SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Brent crude dropped below $103 a barrel on Monday as investors fretted about the uncertain outlook for growth in the world's two largest oil consumers, the United States and China.
The crude benchmark remains more than 6 percent below its starting point in April, pressured by a slew of economic data in recent weeks suggesting the global economy remains on a fragile footing at best.
Brent had slipped 49 cents to $102.67 a barrel by 0502 GMT, after last week racking up its biggest one-week gain since November 2012. U.S. crude was down 35 cents at $92.65 a barrel on Monday, after sliding to $86 by mid-month from over $97 at the beginning of April.
Oil prices came under pressure after data on Friday from the United States showed the world's largest economy grew at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the first quarter, under market expectations of 3 percent.
"First-quarter GDP really disappointed, and as long as unemployment stays high, the U.S. Federal Reserve is going to have to keep its backstop on the economy with quantitative easing," said Ben Taylor, sales trader at Sydney-based CMC Markets.
"Investors this quarter will be looking for a stronger PMI number, improved consumer confidence and improved consumer spending to feel confident about where the U.S. economy is headed."
The Institute of Supply Management's April manufacturing survey is forecast to dip to 51.0 from 51.3 in March, while the U.S. economy is likely to have generated 150,000 jobs in April, up from just 88,000 in March but not enough to reduce the jobless rate from 7.6 percent.
The Fed is expected to keep its current pace of bond buying at $85 billion a month when it meets this week.
CHINA EYED
Traders will also be zeroing in on China this week, with the world's second largest oil consumer's manufacturing data for April expected to edge up from March, a Reuters poll found.
A private sector survey of purchasing managers sponsored by HSBC last week showed activity in China's industrial sector contracted in April as new exports shrank, spooking investors.
"There has been some concern that with an unstable Europe being one of China's biggest export market, this could have a negative impact on the PMI number," Taylor said.
"Europe is in a really bad place at the moment, you get the sense that everyone has really given up on it and is focusing on other places to drive global growth."
The European Central Bank will likely cut interest rates when it meets on Thursday, a Reuters poll showed, but the step is seen doing little to pull the euro zone out of a recession.
>>>like our final story tonight. all of us certainly did. it is about two friends dedicated and devoted to each oesh, but each with their own
special needs
. nbc's jill rappaport on how they came to each other's rescue.
>>good girl.
>> reporter: they call her zena the warrior puppy. a title this abused and abandoned dog earned because of her miraculous story of survival.
>>that's zena!
>>i've never seen a puppy anywhere near the condition she was in.
>>less than 1% chance of survival.
>>it wasn't good.
>> reporter: but against all odds, this little puppy that could did and on her road to recovery captured the hearts of thousands. including linda and grant hickey who ended up adopting her.
>>good girl! i just
fell in love
with her over facebook. yummy!
>> reporter: but little did they know that the survivor would end up becoming a savior. for their 8-year-old son,
johnny
, who has autism.
>>the relationship between them is unlike anything i can describe. he had issues with -- you know, social issues having autism. and she breaks that barrier for him. they are
best friends
.
johnny
talks to her.
johnny
sings to her. it is really remarkable that what this dog has done for
johnny
.
>>most kids with autism really want to socially connect. they're really socially motivated and interested but they lack the skills to do so. sometimes a dog with provide an extraordinary tool.
>>how do you explain the gift that this handle has brought to your family. sfli don't even know if i can explain it in words. it is just so
heart warming
to see it. i believe god has a plan, you know? and on
february 11th
a dog walked into my home. a dog walked into my home and made the difference.
>> reporter: jill rappaport, nbc news,
johns creek
, georgia.
One of the truest things ever written about politics is something that renowned Yale political scientist Edward Tufte wrote in his 1978 classic, Political Control of the Economy: ?When you think economics, think elections; when you think elections, think economics.? One way or another, the state and direction of the U.S. economy strongly affects the political debate and the contours of national elections.
When the economy is good and improving, voters typically have one mind-set; when it is bad and getting worse, voters are in a different state of mind. When Americans feel they?re getting ahead economically, that?s one thing; when they feel they are either falling behind or just can?t get ahead, they view things?including their political leaders?very differently.
In recent months, economists have been watching the state and direction of the economy very closely, looking for signs that the softness felt about this time in 2010, 2011, and 2012 will occur again. In each case, the first few months of the year started out reasonably strong, but then around April, May, and into June, growth slowed appreciably before picking up again for the rest of the year. In each of the past three years, the reasons the economy slowed in the spring and regained momentum later in the summer differed. And although the economy improved a good bit in the second half of each year, coming out of what economist Sid Jones refers to as ?the longest, deepest, and most diffused? economic downturn since the Great Depression, what this economy needs is four or five consecutive years of strong growth. These fits and starts aren?t helping things. Simply put, Americans in the bottom three-quarters of income groups suffered enormously during the downturn, and even though that period is over, they are not having any fun yet.
To be sure, central banks around the world have been pumping money into their economies at a furious rate over the past few years, and, as a result, the U.S. stock market is doing great, investors are finally getting back into the market, the housing sector is at last coming back to life, and people are starting to buy houses again. Clearly, our economy is doing better than most on the other side of the Atlantic. Economists were further encouraged last week when unemployment claims hit the second-lowest level in five years.
One can focus exclusively on the good news in the U.S. economy, but the fact is, for each piece of favorable news another one is pointing in the opposite direction, and that is what is making some economists a little nervous. For example, economists are scrutinizing corporate reports and forecasting slower earnings, and businesses are showing caution by borrowing less and slowing down certain kinds of spending. That?s obviously not good for an economy trying to break completely free from a sustained downturn. While Monday?s Bureau of Economic Analysis report showed that consumer spending increased by a bit more than expected, personal income came in lower than forecast. Real disposable personal income, which had dropped sharply (by 4 percent) in January, picked up a bit (seven-tenths of 1 percent) in February, but gained only two-tenths of a point in the March report. After inflation and taxes, since the first of this year, improvement in personal income has been running well behind its pace for most of last year, and there has been less improvement than the general pace for most of the past three years.
