LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The audience for “American Idol” slumped 19 percent to 17.9 million viewers, its lowest season opener, despite the debut of judges Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban, according to early ratings data released on Thursday.
The two-hour premiere of the show’s 12th season on Fox television also lost 19 percent of the 18-49 age group most coveted by advertisers, Nielsen figures showed. Total viewers dropped to 17.9 million from 21.9 million in 2012.
Despite the drop, “American Idol” was still the most watched show by a huge margin on U.S. television Wednesday night, beating all shows combined in the 18-49 demographic on the three other biggest TV networks.
Fox executives also noted that “Idol” beat the 2012 September premiere of NBC singing show rival “The Voice” by some 46 percent in total viewers.
“American Idol,” long a ratings juggernaut for Fox, lost its eight-year crown as the most watched show on U.S. television last year to “Sunday Night Football.”
Singers Carey, Minaj and country artist Keith Urban joined the show as judges after Jennifer Lopez and Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler left last year.
Fox is a unit of News Corp
(Reporting By Jill Serjeant, editing by Stacey Joyce)
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ATLANTA (Reuters) – More than 80 percent of health departments in the United States that treat tuberculosis resistant to standard treatment have trouble obtaining the drugs they need to cure the disease, according to a national survey released on Thursday.
Difficulties obtaining the drugs could be attributed to nationwide shortages, shipping delays and a complicated process for procuring new drugs that are still being tested, according to a National Tuberculosis Controllers Association survey of health departments.
The final results of the 2010 survey were released on Thursday and cited by the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which said possible solutions could include obtaining drugs from foreign manufacturers, stockpiling them, and creating an expedited approval process for new drugs.
“These shortages interfere with our ability to successfully treat TB,” Kenneth Castro, director of the CDC’s division of Tuberculosis Elimination, said in an interview on Thursday.
Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis accounts for about 1.5 percent of all cases in the United States, Castro said.
The survey found that the shortages and other problems that hindered access to the second-line drugs could promote development of drug resistance, the CDC said.
In the survey of 26 health departments that treated tuberculosis patients who were resistant to conventional drugs, 81 percent reported having trouble during the previous five years finding or paying for medicine that would be effective.
Tuberculosis is caused by airborne bacteria. Most cases can be cured with a six-month combination of four drugs, but patients resistant to the standard drugs face up to 24 months of taking five to six drugs that are “less effective, more toxic, and more costly than first-line drugs,” the CDC said.
The United States had about 10,528 cases of tuberculosis in 2011 and there were 529 deaths from tuberculosis in 2009, according to the latest full year CDC statistics available.
More than half of the health departments surveyed said difficulty finding adequate drugs for the multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, delayed treatment of their patients, the CDC said.
However, the CDC cautioned that because only 54 percent of the 61 health jurisdictions asked responded to the survey, the results might not accurately represent the national tuberculosis drug-shortage problem in general.
Of the 33 health departments that responded, 26 had multidrug-resistant cases of tuberculosis in the five years covered and 21 of those had difficulty obtaining the second-line drugs needed to treat the cases.
(Reporting by David Beasley; Editing by David Bailey)
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NEW YORK (Reuters) – Citigroup Inc posted $ 2.32 billion of charges for layoffs and lawsuits in its first financial report under new Chief Executive Michael Corbat, who said the bank needs to do better for shareholders.
Earnings rose from a year earlier as trading revenue rebounded, but the result was well below Wall Street expectations and Citi shares were down 3.6 percent in Thursday afternoon trade.
“We are not satisfied with these bottom-line earnings,” Corbat told a conference call with analysts, the first time he has addressed them publicly since becoming CEO.
Asked what he would consider a mark of success for Citigroup‘s turnaround, he said, “We’ve got to get to a point where we stop destroying our shareholders’ capital.”
Corbat’s remarks left some disappointed.
“It was a stay-tuned type of message,” said Tom Lewandowski, an analyst at brokerage Edward Jones who recommends Citi stock. “I expected to hear more than we got,” particularly in the way of goals for company performance.
Corbat, who took the reins in mid-October after predecessor Vikram Pandit was ousted, said in an earlier statement that Citi’s various businesses were combating competitive and regulatory problems, as well as issues dating to the financial crisis that continue to plague the bank and its peers.
Citi shares rose in Corbat’s first three months as CEO, outpacing peers, as some investors welcomed Pandit’s departure and anticipated changes in the bank’s structure. But analysts said estimates of future earnings are likely to be revised based on what the bank reported on Thursday.
