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Gene therapy for deafness moves a few steps closer

Gene therapy for deafness is moving closer to reality, with new research on Wednesday showing the technique for fixing faulty DNA can improve responses in mice with genetic hearing loss.

Separately, a clinical trial backed by Novartis is under way to help a different group of people who have lost their hearing through damage or disease.

After missteps in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when safety scares set back research, gene therapy is enjoying a renaissance, with positive clinical results recently in conditions ranging from blood diseases to blindness.

"We are somewhat late in the auditory field but I think we are getting there now," said Tobias Moser of the University Medical Center Gottingen, Germany, who was not involved in the new research. "It's an exciting time for gene therapy in hearing."

A key element in current optimism is the development of better and safer viral delivery systems for getting corrective genes into the body. In the case of deafness, this involves injecting a gene-carrying engineered virus into the inner ear.

There are currently no approved disease-modifying treatments for disabling hearing loss, which affects some 360 million people, or 5 percent of the world's population, according to the World Health Organization.

Hearing aids can amplify sounds, while cochlear implants turn sounds into electrical signals for the brain to decode, but such devices cannot fully replicate natural hearing.

Much of the hearing loss in older people is noise-induced or age-related, but at least half of deafness that occurs before a baby learns to speak is caused by defects in one of more than 70 individual genes.

It is these infants Swiss and U.S. researchers hope to help, after showing that replacing a mutated gene improved the function of hair cells of the inner ear and partially restored hearing in deaf mice.

Scientists from the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne and the Boston Children's Hospital, who reported their work in the journal Science Translational Medicine, tested hearing in newborn mutant mice by seeing how high they jumped when startled by a noise.

The team focused on a gene called TMC1, which is a common cause of human genetic deafness, accounting for 4 to 8 percent of cases. But other forms of hereditary deafness could also be fixed using the same strategy.

Jeffrey Holt of Boston Children's said the technique still needed "tweaking" but he hopes clinical trials will start within five to 10 years.

Read more: Gene therapy for deafness moves a few steps closer

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A Cheat Sheet for Marketers on the Future of Digital Platforms

Customer engagement has never been more urgent or more elusive. Real engagement – the kind that goes beyond a momentary impression to a meaningful interaction – isn’t happening on traditional channels. It’s happening today on digital platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, SnapChat, and Instagram.

To understand the future of digital platforms and what it means for marketers, we spoke with senior executives in a community of top marketers from Silicon Valley. The perspectives of these executives suggest that the pace of innovation shows no sign of slowing down.

Marketers who want to understand the future of these platforms need to understand seven P’s: people, participate, personalize, product, process, pay, and partner.

1. People. The power of platforms ultimately comes from people. For the first time in history, we have mass collaboration on a global scale. Digital and social platforms eliminate the friction in the flow of information and communication, empowering customers, employees, and citizens alike. To date, platforms have made us more efficient, but according to Ivy Ross, Head of Glass at Google, they will soon “help us be more human and do the things we love to do.” And David Rubin, Head of Brand at Pinterest, adds, “technology is ultimately about making things easier for people.”

2. Participate. The word “platform” gets thrown around a lot, but is often misunderstood. Platform isn’t just a fancy name for a distribution channel or a service delivered through the cloud. Channels are one-way pipes; platforms are two-sided networks. It’s the difference between Netflix and YouTube. Netflix has an audience and adds content incrementally. YouTube has a community and adds content exponentially. GoPro understands this well, engaging their customers not just as an audience of consumers, but a community of co-creators. According to Paul Crandall, SVP of Marketing at GoPro, the goal is “to make our customers the heroes by showcasing their enthusiasm and content on our platforms.”

To generate participation, marketers must engage more authentically, with a focus on ongoing relationships beyond individual impressions or transactions. Danielle Tiedt, CMO of YouTube, says the goal isn’t “how do I create the viral video?” Instead, the goal should be “how do I use video to create an ongoing conversation that builds a relationship?” Brands must also remember that they are members of the social networks in which they participate. Daina Middleton, Head of Global Business Marketing at Twitter, told us, “as marketers, we have historically wanted to dominate the conversation, but now it needs to be about participating, not dominating.”

3. Personalize. The ease of connecting and co-creating on platforms has a downside. The amount of information can be overwhelming. Digital platforms do the work of making the experience more personalized, relevant, and meaningful. According to Middleton, platforms are becoming more intelligent. They will proactively notify us what’s important and even work as an agent on our behalf. More and more, customers are creating their own filters. They are at the center and in control. According to YouTube’s Tiedt, “Our next challenge is to make sure the things they might be interested in, they have an opportunity to discover.” And Google’s Ross thinks that the platform will be more than a place where you connect with friends; the platform itself will feel “like a friend that knows you.”

