Trestman: 'Passion' and 'urgency' to win with Bears

Marc Trestman emphasized passion, urgency and commitment and said he "can't wait to get my hands on" quarterback Jay Cutler when he was introduced Thursday morning at Halas Hall as the 14th coach in Chicago Bears history.

Trestman said the Bears were "clearly a franchise that has the highest expectations for its team."

"I do feel the passion, I do feel the urgency, and boy, do I feel the commitment to win," Trestman said.

General manager Phil Emery, in explaining his decision to fire former coach Lovie Smith more than two weeks ago, cited long-running offensive efficiencies for an organization that has typically looked to the defensive side of the ball for its highest leader.

Emery on Thursday described the interview process that led to Trestman this way: "It was an interesting road ... and a road well-traveled." He confirmed that Trestman, Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians and Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell were the three finalists, with Bevell the first to be eliminated.

As to why he chose Trestman over Arians, Emery first cited adaptability, the fact that Trestman has been with numerous NFL teams as an assistant and also coached in the unfamiliar Canadian Football League and excelled at each stop.

"He’s had personal ups and downs, but in the end, where is he? He’s a champion and now he’s the head coach of the Chicago Bears," Emery said. "Do not underestimate Mark Trestman as a cmpetitor. He's as tough-minded as anybody I've been around. That's the kind of guy I want to be in a room with."

Trestman emphasized the importance of the quarterback position and also the line that protects him.

"I'm going to be responsible for keeping Jay (Cutler) and our quarterbacks safe in the pocket," he said.

As for his role, Trestman said, "I get to be the GPS system of the team. That's the fun part."

Asked about Cutler, Trestman said he spoke with the quarterback recently over lunch and, "I can't wait to get my hands on him, and work with him. I think he's ready."

"This guy loves football. He wants to be great. Hopefully we can give him some protection and some direction."

Trestman said he will continue to call the offensive plays: "I love calling plays. As long as Phil lets me, I get to do that. If it's in the best interests of the team, that's what I will start out doing."

Trestman termed his expected relationship with Cutler this way: "The No. 1 marriage in all of sports is the marriage between a quarterback and his coach." He said the quarterback "is going to have the keys to the car."

Asked about the pass/run balance on offense, Trestman said, "The only objective is to score touchdowns."

On defense, Trestman said it all starts with pressuring the opponent's quarterback.

"We've got to hurry 'em, hit 'em and knock 'em down,'' he said.

Trestman said his first priority would be assembling a staff and said he had the final say. He said some of his assistants from the CFL's Montreal Alouettes could be joining him.

"We've got to put together a staff of high character," he said. "Men who are experts in the science of football."

Asked about Rod Marinelli, Trestman said the veteran defensive coordinator wouldn't be staying.

"I had a chance to talk to Rod," Trestman said. "He's made up his mind I believe to move on."

Trestman said he and Emery would discuss the future defensive leadership.

Asked about Brian Urlacher, Trestman lavished praise on the veteran linebacker but stopped short of saying he definitely will be part of the defense going forward.

"I recognize what he's meant to this locker room," Trestman said.

Trestman said he would be open to playing a 3-4 defense, but that it would depend on his team's personnel and that he was aware of the success the Bears have enjoyed with the 4-3.

As for goals, Trestman said, "Our goal will be to hold up a trophy."

Under Smith, Dick Jauron and Dave Wannstedt, the three coaches that followed Mike Ditka, the Bears rarely have produced consistent offensive efforts. All three were defensive coordinators before coming to the club. While the Bears were stout defensively throughout Smith’s nine seasons, they were almost always deficient on offense.

With Trestman in place, the Bears will work to revamp the offense on the fly and take advantage of what remains a productive defense with aging core players. Trestman’s long history as a quarterback guru and innovative offensive mind pushed him to the top of a thorough coaching search by Emery.

The challenge for Trestman will be bringing out the best in Cutler, whom the Bears traded for by mortgaging the future in 2009. The belief then was the young, Pro Bowl gunslinger was the missing piece. He’s played in two playoff games since, winning one. Now, Cutler will be 30 in April and is entering the final year of his contract. His future must be determined in the coming months and Emery made the handling of Cutler a key component of the interview process.

