A Texas town with no cops, NHL hate and skateboarding v. The Man

- Finding that great, insightful tweet that made your day two weeks ago just became easier. Twitter is overhauling its search engine to include e tweets more than a week old. The company explained that the expansion of the search engine will help users more easily access older content. Paul Burstein, an engineer who works on Twitter's search infrastructure, explained in a company blog post that in the next few days, searches will return "a fairly small percentage of total tweets ever sent,” but those results will steadily increase over time. "We look at a variety of types of engagement, like favorites, retweets, and clicks, to determine which tweets to show," Burstein wrote. "We'll be steadily increasing this percentage over time, and ultimately, aim to surface the best content for your query." It has been a busy week for the popular microblogging site, which on Tuesday updated the search function in its iOS and Android mobile applications to return a mixture of tweets, photos, and people in a single stream of results, rather than having tweets and people listed on separate tabs. Twitter also tweaked its mobile apps in an attempt to streamline them by unifying content from the "Discover" tab, including tweets, activity notices, trending topics, and suggestions of new people to follow, in a single stream. The changes also include revisions to how users interact with links to websites, with people now allowed to go directly to a linked website without having to open the tweet so they can save a crucial 1.5 seconds………

- Think a four-month lockout and having half of the NHL season wiped out did anything to reduce the animosity between Phoenix Coyotes enforcer Raffi Torres and the Chicago Blackhawks? Think again. Torres, who missed the first eight games of the season to finish up the 21-game suspension he received for his devastating hit to the head on Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa during the 2012 playoffs, faced Chicago for the first time since the hit when the Coyotes hosted the Blackhawks Thursday night. He was on the ice for all of 30 seconds before he was turning his rings around and fighting with Chicago’s Jamal Mayers. Mayers had barely clearly the boards and hit the ice when Torres dropped his gloves and looked to swing on him. Both players received a five-minute major penalty for fighting, but it was the Blackhawks who landed the biggest shots of the night en route to a 6-2 win to extend their strong start to the season and keep themselves as the only team in the league with a loss in regulation. At 9-0-2, Chicago is off to a great start and Hossa was able to get a measure of retribution, recording an assist on Jonathan Toews’ second-period goal that put his team up 5-1. Hossa attempted to downplay any drama surrounding his first encounter with Torres since the hit, but teammate Patrick Kane said there was extra energy on the ice during the game. “If that doesn’t get you pumped, I don’t know what will,” Kane said. That extra energy could account for the straight-up curb-stomping the Blackhawks dropped on the Coyotes in their own house, outshooting them 33-24 in a game where the only edge Phoenix had was in penalty minutes……..

- Fighting against uptight squares and sticking it to The Man is not an exclusively American concept. Skateboarders know this truth as well as anyone and one of their own is staring down some legal trouble in South Africa over a video posted on YouTube of him careering down a Cape Town street at a professed 68 mph to set off a speed camera. Decio Lourenco is one of South Africa's top skateboarders and he has gone viral in his "Spoofing the Traffic Camera" video, which has notched up more than 200,000 YouTube hits. In the video, Lourenco  hurtles down the mountain road in fading light with his hands folded behind his back to decrease wind resistance. Vehicles on the opposite side of the road pass by with their headlights on and near the bottom of the hill and the end of his run, Lourenco can be seen throwing up his hands in jubilation after a GPS system strapped to his foot showed he had clocked up 68 mph in a 37 mph zone. It’s an impressive performance…unless you’re a stick-in-the-mud law enforcement officer, in which case the video is a reason to go. Cape Town city officials said on Thursday that Lourenco faces arrest for the video and they definitely do not sound like they are joking. "We have handed over the matter to traffic officials and want him arrested," said JP Smith, the Cape Town official in charge of safety and security. "The speed limit is irrelevant. He is seen careering down the road in a reckless and dangerous manner." The road Lourenco used for the video, Kloof Nek, is one of Cape Town's steepest and has hosted several extreme skateboarding events, although only when closed to traffic. Cape Town bans skateboarding on public road, but the always-tight skateboarding community is in an uproar over one of their own facing arrest. The National Skate Collective Facebook page called for “mass action” and warned the city is “trying to shut us down.” Fight The Man, dudes, fight The Man……..

- Sooooo…..who has a gun, a strobe light to stick on top of their car and some free time in Lorenzo, Tex.? Anyone fitting that description may want to contact city officials because Lorenzo is one month into an awkward stretch in which it is very literally without a police department. The local police department went into mothballs when its two officers resigned to take new jobs. According to Lorenzo City Manager Rusty Forbes, the city’s chief of police resigned back in December to take a job with the Crosby County Sheriff's Department, while the other officer resigned on January 11th to move to the big-city atmosphere that is Garza County. With no one around to serve and protect, other law enforcement agencies are helping to pick up the slack while the city tries to figure out what to do. Citizens have expressed concerns about the response time to emergencies without a local police force. Two officers who have been responding to calls are stationed eight miles away and Crosby County sheriff’s deputies have also been patrolling the city, giving at least one man a sense of assurance in this difficult time. "Actually, we've had a pretty good presence from our county department in Lorenzo right now," Forbes said. "I want to reassure them at this point the sheriff is covering the city very well in my opinion." Fixing the problem isn't as simple as posting an ad on a job site seeking police officers; according to Forbes, the town's dwindling population and its über-small-town aesthetic make keeping officers difficult. "Small towns kind of seem to be the stepping stone," Forbes said. The city council must now decide whether to hire another police chief or contract their law enforcement out to the county. In the latter case, the city would pay for a new deputy to be hired and that deputy would live in and cover the town of Lorenzo. Using this option would save the city the most money of any of its choices……

- If French alt-rockers Phoenix bomb out with their forthcoming album “Bankrupt,” it won't be because of the equipment used to record the project. The band has revealed that to help enrich the sound of the recording process, they purchased and used the same console as Michael Jackson used for his iconic 1982 album “Thriller.” Guitarist Laurent Brancowitz bought the Harrison 4032 console on eBay for $17,000 and the band admitted the purchased the console because they "liked the idea of working with a consecrated artifact, as well as having something strange upon which to fixate between albums." In an incredibly ironic twist given Jackson’s status as one of the biggest (alleged) celebrity pedophiles to never have actually been convicted, Brancowitz bought the console from Clayton Rose, who owns a Christian music studio in California. Lead singer Thomas Mars expressed surprise that there was no major bidding war for the console. "The most mysterious part to me was that no one else - no nerd or music engineer or memorabilia freak - seemed to want it. There was something a little spooky about him [Clayton Rose]. He was very pushy. It seemed like a scam,” Mars said. The console was shipped across the Atlantic Ocean to Paris, where Phoenix recorded the follow-up to 2009's “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.” The new album is set for release in April and the band said they originally kicked around the idea of tongue-in-cheekedly calling it “Alternative Thriller.” Going with “Bankrupt” seems like a solid backup plan………

Diet soda = quicker liquor buzz, rock and roll vs. Islam and the covered-up Grammys

- Great, now there really are no legitimate reasons to watch the Grammy Awards on Sunday. Collecting the biggest hacks from around the pop music world, handing out awards to the same mainstream artists year after year and pretending like the best artists are anywhere near the ceremony is a ginormous waste of time every single February. The only real distraction from the giant waste of time the night always ends up being is the skank-tastic outfits some of pop music’s biggest starlets wear to the event. Hacks such as Fergie, Jennifer Lopez and Toni Braxton are known for showing up in extremely revealing outfits on the red carpet and showing up on all the news magazine shows and tabloid covers afterward. This year’s Grammys may not have that kind of cleavage-centric fun, not if show organizers have their way. CBS, which will televise the show Sunday night, has laid down the law in an email sent out to all attendees to warn them about wearing appropriate attire. Ladies attending the 55th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles need to class it up and cover it up, according to this email. "Please be sure that buttocks and female breasts are adequately covered," the e-mail reads. "Thong type costumes are problematic. Please avoid exposing bare flesh under curves of the buttocks and buttock crack. Bare sides or under curvature of the breasts is also problematic. Please avoid sheer see-through clothing that could possibly expose female breast nipples. Please be sure the genital region is adequately covered so that there is no visible 'puffy' bare skin exposure." Wow…an extremely graphic email designed to rip the fun from a live telecast. CBS also wants to head off any potential political controversies and has asked guests to avoid wearing outfits featuring commercial or political statements. Is there anything else you’d like, CBS? Maybe all of the women in burqas and all of the dudes clean-shaven and in three-piece, monochromatic suits……….

