Man accused in Ore. mall shooting wanted to travel

This photo provided by the Clackamas County Sheriff's Department shows Jacob Tyler Roberts, the suspect in a shooting at an Oregon Mall on Tuesday Dec. 11, 2012. Roberts, who killed two people and himself in the shooting rampage, was 22 years old and used a stolen rifle from someone he knew, authorities said Wednesday. Roberts had armed himself with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle and had several fully loaded magazines when he arrived at a Portland mall on Tuesday, said Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts. (AP Photo/Clackamas County Sheriff's Department)

This photo provided by the Clackamas County Sheriff's Department shows Jacob Tyler Roberts, the suspect in a shooting at an Oregon Mall on Tuesday Dec. 11, 2012. Roberts, who killed two people and himself in the shooting rampage, was 22 years old and used a stolen rifle from someone he knew, authorities said Wednesday. Roberts had armed himself with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle and had several fully loaded magazines when he arrived at a Portland mall on Tuesday, said Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts. (AP Photo/Clackamas County Sheriff's Department)

Leslie King, right and Tenille Beseda place flowers Wednesday Dec. 12, 2012, at the entrance to the scene of a multiple shooting yesterday at Clackamas Town Center Mall in Clackamas, Ore. A gunman who opened fire on shoppers at a Portland mall had no connection to the two people he fatally shot and wanted to kill as many people as possible, police said Wednesday. (AP Photo/Greg Wahl-Stephens)

This combo made from undated photos released by the Clackamas County Sheriff's Dept. shows Oregon mall shooting victims shows Steven Mathew Forsyth, 45, of West Linn, Ore., left, and Cindy Ann Yuille, 54, of Portland, Ore. The gunman who killed two people and himself in a shooting rampage on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012 was 22 years old and used a stolen rifle from someone he knew, authorities said Wednesday. (AP Photo/Clackamas County Sheriff's Dept.)

This undated photo provided by the Shevchenko family shows Kristina Shevchenko, 15, who was injured in a shooting at a shopping mall in Portland, Ore. Doctors expect Shevchenko to make a full recovery from a gunshot wound to the chest. (AP Photo/Shevchenko family)

Police and medics work the scene of a multiple shooting at Clackamas Town Center Mall in Clackamas, Ore., Tuesday Dec. 11, 2012. A gunman is dead after opening fire in the Portland, Ore., area shopping mall Tuesday, killing two people and wounding another, sheriff's deputies said. (AP Photo/Greg Wahl-Stephens)

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) ? To police and witnesses, Jacob Tyler Roberts was a gunman on a mission, shooting numerous rounds from a semiautomatic rifle as he stalked through a Portland mall, ultimately killing two people and seriously injuring another. To Roberts' shocked friends and family, he was just Jake, a happy, easygoing 22-year-old who liked video games and talked about moving to Hawaii.

"Jake was never the violent type," Roberts' ex-girlfriend, Hannah Patricia Sansburn, told ABC News. "His main goal was to make you laugh, smile, make you feel comfortable. You can't reconcile the differences.

"I hate him for what he did, but I can't hate the person I knew because it was nothing like the person who would go into a mall and go on a rampage," she said.

The Clackamas County sheriff's office said Roberts had several fully loaded magazines when he arrived at the mall Tuesday. Roberts parked his 1996 green Volkswagen Jetta in front of the second-floor entrance to Macy's and walked through the store into the mall and began firing randomly in the food court.

He fatally shot Steven Mathew Forsyth, 45, and Cindy Ann Yuille, 54, the sheriff said. Kristina Shevchenko, 15, was wounded and in serious condition Wednesday.

Sansburn said Roberts had recently quit his job at a gyro shop in Portland and sold all of his belongings, telling her he was moving to Hawaii. He was supposed to take a flight Saturday but told her he got drunk and missed it.

"And then this happens. ... It makes me think, was he even planning on going to Hawaii?" Sansburn told ABC News.

