This website has updated its privacy policy in compliance with EU GDPR 2016/679. Please read this to review the updates about which personal data we collect on our site. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our updated policy. Read More
Always Active
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
No cookies to display.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
No cookies to display.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
No cookies to display.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
No cookies to display.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
No cookies to display.
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
Hurricane Irene hit Atlantic beach of North Carolina and one man was killed outside his home this morning.
The man was hit by a tree limb that blew down while he was walking around his house this morning in a rural area of Nash County, where winds were roaring at more than 60 mph, county Emergency Management Director Brian Brantley told the Associated Press.
Hurricane Irene hit Atlantic Beach, Cape Fear and the Outer Banks of North Carolina with Category 1 winds and rain and made landfall in Nags Head, North Carolina.
Hurricane Irene hit Atlantic Beach, Cape Fear and the Outer Banks of North Carolina with Category 1 winds and rain and made landfall in Nags Head
The center of hurricane hit the coast of North Carolina near Cape Lookout with Category 1-force winds of 85 mph.
Hurricane warnings for the next 48 hours have been issued for North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, coastal Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
Until now, eastern North Carolina has already seen three tornadoes in the past few days, and the majority of the state and areas of Maryland and Virginia are under tornado watches through Sunday.
Stacy town, on the coast of North Carolina, is seeing 93 mph wind gusts this morning.
The far end of the fishing pier in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina collapsed overnight.
The 100-foot long pier is still standing, but its end has disappeared into the ocean.
About 200,000 homes in North Carolina are experiencing power outages, according to Power Energy.
Winds up to 85 mph have ripped power lines from their poles, causing many of the shortages.
“Our crews are restoring service as quickly as possible, where it is safe to do so,” Power Energy tweeted.
The hardest hit areas were Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina.
On Augus 27 is the 82th birthday anniversary of Ira Levin, mystery and suspense writer, dramatist and songwriter, awarded with The Grand Masters Award by the Mystery Writers of America in 2003.
Ira Levin‘s work generated a worldwide interest and inspired lots of famous movies. Rosemary’s Baby (the best known novel), A Kiss Before Dying (Edgar Allan Poe Award), The Boys from Brazil, The Stepford Wives, Sliver, Deathtrap (the best known play), This Perfect Day (Prometheus Hall of Fame Award) are among his writings.
Ira Levin became early attracted by mystery and writing.
When he was twelve Ira Levin was fascinated by the magicians of Tannen’s Magic Shop in Times Square and he learned about concealing reality behind illusion. He liked detective stories and had a collection of mystery books. Anagrams played major roles in Rosemarys’s Baby and Son of Rosemary. Ira Levin continued the tradition of using the transposition of letters (Lon Chaney Jr. in Son of Dracula) and basics of cryptology (Poe in The Gold Bug).
Ira Levin said he had considered being a writer from the time he was fourteen or fifteen years old. “Before that I wanted to be a magazine illustrator – I probably would have painted Gothic scenes.”
He was accused thinking ahead to the movie script while writing. He denied saying he is a playwright at heart.
Ira Levin's "Stepford Wives" entered the common vocabulary
Ira Levin‘s first novel, A Kiss Before Dying (1953) won the Edgar Allan Poe Award from the Mystery Writers of America as the year’s best first mystery.
The Underground Gourmet published in 1954 was adapted for TV and appeared on G.E. Theater, hosted by Ronald Reagan.
Rosemary’s Baby (horror, 1967) was a best-seller (over 5 million paperback copies in the U.S.) and it was translated into lots of languages. It became a horror classic and a milestone. It was followed by books and movies about Satan (The Omen, The Exorcist and others). Ira Levin felt somehow responsible for the rise in Christian Fundamentalism, but “I didn’t send back any of the royalty checks,” he said.
Ira Levin read Future Shock (Alvin Toffler, 1970) and was fascinated by its references to domestic robots. The animated figures in the Hall of Presidents at Disneyland also enchanted him. In this way The Stepford Wives (satirical thriller, 1972) emerged. It tells about men’s desires. The way they found to fulfilled them was considered insulting by Women’s Lib Movement. The word Stepford entered the common vocabulary, with meanings from someone who allow his/her role in society to be dictated to someone resembling an automaton, someone conformist, submissive, or unemotional, mechanical.
This Perfect Day (heroic science fiction, 1970) was often compared with Brave New World (Aldous Huxley), and 1984 (George Orwell). Generally, Ira Levin just tells the story without making any judgements regarding the basic state of the human race, but in this novel he talks about absolute control over the human emotions and desires.
Ira Levin saw an article on cloning that included a picture of Adolf Hitler and that was the beginning of The Boys From Brazil (thriller, 1976).
Three of his mystery novels begin with similar facts: Rosemary Woodhouse is sure she would enjoy living at the Bramford (Rosemary’s Baby), Joanna Eberhart thinks she has found the perfect home (The Stepford Wives), Kay Norris is delighted to move into 1300 Madison Ave (Sliver, 1991).
The basic premise of Ira Levin’s Deathtrap (1978) is: How far will someone go to have a hit play? and it was a hit play, it ran for 1,792 consecutive performances.
“Ira Levin makes the fact that we’re going to die okay. That’s one of the things that horror novels in general do.” said Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk.
Ira Levin died from a heart attack on November 12, 2007.
A saggy-pants clumsy beer-thief, accused of stealing beer from a Polk County convenience store earlier this year, was arrested on Wednesday, August 24.
Juan Luis Gutierrez was charged with petty theft and booked into the Polk County Jail, Florida, after he was identified based on convenience store surveillance system recordings.
Juan Luis Gutierrez, 27, tripped on his baggy pants while trying to steal beer earlier this year.
Saggy pants clumsy beer-thief was arrested in Polk County, Florida.
Polk County police said Juan Luis Gutierrez from Lake Wales, tried to steal two 18-packs of Bud Light from the E-Z Food Store, 15 Acuff Road in Lake Wales, on April 27.
As thief Juan Luis Gutierrez ran toward the get-away car, he tripped on his baggy pants and fell, and dropped the beer.
The driver was later identified as Angel Miguel Ortiz, 22, who was arrested on August 18 and charged with one count of petty theft. He has since bonded out of jail.
Polk County police said saggy-pants Gutierrez admitted to the incident.
A very rare signed copy of the Beatles hit single Please Please Me is expected to make thousands of pounds at Beatles Memorabilia auction.
The seven-inch copy of Please Please Me is described as “very, very rare” and has an estimate of £7,000 to £8,000.
Beatles Memorabilia, the annual auction which takes place in the band’s home city of Liverpool, also includes a number of times belonging John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr as well as their manager Brian Epstein.
A very rare signed copy of the Beatles hit single Please Please Me is expected to make thousands of pounds at Beatles Memorabilia auction
Other highlights of this year auction are 3 rarely seen photographs of Beatles taken at Newcastle City Hall and the Sunderland Empire as Beatlemania was sweeping the world in November 1963.
The pictures were taken by Keith Perry, a freelance photographer, and the negatives were forgotten for 48 years.
Each photo is being sold with full, worldwide copyright and they are expected to attract a frenzy of bid.
A cap belonging to John Lennon is also expected to attract huge interest and carries an estimate of up to £4,000.
Among the more unusual items up for sale is a compulsory purchase order issued for the famous Cavern Club before it was filled in with concrete in the early 1970s.
The order, dated November 17 1970, carries an estimate of up to £5,500.
Other Beatles Memorabilia collected from the Mathew Street venue include a piece of the stage, which could fetch £1,600 to £1,800.
A programme of the Cavern Club reopening, carried out by then prime minister Harold Wilson in July 1966, has a guide price of £80 to £120.
The auction is also inviting bids for a telegram addressed to “Mr. G Starkex” sent by comedy star Peter Sellers to Ringo Starr and first wife Maureen on August 21 1968.
The message is to let them know that the weather is holding up for Sellers’ visit to see them.
“The annual sale, part of the Beatles Convention in Liverpool, is attracting huge levels of interest,” the organizers said.
Stephen Bailey, manager of the Liverpool Beatles Shop which is staging the sale, said:
“The memorabilia has just kept coming in and there’s a lot of excitement building.
“We have several signed singles this year and they always attract a lot of interest from fans and collectors.
“But it’s always the more unusual items which capture the imagination of the buyers.”
There are a total of 322 lots being sold in the auction, which will take place today in the Paul McCartney Auditorium at Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.
New York City authorities issued an unprecedented order on Friday for the evacuation of about 370,000 residents of low-lying areas at the city’s edges ahead of hurricane Irene.
[googlead tip=”patrat_mare” aliniat=”centrat”]
New York residents will be evacuated from the expensive apartments in Battery Park City to the roller coaster in Coney Island to the dilapidated boardwalk in the Rockaways, as evacuation order warnings that Hurricane Irene was such a threat that people living there simply had to get out.
