Murray edges Federer, reaches Australian final

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Andy Murray has finally beaten Roger Federer at a Grand Slam.

The U.S. Open champion beat 17-time major winner Federer 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2 Friday at the Australian Open, calling it a massive confidence boost as he attempts to win his second consecutive major.

Murray, who missed his chance to serve out the match at 6-5 in the fourth set, will play defending champion and top-seeded Novak Djokovic in Sunday's final. Djokovic cruised past David Ferrer in straight sets in just under 90 minutes — 2 1/2 hours less than Murray's semifinal.

Advantage Djokovic.

There was some controversy in that 12th game of the fourth set when Federer appeared to glare and say something to Murray when the Scotsman stopped momentarily behind the baseline during the rally.

Murray ignored it after winning the point, but conceded serve in that game and lost the ensuing tiebreaker before regrouping in the fifth set.

"I mean, it wasn't a big deal," Federer said. "We just looked at each other one time. That's OK, I think. We were just checking each other out for bit. That wasn't a big deal for me — I hope not for him."

While Murray came into the match with a 10-9 career advantage, Murray had never beaten Federer in their three previous meetings at a major — the finals of the 2008 U.S. Open, 2010 Australian Open and last year at Wimbledon.

"It's always tough against him, when he plays in Slams is when he plays his best tennis," Murray said. "When his back was against the wall at 6-5 and I was serving, he came up with some unbelievable shots. I just had to keep fighting."

On Saturday, defending champion Victoria Azarenka will play Li Na of China for the women's singles title. Azaranka needs to win to retain her No. 1 ranking or it will go to Serena Williams.

Also, American brothers Bob and Mike Bryan will play their fifth consecutive Australian Open doubles final and attempt to win a record 13th Grand Slam doubles championship. They'll play the Dutch pair of Robin Haase and Igor Sijsling.

Federer outplayed Murray at stages of the match, but the 25-year-old Scotsman appeared to have the legs and stamina over the 31-year-old Federer in the fifth set, including a service break to clinch the tense match.

"It's big. I never beat Roger in a Slam before. It definitely will help with the confidence," Murray said. "Just knowing you can win against those guys in big matches definitely helps."

Federer said he was playing catch-up all night.

"Definitely it was more of a chase," Federer said. "I think I had my chances a little bit. Obviously, you're going to go through a five-setter with some regrets. But overall, I think Andy was a bit better than I was tonight."

Murray refused to elaborate on the details of the exchange in the fourth set.

"Stuff like that happens daily in tennis matches ... it was very, very mild in comparison to what happens in other sports," Murray said. "It's just one of those things."

Murray said while the outburst didn't "rattle" him, it might have helped Federer get back in the match.

"I think he raised his game, and that's what happens," he said. "Sometimes guys need to get emotion into the match. He definitely raised his level ... in that game I think he hit two balls onto the line and was extremely aggressive after that."

Asked again what Federer had said, Murray reiterated he didn't feel it was "relevant."

"I'm sure Roger won't talk about it and I have no interest in discussing it either, because, like I say, it happens all the time," he said. "People will want to make a big deal of it and it isn't really a big deal.

"It's a very late finish, I'm tired. I don't want to be wasting any energy, because I'll need all of it if I want to win against Novak on Sunday."

With a capacity crowd of 15,000 at Rod Laver Arena watching, including the Australian legend Laver himself, Federer opened the match serving and was in trouble early, losing a 28-rally point to set up break point for Murray. But Federer held the game with a stunning cross-court forehand that just looped over the net from the baseline.

Murray, who had not lost a set through five rounds at Melbourne Park this year, had the first service break — on his fourth break point — to lead 2-1. It came in unusually cool summer conditions in Melbourne — breezy and temperatures of only 60 degrees during most of the match.

The crowd was initially evenly split between Federer and Murray supporters — and at times, they were competing to be heard. At one point in the second set, a group of Murray fans wearing white shirts with blue letters spelling his nickname "Muzza" stood to chant Murray's name, while a group of Federer supporters with Swiss flags on their cheeks and shirts chanted Federer's name.

Earlier Friday, top-seeded Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci of Italy won the first title of 2013 at Melbourne Park, beating the unseeded Australian pair of Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 for the women's doubles championship.