The quarter “falls way short of expectations” on two issues – higher-than-expected legal costs and no significant release of reserves for bad loans, Nomura analyst Glenn Schorr said in a note to clients.
Gary Townsend, president of hedge fund Hill-Townsend Capital LLC, said Citi may have used some discretion in the accounting judgments behind the results.
“It may be that the new CEO is holding back,” he said. “There’s no reason that the quarter when Pandit left and (Corbat) came in should be great. The board obviously felt in firing Pandit and hiring Corbat that changes needed to be taken, and the fourth-quarter earnings report reflects a great deal of that.”
PROFIT MISSES
There was relatively little in the way of 2013 outlook from the bank, though Chief Financial Officer John Gerspach did tell analysts that Citi expects interest margins to be steady in 2013 relative to 2012. Bank investors have had a close eye on margins lately due to fears that falling interest rates could crimp the profitability of lending.
Fourth-quarter net income was $ 1.2 billion, or 38 cents a share, compared with $ 956 million, or 31 cents a share, in the same quarter of 2011.
Revenue from fixed income markets increased 58 percent, driving Citi’s Securities and Banking segment back to profitability. Company-wide revenue, adjusted for certain items, increased 8 percent, while operating expenses were unchanged.
Results were reduced by new legal costs of $ 1.29 billion, or 27 cents a share, and a previously announced corporate restructuring charge of $ 1.03 billion, or 21 cents a share.
Gerspach said $ 500 million of the new legal costs came from what he called a variety of issues in the ongoing U.S. consumer banking business. He later said he expects legal costs to remain “somewhat elevated.”
Expenses recorded for changes in the value of some of the bank’s debt and obligations of derivatives counterparties were 10 cents a share, compared with 1 cent a year earlier.
Excluding the many one-time items, Citi said it earned 69 cents per share. On that basis, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S on average expected 96 cents per share.
The operating earnings were 15 cents below the lowest of the 22 estimates that comprised the consensus forecast. It is the third year in a row that the bank’s fourth-quarter results have missed Wall Street forecasts by at least 20 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Citi shares were down $ 1.53 to $ 40.95 in Thursday afternoon trading following the results. Through Wednesday’s close, the shares had risen 16 percent in the three months since Corbat became CEO, against a 6 percent rise for the KBW banks index.
(Reporting by David Henry and Lauren Tara LaCapra in New York; Writing by Ben Berkowitz; Editing by John Wallace and Tim Dobbyn)
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TORONTO (Reuters) – Canadian natives slowed traffic on a bridge crucial to U.S.-Canadian trade on Wednesday as aboriginals across the country staged a “National Day of Action” to protest their living conditions.
Hundreds of natives, some wearing colorful dress and banging drums, blocked an access road leading to the Ambassador Bridge, according to the Globe and Mail, slowing traffic on a major trade artery that connects Windsor, Ontario, with Detroit, Michigan.
Thousands of commercial trucks cross the bridge daily, carrying approximately 25 percent of the goods traded between the two countries, which form the world’s largest trading partnership.
Under the banner of “Idle No More,” native groups promised to hold a series of protests to draw Ottawa‘s attention to poor living conditions and high jobless rates facing many of Canada’s 1.2 million natives.
A native protest shut down a rail line that carries passenger and freight traffic west of Winnipeg in the western province of Manitoba, according to a spokesman for Canadian National Railway Co.
Native groups complain that Canada has ignored treaties signed with British settlers and explorers that they say granted native peoples significant rights over their territory.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper agreed to pay more attention to the demands of First Nations groups in a meeting last week with aboriginal groups.
Ottawa spends about C$ 11 billion ($ 11.1 billion) a year on its aboriginal population, but living conditions for many are poor and some reserves have high rates of poverty, addiction, joblessness and suicide.
Native leaders also want Ottawa to rescind parts of recent budget legislation that they say reduces environmental protection for lakes and rivers.
Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Wednesday it would not be “desirable” if the protest damaged the economy.
“This is not a time to have even more challenges to the Canadian economy,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
(Reporting By Russ Blinch, editing by Stacey Joyce)
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WATERLOO, Ont. – Call it BlackBerry Town, even if the name isn’t official.
In the lead up to the BlackBerry smartphone unveiling later this month, creator Research In Motion is turning its Waterloo, Ont., home base into a celebration of the device.
The company plans to decorate light poles in areas of Waterloo and neighbouring Kitchener with banners that promote its latest smartphone and thank the community for its support.
City councillors in Kitchener voted earlier this week to make an exception to rules that prevent corporations from using public property to advertise.
RIM says it is making plans for other events as well.
