Obama and Romney: Where They Stand on the Issues

A look at where Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican presidential rival Mitt Romney stand on a selection of issues, in brief:

ABORTION and BIRTH CONTROL:

Obama: Supports access to abortion. Health care law requires contraceptives to be available for free for women enrolled in workplace health plans.

Romney: Opposes abortion except in cases of rape, incest or risk to the woman's life. Previously supported abortion access. Says state law should guide abortion rights, and Roe v. Wade should be reversed by a future Supreme Court ruling. Said he would end federal aid to Planned Parenthood.

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DEBT:

Obama: Promises to cut projected deficits by $4 trillion over 10 years, a goal that will require Congress to raise the capital gains tax, boost taxes on households earning more than $250,000 a year, impose a minimum 30 percent tax on incomes above $1 million, and more. Failed in first-term pledge to cut deficit he inherited by half; recently completed budget year marked fourth consecutive year of trillion-dollar-plus red ink.

Romney: Promises to cut $500 billion per year from the federal budget by 2016 to bring spending below 20 percent of the U.S. economy and to balance it by 2020, but vital specifics are lacking. At same time would increase military spending, reverse $716 billion in Medicare cuts and cut taxes. Favors constitutional balanced budget amendment.

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ECONOMY:

Obama: Term marked by high unemployment, a deep recession that began in previous administration and officially ended within six months, and gradual recovery with persistently high jobless rates of above 8 percent, until the rate dropped to 7.8 in September, the same as it was in February 2009, Obama's first full month in office. Businesses have added jobs for more than two years straight while public sector jobs have lagged. Responded to recession with a roughly $800 billion stimulus plan, expanded auto industry bailout begun under George W. Bush, inherited and carried forward Wall Street bailout.

Romney: Lower taxes, less regulation, balanced budget, more trade deals to spur growth. Replace jobless benefits with unemployment savings accounts. Proposes replacing certain provisions of the law toughening financial-industry regulations after the meltdown in that sector. Proposes changing the law tightening accounting corporate regulations to ease requirements for mid-sized companies.

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EDUCATION:

Obama: Has approved waivers freeing states from the most onerous requirements of the Bush-era No Child Left Behind law. "Race to the Top" grant competition has rewarded winning states with billions of dollars for pursuing education policies Obama supports. Won approval from Congress for a $10,000 college tax credit over four years and increases in Pell Grants and other financial aid.

Romney: Supported federal accountability standards of No Child Left Behind law. Has said the student testing, charter-school incentives and teacher evaluation standards of Obama's "Race to the Top" competition "make sense" although the federal government should have less control of education. Says increases in federal student aid encourage tuition to go up, too. Wants to see private lenders return to the federal student loan program.

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ENERGY and ENVIRONMENT:

Obama: Ordered temporary moratorium on deep-water drilling after the massive BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but U.S. produced more oil in 2010 than it has since 2003 and all forms of energy production have increased under Obama. Achieved historic increases in fuel economy standards that will save money at the pump while raising the cost of new vehicles. Achieved first-ever regulations on heat-trapping gases blamed for global warming and on toxic mercury pollution from power plants. Spent heavily on green energy and has embraced nuclear power as a clean source. Failed to persuade a Democratic Congress to pass limits he promised on carbon emissions. Set goal of cutting oil imports by half by 2020.

Romney: Pledges U.S. will become independent of energy sources outside of North America by 2020, through more aggressive exploitation of domestic oil, gas, coal and other resources and quick approval of Keystone XL pipeline from Canada. Supports opening Atlantic and Pacific outer continental shelves to drilling, as well as Western lands, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and offshore Alaska. Says green power has yet to become viable and causes of climate change are unproved.

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FOREIGN POLICY:

Obama: Opposes near-term military strike on Iran but holds that option open if it proves the only way to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons. Declined to repeat the Libya air power commitment for Syrian opposition, instead seeks international pressure against Syrian government. Chastised Israel for continuing to build housing settlements in disputed areas and pressed both sides to begin a new round of peace talks based on land borders established after 1967 Arab-Israeli conflict. Signed law to expand military and civilian cooperation with Israel. Sought penalties against China for unfair trade but opposes branding China a currency manipulator.

Romney: Appears to present a clearer U.S. military threat to Iran and has spoken in more permissive terms about Israel's right to act against Iran's nuclear facilities, without explicitly approving of such a step and while saying U.S. military action against Iran would be last resort. Would identify those in Syrian opposition who share U.S. values, then work with U.S. allies to "ensure they obtain the arms they need to defeat" Syrian government. But has not proposed direct U.S. arms supplies to rebels and would rule out U.S. military action for now. Associates himself more closely with hardline Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pledges more military assistance to Israel. Branded Russia the "No. 1 geopolitical foe" of the U.S. and threatened to label China a currency manipulator in a move that could lead to broad trade sanctions.

