Final “Spartacus” Season to Enter the Arena January 25

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Starz’s “Spartacus” series will engage in one last round of battle in January, the cable network said Tuesday.

“Spartacus: War of the Damned” will premiere January 25, 2013 at 9 p.m., marking the beginning of the end for the blood-and-sex soaked franchise, whose previous installments included “Spartacus: Vengeance” and “Spartacus: Blood and Sand.”

“Spartacus: War of the Damned” sees Liam McIntyre returning as the titular gladiator, and takes place following the defeat of Roman commander Gaius Claudius Glaber. Following successful battles against the Romans after the Battle of Vesuvius, the ranks of the rebellious slaves have swelled, with Rome trembling at Spartacus’ increased threat to the empire.

This season also sees the addition of new cast members Todd Lasance as Gaius Julius Caesar, Simon Merrells as Marcus Crassus and Anna Hutchison as Laeta.

TV News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Ask an Expert: Wondering About Alzheimer’s? Ask Here

This week’s Ask the Expert features Dr. P. Murali Doraiswamy, who will answer questions related to Alzheimer’s disease and memory loss. He is a professor of psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center and an author of “The Alzheimer’s Action Plan.” Dr. Doraiswamy has also served as an adviser to government agencies, advocacy groups and businesses.

About five million Americans today live with Alzheimer’s disease, and a new diagnosis is made about every 70 seconds. Cases are expected to triple over the coming decades as baby boomers age.

Misperceptions and misdiagnoses are common about Alzheimer’s, which ranks second to only cancer among diseases that adults fear the most. Many people do not understand that there are dozens of causes for memory loss besides Alzheimer’s, including many that can be fully reversed if caught early.

Among the questions Dr. Doraiswamy is prepared to answer:

What are the best tests to determine if it is or isn’t Alzheimer’s?

How do you determine your own risk?

What are the family-care options? Medications for memory? Medications for behavior problems? Preventive strategies?

What has been learned from the latest clinical trials?

How can you improve your memory?

Please leave your questions in the comments section. Answers will be posted on Wednesday.

You can follow Booming via RSS here or visit nytimes.com/booming.

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McDonald's sales drop, first time since 2003

McDonald's Corp. reported its first decline in monthly U.S. same store sales in nine years Thursday, as the chain began to suffer problems plaguing the rest of the fast food industry for several years.

Sales at restaurants open more than a year declined 2.2 percent. Same store sales also declined in Europe, 2.2 percent, and the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa region, 2.4 percent.

The chain cited lower demand and greater competition for the lower sales. While hamburger competitors Burger King and Wendy’s were walloped by the onset of the recession, both  have changed hands in recent years and launched new menu items that better compete with McDonald’s including expanded breakfast offerings, improved coffee options and more innovative salads.

"Though October's sales results reflect the pervasive challenges of today's global marketplace, I am confident that our strategies and the adjustments we are making in response to the current business headwinds will build sales momentum and drive sustained, profitable growth," McDonald's CEO Don Thompson said. 

Although the decline is historic for the world's largest restaurant chain, which has been on a roll since the beginning of its historic turnaround in 2003, it was not unexpected. Analysts have been tempering expectations and downgrading the stock for months.

To rev up sales, McDonald's has been working to emphasize value in markets around the world.

In the U.S., for example, McDonald's is stepping up advertising for its Dollar Menu after its attempt to market an "Extra Value Menu" for slightly higher prices fell flat. But the company said Thursday that the efforts were offset by "modest consumer demand" and competition.

In particular, McDonald's is facing stiffer competition from longtime rivals Burger King and Wendy's, which are both in the midst of reviving their brands with new ad campaigns and improved menus. Taco Bell, owned by Yum Brands Inc., is also enjoying growth with the help of new offerings such as it Doritos Locos Tacos and higher-end Cantina Bell bowls and burritos.

Stock slipped 0.99 percent in pre-market trades, to $86 in early trading. McDonald's hit an all-time high of $101.74 in February.

Baird analyst David Tarantino maintained an outperform rating on McDonald's, saying in a research note that, "We are cautiously optimistic that better trends can emerge as McDonald's gets past a wall of challenging comparisons in upcoming months."

