Animal tests suggested that Botox injections may help fight cancer.
The new study, published in Science Translational Medicine, showed nerves help stomach cancers grow.
Research on mice found that using the toxin beloved by those seeking a wrinkle-free face to kill nerves could halt the growth of stomach tumors and make them more vulnerable to chemotherapy.
Botox is usually used in the fight against the signs of ageing, not cancer.
The toxin disrupts nerve function to relax muscles and even out wrinkles, but a growing body of work suggests nerves can also help fuel cancer growth.
Scientists Columbia University Medical Centre, in New York, and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim investigated the role of the vagus nerve – which runs from the brain to the digestive system – in stomach cancer.
Research on mice found that using Botox to kill nerves could halt the growth of stomach tumors and make them more vulnerable to chemotherapy
Either cutting the nerve or using the toxin Botox slowed the growth of tumors or made them more responsive to chemotherapy.
Dr. Timothy Wang, one of the scientists in the study, said: “If you just cut nerves is it going to cure cancer? Probably not.
“At least in early phase, if you [disrupt the nerve] the tumor becomes much more responsive to chemotherapy, so we don’t see this as a single cure, but making current and future treatments more effective.”
Some trials have started in people who are having surgery to remove a stomach cancer. There has also been research suggesting nerves may have a role in prostate cancer too.
However, Dr. Timothy Wang acknowledged that there was a long way to go before this could be considered a treatment.
“With everything new in cancer, even if it looks great, when you start to roll it out to patients it always seems cancer is smarter than we are.
“Tumors have the ability to out-evolve any single agent, knocking one leg of a stool is probably not going to topple it.
“But I think this has a lot of potential and in a decade or two I can see these pathways being targeted.”
Gucci Mane has been sentenced by a federal judge to spend 39 months in jail after pleading guilty to a federal firearms charge in May 2014.
Rapper Gucci Mane, 34, whose real name is Radric Davis, pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon after reaching an agreement with prosecutors.
The judge also sentenced the rapper to serve three years of supervised release with limitations on his travel during that time and to pay a $5,000 fine.
Radric Davis has already spent 11 months in custody, which leaves him with 28 months remaining on his sentence. Had he gone to trial, Gucci Mane could have been sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.
According to the indictment, on September 12, 2013, police caught Radric Davis, a felon on probation, with a Taurus 45-caliber handgun and eight rounds of ammunition.
Two days later, a friend concerned about the rapper’s behavior also called Atlanta police.
About 1 a.m. September 14, 2013, authorities found Radric Davis walking near Moreland and East Confederate avenues. The rapper became “increasingly agitated with officers and began cursing and threatening them”.
Gucci Mane has been sentenced to 39 months in jail after pleading guilty to a federal firearms charge (photo Getty Images)
The officers arrested Davis and discovered he was carrying a handgun and small amount of marijuana, police said at the time. The federal indictment claims Gucci Mane was in possession of a Glock 40-caliber handgun and 11 rounds of ammunition.
His lawyers asked U.S. District Judge Steve Jones on August 20, 2014, to recommend that the Bureau of Prisons put the rapper in a drug program and to house him in a facility on the West Coast, away from negative influences he has in Atlanta.
“He understands he has some work ahead of him and his goal is to bring resolution to this case and get back to performing,” said Drew Findling, Radric Davis’ attorney.
“He doesn’t want anything to distract him. He wants to do anything to get back to the work place and the work place is the stage.”
While on probation after he is released from prison, however, Gucci Mane will be allowed to leave the Northern District of Georgia no more than seven days a month unless he has his probation officer’s permission. Radric Davis told the judge his tours usually lasted 14 to 15 days.
Judge Steve Jones lectured Radric Davis about redirecting his life once he is released.
“You’re a young man, You have a full life before you. … I see a lot of famous people move outside the line,” the judge said.
If Gucci Mane continues to break the law, Judge Steve Jones said: “You’re going to wake up one morning broke. You’re going to wake up one morning back in prison.”
Elizabeth Vargas and Marc Cohn have decided to divorce after 12 years of marriage.
20/20 anchor Elizabeth Vargas, 51, and singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, 55, share two sons together: Zachary, 11, and Samuel, 8.
“Marc and Elizabeth are in divorce proceedings,” a source reportedly told People magazine.
Elizabeth Vargas and Marc Cohn have decided to divorce after 12 years of marriage (photo Getty Images)
“The kids are with him in New York while she seeks treatment.”
The divorce news follows Elizabeth Vargas’ announcement that she has returned to rehab.
Elizabeth Vargas first revealed her decades-long battle with alcohol addiction back in November.
In regards to Elizabeth Vargas’ rehab stint, Marc Cohn told People magazine in a statement: “On behalf of Elizabeth’s family, we are in total support of her recovery and want her to be well.”
Elizabeth Vargas also released a statement saying: “I feel I have let myself, my co-workers and most importantly my family down, and for that I am ashamed and sorry.”
Beyonce has asked Gwyneth Paltrow for divorce advice as her marriage to Jay-Z has been on the rocks the past few months, Us Weekly reported.
Byonce, 32, has sought Gwyneth Paltrow’s advice as “she plans her split”, an insider told publication.
There are rumors claiming that Beyonce and Jay-Z, 44, will separate in the fall, after completing their On The Run tour dates.