New York officials also announced plans to shut down the city’s entire transit system Saturday — all 468 subway stations and 840 miles of tracks, and the rest of the nation’s largest mass transit network: thousands of buses in the city, as well as the buses and commuter trains that reach from Midtown Manhattan to the suburbs.
President Barak Obama approved a request from Governor Andrew M. Cuomo of New York to declare a federal emergency in the state while the hurricane was still several hundred miles away.
“The hurricane, 290 miles of fury dancing angrily across the Atlantic Ocean toward the coast, was actually advancing more slowly than most late-summer storms,” the National Weather Service said.
New York City hurricane evacuation zones.
[googlead tip=”patrat_mic” aliniat=”dreapta”]Friday night Weather Service forecast said rain associated with the storm would begin in Manhattan after 11 a.m. Saturday with conditions worsening into Sunday.
“You only have to look at the weather maps to understand how big this storm is and how unique it is,” New York mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a news conference on Friday at City Hall.
The increasingly ominous announcements from officials — and the wall-to-wall coverage — sent New Yorkers hurrying to buy staples like canned food and candles.
Shoppers in places found that the shelves had been cleaned out. In shore towns in New Jersey and on Long Island, touristss waited in lines at gas stations and watched as bulldozers built berms on low-lying beach roads.
The announcement about the transit shutdown and the evacuation of what the city called Zone A low-lying areas prompted a cascade of cancellations for Saturday and Sunday: Broadway shows, the Mets’ games against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field, the performances by the Dave Matthews Band on Governors Island and the outdoor showing of opera movies at Lincoln Center, among others. Even the New York Aquarium and the Bronx, Central Park and Prospect Park Zoos closed for the weekend.
[googlead tip=”lista_mare” aliniat=”stanga”]Starting at noon Saturday, all three major airports in the New York region will be closed to arriving flights.
They will remain open for departures, pending changes in the weather, but most of those scheduled departures have already been canceled, according to Steve Coleman, a Port Authority spokesman.
Authorities announced the subway shutdown was prompted mainly by wind estimates that suggested the hurricane could rock subway cars in places where they run above ground. The commuter rail lines that serve Long Island, Westchester County and Connecticut will also be shut down, as will New Jersey Transit operations. New Jersey Transit will suspend train service at noon Saturday and will stop bus service six hours later.
New York mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that 91 evacuation centers and shelters opened on Friday for people who could not stay in their homes. The Nassau County executive, Edward P. Mangano, said 20 shelters would be open by the time the storm hit.
Consolidated Edison warned that it would have to cut off power to some customers if underground pipes and cables became submerged in water. To be ready for repairs, Consolidated Edison said it was bringing in 800 additional workers from as far away as Texas.
Mayor Bloomberg said no one would be fined for violating the city’s evacuation orders. “Nobody’s going to go to jail,” he said, but he warned that the storm’s consequences could be fatal.
[googlead tip=”patrat_mare”]Wiltshire police are hunting for a woman who was caught on CCTV smashing up an ATM with her stiletto heel shoe.
A blonde woman was caught on CCTV repeatedly hitting the cash machine with her stiletto heel shoe in Chippenham, Wiltshire, South West England, late in the night.
Apparently, cash machine was malfunctioning and woman decided to solve the problem by hitting ATM almost 50 times with her high heel shoe.
Machine’s keypad and the screen were damaged in the stiletto attack which left it out of order.
Blonde woman hitting ATM almost 50 times with her high heel shoe
Machine’s keypad and the screen were damaged in the stiletto attack which left it out of order
[googlead tip=”lista_medie” aliniat=”stanga”]Police, who described the incident as “senseless and inane” are searching for the woman who has blonde hair and was wearing a white top.
The blonde woman had been standing at the machine for several minutes before she started to hit it with her high heel shoe.
It was unclear exactly what had happened to trigger the shoe attack.
Detective Constable Richard Gardner said:
“This was a completely senseless and inane act which caused sufficient damage to make the machine unusable for other customers.
I would like to hear from anyone who recognizes the woman shown in the CCTV or who has any information in relation to this incident.”
The high heel shoe attack happened on July 2.[googlead tip=”patrat_mare”]
Shannon Graham, the 15-year-old girl, whose Turkish boyfriend is the prime suspect in her mother’s murder, attended Marion Graham’s funeral service in Northern Ireland this morning.
Marion Graham and her best friend Kathy Dinsmore, both 53, were stabbed to death in a forest near city of Izmir, 75 miles north of the Turkish holiday resort of Kusadasi last Thursday.
Marion Graham’s funeral service took place this morning at St Mary’s Chapel in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland.
Sad Shannon Graham, victim’s daughter, worn a ring on the third finger of her left hand, but it was unclear whether is an engagement ring.
Turkish waiter, Shannon Graham‘s boyfriend Recep Cetin, originally thought to be 17, but who may be older, is the main suspect in the Izmir double murder.
Shannon Graham (center) attended mother's funeral service in Northern Ireland this morning
[googlead tip=”lista_medie” aliniat=”stanga”]Recep Cetin allegedly killed the women after being refused permission to marry Shannon Graham.
There were hundreds attending the Marion Graham’s funeral service at St Mary’s Chapel in Newry. Marion Graham funeral service was timed to allow mourners to travel to Kathy Dinsmore’s funeral in the nearby town of Warrenpoint.
Sad Shannon Graham attending mother's funeral at St Mary's Chapel in Newry.
Father John Byrne told the mourners in Newry:
“Both families are united in their grief and it is natural that they have so many questions but so few answers.
Losing someone so close as a mother and a dear friend has caused numbness and confusion.”
Father described Marion Graham, who had five children, as “a loving mother and great friend”.
“She lived her life to the full and enjoyed the company of friends and neighbours,” he said.
“Marion was still young and had much more to give in life but any plans and expectations for the future have been cruelly cut short and it will take time for her loved ones to come to terms with this life-shattering episode.”
Marion Graham and Kathy Dinsmore bodies were flown to Dublin on Wednesday and Shannon Graham was among those who accompanied the coffins on their way home.
Canon John Kearney of St Peter’s Church from Warrenpoint, said during Kathy Dinsmore’s funeral service:
“For so many people in this church today, the death of Kathy has turned their world upside down.
We are shocked as individuals and we are visibly shaken as a community when we learned about the unexpected and tragic death of Kathy who was born and reared here in Warrenpoint and was known by so many.
We do not want to believe or accept that a person who was known so well and loved so much is now dead.
In a sense we are paralyzed. We are suspended in disbelief.
Today there is a huge emptiness in our hearts because Kathy has been taken away from us in this way.”
Some regional politicians attended the both victims’ funerals.
Marion Graham and Kathy Dinsmore were very close friends and were on an extended stay in Turkey when the stabbings took place.
Recep Cetin is the prime suspect in Shannon Graham's mother murder.
Recep Cetin, the chief suspect in women’s murder may be held in prison until the end of Ramadan after a prosecutor was appointed to oversee charges.
Recep Cetin, whose true age is not known, will be held in custody for at least another week as the Islamic holy month ends on August 30.
The Turkish waiter, who has eventually confessed to killing the two women in a forest near Izmir, earlier tried to cover up their murders by claiming they had been attacked by a gang of men.
Recep Cetin is alleged to have driven Marion Graham and Kathy Dinsmore to the woodland area of Buca, near Izmir, and killed them. Marion Graham was stabbed in her heart and Cathy Dinsmore had her throat cut.
Reports claim Recep Cetin told police he had pleaded with Marion Graham one last time in the woods to let Shannon Graham stay in Kusadasi and marry him.
But Marion refused, claiming Shannon Graham was too young, and was supported by her friend Kathy.
Several packs of Nurofen Plus were found to contain Seroquel XL, a powerful anti-psychotic drug used to treat schizophrenia, on Thursday.
Friday, after a safety alert was issued, pharmacists have been told to check each package of Nurofen Plus to look for anti-psychotic drugs after sabotaged packs were found in Boots stores across London the day before.
Nurofen Plus packages containing Seroquel XL blisters have been found in Boots stores in Victoria, Beckenham and Bromley.
Several packs of Nurofen Plus were found to contain Seroquel XL in pharmacies accross London
It is speculated that militant activists for animal protection carried out the sabotage operation with the intention of damaging Nurofen Plus’s producer, Reckitt Benckiser.
The pharmaceutical company may have been targeted because it tests some products on animals, although not Nurofen Plus.
Reckitt Benckiser said Friday that it didn’t know where the drugs had been switched.
[googlead tip=”patrat_mediu” aliniat=”dreapa”]
Nurofen Plus packages containing Seroquel XL blisters have been found in Boots stores in Victoria, Beckenham and Bromley.
