Diabetes drug metformin has anti-ageing effects and extends the life of male mice, a new research suggests.
Scientists believe metformin may mimic the effects of extreme calorie restriction.
This regime, which is based on eating a very low calorie diet, is thought to promote healthy ageing.
The human implications of the study are unclear, the researchers report in the journal, Nature Communications.
Rafael de Cabo, of the National Institute on Ageing in Baltimore, Maryland, said calorie restriction in laboratory animals had been shown to increase their lifespan.
His team is searching for interventions – such as a drug – that can mimic these effects.
Diabetes drug metformin has anti-ageing effects and extends the life of male mice
Metformin is one of the most widely prescribed treatments for type-2 diabetes, which occurs mainly in people above the age of 40. It is also used to treat metabolic syndrome, a combination of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity.
Previous work has shown that metformin can extend the lifespan of simple organisms such as worms, but studies in flies and mammals have given conflicting evidence.
The scientists gave one of two different doses of metformin to middle-aged male mice and found that lower doses increased lifespan by about 5%, and also delayed the onset of age-associated diseases. But they said the higher dose of metformin was toxic and reduced the lifespan of mice.
Further studies were needed to determine if metformin has any effect on human health and lifespan, said Dr. Rafael de Cabo.
“These are very promising results that need to be translated to humans via clinical studies,” he said.
He said the best current advice was to eat a good diet and exercise.
“Right now the best that we can say is probably what your grandmother told you,” Dr. Rafael de Cabo.
“Eat a good diet and exercise are the only two things that we know for sure that they work very well in humans.”
The Obama administration has released documents on its phone-snooping, as a Senate panel questions intelligence officials about the programme.
The declassification was made in the “interest of increased transparency”, intelligence officials said.
However, the three documents include significant redactions.
Meanwhile the father of Edward Snowden, who leaked information about the surveillance, says the FBI has asked him to go to Moscow to see his son.
Lon Snowden told Russian state TV he wants to learn more about the FBI’s intentions. His son is a sought by the US government for revealing details of its electronic snooping by phone and internet.
Meanwhile, slides published by the UK’s Guardian newspaper detailed a secret US surveillance system known as XKeyscore, which reportedly enables American intelligence to monitor “nearly everything a typical user does on the internet”.
The programme includes real-time data and suggests analysts could narrow searches through use of so-called metadata also stored by the NSA, the newspaper reports.
The official US documents released on Wednesday include a court order describing how the data from the programmes would be stored and accessed.
Two reports to US lawmakers on the telephone and email records were also declassified.
But lines in the files, including details on “selection terms” used to search the massive data stores, were blacked out.
For the first time, however, the government acknowledged publicly that using what it calls “hop analysis” it can analyze the phone calls of millions of Americans in the hunt for just one suspect.
NSA analysts could use the records of everyone a suspect calls, and the contacts of those records, as well as everyone who contacts the contacts of contacts of the initial suspect.
The Obama administration has released documents on its phone-snooping
If the average person calls 40 unique people, such three-hop analysis could allow the government to mine the records of 2.5 million Americans when investigating one suspected terrorist.
“What’s being described as a very narrow program is really a very broad program,” Democratic Senator Richard Durbin said.
Deputy Attorney General James Cole told a Senate judiciary committee hearing on Wednesday that the court order spells out how the government can use call data obtained from telecom giants such as Verizon.
It is the first congressional session on the issue since the House narrowly rejected a proposal to effectively shut down the NSA’s secretive collection of hundreds of millions of Americans’ phone records.
During the early parts of the hearing, NSA deputy director John Inglis said “no” when asked if anyone had been fired over the leak.
“No-one has offered to resign,” John Inglis said.
“Everyone is working hard to understand what happened.”
Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy, the chairman of the committee, also questioned the deputy director on the number of attacks the agency said had been disrupted by the programmes.
General Keith Alexander, the head of the NSA, has said phone and internet surveillance disrupted 54 schemes by militants.
Sen. Patrick Leahy said a list of the relevant plots provided to Congress does not reflect dozens or, as he said, “let alone 54 as some have suggested”.
John Inglis said the phone surveillance helped disrupt or discover attacks 12 times, and the larger number were foiled thanks to both the phone-records snooping and a second programme collecting global internet users’ data.
In a letter to lawmakers last week, the Obama administration acknowledged there had been an unspecific number of “compliance problems” with the rules governing the secret collection of US phone records.
But the director of national intelligence, James Clapper, said no intentional or bad-faith rules violations were found.
Edward Snowden, the NSA contractor that released the information, has been stuck in transit at a Moscow airport for more than a month after the US revoked his travel documents.
He said he has applied for asylum in Russia but has not been able to leave the airport.
Edward Snowden’s father, Lon Snowden, said in the interview with Russian state TV on Wednesday, he believes his son would not get a fair trial in America and, if he were in his son’s place, he would stay in Russia.
He described his son as a “true patriot” who had “made America a more democratic country” by revealing secret details of the US National Security Agency’s surveillance programmes.
“Edward, I hope you are watching this,” Lon Snowden said in the interview.
“Your family is well. We love you. We hope you are healthy, we hope you are well, I hope to see you soon, but most of all I want you to be safe. I want you to find a safe haven.”
Former actor Miki Ryosuke claims to have lost 28 lbs and 5 inches from his waist in seven weeks by following his Long Breath Diet.
Miki Ryosuke, 55, claims that followers of the diet just have to spend two minutes a day concentrating on taking long breaths and then exhaling aggressively.
The dieting guru says that he invented the diet by mistake while practicing breathing techniques in an attempt to reduce his back pain, Oddity Centralreports.
While he was practicing the breathing techniques, Miki Ryosuke noticed that he was losing weight.
As a result of the discovery, he drew up the Long Breath Diet which involves the dieter taking a specific position before inhaling for three seconds and then exhaling powerfully for seven seconds.
Miki Ryosuke claims that people who practice this breathing technique for two to five minutes a day will see rapid benefits.
Miki Ryosuke claims to have lost 28 lbs and 5 inches from his waist in seven weeks by following his Long Breath Diet
Oddity Central reports that there are two ways of practicing the diet.
The first involves tensing the buttocks while standing with one foot in front of the body and placing most of the body’s weight on the back foot.
In this position, the dieter is encouraged to inhale for three seconds while lifting their arms above their head.
They are then told to breathe out while tensing all of their muscles for seven seconds.
The second way of practicing the technique involves the dieter standing upright while tightening their buttocks and placing one hand on their stomach, and the other on the bottom of their back.