Tarrantino added that though results "could remain soft" through early 2013, "we see opportunity for better performance to emerge in 2013 as a whole," because of emphasis on value offerings, lower ingredient costs, and reduced currency impact.

eyork@tribune.com | Twitter: @emilyyork

- Reuters contributed to this report

MCD Net Income Quarterly data by YCharts

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Boehner, Reid pledge to work together on 'fiscal cliff'

In a sign that political leaders are willing to heed President Obama’s calls for bipartisan cooperation in the wake of his re-election, both Republican House Speaker John Boehner and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid softened their partisan tones on Wednesday. In separate press conferences three hours apart, they pledged to work together to get the country on a better financial footing.

In the hours after his victory speech in Chicago, Obama had called the men to discuss the so-called “fiscal cliff,” the morass of expiring tax cuts, scheduled budget cuts and a rising debt.

“American people want us to work together,” Reid told reporters around noon. “Republicans want us to work together. Democrats want us to work together. They want a balanced approach to everything, but especially this situation we have dealing with this huge deficit, and taxes that are part of that.”

He added, “There was a message sent to us by the American people based on the campaign, and that is people making all this money have to contribute a little bit more.”

Exit polling, he said, revealed that “the vast majority of the American people support that, including rich people.”

Boehner for his part, seemed to signal that Republicans are willing to rethink their approach to negotiating with the president and his party.

“I'm not suggesting we compromise on our principles,” Boehner said in the late afternoon. “But I am suggesting that we commit ourselves to creating an atmosphere where we can see common ground where it exists and seize it.”

He added that “for the purposes of forging a bipartisan agreement that begins to solve the problem, we're willing to accept new revenue under the right conditions,” stressing that Republicans preferred spending cuts and reforming the tax code rather than raising tax rates on the wealthiest Americans.

As Obama reached out to the legislative leaders – he also spoke with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell – the Republican Party faced a reckoning about its identity.

Republicans began to grapple with the party’s future, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney began the slow fade of a failed nominee, meeting with staffers at his Boston headquarters, presumably to thank them and wish them well.

Shortly after his arrival in the late afternoon, his campaign theme song, Kid Rock’s “Born Free,” could be heard by reporters on the sidewalk outside.

Cheers could be heard at the beginning and the end of each speaker’s remarks. Among the speakers was Stuart Stevens, Romney’s chief strategist and ad maker.

Two hours later, at 6 p.m., Romney and his wife, Ann, left in a Silver Saab, driven by their eldest son, Tagg. The former nominee’s Secret Service protection was expected to end Wednesday.

Despite failing to win back the presidency, the election had some bright spots for Republicans. The party kept control of the House. (Despite its hopes for much of the election cycle, the GOP did not wrest control of the Senate from Democrats. Montana incumbent Jon Tester was declared the victor over Republican Denny Rehberg Wednesday morning, saving for Democrats one of Republicans’ biggest pickup hopes.)

With Romney vanquished, the party’s putative leaders are its top legislators, Boehner, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

But Romney’s running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, often touted as the ideological leader of the party’s conservative wing, will have solidified his importance as the GOP grapples with its ideological future, as well as with the demographic changes that contributed to its failure to recapture the White House.

Meanwhile, nine counties in Florida were still counting ballots late Wednesday afternoon.

The state whose dysfunctional voting methods traumatized the nation 12 years ago is still up in the air.

Instead of butterfly ballots and hanging chads, the problem appears to have been caused by a long ballot, high turnout and some mechanical failures.

Even the president, in his victory speech in Chicago, acknowledged the problem:

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Apple slides to five-month low, uncertainty grows

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Phase 4 Films Acquires “Precious” Producer’s Directorial Debut “Long Time Gone”

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – Phase 4 Films has acquired U.S. and Canadian rights to Sarah Siegel-Magness‘ “Long Time Gone,” a drama starring Virginia Madsen, Amanda Crew and Zach Gilford.

Connecticut resident who has a nervous breakdown after discovering her husband is having an affair. Her son tries to comfort her with the help of his older brother (Gilford) and live-in girlfriend (Crew).

