Extra-alarm blaze reduces condo building to 'shell'

Firefighters battled a 3-11 alarm blaze in a five-story condominium building in the Morgan Park neighborhood this afternoon as parts of the upper floors of the building collapsed.

The fire began in the building at 2030 W. 111th St. about 2:20 p.m. It was raised to a 2-11 alarm at 2:42 p.m. and to a 3-11 alarm about 3 p.m. An EMS Plan 1, which sends six ambulances to the scene, also was called for the fire. Four people at the building were treated on the scene, but did not need to be taken to the hospital, according to the Chicago Fire Department's media office.

The fire was declared under control at 5:21 p.m., and the EMS Plan 1 secured was secured by about 5:45 p.m.

Firefighters were unable to do a unit-to-unit search of the building because parts of the building's fifth and fourth floor were collapsed into the third floor, said Chicago Deputy Fire Cmsr. of Operation John McNicholas

Fire officials were working with building management to try to get a head count for the number of residents for the 34-unit building, which had 32 units occupied, officials said. Firefighters had not been told by anyone that someone was missing, McNichals said.

When the first fire company arrived, flames were shooting from a third-floor window on the east side of the building, but firefighters also found fire in the walls on the first and second floors, said Chicago Fire Department spokeswoman Meg Ahlheim. In total, about 120 fire personnel and 40 pieces of fire equipment were dispatched to the fire, she said.

Fire officials called a Mayday alert for a lost firefighter about the time the 2-11 alarm was called, but the alert was quickly cancelled when the firefighter was located unharmed, Ahleim said. Other members of his company apparently had lost track of the firefighter, but he was not trapped, she said.

Ted Wyatt said he was inside his second-floor apartment when the fire started, but he noticed nothing amiss until he heard someone calling out.

"People were going through the hallways, yelling, 'Fire!'" said Wyatt, 58.

Once he got into the hallways, Wyatt said he could smell the smoke. Wyatt added that his unit does have a working smoke alarm but it did not go off.

By about 3:45 p.m., the five-story brick Terrace Place West Condominiums had smoke billowing from the top two floors, where firefighters were concentrating the efforts of several hoses, including two directed from tower ladder trucks. At that time, white smoke was billowing from the roof.

By about 4:15 p.m., the fire was largely under control, but large parts of the fourth and fifth floor visible from the street appeared heavily damaged by smoke and fire. About 4:30 p.m., firefighters were concentrating on hotspots on the fifth floor of the building.

By about 5 p.m., firefighters were trying to get into the parts of the building that had not collapsed, but were going to wait to try to get into the collapsed parts of the building until the city Buildings Department has a chance to check the building, McNicholas said.

During the fire, the smoke could be seen from at least a mile away.

chicagobreaking@tribune.com

Twitter: @ChicagoBreaking

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Sony at greater risk than Panasonic in electronics downturn: Fitch

TOKYO (Reuters) - Panasonic Corp has a better chance than rival Sony Corp of surviving Japan's consumer electronics slump because of its unglamorous but stable appliance business of washing machines and fridges, credit rating agency Fitch said Friday.

Fitch cut Panasonic's rating by two notches to BB and Sony three notches to BB minus on Thursday, the first time one of the three major ratings agencies have put the creditworthiness of either company into junk-bond territory.

Rival agencies Moody's and S&P rate both of Japan's consumer electronic giants at the same level, just above junk status. Moody's last cut its rating on Panasonic on Tuesday.

Panasonic "has the advantage of a relatively stable consumer appliance business that is still generating positive margins", Matt Jamieson, Fitch's head of Asia-Pacific, said in a conference call on Friday to explain its ratings downgrades.

But at Sony, he added, "most of their electronic business are loss making, they appear to be overstretched."

Japan's TV industry has been bested by cheaper, more innovative models from Samsung Electronics and other foreign rivals, while tablets and smartphones built by Apple Inc have become the dominant consumer electronics devices.

Investors are focusing on the fate of Sony and Panasonic after another struggling Japanese consumer electronics firm, Sharp Corp, maker of the Aquos TV, secured a $4.6 billion bail-out by banks including Mizuho Financial Group and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.

Sony and Panasonic have chosen divergent survival paths.

Panasonic, maker of the Viera TV, is looking to expand its businesses in appliances, solar panels, lithium batteries and automotive components. Appliances amount to around only 6 percent of the company's sales, but they generate margins of more than 6 percent and make up a big chunk of operating profit.

Sony, creator of the Walkman, is doubling down on consumer gadgets in a bid to regain ground from Samsung and Apple in mobile devices while bolstering digital cameras and gaming.

The latest downgrades will curtail the ability of both Japanese companies to raise money in credit markets to help fund restructurings of their business portfolios.

For now, however, that impact is limited, given the support Panasonic and Sony are receiving from their banks.

In October, Panasonic, which expects to lose $10 billion in the year to March 31, secured $7.6 billion of loan commitments from banks including Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mitsubishi UFJ, a financing backstop it says will help it avoid having to seek capital in credit markets.

Sony, which has forecast a full-year profit of $1.63 billion helped by the sale of a chemicals business to a Japanese state bank, announced plans to raise $1.9 billion through a convertible bond before the latest rating downgrade.

Thomson Reuters' Starmine structural model, which evaluates market views of credit risk, debt levels and changes in asset values gives Panasonic and Sony an implied rating of BB minus. Sharp's implied rating is three notches lower at B minus.

Standard & Poor's rates Panasonic and Sony at BBB, the second lowest of the investment grade, while Moody's Investors Service has them on Baa3, the lowest of its high-grade category. Moody's has a negative outlook for both firms while S&P sees a stable outlook for Panasonic and a negative one for Sony.

Stock markets in Japan were closed on Friday for a national holiday.

(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Mark Bendeich)

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Undefeated: No. 4 Ohio State over No. 20 UM, 26-21

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The only thing Urban Meyer lost during his first season at Ohio State was his cool — at the end of the last game.

Carlos Hyde ran for 146 yards and the fourth-ranked Buckeyes' defense shut out No. 20 Michigan in the second half to grab a bruising 26-21 win on Saturday, completing an improbable 12-0 season for the Buckeyes.

Meyer got emotional as the final seconds ticked off, embracing his players on the sideline at a raucous Ohio Stadium. Too emotional, he said later.

"I've got to keep a little more composure, I guess," he said sheepishly. "In the coaching manual, I think it's chapter 13, it says, 'Keep cool.' I lost it there for a couple of minutes."

Well, give the guy a break.

Almost no one — up to and including Meyer — expected such a rapid turnaround for the Buckeyes, who were just 6-7 last season with a loss to their archrivals in a transitional year when they were facing heavy NCAA penalties. A month after Meyer took the job last November, they were socked with a bowl ban after this season — and still ran the table.

"You get all the wins you can, especially against the Team Up North, especially at home on top of that," said exuberant Buckeyes quarterback Braxton Miller.

Ohio State (12-0, 8-0 Big Ten) is ineligible for a BCS national title but still has an outside shot at finishing No. 1 in the final Associated Press Top 25 if other contenders lose. Michigan (8-4, 6-2) will now await a minor bowl bid.

"At this point in time, Ohio State can go and play with anybody in America," Meyer said. "I wouldn't say that five weeks ago, but you've seen the growth, what we did today and the growth of our defense."

Drew Basil matched his season output with four field goals and the defense did the rest, forcing three turnovers in the second half.

It was played before 105,899, the largest crowd ever to witness "The Game" in Columbus.

Meyer and his players were mobbed by thousands of fans who flooded the field after the Buckeyes' ninth victory in the last 11 years in the rivalry (the 2010 win was later vacated by the sanctions).

The crush of people precluded Michigan's Brady Hoke from the traditional postgame handshake with Meyer.

"No big deal. Not a big deal," Hoke said over his shoulder as he left his postgame news conference. "Not a story."

Hyde also ran for a touchdown. Miller completed 14 of 18 passes for 189 yards and a score to Corey Brown, who had eight catches for 95 yards.

The Buckeyes had already clinched the Big Ten's Leaders Division, but aren't allowed to play in next Saturday's conference title game. Michigan needed a win to capture a share of the Legends Division with Nebraska, which will meet Wisconsin for the championship.

Hoke had won his first game as a head coach in the rivalry.

"I like the W better," he said.

Now, about all Ohio State can hope for is that every other top team in the nation — including the only other unbeaten, top-ranked Notre Dame — loses and loses badly. A team banned from the postseason has never finished No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll, and the Buckeyes are not eligible for the Bowl Championship Series rankings or coaches' poll.

Michigan's Denard Robinson had a brilliant first half, scoring on a 67-yard run, but was largely invisible in the second. He totaled 122 yards on 10 carries, but had lost 2 yards on his four carries after halftime.

"We know the reason we lost the game," Robinson said. "We had three turnovers in the second half. That's not acceptable."

Devin Gardner, the other half of Michigan's quarterback tandem, was 11 of 20 for 171 yards with an interception and a 75-yard touchdown pass to Roy Roundtree.