The 16-year-old Barty was attempting to become the youngest Grand Slam champion since Martina Hingis won the Australian Open singles title in 1997.

Li lost the Australian Open final to Kim Clijsters in 2011 two months before winning her first and only Grand Slam at the French Open.

"Last time was more exciting, (more) nervous because it was my first time to be in a final," Li said. "But I think this time (I'm) more calmed down, more cool."

Azarenka leads 5-4 in career matches, including winning the last four times they've played.

"I'm really hungry to defend my title," Azarenka said. "I've put myself in the position to give it the best shot."

Read More..

Booker winner Mantel says play next “logical step”

LONDON (Reuters) – Double Booker prize-winning author Hilary Mantel said the characters in her historical novels about the rise of Thomas Cromwell will take the next “logical step” to a stage adaptation at the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) this year.

Mantel said in a video interview on the RSC website this week that she has always longed to give “solid form” to her depictions of Cromwell, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn in her “Wolf Hall” and “Bring Up the Bodies” books.

“From the moment I started writing Wolf Hall the characters were fighting to be off the page,” Mantel said in the video.

The 60-year-old Mantel said she was delighted to have playwright Mike Poulton, whose works have garnered some of the theatre world’s top awards, recreate her novels for the stage.

“He’s the man who knows about the stagecraft,” she said. “I’m the one who knows the characters inside out.”

The first woman and first Briton to win the Booker twice for her novels set in Henry VIII’s court said she has been inspired by the RSC since the age of 15 when she went alone to its Stratford-upon-Avon home and watched four plays in three days.

“It was a shaping experience, so it really is a dream come true for me to have the opportunity to see the RSC present my plays,” she said.

Mantel is working on a third novel in the trilogy.

The RSC also said on Wednesday that David Tennant will star in the title role of “Richard II” in winter 2013, making his return five years after a turn as Hamlet which earned him a best Shakespearean performance trophy at the Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards in 2009.

“Both plays will be directed by Royal Court Associate Director Jeremy Herrin, making his RSC directing debut,” RSC Artistic Director Gregory Doran said.

The world premiere of “Wendy & Peter Pan” by Ella Hickson and directed by Jonathan Munby will round out the winter season, the RSC said.

Tickets for the RSC’s winter 2013 season, which begins in October 2013 and runs until March 2014 will go on sale for members on February 11 and for the wider public on March 18, the RSC said.

(Reporting by Paul Casciato; editing by Patricia Reaney)

Celebrity News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Booker winner Mantel says play next “logical step”
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/booker-winner-mantel-says-play-next-logical-step/
Link To Post : Booker winner Mantel says play next “logical step”
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Penalty could keep smokers out of health overhaul

WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of smokers could be priced out of health insurance because of tobacco penalties in President Barack Obama's health care law, according to experts who are just now teasing out the potential impact of a little-noted provision in the massive legislation.

The Affordable Care Act — "Obamacare" to its detractors — allows health insurers to charge smokers buying individual policies up to 50 percent higher premiums starting next Jan. 1.

For a 55-year-old smoker, the penalty could reach nearly $4,250 a year. A 60-year-old could wind up paying nearly $5,100 on top of premiums.

Younger smokers could be charged lower penalties under rules proposed last fall by the Obama administration. But older smokers could face a heavy hit on their household budgets at a time in life when smoking-related illnesses tend to emerge.

Workers covered on the job would be able to avoid tobacco penalties by joining smoking cessation programs, because employer plans operate under different rules. But experts say that option is not guaranteed to smokers trying to purchase coverage individually.

Nearly one of every five U.S. adults smokes. That share is higher among lower-income people, who also are more likely to work in jobs that don't come with health insurance and would therefore depend on the new federal health care law. Smoking increases the risk of developing heart disease, lung problems and cancer, contributing to nearly 450,000 deaths a year.

Insurers won't be allowed to charge more under the overhaul for people who are overweight, or have a health condition like a bad back or a heart that skips beats — but they can charge more if a person smokes.

Starting next Jan. 1, the federal health care law will make it possible for people who can't get coverage now to buy private policies, providing tax credits to keep the premiums affordable. Although the law prohibits insurance companies from turning away the sick, the penalties for smokers could have the same effect in many cases, keeping out potentially costly patients.