4. Product. To date, digital platforms have been the place you go to talk about products. But the relationship between products and platforms is about to undergo a significant disruption. First, platforms are going to be more integrated into our products and services. As an example, Uber customers can now select the music for their trip directly from their Spotify playlists. Nick Besbeas, former VP of Marketing at LinkedIn, believes “the lines between product and marketing are blurring.”

Second, our products are going to start showing up in our platforms. Today, a spouse might send a reminder to pick up the milk or get the oil changed. It won’t be long until our connected refrigerator or connected car sends the message itself, most likely through a digital platform. Ross believes the convergence of digital platforms with connected devices will be “one of the most disruptive forces” as “the net is increasingly around us and on us.” The Internet of Things will soon be the Social Network of Things.

5. Process. We tend to focus on digital platforms that are customer-facing, but they are also happening internally and behind the scenes. Twitter’s Middleton notes that bid management and customer experience platforms are bringing social media, display, search, and CRM together, connecting customer acquisition, customer service, and customer retention. Companies are adopting platforms to reshape other business processes, ranging from employee communications to performance management to professional development. We believe a phenomenon is emerging that one might call “platform symmetry.” Companies that want to engage customers who use platforms to manage their lives must equally use platforms to manage their organizations. And leaders who want their customers to engage with their brands on platforms must also participate themselves. In a social age, you truly get what you give.

Read more: A Cheat Sheet for Marketers on the Future of Digital Platforms

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Measuring War’s Impact on Women

First-ever book on the topic assesses how female troops fare

American women have been marching off to war in increasing numbers over the last generation. Soon, the Pentagon expects to lift its ban on their service in ground combat, its most demanding, dirtiest and bloodiest form. Is this a good thing?

In Women at War, Army veterans Elspeth Cameron Ritchie and Anne L. Naclerio have produced the first book detailing what war does to the physical and mental health of the growing number of women waging it. Featuring contributions from many military and academic experts, the volume doesn’t advocate putting women in the trenches. “Women are already in combat,” says Ritchie, a psychiatrist who earned three combat patches before retiring from the Army as a colonel in 2010. The book also doesn’t wade into the controversy over whether women have the physical strength to accomplish the mission. Instead, it collects widely-scattered data about what combat does to women and puts it in one place to serve as guidance as the number of female soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines slowly rises.

Bottom line: women can do it, but it may not be easy.

Some 2.5 million women have served in uniform since the Revolutionary War, Lieut. General Patricia Horoho, the Army surgeon general, notes in the book’s forward. “Given recent policy changes, by January 2016 it is expected that all military occupations, positions, and units will be open to women,” she adds, “thus ensuring that they will play even larger roles in future military operations.”

The number of women engaged in major U.S. combat operations is steadily growing. They climbed from 770 in 1989’s Panama invasion, to 41,000 in 1991’s Gulf War, to 300,000 in the post-9/11 Afghanistan and Iraq campaigns. About 15% of U.S. troops today are female. They represented 10% of those deployed to Iraq between 2003 and 2011, and 8% of those sent to Afghanistan between 2001 and 2013 (they were under-represented because they are generally barred from serving in combat units. That also accounts for the fact that they represented only 2.3% of U.S. troops killed in action).

More facts from the book:

In the post-9/11 wars, women deployed nearly as frequently as men (1.5 times per male soldier; 1.3 times for females), and for nearly as long (10.9 months per male soldier; 10.5 months per female soldier).

Women suffered slight more psychological problems (15.1%) in the Afghanistan and Iraq war zones than men (14.9%).

More men dispatched to the war zones were diagnosed with PTSD (3.9%) than women (3.0%).

15% of the soldiers who had to be medically evacuated out of the war zones for serious mental-health issues were female.

The 40 contributors (including 10 men) write about women’s health on the front lines and the challenges of being a soldier and a mother. “Mothers who deploy may be viewed as uncaring or negligent, rather than serving selflessly and patriotically,” Army psychiatrist Elizabeth C. Henderson writes. “It is more culturally acceptable for men to go to war.”

“I tried to avoid thinking of [my child] most of the time,” a mother deployed to a war zone said. “I had something to do right after every phone call so that I would not retreat to my tent and start crying.”

Read more: Measuring War’s Impact on Women

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After Partial NSA Reform, Expanded Internet Surveillance Of Americans Emerges

The Obama administration expanded the National Security Agency’s (NSA) warrantless surveillance of Americans’ international web traffic in pursuit of Internet hackers, the New York Times reported Thursday.

According to documents the New York Times obtained from the trove dispersed to journalists by Edward Snowden, the Justice Department wrote memos approving the secret program in mid-2012. The memo allowed only for the agency only to track hackers with cybersignatures linking them to foreign powers. However The Times reported the NSA requested to track hackers even when they are not tied to foreign nations.

The Times also revealed that hacker signatures pull in a lot of data. Brian Hale, the spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, weighed in to the Times.

