Right on schedule, Samsung has announced the rolling out of a key software update that will bring Galaxy Gear smartwatch support to more of its phones in the United States, beyond just the Galaxy Note 3. Owners of the Galaxy S 4, Galaxy Note II and GS3 will get their refresh as early as today, or ...
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/OY14iHJdzDc/ST. LOUIS (AP) — Clay Buchholz knows the difference between slight discomfort and pain.
He left a start against the Los Angeles Angels on June 8 in the middle of a seventh-inning at-bat after Erick Aybar fouled off a curveball. Buchholz got the win, improving to 9-0, but didn't pitch for the Boston Red Sox again until Sept. 10.
Against the Detroit Tigers last weekend in the AL championship series, his shoulder didn't feel quite right.
"Just had a little tightness, regardless of what it was, fatigue, whatever," he said Saturday. "The last time I got hurt, I threw one pitch, and it's like, OK. I don't think I should throw another pitch. This time I went three-plus innings with tightness."
Buchholz allowed two runs in five innings in Game 6 versus the Tigers, leaving with a 1-0 lead. The Red Sox fell behind before winning 5-2, and Buchholz's World Series start was pushed back a day to Game 4 on Sunday night, when Lance Lynn starts for St. Louis.
Buchholz doesn't have a decision to go along with a 5.40 ERA in three postseason outings.
"We go into tomorrow thinking that he's going to give us what he's been in the postseason," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "That might be a little bit shorter of an outing than maybe we've seen back in April and May, but he's also been very effective. And we're fully anticipating that to be the case tomorrow."
Buchholz has averaged 90 pitches in three postseason starts. He was worried enough about his latest injury during the summer that he went to noted orthopedist Dr. James Andrews for an examination in late July
He threw off a mound before Game 3 at Busch Stadium on Saturday and said felt a bit rusty.
"I don't think there is any risk there," he said. "My one thing that I have is to go and compete, go out there for as long as John wants to leave me out there, and give the team a chance to win to the best of my ability. Obviously, given the couple of days that I've been out so far, not a hundred percent. But I've said it a couple of times this year, I don't think anybody, especially at this time of the season, is a hundred percent."
A 29-year-old right-hander, Buchholz was 12-1 with a 1.74 ERA in his abbreviated season, pitching just 108 1-3 innings. In June 2012, he went on the DL with esophagitis, which led to the erosion of his esophagus and gastrointestinal bleeding. At the time there was speculation anti-inflammatory medications were a factor.
"That was a pretty scary moment for me," he said. "So I stayed away from the stuff that — the really strong anti-inflammatories. Basically been on the same stuff since the first time during the season, whenever I went on the disabled list. But I feel like I responded well to it. I've gotten more treatment in the past week than I did in the first week of being on the disabled list the first time."
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"In buttoned khaki and buffed army boots,
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The Best Books Coming Out This Week
German officials are scrambling to gather more information and U.S. officials are assessing diplomatic options in the wake of claims that the U.S. National Security Agency has been monitoring German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cellphone for more than a decade. Renee Montagne talks to Tim Naftali of the New America Foundation about America's history of spying and what this recent news means for the U.S. relationship with its European allies.
In this multiple exposure image, St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Michael Wacha throws during the fifth inning of Game 2 of baseball's World Series against the Boston Red Sox Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
In this multiple exposure image, St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Michael Wacha throws during the fifth inning of Game 2 of baseball's World Series against the Boston Red Sox Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Boston Red Sox's David Ortiz celebrates with Jonny Gomes, left, after Ortiz hit a two-run home run off St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Michael Wacha during the sixth inning of Game 2 of baseball's World Series Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin (8) and Nicklas Backstrom (19) celebrate a goal against the Edmonton Oilers during third period NHL hockey action in Edmonton, Alta., on Thursday Oct. 24, 2013. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jason Franson)
La estadounidense Serena Williams regresa una pelota ante la checa Petra Kvitova durante un partido por el Campeonato de la WTA en Estambul, Turquía, el 24 de octubre de 2013. Williams ganó 6-2, 6-3 y avanzó a las semifinales. (AP Foto)
Your Top Plays for Today: AP's Sports Guide
___
--CARDINALS WIN GAME 2 TO LEVEL WORLD SERIES
Just when it seemed Michael Wacha had cracked, the St. Louis Cardinals began scooting around the bases to beat the Red Sox in game two and and level the World Series.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/wacha-cards-top-red-sox-tie-world-series-1
--F1 CHAMPIONSHIP LEADER VETTEL FASTEST IN 1ST PRACTICE IN INDIA
Sebastian Vettel continued his dominance in India by edging out Red Bull teammate Mark Webber for the quickest time Friday in the opening practice session for the Formula One Indian Grand Prix.
http://bigstory.ap.org/photo/india-f1-gp-auto-racing-436
--OVECHKIN'S 10TH GOAL LIFTS CAPITALS OVER OILERS
Alex Ovechkin scored his NHL-leading 10th goal and added an assist for the Washington Capitals, who beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-1 for their third straight win.
http://apne.ws/HiEpyf
--TUG-OF-WAR OVER COSTA AHEAD OF WORLD CUP
Luiz Felipe Scolari says he will pick Diego Costa for Brazil, leaving it up to the striker to decide whether to represent his native country or world champion Spain.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/news/20131024/diego-costa-luiz-felipe-scolari-pick-for-brazil-team-spain.ap/
--SERENA WILLIAMS BREEZES INTO WTA CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS
Defending champion Serena Williams advanced to the semifinals of the WTA Championships by sweeping past Petra Kvitova 6-2, 6-3, her third straight-sets win in the group stage.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/defending-champion-williams-reaches-wta-semifinal
Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-10-25-Sports-Top%20Plays/id-eaa8ef4a35f34e2ebe76cdd25d5fe8a0The Affordable Care Act escaped unscathed from the budget crisis that shutdown the government two weeks ago, but with that crisis behind us, the president's signature accomplishment is back in the cross hairs. The massive computer failures that are making it difficult for people to buy health insurance on the government website create a very big political target.
Copyright © 2013 NPR. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
Today's hearing may not have cleared up many questions about exactly what's wrong with the health care website, but it does represent a new chapter in the political fight over the Affordable Care Act.
Joining us now is NPR's national political correspondent Mara Liasson. And, Mara, just after Republicans failed in their efforts to defund or delay the health care law through budget fights, the program's right back in the spotlight. Where does the political debate stand?
