Nakoula Basseley Nakoula: Family joins him at secret location

The family of a filmmaker linked to an anti-Islamic movie has left their California home in the middle of the night to join the man in hiding.

A spokesman with the LA County Sheriff's Department said that Nakoula Basseley Nakoula's relatives, each with his or her face covered, left their Cerritos home about 3:45am on Monday.

Deputies gave them a ride and they were reunited with Nakoula, then taken to an undisclosed location.

Family ties: The family of Nakoula Basseley Nakoula covered their faces as they were led out of his Cerritos, California, home early on Monday morning

Not under arrest: Nakoula Basseley Nakoula is escorted from his home by Los Angeles County Sheriff's officers in Cerritos, California on Saturday morning

Steve Whitmore, a spokesman for the LA County Sheriff's Department, told ABC News: 'They decided they would be safer where they could move about and live a normal life. 

'All we did was pick them up and reunite them with Mr. Nakoula.'

He would not say when or if Nakoula and his family were planning to return - if ever.

He told ABC: 'What we do know and what they told me is that for the time now and for the immediate future, for the weeks and months to come, they will not be returning to this address.'

Nakoula wore heavy apparel to disguise his appearance when he left his home over the weekend.

His family was no different, keeping their faces covered as they were led away by deputies.

Meanwhile, as fresh protests broke out in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Iranian Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi issued an stark message directed at Nakoula.

Condemnation: Iran's Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi (left) called for the filmmakers to be punished while Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (right) called on the West to take action

Authorities fear new anti-West violence

Australian authorities are wary of fresh violence after Saturday's brutal anti-West demonstration in Sydney, as police urgently hunt the masterminds behind the riot.

Muslim leaders convened emergency meetings in Sydney and Melbourne on Monday night to quell any repeat of the clashes, which were part of global protests over the US anti-Islam YouTube film, Innocence of Muslims.

The Lebanese Muslim Association and the Islamic Council of NSW were both due to meet in Lakemba in Sydney's west to urge calm.

The Islamic Council of Victoria was also arranging a meeting of imams in Melbourne.

Community groups and politicians of all stripes condemned Saturday's violence, while lawyer Mariam Veiszadeh launched one of several online anti-violence campaigns.

"Our fear is that extremist elements in Australia and other countries are using this YouTube video to incite hatred and incite violence in pursuit of long-held goals," Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop told federal parliament.

Foreign Minister Bob Carr said the violence was the work of a "repugnant, lunatic fringe".

Authorities are bracing for more clashes, although NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione says he hopes the voice of reason will prevail.

"If anyone is stupid enough to try this sort of thing again, I can tell you now, we're more than ready," Mr Scipione told Macquarie Radio on Monday.

Melbourne police beefed up their presence at several locations across the city on Monday, including at the US consulate.

Brogaard fortsætter hård linje overfor banker

De sunde banker skal ikke brokke sig så meget over, at de betaler en del af gildet, når andre banker går ned. Det er til alles bedste. 

Det er meldingen fra Finansiel Stabilitets nye formand, Jakob Brogaard, i et interview i Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten. 

"Når solen går ned, er det en omkostning, som er mindre, end den alternative omkostning ville være, nemlig at der er ville opstå en meget stor usikkerhed, som ville ramme hele sektoren," siger han. 

Derfor er sektoren nødt til at være indstillet på, at der kan komme nye regninger som følge af bankkrak. 

"Selvfølgelig er det ærgerligt at se, at man skal betale milliarder, fordi andre ikke har haft orden i eget hus, men hele sektoren har en interesse i, at denne krise bliver håndteret på fornuftig vis," siger Brogaard videre til Jyllands-Posten. 

Bankdirektører som Gert Jonassen, Arbejdernes Landsbank, og Michael Rasmussen, Nordea, har luftet utilfredshed med, at sektoren betaler en del af gildet. 

Accused High School Shooter Posted Clues on Facebook. Who Was Listening?

The first day of school at Perry Hall High School in Baltimore County, Md. turned tragic when a student opened fire, critically wounding another student in the school cafeteria.

Police have charged 15-year-old Robert Wayne Gladden Jr. with attempted first degree murder and first degree assault. He’s being charged as an adult and held without bail.

Luckily, a school official was able to wrestle the gun from the shooter before he was able to hurt anyone else. But where were officials, adults, even friends, before the shooting?

Gladden, a sophomore at the school, posted “First day of school, last day of my life” on his Facebook page before heading to school on Monday.

Surely a red flag — if someone had seen it.

As a parent, what do you do when you see a story like this? It’s easy to say “not my kid.” But the reality is, this could happen to anybody’s child.

Teens use social networking to keep up with their friends, post photos, chat, and very often, overshare. It’s up to adults to teach good judgement, to talk about privacy, and show their kids what behavior is appropriate online.

More importantly, they need to be aware of what their own kids are doing — and that means checking their Facebook page.

As one mom posted to Facebook in the aftermath of the shooting: “Parents — pay attention to your kids! Monitor their Facebook pages! Know their friends! Get them help if they need it! Maybe someone could have prevented today’s incident at Perry Hall if they paid closer attention.”

So how do parents so that? Dr. Sylvia Rimm, psychologist and director of the Family Achievement Clinic tells Mashable start when kids first get involved in social media. “Parents can insist that they are also friended.

“In early adolescence, kids don’t usually mind their parents checking their Facebook pages from time to time. If parents check without commenting, they can be alerted to any strange people writing inappropriate comments.”

Rimm says that’s not always easy, especially with older kids: “Unfortunately, if kids want to hide their social pages from their parents, they will figure out a way to do that.” She says parents may need technological assistance if they are concerned.

One teen raised an important question in her Facebook response to the shooting, regarding Gladden’s “last day of my life” update. “I am sure we have all seen friends’ statuses that were similar … how do you know when they are serious? Most of the time it’s just a cry for help.”

As Romney Enjoys Ryan’s Spark, Rivals Try to Fan It

It was no surprise that Mitt Romney’s campaign decided to team him up again on Monday with Representative Paul D. Ryan. As the vice-presidential nominee, he

brings bigger crowds, extra attention from the press and a spark that carries over to Mr. Romney’s own performance on the stump.
 The two men reaped those benefits here as thousands turned out for a town hall-style meeting in this battleground state a week before the Republican

convention begins.

But Mr. Ryan also brings a record in Congress that sets him apart from Mr. Romney, and on Monday his opposition to abortion, even in cases of rape and

incest, offered a reminder of the political dangers that sometimes come from embracing a running mate and his record. Already, Mr. Ryan’s proposals to

change Medicare had drawn attacks from President Obama and his Democratic allies.

The ticket was forced to address abortion after Representative Todd Akin, the Republican Senate candidate in Missouri, said in an interview on Sunday that

women’s bodies had ways to block unwanted pregnancies. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut the whole thing down,” Mr.

Akin told KTVI-TV.

The comments caused a political firestorm as Republican leaders condemned the comments and sought to push Mr. Akin out of the Missouri race.

Mr. Romney has long said abortion should be legal in cases of rape. His campaign on Sunday quickly distanced him and Mr. Ryan from Mr. Akin’s remarks, and

Mr. Romney twice called them indefensible on Monday. That might have been enough if not for Mr. Ryan’s record.

