BlackBerry 10 Launch: Everything You Need To Know (Updating)

Well, here goes. RIM is announcing its new BlackBerry 10 OS and hardware today. This could be the launch that gets RIM back in the game for smartphones. Or it could be the last time BlackBerry is relevant. It's a big moment. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/autm2Ckj6_c/blackberry-10-launch-everything-you-need-to-know-updating

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JMIR--Correlates of Health-Related Social Media Use Among Adults ...

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Original Paper

Correlates of Health-Related Social Media Use Among Adults

Rosemary Thackeray^*, MPH, PhD; Benjamin T Crookston^*, MPH, PhD; Joshua H West^*, MPH, PhD

Brigham Young University, Department of Health Science, Provo, UT, United States
^*all authors contributed equally

Corresponding Author:
Rosemary Thackeray, MPH, PhD

Brigham Young University
Department of Health Science
221 Richards Building
Provo, UT, 84602
United States
Phone: 1 801 422 1704
Fax: 1 801 422 0273
Email:

---

ABSTRACT

Background: Sixty percent of Internet users report using the Internet to look for health information. Social media sites are emerging as a potential source for online health information. However, little is known about how people use social media for such purposes.
Objectives: The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to establish the frequency of various types of online health-seeking behaviors, and (2) to identify correlates of 2 health-related online activities, social networking sites (SNS) for health-related activities and consulting online user-generated content for answers about health care providers, health facilities, or medical treatment.
Methods: The study consisted of a telephone survey of 1745 adults who reported going online to look for health-related information. Four subscales were created to measure use of online resources for (1) using SNS for health-related activities; (2) consulting online rankings and reviews of doctors, hospitals or medical facilities, and drugs or medical treatments; (3) posting a review online of doctors, hospitals or medical facilities, and drugs or medical treatments, and (4) posting a comment or question about health or medical issues on various social media. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed.
Results: Respondents consulted online rankings or reviews (41.15%), used SNS for health (31.58%), posted reviews (9.9%1), and posted a comment, question, or information (15.19%). Respondents with a chronic disease were nearly twice as likely to consult online rankings (odds ratio [OR] 2.09, 95% CI 1.66-2.63, P<.001). Lower odds of consulting online reviews were associated with less formal education (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.37-0.65, P<.001) and being male (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.57-0.87, P<.001). Respondents with higher incomes were 1.5 times as likely to consult online rankings or reviews (OR 1.49, 95% CI 0.10-2.24, P=.05), than respondents with a regular provider (OR 2.05, 95% CI 1.52-2.78, P<.001), or living in an urban/suburban location (OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.17-2.22, P<.001). Older respondents were less likely to use SNS for health-related activities (OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.95-0.97, P<.001), as were males (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.56-0.87, P<.001), whereas respondents with a regular provider had nearly twice the likelihood of using SNS for health-related activities (OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.43-2.52, P<.001).
Conclusions: People are using social media for seeking health information. However, individuals are more likely to consume information than they are to contribute to the dialog. The inherent value of ?social? in social media is not being captured with online health information seeking. People with a regular health care provider, chronic disease, and those in younger age groups are more likely to consult online rankings and reviews and use SNS for health-related activities.

(J Med Internet Res 2013;15(1):e21)
doi:10.2196/jmir.2297

KEYWORDS

social media; Internet; health information; consumer

The Internet is becoming an increasingly common source of health information. Approximately 60% of Internet users report using the Internet to look for health information [1,2]. In addition to seeking health information, Wen et al [3] found that 15% of Internet users also tracked personal health information on the Internet. Determinants of seeking health information online include education, gender, race, age, presence of children in the home, having a poor personal health condition, and geographic residence [1,4-7]. Similarly, predictors of using the Internet to track personal health information include gender, race, education, and having a health care provider [3].

Historically, online health seeking meant visiting an agency- or organization-sponsored website. Recently, social media sites are emerging as a potential source of online health information [8]. Social media refers to ?activities, practices, and behaviors among communities of people who gather online to share information, knowledge, and opinions using conversational media? [9]. These social media are broadly categorized as forums and message boards, review and opinion sites, social networks (eg, Facebook), blogging and microblogging (eg, Twitter), bookmarking, and media sharing (eg, YouTube) [10].

Individual use of social media is steadily increasing. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of adult Internet users in the United States are involved with a type of social media called social networking sites (SNS), such as MySpace, Facebook, or LinkedIn [11]. Technorati currently registers over 1.3 million blogs [12], 13 percent of Internet users (140 million people) have a Twitter account [13,14], and Facebook has 955 million active users [15]. By 2015, it is estimated that the number of individuals and corporations who have social networking accounts will reach over 3 billion [16].

Social media and SNS use varies by demographics. There are statistically significant differences in SNS use between younger and older ages and between males and females [11]. However, SNS are used fairly equally across education, income, race/ethnicity, and rural and urban locations [11]. Chou and colleagues [17] found that age and education were predictors of 3 forms of social media use (ie, participating in online support groups, blogging, and visiting a SNS).

In contrast to going online to seek health information, social media technologies allow online social media users to create, distribute, and share information independent of an organization. The level of use and involvement with social media technologies varies by individual. Bernoff and Anderson [18] and Li and Bernoff [19] classify individuals based on how they use social media. These classifications, although not mutually exclusive, include creators, conversationalists, critics, collectors, joiners, or spectators. Similarly, Hoffman and Novak [20] identify 4 goals for social media use: create, connect, consume, and control. The main conclusion from both typologies is that the range of social media activities that people engage in varies from consuming to creating content.

Despite the near ubiquity of social media use and the high prevalence of health information seeking on the Internet, there is a dearth of literature about the characteristics of people who use social media for seeking health information and how these people engage with social media. Thus, additional research is needed to determine whether social media users are primarily spectators, or if they are creators or critics. That is, are they looking for information or are they becoming part of the information creation and sharing process? Knowing the correlates of social media use for health information can allow health professionals to more accurately segment populations and tailor interventions accordingly. Therefore, the aim of this research was two-fold. First, to establish the frequency of various forms (eg, spectators, creators, or critics) of online health-seeking behaviors. Second, this research seeks to identify correlates of 2 health-related online activities: (1) using SNS for health-related activities, and (2) consulting online user-generated content for answers about health care providers, health facilities, or medical treatment.

Data Source and Sample

The data for this study were taken from the 2010 Health Tracking Survey conducted by Princeton Survey Research on behalf of the Pew Internet & American Life Project [21]. The data were collected during August to September 2010 through a telephone survey that included both cell phones and landlines. A random digit method was used to select participants who were US residents, aged 18 years and older, and who spoke English (n=3001). Data were weighted to the most recent US Census Bureau?s Current Population Survey. Data were stripped of identifying information and made available to the public. For the current study, inclusion criteria were adults who used the Internet at least occasionally (Pew question Q6a) and who reported going online to look for health-related information (Pew question healthseek). The final sample size was 1745.

