(Reuters) ? Yahoo Chief Executive Scott Thompson tried to manage expectations on his first earnings call as the new CEO, broadly addressing numerous issues the Internet company is grappling with -- from a potential sale to reviving its core display advertising business -- but declined to lay out a detailed strategy.
Analysts prodded Thompson for clues about his plans for Yahoo Inc, which fired former CEO Carol Bartz in September and last week saw co-founder Jerry Yang resign unexpectedly, but all they received were boilerplate comments about how the company needs to "do better" and "get innovative products that matter into the market."
Thompson, along with Chief Financial Officer Tim Morse, gave few hints about the progress of Yahoo's strategic review as well, dashing hopes that his arrival might hasten a transaction.
Morse said talks with Yahoo's Asian partners -- Alibaba and Softbank -- about a restructuring were continuing but beyond that provided little concrete detail on where things stand.
Thompson, who was only hired as CEO two weeks ago, added that the company's board has narrowed down its options to the ones that appear "most promising."
Meanwhile, Yahoo's net revenue and profit fell slightly in the fourth quarter, as it experienced year-over-year declines in both its search and display ad business.
Shares of the company slipped 4 cents to $15.65 in after-hours trade.
Morse said that macroeconomic factors, particularly in Europe, resulted in weaker than expected display advertising revenue in the fourth quarter and continued to be a concern.
"We still look out, especially upon Europe, with some caution," Morse told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday.
But he said Yahoo was seeing some positive trends in the new year, noting that some large advertisers that had limited their ad spending with Yahoo in 2011, had already committed to "meaningful upfronts" in 2012.
The struggling Internet company projected that its net revenue in the first quarter would range between $1.025 billion and $1.105 billion.
The company earned $296 million in net income in the three months ended December 31, or 24 cents a share, compared with $312 million, or 24 cents a share, in the year-ago period.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S were expecting 24 cents per share in profit.
In the fourth quarter, Yahoo reported net revenue, which excludes fees that Yahoo shares with Web partners, of roughly $1.17 billion, compared with $1.205 billion the same time last year.
Display ad revenue, Yahoo's main source of revenue, totaled $612 million for the quarter. Search ad revenue for the quarter came in at $465 million, $48 million of which stemmed from its partnership with Microsoft.
(Reporting By Alexei Oreskovic; Editing by Bernard Orr)
It seems like only yesterday Apple unveiled iCloud to the world at WWDC, just a puff of vapor. Now look at it. The company has just confirmed the service has swelled to 85 million users as part of its Q1 2012 earnings call. That's more than twice as many iPhones as it sold in the same period, but of course it's worth noting that iCloud is, of course, free, so there's no penalty in people sticking their head in and seeing how things feel.
Winter is here, and it seems like it's getting colder every day. Here are five tips to keep your pet safe throughout the next few months:
1. Temperatures drop quickly. Winter temperatures can decrease hourly. Even if it feels warm enough to let your pet outside, it may not be. If you do let your dog out or take him for a walk, make sure it is in short intervals. If you have a?shorthaired dog such as a Chihuahua, be sure to put him in protective clothing.?Cats should be kept indoors at all times.
2. Small spaces. Animals find small, warm spots for shelter when it is cold. Hit your hood a few times before starting you car to ensure cats or other small animals are not still sleeping in your car wheel wells or under your hood.
3. Antifreeze and ice melt. Antifreeze products contain ethylene glycol and are highly toxic. Ice melt can harm the skin and gastrointestinal tract.?Be sure to keep your cats away from both antifreeze and ice melt and check their paws for it after they have been outside.
4. Outdoor shelters. Outdoor shelters are not safe for pets in the winter. Most doghouses are not completely draft-free and closing them off completely can limit the oxygen inside.
5. Pets in cars. Do not leave your pet in a car. Cars hold in cold air and can put your pet at risk.
WASHINGTON?? The euro zone debt crisis is escalating and dragging down the world economy, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday, as it sharply cut its outlook for global growth and called for policies to restore confidence.
The IMF chopped its 2012 forecast for global growth to 3.3 percent from 4 percent just three months ago, saying the outlook had deteriorated in most regions. It projected world growth would strengthen to 3.9 percent in 2013.
The Washington-based lender said economic activity was decelerating but not collapsing. However, it warned that global growth would come in about 2 percentage points below its already soft forecast if European leaders allowed the crisis to fester.
For the first time since the debt turmoil erupted two years ago, the IMF said the 17-nation euro zone would likely slip into a mild recession in 2012, with output contracting by about 0.5 percent.
"The global recovery is threatened by intensifying strains in the euro area and fragilities elsewhere," the IMF said in its latest World Economic Outlook report.
Story: S&P says likely to declare Greece in default
"The most immediate policy challenge is to restore confidence and put an end to the crisis in the euro area by supporting growth while sustaining adjustment, containing deleveraging, and providing more liquidity and monetary accommodation," it added.
The IMF maintained its 1.8 percent growth forecast for the United States in 2012, but cut its projection for Japan to 1.7 percent from 2.3 percent in September.
It said economic activity in advanced economies would expand by 1.5 percent on average in 2012 and 2013, too sluggish to make a major dent in high unemployment rates.
Support for growth needed
The IMF said the United States and other advanced economies would likely not escape unharmed if Europe's crisis escalated further.
Talks between private bond holders and the Greek government have foundered, raising the risk Athens could face a messy default that would touch off a deeper crisis. IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde has called on Europe to bolster its rescue funds to erect a wall against financial contagion.
"The United States and other advanced economies are susceptible to spillovers from a potential intensification of the euro zone crisis, and have homegrown challenges ... including overcoming political obstacles," the IMF said.
The fund projected a sharp slowdown in the pace of growth in emerging and developing countries and urged them to focus policies to stimulate their economies.
It now projects growth in emerging economies to reach 5.4 percent in 2012, down from the 6.1 percent it forecast in September. It cut China's growth figure to 8.2 percent for 2012, down from 9.0 percent. Chinese growth should rebound to 8.8 percent in 2013, it added.
For fast-growing emerging Asia as a whole, the IMF reduced its growth outlook for 2012 to 7.3 percent from 8 percent.
Elsewhere, the IMF said growth in the Middle East and North Africa should accelerate, driven mainly by a recovery in Libya after a nine-month civil war ended with the capture and killing of leader Muammar Gaddafi in October.
