News of the hour that hits the crowd

Verizon Wireless today unveiled a new slim slider phone designed for them by Samsung. It is called the Samsung Sway and you’ll find it pricing around $70 after rebate and contract. The Samsung Sway offers your typical array of media and lifestyle features to make it more than just a mobile. It includes being a MP3 player which can be loaded with music via a USB cable, a 2.0-megapixel digital camera with video recording and digital zoom and Bluetooth support. Other features of the Sway include expandable memory up to 8GB via microSD, a bilingual user interface, a weight of only 3.56 ounces and chat time of up to 270 minutes. It will be available later this month. As we know Nokia is the number one selling phone maker and the No.2 spot had been taken up by Motorola, however Samsung has now taken it away from them. It is because of phones like the upcoming Samsung Sway SCH-u650, which has helped the Korean electronics giant reach this success. The new Samsung Sway SCH-u650 will be availab...

KITT is back! But like almost everyone else on TV these days, the star of the revived "Knight Rider" has had a little work done. He's still KITT, but that now stands for Knight Industries Three Thousand. And instead of the classic Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, he's now a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR with nanotechnology and the ability to take on the temporary appearance of other cars. Though KITT may be the most recognizable name and grill from TV's recent past, he's not alone. They may not ever grab the cover of Rolling Stone or TV Guide, but these TV star cars have charisma to spare. The new KITT is one cranky back-seat driver. The reboot of the kitschy ’80s action show “Knight Rider” (premiering Wednesday night at 8 on WHDH, Ch. 7) comes with some solid CGI work, a few pretty people and an annoying spin on the retooled vehicle. The new KITT (Knight Industries Three Thousand) is one cool car, and in this age of big-screen “Transformers,” it better be. KITT is ca...

New York to observe seventh anniversary of 9/11 attacks Seven years after the Sep 11 terrorist strikes, New Yorkers Thursday will remember the attacks that killed more than 2,700 people with the destruction of the World Trade Center's twin towers. The city will observe the anniversary with renewed calls for vigilance against the constant threats of new terrorist attacks. Names of the dead will be read yet again. The presidential nominees of both US major parties, Republican senator John McCain and his rival, Democratic senator Barack Obama, plan to attend ceremonies at Ground Zero, site of the destroyed towers. Both candidates have agreed to call off their election rhetoric and suspend campaign television ads on that day out of respect for the dead from the 9/11 attacks, which targeted New York and Washington. McCain and Obama issued a joint statement this week: "All of us came together on 9/11 - not as Democrats or Republicans but as Americans. We were united as one American...

Amantadine and Huntington's disease Medication and Treatment for Huntington's disease Susceptibility to Oseltamivir and Amantadine of Human Influenza Viruses Circulating in Portugal Background: Since 2002, increasing incidence of amantadine resistance has been detected worldwide. In a minor extent, emergence of oseltamivir-resistant strains has been identified during 2007/2008 winter season. This study aims to contribute to global surveillance on antiviral resistance and to risk assessment of drug use with continuous liberation of national data. Its main objective is to evaluate influenza virus susceptibility to oseltamivir and amantadine during 2004/2005-2007/2008, in Portugal. Methods: Susceptibility to oseltamivir was evaluated by fluorescence assay in 233 strains from 2004/2005-2007/2008. NA and HA1 gene sequencing was performed in statistical outliers and in 30% of susceptible strains, identified by fluorescence. Resistance to amantadine was evaluated by pyrosequencing in ...

'http://newsofthehour.blogspot.com/'" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQVAPfOrivc4R21GyGlg73lGpOOIorZb7MHZXWzIP5PLsF_snJ1_PrJJm-vdKL29aBQRTY0YLWAEykcNEkcX2FQcagrAJN3IJAzNqOmiH3EQMUmprMUL1nbCasyUzLS_zlUvAHIeDhpG4E/s1600-h/giant_leg.jpg"> Doctors can’t tell Mandy Sellars why her legs keep expanding – all they say is that her only option is a drastic amputation. She travelled to the US for a new TV show in search of an alternative... It’s not easy being Mandy Sellars. She has hugely outsized legs that make having a normal life nearly impossible. People stare whenever she leaves the house, she needs a special car to get around and can’t work full time. What’s more, her condition is getting worse and doctors say she needs an amputation so severe she won’t be able to sit up. And she doesn’t even know what’s caused it. But the cheerful 33-year-old from A...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A publicist for the Dave Matthews Band says saxophone player LeRoi Moore has died of injuries suffered in an all-terrain-vehicle accident in June. Publicist Ambrosia Healy says Moore died Tuesday at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was initially hospitalized in late June after the accident on his farm outside Charlottesville, Va. Moore had recently returned to his Los Angeles home to begin physical rehabilitation when complications forced him back into the hospital. Moore was 46. Moore was injured in an ATV accident on June 30 in Charlottesville. He reportedly punctured a lung and broke his ribs. He was released from hospital but was readmitted following complications. "LeRoi Moore, saxophonist and founding member of Dave Matthews Band, died unexpectedly Tuesday afternoon, August 19, 2008, at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles from sudden complications stemming from his June ATV accident on his farm near Charlottesville,...

