In one of the strangest moments of a strange few weeks on Capitol Hill, a House stenographer broke into a rant about God, the Constitution and Freemasonry as representatives cast their votes Wednesday on a deal to reopen the government.
"He will not be mocked," the stenographer, later identified as Dianne Reidy, yelled into the microphone at the chamber's rostrum. "The greatest deception here is that this is not one nation under God. It never was. It would not have been. The Constitution would not have been written by Freemasons. They go against God."
She was quickly escorted away from the lectern by floor staff, but continued: "You cannot serve two masters. Praise be to God. Praise be to Jesus."
Capitol Police said Reidy had been "transported to a local area hospital for evaluation."
Rep. Gerry Connolly, a Virginia Democrat, was quoted byThe Washington Post as saying the stenographer is a well-known and liked figure in the House.
"I think there's a lot of sympathy because something clearly happened there," Connolly said.
The Serpentine Galleries' new visual identity was designed by Pentagram’s Marina Willer and Wolff Olins’ Brian Boylan. Image: Pentagram
The new logo features a brand new typeface and most notably, a big, gaping aperture that can be resized and repositioned anywhere in the word Serpentine. Image: Pentagram
It's meant to project a sense of openness. Image: Pentagram
It was unveiled to coincide with the opening of the Zaha Hadid-designed Sackler Gallery. Image: Pentagram
The entrance to The Magazine, The Serpentine's restaurant. Image: Pentagram
The restaurant's menus are meant to reflect Hadid's undulating structure. It's one of the more successful applications of the new branding. Image: Pentagram
The new branding in front of Sou Fujimoto's temporary pavilion. Image: Pentagram
The typeface, with its mix of sharp and rounded edges is supposed to be "approachable, welcoming and thought-provoking and challenging." Image: Pentagram
Logos require a new level of elasticity since they’re going to be used on signs, paper, tablets, web and in video. Image: Pentagram
The Serpentine Galleries' new visual identity was designed by Pentagram’s Marina Willer and Wolff Olins’ Brian Boylan. Image: Pentagram
The new logo features a brand new typeface and most notably, a big, gaping aperture that can be resized and repositioned anywhere in the word Serpentine. Image: Pentagram
It's meant to project a sense of openness. Image: Pentagram
It was unveiled to coincide with the opening of the Zaha Hadid-designed Sackler Gallery. Image: Pentagram
The entrance to The Magazine, The Serpentine's restaurant. Image: Pentagram
The restaurant's menus are meant to reflect Hadid's undulating structure. It's one of the more successful applications of the new branding. Image: Pentagram
The new branding in front of Sou Fujimoto's temporary pavilion. Image: Pentagram
The typeface, with its mix of sharp and rounded edges is supposed to be "approachable, welcoming and thought-provoking and challenging." Image: Pentagram
Logos require a new level of elasticity since they’re going to be used on signs, paper, tablets, web and in video. Image: Pentagram
The Serpentine Gallery is having a moment of transformation. With the opening of Zaha Hadid’s undulating, tent-like Sackler Gallery earlier this month, the museum has expanded its physical space and elaborated on its name, referring to itself now as the Serpentine Galleries. In fact, the London art institution has gone full throttle on its Cinderella moment and has gotten itself an entirely new visual identity.
Designed by Pentagram’s Marina Willer and Wolff Olins’ Brian Boylan, the Serpentine’s new logo features a brand new typeface and most notably, a big, gaping aperture that can be resized and repositioned anywhere within the word Serpentine. So on one sign you’ll see ‘Ser—pentine Galleries’ while on another you’ll see ‘Serpen—tine Galleries.’ Check out the website right now, and you’ll read it as ‘Serpe—ntine.’ It’s an interesting choice, and one that Willer says is meant to point to the pervading theme of the Serpentine’s new identity: openness. “The concept came from the idea of the Serpentine being an open landscape for arts and culture,” explains Willer. “Open as in free, in the open (park) and open to new art forms and ideas.”
Requisite design tropes aside, the Serpentine’s logo is really an attempt to demonstrate that the gallery is more than just a place to hang art. Like most media-centric companies, the Serpentine is multifaceted—it’s a gallery, a restaurant, a cultural centerpiece amidst a sprawling park. But how do you explain that you’re actually many things though a simple logo? The Serpentine’s answer is the aperture, a hole that can be filled with a pretty photo of the park or an image from an upcoming exhibition depending on the occasion. It’s a smarter, better looking way to approach the idea of the logo as a customizable container, which other companies have unsuccessfully attempted. Think back to the failed ‘My__’ logo, which fell flat not just because it was lame design, but also because Myspace itself didn’t know what belonged in the blank.