While the slowdown in government spending, particularly with budget sequestration in place, is having a pronounced positive effect on the federal budget deficit, the decreased level of government spending is offsetting private-sector spending to some extent, again slowing the economy when it needs to be growing. In other words, something good is happening?deficits are dropping?but at the cost of dragging down the economy and further delaying a complete recovery.
How all of this fits into next year?s midterm elections is unknowable at this point, but voters who are cranky about not getting ahead think differently than those who are feeling more comfortable and hopeful about the future?and cranky voters are more likely to punish than reward. We don?t have a sense yet what the zeitgeist will be next year, what people will be thinking and worried about, or whom they will be grateful to or mad at. In a period of divided government and in the absence of a partisan wave, an improving economy might well result in more of a typical, all-politics-is-local election, the kind we haven?t seen since 2004. Economic uncertainty or despair, on the other hand, might make for a more turbulent political environment, with voters more likely to lash out if provoked by one side or the other. In short, we don?t know what voters are telling us yet, but it?s wise to listen very carefully.
WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin (POO'-tihn) have been discussing terrorism coordination in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings.
The White House says the two leaders spoke by phone Monday. A statement says Obama expressed his "appreciation" for Russia's close cooperation after the attack.
The suspected bombers are Russian natives who immigrated to the Boston area. Russian authorities told U.S. officials before the bombings they had concerns about the family, but only revealed details of wiretapped conversations since the attack.
A White House statement said the leaders discussed future cooperation on security, including the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia.
The White House also says Obama expressed condolences for a deadly hospital fire outside Moscow last week and that Obama stressed U.S. concerns over chemical weapons in Syria.
Apr. 29, 2013 ? Evidence has shown that green tea extract may be an effective herbal remedy useful for weight control and helping to regulate glucose in type 2 diabetes. In order to ascertain whether green tea truly has this potential, Jae-Hyung Park and his colleagues from the Keimyung University School of Medicine in the Republic of Korea conducted a study, now published in the Springer journal Naunyn-Schmedeberg's Archives of Pharmacology.
The active constituents of green tea, which have been shown to inhibit intestinal glucose and lipid uptake, are a certain type of flavonoid called gallated catechins. The authors had previously suggested that the amount of gallated catechins necessary to reduce blood glucose concentrations can be achieved from a daily dose of green tea. However, the amount of green tea needed to decrease lipid uptake from the gut is higher and has been shown to have adverse effects in humans. Once in the bloodstream, gallated catechins can actually increase insulin resistance, which is a negative consequence especially in obese and diabetic patients.
For their study, the researchers tested the effects of green tea extract on body weight and glucose intolerance in both diabetic mice and normal mice fed a high-fat diet. To prevent a high dose of gallated catechins from reaching the bloodstream, the authors also used a non-toxic resin, polyethylene glycol, to bind the gallated catechins in the gut to prevent their absorption. They then looked at the effects on the mice of eating green tea extract alone, and eating green tea extract plus polyethylene glycol. They compared these against the effects of two other therapeutic drugs routinely prescribed for type 2 diabetes.
Results showed that green tea extract in isolation did not give any improvements in body weight and glucose intolerance. However, when green tea extract was given with polyethylene glycol, there was a significant reduction in body weight gain, insulin resistance and glucose intolerance in both normal mice on a high fat diet and diabetic mice. The polyethylene glycol had the effect of prolonging the amount of time the gallated catechins remained in the intestines, thereby limiting glucose absorption for a longer period.
Interestingly, the effects of the green tea extract in both the intestines and in the circulation were measurable at doses which could be achieved by drinking green tea on a daily basis. In addition, the effects of green tea extract were comparable to those found when taking two of the drugs which are currently recommended for non-insulin dependent diabetes.
The authors conclude that "dietary green tea extract and polyethylene glycol alleviated body weight gain and insulin resistance in diabetic and high-fat mice, thus ameliorating glucose intolerance. Therefore the green tea extract and polyethylene glycol complex may be a preventative and therapeutic tool for obesity and obesity-related type 2 diabetes without too much concern about side effects."
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Journal Reference:
Park, Jae-Hyung et al. Green tea extract with polyethylene glycol-3350 reduces body weight and improves glucose tolerance in db/db and high-fat diet mice. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of Pharmacology, 2013 DOI: 10.1007/s00210-013-0869-9
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
HIGHLANDS, N.J. (AP) ? New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Monday that President Barack Obama "has kept every promise he's made" about helping the state recover from Superstorm Sandy.
Speaking on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program on the 6-month anniversary of the deadly storm, the Republican governor said presidential politics were the last thing on his mind as he toured storm-devastated areas with Obama last fall.
"The president has kept every promise he's made," said Christie, widely considered a potential candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. "I think he's done a good job. He kept his word."
Christie's warm embrace of Obama after the storm angered some Republicans, who said it helped tip a close presidential election to the Democrat and away from Mitt Romney, who Christie endorsed and for whom he campaigned last fall.
Christie says he and Obama have fundamentally different views on governing. But he said the two men did what needed to be done for a devastated region.
"I've got a job to do," he said. "You wake up and 7 million of your 8.8 million citizens are out of power, you're not thinking about presidential politics."
Christie challenged his critics to put themselves in his shoes while dealing with the massive storm, predicting none of them would have done anything differently.
"I have a 95 percent level of disagreement with Barack Obama," Christie said. But that did not come into play while dealing with the storm.
"We saw suffering together," Christie said. "Everything the president promised me they'd do, they've done. I don't have any complaint this morning on the issue of disaster relief."
Sandy destroyed about 360,000 homes or apartment units in New Jersey, and some areas along the shore are still devastated.
Later Monday, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan is to appear with Christie at a press conference, where it is expected the secretary will announce federal approval of New Jersey's plans to spend more than $1.8 billion in federal grants on storm rebuilding and recovery.
"We'll start to see that aid start flowing this week," Christie said on the show. "We still have tens of thousands of families who aren't back in their homes. Job One is to get the grant program going."
Congress approved more than $60 billion in Sandy relief funds, most of it for New Jersey and New York, despite opposition from many Congressional Republicans who wanted to spend less.
