1/26/2013 msn.com

Herb Weisbaum, NBC News contributor

Attention shoppers: Another credit card fee is here

Yera Dominguez charges the credit card of Reynaldo Rodriguez as he pays for items at Lorenzo's Italian Market in Miami in this file photo. Starting Sunday, merchants who accept Visa and MasterCard will be allowed to tack on surcharges to purchase prices.

It could soon cost you more to shop with a credit card at some stores. As of this Sunday, Jan. 27, merchants who accept credit cards issued by Visa and MasterCard will be allowed to add a service charge to the purchase price.

Visa and MasterCard had always prohibited merchants from doing this. They agreed to change the rules and allow the surcharge as part of the settlement of an antitrust suit brought by retailers.

The surcharge is supposed to equal the actual cost of processing the credit card transaction, which is typically 1.5 to 3 percent. Under the agreement, the fee is capped at 4 percent. The surcharge can vary based on the type of card. For example, it could be higher for a rewards card or premier card.

Merchants still cannot add a surcharge to debit card transactions.

The big question is: Will any stores do this? Should you worry about paying a credit card surcharge?

“We have discussed the settlement with many, many merchants, and not a single merchant we have spoken to plans to surcharge,” Craig Shearman, spokesman for the National Retail Federation (NRF), said in a statement. The NRF was not involved in the class action lawsuit.

NBC News contacted some of the country’s largest retailers. Wal-Mart, Target, Sears and Home Depot said they have no plans to add a credit card surcharge.

Credit card surcharges are banned by law in 10 states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma and Texas.

Visa and MasterCard have rules that require retailers to handle credit cards the same way in all of their stores across the country. That means a chain with stores in any of the 10 states where a surcharge is banned would not be able to have a surcharge at any of its stores.

The National Retail Federation points out that under terms of the settlement, a merchant who adds a surcharge to purchases on a Visa or MasterCard would have to do the same with American Express cards. But AMEX prohibits surcharge fees. So a merchant who accepts American Express as well as Visa/MasterCard would not be able to surcharge any of those cards.

“The bottom line is that very few retailers would be able to surcharge under the settlement, and that the vast majority don’t want to surcharge even if they could,” the NRF’s Shearman said.

Ed Mierzwinski, Director of Consumer Programs at U.S. PIRG agrees.

“In the brick-and-mortar world, no one who does any sort of volume business is going to want to surcharge because it will drive their customer crazy and slow down transactions,” Mierzwinski said.

In fact, most consumer advocates believe that except for some small retailers, a credit card surcharge is a non-issue in the short-term.

But Edgar Dworsky, founder of ConsumerWorld.org, worries that over time surcharges will gain traction.

”It’s predictable what’s going to happen,” he said. “We’re at the top of the hill and we’re going to start going down that slippery slope.”

Dworsky points out that stores factor in the cost of processing credit cards when they price their merchandise. Charging for that again, he said, would be double-dipping, unless stores rolled back their prices – which no one expects them to do.

“We shouldn’t have gotten to the point, but unfortunately because of the court settlement we have,” Dworsky told me. “There’s no one standing up for consumers and saying that this is really bad.”

Dworsky points to Australia, where surcharging credit card use began in 2003. At first, few merchants charged the fee. His research shows that approximately one-third of the sellers there – including some hotels, supermarkets, department stores and utilities – now charge extra to use a credit card.

What about disclosures?

The advocacy group Consumer Action has published a booklet on credit card checkout fees. It warns shoppers to be on the lookout for these fees and advises them to express their dissatisfaction.“Customers shouldn’t stand for it,” said Ruth Susswein Consumer Action’s deputy director of national priorities. “Our advice is to tell them you don’t like the fee and this makes you want to take your business elsewhere.”

The new rules from Visa and MasterCard require retailers who apply a credit card surcharge to post a notice at the store’s entrance. The exact percentage of the surcharge does not need to be disclosed until the point of sale. The customer receipt must list the amount of the surcharge.

Online stores with a surcharge will not be required to have a notice on the home page. They only need to alert shoppers about this when they reach the page where credit cards are first mentioned. In most cases, that means the final step of checkout when the purchase is being completed.

