Sprint's other prepaid provider finally gets Apple's latest smartphones. It's both the latest and one of the last carriers to offer the two devices.
Apple's iPhone 5C.
(Credit: CNET)
Apple's iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C are finally making their way to Boost Mobile.
Boost, a unit of Sprint, said Monday that Apple's latest smartphones will be available on November 8. It's both the latest and one of the last carriers to offer the two phones.
Apple typically pushes its new iPhones to the large big-box retailers and national wireless carriers before expanding the distribution to partners focused on prepayment customers. Virgin Mobile, Sprint's other prepaid business, got the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C last month. A smaller number of users purchase the iPhone prepaid because customers are required to pay the higher unsubsidized price.
Boost declined to provide its prices for the iPhone 5S or iPhone 5C.
Contact: Rachel Steinhardt rsteinhardt@licr.org 212-450-1582 Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research
A study of how cancer cells get energy and raw materials for growth from glucose opens doors to new therapies
October 21, 2013, New York, NY Ludwig researchers have elucidated a key mechanism by which cancer cells change how they metabolize glucose to generate the energy and raw materials required to sustain runaway growth.
Published online in Cell Metabolism, the Ludwig Cancer Research study also reveals how the aggressive brain cancer glioblastoma harnesses the mechanism to resist targeted therapies that should disrupt this capabilityknown as the Warburg effectand suggests how such resistance might be overcome. In detailing the molecular circuitry of the phenomenon, the researchers uncover several possible targets for new drugs that might disrupt cancer cell metabolism to destroy tumors.
"Cancer and other fast-growing cells extract energy from glucose using a process that ordinarily kicks in only when oxygen is in short supply," explains Ludwig scientist Paul Mischel, MD, who is based at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. "This allows them to thread the needle: they get the energy they need from glucose but also retain the carbon-based building blocks for molecules like lipids, proteins and DNA, which dividing cells need in large quantities."
Until recently, relatively little was known about the biochemical circuits that induce this vital metabolic shift in cancer cells. Earlier this year, however, Mischel and his colleagues published a study describing how an aberrant growth signal found in many glioblastomas is channeled to induce the Warburg effect. That signaling cascade, which involves the key proteins PI3 kinase (PI3K), Akt and mTORC1, culminates in the activation of a transcription factora controller of gene expressionnamed c-Myc. "In many cancer cells," says Mischel, "c-Myc seems to be a lever that links growth signaling pathways with the machinery that controls the uptake and use of nutrients."
In the current study, Mischel, who did the research in collaboration with Ludwig researchers Kenta Masui, MD, PhD and Web Cavenee, PhD, both also at UC San Diego, identifies a second interacting biochemical cascade that is independent of the PI3K-Akt-mTORC1 signal and uses distinct biochemical circuits and an unusual mechanism to turn on c-Myc. This pathway, Mischel and his colleagues report, depends on signals from a protein complex named mTORC2. The researchers show that when mTORC2 is switched on, it silences two other transcription factors, FoxO1 and FoxO3, which would otherwise suppress the activation of c-Myc in the nucleus of the cell. Further, they learned that the silencing of the FoxOs occurs through a chemical modificationknown as acetylationa process that has not been well understood.
The study has significant implications for cancer therapy. "Many drugs have recently been devised to block PI3K-Akt-mTORC1 signaling," explains Mischel. "What we show is that when you use those drugs, you will probably drive the acetylation of the FoxOs through mTORC2, and inadvertently fuel the Warburg effect. In other words, this new pathway is likely to be responsible for resistance to those drugs. Our data suggest that to disrupt the Warburg effect and kill cancer cells, you have to develop therapies that target both signaling pathways. That's the main clinical ramification of this finding."
Mischel and his colleagues find that glioblastomas that rely predominantly on the mTORC2-mediated pathway tend to have the worse prognosis. Further, their studies suggest that lung cancer cells, too, use this pathway to induce the Warburg effect.
"Increasingly," says Mischel, "we're using glioblastoma as a system to understand a variety of other cancers and, in fact, this finding has broader relevance because the signaling pathways identified here are conserved across cancer types." Different cancers, he explains, are fueled by different types of mutations to growth factor receptors, but the signals these mutated receptors transmit tend to converge on a subset of signaling proteins.
"Our identification of the key moleculesand novel signaling mechanismsinvolved in this pathway, has opened up a landscape rich in possible targets for novel cancer drugs," says Mischel. His laboratory, he says, is now working with other Ludwig researchers to identify small drug-like molecules that might disrupt key steps of the mTORC2-mediated pathway.
###
About Ludwig Cancer Research
Ludwig Cancer Research is an international collaborative network of acclaimed scientists with a 40-year legacy of pioneering cancer discoveries. Ludwig combines basic research with the ability to translate its discoveries and conduct clinical trials to accelerate the development of new cancer diagnostics and therapies. Since 1971, Ludwig has invested more than $1.6 billion in life-changing cancer research through the not-for-profit Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and the six U.S.-based Ludwig Centers. http://www.ludwigcancerresearch.org
Paul Mischel is a member of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and is based at the University of California, San Diego. Lead author Kenta Masui is a post-doctoral fellow in the Mischel lab. Web Cavenee is the director of Ludwig San Diego.
For further information please contact Rachel Steinhardt, rsteinhardt@licr.org or +1-212-450-1582.
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Targeting cancer's sweet tooth
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
21-Oct-2013
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Contact: Rachel Steinhardt rsteinhardt@licr.org 212-450-1582 Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research
A study of how cancer cells get energy and raw materials for growth from glucose opens doors to new therapies
October 21, 2013, New York, NY Ludwig researchers have elucidated a key mechanism by which cancer cells change how they metabolize glucose to generate the energy and raw materials required to sustain runaway growth.
Published online in Cell Metabolism, the Ludwig Cancer Research study also reveals how the aggressive brain cancer glioblastoma harnesses the mechanism to resist targeted therapies that should disrupt this capabilityknown as the Warburg effectand suggests how such resistance might be overcome. In detailing the molecular circuitry of the phenomenon, the researchers uncover several possible targets for new drugs that might disrupt cancer cell metabolism to destroy tumors.