___
Wayne Parry can be reached at http://twitter.com/WayneParryAC
PARIS (AP) ? The sounds of raucous protest echo in the Presidential Palace, unemployment is rising to levels not seen in over a decade, and his country's economy has been called a potential time bomb at the heart of Europe.
Francois Hollande, among the most unpopular French leaders in modern history, remains calm.
Lacking the early-career charisma of President Barack Obama or the hard-nosed reputation of Germany's Angela Merkel, Hollande rose to power in the Socialist Party as a consensus-builder ? someone who went out of his way to avoid confrontation. But the amiability that propelled him to the presidency a year ago is turning against Hollande, as poll after poll finds deep disappointment among many who believe he is incapable of the swift, determined choices needed to yank France out of a malaise he himself says threatens generations to come.
"I remain solid and serene," Holland told a handful of journalists in his office at the Presidential Palace, above the shouts of a crowd demonstrating against his plan to legalize gay marriage. Without camouflaging the difficulties, he admitted it's been a trying year. "I grasp the seriousness ? it's the task of the president to remain steady and to see further than the storms of a moment. It's called perseverance."
Judgment, he said in the interview earlier this month, will come only at the end of his five-year term.
But, seated comfortably in his office armchair, Hollande insisted he was anything but indecisive.
"My will is to pull the country together and restore its confidence. This will take time, but I have no other goal," he said. "You can criticize my decisions, think that I'm on the wrong path, say I'm foundering, but if there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that I've made major choices for France in the past year."
He cited the accord reached in January between unions and business leaders to relax some of France's famously strict labor protections. Hollande had championed the agreement, saying the costs and difficulties of hiring in France were hurting its ability to compete globally. But unemployment has only risen since then, and the brief optimism generated by the agreement ? which is expected to become law by next month ? has since faded. This week, it reached 10.6 percent, the highest level since 1999.
Hollande talks a lot about the French intervention in Mali, by far his most popular act in office. But, despite Hollande's best efforts, France was alone among European countries in sending soldiers, and French forces outnumbered any Africans sent to win Mali back from the militants who threatened to seize the entire country.
"I became president at an exceptional time," said Hollande, who tends to speak deliberately and formally even in relaxed settings. "Exceptional on the economic front: a long crisis, a recession in Europe, unemployment at historic levels. Exceptional because I was forced to engage France in Mali. Exceptional because populism is taking hold, not just in France, but throughout Europe."
Bernard Poignant, a Socialist who is Hollande's friend of 30 years and also one of his advisors, said the president started his term at a hugely difficult moment for his leftist base.
"Traditionally the left, when it comes to power, is generous, redistributive of wealth," he said. "Today, it's the reverse. The right emptied the coffers and now the left must fill them."
Economists say that France's predicament stems neither from the country's right or left, but from generations of benefits that few politicians are willing to take away. Hollande's predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy, only half-heartedly tried to raise the work week from 35 hours, then pulled back even before strong opposition emerged.
Hollande cautiously broached the idea of pulling back some of the subsidies that now go to all parents of young children, exempting families who earn high incomes. But the 35-hour work week remains in place, as does the retirement age of 62. Health care remains universal and nearly all treatments are reimbursed at least partially. Hollande has said he will not thin the ranks of government employees. France will remain among the countries with the highest percentage of public workers in the world ? about 20 percent of the workforce gets a government paycheck and a government pension.
Hollande was elected as "president normal," an unassuming contrast to Sarkozy's flashy, aggressive style, and his dramatic divorce and marriage to the model and singer Carla Bruni. But a year into his term, his amiability has managed to turn most of the country against him, even within his own camp. Numerous Socialist lawmakers are openly speaking against him, for example, for demanding they publish their assets.
The president appears to relish simple, easy contact with the French. He can spend hours happily shaking hands, telling stories, joking. But those moments are becoming increasingly rare.
"He is consumed by his responsibilities, too consumed, in my opinion," said Poignant. "The political climate is such that the president is becoming the target of protests. We have to protect him for security reasons: It is very difficult for him to be close to the French."
Only about one in four French approve of the job Hollande is doing, lower than either of his conservative predecessors.
He says he is willing to wait for that to change, describing his five-year term in two phases: things will be very difficult in the first phase, then a return to growth and the Socialist preference toward more government spending. His advisors ? and most economists ? say privately they don't expect much good news for France before 2015.
"The French have always turned to the president. He is accountable to them, and that's as it should be. My actions are measured at this particular moment in our country's history," he said. "I remain in control of myself, confident in what I think."
One of the toughest challenges when you have kids is time, or lack thereof. It?s easy for many things, including creativity, to get brushed aside. For years.
But having less ?discretionary time? as a parent can become just another excuse stopping you from creating, said Miranda Hersey, a creativity coach, host of the blog Studio Mothers and author of The Creative Mother?s Guide: Six Practices for the Early Years.
Hersey knows a lot about having little time. She has five kids, ages 5 to 22.
Yet, creativity has always been part of her life. For Hersey, ?a creative life is full of passion, self-expression, intuition, observation, discovery, asking questions, learning, and making connections, with other people and the world around us.?
Writer and artist Suzi Banks Baum called creativity her ?lifeline.? She?s been journaling daily since she was 14. ?I wrote the day I gave birth and the day after.?
When she moved from New York City to a small community in upstate New York, she started knitting. ?I felt really lonely and was verging on depression. I needed to do something with my hands.? She also joined a knitting circle and returned to Al-Anon meetings. ?I began to see myself as an individual who had needs.?
When you nourish your needs, you also become a better parent. According to Hersey, ?When you?re regularly creative ? you?re happier, more centered, better able to deal with the inevitable stresses of life. When you follow your creative bliss, you?re also modeling something important for your children: doing what you love.?
Below, Hersey and Baum shared nine ideas for living a creative life when you have kids.
1. Do what you love.
Many people think they have to change their lifestyle to be creative, said Baum, also author of An Anthology of Babes: 36 Women Give Motherhood a Voice. But you can simply ?remember or find something that you love and do it.? Hersey agreed. ?We can be creative at any opportunity?not just when we?re writing or painting or dancing.? For her, ?being creative is synonymous with being in love with life.?
