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Thursday, May 16, 2013

U.S. sets $1 billion healthcare innovation initiative

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Wednesday announced a $1 billion initiative to fund innovations in federal healthcare programs aimed at cutting costs while improving the health results.

The Department of Health and Human Services said the money will be used to award and evaluate projects that test new payment and delivery models for federal programs including Medicare, Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program.

The announcement marks the second round of innovation initiatives for the administration under President Barack Obama's 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The government is looking for models that can quickly cut costs in outpatient or post-acute settings, improve care for people with special needs, transform healthcare providers' financial and clinical models or improve health conditions by clinical category, geographic area or socioeconomic class.

The application period runs from June 14 to August 15.

(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Vicki Allen)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-sets-1-billion-healthcare-innovation-initiative-140919323.html

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Friday, May 3, 2013

Living Inside the Box

IRA FLATOW, HOST:

Here with us now is Flora Lichtman, our correspondent and managing editor for video. Flora, welcome.

FLORA LICHTMAN, BYLINE: Hi.

FLATOW: What wonderful stuff do you have for us this week?

LICHTMAN: Well, from the less practical or the no practical application to the very practical in this week's Video Pick.

FLATOW: Ooh.

LICHTMAN: This week's Video Pick. Let me just tell you the story of Michele Bertomen and David Boyle. They are - they were property owners in Brooklyn, New York. They had this little lot, 20 by 40 feet, in Williamsburg. And they had the dream of building their own home. Now, Michele is an architect and David is a contractor, and they thought, well, let's build something conventional. You know, it's a small lot, but maybe we can make something sort of, you know, just a nice little home. And they sent out the plans and it came back at over $300,000. And this as more than they have.

FLATOW: Yeah.

LICHTMAN: You know, they thought it's small place, right?

FLATOW: Sure.

LICHTMAN: But it turns out that the costs for building houses, at least in their experience, it wasn't the materials. It was the manpower, the insurance.

FLATOW: This is New York.

LICHTMAN: So they had another idea.

(LAUGHTER)

LICHTMAN: And that's this week's Video Pick. They decided to try building with shipping containers. You know what I'm talking about?

FLATOW: Those rectangular boxy things...

LICHTMAN: Yeah, the big metal boxes.

FLATOW: Big metal boxes.

LICHTMAN: You see them on cargo ships.

FLATOW: Right. They're stacked up like crazy.

LICHTMAN: They're stacked up, right. They can take a lot of weight.

FLATOW: Yeah. This is SCIENCE FRIDAY from NPR.

LICHTMAN: I'm Flora Lichtman.

FLATOW: I'm Ira Flatow, talking about where we left off with the shipping containers.

LICHTMAN: Right. So people have done this before. But the amazing thing about this - so we took a tour of their home, and that's this week's video. The amazing thing about this is that Michele went to work in the morning and she came home and the building was up. And not only that, the reason why they chose shipping containers is because it was just a lot less expensive. So it was like $50,000 to get the building envelope with these recycled shipping containers, which, by the way, had been in service for 10 years shipping goods, versus the $300,000 for the envelope of the building that they had mapped out.

FLATOW: Mm-hmm. And so they saved a lot of money.

LICHTMAN: They saved - and they have a beautiful home.

FLATOW: It's our Video Pick of the Week. It's up there on our website, and it really is beautiful. You took - you got the 50 cent tour of the place.

LICHTMAN: Oh, I occupied them for hours.

(LAUGHTER)

LICHTMAN: I went through the drawers. I was in the bathrooms. I wanted to see it all. And it really was - one of the cool things is they have all these roof decks. So the way it's arranged, there are these - there are three shipping containers on one side stacked up.

FLATOW: Right.

LICHTMAN: And then on the other, there are two. And in between, they constructed kind of a light passageway of the stairs and what have you. And so on top of one, they have two roof decks, basically, you know, really cool stuff. And one of the things that I learned about it that I didn't know is that it's a lot easier to use sort of up-cycled or recycled materials. Because the shipping containers are so easy to cut into, you can, for instance, build your house and then go look for your windows. And then you go to find recycled windows and they're in different shapes and you just cut out the hole for them.

FLATOW: Yeah, yeah. That's right. You can build it to order. And this is the first one in New York, right?