"Cancer and other fast-growing cells extract energy from glucose using a process that ordinarily kicks in only when oxygen is in short supply," explains Ludwig scientist Paul Mischel, MD, who is based at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. "This allows them to thread the needle: they get the energy they need from glucose but also retain the carbon-based building blocks for molecules like lipids, proteins and DNA, which dividing cells need in large quantities."
Until recently, relatively little was known about the biochemical circuits that induce this vital metabolic shift in cancer cells. Earlier this year, however, Mischel and his colleagues published a study describing how an aberrant growth signal found in many glioblastomas is channeled to induce the Warburg effect. That signaling cascade, which involves the key proteins PI3 kinase (PI3K), Akt and mTORC1, culminates in the activation of a transcription factora controller of gene expressionnamed c-Myc. "In many cancer cells," says Mischel, "c-Myc seems to be a lever that links growth signaling pathways with the machinery that controls the uptake and use of nutrients."
In the current study, Mischel, who did the research in collaboration with Ludwig researchers Kenta Masui, MD, PhD and Web Cavenee, PhD, both also at UC San Diego, identifies a second interacting biochemical cascade that is independent of the PI3K-Akt-mTORC1 signal and uses distinct biochemical circuits and an unusual mechanism to turn on c-Myc. This pathway, Mischel and his colleagues report, depends on signals from a protein complex named mTORC2. The researchers show that when mTORC2 is switched on, it silences two other transcription factors, FoxO1 and FoxO3, which would otherwise suppress the activation of c-Myc in the nucleus of the cell. Further, they learned that the silencing of the FoxOs occurs through a chemical modificationknown as acetylationa process that has not been well understood.
The study has significant implications for cancer therapy. "Many drugs have recently been devised to block PI3K-Akt-mTORC1 signaling," explains Mischel. "What we show is that when you use those drugs, you will probably drive the acetylation of the FoxOs through mTORC2, and inadvertently fuel the Warburg effect. In other words, this new pathway is likely to be responsible for resistance to those drugs. Our data suggest that to disrupt the Warburg effect and kill cancer cells, you have to develop therapies that target both signaling pathways. That's the main clinical ramification of this finding."
Mischel and his colleagues find that glioblastomas that rely predominantly on the mTORC2-mediated pathway tend to have the worse prognosis. Further, their studies suggest that lung cancer cells, too, use this pathway to induce the Warburg effect.
"Increasingly," says Mischel, "we're using glioblastoma as a system to understand a variety of other cancers and, in fact, this finding has broader relevance because the signaling pathways identified here are conserved across cancer types." Different cancers, he explains, are fueled by different types of mutations to growth factor receptors, but the signals these mutated receptors transmit tend to converge on a subset of signaling proteins.
"Our identification of the key moleculesand novel signaling mechanismsinvolved in this pathway, has opened up a landscape rich in possible targets for novel cancer drugs," says Mischel. His laboratory, he says, is now working with other Ludwig researchers to identify small drug-like molecules that might disrupt key steps of the mTORC2-mediated pathway.
###
About Ludwig Cancer Research
Ludwig Cancer Research is an international collaborative network of acclaimed scientists with a 40-year legacy of pioneering cancer discoveries. Ludwig combines basic research with the ability to translate its discoveries and conduct clinical trials to accelerate the development of new cancer diagnostics and therapies. Since 1971, Ludwig has invested more than $1.6 billion in life-changing cancer research through the not-for-profit Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and the six U.S.-based Ludwig Centers. http://www.ludwigcancerresearch.org
Paul Mischel is a member of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and is based at the University of California, San Diego. Lead author Kenta Masui is a post-doctoral fellow in the Mischel lab. Web Cavenee is the director of Ludwig San Diego.
For further information please contact Rachel Steinhardt, rsteinhardt@licr.org or +1-212-450-1582.
[
| E-mail
Share
]
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Meteorologist Eric Holthaus has made his career monitoring the Earth's climate, and he's alarmed at what he sees. After reading a new, bleak international report on climate change, Holthaus has decided one important way to reduce his carbon footprint is to give up airplane travel for good.
Eric Holthaus has made a career out of monitoring the Earth's climate. But lately, the meteorologist hasn't been liking what he sees.
Earlier this month, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a bleak report assessing the effects of carbon emissions on the Earth's climate. After reading the IPCC report, Holthaus vowed to dramatically reduce his own carbon footprint by giving up airplane travel for good. He joined me in the studio to talk about this decision and why he's making it now.
ERIC HOLTHAUS: It struck me that morning, the morning the report came out. If I'm talking about the weather and I'm writing about the weather every day, I need to kind of put my money where my mouth is. Scientists are now more confident about the fact that humans are changing the climate than they are that smoking causes cancer. So I brought that down to my level, the human level, and say, what does that mean for me?
And when I plugged in my lifestyle into a carbon footprint calculator, I was kind of shocked to know that flying was about 50 percent of my emissions. So I thought I need to do something big here. And I decided to not fly again.
RATH: So, Eric, I mean, I'm sure this has occurred to you, but there's obviously a big problem, which is that most people aren't going to have the same reaction as you. Most people aren't going to even have read the IPCC report. So if it's just a handful of people like you that are changing behavior, how are we going to fix this problem?
HOLTHAUS: You know, that is a very good point. We don't all have to give up flying. For a lot of people, it may be something else. For example, an animal-intensive diet uses more carbon emissions because you have to have food for the animals and then the animals become food themselves. So it may be cutting back on meat one day a week, or it may be carpooling to work, doing something that makes sense to you. And to me, it makes sense to put the climate ahead of flying.
RATH: Is jet fuel particularly inefficient or particularly bad? So if I were to say travel from Los Angeles to Washington, if I were to drive and burn (unintelligible) of gasoline versus flying across the country, is one especially worse than the other?
HOLTHAUS: Flying from San Francisco to New York is about the same as driving a Hummer the entire way. If you had four people in the Hummer and drove cross country, then you would be four times more efficient than flying.
RATH: Well, I think for a lot of people, it almost feels kind of impossible. I mean, I would say even for myself, looking at my life the way it is, I can't imagine not having air travel. So what do you do? I mean, have you - do you just travel less? How have you adjusted?
HOLTHAUS: Yeah. I think that's going to be a lot of it is just traveling less. Flying in a plane always felt a little bit unnatural to me. It's just a miracle to me that you can go 800 miles an hour and cross a continent in the span of a morning. I really honestly feel like these past 100 years are kind of a special time in human history, that we have been able to do those things.