Sansburn didn't return phone messages left by The Associated Press, and no one answered the door at her home Wednesday.

On a Facebook page that a friend identified as Roberts', a few photos show Roberts with friends, while one shows the back of a person in a knit cap firing what appears to be a handgun at targets. The cover photo is of a wall painted in graffiti with the message "Follow Your Dreams" and the word "Canceled" stamped across it.

In the public portion of his page, Roberts wrote: "I may be young but I have lived one crazy life so far."

"I'm the kind of person that is going to do what I want," he wrote. "There is no reason for another person to tell you what to do, I'm the conductor of my choo choo train."

He added he was "a bit of an adrenaline junkie" who was "just looking to meet new people and see the world."

A former neighbor of Roberts said he liked to play video games and never seemed troubled.

"We knocked on each other's door every morning. Every day to hang out, to talk," said Samantha Bennett, who added she went to middle school with Roberts but wasn't close to him until he moved in with a girlfriend across the hall from her at an apartment complex in summer 2011.

"If me and my boyfriend were fighting, he was there to talk to me," Bennett said. "We would go to the bar together. I don't get it."

Roberts' dining room was decorated like a jungle, Bennett said ? just one of the quirky things he did. He had green lights and put ivy on the walls.

He once showed her a black handgun that she believed he purchased legally. He dropped out of sight earlier this year, and his phone was disconnected, she said.

More recently, Roberts rented a basement room in a modest, single-story Portland home and hadn't lived there long, neighbor Bobbi Bates said. She said she saw him leave at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday wearing a dark jacket and jeans, carrying a guitar case.

Police say the suspect had stolen an AR-15 rifle from someone he knew.

The first 911 call came in at 3:29 p.m. Officers arrived a minute later. Instead of waiting for SWAT teams, police immediately entered the crowded mall.

Police told people inside to put their hands in the air, to make sure an armed person wasn't among them. Police spent hours clearing the 1.4 million-square-foot mall, as some workers and shoppers continued to hide in fear.

Wearing a hockey-style face mask and dark clothing, Roberts fled along a mall corridor and into a back hallway, down stairs and into a corner where police found him dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot, authorities said.

Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts said the fact that more people weren't killed was due to several factors. The suspect's gun jammed at one point; the mall implemented an immediate lockdown; and a large number of officers arrived on-scene quickly, "curtailing the suspect's ability to move around the mall."

"Ten thousand people in the mall at one time kept a level head. They got themselves out of the mall. They helped others get out, and there are just a number of heroes that took the time to help people get out," the sheriff said. "It was really about a full group of people coming together to make a difference."

___

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Steven DuBois, Jonathan J. Cooper, Nigel Duara, and Sarah Skidmore in Portland, Pete Yost in Washington and Manuel Valdes in Seattle, along with researcher Rhonda Shafner.

___

Follow Rachel La Corte at http://www.twitter.com/RachelAPOly and http://www.facebook.com/news.rachel

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-12-13-Oregon%20Mall%20Killings/id-2e652c67be4f4622b2f8817cca2993a9

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Novel NIST process is a low-cost route to ultrathin platinum films

Public release date: 13-Dec-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Michael Baum
michael.baum@nist.gov
301-975-2763
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

A research group at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed a relatively simple, fast and effective method of depositing uniform, ultrathin layers of platinum atoms on a surface.* The new process exploits an unexpected feature of electrodeposition of platinumif you drive the reaction much more strongly than usual, a new reaction steps in to shuts down the metal deposition process, allowing an unprecedented level of control of the film thickness.

Platinum is a widely used industrial catalystin automobile catalytic converters and hydrogen fuel cellsas well as a key component in microelectronics, so the discovery may have widespread application in the design and manufacture of platinum-based devices.

The metal is rare, and hence very pricey, so materials engineers try to use it sparingly as a thin layer on a substrate. They'd like to be able to control the deposition process down to uniform, single layers of atoms. Unfortunately, platinum doesn't always cooperate.