LICHTMAN: Yes. So they say they think it's the first one in New York. I'm still waiting on a callback from the building department.

(LAUGHTER)

FLATOW: Well, how easy is it to get the permits and go through all that paperwork?

LICHTMAN: You know, it sounded like it was a very trying experience. Michele Bertomen talks a lot about sort of bad memories. It took many years. They were stopped for months. And you know, ultimately I think it ended up being beautiful. But there were times during that process where they weren't sure that they were going to be able to do it. And they said that if they hadn't been architects and contractors and known sort of the ins and outs, they aren't even sure. But they sort of blazed trail

FLATOW: Yeah.

LICHTMAN: And it's kind of inspiring, I thought.

FLATOW: If you drive by, can you look at it and say that's a shipping container?

LICHTMAN: Yes. It's on Keep Street(ph) for you New Yorkers out there.

(LAUGHTER)

LICHTMAN: It's published. You can find it.

FLATOW: That's in Brooklyn, right?

LICHTMAN: Yeah. And they see people all the time will stop in front of their house and sort of start staring until they come out. And you know what, one - here's one other little tidbit that I thought was amazing. You know, there were some unexpected things about living in shipping containers, and one has to do with what it sounds like.

(SOUNDBITE OF VIDEO)

MICHELE BERTOMEN: David really likes the sound of the rain and the snow.

DAVID BOYLE: Hail is great. It's like ting, ting, ting, ting, ting, ting, ting, ting.

BERTOMEN: Yeah. It's really different.

BOYLE: It's not annoying.

BERTOMEN: It's very romantic.

LICHTMAN: Michele Bertomen and David Boyle talking about living in shipping containers.

FLATOW: And so if you're a New Yorker, there is still hope for you in those little spots between buildings.

LICHTMAN: That's right. This has been baking for 60 years.

FLATOW: Sixty years. And you can fit - how long - how wide is the container?

LICHTMAN: I think they're - I'm not exactly sure.

FLATOW: Ten, 12 feet, something like that?

LICHTMAN: Yeah, something like that, and 40 feet long.

FLATOW: OK. There's a spot for you. There are plenty of those spots in Brooklyn.

LICHTMAN: And the shipping containers run 1,500 to 2,500 recycled. You can go to New Jersey and get them. Apparently there are many.

(LAUGHTER)

FLATOW: Yeah. I know a guy.

LICHTMAN: Yeah...

(LAUGHTER)

FLATOW: Thank you, Flora.

LICHTMAN: Thanks, Ira.

FLATOW: That's about all the time we have for today.

Copyright ? 2013 NPR. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to NPR. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/05/03/180824406/living-inside-the-box?ft=1&f=1007

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Giant rubber duck sails into Hong Kong harbor

May 1 (Reuters) - Post position for Saturday's 139th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs after Wednesday's draw (listed as barrier, HORSE, jockey, trainer) 1. BLACK ONYX, Joe Bravo, Kelly Breen 2. OXBOW, Gary Stevens, D. Wayne Lukas 3. REVOLUTIONARY, Calvin Borel, Todd Pletcher 4. GOLDEN SOUL, Robby Albarado, Dallas Stewart 5. NORMANDY INVASION, Javier Castellano, Chad Brown 6. MYLUTE, Rosie Napravnik, Tom Amoss 7. GIANT FINISH, Jose Espinoza, Tony Dutrow 8. GOLDENCENTS, Kevin Krigger, Doug O'Neill 9. OVERANALYZE, Rafael Bejarano, Todd Pletcher 10. PALACE MALICE, Mike Smith, Todd Pletcher 11. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/50-foot-rubber-duck-sails-hong-kong-harbor-190949396.html

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Cubs leave Wrigley Field? North Siders call $300 million plan a strikeout.

The Chicago Cubs want to upgrade Wrigley Field with $300 million in renovations. But locals worry that the changes could hurt the neighborhood and the park.

By Mark Guarino,?Staff writer / May 2, 2013

This artist rendering shows the proposed 6,000-square-foot video screen behind left field at Wrigley Field.

Chicago Cubs/AP

Enlarge

To Major League Baseball fans, the Chicago Cubs without Wrigley Field is like a hot dog without mustard or a Cracker Jack box without a toy.