Beyonce has asked Gwyneth Paltrow for divorce advice as her marriage to Jay-Z has been on the rocks the past few months (photo Getty Images)
Beyonce is planning for the breakup to echo Gwyneth Paltrow’s amicable “conscious uncoupling” from Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, the insider said.
According to the source, the couple will be seen together after the split announcement: “The day after the announcement, Bey and Jay will be spotted together.”
“The two will be all lovey-dovey.”
Earlier this month, while in town for their Los Angeles shows, Beyonce stopped by Gwyneth Paltrow’s Brentwood home.
Last year Beyonce gushed about Gwyneth Paltrow, calling her “incredible” and a “great friend on every level”.
Three senior Hamas military commanders have been killed by an Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza, militants say.
Mohammed Abu Shamala, Mohammed Barhoum and Raed al-Attar died in the attack near the southern town of Rafah.
They were among at least six killed, a day after Hamas’s military chief Mohammed Deif reportedly survived a strike that killed his wife and child.
An Israeli was severely injured as rockets were fired into Israel on Thursday, the army said.
Hostilities resumed after peace talks collapsed on Tuesday.
Israel has vowed to pursue its campaign until “full security” is achieved.
Six weeks of fierce fighting have left at least 2,103 people dead, all but 67 of them Palestinians and most of them said to be civilians.
Hamas commanders Mohammed Abu Shamala, Mohammed Barhoum and Raed al-Attar died in an Israeli attack near the southern town of Rafah
Israel’s strike on Rafah demolished a four-storey building and “dozens” of people were missing, Palestinian health official Ashraf Al-Kidra was quoted as saying by AP news agency.
The three commanders killed were key to operations including smuggling, tunnel construction and capturing the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2006.
Israel’s military said it had carried out 20 attacks on targets in Gaza during the night in response to militant rocket attacks. Since talks on extending the ceasefire failed, 213 rockets have been fired at Israel, it added.
According to an unconfirmed report by AFP news agency, at least six other Palestinians, four of them children, were killed in Israeli attacks overnight in the northern town of Beit Lahiya and in Gaza City.
In another development, Hamas warned foreign airline companies to stop flying to and from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport from Thursday.
Ofer Lefler, spokesman for the Israel Airports Authority (IAA), told AFP that flights had been disrupted for 10 minutes but there had been “no change to take-offs or landings”.
Hamas also confirmed it was abandoning efforts to negotiate a durable ceasefire with Israel.
It had gone to the talks in Cairo demanding an end to the Israeli and Egyptian blockades of Gaza, and the establishment of a seaport and airport.
Israel, for its part, had sought guarantees that Hamas and other factions in Gaza would be disarmed,
The UN Security Council voiced “grave concern” at the resumption of hostilities and “called upon the parties to resume negotiations to urgently reach a sustainable and lasting ceasefire”.
Egypt expressed “profound regret” at the end of a 10-day period of “calm” during the talks, and said it would continue to try to secure a lasting truce.
Photographer Aja Oxman, who claims he was assaulted by Justin Bieber’s bodyguard on a Hawaii’s Shipwreck Beach last year, is suing the pop singer for assault and negligence.
Aja Oxman sued Justin Bieber, 20, and bodyguard Dwayne Patterson on August 20 in Los Angeles.
The photographer is seeking unspecified damages for injuries and mental and emotional distress that he claims are a result of being attacked on Hawaii’s Shipwreck Beach in November.
Photographer Aja Oxman is suing Justin Bieber for assault and negligence (photo Getty Images)
Aja Oxman’s suit accuses Justin Bieber of ordering Dwayne Patterson to force Oxman to hand over his camera memory card.
Dwayne Patterson was arrested on suspicion of assault after confronting Aja Oxman, who shot photos of Justin Bieber jumping off a cliff.
According to court records, Dwayne Patterson pleaded no contest to harassment and criminal property damage and has paid $6,000 in restitution to Aja Oxman.
Coup leader General Prayuth Chan-ocha has been named the new prime minister of Thailand.
Prayuth Chan-ocha, 60, was nominated on August 21 in a legislature hand-picked by the junta and made up of mostly military and police figures.
The general was the head of the army when he led a dramatic coup in May.
It followed months of intense political deadlock between Yingluck Shinawatra’s government and opposition parties that resulted in protests and clashes.
Prayuth Chan-ocha was chosen after all 197 members of Thailand’s National Assembly cast their votes on Thursday morning.
The vote in Parliament was little more than a formality, lasting just 15 minutes, as Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha was the only candidate.
The assembly’s choice is expected to be approved by King Bhumibol Adulyadej later.
Although his role is meant to be an interim one as Prayuth Chn-ocha plans to hold a general election in late 2015.
Coup leader General Prayuth Chan-ocha has been named the new prime minister of Thailand (photo AP)
He now wields enormous power and also still heads the military junta.
Prayuth Chn-ocha is expected to pick his new cabinet soon.
He has promised a root and branch reform of politics to prevent a return to the turmoil of recent years, offering a possible restoration of democratic rule next year.
However, critics believe his real priority is to destroy the political party of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, which has won every election for the past 14 years, and to secure a delicate royal succession.
Such goals would require a much longer democratic timetable.
Concerns have mounted that the military is seeking to strengthen its hold on the country.
Besides hand-picking the national assembly, the junta issued an interim constitution in July that gives the military sweeping powers.
