Aaron Schwartz, Reddit co-founder, commits suicide in Brooklyn

A co-founder of Reddit and activist who fought to make online content free to the public has been found dead, authorities confirmed Saturday, prompting an outpouring of grief from prominent voices on the intersection of free speech and the Web.

Aaron Swartz, 26, hanged himself in his Brooklyn apartment weeks before he was to go on trial on accusations that he stole millions of journal articles from an electronic archive in an attempt to make them freely available. If convicted, he faced decades in prison and a fortune in fines.

He was pronounced dead Friday evening at home in Brooklyn's Crown Heights neighborhood, said Ellen Borakove, spokeswoman for New York's chief medical examiner.

Swartz was “an extraordinary hacker and activist,” the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an international nonprofit digital rights group based in California wrote in a tribute on its home page.

He “did more than almost anyone to make the Internet a thriving ecosystem for open knowledge, and to keep it that way,” the tribute said.

Swartz was a prodigy who as a young teenager helped create RSS, a family of Web feed formats used to gather updates from blogs, news headlines, audio and video for users. He co-founded the social news website Reddit, which was later sold to Conde Nast, as well as the political action group Demand Progress, which campaigns against Internet censorship.

Among Internet gurus, Swartz was considered a pioneer of efforts to make online information freely available.

“Playing Mozart's Requiem in honor of a brave and brilliant man,” tweeted Carl Malamud, an Internet public domain advocate who believes in free access to legally obtained files.

Swartz aided Malamud's own effort to post federal court documents for free online, rather than the few cents per page that the government charges through its electronic archive, PACER. In 2008, The New York Times reported, Swartz wrote a program to legally download the files using free access via public libraries. About 20 percent of all the court papers were made available until the government shut down the library access.

The FBI investigated but did not charge Swartz, he wrote on his own website.

Three years later, Swartz was arrested in Boston and charged with stealing millions of articles from a computer archive at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Prosecutors said he broke into a computer wiring closet on campus and used his laptop for the downloads.

Experts puzzled over the arrest and argued that the result of the actions Swartz was accused of was the same as his PACER program: more information publicly available.

The prosecution “makes no sense,” Demand Progress Executive Director David Segal said in a statement at the time. “It's like trying to put someone in jail for allegedly checking too many books out of the library.”

Swartz pleaded not guilty to charges including wire fraud. His federal trial was to begin next month.

According to a federal indictment, Swartz stole the documents from JSTOR, a subscription service used by MIT that offers digitized copies of articles from academic journals. Prosecutors said he intended to distribute the articles on file-sharing websites.

He faced 13 felony charges, including breaching site terms and intending to share downloaded files through peer-to-peer networks, computer fraud, wire fraud, obtaining information from a protected computer, and criminal forfeiture.

JSTOR did not press charges once it reclaimed the articles from Swartz, and some legal experts considered the case unfounded, saying that MIT allows guests access to the articles and Swartz, a fellow at Harvard's Safra Center for Ethics, was a guest.

Criticizing the government's actions in the pending prosecution, Harvard law professor and Safra Center faculty director Lawrence Lessig called himself a friend of Swartz's and wrote Saturday that “we need a better sense of justice. … The question this government needs to answer is why it was so necessary that Aaron Swartz be labeled a `felon.“’

JSTOR announced this week that it would make “more than 4.5 million articles” publicly available for free.

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Judge delays arraignment of theater shooting suspect James Holmes

CENTENNIAL, Colo. — A judge Friday delayed the arraignment of theater shooting suspect James E. Holmes on 166 counts of murder, attempted murder and weapons charges until March 12, granting a defense request for more time to "research the appropriate plea."

Holmes is accused of unleashing a massacre on July 20 in an Aurora, Colo., movie theater that killed 12 and injured at least 70 others. Holmes has not yet entered a plea and has been held without bail since his arrest moments after the shooting.

Late Thursday, Judge William B. Sylvester of Colorado's 18th Judicial District ruled that the prosecution had established probable cause on all counts and ordered an arraignment Friday. But he also noted that he expected the defense to ask for a delay.