The model system studied at NISTdepositing a platinum layer on gold by electroplatingdemonstrates the challenging nature of the problem. A voltage is applied to drive the deposition of platinum from an electrode onto the gold surface in an aqueous solution. Normally, this leads to a patchy and rough surface rather than the desired smooth and even layer of platinum, because platinum tends to attach first to any defects on the gold surface, and then tends to attach to itself, rather than the gold.

The NIST team has found that increasing the voltage, the driving force of the reaction, far higher than normal to the point where the water molecules start to break down and hydrogen ions form, leads to an unexpected and useful result. The hydrogen quickly forms a layer covering the freshly deposited platinum islands and completely quenches further metal deposition. Using a battery of analytic techniques, including a quartz crystal microbalance, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy, the group found that the formation of the hydrogen layer was rapid enough to restrict deposition to the formation of a single layer of platinum atoms. The team further discovered that by pulsing the applied voltage, they could selectively remove the hydrogen layer to enable the platinum deposition process to be repeated to form another layer.

The deposition process occurs in a single plating bath and is surprisingly fast1,000 times faster than making comparable films using molecular beam epitaxy, for example. It's also faster, simpler and less prone to contamination than other electrochemical techniques for depositing platinum films, making it much less expensive.

###

The novel technique, the researchers say, may also work with a number of other metal and alloy combinations, a subject of ongoing research.

* Y. Liu, D. Gokcen, U. Bertocci and T.P. Moffat. Self-terminating growth of platinum films by electrochemical deposition. Science, v. 338, 1327, Dec. 7, 2012. Doi: 10.1126/science.1228925.

---

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 13-Dec-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Michael Baum
michael.baum@nist.gov
301-975-2763
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

A research group at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed a relatively simple, fast and effective method of depositing uniform, ultrathin layers of platinum atoms on a surface.* The new process exploits an unexpected feature of electrodeposition of platinumif you drive the reaction much more strongly than usual, a new reaction steps in to shuts down the metal deposition process, allowing an unprecedented level of control of the film thickness.

Platinum is a widely used industrial catalystin automobile catalytic converters and hydrogen fuel cellsas well as a key component in microelectronics, so the discovery may have widespread application in the design and manufacture of platinum-based devices.

The metal is rare, and hence very pricey, so materials engineers try to use it sparingly as a thin layer on a substrate. They'd like to be able to control the deposition process down to uniform, single layers of atoms. Unfortunately, platinum doesn't always cooperate.

The model system studied at NISTdepositing a platinum layer on gold by electroplatingdemonstrates the challenging nature of the problem. A voltage is applied to drive the deposition of platinum from an electrode onto the gold surface in an aqueous solution. Normally, this leads to a patchy and rough surface rather than the desired smooth and even layer of platinum, because platinum tends to attach first to any defects on the gold surface, and then tends to attach to itself, rather than the gold.

The NIST team has found that increasing the voltage, the driving force of the reaction, far higher than normal to the point where the water molecules start to break down and hydrogen ions form, leads to an unexpected and useful result. The hydrogen quickly forms a layer covering the freshly deposited platinum islands and completely quenches further metal deposition. Using a battery of analytic techniques, including a quartz crystal microbalance, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy, the group found that the formation of the hydrogen layer was rapid enough to restrict deposition to the formation of a single layer of platinum atoms. The team further discovered that by pulsing the applied voltage, they could selectively remove the hydrogen layer to enable the platinum deposition process to be repeated to form another layer.

The deposition process occurs in a single plating bath and is surprisingly fast1,000 times faster than making comparable films using molecular beam epitaxy, for example. It's also faster, simpler and less prone to contamination than other electrochemical techniques for depositing platinum films, making it much less expensive.

###

The novel technique, the researchers say, may also work with a number of other metal and alloy combinations, a subject of ongoing research.

