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Thursday, April 11, 2013
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Office for Android, iOS? You may have to wait until 2014.
A new report indicates that Google Android and Apple iOS versions of Microsoft Office may not arrive until fall of next year.?
The Microsoft logo is seen at the company offices in Bucharest, on March 20, 2013. iOS and Android versions of Office may not arrive until 2014, according to a new report.
Reuters
EnlargeSince last year, rumors have percolated that Microsoft would soon release a mobile version of Office for?Android and Apple iOS. And why not? The software is long, long, long overdue, and plenty of users (and we count ourselves among their numbers) are hungry for a workable, accessible Android/iOS word processor.?
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But now comes word that such an app may not appear until next year, at the earliest. According to Mary Jo Foley of ZDNet, who has seen a recent Microsoft roadmap ? an outline of forthcoming product releases, essentially ? the Redmond giant will release "iOS/Android support for Office" in fall of 2014. A year and a half away, in other words.?
It's worth noting that as recently as last October, a Microsoft representative in the Czech Republic was promising a 2013 launch for an Android/iOS Office suite. But Microsoft later walked back that promise. "The?information shared by our Czech subsidiary is not accurate," the company said in an official statement. "We do not have anything further to share at this time."?
Over at Computerworld, Preston Gralla chides Microsoft for delaying the launch of the software.?"The strategy is a mistake, and an example of Microsoft being hurt by its over-reliance on Windows," he writes. "Windows is no longer Microsoft's biggest money maker. The Office division outperforms it financially. There's no doubt that iOS and Android versions of Office will be substantial financial successes," he adds.
But Ms. Foley cautions Android and Apple users from getting too dejected. After all, release calendars can be extremely elastic, she writes.?"Even when Microsoft commits to ship targets in road maps, things can and often do change," she?writes. "Demand (or lack thereof) can result in planned products releasing earlier or later than the planners anticipate."?
Here's hoping the release of an Android/iOS Office suite hits sooner than a year and a half away.?
For?more tech news, follow us on?Twitter @venturenaut.
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Engadget Eurocast 022 - 04.09.13
It's a very weird venn diagram that has early adopters, lazy millionaires and a trio of our European editors at the heart of it, but that's where we find this week's show. Steve talks about the new cameras and displays that's been shown off at NAB, Mat dreams up the future of retail and Dan? Let's just say that he's feeling a little more miffed than usual.
Hosts: Dan Cooper, Steve Dent, Mat Smith
Producer: James Trew
Hear the Podcast
Filed under: Podcasts
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/8WefRPnsQ5E/
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Bipartisan deal on background checks is close
Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., left, and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. speak to reporters as they walk from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's, D-Nev., office on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, April 9, 2013, after a meeting on gun control. Reid's determination to stage a vote came despite continued inconclusive talks between Manchin, Sen. Patrick Toomey, R-Pa., aimed at finding compromise on expanding background checks to more gun purchasers. But Manchin left a meeting in Reid?s office late Tuesday and said he hoped a deal could be completed on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., left, and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. speak to reporters as they walk from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's, D-Nev., office on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, April 9, 2013, after a meeting on gun control. Reid's determination to stage a vote came despite continued inconclusive talks between Manchin, Sen. Patrick Toomey, R-Pa., aimed at finding compromise on expanding background checks to more gun purchasers. But Manchin left a meeting in Reid?s office late Tuesday and said he hoped a deal could be completed on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and the Senate GOP leadership answer questions following a Republican strategy session on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, April 9, 2013. From left are Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., speaks with reporters following a Democratic strategy session at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, April 9, 2013. Reid said he plans showdown vote on gun control on Thursday. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? A bipartisan deal seems imminent on expanding background checks to more gun buyers, an agreement that could build support for President Barack Obama's drive to curb firearms violence.
Meanwhile, the Senate is ready for an opening vote on restricting guns as Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., set a roll call for Thursday on starting consideration of the firearms legislation. Odds are growing that Democrats will win enough Republican support to thwart an effort by conservatives and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to block consideration from even starting.
"I hope Republicans will stop trying to shut down debate and start engaging in the tough issues we were sent to Washington to tackle," Reid said.
Together, the developments were a boost for gun control advocates battling for restrictions in the wake of December's shootings that killed 20 first-graders and six staffers at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn.
Even so, the ultimate fate of gun legislation remains unclear, clouded by opposition from many Republicans and moderate Democrats in the Democratic-led Senate and the Republican-run House. Many critics say the proposal would violate the Second Amendment right to bear arms and burden law-abiding gun owners.
"We should focus law enforcement resources on the bad guys," said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Patrick Toomey, R-Pa., were expected to announce a background check compromise on Wednesday. Subjecting more firearms purchases to federal background checks has been the chief goal of Obama and gun control supporters, who promote the system as a way to prevent criminals and other risky people from getting the weapons.
After weeks of negotiations, Manchin and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters late Tuesday that a gun control agreement was close.
The emerging deal would expand required background checks for sales at gun shows and online but exempt transactions like face-to-face, noncommercial purchases, said Senate staffers and lobbyists, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private talks. Currently, the checks are required only for sales handled through licensed gun dealers.
Though many details of the emerging agreement were unclear, Manchin and Toomey are among their parties' most conservative members and a deal could make it easier for some hesitant senators to support the background check measure, at least for now.
Some Republicans might vote to begin debate on the legislation but eventually oppose the measure on final passage. Other parts of Obama's gun effort already seem likely to face defeat, including proposed bans on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.
The gun legislation Reid wants the Senate to debate would extend the background check requirement to nearly all gun sales. Assuming the deal between Manchin and Toomey is completed, Reid would try to replace that language with their agreement once debate begins, a move that would require a vote.
The overall gun bill also tightens federal laws against illegal gun sales and slightly increases federal aid for school safety.
Thirteen conservatives have signed a letter saying they will block consideration of the measure, and McConnell said he will back that move. That will force Democrats to round up 60 votes to overcome the conservatives.
At least eight Republicans have said they want to begin debate or have indicated a willingness to consider it, a number that would be expected to grow if the background check agreement proves successful.
The eight are Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, Susan Collins of Maine, Roy Blunt of Missouri and Mark Kirk of Illinois.
Some moderate Democrats were remaining noncommittal and could oppose opening the gun debate. They include Sens. Mark Begich of Alaska and Mark Pryor of Arkansas, who are seeking re-election next year. There are 53 Senate Democrats and two independents who lean Democratic.
Amid the maneuvering, relatives of some Newtown victims are lobbying to support gun curbs. And Obama has been calling senators from both parties to push for the gun bill.
