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I need to export a 200 pages price list from PDF to Excel file keeping the exact same structure ( titles, products, prices, columns and rows...); then apply a formula or function to change prices in two ways:
1st : Change the %(percentage) number in one specific cell to change all prices on same time. (example: if I change the price on this cell +20% or -20% all prices on list will change on same time)
2nd: Change the %(percentage) number in one specific cell by "category" to change all prices on same time on that specific category. (example: if I change the category price on specific cell +20% or -20% all prices only on that specific category will change on same time)
*Important things to consider: - The price list have 35 different categories (Posters, Flyers, Business cards, Hang tags etc...) - after job done, please show-me the cells that I should change the percentages.
At Casa Lever in New York City, nearly 20 giant Andy Warhol portraits line the dining room.
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By Jordan Kisner, Departures
Art and food have always had a harmonious relationship ? just look at Leonardo Da Vinci?s The Last Supper. Indeed, Pablo Picasso, Norman Rockwell and Pierre Auguste Renoir all created artworks about breaking bread and, in fact, Picasso and Henri Matisse were both known to paint for their dinners. So it comes as no surprise that a big trend in art today has to do with eating: Fine-dining establishments are morphing into art galleries.
Slideshow: See the art in the eateries
At first, world-class restaurants simply started popping up in museums. In 2005, the Museum of Modern Art debuted The Modern, in which restaurateur Danny Meyer elevated institutionalized museum fare to a Michelin-starred level in a setting overlooking works by Alexander Calder, Auguste Rodin and more in MoMa?s Sculpture Garden. Wolfgang Puck has been dabbling in the museum restaurant arena for years as well, setting up shop in Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles and Washington; the view from his 20.21 restaurant at Minneapolis?s Walker Art Center (now a new b?ite called Gather) was the cherry on top (literally ? diners had a view of Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen?s iconic sculpture Spoonbridge and Cherry).
These days, though, you don?t have to eat at a museum to see excellent art. Restaurants around the world are attracting patrons with their own art collections and rotating exhibitions. In Zurich, Kronenhalle?s original owner, Hulda Zumsteg, and her son, Gustav, spent decades amassing a personal art collection, filling the restaurant with art by German and Swiss painter Paul Klee, Russian Abstract painter Wassily Kandinsky, Swiss painter Ferdinand Hodler and others. The furniture is also priceless: The tables in the bar area are by Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti. On the Strip in Las Vegas, the Bellagio?s Picasso restaurant has originals by the namesake. Even Puck has gotten in on the craze with his steak house Cut, at London?s 45 Park Lane Hotel, where Damien Hirst?s Pslams series is on view.
Similar to gallery owners who champion the work of emerging artists, restaurateurs are doing so too. Mr. Chow is perhaps the modern pioneer: he traded noodles for artwork n the height of the 1980s art craze; now his restaurants have shown works by artists ranging from Andy Warhol to Keith Haring. Meanwhile, the Santa Monica outpost of New York power-lunching hub Michael?s has an upstairs gallery with rotating exhibitions with work by local artists. And the Michelin-starred Number One, at the Balmoral in Edinburgh, displays work by graduates of the Royal College of Art in London.
With restaurants becoming the world?s best galleries, here are eight spots worth the art and food. Grab a glass of wine, a comfortable chair and a delicious excuse to sit and stare at the walls for an hour or two.
'It's actually surprisingly charming and more emotionally understated than the material would suggest,' writes AP critic Christy Lemire. By Kara Warner
Scarlett Johansson and Matt Damon in "We Bought A Zoo" Photo: 20th Century Fox
After a seven-year hiatus post-"Elizabethtown," writer/director Cameron Crowe is back in action with his new film "We Bought a Zoo." Based on a true story and the book of the same name, Matt Damon stars as Benjamin Mee, a widower who buys a failing zoo in an attempt to reconnect his family after the death of their mother.
The critical masses always seem eager to offer up opinions on any new Crowe feature, and this time around, the likes have edged out the dislikes, earning the film a "Fresh" rating over at Rotten Tomatoes. Without further ado, let's wander through the "We Bought a Zoo" reviews!
