(Reuters) - Cisco Systems Inc said it will buy Israeli software maker Intucell for about $475 million in cash to expand its mobile network management offerings.
Privately held Intucell makes software that helps mobile carriers manage cellular networks automatically.
(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bangalore; Editing by Maju Samuel)
LONDON (AP) — The head of cycling's governing body has been replaced on a key International Olympic Committee panel as he deals with the fallout from the Lance Armstrong doping scandal.
International Cycling Union President Pat McQuaid said Wednesday he was too busy to attend all the meetings of the Olympic commission evaluating bids for the 2020 Summer Games.
"It's quite simple," McQuaid told The Associated Press. "I have too much going on and I can't afford to be spending two weeks away from the office in March."
McQuaid, an IOC member from Ireland, was appointed to the 10-person commission in September as the representative of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations. He has been replaced by Patrick Baumann, a Swiss IOC member and secretary general of international basketball federation FIBA.
"He couldn't meet the schedule and we had to find someone else," IOC vice president Craig Reedie, who chairs the evaluation commission, told the AP. "That's all. There's nothing sensitive about it in any way."
The IOC panel is assessing the 2020 bids from Madrid, Tokyo and Istanbul. The commission will pay four-day visits to each city in March and compile a detailed report ahead of a special briefing with the candidates in July in Lausanne, Switzerland. The IOC will choose the host city Sept. 7 in Buenos Aires.
McQuaid told the IOC he would be unable to go on the visits to all three cities.
"I contacted ASOIF, because I was their representative, and suggested that they find a replacement," McQuaid said.
It's not the only position McQuaid has relinquished in recent months. He lost his spots on the World Anti-Doping Agency executive committee and foundation board at the end of the year. He was replaced by Ugur Erdener of Turkey.
McQuaid and former UCI president Hein Verbruggen have come under scrutiny in the wake of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency report that detailed systematic doping by Armstrong and his teams. Armstrong has been stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned from sports for life.
The report included allegations by Armstrong's former teammates that he paid the UCI $125,000 to cover up a positive test from the 2001 Tour of Switzerland. While admitting to doping in his interview last week with Oprah Winfrey, Armstrong confirmed making a donation to the UCI but denied the 2001 positive test and any cover up.
"That story isn't true. There was no positive test. No paying off of the lab. The UCI did not make that go away. I'm no fan of the UCI," Armstrong told Winfrey.
McQuaid and Verbruggen both said the interview vindicated them and the UCI of any improper collusion with Armstrong. However, WADA director general David Howman said Armstrong's financial donation to UCI was inappropriate and the matter needs to be clarified.
The UCI has set up an independent commission to investigate the doping scandal and the federation's links with Armstrong. McQuaid and Verbruggen are expected to meet with the three-member commission during its scheduled April 9-26 hearing in London.
Other members of the 2020 Olympic evaluation commission include IOC members Guy Drut of France, Frank Fredericks of Namibia, Nat Indrapana of Thailand and Claudia Bokel of Germany; El Salvador Olympic committee head Eduardo Palomo; Paralympics representative Andrew Parsons of Brazil; and IOC executive director Gilbert Felli.
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AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed to this report.
PARK CITY, Utah (Reuters) – In a world where men rule the voice-over industry, actress Lake Bell brings a tale of women versus men and old versus new in her directorial debut comedy.
“In A World,” which premiered at the Sundance Film festival this week, follows voice-over artist Carol (Bell) attempting to follow in the daunting footsteps of her father (Fred Melamed), a famous and respected voice who is struggling to stay relevant as new talent emerges.
Written and directed by Bell, 33, who is best known for supporting roles in movies such as “No Strings Attached” and “What Happens in Vegas,” “In A World” is a quirky comedy with an unlikely heroine.
Bell talked to Reuters about the struggles of being in the voice-over world, her disdain for women with “sexy baby” voices, and what her superhero power would be.
Q: What drew you to the voice-over world for your film?
A: “I always envisioned that I was going to be one of the great voice-over artists. I thought I was going to kill it when I got to Hollywood. Since I was a kid, I loved accents, I collected them … I would manipulate my voice to make people laugh all the time. I liked this idea of being a blind voice – you could be any ethnicity, you could be from any country, you could be any race. I thought it was so cool that you wouldn’t be judged by who you are.”
