9 killed, at least 20 injured in Oregon bus crash

By NBC News

LA GRANDE, Ore. -- Nine people were killed and at least 20 others hospitalized on Sunday after a tour bus veered out of control on an icy stretch of freeway in eastern Oregon and rolled nearly 200 feet down an embankment, state police said.

State police reported that the driver apparently lost control of the charter bus around 10:30 a.m. on the snow- and ice-covered lanes of Interstate 84 and crashed through a guardrail before plunging down an embankment. The Oregonian newspaper reported that the bus ?tumbled nearly 200 feet before coming to a halt.

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Oregon State Police Lt. Gregg Hastings told the newspaper that about 40 passengers were on the bus at the time of the crash, which occurred near milepost 227 on Interstate 84 near Deadman Pass, according to the East Oregonian?newspaper.?

Hastings told the East Oregonian that he learned the bus was returning to Las Vegas from British Columbia, Canada. ??

Rescue workers used ropes to help retrieve the injured from the scene. Westbound lanes of I-84 were closed.

The Oregonian said 18 passengers were transported to St. Anthony's Hospital in Pendleton, about 13 miles northwest of the crash scene. Hospital spokesman Larry Blanc would not say?if or how many passengers sustained life-threatening injuries, it said.

Three fixed-wing aircraft also were on standby at the Pendleton airport if needed to transport injured to hospitals elsewhere, state police said.

Authorities did not immediately identify the operator of the charter bus.

Oregon State Police / Reuters

Rescue personnel respond to the scene of a charter bus crash on I-84, east of Pendleton, Ore. in this photo released on Dec. 30. Police said the bus may have gone out of control on the highway before crashing through a guardrail and down an embankment.

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Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/30/16254077-9-killed-at-least-20-injured-when-charter-bus-plunges-off-icy-oregon-highway?lite

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Texas entrepreneur comes of age and takes his lucky hard cider company national

Some undergrads require a parent?s signature when purchasing a new car or leasing an apartment. But Leprechaun Cider Company founder Jake Schiffer needed Mom and Dad to sign for a start-up company.

At the time he founded Texas? first hard cider company, Schiffer was an underage, aspiring entrepreneur. But he has since become an of-age business pro. The Houston-born and -raised founder admits that diving headfirst into entrepreneurship, rather than pursuing a formal business education, has had its challenges.

?This is my business school,? he says. ?I can?t learn business in a book. I have to get out there and do it.?

??I can?t learn business in a book? says Leprechaun Cider Company founder Jake Schiffer. ?I have to get out there and do it.?

Cider has yet to catch on like the craft beer industry, which is good news for Schiffer, who entered the market and signed a distribution deal with Duff just in time to catch the hard cider wave that?s about to hit the national market. The Texas-made tipple is currently in four states, and Schiffer is in talks with 10 other states and Canada.

It?s not just good timing that has lead to the company?s rapid expansion. Unlike the concentrate-rich, mass-produced woodchuck ciders of the world, Schiffer refuses to take cost-saving shortcuts, opting instead to use fresh, handpicked apples, limited to only two varieties.

?[The competition] uses very cheap apple concentrate and dozens of varieties of apples, shaken off the tree or crushed ? it?s not cared about,? he says. ?They heat it up to the point where it breaks down all of the bacteria. They ferment it ... then add water, which dilutes it. Because it doesn?t taste like apple anymore, they add back bags of sugar.?

In contrast, Schiffer says Leprechaun takes an artisanal approach to retain the unprocessed flavors of the apples, resulting in a natural, gluten-free product devoid of preservatives and concentrate.

?All we do to add sweetness is add back crushed fresh apple juice,? Schiffer says. ?We don?t add back sugar.?

Although the cider?s tap handles are side-by-side with beer and often served in pint glasses, at 7 percent alcohol by volume, cider is more closely related to a lighter wine than beer. Schiffer says that after extensive travel through Europe, where he sampled a variety of ciders ? from drier British versions to the sweeter, more carbonated ciders of Spain ? he could taste the difference with the big American brands.

?Leprechaun takes an artisanal approach to retain the unprocessed flavors of the apples, resulting in a natural, gluten-free cider devoid of preservatives and concentrate.

He wants to present a purer cider that is true to its history.

?We crush the Champagne yeast, which gives it a more light-bodied wine or Prosecco-like flavor and mouth feel,? Schiffer says. ? [It?s] not as beer-like or as syrupy [as comparable products].?

This makes it flexible in terms of cooking and mixing. Schiffer says he?s a fan of shandies made with Leprechaun and local beer.

Even in the midst of expansion, the company is making big moves to continue honoring its home state. Although the apples are currently grown in Oregon, Schiffer plans to establish an apple orchard in West Texas. The central business office and company has also found a new home in the Houston Heights.

For the time being, Leprechaun won?t be doing tours, choosing instead to focus on a cautious national expansion and maintaining its high-quality standards in the expanding line.

Pomegranate, which began as a seasonal variety, will soon proliferate the market as a year-round option for those seeking a fruitier, dessert-like pint. It joins the dry and golden ciders, making for a well-balanced lineup.

Even well before the company was signed over to him on this 21st birthday, Schiffer worked hard to make a cider that he ? and his home state ? could be proud of.

?We?ve worked our butts off to get where we?re at,? Schiffer says. ?We?ve done everything we can to grow, so I feel like we?re right on schedule.?

---

You can find Leprechaun hard cider at Central Market, Whole Foods, Spec?s and Total Wine, as well as local watering holes like the Londoner and World of Beer.

Source: http://dallas.culturemap.com/newsdetail/food-drink-texas-entrepreneur-comes-of-age-and-takes-leprechaun-cider-company-national/

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Tribune leaves bankruptcy after 4 years

CHICAGO (AP) ? Tribune Company says it has emerged from a Chapter 11 restructuring more than four years after the media company sought bankruptcy protection.

The reorganized company is starting with a new board of directors and new ownership including senior creditors Oaktree Capital Management, Angelo, Gordon and Co., and JPMorgan Chase and Co.

The company also said Monday that it closed on a new, $1.1 billion senior secured term loan and a $300 million revolving credit line.