Trestman did more than work with quarterbacks during a five-year stint as the head coach of the Alouettes. His team reached the playoffs in five consecutive seasons, winning two Grey Cup championships. Previously, he spent 17 seasons working as an assistant in the NFL for eight different organizations. He last worked for the Dolphins in 2004 under Wannstedt. Now, Trestman has the opportunity to operate his own club in the NFL, fulfilling a lifelong goal of the 57-year-old, who has a law degree.

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AT&T Offers $100 Off HSPA+ Nexus 7 for a Limited Time

The Nexus 7, made by Asus in partnership with Google, was the first really successful Android tablet that wasn’t made by a bookseller. It brought the hundreds of thousands of games and apps on Google Play (formerly the Android Market) to a wide audience, and it did so at an unheard-of price point: Only $ 199, for a device packing a Tegra 3 processor which made it much more powerful (and better for gaming) than Amazon‘s Kindle Fire.

When the Nexus 7 launched, it was Wi-Fi only and had as little as 8 GB of storage space. Google and Asus have fixed both of those problems, and from now until Feb. 14, AT&T is offering $ 100 worth of credit towards your wireless bill with the purchase of a new Nexus 7 and the signing of a two-year wireless contract.

The tablet itself

The Nexus 7 isn’t designed as a book-reader, but is more of a competitor to the iPad Mini. It lacks exclusive Amazon services like Amazon Instant Video, and many of the best iPad games and apps either aren’t available for it or aren’t available yet. It has far more games and apps for it than the Kindle, though, and can actually read Kindle books and run games and apps that you previously bought for the Kindle.

Its Tegra 3 processor allows it to play “THD”-enhanced games, which are roughly comparable in graphics quality to modern iPad or Xbox games. Finally, the model that AT&T is offering a discount on has both HSPA+ (a slower version of 4G) wireless Internet and 32 GB of storage, a combination which costs $ 559 on a similarly palm-sized iPad Mini. The Nexus 7 is only $ 299, and that’s before the $ 100 credit.

AT&T’s plans

The cheapest plan available is the $ 10 Mobile Share plan, which allows you to add the tablet to a plan that you already have. The next cheapest is AT&T’s $ 15 plan, which offers only 250 MB per month — okay for occasional email and web surfing, but completely inadequate for streaming videos regularly. Its $ 30 plan offers 3 GB of data, which still won’t stand up to constant Netflix viewing but will hold up much better than the $ 15 one.

What else is there?

The iPad and iPad Mini are also available (and much more expensive) from AT&T, as is a new Lenovo IdeaTab. It’s available for $ 199 off-contract and $ 99 on a two-year contract, but it’s not as fast or powerful as the Nexus 7, can’t play the same games, and has much less storage space.

Finally, if you like the Nexus 7 but aren’t sure you’ll still want it in two years (especially since the hardware is half a year old already), AT&T offers month-to-month wireless plans, which can be canceled at any time without paying an early termination fee. You just won’t get the $ 100 discount unless you sign a two-year contract.

Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android phone and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been writing about technology and electronics since 2008.

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Singer Elton John a father for second time

LONDON (Reuters) – British pop star Elton John announced on Wednesday he had become a father for the second time after the birth via a surrogate mother of Elijah Joseph Daniel Furnish-John.

The “Rocket Man” and “Candle in the Wind” singer and his partner David Furnish confirmed the news in a short statement on John‘s official website, which also provided a link to an article in Hello! magazine.

“Both of us have longed to have children, but the reality that we now have two sons is almost unbelievable,” said the couple, who entered a civil partnership in 2005.

“The birth of our second son completes our family in a most precious and perfect way,” they told Hello!.

John, 65, and Furnish, 50, are already parents to Zachary, who is two. Elijah was born in Los Angeles on January 11.

“I know when he goes to school there’s going to be an awful lot of pressure, and I know he’s going to have people saying, ‘You don’t have a mummy,’” John said of his decision to have another baby.

“It’s going to happen. We talked about it before we had him. I want someone to be at his side and back him up. We shall see.”

