Police offer confused testimony in Pistorius case

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — The detective leading the police investigation into Oscar Pistorius' fatal shooting of his girlfriend offered confusing testimony Wednesday, at one point agreeing with the athlete's defense that officers had no evidence challenging the runner's claim he accidentally killed her.

Testimony by Detective Warrant Officer Hilton Botha of the South African Police Service left prosecutors rubbing their temples, only able to look down at their notes as he misjudged distances and acknowledged a forensics team left in the toilet bowl one of the bullet slugs fired at Reeva Steenkamp. However, Botha still poked holes in Pistorius' own account that he feared for his life and opened fire on Valentine's Day after mistaking Steenkamp for an intruder.

The second day of the bail hearing in a case that has riveted South Africa and much of the world appeared at first to go against the double-amputee runner, with prosecutors saying a witness can testify to hearing "non-stop talking, like shouting" between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. before the predawn shooting on Feb. 14. However, Botha later said under cross examination that the person who overheard the argument was in a house 600 meters (yards) away in Pistorius' gated community in the suburbs of South Africa's capital, Pretoria.

Later, prosecutor Gerrie Nel questioned Botha again and the detective acknowledged the distance was much closer. But confusion reigned for much of his testimony, when at one point Botha said officers found syringes and steroids in Pistorius' bedroom. Nel quickly cut the officer off and said the drugs were actually testosterone.

Pistorius' lead defense lawyer, Barry Roux, asserted when questioning the detective — who has 16 years' experience as a detective and 24 years with the police — that it was not a banned substance and that police were trying to give the discovery a "negative connotation."

"It is an herbal remedy," Roux said. "It is not a steroid and it is not a banned substance."

The name of the drug, offered later in court by Roux, could not be immediately found in reference materials by The Associated Press. A spokesman for prosecutors later said it's too early to know what the substance is, as they don't yet have results of forensic testing on the material.

Pistorius, 26, said in an affidavit read in court Tuesday that he and his 29-year-old girlfriend had gone to bed and that when he awoke during the night he detected what he thought was an intruder in the bathroom. He testified that he grabbed his 9 mm pistol and fired into the door of a toilet enclosed in the bathroom, only to discover later to his horror that Steenkamp was there, mortally wounded.

Pistorius, the first Paralympian runner to compete at the Olympics, is charged with premeditated murder in the case.

The prosecution attempted to cement its argument that the couple had a shouting match, that Steenkamp fled and locked herself into the toilet stall of the bathroom and that Pistorius fired four shots through the door, hitting her with three bullets.

Botha said: "I believe that he knew that Reeva was in the bathroom and he shot four shots through the door."

But asked if the police found anything inconsistent with the version of events presented by Pistorius, Botha responded that they had not. He later said nothing contradicted the police's version either.

Nel projected a plan of the bedroom and bathroom in the courtroom and argued that Pistorius had to walk past his bed to get to the bathroom and could not have done so without realizing that Steenkamp was not in the bed.

"There's no other way of getting there," Nel said.

Botha said the trajectory of the bullets showed the gun was fired pointed down and from a height. This seems to conflict with Pistorius' statement Tuesday, because the athlete said that he did not have on his prosthetics and on his stumps and feeling vulnerable because he was in a low position when he opened fired.

Officers also found .38-caliber pistol rounds in a safe, which Botha said Pistorius owned illegally and for which he said the athlete would be charged with a crime. However, Botha also acknowledged investigators didn't take photographs of the ammunition and let Pistorius' supporters at the crime scene take them away.

Botha said the holster for the 9 mm pistol was found under the left side of the bed, the side on which Steenkamp slept. He also implied it would have been impossible for Pistorius to get the gun without checking to see if Steenkamp was there. Roux later argued that Pistorius had suffered an injury to his right shoulder and wore a "medical patch" the night of the killing which forced him to sleep on the left side of the bed.

Steenkamp was shot in the head over her right ear and in her right elbow and hip, breaking her arm and hip, Botha said. However, Roux later asked Botha if Steenkamp's body showed "any pattern of defensive wounds." The detective said no.

