Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Award-Winning Novelist And Screenwriter, Dies
Her scripts gave the sprawling Merchant-Ivory films substance. She won her first screenwriting Oscar for A Room With a View and her second for Howard's End. She won the Booker Prize in 1975 for her novel Heat and Dust. The cause of death was complications of a pulmonary condition. Jhabvala was 85.
» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us
Brian Banks, Who Was Cleared Of Rape Conviction, Is Signed By Atlanta Falcons
Banks spent five years in prison and then five years of probation for a rape conviction that was thrown out in May 2012. Throughout it, he thought his dream of playing in the NFL was over.
What Do We Lose, And Gain, When Reducing A Life To A Recipe?
It's easy to see why a rocket scientist's obituary that led with a mention of her culinary prowess set off accusations of sexism. But food is undeniably a powerful marker of identity, as much or more of a statement of who we are as what we do for a living.
» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us
What Do We Lose, And Gain, When Reducing A Life To A Recipe?
It's easy to see why a rocket scientist's obituary that led with a mention of her culinary prowess set off sexist alarm bells. But food is undeniably a powerful marker of identity, as much or more of a statement of who we are as what we do for a living.
West Virginia Sheriff Shot, Killed Near County Courthouse
Eugene Crum was eating his lunch inside his car, when he was shot in the head. Police have a suspect in custody.
Sen. Landrieu's First GOP Rival Sets In Motion Key 2014 Contest
The approach taken by Sen. Mary Landrieu's first official Republican rival, Rep. Bill Cassidy, in his announcement video is worth noting. Whoever eventually wins the GOP nomination to oppose the three-term Democratic senator could very well use the same playbook.
» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us
Side Effects Prompt Patients To Stop Cholesterol Drugs
A study of statin use in the real world found that 17 percent of patients taking the pills reported side effects, including muscle pain, nausea, and problems with their liver or nervous system. Many of those people quit taking the pills, at least temporarily.
Responding To North Korea, U.S. Sends Missile Defenses To Guam
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said North Korea was "a real and clear danger and threat" to the United States. The missile defense system will be deployed to Guam in the coming weeks.
» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us
Dozens Killed In Taliban Attack On Afghan Courthouse
Two suicide attackers disguised as Afghan soldiers detonated an explosive in Farah province. At the same time, the country's intelligence chief returned to the country from the United States, where he was recovering from an assassination attempt.
SEC hits 'like' on corporations releasing info on social media
The Securities and Exchange Commission caught up to the 21st century today. The agency issued a ruling basically saying that posting corporate news on Twitter or Facebook is just as legitimate as a media release or a regulatory filing.
The SEC even said it "encouraged" companies to "seek out new forms of communication to better connect with shareholders." Memo to the SEC. Facebook's about a decade old.
The controversy over tweeting and Facebooking corporate news started last summer with a Facebook post by Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. He wrote that Netflix had surpassed a record for streaming content: 1 billion hours in a single month, a stat that prompted Netflix's stock price to shoot up.
Joseph Grundfest is a former SEC commissioner who teaches business and law at Stanford.
The SEC's argument against the Netflix post was "that this information material non-public information... and shouldn't have appeared on Reed Hastings' personal Facebook page without prior notification to the market," says Grundfest.
The ruling today makes clear that Hastings' Facebook post was fine. Investors simply need a heads up when a company may be releasing new information through social media, and where to look for it.
But don't expect companies to start live tweeting their regulatory filings.
"The typical disclosures by publicly traded companies... the very large forms will continue to be disclosed the regular way." Grunfest says. "You can't post that on Facebook and you certainly can't tweet all that information. "
But experimentation will prevail. After the ruling, Goldman Sachs sent the SEC its thanks in a tweet.
Hastings' post ultimately held up under SEC scrutiny. But a company's faux pas on social media can go oh-so much further. We've compiled a slideshow of some of the worst corporate social media fails. Cast your vote on which was the worst here.
A Renaissance For 'Pigsticking' In Spain
Hunting wild boar while riding horses and using only spears is a practice that dates back at least 2,000 years — and now it's making a comeback in Spain.
Official On Deck To Succeed Castros Still A Question Mark To Many Cubans
Miguel Diaz-Canel, Cuba's new vice president, has been tapped to take over from Raul Castro when he steps down as president in 2018. The 52-year-old former education minister is relatively unknown outside his home province, but is now on a campaign to increase his national exposure.
Ex-Diplomats: U.S.-Russian Relations Not As Dire As They Seem
The United States and Russia have been at odds over human rights, Syria and even the adoption of Russian orphans by American families. But former U.S. envoys who met with officials in Moscow this week say they found "a willingness to explore ideas" and urged cooperation on economic and security issues.
Rural doctors slow to adopt electronic medical records
These days when you go to the doctor, many rely on an electronic health records system. With just a few clicks of a mouse, they can bring up your medical history, prescribe you medication, or chart your test results.