Mr. Ryan’s different position on abortion has given Mr. Obama’s team an opening, much the way his proposals for turning Medicare into a voucher program

have provided new ammunition for Democrats to attack the Republican ticket as they try to appeal to seniors.

“As a Republican leader in the House, Mr. Ryan worked with Mr. Akin to try to pass laws that would ban abortion in all cases, and even narrow the definition

of rape,” Lis Smith, a spokeswoman for Mr. Obama, said in a statement Monday.

The president himself said Mr. Akin’s remarks were “offensive. Rape is rape. And the idea that we should be parsing and qualifying and slicing what types

of rape we’re talking about doesn’t make sense to the American people, and certainly doesn’t make sense to me.”

Aides to Mr. Romney’s campaign have praised Mr. Ryan’s positive impact on fund-raising, which received a significant bump in the days after his selection

was announced on Aug. 11. Polls have been less clear, showing little bounce for Mr. Romney nationally or in battleground states since the announcement.

What is clear is that Mr. Romney enjoys campaigning with Mr. Ryan. At their appearance on Monday, at Saint Anselm College, the energy between them was a bit

lower than it was in the days after Mr. Ryan joined the ticket. But as the questions came, their pep picked up.

Both wearing blue shirts with rolled sleeves and business slacks (pleats for Mr. Romney, flat front for Mr. Ryan), the two men acted like a tag team,

answering questions one after another. After a question about policy toward Israel, Mr. Romney offered to let Mr. Ryan go first, saying he did not want to

hog the spotlight.

“Paul, I’ve been taking all these first. It’s not fair. So you take this one, and I’ll take the next one,” Mr. Romney said, chuckling.

At one point, Mr. Ryan rescued Mr. Romney from an awkward attempt at humor. “This better be a good question,” Mr. Romney said to a man in a Yankees T-

shirt. A former governor of Massachusetts who often plays up his allegiance to the Boston Red Sox, he told a story about campaigning in South Carolina with

the punch line: “It proves one thing. We all hate Yankees.”

The crowd groaned, and there were a few boos. Mr. Ryan saved the day. “But not you, sir,” he said. “We love you.”

Mr. Romney and Mr. Ryan were scheduled to separate again as the campaign tries to cover more ground and raise more money in the final days before the

convention in Tampa, Fla. Mr. Romney was headed to New Orleans and Texas for fund-raisers, and Mr. Ryan to Pittsburgh.

Mr. Romney answered a question about the national debt, then turned to Mr. Ryan, beaming like a conductor cuing his virtuoso soloist. “I want to hear what

he has to say on this topic,” he said. “He’s been working on this the last 14 years.”

When another questioner challenged the candidates to say how they would get a budget passed, since a gridlocked Congress has not passed one in three years,

Mr. Romney replied: “Good question. Paul?”

“We’re going to follow the law,” Mr. Ryan shot back.

“You guys ever heard of a guy named Harry Reid?” he then asked, laying blame at the feet of the Democratic majority leader of the Senate, which has blocked

two of Mr. Ryan’s House budget proposals. “O.K., you have,” Mr. Ryan said as the crowd booed. “I rest my case.”

Perhaps the most symbolic moment came as Mr. Ryan was concluding his remarks with a promise to “elect leadership.” Just then, the bells in the college’s

tower began ringing, leading Mr. Ryan to say, “At the 11th hour!”

When Mr. Romney came to the stage, he was beaming.

“Paul, you’re terrific. Thank you,” Mr. Romney said. “Only a Catholic guy would be able to get the bells to toll just at the right time at Saint Anselm’

s.”

Mark Landler contributed reporting from Washington.

Jim Boeheim thinks LeBron might be the best player he's seen, including Michael Jordan

LeBron James has had one incredible year. He went from maybe the most criticized, scrutinized player in all of sports to winning his third MVP, rising to

another level in the playoffs, winning an NBA title (and Finals MVP) and topping it with a gold medal.

He went from a punch line to instant legend status. And it's been tough for people to not get a little carried away with this Year of LeBron. But Syracuse

coach and Team USA assistant couldn't help himself. He went there. Via ESPN Radio:

    “He's a leader. He gets on the court, he tells people what to do … this guy can guard five [positions] … put him on anybody, he can guard him. I

always felt Michael Jordan was the best player I've ever seen … I didn't think it was close … and I'm not so sure anymore … this guy is 6-9, 260 pounds

and he's getting better … I know we've had great, great players through the years. He's like Magic Johnson with Michael Jordan-type skills as well.”
Can't argue with LeBron's ability, talent and skillset. And now with him a champion, he has that checked off on his resume. He's playing at another level,

raising his game to a stratosphere all to his own.

But he has a long, long way to go to reach Jordanian levels of greatness. Five more championships is a start, and that doesn't even ensure he's in a

conversation with MJ.

I don't think that's Boeheim's point. Much in the same that Scottie Pippen tried to make, Boeheim's not saying that LeBron will top Jordan's career

achievements, but simply might possess the most basketball ability he's ever seen.

Like Pippen, he's still pretty much wrong, but I think that's the point he's making.

Ken Berger of CBSSports.com dug into this and here's what he came up with:

    But to suggest that, after one championship at age 27, James has surpassed Jordan as the greatest player a renowned basketball authority has ever seen?

It is both silly and predictable -- and unnecessary. Bryant enters his 17th season in a few months, and only by virtue of two brilliant acquisitions by Mitch

Kupchak appears to have one more legitimate shot at a sixth title to equal Jordan. Seventeen years. A lot can, and will happen for (and to) LeBron if he

plays that long. Let's just enjoy his talent and see how it plays out, shall we?

The argument for Boeheim's point is well taken in that it's impossible to ignore LeBron's unreal ability. He can guard five spots and is as versatile as any

player in history. For his size, speed and athleticism, I'm not sure the game has ever seen a player like LeBron James. In terms of making that kind of

comparison to Michael Jordan, it's somewhat fair.

However, I'm not big on the talent and ability qualifier, because accomplishments matter. If you're talking about the most talented players in history, you

could put a whole lot of guys that had otherworldly ability. Tracy McGrady, Harold Miner, Vince Carter and on and on. Yes, LeBron is a freak of nature and I

think it's far too early to say he can't touch MJ. Because he has time left and with a championship under his belt, is on his way.

But you can't compare the two. It's not fair to either. LeBron James is LeBron James. And there's only one Michael Jordan.

US defense officials say Iran building, training militia to fight rebels in Syria

 U.S. defense officials are accusing Iran of increased meddling in Syria, including efforts to bolster its flagging armed forces, who are weary after 18

months of war.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Iran is building and training a militia to help President Bashar Assad’s regime battle the rebel fighters trying to

topple him.
The Iranian efforts, said Panetta, will only add to the killing going on in the country and “bolster a regime that we think ultimately is going to come

down.”

Sitting alongside Panetta at a Pentagon news conference Tuesday, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the militia, which is

generally made up of Syrian Shiite forces, is being used to take the pressure off the Syrian regime forces.

“Any army would be taxed with that kind of pace,” Dempsey said. “They are having resupply problems, they are having morale problems, they are having the

kind of wear and tear that would come of being in a fight for as long as they have.”

Dempsey also said that it appears Syrian rebels were able to shoot down a Syrian warplane but said he has seen no indication that they are armed with heavy

weapons or surface-to-air missiles, at least not yet.