The IMF said global oil prices would likely only ease slightly in 2012 despite slowing world growth. The Fund said its baseline oil price projection was broadly unchanged since September when it forecast $100 a barrel.
Non-oil commodity prices are set to fall by 14 percent this year, the IMF said, adding that risks to prices are to the downside for most commodities.
In Africa, the global slowdown is likely to be limited to South Africa, with the region as a whole expanding by around 5.5 percent this year.
The largest impact of the slowdown would likely be felt in central and eastern Europe, which has strong trade links with the euro zone economies, the IMF said. It revised down its estimate for the region to 1.1 percent in 2012 from a previous forecast of 2.7 percent. Growth should edged up to 2.4 percent next year, the IMF added.
Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
On Saturday, TMZ reported that Heidi Klum and Seal were heading for a divorce, and that Klum would be filing the papers citing "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for their split.
But Us Weekly has learned, exclusively, that the supermodel, 38, and her husband of six years, 48, are still together -- for now.
PHOTOS: Heidi and Seal's sweet romance story
"Nothing is finalized or for sure. Seal flew back from the UK yesterday and he and Heidi are in the house together now," friend close to the couple tells Us. "They've had a very rough road lately. They're either madly in love or having crazy fights."
The friend goes on to say that the couple's recent trip to Aspen was full of tension, adding "they fought a lot. It was a very hard trip."
PHOTOS: Heidi Klum's craziest Halloween costumes
Seal, who's famous for his 1994 single "Kiss from a Rose" is set to spend the next month in Australia, where he will serve as a coach on the Aussie leg of the vocal competition show The Voice, alongside Joel Madden.
"It's been very hard. but there is a lot of love there, and any decision that will be made is a tough one because they have beautiful children who they both love very deeply," the friend says.
PHOTOS: The most buzzed-about celebrity divorces
The couple has three biological children, Henry, 6, Johan, 5, and Lou, 2, plus Klum's 7-year-old daughter from her previous marriage, Leni, whom Seal adopted in 2009.
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President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign event, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, at the Apollo Theatre in the Harlem neighborhood of New York. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)
President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign event, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, at the Apollo Theatre in the Harlem neighborhood of New York. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Vilified on the campaign trail by Republicans, President Barack Obama will stand before the nation Tuesday night with a State of the Union address designed to reframe the election-year debate on his terms, suggesting a stark contrast with his opponents on the economy and promising fairness and help for hurting families.
Obama is expected to offer new proposals to make college more affordable, to ease the housing crisis still slowing the economy, and to boost American manufacturing, according to people familiar with the speech. He will also promote unfinished parts of his jobs plan, including the extension of a payroll tax cut soon to expire.
In essence, this State of the Union is not so much about the year ahead as the four more years Obama wants after that.
Obama's splash of policy proposals will be less important than what he hopes they all add up to: a narrative of renewed American security. Obama will try to politically position himself as the one leading that fight for the middle class, with an overt call for help from Congress, and an implicit request for a second term from the public.
The timing comes as the nation is split about Obama's overall job performance. More people than not disapprove of his handling of the economy, he is showing real vulnerability among the independent voters who could swing the election, and most Americans think the country is on the wrong track.
So his mission will be to show leadership and ideas on topics that matter to people: jobs, housing, college, retirement security.
The White House sees the speech as a clear chance to outline a vision for re-election, yet carefully, without turning a national tradition into an overt campaign event.
On national security, Obama will defend his foreign policies but is not expected to announce new ones on Iran or any other front. He will ask the nation to reflect with him on a momentous year of change, including the end of the war in Iraq, the killing of al-Qaida terrorist leader Osama bin Laden and the Arab Spring protests of peoples clamoring for freedom.
But it will all be secondary to jobs at home.
In a winter season of politics dominated by his Republican competition, Obama will have a grand stage to himself, in a window between Republican primaries. He will try to use the moment to refocus the debate as he sees it: where the country has come, and where he wants to take it.
In doing so, Obama will come before a divided Congress with a burst of hope because the economy ? by far the most important issue to voters ? is showing life.
The unemployment rate is still at a troubling 8.5 percent, but at its lowest rate in nearly three years. Consumer confidence is up. Obama will use that as a springboard.
The president will try to draw a contrast of economic visions with Republicans, both his antagonists in Congress and the candidates for the Republican presidential nomination.
The foundation of Obama's speech is the one he gave in Kansas last month, when he declared that the middle class was a make-or-break moment and railed against "you're on your own" economics of the Republican Party. His theme then was about a government that ensures people get a fair shot to succeed.
That speech spelled out the values of Obama's election-year agenda. The State of the Union will be the blueprint to back it up.
Despite low expectations for legislation this year, Obama will offer short-term ideas that would require action from Congress. His travel schedule following his speech, to politically important regions, offers clues to the policies he was expected to unveil.
Both Phoenix and Las Vegas have been hard hit by foreclosures. Denver is where Obama outlined ways of helping college students deal with mounting school loan debt. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Detroit are home to a number of manufacturers. And Michigan was a major beneficiary of the president's decision to provide billions in federal loans to rescue General Motors and Chrysler in 2009.
For now, the main looming to-do item is an extension of a payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits, both due to expire by March. An Obama spokesman called that the "last must-do item of business" on Obama's congressional agenda, but the White House insists the president will make the case for more this year.
If anything, Republicans say Obama has made the chances of cooperation even dimmer just over the last several days. He enraged Republicans by installing a consumer watchdog chief by going around the Senate, which had blocked him, and then rejected a major oil pipeline project the GOP has embraced.
Obama is likely, once again, to offer ways in which a broken Washington must work together. Yet that theme seems but a dream given the gridlock he has been unable to change.
The State of the Union atmosphere offered a bit of comity last year, following the assassination attempt against Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. And yet 2011 was a year of utter dysfunction in Washington, with the partisanship getting so bad that the government nearly defaulted as the world watched in embarrassment.
The address remains an old-fashioned moment of national attention; 43 million people watched it on TV last year. The White House website will offer a live stream of the speech, promising graphics and other bonuses for people who watch it there, plus a panel of administration officials afterward with questions coming in through Twitter and Facebook.