"People should listen to what we have to say and move the debate forward," said Mark Barden, who lost his 7-year-old son, Daniel. "It's not just about our tragedy. Lots of kids are killed every day in this nation. We have to help lead the change."
The National Rifle Association opposes Obama's effort and is urging its members ? it claims nearly 5 million ? to tell lawmakers of their opposition.
In GOP-heavy Louisiana, the NRA asked members to contact Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu, who is seeking re-election next year. "The future of our Second Amendment rights are at stake," the mailing said.
Counteracting that has been an effort by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, one of whose leaders is billionaire New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. It said it will keep track of key gun-related congressional roll calls and make the information available to voters and contributors ? a tactic long used by the NRA and other groups.
___
Associated Press writers Nedra Pickler, Jim Abrams, Andrew Miga and Henry C. Jackson contributed to this report.
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Student arrested in Texas college stabbing attack
In this photo provided by Teaundrae Perryman, a victim is loaded into an ambulance after being wounded in a stabbing attack on the Lone Star community college system's Cypress, Texas campus Tuesday, April 9, 2013. At least 14 people were wounded when a suspect went building-to-building in an apparent stabbing attack at the college campus authorities said. (AP Photo/Teaundrae Perryman)
In this photo provided by Teaundrae Perryman, a victim is loaded into an ambulance after being wounded in a stabbing attack on the Lone Star community college system's Cypress, Texas campus Tuesday, April 9, 2013. At least 14 people were wounded when a suspect went building-to-building in an apparent stabbing attack at the college campus authorities said. (AP Photo/Teaundrae Perryman)
Students run from the Lone Star College's Cy-Fair campus in Cypress, Texas, where a student went on a building-to-building stabbing attack Tuesday, April 9, 2013. The attacker wounded at least 14 people before being subdued and arrested, authorities said. (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, James Nielsen) MANDATORY CREDIT
Students run from the Lone Star College's Cypress-Fairbanks campus Tuesday, April 9, 2013, in Cypress, Texas.At least 14 people were hurt in a stabbing at the campus Tuesday. (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, James Nielsen)
Michelle Alvarez a student at Lone Star College's Cypress-Fairbanks campus was one of the injured in the stabbing attack at the campus, authorities are reporting least 15 people were hurt in a stabbing at the campus Tuesday, April 9, 2013, in Cypress, Texas. (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, James Nielsen)
This photo provided by Michael Chalfan shows a man in custody after a series of stabbings at the Cy-Fair campus of Lone Star Community College in Cypress, Texas, on Tuesday, April 9, 2013. The attack sent at least 12 people to area hospitals, including four who were taken by helicopter. A fire department spokesman says several others refused treatment at the scene. (AP Photo/Michael Chalfan)
CYPRESS, Texas (AP) ? A student went on a building-to-building stabbing attack at a Texas community college Tuesday, wounding at least 14 people ? many in the face and neck ? before being subdued and arrested, authorities and witnesses said.
The attack about 11:20 a.m. on the Lone Star Community College System's campus in Cypress sent at least 12 people to hospitals, while several others refused treatment at the scene, according to Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department spokesman Robert Rasa. Two people remained in critical condition Tuesday evening at Memorial Hermann Texas Trauma Institute, spokeswoman Alex Rodriguez said.
Diante Cotton, 20, said he was sitting in a cafeteria with some friends when a girl clutching her neck walked in, yelling, "He's stabbing people! He's stabbing people!"
Cotton said he could not see the girl's injuries, but when he and his friends went outside, they saw a half-dozen people with injuries to their faces and necks being loaded into ambulances and medical helicopters.
Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia said it was not immediately clear what type of weapon was used, but there were indications when calls came in to the department that "students or faculty were actively responding to work to subdue this individual."
"So we're proud of those folks, but we're glad no one else is injured any more severely than they are," Garcia said.
Michelle Alvarez told the Houston Chronicle she saw the attacker running toward other students and tried to back away. She said she didn't even feel it as he swiped at her.
"He came running and swinging at my neck, as I tried to get out of the way," she said.
Student Michael Chalfan said he was walking to class when he saw a group of police officers also running after the suspect. He said one officer used a stun gun to help subdue the man.
Lone Star officials initially urged people on campus, about 25 miles northwest of downtown Houston, to take shelter and be on alert for a second suspect. But the sheriff's department said authorities believe just one person was responsible.
"It was the same suspect going from building to building," department spokesman Thomas Gilliland said.
Garcia said buildings still were being searched hours later. Long lines of vehicles carrying students and staff streamed off campus as law enforcement directed traffic away from the school.
Teaundrae Perryman said he was in class when he received a text message from a friend and went outside to see a young woman being loaded into an ambulance with what appeared to be stab wounds to either her neck or head. He said he didn't receive an email alert from the college until 11:56 a.m.
"I was concerned but I wasn't afraid because I was with a large group of people," the 21-year-old said, later adding, "The police got to the scene very quickly."
One student said she learned one of her classmates was stabbed after leaving the school's Health Science Center building.
"I called to check on another classmate who was still inside the building and she said the classroom was on lockdown and she said one of the classmates had been stabbed," said Margo Shimfarr-Evans told KHOU-TV. "It happened in the hallway."
Courtland Sedlachek, 18, was in class when his phone started buzzing along with the phones of everyone else in class. The room was temporarily locked down, but students were let out and off campus a short time later, in what Sedlachek described as an orderly evacuation.
The attack came three months after a different Lone Star campus was the site of a shooting in which two people were hurt. The suspected gunman in that incident is charged with aggravated assault.
___
Associated Press writer Nomaan Merchant in Dallas contributed to this report.
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'Post-mortem' yields insight into Kepler's supernova
Apr. 8, 2013 ? An exploding star observed in 1604 by the German astronomer Johannes Kepler held a greater fraction of heavy elements than the sun, according to an analysis of X-ray observations from the Japan-led Suzaku satellite. The findings will help astronomers better understand the diversity of type Ia supernovae, an important class of stellar explosion used in probing the distant universe.
"The composition of the star, its environment, and the mechanism of the explosion may vary considerably among type Ia supernovae," said Sangwook Park, an assistant professor of physics at the University of Texas at Arlington. "By better understanding them, we can fine-tune our knowledge of the universe beyond our galaxy and improve cosmological models that depend on those measurements."
The best way to explore the star's makeup is to perform a kind of post-mortem examination on the shell of hot, rapidly expanding gas produced by the explosion. By identifying specific chemical signatures in the supernova remnant, astronomers can obtain a clearer picture of the composition of the star before it blew up.
"Kepler's supernova is one of the most recent type Ia explosions known in our galaxy, so it represents an essential link to improving our knowledge of these events," said Carles Badenes, an assistant professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Pittsburgh.