He says the MiG fighter could have been shot down with small arms fire. Syria has blamed the crash on a technical malfunction, but Dempsey said the cause

“didn’t appear to be mechanical.”

Dempsey and Panetta voiced concerns about Iran’s growing presence in Syria even as President Bashar Assad’s regime steps up its aerial attacks against the

rebel forces. Fierce fighting and attacks from warplanes and helicopter gunships have pushed the opposition forces back on key fronts, such as Aleppo.

And the fighting — including alleged massacres by the regime — has led to the deaths of more than 20,000, according to activists.

Asked about military options for intervention in Syria, Dempsey said the U.S. has been in discussions with Jordan and Turkey about the possible need for a

safe zone because the two countries neighboring Syria are seeing an influx of refugees fleeing the fighting.

“And with a safe haven would probably come some form of no-fly zone, but we’re not planning anything unilaterally,” Dempsey said.

Panetta repeated assertions he made during an Associated Press interview Monday, saying that right now, creating a no-fly zone in the region “is not a

front-burner issue” for the U.S. Instead, he said, the U.S. is focusing on providing humanitarian and nonlethal assistance and on ensuring the chemical and

biological weapons in Syria are secure.

A no-fly zone would be a militarily enforced area in which outside nations would prohibit Syrian warplanes from flying and attacking Syria’s own people.

The Obama administration has insisted repeatedly that Assad must go and that diplomatic and economic pressures, including sanctions, must be given time to

work. Defense officials, including Panetta, have warned that putting a no-fly zone in place would be difficult because of the Syrian regime’s relatively

modern and plentiful air defense systems.

On the subject of Afghanistan, Panetta and Dempsey said commanders in that country are taking new steps to deal with the increasing number of insider attacks

against U.S. and coalition forces.

Panetta said more intelligence officers will be added to the larger military units to help root out possible attackers and officials will do more in-depth

forensic reviews of the incidents, in which members of the Afghan army or police — or militants in disguise — attack and kill American troops and other

allies.

Dempsey said Gen. John Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, has created a new team that will go back and review the attacks, also to see what more

can be done.

According to the Pentagon, 37 U.S. and coalition troops have been killed in 29 insider attacks this year. Of those killed, 21 have been U.S. service members.

Advance warning system for solar flares hinges on surprising hypotheses

Scientists may have hit upon a new means of predicting solar flares more than a day in advance, which hinges on a hypothesis dating back to 2006 that solar

activity affects the rate of decay of radioactive materials on Earth. Study of the phenomenon could lead to a new system which monitors changes in gamma

radiation emitted from radioactive materials, and if the underlying hypothesis proves correct, this could lead to solar flare advance warning systems that

would assist in the protection of satellites, power systems and astronauts.

In 2006, nuclear engineer Jere Jenkins of Purdue University noticed a change in the decay rate of a radioactive sample 39 hours before a solar flare. Since

joined by a Purdue University professor of Physics named Ephraim Fischbach, Jenkins' subsequent research has reinforced the discovery, using two samples of

the same isotope, chlorine 36, in two separate experiments in two different labs.

It isn't just solar flares that seem to induce changes in radioactive decay rate. Changes in solar rotation and activity, and the Earth's position on its

orbital path around the Sun also appear to have an effect, and it's the latter variable which seems to have been decisive in the research. Between July 2005

and June 2011, continued monitoring has apparently shown consistent annual variation in the decay rate of chlorine 36, peaking in January and February, and

ebbing in July and August.

An 11-year solar cycle is set to peak in 2013, and the researchers claim a solar storm as strong as the Carrington Event of 1859 would be devastating to the

technology of today.

"There was so much energy from this solar storm that the telegraph wires were seen glowing and the aurora borealis appeared as far south as Cuba," said

Fischbach. "Because we now have a sophisticated infrastructure of satellites, power grids and all sort of electronic systems, a storm of this magnitude today

would be catastrophic. Having a day and a half warning could be really helpful in averting the worst damage."

Among the proposed protection measures are the temporary shutting down of satellites (the designs of which would need to be adapted to accommodate this

feature) and power networks prior to solar flares.

Purdue's proposed detector uses a sample of manganese 54 which is monitored with a gamma-radiation detector as it decays into chromium 54. It's hoped that

anomalies in the rate of decay would indicate forthcoming solar flares. A US patent has been filed to protect the idea.

The research has significant implications for science. To date, the rate of radioactive decay is understood to be constant. Further, the researchers

hypothesize that it's neutrinos that are affecting the change in the rate of decay: an idea sure to turn heads.

"Since neutrinos have essentially no mass or charge, the idea that they could be interacting with anything is foreign to physics," Jenkins said. "So, we are

saying something that doesn't interact with anything is changing something that can't be changed. Either neutrinos are affecting decay rate or perhaps an

unknown particle is."

Jenkins hopes to continue the research, verifying the findings using more sensitive equipment. The latest findings were published last week in the report

Analysis of gamma radiation from a radon source: Indications of a solar influence in the journal Astroparticle Physics.

Mysterious Font Left by Malware Befuddles

The most famous -- and mysterious -- font (yes, we're talking typeface) in the information security world right now is Palida Narrow.

Palida Narrow is a new font that the recently discovered Gauss malware installs on machines it infects. And as Dennis Fisher, writing on Kaspersky Lab's

Threatpost blog, noted late last week, "Researchers have been unable to figure out yet what the purpose of the font is, but ... its presence on a PC is a

good indicator of a Gauss infection."

So far there are only theories about its purpose. The most popular is that it is a brand mark for the command and control servers. But those have been

offline since last month.

CrySys Lab, which along with Kaspersky has released a Gauss detection tool, says the theory is that "Palida installation can be in fact detected remotely by

web servers, thus the Palida installation is a marker to identify infected computers that visit some specially crafted web pages."

Joel Harding, a retired intelligence officer and information operation expert who has been following the investigation into Gauss, agrees, with the caveat

that everything so far is speculation. Noting that the various modules in Gauss are all named for philosophers, he said, "It is the [Joseph-Louis] LaGrange

module that is installing the Palida font onto the previously uninfected systems, allowing remote detection of an infected computer without compromising a

probe."

[See also: While origin unclear, Gauss indicates malware tool boom]

Kevin McAleavey, cofounder and chief architect of the KNOS project and a veteran malware researcher, said the purpose of Palida Narrow might go beyond

tracking visits. "It could be that the custom font may have special value to the character sets within which might not be 'printable characters' but useful

nonetheless to whatever intent Gauss has," he said.

"But the missing piece here could very well be that although the current font being installed hasn't been found to be malicious, it could be a 'placeholder'

in this code," McAleavey said. "Quite possibly this mysterious font install, which proves to be harmless, might have replaced the original payload in order

to avoid disclosure of the original code that accompanied Gauss. That would certainly lead to the current outcome, in which the mysterious font has been

found to be inert."