Tribune was founded in 1847. It publishes the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune and also owns WGN in Chicago and 22 other television stations.

It sought bankruptcy protection in 2008, less than a year after billionaire developer Sam Zell led an $8 billion leveraged buyout that left the company with $13 billion in debt.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-12-31-Tribune-Bankruptcy%20Exit/id-eff4dc02b3254b3eae88bda55813e47d

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Japan's finance minister Aso to travel to Myanmar, meet president Thein Sein

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's deputy prime minister, Taro Aso, travels to Myanmar this week for talks with President Thein Sein to boost relations with the rapidly transforming country and support Japanese business interests in the region.

Aso, who doubles as finance minister, meets Thein Sein and his opposite number Win Shein in the capital Naypyitaw on Thursday in the first high-profile overseas visit by a member of Tokyo's new cabinet since it took office last week.

Prior to his ministerial appointment, Aso had already planned to visit Myanmar as a lawmaker and a member of Japan-Myanmar Association, a group of politicians, businessmen and former diplomats set up to advance Japanese business interests in Myanmar.

Their sales -- and sometimes their premises -- badly damaged by a territorial spat between Tokyo and Beijing, Japanese firms have made an aggressive push back into Myanmar after Thein Sein, a former member of the military junta began overseeing reforms.

Myanmar has introduced a substantial series of social and economic reforms since power was handed to a quasi-civilian government took power in 2011 after nearly half a century of military rule.

Change has attracted large numbers of foreign investors and prompted the United States and European Union to ease longstanding sanctions to encourage further reform.

The move by Aso, one of the closest allies of the conservative premier Shinzo Abe, underscores the importance of the Southeast Asian country, where a joint Japan-Myanmar consortium has signed a deal to develop a 2,400-hectare special economic zone in Thilawa, close to its largest city of Yangon.

The Japan-Myanmar Association has been central to securing state support for the project, including a waiver of most of Myanmar's debt arrears of more than $6 billion necessary to provide fresh loans for the construction of the zone.

Japan has said it will start waiving the arrears at the earliest opportunity in 2013.

Japan may provide an estimated $12.6 billion over several years in aid to build infrastructure around Thilawa, officials with knowledge of the project told Reuters. The plan is to build the first 450 hectares of the park by 2015 and start luring Japanese and global manufacturers.

Aso is to visit Thilawa and meet Japanese business representatives in Yangon on Friday.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans his first overseas visit to Washington around the end of January.

($1 = 86.0950 Japanese yen)

(Reporting by Antoni Slodkowski; Editing by Ron Popeski)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/japans-finance-minister-aso-travel-myanmar-meet-president-112911947--sector.html

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Canadian Press HeadLine Package

Please check the URL for proper spelling and capitalization. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Yahoo!, try visiting the Yahoo! homepage or look through a list of Yahoo!'s online services.

Please try Yahoo Help Central if you need more assistance.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/canadian-press-headline-package-064047025--spt.html

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Promised Land Movie Review

The environmental battle over natural gas drilling may not seem like the material that crowd-pleasing movies are built on, but Promised Land overcomes its potentially bland fracking setup to be a genuinely entertaining movie. In fact, this movie isn't really about fracking as much as it is the moral dilemma faced by its main character, portrayed by Matt Damon. He and John Krasinski square off in the Gus Van Sant-directed film as combating forces on either side of the fracking debate. They handily influence a small town (and the audience), though both campaigns are as compelling as they are dubious.

Damon plays Steve Butler, a slick but likable salesman, with familiar ease. He represents Global, a megacorporate natural-gas company that buys the drilling rights to citizens' land. Steve's got one last town (the fictional McKinley) to win over with his partner Sue (Frances McDormand, a pleasure to watch, as always) before he's promoted up the corporate ranks. They think they've got it in the bag until Dustin (Krasinski), an environmentalist with some bold claims about the detrimental effects of fracking and a whole lot of photos of dead cows, comes into town. Watching the tug of war that ensues to win the favor of the small population gets a little tedious, but the competitive dynamic between Steve and Dustin is one of the strengths of the film. Find out what else I thought of Promised Land when you read more.

While the environmental issue provides the basis of the film, it's much easier to get absorbed in the way Steve and Dustin each rally the town. Steve is amiable, but it's never clear exactly how much he knows about the effects of fracking, so it's hard to judge him for selling people a deal that may include poisoned land and dead livestock. On the other hand, the audience should be rooting for the forthright Dustin, but there's something about him that's also a touch shady. Rosemarie DeWitt plays a supporting role as Alice, a local teacher who sparks a romantic rivalry for Steve and Dustin. Though her presence in the movie feels a little convenient, it's not in vain, as her affections serve as a primary motivator for Steve.

The movie definitely takes a stance on its subject matter, but you don't have to agree with Promised Land's politics to enjoy it. You do learn about fracking, but at its core, this is a film about internal struggles. I was expecting to see graphs and scale models of how fracking affects land ? and, actually, I did see those ? but between the natural gas drilling lessons, there are fascinating characters.

Source: http://www.buzzsugar.com/Promised-Land-Movie-Review-26261725

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Egypt's big lesson in democracy

Egypt adopted a postrevolutionary constitution this week. But the Arab nation has only begun to understand that democracy isn't only majority rule.

By the Monitor's Editorial Board / December 27, 2012

Members of the constitutional assembly speak during a session at the Shura Council building in Cairo, Egypt, Dec. 26. The official approval of Egypt's disputed, Islamist-backed constitution Tuesday held out little hope of stabilizing the country after two years of turmoil and Islamist President Mohammed Morsi may now face a more immediate crisis with the economy falling deeper into distress.

AP Photo

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As many married couples learn the hard way, the greater good can be found simply by listening to each other. That lesson in selflessness is also true for democracies, such as the fledgling one in Egypt, a nation now pivotal to the success of the Arab Spring.

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On Tuesday, Egyptians officially began life under a mostly democratic constitution, nearly two years after the Tahrir Square revolution. But this remarkable feat for the Middle East was hardly a model in how opposing sides in a democracy should listen to each other. In fact, the US State Department issued a stern warning to President Mohamed Morsi about ?the urgent need to bridge divisions, build trust, and broaden support for the political process.?