Botha also said the shots were fired from 1.5 meters (five feet), and that police found three spent cartridges in the bathroom and one in the hallway connecting the bathroom to the bedroom. However, later on cross-examination by the defense, Botha said he wasn't a forensics expert and couldn't answer some questions.

Police also found two iPhones in the bathroom and two BlackBerrys in the bedroom, Botha said, adding that none had been used to phone for help. Roux later suggested that a fifth phone, not collected by the police, was used by Pistorius to make calls for a hospital and help. After the hearing, Roux told journalists that Pistorius' defense team had the phone, but did not elaborate.

Guards at the gated community where Pistorius lives did call the athlete, Botha said. The detective said that all the athlete said was: "I'm all right."

He didn't hang up, Botha said, and the guards heard him uncontrollably weep.

"Was it part of his premeditated plan, not to switch off the phone and cry?" Roux asked sarcastically.

___

Gerald Imray reported from Johannesburg. Associated Press writer Michelle Faul in Johannesburg contributed to this report.

___

Jon Gambrell can be reached at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP. Gerald Imray can be reached at www.twitter.com/geraldimrayAP.

Read More..

Obama administration tackles colonoscopy confusion

WASHINGTON (AP) — It's one part of the new health care law that seemed clear: free coverage for preventive care under most insurance plans.

Only it didn't turn out that way.

So on Wednesday, the Obama administration had to straighten out the confusion.

Have you gone for a colonoscopy thinking it was free, only to get a hefty bill because the doctor removed a polyp?

No more.

Taking out such precancerous growths as part of a routine colon cancer screening procedure will now be considered preventive care.

"Polyp removal is an integral part of a colonoscopy," the Department of Health and Human Services said in guidance posted on its website. That conclusion has the backing of several leading medical societies, the department noted.

Also addressed in the notice was genetic testing for breast cancer, coverage of over-the-counter products such as aspirin for heart care and nicotine patches for smoking, and birth control for women. Unlike formal regulations, the guidance does not have the force of law, but advocates for patients say insurers would be ill-advised to ignore it.

President Barack Obama's health care law required most private health plans to cover preventive care at no additional charge to patients. It also expanded preventive coverage without copayments for Medicare recipients. For workers and their families, the expense is borne by the company health plan, which passes on some of those costs in the form of higher premiums. Advocates say preventive care saves the health care system money over time.

Colonoscopy is an expensive test that can cost more than $1,000. It's recommended for adults 50 and over, and has become a rite of passage for aging baby boomers.

News that it would be covered free under the health care law got attention, but that was followed quickly by a letdown when many insurers started charging if a polyp or two was discovered and removed during the procedure.

"Insurers were reclassifying it from a preventive test to a diagnostic procedure," said Stephen Finan, policy director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. "In some cases the cost-sharing was a significant amount of money."

His group was among several that complained to the administration.

Other free preventive services addressed in Wednesday's guidance:

—Insurers must cover testing, if ordered by a doctor, for rare BRCA genes that dramatically increase the risk of breast cancer. Such tests can cost as much as $3,000.

—Over-the-counter products such as aspirin for heart care and nicotine patches for smoking cessation are covered with a doctor's prescription.

—Insurers won't be able to fulfill the law's requirement to cover contraception as preventive care for women if they only pay for birth control pills. A full range of FDA-approved methods must be covered, including long-acting implant and intrauterine devices. Birth control methods for men are not covered as preventive care.

If a health plan does not have a network doctor who performs a particular preventive service, a patient can see a doctor out-of-network without facing copays or additional charges.

___

Online:

Health and Human Services Department: http://tinyurl.com/au6lzeo

Read More..

Palestinian doc director held briefly at LAX

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Immigration officials briefly detained the Palestinian director of the Oscar-nominated documentary "5 Broken Cameras" on his way into town for Sunday's Academy Awards.

Emad Burnat says that when he arrived at Los Angeles International Airport from Turkey with his wife and 8-year-old son late Tuesday, he was told he didn't have the proper proof that he was a nominee. After about an hour of questioning, they were allowed to enter the country.