I'm sure some of you remember the lovely Leryn Franco. She was the attractive Paraguayan picked up by NBC cameras during the Beijing Opening ceremonies. It took people a little while to figure out that she competes in the javelin, but it took people almost no time to figure out she has her own modeling calendar. Anyway, there's not much debating her attractiveness, so how about we find out how she did in the javelin? Uh, not so good. As Fourth Place Medal informs us, Franco competed this morning and finished second-to-last in the qualifying round with a throw that was 12 meters short of her personal best. I don't know a lot about javelin, but I know that when you come in second to last, the only person worse than you probably comes from a country where javelins don't even exist. In other words, you suck. But at least Franco made an impression on us and taught us all a valuable and important lesson: Don't be ugly. Leryn Franco bridges the gap between sports and hot w...

Olympic disappointment for Hoosier divers Anne Marie Tiernon/Eyewitness News Beijing - More Hoosier athletes in action Monday night in Beijing. Two divers took to the platform and took a shot at bringing home a medal. Thrilling day for the men's gymnastics team getting the bronze medal and not expected to be on the podium without the help of the Hamm brothers. Not the case for our hoosier divers David Boudia and Thomas Finchum who were expected to medal and did not. Hopes were high and gratitude was overflowing from Audrey Finchum, mother of Hoosier diver. "Everybody pooled their fund to help us get here and we are just so thankful, it really means a lot, thank you." The Boudia and Finchum families arrived at the Water Cube, the diving venue, to see Noblesville's David Boudia and Indianapolis' Thomas Finchum compete in the synchronized ten meter platform. But the families also shared a concern: "I want him to do the best he can do so that he is happy with his...

BEIJING -- David Boudia and Thomas Finchum couldn't deliver the United States' first Olympic diving medal since 2000, finishing fifth today in the synchronized 10-meter event at the Water Cube. Boudia, Noblesville, and Finchum, Indianapolis, won the Americans' only diving medal at the 2007 World Championships and had one streak of 10 consecutive international meets in which they won medals. They were less than five points from a bronze medal. As expected, China's Lin Yue and Huo Liang won the gold, scoring 468.18 points. Germany's Patrick Hausding and Sascha Klein were second, 450.42, and Russia's Gleb Galperin and Dmitriy Dobroskok third, 445.26. Australia was fourth at 444.84. The Hoosiers scored 440.63. They were in third place through four of the six rounds but dropped to fifth after their fifth dive. No U.S. diver has won a medal at the Olympic Games since Laura Wilkinson's gold on platform at Sydney in 2000. No U.S. male diver has won a medal since Ind...

Google's e-mail service Gmail is offline for many users right now. Those wondering if they are alone in experiencing the outage can find comfort on Twitter, which is up and sizzling with Gmail down alerts. To track the spread of the outage (and to find out when it is corrected), take a look Twitter Search, which is posting dozens of items a second about the outage. Some Webware readers are reporting that Gmail's business e-mail service is also down. Users already logged into Gmail when the outage started may be able to read messages in their in-box, although sending messages generates an error. Update: Many users are reporting that the straight HTML version of Gmail is still working (some say it does not). Likewise, access via IMAP is still functioning for some users. More updates: Google's blogs are strangely silent on the topic, but the Gmail Help Discussion in Google Groups has the official updates about the outage. Also, some users are reporting that Gmail is working fo...

Raymond Hunter Geisel was arrested Wednesday for a death threat geared toward Sen. Barack Obama. According to a Secret Service affidavit, Geisel, 22, was in a class for bail bondsmen when he "allegedly referred to Obama with a racial epithet and continued, 'If he gets elected, I'll assassinate him myself.' " "Another person in the class quoted Geisel as saying that 'he hated George W. Bush and that he wanted to put a bullet in the president's head,' according to the Secret Service. "Geisel denied in a written statement to a Secret Service agent that he ever made those threats, and the documents don't indicate that he ever took steps to carry out any assassination. He was charged only with threatening Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, but not for any threat against President Bush." Geisel was interviewed on Saturday by agents of the US Secret Service's Miami field office and arrested a day later. Geisel denied making thre...

mythbusters kari tricks What is it that makes the water in this container invisible? Is it sulfur hexafluoride? You have probably heard of the gas Helium which is lighter than air, well that glass container is filled with a gas called Sulfur hexafluoride. Sulfur hexafluoride is a colorless, odorless gas which is heavier than air. Because it is so dense you can float a light aluminium boat on top of it. What’s even more interesting is that it has the opposite effect on your voice to the effect helium has. When you breathe in helium it makes your voice higher pitched, but when you breathe in Sulfur hexafluoride your voice become deeper. There are a lot of videos found in youtube.com illustrating how true they used the invisible water but putting something in the water and it really floats and later on sinked when the demonstrator pour the invisible water on the top of the floating object.