[googlead tip=”patrat_mare”]
Boots’ spokeswoman told the Evening Standard:
“We are working closely with the MHRA to aid investigations and we have communicated with our stores and asked our pharmacists to be extra vigilant by checking the Nurofen Plus packet before selling it.”
The “sabotaged” Nurofen Plus packs – containing a total of 500,000 tablets – have been sent to pharmacies across the UK.
It is suspected that blister strips containing the tablets have been changed while in a wholesalers’ warehouse.
On Thursday, 3 tampered Nurofen Plus packs were discovered in south London, and an immediate investigation is under way to identify whether a group or an activist acting alone was behind the action of changing blisters.
Siân Boisseau, director of Virgo Health, the PR company which represents Nurofen, told the Mail:
“There has been a suggestion that the packets were deliberately put in the wrong boxes.
It was not discovered until the packets arrived in store. It was not in the manufacturing process or supply chain. It is not a mix-up and is still being investigated.”
A Virgo Health spokesman added police were not involved so far but could be in the future.
Patients who accidentally take the antipsychotic Seroquel XL may experience sleepiness and are advised not to operate any tools or machinery until they know how the tablets have affected them.
AstraZeneca, producer of Seroquel, said those who had mistakenly taken the drug should contact their GP and bring the blisters back to the pharmacy where they bought it.
Seroquel XL side effects include dizziness, headache and sleepiness, which affect more than one in ten users.
[googlead tip=”lista_mare” aliniat=”stanga”]Nurofen Plus and Seroquel XL are packaged differently – the blisters containing large capsules of Seroquel XL 50mg tablets have gold and black packaging while the Nurofen Plus pills are smaller and have silver and black packaging.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has asked pharmacists to check 32-tablet packs of Nurofen Plus, which is sold only in pharmacies.
There are three batches of Nurofen Plus which were affected by the alert.
They are: batch number 13JJ, expiry date 03/2014, licence number 00327/0082; 57JJ, 05/2014, 00063/0376, and 49JJ, 05/2014, 00063/0376.
Each batch contains 4,000 -7,500 packages, amounting to around 500,000 tablets.
It said that not all packs are affected.
Ian Holloway, from the MHRA’s defective medicines report centre, said:
“People should check to see if they have any affected packets of Nurofen Plus. If you do, return them to the pharmacy where you bought them from.”
Reckitt Benckiser said “serious investigations” were under way to establish how and who switched the blisters, especially as Seroquel XL is manufactured by a different pharmaceutical company.
Reckitt Benckiser added:
“After careful review of the manufacturing system, manufacturing errors by the makers of Nurofen Plus or Seroquel XL are not thought to be part of the cause at this stage.
We are taking this matter very seriously and are working closely with the regulatory authority, the MHRA, and pharmacies. The MHRA are investigating the issue, and have considerable law enforcement powers.
Nurofen Plus is not available for self-selection from the shop floor – and therefore pharmacists are able to check packs and greatly reduce the likelihood of affected packs being sold.”
Dr. Aomesh Bhatt, medical director for Nurofen Plus, said:
“We are taking this matter extremely seriously and we are working closely with the MHRA.
Additionally, we are in the process of working to ensure the Nurofen Plus packs are double-checked by pharmacy staff before they are handed to customers.
We encourage consumers of Nurofen Plus to be vigilant and, while it is very unlikely, should they find they have a suspect pack or if they have any other concerns, we advise them to speak to the pharmacist where they purchased the product.”
Dr. Bhatt added that Nurofen Plus had a “firm policy” of not testing on animals.
Celebrating “the Goddes of country glitz”, Dolly Parton, Cinefamily (Los Angeles) runs an all-night movie fest on Saturday, August 27.
Dolly Parton, the Queen of Country Music
From 9 pm to 5 am, The Silent Movie Theatre’s “Dolly Parton All-Nite 9-To-5’er” event features three of her best movies and lots of surprises.
The programme includes “Nine to Five” (co-starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin) “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” and “Rhinestone” (co-starring Sylvester Stallone) and clips of television appearances (including one gem: a clip of Parton singing a duet with Pee Wee Herman).
The party will extend out onto the back patio, with a bar and a fire pit, with a bedazzling station, country music tunes, and a hair station. The guests will have the opportunity to make their favorite Dolly Parton‘s coiffures.
“You get all the fun and spectacle of extreme femininity but with a self-awareness and strength… Underneath all the flash-trash is a magnetic powerhouse, a hardworking and extremely talented artist, and her charm is undeniable — I consider Dolly to be a feminist icon.” Said Suki-Rose Etter of Cinefamily.
Dolly Parton, “The Queen of Country Music”, has created a role model for aspiring young women country artists.
[googlead tip=”lista_mica” aliniat=”stanga”]She is an example of dreams came true, coming from a poor family, her talent, perseverance and hard work brought her wealth.
Singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress, Dolly is one of the most successful female country artists of all time.
“She showed what could be achieved by challenging the gatekeepers…In the 1940s and 1950s, absolutely no female artists were represented in the top 25 country songs. Then in the 1970s, there were six women represented — one of whom was Dolly Parton. ” said Chet Flippo of Country Music Television.
Dolly Parton’s 1970s country hits include “Jolene”, “I Will Always Love You”, “Love is Like a Butterfly”, “My Eyes Can Only See You”. She won seven Grammy awards, nine Country Music Assn. Awards and seven Academy of Country Music Awards.
“9 to 5″, the theme song of the movie Nine to Five (1980), reached number one on the country charts, and in 1981, reached number one on the pop and the adult-contemporary charts.[googlead tip=”patrat_mic” aliniat=”dreapta”]
“9 to 5” is her debut movie. Parton won two Grammy Awards, a People’s Choice Award for it. Other successful movies are “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” “Rhinestone”, “Steel Magnolias.”
“Dolly Parton is one of the most successful crossover artists in country … she decided to take the mainstream by storm with a talk show, an acting career, R&B covers and more — and it worked. Making a big Hollywood movie … was a great way to get out of a cultural ghetto.” said Hadrian Belove of Cinefamily.
Seattle Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SGEN) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted accelerated approval of Adcetris (brentuximab vedotin) for two indications.
1. the treatment of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma after failure of autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) or after failure of at least two prior multi-agent chemotherapy regimens in patients who are not ASCT candidates, and
2. the treatment of patients with systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) after failure of at least one prior multi-agent chemotherapy regimen.
[googlead tip=”lista_mare” aliniat=”stanga”]The indications for Adcetris are based on response rate. There are no data available demonstrating improvement in patient-reported outcomes or survival with Adcetris.
Adcetris is the first drug approved by the FDA for Hodgkin lymphoma in more than 30 years, and provides a new therapeutic alternative for Hodgkin lymphoma and systemic ALCL in these settings.
Adcetris will be available to patients this week
Seattle Genetics expects to make Adcetris available to patients this week.
Adcetris is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) directed to CD30.
“Bringing a new product to the market is a significant milestone for Seattle Genetics in fulfilling its mission to improve the lives of people with cancer,” said Clay B. Siegall, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Seattle Genetics.[googlead tip=”vertical_mediu” aliniat=”dreapta”]
“The approval of Adcetris is a result of more than a decade of research and development by talented scientists and physicians. The company has deep appreciation for the hundreds of patients who participated in Adcetris trials, and the passion and determination of the clinicians at sites around the world in investigating this first in a new class of targeted anticancer agents.We are committed to continued clinical investigation of Adcetris through a broad developmentprogram for CD30-positive malignancies, including confirmatory trials in front-line Hodgkin and T-cell lymphomas that we have planned in consultation with the FDA.”
“The marked single agent activity seen with Adcetris, including a high durable complete remission rate, offers an opportunity to improve the treatment paradigm of patients for whom the treatment is indicated,” said Owen A. O’Connor, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, and Director, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology at NYU Cancer Institute.
“This approval represents a major advancement in the care of these patients.”
Seattle Genetics also announced that it has established a patient assistance program named SeaGenSecure™ that offers patients and providers access to Adcetris reimbursement support, benefit investigations and patient assistance programs.
Seattle Genetics is jointly developing Adcetris with Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company.
Under the terms of the collaboration agreement, Seattle Genetics has U.S. and Canadian commercialization rights and the Takeda Group has rights to commercialize Adcetris in the rest of the world. Seattle Genetics and the Takeda Group are funding joint development costs for Adcetris on a 50:50 basis, except in Japan, where the Takeda Group will be solely responsible for development costs.
[googlead tip=”patrat_mare”]At least 7 states – North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Delaware and Connecticut – declared emergencies as Hurricane Irene massively advances toward US Eastern Seaboard.
North Carolina is likely to take the first blow, according to officials.