Using the Suzaku satellite's X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (XIS), the astronomers observed the remnant of Kepler's supernova in 2009 and 2011. With a total effective XIS exposure of more than two weeks, the X-ray spectrum reveals several faint emission features from highly ionized chromium, manganese and nickel in addition to a bright emission line from iron. The detection of all four elements was crucial for understanding the original star.
"Suzaku's XIS instrument is uniquely suited to this type of study thanks to its excellent energy resolution, high sensitivity and low background noise," said team member Koji Mori, an associate professor of applied physics at the University of Miyazaki, Japan.
Cosmologists regard type Ia supernovae as "standard candles" because they release similar amounts of energy. By comparing this standard to the observed peak brightness of a type Ia supernova, astronomers can pin down its distance. Their similarity stems from the fact that the exploding star is always a compact stellar remnant known as a white dwarf.
Although a white dwarf star is perfectly stable on its own, pair it with another white dwarf or a normal star and the situation eventually may turn volatile. The normal star may transfer gas onto the white dwarf, where it gradually accumulates. Or the orbits of binary white dwarfs may shrink until the two objects merge.
Either way, once a white dwarf begins tipping the scales at around 1.4 times the sun's mass, a supernova soon follows. Somewhere within the white dwarf, carbon nuclei begin merging together, forming heavier elements and releasing a vast amount of energy. This wave of nuclear fusion rapidly propagates throughout the star, ultimately shattering it in a brilliant explosion that can be detected billions of light-years away.
Astronomers can track some details of the white dwarf's composition by determining the abundance of certain trace elements, such as manganese, that formed during the explosion. Specifically, the ratio of manganese to chromium produced by the explosion turns out to be sensitive to the presence of a neutron-rich version of neon, called neon-22. Establishing the star's neon-22 content gives scientists a guide to the abundance of all other elements heavier than helium, which astronomers call "metals."
The findings provide strong evidence that the original white dwarf possessed roughly three times the amount of metals found in the sun. Progressive stellar generations seed interstellar gas with increasing proportions of metals. The remnant, which lies about 23,000 light-years away toward the constellation Ophiuchus, lies much closer to our galaxy's crowded central region than the sun does. There, star formation was probably more rapid and efficient. As a result, the star that blazed forth as Kepler's supernova likely formed out of material that already was enriched with a higher fraction of metals.
Park, Badenes, Mori and their colleagues discuss the findings in a paper scheduled for publication in the April 10 issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters and now available online.
While the Suzaku results do not directly address which type of binary system triggered the supernova, they indicate that the white dwarf was probably no more than a billion years old when it exploded, or less than a quarter of the sun's current age.
"Theories indicate that the star's age and metal content affect the peak luminosity of type Ia supernovae," Park explained. "Younger stars likely produce brighter explosions than older ones, which is why understanding the spread of ages among type Ia supernovae is so important."
In 2011, astrophysicists from the United States and Australia won the Nobel Prize in physics for the discovery that the expansion of the universe is picking up speed, a conclusion based on measurements of type Ia supernovae. An enigmatic force called dark energy appears to be responsible for this acceleration, and understanding its nature is now a top science goal. Recent findings by the European Space Agency's Planck satellite reveal that dark energy makes up 68 percent of the universe.
Launched on July 10, 2005, Suzaku was developed at the Japanese Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), which is part of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), in collaboration with NASA and other Japanese and U.S. institutions.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Sangwook Park, Carles Badenes, Koji Mori, Ryohei Kaida, Eduardo Bravo, Andrew Schenck, Kristoffer A. Eriksen, John P. Hughes, Patrick O. Slane, David N. Burrows, Jae-Joon Lee. A SUPER-SOLAR METALLICITY FOR THE PROGENITOR OF KEPLER'S SUPERNOVA. The Astrophysical Journal, 2013; 767 (1): L10 DOI: 10.1088/2041-8205/767/1/L10
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/space_time/astronomy/~3/V165FOmUXTk/130408184640.htm
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Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Decade-old Mideast peace plan re-emerges
JERUSALEM (AP) ? A dormant, decade-old Mideast peace plan has suddenly emerged as a possible key to breaking years of deadlock between Israel and the Palestinians.
A top Palestinian official said Sunday that the visiting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has expressed interest in reviving the so-called Arab Peace Initiative, a 2002 plan in which the Arab world offered comprehensive peace with Israel in exchange for a full pullout from all territories it captured in the 1967 Mideast war. Arab officials confirmed the Arab League was set to discuss the matter on Monday.
The initiative was revolutionary when it was introduced by Saudi Arabia's then crown prince, King Abdullah, and later endorsed by the 22-member Arab League at a summit in Beirut. However, the plan was overshadowed by fierce Israeli-Palestinian fighting at the time and greeted with skepticism by Israel. The Arab League re-endorsed the plan in 2007, and technically, the offer remains in effect.
Key obstacles remain. Israel has not softened its objections to the plan, and the Palestinians turned down a request from Kerry for changes in it.
In the 1967 war, Israel took control of the West Bank, east Jerusalem, Gaza Strip, Sinai and Golan Heights. Israeli returned the Sinai to Egypt in 1982 in the framework of a peace treaty and pulled out of Gaza unilaterally in 2005. Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981, and peace talks with Syria over the territory have repeatedly failed.
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have been deadlocked since late 2008, in large part over the issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. The Palestinians refuse to talk while Israel settles its population on the occupied territories where they want to establish their state. They have demanded that Israel accept the 1967 lines as the basis for a future Palestine. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects a return to the 1967 lines and calls for talks with no preconditions.
The 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation has also endorsed the 2002 Arab peace initiative.
The plan, if adopted, considers the Arab-Israeli conflict "ended," offers "normal relations" with Israel and calls for providing "security for all the states of the region."
Israel has rejected a return to the 1967 lines for both security and spiritual reasons. Israeli leaders have long argued that the 1967 frontiers are indefensible. In addition, a return to those boundaries would mean a withdrawal from east Jerusalem, home to the city's holiest Jewish, Muslim and Christian religious sites.
Israel has annexed east Jerusalem, and Netanyahu has vowed never to share control of the sensitive area. The Palestinians say there can be no peace without establishing their capital in east Jerusalem. These conflicting claims to east Jerusalem are perhaps the most emotional and explosive issue in the conflict.
Kerry on Sunday kicked off what is expected to be several months of shuttle diplomacy between Israel and the Palestinians with a stop in the West Bank for talks with President Mahmoud Abbas.
It was not immediately clear whether the Arab initiative came up in Sunday night's talks. A senior State Department official said the meeting "included a discussion on how to create a positive climate for negotiations," but that Kerry had asked all participants to keep the details confidential. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of Kerry's orders not to brief reporters.