Not the end of this story

The settlement that allows merchants to impose a surcharge is only preliminary. The court has yet to issue its final ruling in this case. That’s expected later this year.

Once that happens, various retailers and business groups plan to challenge the settlement. That could drag into late 2014.

For now, the possibility that the settlement could be modified will probably keep most businesses of any size from instituting credit card fees.

“We’re not convinced this is going to be an issue,” Consumer Action’s Susswein told me. “They may never do it, but as individual consumers we need to be aware.”Herb Weisbaum is The ConsumerMan. Follow him on Facebook and Twitteror visit The ConsumerMan website.

NBCNews.com

Herb Weisbaum, NBC News contributor

When you hit Del...where does your data go?  View the video, you may be surprised to learn it's still there.

Michael Gowan, TechNewsDaily contributor , TechNewsDaily

Unlocking cellphones becomes illegal Saturday

The clock to unlock a new mobile phone is running out.

In October 2012, the Librarian of Congress, who determines exemptions to a strict anti-hacking law called the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), decided that unlocking mobile phones would no longer be allowed. But the librarian provided a 90-day window during which people could still buy a phone and unlock it. That window closes on Jan. 26.

Unlocking a phone frees it from restrictions that keep the device from working on more than one carrier's network, allowing it run on other networks that use the same wireless standard. This can be useful to international travelers who need their phones to work on different networks. Other people just like the freedom of being able to switch carriers as they please.

The new rule against unlocking phones won't be a problem for everybody, though. For example, Verizon's iPhone 5 comes out of the box already unlocked, and AT&T will unlock a phone once it is out of contract.

You can also pay full-price for a phone, not the discounted price that comes with a two-year service contract, to receive the device unlocked from the get-go. Apple sells an unlocked iPhone 5 starting at $649, and Google sells its Nexus 4 unlocked for $300. [See also: Can I Get a Smartphone Without a Contract?]

Advocacy group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) questions whether the DMCA has the right to determine who can unlock a phone. In an email to TechNewsDaily, EFF attorney Mitch Stoltz said, "Arguably, locking phone users into one carrier is not at all what the DMCA was meant to do. It's up to the courts to decide."

If you do buy a new phone and want to unlock it before the deadline, you must first ask your carrier if the company will unlock your phone for you. The DMCA only permits you to unlock your phone yourself once you've asked your carrier first.

(Note that unlocking is different from "jailbreaking," which opens the phone up for running additional software and remains legal, although it can be risky, for smartphones.)

Christopher S. Reed from the U.S. Copyright Office noted in an email to TechNewsDaily that "only a consumer, who is also the owner of the copy of software on the handset under the law, may unlock the handset."

But come Saturday, you'll have to break the law to unlock your phone. If you want to get in under the gun, you can search the Internet for the code to enter to unlock the phone or find a tool that will help you accomplish the task.

The change could crimp the style of carriers like T-Mobile, which have pushed "bring your own device" as an incentive for switching service providers. Such carriers promise savings in exchange for using your existing phone on their network.

T-Mobile has promoted this notion for iPhones, in particular, since the company is the only one of the big four U.S. carriers that doesn't sell the iPhone (although it will, in the months ahead). The carrier goes so far as to feature ads displaying an open padlock, with an iPhone replacing the body of the lock. T-Mobile declined to comment.

Rossen Reports: Webcam hackers can spy on you in secret

View the video link below

 

http://todaynews.today.com/_news/2013/01/24/16641666-rossen-reports-webcam-hackers-can-spy-on-you-in-secret?lite

Authorities are saying criminals can now hack into your webcam remotely, using it to watch your most intimate moments without you ever knowing. NBC's Jeff Rossen investigates how you can protect yourself and your family.

 By Jeff Rossen, Josh Davis and Robert Powell, TODAY

Could predators be spying on you and your kids through your computer's webcam? Authorities say criminals are now able to hack in and watch your every move -- without you ever knowing it.

We all do it: We use our computer, then we get distracted with something and just walk away. You forget the computer is still on. and the criminals are counting on it. Now they can access your webcam remotely, watching your most intimate moments from the kitchen to the privacy of your own bedroom. The worst part is, you'd never even know.