__
AP deputy director of polling Jennifer Agiesta and Associated Press writer Ken Thomas contributed to this report.
PARK CITY, Utah ? Where there are celebrities, there is swag, and the Sundance Film Festival is no exception. Nearly a dozen gift suites opened their doors Friday afternoon along the city's Main Street.
Kate Bosworth, Andy Samberg, Emma Roberts and Rashida Jones are among the famous folks who stopped by the VEVO PowerStation SOREL Suite, where they could indulge in moisturizing facials and lip treatments from Fresh cosmetics and outfit their feet in snow-ready footwear.
"I think we belong here," said Kimberly Barta, global brand director for SOREL snow boots. "It just makes sense."
The company is also offering a 24-hour concierge service that will deliver boots around the clock to stars who can't stop by the suite.
At the Alive Expo Green Pavilion, guests could pick up natural skincare products and handmade handbags by Kenyan artisans from Tembo Trading Co.
The Bertolli Meal Soup Chalet served up bowls of hot soup and handed out sunglasses and Lumene skincare products to visitors. Joe Pastorkovich of Lumene said Sundance is the perfect place to introduce the European brand to an American audience.
"We're expanding into the U.S., and our brand connects well to Park City," he said. "It's a good fit because of the naturalness of the product, and we're unpretentious. This festival is about independent film, and we're an independent brand."
Italian shoe company Carlo Pazolini also exhibited (and gifted) its wares at the Sundance fest as a means of expanding its market reach.
"We're a European company launching in the U.S., so we wanted to get our name out there," company executive Jennifer Damiano said from the Miami Oasis suite, where she gave away high-end leather shoes and handbags. Guests at the suite were also treated to gluten-free snacks, hair styling by got2B, and cocktails from DiSaronno and Patron.
The Miami Oasis is just one part of the brand-heavy T-Mobile Village at the Lift, which includes McDonald's McCafe Lounge, the Puma Social Lounge and a temporary Tao nightclub.
Actress Blythe Danner stopped by the Fender Music Lodge, which offered live music and swag including Bear Paw boots and Park Lane jewelry.
Sundance sponsors HP, Acura, Chase Sapphire and the Sundance Channel also hosted suites along Main Street.
Alex Wilson, who produced the VEVO suite, said brands love Sundance because of the concentrated star power and media presence.
"In one location for five days, you can't get any bigger as far as names and exposure," he said. "With the heat of Park City, word travels fast."
And the number of branded suites keeps growing, too, much to the chagrin of Sundance Institute founder Robert Redford. He lamented that the success of the festival has attracted what he calls "leveragers" who muddle its mission of nurturing and celebrating independent film.
"They come in with their own agendas to use the festival to piggyback their agendas," he said. "It's a free country and there's nothing we can do about that ... but we have to work harder and harder to point to the fact that this is about the filmmakers. This is about their work and showing their work to you."
Many of the gift suites will close by Monday. The Sundance Film Festival continues through Jan. 29.
___
AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen is on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/APSandy.
Duration of RBC storage does not affect short-term pulmonary, immunologic, or coagulation status Public release date: 20-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Nathaniel Dunford ndunford@thoracic.org 212-315-8620 American Thoracic Society
There is no difference in early measures of pulmonary function, immunologic status or coagulation status after fresh versus standard issue single-unit red blood cell (RBC) transfusion, according to a new study from the Mayo Clinic.
"Longer duration of RBC storage is thought to increase the risk of transfusion-related pulmonary complications," said Daryl J. Kor, assistant professor of anesthesiology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. "In our study of 100 intubated, mechanically ventilated patients, we did not see evidence for an increased risk associated with RBC storage duration, at least not in the early post-transfusion period."
The findings were published online ahead of print publication in the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
In the double-blind trial, 50 patients were randomized to receive fresh (median storage duration = 4.0 days) RBC and 50 were randomized to receive standard issue RBC (median storage duration = 26.5 days). The primary outcome measure was change in pulmonary gas exchange, as measured by the partial pressure of arterial oxygen to fraction of inspired oxygen concentration ratio (?PaO2/FiO2). Post-transfusion measurements were performed upon completion of the transfusion and within two hours of the transfusion (median 1.9 hours in the fresh RBC group and 1.8 hours in the standard issue RBC group).
No significant differences between groupswere seen in the primary outcome measure of change in PaO2/FiO2 ratio (2.5 +/- 49.3 vs. -9.0 +/- 69.8; fresh RBC vs. standard issue RBC; p = 0.22). Similarly, no significant differences were seen for any of the other outcome measures of pulmonary function (fraction of dead space ventilation, dynamic and static pulmonary compliance), immunologic status (tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-8, C-reactive protein) or coagulation status (fibrinogen, anti-thrombin consumption).
"Our data do not support a significant effect of RBC storage duration on respiratory, immunologic or coagulation parameters in the immediate post-transfusion period," said Dr. Kor. "Previous observational studies linking RBC storage duration and respiratory complications may have suffered from bias and unmeasured confounding, which were more effectively addressed in our double-blind, randomized trial study design."
The study did have some limitations, including the short duration of follow-up, the study's limited sample size and the single center, tertiary-care setting, which may limit the generalizability of the results.
"Given the lack of an association between RBC storage duration and evidence of transfusion-related pulmonary complications in our study, randomization to fresh versus longer storage duration RBC in clinical trials would clearly seem ethical," said Dr. Kor. "Further study will need to clarify the impact of RBC storage duration on other patient-centered outcomes."
###
About the American Journal of Respiratory Research and Critical Care Medicine:
With an impact factor of 10.191, the AJRRCM is a peer-reviewed journal published by the American Thoracic Society.It aims to publish the most innovative science and the highest quality reviews, practice guidelines and statements in the pulmonary, critical care and sleep-related fields.
Founded in 1905, the American Thoracic Society is the world's leading medical association dedicated to advancing pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine. The Society's 15,000 members prevent and fight respiratory disease around the globe through research, education, patient care and advocacy.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Duration of RBC storage does not affect short-term pulmonary, immunologic, or coagulation status Public release date: 20-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Nathaniel Dunford ndunford@thoracic.org 212-315-8620 American Thoracic Society
There is no difference in early measures of pulmonary function, immunologic status or coagulation status after fresh versus standard issue single-unit red blood cell (RBC) transfusion, according to a new study from the Mayo Clinic.