The company will hold skating rink parties at Kitchener City Hall and in Waterloo Town Square on Jan. 30 to coincide with the unveiling of its new BlackBerry devices.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – “American Idol” returns on Wednesday with the tantalizing promise of fame, fortune and feuds – and that’s just among the celebrity panel hired to find the next pop music sensation.
Singer Mariah Carey, rapper Nicki Minaj and country artist Keith Urban make their debut as judges when the TV talent contest begins its 12th season on Fox.
“All three judges are eminently qualified. It’s a good spectrum in terms of embracing hip-hop, country and pop,” HitFix.com music blogger Melinda Newman said.
“What everyone is going to be looking at, sadly, is how Mariah and Nicki Minaj get along, instead of focusing on the contestants,” she said.
Carey, with more than 200 million album sales, the outspoken Minaj, one of the most exciting voices in rap, and Urban are expected to revive interest in the contest. Last year average audiences dipped below 20 million, and “Idol” lost its eight-year crown as the most watched show on U.S. television to NBC’s “Sunday Night Football.”
The three newcomers replace departing judges Jennifer Lopez and Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler who quit last year after two seasons.
The new panel, rounded out by old hand record producer Randy Jackson, didn’t come cheap. Carey is reported to be earning approximately $ 18 million for the season, Minaj about $ 12 million and Urban $ 8 million.
But industry watchers say “Idol” needs more than big names to bring in audiences at a time of cutthroat competition from talent contests like “The Voice,” “The X Factor,” and “America’s Got Talent.”
“While shaking up the show can initially provide curiosity tune in, at the end of the day, the panel needs to click with each other and with fans,” Entertainment Weekly’s James Hibberd said.
“‘Idol’ used to have the playground all to itself. After four months of ‘The Voice’ and ‘ X Factor’ last fall, are audiences still going to be excited by ‘Idol’?” Hibberd asked.
The new season of “Idol” was making headlines in September, when video of Carey and Minaj arguing during early auditions was leaked online.
Minaj also was reported to have threatened to shoot Carey, who said in a TV interview last week that she had hired extra security while filming the show.
FOCUS ON CONTESTANTS
In a tense media appearance last week, the two divas claimed they had put their feud behind them, attributing the fight to passionate differences of opinion about the contestants auditioning for a chance to make it through to later rounds.
Newman said it would be a shame if the fight overshadows the show’s original mission of finding new talent, an achievement that could prove the biggest boost to “Idol” ratings.
“All these shows have become more about the contestants than the judges. It would be nice if ‘American Idol,’ as the one that started it all, got the focus back on the contestants.
“Ten years ago, people were really excited when they were voting for (‘Idol’ winners) Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood. There needs to be a powerhouse group of contestants who really capture people’s interest, and who you want to root for,” Newman said.
The new judges say that’s what they want too.
“When I watch these shows and someone says yes to a person who clearly doesn’t deserve it, it bothers me,” Minaj told TV reporters last week. “And I want to jump through the TV because I feel like, for the people who are talented, it kind of minimizes how talented they really are. So when I came on, I didn’t really have a problem with saying no, because I kind of felt like we’re looking for the best of the best.”
Aspiring rappers – never a group that has been embraced by “Idol” producers or fans – will get short shrift.
“I definitely don’t think a rapper should be in this competition … When I got involved in the competition, I specifically said, I hope they didn’t try to do that because I was on the show, because I think America loves that it’s an honest singing competition,” Minaj said.
“American Idol” kicks off on Wednesday on Fox with a two-hour premiere, followed by a one-hour show on Thursday. Fox is a unit of News Corp.
(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Stacey Joyce)
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NEW YORK (AP) — A large study offers reassuring news for pregnant women: It’s safe to get a flu shot.
The research found no evidence that the vaccine increases the risk of losing a fetus, and may prevent some deaths. Getting the flu while pregnant makes fetal death more likely, the Norwegian research showed.
The flu vaccine has long been considered safe for pregnant women and their fetus. U.S. health officials began recommending flu shots for them more than five decades ago, following a higher death rate in pregnant women during a flu pandemic in the late 1950s.
But the study is perhaps the largest look at the safety and value of flu vaccination during pregnancy, experts say.
“This is the kind of information we need to provide our patients when discussing that flu vaccine is important for everyone, particularly for pregnant women,” said Dr. Geeta Swamy, a researcher who studies vaccines and pregnant women at Duke University Medical Center.
The study was released by the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday as the United States and Europe suffer through an early and intense flu season. A U.S. obstetricians group this week reminded members that it’s not too late for their pregnant patients to get vaccinated.