2. Take small steps.
When your kids are younger, you may only have a few moments to yourself. During the first two years of motherhood, Baum carried a notebook in her diaper bag. She?d journal, doodle and sketch early in the morning or in the park while her kids were asleep in their strollers. She?d capture everything from scenes of her city to palm trees when she was on vacation.
She also carried a small book of poetry. ?Those ?reading snacks? kept my mind fed with stimulating ideas and language, which are areas that in the early mothering years can feel very limited.?
Those few minutes with her books also helped Baum soothe her anxiety and worries. ?It?d bring things down from a full boil to a simmer.?
Interestingly, during these first few months of infancy, many moms are flooded with ideas, Hersey said. She suggested capturing those ideas by scribbling on a piece of paper or an index card at night.
When your kids get older, there?s usually more time to create. But ?you may find yourself stuck between having a tantalizing snippet of time to do your work [and] having to stop on a moment?s notice and not feeling like you can have the time that you really want, at least not on your terms,? Hersey said.
She suggested remembering that some time ? like 15 minutes ? is better than no time. ?Drop by drop, you can still fill the bucket.?
3. Consider a class.
When Baum?s kids started school, she took a mixed media collage class. ?That one class changed a lot for me.? She loved learning the material and being in a ?community of other mothers doing a creative task.?
The class also helped Baum shift her self-image. ?I joined a community of artists and that allowed me to see myself differently as an individual. I had never identified myself as an artist until I took that class and realized that I belonged there.? Today, she collaborates with her former instructor ? now a close friend ? on workshops and exhibits.
She experienced a similar shift when she took a monthly writing workshop. She started seeing herself as a writer and was inspired to help other mothers tell their stories.
4. Find a sitter.
Sometimes you might want to leave your house to focus on your creativity. If so, Hersey suggested hiring a babysitter or swapping child care with a friend.
5. Be creative with your kids.
?Let yourself do what you love while you?re with your family,? Baum said. For her, cooking, knitting, gardening and attending museums are all important creative acts. So when her kids played in the yard, she gardened. When they went to coffee shops, she took out her notebook and sketched. She also knitted her kids? clothes and hats. When they travel, they go to museums. ?My kids love this. It makes for some of the most interesting times with our family.?
This also models to your kids the importance of taking care of yourself and nourishing creativity, she added. This way practicing one?s creativity ?is not seen as something you do at a certain time with a certain outfit on.?
6. Think of yourself as ?in training.?
Fatigue is a big challenge for creativity, Hersey said. ?Whether you?re at home full-time, navigating a part-time job, working full-time out of the house, or some unique combination, most of us are exhausted by the time the day?s work is done and the last dish is washed.?
That?s why Hersey recommended thinking of yourself as ?in training for your life.? That training can include eating foods that boost your energy, exercising, sleeping well and engaging in other healthy practices, such as meditation, she said. ?Taking care of your well-being will increase your energy level and with it, your creative bandwidth.?
7. Get up earlier.
Before your kids wake up is a great time to create. Even if you?re not a morning person, you can try getting up 30 minutes earlier, Hersey said. ?What would it take for you to make that work? What are you willing to give up for a regular creative practice? Chances are, you can figure something out that doesn?t involve sacrifice for your kids.?
8. Find people on a similar path.
Baum has found a supportive community of creative mothers both in person and online. These women have helped her see her own creativity and work through various challenges.
9. Focus on solutions.
When it comes to creativity, it?s easy to get stuck in the ?if-onlys.? If only my kids were in school. If only I had a full hour each day. If only I could get up earlier. You can always find reasons why you can?t create, Hersey said.
She suggested focusing less on what you can?t do, and more on what you can. ?The truth is that life is hard ? and it will only be harder, the more that we focus on how hard it is. Let?s stop saying ?I can?t? and ?This won?t work? and start figuring out how to do what it is that we say we want to do.?
Creative Inspiration
Hersey recommended the following books on creativity and writing: Writer Mama by Christina Katz; Writing Motherhood by Lisa Garrigues; and Use Your Words by Kate Hopper.
These are her other favorites on creativity: The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp; The Zen of Creativity by John Daido Loori; and The Art of Possibility by Rosamund and Benjamin Zander.
She also suggested everything written by these authors: Eric Maisel, Danny Gregory, Keri Smith, Patti Digh, Jennifer Louden, Steven Pressfield, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Julia Cameron and Natalie Goldberg.
Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S. is an Associate Editor at Psych Central and blogs regularly about eating and self-image issues on her own blog, Weightless.
Like this author? Catch up on other posts by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S. (or subscribe to their feed).
????Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 27 Apr 2013 ????Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.
APA Reference Tartakovsky, M. (2013). Creativity & Motherhood: 9 Ideas for Living a Creative Life. Psych Central. Retrieved on April 28, 2013, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/04/27/creativity-motherhood-9-ideas-for-living-a-creative-life/
TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Public university students in Florida next year will be able to start working toward college degrees without actually going to college, under a law Governor Rick Scott signed on Monday in front of educators and business lobbyists.
The state-run University of Florida plans to start a series of online bachelor's degree programs next year, with $15 million start-up funds for 2014.
Until now full-time online education has just been available to elementary and high schools in the state.
"This bill transforms education in Florida," said House Speaker Will Weatherford, a Republican who has long been a proponent of "virtual learning" in public schools.
"Now, we will be home to the first fully accredited, online public research university institute in the nation," said Weatherford. "These bold higher-education reforms will help increase Florida's global competitiveness and ensure our students have meaningful opportunities after high school."
Colorado State University began offering online university courses in 2007, according to Kyle Henley, a university spokesman, though students must first have 13 credits from another university to be eligible.
California and Texas are also developing totally online university programs, while Illinois considered the idea and discarded it, according to a spokesman for the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU)in Washington.
State Senator Bill Montford, a Democrat from Tallahassee who is executive director of the Florida Association of School Superintendents, said, "I haven't heard of any state that's moving as aggressively as Florida can" in online education.
The online courses will cost no more than 75 percent of in-state tuition for regular classes at the University of Florida.
The online university degree programs are part of an education package pushed by Scott and the state's Republican party leadership that they say will more closely link curriculums with the needs of employers.
