The Obama administration official responsible for the implementation of key parts of the federal health care law apologized Wednesday for the disastrous rollout of the health insurance marketplace built by the government but vowed the problems would be fixed by the end of November.
In sworn testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius conceded that access to the federal website to buy insurance under the law "has been a miserably frustrating experience for way too many Americans."
"You deserve better. I apologize,” Sebelius said. “I'm accountable to you for fixing these problems."
Since its launch on Oct. 1, the government website has been set back with functional and accessibility problems that have prevented people seeking insurance from purchasing plans. Under the health care law passed in 2010, all Americans must be able to prove that they have insurance by March 31, 2014, and Sebelius told lawmakers that enough time will be granted to fulfill the obligation.
She conceded that before launching the site, her agency underestimated the depth of the problems with the site.
"No one indicated it could possibly go this wrong," she said, but added that private contractors who helped build the site did cite "risks" in undertaking such a massive project online.
Republicans and Democrats on the committee spent Wednesday morning grilling Sebelius during her first official testimony since the website’s launch. She spent much of her time defending the administration from questions about why thousands of private insurance plans would be canceled as a result of the law.
Republicans have seized on repeated promises from President Barack Obama that consumers could keep their health care plans, which has turned out not to be true since many plans do not meet new insurance requirements under the law, which set minimum mandates on coverage.
“They will be offered new plans,” Sebelius said when asked by Tennessee Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn what she would say to Americans who received notices that their current coverage does not meet new requirements and will be terminated. “Insurance companies cancel individual policies year in and year out. They are a one-year contract with individuals. They are not lifetime plans.”
“I will remind you,” Blackburn replied, “some people like to drive a Ford not a Ferrari. Some people like to drink out of a red Solo cup, not a crystal stem. You’re taking away their choice.”
In her testimony, Sebeilus acknowledged that her agency did not provide enough time for final testing of the site. Last week, private contractors from companies who worked with HHS to build HealthCare.gov said they were given only two weeks for end-to-end testing.
“We did not adequately do end-to-end testing,” Sebelius said. “I don’t think anyone estimated the degree of problems.”
Jaime's sweet boy! Jaime King is smitten with her new baby boy, and decided to show him off via Instagram on Tuesday, Oct. 29. The Hart of Dixie star welcomed her first child earlier this month.
"It is a grey cotton jersey kind of day," the 34-year-old actress wrote. Alongside the caption, the former model shared an adorable photo of her son James Knight (with his face hidden!) lying on her chest as they snuggled in bed together. The mother-son duo also wore matching grey shirts.
The first-time mom looks simply blissful in the sweet snapshot, as she also showed off James' dark brunette locks. The actress shut her eyes for the photo and also gave a closeup of her stunning engagement and wedding band.
King and her director husband Kyle Newman first announced in May they were expecting and later welcomed James on Oct. 6. "Mom and Baby are happy, healthy and are doing great," a rep for the actress confirmed to Us Weekly at the time.
Two weeks later, the beaming new mom revealed her post-baby body while stepping out for coffee with her mom Nancy at Urth Caffe in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Oct. 18. That same day, she shared a picture of James -- with his face covered up once again -- wrapped in a blanket as they went for his first doctor check up.
Color everyone surprised by this one, but at the ARM developers conference Intel partner Altera has announced that the company will begin producing 64-bit ARM chips. Intel has been trying to break into the mobile space currently dominated by ARM with their own chips, so this latest news is definitely of the surprising variety. Jean-Baptiste at Forbes:
At the ARM developers’ conference today, Intel partner Altera ALTR +1.23% announced that the world’s largest semiconductor company will fabricate its ARM’s 64-bit chips starting next year. An announcement that sent shockwaves throughout the technology industry as Intel is desperately trying to break ARM’s supremacy in the mobile market.
Further still, analyst Nathan Brookwood added this:
“Intel will build Apple's A7, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon or the Nvidia Tegra for the right price. Now, the question is, are they ready to pay that premium and feed their direct competitor, except for Apple. But that would actually make business sense for everyone"
So, is this Intel's way, finally, to monetize better in the mobile space? Is this Intel's way to break into the iPhone sometime down the line? The biggest chip maker in the world appears to be out for hire. Intel's former CEO famously told the world they passed up on the opportunity to work on the original iPhone, and since Apple went all-in on the ARM architecture, perhaps this could end up being a way back in further down the road.