"We don't want to create barriers for people to get health care coverage," said California state Assemblyman Richard Pan, who is working on a law in his state that would limit insurers' ability to charge smokers more. The federal law allows states to limit or change the smoking penalty.

"We want people who are smoking to get smoking cessation treatment," added Pan, a pediatrician who represents the Sacramento area.

Obama administration officials declined to be interviewed for this article, but a former consumer protection regulator for the government is raising questions.

"If you are an insurer and there is a group of smokers you don't want in your pool, the ones you really don't want are the ones who have been smoking for 20 or 30 years," said Karen Pollitz, an expert on individual health insurance markets with the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. "You would have the flexibility to discourage them."

Several provisions in the federal health care law work together to leave older smokers with a bleak set of financial options, said Pollitz, formerly deputy director of the Office of Consumer Support in the federal Health and Human Services Department.

First, the law allows insurers to charge older adults up to three times as much as their youngest customers.

Second, the law allows insurers to levy the full 50 percent penalty on older smokers while charging less to younger ones.

And finally, government tax credits that will be available to help pay premiums cannot be used to offset the cost of penalties for smokers.

Here's how the math would work:

Take a hypothetical 60-year-old smoker making $35,000 a year. Estimated premiums for coverage in the new private health insurance markets under Obama's law would total $10,172. That person would be eligible for a tax credit that brings the cost down to $3,325.

But the smoking penalty could add $5,086 to the cost. And since federal tax credits can't be used to offset the penalty, the smoker's total cost for health insurance would be $8,411, or 24 percent of income. That's considered unaffordable under the federal law. The numbers were estimated using the online Kaiser Health Reform Subsidy Calculator.

"The effect of the smoking (penalty) allowed under the law would be that lower-income smokers could not afford health insurance," said Richard Curtis, president of the Institute for Health Policy Solutions, a nonpartisan research group that called attention to the issue with a study about the potential impact in California.

In today's world, insurers can simply turn down a smoker. Under Obama's overhaul, would they actually charge the full 50 percent? After all, workplace anti-smoking programs that use penalties usually charge far less, maybe $75 or $100 a month.

Robert Laszewski, a consultant who previously worked in the insurance industry, says there's a good reason to charge the maximum.

"If you don't charge the 50 percent, your competitor is going to do it, and you are going to get a disproportionate share of the less-healthy older smokers," said Laszewski. "They are going to have to play defense."

___

Online:

Kaiser Health Reform Subsidy Calculator — http://healthreform.kff.org/subsidycalculator.aspx

Read More..

Shakespeare, his work, come to life in PBS series

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jeremy Irons has a suggestion for "Downton Abbey" fans: Give William Shakespeare a try, too.

Irons is among the prominent hosts of "Shakespeare Uncovered," an inventive series tracing the origins of eight of the writer's plays through a combination of history, new analysis, selected scenes — and, for Irons, a gallop on horseback across a fabled battlefield.

The series begins 9 p.m.-11 p.m. EST Friday (check local listings) on PBS, which happens to be the home of the hit period soap opera, "Downton Abbey."

"Shakespeare Uncovered," along with PBS' planned fall airing of new films of four of Shakespeare's plays, "open up to this huge American audience this gold dust," Irons told reporters recently, and demonstrates that TV "doesn't end with 'Downton Abbey.'"

After then mischievously comparing Shakespeare to an Aston Martin and "Downton" to a Ford Fiesta, Irons admitted he hadn't seen the serial and was just having a bit of fun. But he's serious about the Bard of Avon.

"Watch these Shakespeare productions and you'll see what real writing, what real stories, what real characters are about," he said.

The programs also present actor-writer-producer Shakespeare as a 16th-century impresario who knew how to please audiences and exploit his own work by bringing back popular characters and crafting "prequels."

"Shakespeare Uncovered" opens with Ethan Hawke's exploration of "Macbeth," including visits to the play's Scottish sites, a look at recent productions starring Patrick Stewart and Antony Sher, and an illumination of Shakespeare's grasp of the criminal mind.

It's paired with "Shakespeare Uncovered: The Comedies With Joely Richardson," about "Twelfth Night" and "As You Like It."