“It should come as no surprise that the U.S. government gathers intelligence on foreign powers that attempt to penetrate U.S. networks and steal the private information of U.S. citizens and companies.” He added: “targeting overseas individuals engaging in hostile cyberactivities on behalf of a foreign power is a lawful foreign intelligence purpose.”

In many ways the report does come as no surprise. After two years of journalists revealing document after document from the Snowden troves, we’ve become numb to reading about how the government is violating the Fourth Amendment and intercepting Americans’ communications.

But as Jonathan Mayer of Stanford told the New York Times, the Justice Department’s decision with this particular program ran “smack into law enforcement land.” He noted the decision made related to U.S. cybersecurity are not being made in public. And although at this point it may not be a surprise, that doesn’t mean we should stop calling for transparency in these cases.

On a recent trip to Silicon Valley to discuss cybersecurity at a summit at Stanford, President Obama spoke about the importance of transparency. With today’s report, it’s clear his actions do not align with his words.

As Ryan Gallagher at The Intercept noted, today’s report also calls into question statements made by intelligence officials about the government’s cyber capabilities.

“An attack on Wall Street or an exploit going against Wall Street — NSA and Cyber Command would probably not see that,” former NSA director Keith Alexander said at a 2014 Georgetown cybersecurity conference. “We have no capability there. Against everything that’s been said, the fact is we don’t have the ability to see it.”

In reflection of the many major recent cyberattacks, from those in the private sector against Sony to the sustained hacks on the State Department, it’s clear our government needs to be capable to track and attempt to prevent dangerous hackers. But those capabilities should be determined after public debate, not through a memo by secret lawyers.

The report comes just two days after President Obama signed the USA FREEDOM Act into law reforming the National Security Agency’s surveillance practices.

The New York Times said yesterday that by putting his signature on the FREEDOM Act, Obama was making a surveillance program that began under the Bush administration his own. The White House said the president had reined in the programs,  protecting both Americans’ privacy national security interests.

Read more: After Partial NSA Reform, Expanded Internet Surveillance Of Americans Emerges

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Baby Dies After Breast Milk Was Diluted With Water

A couple from Georgia was charged with murder after their 10-week old infant died of water intoxication after they diluted breast milk and water. They were arrested on Wednesday, a month after they brought their daughter to the hospital.

Apparently, they could not afford to buy formula milk and Lauren Heather Fristed, 25, wasn't producing enough breast milk to sustain the hunger of her baby. Herbert George Landell, 26, and Fristed rushed Nevaeh Marie to the Gwinnett Medical Center after they found her not breathing but according to the doctors, it was too late.

When their infant was born, the couple refused to get medical treatment for their daughter, reports News.com.au. According to Detective Charles Hamrick, from Duluth in the US, as he was giving evidence in court, the couple told him that they did not have money to buy formula so they started adding water to breast milk.

Pediatricians are not recommending parents to give water to their babies just to satisfy their hunger because it might cause water intoxication. According to USA Today, diluting breast milk with water might be detrimental and fatal for a baby.

"Babies should not drink water until they are at least 6 months old," said Dr. Sujatha Reddy, a physician at Premier Care for Women in Atlanta and WXIA-TV medical correspondent.

Water intoxication can cause sodium and electrolyte imbalance in the body which babies cannot tolerate because of their immature systems. Fluid and electrolyte imbalance can lead to seizures, coma and even death.

The investigation also revealed that the couple and the baby lived in an apartment with unsanitary surroundings. In fact, Hamrick described Nevaeh's physical condition in court as "just really skinny, didn't look healthy. I rolled the baby over on her back, there was no baby fat, the back bone was protruding out."

Read more: Baby Dies After Breast Milk Was Diluted With Water

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Senate Leaders Reach Deal to Vote on Trade Authority

WASHINGTON — Less than 24 hours after Senate Democrats blocked President Obama’s free trade push, leaders in both parties agreed Wednesday on a path toward granting the president accelerated authority to complete a major accord ringing the Pacific Ocean.

After personal lobbying from the president, Democrats led by Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Finance Committee, and Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the No. 3-ranking Democrat over all, agreed to an offer from Republican leaders.

Under the deal, the Senate would vote first on a trade enforcement bill that includes new remedies to counter currency manipulation by trading partners.

The Senate would then begin debate on trade promotion authority, which would allow the Obama administration to complete negotiations on the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, knowing Congress can accept or reject the accord, but would not be able to amend it.

The agreement gives Democrats a symbolic chance to show support for a get-tough approach to countries that keep the value of their currency intentionally low to make their exports cheaper and to raise the cost of American goods. But if that separate bill can get through the House, it would then be vetoed by the president, who believes it would blow up trade talks.

Read more:Senate Leaders Reach Deal to Vote on Trade Authority

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How the Master Bedroom Took Over the House

The latest high-end homes come with master suites that are so vast and lavishly appointed, you never have to leave the bedroom.