(This story has been corrected to change magazine to Hello! from People in paragraph two)

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)

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Ask Well: Help for the Deskbound

One of the problems with office work is that many of us are using chairs that don’t fit our bodies very well or give adequate support to the back, said Jack Dennerlein, a professor at Northeastern’s Bouvé College of Health Sciences in Boston who specializes in ergonomics and safety. If you are experiencing back pain, you may be able to adjust your chair to increase its lumbar support. A good office chair will have an adjustable seat pan that you can slide back and forth as well as adjustable back and height features. First, sit in the chair so the lumbar region of your back, your lower back, is resting on the back support. At the same time, your feet should be resting comfortably on the ground and the back of your knees should be about three-finger widths from the edge of the chair, said Dr. Dennerlein.

Some high-end chair brands have adjustable seat pans, including the Steelcase Leap chair, which retails for between $800 and $900 and offers an adjustable seat and plenty of lumbar support.

The Steelcase Criterion chair sells anywhere from $350 to $850 online, depending on the model, and boasts seven different adjustments “to offer support through the full range of dynamic seating postures.”

The HumanScale Freedom chair is the winner of several design awards and also has an adjustable seat pan as well as “weight-sensitive recline, synchronously adjustable armrests, and dynamically positioned headrest.” ($400 to $1,400)

The Herman Miller Aeron chair is also popular because it comes in small, medium and large sizes and claims a PostureFit design that “supports the way your pelvis tilts naturally forward, so that your spine stays aligned and you avoid back pain.” ($680 to $850)

If all that sounds really wonderful and really too expensive, there may be a simpler solution to ease your back pain at work. Invest $15 to $30 in a lumbar chair pillow to make sure your back is getting the support it needs even when you are not sitting in a $900 chair.

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US, EU and Japan ground Dreamliners

Federal officials say they are temporarily grounding Boeing's 787 Dreamliners until the risk of possible battery fires is addressed. (Jan. 16)

With its new plane ordered to stay on the ground, Boeing Co. confronts a full-fledged crisis as it struggles to regain the confidence of passengers and the airline customers who stood by the 787 Dreamliner during years of cost overruns and delivery delays.

A second major incident involving "a potential battery fire risk'' prompted the Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday to temporarily ground all 787s operated by U.S. carriers until it is determined that the lithium-ion batteries on board are safe.

The order affects United Airlines, which is the first U.S. customer. The FAA gave no indication how soon the plane could resume flying.

On Thursday, the European Aviation Safety Agency followed suit, grounding all Dreamliners in Europe.

Japanese airlines grounded their 787s Wednesday after an emergency landing and five days after the FAA and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood declared that the flying public is safe on Dreamliners. When it offered those assurances Friday, however, the FAA also announced a comprehensive review of the 787's design, manufacture and assembly.

Ethiopian Airlines grounded its four 787s Thursday for "precautionary inspection."

The grounding represents a significant setback for Chicago-based Boeing, which is marketing the fuel-efficient, mainly carbon-composite jetliner as a vision of the future of commercial passenger aviation. The development of the plane was marred by long production and delivery delays, but it is selling well and has customers around the world.

"We stand behind its overall integrity. We will be taking every necessary step in the coming days to assure our customers and the traveling public of the 787's safety and to return the airplanes to service," Jim McNerney, Boeing's chairman and chief executive, said in a statement. He said Boeing is working with the FAA to find answers as quickly as possible.

Chicago-based United Airlines has six 787s, but it has been flying only one on flights between O'Hare International Airport and Houston. The airline said Wednesday night that it will accommodate customers on other planes. The domestic 787 flights were to end in late March, when United's first 787s were to begin serving international routes. 

United said it "will work closely with the FAA and Boeing on the technical review as we work toward restoring 787 service."

Foreign carriers are not affected by the FAA order, but LOT Polish Airlines canceled its inaugural flight celebration at O'Hare on Wednesday night, even before the flight landed from Warsaw.

"We just think it would be inappropriate to go ahead with the activities," said Frank Joost, regional sales director of the Americas for LOT. He described the FAA grounding of 787 flights as a "surprise."

LOT also canceled the Dreamliner's return flight to Warsaw. Passengers hoping to depart on the 9:55 p.m. flight said they were disappointed. Many were rebooked on Lufthansa through Munich.