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The scenario may sound improbable for long-time fans of the North Side's lovable losers, who have not won a World Series since 1908, but on Wednesday Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts told a meeting of business leaders he would ?consider moving? the team from the 99-year-old ballpark if the city did not approve his controversial $300 million renovation plan.

It was the same conundrum faced by Boston's Fenway Park not too long ago: Baseball's last two legacy parks are not designed to accommodate the revenue-generating aspects of the modern baseball experience, from extensive food and drink options to plenty of entertainment and parking galore. A $285 million renovation of Fenway ? most notably adding the now-iconic seats atop the Green Monster ? eased the 1912 park into the 21st century.?

Now the Cubs are trying to do the same for Wrigley, built in 1914, but that means putting the local community in a bind. Mr. Checketts imagines a 6,000-square-foot video board, 40 more night games, extended beer sales, the expansion of an adjacent club, and the right to shut down neighboring Sheffield Avenue for street fairs. He also wants to build a nine-story luxury hotel and office building across the street from the ballpark, and a walkway that connects both to Wrigley Field.

In other words, the very things that make Wrigley unique ? its intimate place in a quaint North Side neighborhood ? are precisely what need to change to help the Cubs generate more revenue. City officials, neighbors, and business owners say the changes will impact density, increase public safety concerns, and destroy the nostalgia factor.

The question now is how the tensions will play out. Could the Cubs possibly abandon Wrigley??

?The Cubs have always marketed Wrigley Field, and they reaped the benefits. From a fan?s standpoint, it would probably take a lot of marketing to switch them to somewhere else,? says Ted Cox, a long-time Chicago sports journalist and author of ?1,001 Days in the Bleachers: A Quarter Century of Chicago Sports.?

The ?somewhere else? for the Cubs would be Rosemont, Ill., a booming suburb of largely industrial and commercial development that borders O?Hare International Airport and the city?s northwest side. Already housing a casino, convention center, sports arena, a string of luxury hotels and nightclubs, Rosemont is actively pursuing Ricketts with the lure of public financing, an option Chicago city officials say is off the table.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/t4jUJNu8gYo/Cubs-leave-Wrigley-Field-North-Siders-call-300-million-plan-a-strikeout

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N. Korea sentences American to 15 years of hard labor

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? An American detained for nearly six months in North Korea has been sentenced to 15 years of "compulsory labor" for unspecified crimes against the state, Pyongyang announced Thursday.

The sentencing of Kenneth Bae, described by friends as a devout Christian and a tour operator, will further complicate already strained relations between Pyongyang and Washington as the countries pursue tentative diplomacy following weeks of warlike threats from North Korea.

Pyongyang's official state media said Bae's trial took place Tuesday, but the dispatch provided few new details. Bae was tried in the country's Supreme Court on charges of plotting to overthrow the government. He could've faced the death penalty.

The exact nature of his alleged crimes has not been revealed.

Bae was arrested in early November in Rason, a special economic zone in North Korea's far northeastern region bordering China and Russia, North Korea said.

The trial mirrors a similar situation in 2009, when the U.S. and North Korea were locked in a standoff over Pyongyang's decision to launch a long-range rocket and conduct an underground nuclear test. At the time, North Korea had detained two American journalists, whose eventual release after being sentenced to 12 years of hard labor paved the way for diplomacy following months of tensions.

In North Korean dispatches, Bae, a Korean American from Washington state, is called Pae Jun Ho, the North Korean spelling of his Korean name.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nkorea-sentences-american-15-years-hard-labor-023655233.html

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Steven Spielberg to direct 'American Sniper'

FILE - In this Feb. 24, 2013 file photo, director Steven Spielberg arrives at the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Spielberg has his sights set on his next film. A spokeswoman for DreamWorks Studios said Thursday, May 2, 2013, the filmmaker plans to direct Bradley Cooper in an adaptation of the best-selling book "American Sniper." (Photo by John Shearer/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - in this March 28, 2013 file photo, actor Bradley Cooper attends the premiere of Focus Features' "The Place Beyond The Pines" at the Landmark Sunshine Theater in New York. Steven Spielberg has his sights set on his next film. A spokeswoman for DreamWorks Studios said Thursday, May 2, 2013, the filmmaker plans to direct Bradley Cooper in an adaptation of the best-selling book "American Sniper." (Photo: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Steven Spielberg has his sights set on his next project, a movie about former Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle.

