Socrates (In The Form Of A 9-Year-Old) Shows Up In A Suburban Backyard In Washington

When he rang the doorbell, Zia hadn't planned to step inside. He was there to pick up his fiancee who was babysitting, but she couldn't leave, (the parents were running late) so Zia agreed to hang out for a bit. His fiancee said, "Let me introduce you to the kids" ? the 2-year-old girl, the 7-year-old boy and, most important, squatting, with no shoes on, surrounded by ants on the back patio, the oldest ? the 9-year-old ? the one he would make world-famous on You Tube.

This is the boy he now calls "The Philosopher."

Nine is what fourth graders are. You don't expect them to be wise; they're still boys. When the two started talking there was no hint of what was about to happen, except for the slightly odd introduction. His girlfriend said he "is interested in cosmology." "Really?" Zia thought, "cosmology?" So he leaned in and asked ? just to be a badass ? "What do you think about dark matter? Any ideas?"

Wait! I Need To Film This

The boy looked up, started to answer and almost immediately Zia thought, "wait!" Zia Hassan is a Washington, D.C.,-based musician, blogger, teacher-in-training and video cameraman and he's learned to act on instinct, and his instincts were telling him "I need to film this." He said to the boy, "Uh, can I film this? Is that alright with you?"

The boy didn't mind. And here, a million and a half views later, is what the boy told him about the universe. I don't know the right words to describe what I feel watching this. Quiet surprise? Joy? Mystery? You should just look for yourself ...

We all know smart kids, who are curious, who collect information. "I knew more things in the first 10 years of my life that I believe I have known at any time since," says the writer Bill Bryson. But what Bill knew growing up in Iowa was local: "I knew what was written on the undersides of tables and what the view was like from the tops of bookcases and wardrobes. I knew what was to be found at the back of every closet, which beds had the most dust balls beneath them ... " Boys gather information by climbing, crawling, inspecting, gossiping.

But this 9-year-old ? what he knows is different. It's not local, it can't be found looking under a couch, It's mind stuff, found mostly in books or college classrooms, or by letting your mind run free.

I Could Be Wrong ... I Could Be Wrong ...

Where, I wondered, did he learn about multiverses, free will, the odds of intelligent life in the universe? How does he manage to be so aware of what he doesn't know? "Of course, I could be wrong ... " he says over and over, offering his opinions in the most unassuming, gentle way. And his brother, talking about how baseball satisfies our need for drama ("We do not have that kind of suspense in our lives."), he's doing it too ? thinking, connecting, reflecting ? and he's 7!

What's going on in this house? Are these kids outrageously smart? Zia says they're "certainly bright," but not scarily so. Is it something the parents are doing?

"I've gotten lots of questions about how they've raised [their kids]," Zia wrote me. "I don't think they have a particular method or anything like that. They're both excellent human beings and they treat their kids as if they're intelligent young people, and not children who couldn't possibly understand how the world (or universe) works."

This, he thinks, may be the key. These kids are encouraged to think out loud, to say what they think, even if they might be wrong. Each is appreciated. The parents, he says "are also in awe of their children." And that frees them.

"I think there are a lot of kids who think about interesting things," Zia says. "It's my guess no one really asks them about it."

Maybe that's what this family does: they turn to their kids, and they ask.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2013/03/27/175455214/socrates-in-the-form-of-a-9-year-old-shows-up-in-a-suburban-backyard-in-washingt?ft=1&f=1007

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Indians greet spring with colorful fashion

A Hindu devotee, face smeared with colored powder, leaves the Banke Bihari temple during Holi celebrations in Vrindavan, India, Wednesday, March 27, 2013. Holi, the Hindu festival of colors that also ... more?A Hindu devotee, face smeared with colored powder, leaves the Banke Bihari temple during Holi celebrations in Vrindavan, India, Wednesday, March 27, 2013. Holi, the Hindu festival of colors that also marks the advent of spring, is being celebrated across the country Wednesday. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri) less?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lightbox/india-s-festival-of-colors-slideshow/

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Heat's winning streak ends at 27 in Chicago

Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade looks up at a scoreboard after he was called for a foul on Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Chicago on Wednesday, March 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade looks up at a scoreboard after he was called for a foul on Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Chicago on Wednesday, March 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Miami Heat forward LeBron James wipes his face during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls in Chicago on Wednesday, March 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Bulls guard Nate Robinson, left, celebrates a 3-point shot, as Miami Heat forward Shane Battier watches during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Chicago on Wednesday, March 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

CHICAGO (AP) ? The Miami Heat's 27-game winning streak was snapped Wednesday night by the Chicago Bulls, 101-97, when a furious comeback by LeBron James and his teammates fell short.

The Heat finished six shy of the 33-game record held by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers.

Luol Deng scored 28 points, Carlos Boozer added 21 points and 17 rebounds, and the Bulls brought the Heat's pursuit of NBA history to a screeching halt.

Miami's superstar did all he could to keep the run going, scoring 32 points and even collecting a flagrant foul during a physical final few minutes.

"We haven't had a chance to really have a moment to know what we just did," James said. "We had a moment, just very fortunate, very humbling and blessed to be part of this team and be part of a streak like that. It's one of the best that this league has ever seen. We recognized that and rightfully so."

The Heat hadn't lost since the Pacers beat them in Indianapolis on Feb. 1. But after grinding out some close wins lately, including a rally from 27 down in Cleveland, no one counted them out until the final buzzer.

For the better part of two months, they were the NBA's comeback kings. They erased seven double-digit deficits during the streak. They found themselves trailing in the fourth quarter 11 times, and won them all.

Not Wednesday.

And when they walked off the floor in Chicago, faces were stoic as the Heat trudged toward the locker room. James turned and glared at one fan who grabbed at his head.

The Bulls, meanwhile, whooped and slapped hands with anyone they could reach.

It will go down as the second-longest winning streak in the history of American major pro sports. And some of those Lakers believed their time would pass as Miami's streak rolled along, with Jerry West among those saying that he believed the reigning champions had a real shot at pulling it off.