"Longer duration of RBC storage is thought to increase the risk of transfusion-related pulmonary complications," said Daryl J. Kor, assistant professor of anesthesiology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. "In our study of 100 intubated, mechanically ventilated patients, we did not see evidence for an increased risk associated with RBC storage duration, at least not in the early post-transfusion period."
The findings were published online ahead of print publication in the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
In the double-blind trial, 50 patients were randomized to receive fresh (median storage duration = 4.0 days) RBC and 50 were randomized to receive standard issue RBC (median storage duration = 26.5 days). The primary outcome measure was change in pulmonary gas exchange, as measured by the partial pressure of arterial oxygen to fraction of inspired oxygen concentration ratio (?PaO2/FiO2). Post-transfusion measurements were performed upon completion of the transfusion and within two hours of the transfusion (median 1.9 hours in the fresh RBC group and 1.8 hours in the standard issue RBC group).
No significant differences between groupswere seen in the primary outcome measure of change in PaO2/FiO2 ratio (2.5 +/- 49.3 vs. -9.0 +/- 69.8; fresh RBC vs. standard issue RBC; p = 0.22). Similarly, no significant differences were seen for any of the other outcome measures of pulmonary function (fraction of dead space ventilation, dynamic and static pulmonary compliance), immunologic status (tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-8, C-reactive protein) or coagulation status (fibrinogen, anti-thrombin consumption).
"Our data do not support a significant effect of RBC storage duration on respiratory, immunologic or coagulation parameters in the immediate post-transfusion period," said Dr. Kor. "Previous observational studies linking RBC storage duration and respiratory complications may have suffered from bias and unmeasured confounding, which were more effectively addressed in our double-blind, randomized trial study design."
The study did have some limitations, including the short duration of follow-up, the study's limited sample size and the single center, tertiary-care setting, which may limit the generalizability of the results.
"Given the lack of an association between RBC storage duration and evidence of transfusion-related pulmonary complications in our study, randomization to fresh versus longer storage duration RBC in clinical trials would clearly seem ethical," said Dr. Kor. "Further study will need to clarify the impact of RBC storage duration on other patient-centered outcomes."
###
About the American Journal of Respiratory Research and Critical Care Medicine:
With an impact factor of 10.191, the AJRRCM is a peer-reviewed journal published by the American Thoracic Society.It aims to publish the most innovative science and the highest quality reviews, practice guidelines and statements in the pulmonary, critical care and sleep-related fields.
Founded in 1905, the American Thoracic Society is the world's leading medical association dedicated to advancing pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine. The Society's 15,000 members prevent and fight respiratory disease around the globe through research, education, patient care and advocacy.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
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ORLANDO (Reuters) ? President Barack Obama on Thursday ordered the streamlining of applications for foreign tourist visas to the United States, focused on increasingly affluent Chinese and Brazilian visitors, in an effort to boost tourism and create jobs.
Obama announced the modest package of reforms at the Disney World theme park in Florida, a state whose economy is heavily dependent on the tourist industry.
The state, closely divided between Democrats and Republicans, will be a crucial battleground in November, when Obama faces a re-election vote that may hinge on Americans' perceptions of his handling of the economy.
The American tourism industry and business groups have long advocated an easing of visa restrictions that were tightened in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks.
Standing on "Main Street" in Disney's Magic Kingdom with Cinderella's castle in the background, Obama said he was making the visa changes to try to help spur American job growth.
"I want America to be the top tourist destination in the world," Obama said. "The more folks who visit America, the more Americans we get back to work. It is that simple."
He joked that the visit to Disney World was one of the rare instances that his daughters, Sasha and Malia, envied him.
"Maybe, for once, they will actually ask me at dinner how my day went," Obama said.
The visa changes were the latest measures rolled out by Obama to show voters he is serious about boosting the still-sluggish labor market and will act on his own whenever possible in the face of election-year gridlock in Congress.
Obama said the new steps would help cut through red tape and make it easier for foreign tourists to come to the United States.
The White House estimated that more than 1 million U.S. jobs could be created in the next decade if the country increased its share of the international travel market.
Foreign visitors generated $134 billion in 2010, making it the largest U.S. service export industry, the Commerce Department said. The number of tourists from emerging economies with growing middle classes like China, Brazil and India is projected to grow sharply in coming years.
Among the steps announced on Thursday:
* An order for the government to increase non-immigrant visa processing capacity in China and Brazil by 40 percent in 2012, ensuring that 80 percent of applicants are interviewed within three weeks and expanding visa waiver programs.
* A pilot program to simplify and speed the visa process for applicants from China and Brazil, including the ability to waive interviews for low-risk applicants.
* Addition of Taiwan to the list of so-called visa-waiver countries.
* Creation of an interagency task force to develop recommendations for expanding international tourism.
(Reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Caren Bohan; Editing by Will Dunham)
Carano: Channing studied the sport for a long time, and he?s very, very athletic. Ewan and Fassbender picked up the technique and the choreography surprisingly quickly, for the short amount of time I got to spend with them in creating these fight scenes. Fassbender?s extremely tricky, and tricky fighters are very hard to fight. Ewan?s incredibly smart. I find that whoever you are as a person is how you?re gonna fight, and every basic instinct kind of comes out at that moment.
Slate: When you were working with Soderbergh, did you get the sense that he was treating you differently than the more experienced actors like Fassbender and McGregor?
Carano: I do think Steven had a specific idea in mind for me. He helped me quite closely and really walked me through everything when it came to the acting part of it. On physical days there was no problem, I felt very free. And the wonderful thing he did with me was he kept me physical throughout the whole movie.
A new report from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners examining insurance premiums and risk exposure in every state was released in early January, and state insurance regulators and legislators alike are now scrambling to explain how these rates came to be. In the press release announcing the new report the NAIC explained how they collected their information and what it means.
?The report includes countrywide, state-specific premium and exposure information for homeowners? insurance package policies and for non-commercial dwelling fire insurance. Included are descriptions of the data and a discussion of how certain economic, demographic and natural phenomena impact the price of homeowners insurance.