With boutique-style closets, media rooms, offices, gyms and even kitchenettes and laundry rooms, many masters are larger than average-size houses.

The penthouse master suite of the new L’Atelier Residences in Miami Beach, Fla., is over 3,000 square feet, with another 1,000 square feet outside on two terraces—including one with a hot tub overlooking downtown Miami.

“It’s like a separate apartment,” says Meir Srebernik of SMG Management, the co-developer of L’Atelier. The penthouse, priced at $33 million, totals 8,000 square feet of indoor living space, 37.5% of which is in the master. Echo Brickell, another Miami-area development, will have a 10,000 square foot penthouse with a master suite that has a “midnight bar,” gym and an infinity-edge pool.

At Turnberry Ocean Club in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., the 11,000-square-foot, three-level penthouses will have master suites that take up almost an entire floor and feature a large balcony overlooking the ocean. The space includes his-and-hers offices, a gym, a massage suite, a sitting room and a separate living room with a “midnight bar” that has a sink and microwave. The units haven’t yet hit the market, but the developer says the asking price will be around $35 million when they do, later this year.

At Barn & Vine, a development of 37 homes in Bridgehampton, N.Y., homes include large primary master suites with custom closets, fireplaces and free-standing soaking tubs, as well as secondary master suites on the ground floor. Homes under construction there will range from $2.695 million to $3.995 million when completed.

Carina Radonich, the co-owner of Finish My Condo, a Miami-based general-contracting company, says she recently completed a penthouse at the Regalia tower in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., where the master takes up 50% of the home’s total 5,700-square-foot floor plan. Built as a vacation home for a client whom she declined to name, the condo’s master includes a sitting area, an office, his-and-hers closets, his-and-hers bathrooms and, of course, a bedroom. A large projection-screen TV is hidden in the ceiling in an entertainment area.

Today, the median newly built American home measures about 2,300 square feet, with a typical master bedroom taking up 12% of the overall square footage, according to the National Association of Home Builders. It wasn’t always this way. Before the 18th century, a home’s sleeping quarters tended to be communal spaces in multi-purpose rooms like great halls, according to “Sleeping Around: A History of American Beds and Bedrooms,” by Elizabeth Collins Cromley. Late 19th- and early 20th-century homes had bedrooms with far more privacy, though they were typically small, often to conserve heat. For the wealthy, a master bedroom could include a series of sitting or dressing rooms, a precursor of the multi-room suites gaining popularity today.

Read more: How the Master Bedroom Took Over the House

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Apple sets guidelines for creating Apple Watch bands

Apple wants to make sure that bands designed by third parties for its Apple Watch are designed the right way.

A new page on Apple's website called "Creating Bands for Apple Watch" is aimed specifically at developers who want to get in on the watchband bandwagon. The page specifically links to a 13-page document called "Band Design Guidelines for Apple Watch" with the dos and don'ts of creating an Apple Watch band.

The guidelines are important for developers to follow as Apple has promised that owners of its new smartwatch can easily swap out bands. But you can't just swap out your existing band for a generic one that you'd find in any retail store. The bands for the Apple Watch are proprietary, so developers must follow Apple's guidelines in order to ensure that their straps will be approved and certified for the watch.

Some Apple Watch bands from third-parties are already available. Casetify, for example, offers a $50 band for which you can custom-design the look, and a stainless steel band from MyCell is selling for $244.49.

Apple's own watchbands, meanwhile, come in six different types (with various colors and sizes for each type): Sport Band, Milanese Loop, Classic Buckle, Leather Loop, Modern Buckle and Link Bracelet. Prices range from $49 to $449.

Prospective band developers will have to follow certain rules and regulations. The bands and the lugs that lock them into place must pass certain strenuous tests for corrosion, force and resistance. Developers must ensure that the watch's heart rate sensor on its back maintains contact with the skin. Apple even recommends the type of material that should be used to manufacture the band.

One guideline says that the band must have "adjustability for the user to achieve a snug, yet comfortable, fit that prevents movement of Apple Watch relative to skin." Some Apple Watch wearers have complained of skin irritation, according to Boy Genius Report and other sources. Apple has even posted a support document for users whose skin may be sensitive to the watch, explaining why skin irritation may occur and how to wear and care for the device.

Read more: Apple sets guidelines for creating Apple Watch bands

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Hulu touts 'Seinfeld' deal, new originals

NEW YORK—Jerry Seinfeld, J.J. Abrams and James Franco help put Hulu on the map in a big way.

The streaming platform sent a strong message to competitors Amazon Studios and Netflix, touting an aggressive slate of originals and exclusive licensing deals at a presentation to advertisers Wednesday.

Hulu saved the biggest news for last. Jerry Seinfeld appeared to chat about Hulu's exclusive deal to stream all nine seasons of his classic NBC sitcom Seinfeld.