"We understand, probably more so later on in our careers, the significance of that. And then that was it," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We took that moment to acknowledge it, to acknowledge each other, that experience, but it was never about the streak. We have a bigger goal, but also right now, it's about 'Are we getting better?'"

The streak began on Super Bowl Sunday in Toronto, a day when Heat players were mildly annoyed about having to miss football's title game. When San Francisco and Baltimore were to be playing, the Heat were to be flying home for a game the following night.

So team officials team changed course, as a surprise.

Miami beat Toronto that afternoon, then stayed in the city several more hours to watch the Super Bowl together, an event highlighted by Shane Battier giving an unplanned speech about appreciating little moments as a team.

For whatever reason, the Heat were unbeatable for nearly the next two months.

And they won games in a number of different ways.

They blew out good teams like the Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder and the Bulls, then inexplicably struggled with lottery-bound Cleveland, Detroit, Sacramento, Charlotte and Orlando. They rallied from 13 points down in the final 8 minutes to beat Boston, from a 27-point third-quarter hole at Cleveland, and from 11-point deficits against Detroit and Charlotte ? all those coming in a seven-day span, no less.

"There are several teams that can do it," Pistons guard Jose Calderon said, when asked what it would take for someone to beat Miami. "It's difficult to maintain this concentration every day. It will likely take everyone to have a bad day."

Even when those bad days happened, the Heat found ways to win.

A buzzer-beater by James against Orlando. Double-overtime against Sacramento. Huge comebacks. Whatever it took.

"To do something like this, everyone needs to step up," said Battier, who was part of a 32-game winning streak at Duke, a 22-gamer with the Houston Rockets and now played a role in this epic Heat run.

There were times when even the Heat themselves didn't know how long the streak was. Because it was interrupted by the All-Star break, Spoelstra was surprised when a staff member said something about Miami having won nine in a row. When it was at 24 games, Dwyane Wade made a reference to "23, 24, whatever it is."

They insisted they did not care about it, whatever the number was.

Heat President Pat Riley played for the Lakers team that won 33 in a row, and remained silent throughout Miami's streak, mainly because he rarely gives interviews these days but more so because the official team stance was that it simply did not matter. This season is championship-or-bust for Miami, one where nothing else other than raising yet another Larry O'Brien Trophy will satisfy.

Still, the streak will go down as the story of the regular season.

When it started, Miami was 5? games behind San Antonio for the overall NBA lead, only a half-game ahead of New York in the Eastern Conference race, held just a four-game edge over Atlanta in the Southeast Division and were the league's ninth-best road team in terms of winning percentage.

Funny what two months or so without losing can do.

The Heat now sit atop the overall NBA standings, gained 12 games over New York in the East entering Wednesday, put away the Hawks for good several weeks ago and are now, by far, the league's best road team. And with the streak over, all that's left now is getting ready for the postseason.

They trailed by as much as 13 in the first half, took the lead while outscoring Chicago 22-14 in the third quarter and were within two early in the fourth after a basket by Wade.

That's when Deng answered with a 3-pointer from the wing and Kirk Hinrich brought the crowd to its feet with a floater. Then, after a layup by James, Deng nailed a 3 to make it 83-75 with just over six minutes left.

It got testy after that. James did all he could to keep the streak going, taking enough hard hits that even his headband was dislodged, and finished with seven rebounds.

Chris Bosh scored 21. Wade added 18 points after a sore right knee sidelined him for victories over Charlotte and Orlando, but the Heat fell to a team that continues to give them fits even though Derrick Rose has been sidelined all year.

Deng came up big, burying four 3-pointers. He also had seven rebounds and five assists.

Boozer was a force inside. Jimmy Butler provided a spark with 17 points and the Bulls stopped Miami even though they were missing Joakim Noah (right foot), Marco Belinelli (abdominal strain) and Richard Hamilton (lower back).

For the Heat, luck simply ran out after recent wins in which they rallied trailed Boston by 17, Cleveland by 27 and Detroit and Charlotte by 11 each. They were also tied with Orlando late in the third quarter before pulling away, and when Shane Battier nailed a 3 with 4:30 left in the third, it looked like they just might pull this one out, too.

They were leading 59-58 after that shot, and they were up by two before Boozer converted a three-point play off a neat bounce pass from Taj Gibson in the closing seconds to send Chicago into the fourth quarter with a 69-68 lead.

But they came up short down the stretch, fans chanting "End of streak! End of streak!" in the closing minute.

"We were much more competitive in the second half. It became make or miss in the fourth quarter, and we couldn't get the necessary stops we needed to," Spoelstra said. "In the last handful of games, those shots were going down and maybe that masked a few things going down the stretch."

There was a rumor that Rose would make his long-awaited return from a knee injury after rapper Waka Flocka Flame posted on Twitter, "Word is D.Rose back." The two are fans of each other, but the superstar point guard squashed it at the morning shootaround, with two words ? "Not tonight."

Rose actually sounded more like someone who will sit out the entire season, saying his recovery is "in God's hands." He hasn't played since he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in last year's playoff opener against Philadelphia, sending the top-seeded Bulls to a first-round exit, and his comeback has been an ongoing soap opera.

The Bulls were the biggest threat to Miami in the Eastern Conference the past two years, but without their superstar, they're just part of the pack.

Even so, no one has given the Heat more trouble since James and Bosh united with Wade in 2010. They had split 14 games leading up to this one, with Chicago winning at Miami in early January and the Heat returning the favor at the United Center last month.

Notes: Coach Tom Thibodeau said Noah was improving but wasn't ready to return. "It's better, but he's not quite there," Thibodeau said. "I just want to be smart about it." ... Tom Boerwinkle, the former Bulls center who had a franchise-record 37 rebounds in a 1970 game against the Phoenix Suns, has died. He was 67. Bulls spokesman Tim Hallam said Wednesday that a family member informed team officials of Boerwinkle's death, and the University of Tennessee issued a statement saying the former Volunteers player died Tuesday at his home near Chicago after a lengthy illness. Boerwinkle played 10 seasons with the Bulls from 1968-69 to 1977-78 and also worked as an analyst on the team's radio broadcasts from 1991-94.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-03-27-Heat-Bulls/id-5ff2c04186be499687723569ddaa0580

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Study: Health law to raise claims cost 32 percent

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A new study finds that insurance companies will have to pay out an average of 32 percent more for medical claims under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

What does that mean for you?