"Richard II" with Derek Jacobi and "Henry IV" and "Henry V" with Irons air on Feb. 1, with David Tennant's look at "Hamlet" and "The Tempest" with host Trevor Nunn concluding the series on Feb. 8.

There's travel as well as scholarship for the hosts. Irons visits the battlefield at Agincourt in northern France where, in productions of "Henry V," actors get to tear into the famed St. Crispin's Day speech ("We few, we happy few, we band of brothers").

Irons, who will star this fall in PBS' "Great Performances" adaptation of "Henry IV," said he was shooting the film when he was approached by "Shakespeare Uncovered" producer Richard Denton about taking part.

"Oh, that may be interesting if we can find the time. What do you want to do?" Irons recalled asking Denton. "And he said, 'Well, I want to put you in a boat. I want to put you on a horse. I want to take you to Agincourt.'"

"This sounds very interesting," the 64-year-old actor replied, which opened the door to an unexpected education — and more opportunity for Irons' colorful and unbridled wit.

"I learned, for instance, that the reason we won the Battle of Agincourt is because we had these amazing Welsh archers," while the French, in his words, "wore amazing stuff and great armor and (had) lovely horses, and they pranced around being gorgeous."

Irons' lively approach to the subject matter dovetails with the goal of "Shakespeare Uncovered" as described by producer Denton.

"The real drive (was) to make a series of films that would be entertaining, that would show Shakespeare with the kind of enthusiasm that Jeremy brings to it," Denton said, and would be accessible to those unschooled in the playwright's work.

To please Shakespeare buffs, the programs also include fresh insights into the connection between his life and his art, he said.

The bottom line on the Bard, according to Irons: Shakespeare endures as the greatest dramatist of all because he chronicled the eternal human condition in all its joys and sorrows.

"When we see those plays now, they still speak to us with a resonance that many hundreds of plays written between Shakespeare's time and today don't," he said.

___

Online:

http://www.pbs.org

Read More..

Burnt circuit boards snag Japan's 787 probe

The chairman of the NTSB said the seriousness of two recent Boeing Dreamliner battery incidents "cannot be understated." (Source: CBS)

A device seen as key to explaining why a Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliner jet made an emergency landing in Japan last week is burnt and unlikely to provide safety inspectors with data they need, said a person with knowledge of the ongoing investigation.

Circuit boards that control and monitor the performance of the plane's lithium-ion battery unit were charred and may be of little use to the teams investigating why the battery effectively melted, forcing safety investigators to scramble for possible clues from other components in the plane's electronics, said the person, who didn't want to be named as the probe is ongoing.

Aviation authorities in Japan face a painstaking reconstruction that may take months before they can unravel what caused one of the batteries to overheat, triggering warnings in the plane's cockpit.

That relatively inexpensive circuit boards may be keeping $10 billion worth of futuristic aircraft idle underscores how dependent the Boeing jet is on advanced electronics rather than more traditional, but less fuel-efficient, parts, experts said.

"The circuit board (system) is badly damaged. We'll see how much we can learn from examining it, but we'll also have to look at other recording devices on the aircraft to try and find out what happened," the person with direct knowledge of the investigation told Reuters.

BATTERY "BRAIN"

The circuit boards, known as the battery monitoring unit, are the "brains" of the battery, experts said. About the size of a laptop computer, the boards monitor functions of the lithium-ion battery's eight cells and feed this information to the charger. That effectively makes the boards responsible for preventing a battery from overcharging.

One key question for safety investigators is how the battery's eight individual cells became volatile even though the overall voltage to the battery was steady and didn't exceed the 32-volt capacity, officials have said. That data is not recorded in the Dreamliner's "black box" flight-data recorder.

U.S, Japanese and Boeing representatives have this week been at the Kyoto headquarters of GS Yuasa Corp, which makes batteries for the 787, looking at everything from manufacturing quality to technical standards.

The main battery from the All Nippon Airways flight is still at the GS Yuasa plant, where it is being cleaned and disassembled for further checks. Once they are done, Japanese safety officials plan to take the damaged circuit boards to the manufacturer, Fujisawa-based Kanto Aircraft Instrument, for a detailed inspection.

All 50 of Boeing's Dreamliners in service were grounded last week after the ANA-operated flight's emergency landing on a domestic flight. That followed an auxiliary battery fire in a Japan Airlines Co. Ltd 787 parked at Boston Airport.