Anthony LaPaglia and Eva Longoria also star in the directorial debut of Siegel-Magness, who produced “Precious.”

“We are thrilled to be working with Sarah on her directorial debut after her past success as a producer,” Phase 4 president and CEO Ben Meyerowitz said in a statement. “We cannot wait until audiences see the great performances by Virginia Madsen and the rest of the wonderful cast involved.”

Phase 4 will release the film day-and-date in theaters and across all VOD and digital platforms Spring 2013.

“I am thrilled to have Phase 4 release my directorial debut. From the very start, they understood and appreciated our film and their enthusiasm has us very excited to move forward in the next chapter of our film’s journey,” Siegel-Magness said in a statement. “Their understanding of the ever changing landscape of the marketplace has us feeling confident that our film is in the right hands.”

Movies News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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A Collective Effort to Save Decades of Research at N.Y.U.

The calls started coming in late on Tuesday and early Wednesday: offers of dry ice, freezer space, coolers. By the end of Thursday there were dozens more: A researcher at Weill Cornell Medical College would clear 1,000 tanks to save threatened zebra fish; another, at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, promised to replace some genetically altered mice that were lost; and a doctor at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia even offered take over entire experiments, to keep them going.

As hurricane-driven waters surged into New York University research buildings in Kips Bay, on the East Side of Manhattan, investigators in New York and around the world jumped on the phone to offer assistance — executing a reverse Noah’s ark operation, to rescue lab animals and other assets from a flooding vessel.

“I’ve had 43 people who have offered to help so far, and some of them are direct competitors,” said Gordon Fishell, associate director of the N.Y.U. Neuroscience Institute, who lost more than 5,000 genetically altered mice when storm waters surged the night of Oct. 30, cutting off power. “It’s just been unbelievable,” he said. “It really buoys my spirits and my lab’s.”

Staff members at N.Y.U. worked around the clock to preserve research materials, running in and out of darkened buildings without elevator service, hauling dry ice and other supplies up anywhere from 2 to more than 15 floors.

The university’s medical center also got instant help, from almost every major research institution in the area.

The response reflects large shifts in the way that science is conducted over the past generation or so. Individual labs always compete to be first, but researchers increasingly share materials that are enormously expensive and time-consuming to reproduce. The loss of a single cell line or genetically altered animal can slow progress for years in some areas of biomedical research.

“We are totally dependent on each other in the life sciences now, for a very large number of cell lines and extracts, research animals and unique chemical tools and antibodies that might not have backup copies anywhere in the world, or in very few places,” said Dr. Steven Hyman, director of the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at the Broad Institute of M.I.T. and Harvard. “Losing any of these tools tears a significant hole in the entire field.”

Danny Reinberg, a professor of biochemistry at N.Y.U.’s medical school, has studied genetics for 30 years, accumulating valuable mice strains and stocks of extracts from cell nuclei that would be extremely difficult to replace. The extracts must be stored at minus 112 degrees Fahrenheit.

Dr. Reinberg said he lost all of his mice: nine strains, including more than 1,000 animals that died in the storm surge. But he managed to save all of the cell extracts by moving some containers into freezers at N.Y.U. labs that weren’t affected and others to the Rockefeller, Columbia and Cornell medical centers, each of which cleared space, he said.

“We were able to save many things; it was just phenomenal to get that kind of help,” said Dr. Reinberg, whose house in New Jersey has had no power.

“Later in the week, at a Starbucks, I could finally download all my e-mail, and there were messages from people at the University of Pennsylvania and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, asking how they could help us re-establish the mouse lines we lost,” he said.

Some scientists have become interdependent because their students, who develop a specialty in specific tissues or animals, often move among labs. Research projects sometimes draw on experiments or analyses the students worked on at more than one place.

One researcher working in Dr. Fishell’s lab was formerly a student of Dr. Stewart Anderson of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, who sent Dr. Fishell a text message on Wednesday to offer help. “I told him that even if it costs money, we’re happy to keep experiments rolling, if we’re able to,” Dr. Anderson said.

By late Thursday, freezer space in minus-112-degree units was extremely tight in the city. So was dry ice.