"That people will only watch television like this in the future is so obvious," Seinfeld said about streaming video.

"It's not just a television show. We have a piece of television history," said Craig Erwich, the senior vice president of content at Hulu.

Hulu also announced a multi-year deal with AMC Networks Inc. for the exclusive subscription on-demand rights to new and upcoming primetime scripted comedy and drama series produced by company that will air on AMC, IFC, BBC America, Sundance TV and WE tv. Netflix still has the rights to current AMC shows Mad Men and Better Call Saul (owned by Lionsgate and Sony, respectively),but Hulu will get some future shows, including spinoff Fear the Walking Dead.

The deal with AMC highlights Hulu's strategy to acquire exclusive streaming rights to existing TV content. In the last few months, Hulu has announced similar pacts with Turner Broadcasting, FX Networks, and Fox's Empire.

The streaming platform also boasted an ambitious slate of original content. J.J. Abrams and James Franco took the stage to tease their upcoming event series 11/22/63, based on the Stephen King novel about the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Franco plays a high school teacher who travels back in time in an attempt to stop the assassination. The series will premiere in 2016.

Amy Poehler, Billy Eichner and Julie Klausner were on hand to promote their upcoming comedy series, Difficult People. Eichner described the show as "Will and Grace, if both characters were extremely unlikable." The series will premiere this summer.

Eichner, in his typical loud and aggressive style, expressed his faux frustration with Hulu's acquisition of Seinfeld.

"They spent $130 million on Seinfeld but once on set they wouldn't let me get an everything bagel!" he joked. (Hulu did not disclose the terms of the Seinfeld deal, but The Wall Street Journal reported it will pay $700,000 apiece for 180 episodes.)

Director Jason Reitman and Zander Lehmann promoted their upcoming dramedy series Casual and Friday Night Lights producer Jason Katims appeared with writer Jessica Goldberg about The Way, a 10-episode family drama. YouTube star Freddie Wong also promoted his eight-episode comedy series RocketJump: The Show. All three originals will premiere later in 2015.

Read more:  Hulu touts 'Seinfeld' deal, new originals

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Brown on the video boom and how it's paying

Specs Who Lee Brown Current gig Chief revenue officer, BuzzFeed Previous gig Global head of brand partnerships, Tumblr Age 42

BuzzFeed reportedly made over $100 million in revenue in 2014. How will you sustain that?

Video is a significant opportunity. We have a dedicated team from the sales and operations sides that are producing five-and-a-half times more releases than last year, and we've grown our investment into the teams 340 percent. International is another one. As we open up and grow with our editorial departments, the opportunity for us to come in and monetize the traffic and the audience is something we are going to be focused on. Lastly would be research. We've doubled the size of our research team here to help us quantify the impact that our opportunities have had. What can advertisers expect from your NewFront?

BuzzFeed Motion Pictures is paving the way for how we view distribution and storytelling. In March, we hit 1 billion monthly video views across our distribution partners. We're thinking about how that model can impact and shape everything from how we think about editorial to advertising. What types of videos work best for branded content?

We categorize why people share video in three major buckets. One, identity ("This is so me!"); two, emotional gift ("This made me LOL and I want to share it"); and three, information. We think about each division as an R&D lab. We're taking what our video producers are seeing as they gather data from the 50-plus videos they're making each week. We then apply those learnings for brands to create compelling, shareable videos. On your Tumblr profile, it says you're a closet gamer.

I've played games all my life, everything from the first Atari games to Zelda. Now I've got an 11-, 8- and 5-year-old. I'm playing what they're playing, everything from Clash of Clans to Heyday to Bloons TD 5. We get competitive. You've got to learn that lesson early. We don't all get trophies.

Are you trying to break out of the "BuzzFeed is for millennials" mold? I think there is something for everyone here. Not only the core that we've continued to attract time and time again, but as we broaden our investigative journalism and our coverage into news, the reasons why people are coming are changing.

There's been controversy about BuzzFeed deleting editorial posts because of advertiser conflict.

It's not my place to speak for editorial, but as I'm sure you know, they have their own standards guide that was published in January of this year, and it clearly outlines the separation between advertising and editorial. [Editor in chief] Ben Smith and his team have been very transparent in how those guidelines came together.

Read more: Brown on the video boom and how it's paying

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Bobbi Kristina Brown's ''Condition Remains Unchanged'' Despite Bobby Brown's Latest Update

UPDATE: Bobby Brown's wife Alicia Etheredge-Brown has come forward, saying that her husband was in "an emotional state" when he gave an update on his daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown over the weekend during a concert. She released the following statement:

"My husband made an attempt to correct the negative comments he must endure on a daily basis from both family and the public regarding his daughter's medical condition. He is encouraged by the steps that Bobbi Kristina has madesince her hospitalization on January 31, 2015. She has made it out of ICU, opened her eyes, and started a rehabilitation that will be long and hard. We will hold on to all the blessings GOD gives us to help her at this time and we look forward to her having a relationship with her unborn sister as our family grows in love and faith. I just wish my husband could deal with this most painful and difficult time with people surrounding him who fully support and pray for Bobbi Kristina's recovery and only her recovery. Life is the most precious thing that we all have."