Hurricane Irene advances toward the Eastern Seaboard with 115-mph winds and officials issued a hurricane warning for the entire North Carolina coast to the Virginia border.
New York officials ordered low-lying hospitals and nursing homes to evacuate.
If Hurricane Irene follows its current projected path, it will make landfall along North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Saturday.
Hurricane Irene passed Bahamas (AP photo).
“The Category 3 storm withdrew from the Bahamas late Thursday, traveling north at 14 mph,” the National Hurricane Center said.
[googlead tip=”vertical_mare” aliniat=”dreapta”] Although North Carolina will take the first hit, “the rest of the Eastern Seaboard is well within the path of this storm,” National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read said.
Chris Christie, New Jersey Governor said: “This could be a 100-year event.”
New York City officials said they might have to suspend all mass transit beginning Saturday. In addition to ordering nursing homes and hospitals in low-lying coastal areas to evacuate ahead of possible flooding, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg advised residents to stay out of parks.
“Because of the high winds that will accompany the storm, we are also urging all New Yorkers, for their own safety, to stay out of parks, where the high winds will increase the danger of downed trees and limbs,” Bloomberg said.
“And incidentally, it’s a good idea to stay out of your own backyard if you have trees there.”
Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial postponed it indefinitely because of the Hurricane Irene.
[googlead tip=”lista_mare” aliniat=”stanga”]More than 50 million people live in the projected path of the storm.
Irene has an outside chance of growing into a Category 4 storm, with sustained winds topping 130 mph. But current forecasts predict it will diminish to Category 2 after pummeling North Carolina, with sustained winds up to 110 mph as it plows into Virginia, Maryland and Delaware.
North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue declared an emergency in all counties east of Interstate 95, about a quarter of the state, and officials set up emergency shelters inland. President Obama declared North Carolina an emergency too, expediting federal help.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency established a depot for food, water, generators, baby formula and other emergency supplies at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, as well as at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey and Westover Air Reserve Base in Massachusetts.
Up to 200,000 tourists and residents are affected by evacuation orders in North Carolina alone, with states to the north rushing to prepare their own evacuation plans. Forecasters said Irene was so big and powerful that severe road flooding and widespread electrical outages were likely, especially in the Northeast, where the ground is saturated from recent rains.
“This is a very dangerous storm,” said Dorothy Toolan of the Dare County Emergency Management office in Manteo, North Carolina, across the Roanoke Sound from Nags Head.
“People really need to take this seriously.”
Hurricane Irene would be the first hurricane to hit the US mainland since Ike devastated the Texas coast in 2008.
[googlead tip=”patrat_mare”]Naoto Kan, Japan’s Prime Minister resigned on Friday, fulfilling a promise to critics who blasted what they called his befuddled response to the nation’s dual economic and nuclear calamities triggered by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
In a nationally televised speech, Japanese PM Naoto Kan announced on Friday that he resigned from his position as leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) after only 15 months.
After Naoto Kan long-anticipated resignation, DPJ has to select a new leader until Monday — with the winner almost certainly to become Japan’s prime minister.
Naoto Kan‘s departure, after assuming his post in June 2011 following another Japanese power shakeup, means that his successor will become the Japan’s 6th prime minister since 2006.
PM Naoto Kan had promised he would quit once lawmakers passed three key pieces of post-tsunami recovery legislation, the last two of which cleared parliament Friday.
Naoto Kan, 64, is the former finance minister who entered politics after laboring as a Tokyo civic activist.
PM Naoto Kan announced on Friday that he resigned from his position as leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan
He initially held the appeal of an outsider who rose up the political ladder on his own merit, rather than merely inheriting political favor as the son or grandson of an outgoing politician.
PM’s approval rating, already near a historic low, plummeted further after what critics call several blunders following the March 11 earthquake that crippled the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The natural disaster led to the release of deadly radiation into the atmosphere and prompted the evacuation of tens of thousands of nearby residents, many of whom have yet to return to their homes.
A recent poll by Japan’s Kyodo News Agency showed that Naoto Kan’s popularity rating among voters had dropped to just 15.8%.[googlead tip=”vertical_mare” aliniat=”dreapta”]
In the weeks following the meltdown at several reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, critics lambasted Naoto Kan for failing to take charge of the disaster response and leaving too much power in the hands of the Tokyo Electric Power Co., the utility that runs the plant.
Only after the catastrophe Naoto Kan called for alternatives to Japan’s nuclear power policies. While the Kyodo poll showed that 75% of respondents favored a plan to phase out nuclear power, most were determined to be rid of Naoto Kan as well.
Akiko Domoto, a former governor of Chiba Prefecture who worked closely with Naoto Kan within the party said:
“He just didn’t have what it took to be Japan’s top leader.”
“In the party, he did a good job, but as prime minister, he couldn’t talk with the bureaucrats and had little control. Especially after the earthquake, he tried to do everything by himself. We needed a strong leader, and his leadership just wasn’t strong enough.”
[googlead tip=”lista_mare” aliniat=”stanga”]Possible successors for PM position include former Foreign Minister Seji Maehara, Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Trade Minister Banri Kaieda.
The winner will face challenges that include rebuilding from the March catastrophe, forging a new nuclear policy and curbing a public debt that’s already twice the size of Japan’s $5 trillion economy. The new PM will also need to mend fences with the U.S. over the relocation of an American military base on Okinawa. Naoto Kan had recently cancelled talks with President Barack Obama over uncertainty about the Japanese leader’s political future.
While many outside experts say that Seji Maehara remains the one to beat, they admit that Japan’s politics are nearly impossible to predict.
Condoleezza Rice, the former US Secretary of State, might have a special place in Muammar Gaddafi’s heart.
Muammar Gaddafi might have a crush on Condoleezza RiceMuammar Gaddafi might be in love with Condoleezza Rice
On August 24 the stronghold of Bab al-Aziziya was captured and a photo-album with Condoleeza Rice’s photos was found inside the compound.
Although it was not confirmed that the album belonged to Gaddafi, the dictator of Libya has shown more than appreciation for Rice in many ways.
In 2003, when she was George W. Bush’s national security adviser, Gaddafi canceled his weapons program and took responsibility for the 1988 bombing of a plane over Lockerbie, Scotland. That made Bush administration to stop considering him a foreign sponsor of terrorism and the US established full diplomatic relations with Libya in 2006.
“I support my darling black African woman. I admire and am very proud of the way she leans back and gives orders to the Arab leaders… Leezza, Leezza, Leezza… I love her very much.” Gaddafi praised Condoleezza in a 2007 interview for Al Jazeera.
In 2008 Muammar al Gaddafi welcomed Condoleezza Rice at the place where the pictures were discovered. He greeted her by putting his hand against his heart. This is traditional Arab greeting, but it seemed for Gaddafi that act meant more.
Photo album featuring Condoleezza Rice, found in Colonel Gaddafi's residence, Bab al-Aziziya
Muammar Gaddafi gave Rice a lot of gifts with total value $212,225 (a diamond ring in a wooden box, and a locket with his picture among others).
[googlead tip=”vertical_mediu” aliniat=”stanga”] Condoleezza Rice will publish a political autobiography, “No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington,” on November 1.
The book will be released in the U.S. and Canada in hardcover, e-book, and audio formats. No Higher Honor will also be issued in the United Kingdom.
Rebels show Condoleezza Rice album found at Gaddafi's compound.
Crown Publishers says Condoleezza Rice shares her perspective on important issues and she talks about behind-the-scenes maneuvers (terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, world’s relationships with Iran, North Korea, and Libya, the fates of Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and Lebanon, the clashes involving India and Pakistan, Russia and Georgia, and in East Africa).
Rice published another book in October 2010, “Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family,”, that was a bestseller. Its trade paperback edition of is scheduled to be released in October.
Condoleezza Rice is also an accomplished pianist and has appeared, as herself, on television’s “30 Rock.” She has never married and has no children.
Australian department store Myer hosted Big is Beautiful fashion launch during Sydney’s Fashion Festival 2011 on Tuesday, hiring plus-size girls to model outfits by various labels.[googlead tip=”vertical_mediu” aliniat=”dreapta”]
Sydney Fashion Festival, known as Mercedes-Benz Sydney Fashion Festival (MBFF Sydney), is Sydney’s premier fashion and lifestyle event and is a schedule of fashion events showcasing the contemporary Spring Summer Collections of Australia’s leading designer brands and retailers as these collections land in store.
Sydney’s Fashion Festival 2011 official schedule includes the collection shows and Festival Hub activities, which all take place at the Sydney Town Hall from August 23 to August 27.