The report includes written exposures (earned house years) and aggregate written premiums by state and countrywide for the 2009 data year. It contains three tables that show individual state and countrywide exposures by policy type, individual policy form, as well as amount of insurance coverage, which is divided into ranges with percentages of total exposures provided for each range. This data is also broken down into state specific tables.?
Texas nation?s most expensive insurance market
The state with highest insurance premiums was Texas. While consumers groups have used the report results to push for reform, insurance experts in Texas attribute these high rates to Texas? high risk location along the hurricane prone Gulf Coast and the three major hurricanes to hit Texas in recent years.
From the Dallas Morning News:
?Consumer groups warned that Texas homeowners should not expect any relief soon, while industry representatives noted that premiums in the state are not rising as fast as in other states.
?For as long as anyone can remember, Texas has had among the highest insurance rates in the nation,? said Alex Winslow of Texas Watch, a consumer group active in insurance issues.
?The flip side is that coverage for most homeowners is getting slashed while their rates keep going up. With higher deductibles, expanded exclusions and a growing number of junk policies, Texas policyholders are being forced to pay more for less,? he said. ?It?s like being forced to pay Cadillac prices and getting stuck with a clunker.?
Winslow said the situation would not improve until the Legislature beefs up laws regulating insurers and the commissioner of insurance ?gets tough? with companies.
Mark Hanna of the Insurance Council of Texas said the premiums listed in the study reflect how catastrophic weather events can affect homeowner rates. He noted that several states with higher premiums were along the hurricane-prone Gulf Coast or in areas that experience a large number of destructive storms.
?The NAIC figures [based on 2009 premiums] came one year after Texas was hit by three hurricanes, which included Hurricane Ike, the costliest storm in Texas history,? Hanna said.?
While Texas? insurance rates were high, they are not increasing at as steady a rate as other states; several insurers have argued that this is due to the increasing competitiveness of the Texas insurance market.
?Texas homeowners paid the most expensive insurance premiums in the country for the second year in a row, although average premiums in the state have not been increasing as sharply as in other states, according to new figures from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
The average annual cost of the most commonly sold policy in Texas was $1,511, which is well above the national average of $880 and about $50 more than in the state with the second-highest rates, Florida. Eight states had average premiums above $1,000 a year, and some of those have seen dramatic increases in recent years.
While Texas rates were up 3.5 percent ($51) from the previous year, the national average was up 11 percent as insurance rate increases exceeded the rate of inflation in several states. The figures were based on premiums collected in 2009, the most recent year for which figures were available.?
Louisiana third highest, but with market becoming more competitive
Similar results to Texas were found in Louisiana. Louisiana had the third highest rates in the NAIC study, but like Texas rates rose much more slowly then the years after Katrina.
From the Insurance Journal:
?Homeowners insurance premiums in Louisiana remain among the nation?s highest, but are rising much more slowly than they did in the first two years after Hurricane Katrina, new data from by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners show.
Louisiana remains the third-most expensive market in the nation for homeowners insurance, behind Texas and Florida, The Times-Picayune reported. The statewide average premium was $1,430 in 2009, the most recent year for which data is available.
The average rose 9.9 percent in 2006 and 11.4 percent in 2007 ? but only 0.35 percent in 2008 and 1.78 percent in 2009. The 2007 increase was the nation?s largest, and that in 2006 was the third-largest in the country.?
Consumer groups and insurance regulators disagree whether additional regulation is needed to bring rates down. Robert Hunter of the Consumer Federation of America has argued that insurers in Louisiana have eliminated much of their risk, and new regulations are needed to bring down what he calls gouging.
?However, Bob Hunter, director of insurance at the Consumer Federation of America, said that while competition can do wonders for rates in a stable market, after a storm, when insurers are eager to raise rates and drop coverage, strong regulation makes a bigger difference in keeping rates moderate.
Hunter suspects that companies use storms to gouge people. Hurricane Katrina may have been the largest insurance event in history, but if one looks at the financial impact that it had on the insurance industry nationally, it?s much less significant than the impact of Hurricane Andrew in 1992 ? a much smaller event by insured losses.
With each disaster since Andrew, insurers have increased deductibles, trimmed coverage and dropped policies, all of which foist risk back on policyholders ? and, through disaster aid, taxpayers ? yet they have continued raising rates. The result is that insurers are better financed and shoulder less risk, so even a big event like Katrina didn?t rock the industry.
?They have basically eliminated their risk,? Hunter said. ?Why haven?t these things worked to bring rates down? Are they just gouging?
?It really requires regulation,? he said.?
Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon has argued that the state has seen significant improvement in its insurance market, with more private companies entering the state, making the market more competitive. Rather then layer on new regulations that could stifle competition, Donelon supports policies that create more opportunities for private companies to enter the state. So far, under Donelon these efforts have been successful, with new startups becoming more active players in the insurance market and fewer policies entering the state run insurer Citizens.
?Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon said the moderate premium increases reflected in the NAIC data are consistent with the stabilization that he has seen in the homeowners market. ?I am encouraged, and not surprised,? he said.
Donelon credits new competition with taming the runaway rate increases immediately after the storm. About a dozen companies have become active players since the storm, some of them new companies that came here with the $29 million in incentives awarded by the state, some startups or new players that came here on their own, and some longtime players such as Liberty Mutual or the Republic Group that greatly increased their policy-writing over the past six years.
While those new players have not succeeded in bringing down rates, Donelon said his market strategies have been successful. ?The best regulator of cost is competition,? he said.?
Tagged as: insurance premiums, insurance reform, Louisiana, NAIC, National Association of Insurance Commissioners, property and casualty, Texas
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) ? In a move somewhat akin to having George Clooney announce the Oscar nominations, Uggie the dog announced on Wednesday that the top nominee for the first Golden Collar Awards, which honor canine performances in film and television, is -- Uggie the dog.
Uggie, the much-celebrated star of "The Artist," received a pair of nominations in the marquee category of Best Dog in a Theatrical Film - one for "The Artist," and the other for his performance as Queenie in "Water for Elephants."
He'll be going up against Cosmo, Denver and Hummer, who were nominated for their roles in "Beginners," "50/50" and "Young Adult, respectively.
Uggie was on hand to help with the nominations announcement, which was made with the help of his human co-star in "The Artist," Penelope Ann Miller.