They are then told to inhale for three seconds before breathing out for seven seconds, all of the time holding in their stomach.
Jill Johnson, creator of the Oxycise, another weight loss programme based on breathing, told Oddity Central:“Fat is made up of oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen. When the oxygen we breathe reaches these fat molecules, it breaks them down into carbon dioxide and water.
“The blood then picks up the carbon dioxide – a waste product of our bodies – and returns it to the lungs to be exhaled. Therefore the more oxygen our bodies use, the more fat we will burn.”
The Long Breath Diet is believed to increase a dieter’s muscle strength and to boost their metabolism by increasing their blood oxygen levels.
However, most experts believe that practicing it for just two minutes a day is not sufficient to see any significant weight loss.
Rihanna has won a legal battle with British clothing retailer Topshop over a T-shirt bearing her image.
Rihanna, 25, sued Topshop’s parent company Arcadia for $5 million over the T-shirts, which featured a photo taken during a video shoot in 2011.
The singer’s lawyers told the High Court in London the fashion chain duped fans and may have damaged her reputation.
They said the picture was “very similar” to images used on CD sleeves for one of her albums.
Judge Colin Birss ruled that a “substantial number” of buyers were likely to have been deceived into buying the T-shirt because of a “false belief” it had been approved by Rihanna.
He said it was damaging to her “goodwill” and represented a loss of control over Rihanna’s reputation in the “fashion sphere”.
Topshop’s lawyers had claimed Rihanna was making an unjustifiable bid to establish a “free standing image right” over use of her picture in the UK.
Rihanna sued Topshop for $5 million over the T-shirts, which featured a photo taken during a video shoot in 2011
The photograph used by Topshop had been taken during filming of a music video in Northern Ireland in 2011.
In a two-minute judgment, Justice Colin Birss said there was “no such thing as a general right by a famous person to control the reproduction of their image”.
“The taking of the photograph is not suggested to have breached Rihanna’s privacy,” he continued.
“The mere sale by a trader of a T-shirt bearing an image of a famous person is not an act of passing off.
“However, I find that Topshop’s sale of this T-shirt was an act of passing off.”
Justice Colin Birss did not make an assessment of any liable damages in his ruling.
Topshop said it was “surprised, disappointed and perplexed” by the High Court decision.
“There was no intention to create an appearance of an endorsement or promotion,” it said.
“We feel that the fact that Rihanna has shopped, worn and had a relationship with Topshop for several years appears to have been detrimental to our case.”
Rihanna has her own fashion line at River Island. Her first collection for the fashion retailer went on sale in spring 2013.
Actress Eileen Brennan, best known for her Oscar-nominated role as Goldie Hawn’s tormentor in 1980 army comedy Private Benjamin, has died aged 80.
Eileen Brennan’s managers said she died on Sunday at her home in Burbank, Los Angeles after suffering from bladder cancer.
Eileen Brennan, who also appeared in The Last Picture Show and Clue, was known for her husky voice and spiky demeanor.
“Our world has lost a rare human,” said Goldie Hawn in a statement in which she paid tribute to her “old friend”.
“Eileen was a brilliant comedian, a powerful dramatic actress and had the voice of an angel.”
Eileen Brennan earned a best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her role as US Army Captain Doreen Lewis in Private Benjamin.
She reprised the role in an adapted TV series from 1981 to 1983, winning an Emmy and a Golden Globe in the process.
Born Verla Eileen Regina Brennan in September 1932, the actress began her career on the New York stage before heading to Hollywood in the late 1960s.
Eileen Brennan was best known for her Oscar-nominated role in 1980 army comedy Private Benjamin
After appearing alongside Goldie Hawn in the first series of Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, she was singled out for praise and a BAFTA nomination, for her role as careworn waitress Genevieve in The Last Picture Show.
Eileen Brennan continued her association with its director, Peter Bogdanovich, by appearing in his films Daisy Miller and At Long Last Love.
She was also seen in comic roles in Murder By Death and The Cheap Detective, appearing in both alongside the late Peter Falk.
Eileen Brennan was seriously injured in 1982 when she was hit by a car after a dinner with Goldie Hawn in Los Angeles.
The actress became dependent on painkillers as a result and later entered the Betty Ford clinic to cure her addiction.
She returned to the screen in 1985’s Clue, a murder spoof inspired by a board game.
In later life Eileen Brennan gave supporting turns in such films as Jeepers Creepers, Miss Congeniality 2 and TV’s Will and Grace.
“I love meanies… because they have no sense of humor,” Eileen Brennan told the Associated Press in 1988.
“If we can’t laugh at ourselves and the human condition, we’re going to be mean.”
Eileen Brennan is survived by her ex-husband, David John Lampson, and their two sons, Patrick and Sam.
In a statement, Eileen Brennan’s family remembered her as “funny and caring and truly one of a kind”.
Simon Cowell is reportedly expecting a baby with married New York socialite Lauren Silverman.
According to MailOnline, a friend of Simon Cowell said that Lauren Silverman, who is technically still married to real estate mogul Andrew Silverman, a close friend of Cowell’s, had revealed that she wants to marry the star just a few weeks ago.
Lauren Silverman and real estate mogul Andrew have been long friends with Simon Cowell and have enjoyed holidays with him for the past few years.
But it wasn’t until Lauren and Andrew Silverman ended their relationship that her friendship with Simon Cowell turned into romance, around a year ago.
A friend of Lauren Silverman’s said: “Lauren loves Simon, she says that she wants to marry him. And with the baby, she’s going the right way about it! But I think this could be really good for Simon.”
Another friend confirmed the baby news and said “yes, all true”.
Lauren Silverman, 36, is said to be “around 10 weeks along” in the pregnancy, according to Us Weeklymagazine.
However, Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman’s situation is made more complicated by the fact that she is still technically married to Andrew.
The source told Usmagazine.com: “Lauren and Andrew have been unhappy in their marriage for some time, and their divorce has been in the works for a while. As their marriage deteriorated, she and Simon became close.”
Simon Cowell is expecting a baby with married New York socialite Lauren Silverman
Simon Cowell, 53, and Lauren Silverman have been seeing each for at least a year, according to friends, and were even seen viewing houses together in Los Angeles earlier this year.
In January, Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman were even seen lounging together on the deck of the yacht alongside Cowell’s ex-fiancée Mezhgan Hussainy and Andrew.
Their close friend, fashion designer Rachel Roy, posted a picture of the couple cuddling up together while on holiday with them at New Year. While on board a luxury yacht, she thanked both her ‘hosts’ for inviting her on the trip.