* Y. Liu, D. Gokcen, U. Bertocci and T.P. Moffat. Self-terminating growth of platinum films by electrochemical deposition. Science, v. 338, 1327, Dec. 7, 2012. Doi: 10.1126/science.1228925.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-12/nios-nnp121312.php

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Minister: Chavez may not be well by inauguration

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) ? Information Minister Ernesto Villegas warned Venezuelans on Wednesday that ailing President Hugo Chavez may not be well enough after his fourth cancer-related surgery in Cuba to be inaugurated on Jan. 10.

Moving to prepare the public for the possibility of more bad news, Vice President Nicolas Maduro looked grim earlier in the day when he acknowledged that Chavez faced a "complex and hard" process after his latest surgery.

At the same time, the officials strove to show a united front amid the growing worries about Chavez's health and the country's future.

In an apparent symbolic show of unity, Maduro was flanked by National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello and Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez during his television appearance.

Analysts say Maduro could eventually face challenges in trying to hold together the president's diverse "Chavismo" movement, which includes groups from radical leftists to moderates, as well as military factions.

Tapped by the 58-year-old president over the weekend as his chosen political heir, Maduro is considered to be a member of radical left wing of Chavez's movement that is closely aligned with Cuba's communist government.

Venezuelan state television broadcast religious services in which Chavez's supporters prayed for his health, interspersed with campaign rallies for upcoming gubernatorial elections.

On the streets of Caracas, people on both sides of the country's deep political divide voiced concerns about Chavez's condition and what might happen if he died.

At campaign rallies ahead of Sunday's gubernatorial elections, Chavez's candidates urged Venezuelans to vote for pro-government candidates while they also called for the president to get well.

"Onward, Commander!" gubernatorial candidate Elias Jaua shouted to a crowd of supporters at a rally Wednesday. Many observers said it was likely that Chavez's candidates could get a boost from their supporters' outpouring of sympathy for Chavez.

Opposition leader Henrique Capriles, who lost to Chavez in the October presidential election and is running for state office against Jaua, complained Wednesday that Chavez's allies are taking advantage of the president's health problems to try to rally support. He took issue with Jaua's statement to supporters that "we have to vote so that the president recovers."

Villegas expressed hope about the president returning, but said if Chavez isn't back for his scheduled swearing-in for a new six-year term, "our people should be prepared to understand it."

The minister said it would be irresponsible to hide news about the "delicateness of the current moment and the days to come." He asked Venezuelans to see any potential delay in Chavez's return as "when we have a sick father, in a delicate situation after four surgeries in a year and a half."

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa also acknowledged the possibility of losing his close ally, while wishing him the best. "Chavez is very important for Latin America, but if he can't continue at the head of Venezuela, the processes of change have to continue," Correa said.

Maduro looked sad as he spoke on television, his voice hoarse and cracked at times after meeting in the pre-dawn hours with Cabello and Ramirez. The pair returned to Venezuela about 3 a.m. after accompanying Chavez to Cuba for his surgery.

"It was a complex, difficult, delicate operation," Maduro said. "The post-operative process is also going to be a complex and hard process."

Without giving details, Maduro reiterated Chavez's recent remarks that the surgery presented risks and that people should be prepared for any "difficult scenarios, which can be faced only with the unity of the people." Still, he expressed optimism Chavez would return home.

If Chavez were to die or be unable to continue in office, the constitution says that new elections should be held within 30 days. Chavez said on Saturday that if such new elections were held, Maduro should be elected president in his place.

"We're more united than ever," said Maduro. "We're united in loyalty to Chavez."

The vice president criticized the opposition, accusing it of using Chavez's illness to attack him. Some political adversaries have said the president should be more forthcoming about details of his pelvic cancer.

Maduro announced Tuesday night that the operation concluded successfully after more than six hours and that Chavez was to begin "special treatments," which he didn't specify. Chavez's children and grandchildren accompanied him in Havana during the surgery, the vice president said.