Many of the steps on the way to the Constitution ? whose bright spot includes regular elections ? ignored the interests of Egypt?s various minorities, from liberal secularists to Coptic Christians. The dominant Muslim Brotherhood, whose party has won three national votes, fell for the notion that the majority should always get what it wants ? a mistake that has been the undoing of many democracies.

?Democracy requires much more than simple majority rule,? said a US State Department spokesman, Patrick Ventrell.

Mr. Morsi, who resorted to temporary tyranny in order to railroad the Constitution, conceded in a speech Wednesday that he had made mistakes ?here and there.? Only after his victory did he display greater sincerity toward including the opposition in the government.

??There is no alternative to a dialogue that is now a necessity,? he told Egyptians.

While the new charter passed with 63 percent of the ballots, voter turnout was low. Only 1 in 5 of eligible voters endorsed the draft document, reflecting a general disgust toward Morsi?s heavy-handed majoritarian rule. The Constitution itself includes vague protections for minorities while giving broad authority to unelected Islamic council.

Egypt is still learning that a republican democracy is merely a means ? and the best one, at that ? to define the public good. This requires a careful balancing between majority rule and minority rights, something that many Americans also fail to understand.

Constitutions, by their very nature, are a way to set down operating principles to run a society, such as basic freedoms, that majorities cannot violate. They are humanity?s way of acknowledging a higher good than temporary individual or collective wants. They are an institutional force to find common ground.America?s founders set up many obstacles to majority rule on purpose. George Washington, for example, defined the role of the Senate ? where the two votes of tiny Rhode Island equal those of California ? as the saucer to cool the hot tea of populist bills passed by the House. A president?s veto can be overridden only by supermajorities in Congress. And the Supreme Court stands guard to keep the majority from stepping on minority rights.

Democracy would also fail if a minority could also command a veto power in every case. Each country must find a solution to the tension between its majorities and minorities as well as between a constitution and the results of elections.

In Egypt?s case, the dominant Islamists have only begun to accept legal protections for non-Muslims based on a concept of citizenship for all. For Islam?s sake, this is the right course. A recent Pew Research Center poll found a majority or substantial minority of people in the Middle East and North Africa believe it is possible to interpret Islam?s teachings in multiple ways.

And as democracy advances in the region, a international group of leading Muslim scholars is leading an effort to define an Islamic basis for citizenship and the rights of minorities.
?
?Democracy cannot consist only of two wolves and sheep deciding what to have for dinner. Listening to others in a democracy helps raise individuals out of themselves in hopes of grander visions of the common good. If Egypt can succeed in that, others in the Arab world may follow.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/8Kw-5nPecVw/Egypt-s-big-lesson-in-democracy

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An image gallery gift from NASA's Swift

Dec. 28, 2012 ? Of the three telescopes carried by NASA's Swift satellite, only one captures cosmic light at energies similar to those seen by the human eye. Although small by the standards of ground-based observatories, Swift's Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) plays a critical role in rapidly pinpointing the locations of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), the brightest explosions in the cosmos.

But as the proxy to the human eye aboard Swift, the UVOT takes some amazing pictures. The Swift team is celebrating eight years of UVOT operations by collecting more than 100 of the instrument's best snapshots in a web-based photo gallery (http://www.swift.psu.edu/uvot/coolPics.php). The images also can be viewed with the free Swift Explorer Mission iPhone app (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/swift-explorer/id465669299?mt=8) developed by the Swift Mission Operations Center (MOC), which is located in State College, Pa., and operated by Penn State.

Swift has detected an average of about 90 GRBs a year since its launch in 2004. "When we aren't studying GRBs, we use the satellite's unique capabilities to engage in other scientific investigations, some of which produce beautiful images from the UVOT that we're delighted to be able to share with the public," said Michael Siegel, the lead scientist on the UVOT and a research associate in astronomy and astrophysics at the MOC.

The targets range from comets and star clusters to supernova remnants, nearby galaxies and active galaxies powered by supermassive black holes.

"One of our more challenging projects in the past was completing an ultraviolet mosaic of M31, the famous Andromeda galaxy," said Stefan Immler, a member of the Swift team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "Because the galaxy is so much larger than the UVOT field of view, we had to take dozens of pictures and blend them together to show the whole object."

An ongoing mosaic project targets the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, two small satellite galaxies orbiting our own, and makes the Andromeda effort look like child's play. Although the galaxies are much smaller than M31, they are both much closer to us and extend over much larger areas of the sky. The task involves acquiring and aligning hundreds of images and is far from complete.

With the UVOT's wavelength range of 1,700 to 6,000 angstroms, Swift remains one of few missions that study ultraviolet light, much of which is blocked by Earth's atmosphere.

The 6.5-foot-long (2 meter) UVOT is centered on an 11.8-inch (30 cm) primary mirror. Designed and built by the Mullard Space Science Laboratory in Surrey, England, the telescope module includes the primary and secondary mirrors, an external baffle to reduce scattered light, two redundant detectors -- only one has been used to date -- and a power supply.

Each detector lies behind an identical filter wheel. The wheel holds color filters that transmit a broad range of wavelengths as well as devices called grisms, which spread out incoming light in much the same way as a prism spreads sunlight into a rainbow of component colors. The detectors retain information on the position and arrival time of each photon of light, an operating mode similar to typical X-ray telescopes.

Because most ultraviolet light never reaches the ground, Swift's UVOT provides a unique perspective on the cosmos. For example, it can measure the amount of water produced in passing comets by detecting the ultraviolet emission of hydroxyl (OH), one of the molecular fragments created when ultraviolet sunlight breaks up water molecules. Other types of UVOT science include exploring emissions from the centers of active galaxies, studying regions undergoing star formation, and identifying some of the rarest and most exotic stars known.

Toward the end of its energy-producing life, a star like the sun will blow away its outer layers as its core transforms into a compact, Earth-sized remnant known as a white dwarf. This chapter of stellar evolution, known to astronomers as the post-asymptotic giant branch phase, lasts only about 100,000 years -- just an eye-blink in comparison to the star's total lifetime. To better understand the process, astronomers need to study large numbers of these unusual stars.