It is appointing a national reform council that would help to come up with a permanent constitution that would take effect by July 2015.
Prayuth Chan-ocha and junta officials have argued that military rule has brought stability to Thailand following months of violent protests between the pro- and anti-Thaksin camps.
Shakira’s hit song Loca was indirectly copied from another songwriter’s work, a federal judge in New York has found.
Judge Alvin Hellerstein said Shakira’s Spanish-language version of Loca in 2010 had infringed on a song by Dominican singer Ramon Arias Vazquez.
Shakira’s English language version of Loca – which featured Dizzee Rascal – was “not offered into evidence” at the trial.
However, the Spanish language version – a collaboration with Dominican rapper Eduard Edwin Bello Pou, better known as El Cata – was widely released as a single around the world. It went on to sell more than five million copies and topped Billboard Magazine‘s Latin charts.
Shakira’s Spanish-language version of Loca in 2010 had infringed on a song by Dominican singer Ramon Arias Vazquez (photo Wikipedia)
It was also included on her 2010 album Sale el Sol. For English language markets, the album was titled The Sun Comes Out and both versions of the song were included.
In a ruling on Tuesday, Judge Alvin Hellerstein said that while the hit single had been based on an earlier version of a song recorded by Eduard Edwin Bello Pou [El Cata], that itself had been copied from Ramon Arias Vasquez’s original song.
“There is no dispute that Shakira’s version of the song was based on Bello’s version,” wrote the judge in his ruling.
“Accordingly, I find that, since Bello had copied Arias, whoever wrote Shakira’s version of the song also indirectly copied Arias,” he concluded.
Ramon Arias Vazquez penned his song Loca con su Tiguere in the 1990s, but El Cata has denied copying it.
The case has yet to determine damages for the plaintiff, Mayimba Music, which holds the rights to Ramon Arias Vazquez’s work.
Shakira’s song was distributed by Sony in both Spanish and English, but the copyright lawsuit mainly focused on the Spanish version.
Acccording to US officials, a secret military mission had tried but failed to free journalist James Foley and other American hostages in Syria.
Their comments come after a video of James Foley’s killing by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) militants appeared on Tuesday.
ISIS said James Foley’s death was revenge for US air strikes on its fighters in Iraq.
President Barack Obama condemned the killing as “an act of violence that shocks the conscience of the entire world”.
He compared ISIS militants, who control large parts of Syria and Iraq to a “cancer” and said the group’s ideology was “bankrupt”.
The UN, UK and others have also expressed abhorrence at the video.
James Foley’s mother, Diane Foley, said he “gave his life trying to expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people”.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said it was “extremely concerned for all journalists” still held by ISIS, describing Syria as “the world’s most dangerous place to be a reporter”.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Pentagon said the US had “attempted a rescue operation recently to free a number of American hostages held in Syria”.
It said the operation “involved air and ground components and was focused on a particular captor network within ISIL” (the former name of ISIS).
“Unfortunately, the mission was not successful because the hostages were not present at the targeted location.”
James Foley had reported extensively across the Middle East, working for GlobalPost and other media outlets
The statement did not specify whether the operation had intended to rescue James Foley, who was kidnapped in Syria in November 2012.
However, senior Obama administration officials – speaking on the condition of anonymity – confirmed this.
They said that several dozen special troops had been dropped by aircraft into Syria in recent weeks to try to rescue US hostages, including James Foley.
They added that the troops had been engaged in a firefight with ISIS militants, killing a number of them. No Americans were killed.
James Foley, 40, had reported extensively across the Middle East, working for GlobalPost and other media outlets including French news agency AFP.
In the ISIS video, titled A Message to America, a man identified as James Foley is dressed in an orange jumpsuit, kneeling in desert-like terrain beside an armed man dressed in black.
He gives a message to his family and links his imminent death to the US government’s bombing campaign of ISIS targets in Iraq.
Clearly under duress, he says: “I call on my friends, family and loved ones to rise up against my real killers, the US government, for what will happen to me is only a result of their complacency and criminality.”
Then the masked militant – who speaks with a British accent – delivers a warning to the US government before killing James Foley: “Any attempt by you, Obama, to deny the Muslims their rights of living in safety under the Islamic caliphate will result in the bloodshed of your people.”
Another captive, identified as American journalist Steven Joel Sotloff, is shown at the end, with the warning that his fate depends on President Barack Obama’s next move.
Steven Joel Sotloff was abducted in northern Syria a year ago.
Marina Silva has been formally named as the Brazilian Socialist Party’s new presidential candidate.
Environmental campaigner Marina Silva, 56, replaces the late Eduardo Campos, who was killed in a plane crash last week.
Marina Silva was Eduardo Campos’s running mate and served as environment minister.
She is seen as a leading challenger to President Dilma Rousseff, who’s seeking re-election in the October 5 poll.
PSB President Roberto Amaral told a news conference Marina Silva had been chosen unanimously.
Congressman Beto Albuquerque was named the party’s new vice presidential candidate.
Marina Silva will test President Dilma Rousseff’s status as favorite to win October’s election and make this a much more interesting process than it looked like being barely a week ago.
Marina Silva has been formally named as the Brazilian Socialist Party’s new presidential candidate (photo AP)
In the last presidential election, standing as the Green candidate, Marina Silva polled a credible 20% of the vote and is already a recognizable and much-admired figure across this continent-sized nation.
