Chuck D files $100M class-action suit against label (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) ? Universal Music Group is being asked to pay the piper when it comes to digital licensing -- and the bill could end up being pretty hefty indeed.

Public Enemy frontman Chuck D (born Carlton Douglas Ridenhour) filed a class-action lawsuit against Universal in U.S. District Court in Northern California on Tuesday, alleging that the music giant has short-changed its artists and producers in licensing deals for digital downloads and ringtones.

The suit alleges that Universal owes its artists "hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties" because of the discrepancies.

According to the suit, Universal's artists and producers are entitled to 50 percent of the net receipts from digital downloads and ringtones.

However, the suit alleges, the company has treated such transactions like sales of physical product. Meaning that not only is there a much lower royalty rate involved, but the company makes deductions for things like containers and packaging -- which aren't an issue for digital downloads or ringtones.

The difference, the suit claims, is massive.

According to Ridenhour's claim, under UMG's current method of accounting, artists and producers receive $80.33 for every 1,000 downloads, when the correct amount should be $315.85 per 1,000.

On the ringtone side of things, the discrepancy is even more drastic. The suit claims that UMG's current accounting method yields $49.89 per thousand downloads, as opposed to the $660 per 1,000 that the suit claims is actually owed.

Ridenhour, who claims breach of contract, is demanding a jury trial.

The Public Enemy frontman isn't the only one claiming shenanigans in UMG's accounting. The trust of deceased "Super Freak" singer Rick James has also filed a class-action suit against the company, also claiming that UMG is treating licensing profits as resale profits. Though the company attempted have the complaint dismissed, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston dismissed that motion Tuesday.

TheWrap was unable to reach UMG for comment.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111103/music_nm/us_chuckd

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Lindsay Lohan returns to court, may return to jail (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? Lindsay Lohan returns to court Wednesday to learn whether a judge will agree with a prosecutor advocating that the actress be returned to jail for failing to complete a community service assignment at a women's shelter.

Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sautner revoked Lohan's probation at a hearing nearly two weeks ago, but now must formally determine whether Lohan violated the terms of her sentence. The judge has asked prosecutors to calculate how long of a jail term the actress would have to serve if she is formally found in violation of her probation for misdemeanor drunken driving and theft cases.

Sautner, who is the fifth judge that Lohan has faced since her first arrest in 2007, has expressed exasperation with the actress and California's budget-strapped jail system.

"If jail meant something in the state of California now, maybe I'd put her in jail," Sautner said at Lohan's last court appearance.

The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office is advocating jail time for the actress, however spokesman Frank Mateljan declined to say Tuesday what sentence a prosecutor would seek.

Lohan's spokesman, Steve Honig, declined comment before the hearing.

The "Mean Girls" star has been reporting to the Los Angeles morgue regularly, which Sautner ordered her to do at the last court appearance. The judge had sentenced Lohan to serve 120 hours doing janitorial work at coroner's office in April, but expressed hope that the actress would benefit from working three times that amount of hours at a women's shelter.

Lohan, 25, was terminated from the shelter program after failing to show up nine times at the center. She told her probation officer the assignment was not fulfilling, according to the actress' probation report.

The actress' morgue service has not been without drama ? she was turned away the first day after showing up 40 minutes late. She has shown up early several times since then. Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter declined to characterize how Lohan's service was progressing Tuesday.

There are few, if any, untried punishment options if Sautner determines Lohan violated her orders. The former Disney star has been sent to jail, rehab, counseling and community service numerous times since being arrested twice for drunken driving in 2007. Her probation on that case is nearly over, but her release remains supervised after Lohan in May pleaded no contest to misdemeanor theft for taking a $2,500 necklace without permission in January.

Once a headlining actress, Lohan's court and personal troubles have overshadowed her career for years.

___

McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111102/ap_on_en_ot/us_people_lindsay_lohan

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Palestine wins UNESCO seat (The Envoy)

Delegates applaused as UNESCO voted to give Palestine membership. (RT)

Palestine won full admission into UNESCO, the United Nations science, education and cultural heritage organization, in a closely watched vote in Paris Monday. Global diplomacy hands view the 107-14 vote as a benchmark carrying larger implications for the Palestinians' bid for state recognition before the UN Security Council. Both the United States and Israel have strongly opposed both initiatives.

The United States, Israel, Canada, Germany, Sweden and Australia were among the 14 nations voting against the Palestinians' UNESCO bid, while 107 countries--including France, Spain, Ireland, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, India, Russia, China, South Africa and Indonesia--voted in favor. Fourteen nations--including the United Kingdom and Italy--abstained.