Serpentine’s new logo offers total flexibility.
The Serpentine, for its part, seems to be aware of its value and what it offers the world, which helps to anchor the limitless possibilities of the aperture. Even beyond the conceptual ideas behind the new Serpentine identity, it’s true that more and more, logos require total flexibility. Like we saw with the Whitney’s responsive W, modern logos require a new level of elasticity since they’re going to be used on signs, paper, tablets, web and in video. An authoritarian logo has its merits, and it certainly conveys a cohesive sense of branding, but art museums in particular have the convenience, an obligation even, to push the boundaries of what we’re used to.
The accompanying logo typeface, designed by Pentagram’s Ian Osborne, is, for lack of a better word, quirky. With its mix of rounded and sharp edges, it’s definitely an update to the “englishness” of Graphic Thought Facility’s modified Monotype Grotesque that had been used across branding materials since 2009. Willer explains, “We used round and sharp corners on the logo typeface to be both approachable, welcoming and thought-provoking, challenging. With him [Osborne], we created a font that is modern and straightforward as we think the voice of Serpentine should be.” It hasn’t been universally loved, with some critics lambasting the font for being too much on an already visually-heavy palette. And true, when compared to the Serpentine’s stoic logo of the past, this one is certainly livelier and more inviting, even if it does try just a little too hard to be those things. When it’s all said and done though, the Serpentine got what it wanted (and needed) because this logo does feel—you have to admit—open.
MALE (Reuters) - Maldives police forced a halt to a presidential election on Saturday, in what the leading candidate's supporters said was a new coup as he called on them to block the streets in protest.
The Indian Ocean archipelago which has been in turmoil since February 2012, when then-president Mohamed Nasheed was ousted by mutinying police, military forces and armed demonstrators.
The election was due to be held on Saturday, after a vote in September was annulled over allegations of fraud.
However, there had been confusion over whether it could go ahead as some candidates had still not signed a new voter register in accordance with a Supreme Court ruling early on Saturday to allow the election.
Just hours before polls were due to open for the vote that Nasheed looked set to win, police surrounded the secretariat of the Elections Commission, forcing a delay condemned by the international community.
Police said they could not support an election held "in contravention of the Supreme Court verdict and guidelines".
Police Chief Superintendent Abdulla Nawaz said he had acted due to concern about "any unrest that may occur in the country as a result of letting the election proceed".
Nasheed's supporters have staged violent protests since he was ousted, and masked men this month fire-bombed a television station that backs Nasheed, who came to international prominence in 2009 after holding a cabinet meeting underwater in scuba gear to highlight the threat of climate change.
"There has been a coup in the Maldives, and the coup backers, in order to maintain that coup, are committing bigger and bigger atrocities day after day," he told supporters staging a sit-in at two road junctions that brought Male to a halt.
"I call on you to block these streets ... Let us shut down Male. Male can't function, we must succeed."
Security forces cordoned off part of Male that included the president's office and the Supreme Court, while Nasheed's supporters blocked other streets with ropes, human chains, motorbikes and trucks, a Reuters reporter said.
Ahmed Khalid, 33, an artist at the protest, said: "The police are in control of this country. This is a coup."
"THREAT TO DEMOCRACY"
Elections Commissioner Fuwad Thowfeek told a news conference it could not proceed with the vote if police were obstructing it, saying officers had "overstepped their authority".
Thowfeek appeared on state television late on Saturday to say it would take a minimum of 21 days to amend the voter register again and the commission was in discussion with the government to potentially hold polls on November 2 or Nov 9.
Elections Commission member Ali Mohamed Manik said: "This is a dark day for democracy."
Nasheed, who came to power in the Maldives' first free elections in 2008, looked set to return to office when he won the first round of an election on September 7, putting him in a good position to win a run-off vote set for September 28.
But that election was cancelled by the Supreme Court which cited fraud. International observers had said the election was free and fair. The court later ordered a fresh election by October 20 and a run-off by Nov 3, if required.
The current president's term expires on November 11.
A spokesman for Nasheed's Maldivian Democratic Party, Hamid Abdul Ghafoor, called on Saturday for the intervention of world powers. "An interim arrangement has to be sought through international intervention," he said.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma said: "I cannot stress firmly enough how critical it is for all state institutions and presidential candidates to cooperate in good faith to ensure that this election can take place as soon as possible."
A U.S. diplomat in nearby Sri Lanka told reporters the failure to hold the election "represents a real threat to democracy in the Maldives".