Meanwhile, Bobby's lawyer adds, "Bobbi Kristina's condition has changed since moving from Emory University Hospital and there has been improvement. Doctors have indicated that she will have a long life. However, Bobbi Kristina is presently embarking on a rehabilitation process and the quality of her life will not be known for years to come."

Despite recent reports to the contrary, Bobbi Kristina's "condition remains unchanged."

A source tells E! News that Bobby and Whitney Houston's daughter is "no longer on the ventilator" but is not showing any dramatic signs of improvement from weeks past.

Over the weekend, Bobby performed at a Frankie Beverly concert in Dallas and gave fans an update on his daughter.

In a video that surfaced on social media, the singer seem to suggest that the 22-year-old had made some signs of improvement, saying, "I could say today, Bobbi is awake…She's watching me."

Read more: Bobbi Kristina Brown's ''Condition Remains Unchanged'' Despite Bobby Brown's Latest Update

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Executive pay draws Qualcomm scrutiny

Instead of duly enriching the shareholders who own Qualcomm, its executives have leveraged dominance of the world’s smartphone technology to enrich themselves — with the blessing of a complacent board.

This is the real message from Jana Partners, the activist fund that has accumulated $2 billion in Qualcomm shares.

Without question, the San Diego giant is fabulously successful with its technology. Yet owners are not pleased.

In a letter to fund investors Monday, Jana detailed a laundry list of ideas to boost the company’s stock price, which has underperformed the market in recent years.

Most of the financial press seized upon Jana’s observation that the market assigns a value of essentially zero to its giant chipmaking business. “Activist presses for Qualcomm breakup” screamed the headlines.

In fact, the fund called on the company to either better explain why it combines chipmaking and patent licensing (the latter generates two-thirds of its profit), or study a full or partial split of the businesses. It’s made two previous studies in 15 years.

In response, Qualcomm officials said they will continue to consider such moves. “Prior reviews have concluded that the synergies provided by our business model create more value for stockholders than could be created through alternative corporate structures,” they said in press release.

I’ll get back to this important question, because Qualcomm is less likely to make good decisions on crucial structural matters until it fixes the other problems Jana identified.

The market appreciates these problems all too well.

Over the last year, the company’s stock price has tumbled nearly 16 percent, while the Nasdaq 100 (Qualcomm’s preferred benchmark) has increased by 25 percent.

Consider that new investors Wednesday were willing to pay about 15 times earnings for the stock. That’s not especially cheap, yet the price-earnings multiple was 65 for ARM Holdings, which has key patents on smartphones’ low-power brains.

Why all the negativity? Managers have focused on the wrong kind of wealth creation.

As overall executive compensation jumped 180 percent last year, Qualcomm gave special stock grants worth $95 million to just two executives. Paul Jacobs, the co-founder’s son who gave up the CEO job way back in March 2014, got $45 million that vests over five years.

The new CEO, Steve Mollenkopf, received a staggering $50 million over five years. President Derek Aberle received grants worth $26.6 million.

By way of explanation, Qualcomm said most of the grants were “front-loaded,” which means future regular compensation (consisting of salary, cash and stock incentives) will be reduced by the annual value of the grants.

Bear in mind these special grants came amid disappointing performance, ranging from setbacks in the chip-making unit to the falling stock price.

Such behavior fits a pattern. Qualcomm has spent billions on share repurchases, yet the total number of shares is unchanged from five years ago.

Read more: Executive pay draws Qualcomm scrutiny

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Retail sales rebound, post largest gain in a year

(Reuters) - U.S. retail sales rose in March for the first time since late last year as consumers stepped up purchases of automobiles and other goods, suggesting a sharp slowdown in economic growth in the first quarter was temporary.

The Commerce Department's fairly sturdy report on Tuesday together with other data showing producer inflation crept up last month should keep the Federal Reserve on track to start raising interest rates later this year.

"A rebound in retail sales in March provides evidence that the U.S. economy is pulling out of a soft patch seen at the start of the year. The improvement in retail sales after the weakness seen at the turn of the year adds to the likelihood of policymakers voting to hike rates this year," said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit in London.

Retail sales increased 0.9 percent in March. That was the largest gain since March last year and snapped three straight months of declines that had been blamed on harsh winter weather.

U.S. stock index futures fell after the data, while prices for U.S. government debt rose. The dollar was weaker against a basket of currencies. Retail sales excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services rose 0.3 percent after dropping 0.2 percent in February. The so-called core retail sales correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of gross domestic product.