In this photo released by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Nuon Chea, left, who was the Khmer Rouge's chief ideologist and No. 2 leader, waits before his final statements at the U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013. Former Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea has denied all charges against him on the last day of a trial for leaders of the Cambodian regime widely blamed for the deaths of some 1.7 million people. (AP Photo/Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Mark Peters)
In this photo released by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Nuon Chea, left, who was the Khmer Rouge's chief ideologist and No. 2 leader, waits before his final statements at the U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013. Former Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea has denied all charges against him on the last day of a trial for leaders of the Cambodian regime widely blamed for the deaths of some 1.7 million people. (AP Photo/Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Mark Peters)
Nuon Chea, enter, who was the Khmer Rouge's chief ideologist and No. 2 leader, is seen on a screen at the court during a final statements at the U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013. Former Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea has denied all charges against him on the last day of a trial for leaders of the Cambodian regime widely blamed for the deaths of some 1.7 million people. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
In this photo released by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Nuon Chea, who was the Khmer Rouge's chief ideologist and No. 2 leader, waits before his final statements at the U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013. Former Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea has denied all charges against him on the last day of a trial for leaders of the Cambodian regime widely blamed for the deaths of some 1.7 million people. (AP Photo/Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Mark Peters)
Nuon Chea, who was the Khmer Rouge's chief ideologist and No. 2 leader, is seen on a screen during his final statements at the U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013. Former Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea has denied all charges against him on the last day of a trial for leaders of the Cambodian regime widely blamed for the deaths of some 1.7 million people. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Former Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea denied charges of genocide and other crimes Thursday on the last day of his trial but expressed "deepest remorse" for the deaths of some 1.7 million Cambodians during the regime's rule in the 1970s.
The ailing 87-year-old Nuon Chea, the Khmer Rouge's chief ideologist and No. 2 leader, also apologized to Cambodians and accepted "moral responsibility" for the deaths, repeating previous statements he has made in an attempt to distance himself from the actual crimes.
Along with Nuon Chea, the U.N.-backed tribunal has also charged 82-year-old Khieu Samphan, the former Khmer Rouge head of state, with genocide and crimes against humanity, including torture, enslavement and murder, for their roles in the radical communist regime nearly 40 years ago.
Khieu Samphan is also expected to deny all the charges later Thursday. A verdict is expected in the first half of 2014, more than two years after the trial began.
Nuon Chea said the Khmer Rouge was only defending itself from external and internal enemies.
Blaming "those traitors" for the tragic situation in Cambodia in the 1970s, Nuon Chea said he would nonetheless "like to sincerely apologize to the public, the victims, the families, and all Cambodian people."
"I still stand by my previously stated position that I am morally responsible for the loose and untidy control" by his party. "I wish to show my remorse and pray for the lost souls that occurred by any means" during the Khmer Rouge rule.
His words are unlikely to be any consolation for the survivors, hundreds of whom crowded the courtroom and the tribunal's grounds to hear the two aged defendants speak.
Deaths due to execution, disease, torture and starvation were widespread during the Khmer Rouge's brutal rule in the 1970s, when the communist ideologues emptied cities and forced virtually the entire population to work on farm collectives.
In his defense, Nuon Chea said he had never ordered Khmer Rouge cadres to commit any crimes.
"I never educated or instructed them to mistreat or kill people to deprive them of food or commit any genocide," said the frail former leader, speaking steadily as he read from pages of notes.
"Through this trial, it is clearly indicated that I was not engaged in any commission of the crimes as alleged by the co-prosecutors," he said. "In short, I am innocent in relation to those allegations."
"I respectfully submit to your honors to acquit me from all the charges and to subsequently release me," he said.
Death and disability have robbed the tribunal of other defendants. Khmer Rouge Foreign Minister Ieng Sary died in March, and his wife Ieng Thirith, the regime's social affairs minister, was declared unfit for trial in September 2012 after being diagnosed with dementia. The group's top leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998.
The tribunal, launched in 2006, so far has convicted only one defendant, Khmer Rouge prison director Kaing Guek Eav, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2011.
The present trial's focus is on the forced movement of people and excludes some of the gravest charges related to genocide, detention centers and killings. The next trial will begin as soon as possible, but the tribunal has not set a date.
Facebook’s popularity might be on the decline among some teenagers, the company signaled Wednesday.
For younger teenagers, Facebook has seen a decline in the number of daily users, the company reported during its third-quarter earnings call. Overall, usage among U.S. teens was stable between the second and third quarters, but the decrease in daily usage for some was noted early in the prepared remarks of Facebook’s chief financial officer, David Ebersman.
It was one of the first times that the social network has identified a decrease in its teenage users. Youth engagement on Facebook is hard to measure because self-reported age data is usually unreliable for younger users, the company said. But, “we wanted to share [the figure] because we get a lot of questions about teens,” Ebersman said.
Facebook didn’t disclose the size of the decline or comment on it further.
A problem?
With many rival services vying for younger users’ attention, Facebook’s ability to keep them on its site is an issue. One area of intense competition is messaging. Facebook operates its own standalone app just for messages, called Messenger, but services such as Snapchat, WhatsApp and Skype are also popular.
Part of the issue might be that everyone seems to be on Facebook now, and teens want their own place to digitally mingle. “Teens don’t want to be on the same site as their parents,” said Brian Blau, who’s an industry analyst with Gartner and a parent of a teenager himself.
Also, a study released by Pew Research Center earlier this year found that the “drama” on Facebook might be driving more teens to one of Facebook’s biggest rivals: Twitter.
Overall, on a monthly basis, Facebook grew its number of users to 1.19 billion during the quarter, an increase of 18 percent from last year. Total sales for the company, aided by mobile, were up 60 percent, to US$2.02 billion.