MARA LIASSON, BYLINE: Well, this is much better ground for Republicans to fight Obamacare on because this is about having oversight hearings. Oversight is one of the most basic fundamental functions of the Congress. So the White House can't blame Republicans for the problems it's been having with the website, and implementing Obamacare is absolutely key. They have to get enough young, healthy people to sign up by the end of March in order to make this thing work or else it will collapse of its own weight. So this is a big problem and even Democrats are nervous.
CORNISH: Yeah. Unlike the budget fights where Democrats were united on this, some Democrats have joined the call urging the White House to extend the open enrollment period because of the problems. Will that actually happen?
LIASSON: Well, I don't think it's going to be extended very long. A lot of Democrats, a group of them who are up in 2014, who are vulnerable, have been calling for an extension of the open enrollment period. Of course, Republicans have been calling for an extension of the individual mandate for a long time. But what did happen yesterday is the White House made a tweak in the enrollment rules. The enrollment period ends on March 31st. Now, people will have all the way up until March 31st to purchase insurance.
They don't necessarily have to have it. You have to have ordered the product from Amazon. It doesn't have to be delivered to your door. And earlier, it was February 15th when that happened. So they've added six weeks to the - in effect, to the open enrollment period.
CORNISH: And other than President Obama expressing his own frustration, how is the White House handling this latest crisis?
LIASSON: Well, first, they were really in a defensive crouch but they have moved to a point somebody who will be in charge of this whole fix. He's Jeffrey Zients. He's former acting OMB chair. He is - at the moment, nobody is being fired. No heads are rolling. Their folks start getting the problems fixed. But CMS, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services - you heard Ailsa talk about them - they have started to have a daily briefing. They had the first one today. So they're trying, at least, to be a little bit more transparent.
CORNISH: And did that Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services briefing shed any light on what the problem actually was?
LIASSON: Well, no. I mean, they did admit they should've tested more, they should've tested earlier. But they couldn't give the simple explanation of what actually went wrong. So, for journalists who are looking for the guy with the flat top and the pocket protector to come out and put in layman's terms what is the technical problem, we still haven't heard that yet.
CORNISH: So let's look to next year and the midterm elections. What are the potential effects this could have on that?
LIASSON: Well, this - it's a long way away, but I think we will know in a few months whether these technical problems have been fixed or not. And if they're not, I think it could be a huge problem for Democrats. Already, Republicans are running radio ads about this. But, you know, recently, after the shutdown, a lot of handicappers had adjusted their predictions downward for Republican gains in 2014. Those could be reversed if these problems with the health care website don't get fixed.
CORNISH: And, Mara, have there been any Republicans out there saying, hey, maybe we shouldn't have had those budget fights, right? We could've just waited for the health care program to have problems on its own.
LIASSON: Oh, absolutely. There are many, many of them. I mean, that's the great irony of this. All these problems would've gotten much more attention earlier if we hadn't been consumed with the two and a half weeks of the government being shut down.
CORNISH: That's NPR's national political correspondent Mara Liasson. Thank you.
LIASSON: Thank you, Audie.
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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Asian stock markets were mostly higher Monday amid growing expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve won't start reducing its monetary stimulus until at least the first quarter of next year.
With uncertainty over the raising of the U.S. borrowing limit temporarily resolved, investors have focused on other matters, notably when the Federal Reserve will reduce its mammoth monetary stimulus that has been a boon for stock markets.
U.S. hiring and durable goods orders for September were weaker than expected, signaling that growth momentum may be slowing and reinforcing expectations that a scaling back of stimulus known as "tapering" won't begin until next year, Mitul Kotecha of Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong said in a market commentary.
Further U.S. data releases this week including September industrial production, retail sales, inflation and consumer confidence as well as a Fed policy meeting could reaffirm that expectation, he said. The Fed is buying $85 billion of U.S. government bonds and other securities with the aim of keeping interest rates low to support economic recovery.
"The bad news is good philosophy of markets means that data is helping to aid expectations that Fed tapering may be delayed," he said. "We continue to anticipate tapering to begin in January although admittedly the market is shifting expectations to even later."
Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.8 percent to 14,340.01 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.5 percent to 22,807.11. Seoul's Kospi was up 0.4 percent at 2,042.06. Benchmarks in Taiwan, Jakarta, Malaysia and Singapore were also higher.
However, China's Shanghai Composite Index bucked the trend to fall 0.2 percent to 2,128.29 amid continuing concerns over a credit crunch after China's central bank last week refused to inject funds into money markets to curb frothy credit growth.
Wall Street was bolstered on Friday by strong earnings from U.S. technology companies such as Microsoft. The Dow rose 61.07 points, or 0.4 percent, to close at a record 15,570.28. The S&P 500 rose 7.70 points, 0.4 percent, to 1,759.77. The Nasdaq composite rose 14.40 points, or 0.4 percent, to 3,943.36. That was its highest close since September 2000.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude for December delivery was down 18 cents at $97.67 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained 74 cents to close at $97.85 on Friday.
The euro was little changed at $1.3808. The dollar fell to 97.59 yen from 97.63 yen late Friday in New York.
Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images
If you want a look at a high-profile field dealing with a lot of humbling snags, peer into #ASHG2013, the Twitter hashtag for last week’s meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics, held in Boston. You will see successes, to be sure: Geneticists are sequencing and analyzing genomes ever faster and more precisely. In the last year alone, the field has quintupled the rate at which it identifies genes for rare diseases. These advances are leading to treatments and cures for obscure illnesses that doctors could do nothing about only a few years ago, as well as genetic tests that allow prospective parents to bear healthy children instead of suffering miscarriage after miscarriage.
But many of the tweets—or any frank geneticist—will also tell you stories of struggle and confusion: The current list of cancer-risk genes, the detection of which leads some people to have “real organs removed,” likely contains many false positives, even as standard diagnostic sequencing techniques are missing many disease-causing mutations. There’s a real possibility that the “majority of cancer predisposition genes in databases are wrong.” And a sharp team of geneticists just last week cleanly dismantled a hyped study from last year that claimed to find a genetic signature of autism clear enough to diagnose the risk of it in unborn children.