The dramatic events of this week, with Chavez suddenly taking a turn for the worse, had some Venezuelans wondering whether they were being told the truth because just a few months ago the president was running for his fourth presidential term and had said he was free of cancer.

Lawyer Maria Alicia Altuve, who was out in bustling crowds in a shopping district of downtown Caracas, said it seemed odd how Maduro wept at a political rally while talking about Chavez.

"He cries on television to set up a drama, so that people go vote for poor Chavez," Altuve said. "So we don't know if this illness is for that, or if it's that this man is truly sick."

Chavez announced over the weekend that he needed to have surgery again after tests showed "some malignant cells" had reappeared in the same area of his pelvic region where tumors were previously removed.

Throughout his nearly 14-year-old presidency, Chavez has been loved by some Venezuelans and reviled by others as he has nationalized companies, crusaded against U.S. influence and labeled his enemies "oligarchs" and "squalid ones."

Some Chavez supporters said they find it hard to think about losing the president and are worried about the future.

Others Venezuelans said that while they're sorry about Chavez's health and wish him the best, it isn't a particular concern for them. Many were out buying Christmas gifts and food as they prepared for the holiday season.

"The truth is that I have not paid much attention to the news. I just know the president is very sick and he went to Cuba for an operation," said Gabriela Hernandez, a nurse and opposition supporter. "I hope that he can get better. ... I don't wish for misfortune for anybody."

Omar Mendez, a shopkeeper who said he doesn't support Chavez or the opposition, was among several who worried about the possibility of political upheaval if Chavez doesn't survive.

"Many people don't dare to say it, but they want Chavez's death," Mendez said. "I would say something to those people: They should think hard about the consequences if Chavez does not survive this terrible illness because Chavez's death could bring about an unprecedented political crisis."

Chavez first announced he had been diagnosed with cancer in June 2011. He underwent a surgery for a pelvic abscess, and then had a baseball-sized tumor removed. In February, he underwent another surgery when a tumor reappeared in the same area.

He has also undergone months of chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Throughout his treatments in Cuba, Chavez has kept secret some details of his illness, including the exact location and type of the tumors.

___

Associated Press writer Christopher Toothaker contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/minister-chavez-may-not-well-inauguration-221336034.html

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8 steps to a successful job relocation

4 hrs.

Jacquelyn Smith , Forbes

The decision to relocate for a job is a big one that demands a lot of time and consideration?but as it turns out, that might be the easy part.

?The move itself could be one of the most stressful changes in life,? says Marjie Terry, VP of business development and client service at Great on the Job. ?Even if you?re super excited about the new position or company, moving is still complicated.?

Ted Stimpson, president and CEO of?MyMove.com, agrees. He says: ?As with any move, relocating for a job can be a complicated and stressful process. But the good news is that you?ve been recognized as a valuable asset to your new company or office, and employers are typically more than willing to help make your transition a smooth one.? Plan ahead for your move, and utilize any relocation packages offered by your employer, he says. ?And if things start to get stressful, remember that the reason for your move is a positive and exciting one.?

So, what exactly makes relocating so complicated? Ryan Kahn, a career coach, the star of MTV?s "Hired!"?and author of "Hired! The Guide for the Recent Grad," says, among other things, the process requires you to find a new place to call home, become acquainted with your new environment, master a new job, and build a new support network?all at the same time. ?A lot of hard work will go into being successful at all of these things, but hopefully you find out that it?s everything you?ve wanted.?

Stimpson says today?s real estate market doesn?t make it any easier. ?Selling a house is one of the biggest complications that relocating homeowners face,? he says. ?Paying two mortgages is daunting?and often not feasible?which leaves many in the challenging position of selling their current home while securing housing in their new city of employment.?

Another challenge faced by two-income families: finding employment for the relocating employee?s spouse or partner, he adds. And if you have children, you?ll probably worry about their transition to the new environment, as well.

