Mayweather KO’s Ortiz in the 4th Round

Floyd Mayweather, who has never lost as a professional, takes the ring with Victor Ortiz for the WBC welterweight title.

Floyd Mayweather Jr beat Victor Ortiz on Saturday September 17 with a fourth-round knockout.

Review the Round by Round fight action how it was.

Fif x Mayweather

Don’t know about you all but I would rather see Mayweather in the ring as opposed to doing a show with 50. Well maybe the show will feature Mayweather training for his next fight?

Floyd “Money” Mayweather and 50 Cent are eyeing reality TV. They announced at Sundance that they’d partner on movie projects through Fitty’s Cheetah Vision Films and Mayweather’s Mayweather Films, but also told us they want to develop a reality show centered around their friendship. Mayweather was featured in VH1′s “What Chilli Wants” as a love interest of Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas of pop group TLC. Fitty’s and Mayweather’s first film will be “Tomorrow Today,” based on one of the rapper’s first screenplays.

Miss. teen indicted for capital murder, hate crime (BLOG)

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A white Mississippi teenager has been indicted for capital murder and a hate crime on charges he intentionally ran over a middle-age black man with a pickup truck.

Deryl Dedmon, 19, was indicted Monday in the June 26 death of James Craig Anderson, a 49-year-old car plant worker from Jackson.

Capital murder in Mississippi is defined as murder committed along with another felony. It carries the sentences of death or life in prison without parole. The underlying offense in this case is robbery. Dedmon also was charged under Mississippi's hate crime law, which provides for enhanced sentences. This is the first announced indictment in the case.

Dedmon's lawyer, Lee Agnew, didn't immediately respond to a message Wednesday. He has suggested it was an accident.

Authorities say seven white teenagers were partying in Rankin County the night of Anderson's death when Dedmon suggested they go find a black man to "mess with."

Detective Eric Smith testified at a hearing in July that Dedmon had been robbed in the weeks before Anderson's death and that he was looking for "some sort of revenge," though there was no evidence Anderson was responsible for the robbery.

Prosecutors say seven teenagers loaded up in two cars and headed for nearby Jackson where they found Anderson in a hotel parking lot on Ellis Avenue.

Dedmon and another teen allegedly beat Anderson before Dedmon jumped in a green Ford F-250 and ran over the dazed man. Authorities say Dedmon also robbed Anderson, but they haven't said what he took.

Authorities said Dedmon later bragged that he had run over Anderson, using a racial slur to describe him.

The case got significant attention across the country when a video of the incident was made public.

It wasn't immediately clear if anyone else was indicted in the case. The documents had not been filed with the court and the district attorney didn't immediately respond to messages.

Jackson police initially charged another teenager, John Aaron Rice, with murder. A judge reduced that charge to simple assault after a detective testified that Rice left the scene in another car before Anderson was run over.

Rice's lawyer, Samuel Martin, had no comment when contacted Wednesday.

Martin has suggested in court hearings that Rice was actually trying to help Anderson, who had locked his keys in his car, before Dedmon arrived. Martin has also said that the teens were out on a beer run, not looking for a black man to assault as prosecutors say.

The hotel's surveillance video, obtained by The Associated Press and other media, shows a white Jeep Cherokee in which Rice was allegedly a passenger leaving a hotel parking lot at 5:05 a.m. Less than 20 seconds later, a Ford truck backs up and then lunges forward. Anderson's shirt is illuminated in the headlights before he disappears under the vehicle next to the curb.

District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith has said in the past that he would present evidence to the grand jury about all seven teenagers, but it wasn't clear if that has been done. It's also not clear if the grand jury is still reviewing evidence in the case. Grand juries work in secret.

Anderson's family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against all seven teens, including two young girls who were allegedly in the truck with Dedmon. Anderson's sister has asked prosecutors not to pursue the death penalty, saying the family is opposed to capital punishment.

The lawsuit seeks monetary damages, but the family's attorney, Winston Thompson, said he also wants to make sure all the facts come out. The Southern Poverty Law Center is assisting Thompson with the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims Rice, Dedmon and two others approached Anderson in the parking lot and surrounded him. It says Rice and Dedmon then attacked him "with the cooperation and encouragement" of the others. The three people who stayed in the vehicles during the attack acted as lookouts, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit also said one of the teens screamed "white power" during the assault.

Rice has been free on a $5,000 bond. Dedmon has been held without bail.

The FBI is investigating the case, too.

Ten Ways To Get more Done At Work (BLOG)

If you’re reading this article instead of calling a client or crunching a spreadsheet, chances are you could be more focused at work. You’re not alone.

According to a recent survey by Salary.com, the average employee admits to wasting about two hours of each eight-hour workday, not including lunch or scheduled breaks.


The Internet doesn’t help. Like the college roommate who keeps asking us to hang out when we know we have to study, the Web (and e-mail) provide so much distraction on a minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour basis that we can find it nearly impossible to give our full attention to higher-level tasks. And with few defined edges to many projects, we end up living in an endless jumble of work and life. We can book a trip to Turkey while participating in a conference call; we can send work e-mails from a towel on the beach in Cancun.

As the economy ebbs along with our focus, we have more to do and less time to do it. Enter the productivity experts. Their guru is David Allen, author of the 2001 book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity (GTD to its devotees). There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to boosting productivity, but Allen and his ilk have some effective tactics you can use right now.

Here are 10 of them. If the economy continues to slump, they may just help you keep your job.

Beware Multitasking

Sounds counterintuitive, right? Truth is, we’d all be more productive if we checked e-mail only a few times a day rather than incessantly, says Allen.

Tame Your In-box

Technology is a wonderful servant but a terrible master. Allen says that if replying to or disposing of an e-mail takes less than two minutes, do so right away. Get rid of that annoying alert flashing on your computer every time a new e-mail comes in. Send less to receive less: Keep your e-mails short, and write fewer of them.

Clear Your Mind

You don’t need to sit in the lotus position and chant, but you should take a few minutes, several times a day, to calm and clear your mind. Walking around the block or just stepping away from your computer screen can help you stay much more mentally fresh and focused.

Eliminate Unnecessary Meetings

Face-to-face communication is essential (email is fraught with misinterpretation), but be ruthless about protecting your time. Eschew every meeting request that isn’t truly necessary.

Learn How To Say “No”

It’s only two letters but it can be the hardest word to get out. Again, avoid e-mail. If you can, try to help solve the requester’s problem. For help on a related productivity killer, check out How To Tell Someone They’re Wrong (And Make Them Feel Good About It).

Swear Off Social Media

If you don’t need it for work, save Facebook for home and turn Twitter off during the work day. For more on when and how—and how not—to use social media at work check out Ten Myths About Social Networking For Business and 11 Career-Ending Facebook Faux Pas.

Make Lists

Productivity experts tout to-do lists—no more lying awake at night sweating crucial details you’re sure you’ve forgotten. Keep multiple lists: the short-term must-dos and the longer-term items. Also clearly define the tasks that can be delegated, and then actually delegate them! Don’t set yourself up for failure by starting each day with an unrealistically long agenda. (Common sense, perhaps—but how often do we actually bother to do this?)