The most interesting race in the other four categories in clearly the impending dogfight in the Best Dog in a Reality Television Series category, where three nominees from "Real Housewives" shows (Giggy and Jackpot from Beverly Hills and Millou from New York City) are expected to make mincemeat of Spartacus from "Ice Loves Coco" and Hercules from "Pit Boss" before turning their claws on each other.
And while Aki Kaurismaki's "Le Havre" was surprisingly left off the shortlist in the Oscar Foreign-Language category, the Finnish director can no doubt console himself with the knowledge that his canine lead, Laika, is up for Best Dog in a Foreign Film.
The Golden Collar Awards are the creation of the online magazine Dog News Daily, and will take place on Monday, February 13 at the dog-friendly Hotel Palomar in Los Angeles. Proceeds will benefit L.A.-area dog rescue shelters and organizations.
Harry, Ron and Hermione make 'Twilight' debut in the off-Broadway parody. By Amy Wilkinson
The cast of "Twilight: The Musical" Photo: Dreamcatcher Entertainment
NEW YORK — When "Dreamgirls" helmer Bill Condon took over direction of "The Twilight Saga," more than a few cheeky journalists wondered if he'd treat fans to a bloodsucking song-and-dance extravaganza. Alas, vogueing Volturi weren't meant to be — at least on the big screen. They have, however, found a temporary home on the New York City stage in the form of "Twilight: The Musical." The off-Broadway parody production premiered Monday night at the New World Stages, raising money for the charity Blessings in a Backpack.
Written by Ashley Griffin and directed by Gabriel Barre, "Twilight: The Musical" is, for now, staged as a concert reading, meaning that the actors hold scripts throughout the show. But the cheat sheets did little to diminish the enthusiasm of the oft-hilarious production.
A group of eight actors play more than 30 roles, with some pulling quadruple and even quintuple duty (such as standouts Lauren Lopez and Jenna Leigh Green). With her bobbing ponytail, zip-up hoodie, skinny jeans and sullen expression, Meghann Fahy ("Next to Normal") is a dead ringer for Bella Swan (or, at the very least, Kristen Stewart's portrayal of Bella Swan), while "Wicked" actor Colin Hanlon looks perfectly pained as Edward Cullen. Jared Zirilli ("Wicked") spends the entire second act shirtless, portraying Jacob with the kind of earnestness that's made Taylor Lautner the object of many a teen's fever dreams.
The show opens much as the "Twilight" movie does, with Bella's monologue about her impending death followed by the cafeteria scene and the upbeat track "Looking for Something." (Sample lyrics: "I think I see a Fork stuck in my road," "We're standing on the twilight of something good.") The first act hems closely with its source material, including all the requisite scenes: Edward's biology class freak-out, Bella's car accident and the bookstore gang-up. Much of the dialogue comes straight from screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg's script, too, albeit with much-welcomed embellishments. (Charlie to Bella: "I know it's awkward starting in the middle of a semester, so I got you a truck!")
But things take a canon-twisting turn about two-thirds of the way through the first act when Hermione, Ron and Harry show up. Yes, someone got "Harry Potter" in our "Twilight." Instead of Victoria, James and Laurent, Hogwarts' finest play the villains here. The meta levels reach 11 when the wizards mistakes Edward for Cedric Diggory. And so it is that Ron tracks Bella down in her old ballet studio and is done in by the Cullen coven, leaving Hermione to avenge the death of her beloved. The first act closes on Bella's birthday — the surprisingly bloody scene from "New Moon."
The second act opens with a freshly shorn Jacob (his wig somehow even mangier than Lautner's) singing with his pack. From there, the production speeds through the last three books of Meyer's series, compressing much of the story in favor of cramming it all in. Despite the odd pacing, the production sang thanks to details only a true fanatic could relish. Edward's sparking-in-the-sun effect is achieved with a glittery bodysuit hidden underneath the actor's button-down like Superman's spandex. The iconic apple from the book's cover hangs limply (and obviously) from a springing wire gizmo as Edward tries to suavely hand it to Bella. Not to mention the actors muster plenty of fourth-wall-breaking furtive glances, letting the audience know they are in on the joke.
But the tongue-in-cheek vibe is abandoned late in the second act for a sobering bit of moralizing from Harry, who comes to Bella in a dream sequence asking if it was all worth it. "You were willing to sacrifice everything to get a boyfriend," he says. "In the end, you destroyed yourself." Point taken, Harry Potter. But what a buzzkill.
If you weren't able to make the one-night-only charity benefit, don't fret: Work is being done to bring the production to the New York stage for good.
MADRID (Reuters) ? Spain's new government will push ahead within weeks on labor reform aimed at tackling the European Union's highest unemployment rate after unions and employers failed to meet a deadline for agreeing how to modernize a rigid system that harms them both.
It is difficult to see how the reforms can help Spain's immediate battle with a chronically-weak economy and a jobless rate that has soared to 23.5 percent in recent months, leaving some 5.4 million out of work.
But Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy drove home the need for action by releasing the latest unemployment figures two weeks early this week and says he will do what is needed to loosen up the system and enable freer job creation.
To do so the government will have to take aggressive measures to worsen wages and conditions for employees that unions warn could prompt a national strike. From what signs the government has given on the shape of the reform, on the other hand, economists say it may also fail to please employers and risks not doing enough to generate meaningful improvement.
In a speech in Malaga on Saturday, Rajoy called the headline unemployment number - equivalent to almost one in four of the economically active population - "astronomical" and said his government would "wage war" on unemployment lines.
"This is in keeping with the change of government," Santiago Sanchez, chief economist at Juan Carlos III university in Madrid, said.
"The previous government looked for positive statistics to highlight its management (of the economy) .. and this one is rooting out the worst ones to justify its tough austerity measures."
Elected in a landslide in November, Rajoy gave worker and employer representatives until last Friday to agree on a broad sweep of reforms as he tried to draw a line under some 18 months of largely fruitless talks. They missed the deadline.
The government also faces credit agency pressure, with Standard & Poor's warning it could cut Spain further this year or next following Friday's two-notch downgrade if reforms were delayed or "insufficient to reduce the high unemployment rate."
'GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY'
Job creation in Spain has been crippled by a stagnant economy, a tough austerity program and exceptionally generous redundancy deals. Critics say the labor market is shackled by complex and rigid agreements on collective bargaining, statutory redundancy payments and temporary contracts.