This sample reads like an abstract of the entire field of genetics. In researching a book about genetics over the past four years, I’ve found a field that stands in a bizarre but lovely state of confusion—taken aback, but eager to advance; balanced tenuously between wild ambition and a deep but troubling humility. In the 13 years since the sequencing of the first human genome, the field has solved puzzles that 14 years ago seemed hopeless. Yet geneticists with any historical memory hold a painful awareness that their field has fallen short of the glory that seemed close at hand when Francis Collins, Craig Venter, and Bill Clinton announced their apparent triumph in June 2000.
If the field is currently a bit lost in the fog, whoever clears the air could become to Watson and Crick as Watson and Crick were to Darwin.
Many geneticists gained this awareness directly. Two years ago I spent a day walking around Cambridge University with Dan MacArthur, a young geneticist who was then a postdoc. It made a good spot for perspective-taking on genetics: At Cambridge almost a century ago, a biologist named William Bateson coined the term “genetics” for the field he and the university would play key roles in establishing. At Cambridge—or rather at the Eagle, a campus-side pub that might as well be part of the university, so thoroughly do their histories entwine—James Watson and Francis Crick first announced, at lunchtime one day in 1953, that they had figured out the structure of DNA.
MacArthur moved last year to a lab at Harvard Medical School, where he hunts and finds rare-disease genes. But that summer day two years ago, as we walked the history-soaked campus, he told me a tale of comeuppance that parallels his discipline’s.
Back in the early 2000s, soon after the sequencing of the human genome, MacArthur was working on his doctorate in Australia when he and some colleagues identified a gene that appeared to give a huge boost to athletic performance. The gene is called ACTN3. Everyone carries two copies of this gene, one from each parent. In some people, one or both of these ACTN3 genes are crippled by a variant of another gene. People with two damaged ACTN3 genes tend to be on the slow side and rarely excel in sports. Most elite sprinters, meanwhile, carry two good copies. ACTN3 looked to be a sort of sprinting gene, creating a speed effect both profound and straightforward.
MacArthur and his colleagues published their findings in 2003, to many huzzahs. This, it seemed, was the sort of thing sequencing the human genome made possible.
So far, so great. Nice clean story. The state of your ACTN3 genes, in the words of a company that later sought to sell tests for it, “may determine the type of athlete you were born to be.”
But as MacArthur explained that day in Cambridge (and later in a blog post), this nice, clean story got muddier as he and others studied the gene more closely. They realized that the 2003 study had relevance only to a tiny fraction of humanity—elite-level sprinters—in whom the gene’s effect looked larger and more straightforward than it actually was.
In addition, the gene appeared to boost performance mainly in sprinting. For other sports, it probably had no effect or even substantial downsides.
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Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/95477/wsof-6-moraes-kos-beebe-full-fight-video-highlights/TARGU SECUIESC, Romania (AP) — Thousands of ethnic Hungarians held rallies on Sunday to demand autonomy for their minority group in the areas where they live in Romania.
The marches — with people singing, waving Hungarian flags, and riding horses and carriages — were held Sunday in 14 communities of Transylvania, including the town of Targu Secuiesc.
In Budapest, Hungary, thousands marched to the Romanian Embassy carrying a sign reading "Territorial autonomy for Szeklerland" referring to the stretches of Romania where ethnic Hungarians are concentrated. Others chanted, "Szeklerland is not Romania."
There were also rallies held in the Hungarian cities of Debrecen and Szolnok.
The Civic Cooperation Forum, which organized the demonstrations, said it would send a petition to the European Union and the Romanian government to call for the cause of Szekler autonomy to be taken into consideration.
Transylvania was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire until after World War I, when the ethnic Romanian majority in Transylvania created Romania.
Today, ethnic Hungarians make up about 6 percent of Romania's population. Community leader Kelemen Hunor told The Associated Press on Sunday that they want territorial autonomy to maintain their ethnic identity and grow economically.
Romanian politicians have opposed granting the minority that privilege.
____
Pablo Gorondi in Budapest, Hungary, and Alison Mutler in Bucharest, Romania, contributed to this report.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to the weekly cabinet meeting in his Jerusalem office, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Lior Mizrahi, Pool)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to the weekly cabinet meeting in his Jerusalem office, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Lior Mizrahi, Pool)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in his Jerusalem office, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Lior Mizrahi, Pool)
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel agreed Sunday to release 26 long-serving Palestinian prisoners as part of a U.S.-brokered deal that led to the resumption of Mideast peace talks.
The Cabinet vote set into motion the second leg of prisoner releases agreed upon before Israel and the Palestinians renewed long-frozen peace negotiations in August. At the same time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is planning on approving new settlement construction to appease hard-liners who oppose the release.
The fate of Palestinian prisoners stirs strong emotions on both sides, highlighting the competing narratives of the conflict. Many of those to be freed were involved in killing Israelis.
Most Palestinians view the prisoners as heroes, regardless of their acts, arguing they made personal sacrifices in the struggle for independence. Most Israelis view them as terrorists for targeting civilians.
In all, 104 Palestinian prisoners are to be released in four stages during the nine months set aside for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
The vote followed an Israel announcement that it will soon advance new West Bank settlement construction plans — highlighting an apparent settlements-for-prisoners trade-off that got both sides back to peace talks after a five-year freeze.
The Palestinians consider settlements a major obstacle to establishing a state that includes the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 war. Israel has built dozens of settlements since that are now home to about 550,000 Israelis.
The Cabinet announcement said all the prisoners have served more than 19 years and their crimes preceded the beginning of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in 1993. A government statement said 21 of the prisoners will be released to the West Bank and the other five to Gaza.
The actual release of the prisoners will take place at least 48 hours after their names are published to give bereaved Israeli families the opportunity to appeal their release before the courts, which rarely intervene in such cases.
Israel insists that any prisoner who resumes hostile activity will be arrested and incarcerated to serve the remainder of his sentence.
Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-10-27-ML-Israel-Palestinians/id-5d1039e3635c406ba257eaa699e42111BRUSSELS (AP) — Indignant at reports of U.S. electronic espionage overseas, the leaders of Germany and France said Friday they will insist the Obama administration agree by year's end to limits that could put an end to alleged American eavesdropping on foreign leaders, businesses and innocent citizens.
German spy chiefs will travel to Washington shortly to talk with U.S. officials about the spying allegations that have so angered European leaders, including whether Chancellor Angela Merkel's own cellphone was monitored by the National Security Agency.
Merkel and French President Francois Hollande, at the final day of a European Union summit in Brussels, did not offer many specifics on what they want President Barack Obama and his intelligence chiefs to agree to.
