Meteorite explodes over Russia, more than 1,000 injured

CHELYABINSK, Russia (Reuters) - A meteorite streaked across the sky and exploded over central Russia on Friday, raining fireballs over a vast area and causing a shock wave that smashed windows, damaged buildings and injured 1,200 people.

People heading to work in Chelyabinsk heard what sounded like an explosion, saw a bright light and then felt the shock wave, according to a Reuters correspondent in the industrial city 1,500 km (950 miles) east of Moscow.

The fireball, travelling at a speed of 30 km (19 miles) per second according to Russian space agency Roscosmos, had blazed across the horizon, leaving a long white trail that could be seen as far as 200 km (125 miles) away.

Car alarms went off, thousands of windows shattered and mobile phone networks were disrupted. The Interior Ministry said the meteorite explosion, a very rare spectacle, also unleashed a sonic boom.

"I was driving to work, it was quite dark, but it suddenly became as bright as if it were day," said Viktor Prokofiev, 36, a resident of Yekaterinburg in the Urals Mountains.

"I felt like I was blinded by headlights."

The meteorite, which weighed about 10 metric tons and may have been made of iron, entered Earth's atmosphere and broke apart 30-50 km (19-31 miles) above ground, according to Russia's Academy of Sciences.

The energy released when it entered the Earth's atmosphere was equivalent to a few kilotonnes, the academy said, the power of a small atomic weapon exploding.

No deaths were reported but the Emergencies Ministry said 20,000 rescue and clean-up workers were sent to the region after President Vladimir Putin told Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov to ease the disruption and help the victims.

The Interior Ministry said about 1,200 people had been injured, at least 200 of them children, and most from shards of glass.

WINDOWS BLOWN OUT

The early-morning blast and ensuing shock wave blew out windows on Chelyabinsk's central Lenin Street, buckled some shop fronts, rattled apartment buildings in the city center and blew out windows.

"I was standing at a bus stop, seeing off my girlfriend," said Andrei, a local resident who did not give his second name. "Then there was a flash and I saw a trail of smoke across the sky and felt a shock wave that smashed windows."

A wall and roof were badly damaged at the Chelyabinsk Zinc Plant but a spokeswoman said no environmental threat resulted.

One piece of meteorite broke through the ice the Cherbakul Lake near Chelyabinsk, leaving a hole several meters (yards) wide.

The region has long been a hub for the Russian military and defense industry, and it is often the site where artillery shells are decommissioned.

A local Emergencies Ministry official said meteorite storms were extremely rare and Friday's incident may have been connected with an asteroid the size of an Olympic swimming pool that was due to pass Earth.

But an astronomer at Russia's Academy of Sciences, Sergei Barabanov, cast doubt on that report and the European Space Agency said its experts had confirmed there was no link.

The regional governor in Chelyabinsk said the meteorite shower had caused more than $30 million in damage, and the Emergencies Ministry said 300 buildings had been affected.

Despite warnings not to approach any unidentified objects, some enterprising locals were hoping to cash in.

"Selling meteorite that fell on Chelyabinsk!" one prospective seller, Vladimir, said on a popular Russian auction website. He attached a picture of a black piece of stone that on Friday afternoon was priced at 1,488 roubles ($49.46).

RARE EVENT

The Emergencies Ministry described Friday's events as a "meteorite shower in the form of fireballs" and said background radiation levels were normal. It urged residents not to panic.

The first footage was shot by car dashboard video cameras and soon went viral.

Russians also quickly made fun at the event on the Internet. A photo montage showed Putin riding the meteorite and Nationalist politician Vladimir Zhirinovksy said in jest it was really a new weapon being tested by the United States.

Experts drew comparisons with an incident in 1908, when a meteorite is thought to have devastated an area of more than 2,000 sq km (1,250 miles) in Siberia, breaking windows as far as 200 km (125 miles) from the point of impact.

Simon Goodwin, an astrophysics expert from Britain's University of Sheffield, said that roughly 1,000 to 10,000 metric tons of material rained down from space towards the earth every day, but most burned up in the atmosphere.

"While events this big are rare, an impact that could cause damage and death could happen every century or so. Unfortunately there is absolutely nothing we can do to stop impacts."

The meteorite struck just as an asteroid known as 2012 DA14, about 46 m in diameter, was due to pass closer to Earth - at a distance of 27,520 km (17,100 miles) - than any other known object of its size since scientists began routinely monitoring asteroids about 15 years ago.