The first test of public opinion after Eduardo Campos’s death suggested Marina Silva could surpass the main opposition PSDB candidate Aecio Neves in the first round and beat current President Dilma Rousseff in the second, although both outcomes were within the poll’s margin of error.
However, analysts caution that, with the strong emotional reaction to last week’s events, a bounce in the polls was inevitable and the picture could change substantially.
A devout evangelical Christian who overcame poverty, Marina Silva only learnt to read and write when she was 16.
Correspondents say she appeals mostly to young voters who are unhappy with the Brazilian political establishment.
On Sunday, more than 100,000 people in Brazil paid their last respects to the late presidential candidate, Eduardo Campos, a former governor and rising political star.
They attended a funeral Mass and filled the streets of the city of Recife to follow the passage of his coffin.
Eduardo Campos’s jet crashed on August 13 in bad weather in the port city Santos, near Sao Paulo, killing six other people. Investigators are still trying to establish the exact causes of the accident.
Former President George W. Bush accepted his daughter Jenna Bush Hager’s ice bucket challenge on August 20.
In a hilarious twist, former First Lady Laura Bush surprised him with the face full of cold water after the former president offered just to write a check.
Jenna Bush Hager nominated her dad for the viral challenge, which has helped raise over $22 million for ALS Association, when NBC News’ Craig Melvin doused her last week.
George W. Bush wrote on Facebook: “Thanks to Jenna Bush Hager, Rory McIlroy, Woody Johnson, and Coach Jim Harbaugh for the #IceBucketChallenge – and to Laura W. Bush for the check. Next up: President Bill Clinton. Help #StrikeOutALS at www.alsa.org.“
The former president starts his video by trying to forgo the ice altogether.
George W. Bush accepted his daughter Jenna Bush Hager’s ice bucket challenge
“I do not think it’s presidential for me to be splashed with ice water,” George W. Bush said.
“So, I’m simply going to write you a check.”
Then Laura Bush sneaks up behind her husband and splashes him with the required bucket of ice water.
“Now it’s my privilege to challenge my friend Bill Clinton,” George W. Bush tells the camera after he gets a moment to dry himself off.
“Yesterday was Bill’s birthday. And my gift to Bill is a bucket of cold water,” President George W. Bush said.
Former Manx Grand Prix winner Stephen McIlvenna has been killed during qualifying for this year’s event in the Isle of Man, organizers have confirmed.
Stephen McIlvenna, 39, of Northern Ireland, crashed on the Mountain Mile section of the TT course on Tuesday.
Race organizers said he was an experienced competitor who had been racing in the event for nine years.
Stephen McIlvenna won the 2009 Junior MGP and went on to compete in the TT.
Former Manx Grand Prix winner Stephen McIlvenna has been killed during qualifying for this year’s event in the Isle of Man (photo Manx Motorcycle Club)
A Manx Motor Cycle Club spokesman said it passed on its “deepest sympathy to Stephen’s family and friends”.
The coroner has been informed and an investigation into the circumstances of the accident is under way.
Northern Ireland’s Sports Minister Carál Ní Chuilín expressed her shock and sadness at Stephen McIlvenna’s death.
“Stephen was an experienced rider who clearly loved the sport of motorbike racing,” she said.
“He was a regular competitor on the Isle of Man and his death is a tragedy.”
The estate of Anna Nicole has lost the final bid to obtain her late husband J Howard Marshall’s fortune, seven years after the death of the Playboy model.
Anna Nicole Smith married Texas oil tycoon J Howard Marshall in 1994 when he was 89 and she was 26.
J Howard Marshall died in 1995, leaving his $1.6 billion estate to his son and nothing to Anna Nicole Smith, which she challenged.
A judge has now halted efforts by lawyers acting on behalf of Anna Nicole Smith’s daughter to obtain $44 million.
After J Howard Marshall’s death, Anna Nicole Smith – using her real name Vickie Lynn Marshall – filed legal papers claiming he had promised to leave her more than $300 million in his will.
During the past two decades, many attempts have been made to overturn the will, including the Texas bankruptcy court and US Supreme Court.
The estate of Anna Nicole has lost the final bid to obtain her late husband J Howard Marshall’s fortune (photo Getty Images)
A Houston jury previously ruled J Howard Marshall was mentally fit and under no undue pressure when he wrote his will, leaving his fortune to his son E Pierce Marshall – who himself died in 2006.
Efforts continued after Anna Nicole Smith died of an accidental drug overdose in February 2007, with lawyers representing her seven-year-old daughter Dannielynn, who lives with her father Larry Birkhead.
However, District Court Judge David Carter’s ruling means this will be the end of the matter.
“Time spent litigating the relationship between Vickie Lynn and J Howard has extended for nearly five times the length of their relationship and nearly 20 times the length of their marriage,” Judge David Carter said in court.
“It is neither reasonable nor practical to go forward.”
Judge David Carter also said while the record showed J Howard Marshall and his lawyers had “a distinct disinterest in rules or ethics”, Dannielynn Birkhead’s lawyers had failed to provide sufficient evidence of actual damages for him to award sanctions, Forbes reported.
J Howard Marshall family’s lawyer, G Eric Brunstad Jr., said in a statement they agreed with the judge it was time to stop legal proceedings.
Four McDonald’s outlets in Moscow have been temporarily closed by Russia’s main consumer watchdog as part of an investigation into food standards.