For the Buckeyes, the game will be remembered for the staunch defense played when most needed. Michigan had 26 plays for 219 yards in the first half, then ran 21 plays for a net of 60 yards in the second.

"It feels great," defensive back Christian Bryant said. "Taking it out for the seniors — that was our motto for the season — and that's what we did."

For the Wolverines, there will be lingering questions for Hoke, who wore short sleeves in the freezing temperatures — just like Woody Hayes used to during the 1960s and 1970s in the rivalry.

With his team ahead 21-20, Hoke called timeout on fourth and 2 near midfield on Michigan's first possession of the second half. Robinson then tried the middle, but ran into linebacker Ryan Shazier for a two-yard loss.

That cost the Wolverines the lead as Ohio State drove to the Michigan 11 before settling for Basil's 28-yard field goal, putting the Buckeyes up 23-21.

"We've got to have each other's back," Hoke said. "We didn't get it and (our own) defense went out there and did a nice job."

Gardner fumbled when hit by Johnathan Hankins with 8:19 left, with Travis Howard pouncing on the loose ball after several players had a shot at it. Taking over at the Wolverines' 10, the Buckeyes could not move the ball and were forced to settle for Basil's fourth field goal of the game, a 25-yarder with 6:26 remaining, for a 26-21 lead.

Basil came into the game just 4 for 6 on the year.

The last turnover ended the Wolverines' hopes.

Gardner tossed a floater that was intercepted by C.J. Barnett, ending the Wolverines final threat as Hyde carried the ball repeatedly and the Buckeyes played keep-away to the finish.

Between the first and second quarters, Ohio State honored its 2002 national championship team. After a highlight clip was shown to a roaring crowd, several players hoisted coach Jim Tressel to their shoulders and carried him out of the end zone.

No boos were heard, or else they were drowned out — even though it was Tressel's NCAA violations, he failed to report players exchanging team memorabilia for cash and tattoos, which will keep this year's unbeaten Buckeyes home in the postseason.

Asked if — should his team end up as the only unbeaten in the nation — it should be crowned No. 1 in the AP poll, Meyer said: "I'm not going to get into the 'what ifs.' You can't control what you can't control. ... We're 12-0 and I'm going to see to it when you walk into that Woody Hayes (practice) facility that this team will never be forgotten. Because they deserve that."

___

Follow Rusty Miller on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/rustymillerap

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“Big Bang Theory” star Mayim Bialik tweets pre-Thanksgiving divorce plans

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Things are bound to be a little tense around the dinner table at Mayim Bialik‘s house this Thanksgiving.

Bialik is divorcing her husband of nine years, Mike Stone, the “Big Bang Theory” star announced via her twitter account Wednesday.

The actress, 36, tweeted a link to a blog post about the split with the message, “I’m beating the tabloids to it and posting this Divorce Statement.”

The post itself says that the pair decided to divorce “after much consideration and soul-searching,” and cites irreconcilable differences as the reason for the breakup.

Bialik and Stone have two sons, 7-year-old Miles and 4-year-old Frederick, together.

“Divorce is terribly sad, painful and incomprehensible for children. It is not something we have decided lightly,” Bialik wrote in her blog post. “The hands-on style of parenting we practice played no role in the changes that led to this decision; relationships are complicated no matter what style of parenting you choose.”

The actress added, “Our sons deserve parents committed to their growth and health and that’s what we are focusing on.”

Bialik’s post concludes, “We will be ok.”

Celebrity News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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AP PHOTOS: Simple surgery heals blind Indonesians

PADANG SIDEMPUAN, Indonesia (AP) — They came from the remotest parts of Indonesia, taking crowded overnight ferries and riding for hours in cars or buses — all in the hope that a simple, and free, surgical procedure would restore their eyesight.

Many patients were elderly and needed help to reach two hospitals in Sumatra where mass eye camps were held earlier this month by Nepalese surgeon Dr. Sanduk Ruit. During eight days, more than 1,400 cataracts were removed.

The patients camped out, sleeping side-by-side on military cots, eating donated food while fire trucks supplied water for showers and toilets. Many who had given up hope of seeing again left smiling after their bandages were removed.

"I've been blind for three years, and it's really bad," said Arlita Tobing, 65, whose sight was restored after the surgery. "I worked on someone's farm, but I couldn't work anymore."

Indonesia has one of the highest rates of blindness in the world, making it a target country for Ruit who travels throughout the developing world holding free mass eye camps while training doctors to perform the simple, stitch-free procedure he pioneered. He often visits hard-to-reach remote areas where health care is scarce and patients are poor. He believes that by teaching doctors how to perform his method of cataract removal, the rate of blindness can be reduced worldwide.

Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness globally, affecting about 20 million people who mostly live in poor countries, according to the World Health Organization.

"We get only one life, and that life is very short. I am blessed by God to have this opportunity," said Ruit, who runs the Tilganga Eye Center in Katmandu, Nepal. "The most important of that is training, taking the idea to other people."

During the recent camps, Ruit trained six doctors from Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.

Here, in images, are scenes from the mobile eye camps:

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'Dallas' star Larry Hagman dies in Texas

J.R. Ewing was a business cheat, faithless husband and bottomless well of corruption. Yet with his sparkling grin, Larry Hagman masterfully created the charmingly loathsome oil baron — and coaxed forth a Texas-size gusher of ratings — on television's long-running and hugely successful nighttime soap, "Dallas."

Although he first gained fame as nice guy Major Tony Nelson on the fluffy 1965-70 NBC comedy "I Dream of Jeannie," Hagman earned his greatest stardom with J.R. The CBS serial drama about the Ewing family and those in their orbit aired from April 1978 to May 1991, and broke viewing records with its "Who shot J.R.?" 1980 cliffhanger that left unclear if Hagman's character was dead.

The actor, who returned as J.R. in a new edition of "Dallas" this year, had a long history of health problems and died Friday due to complications from his battle with cancer, his family said.

"Larry was back in his beloved hometown of Dallas, re-enacting the iconic role he loved the most. Larry's family and closest friends had joined him in Dallas for the Thanksgiving holiday," the family said in a statement that was provided to The Associated Press by Warner Bros., producer of the show.

The 81-year-old actor was surrounded by friends and family before he passed peacefully, "just as he'd wished for," the statement said.

Linda Gray, his on-screen wife and later ex-wife in the original series and the sequel, was among those with Hagman in his final moments in a Dallas hospital, said her publicist, Jeffrey Lane.

"He brought joy to everyone he knew. He was creative, generous, funny, loving and talented, and I will miss him enormously. He was an original and lived life to the fullest," the actress said.

Years before "Dallas," Hagman had gained TV fame on "I Dream of Jeannie," in which he played an astronaut whose life is disrupted when he finds a comely genie, portrayed by Barbara Eden, and takes her home to live with him.

Eden recalled late Friday shooting the series' pilot "in the frigid cold" on a Malibu beach.

"From that day, for five more years, Larry was the center of so many fun, wild and sometimes crazy times. And in retrospect, memorable moments that will remain in my heart forever," Eden said.

Hagman also starred in two short-lived sitcoms, "The Good Life" (NBC, 1971-72) and "Here We Go Again" (ABC, 1973). His film work included well-regarded performances in "The Group," ''Harry and Tonto" and "Primary Colors."

But it was Hagman's masterful portrayal of J.R. that brought him the most fame. And the "Who shot J.R.?" story twist fueled international speculation and millions of dollars in betting-parlor wagers. It also helped give the series a place in ratings history.

When the answer was revealed in a November 1980 episode, an average 41 million U.S. viewers tuned in to make "Dallas" one of the most-watched entertainment shows of all time, trailing only the "MASH" finale in 1983 with 50 million viewers.

It was J.R.'s sister-in-law, Kristin (Mary Crosby) who plugged him — he had made her pregnant, then threatened to frame her as a prostitute unless she left town — but others had equal motivation.

Hagman played Ewing as a bottomless well of corruption with a charming grin: a business cheat and a faithless husband who tried to get his alcoholic wife, Sue Ellen (Gray), institutionalized.

"I know what I want on J.R.'s tombstone," Hagman said in 1988. "It should say: 'Here lies upright citizen J.R. Ewing. This is the only deal he ever lost.'"

On Friday night, Victoria Principal, who co-starred in the original series, recalled Hagman as "bigger than life, on-screen and off. He is unforgettable, and irreplaceable, to millions of fans around the world, and in the hearts of each of us, who was lucky enough to know and love him."

Ten episodes of the new edition of "Dallas" aired this past summer and proved a hit for TNT. Filming was in progress on the sixth episode of season two, which is set to begin airing Jan. 28, the network said.

There was no immediate comment from Warner or TNT on how the series would deal with Hagman's loss.

In 2006, he did a guest shot on FX's drama series "Nip/Tuck," playing a macho business mogul. He also got new exposure in recent years with the DVD releases of "I Dream of Jeannie" and "Dallas."

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said Saturday morning in a statement that Hagman's role as J.R. helped the city gain "worldwide recognition."

"Larry is a North Texas jewel that was larger than life and he will be missed by many in Dallas and around the world," Rawlings said.