Set Up A System

More common sense, often ignored. Systems–even the simplest variety–allow projects to move forward while freeing up your mind to relax and dwell on loftier things. “Managing a clear and complete inventory of your commitments brings a great increase in clarity, focus, and control,” says Allen. “And it provides the critical background for making the important distinctions about where you’re going and what’s really important.”

Clear Off Your Desk

Spend the last 15 minutes of each workday cleaning off your desk. Trash what you don’t need and file things once a day. Advises Allen: Touch any piece of paper once. Act on it, and move on.

Bother To Make Use Of The Time You Save

Boosting productivity isn’t just about making sure things get done and feeling more in control along the way. It’s about freeing up time for deeper, creative thinking–perhaps about new products or other ways to generate revenue (or to cut costs). Schedule stretches of creative time throughout the day—mute your phone’s ringer, close your door, avoid e-mail and think.

Now, isn’t that better?

Roll over Einstein: Law of physics challenged (BLOG)

GENEVA (AP) — One of the very pillars of physics and Einstein's theory of relativity — that nothing can go faster than the speed of light — was rocked Thursday by new findings from one of the world's foremost laboratories.

European researchers said they clocked an oddball type of subatomic particle called a neutrino going faster than the 186,282 miles per second that has long been considered the cosmic speed limit.

The claim was met with skepticism, with one outside physicist calling it the equivalent of saying you have a flying carpet. In fact, the researchers themselves are not ready to proclaim a discovery and are asking other physicists to independently try to verify their findings.

"The feeling that most people have is this can't be right, this can't be real," said James Gillies, a spokesman for the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, which provided the particle accelerator that sent neutrinos on their breakneck 454-mile trip underground from Geneva to Italy.

Going faster than light is something that is just not supposed to happen according to Einstein's 1905 special theory of relativity — the one made famous by the equation E equals mc2. But no one is rushing out to rewrite the science books just yet.

It is "a revolutionary discovery if confirmed," said Indiana University theoretical physicist Alan Kostelecky, who has worked on this concept for a quarter of a century.

Stephen Parke, who is head theoretician at the Fermilab near Chicago and was not part of the research, said: "It's a shock. It's going to cause us problems, no doubt about that — if it's true."

Even if these results are confirmed, they won't change at all the way we live or the way the world works. After all, these particles have presumably been speed demons for billions of years. But the finding will fundamentally alter our understanding of how the universe operates, physicists said.

Einstein's special relativity theory, which says that energy equals mass times the speed of light squared, underlies "pretty much everything in modern physics," said John Ellis, a theoretical physicist at CERN who was not involved in the experiment. "It has worked perfectly up until now."

France's National Institute for Nuclear and Particle Physics Research collaborated with Italy's Gran Sasso National Laboratory on the experiment at CERN.

CERN reported that a neutrino beam fired from a particle accelerator near Geneva to a lab 454 miles (730 kilometers) away in Italy traveled 60 nanoseconds faster than the speed of light. Scientists calculated the margin of error at just 10 nanoseconds. (A nanosecond is one-billionth of a second.)

Given the enormous implications of the find, the researchers spent months checking and rechecking their results to make sure there were no flaws in the experiment.

A team at Fermilab had similar faster-than-light results in 2007, but a large margin of error undercut its scientific significance.

If anything is going to throw a cosmic twist into Einstein's theories, it's not surprising that it's the strange particles known as neutrinos. These are odd slivers of an atom that have confounded physicists for about 80 years.

The neutrino has almost no mass, comes in three different "flavors," may have its own antiparticle and has been seen shifting from one flavor to another while shooting out from our sun, said physicist Phillip Schewe, communications director at the Joint Quantum Institute in Maryland.

Columbia University physicist Brian Greene, author of the book "Fabric of the Cosmos," said neutrinos theoretically can travel at different speeds depending on how much energy they have. And some mysterious particles whose existence is still only theorized could be similarly speedy, he said.

Fermilab team spokeswoman Jenny Thomas, a physics professor at the University College of London, said there must be a "more mundane explanation" for the European findings. She said Fermilab's experience showed how hard it is to measure accurately the distance, time and angles required for such a claim.

Nevertheless, Fermilab, which shoots neutrinos from Chicago to Minnesota, has already begun working to try to verify or knock down the new findings.

And that's exactly what the team in Geneva wants.

Gillies told The Associated Press that the readings have so astounded researchers that "they are inviting the broader physics community to look at what they've done and really scrutinize it in great detail, and ideally for someone elsewhere in the world to repeat the measurements."

Only two labs elsewhere in the world can try to replicate the work: Fermilab and a Japanese installation that has been slowed by the tsunami and earthquake. And Fermilab's measuring systems aren't nearly as precise as the Europeans' and won't be upgraded for a while, said Fermilab scientist Rob Plunkett.

Drew Baden, chairman of the physics department at the University of Maryland, said it is far more likely that the CERN findings are the result of measurement errors or some kind of fluke. Tracking neutrinos is very difficult, he said.

"This is ridiculous what they're putting out," Baden said. "Until this is verified by another group, it's flying carpets. It's cool, but ..."

So if the neutrinos are pulling this fast one on Einstein, how can it happen?

Parke said there could be a cosmic shortcut through another dimension — physics theory is full of unseen dimensions — that allows the neutrinos to beat the speed of light.

Indiana's Kostelecky theorizes that there are situations when the background is different in the universe, not perfectly symmetrical as Einstein says. Those changes in background may alter both the speed of light and the speed of neutrinos.

But that doesn't mean Einstein's theory is ready for the trash heap, he said.

"I don't think you're going to ever kill Einstein's theory. You can't. It works," Kostelecky said. There are just times when an additional explanation is needed, he said.

If the European findings are correct, "this would change the idea of how the universe is put together," Columbia's Greene said. But he added: "I would bet just about everything I hold dear that this won't hold up to scrutiny."

Questions and answers on the latest 'New Facebook' (BLOG)

NEW YORK (AP) — Every year or so — and sometimes more often — Facebook manages to miff a vocal percentage of users by changing the look and feel of its site. As it adds new features, it invariably takes away things that people have grown attached to. It's no different with the changes unveiled this week. Some have already gone live while others will be coming to your Facebook page soon.

Here are some questions and answers on Facebook's latest transformation.

Question: Why don't I have the new Facebook yet?

Answer: Facebook rolls out its new features gradually, so not all 800 million users see the updates at once. First, the changes are tested internally Facebook employees. Once they are public, the changes are rolled out geographically. U.S. users will likely see the changes first, but even that could depend on where you live. You also may need to close and reopen your browser or log out and log back in. The just-announced timeline feature won't be available users until later this year — Facebook has not yet said when.

Q: Why does Facebook keep changing things? I liked it the way it was.

A: At its heart, Facebook is a technology company that wants to keep improving its products so that people keep using it and it doesn't grow stale. Sometimes, the changes are things people ask for. Other times, engineers try to anticipate new ways people will want to use Facebook. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't. Facebook also tends to change its site so that it encourages users to share and interact more, whether that's with each other or with businesses, public figures and the like. This has often raised concern among privacy advocates

Q: What is the scrolling, Twitter-like list of my Facebook friends' activities doing on the right side of the new layout?