Susan Zolla-Pazner, director of AIDS research at the Manhattan Veterans Affairs Medical Center, had lost power in her 18th-floor lab in the department’s building at 23rd Street and First Avenue. She finally hired a company to haul her 20 freezers-full of specimens, for safekeeping.

“We spent all of Tuesday and Wednesday hauling 1,300 pounds of dry ice up to the 18th floor, using the stairs, to stabilize the freezers first,” said Dr. Zolla-Pazner, who is also a professor of pathology at N.Y.U. School of Medicine. “And the dry ice people would only take cash. I have about 25 to 30 people working for me, and everyone was out there on 23rd Street, reaching into their pockets to get what we needed. It was a herculean and heroic effort on the part of everyone here, and that is the story that needs to be told.”

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'Fiscal cliff' takes center stage

Now that Wall Street knows President Obama will stay in the White House, investors' attention has returned to looming crises facing the U.S. and European economies.

Major stock indexes were down more than 2 percent midway through the first trading session after election day.

At the top of the agenda is the "fiscal cliff," the automatic spending cuts and tax hikes looming at year's end. If Obama cannot successfully resolve the crisis with a House still controlled by Republicans, economists have warned that the "cliff" could slow growth and push the U.S. back into recession.

"We've gotten certainty on the presidency and now we move into the uncertainty of where we were before -- the fiscal cliff," said Quincy Krosby, a market strategist at Prudential Financial. "The market's not going to have much patience to wait to see when the negotiations begin in earnest and how they evolve."

The Dow Jones industrial average regained some ground but was still down 303 points, or 2.3 percent, to 12,943 in midday trading.

The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 32 points, or 2.2 percent, to 1,396. The Nasdaq was down 71 points, or 2.4 percent, to 2,941.

Corporations reported sluggish revenues in the third quarter, signaling slowing economic growth regardless of the fiscal cliff, Krosby noted. Declining company fortunes could lead to job cuts and further drags on economic growth as consumer demand falls.

Also weighing on investors' minds: Continuing worries out of Europe. Economic data out of Germany indicate that not even the continent's most powerful economy is immune to the Eurozone slowdown, as European Central Bank President Mario Draghi noted in remarks Wednesday.

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Activist gets 4 years in fake NATO summit threat

A reputed member of the anarchist “Black Bloc” pleaded guilty today to threatening to blow up a train overpass during the NATO summit and was sentenced to 4 years in prison by a Cook County judge.

Sebastian Senakiewicz, 24, was arrested in the days before the NATO summit May 20-21 after he boasted that he had two homemade explosives hidden in his Chicago residence in a hollowed-out Harry Potter book.

But a police search of the home in the 3600 block of North Odell Avenue turned up no bombs.

Senakiewicz pleaded guilty to one felony count of falsely making a terrorist threat.

At a hearing in the Leighton Criminal Court Building, Judge Nicholas Ford imposed the 4-year prison term and recommended that Senakiewicz be admitted into a prison boot camp. If he successfully completes the program he could be released in as little as 6 months, but prosecutors said the Polish native would be subject to deportation on completing his sentence.

Senakiewicz's attorney said in a release that Sanikiewicz likely will serve only four months, and he made the plea to get out of Cook County Jail. His "alcohol-fueled chats with two undercover cops" didn't rise the level of the type of conduct meant to be prosecuted under the state law.

Senakiewicz "pled guilty to a felony state terrorism charge and got 120 days in boot camp," said Jeff Frank, one of Senakiewicz’ attorneys.

"Does this rise to the level of what this statute was designed for? No. Sabi is guilty of imprudent language," Frank said in the release. "That’s hardly grounds to extract a guilty plea for a serious felony, but that’s how Ms. Alvarez has chosen to spend the taxpayers resources."

Senakiewicz, who worked as a mechanic and went by the nickname Sabi, is an anarchist who was disappointed by the lack of chaos in Chicago in the runup to the NATO summit, prosecutors said at the time of his arrest.

He boasted that he had a carload of explosives that could destroy half of a train overpass and that he was determined to use them during the summit, authorities alleged at the time.