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said new delays "will be seen as nothing less than an attempt to frustrate the democratic process".
Nasheed's main election rival is Abdulla Yameen, a half-brother of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who ruled for 30 years and was considered a dictator by opponents and rights groups. Holiday resort tycoon Gasim Ibrahim, who was finance minister under Gayoom, was also running.
Critical issues the new president will face include a rise in Islamist ideology, human rights abuses and a lack of investor confidence after current President Mohamed Waheed's government cancelled the biggest foreign investment project, with India's GMR Infrastructure.
(Additional reporting by Ranga Sirilal in Colombo and Marie-Louise Gumuchian in London; Writing by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Alison Williams)
But at least one thing has long been certain: the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its monthly jobs report at exactly 8:30 a.m. on a Friday.
Next week, Tuesday will feel like a Friday.
That's because late Thursday afternoon, the BLS updated its post-shutdown schedule for data releases. The new schedule shows that the long-delayed and much-anticipated September employment report will come out on Tuesday.
The original release date was Friday, Oct. 4. But that jobs report got caught up in the government shutdown. Now it will be released Tuesday, Oct. 22.
And the October report, originally scheduled for release on Nov. 1, will be pushed to Nov. 8. That's late, but at least it's a Friday. TGIT just doesn't sound right.
An exciting thing happened in the world of dinosaur bones this week: News broke that a rare Diplodocus longus skeleton will go to the auction block next month. This must have thrilled everybody's favorite beat jockey, Diplo, who took his name from the dinosaur.
You see, Diplo (née Thomas Wesley Pentz) was fascinated with dinosaurs as a child. And it's easy to understand why he gravitated towards the Diplodocus well into adulthood: These massive sauropods grew to be nearly 200 feet long and weighed nearly 20 tons. "Misty," the Diplodocus going up for sale in the United Kingdom on November 27, hails from the state of Wyoming and is expected to fetch $640,000 to $960,000.
That's a sum that Diplo, one of the world's highest paying DJs, can actually afford—though, obviously, it's unclear if he's even in the market. For now, let's celebrate Misty's arrival with one of Diplo's more colossal tracks,
ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — Ndamukong Suh has been fined by the NFL.
Again.
The Detroit Lions defensive tackle was docked $31,500 by the league for a hit on Cleveland Browns quarterback Brandon Weeden, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press. The person spoke Wednesday on condition of anonymity because the fine had not been announced.
Suh insisted earlier in the day he was unaware the NFL was reviewing his actions during Sunday's game, but acknowledged being used to the scrutiny.
"I think there is always going to be a microscope on me," he said. "I think there has been a microscope on me since I was first drafted."
Since Detroit selected Suh No. 2 overall in 2010, he has been fined seven times for more than $200,000. He lost $165,294 in pay during a two-game suspension in his second season for stomping on the right arm of Green Bay's Evan Dietrich-Smith.
Earlier this season, Suh was docked $100,000 for an illegal block on Minnesota center John Sullivan in Week 1 during an interception return. He lost an appeal last week, upholding the largest fine in NFL history for on-field conduct, not counting suspensions.
Suh wasn't penalized for his latest act that drew discipline, but it was shown on a video posted on NFL.com as vice president of officiating Dean Blandino said he wanted to look at it more for "potential helmet to the body."
Lions center Dominic Raiola — perhaps Suh's most vocal supporter — saw Suh's hit on Weeden after he threw a pass and said it was "ridiculous" that the league was even considering discipline.
"The guy is violent, football is a violent game," Raiola said. "I don't think you can ever make hitting somebody soft."
Raiola noted the officials had a better view, and didn't throw a flag.
"They were right there," Raiola recalled. "It was a football play, to me. But I guess maybe my view of football now is different than the way football is viewed now. I really don't know what they're looking at."
Suh knows the league is looking at everything he does, saying nothing in life is fair, but said it won't make him want to leave the game.
"Not everything is going to go your way in life," he said. "I understood that and grew up that way. It's just like for me, I wanted a Nintendo 64 when I was little and my mom said, 'No.' I had to deal with it."
And, now the Cincinnati Bengals (4-2) have to deal Suh on Sunday when they play at Detroit (4-2). Bengals left tackle Andrew Whitworth said Suh's after-whistle hits have diminished his ability to be known as a great player, but doesn't think he's a dirty player.
"He's not dirtier than guys that played the game back in the day," Whitford said. "The real truth is now he plays the game in an era where there's a TV camera covering every single possible thing on the field and a lot of stuff gets put on film. People know about it. Outside of that, people would never even know some of these antics. I think he plays the game on the borderline level with a lot of intensity and sometimes it carries on into extra stuff."