A: Facebook calls this the "ticker" — not to be confused with, but similar to, Twitter. The idea is to show a live feed of everything going on with your Facebook friends and pages you follow as it is happening. There will be information here that doesn't appear on your regular news feed, such as songs your friends are listening to on the music service Spotify, news stories they are reading or, eventually, even movies or TV shows they watched on Netflix.

Q: Does Facebook care about angering its users with the changes?

A: Facebook has said in the past that the percentage of users who complain about its changes is small. But a small percentage of 800 million users is still a big group. And even with angry users taking to social media to complain, the growth of Facebook's user base, not to mention how much people are sharing on the site and beyond, is growing at a staggering pace. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Thursday Facebook passed a milestone recently where it had 500 million of its users logged in at once. So while a lot of users may hate the changes, it is not driving them away. The company is betting it knows what people want.

Q: How do I go back to the "Old Facebook"?

A: You mean other than a time machine? That's tough. But there are some website plugins, such as "Better Facebook" that try to enhance the way your Facebook page looks and feels. Using the mobile application will also give you a more simple Facebook experience.

Q: How does Facebook determine what my "top news" should be?

A: The "top news" feature has already existed on Facebook, it just didn't automatically appear on the top of your news feed every time you logged in. This is the stuff Facebook thinks you will be most interested in. So it's updates from friends you interact with the most, big news stories from media accounts you follow or photos from your friends that got a lot of comments, for example. It's not an exact science, so you can uncheck a top story by clicking on a tiny triangle on its upper left corner. The site will try to remember, and a box will pop up saying "we'll try not to pub more stories like this at the top of your News Feed."

Q: Isn't this all about getting Facebook more advertising money?

A: That will almost certainly be one outcome, though Facebook has never made that its outright goal. It's more of an "if we build it, they will come" type of situation. The company is expected to bring in $3.8 billion in worldwide advertising revenue this year and $5.8 billion in 2012, according to research firm eMarketer. The more time people spend on its site or share and the more information they share about themselves, the better companies can target their ads.

Is Android Doomed? (Blog)

Smartphones powered by Google's open-source Android operating system are selling more units, all together, than Apple's iPhone is selling. More than four out of ten of all smartphones sold in the US are powered by Android, compared to a little over a quarter for Apple. And its share just continues to rise, as Windows Phone and BlackBerry rivals stagnate.



How, then, could Android be doomed?



The shape of the market



Android phones aren't gaining ground at Apple's expense. Both Android and the iPhone are crowding their rivals out. And most of their sales volume comes not from switchers from one platform to the other, but from people who are upgrading from a featurephone.



Horace Dediu of Asymco has posted graphs showing the rate at which smartphones are eating into non-smartphone market share. Meanwhile, another set of charts shows smartphone and non-smartphone market share growth broken down by company.



The upshot? Android and Apple are having a feeding frenzy, on the market of people who haven't bought smartphones yet. And when they're done, they're going to turn on each other.



Guess who's already winning



Another set of charts by Dediu shows what people use iPhones and Android phones for. On average, Android phones are used far less for web browsing or buying paid apps; indeed, the data suggest that most Android phone buyers aren't using them for much more than "featurephone" services.



iPhones, meanwhile, are selling to people who are more willing (for whatever reason) to pay a premium for smartphones and apps. And it shows: No smartphone company even comes close to matching Apple for profit per handset sold.



The piles of money that Apple is sitting on equal even more spending on research and product development, plus the potential ability to monopolize the supply chain. Maybe not everyone wants an iPhone, or can even afford one. But when Android largely blends in to the non-smartphone market, in the minds of many buyers, that solidifies the iPhone's position as the one and only brand name smartphone.



Internal troubles as well



Making things worse for Android in general is Google's attempt to purchase Motorola Mobility. It's sent South Korea into a panic, and companies like Taiwanese HTC were already trying to differentiate their Android smartphones to the point of having a separate interface. Meanwhile, Barnes and Noble and Amazon are happily taking the open-source Android code and running with it, creating their own tablet operating systems which differ substantially from plain vanilla Android.



Maybe Android itself isn't doomed. But its fragmentation has already started, and its ability to compete with the iPhone in the long run seems dubious ... unless its goal is to become the neat featurephone OS, a la Symbian.

Couple from '16 and Pregnant' arrested in Arkansas (BLOG)

JACKSONVILLE, Ark. (AP) — A couple featured on the first season of the MTV reality show "16 and Pregnant" have lost their child to the state and face criminal charges after officers serving a search warrant found their home was filled with feces, flies and maggots, police said Thursday.

Joshua Rendon and Ebony Jackson-Rendon, now both 19, were charged Tuesday after the search of their home at the Little Rock Air Force Base. The Arkansas Department of Human Services took custody of their 2-year-old child, who was born while the TV show was taping. Rendon is a member of the Air Force.

They face felony charges of maintaining a drug premises and unauthorized use of another's property to facilitate a crime. They're also charged with misdemeanor child endangerment, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance.

Officers obtained the search warrant after being called in by base officials.

Jacksonville police Capt. Kenny Boyd said officers found one gram of synthetic marijuana, empty packaging and pipes allegedly used to smoke the controlled substance.

Boyd also said the home was in "deplorable" condition. Human and animal feces were on the floors and walls in each room, and animal control officers took away three dogs that were kept inside, Boyd said. The house was full of flies, with collections of maggots in a number of areas, he said.

Rendon said over the phone Thursday that "it's not in our best interest" to talk about the case.

MTV confirmed they were the same teenagers who appeared on "16 and Pregnant."

Rendon's desire to join the Air Force was an element in the show. He and Jackson-Rendon lived in Colorado Springs, Colo., which is home to the Air Force Academy. An MTV bio calls Jackson-Rendon a "military brat," who lived with her mother but spent most of her time with Rendon, who was her fiance at the time.

They both had planned to enlist in the Air Force, but a recruiter told them only one of them could because Jackson-Rendon was pregnant.

A court appearance for them is scheduled for Oct. 6, when they may enter a plea. Both are free on $8,000 bond, Boyd said. Neither had an attorney listed.

CNN Truth Squad: Did Obama destroy the economy? (BLOG)

(CNN)"President Obama has embraced a view of government-directed temporary fixes and gimmicks. They don't work. He's destroyed the economy."

-- Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, during Thursday night's Republican presidential debate on Fox News.



The facts:

-- The recession from which the United States is still struggling to recover began in December 2007, 13 months before Obama took office in January 2009. That's according to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the nonprofit agency that tracks business cycles.



Romney and Perry clash at debate

-- By the fourth quarter of 2008, shortly after the banking crisis that resulted in the widely unpopular federal bailouts, the economy contracted by 8.9%, according to the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis.



-- The bureau found the recession officially ended in June 2009, five months after Obama took office. The economy has grown in every quarter since then, though barely in the past six months, according to the Commerce Department.