Last month's jump in overall retail sales should ease fears of sustained weakness in the economy after an unusually snowy winter undercut activity early in the year. Labor disruptions at normally busy West Coast ports, a stronger dollar and softer global demand also have constrained growth.

Data on trade, consumer spending, manufacturing and home building have suggested the economy grew at a sub-1.5 percent annual rate in the first quarter.

In a separate report, the Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand increased 0.2 percent last month, with rising prices for goods accounting for more than half of the increase. The PPI had declined 0.5 percent in February.

In the 12 months through March, producer prices fell 0.8 percent, the biggest year-on-year decline since the revamped series started in 2009, after sliding 0.6 percent in February.

Low inflation and signs of a sharp slowdown in economic growth in the first quarter have prompted most economists to push back their expectations for the first Fed rate hike to either September or October from June. Others believe the U.S. central bank will only tighten monetary policy in 2016.

The Fed, which has a 2 percent inflation target, has kept its key short-term interest rate near zero since December 2008.

A key measure of underlying producer price pressures that excludes food, energy and trade services rose 0.2 percent after being unchanged in February. Core PPI was up 0.8 percent in the 12 months through March.

Read more: Retail sales rebound, post largest gain in a year

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11 Awkward Gym Moments Every Girl Has Endured

There are a few things that are unavoidable at the gym, like the faint musk of sweat in the air, some douche always using your machine when you want it, and…some seriously awkward moments. It’s a good thing we love getting our sweat on so much—otherwise, the following cringe-inducing-but-inevitable gym happenings would not be worth it at all:

1. Accidentally Making Eye Contact with Someone While Using the Hip Abductor

I know I’m staring you down while my legs are spread wide open, but it’s not sexual, I promise.

2. Going for a Piece of Equipment at the Same Time as Someone Else

Then having to engage in a polite battle of who should go ahead when you really just want to take it for yourself.  

3. Getting Caught Scowling at a Grunter

You were just trying to judge him silently; why’d he have to catch your eye?  

4. Leaving a Sweaty Butt Mark on the Bench and Someone Seeing It Before You Can Wipe It Up

      1. Gross.       2. Why is your bum print so huge?!

5. Having to Pick a Wedgie on the Treadmill

You knew you should’ve just worn a thong.

6. Someone with Horrible B.O. Taking the Machine Next To You

On the one hand, you can’t breathe, but on the other, you don’t want to be super obvious by moving down a few machines.

7. Realizing That the Horrible B.O. You Smell Is Coming from You

Oh, God, what’s that smell? Haven’t people ever heard of deodorant? Oh…

8. Spilling Water on Yourself When You Try to Take a Gulp on the Treadmill

In your defense, you get it in your mouth about half the time.

9. Spinning Out on the Elliptical When the Resistance Changes Between Intervals

One minute, you’re slowly trudging around and around. The next, your legs are spinning wildly out of control—help!

Read more: 11 Awkward Gym Moments Every Girl Has Endured

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Jobless Claims Drop to Lowest Level Since January

WASHINGTON — The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell unexpectedly last week, suggesting the labor market is expanding at a solid clip even as economic growth has stalled.

Sustained labor strength supports views that the sharp slowdown in activity is probably temporary. Several factors, including bad weather and a strong dollar, sucked momentum from the economy in the first quarter.

“While the economy has decelerated, the fundamentals remain strong, and the labor market points to a pickup in overall activity in the second quarter,” said Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at McGladrey in New York.

The economy, which has been hampered by weaker global demand and a now-settled labor dispute at the West Coast ports, as well as a strong dollar and a harsh winter, also was buoyed by an unexpected rise in factory orders in February.

In a separate report, the Commerce Department said new orders for manufactured goods increased 0.2 percent, ending six straight months of declines. Orders excluding transportation rose 0.8 percent. Orders for autos and auto parts fell 1.2 percent, and orders for private aircraft and aviation parts dropped 8.8 percent.

Tim Quinlan, a Wells Fargo Securities economist, said the “weakness in manufacturing has been overstated by a confluence of one-off factors,” like the labor dispute and the weather. He said he expected better data soon, “but today’s report wasn’t it.”

Downbeat first-quarter growth estimates got a lift from a second report from the Commerce Department showing the trade deficit narrowed 16.9 percent to $35.4 billion in February, the smallest since October 2009. When adjusted for inflation, the deficit narrowed to $50.8 billion in February from $54.6 billion in January.

Goldman Sachs raised its first-quarter growth forecast by three-tenths of a percentage point to a 1.0 percent rate, while the forecasting firm Macroeconomic Advisers lifted its estimate to a 1.2 percent rate from 0.9 percent. The economy grew at a 2.2 percent rate in the fourth quarter.

The buoyant dollar and sluggish global demand combined with greater domestic consumption suggest the smaller trade deficit is probably temporary.