A former French counterintelligence agent, however, told The Associated Press the European allies will likely demand the Americans sign off on a "code of good conduct" for intelligence-gathering, and could use the espionage dispute as leverage against the United States in upcoming trade talks.
"I think France and Germany would want guidelines," said Claude Moniquet, who now directs the Brussels-based European Strategic and Intelligence Center. But he was dubious there would be much change in intelligence agencies' real-world behavior.
"Everyone swears on the Bible," Moniquet said. "And after that it's business as usual."
This week alone, there have been headlines in the European press about the U.S. scooping up millions of French telephone records and perhaps listening in on Merkel's calls. A British newspaper said it obtained a confidential memo indicating that the personal communications of up to 35 foreign leaders may have been subject to U.S snooping in 2006.
On Friday, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said in Brussels that he had instructed his foreign minister to summon the U.S. ambassador in Spain to obtain information on news reports that Spain has been a target of U.S. spying, but insisted that his government was unaware of any cases.
In a front-page story, Spain's leading newspaper El Pais cited unidentified sources that saw documents obtained by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden as saying they showed the agency had tracked phone calls, text messages and emails of millions of Spaniards, and spied on members of the Spanish government and other politicians.
Hollande, the French president, said his country and Germany decided to seek a "framework of cooperation with the United States so that the surveillance practices end. We fixed a deadline by the end of the year."
"They (the Americans) told us it was in the past and now there's a will to organize things differently," Hollande told a post-summit gathering of reporters. "Fine, let's do it."
France's leader seemed to object especially to any use of state intelligence assets to spy on innocent people or to promote a nation's trade goals or companies.
"Protection of virtual life is not just the protection of leaders, who have cellphones just like everyone else. It's the protection of all citizens," Hollande said. "The protection of personal information should be guaranteed in Europe and demanded of the intelligence services."
Economic spying can affect markets, prices and mergers and acquisitions as well as affairs of state, Hollande said. "It's there that the surveillance can have the most consequences. ... On innovation and research, there's also surveillance. That's why the major French enterprises, include tech companies, are in a program to give them protection."
Merkel told a separate news conference that "what we seek is a basis for the cooperation of our (intelligence) services, which we all need and from which we all have gotten very much information ... that is transparent and clear and that lives up to the character of a relationship of allies."
The chancellor said intelligence chiefs from her country and France would hold separate one-on-one discussions with the Americans, but pool information.
As a first step, the heads of Germany's foreign and domestic intelligence agencies will participate in talks with the White House and the NSA, said German government spokesman Georg Streiter.
He did not give a specific date for the trip to Washington, saying it was being arranged on "relatively short notice."
"What exactly is going to be regulated, how and in what form it will be negotiated and by whom, I cannot tell you right now," Streiter told reporters. "But you will learn about it in the near future because we have created some pressure to do this speedily."
The United States already has a written intelligence-sharing agreement with Canada, Britain, Australia and New Zealand known as "Five Eyes." France and Germany may be interested in that program or a similar arrangement, but it is not clear the U.S. would agree to it.
A White House National Security Council spokeswoman said Friday the Germans would be welcome in the U.S. capital, but did not address what concessions the Obama administration might make to tamp down a controversy that has soured relations with many European allies.
"German officials plan to travel to Washington in coming weeks and the U.S. government looks forward to meeting with them," said Caitlin Hayden, the spokeswoman. "We expect a range of meetings with relevant officials across the U.S. interagency, but we do not have specific meetings to announce at this point."
As they ended their Brussels summit, European leaders vowed to maintain a strong partnership with the U.S. despite the widespread shock and anger over the alleged spying.
"The main thing is that we look to the future. The trans-Atlantic partnership was and is important," said Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, whose nation holds the rotating presidency of the 28-country European Union.
No European leader "wants to see a breach with the United States," said British Prime Minister David Cameron, who unlike the leaders of Germany and France, has not objected publicly to the reported NSA actions.
___
Elaine Ganley and Lori Hinnant in Paris, Robert Wielaard, Juergen Baetz and Raf Casert in Brussels, Frank Jordans in Berlin, Gregory Katz in London, Julie Pace in Washington and Harold Heckle in Madrid contributed to this report.
Software provider New Relic is extending its system administrator tools for monitoring the performance of applications to help business managers as well.
"The data coming out of your software is transformative to your business. The answers are there, you just to need to query the data correctly and do it fast," said New Relic CEO Lew Cirne, speaking Thursday at the company's FutureStack13 user conference in San Francisco.
[ Discover what's new in business applications with InfoWorld's Technology: Applications newsletter. | Get the latest insight on the tech news that matters from InfoWorld's Tech Watch blog. ]
In 2014, New Relic will launch a service, now called Rubicon, that promises to provide information on how an organization's applications and websites are being used by their customers. It leverages the operational data already collected by New Relic's software agents.
The company also announced that it has updated its flagship application performance management (APM) software and launched a new APM monitor for mobile clients.
APM software, offered by companies such as New Relic, CA, and Compuware, can collect vast amounts of operational metrics, such as the time it takes for a database to return a response. This data can be useful for debugging a slow-running application or to alert IT staff when an application stops running altogether.
That data could also be useful for other business units within an organization, Cirne said. Typically, though, retrieving and formatting such large volumes of unstructured data has been difficult to do in-house. "You have to think very hard about the question you pose, because it may take weeks before you get the data in, formatted, and get an answer back," Cirne said.
The idea behind Rubicon is to simplify that process.
The Rubicon service will provide an event database to collect the raw operational data, as well as a set of tools to query and build reports against that data.
The service could reveal, for instance, how many users deployed a particular feature on an application within the prior 24 hours.
The service supplies SQL-like language to interrogate the database, which collects operational data from agents attached to the application.
Cirne, who coded the first version of Rubicon, called the culling and analysis of this data "software analytics." It can aggregate data around how many users deployed an application, what features they tried, what OSes they used and what countries they reside in.
Rubicon can run queries on the fly, allowing users to filter for the specific attributes they are looking for. Data can be grouped by a time series or it can show data of current actions currently being taken.
Users' queries can also be displayed on a dashboard or supplied to another application as a JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) feed.
Existing New Relic customers can sign up to try a beta of the software when it becomes available.
Beyond the Rubicon announcement, the company also updated its flagship APM software, the highlights of which Cirne also discussed during his keynote.