NOTES: Lions WR Calvin Johnson (right knee), RB Joique Bell (ribs) and CB Rashean Mathis (groin) were limited Wednesday while S Louis Delmas (knee) and OT Jason Fox (knee) were held out of practice. ... WR Patrick Edwards, who was cut earlier this week, was added to the practice squad and FB Shaun Chapas was released from the practice squad.
___
Online:
AP NFL website www.pro32.ap.org
___
Follow Larry Lage on Twitter: http://twitter.com/larrylage
LSUHSC bird study finds key info about human speech-language development
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
17-Oct-2013
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Contact: Leslie Capo lcapo@lsuhsc.edu 504-568-4806 Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center
New Orleans, LA A study led by Xiaoching Li, PhD, at the LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans Neuroscience Center of Excellence, has shown for the first time how two tiny molecules regulate a gene implicated in speech and language impairments as well as autism disorders, and that social context of vocal behavior governs their function. The findings are published in the October 16, 2013 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.
Speech and language impairments affect the lives of millions of people, but the underlying neural mechanisms are largely unknown and difficult to study in humans. Zebra finches learn to sing and use songs for social communications. Because the vocal learning process in birds has many similarities with speech and language development in humans, the zebra finch provides a useful model to study the neural mechanisms underlying speech and language in humans.
Mutations in the FOXP2 gene have been linked to speech and language deficits and in autism disorders. A current theory is that a precise amount of FOXP2 is required for the proper development of the neural circuits processing speech and language, so it is important to understand how the FOXP2 gene is regulated. In this study, the research team identified two microRNAs, or miRNAs, miR-9 and miR-140-5p that regulate the levels of FOXP2. (MicroRNAs are a new class of small RNA molecules that play an important regulatory role in cell biology. They prevent the production of a particular protein by binding to and destroying the messenger RNA that would have produced the protein.) The researchers showed that in the zebra finch brain, these miRNAs are expressed in a basal ganglia nucleus that is required for vocal learning, and their function is regulated during vocal learning. More intriguingly, the expression of these two miRNAs is also regulated by the social context of song behavior in males singing undirected songs.
"Because the FOXP2 gene and these two miRNAs are evolutionarily conserved, the insights we obtained from studying birds are highly relevant to speech and language in humans and related neural developmental disorders such as autism," notes Xiaoching Li, PhD,
LSUHSC Assistant Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy as well as Neuroscience. "Understanding how miRNAs regulate FOXP2 may open many possibilities to influence speech and language development through genetic variations in miRNA genes, as well as behavioral and environmental factors."
###
The research team also included Zhimin Shi, PhD, and Lijuan Fu, PhD, from the LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans Neuroscience Center, Zhide Fang, PhD, from the LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Public Health, and Guanzheng Luo, PhD, and XiuJie Wang, PhD, from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
This research was supported by grants to LSUHSC's Dr. Li from the National Institutes of Health and the Brain Behavior Research Foundation.
LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans educates Louisiana's health care professionals. The state's academic health leader, LSUHSC comprises a School of Medicine, the state's only School of Dentistry, Louisiana's only public School of Public Health, and Schools of Allied Health Professions, Nursing, and Graduate Studies. LSUHSC faculty take care of patients in public and private hospitals and clinics throughout the region. In the vanguard of biosciences research in a number of areas in a worldwide arena, the LSUHSC research enterprise generates jobs and enormous economic impact. LSUHSC faculty have made lifesaving discoveries and continue to work to prevent, advance treatment, or cure disease.
To learn more, visit http://www.lsuhsc.edu and http://www.twitter.com/LSUHSCHealth
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
LSUHSC bird study finds key info about human speech-language development
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
17-Oct-2013
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Contact: Leslie Capo lcapo@lsuhsc.edu 504-568-4806 Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center
New Orleans, LA A study led by Xiaoching Li, PhD, at the LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans Neuroscience Center of Excellence, has shown for the first time how two tiny molecules regulate a gene implicated in speech and language impairments as well as autism disorders, and that social context of vocal behavior governs their function. The findings are published in the October 16, 2013 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.
Speech and language impairments affect the lives of millions of people, but the underlying neural mechanisms are largely unknown and difficult to study in humans. Zebra finches learn to sing and use songs for social communications. Because the vocal learning process in birds has many similarities with speech and language development in humans, the zebra finch provides a useful model to study the neural mechanisms underlying speech and language in humans.