-- The unemployment rate, a more direct concern to the average American, has remained high after shooting up from 5.5 % in December 2007 to a peak of 10.1 % in October 2009. It was 7.8 % when Obama took office, and it has held at 9.1 % for the past two months.



The verdict:

False. The Obama administration's much-criticized efforts to revive the economy may not have lived up to their billing, but statistics show the bulk of the damage was done before he was sworn in.

Obese now outnumber hungry, says Red Cross(BLOG)

Obese people now outnumber the hungry globally, but hardship for the undernourished is increasing amid a growing food crisis, the International Federation of the Red Cross warned Thursday.

The Geneva-based humanitarian group focused on nutrition in its annual World Disasters Report, released in New Delhi, seeking to highlight the disparity between rich and poor, as well problems caused by a recent spike in prices.

In statistics used to underline the unequal access to food, the IFRC stressed there were 1.5 billion people suffering obesity worldwide last year, while 925 million were undernourished.

"If the free interplay of market forces has produced an outcome where 15 percent of humanity are hungry while 20 percent are overweight, something has gone wrong somewhere," secretary general Bekele Geleta said in a statement.

Asia-Pacific director Jagan Chapagain called it a "double-edged scandal" at a press conference in the Indian capital, adding that "excess nutrition now kills more than hunger."

The problem of hunger existed not because there was a lack of food globally, he stressed, but because of poor distribution, wastage and rising prices that made food unaffordable.

Food prices have spiked globally in 2011, raising fears of a re-run of the crisis seen in 2008 which led to riots and political instability in many countries.

The rise in food prices, which the IFRC blamed on speculative commodity trading and climate change, among other factors, is seen as having contributed to the unrest witnessed in north Africa and the Middle East this year.

"A new round of food inflation... is plunging many of the world's poorest people into deeper poverty and situations of severe hunger and malnourishment," the organisation said.

The World Disasters Report is an annual publication by the group seeking to highlight an area of global concern. Last year's study focused on urbanisation, while 2009's was on HIV and health.

U.S. calls online poker site a "global Ponzi scheme"(BLOG)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors made new allegations on Tuesday in a probe of the Full Tilt Poker website, accusing self-styled "Poker Professor" Howard Lederer and professional poker champion Christopher Ferguson and others of paying themselves more than $440 million while defrauding other players.

In a motion filed in federal court in New York to amend an earlier civil complaint, the prosecutors accused Full Tilt Poker of running a Ponzi scheme that continued even after the original charges were filed.

Prosecutors unsealed the earlier charges on April 15, accusing three Internet poker companies -- Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker and PokerStars -- and 11 people, including Full Tilt director Raymond Bitar, of bank fraud, illegal gambling and money laundering offenses.

Lederer is described on his website (http://www.howardlederer.com) as "The Poker Professor" and Ferguson has won five World Series of Poker events. The men are directors and owners of Full Tilt Poker.

"In reality, Full Tilt Poker did not maintain funds sufficient to repay all players, and in addition, the company used player funds to pay board members and other owners more than $440 million since April 2007," the office of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement.

"Full Tilt was not a legitimate poker company, but a global Ponzi scheme."

A Ponzi scheme is usually one in which early investors are paid with the money of new clients and it collapses when funds run out.

The U.S. Attorney's previous civil complaint did not contain allegations of the company defrauding players or owners taking payments improperly.

Representatives of Full Tilt Poker could not immediately be reached to comment on the amended complaint, which has yet to be approved by a U.S. District Court judge. This type of filing is usually approved as a formality.

The prosecutors said Full Tilt Poker's board of directors, including Bitar, Lederer, Ferguson and Rafael Furst, defrauded players by misrepresenting that their funds in accounts were safe, secure and available for withdrawal.

In the new complaint, they cited emails and poker message board postings in 2008 and 2009 in which Full Tilt Poker and its representatives assured players their money was safe.

One of those emails read, in part: "To protect both our players and business from financial problems, all player account funds are segregated and held separately from our operating accounts. Unlike some companies in our industry, we completely understand and accept that your account money belongs to you, not Full Tilt Poker."

The government challenges the assurances, saying the company did not have money to repay the players.

The case is USA v Pokerstars, et al, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 11-02564.

Levi's Commercial Causes Brand Boycott(BLOG)

COMMENTARY | If you live in San Francisco and see a group of hipster looking 20-somethings packing a box of office belongings while looking downtrodden, it is probably the just fired Levi's jeans creative team. The company's "Go Forth" campaign backfired in a big way this week. Commercialsdepicting young Levi's wearers in riot situations were pulled from the air and company's Facebook page. Glenn Beck is encouraging his viewers to stop buying the brand.

Levi's brand was once very popular with teens and made with pride in America. Both scenarios have now changed. In recent years the styles of Levi's have changed drastically in a dire attempt to once again attract fashion-minded teenagers. In the process of competing with currently popular brands, the company neglected its solid base of middle age men.



If my husband had a growing belly, I could still walk into the mall and pick him up a pair of Levi's jeans, but that is not the case. Only relaxed fit jeans still look like something the average man would put on his body. Straight fit jeans are now adorned with various distressed wash styles and holes.

Decreasing sales likely prompted the slip in judgment which lead to the new "Go Forth" campaign. The first ads were simply dark and edgy and attempted to tell a story of youthful rebellion. But the commercials which debuted during the "Monday Night Football" game this week took teen angst to a whole new level.



The riot-themed ads were quickly pulled from the United Kingdom market, where street rioting is a major concern. Scenes were once again shrouded in darkness and showed young jeans wearers riding their bicycles through tear gas filled streets and taunting law enforcement officers.

Were the advertisements a liberal political message or just a failed attempt to appear cool? At this point it really doesn't matter, the backlash and boycott have gone viral. Levi's is no stranger to controversy. Just a few years ago the company pulled charitable support from the Boy Scoutsbecause they did not permit homosexual males to become troop leaders.



Since women were permitted to lead scouting troops and chaperone overnight camping, there was already a potential for inappropriate behavior with young men. The policy by the Boy Scouts may well have been flawed, but public admonishment of the entire organization cost Levi's loyal customers.

Where On Earth Will NASA's Doomed Satellite Fall On Friday? (BLOG)

A dead NASA satellite will plummet to Earth on Friday (Sept. 23), and while the U.S. space agency doesn't know exactly where pieces of the massive spacecraft will hit, one thing is certain: North America is in the clear.

NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, or UARS, is set to make an uncontrolled re-entry into Earth's atmosphere on Friday. However, it is still too early to tell exactly where the 6.5-ton spacecraft will fall. Scientists will likely have a much better idea of where the debris will land about two hours before the impact, NASA officials said.

But, NASA was able to rule out North America as being in the potential debris drop zone.

"Re-entry is expected sometime during the afternoon of Sept. 23, Eastern Daylight Time," agency officials said in a statement. "The satellite will not be passing over North America during that time period. It is still too early to predict the time and location of re-entry with any more certainty, but predictions will become more refined in the next 24 to 48 hours."

In the meantime, NASA and the U.S. Air Force will be closely monitoring the satellite and its decaying orbit.