Q: Your character, Carol, has to struggle with being a woman trying to break into the male-dominated world. Is that echoing the real-life industry?
A: “I started getting into the idea of the omniscient voice, the people who announce and tell you what to buy or how you should think about things, they help form your opinions. These random people from the sky, they always were male, and I thought it was an interesting subject to attack because why aren’t there any ladies? What are we, not omniscient? Are we not God?”
Q: How much of your own career struggles are reflected in Carol’s story?
A: “What’s interesting about Carol’s message is that she is a woman trying to find her voice, literally and also figuratively. As a filmmaker, I’m definitely embarking on this really beautiful journey of finding what my comedic voice is or what my filmic voice is.
“I’m lucky enough to have friends who took a chance on me and be in this film with me and respect me enough to let me direct them to do something different than maybe they’ve ever done before. There’s definitely parallels in feeling like I’m finding my own voice.”
Q: Was this an autobiographical film for you?
A: “It’s not anymore. Draft one is autobiographical, but by draft 25, it’s something else after so many rewrites, it takes on its own life. That’s what’s so cool about writing, you never know where it’s going to lead. I often like to write when I’m acting in something else because then I can show up and be part of the machine and be around creative people, and then come home and go off into different worlds in my head.”
Q: What do you want people to take away from watching this?
A: “I would hope in a fantasy world that the message is, people would somehow become aware of their own voice and respect it, because it’s a privilege. Women are plagued by the “sexy baby” vocal virus that is taken on, that is rampant in this nation. I just think that people should take themselves more seriously and give themselves a little more credit.”
Q: Do you have a dream role you’d like to play?
A: “The dream role is that I’m a superhero. I want to be a superhero … I want to have a superhero outfit because I like dressing up a lot. That would be fun.”
Q: What would your superhero power be?
A: “Right now, it’d be quelling the ‘sexy baby’ (voices) of the world and extinguishing them.”
(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy, editing by Jill Serjeant and Christopher Wilson)
Movies News Headlines – Yahoo! News
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City's limit on the size of sugary drinks is an "extraordinary infringement" on consumer choice, a lawyer for the American Beverage Association and other critics said in court on Wednesday.
"New Yorkers do not want to be told what to drink," attorney James Brandt told Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice Milton Tingling.
Opponents also are raising questions of racial fairness alongside other complaints as the novel restriction faces a court test.
The NAACP's New York state branch and the Hispanic Federation have joined beverage makers and sellers in trying to stop the rule from taking effect March 12. Critics are attacking what they call an inconsistent and undemocratic regulation, while city officials and health experts defend it as a pioneering and proper move to fight obesity.
The issue is complex for the minority advocates, especially given that obesity rates are higher than average among blacks and Hispanics, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The groups say in court papers they're concerned about the discrepancy, but the soda rule will unduly harm minority businesses and "freedom of choice in low-income communities."
The latest in a line of healthy-eating initiatives during Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration, the beverage rule bars restaurants and many other eateries from selling high-sugar drinks in cups or containers bigger than 16 ounces. Violations could bring $200 fines; the city doesn't plan to start imposing those until June.
The city Board of Health approved the measure in September. Officials cited the city's rising obesity rate — about 24 percent of adults, up from 18 percent in 2002 — and pointed to studies linking sugary drinks to weight gain. Care for obesity-related illnesses costs more than $4.7 billion a year citywide, with government programs paying about 60 percent of that, according to city Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley.
"It would be irresponsible for (the health board) not to act in the face of an epidemic of this proportion," the city says in court papers. The National Association of Local Boards of Health and several public health scholars have backed the city's position in filings of their own.
Opponents portray the regulation as government nagging that turns sugary drinks into a scapegoat when many factors are at play in the nation's growing girth.
The American Beverage Association and other groups, including movie theater owners and Korean grocers, sued. They argue that the first-of-its-kind restriction should have gone before the elected City Council instead of being approved by the Bloomberg-appointed health board.
Five City Council members echo that view in a court filing, saying the Council is "the proper forum for balancing the city's myriad interests in matters of public health." The Bloomberg administration counters that the health board, made up of doctors and other health professionals, has the "specialized expertise" needed to make the call on limiting cola sizes.