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GAY RIGHTS:

Obama: Supports legal recognition of same-sex marriage, a matter decided by states. Opposed that recognition in 2008 presidential campaign and in 2004 Senate campaign, while supporting the extension of legal rights and benefits to same-sex couples in civil unions. Achieved repeal of the military ban on openly gay members. Has not achieved repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal recognition of same-sex marriages and affirms the right of states to refuse to recognize such marriages. Administration has ceased defending the law in court but it remains on the books.

Romney: Opposes legal recognition of same-sex marriage and says it should be banned with a constitutional amendment, not left to states. "Marriage is not an activity that goes on within the walls of a state." Also opposes civil unions "if they are identical to marriage other than by name," but says states should be left to decide what rights and benefits should be allowed under those unions. Says certain domestic partnership benefits ? largely unspecified ? as well as hospital visitation rights are appropriate but "others are not." Says he would not seek to restore the ban on openly gay military members.

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GUNS:

Obama: Has not pushed for stricter gun laws as president. Signed laws letting people carry concealed weapons in national parks and in checked bags on Amtrak trains. Favors "robust steps, within existing law" to address gun issues, White House says. Voices support for renewed ban on assault-type weapons but has not tried to get that done. Previously backed stronger gun controls.

Romney: Opposes stricter gun control laws. Suggested after the Colorado theater shooting that he favors tougher enforcement of existing gun laws. As Massachusetts governor, vowed in 2002 to protect the state's "tough gun laws," and in 2004 signed a Massachusetts ban on assault weapons.

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HEALTH CARE:

Obama: Achieved landmark overhaul putting U.S. on path to universal coverage now that Supreme Court has upheld the law's mandate for almost everyone to obtain insurance. Under the law, insurers will be banned from denying coverage to people with pre-existing illness, tax credits will subsidize premiums, people without work-based insurance will have access to new markets, small business gets help for offering insurance and Medicaid will expand.

Romney: Promises to work for repeal of the law modeled largely after his universal health care achievement in Massachusetts because he says states, not Washington, should drive policy on the uninsured. Says he would protect people with pre-existing conditions, though his plan only does so for those who maintain continuous coverage, not a major change from federal protections in effect before Obama's health care overhaul. Would expand individual tax-advantaged medical savings accounts and let savings be used for insurance premiums as well as personal medical costs.

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IMMIGRATION:

Obama: Issued directive in June that immigrants brought illegally to the United States as children be exempted from deportation and granted work permits if they apply. Took the temporary step after failing to deliver on promised immigration overhaul, with the defeat of legislation that would have created a path to citizenship for young illegal immigrants enrolled in college or enlisted in the armed forces. Says he is still committed to it. Government has deported a record number of illegal immigrants under Obama.

Romney: Favors U.S.-Mexico border fence, opposes education benefits to illegal immigrants. Opposes offering legal status to illegal immigrants who attend college, but would do so for those who serve in the armed forces. Would establish a national immigration-status verification system for employers and punish them if they hire noncitizens who do not prove their authorized status. Would end visa caps for spouses and minor children of legal immigrants. Would honor work permits for immigrants who benefit from Obama's new policy but not accept new applicants under the program, and promises to put in place a comprehensive immigration plan before those permits expire.

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MEDICARE:

Obama: His health care law improves coverage for beneficiaries with high prescription costs and removes co-pays for a set of preventive benefits. It also cuts Medicare spending for hospitals and other providers by more than $700 billion over a decade. Those cuts are being used to provide health insurance to more working-age Americans, and the government also counts them as extending the life of the program's giant trust fund. But he hasn't ruled out increasing costs for middle-class and upper-income Medicare recipients or increasing the eligibility age from 65 to 67.

Romney: Introduce "generous" but undetermined subsidies to help future retirees buy private insurance or join a government plan modeled on traditional Medicare. Gradually increase eligibility age to 67. Repealing Obama's health care law would roll back improved benefits for seniors unless Congress acts to protect them. It also would reverse Obama's Medicare cuts to hospitals and other providers, which could hasten insolvency of Medicare's trust fund.

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SOCIAL SECURITY:

Obama: Has not proposed a comprehensive plan to address Social Security's long-term financial problems. In 2011, proposed a new measure of inflation that would reduce annual increases in Social Security benefits. The proposal would reduce the long-term financing shortfall by about 25 percent, according to the Social Security actuaries.

Romney: Protect the status quo for people 55 and over, but raise the retirement age for full benefits for the next generation of retirees by one or two years and reduce inflation increases in benefits for wealthier recipients.