"With re-entry we're always interested in day-by-day and hour-by-hour details," Mark Matney, a scientist with NASA's Orbital Debris Program Office, told SPACE.com. "It's very difficult to predict how it's going to happen. With our models, we try to figure out what parts of the spacecraft — what materials — will interact with the atmosphere in terms of temperature and melting, and determine which of those will survive. But it's a very dynamic environment, the force is very intense." [Photos of NASA's Huge Falling Satellite UARS]



Wide range of possibilities

Current predictions of the potential impact zone cover a giant swath of the planet — anywhere between the latitudes of northern Canada and southern South America. Scientists will be able to refine these projections as the spacecraft makes its fiery journey through the atmosphere.

"It's partly a matter of not knowing enough," said Ray Williamson, executive director of the Secure World Foundation, an organization dedicated to the peaceful use of outer space. "The shape of the structure is not perfectly spherical, so when it heats up and starts to break up, it will break into odd pieces. Once it begins to break up, then they can get a better sense of where this is roughly going to hit."

Scientists at NASA's Orbital Debris Program Office estimate that at least 26 large pieces of the bus-size satellite will endure the scorching heat of re-entry. Approximately 1,170 pounds (532 kilograms) of material are expected to reach the ground, NASA officials said.

These pieces of debris will likely be scattered over a 500-mile (804-kilometer) long path. But agency officials have been quick to stress that there is very little chance that satellite chunks will smash intotowns or cities. [Amateur Astronomer Photographs Doomed Satellite]

Instead, it's much more likely that the debris will fall over water or remote, uninhabited areas, NASA officials said.

"There's always a concern," Matney said. "But, populated areas are a small fraction of the Earth's surface. Much of the Earth's surface has either no people or very few people. We believe that the risk is very modest."

Odds of human injury very low

For comparison, when NASA's space shuttle Columbia tragically broke apart during re-entry in 2003, debris from the 100-ton spacecraft was scattered across Texas, but did not damage any structures or injure any people.

"When [Columbia] came back, as the shuttle heated up, it broke into pieces — some of them very large, and some very small," Williamson said. "Even then, there was difficulty in trying to find the pieces that were spread over such a large area. It was such an unpopulated area that it was very difficult to locate all the pieces, even though they knew from videos pretty much precisely the track that it followed across the atmosphere."



NASA has calculated the odds of anyone anywhere in the world being hit by a piece of the UARS satellite at 1in3,200. But, the chance that you personally will get hit is much more remote, on the order of 1inseveral trillion, Williamson said.

Still, if anyone happens to stumble upon a piece of the defunct satellite on the ground, agency officials stress that for safety and legal reasons, it is best to leave the material where it is, and alert the authorities.

"If you find something you think may be a piece of UARS, do not touch it," NASA officials said. "Contact a local law enforcement official for assistance."

Kindergartener brings crack pipe, meth for show-and-tell (BLOG)

ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - A kindergartener in rural Sweet Springs, Missouri, brought a bag of crystal meth and a crack pipe to school for show-and-tell, but an alert teacher kept the boy from sharing his treasure with others at the school, an official said on Tuesday.

"He was very excited when he got to school," Superintendent Donna Wright said of the September 6 incident. "But I don't think he knew what he had."

A teacher recognized the drugs and pipe and police were called to the elementary school. "It didn't ever get into the classroom," Wright added.

"That was a first for show-and-tell in this town," Police Chief Richard Downing said. He added that the boy's mother, Michelle Cheatham, 32, was arrested later on drug charges and released on bail.

"It was shocking," Wright said. "We're not experienced with dealing with this."

The town, located 66 miles east of Kansas City on the Blackwater River, has 1,500 residents and about 425 students in its school system.

Police seize eight pounds of marijuana from home of Bengals WR (BLOG)

A 2.5-pound shipment of marijuana was seized at the home of Cincinnati Bengals wide receiverJerome Simpson(notes) on Wednesday.

Bengals tackle Anthony Collins(notes) was with Simpson at the house when police confiscated the package. A spokeswoman for the California Department of Justice said police tracked the shipment from California after a two-day investigation.

A woman, Aleen Smith, signed for the package before police swooped in. Simpson gave consent for authorities to search his home, where they found six additional pounds of marijuana and paraphernalia including "packaging materials, scales and smoking devices."

Simpson and Collins were detained but not arrested. The case will be addressed by the Kenton County (KY) Prosecutor's Office on Thursday.

The head of the National Marijuana Initiative, a government-funded organization that coordinates marijuana enforcement, told Californiawatch.org that the home was set up as a distribution network. "They had it all set up to receive supplies of high-grade marijuana from Northern California, and from there, it was being distributed from that residence," Tommy LaNier told the website.

Simpson had a career-high 146 yards receiving in Cincinnati's loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday. Collins, an offensive lineman, did not play in the game

Ratings: 'Modern Family' Tops Much-Hyped 'X Factor' Debut (BLOG)

(TheWrap) -- Simon Cowell has his work cut out for him: The "X Factor" creator has said he wants his show to knock off "American Idol" as the biggest show on television. But so far it can't even top "Modern Family."

Earning 12.5 million viewers in its debut Wednesday, "X Factor" was the second-highest rated and only the fourth-most-watched show of the night. It had a 4.4/12 rating in the 18-49 demographic prized by advertisers -- well below the 6.0/15 for the season premiere of ABC's Emmy magnet "Modern Family," which boasted 14.3 million viewers."X Factor" also scored lower ratings than Fox's far less hyped "New Girl," which premiered Tuesday to a 4.8/12 and 10 million total viewers.

See also: 'X Factor': Watch Stacy Francis and Chris Rene's Performances (Video)

The "X Factor" ratings were solid, to be sure, but Cowell didn't do himself any favors by setting impossibly high standards for the show. He said at the Television Critics Association summer press tour that he wanted to top "Idol," quipping, "You don't enter into something for the silver medal.""Idol," which Cowell left to launch "X Factor" in the U.S., averaged an 8.5/23 in the demo last season. "X Factor" scored half the viewers of its most recent premiere, in January, which had 26.1 million viewers. (That was the lowest-rated "Idol" premiere since it debuted in June 2002 to 9.9 million total viewers -- a number that "X Factor" easily topped.)

Fox was the highest-rated network overall Wednesday, thanks to the consistent "X Factor" ratings during the premiere from 8-10 p.m.



Also read: 'Modern Family,' 'Community' Creators Discuss Twitter Feud, Primetime

ABC was second. "The Middle," airing at 8 p.m., had a 3.0/9 and 9.6 million total viewers. "Family" aired its hourlong episode at 9. The new drama "Revenge," premiering at 10, had a respectable 3.4/9 and 10.1 million total viewers.

CBS had a 3.1/9 and 10.4 million total viewers for "Survivor: South Pacific" had 8. The season premiere of "Criminal Minds" at 9 had a 4.1/10 and 14.1 million total viewers, making it the night's second-most-watched and third-highest-rated show. Ted Danson's debut on the season premiere of "CSI" at 10 had a 3.1/8 and 12.6 million total viewers -- enough to top "X Factor" in total viewers and be the night's third-most-watched show.

