State prisons not ready to end court oversight, official says

SACRAMENTO — A court-appointed monitor said Friday that Gov. Jerry Brown's quest to end judicial oversight in state prisons...

Read More..

Samsung updates Galaxy Note 10.1 and Galaxy Tab 2 to Jelly Bean

Owners of the Galaxy Note 10.1 and Galaxy Tab 2 will be happy to learn that Samsung (005930) has begun to update their tablets to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The company announced its plans earlier this week, revealing that the Note’s update includes “dramatic improvements to the multitasking and S Pen features,” while the Tab 2 will bring the company’s Premium Suite of features and productivity apps...

Read More..

J.J. Abrams to produce Lance Armstrong biopic

LOS ANGELES (AP) — He's already gotten the Oprah treatment. Now Lance Armstrong is headed for the silver screen.Paramount Pictures and J.J. Abrams' production company, Bad Robot, are planning a biopic about the disgraced cyclist, a studio spokeswoman said Friday.They've secured the rights to New York Times reporter Juliet Macur's upcoming book "Cycle of Lies: The Fall of Lance Armstrong," due out...

Read More..

Business Briefing | Medicine: F.D.A. Clears Botox to Help Bladder Control

Botox, the wrinkle treatment made by Allergan, has been approved to treat adults with overactive bladders who cannot tolerate or were not helped by other drugs, the Food and Drug Administration said on Friday. Botox injected into the bladder muscle causes the bladder to relax, increasing its storage capacity. “Clinical studies have demonstrated Botox’s ability to significantly reduce the frequency...

Read More..

Col Needham created IMDb

The gig: Col Needham, 45, is founder and chief executive of Internet Movie Database, the world's leading online source for information...

Read More..

Colorado movie theater reopens after shooting

AURORA, Colo. — A quiet crowd gathered Thursday at what is now Century Aurora for an "evening of remembrance." Young employees...

Read More..

Tina Fey Wants Boring People to Get a License to Twitter

We realize there’s only so much time one can spend in a day watching new trailers, viral video clips, and shaky cell phone footage of people arguing on live television. This is why every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the videos that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention. Today:  RELATED: Jimmy Kimmel Really Hates Kids; Call Me Again MaybeTina, you can be in charge of Twitter-licensing...

Read More..

Robert Wagner not interviewed in new Wood inquiry

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Robert Wagner has declined to be interviewed by detectives in a renewed inquiry into the drowning death of his wife Natalie Wood three decades ago, an investigator said Thursday.Wagner was interviewed by authorities soon after Wood's drowning in 1981, but the actor is the only person who was on the yacht the night Wood died who has not spoken to detectives as part of the latest...

Read More..

The Neediest Cases: Medical Bills Crush Brooklyn Man’s Hope of Retiring

Andrea Mohin/The New York TimesJohn Concepcion and his wife, Maria, in their home in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. They are awaiting even more medical bills. Retirement was just about a year away, or so John Concepcion thought, when a sudden health crisis put his plans in doubt. For the past 100 years, The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund has provided direct assistance to children, families...

Read More..

Herbalife says fourth-quarter profit will exceed expectations

Herbalife Ltd. forecast that fourth-quarter earnings will come in higher than expected but said expenses could rise as the nutritional...

Read More..

Alliance of big city school districts aims for more healthful meals

Fatty corn dogs and sugary coffee cake may become extinct in thousands of school cafeterias nationwide under a landmark new...

Read More..

PC titans take notes from tablets to regain customers

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Personal computer makers, trying to beat back a tablet mania that’s eating into their sales, are making what may be a last-ditch attempt to sway customers by mimicking the competition.Many of the laptops to be unveiled around the world in coming months will be hybrids or “convertibles” – morphing easily between portable tablets and full-powered laptops with a keyboard, industry...

Read More..

Sniping, then singing as 'American Idol' returns

LOS ANGELES (AP) — There was no hair-pulling between Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj on the season debut of "American Idol," although some viewers may have been reduced to it.The pop divas exchanged insults worthy of middle schoolers, fellow freshman judge Keith Urban looked trapped between them, and there was a whiff of make-believe Wednesday about the show's touted feud."We can have accessories. I...

Read More..

The New Old Age Blog: Officials Say Checks Won't Be in the Mail

The jig is up.Two years ago, the Treasury Department initiated its Go Direct campaign to persuade people still receiving paper checks for their Social Security, Veterans Affairs, S.S.I. and other federal benefits to switch to direct deposit.“At that point, we were issuing approximately 11 million checks each month,” or about 15 percent of the total, Walt Henderson, director of the campaign, told me.After...

Read More..

U.S. finalizes rules for financial firms to avoid foreclosures

In a major effort to heal the $10-trillion U.S. mortgage market, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has finalized rules...

Read More..

Helicopter crashes in central London, killing at least two people

LONDON -- A helicopter apparently crashed into a crane atop a high-rise building in central London during the morning rush hour...

Read More..

“Banshee” head Greg Yaitanes: secrets galore, but hold the olives

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – Like many TV creators, Greg Yaitanes isn’t crazy about the alternate identities people adopt online – and the Emmy-winning former “House” executive producer gets to explore anonymity and becoming someone else in the new Cinemax series “Banshee.”“I’ve been harassed by ‘House’ Twitter fans for years now. I’m always kind of surprised at people’s level of saying something that...

Read More..

Oxygen halts controversial 'Babies' Mamas' project

NEW YORK (AP) — Oxygen Media has pulled the plug on "All My Babies' Mamas," a reality special the network was developing about a musician who has fathered 11 children with 10 different mothers.The network offered no reason for curtailing the project. In a statement issued Tuesday, Oxygen said that, "as part of our development process, we have reviewed casting and decided not to move forward with the...

Read More..

The New Old Age Blog: In Flu Season,Use a Mask. But Which One?

Do face masks help prevent people from getting the flu? And if so, how much protection do they give?You might think the answer to this question would be well established. It’s not.In fact, there is considerable uncertainty over how well face masks guard against influenza when people use them outside of hospitals and other health care settings. This has been a topic of discussion and debate in infectious...

Read More..

All Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets in Japan grounded

All 24 of Japan's Boeing 787 Dreamliner passenger jets were grounded for safety checks after one of the planes operated by All...

Read More..

SoCal Edison destroyed downed poles before inspection

A state probe into the widespread power outages caused by a furious 2011 windstorm was unable to determine whether toppled utility...

Read More..

Verizon may be prepping a new mid-range Samsung smartphone with a 720p display

...

Read More..

AP source: Lance Armstrong tells Winfrey he doped

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Lance Armstrong has finally come clean.After years of bitter and forceful denials, he offered a simple "I'm sorry" to friends and colleagues and then admitted he used performance-enhancing drugs during an extraordinary cycling career that included seven Tour de France victories.Armstrong confessed to doping during an interview with Oprah Winfrey taped Monday, just a couple of...

Read More..

The New Old Age Blog: Study: More to Meal Delivery Than Food

What’s a simpler idea than Meals on Wheels? Older, lower-income people who have trouble driving, cooking or shopping — or paying for food — sign up with a local agency. Each day, volunteers or paid staff come by and drop off a hot lunch. Federal and state dollars and local charities foot the bill.At the Mobile Meals of Essex headquarters in my town in New Jersey on a recent morning, staffers were...

Read More..