Measures

Demographic, Socioeconomic, and Health Status

Demographic, socioeconomic, and health status covariates included ethnicity, education, income, gender, age, race, marital status, having a chronic health condition, geographic community type, health insurance status, and having a family doctor or health care professional. Response categories for race, education, and marital status were collapsed to account for small cell sizes.

To measure an individual?s level of social media health engagement, we created 4 subscales based on related survey items. Each of the response variables were dichotomous and coded as yes or no. We calculated Cronbach alpha to estimate internal reliability for each scale.

Used Social Networking Sites for Health-Related Activities

The 5 questions that focused on using SNS for health-related activities included (1) get health information, (2) start or join a health-related group, (3) follow your friend?s personal health experiences or health updates, (4) raise money or draw attention to a health-related issue or cause, and (5) remember or memorialize others who suffered from a certain health condition (Pew questions Q26a-e). The composite scale had an internal reliability of Cronbach alpha=.66

Consulted Online Rankings or Reviews

Three questions focused on consulting online rankings or reviews of (1) doctors or other providers, (2) hospitals or other medical facilities, and (3) particular drugs or medical treatments (Pew questions Q29a-c; Cronbach alpha=.69).

Posted a Review Online

Three questions focused on whether respondents had posted a review online of (1) a doctor, (2) a hospital, or (3) his/her experiences with a particular drug or medical treatment (Pew questions Q29d-f; Cronbach alpha=.61)

Posted a Comment or Question on Social Media

Five questions asked if respondents had posted comments, questions, or information about health or medical issues on various social media. These included (1) an online discussion, a listserv, or other online group forum, (2) a blog, (3) a social networking site, such as Facebook, MySpace, or LinkedIn, (4) Twitter or another status update site, and (5) a website of any kind, such as a health site or news site that allows comments and discussion (Pew questions Q25a-e; Cronbach alpha=.80)

Data Analysis

Unadjusted univariate analyses of demographics, socioeconomic, and health status variables with each social media?health engagement scale were computed. Variables that were significantly associated with the dependent variable were included in a multivariate regression model. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed with social media health engagement as the dependent variable and the demographics, socioeconomic, and health status variables as covariates. All analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics version 20 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY, USA).

Demographic Characteristics

More than half of the study sample was female (56.16%, 980/1745) and white (79.20%, 1382/1745) (see Table 1). College graduates comprised 39.43% (689/1745) of the sample, 29.46% (514/1745) reported a household income between US $75,000 and $150,000, and 86.88% (1516/1745) reported having health insurance. Respondents reported consulting online rakings or reviews (41.15%, 718/1745) and using SNS for health (31.58%, 551/1745) more than they reported contributing content through posting reviews of doctors, hospitals, drugs, or medical treatments (9.91%, 173/1745), or posting a comment, question, or information about health or medical issues on a blog, SNS, Twitter, website, or online discussion or forum (15.19%, 265/1745).

Correlates of Social Media Health Engagement and Regression Analyses

Regression analyses revealed few correlates for posting reviews of a doctor, hospital, drug, or medical treatment (chronic disease, income, age, health insurance) and for posting a comment, question, or information on various social media sites (chronic disease, age, marital status). Therefore, the further analysis and data presented here are limited to using SNS for health and consulting online rankings or reviews.

An examination of correlates of consulting online rankings or reviews identifies several factors that are associated with higher use of online rankings and reviews (see Table 2). For example, approximately half (49.27%, 339/688) of those with a college degree reported using online rankings or reviews compared with 40.71% (204/501) of those with some college and 31.50% (172/546) of those with a high school education or less. Factors associated with use of SNS for health included income, gender, age, marital status, and having a personal or family doctor or health care provider.

Unadjusted Regression Analyses for Consulting Online Rankings

Unadjusted regression analyses revealed numerous factors associated with consulting online rankings or reviews of doctors, hospitals, drugs, or medical treatments (see Table 3). Having a chronic disease, reporting a higher annual income, living in an urban/suburban location, reporting health insurance coverage, and having a regular health care provider were each independently associated with increased odds of consulting online rankings. Decreased odds were observed among older respondents, those who were unmarried, those with lower levels of education, males, and those who were black/African American.

Unadjusted Regression Analyses for Using Social Networking Sites for Health

Table 4 presents the results of the unadjusted regression analyses for using SNS for health-related activities, such as getting information, joining a group, following friends? health experiences, raising money, increasing awareness, or remembering or memorializing others. Older respondents and males were each less likely to engage in such behaviors. Respondents who reported being unmarried or having a regular health care provider were more likely to use SNS for health-related purposes.

Adjusted Regression Analyses for Consulting Online Rankings

Results from adjusted regression analyses (see Table 3) revealed that respondents with a chronic disease were nearly twice as likely to consult online rankings as respondents who were free of chronic disease (OR 2.09, 95% CI 1.66-2.63, P<.001). For levels of education, high school or less (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.37-0.66, P<.001) and some college (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.54-0.91, P=.01) were each associated with lower odds of consulting online rankings than respondents who had at least obtained a college degree. With respect to income, respondents who reported an annual income of US $75,000 to $150,000 were 1.5 times as likely to consult online rankings (OR 1.49, 95% CI 0.10-2.24, P=.05) compared to those making less than US $20,000. Males were less likely than females (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.57-0.87, P<.001), whereas respondents who have a regular provider were more than 2 times more likely to consult online rankings (OR 2.05, 95% CI 1.52-2.78, P<.001). Living in an urban/suburban location was associated with a 60% increased chance of consulting rankings (OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.17-2.22, P<.001). In the adjusted model, marital status, race, and insurance coverage were not significantly associated with consulting online rankings. Likewise, the influence of having a health care provider and income was attenuated.

Adjusted Regression Analyses for Using Social Networking Sites for Health

Adjusted odds ratios for using SNS for health-related purposes are presented in Table 4. As respondents? ages increased, their likelihood for using such sites decreased (OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.95-0.97, P<.001). With respect to gender, males had lower odds than females (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.56-0.87, P<.001). Compared to respondents without a regular health care provider, respondents with a regular provider had nearly twice the likelihood of using SNS for health-related activities (OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.43-2.52, P<.001), a greater influence than in the unadjusted model. Marital status was not significantly associated with using SNS for health-related activities.

Source: http://www.jmir.org/2013/1/e21/

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Study finds improvement in German consumer mood

BERLIN (AP) ? A closely-watched survey shows German consumers are more optimistic, buoyed by the current calm in financial markets and expectations the economy will gradually revive over the course of the year.

The GfK institute reported Tuesday that its forward-looking indicator rose to 5.8 points for February, up from a revised 5.7 in January.

Analyst Carsten Brzeski says the indicator is "another small piece of evidence that domestic demand should be an important growth driver in 2013."

The report shows overall economic expectations still in negative territory, at minus 11.3 in January ? but that was an improvement from December's minus 17.9.

Income expectations rose to 36 in January from 21.2 in December, while consumers' willingness to buy was up to 35.3 from 20.1.