There was little good news for NBC. "Up All Night" at 8 scored a 2.3/7 and 6 million total viewers. As expected, it was down significantly from its strong debut last Wednesday at 10 -- a much more forgiving timeslot. "Free Agents" at 8:30 had a soft 1.3/4 and 3.9 million total viewers -- also down from its debut after "Up All Night" last week. The premiere of "Harry's Law" had a 1.2/3 and 7.3 million total viewers. The premiere of "Law & Order: SVU" at 10 had a 2.3/6 and 7.6 million total viewers.

On the CW, the second episode of "H8R" at 8 had a .4/1 and 1.1 million viewers. "America's Top Model" at 9 had a .7/2 and 1.6 million total viewers.

Sprint to Cap Mobile Hotspot Plan to 5gb a month (BLOG)

(sprintfeed)And the cutbacks continue! We’ve seen ETFs increase, Sprint Premier go away, upgrade fees raised, what next? We can now add Phone as a Modem to the list. Our beloved Super Spies have been bringing the pain lately and today is no exception! Starting on October 2nd the Now Network will be switching up their mobile hotspot plans by placing a 5GB cap on them. This rule doesn’t apply to your phone’s normal data plan and tablets are exempt as well, but just about everything else is up for grabs! We must warn that if you’re one of the bold few that plans on going over your limit, we must warn you that the new setup will charge you at a rate of five cents per MB. Of course if you’re one of those sneaks that tethers below the radar, this doesn’t apply to you, but watch out, you might be next in line for a change! We really have to ask, is all of this really worth whatever might be on the way?

The iPod Is About to Die (BLOG)

Ask yourself: When's the last time you brought an iPod? If you're like an increasing portion of Apple's consumer base, you'll probably have some difficulty remembering your last purchase. That's because the iPod, Apple's groundbreaking line of mp3 players that reinvigorated the company in the early aughts and brought it back from the brink of irrelevancy, is itself becoming more and more irrelevant to both the company's overall business plan and its customers' media consumption.Related: What Techno Goodies to Expect from Steve Jobs Today

Apple consumers have had a sense of the decline of the iPod for a while, and today Fast Company's Kit Eaton makes the case for killing off all four lines of the device altogether and creating a whole new kind of product in its place:

Of course, we're not suggesting Apple should merely throw away 6-8% of its quarterly revenues. It should transform its iPod into something new. Here's what Apple could make: It could learn its lessons from the iPhone and iPad and apply them to the Nano, refreshing it dramatically by injecting a small but powerful ARM chip and low-power Bluetooth 4 tech, along with the smallest VGA webcam unit Apple can find. This would turn it, as we've suggested, into a second-screen iPhone companion (and, yes, discrete MP3 player) that could access a whole new lucrative app marketplace. Think: specialized apps for sports fans, check-ins, wireless payment tech, and so on. It would innovate into a whole new market, pulling off a trademark Apple maneuver.

Ga. executes Davis; supporters claim injustice (BLOG)

JACKSON, Ga. (AP) — Strapped to a gurney in Georgia's death chamber, Troy Davis lifted his head and declared one last time that he did not kill police officer Mark MacPhail. Just a few feet away behind a glass window, MacPhail's son and brother watched in silence.

Outside the prison, a crowd of more than 500 demonstrators cried, hugged, prayed and held candles. They represented hundreds of thousands of supporters worldwide who took up the anti-death penalty cause as Davis' final days ticked away.

"I am innocent," Davis said moments before he was executed Wednesday night. "All I can ask ... is that you look deeper into this case so that you really can finally see the truth. I ask my family and friends to continue to fight this fight."

Prosecutors and MacPhail's family said justice had finally been served.

"I'm kind of numb. I can't believe that it's really happened," MacPhail's mother, Anneliese MacPhail, said in a telephone interview from her home in Columbus, Ga. "All the feelings of relief and peace I've been waiting for all these years, they will come later. I certainly do want some peace."

She dismissed Davis' claims of innocence.

"He's been telling himself that for 22 years. You know how it is, he can talk himself into anything."

Related: Time to get rid of state-sponsored executions?

Davis was scheduled to die at 7 p.m., but the hour came and went as the U.S. Supreme Court apparently weighed the case. More than three hours later, the high court said it wouldn't intervene. The justices did not comment on their order rejecting Davis' request for a stay.

Hundreds of thousands of people signed petitions on Davis' behalf and he had prominent supporters. His attorneys said seven of nine key witnesses against him disputed all or parts of their testimony, but state and federal judges repeatedly ruled against him — three times on Wednesday alone.

When asked Thursday on NBC's "Today" show if he thought the state had executed an innocent man, civil rights leader the Rev. Al Sharpton said: "I believe that they did, but even beyond my belief, they clearly executed a man who had established much, much reasonable doubt."

"I will grieve for the Davis family because now they're going to understand our pain and our hurt," she said in a telephone interview from Jackson. "My prayers go out to them. I have been praying for them all these years. And I pray there will be some peace along the way for them."

Davis' supporters staged vigils in the U.S. and Europe, declaring "I am Troy Davis" on signs, T-shirts and the Internet. Some tried increasingly frenzied measures, urging prison workers to stay home and even posting a judge's phone number online, hoping people would press him to put a stop to the lethal injection. President Barack Obama deflected calls for him to get involved.

"They say death row; we say hell no!" protesters shouted outside the Jackson prison before Davis was executed. In Washington, a crowd outside the Supreme Court yelled the same chant.

As many as 700 demonstrators gathered outside the prison as a few dozen riot police stood watch, but the crowd thinned as the night wore on and the outcome became clear.

Davis' execution had been halted three times since 2007. The U.S. Supreme Court even gave Davis an unusual opportunity to prove his innocence in a lower court last year. While the nation's top court didn't hear the case, they did set a tough standard for Davis to exonerate himself, ruling that his attorneys must "clearly establish" Davis' innocence — a higher bar to meet than prosecutors having to prove guilt. After the hearing, a lower court judge ruled in prosecutors' favor, and the justices didn't take up the case.

His attorney Stephen Marsh said Davis would have spent part of Wednesday taking a polygraph test if pardons officials had taken his offer seriously. But they, too, said they wouldn't reconsider their decision. Georgia's governor does not have the power to grant condemned inmates clemency.

As his last hours ticked away, an upbeat and prayerful Davis turned down an offer for a special last meal as he met with friends, family and supporters.

"Troy Davis has impacted the world," his sister Martina Correia said before the execution. "They say, 'I am Troy Davis,' in languages he can't speak."

Members of Davis' family who witnessed the execution left without talking to reporters.

Davis' supporters included former President Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict XVI, a former FBI director, the NAACP, several conservative figures and many celebrities, including hip-hop star Sean "P. Diddy" Combs.

"I'm trying to bring the word to the young people: There is too much doubt," rapper Big Boi, of the Atlanta-based group Outkast, said at a church near the prison.

At a Paris rally, many of the roughly 150 demonstrators carried signs emblazoned with Davis' face. "Everyone who looks a little bit at the case knows that there is too much doubt to execute him," Nicolas Krameyer of Amnesty International said at the protest.