Earlier in the week, the prosecution offered detailed and often graphic evidence at a preliminary hearing that Holmes plotted for months to kill as many people as possible in a place where escape would be difficult. Prosecutors also presented testimony that Holmes was the person who opened fire on the crowd at a 12:05 a.m. showing of the Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises."

During the 15-minute hearing Friday, Sylvester said that although he was "empathetic" with the wishes of victims' family members who wanted to see Holmes tried quickly, he wanted to be careful that "this matter is done correctly" to limit the chance of a possible appeal later.

The delay angered some family members. As Sylvester recessed the hearing, Steve Hernandez, the father of Rebecca Wingo, who was killed in the theater, blurted, "Rot in hell, Holmes."

Minutes later, Sylvester reconvened the court and told Hernandez, "I'm terribly sorry for your loss. I can't begin to imagine the emotions that are raging." But he added that he would not tolerate further outbursts.

Hernandez apologized and said he meant no disrespect.

Defense attorneys have indicated Holmes, a former neuroscience student, is mentally ill. It is widely thought the defense could offer a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. Colorado is one of only nine states where the burden to disprove insanity falls on the prosecution.

Though the prosecution has worked to show that Holmes plotted the shooting for months, that is not the same as being sane, said Rick Kornfeld, a Denver lawyer who has worked as a federal prosecutor and a defense attorney.

The issue will be "what was going on in his head at the time of the shooting," Kornfeld said.

It is not yet known whether George Brauchler, the newly elected Arapahoe County district attorney, will seek the death penalty. He has 63 days after arraignment to decide. Capital punishment is rare in Colorado.

nation@latimes.com

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Canada natives block Harper’s office, threaten unrest

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Aboriginal protesters blocked the main entrance to a building where Canada’s prime minister was preparing to meet some native leaders on Friday, highlighting a deep divide within the country’s First Nations on how to push Ottawa to heed their demands.

The noisy blockade, which lasted about an hour, ended just before Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his aides met with about 20 native chiefs, even as other leaders opted to boycott the session.

Chiefs have warned that the Idle No More aboriginal protest movement is prepared to bring the economy to its knees unless Ottawa addresses the poor living conditions and high jobless rates facing many of Canada’s 1.2 million natives.

Native groups complain that successive Canadian governments have ignored treaties aboriginals signed with British settlers and explorers hundreds of years ago, treaties they say granted them significant rights over their territory.

The meeting was hastily arranged under pressure from an Ontario chief who says she has been subsiding only on liquids for a month. It took place in the Langevin Block, a building near Parliament in central Ottawa where the prime minister and his staff work.

Outside in the freezing rain, demonstrators in traditional feathered headgear shouted, waved burning tapers, banged drums and brandished banners with slogans such as “Treaty rights not greedy whites” and “The natives are restless.”

Until midday on Friday, it was uncertain if the meeting would go ahead, with many native leaders urging a boycott and others saying it was important to talk to the government.

“Harper, if you want our lands, our native land, meaning everyone of us, over my dead body, Harper, you’re going to do this,” said Raymond Robinson, a Cree from Manitoba.

“You’ll have to come through me first. You’ll have to bury me first before you get them,” he shouted toward the prime minister’s office from the steps outside Parliament.

The aboriginal movement is deeply split over tactics and not all the chiefs invited to the meeting turned up. Some leaders wanted Governor-General David Johnston, the official representative of Queen Elizabeth, Canada’s head of state, to participate.

Johnston has declined the invitation, saying it is not his place to get involved in policy discussions. He instead was later hosting a ceremonial meeting with native leaders at his residence.

The elected leader of the natives, Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo, was one of those who attended the meeting with Harper.

He said his people wanted a fundamental transformation in their relationship with the federal government, and would press for a fair share of revenues from resource development as well as action on schools and drinking water.

BANGED ON THE DOOR

Gordon Peters, grand chief of the association of Iroquois and Allied Nations in Ontario, threatened to “block all the corridors of this province” next Wednesday unless natives’ demands were met. Ontario is Canada’s most populous province and has rich natural resources.

Peters told reporters that investors in Canada should know their money was not safe.