Watchdog Rospotrebnadzor claimed the restaurants had breached “numerous” sanitary laws.
McDonald’s said it was looking at the complaints, adding its “top priority is to provide safe and quality products”.
The closures come amid rising tensions between Russia and the West over the crisis in the Ukraine.
Previously when diplomatic tensions are high, the regulator has controversially banned products including wine from Georgia, cheese from Ukraine and apples from Poland.
Earlier this month, Russia imposed a “full embargo” on food imports from the EU, US and some other Western countries, in response to sanctions over Ukraine.
Wednesday’s action by the regulator is part of an ongoing investigation into McDonald’s food standards in Russia.
In July the watchdog filed a lawsuit in Moscow urging the restaurant chain to withdraw certain products.
McDonald’s said that restaurants on Pushkin Square, Manezh Square and Prospect Mira in Moscow had been temporarily closed, and said it wanted to “re-open the restaurants as soon as possible”.
“We will continue taking care of our employees and will do our best to continue the success of McDonald’s business in Russia,” the company added.
Attorney General Eric Holder has promised a “full, fair and independent” investigation as he arrived in Ferguson, Missouri, in a bid to defuse tensions following the police shooting of black teenager Michael Brown.
Ferguson has seen 10 nights of often violent clashes between police and demonstrators since the shooting of Michael Brown, who was unarmed.
Police arrested 47 people on August 19 night but said that the violence had largely abated.
Community leaders have continued to appeal for calm and healing.
In an open letter published in the St Louis Post-Dispatch on Tuesday, Eric Holder said that the justice department “will defend the right of protesters to peacefully demonstrate”.
However, Eric Holder added that “violence cannot be condoned” and urged Ferguson residents to condemn “the actions of looters, vandals and others seeking to inflame tensions and sow discord”.
He said violent acts had been committed by “a very small minority, in many cases individuals from outside Ferguson”.
Reports suggest that Eric Holder is considering opening a broader investigation into policing in Ferguson in general, following several allegations of police misconduct.
The New York Times reports that under Eric Holder, the justice department has ordered over twice as many such department-wide investigations than before.
Many local residents have demanded that Officer Darren Wilson, who shot the 18-year-old Michael Brown on August 9, should be arrested and prosecuted. He has been placed on administrative leave with pay.
Eric Holder has promised a full, fair and independent investigation into Michael Brown’s death as he arrived in Ferguson
Witnesses have said Michael Brown was shot as he held his hands up in a position of surrender, while the police and supporters of Darren Wilson have said he fired during a fight with Michael Brown.
The police response, flooding the town with hundreds of officers in riot gear, has been criticized as heavy-handed.
Authorities were also criticized for not being transparent enough in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.
The St Louis County prosecutor’s office said it would present evidence against Darren Wilson to a grand jury on Wednesday.
The jury will determine whether or not to charge him with a crime.
A group of protesters gathered in front of the courthouse on Wednesday, chanting, praying and holding up signs urging the county prosecutor to step aside in this case, as a line of police officers stood guard over the main door.
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has said he would not seek Bob McCulloch’s removal.
Both St Louis officials and the US justice department are conducting investigations into the case, which has provoked demonstrations throughout the country.
Police in Ferguson said they arrested 47 people on Tuesday night following a largely peaceful protest.
Missouri Highway Patrol Capt Ron Johnson, who has led the police response since Thursday, said that the protest began without trouble but that during the night some protesters threw bottles of water and urine at police.
“As of 01:00, we have 47 arrests,” he said.
However, he stressed that police had not been fired upon and that they did not use tear gas on protesters.
“Tonight we saw a different dynamic,” Ron Johnson said.
“Tonight the elders in this community, volunteers, activists and the clergy came out in large numbers. They walked, they talked with people. They urged order and common peace,” he said.
The relative calm is in contrast to Monday night’s violence when Capt. Ron Johnson said police came under “heavy gunfire” and responded with tear gas and stun grenades.
This was despite the deployment of National Guard units in the town on Monday.
The police shot another black man on Tuesday in St Louis, in an incident many feared could exacerbate the tension in Ferguson.
The man was suspected of robbery, and had approached them brandishing a knife. The second shooting has so far had little or no impact on the protests in Ferguson.
When businesses seek to boost profits and maintain growth, they often concentrate on increasing volume or lowering costs but neglect the role that pricing plays. However, the importance of price optimization shouldn’t be underestimated, and may be the most cost-effective way to increase business profits.
Price optimization requires understanding the true value of your product and that value is a reflection of what your customers are willing to pay. Simply put, if you overvalue your product, your sales will suffer and if you undervalue it, you’re throwing money away. Therefore, the trick is knowing the maximum price that your customers are willing to pay.
A good pricing strategy will help your business resist market-driven competitive pressures by generating extra worth out of your products and services. Understanding what most small businesses do wrong is the first step to successful price optimization.
Here are 5 common mistakes that many SMEs make when it comes to pricing.
1. They base prices on costs instead of value.
The vast majority of businesses still determine prices by working out the total cost of a product and then adding on their profit margin. However, this reflects a misunderstanding of how value works in the equation. If the cost-based price is higher than the value perceived by the customer, sales will slow and profits suffer. Conversely, if your cost-based price is lower than customer-perceived value, you’re missing out on potential profit.