Chris Sanders, a senior security analyst at InGuardians, an information security consultancy, also said the "marker" theory is plausible. "Any time any type

of purposeful malware is installed on a system, the attacker has to have a mechanism that allows him to ensure that the malware was installed, and that it

was installed with the appropriate level of access to the system," he said, adding that Palida Narrow is "an eloquent solution for a malware author, as it

doesn't require the installation of any additional browser components such as a JavaScript interpreter."
But his InGuardians colleague John Sawyer, also a senior security analyst, said it is misleading to say that the Palida Narrow font is a definitive infection

marker for all Gauss-infected machines. "Kaspersky's own research paper shows the LaGrange module that installs the font was configured on only three of

approximately 1,700 infections that they analyzed," he said.

There is general consensus that it is unusual. "The installation of the Palida font is unique, it's a first," said Harding. "This is a font that did not

previously exist, it was customized for this tool. We have never seen a font installed by malware before."

And John Sawyer said that while including a marker of some type in malware is common, "the use of a font is particularly clever as it makes web-based

detection incredibly easy."

Still, why would the Gauss creators mark it with a new font? Wouldn't that make it much easier to detect the presence of Gauss on a machine? Not necessarily,

experts say.

Roger Thompson, chief emerging threats researcher at ICSA Labs, thinks Palida Narrow may have simply been a careless mistake. "I often joke that programmers,

especially good ones, are likely to look for short cuts and time savers," he said.

"What this means is that when they write a program, they rarely start from scratch, but instead think to themselves, 'OK, I know I wrote some code like that

once before,' and they copy and paste the old code into the new code. I think that time will show that Palida Narrow was simply accidentally left over from a

previous project."

Others believe it was more purposeful than that, but say it won't necessarily make Gauss easier to detect. John Sawyer noted again that the LaGrange module

was found on only a small number of infected machines.

And Joel Harding said while the font will definitely be a tipoff that Gauss is present, "the beauty of this technique is that it has never been used before."

"Before 9/11, few in the world considered a commercial airplane as a possible weapon. Now we will start considering a font, and hopefully other items

possibly detected by network management tools, as possible indicators of an infection," Harding said.

Harding said he suspects that by the time Gauss is decrypted and fully understood, its creators will be using something else. "Don't forget that Stuxnet used

four brand new zero day exploits and Gauss is using techniques that never previously existed," he said. "This design team not only is comfortable operating

outside the box, they excel in it. Now the challenge is to continue developing new tools by thinking further outside the box."

Romney, Mormonism and Money

My Sunday column — written before the Paul Ryan pick, but still relevant in its aftermath — argues that Mitt Romney’s understandable reluctance to talk

about his Mormon faith has cut him off from what would otherwise be a very natural part of his campaign narrative, both in personal and philosophical terms.

My argument runs counter to some of the arguments in Adam Gopnik’s tour d’horizon of Mormonism in a recent issue of the New Yorker, and particularly this

passage:
    Yet class surely tells more than creed when it comes to American manners, and Romney is better understood as a late-twentieth-century American tycoon

than as any kind of believer. Most of what is distinct about him seems specific to the rich managerial class of the nineteen-eighties and nineties, and is

best explained so—just as you would grasp more about Jack Kennedy from F. Scott Fitzgerald (an Irish and a Catholic ascending to Wasp manners) than from St.

Augustine. In another way, though, this is precisely where faith really does walk in, since commerce and belief seem complementary in Romney’s tradition. It

’s just that this tradition is not merely Mormon. Joseph Smith’s strange faith has become a denomination within the bigger creed of commerce. It’s unfair

to say, as some might, that Mitt Romney believes in nothing except his own ambition. He believes, with shining certainty, in his own success, and, more

broadly, in the American Gospel of Wealth that lies behind it: the idea that rich people got rich by being good, that the riches are a sign of their virtue,

and that they should therefore be allowed to rule.

The Fitzgerald-explaining-J.F.K. point is brilliant, and it summons up one of my favorite Jacqueline Kennedy lines: “I think it’s so unfair of people to be

against Jack because he is a Catholic. He’s such a poor Catholic. Now if it were Bobby, I could understand …” But Romney’s life trajectory suggests that

he’s considerably closer to Bobby, the rosary-saying Mass-goer with 11 children, than to the rather less pious President Kennedy. (If any prominent Mormon

politician resembles J.F.K. in his relationship to his childhood faith, it’s arguably Jon Huntsman.) It’s possible, I suppose, to spin a narrative in which

Romney’s years as a Mormon bishop and stake president were mostly a case of a tycoon-on-the-make exploiting a networking opportunity. But the level of

commitment required of someone serving in those offices suggests a considerably higher level of religious devotion. Given the differences between the faiths,

there’s no perfect analogy to Catholic practice, but imagine if J.F.K. had been ordained to the permanent diaconate and assigned to help an overworked

priest manage a crowded parish in Brookline while ascending to the Senate, and you’ll have some sense of what Romney’s service to the L.D.S. church

involved. There are many ways to describe this chapter in the Republican nominee’s life story, but at the very least it counts as strong evidence against

the premise that Romney’s main religious commitment is to the worship of his own success.

As for Gopnik’s description of Mormonism as “a denomination within the bigger creed of commerce,” this is apt in a way, but also strikingly incomplete. To

readers unfamiliar with L.D.S. culture, it suggests a strong overlap between Mormonism’s theology of money and the kind of “pray and grow rich” prosperity

preaching that’s exemplified Joel Osteen and his tackier confreres. Some such overlap exists, but the differences are also striking. Mormonism is worldlier

than orthodox Christianity in ways that can become problematic, but it’s also considerably more communitarian (and considerably less consumerist) than a

great deal of contemporary American religion. It celebrates its businessman, but it makes extremely stringent demands of them at the same time; it allows

that riches may be associated with virtue, but insists that the rich prove their virtue through consistent works of charity as well. Speaking as someone who

spent some of my childhood in religious worlds influenced by prosperity preaching, the feeling you get visiting a Mormon ward is extremely different from the

feeling you get from visiting a prosperity-oriented megachurch, and the attitudes toward money visible in L.D.S. exhortations and literature are different

than the rhetoric you’ll hear from, say, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland. The link between piety and prosperity is present, but the emphasis on thrift, charity

and solidarity is just as intense. Too much prosperity preaching is a theology of the grasshopper, promising magical increase and asking little in return.

But the Mormon symbol is the beehive for a reason.

Jennifer Aniston is engaged to Justin Theroux

Jennifer Aniston is engaged to Justin Theroux, her publicist, Stephen Huvane, confirms.

"Justin Theroux had an amazing birthday on Friday, receiving an extraordinary gift when his girlfriend, Jennifer Aniston, accepted his proposal of marriage,"

People.com reports an unnamed rep for Theroux as saying.

Aniston, 43, and Theroux, 41, began dating in May 2011.

The news comes on the same weekend that media excitement grew about a possible wedding between Angelina Jolie and Aniston's ex, Brad Pitt.

DAP rep’s apology ‘a little too late’

 The public outpouring of disgust for Manoharan’s tweets, on the Olympic badminton final on Sunday night, even prompted some to demand his resignation.

Manoharan was also lambasted by his party's national chairman Karpal Singh, who described his comments as indefensible.

Karpal said he was unhappy with the remarks and asked Manoharan to offer an unconditional apology to Chong Wei and his family.

"I specifically told him that his comments were uncalled for. With Manoharan's apology, the matter should be put to rest here."

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng yesterday said the remarks on Chong Wei's silver medal performance were "grossly insensitive".

