Don't txt n drive: Teens not getting msg: 43 percent of youths admit to texting while driving

May 4, 2013 ? Teens can get hundreds of text messages a day, but one message they aren't getting is that they shouldn't text and drive.

Nearly 43 percent of high school students of driving age who were surveyed in 2011 reported texting while driving at least once in the past 30 days, according to a study to be presented Saturday, May 4, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Washington, DC.

"Texting while driving has become, in the words of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a 'national epidemic,'" said principal investigator Alexandra Bailin, a research assistant at Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York.

Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death among teenagers, and using a phone while driving significantly increases the risk of accidents in this age group. The specific act of texting while driving has been found to raise the risk of a crash by 23 times, leading many to conclude that texting while driving is more dangerous than driving while intoxicated.

"Although teens may be developmentally predisposed to engage in risk-taking behavior, reducing the prevalence of texting while driving is an obvious and important way to ensure the health and safety of teen drivers, their passengers and the surrounding public," Bailin said.

To determine the prevalence of texting while driving among youths, Bailin and her colleagues analyzed data from the 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey of 7,833 high school students who were old enough to get a driver's license in their state.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducts the national survey every two years to monitor six types of health-risk behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death, disability and social problems among U.S. youths. For the first time, the 2011 survey included a question about texting while driving: "During the past 30 days, on how many days did you text or e-mail while driving a car or other vehicle?"

The researchers also sought to determine whether other high-risk behaviors are associated with texting while driving and if state laws prohibiting drivers from texting are effective among high school students.

Survey results showed that males were more likely to text while driving than females (46 percent vs. 40 percent), and the prevalence of texting increased with age (52 percent of those over 18 years; 46 percent of 17-year-olds; 33 percent of 16-year-olds; and 26 percent of 15-year-olds).

Furthermore, teens who reported texting while driving were more likely to engage in other risky behaviors such as driving under the influence of alcohol, having unprotected sex and using an indoor tanning device.

"By identifying associated high-risk behaviors such as these," Bailin said, "it is our hope that we can develop more effective mechanisms to reduce texting while driving."

The researchers also found that state laws banning texting while driving had little effect: 39 percent of teens reported texting in states where it is illegal vs. 44 percent of teens in states that have no restrictions.

"Although texting while driving was slightly less common in states that prohibit it, the reality is that millions of teens text while driving," said senior investigator Andrew Adesman, MD, FAAP, chief of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York. "Regrettably, our analysis suggests that state laws do not significantly reduce teen texting while driving.

"Technological solutions will likely need to be developed to significantly reduce the frequency of texting while driving," Dr. Adesman concluded. "When it comes to teen texting while driving, phones will have to get smarter if they are to protect teens (and others) from doing dumb things."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Academy of Pediatrics, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/TQfvtgx1iaM/130504163308.htm

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PepsiCo cuts ties with Lil Wayne over crude lyrics

NEW YORK (AP) ? PepsiCo is bowing to public pressure for the second time in a week and cutting ties to Lil Wayne over the rapper's crude reference to civil rights martyr Emmett Till in a song.

Lil Wayne, one of the biggest stars in pop music, had a deal to promote the company's Mountain Dew soda.

Earlier this week, PepsiCo also pulled an online ad for the neon-colored soda that was criticized for portraying racial stereotypes and making light of violence toward women. That ad was developed by rapper Tyler, the Creator.

On Friday, PepsiCo said in a statement that Wayne's "offensive reference to a revered civil rights icon does not reflect the values of our brand." It declined to provide any further comment.

A publicist for Lil Wayne, Sarah Cunningham, said that the split was due to "creative differences" and that it was an amicable parting.

"That's about all I can tell you at this time," she said.

Rev. Al Sharpton, who had been working with the Till family to arrange a meeting with Lil Wayne and PepsiCo officials, said in a telephone interview that he hopes the decision ultimately is less about punishing individual rappers and more a cultural "teaching moment."

"Otherwise we're just waiting on the next train crash instead of trying to really resolve our problem and learn from these experiences and set a tone in the country that's healthy for everybody," he said.

Sharpton said that he and the Till family still plan to meet with PepsiCo officials next week.

The controversy erupted after Wayne made the reference to Till on Future's song "Karate Chop" earlier this year. He refers to a violent sexual act on a woman and says he wants to do as much damage as was done to Till.

The black teen from Chicago was in Mississippi visiting family in 1955 when he was killed, allegedly for whistling at a white woman. He was beaten, had his eyes gouged out and was shot in the head before his assailants tied a cotton gin fan to his body with barbed wire and tossed it into a river.

Two white men, including the woman's husband, were acquitted by an all-white jury.

Till's body was recovered and returned to Chicago where his mother, Mamie Till, insisted on having an open casket at his funeral. The pictures of his battered body helped push civil rights into the cultural conversation.

Wayne had sent the Till family a letter offering empathy and saying that he would not reference Till or the family in his music, particularly in an inappropriate manner.

But the Till family had said Thursday that the letter fell short of an apology. The family was made aware of PepsiCo's decision Friday but did not immediately have a statement.

Music and media industry executive Paul Porter, who comments on music issues on his website RapRehab.com, said he thought PepsiCo's decision was an effort by the company "to do the right thing now."