Computer expert Jim Stickley of TraceSecurity showed us how easy it is. From thousands of miles away he broke into one family's laptop and turned on their webcam to view teen girls in their bedroom and in their dining room as the family ate dinner. "It took about three minutes" to hack into their system, Stickley told us.

Stickley said such families are easy targets for webcam predators -- criminals like Luis Mijangos. Prosecutors say he was spying on more than 200 women through their webcams, even blackmailing some of them. He's now serving six years in prison.

Rossen Reports: TV and furniture tipovers threaten kids

"People who are victims generally have no idea that they are victims," Stickley said.

"And suddenly, someone has naked photos of you?  Or something else?" we asked.

"Suddenly you're all over the Internet," Stickley said.

So we set up an experiment using the Siegel family of New Jersey. With dad Robert's permission, we had our expert hack into their computer. How'd he do it? He sent them an innocent-looking e-card with a virus.

Rossen Reports: New device lets crooks crack many hotel locks

"They click the little link in the card and as far as they're concerned, they're going to see little quacking ducks," Stickley explained. "In reality, I've also loaded a Trojan (horse) on their computer during that time."

We told Corinne Siegel and the Siegel daughters, Chloe and Cassidy, that we were doing a general story about online security. They had no idea we were spying on them through their computer webcam. We told the girls to go upstairs. Then we let their mom in on the secret: "We actually recorded your family dinner, no one was in your house except you guys."

"It's really creepy," Corinne said. "It's absolutely creepy....my girls are in their bedroom all the time.  I'm frightened for them."

Rossen Reports: Extreme identity thieves live as you

So we took it up a notch, having our expert hack into the webcam in her daughter's upstairs bedroom, where they were waiting with our producer. Imagine if it had been a predator spying on your kids.

"I'm sick over it, actually," Corinne said as we watched. "I really am. It's upsetting to see this."

Then we gave the girls a wakeup call. "It's scary," Chloe said when we explained our experiment.

Read more investigative journalism from Rossen Reports

"Someone could potentially be watching you, and this is where you feel most comfortable," Cassidy agreed.

"I thought I was so safe the whole time, but clearly not," Chloe said.

So how can you protect yourself? Number one: Leave your laptop closed when you're not using it. You can also put a piece of tape across the webcam lens.

Secondly, don't open any emails from people you don't know. That includes clicking on those Facebook postings that say things like "Watch this incredible video!" Unless you trust the person posting, don't do it. Those random links are how the hackers gain access.

The FBI says it's impossible to know how often hackers are spying on innocent victims. But keep in mind: one guy, like Luis Mijangos, often has hundreds of women he's watching at any time..

 

 

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)



PayPal's overzealous fraud filters have frustrated customers for years, with an inscrutable verification process that leaves some battling for months to get access to their money.

The eBay (EBAY, Fortune 500)-owned payments processor, like other financial companies, has policies in place to ensure that fraudsters aren't using its system to transfer ill-gotten gains. But PayPal also traps legitimate businesses and charities in its filters, and proving you're no scam involves a ton of paperwork and time.

PayPal says it's finally ready to deal with the problem. It's promising to roll out a massive overhaul of its system within the next several months -- but details are scant for now.

"These are not minor -- these are aggressive changes," said Anuj Nayar, PayPal's senior director of communications. "This is a fundamental shift in our business operations."

Nayar said he can't go into specifics about what will change, but transparency is a major focus. "We want to be clear about how people can get out of the [frozen funds] situation," he said. "We need to get better about helping people, or explaining why actions are being taken."

PayPal customers have complained for years about the Kafkaesque nightmare of trying to pry frozen funds loose.

The company routinely freezes funds for 21 days if it thinks there's a fraud risk, and its terms give it the right to extend the freeze for up to 180 days. To get access to their money, users are often asked asked to provide the kind of documentation that a product seller would have, like several months' worth of sales records. But if you're running a fundraiser or selling tickets to an upcoming conference, you don't have that paperwork.

Even for those with extensive paper trails, the appeals process can take months to resolve. The Web is filled with enraged blog posts, websites like paypalsucks.com, and a Tumblr called "Conferences Burned by PayPal."

Nayar first discussed PayPal's plan for "big changes" in a TechCrunch article posted last week, after science fiction author Jay Lake found his account frozen. Lake, who is battling advanced colon cancer, is raising money for an experimental genome-sequencing process.

