Hyping H1N1: Did It Create A Dangerous Flu Fatigue?

(Feb। 27) -- With the World Health Organization warning yet again this week that the H1N1 virus has yet to reach its peak, a flu season that's milder than average hardly seems that way. Now, the nearly yearlong coverage of H1N1 has left some worried that future influenza outbreaks will be met with ambivalent flu fatigue among the public. "It's inevitable that there's H1N1 fatigue," Dr. Robert Daum, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Chicago Medical Center, told AOL
http://www.aolnews.com/health/article/did-hyping-h1n1-create-a-dangerous-flu-fatigue/19371651

Obama urges consensus as US leaders debate healthcare

Differences have emerged as President Barack Obama urged top Republicans and Democrats to focus on agreements at a six-hour televised healthcare summit.

He urged 40 congressional Democrats and Republicans in Washington DC to avoid political theatre, as part of a fresh bid to save his troubled reform plans.

For the first time, Mr Obama offered his own version of a healthcare plan on Monday.

But Republicans say the plan is not acceptable and a fresh start is needed.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8536469.stm

Government was told of Toyota claims in ’04

DETROIT/LOS ANGELES - The largest U।S. auto insurer alerted regulators earlier than first believed about a worrying trend of accidents involving Toyota Motor Corp vehicles, while the Obama administration's top transportation official said on Friday he would not relax pressure on the carmaker.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35488499/ns/business-autos/

Microsoft offers web browser choice to IE users

Millions of European Internet Explorer (IE) users will have the option to choose an alternative browser from 1 March, Microsoft has announced.
It follows a legal agreement between Microsoft and Europe's Competition Commission in December 2009.
Microsoft committed to letting Windows PC users across Europe install the web browser of their choice, rather than having Microsoft IE as a default.
Figures suggest that over half the world's internet users have IE.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8524019.stm

Blame game over giddy China savings takes a twist

BEIJING (Reuters) - Greece's big budget deficit has plunged the euro zone into crisis, while rating agencies wonder whether Washington's fiscal profligacy could one day cost the United States its AAA rating।
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61E31Z20100215

Belgian train crash: Eighteen people dead in Halle

Eighteen people have been killed in a head-on collision between two passenger trains in Belgium, although the death toll could rise.
Railway officials said the trains collided during the morning rush hour at Halle, south-west of Brussels. One reportedly missed a stop signal.
"The devastation is enormous," said an official, as bloodied passengers were helped from the wrecked carriages.
Rail services to south-western Belgium, Paris and London were cancelled.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8515855.stm

Oil industry cautious on future

LONDON – The oil industry expects a difficult road ahead as it struggles to recover from the global economic downturn and is forced to juggle rising demand from developing countries against requirements for cleaner energy.
Oil executives and analysts meeting in London on Monday said the industry was at a crossroads as it emerges out of a rout that sent crude prices tumbling from a record high of $150 in July 2008 to under $40 a barrel at the peak of the financial turmoil।
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100215/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_britain_oil_outlook;_ylt=As6JcCiMStJLNURFOUeJdHGyBhIF;_ylu=X3oDMTJuZHAzdGVyBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwMjE1L2V1X2JyaXRhaW5fb2lsX291dGxvb2sEY3BvcwMyBHBvcwM2BHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA29pbGluZHVzdHJ5Yw--

Oil industry cautious on future

LONDON – The oil industry expects a difficult road ahead as it struggles to recover from the global economic downturn and is forced to juggle rising demand from developing countries against requirements for cleaner energy.
Oil executives and analysts meeting in London on Monday said the industry was at a crossroads as it emerges out of a rout that sent crude prices tumbling from a record high of $150 in July 2008 to under $40 a barrel at the peak of the financial turmoil।
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100215/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_britain_oil_outlook;_ylt=As6JcCiMStJLNURFOUeJdHGyBhIF;_ylu=X3oDMTJuZHAzdGVyBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwMjE1L2V1X2JyaXRhaW5fb2lsX291dGxvb2sEY3BvcwMyBHBvcwM2BHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA29pbGluZHVzdHJ5Yw--

Windows Phone 7 Partners Congratulate Microsoft

BARCELONA—Microsoft seemed to drag everyone they could find into their Windows Phone 7 announcement, including all four U.S. carriers and a slew of manufacturers. We asked some of them for their self-congratulatory quotes about the new platform, and a few रेस्पोंदेद
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2359364,00.asp

Windows Phone 7 Partners Congratulate Microsoft

BARCELONA—Microsoft seemed to drag everyone they could find into their Windows Phone 7 announcement, including all four U.S. carriers and a slew of manufacturers. We asked some of them for their self-congratulatory quotes about the new platform, and a few रेस्पोंदेद
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2359364,00.asp

Astronauts Take 2nd Spacewalk to Hook up Plumbing

pair of spacewalking astronauts hooked up plumbing on the newest room of the International Space Station, enabling it to come alive with power Sunday.