Mutations in the FOXP2 gene have been linked to speech and language deficits and in autism disorders. A current theory is that a precise amount of FOXP2 is required for the proper development of the neural circuits processing speech and language, so it is important to understand how the FOXP2 gene is regulated. In this study, the research team identified two microRNAs, or miRNAs, miR-9 and miR-140-5p that regulate the levels of FOXP2. (MicroRNAs are a new class of small RNA molecules that play an important regulatory role in cell biology. They prevent the production of a particular protein by binding to and destroying the messenger RNA that would have produced the protein.) The researchers showed that in the zebra finch brain, these miRNAs are expressed in a basal ganglia nucleus that is required for vocal learning, and their function is regulated during vocal learning. More intriguingly, the expression of these two miRNAs is also regulated by the social context of song behavior in males singing undirected songs.
"Because the FOXP2 gene and these two miRNAs are evolutionarily conserved, the insights we obtained from studying birds are highly relevant to speech and language in humans and related neural developmental disorders such as autism," notes Xiaoching Li, PhD,
LSUHSC Assistant Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy as well as Neuroscience. "Understanding how miRNAs regulate FOXP2 may open many possibilities to influence speech and language development through genetic variations in miRNA genes, as well as behavioral and environmental factors."
###
The research team also included Zhimin Shi, PhD, and Lijuan Fu, PhD, from the LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans Neuroscience Center, Zhide Fang, PhD, from the LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Public Health, and Guanzheng Luo, PhD, and XiuJie Wang, PhD, from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
This research was supported by grants to LSUHSC's Dr. Li from the National Institutes of Health and the Brain Behavior Research Foundation.
LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans educates Louisiana's health care professionals. The state's academic health leader, LSUHSC comprises a School of Medicine, the state's only School of Dentistry, Louisiana's only public School of Public Health, and Schools of Allied Health Professions, Nursing, and Graduate Studies. LSUHSC faculty take care of patients in public and private hospitals and clinics throughout the region. In the vanguard of biosciences research in a number of areas in a worldwide arena, the LSUHSC research enterprise generates jobs and enormous economic impact. LSUHSC faculty have made lifesaving discoveries and continue to work to prevent, advance treatment, or cure disease.
To learn more, visit http://www.lsuhsc.edu and http://www.twitter.com/LSUHSCHealth
[
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]
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Secretary of State John Kerry flies over Afghanistan on Oct. 11. He met with President Hamid Karzai to work out an agreement on U.S. presence in the country.
Jacquelyn Martin/AFP/Getty Images
Secretary of State John Kerry flies over Afghanistan on Oct. 11. He met with President Hamid Karzai to work out an agreement on U.S. presence in the country.
Jacquelyn Martin/AFP/Getty Images
Syria's chemical weapons could be consolidated and moved out of the country, Secretary of State John Kerry suggested in an interview with NPR.
Weapons inspectors are still in Syria assessing the country's stockpile and how to destroy it, in accordance with a United Nations Security Council resolution approved in September.
Asked by Morning Edition host Renee Montagne whether the agreement ensures that Syria's President Bashar Assad will remain in power, perhaps for many more months, Kerry replied:
"The fact is that these weapons can be removed whether Assad is there or not there because we know the locations, the locations have been declared, the locations are being secured. And my hope is that much of this material will be moved as rapidly [as] possibly into one location, and hopefully on a ship, and removed from the region."
Where such a ship would go is unclear, NPR's Michele Kelemen reports, and even the logistics of dealing with the weapons inside Syria are complicated.
"The Chemical Weapons Convention bars countries from moving their stockpiles — but in Syria's case, a U.N. resolution allows it and urges member states to help," Kelemen says.
Ralf Trapp, a consultant in chemical weapons disarmament, tells Kelemen that the idea of moving the material has been under discussion. However, he adds:
"It's a big, big logistical operation, and just doing this under peacetime conditions is not an easy job, so doing this under the conditions of Syria today is a challenge."
In an interview airing Thursday on Morning Edition, Kerry emphasized that the way forward in Syria would have to be diplomatic and that maintaining state institutions is key to future progress.
"There is no military solution. Absolutely not. There is only a continued rate of destruction and a creation of a humanitarian catastrophe for everybody in the region if the fighting continues," he said.
His remarks follow a two-week trip abroad, including two days in Kabul, where Kerry met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. The leaders reached a deal on the terms of U.S. presence in Afghanistan after its combat mission ends.
"Everything that will be necessary to a successful agreement is in the agreement. We succeeded in defining exactly what the limits would be for American participation in the future," Kerry said.