Suzy Zaborek, 27, of Chicago was at Chicago O'Hare on Wednesday night waiting for her father to arrive from Poland aboard the 787. He came home early specifically to ride on the inaugural flight.

Zaborek had not been following the Dreamliner woes in recent weeks and the dramatic groundings on Wednesday.

"I'm glad I didn't know because I wouldn't have let him get on on of those," she said.

The FAA decision to ground all U.S.-registered 787s was the direct result of an in-flight incident involving a battery earlier in the day in Japan, FAA officials said. It followed another 787 battery fire that occurred Jan. 7 on the ground in Boston.

Both failures resulted in the release of flammable materials, heat damage, smoke and the potential for fire in the electrical compartments, the FAA said.

"Before further flight, operators of U.S.-registered Boeing 787 aircraft must demonstrate to the FAA that the batteries are safe," the regulatory agency said. The statement said the FAA will work with Boeing and airlines "to develop a corrective action plan to allow the U.S. 787 fleet to resume operations as quickly and safely as possible."

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Bears name Trestman next head coach

Chicago Tribune sports reporter Dan Pompei on the potential success Marc Trestman could have as head coach of the Bears. (Posted on: Jan. 16, 2013.)

The Bears took a swing for the fences by choosing Marc Trestman to be the 14th head coach in team history, an NFL source told the Tribune early Wednesday.

The Bears made it official with a news release shortly after 4 a.m. Trestman will be introduced Thursday at a 10 a.m. news conference.

Trestman is a somewhat unconventional choice, having been out of the NFL for eight years. But he also is a proven winner, having won back-to-back Grey Cup championships as coach of the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League. Trestman has a 64-34 record in five years as a head coach.

In addition to having head coaching experience, Trestman is a quarterback guru who has spent most of his professional life coaching passers. Clearly, he is being brought to the Bears to get the most out of Jay Cutler and whoever else lines up under center during his tenure.

Trestman, 57, was Bernie Kosar’s quarterbacks coach at the University of Miami in 1983, when the Hurricanes won the national championship. In the NFL, Kosar, Steve Young, Scott Mitchell, Jake Plummer and Rich Gannon played well under Trestman’s guidance. Gannon won the 2002 Most Valuable Player award while being coached by Trestman on the Raiders.

“The skill set that Marc has, being an offensive mind, and then his great relationships that he's had with quarterbacks historically in the NFL and the work he's done with them makes him a good fit for the job,” Alouettes general manager Jim Popp said.

“A lot of guys want to be head coaches. Some leave the NFL to go to NCAA schools, and then once they've proven themselves, all of a sudden those college coaches are some of the hot commodities to be an NFL coach. It's no different. Coach Trestman has run a professional team as a head coach for five years. He's had a winning record for five years. He's proven himself as a head coach at a professional level. You can call it what you want, but on-hand training as a head coach and proof goes a long way, goes a real long way. You can't replace that.”

Trestman should know what he is getting into with Cutler. As a consultant, he worked with Cutler to prepare him for the 2006 combine. Among other players he worked with before their drafts are Jason Campbell and Tim Tebow.

Trestman’s appointment should not come as a surprise to Fox analyst Jimmy Johnson, who was Trestman’s boss at the University of Miami. Johnson tweeted Jan. 11 that it “looks like” Trestman would be getting the Bears job.

Trestman was one of 13 known candidates to be interviewed for Lovie Smith's old position. While Trestman, Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians and Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell received second interviews, Emery's final decision is believed to have come down to Trestman vs. Arians. Eight of the candidates had offensive backgrounds.

Trestman's final interview was Monday. Arians and Bevell met with Emery on Tuesday. None of the coaches knew Emery's decision until early Wednesday morning.

Interestingly, Smith nearly hired Trestman in 2004 when he was looking for an offensive coordinator. Instead, Smith settled on Terry Shea, and Trestman became Dave Wannstedt’s quarterbacks coach with the Dolphins.

Trestman also interviewed for the Browns’ head coaching vacancy this month, as well as the Raiders’ offensive coordinator position. Last year, he interviewed for the Colts’ head coaching job.