The Story and Its Schmaltz Factor "Sometimes, reacting to a movie is all about the expectations you bring with you walking into it. 'We Bought a Zoo' is about a family that buys a zoo. It's as high-concept as you can get, outside of maybe 'Attack of the Killer Tomatoes' or 'I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry,' and it's equally straightforward in wearing its heart on its sleeve. We know to expect this ahead of time because 'We Bought a Zoo' comes from Cameron Crowe, the writer-director of 'Say Anything ...,' 'Jerry Maguire,' 'Almost Famous' and, more recently, the 2005 flop 'Elizabethtown.' We know there will be some poignantly phrased life lessons in store for this family as they struggle to reconnect after the mother's death. The whole exercise could have been agonizingly mawkish, and/or filled with cheap, lazy animal-poop jokes. And yet, it's not. It's actually surprisingly charming and more emotionally understated than the material would suggest. — Christy Lemire, The Associated Press
The Writing and Direction "Crowe takes a lot of heat for his portrayal of adorable kids, and already there's been a lot of online grousing about the Rosie character [Benjamin's daughter] being a female variant on the aggressively lovable Jonathan Lipnicki in Crowe's 'Jerry Maguire.' What Crowe doesn't get enough credit for is his continuing insight into and empathy with teen characters, and one of the really engaging things about 'Zoo' is how conscious it is in showing the thread between characters who shared an adolescence together (Damon's foil, a frequently sympathetic one, is an older brother played by Thomas Haden Church) and how that contributes to the hard-earned wisdom of characters trying to bridge generational misunderstanding. Which is to say that the scenes between Damon and Ford [Benjamin's teenage son Dylan] are among the best-written (Crowe collaborated on the screenplay with Aline Brosh McKenna) and best-played scenes in the film." — Glenn Kenny, MSN
The Performances "The ups and downs of survival while hanging on by their fingernails are too linear for spontaneity and the happy ending is nothing short of contrived, but the performances are sincere and Mr. Damon actually seems to be having a ball, giving one of the best and most mature performances of his career. The relationship between Ben, still hiding from the pain of loss, and Kelly [Scarlett Johansson], a 28-year-old animal lover with no personal life, wisely avoids the Hollywood clichés that too often furnish easy solutions for loneliness, while Dylan sees fate in a restorative way when he discovers romance with Kelly's cousin (Elle Fanning, who, like her sister Dakota, is growing from child actor to leading lady with sex appeal faster than a flying bullet). The roles are mere outlines for meatier characters, but Mr. Damon brings a depth of humanity to the zealous but underwritten zoo owner that is guaranteed to inspire confidence." — Rex Reed, The New York Observer
The Final Word, Pro-Con-Pro Style "Don't confuse the film's modest goals with a lack of gravity. Damon's father-son confrontation with Ford potently disproves that. As Benjamin says, 'all it takes is 20 seconds of insane courage to change your life.' There's a lot of fun waiting at 'We Bought a Zoo,' but it's the feelings that run through every scene that'll make you glad you came." — Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
"Does 'We Bought a Zoo' jerk tears and warm hearts effectively? Sure, dead moms and fuzzy critters will do that, especially when choreographed by a proud manipulator like Crowe. Perhaps it's churlish to complain about a filmmaker who pours so much — his taste, his tunes, his worldview, his good humor — into each movie. But watching the overlong, overfeeling, overdirected 'We Bought a Zoo' made me glad to return from Cameron Crowe's world to the real world, where things aren't quite so simple." — Dan Kois, Slate.com
"If you see it and you reject the sweetness or you can't hang with the open-hearted nature of the thing, I'm not going to argue with you. But I've seen what naked manipulation looks like, and that's not 'We Bought a Zoo.' It's just a film that wears its emotions right out front, and somehow, Crowe is able to brush aside any thoughts of what people will or won't think and just focus on building those moments that he does so well, those heartbreaking little moments of magic that have been the main currency of his career. Cameron Crowe remains, as always, uncool. And wonderful for it. 'We Bought a Zoo' is lovely, delicate, and absolutely worth seeing with your family this holiday season." — Drew McWeeny, HitFix.com
That cartoon scary face ? wide eyes, ready to run ? may have helped our primate ancestors survive in a dangerous wild, according to the authors of an article published in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The authors present a way that fear and other facial expressions might have evolved and then come to signal a person's feelings to the people around him.