“Canada cannot give certainty to their investors any longer. That certainty for investors can only come from us,” he said.

Manitoba Grand Chief Derek Nepinak, who said on Thursday that aboriginal activists have the power to bring the Canadian economy to its knees, was one of the leaders of the protest at the Langevin Block.

“We’re asking him to come out here and explain why he won’t speak to the people,” said Nepinak, who banged on the door at the main entrance to Harper’s offices after choosing to boycott the meeting.

Nepinak and other Manitoba chiefs are also demanding that Ottawa rescind parts of recent budget acts that they say reduce environmental protection for lakes and rivers. The most recent budget act also makes it easier to lease lands on the reserves where many natives live, a change some natives had requested to spur development but which others regard with suspicion.

Ottawa spends around C$ 11 billion ($ 11.1 billion) a year on its aboriginal population, but living conditions for many are poor, and some reserves have high rates of poverty, addiction, joblessness and suicide.

Harper agreed to the meeting with chiefs after pressure from Ontario chief Theresa Spence, who has been surviving on water and fish broth for the last month as part of a campaign to draw attention to the community’s problems. Spence, citing Johnston’s absence, said she would not attend.

“We shared the land all these years and we never got anything from it. All the benefits are going to Canadian citizens, except for us,” Spence told reporters. “This government has been abusing us, raping the land.”

In Nova Scotia, a group of about 10 protesters blockaded a Canadian National Railway Co line near the town of Truro on Friday afternoon, CN spokesman Jim Feeny said.

A truck had been partially moved onto the tracks and was cutting off the movement of container traffic on CN’s main line between the Port of Halifax and Eastern Canada, he said. Passenger services by Via Rail had also been disrupted.

The incident was the latest in a series of rail blockades staged by protestors in recent weeks to press the demands.

($ 1=$ 0.98 Canadian)

(Additional reporting by Louise Egan in Ottawa and Nicole Mordant in Vancouver; Editing by Vicki Allen and Dan Grebler)

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Kimmel says he expects to run 3rd in late night

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jimmy Kimmel says he expects to settle in at third place in the ratings behind Jay Leno and David Letterman, even as one week of direct competition suggests a healthy competition.

There were backstage smiles at Kimmel's Los Angeles studio Friday after Nielsen ratings showed the ABC comic had his largest audience ever on Thursday. This is the first week for "Jimmy Kimmel Live" in the 11:35 p.m. time slot, directly competing with Leno on NBC and Letterman on CBS.

Kimmel announced that Matt Damon would be a guest on his Jan. 24 show — really. Damon's been the subject of a long-running joke, with Kimmel frequently joking at the end of his show that he ran out of time and couldn't get Damon on the air as planned.

"People like the drama of late night — 'Who will be the king of late night?'" Kimmel said. "Johnny Carson retired with the crown. There will be no king of late night anymore."

Kimmel finished second behind Leno in viewership Tuesday, his first night in the time slot, and third the next two nights. ABC looks most closely at the 18- to 49-year-old demographic, however. Among those youthful viewers, Kimmel finished second to Leno on Tuesday, virtually tied with him Wednesday, and won handily Thursday, Nielsen said. He gained in young viewers each of the three nights.

The numbers are close. Among all viewers Thursday, Leno was seen by 3.4 million people, Letterman by 3.29 million and Kimmel by 3.17 million, Nielsen said.

"It's an encouraging start for them," said Brad Adgate, researcher at Horizon Media. "This is something where they aren't looking at the first week. They're looking at a year from now, three years from now, five years from now when Leno and Letterman may leave their desks."

Kimmel, whose show spent a decade airing a half hour later, said he didn't explicitly push ABC to move him up. But he did let his bosses know he was ready. Asked when he let them know, he joked, "probably the first night."

The later time slot had benefit, though.

"It allowed me time to develop, instead of what usually happens, which is you have to develop the show under the hot spotlight," he said.

Damon was part of a turning point for him. When the actor performed in a lewdly titled short film with Kimmel's then-girlfriend, Sarah Silverman, it got a great buzz and directed attention to the program.