Porter, who had complained publicly and to PepsiCo about Lil Wayne and the Mountain Dew video by Tyler, the Creator, said the company is "doing a whole evaluation of the process" involving its commercials and musicians. His comments were based on his conversations with the company.

"I commend them for making this strong judgment," he said. "Lil Wayne's apology was not an apology."

Earlier this month, Rick Ross also lost his deal with Reebok after he rapped about raping a woman who had been drugged. As for the Mountain Dew ad by Tyler, the Creator, PepsiCo said it pulled the spot immediately after learning people found it offensive.

The ad portrayed a battered white woman being urged to identify her attacker from a lineup of black men and a talking goat that has appeared in other Mountain Dew ads. Tyler, the Creator has noted that the men in the lineup were played by his friends and members of Odd Future, a Los Angeles-based rap collective.

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Talbott reported from Nashville, Tenn. AP Television Writer Lynn Elber contributed to this report from Los Angeles.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pepsico-cuts-ties-lil-wayne-over-crude-lyrics-223006533.html

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Why America's top general is wary of US military intervention in Syria

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/why-americas-top-general-wary-us-military-intervention-190139234.html

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'Mockingbird' author Lee sues over copyright in N.Y.

NEW YORK (AP) ? Harper Lee, who wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "To Kill a Mockingbird," filed a lawsuit Friday to re-secure the copyright to it.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan seeks unspecified damages from the son-in-law of Lee's former literary agent and companies he allegedly created.

The lawsuit alleges the son-in-law, Samuel Pinkus, failed to properly protect the copyright of the book after his father-in-law, Eugene Winick ? who had represented Lee as a literary agent since the book was published in 1960 through the firm McIntosh and Otis ? became ill a decade ago. The 87-year-old author alleges Pinkus took advantage of her declining hearing and eyesight seven years ago to get her to assign the book's copyright to him and a company he controlled.

Lee, who lives in Monroeville, Ala., has taken legal action to get the copyright reassigned but alleges Pinkus still received commissions.

"The transfer of ownership of an author's copyright to her agent is incompatible with her agent's duty of loyalty; it is a gross example of self-dealing," the lawsuit says.

The former agent's son-in-law didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.

"To Kill a Mockingbird" won the Pulitzer for fiction and is widely assigned in schools. The film version won three Academy Awards.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mockingbird-author-lee-sues-over-copyright-ny-225024166.html

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Google adds Shawnee, KS to its Fiber map

Google recently announced Provo, UT and Austin, TX are on its list of Fiber expansions, and now it's added another region near Kansas City. The city council of Shawnee, KS has voted to bring in the 1Gbps internet / TV combo, although Google isn't ready to put a timetable on the rollout yet. We're sure passed over Kansas City-area residents are happy to see Google Fiber has expanded its footprint a couple of times, but the rest of us are just as envious as ever.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD

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Source: Google Fiber Blog, City of Shawnee

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/NfmHyZVJypI/

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Chris Kelly Death: Cocaine, Heroin Suspected in Police Report

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/05/chris-kelly-death-cocaine-heroin-suspected-in-police-report/

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Pentagon may soon clear use of Apple, Samsung, BlackBerry devices

By David Alexander

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon is expected to clear Apple, Samsung and BlackBerry mobile devices for use on Defense Department networks in the next few weeks, part of an effort to ensure the military has access to the latest communications technology, a spokesman said on Wednesday.

The decision will set the stage for an intensified struggle for Pentagon customers among BlackBerry devices, Apple's iPhones or iPads and units using Google's Android platform such as Samsung Electronics' phones. The Pentagon currently has some 600,000 users of smart phones, computer tablets and other mobile devices.

The Pentagon unveiled a plan in February aimed at giving the military services a much broader range of choices among mobile devices. The department currently has 470,000 BlackBerry users, 41,000 Apple users and 8,700 people with Android devices. Most Apple and Android systems are in pilot or test programs.

"We are working towards establishing a multi-vendor environment that supports a variety of devices and operating systems, to include Samsung, Apple and BlackBerry," said Lieutenant Colonel Damien Pickart, a Pentagon spokesman.

"A key objective of the plan is to establish a department-wide mobile enterprise solution that permits the use of the latest commercial technology such, as smart phones and tablets," he added.

Several mobile devices and operating systems are currently going through a security review and approval process with the Defense Information Systems Agency, Pickart said.

Once the devices have cleared the process for creating a STIG - for Security Technical Implementation Guide - Pentagon organizations will be able to order them knowing that they have the necessary security configuration to be used on the Defense Department's internal networks, he said.

Pickart said Samsung's Knox version of Android currently is going through the security review process, with a decision expected in the next two weeks.

A full security review for Apple's iOS 6 system is expected in early May, and BlackBerry has submitted security plans for its BlackBerry 10, BlackBerry PlayBook and BlackBerry Device Service, with a decision expected in two weeks.

The security reviews are part of the Commercial Mobile Device Implementation Plan unveiled by the Pentagon in February.

Major General Robert Wheeler, deputy chief information officer, told reporters at the time that the effort aimed to ensure the Pentagon's mobile devices, wireless infrastructure and mobile applications remain "reliable, secure and flexible enough to keep up with the fast-changing technologies of today."

(Reporting By David Alexander; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pentagon-may-soon-clear-apple-samsung-blackberry-devices-232913767.html

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