($1 = 30.0877 Russian roubles)

(Additional reporting by Gabriela Baczynska in Moscow; Writing by Timothy Heritage and Thomas Grove; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Michael Roddy)

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Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries Divorce Is Headed to Trial

By Ken Lee

02/15/2013 at 03:45 PM EST

Kris Humphries and Kim Kardashian

Seth Browarnik/StarTraks

Kim Kardashian had a good day in court Friday in her ongoing divorce battle with Kris Humphries.

A judge ruled that their case – in which Humphries alleges that Kardashian committed fraud by never intending to be married – is ready for trial.

"[Humphries] has had more than adequate time to prepare," L.A. Superior Court Judge Stephen Moloney stated during the Friday hearing. A trial date of May 6 was set. Neither Kardashian nor Humphries were present in court on Friday.

The NBA star's attorney, Marshall Waller – who had filed papers Thursday to be removed from the case – has long claimed difficulty in gathering evidence from various TV studios that work with Kardashian.

Kardashian, whose baby with Kanye West is due in July, has denied Humphries's claims, saying she's been legally "handcuffed" to him ever since they split.

"We want a trial because that's the only way this will end," Kardashian's lawyer Laura Wasser previously told PEOPLE. "There was no fraud. They have no case."

Legal experts say Humphries's chances of winning an annulment based on fraud is a long shot.

By facing off in a trial, Kardashian could potentially win her goal of being divorced from Humphries before her baby's due date.

Both Kardashian and Humphries were ordered to appear in person for an April 12 hearing for a last-ditch attempt to settle the case.

"Every case is capable of settling before trial," Waller told PEOPLE at an earlier hearing.

Read More..

Study: Fish in drug-tainted water suffer reaction

BOSTON (AP) — What happens to fish that swim in waters tainted by traces of drugs that people take? When it's an anti-anxiety drug, they become hyper, anti-social and aggressive, a study found. They even get the munchies.

It may sound funny, but it could threaten the fish population and upset the delicate dynamics of the marine environment, scientists say.

The findings, published online Thursday in the journal Science, add to the mounting evidence that minuscule amounts of medicines in rivers and streams can alter the biology and behavior of fish and other marine animals.

"I think people are starting to understand that pharmaceuticals are environmental contaminants," said Dana Kolpin, a researcher for the U.S. Geological Survey who is familiar with the study.

Calling their results alarming, the Swedish researchers who did the study suspect the little drugged fish could become easier targets for bigger fish because they are more likely to venture alone into unfamiliar places.

"We know that in a predator-prey relation, increased boldness and activity combined with decreased sociality ... means you're going to be somebody's lunch quite soon," said Gregory Moller, a toxicologist at the University of Idaho and Washington State University. "It removes the natural balance."

Researchers around the world have been taking a close look at the effects of pharmaceuticals in extremely low concentrations, measured in parts per billion. Such drugs have turned up in waterways in Europe, the U.S. and elsewhere over the past decade.

They come mostly from humans and farm animals; the drugs pass through their bodies in unmetabolized form. These drug traces are then piped to water treatment plants, which are not designed to remove them from the cleaned water that flows back into streams and rivers.

The Associated Press first reported in 2008 that the drinking water of at least 51 million Americans carries low concentrations of many common drugs. The findings were based on questionnaires sent to water utilities, which reported the presence of antibiotics, sedatives, sex hormones and other drugs.

The news reports led to congressional hearings and legislation, more water testing and more public disclosure. To this day, though, there are no mandatory U.S. limits on pharmaceuticals in waterways.

The research team at Sweden's Umea University used minute concentrations of 2 parts per billion of the anti-anxiety drug oxazepam, similar to concentrations found in real waters. The drug belongs to a widely used class of medicines known as benzodiazepines that includes Valium and Librium.

The team put young wild European perch into an aquarium, exposed them to these highly diluted drugs and then carefully measured feeding, schooling, movement and hiding behavior. They found that drug-exposed fish moved more, fed more aggressively, hid less and tended to school less than unexposed fish. On average, the drugged fish were more than twice as active as the others, researcher Micael Jonsson said. The effects were more pronounced at higher drug concentrations.

"Our first thought is, this is like a person diagnosed with ADHD," said Jonsson, referring to attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder. "They become asocial and more active than they should be."

Tomas Brodin, another member of the research team, called the drug's environmental impact a global problem. "We find these concentrations or close to them all over the world, and it's quite possible or even probable that these behavioral effects are taking place as we speak," he said Thursday in Boston at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Most previous research on trace drugs and marine life has focused on biological changes, such as male fish that take on female characteristics. However, a 2009 study found that tiny concentrations of antidepressants made fathead minnows more vulnerable to predators.