Myer’s “Big is Beautiful” show during Sydney’s Fashion Festival 2011 was presented on Tuesday and used plus-size girls to model outfits by various labels, as the Australian department store claimed in a statement:
“Myer is proud to support Mercedes Benz Fashion Festival, Sydney and invites you to join us for our Big Is Beautiful Fashion Launch. The show will feature the very latest trends in plus size fashion for sizes 16 to 24. It’s fashion designed for real women with a fuller figure. For Spring Summer 2011 Myer is excited to be re-launching Big Is Beautiful and introducing Leona + by Leona Edmiston and both brands will feature in the show. This is an event not to be missed!”
Australian department store Myer hosted Big is Beautiful fashion launch during Sydney's Fashion Festival 2011
Robyn Lawley – the first ever plus-size model to feature in Vogue Australia – opened the Meyr’s show at Sydney Fashion Festival 2011 in a stunning black assymetric dress.
But while some girls looked healthy modelling sizes 16 to 24, others appeared somewhat overweight.
Some of the media reports claimed that Myer made a big mistake by adopting the slogan “Big is Beautiful” which is encouraging women to remain unhealthy. This could be classed as almost as harmful as promoting the controversial ‘size zero.’
The Myer’s fashion launch at Sydney Fashion Festival has sparked an online debate as The Australian journalist Damian Woolbough branded the choice of models “irresponsible.”
Robyn Lawley (first in left) the first ever plus-size model to feature in Vogue Australia opened the Myer’s show at Sydney Fashion Festival in a stunning black assymetric dress
[googlead tip=”patrat_mare”]The journalist wrote:
“There is a place for women of all sizes in the fashion media, as seen by the positive response to a plus-size shoot with Lawley in this month’s Vogue Australia, but obese models send just as irresponsible a message about the need for healthy eating and exercise as models with protruding clavicles and ribcages.”
However, the journalist’s post received a series of comments from readers defending Myer’s move.
Tam Fry, from the National Obesity Forum, warned the dangers of seeing skinny models on the runway far outweigh the message that plus-sized girls send, saying:
“Is it ok to be overweight? No.
But if you are big and big boned, people come in all shapes and sizes, it would be monstrously wrong to say the models are just overweight.
If they are running a show which has big girls modelling for big girls, then that would be totally appropriate.
Sending skinny girls down the runway does more damage than you might expect this show to be doing.
If the show Big is Beautiful is for ladies that are size 18 because that is their natural size then I see no problem.”
On the other hand, it seems not everyone bought the idea that big is beautiful.[googlead tip=”lista_medie” aliniat=”stanga”]
Only 64 tickets have been sold for Myer’s show, out of the 500 available.
Edwina McCann, Harper’s Bazaar editor told the Sydney Morning Herald:
“I don’t think the consumer is as obsessed with plus-size as the media is.
I think the consumer is quite happy to accept the fact that a model, like an Olympic swimmer, is usually an exceptional beauty and doesn’t look like the rest of us.”
Gavin DeGraw resumed the tour with rockers Maroon 5 and Train on [googlead tip=”vertical_mic” aliniat=”dreapta”]Wednesday, August 24, fifteen days after he was attacked by three men an hit by a car.
On Sunday night (August 7) the singer went out for a drink, then left his friends around four o’clock in the morning. Police said several people assaulted him on the street. They cut his face and broke his nose, then run away. Gavin DeGraw rose up and as he was walking, a cab struck him.
He was admitted at Bellevue Hospital, New York, with concussion, broken nose, black eyes and cuts. Next day the rocker was released from the hospital and wrote on Twitter that he could not clearly remember the incident.
Gavin DeGraw resumed the tour 15 days after he was beaten and hit by car
Several days later the artist said to VH1: “Instead of checking in from the tour, I’m writing as I recover at home.[…] I can’t wait to get back out on tour and look forward to seeing you on the road sometime soon.”
[googlead tip=”lista_mica” aliniat=”stanga”]On August 23 Gavin DeGraw told People that he was healing fine. He had a swollen face and some fractures in cheekbone, eyes and nose, but two weeks later everything would return to normal, just a mark from stitches on the nose would remain. Almost everything because Gavin said he had a different sensation breathing through his nose and the concussion had caused him memory troubles and dizziness.
“I had a night off, and I met up with some friends at the bar I own with my brother. We had a few drinks. I put my friends in a cab and I walked home because I live pretty close. I remember maybe three guys said something to me and I didn’t appreciate it, and I guess I let them know I didn’t appreciate it. They weren’t exactly on the debate team, so I ended up with a tube down my throat,” Gavin DeGraw said.
He said he had not been drunk, he just had had a few drinks with his friends at the bar he owns[googlead tip=”patrat_mic” aliniat=”dreapta”] with his brother Joey, “The National Underground”, in Manhattan’s Lower East Side.
Police will analyze the footage of the crossroad (6th Street and First Avenue) where Gavin was beaten and hit by a taxi, but probably it will take a while until the attackers will be found.
Gavin next concerts will take place in Syracuse, Holmdel and Orlando.
In May Gavin DeGraw launched “Not Over You” single and another album, “Sweeter”, is scheduled to be released on September this year.
Bank of America Corporation announced today that it reached an agreement to sell 50,000 shares of Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock with a liquidation value of $100,000 per share to Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. in a private offering. The preferred stock has a dividend of 6 percent per annum, payable in equal quarterly installments, and is redeemable by the company at any time at a 5 percent premium.
Bank of America, Bryant Park, New York
In conjunction with this agreement, Berkshire Hathaway will also receive warrants to purchase 700,000,000 shares of Bank of America common stock at an exercise price of $7.142857 per share. The warrants may be exercised in whole or in part at any time, and from time to time, during the 10-year period following the closing date of the transaction. The aggregate purchase price to be received by Bank of America for the preferred stock and warrants is $5 billion in cash.
This apparently much-needed injection has reassured Bank of America’s clobbered shareholders, and the stock is up 25% on the news.
For his $5 billion, Buffett can also be obtaining the proper to purchase a staggering 700 million Bank of America typical shares at $7.14 a share–options which are currently within the cash. This signifies 7% dilution to Bank of America’s typical stockholders.
Put simply, Buffett is obtaining a favored safety having to pay 6% a 12 months that’s safeguarded from dilution from long term funds raises AND a choice to purchase 7% with the company–all for $5 billion. That is costly cash. But offered that Bank of America waited as well lengthy to increase funds, it is also obviously the very best offer they could get.
“We are building the best franchise in financial services and we have laid out a clear plan to deliver long-term shareholder value,”said Bank of America Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan.“I remain confident that we have the capital and liquidity we need to run our business. At the same time, I also recognize that a large investment by Warren Buffett is a strong endorsement in our vision and our strategy.”
Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and Chief Executive Officer commented:
“Bank of America is a strong, well-led company, and I called Brian to tell him I wanted to invest in it. I am impressed with the profit-generating abilities of this franchise, and that they are acting aggressively to put their challenges behind them. Bank of America is focused on their customers and on serving them well. That’s what customers want, and that’s the company’s strategy.”
Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world’s largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 58 million consumer and small business relationships with approximately 5,700 retail banking offices and approximately 17,800 ATMs and award-winning online banking with 30 million active users.
Bank of America is among the world’s leading wealth management companies and is a global leader in corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 4 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations in more than 40 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release represent the current expectations, plans or forecasts of Bank of America and are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements often use words like “expects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “targets,” “intends,” “plans,” “predict,” “goal” and other similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “may,” “might,” “should,” “would” and “could.”
The forward-looking statements made in this press release include, without limitation, statements concerning:the closing of the agreement with Berkshire Hathaway Inc. to sell preferred stock and warrants (the “sale agreement”) and the receipt of the aggregate purchase price in the transaction.Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and Bank of America undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect the impact of circumstances or events that arise after the date the forward-looking statement was made.
These statements are not guarantees of future results
These statements are not guarantees of future results or performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict and are often beyond Bank of America’s control. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, any of these forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement and should consider all of the following uncertainties and risks, as well as those more fully discussed under Item 1A. “Risk Factors” of Bank of America’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2011, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” of Bank of America’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 and in any of Bank of America’s other subsequent Securities and Exchange Commission filings: the satisfaction of the closing conditions for the sale agreement, including obtaining any necessary regulatory or other approvals.
The US In Touch magazine yesterday release claimed Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s marriage is in crisis because of the Jada’s relation with Marc Anthony.
[googlead tip=”patrat_mediu” aliniat=”dreapta”]
InTouch magazine made a series of claims in a six-page-long article,even alleging Will Smith caught Jada and Marc Anthony in one of their homes in Los Angeles.
The cover of InTouch magazine, which was released yesterday with a 6 pages article claiming that Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith have separated
Tuesday Will Smith and Jada’s spokespeople made two separate statements denying claims the couple have separated after InTouch released a statement, pre-empting yesterday’s explosive edition.