Simon Cowell made no reference to impending fatherhood when he opened up to Chelsea Handler during an interview on her talk show on Tuesday night, sticking to topics including One Direction and his recent health kick.
It remains to be seen just how the news that he is to be a father will go down with Simon Cowell, who has never made a secret of the fact that he doesn’t believe he is the right material to become a parent.
In an interview in 2009, Simon Cowell said: “God, no. I couldn’t have children. If I had them here drawing on the walls I’d go nuts.
“With kids, you’ve got a routine you can’t escape from. You’ve got to be up at a certain time. Got to listen. When all you want to do is sit in a corner thinking.”
However, in a more recent interview in April this year, Simon Cowell appeared to have somewhat changed his mind, saying: “I haven’t ruled it out. If I knew I could be – how do I put this delicately – faithful, I would.
“I do like kids, I’m just not sure I’d be any good for the first six months. I don’t think I’d adopt because I’d rather have my own. I’d have to say I’d like a little girl.”
Simon Cowell’s relationship history includes romances with Sinitta, Terri Seymour and Alicia Douvall.
He is believed to have been engaged twice, once to Page Three model Louise Payne back in 1995, and more recently to make-up artist Mezhgan Hussainy.
Simon Cowell and Mezhgan Hussainy, who met when she was employed as a make-up artist on American Idol back in 2003, broke off their engagement last year.
Their split was later confirmed by mutual friend Zetta Graff, who said that Mezhgan Hussainy had become “too needy” for the mogul.
Simon Cowell later described the engagement as his “big mistake”, adding: “I’m attracted to crazy women. I encourage crazy behavior and I make them crazy.
“I’m attracted to certain personalities who are difficult to control. So there are tantrums, tears and fights, which is all part of the drama. My life is really odd.
“Every girl wants to be number one and they’re very territorial. I like the fight, because otherwise I’d have a dull group of girlfriends.”
Simon Cowell’s most recent relationship was with fellow X Factor USA judge Carmen Electra, with whom he was seen on several dates in 2012.
However, in February this year, Simon Cowell confirmed he was single, saying: “We spent time together and she is so much fun. But I’d like to find a girlfriend.”
But while Simon Cowell has spoken in recent months about his desire to settle down, he then called relationships “boring” in an interview last month.
Nigella Lawson and Charles Saatchi moved a step closer to ending their marriage today.
Court paperwork shows that Nigella Lawson, 53, applied to divorce Charles Saatchi, 70, on the grounds of his “continuing unreasonable behavior”.
During a hearing at London’s High Court which lasted less than a minute, District Judge Anne Aitken granted the couple a decree nisi – the first legal step to ending their 10-year marriage.
The marriage was said to have irretrievably broken down and an “order for financial relief” has been agreed between the petitioner and respondent.
On the petition before court, Nigella Lawson had ticked “Yes” to the question: “Is the respondent’s behavior as set out in your petition continuing?”
Nigella Lawson also confirmed in the document that they were living apart.
The document was signed by the popular cook and broadcaster on July 9.
Nigella Lawson and Charles Saatchi now have to wait for a decree absolute, which is usually issued six weeks and a day later, ending their marriage.
Nigella Lawson applied to divorce Charles Saatchi on the grounds of his continuing unreasonable behavior
Neither the couple or their legal representatives attended the hearing.
In Court 9, Nigella Lawson and Charles Saatchi’s names were read out with 14 other divorcing couples.
The judge asked: “Does any party or person wish to show cause against decrees being made or in the question of costs?”
A decree nisi is a statement saying the court sees no reason why a divorce cannot be granted.
It is thought the divorce will be rubber-stamped some time in September.
Nigella Lawson flew into Heathrow Airport last night ahead of the hearing.
Charles Saatchi and Nigella Lawson, who are said to be worth an estimated £150 million ($235 million) and shared a £12 million ($19 million) home in Chelsea, are believed to have agreed never to publicly disclose the terms of the divorce or financial settlements.
They are also understood to have signed a pre-nuptial agreement when they wed in 2003.
Nigella Lawson was the applicant in the case.
It is understood Charles Saatchi dispensed with lawyers to deal directly with Nigella Lawson’s high profile lawyer Fiona Shackleton in an attempt to keep his multimillion pound art collection intact.
The couple’s marriage ended after Charles Saatchi was pictured choking his wife, who has made her fortune as TV’s Domestic Goddess, at their favorite London haunt, Scott’s restaurant, last month.
Nigella Lawson was then left reeling by Charles Saatchi’s “cruelty” after he announced in The Mailon Sunday that he would be seeking a divorce.
In a final, crushing act of emotional control, Charles Saatchi released an extraordinary statement to say that the marriage was over – without giving her any warning of his intentions.
Nigella Lawson moved out of their home and has rented an apartment with her son Bruno.
She is soon planning to head to Los Angeles where she is filming the new season of her ABC show The Taste.
JK Rowling has accepted a substantial charity donation from the law firm that revealed she was writing under a pseudonym.
The Harry Potter author brought a legal action against Chris Gossage, a partner at Russells Solicitors, and his friend, Judith Callegari.
JK Rowling was revealed as the writer of crime novel The Cuckoo’s Calling in a Sunday Times article.
She had published the book under the pen name Robert Galbraith.
JK Rowling’s solicitor told Mr. Justice Tugendhat that Russells had contacted the writer’s agent after the story was published, revealing it was Chris Gossage who had divulged the confidential information to Judith Callegari.
Judith Callegari then revealed the information in the course of a Twitter exchange with a journalist.
JK Rowling has accepted a substantial charity donation from the law firm that revealed she was writing under a pseudonym
The court heard JK Rowling had been “left dismayed and distressed by such a fundamental betrayal of trust”.
Chris Gossage, Judith Callegari and Russells all apologized and the firm agreed to pay the author’s legal costs.
It also agreed to make a payment, by way of damages, to the Soldiers’ Charity, formerly known as the Army Benevolent Fund.
JK Rowling explained that she was donating the money “partly as a thank you to the army people” who helped her with research.
“But also because writing a hero who is a veteran has given me an even greater appreciation and understanding of exactly how much this charity does for ex-servicemen and their families, and how much that support is needed,” the author said.
The Cuckoo’s Calling, about a war veteran turned private investigator called Cormoran Strike, had sold 1,500 copies before it was revealed that JK Rowling was its author.
Within hours, the novel rose more than 5,000 places to top Amazon’s sales list.
JK Rowling said she would also be donating all the royalties for the book to the charity.