During the call, Facebook said it would continue to build products for people of all ages.
Zach Miners, IDG News Service , IDG News Service
Zach Miners covers social networking, search and general technology news for IDG News Service More by Zach Miners, IDG News Service
Bacteria and fat: A 'perfect storm' for inflammation, may promote diabetes
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
30-Oct-2013
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Contact: Jennifer Brown jennifer-l-brown@uiowa.edu 319-356-7124 University of Iowa Health Care
Bacterial toxins activate fat cells producing chronic inflammation, which in turn boosts risk of developing diabetes
Making fat cells immortal might seem like a bad idea to most people, but for a team of University of Iowa scientists it was the ideal way to study how the interaction between bacteria and fat cells might contribute to diabetes.
The connection between fat, bacteria, and diabetes is inflammation, which is the body's normal reaction to infection or injury. Inflammation is beneficial in small, controlled doses but can be extremely harmful when it persists and becomes chronic.
"The idea is that when fat cells (adipocytes) interact with environmental agents -- in this case, bacterial toxins -- they then trigger a chronic inflammatory process," says Patrick Schlievert, Ph.D., UI professor and head of microbiology and co-senior author of a new study published Oct. 30 in the journal PLOS ONE. "We know that chronic inflammation leads to insulin resistance, which can then lead to diabetes. So people are very interested in the underlying causes of chronic inflammation."
The UI researchers used immortalized fat cells to show that bacterial toxins stimulate fat cells to release molecules called cytokines, which promote inflammation. By immortalizing fat cells the UI team created a stockpile of continuously dividing, identical cells that are necessary for repeat experiments to validate results, explains Al Klingelhutz, Ph.D., UI microbiologist and co-senior author of the study.
Previous studies have shown that a toxin called lipopolysaccharide (LPS) produced by E. coli bacteria that reside in the human gut, triggers fat cells to produce pro-inflammatory cytokines, and this interaction has been proposed to contribute to the development of diabetes.
The UI team focused on a different bacterium, Staphylococcus aureus (staph), which appears to be important in the context of diabetes for two reasons. First, as people become obese and then progress into diabetes they become very heavily colonized with staph bacteria. Secondly, staph is the most common microbe isolated from diabetic foot ulcers, one of the most common and health-threatening complications of diabetes.
All staph bacteria make toxins called superantigens -- molecules that disrupt the immune system. Schlievert's research has previously shown that superantigens cause the deadly effects of various staph infections, such as toxic shock syndrome, sepsis, and endocarditis.
The new UI study shows that superantigens from staph bacteria trigger fat cells to produce pro-inflammatory molecules. Moreover, the study found that superantigens synergized with LPS from E. coli to magnify fat cells' cytokine responses, amplifying the inflammation, which could potentially boost the likelihood of developing diabetes.
"The E. coli that resides in our gut produces LPS and every day a small amount of this toxin gets into our circulation, but it is generally cleared from the circulation by the liver. However, people colonized by staph bacteria are also chronically exposed to superantigens, which shut down the LPS detoxification pathway," Schlievert explains. "That creates a synergy between the 'uncleared' LPS and the superantigen. All these two molecules do is cause inflammation and cytokine production. So in essence, their presence together creates a perfect storm for inflammation."
The findings suggest that by promoting chronic inflammation through their effect on fat cells, staph superantigens may play a role in the development of diabetes. In addition, the chronic inflammation caused by the superantigens may also hinder wound healing in diabetic foot ulcers. The ulcers, which affect 15 to 25 percent of people with diabetes, are notoriously difficult to heal and can often lead to amputation.
Why immortalize fat cells?
The UI team created immortalized fat cells for their research because primary fat cells (taken directly from fat tissue) are not very useful for lab experiments. Once the primary cells are grown in a dish, they quickly stop dividing and can't be used for repeated experiments. In contrast, the immortalized fat cells allow experiments to be repeated multiple times on identical cells ensuring consistent, reproducible results.
Klingelhutz and his team immortalized immature precursor fat cells by adding in two genes from HPV (the virus that causes cervical cancer) along with a gene for part of an enzyme that controls the length of cells' telomeres -- the pieces of DNA that protect chromosome tips from deterioration. These immortal precursor cells could then be "grown up" in petri dishes and differentiated into normal fat cells.
"The immortal fat cells are a great experimental tool that will allow us to investigate the mechanisms of the inflammation and allow us to test ways to potentially inhibit the response," says Klingelhutz. "That would be a goal in the future."
###
In addition to Schlievert and Klingelhutz, the research team included UI graduate student and study's lead author Bao Vu, and UI research assistant Francoise Gourronc; and University of Minnesota professor David Bernlohr, Ph.D.
The study was funded by a UI Department of Microbiology Development Grant and a research grant from the National Institutes of Health (Grant# AI074283).