It is not clear exactly how long-term drug exposure, beyond the seven days in this study, would affect real fish in real rivers and streams. The Swedish researchers argue that the drug-induced changes could jeopardize populations of this sport and commercial fish, which lives in both fresh and brackish water.

Water toxins specialist Anne McElroy of Stony Brook University in New York agreed: "These lower chronic exposures that may alter things like animals' mating behavior or its ability to catch food or its ability to avoid being eaten — over time, that could really affect a population."

Another possibility, the researchers said, is that more aggressive feeding by the perch on zooplankton could reduce the numbers of these tiny creatures. Since zooplankton feed on algae, a drop in their numbers could allow algae to grow unchecked. That, in turn, could choke other marine life.

The Swedish team said it is highly unlikely people would be harmed by eating such drug-exposed fish. Jonsson said a person would have to eat 4 tons of perch to consume the equivalent of a single pill.

Researchers said more work is needed to develop better ways of removing drugs from water at treatment plants. They also said unused drugs should be brought to take-back programs where they exist, instead of being flushed down the toilet. And they called on pharmaceutical companies to work on "greener" drugs that degrade more easily.

Sandoz, one of three companies approved to sell oxazepam in the U.S., "shares society's desire to protect the environment and takes steps to minimize the environmental impact of its products over their life cycle," spokeswoman Julie Masow said in an emailed statement. She provided no details.

___

Online:

Overview of the drug: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a682050.html

Read More..

Wall Street declines with slide in Wal-Mart shares

Finola Hughes has called the upcoming 50th anniversary of "General Hospital" a "really sweet" moment."I think the fact that we, at 'GH,' are doing so well right now, and to enter into our 50th anniversary on such a high, it feels really sweet," the actress, who plays Port Charles Police Chief Anna Devane, told Access Hollywood, when asked about the daytime drama's impending anniversary.

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"Blade Runner" Pistorius charged with murdering girlfriend

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African "Blade Runner" Oscar Pistorius, a double amputee who became one of the biggest names in world athletics, was charged on Thursday with shooting dead his girlfriend at his upscale home in Pretoria.

Police said they opened a murder case after a 30-year-old woman was found dead at the Paralympic and Olympic star's house in the Silverlakes gated complex on the capital's outskirts.

Pistorius, 26, and his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, had been the only people in the house at the time of the shooting, police brigadier Denise Beukes told reporters, adding witnesses had been interviewed about the early morning incident.

"We are talking about neighbors and people that heard things earlier in the evening and when the shooting took place," Beukes said outside the heavily guarded residential complex.

Police said a 9mm pistol had been found at the scene.

Beukes said police were aware of previous incidents at the Pistorius house. "I can confirm that there has previously been incidents at the home of Mr Oscar Pistorious, of allegations of a domestic nature," she said.

Pistorius, who uses carbon fiber prosthetic blades to run, is due to appear in a Pretoria court on Friday.

"He is doing well but very emotional," his lawyer Kenny Oldwage told SABC TV, but gave no further comment.

A sports icon for triumphing over disability to compete with able-bodied athletes at the Olympics, his sponsorship deals, including one with sports apparel group Nike, are thought to be worth $2 million a year.

South Africa's M-Net cable TV channel said it was pulling adverts featuring Pistorius off air immediately after blanket coverage of the arrest in a country more used to honoring Pistorius as a national hero.

"WE ARE ALL DEVASTATED"

Steenkamp's colleagues in the modeling world were distraught. "We are all devastated. Her family is in shock," her agent, Sarita Tomlinson, tearfully told Reuters. "They did have a good relationship. Nobody actually knows what happened."

Pistorius, who was born without a fibula in both legs, was the first double amputee to run in the Olympics and reached the 400-metre semi-finals in London 2012.

In last year's Paralympics he suffered his first loss over 200 meters in nine years. After the race he questioned the legitimacy of Brazilian winner Alan Oliveira's prosthetic blades, though he was quick to express regret for the comments.

South Africa has some of the world's highest rates of violent crime, and many home owners have weapons to defend themselves against intruders, although Pistorius's complex is surrounded by a three-meter high wall and electric fence.

In 2004, Springbok rugby player Rudi Visagie shot dead his 19-year-old daughter after he mistakenly thought she was a robber trying to steal his car in the middle of the night.

Before the murder charge was announced, Johannesburg's Talk Radio 702 said the athlete may have mistaken Steenkamp for a burglar.