She said she had “always intended to give The Soldiers’ Charity a donation out of Robert’s royalties but I had not anticipated him making the bestseller list a mere three months after publication (indeed, I had not counted on him ever being there!)”.
Major General Martin Rutledge, Chief Executive of ABF The Soldiers’ Charity said they were “absolutely thrilled” by her “extraordinary generosity”.
“This donation will make a huge difference to the lives of thousands of soldiers, former soldiers and their families who are in real need. Her tremendous show of support for The Soldiers’ Charity will help to remind people of the many sacrifices made by our soldiers, long after any news of Afghanistan has left the front page,” Martin Rutledge added.
Lindsay Lohan left rehab yesterday after completing her court-ordered 90-day stay.
Lindsay Lohan, 27, was pictured looking healthy and in good spirits as she climbed into a waiting car at the Cliffside Malibu Rehab Center in California.
She may be headed to a “lower level sober living facility” after allegedly wanting to delay her return to the outside world for a few days, according to TMZ.
Lindsay Lohan looked healthier than she has in a long time, sporting a curvier figure and laughing happily as she waved goodbye to her new friends.
Lindsay Lohan left California rehab after completing her court-ordered 90-day stay
The actress had clearly made an effort with her outfit, donning a summery blue dress paired with a suede jacket, black calf-length socks and ankle booties.
She wore her red hair loose and wavy over her shoulders and shielded her eyes with brown aviator sunglasses.
According to TMZ, Lindsay Lohan wants to stay another “three or four days in a lower level sober living facility”.
She apparently feels she needs a transition period for a while longer before returning to normal life.
Despite the star’s many previous attempts at rehab, sources have told TMZ they are “shocked” at Lindsay Lohan’s conduct this time around.
“It’s like invasion of the body snatchers,” one source said.
“She’s a different person.”
Lindsay Lohan is said to be moving to New York following her stint in rehab, but is ‘scared about the temptations she’ll face’ according to the insider.
She was ordered by a court earlier this year to spend 90 days in rehab as part of a plea deal after being found guilty of lying to the police about a car crash last year.
Lonnie Snowden, the father of CIA whistleblower Edward Snowden, has said the FBI asked him to travel to Moscow and see his son, but adds that he wants more details.
Lonnie Snowden said he had been asked several weeks ago about Edward, who is sought by the US for leaking details of electronic surveillance programmes.
However, Lonnie Snowden wants to know the FBI’s intentions, he told Russian state TV.
Lonnie Snowden said his son would not get a fair trial in America and, if he were in his son’s place, he would stay in Russia.
He described his son as a “true patriot” who had “made America a more democratic country” by revealing secret details of the National Security Agency’s surveillance programmes.
The interview was broadcast live, early in the morning, on the Russia 24 news channel.
Edward Snowden has been stuck in transit at a Moscow airport for more than a month as he has no valid travel documents
Lonnie Snowden spoke English, with a Russian translation.
Edward Snowden has been stuck in transit at a Moscow airport for more than a month as he has no valid travel documents.
“Edward, I hope you are watching this,” Lonnie Snowden said in the interview.
“Your family is well. We love you. We hope you are healthy, we hope you are well, I hope to see you soon, but most of all I want you to be safe. I want you to find a safe haven.”
The fugitive’s father also thanked the Russian authorities for keeping his son safe.
“I also would like to thank President Vladimir Putin and the Russian government for what I believe to be their courage and strength and conviction to keep my son safe,” Lonnie Snowden said.
“Like any mother or father who loves their child, I love my son and I will be forever grateful for what you have done, very much.”
Edward Snowden arrived in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport on June 23 from Hong Kong, where he had made his revelations.
He has requested temporary asylum in Russia, while saying he hopes eventually to go to Latin America.
The Snowden affair has caused diplomatic ructions around the world, upsetting America’s close allies and traditional enemies.
The US Attorney General, Eric Holder, has given Moscow an assurance that Edward Snowden will not face the death penalty if extradited to America, but the Russians say they do not intend handing him over.
Temperatures in China have hit record highs, prompting an emergency level-two nationwide heat alert for the first time.
In Shanghai, at least 10 people have died from heatstroke, as the city experiences its hottest July in 140 years, reports say.
Local journalists have demonstrated the heat by frying meat on the pavement.
The national heat alert covers nine provinces, including Anhui, Jiangsu, Hunan, Hubei, Shanghai and Chongqing.
According to figures from the Shanghai Meteorological bureau, Shanghai has seen 24 days with temperatures at or above 35C in July.
“It should be a new record since Shanghai had its own weather recording,” said chief service officer Wu Rui.
“Also, in July of this year Shanghai reached 40.6 degrees Celsius, its highest ever temperature. So the highest temperature in July also broke a record.”
Temperatures in China have hit record highs, prompting an emergency level-two nationwide heat alert for the first time
More than 10 people in Shanghai have died after suffering from heatstroke, state-run news agency Xinhua said, citing health officials.
In a TV report, journalists from Shanghai TV said they successfully fried a pork chop on a marble slab outdoors in just 10 minutes.
The practice appears to have become popular, with photos of slices of bacon and fish being barbecued outdoors by the heat appearing online.
The China Meteorological Administration issued the level two emergency heat alert on Tuesday.
“Anhui, Jiangsu, Hunan, Hubei, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Chongqing and Shanghai meteorological bureaus should enter into emergency response on the basis of actual weather conditions,” it said on its website.
It added that weather forecasts suggested that some areas south of the Yangtze river, including Chongqing, could experience temperatures of over 35C until August 8.
It urged members of the public to avoid outdoor activities and to take protective measures against the heat.
“It’s impossible for people to live without an air-conditioner,” a resident was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying.
“Just going outside in this kind of temperate can roast people.”
Daniel Chong, a university student in the city of San Diego, has received $4.1 million from the US government after he was abandoned for more than four days in a prison cell, his lawyer said.
Daniel Chong, now 25, said he drank his urine to stay alive, tried to carve a message to his mother on his arm and hallucinated.
He was held in a drug raid in 2012, but told he would not be charged. Nobody returned to his cell for four days.
The justice department’s inspector is now investigating what happened.
Daniel Chong said he slid a shoelace under the door and screamed to get attention before five or six people found him covered in his faeces in the cell at the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) San Diego headquarters.
After Daniel Chong was rescued, he spent five days in hospital recovering from dehydration, kidney failure, cramps and a perforated oesophagus. He also lost 15 lb (7 kg).
