feature for tagging people photos. And of course, these photos will all be grouped together on your profile page in a "Photos of You" section.
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WASHINGTON (AP) ? The government is moving the morning-after pill over the counter but only those 15 and older can buy it ? an attempt to find middle ground just days before a court-imposed deadline to lift all age restrictions on the emergency contraceptive.
Today, Plan B One-Step is sold behind pharmacy counters, and buyers must prove they're 17 or older to buy it without a prescription or else see a doctor first. Tuesday's decision by the Food and Drug Administration lowers the age limit to 15 ? and will allow the pill to sit on drugstore shelves next to condoms and spermicides or other women's health products. But customers must prove their age at the cash register.
Teva Women's Health, which makes Plan B, said it would begin over-the-counter sales in a few months.
The question is whether Tuesday's action settles a larger court fight. Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Edward Korman of New York blasted the Obama administration for imposing the age-17 limit, saying it had let election-year politics trump science and was making it hard for women of any age to obtain the emergency contraception in time. He ordered an end to all age restrictions by Monday, for Plan B and its generic versions.
The FDA said Tuesday's decision was independent of the court case and wasn't intended to address it. Technically, the FDA approved Teva's application to sell Plan B in this manner.
The Justice Department remained mum on whether it planned to appeal Korman's decision, and the White House had no immediate comment.
The women's group that sued over the age limits said Tuesday's action is not enough, and it will continue the court fight if necessary.
Lowering the age limit "may reduce delays for some young women but it does nothing to address the significant barriers that far too many women of all ages will still find if they arrive at the drugstore without identification," said Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights.
The FDA said the Plan B One-Step will be packaged with a product code that prompts the cashier to verify a customer's age. Anyone who can't provide such proof as a driver's license, birth certificate or passport wouldn't be allowed to complete the purchase. In most states, driver's licenses, the most common form of identification, are issued at age 16.
"These are daunting and sometimes insurmountable hoops women are forced to jump through in time-sensitive circumstances, and we will continue our battle in court to remove these arbitrary restrictions on emergency contraception for all women," Northup said.
Other contraceptive contraception advocates called the move promising.
"This decision is a step in the right direction for increased access to a product that is a safe and effective method of preventing unintended pregnancies," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. "It's also a decision that moves us closer to these critical availability decisions being based on science, not politics."
Social conservatives had opposed any efforts to loosen restrictions on sale of the morning-after pill, arguing that it was important for parents and medical professionals to be involved in such decisions involving young girls.
The group Concerned Women for America charged that health officials were putting politics and so-called progress ahead of the health of children as well as women.
"It makes no sense that kids need parental permission to take aspirin at school, but they're free to buy and administer Plan B," Penny Nance, CEO and president of CWA, said in a statement.
Half the nation's pregnancies every year are unintended, and doctors' groups say more access to morning-after pills could cut those numbers. The pills contain higher doses of regular contraceptives, and if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex, can cut the chances of pregnancy by up to 89 percent. But it works best if taken in the first 24 hours.
The FDA had been poised to lift all age limits and let Plan B sell over-the-counter in late 2011, when Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, in an unprecedented move, overruled her own scientists. Sebelius said some girls as young as 11 are physically capable of bearing children but shouldn't be able to buy the pregnancy-preventing pill on their own.
President Barack Obama supported Sebelius' move and a spokesman said earlier this month that the president's position hadn't changed.
The Justice Department could appeal Korman's ruling and seek a stay. If granted, the appeals process would move through the courts, while Plan B is sold over the counter whenever Teva has the product repackaged to meet FDA's requirements.
Absent a stay, "we will want to go back to court as quickly as possible and ask the judge to hold them in contempt," said Janet Crepps, a senior counsel for the Center for Reproductive Rights.
The FDA said Tuesday that Teva had provided data proving that girls as young as 15 could understand how Plan B works and use it properly, without the involvement of a health care provider. Teva plans to conduct a consumer-education program, and indicated it is willing to audit whether stores are following the age requirement, the agency said.
FDA said its ruling applies only to Plan B One-Step, and not to generic versions of the pill which would remain behind pharmacy counters with the age-17 restriction.
If a woman already is pregnant, the morning-after pill has no effect. It prevents ovulation or fertilization of an egg. According to the medical definition, pregnancy doesn't begin until a fertilized egg implants itself into the wall of the uterus. Still, some critics say Plan B is the equivalent of an abortion pill because it may also be able to prevent a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus, a contention that many scientists ? and Korman, in his ruling ? said has been discredited.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fda-morning-pill-ok-ages-15-232957915.html
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The Electronic Frontier Foundation has released its annual "Who Has Your Back?" report, ranking 18 companies by how well they protect user information from government eyes. Twitter and Sonic.net get high scores from the EFF, as they meet all six of the organization's privacy guidelines, which include requiring a warrant for sharing content and telling users about government data requests. On the other end of the spectrum are MySpace and Verizon, both of which score zero out of six stars. Meanwhile, Apple and AT&T get one gold star each, and Google, Dropbox and LinkedIn are tied for second place. You'll find the complete breakdown in the EFF 's comprehensive infographic (partially displayed above), and the full report is available via the source link.
Filed under: Internet, Apple, Google, Verizon, Facebook
Via: Electronista
Source: EFF
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/1gZ5XdfJhKY/
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EDMONTON, Alberta (Reuters) - The next Bank of England governor, Mark Carney, endorsed on Wednesday the idea of sometimes letting inflation run above target for longer than normal, while also warning of the risks to credibility if this is taken too far or done too often.
Carney, governor of the Bank of Canada till June 1, sang the praises of flexible inflation targeting, saying tighter monetary policy might be needed to prevent imbalances from developing and looser policy might be needed to avoid further damage to the economy.
The Bank of England has let inflation run above its 2 percent target even while it pursues an extraordinary amount of monetary easing, keeping interest rates at 0.5 percent for four years and engaging in buying massive amounts of government debt in a bid to spur economic growth.
"The weakness of growth since quantitative easing was introduced is not itself a reason to doubt that it is an effective policy," he said in a lengthy lecture in Edmonton, Alberta, examining the lessons learned from five years of financial turmoil.
But he acknowledged limits to flexible targeting. "The time frame for returning inflation to target can be stretched, but the credibility essential for the success of such a tactic could be undermined if such flexibility is taken too far, deployed too frequently or undertaken by stealth," he said.
Carney said asset purchase programs by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England have had positive effects on financial markets, but that it was more difficult to judge how these effects were transmitted to the broader economy.
He made no specific remarks about whether the BoE should expand its asset purchase program or pursue other forms of unconventional policies. Nor did he provide any new guidance on Canadian policy, other than to repeat that household debt levels were stabilizing, in part due to the bank's rate-hike talk since last April.
He said central banks that have provided forward guidance, such as the Fed's policy of setting a threshold for unemployment, have helped provide further stimulus to economies. Such policies, which are now being debated in Britain, can lead to lower long-term nominal rates and reinforce their stimulative effect, he said.
While price stability should remain the primary objective of monetary policy it does not guarantee financial stability and might even promote financial instability over the medium term, Carney said.
The lecture was his penultimate speech as Bank of Canada governor before he steps down to run the Bank of England starting in July. Carney's successor is expected to be named shortly.
(Reporting by Louise Egan and Randall Palmer; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/next-boe-chief-carney-signals-flexibility-inflation-target-215237395.html
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