Right now, we are learning the cost of those technologies. And in order to have a healthy climate, in order to have a healthy planet, we will have to make smarter decisions.
RATH: Eric Holthaus is a meteorologist, and he has decided to stop flying in order to reduce his carbon footprint. Eric, thank you so much.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.
A woman gestures as residents gather at the site of a car bomb attack in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013. Police officials said the Friday night blast took place in the capital's eastern Mashtal neighborhood. Violence in Iraq has escalated sharply since April, 2013 following a deadly crackdown by security forces on a camp for Sunni protesters in the northern town of Hawija. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
A woman gestures as residents gather at the site of a car bomb attack in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013. Police officials said the Friday night blast took place in the capital's eastern Mashtal neighborhood. Violence in Iraq has escalated sharply since April, 2013 following a deadly crackdown by security forces on a camp for Sunni protesters in the northern town of Hawija. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
A woman inspects the site of a car bomb attack in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013. Police officials said the Friday night blast took place in the capital's eastern Mashtal neighborhood. Violence in Iraq has escalated sharply since April, 2013 following a deadly crackdown by security forces on a camp for Sunni protesters in the northern town of Hawija. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
BAGHDAD (AP) — A suicide bomber slammed his explosive-laden car Sunday night into a busy cafe in Iraq's capital, part of a day of violence across the country that killed 45 people, authorities said.
The bombing at the cafe in Baghdad's primarily Shiite Amil neighborhood happened as it was full of customers. The cafe and a nearby juice shop is a favorite hang out in the neighborhood for young people, who filled the area at the time of the explosions.
The blast killed 35 people and wounded 45, Iraqi officials said.
Violence has been on the rise in Iraq following a deadly crackdown by security forces on a Sunni protest camp in the northern town of Hawijah in April. At least 385 have died in attacks in Iraq so far this month, according to an Associated Press count.
In a village north of Baghdad, a car bomb targeted a police officer's house, killing his father, brother and five nephews, officials said. Six others were wounded in the blast, which happened when the officer was not at home.
Security forces meanwhile foiled an attack on the local council of the western town of Rawah by five would-be suicide bombers disguised in police uniforms, said Muthana Ismail, head of the local security committee.
Ismail said two attackers were shot while the rest blew up themselves up outside. Two police officers and an official were killed, while 20 people were wounded, he said.
Rawha is about 330 kilometers (200 miles) northwest of Baghdad.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Sunday's attacks, though car bombings and gun assaults are favorite tactics of al-Qaida's local branch. It frequently targets Shiites, whom it considers heretics, and those seen as closely allied to the Shiite-led government in Baghdad.
Hospital officials confirmed the casualty figures for all attacks. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.
___
Associated Press writers Sinan Salaheddin and Qassim Abdul-Zahra contributed to this report.
Audie Cornish talks with Michael Dimock, director of the Pew Research Center for People and the Press about the Pew poll that came out Wednesday on the Tea Party and their stance on the shut down, debt ceiling, and a Tuesday poll looking at the broader GOP on the same issues.
Politicians and pollsters alike are watching to see how all this plays out. The Pew Research Center has just finished a poll to gauge the effect the shutdown and the debt ceiling debate have had on the Tea Party's image.
And joining us is Michael Dimock, director of Pew. Welcome back, Michael.
MICHAEL DIMOCK: Thanks for having me.
CORNISH: So, before we get into the numbers, just give us a snapshot of what you would consider your average Tea Party conservative. Who are they?
DIMOCK: Well, you know, the Tea Party membership is hard to define. There's no card that you get when you join the Tea Party. So we have typically just asked people at the end of our polls, just in general, do you agree with the Tea Party, disagree with the Tea Party, or don't you have an opinion either way. And what we find is about 4-in-10 Republican say they agree with the Tea Party.
These people tend to be a little more educated, a little higher income, a little whiter than nonwhite - although the Republican Party doesn't have a lot of nonwhites to start with. And their attitudes about how to approach politics and the issues of the day are very different.
CORNISH: So, Michael Dimock, the Pew has also looked at how people are viewing the debt ceiling. And in a separate poll, you asked whether people even think raising the debt ceiling is essential. How to Tea Party numbers compare there?
DIMOCK: Yeah. I mean the majority of Tea Partiers years don't think the debt ceiling needs to be raised tomorrow. Not only does it not need to be raised tomorrow, it doesn't need to be raised at all in the view of the majority of Tea Party Republicans. They really see this as a threat to America's fiscal soundness. They don't want to see increased spending and they're willing to really go to the mat on this.
CORNISH: But how does that compare to, say, independents or Republicans more broadly?
DIMOCK: Right. Right. I mean about half of independents told us that it's essential to deal with the debt ceiling by tomorrow, and only a quarter think that it doesn't need to be raised at all. Among Democrats, two-thirds say we've got to deal with this tomorrow. And very few think that this is just a non-issue the way most Tea Partiers do.
CORNISH: One of the most interesting numbers that came up is that among Tea Party Republicans, three-quarters, 76 percent, say their members of Congress should vote against a bill that they think is in the best interest of the country if a majority of the people they represent are against it. Help us make sense of that.
DIMOCK: Yeah. Well, one characteristic of Tea Partiers is they have a sort of populist view. They really want members to listen to their constituents very directly. And even if a member thinks it's in the best interest of the country to do one thing, but the constituents want the other thing, 75 percent of Tea Partiers say: You've got to listen to your constituents even in that circumstance. And I think that's what we're seeing today.
CORNISH: So what does that mean for their favorability numbers? What have you seen in terms of how the Tea Party is viewed over time?
DIMOCK: We've seen a drop in favorable opinions of the Tea Party just within the last few months. In June, 37 percent said they had a favorable impression generally of the Tea Party. That's down to 30 percent - it's the lowest that we've measured. We're seeing the unfavorable opinions of the Tea Party even reaching 49 percent - the highest that we've measured.
CORNISH: And to put this all in context, one thing you ask people is whether or not the Tea Party is part of the GOP. Tell us the answer to there and what it says about what's going on with Republicans generally.
