Tyra Banks tries the food in Vietnam! Plus, check out more stars' cute, candid and crazy Twitter photos
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
VMware profit beats Street view, shares rise (Reuters)
BOSTON (Reuters) ? Software maker VMware Inc (VMW.N) reported profit ahead of Wall Street expectations and released an outlook ahead of some forecasts, raising hopes that technology spending will grow this year, even as some warn that the economic outlook is grim.
The results surprised some investors who were concerned that VMware might miss forecasts after recent disappointments by rivals Oracle Corp (ORCL.O) and Salesforce.com Inc (CRM.N).
"VMware beat the numbers and they beat them in a very challenging environment," said Trip Chowdhry, analyst with Global Equities Research.
A division of storage giant EMC Corp (EMC.N), the software maker posted fourth-quarter profit, excluding items, of 62 cents per share, ahead of the 60 cent average forecast of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Revenue rose 27 percent from a year ago to $1.06 billion, compared with the analyst forecast of $1.05 billion.
VMware forecast that full-year revenue will rise to between $4.48 billion and $4.6 billion, compared with the average analyst estimate of $4.5 billion.
The company's shares were quoted at $90.39 in after-hours trading, up 5.1 percent from their New York Stock Exchange close of $86.
(Reporting By Jim Finkle; Editing by Bernard Orr)
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/software/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/tc_nm/us_vmware
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E-Textbooks Should Be Free-Textbooks
After the Thursday announcement, I used my Twitter account to conduct an informal survey of whether teachers actually thought poor textbook quality was holding them back. They turned out to have plenty of complaints, but none were about the lack of Keynote animations. Teachers complain the books have incorrect or poorly written information?a problem Apple likely won?t fix. Much more troubling, said my teacher correspondents, are problems of cost and supply. Textbooks are very expensive, and many school districts cope with that problem by economizing on new purchases, leaving students with damaged or outdated ones. If these are the real problems we have with textbooks, digital texts could be a godsend.
Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=f10e3b09d5c1929c2ae3abbe8c49e97b
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Gingrich victory in South Carolina jolts Republican race (Reuters)
COLUMBIA, South Carolina (Reuters) ? Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich trounced frontrunner Mitt Romney in South Carolina on Saturday in a jarring victory that indicates the party's battle to pick a challenger to President Barack Obama may last months, not weeks.
Gingrich's come-from-behind triumph in the primary in the conservative southern state injects unexpected volatility into a Republican nominating race that until this week appeared to be a coronation for Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and private-equity chief.
Instead, voters in South Carolina rejected Romney's pitch that he is the best bet to fix a broken U.S. economy and defeat Obama, a Democrat, in the November 6 election.
Three different candidates - Gingrich, Romney and former U.S. senator Rick Santorum - now have won the first three contests in the state-by-state battle for the Republican presidential nomination to face Obama.
Gingrich's triumph may lead to a protracted battle of attrition as Republican candidates spend millions of dollars to tear each other down rather than uniting behind a standard-bearer to take back the White House.
With nearly all the votes counted, Gingrich had pulled in 40 percent of the vote, followed by Romney with 28 percent, networks reported. Santorum was in third with 17 percent and U.S. congressman Ron Paul in fourth with 13 percent.
The next contest is the Florida primary on January 31.
Riding a series of feisty debate performances, the former speaker of the House of Representatives captured the lingering unease of conservative voters in South Carolina who view Romney's moderate past and shifting policy stances with suspicion. Gingrich argued that he would be able to better articulate the party's conservative ideals.
South Carolina was a stunning turnaround for Gingrich, whose campaign barely survived after top staff quit last June and stumbled to a disappointing finish just three weeks ago in Iowa, the first Republican nominating contest. He finished fourth in both Iowa and New Hampshire a week later as conservatives split their votes among several candidates.
Gingrich contrasted his sometimes-chaotic management style with Romney's buttoned-down approach, arguing that his campaign was powered by ideas rather than logistics. Romney is one of the wealthiest candidates ever to run for president and his campaign is well financed.
"We don't have the kind of money that at least one of the candidates have. But we do have ideas and we do have people," Gingrich told supporters in a 22-minute tirade against Obama, the news media, judges and other "elites."
Romney acknowledged that there will be a long primary season. He said he would continue to run on his business record and paint Gingrich as a creature of Washington in the weeks ahead.
"I don't shrink from competition, I embrace it," Romney told supporters. "I believe competition makes us all better. I know it's making our campaign stronger."
Obama, who does not face a primary challenger, will have his turn in the spotlight on Tuesday with his State of the Union address. In a message to supporters on Saturday, he said the speech would focus on "building an economy that works for everybody, not just a wealthy few."
ON TO FLORIDA
Heading into Florida, Romney starts off with a wide lead in the polls and a distinct edge in logistics and fund-raising, which will be crucial in a state with 10 separate media markets.