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TAXES:

Obama: Wants to raise taxes on the wealthy and ensure they pay 30 percent of their income at minimum. Supports extending Bush-era tax cuts for everyone making under $200,000, or $250,000 for couples. But in 2010, agreed to a two-year extension of the lower rates for all. Wants to let the top two tax rates go back up 3 to 4 percentage points to 39.6 percent and 36 percent, and raise rates on capital gains and dividends for the wealthy. Health care law provides for tax on highest-value health insurance plans. Together with Congress, built a first-term record of significant tax cuts, some temporary.

Romney: Keep Bush-era tax cuts for all incomes and drop all tax rates further, by 20 percent, bringing the top rate, for example, down to 28 percent from 35 percent and the lowest rate to 8 percent instead of 10 percent. Curtail deductions, credits and exemptions for the wealthiest. End Alternative Minimum Tax for individuals, eliminate capital gains tax for families making below $200,000 and cut corporate tax to 25 percent from 35 percent. Does not specify which tax breaks or programs he would curtail to help cover costs.

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TERRORISM:

Obama: Approved the raid that found and killed Osama bin Laden, set policy that U.S. would no longer use harsh interrogation techniques, a practice that had essentially ended late in George W. Bush's presidency. Largely carried forward Bush's key anti-terrorism policies, including detention of suspects at Guantanamo Bay despite promise to close the prison. Expanded use of unmanned drone strikes against terrorist targets in Pakistan and Yemen. The deadly attack by militants on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, in September raised questions that persist about the quality of U.S. intelligence and about why requests for added security there were denied before the assault.

Romney: No constitutional rights for foreign terrorism suspects. In 2007, refused to rule out use of waterboarding to interrogate terrorist suspects. In 2011, his campaign said he does not consider waterboarding to be torture.

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WAR:

Obama: Ended the Iraq war, increased U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan then began drawing down the force with a plan to have all out by the end of 2014. Approved U.S. air power in NATO-led campaign that helped Libyan opposition topple government. Major cuts coming in the size of the Army and Marine Corps as part of agreement with congressional Republicans to cut military spending over a decade.

Romney: Proposes increase in military spending. Endorses 2014 end to U.S. combat in Afghanistan. Would increase strength of armed forces, including number of troops and warships, adding almost $100 billion to the Pentagon budget in 2016. In addition, criticized congressional Republicans for negotiating a deficit-cutting deal with the White House that will mean automatic and massive cuts in Pentagon spending next year if federal budget deal is not reached in time.

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Associated Press writers Ben Feller, Matt Apuzzo, Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Stephen Ohlemacher, Alan Fram, Dina Cappiello, Ken Thomas, Jim Kuhnhenn and Christopher S. Rugaber contributed to this report.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-romney-where-stand-issues-163246185.html

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Ponte Vedra family works to end MS for daughter, others: 'It's up to ...

A New York-based foundation with family ties in Ponte Vedra Beach has donated $1 million to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society?s research campaign.

The Donald C. McGraw Foundation gift stemmed from the MS diagnosis received 18 months ago by 28-year-old Erin McGraw, daughter of Josh and Sacha McGraw, all of Ponte Vedra, said Sara Conrad, spokeswoman for the society?s North Florida Chapter.

Josh McGraw and his Massachusetts-based brother, Robin McGraw, who was already a society supporter, decided to use the family foundation?s resources to help the cause, specifically the Now Campaign, the society?s initiative to raise $250 million to fund every viable option in MS research and treatment.

?When we read about the Now Campaign, it seemed the society was focused and understood how every dollar could be used as efficiently as possible,? Josh McGraw said. ?They will target the research areas with the greatest opportunity for success.?

Erin McGraw ?is doing well thanks to the wide variety of treatments available to people living with MS,? Conrad said.

Her family has taken leadership roles in the society in her honor.

Robin McGraw had been involved in the society through the Bike MS fundraiser and as a trustee of the National MS Society?s Greater New England Chapter. His motivation stemmed from a ?dear friend? who had MS, as well as his career as a paramedic and his love of cycling, Conrad said. After Erin McGraw?s diagnosis, he also joined the MS Now Cabinet and travels across the country speaking to prospective donors.

Other family members have participated in several events, raising about $12,000 for research and chapter programs.

?It?s up to all of us to do as much as we can to find an answer,? Sacha McGraw said.

Corrina Steiger, North Florida chapter president, said she hopes the McGraw gift encourages others to join the movement.

The foundation is named after Josh and Robin McGraw?s father, Donald C. McGraw Jr., who died in 2006. He was a World War II Navy veteran and an executive with McGraw-Hill, founded by his grandfather, James McGraw.

beth.cravey@jacksonville.com, 359-4109

Source: http://jacksonville.com/news/health-and-fitness/2012-10-30/story/ponte-vedra-family-works-end-ms-daughter-others-its-all-us

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Meningitis outbreak spreads to 19 states with case in Rhode Island

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/meningitis-outbreak-spreads-19-states-case-rhode-island-010446030.html

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Hostgator Offer you Contributed Website Hosting

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New technique connects multi-walled carbon nanotubes

ScienceDaily (Oct. 29, 2012) ? Using a new method for precisely controlling the deposition of carbon, researchers have demonstrated a technique for connecting multi-walled carbon nanotubes to the metallic pads of integrated circuits without the high interface resistance produced by traditional fabrication techniques.