DIMOCK: The answer is there is no answer. People don't know what the Tea Party is. Even among folks who agree with the Tea Party, 41 percent say it's part of the Republican Party; 52 percent say it's separate and independent from the Republican Party. There's not really a consensus about what the Tea Party is, whether it's kind of an outside groups trying to steer policy, or whether it's working within the Republican Party itself.
CORNISH: Michael Dimock, he's director of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. Michael, thank you.
DIMOCK: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
CORNISH: You're listening to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.
Windows 8.1 day rolls along, and, while I assume that you have already updated if you were a Windows 8 user, Microsoft is continuing to speak out about its new software. The company has again taken to Reddit to answer questions from its community.
The full discussion is here, but since you are busy, below are the best pieces from the session. Answers are verbatim, questions are edited as needed from the original thread.
Q: Does Microsoft plan on building the Windows equivalent of NewsStand or iBooks for Windows? It would be nice to not rely on Kindle and others, and instead be able to purchase books with my Microsoft account.
Microsoft: Definitely on the radar and something we’re working on! [Source]
Q: Can we expect Windows 8.2 next October? Will Microsoft release yearly updates?
Microsoft: Hi there, our goal is to continue to deliver updates on a regular basis to respond to customer feedback and improve and enrich the Windows experience. [Source]
Q: What about users of the Enterprise build of Windows 8? Where is our new code?
Microsoft: Good news – Enterprise will be available today for SA customers. An eval edition will go up on TechNet today as well. [Source]
Q: Why did you guys take out Flickr and Facebook integration in Photos application in Windows 8.1?
Microsoft: In Windows 8, we needed to provide a way for folks to view their photos on other services knowing there would be few (if any) apps in the store at launch that would do so. Now there are many apps in the store that offer ways to view photos on other services and just released today is the Facebook app from Facebook. The Facebook app offers great ways to view and engage socially with photos on Facebook. We welcome Flickr to do the same. In addition, the People app still offers the ability to socially engage with your friends and even your own photos. [Source]
Q: Tell us something about Windows 8.1 we don’t know.
Microsoft: The work never stops – we’ve been working on 8.1 since right after we shipped 8 last year – we’ve been making improvements right up until recently. [Source]
Windows 8.1 is out, and from the smoke signals I am currently monitoring, it’s doing well in its first day of general availability in terms of activity and use. We’ll have market share data soon enough, but for now, it appears that Microsoft is having at least a passable launch day for its new code.
Hillary Clinton accepted the Elton John AIDS Foundation's first-ever Founder's Award at the organization's annual benefit in New York on Tuesday night.
Although she was honored by the accolade, Clinton echoed a theme expressed by many of the stars in attendance: that there's much more work to be done to combat the disease.
"We still have so far to go," the former secretary of state said in her acceptance speech. "There are so many challenges that confront us. If we are to continue to build on the progress -- and yes, there has been progress -- then we have to continue to advocate and demand for governments, international organizations, foundations, all of us, to be persistent … and ensure that we don't falter."
"If we're going to beat AIDS, we have to reach out to everyone," she added.
Elton John also received an award at Tuesday's gala, from the Harvard AIDS Initiative.
"I really hope that all of you will join me in being equally stubborn when it comes to ending AIDS because that is what will be required to end this epidemic," he told the well-heeled crowd at Cipriani Wall Street in lower Manhattan. "We're going to have to stubbornly insist on full funding for all proven methods of preventing HIV infection. … Treatment for everyone. Treatment for all. …We're going to have to keep yelling and screaming about the way our country treats racial and sexual minorities and, of course, the poor. We're going to have to be downright stubborn, not just this year, not next year, not the next, but for many years to come."
Indeed, John vowed to be stubborn about AIDS for the next 20 years if necessary, but he said he doesn't think it will take that long to achieve an AIDS-free generation and world.
Nevertheless, John added, "We have so much more work to do and we'll be there until the bitter end."
Other honorees at the event, which raised $3.45 million, included Food Network star Sandra Lee, John's longtime agent Howard Rose and mogul Ron Perelman, who prompted cheers from the crowd when he referred to Clinton as "the next president of the United States." Clinton looked nonchalant when the camera cut to her, but after Perelman continued to sing her praises and said the highly rumored candidate has his vote, Clinton could be seen mouthing "Oh my God," as if she couldn't believe all of the attention.
Matt Lauer was a last-minute substitute host at the event after Anderson Cooper had to go to Washington to cover the debt-ceiling crisis, which Lauer joked "sounded like a lame-ass excuse."
Earlier, The Hollywood Reporter asked Lauer what the entertainment industry could do to continue to raise awareness of AIDS and combat the disease.
"Talk, talk, talk, spread the word, get out there, come to events like this and raise money," Lauer said. "I mean, when you stop and think about what Elton has done in 20 years … a lot of it is something you can't put a price tag on. It's just a discussion and getting out there and putting his reputation on the line and spreading the word that way."
Tony-winning actress Judith Light echoed Lauer's call for a continued dialogue on the issue.
"We did and we do so much in terms of the awareness, and I don't think it's just the entertainment industry that has to do something, I think it's about those of us who are committed to this issue and have been committed to this issue for a long time, talking to other people and finding ways, just like Elton has, to make it a prominent issue again, to say to people, 'This is not over,' " she said.
The former Who's the Boss star, who's performed on Broadway for the past few years, told us that she recently starred in a pilot for Amazon, making her just the latest actor to join the Internet revolution.
Meanwhile, fellow Broadway alum Jeremy Jordan, who left his starring role in Newsies after he joined the second-season cast of NBC's now-canceled Smash, said he misses the stage and hopes to "come back as soon as possible." In fact, he's doing a weeklong Stephen Sondheim show in November called A Bed and a Chair.
"It's only a week, and it's not Broadway, but it will be nice to come back to New York for a hot sec," he said.
Other celebs in attendance included Billy Joel, Alec Baldwin, Allison Williams, Courtney Love, Lisa Marie Presley and rock band Heart, who performed at the end of the night.