The new study was led by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. It tracked pregnancies in Norway in 2009 and 2010 during an international epidemic of a new swine flu strain.
Before 2009, pregnant women in Norway were not routinely advised to get flu shots. But during the pandemic, vaccinations against the new strain were recommended for those in their second or third trimester.
The study focused on more than 113,000 pregnancies. Of those, 492 ended in the death of the fetus. The researchers calculated that the risk of fetal death was nearly twice as high for women who weren’t vaccinated as it was in vaccinated mothers.
U.S. flu vaccination rates for pregnant women grew in the wake of the 2009 swine flu pandemic, from less than 15 percent to about 50 percent. But health officials say those rates need to be higher to protect newborns as well. Infants can’t be vaccinated until 6 months, but studies have shown they pick up some protection if their mothers got the annual shot, experts say.
Because some drugs and vaccines can be harmful to a fetus, there is a long-standing concern about giving any medicine to a pregnant woman, experts acknowledged. But this study should ease any worries about the flu shot, said Dr. Denise Jamieson of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The vaccine is safe,” she said.
___
Online:
Medical journal: http://www.nejm.org
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The ANA flight made an emergency landing at Takamatsu
Japan’s two main airlines have grounded their Boeing 787 Dreamliners after one was forced to make an emergency landing because of battery problems.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) grounded its fleet of 17 Dreamliners when its flight NH 692 from Yamaguchi Ube was forced to land shortly after take-off.
Japan Airlines followed suit, saying it would ground its fleet of seven 787s from 16 January until further notice.
This is the latest setback for Boeing and its problem-hit Dreamliner planes.
On Wall Street, shares in Boeing closed down more than 3% following the Japanese announcements on Wednesday.
In recent weeks, Dreamliners have suffered issues including fuel leaks, a cracked cockpit window, brake problems and an electrical fire.
Continue reading the main story
Analysis
There have been six separate safety incidents with Japanese-owned 787s in the last week and a half. But they are not all equal.
The incident today was by far the most serious. Smoke inside an aircraft while in-flight is always a serious matter. That’s why the plane was so quickly diverted, and probably why ANA and JAL have now ordered their fleets to be grounded.
It also looks like this incident may not be isolated. It appears very similar to an electrical fire on board a Japan Airlines 787 in the United States last week.
The source of that fire was the 787′s lithium Ion battery pack. All the way back in 2007, the US Federal Aviation Administration expressed concern about the installation of Lithium Ion batteries on board the 787 because of their known problem with so-called “thermal runaway”. It’s a problem that has caused mobile phones and laptop computers to catch fire in the past.
The 787 is not the only aircraft to use Lithium Ion battery packs. The Airbus A380 uses a smaller number. And the upcoming Airbus A350 will use a much larger number
“You’re nearing the tipping point where they need to regard this as a serious crisis,” said Richard Aboulafia, a senior analyst with the Teal Group in Fairfax, Virginia.
“This is going to change people’s perception of the aircraft if they don’t act quickly.”
Battery malfunction
On Wednesday, ANA’s flight NH 692 left Yamaguchi Ube in western Japan at 08:10 local time (23:10 GMT) and headed for Tokyo’s Haneda airport.
Earlier reports that smoke was seen in the cockpit were inaccurate, ANA said. The pilots saw a warning on their computer screen telling them there was smoke inside one of the electrical compartments, the airline said. The source of the smoke is not yet known.
The pilots also received a warning that there was a fault in the battery system. ANA said the battery in the forward cargo hold was the same type as the one involved in a fire on another Dreamliner at a US airport last week.
The ANA flight landed at Takamatsu airport at 08:47 on Wednesday after the pilot saw an error message in the cockpit.
“There was a battery alert in the cockpit and there was an odd smell detected in the cockpit and cabin, and [the pilot] decided to make an emergency landing,” said Osamu Shinobe, an ANA vice president, at a news conference.
ANA said that the 129 passengers and eight crew were evacuated, with a number of people sustaining minor injuries.
The Reuters news agency reported that five people were injured, while Bloomberg said that one person was sent to hospital. ANA officials were not immediately available to confirm the figures.
The BBC’s correspondent in Tokyo, Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, said that local television footage showed emergency chutes were deployed from the plane. There were also fire trucks on the runway.
Paul Lewis, a spokesman for Boeing, told the BBC that the planemaker was “aware of the diversion of a 787 operated by ANA to Takamatsu in western Japan”.
He added that Boeing “will be working with our customer and the appropriate regulatory agencies”.
