By NBCBayArea.com

This may not have been the type of "stimulus" feds intended.

Two grants totaling nearly $1.5 million were distributed to the University of California San Francisco, NBCBayArea.com has discovered. The money was part of the federal stimulus program and went to studies into the erectile dysfunction of overweight middle aged men and the accurate reporting of someone's sexual history.

This is part of our ongoing series of investigations by the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit into who got federal stimulus dollars, and why some projects did not break ground more than two years after receiving the grant.

The Investigative Unit looked closely at the federal government's decision to spend nearly $1.5 million of taxpayer money, money that came here to California. Grant number 1R01HD056950-01A2 was among the thousands of grants funded, receiving $1.2 million. This grant studied how to improve the accuracy of how people responded to questions about their sexual history.

Read original?stimulus investigation on NBCBayArea.com

"If you honestly report on your sexual activity and number of partners?" Scott Amey asked with a sigh. "That's a good one."

Amey is the general council for? POGO, the Project on Government Oversight, a Washington D.C. nonpartisan non-profit government watchdog group. During our interview with an NBC crew he tried to explain why the government used that many tax dollars to improve self reports about high risk sexual behavior.

"I don't think most tax payers would think that would be a justified spending of stimulus money to conduct a sex study over fixing bridges and roads that are crumbling every day," Amey added.

NBC Bay Area talked to the University of California San Francisco, the institution that received the grant. "Does it make you wonder a little bit, stimulus money for a study like this?" Kovaleski asked Jeff Sheehy, who works at the UCSF Aids Research Center. "No it doesn't," he answered. "Because to my mind we save money if we get better health outcomes."

According to the grant, a good portion of the study will "Improve the accuracy of responses to questions," specifically questions about a person's sexual behavior. "Playing devil's advocate," Kovaleski said to Sheehy, "Do taxpayers need to spend $1.2 million to figure this out?""The judgment wasn't one that I was asked," Sheehy replied.

The NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit discovered that for $1.2 million, taxpayers funded a study that included 200 videotaped interviews at $6000 per interview. Kovaleski asked Sheehy to justify the spending. "I think the average person is going to look at $1.2 million dollars to interview 200 people and say Wow!" Sheehy defended the study. "I understand people could look at it and have issues but this is research," he said.

How many jobs did this actually create?
Kovaleski then asked about jobs. "How many jobs did this $1.26 million create?" "Well I can't really say," Sheehy said. "There were eleven researchers hired on the job, two consultants. Well I can't say. This has not been evaluated for job creation."

The number Sheehy quoted during an interview with NBC Bay Area did not match information on recovery.gov, the government's website for stimulus funds. According to the site, the grant produced 0.85 jobs. "It does make you scratch your head and wonder," Amey said, "Wait a second taxpayer dollars went to a sex study that barely funded less than one person."

Amey was also left questioning another UCSF grant. When asked by an NBC reporter about a study into erectile dysfunction involving overweight middle aged men he replied, "Oh boy."

The grant totaled more than a quarter million dollars. Although UCSF was willing to discuss our questions about the sexual history grant, the University declined to provide an expert to talk with the NBC Investigative Unit about the erectile dysfunction grant. In a written statement provided they said in part, "Obesity related health issues currently cost $147 billion per year in direct medical costs in the United States..... Health providers therefore continue to search for incentives to encourage people to live a healthier lifestyle, to benefit both indviduals and society.... Preliminary analysis indicates that is is feasible to enroll men in this type of research, they successfully lose the expected weight over a 12-week period, and they see an improvement in ED symptoms." You can read the entire statement by clicking here.

Click here to see the high risk sexual behavior grant

Click here to see the erectile dysfunction grant

If you have any other examples of questionable stimulus spending, we want to know. Call us at 1-888-996-TIPS (8477) or email theunit@nbcbayarea.com.

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Associated Press Sports

updated 1:34 p.m. ET May 16, 2012

The largest rating was for Manchester City's title-winning 3-2 victory over Queens Park Rangers, which was seen by an average 600,000 viewers on ESPN2 and 189,000 on ESPN Deportes, according to Nielsen Media Research.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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NEW YORK (AP) ? For one last time, a crowd turned out to watch the goings-on on Wisteria Lane.

ABC's "Desperate Housewives" drew a little more than 11 million viewers for the two-hour series finale of creator Marc Cherry's prime-time soap. That wasn't enough to land it back in the Nielsen company's list of top 10 shows for the week, where it was a regular in its early years, but it was nearly three million more viewers than usually watched this season.

The primary characters were all seen moving away from the cul-de-sac they called home in that final episode.

With the TV season winding down, "NCIS" held to its standard of the most-watched prime-time program of the week, Nielsen said.