Campaigns must spend at least $1 million each week to reach voters in the sprawling southern state, according to local political officials. Romney's allies have already spent $5 million, mostly on ads attacking Gingrich. No other candidate has a significant presence in the state.
Animosity between Gingrich and Romney has been festering since December, when a group supporting Romney launched a blitz of negative TV ads in Iowa that ruined Gingrich's campaign there. In South Carolina, a state with a reputation for rough and tumble politics, the gloves came off.
Gingrich attacked Romney's business record at private equity firm Bain Capital and his reluctance to release personal tax information, while Romney pointed to Gingrich's past ethics lapses and alluded to his messy personal life.
South Carolina Republican voters said they were focused on fixing the sluggish economy and finding the strongest candidate to defeat Obama. Some 78 percent said they were "very worried" about the economy and 45 percent said that the most important trait in a candidate was the ability to beat Obama, according to exit polls released by CNN.
Those issues are the twin pillars of Romney's candidacy.
But Gingrich's wide-ranging stump speeches and red-meat attacks against Obama convinced many voters that he had the fire in the belly to take on the incumbent.
"A vote for Newt was a vote against Obama," said Charleston photographer Kim Woods, who voted for Gingrich.
Romney saw his aura of inevitability erode in South Carolina after leading opinion polls by 10 percentage points a week ago. He suffered a setback on Thursday when Iowa officials declared in a recount that he had actually come in second place in that state, instead of winning narrowly as initially announced.
Romney took a swipe at Gingrich for criticizing his conduct at Bain Capital, calling it an "assault on free enterprise."
"Those who pick up the weapons of the left today will find them turned against us tomorrow," Romney told supporters.
Voters said they viewed Romney's business background as an asset. But he waffled this week when asked whether he would release his tax records, and acknowledged that he pays a much lower tax rate than many Americans, around 15 percent.
In his speech, Gingrich took aim at Obama, painting him as a weak president, "truly a danger to the country" with his energy policies and "out of touch with reality." He also lashed the news media and condemned what he called "the growing anti-religious bigotry of the elites" in America.
'PUNCH IN THE MOUTH'
"This is the punch in the mouth/wake up call Romney needed if he wanted to be a strong general election candidate," Republican strategist Ford O'Connell said in a Twitter message, referring to the South Carolina results.
Romney has attacked Gingrich's ties to mortgage giant Freddie Mac and criticized his time in the nation's capital. His campaign also highlighted Gingrich's $300,000 fine due to ethics lapses while serving as House speaker 15 years ago.
The thrice-married Gingrich has fended off publicity about his turbulent marital history. On Thursday, he rejected his second wife's accusation that he had asked her for an "open marriage" while he was having an affair with another woman in the 1990s.
South Carolina has been a tough state for Romney's presidential ambitions. In his previous run for the White House in 2008, Romney finished a poor fourth, with just 15 percent of the vote, behind winner and eventual Republican nominee John McCain. McCain endorsed Romney in the current campaign.
The winner of South Carolina's Republican presidential primary has gone on to win the party's nomination in every presidential election since 1980.
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Monday, January 23, 2012
LA detective in Simpson-Goldman murders dies at 70 (AP)
LOS ANGELES ? Philip Vannatter, the Los Angeles police detective who served as a lead investigator in the 1994 murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, has died.
His brother, Joe, says Vannatter died Friday in Southern California of complications from cancer. He was 70.
Vannatter spent 28 years with the LAPD, mostly as a homicide detective. He later consulted on cold-case murders.
He was among the first detectives on the scene at former football star O.J. Simpson's mansion in June 1994, following the stabbing deaths of Simpson's wife Nicole and her friend, Ron Goldman. Vannatter testified at the murder trial, at which Simpson was acquitted.
In 1977, Vannatter conducted the investigation that led to the arrest of film director Roman Polanski on charges of having unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl.
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State higher education spending sees big decline
MIAMI (AP) ? State funding for higher education has declined because of a slow recovery from the recession and the end of federal stimulus money, according to a study released Monday.
Overall, spending declined by some $6 billion, or nearly 8 percent, over the past year, according to the annual Grapevine study by the Center for the Study of Education Policy at Illinois State University. The reduction was slightly lower, at 4 percent, when money lost from the end of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act was not taken into account.
The funding reductions, seen across nearly every state, have resulted in larger class sizes and fewer course offerings at many universities and come as enrollment continues to rise.
A report released by the National Science Board last week found similar reductions in state higher education spending, with nearly three-quarters of the nation's 101 top public research universities experiencing cuts in state funding between 2002 and 2010.
"It's quite severe," said Jose-Marie Griffiths, chairwoman of the National Science Board committee that produced the report and vice president for academic affairs at Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island. "The question is, are they ever going to recover to the level they were before? I think all of us are somewhat concerned because the future is a little bit uncertain."