The state's new education law also retreats in some areas from the toughened curriculum required in 2010, the year before Scott became governor. Students can select "scholar" courses, but others can focus more on job skills and will be able to graduate without passing tougher courses in math and science.
The governor, who campaigned in 2010 on a platform of creating 700,000 jobs in seven years through a series of business-friendly tax cuts and regulatory changes, has made job-oriented education and low tuition a big part of his economic development package.
Scott last year caused a stir by saying he did not want Florida's higher education system producing anthropologists or other specialized graduates whose main job prospect is teaching others to do what they do.
Before the session, he persuaded all 28 state colleges to come up with four-year bachelor's programs costing $10,000 or less in tuition, emphasizing skills sought by employers.
(This story is corrected with name of APLU in paragraph 7 to Association from American. Inserts paragraph 6 to clarify that Colorado also offers online courses)
>>>now to the latest on the flooding in the midwest and the plains. it's finally getting warm enough for snow to melt and people along the rivers are bracing for a sudden rush of
high water
. nbc's
kevin
tibbles is in
fargo
tonight where all eyes, as they have been, are on the rising
red river
.
kevin
, good evening.
>> reporter: well, brian, they have a saying in this part of the down oh tri. prepare for the worst and pray for the best. well here in
fargo
they are getting ready. an or a army of high schoolers builds a sandbag barricade in hopes of holding back the rising
red river
.
>>good we are helping other people live where they live.
>>i feel good about helping the community out.
>>more bags!
>> reporter: for the fourth time in five years this city on the plains braces for record flooding. in
2009
the water reached nearly 41 feet, swamping hundreds of homes. today, city manager
mike williams
helps ensure the sandbag levees are ready.
>>we have protected to 42 1/2 feet which is this one. this one we have never seen and hope we never do.
>> reporter: it's been a waterlogged week throughout the midwest. in the
chicago area
, the wettest april on record caused extensive flooding. in
comstock park
, michigan, dozens of homes damaged by the record high
grand river
. so much water on the fields in whiteland, indiana, farmers paf to delay planting. this on the heels of last year's drought. near st. louis, water with levels were dangerously low on the mississippi. now, it, too, is flooding. behind their
fargo
home erin and john aren't
taking chances
.
>>i'm not putting my guard down at all.
mother nature
knows how to throw a party.
>> reporter: they may have had the day off school but these kids are learning about team work.
>>everybody helps everybody.
>> reporter: that's a good way to live.
>>that's the
north dakota
way.
>> reporter: tonight the president has declared a
state of emergency
for
north dakota
. while estimates as to how high the river is going to get have been lowered, which is good news, no one here is taking if i chances. brian?
>>kevin
tibbles in
north dakota
tonight. no short of good people there. thank you,
kevin
.
NEW YORK (AP) ? Research firm IDC said more smartphones than "dumb" phones are being made this year, a milestone in a shift that's putting computing power and Internet access in millions of hands worldwide.
Manufacturers shipped 216 million smartphones worldwide in the first three months of this year, compared with 189 million regular cellphones, according to a study IDC released late Thursday. IDC said smartphones made up 51.6 percent of the 419 million mobile phones shipped.
In the U.S., smartphones overtook regular cellphones in 2011. IDC analyst Ramon Llamas said Friday that the shift to a global majority of smartphones is now being driven by consumers in developing countries such as China, India and Indonesia.
Another firm, ABI Research, found that smartphones made up 49 percent of shipments in the first quarter. Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest phone maker, doesn't provide a breakdown of its phone shipments, and analysts vary in their estimates. Even going by ABI's numbers, it's clear that smartphones will solidly overtake the market this year.
The shift from phones primarily designed for calls, and perhaps texting, to ones with advanced operating systems and touch screens has roiled the cellphone industry. Finland's Nokia Corp. was for many years the world's largest maker of cellphones, but it has failed to translate that into success in smartphones. It's now the second-largest maker of phones overall, behind Samsung Electronics Co., but it falls far down the list of smartphone makers.
Cellphone pioneer Motorola Mobility, a U.S. company now owned by Google, has stumbled through the transition as well, while Apple Inc. has become the world's third-largest maker of cellphones, less than six years after launching the first iPhone. Samsung and Apple are the top makers of smartphones. LG Electronics Inc. of South Korea; HTC Corp. of Taiwan; and ZTE Corp. and Huawei Technologies Ltd. of China jostle for the No. 3 position.
The 2013 NFL draft started with beefy lineman Eric Fisher. Then came beefy lineman Luke Joeckel, also an offensive tackle. The quarterbacks didn't show up in the 2013 NFL draft till the No. 16 draft pick, Florida State's EJ Manuel.
By Barry Wilner,?AP Pro Football Writer / April 26, 2013
Offensive tackle Eric Fisher from Central Michigan stands with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected first overall by the Kansas City Chiefs in the first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 25, 2013 at Radio City Music Hall in New York.
Mary Altaffer / AP
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Short on glam, slim on glitter, the NFL draft was still nothing less than a rock solid B-plus. As in Big, as in Brawn, as in Bulk, as in Beefy.
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We're talking a scale-busting 600 pounds at the outset Thursday night with offensive tackles Eric Fisher of Central Michigan and Luke Joeckel of Texas A&M.
The first seven picks were all linemen: four on offense, three on defense. "That's a lot of love for the big boys up front, which we usually don't get," Mr. Fisher said.
Unlike the last few years when bumper crops of quarterbacks reigned, this was pure muscle, and lots of it.
Actually, not a single QB was selected until Florida State's EJ Manuel went to Buffalo at No. 16 ? the lowest since 2000, when Chad Pennington went 18th to the Jets.
Fisher became the first Mid-American Conference player selected at the top when Kansas City's new regime led by coach Andy Reid chose the 6-foot-7, 306-pound offensive tackle.
"This is so surreal," Fisher said. "I'm ready to get to work right now. I'm ready to start playing some football. I can't process what's going on right now."
Fisher was followed by All-American Joeckel going to Jacksonville, defensive end Dion Jordan of Oregon to Miami, which traded up with Oakland, and Oklahoma tackle Lane Johnson to Philadelphia. Not a skill position player yet in sight ? a stark change from the last four drafts, when quarterbacks went first.