Pistorius was arrested in 2009 for assault after slamming a door on a woman and spent a night in police custody. Family and friends said it was just an accident and charges were dropped.

OLYMPIAN UNDERGOES POLICE TESTS

Steenkamp, a regular on the South African social scene, was reported to have been dating Pistorius for several months.

In the social pages of last weekend's Sunday Independent she described him as having "impeccable" taste. "His gifts are always thoughtful," she was quoted as saying.

Some of her last Twitter postings indicated she was looking forward to Valentine's Day on Thursday. "What do you have up your sleeve for your love tomorrow???" she posted.

Pistorius was on Thursday being processed through the police system. "At this stage he is on his way to a district surgeon for medical examination," the police brigadier said.

"When a person has been accused of a crime like murder they look at things like testing under the finger nails, taking a blood alcohol sample and all kinds of other test that are done. They are standard medical tests," Beukes said.

Pistorius is also sponsored by British telecoms firm BT, sunglasses maker Oakley and French designer Thierry Mugler.

"We are shocked by this terrible, tragic news. We await the outcome of the South African police investigation," a BT spokeswoman said before Pistorius was charged.

A Nike spokesman in London said before hearing of the murder charge that the company was "saddened by the news, but we have no further comment to make at this stage".

Pistorius also has a sponsorship deal with Icelandic prosthetics manufacturer Ossur.

"I can only say that our thoughts and prayers are with Oscar and the families involved in the tragedy," Ossur CEO Jon Sigurdsson told Reuters. "It is completely premature to discuss or speculate on our business relationship with him."

Neighbors expressed shock at the arrest of a "good guy".

"It is difficult to imagine an intruder entering this community, but we live in a country where intruders can get in wherever they want to," said one Silverlakes resident, who did not want to be named.

"Oscar is a good guy, an upstanding neighbor, and if he is innocent I feel for this guy deeply," he said.

(Additional reporting by Sherilee Lakmidas, David Dolan, Ed Cropley, Jon Herskovitz, Keith Weir and Kate Holton; Writing by Ed Cropley; Editing by Will Waterman)

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Leah Hostalet Helps Find Kidney Transplant Matches on Facebook

This Valentine's Day, kidney transplant recipient Jerry Wilde is celebrating life with his family thanks to a devoted friend, a generous stranger – and Facebook.

When the kidney he had received through a transplant in 1992 developed a cancerous tumor and was surgically removed, Wilde was put back on dialysis and was told that just eight percent of people with his blood type could be his donor. Dozens of friends, family and colleagues were tested to see if they were a match, but to no avail.

"The waiting period for my blood type on the transplant list was long, between two and a half and three years," says Wilde, 50, a professor of educational psychology at Indiana University East. "I didn't think I'd survive that long. I thought, 'Well this just isn't going to happen. I'm just going to wither away.'"

But when Leah Hostalet, Wilde's friend and former student, saw a status update from Wilde in November of 2011 that he was in search of a kidney donor, she wanted to help.

On November 18 she set up a Facebook page, Find a Kidney for Jerry, which included his blood type and other pertinent medical information. Becky Melton – a total stranger to Wilde – saw the page that would change both their lives.

"I was looking for purpose in my life. It just struck me," says Melton, 28, who was scrolling through Facebook when she saw Jerry's page, "I thought, 'I want to do this. This is my guy. I am going to give him my kidney.' "

Melton, a loan processor in Richmond, Ind., and Wilde exchanged information. On December 14, Melton found out she was a match, and texted Wilde a photo of herself holding a sign with a picture of two kidneys on it. The sign read: "We're a match!" Wilde still gets choked up thinking about that day.

"I was standing in the living room in shock," he says. "I had never met this person. It's like, who does this for a complete stranger?"

On February 24, 2012, the transplant took place and Wilde has been healthy ever since.

From left: Becky Melton, Jerry Wilde and Lea Hostalet four months after his transplant

Courtesy Leah Hostalet

Though thrilled for her friend, Hostalet, a 33 year-old mom of three in Brownsburg, Ind., didn't feel her efforts were done.

"I felt drawn to this cause for some reason, and I felt like there was more I could do," she says.

Her solution? Find a Kidney Central, a hub for kidney donation pages that now is home to 161 people who are in need of a new kidney. In the year the page has been up and running it has linked donors for 38 transplants, and has grown from a bulletin board of information into a vibrant support community for those waiting for transplants.

"Everyone who is in need is so supportive of one another," says Hostalet, "The community feel to the page brings me such joy."