Daniel Chong was one of nine people detained in the raid in April 2012. Authorities determined that they would not pursue charges after questioning him.
One of Daniel Chong’s lawyers said a police officer then put him in the holding cell and told him: “We’ll come get you in a minute.”
Daniel Chong said he thought he was forgotten by mistake.
Daniel Chong has received $4.1 million from the US government after he was abandoned for more than four days in a prison cell
“It sounded like it was an accident – a really, really bad, horrible accident,” he said.
The 5-by-10-foot cell had no windows and Daniel Chong had no food or water while he was trapped inside for four-and-a-half days.
Daniel Chong said he started hallucinating on the third day.
He urinated on a metal bench so he could have something to drink. He also unsuccessfully tried to set off a fire sprinkler to draw attention of the DEA authorities.
“I didn’t just sit there quietly. I was kicking the door yelling,” he was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.
“I even put some shoestrings, shoelaces through the crack of the door for visual signs. I didn’t stay still, no, I was screaming.”
At one point, Daniel Chong admitted, he thought he was going to die. He broke his eyeglasses by biting into them and tried to carve a “Sorry Mom” farewell message. He managed to finish an “S”.
DEA spokeswoman Allison Price confirmed that the $4.1 million settlement had been reached, without providing further details, according to the AP.
The incident prompted the head of the DEA to issue a public apology last May, saying he was “deeply troubled” by the incident.
Daniel Chong’s lawyer said that as a result of the incident the DEA had introduced new policies for detention, including checking cells daily and installing cameras inside them.
Daniel Chong, now an economics student at the University of California, says he plans to buy his parents a house.
Zimbabwe is voting in fiercely contested presidential and parliamentary elections which have already been hit by fraud allegations.
President Robert Mugabe, 89, has said he will step down after 33 years in power if he and his Zanu-PF party lose.
PM Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) have accused Zanu-PF of doctoring the electoral roll, a charge it has denied.
Campaigning was mostly peaceful, with few reports of intimidation.
Zanu-PF and the MDC have shared an uneasy coalition government since 2009 under a deal brokered to end the deadly violence that erupted after a disputed presidential poll the previous year.
Morgan Tsvangirai won the most votes in the first round, but pulled out of the run-off with Robert Mugabe because of attacks on his supporters.
The government has barred Western observers from monitoring Wednesday’s elections, but the African Union (AU) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), as well as local organizations, have been accredited.
Polls opened at 07:00 local time and are due to close at 19:00.
The turnout is expected to be high among the 6.4 million people registered to vote, with tens of thousands of people attending rallies in recent weeks. Results are expected within five days.
Zimbabwe is voting in fiercely contested presidential and parliamentary elections which have already been hit by fraud allegations
Wednesday has been declared a national holiday to ensure people can vote. Despite this, voters queued for several hours outside polling stations across the country before they opened.
At a news conference at State House on Tuesday, Robert Mugabe was asked if he and Zanu-PF would accept defeat.
“If you go into a process and join a competition where there are only two outcomes, win or lose, you can’t be both. You either win or lose. If you lose, you must surrender,” he said.
But Morgan Tsvangirai dismissed the president’s remarks.
“He does not believe in the right of the people to choose. He does not believe he can be voted out of office,” he said.
The 61 year old has vowed to push Robert Mugabe into retirement; it is his third attempt to unseat him.
An MDC spokesman said separately that the party was only prepared to accept the results of the elections if they were “free and fair”.
On Tuesday, the MDC accused Zanu-PF of doctoring the roll of registered voters, which was released by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) only on the eve of the polls after weeks of delay.
The MDC claimed the roll dated back to 1985 and was full of anomalies.
It appears the document features the names of thousands of dead people and many names with the same address appear two or three times.
A Zanu-PF spokesman denied the allegations and pointed out that appointees from both parties were on the ZEC. He also accused Finance Minister Tendai Biti, a member of the MDC, of not funding the commission properly. The ZEC has not commented.
In addition to Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai, there are three other candidates standing for the presidency – Welshman Ncube, leader of the breakaway MDC-Mutambara; Dumiso Dabengwa of the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (Zapu), and Kisinoti Munodei Mukwazhe, who represents the small Zimbabwe Development Party (ZDP).
To be declared a winner, a presidential candidate must win more than 50% of the vote. If no candidate reaches this mark, a run-off will be held on September 11.
The elections will be the first to be held under the new constitution approved in a referendum in March this year.
Pharmaceutical company Pfizer has agreed to pay $491 million to settle a probe into illegal marketing of a drug by Wyeth, a firm it had acquired in 2009.
The case revolved around Rapamune, a drug prescribed to prevent rejection of transplanted kidneys.
It was alleged that sales staff of Wyeth encouraged doctors to prescribe Rapamune for other organ transplants, which were not approved by regulators.
Pfizer stressed the illegal marketing occurred before it acquired Wyeth.
Pfizer has agreed to pay $491 million to settle a probe into illegal marketing of Rapamune, a drug by Wyeth
“Pfizer was not a subject or target of this matter, and cooperated fully with the government from the time it learned of this investigation in October 2009,” the company said in a statement.
The US Department of Justice said: “Wyeth trained its sales force to promote Rapamune for off-label uses not approved by the FDA, including ex-renal uses, and even paid bonuses to incentivize those sales.”
This is not the first time that Pfizer has had to settle a dispute surrounding Wyeth.
Last year, it agreed to pay $55 million to settle charges that Wyeth promoted its heartburn drug Protonix for unapproved uses.
The latest settlement comes as Pfizer reported that its earnings more than quadrupled during the second quarter.
Pfizer made a net profit of $14.1 billion during the period, compared with $3.2 billion during the same period a year ago.
Snooki has lost a dramatic 50 lbs since giving birth to her first child Lorenzo Dominic LaValle in August last year.
It seems Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi is finally feeling beach body confident, as she took to the shores of New Jersey on Monday to show off the results of her incredible hard work.
Walking hand in hand with her fiance Jionni LaValle who held their baby son Lorenzo close to him, Snooki looked completely at ease as she flaunted her slimline figure in a high-waisted bikini on the public beach in Seaside Heights, New Jersey.
Snooki has lost a dramatic 50 lbs since giving birth to her first child Lorenzo Dominic LaValle in August last year
In March this year, Snooki commented on her weight loss, saying: “If I can lose 42 lbs. after giving birth six months [ago], I mean, anybody could do it.”
“You just need the dedication, and you need to want to have your body back.”
Now it seems that the 4ft 8in frame star is loving the end result, enjoying the sun in her two-piece bathing suit.