- Racial insensitivity strikes the world of college campus Greek life again. Mere months after group of Penn State soro-racists created controversy by holding a Mexican-themed party complete with offensive signs and costumes, the smart, spoiled students of Duke University have joined in on the racist fun. The campus’ Kappa Sigma fraternity chose a different racial group to insult, but is feeling the hear just the same. The chapter has been suspended by its parent organization following a party billed on invitations as  "Kappa Sigma Asia Prime." When negative publicity resulted from the initial invitation, the name of the party was changed to "International Relations,” but pictures purportedly from the event posted on Facebook showed participants wearing conical Asian hats, sumo wrestler suits, and traditional Asian garb. It sounds (and looks) like typical, stupid frat-boy behavior and nothing more or less than you’d expect from guys whose rooms are decorated by black light posters and beer bongs, but Kappa Sigma is acting as if it is above all the nonsense. Wilson Mitchell, the national executive director of Kappa Sigma, announced Wednesday that all activities and events have been put on hold while the national organization determines the status of the Eta Prime chapter. Also on Wednesday, an Asian student group held a protest on the Duke campus over the party, which took place on Feb. 1. Why these Asian students are so angry is perplexing. Just because the invitation for the event used phrases like "Herro Nice Duke Peopre!!" and featured an image depicting a caricature of North Korea's dictator  Kim Jong Un with the caption "You had me at herro,” that’s no reason to get snippy.  Besides, the frat dudes of Kappa Sigma are simply continuing the legacy of Duke in the world of racist party fun, a legacy built by people like the member of the school’s women's lacrosse team who showed up dressed in blackface at a Halloween party. The school doesn’t plan to discipline the fraternity and it clearly understands what is important here……..

- The future remains unwritten and uncertain for USA Basketball. After winning the gold medal in London last summer, Team USA rode off into the next phase of its existence not knowing who would be leading its roster. Duke's Mike Krzyzewski has coached the team to two straight gold medals, but has expressed a desire to step down and allow someone else to take over heading into the 2016 Summer Games in Rio. USA Basketball officials aren't ready to let Krzyzewski go and reportedly plan to hold off on naming its next men's national team coach until after the college season is over at the earliest, in part to give Krzyzewski as much time as possible to consider staying on. At 65 years old, Krzyzewski has nothing left to prove on the international or collegiate level, but USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo would clearly love to have him stay in the role he has filled since 2005. Colangelo is expected to turn to San Antonio's Gregg Popovich or Boston's Doc Rivers if Krzyzewski doesn’t reconsider and Krzyzewski has offered no indication that his position has changed. Prominent members of Team USA’s play pool have been effusive in their praise for Krzyzewski, including Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant, who sounds like he subscribes to Colangelo’s theory that Krzyzewski’s mind can be changed. "I'm sure we can get him to come back," said last summer. The obvious fear if Krzyzewski walks away is that Team USA will revert to its disappointing level of play that led to at the 2002 World Championships in Indianapolis (sixth place) and the 2004 Athens Olympics (bronze). "He's such a big part of USA Basketball. So I'm waiting before speaking to other candidates. ... (Popovich and Rivers) are great coaches, both of them in their own right, and I think they would do an outstanding job, either one of them,” Colangelo said in November. Under Krzyzewski, Team USA has a 62-1 record, including gold-medal triumphs in both Beijing in 2008 and London last summer and a championship-winning run at the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey. They have also won 50 games in a row since an early loss to Greece at the 2006 Worlds in Japan………..

- Rock and roll has a long history of raging against the machine, but rarely has that rage led to small-minded idiots issuing death threats to a band because its members happen to all be female. That unfortunate fate has befallen the only all-girl band in India’s troubled Kashmir region, a band that has split up after a controversial Muslim cleric issued a fatwa against them. The band, Pragaash, was targeted by cleric Grand Mufti Bashiruddin Ahmad on the grounds that it was un-Islamic. The band’s three teenage members received online threats after Ahmad’s proclamation and a band member named as Aneeka, who is still in high school, insisted that “nothing has forced us to quit.” “We quit for the happiness of our people. As the grand mufti said, it is un-Islamic ... that’s why we quit,” she said. Her face was blurred out when the interview aired, underscoring just how untenable the climate surround the band is. Some good has come from the unfortunate situation, as Ahmad is now facing a backlash for his fatwah, including a leading human-rights lawyer planning to take him to court over his claims against the band. “The lives of these girls were threatened. They feel very harassed,” said human rights lawyer Parvez Imroz, of the Jammu & Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society. Imroz argued that the fatwa against Pragaash was the last straw and said he is now planning to take Ahmad to court. Ahmad has become a bit megalomaniacal in the past year, with his over-the-top actions including a call for Americans to leave Kashmir and a demand for Christians to appear in his court. “We are filing the case because he’s claiming to be some ‘grand mufti.’ Under no law is there any such title,” Imroz added. “These girls, they have a right to do it, but I’m telling you we are raising the bigger question about this institution in the society, this self-appointed priest and mufti who has been giving a very reactionary … view of Islam.” With Imroz’s help, perhaps Pragaash will rock once more……..

- Want a faster buzz from that Jack and Coke this weekend? Switch to a Jack and Diet Coke and you’re be hammered even sooner, according to the results of a small study published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. A study led by researcher Cecile Marczinski, assistant professor in the Department of Psychological Science at Northern Kentucky University, found that college students who mixed vodka with diet soda became intoxicated quicker than those mixing vodka with regular soda. Because sugar actually slows down the absorption of alcohol in the body, a mixture of rum and diet soda leads to intoxication faster than drinking same amount of rum and regular soda – almost equivalent to one extra shot of alcohol. “What you choose to mix your alcohol with could possibly be the difference between breaking or not breaking the law,” Marczinski said. Breaking the law….or having a much better night? It’s all about perspective, but this small-scale study mirrors the findings of a previous study from the University of Florida that surveyed more than 400 bar patrons and compared the mixed drinks they had during their nights out. The UF study shows that caffeine had the most pronounced effect when sweeteners were artificial, because a lack of sucrose slows the gastric emptying rate of alcohol. Marczinski and her team worked off the idea that many people believe adding diet soda to their alcoholic beverages helps them cut calories, increasing the popularity of that particular mixture. That could lead to faster consumption when alcohol levels are masked by the soda flavor and when that is combined with a lack of sugar that allows alcohol into the blood stream much quicker than regular soda, a drinker could go from sober to hammered in no time flat. “I think the takeaway from this study is, don’t trust your judgment about intoxication levels, you may be off,” Marczinski added……….