Based on electron beam-induced deposition (EBID), the work is believed to be the first to connect multiple shells of a multi-walled carbon nanotube to metal terminals on a semiconducting substrate, which is relevant to integrated circuit fabrication. Using this three-dimensional fabrication technique, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology developed graphitic nanojoints on both ends of the multi-walled carbon nanotubes, which yielded a 10-fold decrease in resistivity in its connection to metal junctions.

The technique could facilitate the integration of carbon nanotubes as interconnects in next-generation integrated circuits that use both silicon and carbon components. The research was supported by the Semiconductor Research Corporation, and in its early stages, by the National Science Foundation. The work was reported online October 4, 2012, by the journal IEEE Transactions on Nanotechnology.

"For the first time, we have established connections to multiple shells of carbon nanotubes with a technique that is amenable to integration with conventional integrated circuit microfabrication processes," said Andrei Fedorov, a professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech. "Connecting to multiple shells allows us to dramatically reduce the resistance and move to the next level of device performance."

In developing the new technique, the researchers relied on modeling to guide their process parameters. To make it scalable for manufacturing, they also worked toward technologies for isolating and aligning individual carbon nanotubes between the metal terminals on a silicon substrate, and for examining the properties of the resulting structures. The researchers believe the technique could also be used to connect multi-layered graphene to metal contacts, though their published research has so far focused on carbon nanotubes.

The low-temperature EBID process takes place in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) system modified for material deposition. The SEM's vacuum chamber is altered to introduce precursors of the materials that researchers would like to deposit. The electron gun normally used for imaging of nanostructures is instead used to generate low energy secondary electrons when the high energy primary electrons impinge on the substrate at carefully chosen locations. When the secondary electrons interact with hydrocarbon precursor molecules introduced into the SEM chamber, carbon is deposited in desired locations.

Unique to the EBID process, the deposited carbon makes a strong, chemically-bonded connection to the ends of the carbon nanotubes, unlike the weakly-coupled physical interface made in traditional techniques based on metal evaporation. Prior to deposition, the ends of the nanotubes are opened using an etching process, so the deposited carbon grows into the open end of the nanotube to electronically connect multiple shells. Thermal annealing of the carbon after deposition converts it to a crystalline graphitic form that significantly improves electrical conductivity.

"Atom-by-atom, we can build the connection where the electron beam strikes right near the open end of the carbon nanotubes," Fedorov explained. "The highest rate of deposition occurs where the concentration of precursor is high and there are a lot of secondary electrons. This provides a nanoscale sculpturing tool with three-dimensional control for connecting the open ends of carbon nanotubes on any desired substrate."

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes offer the promise of higher information delivery throughput for certain interconnects used in electronic devices. Researchers have envisioned a future generation of hybrid devices based on traditional integrated circuits but using interconnects based on carbon nanotubes.

Until now, however, resistance at the connections between the carbon structures and conventional silicon electronics has been too high to make the devices practical.

"The big challenge in this field is to make a connection not just to a single shell of a carbon nanotube," said Fedorov. "If only the outer wall of a carbon nanotube is connected, you really don't gain much because most of the transmission channel is under-utilized or not utilized at all."

The technique developed by Fedorov and his collaborators produces record low resistivity at the connection between the carbon nanotube and the metal pad. The researchers have measured resistance as low as approximately 100 Ohms -- a factor of ten lower than the best that had been measured with other connection techniques.

"This technique gives us many new opportunities to go forward with integrating these carbon nanostructures into conventional devices," he said. "Because it is carbon, this interface has an advantage because its properties are similar to those of the carbon nanotubes to which they are providing a connection."

The researchers don't know exactly how many of the carbon nanotube shells are connected, but based on resistance measurements, they believe at least 10 of the approximately 30 conducting shells are contributing to electrical conduction.

However, handling carbon nanotubes poses a significant challenge to their use as interconnects. When formed through the electric arc technique, for example, carbon nanotubes are produced as a tangle of structures with varying lengths and properties, some with mechanical defects. Techniques have been developed to separate out single nanotubes, and to open their ends.

Fedorov and his collaborators -- current and former graduate students Songkil Kim, Dhaval Kulkarni, Konrad Rykaczewski and Mathias Henry, along with Georgia Tech professor Vladimir Tsukruk -- developed a method for aligning the multi-walled nanotubes across electronic contacts using focused electrical fields in combination with a substrate template created through electron beam lithography. The process has a significantly improved yield of properly aligned carbon nanotubes, with a potential for scalability over a large chip area.