Rugby star Ben Cohen may not be a household name here in the US but just one look at his photospread for Attitude magazine proves that he should be … oh yes, he deffo should be. Cohen has been a very vocal, very open straight ally for the GLBT community and as such was named as the Ally of the Year by Attitude magazine. Altho Cohen is most famous for his rugby skills, he is probably just as famous to his admirers for his love of being photographed wearing as little clothing as possible … a fact that Attitude magazine loves to exploit every chance they get. Cohen is featured on one of the covers of this month’s new issue and as you can see in the gallery presented here, the accompanying photospread features Ben getting ready to attend a black tie event. Thankfully, the shoot starts in the bath and goes from there :) Click thru the gallery, get to know Ben Cohen a little bit better. I think you’ll see why I’ve been a fan of Ben’s for so long. Can I get a WOOF WOOF up in this joint?
Mayor Bob Filner of San Diego speaks at a news conference in July.
Bill Wechter/Getty Images
Mayor Bob Filner of San Diego speaks at a news conference in July.
Bill Wechter/Getty Images
Former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner pleaded guilty to three criminal charges on Tuesday that stem from allegations of sexual harassment by three unnamed women.
The Democratic mayor and nine-term congressman, if you remember, was forced to resign from his office after allegations of harassment mounted over the summer. Filner left office, declaring his innocence, saying his resignation was a "political coup," orchestrated by a "lynch mob."
"I have never sexually harassed anyone," he said at the time.
The San Diego Union Tribune reports that Filner pleaded guilty today to "one criminal count of false imprisonment by violence, fraud, menace and deceit and two misdemeanor counts of battery."
"Mr. Filner was the first Democratic elected mayor in San Diego in more than 20 years. As part of his stepping down, the city agreed to pay most of his legal fees and punitive damages in any sexual harassment lawsuit. The agreement did not shield him from the criminal prosecution announced on Tuesday.
"The state attorney general's office took over the prosecution of the case at the request of the San Diego district attorney, Bonnie Dumanis, a Republican, who lost to Mr. Filner in the mayoral race."
It's hard to picture Paul McCartney — one of history's most celebrated songwriters, a figure of incalculable importance to modern music and pop culture — fretting over anything, least of all filling arena seats. But as NPR's Robert Siegel discovered, a few circumstances can still make the ex-Beatle sweat.
McCartney's latest solo album, New, is out Tuesday. He recently spoke with Siegel about historical revisionists, dividing his new songs among four superstar producers, and why a little insecurity can be a successful artist's best friend. Hear the radio version at the audio link, and read more of their conversation below.
I want to ask you about a particular song on New called "Early Days."Tell me about this one.
So many times, I will have people tell me what I did when I was younger. There's so much being written [about] the early Beatles period, and even pre-Beatles period. And people will say, "Oh, he did that because that, and that happened because of that." And I'll be reading and think, "Well, that didn't happen" and, "That's not why I did that." Like anyone's history, you remember what went down better than people who weren't there. So I started off with this song — just a nostalgic trip, really. I was remembering John and I in Liverpool as young boys, walking down the street, dressed in black, guitars slung across our backs, trying to get people to listen to our music. Or we'd be in the record shop, listening to new records. All these experiences were in the song. And then I got to the last verse and I thought, "That's all very well, me telling everyone how all this went down, but there are a lot of people who are going to say, 'Well, no — I know what really happened.' "
Listening to this song, I had this image of you as a young man in Liverpool — and then I realized that the sound of the song had me thinking of Austin, Texas, or Nashville [Tenn.]. And the reason that I didn't feel any conflict or any dissonance is because of what you and John did to music 40, 50 years ago: breaking down all kinds of barriers and creating something universal.
People used to ask us, "What kind of music do you like?" And it was like, "American." We listened to a lot of black American music — Motown, particularly, and Stax and Chess. What was fascinating about it was, we would do cover versions — like, "Twist and Shout" was originally by The Isley Brothers. A lot of people think we wrote that song, and I go to great pains to say, "No, no, no. That was the Isleys. They're our heroes." A lot of the white audience that we were appealing to in the '60s hadn't heard this music, so they got introduced to it through us. And of lot of the guys whose music it was would later thank us: "It sounds great, man! I'd forgotten that song 'Money.' " So, it worked all around. They were very happy that we were doing it; we were very happy that they were such a beautiful, strong inspiration; and suddenly, you found barriers were coming down all around you. People were mixing country, blues, R&B, soul, vaudeville. It was all sort of going into this kind of bag.
Is it true that for New, you had four different producers?
I was looking for someone I could do the whole album with, and I thought the best way to do that is, work with some people that I admire and see if one of them jumps out. But in working with the four people — it was Paul Epworth, who's most famous for his work with Adele; Mark Ronson, very famous for his work with Amy Winehouse; Ethan Johns, who did Kings of Leon and Ryan Adams; and then George Martin's son, Giles Martin, who's best known for the work that he did with The Beatles on the show Cirque du Soleil put together in Las Vegas, the Love show. I worked with all of them and decided that I loved them all and didn't want to choose one of them. So I just continued working and did a few tracks with each one.
The worry became, is this going to be a sort of patchwork quilt of an album, and not have the cohesion that I would like it to have? But then I remembered a lot of the Beatles albums were very various, and we did it on purpose: We didn't want the next track to sound like the last one. So I thought, "You know what? There's a precedent here, and this is a good thing." So I just got on with it.
But the original intent had been to have one?
Yeah, it had. With the Beatles, we'd been very spoiled because we had George Martin, who worked for the record label we were going to be signed to. That was very fortunate, because we grew together. We'd throw at him these crazy ideas; he'd throw crazy ideas at us. He was the one who suggested I add a song called "Yesterday," and he suggested that there should be a string quartet on that. And I said, "No, no, no, no, no. We're a rock 'n' roll band. We can't put a string quartet on it." He said, "Bear with me, Paul." Of course, I heard it and just loved it.
Once the Beatles broke up and I didn't have that one producer anymore, I would still work with George and enjoy working with him. As he got to the point where he was going to retire, which he did, [I began to] produce a lot myself; by then, I had learned the game. But for this record, I wanted someone I could throw an idea, like we did with George. So that was the idea: trying to find one producer who would replace George, but in actual fact it turned out to be four.
There's another song from New, "Alligator," that seems to come from a frustrated place. What's up here?
I was talking to someone the other day about this: It seems to me that no matter how famous [you are], no matter how accomplished or how many awards you get, you're always still thinking there's somebody out there who's better than you. I'm often reading a magazine and hearing about someone's new record and I think, "Oh, boy, that's gonna be better than me." It's a very common thing.