The report is based on 2,000 consumer interviews.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/study-finds-improvement-german-consumer-mood-082011974--finance.html

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Brook Lopez replaces Rondo in All-Star game

Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez (11) and Orlando Magic forward Glen Davis (11) go after a loose ball in the first half of their NBA basketball game at Barclays Center, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013, in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez (11) and Orlando Magic forward Glen Davis (11) go after a loose ball in the first half of their NBA basketball game at Barclays Center, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013, in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez (11) shoots over the defense of Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic (9) in the first half of their NBA basketball game at the Barclays Center, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013 in New York. Lopez scored 16 points in the Nets 97-77 victory over the Magic. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez has been chosen to replace the injured Rajon Rondo on the Eastern Conference All-Star team.

Commissioner David Stern on Wednesday selected Lopez, who is averaging 18.6 points and 7.3 rebounds for the second-place Nets.

Rondo, the Boston Celtics point guard who was voted to start the Feb. 17 game in Houston, has a torn ACL. The East head coach, likely Erik Spoelstra of Miami, will decide who replaces Rondo in the starting lineup.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-01-30-All-Star-Lopez/id-4022348069c64214a0d31e17e2eb973e

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Boeing focuses on 787 fix; 4Q profit tops estimate

Boeing Co. said Wednesday that its top priority this year is fixing the battery problems that grounded its 787.

The company made the pledge while reporting a fourth-quarter profit that topped Wall Street estimates, as rising profits from commercial jets offset a smaller profit from defense work.

The 50 787s in service were grounded two weeks ago by global aviation regulators following two incidents involving the plane's lithium-ion batteries, including a fire on a plane parked in Boston. On Wednesday, Jim McNerney, Boeing's chief executive, said the company believes "good progress is being made" in narrowing down the possible causes. Still, Boeing is not making any predictions about how long the grounding will last and federal officials have said the investigation of the battery problems is still in the early stages.

Earlier, U.S. aviation officials said they have asked Boeing for a full operating history of the batteries on the 787s. Japan's All Nippon Airways confirmed that it had replaced batteries on its 787 aircraft 10 times because they didn't charge properly or connections with electrical systems failed. Japan Airlines also said it had replaced 787 batteries. Between them, the two airlines operate 24 787s.

In a statement, Boeing said that it has not "seen 787 battery replacements occurring as a result of safety concerns."

Boeing is still building 787s even though deliveries are halted. It still aims to deliver at least 60 of the planes this year, and it's on track to speed up production from five per month now to 10 per month by the end of the year, McNerney said on a conference call.

Boeing said it expects to deliver 635 to 645 commercial jets this year. That's up from 601 deliveries in 2012, when Boeing delivered 46 787s and topped European rival Airbus for the first time since 2003. Airbus expects to deliver more than 600 planes this year.

Boeing earned $978 million in the latest quarter, or $1.28 per share. That was down 30 percent from a profit of $1.39 billion, or $1.84 per share, a year earlier, which included a big tax benefit of 52 cents per share.

The profit topped the $1.19 per share expected by analysts surveyed by FactSet.

Revenue rose 14 percent to $22.3 billion, matching analyst estimates.

Boeing Co. predicted 2013 earnings of $5 to $5.20 per share, with revenue of $82 billion to $85 billion. The outlook assumes "no significant financial impact" from the 787 being out of service.

Analysts had been expecting a 2013 profit of $5.17 per share on revenue of $88.13 billion.

For all of 2012, net income fell 3 percent to $3.9 billion, or $5.11 per share. Revenue rose 19 percent to $81.7 billion.

Last year's deliveries of its new 787 as well as its revamped 747-8 brought in cash ? the 787 lists for more than $200 million each ? but they actually hurt profits because the planes cost more to build than what Boeing collects. Profit margins for commercial planes shrank slightly, even as revenue rose 32 percent to $14.16 billion in the fourth quarter, and profits rose 29 percent to $1.27 billion.

Boeing is also faced with a slowdown in its defense business. Defense profits fell 13 percent to $751 million in the fourth quarter. Defense revenue fell 2 percent to $8.34 billion.

Shares of Chicago-based Boeing Co. rose 82 cents to $74.47 in morning trading. They've dropped about 4 percent since the battery fire on the plane in Boston.

The 787 is the first airliner to make wide use of lithium-ion batteries. They are prone to overheating and require additional safeguards to prevent fires.

Boeing said Wednesday that replacing batteries on a plane is not uncommon. It said batteries on the 787s are being returned because of safety mechanisms that make sure that batteries can't be used if they have been deeply-discharged or improperly disconnected.

Some batteries have also been returned because they exceeded their shelf life, the company said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/boeing-focuses-787-fix-4q-131222284.html

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Hagel supports nuclear arms cuts, then elimination

FILE - In this Jan. 7, 2013 file photo, President Barack Obama, left, shakes hands with his choice for Defense Secretary, former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, after announcing Hagel's nomination in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 7, 2013 file photo, President Barack Obama, left, shakes hands with his choice for Defense Secretary, former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, after announcing Hagel's nomination in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Chuck Hagel, the likely next secretary of defense, would be the first to enter the Pentagon having publicly advocated for sharply reducing the number of U.S. nuclear weapons, possibly without equivalent cuts by Russia. He supports an international movement called Global Zero that favors eliminating all nuclear weapons.

That puts him outside the orthodoxy embraced by many of his fellow Republicans but inside a widening circle of national security thinkers ? including President Barack Obama ? who believe nuclear weapons are becoming more a liability than an asset, less relevant to 21st century security threats like terrorism.

"Sen. Hagel certainly would bring to office a more ambitious view on nuclear reductions than his predecessors," said Steven Pifer, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. "While he would likely take a less dramatic position in office, it might not be a bad thing to have a secretary of defense question what nuclear deterrence requires today."

Pentagon press secretary George Little said Tuesday that Hagel does not support unilateral nuclear cuts "and, if confirmed, would not as secretary of defense. Suggestions to the contrary are inaccurate."

The customary stance of defense secretaries in the nuclear age has been that the weapons are a necessary evil, a required ingredient in American defense strategy that can be discarded only at the nation's peril.

Hagel, 66, takes a subtly different view ? one shared by Obama but opposed by those in Congress who believe disarmament is weakness and that an outsized American nuclear arsenal must be maintained indefinitely as a counterweight to the nuclear ambitions of anti-Western countries like North Korea and Iran.

Hagel argues for doing away with nuclear weapons entirely, but not immediately and not unilaterally.

In a letter to Obama two months after his former Senate colleague entered the White House in 2009, Hagel wrote that Global Zero was developing a step-by-step plan for achieving "the total elimination of all nuclear weapons," but with a "clear, realistic and pragmatic appreciation" for the difficulty of realizing that goal.