She arrived at the beach with her family wearing a pretty white dress, but as the heat intensified Snooki, 25, had no qualms about getting her bikini body out on display.
After losing a dramatic amount of weight over the past year, Snooki has of course received criticism from people who feel she has taken her weight loss too far.
In response, Snooki took to Twitter last month to tell people she was happy and that was what is important.
She tweeted: “Everyone’s saying the <<new fit me>> isn’t what I’m suppose to look what. I wasn’t always a fata** kids. Get used to my fitlife, cause I love IT.”
Snooki gave birth to her son in August last year, at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, New Jersey.
Cricketer S Sreesanth has been charged with 38 other people over a spot-fixing scandal that has rocked the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Indian prosecutors brought charges of criminal conspiracy and cheating against S Sreesanth, two of his Rajasthan Royals team-mates, and other non-cricketers.
Spot-fixing involves players bowling wides and no-balls at certain times arranged beforehand with bookmakers.
S Sreesanth and team-mates Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan deny the charges.
They were arrested in May along with scores of bookmakers.
Cricketer S Sreesanth has been charged over a spot-fixing scandal that has rocked the IPL
A separate spot-fixing investigation by cricket officials led to cricket chief N Srinivasan stepping aside last month pending the outcome of the probe.
He left his post as the head of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan was arrested for suspected spot-fixing.
He and his Chennai Super Kings (CSK) franchise were exonerated by the inquiry, but the Bombay High Court has now ordered a “re-investigation”.
Correspondents say the ruling could delay the return of N Srinivasan.
The scandal broke in May when S Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila were arrested.
S Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan were later freed on bail, but Ajit Chandila remains in jail.
The trio, all bowlers, were suspended by India’s cricket board and the Rajasthan Royals.
The IPL is considered to be the world’s showcase for Twenty20 cricket.
Top Indian and international players take part, contributing to what is the world’s richest cricket tournament.
Private Bradley Manning, who leaked thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks, has been convicted of espionage but not of aiding the enemy.
Bradley Manning, 25, has been found guilty of 20 charges in total, including theft and computer fraud.
He had admitted leaking the documents to anti-secrecy organization WikiLeaks but said he did so to spark a debate on US foreign policy.
The leak is considered the largest ever of secret US government files.
Bradley Manning faces a maximum sentence up to 136 years. His sentencing hearing is set to begin on Wednesday.
In addition to multiple espionage counts, he was also found guilty of five theft charges, two computer fraud charges and multiple military infractions.
Bradley Manning stood and faced Judge Colonel Denise Lind as she read the decision on Tuesday. She said she would release detailed written findings at a later date.
He appeared to not react during the verdict, but his defense lawyer, David Coombs, smiled faintly as the not guilty charge on aiding the enemy was read.
Private Bradley Manning, who leaked thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks, has been convicted of espionage but not of aiding the enemy
“We won the battle, now we need to go win the war,” his defense lawyer, David Coombs said of the sentencing phase.
“Today is a good day, but Bradley is by no means out of the fire.”
Being found guilty of aiding the enemy could have had serious implications for people leaking documents in the future.
“The government’s pursuit of the ‘aiding the enemy’ charge was a serious overreach of the law, not least because there was no credible evidence of Manning’s intent to harm the USA by releasing classified information to WikiLeaks,” Amnesty International said in a statement.
Among the items sent to WikiLeaks by Pte. Bradley Manning was graphic footage of an Apache helicopter attack in 2007 that killed a dozen people in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, including a Reuters photographer.
The documents also included 470,000 Iraq and Afghanistan battlefield reports and 250,000 secure state department cables between Washington and embassies around the world.
Bradley Manning, an intelligence analyst, was arrested in Iraq in May 2010. He spent weeks in a cell at Camp Arifjan, a US Army installation in Kuwait, before being transferred to the US.
During the court martial, prosecutors said Bradley Manning systematically harvested hundreds of thousands of classified documents in order to gain notoriety.
With his training as an intelligence analyst, Bradley Manning should have known the leaked documents would become available to al-Qaeda operatives, they argued.
The defense characterized him as a naive and young soldier who had become disillusioned during his time in Iraq.
His actions, David Coombs argued, were those of a whistle-blower.
In a lengthy statement during a pre-trial hearing in February, Bradley Manning said he had leaked the files in order to spark a public debate about US foreign policy and the military.
Bradley Manning’s supporters rallied outside the court in Fort Meade and said they are planning to march to the White House on Tuesday evening.
Office relocation is a big step. It’s disruptive to your organisation and you can often expect some teething troubles as services are transferred and people get used to the new place – one reason it’s best to go with a company that has a strong track-record in the area, like K2 Space. It’s carried out for a number of reasons, but cost and opportunity are the most common. Space is expensive and office relocation can bring your immediate overheads down; alternatively, being in a different place can capture new business prospects. But is there more to it than that financial bottom line: are there factors you could be missing?
Face-to-face time
Remote working is becoming more common as new technologies mean we don’t have to be physically present to carry out our jobs. If a lot of your employees already work or could work away from the office then downsizing appears to make good financial sense. But don’t underestimate the impact of face-to-face communication. Having people together in the office makes more difference than you might think (so much so that Yahoo has recently instigated a ban on teleworking). Being able to call or email someone just isn’t the same as having them on hand. If teleworking is part of your strategy, then office relocation in favour of cheaper or more flexible space is likely to have costs you didn’t expect in terms of synergy and productivity. A related factor is the extent to which your new space promotes or restricts staff relationships. Does everyone have or need their own office or cubicle? Are there communal areas where people can meet? Or does the layout of your space encourage everyone to operate in their own isolated silos?
Commuting
Assuming employees do work at the new office, their journeys will change. It’s worth thinking about how your office relocation plans will affect your workforce’s commute (and whether this will be a factor in pushing more of them into remote working). Long commutes are a significant factor for stress and job dissatisfaction – not surprising, given that an increased commute comes at the expense of time they might have spent asleep, or with friends and family. That all has potential fallout for recruitment and retention in the long run, and productivity in the short-term.
Clients
These factors combine when it comes to external relationships. Does your office relocation plan take into account how clients, customers, and suppliers will be affected? One marketing agency in London made the decision to move their offices to Canary Wharf, three miles from the City. At the time it was a new development and still growing in popularity. They were one of the first businesses to move in and many of their clients remained in central London. The result was that the staff spent significantly more time travelling to meet clients, and relationships within the previously tight-knit team suffered. The alternative might be to expect others to spend more time coming to you, which could encourage them to look for something more convenient.