Abbas spokesman, Nabil Abu Rdeneh, said Abbas urged Israel to release Palestinian prisoners it is holding, called on Israel to halt settlement construction and urged Israel to commit to a solution based on the 1967 lines. He did not say whether the Arab peace initiative was discussed but confirmed Abbas was leaving Monday for talks on the plan at an Arab League meeting in Qatar.
Mohammed Subeih, the Arab League's undersecretary for Palestinian affairs, confirmed a special committee on the peace initiative would hold "an urgent meeting" in Doha on Monday.
He said the prime minister of Qatar would chair the meeting, and foreign ministers of key countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the Palestinians, would attend. The Arab League's chief Nabil El-Araby is also expected, he said.
Subeih said the committee would form a delegation, chaired by El-Araby and the Qatari prime minister, to travel to Washington in the coming weeks. In Washington, the delegation will try together with the American side draw a road map to "end Israeli occupation," he said.
Earlier Sunday, the chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, said Kerry has been floating the Arab initiative as a possible way out of the deadlock.
Officials say Kerry has proposed two small changes to make it more palatable to Israel, saying the 1967 lines could be modified through mutual agreement and pressing for stronger security guarantees. Security-obsessed Israel has grown increasingly jittery during the upheaval that has swept through the Middle East over the past two years.
Speaking to the Voice of Palestine radio station, Erekat said the plan could not be changed. "Kerry asked us to change few words in the Arab Peace Initiative but we refused," he said.
Israeli officials refused to comment on the matter. An Israeli official said the Israelis were planning to offer "a wide spectrum of ideas" to Kerry when they meet with him in the current days. The official declined to elaborate. He spoke on condition of anonymity because nothing has been formally presented yet.
In the past, Netanyahu has described the Arab peace initiative as a welcome sign of acceptance from the Arab world but refused to accept it in its current form. Netanyahu has said that presenting the plan as an ultimatum would undermine negotiations.
But after years of deadlock, and growing international isolation over continued Israeli settlement construction, Netanyahu could find himself in a difficult position if the offer is again extended.
___
AP writers Mohammed Daraghmeh and Bradley Klapper in Ramallah, West Bank and Hamza Hendawi in Cairo contributed to this report.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/decade-old-mideast-peace-plan-emerges-192334734.html
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J.C. Penney adds Martha Stewart wares, despite Macy's lawsuit
Court proceedings for Macy's lawsuit against J.C. Penney Co. and Martha Stewart continued Monday in Manhattan after the companies failed to reach a settlement.
Judge Jeffrey Oing ordered the parties involved, including Macy's, J.C. Penney Co. and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, into mediation while the trial was on a one-month recess. The trial began in early March.
Macy's accused J.C. Penney of selling Martha Stewart products online in violation of its exclusive deal with Macy's. J.C. Penney already launched some designer "shops" last week, including those of Jonathan Adler and Michael Graves. The company plans to open Martha Stewart shops by Mother's Day, CNBC reported.
J.C. Penney did not return a request for comment. A spokesman for Macy's said testimony was continuing on Monday and it's "impossible to say what will happen."
Martha Stewart, 71, testified on March 5, saying she believes her company was permitted to sell products with her name in places besides Macy's.
"There were categories that were non-exclusive to Macy's that we could sell in other department stores," she said in court last month.
J.C. Penney Co. CEO Ron Johnson and Macy's Chief Executive Terry Lundgren have also testified.
Read more: Martha Stewart Testifies in Manhattan Court
Macy's insists it has exclusive rights to Stewart's line of linens and other home items and is suing to block J.C. Penney from selling similar products.
On Monday, an attorney for Macy's told the court that a set of MarthaCelebrations champagne flutes on sale on J.C. Penney's website competes with similar Macy's products.
"The basic shapes and designs are the same," said Macy's lawyer Ted Grossman. "They compete directly against each other."
Martha Stewart Living has argued its contract with Macy's allowed it to sell Martha Stewart branded products that were in exclusive categories if they were sold within MSLO stores in J.C. Penney.
Also ReadSource: http://news.yahoo.com/j-c-penney-moves-forward-martha-stewart-rollout-191104008.html
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Monday, April 8, 2013
Calif. hiker lost for days released from hospital
MISSION VIEJO, Calif. (AP) ? One of two Southern California teens lost for several days in a rugged mountain wilderness was released Sunday from a hospital after being treated for dehydration and minor injuries, and recounted his struggles with fear and hallucinations before his eventual rescue.
Nicolas Cendoya told reporters at a brief news conference outside Orange County's Mission Hospital that he knew from the first night he and classmate Kyndall Jack got lost during what was supposed to be a short Easter day hike that death was a strong possibility.
As the night grew dark in the Cleveland National Forest on March 31 and the pair called 911 on a dying cell phone, Cendoya said he told Jack "If we don't get out of here, we're going to die."
But Cendoya said he never gave up hope that he would be rescued, and as he wandered in chest-high brush reflected on what he considered recent selfish behaviors, like focusing too much on himself and not enough on his family.
"I didn't cry. I didn't fear it. I just embraced everything. I said 'This is what I deserve,'" Cendoya said. "I just knew I would get through it. I knew this wasn't my time to die. I knew that I needed this, to become the person that I'm supposed to be."
As the days passed without food or water, Cendoya grew so weak he said he began having "lucid dreams, lucid hallucinations, every single day."
He said he felt the presence of God and of his best friend who died last year. He began struggling to tell the difference between sleep and waking, and eventually between life and death.
"I honestly felt that I was in the afterlife," Cendoya said.
He was airlifted to the hospital in serious but stable condition.
Jack was discovered Thursday clinging to a rocky outcropping no bigger than a yoga mat on a near-vertical slope. She was being treated at University of California, Irvine Medical Center for dehydration and hypothermia.
The two got lost after wandering off Holy Jim Trail, a popular path in the Cleveland National Forest, where the dangers of 720 square miles of rugged mountain wilderness run up against the planned communities and shopping malls of suburban southeast Orange County.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/calif-hiker-lost-days-released-hospital-230909744.html
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The New Social Darwinism: Companies Require Workers to Divulge ...
Matt Stoller warned last June that citizens will increasingly have to submit to personal surveillance to get many types of insurance and financial products. He wrote:
Profit-driven surveillance does not starts and stop with young adults. It is, in fact, becoming pervasive. The main theme of a recent IBM consulting document on the future of the insurance industry is how much more money an insurance company can make if it tracks and tags its customers?