[googlead tip=”lista_mare” aliniat=”dreapta”]
Marc Anthony’s spokesperson also “unequivocally” denied reports the American singer-songwriter was involved in an off-screen affair with his Hawthorne co-star Jada, after the rumour mill went into overdrive. Marc Anthony divorced from Jennifer Lopez last month.
Yesterday all parties involved faced fresh anguish as In Touch was published, with a dramatic cover headline:
“Two marriages destroyed: Jada steals J.Lo’s husband!”
On Tuesday it was reported that Will and Jada have now got their legal team involved as the plot possible legal action to take against In Touch magazine.
Wednesday’s article claimed Will Smith was left in floods of tears after catching Marc and Jade together in their Hidden Hills mansion in Los Angeles. [googlead tip=”patrat_mare”]
It alleged Will made a surprise visit to the house in early August “under the cover of darkness” and found his wife with Marc.
The report didn’t tell about what he may have witnessed, saying a couple insider told In Touch:
“Will didn’t indicated exactly what he saw.”
InTouch also claimed Jada moved out of the house the next day – while Will fired several staff accusing them of covering things up.
In Touch alleged things have been a long time coming.
Another source revealed there was a visible sexual tension between Jada and Marc on the set of TNT medical drama, Hawthorne.
When Marc Anthony began playing the on-screen lover of his co-star, workers on set noticed the chemistry between them, In Touch reported.
According to a source:
“On set, everyone noticed the insane chemistry them.”
There were also playful exchanges on Twitter between Jada and Marc, saying how much fun they were having working together.
But it was when Marc Anthony split from J.Lo last month that alarms bells started ringing for Will Smith, according to In Touch.
Will Smith, who has been in New York over recent months filming Men In Black III “couldn’t ignore the timing” with the insider relating: “It was just too coincidental.”
Meanwhile a source close to Will and Jada told gossip website TMZ.com that they have decided to go away with their children on a family holiday before deciding what to do, but the prospect of a split in the near future is “definitely a possibility”.
Steve Jobs, the man who had visions with people loving the iPod (2001), iPhone (2007), iPad (2010), has resigned from Apple CEO, possibly because of an [googlead tip=”vertical_mediu” aliniat=”dreapta”] aggravation caused by pancreatic cancer.
Steve Jobs has been perceived as an technology’s oracle, thus his health and medical condition have been considered strong related with Apple’s stock position. Right after he announced his retirement as CEO, Apple Inc. (AAPL) shares dropped fell 5.4 percent and Walt Disney Co. (DIS) stock fell 1.5 percent.
Steve Jobs was diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer (pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor) in 2004. Since then he only took three medical leaves from company. He underwent surgery (pancreaticoduodenectomy) intended to cure the malignancy, and a liver transplant in 2009.
Perhaps Steve Jobs pancreatic cancer forces resignation.
“About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn’t even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. […]
[googlead tip=”lista_medie” aliniat=”stanga”]I lived with that diagnosis all day.[…] I had a biopsy […] I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I’m fine now.” Said Steve Jobs (Stanford Commencement speech 2005).
Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor develops from hormone-producing cells (islet cell) of the pancreas. Around 5% of the pancreatic cancers diagnosed each year are neuroendocrine. It is less aggressive and more curable than other types of pancreatic cancer, but if the cancer metastasizes (spreads into other organs), the survival rate decrease dramatically.
The researchers of Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins University have deciphered the genetic code of neuroendocrine tumors. This open the way for personalized cancer therapy. Also, this year, Food and Drug Administration approved two new drugs for neuroendocrine tumors, sunitinib and everolimus.
Steve Jobs resigned possibly because of an aggravation caused by pancreatic cancer
The billionaire with $1 salary a year co-founded Apple with Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne in 1976. In 1985 Steve Jobs was head of the Macintosh division and he was fired by John Scully who was Apple CEO.[googlead tip=”patrat_mic” aliniat=”dreapta”]
Then he founded NeXT Computer, bought Pixar, which would be bought by Disney, making Steve Jobs Disney’s largest single shareholder with (around 7 percent). In 1996 Apple bought NeXT and Jobs returned to the company.
The youth, perseverance, vision, and hard work of the man who “never graduated from college” made Time (1982) to describe him as “the most famous maestro of the micro”. Also, Steve Jobs has been a character played by Noah Wyle in Triumph of the Nerds (1996), Nerds 2.0.1 (1998), Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999).
Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, has announced his resignation as CEO of the company and decision to serve as Chairman of the Board last night.
[googlead tip=”patrat_mic” aliniat=”dreapta”]
Steve Jobs, who has fought a long-running battle with cancer, wrote in the resignation letter sent to the Apple’s board and community:
“To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community:
I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.
I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.
As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.
I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.
I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.”
Steve Jobs dropped out of college and founded Apple with Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne in April 1st 1976. For many years, Steve Jobs’ name was synonymous with Apple.
Steve Jobs has announced his resignation as Apple's CEO and decision to serve as Chairman of the Board
Apple shares were suspended last night. [googlead tip=”vertical_mediu” aliniat=”dreapta”]
Tim Cook, who was named by Steve Jobs as his successor, ran Apple when Jobs went on medical leave and has essentially been running day-to-day operations since early this year.
Art Levinson, Apple board member praised Steve Jobs’ leadership. [googlead tip=”lista_mare” aliniat=”dreapta”]
“Steve’s extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world’s most innovative and valuable technology company,” he said in a statement.
“The board has complete confidence that Tim is the right person to be our next CEO,” Art Levinson added.
Kenny Chesney’s concert at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts planned for Sunday, August 28 was rescheduled for Friday, August 26 due to Irene Hurricane threat.
Gillette Stadium officials and promoters decided to reschedule the country singer Kenny Chesney’s “Goin’ Coastal Tour” to Friday night for safety reasons, due to upcoming hurricane threat. [googlead tip=”lista_mare” aliniat=”stanga”]
“Due to the US National Hurricane Center’s forecast that hurricane-level storms may occur in New England on Sunday, August 28, local officials, promoters, Kenny Chesney, and his team have decided for safety reasons to push Chesney’s Sunday, August 28 concert at Foxboro’s Gillette Stadium to Friday, August 26.”
Kenny Chesney's Foxboro Show was rescheduled for Friday, August 26.
[googlead tip=”patrat_mediu” aliniat=”stanga”] Promoter Louis Messina of TMG/AEG Live said:
“Our first and foremost priority is the fans’ safety, so, we have made the difficult decision to reschedule the show.”
“All tickets for Sunday’s show will be honored on the new date, and the line-up and set-times will remain the same. There will be no show on Sunday, August 28th.”
“I want the last weekend of the ‘Goin’ Coastal’ Tour to be a great expierence for everybody. But I also want it to be the safest experience for everyone,” said Kenny Chesney.
“I’ve always said Foxboro is a highlight of our tour, because the fans are ready for a great night of music and fun no matter what night it is!”
James Nolan, Gillette Stadium Senior Vice President of Finance, Administration and Operations said:
“I think it was a combination of safety as well as fan enjoyment, if we do have hurricane type weather, we don’t want people on the roads, we don’t want people in the parking lot, we don’t want them in the building, but more so with the rain we’re projected to get it makes for a really bad experience for people, so moving it seemed like the right decision.”
[googlead tip=”patrat_mare”]
Crews were already constructing the stage for Kenny Chesney’s show on the field Wednesday afternoon.
James Nolan added:
“Logistically it’s a pretty big deal, on easier side is the stage behind us, we were scheduled to be done on Friday anyways, but really shifting staffing from all the public safety officials, all the support teams and then all the stadium staff and security – from parking to food and beverage, that’s kind of the difficult piece of the equation.”
As crews continue their work inside Gillette Stadium, officials are asking Kenny Chesney’s concert goers to plan accordingly now that the first concert will be on a weekday.
“We ask people to come early, our parking lots open at two o’clock, to avoid rush hour traffic, our stadium gates open at four pm, and the show is scheduled to start at five,” Nolan said.
For fans, who are not able to make Kenny Chesney’s Friday show, refunds will be offered at point of purchase.
Tourists on 16-mile-long Ocracoke Island off the coast of North Carolina have been evacuated ahead of Hurricane Irene.
Residents were asked to leave their homes Thursday morning as Hurricane Irene strengthened to a major Category 3 storm over the Bahamas with the East Coast in its sights. North Carolina Governor, Beverly Perdue said today at a news conference.
“It’s a standard precaution.”
“We want folks [in eastern North Carolina] to take this storm seriously and to get prepared.”
Perdue also urged coastal residents to be prepared and fill up their gas tanks, collect their prescription drugs and have cash in case the region is without power or other basics. Hurricane kits also should include water, canned food and other supplies.
