Rangers, police investigate Scheppers altercation

FILE - This is a 2013 file photo of Tanner Scheppers of the Texas Rangers. The Rangers say Scheppers sustained facial bruises after being attacked while walking in downtown Cleveland on Thursday night, July 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

FILE - This is a 2013 file photo of Tanner Scheppers of the Texas Rangers. The Rangers say Scheppers sustained facial bruises after being attacked while walking in downtown Cleveland on Thursday night, July 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

CLEVELAND (AP) ? The Texas Rangers say they're investigating a claim by pitcher Tanner Scheppers that he was attacked in downtown Cleveland last week.

Scheppers said he was "sucker-punched by several young males" while going out to dinner a few blocks from the team's hotel Thursday night. He sustained facial cuts and bruises, and said his attackers ran away.

Cleveland-based entertainment website Scene reported Sunday that Scheppers verbally instigated the incident. The website cited a witness without giving the person's name.

The Cleveland Police Department said Sunday that Scheppers was involved in a physical altercation at 2:30 a.m. Friday. The statement said Scheppers "refused to provide information and refused to make a police report."

Scheppers pitched a scoreless inning in Sunday's 6-0 loss to the Indians, his first work since the altercation.

Approached by reporters following the game, Scheppers tersely said, "I already told you guys everything. I don't have any more to say about it. A lot of what's out there is lies."

The Rangers issued a statement that said they had been in contact with Cleveland police and the Indians.

"Until our investigation is complete, no one from the organization will have any further comment on this matter," the team said.

Scheppers first addressed the incident before Saturday night's game. The Rangers arrived in Cleveland on Thursday night following their afternoon game in Texas.

The 26-year-old Scheppers said he was knocked to the sidewalk, but never lost consciousness. He said he had a headache at the time but didn't sustain a concussion.

Scheppers, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 200 pounds, said police were called but no report was filed. The team informed Major League Baseball security.

"They (the police) said it happens a lot, actually," Scheppers said then. "I was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

The police statement Sunday said officers called for EMS help at the scene and Scheppers "refused medical attention." Police said officers took Scheppers and another unidentified man back to the team hotel.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-07-28-BBA-Rangers-Scheppers-Altercation/id-4e4277fbeac04b159b3bc4c4ce0cda59

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China: Toddler Pulled From Pram And 'Murdered'

A two-year-old girl who was thrown to the ground by a man during a row over a parking space in Beijing has died, state media say.

A witness told the Beijing Times that the man, identified only by his surname Han, wanted to park by a bus stop in Beijing.

But the toddler's mother, who was on foot, would not move out of his way as she tending to her daughter at the time.

Han got out of his car and allegedly hit the woman before taking the girl out of her pram, holding her up and throwing her "forcefully" to the ground, said the witness, a street-stall owner surnamed Zhou.

"The baby made no noises after being dropped, not even a cry of pain," the newspaper quoted Zhou as saying.

Another man came out of the car and also beat the mother before the pair drove away, it added.

The woman was waiting by a bus stop on Beijings Keji road

Police reportedly found Han, who was released from prison this year after serving a sentence for theft, in a hot spring bathhouse and detained him.

"Han was put in criminal detention on suspicion of intentional homicide on Thursday afternoon," state news agency Xinhua said, citing the Beijing Security Bureau.

Han could face the death penalty if he is convicted of murder.

The incident sparked outrage on Chinese social media as weibo users vilified the attackers and expressed grief over the toddler's fate.

"When you come back in another life, dear baby, be sure to be born in another country," one user wrote.

Another weibo user called the attackers "perverse animals" and a third called for the death penalty as punishment.

"For this kind of murderer with an evil nature, the death penalty should be carried out immediately," the post said.

Source: http://news.sky.com/story/1121096

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EU regulator accepts Penguin offer to end dodgy e-book deals with Apple

After the European Commission accepted offers from Apple and four publishers to free up e-book pricing restrictions in December 2012, it's now accepted Penguin's commitment to do the same. Much like Penguin's vow to the US DOJ, it will end its agency agreements with Apple and other retailers, and "most-favored nation" clauses will be absent from any new deals struck over the next five years. Most importantly, e-book retailers will now be able to control prices and discounts of Penguin's catalog for two years. This legally binding pledge essentially brings an end to EC's "competitive concerns," as all involved in the original price-fixing investigation have now settled up.

Filed under: Apple

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Via: Reuters

Source: European Commission

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/25/european-commission-penguin-apple-e-book-agreement/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Asian stocks static as risk from China offset by Fed

Asian stocks ended the week almost unchanged as the IMF said risks of a slowdown in Chinese growth are increasing while the US Federal Reserve allayed concerns that the US is planning to curb stimulus.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke told a US House of Representatives committee there was no preset course for the US central bank?s asset purchases, tempering speculation the Fed would begin to trim its US$85 billion-a-month bond-buying program as early as September.

GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd surged 13 percent this week on speculation that tariffs on polysilicon shipped to China will cut supplies from the US and South Korea, boosting earnings at the world?s largest maker of materials used in solar panels.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, ???) the world?s largest contract manufacturer of chips, slumped 11 percent after forecasting sales that trailed analysts? estimates.

Nissan Motor Co, a Japanese carmaker that gets about 80 percent of sales abroad, climbed for a third week as the yen weakened against the US dollar.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index ended the week at 134.93, up from 134.88 on July 12, to continue its longest streak of gains since the week ending on March 15.

Gains on the benchmark regional equities gauge were limited to 4.3 percent this year, compared with an 18 percent surge on the Standard & Poor?s 500 Index, as concern mounted that a manufacturing slowdown in China and the worst cash shortage in a decade may curb earnings growth.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index is trading at 13.2 times average estimated earnings, compared with 15.3 for the S&P 500 and 13.4 times for the STOXX Europe 600 Index, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

For the week, the TAIEX ? led by TSMC ? dropped 1.9 percent, ending at 8,062.03 on Friday from 8,220.49 on July 12.

TSMC tumbled 11 percent to NT$98.20 as the Hsinchu-based firm forecast third-quarter sales of as much as NT$164 billion (US$5.5 billion) in the three months ending on September, compared with the NT$164.5 billion average of 25 analysts? estimates compiled by Bloomberg before the announcement. The chipmaker is the largest company on the TAIEX, comprising 11 percent of the benchmark.

Other big names that fell on Friday included smartphone maker HTC Corp (???), which fell by the daily limit of 7 percent to NT$168.5, and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd (????), which shed 0.77 percent to NT$77.4.

Elsewhere, Hong Kong?s Hang Seng Index added 0.4 percent, China?s Shanghai Composite Index fell 2.3 percent and South Korea?s KOSPI advanced 0.1 percent.

Australia?s S&P/ASX 200 Index ended the week little changed as the Reserve Bank of Australia said the Australian dollar?s decline and interest rate cuts meant its policy setting was appropriate even as it maintained room for future reductions, according to minutes of its July 2 meeting. New Zealand?s NZX 50 Index fell 0.7 percent.

The TOPIX climbed 0.8 percent this week, a fifth straight weekly gain in the biggest such advance since April 2009 and the longest winning streak since February.

Japanese shares topped gains this year among 24 major developed equity markets tracked by Bloomberg News. The TOPIX surged 41 percent and the Nikkei 225 Stock Average soared 40 percent this year as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda push to stoke inflation to 2 percent.

Source: http://libertytimes.feedsportal.com/c/33098/f/535603/s/2eeed708/l/0L0Staipeitimes0N0CNews0Cbiz0Carchives0C20A130C0A70C210C20A0A3567788/story01.htm

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Former Union Counsel Said to be Next NLRB GC

It seems Democrats have found a way to break the dysfunctional political stalemate on the National Labor Relations Board by bringing in a new general counsel to replace acting GC Lafe Solomon.

Citing sources, the Huffington Post reports that former union general counsel Richard Griffin is expected to be offered the NLRB GC job.

Republicans had blocked Solomon?s confirmation to the job for over three years. They were outraged when, in his role as acting GC, he filed a complaint against The Boeing Company, which built a new plant and tried to move work on a new airplane from Washington State to anti-union South Carolina. Boeing compromised and the complaint was later dropped.

It was not immediately known what Solomon, a career NLRB attorney who started as a field examiner in Seattle in 1972, will do next if Griffin succeeds him.

The HuffPost said the appointment of Griffin as GC and the naming of two new NLRB members were part of the filibuster compromise reached in the Senate this week.

Griffin is one of two people originally named to the NLRB over a year ago by President Barack Obama as recess appointments. A federal court ruled the appointments illegal, but the Senate compromise appears to have resolved that sticky issue.

The White House said Tuesday it would nominate two new members to the board. They are Nancy Schiffer, a former AFL-CIO associate general counsel, and Kent Hirozawa, the current chief counsel to the chair of the labor board.

Griffin previously served as general counsel for the International Union of Operating Engineers, working his way up from assistant house counsel and associated general counsel; on the board of directors for the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee; and as a counsel to NLRB board members.

After his appointment in 2012, Fox News called Griffin the ?top lawyer for [a] union tainted by mob ties.? It said the heavy equipment operators union was ?tainted over the years by mob connections and a history of corruption.?

But Fox did not accuse Griffin personally of any wrongdoing.

The job of NLRB general counsel is independent from the board. The GC is responsible for the investigation and prosecution of unfair labor practice cases and for the general supervision of the NLRB field offices in the processing of cases.

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Source: http://www.law.com/corporatecounsel/PubArticleCC.jsp?id=1202611485722&rss=rss_cc

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Unconventional pastor leads booming NYC megachurch

NEW YORK (AP) ? Carl Lentz is not your typical pastor.

Along with his half shaved head and slicked back Mohawk, he's dressed in his usual Sunday attire: black jeans and an unbuttoned denim shirt with a tank top underneath. His tattooed arms, including one with two guns crossed, peek out from under his rolled-up sleeves.