The basic idea, according to Azim F. Shariff of the University of Oregon, is that the specific facial expressions associated with each particular emotion evolved for some reason. Shariff cowrote the paper with Jessica L. Tracy of the University of British Columbia. So fear helps respond to threat, and the squinched-up nose and mouth of disgust make it harder for you to inhale anything poisonous drifting on the breeze. The outthrust chest of pride increases both testosterone production and lung capacity so you're ready to take on anyone. Then, as social living became more important to the evolutionary success of certain species?most notably humans?the expressions evolved to serve a social role as well; so a happy face, for example, communicates a lack of threat and an ashamed face communicates your desire to appease.
The research is based in part on work from the last several decades showing that some emotional expressions are universal?even in remote areas with no exposure to Western media, people know what a scared face and a sad face look like, Shariff says. This type of evidence makes it unlikely that expressions were social constructs, invented in Western Europe, which then spread to the rest of the world.
And it's not just across cultures, but across species. "We seem to share a number of similar expressions, including pride, with chimpanzees and other apes," Shariff says. This suggests that the expressions appeared first in a common ancestor.
The theory that emotional facial expressions evolved as a physiological part of the response to a particular situation has been somewhat controversial in psychology; another article in the same issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science argues that the evidence on how emotions evolved is not conclusive.
Shariff and Tracy agree that more research is needed to support some of their claims, but that, "A lot of what we're proposing here would not be all that controversial to other biologists," Shariff says. "The specific concepts of 'exaptation' and 'ritualization' that we discuss are quite common when discussing the evolution of non-human animals." For example, some male birds bring a tiny morsel of food to a female bird as part of an elaborate courtship display. In that case, something that might once have been biologically relevant?sharing food with another bird?has evolved over time into a signal of his excellence as a potential mate. In the same way, Shariff says, facial expressions that started as part of the body's response to a situation may have evolved into a social signal.
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Association for Psychological Science: http://www.psychologicalscience.org
Thanks to Association for Psychological Science for this article.
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Police state that the men showed up to the home at 10020 Third Street with the bats, intent on fighting the occupants inside. One or all of the male suspects kicked in the door to the home, but fled when one of the occupants sprayed the would-be attackers with bear?spray.
One of the attackers received stitches at the hospital, but it is unknown at this time how he received cuts to his face. There were no other injuries?reported.
Police believe this was a targeted act as the occupants of the residence and their would-be attackers are known to each other.??
ROME (Reuters) ? A courtyard column of a Roman house in Pompeii collapsed on Thursday, renewing concerns about the state of the site which was frozen in time when Mount Vesuvius erupted 2,000 years ago, burying inhabitants alive and preserving their homes.
Last year the Italian government was accused of neglecting the UNESCO World Heritage site near Naples in southern Italy when part of the "House of the Gladiators" fell down.
That collapse, along with three others in 2010, and the subsequent accusations of neglect and mismanagement, helped trigger a no-confidence vote against former culture minister Sandro Bondi in January.
Bondi, a member of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right government, survived the vote but quit in March.
Officials said the latest part of the site to crumble was one of several columns that once held up wooden trellises in the house where Loreio Tiburtino, a Roman nobleman, lived.
Built in the second century BC, the house was renovated in 62 AD, 17 years before the cataclysmic eruption.
"This is a torment without end," said Luisa Bossa, a lawmaker from the leftist opposition Democratic Party and former mayor of the Naples-area town of Herculaneum, also a major Roman-era archeological site.
"We have been complaining for three years but the country's most important archeological area continues to fall apart. The truth is that the site has been left alone for years and now, a bit at a time, we are paying the price," she said.
She called on Italy's culture minister, Lorenzo Ornaghi, to "take stock of the gravity of the situation and confront it with determination and speed."
Italy's archaeologists also voiced their concerns.
"To overcome the emergency created by these collapses, we need to hire specialized maintenance workers straight away. That is the only possible cure for Pompeii," Tsao Cevoli, head of the National Archaeologists Association, told news agency Ansa.
Pompeii was home to about 13,000 people when it was buried under ash, pumice pebbles and dust in 79 AD as it endured the force of an eruption equivalent to 40 atomic bombs.
Two-thirds of the 66-hectare (165-acre) town has since been uncovered. Pompeii attracts some 2.5 million tourists each year, making it one of Italy's most popular attractions.
(additional reporting by Antonella Cinelli; Editing by Michelle Martin)
Lots of US cities claim they're the best place to do a startup. So where are entrepreneurs actually starting companies these days? TechCrunch reader Yuval Baror took a look at CrunchBase to try to answer the question. His most surprising result is that New York has been getting quite a few more startups than other cities outside of Silicon Valley. There's actually something to all the hype being cooked up by New York media companies and politicians, apparently.?Of course, the San Francisco-Silicon Valley region is still the clear leader.