"The UVOT's capabilities give us a great tool for surveying stellar populations and cataloging rare types of ultraviolet-bright stars," Siegel explained.

One of the first targets for the stellar survey was the giant cluster Omega Centauri, which hosts millions of stars and may be the remains of a small galaxy. Thanks to Swift's UVOT, astronomers at Goddard and Penn State have cataloged hundreds of rare stellar types in the cluster and are now comparing their properties and numbers to predictions from theoretical models describing how stars evolve.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121228203202.htm

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Iran will open suspect military base if threats dropped: report

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran would let U.N nuclear inspectors into a military base they suspect was used for atomic weapons-related work, if threats against the Islamic Republic are dropped, a government official was quoted as saying.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) believes Iran conducted explosives tests with possible nuclear applications at Parchin, a sprawling military base southeast of Tehran, and has repeatedly asked to inspect it.

Western diplomats say Iran has carried out extensive work at Parchin over the past year to cleanse it of any evidence of illicit activities but IAEA chief Yukiya Amano said earlier this month a visit would still be "useful".

"If the trans-regional threats (against Iran) dissipate, then they will find it possible to visit Parchin," Deputy Foreign Minister Hassan Qashqavi was quoted by the Iranian Labour News Agency as saying on Wednesday. The comments were also published on Thursday by online magazine Iran Diplomacy.

Qashqavi was most likely referring to Israel's threat of military strikes against Iran and the possibility of further sanctions by the West.

Israel has said it will resort to military action if diplomacy fails to prevent Iran getting nuclear weapons. Tehran says its nuclear work is entirely peaceful.

Earlier this month, IAEA officials visited Iran to try to negotiate access to Parchin to resolve outstanding issues related to "possible military dimensions" of Iran's nuclear program.

Iran has repeatedly said that a wider agreement on the IAEA's inquiry must be reached before opening the site to inspectors.

(Reporting By Marcus George; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iran-open-suspect-military-threats-dropped-report-130930770.html

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Tinseltown Dirt

Tinseltown Dirt

Amy Poehler Tackles Jealousy [The Frisky] Demi Lovato Sings for Newtown Victims [HollyWire] Nelson Mandela Leaves Hospital [The Celebrity Cafe] Kelly Osbourne Rocks Bikini on Cosmo [The Blemish] Kate Winslet Secretly Ties the Knot [The Huffington Post] Janet Jackson Engaged [Radar Online] CNN Anchor Erin Burnett Off the Market [Bump Shack] David Gregory in Trouble ...

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Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2012/12/tinseltown-dirt-8/

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Global Strategies: "Universities Won't Go Bankrupt, But They Might ...

?Affluent people need to spend their money on something, and spending it on their kids' education is more reasonable than draping themselves in diamonds.? ? Matthew Yglesias

I have recently posted twice on the intersection of online learning and higher ed in Oregon (here, here). I hope the 2013 Oregon legislature takes up the online education issue, or, at least, gets the Oregon Education Investment Board to do so. Now blogger Matthew Yglesias has some thoughts in his post ?Universities Won?t Go Bankrupt, But They Might Lose Money? (here):

But here's what I think Caplan is right about?we should think of there being two separate tracks, one about the development of online learning tools and one about the business model of traditional colleges and these things have only a tenuous relationship to one another. It's long been possible to buy some textbooks and try to teach yourself some material. When I wanted to learn the basics of economics, that's exactly what I did?read intro textbooks. Supplementing those textbooks with audio or video recordings has been possible since at least the 1980s given the technologies of the US Postal Service, the Walkman, and the VCR. The Internet and modern digital technology obviously represents something of an advance over that previous paradigm, but it's not an earth-shattering leap. It was possible for a determined and intelligent individual to teach himself lots of stuff in 1992 and it's a bit easier and cheaper now in 2012 and should be even easier and cheaper in 2022.

?And:

The ability of colleges to secure revenue from people to derive revenue from offering a four-year residential edutainment service to people aged 18-25 seems to me like a completely different question. Sidwell Friends costs $34,000 a year in tuition not because anyone thinks the education it provides is so incredibly valuable, but simply because there are enough families in the area who can afford that much. Affluent people need to spend their money on something, and spending it on their kids' education is more reasonable than draping themselves in diamonds. Nobody wants to drive to a party in a Rolls Royce and explain to their friends that they have such a fancy car because they sent Billy upstairs to watch web videos rather than shelling out for?Princeton. I'm not sure the signaling/learning controversy is even the relevant frame for this dynamic. The big economic pressure on colleges right now is that median household income has been falling. Obviously if people get poorer and poorer they can't keep paying more and more for college. But online education is irrelevant to that dynamic, and conversely I don't think it's even slightly necessary for online education to "disrupt" incumbent colleges to make a valuable contribution to the world. People learn things outside a formal education setting all the time, and it's great that it's getting easier and cheaper to do so.

One hopes? state governments are not ?affluent people needing to spend their money on something,? so state governments need to make their human capital investment decisions differently.

Source: http://daveporter.typepad.com/global_strategies/2012/12/universities-wont-go-bankrupt-but-they-might-lose-money.html

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Study ties drug shortage to poorer cancer survival | Health ...

This December 2012 photo provided by the Alonzo family shows Abby Alonzo, 13, who has been cancer-free for over two years after her treatment at St. Jude's for Hodgkin lymphoma in 2010.

Katie Alonzo ? AP

Young cancer patients who couldn't get a key medicine because of a national drug shortage were more likely to suffer a relapse than others who were able to get the preferred treatment, doctors report. It's the first evidence that a long-standing drug-supply problem probably has affected cancer treatment results in specific patients.

The study involved more than 200 children and young adults with a blood cancer called Hodgkin lymphoma. Like childhood leukemia, it can be cured nearly 80 percent of the time. But a drug shortage that has worsened since 2009 is threatening that success rate, doctors report in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

Hundreds of drugs, including sedatives, antibiotics, painkillers and cancer treatments, have gone in and out of short supply in recent years. Reasons include manufacturing and contamination problems, plant shutdowns, and fewer makers and lower profits for certain drugs, especially generics infused during surgery or cancer treatment.