"There is a possibility that a fire destroyed the elements that caused the problem and if so, it will become difficult to investigate the cause," said Hideaki Horie, project professor at the Institute of Industrial Science at Tokyo University.

Horie said Boeing should re-think the design of the battery safety and data recovery system even while it investigates what caused the recent Dreamliner incidents.

The 787 uses two lithium-ion batteries, which are about twice as large as a car battery. The batteries weigh less than a conventional battery and provide more power. They are Boeing's first step toward hybrid power systems like those used by automakers General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Corp .
 

Read More..

Chicago man gets 35 years for role in Mumbai terror attack

David Coleman Headley, the terrorist who played a key planning role in the Mumbai massacre that killed more than 160 people in 2008, was sentenced today in Chicago’s federal court  to 35 years in prison.

U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber could have imposed a life sentence but chose the sentence recommended by federal prosecutors who wanted Headley rewarded for his extensive cooperation in spite of his help in the deadly attacks in India.

Before imposing the 35-year prison term, the judge said he wanted to make sure Headley, 52, is "never in a position again to commit a terrorist attack."

Leinenweber was skeptical of a letter that Headley recently wrote to him. "I don't have any faith in Mr. Headley when he says he's a changed person," the judge said.

Headley should be "under lock and key for the rest of his life," Leinenweber said.

Earlier, a victim of the terror attack told the judge how surprised she was by the youth of the terrorists who stormed into a hotel’s first-floor cafe while she was eating there.

Linda Ragsdale, a Nashville woman who was shot in the back during the 2008 rampage, recalled wondering how a man as young as her son could kill innocent people.  Holding back tears, Ragsdale described a barrage of bullets so intense that "waves of heat clouded" her vision.

"I know what a bullet could do to every part of the human body," Ragsdale said. "I know the sound of life leaving a 13-year-old child. These are things I never needed to know, never needed to experience."

Ragsdale also read from a statement written by another survivor of the shooting at the Oberoi Hotel who said it would be an "appalling dishonor" if Headley was sentenced to the 30 to 35 years in prison recommended by federal prosecutors.

But former U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, making a surprise appearance at the sentencing hearing, told Leinenweber he should consider the “unusual nature” of Headley’s cooperation even though Headley was involved in a “very, very heinous crime.”

On the night of his arrest at O’Hare International Airport, Headley “freely admitted” his role in the Mumbai massacre within half an hour of being given his Miranda rights, Fitzgerald said.

Headley, 52,  appearing amid heightened security in Leinenweber’s courtroom, faced up to life in prison. He pleaded guilty to scouting out sites to be targeted in the terrorist attack that killed more than 160 people – including six Americans -- in India’s largest city. He also admitted playing a similar role in an aborted plot to storm a Danish newspaper and behead staffers in retaliation for printing a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad.

Federal prosecutors have cited Headley’s extraordinary cooperation for seeking a sentence of 30 to 35 years in prison.

Headley, who was arrested at O'Hare as he prepared to fly overseas, detailed the inner-workings of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Pakistani terror organization that planned the Mumbai attacks. His information led to charges against seven terrorist figures, including his childhood friend from a Pakistani school, Tahawwur Rana, a former Chicago businessman.

Headley was the key witness at the trial of Rana, who was convicted of aiding the Denmark plot and providing support to Lashkar.  Judge Leinenweber sentenced him  last week to 14 years in prison, about half what prosecutors sought.

Headley, an American citizen of Pakistani descent, came to the United States at age 17 and was twice convicted of drug smuggling in the late 1980s. He later agreed to work as an informant for the DEA. Headley also revealed during testimony  at Rana’s trial that there was an overlap between his work for the DEA and his early days with Lashkar.

Headley became involved with Lashkar, a radical group that opposes Indian rule in divided Kashmir, around 2000, attending training camps between 2002 and 2005. He had moved to Chicago by 2009 and reconnected with Rana.

Though embraced by Rana’s family, Headley lived a very different life that included multiple wives and apparently indoctrinating even his children with his ideologies. His 5-year-old son once dropped to the ground in a Chicago park and pretended to fire a weapon after a soccer coach yelled "shoot, shoot!" to him during a game, Headley testified at Rana’s trial.