LSUHSC research finds many women not receiving recommended breast cancer adjuvant treatmentPublic release date: 6-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Leslie Capo lcapo@lsuhsc.edu 504-568-4806 Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center
New Orleans, LA A first-of-its kind study led by Xiao-Cheng Wu, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Public Health at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, reports that a significant number of women are not receiving guideline-recommended treatment for breast cancer and what factors contribute. The research is published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology December 5, 2011 Early Release section.
The research team, which also included Vivien Chen, PhD, Professor and Director of the Louisiana Tumor Registry at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Public Health, explored how race/ethnicity, insurance status, poverty, education, and hospital type were associated with the delivery of guideline-recommended adjuvant systemic therapy for breast cancers. Adjuvant systemic therapies like chemotherapy, a regimen of a group of specific chemotherapy drugs, and hormone therapy often follow an initial treatment like surgery to treat cells that may be too small to be seen and to reduce the chances of recurrence. Decisions about whether or not adjuvant systemic therapies are indicated, and which type, are determined by lymph node status, histology, tumor size, grade, and hormonal receptor status. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines were developed to improve cancer care and survival.
For this very large study of 6,734 women using Pattern of Care data from population-based cancer registries, the researchers grouped women by whether or not they received chemotherapy, chemotherapy regimen, or hormone therapy, according to the NCCN guidelines. The researchers found that 35% of the women studied received non-guideline chemotherapy (either no chemotherapy although recommended or use of chemotherapy when not recommended), 12% received non-guideline regimens (not treated with the chemotherapy drugs recommended), and 20% received non-guideline hormone therapy.
Significant predictors of non-guideline chemotherapy included Medicaid insurance, high poverty, and treatment at hospitals not accredited as Commission on Cancer (CoC) hospitals by the American College of Surgeons. Predictors of non-guideline regimens of specific chemotherapy drugs included lack of insurance and low education. Predictors of non-guideline hormone therapy included high poverty and treatment at non-CoC hospitals.
Previous studies focused primarily on racial differences and did not examine an association with poverty. This study found that women residing in high-poverty areas were less likely to receive guideline therapy. However, a number of other socioeconomic status factors may also contribute.
While women with Medicaid were less likely to receive guideline chemotherapy compared to women privately insured, uninsured women were not less likely to receive chemotherapy and hormone therapy according to the guidelines. They were, however, less likely to receive the recommended chemotherapy regimens than privately insured women. One of the reasons may be that uninsured women are often younger than privately insured women. Because younger women are more likely to receive chemotherapy than older women, the association may be diluted.
Not surprisingly, women were less likely to receive treatment according to the guidelines in hospitals not accredited by the American College of Surgeons. This is probably due to the multi-specialty approach, comprehensive care, and commitment to ongoing monitoring and improvement of cancer care by CoC hospitals. Women treated at CoC hospitals may also have greater access to oncology consultations.
"Guideline-recommended adjuvant systemic therapies for breast cancer are not disseminated proportionally in the community," notes Dr. Wu, who is also Assistant Director of the LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans' Louisiana Tumor Registry. "Socioeconomically disadvantaged and medically under-served women are less likely to receive guideline therapies. Underlying causes for the disparities need to be identified so we can target interventions to help improve care and cancer prognosis for women across the board."
According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women, excluding cancers of the skin. An estimated 232,620 new cases of breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed this year, with 39,970 deaths.
The study was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Program of Cancer Registries. Besides LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Public Health, the team included researchers from Emory University, Duke University Medical Center, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the University of Kentucky, the University of Wisconsin, and the California Cancer Registry.
"This is an example of how registry data, in conjunction with special studies, can help to ensure quality care for every cancer patient in Louisiana and beyond," concludes Dr. Vivien W. Chen, Professor of Public Health and Director of LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans' Louisiana Tumor Registry.