?It?s extremely difficult to be 100 percent focused on your new job while dealing with all of the logistics of the move,? Terry says. ?You want to make great impressions on your new colleagues but everything is new and unfamiliar, so it takes working double time in the beginning to make it all work.?

So, if you want to have a successful transition, here?s what you?ll need to do:

Stay organized.?Much of moving-related stress comes from managing all of the logistics, like leaving your current home, and finding a new one, Terry says. ?Try to be very organized. Keep to-do lists for both your departure and arrival locations so that you can stay on top of everything.?

Know what?s available to you.??Many companies offer a variety of relocation services and most are flexible in what they provide, Kahn says. Make sure you take the time to learn what?s available to you?and use it. For example, some companies will pay for things like house-hunting trips, transportation of your cars, assistance in selling or buying your home, help figuring out how to rent out a property, and event organizers to settle you into your new home. They might also be able to help your spouse with job placement or employment leads in your new city, Stimpson adds.

If your employer doesn?t typically offer relocation assistance, ask for it.?If you learn that assistance isn?t typically given, don?t be afraid to negotiate, Stimpson says. Start by researching moving costs (truck rentals, quotes from professional movers, transportation expenses, temporary housing, storage, etc.) so that you can present your employer with a detailed estimate of how much your relocation is expected to cost you. ?Having this supporting information is crucial to the success of your request,? he says. Also ask about preferred providers when it comes to relocation companies and real estate agents. Reimbursement for your relocation may be contingent upon the usage of designated professionals with whom your employer has established relationships.

Take time to get to know your new environment before you move.?If you have the luxury of taking some time to explore your new area before arriving, do so, Terry says. ?Explore the neighborhoods in the area to make sure that you find the best suited one for your lifestyle,? she says.

If you?re not able to visit the new city before you move, take the time talk to people that live there or used to live there, and ?get as much perspective as you can on what you?re walking into,? Kahn says.

You should also read the local news or any local blogs to understand the vibe and learn what?s going in your new town, Terry adds.

Know the cost of living in the new city.?There are significant differences in cost of living among U.S. cities and states, Stimpson says. ?Typically, these differences will be compensated for in your salary, but it?s still important to check.? Do the research and plan accordingly.

Don?t make any long-term commitments.??Renting at first is a great way to settle into a new city without making a?commitment?to a neighborhood you might end up not liking,? Terry says.

Kahn agrees. He says a common mistake many people make when relocating for a job is to buy a home or commit to a long-term lease immediately, and later find that they don?t like the neighborhood, or the job.

Stimpson says to ask about temporary corporate housing. ?Some companies offer apartments or condos for a fixed length of time to allow relocating employees to familiarize themselves with their new surroundings and make an informed housing decision.?

Find out if any of your moving expenses are tax-deductible.? Even if your new employer doesn?t offer any financial assistance for your relocation, you might be eligible for partial reimbursement come tax time, which can definitely ease some of your financial stress, Stimpson says. (See?IRS Tax Topic 455?for details on which expenses qualify.) ?Generally, the moving tax deductions requirements are: the move must be because you started a new job; your new home must be at least 50 miles from your old home and your old job. (This is to prevent folks from simply moving across the street every time they changed jobs in a design to take advantage of the moving tax deduction.); and you must work full time for at least 39 weeks during the last 52 following your move. Self-employed movers need to work at least 78 weeks over the last 2 years to qualify.?

Build a social support network.? ?Use your friends to network to make new friends in the same way that you would try to network for a job,? Kahn says.?Use online services like MeetUp to find others in the area that have similar interests or hobbies. Your new company may also offer clubs and interest groups to meet new people. The faster you can build a support network, the more at home you will feel and the happier you will be with your decision to move, he says.

?Establishing a social network in your new town is going to make you feel more grounded and happy, which will allow you to perform better in your new job,? Terry adds.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/8-steps-successful-job-relocation-1C7532579

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premier foods unveils desserts classics mr kipling range

December 12th, 2012

Premier Foods is building on its Mr Kipling Inspirations range this January, with the launch of a ?Dessert Classics? range of themed cakes.