Once the nanotubes are placed into their positions, the carbon is deposited using the EBID process, followed by graphitization. The phase transformation in the carbon interface is monitored using Raman spectroscopy to ensure that the material is transformed into its optimal nanocrystalline graphite state.

"Only by making advances in each of these areas can we achieve this technological advance, which is an enabling technology for nanoelectronics based on carbon materials," he said. "This is really a critical step for making many different kinds of devices using carbon nanotubes or graphene."

Before the new technique can be used on a large scale, researchers will have to improve their technique for aligning carbon nanotubes and develop EBID systems able to deposit connectors on multiple devices simultaneously. Advances in parallel electron beam systems may provide a way to mass-produce the connections, Fedorov said.

"A major amount of work remains to be done in this area, but we believe this is possible if industry becomes interested," he noted. "There are applications where integrating carbon nanotubes into circuits could be very attractive."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Georgia Institute of Technology, Research Communications, via Newswise.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. S. Kim, D. Kulkarni, K. Rykaczewski, M. Henry, V. Tsukruk, A. Fedorov. Fabrication of an Ultra-Low-Resistance Ohmic Contact to MWCNT-Metal Interconnect using Graphitic Carbon by Electron Beam Induced Deposition (EBID). IEEE Transactions on Nanotechnology, 2012; : 1 DOI: 10.1109/TNANO.2012.2220377

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://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/bg5KaQmezII/121030093616.htm

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Toyota on top in latest Consumer Reports survey

By Paul A. Eisenstein, The Detroit Bureau

Japanese automakers ? led by Toyota ? dominated the 2012 automotive reliability study by influential Consumer Reports magazine.

But the study showed that European makers, notably the Audi brand, made significant gains. So did General Motors, though the other two Detroit makers didn?t fare nearly as well in the annual report by the non-profit magazine.

?Ford had a pretty bad year,? said Jake Fisher, Consumer Reports? director of automotive testing, noting that the Ford brand fell to 27th among the brands covered by the study while its sibling Lincoln marque dipped to 26th.

Toyota Motor Co.?s three U.S. brands led the annual reliability study, Scion in first place, followed by Toyota and then the Lexus luxury line.? Mazda, meanwhile, landed in fourth position.? Japanese makers have traditionally led the Consumer Reports study.

But European makers, on the whole, posted notable gains. Audi, one of the luxury brands owned by Volkswagen AG, surged upward by 18 spots and landed in the Top 10 for the first time ? notably ahead of Japanese maker Nissan and its luxury brand Infiniti, Fisher pointed out during an appearance before the Detroit Automotive Press Association.?

Audi?s upturn was the result of ?a lot of blocking and tackling over the years,? said VW executive Marc Trahan, acknowledging that past years? quality issues were a factor in Audi?s relatively weak performance in the U.S. market.

In contrast to its luxury brand, the Volkswagen marque slipped by two positions, falling to 18th in the new Consumer Reports study.

General Motors posted the biggest gain of any Detroit maker, its Cadillac brand rising 14 spots in the study, to 11th.? Fisher suggested GM, on the whole, has been working to improve the quality of existing models and to ensure new products don?t experience the traditional first-year quality problems.

The annual survey is used to offer Consumer Reports readers a guide to vehicle reliability ? but also serves as a component for CR researchers to decide which models to recommend or warn against.?

Ford had no new models added on CR?s Recommended Buy list ? but two taken off the influential guide, the Edge crossover using the maker?s high-mileage EcoBoost engine and the V-8-powered Mustang.?

The maker might have done significantly better were it not for two key problems, explained CR auto chief Fisher: its PowerShift transmission, an electrically-shifted, double-clutch manual that has been faulted for drivability issues, and the MyFordTouch and MyLincolnTouch infotainment systems. The latter technology has suffered a variety of issues including ease of use and faulty software that can unexpectedly fail while in use.

?Our reaction is that their data is very much in line with our data,? confirmed Ford spokesman Mark Schirmer. He said Ford is aware of the two key problems and has been trying to address both ? stressing that both the transmission and infotainment system issues are being addressed with ?software fixes. These are not mechanical problems.?

The study reported problems for Chrysler, as well, though not quite as serious as for Ford. Many of the problems, noted Fisher, were experienced on higher-priced models, such as the V-8 version of the Chrysler 300. The less highly-contented V-6 version of the big sedan, however, remains on the CR Recommended Buy list.

One of the big surprises was the solid performance by the newly reborn Fiat brand, which scored ?above average? with its little 500 coupe ? and landed on the Recommended Buy list.

Overall, however, Chrysler slipped sharply in the 2012 reliability study.

Among the Japanese, Nissan and Infiniti slipped out of the Top 10, the mainstream brand falling four spots to 13th on the list overall.

Hyundai, which had made major gains in quality in recent years, slipped six positions to 18th overall.