Instagram de-mobilizes, taxing violent video games and "Smash" returns with a fizzle

- Violent video games became one of many targets for grandstanding legislators in the days after the tragic shooting that left 26 dead at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn. Blaming first-person shooter games and other violent entertainment choices became an easy and convenient target for those who don’t want to actually clamp down on the real causes of gun violence. Now, a state representative whose district includes Newtown is proposing a measure that would (not really) tackle the issue in a way that (won’t) change anything that matters. Rep. Debralee Hovey is proposing a 10 percent tax on all video games that are rated Mature and believes the money the tax would raise should then be used for mental health services. Hovey’s bill is currently before the legislature's revenue and bonding committee and one of the games that would be affected by the tax would be Call of Duty, which was one of Sandy Hook shooter Adam Lanza's favorites. Games rated Mature by the Entertainment Software Rating Board receive that denotation because they feature content suitable only for ages 17 and up because of intense violence, blood, gore, sexual content and strong language. However, the ratings lack teeth because the ESRB is a voluntary program and if a game maker doesn’t want their newest title slapped with an unfavorable rating that would keep it out of the hands of would-be gamers, they can simply elect not to participate. Reaction to Hovey’s proposed tax has been varied, but there doesn’t seem to be any sense that adding 10 percent to the cost of violent games would serve as any sort of significant deterrent to those who would buy them. If anything, it is merely cashing in on those games and using the extra profits to throw a token amount of money at a much larger problem………

- NBC has made some questionable decisions with its primetime schedule this TV season, but the Peacock was clearly hoping that the return of its song-and-dance drama “Smash” on Tuesday night would boost its ratings and breathe life into a so-so schedule. The network promoted the show’s return heavily and did its best to hype up a mid-season debut for a series that has become a curious target for the phenomenon that is hate-watching a show. Those efforts appear to have not just failed, but failed miserably now that the smoke has cleared and the ratings are in. Not only are the numbers nowhere close to those the show posed in its first season when it premiered with a lead-in from the reality karaoke series “The Voice” and heavy promotion during NBC’S telecast of Super Bowl XXVI, they are downright embarrassing. “Smash” returned to a paltry 4.5 million viewers and a 1.1 rating among adults 18-49. The two-hour season premiere was down a whopping 71 percent from the debut episode last season and a 47 percent step-down from NBC’s performance average in this time period so far this season. Worse still, the show ranked as the night’s lowest-rated show on a major broadcast network. Maybe viewers have been turned off by the near-total creative overhaul of the Steven Spielberg-produced show, including producers and the cast. “Smash” does not seem to be the answer to reversing NBC’s ratings slide after Sunday Night Football concluded for the reason and rival networks have been seizing the opportunity with their assorted reality series and sitcoms. Even Fox’s embattled “The Mindy Project” showed some growth Tuesday night, increasing its viewership by 12 percent and posting its biggest rating in four months………

- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has never been bound by the confines of reality. He seems to have talked himself into believing that his nation’s nuclear program has no weapons-based purpose, that he’s not a despotic dictator and that the rest of the world believes the lies he routinely sells. Still, even for Kook-madinejad, this is a new level of absurdity. During a speech to space scientists in Tehran, the veteran dictator proclaimed that he is ready and willing to take the risk of being the first Iranian astronaut sent into space as part of Iran’s goal of a manned space flight. “I’m ready to be the first Iranian to sacrifice myself for our country’s scientists,” he proclaimed. Space tourist Anousheh Ansari has already made history as the first Iranian to make a journey into space aboard a Soyuz TMA-9 capsule from Baikonur, Kaza and she paid a reported $20 million for a space station visit. Iran also successfully launched a monkey into space last Monday, describing the launch a successful step toward Tehran’s plan to send an astronaut into space within the next five to six years. The monkey, rocking the moniker “Pishgam,” which means pioneer in Farsi, reportedly traveled 72 miles before safely returning to Earth. With Imam Khomeini space center in the final stages of construction and nearing completion, Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said Iran will soon send a satellite into space from the facility. Predictably, state media have not disclosed the location of the space center, although Iran already has a major satellite launch complex near Semnan, about (125 miles) east of Tehran, and satellite monitoring facility located outside Mahdasht, about 40 miles west of the Iranian capital. Here’s hoping Ahmadinejad receives his chance to go Rocket Man and gets lost in space…….

- Instagram is downgrading its mobility. The popular photo-sharing app changed its look dramatically on Tuesday, introducing its first Web feed. That means instead of scrolling through vintage shots of friends’ lasagna from dinner at the Olive Garden on their phones, users will be able to check those same shots out from their computer. Frictionless browsing was previously only available via Instagram's mobile app, but the paradigm began to shift after Facebook acquired the company in April 2012. Since then, Instagram has diversified its platform and added more features. Supporters of the Web feed believe it’s a natural outgrowth of the app and offers one more option to stream content, while critics contend that it will ruin the social network's original user experience: mobile intimacy. Those haters claim viewing content on a smartphone meant users had to find time to sit down and enjoy images, whereas having a Web feed means people lazily staring at their screen and trying to come up with creative ways to waste time at work can sift through their friends’ latest filtered images. The idea of adding an Instagram bookmark to the ol’ browser of choice and checking the photo feed the same way people incessantly check their Facebook news feed or Twitter timeline is offensive to some Instagram fans. The app wasn’t necessarily designed for quick, convenient consumption and it has never been constructed or run like Twitter or Facebook. To make the transition easier for users, Instagram has designed its Web feed to have nearly the same appearance as the user interface for its mobile version. On both versions, each images fills the screen almost completely and commenting practices are the same as well. Whether or not that is enough to win over longtime mobile users of the service remains to be seen………

- Professional athletes whining about an opponent embarrassing them or running up the score is a weak play. Both sides are being paid good money to play their sport and they’re all professionals, so if you have a problem with what they’re doing to you, find a way to stop it. The Golden State Warriors found themselves on the wrong end of an embarrassing situation Tuesday night when the Houston Rockets tied an NBA record with 23 3-pointers in a 140-109 rout. It became clear that the Rockets knew they were closing on the record and despite substituting liberally with a massive lead, they continued to bomb away from the perimeter. Golden State fueled the outside shooting barrage by shutting down the paint and forcing the Rockets outside, but that strategy proved foolish on a night when Houston shot 57.5 percent from behind the arc. For most of the night, the Warriors were a good-natured punching bag, competing and trying to stop the Rockets from torching them. However, the mood changed when little-used Rockets rookie Patrick Beverly checked in with just under six minutes left and the Rockets up 120-97. Beverly wasted no time getting into the 3-point spirit, launching triples with impunity to chase the record. His approach clearly got the Warriors’ attention and when they tightened up their perimeter defense, he put the ball on the floor and drove the lane for an easy dunk, followed by an excessive celebration that would prove foolish a moment later. On the Rockets’ next possession, Beverly squared up in the corner for what could have been the record-breaking 3-pointer, but Golden State forward Draymond Green lunged out at him, flying past him but pulling across his neck with his trailing arm. Green earned a flagrant foul for the effort and as time ticked off the clock and the game neared its end, Warriors coach Mark Jackson ordered his players to intentionally foul any player with the ball rather than allow any more 3-point attempts. If only the Warriors had showed that sort of competitive fire sooner in the game………

Kristen Wiig joins "Anchorman 2," France actuall fights and Lindsay Vonn goes down

- So….how is that extra security working out for skiing sensation Lindsay Vonn? Vonn rolled into Schladming, Austria for the world downhill skiing championships with extra security, purportedly hired by sponsor Red Bull, to make sure she could “get around” without any trouble. Unfortunately for Vonn, security can only keep a person safe when they’re not sliding down a snowy hill at speeds upwards of 40 mph. Sans her hired muscle, Vonn crashed and apparently hurt her right knee during a super-G at the world championships Tuesday and was airlifted from the scene and taken to a hospital by helicopter. Peter Schroecksnadel, Austria's ski federation president, said doctors informed him that Vonn tore her cruciate and lateral ligaments. Schroecksnadel insisted that this is "the only injury she has, nothing besides this,” but “nothing besides this” could still be enough damage to keep Vonn out of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Two torn ligaments could certainly prevent Vonn from competing at the Olympics, depending on how quickly she heals. She crashed after losing her balance on her right leg while landing after a jump. Her ski flew off immediately upon impact and she slid off course and hit a gate before coming to a halt. Medical personnel treated her for 12 minutes before she was airlifted from the scene. This marks the sixth straight major championship in which Vonn has been hit with injuries and her fall comes almost exactly one year before the start of the 2014 Games. The fall comes one month after Vonn returned to the circuit following a month-long break to recover from an intestinal illness that put her in a hospital for two days in November. At the time of her crash, she was 0.12 seconds behind race winner Tina Maze of Slovenia. Conditions on the slopes were rife for disaster, as the race was postponed for 3½ hours because of fog and several racers struggled with the conditions. "It's not a very difficult course but in some parts you couldn't see anything," Fabienne Suter of Switzerland said. Not the best recipe for staying upright and healthy……..