Washington, which called the UNESCO vote "premature" Monday, has threatened to cut off U.S. funding to UNESCO if Palestine is granted membership. The United States?currently accounts for about one-fifth of the organization's funds.

Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued a statement after the vote, saying it would harm the peace process.

Palestine's successful UNESCO bid comes as Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair is due to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House Monday.

Blair has been trying to advance the Quartet's efforts to get the Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table, asking each side to lay out their specific terms for resolving the issues of borders and security for a two-state solution. Meanwhile, Israeli officials have been depicting Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as an unworthy peace partner.

Abbas, in turn, has recently reiterated his periodic threat to dissolve the Palestinian Authority--a move that would presumably leave Israel responsible for administering, funding, and coordinating security for the West Bank's Palestinian population.

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Want more of our best national security stories? Visit The Envoy or connect with us on Facebook and on Twitter.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/un/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theenvoy/20111031/ts_yblog_theenvoy/palestine-wins-unesco-seat

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Eastern U.S. forests not keeping pace with climate change, large study finds

ScienceDaily (Oct. 31, 2011) ? More than half of eastern U.S. tree species examined in a massive new Duke University-led study aren't adapting to climate change as quickly or consistently as predicted.

"Many models have suggested that trees will migrate rapidly to higher latitudes and elevations in response to warming temperatures, but evidence for a consistent, climate-driven northward migration is essentially absent in this large analysis," says James S. Clark, H.L. Blomquist Professor of Environment at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment.

Nearly 59 percent of the species examined by Clark and his colleagues showed signs that their geographic ranges are contracting from both the north and south.

Fewer species -- only about 21 percent -- appeared to be shifting northward as predicted. About 16 percent seemed to be advancing southward, and around 4 percent appeared to be expanding in both directions.

The scientists analyzed data on 92 species in more than 43,000 forest plots in 31 states. They published their findings this month in the journal Global Change Biology.

The study found no consistent evidence that population spread is greatest in areas where climate has changed the most; nor do the species' response patterns appear to be related to seed size or dispersal characteristics. "Warm zones have shifted northward by up to 100 kilometers in some parts of the eastern United States, but our results do not inspire confidence that tree populations are tracking those changes," says Clark, who also holds appointments at Duke as a professor of biology and statistics. "This increases the risk of serious lags in tree migrations."

The concept of climate-driven migration is based on the assumption that as temperatures warm, the southern edge of some tree species' ranges could begin to erode as adult trees die and the seeds they leave behind in the soil can no longer sprout. At the same time, the species could spread to higher latitudes as seedlings dispersed on their northern boundaries are able to take root in newly favorable climates there.

To test whether this predicted response was occurring in real life, Clark and his colleagues pored through decades of data compiled by the U.S. Forest Service's Forest Inventory and Analysis Program. They compared the relative distributions of seedlings, saplings and adult trees of 92 widely distributed eastern U.S. species at 43,334 plots in 30 different longitudinal bands, and factored in things like seed characteristics, and changes in climate and precipitation.

"The patterns of tree responses we were able to document using this seedling-versus-tree analysis are more consistent with range contraction than with northward migration, although there are signs some species are shifting to higher elevations," Clark says.

The fact that the majority of the northernmost latitudes documented for seedlings was lower than those for adult trees of the same species indicates "a lack of evidence for climate-mediated migration, and should increase concern for the risks posed by climate change," he says.

Kai Zhu, a doctoral student of Clark's at Duke, was lead author of the study. Christopher W. Woodall, research forester at the U.S. Forest Service's Northern Research Station in St. Paul, Minn., was a co-author.

The study was funded by the National Science Foundation.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Duke University.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. Kai Zhu, Christopher W. Woodall, James S. Clark. Failure to migrate: lack of tree range expansion in response to climate change. Global Change Biology, 2011; DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2486.2011.02571.x

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111031154132.htm

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Teen Pot Use Unaffected by Medical Marijuana Law: Study (HealthDay)

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 2 (HealthDay News) -- The legalization of medical marijuana in some states has raised concerns that it will increase the availability and appeal of the drug among youth, but new research suggests no such link.

For the study, Rhode Island Hospital researchers examined adolescent marijuana use in Rhode Island and Massachusetts between 1997 and 2009. Rhode Island legalized medical marijuana in 2006.

The investigators analyzed survey data from almost 33,000 students and found that marijuana use was common throughout the study period, and a comparison of the two states revealed that there were no statistically significant differences in marijuana use in any given year.

"Our study did not find increases in adolescent marijuana use related to Rhode Island's 2006 legalization of medical marijuana; however, additional research may follow future trends as medical marijuana in Rhode Island and other states becomes more widely used," lead author and emergency medicine physician Dr. Esther Choo said in a news release from Lifespan, a health system in Rhode Island.