###
LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans educates Louisiana's health care professionals. The state's academic health leader, LSUHSC comprises a School of Medicine, the state's only School of Dentistry, Louisiana's only public School of Public Health, and Schools of Allied Health Professions, Nursing, and Graduate Studies. LSUHSC faculty take care of patients in public and private hospitals and clinics throughout the region. In the vanguard of biosciences research in a number of areas in a worldwide arena, the LSUHSC research enterprise generates jobs and enormous economic impact, LSUHSC faculty have made lifesaving discoveries and continue to work to prevent, advance treatment, or cure disease. To learn more, visit http://www.lsuhsc.edu and http://www.twitter.com/LSUHSCHealth.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
LSUHSC research finds many women not receiving recommended breast cancer adjuvant treatmentPublic release date: 6-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Leslie Capo lcapo@lsuhsc.edu 504-568-4806 Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center
New Orleans, LA A first-of-its kind study led by Xiao-Cheng Wu, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Public Health at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, reports that a significant number of women are not receiving guideline-recommended treatment for breast cancer and what factors contribute. The research is published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology December 5, 2011 Early Release section.
The research team, which also included Vivien Chen, PhD, Professor and Director of the Louisiana Tumor Registry at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Public Health, explored how race/ethnicity, insurance status, poverty, education, and hospital type were associated with the delivery of guideline-recommended adjuvant systemic therapy for breast cancers. Adjuvant systemic therapies like chemotherapy, a regimen of a group of specific chemotherapy drugs, and hormone therapy often follow an initial treatment like surgery to treat cells that may be too small to be seen and to reduce the chances of recurrence. Decisions about whether or not adjuvant systemic therapies are indicated, and which type, are determined by lymph node status, histology, tumor size, grade, and hormonal receptor status. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines were developed to improve cancer care and survival.
For this very large study of 6,734 women using Pattern of Care data from population-based cancer registries, the researchers grouped women by whether or not they received chemotherapy, chemotherapy regimen, or hormone therapy, according to the NCCN guidelines. The researchers found that 35% of the women studied received non-guideline chemotherapy (either no chemotherapy although recommended or use of chemotherapy when not recommended), 12% received non-guideline regimens (not treated with the chemotherapy drugs recommended), and 20% received non-guideline hormone therapy.
Significant predictors of non-guideline chemotherapy included Medicaid insurance, high poverty, and treatment at hospitals not accredited as Commission on Cancer (CoC) hospitals by the American College of Surgeons. Predictors of non-guideline regimens of specific chemotherapy drugs included lack of insurance and low education. Predictors of non-guideline hormone therapy included high poverty and treatment at non-CoC hospitals.
Previous studies focused primarily on racial differences and did not examine an association with poverty. This study found that women residing in high-poverty areas were less likely to receive guideline therapy. However, a number of other socioeconomic status factors may also contribute.
While women with Medicaid were less likely to receive guideline chemotherapy compared to women privately insured, uninsured women were not less likely to receive chemotherapy and hormone therapy according to the guidelines. They were, however, less likely to receive the recommended chemotherapy regimens than privately insured women. One of the reasons may be that uninsured women are often younger than privately insured women. Because younger women are more likely to receive chemotherapy than older women, the association may be diluted.
Not surprisingly, women were less likely to receive treatment according to the guidelines in hospitals not accredited by the American College of Surgeons. This is probably due to the multi-specialty approach, comprehensive care, and commitment to ongoing monitoring and improvement of cancer care by CoC hospitals. Women treated at CoC hospitals may also have greater access to oncology consultations.
"Guideline-recommended adjuvant systemic therapies for breast cancer are not disseminated proportionally in the community," notes Dr. Wu, who is also Assistant Director of the LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans' Louisiana Tumor Registry. "Socioeconomically disadvantaged and medically under-served women are less likely to receive guideline therapies. Underlying causes for the disparities need to be identified so we can target interventions to help improve care and cancer prognosis for women across the board."
According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women, excluding cancers of the skin. An estimated 232,620 new cases of breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed this year, with 39,970 deaths.
The study was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Program of Cancer Registries. Besides LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Public Health, the team included researchers from Emory University, Duke University Medical Center, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the University of Kentucky, the University of Wisconsin, and the California Cancer Registry.
"This is an example of how registry data, in conjunction with special studies, can help to ensure quality care for every cancer patient in Louisiana and beyond," concludes Dr. Vivien W. Chen, Professor of Public Health and Director of LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans' Louisiana Tumor Registry.
