Celebrity panda at center of Thai-China deal

BANGKOK (AP) ? Thailand's celebrity baby panda Lin Ping is almost 4 years old now. It's time to move to China, find a mate and have cubs.

The move won't be permanent, however, thanks to a deal hammered out between the two countries that will cost Thailand $1 million a year, the Thai foreign minister said Friday.

Once the star of a Thai reality show, the panda's future has been a topic of high-level negotiation for months. Last year, Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra asked then-Chinese premier Wen Jiabao to consider extending the panda's loan contract which ends on its 4th birthday, May 27.

A breakthrough was announced Friday, when the Chinese Embassy informed Thai authorities that Lin Ping can stay in Thailand until October, said Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul. Lin Ping will then relocate to China, where authorities will find her a male partner, and the two will be allowed to return to Thailand to mate, he said.

"Normally every baby panda born overseas must return to China to breed," Surapong said, but the Chinese made an exception due to close bilateral ties with Thailand.

Lin Ping was born in Thailand's Chiang Mai Zoo to two adult pandas that were on loan from China. Her birth was front-page news in Thailand and the panda family starred in a much-loved but lethargic reality show that broadcast live from the pandas' zoo habitat for almost three years.

China has not set a date for Lin Ping's return to Thailand but will try to ensure it is within a year, Surapong said. She will be allowed to remain in Thailand for up to 15 years, at a cost of $1 million per year, said Surapong.

"The new fee is four times higher," he said. The old contract called for a $250,000 panda loan fee. "But (we) can accept that."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/celebrity-panda-center-thai-china-deal-102338310.html

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Report: Hospitals charge vastly more for same care

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Hospitals within the same city sometimes charge tens of thousands of dollars more for the same treatment, according to figures the government released publicly for the first time Wednesday. The federal list sheds new light on the mystery of just how high a hospital bill might go ? and whether it's cheaper for uninsured patients to get the care somewhere else.

But it doesn't answer the big question: Why do some hospitals charge 20 or even 40 times more than others?

"It doesn't make sense," said Jonathan Blum, director of the government's Center for Medicare. The higher costs don't reflect better care, he said, and can't be explained by regional economic differences alone.

Blum said he hopes making the information available without charge to the public will help generate answers to the riddles of hospital pricing, and put pressure on the more expensive hospitals.

The fees that Medicare pays hospitals aren't based on their charges, Blum said. But patients who are without government or private medical coverage are subject to them. The new information should help those patients decide where to get care, he said.

There are vast disparities nationally. The average charges for joint replacement range from about $5,300 at an Ada, Okla., hospital to $223,000 in Monterey Park, Calif.

It's not just national or even regional geography. Hospitals within the same city also vary wildly. In Jackson, Miss., average inpatient charges for services that may be provided to treat heart failure range from $9,000 to $51,000, the Department of Health and Human Services said.

Hospitals usually receive less money than they charge, however. Their charges are akin to a car dealership's "list price." Most patients won't be hit with these bills, because they are paid by their private insurance, Medicare or Medicaid at lower rates. Insurance companies routinely negotiate discounted payments with hospitals.

"These charges really don't have a direct relationship with the price for the average person," said Chapin White of the nonprofit Center for Studying Health System Change. "I think the point is to shame hospitals."

The charges do show up on the bills of people without medical coverage, many of whom try to negotiate smaller fees for themselves. And they could affect people paying for care that is outside their insurance company's network. Hospitals say they frequently give the uninsured discounts.

"This is the opening bid in the hospital's attempt to get as much money as possible out of you," White said of the listed charges.

And some people pay full price, or try to afford it, because they don't know they can bargain for a discount, White said.

The department released a list of the average charges at 3,300 hospitals for each of the 100 most common Medicare inpatient services. The prices, from 2011, represent about 60 percent of Medicare inpatient cases.

"Hospitals that charge two or three times the going rate will rightfully face scrutiny," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told reporters.

And consumers will benefit from more information about a mystifying system that too often leaves them with little way of knowing what a hospital will charge or what their insurance companies are paying for treatments, Sebelius said.

Previously, the price information that the government collects from hospitals wasn't available to the average consumer, although the data could be purchased for uses such as research, officials said.

The department also is making $87 million in federal money available as grants to states to improve their hospital rate review programs and get more information about health care charges to patients.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hospitals-charge-vastly-more-same-care-160640948.html

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Canadian tourist dies in Mexico after falling from balcony

TORONTO - A Canadian tourist has died in the Mexican resort of Cancun.

Local media reports say the 21-year-old, identified as Sydney Taylor, died early Tuesday after apparently falling about 10 metres from the balcony of her second-floor hotel room.

They say the victim was identified by her Canadian roommate.

There was no immediate word on the woman?s hometown, but a spokesman for Acadia University in Nova Scotia says the victim graduated from the school last month.

In Ottawa, Foreign Affairs confirmed that a Canadian had died in Mexico, but did not provide any details.