Senakiewicz was not one of the “NATO 3” suspects who were arrested in Bridgeport for allegedly plotting to use Molotov cocktails during the summit. They have pleaded not guilty.

Activists have labelled Sankiewicz and four others charged with terrorism-related charges in connection with the NATO Summit the “NATO 5.” Cases against the other four, Brian Church, Jared Chase, and Brent Vincent Betterly, who are charged in related cases, and Mark Neiweem, who is charged separately, are still pending, said state’s attorney’s spokesman Andy Conklin.chi-northwest-side-man-faces-terrorism- charges-

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Exclusive - Amazon to win EU e-book pricing tussle with Apple

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union regulators are to end an antitrust probe into e-book prices by accepting an offer by Apple and four publishers to ease price restrictions on Amazon, two sources said on Tuesday.

That decision would hand online retailer Amazon a victory in its attempt to sell e-books cheaper than rivals in the fast-growing market publishers hope will boost revenue and increase customer numbers.

"Faced with years of court battles and uncertainty I can understand why some of these guys decided to fold their cards and take the whipping," said Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords, an ebook publisher and distributor that works with Apple.

"It's certainly another win for Amazon," he added. "I have not seen the terms of the final settlement, but my initial reaction is that it places restrictions on what publishers can do, slowing them down just when they need to be more nimble."

A spokesman at the EU Commission said its investigation was not yet finished. Amazon and Apple declined to comment.

In September, Apple and the publishers offered to let retailers set prices or discounts for a period of two years, and also to suspend "most-favored nation" contracts for five years.

Such clauses bar Simon & Schuster, News Corp. unit HarperCollins, Lagardere SCA's Hachette Livre and Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck, the owner of German company Macmillan, from making deals with rival retailers to sell e-books more cheaply than Apple.

The agreements, which critics say prevent Amazon and other retailers from undercutting Apple's charges, sparked an investigation by the European Commission in December last year.

Pearson Plc's Penguin group, which is also under investigation, did not take part in the offer.

The EU antitrust authority, which in September asked for feedback from rivals and consumers about the proposal, has not asked for more concessions, said one of sources.

"The Commission is likely to accept the offer and announce its decision next month," the source said on Tuesday.

Antoine Colombani, spokesman for competition policy at the European Commission, said: "We have launched a market test in September and our investigation is still ongoing."

Amazon declined to comment, while Apple did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Companies found guilty of breaching EU rules could be fined up to 10 percent of their global sales, which in Apple's case could reach $15.6 billion, based on its 2012 fiscal year.

AGGREGATE PRICING

UBS analysts estimate that e-books account for about 30 percent of the U.S. book market and 20 percent of sales in Britain but are minuscule elsewhere. When Amazon launched its Kindle e-reader, it charged $9.99 per book.

Apple's agency model let publishers set prices in return for a 30 percent cut to the maker of iPhone and iPad.

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating e-book prices. HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster and Hachette have settled, but Apple, Pengin Group and Macmillan have not.

The DOJ settlement required that retailers must at least break even selling all ebooks from a publisher's available list, according to Coker and Joe Wikert, general manager and publisher at O'Reilly Media Inc.

It was not clear if EU regulators will include a similar requirement, which would prohibit Amazon from pricing all ebooks at a loss, said Wikert, a former publishing executive.

In the United States, Amazon will likely price popular titles at a loss and try to make up the difference on a publisher's other ebooks, he said.

Coker said any such rule could be dangerous in Europe, which still has distinct markets.

"It could allow a single retailer to charge full price in a large market like the U.K., and then sell below cost or for free in multiple smaller markets as a strategy to kill regional ebook retailing upstarts before they take root," Coker said.

FROWNING ON ONLINE TRADE CURBS

Antitrust regulators tend to frown on restrictions on online trade and the case is a good example, said Mark Tricker, a partner at Brussels-based law firm Norton Rose.

"This case shows the online world continues to be a major focus for the Commission," he said.

"These markets change very quickly and if you don't stamp down on potential infringements of competition rules, you can have significant consequences."

(Additional reporting by Alistair Barr in San Francisco; Editing by Rex Merrifield, David Goodman and David Gregorio)

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