2. They don’t segment customer pricing.
Different customers will value your product in different ways. Some may be willing to pay more and others less, depending on what the product is uniquely worth to them. Your pricing plan should reflect this with different prices for different customer segments. Tailor your product for each distinct segment through repackaging, targeted marketing, different delivery options and other variables.
3. They add the same profit margin, regardless of product.
Segmenting your products and services follows the same principle as segmenting your customers. The price you assign to different products should reflect how a particular customer values a particular product. Understanding the intrinsic value rather than focusing on a fixed profit margin will help you make necessary pricing adjustments to maximize profitability.
4. They don’t know who their most profitable customers are.
It’s a rule of thumb for most businesses that 4/5th of profits are generated from 1/5th of customers. However, most small businesses aren’t good at identifying who that top 20% is and spend a disproportionate amount of time on lower-yielding customers. Find out who your most profitable customers are and invest more time in holding on to them.
5. They don’t raise prices when necessary.
Many businesses put off making necessary price increases because they worry about the impact on sales. However, you should condition your customers to expect such periodic price adjustments, especially if you are adding value by making improvements to service.
Compared to costs like marketing and advertising, investing in price optimization is a cheap and effective way to increase your profits and secure the long-term success of your small business finances.
Vin Diesel has nominated Russian President Vladimir Putin to do the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.
The star also put forward Angelina Jolie and Michelle Obama.
Although Vladimir Putin has not given an outright no, his spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the President probably wasn’t aware of the challenge – and apparently has more important things to be thinking about.
Vin Diesel has nominated Russian President Vladimir Putin to do the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge (photo YouTube)
“We’ve had other things on our agenda,” Dmitry Peskov told Russian newspaper Lenta.ru.
Other high-profile names to have taken part in the campaign, which raises money for ALS Association, the US charity that helps sufferers of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, include Oprah Winfrey, Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Lady Gaga and Charlie Sheen.
President Barack Obama has already declined his nomination and has made a donation to the ALS Association instead.
In an interview with Closer Weekly, Duck Dynasty‘s Missy Robertson reveals she suffered a miscarriage before having daughter Mia.
Missy Robertson told the publication that at age 30 she suffered a miscarriage in 2002, after giving birth to her sons, Reed (now 18) and Cole (now 16).
“I was about eight to 10 weeks along when I miscarried, just enough time to be excited about it and start telling everyone,” the reality star said.
Mia Robertson revealed she suffered a miscarriage in 2002 after giving birth to Reed and Cole and before having Mia (photo Facebook)
Missy Robertson explained the heartbreaking procedure: “I’d heard of tubal pregnancies for years, but didn’t really understand the mental anguish of actually having to go in and have someone remove what could’ve been your child. It was extremely difficult, and there was a lot of pain and bleeding.”
Jase and Missy Robertson told Closer Weekly they coped with the tragedy through “a lot of prayer and a lot of family.”
Three months after the miscarriage, Missy Robertson became pregnant again with their daughter Mia, now age 11.
After many celebrities have joined the Ice Bucket Challenge movement in the past weeks, all in hopes of raising money for ALS Association, Duck Dynasty’s Willie Robertson has also stepped up to the plate.
The Duck Dynasty star’s ice bucket video has caused quite a stir on Twitter.
On the previous day, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal asked Willie Robertson to take on the ice bucket challenge and donate to the ALS Association.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal asked Willie Robertson to take on the ice bucket challenge and donate to the ALS Association (photo Duck Commander)
Willie Robertson was happy to accept this challenge. He posted a YouTube video of his ice bucket experience, first stopping for a quick prayer “for those suffering with this disease and their families”.
While most ice bucket challenge participants hold buckets of ice water over their own heads, Willie Robertson apparently needed a little help. He completed the challenge in front of the memorable Duck Commander sign at the warehouse in West Monroe, waiting for two of his relatives to dump a trash barrel full of ice water over his head. The relatives completed this enviable task from the roof of the warehouse, while Willie Robertson stood below.
Thoroughly soaked, Willie Robertson commented: “A lot of force…that hit me like a truck!”
The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is an activity involving pouring a bucket of ice water on someone’s head or donating to the ALS Association in the US.
Participants get a bucket of ice water tipped over their head. Then they nominate two of their friends, who have 24 hours to tip a bucket of ice water over their own heads or forfeit by way of a charitable financial donation.
They’re raising money for the ALS Association, to research the motor neurone disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
The Ice Bucket Challenge went viral throughout social media during the Northern Hemisphere summer of 2014 with numerous celebrities, politicians, athletes, and everyday Americans posting videos of themselves online and on TV participating in the event.
Although pouring water over someone’s head on the internet for charity has been around since last winter, it only went viral when the family of Pete Frates, a baseball player who was diagnosed with ALS two years ago, started their own campaign.
The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is an activity involving pouring a bucket of ice water on someone’s head or donating to the ALS Association (photo Getty Images)
The origins of the idea of dumping cold water on one’s head to raise money for charity are unclear and have been attributed to multiple sources.
The challenge was popularized in the US on June 30, 2014, when the Golf Channel Morning Show televised the social media phenomenon and performed a live on-air ice bucket challenge.
Before the popularity of the Ice Bucket Challenge, levels of awareness, fundraising, research funds, and overall public support for ALS were extremely low.