The software now can monitor the performance of Node.js, an increasingly widely used framework for running JavaScript applications on a server. Over 10,000 New Relic customers asked for Node.js support, Cirne said.
To work with Node.js, New Relic partnered with Joyent, Microsoft Windows Azure Mobile Services, CloudBees, and EngineYard.
New Relic is not alone in its support of Node.js. Apigee also announced this week that it would support Node.js on its API (application programming interface) management service.
Welcome to Time Machines, where we offer up a selection of mechanical oddities, milestone gadgets, and unique inventions to test out your tech-history skills.
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/_j78bGTRIo4/THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Syria has filed details of its poison gas and nerve agent program and an initial plan to destroy it to the world's chemical weapons watchdog, the organization announced Sunday.
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said in a statement that Syria completed its declaration as part of a strict and ambitious timeline that aims to eliminate the lethal stockpile by mid-2014.
The group, based in The Hague, said Syria made the declaration Thursday. The announcement provides "the basis on which plans are devised for a systematic, total and verified destruction of declared chemical weapons and production facilities," the group said.
Such declarations made to the organization are confidential. No details of Syria's program were released.
Syria already had given preliminary details to the OPCW when it said it was joining the organization in September. The move warded off possible U.S. military strikes in the aftermath of an Aug. 21 chemical weapon attack on a Damascus suburb. Syria denies responsibility for the deadly attack.
OPCW inspectors were hastily dispatched to Syria this month and have visited most of the 23 sites Damascus declared. They have also begun overseeing destruction work to ensure that machines used to mix chemicals and fill munitions with poisons are no longer functioning.
Syria is believed to possess around 1,000 metric tons of chemical weapons, including mustard gas and sarin.
It has not yet been decided how or where destruction of Syria's chemical weapons will happen. Syria's declaration includes a general plan for destruction that will be considered by the OPCW's 41-nation executive council on Nov. 15.
Norway's foreign minister announced Friday that the country had turned down a U.S. request to receive the bulk of Syria's chemical weapons for destruction because it doesn't have the capabilities to complete the task by the deadlines given.
The announcement came among renewed fighting in Syria. In the Christian town of Sadad north of Damascus, where al-Qaida-linked rebels and soldiers are fighting for control, a rocket smashed into a home and killed five members of a family, activists said.
At least three women were among the dead, said Rami Abdurrahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory of Human Rights. He said it wasn't clear whether the projectile was fired by Syrian soldiers or the hard-line rebels who have been trying to seize the town for the past week.
Abdurrahman said the rocket strike occurred overnight Friday. The Observatory obtains its information from a network of activists on the ground.
He says residents are trapped in their homes in the western neighborhoods of Sadad, which rebels have controlled since taking a checkpoint last week.
The rebels appear to have targeted Sadad because of its strategic location near the main highway north from Damascus rather than because it is inhabited primarily by Christians. But extremists among the rebels are hostile to Syria's Christians minority, which has largely backed President Bashar Assad during the conflict. Other al-Qaida-linked fighters have damaged and desecrated churches in areas they have overrun.
The official Syrian news agency said troops wrested back control of eastern parts of Sadad, but were clashing in other areas.
Also Sunday, Syrian Kurdish gunmen clashed with al-Qaida-linked groups to cement their control of a major border crossing with Iraq. The Kurdish militiamen captured the Yaaroubiyeh post in northeast Syria on Saturday after three days of clashes with several jihadist groups. Abdurrahman said the Kurdish gunmen were fighting pockets of rebels in southern Yaaroubiyeh.
Syria's chaotic three-year-old civil war pits Assad's forces against a disunited array of rebel groups. Al-Qaida-linked hard-liners have fought other groups as well as Kurdish militias who have taken advantage of the government's weakness to cement control over territory dominated by the ethnic minority.
In neighboring Lebanon, another two people were killed by sniper fire during fighting between rival sects in the northern city of Tripoli, the official state news agency reported.
At least nine people have been killed since clashes flared earlier this week, security officials said.
Syria's civil war has effectively spread to Lebanon's second largest city, where it has inflamed tensions between two impoverished Tripoli neighborhoods, home to Assad opponents and supporters.
The Bab Tabbaneh district is largely Sunni Muslim, like Syria's rebels. The other neighborhood Jabal Mohsen mostly has residents of Assad's Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.
The latest round of fighting began four days ago. Tensions had been mounting since Oct. 14, when a Lebanese military prosecutor pressed charges against seven men, at least one of whom was from Jabal Mohsen, for their involvement in twin bombings near two Sunni mosques in Tripoli on Aug. 23 that killed 47 people.
Lebanon shares its northern and eastern border with Syria. Lebanon's Sunni leadership has mostly supported the rebels, while Alawites and Shiites have backed the Assad government. Members of all three sects have gone as fighters to Syria.
____
AP writer Diaa Hadid reported from Beirut
Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-10-27-Syria/id-e7c5885e2be14a72be5ddabb3883c626US Secretary of State John Kerry, right, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands for the media on the occasion of their meeting at Villa Taverna, the US Ambassador's residence in Rome, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013. Netanyahu and Kerry are expected to talk about Iran's nuclear programme and peace negotiations with the Palestinians. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, Pool)
US Secretary of State John Kerry, right, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands for the media on the occasion of their meeting at Villa Taverna, the US Ambassador's residence in Rome, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013. Netanyahu and Kerry are expected to talk about Iran's nuclear programme and peace negotiations with the Palestinians. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, Pool)
US Secretary of State John Kerry, right, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands for the media on the occasion of their meeting at Villa Taverna, the US Ambassador's residence in Rome, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013. Netanyahu and Kerry met in Rome during Kerry's last stop of his European tour and are expected to talk about Iran's nuclear programme and peace negotiations with the Palestinians. (AP Photo/Claudio Peri, Pool)
ROME (AP) — Israel's prime minister said Wednesday that the world should not accept what he called a "partial deal" to curb Iran's nuclear program — just as it is not allowing the Syrian government to keep any of its chemical weapons stockpile.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told America's chief diplomat that ongoing negotiations with Iran should insist that Tehran end all enrichment on uranium, get rid of any fissile material and close water plants and underground bunkers that he said are only necessary to build a nuclear bomb.
"I think a partial deal that leaves Iran with these capabilities is a bad deal," Netanyahu told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the start of what was expected to be a daylong private meeting in Rome.