Pairing Kidneys Everywhere

The efforts have created a good will cascade effect: Leona Jones of Bedford, Ind., found and utilized Find a Kidney Central. In July, Jones got a call from her transplant coordinator, who had been contacted by Susan Yost, a woman who had seen Jones's page and wanted to donate her kidney. Though Yost and Jones were not a match, they agreed to participate in a paired donation program at IU Health University Hospital.

They were then connected to Peggy McCormick and her nephew Lucas, who needed a second transplant after his first transplanted kidney started to fail. Peggy donated her kidney to Leona, and Susan was a match for Lucas and donated a kidney to him.

"It was just like everything fit," says McCormick, 58, of donating her kidney to Jones. "It was a match made in heaven."

Doctors told McCormick that it was a miracle that Leona was matched.

"Two days before the transplant we all met," says McCormick. "After we had our preliminary labs done they got us all together in a room. There was a lot of hugging and crying."

Adds Jones, "It was very emotional ... I didn't know these people, and for someone to give up part of their body to you, it's indescribable."

From left: Peggy McCormick, Leona Jones, Susan Yost and Lucas McCormick

Courtesy Peggy McCormick

Hostalet has become a passionate advocate for kidney donation, and spends upwards of 28 hours a week on Facebook helping people set up their own pages and spreading information about her site.

Dr. Bryan Becker, transplant physician and former National Kidney Foundation president, calls Hostalet's work exceedingly important.

"Living kidney donor transplantation is a tremendous way to treat kidney failure with a better likelihood of a good outcome," he says.

Lifelong Bond

As for Wilde and Melton, the two say they share a lifelong bond. Melton is a graduate of IU East, and Wilde had a scholarship named after her, The Becky Melton Scholarship, which is given to a student who exemplifies the spirit of giving.

Hostalet, Melton, Wilde and Wilde's daughter met for dinner one night before the surgery. After dinner, Melton posted the following status on Facebook: "I just met four members of my family that I didn't know."

Hostalet says she is continually inspired by those who post to the site.

"Just seeing their strength, moving forward every day even though they're dealing with this extreme struggle in their lives, it makes me want to keep searching for them. I want to keep educating people as to how difficult dialysis is on the body, and the need for living donors."

As for her next steps, she says, "My plans are to keep this page running and spread as much awareness as possible. I'll take it wherever it leads me. I feel like I'm meant to do this."

Those who are interested in registering as an organ donor on Facebook can do so here.
More Heroes Among Us:

• Scott Neeson Left Hollywood to Save Kids in Cambodia's Slums

• Woman Who Lost her Legs in Tornado Starts Foundation to Help Others

Know a hero? Send suggestions to heroesamongus@peoplemag.com. For more inspiring stories, read the latest issue of PEOPLE magazine

Read More..

Study: Fish in drug-tainted water suffer reaction

BOSTON (AP) — What happens to fish that swim in waters tainted by traces of drugs that people take? When it's an anti-anxiety drug, they become hyper, anti-social and aggressive, a study found. They even get the munchies.

It may sound funny, but it could threaten the fish population and upset the delicate dynamics of the marine environment, scientists say.

The findings, published online Thursday in the journal Science, add to the mounting evidence that minuscule amounts of medicines in rivers and streams can alter the biology and behavior of fish and other marine animals.

"I think people are starting to understand that pharmaceuticals are environmental contaminants," said Dana Kolpin, a researcher for the U.S. Geological Survey who is familiar with the study.

Calling their results alarming, the Swedish researchers who did the study suspect the little drugged fish could become easier targets for bigger fish because they are more likely to venture alone into unfamiliar places.

"We know that in a predator-prey relation, increased boldness and activity combined with decreased sociality ... means you're going to be somebody's lunch quite soon," said Gregory Moller, a toxicologist at the University of Idaho and Washington State University. "It removes the natural balance."

Researchers around the world have been taking a close look at the effects of pharmaceuticals in extremely low concentrations, measured in parts per billion. Such drugs have turned up in waterways in Europe, the U.S. and elsewhere over the past decade.

They come mostly from humans and farm animals; the drugs pass through their bodies in unmetabolized form. These drug traces are then piped to water treatment plants, which are not designed to remove them from the cleaned water that flows back into streams and rivers.

The Associated Press first reported in 2008 that the drinking water of at least 51 million Americans carries low concentrations of many common drugs. The findings were based on questionnaires sent to water utilities, which reported the presence of antibiotics, sedatives, sex hormones and other drugs.