Dreamliner’s technical problems Continue reading the main story
CLICKABLE
Fuel tanks
Electronics
Engines
Brakes
Cockpit
Fuel tanks
8 Jan 2013: Take-off aborted after about 150 litres of fuel spill from Japan Airlines Dreamliner in Boston
13 Jan: Same aircraft experiences another, separate fuel leak while undergoing tests in Tokyo
Electronics
4 Dec 2012: A United Airlines 787 makes emergency landing in New Orleans after electrical problems
13 Dec: Qatar Airways 787 grounded after electrical power distribution problems
17 Dec: United finds electrical problem in second aircraft
7 Jan 2013: Fire starts in lithium ion battery pack of Japan Airlines 787 in Boston
8 Jan: United Airlines also finds faulty wiring to battery
Engines
July 2012: Fan shaft on engine fails during runway tests at Charleston International Airport
11 Jan 2013: Oil leak found in engine of All Nippon Airways 787 flight
Brakes
9 Jan 2013: All Nippon Airways cancels flight when computer wrongly reports a brake problem
Cockpit
11 Jan 2013: Cockpit window on an All Nippon Airways Dreamliner cracks during a Japanese domestic flight. The plane lands safely with no injuries
15 Jan: Another Dreamliner operated by ANA makes an emergency landing at Takamatsu in Japan after a smoke alert goes off
Market Reaction
The concerns have spread beyond Japan, however, not least because the Dreamliner was seen as Boeing’s flagship new aeroplane and had attracted orders from many of the world’s biggest and best-known airlines.
The 787 is said to be one of the most fuel-efficient in the industry, and Boeing delivered 46 Dreamliners to customers in 2012.
Following Wednesday’s landing, India’s aviation regulator said it would review the Dreamliner’s safety and talk to parts makers.
The regulator said it was in contact with Boeing but as yet had no plans to ground the five Dreamliners that are currently being used by Air India.
Continue reading the main story
Dreamliners in use
Air India: 5
All Nippon Airways (Japan): 17
Ethiopian Airlines: 4
Japan Airlines: 7
LAN Airlines (Chile): 3
Lot Polish Airlines: 2
Qatar Airways: 5
United Airlines (US) 6
Total: 49
Source: Boeing
Australia’s Qantas Airways said its order for 15 Dreamliners remained on track. Its subsidiary Jetstar is due to take delivery of the first of its aircraft in the second half of this year.
United Airlines is the only US carrier currently flying Dreamliners, and the carrier said it was not taking any immediate action.
Closer look
Even before Wednesday’s emergency landing, Boeing was facing an inquiry by Japanese and US authorities over its Dreamliner issues.
Last week, the US Federal Aviation Administration started a joint review with Boeing of the design, manufacturing and assembly of the Dreamliner.
On Tuesday, Japanese authorities said they would conduct an inquiry after two successive fuel leaks on a different 787 operated by Japan Airlines.
On 8 January, Japan Airlines reported that a fire broke out on a 787 shortly after it landed in Boston. There have also been reports of brake issues.
Inside the cockpit of the Dreamliner
“It is not abnormal for new aircraft to have some teething problems,” said Chris de Lavigne of Frost and Sullivan in Singapore.
“There were initial issues with the Airbus A380 as well. Look where it is today; it is flying successfully and everyone seems to be happy with it.”
However, he added that a lot would depend on the outcome of the two investigations.
“If it turns out to be a major issue and requires re-engineering to be done, then you may need to ground some of the planes or even the entire fleet.”
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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico’s legislature is expected to approve a long sought-after bill that would make it a crime to discriminate against people based on their gender or sexual orientation.
The bill was submitted Tuesday by Senator Ramon Luis Nieves of the Popular Democratic Party, which gained control of the Senate and House of Representatives after November’s general election.
The bill aims to protect people in the U.S. territory from being discriminated at work, in public places, and during transactions including renting or selling property.
“A human being’s dignity cannot be violated,” said Nieves, who was flanked by supporters including Pedro Peters Maldonado, a San Juan legislator who is Puerto Rico’s first openly gay elected official.
A similar proposal was approved by the House of Representatives in recent years, but was rejected by the Senate, which was then controlled by the pro-statehood New Progressive Party.
Human rights organizations have long demanded such a bill, saying that many gay, lesbian and transgender people in the conservative U.S. territory are at the mercy of homophobic attitudes. Most government departments already have their own anti-discriminatory policies, but human rights activists say they are often not enforced.
The bill comes a week after another legislator submitted a bill demanding that all partners, regardless of their sexual orientation or civil status, be covered by domestic violence laws.
Legislators are expected to debate both bills in upcoming weeks.
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