I'll accept this as a very common thing, as I've heard from any number of illustrious professors — or broadcasters, for that matter — the fear, "I'll be found out." But, Sir Paul McCartney: You have had success in so many dimensions of music. You really feel a competitive insecurity with somebody else that's coming out with a record?
Unfortunately, yes. One thing that's good about it is, I think it's a good motivator. It keeps you hungry. I think the minute you're full up and have had enough to eat, then that's time to retire. But I agree with you — I should be able to look at my accolades and go, "Come on, Paul. That's enough." But there's still this little voice in the back of my brain that goes, "No, no, no. You could do better. This person over here is excelling. Try harder!" It still can be a little bit intimidating.
These days, if you do a live performance, you must know by now that for the people in the audience, it doesn't matter what you do. The fact that they're seeing you perform at that moment will be sufficient. Do you get nervous? Do you feel any anxiety about, "Will they really hear what I'm doing here and appreciate what I've got?"
I don't get too nervous these days, I must say. I'm much better. I have tricks. I will say to my promoter, "Look, just put one show on sale." He'd say, "We could do two or three, maybe, in this city." I'd say, "Just put one on sale and let me know how it goes." So he'll ring me back and he'll say, "Wow! Sold out Chicago, six minutes!" I'd say, "Now you can put the second show on." I'm quite careful that way. I do like to know that I'm wanted. I'll go to that show that sold out in six minutes, and I will know that those 30,000 people there are superkeen to see me.
I recently did a show in Las Vegas called "I Heart Radio" — it was Miley Cyrus, Justin Timberlake, Bruno Mars, me. It's a great show to do; we were all very excited. But when we got on, it was not like those people were all there to see me. And someone said later, "You know, that was no one's audience. That wasn't Justin's audience, it wasn't Bruno's, it wasn't Miley's, it wasn't yours. It was nobody's." And then someone reminded me, this is Las Vegas: When you check into a hotel, you get complimentary tickets to all the shows if your room's big enough. So suddenly, you realize you're playing to those people who are actually just working out when they're going to get to the casino. That can be a little nerve-wracking, because you're spoiled with your own audience, and now they're not reacting in the same way. So those little insecurities come in. But generally, when it's my own audience, we have a lot of fun. It's where we're a family.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia is rejecting its seat on the U.N. Security Council and says the 15-member body is incapable of resolving world conflicts.
The move came just hours after the kingdom was elected as one of the Council's 10 nonpermanent members.
In a statement carried on Friday by the official Saudi Press Agency, the Saudi Foreign Ministry says the Council has failed in its duties toward Syria.
It says this alleged failure enabled Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime to perpetrate the killings of its people, including with chemical weapons, without facing any deterrents or punishment.
The Ministry also says the Council has not been able to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict over the past decades and has failed to transform the Middle East into a zone free of weapons of mass destruction.
Cell phones can be complicated. Android or iOS? Samsung Galaxy S4 or iPhone 5s? Which apps to get? If you don't need a smartphone, or just want a barebones phone to make voice calls, the Snapfon ezTWO ($79.99 unlocked, $19.99 with service plan) is one of many streamlined options. The phone attempts to appeal to seniors with its emergency features, and it aims to outshine its predecessor, the ezOne-c, which was an Editors' Choice when we tested it two years ago. Unfortunately, some issues hold the ezTWO back, and the Samsung Jitterbug Plus remains our top pick for simple phones.
Design Measuring 4.6 by 2.2 by 0.6 inches (HWD) and weighing 2.3 ounces, the ezTWO is easy to hold, at least compared with current smartphone giants. Despite a plastic build, the handset feels sturdy enough; I had no fear of it breaking apart if it hit the pavement. The face of the phone is dominated by large, rubbery, easy-to-see, and simple-to-push buttons that engage with a satisfying click. You get a basic numeric keypad along with Answer and End Call buttons, a selection rocker, and two selection keys. The tiny 320-by-240 LCD measures 1.8 by 1.5 inches. It's a full color display, but numbers and text are in white on a black background.
On the right panel is a pair of plastic sliders that control the underpowered LED flashlight, and a keypad lock, which prevents accidental key presses. The volume rocker and a dedicated camera button can be found on the left side of the phone. A standard 3.5mm headphone jack and a micro USB port for charging and connecting to a computer are on the bottom of the handset. There are also two electrical contacts on the bottom panel for charging the phone with an optional charging dock ($9.99). Inside, underneath the bottom rear panel, is an empty microSD slot and a removable 1000mAh battery. The ezTWO has 1.26MB of onboard storage, so if you're planning on taking many photos, you'll need a memory card.
The top portion of the back panel of the phone holds the camera lens, and a large, red SOS button. Holding it for a few seconds connects you to a trained OneCall Mobile Response Agent who, in the event of an emergency, will call 911 and alert the contacts you designate. The 24/7 service is available for an additional $15 per month
In the box you get a micro USB cable, a USB wall charger, and a user manual.
Connectivity, Service Plans, and Call Quality The Snapfon ezTWO is a Quad Band GSM world phone running on the 850/900/1800/1900MHz bands. There is no LTE or Wi-Fi, but the phone integrates Bluetooth, so you can use a hands-free headset. I paired it with a BlueAnt Connect Bluetooth headset with no problem. The ezTWO is also compatible with M3/T3 hearing aids.
The ezTWO can be purchased unlocked for use on other GSM networks (like AT&T and T-Mobile here in the states), but using OneCall's operator service requires a voice and OneCall plan. So if you want the full benefits of the phone, you're better off with the accompanying service. Snapfon is in talks with other service providers to make the OneCall service available for use on other carriers, however.
Snapfon provides service using PureTalk USA (which runs on AT&T's network). Plans start at $14.95 with 150 minutes and unlimited rollover, and can get as expensive as $54.95 for unlimited minutes and texts and the OneCall service. To compare, the Samsung Jitterbug's GreatCall service offers a $14.99 per month plan with 50 minutes, and a $79.99 per month plan with unlimited minutes and text messages.