In this image provided by NASA the Tranquility module is transferred late Thursday evening Feb. 11,...
In this image provided by NASA the Tranquility module is transferred late Thursday evening Feb. 11, 2010 from its stowage position in space shuttle Endeavour's payload bay in the grasp of the station's Canadarm2 to position it on the port side of the Unity node of the International Space Station. Tranquility was locked in place with 16 remotely-controlled bolts. Earth's horizon and the blackness of space provide the backdrop for the scene. (AP Photo/NASA) (AP)
It was the second excursion in three days for Robert Behnken and Nicholas Patrick. They have one more spacewalk to finish installing the Tranquility room and its attached observation deck, the last major building blocks of the 11-year-old space station. Endeavour carried up the pieces last week.
With the throw of a few switches, Behnken and Patrick got ammonia coolant flowing through the hoses, midway through their spacewalk. That, in turn, got Tranquility surging with power; most of its systems could not be turned without a way to get rid of the heat generated by the equipment inside.
It was unwieldy work because of the extra-long hoses and potentially hazardous because of the ammonia coolant.
In fact, frozen bits of ammonia shot out at Patrick as he undid अ
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=9832314

Health Department offering free H1N1 vaccines today in the mall

The Cascade City-County Health Department will offer the vaccinations for free from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at the Holiday Village Mall at the bottom of the Scheels escalator.
This has been an unusual year for the flu, according to health officials

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20100213/NEWS01/2130311/1002/news01

Enough already: Snow breaks mid-Atlantic records

WASHINGTON – Worst winter ever? The second blizzard in less than a week buried the most populous stretch of the East Coast under nearly a foot of snow Wednesday, breaking records for the snowiest winter and demoralizing millions of people still trying to dig out from the previous storm.
Conditions in the nation's capital were so bad that even plows were advised to get off the roads, and forecasters were eyeing a third storm that could be brewing for next week.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100211/ap_on_re_us/us_winter_weather;_ylt=Ag6LglARJ8.Xdb_NKYWvhKKs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNoOXYwbmppBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwMjExL3VzX3dpbnRlcl93ZWF0aGVyBGNjb2RlA21vc3Rwb3B1bGFyBGNwb3MDMQRwb3MDMgRwdANob21lX2Nva2UEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDZW5vdWdoYWxyZWFk

Google to build ultra-high-speed Internet networks

Trying to speed up Internet service across the nation, Google said Wednesday that it plans to develop an experimental broadband system in one or more communities that would stream Web-based content more than 100 times faster than what is commonly available to Americans today.
The company was vague about many details of the plan, including when it might be built and how much a customer might have to pay, saying only that "we plan to offer service at a competitive price to at least 50,000 and potentially up to 500,000 people।"
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_14373150

Google takes on Facebook and Twitter with network site

Google has taken the wraps off its latest social network known as Buzz.
The service - integrated directly with its e-mail service Gmail - allows users to post status updates, share content and read and comment on friends' posts.
The site pitches Google directly against rival networks such as Facebook, which has amassed nearly 400 million users since its launch in 2004.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8506148.stm

Coca-Cola Profit Rises as Sales Gain in India, China (Update1)

By Duane D. Stanford
Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Coca-Cola Co., the world’s largest soft-drink maker, said fourth-quarter profit gained 55 percent as volume sales grew in markets including China and India. The shares rose in early U.S. trading.
Net income increased to $1।54 billion, or 66 cents a share, from $995 million, or 43 cents, a year earlier, the Atlanta- based company said today in a statement. Earnings per share equaled the average of nine analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-02-09/coca-cola-profit-meets-estimates-as-sales-gain-in-india-china.html

Toyota recalls thousands of Prius cars worldwide

Toyota has announced the recall of about 436,000 hybrid vehicles worldwide, including its latest Prius model, to fix brake problems.
It includes more than 200,000 Prius cars sold in Japan and 8,500 cars in the UK.
"We have decided to recall as we regard safety for our customers as our foremost priority," the firm said.
The company has already recalled eight million vehicles because of accelerator and floor mat problems.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8505402.stm

Abstinence ed, minus the morals, may work

CHICAGO - An experimental abstinence-only program without a moralistic tone can delay teens from having sex, a provocative study found.
Billed as the first rigorous research to show long-term success with an abstinence-only approach, the study differed from traditional programs that have lost federal and state support in recent years। The classes didn’t preach saving sex until marriage or disparage condom use.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35186417/ns/health-sexual_health/

France Concorde crash trial set to begin

US airline Continental and five individuals go on trial in France later over the crash of an Air France Concorde nearly 10 years ago.
The jet took off in flames from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport and crashed minutes later, killing 113 people.
An official report said Concorde had hit a metal strip from a Continental plane that had taken off earlier.
But Continental's lawyers say they can prove the supersonic jet caught fire before it struck the titanium strip.
The stricken Concorde flight 4590 crashed in the town of Gonesse in July 2000, hitting a hotel and killing four people there as well as all 109 on board।
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8492561.stm