Thanks to his own fame and the aid of friends like Neil Gaiman, Lake's fundraising effort went viral. Just five hours after launching his campaign, he had $20,000 in contributions. At about 4 p.m. Pacific time the next day -- January 11, a Friday -- Lake tried to transfer the funds into a bank account. Instead, he received an alert that his PayPal account was frozen.

"They wanted me to provide receipts, shipping information, business paperwork," Lake told CNNMoney. "That obviously didn't apply to me, but there was no way to bypass the process. I called, and they said appeals take 24 to 72 hours to get going. I asked, 'How I do prove I'm not conducting transactions?'"

After Lake fired off a sarcastic tweet at PayPal, his fans and famous friends lobbied for help. His account was restored by 6 p.m., and PayPal tossed in a corporate donation to Lake's fund.

"If it weren't for my small bit of fame, if I were the guy down the street, this could have taken months," Lake said.

That's what happened to Brook Drumm, an entrepreneur who sells 3-D printers. After running a successful Kickstarter campaign, he launched an online store to sell his Printrbot machines. More than $100,000 rolled in.


"PayPal freaked out and froze our funds," Drumm said. "They needed references and bank statements and tax records. This went on for months. And even with all that paperwork, they still ended up holding $50,000. We finally got the money, but it was an untold amount of stress and sleepless nights."

Nayar, the PayPal rep, said the company can't comment on specific cases.

"We've made a commitment to be clearer with consumers on how they can get out of these situations," he said.

For example, the issue that Jay Lake faced -- being asked to mail in receipts and other paperwork that doesn't apply to fundraisers?

"We're fixing a lot of that," Nayar said. "At a minimum, the fact that someone needs to mail in something to an online payments company is a problem. 2013 is going to be the year that we fix a lot of those pain points."

It will take time, he cautioned. PayPal has multiple, complex security systems in place, and all of them need a fresh look. Ironically, Lake understands better than most what PayPal is up against. As a sideline to his writing, Lake consults with financial institutions about their communications systems -- for example, the automated calls you receive when your credit card may be compromised. He's familiar with the fraud protection process, and he thinks PayPal's has plenty of room for improvement.

"There's a guilty until proven innocent bias to it, and that needs to change," he said.
PayPal can't afford to be complacent much longer. The field that it once monopolized is now full of competition: WePay, Square, Stripe and smartphone-based systems like Google Wallet are only a few of the up-and-coming rivals.

"We are committed to getting back to being the center of our customers' financial lives," PayPal's Nayar pledged. "Big changes are coming."

First Published: January 21, 2013: 6:44 AM ET

PayPal admits its fraud filters suck, promises to suck less

PayPal customers, breathe a sigh of relief. Soon, you will no longer have to undergo an agonizing process to thaw your frozen funds from their overly suspicious coffers. The payments processing company announced recently that it would make "aggressive changes" in the coming months to overhaul its fraud filters and verification process, a system that is currently about as easy to navigate as a zigzagging maze. Customers for years have railed against the difficulty in getting their funds unfrozen, an unfriendly process that required so much documentation and hoop-jumping that numerous blogs and websites were dedicated to the theme of "PayPal sucks."

Click to see more on msnNOW.com, updated 24 hours a day.

MSN.com Living 1/21/2013

What feels like depression … but isn't

Depression or a Thyroid Condition?

The tiny thyroid gland has a huge role. It regulates metabolism, which means virtually all the chemical reactions in the body, including those involving hormones. If metabolism is out of whack, a person doesn't function right -- or feel right -- usually without realizing why. Resulting symptoms like changes in mood, weight, and energy levels can be mistaken for many other conditions. As many as half of all thyroid disorders are therefore misdiagnosed or undiagnosed.

In a 2004 Spanish study, 34 percent of older adults with hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) and half of those with hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid) reported feeling depressive symptoms. Women are at higher risk for thyroid disorders, possibly because they experience more hormonal changes.

What to watch: Other common symptoms of thyroid disorders include weight changes, dry skin, sensitivity to cold, tingling or numbness in the hands and feet, new constipation or loose stools, puffy skin, and bulging eyes. Hypothyroidism sometimes follows childbirth (a period when postpartum depression may also strike).