The Fort Worth, Texas, native was the son of singer-actress Mary Martin, who starred in such classics as "South Pacific" and "Peter Pan." Martin was still in her teens when he was born in 1931 during her marriage to attorney Ben Hagman.

As a youngster, Hagman gained a reputation for mischief-making as he was bumped from one private school to another. He made a stab at New York theater in the early 1950s, then served in the Air Force from 1952-56 in England.

While there, he met and married young Swedish designer Maj Axelsson. The couple had two children, Preston and Heidi, and were longtime residents of the Malibu beach colony that is home to many celebrities.

Hagman returned to acting and found work in the theater and in such TV series as "The U.S. Steel Hour," ''The Defenders" and "Sea Hunt." His first continuing role was as lawyer Ed Gibson on the daytime serial "The Edge of Night" (1961-63).

He called his 2001 memoir "Hello Darlin': Tall (and Absolutely True) Tales about My Life."

"I didn't put anything in that I thought was going to hurt someone or compromise them in any way," he told The Associated Press at the time.

Hagman was diagnosed in 1992 with cirrhosis of the liver and acknowledged that he had drank heavily for years. In 1995, a malignant tumor was discovered on his liver and he underwent a transplant.

After his transplant, he became an advocate for organ donation and volunteered at a hospital to help frightened patients.

"I counsel, encourage, meet them when they come in for their operations, and after," he said in 1996. "I try to offer some solace, like 'Don't be afraid, it will be a little uncomfortable for a brief time, but you'll be OK.' "

He also was an anti-smoking activist who took part in "Great American Smoke-Out" campaigns.

Funeral plans had not been announced as of Saturday morning.

"I can honestly say that we've lost not just a great actor, not just a television icon, but an element of pure Americana," Eden said in her statement Friday night. "Goodbye, Larry. There was no one like you before and there will never be anyone like you again."

___

Associated Press writers Erin Gartner in Chicago and Shaya Mohajer in Los Angeles, and AP Television Writer Frazier Moore in New York contributed to this report.

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Walmart protests draw crowds, shoppers largely unfazed

Dozens of local workers, and hundreds nationally, took advantage of Black Friday crowds and camera crews at major retailers like Walmart to call for wage increases.

But there was little evidence that the chanting disrupted holiday shoppers.

Steven Restivo, a spokesman for Wal-Mart Stores, said the chain had done its "best Black Friday event ever" despite protests organized by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union in Chicago and other cities.

At a Walmart in Chicago's Chatham neighborhood on the south side, only one of the store's 500 employees took part in the demonstration, the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer said. "Almost all the folks you'll see protesting today are not Walmart associates," Restivo said. "I guess you can't believe everything you read in a union press release."

According to the union, protests took place in Miami and Washington, D.C., with additional events planned at Midwestern and Southern stores.

Walmart has so far avoided a union presence, which has become cumbersome for competitors like Jewel-Osco and Dominick's Finer Foods. Those chains have been closing stores as Walmart has expanded locally.

Separately Friday, dozens of members of the Workers Organizing Committee of Chicago and its supporters marched from the Loop to the Magnificent Mile to demand a $15 minimum wage and union contracts for downtown workers. Organized on November 15, the union has about 150 members and has received financial support from Service Employees International Union, Action Now and Stand Up Chicago.

Deborah Sims, marching Friday, said she worked at Macy's for 12 years, eventually making $13 an hour, before losing her job during the recession. She was rehired last holiday season, but at $8.50 an hour, with no benefits.

Sims said she expects retailers to turn to younger, less-experienced workers because "$8.25 an hour is going to look good to them."

Macy's did not respond to a request for comment.

Peter Gill, a spokesman for the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, called the demand for a $15 minimum wage dangerous "because people are out looking for jobs and it's tough in this economy."

He explained that if retailers were forced to nearly double the starting hourly wage, "you're going to have to cut the number of employees."

Reuters contributed to this story.

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RIM shares rally as optimism about new devices grows

TORONTO (Reuters) - Shares of Research In Motion Ltd surged 17.3 percent in Toronto on Thursday on rising optimism around RIM's soon-to-be-launched BlackBerry 10 devices that will vie against Apple's iPhone and Android-based smartphones.

The rally in RIM shares was sparked by National Bank analyst Kris Thompson, who boosted his price target on RIM shares to $15 from $12. Thompson believes that there is more money to be made in the stock ahead of the early 2013 launch of the make-or-break new line of devices.

It was the second vote of confidence this week for the Canadian company, which has struggled to compete with the iPhone and with devices running on Google's market-leading Android operating system. On Tuesday, Jefferies & Co analyst Peter Misek, who has been one of RIM's most influential critics, raised his rating and price target on the stock.

RIM shares, which have now risen in the last seven straight trading sessions, rose to their highest level since May on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Thursday and ended the day at C$12. The U.S. market, where trade volumes usually top those in Toronto, was closed for Thanksgiving on Thursday.

It was the biggest percentage gain in the stock since April 2009, when RIM shares rallied after the company's results topped market expectations.

Thompson, who has an "outperform" rating on RIM stock, said he raised his price target due partly to the "positive sentiment building in the industry" ahead of BB10's launch.

"The new management team is executing by maintaining the BlackBerry subscriber base, managing costs and cash, and seemingly readying a February 2013 BB10 global platform launch," he said in a note to clients.

Earlier this week, Misek said a favorable reaction from telecom carriers to the new devices and the BB10 operating system that runs them was behind his decision to lift his rating and price target on RIM.

The BlackBerry maker, a smartphone pioneer, hopes BB10 will rescue it from a prolonged slump. RIM shares peaked at over $148 in 2008 before diving more than 90 percent.

The stock is up more than 90 percent in the past two months as the launch date for the BB10 devices nears. The stock has now enjoyed seven straight days of gains.

RIM promises its new devices will be faster and smoother than previous smartphones, and will have a large catalog of applications, which are crucial to the success of any new line of smartphones.

Thompson said he now expects RIM to ship about 35.5 million devices in fiscal 2014, up from an earlier estimate of 31.6 million. RIM, whose sales slump has been particularly pronounced in North America, shipped 7.4 million devices in its most recent quarter, ended September 1.

RIM has said it plans to roll out a touchscreen version of its BB10 smartphone initially. Phones with the mini QWERTY keyboards that many long-time BlackBerry users rave about will come a few weeks later, while lower-end versions of both devices will be launched later in the year.

"The shipments boost reflects about one more month of BB10 product availability plus a little extra for the positive sentiment building in the industry from our discussions," Thompson said.

Analysts had expected the new devices to go on sale in March. But RIM said earlier this month it plans to launch them on Jan 30, leading many to speculate they will hit store shelves around mid-February.

Chief Executive Thorsten Heins told Reuters last week he is confident that the new BB10s will provide RIM with a framework for growth over the next decade.

Earlier this month, the new platform and devices won U.S. government security clearance, which would allow both U.S. and Canadian government agencies to deploy the new smartphones as soon as they are available.

(Editing by Theodore d'Afflisio Janet Guttsman and Peter Galloway)

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Texans top Lions 34-31 in OT after coach's mistake

DETROIT (AP) — Jim Schwartz threw a challenge flag when he didn't need to and the Houston Texans made him regret it.

Shayne Graham's 32-yard field goal with 2:21 left in overtime lifted Houston to a 34-31 win over the Detroit Lions on Thursday after their coach broke an NFL rule by attempting to challenge a scoring play.

"Obviously that's a big break in the game for us," Houston coach Gary Kubiak said. "But I think you make your breaks when you work your tail off."

Detroit kicker Jason Hanson had a chance to get Schwartz off the hook, but his 47-yard field goal attempt on the fifth possession of the extra period hit the right upright.

Lions defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch did, too, on the previous possession when he couldn't intercept a pass Matt Schaub threw directly at him deep in Houston territory.

Detroit might've won in regulation if its coach didn't make a costly mistake.

Schwartz threw a challenge flag when Houston's Justin Forsett scored on an 81-yard touchdown run in the third quarter after two Lions tackled him.

"Give him credit for continuing to play football," Kubiak said. "We talk about that all the time. You don't stop, you play."

Replays showed Forsett's left knee and elbow hit the turf near midfield, and the automatic review that accompanies all scoring plays probably would have taken the TD off the board. But NFL rules say that throwing the challenge flag on a scoring play negates the review — and is an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to boot.

"It's on me," Schwartz could be seen saying to assistants and players on the sideline as he tapped his chest. "It's on me."

Yes, it was.

Forsett even acknowledged he shouldn't have allowed to score.

"I know now that I was down, but I didn't think I was during the play," he said. "I didn't think my knee hit, and there was no whistle, so I kept going.

"I wasn't giving the touchdown back."

That score pulled Houston within three points.

"I knew the rule — you can't challenge on a turnover or a scoring play — but I was so mad that I overreacted," said Schwartz, whose temper got the best of him during a postgame handshake last year with San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh. "I had the flag in my hand before he even scored because he was obviously down."

Kubiak had no sympathy.