###
LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans educates Louisiana's health care professionals. The state's academic health leader, LSUHSC comprises a School of Medicine, the state's only School of Dentistry, Louisiana's only public School of Public Health, and Schools of Allied Health Professions, Nursing, and Graduate Studies. LSUHSC faculty take care of patients in public and private hospitals and clinics throughout the region. In the vanguard of biosciences research in a number of areas in a worldwide arena, the LSUHSC research enterprise generates jobs and enormous economic impact, LSUHSC faculty have made lifesaving discoveries and continue to work to prevent, advance treatment, or cure disease. To learn more, visit http://www.lsuhsc.edu and http://www.twitter.com/LSUHSCHealth.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Improving on existing systems that only watch a driver's eyes for signs of fatigue, Denso has created a drowsiness level checker that tracks subtle muscle movements over their entire face. Alerting them that they're too tired before they fall asleep. More »
We previewed Hyperkin's SupaBoy back in the summer and loved the idea of toting 'round original SNES games without resorting to Ben Heck-style crafting. The handheld takes full-size cartridges, packs a 3.5-inch screen and a battery that's disappointingly rated for just two point five hours (best keep a power cable handy). It'll also double as a home console: there's an AV-out port and slots for two classic controllers for when you wanna kick it old-school. It's reportedly compatible with titles like Mario World, A Link to the Past and Starwing Starfox, but who needs them when we've got a mint condition copy of Tetris Attack at home? It'll cost you $80 and is available from Amazon as of yesterday -- we suggest you get to practicing blowing the dirt from the connectors, since you'll be doing a lot of it soon.
Rapper and businessman Curtis Jackson, also known as 50 Cent, poses with Paul ?DJ Pauly D? DelVecchio from MTV's "Jersey Shore," at the G-Unit Offices, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011 in New York. DelVecchio signed a record deal with 50 Cent's G-Note record label, which focuses on dance and pop music. (AP Photo/PictureGroup, Brad Barket)
Rapper and businessman Curtis Jackson, also known as 50 Cent, poses with Paul ?DJ Pauly D? DelVecchio from MTV's "Jersey Shore," at the G-Unit Offices, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011 in New York. DelVecchio signed a record deal with 50 Cent's G-Note record label, which focuses on dance and pop music. (AP Photo/PictureGroup, Brad Barket)
NEW YORK (AP) ? He's talked about it, but now Pauly D is officially a member of 50 Cent's music group.
The "Jersey Shore" star officially signed to the rapper's G-Note label Thursday. The label focuses on dance and pop music ? a good fit for Pauly D, since he's known as a DJ as well as a reality star.
He's been working in music since he was 16 and parlayed his success on the MTV hit series into becoming an in-demand DJ. Pauly D even joined Britney Spears for a few dates on her recent "Femme Fatal" tour as an opening act.
A few months ago Pauly D confirmed that he and the rapper were working together.
50 Cent said Pauly D was a "great addition to G-Note and G-Unit family" and called him smart and creative.
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Online:
http://www.g-noterecords.com/
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Alicia Quarles is the AP's global entertainment editor. Follow her at http://www.twitter.com/aliciaquarles
WASHINGTON -- Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) managed to give 562,001 residents of New York's Long Island a reason to regret voting for him in the 2008 presidential race: He declared in a Senate floor debate that their home was "sometimes regrettably" part of the United States.
In a debate Wednesday over a controversial defense bill that would let the military detain Americans indefinitely, McCain pointed to an old case of German soldiers who were captured on Long Island as proof that the Supreme Court has addressed the issue. The case had been cited by Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in a more recent terrorism decision.
"Isn't it true that Justice O'Connor was specifically referring to a case for a person captured on Long Island?" McCain asked Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). "Last I checked, Long Island was part -- albeit sometimes regrettably -- part of the United States of America."
That did not sit well with New York's Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, who quickly tweeted: "All of America saw how heroic Long Islanders were on 9/11. #LongIsland deserves an apology."
McCain then returned to the Senate floor to respond, and took a swipe at Schumer.
"In an exchange here on the floor ... I mentioned the wonderful long people -- wonderful long island, I made a joke," McCain said. "I'm sorry there's at least one of my colleagues that can't take a joke, and so I apologize if I offended him and hope that someday he will have a sense of humor."
Schumer decided not to let it rest.
"NYers can take a joke," he tweeted back. "But if @SenJohnMcCain wants to mock parts of America, stick to Arizona."
McCain was once dubbed "McWeasel" by the New York Daily News for saying he couldn't help an ailing 9/11 recovery worker from Brooklyn, which is also part of Long Island.