It could increase premiums for at least some Americans.

If you are uninsured, or you buy your policy directly from an insurance company, you should pay attention.

But if you have an employer plan, like most workers and their families, odds are you don't have much to worry about.

The estimates from the Society of Actuaries could turn into a political headache for the Obama administration at a time when much of the country remains skeptical of the Affordable Care Act.

The administration is questioning the study, saying it doesn't give a full picture ? and costs will go down.

Actuaries are financial risk professionals who conduct long-range cost estimates for pension plans, insurance companies and government programs.

The study says claims costs will go up largely because sicker people will join the insurance pool. That's because the law forbids insurers from turning down those with pre-existing medical problems, effective Jan. 1. Everyone gets sick sooner or later, but sicker people also use more health care services.

"Claims cost is the most important driver of health care premiums," said Kristi Bohn, an actuary who worked on the study. Spending on sicker people and other high-cost groups will overwhelm an influx of younger, healthier people into the program, said the report.

The Obama administration challenged the design of the study, saying it focused only on one piece of the puzzle and ignored cost relief strategies in the law, such as tax credits to help people afford premiums and special payments to insurers who attract an outsize share of the sick.

The study also doesn't take into account the potential price-cutting effect of competition in new state insurance markets that will go live Oct. 1, administration officials said.

At a White House briefing Tuesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said some of what passes for health insurance today is so skimpy it can't be compared to the comprehensive coverage available under the law. "Some of these folks have very high catastrophic plans that don't pay for anything unless you get hit by a bus," she said. "They're really mortgage protection, not health insurance."

Sebelius said the picture on premiums won't start coming into focus until insurers submit their bids. Those results may not be publicly known until late summer.

Another striking finding of the report was a wide disparity in cost impact among the states.

While some states will see medical claims costs per person decline, the report concluded that the overwhelming majority will see double-digit increases in their individual health insurance markets, where people purchase coverage directly from insurers.

The differences are big. By 2017, the estimated increase would be 62 percent for California, about 80 percent for Ohio, more than 20 percent for Florida and 67 percent for Maryland. Much of the reason for the higher claims costs is that sicker people are expected to join the pool, the report said.

Part of the reason for the wide disparities is that states have different populations and insurance rules. In the relatively small number of states where insurers were already restricted from charging higher rates to older, sicker people, the cost impact is less.

The report did not make similar estimates for employer plans that most workers and families rely on. That's because the primary impact of Obama's law is on people who don't have coverage through their jobs.

A prominent national expert, recently retired Medicare chief actuary Rick Foster, said the report does "a credible job" of estimating potential enrollment and costs under the law, "without trying to tilt the answers in any particular direction."

"Having said that," Foster added, "actuaries tend to be financially conservative, so the various assumptions might be more inclined to consider what might go wrong than to anticipate that everything will work beautifully." Actuaries use statistics and economic theory to make long-range cost projections for insurance and pension programs sponsored by businesses and government. The society is headquartered near Chicago.

Bohn, the actuary who worked on the study, acknowledged it did not attempt to estimate the effect of subsidies, insurer competition and other factors that could offset cost increases. She said the goal was to look at the underlying cost of medical care.

"We don't see ourselves as a political organization," Bohn added. "We are trying to figure out what the situation at hand is."

On the plus side, the report found the law will cover more than 32 million currently uninsured Americans when fully phased in. And some states ? including New York and Massachusetts ? will see double-digit declines in costs for claims in the individual market.

Uncertainty over costs has been a major issue since the law passed three years ago, and remains so just months before a big push to cover the uninsured gets rolling Oct. 1. Middle-class households will be able to purchase subsidized private insurance in new marketplaces, while low-income people will be steered to Medicaid and other safety net programs. States are free to accept or reject a Medicaid expansion also offered under the law.

___

AP White House Correspondent Julie Pace contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/study-health-law-raise-claims-cost-32-percent-070021624--finance.html

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Syrian opposition plunges into disarray

FILE - In this Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013 file photo, Syrian opposition coalition leader Mouaz al-Khatib speaks during a press conference with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, not pictured, following an international conference on Syria at Villa Madama, Rome. The leader of the Western-based Syrian opposition coalition has resigned, citing frustrations with the body's ability to advance the fight against President Bashar Assad. Khatib said in a statement posted on his Facebook page Sunday that he would continue to serve the opposition's cause outside of the "the official institutions." (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca, File)

FILE - In this Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013 file photo, Syrian opposition coalition leader Mouaz al-Khatib speaks during a press conference with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, not pictured, following an international conference on Syria at Villa Madama, Rome. The leader of the Western-based Syrian opposition coalition has resigned, citing frustrations with the body's ability to advance the fight against President Bashar Assad. Khatib said in a statement posted on his Facebook page Sunday that he would continue to serve the opposition's cause outside of the "the official institutions." (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca, File)

BEIRUT (AP) ? Syria's opposition plunged into disarray Sunday as its president quit and its military chief refused to recognize the newly elected prime minister of an interim government for rebel-held areas.

The moves reflected deep splits in the body the U.S. and its allies hope will emerge as the united face of the opposition and advance the fight to topple President Bashar Assad's regime.

The missteps of the opposition's mostly exile political leadership drew little notice inside Syria, where rebel fighters dismissed it as ineffective and pushed ahead with their offensive to gain ground near the country's southern border with Jordan. Nearby, the Israeli military in the Golan Heights responded to fire by shooting back at targets inside Syria.

The first blow to the opposition Syrian National Coalition was the surprise resignation of its president, who said he was quitting in frustration over what he called lack of international support and constraints imposed by the body itself.

Mouaz al-Khatib, who rose to prominence as a preacher in Damascus' most famous mosque, said in a statement posted on his Facebook page that he was making good on an earlier vow to quit if undefined "red lines" were crossed.