Burnat had just been in the United States two weeks earlier doing interviews alongside his co-director, Israeli activist Guy Davidi, including some with The Associated Press.

Immigration officials did not respond to requests for comment.

"5 Broken Cameras" features footage Burnat shot in his occupied West Bank village, from everyday activities with his family to protests and shootings.

Read More..

Office Depot to buy OfficeMax

Office Depot to buy Office Max as an attempt to compete with Staples.

Office Depot Inc. and Office Max Inc. have agreed to merge in a $1.17 billion stock transfer, the companies announced Wednesday, ending nearly two hours of confusion about whether a deal had been reached.

Officials at Naperville-based OfficeMax and Office Depot declined to say who would lead the combined company nor where it would be located when the "merger of equals" is completed, likely by the end of the year.

After some confusion early Wednesday, when a draft press release was posted prematurely on the website of Boca Raton, Fla.-based Office Depot's, both companies issued a joint statement at around 8:30 a.m. CT announcing the planned merger. 

The combined entity's name, headquarters and CEO are all undecided, creating an unusual level of uncertainty that points to the integration challenge the companies face.

"During the appropriated times ... our board will make the right decision,"  OfficeMax President and CEO Ravi Saligram said of the location and leadership of the combined firm. "Now we're independent companies and we've got to go through lots of processes," he said.

On a conference call with analysts, Office Depot CEO Neil Austrian apologized for the announcement mishap on Wednesday morning.  "Our webcast provider inadvertently released our earnings in advance of schedule," he said.  We regret any inconvenience that this may have caused." 

Saligram and Austrian emphasized that the combination, which will create a company that will do roughly $18 billion in revenue, is a merger of equals.

"This [merger] will create a stronger, more global, more efficient competitor able to meet the growing challenges a rapidly changing industry," said Saligram. 

While Office Depot insisted the deal was a merger of equals and not an acquisition, its shareholders will get the larger part of the combined company. CEOs of both companies and outside candidates are being considered for the top job.

When combined, OfficeMax and Office Depot, the world's second and third largest office products companies by revenue, will still not eclipse the segment's largest business, Staples Inc.

The pair had combined revenue of about $18.5 billion in the last fiscal year. They expect to save about $400 million to $600 million per year within three years through layoffs, streamlining of back-office functions and combined advertising. They didn't provide details on how many workers would lose their jobs or the fate of OfficeMax's Naperville headquarters.

After days of speculation that a deal was close, a draft of a press release announcing the news was posted prematurely on Office Depot's website early Wednesday morning. More than an hour after it came out, there was still no mention of the merger on either company's website nor on the SEC or other investor websites. Sources cited by the New York Times Wednesday morning said negotiations were ongoing.

Thomson Reuters Corporate Services, which operates various investor relations websites including Office Depot's, took responsibility for the early publication.

"Unfortunately, Thomson Reuters incorrectly posted this morning's announcement of Office Depot's intention to merge with Office Max prior to its intended release," Lemuel Brewster, PR director - investors at Thomson Reuters, said Wednesday afternoon in an email response to an inquiry. "We regret this error and are taking all steps necessary to enhance our processes and controls to ensure this does not happen again."

Office Depot will issue 2.69 new shares of common stock for each outstanding common share of OfficeMax. At Tuesday's closing prices, the deal is valued at $13.50 per share, or $1.17 billion, based on 86.7 million shares outstanding as of Oct. 26.

After the merger is completed, Office Depot's board will consist of an equal number of directors chosen by that company and OfficeMax.

Although the actual announcement didn’t go as planned, the deal has been rumored for years as the struggling office supply sector deals with fickle consumers and businesses that are conserving costs and doing more online.

Analysts say they expect far less pushback from antitrust authorities for this deal than what Office Depot faced in the 1990s, when it tried to merge with Staples, given the changes in the office supply market since then.

Underscoring how tough that business has become, Office Depot reported a fourth-quarter net loss, hurt by a 6 percent decrease in comparable sales at its North American stores and a revenue drop at its unit that serves North American businesses.