Davis was convicted in 1991 of killing MacPhail, who was working as a security guard at the time. MacPhail rushed to the aid of a homeless man who prosecutors said Davis was bashing with a handgun after asking him for a beer. Prosecutors said Davis had a smirk on his face as he shot the officer to death in a Burger King parking lot in Savannah.

Related: Georgia justice, by the numbers

No gun was ever found, but prosecutors say shell casings were linked to an earlier shooting for which Davis was convicted.

Witnesses placed Davis at the crime scene and identified him as the shooter, but several of them have recanted their accounts and some jurors have said they've changed their minds about his guilt. Others have claimed a man who was with Davis that night has told people he actually shot the officer.

"Such incredibly flawed eyewitness testimony should never be the basis for an execution," Marsh said. "To execute someone under these circumstances would be unconscionable."

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which helped lead the charge to stop the execution, said it considered asking Obama to intervene, even though he cannot grant Davis clemency for a state conviction.

Press secretary Jay Carney issued a statement saying that although Obama "has worked to ensure accuracy and fairness in the criminal justice system," it was not appropriate for him "to weigh in on specific cases like this one, which is a state prosecution."

Dozens of protesters outside the White House called on the president to step in, and about 12 were arrested for disobeying police orders.

Davis was not the only U.S. inmate put to death Wednesday evening. In Texas, white supremacist gang member Lawrence Russell Brewer was put to death for the 1998 dragging death of a black man, James Byrd Jr., one of the most notorious hate crime murders in recent U.S. history.

On Thursday, Alabama is scheduled to execute Derrick Mason, who was convicted in the 1994 shooting death of convenience store clerk Angela Cagle.

Boyz II Men Happy about Their Influence on Justin Bieber (BLOG)

Veteran R&B group Boyz II Men recently spoke out about meeting Justin Bieber before he became a megastar and also his impression when meeting the group.

Speaking with MTV, group member Wanya Morris says: "We met him in the hotel, at the Le Montrose, in LA and the dude; he had a cast on at the time. And he stepped up and said, 'Oh my God! Boyz II Men, you're my favorite group."

He continued: "And we're like, 'Oh, okay,' and at the time, we didn't know who he was. He was a new dude, and the next thing you know, he's huge."

Wanya also touched on being a role model for Bieber and other new artists, adding: "It's also good to know we've influenced such a good artist. It's something that makes us feel we've accomplished [something and] we're doing our job, [that] a guy so young and so into his craft [is] influenced by three guys from Philadelphia that love to sing."

Bieber recently took to Twitter to praise Boyz II Men, tweeting: “2day I woke up and realized that the group that made me want to sing Boyz II Men are now on the Christmas album singing with me. Dream big.”

He added: “I used 2 listen to their music and practice the runs. That is how I learned to sing. Now I’m in the studio with them making music 2gether. I’m telling you… never say never… never stop dreaming… never give up…”



singersroom

Fed moves to push rates lower, boost economy (BLOG, VIDEO)

It's back to the future for the Federal Reserve.

Faced with a lethargic economy and a jobless rate hovering at 9 percent, the nation's central bank reached deep into its bag of tricks on Wednesday and pulled out a move to spur growth that it hadn't used in 50 years.

The move, dubbed "Operation Twist" when it was first used in 1961, is intended to push long-term interest rates lower, which the Fed hopes will spur lending, induce businesses to expand and tempt consumers into spending more.

The Fed said it will do that by selling $400 billion worth of short-term securities to buy longer-term securities, much like a homeowner swapping higher-rate credit card debt for a lower-rate home equity loan.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

"The Committee intends to purchase, by the end of June 2012, $400 billion of Treasury securities with remaining maturities of 6 years to 30 years and to sell an equal amount of Treasury securities with remaining maturities of 3 years or less," the Fed said in a statement after a meeting of its Federal Open Market Committee.

"This program should put downward pressure on longer-term interest rates and help make broader financial conditions more accommodative," the Fed said. "The Committee will regularly review the size and composition of its securities holdings and is prepared to adjust those holdings as appropriate."

The Fed said the economy remains mired in a rut. Job growth is sluggish, household spending has been rising at a slow pace and the housing market is weak.

Its outlook wasn't much sunnier:

"The Committee continues to expect some pickup in the pace of recovery over coming quarters but anticipates that the unemployment rate will decline only gradually toward levels that the Committee judges to be consistent with its dual mandate," the Fed said, referring to its stated goals of promoting maximum employment and economic growth while keeping inflation in check.

The Fed also gave a nod to the European debt crisis, which threatens to expand and risks pushing the global economy back into recession:

"(T)here are significant downside risks to the economic outlook, including strains in global financial markets," the Fed said.

Inflation was one of the bright spots, the Fed said, as was business investment in equipment and software.

Not all the members the Fed's committee, which sets monetary policy, agreed with the move to push long-term interest rates lower. Three dissented because they did not support additional policy accomodation. The split on the FOMC was echoed in financial markets, which fell after the Fed made its announcement.

"The one thing that weighs on any decision here is that we are still seeing dissenters in the Fed. And that doesn't bode well for a stable recovery," Carl Larry, director of energy derivatives and research for Blue Ocean Brokerage, told Reuters.


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12 Ways to Get Your Daily Vitamin D (BLOG)

The sun is less likely to provide your daily needs at higher latitudes, in the winter, or if you're older or dark skinned (skin pigment blocks light and the process is less efficient with age). And FYI: Light through a window won't work.

Fatty fish

Fatty fish can be a good source of vitamin D. Common options include salmon, trout, mackerel, tuna, and eel.

A 3-ounce sockeye salmon fillet contains about 450 international units (IUs) of vitamin D—a good portion of the 600 IUs that is the Institute of Medicine's recommended dietary allowance (800 IUs if you're over 70).

And you get a bonus—heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids!

Canned tuna fish

Fresh fish aren't the only way to boost your vitamin D intake; you can get vitamin D from a can, too.

Canned tuna fish and canned sardines both contain vitamin D, and are usually less expensive than fresh fish.

Plus, a longer shelf life makes the canned products easy to stock up on and use at your leisure. Canned light tuna has the most vitamin D—about 150 IUs per 4 ounces—while canned albacore tuna has about 50 IUs per 4 ounces, and canned sardines have a little more than 40 IUs per two sardines.

Certain mushrooms

Just like humans, mushrooms have the capacity to produce vitamin D when exposed to ultraviolet light.

Mushrooms, however, are usually grown in the dark and don't contain the vitamin. Specific brands, however, are grown in ultraviolet light to spur vitamin D production.

Check to see if vitamin D–rich 'shrooms, like Dole's Portobello Mushrooms, are available at a store near you. They're perfect for vegetarians looking for plant-based foods that contain the vitamin. Dole's portobellos will give you 400 IUs of vitamin D per 3-ounce serving (about 1 cup of diced mushrooms).

Fortified milk

Almost all types of cow's milk in the U.S. are fortified with vitamin D, but ice cream and cheese are not.

In general, an 8-ounce glass of milk contains at least 100 IUs of vitamin D, and a 6-ounce serving of yogurt contains 80 IUs, but the amount can be higher (or lower) depending on how much is added.