"I am keeping my promise today and announcing my resignation from the National Coalition so that I can work with freedom that is not available inside the official institutions," he said.

He also blamed world powers for not offering Syria's rebels the support they demand and complained that "international and regional parties" tried to push the Coalition toward negotiations with the Assad regime ? something most members refuse.

"All that has happened to the Syrian people ? from destruction of infrastructure, to the arrest of tens of thousands, to the displacement of hundreds of thousands, to other tragedies ? is not enough for an international decision to allow the Syrian people to defend themselves," the statement said.

Despite electing a new, U.S.-educated prime minister last week to head a planned interim government, the Coalition has failed to make much of a mark inside Syria, where hundreds of independent rebel brigades are fighting a civil war against Assad's forces.

Reflecting the growing dissension over that move, the head of the Coalition's military branch, Gen. Salim Idris, said his group refused to recognize the new prime minister, a little-known IT professional from Texas, because he lacked broad support among the opposition.

"For the purpose of giving power to a prime minister to unite the revolutionary forces and lead the Syrian revolution toward certain victory, we unequivocally declare that the Free Syrian Army ... conditions its support and cooperation on the achievement of a political agreement on the name of a prime minister," Idris said in an online video.

An aide to Idris, Louay Almokdad, said many prominent Syrian opposition figures opposed the election of Ghassan Hitto, who received 35 out of 48 votes cast by the Coalition's 63 active members.

While al-Khatib's resignation surprised many Coalition members, some said it reflected problems that have caused five other members to resign in the past week.

Coalition member Rima Fleihan told The Associated Press in Cairo that the body did not accurately represent Syrians.

"We have problems internally with the structure of the Coalition and decisions being taken undemocratically," she said.

Another recently resigned member, Walid al-Bunni, accused the Gulf state of Qatar, which heavily finances the opposition, of using pressure to install its candidate for prime minister. Others have accused the Muslim Brotherhood of exercising outsized influence.

Late Sunday, the Coalition distributed a statement saying it had rejected the resignation and asked al-Khatib to keep doing his job.

Secretary of State John Kerry said he regretted al-Khatib's resignation, but said it won't affect U.S. aid to the Coalition.

Speaking to reporters during an unannounced trip to Baghdad, Kerry also said he had confronted Iraq, Syria's eastern neighbor, about allowing Iran access to its airspace for flights the U.S. believes are ferrying in weapons and fighters to the Assad regime.

In a small victory for the opposition, senior Arab diplomats said they would transfer Syria's seat at the Arab League to the Coalition. The Syrian government's membership was suspended earlier in the crisis. The Coalition said it would send a delegation to a league summit that begins Tuesday in Qatar.

The Syrian government, which contends the civil war is an international conspiracy being carried out by terrorists to weaken Syria, did not comment on the Coalition developments. Instead, it hosted a "National Dialogue Forum" in Damascus that included none of the forces seeking Assad's ouster.

Few of the rebels inside Syria paid any attention to the exile opposition's problems, saying the Coalition had never done much for them anyway.

"All this stuff that happens outside never makes any difference to us," rebel fighter Firas Filefleh said via Skype from the northern province of Idlib. He said he and his colleagues respect al-Khatib as a religious figure but that he and the Coalition were ineffective.

"The Coalition has never made any difference for the fighting brigades," he said. "They brought some flour and some canned goods but have never done more than that."

Filefleh said he had no opinion of Hitto and said he had never heard of Gen. Idris, who purports to be the rebels' highest military leader.

Late Sunday, the Coalition circulated videos it said showed Hitto during his first visit to Syria since his election. The videos showed Hitto in a sport coat and jeans, shaking hands in an unnamed town in Aleppo province.

Meanwhile, rebels tried to advance their campaign to gain ground along the southern border with Jordan.

Since last summer, the opposition has seized large swathes of land near the Turkish and Iraqi borders to the north and east, and has used them to organize and build supply lines.

Victory in the south could allow them to do the same there. They have recently seized army checkpoints along a 15-mile (25-kilometer) strip of the border. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said rebels clashed Sunday with forces at a checkpoint and military base in the area.

Also Sunday, Israel's military said soldiers on patrol in the Golan Heights were fired upon and responded by firing back into Syria. It did not say if the Syrian fire was from rebels or the government.

Rebels have been making gains on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau that Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed.

The U.N. says more than 70,000 people have been killed since Syria's crisis began in March 2011.

____

Associated Press reporters Aya Batrawy in Cairo, Matthew Lee in Baghdad and Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, and Abdullah Rebhy in Doha, Qatar, contributed reporting.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-24-ML-Syria/id-effa828595294647bc19f9d2bfb62115

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America's new love: Water

In this Tuesday, March 5, 2013 photo, a selection of bottled waters stands on a kitchen counter in East Derry, N.H. Soda's reign as America's most popular drink could be entering its twilight years, with plain old bottled water making a run for the top spot. Already, bottled water has surged past juice, milk and beer in terms of per capita consumption. The result is that bottled water is slowly closing the gap for the No. 1 spot. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

In this Tuesday, March 5, 2013 photo, a selection of bottled waters stands on a kitchen counter in East Derry, N.H. Soda's reign as America's most popular drink could be entering its twilight years, with plain old bottled water making a run for the top spot. Already, bottled water has surged past juice, milk and beer in terms of per capita consumption. The result is that bottled water is slowly closing the gap for the No. 1 spot. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

In this Tuesday, March 5, 2013 photo, Walter Pugh, 83, of Belzoni, Miss., loads a case of his bottled water into his shopping cart in Jackson, Miss. As sugary drinks come under fire for fueling obesity rates, people are increasingly reaching for bottled water as a healthier, relatively affordable alternative. Already, bottled water has surged past juice, milk and beer in terms of per capita consumption. The result is that bottled water is slowly closing the gap for the No. 1 spot. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

In this Tuesday, March 5, 2013 photo, a customer takes a bottle of water off a store shelf in Jackson, Miss. As sugary drinks come under fire for fueling obesity rates, people are increasingly reaching for bottled water as a healthier, relatively affordable alternative. Already, bottled water has surged past juice, milk and beer in terms of per capita consumption. The result is that bottled water is slowly closing the gap for the No. 1 spot. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

NEW YORK (AP) ? It wasn't too long ago that America had a love affair with soda. Now, an old flame has the country's heart.