Dozens of prominent politicians, diplomats and retired military leaders signed the letter. One month later Obama spoke in Prague of "a world without nuclear weapons," while saying it might not happen in his lifetime. Obama declared that "as the only nuclear power to have used a nuclear weapon, the United States has a moral responsibility to act. We cannot succeed in this endeavor alone, but we can lead it, we can start it."

Hagel, a Republican whose nomination has drawn heated criticism for his past statements on Israel, Iran and gays, is likely to also face questions on nuclear issues at his Senate confirmation hearing scheduled for Thursday. A Vietnam War veteran, he served in the Senate from 1997 to 2009.

The questions actually began last week at the confirmation hearing for John Kerry, Obama's nominee for secretary of state. Sen. Bob Corker, a Republican, said he found Hagel's affiliation with Global Zero "very concerning," and he worried that Hagel's views appeared to make him "very different than previous defense leaders."

Kerry said he believes Hagel is a realist on the topic of nuclear arms reductions. But he also acknowledged that when he first heard about Global Zero's central vision ? the elimination of all nuclear weapons - "I sort of scratched my head and I said, 'What? You know, how's that going to work?'" But then he came to see this as nothing more than a long-range goal ? "it's not something that could happen in today's world."

Hagel, indeed, is thinking long term.

"Getting to global zero will take years," Hagel wrote in the March 2009 letter to Obama on behalf of Global Zero. "So it is important that we set our course toward a world without nuclear weapons now to ensure that our children do not live under the nuclear shadow of the last century."

Hagel stands out in this regard in part because history ? first the demise of the Soviet Union, then the rise of terrorism as a global threat ? has changed how many people think about the deterrent value of nuclear weapons. For decades after the birth of the atomic age in the 1940s the chief concern was controlling the growth, and later managing the shrinkage, of nuclear arsenals without upsetting the balance of power.

Today the thinking by many national security experts has shifted as the threat of all-out nuclear war has faded and terrorist organizations with potentially global reach, like al-Qaida, are trying to get their hands on a nuclear device.

"Hagel's views reflect the growing bipartisan consensus in the U.S. security establishment that whatever benefits nuclear weapons may have had during the Cold War are now outweighed by the threat they present," said Joe Cirincione, president of the Ploughshares Fund, which supports efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons.

Hagel was co-author of a Global Zero report last May that proposed, as an interim step, reducing the U.S. arsenal to 900 weapons within a decade, with half deployed and the other half in reserve. That compares with a current U.S. stockpile of 5,000, of which 1,700 are deployed and capable of striking targets around the globe.

The report said these cuts could be taken unilaterally if not negotiated with the Russians or carried out through reciprocal U.S. and Russian presidential directives. It called the unilateral approach "less good" but feasible. At a later stage China and other nuclear weapons countries would be brought to the table for negotiations on further cuts on the path to global zero, it said.

The White House last year weighed options for substantial new cuts in the number of deployed weapons, possibly to about 1,000 or 1,100 and probably as part of a negotiation with Moscow. But a decision, following a lengthy review of U.S. nuclear targeting requirements, was put off prior to the November election. Officials and private experts close to the administration believe Obama will soon embrace those cuts.

Previous secretaries of defense have supported reducing the U.S. nuclear stockpile under certain circumstances and have paid lip service to the United States' commitment under the 1970 nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty to eventually eliminate its nuclear arms. But none has pushed these ideas like Hagel has.

"It's historic," said Bruce Blair, a co-founder of Global Zero and a former Air Force nuclear missile launch control officer.

"We will have, if he's confirmed, a secretary of defense who's committed to the sharp reduction of nuclear weapons, leading down a path toward their elimination," Blair said in an interview last week. "I don't think any sitting secretary of defense has ever come anywhere close to Hagel's advocacy for this cause."

Leon Panetta, the current defense secretary, has not taken a public stance on future nuclear reductions.

Some Pentagon chiefs, like William Perry, became public advocates for eliminating nuclear weapons after leaving office.

At least one apparently harbored doubts about the conventional wisdom while still serving.

In his 1995 memoir, Robert McNamara, who served as President John F. Kennedy's defense secretary, wrote that by the time he entered the Pentagon in 1961 he had privately concluded that nuclear arms served no useful purpose. But he could not say that publicly, he wrote, because it contradicted established U.S. policy.

___

Follow Robert Burns on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/robertburnsAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-01-29-Hagel-Nuclear%20Zero/id-b83ebb088904428ca1325038285201c0

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Twitter gives user info to US 69 percent of time

23 hrs.

Suzanne Choney , NBC News

Twitter says it turns over user data to government agencies in the U.S. in 69 percent of the requests made for such information, according to a new transparency report released by the microblogging site.

"It's our continued hope that providing greater insights into this information helps in at least two ways: first, to raise public awareness about these invasive requests; second, to enable policy makers to make more informed decisions," writes Jeremy Kessel,?Twitter's manager of legal policy, on the site's blog Monday.?

Last year, 81 percent "of all information requests we received worldwide originated from the U.S.," Kessel said.

In 2012 in the U.S.,?there were 815 "user information requests" about 1,145 Twitter?user accounts, and for 69 percent of those requests "some or all information" was given to the agencies. The majority of the "requests" ? 60 percent ? were subpoenas, 19 percent were search warrants and 11 percent were court orders for the information.

Another 10 percent are requests are from law enforcement agencies that aren't in any of the categories above, but might be "exigent?emergency disclosure requests?and other requests received for user information without valid legal process,"?Twitter?says?in?its?transparency?report.

When?Twitter?gets?such?requests,?it?notifies?affected?users?about?them,?"unless?we're?prohibited?by?law."

And?when?requests?for?information?are?not?complied?with,?it's?because?Twitter?"may?seek?to?narrow?requests?that?are?overly?broad,"?or?fail?to?identify?a?Twitter?account.?"In?other?cases,?users?may?have?challenged?the?requests?after?we've?notified?them."

(You can see here how the U.S. stacks up against other countries when it comes to requests for Twitter user information, but no other country even comes close.)

Google, which has been doing transparency reports longer than Twitter, is comparable in terms of the user data turned over to government agencies, about 66 percent, as of Dec. 31, 2012.

This is Twitter's second transparency report. Its first was issued last July, and at that time, Kessel wrote, "We've received more government requests in the first half of 2012 ...?than in the entirety of?2011."

Twitter also shared the number of requests to take-down tweets that allegedly violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. There were 3,268 such requests in 2012; Twitter complied in 53 percent of the cases:

Twitter says that it "may not comply with with every request" for several reasons, including "takedown notices that fail to provide sufficient information for us to locate material on Twitter."?

The site also gets a "large number of misfiled, non-copyright complaints" through its?Web form.

"Over the course of 2012, we saw a steady increase in government requests (with a slight decline in copyright takedown notices)," Twitter said in its report, which should serve as a warning of sorts?to those using the social media site. "All signs suggest that these government inquiries will continue to climb into the foreseeable future."