"A rule's a rule," Kubiak said. "I know one thing: You've got to keep your flag tucked in your pocket."

Arian Foster ran for 102 yards and two scores, including a 1-yard run with 1:55 left in the fourth quarter to cap a 15-play, 97-yard drive that tied the game at 31.

AFC South-leading Houston (10-1) took its first lead when Graham made up for missing a field goal earlier in OT after teammate Danieal Manning ripped the football away from Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew at its 32 on the first drive of the extra period.

The Texans have won five straight — two in a row in OT — and if a handful of teams lose they could be in the playoffs by the time they get back on the practice field after a long weekend.

"Ten quarters in five days, it's draining physically and mentally," Texans defensive end J.J. Watt said. "But our team persevered."

And, the Lions wilted and blew a fourth-quarter lead during a second straight setback.

Detroit (4-7) has lost three straight to make it extremely difficult to reach its goal of earning a spot in consecutive postseasons for the first time since the mid-1990s.

And as if the Lions don't have enough problems, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh could be in trouble with the league again after his left cleat connected with Schaub's groin area in the first quarter.

"I really don't have anything to say about that play or that person," Schaub said.

Suh was on his chest, taken down by an offensive lineman, when he extended his left foot below Schaub's belt.

It wasn't clear on replays whether the kick was intentional, but Suh might struggle to get the benefit of doubt and perhaps that's why he didn't stick around long enough to talk to reporters after the game.

Last year on Thanksgiving, Suh was ejected for stomping on the right arm of Green Bay offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith and was suspended for two games. He has been fined in previous seasons for roughing up quarterbacks: Cincinnati's Andy Dalton, Chicago's Jay Cutler and Cleveland's Jake Delhomme.

Schaub shook off the blow, stayed in the game, and was 29 of 48 for 315 yards with a 9-yard TD to Owen Daniels to tie the game at 14 late in the first half and an interception.

Houston's Andre Johnson had nine receptions for 188 yards. Watt had three sacks, one on Detroit's first snap and the other two that helped the Texans stay within a TD late in the game.

Detroit scored four go-ahead TDs, including on Joique Bell's 23-yard run early in the fourth quarter, and had a 10-point lead midway through the third quarter.

The Lions drove deep enough into Houston territory in the fourth to put Hanson in a position to give them another 10-point lead, but Watt forced them to punt each time with sacks on third downs.

"We got what we deserved," Matthew Stafford said. "We didn't capitalize on our chances."

Stafford was 31 of 61 for 441 yards with two TDs — tiebreaking scores to Calvin Johnson and Mike Thomas in the second quarter — for 441 yards.

Mikel Leshoure ran for 32 yards on 12 carries and gave the Lions their first TD on an opening possession that marked the first rushing score on the ground against Houston.

Those accomplishments along with providing entertainment for the nationally televised audience for a change on Thanksgiving was of little consolation for the franchise.

The Lions lost their previous eight games on the holiday by an averaging of three-plus touchdowns.

Detroit extended the longest losing streak in its annual showcase to nine in a closely contested matchup that will linger in the minds of many people, especially Vanden Bosch, one of many Lions who could've changed the outcome by picking off a pass that hit his hands in a wild OT.

"It's going to be really tough to forget that one," Vanden Bosch said.

NOTES: Lions OT Jeff Backus (right hamstring) was inactive, ending his 186-game starting streak. ... Houston LB Brooks Reed (left groin) and OT Derek Newton (knee) were injured during the game.

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Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

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Follow Larry Lage on Twitter: http://twitter.com/larrylage

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Ex-’Price is Right’ model gets $8.5M in damages

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The producers of “The Price is Right” owe a former model on the show more than $ 7.7 million in punitive damages for discriminating against her after a pregnancy, a jury determined Wednesday.

The judgment came one day after the panel determined the game show’s producers discriminated against Brandi Cochran. They awarded her nearly $ 777,000 in actual damages.

Cochran, 41, said she was rejected when she tried to return to work in early 2010 after taking maternity leave. The jury agreed and determined that FremantleMedia North America and The Price is Right Productions owed her more than $ 8.5 million in all.

“I’m humbled. I’m shocked,” Cochran said after the jury announced its verdict. “I’m happy that justice was served today not only for women in the entertainment industry, but women in the workplace.”

FremantleMedia said it was standing by its previous statement, which said it expected to be “fully vindicated” after an appeal.

“We believe the verdict in this case was the result of a flawed process in which the court, among other things, refused to allow the jury to hear and consider that 40 percent of our models have been pregnant,” and further “important” evidence, FremantleMedia said.

In their defense, producers said they were satisfied with the five models working on the show at the time Cochran sought to return.

Several other former models have sued the series and its longtime host, Bob Barker, who retired in 2007.

Most of the cases involving “Barker’s Beauties” — the nickname given the gown-wearing women who presented prizes to contestants — ended with out-of-court settlements.

Comedian-actor Drew Carey followed Barker as the show’s host.

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Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP .

Entertainment News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Study finds mammograms lead to unneeded treatment

Mammograms have done surprisingly little to catch deadly breast cancers before they spread, a big U.S. study finds. At the same time, more than a million women have been treated for cancers that never would have threatened their lives, researchers estimate.

Up to one-third of breast cancers, or 50,000 to 70,000 cases a year, don't need treatment, the study suggests.

It's the most detailed look yet at overtreatment of breast cancer, and it adds fresh evidence that screening is not as helpful as many women believe. Mammograms are still worthwhile, because they do catch some deadly cancers and save lives, doctors stress. And some of them disagree with conclusions the new study reached.

But it spotlights a reality that is tough for many Americans to accept: Some abnormalities that doctors call "cancer" are not a health threat or truly malignant. There is no good way to tell which ones are, so many women wind up getting treatments like surgery and chemotherapy that they don't really need.

Men have heard a similar message about PSA tests to screen for slow-growing prostate cancer, but it's relatively new to the debate over breast cancer screening.

"We're coming to learn that some cancers — many cancers, depending on the organ — weren't destined to cause death," said Dr. Barnett Kramer, a National Cancer Institute screening expert. However, "once a woman is diagnosed, it's hard to say treatment is not necessary."

He had no role in the study, which was led by Dr. H. Gilbert Welch of Dartmouth Medical School and Dr. Archie Bleyer of St. Charles Health System and Oregon Health & Science University. Results are in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

Breast cancer is the leading type of cancer and cause of cancer deaths in women worldwide. Nearly 1.4 million new cases are diagnosed each year. Other countries screen less aggressively than the U.S. does. In Britain, for example, mammograms are usually offered only every three years and a recent review there found similar signs of overtreatment.

The dogma has been that screening finds cancer early, when it's most curable. But screening is only worthwhile if it finds cancers destined to cause death, and if treating them early improves survival versus treating when or if they cause symptoms.

Mammograms also are an imperfect screening tool — they often give false alarms, spurring biopsies and other tests that ultimately show no cancer was present. The new study looks at a different risk: Overdiagnosis, or finding cancer that is present but does not need treatment.

Researchers used federal surveys on mammography and cancer registry statistics from 1976 through 2008 to track how many cancers were found early, while still confined to the breast, versus later, when they had spread to lymph nodes or more widely.

The scientists assumed that the actual amount of disease — how many true cases exist — did not change or grew only a little during those three decades. Yet they found a big difference in the number and stage of cases discovered over time, as mammograms came into wide use.

Mammograms more than doubled the number of early-stage cancers detected — from 112 to 234 cases per 100,000 women. But late-stage cancers dropped just 8 percent, from 102 to 94 cases per 100,000 women.

The imbalance suggests a lot of overdiagnosis from mammograms, which now account for 60 percent of cases that are found, Bleyer said. If screening were working, there should be one less patient diagnosed with late-stage cancer for every additional patient whose cancer was found at an earlier stage, he explained.

"Instead, we're diagnosing a lot of something else — not cancer" in that early stage, Bleyer said. "And the worst cancer is still going on, just like it always was."

Researchers also looked at death rates for breast cancer, which declined 28 percent during that time in women 40 and older — the group targeted for screening. Mortality dropped even more — 41 percent — in women under 40, who presumably were not getting mammograms.

"We are left to conclude, as others have, that the good news in breast cancer — decreasing mortality — must largely be the result of improved treatment, not screening," the authors write.

The study was paid for by the study authors' universities.

"This study is important because what it really highlights is that the biology of the cancer is what we need to understand" in order to know which ones to treat and how, said Dr. Julia A. Smith, director of breast cancer screening at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York. Doctors already are debating whether DCIS, a type of early tumor confined to a milk duct, should even be called cancer, she said.

Another expert, Dr. Linda Vahdat, director of the breast cancer research program at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, said the study's leaders made many assumptions to reach a conclusion about overdiagnosis that "may or may not be correct."

"I don't think it will change how we view screening mammography," she said.

A government-appointed task force that gives screening advice calls for mammograms every other year starting at age 50 and stopping at 75. The American Cancer Society recommends them every year starting at age 40.

Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, the cancer society's deputy chief medical officer, said the study should not be taken as "a referendum on mammography," and noted that other high-quality studies have affirmed its value. Still, he said overdiagnosis is a problem, and it's not possible to tell an individual woman whether her cancer needs treated.

"Our technology has brought us to the place where we can find a lot of cancer. Our science has to bring us to the point where we can define what treatment people really need," he said.

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Online:

Study: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1206809

Screening advice: http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/uspsbrca.htm

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Marilynn Marchione can be followed at http://twitter.com/MMarchioneAP

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Lawsuit against Madonna dismissed in Russia

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — A Russian court on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit that sought millions of dollars in damages from Madonna for allegedly traumatizing minors by speaking up for gay rights during a concert in St. Petersburg.

The ruling came after a one-day hearing that bordered on the farcical. During it, plaintiffs claimed that Madonna's so-called "propaganda of perversion" would negatively affect Russia's birthrate and erode the nation's defense capability by depriving the country of future soldiers. At one point, the judge threatened to expel journalists from the courtroom if they laughed too much.

In the end, the Moskovsky district court in St. Petersburg threw out the Trade Union of Russian Citizens' lawsuit and the 333 million rubles ($10.7 million) it sought from the singer for allegedly exposing youths to "homosexual propaganda."

Madonna did not attend the trial, and her publicist Liz Rosenberg said Thursday the star wouldn't comment about it.

Anti-gay sentiment is strong in Russia, particularly in St. Petersburg, where local legislators passed a law in February that made it illegal to promote homosexuality to minors. Six months later, Madonna criticized the law on Facebook, then stood up for gay rights during a concert in St. Petersburg that drew fans as young as 12.

"Who will children grow up to be if they hear about the equal rights of the lesbian lobby and manly love with traditional sexual relations?" one of the plaintiffs, Darya Dedova, testified Thursday. "The death rate prevails over the birth rate in the West; young guys are becoming gender neutral."

The plaintiffs submitted evidence about gay culture drawn from Wikipedia pages, claiming that a real encyclopedia could not have articles about homosexuality.

"We aren't against homosexual people, but we are against the propaganda of perversion among minors," Dedova told the court. "We want to defend the values of a traditional family, which are currently in crisis in this country. Madonna violated our laws and she should be punished."

Madonna, who performed in Moscow and St. Petersburg in August as part of her world tour, also angered Russian officials by supporting jailed members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot. The American said during her Moscow concert that she would "pray for them," then turned around so the audience could see the words "Pussy Riot" written on her back. The singer also donned a ski mask similar to those worn by Pussy Riot.

Despite international outrage, three of that band's members were sentenced to two years in jail on hooliganism charges for performing a "punk prayer" at Moscow's main cathedral, during which they pleaded with the Virgin Mary to deliver Russia from President Vladimir Putin. One of the Pussy Riot members was later released from jail on appeal, but the other two were sent to prison camps to serve their sentences.

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Seddon reported from Moscow.

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Judge to let Hostess liquidation proceed

Hostess Brands Inc. on Wednesday won permission from a U.S. bankruptcy judge to begin shutting down, and expressed optimism it will find new homes for many of its iconic brands, which include Twinkies, Drake's cakes and Wonder Bread.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain in White Plains, New York authorized management, led by restructuring specialist Gregory Rayburn, to immediately begin efforts to wind down the 82-year-old company, a process expected to take one year.

"It appears clear to me that the debtors have taken the right course in seeking to implement the wind-down plan as promptly as possible," Drain said near the end of a four-hour hearing.

The judge authorized Hostess to begin the liquidation process one day after his last-ditch mediation effort between the Irving, Texas-based company and its striking bakers' union broke down.

Roughly 15,000 workers were expected to lose their jobs immediately, and most of the remaining 3,200 would be let go within four months.

"This is a tragedy, and we're well aware of it," Heather Lennox, a lawyer for Hostess, told the judge. "We are trying to be as sensitive as we can possibly be under the circumstances to the human cost of this."

Lennox said Hostess has received a "flood of inquiries" from potential buyers for several brands that could be sold at auction, and expects initial bidders within a few weeks.

Joshua Scherer, a partner at Perella Weinberg Partners, which is advising Hostess, said the company was in "active dialogue" over its Drake's brand with one "very interested" party that had toured a New Jersey plant on Tuesday.

He said that regional bakeries, national rivals, private equity firms and others have also expressed interest in various brands and that more than 50 nondisclosure agreements have been signed.

"These are iconic brands that people love," Scherer said.

While prospective buyers were not identified at the hearing, bankers have said rivals including Flowers Foods Inc. and Mexico's Grupo Bimbo SAB de CV were likely to be interested in some of the brands.

Representatives of neither company responded on Wednesday to requests for comment.

Scherer said Hostess could be worth $2.3 billion to $2.4 billion in a normal bankruptcy, an amount equal to its annual revenue. It also has about $900 million of secured debt and faces up to about $150 million of administrative claims.

Scherer expects a discount in this case because plants have already been closed and Hostess' value could fall further if the liquidation were dragged out.

"I've had buyers tell me, 'Josh, the longer it takes, the less value I'm going to be able to pay you,' " he said.

Hostess decided to liquidate on Nov. 16, saying it was losing about $1 million per day after the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco and Grain Millers Union, representing close to one-third of its workers, went on strike a week earlier.

The bakers union walked out after Drain authorized Hostess to impose pay and benefit cuts, which the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Hostess' largest union, had accepted.

Hostess has about 33 plants, plus three it decided to close after the strike began, as well as 565 distribution centers and 570 bakery outlet stores.

Many of the 3,200 workers expected to stay on will help shut these properties and prepare them for sale. Hostess expects to need only about 200 employees by late March.

Rayburn, a former chief restructuring officer for the bankrupt phone company WorldCom Inc., said that letting 15,000 workers go now helps preserve their ability to obtain unemployment benefits.

"I need to maximize the value of the estate, but I need to do the best I can for my employees," he said.

Hostess filed for Chapter 11 protection on Jan. 11, its second bankruptcy filing in less than three years.

The case is In re: Hostess Brands Inc. et al, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 12-22052.

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Bartender wounded in hotel stabbing: 'It was bone-chilling'

Bartender Bradford Burner didn't stop to think when he heard someone screaming and saw a man race through the Westin Hotel and into the streets of the Gold Coast still crowded from the Festival of Lights.

"The way the person screamed, 'Stop that person!' It was bone-chilling," said Burner, 35, speaking for the first time about a botched robbery and stabbing on the Mag Mile this past weekend. "I just reacted."

As Burner closed in near some shops at the Hancock building, the man turned toward Burner with a knife in his hand.

"Someone yelled something, the gentleman turned around (and) saw me coming towards him," Burner told Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass on WLS-890 AM. "The next thing I know, he was lunging at me with a sharp object."

Burner was cut on the left side of his chest and fell to the ground.

"I was like, 'What the hell just happened?' " Burner told the Tribune after his radio interview.

The fleeing man ran across the street and slowed down, trying to blend in among the families strolling along North Michigan Avenue.

"I looked right over at him. He paused for two seconds and looked directly back at me, and then he proceeded down the steps," Burner said during the radio interview. "His demeanor was that of a person trying to get away. ... Sacrifice everything to get away from the situation."

Burner remembers parents and their small children staring down at him as he lay bleeding. He decided not to wait for an ambulance and hailed a cab.  He hopped in and asked, "What was the fastest he could get me to Northwestern Hospital?"

"The taxi driver was freaked out," Burner said. "He was like, 'Are you crazy?' I said, 'I'm really serious about this,' " Burner said, showing the cabbie the bloody side of his shirt and vest.

Burner said he tipped the driver before going inside for stitches, though he can't remember how much it was.

As Burner rode to the hospital, police arrested Jimmy Harris, 56, a parolee with with 60 arrests who had been freed from prison just eight days earlier, authorities said.

Harris had tried to rob an Oak Brook doctor, Mir Jafar Shah, in the restroom of the Westin and stabbed him during a scuffle, then fled out of the hotel, according to police. Shah and his family had been dining after attending the lights festival.

Burner bristled at being called a hero.

"My heart goes out to (Shah) and their whole family that they had to go through this tragedy," Burner said on the radio. "I don't see it as me being a hero. I was just trying to stop an individual that was doing something wrong."

Tribune reporter Jason Meisner contributed.

wlee@tribune.com

Twitter: @MidnoirCowboy

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HP alleges Autonomy wrongdoing, takes $8.8 billion charge

(Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard stunned Wall Street by alleging a massive accounting scandal at its British software unit Autonomy that will cost the company the majority of $8.8 billion in charges.

It was the latest in a string of reversals that have renewed questions about the basic competence of the storied company's board and senior managers.

HP said on Tuesday it discovered "serious accounting improprieties" and "a willful effort by Autonomy to mislead shareholders," after a whistleblower came forward following the ouster of Autonomy's then-chief executive, Mike Lynch, in May.

The charge follows a nearly $11 billion writedown last quarter for the company's EDS services division.

The technology company has been roiled in the past few years by a revolving door of CEOs, overall management turnover and challenges in its core personal computer and printer businesses.