The news reports led to congressional hearings and legislation, more water testing and more public disclosure. To this day, though, there are no mandatory U.S. limits on pharmaceuticals in waterways.

The research team at Sweden's Umea University used minute concentrations of 2 parts per billion of the anti-anxiety drug oxazepam, similar to concentrations found in real waters. The drug belongs to a widely used class of medicines known as benzodiazepines that includes Valium and Librium.

The team put young wild European perch into an aquarium, exposed them to these highly diluted drugs and then carefully measured feeding, schooling, movement and hiding behavior. They found that drug-exposed fish moved more, fed more aggressively, hid less and tended to school less than unexposed fish. On average, the drugged fish were more than twice as active as the others, researcher Micael Jonsson said. The effects were more pronounced at higher drug concentrations.

"Our first thought is, this is like a person diagnosed with ADHD," said Jonsson, referring to attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder. "They become asocial and more active than they should be."

Tomas Brodin, another member of the research team, called the drug's environmental impact a global problem. "We find these concentrations or close to them all over the world, and it's quite possible or even probable that these behavioral effects are taking place as we speak," he said Thursday in Boston at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Most previous research on trace drugs and marine life has focused on biological changes, such as male fish that take on female characteristics. However, a 2009 study found that tiny concentrations of antidepressants made fathead minnows more vulnerable to predators.

It is not clear exactly how long-term drug exposure, beyond the seven days in this study, would affect real fish in real rivers and streams. The Swedish researchers argue that the drug-induced changes could jeopardize populations of this sport and commercial fish, which lives in both fresh and brackish water.

Water toxins specialist Anne McElroy of Stony Brook University in New York agreed: "These lower chronic exposures that may alter things like animals' mating behavior or its ability to catch food or its ability to avoid being eaten — over time, that could really affect a population."

Another possibility, the researchers said, is that more aggressive feeding by the perch on zooplankton could reduce the numbers of these tiny creatures. Since zooplankton feed on algae, a drop in their numbers could allow algae to grow unchecked. That, in turn, could choke other marine life.

The Swedish team said it is highly unlikely people would be harmed by eating such drug-exposed fish. Jonsson said a person would have to eat 4 tons of perch to consume the equivalent of a single pill.

Researchers said more work is needed to develop better ways of removing drugs from water at treatment plants. They also said unused drugs should be brought to take-back programs where they exist, instead of being flushed down the toilet. And they called on pharmaceutical companies to work on "greener" drugs that degrade more easily.

Sandoz, one of three companies approved to sell oxazepam in the U.S., "shares society's desire to protect the environment and takes steps to minimize the environmental impact of its products over their life cycle," spokeswoman Julie Masow said in an emailed statement. She provided no details.

___

Online:

Overview of the drug: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a682050.html

Read More..

Wall Street flat near multi-year highs, M&A helps

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were little changed on Thursday as investors found few reasons to keep pushing prices higher with major averages near multi-year highs, though a flurry of merger deals kept indexes steady.

Wall Street has rallied lately, with the S&P 500 briefly hitting its highest intraday level since November 2007 in Wednesday's session. Still, there are few obvious catalysts to continue the rally, and while the S&P is on track for its third straight day of gains, none of those daily gains was more than 0.2 percent.

Shares of H.J. Heinz Co jumped 20 percent to $72.40 after it said Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital will buy the food company for $72.50 a share, or $28 billion including debt. Berkshire's class B shares rose 1.3 percent to $99.22.

Also supporting the market was data showing the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected in the latest week. The CBOE Volatility index <.vix> fell 1.4 percent, dropping to 12.8.

"While I'm not bearish, I don't see many upside motivations at these levels," said Donald Selkin, chief market strategist at National Securities in New York, who cited the low level of the VIX as a sign the market was overbought.

"We need to digest some of our gains to go higher, but people are so eager to buy on the dips that we're not even seeing dips anymore. People are just chasing the market higher."

Equities have struggled to break above their current levels, where they have been hovering for almost two weeks. The S&P 500 is up more than 6 percent so far this year.

Stocks fell earlier after a report the euro zone's gross domestic product contracted by the steepest amount since the first quarter of 2009. In addition, Japan's GDP shrank 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter, crushing expectations of a modest return to growth.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> was down 10.21 points, or 0.07 percent, at 13,972.70. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was up 1.21 points, or 0.08 percent, at 1,521.54. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was up 1.12 points, or 0.03 percent, at 3,197.99.