The charges against Headley and Rana likely represented the most significant terrorism case brought during Fitzgerald’s nearly 11 years as Chicago’s chief federal prosecutor.

Bomb-sniffing dogs checked the coats and bags of all the spectators entering Leinenweber’s courtroom today.  At one point, more than 100 people had lined up to attend the sentencing.

asweeney@tribune.com

Read More..

Apple shares slide by most in over four years on disappointing iPhone sales

(Reuters) - Apple Inc's shares fell by as much as 12 percent on Thursday, staging their biggest percentage drop in over four years and slicing more than $50 billion from the company's market value, as disappointing holiday-period iPhone sales reinforced fears it is losing its dominance in smartphones.

Eighteen brokerages, including Barclays Capital, Mizuho Securities USA, Credit Suisse, and Raymond James cut their price targets on the stock of the world's biggest publicly traded company by an average $132 to $612.

Apple's shares slid to $450.66 at the open on the Nasdaq, before recouping some of their losses.

The stock hit a peak close of $702.10 on September 19, valuing the company at $658 billion. Since then, it has lost about $225 billion, or 35 percent, of its in market value -- or about the entire worth of Chevron Corp, the second biggest U.S. oil company.

Jefferies & Co cut its rating on Apple's stock to "hold" from "buy" and slashed its share price target by $300 to $500.

Jefferies analyst Peter Misek, who has previously raised red flags about Apple cutting orders to suppliers, said the iPhone slowdown was "real and material" and here to stay.

"We think Apple is losing the screen-size wars," Misek said, noting that demand was moving away from the iPhone's 3.5-inch and 4-inch screens to screens of 5 inches offered by rivals such as Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, HTC Corp and Nokia Oyj.

Samsung, which is at the same time Apple's chief rival and biggest component supplier, overtook Apple as the biggest seller of smartphones in the third quarter, selling close to 500 handsets a minute.

Apple said it shipped a record 47.8 million iPhones in the December quarter, but this was well below the average analyst forecast of 50 million units.

The company's margins were also hit, sliding to 38.6 percent from 44.7 percent a year earlier, partly because its iPad is cannibalizing its high-margin Macintosh computers.

Expectations heading into the results had been subdued by news of possible production cutbacks, putting pressure on Chief Executive Tim Cook to keep up the company's momentum.

NEW PRODUCTS NEEDED

Analysts said Apple's growth would hinge on new products, but added that a new launch wasn't on the horizon.

"To re-accelerate growth, Apple likely needs to launch new products, yet few seem likely before June," Nomura's Stuart Jeffrey said.

The company has been long rumored to be working on a television but has so far deflected questions on its existence. Apple hasn't launched a new line of products in almost three years, apart from a smaller version of the iPad.

Some analysts questioned the company's strategy of betting its fortunes on one phone, while others said a cheaper iPhone could arrest losses of market share.

"Apple's modus operandi to date has been to cream the high-end off each market, but as the company's grown it may now need to target more of the mainstream," Evercore Partners analysts said.

Up to Wednesday, 24 analysts had lowered their price targets since October when Apple reported its fourth-quarter results, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Apple shares were down 10.3 percent at $460.66 in late morning trading.

The disappointing results also hit shares of some of Apple's suppliers. Cirrus Logic Inc, which gets nearly 80 percent of its revenue from Apple, fell 10 percent while shares of Skyworks Solutions Inc, which depends on Apple for about a quarter of its revenue, slipped 5 percent.

Cirrus makes audio-related chips while Skyworks provides power amplifiers for Apple products.

Apple is the lowest ranked stock among the marquee technology firms in the United States based on the change in analyst sentiment, or Analysts Revision Model (ARM), according to StarMine.

Apple's global ARM score of 10 is well below Google Inc's 34 and Microsoft Corp's 19 out of a possible 100. Nokia and Samsung have scores of 82 and 89, respectively.

Research in Motion Ltd has a perfect score of 100, according to the model, which measures analysts' revision of key indicators such as earnings and revenue estimates and changes to their ratings.

(Additional reporting by Saqib Ahmed; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty, Rodney Joyce and Ted Kerr)

Read More..