“We will be looking for imports to pick up in the coming months, as consumer spending gains some momentum in the midst of rising employment levels,” said Anthony Karydakis, chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak in New York.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 268,000 for the week that ended March 28, the lowest level since January, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists had forecast claims at 285,000. The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends because it irons out week-to-week volatility, fell 14,750 to 285,500.

“The claims numbers simply do not support the idea that the first quarter slowdown in growth is indicative of some underlying malaise in the economy,” said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

The bullish labor market tone was also underscored by signs that more people are leaving the unemployment benefits rolls.

The number of people still receiving benefits after an initial week of aid fell 88,000 to 2.33 million in the week ended March 21, the lowest reading since December 2000.

The strong labor market, with an anticipated acceleration in consumer spending signaled by a surge in auto sales last month, should keep the Federal Reserve on track to start raising interest rates this year.

The Fed has kept its short-term interest rate near zero since December 2008.

Prices for United States Treasury debt fell, while stocks on Wall Street rose. The dollar slipped against a basket of currencies.

Read more: Jobless Claims Drop to Lowest Level Since January

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Diagnostic Progress for Blood Cancer

The outlook for patients with leukemia and other life-threatening blood cancers is rapidly improving thanks to targeted therapies and advancements in blood and marrow transplants, researchers say.

But while breakthroughs are improving patients’ quality of life, a cure for blood cancers is more problematic. “There are so many different kinds of cancer and they seem to find their way around the innovations that we develop,” said Dr. Leslie Popplewell, an associate clinical professor, researcher and staff physician at City of Hope, a cancer research hospital in Duarte.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society estimates 156,420 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma this year, accounting for 9.4% of all new cancer cases. More than 55,000 people will die this year from the diseases.

Popplewell and others say the prognosis for blood cancer patients is far more promising than just a generation ago. Targeted therapies, for example, can hold certain blood cancers in check for years. Cellular immunotherapy, meanwhile, has alleviated the need for harsh radiation and chemotherapy by taking T cells — or T lymphocytes that mature in the thymus — from a cancer patient and programming them through genetic engineering before reinfusing the modified cells into the patient to attack the cancer.

“Although not curative, [targeted therapies] provide amazing, relatively nontoxic disease control for chronic myelogenous leukemia and now will probably do so, to a lesser extent, for chronic lymphocytic leukemia,” said Dr. James Mason of Scripps Health in La Jolla.  “There are also some exciting new antibody therapies – immune therapy – for CLL.”

Mason heads the blood and marrow transplantation program at Scripps’ Green Hospital, and he notes the survival rate among patients undergoing such procedures has more than doubled since Scripps Health founded San Diego County’s first blood and marrow transplantation program in 1980.

“I have seen an amazing transformation of blood and marrow transplantation for acute leukemias,” Mason said. “Using genomics we can better identify donors and that, coupled with over 10 million donors in the U.S. and around the world, means that most patients can find a lifesaving stem cell donor within a few months.”

Popplewell agrees that patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia today face a much-improved prognosis thanks to advances in research. “Some of these diseases such as CML can be held in check for a very long time,” she said.

Read more: Diagnostic Progress for Blood Cancer

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McDonald’s Will Test Breakfast All Day at San Diego Restaurants

(Bloomberg) -- McDonald’s Corp. will experiment with serving breakfast all day at some San Diego-area locations as Chief Executive Officer Steve Easterbrook seeks to pull the restaurant chain out of a U.S. sales slump.

The test, slated to begin next month, will keep hash browns, Egg McMuffins and other sandwiches on the menu beyond the standard breakfast hours, Lisa McComb, a spokeswoman for the Oak Brook, Illinois-based company, said in an e-mailed statement.

McDonald’s is the fast-food breakfast leader, and the morning menu accounts for about 25 percent of the company’s business. As more Americans eat breakfast away from home, competitors such as Taco Bell and Starbucks have tried to take market share from McDonald’s with expanded offerings. Breakfast foods are some of the most popular items on McDonald’s menu, so the all-day test makes sense, Mark Kalinowski, an analyst at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, said in a research note.

“Arguably, the two most craveable items on the McDonald’s menu are its french fries and breakfast items such as various McMuffin permutations and the utterly delicious McGriddles,” said Kalinowski, who’s based in New York. “Having those breakfast items available to sell all day would also serve as a reminder to customers (and the media and Wall Street) that McDonald’s does indeed have craveable food to sell.”

The shares rose 0.8 percent to $97.76 at 1:58 p.m. in New York. McDonald’s climbed 3.5 percent this year through Friday.

Customers have long called for McDonald’s to serve breakfast all day, but, as Kalinowski points out, the company has said its kitchen grills aren’t big enough to cook its entire menu at the same time.

Read more: McDonald’s Will Test Breakfast All Day at San Diego Restaurants