- How long ago did a late Neanderthal population exist in southern Spain? Science is always revising its theories and answers, so the response varies depending on the day of the week. Today’s answer is that this population may have been much older than previously thought. Until now, scientists believed the Neanderthal population in the region existed 35,000 years ago. A new study led by professor Thomas Higham from the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit at the University of Oxford suggests it may be time to revise that theory. Using a "more reliable" form of radiocarbon dating, Higham’s team re-assessed fossils from the region and found them to be far older than anyone thought. "The picture emerging is of an overlapping period [in Europe] that could be of the order of perhaps 3,000-4,000 years - a period over which we have a mosaic of modern humans being present and then Neanderthals slowly ebbing away, and finally becoming extinct," Higham explained. In other words, modern humans may have co-existed with our evolutionary "cousins" for several millennia.  "What our research contributes is that in southern Spain, Neanderthals don't hang on for another 4,000 years compared with the rest of Europe. And the hunch must be that they go extinct in the south of Spain at the same time as everywhere else," Higham added. The topic of human-Neanderthal co-existence has long been a topic of debate, as is the idea that the south of Spain acted as a refuge for the last populations of Neanderthals. If these results are accurate, they raise interesting questions about what role humans may have played in Neanderthals’ demise. Previous research has indicated that modern humans lived in the lands now known as Italy and the United Kingdom as far back as 41,000-45,000 years ago. To determine how recently Neanderthals lived in southern Spain, Higham’s team screened more than 200 fossil bones from 11 Iberian Palaeolithic sites, looking for traces of collagen, a major structural protein in bone that is the most suitable target for radiocarbon dating. Only 27 specimens met the standards for us in the study and just six of those provided a useable date………..

- Bubble wrap has done done it again, y’all. Arguably one of the most fun, entertaining products ever invented by mankind, bubble wrap provides hours of joy and amusement for children of all ages as they pop its rows and rows of plastic bubbles, generating hilarious popping sounds that never fail to delight. Still, few people recognize bubble wrap’s ability to save lives and prevent serious injury, especially at construction sites. An unidentified construction worker in Boston will never make that mistake again after he averted serious injury or worse Monday morning when he fell 30 feet off a building, but landed on bubble wrap. Because of his softened landing spot, the man suffered back and shoulder injuries and had to be treated at a local hospital, but it could have been much worse, a spokesman for the Boston Fire Department said. The 38-year-old worker was working three stories up off the ground on a building at 1959 Commonwealth Ave. in cold, windy conditions. The scaffolding at the site is wrapped in bubble wrap and some extra rolls were on the ground where the worker fell. Boston firefighters responded to the scene of the accident and found the force of the fall had been so severe that the man had to be cut from the bubble wrap. When he does recover from his injuries and is able to return to work, hopefully a company that manufactures bubble wrap will be smart enough to sign him up as a spokesman and capitalize on his story to promote the never ending benefits of a truly wonderful product……..

- The stars are beginning to align for the forthcoming sequel to the cult comedy classic “Anchorman” – literally. With the long-awaited sequel set for a Dec. 20 release, the cast for "Anchorman: The Legend Continues" is taking shape. Will Ferrell, the creative mind behind the project and the film’s star, will be joined by returning cast members Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carrell and Dave Koechner, but that Channel 4 news team will have a new partner in crime for the sequel: Ferrell’s fellow “Saturday Night Live” alumnus Kristen Wiig. Producer Adam McKay broke the news of Wiig’s inclusion on Twitter, writing, "Just found out Kristen Wiig officially on board for Anchorman 2. Cannonball!" Applegate, who played Ron Burgundy’s rival and love interest Veronica Corningstone in “Anchorman,” shared McKay’s excitement about having a well-respected comedic mind like Wiig on board for the second installment in the franchise. "So excited Kristen Wiig has joined our cast for anchorman2," she said. "Going 2 b best movie ever made. Besides the best movies ever made." Ferrell and Wiig gave a teaser for what fans can expect on the big screen when they presented together and delivered a few laughs (most of them on account of Ferrell’s bitchin’ mustache) at last month’s Golden Globe awards. By the time “Anchorman: The Legend Continues” hits theaters, it will have been more than nine years since the first film was released. If the strong casting news continues, the movie just might be hilarious enough to make movie goers forget how long the second installment took and that it almost didn’t happen because of budget disputes………

- Miracles do happen. Look no further than the north African nation of Mali, where one of the world’s true wonders continues: French troops actually fighting instead of surrendering. French soldiers are fighting side by side with Malian troops to put down a rebel uprising and the fight continued Monday when the joint fighting force sealed off Timbuktu, a UNESCO World Heritage site, driving out rebels who decided to burn a little history on their way out the door and torched several buildings in the ancient Saharan trading town, including a library of priceless manuscripts. The fleeing Islamist rebel fighters did not fire a single shot to stop 1,000 French soldiers including paratroopers and 200 Malian troops as they seized the airport and surrounded the centuries-old Niger River city, looking to block the escape of al-Qaida-allied fighters. Prior to retaking Timbuktu, French and Malian forces captured Gao, another major northern Malian town which had also been occupied by the alliance of Islamist militant groups since last year. France has been involved in the conflict in its former Sahel colony for two weeks at the request of Mali's government but also with wide international backing. In that time, they have helped to drive the Islamist rebel fighters northwards out of towns into the desert and mountains. A French military spokesman confirmed that the assault forces at Timbuktu were being careful to avoid combat inside the city so as not to damage cultural treasures and mosques and religious shrines, although that also plays well into the stereotype that the French don’t do so well with actual fighting. Saying you’re protecting a seat of Islamic learning by not firing unnecessary shots is a solid excuse, though. The French fighters were unable to keep the fleeing Islamist fighters from torching a South African-funded library, according to Timbuktu's mayor, Ousmane Halle. "The rebels set fire to the newly constructed Ahmed Baba Institute built by the South Africans ... this happened four days ago," Halle said, adding that the rebels also torched his office and the home of a member of parliament. The library they burned is the Ahmed Baba Institute, one of several libraries and collections in the city containing fragile ancient documents dating back to the 13th century. Clearing the city will be difficult because of its labyrinth of ancient mosques and monuments and mud-brick homes between alleys, but if anyone can do it, it’s the French………

Nebraska's philandering lieutenant governor, 2 Chainz goes pop-punk and Lithuanians squeezed by gas prices

- Some artists value their musical credibility very highly, but Atlanta rapper 2 Chainz is clearly not one of them. He could continue to build his brand in the hip-hop world, but he is branching out and looking to conquer more than just the rap game. Some of those endeavors will succeed and others will fail, but none of them are likely to make any less sense than his appearance in pop-punk outfit Fall Out Boy’s promo for their new song “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up).” No one has less credibility both in their own musical genre and beyond than Fall Out Boy, a band with as much of an edge as a butter knife made of silly putty. Venturing into acting with a debut t on the CBS comedy “2 Broke Girls" is fine, partially because 2 Chainz will be playing himself and partially because no dude with a pulse is turning down a chance for screen time alongside series star Kat Dennings and her famously massive chest, but teaming up with Fall Out Boy isn’t going to earn respect from anyone. The single is the first off the band’s new album, “Save Rock and Roll,” that is set to drop on May 6. The name itself is incredibly ironic because there is nothing rock and roll about Fall Out Boy, but maybe having a presently popular rapper who still isn't close to having name recognition in the mainstream do a guest spot on a song isn’t exactly infusing rock credibility into your sound. Judging by the promo video, 2 Chainz will feature heavily on the song itself and in the video, he can be seen dousing everything in gasoline and lighting a match to set everything ablaze. The “2 Broke Girls” episode will air Feb. 11, one day after the Grammys……..