After the Ice Bucket Challenge went viral on social media, public awareness and charitable donations for ALS soared to unprecedented levels. On August 18, 2014, the ALS Association announced that it had received $15.6 million in donations compared to $1.8 million during the same time period, July 29 to August 18 in 2013. These donations came from both existing donors and 307,598 new donors to the Association.
This year, Steve-O questioned the campaign, suggesting that celebrities’ videos generally forgot to share donation information for ALS charities, and that the $15 million in funds is insignificant, given the star power of the celebrities participating. He noted that, of the videos he viewed, only Charlie Sheen and Bill Gates noted that point is to donate money.
Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif’s wife and son have been killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip.
At least 19 Palestinians have died since hostilities resumed on August 19, with both sides blaming each other for the collapse of the Cairo peace talks.
The Israeli military said it had carried out 92 air strikes in response to 137 rockets fired at its territory.
Six weeks of fierce fighting have left at least 2,103 people dead.
Egypt has expressed “profound regret” at the end of the 10-day period of calm and said it will continue trying to secure a lasting truce.
It is believed the air strike on a house in Gaza City late on August 19 that killed Mohammed Deif’s wife and their young son was intended to kill the militant himself.
The commander of Hamas’ armed wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, has survived a number of previous Israeli assassination attempts believed to have left him with severe disabilities.
Israeli Interior Minister Gideon Saar said the attack was justified because Mohammed Deif was “personally responsible” for dozens of deaths.
Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif’s wife and son have been killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip
Yaakov Perry, Israel’s science minister and former security service chief, said he was “convinced that if there was intelligence that Mohammed Deif was not inside the home, then we would not have bombed it”.
Rescue workers later pulled out of the remains of the house the bodies of three members of the family that lived there, medics said.
Another air strike early on Wednesday killed eight people, including a heavily-pregnant woman and three children, in the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah, emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told the AFP news agency.
Later, a man and child were killed in Zeitoun in southern Gaza City, and two militants died when a missile hit their motorcycle in the northern town of Beit Lahiya, Mr Qudra added. The IDF said it had targeted two militants responsible for launching rockets in the area.
The apparent attempt to kill Mohammed Deif may explain the intensity of the rocket fire that came after the collapse of the Cairo peace talks.
Air-raid sirens sounded in many towns and cities in southern and central Israel, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, as 50 rockets were launched on August 19 and 30 on August 20.
One hit a home in the Hof Ashkelon region, but no injuries were reported.
Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system has shot down a number of incoming rockets, but the Israeli authorities have ordered the re-opening of bomb shelters within 50 miles of Gaza.
The Israeli government accused Hamas of breaking the ceasefire by launching a salvo of rockets about eight hours before it was to have expired, and told its delegation in Cairo to return home shortly afterwards
Palestinian negotiators blamed Israel for the failure of the indirect talks.
“Israel thwarted the contacts that could have brought peace,” said Azzam al-Ahmed, a senior member of the Fatah movement of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
However, Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev rejected the accusation.
“The Cairo process was built on a total and complete cessation of all hostilities and so when rockets were fired from Gaza, not only was it a clear violation of the ceasefire but it also destroyed the premise upon which the talks were based,” he told the Reuters news agency.
Israel has been seeking guarantees that Hamas and other factions in Gaza would be disarmed, while the Palestinians were demanding an end to the Israeli and Egyptian blockades of Gaza, and the establishment of a seaport and airport.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was “gravely disappointed by the return to hostilities”.
Israel launched Operation Protective Edge on July 8 with the aim of ending rocket fire. It also sought to destroy tunnels dug under the frontier with Israel used by militants to launch attack.
Since then, at least 2,036 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in Gaza, according to the Palestinian health ministry. The Israeli authorities say 64 Israeli soldiers have been killed, along with two Israeli civilians and a Thai national.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) has released a video apparently showing the killing of American journalist James Foley, who went missing in Syria in 2012.
The jihadist militant group said the killing was revenge for US air strikes against its fighters in Iraq.
James Foley’s mother, Diane, said on Facebook she was proud of her son: “He gave his life trying to expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people.”
The White House said if the video was genuine, the US would be “appalled”.
James Foley, 40, has reported extensively across the Middle East, working for the GlobalPost and other media outlets including French news agency AFP.
In the video, titled A Message to America, a man identified as James Foley is dressed in an orange jumpsuit, kneeling in desert-like terrain beside an armed man dressed in black.
He gives a message to his family and links his imminent death to the US government’s bombing campaign of IS targets in Iraq.
Clearly under duress, he says: “I call on my friends, family and loved ones to rise up against my real killers, the US government, for what will happen to me is only a result of their complacency and criminality.”
Then the masked militant, who speaks with a British accent, delivers a warning to the US government: “You are no longer fighting an insurgency. We are an Islamic Army and a state that has been accepted by a large number of Muslims worldwide.
“So any attempt by you Obama to deny the Muslims their rights of living in safety under the Islamic caliphate will result in the bloodshed of your people.”
Journalist James Foley went missing in Syria in 2012 (photo GlobalPost)
After he speaks, the militant appears to start cutting at his captive’s neck before the video fades to black.
His body is then seen on the ground.
Another captive, identified as American journalist Steven Joel Sotloff, is shown at the end, with the warning that his fate depends on President Barack Obama’s next move.
Steven Joel Sotloff was abducted a year ago in northern Syria, close to the border with Turkey.