Doctors sometimes substitute different drugs for ones in short supply. But proving that the swaps led to poorer results has been tough, especially for cancer patients whose disease and response to treatment vary so much.

"We really couldn't put our finger on, did anybody really suffer?" said Dr. Michael Link, a cancer specialist at Stanford University and past president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

The new study, led by Dr. Monika Metzger of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, gives the best evidence so far that patients are suffering.

It focused on mechlorethamine, or nitrogen mustard, a drug that has been in short supply until last month, when more became available. Doctors compared results among 181 Hodgkin lymphoma patients who received the drug to 40 others who were given a different chemotherapy, cyclophosphamide, when the first choice was unavailable.

Only 75 percent of those given the substitute drug stayed free of cancer for two years versus 88 percent who received the preferred treatment.

"We can think of no credible explanation for this dramatic difference" other than the drug substitution, the authors wrote.

No patients died, but those who relapsed were given more aggressive treatments, including stem-cell transplants that have more side effects and can harm fertility.

One of them was Abby Alonzo, of Port St. Lucie, Fla. She was diagnosed with lymphoma three years ago, when she was 10. After eight weeks of treatment with the preferred drug, "she was doing wonderfully," said her mother, Katie Alonzo.

Then doctors said they were out of it.

"I said, what do you mean, we don't have the medication my child needs?" Katie Alonzo said.

After four weeks on the substitute chemo, Abby's cancer had returned and spread to more places, her mother said. The child received high doses of chemotherapy and radiation and now seems cancer-free, although the treatments damaged her lung capacity, leaving her short of breath.

"When your child has cancer you live day by day," and to find out a life-saving medicine isn't available is "very, very frightening," Katie Alonzo said.

Follow Marilynn Marchione at http://twitter.com/MMarchioneAP

Source: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/12/26/2393202/study-ties-drug-shortage-to-poorer.html

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Supreme Court justice refuses to block morning-after pill rule

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Wednesday denied a request to block part of the federal health care law that requires employee health-care plans to provide insurance coverage for the morning-after pill and similar emergency contraception pills.

Hobby Lobby Stores and a sister company, Mardel Inc., sued the government, claiming the mandate violates the religious beliefs of its owners.

In an opinion, Sotomayor said the stores fail to satisfy the demanding legal standard for blocking the requirement on an emergency basis. She said the companies may continue their challenge to the regulations in the lower courts.

Company officials say they must decide whether to violate their faith or face a daily $1.3 million fine beginning Jan. 1 if they ignore the law.

Attorneys for the government have said the drugs do not cause abortions and that the U.S. has a compelling interest in mandating insurance coverage for them.

In ruling against the companies last month, U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton said churches and other religious organizations have been granted constitutional protection from the birth-control provisions but that "Hobby Lobby and Mardel are not religious organizations."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/justice-refuses-block-morning-pill-230847527.html

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Fees undermine fliers' ability to compare fares

FILE - This Dec. 21, 2012 file photo shows travelers walking to a ticketing desk at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. For many passengers, air travel is only about finding the cheapest fare. But as airlines offer a proliferating list of add-on services, from early boarding to premium seating and baggage fees, the ability to comparison-shop for the lowest total fare is eroding. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

FILE - This Dec. 21, 2012 file photo shows travelers walking to a ticketing desk at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. For many passengers, air travel is only about finding the cheapest fare. But as airlines offer a proliferating list of add-on services, from early boarding to premium seating and baggage fees, the ability to comparison-shop for the lowest total fare is eroding. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? For many passengers, air travel is only about finding the cheapest fare.

But as airlines offer a proliferating list of add-on services, from early boarding to premium seating and baggage fees, the ability to comparison-shop for the lowest total fare is eroding.

Global distribution systems that supply flight and fare data to travel agents and online ticketing services like Orbitz and Expedia, accounting for half of all U.S. airline tickets, complain that airlines won't provide fee information in a way that lets them make it handy for consumers trying to find the best deal.

"What other industry can you think of where a person buying a product doesn't know how much it's going to cost even after he's done at the checkout counter?" said Simon Gros, chairman of the Travel Technology Association, which represents the global distribution services and online travel industries.

The harder airlines make it for consumers to compare, "the greater opportunity you have to get to higher prices," said Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, whose members include corporate travel managers.

Now the Obama administration is wading into the issue. The Department of Transportation is considering whether to require airlines to provide fee information to everyone with whom they have agreements to sell their tickets. A decision originally scheduled for next month has been postponed to May, as regulators struggle with a deluge of information from airlines opposed to regulating fee information, and from the travel industry and consumer groups that support such a requirement.

Meanwhile, Spirit Airlines, Allegiant Air and Southwest Airlines ? with backing from industry trade associations ? are asking the Supreme Court to reverse an appeals court ruling forcing them to include taxes in their advertised fares. The appeals court upheld a Transportation Department rule that went in effect nearly a year ago that ended airlines' leeway to advertise a base airfare and show the taxes separately, often in smaller print. Airlines say the regulations violate their free-speech rights.

At the heart of the debate is a desire by airlines to move to a new marketing model in which customers don't buy tickets based on price alone. Instead, following the well-worn path of other consumer companies, airlines want to mine personal data about customers in order to sell them tailored services. You like to sit on the aisle and to ski, so how would you like to fly to Aspen with an aisle seat and a movie, no extra baggage charge for your skis, and have a hotel room and a pair of lift tickets waiting for you, all for one price? You're a frequent business traveler. How about priority boarding, extra legroom, Internet access and a rental car when you arrive?

"Technology is changing rapidly. We are going to be part of the change," said Sharon Pinkerton, vice president of Airlines for America, which represents most U.S. carriers. "We want to be able to offer our customers a product that's useful to them, that's customized to meet their needs, and we don't think (the Transportation Department) needs to step in."

If airlines have their way, passengers looking for ticket prices may have to reveal a lot more information about themselves, such as their age, marital status, gender, nationality, travel history and whether they're flying for business or leisure. The International Air Transport Association, whose 240 member airlines cover 84 percent of global airline traffic, adopted standards at a meeting earlier this month in Geneva for such information gathering by airlines as well as by travel agents and ticketing services that would relay the data to airlines and receive customized fares in return.