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Bacteria and fat: A 'perfect storm' for inflammation, may promote diabetes
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
30-Oct-2013
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Contact: Jennifer Brown jennifer-l-brown@uiowa.edu 319-356-7124 University of Iowa Health Care
Bacterial toxins activate fat cells producing chronic inflammation, which in turn boosts risk of developing diabetes
Making fat cells immortal might seem like a bad idea to most people, but for a team of University of Iowa scientists it was the ideal way to study how the interaction between bacteria and fat cells might contribute to diabetes.
The connection between fat, bacteria, and diabetes is inflammation, which is the body's normal reaction to infection or injury. Inflammation is beneficial in small, controlled doses but can be extremely harmful when it persists and becomes chronic.
"The idea is that when fat cells (adipocytes) interact with environmental agents -- in this case, bacterial toxins -- they then trigger a chronic inflammatory process," says Patrick Schlievert, Ph.D., UI professor and head of microbiology and co-senior author of a new study published Oct. 30 in the journal PLOS ONE. "We know that chronic inflammation leads to insulin resistance, which can then lead to diabetes. So people are very interested in the underlying causes of chronic inflammation."
The UI researchers used immortalized fat cells to show that bacterial toxins stimulate fat cells to release molecules called cytokines, which promote inflammation. By immortalizing fat cells the UI team created a stockpile of continuously dividing, identical cells that are necessary for repeat experiments to validate results, explains Al Klingelhutz, Ph.D., UI microbiologist and co-senior author of the study.
Previous studies have shown that a toxin called lipopolysaccharide (LPS) produced by E. coli bacteria that reside in the human gut, triggers fat cells to produce pro-inflammatory cytokines, and this interaction has been proposed to contribute to the development of diabetes.
The UI team focused on a different bacterium, Staphylococcus aureus (staph), which appears to be important in the context of diabetes for two reasons. First, as people become obese and then progress into diabetes they become very heavily colonized with staph bacteria. Secondly, staph is the most common microbe isolated from diabetic foot ulcers, one of the most common and health-threatening complications of diabetes.
All staph bacteria make toxins called superantigens -- molecules that disrupt the immune system. Schlievert's research has previously shown that superantigens cause the deadly effects of various staph infections, such as toxic shock syndrome, sepsis, and endocarditis.
The new UI study shows that superantigens from staph bacteria trigger fat cells to produce pro-inflammatory molecules. Moreover, the study found that superantigens synergized with LPS from E. coli to magnify fat cells' cytokine responses, amplifying the inflammation, which could potentially boost the likelihood of developing diabetes.
"The E. coli that resides in our gut produces LPS and every day a small amount of this toxin gets into our circulation, but it is generally cleared from the circulation by the liver. However, people colonized by staph bacteria are also chronically exposed to superantigens, which shut down the LPS detoxification pathway," Schlievert explains. "That creates a synergy between the 'uncleared' LPS and the superantigen. All these two molecules do is cause inflammation and cytokine production. So in essence, their presence together creates a perfect storm for inflammation."
The findings suggest that by promoting chronic inflammation through their effect on fat cells, staph superantigens may play a role in the development of diabetes. In addition, the chronic inflammation caused by the superantigens may also hinder wound healing in diabetic foot ulcers. The ulcers, which affect 15 to 25 percent of people with diabetes, are notoriously difficult to heal and can often lead to amputation.
Why immortalize fat cells?
The UI team created immortalized fat cells for their research because primary fat cells (taken directly from fat tissue) are not very useful for lab experiments. Once the primary cells are grown in a dish, they quickly stop dividing and can't be used for repeated experiments. In contrast, the immortalized fat cells allow experiments to be repeated multiple times on identical cells ensuring consistent, reproducible results.
Klingelhutz and his team immortalized immature precursor fat cells by adding in two genes from HPV (the virus that causes cervical cancer) along with a gene for part of an enzyme that controls the length of cells' telomeres -- the pieces of DNA that protect chromosome tips from deterioration. These immortal precursor cells could then be "grown up" in petri dishes and differentiated into normal fat cells.
"The immortal fat cells are a great experimental tool that will allow us to investigate the mechanisms of the inflammation and allow us to test ways to potentially inhibit the response," says Klingelhutz. "That would be a goal in the future."
###
In addition to Schlievert and Klingelhutz, the research team included UI graduate student and study's lead author Bao Vu, and UI research assistant Francoise Gourronc; and University of Minnesota professor David Bernlohr, Ph.D.
The study was funded by a UI Department of Microbiology Development Grant and a research grant from the National Institutes of Health (Grant# AI074283).
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Share
]
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
If you're wondering how to conceal the wounds caused by cutting, a form of self-harm, the Internet can tell you how.
"Those long gloves, the cool stripey ones that cover half your arms, could help," advises one post on an online forum.
But that same post offered advice on how to avoid self-injury, including briefly dipping one's face in a bowl of ice water to short-circuit the urge. "I know it's very difficult in times of stress not to SI, but reach out for any help and support that's there, and try other positive techniques to lengthen the space between the urge and wanting to SI," the post reads.
That tension is evident in a review published Wednesday that tries to nail down how Internet forums and other online venues influence young people's risk of suicide and self-harm.