The 2009 Recovery Act actually set aside $20 billion to help health care providers ditch the paper records and go electronic. The idea was to cut soaring health care costs in the U.S. But while physicians backed by large health care groups can afford the system, many rural physicians are struggling to make that transition.
At the Fayette Medical Clinic in rural Missouri, Shauna Young brings her one-year-old daughter Caroline in for a checkup. Dr. Kevin Frazer pulls up a graph of Caroline’s weight on the computer in the exam room. Because Caroline’s electronic health record shows her weight has dipped, Frazer talks to Shauna about Caroline’s eating habits.
Health care providers generally have accepted electronic records as an efficient tool. It can cut costs and time. Frazer says he can use the computer to help diagnose conditions, bill patients, and show them changes in their weight or glucose levels.
“It gives us more information that the patient can see in real time,” Frazer says.
The federal government has set a deadline. If health care providers don’t implement an electronic health records system by 2015, they’ll get dinged with Medicare penalties. The problem for many rural health clinics is they don’t have the money to make the switch.
A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research last year suggests that costs rise sharply in the first year of adoption for health centers in less tech-savvy locations. And they can remain up to 4 percent higher for years.
There are big upfront costs for licensing the software and purchasing the computer equipment, according to Brock Slabach, senior vice-president of the National Rural Health Association. “It could be $30,000-$40,000 per physician possibly in terms of getting one of these set up in a clinic -- possibly more depending upon the complexities that might be present within that particular facility,” he says.
Those complexities often include adding a broadband connection, training staff to use the system and convincing patients they won’t lose their personal relationship with their doctor.
Across Fayette’s town square is Family Health Inc. Behind the receptionist, you’ll find about a dozen metal bookshelves packed with yellow file folders. That's because Dr. Hope Tinker still uses a paper system.
“My financial resources as an independent physician are limited,” she says. “If you’re in a big group and you’re a primary care physician you reap the financial benefits as having access to their technology.”
While Frazer’s clinic has benefited from being part of the massive University of Missouri Health Care, Tinker has been on her own. That’s changing this month, though, when Tinker’s practice becomes part of a county hospital system -- something she says was necessary to survive and remain in Fayette. The larger organization will foot the bill to update her practice with electronic records and a T-1 connection line to hook into the hospital’s network.
Now, there is federal incentive money available to help health care providers go electronic. Many of the big health care groups are using it. But that money only comes as a reimbursement after physicians have installed the system. And in 2015, those funds disappear -- right when the Medicare penalties kick in.
That’ll affect doctors, like John Ward of Boonville, Mo.
“For every year that I don’t participate in electronic medical records, they dock me a small percent,” he says, “and it will get bigger as the years go by to the point where it would be prohibitive to see Medicare patients.”
Ward, who is past retirement age, says he is opting out of the electronic world. It’s partly the price but also he wants to maintain face time with his patients.
“I fully recognize that I’m a dinosaur,” he says. “And in time, I and people who think like I do will die out and that electronic medical records are here to stay. That’s the way it’s going to be and we just have to get used to it.”
Ward does say if he were younger, he would take a harder look at making the financial leap for an electronic system.
Sensor On Space Station May Have Seen Hints Of Elusive Dark Matter
The finding could be a milestone in the decades-long search for the universe's missing material. But some scientists urge caution, saying it's possible the particles seen by the sensor on the International Space Station could have come from somewhere else.
» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us
Amid Threats, N. Korea's Neighbors Rethink Defense Policies
As North Korean leader Kim Jong Un threatens nuclear strikes on South Korea, Japan and the U.S., there is a new determination across the region to adopt a tougher line. There's talk now in Japan and South Korea that they should have nuclear weapons of their own — a position the U.S. opposes.
» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us
With Eye On Budget, Hagel Seeks Pentagon Changes
In his first major policy speech, the defense secretary said the Pentagon is at war with itself: There are competing and spiraling costs within the military — for aging weapons, and for health and pension benefits for military personnel and retirees. He added that U.S. military power must be used judiciously, with a keen appreciation of its limits.
In First Press Conference Since Leg Injury, Louisville's Kevin Ware Says He'll Be OK
Instead of focusing on his injury, Ware said his main concern is for his team to win a championship. "I still want to win a national championship," Ware said.
As Uganda Calls Off Search, U.S. Offers $5 Million Bounty For Joseph Kony
The African Union put the mission on hold because the new Central African government isn't cooperating.
Facebook's Online Speech Rules Keep Users On A Tight Leash
Social networks now hold tremendous power to regulate online speech. Their rules for allowable comments, art and video govern billions of posts worldwide each day. And while Twitter users enjoy a great deal of freedom, Facebook has relatively tight restrictions on what users can say and see.
» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us