Conclusion
Office relocation can bring huge benefits in terms of new business opportunities and/or reduced costs. However, think carefully about the unintended consequences that a move could have, including to employee relationships and the impact that could have on their job satisfaction.
K2 Space has comprehensive and established experience in corporate relocation and move management. They do not just focus on the physical transfer of assets from one location to another. They focus on the needs of the organisation and the staff to ensure that the business continues to operate profitably throughout the relocation.
Forbes magazine reveals that Angelina Jolie pocketed a cool $33 million between June 2012 and June 2013.
That figure is $13 million more than her earnings last year, giving Angelina Jolie, 38, the top spot above a wealth of talent on Forbes annual list of Hollywood’s Highest Paid Actresses.
Angelina Jolie’s achievement is made even more impressive considering she hasn’t been seen on the cinema screen for three years, since her critical flop The Tourist in 2010.
Instead Angelina Jolie has been concentrating on her directing and writing career with her film In The Land of Blood and Honey debuting in 2011.
Next summer will see Angelina Jolie return to her acting roots with comeback flick Maleficent, for which she will pocket $15 million.
Angelina Jolie managed to pull in $9 million more than the second actress on the list, The Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence.
Jennifer Lawrence, 22, may have only been paid $1 million for her first turn as Katniss Everdeen, but thanks to a massive box office total of $690 million for the first film, she’s set to get a substantial pay rise for the next movie in the franchise, Catching Fire.
Last year’s queen bee Kristen Stewart has suffered the effects of her huge franchise The Twilight Saga coming to an end, as she could only manage third spot in the 2012/2013 list.
Last year Kristen Stewart, 23, banked $34.5 million thanks to Bella Swan, but a year later could only rake in $22 million.
Forbes magazine reveals that Angelina Jolie pocketed a cool $33 million between June 2012 and June 2013
Jennifer Aniston is also riding high in Forbes list, taking fourth spot with $20 million in earnings whilst The Amazing Spider-Man star Emma Stone squeezes into the top five with an estimated $16 million.
Heading up the second half is Prometheus star Charlize Theron with $15 million, with Sandra Bullock and Natalie Portman just behind, both with $14 million banked.
Mila Kunis has also entered the list this year with a tidy $11 million thanks to breaking out into big budget movies like.
Finally Julia Roberts proves that she can still pull in a major pay check despite her lack of starring roles in recent years. Her only 2012 offering was the role of The Queen in Mirror Mirror: The Untold Adventures of Snow White, but that hasn’t stopped her entered the list with $11 million in estimated earnings.
Major names to fall off the Forbes list include last year’s entrants Cameron Diaz, Sarah Jessica Parker and Meryl Streep.
1. Angelina Jolie, $33 million
2. Jennifer Lawrence, $26 million
3. Kristen Stewart, $22 million
4. Jennifer Aniston, $20 million
5. Emma Stone, $16 million
6. Charlize Theron, $15 million
7. Sandra Bullock, $14 million
8. Natalie Portman, $14 million
9. Mila Kunis, $11 million
10. Julia Roberts, $11 million
Gwyneth Paltrow has revealed that she was left “hallucinating” after a 10-day cleanse.
Gwyneth Paltrow, 40, is known for being active and eating healthy, but admits she has tried fads like juice cleanses in the past which did her more harm than good.
The actress explained: “I’ve done juice cleanses in the past, and in my twenties I did the Master Cleanse, which left me hallucinating after 10 days.
“Be aware: a juice detox can crash your metabolism and lead to future weight gain.”
Gwyneth Paltrow has revealed that she was left “hallucinating” after a 10-day cleanse
Although she’s committed to healthy living, Gwyneth Paltrow reveals she does indulge in naughty treats every now and then – including wine and cigarettes – because it provides some “balance” in her life.
In a self-penned article for The Telegraph newspaper, Gwyneth Paltrow wrote: “Stay away from processed foods, though cutting them out completely is no fun and can ultimately lead to a binge.
“Allow yourself programmed treats; I often have a glass of red wine in the evening and smoke a cigarette on a Saturday.
“I love those moments because they are just the right amount of naughty. That balance keeps you vibrant. You have to live your life, after all.”
Along with a good diet, Gwyneth Paltrow insists exercise is important and says she finds time to work out five days a week.
Gwyneth Paltrow added: “Keep up consistent exercise. I am dedicated to the Tracy Anderson Method and it has completely changed my body. Still, when I first started working with Tracy, finding motivation was hard.
“She advised me to think of exercise as an automatic routine, no different from brushing your teeth, to avoid getting distracted.
“Now it is part of my life – I exercise Monday to Friday at 10 a.m. and always stick with it.”
Bruce Willis was seen wearing a dressing gown as he promoted his new movie Red 2 during a recent interview.
Bruce Willis, 58, was seen wearing a green-trimmed white robe over a shirt and smart trousers as he spoke about the film with Daybreak‘s Kate Garraway during an interview in a London hotel room.
Despite Bruce Willis’ unusual choice of attire, Kate Garraway made no reference to his ensemble, instead being as professional as she could while questioning him about the action film.
It was only when the camera flashed back to Helen Fospero and John Stapleton in the Daybreak studios that they questioned his outfit.
A bemused looking John Stapleton asked: “What’s with the dressing gown? He had a shirt on underneath, and trousers.”
And Helen Fospero added: “I think he’s quite eccentric though, isn’t he?”
In addition to the odd choice of outfit, Bruce Willis also came across somewhat oddly during the interview with Kate Garraway.
Bruce Willis was seen wearing a dressing gown as he promoted his new movie Red 2
With lengthy pauses between his answers and an apparent boredom about him, fans were quick to take to Twitter after the interview to comment on his behavior, as well as his gown.
One viewer wrote: “Omg watching bruce willis on daybreak is mental torture.”
Another added: “What is Bruce Willis doing in his pyjamas on @Daybreak interview? #hesabitnuts.”
And a third Daybreak viewer tweeted: “Bruce Willis is being interviewed on @Daybreak fully clothes but has a dressing gown on top of this clothes #oddd.”
The bizarre Daybreak feature is the latest in a string of bizarre interview from Bruce Willis.
Bruce Willis first caused a commotion on Twitter with an incredibly awkward to watch interview on The One Show back in February.
He was blasted by viewers of the BBC One programme after he appeared to snub questions from hosts Matt Baker and Alex Jones while promoting his new movie A Good Day To Die Hard.
Bruce Willis gave short answers and repeatedly shrugged his shoulders in the promotional appearance described as “torture” by viewers.