HP's stock slid to a 10-year low, dropping 12 percent to $11.71 in regular trading on Tuesday. Shares are down nearly 50 percent year to date.

Lynch "flatly rejected" HP's allegations and said he was "shocked" but confident he would be absolved of any wrongdoing.

He had not been notified by HP about the allegation before it was made public, nor had he been contacted by any authorities, Lynch said in an interview with Reuters.

HP took $8.8 billion in charges in the quarter, with $5 billion tied to the problems at Autonomy. The rest of the charge related to the "recent trading value of HP stock and headwinds against anticipated synergies and marketplace performance," HP said.

HP said it has referred the matter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement division and the UK's Serious Fraud Office for civil and criminal investigation. It said it would take legal action to recoup "what we can for our shareholders."

Both agencies declined to comment.

HP Chief Executive Meg Whitman, who voted for the deal while she was on HP's board, said the investigation of Autonomy's finances - both external and internal - will take multiple years as it makes it way through the courts in both countries.

"Most of the board was here and voted for this deal, and we feel terribly about that," said Whitman on a call with analysts. "The board relied on audited financials, audited by Deloitte. Not Brand X accounting firm, but Deloitte," she said, adding that KPMG was hired to audit Deloitte.

"Neither of them saw what we now see after someone came forward to point us in the right direction," Whitman said.

INFLATED SALES, REVENUE

HP alleged that Autonomy's former management inflated revenue and gross margins to mislead potential buyers. It said Autonomy executives mischaracterized revenue from low-end hardware sales as software sales and booked some licensing deals with partners as revenue, even though no customer bought products.

HP said Autonomy claimed its gross margins were in the 40 percent to 45 percent range while realistically they were in the 28 percent to 30 percent range.

Moreover, Autonomy always represented itself as a software firm but 10 percent to 15 percent of its revenue came from money-losing sales of low-end hardware, HP said.

The company also claimed that Autonomy was booking licensing revenue upfront before deals closed.

HP has embarked on an internal investigation, including a forensic review by PricewaterhouseCoopers of Autonomy's historical financial results, under HP General Counsel John Schultz after the whistleblower came forward in May.

Schultz said since the accounting troubles occurred prior to the acquisition of Autonomy, it took a long time before HP was in a position to make the news public.

"Not surprisingly, Autonomy did not have sitting on a shelf somewhere a set of well-maintained books that would walk you through what was actually happening from a financial perspective inside the company," he said. "Indeed critical documents were missing from the obvious places, and it required that we look in every nook and cranny."

Whitman said her predecessor, Leo Apotheker and the former chief strategy officer, Shane Robison, were the key people behind the Autonomy acquisition.

Apotheker bought Autonomy to diversify HP's business and beef up its portfolio to provide one-stop shopping for corporations. The $11 billion acquisition of Autonomy - heavily criticized by investors as too costly - was a key part of the plan to transform HP.

Apotheker was ousted as CEO in September 2011 after just 11 months on the job and Robison left soon after.

In a statement, Apotheker said he was "stunned and disappointed" by the revelations and offered to make himself available to HP and the authorities to get to the bottom of the matter.

Whitman on Tuesday stood by Autonomy's technology and products despite the allegations, saying it will be the growth engine for HP. The former California gubernatorial candidate has been trying to move beyond some of HP's past controversies, which includes the ouster of the past two CEOs, a haphazard product strategy and a plan to sell its PC unit that was later dropped.

HP has been running Autonomy since the acquisition closed in October 2011, but it didn't find the accounting problems on its own. The company investigated only after a senior Autonomy executive came forward to detail the financial metrics surrounding Autonomy.

Advisers working on behalf of Autonomy included Qatalyst Partners, the investment bank run by technology investment banker Frank Quattrone; UBS; Goldman Sachs; Citigroup; JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America. Perella Weinberg Partners and Barclays Capital advised for HP.

Law firms for Autonomy were Slaughter & May and Morgan Lewis. The firms for HP included Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer; Drinker Biddle & Reath; and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

Robert Enderle, a tech analyst at the Enderle Group, said he has never seen such a potential misrepresentation of financials.

"You have to rely on what the firm gives you during due diligence and I've never seen a misstatement at this level," Enderle said.

If the charges are true, it could result in a massive punitive damages award for HP, Enderle said.

Other analysts hoped it was the end of the bad news for HP.

"This kind of feels like the last of the bad news," Forrester analyst Frank Gillett said.

FOURTH-QUARTER LOSS

The Autonomy allegations and announcement of the charge coincided with the reporting of a fiscal fourth-quarter loss for HP.

HP said net revenue fell 6.7 percent to $29.96 billion for the quarter, ended October 31, from $32.12 billion a year earlier. Analysts, on average, expected $30.43 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue from all of its main business units declined, with the personal computer division recording the steepest drop, at 14 percent while revenue from printing fell 5 percent.

HP reported a quarterly net loss of $6.85 billion, or $3.49 a share, versus a profit of $239 million, or 12 cents, a year earlier.

The sprawling company, which employs more than 300,000 people globally, is undergoing a restructuring aimed at focusing on enterprise services in the mold of International Business Machines Corp.

"To put it bluntly ... this story has been an unmitigated train wreck, and it seems every time management speaks to the Street, there is new negative incremental information forthcoming," said ISI Group analyst Brian Marshall.

(Reporting by Poornima Gupta in San Francisco, Nicola Leske in New York and Supantha Mukherjee in Bangalore; Additional reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Peter Lauria, Saumyadeb Chakrabarty, Jeffrey Benkoe and Steve Orlofsky)

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Rutgers joins the Big Ten, leaving Big East behind

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — As the Big East was being picked apart, Rutgers was looking for a way out and a new place to show off a football program that has been resurrected in the past decade.

Not only did Rutgers find that escape hatch, the Scarlet Knights ended up in one of the most desirable neighborhoods in college sports.

Rutgers joined the Big Ten on Tuesday, leaving the Big East behind and cashing in on the school's investment in a football team that only 10 years ago seemed incapable of competing at the highest level.

The move follows Maryland's announcement a day earlier that it was heading to the Big Ten in 2014. The additions give the Big Ten 14 schools and a presence in lucrative East Coast markets.

Rutgers announced its decision Tuesday at a campus news conference attended by Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany, Rutgers President Robert Barchi and athletic director Tim Pernetti.

"The Big Ten is really where Rutgers belongs," Barchi said. "This is not just a good fit for us athletically, it's a good fit for us academically and as an institution."

Rutgers has been competing in the Big East since 1991. But the league has been torn up by conference realignment, losing three key members last year.

Pernetti had insisted all along that Rutgers would land on its feet, that being a member of the prestigious American Association of Universities and residing in the largest media market in the country would ensure the school wouldn't be cast aside as the landscape of college sports changed.

The Scarlet Knights landed in the best possible spot. A spot that seemed unthinkable a decade ago when Rutgers football was a Big East cellar-dweller.

"It's a transformative day for Rutgers University, and transformative in so many ways," Pernetti said. "This is about collaboration at every level, the perspective the Big Ten institutions have, the balance between academics and athletics, proving over decades and decades that athletics at the highest level and academics at the highest level can coexist. It's the perfect place for Rutgers."

Rutgers left its entry date ambiguous, though clearly the Big Ten and the school would like it to line up with Maryland.

The Big East requires 27 months' notification for departing members. The Scarlet Knights will have to negotiate a deal with the Big East to leave early, the way Pittsburgh, Syracuse and West Virginia have done.

"Although we are disappointed that Rutgers has decided to leave the Big East Conference, we wish them well," Big East Commissioner Mike Aresco said in a statement.

In an interview later, Aresco said that the conference would survive. "We'll move judiciously to replace Rutgers, but we had already changed from the small, Northeast model," he said. "We're a national conference now. We became a bigger and better football conference."

The Big East is trying to rebuild itself as a 12-team football league next season, with the addition of Boise State and five other schools. Now the conference is again on the defensive. Connecticut or Louisville could be next to go with the ACC looking to replace Maryland.

Aresco said he had been in touch with the newcomers and they were still on board. He declined to speculate on other members leaving.

Whenever Rutgers enters the Big Ten, it will be the culmination of one of the most remarkable turnarounds in college sports.

In 2002, the Scarlet Knights football team went 1-11 under second-year coach Greg Schiano.

The team, however, steadily improved as the university made the huge financial commitment necessary to support major college football.

Facilities were upgraded, the on-campus stadium was expanded and as Schiano started to win, his salary began to rise into the millions. Not everyone on campus embraced the idea of turning Rutgers into a big-time football school, and it did come with a price.

The expanded and renovated stadium cost of $102 million. The school had hoped to raise the money through private donors, but fell short. Rutgers scaled back plans for the expansion and issued bonds and borrowed money to complete the project.

In 2006, the school had to cut six varsity sports. As the football team has become a consistent winner — Rutgers has gone to a bowl six of the last seven years — the athletic department has received tens of millions in subsidies from the university.