The study was scheduled for presentation Wednesday at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association, in Washington, D.C.

The data and conclusions of research presented at medical meetings should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about marijuana.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/meds/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20111102/hl_hsn/teenpotuseunaffectedbymedicalmarijuanalawstudy

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Andy Plesser: Gannett Making "Significant Investment in Video"

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Gannett, the nation's largest newspaper group, is making a "significant investment in video" through site redesign, content acquisition, training of staffers on video reporting,...

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-plesser/gannett-making-significan_b_1069514.html

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Ed Rollins: Michele Bachmann 'Out Of Money And Ideas,' Can't Expect To Win In Iowa

Ed Rollins, GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann's former campaign manager, had some harsh words on Monday for the Minnesota congresswoman.

Speaking to ABC News, Rollins said that Bachmann has little chance of victory in next year's Iowa caucuses and that she is "out of money and ideas." Rollins elaborates in the full story:

"She's still saying the same things she said in the first the debate. There's no substance. She says, 'I'm going to repeal Obamacare.' But she's been saying that from Day 1. I told her: That's your Tea Party speech, now you have to say what you're going to do next."

ABC News reports that Bachmann's campaign did not immediately respond to Rollins' comments.

Rollins stepped down as Bachmann's campaign manager in September, explaining that his departure was due to health reasons. His words on Monday contrast starkly with comments he provided to Fox News a few days after leaving the campaign. Rollins, speaking to Bill O'Reilly, said of Bachmann at the time, "The bottom line here is she's the best candidate in this field." During the interview, Rollins explained that "it's not over yet." He continued, "If she wins Iowa, she's still in this race."

When pressed a few weeks ago about previous criticisms from Rollins, Bachmann joked about the veteran GOP strategist. The New York Times reports:

When it was pointed out that Mr. Rollins has a history of speaking sharply about candidates who once employed him, Mrs. Bachmann offered a tight smile. "I guess I should have done that Google search," she said.

Rollins' comments come on the heels of a Tea Party group's call for Bachmann to drop out of the presidential race. In a blog post last Wednesday, Ned Ryun of American Majority stated, "It's time for Michele Bachmann to go." Ryun cited a variety of reasons for his opinion, specifically blasting Bachmann for claiming to represent the Tea Party. "An individual personality or organization purporting to be a 'leader' of what is truly a grassroots movement can hurt the tea party brand by creating false impressions about its core beliefs," explained Ryun. He concluded, "The Tea Party doesn't have a spokesperson, and it's certainly not Michele Bachmann."

Outside criticism isn't the only thing the Bachmann campaign needs to worry about these days. Ames, IA Patch reports:

On Sunday, during an appearance at the Grace Baptist Church in Marion, the Republican presidential candidate dismissed the significance of Sunday's Des Moines Register Iowa Poll, in which she placed a distant fourth place.

"The poll is a snapshot in time and our poll that we are looking at is January 3," Bachmann said of the Iowa caucus date, while speaking to reporters. "We are doing exactly what we need to do. We're meeting with Iowans all across the state."

After winning the Iowa Straw Poll in August, the Minnesota Congresswoman has slid to the back of the Republican presidential pack. In the Des Moines Register's Poll, only 8 percent of Iowans said Bachmann was their top choice.

Speaking to ABC News, Bachmann further dismissed the results of the Des Moines Register poll, reiterating what she said at Grace Baptist Church. "I'm doing exactly what I need to do in Iowa," said Bachmann. She continued, "We're not worried about the day-to-day snapshots. What we're focused on are the primary dates."

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/31/ed-rollins-michele-bachmann-iowa_n_1068671.html

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Kansas city missing baby case becoming a circus, critics say (Reuters)

KANSAS CITY, Mo (Reuters) ? A former lawyer for the parents of a missing Kansas City baby said on Monday she quit in a dispute with a rival New York lawyer, the latest twist in a case that some critics see as a legal and media circus.

Within days after 11-month-old Lisa Irwin mysteriously disappeared from her parent's home on October 3, questions were raised about how a family living in a modest house could afford a New York lawyer, Joe Tacopina, and a New York private investigator, Bill Stanton.

Stanton has said a wealthy unnamed individual is paying for his services and putting up a $100,000 reward in the case. Tacopina has not said who is paying his fee.

The parents of Lisa, Jeremy Irwin and Deborah Bradley, have followed an aggressive media strategy, appearing repeatedly on national media. They have accused the police of jumping to conclusions about the involvement of Bradley in the baby's disappearance.