"You wisely insisted there wouldn't be a partial deal with Syria," Netanyahu said. "You were right. If (Syrian President Bashar) Assad had said, 'I'd like to keep 20 percent, 50 percent, or 80 percent of my chemical weapons capability,' you would have refused — and correctly so."
Still, Netanyahu predicted that "we're very close" to striking a deal with Iran. "And I agree with you that the goal is to get it peacefully," he said.
Israel is nervously watching the renewed nuclear negotiations between Iran and six world powers. Netanyahu has long demanded that the U.S. not ease any of its harsh economic sanctions against Tehran until the Islamic republic dismantles its nuclear weapons program.
Kerry maintained that the U.S. would continue to insist that Iran prove to the world that its nuclear program is peaceful, as Tehran says. But the negotiations, which began again this month after a six-month lull, have come nowhere near demanding the level of tough restrictions on Iran as Israel wants.
"No deal is better than a bad deal," Kerry said. "But if this can be solved satisfactorily, diplomatically, it is clearly better for everyone, and we are looking for an opportunity to be able to that."
___
Follow Lara Jakes on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/larajakesAP
Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-10-23-United%20States-Iran/id-fc4d709e2f6f4cec9425f2db2f8034dbFILE - New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie comforts Kerri Berean, 33, a Chapman Street resident, in this Nov. 3, 2012 file photo taken in Little Ferry, N.J. Christie was in many ways the face of the storm, whether he was embracing President Barack Obama during a visit to the battered coast or consoling a tearful 9-year-old girl who had lost her house and told the governor she was scared. A year later though, some of his admirers have become detractors. (AP Photo/The Star-Ledger, David Gard, POOL)
FILE - New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie comforts Kerri Berean, 33, a Chapman Street resident, in this Nov. 3, 2012 file photo taken in Little Ferry, N.J. Christie was in many ways the face of the storm, whether he was embracing President Barack Obama during a visit to the battered coast or consoling a tearful 9-year-old girl who had lost her house and told the governor she was scared. A year later though, some of his admirers have become detractors. (AP Photo/The Star-Ledger, David Gard, POOL)
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Gov. Chris Christie says he understands victims' frustrations a year after Superstorm Sandy but maintains that his administration isn't to blame for delays in aid reaching victims.
In an interview with The Associated Press as the anniversary of the Oct. 29 megastorm approached, Christie blamed Congress, which took three months to approve a $50.7 billion relief package for the region, and a thicket of red tape put in place to prevent the type of fraud that occurred after Hurricane Katrina.
"We've done everything we possibly can, and I think in the immediate aftermath did a very good job," Christie told the AP. "Since then, we've kind of been hostage to two situations, the delay in the aid itself and then what I call the 'Katrina factor,' which is the much more detailed and difficult rules surrounding the distribution of the aid."
Christie, widely believed to be positioning himself for a 2016 Republican presidential run, saw his popularity skyrocket after Sandy as he donned a blue fleece pullover and doggedly led the state through its worst natural disaster, a freakish storm that plunged 5.5 million state residents into darkness, damaged 360,000 homes and businesses, and disrupted gasoline supplies for days.
Christie was in many ways the face of the storm, whether he was embracing President Barack Obama during a visit to the battered coast or consoling a tearful 9-year-old girl who had lost her house and told the governor she was scared.
Lately, though, some of his admirers have become detractors.
Frustrations boiled over at a hearing last week on the pace of the recovery in Toms River, one of the hardest-hit communities. Storm victims there complained of insurance companies trying to lowball them on payouts, and stringent aid rules delaying them from rebuilding.
"These programs are intended to help; they're not. They're just putting more obstacles on you," said Vincent Giglio, a doctor from the Ortley Beach section of Toms River, which was devastated by the storm and remains sparsely populated a year later. He said getting insurance payouts and government aid has been daunting.
"When I needed my government — the people I voted for — they failed me," said Danielle Vaz, of Toms River, who brought her 4-year-old autistic son along to show how months of being displaced has severely affected them both.
Christie refused to send an administration representative to any of four post-Sandy hearings because, he said, the sessions were led by Democrats out to score political points. He did assign staff to monitor the hearings and follow-up with anyone who complained.
"I get the that fact that until any one particular person you speak to is back in their homes and their lives are back to normal, they are going to be incredibly frustrated and upset and, in some cases, distraught," he said. "I think most people, if you talk to them, would say we've done a good job. Not a perfect job, but a good job."
Since the first $1.8 billion in federal recovery aid was approved, New Jersey has set up 17 separate programs for homeowners, renters, small businesses, local governments, nonprofits and developers. Counselors and administrative staff who were rude or unhelpful have been fired, he said.
The largest homeowner aid program, which provides as much as $150,000 for reconstruction, repairs, to elevate a house or protect against future flooding, has been criticized for not making any payouts from a $600 million allocation. One hundred grant applications totaling $7.8 million in assistance were signed last week, and the administration expects 200 more to be finished within days. About 4,000 homeowners are expected to benefit eventually.
Asked about the delay, Christie said cumbersome federal requirements are responsible.
After Katrina, homeowners proved their losses and got their money, he said. Under the new rules, checks go directly to builders, so the jobs are being awarded through public bidding, slowing the process. Also, environmental and historical reviews are required for post-Sandy rebuilding of homes and businesses. Those reviews weren't required after Katrina.
Though he said he understands the insistence on increased oversight, Christie, a former federal prosecutor, said he would have done some things differently. For example, he would have cut checks to homeowners instead of builders in the remediation program but required residents to keep living in their homes for a certain time as a condition of receiving the grant.
"To the victims, I'd say you're right, it is too slow, and I wish that the federal government would allow us the flexibility to get you aid more quickly," Christie said.
Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-10-27-Superstorm-Christie/id-c8208fc1615b47a39dcf1f9a0f3681b3
Photo courtesy of Matt Goulding
Each Friday Roads & Kingdoms and Slate publish a new dispatch from around the globe. For more foreign correspondence mixed with food, war, travel, and photography, visit their online magazine or follow @roadskingdoms on Twitter.
KYOTO, Japan—The meal begins simply, almost religiously: a bowl of rice, a plate of pickles, a pot of green tea. Pour the tea over the rice and take a sip, then pinch a half moon of daikon between your chopsticks. Later comes a plate of tofu scraps dressed with green onions and dried fish, a seaweed salad, and a small bowl of miso soup.