It says Canadian consular officials are in contact with local authorities to gather more information and that consular assistance is being provided both in Mexico and to the woman?s relatives in Canada.

Source: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/canadian-tourist-dies-in-mexico-after-falling-from-balcony-1.1272162

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From Carriage Horses To Chihuahuas And Cockatiels, An Appeal ...

A mayoral forum Monday offered candidates a rare chance on the campaign trail ? to prove they?re the biggest ally to the city?s furry friends.

Seeking to one up each other on four-legged bona fides, the hopefuls mixed policy proposals with boasts about their vegetarian kids and their families? beloved pets.

Republican John Catsimatidis used his opening statement to tell how his family summoned the FDNY for an elaborate rescue of his daughter?s cockatiel ? which was successful ? and his wife attempted mouth to mouth resuscitation on their dying cat, which was not.

Not only that, but he has ?cat? in his name.

?I?m John Catsimatidis. Some people call me 'The Cat Man.' I love animals,? he said.

In making the case for a bill barring landlord from denying apartments to seniors because they own pets, former City Councilman Sal Albanese cited a chihuahua named Joey he said had helped prolong his mother in law's life for several years.

When she passed away, the pooch was the ?estate? that he and his wife inherited, he said.
? Not to be outdone, former Controller Bill Thompson said his family had adopted two rescue cats.?

And Controller John Liu offered up a strong opinion on pet owners who shell out thousands on so-called ?pure-bred? animals. ?We?ve rejected that notion for human beings. Why would we allow that to continue for dogs and cats?? Liu said. He backed a measure to require city pet stores to sell only animals from shelters or rescues.

If having pets in the family was a talking point, so too was having vegetarians.

?I have a confession to make ? I?m not a vegetarian yet,? said Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, who quickly noted that his two kids are. ?I am very proud of the fact that my wife and I have raised two vegetarians.?

Candidates who didn?t show for the forum were tarred as anti-animal. Catsimatidis, who, like the others on the panel, thought the mass extermination of geese in Prospect Park in 2010 due to aircraft safety concerns was overkill, threw in a swipe at rival Joe Lhota. ?

?My opponent?wanted to kill all the deer in Staten Island,? he charged.

But the biggest punching bag was City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, a longtime target of the group that hosted the forum, New Yorkers For Clean, Livable, and Safe Streets, which is part of an anti-Quinn political committee that has aired attack ads against her.

Allie Feldman, who heads the group, set the tone by asking audience members to take out their phones and call Quinn about banning horse carriages.

?There is one thing that everyone in this room can agree on and that is that Christine Quinn has not been a friend to animals,? she said.

Later, each candidate was offered a chance to speculate about why Quinn would not take action against the carriages, and each echoed the charge first made by Liu that it?s because ?she hasn?t gotten the OK from Mayor Bloomberg.?

But only de Blasio supported NY CLASS?s key goal of completely banning the horse-drawn carriages, while others talked about testing out alternatives or phasing them out gradually. ?

?This is inhumane,? de Blasio said. ?We don?t say, look at that, it?s inhumane, but it?s so quaint and historic, lets continue it. It doesn?t make any sense.?

Update: Quinn spokesman Mike Morey said: "Chris Quinn is the proud owner of two rescue dogs and although she disagrees with the organizers' goal of banning carriage horses, as Speaker of the City Council she has a strong record on animal rights, including expanding funding for spay and neutering programs through an overhaul of licensing fees, increased safety measures for kennels, and she passed laws cracking down on the abuse of animals. Furthermore, as mayor she has committed to making the New York City shelter system a NO KILL shelter system."

Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2013/05/from-carriage-horses-to-chihuahas-and-cockatiels-an-appeal-for-the-animal-love

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Heritage Foundation puts $6.3 trillion price tag on amnesty (Powerlineblog)

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Windows Phone 8's YouTube app goes from glorified bookmark to full application in latest update

The Windows Phone 8 YouTube app has been woefully underutilized, acting more or less as a bookmark that redirects users to the web. No more, as the app's getting a major update today that makes it act more like a standard WP8 app -- you can pin various components right into your Live Tile set and play videos (as music) in the background, even when your phone's locked. Standards like social sharing and search are also in there, and a "new and innovative playlist design" rounds out the refresh. Perhaps the Microsoft / Google relationship is mending? We can't be sure, but this is certainly one step in the right direction. We've dropped the full list of new features beyond the break, and you can grab the app update for yourself right here.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Software, Mobile, Microsoft, Google

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Source: Windows Phone Store, Microsoft

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/Rt7hzCptn6s/

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This Guy Got Swallowed By A Hippo And Survived

Look, a lot of people have crazy life stories to tell. They bought a used car formerly owned by Bob Saget or they were on a camping trip, peeing behind a tree when a bear walked by. Quality stories all. But this South African tour guide was, and I can't emphasize this enough, actually in the mouth of a hippopotamus. So, yeah.

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Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Cmq4w5L5uNE/this-guy-got-swallowed-by-a-hippo-and-survived-492024472

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