Inspired by desert favourites, Banoffee slice and Mississippi Mud Pies are being launched in a bid liven up the cake category and attract new shoppers through chocolate variants.

The Banoffee slices will be available in the new convenient snap pack format which has generated ?29.2m sales by tapping into consumer demand for convenience on-the-go.

Anthony Reynolds, category strategy manager ? Bakery at Premier Foods, said:

?Our new ?Dessert Classics? range targets teatime, the biggest sector within the cake category worth ?20.2m and builds on the success of our inspirations range refresh programme which has delivered ?17.6m of sales since its launch in August 2009.

?Our Great British Puds range alone delivered ?5.7m sales and we are confident we can replicate this success.

?Retailers are encouraged to stock our new cakes, alongside our best-sellers to create excitement at the fixture and drive incremental sales.?

The ?Dessert Classics? range rolls out from early January and will be supported with bespoke packaging, social media and banner advertising, and store coupons to drive repeat performance.

The MRSP for both Banoffee Slices and Mississippi Mud Pies is ?1.49.

Related posts:

1. PREMIER FOODS UNVEILS EASTER CAKE RANGE
2. PREMIER FOODS LAUNCHES NEW MR KIPLING CAKE RANGE
3. PREMIER FOODS UNVEILS NEW EASTER CAKE RANGE
4. MR KIPLING?S UNVEILS NEW TRADITIONAL BRITISH PUDDING CAKES
5. EASTER CAKE PROMOTION FROM PREMIER FOODS
6. PREMIER FOODS UNVEILS NEW CHRISTMAS 2011 RANGE
7. MR. KIPLING LAUNCHES NEW CHEQUER CAKES
8. PREMIER FOODS RE-VAMPS CADBURY AND MR. KIPLING RANGES FOR CHRISTMAS

Source: http://www.fdin.org.uk/2012/12/premier-foods-unveils-desserts-classics-mr-kipling-range/

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Health Care reform includes surprise new insurance fee | WSLS 10

By: RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press | WSLS-TV 10
Published: December 10, 2012 Updated: December 10, 2012 - 8:24 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) - Your medical plan is facing an unexpected expense, so you probably are, too. It's a new, $63-per-head fee to cushion the cost of covering people with pre-existing conditions under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

The charge, buried in a recent regulation, works out to tens of millions of dollars for the largest companies, employers say. Most of that is likely to be passed on to workers.

Employee benefits lawyer Chantel Sheaks calls it a "sleeper issue" with significant financial consequences, particularly for large employers.

"Especially at a time when we are facing economic uncertainty, (companies will) be hit with a multi-million dollar assessment without getting anything back for it," said Sheaks, a principal at Buck Consultants, a Xerox subsidiary.

Based on figures provided in the regulation, employer and individual health plans covering an estimated 190 million Americans could owe the per-person fee.

The Obama administration says it is a temporary assessment levied for three years starting in 2014, designed to raise $25 billion. It starts at $63 and then declines.

Most of the money will go into a fund administered by the Health and Human Services Department. It will be used to cushion health insurance companies from the initial hard-to-predict costs of covering uninsured people with medical problems. Under the law, insurers will be forbidden from turning away the sick as of Jan. 1, 2014.

The program "is intended to help millions of Americans purchase affordable health insurance, reduce unreimbursed usage of hospital and other medical facilities by the uninsured and thereby lower medical expenses and premiums for all," the Obama administration says in the regulation. An accompanying media fact sheet issued Nov. 30 referred to "contributions" without detailing the total cost and scope of the program.

Of the total pot, $5 billion will go directly to the U.S. Treasury, apparently to offset the cost of shoring up employer-sponsored coverage for early retirees.