This is obanzai, Japanese home-style cooking, but the cook is no ordinary homemaker: Setsuko Sugimoto is the matriarch of one of the oldest families in Kyoto, a city where everyone knows exactly how far your family goes back. Her home is older than the United States and protected by the Kyoto government. Tonight’s dinner stretches back to the Edo period, and to prove it she drops before me a telephone book–thick copy of the original recipes her family has preserved for 10 generations. “These are the traditions that we are starting to lose,” she tells me.
Not more than a few blocks from Sugimoto’s centuries-old home is a thicket of unwelcome invaders: Starbucks slinging monster soy lattes, a pizza delivery chain prepping seafood pies, a rainbow array of 24-hour convenience stores, portals of warmed-over carbohydrates and general gastronomic mischief. It’s a familiar tale: waves of brutish Western culture crashing on the shores of foreign countries and encroaching upon their long-held traditions. But the phenomenon is all the more striking here in Kyoto, in the heart of one of the world’s richest culinary cultures, with cooking traditions that stretch back millennia and more Michelin stars per capita than any other city in the world.
But Kyoto and the rest of Japan are not prepared to see their food yield to the mitigating forces of the modern world. Sugimoto is a part of a formidable coalition of government officials, nonprofit organizations, scholars, and food luminaries who have been working for two years on a proposal to include washoku—the traditional dining cultures of Japan—on the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization’s list of “intangible world heritages.” On Thursday, they received word that their bid had advanced to the final stage, making Japanese cuisine all but certain to win this prized UNESCO designation in early December. It may seem a benign marker, but the UNESCO program is itself not without controversy. Moreover, it begs the question: Can a U.N. body’s imprimatur do anything to protect something as intangible as a style of cooking?
Photo courtesy of Matt Goulding
Most people know UNESCO as the cultural arm of the United Nations dedicated to protecting important landmarks and features in the physical world: Angkor Wat, the Grand Canyon, the Taj Mahal. But in 2008, they expanded their heritage protection program to include intangible cultural artifacts—as they describe them, “traditions or living expressions inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants.” To date, they’ve added 257 items to their list of safeguarded customs, from well-known cultural staples like Brazilian Carnival to more obscure traditions like the gong culture of the Vietnamese highlands. Along with the petition to safeguard Japanese cuisine, there are 31 other proposals being examined this fall by the world body, including Korean kimchi-making, Turkish coffee culture, and the Belgian tradition of shrimp fishing on horseback.
UNESCO’s world heritage program has long been a magnet for controversy. Critics are quick to point out that the increased attention caused by a UNESCO distinction often threatens to undermine the very thing it seeks to protect. (A $1.6 million trip to all 962 sites offered by a luxury travel agent will do little to quell those concerns.) Others wonder if UNESCO has the funding and the organizational might to handle such a diverse and ambitious range of sites and traditions. The expansion into the intangible world can only make matters more complicated for an underfunded and overly bureaucratic organization.
To date, there are officially four UNESCO-designated cuisines: Mexican, Turkish, Mediterranean, and French. By any measure, if there is a distinction for the world’s most important, unique, or vital cuisines, Japan deserves to be at the top of the list. The depth and breadth of Japanese cuisine is stunning. In Hokkaido, you can feast on salty orbs of salmon roe and golden mountains of sea urchin for breakfast and plates of charcoal-grilled lamb for dinner. In the mountains along the Sea of Japan, you’ll find families that ferment their own soy sauce and miso and old men who have done nothing their entire lives but turn ground buckwheat into soba noodles. And in Tokyo, thousands of ramen bars and subterranean izakaya share cement with hushed temples of raw fish run by Jiro Ono, Japan’s most famous sushi master, and a crew of single-minded fish whisperers.
Photo courtesy of Matt Goulding
But no city is more important in representing and protecting the traditions of Japanese cuisine than Kyoto, capital of the ancient empire for more than 1,200 years and ground zero for Japan’s greatest culinary achievements.
Over the past week of eating here, I’ve talked to a lot of people about UNESCO: knife makers, sake brewers, line cooks. It’s a topic everyone in this food-obsessed town wants to discuss, and everyone I spoke with firmly believes that Japanese cuisine deserves the recognition, though the reasons why are as varied as the cooking itself.
“It’s the water,” says Setsuko Matsui, owner of the elegant Matsui Honkan inn who believes the mineral-rich water of places like Kyoto makes for better rice, better sake, better everything. “Japanese cuisine is dedicated to reflecting nature,” says Hisao Nakahigashi, one of Kyoto’s most respected chefs whose Michelin two-star kaiseki restaurant fills up six months in advance.
CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's top prosecutor received complaints Saturday against a popular television satirist less than 24 hours after he returned to the air, as the private TV station that airs his program sought to distance itself from its contents.
The legal complaints and the reaction of the private station CBC highlight the low tolerance this deeply divided country has for criticism of the military and its leaders.
Bassem Youssef, often compared to U.S. comedian Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central's satirical "The Daily Show, mocked the new pro-military fervor gripping Egypt in his program that aired Friday night.
Youssef also took jabs at the country's powerful military chief, Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, lionized in the Egyptian media as a hero after leading a July 3 coup that ousted the country's elected Islamist president following massive protests.
By Saturday, at least four complaints had been filed with the country's top prosecutor, accusing Youssef of defaming the military in his show, a judicial official said. One of the complaints accused Youssef of using phrases that "undermine the honor and dignity of Egypt and its people" in a manner sowing sedition and spreading lies.
The official said no investigation into the complaints had started yet. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to journalists. Such complaints, common under Egyptian law, are often shelved until prosecutors decide to start an investigation.
In a statement read during prime time Saturday night, a broadcaster read a statement issued by CBC's board of directors in which the station sought to distance itself from the views expressed by Youssef on his show called "El-Bernameg," or "The Program." The statement appeared to be a reaction to negative feedback from viewers and possibly officials.
The statement noted that the public's reaction to Youssef's Friday night show was "largely disapproving."
"CBC will continue to be supportive of the basics of national sentiment and popular will, and is keen on not using phrases and innuendos that may lead to mocking national sentiment or symbols of the Egyptian state," the station said.
The station added that it is also committed to freedom of the media.
During Friday's show, Youssef imitated el-Sissi's soft-spoken, affectionate way of addressing the public, turning it into a lover's romantic groove. In one skit, a woman named "the Public" calls into a love advice show raving about the love of her life who saved her from an abusive husband.