"Airlines want, and expect, their (ticket) distribution partners to offer passengers helpful contextual information to make well-informed purchase decisions, reducing the number of reservations made based primarily or exclusively on price," said a study commissioned by the association.

Consumer advocates question how airlines would safeguard the personal information they gather, and they worry that comparison shopping for the cheapest air fares will no longer be feasible.

"It's like going to a supermarket where before you get the price, they ask you to swipe your driver's license that shows them you live in a rich zip code, you drive a BMW, et cetera," Mitchell said. "All this personal information on you is going out to all these carriers with no controls over what they do with it, who sees it and so on."

The airline association said consumers who choose not to supply personal information would still be able to see fares and purchase tickets, though consumer advocates said those fares would probably be at the "rack rate" ? the travel industry's term for full price, before any discounts.

It's up to individual airlines whether they price fares differently for travelers who don't provide personal information, said Perry Flint, a spokesman for the international airline association.

The stakes, of course, are enormous. Since 2000, U.S. airlines have lost money for more years than they've made profits. Fee revenue has made a big difference in their bottom lines. Globally, airlines raked in an estimated $36 billion this year in ancillary revenue, which includes baggage fees and other a la carte services as well as sales of frequent flyer points and commissions on hotel bookings, according to a study by Amadeus, a global distribution service, and the IdeaWorksCompany, a U.S. firm that helps airlines raise ancillary revenue. U.S. airlines reported collecting nearly $3.4 billion in baggage fees alone in 2011.

One expense airlines would like to eliminate is the $7 billion a year they pay global distribution systems to supply flight and fare information to travel agents and online booking agents like Expedia. Airlines want to deal more directly with online ticket sellers and travel agents, who dominate the lucrative business travel market. Justice Department officials have acknowledged an investigation is underway into possible anti-trust violations by distribution companies.

Airlines also have been cracking down on websites that help travelers manage their frequent flier accounts. The sites use travelers' frequent flier passwords to obtain balances and mileage expiration dates, and then display the information in a way that makes it easier for travelers to figure out when it makes more sense to buy a ticket or to use miles.

"What the airlines are trying to do right now is reinvent the wheel so they can hold all their information close to their chest," said Charles Leocha, founder of the Consumer Travel Alliance. "As we move forward in a world of IT, the ownership of passenger data is like gold to these people."

By withholding information like fee prices, he said, "we are forced to go see them, and then we are spoon-fed what they want to feed us."

___

Airlines for America http://www.airlines.org

Travel Technology Association http://www.traveltechnologyassociation.org

Business Travel Coalition http://businesstravelcoalition.com/

___

Follow Joan Lowy at http://www.twitter.com/AP_Joan_Lowy

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-12-26-Airline%20Fees/id-c68c80dd768a4341b674015191c83e7a

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IFixit loves new tech devices, especially in pieces

SAN LUIS OBISPO ? Jake Devincenzi was thrilled to get his hands on Google's new Nexus 4 smartphone. He admired its sleek black case and large touch screen ? and he couldn't wait to tear it apart.

In a small room cluttered with discarded computer parts, Devincenzi picked up a blue plastic stylus and eased the tool into a seam on the side of the phone as three co-workers watched.

Minutes later, a pop. The tear-down had begun.

"We're in," he said, and grinned.

Each time Devincenzi plucked a part from the Nexus 4, he took a high-resolution photo and posted it online. By the end of the week, more than 60,000 people had scrutinized the tear-down, curious to know what was inside.

Devincenzi, a 20-year-old Cal Poly San Luis Obispo student, works part time for IFixit, a company that has less of a business mission than a manifesto: "Repair is independence. We have the right to remove 'Do Not Remove' stickers."

With the helping hands of technicians such as Devincenzi and repair guides written by volunteer tech experts, IFixit is tapping into growing frustration with cellphones, tablets and computers that, once broken, are almost impossible to fix. The company says it wants to teach people how to repair electronic devices once again ? and will sell them the tools to do it.

The company's logo is a clenched fist thrusting a wrench in the air.

"It's not like it was 10 years ago, when you could open things up and kind of half-recognize what was in there," said Sean Campbell, a technology industry analyst with the Oregon research firm Cascade Insights. "I think most people have given up."

To IFixit staff, every high-resolution photograph of naked phone bits splayed across a table is a small act of rebellion against big technology companies like Apple, Google and Samsung. Tear-downs, they say, are a rallying cry for the common man to grab a screwdriver and take back the right to do it yourself.

"We're not necessarily actively anti-Apple or anti 'the Man,'" said Scott Dingle, 25, a customer service representative. "It's more like, we train other people to do it themselves."

What is now a staff of 35 began as two people. In 2003, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo freshmen Kyle Wiens and Luke Soules started selling laptop parts out of a dorm room. When they couldn't find manufacturer-issued repair guides, they wrote their own. The first manual they posted online got 10,000 page views in the first weekend.

They moved their business to a three-car garage, then a house, then a loft-like two-story office in downtown San Luis Obispo. Most IFixit employees are younger than 35. Many grew up taking apart toasters.

Last year, IFixit earned $5.9 million in revenue by selling parts, kits and tools. Some of their more popular items include a "spudger" to adjust small wires, a five-sided screwdriver that fits Apple's proprietary screws, and a magnetic mat to keep track of tiny pieces that come loose.

Some of its tools resemble teeth-cleaning instruments. That's because the first tools IFixit used had been discarded by a dentist.

After Christmas, the company usually sees a spike in sales of parts, Wiens said. He attributes that to people who decide to repair their old gadgets if they don't get a new one as a gift.

Soules, 28, is the business mind. He runs the in-house shipping center and handles the money. The revenue he oversees covers operating costs, including salaries, tear-downs and expensive trips to buy gadgets the moment they come out.

Wiens, 28, is the chief executive and the ideas guy. In college, he dreamed of building a robot that would pick strawberries. Today he dreams of a world where computers don't wind up in landfills, but are fixed instead.