It?s not just sensors in your car ? insurance companies are modeling tighter and tighter risk chunks. IBM goes on, saying that new products ?will facilitate ?just-in-time insurance? as a person moves through a set of ?spaces.? Each step of the journey represents a different risk such as car-to-train-station, train-to-city-station, station-to- office, and so on. Each leg of the trip truly represents a varying amount of risk.? Tracking these movements could require nothing more than downloading an app on a smart phone, or some other device. But it is literally the application of financial engineering to your very liberty, or the toll-boothing of your life.
We are moving towards that future from two separate directions. One from the employer side, where companies are increasingly requiring workers to divulge information about their physical condition, and imposing extra charges, in the form of higher health insurance charges, on ones with conditions deemed to be treatable, like overweight and hypertension. From the Wall Street Journal:
Are you a man with a waist measuring 40 inches or more? If you want to work at Michelin North America Inc., that spare tire could cost you.
Employees at the tire maker who have high blood pressure or certain size waistlines may have to pay as much as $1,000 more for health-care coverage starting next year.
As they fight rising health-care costs and poor results from voluntary wellness programs, companies across America are penalizing workers for a range of conditions, including high blood pressure and thick waistlines. They are also demanding that employees share personal-health information, such as body-mass index, weight and blood-sugar level, or face higher premiums or deductibles?
Six in 10 employers say they plan to impose penalties in the next few years on employees who don?t take action to improve their health, according to a recent study of 800 mid- to large-size firms by human-resources consultancy Aon Hewitt?.
Pharmacy chain CVS Caremark sparked outrage among employees and workers-rights advocates last month by asking staff members to report personal health metrics, including their body fat, blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol levels, to the company?s insurer by May or pay a $600 penalty.
This is basically another tax on the poor and lower income. Weight levels in particular have become a class marker. Why? Because more affluent people can eat healthier food, in particular, more fresh vegetables and fruits (which fill you up with a lot fewer calories) and less of the highly refined and prepared foods that are cheap and not very good for you (fast food in particular, but also refined carbs like sugars and starches). In addition, affluent people are more able to have enough control over their schedule to get in exercise if they are so inclined. By contrast, lower income people who are cobbling together several jobs or reliant on public transportation have to struggle to hold their place on the economic ladder and be good parents. Eating well and taking care of themselves is a luxury they often can?t afford.
And you have the tacit assumption that if people fall outside certain norms, they are presumed to be guilty of poor lifestyle choices. And the focus on simple indicators is often misleading. For instance, new research suggests that being physically active is more important than being svelte. Heavy people who exercise regularly are often in better health than normal weight couch potatoes. And what about people who put on weight, say as the result of a forced period of restricted activity (as a result of an operation or accident) or due to aging (women who go through menopause typically put on 5 to 15 pounds even if they fight to keep it off).
But even more troubling is the intrusiveness. Once the details of an employee?s health are considered fair grounds for disclosure, it?s hard to see this development not going further and further down the path of more intrusions, and more covert and overt discrimination. And that ties into the surveillance issues that Matt Stoller raised earlier. Some behaviors are bad for your health, and I don?t mean just smoking. Having a high appetite for risk is also correlated with higher health care costs. Fortunately, we are hopefully a very long way from the health police trying to monitor condom use.
But on the other end, the public is being increasingly desensitized about putting information on view. Gillian Tett writes about how Nike and Jawbone have created a vogue for biorythm monitors where people upload and share the information. For the life of me, I can?t understand why anyone would want to know the pattern of their friends? sleep. Perhaps this is just the Pet Rock of 2013 and will quickly tire. Tett is also perplexed, and tries putting on her anthropologist hat:
Most notably, when I was growing up as a child in England, I assumed that people would always prefer to sleep in private, unless they were with a romantic partner. To be sure, children would sometimes share bedrooms; but when somebody ?grew up?, they would usually choose to sleep in their own bedroom and bed ? if they had the economic means.
However, people in Tibet and Tajikistan had different assumptions. Each night, piles of people would all sleep in the same room, or tent. If somebody was not sleeping or eating well, it became a matter of wider knowledge and debate. Personally, I found that extremely intrusive. And until recently, I vaguely assumed that societies tended to shed this group pattern when they got richer and more technologically advanced. After all, the broad sweep of history suggests that most cultures have become more individualistic over time, as wealth gives people more freedom to break away from the group.
But the digital revolution could be shaking these assumptions. Never mind the fact that the younger generation today has an obsessive need to keep communicating via Twitter and Facebook, or post information online with scant concern for privacy. If young professionals in places such as San Francisco and New York now think it is ?cool? to post their sleeping patterns to each other, then it would appear that the concept of cultural progress has come full circle. Suddenly we are all back in a giant electronic tent together ? or at least Andy and some of his elite, wealthy friends are.
Now of course, I may simply be too deeply invested in my out, now dated, notion of culture. But the tell in Tett?s write up is the word ?cool?. This is not an organic development. Fashion is created, and it?s created through marketing. Anyone who has seen any of Adam Curtis? films, or has read up on propaganda knows the degree to which changes in social values in the 20th and 21st centuries aren?t the result of environment and need (for instance, the contention that Japan?s group-oriented society results from the demands of rice cultivation) but of marketing and public relations. For instance, surveys have repeatedly found that more engagement with the Internet is directly correlated with unhappiness. Similarly, people with more Facebook friends are typically more aggressive and narcissistic. All of this sounds terribly mal-adaptive, unless you are a big company that thrives on creating anxieties and then offers products or services that give you a short-term psychological lift.
If collective impulses were really on the rise, one would think you?d see people banding together to push back against oppressive and intrusive authority. And maybe we will see some employee groups pushing for limits on employer nosiness. But they need to move quickly before this new practice becomes firmly entrenched.
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Sunday, April 7, 2013
Lower Back Pain Exercises And Their Benefits | Mexico Health ...
Lower back pain exercises are very important for the treatment of back pain and the strengthening of the back muscles. These exercises should be recommended by one?s orthopedic surgeon or the physiotherapist and need to be carried out regularly in the correct manner, in order to derive maximum benefit.
Doctors recommend different exercises in accordance to the condition of a patient. The exercises recommended in the initial and final stages of the treatment also vary. Walking, swimming, biking and aerobic exercises are commonly recommended lower back pain exercises.
In the initial stages of the treatment, doctors recommend exercises involving upward and downward movements of ankles. Exercises, such as the abdominal contraction, wall squats, heel raises and straight leg raises, involve tightening of the abdominal muscles while moving the knees or heels.
In the intermediate treatment program, one can perform back pain exercises, such as the single knee to chest stretch, the hamstring stretch and the lumbar stabilization exercise with the Swiss ball. It is important to ensure that the abdominal muscles remain contracted during each exercise. For this, one needs to lie on his/her back with knees bent and hands resting below ribs.