In a statement, GlobalPost asked for “prayers for Jim and his family”, adding that it was waiting for the video to be verified.
James Foley had covered the war in Libya and was detained there for more than 40 days.
US officials confirmed that they had seen the video. One said it appeared to be authentic while two others said the victim was James Foley, Associated Press reports.
President Barack Obama is expected to make a statement later. White House National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said: “If genuine, we are appalled by the brutal murder of an innocent American journalist and we express our deepest condolences to his family and friends.”
Diane Foley, in her Facebook post, urged the militants to free any other hostages.
“Like Jim, they are innocents. They have no control over American government policy in Iraq, Syria or anywhere in the world,” she wrote.
The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists estimates that 20 journalists are missing in Syria, local as well as international, and believes many are held by ISIS militants.
The US launched air strikes almost a fortnight ago, in an attempt to help Kurdish forces curb the advance of Islamic State militants in northern Iraq and recapture the Mosul dam, the biggest in Iraq.
The ISIS has been accused of massacring hundreds of people in areas under its control in Iraq and also in eastern Syria.
Liberia has imposed a night-time curfew in a bid to halt the deadly Ebola outbreak.
In addition, it has quarantined an area of the capital Monrovia.
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said the curfew would be from 21:00 to 06:00 local time.
She said all movement would be blocked in and out of the West Point area.
Meanwhile, three doctors with Ebola who started taking experimental drug ZMapp last week showed remarkable signs of improvement, a Liberian minister said.
Liberia has imposed a night-time curfew in a bid to halt the deadly Ebola outbreak (photo AP)
Information Minister Lewis Brown said the drug was given to one Nigerian and two Liberian doctors who had caught Ebola while helping to save the lives of other victims of the virus.
In a radio broadcast, the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf blamed her government’s failure to bring Ebola under control on the public’s disregard for the advice of health workers and disrespect for official warnings.
Liberia already imposed a state of emergency earlier this month, but the number of deaths from the disease has continued to climb.
A mob attacked a health centre in West Point on Saturday, during which 17 suspected Ebola patients went missing.
Ebola has no known cure but the World Health Organization (WHO) has ruled that untested drugs can be used in light of the scale of outbreak in West Africa.
Since the beginning of the year, 1,229 people have died of the virus.
It is transmitted by direct contact with the body fluids of an infected person.
Initial flu-like symptoms can lead to external haemorrhaging from areas such as eyes and gums, and internal bleeding which can cause organ failure.
Ebola outbreak began in Guinea and has since spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
Microsoft’s ex-CEO Steve Ballmer has announced he is stepping down from the board with immediate effect.
In a public letter, Steve Ballmer said he had become “very busy” since he quit the top job and that it would be “impractical to continue”.
Steve Ballmer’s decision to leave follows his recent purchase of the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team.
Steve Ballmer has announced he is stepping down from Microsoft board with immediate effect (photo AP)
“I see a combination of the Clippers, civic contribution, teaching and study taking a lot of my time,” he wrote.
Steve Ballmer said his departure would be immediate due to a “hectic” autumn including both the start of the NBA basketball season and his teaching of a new class.
He left the chief executive role in February after more than 14 years at the helm, and has been involved in the company for more than three decades.
Steve Ballmer still holds more Microsoft shares than any other individual, and on Tuesday he pledged to hold onto them for the “foreseeable future”.
“I bleed Microsoft – have for 34 years and I always will,” Steve Ballmer wrote.
A second black man has been killed by police in St Louis, Missouri, days after Michael Brown’s death, threatening to further escalate tension.
On August 19, police officers shot dead a man who brandished a knife at them, St Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson said.
The August 9 shooting of Michael Brown, 18, sparked days of violent protests in the town of Ferguson, prompting a heavy police crackdown.
There is widespread anger against the mainly white police force for killing Michael Brown, who was unarmed.
Michael Brown’s family says his funeral will take place on Monday, August 25.
Attorney General Eric Holder is due to visit Ferguson on Wednesday to meet officials investigating the killing.
The police killing of a second black man in St Louis in 11 days has threatened to further escalate tension (photo AP)
Tuesday’s police shooting has threatened to further inflame tensions within the community.
According to police, in the early afternoon, two officers shot and killed a knife-wielding man four miles from the site of Michael Brown’s killing.
St Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson said witnesses reported the man had been behaving in an erratic manner, and emphasized the officers had a right to defend themselves.
“The suspect turned toward officers, pulled out knife in an overhand grip, told officers to <<shoot me now, kill me now>>,” he told reporters.
In another development in the Michael Brown case, the St Louis county prosecutor’s office on Tuesday said it would present evidence against Officer Darren Wilson to a grand jury on Wednesday.
The citizen panel will determine whether or not to charge Darren Wilson with killing Michael Brown.
Both St Louis officials and the US justice department are conducting investigations into the case, which has provoked demonstrations throughout the country.
Witnesses have said Michael Brown was shot as he held his hands up in a position of surrender, while the police and supporters of Darren Wilson have said he fired during a fight with the teenager.
An autopsy commissioned by Michael Brown’s family concluded he had been shot six times, twice in the head.
New York pathologist Dr. Michael Baden said Michael Brown’s body showed no signs of a struggle.
He also believed Michael Brown was not shot at close range as there was no gunpowder residue on his body, suggesting the officer was more than 2ft away.