The lawsuit also argues the rule is too narrow to be fair. Alcohol, unsweetened juice and milk-based drinks are excluded, as are supermarkets and many convenience stores — including 7-Eleven, home of the Big Gulp — that aren't subject to city health regulations.
The NAACP and the Hispanic Federation, a network of 100 northeastern groups, say minority-owned delis and corner stores will end up at a disadvantage compared to grocery chains.
"This sweeping regulation will no doubt burden and disproportionally impact minority-owned businesses at a time when these businesses can least afford it," they said in court papers. They say the city should focus instead on increasing physical education in schools.
During Bloomberg's 11-year tenure, the city also has made chain restaurants post calorie counts on their menus and barred artificial trans fats in french fries and other restaurant food.
In general, state and local governments have considerable authority to enact laws intended to protect people's health and safety, but it remains to be seen how a court will view a portion-size restriction, said Neal Fortin, director, Institute for Food Laws and Regulations at Michigan State University.
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Follow Jennifer Peltz at http://twitter.com/jennpeltz
NEW YORK (AP) — AMC says "Mad Men" will return for its new season on April 7.
AMC announced Wednesday that the two-hour premiere kicks off the acclaimed drama series' sixth season. The episode was written by "Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner.
"Mad Men" is set in the advertising world of circa-1960s New York City and stars Jon Hamm as agency exec Don Draper. Other stars include January Jones, Elisabeth Moss, John Slattery and Christina Hendricks.
Hotel occupancy rose to 75.2 percent, up from 72.2 percent in 2011, according to an announcement by Choose Chicago, the city's tourism and convention agency, and Mayor Rahm Emanuel. The 2012 level matched a previous record set in 2007.
Hotel operators also saw increases in two other key measures, though those remain slightly below their peaks. The average daily room rate rose to $187.27, from $177.33 in 2011. And the revenue per available room, a key indicator of profitability, increased by 10 percent to $140.76.
The data comes from STR Global, with analysis by Choose Chicago.
Among the factors affecting performance, officials said, was a more aggressive marketing strategy. They cited Choose Chicago's regional advertising campaigns. An eight-week winter and 12-week summer campaign, at a combined cost of $2 million, targeted Cincinnati, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, Milwaukee and St. Louis.
The improved performance, along with a hike in the city's hotel tax rate, brought the city's hotel tax revenue to more than $100 million for the first time. This was an increase of $25 million, or 33 percent, from 2011.
The city share of the hotel tax increased by 1 percentage point last year, bringing the total Chicago hotel tax rate to 16.39 percent. The city's share of that is 4.5 percentage points.
kbergen@tribune.com | Twitter@kathy_bergen
A fire in a high-rise residential building on the South Side injured three people. (Source: CBS Chicago)
Two men and a woman were seriously injured when an extra-alarm fire broke out in a high-rise on South Shore Drive this morning.
The men suffered full cardiac arrest, apparently from breathing in smoke, according to Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford. "We don't know, but it could be bad," he said.
The woman was found in the lobby of the building in the 6700 block of South Shore Drive, also in full cardiac arrest, he said. Paramedics were able to revive her with CPR and took her to a hospital, Langford said.
The fire broke out around 8:40 a.m. and was quickly raised to a 3-11 alarm with a call for at least 10 ambulances, officials said. Firefighters on a ladder battled the blaze on the seventh floor while firefighters on another ladder tried to reach residents on balconies on the other side of the building.
Two of the victims were taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center and the third to Jackson Park Hospital and Medical Center.
Langford said the fire may have started in the bedroom of an apartment on the 7th floor. The blaze spread to an apartment on the 8th floor, he said. The fire was under control by 9:25 a.m.
Edward Parks, 48, said he was sleeping in his 11th floor apartment when the fire alarm went off. Parks said he grabbed the warmest clothes he could find and joined other residents in the hall.
"It was real cloudy in the halls when I went out to see what was happening," Parks said, his mustache covered in icicles. "There was a fireman in the hall. It was an orderly exit."
Parks, who has lived in the building for five years, said he had been standing outside for more than an hour in the freezing weather.