The reliability study was based on responses to an extensive questionnaire submitted by 1.2 million CR readers.? This year, about 80% of those replies came online allowing the magazine to ask more extensive questions than the traditional mail survey.

The study looked at scores of potential problems, from engine failures to wind noise to faulty infotainment systems. In contrast to some competing studies, Consumer Reports weighs problems like a broken transmission more seriously than a flaw with a vehicle?s radio. Another closely followed study, J.D. Power?s annual Initial Quality Survey, considers all ?problems? equally.

One surprise, revealed Fisher, is that quality levels have remained largely the same over the last five years ? a finding in sharp contrast to the results of other studies, such as the Power IQS. But there are big differences, nonetheless.

Where mechanical issues, like an engine failure, dominated the list of problems in the past, today it is more about electronic issues, such as the glitches with MyFordTouch.

And though some analysts contend that the gap between brands has largely closed, the new CR study shows that not to be the case.? ?There is still a huge span? between the best and the worst, stressed Fisher, noting that while 20% of the owners of the Ford Explorer SUV equipped with a V-6 all-wheel-drive powertrain reported problems, only 1% of the owners of the new Toyota Prius C had quality complaints.

The research chief cautioned that good reliability alone doesn?t mean a vehicle will get CR?s much-sought endorsement. The magazine gave a Not Recommended review to the Prius C, as well as Toyota?s subcompact Yaris.? That model also did well in the reliability study, said Fisher, adding that ?It does not break down, so it?s really lousy for a long time.?

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Source: http://bottomline.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/29/14782271-toyota-on-top-in-latest-consumer-reports-survey?lite

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Hurricane Sandy: Pre-Storm Mayhem Hits NYC ... - Yahoo! Finance

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Hurricane Sandy is barreling towards the North East Coast and expected to make landfall in New York and New Jersey Monday evening.

In preparation for the massive storm, which is being hailed as the largest in 100 years, residents in Manhattan rushed to Whole Foods stores across the city over the weekend. On Sunday, the firm's seven NYC stores were especially packed with people ahead of the MTA's mass transit closure, which was slated for 7 pm.

Related: Hurricane Sandy: Economic Impact Could Pound Main Street

Because Whole Foods is the most conveniently-located grocery store to my East Village apartment, I was one of those lucky shoppers who got stuck in the mayhem at the company's Bowery/Houston St. location. The Trader Joe's 14th Street location was out of the question since it is a cab ride away and typically very chaotic on a normal day.

So, with less than four hours until the transit system closure, Whole Foods was my store of choice.

Upon my arrival to the store around 3:30 pm ET Sunday, there was a shortage of carts and shopping baskets as customers flooded the store. And so, my shopping experience began by waiting in line at the exit for the next available cart that was no longer being used.

Once I was finally armed with a shopping cart, I made my way through the jam-packed store with as little elbowing and pushing as possible.

As I traversed up and down the aisles, and in between the serpentine checkout line that wrapped through the store, I was able to find many of the items I was in search of including water, bread, peanut butter and other non-perishable items.

However some shelves were more empty than others, like the water and bread shelves, which were almost empty as the pictures show below.

Unlike other storms, with hurricanes "you do get some days to prepare," says Michael Sinatra, public affairs manager for Whole Foods Market's Northeast Region, adding the chain learned many lessons from the 2011 threat from Hurricane Irene.

This time around, Whole Foods was better able to coordinate with its distribution center in Cheshire, Connecticut and requested additional supplies be delivered sooner rather than later.

The biggest annoyance of my experience most certainly resulted from the Whole Foods worker holding the sign reading, "11 items or more."

Over and over and over, with less than a few seconds in between, she shouted, "if you have 11 items or more, the line starts here."

But overall, with as many people as were crowding the aisles of store, the experience was surprising fairly civilized, which is perhaps a testament to the camaraderie New Yorkers tend to exhibit during times of distress.

On Sunday, many of the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut Whole Foods stores closed early due to the transportation shutdown, in an effort to get all its employees home safe, Sinatra told me. ?Stores closed by 6 pm in Manhattan -- 5 hours before normal closing time. In New Jersey, locations closed between 8 pm and 9 pm.

As for today, that the company has issued a store-wide closure for all its 25 stores in the Northeast Region, Sinatra says.

Related: What Does it Take to Close the Stock Market?

Whole Foods stores will begin to open in the coming days on a case by case basis depending on the severity of the storm.

At this point, it is too early for the store to determine the sales impact of the storm, says Sinatra.

Tell us about your Hurricane Sandy experiences in the comments section below or on Facebook. And be safe!

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Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/hurricane-sandy-pre-storm-mayhem-hits-nyc-whole-153239899.html

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Romney sticks to storm relief script at Ohio event

KETTERING, Ohio (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, blown off the campaign trail by Hurricane Sandy, drew a fine line between politicking and storm relief on Tuesday as the weather cast an unpredictable pall over the race with just a week to go until Election Day.