Kimmel said Letterman called to wish him well in his new time slot. Leno hasn't, although that's not a surprise: Kimmel is firmly in the Letterman camp as a fan and has been sharply critical of Leno.

"You can't discount the legacy the 'Tonight' show has had and how ingrained it is in people's habits," Kimmel said. "You can't discount that. We were No. 1 last night (in the young demographic), but don't get used to it."

Some high-profile Kimmel assignments during the past year, including speaking the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, prepared him for the move, said Jill Lederman, the show's executive producer.

"There were so many things that happened for him last year that we felt there was this groundswell of support," Lederman said. "Every time he had one of those opportunities he did a beautiful job, he executed it so seamlessly. That has ushered us into a whole new chapter of this show's life."

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The New Old Age Blog: As Flu Rages, Caregiving Suffers

The flu started in the personal care center at Masonic Village in Elizabethtown, Pa., then moved to the nursing home. Within a few days, seven older adults had taken ill.

Administrators moved quickly: they shut down two floors of the buildings and told all visitors to stay away. All social activities stopped, and residents were asked to stay in their rooms.

The phones began to ring. “How is my wife doing?” an older spouse would ask. “What’s Mom eating?” a concerned daughter would inquire.

As the flu sweeps across the country, all kinds of issues are arising as institutions serving the elderly cope with outbreaks and nurses, home health aides and family members fall ill and can’t attend to the older people under their care.

One of the residents of Masonic Village was the mother-in-law of Joyce Heisey, director of nursing at this continuing care retirement community. She had come to the nursing home after a nasty fall and a subsequent hospitalization for rehabilitation.

“It was hard for her because she wasn’t accustomed to being in this kind of setting, and my father-in-law couldn’t visit,” said Ms. Heisey, who talked to her in-laws about their experiences. They declined to speak directly to a reporter.

Worried about isolation, the home sent recreation therapists into residents’ rooms for a few minutes each day and directed physical therapists to continue working with those undergoing rehabilitation, again in their rooms when possible.

In Collinsville, Ill., a city of about 42,000 that is 23 miles east of St. Louis, 20 percent of the staff at Home Instead Senior Care have called in sick, either struck by the flu themselves or at home taking care of a sick child.

“We’ve never seen it as bad as it is this year,” said Skip Brown, the agency’s owner. In previous years, about 5 percent of the staff have taken ill during flu season.

“It’s really hard for our clients, most of whom are elderly,” Mr. Brown said. “All of a sudden you have another person coming in to your home that you’re not familiar with. That’s really hard for seniors, and we have to make sure they’re comfortable.”

One client, a 92-year-old woman with diabetes, was insistent that a stranger not come to help when her usual caregiver became sick and stayed home.

“The problem that we’re always concerned with is, what if an older person doesn’t eat and what if they don’t take their medication?” Mr. Brown said. Concerned, he called his client’s out-of-town daughter, who called an elderly neighbor, who agreed to accompany someone from the agency to make sure the older woman was all right.

As it turned out, she hadn’t taken insulin for a full day and was at risk of a diabetic crisis, which was averted when the agency worker intervened.

Things got bad so fast that after the second week of December, Mr. Brown required all staff members to get flu shots – and still they became ill. This year, the flu shot is effective about 62 percent of the time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday.

Nationally, about 60 percent of health care workers get flu vaccines, which are voluntary in most hospitals, nursing homes and assisted-living facilities, according to Dr. Gregory Poland, director of the Mayo Clinic Vaccine Research Group. And when workers are struck by the flu, infections among residents can follow.

“The disruptions, the costs, the complications from this virus, no one should confuse it with a minor illness,” said Dr. Poland, who has advocated for mandatory immunizations for health care workers.

According to New York’s statewide influenza report for the week ended Jan. 5, 179 outbreaks have hit nursing homes this flu season — 57 of them during the week covered by the report alone. The state health department defines an outbreak as one confirmed case or two suspected cases of flu that are contracted in a nursing home.

Allison Chisholm, a nurse with Partners in Care, a home care agency operated by the Visiting Nurse Service of New York, had a flu shot on Dec. 27 and a week later took to bed with a fever and chills.