Office supply retailers, which are often seen as reflecting overall economic health, have suffered as demand for their products fell in the years after the last U.S. recession led companies to cut spending.

They also face strong competition from the likes of Amazon and Wal-Mart Stores Inc in selling everything from pens and notebooks to furniture and break room supplies to government, businesses and individuals.

SMALL PREMIUM

The offer represented a premium of just under 4 percent to OfficeMax's $13 close. It was not immediately clear if that was enough to satisfy one of the company's largest shareholders, Neuberger Berman, which said earlier this week it would support a deal depending on the terms.

OfficeMax shares rose 9.2 percent to $14.20 in premarket trading. Office Depot was up 10 percent at $5.52, meaning that OfficeMax was still trading below the value of the bid.

The deal, considered long overdue by many on Wall Street, will also give Office Depot and OfficeMax a chance to save hundreds of millions of dollars by closing stores, cutting advertising costs and streamlining their supply chain.

Industry experts have long hoped Office Depot would join hands with OfficeMax to take on Staples, which boosted its international business and clout with suppliers by buying Dutch rival Corporate Express in 2008.

BB&T Capital Markets analyst Anthony Chukumba said the Office Depot-OfficeMax combination would help Staples, however.

"Clearly, you can't make this deal work unless you close a bunch of stores," he said. "Store rationalization is long overdue, and Staples will clearly benefit from just having fewer stores to compete with."

Staples has 39.9 percent of the U.S. office supply market, Office Depot 19.2 percent and OfficeMax holds 15.7 percent, according to Euromonitor International.

Tribune reporter Samantha Bomkamp and Reuters contributed.

OMX data by YCharts
OMX Revenue Quarterly data by YCharts -->

Read More..

Cubs to improve seventh-inning stretch, modernize music at Wrigley

MESA, Ariz. – The seventh-inning stretch has been a polarizing part of Chicago Cubs games since the introduction of guest conductors in 1998, the year Harry Caray died.

Some fans love it, while others wish the tradition would end and the celebrities there to promote themselves would just go away.

Cubs in-game programming director Jim Oboikowitch said Tuesday there will be some changes to the stretch this year after listening to what fans had to say.

“I think we definitely want to focus on former Cubs players, people that are Chicago natives, people who know baseball and who are Cubs fans,” he said. “I do think we want to get ‘A-listers,’ so if there is that celebrity in a movie ...  But we want them to understand what they’re coming to do -- not just come into the booth and say, ‘My movie hits theaters tonight,’ or ‘My book is in stores.’

“They should know something about the Cubs. They should know the background of Harry Caray and what we are doing, and I think it will be a little more teaching them and exposing them. We do want the best guests, so we might come across that situation. But I think it’s all about preparing them so they’re not on with (broadcasters Len Kasper and Jim Deshaies) and talking about stuff while a big home run is being hit in the bottom of the seventh.”

One guest conductor came into the TV booth last year and bragged that he hated baseball. Not every guest will be invited into the booth this year.

“People really like the stretch guest,” Oboikowitch said. “It’s the interview that’s always been a little dicey, and I think people always remember the bad ones -- when a guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about or always interrupting the (broadcasters).”

The Cubs also will play more taped music before games and actually try to move into the new millennium instead of playing the best rock songs of the 1980s.

“We will try to upgrade the music a little,” he said. “(Organist) Gary Pressy is not going anywhere. That will stay the same, but some more updated music at different times.  We talked about cutting down some of the pregame (advertising announcements), so I think there will be more music playing pregame, adding a little more life in the stadium.

“It’s tough after a year when you lost 101 games. The year were won 51 home games (in 2008) it was the same music, but it felt a little better and seemed louder. We’ll play what fans want to hear, though we won’t have ‘Call Me Maybe’ on the list.”

New senior director of marketing Alison Miller said they are exploring whether to play the same song at the start of every game, as they did with Van Halen’s “Jump” in the '80s and '90s. They want something that says “Chicago,” though not it also has to get the crowd psyched for the game.