The advanced lower back pain exercises program involves exercises such as the Hip Flexor Stretch, the Piriformis stretch and the lumbar stabilization exercises with the Swiss ball. Some exercises strain the lower back and should be avoided. These include the hip twists, the hurdlers stretch, sit-ups with straight legs and any kind of stretching exercise that requires quick and bouncy movements. Physical activities, such as swimming and walking, are very good for the strengthening of the back. One must seek proper guidance before taking up any exercise for the treatment of back-related problems.
Source: http://www.nmfbihop.com/lower-back-pain-exercises-and-their-benefits
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SKorea: NKorea may be preparing to test missile
A South Korean soldier closes a military gate in Paju, north of Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, April 7, 2013. A top South Korean national security official said Sunday that North Korea may be setting the stage for a missile test or another provocative act with its warning that it soon will be unable to guarantee diplomats' safety in Pyongyang. But he added that the North's clearest objective is to extract concessions from Washington and Seoul. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A South Korean soldier closes a military gate in Paju, north of Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, April 7, 2013. A top South Korean national security official said Sunday that North Korea may be setting the stage for a missile test or another provocative act with its warning that it soon will be unable to guarantee diplomats' safety in Pyongyang. But he added that the North's clearest objective is to extract concessions from Washington and Seoul. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A North Korean military guard post is seen near the border village of Panmunjom, which has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War, in Paju, north of Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, April 7, 2013. A top South Korean national security official said Sunday that North Korea may be setting the stage for a missile test or another provocative act with its warning that it soon will be unable to guarantee diplomats' safety in Pyongyang. But he added that the North's clearest objective is to extract concessions from Washington and Seoul. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A South Korean Army soldier salutes as a military vehicle crosses the barricaded Unification Bridge near the border village of Panmunjom, that has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War, in Paju, north of Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, April 7, 2013. South Korea said its top military officer has put off a plan to visit Washington due to current tension with North Korea. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
People watch a TV program showing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, April 7, 2013. South Korea?s top military officer has put off a plan to visit Washington because of escalating tension with North Korea that have also led more than a dozen South Korean companies to halt operations at a joint factory complex in the North, officials said Sunday. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
North Koreans, working at a field in North Korea's Kaepoong, are viewed from the unification observation post near the border village of Panmunjom, that has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War, in Paju, north of Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, April 7, 2013. South Korea said its top military officer has put off a plan to visit Washington due to current tension with North Korea. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? A top South Korean national security official said Sunday that North Korea may be setting the stage for a missile test or another provocative act with its warning that it soon will be unable to guarantee diplomats' safety in Pyongyang. But he added that the North's clearest objective is to extract concessions from Washington and Seoul.
North Korea's warning last week followed weeks of war threats and other efforts to punish South Korea and the U.S. for ongoing joint military drills, and for their support of U.N. sanctions over Pyongyang's Feb. 12 nuclear test. Many nations are deciding what to do about the notice, which said their diplomats' safety in Pyongyang cannot be guaranteed beginning this Wednesday.
Tensions between Seoul and Pyongyang led South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff to announce Sunday that its chairman had put off a visit to Washington. The U.S. military said its top commander in South Korea had also canceled a trip to Washington. The South Korean defense minister said Thursday that North Korea had moved a missile with "considerable range" to its east coast, possibly to conduct a test launch.
His description suggests that the missile could be the Musudan missile, capable of striking American bases in Guam with its estimated range of up to 4,000 kilometers (2,490 miles).
Citing North Korea's suggestion that diplomats leave the country, South Korean President Park Geun-hye's national security director said Pyongyang may be planning a missile launch or another provocation around Wednesday, according to presidential spokeswoman Kim Haing.
During a meeting with other South Korean officials, the official, Kim Jang-Soo, also said the notice to diplomats and other recent North Korean actions are an attempt to stoke security concerns and to force South Korea and the U.S. to offer a dialogue. Washington and Seoul want North Korea to resume the six-party nuclear talks ? which also include China, Russia and Japan ? that it abandoned in 2009.
The roughly two dozen countries with embassies in North Korea had not yet announced whether they would evacuate their staffs.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague suggested that North Korea's comments about foreign diplomats are "consistent" with a regime that is using the prospect of an external threat to justify its militarization to its people.
"I haven't seen any immediate need to respond to that by moving our diplomats out of there," he told the BBC on Saturday. "We will keep this under close review with our allies, but we shouldn't respond and play to that rhetoric and that presentation of an external threat every time they come out with it."
Germany said its embassy in Pyongyang would stay open for at least the time being.
"The situation there is tense but calm," a German Foreign Office official, who declined to be named in line with department policy, said in an email. "The security and danger of the situation is constantly being evaluated. The different international embassies there are in close touch with each other."
Indonesia's foreign affairs ministry said it was considering a plan to evacuate its diplomats. A statement released by the ministry on Saturday said that its embassy in Pyongyang has been preparing a contingency plan to anticipate the worst-case scenario, and that the Indonesian foreign minister is communicating with the staff there to monitor the situation.
India also said it was monitoring events. "We have been informed about it," said Syed Akbaruddin, spokesman for India's external affairs ministry. "We are in constant touch with our embassy and are monitoring the situation. We will carefully consider all aspects and decide well in time."
Seoul and Washington, which lack diplomatic relations with the North, are taking the threats seriously, though they say they have seen no signs that Pyongyang is preparing for a large-scale attack.
Kim Jang-soo said the North would face "severalfold damages" for any hostilities. Since 2010, when attacks Seoul blames on North Korea killed 50 people, South Korea has vowed to aggressively respond to any future attack.
South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Jung Seung-jo had planned to meet with his U.S. counterpart, Gen. Martin Dempsey, in Washington on April 16 for regular talks. But tensions on the Korean Peninsula are so high that Jung cannot take a long trip away from South Korea, so the meeting will be rescheduled, a South Korean Joint Chiefs officer said Sunday. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity, citing office policy.
The top U.S. military commander in South Korea, Gen. James Thurman, will not make a planned trip to Washington this week to testify before Congress because of tensions with North Korea. In an email Sunday to The Associated Press, Army Col. Amy Hannah said Thurman would remain in Seoul as "a prudent measure." He was scheduled to testify on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The U.S. Defense Department has delayed an intercontinental ballistic missile test that had been planned for this week because of concerns the launch could be misinterpreted and exacerbate the Korean crisis, a senior defense official told The Associated Press.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel decided to delay the test at an Air Force base in California until sometime next month, the official said Saturday. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about the test delay and requested anonymity.