- Americans b*tching about gas prices should take a step back, observe what’s happening in Lithuania and temper their whining accordingly. Lithuanians are suffering through a typically brutal winter and they’re doing so while paying absurdly bloated prices for gas. Prices have skyrocketed over the past several years, propelled by the country shuttering of its only nuclear power plant in 2009. That led to an increase in imports of Russian gas and the Communist hellhole to the east has shown no compunctions about using its energy dominance to bully its former vassal states. Lithuanian households have stood by helplessly as the retail cost of natural gas pumped from Siberia have increased 450 percent — from $169 to $769 per 1,000 cubic meters – in the past seven years. Lithuania currently pays Russia a wholesale price of about $540 per 1,000 cubic meters of natural gas piped from Siberia, 15 percent more than Baltic neighbors Latvia and Estonia and 25 percent more than Germany. Conspiracy theorists believe Lithuania is being punished by Russia for unsolved political issues, which would be absurd if it weren't so likely to be true. The popular theory is that Lithuania’s government demanding compensation from Moscow for alleged damages incurred during the Soviet occupation from 1945 to 1991 is the reason for the price gouging, although Lithuania enacting a European Union directive to separate gas supply and distribution last year probably isn't helping matters. Estonia and Latvia have done neither and their gas prices remain conspicuously low. Russia's state-owned gas monopoly, Gazprom, rarely addresses such issues and has justified the price rises by saying the deal allows it to index gas rates to oil prices. That stance has rankled Lithuanian leaders. "We believe Lithuania should pay a fifth less than it does now," Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius said. An ongoing lawsuit by Lithuania's previous center-right government against Gazprom in international arbitration court for $1.9 billion hangs over the battle, although Butkevicius said he is willing to scrap the litigation in exchange for cheaper gas. In the meantime, freezing Lithuanians are shivering and simply not paying gas bills they can't afford, hoping the situation is resolved soon…….

- Crash and burn. A highly anticipated trial of a new booster vaccine has ended in failure and the battle against tuberculosis (TB) is no further ahead. The study was the first involving infants since the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine was introduced in 1921 and because BCG is only partially effective against the bacterium that causes TB, several international teams are working on new vaccines. A trial of a vaccine known as MVA85A concluded recently in South Africa and it failed to protect babies who had already had BCG. It involved  2,794 healthy children aged four to six months, half of whom received MVA85A and the rest a placebo. Researchers followed the children for an average of two years and found 32 cases of TB in those who had received the vaccine compared with 39 in the placebo group. That gave the vaccine an effectiveness of 17 percent, a number that ranks it as statistically insignificant. The MVA85A vaccine is designed to boost the immune responses that have been primed by the BCG vaccine and it has been undergoing human trials for more than a decade. While shown to be safe and to stimulate a high level of immune response in adults, it does not seem to be as effective in children. "[It] induced modest immune responses against TB in the infants, but these were much lower than those previously seen in adults, and were insufficient to protect against the disease,” said professor Helen McShane of the University of Oxford, who developed the vaccine. "This is the first efficacy trial of a new TB vaccine since Bacille Calmette-Guérin, a significant step in itself, and there is much that we and others can learn from the study and the data it has produced." The World Health Organization argued that the results are not a terminal prognosis for MVA85A, but it is obviously a big setback………

- For the first time since moving to Los Angeles, the Clippers are legitimate title contenders and their rise coincides with their in-house rivals’ tumble to also-ran status in the Western Conference. With the Lakers mired in 10th place in the West and their own fortunes soaring, the Clippers have one eye on the postseason and they know they may need another piece to complete their team before the playoffs begin. Already battling injuries to guards Chauncey Billups, Chris Paul and Jamal Crawford, getting healthy is part of the solution and maybe the Big Ticket can be the other. The Clippers are reportedly interested in acquiring Kevin Garnett from the Boston Celtics, who theoretically should be in selling mode after All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo tore his ACL last week, ending his season. Even before his injury, the Celtics were a middling team with an aging roster and general manager Danny Ainge was fending off rumors that he would consider breaking up the team and shipping out aging veterans such as Garnett and Paul Pierce. Now that Rondo is done for the year, seeing what you can get for Garnett while he still has some tread left on his wheels isn't a bad move. Officials from the two teams reportedly met before the Celtics beat the Clippers 106-104 on Sunday, but the Celtics have since claimed that they are not shopping Garnett. On the other end, sources say the Clippers are intrigued by the possibility of acquiring Garnett in a deal that would likely involve promising point guard Eric Bledsoe and veteran forward Caron Butler. However, taking on Garnett would also mean swallowing the two years and $23.5 million remaining on his contract after this season. Even if they don’t trade for Garnett, the Clippers need to find a way to reverse their fortunes with Paul out with a knee injury and having lost six of their past eight games. If Ainge is to be believed, Clippers fans shouldn’t hold out hope for a deal. Ainge has maintained in recent days that the team is in wait-and-see mode and on the strength of four straight wins since Rondo’s injury, maybe it’s not time to break up the Celtics……..

- Why in such a hurry to leave, now-former Nebraska Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy? Just because a media outlet made a public records request for your phone records and those records showed thousands of calls to four women on your state-issued cellphone is no reason to hurriedly resign. So what if one of those women also claims to have had a romantic relationship with you? Politicians and affairs have been inextricably intertwined for as long as there have been politicians and Sheehy running away in shame is just weak. Gov. Dave Heineman accepting Sheehy's resignation and announcing it at a hastily called news conference Saturday morning is equally cowardly, but most of the blame has to go to the man at the center of the adulterous storm. The scandal has obliterated the political future of a man who had been considered the front-runner in the 2014 gubernatorial race and had been endorsed by Heineman, who could not distance himself from his former lieutenant governor fast enough. "As public officials, we are rightly held to a higher standard," Heineman said. "I had trusted him, and that trust was broken." The fact that no one is giving Sheehy credit for juggling as many as four different women on the side while also maintaining his sham of a marriage is sad, but the world of political affairs isn't what it once was. The calls do offer a hint as to why Sheehy’s wife filed for divorce last year, but there’s no need to jump to any conclusions. Most of the calls, which number in the thousands, occurred late at night and Sheehy spoke with some of the women numerous times a day in conversations that lasted anywhere from a few minutes to more than an hour, according to the records. Dr. Theresa Hatcher of Bellevue is one of the women who received calls from Sheehy and she has previously claimed that she and Sheehy had maintained a long-term relationship after they met at a convention of emergency responders in Texas in 2008. "I thought I was the only one," she said. "Apparently, I was grossly mistaken." A lot of people appear to have been mistaken on who Sheehy is and his former boss doesn’t sound like the two of them will be working again together any time soon. Heineman said he doesn’t expect Sheehy to run for governor next year and insisted that if he did, “I would not support him under the circumstances.” Clearly, people can't get off Sheehy’s bandwagon quickly enough………