With President Barack Obama holed up in Washington monitoring relief efforts, Romney faced the challenge of trying to demonstrate his presidential credentials without appearing insensitive to the millions of Americans affected by the storm.

An event in Kettering, Ohio, that was originally intended as a campaign event featuring U.S. Senator John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, was hastily converted into a "storm relief event," with Romney making remarks urging Americans to show generosity in helping the East Coast.

He made no political attacks against the Democratic incumbent.

"We have heavy hearts this morning with all the suffering going on in a major part of our country," Romney told several hundred people, many of whom came with grocery bags of canned goods and other items that will be shipped to the East Coast.

Romney, who is battling to win the key swing state of Ohio in the November 6 election, said he had spoken to some of the governors in the affected areas "and they talked about a lot of people having hard times."

Sandy made landfall in New Jersey on Monday night, leaving behind a trail of flooded homes, toppled trees and downed power lines in the nation's most densely populated region. The death toll has continued to rise, with reports of at least 30 people killed by the storm.

POLITICS NOT FAR AWAY

Looking at the various goods brought in by people, Romney said: "It's part of the American spirit, the American way, to give to people who are in need and your generosity this morning touches my heart," he said.

Politics were not far away at Romney's Ohio event. A campaign video that focuses on Romney's biography and family life was played to the crowd, and Randy Owen, the lead singer of the band Alabama, who was originally supposed to be a part of the rally, stayed to entertain.

But Romney stuck to the storm relief script. After his remarks, he and Ohio Senator Rob Portman helped load a rental truck with various crates of water and canned goods to be sent to a distribution center in New Jersey.

The storm, and Romney's reaction, showed the difficulties in taking time off from the campaign trail in a race that is too close to call with only days remaining until millions of Americans cast their votes on November 6.

Romney scrambled to respond to the emerging natural disaster by canceling events in Wisconsin and Iowa on Monday night and Tuesday to avoid the appearance of campaigning while Americans suffered.

But the self-declared truce will soon expire. Romney is to stage three campaign events in Florida on Wednesday, and his vice presidential running mate, Paul Ryan, and his wife, Ann Romney, are getting back on the trail as well.

Romney refused to answer repeated questions about how he would handle the duties of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is funded by U.S. taxpayers and coordinates relief and recovery efforts in disaster zones.

Romney has made much during the campaign of cutting government spending and sending some of its programs back to the states for funding.

While Romney would not answer, a campaign spokeswoman, Amanda Henneberg, did. She said Romney believes states should be in charge of emergency management because they are in best position to aid people and direct aid where it is needed most. This would include help from the federal government and FEMA, she said.

"A Romney-Ryan administration will always ensure that disaster funding is there for those in need. Period," she said.

And while the candidates themselves were off-line, the guerrilla war between the two camps festered as always.

Romney's campaign announced plans to put up television advertising in Pennsylvania, a typically Democratic state where the Republican sees a potential opening despite Obama holding a small lead there.

"This is just the latest example of how the race is breaking to the advantage of Governor Romney," said Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul. "President Obama is playing defense in states that were once considered safely in his column."

The Obama campaign dismissed the move as smacking of desperation.

(Editing By Alistair Bell and David Brunnstrom)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/romney-sticks-storm-relief-script-ohio-event-173215025.html

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Researchers engineer cartilage from pluripotent stem cells

ScienceDaily (Oct. 29, 2012) ? A team of Duke Medicine researchers has engineered cartilage from induced pluripotent stem cells that were successfully grown and sorted for use in tissue repair and studies into cartilage injury and osteoarthritis. The finding is reported online Oct. 29, 2012, in the journal the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and suggests that induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPSCs, may be a viable source of patient-specific articular cartilage tissue.

"This technique of creating induced pluripotent stem cells -- an achievement honored with this year's Nobel Prize in medicine for Shimya Yamanaka of Kyoto University -- is a way to take adult stem cells and convert them so they have the properties of embryonic stem cells," said Farshid Guilak, PhD, Laszlo Ormandy Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Duke and senior author of the study.

"Adult stems cells are limited in what they can do, and embryonic stem cells have ethical issues," Guilak said. "What this research shows in a mouse model is the ability to create an unlimited supply of stem cells that can turn into any type of tissue -- in this case cartilage, which has no ability to regenerate by itself."

Articular cartilage is the shock absorber tissue in joints that makes it possible to walk, climb stairs, jump and perform daily activities without pain. But ordinary wear-and-tear or an injury can diminish its effectiveness and progress to osteoarthritis. Because articular cartilage has a poor capacity for repair, damage and osteoarthritis are leading causes of impairment in older people and often requires joint replacement.