In recent weeks, the U.S. has followed provocations from North Korea with shows of force connected to the joint exercises with South Korea. It has sent nuclear capable B-2 and B-52 bombers and stealth F-22 fighters to participate in the drills.
In addition, the U.S. said last week that two of the Navy's missile-defense ships were moved closer to the Korean Peninsula, and a land-based missile-defense system is being deployed to the Pacific territory of Guam later this month. The Pentagon last month announced longer-term plans to strengthen its U.S.-based missile defenses.
The U.S. military also is considering deploying an intelligence drone at the Misawa Air Base in northern Japan to step up surveillance of North Korea, a Japanese Defense Ministry official said Sunday.
Three Global Hawk surveillance planes are deployed on Guam and one of them is being considered for deployment in Japan, the official said on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak about the issue.
North Korea successfully shot a satellite into space in December and conducted its third nuclear test in February. It has threatened to launch a nuclear attack on the United States, though many analysts say the North hasn't achieved the technology to manufacture a miniaturized nuclear warhead that could fit on a long-range missile capable of hitting the U.S.
North Korea also raised tensions Wednesday when it barred South Koreans and supply trucks from entering the Kaesong industrial complex, where South Korean companies have employed thousands of North Korean workers for the past decade.
North Korea is not forcing South Korean managers to leave the factory complex, and nearly 520 of them remained at Kaesong on Sunday. But the entry ban at the park, the last remaining inter-Korean rapprochement project, is posing a serious challenge to many of the more than 120 South Korean firms there because they are running out of raw materials and are short on replacement workers.
Nine more firms, including food and textile companies, have stopped operations at Kaesong, bringing to 13 the total number of companies that have done so, South Korea's Unification Ministry said in a statement Sunday.
North Korea briefly restricted the heavily fortified border crossing at Kaesong in 2009 ? also during South Korea-U.S. drills ? but manufacturers fear the current border shutdown could last longer.
___
AP writers Lolita C. Baldor in Washington, Robert Burns in Bagram, Afghanistan, Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo, Louise Watt in Beijing, Cassandra Vinograd in London, Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin and Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.
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'Elysium' New Photos And Plot Details Released
We've known director Neil Blomkamp has been working on "Elysium," his follow-up to "District 9," for years now, but still know relatively little about the movie. It's due in theaters on August 9, and two new photos have been released that show us more than just Matt Damon running around in a funny suit — [...]
Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2013/04/05/elysium-new-photos-and-plot-details/
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Remembering Apple's first iWatch: The 6th gen. iPod nano
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04/06/2013 - Exhibition - African American Military Portraits from the American Civil War - through April 14, 2013
Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.
Source: http://www.caamuseum.org/hcalendar/events/index.php?com=detail&eID=3165
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Friday, April 5, 2013
Tunisia frees Salafist sheikh expelled by Egypt | Morocco World News
TUNIS, April 5, 2013 (AFP)
Tunisia freed on Friday a Salafist sheikh?arrested on arrival after being expelled by Egypt for falsifying travel papers?for jihadists, saying he was not guilty, the justice ministry said.
Tunisian Imed ben Salah, also known as Abou Abdallah Ettounsi, was arrested?on March 21 and ordered out of Egypt, according to press reports, for?organising the falsification of documents to help jihadists travel to combat?zones.
??The prosecutor freed Imed ben Salah, in the absence of a crime being?committed,? ministry spokesman Adel Riahi told AFP, adding that he was freed?late on Thursday.
When Ben Salah arrived at Tunis airport earlier on Thursday, he was?arrested amid a tight security presence after radical Islamist websites called?for a big turnout to welcome him.
Police manned checkpoints around the airport to keep Salafists away from?the building, an AFP photographer reported, and armed police with dogs?patrolled the arrivals hall.
Since its January 2011 revolution, Tunisia has witnessed a proliferation of?jihadist groups, which have been blamed for a wave of deadly attacks, notably?on the US embassy in Tunis last September that left four of the assailants dead.
Tunisia?s government has warned of jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda?s?north African franchise infiltrating the country?s borders and trafficking?weapons, notably to northern Mali.
The judiciary opened an investigation in mid-March into a network?recruiting and sending Tunisians to fight Syrian President Bashar al-Assad?s?forces alongside Islamist insurgents.
?Tunisia?s secular opposition accuses the government, led by Prime Minister?Ali Larayedh of the Islamist Ennahda party, of having a lax attitude towards?radical Islamism.
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Source: http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2013/04/85459/tunisia-frees-salafist-sheikh-expelled-by-egypt/
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Styles P Cooks Up 'Raw' Hip-Hop With Scram Jones On Float
P tells MTV News about upcoming album produced entirely by Jones.
By Rob Markman
Styles P
Photo: MTV News
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1705116/styles-p-scram-jones-float.jhtml
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Obama seeks deal, proposes cuts to Social Security
President Barack Obama speaks at the Denver Police Academy in Denver, Wednesday, April 3, 2013. Ratcheting up pressure for Congress to limit access to guns, Obama said that steps taken recently by Colorado to tighten its gun laws show "there doesn't have to be a conflict" between keeping citizens safe and protecting Second Amendment rights to gun ownership. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
President Barack Obama speaks at the Denver Police Academy in Denver, Wednesday, April 3, 2013. Ratcheting up pressure for Congress to limit access to guns, Obama said that steps taken recently by Colorado to tighten its gun laws show "there doesn't have to be a conflict" between keeping citizens safe and protecting Second Amendment rights to gun ownership. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama's proposed budget will call for reductions in the growth of Social Security and other benefit programs while still insisting on more taxes from the wealthy in a renewed attempt to strike a broad deficit-cutting deal with Republicans.
The proposal aims for a compromise on the fiscal 2014 budget by combining the president's demand for higher taxes with GOP insistence on reductions in entitlement programs. But the plan was already encountering negative reviews from top Republicans for its insistence on revenue and from liberals and labor for its effect on the social safety net.
Obama would reduce the federal government deficit by $1.8 trillion over 10 years, according to a summary from the Obama administration provided Friday. The president's budget, the first of his second term, incorporates elements from his last offer to House Speaker John Boehner in December. Congressional Republicans rejected that proposal because of its demand for more than a $1 trillion in tax revenue.
"It's not the president's ideal approach to our budget challenges, but it is a serious compromise proposition that demonstrates that he wants to get things done, that he believes we ought to do the business of the American people," said White House press secretary Jay Carney.
Congress and the administration have already secured $2.5 trillion in deficit reduction over the next 10 years through budget reductions and with the end-of-year tax increase on the rich. Obama's plan would bring that total to $4.3 trillion over 10 years.