The actor later apologized for being “boring” during the interview, blaming jet lag for his subdued appearance.
And earlier this month, Bruce Willis was seen in an excruciatingly cringe-making interview with Magic 105.4’s Jamie Edwards.
When Jamie Edwards asked Bruce Willis in which location he preferred shooting the film, the Die Hard star replied “Istanbul”, despite the fact that the film wasn’t even shot there.
Bruce Willis then added: “Has any actor ever told you this Jamie? This part is not acting. The fun part is over. We’re just selling the film now. Sales.”
Francisco Jose Garzon Amo, the train driver in last week’s crash in Spain, was talking on the phone when it derailed, investigators say.
The train was travelling at 153 km/h (95 mph) at the time, investigators at the Court of Justice of Galicia said.
Francisco Jose Garzon Amo was speaking to members of staff at the state-owned railway company, Renfe, they added.
Crash investigators had opened the train’s “black-box” data recorder to find the cause of the crash, which left 79 people dead.
Moments before the accident the train was travelling at a speed of 192 km/h (119 mph), the court said in a statement.
Investigators say the brakes were activated shortly before the crash.
The speed limit on the sharp bend where the train derailed was set at 80 km/h (49 mph).
The train driver in last week’s crash in Spain was talking on the phone when it derailed
“Minutes before the train came off the tracks he received a call on his work phone to get indications on the route he had to take to get to Ferrol. From the content of the conversation and background noise it seems that the driver consulted a map or paper document,” a court statement said.
Francisco Jose Garzon Amo is suspected of reckless homicide, but he has not yet been formally charged.
He was released from custody in Santiago de Compostela, where the crash occurred, on Sunday but remains under court supervision.
He must appear before a court once a week and was not allowed to leave Spain without permission.
Francisco Jose Garzon Amo’s passport has been surrendered to the judge and his licence to drive a train has been suspended.
Under Spanish law, his legal status is that he is suspected of being involved in 79 counts of reckless homicide but has not been formally charged.
But officials said he had admitted negligence by being careless when rounding a bend too fast.
All eight carriages of the train careered off the tracks into a concrete wall as they sped around the curve on the express route between Madrid and the port city of Ferrol on the Galician coast.
On Monday, a mass was held in the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.
PM Mariano Rajoy, along with the heir to the Spanish crown, Prince Felipe, and his wife Princess Letizia, joined the grieving families and local residents in the cathedral as the city’s archbishop prayed for the dead.
Sandra Bullock is suing watch company ToyWatch she claims used her image in advertising without her permission.
Now Sandra Bullock is the subject of a lawsuit by an insurance company that wants to determine if it should pay out if she wins her case.
Sandra Bullock is suing watch company ToyWatch she claims used her image in advertising without her permission
The legal maneuver is being taken by the insurers of ToyWatch, which made the timepiece Sandra Bullock’s famously indomitable mom character wore in The Blind Side.
According to TMZ, ToyWatch has a policy in place that might cover a judgment in case they lose in court.
The insurance company does not want to wait until after the initial lawsuit has ran its course, and on Monday legal docs were filed against Sandra Bullock, asking a judge to decide if they’re on the hook in case the actress wins.
The flashy white timepiece Sandra Bullock wore as Leigh Anne Tuohy was a key part of her gaudy appearance.
The ToyWatch soon became popularly marketed online as the Sandra Bullock watch, with its sales likely to have been affected by its connection to the Oscar-nominated film and its successful leading lady.
Sandra Bullock last year sued the Italian-owned company for using her name and image in its adverts.
She alleges ToyWatch USA’s use of her name and image infringes her publicity rights and claimed it may lead to over-saturation of her commercially valuable name.
At online sales sites, including Amazon, the watch is associated with Sandra Bullock, who claims the watch maker also uses her name on its website.
The lawsuit stated Sandra Bullock “will not voluntarily appear in print or other media for a company or product unless she carefully selects and believes in the company and product, and unless the compensation she receives is commensurate with the value of the exploitation of her name, image, identity, and persona”.
If ToyWatch is found to have negatively impacted Sandra Bullock’s name, misappropriating it to its own advantage without any benefit to her, she may win damages and see an injunction placed on the company.
The watch – on sale for around $272 – “features a diamanté rotating bezel encrusted with synthetic mineral glass stones, which is set against a white dial with diamanté markers”.
“The white plasteramic linked strap securely fastens with a butterfly clasp” according to marketing information.
If Sandra Bullock proves to be as steely as her character in the 2009 football tale, ToyWatch may live to regret its marketing moves.
JP Morgan’s energy unit has agreed to pay $410 million to settle charges from The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the top US energy regulator, that it manipulated energy markets.
FERC agency alleged JPMorgan’s trading practices drove up prices for electricity, mainly in California and the Midwest.
JP Morgan’s energy unit has agreed to pay $410 million to settle charges from The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
The fine is the second largest penalty in FERC history.
The bank did not admit any wrongdoing as part of the settlement.
JPMorgan spokesman Brian Marchiony said the settlement would “not have a material impact on our earnings” because the bank had previously set aside reserves for the case.
Under the deal, the bank must also make annual reports to the commission for three years detailing its power business in the United States.
JPMorgan has already sold the rights to buy the gas and sell the power from its California plants.
A Chinese research team has grown rudimentary teeth out of the most unlikely of sources, human urine.
The results, published in Cell Regeneration Journal, showed that urine could be used as a source of stem cells that in turn could be grown into tiny tooth-like structures.
The scientists hope the technique could be developed into a way of replacing lost teeth.
Other stem cell researchers caution that that goal faces many challenges.
Teams of researchers around the world are looking for ways of growing new teeth to replace those lost with age and poor dental hygiene.
Stem cells – the master cells which can grow into any type of tissue – are a popular area of research.
The Chinese research team has grown rudimentary teeth out of the most unlikely of sources, human urine
The group at the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health used urine as the starting point.
Cells which are normally passed from the body, such as those from the lining of the body’s waterworks, are harvested in the laboratory. These collected cells are then coaxed into becoming stem cells.
A mix of these cells and other material from a mouse was implanted into the animals.
The researchers said that after three weeks the bundle of cells started to resemble a tooth: “The tooth-like structure contained dental pulp, dentin, enamel space and enamel organ.”
However, the “teeth” were not as hard as natural teeth.
This piece of research is not immediately going to lead to new options for the dentist, but the researchers say it could lead to further studies towards “the final dream of total regeneration of human teeth for clinical therapy”.