[googlead tip=”patrat_mic” aliniat=”stanga”] However, Governor Perdue tried not to discourage tourists from visiting North Carolina’s coast, saying at this point the state’s southern beaches would avoid the brunt of the storm and predicted Irene would pass the state by Sunday morning – leaving intact the week leading up to the Labor Day holiday.
Governor defended comments she made Tuesday asking the media not to scare away tourists and urging tourists to keep visiting North Carolina.
“You will never endanger your tourists, but you also don’t want to overinflate the sense of urgency about the storm. And so let’s just hang on,” she said.
Tourists on 16 mile long Ocracoke Island off the coast of North Carolina have been evacuated ahead of Hurricane Irene
The today’s Ocracoke Island evacuation served as a “test” to see whether people would leave when faced with the possibility of a hurricane, according to the Associated Press.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation said in a tweet that ferries leaving the barrier island, part of the popular Outer Banks, are only half-full and traffic is moderate. They expect traffic to increase as the day goes on.
Hurricane Irene has passed through Puerto Rico and other parts of the Caribbean, and is headed for the East Coast, the Capital Weather Gang reports.
Hurricane current trajectory suggests that it will hit North Carolina directly, but nothing is certain. Should Irene stay on its current path, the National Hurricane Center’s forecast predicts that it will make landfall Saturday.
[googlead tip=”vertical_mare” aliniat=”stanga”]
In Ocracoke Island cars were lined up at gas pumps to fill tanks before leaving ahead of Irene, which had winds near 120 mph (193 kph) as of Wednesday afternoon.
[youtube i9_2bPLxPWI]
Irene is expected to get stronger over warm ocean waters and could become a Category 4 storm with winds of at least 131 mph (211 km/h) by Thursday.
As Irene churned in the Caribbean, tourists scurried from hotels in the Bahamian capital of Nassau to catch flights off the island before the airport’s expected afternoon closure.
The first ferry to leave Ocracoke Island in North Carolina arrived just before 5:30 a.m. in nearby Hatteras with around a dozen cars on board.
The 16-mile-long barrier island is accessible only by boats that can carry no more than 50 cars at a time.
Ocracoke Island is home to about 800 year-round residents and a tourist population that swells into the thousands when vacationers rent rooms and cottages.
It wasn’t clear how many people on the first arriving ferry Wednesday morning were tourists, but the first two cars to drive off had New York and New Jersey plates.
State workers questioned people who tried taking the ferry to the island and turned a few cars around. In addition to the ferry line to Hatteras, there were two other ferry lines that went to and from the island.
Ocracoke is part of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, a roughly 200-mile stretch of fragile barrier islands off the state’s coast. Pristine beaches and wild mustangs attract thousands of tourists each year. Aside from Ocracoke, the other islands are accessible by bridges to the mainland and ferries. The limited access can make the evacuation particularly tense. Officials in counties covering the rest of the Outer Banks were to decide later Wednesday or Thursday whether to evacuate.
[googlead tip=”lista_mare” aliniat=”stanga”] All the barrier islands have the geographic weakness of jutting out into the Atlantic like the side-view mirror of a car, a location that’s frequently been in the path of destructive storms over the decades. In 1999, Hurricane Floyd made landfall as a Category 2 storm and caused a storm surge that wiped out scores of houses and other properties on the Outer Banks.
It’s been more than seven years since a major hurricane, considered a Category 3 with winds of at least 111 mph (179 km/h), hit the East Coast. Hurricane Jeanne came ashore on Florida’s east coast in 2004.
Wednesday, at 2 p.m. EDT, Irene was centered about 250 miles (402 km) southeast of Nassau in the Bahamas and was moving northwest near 12 mph (19 km/h).
Carrie Fisher unveiled her new 8 size figure after losing 50 lb at 54 this morning at the NBC’s Today Show.
Carrie Fisher, the Star Wars actress, 54, has shown off her slimline new look after losing of 50 lbs during an appearance on the Today Show.
Carrie Fisher, former Princess Lea of Star Wars, appeared in a black pantsuit and a cleavage-baring pink top. [googlead tip=”vertical_mare” aliniat=”dreapta”]
The Star Wars actress said she lost 50 pounds in 9 months since becoming the face of diet company, Jenny Craig.
Carrie Fisher lost 50 lb in nine months.
Carrie Fisher said she topped the scale at 180 lbs
When Carrie Fisher announced last January the deal with Jenny Craig and weight loss goals, she explained:
“I’m pretty fearless, but my scale is frightening. So I would go to the doctor and I would stand not facing it. That’s an adult! I have a child. So that’s something I’d like to not do anymore, be frightened of the scale.”
During her Today Show appearance, she told Ann Curry:
“I couldn’t leave the house to go bra shopping. I exhausted the alphabet on bra sizes.” [googlead tip=”lista_medie” aliniat=”stanga”]
[googlead tip=”patrat_mediu” aliniat=”stanga”] Carrie Fisher had joked about trying on her iconic gold metal bikini she wore as Princess Lea in Return of the Jedi in 1977.
“I want to get back in it and walk around the house like an idiot.”
“You know, answer the doorbell, [and say], <<What, this old thing? I’m just wearing my home style metal bikini>>.”
“I’ll come out with a line of metal bikinis for women over 40.”
But she said women above the age of 50 should not ever go sleeveless.
“I’m still probably not gonna wear a lot of sleeveless things. I lost 50 pounds. The Jenny Craig food is good….It tastes like you’re cheating!”
While Carrie didn’t say anything about her rejuvenated features, she was certainly forthcoming about her decision to lose weight.
Carrie Fisher, who is now a size 8, told the Today Show:
“I couldn’t look in the mirror. I saw pictures of myself where I didn’t look like myself.
I thought I was getting old. It turns out [I] was mostly getting fat.”
Now, Carrie Fisher, 54, is feeling more confident than ever, and is even ready to find love again.
“I’m putting myself on the market,” she told America’s People during an interview in the latest magazine’s issue.
“I’m ready to date again; this is my announcement.”
Carrie Fisher relations include Blues Brothers co-star Dan Aykroyd, singer-songwriter Paul Simon and casting agent Bryan Lourd, with whom she has a 19-year-old daughter, Billie.
At one moment in time, Carrie topped the scales at 180 lbs, she has said in the past.
To achieve her actual body, she reduced her intake to 1,500 calories per day.
Her favourite snacks include Skinny Cow Cookies ‘n Cream ice cream and Kozy Shack rice pudding.
Carrie Fisher also embarked on a fitness regime, doing 40-45 minutes of cardio 5 times a week.
“I’m not in love with the treadmill,” Carrie Fisher said.
“We’re in a truce situation. But I really like elliptical because I can read.”
A teacher from Missouri has sued the state over so called Facebook law, a new law that prevents contacts between teachers and their students over the Internet.
[googlead tip=”patrat_mare”] Christina Thomas, Missouri teacher argued that the new law will make it illegal for her to chat with her own child over Facebook.
The law, which has been nicknamed the Facebook law, prohibits teachers from having exclusive communications with students over non-work Internet sites.
According to the Facebook law, the term “student” is defined as every person under 18 who attend or used to attend the school where the teacher works.
Facebook law prevents contacts between teachers and their students over the Internet
Christina Thomas alleges in her suit that the Ladue, Missouri, school district where she works has told teachers that they cannot have “exclusive communications” with their own children on Facebook if their children meet the Facebook law’s definition of former or current student.
Christina Thomas claims the new Facebook law is violating her rights under the 1st and 14th amendments.
However, there are teachers that do not agree the Facebook law goes too far.
[googlead tip=”vertical_mic”] Charol Shakeshaft, a professor of educational leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University, told the Huffington Post that Facebook law is an useful tool to stop sexual abuse in schools. Shakeshaft found that about 10 % of public school students in 2000 reported that they experienced unwanted sexual harassment or abuse from an educator.
“Exclusive and private contact with your students isn’t educationally necessary,” she told the site.
“In the same way that in a school we would say, <<No, you may not lock yourself into a room with a student>> this law effectively says, <<No you may not lock yourself into a website where only you can get to the student>>.”
Christina Thomas is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, organization that argued that there are better ways to prevent teacher misconduct than infringing on free speech by blocking contact on social media sites.
Banning Facebook conversations or other restrictions on students’ ability to communicate with their teachers and the extent to which school officials can dictate students’ behavior online has been a controversial subject, even in the courts. [googlead tip=”lista_medie” aliniat=”stanga”]
In 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that administrators could punish a student who raised a “Bong hits 4 Jesus” banner across the street from his school, saying the banner created a “substantial disruption” within the school.
The 7th Circuit sided with two high school students who were punished for posting racy photos of themselves online.
Last June, the 3rd Circuit ruled that two students should not have been suspended for creating MySpace profiles while at home that mocked school administrators.