While the budget would not affect current automatic spending cuts that took effect in March, it would replace $1.2 trillion in across-the-board reductions that would have been scheduled to kick over the next nine years.
A key feature of the plan Obama is submitting for the federal budget year beginning Oct. 1 is a revised inflation adjustment called "chained CPI." This new formula would effectively curb annual increases in a broad swath of government programs but would have its biggest impact on Social Security. By encompassing Obama's offer to Boehner, R-Ohio, the plan will also include reductions in Medicare spending, much of it by targeting payments to health care providers and drug companies. The Medicare proposal also would require wealthier recipients to pay higher premiums or co-pays.
Obama's budget proposal also calls for additional tax revenue, including a proposal to place limits on tax-preferred retirement accounts for wealthy taxpayers. Obama has called for limits on tax deductions by the wealthy, a proposal that could generate about $580 billion in revenue over 10 years.
Boehner, in a statement, said House Republicans made clear to Obama last month that he should not make savings in entitlements that both sides agree on contingent on more tax increases.
"If the president believes these modest entitlement savings are needed to help shore up these programs, there's no reason they should be held hostage for more tax hikes," Boehner said. "That's no way to lead and move the country forward."
The inflation adjustment would reduce federal spending over 10 years by about $130 billion, according to White House estimates. Because it also affects how tax brackets are adjusted, it would also generate about $100 billion in higher taxes and affect even middle income taxpayers.
The reductions in the growth of benefit programs, which would affect veterans, the poor and the older Americans, is sure to anger many Democrats. Labor groups and liberals have long been critical of Obama's offer to Boehner for including such a plan.
The White House has said the cost-of-living adjustments would include protections for "vulnerable" recipients.
"The president should drop these misguided cuts in benefits and focus instead on building support in Congress for investing in jobs." AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said in a statement.
The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare said seniors have averaged a cost-of-living increase of 1.3 percent over four years.
"Arguing that is too generous shows how out of touch Washington is with the real-world economic realities facing average Americans," the organization's president and CEO, Max Richtman, said in a statement. "Adopting the chained CPI is nothing more than a political sleight of hand targeting our nation's middle class and poor."
Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal research organization in Washington, D.C., called the proposal "bad policy and even worse bargaining strategy."
While Obama has proposed the slower cost of living adjustment plan during fiscal negotiations with Republican leaders, placing it in the budget would put the administration's official imprint on the plan and mark a full shift from Obama's stand in 2008 when he campaigned against Republican Party nominee John McCain.
In a Sept. 6, 2008, speech to AARP, Obama said: "John McCain's campaign has suggested that the best answer for the growing pressures on Social Security might be to cut cost-of-living adjustments or raise the retirement age. Let me be clear: I will not do either."
Administration officials insist Obama would only agree to the reductions in benefit programs if they are accompanied by increases in revenue, a difficult demand given the strong anti-tax sentiment of House Republicans.
That Obama would include such a plan in his budget is hardly surprising. White House aides have said for weeks that the president's offer to Boehner in December remained on the table. Not including it in the budget would have constituted a remarkable retreat from his bargaining position.
Obama's budget, to be released next Wednesday, comes after the Republican-controlled House and the Democratic-run Senate passed separate and markedly different budget proposals. House Republicans achieved long-term deficit reductions by targeting safety net programs; Democrats instead protected those programs and called for $1 trillion in tax increases.
But Obama has been making a concerted effort to win Republican support, especially in the Senate. He has even scheduled a dinner with Republican lawmakers on the evening that his budget is released next week.
House Republicans, however, have been adamant in their opposition to increases in taxes, noting that Congress already increased taxes on the wealthy in the first days of January to avoid a so-called fiscal cliff, or automatic, across the board tax increases and spending cuts.
As described by the administration official, the budget proposal would also end a loophole that permits people to obtain unemployment insurance and disability benefits at the same time.
Obama's proposal, however, includes calls for increased spending. It calls for $50 billion in spending on public works projects. It also would make preschool available to more children by increasing the tax on tobacco.
___
AP writer Stephen Ohlemacher contributed to this report.
Follow Jim Kuhnhenn on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jkuhnhenn
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PFT: 11 teams still have $10M+ left in cap space
Getty ImagesAt a time when the NFL and the NFL Players Association don?t agree on much, they definitely don?t agree on whether teams are colluding in free agency.
Earlier today, NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith sent an email to all agents regarding the current free agent market and the apparent claims from some teams that salary-cap issues are restricting spending.? Since then, NFLPA spokesman George Atallah has published the current cap numbers for every team; that?s something the union rarely if ever has done.
Smith?s email, a copy of which PFT has obtained, concludes with this message to agents:? ?Finally, we have heard reports of a concern that teams are working in concert to ?peg?, ?rig? or ?set? market prices on player contracts.? If you believe or have information that the teams have been colluding during this free agency period, you have a responsibility as an agent of the NFLPA to come forward and share that information with us.?
While the NFLPA has yet to formally accuse the league or its teams of collusion, the union undoubtedly is looking for any evidence to support a conclusion that teams have expressly or implicitly reached agreements as to the offers that will be made to players ? which by definition is collusion.
Predictably, the NFL contends that no collusion has occurred.? ?Player signings in 2013 have been characterized by robust spending and intense competition,? NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told NFL Network?s Albert Breer.? ?Anyone seeing collusion in this market is seeing ghosts.?
While we?re not able to conclude at this point that collusion has occurred, the market this year hardly has been ?robust,? and the competition for players definitely hasn?t been ?intense.?? The initial spending spree to open the market was limited, with a smaller-than-usual handful of players signing big-money deals.? Apart from Joe Flacco?s record contract that resulted directly from the Ravens? reluctance to use either level of the franchise tag, no high-water marks were set this year.
Collusion doesn?t come only from agreements to ?peg? or ?rig? or ?set? market prices.? It also comes from seemingly innocuous efforts to compare notes as to how other teams value a given position in light of a slowly-growing salary cap.? While it?s impossible to prove that such communications occurred unless and until a disgruntled team employee blows the whistle (or until the league tries to punish teams that didn?t comply with the unwritten agreement by taking away salary-cap money after the fact), there?s nothing wrong with the union or anyone else looking at the circumstantial evidence and becoming suspicious.
The NFL would prefer that neither the media nor the union investigate the possibility of collusion, and one potentially effective strategy would be the issuance of dismissive statements vouching for the absence of collusion and suggesting that anyone who suspects otherwise is stupid or delusional or both.
It?s entirely possibly that I?m both stupid and delusional, but there?s something about the current free-agency market that doesn?t smell right.? And when that happens, the right thing to do is follow one?s nose to wherever the odor leads.
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