The Cubs played several different songs last year,  and there may be no real consensus on what the perfect introductory song should be at Wrigley Field.  If Cubs fans have any ideas, they’re free to send their suggestions to Miller or Oboikowitch at Wrigley Field.

psullivan@tribune.com

Twitter @PWSullivan

Read More..

Exclusive: Apple, Macs hit by hackers who targeted Facebook

BOSTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc was recently attacked by hackers who infected the Macintosh computers of some employees, the company said on Tuesday in an unprecedented disclosure that described the widest known cyber attacks against Apple-made computers to date.

Unknown hackers infected the computers of some Apple workers when they visited a website for software developers that had been infected with malicious software. The malware had been designed to attack Mac computers, the company said in a statement provided to Reuters.

The same software, which infected Macs by exploiting a flaw in a version of Oracle Corp's Java software used as a plug-in on Web browsers, was used to launch attacks against Facebook, which the social network disclosed on Friday.

The malware was also employed in attacks against Mac computers used by "other companies," Apple said, without elaborating on the scale of the assault.

But a person briefed on the investigation into the attacks said that hundreds of companies, including defense contractors, had been infected with the same malicious software, or malware.

The attacks mark the highest-profile cyber attacks to date on businesses running Mac computers. Hackers have traditionally focused on attacking machines running the Windows operating system, though they have gradually turned their attention to Apple products over the past couple of years as the company gained market share over Microsoft Corp.

"This is the first really big attack on Macs," said the source, who declined to be identified because the person was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. "Apple has more on its hands than the attack on itself."

Charlie Miller, a prominent expert on Apple security who is co-author of the Mac Hacker's Handbook, said the attacks show that criminal hackers are investing more time studying the Mac OS X operating system so they can attack Apple computers.

For example, he noted, hackers recently figured out a fairly sophisticated way to attack Macs by exploiting a flaw in Adobe Systems Inc's Flash software.

"The only thing that was making it safe before is that nobody bothered to attack it. That goes away if somebody bothers to attack it," Miller said.

NATIONAL SECURITY

Cyber-security attacks have been on the rise. In last week's State of the Union address, U.S. President Barack Obama issued an executive order seeking better protection of the country's critical infrastructure from cyber attacks.

Over the weekend, cyber-security specialists Mandiant reported that a secretive Chinese military unit was believed to have orchestrated a series of attacks on U.S. companies, which Beijing has strongly denied.

White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters on Tuesday that the Obama administration has repeatedly taken up its concerns about Chinese cyber-theft with Beijing, including the country's military. There was no indication as to whether the group described by Mandiant was involved in the attacks described by Apple and Facebook.

An Apple spokesman declined to specify how many companies had been breached in the campaign targeting Macs, saying he could not elaborate further on the statement it provided.

"Apple has identified malware which infected a limited number of Mac systems through a vulnerability in the Java plug-in for browsers. The malware was employed in an attack against Apple and other companies, and was spread through a website for software developers," the statement said.

"We identified a small number of systems within Apple that were infected and isolated them from our network. There is no evidence that any data left Apple," it continued.

The statement said Apple was working closely with law enforcement to find the culprits, but the spokesman would not elaborate. The Federal Bureau of Investigation declined to comment.

Apple said it plans to release a piece of software on Tuesday, which it said customers can use to identify and repair Macs infected with the malware used in the attacks.

(Editing by Andre Grenon, Edwin Chan and Richard Chang)

Read More..

Pistorius: Thought lover an intruder in shooting

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — Oscar Pistorius wept Tuesday as his defense lawyer read the athlete's account of how he shot his girlfriend to death on Valentine's Day, claiming he had mistaken her for an intruder.

Prosecutors, however, told a packed courtroom that the double-amputee known as the Blade Runner intentionally and mercilessly shot and killed 29-year-old Reeva Steenkamp as she cowered inside a locked bathroom.

Pistorius told the Pretoria Magistrate's Court at a bail hearing he felt vulnerable in the presence of an intruder inside the bathroom because he did not have his prosthetic legs on, and fired into the bathroom door.