"He's an officer as big as the world," she coos adoringly, making a pun on a slogan el-Sissi uses in nearly every speech: "Egypt will be big enough to face down the world." Then she adds, "He does have a sovereign streak."
One complainant, well-known politician Ahmed el-Fadaly, referred to the skit of the adoring woman, accusing Youssef of portraying Egypt as a "dallying woman who betrays her husband with military men."
El-Fadaly, who heads an association of young Muslims, also accused the satirist of belittling the armed forces' efforts to deal with terrorism, and of misrepresenting the popular protests against President Mohammed Morsi as a coup, according to a copy of the complaint obtained by The Associated Press.
Another complainant, a group called The Campaign for el-Sissi for President, alleged that Youssef had defamed the military and its leadership through sexual innuendos, according to the Youm7 news website.
Youssef used satire to criticize Morsi during his one year in office. Morsi supporters also sued Youssef for insulting the presidency and Islam, leading to his brief detention.
Before returning to the air after four months of absence, Youssef predicted in an article he wrote that he will continue to be pursued legally by his new critics "who allegedly love freedom dearly — when it works in their favor."
His late-night Friday show caused a stir in a sharply divided country. Since Morsi's ouster, hundreds have been killed in crackdowns on protesters demanding Morsi's reinstatement. Attacks by Islamic extremists against security forces and Christians have increased. A nationalist fervor gripping the country has elevated the military to an untouchable status, leaving little tolerance among the public or officials for criticism.
For now, Youssef appears undeterred. After Friday's show aired, Youssef took to Twitter to remind the public that the show just began: "It is only an episode in a program, people."
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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 27-Oct-2013
ShareContact: Susan Stevens Martin
ssmartin@aap.org
847-434-7131
American Academy of Pediatrics
ORLANDO, Fla. A healthy weight is the key to a healthy heart, and yet an estimated 1 out of 3 children is either overweight or obese in the U.S. During a special symposium Oct. 27 at the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference and Exhibition in Orlando, pediatricians discussed obesity and cardiovascular risk factors, public health policy, and how physicians can partner with families to improve children's weight.
"Overweight children are more likely to become overweight adults," said Stephen Daniels, MD, FAAP, who will speak about cardiovascular health during the symposium, "Heavy Challenges for Healthy Hearts."
Obesity in childhood and adulthood is associated with many health risks, including Type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, high blood pressure, lipid abnormalities and high cholesterol. Left untreated, these conditions can lead to heart disease and other chronic health conditions, Dr. Daniels said. The AAP has endorsed guidelines from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute which recommend all children undergo cholesterol screening once between the ages of 9 and 11, and again between the ages of 17 and 21.
The guidelines are based on research showing that early atherosclerosis exists in young patients with elevated cholesterol. In addition, lipid disorders are common in children and linked to childhood obesity. The testing is helping pediatricians to monitor and intervene to minimize the effects of weight and an unhealthy lifestyle on overall health.
"If you have a child with obesity, you should know what his or her blood pressure and cholesterol levels are," said Dr. Daniels, a cardiologist and chair of the AAP Committee on Nutrition. "If you ask why there are so many kids who are overweight and obese, it has to do with behaviors and how our environment influences these behaviors. We have more attractive, high-calorie drinks and foods, and lots of things that keep kids from being active. How do we change the environment or how do we improve behaviors in spite of our environment?"
Stephen Pont, MD, FAAP, chair of the AAP Section on Obesity, urged pediatricians to partner with overweight and obese children to improve their eating, lifestyle and overall health habits.
"We must create a safe, guilt-free environment for our patients, if we are going to be most effective in empowering our patients to make healthy changes," Dr. Pont said. "Placing more guilt and blame on our patients and their families only makes them feel worse, it doesn't help their motivation. There are big forces at work that make being healthy difficult for many of our patients, and so if we are to best empower our patients we must take an empathetic, patient-centered approach, which is most effective in dealing with weight and other sensitive issues."
###
The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 60,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults. For more information, visit http://www.aap.org.
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.
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 27-Oct-2013
ShareContact: Susan Stevens Martin
ssmartin@aap.org
847-434-7131
American Academy of Pediatrics
ORLANDO, Fla. A healthy weight is the key to a healthy heart, and yet an estimated 1 out of 3 children is either overweight or obese in the U.S. During a special symposium Oct. 27 at the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference and Exhibition in Orlando, pediatricians discussed obesity and cardiovascular risk factors, public health policy, and how physicians can partner with families to improve children's weight.
"Overweight children are more likely to become overweight adults," said Stephen Daniels, MD, FAAP, who will speak about cardiovascular health during the symposium, "Heavy Challenges for Healthy Hearts."
Obesity in childhood and adulthood is associated with many health risks, including Type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, high blood pressure, lipid abnormalities and high cholesterol. Left untreated, these conditions can lead to heart disease and other chronic health conditions, Dr. Daniels said. The AAP has endorsed guidelines from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute which recommend all children undergo cholesterol screening once between the ages of 9 and 11, and again between the ages of 17 and 21.
The guidelines are based on research showing that early atherosclerosis exists in young patients with elevated cholesterol. In addition, lipid disorders are common in children and linked to childhood obesity. The testing is helping pediatricians to monitor and intervene to minimize the effects of weight and an unhealthy lifestyle on overall health.
"If you have a child with obesity, you should know what his or her blood pressure and cholesterol levels are," said Dr. Daniels, a cardiologist and chair of the AAP Committee on Nutrition. "If you ask why there are so many kids who are overweight and obese, it has to do with behaviors and how our environment influences these behaviors. We have more attractive, high-calorie drinks and foods, and lots of things that keep kids from being active. How do we change the environment or how do we improve behaviors in spite of our environment?"
Stephen Pont, MD, FAAP, chair of the AAP Section on Obesity, urged pediatricians to partner with overweight and obese children to improve their eating, lifestyle and overall health habits.
"We must create a safe, guilt-free environment for our patients, if we are going to be most effective in empowering our patients to make healthy changes," Dr. Pont said. "Placing more guilt and blame on our patients and their families only makes them feel worse, it doesn't help their motivation. There are big forces at work that make being healthy difficult for many of our patients, and so if we are to best empower our patients we must take an empathetic, patient-centered approach, which is most effective in dealing with weight and other sensitive issues."
###
The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 60,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults. For more information, visit http://www.aap.org.
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.