But a council of public and tribal leaders, known as the loya jirga, still has to sign off on the issue of jurisdiction over Americans who would be working in Afghanistan.
"Needless to say, we are adamant it has to be the United States of America. That's the way it is everywhere else in the world," Kerry said. "And they have a choice: Either that's the way it is or there won't be any forces there of any kind."
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Grambling's proud football program descended into further chaos Friday when the school canceled Saturday's game against Jackson State after disgruntled players refused to travel to Jackson.
Jackson State officials announced the cancellation Friday night. Athletic department spokesman Wesley Peterson told The Associated Press that Grambling officials contacted Jackson State to inform them of the decision.
Grambling spokesman Will Sutton said late Friday that the Southwestern Athletic Conference has labeled the game as a "no contest" and that university officials would have no further comment. He said players will not be available for interviews.
Grambling officials met throughout a chaotic Friday, trying to rectify the sour situation between players and administration. Apparently, nothing could be worked out so that the game could be played.
SWAC Commissioner Duer Sharp said according to league rules, Grambling will forfeit and the school will be fined.
"I've been in contact with the schools and they informed me the game is going to be canceled," Sharp said. "It's just a very disappointing situation when something like this happens. But we'll do everything we can with these schools to reach an understanding moving forward."
Friday's apparent player boycott was the latest in three days of upheaval for Grambling's program — which rose to prominence under coach Eddie Robinson. Several media outlets have reported that players did not attend practice Wednesday and Thursday because of issues with program and school leadership.
Grambling (0-7) has changed coaches twice in about two months. Doug Williams was fired two games into the season and replaced by George Ragsdale, who was reassigned Thursday and replaced by Dennis "Dirt" Winston.
The game is Jackson State's homecoming and could hurt the school financially. The Grambling-Jackson State matchup usually draws very well — an announced crowd of more than 21,000 attended the game in Jackson in 2011.
Jackson State's athletic budget is about $6 million and the school relies heavily on football revenue.
Jackson State spokeswoman Jean Cook said the school would still have homecoming festivities, including the homecoming parade, a football scrimmage and extended band performance. The school said it's working on a process to refund tickets.
"It's not ideal," Cook said. "But we're trying to make the best of things."
Louisiana State Sen. Rick Gallot, a Democrat from Ruston and a Grambling graduate, says he hopes a resolution can still be reached.
"I am still optimistic that not only will the situation with the scheduled game with Jackson State be resolved and the teams will play, but I am also optimistic that leadership issues and the concerns of the student-athletes will all be fleshed out and addressed and we'll be able to return to a semblance of normalcy on campus," Gallot said.
With the forfeit to Jackson State, Grambling has now lost 18 straight games against NCAA opponents.
The entire athletic program has struggled amid budget cuts and scholarship reductions. The men's basketball team was 0-28 last season.
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Follow David Brandt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidbrandtAP
ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss customs authorities have seized one million fake pills resembling Pfizer's anti-anxiety medicine Xanax at Zurich airport, they said on Friday.
Four crates of pills were intercepted en route from China to Egypt in the largest seizure of fake pills at the airport, a customs official told Reuters.
Laboratory tests showed they contained no active ingredients. Experts at the Swissmedic health authority said it was impossible to tell they were fakes at first glance.
In developing countries, the World Health Organization has estimated that more than 10 percent of medicine may be fake or substandard.
(Reporting by Paul Arnold and Victoria Bryan; editing by Stephen Nisbet)
David Lozano (left) and Kevin Kreinbring stand in front of a painting created by Lozano. The couple says they get tested for HIV together every six months.
Courtesy of David Lozano
David Lozano (left) and Kevin Kreinbring stand in front of a painting created by Lozano. The couple says they get tested for HIV together every six months.
Courtesy of David Lozano
Getting tested for HIV in the U.S. is almost always private, sometimes even secretive. Ditto for disclosing the results.
But some say the approach is outmoded at a time when many at risk for HIV — gay men — are in committed relationships.
Research shows as many as two-thirds of new HIV infections among gay men these days are within committed couples. That's very different from the days when promiscuity fueled the epidemic.
The implications of this for HIV prevention are big. AIDS researcher Patrick Sullivan says what brought it home for him was the discovery that gay men in coupled relationships aren't any more likely to know each other's HIV status as those with casual sex partners.
"In our analysis, lack of awareness was pretty much the same," Sullivan tells Shots.
So Sullivan and his colleagues decided to borrow a strategy that has worked in Africa. For 20 years, heterosexual couples in Rwanda, Zambia and other countries have been encouraged to get tested for HIV together — and learn the results at the same time, from counselors who can help them deal with the information, whatever it is.