Check out Technology, GadgetBox, Digital?Life and InGame on?Facebook,?and on?Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/twitter-turns-over-user-info-us-69-percent-requests-1C8145282

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Watch: War Vet's 'Second Chance' With Double Arm Transplant

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Just give me a lot of hope for the future. I feel it in the second chance to start over after I heard. Some. It's society's center for the future and -- -- can go -- it perhaps doing great before this and in a lot better now. I I was pretty -- -- my life before. Pretty great campaign. We we got -- everything that happened -- well. I was living -- -- happy. I can move -- -- Miles. -- -- -- I can rotate a little bit and this arm is pretty much. Not much movement at all not yet released. Hopefully where we're hopeful for the future to. That's some pretty good functionality as I mentioned to nourish regenerate -- they maximum speed of one things from a so considering where we've that the transplant and where the nurse -- connected. There are many many changes and indeed many many months and -- couple years but that -- people function will return that's exactly what we expect. It's something that I was I was waiting for for a long time. And now it finally happened today. I really don't know what to say it's just such big thing from my life. I -- never have overcome so much less warriors that. I really honestly it was a record about the risks. There is its. Worst case scenario -- -- arms or go back to the -- it was stuff. It's. It was worth it to go through and certainly. Driving -- absolutely. Driving. Why. -- I used to love to drive and you know its. There was a lot of fun for me. So I'm really looking forward to get back to back in just becoming an athlete again about. One of my goals is definitely -- cycle marathon so. Yeah its I would -- the effect that I just one day get the most these arms and just. As goals come up knocking down in just. Take it as absolutely -- I can't. -- had just wanna this when he gets a point that I can be completely on my own him in. Just. Get back to join line.

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/video/war-vet-brendan-marrocco-double-arm-transplant-18345289

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Citrix Wonderful Website Hosting Recommendations T | Liberty

An error typically created by new businesses is always to chose a low-price web host as they are continuing to keep their own personal grid hosting begin-up costs as little as achievable. Unfortunately, an affordable, low-high quality hosting company is likely to lead to a lot of difficulties, and expense you more money in the long run. Look at the below article to get some outstanding assistance for hosting for people who own small businesses.

When your internet hosting service delivers on the web talks, message boards or submitting boards, then use them for direct access to information about them. Inquiring customers questions on the your most demanding problems can assist you pare downward your selection of probable hosts. After reading the discussions you discover within these spots, you will in all probability find your assurance to a company is much greater. One of the best strategies to assess whether a company is an excellent one, is always to speak with other current consumers.

Before you decide to commit to just one company, get in touch with customer care for the much more in-depth take a look at options. This will help you to find out how skilled and useful they can be. It will be easy to save lots of on your own severe headaches down the road if you your quest now.

A good way to save cash on web site working charges is to find a free internet hosting support. The drawbacks to this type of web hosting service contains restricted host place, and advertising simply being added to your web site. Even so, should you wish to have a expert internet site, you ought to avoid this kind of web hosting.

Constantly look at failures before selecting a business, and do not accept lame excuses on their behalf. Some of the much more unsavory hosts will downtime on power problems or any other motives, but there are many great hosts that understand how to continue to keep their customers? websites operating nearly completely of times. Regardless of what good things you?ve learned about a web web hosting service organization, don?t register whether it tends to make reasons for outages.

Produce a long list of goals before you decide to actually start off your search for a web hosting services. Know what your needs and preferences happen to be in progress, so that you can evaluate which web host will satisfy all those details. This can help you come to a decision based on a lot of elements, including price and quality of services, instead of just relying upon an affordable business.

A web host typically posseses an on-line community forum you must go through it. When you see a lot of website owners publishing make an effort to, what this means is the number can be a dependable business with pleased customers. If their online community is mostly vacant, or you can find no replies from staff members to consumers, this is simply not the hold you want to use.

Find a web host who delivers a cpanel. A cPanel is pretty easy to use and will make it straightforward that you should include well-known programs on the website. These software tend to be really user-friendly and consumer-pleasant to setup. It also can make your website?s control considerably more productive.

As you can see, web hosting organizations each and every their very own very own pair of benefits and features. Utilize the tips previously mentioned, to assist know what to consider, and which functions are most critical for your personal website. Price comparisons makes it easier to find the service provider that can very best provide what you need, and at a cost that is certainly within your budget. The correct web host can considerably lessen the tension of preserving your very own site.

Source: http://dwiminneapolis.com/business/citrix-wonderful-website-hosting-recommendations-t/

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U.S. F-16 fighter based in Italy may have crashed in Adriatic

ROME (Reuters) - A U.S. F-16 fighter jet was feared to have crashed on Monday during a training exercise over the Adriatic Sea, and the U.S. Air Force said the status of its Italy-based pilot was unknown.

Search efforts by the U.S. Air Force and the Italian Coast Guard are under way in poor weather conditions with limited visibility. A fuel slick had been sighted at sea, ANSA news agency reported.

The U.S. Air Force said only that it "lost contact" with the F-16 at about 8 p.m. local time (1900 GMT) - language often used to describe a possible crash, although Air Force officials declined to speculate about the incident.

"The aircraft was performing a training mission over the Adriatic Sea with one person on board. The pilot's condition is unknown at this time," the U.S. Air Force said in a statement.

An Italian Coast Guard spokesman told Reuters that the search-and-rescue effort was being hampered by a mixture of rain and snow in the area.

"The search continues despite the darkness and the bad weather," he said.

He could not confirm the ANSA report that a fuel slick on the water had been spotted.

A helicopter, four Italian Coast Guard cutters and four commercial vessels were combing the waters 10 miles from Cervia, on the northern Adriatic coast. Coast Guard divers have also been readied for the morning, he said.

A spokeswoman at Aviano Air Base in northern Italy said more information would released when it became available.

(Reporting by Steve Scherer in Rome and Phil Stewart in Washington; Editing by Mohammad Zargham and Eric Beech)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-f-16-fighter-based-italy-may-crashed-001651075.html

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Iranian workers demand South Korea 'return' funds

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? About 1,000 Iranian workers have staged a protest rally in front of the South Korean Embassy in Tehran demanding the return of $70 million allegedly held by Seoul after a collapsed business deal.

Employees of Iran's Entekhab Industrial Group claim South Korea has blocked a refund of the money after a failed bid in 2010 to buy Daewoo Electronics, a former subsidiary of the now-defunct Daewoo Group.

Iranians believe the deal was called off because of South Korean worries over mounting international sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.

"Return our money," the protesters shouted Sunday in the third such rally in recent months.

Daewoo officials were not immediately available for comment.

Entekhab produces home appliances in Isfahan, about 300 kilometers (180 miles) south of Tehran.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iranian-workers-demand-south-korea-return-funds-120035258.html

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Pruett ties Haywood's record as Ganassi wins Rolex

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) ? Humbled a year ago when both its cars failed to make the podium, Chip Ganassi Racing returned to the Rolex 24 at Daytona determined to pick up another victory watch.