Bankrupt cities buy fire trucks, Chinese fireworks go boom and Apple fights Java

- Apple really does not like Java 7 web plug-ins. Java plug-ins allow for various types of graphics and animations on Web pages and Apple’s beef with Java and its maker, Oracle, is well-documented. As the latest step in the fight, the house that Steven Jobs built has essentially blacklisted Java on its machines for a second time in less than a month by enforcing a minimum version for the software — a version that has yet to be released by Oracle. Apple blacklisted Java 7 update 11 — the latest version available — by using the anti-malware system built into its OS X operating system to remotely block the software. So far, Apple has not offered any official explanation for the decision, although rumors have circulated this week that despite Oracle's efforts to harden Java security, the latest version allows unsigned code to be executed. The initial block early in January was considered out of the ordinary in large part because Apple has typically used its Xprotect to block malware such as the widespread Flashback Trojan for Macs in 2011. Serious risks posed by zero-day vulnerabilities in SE Java 7 update 10 were enough to diverge from that policy and later in the month, Apple moved to fend off attacks exploiting those vulnerabilities by adding "build 19" of Java 7 update 10, denoted by "1.7.0_10-b19", to its "Xprotect.plist" blacklist. Oracle had only released “b18” at that point, which meant that Java 7 web plug-ins were effectively blacklisted until Oracle released a version that superseded it. Yet even when Oracle complied by releasing Java 7 update 11, which satisfied Apple's minimum requirements under Xprotect, some vulnerabilities remained and enough are present for Apple to say no. The government is also concerned and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security went so far as to urge Internet users to disable Java web plug-ins despite the latest update. Sounds as if Oracle has some work to do……..

- And boom go the fireworks. China has long been a titan in the work of blowing sh*t up for the purposes of noise, color and entertainment, just not in the way that a truck carrying fireworks on an elevated highway in central China made those pyrotechnics happen. The truck exploded and detonated a 262-foot section of road on the G30 expressway in Henan province. In the collapse, at least five people were killed, although an early state media report put the number of dead at 26 before it was taken down. Several vehicles along the affected section of road reportedly fell as far as 100 feet to the ground below and witnesses said some cars were thrown over the edge by the force of the blast. Although the fireworks truck was the point of origin for the blast, the official cause of the blast has not yet been determined. State media reports said six vehicles were retrieved from the wreckage, with search and rescue efforts were continuing at the site. In addition to the six fatalities, eight people were injured. Footage from the scene showed rescuers fighting their way through the rubble, where they found 10 trucks buried under the remains of what used to be a highway and news photographs showed another truck perched precariously at the broken edge of the carriageway. Losing a chunk of the G30 is a bitter hit for China, as it is the longest road in the country, stretching some 2,700 miles from the coast of eastern Jiangsu province to Urumqi, close to the Kazakhstan border. The fireworks were being transported for sale to those looking to set them off to celebrate the Lunar New Year, which is just over a week away. The government has debated whether to curb the use of pyrotechnics and this accident inadvertently helped in that pursuit……..

- Comedy ruled the box office for Super Bowl weekend as “Warm Bodies” debuted in first place with $19.5 million, knocking last week’s champion from the top spot. “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters” ceded its crown and settled for second placed, making $9.2 million in its second weekend for a cumulative domestic total of $34.4 million. “Silver Linings Playbook” continued its Oscar nomination-inspired resurgence, sticking in third place with $8.2 million and boosting its overall take to $80.4 million in the process. Horror flick “Mama” slid two spots to fourth place with a $6.7 million weekend and has banked $58.2 through its first three weeks of release. “Zero Dark Thirty” snagged fifth place with $5.4 million as it nears the two-month mark of its run. After seven weeks, the controversial film has brought in $77.8 million. Sylvester Stallone took a cue from fellow past-his-prime action star Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose new film “The Last Stand,” fell out of the top 10 after just two weeks, and Stallone’s latest started its run in a way suggesting it will follow the same downward trajectory. “Bullet to the Head,” a movie in which Stallone’s acting in commercial promos alone is cringe-worthy, opened with a mere $4.6 million and that’s not the sort of debut that portends a long run in the top 10. “Parker,” which falls into the same testosterone-heavy category, slipped two spots to seventh place in its second weekend. With $3.3 million, the movie has made a mere $12.4 million after two weeks. “Django Unchained” ranked eighth for the frame, making $3 million, and it has now brought in $151 million in six weeks of work. “Les Miserables” remained in ninth place for a second consecutive weekend with its $2.5 million outing to up its six-week haul to $141.6 million. “Lincoln” completed the top 10 by returning to the list after a week on the outside looking in, banking $2.4 million for a 13-week bounty of $170.8 million. “Gangster Squad” (No. 13), “Movie 43” (No. 15) and “Broken City” (No. 18) all dropped out of the top 10, while “Stand Up Guys” never made it in, debuting in 17th place despite the presence of Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin………..

- When is a bankrupt city not really bankrupt? When it needs to buy vital firefighting equipment to protect itself from burning to the ground, that’s when. No, Detroit isn't involved in this story, but Stockton, Calif. is. Stockton is in bankruptcy because its debts vastly outstrip its resources at present, but that wasn’t enough to prevent a federal judge in Sacramento from confirming the city’s right to spend $1.9 million to lease four new fire engines. Fire Chief Jeff Piechura argued that half his fleet of trucks and engines are unreliable in an emergency because they are 20 years old or older and regular breakdowns among the fleet cause a delay in response times because back-up units have to come from other stations. “When people call 911 they’re already having a bad day.  We don’t want to make it worse by having equipment break down,” Piechura said. Making matters worse, some broken parts on older units have to be fabricated and that only delays the process more. However, the fire department signed a lease contract for the new trucks before the city filed for bankruptcy. Because of that, the makers of the four fire engines wanted assurances from the judge that the city could indeed spend the money and would be obligated to pay. The real winners here, aside from the companies who will be turning a solid profit on the new trucks, are the people of Stockton. Their chances of their homes burning to the ground and further torching the sagging morale of a bankrupt city are much lower if their fire department has improved odds of making it to their property without having to stop and wait for a couple of hours while one of their broken-down trucks is repaired. With the court’s approval, the deal will go forward and the four engines could be delivered and operational by the end of April……..

- His decision to return for his senior season could not have gone much worse for Matt Barkley. Coming back to USC for one final run and a supposed shot at a national championship and Heisman Trophy proved to be a giant swing and a miss for the highly-ranked quarterback, as the Trojans tumbled from a preseason No. 1 ranking, finished 7-6, and lost in a third-tier bowl game to a sub-.500 team. Barkley was injured and didn’t even play in a 21-7 Sun Bowl loss to Georgia Tech and after the game, USC players reportedly scuffled in the locker room over Barkley and other seniors either not playing or not giving their full effort in the game. It was an ignominious end to a year in which the preseason Heisman Trophy favorite threw 15 interceptions, the most of his four-year career as the Trojans starter. In spite of that long list of negatives, Barkley doesn’t believe any of them should affect his stock in April's NFL draft. "People have been looking at stats over the past year, who's hot, who's not," Barkley said. "We didn't finish the year strong, I know that. But that doesn't mean I'm any less of a quarterback this year. I'm excited just to put that back in people's minds. I haven't lost any confidence in myself and haven't doubted my ability to p lay quarterback, not once." It is the right shoulder injury he suffered late in the fourth quarter of USC's loss to UCLA on Nov. 17 and which kept him out of the bowl game that is most likely to concern teams that would consider drafting him. Barkley is confident that he is just as good, if not better, than he was in 2011, when he threw 39 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He still isn't sure if he will throw at the NFL combine in Indianapolis next month, but plans to attend and meet with interested teams even if he doesn’t participate in any of the combine’s physical activities………