NEW YORK (Reuters) ? New York's attorney general is investigating potentially illegal home foreclosures on active-duty members of the U.S. military, according to a person familiar with the probe.
The investigation was sparked by data released earlier this month by the federal Office of the Controller of the Currency, which found thousands of cases of possibly illegal foreclosures, said this person, who did not want to be identified because the probe is not public.
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act protects active-duty service members by postponing or suspending certain civil obligations for mortgage payments, pending trials and eviction from housing.
The probe is part of a broader investigation by the office of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman of major banks' mortgage operations, the person said.
Schneiderman has been a key opponent of a proposed settlement between major banks and a coalition of federal and state officials over claims of foreclosure abuses. Schneiderman has said he opposes a deal that gives banks broad immunity from lawsuits involving their mortgage practices.
Lauren Passalacqua, a spokeswoman for Schneiderman, declined to comment on the military foreclosure probe.
The investigation was reported earlier by the Financial Times.
(Reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)
As you may have heard last week, two US malls (the Promenade Temecula in Southern California and Short Pump Town Center in Richmond, Virginia) decided to conduct a little experiment this holiday shopping season, in which they employed some cellphone-tracking technology in an effort to learn more about individuals' shopping patterns. That technology came from a company called Path Intelligence, which has previously outfitted UK malls with the system, and assures folks that it only detects cellphone signals, not phone numbers or other personal data.
Those assurances apparently weren't enough for US Senator Chuck Schumer, however, who sent letters to both the FTC and the CEO of Path Intelligence, complaining that the tracking was "simply unreasonable," and that a "shopper should not have to choose between the ability to be in touch with friends and family in case of emergency and safeguarding her privacy." While it's unclear if it's in direct response to the Senator's letter, the company that owns both malls has reportedly shut down the tracking systems after only a day of use, although it isn't commenting publicly on the matter just yet. You can find Senator Schumer's full statement at the source link below.
LONDON (AP) ? Britain's inquiry into media ethics says it has summoned a political blogger to testify after evidence due to be submitted by Tony Blair's ex-communications chief was leaked.
The inquiry, led by senior judge Brian Leveson, said Sunday it would call Paul Staines, who blogs under the name Guido Fawkes.
His blog on Sunday published a 16-page document that Blair's former press chief Alistair Campbell was due to submit as evidence ahead of a hearing on Wednesday.
Campbell wrote on his Twitter page that he had been "genuinely shocked" that his written testimony leaked.
In the document, he discusses fears that the cell phones of Blair's wife Cherie, or one of her friends, may have been hacked. However, Campbell acknowledges he does not have evidence to support that fear.
ISLAMABAD ? Pakistan on Saturday blocked vital supply routes for U.S.-led troops in Afghanistan and demanded Washington vacate a base used by American drones after coalition aircraft allegedly killed 24 Pakistani troops at two posts along a mountainous frontier that serves as a safe haven for militants.
The incident was a major blow to American efforts to rebuild an already tattered alliance vital to winding down the 10-year-old Afghan war. Islamabad called the bloodshed in one of its tribal areas a "grave infringement" of the country's sovereignty, and it could make it even more difficult for the U.S. to enlist Pakistan's help in pushing Afghan insurgents to engage in peace talks.
A NATO spokesman said it was likely that coalition airstrikes caused Pakistani casualties, but an investigation was being conducted to determine the details. If confirmed, it would be the deadliest friendly fire incident by NATO against Pakistani troops since the Afghan war began a decade ago.
A prolonged closure of Pakistan's two Afghan border crossings to NATO supplies could cause serious problems for the coalition. The U.S., which is the largest member of the NATO force in Afghanistan, ships more than 30 percent of its non-lethal supplies through Pakistan. The coalition has alternative routes through Central Asia into northern Afghanistan, but they are costlier and less efficient.
Pakistan temporarily closed one of its Afghan crossings to NATO supplies last year after U.S. helicopters accidentally killed two Pakistani soldiers. Suspected militants took advantage of the impasse to launch attacks against stranded or rerouted trucks carrying NATO supplies. The government reopened the border after about 10 days when the U.S. apologized. NATO said at the time the relatively short closure did not significantly affect its ability to keep its troops supplied.
But the reported casualties are much greater this time, and the relationship between Pakistan and the U.S. has severely deteriorated over the last year, especially following the covert American raid that killed Osama bin Laden in a Pakistani garrison town in May. Islamabad was outraged it wasn't told about the operation beforehand.