His Hillsong Church NYC holds at least six sermons every Sunday in a ballroom-style concert venue that has hosted such bands as U2 and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. People squeeze into whatever space they can find and take notes on iPhones as Lentz marches across the stage, peppering his sermon with Bible verses, jokes, pop music lines and street slang.

"If you're new to our church, we love you," said the 34-year-old Lentz. "Don't be alarmed by the craziness you see. One time somebody said, 'Y'all are crazy in your church,' and I said, 'You ever seen you dance drunk? Don't be judging us up in church.'"

New York has become a magnet for startup evangelical churches in recent years. There are currently more than 200 in Manhattan alone, according to Tony Carnes of the research project, A Journey Through NYC Religions, and Hillsong is one of the fastest growing.

After a little more than two years, Hillsong estimates it draws 5,500 people to Sunday services each week. Crowds lining up are a regular weekly scene at Irving Plaza near Manhattan's Union Square. Hillsong often has to add additional evening sessions, which could last well into the night.

"I've gotten used to seeing bar stools and club stuff in the place that we have church," Lentz said, adding "that's church to me now."

Steve Dagrossa, a 31-year-old who says he is a recovering heroin addict, attended all six sermons on a recent Sunday, for a total of 12 hours. He has even styled his hair like Lentz's.

"It's unconventional but we're not a conventional city," Dagrossa said. "This isn't the Bible Belt. This is New York."

Meredith Anderson, a 27-year-old church member who also works as an assistant to Lentz, said she "went from being a drug addict party animal to becoming a Christian living a full, healthy life."

"If it was a church that was all buttoned up, you know, what everybody thinks about when they think about church ... that's not necessarily something that would speak to me," she said. "But because it's young people, because there are young people there, I feel more comfortable."

The church is a branch of the popular Australian-based Hillsong Church, the Pentecostal church that draws more than 21,000 weekly to its services. Hillsong is best known for its concert-type settings where they play Christian rock and praise music, which often appeals to a younger demographic of churchgoers.

Much of Hillsong NYC's success can be attributed to its unorthodox leader. Lentz is a hyperactive, self-proclaimed insomniac who would rather stand than sit. His gift for gab lends itself to creating hype for the church. He loves hip-hop music and often calls getting the word of God out "a hustle."

At one service, he broke out Coolio lyrics. At another, he called the biblical Saul the "LeBron James of Judaism." He is an avid basketball fan and player, and is a fixture at New York Knicks games.

Lentz has established himself as his own brand. He has more than 67,000 followers on Twitter and 59,000 on Instagram, where you can find pictures of him standing next to Jay-Z and NBA star Kevin Durant. Justin Bieber posted a picture of himself eating lunch with Lentz, "talking 'bout our savior Jesus Christ."

Hillsong is far from the first church to attempt to win over a young demographic, but few have been able to pull it off as successfully as Hillsong, according to Carnes.

Still, Hillsong is just as susceptible to the downfalls of any modern progressive church, and there is always the danger that the trendy concert culture could overshadow the message, Carnes said.

"This church is always only about Jesus. ... It's always, it's only about Jesus." Lentz said in a recent sermon.

Lentz declined to discuss same-sex marriage, a polarizing issue that young evangelicals have said in repeated surveys that they do not want to be a focus of church. Many evangelical pastors starting churches in New York avoid addressing the topic from the pulpit, a decision that has drawn criticism from evangelical leaders who consider the issue one of the most important for traditional Bible-believers.

Lentz said he enjoys having critics.

"They give me fuel for the fire," he said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/unconventional-pastor-leads-booming-nyc-megachurch-064437395.html

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Foursquare Now Has Post Check-in Ads - Business Insider

In April, a leaked Foursquare pitch deck revealed how the local exploring app planned to make money through new ad units this summer.

Today, one of those units launched.

Foursquare now enables advertisers to target users based on relevant check-ins. Specifically, it is selling post check-in ad units on a Cost Per Action basis.

An action is either when someone clicks the ad for more information or checks into the advertiser's location within 72 hours.?

Captain Morgan is one of the first brands to test the new Foursquare ads, Ad Age reports. The hope is users will check-in before they order at bars and be persuaded by a Captain-based drink. Captain Morgan ads will only show when a user is at a bar, club or restaurant and they're displayed in a timely manner.

Other brands are using post-checkin ads to lure nearby Foursquare users into their stores. If you check-in at a restaurant near Toys R Us, for example, you may get hit with a 20% off ad for the retailer.

Foursquare has tried a number of less obvious, "native" ad solutions. So far they haven't been enough to sustain the company. Last summer Foursquare hired?its first VP of Sales, Rob Wilk and Chief Revenue Officer,?Steven?Rosenblatt. Shortly after it launched Promoted Updates, ads that show up at the top of Explore searches.?

For a refresher on Foursquare's monetization strategy, the leaked pitch deck Valleywag dug up is below.

Foursquare's Plan to Woo Advertisers

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/foursquare-now-has-post-check-in-ads-2013-7

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