Jevon Smith, 30, lives on the 5th floor and said he was at a neighbor's apartment when he saw the fire from a window. "There were huge flames coming from three apartments," Smith said. "I'm glad I wasn't home - just hope no one was hurt."
"This cold is brutal," Smith said, rubbing his hands together.
Jay Fizer, 20 was sleeping in his 10th floor apartment when smoke alarms started going off. "Next thing I know, I open the door and hear a little panic and whatever. . .We just grabbed our stuff and got out of there."
Fizer said a "big old wind of smoke just came out of nowhere" as soon as he and a few other residents got about halfway down the stairs. But they made it to the first floor exit.
"We did it on our own," Fizer said. "No help. Just God."
This is "the worst time for this to happen," he said, standing outside the building in nearly subzero temperatures.
The fire department did not order an evacuation of the building, telling residents it was safer to stay in their apartments, Langford said. Firefighters then went door to door, checking on them.
Water from hoses and hydrants had turned to sheets of ice around the building. Dozens of fire trucks, ambulances and police cars lined South Shore Drive.
An American Red Cross team was on the scene to help find shelter for families displaced by the fire, spokeswoman Patricia Kemp said.
Kemp said the crisis team would likely be meeting the injured residents and their families at the hospital. "We'll also be replacing some items lost in the fire," Kemp said.
chicagobreaking@tribune.com
Twitter: @ChicagoBreaking
LONDON (Reuters) - Witnessing friends' vacations, love lives and work successes on Facebook can cause envy and trigger feelings of misery and loneliness, according to German researchers.
A study conducted jointly by two German universities found rampant envy on Facebook, the world's largest social network that now has over one billion users and has produced an unprecedented platform for social comparison.
The researchers found that one in three people felt worse after visiting the site and more dissatisfied with their lives, while people who browsed without contributing were affected the most.
"We were surprised by how many people have a negative experience from Facebook with envy leaving them feeling lonely, frustrated or angry," researcher Hanna Krasnova from the Institute of Information Systems at Berlin's Humboldt University told Reuters.
"From our observations some of these people will then leave Facebook or at least reduce their use of the site," said Krasnova, adding to speculation that Facebook could be reaching saturation point in some markets.
Researchers from Humboldt University and from Darmstadt's Technical University found vacation photos were the biggest cause of resentment with more than half of envy incidents triggered by holiday snaps on Facebook.
Social interaction was the second most common cause of envy as users could compare how many birthday greetings they received to those of their Facebook friends and how many "likes" or comments were made on photos and postings.
"Passive following triggers invidious emotions, with users mainly envying happiness of others, the way others spend their vacations and socialize," the researchers said in the report "Envy on Facebook: A Hidden Threat to Users' Life Satisfaction?" released on Tuesday.
"The spread and ubiquitous presence of envy on Social Networking Sites is shown to undermine users' life satisfaction."
They found people aged in their mid-30s were most likely to envy family happiness while women were more likely to envy physical attractiveness.
These feelings of envy were found to prompt some users to boast more about their achievements on the site run by Facebook Inc. to portray themselves in a better light.
Men were shown to post more self-promotional content on Facebook to let people know about their accomplishments while women stressed their good looks and social lives.
The researchers based their findings on two studies involving 600 people with the results to be presented at a conference on information systems in Germany in February.
The first study looked at the scale, scope and nature of envy incidents triggered by Facebook and the second at how envy was linked to passive use of Facebook and life satisfaction.
The researchers said the respondents in both studies were German but they expected the findings to hold internationally as envy is a universal feeling and possibly impact Facebook usage.
"From a provider's perspective, our findings signal that users frequently perceive Facebook as a stressful environment, which may, in the long-run, endanger platform sustainability," the researchers concluded.
(Reporting by Belinda Goldsmith, editing by Paul Casciato)
NEW YORK (AP) — Sean Payton is back as coach of the New Orleans Saints.
Payton's season-long suspension for his role in the Saints' bounty program was lifted by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday, nearly two weeks earlier than expected.
The decision allows Payton to attend the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., on Saturday, where some of the top college players available for the NFL draft will be competing.