The government announced it closed its border crossings to NATO in a statement issued after an emergency meeting of the Cabinet's defense committee chaired by Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.
It also said that within 15 days the U.S. must vacate Shamsi Air Base, which is located in southwestern Baluchistan province. The U.S. uses the base to service drones that target al-Qaida and Taliban militants in Pakistan's tribal region when they cannot return to their bases inside Afghanistan because of weather conditions or mechanical difficulty, said U.S. and Pakistani officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive strategic matters.
The government also plans to review all diplomatic, military and intelligence cooperation with the U.S. and other NATO forces, according to the statement issued after the defense committee meeting.
The White House said that senior U.S. civilian and military officials had expressed their condolences to their Pakistani counterparts.
The White House statement said the officials expressed "our desire to work together to determine what took place, and our commitment to the U.S.-Pakistan partnership which advances our shared interests, including fighting terrorism in the region."
The White House statement did not address Pakistan's decision to block supply routes for the war in Afghanistan or its demand that the U.S. vacate the drone base.
The Pakistani army said Saturday that NATO helicopters and fighter jets carried out an "unprovoked" attack on two of its border posts in the Mohmand tribal area before dawn, killing 24 soldiers and wounding 13 others. The troops responded in self-defense "with all available weapons," an army statement said.
Pakistan army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani condemned the attack, calling it a "blatant and unacceptable act," according to the statement.
A spokesman for NATO forces, Brig. Gen. Carsten Jacobson, said Afghan and coalition troops were operating in the border area of eastern Afghanistan when "a tactical situation" prompted them to call in close air support. It is "highly likely" that the airstrikes caused Pakistani casualties, he told BBC television.
"My most sincere and personal heartfelt condolences go out to the families and loved ones of any members of Pakistan security forces who may have been killed or injured," said Gen. John Allen, the top overall commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, in a statement.
The border issue is a major source of tension between Islamabad and Washington, which is committed to withdrawing its combat troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014.
Much of the violence in Afghanistan is carried out by insurgents who are based just across the border in Pakistan. Coalition forces are not allowed to cross the frontier to attack the militants. However, the militants sometimes fire artillery and rockets across the line, reportedly from locations close to Pakistani army posts.
American officials have repeatedly accused Pakistani forces of supporting ? or turning a blind eye ? to militants using its territory for cross-border attacks. But militants based in Afghanistan have also been attacking Pakistan recently, prompting complaints from Islamabad.
The two posts that were attacked Saturday were located about 1,000 feet apart on a mountain top and were set up recently to stop Pakistani Taliban militants holed up in Afghanistan from crossing the border and staging attacks, said local government and security officials.
There was no militant activity in the area when the alleged NATO attack occurred, local officials said. Some of the soldiers were standing guard, while others were asleep, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
Pakistan army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said map references of all of the force's border posts have been given to NATO several times.
Pakistan's prime minister summoned U.S. Ambassador Cameron Munter to protest the alleged NATO strike, according to a Foreign Ministry statement. It said the attack was a "grave infringement of Pakistan's sovereignty" and could have serious repercussions on Pakistan's cooperation with NATO.
Munter said in a statement that he regretted any Pakistani deaths and promised to work closely with Islamabad to investigate the incident.
The U.S., Pakistan, and Afghan militaries have long wrestled with the technical difficulties of patrolling a border that in many places is disputed or poorly marked. Saturday's incident took place a day after a meeting between NATO's Gen. Allen and Pakistan army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in Islamabad to discuss border operations.
The meeting tackled "coordination, communication and procedures ... aimed at enhancing border control on both sides," according to a statement from the Pakistani side.
The U.S. helicopter attack that killed two Pakistani soldiers on Sept. 30 of last year took place south of Mohmand in the Kurram tribal area. A joint U.S.-Pakistan investigation found that Pakistani soldiers fired at the two U.S. helicopters prior to the attack, a move the investigation team said was likely meant to notify the aircraft of their presence after they passed into Pakistani airspace several times.
A U.S. airstrike in June 2008 reportedly killed 11 Pakistani paramilitary troops during a clash between militants and coalition forces in the tribal region.
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Associated Press writers Anwarullah Khan in Khar, Pakistan, Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan, Matiullah Achakzai in Chaman and Deb Riechmann in Kabul, Afghanistan, contributed to this report.
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Public release date: 6-Dec-2011
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