The procession of linemen continued with BYU defensive end Ziggy Ansah, born in Ghana, going to Detroit; LSU defensive end Barkevious Mingo to Cleveland; and North Carolina guard Jonathan Cooper to Arizona.
WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama vowed Friday to join Planned Parenthood in fighting against what he said are efforts by states to turn women's health back to the 1950s, before the Supreme Court legalized abortion nationwide, and singled out the GOP-governed states of North Dakota and Mississippi for criticism.
"When politicians try to turn Planned Parenthood into a punching bag, they're not just talking about you," Obama said, becoming the first sitting president to address the abortion-rights group in person. "They're talking about the millions of women who you serve."
Obama asserted that "an assault on women's rights" is underway across the country, with bills introduced in more than 40 states to limit or ban abortion or restrict access to birth control or other services.
"The fact is, after decades of progress, there's still those who want to turn back the clock to policies more suited to the 1950s than the 21st century," he said. "And they've been involved in an orchestrated and historic effort to roll back basic rights when it comes to women's health."
Last month, North Dakota Republican Gov. Jack Dalrymple signed a law that bans abortions as early as six weeks, or when a fetal heartbeat is detected, making the state the most restrictive in the nation in which to get the procedure.
Obama said "a woman may not even know that she's pregnant at six weeks."
More than a year ago in Mississippi, a "personhood" ballot initiative that would have defined life as beginning at fertilization was defeated by 58 percent of voters in November 2011, the same election in which staunch abortion opponent Phil Bryant, a Republican, was elected governor. Bryant had campaigned for the initiative. Abortion opponents are expected to soon begin a signature-drive to get a similar initiative on the ballot in 2014 or 2015.
"Mississippi's a conservative state, but they wanted to make clear there's nothing conservative about the government injecting itself into decisions best made between a woman and her doctor," Obama said of the voters there.
The president lauded Planned Parenthood's nearly 100 years of providing cancer screenings, contraception and other health services for women and assured those fighting to protect abortion rights that they have an ally in him.
"You've also got a president who's going to be right there with you, fighting every step of the way," Obama said.
In North Dakota, Republican state Rep. Bette Grande, an abortion opponent from Fargo who introduced the bill banning most abortions based on a fetal heartbeat, said she was happy Obama took notice of her state's stance on the issue.
"He is pointing it out because it's true. We have taken a serious look at the life of a child, and the nation is paying attention to that," she said. "We are dealing with life in North Dakota and something as basic as a beating heart."
Laurie Bertram Roberts, Mississippi president of the National Organization for Women, said voters in her state, while conservative, did not misunderstand what "personhood" would have meant for women and families.
"We understand that when you give a fertilized egg the rights of a person, that affects every aspect of pregnancy and reproductive health," she said.
Obama's pledge to stand with Planned Parenthood echoed his rhetoric in last year's presidential campaign after Republican rival Mitt Romney said he'd eliminate the organization's federal funding if elected. That incident, coupled with other issues, led Democrats to begin accusing Republicans of waging a "war on women." Obama went on to win a second term with 55 percent of the female vote, polls showed.
The president originally was scheduled to address Planned Parenthood on Thursday night, but the appearance was delayed to allow him to spend more time in Texas with the loved ones of those who were killed or injured in last week's explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas.
In his short speech on Friday, Obama made no reference to a pair of abortion-related issues that made headlines in recent weeks.
On April 5, a federal judge in New York gave Obama's administration 30 days to begin allowing over-the-counter sales of the morning-after pill, saying the government's decision to limit such sales to those aged 17 and older was "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable."
Planned Parenthood sided with the judge; the administration has yet to say whether it will file an appeal.
In Pennsylvania, abortion provider Kermit Gosnell is standing trial on charges of killing babies after they were born alive at his West Philadelphia clinic. He also is charged in the 2009 overdose death of a 41-year-old patient. Closing arguments in the case were set for Monday.
___
Associated Press writers Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson, Miss., and James MacPherson in Bismarck, N.D., contributed to this report.
___
Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap
It?s been about nine months since Movieclips rebranded as ZEFR to provide content ID and monetization tools to publishers distributing or claiming their content on YouTube. Today, the startup is announcing its first big customers, signing up big-name music labels like UMG, Sony Music, and Ultra Music, as well as NASCAR.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) ? The idea behind the Tampa Women's Club charity event was simple. For $20, you could buy a flute of champagne and a chance to win a one-carat, $5,000 diamond.
Organizers of the Saturday event placed $10 cubic zirconia stones in the bottom of 399 of the 400 champagne glasses. The prized diamond, donated by Continental Wholesale Diamonds, was placed in the last.
The problem? Eighty-year-old Miriam Tucker accidentally swallowed it.
Tucker told local news media that she didn't want to put her finger in the champagne, so she drank a bit. While laughing with women at the table, she realized she swallowed it.
Embarrassed, she had to tell jewelers who were frantically searching for the winner.
Already scheduled for a colonoscopy on Monday, she had a doctor recover the jewel.
Whales able to learn from othersPublic release date: 25-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Fiona MacLeod fm43@st-andrews.ac.uk 44-133-446-2108 University of St. Andrews
Humpbacks pass on hunting tips
Humpback whales are able to pass on hunting techniques to each other, just as humans do, new research has found.
A team of researchers, led by the University of St Andrews, has discovered that a new feeding technique has spread to 40 per cent of a humpback whale population.
The findings are published today (Thursday 25 April) by the journal Science.
The community of humpback whales off New England, USA, was forced to find new prey after herring stocks their preferred food - crashed in the early 1980s.
The solution the whales devised hitting the water with their tails while hunting a different prey has now spread through the population by cultural transmission. By 2007, nearly 40 per cent of the population had been seen doing it.
Dr Luke Rendell, lecturer in the School of Biology at the University of St Andrews, said: "Our study really shows how vital cultural transmission is in humpback populations not only do they learn their famous songs from each other, they also learn feeding techniques that allow them to buffer the effects of changing ecology."