An eyebrow-raising lineup change that involved Juan Pablo Montoya showed just how serious the team was about winning, and it delivered Sunday with its fifth win in 10 appearances in the prestigious sports car race. The victory was the fifth for lead driver Scott Pruett, tying Hurley Haywood's record for wins in the twice-around-the-clock race at Daytona International Speedway.

"Having gotten to know Hurley real well over the years by racing with him and just as a friend, and to have him there at the end was pretty special," Pruett said.

The winning team of three-time defending Grand-Am drivers Pruett and Memo Rojas, along with Montoya and IndyCar driver Charlie Kimball, making his Rolex debut, beat the Max Angelelli-led VelocityWW team by almost 22 seconds.

It was Montoya who closed out the win, driving the final stint and waging a strong battle in the final hour with defending champion AJ Allmendinger. Ganassi's No. 01 BMW Riley had a clear horsepower advantage, and once Montoya got past Allmendinger, the win was his for the taking.

But the Ganassi team figured it was four laps short on fuel, and Montoya needed to build a lead of at least 40 seconds to hold off Angelelli and Allmendinger when he was forced to stop for gas. The Colombian did it by turning laps close to qualifying pace, and breezed to his third Rolex victory.

"It was a lot of pressure; I thought we have a decent lead, we're just going to go out there and ride for two and a half hours," Montoya said. "And then you realize there's a caution and another caution and another caution, and with the way the rules are and the speed the car had, it's like you didn't want to get into a ... contest with anybody. You had to be smart about when you passed them.

"We were kind of concerned about the (Shank) car, what they were going to do with fuel because they told me they could make it until the end and that we were going to have to push, and we pushed like crazy and opened up a hell of a gap. It was fun."

Montoya's other two wins were with Pruett on the No. 01 car in 2007 and 2008, but he spent the last three years driving for the No. 02 Ganassi "star car" and came away empty-handed each time. When the Ganassi cars were left off the Rolex podium last season for the first time since 2005, team management went to work on the cars and setting up a lineup that gave them two chances to win.

Montoya admitted he thought the switch was "a weird move," but owner Chip Ganassi and team manager Mike Hull insisted it wasn't a demotion for the driver who has been stuck in a lengthy slump in his full-time NASCAR job.

Ganassi said the Montoya move was Hull's call, but he also questioned it when the decision was made.

"I read that as you did, and I asked him about it, and he said it was to balance the thing out," Ganassi said. "We needed to balance it out. We also had Charlie Kimball in that car, and we wanted to give those guys every opportunity to win, as well, and we thought the 02 car was obviously very strong, and so we thought we had two good shots at it here."

The No. 02 car, driven by Indy 500 winners Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon, Daytona 500 winner Jamie McMurray and sports car ace Joey Hand, was strong until McMurray hit the wall exiting pit road following an early morning driver change. The damage to the steering may have contributed to the mechanical failure that knocked the car out of the race with four hours remaining.

"It's hard. This is different than crashing in a regular event," McMurray said. "When it's just you, it's not the same as having three other teammates and the amount of people we've had down here for testing. It is very embarrassing, very humbling, very heartbreaking to be the guy that does that. You don't want to be that guy."

In all, Ganassi's two cars combined to lead an overwhelming majority of the 709 laps in a race that had a record 74 lead changes.

But the attention was on Montoya, who is clearly under pressure to perform this year, the final year of his contract with Ganassi.

"I think you always race for your job. It's normal," Montoya shrugged.

He stepped up Saturday and Sunday as the No. 01 team had to balance out Kimball's inexperience. It was the first time racing in a car with a roof on it for Kimball, who has diabetes and uses his fight with the disease as his platform.

"Having these guys as teammates takes a heck of a lot off my shoulders because I knew that I could settle in, and as long as I was smart and didn't make too many big mistakes and kept us in the race, they'd put us in a position to win at the end," said Kimball, who had one turn in the car for two late-night stints.

The Chevrolet team of Angelelli, defending IndyCar champion Ryan Hunter-Reay and Jordan Taylor finished second for team owner Wayne Taylor ? redemption after an engine failure 22 minutes in last year's event ended the team's day. But Angelelli was bothered by engine restrictions to their Chevy that gave the Ganassi BMW's a clear power advantage.

"We have something restricted, OK? Just like driving with handcuffs; you can't do it, can't drive," he said. "Montoya and the 01 car is another league, is an A class. We are B class."

Defending race winner Michael Shank Racing twice came back from seven laps down to finish third in a Ford. It was a disappointing finish for team owner Shank, but a moral victory considering the hole the team clawed out of to make it to the podium.

Allmendinger, racing at Daytona for the first time since NASCAR suspended him for failing a random drug test hours before the July race here, teamed with fellow NASCAR driver Marcos Ambrose, IndyCar driver Justin Wilson and Grand-Am regulars John Pew and Ozz Negri for the finish.

Ambrose was added to last year's winning lineup after Negri broke his leg a month ago during offseason training, but Negri was able to return to the car this weekend for limited driving duties a mere six days after his cast was removed.

"We were saying that on the way over, John and I, how if you'd have told us after the first hour we could have a chance of finishing third, we would have been over the moon," Wilson said. "As we were on the podium, we were thinking, well, there's nothing quite like being first, but we just have to be grateful for the chance we had."

Audi Sport Customer Racing won the GT class in an Audi R8 with drivers Filipe Albuquergue, Oliver Jarvis, Edoardo Mortara and Dion von Moltke.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pruett-ties-haywoods-record-ganassi-wins-rolex-205304337--spt.html

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For Super Bowl ads, it's go viral or go home

16 hrs.

Ben Popken, NBC News contributor

Call them super leaks, super teasers or super previews. But for a growing number of Super Bowl advertisers, they are super smart business.

For years, Super Bowl commercials were closely guarded secrets until they aired on the biggest ratings day of the year. These days, companies have discovered that teasing them online in advance of the big day is a more efficient way of getting their brand message in front of the masses.

CBS, which will broadcast Super Bowl XLVII on?Feb. 3, sold 30-second ad slots for up to $4 million, so it?s no wonder advertisers try to squeeze every drop of value out of their investment.

"We are seeing more teasers because they have been effective," said?Steve Posavac, professor of marketing at Vanderbilt University. "This year, many advertisers feel that if they don?t release a teaser, they will fail to gain consumers? mindshare, and that their ads will be lost in the clutter."

Mercedes-Benz roared out of the starting line first last week, with its spot featuring Kate Upton. Strutting in daisy dukes and a low cut tank top, the striking supermodel blows suds in slow motion at a group of guys as they wash her Benz and ogle her frame, mouths agape.

Though it shows less skin than a standard shampoo commercial -- and seems demure in comparison to?Upton's past backseat turn for Carl's Jr.?last year ? it has already drummed up plenty of buzz. As of Friday night, the teaser racked has up more than 4.6 million YouTube views.

That?s right, more than a week before the San Francisco 49ers face the Baltimore Ravens, Mercedes-Benz?s ad is already a success. And, thanks to the Parents? Television Council, we have the first Super Bowl controversy.