What to do: Don't ignore depressive symptoms, whether you think you know the cause or not. A thyroid test can measure thyroid function. Hormone treatments are used to restore proper thyroid functioning.

Depression or Drug Side Effects?

When personality and behavioral changes strike in teens or young adults, we're quick to think of drugs. In adults, though, it's often overlooked that prescription drugs can have similar effects. Beta-blockers used to treat hypertension, angina, and other conditions, for example, can cause symptoms that appear to be depression-like, including lack of energy, changes in sleep, lack of sexual interest, and mood changes. Research shows that beta-blockers don't cause depression; rather, they can bring effects that look and feel like it.

Other medications that can sometimes cause depressive symptoms include corticosteroids (for autoimmune diseases), which can alter serotonin levels, and drugs for Parkinson's disease that affect dopamine levels, such as levodopa. Serotonin and dopamine are both linked to mood. Also beware common antianxiety drugs, such as Xanax, Ativan, and Valium.

What to watch: Ask whether the person has recently begun a new prescription or had a dosage change. Abuse of illicit drugs or alcohol can also cause depressive-like effects; be alert to these warning signs of addiction.

What to do: When seeing a doctor about worrisome symptoms, be sure to bring a list of all medications or, better yet, all the medication bottles themselves. A different drug or an adjustment to the dosage may ease the unwanted side effects.

Depression or Sleep Problem?

Say there's no obvious stressor or health symptom -- at least by day -- and yet you feel tired, lethargic, and "off." The problem may be something that's happening at night. Any kind of sleep problem can cause mood and energy problems by day. For example, those who suffer insomnia due to stress, a bladder problem, or caregiving for someone with dementia who doesn't sleep well are at higher risk for depression.

Sleep apnea, a dangerous condition that causes a person to briefly stop breathing during sleep, is often a surprising cause. In sleep apnea, the soft tissues of the throat temporarily close the airway. As many as 80 percent of sufferers go undiagnosed or are treated for the wrong problem.

A 2012 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of 10,000 adults found that people with sleep apnea have a higher risk of depression. Men, diabetics, and those who are obese are at greater risk of sleep apnea. Other risk factors include a large neck size or being over 40.

What to watch: Someone with sleep apnea usually snores loudly or sounds like he or she is struggling to breathe. A companion may notice actual gaps in breathing. Other symptoms of sleep apnea include restless sleep, plus tiredness and napping during the day.

What to do: Don't ignore sleep problems, whether you notice them during the day or night. For sleep apnea, treatments include special sleep masks. A 2012 Cleveland Clinic Sleep Disorders Center study found that patients who used them to treat sleep apnea experienced fewer symptoms of depression, even if they didn't follow the Depression or Dementia?

When a loved one becomes withdrawn and uninterested in activities that once brought pleasure, loved ones are apt to think, "He's depressed" more often than, "He has cognitive impairment." But seeming apathy is a common early sign of dementia, as the person struggling with cognitive changes focuses more thought and energy on everyday behaviors, sometimes to the exclusion of anything else.

Depression and dementia can occur separately, but they're also often found together. The risk of depression is higher in people diagnosed with dementia (of which Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause), though there are other causes.

What to watch: There's a great deal of overlap in dementia and depression symptoms. With both, for example, someone may have trouble concentrating, seem apathetic, show personality changes, or withdraw socially. Other common early warning signs of Alzheimer's include making mistakes with money, having trouble finding the right words, having difficulty with abstract thinking, and being disoriented about time or place. Not everyone with early dementia will have all these signs, but some of them may appear along with the changes in focus and personality that look like depression.

What to do: No single test will distinguish between dementia and depression. A clinical assessment is the best way to diagnose Alzheimer's.

treatment exactly as prescribed.

Depression or Burnout?

You can feel emotions like sadness, or feel overwhelmed because you're dealing with chronic stress, without having actual depression, which is a physical disorder. But it's a slippery slope from stress to burnout, and burnout often leads to depression.

What to watch: Ongoing stress (such as the demands of caregiving) is often compared to the proverbial frog in a pot of water on a stove -- the temperature rises so gradually that the frog gets used to it, and by the time he's being boiled away, it's too late. Check in with your stress level to get a sense of how advanced your stress is. One rule of thumb: The longer a stressful situation goes on, the more at risk for burnout you may be.