Trestman is known for a cerebral, measured approach.

“One thing about him that is a strength is his ability to listen,” Gannon said. “He takes feedback. Marc has always been the type of guy who can sit down with you and talk about things. What do you like about this? What don’t you like? His feedback is excellent. And he has an ability to be honest with you. Somebody needs to be honest with Jay Cutler.”

Saints offensive line coach Aaron Kromer will serve Trestman both in that role and also as offensive coordinator, which suggests that Trestman will call the plays. Kromer served as the Saints' interim head coach for the first six games of the 2012 season due to the suspensions of Sean Payton and Joe Vitt.

League sources say the Bears are expected to hire Joe DeCamillis as their assistant head coach/special teams coordinator to replace Dave Toub.

DeCamillis, who has been with the Dallas Cowboys for the last four years, had been one of 13 candidates to interview for the head-coaching job.

A 16-year NFL coaching veteran, DeCamillis, like Toub, is one of the more highly regarded special teams coaches in the league.  He had been under contract with the Cowboys but apparently is being granted permission to leave.

Trestman’s plans for the defense are unknown, but there’s a good chance he will retain coordinator Rod Marinelli and some of the other defensive assistants. Quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates also is a possibility to stay. Trestman previously worked with Bates’ father, Jim.

Trestman played quarterback at the University of Minnesota and Minnesota State-Moorhead. He was with the Vikings for two training camps as a defensive back.

Trestman also graduated from the University of Miami School of Law and has been a member of the Florida bar since 1983. He took a few years away from coaching in the early ‘90s to practice law. He is the author of the book “Perseverance: Life Lessons on Leadership and Teamwork.”

Trestman and his wife, Cindy, have two daughters, Sarahanne and Chloe.

bmbiggs@tribune.com

Twitter @BradBiggs

dpompei@tribune.com

Twitter @danpompei

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“GameStick” and NVIDIA “Project SHIELD” Consoles-in-a-Controller on Their Way

Both GameStick and NVIDIA’s Project Shield are upcoming game consoles the size of a game controller, which can hook up to a larger display. Both are powered by Android, Google‘s open-source operating system that’s normally used on smartphones and tablets. And both have working hardware prototypes already. But one is a $ 99 Kickstarter project by an indie group, while the other has the backing of two major companies in the PC gaming world — and will probably be a lot more expensive when it comes out.

Here’s a look at two upcoming TV game consoles that you’ll be able to fit in your pocket or handbag.

GameStick: Exactly what it sounds like

Imagine a tiny, rectangular game controller, sort of like a Wii Remote with more buttons and twin analog sticks. On one side is a plastic bump, that when you pull it off it becomes this gadget the size of a USB memory stick that plugs into a TV’s HDMI port. That’s GameStick, and with 19 days left to go in its Kickstarter fund-raiser it’s managed to raise more than three times the $ 100,000 its creators asked for.

GameStick will have 8 GB of flash memory, and a processor capable of handling modern AAA Android games like Shadowgun, plus 1080p video. If you don’t like the controller it comes with, you’ll be able to connect up to four of your own via Bluetooth, or even use your Android or iOS smartphone or tablet as a controller.

Project SHIELD: A controller that can stop bullets

Maybe it can’t literally serve as a shield. But at about the size of the original Xbox’s controller, the “portable” console NVIDIA showed off at this year’s CES sure looks like it can. It’s powered by a next-generation Tegra 4 processor, and features its own built-in 5-inch multitouch screen for gaming on the go. But it can also connect to a TV, and can even stream PC games via Steam’s Big Picture mode, which was designed for controller games.

A not-so-silver lining?

GameStick’s biggest weakness may be its developer support. Its Kickstarter page mentions the hundreds of thousands of Android games out there, but most of those are only on Google Play, which (unlike most of the rest of Android) is proprietary to Google. Time will tell whether its creators can get enough developers to write games for the platform by the time of its planned April launch, or enough gamers to buy games they might already have on their tablets.

In contrast, between full support for the Google Play store and PC game streaming from Steam, Project SHIELD will have thousands and thousands of games, and there will be no need to repurchase titles you’ve already bought from either store. There’s no word from NVIDIA yet, though, on how much its game console will cost or even when it will launch.

Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android phone and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been writing about technology and electronics since 2008.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger is back, but can he flex Box-Office muscle?

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Arnold Schwarzenegger is back at the box office, but will anyone notice? We’ll find out on Friday, when he debuts as a kick-ass small-town sheriff in “The Last Stand,’ his first starring role in nine years.

When Schwarzenegger famously delivered his “I’ll be back” line in 1984, it was as a time-traveling android in “The Terminator.” Following his stint as California governor and a very messy divorce from Maria Shriver complete with love child, his return as a box-office force seems almost as unlikely as his role as a time-traveling android.

But Hollywood has embraced the return of California’s 65-year-old former “Governator.” He has three films coming out in the next 12 months and Universal is developing “Triplets,” a sequel to the Danny DeVito-Schwarzenegger comedy “Twins,” as well as another “Conan the Barbarian” movie.

But whether the movie going public is as excited as Hollywood about Arnold‘s return is an open question.

Lionsgate is distributing “The Last Stand,” an action film with a reported $ 50 million budget.

Directed by Korean director Kim Jee-woon and written by Andrew Knauer and Jeffrey Nachmanoff, “The Last Stand” is the tale of an aging border-town lawman drawn into a showdown with a drug cartel kingpin. Johnny Knoxville, Forrest Whitaker and Eduardo Noriega co-star. It was produced by Leonardo Di Bonaventura and was acquired by Lionsgate back in 2009 before Schwarzenegger was involved. Liam Neeson was attached to star at one point.

Lionsgate has proven adept at marketing genre films, including “The Expendables” and Tyler Perry franchises, and last year’s “The Possession,” and that will help “The Last Stand.” Distribution chief Richie Fay tells TheWrap he’s confident Schwarzenegger‘s return will connect with the public.

“I’ve been in a number of screenings and at the premiere,” Fay told TheWrap Tuesday, “and the reaction to the film has been great. People are laughing at his one-liners, they seem very comfortable with Arnold back on the screen in his action mode.”

Fay has reason to be bullish. Schwarzenegger‘s most recent screen appearance was in another Lionsgate entry, the ensemble action film “The Expendables 2,” last August. That one has taken in more than $ 300 million worldwide. And he’ll be back – there we go, again – with Sylvester Stallone in “The Tomb,” for Lionsgate‘s Summit Entertainment in September.

Others aren’t so sure.

“I can’t see this film opening to more than the mid-teen millions,” Exhibitor Relations senior analyst Jeff Bock told TheWrap. “There’s not a lot of negative buzz, but people aren’t dying to see him come back, either. Bottom line, I don’t think he’ll inspire anywhere the level of passion he once did at the box office.”

If Lionsgate is to make money on “The Last Stand,” it appears foreign will be critical; analysts see the film topping out at $ 30 million domestically.

“Schwarzenegger is still a big deal overseas,” Bock said, “and that’s where this movie will make or break itself.

I could easily see it doing double whatever it does in the U.S.”

At this point in his career, the stakes for Schwarzenegger may be higher than they are for the studios. His paycheck for “The Last Stand” is reportedly in the $ 8 million to $ 10 million range, with some potential profit participation. That’s about half of what he commanded in his heyday for the “Terminator” films, “True Lies” and “Total Recall.”

Schwarzenegger‘s box-office clout was beginning to fade prior to his heading to Sacramento in 2003. His last film, “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” made $ 150 million domestically for Warner Bros. in 2003, but his two previous movies, “Collateral Damage” and “The Sixth Day,” topped out at $ 40 million and $ 34 million respectively.

Hollywood’s expectations have changed, too. Most of Schwarzenegger‘s hits were big summer movies, with budgets well over $ 100 million. “The Last Stand” cost half that, and its release on a moderate 2,800 screens in January, typically a soft time for new releases, is no accident. “Ten,” Schwarzenegger‘s third film, is scheduled for release on January 24, 2014, by Open Road Films.

“The Last Stand” is the first of three upcoming openings for action movies with older stars. Warner Bros. is opening “Bullet to the Head,” starring Stallone, on February 1. Bruce Willis stars in “A Good Day to Die Hard” from Fox on February 15.