The Valentine's Day shooting in Pistorius' home in Pretoria shocked South Africans and many around the world who idolized him for overcoming adversity to become a sports champion, competing in the London Olympics last year in track besides being a Paralympian. Steenkamp was a model and law graduate who made her debut on a South African reality TV program that was broadcast on Saturday, two days after her death.

In a major point of contention emerged even during Tuesday bail hearing, prosecutor Gerrie Nel said Pistorius took the time to put on his prostheses, walked seven meters (yards) from the bed to the enclosed toilet inside his bathroom and only then opened fire. Three of the bullets hit Steenkamp of the four that were fired into the door, Nel said.

Pistorius said in his sworn statement that after opening fire, he realized that Steenkamp was not in his bed.

"It filled me with horror and fear," Pistorius said. The 26-year-old Olympian said he put on his prosthetic legs and tried to kick down the door before finally bashing it in with a cricket bat. Inside, he said he found Steenkamp, slumped over. He said he lifted her bloodied body into his arms and tried to carry her downstairs to seek medical help.

But by then, it was too late.

"She died in my arms," the athlete said.

Nel charged Pistorius with premeditated murder and said the athlete opened fire after the couple engaged in a shouting match and she fled to the bathroom.

"She couldn't go anywhere. You can run nowhere," Nel said. "It must have been horrific."

A conviction of premeditated murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in jail.

Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair ruled that Pistorius must face the harshest bail requirements available in South African law. That means Pistorius' lawyers must offer "exceptional" reasons for the athlete to be free before trial, besides simply giving up his two South African passports and posting a cash bond.

Pistorius sobbed softly as his lawyer, Barry Roux, insisted the shooting was an accident and that there was no evidence to substantiate a murder charge.

"We submit it is not even murder," he said. "There is no concession this is a murder."

Pistorius' emotional outbursts again played a part in how the hearing progessed, as it did during an initial hearing Friday. At one point, Nair stopped the hearing after Pistorius wept as Roux read a portion of the athlete's statement describing how Steenkamp bought him a Valentine's Day present, but wouldn't let him open it the night before.

"Maintain your composure," the magistrate said. "You need to apply your mind here."

Pistorius' voice quivered when he answered: "Yes, my lordship."

Affidavits from friends of Pistorius and Steenkamp described the two as a charming, happy couple. The night before the killing, they said, Pistorius and Steenkamp had canceled separate plans in order to spend the night before Valentine's Day together at his home, in a gated neighborhood.

Outside the court, several dozen singing women protested against domestic violence and waved placards urging that Pistorius be refused bail. "Pistorius must rot in jail," one placard said.

As details emerged at the dramatic court hearing in the capital, Steenkamp's body was being cremated Tuesday at a memorial service in the south-coast port city of Port Elizabeth. Six pallbearers carried her coffin, draped with a white cloth and covered in white flowers, into the church for the private service.

South Africa has some of the world's worst rates of violence against females and the highest rate in the world of women killed by an intimate partner, according to a study by the Medical Research Council. Professor Rachel Jewkes of the council said at least three women are killed by a partner every day in this country of 50 million.

Steenkamp campaigned actively against domestic violence and had tweeted on Twitter that she planned to join a "Black Friday" protest by wearing black in honor of a 17-year-old girl who was gang-raped and mutilated two weeks ago.

What "she stood for, and the abuse against women, unfortunately it's gone right around and I think the Lord knows that statement is more powerful now," her uncle Mike Steenkamp, the family's spokesman, said after her memorial.

He said the family had planned a big get-together at Christmas but that had not been possible. "But we are here today as a family and the only one who's missing is Reeva," he said, breaking down and weeping.

Pistorius has lost several valuable sponsorships estimated to be worth more than $1 million a year.

On Tuesday, the athlete was ousted from a pro-gay campaign being launched in Cape Town, organizers said. In a video axed from the campaign, Pistorius says: "You don't have to worry. You don't have to change. Take a deep breath and remember, 'It will get better.'"

And Clarins Group, which owns Thierry Mugler Perfumes, said in an email that "out of respect and compassion for the families involved in this tragedy, Thierry Mugler Perfumes have taken the decision to withdraw all of their advertising campaigns featuring Oscar Pistorius."