Schiano left for the NFL last year, and Rutgers hired longtime assistant Kyle Flood, who has the Scarlet Knights poised to take make another big step. No. 21 Rutgers (9-1) is in position to win its first Big East championship and go to a BCS game for the first time.

In the Big Ten, the revenue Rutgers receives from the league's television and media deals should triple in the short term and could be even more than that in years to come.

The Big Ten reportedly paid its members about $24 million last year, though new members generally do not get a full share of revenue immediately. The Big East's payout to football members last year was $6 million.

In exchange, the Big Ten gets a member in the largest media market in the country, with Rutgers and Maryland as north and south bookends.

"You know, it was a factor," Delany said, referring to the New York television market. "I think it's been a factor that's been a little overplayed to be honest with you."

Losing access to that market is yet another blow to the Big East. The conference is again facing an uncertain future and at the worst possible time. The Big East is trying to negotiate a crucial new television contract.

With the Big East on shaky ground, there has been speculation that Boise State and San Diego State could renege on their commitments to the Big East and stay in the Mountain West.

San Diego State AD Jim Sterk told the North County Times that the Aztecs are not looking to bail.

"It's not great to lose UConn or Rutgers, but if that happens, it gives us an opportunity to have less travel in the Western division," Sterk told the newspaper. "We pick up someone further west, and we're in better shape than yesterday's Big East."

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Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphdrussoap

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OB/GYNs back over-the-counter birth control pills

WASHINGTON (AP) — No prescription or doctor's exam needed: The nation's largest group of obstetricians and gynecologists says birth control pills should be sold over the counter, like condoms.

Tuesday's surprise opinion from these gatekeepers of contraception could boost longtime efforts by women's advocates to make the pill more accessible.

But no one expects the pill to be sold without a prescription any time soon: A company would have to seek government permission first, and it's not clear if any are considering it. Plus there are big questions about what such a move would mean for many women's wallets if it were no longer covered by insurance.

Still, momentum may be building.

Already, anyone 17 or older doesn't need to see a doctor before buying the morning-after pill — a higher-dose version of regular birth control that can prevent pregnancy if taken shortly after unprotected sex. Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration held a meeting to gather ideas about how to sell regular oral contraceptives without a prescription, too.

Now the influential American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is declaring it's safe to sell the pill that way.

Wait, why would doctors who make money from women's yearly visits for a birth-control prescription advocate giving that up?

Half of the nation's pregnancies every year are unintended, a rate that hasn't changed in 20 years — and easier access to birth control pills could help, said Dr. Kavita Nanda, an OB/GYN who co-authored the opinion for the doctors group.

"It's unfortunate that in this country where we have all these contraceptive methods available, unintended pregnancy is still a major public health problem," said Nanda, a scientist with the North Carolina nonprofit FHI 360, formerly known as Family Health International.

Many women have trouble affording a doctor's visit, or getting an appointment in time when their pills are running low — which can lead to skipped doses, Nanda added.

If the pill didn't require a prescription, women could "pick it up in the middle of the night if they run out," she said. "It removes those types of barriers."

Tuesday, the FDA said it was willing to meet with any company interested in making the pill nonprescription, to discuss what if any studies would be needed.

Then there's the price question. The Obama administration's new health care law requires FDA-approved contraceptives to be available without copays for women enrolled in most workplace health plans.

If the pill were sold without a prescription, it wouldn't be covered under that provision, just as condoms aren't, said Health and Human Services spokesman Tait Sye.

ACOG's opinion, published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, says any move toward making the pill nonprescription should address that cost issue. Not all women are eligible for the free birth control provision, it noted, citing a recent survey that found young women and the uninsured pay an average of $16 per month's supply.

The doctors group made clear that:

—Birth control pills are very safe. Blood clots, the main serious side effect, happen very rarely, and are a bigger threat during pregnancy and right after giving birth.

—Women can easily tell if they have risk factors, such as smoking or having a previous clot, and should avoid the pill.

—Other over-the-counter drugs are sold despite rare but serious side effects, such as stomach bleeding from aspirin and liver damage from acetaminophen.

—And there's no need for a Pap smear or pelvic exam before using birth control pills. But women should be told to continue getting check-ups as needed, or if they'd like to discuss other forms of birth control such as implantable contraceptives that do require a physician's involvement.

The group didn't address teen use of contraception. Despite protests from reproductive health specialists, current U.S. policy requires girls younger than 17 to produce a prescription for the morning-after pill, meaning pharmacists must check customers' ages. Presumably regular birth control pills would be treated the same way.

Prescription-only oral contraceptives have long been the rule in the U.S., Canada, Western Europe, Australia and a few other places, but many countries don't require a prescription.

Switching isn't a new idea. In Washington state a few years ago, a pilot project concluded that pharmacists successfully supplied women with a variety of hormonal contraceptives, including birth control pills, without a doctor's involvement. The question was how to pay for it.

Some pharmacies in parts of London have a similar project under way, and a recent report from that country's health officials concluded the program is working well enough that it should be expanded.

And in El Paso, Texas, researchers studied 500 women who regularly crossed the border into Mexico to buy birth control pills, where some U.S. brands sell over the counter for a few dollars a pack. Over nine months, the women who bought in Mexico stuck with their contraception better than another 500 women who received the pill from public clinics in El Paso, possibly because the clinic users had to wait for appointments, said Dr. Dan Grossman of the University of California, San Francisco, and the nonprofit research group Ibis Reproductive Health.

"Being able to easily get the pill when you need it makes a difference," he said.

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Online:

OB/GYN group: http://www.acog.org

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Ex-'Price is Right' model wins suit against show

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles jury says a former model on "The Price is Right" was discriminated against by producers because of her pregnancy.

The Superior Court jury awarded $776,944 to Brandi Cochran on Tuesday after deliberations that began last week.

City News Service reports that a second phase of the trial will determine whether Cochran should be awarded punitive damages.

The 41-year-old Cochran is a former Miss USA. She claimed she was rejected by producers when she tried to rejoin "The Price is Right" in 2010 after taking maternity leave.

FremantleMedia North America, one of the producers named in the suit, blamed the verdict on a "flawed process." It says that key evidence was excluded by the court.

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Hostess, unions agree to mediation

Hostess Brands Inc agreed in court on Monday to enter private mediation with its lenders and leaders of a striking union to try to avert the liquidation of the maker of Twinkies snack cakes and Wonder Bread.

Hostess, its lenders and the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union agreed to mediation at the urging of Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain of the Southern District of New York, who advised against a more expensive, public hearing regarding the company's liquidation.

"My desire to do this is prompted primarily by the potential loss of over 18,000 jobs as well as my belief that there is a possibility to resolve this matter," Drain said.

The 82-year-old Hostess was seeking permission to liquidate its business, claiming that its operations have been crippled by a bakers strike and that winding down is the best way to preserve its dwindling cash. Hostess suspended operations at all of its 33 plants across the United States last week as it moved to start selling assets.

Heather Lennox, a lawyer for Hostess, said it would be hard for Hostess to recover from the damage it sustained due to the strike even if an agreement was forthcoming. Yet following the hearing, Hostess Chief Executive Officer Gregory Rayburn told reporters that there was always a chance Hostess could be saved.

"I think we have to see what unfolds," Rayburn said. "My impression is that the judge wants to understand the parties' positions and some of their logic, but it doesn't change our financial position.

"I'm happy to have the help," he added, referring to Drain's mediation following a breakdown of communication between Hostess and the union. "Maybe the judge will help. But can I handicap how it's going to go? No way."

A lawyer for Hostess' creditors' committee declined to comment.

The court-sanctioned mediation could make both sides more willing to give, said Nick Kalm, a communications consultant specializing in labor relations.

"It makes it much more likely that the company will put forward something that is less draconian... and the union will take it. The union realizes they are out of options," said Kalm.

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

The BCTGM called the strike on November 9 after Hostess sought and won court approval to impose wage and benefit cuts.

Unlike other unions representing workers at Hostess, the BCTGM did not contest Hostess's action -- which allowed it to reject a collective bargaining agreement and impose its offer.

Given the fact that the union did not fight Hostess's motion in court, Judge Drain said it was "somewhat unusual to say the least, and perhaps illogical" that the union would then strike against it.

"Its an odd approach," Drain said. "Before thousands of people are put out of work it would seem to me worthwhile for both the union and the debtors to explore why that happened."

Drain also questioned whether the union had held discussions with competitors or potential suitors about a shiftover of jobs, saying the union's response to Monday's motion implied that it sees "meaningful sales available out there beyond the piecemeal sales that this motion contemplates."

A lawyer for the union did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment on whether such discussions had taken place.

BUYERS MAY EMERGE

Analysts have said Hostess' brands, which also include Nature's Pride, Dolly Madison and Drakes, are expected to draw interest from rivals including Flowers Foods, Pepperidge Farm owner Campbell Soup Co and Mexico's Grupo Bimbo.

Brian Boyle, a food industry investment banker at D.A. Davidson & Co, said it was hard to gauge the value of the Hostess assets, given that there are a lot of plants that are old and inefficient.