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The New Old Age: In Flu Season,Use a Mask. But Which One?

Face masks help prevent people from getting the flu. But how much protection do they provide?

You might think the answer to this question would be well established. It’s not.

In fact, there is considerable uncertainty over how well face masks guard against influenza when people use them outside of hospitals and other health care settings. This has been a topic of discussion and debate in infectious disease circles since the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic, also known as swine flu.

As the government noted in a document that provides guidance on the issue, “Very little information is available about the effectiveness of facemasks and respirators in controlling the spread of pandemic influenza in community settings.” This is also true of seasonal influenza — the kind that strikes every winter and that we are experiencing now, experts said.

Let’s jump to the bottom line for older people and caregivers before getting into the details. If someone is ill with the flu, coughing and sneezing and living with others, say an older spouse who is a bit frail, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the use of a face mask “if available and tolerable” or a tissue to cover the nose and mouth.

If you are healthy and serving as a caregiver for someone who has the flu — say, an older person who is ill and at home — the C.D.C. recommends using a face mask or a respirator. (I’ll explain the difference between those items in just a bit.) But if you are a household member who is not in close contact with the sick person, keep at a distance and there is no need to use a face mask or respirator, the C.D.C. advises.

The recommendations are included in another document related to pandemic influenza — a flu caused by a new virus that circulates widely and ends up going global because people lack immunity. That is not a threat this year, but the H3N2 virus that is circulating widely is hitting many older adults especially hard. So the precautions are a good idea, even outside a pandemic situation, said Dr. Ed Septimus, a spokesman for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

The key idea here is exposure, Dr. Septimus said. If you are a caregiver and intimately exposed to someone who is coughing, sneezing and has the flu, wearing a mask probably makes sense — as it does if you are the person with the flu doing the coughing and sneezing and a caregiver is nearby.

But the scientific evidence about how influenza is transmitted is not as strong as experts would like, said Dr. Carolyn Bridges, associate director of adult immunization at the C.D.C. It is generally accepted that the flu virus is transmitted through direct contact — when someone who is ill touches his or her nose and then a glass that he or she hands to someone else, for instance — and through large droplets that go flying through the air when a person coughs or sneezes. What is not known is the extent to which tiny aerosol particles are implicated in transmission.

Evidence suggests that these tiny particles may play a more important part than previously suspected. For example, a November 2010 study in the journal PLoS One found that 81 percent of flu patients sent viral material through air expelled by coughs, and 65 percent of the virus consisted of small particles that can be inhaled and lodge deeper in the lungs than large droplets.

That is a relevant finding when it comes to masks, which cover much of the face below the eyes but not tightly, letting air in through gaps around the nose and mouth. As the C.D.C.’s advisory noted, “Facemasks help stop droplets from being spread by the person wearing them. They also keep splashes or sprays from reaching the mouth and nose of the person wearing them. They are not designed to protect against breathing in the very small particle aerosols that may contain viruses.”

In other words, you will get some protection, but it is not clear how much. In most circumstances, “if you’re caring for a family member with influenza, I think a surgical mask is perfectly adequate,” said Dr. Carol McLay, an infection control consultant based in Lexington, Ky.

By contrast, respirators fit tightly over someone’s face and are made of materials that filter out small particles that carry the influenza virus. They are recommended for health care workers who are in intimate contact with patients and who have to perform activities like suctioning their lungs. So-called N95 respirators block at least 95 percent of small particles in tests, if properly fitted.

Training in how to use respirators is mandated in hospitals, but no such requirement applies outside, and consumers frequently put them on improperly. One study of respirator use in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, when mold was a problem, found that only 24 percent of users put them on the right way. Also, it can be hard to breathe when respirators are used, and this can affect people’s willingness to use them as recommended.

Unfortunately, research about the relative effectiveness of masks and respirators is not robust, and there is no guidance backed by scientific evidence available for consumers, Dr. Bridges said. Nor is there any clear way of assessing the relative merits of various products being sold to the public, which differ in design and materials used.