Azarenka eludes chokehold, gains Australian final

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Sloane Stephens sat for nine minutes, mostly staring at the court and trying to forget the curious timing of Victoria Azarenka's medical timeout.

She may have been the only one trying to ignore it.

The 19-year-old American had just saved five match points and broken Azarenka. But she knew she had to hold serve to stay in her first Grand Slam semifinal whenever Azarenka — the No. 1 player and defending Australian Open champion — returned to Rod Laver Arena.

The restless murmuring in the crowd gave way to slow claps. Why had Azarenka chosen that very moment for a medical break?

Azarenka eventually hustled onto the court, and Stephens won only three more points.

"I almost did the choke of the year," Azarenka said in a frank admission during an on-court interview. "At 5-3, having so many chances, I couldn't close it out."

The crowd that had cheered wildly for Stephens, only 25 hours after she ousted an injured Serena Williams, gave Azarenka tepid applause as she left the court. She'll face 2011 finalist Li Na in the final Saturday night. Given the support Li enjoyed in her 6-2, 6-2 win over No. 2-ranked Maria Sharapova, there's no question which player the crowd will favor in the title match.

Azarenka's immediate post-match remarks suggest she panicked after failing to convert five match points, her forehand misfiring. She had little trouble finishing the match after she came back, and the No. 29-seeded Stephens had cooled off.

"I just felt a little bit overwhelmed. I realized I'm one step away from the final and nerves got into me for sure," Azarenka said.

The 23-year-old Belarusian said she was later compelled to explain that she misunderstood the question in the on-court interview, and she wanted to dispel the perception that her medical timeout amounted to little more than gamesmanship.

"I understand the point of people maybe not understanding what I said; me not understanding what I've been asked," she said during an official news conference more than two-thirds devoted to questions on her medical timeout. "So I'm just glad that I'm here, you know, to make everything clear.

"You know, I think you cannot really judge by (a) few words. The situation had to be explained."

Medical staff said Azarenka had timeouts for treatment of left knee and rib injuries. The rib needed to be manipulated because it was affecting her breathing. Tournament director Craig Tiley said Azarenka hadn't broken any rules.

Azarenka hadn't helped herself in a second television interview after the match when she said she couldn't breathe.

"I had chest pains," she said. "It was like I was getting a heart attack."

She tried to allay any negative perception with her explanation that the choking was related to shortness of breath from the rib injury, not her faltering game.

"When you cannot breathe you start to panic," she said. "I was really panicking, not because I couldn't convert my match point. That's not the case. I mean, I'm experienced enough to go over those emotions. But when you cannot breathe, when something's really blocking you, the stress — that was the stress I was talking about.

"What I said — that I was stressed out and choked — was not because I couldn't finish my shot. It was just so stressing me out the pain that I had that, maybe it was overreaction, but I just really couldn't breathe."

Azarenka had retired during previous Grand Slam matches, including a fourth-round match against Serena Williams at the 2009 Australian Open. But with a second major title so close, and the fact she needed to reach the final to retain the No. 1 ranking, she desperately didn't want to quit this time.

For her part, Stephens seemed sympathetic. She had to wait through a medical timeout Wednesday when Williams received treatment for a sore back — the 15-time major winner injured herself after leading by a set and a break. Another rival earlier in the tournament took a long break between sets for other reasons.

"I mean, when you take a medical break or timeout, obviously it's for a reason," she said. "I mean, just another something else that happens. If it was one of my friends, I would say, 'Oh, my God, that sounds like a PP, which is a personal problem. Other than that, it's just unfortunate."

Besides, Stephens said, it didn't affect the outcome of the match.

"No, not at all. She played obviously a really good match," she said. "First set she played awesome; got close in the second. It didn't go my way, but I wouldn't say at all what happened affected the match."

Novak Djokovic dispensed with No. 4-seeded David Ferrer 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 in the night match, saying he "played perfectly" to reach his third consecutive Australian Open title. Then he dispensed some medical advice of his own.

The Serb, who won the Australian titles in 2008, 2011 and 2012, wore a white shirt with a red cross on the back, pretending to be a doctor to treat Henri Leconte during a legends doubles match at Rod Laver Arena.

He's relaxed now that he has an extra day to prepare for Sunday's final. Djokovic will next play the winner of Friday's semifinal between No. 2 Roger Federer, a four-time Australian Open champion, and No. 3 Andy Murray, the U.S. Open champion.