"I think the whole case has been a media circus since the beginning," said Jeff Lanza, a retired Kansas City FBI agent who is now a security and communications consultant. "It's distracted from the investigation."

Some also wonder why the parents focused so heavily on national media interviews while refusing local media interviews, if they wanted to find the baby.

"Local reporters are complaining bitterly about it," said Michael Mahoney, a veteran reporter with KMBC-TV in Kansas City. "They think the family has opted to take this story nationally when local reporters believe they have the best chance of finding this infant by getting the word out."

A Kansas City police spokesman, Darin Snapp, said the department had no comment on how the case had developed other than, "people have a right to counsel."

The story of the baby's disappearance told by Bradley has changed in the weeks since she went missing. In the early days, Bradley told several breakfast television shows that she believed that the police thought she killed the baby.

Later, the mother admitted in a national TV interview that she was drunk the night of the baby's disappearance. A police sniffer dog found the scent of a dead body in one room of the house, though no body has been found.

At first, the couple cooperated with police, then said they were no longer cooperating, then softened their stance again.

Last week police interviews with young half-brothers of baby Lisa were scheduled and then canceled by the family at the last minute without explanation.

A press tour of the Irwin home scheduled for Friday and a press conference with local reporters after were canceled.

The lawyer who quit, Cyndy Short, told reporters on Monday she and Tacopina had very different "goals and approaches" in working with the media and investigators in the disappearance of Lisa nearly a month ago.

"I was told the family had made a decision to stay with Joe and my decision was that I could not stay with Joe," Short said in a news conference outside her office.

Bradley and Irwin said in a statement later Monday that they let Short go.

"One of the reasons we relieved Mrs. Short was because she was holding her own press conferences, making statements to the media, and giving tours of the home that we were finding out about after the fact," the couple said. In addition, they said the FBI informed them Short was not being productive.

Tacopina in a telephone interview, said Short's involvement in the case "was too much about media and not enough about the ultimate goal" of finding Lisa. A new Kansas City-based lawyer will be added to the case later Monday, he said.

Tacopina is an ex-prosecutor who has become a defense attorney for highly-publicized clients such as Joran Van der Sloot, a Dutch man suspected in the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba.

Stanton, a former New York police officer known as "Wild Bill," has appeared frequently on network television to talk about high-profile crime cases. A profile of him in New York magazine said he worked on "explosive, sensitive, headline-producing cases" such as the divorce of business mogul Carl and Liba Icahn.

Short said she and the parents are convinced that someone came into the Irwin house and stole Lisa. Bradley has said she put Lisa to bed the evening of October 3 and Irwin has said she was missing when he returned from work early the next morning.

(Editing by Greg McCune)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111101/us_nm/us_baby_missing

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C-Spire getting iPhone 4S on Nov. 11, unlimited ?non-streaming? data

Regional US carrier, C-Spire is officially getting the iPhone 4S on Nov. 11.
As a carrier dedicated to delivering the best personalized wireless experience, we?re proud to offer the amazing new iPhone 4S to our customers,? said Hu Meena, president and chief executive officer for
...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/qr2sA3FLPRE/story01.htm

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ADM earns up on accounting gain, adj profit falls (AP)

NEW YORK ? Agricultural processor Archer Daniels Midland Co. said Tuesday its fiscal first-quarter earnings rose 33 percent mostly due to an accounting gain. Without the gain, its adjusted profit fell from a year earlier on weak margins in its oilseeds business and high corn costs.

Shares slipped 17 cents to $28.77 in premarket trading.

The Decatur, Ill., company reported net income of $460 million, or 68 cents per share, compared with $345 million, or 54 cents per share, a year earlier.

Adjusted for the accounting issue and other items, ADM earned 58 cents per share, down from 67 cents a year earlier.

The company recorded a so-called "LIFO" gain of 11 cents per share in the most recent quarter, and a penny per share in debt exchange costs. LIFO, or last-in, first-out, assumes that a company sells its newest products first. If a product is sold for more than it was bought for, the difference is taken as a gain.

Net revenue rose to $21.9 billion from $16.8 billion.

Analysts expected adjusted earnings of 67 cents per share on lower revenue of $19.12 billion.

Operating profit in the company's oilseeds business fell to $221 million from $308 million a year earlier. Its corn processing operating profit fell to $179 million from $341 million in last year's fiscal first quarter. ADM's unit that provides agricultural services posted an improved operating profit of $244 million, up from $132 million a year ago.

ADM says it offset some cost pressures through hedging. It's seeing a smaller U.S. harvest than last year, but says global demand for crops remains solid.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/earnings/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111101/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_archer_daniels

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