Lim, who is Penang chief minister, said Manoharan's insensitive comments did not represent DAP's view.

The public outburst against Manoharan started when he mocked Chong Wei for his loss to China's Lin Dan and tweeted: "Lin Dan wins. He played better than Lee

Chong AWAY."

He went on politicising Chong Wei's loss by tweeting: "Pakatan has a very capable sports minister in waiting. Give Pakatan to rule Putrajaya to bring in the

Gold in next Olympics in Rio 2016."

However, yesterday, Manoharan tweeted: "I sincerely hope my apology will be accepted," followed by another tweet directed at Chong Wei: "I deeply regret the

comments I have made and tender my heartfelt apologies to Datuk Lee Chong Wei and his family."

Netizen @yashiryahaya played with Manoharan's choice of word in response to his apology: "You should tender your resignation @mmanoADUN: I deeply regret the

comments I've made and tender my heartfelt apologies to Datuk Lee Chong Wei and family".

US HOT STOCKS: Best Buy, Knight Capital, HCA, Cognizant, Citigroup

 U.S. stocks were trading up Monday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average recently rose 83 points to 13179, the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rose eight

points to 1399, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 32 points to 3000. Among the companies with shares actively trading are Best Buy Co. (BBY), Knight Capital

Group Inc. (KCG), HCA Holdings Inc. (HCA) and Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH).

Shares of consumer electronics retailer Best Buy ($19.63, +$1.99, +11.28%) jumped as Richard Schulze, the company's founder and former chairman, offered to

buy the remaining shares of the company that he doesn't already own in a deal that values the retailer at up to $8.84 billion, or $24 to $26 a share. The

company called the proposal "unsolicited" and "highly conditional."

Shares of Knight Capital ($3.15, -$0.90, -22.22%) continued to fall amid confirmation from the company that the embattled brokerage had agreed to a $400

million rescue plan that would help fill a hole left by errant trading last week. In a statement, Knight said as a result of the loss it "experienced reduced

order flow and liquidity pressures, and its capital base was severely impacted."

HCA's ($24.89, -$1.71, -6.43%) shares fell despite positive second-quarter earnings, after Chief Executive Richard Bracken took a minute during the second-

quarter conference call to warn about an apparent coming news story about the largest U.S. hospital operator. Based on feedback and questions from The New

York Times, Bracken said the article could touch on issues like HCA'S ownership structure, its approach to care for the uninsured and the medical necessity

for cardiac services at certain Florida hospitals. On the final point, HCA disclosed that federal prosecutors have requested information. The news weighed on

the whole hospital sector as investors worry that the investigation could have a longer reach. Shares of Health Management Associates Inc. (HMA, $6.53, -

$0.14, -2.10%) and Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC, $4.59, -$0.10, -2.13%) also traded lower.

Cognizant's ($64.76, +$6.90, +11.93%) second-quarter profit rose 21% as revenue saw double-digit growth in all of its segments. The information technology

company raised its full-year earnings guidance and affirmed its revenue view.


  Other Stocks to Watch:


AES Corp.'s (AES, $11.67, -$0.58, -4.73%) second-quarter profit fell 20% as the power and utilities company saw a double-digit decline in revenue from its

key Latin American utilities business. Results missed expectations and AES said it expects per-share earnings for the year to come in at the low end of its

May guidance.

Chinese online game developer Changyou.com Ltd.'s (CYOU, $22.57, +$3.20, +16.52%) (K3JD.SG) second-quarter results beat analysts' estimates. The company also

said its majority-owned web games subsidiary 7Road.com Ltd. plans to file a request with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a possible initial

public offering of American depositary shares. Shares of Changyou.com's majority shareholder, Sohu.com Inc. (SOHU, $39.49, +$4.79, +13.80%) also rose amid

reporting strong growth at the company's video game and online search units.

Citigroup Inc. (C, $28.48, +$1.08, +3.94%) has finally gained access to China's fast-growing capital market, with a Monday launch of an investment banking

joint venture in the country. Stephen Bird, chief executive of Citi Asia Pacific, said the joint venture with Shanghai-based Orient Securities Co. aims to be

a leading investment bank in China.

CompuCredit Holdings Corp. (CCRT, $5.12, +$0.69, +15.58%) said it sold its debt-recovery business to equity investment firm Flexpoint Ford LLC for about

$130.5 million, giving the specialty finance company new funds to expand other parts of its business.

Benchmark Capital downgraded CryoLife Inc. (CRY, $5.10, -$0.11, -2.11%) to hold from buy and lowered its price target to $6, citing a delayed clinical trial

and second-quarter results for the tissue-processing and medical-device company. Enrollment in PerClot's U.S. Food and Drug Administration clinical trial was

delayed from mid-2012 to early 2013, and Benchmark said in a note to clients that "this shift is benefiting 2012 results through lower R&D expenditures, at

the expense of 2013." Benchmark said it now forecasts "meaningful earnings expansion beginning in 2014."

Exelixis Inc. (EXEL, $5.01, -$0.57, -10.22%) plans to offer 20 million shares of its common stock and $225 million in debt to raise funds for clinical trials

and other general corporate purposes. The biotechnology company, which focuses on developing small molecule therapies for the treatment of cancer, said it

expects to raise about $105.6 million in net proceeds from the common stock offering, based on an assumed offering price of $5.58 a share.

Shares of advertising and marketing services firm Interpublic Group of Cos. (IPG, $10.03, -$0.95, -8.61%) fell after French advertising and communications

firm Publicis Groupe SA (PUBGY, $12.80, +$0.21, +1.67%)(PUB.FR) denied it had approached IPG about a possible a merger. IPG shares had traded higher Friday

after the Financial Times' Alphaville blog had said Publicis was weighing a bid.

Israeli stem-cell developer Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. (PSTI, $4.05, +$0.74, +22.36%) said it has saved the life of a second patient with aplastic bone

marrow--a condition in which the patient's bone marrow doesn't produce new blood cells--by using an injection of Pluristem's cells. The company has applied

for orphan drug status from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its treatment. Orphan drug status, reserved for treatments of rare diseases, gives drug

developers certain benefits, including government-subsidized research, exclusive marketing agreements and other financial incentives.

Standard Motor Products Inc. (SMP, $16.85, +$2.78, +19.76%), an automotive replacement parts manufacturer and distributor, reported second-quarter earnings

beat analysts' expectations.

Shares of medical device maker Sunshine Heart Inc. (SSH, $9.64, +$1.17, +13.81%) rose as the company said it has received conditional approval from the U.S.

Food and Drug Administration for its next generation C-Pulse system driver, used in the treatment of heart failure.

Tyson Foods Inc.'s (TSN, $14.43, -$0.97, -6.30%) fiscal third-quarter profit fell 61% amid $167 million in early debt-extinguishment charges as the meat

processor continued to have challenges at its beef and pork businesses, as well as rising grain prices. The company also lowered its revenue estimate for the

fiscal year.

United Fire Group Inc. (UFCS, $21.30, +$2.53, +13.48%) reported second-quarter earnings that beat analysts' estimates, thanks to what the company calls

"solid growth." With net premiums earned up about 12%, the insurer's Chief Executive Officer Randy Ramlo said "We are pleased to see a good portion of that

growth is the result of rate increases" and that the company continues to experience "solid retention rates while also picking up new business from other

carriers who are employing across-the-board rate increases."