Only nine states reported increases in total state higher education spending, including the federal stimulus money. In the 41 states where there were funding reductions, declines varied drastically, from about 1 percent in North Carolina to 41 percent in New Hampshire. The hardest-hit states include Arizona, Wisconsin and Louisiana, where spending reductions were nearly 20 percent or higher as federal stimulus money dried up.
James Palmer, editor of the Grapevine survey, said state capacity to finance higher education had also been reduced by diminished tax revenues.
In a statement, the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association said states with the largest declines will likely see higher tuition rates and more pressure to recruit out-of-state students. That raises concerns about access to higher education, particularly for those students who need financial aid, another area where state support has declined.
Educating more students from out of state and less access will have "implications for the availability of an adequately trained workforce in those states," the organization said.
The group specifically highlighted California, where a $1.5 billion spending reduction, including stimulus funds, over the past two years represents 26 percent of the national decline.
Florida is another state that has seen sustained spending cuts. Over the past five years, state support for higher education has declined 17.5 percent, according to the study. As the state proportion of funding has declined, universities have relied more on tuition, now nearly 50 percent of their operating budget.
Overall state funding appropriations in Florida are about the same as they were 10 years ago, after having risen leading up to 2007-2008. Meanwhile, enrollment has increased by more than 24 percent.
To compensate for the loss, Florida universities have merged departments, instituted hiring freezes and used more adjunct professors, among other actions.
"Each university has been diligent in developing cost-saving strategies to help offset ? but not fully replace ? the budget shortfalls," according to a brief from the Board of Governors, which oversees Florida's State University System.
The National Science Board noted the funding decline could have implications for how well the United States is able to educate its workforce and be competitive in a globalized, knowledge-based economy.
Already, the United States has been trailing Asia in science and engineering degrees. Fifty-six percent of all engineering degrees were awarded in Asia in 2008, compared with 4 percent in the U.S. The United States produced 248,000 graduates in the fields of natural science and engineering, while China produced 1 million, a dramatic increase from 2000, when they awarded 280,000. South Korea, Taiwan and Japan produced 330,000 natural science and engineering graduates in 2008 ? again, a larger number than the U.S., even though their population is smaller.
"Right now our aspirations for higher education I think far exceed the vitality of our economy," Palmer said, referring to the push to increase access to college and degree completion. "In other words, we can't depend on that state funding as the way we're going to meet those goals."
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Snow, sleet target Midwest and Northeast
Chicago is bracing for eight inches of snow, and airports around the region are experiencing massive delays. The Weather Channel's Mike Seidel reports.
By msnbc.com staff and news services
Updated at 5:30 p.m. ET: Airlines at O'Hare and Midway airports are now reporting significant delays. At O'Hare airlines are reporting delays averaging 45 minutes for all flights in and out of the airport. The number of canceled flights now totals more than 600.
Meanwhile, in Chicago, the Transit Authority has rerouted buses off of Lake Shore Drive, affecting a total?of 15 routes. Buses are being rerouted to nearby streets and will continue to make all local stops, according to the Chicago Transit Authority.
?Updated at 3:30 p.m. ET: Snow was falling heavily by midafternoon in Chicago as a winter storm spread east, NBCChicago.com reported.
Though no significant delays were reported, airlines at O'Hare Airport canceled more than 300 flights, NBCChicago.com said. At Midway Airport, Southwest Airlines canceled all 70 of its flights scheduled between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Friday.?
The Chicago Department of Aviation urged passengers to check airline websites for status updates.
The Milwaukee area?was seeing light snow at midday, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
Original story: Snow is forecast for Chicago, Milwaukee and other Midwestern cities Friday as a winter system travels toward the Northeast, according to The Weather Channel.
Snowfall accumulation may exceed 6 inches across the Chicago metropolitan area.
Late Friday into Friday night, the snow system will move across northern Indiana, northern Ohio and Michigan on its way to the Northeast.
A mixture of freezing rain and sleet is possible as far south as Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, according to weather reports.
Snow changing to rain or sleet is projected for Philadelphia and New York City, and Boston will likely see 1 to 3 inches of snow.
Toppled trees
This winter weather system comes two days after a major?storm covered the Pacific Northwest in snow. An ice storm in the Seattle area shut down the airport and toppled trees --?cutting power to some 200,000 homes and businesses, cutting off roads and taking the life of a man on his ATV.
Temperatures are now slowly rising in the Pacific Northwest, the National Weather Service reports, but more wet weather is anticipated on Friday. A warm front over the Oregon and Washington coast will allow for rain showers to persist.
Up to 2 inches of rain may be expected across these areas.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News
Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/20/10199193-snow-sleet-target-midwest-and-northeast
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