The result is a program called Testing Together. Successfully piloted in Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, San Diego and Seattle, the program is being rolled out nationally in HIV prevention programs funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Couples go through the whole process together," Sullivan says. "They get pretest counseling together. Get their blood drawn together. Get the results together. And make a plan on how they're going to remain HIV-negative — or how to support an HIV-positive partner to get into care and keep the negative partner negative."
David Lozano and Kevin Kreinbring, a gay couple in Chicago, say it makes a big difference. "It's just very comforting to do this jointly," says Lozano, a 47-year-old painter and art instructor. "It kind of affirms our trust with each other. I feel like we may not get tested as frequently otherwise."
He says the couple generally get tested together every six months.
Kreinbring, a 51-year-old accountant, says some of the benefits have been unexpected. "It almost becomes an event," he tells Shots. "In a bizarre way, I almost look forward to it. It creates a lot of dialogue about things we might not talk about otherwise."
Those things may include whether the couple's relationship is exclusive or so-called open, and what kind of rules and understandings are in place.
If one partner is HIV-positive and the other isn't, it opens a discussion about condom use and the importance of getting the positive partner on an antiviral regimen to lower the amount of HIV in his system — and his risk of transmitting the virus. It's called treatment as prevention.
And the conversation might turn to whether the negative partner should consider taking an antiviral pill that lowers his risk of infection, an approach called pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP.
Testing Together is aimed at dispelling a dangerous myth that helps explain why there are still around 50,000 new HIV infections a year in this country.
"The narrative, even within parts of the gay community, is that the epidemic is fueled by promiscuity," Sullivan says. That can lead men in committed relationships to have a false sense of security.
"But the current epidemic patterns are not driven by promiscuity," Sullivan says. "The face of the epidemic is quite different than it was before. So we need to be providing prevention services where the risk is occurring."
Sullivan, a researcher at Emory University, says the math of sexual relationships makes that clear. "Men with a main partner have sex with that partner about 100 times a year — about the same as male-female couples do with their main partners," he says.
But about a fourth of male-male couples have open relationships that allow for occasional encounters with someone outside the couple. That's a little bit higher than heterosexual couples, according to Sullivan.
"If you add up episodes of sex with main partners and casual partners, it might be 104 or 105 a year total," he notes. So obviously, the biggest risk of infection is from a main partner, even if the virus is introduced into the relationship by a casual encounter. The risk of transmission within couples is raised further by the fact that main partners are more likely to engage in anal sex with each other, which greatly increases the risk of HIV transmission.
Sullivan says if one partner in a gay couple is HIV-positive, there's a 40 percent chance the other one will become infected over time.
So far the results from Testing Together programs, funded up to now by the MAC AIDS Fund, bear out the importance of getting gay couples tested. About 10 percent of couples had one HIV-infected partner — but weren't aware of it. Sullivan says that's higher than the HIV-positive rate in most centers that offer individual testing and counseling.
Even when gay couples have agreed to be monogamous, Sullivan says, there are slips. "In surveys we did, about one-quarter of men said they had stepped outside their agreement in the prior year, and most did not tell their partners about it," he says. "As counselors, we all know this happens."
When the couple tests together, the counselor can defuse anger and focus the couple on how to deal with the news that one or both have become infected — or on how to stay safe in the future.
Sullivan says counselors might frame it this way: "You guys are a strong couple, with a clear commitment toward monogamy, but we want every couple to go out of here with a Plan B."
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Most community performing-arts centers open with the mayor in attendance, maybe a few local business owners.
Not in Beverly Hills.
The opening of the city's Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts was celebrated with a black-tie gala Thursday night that drew scores of stars, including Kevin Spacey, Charlize Theron, Jodie Foster, Amy Adams, Demi Moore, an apparently pregnant Gwen Stefani, Gavin Rossdale and many others.
"It's such an artistic community here," said Adams, who sat near actress Maria Bello. "It's really nice to bring the arts that inform the film community to Beverly Hills. It's nice to have it in our backyard."
Joe Jonas, Josh Duhamel, Sherry Lansing, Nicole Richie, Courteney Cox, James Caan, Jason Bateman and Suzanne Somers also attended the opening-night gala. The mayor of Beverly Hills was on hand, too, thanking the center's namesake benefactor for "saving our city from being a cultural wasteland."
The new facility, which has been under construction for a decade, takes over the city's original 1933 post office building. It now boasts two theaters and will host concerts, plays, dance performances and drama classes for young people.