“Honestly, some of the ones I’ve seen are almost like a paper towel with straps,” Dr. McLay said. Her advice: go with name-brand items used by your local hospital.

Meanwhile, it is worth repeating: The single most important thing that older people and caregivers can do to prevent the flu is to be vaccinated, Dr. Bridges said. “It’s the best tool we have,” she said, noting that preventing flu also involves vigilant hand washing, using tissues or arms to block sneezing, and staying home when ill so people do not transmit the virus. And it is by no means too late to get a shot, whose cost Medicare will cover for older adults.

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Japanese airlines ground Dreamliners

Japan's two leading airlines grounded their fleets of Boeing 787s on Wednesday after one of the Dreamliner passenger jets made an emergency landing, the latest in a series of incidents to heighten safety concerns over a plane many see as the future of commercial aviation.

Shares in the Chicago-based Boeing Co. were down 4.4 percent in premarket trading on the news.

All Nippon Airways Co. said instruments aboard a domestic flight indicated a battery error, triggering emergency warnings to the pilots. Shigeru Takano, a senior safety official at the Civil Aviation Bureau, said a second warning light indicated smoke.

Wednesday's incident, described by a transport ministry official as "highly serious" - language used in international safety circles as indicating there could have been an accident -- is the latest in a line of mishaps -- fuel leaks, a battery fire, wiring problem, brake computer glitch and cracked cockpit window - to hit the world's first mainly carbon-composite airliner in recent days.

"I think you're nearing the tipping point where they need to regard this as a serious crisis," said Richard Aboulafia, a senior analyst with the Teal Group inFairfax, Virginia. "This is going to change people's perception of the aircraft if they don't act quickly."

ANA, which said the battery in the forward cargo hold was the same lithium-ion type as one involved in a fire on another Dreamliner at a U.S. airport last week, grounded all 17 of its 787s, and Japan Airlines Co suspended its 787 flights scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.

The two airlines, which operate around half of the 50 Dreamliners delivered to date, said they would decide on Thursday whether to resume Dreamliner flights the following day.

COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW

The 787, which has a list price of $207 million, represents a leap in the way planes are designed and built, but the project has been plagued by cost overruns and years of delays. Some have suggested Boeing's rush to get planes built after those delays resulted in the recent problems, a charge the company strenuously denies.

Both the U.S.Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said they were monitoring the latest incident as part of a comprehensive review of the Dreamliner announced late last week.

ALARM TRIGGERED

ANA flight 692 left Yamaguchi in western Japan shortly after 8 a.m. local time (2300 GMT Tuesday) bound for Haneda Airport near Tokyo, a 65-minute flight. About 18 minutes into the flight, the plane descended and made an emergency landing 16 minutes later, according to flight-tracking website Flightaware.com.

A spokesman for Osaka airport authority said the plane landed at Takamatsu at 8:45 a.m. All 129 passengers and eight crew evacuated via the plane's inflatable chutes. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said five people were slightly injured.

At a news conference - where ANA's vice-president Osamu Shinobe bowed deeply in apology - the carrier said a battery in the forward cargo hold triggered emergency warnings to the pilots, who decided on the emergency action. "There was a battery alert in the cockpit and there was an odd smell detected in the cockpit and cabin, and (the pilot) decided to make an emergency landing," Shinobe said.

In a statement later, ANA said the main battery in the forward electrical equipment bay was discolored and there were signs of leakage.

Passengers leaving the flight told local TV there was an odor like burning plastic on the plane as soon as it took off. "There was a bad smell as soon as we started and before we made the emergency landing there was an announcement and the stewardess' voice was shaking, so I thought this was serious," one passenger toldTBS TV.

Another man told a local broadcaster: "There was a strong, burning smell, but the smoke appeared after they opened the emergency doors, after we landed."

Marc Birtel, a Boeing spokesman, told Reuters: "We've seen the reports, we're aware of the events and are working with our customer."

Robert Stallard, analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said lost revenue at the Japanese airlines could prompt compensation from Boeing. "What started as a series of relatively minor, isolated incidents now threatens to overhang Boeing until it can return confidence, and this looks to be a near-term challenge given the media's draw to all things 787," he said.

UNDER REVIEW

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