As New York City grapples with the legality of a ban on the sale of large cups of soda and other sugary drinks at some businesses, one thing is clear: soda's run as the nation's beverage of choice has fizzled.

In its place? A favorite for much of history: Plain old H2O.

For more than two decades, soda was the No. 1 drink in the U.S. with per capita consumption peaking in 1998 at 54 gallons a year, according industry tracker Beverage Digest. Americans drank just 42 gallons a year of water at the time.

But over the years, as soda increasingly came under fire for fueling the nation's rising obesity rates, water quietly rose to knock it off the top spot.

Americans now drink an average of 44 gallons of soda a year, a 17 percent drop from the peak in 1998. Over the same time, the average amount of water people drink has increased 38 percent to about 58 gallons a year. Bottled water has led that growth, with consumption nearly doubling to 21 gallons a year.

Stephen Ngo, a civil defense attorney, quit drinking soda a year ago when he started running triathlons, and wanted a healthier way to quench his thirst.

Ngo, 34, has a Brita filter for tap water and also keeps his pantry stocked with cases of bottled water.

"It might just be the placebo effect or marketing, but it tastes crisper," said Ngo, who lives in Miami.

The trend reflects Americans' ever-changing tastes; it wasn't too far back in history that tap water was the top drink.

But in the 1980s, carbonated soft drinks overtook tap as the most popular drink, with Coca-Cola and PepsiCo putting their marketing muscle behind their colas with celebrity endorsements from the likes of pop star Michael Jackson and comedian Bill Cosby.

Americans kept drinking more of the carbonated, sugary drink for about a decade. Then, soda's magic started to fade: Everyone from doctors to health advocates to government officials were blaming soft drinks for making people fat. Consumption started declining after hitting a high in the late 1990s.

At the same time, people started turning to bottled water as an alternative. Its popularity was helped by the emergence of single-serve bottles that were easy to carry around.

Until then, bottled water had mainly been sold in "big jugs and coolers" for people who didn't trust their water supply, said John Sicher, publisher of Beverage Digest.

The new soft drink-like packaging helped fast-track bottled water's growth past milk and beer. In fact, the amount of bottled water Americans drink has risen nearly every year for more than two decades, while the estimates of how much tap water people drink has fluctuated up and down during that time. When taken together, water finally overtook soda in 2008, according to Beverage Digest. (It's difficult to track how much tap water people drink and how much is used for other things like washing dishes, so experts estimate consumption.)

Analysts expect water to hold onto to its top spot for years to come. But whether people will drink from the tap or a bottle is uncertain.

Based on current trajectories, Michael Bellas, the CEO of the industry tracker Beverage Marketing Corp., predicts that bottled water alone could overtake soda within the next decade. That's not counting enhanced and flavored waters, which are growing quickly but remain a small part of the bottled water industry.

Currently, people drink 21 gallons of bottled water a year. That compares with 37 gallons of other water, which includes tap, sparkling, flavored and enhanced waters such as Coca-Cola's vitaminwater.

But there are numerous factors that could tilt the scales in favor of tap water.

Because of concerns that plastic bottles create too much waste, experts say bottled water could be hit by a public backlash similar to the one that has whipsawed the soda industry with pushes for bans and taxes.

New York City was preparing for a ban on cups of sugary drinks that are larger than 16 ounces starting on Tuesday. But on Monday ? a day before the ban was to begin ? a judge invalidated the regulation. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who originally proposed the ban, vowed to appeal the judge's ruling.

Bottled water already is starting to face similar opposition. The town of Concord, Mass. earlier this year banned the sale of water bottles that are less than a liter. And the University of Vermont became the first public university to ban the sale of bottled water.

Meanwhile, other cities are waging campaigns to promote tap water. New York City, which touts the high quality of its tap water, offers portable fountains at events around the city.

"Good old marketing has convinced people that they should spend a lot of money on bottled water," says Salome Freud, chief of New York City's distribution water quality operations.

Although companies such as Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. would rather have people buy bottled waters, they're even more invested in getting people to drink more soda again.

That's because soda and other drinks that the companies make, such as sports drinks and juices, are more profitable than bottled water. With bottled water, people tend to buy whatever is cheapest. That's a habit that forces companies to keep prices relatively low, which eats into profits.

It's why companies are investing so heavily in developing nations such as China and India, where the appetite for soda continues to grow.

In the U.S., annual soda sales are more than five times as big as bottled water at $75.7 billion a year, according to Beverage Digest. In terms of volume, soda is only twice as big as bottled water.

At Coca-Cola, the No. 1 soda maker, three-quarters of its volume in gallons comes from soft drinks, compared with 8 percent for its bottled waters including Dasani. PepsiCo, the No. 2 soda maker, gets 64 percent of its volume from soft drinks and only 7 percent from its Aquafina bottled water.

It's why Coca-Cola, which holds 13 percent of the bottled water market compared with PepsiCo's 10 percent, doesn't seem to think bottled water will ever overtake soda. In an emailed statement, the Atlanta-based company noted that soft drinks remain a far larger category than bottled water and that it sees "upside" for sodas over the next several years.

However, the company added that it saw "great potential" for bottled water. Like its competitors, Coca-Cola said it's focusing on growing its portfolio of bottled waters profitably by offering brands such as Smartwater and its flavored vitaminwater, which fetch higher prices.

In the meantime, the chairman and former CEO of Nestle Waters North America, Kim Jeffery, is waiting for bottled water's moment in the spotlight. Nestle, the Swiss company that makes Poland Spring, Nestle Pure Life, Deer Park and other brands, has nearly half of the share of the bottled water market.

At a beverage industry conference late last year, Jeffery noted that bottled water is "the elephant in the room."