"This ad [reinforces] for millions of wives, daughters and sisters across the country that you use your sex appeal to get what you want," a Parents' Television Council spokesperson told the Daily Mail, complaining that the ad "isn't selling cars, it?s selling sexual objectification."

The sound bite provided global media outlets (ours included) the perfect news hook. In the following days, the ad has been discussed, analyzed, and played over and over again, at no cost to the Mercedes. Talk about return on investment!

The luxury German automaker isn?t the only player in this game. Coca-Cola, Sketchers, Wonderful Pistachios (with 'Gagngam Style' superstar Psy) and MiO (with Tracy Morgan) have released previews.

Coke is also making a huge social media play with its "Mirage" campaign. In it, three quirky character-driven groups -- show girls, badlanders, and cowboys -- race across an African desert to be the first to reach the thirst-quenching Coca-Cola oasis. A preview spot is circulating online encouraging viewers to vote online to determine which group ends up winning in the final spot. Online surfers can either vote by "old-fashioned" online button clicking, or vote-casting with the Twitter hashtags #CokeCowboys, #CokeShowgirls and #CokeBadlanders.

The beverage giant?s advertising company has also cooked up animated gifs, "sabotage videos" and other content ready-made for Tweeting, Tumbling, Instagramming, and Facebooking.?

Indeed,?Coke?has come a long way from Mean Joe Greene?s jersey toss in Coke?s legendary commercial 34 years ago.

The reason for the big social push is simple: More shares equal more views, which equals more brand exposure.

"Without a social media component, a Super Bowl ad is worthless," said?David Johnson, CEO of public relations agency Strategic Vision.

Social has risen and advertisers are rising to meet it.

"Three quarters of the audience will be on a 'second screen' during the Super Bowl,? said Ankarino Lara, chief product officer for Thismoment, which builds branded online content distribution software. "The biggest brands recognize the audience shift and plan mobile and on live elements in their campaigns."

According to data by the Unruly Viral Video Chart, the "Billboard 100 of viral videos," 75 percent of the top 20 most-shared ads from Super Bowl 2012 went up online before game day;? 55 percent of sharing happened after March 1, 2012; and total Super Bowl ads shares increased by 129 percent from 2011 to 2012.

Audi is taking a similar "choose your own adventure" approach as Coke's. On Thursday night, it posted the beginning of its ad, showing a kid driving to his high school prom dateless but in his dad's new 2013 Audi S6 high-performance sports sedan. The German automaker also uploaded three versions of the ending, giving viewers 24 hours to vote on which one will make the final cut.

Other companies are also hopping on the social bandwagon:?

• Doritos has reprised its annual "Crash the Super Bowl" contest, allowing a fan-made commercial to air during the game.?
  
• Lincoln has teamed up with Jimmy Fallon to let fans write the script for its commercial on Twitter with the hashtag #Steerthescript.?
  
• Pepsi, Pizza Hut and Toyota will include fan-submitted photos in a commercial.?
  
• VW is promoting the #GetHappy hashtag.
  

Advertisers still have plenty of tricks up their sleeves, though, and some are deliberately taking an "anti-leak" strategy that still has an eye on Twitter impact.

"Some advertisers are holding back ads for a 'surprise' factor and for the instant chatter that will take place on social media during the game," said Katherine Wintsch, founder of The Mom Complex, an Interpublic Group of Companies unit focused on marketing to mothers.

Brands still place a premium on using the Super Bowl as the ultimate stage for product debuts; Anheuser-Busch is going to debut two new drinks at the game: Budweiser Black Crown and Beck's Sapphire.

"I don?t know what it is, but everyone finds humor in dog ads or baby ads," John Yorke, President of creative firm Rain 43, said. "Last year, we saw lots of both ? and the highest rated ads came from these categories ? so if it ain?t broke, don?t fix it ? expect to see more of this trend."?

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/super-bowl-ads-its-go-viral-or-go-home-1C8119016

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The Difficulty Of Business Finance | Commercial Mortgages ...

Seeking commercial finance for any business is not without its difficulties and whether it is a bridging loan, leasehold finance, commercial mortgage or perhaps even a HMO or a buy to let mortgage; business owners can face many difficulties when attempting to obtain much needed finance.

According to the latest news reports, businesses are still struggling to?receive?commercial finance and with banks?persistently?declining many small and medium corporations the support they need; it is not surprising that all commercial loan applications are viewed as difficult endeavours.

Despite the Bank of England?s declaration into the end of recession and a promise of increased support to the small and medium businesses in and around the country via the funding for lending scheme; the struggle to obtain much needed lending still remains.

It appears that, the continuing economic strain has dubbed those unable to provide a hefty loan deposit, as far too much of a risk for any form of substantial lending and thus; the small and medium businesses which often fall into this category are often left stranded. The immediate rejection is not all that has worried a range of business owners, the worry also lies around hidden charges and abnormally high arrangement fees that have left those lucky enough to have received any support; in a far worse position then when initially started.

The unreliability of the high street lender may have proven many things but one issue it seems to have brought to light is the value of the alternative lender. For many years, prior to the economic recession, the alternative lender; be it the building society or the mortgage broker, was deemed as the unfashionable choice however, as a distrust in banking authorities grew, a new found trust in the alternative lender blossomed.

As an independent source of finance; the alternative lenders provide a better scope, increased trust and greater opportunity for financial aid. For the small and medium businesses that may or may not have suffered previous loan rejection, the commercial mortgage broker has proven to be a reliable and trustworthy source.

As an alternative lender; a commercial broker works on behalf of a business to source the ideal form of financial lending. Where one option may not be viable, another may be presented, as immediate rejection remains an unfamiliar trait to the broker.

The commercial finance broker offers a range of finance options that can include:

• Commercial Mortgage
• Buy to let Mortgage
• HMO Mortgage
• Bridging Loans
• ?Conveyancing
• Development Finance
• Invoice Finance
• Life Insurance

A specialist mortgage lender possesses access to strict portfolios of commercial loan lenders and can provide access, to a range of low interest loan opportunities. In contrast to bank salesmen, commission is not a factor and the success of a commercial broker lays in the success of matching businesses with the right lender and securing a lasting finance agreement.

By analysing personal and business finance records, cash flow, projections and the overall risk of a business and the lender; a commercial mortgage broker will always work in the best interests of your business and provide the best possible solution.

The benefits of obtaining commercial finance from an independent broker are endless and can include:

• Varying rates of mortgage (fixed rate, interest rate and so forth)
• Financial Stability
• Improved Business Cash Flow
• Low Interest Rates
• Tax Deductibility

Seeking commercial finance is still not without its difficulties however; with an independent commercial mortgage broker the opportunities are far greater. Using the LTV and DSCR ratios; a logical solution can be determined.

Financing commercial requirements, whether debt recovery or growth and expansion, can seem impossible in today?s difficult economy however, all avenues are not lost and the possibility of securing commercial finance still exists in the hands of the right lender?