As for call quality, the lack of earpiece volume in the ezOne has been resolved. It's loud enough here, but sound quality isn't great for a phone that concentrates on voice calls. On a busy street in New York, clarity wasn't too bad, but the constant light static noise made my voice sound distant. The person on the other end sounded clear enough, but still a bit muffled. Noise cancellation is nonexistent, with the sound of every passing car getting picked up by the phone's speaker in my tests. Outdoors, the speakerphone was too quiet, and I had to hold the phone near my ear to hear anything clearly.
The ezTWO's battery lasted for 3 hours and 33 minutes of talk time. Which is fine for a phone that, more than likely, won't be too far away from a charger. But it's one of the shorter times we've seen for simple phones. The Jitterbug Plus lasted 5 hours and 37 minutes.
Software What you won't find here is an app store. Or a Web browser. Or even simple games. You can choose from six polyphonic ringtones and store up to 200 text messages. Navigating the menu isn't as easy it should be for a phone that's marketed as "the cell phone for seniors." The black and white menu scheme is straightforward enough, but can be confusing when only two choices are available and either one looks as though it's selected. I would have liked to see an arrow to clarify my selections. When dialing, numbers appear clearly on the screen. The keypad can also provide clear audible feedback, so you're sure you're pressing the right buttons. There's a 250 contact limit and contacts can hold one number each. Assigning speed dial contacts is done in the settings menu, and is easy enough. Just pick a number slot and choose a contact. Holding the corresponding number on the main screen dials that contact.
Camera The Snapfon ezTWO has a 0.3-megapixel rear camera. Needless to say, photos are grainy, and lack detail, but you can send them in text messages. You can adjust filters, white balance, continuous shooting and there's a timer. These settings can be adjusted using the selection keys, but again, it's not simple as you'd expect. The ezTWO does not record video.
Conclusion The Snapfon ezTWO attempts to appeal to seniors, and it does just well enough if safety is your main priority. The camera is poor, the flashlight is dim, and call quality could be better, but if you need help in an emergency, you've got it. Sure, there are options like our Editors' Choice, the $99 Samsung Jitterbug Plus, with its slew of features geared towards senior citizens like medication reminders and free 24-hour operator assistance. The Plus also has two extra hours of battery life. But if all you need is a cheap phone with emergency services and an easy setup, the ezTWO may be the phone you're looking for.
CBS topped a second Friday in both the key demo (1.5 rating adults 18-49) and total viewers (9.4 million) thanks in large part to a surging Undercover Boss.
The reality show was up 38 percent, half of a point, from last week's showing with a 1.8 adults rating. Hawaii Five-0 (1.4 adults) and Blue Bloods (1.3 adults were both off a tenth from the previous Friday -- though both are currently besting last year's averages, with Hawaii Five-0 improving total viewers 14 percent in the move from Mondays.
Last Man Standing (1.3 adults) and The Neighbors (1.0 adults) were both up a tenth on ABC, while Shark Tank (1.9 adults) improved two-tenths to top the hour and the night's broadcast offerings. 20/20 (1.2 adults) was also up a tenth, giving ABC a 1.4 rating with adults 18-49 and 5.4 million viewers for the night.
NBC's only new offering of the night, Dateline (1.3 adults), improved by a tenth from last week. The net averaged a 1.1 rating in the demo and 4.7 million viewers.
MasterChef Junior (1.2 adults), off two-tenths from last week, partnered with a Sleepy Hollow encore to give Fox a 1.0 adults rating and 3.2 million viewers for the night.
The recently renewed America's Next Top Model (0.4 adults) held even with last week's score on the CW. The net posted a 0.4 adults rating and 1.1 million viewers for the night.
Theo Decker is a 13-year-old boy who, in an instant, gains a masterpiece, but loses his mother — who is also a kind of masterpiece.
Theo and his mother are looking at a special show of old Dutch Masters at the Met, and the little boy doesn't much enjoy it — "Dutch people standing around in Dutch clothes," he calls it. They see a painting of a little yellow pet finch, chained at the ankle, by an artist named Fabritius.
Then Theo sees a flash, and feels a roar: a terrorist's bomb has destroyed much of the museum. And a dying man gives Theo the painting, a ring, and a cryptic message that will take him from the wounded bustle of Manhattan after a terrorist attack to what the author calls the "hot mineral emptiness" of Las Vegas in foreclosure.
Donna Tartt tells Theo's story in her new novel — only her third in more than twenty years. It's called The Goldfinch. Tartt tells NPR's Scott Simon that Theo is adrift in the world without his mother, and afraid to return the painting. "Sort of the way, I don't know, when I was a child I would just keep putting off my algebra notebook until the last possible moment."
Interview Highlights
On weighing plot against character in a novel
If you have the right characters, the characters will take care of the plot for you. They will bring an energy to the plot, so character for me always comes first.
Of course you need to help steer them, but as a writer, you really need to — particularly when you're writing a big book — you need to leave yourself open to risk and surprise. If there's no surprise for the writer, there's no surprise for the reader. And sometimes, as you're going along, you can have everything perfectly planned out, and then just see something coming that you never ever ever saw. And I sort of think that if something like that occurs to me, six years into the writing of a book that I've been thinking about every day, the reader's really not going to see it.
Donna Tartt's previous books were The Secret History and The Little Friend.
AFP/Getty Images
Donna Tartt's previous books were The Secret History and The Little Friend.
AFP/Getty Images
On moving the action to Las Vegas
That was a marvelous accident, because initially, in the first two or three years of writing the book, it took place completely between New York and Amsterdam, and something was missing. And then, just absolutely by chance I happened to visit Las Vegas. And while I was there, I was in one of the casinos, I think it was the Bellagio, and there was an exhibition of French impressionists ... and when I saw that, bing bing bing bing bing bing bing, all sorts of things started to fire in my head. I began to think about money, about the movement of money, about how art is really very often connected with dirty money — it always has been — and about luck, and chance, and fate.
On the idea of "priceless" art
The word priceless is only really ever used in connection with two things, with art and with human life. No one ever speaks of a building as being priceless, or a car as being priceless. But human life is priceless, and paintings, they're the most valuable things we have, we lock them up in fortresses. They're under armed guard. And you know, there's a reason for that. When I was in Amsterdam, and was lucky enough to have a tour of the Rijksmuseum after hours, it was very eerie, because at one point the lights blinked out ... and the most extraordinary thing, I was standing in front of the wall of Vermeers, and it was as if they all were lit with a different kind of light from within ... you realized that these paintings were meant to be seen in candlelight, and that they gave off a light of their own. And you realize why these things have no price.