Wolverines in danger, Communist Russia's comeback and Lena Dunham rising fast

- Welcome to the party, NFL. At long last, the sport whose players would most benefit from jamming HGH into their massive bodies is on its way to testing for the popular performance enhancer. At least commissioner Roger Goodell says so, laying out the plan to add HGH testing to the league in the near future. Goodell, speaking at his annual state of the NFL news conference on Friday, said he expects an agreement for the tests to be reached in time for the start of the 2013 season. Major League Baseball has already agreed to blood test players for HGH beginning next season and Goodell is confident that there will be an agreement soon with the players' union for testing in his league. In explaining why he believes testing is imminent, Goodell pointed out that the league and union agreed to the testing two years ago in the collective bargaining agreement. The commissioner believes (rightly so, for a change) that it is important to have testing to retain the integrity and the brand of the league. He also touched on the larger issue of player safety and made it clear despite recent remarks by numerous players suggesting he is missing the point with suspensions to discipline players who violate player-safety rules with actions such as hits to the head, he isn’t backing down. Suspensions get through to the players," Goodell said. "We have seen an escalation in the discipline because we are trying to take these techniques out of the game. I stand by our record, because I think we have made those changes and have made the game safer. But I think we are going to have to see discipline continue to escalate, particularly on repeat offenders." The players who have incurred tens of thousands of dollars in fines will surely be thrilled to hear that……..

- Lena Dunham is staying busy, building her brand and looking to expand her growing television empire. The “Girls” creator isn't resting on her success and is at work on a new show based on the memoirs of a stylist to the stars. Dunham not only created “Girls,” but writes, stars in and directs the popular HBO series that has been racking up plenty of awards in recent months. For the new show, Dunham will team up with “Girls” executive producer Jenni Konner for a story based on the book “All Dressed Up And Everywhere To Go,” by author Betty Halbreich. Halbreich as spent years as a personal shopper for famed New York department store Bergdorf Goodman and has served as a personal shopper and stylist for established stars such as Sarah Jessica Parker Meryl Streep and Glenn Close. Halbreich has also dabbled in Hollywood a bit, working the defunct HBO series “Sex and the City” (explaining her ties to Parker) and has also worked on several Woody Allen Films. Dunham’s star is clearly rising, as critical reception for “Girls” has been overwhelmingly positive and she recently won two Golden Globe awards for the series. HBO clearly believes in her, as the network will also partner with her on the small-screen adaptation of  “All Dressed Up And Everywhere To Go,” which does not have a fixed start date yet……..

- Walking away from an explosion without looking back is a notoriously badass move. An unidentified Kosciusko County (Ind.) man didn’t exactly pull the feat off, but he came damn close Friday when he smelled a gas leak in his kitchen, walked outside to turn off the gas and had his home explode behind him just seconds after he stepped out the door. The explosion literally rocked the small town of Etna Green, just outside Warsaw, around 10 a.m. Firefighters responding to the scene said they could see the smoke three miles away and residents say they heard the explosion even further away. "Literally one minute it’s all there and five minutes later everything you own is gone. Just think about what that does to your life," Mentone Fire Chief Mike Yazel said. The unidentified man first noticed something was wrong earlier in the morning and determined that his stove was leaking gas. "The homeowner said he heard hissing from the kitchen. He went in the kitchen and smelled gas, the stove was hissing," Yazel added. Opening all of the windows would have been a good first step before heading outside to shut the gas off, but in times of small-town crisis, overwhelmed people don’t always think clearly. In this case, the man was fortunate because he did get out of the house, but he never made it to the switch to shut off the main line. Instead, the house went up in a giant ball of flame and he was fortunate enough to escape with nothing more than some singed arm hair. "He's a lucky man. He is a real lucky man, there's no question about that," Yazel concluded, stating the blatantly obvious. The damage is too extensive to determine the cause of the explosion, although investigators say it could have been a faulty pilot light or a leaky gas line…….

- With America’s many problems, is protecting an vicious, endangered carnivore really at the top of the list?  The answer, sadly, is yes. A combination of natural causes and global warming mean the wolverine, a fierce carnivore wielding razor-sharp claws and able to kill prey several times its size, is in danger. It may be tough enough to stand up to grizzly bears and most other non-human predators, but global warming is threatening to KO the beast. A mere 250 to 300 wolverines survive in the contiguous United States and with their snowy habitats melting quickly, wolverines are struggling. Wolverines rely on deep mountain snows to burrow dens and raise their young, but those environments are becoming scarce and with rising temperatures combined with uninhibited targeting by fur trappers, the picture isn't rosy. Federal wildlife officials are looking to head off extinction by proposing to protect wolverines living in the lower 48 states under the Endangered Species Act. They tried the same sh*t twice under the Bush administration but were denied both times and a third attempt was delayed by the Obama administration in 2010. Other endangered species took precedence then, but wildlife officials are hoping it will be different this time. Wolverines live mostly in tiny isolated groups in the Western United States, concentrated in the Northern Rockies of Washington, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana. Larger populations exist in Canada and Alaska and those appear more stable. Protection under the Endangered Species Act would make trapping wolverines for their valuable fur illegal outside of Alaska. At present, Montana is the only lower-48 state that still allows an annual trapping quota of five wolverines. However, the changes will not address any global warming-related issues that could also play just as big a role in the wolverines’ embattled status……..

- Welcome back for a while, vestiges of Communist Russia. Former despot Josef Stalin and the city of Stalingrad are making a comeback for a little while for a historical occasion. In fact, the Russian city of Volgograd has voluntarily drudged up ugly memories of its Communist past by approving the use of its wartime name at events on Saturday commemorating the 70th anniversary of the 200-day Battle of Stalingrad that turned the tide of World War II. The 24-hour change was not sanctioned by the city authorities, but Stalin fans (yes, they do exist) also used the occasion to display portraits of the late Soviet dictator in minibuses to honor his role in the defeat of Nazi Germany. The city council made the decision in part to placate war veterans and old-school hardliners and is believed to have the tacit approval of President Vladimir Putin, who attended the events in the industrial hub of 1 million on the River Volga. In truth, there are plenty of reminders of Stalin and the Soviet era in Volgograd in spite of the fact that millions died from collectivization and the murder of political opponents under Stalin’s reign of terror. "I categorically do not justify Stalin's repressions, but you have to recognize the positive things he did, whether you want to or not," said Gamlet Dallatyan, a 92-year-old veteran of the battle which Russian historians say killed nearly 2 million. "It would be good to go back to the name of Stalingrad, though not so much because of Stalin himself but because that is how the city was known during the war." A Stalin museum in Volgograd run by a local businessman and streets named after Soviet leaders such as Vladimir Lenin prove that the city hasn’t exactly shed all links to its past. The city was named after Stalin in 1925 and rebranded as Volgograd in 1961, during Nikita Khrushchev's "de-Stalinization" campaign. That decision enraged veterans of the battle for Stalingrad, during which the city was flattened during fighting from July 17, 1942, until the German surrender on Feb. 2, 1943. Some historians believe it was the bloodiest battle in history, with hand-to-hand combat in trenches, streets and even inside buildings. About 920 Stalingrad war veterans still live in the region and they remain firm Stalin supporters. As part of the name-change decision, the name Stalingrad can now be used officially at public events on five days every year including May 9, when Russia marks the Allied victory over Nazi Germany……….