"The other wild card is whether you're going to see different buyers emerge for different segments of the business. So Flowers Foods, for instance, might want the cake segment and Bimbo could want the bread piece. So it comes down to 'are the parts greater than the whole?'," Boyle said. "In either case, significant labor and benefits concessions will be required."

Private equity firm Metropolous & Co said on Friday it was interested in pursuing the company, and on Monday, Fortune reported that Sun Capital Partners was interested. Sun Capital did not return a call seeking comment.

The company did have a potential white knight at one point, according to Hostess. Last spring, an outside equity investor had made a viable proposal that would help the company reorganize, it said, but the Teamsters union refused to agree to changes to the pension program and the outside investor walked away.

The company spent the summer and fall negotiating with all of the 12 unions trying to find a common path to reorganization, and did gain certain agreements with the Teamsters and many of the other unions, though not the BCTGM. At the same time the company started putting together a liquidation plan.

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Fatal Indianapolis explosion now a homicide investigation

Authorities have launched a criminal homicide investigation into the house explosion that killed two people and damaged numerous homes in an Indianapolis neighborhood.

Indianapolis Homeland Security Director Gary Coons made the announcement Monday evening.

Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry says search warrants are being executed and that official are looking for a white van that was seen in the neighborhood.

Officials have said they believe natural gas was involved in Nov. 10 explosion, which leveled two homes and left dozens more uninhabitable. Investigators have been focusing on appliances as they search for a cause.

Funerals were held earlier Monday for the couple killed in the explosion, 34-year-old John Dion Longworth and 36-year-old Jennifer Longworth. They lived next door to the home where investigators believe the explosion originated.

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U.S. ITC will review Apple, Samsung patent decision

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. International Trade Commission will review a judge's decision which found that Apple did not violate patents owned by Samsung Electronics in making the iPod touch, iPhone and iPad.

An administrative law judge at the ITC had said in a preliminary ruling in September that Apple was innocent of violating the patents. The ITC, which could have opted to simply uphold the judge's decision, said that it would take up the matter. A final decision is expected in January.

If Apple is found to infringe, its devices can be banned for sale in the United States.

Apple and Samsung have taken their bruising patent disputes to some 10 countries as they vie for market share in the booming mobile industry.

Apple won a huge victory in August when a U.S. jury found the South Korean firm had copied key features of the iPhone. Apple was awarded $1.05 billion in damages. That ruling is under appeal.

In its announcement that it would review the case, the ITC asked for briefings on how it should consider standard essential patents, which are normally expected to be licensed widely and on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms. The use of standards helps companies ensure devices are interoperable.

Some antitrust enforcers have argued that it is wrong for companies which own standard essential patents to ask for infringing devices to be barred from the country except in extreme instances.

The commission is reviewing a decision by ITC Judge James Gildea, who said in September that Apple did not violate the four patents at issue in the case, which was filed in mid-2011.

The two standard essential patents in the complaint are related to 3G wireless technology and the format of data packets for high-speed transmission.

Apple has a parallel complaint filed against Samsung at the ITC, accusing Samsung, a major Apple chip provider as well as a global rival, of blatantly copying its iPhones and iPads. An ITC judge said in that case that Samsung infringed on four Apple patents. The full ITC will issue a final decision in February.

Apple has waged an international patent war since 2010 as it seeks to limit growth of Google's Android system. The fight has embroiled Samsung, HTC and others who use Android.

Google's Android software, which Apple's late founder Steve Jobs denounced as a "stolen product," has become the world's No. 1 smartphone operating system.

Samsung is the world's largest smartphone maker, while Apple is in third place. Many experts consider Samsung's Galaxy touchscreen tablets the main rival to the iPad, although they are currently a distant second to Apple's devices.

Samsung is also a parts supplier to Apple, producing micro processors, flat screens and memory chips - both dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips and NAND memory chips - for the iPhone, iPad and iPod. Apple has reduced orders from Samsung for chips and screens.

The case at the International Trade Commission is No. 337-794.

(Reporting By Diane Bartz; Editing by Bernard Orr and David Gregorio)

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Marlins salary dump to Toronto finalized

MIAMI (AP) — The Miami Marlins' latest payroll purge received final approval Monday from the commissioner's office, and as the team's top baseball executive began to discuss the deal during a conference call, a bad connection generated waves of reverberating noise that filled the phone line.

Nearly a week after the Marlins swung their widely ridiculed trade with Toronto, negative feedback keeps coming.

Commissioner Bud Selig approved the blockbuster deal, however, even though it made Marlins fans irate and made the team a nationwide punch line. The trade sends All-Star shortstop Jose Reyes to the Blue Jays along with pitchers Mark Buehrle and Josh Johnson, catcher John Buck and outfielder Emilio Bonifacio for seven players, none of whom has a big-money contract.

Miami received infielders Yunel Escobar and Adeiny Hechavarria, pitchers Henderson Alvarez, Anthony DeSclafani and Justin Nicolino, catcher Jeff Mathis and outfielder Jake Marisnick.

By swinging the deal only months after the Marlins moved into a new stadium built with taxpayer money, they pared from their books $146.5 million in payroll. That's their net savings after agreeing to send $8.5 million to the Blue Jays as part of the trade.

Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest said he understood why fans were mad, and confirmed the trade was necessary because owner Jeffrey Loria wanted to pare payroll. Beinfest also conceded the deal will make it harder for the team to recruit free agents in the future.

But Selig decided not to block it.

"This transaction, involving established major leaguers and highly regarded young players and prospects, represents the exercise of plausible baseball judgment on the part of both clubs (and) does not violate any express rule of Major League Baseball and does not otherwise warrant the exercise of any of my powers to prevent its completion," Selig said in a statement. "It is, of course, up to the clubs involved to make the case to their respective fans that this transaction makes sense and enhances the competitive position of each, now or in the future."

The players traded by the Marlins have combined guaranteed salaries of $163.75 million through 2018, including $96 million due Reyes.

"I understand the pause the fans have with the instability in our roster at a time when we were hoping to be very stable in the new stadium," Beinfest said. "It's not a lot of fun."

By contrast, the trade stamps the Blue Jays as contenders in the AL East. They haven't reached the playoffs since winning their second consecutive World Series in 1993.

Miami also finalized a deal with outfielder Juan Pierre, who agreed to a $1.6 million, one-year contract. That leaves the Marlins with an estimated opening-day payroll of $36 million for active players, which would be their lowest since 2008. In the latest figures, Oakland had the lowest payroll in the majors this year at $59.5 million.

While Beinfest said the Marlins acquired championship-caliber talent, fans believe owner Jeffrey Loria's goal was to increase his profits in the new ballpark rather than put increased revenue into the roster.

"We did receive a payroll range from ownership that we needed to achieve," Beinfest said. "With this transaction, we have achieved that payroll range."

The Marlins flopped as big spenders. They began the year with a franchise-record payroll of $112 million, then went 69-93, their worst record since 1999.

After sinking to last place by midseason, the Marlins traded former NL batting champion Hanley Ramirez, second baseman Omar Infante, right-hander Anibal Sanchez and closer Heath Bell. Reyes, Buehrle and Bell signed multiyear deals as newcomers a year ago during an unprecedented Marlins spending spree, and Beinfest acknowledged other free agents might be now reluctant to sign with Miami.

"It'll be a factor," he said. "I don't think we're happy about this at all. I understand there may be some disdain in the marketplace. We won't know until we get into those negotiations with free agents. It's definitely not great for the club, and we're going to have to deal with it."

Miami's biggest remaining star, slugger Giancarlo Stanton, has been among those expressing anger about the trade. Beinfest said he hadn't talked with Stanton about the deal.

"I know this is an emotional time," Beinfest said. "I'm sure it has been tough for him. Our feeling was to maybe let the dust settle a little bit and then talk to Giancarlo. I hear the frustration. It's not unexpected. This has been a tough go, but we think it's best for us moving forward."

Players' union head Michael Weiner withheld comment, saying he was awaiting more input from Major League Baseball.

In January 2009, the union reached an agreement with MLB and the Marlins covering 2010-12 which Weiner said was a "response to our concerns that revenue sharing proceeds have not been used as required. As part of the deal, Weiner said the team planned to "use such proceeds to increase player payroll annually as they move toward the opening of their new ballpark."

Selig said he was sensitive to how Marlins fans reacted to the trade.

"Baseball is a social institution with important social responsibilities, and I fully understand that the Miami community has done its part to put the Marlins into a position to succeed with beautiful new Marlins Park," Selig said. "Going forward, I will continue to monitor this situation with the expectation that the Marlins will take into account the sentiments of their fans, who deserve the best efforts and considered judgment of their club. I have received assurances from the ownership of the Marlins that they share these beliefs and are fully committed to build a long-term winning team that their fans can be proud of."

NOTES: Pierre would earn a $25,000 bonus if he's an All-Star, $25,000 each for winning a Gold Glove or Silver Slugger, $50,000 if he's an LCS MVP, $100,000 if he's the World Series MVP and $100,000 if he's the league MVP.

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AP Sports Writer Ronald Blum in New York contributed to this report.

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