Video-ringtone company Vringo Inc. (VRNG, $3.61, +$0.49, +15.70%) said AOL Inc. (AOL, $33.88, +$1.25, +3.83%) agreed to settle part of a patent dispute

brought by Vringo, giving Vringo another potential win in its ongoing lawsuit against some of the biggest names in the technology sector. Details of the

settlement were confidential and Vringo declined to comment.

Youku Inc.'s (YOKU, $17.64, +$1.27, +7.76%) second-quarter loss widened as the Chinese online television company saw its operating expenses nearly double.

Still, the company's loss wasn't as much as analysts expected and revenue increased 96%, in line with the company's revenue growth estimate.

Southwest pays refunds after computer glitch

Southwest Airlines said Sunday it has begun filing refunds to customers who were accidentally billed multiple times for a single flight, after a half-price

online ticket promotion backfired.

The special sale designed to celebrate Southwest's reaching the three million mark in Facebook fans was supposed to give customers who booked flights on

Friday a 50 percent discount on certain fares.

Instead, hundreds of frustrated would-be fliers wound up posting stories on Facebook about how their credit and debit cards were being repeatedly charged, in

some cases 20 or more times for a single flight. They also tweeted and blogged about the related financial hassles, which ranged from drained checking

accounts and bounced checks to overdrawn credit limits and canceled bank cards.

The company said Sunday it has identified all customers impacted by the problem and has begun filing refunds to the affected bank accounts.

"These refunds are currently being processed, but timing will vary depending on the individual bank," Southwest said in a statement to its website. "If a

refund has not yet posted to your account, we recommend contacting your bank."

The company, which described its response as an "all hands on deck approach," said it will also pay customers for any overdraft fees caused by the additional

charges.

Southwest Airlines is based in Dallas, Texas and offers flights to more than 70 U.S. cities

For Ai Weiwei, Politics And Arts Always Mix

Last week, a Chinese court rejected artist Ai Weiwei's lawsuit against the tax bureau that had imposed a massive fine on his company. Ai was fined more than

$2 million after being detained for three months last year.

This marks yet another political struggle for Ai, who is famous abroad for his art and has emerged as a leading Chinese dissident, a voice for individual

freedom. A year after being released, Ai is still monitored heavily by officials, although he uses his Twitter feed to continue criticizing China's

government.

Filmmaker Alison Klayman was an intern on NPR's All Things Considered before she left for China, where she wound up chronicling Ai on video. The result is a

documentary — her first film — called Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, part of which chronicles Ai's crusade to seek justice for an alleged police beating.

That run-in with police came as a result of Ai's support for the victims of the Sichuan earthquake, part of which manifested itself in a Munich installation

where Ai spelled out a Chinese phrase using colored school backpacks that represented the child victims.

Ai is known for his large installations and designs. Another of his famous works is Sunflower Seeds, for which he and 1,600 assistants handcrafted 100

million porcelain sunflower seeds and spread them on the floor of London's Tate Modern. Ai also designed Beijing's Olympic Stadium, know as the Bird's Nest.

Klayman spoke to NPR's Robert Siegel about her movie and Ai, who she says sees no separation between what we would consider his art and his confrontations

with authorities.

A Look Inside the Fed’s Balance Sheet

Ahead of the Federal Reserve‘s policy-setting meeting this week, it’s worth taking a look at the latest figures from the Fed’s balance sheet.

Assets on the Fed’s balance sheet sit at around $2.8 trillion as of last Wednesday. The level has held pretty stable since June 2011, when the central bank ended its bond-buying program, commonly known as QE2.

The central bank has been engaged in a program known as Operation Twist since September of last year. The action shifts the Fed’s holdings into longer-dated government bonds without substantially increasing the size of the balance sheet.

The balance sheet is up from less than $1 trillion prior to the recession. During the downturn the Fed expanded its balance sheet through several programs aimed at keeping markets functioning. As markets stabilized the Fed shifted out of emergency programs and into purchases of U.S. Treasurys, mortgage-backed securities and agency debt securities to drive down interest rates and encourage more borrowing and growth in two separate rounds of what is known as quantitative easing.

The makeup of the balance sheet is moving back toward the long-term trend. The MBS and agency debt holdings, which were part of the first round of quantitative easing, have steadily declined as loans are paid off or mature. The Fed still holds more than $900 billion in MBS and agency debt, but now owns more Treasurys — over $1.65 trillion. The Treasurys holdings are likely to continue to rise, as the central bank purchases bonds with money reinvested from its shrinking MBS portfolio. Amid a continued high unemployment rate and uncertainties surrounding Europe, the Fed has already shifted its Treasurys holdings to focus on longer-term maturities. If conditions deteriorated, the central bank has options on the table including buying MBS or more Treasurys.

Meanwhile, other assets tied to emergency programs are disappearing. The Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, or TALF, ended in March 2010, and continues to fall due primarily to voluntary prepayments as the market improves and other financing options become more attractive. Direct-bank lending has fallen to the tens of millions of dollars. The Fed has sold off most of the assets related to the rescue of Bear Stearns and AIG and now just holds some $10 billion.

In an effort to track the Fed’s actions, Real Time Economics created an interactive graphic marking the expansion of the central bank’s balance sheet. The chart is updated as often as possible with the latest data released by the Fed.

In an effort to simplify the composition of the balance sheet, some elements have been consolidated. Portfolios holding assets from the Bear Stearns and AIG rescues have been put into one category, as have facilities aimed at supporting commercial paper and money markets. The direct bank lending group includes term auction credit, as well as loans extended through the discount window and similar programs.

Central bank liquidity swaps refer to Fed programs with foreign central banks that allow the institutions to lend out foreign currency to their local banks. Repurchase agreements are short-term temporary purchases of securities from banks, which are looking for liquidity and agree to repurchase them on a specified date at a specified price.

Who's the hottest star at Comic-Con so far?

Every year, it seems like Comic-Con becomes less about comics and more about movie stars. This year is no exception, and so far, the annual convention has been dominated by "Twilight."
SODAHEAD SLIDESHOW: See the hottest stars at Comic-Con.

Have you already marked your calendar for November's premiere of "Breaking Dawn - Part 2"? Today's your lucky day ... Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner were all on hand at Comic-Con, looking sexy in their respective ways and causing the usual fan frenzy.

PHOTOS: See the latest celebrity pictures to hit the Internet.

Are you a "Twilight" hater? You might prefer to see what A-listers like Mila Kunis and Michelle Williams are doing at Comic-Con. From K-Stew to Mila to Ashley Greene, let us know: Who's the hottest star at Comic-Con ... so far?

Washington Nationals: 5 Questions for the Second Half of the Season

The Washington Post News Service with Bloomberg News

(c) 2012, The Washington Post.

What happens when the Nationals shut down Stephen Strasburg?

At the All-Star Game, Stephen Strasburg said in a radio interview that the Nationals will have to "rip the ball out of my hands." But the decision has been made. Once Strasburg's season ends, likely after about 165 innings in early September, his starts will likely be transferred to John Lannan, a capable, veteran left-hander who has gone 6-8 with a 4.60 ERA at Class AAA Syracuse. In the National League, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann, Edwin Jackson and Ross Detwiler still stack up against any contender. But Strasburg sets them apart, and only time will tell the impact his absence has on clubhouse morale.