BEIJING -- Whenever U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps or Australian Libby Trickett breaks a world record, it is not just the spectators in the stands that jump to their feet and applaud. As the photographers happily snap away and the television commentators start yelling themselves hoarse, the swimmer's sponsors are laughing all the way to the bank. World records never last long in swimming but a flood of records in the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics has created an unlikely controversy because most were achieved in Speedo's new space-age swimsuit. The jury is out still out on whether the suits are actually responsible for all the records. The manufacturers wink and smile whenever they're asked about their benefits but scientists who have tested them have found no real evidence proving there are any advantages. Whatever the case, the controversy has been a marketing dream for the sponsors whose product has suddenly become one of the most recognizable brands of the Games even thou...

Actor Heath Ledger, who died following a drug overdose earlier this year, will be remembered in an on-screen tribute in his final film, The Dark Knight. The end credits of the Batman Begins sequel will include a farewell note to the 28-year-old who died in January. At the time of his death the Brokeback Mountain star had just completed filming the role of The Joker. Special effects technician, Conway Wickliffe, who was killed in a stunt accident, will also be remembered. The special tribute reads: "In memory of our friends Heath Ledger & Conway Wickliffe." 'Iconic role' The hotly anticipated Dark Knight film also stars Christian Bale as Batman, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman. Ledger died from an accidental overdose of six different types of prescription drugs in his New York apartment. In the production notes, British director Christopher Nolan wrote of Ledger: "I needed a phenomenal actor, but he also had to be someone unafraid of taking on su...

For the next two weeks, Shout99 and Qdos Consulting is running a special offer for readers for full contract reviews at £50. Here Qdos explains the importance of a contract review: Qdos Consulting writes: Those who are seasoned veterans of the contracting community will be familiar with the workings of agencies. These large organisations will typically assure any contractor they come across that they offer fully IR35-compliant contracts. They will invariably point to the fact that their terms and conditions have been drafted by legal experts and pass all the necessary IR35 tests. Newcomers to the world of contracting, or those who were rushed through their agency or client’s processes in order to make a quick start on a particular assignment, may have taken solace in their agency’s comments. Unfortunately, the inconvenient truth is that a large number of agencies use contracts that are wholly inappropriate for those wishing to operate as a ltd company contractor. Although many agency c...

Look past guard’s college troubles, focus on ability and defense The Celtics [team stats], with an eternity to decide on their next prospect and the very real chance that the 30th pick in the draft won’t crack their 15-man roster, selected a player some might consider a risk. J.R. Giddens, an explosive, 6-foot-5 scorer from New Mexico, worked out for the Celtics twice Wednesday and impressed the staff enough to get picked last night in New York. Giddens, whose involvement in a bar fight led to his transfer from Kansas to New Mexico in 2005, believes that experience is partly responsible in preparing him for his new role with the NBA champions. “I feel like I’ve overcome all those things,” he said. “It helped to build the character that I have now. God does everything for a reason, and I believe he laid out this path for me now. I was a young guy, immature. I made a bad decision.” As much as maturity issues led to his transfer and perhaps his slide down the draft board, the C’s coaching...

Dede, now 35, baffled medical experts when warty "roots" began growing out of his arms and feet after he cut his knee in a teenage accident. The welts spread across his body unchecked and soon he was left unable to carry out everyday household tasks. Sacked from his job and deserted by his wife, Dede has been raising his two children - now in their late teens - in poverty, resigned to the fact that local doctors had no cure for his condition. To make ends meet he even joined a local "freak show", parading in front of a paying audience alongside victims of other peculiar diseases. Tree man 'who grew roots' may be cured By Matthew Moore Last Updated: 2:49am GMT 13/01/2008 An Indonesian fisherman who feared that he would be killed by tree-like growths covering his body has been given hope of recovery by an American doctor - and Vitamin A. # Update: Tree root man is innocent victim # Fighting the curse of the face-eating tumour # Surfer dude stuns physicists wi...

William Hung Is ALIVE William Hung Is Not Dead Previous News: Las Vegas, NV - Kitschy American Idol Star William Hung , famous for his botching of Ricky Martin's "She Bangs," was found dead yesterday, apparently of an intentional heroin overdose. The announcement of his death sent shockwaves to the tens of people who still found him funny. Ironically, Mr. Hung was found by a VH1 camera crew sent to begin filing "William Hung: Behind the 'Music.'" Viacom immediately decided to rename the special: "William Hung: fifteen minutes till death." Friends of Mr. Hung say he had become despondent in recent days. "I don't know, it's just so sad," said Ming Tse, one of Hung's former classmates at Stanford, "I heard him the other day on Snotbubble's Morning Madhouse; he kept trying to make William say things like 'me so horny' and 'hey sailor' while playing the sound of a bomb falling. I just know William was h...