Depressing anti-depressant news, Zimbabwe is almost broke and LeBron is expensive

- Folks, there is depressing news from the world of anti-depressants. If a consumer class-action suit filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division, before Magistrate Judge Paul Singh Grewal, is to be believed then depressed people may as well take a sugar pill rather than pay top dollar for Zoloft (Sertraline hydrochloride). Pfizer Inc., the drug’s manufacturer, is being sued by plaintiff Laura Plumlee, who claims she took Zoloft for three years with no discernable results. In the suit, she argues that the antidepressant medication offered no more benefit than a placebo. Her attorney, R. Brent Wisner (of course this ass hat has a first initial in front of his name in typical lawyer pomposity) argues that the Food and Drug Administration should not have approved Zoloft because Pfizer had not published some clinical trials which demonstrated that the medication was not significantly different to a placebo. The company is accused of deceptively marketing Zoloft as a "highly effective treatment for depression” while knowing full well that it had virtually no impact on the illness. The lawsuit hinges on several key points, most notably that most Zoloft clinical trials that focused on its efficacy proved to be either negative or neutral and in these studies, Zoloft was not significantly better than a placebo in relieving the symptoms of depression. In fact, the suit claims that placebos often deliverd better results than the actual drugs and that Pfizer was fully aware of this fact. Pfizer knew about how effective or ineffective Zoloft was, "as documented in internal company documents discussed in the complaint,” the suit says. Yet oddly enough, Pfizer kept right on making and manufacturing Zoloft as if everything were copasetic. As the lawsuit’s theory goes, convincing consumers and doctors that Zoloft was highly effective in treating depression ensured the company of continuing to take in huge profits. This supposedly sinister plot was carried out through a "a comprehensive scheme of selective publication of clinical trial data, ghostwriting positive manuscripts about the efficacy of Zoloft, paying prominent physicians (known as Key Opinion Leader or "KOLS") to tout the efficacy and safety of Zoloft, and misleading advertising on television and in magazines." Since the drug launched in 1991, sales have netted more than $30 billion for Pfizer and before its patent expired in 2007, Zoloft's annual sales exceeded $3 billion each year. Even today in a more competitive market, the drug still brings in $500 million annually……..

- It’s about time someone was punished for the music of the Spice Skanks. Since God-awful music is still not a legally acceptable reason to sue someone in Britain, this will have to do for now. Instead of Scary, Sporty, Posh or Skanky Spice being punished, a Nottingham, England resident has been evicted from his home after repeatedly playing the group's song “Viva Forever” at ear-splitting volume. Gavin Townroe used to live in Digby Court in the Lenton area of Nottingham and now he doesn’t. He was booted for repeatedly playing loud music, leading one of his neighbors to lodge a complaint last January. Following the complaint, Townroe was later given a citation because one neighbor called off work because he was so fatigued due to a lack of sleep. In spite of that development, Townroe continued to disrupt those around him and was subsequently given a six-week suspended jail term in October. When that wasn’t enough to silence this kook’s abiding love for one of the worst musical acts of all-time, the Nottingham City Council took action and successfully slapped Townroe with an eviction notice mandating he leave his home by February 4 and also pay costs of £913. "Despite being warned, Mr. Townroe had a total disregard for his neighbours. At times the volume was so loud residents would leave their properties to escape the music,” said police spokesman Wayne Cliff. Neighbors will undoubteldy be relieved to not hear a poorly sung challenge to “Spice up your life” at 8 a.m. or have to listen to the decree that, “If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends.”The story continues a well-deserved run of bad fortune for the Spice Skanks, as a West End musical written by Jennifer Saunders and using the group’s music was roundly panned by critics when it opened in London last fall………

- Way to address problems head on and in productive fashion, residents of Aspen, Colorado’s West End neighborhood. Those living in this upscale area are sick and tired of motorists doing what they do everywhere else on God’s great spinning Earth, speeding. Because they’re special and don’t want to put up with it, these whiny Coloradans recently pushed their city council to lower the speed limit. Initially, Mayor Mick Ireland suggested an 18 mph limit because the number is out of the ordinary, but council members decided to adopt the spirit of the X-Games, which their city hosts each winter, and either go big or go home. They went even lower and decided to drop the proposed limit down to 14 mph. That change led to one of the more unusual speed limit signs around, one that reads, “Speed Limit 14 mph.” To outfit the entire area with signs denoting the new law, a total of 60 signs will be ordred and at a cost of less than $500 per sign, the estimated cost for the change will be more than $27,000. That obviously means the city’s police department will simply need to write more tickets to offset the cost, which probably won't be a problem. But the lower speed limit has to be making an impact, right? “We are still receiving complaints about speeding,” City Engineer Trish Aragon said. “Although from an engineering perspective, we don’t see that they’re speeding. But the perception still is that vehicles are speeding through the neighborhood.” Thanks for that insightful observation, Trish. To all of the complainers who hoped the change would discourage motorists from cutting through the neighborhood to avoid congestion on Highway 82 near the S-curves….well….suck it…….

- As former women’s tennis eye candy Anna Kournikova once told a young male fan, “You can’t afford me.” Put reigning NBA Most Valuable Player and Miami Heat star LeBron James in the same category because clearly, LBJ doesn’t believe there is a paycheck in existence big enough to pay him what he’s worth. In fact, James doesn't think it's possible to be paid his actual value under the current NBA rules. "What I do on the floor shows my value. At the end of the day, I don't think my value on the floor can really be compensated for anyways because of the (collective bargaining agreement)," James said. "If you want the truth. If this was baseball, it'd be up, I mean way up there." Glad to know you’re so high on your own value, ‘Bron. Maybe you should have taken your talents to MLB and then you could have scored than contract worth $35 million annually. Instead, James is toiling away for a mere  $17.5 million this season, which is tied for 13-highest in the NBA. He’s well behind league earnings leader Kobe Bryant, who is making $27.8 million for the Los Angeles Lakers. Back in 2011, James was asked what it would take to get him to play in Europe during the NBA's lockout and suggested he could be worth $50 million a year. Some teams are looking to shed payroll before a new more stringent luxury tax arrives next season and have traded away some of their most expensive assets to do so. The Heat are in decent shape because James and teammates Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh all took less than the maximum salary when they signed three years ago. Rather than let his “sacrifice” go unnoticed, James wanted to make sure everyone knows about his unselfishness – before immediately insisting that credit didn’t matter to him. "I have not had a full max deal yet in my career -- that's a story untold," James said. "I don't get (the credit) for it. That doesn't matter to me, playing the game is what matters to me. Financially, I'll sacrifice for the team. It shows for some of the top guys, it isn't all about money. That's the genuine side of this, it's about winning. I understand that." Yes, it’s about winning and being able to take less money because you also make $40 million per year in endorsements and sponsorships and work in a state with no individual income tax……..

- After a late night at the bar and with a splitting headache from one too many encounters with the bottom of a just-drained red solo cup, Zimbabwe stumbled to the ATM the next morning looking for a few bucks to get some quality hangover food and man, was Zimbabwe stunned to see how much money it had left in its checking account. Yes, this is Zimbabwe the country, the one in Africa, and unlike your bro-ham who needs a few bucks for a chalupa and a burrito to soak up the excess alcohol in his system but only has $2.27 left in his account, Zimbabwe is a nation of several million impoverished people and a government to run and it only has $217 left in the bank. Not $217 million or $217 billion, but $217. Finance Minister Tendai Biti confirmed the dire financial prognosis this week and admitted that paltry amount is all that’s left in the country's public accounts after it paid its civil servants last week. Biti pointed out that having been paid for what might be the last time for a while, those civil servants were probably better off than the state. To the obvious question of how the hell an entire nation gets to this point: After a decade of inflation hit 500 billion percent in 2008 — leading to the issuance of 100 trillion-dollar bills in Zimbabwean currency — the country switched to the U.S. dollar and despite the change, the debt the country built up during those years of nationalist rule by President Robert Mugabe drained its cash reserves and depleted its tax base. Its current coalition government was credited by the International Monetary Fund in September with taming inflation and stabilizing the economy, but the Mugabe-fueled aftershocks remain. Salary for civil servants accounts for 73 percent of the national budget but to hear Biti talk, those servants may not get their coffers replenished again any time soon. "The government finances are in a paralysis state at the present moment," he said…….