The $25 billion fee is part of a bigger package of taxes and fees to finance Obama's expansion of coverage to the uninsured. It all comes to about $700 billion over 10 years, and includes higher Medicare taxes effective this Jan. 1 on individuals making more than $200,000 per year or couples making more than $250,000. People above those threshold amounts also face an additional 3.8 percent tax on their investment income.

But the insurance fee had been overlooked as employers focused on other costs in the law, including fines for medium and large firms that don't provide coverage.

"This kind of came out of the blue and was a surprisingly large amount," said Gretchen Young, senior vice president for health policy at the ERISA Industry Committee, a group that represents large employers on benefits issues.

Word started getting out in the spring, said Young, but hard cost estimates surfaced only recently with the new regulation. It set the per capita rate at $5.25 per month, which works out to $63 a year.

America's Health Insurance Plans, the major industry trade group for health insurers, says the fund is an important program that will help stabilize the market and mitigate cost increases for consumers as the changes in Obama's law take effect.

But employers already offering coverage to their workers don't see why they have to pony up for the stabilization fund, which mainly helps the individual insurance market. The redistribution puts the biggest companies on the hook for tens of millions of dollars.

"It just adds on to everything else that is expected to increase health care costs," said economist Paul Fronstin of the nonprofit Employee Benefit Research Institute.

The fee will be assessed on all "major medical" insurance plans, including those provided by employers and those purchased individually by consumers. Large employers will owe the fee directly. That's because major companies usually pay upfront for most of the health care costs of their employees. It may not be apparent to workers, but the insurance company they deal with is basically an agent administering the plan for their employer.

The fee will total $12 billion in 2014, $8 billion in 2015 and $5 billion in 2016. That means the per-head assessment would be smaller each year, around $40 in 2015 instead of $63.

It will phase out completely in 2017 - unless Congress, with lawmakers searching everywhere for revenue to reduce federal deficits - decides to extend it.

Source: http://www2.wsls.com/news/2012/dec/10/health-care-reform-includes-surprise-new-insurance-ar-2409401/

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Huff TV: WATCH: Ryan Grim Discusses Fiscal Cliff On 'McLaughlin Group'

Ryan Grim, Washington bureau chief at The Huffington Post, appeared on the McLaughlin Group last week to discuss the current state of political negotiations over the so-called "fiscal cliff."

While co-panelist Pat Buchanan said he believed negotiations would be resolved by a compromise, and Newsweek's Eleanor Clift believed "reasonableness may descend on Washington," Grim pointed out that the Obama administration seems adamant in its demands -- both for a tax hike on the top 2 percent of earners, and the elimination of congressional approval over increases of the debt ceiling.

Said Grim:

There was another meeting on Thursday, and the White House made it very clear that they're not giving much. The White House feels very burned by the 2011 debt ceiling negotiations. They feel like they have the leverage, and they're leaving it up to Boehner to capitulate.

[...]They think they have enough leverage that they can force Republicans to put the debt ceiling into any package that they eventually come up with, and if they don't, he feels like there's some other way he can force them to deal with this issue.

When host John McLaughlin suggested that the administration's debt ceiling proposal was an example of executive overreach, Grim countered in the following exchange:

Grim: [The debt ceiling] has to be raised.

McLaughlin: Now, that's the power of the purse.

Grim: The power of the purse is the power to spend. Congress has already authorized and appropriated all this money. Now it wants to come back in and prevent the government from paying the debts accrued by Congress itself. So there is something absurd in Congress coming in behind and saying 'all this money we appropriate--we don't want to pay for that. We're going to default on our national debt, spark a global crisis.

McLaughlin: If he has the power to raise the debt ceiling -- the de fact power to do it, is that causing a... bad balancing between the executive branch and the legislative branch?

Grim: Not at all, because Congress still has the power of the purse. If they don't want to spend money, then they don't have to spend money. All this does is say that the Congress cannot unilaterally default on the federal debt.

Watch the full segment below:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-tv/ryan-grim-fiscal-cliff_b_2274613.html

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