Who's the closer?

Drew Storen saved 43 games last year, and so the Nationals will have a very accomplished set-up man when he returns from elbow surgery as the second half starts. Tyler Clippard has become the closer, allowing one run in 18 1/3 innings since he took over the role. The decision for now is easy - Clippard has been great and Storen hasn't pitched all year. The Nationals will ease Storen back into the majors. From there the roles will shake out based on performance and keeping each reliever fresh. Either way, Storen-or-Clippard is a good problem to have.

How will Jayson Werth affect the lineup?

No matter what happens at the trade deadline, the Nationals will receive a boost around July 31, when Jayson Werth is expected to return. The Nationals will use an everyday outfield of Michael Morse, Bryce Harper and Werth, making Steve Lombardozzi a utility player off the bench. Manager Davey Johnson would prefer to make Danny Espinosa the everyday leadoff hitter, but Werth himself could hit leadoff against right-handed starters if Espinosa does not improve hitting from the left side of the plate.

What will the Nationals do at the trade deadline?

Despite their status as a contender, the Nationals are still approaching the trade deadline with an eye on the future. The Nationals could look to trade for a top starter to replace Strasburg, but they are staunchly against selling the farm for a rental player. The Nationals would like to add offensive depth, ideally a left-handed bat. When he worked for the Diamondbacks, General Manager Mike Rizzo drafted reportedly available outfielder Justin Upton, which may spark rumors or even real interest in a megadeal. The fit seems unlikely. Upton is still only 24 and finished fourth in MVP voting last year, so the price would be astronomical. The Nationals would have to revamp their roster if they added an everyday outfielder - Michael Morse or Adam LaRoche would have to go. The Nationals are looking to upgrade, not to overhaul.

Will Ryan Zimmerman's shoulder hold up?

Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman changed the Nationals' offense in mid-June and offered a reminder: When he's healthy, he rakes. Now he just has to stay healthy. Zimmerman's surge over the past 14 games - he's hitting .333/.394/.683 - began when he received a cortisone shot in his inflamed shoulder joint. Zimmerman hopes rest over the break means no more procedures. But if necessary he'll receive another shot, and relatively minor offseason surgery remains possible.

In Preventing Alzheimer’s, Mutation May Aid Drug Quest

A study of a rare gene mutation that protects people against Alzheimer’s disease provides the strongest evidence yet that excessive levels of a normal brain substance, beta amyloid, are a driving force in the disease — bolstering hopes that anti-amyloid drugs already under development might alter the disease’s course or even prevent it.
So far, the drugs have not succeeded. But scientists not connected with the new study said it suggested that the drug companies’ big bets on anti-amyloid treatments could yet pay off.
The implication for drug development “is hugely important,” said Dr. David Altshuler, a genomics expert at Harvard Medical School and the Broad Institute of Harvard and M.I.T.

And Dr. Samuel Gandy, an Alzheimer’s researcher who directs the Mount Sinai Center for Cognitive Health, called the finding the most significant in the field in two decades, since researchers first reported a mutation that leads to the disease.
The protective mutation, whose discovery was reported online Wednesday in the journal Nature, is highly uncommon — it is not the reason most people do not develop Alzheimer’s. But what intrigues researchers is how it protects the brain.

Mutations that cause Alzheimer’s lead to excessive amounts of beta amyloid in the brain; by contrast, the protective mutation slows beta amyloid production, so people make much less.

“This paper provides strong evidence that it would work in the general population if you did it right,” Dr. Altshuler said.
Scientists at the drug companies agreed. “We are thrilled,” said Ryan Watts, one of the authors of the new paper and head of the neurodegeneration labs at Genentech, which is developing two drugs to reduce brain amyloid levels.

Dr. Richard Mohs, leader of neuroscience early clinical development at Eli Lilly, said the company was “very encouraged by these study results.” They show, he said, that despite an initial failure, the strategy of focusing on drugs to reduce beta amyloid levels is “a logical path for the development of effective therapies that may slow disease progression.”

Many questions remain, of course. Most people do not have the protective gene mutation, but as common as Alzheimer’s is, most people do not get it. It is not clear why. And most who develop Alzheimer’s do not have one of the rare gene mutations that cause it. The reasons for their disease are unclear.
The discovery of the protective gene mutation, a product of the revolution that has taken place in genetics, arose when researchers scanned the entire DNA of 1,795 Icelanders.

About 1 in 100 had a mutation in the gene for a large protein that is sliced to form beta amyloid. Then the investigators studied people who had been given an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, and a group of people 85 and older. Those with the mutation appeared to be protected from Alzheimer’s disease.

The investigators, led by Dr. Kari Stefansson, chief executive at DeCode Genetics, an Icelandic company, looked at genomes of North Americans and found the gene mutation in only about 1 in 10,000 people. That indicates, Dr. Stefansson said, that the mutation arose relatively recently in Scandinavia.

The protective gene even appears to override a very strong risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease in old age — two copies of a gene known as ApoE4. Ninety percent of people with two ApoE4 genes get Alzheimer’s by age 80. But Dr. Stefansson says there are 25 people in his study with two copies of ApoE4. None have Alzheimer’s disease.

The research “is obviously right,” said John Hardy, an Alzheimer’s researcher at University College London and a discoverer of the first gene mutation found to cause the disease. “The statistics and the finding are pretty secure.”

The discovery is part of a continuing story that implicates beta amyloid as a central and crucial player in this destructive brain disease. The idea began two decades ago with the discovery of very rare gene mutations that always cause Alzheimer’s in those who inherit them, usually by middle age. The mutations were different in different families, but all had the same effect: They increased the amount of beta amyloid in the brain. That meant that a buildup of amyloid was sufficient to cause the disease.

Elderly people with Alzheimer’s — who typically do not have these gene mutations — also had excess amyloid in the brain. So researchers reasoned that might mean that excess amyloid was causing the disease in them, too.

Additional evidence of the role of beta amyloid was reported on Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine. Using spinal taps and brain scans to track the protein, investigators found that people with one of the Alzheimer’s-causing mutations start making too much beta amyloid as long as 20 years before they have symptoms of the disease.

Researchers and drug companies focused on the amyloid hypothesis to the extent that almost every experimental drug being tested to slow or halt Alzheimer’s disease is designed to reduce the amount of amyloid in the brain. Most of those drugs are still being tested in clinical trials, but a Lilly drug that failed spectacularly in 2010, semagacestat, actually made people with Alzheimer’s worse and gave rise to soul-searching in the field.

It emphasized a crucial question that hung over the endeavor. Was amyloid really causing Alzheimer’s in elderly people? Might the protein instead be a bystander, accumulating, for example, as part of the brain’s response to damage?

The discovery of the protective gene mutation provides strong clues. People with the mutation make substantially less beta amyloid, but other than that they are no different from anyone else. And they do not get Alzheimer’s.

People could be tested to see if they have the protective mutation, Dr. Stefansson said, but he added, “The benefits of doing so are not obvious to me.” He explained that since the gene is so rare, chances that a person being tested would have it — especially if that person is not Scandinavian — are extremely low. Almost everyone would end up with the same uncertainty they have now. There is as yet no way to prevent Alzheimer’s and, outside of families with one of the rare disease-causing gene mutations, no way to know who is going to get it.