KATHRYN QUIRK THOUGHT it would be easy to find a new doctor when she moved from Boston to Newton in 2009, just like it was when she arrived in Boston in 1996. Back then, she walked across the street to a doctor’s office and got an appointment.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Cardinals have been this close to the World Series before, and they don't want to blow it this time.
St. Louis got home runs from Matt Holliday and pinch-hitter Shane Robinson — the first of the NL championship series — and beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2 Tuesday night for a 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven playoff.
The Cardinals have lost the NLCS both times they owned such a commanding lead, most recently last season when they dropped three in a row to San Francisco, the eventual World Series winner.
"That's something that we thought last year — up 3-1 and all we have to do is win one more and we're there," closer Trevor Rosenthal said. "But that didn't work out, so we've just got to keep the same approach."
With a quick turnaround for Game 5 Wednesday afternoon in Los Angeles, the Dodgers will try to forget the loss, and hope the Cardinals remember their recent past failures.
"We get into a Game 7, those things (losing a 3-1 lead) will creep into their heads over there," Dodgers infielder Adrian Gonzalez said. "Our goal is definitely to push this to a Game 7."
Joe Kelly will start Game 5 for the Cardinals, looking to clinch their 19th pennant.
The Dodgers will turn to Zack Greinke, and if he can help deliver a win, they'll call on ace Clayton Kershaw for a potential Game 6 back in St. Louis.
"I've got one of the best pitchers in baseball pitching tomorrow," manager Don Mattingly said. "If we come out here and play well tomorrow and get a win, I've probably got the best pitcher in baseball pitching the next day."
The Dodgers hope star shortstop Hanley Ramirez can again start despite a broken left rib. He left in the middle of the sixth after striking out three times.
"It felt worse than yesterday," Ramirez said. "It makes me angry."
Cardinals infielder David Freese came out after six innings for defense. He left Monday's game with a cramp in his right calf, but manager Mike Matheny said Freese was fine.
In a series starved for offense, the Cardinals scored as many runs as they did in the first three games combined, when the teams totaled nine.
Hitless in his previous 22 at-bats at Dodger Stadium, Holliday drove a two-run shot off Ricky Nolasco an estimated 426 feet to left field, capping a three-run third inning that gave the Cardinals a 3-0 lead.
"That's about as good as I can hit one," said Holliday, who was 0 for 13 in the series before connecting.
"I wasn't really doubting my swing at all. I felt actually really good with my at-bats. Sometimes in this game you don't always get the results that you want even if you feel like you're having good at-bats, so I just wanted to stay with it," he said.
Seeking a second World Series title in three years, St. Louis turned three important double plays and picked off a runner at second base in the seventh. Defensive standout Pete Kozma, inserted at shortstop in the sixth, started a difficult double play and darted in to complete the pickoff.
"A great heads-up play by him," Matheny said. "Then it has to be natural instincts and athleticism by (reliever) Carlos Martinez, and I don't know many guys pull that off. He has such athletic moves. He's quick in everything he does. Then to have the guts to wheel and let it fly like that in a game like we have right now, it's off the charts."
Second baseman Matt Carpenter also keyed St. Louis' sharp work with the gloves, one night after some sloppy play was costly in a 3-0 defeat.
Carpenter had an RBI double in the third that scored Descalso, who hit a leadoff single. Carpenter came around on Holliday's homer after there were none in the first three games for the first time in NLCS history.
Martinez pitched two scoreless innings to help nail down the win for starter Lance Lynn, who allowed two runs and six hits in 5 1-3 innings. He struck out five and walked three. Trevor Rosenthal got three outs for his second save in the series.
After a leadoff single by Andre Ethier in the ninth, Yasiel Puig grounded into a double play. Juan Uribe struck out to end it, leaving the Dodgers on the brink of elimination.
Robinson's home run bounced off the top of the wall in left field on a 1-0 pitch from J.P. Howell with one out in the seventh, extending the Cardinals' lead to 4-2.
"For a little guy, he's got surprising power," Holliday said. "I mean, honestly, he's got some thump."
The Dodgers were down 4-2 in the seventh when Nick Punto doubled with one out. Martinez, however, picked off Punto before throwing another pitch and then retired Carl Crawford on an inning-ending groundout.
"It was a lonely place to be," Punto said.
Trailing 3-2, the Dodgers put the potential tying run on base in the sixth when Puig singled to chase Lynn. Uribe grounded into a double play against Seth Maness to end the inning.
Nolasco allowed three runs and three hits in four innings. He struck out four and walked one.
"I felt my stuff was good for the most part," he said. "Just that one pitch was the difference in the game."
Holding her son Louis safe in her arms this morning (October 18), Sandra Bullock arrived at his school in Studio City, C.A. to see him off on his big day.
The "Gravity" goddess looked cool and casual in a gray sweater jacket, black skinny capri pants and sandals as she held her little boy on her hip in both arms.
In related news, the 49-year-old is currently celebrating the success of her brand new movie, "Gravity," which just premiered on October 4th. Bullock starred along side "Fantastic Mr. Fox's" George Clooney and "Armageddon's" Ed Harris.
Per the synopsis, "A medical engineer and an astronaut work together to survive after an accident leaves them adrift in space."
NEW YORK (AP) — The results of an autopsy could determine whether two teenage girls are hit with serious charges after one of them was found carrying a dead fetus in a bag while shopping at a Victoria's Secret store in Manhattan.
Police were called to the store Thursday after a security guard on the lookout for shoplifters searched the 17-year-old girls, discovered a strong odor coming from one of their bags and found the fetus.
The girls were arrested on charges of petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property, police said. The teenager thought to have given birth was hospitalized, and the other was questioned by police.
One of the girls told detectives she was carrying the remains because she had delivered a day earlier and didn't know what to do, authorities said. It wasn't clear whether the fetus was alive or dead when delivered, or how far along the girl was in her pregnancy.
The medical examiner's office was performing an autopsy on the remains, and more charges could follow depending on the results.
A person who answered the phone at the home of the girl believed to have given birth had no comment. No phone number was available at the address provided by police for the second teenager.
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