The team - also including Jenny Allen from the University of St Andrews, Mason Weinrich of the Whale Center of New England and Will Hoppitt from Anglia Ruskin University - used a new technique called network-based diffusion analysis to demonstrate that the pattern of spread followed the network of social relationships within the population, showing that the new behaviour had spread through cultural transmission, the same process that underlies the diversity of human culture.
The data were collected by naturalist observers aboard the many whale-watching vessels that patrol the waters of the Gulf of Maine each summer.
Dr Hoppitt said: "We can learn more about the forces that drive the evolution of culture by looking outside our own ancestral lineage and studying the occurrence of similar attributes in groups that have evolved in a radically different environment to ours, like the cetaceans."
Humpbacks around the world herd shoals of prey by blowing bubbles underwater to produce 'bubble nets'.
The feeding innovation, called 'lobtail feeding', involves hitting the water with the tail before diving to produce the bubble nets.
Lobtail feeding was first observed in 1980, after the stocks of herring, previously the main food for the whales, became depleted.
At the same time sand lance stocks soared, and it would seem the innovation is specific to that particular prey, because its use is concentrated around the Stellwagen Bank, spawning grounds where the sand lance can reach high abundance.
Using a unique database spanning thirty years of observations gathered by Dr Weinrich, the researchers were able track the spread of the behaviour through the whales' social network.
Jenny Allen said: "The study was only made possible because of Mason's dedication in collecting the whale observations over decades, and it shows the central importance of long-term studies in understanding the processes affecting whale populations."
The scientists believe their results strengthen the case that cetaceans - the whales and dolphins - have evolved sophisticated cultural capacities.
The skills, knowledge, materials and traditions that humans learn from each other help explain how we have come to dominate the globe as a species, but how we evolved the capabilities to transmit such knowledge between ourselves remains a mystery that preoccupies biologists, psychologists and anthropologists.
###
NOTE TO EDITORS:
For images and video, please contact the press office.
Dr Luke Rendell is available on: 01334 463499 (Office) 07842132829 (Mobile).
Jenny Allen is available on: 07921896141 (before April 26th), +1 508-479-8257 (US mobile, from 26th April).
Please contact the Science press package team at 202-326-6440 or scipak@aaas.org to receive an official version of the paper.
Issued by the Press Office, University of St Andrews
Contact Fiona MacLeod on 01334 462108/ 0771 414 0559.
Ref: (humpback 25/04/13)
View the University's latest news at http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/news/
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
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.
Whales able to learn from othersPublic release date: 25-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Fiona MacLeod fm43@st-andrews.ac.uk 44-133-446-2108 University of St. Andrews
Humpbacks pass on hunting tips
Humpback whales are able to pass on hunting techniques to each other, just as humans do, new research has found.
A team of researchers, led by the University of St Andrews, has discovered that a new feeding technique has spread to 40 per cent of a humpback whale population.
The findings are published today (Thursday 25 April) by the journal Science.
The community of humpback whales off New England, USA, was forced to find new prey after herring stocks their preferred food - crashed in the early 1980s.
The solution the whales devised hitting the water with their tails while hunting a different prey has now spread through the population by cultural transmission. By 2007, nearly 40 per cent of the population had been seen doing it.
Dr Luke Rendell, lecturer in the School of Biology at the University of St Andrews, said: "Our study really shows how vital cultural transmission is in humpback populations not only do they learn their famous songs from each other, they also learn feeding techniques that allow them to buffer the effects of changing ecology."
The team - also including Jenny Allen from the University of St Andrews, Mason Weinrich of the Whale Center of New England and Will Hoppitt from Anglia Ruskin University - used a new technique called network-based diffusion analysis to demonstrate that the pattern of spread followed the network of social relationships within the population, showing that the new behaviour had spread through cultural transmission, the same process that underlies the diversity of human culture.
The data were collected by naturalist observers aboard the many whale-watching vessels that patrol the waters of the Gulf of Maine each summer.
Dr Hoppitt said: "We can learn more about the forces that drive the evolution of culture by looking outside our own ancestral lineage and studying the occurrence of similar attributes in groups that have evolved in a radically different environment to ours, like the cetaceans."
Humpbacks around the world herd shoals of prey by blowing bubbles underwater to produce 'bubble nets'.
The feeding innovation, called 'lobtail feeding', involves hitting the water with the tail before diving to produce the bubble nets.
Lobtail feeding was first observed in 1980, after the stocks of herring, previously the main food for the whales, became depleted.
At the same time sand lance stocks soared, and it would seem the innovation is specific to that particular prey, because its use is concentrated around the Stellwagen Bank, spawning grounds where the sand lance can reach high abundance.
Using a unique database spanning thirty years of observations gathered by Dr Weinrich, the researchers were able track the spread of the behaviour through the whales' social network.
Jenny Allen said: "The study was only made possible because of Mason's dedication in collecting the whale observations over decades, and it shows the central importance of long-term studies in understanding the processes affecting whale populations."
The scientists believe their results strengthen the case that cetaceans - the whales and dolphins - have evolved sophisticated cultural capacities.
The skills, knowledge, materials and traditions that humans learn from each other help explain how we have come to dominate the globe as a species, but how we evolved the capabilities to transmit such knowledge between ourselves remains a mystery that preoccupies biologists, psychologists and anthropologists.
###
NOTE TO EDITORS:
For images and video, please contact the press office.
Dr Luke Rendell is available on: 01334 463499 (Office) 07842132829 (Mobile).
Jenny Allen is available on: 07921896141 (before April 26th), +1 508-479-8257 (US mobile, from 26th April).
Please contact the Science press package team at 202-326-6440 or scipak@aaas.org to receive an official version of the paper.
Issued by the Press Office, University of St Andrews
Contact Fiona MacLeod on 01334 462108/ 0771 414 0559.
Ref: (humpback 25/04/13)
View the University's latest news at http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/news/
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
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.
CAIRO (AP) ? Egypt's Islamist-led parliament on Wednesday pushed ahead with a controversial judicial law in a heated session, despite a rising uproar among judges and the opposition who fear Islamists' control over courts.
The judiciary, with mostly secular-minded professional judges, is seen by many Egyptians as the one of the only remaining buffers against Islamists' monopoly of power following the ouster of authoritarian ruler Hosni Mubarak in 2011. Since then, Islamist parties have swept most polls and dominated legislative councils and the presidency.