Payton, along with assistant head coach Joe Vitt, general manager Mickey Loomis, and four players including Jonathan Vilma, was suspended after an investigation found the club had a performance pool offering cash rewards for key plays, including big hits. The player suspensions eventually were overturned.
"I clearly recognize that mistakes were made, which led to league violations," Payton said in a statement. "Furthermore, I have assured the commissioner a more diligent protocol will be followed."
The suspension was scheduled to end after the Super Bowl on Feb. 3, but was moved up after Payton and Goodell met on Monday.
"Coach Payton acknowledged in the meeting his responsibility for the actions of his coaching staff and players and pledged to uphold the highest standards of the NFL and ensure that his staff and players do so as well," Goodell said in a statement. "'Sean fully complied with all the requirements imposed on him during his suspension.
"More important, it is clear that Sean understands and accepts his responsibilities as a head coach and the vital role that coaches play in promoting player safety and setting an example for how the game should be played at all levels."
Saints owner Tom Benson welcomed back his coach.
"We are all thankful that Sean Payton has been reinstated," Benson said. "We have a lot of work to do and we are in the middle of it right now."
There remains one outstanding issue for the Saints stemming from the bounty probe: What will become of the Saints' second pick next spring. As part of the bounty punishment, Goodell fined the Saints $500,000 and took away second-round picks in 2012 and 2013. However, Goodell left open the possibility of restoring the 2013 second-rounder and instead docking the team a later-round pick if he is satisfied with the club's level of cooperation in the bounty matter.
What the Saints do know is that the 49-year-old Payton is set to return to New Orleans for the next five seasons. Earlier this month he signed a contract extension running through the 2017 season.
The coach is the last person punished in the bounty probe to return to work. Before Tuesday, Payton had not been at work since mid-April, when Goodell rejected the coach's appeal of his suspension.
Loomis was suspended for eight games, Vitt for six and former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams remains suspended indefinitely
Vilma and current Saints defensive lineman Will Smith, along with former Saints Scott Fujita and Anthony Hargrove, were given suspensions of various lengths, but never served a game. Their punishments were overturned after lengthy appeals which also coincided with exhaustive litigation in federal court.
The litigation included Vilma's defamation lawsuit against Goodell, which was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Ginger Berrigan last week.
Payton has guided the most successful period in the franchise's history, leading the Saints to three NFC South division titles and four postseason appearances. Two of his teams advanced to the NFC Championship and the 2009 squad won Super Bowl XLIV.
He is the only coach in Saints history to win a Super Bowl. But his legacy was tarnished by the NFL's bounty probe, as Goodell ruled that Payton failed to exert proper institutional control over a cash-for-hits bounty program run by Williams from 2009-2011.
Although the Saints objected to the characterization of what coaches and players have said was nothing more than a performance pool for big plays, Goodell suspended Payton for the entire season.
Payton is 62-34 in regular-season games as Saints coach and 5-3 in the postseason. During the three seasons before his suspension, the Saints won 41 regular-season and playoff games combined, more than any other team in the NFL.
Payton has primarily handled the offense in New Orleans, teaming up with quarterback Drew Brees to break numerous NFL and club records. The single-season NFL records set by the Saints in 2011 included yards passing by a team (5,505) and a quarterback (5,476). The Saints also set a record for total offensive yards with 7,474.
Without Payton on the sideline this season, the Saints missed the playoffs for the first time since 2008. Brees remained prolific, but his 18 interceptions also tied for a league high heading into the final weekend of the season.
LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – Relativity Media has acquired Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s directorial debut “Don Jon’s Addiction” for $ 4 million, an individual with knowledge of the deal told TheWrap.
The film premiered at Sundance on Friday to great fanfare, and several distributors have been bidding for it.
Relativity won out with a substantial financial commitment and plans for a wide theatrical release this year. It will support the movie with prints and advertising, with the commitment at $ 25 million, an individual told TheWrap.
That would make it the biggest deal from the festival so far.
The film follows Gordon-Levitt – who also wrote and stars in the film – as a lady’s man with a porn addiction. Dissatisfied with his life, he sets out on a Don Juan-esque quest to find love and a more satisfying sex life.
Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Rob Brown, Tony Danza and Glenne Headly also star in the film.
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