“It was so bad, my toenails were hurting. I had no appetite. I couldn’t move, I was so sore,” she said. “I knew it was the flu because I’m not a sickly person. I’ve never felt like that for 30 years.”

Ms. Chisholm had been seeing a woman in her 70s every day since October to treat a bone infection with intravenous antibiotics. “When I called her she could hear immediately that something was wrong,” Ms. Chisholm said. “She was concerned and said, ‘If you’re sick like that, don’t come – I don’t want to get what you have.’ ” A week later, the nurse said she got a phone call from the older woman checking in to see if she was better.

In this case, the client was due to end treatment the day after Ms. Chisholm fell ill, and she agreed to have a worker from the company that supplied her intravenous supplies administer her last IV therapy.

At the Martha Stewart Living Center, an outpatient center for older patients at Mount Sinai Medical Center, Dr. Audrey Chun, medical director, has been telling caregivers and other people who have any kind of upper respiratory problems — a cough, constant sniffles – to stay away from older people’s homes because of the risk of passing on an infection.

But do be sure to call in regularly to ask how your older relative or friend is feeling and whether they have unusual lethargy, breathing problems or disabling fatigue, said Jennifer Leeflang, senior director of private care services for Partners in Care. The agency has been getting about 10 requests a week for flu shots for homebound elderly ($100 for the visit and the shot). Other hospitals, like Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, are providing a similar service for home care agency patients.

New data released Friday by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention underscores how vulnerable older adults are to flu and how many are being affected by the current outbreak. In the week ended Jan. 5, the rate of flu-related hospitalizations for people 65 and older was 53.4 per 100,000, more than twice that of another vulnerable group, newborns and children up to 4 years old. Hospitalizations are an indicator of the most serious flu cases.

That’s a big jump from the week before, when the rate of flu-related hospitalizations for people 65 and older stood at 29.3 per 100,000.

How has flu season affected your ability to provide — or get care — for your elderly relative? Share your experiences and advice here.

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Best Buy stock leaps 16% on holiday-season results

Shares of Best Buy Co. jumped more than 16% after the electronics giant had a better-than-expected showing during the crucial holiday season.

Although results for the entire fourth quarter are not expected to be released until Feb. 28, analysts say strong online sales and better traffic into its U.S. stores during the holiday season are positive signs for the struggling retailer.

Wall Street responded by sending shares of Best Buy up $2, or 16.4%, to $14.21.

Still, some results from Best Buy were below those for the same period a year earlier. For the nine weeks that ended Jan. 5, the Minneapolis company posted revenue of $12.8 billion, down from $12.9 billion.

Sales at stores open at least a year, considered a key gauge of a retailer's health, dropped 1.4%, which was better than expected. International comparable-store sales plunged 6.4%, and domestic sales were flat.

Online revenue over the holidays jumped 10% year over year. Best Buy said categories such as tablets, cellphones and e-readers enjoyed the strongest results, while sales fell in televisions and entertainment.

"That tells me Best Buy is making the transition they need to make in order to compete as an online retailer instead of being a showroom," said Ron Friedman, a retail expert at advisory and accounting firm Marcum in Los Angeles. "Best Buy did pretty good, all things considered."

The company has been trying to implement a turnaround strategy as it fights increased competition from online retailers such as Amazon.com Inc.

Chief Executive Hubert Joly, who took over in August, said increased worker training and a price-match policy helped deliver a holiday season that was an improvement over the last several quarters.

"While it will be a journey of ups and downs, we are focused on becoming an increasingly effective multi-channel retailer and engaging with the tens of millions of consumers who shop us online and in stores," he said in a statement Friday.

Last year, Best Buy ousted its previous chief executive, Brian Dunn, after discovering he had engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a female employee. Co-founder Richard Schulze then left the company after an investigation found that he knew of Dunn's relationship but failed to report it to the board. He has since made overtures to take over the company.

The mixed holiday results may prompt another takeover bid from Schulze. Best Buy is giving him until the end of February to make an offer.

shan.li@latimes.com

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Irvine City Council overhauls oversight, spending on Great Park

Capping a raucous eight-hour-plus meeting, the Irvine City Council early Wednesday voted to overhaul the oversight and spending on the beleaguered Orange County Great Park while authorizing an audit of the more than $220 million that so far has been spent on the ambitious project.