"The (labor) reform has to be thought of as a golden opportunity to change the structure of the way the Spanish labor market operates and to be a major force for higher productivity and to reduce structural unemployment," Antonio Garcia Pascual, chief southern European economist at Barclays in London, said.
Unemployment rates were likely to rise further given Spain's economy was set to shrink this year, he said, but reforms making it easier and cheaper for companies to hire and fire as well as giving more workers better protection would promote jobs growth once the upturn comes.
Terms and conditions for Spanish workers tend to be agreed at regional level and sometimes across industries, giving unions strong negotiating powers that they will battle to protect.
But generous permanent contracts mean firms are more inclined to hire workers on temporary ones that offer little protection.
"Collective bargaining .., is something we are particularly sensitive about," said a spokesman for the country's biggest union, the blue-collar CCOO, warning that major changes could provoke a general strike.
Garcia Pascual said the government could "probably" live with that. "I suspect that with 23 percent unemployment the response (to a strike call) may not be so enthusiastic."
Gilles Moec, analyst at Deutsche Bank in London, said he expected the new laws to give firms greater freedom to opt out of collective contracts. "My understanding is that the government is ready to go there," he said.
The government will also scale back redundancy payments for permanent staff that are among the highest in the world, favoring contracts offering a statutory minimum of 33 days' pay for each year worked, Treasury Minister Cristobal Montoro said.
Unions are demanding 45 days' pay and employers 20, but even the lower figure dwarfs payoffs in other countries.
In Germany, at least half a month's pay is usual and in France a fifth, while in the United States there is no statutory requirement to award severance pay.
The heavy extra potential burden on employers in Spain means many are prepared to offer only temporary contracts that give workers little if any protection against dismissal.
A SINGLE CONTRACT
According to the national statistics institute, 26 percent of all Spanish employment contracts were temporary as of last September, and the proportion has almost certainly risen since.
For Barclays' Garcia Pascual, the labor market will not revive until that trend is reversed.
"I think they should be bold and think about a single contract where the firing cost increases with seniority. (But) that is not easy to sell to unions or employers."
"The best way forward would be to reduce the level of protection on permanent contracts and improve (it) ...on temporary ones," added Deutsche Bank's Moec.
The labor reform draft is expected to be ready by early February and Treasury Minister Cristobal Montoro said it would be pushed through without a broader consensus if necessary.
The government would however "keep lines of communication open" with unions and employers in the run-up to the new legislation, a labor ministry spokeswoman said.
While angering unions, more flexibility would please domestic employers and would-be foreign investors.
"What most people want is more flexibility and collective bargaining agreements" tailored to individual companies and sectors, said U.S. ambassador Alan Solomont.
He cited the U.S. practice of linking work hours to productivity cycles, for instance in auto plants. General Motors Co operates a large assembly line in Zaragoza.
The strategy also worked well during the 2008/9 economic crisis for Germany, where unemployment fell in December to its lowest level since the country's reunification two decades ago.
(Additional reporting by Feliciano Tisera and Fiona Ortiz, Stephen Brown in Berlin, Vicky Buffery in Paris and Timothy Ahmann in Washington; editing by Patrick Graham)
LOS ANGELES ? Two film industry unions are closer to merging.
The Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists announced Monday they have agreed to a plan to combine their unions. The announcement comes after nine days of talks between the unions in Hollywood and two years of negotiations between the groups to join forces in a bid to gain more leverage in contract negotiations.
SAG represents 125,000 actors, while AFTRA represents 70,000 professional performers, broadcasters and recording artists. Some 45,000 of AFTRA's members also belong to SAG. AFTRA supported a merger with SAG in 1998 and 2003 only to see those efforts fail.
SAG and AFTRA split acrimoniously in 2008 and decided to negotiate deals with the studios separately for the first time in three decades. The rift hurt SAG as TV studios sent most of their new work AFTRA's way. SAG maintains exclusive jurisdiction over feature films.
SAG National President Ken Howard and AFTRA National President Roberta Reardon said in a joint statement they are confident their "members will agree that we have created something we can all be proud of ? actors, singers, broadcasters, dancers, voiceover artists, background actors, stuntpersons and all entertainment and media professionals that will be represented by this new union."
The plan will be recommended later this month to the unions' boards.
This is the first part of a five-part series by The Huffington Post about Stephen Colbert's ongoing explanation of the nation's campaign finance laws. Stay tuned through the week of Jan. 16, 2012, for the rest of the series.
WASHINGTON -- Two years after the Supreme Court voided many of the country's bedrock campaign finance laws, much of the American public is still confused by the change -- and stupefied by the often-impenetrable jargon that frequently encumbers any discussion of the topic.
But one public figure has managed to pierce the veil of dullness to actually demonstrate -- in an electrifying way -- just how dangerous and corrupt the current system of political campaign financing has become.
In an indication of the desperate state of campaign finance laws -- and the mainstream media -- that person is a comedian: Stephen Colbert, who plays a right-wing blowhard on the Comedy Central show "The Colbert Report."
Colbert has spent much of the past year on a crusade to accept unlimited contributions from corporations, unions and individuals in order to make political statements and lavish himself with luxuries. In so doing, he may have helped bring the troubling issues surrounding campaign finance to the public's attention more than either the reform community or traditional media.
The comedian has often used his on-air persona's actual participation in events to help educate his viewers about what he says are the craziest elements of the United States' political system. This journey began on March 30, 2011, when Colbert announced on his show that in order to influence the 2012 elections, he would be forming a political action committee.
"If you wanna be a political playa in 2012, you need a PAC," he said.
In his ensuing adventures, such as receiving approval in June 2011 for a super PAC, Colbert has exposed many of the potential dangers of the current campaign financing system, including the influence of PACs and unlimited-donation super PACs, secret contributions by big donors, the failure of regulators, and the coordination between campaigns and supposedly independent groups. On Jan. 12, Colbert took his antics to their next logical conclusion: He declared a run for the presidency of the United States ... of South Carolina.
"It's not very often that money-in-politics questions wind up in pop culture," said John Wonderlich, policy director at the Sunlight Foundation, a nonprofit that supports campaign finance transparency. "Colbert takes the most legalistic or complicated aspects of campaign finance and boils it down into a digestible popular form in a way that's unique."
Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21 and a longtime supporter of tougher campaign finance regulation, is also a fan. "I think Colbert has made a real contribution to educating a broader public about the dangers involved in our current campaign finance system," he said.
Colbert's personal appearances before the Federal Election Commission and the attention he has generated on the subject even garnered the praise of FEC Commissioner Ellen Weintraub, who thanked Colbert for "shining a little light on this obscure corner of the federal government."
ABOUT THOSE PACS
Forming a PAC seemed an appropriate starting point for Colbert. The committees have traditionally been used to provide a vehicle for a group of people -- employees of a corporation, members of a union, supporters of a political figure -- to pool their money for campaign contributions or independent expenditures in support of the election of candidates.
The first PAC dates back to 1944, but their use exploded in the 1970s and the 1980s.
As he signed the forms to create his own PAC in March, Colbert joked about what else he could do with the money he raises.
"Let's say I'm Sarah Palin and I've got a couple of million dollars in my PAC there. Can I use that to, like, take private jets someplace?" Colbert asked his guest and lawyer Trevor Potter, a former FEC chairman and counsel to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) during his 2008 presidential run.
Potter, who has since become Colbert's campaign finance straight man, responded with a smile, "You can!"
A common criticism of PACs connected to political figures is that they can be used to pay for things like luxury travel with funds contributed by other people. A PAC belonging to former Republican vice presidential candidate Palin, for instance, provided tens of thousands of dollars for her to travel to Israel and to take private jet trips across the United States
As Colbert has demonstrated, forming a PAC can be as easy as filling out a form and asking for money.
BALTIMORE ? The Baltimore Ravens didn't just earn another home win. They stole it away from the Houston Texans.
Ed Reed sealed a 20-13 victory Sunday with Baltimore's fourth takeaway, and when he finally limped off the field, the Ravens were assured their second trip to the AFC championship game in four seasons.
Baltimore (13-4) will visit Tom Brady and the New England Patriots next Sunday, with the winner moving on to the Super Bowl.
"We know we have a big test next week," linebacker Ray Lewis said. "Tom is playing excellent up there, and what they did to the Broncos last night, I think they sent a message to whoever was coming up there. So, we've got our hands full."
The Patriots lead the series 6-1, but Baltimore's lone win came in the postseason.
The Ravens have been in the playoffs for four years running, but this was their first home game since 2006. It was anything but easy.
Baltimore forced two turnovers in the first quarter in building a 17-3 lead thanks to touchdown passes by Joe Flacco, and interceptions by Lardarius Webb and Reed in the fourth quarter helped the advantage stand up.
"We knew what was coming," Lewis said. "This young team, they are so freakin' fiery. They've got so many great pieces over there. I just take my hat off to them, just simply for the way they came out and fought today.
"More importantly, I take my hat off to my team, as well, because we came out and we knew it was going to be tough. We made some plays, they made some plays and at the end of the game, we made the plays that counted."
One week earlier, in the first playoff game in Texans history, Houston (11-7) didn't commit a turnover in a 31-10 home rout of Cincinnati. Against Baltimore, the Texans' couldn't hold onto the ball and quickly fell behind by two touchdowns.
Arian Foster ran for 132 yards, the first player to rush for 100 yards in the playoffs against the Ravens. But rookie quarterback T.J. Yates threw three interceptions.
Down 17-13 at halftime, Houston twice held the Ravens without a first down in the third quarter before driving to the Baltimore 32. From there, Neil Rackers' 50-yard field goal try hit the crossbar and dropped into the end zone.
Baltimore then launched a drive in which seldom-used Lee Evans made a sensational one-handed catch for a 30-yard gain on third-and-5 from the Houston 39. On fourth-and-goal inside the 1, Ray Rice was stuffed by linebacker Tim Dobbins for no gain.
The Texans couldn't move the ball, and the Ravens took the ensuing punt at the Houston 49. But three plays netted only 4 yards, and Sam Koch punted for the seventh time.
Minutes later, the Ravens went three and out for the fourth time in five second-half possessions. Fortunately for Baltimore, the defense compensated for the team's inability to add to its early lead.
Webb's second interception came with 7 1/2 minutes left and the Ravens clinging to 17-13 advantage. Baltimore moved 45 yards to get a field goal by Billy Cundiff with 2:52 left.
Reed ended the Texans' subsequent drive with his eighth career playoff interception inside the 5-yard line.
"When we got up 17-3, the No. 1 thing I told them is: `They're going to make a rally. Every great team makes a rally,'" Lewis said. "And this is what playoff football is all about. I mean, year after year and time after time, great competition going against each other, it really does get no better."
Houston's Danieal Manning muffled the record crowd of 71,547 by taking the opening kickoff 60 yards to the Baltimore 41. Yates then completed two straight passes, and after the Ravens stuffed Foster on a third-and-1, Rackers kicked a 40-yard field goal.
Baltimore failed to get a first down on its first possession and had to punt. Jacoby Jones inexplicably attempted to field the bouncing ball at the 13-yard line, was immediately hit by Cary Williams and lost the ball, which was recovered by rookie Jimmy Smith at the 2.
On third down, Flacco threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Kris Wilson ? the tight end's first catch of the season.
After a Houston punt, Flacco completed a 21-yard pass to Anquan Boldin to set up a 48-yard field goal for a 10-3 lead.
Later in the first quarter, Webb stepped in front of Andre Johnson for an interception at the Houston 35. Five plays later, Flacco tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Boldin in the right side of the end zone.
Yates then completed a pair of third-down passes in a 59-yard drive that ended with a field goal.
After Yates misfired on third down from the Baltimore 10, the rookie came off the field he was greeted by coach Gary Kubiak, who put a hand on the back of the quarterback's jersey while chatting.
Yates returned after a Baltimore punt to direct a 12-play, 86-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by Foster, who accounted for 66 yards ? including 54 on the ground.
Yates went 17 for 35 for 184 yards. Johnson had eight catches for 111 yards.
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Public release date: 20-Jan-2012
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TheAtlantic 
A new report from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners examining insurance premiums and risk exposure in every state was released in early January, and state insurance regulators and legislators alike are now scrambling to explain how these rates came to be. In the press release announcing the new report the NAIC explained how they collected their information and what it means.