CBS comfortably won the week with an average prime-time viewership of 10 million (6.3 rating, 11 share). ABC had 7.9 million (5.1, 9), Fox had 7.3 million (4.5, 8), NBC had 5.6 million (3.6, 6), the CW had 1.2 million (0.8, 1) and ION Television had 1.1 million (0.7, 1).

Among the Spanish-language networks, Univision led with a 3.6 million prime-time average (1.9, 3), Telemundo had 1.1 million (0.6, 1), TeleFutura had 620,000 (0.3, 1), Estrella had 250,000 and Azteca had 110,000 (both 0.1, 0).

NBC's "Nightly News" topped the evening newscasts with an average of 7.9 million viewers (5.4, 11). ABC's "World News" was second with 7.4 million (4.9, 10) and the "CBS Evening News" had 5.7 million viewers (4, 8).

A ratings point represents 1,147,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation's estimated 114.7 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.

For the week of May 7-13, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: "NCIS," CBS, 18.2 million; "American Idol" (Wednesday), Fox, 16.46 million; "Dancing With the Stars," ABC, 16.37 million; "American Idol" (Thursday), Fox, 15.62 million; "NCIS: Los Angeles," CBS, 14.56 million; "The Big Bang Theory," CBS, 13.72 million; "Dancing With the Stars Results," ABC, 13.71 million; "Person of Interest," CBS, 12.96 million; "The Mentalist," CBS, 12.62 million; "Castle," ABC, 12.36 million.

___

ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co. CBS is owned by CBS Corp. CW is a joint venture of Warner Bros. Entertainment and CBS Corp. Fox and My Network TV are units of News Corp. NBC and Telemundo are owned by Comcast Corp. ION Television is owned by ION Media Networks. TeleFutura is a division of Univision. Azteca America is a wholly owned subsidiary of TV Azteca S.A. de C.V.

___

Online:

http://www.nielsen.com

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Toshiba's Canvio external drives have just gotten a hefty boost, most of all for data swappers that play both the Mac and PC sides of the computing fence. Both the regular Canvio 3.0 and the Canvio Basics 3.0 have made the jump from 1TB to 1.5TB of capacity to hold that much more in the way of backups and videos. If you spring for the top-end 1.5TB Canvio 3.0, though, you'll also get a new NTFS driver for the Mac that lets you take the USB 3.0 disk between a Mac and a Windows PC without having to either load a special reader app or wipe the drive clean. Living in that technology utopia will cost you $200 when it's ready in early June, but the Mac- or Windows-only among us can pay as little as $120 to get a 500GB Canvio while still getting backup software and one of six glossy colors. More frugal travelers can pay $10 less at the capacity for one of the software-free Basics drives.

Continue reading Toshiba Canvio 3.0 external drives bump up to 1.5TB, give Mac users some love

Toshiba Canvio 3.0 external drives bump up to 1.5TB, give Mac users some love originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 May 2012 22:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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To pair nicely alongside that beastly Let's Note B11 we showed you last week, Panasonic's now also selling its J10 netbook series in Japan. Aesthetically speaking, the new Let's Note J10 isn't much different than its predecessor, the J9, though it has changed a bit (as expected) in the specs department. The entry level 10.1-inch (1366 x 768) J10 gets you Intel's Core i3-2350M CPU with 320GB of hard drive storage as well as 4GB of RAM, while the higher-end model sports an i7-2640M chip (sorry, no Ivy Bridge here), up to 8GB of memory and you can choose between a 256GB SSD or a 1TB HDD. Additionally, each unit's packing a hefty amount of ports, including two USB 2.0, one USB three-dot-oh and an HDMI out. Those looking to grab one of these J10s best have deep wallets, as pricing ranges from 120,000 yen (about $1,500) all the way up to around 267,000 yen.

Panasonic's Let's Note J10 netbook promises over 12 hours of battery life, available now in Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 May 2012 11:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The increase in trade and commerce has triggered competition. There exists a need of solutions, which provide an edge to the business organizations. The organizations who wish to be in the top league ought to make use of the resources well. The streamlining of efforts must bring about all round expansion of business in online marketing company.

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What?s more, it involves strategic planning of things that includes advertising budget, specifications of banner to be utilized, media planning, advertisement campaigns and target audience. Before spending over media the organizations must determine to be committed towards brand building or promotional planning or execution, since the case may be. The competition in the industry is the reason behind facing hardships of competition. It may be well avoided by availing solutions of online ad agencies.

The company organizations that have an experienced structure of management or task force to utilize the ad spends, make their brands well identified inside the marketplace. This practice is useful to create the brands reputed although not practical. The organizations need to focus mainly on their core activities.