The opposition vowed to escalate a campaign against the bill and judges called an emergency meeting. Activists who helped topple Mubarak have demanded that President Mohammed Morsi reform the judiciary and support its independence.
Presidential spokesman Ihab Fahmy told reporters on Wednesday that the Islamist president respects the judges and has assured them that he won't accept an assault on the judiciary.
"The president is keen on containing the judiciary crisis," he said. He added: "The president firmly stressed that it's unacceptable to hurt or encroach on the judiciary."
The crisis over the judiciary is a reflection of the deep-polarization that split the country into proponents and opponents of Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood party backers. Dispute over the controversial law is the latest in a power tussle between Morsi and the judiciary since his June election.
Last year, courts disbanded the parliament, dominated by Islamists, over unconstitutionality of the election law. Last month, the courts challenged a new law governing parliamentary elections that were slated to begin this month, delaying the vote indefinitely. The president's Muslim Brotherhood party was pushing for early elections.
Morsi alleges that some in the judiciary are plotting conspiracies against his administration. His party says some judges want to bring back Mubarak's regime.
At the same time as Fahmy's remarks, the legislative committee of the upper house of parliament, which is seated as a transitional legislature, voted in favor of three draft laws on the judiciary proposed by Islamist groups. It opened the floor for further debate.
One proposed by Morsi's Freedom and Justice party, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood group, drops the retirement age for judges from 70 to 60, which would affect nearly a quarter of Egypt's 13,000 judges and prosecution officials. The draft also would bar the courts from reviewing or overturning presidential decrees issued by Morsi late last year, including his unilateral appointment of a new top prosecutor.
The same proposal mandates that judges oversee polling stations and punish those who refuse to carry out their duties ? a job that used to be voluntary. Last year, during the vote over a controversial draft of the country's new constitution that was written by Morsi's allies many judges boycotted the vote to protest a decree that temporarily granted Morsi's decisions immunity from judicial review.
During the parliamentary session, independent lawmaker Tharwat Nafaa ripped up a letter sent by the Judges' Union. The letter demanded the parliament stop debating the law because it said the constitutionality of the body was in dispute. Upset by the union's challenge, Nafaa, in front of cameras, screamed: "This is humiliation!"
At the Judges' Union headquarters where thousands of judges gathered to discuss their next move if the parliament passes the bill, Ahmed el-Zind, the head of the union, questioned Nafaa's political affiliation. "Are you really independent?" he shouted in his lengthy speech.
The crisis over the judiciary also has prompted the resignations of top Morsi's aides and advisers.
On Monday, the Morsi's top legal adviser Mohammed Fouad Gadallah resigned. In his three-page resignation letter, he said he wanted to shed light "on the extent of the danger facing the country" at a time when "personal interests are overwhelming national interests."
Two days earlier, Justice Minister Ahmed Mekki submitted his resignation, complaining that Morsi's supporters were "trampling" on the judiciary. He too criticized the president's handling of the dispute with the judiciary. He was a longtime pro-reform judge under Mubarak before becoming a minister in Morsi's government.
Fahmy, the presidential spokesman, told reporters that Morsi accepted Gadallah's resignation. He stopped short of commenting on the reasons stated for the resignation, saying only "this is a personal point of view that we don't comment on." He said Morsi will form a new panel of legal advisers.
Apr. 23, 2013 ? Long term exposure to air pollution may be linked to heart attacks and strokes by speeding up atherosclerosis, or "hardening of the arteries," according to a study by U.S. researchers published in this week's PLOS Medicine.
The researchers, led by Sara Adar, John Searle Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health, and Joel Kaufman, Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Medicine, University of Washington, found that higher concentrations of fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) were linked to a faster thickening of the inner two layers of the common carotid artery, an important blood vessel that provides blood to the head, neck, and brain. They also found that reductions of fine particulate air pollution over time were linked to slower progression of the blood vessel thickness. The thickness of this blood vessel is an indicator of how much atherosclerosis is present in the arteries throughout the body, even among people with no obvious symptoms of heart disease.
"Our findings help us to understand how it is that exposures to air pollution may cause the increases in heart attacks and strokes observed by other studies," Adar said.
The authors reached these conclusions by following 5362 people aged between 45 to 84 years old from six U.S. metropolitan areas as part of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and Air Pollution (MESA Air). The researchers were able to link air pollution levels estimated at each person's house with two ultrasound measurements of the blood vessels, separated by about three years. All participants in their study were without known heart disease.
After adjusting for other factors such as smoking, the authors found that on average, the thickness of the carotid vessel increased by 14 ?m each year. The vessels of people exposed to higher levels of residential fine particulate air pollution, however, thickened faster than others living in the same metropolitan area.
"Linking these findings with other results from the same population suggests that persons living in a more polluted part of town may have a 2 percent higher risk of stroke as compared to people in a less polluted part of the same metropolitan area," Adar said.
"If confirmed by future analyses of the full 10 years of follow-up in this cohort, these findings will help to explain associations between long-term PM2.5 concentrations and clinical cardiovascular events," the authors wrote.
In an accompanying Perspective, Nino Kuenzli from the University of Basel in Switzerland says: "the [Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and Air Pollution study] further supports an old request to policy makers, namely that clean air standards ought to comply at least with the science-based levels proposed by the World Health Organization."
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Journal Reference:
Adar SD, Sheppard L, Vedal S, Polak JF, Sampson PD, et al. Fine Particulate Air Pollution and the Progression of Carotid Intima-Medial Thickness: A Prospective Cohort Study from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and Air Pollution. PLoS Med, 2013 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001430
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One of the toughest challenges when you have kids is time, or lack thereof. It?s easy for many things, including creativity, to get brushed aside. For years.
Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S. is an Associate Editor at Psych Central and blogs regularly about eating and self-image issues on her own blog, Weightless.
It?s been about nine months since Movieclips rebranded as ZEFR to provide content ID and monetization tools to publishers distributing or claiming their content on YouTube. Today, the startup is announcing its first big customers, signing up big-name music labels like UMG, Sony Music, and Ultra Music, as well as NASCAR.![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 25-Apr-2013
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