And given the growing warnings over drinking too many calories ? including from juice, milk and other sugary drinks ? Jeffery said he's confident that water will continue to grow in popularity.

"For thousands of years, water was beverage of choice for human beings," he said. "Now we're reverting back to that."

__

Follow Candice Choi at www.twitter.com/candicechoi

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-11-Rise%20of%20Water/id-5124288c12ae4345b74a555866869f3b

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Curiosity sleeps as solar blast races toward Mars

This image provided by NASA shows an image captured by NASA?s Solar Dynamics Observatory of a blast of plasma streaming from the sun in August 2012. Scientists say a solar eruption was detected on March 5, 2013 and was headed toward Mars. NASA?s Curiosity rover will postpone some activities but other Mars missions will operate normally.(AP Photo/NASA)

This image provided by NASA shows an image captured by NASA?s Solar Dynamics Observatory of a blast of plasma streaming from the sun in August 2012. Scientists say a solar eruption was detected on March 5, 2013 and was headed toward Mars. NASA?s Curiosity rover will postpone some activities but other Mars missions will operate normally.(AP Photo/NASA)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Curiosity hunkered down Wednesday after the sun unleashed a blast that raced toward Mars.

While the hardy rover was designed to withstand punishing space weather, its handlers decided to power it down as a precaution since it suffered a recent computer problem.

"We're being more careful," said project manager Richard Cook of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which runs the $2.5 billion mission.

While Curiosity slept, the Opportunity rover and two NASA spacecraft circling overhead carried on with normal activities.

On Tuesday, scientists noticed a huge flare erupting from the sun that hurled a stream of radiation in Mars' direction. The solar burst also spawned a cloud of superheated gas that barreled toward the red planet at 2 million mph.

The eruption did not appear severe or extreme, but "middle of the road, all things considered" said space weather chief Bob Rutledge at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The solar tempest was not expected to have an impact on Earth. In the past, such outbursts have triggered solar storms with the ability to disrupt utility grids, airline flights, satellite networks and GPS services. They're also known to produce shimmering auroras in places farther from the poles.

Since Mars lacks a planet-wide magnetic field, it does not experience geomagnetic storms. Rather, the planet sees a spike in radiation, Rutledge said.

Powerful solar blasts can cause trouble to Mars spacecraft. In 2003, an intense solar flare knocked out the radiation detector on the Odyssey orbiter.

NASA does not expect similar drama from the latest solar activity.

In the worst-case scenario, one or more of the working Mars spacecraft may enter "safe mode" in which science activities are halted but they remain in contact with Earth.

"We'll be watching and seeing what happens," said Roger Gibbs, JPL deputy manager for the Mars exploration program.

The unsettled space weather comes as Curiosity is recovering from a memory hiccup that put its science experiments on hold. It was the first major problem to hit the car-size rover since it landed last year in an ancient crater near the Martian equator to hunt for the chemical building blocks of life.

Engineers were in the middle of troubleshooting when they decided to wait for the weather to pass. The delay means it'll take longer for Curiosity to return to analyzing the pinch of rock powder it collected from a recent drilling.

Since its instruments are turned off, it can't use its radiation sensor to track the solar particles.

"It's just bad timing," Cook said.

___

Follow Alicia Chang at http://twitter.com/SciWriAlicia

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2013-03-06-Mars-Space%20Weather/id-92405cc7f56549db8079caff4e51b403

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Legal fight over London Olympic Stadium

Leyton Orient have started a legal fight against the decision to allow fellow football club West Ham United to move into London's Olympic Stadium.

Orient, who play in England's third tier League One, are geographically the nearest football club to the Olympic Stadium, which is in the east London borough of Stratford, and have long been concerned about the potential impact of Premier League side West Ham moving to the site from their existing Upton Park ground.

Orient signalled their willingness to ground-share at the STG429 million ($A637 million) venue but the club's owner, Barry Hearn, the leading British sports promoter, has become alarmed by the prospect of West Ham becoming the sole football side based at the stadium.

Now Hearn, also the World Snooker chairman, has asked for a judicial review of the bid process.

"The rules of the bidding process created by the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) we do not believe provided for teaming, which is for all parties to share the stadium," Hearn said on Wednesday.

"We have gone to the High Court to have the decision struck out."

The LLDC board, the body which has the responsibility for securing the stadium's future, in December named West Ham as the number one choice to move into the Olympic Stadium.

"We have been notified that Leyton Orient have made the decision to issue proceedings for judicial review," said an LLDC spokesman.

"Whilst this is disappointing, we believe that our processes have been robust, fair and transparent and that the challenge is misconceived."

Ground-sharing, while common in Europe, with the likes of Italian giants AC Milan and Inter Milan both playing at the city's San Siro stadium, is a rarity in England.

The original deal for West Ham to take over the stadium collapsed in 2011 due to legal challenges from both Tottenham Hotspur and Orient.

Source: http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8622269

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Aerobics for Lower Back Pain - Disabled World

Walking Away from Back Pain - Home aerobic program as effective as clinical therapy in treating lower back pain, finds TAU researcher.

Lower back pain is a common complaint, and treatment often requires many hours of physical therapy over multiple weekly clinic visits - a costly commitment. Now Dr. Michal Katz-Leurer of Tel Aviv University's Stanley Steyer School of Health Professions at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine says that a simple aerobic walking program is as effective in alleviating lower back pain as muscle strengthening programs that require specialized equipment in rehabilitation clinics. The program includes walking two to three times a week for a period of 20 to 40 minutes.

Dr. Katz-Leurer and her colleague Ilana Shnayderman, a graduate student at the Department of Physical Therapy and a practicing physiotherapist at Maccabi Health Care, say that their treatment option fits easily into a daily routine and allows those with back pain to be more responsible for their own health.

Their study was published in the journal Clinical Rehabilitation.

A simple solution

According to Dr. Katz-Leurer, research has shown that when people walk actively, abdominal and back muscles work in much the same way as when they complete exercises that target these areas. And unlike muscle strengthening programs, which often call for specific equipment and can involve exercises that require expert supervision, walking is a simple activity that can be done alone.