Read More..

UK patient dies from SARS-like coronavirus

LONDON (AP) — A patient being treated for a mysterious SARS-like virus has died, a British hospital said Tuesday.

Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, central England, said the coronavirus victim was also being treated for "a long-term, complex unrelated health problem" and already had a compromised immune system.

A total of 12 people worldwide have been diagnosed with the disease, six of whom have died.

The virus was first identified last year in the Middle East. Most of those infected had traveled to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan or Pakistan, but the person who just died is believed to have caught it from a relative in Britain, where there have been four confirmed cases.

The new coronavirus is part of a family of viruses that cause ailments including the common cold and SARS. In 2003, a global outbreak of SARS killed about 800 people worldwide.

Health experts still aren't sure exactly how humans are being infected. The new coronavirus is most closely related to a bat virus and scientists are considering whether bats or other animals like goats or camels are a possible source of infection.

Britain's Health Protection Agency has said while it appears the virus can spread from person to person, "the risk of infection in contacts in most circumstances is still considered to be low."

Officials at the World Health Organization said the new virus has probably already spread between humans in some instances. In Saudi Arabia last year, four members of the same family fell ill and two died. And in a cluster of about a dozen people in Jordan, the virus may have spread at a hospital's intensive care unit.

Read More..

McCartney, Mumford top eclectic Bonnaroo lineup

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — There will be a British invasion of the main stage at Bonnaroo this year.

Paul McCartney and Mumford & Sons are among the headliners for the 2013 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn.

The four-day festival, held on a rural 700-acre farm, always features an eclectic roster, but the June 13-16 event is even more varied than usual.

Returnees Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers also hold down a headliner spot. Then things get a little crazy with R&B star R. Kelly, alternative queen Bjork and Wu-Tang Clan celebrating its 20th anniversary. Wilco, Pretty Lights, The Lumineers, The National, The xx, Kendrick Lamar, A$AP Rocky, Nas and ZZ Top also top the list announced Tuesday by "Weird Al" Yankovic via Bonnaroo's YouTube channel.

Tickets go on sale at noon EST on Saturday.

McCartney, the former Beatle and recent frontman of Sirvana, will be making his first appearance at the event.

Mumford & Sons, fresh off its album of the year win at the Grammy Awards, return to Bonnaroo after a memorable 2011 second-stage performance that stretched more than an hour, drew friends Old Crow Medicine Show and had fans hanging off fences to get a better view.

Other top-of-the-list performers include Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Animal Collective, Daniel Tosh, David Byrne & St. Vincent, Passion Pit and Grizzly Bear.

The festival hosts more than 120 acts. More will be announced later.

There are a few curiosities on the list. Glam-punk Billy Idol and Odd Future member and mystery man Earl Sweatshirt are scheduled to perform. Jim James will host a Soul SuperJam with John Oates, Zigaboo Modeliste of the Meters and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

Fans of roots rock, Americana and folk-leaning acoustic music will have more than Mumford and The Lumineers to focus on. Also scheduled to perform are Dwight Yoakam, Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, John Fullbright, Of Monsters and Men, Calexico, JD McPherson, Father John Misty and The Tallest Man on Earth.

___

Follow AP Music Writer Chris Talbott: http://twitter.com/Chris_Talbott.

Read More..

Kraft acknowledges faults, unveils new path

From new products like Macaroni and Cheese crackers to Oscar Mayer pulled pork, Kraft Foods Group laid out the strategy on Tuesday that took the company's new products "from worst to first."

The Northfield-based maker of Macaroni & Cheese, Planters and Velveeta was spun off from Mondelez International in October.

In 2009, just 6.5 percent of company sales came from new products, whereas 13 percent of sales were attributable to new products in 2012, according to a company estimate.

It's going to be important for Kraft to keep up the pace as it makes its case for remaining an independent company. Competitor Heinz, which has also lagged in innovation, will be snapped up in a Berkshire Hathaway-led consortium of investors later this year.