A spokeswoman for DreamWorks Studios says the filmmaker will direct Bradley Cooper in an adaptation of the best-selling book "American Sniper."

"Spread" screenwriter Jason Hall wrote the script based on the autobiography of Kyle, who was killed along with a friend earlier this year while at a North Texas gun range. An Iraq war veteran who they were trying to help deal with PTSD is charged with the killings.

Kyle is considered to be the deadliest sniper in U.S. military history. At the time of his death, he was working on another book, "American Gun: A History of the U.S. in Ten Firearms."

The film will be a co-production of DreamWorks and Warner Bros.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-05-02-Film-American%20Sniper/id-69e5f32191ab4534990cca3ee45d04a2

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Shell CEO Voser to retire in 2014

AMSTERDAM (AP) ? Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Monday Chief Executive Peter Voser will step down in early 2014, and the company reported lower first-quarter profits in the wake of a decline in oil prices.

The departure comes as a surprise, as Voser is just 54 years old and is well-regarded within the industry. Shell broke with a longstanding tradition of alternating British and Dutch chief executives with the July 2009 appointment of Voser, a Swiss national.

"I feel it is time for a change in my lifestyle and I am looking forward to have more time available for my family and private life," Voser said in a note to staff. Voser has been at Shell for 25 years, including five years as CFO and four as CEO.

He added that he plans to serve in non-executive business positions outside Shell.

Since taking Shell's top job, Voser has invested heavily in production, much of which is just starting to come online. In particular he has focused on expanding the company's presence in liquefied natural gas, or LNG, which can be transported without pipelines.

The company also became Europe's largest oil company by market capitalization on his watch, as major rival BP PLC struggled to recover after its massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Among independent oil companies globally, only ExxonMobil is larger.

Chairman Jorma Ollila praised Voser for "reorganizing the company, delivering growth, and developing a clear forward strategy with a strong portfolio of new options."

He said a search for a new CEO is underway, with candidates inside and outside the company under consideration.

"The search for a replacement CEO will be an unwelcome distraction," said analyst Richard Hunter, Head of Equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers, who rates shares a hold.

The surprise announcement came as Shell said its net profit fell to $8.18 billion from $8.74 billion in the first quarter of 2012. Revenues fell 5.1 percent to $112 billion.

Stripping out the impact of oil price fluctuations and asset sales, underlying earnings grew 2 percent, the company said in a statement.

Shell produced 3.56 million barrels of oil per day, fractionally higher than 3.55 million a year ago. Shell said core production is growing, but some of its capacity in Nigeria is closed due to security threats.

Production earnings fell 10 percent to $5.65 billion due to lower oil prices. The company's refining arm profits rose 28 percent to $1.69 billion amid better margins.

Hargreaves Lansdown's Hunter said the company's earnings were better than expected, but highlighted that Shell is playing a "long game" by investing heavily in infrastructure to increase earnings over time.

He said Shell has an "extensive project plan...to underpin future production across several energy sources." Around 30 projects are under development.

In a conference call with reporters, CFO Simon Henry said the security situation in Nigeria was deteriorating and that oil stolen by militias breaking into pipelines in the chaotic Niger Delta has been running at $5-7 billion per year. If anything, he said that figure was increasing and impacting upon Shell's activities.

He said that when Shell closed part of one pipeline for repairs, thieves promptly attacked it elsewhere. "It's finger in the dike time," he said.

He said the thieves' disregard for spills left Shell little choice but to shut down operations.

"The environmental impact from the theft is of an order of magnitude higher than anybody would ever want to see," he said.

He also noted that Shell is awaiting word on licenses from the U.S. government before deciding whether it will resume attempts to drill offshore in the Arctic circle off the shore of Alaska in 2014, something that is opposed by environmental groups.

"We do expect to be able to drill" eventually, he said, adding that Shell currently values its Alaskan operations at $2.8 billion.

Shares rose 1.6 percent to 26.25 euros in early trading in Amsterdam.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/shell-ceo-voser-retire-2014-080005340.html

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