In their study, the Duke researchers, led by Brian O. Diekman, PhD, a post-doctoral associate in orthopaedic surgery, aimed to apply recent technologies that have made iPSCs a promising alternative to other tissue engineering techniques, which use adult stem cells derived from the bone marrow or fat tissue.

One challenge the researchers sought to overcome was developing a uniformly differentiated population of chondrocytes, cells that produce collagen and maintain cartilage, while culling other types of cells that the powerful iPSCs could form.

To achieve that, the researchers induced chondrocyte differentiation in iPSCs derived from adult mouse fibroblasts by treating cultures with a growth medium. They also tailored the cells to express green fluorescent protein only when the cells successfully became chondrocytes. As the iPSCs differentiated, the chondrocyte cells that glowed with the green fluorescent protein were easily identified and sorted from the undesired cells.

The tailored cells also produced greater amounts of cartilage components, including collagen, and showed the characteristic stiffness of native cartilage, suggesting they would work well repairing cartilage defects in the body.

"This was a multi-step approach, with the initial differentiation, then sorting, and then proceeding to make the tissue," Diekman said. "What this shows is that iPSCs can be used to make high quality cartilage, either for replacement tissue or as a way to study disease and potential treatments."

Diekman and Guilak said the next phase of the research will be to use human iPSCs to test the cartilage-growing technique.

"The advantage of this technique is that we can grow a continuous supply of cartilage in a dish," Guilak said. "In addition to cell-based therapies, iPSC technology can also provide patient-specific cell and tissue models that could be used to screen for drugs to treat osteoarthritis, which right now does not have a cure or an effective therapy to inhibit cartilage loss."

In addition to Guilak and Diekman, study authors include Nicolas Christoforou; Vincent P. Willard; Alex Sun; Johannah Sanchez-Adams; and Kam W. Leong.

The National Institutes of Health (AR50245, AR48852, AG15768, AR48182, Training Grant T32AI007217) and the Arthritis Foundation funded the study.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/nTX8lG32Zao/121029154322.htm

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Storm leads companies to postpone earnings reports

NEW YORK (AP) ? A number of major U.S. companies postponed quarterly earnings reports scheduled for Monday, as Hurricane Sandy barreled into the East Coast and caused the first unplanned shutdown of financial markets since 2001.

Pfizer Inc., Thomson Reuters Corp. and NRG Energy Inc. are among those holding financial reports until later this week. Pfizer and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc., which were due to report Tuesday, will announce results Thursday. Thomson Reuters, also originally scheduled for Tuesday, will report Friday. NRG and McGraw-Hill Cos. will also report on Friday instead of Wednesday.

More companies delaying their announcements:

? Power provider Entergy Corp. will report on Nov. 5 instead of Tuesday.

? Biopharmaceutical Acorda Therapeutics Inc. will report results on Wednesday instead of Tuesday.

? Maintenance products distributor MSC Industrial Direct Co. will report results on Wednesday instead of Tuesday.

? Mortgage insurer Radian Group Inc. will report earnings on Thursday instead of Tuesday.

? Rudolph Technologies Inc., which makes measurement and process control software, will report results on Wednesday instead of Monday.

? Satellite radio provider Sirius XM Radio Inc. will report on Thursday instead of Tuesday.

? Commercial mortgage real estate investment trust Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Inc. will report on Thursday instead of Tuesday.

? Office Depot Inc. will report on Nov. 6 instead of Tuesday.

At least 10 other companies also announced that they were postponing earnings announcements.

Other companies, including Burger King Worldwide Inc. and MasterCard Inc., are reporting as planned. Luggage maker Tumi Holdings Inc. said it will report its third-quarter results on Monday, but canceled its scheduled conference call because of Sandy.

Flooring and ceiling maker Armstrong World Industries Inc. posted its third-quarter results, but rescheduled its conference call to a later date.

Liberty Mutual Holding Co. canceled its conference call scheduled for Tuesday and said its financial results will be available on its web site as soon as possible.

The New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and CME Group in Chicago are closed Monday and it appears increasingly likely they will close Tuesday as well. Trading on the NYSE was last closed on Sept. 11, 2001. The last time it closed for a weather event was in 1985, when Hurricane Gloria hit the East Coast.

If the exchange stays closed Tuesday, it would be the first weather-related consecutive-day closing since 1888, when a blizzard left drifts of snow as high as 40 feet in New York.

Hurricane Sandy strengthened before dawn Monday and stayed on a predicted path toward Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York ? putting it on a collision course with two other weather systems that would create a superstorm with the potential to wreak havoc over an 800-mile area, from the East Coast to the Great Lakes.

Parts of lower Manhattan near the Financial District are under mandatory evacuation orders. By midday Monday water from New York harbor was already coming over barriers at Battery Park, just south of the New York Stock Exchange.

Those conditions are expected to worsen over the next two days as the storm surge intensifies.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/storm-leads-companies-postpone-earnings-reports-104244104--finance.html

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