Keeping with the building's original theme, Spacey, John Lithgow and Diane Lane helped inaugurate the new 500-seat Goldsmith Theater by reading letters from Groucho Marx, Tennessee Williams, Peter Tchaikovsky and others.
A dinner of filet mignon over white truffle risotto followed the performance, along with a fashion show by event sponsor Salvatore Ferragamo and a performance by Italian tenor Vittorio Grigolo.
Public performances by the Martha Graham Dance Company begin at the Wallis center next month.
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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen at www.twitter.com/APSandy .
On the other side of the universe, a supermassive black hole is devouring enormous quantities of matter and spewing material in a jet that's 150 light years long. One scientist identifies the situation as "black hole indigestion," and boy, is it pretty.
The hot ticket in the gaming world right now is without question Rockstar's latest masterpiece, Grand Theft Auto V. Years in the making, hit by delays, it finally launched to eager gamers the world over just a month ago. The buzz was immense, as was revenue, with GTA V pulling in a cool billion dollars in the first three days. Chances are that if you're reading this, you've already had some time with the console version. But, as mobile gaming continues to take hold, there's understandably folks out there wondering if we'll ever see a mobile version of GTA V on our iPhones and iPads, and likewise what kind of GTA fix you can get.
Right now, it's a no for GTA V, and Rockstar hasn't said anything either way. There's no doubts a raft of technical challenges that would prevent a full port of GTA V, not least the 8GB mandatory install on Xbox 360 and PS3. But, never fear, for there is still plenty of Grand Theft Auto action to be had on your iOS devices. Rockstar has ported some of their past efforts to mobile, and GTA V has its very own companion app and full game manual to run alongside your console experience. So, click on a little further for the full list, tool up, and let's get to it!
Grand Theft Auto III
Originally released back in 2001, Grand Theft Auto was a game changer. Set in the fictitious world of Liberty City, the game offered an explorable world the likes of which hadn't been seen at the time. You play a no-name crook who works his way through crime filled missions, or just goes out and gets up to no good around the city. The launch on iOS coincided with the tenth anniversary of the launch of the game, and is a must play for any GTA fan. Despite being the third game in the series, this is where it all began.
Not a proper sequel to GTA III, Vice City took the same style of open world gameplay to the glorious 80's. Very similar graphically and in gameplay, Vice City launched just a year later. And, as with it's predecessor, it launched on iOS to celebrate the tenth anniversary. It's all the great gameplay of GTA III, but with better hair and costumes.
Rockstar hasn't left out mobile with the launch of their latest flagship release. The game manual and accompanying map of Los Santos and its surrounding area is so large that they dispensed with an included paper copy and released it in the form of a mobile app. An essential for all GTA V players for sure.
iFruit is a fun little companion, that hooks into the Rockstar Social Club. With it you can raise your in-game dog – kinda like a modern Tamagotchi – pimp up your rides and even order custom license plates for delivery to your in-game vehicles. Hint: iMore is taken! Both this and the manual are free to download, so there's no reason not to use them to enhance your game playing experience.
So, thats what we've got, but which is your favorite? Which GTA adventure would you most like to see Rockstar bring to iOS? Let us know in the comments!
For those who enter Hell in a Cell's steel mesh walls, nothing is guaranteed other than a career-altering experience.
The wicked fortress is a venue where some Superstars may fear to tread, and with good reason: Bodies are scarred and maimed there, and the emotional and mental anguish of competing inside the Cell is often the only thing that outlasts the physical toll that is taken. Some Superstars, however, have proven to be especially adept at life inside the Cell. Call them denizens, masochists or daredevils, yet in the context of WWE, they are truly the rulers of "Hell."
How to watch Hell in a Cell 2013 | Watch the best of Hell in a Cell
In ordering this list of the top 10 Hell in a Cell combatants, their win-loss records, overall number of trips inside the Cell and the quality of competition are all considered, as is the “Phenom factor.” (Waging war inside the Cell against The Undertaker is an incomparable challenge and thus deserves greater weighting.)
After browsing through our entries, let us know how we did: Add your voice to this conversation by voting for the warrior you believe most dominated Hell in a Cell.
ThumbsUp Labs believes that our smartphone screens are too messy -- we have to wade through pages of apps to find just the right tool at a given moment. The company hopes to clean things up by releasing the private beta of Aviate, an Android launcher that builds context-aware home screens and ...
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ThumbsUp Labs believes that our smartphone screens are too messy -- we have to wade through pages of apps to find just the right tool at a given moment. The company hopes to clean things up by releasing the private beta of Aviate, an Android launcher that builds context-aware home screens and ...