Social media and online groups can provide support for young people at risk of self-harm and suicide, the review finds. But they can also increase the risks, the review says, exposing teenagers to cyber-bullying and endorsements of self-harm.
The assessment is a little squishy, mainly because there haven't been many solid studies conducted. Researchers at the University of Oxford found 14 studies worldwide that carried some weight. Five found negative effects from online activity; they were also the higher-quality studies. Seven found positive influences, and two were undecided.
The studies found a strong link between online forums and increased risk of suicide, a risk not found with other forms of social networking. In one study, 60 percent of the 429 participants said they had learned suicide techniques online. In another study, 80 percent of teenagers who had seriously injured themselves said they had gone online to research self-harm.
Young people who were online for more than five hours a day were more vulnerable to being influenced by information in favor of suicide or self-harm, the review found.
Suicide is a leading cause of death among teenagers and young adults, with about 4,600 lives lost each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
And though the studies found evidence both for good and harm online, they by and large didn't look at online resources designed to prevent suicide and self-harm, such as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
"That was surprising," says Paul Montgomery, a professor of psycho-social intervention at the University of Oxford and an author of the study, which was published in the online journal PLOS ONE.
Some countries have become so alarmed by cyberbullying and pro-suicide sites that they have shut them down, Montgomery says, citing Australia as one country that has gone that route.
"I can see that policymakers might grasp at straws," Montgomery tells Shots. "But we have to think about prevention, and the Internet does present us with opportunities."
Internet forums run by health care workers, he points out, could be one way provide support at a time when people are most vulnerable.
FILE - In this July 1, 2013 file photo, Leann Rimes performs at the Friend Movement Anti-Bullying Benefit Concert at the El Rey Theatre, in Los Angeles. Los Angeles court records show a judge on Monday, Oct. 28, 2013, dismissed an invasion of privacy lawsuit filed by Rimes against two women she claimed illegally recorded a phone conversation with her and posted it online. (Photo by John Shearer/Invision/AP, file)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — An invasion of privacy lawsuit that LeAnn Rimes filed against two Northern California women has been dismissed.
Los Angeles court records show the actress-singer's suit against Kimberly Smiley and her daughter Alexis Smiley was dismissed Monday. The dismissal prevents Rimes from re-filing the case.
Rimes sued the women in August 2012 claiming they recorded a phone conversation with her and posted it online. She said the recording damaged her reputation and relationships, and caused her emotional distress.
Kimberly Smiley denied wrongdoing in an interview after the suit was filed.
Steve White, an attorney representing the Smileys, says the two sides resolved their differences and he could not comment further.
Rimes' lawyer, Larry Stein, was not immediately available to comment.
LONDON (AP) — "Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe has signed on to play British Olympic runner Sebastian Coe in a movie about rivalries on the running track.
"Gold" will tell the story of the tense rivalry between Coe and fellow middle distance runner Steve Ovett in the run-up to the 1980 Moscow Olympics, where Ovett won the 800 meters and Coe took the 1500 meters. Coe, also a gold medalist in 1984, went on to become a politician and headed the London organizing committee at last year's summer Olympics.
The movie reunites the 24-year-old Radcliffe with James Watkins, the director of the 2012 film "The Woman in Black."
Filming is expected to begin in in April 2014.
Radcliffe's publicist confirmed Radcliffe's casting on Wednesday. The casting for Ovett has not yet been announced.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testified before Congress Wednesday about the shaky rollout of the Obamacare online exchange website.
Sebelius was once the governor of Kansas, so pretty much everyone made "Wizard of Oz" jokes at her expense while she sat there answering questions about President Barack Obama's signature legislation that will affect millions of people.
(Gordon Donovan/Yahoo)
It all started when Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton took the microphone and said:"There is a famous movie called 'The Wizard of Oz.' And in 'The Wizard of Oz,' there is a great line. Dorothy at some point in the movie turns to her little dog, Toto, and says: Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore. Well, Madam Secretary, while you're from Kansas, we're not in Kansas anymore. Some might say that we are actually in 'The Wizard of Oz' land given the parallel universes we appear to be habitating."
(Gordon Donovan/Yahoo)
Great joke! Because she is from Kansas!
Well, not quite from Kansas. Later on in the hearing, Texas Republican Rep. Ralph Hall asked her: ”Were you born in Kansas, made in Kansas?" (Wait, "made" in Kansas? What is this guy, 90 years old? Yes.) Anyway. Sebelius replied, “I was not. I was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. I married a Kansan and went to Kansas.” (Then became governor of it.) Good enough!
Onward with the wisecracks.
So then, New Jersey Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone decided to make the same bad gag. "I know we're not in Kansas, but I do believe increasingly we're in Oz because of what I see here. So this Wizard of Oz comment by my colleague from Texas, I think, is particularly apropos given what we hear on the other side of the aisle. I don't know how you keep your cool, Madam Secretary."