Some soy and rice milks are fortified with about the same amount, but check the label since not all contain vitamin D.

Some types of orange juice

Not a dairy fan? No problem. You can get vitamin D from fortified orange juice.

One 8-ounce glass of fortified juice usually has around 100 IUs of vitamin D, but the amount varies from brand to brand. Not all brands are fortified, so check the label.

Two fortified brands, Florida Natural Orange Juice and Minute Maid Kids+ Orange Juice, contain 100 IUs per 8-ounce serving.

Supplements

Vitamin D supplements can help you get your proper daily dose, and as Dr. Honig points out, you don't run into the issue of skin cancer as you might with UV rays. "And it's not like calcium," he says. "You don't have to split up your vitamin D dose; you can take it all at one time."

Too much vitamin D can be toxic, however. The IOM sets the upper limit at 4,000 IUs for people aged 9 and older. That includes all sources—food, sun, and supplements.

Talk to your doctor before choosing a dosage.

Egg yolks

Eggs are a convenient way to get vitamin D. They're popular in many breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert recipes.

Since the vitamin D in an egg comes from its yolk, it's important to use the whole egg—not just the whites. One yolk will give you about 40 IUs, but don't try to get your daily vitamin D just from eggs.

One egg contains about 200 milligrams of cholesterol, and the American Heart Association recommends consuming no more than 300 milligrams a day for heart health.

Fortified cereal

If you're a vitamin D seeker looking for a crunch, look no further than fortified cereals. Choose a low-calorie fortified cereal like Multi Grain Cheerios to get part of your daily fill of vitamin D. You can pair it with fortified milk and a glass of fortified OJ too.

A 1-cup (29 gram) serving of Multi Grain Cheerios with one-half cup of fortified milk is 90 IUs; add in an 8-ounce glass of fortified orange juice, and your total is close to 200 IUs.

Beef liver

Although it might not be the most appealing source, a 3.5-ounce serving of cooked beef liver contains about 50 IUs of vitamin D—and several other nutrients. You'll also be getting vitamin A, iron, and protein.

However, beef liver is also high in cholesterol, so you might want to choose an oily fish instead.

Cod liver oil

While its name might suggest a less-than-savory flavor, cod liver oil is often flavored with mint or citrus, or comes in capsule form.

One tablespoon contains about 1,300 IUs of vitamin D, which is more than twice the recommended dietary allowance of 600 IUs per day.

That amount doesn't exceed the maximum upper-level intake of 4,000 IUs for people over 8 years old, but it exceeds the daily maximum for infants (1,000 IUs).

Ultraviolet lamps and bulbs

People at high risk of vitamin D deficiency may resort to UV-emitting lamps and bulbs. This includes people unable to absorb the vitamin (malabsorption) or those who can't get enough in winter months, says Michael F. Holick, MD, a professor of medicine, sociology, and biophysics at Boston University Medical Center.

These are similar to tanning beds, but smaller. "The lamp is only about 24 inches by about 16 inches," says Dr. Holick.

These lamps carry the same skin-cancer risks and need for protective eyewear, so they're best for those with a doctor's recommendation.



msn

Ryan Leslie Named Artist in Residence At Clive Davis Insitute (BLOG)

Producer/songwriter Ryan Leslie has been named the first ever Artist in Residence at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. In his new post, Mr. Leslie will interact with students for the 2011–12 academic year. He will give group lectures, critique songs and mentor students as part of the school's experiential education mandate.

“Ryan Leslie is the epitome of the creative entrepreneur and the holistic attitude we believe so firmly in at the Clive Davis Institute,” said Jeffrey Rabhan, chair of The Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. “His entire professional career has been a perfect balance between artistry and business acumen. We think someone of Ryan Leslie’s intelligence, talent, and entrepreneurial savvy will add a dynamic new dimension to the Institute and we’re excited to have him join the program.”

The Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts is the first school of its kind that offers professional business and artistic training, towards a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree for the music business.


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Taraji P. Henson blasts 'TV Guide' (BLOG)

Actress Taraji P. Henson recently gave TV Guide a piece of her mind via Facebook and Twitter, for seemingly being uninterested in her new role as the female lead of “Person of Interest.”

Taraji stars in the new CBS crime drama as an NYPD detective alongside Michael Emerson, Jim Caviezel, and Kevin Chapman. Yet apparently she will not be included in an upcoming TV Guide cover that will feature her cast mates.

“WOW!!!! TV Guide is NOT including me on the cover with my cast members [sic]........I am the female lead of a 3 member cast and I'm not included on the cover!!!!!! Do you see the $h_t I have to deal with in this business.....I cram to understand!!!!" she wrote on Facebook.

But TV Guide isn’t the only one who seems to be excluding Taraji. Even in the trailer for “Person of Interest,” she’s seen only in a single shot—in footage that doesn't feature her speaking.

Only in the behind-the-scenes clips is some focus put on the Academy Award nominee. The previews focus more so on the roles of software tycoon Finch and ex-CIA agent John Reese—played by Michael and Jim respectively. While Taraji has her eye on Reese, both play crime-stoppers in a very privacy-compromised New York.

“Even in the first episode, after the pilot, you get to see a little more about Finch and I'm sure they'll start showing a little more about Carter,” she said in an interview at Comic-Con International.

It seems her predictions haven’t come true yet.

Nonetheless, Taraji said that she took the role because it was “like nothing she’d seen on television.” With creators like Jonathan Nolan—co-writer of The Dark Knight—and a producer such as J.J. Abrams, CBS expects “Person of Interest” to be a hit.

Viewers can judge whether Taraji and the folks at CBS are right soon enough. “Person of Interest” premieres Thursday at 8 p.m. EST.


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The 10 richest Americans (BLOG)

A good year at the top

The 400 richest Americans saw their collective wealth grow by 12% over the past year, meaning the nation's wealthiest slightly outperformed the Standard & Poor's 500 Index ($INX) over the period.

Bill Gates is the nation's richest person for the 18th consecutive year; the last time he didn't rank No. 1 was 1993, when his good friend Warren Buffett eclipsed him. Buffett's fortune tumbled by $6 billion this year, making him the biggest loser among the nation's most wealthy. Buffett gave away $3.3 billion, and he was pinched by a 10% decline in the value of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) stock.

This year's headlines may belong to a younger group of entrepreneurs marching their way up the ranks, particularly those who are impacting social behavior online. Leading the pack is Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, who added $10.6 billion to his fortune, making him the year's biggest gainer and pushing him into the top 20 for the first time, with a net worth of $17.5 billion. Zuckerberg came in one notch ahead of Google (GOOG) co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, who added $1.7 billion apiece to their fortunes but slipped five spots in the rankings and are tied at No. 15.

Notable newcomers include Bob Stiller of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) and The Go Daddy Group's Bob Parsons. Among those returning to the list this year are Howard Schultz of Starbucks (SBUX) and Dan Gilbert, the chairman and founder of Quicken Loans.

Following is a closer look at the top 10. Go to Forbes.com for the full list of the richest people in America