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[ [ [['A picture is worth a thousand words', 5]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/why-facebook-bought-instagram-4-theories-160400376.html', '[Related: Why Facebook bought Instagram: 4 theories]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 9]], 'http://contributor.yahoo.com/join/yahoonews_virginiabeach', '[Did you witness the jet crash? Share your story with Yahoo! News]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Dick Clark', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/dick-clark-dies-at-82-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/c/21/c217c61aa2d5872244c08caa13c16ec5.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'Reuters', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

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The leak yesterday of a sketch of a device used for nuclear bomb work that, according to a ?country tracking Iran?s nuclear program,? can be found at Iran?s Parchin facility has lent new urgency to the P5+1 talks scheduled for Baghdad next week. It?s also driven a new narrative: that, for Israel, a resolution stemming from those negotiations would actually be a bad thing.

The logic goes like this: the P5+1 negotiations are focused primarily on uranium enrichment and are overlooking the explicitly (and allegedly) military dimensions of Iran?s nuclear program, which appear to be proved by such things as yesterday?s leak. U.S. expert Anthony Cordesman?s new report has received much attention in Israel. ?The threat Iran?s nuclear efforts pose are not simply a matter of its present ability to enrich uranium to 20 percent U-235,? Cordesman argues, ?and efforts to control its enrichment activities will not halt its ability to move forward in many areas even if its current enrichment facilities and stocks of highly enriched uranium are fully secured.? (David Albright said much the same in The Scroll last Friday: ?If Iran showed in a verifiable way that it wasn?t going to build nuclear weapons,? he noted, ?people wouldn?t care so much about centrifuges.?) Cordesman also convincingly lays out the case, based on prior international inspectors? reports, that the program includes a military component.

Under Israeli thinking, a P5+1 deal on enrichment is a dialectical step backward, because it will reward Tehran and create international complacence, which will in turn weaken the sanctions that have so far effectively slowed Iran. As Defense Minister Barak put it, ?If the demands are expressed in the minimalistic manner which we suspect, Iran could agree to all of them, and still be able to continue progressing toward a nuclear weapon.? A senior Israeli official, who for all we know is also Barak, added, ?Israel?s main concern is if the talks lead to the stop of Iran?s nuclear program, or create a platform that buys Iran time, while eroding sanctions.? He concluded: ?The recent positive statements made by Iran are meant to create an impression of moderation and bolster relations with the world powers, but there is no real fundamental change in Tehran.?

So, what are the plausible alternatives? Here are two different models. Patrick Clawson argues that the sanctions-negotiations balancing act needs to be accompanied by greater support for pro-democracy groups in Iran that may eventually lead to a new regime. ?A democratic Iran would likely drop state support for terrorism and end its interference in the internal affairs of Arab countries such as Iraq and Lebanon, improving stability in the Middle East,? Clawson argues. ?And although Iran?s strongly nationalist democrats are proud of the country?s nuclear progress, their priority is to rejoin the community of nations, so they will likely agree to peaceful nuclearization in exchange for an end to their country?s isolation.? On the other hand, Mehdi Khalaji proposes something of an opposite route, in which the United States goes out of its way to insist that it is not even thinking of regime change in order to give Ayatollah Khamanei the peace of mind?and the domestic victory?that will allow him to compromise.

Reports such as this one that Iran is getting what it wants could be designed to open such political space. But it also could worry Israel.

Meanwhile, though, columnist David Ignatius may be an uncharacteristic step behind in lauding the potential for a deal on enrichment. The potential is certainly there, but it may not be enough. If he is reflecting U.S. thinking, then the administration had better wake up to the concerns of Israel?s government, which is newly strengthened but still evidently as worried as ever.

Drawing Shows Iran Has Chamber Used for Nuke Arms Work [AP/Vos Iz Neias?]
Israel Fears Nuclear Deal Between Iran, World Powers as Baghdad Talks Draw Near [Haaretz]
A Compelling Plan for Iranian Talks [WP]
Sanctions Are Only a Stop-Gap [Foreign Affairs]
The Ayatollah Contemplates Compromise [The Washington Institute for Middle East Policy]
Earlier: Cleansing Suggests Iranian Military Program

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By Ree Hines

Somehow Hollie Cavanagh hasn't lost her positive attitude despite losing her?spot on "American Idol" last week. She visited TODAY Tuesday morning and shared the secret to her upbeat outlook.

"I think I just kind of had the mindset that I couldn't really complain," Hollie said of her "Idol" experience. "I was just thankful and blessed to be there."

With Hollie out of the running, who's your pick for this season's "Idol"? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.

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