(Gordon Donovan/Yahoo)
How about another? Take it away, Iowa Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley:
"One of the things that keeps coming up in this hearing because you are from Kansas is references to 'The Wizard of Oz.' And people went to see the wizard because of the wonderful things that he did. And the Affordable Care Act is doing a lot of great things in Iowa!"
(Gordon Donovan/Yahoo)
OK this is getting out of control. Could someone please drop a house on these guys already?
But wait, Kansas Republican Rep. Mike Pompeo saves the day: "It won't surprise you that I would like to talk about Kansas a little bit today. Much like with — some of my colleagues have made references to 'The Wizard of Oz.' I don't think anybody not from Kansas should be able to do Oz allegories."
(Gordon Donovan/Yahoo)
Oh wait, he kept talking. Drat.
"But," he added, "my story — the way I think about it is those folks worked awful hard to go down that yellow brick road. At the end of the day, when they got there and pulled back the curtain, they found there was nothing that they didn't already have. And as we pull back the curtain on the Affordable Care Act, I think people are finding that it's not exactly what they're going to have worked so hard to find their way to as well."
WASHINGTON (AP) — When it comes to computers, the Obama administration appears simultaneously to be a bungling amateur and a stealthy wizard. The same government that reportedly intercepted the communications of America's leading consumer technology firms, Google and Yahoo, without leaving a trace is scorned because it can't build a working federal website for health insurance.
In a single day in the nation's capital, extremes of the impressive successes and stunning failures of the Internet age were on full display.
Computer professionals said the government can be both adept and inept at the same time because the tasks are so different and for reasons involving who is doing it, for how much money, how long it takes and how publicly it is done.
Under a classified project called MUSCULAR, the National Security Agency has secretly broken into the main communications links that connect Google and Yahoo data centers around the world, The Washington Post reported Wednesday, citing documents obtained from former NSA systems analyst Edward Snowden. In the past 30 days, the NSA swept up and processed more than 180 million new records, including metadata indicating who sent and received emails and when it happened, the Post reported.
Across town, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was apologizing to Congress over the bungled healthcare.gov website. New documents obtained by The Associated Press showed that officials had worried that a lack of website testing posed a potentially high security risk. In yet another conflict-riddled Capitol Hill hearing, a congressman told Sebelius that she had put Americans' personal financial information at risk.
The difference? National priorities, including big differences in how much the government spends, plus the talent and expertise of the people the government hires.
The NSA's annual budget was just over $7 billion in fiscal 2013, according to budget documents leaked by Snowden. The budget for the entire Health and Human Services Department was less than $1 trillion, and it spent $118 million on the website plus about $56 million on other IT to support the website, Sebelius said Wednesday.
The NSA is famous for employing small focused teams of highly talented, highly recruited experts with special skills, said Chris Wysopal, a former hacker who is chief technology officer for Veracode in Burlington, Mass. But the Health and Human Services Department's website designers? "They are sort of your average developers," he said.
Ex-hacker Marc Maiffret, who once wore his hair green in spikes and is the chief technology officer at BeyondTrust of San Diego, said Beltway contractors who work on civilian technology projects usually are over-budget and under-performing. Teams putting together large IT systems are complex and must coordinate across different government agencies, insurance companies, states and contractors.
"They may have underestimated the complexity when they started on it, which is again not surprising," said Purdue University computer science professor Gene Spafford.
Motivation is important too. Patriotic hacking on behalf of the NSA is exciting, especially among the mostly young and mostly male demographic.
"Breaking in, it feels like special ops," Wysopal said. "Building something feels probably like you're in the Corps of Engineers. You're just moving a lot of dirt around."
It's also widely understood to be easier to break something down than to build it. Siphoning the Google and Yahoo data is simpler to do than building a secure website for millions of people to get health care, Wysopal and Maiffret said.
Besides, if the NSA had failed to collect all the data it wanted during a classified mission, few people would learn about it — unlike what happened almost immediately when the health care website was launched and immediately experienced problems, said Matt Green, a computer science professor at Johns Hopkins University.
"If the NSA doesn't do something, you and I don't hear about it," Green said.
The government generally spends more money researching how to attack, not defend, computers, said Spafford, director of the Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security at Purdue.
The apparent contradiction between health care and the NSA, Spafford said, "is what makes computers magical."
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Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security: http://www.cerias.purdue.edu/site/about
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Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter at http://twitter.com/borenbears
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Reserve says its low interest-rate policies are still needed to invigorate a subpar U.S. economy.
In a statement Wednesday after a policy meeting, the Fed said it would keep buying $85 billion a month in bonds to keep long-term rates low and encourage borrowing and spending.
Yet the Fed seemed to signal that it thinks the economy is improving despite some recent weak data and uncertainties caused by the partial government shutdown.
The Fed no longer expresses concern, as it did in September, that higher mortgage rates could hold back hiring and economic growth. And its statement makes no reference to the 16-day shutdown, which economists say has slowed growth this quarter.
Some analysts said this suggests that the Fed might be prepared to slow its bond purchases by early next year — sooner than some have assumed.
"The tone was probably more positive on the outlook than most people expected," said Jim O'Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics.
Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics, said he was struck by the absence of any reference to the shutdown. He called the statement "remarkable for what it omits rather than includes."
Ashworth said that if the Fed isn't worried about the economic impact of the shutdown, it might be ready to reduce its stimulus as early as December. He still thinks a pullback is most likely early next year. But Ashworth said the Fed's statement suggests that its timing may have shifted.
Some economists noted that Congress' budget fight has clouded the Fed's timetable for tapering its bond purchases. Though the government reopened Oct. 17 and a threatened default on its debt was averted, Congress passed only temporary fixes. More deadlines and possible disruptions lie ahead.
Without a budget deal by Jan. 15, another shutdown is possible. Congress must also raise the government's debt ceiling after Feb. 7. If not, a market-rattling default will remain a threat.
If the government manages to avert another shutdown in mid-January, Dana Saporta, an economist at Credit Suisse, said, "We could see a taper as soon as the Jan. 29th meeting."
But she added that a continued budget impasse would likely delay any pullback in the Fed's bond purchases until March or later.
Investors seemed to conclude that the Fed might be ready to reduce its stimulus earlier than expected. The Dow Jones industrial average, which had been down 29 points before the Fed issued its statement, closed down 61 points.
And the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, a benchmark for rates on mortgages and other loans, rose from 2.49 percent to 2.54 percent in late-afternoon trading. That suggested that investors think long-term rates may rise because of less bond buying by the Fed.
At the same time, the Fed noted again in its statement that budget policies in Washington have restrained economic growth.
And it will stick to its low-rate policy: It reiterated that it plans to hold its key short-term rate at a record low near zero at least as long as the unemployment rate stays above 6.5 percent and the inflation outlook remains mild.
The Fed's policy decision was approved on a 9-1 vote. Esther George, president of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank, dissented, as she has at each of the seven meetings this year. She repeated her concerns that the Fed's bond purchases could fuel high inflation and financial instability.
At its previous meeting in September, the Fed surprised investors and economists when it chose not to reduce its bond buying. Since then, the partial shutdown shaved an estimated $25 billion from economic growth this quarter. And a batch of tepid economic data point to a still-subpar economy.
Employers added just 148,000 jobs in September, a steep slowdown from August. And temporary layoffs during the shutdown are expected to depress October's job gain.
Since the September meeting, mortgage rates have fallen roughly half a percentage point and remain near historically low levels. Over the summer, rates had jumped to two-year highs on speculation that the Fed might reduce the pace of its bond purchases before the end of this year.
The Fed has one more policy meeting this year in December. The subsequent meeting in January will be the last for Chairman Ben Bernanke, who is stepping down after eight years. President Barack Obama has chosen Vice Chair Janet Yellen to succeed Bernanke.
Assuming that Yellen is confirmed by the Senate, her first meeting as chairman will be in March. Many economists think no major policy changes will occur before a new chairman takes over.
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AP Economics Writer Christopher S. Rugaber contributed to this report.
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Follow Chris Rugaber on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/ChrisRugaber .
A Stanford MBA named Roy Raymond wants to buy his wife some lingerie but he's too embarrassed to shop for it at a department store. He comes up with an idea for a high-end place that doesn't make you feel like a pervert. He gets a $40,000 bank loan, borrows another $40,000 from his in-laws, opens a store, and calls it Victoria's Secret. Makes $500,000 his first year. He starts a catalog, opens three more stores, and after five years he sells the company to Leslie Wexner and the Limited for $4 million. Happy ending, right? Except two years later, the company's worth $500 million and Roy Raymond jumps off the Golden Gate Bridge. Poor guy just wanted to buy his wife a pair of thigh-highs.
—Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake) to Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) in The Social Network (2010)
In this scene, Zuckerberg has just asked Parker why his girlfriend looks so familiar; turns out the woman on Parker’s arm is a Victoria’s Secret model. Parker, founder of Napster (and the first president of Facebook), is impressing upon young Zuckerberg that the true genius behind what he calls a “once-in-a-generation-holy-shit idea” isn’t necessarily the idea itself, but the insight, drive, and perseverance to see just how far the idea can go. There’s no better example to prove his point than the story of Raymond, Wexner, and Victoria’s Secret.
In the mid-1970s, Roy Raymond did indeed walk into a department store to buy his wife lingerie, only to find ugly floral-print nightgowns—made even uglier under harsh fluorescent lights—and saleswomen who made him feel like a deviant just for being there. Realizing that other male friends felt the same way, the 30-year-old saw an opportunity to create a market where none existed: A lingerie store designed to make men feel comfortable shopping there.
Raymond imagined a Victorian boudoir, replete with dark wood, oriental rugs, and silk drapery. He chose the name “Victoria” to evoke the propriety and respectability associated with the Victorian era; outwardly refined, Victoria’s “secrets” were hidden beneath. In 1977, with $80,000 of savings and loans from family, Raymond and his wife leased a space in a small shopping mall in Palo Alto, Calif., and Victoria’s Secret was born.