For the study, the researchers recruited 52 patients with lower back pain to participate in a randomized control trial. Through questionnaires, they were initially assessed for pain levels, feelings of disability, and avoidance of daily activities, as well as muscle and walking endurance.

Then, half of the participants completed a typical clinic-based muscle strengthening program, with two to three exercise sessions a week for six weeks. The other half completed a six-week aerobic walking program, walking two to three times weekly. Participants started with 20 minutes of walking, then progressed to 40 minutes as their endurance improved.

Results showed that both groups improved significantly in all areas of assessment, demonstrating that the walking program was "as effective as treatment that could have been received in the clinic," says Dr. Katz-Leurer.

The path to a healthier lifestyle

Dr. Katz-Leurer says that the walking program has the additional advantage of encouraging patients to follow a healthier lifestyle overall. In terms of physical fitness, those in the walking group were able to walk an average of 0.05 miles farther during a six-minute walking test at the end of the program compared to the pre-program assessments.

She also notes that that regularly active people are less likely to suffer typical aches and pains over their lifetime. Walking, a low-impact activity, also lowers blood pressure, boosts brain and immune system functioning, and reduces stress, she says.

Pass it on by sharing this article with your social media friends

This web page is from the Disabled World Aerobics Exercises section which provides: Examples of Aerobic exercises for seniors and people with disabilities including exercises and local aerobic classes.

Yoga for Lower Back Pain - Video showing the Seated Lotus Yoga Pose for Lower Back Pain sufferers.

Lower Back Pain Treatment - This video clip explains a technique used for lower back pain treatment. It is simple exercise yet very effective.

Aerobics - Exercising rhythmically for 15 minutes or longer while maintaining 60 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate. Its benefits include weight control, increased stamina and psychological benefits, such as an improved mood and lessened anxiety.

Source: http://www.disabled-world.com/fitness/exercise/aerobics/lower-back.php

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PS3, frozen foods and chocolate: the best and worst things to buy in March

March is a good month for sales on a plethora of products, including Playstation 3 game consoles, winter gear, and chocolate. But avoid spring clothing and Kindle apps, which will go on sale later in the year.?

By Lindsay Sakraida and Louis Ramirez,?Contributors / March 2, 2013

Playstation 3 game consoles are sold at Yamada Denki electronics shop in Tokyo. Following the introduction of the new PS4, PS3 consoles should see steep price drops in March.

Koji Sasahara/AP

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March is here, and even though you may be planning to stay glued to the couch for all of March Madness, you'll also likely be doing a bit of spring shopping ? especially if you're fond of online retailers like us! To help you save big, we've mined the extensive dealnews archives for sales, coupons, daily deals, and individual products from the past few years and to guide you in your quest to make the most savvy purchases this month.

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Look for All-Time Low Prices on the PS3

Since Sony announced the long-awaited PlayStation 4 console just a week ago, it will soon be an excellent time to?buy a PlayStation 3; in years past, prices on previous-generation consoles have dropped by 60% to 64% once the newer models were released. However, keep in mind that Sony didn't announce a concrete release date for the PS4, and many believe details about preordering and price won't come until E3 in June, which together means that PS3 deals might come in at a trickle rather than a flood. If they drop the full 64%, that would put the 160GB PS3 model at as low as $144. Right now PlayStation 3 250GB bundles are priced at least $50 under the lowest price we could find.

Treat Yourself with Chocolate

Did you not get the sweets you hoped for on Valentine's Day? Well luckily you can peruse high-end chocolate shops for any lingering V-day treats. As always after a holiday, themed sweets go on sale and any treats that haven't been gobbled up will see discounts of up to 50% off. Look to stores like Godiva and the gift section of department stores for decadent ways to treat yourself on a budget.

Skip the Lingerie

You may think that immediately after the most romantic day of the year, you'd see huge discounts on lingerie, but although we do indeed see some price cuts, it's not really the best time to buy underthings. Instead, around June is when Victoria's Secret unveils its famed Semi-Annual Sale, and last year around the same time, we also saw excellent markdowns from a plethora of other retailers like aerie by American Eagle, Frederick's of Hollywood, Macy's, Soma Intimates, and Figleaves. That said, summer deals also paled in comparison to the October to December stretch, which saw numerous Editors' Choice offers from many of these same vendors.

Hold Off on Buying Spring Apparel

It's common knowledge that the best time to buy current season apparel is well after said season has begun. That's why cold weather apparel is still such a hot buy right now. But how long until you can don fashionable and cheap short sleeves, shorts, and flirty dresses all of which have started to filter into stores? A good rule of thumb is to wait at least two to three months after a season has begun order to score the best discounts on weather-appropriate apparel. In the meantime, if you simply must buy something new for spring now, keep an eye out for a coupon code for a nominal discount on whatever must-have full price apparel catches your eye.

Thinking of Buying Apps for Your Kindle Fire? Think Again.

While apps, games, and in-app purchases might not single-handedly make a huge dent in your wallet, they can add up. Knowing such, Amazon announced last month that it will start an Amazon Coins program for these Kindle Fire add-ons. When the program launches in May, the store will give out "tens of millions of dollars worth of Coins for customers to spend" in an effort to ignite interaction with the Kindle Fire app marketplace. These freebie coins are not yet being distributed, so we'd suggest holding off on any Amazon app purchases for few months until those apps you're craving can be had for free.

Say Bon Voyage with Luggage Deals

After a few months cooped up indoors, you may begin feeling the itch to get outside and take on an adventure or two. And if your travel gear is lacking, you're in luck! This time of year is a good time to buy new travel bags. Last year, luggage deals began to pick up steam in March, with sales at Walmart, eBags, Macy's, and Sears. This carried on in earnest throughout the spring though, so we'll continue to see an influx of deals in the coming months as well.

Stock Up on Frozen Foods

Were you aware that March is National Frozen Foods Month? No? Well, it is! And yes, this is largely a marketing ploy to draw attention to the frozen foods industry, but we could still very well see special promotions from different frozen food brands. In so many words: get excited for supermarket couponing! And if you come across a particularly hot deal, you can easily stock up on the long-lasting foodstuffs.