What to do: Whatever the source of your stress, you've got to look out for Number One even as you struggle with the burden at hand. Among the keys of beating caregiver stress syndrome, for example, are tapping into more practical and emotional support, finding physical outlets for stress, and focusing on self-care as much as possible.

Depression or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)?

Traumatic brain injuries (whether caused by falls, sports, accidents, or acts of violence) are commonly known as concussions, and they affect individuals differently. Often they create changes to mood, memory, attentiveness, and energy levels. A sufferer's personality may seem to change, and dramatic mood swings can be mistaken for depression. Making things more complicated, half of those who suffer head trauma will experience clinical depression, according to a 2010 study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association. So the two conditions can overlap, or one may be mistaken for the other.

What to watch: Usually the cause of a traumatic brain injury is obvious -- but people don't always understand that the associated cognitive and mood effects can persist for several months after the incident. They can include listlessness, anxiety, paranoia, fear, irritability, difficulty beginning or completing tasks, and changes in concentration and attention.

What to do: Encourage someone who hit his or her head in a fall or other accident to get checked out afterward. (See what to tell the doctor when someone with dementia falls).Tell the doctor about ongoing depressive symptoms and encourage the person with the concussion not to be embarrassed or ashamed about sharing these symptoms

Depression or Grief?

As with stress and burnout, the intense emotional and physical experience of grieving can be profoundly depressing. These very natural emotions aren't usually the same thing as the physical condition doctors call clinical depression, however. Grief and depression can overlap -- or be mistaken for one another.

There is an acute subset of grief, affecting 10 to 20 percent of mourners, known as prolonged grief disorder or complicated grief. (The term prolonged grief disorder was proposed for the 2013 diagnostic manual of mental disorders, DSM-5.) Psychological distress is so intense in these cases as to interfere with everyday functioning. People with this kind of grief are at dramatically increased risk for clinical depression.

What to watch: Everyone grieves differently. But a sign that someone may benefit from additional support is when there's difficulty managing everyday life. Among the other worrisome symptoms of acute grief are emotional numbness, a sense of meaninglessness, difficulty accepting the loss, and suicidal thoughts. Suicidal thoughts, in particular, should be taken seriously and brought to the attention of a clinician. Symptoms may persist a year or more after the loss, or they may not go into full swing until six months after the death.

What to do: A doctor or mental health professional can help advise on treatment for grief-related depressive symptoms. Realize, too, that grief isn't limited to mourning those who have died. Alzheimer's caregivers, in particular, often experience what's called anticipatory grief -- feelings of loss for someone who is still alive. (They don't call Alzheimer's the "long good-bye" for nothing.)

What is a Nurdle?

A dab of toothpaste

What is the sleeve around a paper coffee cup?

 A Zarf

What is the Glabella?

Spot between eyes above nose on brow.

US news on MSN.COM

RFK children speak about assassination in Dallas

 

Tony Gutierrez / AP

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., left, makes comments during the opening minutes of a interview with journalist Charlie Rose in front of a full audience at the AT&T Performing Arts Center Friday, Jan. 11, 2013, in Dallas, Texas. The Kennedys are in Dallas as a year of observances begins for the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's assassination. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
By JAMIE STENGLE
2013-01-12T06:57:58
DALLAS — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is convinced that a lone gunman wasn't solely responsible for the assassination of his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, and said his father believed the Warren Commission report was a "shoddy piece of craftsmanship." 

 Kennedy and his sister, Rory, spoke about their family Friday night while being interviewed in front of an audience by Charlie Rose at the Winspear Opera House in Dallas. The event comes as a year of observances begins for the 50th anniversary of the president's death. Their uncle was killed on Nov. 22, 1963, while riding in a motorcade through Dallas. Five years later, their father was assassinated in a Los Angeles hotel while celebrating his win in the California Democratic presidential primary.

 Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said his father spent a year trying to come to grips with his brother's death, reading the work of Greek philosophers, Catholic scholars, Henry David Thoreau, poets and others "trying to figure out kind of the existential implications of why a just God would allow injustice to happen of the magnitude he was seeing."

 He said his father thought the Warren Commission, which concluded Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in killing the president, was a "shoddy piece of craftsmanship." He said that he, too, questioned the report.