Djokovic lost only seven points in 11 service games against Ferrer, and hit 30 crisp, clean winners in an almost flawless performance.

"I cannot remember the last time I played so well," Djokovic said. "I've played many great matches, but this one stands out. Hopefully, I can play the same level on Sunday."

He played confidently in the first two sets, and was sublime in the third. Even Ferrer, who has now lost five Grand Slam semifinals and never reached a championship match, was surprised.

After hitting a forehand a fraction wide of the line and losing his challenge in a review, Ferrer double-faulted to give Djokovic match point. The errors were a measure of just how much pressure Djokovic was applying.

Right after his semifinal, Djokovic started playing mind games leading to the final.

"Federer-Murray, when they're playing it's always very close," he said, confirming he'd be closely watching the match. "I wouldn't give the role of the favorite to either of them. I expect to enjoy it. Whoever I play against, I'm going to be ready."

Read More..

Aretha Franklin Approves of Beyonce’s ‘Beautiful’ Inaugural Lip-Syncing

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Aretha Franklin r-e-s-p-e-c-t’s Beyoncé’s decision to use a “beautiful” pre-recorded rendition of the national anthem during President Barack Obama‘s inaugural ceremony on Monday.

The Queen of Soul, who sang “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” during Obama‘s inauguration in 2009, told ABC News that the cold weather warranted Beyoncé lip-syncing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

“The weather down there was about 46 or 44 degrees and for most singers that is just not good singing weather,” Franklin said after noting the news gave her a good laugh. “When I heard that I just really cracked up. I thought it was really funny, but she did a beautiful job with the pre-record … next time I’ll probably do the same.”

She says “next time,” because she wasn’t afraid to brave below-freezing temperatures in Washington D.C. when she performed live four years ago. “In 2009, I wanted everything to be live and on the real side for the moment as it actually happened. Those were my feelings for my performance, but having come face to face with 28, 22 degrees I am not surprised she pre-recorded,” Franklin continued. “She wanted her performance to be what she wanted to be and she realized it wasn’t going to be the way she wanted it to be or she was going to be running a risk. That’s probably why she pre-recorded exactly how she wanted it to be heard.”

The 70-year-old Franklin isn’t the only music star shrugging off Beyoncégate. Jennifer Lopeztold Jon Stewart on Tuesday’s episode of “The Daily Show” that “all performers do have to” lip-sync at some point in their career.

“You know, sometimes it happens,” she explained. “When you’re in certain stadiums and in certain venues, they do pre-record things.”

Lopez’s former “American Idol” judging panel partner, Steven Tyler, isn’t particularly bothered by Beyoncé lip-syncing either. “It doesn’t matter,” he told TMZ.

“Beyoncé’s so hot, she can do anything,” the Aerosmith frontman added to give some shallow perspective. “Let’s just get real.”

Whether or not Beyoncé would agree with Tyler’s flattering statement, she has yet to comment on the matter herself, aside from posting the performance on her Tumblr — an action that suggests she has no regrets.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Marine Band that previously admitted to using a pre-recorded track to back her performance and suggested Beyoncé did the same for her vocals, has changed its tune.

“Each piece of music scheduled for performance in the Inauguration is pre-recorded for use in case of freezing temperatures, equipment failure, or extenuating circumstances,” a spokesman for the Marines told TheWrap on Tuesday. “Regarding Ms. Knowles-Carter’s vocal performance, no one in the Marine Band is in a position to assess whether it was live or pre-recorded.”

Music News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

CDC: New version of stomach bug causing US illness

NEW YORK (AP) — Health officials say a new strain of stomach bug that's sweeping the globe is taking over in the U.S.

In the last four months, more than 140 outbreaks in the U.S. have been caused by the new Sydney strain of norovirus. These kinds of contagious bugs cause bouts of diarrhea and vomiting.

The new strain may not be unusually dangerous; some scientists don't think it is. But it is different, and many people might not be able to fight off its gut-wrenching effects.

It often spreads in places like schools, cruise ships and nursing homes. The new strain was blamed for a recent outbreak on the Queen Mary 2.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on the new strain Thursday.

____

Online:

CDC report: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr

Read More..