Savings on Last Year's Smartphones

Several phone manufacturers debuted a fleet of phones at Mobile World Congress in February, which simultaneously has turned several 2012 models into previous-generation goods. That means it's a great time to start looking for freebie phone deals (with 2-year contracts) or even for-profit offers that come with gift cards. Just keep in mind that it rarely takes long for new phones to see deals, and if you find a new device that strikes your fancy, waiting just a few months should yield a 50% off discount. Moreover, if you're interested in 2012's hottest phone ? the Samsung Galaxy S III ? then this month will also see good deals once the Galaxy S IV is announced on March 14.

Big Screen TVs Continue to Decline in Price &?2012's Top-Rated Plasmas Go on Sale

While we've yet to see any deals on 2013 HDTVs, February saw new all-time lows on premium 2012 TVs. 55" 3D TVs, specifically, hit $750 for the first time; that's $50 cheaper than we saw in January and $50 under our best Black Friday 2012 deal. Going forward shoppers interested in 55" 3D LED LCD HDTVs should look at prices in the $750 to $800 range. If you want to save even more, you can bypass 3D and look at 55" off-brand models, which are also undergoing all-time lows with deals in the $550 to $650 range. These prices are expected to continue into March as prices haven't increased since hitting their December price lows.

February also brought with it an abundance of deals on 60" 1080p LCD HDTVs, and the good news is that there's no sign of these deals slowing down either. In fact, February saw the second-lowest price on a 60" LCD ($848) outside of Black Friday. That said, we expect the deals to continue through March, so look for name-brand 60" sets in the $848 to $900 range.

And a quick note for videophiles, Panasonic's top-performing 2012 plasmas (in particular the VT50 and GT50 series) hit all-time lows in February. It's not often we find deals on these highly-rated series, but with the new 2013 models about to arrive, retailers have no choice but to clear stock by discounting previous year's sets. Definitely keep an eye out for these models if you want the best TV your money can buy.

Surface Deals Finally Arrive &?Core i3 Ivy Bridge Configs Continues Drop in Price

Laptop/tablet hybrids are the wave of the future, and February marked the first time we've seen deals on Microsoft's Surface RT and Surface Pro tablets. Though the savings were nothing to scoff at ($75 off both the entry level RT model and the just-released Pro model), we expect March to ring in similar and perhaps more aggressive Surface deals as more retailers begin to stock these machines and compete for your dollar.

If you're after a more traditional laptop experience, invest in an Ivy Bridge Core i3 laptop. These systems have slowly been descending in price, and February saw a new low price set for these notebooks: deals started at $340. Note that a Core i5 Ivy Bridge laptop will cost you roughly $100 more.

Ready to put this information to use? Set up an email alert now to keep abreast of any and all of these best buys in March. And for more price trend information, check out our consumer shopping research page.

?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/TGWublk-Ci8/PS3-frozen-foods-and-chocolate-the-best-and-worst-things-to-buy-in-March

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Chicago man shot while going to dialysis

By Alexandria Fisher, NBCChicago.com

A 72-year-old man was fatally shot early Saturday in his gangway on Chicago's Far South Side, officials said.

William Strickland was on his way to dialysis when he was shot in what appeared to be a robbery, police said. ?

Strickland's family said they're shocked by the "senseless" act and that Strickland, who recently retired from a steel mill after 28 years of employment, was kind-hearted and generous. ?

"He was getting up this morning, going to dialysis so he could try and live his life a little longer and they just zapped it from him," said brother-in-law Kevin Smith.? ?

Strickland's daughter said those who knew her father knew he didn't deserve this. ?

"I'm going to truly, really, really, miss my father," she said.? ?

Police taped off area on the corner of 95^th Street and Eberhart Avenue and remained on the scene for much of Saturday morning.

Neighbors said the area is mostly filled with retired or older residents and typically has little violence. ?

"We're not used to [violence] here. It's a close neighborhood," said Jonathan Garener. "William was a wonderful guy. I feel like I lost a role model."

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/02/17162975-chicago-man-shot-while-going-to-dialysis?lite

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Watch:Amanda Palmer Featured on TED Talk Segment ?The Art of ...

?I trust you this much. Should I? Show Me.?
Yes, Amanda Palmer?s disposition is about as unique as the words she spoke during her monologue at the TED2013 conference this week in Long Beach, California. A woman, whose just as famous for spending the night in the houses of her fans as she is for her music, is creating somewhat of a revolution in the way artists approach the business side of their careers.

Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat

The TED conference is heralded as an avenue where the world?s most intelligent innovators connect and share ideas of creativity, and development for the future in the areas of technology, entertainment, and design.

Palmer shared her ideas this week at the conference to join a list of past influential professionals, including former US President Bill Clinton and Virgin Mobile CEO Richard Branson, who came before her. Advocating for the emergence of making deeper connections between fans and artist within the music industry, Palmer shares her story and why she believes her experiences has showed her the solution to the industry?s new found problem of dwindling consumerism.

Not only has her music, a mix between punk and cabaret, caused her rise to fame, but, and maybe more so, her ability to create genuine friendships with her fans. Ultimately developing the ?art of asking?, Palmer was able to jumpstart her career, $1.2 million worth, entirely of donations from her fans.

I didn?t make them, I asked them. And for the very act of asking people I connected with them, and when you connect with them, people want to help you.

Elements as simple as asking, sharing, and believing are all key components in what Palmer feels will lead fans back to the world of purchasing art and funding the endeavors of their favorite artist, just like in the days of old.

I think people have been obsessed with the wrong question, How do we make people pay for music? What if we start asking, how do we let people pay for music?

Palmer is set to speak live later this year at SXSW in front of an audience about her journey and the steps she made in her path to success. But for now, check out her segment at the TED conference in its entirety below.

By Robert Trice Posted in News

Source: http://www.mxdwn.com/2013/03/02/news/watchamanda-palmer-featured-on-ted-talk-segment-the-art-of-asking/

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