Still, Dr. Hardy noted, as provocative as the discovery of the protective gene mutation is, the strategy of reducing amyloid levels — the ultimate test of the amyloid hypothesis — still must be evaluated in typical Alzheimer’s disease. For example, perhaps people need to have lower levels of beta amyloid from birth to really be protected.

Researchers and companies explain away the failure of the first few experimental drugs to reduce beta amyloid levels or to block the protein by saying they were not powerful enough and were studied in people who already had the disease and clear symptoms of mental decline. By then it might be too late to make any difference. When brain cells have died, nothing can bring them back.

The strategy now is to use new brain scans and other methods to find and treat people before they have symptoms of mental decline.

“The idea is that treatment has to start early to make a difference,” Dr. Watts said.

Of course, people with the newly discovered mutation have lower levels of beta amyloid for their entire lives.

“You couldn’t start earlier than that,” Dr. Watts said.

Game console Ouya to bring gaming back to the TV

Startup hopes to attract both gamers and developers with a $99 console and an open gaming platform. Disrupting the system comes with a hefty price tag: a $950,000 fundraising campaign.
Hard-core gamers like a challenge. Just ask gaming business veteran Julie Uhrman.

Uhrman wants to disrupt the gaming industry with an affordable console called Ouya, a name she hopes will become the battle cry of game developers. Her company is soliciting developers to help build an open ecosystem of games on Android, essentially bringing the openness of mobile games back to the TV set.

"It's very ambitious -- it's hardware, it's software, it's building an ecosystem," Uhrman said.
But Uhrman said she believes her team has what it takes to challenge the status quo. The company starts its Kickstarter.com-based campaign today, with a goal of raising a very ambitious $950,000. The funding will allow Ouya to take its console prototype -- designed by Jawbone designer Yves Behar -- to production along with its controller counterpart. They hope to launch the product early next year.

The company's got some solid names on its angel investors list, including Jay Adelson, founder of Digg; Joe Greenstein, founder of Flixster; Hosain Rahman, founder of Jawbone; and Eric Hautemont, publisher of the Ticket to Ride board game.
With mobile games being less expensive to create, developers have moved away from making games for consoles, leaving an industry that, in Uhrman's eyes, has done very little innovation in terms of gaming content.
And despite the stalled creativity, Uhrman said TV remains the best platform for gamers when it comes to graphics and overall experience. (She said it's definitely her favorite.) She and the many developers backing Ouya want to see this new console bring developers back to that platform by offering an affordable way to create games for Ouya.
Built on Android and made to plug into your TV set, Ouya can play games in HD with a Tegra3 chipset.

"Our focus is on games -- we want to provide a phenomenal game experience," she said.

The only rule Ouya has is that the games must be free to try before purchase (so gamers don't ever feel like they wasted their money after downloading a game for the first time). Otherwise, Ouya is embracing the economic model of mobile games -- a 70/30 percent split for developers and Ouya. The company's Kickstarter.com campaign also touts special developer packages with consoles that comes rooted, a sign that it's built to be hacked.

"We are trying to leverage all that is great -- free to play, openness, touch screen, bringing what is familiar to TV -- and we want to wrap it up in this great bow -- affordability and game-ability for gamers and developers alike," Uhrman said.
While Uhrman said she believes consoles will eventually become a chip in a TV set, the market isn't dead yet, despite what some folks said during this year's E3 conference. And she thinks Ouya will prove that.

Developers certainly hope so. The company already has a slough of supporters, including Brian Fargo of inXile.

Fargo, who is also an investor in Ouya, said that the greatest innovation in the gaming industry is taking place in the open environments of PC, iOS, and tablet, and that Ouya can provide an exciting opportunity for TV gaming.

"It's probably the first time anybody has talked about releasing a console system that's clearly and purely dedicated to the development community," Fargo said, adding that other console have walled-off systems. "They would talk to developers but at the end of the day, they really weren't part of the plan. You get a lot of lip service."

And that's too bad, he said, because an open environment brings out the best ideas.

"Ultimately, no company or person can compete with what the crowd can do," Fargo said. "They're just going to have more ideas."

His own team raised almost $3 million on Kickstarter.com for its game Wasteland 2, which showcases the power of the developer community. He said it's critical to get developers on board because they inspire one another to make better apps and all it takes is "one killer app" to change the playing field.

He thinks Ouya can hit its $950,000 goal if the company effectively conveys its message.

"If there's that sense to try and support something to open it up, there's a chance to reach that number -- it's a bold number," Fargo said.

Glaxo Wins Approval for Child Meningitis Vaccine

Physicians have another weapon in the battle against childhood meningitis. On Thursday, the

U.S. Food & Drug Administration granted approval for a combination vaccine designed to

prevent bacterial meningitis in children.

The new vaccine, called MenHibrix, was developed GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK). It becomes the

first meningitis vaccine approved for use in children as young as six weeks old, Dow Jones

noted. The vaccine can be given to babies in four doses spaced between two and 15 months.

That puts it in line with the typical vaccination schedule for very young children.
Physicians have another weapon in the battle against childhood meningitis. On Thursday, the

U.S. Food & Drug Administration granted approval for a combination vaccine designed to

prevent bacterial meningitis in children.

The new vaccine, called MenHibrix, was developed GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK). It becomes the

first meningitis vaccine approved for use in children as young as six weeks old, Dow Jones

noted. The vaccine can be given to babies in four doses spaced between two and 15 months.

That puts it in line with the typical vaccination schedule for very young children.

Life & Style Told You First: Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes Divorcing After Five Years of Marriage!

After spending months apart, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes have decided to divorce after five years marriage. "This is a personal and private matter for Katie and her family," Katie's attorney Jonathan Wolfe tells Life & Style. "Katie's primary concern remains, as it always has been, her daughter's best interest."

Life & Style first broke the news that their marriage was in crisis in mid-June, after Katie was a no-show as Tom was named an entertainment icon by the Friar's Club in NYC on June 12. "My wife couldn't be here tonight," explained Tom, who was with their daughter Suri, 6, and his son, Connor, 17. "She's in China, actually, working." (She was at an ice-skating event.)

Katie, 33, also missed all of the premieres for Tom's new movie, Rock of Ages, and the two haven't been photographed together since Feb. 26. She's been spending the bulk of her time alone with Suri in NYC, taking her daughter to the movies (the two caught the new Disney movie Brave at a local theater on June 23), hitting the gym, going to see Evita on Broadway, picking up groceries at the supermarket and dining out at trendy eateries like Serendipity and ABC Kitchen.

"Katie's been out and about doing normal things," an insider tells Life & Style. "She's looking very relaxed and has been all smiles."

The tension built as Tom filmed one film after another in Germany, Russia and Dubai. He's currently in Iceland shooting yet another movie, Oblivion. In fact, Tom has been so busy he missed Suri's birthday in April. The little girl was photographed crying hysterically while out with Katie in NYC on the evening of June 18. "With her parents apart, poor Suri has been spending more time by herself," a friend of Katie's tells Life & Style. "She must be so lonely."

The divorce announcement -- delivered by Katie's camp -- came just four days before Tom's 50th birthday on July 3. Katie is seeking sole custody.