On the Friday before Thanksgiving, workers gathered at IFixit headquarters. Bikes, homemade robots and vintage pinball machines crowded the entryway. Upstairs, an employee's dog sniffed past an 8-foot-tall potato launcher and into the office break room, where Wiens' wife had prepared dinner for more than 50 people.

Spouses and significant others settled on couches to eat. The pingpong table became a dining room table. A baby cried.

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/gjVzle9P-M8/la-fi-ifixit-20121225,0,1689995.story

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Details of Toyota sudden acceleration settlement (Providence Journal)

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Syria envoy seeks peace as clashes rage

BEIRUT (Reuters) - International envoy Lakhdar Brahimi pursued mediation efforts in Damascus on Tuesday, but there was no pause in the bloodletting as Syrian Christians marked a bleak Christmas Day with prayers for peace.

"We are here in a cave that symbolizes Syria right now," said a priest standing beside a nativity scene in a grotto.

"It is cold here but the door is open to all refugees," he told Syrian state TV. "Amid the hunger, cold and deprivation, we still have hope for peace and love for our country."

More than 44,000 Syrians have been killed since a revolt against President Bashar al-Assad erupted 21 months ago, igniting an increasingly sectarian conflict that broadly pits a Sunni Muslim majority against Assad's Alawite minority.

Christians, many of whom have been reluctant to join what they see as an Islamist-tinged insurgency, feel threatened.

Bishop John Kawak, speaking on state TV, said the Christmas holiday was "a symbol for the rebirth of the nation". He condemned "terrorism", the government's term for the rebellion.

Brahimi met some dissidents who are tolerated by Assad but rejected by the mainstream opposition and by rebels fighting to oust him, a day after he held talks with the Syrian president.

There was no word on any progress in the U.N.-Arab League' envoy's drive to end violence that has intensified in recent months as Assad uses airpower and artillery against rebel gains.

Raja Naser, secretary general of the National Coordination Body, said after meeting Brahimi that the envoy planned a week of meetings in Damascus and would stay until Sunday.

"There is still a lot of concern but there is also great hope that these meetings with other Syrian officials will result in some agreements or positive developments," he said.

But most opposition groups appear frustrated with Brahimi's quest for a deal on a transitional government. He has not clarified any role for Assad, whose foes say he must simply go, arguing that too much blood has been shed for any other outcome.

GULF PLEA

Gulf Arab leaders, who have long called for Assad's removal and some of whom have helped the rebels with guns and money, urged swift world action to halt the "massacres" and violations of international law in Syria.

The pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported clashes and government shelling in hotspots across the country, including towns on the eastern outskirts of Damascus.

Abu Nidal, a spokesman for the Rebel Military Council in Damascus, said fighters had killed the head of a local security branch in the capital's suburb of Jaramana, home to a large Christian and Druze population.

In his Christmas message to the world on Tuesday, Pope Benedict encouraged Syrians not to lose hope for peace.

"May peace spring up for the people of Syria, deeply wounded and divided by a conflict which does not spare even the defenseless and reaps innocent victims," he said.

"I appeal for an end to the bloodshed, easier access for the relief of refugees and the displaced, and dialogue in the pursuit of a political solution to the conflict."

Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have fled abroad to escape the daily violence. Those who remain face severe shortages of food, fuel and other essentials as winter weather takes a grip.

Syrian activists offered a message of solidarity with Christians despite rising tensions in central Hama province, where rebels have demanded that Christian villages let them enter to force out the army and pro-Assad "shabbiha" militias.

"We say to the Christians, you are our brothers and our beloved, and your holiday is our holiday," said Abu Faisal, a Hama activist who posted a Christmas message on the Internet.

"The rebels are surrounding (the Christian town) Muhardeh to get rid of Assad's soldiers and shabbiha, but we have not forgotten your honorable stance when you took care of our refugees when the army entered Hama," he said.

"We will not accept that you are targeted by hatred, you are our brothers and our friends."

(Additional reporting by Philip Pullela in Vatican City and Asma Alsharif in Manama)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syria-envoy-seeks-peace-clashes-rage-101206393.html

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Your Interior Psychic: 5 Measures To Unleash It ? Social Networking ...

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Financial Planner whose job is to devise | Wiki Sports Book

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Don't be fooled by January pay _ higher taxes loom

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Workers probably won't feel the full brunt of next year's tax increases in their January paychecks, but don't be fooled by the temporary reprieve.

No matter what Congress does to address the year-end fiscal cliff, it's already too late for employers to accurately withhold income taxes from January paychecks, unless all the current tax rates remain unchanged, which is an unlikely scenario.

Social Security payroll taxes are set to increase on Jan. 1, so workers should immediately feel the squeeze of a 2 percent cut in their take-home pay. But as talks drag on over how to address other year-end tax increases, the Internal Revenue Service has delayed releasing income tax withholding tables for 2013.

As a result, employers are planning to withhold income taxes at the 2012 rates, at least for the first one or two paychecks of the year, said Michael O'Toole of the American Payroll Association.

If employers don't withhold enough taxes in January, they will have to withhold even more taxes later in the year to make up the difference. Otherwise, taxpayers could get hit with big tax bills, and possibly penalties, when they file their 2013 returns.

The tax increases could be steep. If Congress fails to act, workers at every income level face significant tax increases next year as part of the year-end "fiscal cliff."

A taxpayer making between $50,000 and $75,000 would get an average tax increase of $2,400, according to the Tax Policy Center, a Washington research group. If the worker is paid every two weeks, that's about $92 a paycheck, on average.

Someone making between $75,000 and $100,000 would get a tax increase averaging nearly $3,700. If the worker is paid every two weeks, that's about $142 a paycheck.

O'Toole said it would take most employers two weeks to four weeks to update their payroll systems, once new tax withholding tables are released. For some small businesses, it could take longer.

"Employers can't really just come up with withholding tables on their own, depending on what the rates are," O'Toole said. "The smaller companies that do not use a payroll processing service probably would have more problems than anyone else."

On Friday, the IRS said it plans to issue guidance by the end the year, though it won't be early enough to affect paychecks in early January.

"We are aware that employers have questions with respect to 2013 withholding," the agency said in a written statement. "Since Congress is still considering changes to the tax law, we continue to closely monitor the situation. We intend to issue guidance by the end of the year on appropriate withholding for 2013."