A newly elected City Council majority voted 3 to 2 to terminate contracts with two firms that had been paid a combined $1.1 million a year for consulting, lobbying, marketing and public relations. One of those firms — Forde & Mollrich public relations — has been paid $12.4 million since county voters approved the Great Park plan in 2002.

"We need to stop talking about building a Great Park and actually start building a Great Park," council member Jeff Lalloway said.

The council, by the same split vote, also changed the composition of the Great Park's board of directors, shedding four non-elected members and handing control to Irvine's five council members.

The actions mark a significant turning point in the decade-long effort to turn the former El Toro Marine base into a 1,447-acre municipal park with man-made canyons, rivers, forests and gardens that planners hoped would rival New York's Central Park.

The city hoped to finish and maintain the park for years to come with $1.4 billion in state redevelopment funds. But that money vanished last year as part of the cutbacks to deal with California's massive budget deficit.

"We've gone through $220 million, but where has it gone?" council member Christina Shea said of the project's initial funding from developers in exchange for the right to build around the site. "The fact of the matter is the money is almost gone. It can't be business as usual."

The council majority said the changes will bring accountability and efficiencies to a project that critics say has been larded with wasteful spending and no-bid contracts. For all that has been spent, only about 200 acres of the park has been developed and half of that is leased to farmers.

But council members Larry Agran and Beth Krom, who have steered the course of the project since its inception, voted against reconfiguring the Great Park's board of directors and canceling the contracts with the two firms.

Krom has called the move a "witch hunt" against her and Agran. Feuding between liberal and conservative factions on the council has long shaped Irvine politics.

"This is a power play," she said. "There's a new sheriff in town."

The council meeting stretched long into the night, with the final vote coming Wednesday at 1:34 a.m. Tensions were high in the packed chambers with cheering, clapping and heckling coming from the crowd.

At one point council member Lalloway lamented that he "couldn't hear himself think."

During public comments, newly elected Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer chastised the council for "fighting like schoolchildren." Earlier this week he said that if the Irvine's new council majority can't make progress on the Great Park, he would seek a ballot initiative to have the county take over.

And Spitzer angrily told Agran that his stewardship of the project had been a failure.

"You know what?" he said. "It's their vision now. You're in the minority."

mike.anton@latimes.com

rhea.mahbubani@latimes.com

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A Tale of 2 Strategies: The Twitter Genius of Chuck Grassley and Cory Booker

If you’re on Twitter and not following Sen. Chuck Grassley, you’re not using Twitter correctly.

The Iowa Republican is known for his colorful and personal Twitter feed. Take a gander: He personally tweets about everything from the History Channel to “Obamacare” to an incident in which he hit a deer with his car  (“assume dead”). Grassley’s tweets take us along for a ride, one that’s often riddled with spelling errors (which he has said is due to his distaste for typing and the iPhone’s auto-correct function).

Pres/Cong need 2work on Wash spending prob. No time 2waste b/4 Mar. Pres promised tax hike is done. Now he needs 2keep promise 4 less spend

— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) January 4, 2013

Rained inIowa this weekend. Still 8 inches shortIowa still still listed dangerous drought pray For rain

— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) December 17, 2012

Fred and I hit a deer on hiway 136 south of Dyersville. After I pulled fender rubbing on tire we continued to farm. Assume deer dead

— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) October 26, 2012

Contrast Grassley’s tweets to another lawmaker known for his active and personal feed: Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker. On Twitter, he’s part mayor, part celebrity. Booker tweets about city services and was widely praised for how he utilized the platform in the aftermath of superstorm Sandy to connect directly with residents. But then he’ll retweet someone who says she’s going to get a Cory Booker quote tattoo or someone who has a “political crush” on him. Sometimes, Booker tweets like a Kardashian.

Think so, call 9737334311. My people will tell u RT @hennybottle: Is the number to get downed wires removed same for all of essex county?

— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) January 8, 2013

“Hey, Never Met U, Your tweet’s Crazy, I’ll DM My Number, So Call Me Maybe?” MT @ann_ralston: I have a non-sexual, political crush on you!

— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) January 8, 2013

Wow. An honor I never quite imagined RT @rachelanncohen: deliberating between several Cory Booker quotes for my next tattoo.

— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) January 8, 2013

I love you too! RT @alwoldegorgeous: I can actually say I am in love with @kimkardashian#girlcrush

— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) December 12, 2012

Obviously, Booker is savvier with Twitter than Grassley, and he’s utilized the platform effectively, as he vies for statewide office. Booker’s a PR genius with social media. Grassley’s himself–typos, rants, and all. So while Booker probably doesn’t need to take Twitter lessons from the six-term senator, there’s something decidedly old school and earnest that’s kind of appealing about Grassley’s feed, something that would be nice to see in Booker’s feed, too.

Welcome to Twitter Pope Benedict. U will find it useful and interesting

— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) December 3, 2012

CORRECTION: Grassley has served in the Senate for six terms.  An earlier version of the story incorrectly listed his tenure.

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Kimmel's pot jokes earn invite from Calif. college

ARCATA, Calif. (AP) — Humboldt State University in California has invited Jimmy Kimmel to deliver the school's commencement address after he joked about its marijuana research program.

The host of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" devoted a segment of his late-night show to poking fun at the new academic program, which the university says is probably the first dedicated to examining marijuana through the lens of disciplines such as geography, politics and economics.

"They will probably just end up playing Ultimate Frisbee or something," Kimmel dead-panned during the bit that aired in late November, after the university first publicized the Humboldt Institute for Interdisciplinary Marijuana Research.

The sketch also included a faux recruiting commercial saying students who attended could look forward to low-pressure careers such as dog walking, organizing drum circles and occupying Wall Street. Kimmel joked that the program would probably make getting into Humboldt more competitive than Yale.

University spokesman Jarad Petroske said Thursday the school has not heard back from Kimmel, who also was invited to make a public appearance at its Arcata campus in the fall if his schedule prevents him from speaking at graduation ceremonies in May.

The comedian's publicist Alyssa Wilkins did not reply to an email from The Associated Press seeking a response.

Humboldt State President Rollin Richmond and student body president Ellyn Henderson revealed this week they sent Kimmel a school baseball cap and good-natured letter last month saying they found parts of the skit funny but thought it unfairly portrayed the campus community as "a bunch of pot-obsessed slackers." A visit to campus, they wrote, would give him "a chance to grow a little and make up for it."

"We figure you owe us," the letter read. "Humboldt State provided you with just over three minutes of pretty good material, which must be worth quite a bit for a nationally televised program."

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Children’s Flu Medicine in Short Supply

As influenza cases surge around the country, health officials say they are trying to stem a shortage of treatments for children.

Pharmacies around the country have reported dwindling supplies of liquid Tamiflu, a prescription flu medicine that can ease symptoms if taken within 48 hours of their onset. The drug is available in capsules for adults and a liquid suspension for children and infants.

“There are intermittent shortages of the liquid version (but not the capsule version) due to the supplier’s challenges to meet the current demand,” Carolyn Castel, a spokeswomen for CVS Caremark, said in an e-mail.

Pharmacies around the country are experiencing shortages of the liquid suspension “due to recent increased demand,” Sarah Clark-Lynn, a spokeswoman for the Food and Drug Administration, said on Thursday.

Ms. Clark-Lynn said the F.D.A. was working with the company that markets Tamiflu, Genentech, to increase supplies. The agency is also letting pharmacists know that in emergencies they can compound the adult Tamiflu capsules to make liquid versions for children.

A similar shortage of Tamiflu has hit Canada, which has also been gripped by widespread flu outbreaks, prompting the government there to tap into a national stockpile of the drug.

“That really unexpected increase in demand — far above other influenza seasons — has really depleted the usual stocks which in any other season would have been more than sufficient,” Dr. Barbara Raymond, director of pandemic preparedness for the Public Health Agency of Canada, told The Ottawa Citizen.

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