Constellation Brands soared more than 38 percent to $43.93 after AB InBev's deal to take over Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo was revised to grant Constellation perpetual rights to distribute Corona and other Modelo brands in the United States. U.S. shares of AB InBev gained 5.1 percent to $92.72.

American Airlines and US Airways Group said they plan to merge in a deal that will form the world's biggest air carrier, with an equity valuation of about $11 billion. US Airways shares fell 9.1 percent to $13.32.

Weakness in Europe contributed to a 5 percent drop in revenue from the region for Cisco Systems , which nonetheless beat estimates as it reported its results late Wednesday. The company's shares slid 1.3 percent to $20.87.

General Motors Co reported a weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter profit, also citing bigger losses in Europe alongside lower prices in its core North American market. The stock was off 2.8 percent at $27.88.

(Editing by Nick Zieminski)

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Ovation for Pope Benedict at final public mass

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - A capacity crowd in St Peter's Basilica gave Pope Benedict a thunderous standing ovation on Wednesday at an emotional last public Mass before he resigns at the end of the month.

"Thank you. Now, let's return to prayer," the 85-year-old pontiff said, bringing an end to several minutes of applause that clearly moved him. In an unusual gesture, bishops took off their mitres in a sign of respect and a few of them wept.

One of the priests at the altar, which according to tradition rests above the tomb of St Peter, took out a handkerchief to dry his tears.

The Mass was moved to St Peter's from a venue in Rome so more people could attend. Hundreds of others waited outside.

Hours earlier in the Vatican's modern audience hall, a visibly moved Benedict tried to assure his worldwide flock, saying he was confident his decision to step down would not hurt the Church.

The Vatican, meanwhile, announced that a conclave to elect his successor would start sometime between March 15 and March 20, in keeping with Church rules about the timing of such gatherings after the papal see becomes vacant.

"Continue to pray for me, for the Church and for the future pope," he said in unscripted remarks at the start of his weekly general audience, his first public appearance since his shock decision on Monday that he will step down on February 28.

It was the first time Benedict, 85, who will retire to a convent inside the Vatican, exchanging the splendor of his 16th century Apostolic Palace for a sober modern residence, had uttered the words "future pope" in public.

Church officials are still so stunned by the move that the Vatican experts have yet to decide what his title will be and whether he will continue to wear the white of a pope, the red of a cardinal or the black of an ordinary priest.

His voice sounded strong at the audience but he was clearly moved and his eyes appeared to be watering as he reacted to the thunderous applause in the Vatican's vast audience hall, packed with more than 8,000 people.

In brief remarks in Italian that mirrored those he read in Latin to stunned cardinals on Monday he appeared to try to calm Catholics' fears of the unknown.

He message was that God would continue to guide the Church.

EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE

"I took this decision in full freedom for the good of the Church after praying for a long time and examining my conscience before God," he said.

He said he was "well aware of the gravity of such an act," but also aware that he no longer had the strength required to run the 1.2 billion member Roman Catholic Church, which has been beset by a string of scandals both in Rome and round the world.

Benedict said he was sustained by the "certainty that the Church belongs to Christ, who will never stop guiding it and caring for it" and suggested that the faithful should also feel comforted by this.

He said that he had "felt almost physically" the affection and kindness he had received since he announced the decision.

When Benedict resigned on Monday, the Vatican spokesman said the pontiff did not fear schism in the Church after his resignation.

Some 115 cardinals under the age of 80 will be eligible to enter a secret conclave to elect his successor.

Cardinals around the world have already begun informal consultations by phone and email to construct a profile of the man they think would be best suited to lead the Church in a period of continuing crisis.

The conservative Benedict has appointed more than half of the cardinals who will elect his successor so it is unlikely the new man will tamper with any teachings such as the ban on artificial birth control or women priests.

But many in the Church have been calling for the election of someone who they say will be a better listener to other opinions in the Church.

The likelihood that the next pope would be a younger man and perhaps a non-Italian, was increasing, particularly because of the many mishaps caused by Benedict's mostly Italian top aides.

Benedict has been faulted for putting too much power in the hands of his friend, Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. Critics of Bertone, effectively the Vatican's chief administrator, said he should have prevented some papal mishaps and bureaucratic blunders.

ILL-SERVED POPE

"These scandals, these miscommunications, in many cases were caused by Pope Benedict's own top aides and I think a lot of Catholics around the world think that he was perhaps ill-served by some of the cardinals here," said John Thavis, author of a new book, The Vatican Diaries.

Benedict's papacy was rocked by crises over sex abuse of children by priests in Europe and the United States, most of which preceded his time in office but came to light during it.