To understand how novel Raymond’s idea was, it helps to have a little context. In the 1950s and ’60s, underwear was all about practicality and durability. For most American women, sensual lingerie was reserved for the honeymoon trousseau or the anniversary night; Frederick’s of Hollywood was the granddaddy of the specialty lingerie retailers. When the women’s movement of the late 1960s and ’70s called for women to liberate themselves from the bondage of bras, the intimate apparel industry responded with new designs that they claimed would give women the natural look they desired without the embarrassment of a sagging bustline. But for the most part, underwear remained functional, not fun.
Victoria’s Secret changed all that, and in the Bay Area, its sales continued to boom—thanks in large part to its catalog, which reached customers across the country. Within five years, Raymond had opened three more stores in San Francisco. By 1982, the company had annual sales of more than $4 million—yet something in Raymond’s formula was not working. According to management experts Michael J. Silverstein and Neil Fiske’s book Trading Up, Victoria’s Secret was nearing bankruptcy.
Enter Leslie Wexner, the man who had ushered in the mass-market sportswear boom with a store he called The Limited. While still in his 20s, Wexner had recognized that women were forgoing dresses for separates and casual wear. So in 1963, he opened a store “limited” just to sportswear. Wexner’s foresight paid off. The Limited grew to 11 stores by 1970, and 188 by 1977, according to a Forbes profile published that year. Wexner, now 40, was worth $50 million.
Map locates Greenwood County, S.C.; 1c x 2 inches; 46.5 mm x 50 mm;
Map locates Greenwood County, S.C.; 1c x 2 inches; 46.5 mm x 50 mm;
GREENWOOD COUNTY, S.C. (AP) — Police found the bodies of six people ranging in age from 9 to the early 50s when they responded to a call from a man who said he was thinking about hurting himself.
SWAT team members who entered the house late Tuesday found the remains of four adults and two children, including the body of the man they believe called police, Greenwood County Sheriff's Office spokesman John Long said. Investigators didn't immediately release the identities or causes of death, but Long said the situation appeared to be "domestic-related."
Authorities planned a news conference for Wednesday afternoon. In the morning, yellow police tape surrounded the one-story home on a rural stretch of road south of Greenwood, a city of about 23,000 in northwestern South Carolina.
Officers first went to the home in Greenwood County after receiving a call from a man who said he was thinking about hurting himself, Long said. He said while police were on their way, one of the man's neighbors called 911 saying four children from that address had arrived at her house and told her a shot had been fired. He said the children remained at her house.
After about an hour and "several unsuccessful attempts" by officers to make contact with anyone in the home, the SWAT team entered and discovered the bodies, Long said.
The county coroner's office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
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Associated Press writers Meg Kinnard in Columbia and Lisa J. Adams in Atlanta contributed to this report.
"Of course (I'd like to fight him)," says St-Pierre of Askren. "He's a good fighter, undefeated, and yes, if he comes, I'll fight him. No problem."
"Bring him in; I'll fight everyone. I am the champion, and I have no choice, so it's no problem. I'm not afraid."
Askren, who finished out his contract with Bellator with a successful title defense to Andrey Koreshkov in July, mulled retirement before deciding it was 'time for some new challenges.' Although UFC president Dana White once characterized Askren as human Ambien, the promotion is expected to make some sort of offering in the near future. As for when, it largely depends on the extenuating circumstances involving Bellator's matching period with Askren. Once the matching period has ended, Askren becomes a true free agent, allowed to sign with whomever regardless of the terms.
With no fight on the docket, Askren has been keeping busy competing in the newly formed Agon Wrestling Championships, most recently outpointing two-time NCAA champion and four-time All-American Quentin Wright in the promotion's inaugural event on Oct. 27. St-Pierre, who has a bit more on his plate, defends his welterweight title to Johny Hendricks on Nov. 16 at UFC 167 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Knapp says no. After a report stated the UFC had plans on creating a women's strawweight (115lbs) division, Invicta FC CEO Shannon Knapp says it's not happening.
#6 Seo Hee Ham vs. #12 Sadae Numata (For Atomweight title) Both of these girls (woman for Numata, I mean she's FORTY ONE, according to Sherdog) would be welcome additions to Invicta's 105 division. In seems Invicta isn't keen on a Penne/Waterson rematch, so soon. The winner of this fight, could be next for Waterson.
Numata missed weight for her last fight, so it'll be interesting to see what happens if she misses weight again. It can't be easy cutting weight as not only a woman, but also a 41 year old woman. This is a very winnable fight for Numata.
#10 Mizuki Inoue vs #11 Emi Fujino (Strawweight Semi-Final #1) Inoue drew first in the random draw and got Fujino. Fujino is a tough fighter, but she loses to the best, and Inoue is going to be a star. Inoue has already fought girls on Fujino's level, such as Invicta fighters, Alex Chambers, Bec Hyatt and Ayaka Hamasaki, beating Chambers and Hyatt. She had the best debut for a Japanese fighter in America in a long, long time (Horiguchi made an emphatic debut against Dustin Pague too).
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