Presenting at the Consumer Analysts Group of New York Conference in Boca Raton, Fla., Barry Calpino, vice president of breakthrough innovation at Kraft, delineated the company's changes to how it develops and supports new products.

In 2008, Calpino said, "we were the worst by almost any measure," in terms of its innovation. He added that 17 of the year's 19 new product launches were considered failures. Kraft launched products like Bagelfuls, frozen bagels stuffed with cream cheese; Oreo Cakesters, the iconic cookies made out of cake; and cheesy crackers shaped like and named after Macaroni & Cheese that year.

Among 2008 successes were Ritz Stackers and Starbucks discs for the Tassimo machine, a company spokesman said.

Kraft's 2009 new products performed similarly.

In mid-2010, Calpino said the company brought in an outside firm to study its innovation initiatives. They came back with a succinct statement, he said: "Kraft is where good ideas go to die."

Symptomatic of the problem, Calpino said, was a focus on small ideas, lack of rigor and focus, and little investment in product launches. At the time, he said, innovation was considered a "dead-end job," and employees just accepted that Kraft wasn't good at it.

As a result, he said, Kraft developed an innovation playbook that calls for more investment in fewer, bigger ideas that will receive a lot of support, rather than what he referred to as "Field of Dreams" innovation that amounted to a "build it and they will come" mentality.

Kraft now does more work with its sales team, bringing them into the product development so they could better explain each one's significance to retailers, and investing more heavily behind each launch.

In 2011, Calpino said the company focused its efforts on 13 "big bets," including its MiO brand of water flavoring, Velveeta Cheesy Skillet Dinners and Oscar Mayer Selects, a line of higher-quality meat without artificial preservatives.

In so doing, the company raised its average launch support roughly five-fold, from about $5 million to about $25 million for so-called "big bets." MiO got more than $50 million in support.

MiO, Velveeta Skillets, and Oscar Mayer Selects have become $100 million product platforms, which is an industry sales benchmark for successful product launches.

Calpino said that Kraft is also maintaining focus on its big launches for the first three years rather than moving on after the first year. Other initiatives include improving the level of talent within the organization and appealing more to Hispanics in product development and marketing.

Kraft's major 2013 launches include pulled pork under its Oscar Mayer Selects brand, Cool Whip frostings, and Recipe Makers, a pair of sauce packets to be sold in the pasta and sauce aisle. Consumers add vegetables or protein to the sauces to cook popular dishes like pot roast, sweet and sour chicken, or enchiladas.

As part of the presentation, Kraft CEO Tony Vernon said that Kraft has seen an increasing segment of the population shifting to value priced options. According to company data, 26.5 percent of the population was considered low income in 2009, and that number rose to 28.9 percent in 2012.

"We have an obligation to financially strapped low and middle income families - and I do mean families - that drive America's grocery business," Vernon said. He added that with consumers gravitating the high and low ends of the price spectrum, traditional grocers are getting hurt.

Indeed, local heavyweights like Jewel and Dominick's have been closing stores. Last month, Eden Prairie, Minn-based Supervalu said it had agreed to sell Jewel and four other grocery chains to Cerberus Capital Management, a private investment firm.

"It's critical to have the right price and product offering at every rung on this ladder," Vernon said.

In other words, he said, Kraft needs to have the right products for "a Latina mom who prefers Kool-Aid to Capri Sun," as well as a Baby Boomer who is "choosing Velveeta Skillets over Mac N' Cheese."

Kraft's presentation came on the heels of last week's announcement that fourth quarter sales would be lower than expected after Oscar Mayer cold cuts lost market share to a key competitor, presumably Chicago-based Hillshire Brands.

The company said it expects fourth-quarter net revenues to fall 10.7 percent to $4.5 billion. The final numbers will be reported before the end of March.

Kraft also raised 2013 earnings guidance by 15 cents to $2.75 per share.

The new Kraft Foods Group, which assumed all of the pension obligation for legacy Kraft Foods when it was spun off, also announced a change in the way it handles accounting for its pensions last week.

eyork@tribune.com | Twitter: @emilyyork

Read More..