His reign also saw Muslim anger after he compared Islam with violence. Jews were upset over rehabilitation of a Holocaust denier. During a scandal over the Church's business dealings, his butler was accused of leaking his private papers.

"When cardinals arrive here for the conclave ... they are going to have this on their mind, they're going to take a good hard look at how Pope Benedict was served, and I think many of them feel that the burden of the papacy that finally weighed so heavy on Benedict was caused in part by some of this in-fighting (among his administration)," Thavis told Reuters.

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi urged the faithful to remain confident in the Church and its future.

"Those who may feel a bit disorientated or stunned by this, or have a hard time understanding the Holy Father's decision should look at it in the context of faith and the certainty that Christ will support his Church," Lombardi said.

Lombardi said that on his last day in office, Benedict would receive cardinals in a farewell meeting and after February 28 his ring of office, used to seal official documents, would be destroyed just as if he had died.

(Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Giles Elgood)

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Jeff Probst Wants an All-Celebrity Season of Survivor

TV Watch

Survivor

By Steve Helling

02/13/2013 at 03:30 PM EST

Neil Patrick Harris (left) and Jeff Probst

Getty; CBS

Will Neil Patrick Harris soon be scheming his way to a Survivor victory?

It could happen. Host Jeff Probst has spoken to the How I Met Your Mother star about playing the game – and is currently looking for other celebrities who want to outwit, outplay and outlast the competition in hopes of being Sole Survivor on the long-running CBS reality show.

A celebrity season actually isn't that far fetched. Last season, The Facts of Life star Lisa Whelchel made the final three. And, in 2001, Kate Hudson and then–husband Chris Robinson showed up for an open audition for Survivor: Australia, before being turned away by producers. (How awesome would that have been?)

But for now, there's Survivor: Caramoan, the show's 26th season, premiering Wednesday night (8 p.m. ET). Ten new players will compete against ten returning players – with early favorites that include Dawn Meehan, a surprisingly tough 42-year-old mother of six from Utah, and Andrea Boehlke, a pretty blonde schemer from Wisconsin.

Catching up with PEOPLE, Jeff Probst reveals what to expect this season – and how a celebrity version would work:

Lisa Whelchel got a lot of buzz last season. Are there any other celebrities you'd like to see play the game?
Mark Burnett and I really want to do a celebrity version. We were just talking about this at a Grammy party last week. Neil Patrick Harris was there, and he told me flat out he wants to play. I challenged him and said "Do you really want to do it, or is this just a fun fantasy that will never happen?" He said, "I want to do it."

So, on the heels of NPH having the guts to say, "I'm in" – I'm putting out the challenge! If you are a celebrity and truly believe you could hack it, it's time to put up. It would be a shortened shoot – maybe 10 days or so – so you can still get back to do your movies and TV shows, and you won't lose so much weight that your agents will panic. But rest assured it will still kick your ass. If we can get a truly great cast together I think CBS would go for it.

Sounds fantastic. But until that happens, there's Survivor Caramoan: Fans vs. Favorites. What can we expect?
Even for Survivor, this is quite an unpredictable season. Evacuations, an impromptu tribal council, emotional breakdowns and a great finish. Of the 26 seasons we've done, I believe this will rank among the most memorable. I also think a couple of new favorites may be born this season.

You've chosen 10 returning contestants to play again – including some surprising choices. Why them?
When deciding on returning players we first look at their popularity. It doesn't mean they have to be well liked, but they must be memorable for something. Then we look at their "story." Is there an expectation surrounding their return – i.e., did Phillip learn anything from playing with Boston Rob? Will Cochran finally stand up and be heard? Will Brandon be able to control his emotions? Can Malcolm finish what he started? With this group we felt each has a story worth telling.

The fans seem awfully young. (Four of the five female fans are under 25.) Do they even stand a chance?
We have a fairly young group of fans, but they know the game well and many have been itching to play for a long time. The question is, will their adoration of the favorites make them vulnerable to a blindside? Or will their enthusiasm be the energy they need to keep up? Favorites have a major advantage going into day one.

Last season, contestant Sarah Dawson caught you by surprise when she kissed you – twice! Have you hired bodyguards to guard your personal space?
It's funny how many people have asked me if I was offended by the kisses. I wasn't at all. The kiss that happened at tribal council was probably due to the delirium brought on by not eating for so long. The kiss at the live reunion show was a funny button at the end of a great season of Survivor. The best part was looking out in the audience to see my wife Lisa laughing hysterically.

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