 "The evidence at this point I think is very, very convincing that it was not a lone gunman," he said, but he didn't say what he believed may have happened.

 Rose asked if he believed his father, the U.S. attorney general at the time of his brother's death, felt "some sense of guilt because he thought there might have been a link between his very aggressive efforts against organized crime."

 Kennedy replied: "I think that's true. He talked about that. He publicly supported the Warren Commission report but privately he was dismissive of it."

 He said his father had investigators do research into the assassination and found that phone records of Oswald and nightclub owner Jack Ruby, who killed Oswald two days after the president's assassination, "were like an inventory" of mafia leaders the government had been investigating.

 He said his father, later elected U.S. senator in New York, was "fairly convinced" that others were involved.

The attorney and well-known environmentalist also told the audience light-hearted stories Friday about memories of his uncle. As a young child with an interest in the environment, he said, he made an appointment with his uncle to speak with him in the Oval Office about pollution. He'd even caught a salamander to present to the president, which unfortunately died before the meeting.
"He kept saying to me, 'It doesn't look well,'" he recalled.

 Rory Kennedy, a documentary filmmaker whose recent film "Ethel" looks at the life of her mother, also focused on the happier memories. She said she and her siblings grew up in a culture where it was important to give back.

 "In all of the tragedy and challenge, when you try to make sense of it and understand it, it's very difficult to fully make sense of it," she said. "But I do feel that in everything that I've experienced that has been difficult and that has been hard and that has been loss, that I've gained something in it."
 
 "We were kind of lucky because we lost our members of our family when they were involved in a great endeavor," her brother added. "And that endeavor is to make this country live up to her ideals."

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

10 Threats you didn't know about, a must read.  Follow the link (or click on it) to read the full article. 

http://www.technewsdaily.com/7472-10-threats-you-didnt-know.html

MSN news

Rumor: Facebook is charging $1 per tag

 

mashable.com. Facebook: Will Facebook charge $1 per tag?

Will Facebook charge $1 per tag?

UNCONFIRMED

The social networking giant announced Thursday that it will charge users $100 if they want their messages to be seen by someone other than their friends, such as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Although there are some rumors circulating on the Web that Facebook will start charging for tagging people in pictures and posts, there is no information yet to substantiate it.

Zuckerberg’s “Other Folder”

Some people trying to message Zuckerberg (if they are not connected to him on Facebook) might get a little pop-up saying that it will cost them $100 to send it to his inbox. Otherwise it will end up in his “Other Folder.” Mashable discovered this Thursday when they tried to message Zuckerberg. It will also cost users $100 to message Facebook COO Sheryl Sandburg and CFO David Ebersman, according to CNN. MSN News was able to send a message to Zuckerberg this afternoon without coming across any paywalls, but it probably ended up in his “Other Folder.” The message says: “Hi Mark, wanted to know what you think about the new $100 messaging trial. Doing a story for MSN on it. Thanks!” We will let you know if he responds.

Facebook testing “extreme price points”

Facebook had said back in December that it would start testing a paid messaging system but didn’t divulge how much it would cost. The company, which is trying to figure out new ways to generate revenue, said that it’s “testing some extreme price points” to figure out how to filter spam.

 MSN NEWS & RUMORS
MSN News seeks to give up-to-date information on rumors related to current events, people or topics/issues of interest. We’ll tell you what we can confirm from the rumor mill -- and what we can’t. If we can’t confirm a rumor, we’ll share what we do know about it.
If you have a rumor you’d like to submit for review, email: msnnewsrumors@microsoft.com.

 

What's Trending  msn.com

Monday, January 14, 12:07 pm

 

 

If you're not getting enough toxic mercury in your diet, try the tuna

Eat fish, they said. It will be good for health, they said. Yeah, thanks, guys. According to a study from Maine's Biodiversity Research Institute, 84 percent of the fish we eat contains unsafe levels of mercury, which can permanently damage the brain and kidneys. Tuna and swordfish contain the most, with much of our supply coming from the apparently mercury-laden South China Sea. So, if you're slamming down stinky cans of fish pulp faster than you can say "low carb," you might want to just relax and eat a Twinkie or something — it might actually be better for you. [Source]

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