Source: http://www.charlestonfinancial.co.uk/the-difficulty-of-business-finance/

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Obama birth control mandates loosens lawsuits

FILE - In this Feb. 10, 2012, file photo, President Barack Obama and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius leave the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, after the president announced the revamp of his contraception policy requiring religious institutions to fully pay for birth control. The legal challenges over religious freedom and the birth control coverage requirement in Obama?s health care overhaul appear to be moving toward the U.S. Supreme Court. Dozens of lawsuits have been filed by faith-affiliated charities, hospitals and universities, against the mandate which requires employers to provide insurance that covers contraception for free. However, many for-profit business owners are also suing, claiming a violation of their religious beliefs. The religious lawsuits have largely stalled, as the Department of Health and Human Services tries to develop an accommodation for faith groups. However, no such offer will be made to individual business owners. And their lawsuits are yielding conflicting rulings in appeals courts around the country. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 10, 2012, file photo, President Barack Obama and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius leave the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, after the president announced the revamp of his contraception policy requiring religious institutions to fully pay for birth control. The legal challenges over religious freedom and the birth control coverage requirement in Obama?s health care overhaul appear to be moving toward the U.S. Supreme Court. Dozens of lawsuits have been filed by faith-affiliated charities, hospitals and universities, against the mandate which requires employers to provide insurance that covers contraception for free. However, many for-profit business owners are also suing, claiming a violation of their religious beliefs. The religious lawsuits have largely stalled, as the Department of Health and Human Services tries to develop an accommodation for faith groups. However, no such offer will be made to individual business owners. And their lawsuits are yielding conflicting rulings in appeals courts around the country. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

FILE - In this May 15, 2012 file photo, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius speaks in Bethesda, Md. The legal challenges over religious freedom and the birth control coverage requirement in President Barack Obama?s health care overhaul appear to be moving toward the U.S. Supreme Court. Dozens of lawsuits have been filed by faith-affiliated charities, hospitals and universities, against the mandate which requires employers to provide insurance that covers contraception for free. However, many for-profit business owners are also suing, claiming a violation of their religious beliefs. The religious lawsuits have largely stalled, as the Department of Health and Human Services tries to develop an accommodation for faith groups. However, no such offer will be made to individual business owners. And their lawsuits are yielding conflicting rulings in appeals courts around the country. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

NEW YORK (AP) ? The legal challenges over religious freedom and the birth control coverage requirement in President Barack Obama's health care overhaul appear to be moving toward the U.S. Supreme Court.

Faith-affiliated charities, hospitals and universities have filed dozens of lawsuits against the mandate, which requires employers to provide insurance that covers contraception for free. However, many for-profit business owners are also suing, claiming a violation of their religious beliefs.

The religious lawsuits have largely stalled, as the Department of Health and Human Services tries to develop an accommodation for faith groups. However, no such offer will be made to individual business owners. And their lawsuits are yielding conflicting rulings in appeals courts around the country.

"The circuits have split. You're getting different, conflicting interpretations of law, so the line of cases will have to go to the Supreme Court, " said Carl Esbeck, a professor at the University of Missouri Law School who specializes in religious liberty issues.

Last year, the Supreme Court ruled that Obama's fiercely contested health care overhaul, known as the Affordable Care Act, was constitutional. But differences over the birth control provision in the law have yet to be resolved.

Under the requirement, most employers, including faith-affiliated hospitals and nonprofits, have to provide health insurance that includes artificial contraception, including sterilization, as a free preventive service. The goal, in part, is to help women space pregnancies as a way to promote health.

Religious groups who employ and serve people of their own faith ? such as churches ? are exempt. But other religiously affiliated groups, such as Catholic Charities, must comply.

Roman Catholic bishops, evangelicals and some religious leaders who have generally been supportive of Obama's policies have lobbied fiercely for a broader exemption. The Catholic Church prohibits the use of artificial contraception. Evangelicals generally permit the use of birth control, but they object to specific methods such as the morning-after contraceptive pill, which they argue is tantamount to abortion.

Obama promised to change the birth control requirement so insurance companies and not faith-affiliated employers would pay for the coverage, but religious leaders said more changes were needed to make the plan work.

The Health and Human Services Department said it could not comment on litigation. A spokeswoman also did not respond to a question about when the latest revisions in the birth control rule would be made public.

However, government attorneys responding to a lawsuit said an announcement was expected by the end of March. In the suit filed by the evangelical Wheaton College in Illinois and Catholic Belmont Abbey in North Carolina, the court ordered government attorneys to provide a progress report on the new rule every 60 days. Whatever its final form, the mandate will take effect for religious groups in August.

At the center of the cases is the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the 1993 law that bars the government from imposing a substantial burden on the exercise of religion for anything other than a compelling government interest pursued in the least restrictive way. The question of how or whether these criteria apply when owners of for-profit businesses have a religious objection to a government policy hasn't been fully tested.

"It's more natural for people to say Notre Dame exercises religion, but when you say this power tool company exercises religion, you have to explain it little more, I think the claims are really the same," said Kyle Duncan, general counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which represents many of the plaintiffs.

Brigitte Amiri, senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union, argued the business owners are trying to use a religious liberty claim to deny benefits to someone else.

"We don't think that religious liberty claims can be used as a way to discriminate against women employees ? using those claims to take away someone else's benefits and services," Amiri said.

In the lawsuits from faith-affiliated groups, such as the University of Notre Dame, judges around the country have generally said it would be premature to decide the legal issues until the federal rule for religiously affiliated organizations is finalized.

In the cases involving business owners, judges have granted temporary injunctions to businesses in nine of 14 cases they've heard, while questions about for-profit employers and religious rights are decided, according to a tally by the Becket Fund.

In a case brought by Cyril and Jane Korte, Catholic owners of Korte & Luitjohan Contractors in Illinois, a three-judge panel granted a temporary injunction, ruling 2-1 that providing employees insurance coverage that includes birth control would violate the Kortes' faith.

"It is a family-run business, and they manage the company in accordance with their religious beliefs," the judges wrote.

The dissenting judge argued that the company will not be paying directly for contraception but instead will purchase insurance that covers a wide range of health care that could include birth control, if the woman decides with her physician that she needs it.

"What the Kortes wish to do is to preemptively declare that their company need not pay for insurance which covers particular types of medical care to which they object," the dissenting judge wrote.

Similar reasoning was used by courts denying an injunction requested by the arts and crafts chain Hobby Lobby and religious book-seller Mardel Inc., which are owned by the same evangelical family. Oklahoma-based Hobby Lobby calls itself a "biblically founded business" and is closed on Sundays.

The U.S. district judge who first considered the request said, "Hobby Lobby and Mardel are not religious organizations."

"Plaintiffs have not cited, and the court has not found, any case concluding that secular, for-profit corporations such as Hobby Lobby and Mardel have a constitutional right to the free exercise of religion," the ruling said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-01-26-Birth%20Control-Lawsuits/id-08d8c7c370e54db8893162245c4be5fb

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