About three-quarters of taxpayers got tax refunds this year, averaging $2,707, according to the IRS. That gives most taxpayers some leeway to manage their income tax withholding. However, many people rely on tax refunds to pay bills or make major purchases.

"The reality is, the vast majority of Americans do live paycheck to paycheck and that tax refund is their most significant payday of the year," said Bob Meighan, vice president of TurboTax, an online tax preparation service.

Most of the expiring tax breaks were first enacted under President George W. Bush and extended under President Barack Obama. Obama campaigned for re-election on extending the tax cuts on incomes below $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for married couples. Obama would let the tax cuts expire on incomes above those amounts.

In negotiations with House Speaker John Boehner, Obama offered to raise the income threshold, limiting tax increases to those making more than $400,000. Boehner, who has argued for years that the tax cuts should be made permanent for everyone, responded by trying to push a bill through the House that would have let many of the tax cuts expire on incomes above $1 million.

Many Republicans revolted and Boehner, R-Ohio, shelved the bill, sending lawmakers home for the Christmas holiday and leaving the outcome of talks in doubt as the new year approaches.

If Congress and the White House cannot reach a deal, income tax rates would go up, estate taxes and investment taxes would increase and the alternative minimum tax would hit millions of middle-income people. A temporary payroll tax cut that has benefited nearly every wage earner in 2011 and 2012 expires, costing the average family an additional $1,000 a year by itself.

In addition, dozens of other tax breaks for businesses and individuals that are routinely renewed each year already expired at the end of 2011. Congress was expected to renew many of them by January, so taxpayers could still claim them on their 2012 tax returns.

If Congress doesn't act on those tax cuts, businesses would lose a popular tax credit for research and development as well as generous tax breaks for investing in new plants and equipment. Individuals would lose federal tax breaks for paying local sales taxes, buying energy efficient appliances and using mass transit.

In all, taxes would go up by about $536 billion next year.

___

Follow Stephen Ohlemacher on Twitter: http://twitter.com/stephenatap

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dont-fooled-january-pay-higher-132524593.html

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Bengals stun Steelers clinch | Colts clinch, too

Cincy intercepts Roethlisberger in final seconds, Brown kicks 43-yard field goal

Jason Cohn / Reuters

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Heath Miller watches as Leon Hall runs an interception back for a touchdown in the first quarter.

By Will Graves

updated 5:07 p.m. ET Dec. 23, 2012

PITTSBURGH - Andy Dalton and A.J. Green have the Cincinnati Bengals back in the postseason.

Dalton hit Green for a 21-yard pass in the final moments, setting up Josh Brown's 43-yard field goal with 4 seconds remaining. That lifted the Bengals over the Pittsburgh Steelers 13-10 on Sunday, sending Cincinnati into the playoffs for a second straight season.

It's the first time since 1981-82 that Cincinnati made the playoffs in consecutive years - and the first time not involving a strike season.

Brown missed a 56-yarder earlier in the quarter. He earned a second chance when Reggie Nelson picked off Ben Roethlisberger and returned it to the Pittsburgh 46 with 14 seconds remaining. Andy Dalton found Green down the right sideline, setting up Brown's winner.

Dalton completed 24 of 41 for 278 yards and two interceptions for the Bengals (9-6), who snapped a five-game losing streak to Pittsburgh (7-8). Green caught 10 passes for 116 yards for Cincinnati.

Roethlisberger completed 14 of 28 passes for 220 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, including his costly mistake in the final seconds that ended Pittsburgh's playoff hopes. It marked the second straight week a Roethlisberger pick cost the Steelers: He threw an interception on the second play of overtime in last week's loss at Dallas.

The Steelers needed to win out to play into January, but couldn't manage any momentum against a Cincinnati defense that gave Roethlisberger problems all afternoon. The Bengals sacked Roethlisberger four times and allowed Pittsburgh to complete just 2 of 14 third downs.

Cincinnati wasn't much better, managing all of 14 yards rushing against the NFL's top-ranked defense. But Dalton and Green worked just enough magic.

Pittsburgh did a decent job of keeping Dalton and Green in check, forcing a season-high three turnovers and making a season-high six sacks. But the offense couldn't take advantage.

Still, the Steelers had one last chance when they took over with 44 seconds left. Roethlisberger rolled right and tried to hit Mike Wallace down the sideline. The ball sailed over Wallace's head and into the arms of Nelson, who had dropped an earlier pick.

It was just enough time for Dalton and Green to get together one last time and help Cincinnati take one more step away from its mediocre past.

The Steelers, meanwhile, head into next week's season finale trying to avoid their first losing season under coach Mike Tomlin after falling for the fifth time in six games.

Both teams squandered opportunities earlier in the fourth quarter.

The Bengals drove into Pittsburgh territory before stalling at the Steelers 38. Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis sent out Brown to attempt a 56-yard field goal into the tricky Heinz Field winds.

The kick was never close, giving the Steelers premium field position with 3:18 left.

Pittsburgh, however, had its own kicking issues. The Steelers moved to the Cincinnati 36, then brought out Shaun Suisham for a 53-yard attempt that was short all the way.

The Steelers spent the week insisting they play their best when backed into a corner, then spent most of the first half getting pushed around by the Bengals. Roethlisberger, who had been critical of offensive coordinator Todd Haley after the loss to Dallas, struggled getting into a rhythm.

The quarterback had voiced concern over the inability to get the ball to tight end Heath Miller against the Cowboys and tried to make up for it early. Cincinnati was waiting.

Leon Hall stepped in front of a crossing pass to Miller late in the first quarter and sprinted 17 yards for a touchdown to give the Bengals the lead. Pittsburgh, fueled by the return of running back Rashard Mendenhall following a one-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team, drove deep into Cincinnati territory only to have Suisham shank a 24-yard field goal wide left following a botched snap.

The Bengals eventually went up 10-0 on a 41-yard field goal by Brown late in the second quarter before the Steelers finally found some life. Brown streaked down the sideline for a 60-yard touchdown catch to pull Pittsburgh within 10-7.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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