“It would be an unseemly and dangerous precedent to allow the state, in the guise of school authorities, to reach into a child’s home and control his/her actions there to the same extent that it can control that child when he/she participates in school-sponsored activities,” the judges wrote.
However, the 2nd Circuit ruled in April that a school district was within its rights to prevent a student from running for class secretary after she wrote on her personal blog while at home that “jamfest is cancelled due to douchebags in central office.”
The 4th Circuit ruled in July that a West Virginia school district could suspend a student for creating a MySpace group that accused a fellow student of having herpes.
People should be aware of early-onset dementia, learn what its symptoms are and how important is the early diagnosis.
Pat Summitt, 59, Tennessee women’s basketball coach has been recently diagnosed with early-onset dementia (Alzheimer’s type) when she visited the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
[googlead tip=”patrat_mediu” aliniat=”stanga”]Last May, Mayo Clinic doctors performed a spinal tap and other tests that eventually produced the diagnosis of early-onset dementia.
In a statement released by the university on Tuesday, Pat Summitt said:
“I plan to continue to be your coach. Obviously, I realize I may have some limitations with this condition since there will be some good days and some bad days.”
“But I have been honest and shared my health concerns with you and now we will move on with the business involved. I hope that you will respect my privacy regarding this matter.”
Pat Summitt initially chalked up her memory problems to side effects from medicine she was taking to treat rheumatoid arthritis.
Pat Summitt talked about her early-onset dementia diagnosis.
Early-onset dementia is a term used for progressive dementia that begins before age 65, so, to be aware of its symptoms and visiting doctor for an early diagnosis are crucial.
[googlead tip=”vertical_mare” aliniat=”dreapta”] Linda Johnson, director of programs for Alzheimer’s Tennessee Inc. has some hope to offer to the people who have been diagnosed with early-onset dementia and call her office for help and : better treatments, education and support.
Over the past fifteen years, medications have improved for people diagnosed with “early-onset Alzheimer’s,” or “early-onset dementia”, a term used for progressive dementia that begins before age 65.
Most people diagnosed with early-onset dementia are in their 40s and 50s, though some are in their 30s. It accounts for only 5% to 10% of all Alzheimer’s disease cases.
[googlead tip=”lista_medie” aliniat=”stanga”]
Let’s see some of the early-onset dementia symptoms.
Early on, people may have difficulty with language, mixing up words. Later, they may fail to recognize something they should: a favorite restaurant, an article of clothing. They may start to have difficulty performing complex tasks, such as bookkeeping.
“Many times, it’s the co-workers of people with early-onset dementia who notice something is wrong, because most people are taxed with more complex tasks at work than at home,” Linda Johnson said.
“It’s very important to get a diagnosis as soon as possible,” she said, to rule out other things that sometimes cause dementia — vascular problems, for example, some blood clots and tumors, iron deficiency.
Starting medications, which can slow memory loss and other symptoms, ”EARLY is key”, Linda Johnson said.
“It can slow down the progression for years, in certain individuals, though there is no cure,” Johnson said,
But then, there’s the maxim Johnson heard from a trainer: “If you’ve seen one Alzheimer’s case, you’ve seen one Alzheimer’s case.”
She knows a person who lived with Alzheimer’s for 25 years, another who had only 18 months. 10 years seems to be average.
About 50% of early-onset dementia cases are linked to the mutation of certain genes, which means people can have a hereditary disposition to the disease. The other 50% of cases are similar to later-onset Alzheimer’s, and it’s not clear why they begin earlier in life.
French politician and former IMF chief, DSK (Dominique Strauss-Kahn) walked free from New York court yesterday, after charges against him for alleged sexual assault on a hotel maid have been dropped.
Yesterday, Cyrus Vance Jr., Manhattan’s district attorney told justice in the State Supreme Court in Manhattan that prosecutors could not prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt because of serious credibility issues with Nafissatou Diallo, the Sofitel hotel’s housekeeper who had accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), of sexually assaulting her.
DSK walked free from New York court yesterday, after charges against him for alleged sexual assault on a hotel maid have been dropped
[googlead tip=”patrat_mediu” ]Joan Illuzzi-Orbon, the assistant district attorney, called Nafissatou Diallo’s testimony “surreal” and said the accuser lied to prosecutors on several occasions, even denying she had made declarations previously witnessed by several law officials.
Judge Michael Obus told the court he would comply with a request from the prosecution to throw out the case:
“The indictment is dismissed.”
Hotel maid’s lawyers appealed against the judge’s decision not to appoint a special prosecutor. That appeal was quickly dismissed.
After the judge decision, DSK‘s lawyers attacked the fact that the case had gone so far.
[googlead tip=”vertical_mediu” aliniat=”dreapta”]
Benjamin Brafman said: “This was not a forcible encounter … This case was treated as a crime when it was not.”
Lawyer Benjamin Brafman also spoke of the toll the process had taken on the accused. He called it a “horrific nightmare” and said Strauss-Kahn and his family had handled the ordeal with “class”.
Another DSK’s lawyer, William Taylor, attacked Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s treatment by the US justice system and the media.
“What a tragedy in the life of Dominique Strauss-Kahn. This is not about wealth, nor power, nor race … There was a collective rush to judgment by not only law enforcement but also by the media,” said William Taylor.
Outside court large groups of protesters were gathered, most of them being against DSK, waving placards and chanting slogans such as “DSK! Shame on you!”
At the moment DSK left the building, one woman screamed at him: “You dirty bastard! You dirty bastard!”
Ken Thompson, Diallo’s lawyer told press outside court:
“No man, no matter how much power, money and influence he has, has a right to sexually assault a woman,” Thompson said. “We are disappointed that District Attorney Vance apparently does not believe in equal justice under the law and has denied an innocent woman a day in court.”
Michael Greys, co-founder of the group 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement, was furious at the dismissal.
“American justice is not blind. Race and class still play a part. This was a case of a millionaire against a poor black woman with no education.”
DSK, 62 year-old former IMF chief, was arrested last May in New York, after Nafissatou Diallo, 32 year-old hotel maid, said he had forced her to perform oral sex when she arrived to clean his suite at the Sofitel hotel in Manhattan. DSK was arrested on a plane scheduled to fly to Paris.
DSK has never contested that a sexual encounter took place but has denied claims it was forced.
The French Socialist Party was freed to return to France, where the authorities are investigating another case, claiming that DSK tried to rape a French journalist, Tristane Banon, in 2003. DSK’s lawyers have dismissed French journalist accusations as “fantasy”.
Tristan Banon’s lawyer, David Koubbi, who travelled to New York to meet prosecutor Cyrus Vance and Nafissatou Diallo, said he was dismayed by the decision to drop the sexual assault charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
“I regret this outcome. I regret it for Nafissatou Diallo because I believed what she said,” he said. “I spoke to Tristane on Monday evening by telephone then during the night, then this morning [Tuesday].
“She is in a fighting mood. She isn’t ready to let this drop. But she feels sorry for what has happened to Nafissatou Diallo because she also believed her.”
David Koubbi added: “The credibility of my client is not, and has never been, called into question because of this.”
[googlead tip=”lista_mare”] At the beginning of DSK’s trial in Manhattan, office of district attorney initially called hotel maid’s statement “compelling”, claiming that she had provided “very powerful details”.
Diallo’s story was buttressed by forensic evidence: DSK semen was found on her uniform and her lawyer said doctors had taken photographs of her bruised vagina.
Things were changing when prosecutors found out that Diallo had lied to them and other US officials about her past, including giving a false account of having been gang-raped in her native country, Guinea. Diallo told interviewers she had used the false story to get herself and her daughter a chance of a better life in the US.
There were also other lies that appeared after the alleged attack. Diallo told a grand jury she had stayed in the hallway outside DSK’s room after the attack when evidence showed she had actually returned to his room, and to another one, before consulting her boss.
It then emerged she had discussed DSK’s wealth in a recorded phone conversation after the supposed attack.
Diallo’s lawyers said prosecutors were misinterpreting the conversation, conducted in Fulani, her native language, and that her account of the assault during the call had not differed.
A court document filed on Monday by prosecutors contained a devastating and detailed account of how Diallo had misled investigators.
“In virtually every substantive interview with prosecutors, despite entreaties to simply be truthful, she has not been truthful on matters great and small,” the document said, adding that the cumulative effect of Diallo’s misleading statements would prove “devastating” at any jury trial on the case.
“If we do not believe her beyond a reasonable doubt, we cannot ask a jury to do so.”
Diallo also sued DSK in civil court on August 8, a move that the Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s lawyers claimed the suit proved she was out for money.
The civil case is continuing, is unaffected legally by the dropping of criminal charges, and has a lesser burden of proof. Diallo’s lawyers will have to prove merely that it was “more likely than not” that DSK committed an assault.
